Superhero Corner

On Superman, DC in general, and how reading Marvel feels like waiting to see the dentist

2010-01-05T14:48:00.002-05:00

Greetings True Believers! Sorry for being so absent, I will finish Legends of the 70's series shortly! Right now just going to go over some quick thoughts about one issue in particular, DC in general, and then Marvel's major malfunction. But first things first.

Read Secret Origins #3 because EVERYBODY I know who reads comics was raving about it, and I have to say I'm a little disappointed. In fact if I was grading Johns I might have to give him a 0 due to plagiarism. This was a mash-up of three Superman movie/tv shows in comic book form. It's good stuff, and entertaining for sure, but why can't people shake the Donner influence? It's so heavy handed in this issue, everything from the briefcase getting stuck in the revolving door, to the helicopter sequence (which was SLIGHTLY different), Clark is all awkward and trying to introduce himself to people while wondering around the city like he has never seen a big city before. He is even the oafish Donner Clark right down to the 'Gee Lois that'll be SWELL!'. Really? Swell?! Then there is the Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman stuff with the witty and romantic banter while breaking into the Lex Luthor's weapons unveiling. Which is ripped right out of the Animated Series, robotic exoskeleton military armor and all. I like that they are portraying a Lois and Clark style Lois because I really thought the show got her character across, but it's still just a copy of the character from the show (see her doe eyed look when she first sees Superman, then go watch the Lois and Clark pilot when Superman flies her into the Planet... same doe eyes!). Very little new there but I am going to give it points for portraying Lois well whether they stole it or not. Anyone who has been reading Action Comics knows what I mean when I say if we can at least get a likable Lois Lane we'll take her, whether she is plagiarized or not. Where it is original and interesting is the last two pages where Superman realizes not everyone will trust him right away, and that he may have made a huge mistake revealing his powers in public as the persona of Superman. But man, it really seems like I have been told this story before...alot before actually.

All of this 'redefining the origins' in Secret Origins leads me to the next topic of discussion, the state of the DCU in general. Earth One Superman and Batman stories are to be retold exclusively in trades by JMS and Johns respectively. Now, what I do understand is the greater marketability of the TPB format as a starting point that won't intimidate the Starbucks in the Chapters crowd who will never pick up a comic book and will only read graphic novels. I get that, DC wants to sell some books to the massive market they can't reach from the shelf of a comic book store. What I don't get is why they feel that to tell a compelling story they cannot work within the current continuity they have. Why not wait until next year when the big Kryptonian story wraps up and Bruce Wayne is back and just put these two great writer's on the books?

And of course, Marvel. It's been no fun waiting for Siege but it is finally here, and it better be worth it. Because the Reign has bored me to tears. Really all I have to say about that is that it is about time.

Till next time True Believers!

Legends of the 70's! Part I

2009-07-27T23:38:00.022-04:00

The 70's were an exciting and revolutionary time for comic books. DC was doing great with Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams revamping Batman, bringing him back to his dark roots. Over on the Marvel side Spider-man was more popular than ever with Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. making Peter Parker's life all the more complicated. But everyone who has ever read a newspaper article on comics probably knows the names of Adams and Romita. In fact, if they watched the DVD special features on some of those Spider-man movie DVD's they would probably figure out who John Romita Sr. is pretty quickly. But there were many other incredibly talented artists doing extraordinary things in comics in the 70's who probably won't get a DVD special feature anytime soon, so I am going to, over the course of two posts, write about a couple of my personal favorites.

Mike Ploog worked on Leathernecks, an U.S. Marine Corp. magazine during the latter part of his ten year enlistment, and did mostly art and photography with a bit of writing. Ploog is best known among fans of comics from the 70's as the initial artist on two of my favorite comic books of all time, but especially my favourites of the 70's: Ghost Rider and Werewolf by Night!
Mike Ploog was an apprentice to the great Will Eisner, so it's no surprise that his art was easily some of the best in the business. He initially sent in a western sample to Marvel when Eisner letterer Ben Oda and artist Wally Wood encouraged him to do so, and got a call back to do Werewolf by Night. Thank goodness for the decision to give Ploog a horror title. There is a certain knack for horror that his particular style has, which made him perfect for Werewolf by Night, and later one of the best artists Ghost Rider has ever had. The Eisner influence is clearly seen in much of Ploog's work, the issue of Marvel Spotlight #4 featuring Werewolf by Night is a great example of the heavy inked style that Eisner was so famous for. Much of the great Eisner design influences are here, but Ploog adds a little something of his own. Eisner had a very noir feel to his comics, while Ploog shows he has a real gift for making people look truly afraid. Healthy glowing smiles can all too quickly become waxy expressions of sheer terror. The innocent can quickly meet a dreadful demise at the hands of a cursed abomination. Ploog can do something few artists can, he can create an atmosphere that makes you look up from the comic book in your hands to make sure you are safe. Few can do that, and Mike Ploog does it well. Enjoy these other Ploog covers while I get busy writing part 2! Good day citizen!

