Well, I'm packing stuff to move, so I haven't had as much time to blog. I finally have a little bit of time, although it will be back to packing again tomorrow and for the next couple of weeks as I try to get everything together to move back home to Louisiana.
Anyway, this week, I thought I would return to Catwoman and Red Hood and the Outlaws. These are two series that I wrote scathing reviews on for their first issues. I stand by those reviews today. I will say that the series have improved for the most part since those issues.
Catwoman has not only improved, but I think has become a more mature title without debasing itself with paltry sex scenes as it did in the first issue. The strength shown in Catwoman by the end of the third issue is the strength that the writer (Judd Winick) should have conveyed in that first issue. Catwoman has grown from someone that I felt had been turned into a bimbo in the first issue back to the character I always thought of her as. She still seems to have a thing for the Bat, but she now uses her wiles to trick him as much as knowing that inside she feels something for him, something that she knows can never truly work out between the two of them.
At the beginning of this issue, we see a Catwoman who has been pummeled unmercilessly by a mob figure who didn't like her stealing his stuff. This is after the aforementioned mobster has killed Selina's seemingly only friend and fence in cold blood and left the body for Catwoman to find at the end of issue 2. It doesn't take long before you see the true Catwoman finally come to the surface at this point. The scene is gorgeously set as the boss leaves and tells his thugs to finish Catwoman off painfully, and even more so, when she says nothing to them as they begin to beat her again (a beating that they intend to end in her death). The silence is deafening as each panel slowly reveals to us that Selina is looking at something and then that what she is looking at is the body of her friend. Finally, when one of the thugs hits her so hard it knocks over the chair she is tied to we hear her speak...and what she says is louder than the next few moments she spends beating the thugs senseless.
Even better is the final scene when the mob boss is begging for his life and apologizing to Selina about how he over-reacted over things and shouldn't have gotten so emotional. As Catwoman pulls out a baseball bat and commences to explain to him how it was ridiculous that he killed her friend over things, we see the true Catwoman we all love finally revealed. This is a woman who values friendship and love more than things, which is why she has no qualms with her cat burglary lifestyle. In some ways, it is a statement to us, the readers, that we should value people more than we value things. In time, all things will pass from this world, but friendship is forever, the writer seems to tell us. Obviously, we shouldn't take it to Catwoman's extreme of whatever I can lay my hands on belongs to me until someone else takes it from me, but the sentiment is there.
If this book continues in this vein, I recommend Catwoman to those who like Catwoman. If Winick returns to the use of unnecessary sex visuals to sell his book, my opinion to skip it will quickly return.
Red Hood and the Outlaws is a book that has grown on me as well. I still am not in agreement with the way Lobdel portrays Starfire as someone who doesn't remember her loves and those she was once passionate about, but Lobdel's portrayal of former Robin, Jason Todd (Red Hood), is definitely worth the read at this point. I also am not enamored of the new origin and character of Roy Harper (Arsenal) to put him where he is in this series, but maybe we'll get more on these two later as well that will make me like what Lobdel has done.
In this latest issue, Lobdel shows us the heart of Jason Todd in the DCnU. He is a former Robin turned outlaw after being murdered by the Joker and resurrected from the dead, and we learn that he is not completely immuned to the time he spent with Bruce Wayne/Batman. His heart still exists despite his death and return and despite the training that Talia Al'Ghul gave him to turn him against Batman. We see in this issue that his most cherished memory is a time when Bruce Wayne stayed home with him from patrol when he was too sick to go out with Batman. At first the memory makes it seem like Jason is being punished until we see Batman walk in with his cowl pulled back to select a "sick day" movie for the two of them to watch while Jason gets some rest. Granted, it is a memory that Jason Todd gives up easily at the end of the issue, but it still shows that inside of him is still the man he could have been if his life had not previously been cut short by the Joker. I hope Lobdel continues to use this type of storytelling and reveals further insight into Starfire and why he is now portraying her as a shallow nympho whether than the strong woman who had a caring and loving heart despite her time as a slave in the future. We do get a brief glimpse into some of the origin areas of both Starfire and Arsenal, and I definitely want to see more of Starfire's as it seems like it might explain better the changes we see in her now. With Arsenal, I just hope Lobdel matures him in the book before I write in and ask for him to kill him off because right now I'm tired of his high school antics attitude in all that he does.
Thanks for reading!
These are my opinions of the omniverse. The omniverse includes many comic book multiverses, some MMO universes, and our own real universe (or at least mine - maybe yours is different). If you like comic book reviews, MMO's, Christian views, political opinions (these will be minimal but will happen from time to time), or just musings on society, you might like my blog. If you don't, you probably won't, but give it a try, you never know.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
New 52 Month 2 and into Month 3
Sorry, long time, no blog. I've been really busy with work among other things.
Well, month 2 of DC's New 52 ended with last week's new comics. When DC made the announcement for the New 52 and the relaunch of a new DC Universe, I was skeptical. My thoughts went back to Heroes Reborn by Marvel in the nineties, or even Heroes Return, both of which were, to say the least less than impressive. The New 52 has been the exact opposite of that though; not only have I enjoyed the relaunch overall, but I've even found myself checking out new characters and series that I really thought I was going to not buy at all.
