Greetings citizens!!!
That is correct, after TWO WHOLE MONTHS OF NO POSTS I HAVE RETURNED!!! Thanks to all the good folks on the forum for returning my faith in the website, and a special thanks to Jason Major for moderating that section of the site, a demanding job that would definately put me way over my head. Anyways, with the formalities outta the way on to the article.
The name of the game is 52!!! And I have to say, convoluted is more the name of the game. I just went through issue 22, and after this issue I NEED MORE!!! If I'm going to dig into the good'ol piggy bank every week for 3.50, give me more of what matters. It seems to get shorter every issue, less content more pictures of people standing and doing nothing, if this is suppose to give it a noir feel it feels more like For Tomorrow. *shudder
DC need to pump up the content, more of the Super Nova story, which in my opinion made issue 22 better than most thus far. I'll be back, as a certain austrian once said.
Bobby Paycheque
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Monday, August 07, 2006
Greetings Good Citizens
Been awhile since my previous postings so you are getting a whole bunch today. I recently aquire a job that is demanding more of my time than I expected. Nevertheless it didn't stop me from finding out that the Nintendo next generation system codenamed Revolution, officially named Wii could very well be coming out this October. This is great news for people who can't wait to get their hands on Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess or Super Smash Bros. Brawl!!! I am really looking forward to the new free motion style of control. But until then Quake Wars demos will have to do :) Quake Wars looks like it will be the Battlefield 2 killer. I have played quite a bit of Battlefield 2 and to be honest never thought it was much more than Counterstrike with some big maps and vehicles. Quake Wars may actually force twitch shooter fans to think a little further than the bust down the door and go in with your eyes closed mentality. There is alot of goodness coming our way this fall in both comics and games, it will be a great quarter for fans of entertainment.
It's all about the VICE!!!
About an hour ago I walked out of the theatre where I saw Miami Vice. And let me just say how incredible it really was! It was real, cool, intense, and it dominates this summer in my opinion. Pirates was fun, but unbelievable. Superman Returns was silly with their use of kryptonite, and Superman had the power of plot, he was as strong, fast, smart, as plot demanded and that was it. Scanner Darkly for all it's style and great dialogue was confusing for alot of people, and not everybody liked how stylish it was, it was a kinda weird vision of the future that alot of people found disturbing. Miami Vice was stylish in a way that everyone can appreciate, had a great plot, had love interest, tension, and was a real, gritty story about two cops struggling to stay alive when it is their job to be in way over their heads. I don't want to write something massive about it, full of spoilers and so forth, so I am just going to say, SEE THIS MOVIE!! This is a great movie I am sure you will enjoy! 5 outta 5!!!!
Friday, July 21, 2006
Green Lantern #11-12 Review
Greetings citizens!!!
Sorry again, another late post, I will try to be more frequent from here on in on posting often.
Well, it is that time of the month again, COMIC STACK DAY!!! That wonderful day when I go to The Wizard (my local comicbook shop) and grab those wonderful stories that take me away from the everyday to somewhere fun and fantastic! Yep! Comic Stack Day is right up there with sci-fi movie opening day, and new video game release day.
At the very end of Green Lantern #10 we find that Tomar-Tu has arrived on earth in critical condition. For those of you reading who are unfamiliar with the Green Lantern mythos, Tomar-Tu was supposedly killed by Hal Jordan when Hal became Parallax and destroyed the Green Lantern Corp. Now at the beginning of Green Lantern #11 Tomar-Tu is on a medical bed muttering about killing Hal Jordan. Clearly Tomar-Tu is unaware of Hal Jordan's Rebirth and thinks he is still Parallax. Hal Jordan soon learns that he started it journey from the outskirts of Space Sector 3600. This is the black off limits portion of the galaxy where the Manhunters reside, a failed and dangerous group of machines created by the Guardians for the purpose the Green Lanterns now exist. Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner, against the orders of teh Guardians of the Universe, decide to go to Space Sector 3600. Hal Jordan feels he must try to save anyone he thought he killed, he is still greatly remorseful of his weakness to fear that led to his becoming Parallax. Guy Gardner and Hal Jordan journey to Space Sector 3600 and are attacked by the Manhunters, who we find on the final stunning page is actually Android Superman!
