Review!: Demon Knights #1 DC New 52 (The Bad)

COVER: Tony Daniel. Nice shot of the Demon.
STORY:  Paul Cornell. Never liked the magic books and this is no different. Too much confusion and lots
                                       of characters to follow. Dinosaurs? Really? Kind of a mess.
ART: Diogenes Neves. Very decent artwork. Not the worst but it needs a bit more development. Too
                                        much like other artists, not enough unique style.
FINAL FILE: #1 and DONE!

                               

Film Review!: The Watch

Funny. Not hysterical, but funny. Stiller and Vaughn are their usual characters ( they never really deviate much). Hill is a standout and newcomer Richard Ayoade will get lots of work after this film. The story and the way it was shot feels like a tongue in cheek homage to director Michael Bay ( or they are just making fun of him which also works). I feel a sequel.
FINAL FILE: See It...when it comes out on dvd

Just A Thought...

A good comic book is like an iceberg.
You get to see just enough to keep your attention,
but the bulk of it is left unknown.

Review! Resurrection Man #1: DC New 52 (The Bad)

COVER: Ivan Reis. Ivan can draw anything and make it look good.
STORY: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. I have never read this title before and I am not familiar with any of
                the characters. With that said, I would be the perfect target audience for DC to introduce me to
                this book. Well, they failed. After reading it I still have no idea what this guys powers are or what
                his story is. Too many characters are introduced and it feels like I walked in half way through the
                movie. Why DC? Another blown chance. This will just keep the old fans happy without making
                any new ones, and that was the point of DC New 52 right?
ART: Fernando Dagnino. Good artwork. It fits this title well...but not enough to save it.
FINAL FILE: #1 and DONE

Review! Captain America and Hawkeye #629- #632 (Marvel)

COVERS: Gabriele Dell'otto, #629. Love this guys covers! Part of the reason I picked up this book. Patch
                   Zircher, #630- #632. Not bad covers but weak coloring.
STORY: Cullen Bunn. Cap and Hawkeye vs. dinosours? Sounds good. Not as good as you think. A new
                secret government operative (because there is not enough of those around) named Kashmir
                Vennema is running some dinosour mixed with human experiments. A reptile man named Stegron
                 is trying to stop her. It all feels like a big nothing story. A way to get some sort of red vile in the
                 hands of Kashmir to set up future stories. Plus I think that Cap and Hawkeye do way too much
                 bickering. After all these years of being Avengers together you would think they were way past
                 that nonsense.
ART: Alessandro Vitti. The action scenes are good but Alessandro puts way too much black in his artwork.
           It seems as if he is trying to make every panel moody but he has no idea how to use light and
           shadow. His Hawkeye is also an obvious Avenger movie design of Jeremy Renner.
FINAL FILE: Skip it!

Review! DC New 52 (The Bad): All Star Western #1

COVER: Moritat. Nice cover.
STORY: Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Grey. Lots of characters, old west, history of Gotham City, lots of stuff
               for issue #1.
ART: Moritat. Black and white'ish art feels good for this title, but it veers into cartoonish at times. I looked
           up some of the pencil art and it seems to be very flat, relying a lot on the colors to make it work.( But
           that seems to be a common thing with comic books today) So props to colorist Gabriel Bautista.
FINAL FILE:  #1 and Done

Film Review! Amazing Spider-Man

Spider-Man stopped being my favorite hero when I was about 9 years old. Yet I still chose to see this film over 'The Dark Knight Rises' because I was in a "not-so-dark" mood on Saturday. Plus I felt that my wife would enjoy it better. The tragedy in Colorado was not a factor in my choice making, we can not let cowardly  idiots with guns rule over our lives...and still, the lines for ' The Dark Knight Rises ' were almost non-existent.
I did enjoy ' Amazing Spider-Man', even more so than the first version. Andrew Garfield was good as the wall crawler but his suit was just sucky. All those small squares or diamonds all over the material were out of place. His Peter Parker was way too moody and skater-boy like. I never understood how a smart and reserved guy like Peter can suddenly turn into the wise cracking, fun loving Spider-Man. It was funny that my wife mentioned it first that Andrew's acting seems to be from the school of  'Twilight' and Kristen Stewart. Its the "im so cold and confused" method (and my wife loves those films), and I agree. Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy was very good. My one complaint was the way they dressed her. I know the character came out in the 60's but did they have to keep her "too short" mini-skirts and go-go boots as her only outfit? Even when she was at Oscorp with her lab coat on? Really?! Best part of the film was Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben...well he is Martin Sheen. Even though Rhys Ifans was a good Dr. Curt Conners, the Lizard was weak. The design of the character was just unimaginative and boring. His motivation to heal his missing arm grew into turning all of New York into lizard people? Why? Because lizards are aggressive, power hungry, animals? I do not buy it. On another subject, who the hell was that guy in a suit at the end of the film visiting Dr. Conners in prison?
Final File: See it once...wait for part 2.