After two months, here's my rundown of the entire 52:
Justice League: This book rocks. The current arc is set 5 years before the current events of all of the other books of the New 52. It is a pivotal book as it is the establishing book for how the Justice League is formed and comes together. Darkseid is coming and if you're not reading to find out how it all happens, you're missing out. I even have to say the Superman vs. Batman "fight" of the 2nd issue while several nay-sayers were criticizing it before it ever happened was fresh and new - Superman won, not Batman and in the way you would expect - Batman expended his utility belt on him and Superman asked him what else he had. The fact that Geoff Johns is writing and Jim Lee is pencilling is just icing on the cake for this series. Read this book no matter who you are!!!
Justice League International: The Justice League International is a PR stunt by the UN, but with the people you're familiar with from the old JLI. I'm not overly impressed with the book, but it's not a horrible read. One of my problems with it is that other than being a fan of some of the characters and enjoying the direction they seem to be taking Booster Gold as a leader, I don't really know what the book is about yet, other than having been an opportunity to put the JLI back together again. If you're a fan of the characters (Booster Gold, Rocket Red, Fire, August General in Iron, Ice, Vixen, Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and Batman) I'd say try the book and you'll probably like it. If you're a fan of the old JLI, I'd say pick it up for sure. If you're neither of those, you're probably going to have to make up your mind. I'm going to see it through this first arc and hope there's a payoff because I like the characters and that development, but story-wise, I think something is missing.
Aquaman: He does not talk to fish as he so eloquently put it in the first issue. This is not your father's Aquaman or for that matter even my Aquaman. This is Aquaman as he always should have been. He has always had the strength to withstand the depths of the Marianas Trench and this relaunch of this character shows that power. This book shows why Aquaman is and should be a member of the Justice League, go buy it - he makes Namor, the Sub-Mariner, look like a flying fish from here on out. Even if you've never been a fan of Aquaman, I recommend this book as it will make you a fan of Aquaman.
Wonder Woman: Alright, I'm ticked off that they went back to the shorts for Wonder Woman instead of leaving her in the pants from the last arc of the previous series, "Odyssey". This book is still a good read - Wonder Woman is back in the mythos of her origins in this book and I love it. Wonder Woman is still the ultimate heroine of all superhero books, and she never stops proving it no matter how many times they relaunch her title. Now go out there and buy her book, she deserves your respect and a read.
The Flash: Barry from the beginning. Barry Allen has and always will be The Fastest Man Alive even if you are a Wally West Flash fan, you know Barry Allen deserves to be the Scarlet Speedster. This book starts not quite at the beginnig again, but it is definitely a book where Barry is still figuring out his powers including that if he lets the speed force (the power that Barry and almost every DC speedster gets their speed from) work on his brain as well, then he can think at a level no one else can because his brain will process information so quickly. The bad guy in this book is still a mystery; yes, there are the clones known as Mob Rules who appear to be the bad guys, but I'm not sure they're the real threat here. If you're a fan of any Flash, read this book and get in on the ground floor of all DC speedsters.
The Furty of Firstorm: This is a series that I had not planned on reading. I've never been a fan of the character, but Ethan Van Sciver and Gail Simone are writing a tale that has pulled me in. The characterization is amazing from the typical jock nature of Jason Rusch who actually is more than that to the nerdist talking down to people he thinks are stupid in Ronnie Raymond - what you think is stereotypical in these characters, you quickly learn like for most of us in high school is the surface that everyone else sees and not who these two young men truly are. If you like a book with characters worth getting to know and a fresh perspective on an old DC character that I don't think ever got his fair shake, pick up this book. It's definitely worth the read.
Captain Atom: Captain Atom is another series that I didn't plan on picking up. I'm still reading it for the moment only because I want to see what they're doing with Captain Atom. Overall, other than development of the character, I'm not liking the series so far though. I think part of the problem is that we're at the beginning for Captain Atom though, and I'm struggling with enjoying watching him figure out his powers as slowly as he seems to be in the series so far. I like J.T. Krul as a writer, but I really hope he picks up the speed on this book soon. I'm going to keep going through the first arc, but it better be where I need it to be when it gets there. I'd say if you're a fan of the character, the writer (J.T. Krul), the artist (Freddie Williams II), or you don't know the previous version of this character, pick up the book; otherwise, I think you may be bored with the book.
Green Arrow: Another book by J.T. Krul, and while similar in its semi-origins aspect as Captain Atom, it's not as slow. The book picked up quickly and has some interesting back story going on in the corporate side of Oliver Queen's life as much as the action taking place in the Green Arrow side of Ollie's life. The first issue made me think I was going to hate this book because it seemed like they had made Green Arrow more of Batman with a bow, but that's also what hooked me at the end as well. Green Arrow has always been Batman with a bow, and it's that bow that makes the significant difference. He may just be a guy who can shoot a bow, but he's got a conscience and a moral code that drives him to heights even Superman may at times be struggling with in the DCnU. The book also takes a stab at the evils of technology and our own social worship of "trending" items on You Tube, etc. It's about time someone showed us the problem with us giving a video of someone getting injured in a You Tube video getting millions of hits. Pick up this book, it's definitely worth the read, and I think it will only get better.
The Savage Hawkman: All I can say is Carter Hall is a brute and this series shows Hawkman for the fighter he is. Even when he's losing the fight from the end of the first issue and into the beginning of the second issue, you see why Carter Hall is a hero. This is one of the bloodier and grittier books of the DCnU, so I don't recommend it for younger children, but for teens and adults as indicated, it's a great book, go pick it up. I should also mention that this is a book that I had only planned on picking up the first issue of, but I am definitely hooked as long as Tony S. Daniels is writing it at this level.