I love how Guy and Hal have actually become friends in this series. I think it is also more importantly fitting to character. Why would a hot shot pilot who lives life on the edge be better friends with a wimpy artist like Rayner than with a tough rebel with a serious attitude? It makes sense and I love how at lunch Guy bails Hal out of a jam and is the only Green Lantern who actually forgives Hal for his past sins.
Green Lantern #12 is Hal Jordan trying to reconcile himself for killing the laterns he has found who were presumed dead. My biggest problem with this issue is the fact that Android Superman can use the rings. The rings are fueled by the willpower of the ring bearer. Does Android Superman actually have a real will, one that can control the rings? Though I wouldn't think so, he apparently does. Aside from what is going on with Hal Jordan, we find out that a hit has been put on his head with some pretty nasty looking bounty hunters. The final page of this issue has a captured Guy stuck inside a cheesy, giant manhunter. I'll be honest that this issue disappointed me after #11. But it's still by far the best thing DC has got. 4 outta 5!
Sorry again, another late post, I will try to be more frequent from here on in on posting often.
Well, it is that time of the month again, COMIC STACK DAY!!! That wonderful day when I go to The Wizard (my local comicbook shop) and grab those wonderful stories that take me away from the everyday to somewhere fun and fantastic! Yep! Comic Stack Day is right up there with sci-fi movie opening day, and new video game release day.
At the very end of Green Lantern #10 we find that Tomar-Tu has arrived on earth in critical condition. For those of you reading who are unfamiliar with the Green Lantern mythos, Tomar-Tu was supposedly killed by Hal Jordan when Hal became Parallax and destroyed the Green Lantern Corp. Now at the beginning of Green Lantern #11 Tomar-Tu is on a medical bed muttering about killing Hal Jordan. Clearly Tomar-Tu is unaware of Hal Jordan's Rebirth and thinks he is still Parallax. Hal Jordan soon learns that he started it journey from the outskirts of Space Sector 3600. This is the black off limits portion of the galaxy where the Manhunters reside, a failed and dangerous group of machines created by the Guardians for the purpose the Green Lanterns now exist. Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner, against the orders of teh Guardians of the Universe, decide to go to Space Sector 3600. Hal Jordan feels he must try to save anyone he thought he killed, he is still greatly remorseful of his weakness to fear that led to his becoming Parallax. Guy Gardner and Hal Jordan journey to Space Sector 3600 and are attacked by the Manhunters, who we find on the final stunning page is actually Android Superman!
I love how Guy and Hal have actually become friends in this series. I think it is also more importantly fitting to character. Why would a hot shot pilot who lives life on the edge be better friends with a wimpy artist like Rayner than with a tough rebel with a serious attitude? It makes sense and I love how at lunch Guy bails Hal out of a jam and is the only Green Lantern who actually forgives Hal for his past sins.
Green Lantern #12 is Hal Jordan trying to reconcile himself for killing the laterns he has found who were presumed dead. My biggest problem with this issue is the fact that Android Superman can use the rings. The rings are fueled by the willpower of the ring bearer. Does Android Superman actually have a real will, one that can control the rings? Though I wouldn't think so, he apparently does. Aside from what is going on with Hal Jordan, we find out that a hit has been put on his head with some pretty nasty looking bounty hunters. The final page of this issue has a captured Guy stuck inside a cheesy, giant manhunter. I'll be honest that this issue disappointed me after #11. But it's still by far the best thing DC has got. 4 outta 5!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
As promised (if a little late) my first comic review citizens!!!
Greetings Citizens!!!
What better way to start my comic review stream than with what I think will become a great title, Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1!!!
The Flash mythos, as far as I understand it, is that when the second Flash, Barry Allen, sacrificed himself in Crisis on Infinite Earths he became what would be known as the Speed Force. Those with Flash like powers, eg Bart Allen, Wally West, Jay Garrick, can tap into the Speed Force to gain unbelievable speed and power.