2009-07-21T12:14:00.003-04:00

A sketch video of me drawing a concept character for my new webcomic Superhero Corner (SHC). Hope you all enjoy it.

Why the Silver Age was a huge improvement over the Golden Age.

2009-03-10T13:26:00.016-04:00

Why do DC fans and creators the likes of Mark Waid, Alex Ross, and Geoff Johns all look to the Silver Age of DC Comics as their be all and end all era of comics? Well, have you seen what was on the shelf before? Here are some examples I've compiled to prove why the Silver Age was a massive improvement.

Madame Fatal: A figure taking on the terrifying and vengeful guise of... an old lady?!

And it sucks because: Not only would most criminals not give two sh*ts about an old lady trying to stop them, THIS old lady had a secret... she was actually a perverted middle aged man disguised as an old lady! In the panel from the comic you see on your right you see a man having a conversation with himself (bizarre), and it is revealed that Madame Fatal is "LOOKING FOR SOME ACTION" (WINK WINK!) and feels "SWELL!" (WINK! WINK!) It's a helluva issue, and it kept the kids coming back for an astounding twenty-two issues! 1940 was a weird time I guess. The panel below shows both the perverted strangeness of the whole idea as well as a reveal of Madame Fatal's convoluted motives.... enjoy.
The Red Bee: Really just some random guy in gay pride colors with a bee gimmick.

And it sucks because: The Red Bee doesn't make any sense to begin with because bees are yellow. So right away we have a perplexing problem: if you are going with a bee gimmick, which is bizarre enough, why not be the Yellow Bee? Why the Red Bee? This is the least of the problems with this character though. Observe the panels on
the right. This guy's arch nemesis could be
Rolled-up Newspaper Man, and the sad thing is
he would be a conceivable threat to Red Bee. Notice Red Bee doesn't unleash a swarm of bees, he appears to only have one. I can safely tell you if I had a gun it would take more than a single bee to take me down, but of course this is the Golden Age so naturally this crook is a cowardly weakling who can't take a bee sting. Nothing could make this now public domain character cool.

The Whizzer: It's not what you think! It refers to super speed! Wait.... it's not what you think!

And it sucks because: Wikipedia says it best when describing this guy's origin. "The origin of the Golden Age character begins while Robert Frank is on a trip to Africa with his father, Dr. Emil Frank, where Robert is bitten by a cobra. Dr. Frank saves Robert by a transfusion of mongoose blood, and soon discovers that he has developed super-speed. Frank then decides to fight crime." I am pretty sure if I got a blood transfusion from a martial arts expert I wouldn't recover and find out that I am a total martial arts bad ass. So I am completely sure that if I got a blood transfusion from an animal that a) I wouldn't get powers, and b) I would probably die because... you know... I am human. Out of curiosity is it me, or is the rubber chicken on his head delivering this line?

The Black Condor: Raised by ravenous condors who didn't eat him for some reason. The Black Condor observed condors as they flew and somehow learned to fly without being born with this power or having any kind of wings or mechanism to, you know, fight gravity.

And it sucks because: If achieving flight were as easy as observing birds for a little while we probably would have done it before the 20th century. All the reasons this character sucks should be obvious. If you think these characters can compete with the Silver Age, you have a severe case of being brain dead.

Who watches the Watchmen? Alot of posers who finished the graphic novel yesterday, that's who!