Review! DC New 52 (The Bad): Men of War #1

COVER: Viktor Kalvachev. This is the first time I see Viktors work. Not bad. Simple, yet it has a dark feel  
                 to it that makes you want to open up the book.
STORY: Ivan Brandon. It is the story of Sgt. Rock, but a new Sgt. Rock, not the one you know and love.
                In the story we have two appearances of "super' humans. One leaves a red trail when flying, the
                other a purple one. being in the new DC universe you can guess as good as me as to who these
                guys are. There is also a backup story about Navy Seals by Jonathan Vankin and Phil Winslade.
                A straight up modern war story for those who love that kind of thing.
ART: Tom Derenick. Decent artwork with just a bit of cartoony panels to keep it from being great. These
           kind of stories work best with realistic artwork or darker, moody, almost noir feel. The backup story
           looks very "Kubert" to me and it fits. If you like war comics this is for you. Not my cup of tea.
FINAL FILE: #1 and Done

Review! Star Wars: Blood Ties (four issue limited series from Dark Horse)

COVERS: Chris Scalf. Dont you love it when the interior art matches the cover art? These are some killer covers! STORY: Tom Taylor. The story revolves around Boba Fett discovering that a Jango clone had fathered a son. Using flashbacks we see that Jango killed his clone but allowed the son to live and had been secretly sending him money until the day he died. Now with a bounty on the son's head Boba is going to collect...well kinda. The twist at the end leaves us with Boba having a half brother. ART: Chris Scalf. Chris has a sweet painted style that fits this series well. He uses a lot of photo reference, which you kinda have to when doing Star Wars art, but it works. My only complaint is that his art sometimes feels a bit too "creamy", as if all the textures are soft. Still, good artwork. FINAL FILE: Buy it, Read it, Bag it!

Clint Magazine #1: Review!

I was a big fan of Wizard Magazine before it was canceled. Over the years though I did see it hang itself by not growing with the industry. Even though this is a huge advertisement for Mark Millar, it is still a refreshing bit of comic goodness. Inside you will find issue #1 of 'Supercrooks' (which I love), 'The Secret Service'#1 (which was okay), and a twelve page preview of 'Death Sentence'#1 (which looks okay)(Rex Royd I just do not get). The stories look good in the larger format. Along with some interviews and other comic related stuff, this issue did make me order #2. Final File: But it, Read it, Bag it...if you have a big enough bag!

Stan Lee vs. Superman

So im watching the coverage of Comic-Con on G4 and I see a short interview of Mr. Stan Lee. Once again he is ranting about how Superman should not be able to fly. He has done it before. He says that Superman should not be able to fly on his own without some form of propulsion, like a rocket or a "surfboard"? Stan Lee created some of the best comic book heroes of all time, I respect him for that, but he should know better. T he simple explanation for Superman's flight is that he is a comic book character..HE IS NOT REAL! Thank God that Stan was not the one to create Superman or he would have given him wings or jet boots. He picks on Superman when all of his creations are just as unreal. Radioactive spider? Gamma bomb? Cosmic Rays? Last I checked not one of these things gave anybody super powers. It is called suspension of disbelief Stan, as a comic book creator you should be able to understand that...oh wait, you actually have not created another good character for about 50 YEARS! Do not be jealous because you did not create the first and best super hero of all. Lay off Superman Stan Lee or I might start to suspect that you are using a fake name too.

Review! DC New 52 (The Bad):Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1

COVER: J.G Jones! Can he even make a bad cover? Rocks! STORY: Jeff Lemire. This is DC's version of S.H.I.E.L.D. but with monsters. Really? Frankenstein with a sword? Okay that is kinda cool. A group of organized monsters vs. a group of disorganized monsters? Not for me. Maybe with a different artist... ART: Alberto Ponticelli. This guys art looks like he is in a hurry to get somewhere. It all feels very sketchy and unfinished. I have not seen his pencils but his inks do not work. Even for a book that is supposed to be dark and moody, his art is just too messy and distracting (plus those are some weak monster designs). With better artwork this title might be good. FINAL FILE: #1 and Done

Comic-Con San Diego 2012: Another year missed...

The last time I was at Comic-Con was in 2005. That year I remember thinking to myself that the show was getting big...bigger than big! One of those mornings I looked out my hotel window to see a crowed of people lined up around the Convention Center...it was 7 am!! The doors do not open till 9! Things where changing. Seven years later I have not been back, and it was not from lack of trying. Some years I did miss due to personal reasons but most where just not being able to get the passes. They sell out in 40 minutes. There has to be a better way to get them. Even the changes they made this year with the pre-registering for a link to be given and all that crap, just did not work. I will keep trying to go but it gets a bit disheartening. If you got to go this year enjoy yourself, you may not be so lucky next year.