In Flash: Fastest Man Alive #1, we jump into One Year Later, and things have changed in Keystone City. The only Flash left is Jay Garrick, and as we found out in Infinite Crisis #6, the Speed Force is no more and Wally West is missing. Star Labs' scientist Velerie Perez is attempting to find out what happened to the Speed Force and why Bart Allen is several years older (he was sixteen and is now twenty) and powerless.
In the first few pages we see a military transport terrorized and plundered for weapons despite the efforts of Jay Garrick, who we find out isn't nearly as fast as he was when he could tap the Speed Force.
Meanwhile we find that Bart Allen doesn't exactly seem to be missing his powers, in fact he has moved on, and is living with a roomie by the name of Griffin, a rather disrespectful upstart who thinks he is the be all and end all of all things, and a bad influence on Bart who may be twenty but is still intellectually and emotionally sixteen. Also he is working at a high tech automobile factory of some kind, where outside older workers protesting because they have been let go to usher in Bart and Griffin's young blood. When Valerie Perez approaches him, he is completely uninterested in finding out what happened to the Speed Force. Later, as Bart is working at the factory, one of the disgruntled protesters was the thief who stole the military convoy's payload of explosives, plants a bomb that causes Griffin to become trapped under several pieces of debris as unknown chemicals and also dripping onto him. Quickly we see that Bart can tap the Speed Force!!! Although it almost kills him when he does, he is trying to gain control over it, "own the Speed Force" as he puts it. The issue finishes with Jay Garrick running up to help, surprised by Bart Allen using the Speed Force, says they have to talk afterwards. The last line is Bart Allen's thought, "I'm not going to let it kill me."
Interlaced between the Bart Allen story is a beautiful sort of history of Barry Allen and the other Flashes and what happened before Crisis. One of the things I love about this issue is that it has a real science fiction feal to it. Keystone City is fictional and fantastic, Gotham has come to look like a dumpy part of New York, and Metropolis depends on the artist, but has often had either a New York feel or a look that would not be practical for any city, like highways stacked on highways all going nowhere. Keystone is gorgeous, and really puts the character in his own world, like Coast City is beautiful for Green Lantern. I think this is a amazing first issue that will hopefully lead into a fast paced action title! 8 out of 10!!
What better way to start my comic review stream than with what I think will become a great title, Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1!!!
The Flash mythos, as far as I understand it, is that when the second Flash, Barry Allen, sacrificed himself in Crisis on Infinite Earths he became what would be known as the Speed Force. Those with Flash like powers, eg Bart Allen, Wally West, Jay Garrick, can tap into the Speed Force to gain unbelievable speed and power.
In Flash: Fastest Man Alive #1, we jump into One Year Later, and things have changed in Keystone City. The only Flash left is Jay Garrick, and as we found out in Infinite Crisis #6, the Speed Force is no more and Wally West is missing. Star Labs' scientist Velerie Perez is attempting to find out what happened to the Speed Force and why Bart Allen is several years older (he was sixteen and is now twenty) and powerless.
In the first few pages we see a military transport terrorized and plundered for weapons despite the efforts of Jay Garrick, who we find out isn't nearly as fast as he was when he could tap the Speed Force.
Meanwhile we find that Bart Allen doesn't exactly seem to be missing his powers, in fact he has moved on, and is living with a roomie by the name of Griffin, a rather disrespectful upstart who thinks he is the be all and end all of all things, and a bad influence on Bart who may be twenty but is still intellectually and emotionally sixteen. Also he is working at a high tech automobile factory of some kind, where outside older workers protesting because they have been let go to usher in Bart and Griffin's young blood. When Valerie Perez approaches him, he is completely uninterested in finding out what happened to the Speed Force. Later, as Bart is working at the factory, one of the disgruntled protesters was the thief who stole the military convoy's payload of explosives, plants a bomb that causes Griffin to become trapped under several pieces of debris as unknown chemicals and also dripping onto him. Quickly we see that Bart can tap the Speed Force!!! Although it almost kills him when he does, he is trying to gain control over it, "own the Speed Force" as he puts it. The issue finishes with Jay Garrick running up to help, surprised by Bart Allen using the Speed Force, says they have to talk afterwards. The last line is Bart Allen's thought, "I'm not going to let it kill me."