2009-03-09T13:17:00.008-04:00

Watchmen enjoyed a decent opening weekend of $55 million dollars in ticket sales. What bothers me is about half of that audience is comprised of people who only finished reading the Watchmen graphic novel yesterday, and by extension, of course, are all experts on graphic storytelling and the works of Alan Moore, despite having claimed that comics are childish and stupid before the first Watchmen trailer hit the web. These faux connoisseurs of graphic storytelling are quick to point out that the movie left out parts of the graphic novel, and therefore sucks as a movie. Because, you know, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight are exactly like all the Batman comics ever written and didn't leave a single thing out of his mythos. That's why those movies were awesome! So shame on Zack Snyder (for some reason directors always take the blame for a movie's script, as though they wrote the thing) for leaving out all the weird EC comic tributes randomly inserted in the graphic novel, as well as Ozymandias' bizarre genetic research, the much more graphic scene of rape, the pages and pages of block text, and of course the giant alien squid. Because all of this would look brilliant on-screen, none of it goofy at all.

If you couldn't recognize the sarcasm in the last paragraph, then I am shocked if you can function in society at all. I call this poser audience phenomenon Lord of the Rings syndrome. Remember when Lord of the Rings was starting to look cool? Remember all those people who bought the books, read two and a half of the three and then said they were pissed because Tom Bombadil was cut out of the first movie? Remember those ass holes? Yeah, it's spread to the Watchmen movie now. So I ask of all people reading this blog (that's right YOU! All two or three of you), next time some jack ass claims that Watchmen sucks because it was different from the graphic novel by Adam Moore he/she read last week (yeah, someone told me they read the Adam Moore graphic novel before the movie, so that they wouldn't walk into the theatre ignorant of the source material. Good job!). Next time you see that person, ask them if The Spirit movie lived up to the Will Eisner comic of the same name, and enjoy the blank and ignorant expression that they will be incapable of preventing upon hearing the unfamiliar name of Will Eisner.... because all those so called experts on graphic storytelling that have popped up since last week have no clue who the man who inventing the graphic novel is. Because they are ignorant. Because they have no knowledge of the comic book industry or how it evolved (for even more fun with said ass holes throw names like Romita, Kubert, Ditko, The King Kirby, Schwartz, or Swan at them. Heck, ask them what they think of the evolution of comics from the Golden Age to the Silver Age and what changes the Marvel Method made to the industry) They are like a Christian claiming to be an expert on natural history. They have no grounds to complain about an adaptation of a story originally presented in a format they know nothing about. Next time you encounter these people, expose their ignorance and stupidity in front of all without mercy (preferably in front of other REAL comic book fans, perhaps the most unforgiving group of people on the planet). This is our duty. Till next time good citizens and REAL comic fans!

Image from http://www.dccomics.com/

Millar back in the Ultimate universe

2009-02-10T15:13:00.023-05:00

In an interview on IGN.com Mark Millar revealed he will be revamping the Ultimate line of Marvel comic books to bring back the quality that the books have been lacking over the past couple of years. People who have been with the Ultimate line from the beginning and have actually stuck with it like me know that it's been a rough couple of years for the fans of the Ultimate line. The drop in overall quality in writing started when Robert Kirkman took over the Ultimate X-MEN book and wrote with less of the gritty realism that for me and many fans defined the Ultimate line, and brought in more of the C and D list characters that I feel didn't fit well. Then Ultimate Fantastic Four became uninteresting and unimportant overall, and when Mark Bagley left Ultimate Spider-man the book lost a style in storytelling that he brought to the table (namely the ability to make talking heads look interesting). And of course the less said about Jeph Loeb's run on Ultimates 3 the better.

But apparently all of that is going to change says Millar, starting with regular events books that will make the Ultimate universe cohesive and exciting again. Remember when you had the feeling that anyone could die at any time because it wasn't part of the core Marvel Universe? Millar wants to bring that back to the Ultimate line, and he is bringing top talent with him.

It will be interesting to see if people give the Ultimate line another chance. I think they will due to some of the great artists who are on-board with the project, who wouldn't pick up a book out of curiosity with Carlos Pacheco or Leinil Fancis Yu doing the art? These guys are some of the best in the business right now and their names lend some much needed credibility to the Ultimate line. It's a clever marketing move that will hopefully re-cement the Ultimate line's reputation for quality and a grittier take on Marvel characters. The writer's working on the project will be Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Miller, and Jeph Loeb, not a bad team by any means provided some of Jeph Loeb's seemingly manic and inconsistent writing can be reeled into something a little more coherent than Ultimates 3. Till next time citizens keep an eye out for the new Ultimate books.