DC Universe Presents: This series is billed as a series to highlight those heroes who do not have their own books (yet...possibly). The first arc concentrates on Deadman and how and why he is who he is. So far, I like this book. Deadman doesn't comprehend why he's helping a bunch of people and being left with portions of their memories...the goddess who made him this way explains it to him, but he's not buying what she's selling and sets out on his own quest to figure it out. It's definitely a new angle on this old hero and it's about time he got a little bit of credit. If you're a Deadman fan, you should be reading this book right now.
Mister Terrific: So, this was the temporary replacement for the Justice Society until their relaunch next year it seems. Although the new JSA will be firmly placed on Earth 2 and not here on Earth Prime. While I like what they've done with the character, the story hasn't grabbed me yet after two issues. Mister Terrific is more pompous than ever and that he is missing the fact that Karen Star (aka Power Girl in another life) wants to have a real relationship with him despite his pining over his long dead wife just adds to my problems with the story. If you're a fan of the character, you might like this series; if you're not, I'd pass on it.
Action Comics: Like Justice League, this is a foundation book as it is set 5 years before current continuity and shows how Superman becomes Superman and the hero of Metropolis. Grant Morrison is doing a spectacular job on this book, and if you're not reading it, you have only yourself to blame for what you're missing. This is a Superman you can sympathize with and the sequence in issue 2 of him looking for his baby blanket (his cape; you knew that's where it came from right) for sentimental reasons brings that home more than anything. Although the scene of him using it for an actual blanket at the beginning of issue 3 adds to that human-ness in the character. This is a Superman that no one needs to invent a Doomsday to fight. Go buy it and read it already.
Superman: Okay, so I'm not a big Superman fan because he's Superman. I mean, what can stop Superman other than a Kryptonite mickey and Doomsday (the villain created specifically to highlight that Superman needs special villains). George Perez shows me why we should still love Superman though: Clark Kent. Much like the human side of Superman that Morrison is showing us in Action Comics, while this book belongs to Superman, Perez's snippets of Clark Kent show us the human side of the Man of Steel, and why Kal-El is as much a scared young man trying to fit into a world not completely his. I had an original complaint abou the fact that Lois and Clark were no longer Lois and Clark, but it highlights even more the loneliness of Superman's situation. I recommend this book even if I'm not a Superman fan.
Supergirl: Love the book, but fix the boots on the costume already. Kara Zor-El is Kal-El's (Superman) much older cousin. She used to babysit him when he was a baby on Krypton and she was a teenage. Little Kal is all grown up now and Kara remembers he was a baby yesterday when she last saw him. She doesn't know Krypton is destroyed until Superman tells her and her teenage attitude comes into play quickly in dealing with all of this. This is a great book and, so far, a fun read as well. It's definitely one of the titles I can' wait for each month, so I can find out how she ended up where she is to see if it's the same as either of the last two origins or not.
Superboy: Scott Lobdell is doing an awesome job on this book as he redesigns the origins of this clone of Superman (and Lex Luthor, though they haven't stated that yet in this series). Superboy before the end of the old DCU was a clone of those two, but we never really saw the origin from the beginning. This time we see him as he emerges from the test tube for the first time after what I have decided is definitely the evil organization N.O.W.H.E.R.E. created him. If you're a fan of young heroes who haven't yet figured out they're supposed to be heroes, read this book. Superboy is definitely a young man who needs to find his place in the world, but to do so he has to get out from under his "mom" and "dad"; both of whom are not loving parents.
Batman: While the Bat-books are some of the few to not have drastic changes in them, they are definitely relaunched in the DCnU. Batman is back to his roots dealing with the craziness of Gotham. No high tech evil like Darkseid in these books. Batman is down in the streets searching for a serial killer who is using the worst villains of Arkham to slow down the Bat. Pick up this book no matter what, but especially if you're a fan of classic Batman.
Detective Comics: Everything I said about Batman above goes double for this book. Okay, so of the DC's characters, Batman is my favorite, but isn't he most people's. This book shows why we have come to love Batman. He's a street level hero, the average joe (well, okay, so he's a billionaire) who has trained his body and his mind to be at the peak of its very human ability, but yet he'll still walk into a trap knowing it's a trap to be the hero that Gotham needs as he so eloquently puts it at the end of the movie, "Dark Knight".
Batwoman: Okay, so I'm not sure why we have Batwoman now that we have Batgirl back, but the stories are definitely a darker side of Gotham and the Bat books that we don't see in Batgirl. And to say that a Bat-book shows you the darker side of Gotham means it's really dark here. Batwoman reads more as a horror story with a superhero trying to figure it out than a gritty, street level superhero book like most Bat-books. If you like dark, gothic horror with a superhero twist, check this book out. Do be advised that you may have to answer why Batwoman's alter ego dates other women for younger children though.
Batman: The Dark Knight: Like Batman and Detective Comics, this book brings Batman back to his roots even if it is emphasizing the newly formed Batman, Inc. unlike the other books. The fight scene in number 2 between Bruce Wayne and his assassin show why Batman is who he is. His knowledge of Gotham is why this is his city and why the villains of Gotham know that he should be respected if not feared.