Interlaced between the Bart Allen story is a beautiful sort of history of Barry Allen and the other Flashes and what happened before Crisis. One of the things I love about this issue is that it has a real science fiction feal to it. Keystone City is fictional and fantastic, Gotham has come to look like a dumpy part of New York, and Metropolis depends on the artist, but has often had either a New York feel or a look that would not be practical for any city, like highways stacked on highways all going nowhere. Keystone is gorgeous, and really puts the character in his own world, like Coast City is beautiful for Green Lantern. I think this is a amazing first issue that will hopefully lead into a fast paced action title! 8 out of 10!!
Saturday, July 01, 2006
My Comics!!!
Greetings once again citizens!!!
I have decided to review all the comic book titles I currently collect, and tell you why I don't collect the ones absent from this list. The pros and cons of being a fan boy and picking sides, DC or Marvel, or even some of those crazy Dark Horse buggers. I'll even tell you why Ultimate X-MEN sucks now but had a great 40 or so issue run, we will try to find out what happened there. Even Ultimate Spider-man has faltered last arc or two, I'll be blogging about those arcs and where I think the series is going.
Anyways, these are the titles I'm collecting right now and will be reviewing:
Astonishing X-MEN
Amazing Spider-man
Ultimate Spider-man
The Ultimates
The New Avengers
Civil War
Civil War: Frontline
52
Green Lantern
The Flash: Fastest Man Alive
Superman
Action Comics
That be the list as it is now, more may be added, I am not a sentimental person, if a title sucks for a couple or arcs or I see no future in it being good any time soon it is cut immediately! Unlike fan boys, I don't try to justify crap. If it sucks, then I will say so in my review. Take for example Ultimate X-MEN, it has sucked for the last year, while Green Lantern has rocked! If it sucks, it sucks, if it's good, it's good. I'll give my criteria on my first review blog. Till then GOOD DAY CITIZENS and Happy Canada Day!
I have decided to review all the comic book titles I currently collect, and tell you why I don't collect the ones absent from this list. The pros and cons of being a fan boy and picking sides, DC or Marvel, or even some of those crazy Dark Horse buggers. I'll even tell you why Ultimate X-MEN sucks now but had a great 40 or so issue run, we will try to find out what happened there. Even Ultimate Spider-man has faltered last arc or two, I'll be blogging about those arcs and where I think the series is going.
Anyways, these are the titles I'm collecting right now and will be reviewing:
Astonishing X-MEN
Amazing Spider-man
Ultimate Spider-man
The Ultimates
The New Avengers
Civil War
Civil War: Frontline
52
Green Lantern
The Flash: Fastest Man Alive
Superman
Action Comics
That be the list as it is now, more may be added, I am not a sentimental person, if a title sucks for a couple or arcs or I see no future in it being good any time soon it is cut immediately! Unlike fan boys, I don't try to justify crap. If it sucks, then I will say so in my review. Take for example Ultimate X-MEN, it has sucked for the last year, while Green Lantern has rocked! If it sucks, it sucks, if it's good, it's good. I'll give my criteria on my first review blog. Till then GOOD DAY CITIZENS and Happy Canada Day!
Superman Returns, was it really worth the wait? A personal view on the Superman epic.
Good day citizens!
After a long absence I have returned! Which brings me to the topic of this blog, Superman Returns, was it really worth the wait? How does it stand up to the Donner epic? Is it a instant classic? A kid??? All these are excellent questions good citizens have been asking me since I saw the movie Tuesday night like a geek (yes, I was first in line and everything). First I would like to say that I am reviewing from a certain angle here, I love the Donner Superman The Movie, that is a true FILM, a concept alot of film makers have lost. And secondly, I expect the plot to make total sense, if it doesn't then usually a movie just plain sucks. And finally, I expect continuity to be upheld and USED, not ignored or just plain stupidly used, even some bad continuity can be used well (ie Green Lantern REBIRTH!!). So I obviously had some expectations going into the theatre, I mean come on! Its Superman, how could a comic fan like myself not get super-hyped (beware, super-puns ahead). I wasn't as concerned with comic continuity for this film though, it was titled Superman Returns, not Superman Begins, so I expected Donner Supes, unlike the guy in the Superman costume holding his three favorite comic books and shouting through the credits. I'm just not that impressed with the current comic book Superman, we know Donner Superman rocks so go with that.