(The original article at IGN.com can be found here)

More of the same?

2009-02-06T14:58:00.010-05:00

It's been a bit of a slow week in comicdom, but I thought I would post a short blurb on some of the comic shop talk I've been hearing for awhile now concerning Amazing Spider-man. It all started when I was being my usual geeky self while reading a TPB containing the Death of Captain Stacy arc. I just happened to notice because I had just read ASM #585 how strikingly similar it is to ASM #89. For anyone who hasn't read ASM #89 just read ASM #585 and replace Menace with 'ol Doc Ock and you are pretty much good to go. And so after further investigation (which required reading extensive Spidey back issues, man my job is tough!) I can see a lot of similarities between current ASM and the ASM of the early '70's. A couple of older fans have also told me this but I didn't really notice it until I just happened to be reading the two aforementioned books one after the other, after all I wasn't born when ASM #89 hit the stands. Still I found the similarities striking! The older guys don't seem to mind because the nostalgia kicks in and they love it, and for me I wasn't alive yet so it's all new to me, and of course if you are a One More Day/Brand New Day irrational hater who still isn't buying the book then you don't know what's going on anyway!
What do you guys think? Is it ok for Amazing Spider-man to give a fresh face to old ideas? Or do you not find it fresh at all, merely a rehashed idea?

Why the story telling philosophy of DC comics is giving Marvel the edge in quality and ultimately sales.

2009-02-03T15:17:00.021-05:00

Why does Marvel have seven titles in the top ten best selling comics list? Because Grant Morrison's "vision" is to make the DCU "drained of all meaning." Grant Morrison has revealed in an interview at NewsArama that he doesn't think readers want linear story telling, characters with meaning and importance, or a universe with anything that is familiar (interview here). Instead, with Final Crisis he has dismantled the DCU of what little continuity it had left to make it meaningless and unfamiliar. The funny part of this interview is that Grant Morrison claims that Final Crisis is "more coherent" than his original idea which never happened, Hyper Crisis. Final Crisis is more coherent? What was Hypercrisis? A million monkeys on LSD with typewriters? So, apparently, a universe with no familiar characters, linear storytelling, or coherency is suppose to draw in readers.

The DCU still has a few great books though, Green Lantern has been excellent and gaining steam toward some big events and the Superman books with the "new" triangles (remember the 90's, same thing) allow the books to gel well together and tell bigger and better stories that include the whole Superman family. And although I had problems with Batman R.I.P., Battle for the Cowl looks like it will be an entertaining read that brings some attention to the Batman family. But even before Final Crisis the DCU was not really all that cohesive of a universe. The Sinestro Corp. War was an enormous event that never really bled into other books, in other words there was little acknowledgement of it in other big titles ie. Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman, or the Justice League of America.

Marvel has taken a different approach with their events. Secret Invasion, the last big event in the Marvel Universe, was felt in all the other books. While some felt that this was a bit of a marketing ploy to get readers to buy Secret Invasion I felt it was necessary for maintaining cohesiveness in the Marvel Universe. If you didn't buy Secret Invasion you probably would be a bit out of the loop, but at least we know that when the sh*t hits the fan in New York Daredevil and Spider-man are going to know about it and do whatever makes sense for that character. And to me that makes a lot of sense. I wouldn't call myself a continuity freak, trolling message boards to say "HEY! how com Robbie Robertson be at Frontline AND coverng eventz in Secrat Inversion at te same time? Its a slap in ta fac of marvel fans! i will never buy a marvel comic eva agaen becuz of yur sh*ty riting!" I realize that the decisions they make are in the service of trying to tell the best stories they can, and sometimes that means putting a character in two places near the same time, or doing some ret-con work to make a story work. Does that mean I think One More Day was totally fine? No. But I've really enjoyed the weekly Spidey comics since OMD, and really it wasn't nearly as invasive a ret-con as the three or five DC has pulled out over the past few years.