Batman and Robin: No, not that Robin, this is Damian Wayne, the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al'Ghul and he's got all the attitude and bloodthirstiness to prove it. Batman has to learn to trust his son to work with him and be the hero he knows he can be if he tries, but does Bruce Wayne really know how to be a father even though he's raised two young boys to young adults as Robin. It seems that Bruce and Damian as well as Batman and Robin have a lot to learn in this book. I recommend this book especially if you want to see why Bruce Wayne should have never had children much less had children with the daughter of his arch-enemy.
Batwing: The Batman of Africa leaves something to be desired, maybe because we already have Batman in four of his own books, two proteges in the form of Nightwing and Red Robin in two other books, and two female versions of Batman (Batwoman and Batgirl), so I wonder if we really needed a Batman of Africa. The writing is good as is the artwork in this book. The hero is sponsored by Batman, Inc. and was trained by Batman to carry the mantle of the Bat in Africa. The story is even intriguing although I'm more interested in the background story that isn't fully being revealed yet then in the main story at this point. It seems that Batwing may not be or at least was not always the altruistic hero he appears to be on the surface. I do like this book, but in the myriad of the other Bat-books, I think it is my least favorite and I will probably stop reading after this first arc.
Batgirl: The one true Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, not Cassandra Cain or Stephanie Brown, but the real Batgirl is back in this series. Having regained the use of her legs a few years after her shooting and paralysis by the Joker, Barbara Gordon returns to her Batgirl identity. This is one of the Bat-books that is as much fun as it is gritty. Barbara Gordon exalts in the freedom of being Batgirl and she is not weighed by the tragedy that Bruce Wayne has gone through or even the tragedy that Dick Grayson (Nightwing/original Robin) has had. This book is a fun read and is as much about the character as it is about her smashing bad guys in the face. Gail Simone (writer) does a wonderful job on this book and with this character and it's easy to see that she loves this character.
Nightwing: I have always been a fan of the former boy wonder in his new identity as Nightwing ever since he changed from being Robin to Nightwing in the pages of the Teen Titans. This book takes him back to his roots as a carnie when Haley's Circus returns to Gotham and Nightwing becomes embroiled in the secret life of this circus that meant so much to who Dick Grayson was and would become despite the death of his parents unlike the man Bruce Wayne became after the death of his parents. I recommend this book to really get to know this former Boy Wonder and hero in his own right.
Catwoman: Judd Winick is spinning an interesting tale with Catwoman. Though are some issues that I have with the way the book started in the first issue, but the book seems to be finding its stride now and just did a poor job I think of depicting the human need for companionship even between strong solo characters like Batman and Catwoman to start with. By the end of the second issue, I definitely see promise in the series and I'm going to continue to give this book a chance. If you're a woman, you may not like Winnick's first issue, and it's possible it will offend you even if you're a man and a fan of Catwoman (it did me). The story has definitely gotten better as we moved through issue 2, and I really want issue 3 to come out now, so I can find out where it goes next.
Birds of Prey: I love this new team even with Oracle missing; she went back to being Batgirl after all. The team is now made up of Black Canary (still), Starling, Katana, and recent addition Poison Ivy. These ladies know how to bring a fight to the bad guys and how to deal with it if it gets brought to their doorstep. Duane Swiercznski is doing an excellent job of writing 3 of these 4 ladies (Poison Ivy just showed up at the end of issue 2, but I have confidence) and introducing us to the new incarnations of Canary, Ivy, and Katana and I really like the new character (maybe she's an old DC character that I'm just not familiar with) of Starling - so much like Lady Blackhawk was in the previous series, but very different at the same time. I love this book!!
Red Hood and the Outlaws: I hate what Scot Lobdell has done with Arsenal/Speedy/Red Arrow/Roy Harper in this book. He's turned him into a 15 year old in a grown man's body and I really hate it. I also hate the way he's depicting Starfire, although his interview makes it seem like that was just a poor method of trying to depict something; I'm not completely buying it though, and I think he's just backpedaling after all of the bad critiques on what he did with her. I do like what he's done with Jason Todd/Red Hood; it makes more sense to see a former sidekick of Batman proving that he didn't just convert to evil because he had a bad day when Joker killed him. The story from issue 2 is good, while issue 1 highlighted way too much of what I didn't like about the book. Hopefully, issue 2 is what this book will really be about and we can kind of forget the false start of issue 2.
Green Lantern: The only problem with this book is I'm not sure why it got a relaunch. The story continues from where it ended with the previous series, and it's still great. Sinestro is a Green Lantern again because the Guardians don't know how to stop him from being one since they can't get the green ring off his finger. Hal Jordan is no longer a green lantern until Sinestro gives him a green lantern ring with a twist - it's completely under Sinestro's control. Geoff Johns continues to twist and turn the Green Lantern series with every issue, and unless you absolutely hate Green Lantern or Johns, you should read this book.
Green Lantern Corps: So far, I've got no idea what this book is about other than Guy Gardner and John Stewart, green lanterns .3 and .4. The writing is good, and the villain is definitely a major threat, but sometimes I think the Green Lantern Corps should be about the other green lanters (the non-Earth ones) and not always center on the ones from Earth. I would much whether see Arissa leading a team of green lanterns to stop some major threat than Guy Gardner and John Stewart. If you're a fan of the Corps, pick up the book, otherwise just stick to the main Green Lantern title.