As the credits rolled, I have to say they are amazing, as John Williams famous Superman Theme played, I repented to the geek gods for all my Star Wars sins. This was the absolute best in-space sequence I have ever seen in a movie, you are as an audience suppose to be tailing Superman as he returns from his five year mission (you in essence are trekking along side him). The movie quickly takes Superman from his home, where he spends a little time with Martha Kent played brilliantly by Eva Marie Saint, before he, as Clark Kent, is back in Metropolis at the Daily Planet doing his thing. If any of you have watched the WB Saturday morning cartoon show or read John Byrne's Man of Steel, you will recognize the great plane rescue as being his first big appearance in Metropolis as Superman. Well, here it is, his first appearance since coming back. Now at this point I was hoping that maybe Superman wouldn't be accepted by society again as he had been in the past, that maybe people in general would have become more like Lex Luthor in the way they thought about humanity and so forth, that they don't want a interfering alien holding them back. But instead everyone welcomed him back with big cheers, Lois and Superman see each other for the first time, it is a nice moment.
The basic Luthor plan is another real estate scam, this time involving stolen crystals from the Fortress of Solitude which he plans to use for creating a deadly kryptonite island!!! A whole continent in fact! To drown the US and most of Western Europe so that people will have to pay through the nose to get living space on his deadly kryptonite island. Oh but wait Luthor, by killing one or two billion people in North America and Western Europe you are killing the only people able to pay the kind of money you want for this "real estate". And where are you going to spend any money you get when the world's greatest banks are gone? Luthor, if as a character is played brilliant, is an idiot in every other respect.
Routh is great as Superman/Clark Kent, Kate Bosworth's Lois has two expressions blank and happy, James Marsden's Richard is MacGyver meets James Bond (is there any reason Cyclops couldn't have been as cool as Richard, James?), and Lex Luthor is brilliantly played by Kevin Spacey. Luthor's plan however is not too brilliant.
One of the biggest problems I have with this movie is Brian Singer's obsession with Superman as a Christ figure. It is painfully obvious and in my opinion it isn't Superman, not in the Donner movie and not in the comics very much. (I want this to be a spoiler free review because some people somehow have not seen the movie yet, but Monday or Tuesday I will be discussing some of the spoilers and how they affect the movie.) Basically, I assume you can see most of this from the trailer, Superman comes to earth, is beaten, stabbed in the side, takes the burden of the world upon his shoulders, "dies", comes back to life, tells Lois "I will always be around", and ascends to the heavens. WOW! It came out and smacked me good the first time I saw Returns and it smacked good the second time too. It is just a little much.
Now the real question, is it a great movie? To be honest I think it is a good movie, but not great. However, that said, this is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen, just don't think about the plot or continuity too much. That is what bothers me, it's like this movie was made for dumb people, who can't connect simple dots. And finally lets face it, this movie lacked alot of creativity. Luthor has another real estate scam, Superman and Lois aren't together in the end, Richard isn't dealt with honestly, and nothing has changed at the end of this movie, characters haven't moved forward. 3 out of 5. Watch it for the beauty and some cool action, but not the story or characters.
Now I bid you farewell once again citizens!!
After a long absence I have returned! Which brings me to the topic of this blog, Superman Returns, was it really worth the wait? How does it stand up to the Donner epic? Is it a instant classic? A kid??? All these are excellent questions good citizens have been asking me since I saw the movie Tuesday night like a geek (yes, I was first in line and everything). First I would like to say that I am reviewing from a certain angle here, I love the Donner Superman The Movie, that is a true FILM, a concept alot of film makers have lost. And secondly, I expect the plot to make total sense, if it doesn't then usually a movie just plain sucks. And finally, I expect continuity to be upheld and USED, not ignored or just plain stupidly used, even some bad continuity can be used well (ie Green Lantern REBIRTH!!). So I obviously had some expectations going into the theatre, I mean come on! Its Superman, how could a comic fan like myself not get super-hyped (beware, super-puns ahead). I wasn't as concerned with comic continuity for this film though, it was titled Superman Returns, not Superman Begins, so I expected Donner Supes, unlike the guy in the Superman costume holding his three favorite comic books and shouting through the credits. I'm just not that impressed with the current comic book Superman, we know Donner Superman rocks so go with that.