So at the end of the day if you are a Marvel fan don't worry, the grass isn't greener on the other side. If you are a DC fan, looks like things will be getting worse before they get better if they are adhering to a Grant Morrison philosophy on continuity writing. But I would still advise that you read Green Lantern, pick up the Superman books, and give a glance to Battle for the Cowl no matter what bizarre material follows Final Crisis. But don't expect the DCU to come together to form a cohesive universe, at least not yet. Grant Morrison is unfortuanately only part of the problem, I don't even think it's all his fault. Where was the editing? A good editorial team knows it's not enough to have big talent (the DCU big three being Johns, Rucka, and Morrison) but you have to know how to take the best of each vision and put it together in a cohesive way to ensure people investing in multiple books get rewarded. When they can figure that out they are in the money, because the characters and talent are there just not the editing.

The Little Title That Could Make Alot More of the DCU Make Sense!

2008-01-20T13:10:00.000-05:00

Greetings and good tidings citizens! Confused by Countdown?! Befuddled by continuity?! Then for all those reasons and because it's an incredible book you should be buying Booster Gold! Traveling through time to fix tears in the space time continuum (read fixing continuity errors made by a bad EIC) Booster Gold and Rip Hunter have adventures in key events throughout the DCU's history. And if that wasn't awesome enough the book feels like those great 90's titles that fixed continuity (such as Zero Hour). Booster Gold is quality DC, something we aren't getting a lot of these days, and really this should have been a huge part of the Countdown title because this book seamlessly picks up loose threads from 52. If you haven't picked up Booster Gold yet give it a shot, as fans we need to start voting with our wallet to let both DC and Marvel know what books we like. I wish I could tell you more about Booster Gold but that would involve revealing too many spoilers, so run out and pick up Booster Gold #1 - 6 and enjoy!

Because Everybody Deserves ANOTHER Chance!

2007-04-30T22:45:00.000-04:00

So who reading this blog doesn't know who Paul Dini is? Nobody raised a hand GOOD! The genius who brought us Batman the animated series is behind the coming weekly DC comic known as Countdown. Superman is in it, and if you remember my last entry in this blog I said I wasn't going to buy any DC main title till I saw the characters done right. I am going to give Countdown a chance. ONE MONTH! That's how long Countdown gets to impress me. It took Civil War two issues, four issues should be plenty. I know optimism when talking about the DC universe these past months has usually ended up being wishful thinking but come on! PAUL DINI!!! Detective Comics is good because he is writing it. The DC universe can be good if he is the man in charge! And come on, with a cover like this it's bound to be good! If not the DC universe is truly cursed somehow! 52 was a disapointment, I hear this from all the fans I've encountered. Countdown is going to bring sexy back to the DCU, at least I hope. Gosh, after *spoiler warning* we found out Mr. Mind is the villian of 52 we deserve a freakin chance at what Paul Dini's got cookin.

On the MARVEL front prepare for World War HULK!!! All the awesome Hulk goodness we Marvel fans where treated to in Planet Hulk continues in WWH!!! Prepare for AWESOME!!! Also Ultimate Spider-man is a book I really won't say much about right now, but if you aren't buying it you SHOULD BE!! RIGHT NOW!!! Go buy it!!! Amazing Spider-man. Aunt May has been shot. Peter hunted by the authorities. Back in Black. 'Nuff said.

I would also like to say a quick word about a little title called the Spirit, you need to be reading this book! It is some of the best (or from what I can see only) adventure comic out there. It seems that when your character doesn't have powers you develop the character! Awesome!

Till next time good citizens!

Kurt Busiek coughs up answers!!! Public Mystified!!!

2007-04-25T12:22:00.000-04:00

That's right citizens!! Kurt Busiek author of the dubious of late Superman books (pun intended) is finally forced by the supermanhomepage to answer fan questions. Here was my question that Kurt Busiek was so kind as to kind of answer: http://www.supermanhomepage.com/inter-action/inter-action.php?topic=QfK/QfK go to this link for the whole forum!

Bob: How is it possible all the problems with the Superman book not being on time could fall squarely on the shoulders of the artist? Bagley over at Ultimate Spider-man has pumped out 14 issues a year without a problem, are you guys not giving him [the artist] the script on time? Is it a management issue? What is going on? I find it VERY hard to believe it is the artist's fault.