Green Lantern: New Guardians: So far, I like the direction that I think this book is going in. The problem with this book is I'm not sure where it's going yet though, so I'm just making all kinds of assumptions so far. The book is good because of that though, Kyle Rayner (Green Lantern .2) suddenly has a ring from all 7 corps wanting to be on his finger, which has made the various other corps none too happy with him. It also seems to have greatly aggravated the current guardians, which I think is the point. I think the new guardians are about to usurp the guardians and their citadel on Oa and I think the new guardians will be made up of one member from each corps as designated by Kyle Rayner. Get in on the ground floor with this book because I think this is going to be a game change for how the various Lantern Corps work.
Red Lanterns: This book is a strange read so far. Atrocitus, leader of the Red Lanterns, is out to change his corps of rage and slaughter into a corps of rage and vengeful justice. In his eyes, rage's purpose should be to avenge those who have been wronged and spurred into rage and not just to rage against everything. His new lieutenant Bleez has been given her intelligence back to set about achieving this very specific goal, although she seems to have some more subtle and possibly ulterior motives at heart. I'm recommending this book although I originally wasn't going to even pick it up.
Justice League Dark: What happens when a powerful sorceress goes absolutely insane? What happens when the person you think is helping to assemble a group to stop that insane sorceress proves to be assembling the other supernatural heroes to be slaughtered by the insane sorceress? Read this book and find out because I've been surprised in both issues so far. Peter Milligan is writing this series that stars Zatanna, Shade, Deadman, and John Constantine as they fight against Enchantress (and now, Madame Xanadu). The interesting take is that as the story progresses you learn that all those who seem to be a part of the supernatural powers of the DCnU are all just a little insane and slightly broken inside. I recommend this book, especially if you like something just south of the superhero genre in darkness and powersets.
Swamp Thing: Alec Holland has yet to become the Swamp Thing, the previous Swamp Thing that everyone thought was Holland was just a simulacrum based on Holland. The time is quickly coming though where Alec Holland needs to become the Swamp Thing, the strongest knight of the Green ever or the Rot will take over our world and everything will die. Another of the books highlighting the darker corners of the DCnU, and well worth the read - remember to pick up Animal Man as well though as these two books appear to go together as the 3 sides of a war with the Green and the Red on one side against the Rot on the other side.
Animal Man: Buddy Baker used to think his powers came from an alien race who gave him the ability to touch the morphogenic field (the energy field of all life), but he was wrong. Buddy's powers actually come from the Red and all has been orchestrated by them up to this point. And the main character isn't Buddy Baker, but his daughter Maxine who is destined to be an avatar of the Red in their battle against the Rot. I wasn't going to buy this book, but it hooked me in the first issue. This is Animal Man in a way you've never seen him before with a new origin and mythos being written before our eyes, go start reading it before you have to wait for a trade paperback that's already been spoiled by me in this blog.
Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E.: So far, this book is just a fun read. After all, who can resist a comic book about monsters fighting monsters more evil than you thought they were. Frankenstein and The Bride; 3 science projects reminiscent of a vampire, werewolf, and the creature from the Black Lagoon; and a mummy fight Cthulhu level monsters in this book to defend the world. It's reminiscent of BRPD, but with a cast of characters you already know from the beginning. Did I mention that their leader is what apppears to be a fourteen year old girl? If you just want a fun book to read, read this one. It gets a little dark at times, but when dealing with the supernatural that's to be expected.
I, Vampire: I am lost in the normal routine of this book. Vampirella does it better. If you want to read a book about vampires who don't sparkle set in the DCnU, read it. Otherwise, save your money.
Resurrection Man: I like the main character in this book, but I have yet to see a common story thread running through the book. I'm slightly confused even though they have already revealed that Heaven and Hell are both out to capture Mitch Shelly (Resurrection Man). I'm sticking with the title just to see where it goes, but I don't recommend it at this point.
Demon Knights: The DC Universe goes to the dark ages in this series. Etrigan the Demon and his team of Madame Xanadu, Vandal Savage (yes, that Vandal Savage), and Zauriel the Shining Knight among others fight against Morganna and Mordred for the remains of Camelot in this series. Sometimes not by choice. The series is a fun read even if it's billed as being part of the darker side of the DCnU. Paul Cornell is an excellent writer and this book really shows it. It helps that he's British and the book is set in the olden days of his homeland. I recommend this book for fans of Etrigan or fantasy comics and anyone else who wants a fun read that isn't completely superhero.
Stormwatch: One of the three titles to cross over from the Wildstorm comics of old and doing an awesome job of integrating itself in the DC Universe. If the Justice League is the team to fight against the threats no one else can deal with alone, then Stormwatch is the team to fight against the threats we didn't even know existed including probably themselves at some point. This book is darker and grittier than the main line of DC comics, but it is definitely a part of the universe as a whole. i can't wait for the Stormwatch vs. Justice League arc. If you were a fan of Wildstorm previously and if you've ever been a fan of DC comics, you should try this book.