X-O Manowar #1-Review! (Valiant)

COVER:Painted cover by Esad Ribic, always good! STORY: Robert Venditti. It seems that the story is a short retelling of the original series. A good setup but not enough X-O. The "spider aliens" look a bit different but it still feels too familiar to me, nothing new. ART: Cary Nord and Stefano Gaudiano. Cary does a fine job, even though his backgrounds are a bit minimal. He could have made the first appearance of the X-O armor a bit more dramatic, it is the focus of the book after all. FINAL FILE: #1 and Done...for now!

MLB 2012 Home Run Derby

I love comic books. Next to that I love baseball. These couple of days are some of my favorite times of year with the all-star game being played. If I was going to Comic-Con San Diego it would be a perfect month ( but that is a story for another time). The home run derby was played last night and it did not disappoint. Won by Detroit Tiger, Prince Fielder, it always make me want to pick up a bat and take some hacks. They have such a cool job. Today is the all-star game and I cant wait! Comic books, baseball, and a good cheeseburger...I love America!

(Special props to the Angels Mark Trumbo for hitting some killer bombs!)

DC New 52 (The Bad): DC Universe Presents: Deadman #1 (Review)

COVER: Ryan Sook. Awesome! STORY: Paul Jenkins. Never been a big fan of Deadman or his "Quantum Leap" powers. I suppose if you are a fan already you will enjoy this because, once again, this book feels no different than the original DC version. ART: Bernard Chang. The art is okay but it feels a bit too "pretty" for this book. A much darker style is needed for this title. FINAL FILE:#1 and Done

DC New 52 (Annuals): Batman #1 (Review)

COVER: Jason Fabok. This is a nice cover but the big Mr. Freeze face behind Batman did not work. It took me a couple of glances to see it and the coloring of it makes it blend into the background. Plus the red of the goggles he is wearing make them look flat. STORY: Scott Snyder has written a good origin story for Mr. Freeze. (Spoiler warning)Changing the fact that his wife is frozen and he is trying to save her, into making him insane and not even knowing the frozen woman, is a nice twist. The flashback with his mother was a good look into his childhood too. This book is marked as a 'Night of the Owls' crossover but that is a very minimal part of the book and the story might be better for it. ART: Jason Fabok can draw...just like Gary Frank! I can not stand when one artist clones another. I prefer you make mistakes with your own style than to make it look "professional" by copying an established pro.Are editors blind? Jason, get your own style dude, you obviously have the talent ( the art is good!). Final File: Buy it, Read it, Bag it!

DC New 52 (The Bad): OMAC #1

Hope you all had a good 4th of July! I cant believe there are still idiots who decide that shooting a gun into the air is cool...brainless people in this world! Anyway, lets get to fun stuff. COVER:Good enough for this issue by Keith Giffen with a touch of Kirby. STORY: Giffen and Didio try to bring this Kirby character to the New DC Universe... no one cares. OMAC is old and feels old. He just feels like the Hulk in a horrible outfit. ART: Keith Giffen and Scott Koblish are not Jack Kirby, and its a good thing. The "Kirby style" has never appealed to me (I have always thought those black shadow blobs where odd). Even though they try to modernize it in this book, it still feels like it needed some better designs. At least cut off that awful mohawk hairdo! Not bad artwork but lets lay off the Kirby style. FINAL FILE: #1 and Done

Age Of Apocalypse #1 (Marvel)

When i saw the eight page preview of this title in 'Marvel point One' I was ready to pick up the first issue. I am a big fan of the original AOA story line from Marvel and I am glad they went back to that world. COVER:It may seem odd to have an Humberto Ramos cover on this title with his cartoony style but Dean White did a good painting over his pencils that fits the mood of the story. Nice. STORY: David Lapham can write. I have known this all the way back to 'Stray Bullets'. He has introduced us to this world and these characters very clearly. Very good start. ART: Roberto de La Torre is perfect for this book. His grim and dark style is just right and his fight scenes leave you wanting more. Im not sure if he did the designs for the characters but if he did he goes up another notch, very sweet. One of my favorite artists at the moment. Final File:Buy it, Read it, Bag it!

DC New 52 (The Bad): Static Shock #1

You have to love the character of Static Shock in order to enjoy this book. I never have. DC had a great chance to reinvent this title and they gave us the same old thing. Why bother to add this book to the New 52 if that's the case? No surprises, same old story, weak artwork, not for me. File: #1 and Done