Kurt: I don't think anyone's made any public statements about why SUPERMAN was running a little late last year, Bob, and I'm not going to start -- I'd rather put the energy into fixing the problems and doing our best to make sure they don't happen again, which is what we've been doing. And while I can't speak for the other books, I can tell you that my work has been far enough ahead of schedule that not only have I written all the SUPERMAN fill-in issues (with the co-plot aid of the lovely and talented Fabian Nicieza and Richard Howell), but I also worked on seven issues of ACTION COMICS last year, one issue of SUPERMAN that was completely done but not published, and I'm currently pitching in on another four ACTIONs.As for management issues, this is "Questions for Kurt," and I'm definitely not management, so I'll point you at the "Ask Matt" column, where Matt can answer or deftly sidestep as he chooses.I will note, though, that Mark Bagley, who's a pal of mine and an old creative partner on THUNDERBOLTS, is a very fast artist. The fact that he can do 14 issues a year doesn't mean that all other artists can. Some guys are faster than others -- and some books go faster than others, too, as witness the fact that on THUNDERBOLTS, we managed to cram so much stuff in there that Mark had to draw that he occasionally needed a guest artist to help out with the schedule. I don't say that to address anything on the Super-books, just to point out that not all artists have the same speed. John Byrne can draw two books a month, and probably more. George Pérez, on a regular book, needs a guest artist now and then. And there are guys faster than John and slower than George, to boot.

Now I understand the whole issue of different artists work at different paces, however, to be a professional comic book artist one of the first rules is make your deadline! If a comic book company hires artists who can't make their deadline then they haven't hired a true pro. I understand some artists are slow, but if an artist can't handle a monthly book then get him some help from the get go! Don't allow the books to be late! Although it is a management issue and Kurt Busiek pretty much said so, refering me to the askmatt forum. I am going to pursue this, I must know why all the Superman books are screwed up. I would in closing like to congratulate this site's moderator JasonMajor32 for getting TWO questions answered by Busiek. I would also like to thank Kurt for answering my question, I don't think it was an easy one to answer. And of course all the folks at supermanhomepage.com, particularly Steve Younis, they're good people I tells ya! Till next time citizens!!!

You've done it again DC, good job...

2007-04-16T11:51:00.000-04:00

Well looks like its little triangles from the 90's for my Superman fix and MAKE MINE MARVEL TRUE BELIEVER! This is all in response to DC's response to fans in regard to their at best utterly confusing at worst stupid continuity. The info is from Big Blue Report no.142. Holy crap eh? what a bunch of bull! I have to say I expected alot more from DC than the whole, "accept it and move on, we know this shit makes no sense, but you as a paying customer will just have to deal with us lazy writers!" I especially like this "logical" explanation - "Ultimately, what I seem to be asked for a lot is an explanation of how this new stuff can be stitched into the old continuity. It won't be, is the main answer. As we roll along and explore the new world, you'll see more of the new world, and see how it fits together, not how it stitches into the previous world." - so in other words Busiek is giving us the heads up that "the DCU just won't make any kind of sense so don't try to figure it out because hell we here at DC aren't." I am hereby starting now beginning a protest, I am going to stop buying ALL DC comics that take place within the DCU (I will still pick up the Spirit because it does not take place within the DCU) !!!! That's right, you heard me, they just lost twenty bucks a month! So take that and shove it DC, when your books start making sense and showing up on time I'll start buying them. I fill in the space reserved for your books with World War Hulk!!! That's right, I went there! I think Superman, Batman, Green Latern, The Flash, all these heroes are awesome, so start writing awesome stories for them. I mean look at Superman #660 and 661. YUCK!!! Horrible stories, the Prankster calls us all "ninnies" on the cover, you know you have a bad book when that happens!
I'm not too worried though, Marvel rocks right now, I know alot of people have a bee in their bonnet about how Captain America is dead, and Spider-man revealed his idetity to the world but guess what? Thats character movement in a forward direction, yeah, and I like it. So that's my two cents for now. You can subscribe to Big Blue Report and get the whole story from Busiek by joining the SupermanHomePage at http://www.supermanhomepage.com and signing up for it. I highly suggest doing alot of e-hanging out at SupermanHomePage, they're good people. Till next time citizens!!!!

Civil War, What Makes a Great Mega Event and How I will Remember It!

2007-02-26T14:21:00.000-05:00

GREETINGS CITIZENS!!!