Voodoo: The second of the three titles crossing over from the Wildstorm line. Priss is bene upgraded and is no longer half Kherubim/half Daemonite but is fully alien. She's an alien shapeshifter (possibly full Daemonite, but the Grifter series puts this into serious doubt) here for some unknown reason and our government wants her brought in for interrogation and experimentation to figure out why. Voodoo got an upgrade with telepathy in this series and doesn't just possess people anymore, but reads their minds and changes her form to match theirs. If you were a fan of Voodoo from WildC.A.T.S. before, you'll like her here to; she's better than ever. This book is more mature than the normal superhero line though, so I don't recommend it for the younger children, but I do recommend it for everyone else.
Grifter: The third of the three series originally from Wildstorm. Cole Cash is a grifter and con man extraordinaire until he's kidnapped by aliens who possess humans for some ulterior motives. Now he's been left with the ability to hear and see these aliens, so he's the only that can fight against them. Sounds like a raw deal for a street hustler until you find out that he used to be Army special ops. This book is Grifter in a whole new way, but still fighting the good fight against the Daemonites who are completely different in the DCnU. Highly recommended.
Suicide Squad: Take a bunch of death row inmates with superpowers, put tiny bombs in their heads to control them and kill them with if they get out of line and then make them do whatever you want and you've got the Suicide Squad. Some of your favorite villains work for the government in clandestine operations against their will and if that's not enough for you, see how psychotic Harley Quinn really is...all this time, you thought proximity to the Joker made her insane, but in this series, you'll learn very quickly that she may be the one that cranks Joker's insanity to new levels. Bloody in the extreme, so not for the younger kids, but definitely a book worth reading especially if you have ever wondered about the validity of conspiracy nuts.
Deathstroke: Deathstroke is the best mercenary in the DCU; supposedly he always has been. This series looks at what happens when people decide that Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke has past his prime and quickly shows us that not only has he not passed his prime, but he's even more brutal than ever. I'm not a fan of the villain comic book although I read my fair share in the nineties, but if you like that sort of book and lots of blood and mayhem, then you'll like this book.
All-Star Western: Jonah Hex is invited to Gotham City 100 years before Batman roams its streets and what he learns may leave him and pioneer crimin psychologist, Arkham Asylum, dead on arrival. If me telling you that this book is set in the Gotham City of the old west and that Jonah Hex was in it, you probably shouldn't read this book. This is the old Gotham City depicted in the limited series, The Gates of Gotham, and it sets down roots very quickly for why Gotham City is as corrupt as it is even in the modern era. Jonah Hex is just the man needed to bring justice to this town until Batman is born if he can survive his first visit.
O.M.A.C.: O.M.A.C. stands for One Man Army Corps or at least it used to. I rarely say this about a comic book because the writers and artists do things that I can't do, but I hate this book. I read the first issue and it didn't impress me and I never picked up the second issue. I never read any of the previous incarnations of O.M.A.C. as a comic book although I saw what Brother Eye and his O.M.A.C. soldiers did under the control of Maxwell Lord before Wonder Woman killed him in the last DCU and I wasn't a fan. I didn't like the writing in this book or the artwork, so I don't recommend it at all.
Men of War: I liked the backup story in this comic in the first issue, but liked both stories for the second issue. This is definitely a very specific genre of story and I'm not sure how it exactly fits into the greater DCnU yet. I'm going to give it a little while before I rule it out completely especially since I liked the back-up story, but if you don't like stories about soldiers in war even if they are fighting against super menaces, you won't like this story. Even if you do, the slow start from issue 1 may turn you off on this series as well.
Blackhawks: The first issue set the stage, but the second issue definitely shows you where this comic is going. Blackhawks is a covert paramilitary force under the control of the UN for fighting against threats that normal military forces cannot. They have state of the art hardware, but we quickly learn that as with any war, the other side may have already advanced beyond your own hardware. I really like this book after two issues, there's just the right mix of the fantastic with a real human story to keep me reading. If you liked the old Checkmate series from DC or even the old SHIELD series of the '70s and '80s from Marvel, then you should check out this book. It doesn't have all the WWII drama left over like the SHIELD books, but its definitely in that vein of high tech vs. high tech.
Teen Titans: These aren't the sidekick heroes making up their own team. In fact, Red Robin is the only one that has ever been a sidekick. The rest of them are just teens who developed superpowers and got on the radar of the organization known as N.O.W.H.E.R.E. from Superboy. Red Robin is using the training that Bruce Wayne gave him when he was Robin to help these young men and women survive and possibly even take the fight back to this new enemy. If you're a fan of teen aged superheroics or were ever a fan of the Teen Titans, then you should pick up this book. Scott Lobdell is doing an excellent, if slow at times, job of developing these characters with fresh perspectives. Although, if you're looking for Raven, she's not here and I find myself not that upset by her absence.
Static Shock: All I can say is I read the first issue and I still don't like this character or his book. :( My recommendation is to save your money here unless you're a fan of the character.
Hawk and Dove: After two issues, I'm still not enamored of this book. It's an okay read, but I want to make sure that I understand that the first bad guy(s) are Hawk and Dove in a different color? Okay, so that's not quite right, but it's pretty much the gist of what's going on so far. Hawk and Dove are the avatars of war and peace and their first real confrontation is with another pair of avatars Condor and something (sorry, that's how much I didn't like it) who are avatars of something else. I don't really recommend the book unless you're a fan of the characters. The shame of it is that the development of Dawn Granger's (Dove) character in her secret identity is a better story than the main story so far.