As the credits rolled, I have to say they are amazing, as John Williams famous Superman Theme played, I repented to the geek gods for all my Star Wars sins. This was the absolute best in-space sequence I have ever seen in a movie, you are as an audience suppose to be tailing Superman as he returns from his five year mission (you in essence are trekking along side him). The movie quickly takes Superman from his home, where he spends a little time with Martha Kent played brilliantly by Eva Marie Saint, before he, as Clark Kent, is back in Metropolis at the Daily Planet doing his thing. If any of you have watched the WB Saturday morning cartoon show or read John Byrne's Man of Steel, you will recognize the great plane rescue as being his first big appearance in Metropolis as Superman. Well, here it is, his first appearance since coming back. Now at this point I was hoping that maybe Superman wouldn't be accepted by society again as he had been in the past, that maybe people in general would have become more like Lex Luthor in the way they thought about humanity and so forth, that they don't want a interfering alien holding them back. But instead everyone welcomed him back with big cheers, Lois and Superman see each other for the first time, it is a nice moment.
The basic Luthor plan is another real estate scam, this time involving stolen crystals from the Fortress of Solitude which he plans to use for creating a deadly kryptonite island!!! A whole continent in fact! To drown the US and most of Western Europe so that people will have to pay through the nose to get living space on his deadly kryptonite island. Oh but wait Luthor, by killing one or two billion people in North America and Western Europe you are killing the only people able to pay the kind of money you want for this "real estate". And where are you going to spend any money you get when the world's greatest banks are gone? Luthor, if as a character is played brilliant, is an idiot in every other respect.
Routh is great as Superman/Clark Kent, Kate Bosworth's Lois has two expressions blank and happy, James Marsden's Richard is MacGyver meets James Bond (is there any reason Cyclops couldn't have been as cool as Richard, James?), and Lex Luthor is brilliantly played by Kevin Spacey. Luthor's plan however is not too brilliant.
One of the biggest problems I have with this movie is Brian Singer's obsession with Superman as a Christ figure. It is painfully obvious and in my opinion it isn't Superman, not in the Donner movie and not in the comics very much. (I want this to be a spoiler free review because some people somehow have not seen the movie yet, but Monday or Tuesday I will be discussing some of the spoilers and how they affect the movie.) Basically, I assume you can see most of this from the trailer, Superman comes to earth, is beaten, stabbed in the side, takes the burden of the world upon his shoulders, "dies", comes back to life, tells Lois "I will always be around", and ascends to the heavens. WOW! It came out and smacked me good the first time I saw Returns and it smacked good the second time too. It is just a little much.
Now the real question, is it a great movie? To be honest I think it is a good movie, but not great. However, that said, this is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen, just don't think about the plot or continuity too much. That is what bothers me, it's like this movie was made for dumb people, who can't connect simple dots. And finally lets face it, this movie lacked alot of creativity. Luthor has another real estate scam, Superman and Lois aren't together in the end, Richard isn't dealt with honestly, and nothing has changed at the end of this movie, characters haven't moved forward. 3 out of 5. Watch it for the beauty and some cool action, but not the story or characters.
Now I bid you farewell once again citizens!!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Let's finally admit comics are the best form of media out there.
That's right, I am a comics fan, big time! I think with the sorry excuse of politicians we have, lack of anyone to look up to, comic book characters are the heroes people need to look up to. They have taught us things about right and wrong, responsibility, truth, and justice. They are a huge benchmark of our society, and if you don't believe just look at how many people go to see the movies! People need heroes, real heroes now more than ever. I will be reviewing some comics, showing off some of my own ideas and artwork, and would appreciate any comments you would like to make. And feel free to list off some titles you like and tell me why you like them. Till the next time I blog, GOOD DAY CITIZEN!!
Bob
Bob
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