Civil War has left a massive impact on the Marvel 616 Universe, I want to compare it to Infinite Crisis and 52 that Distinguished Competition aka DC comics has/is publishing and tell you why in my opinion Civil War will be remembered a little more fondly and with a little more respect as an event.
Civil War, for those of you who live under a rock and don't follow comics (you know who you are!!), is a Marvel event that redefined the relationships, characters, and climate of the Marvel 616 universe. Marvel Comics Mega-Events are no longer some super-villian attacks New York, all the villains rally around him, all the heroes rally, big fight, good guys win. Instead heroes are either pro-registration or anti-registration. Without spoiling it too much, there is a disaster that wipes out a small suburban neighborhood raises the question of should heroes who are completely untrained be allowed to wield their power without consequence from any kind of authority? To make it simple, Captain America thinks heroes should still be allowed to work unimpeded by the government or anyone else, and Tony Stark believes that every hero should register with the government, make their true identity public, and essentially no longer operate as a loner. Needless to say the ending wasn't what most fans who didn't read spoilers, were expecting.
And then there is Infinite Crisis (IC to save me some typing from now on ;)!

Infinite Crisis was suppose to make the convoluted continuity of the DCU make sense or maybe not even ever have happened(they usually pick and choose on the latter to suit their fancy). Heroes of Earth 2 punch their way through a wall and the universes collide, collapse, and for little reason the two Supermen fight, because that is cool, and in the end we have a even more convoluted weekly cash grab, and One Year Later titles that strictly follow status-quo. My biggest problem with Infinite Crisis is actually not the series itself, which was not without it's charm, but was rather with 52.

The whole idea of 52 and One Year Later in my opinion, kind of prevented Infinite Crisis from really ending. Superman titles were awesome until he got his powers back (in a manner befitting Spider-man 2). Now Superman titles are slipping into a very silver age status-quo style, and where the silver age was great for it's time, right now it comes off cheesy and one can almost feel embarrassed reading it. DC needs to start listening to what their readers want, and start writing for the age their audience is. Now I realize some of you readers out there are probably thinking I'm coming down on IC and DC in general a little hard, and yes I am. Because this could have been a new Golden Age for DC and frankly they blew it. They always build up hype about something and then blow it. They've blown One Year Later, just like they blew all the potential Smallville had as a show. Now we hear about COUNTDOWN, another weekly series, that's probably leading to another crisis. So basically we have another cash grab, possibly another crisis on the way, and because the multi-verse still exists what was the point of IC again? Convoluted is the name of the DC game. I've never understood why the company can't just admit they screwed up, have another crisis (why not at this point) and restart the universe. Write stories from a starting point that has no baggage, this time listen to the fans, and free yourselves from the reins of horrible and convoluted continuity.

Civil War has massive impact on the relations the heroes have with each other and the government, whether they are hunted by the authorities, asks the reader to question whether the end justifies the means, and reminds us all the life just isn't fair. Infinite Crisis was...well we don't really know what it was now. Was it the collapse of the multi-verse? Well, no it wasn't, and it wasn't a change in characters really either, it really only took characters out of character. I guess we will have to keep reading 52 and also 52 issues of countdown to figure it all out! So maybe in a year it will seem worth it! I like DC characters, but I hate what they do with them. Hopefully after Countdown, after all the major events are finally done in the end there will just be some great, fresh stories that aren't status-quo. Make Mine Marvel for now, they are the best at what they do, right now Marvel is great, and with the Ultimate Universe going strong Marvel is by far my favorite. DC will eventually get better, I certainly hope so. In the mean time the titles from DC I would recommend are Superman/Batman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and the Brave and The Bold. Also The Spirit is awesome, even though he isn't really part of the DCU it is one of the best titles being produced by DC.

Well till next time comic fans,
Bobby Paycheque

Bobby Paycheque: Returns!!!

2006-10-10T23:01:00.000-04:00

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

Greetings Good Citizens

2006-08-07T17:09:00.000-04:00

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!!!

2006-08-07T16:57:00.000-04:00

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!!!!

Green Lantern #11-12 Review

2006-07-21T19:46:00.000-04:00

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!

As promised (if a little late) my first comic review citizens!!!

2006-07-04T20:20:00.000-04:00

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!!

My Comics!!!

2006-07-01T21:46:00.000-04:00

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!

Superman Returns, was it really worth the wait? A personal view on the Superman epic.

2006-07-01T11:07:00.000-04:00

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!!

Let's finally admit comics are the best form of media out there.

2006-06-13T11:54:00.000-04:00

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