Blue Beetle: This is a book to read whether you've ever read Blue Beetle in the past or not. Fresh perspectives on his origin with similarities to the past incarnation and good characterization by Tony Bedford so far. I really like this character even though I never read any of his series before even though they were recommended to me on several occasions. Blue Beetle gets his powers from a parasitic (maybe symbiotic) alien scarab and he got them by accident and his scarab is damaged otherwise it would have set him on a path of conquering Earth. I can't wait to see what happens when the scarabs real owners consisting of other hosts converted by their beetle scarabs get to Earth to see what's going on.
Legion Lost: I still want to like this book, but so far, I'm having a tough time of it. I like the characters from the Legion of Super-Heroes that are here and the writing by Fabian Nicieza is good. My problem is the setting and I still don't understand how we got here completely and what the lost Legionnaires are going to do about everything. If you don't understand that, the premise of the story is that a virus that will alter human DNA to give anyone it comes into contact with some kind of super power, which may or may not ultimately kill them, has been released into present day earth by a nut job from the future. The Legionnaires who are now lost in our era due to their time machine being damaged failed to stop this from happening and are now trying to deal with it; so far, they're batting a losing streak on that just like with stopping the virus from being released to begin with. It's a very depressing tale so far, which I'm really not used to from Nicieza. I have no recommendation as I think some might actually like this sort of series, and I'm not sure it's bad as much as it just doesn't seem to be for me.
Legion of Super-Heroes: In the thirty first century of Earth, tweens from all of the universe have been inspired by the Heroic age and especially the exploits of Superman. Due to the philanthropic nature of an alien named R.J. Brande who's life 3 of them saved, they have been funded and become a legion of super-heroes who fight against the evils of their century on Earth and throughout the United Planets. This series picks up where the last series left off with some minor events having happened in between. They are cut off from time travel to the past though by the Flashpoint barrier, which is why they cannot mount a rescue of the Legionnaires from the previous title. Now they are trying to move forward after the loss of key members and the incorporation of their last class of trainees. This is still the Legion of Super-Heroes and if you've ever been a fan of the book, then you should pick up this series too. It's a good read.
Well, that's more than enough for today. Have fun and thanks for reading.
Well, month 2 of DC's New 52 ended with last week's new comics. When DC made the announcement for the New 52 and the relaunch of a new DC Universe, I was skeptical. My thoughts went back to Heroes Reborn by Marvel in the nineties, or even Heroes Return, both of which were, to say the least less than impressive. The New 52 has been the exact opposite of that though; not only have I enjoyed the relaunch overall, but I've even found myself checking out new characters and series that I really thought I was going to not buy at all.
After two months, here's my rundown of the entire 52:
Justice League: This book rocks. The current arc is set 5 years before the current events of all of the other books of the New 52. It is a pivotal book as it is the establishing book for how the Justice League is formed and comes together. Darkseid is coming and if you're not reading to find out how it all happens, you're missing out. I even have to say the Superman vs. Batman "fight" of the 2nd issue while several nay-sayers were criticizing it before it ever happened was fresh and new - Superman won, not Batman and in the way you would expect - Batman expended his utility belt on him and Superman asked him what else he had. The fact that Geoff Johns is writing and Jim Lee is pencilling is just icing on the cake for this series. Read this book no matter who you are!!!
Justice League International: The Justice League International is a PR stunt by the UN, but with the people you're familiar with from the old JLI. I'm not overly impressed with the book, but it's not a horrible read. One of my problems with it is that other than being a fan of some of the characters and enjoying the direction they seem to be taking Booster Gold as a leader, I don't really know what the book is about yet, other than having been an opportunity to put the JLI back together again. If you're a fan of the characters (Booster Gold, Rocket Red, Fire, August General in Iron, Ice, Vixen, Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and Batman) I'd say try the book and you'll probably like it. If you're a fan of the old JLI, I'd say pick it up for sure. If you're neither of those, you're probably going to have to make up your mind. I'm going to see it through this first arc and hope there's a payoff because I like the characters and that development, but story-wise, I think something is missing.
Aquaman: He does not talk to fish as he so eloquently put it in the first issue. This is not your father's Aquaman or for that matter even my Aquaman. This is Aquaman as he always should have been. He has always had the strength to withstand the depths of the Marianas Trench and this relaunch of this character shows that power. This book shows why Aquaman is and should be a member of the Justice League, go buy it - he makes Namor, the Sub-Mariner, look like a flying fish from here on out. Even if you've never been a fan of Aquaman, I recommend this book as it will make you a fan of Aquaman.
Wonder Woman: Alright, I'm ticked off that they went back to the shorts for Wonder Woman instead of leaving her in the pants from the last arc of the previous series, "Odyssey". This book is still a good read - Wonder Woman is back in the mythos of her origins in this book and I love it. Wonder Woman is still the ultimate heroine of all superhero books, and she never stops proving it no matter how many times they relaunch her title. Now go out there and buy her book, she deserves your respect and a read.
The Flash: Barry from the beginning. Barry Allen has and always will be The Fastest Man Alive even if you are a Wally West Flash fan, you know Barry Allen deserves to be the Scarlet Speedster. This book starts not quite at the beginnig again, but it is definitely a book where Barry is still figuring out his powers including that if he lets the speed force (the power that Barry and almost every DC speedster gets their speed from) work on his brain as well, then he can think at a level no one else can because his brain will process information so quickly. The bad guy in this book is still a mystery; yes, there are the clones known as Mob Rules who appear to be the bad guys, but I'm not sure they're the real threat here. If you're a fan of any Flash, read this book and get in on the ground floor of all DC speedsters.
The Furty of Firstorm: This is a series that I had not planned on reading. I've never been a fan of the character, but Ethan Van Sciver and Gail Simone are writing a tale that has pulled me in. The characterization is amazing from the typical jock nature of Jason Rusch who actually is more than that to the nerdist talking down to people he thinks are stupid in Ronnie Raymond - what you think is stereotypical in these characters, you quickly learn like for most of us in high school is the surface that everyone else sees and not who these two young men truly are. If you like a book with characters worth getting to know and a fresh perspective on an old DC character that I don't think ever got his fair shake, pick up this book. It's definitely worth the read.
Captain Atom: Captain Atom is another series that I didn't plan on picking up. I'm still reading it for the moment only because I want to see what they're doing with Captain Atom. Overall, other than development of the character, I'm not liking the series so far though. I think part of the problem is that we're at the beginning for Captain Atom though, and I'm struggling with enjoying watching him figure out his powers as slowly as he seems to be in the series so far. I like J.T. Krul as a writer, but I really hope he picks up the speed on this book soon. I'm going to keep going through the first arc, but it better be where I need it to be when it gets there. I'd say if you're a fan of the character, the writer (J.T. Krul), the artist (Freddie Williams II), or you don't know the previous version of this character, pick up the book; otherwise, I think you may be bored with the book.
Green Arrow: Another book by J.T. Krul, and while similar in its semi-origins aspect as Captain Atom, it's not as slow. The book picked up quickly and has some interesting back story going on in the corporate side of Oliver Queen's life as much as the action taking place in the Green Arrow side of Ollie's life. The first issue made me think I was going to hate this book because it seemed like they had made Green Arrow more of Batman with a bow, but that's also what hooked me at the end as well. Green Arrow has always been Batman with a bow, and it's that bow that makes the significant difference. He may just be a guy who can shoot a bow, but he's got a conscience and a moral code that drives him to heights even Superman may at times be struggling with in the DCnU. The book also takes a stab at the evils of technology and our own social worship of "trending" items on You Tube, etc. It's about time someone showed us the problem with us giving a video of someone getting injured in a You Tube video getting millions of hits. Pick up this book, it's definitely worth the read, and I think it will only get better.
The Savage Hawkman: All I can say is Carter Hall is a brute and this series shows Hawkman for the fighter he is. Even when he's losing the fight from the end of the first issue and into the beginning of the second issue, you see why Carter Hall is a hero. This is one of the bloodier and grittier books of the DCnU, so I don't recommend it for younger children, but for teens and adults as indicated, it's a great book, go pick it up. I should also mention that this is a book that I had only planned on picking up the first issue of, but I am definitely hooked as long as Tony S. Daniels is writing it at this level.
DC Universe Presents: This series is billed as a series to highlight those heroes who do not have their own books (yet...possibly). The first arc concentrates on Deadman and how and why he is who he is. So far, I like this book. Deadman doesn't comprehend why he's helping a bunch of people and being left with portions of their memories...the goddess who made him this way explains it to him, but he's not buying what she's selling and sets out on his own quest to figure it out. It's definitely a new angle on this old hero and it's about time he got a little bit of credit. If you're a Deadman fan, you should be reading this book right now.
Mister Terrific: So, this was the temporary replacement for the Justice Society until their relaunch next year it seems. Although the new JSA will be firmly placed on Earth 2 and not here on Earth Prime. While I like what they've done with the character, the story hasn't grabbed me yet after two issues. Mister Terrific is more pompous than ever and that he is missing the fact that Karen Star (aka Power Girl in another life) wants to have a real relationship with him despite his pining over his long dead wife just adds to my problems with the story. If you're a fan of the character, you might like this series; if you're not, I'd pass on it.
Action Comics: Like Justice League, this is a foundation book as it is set 5 years before current continuity and shows how Superman becomes Superman and the hero of Metropolis. Grant Morrison is doing a spectacular job on this book, and if you're not reading it, you have only yourself to blame for what you're missing. This is a Superman you can sympathize with and the sequence in issue 2 of him looking for his baby blanket (his cape; you knew that's where it came from right) for sentimental reasons brings that home more than anything. Although the scene of him using it for an actual blanket at the beginning of issue 3 adds to that human-ness in the character. This is a Superman that no one needs to invent a Doomsday to fight. Go buy it and read it already.
Superman: Okay, so I'm not a big Superman fan because he's Superman. I mean, what can stop Superman other than a Kryptonite mickey and Doomsday (the villain created specifically to highlight that Superman needs special villains). George Perez shows me why we should still love Superman though: Clark Kent. Much like the human side of Superman that Morrison is showing us in Action Comics, while this book belongs to Superman, Perez's snippets of Clark Kent show us the human side of the Man of Steel, and why Kal-El is as much a scared young man trying to fit into a world not completely his. I had an original complaint abou the fact that Lois and Clark were no longer Lois and Clark, but it highlights even more the loneliness of Superman's situation. I recommend this book even if I'm not a Superman fan.
Supergirl: Love the book, but fix the boots on the costume already. Kara Zor-El is Kal-El's (Superman) much older cousin. She used to babysit him when he was a baby on Krypton and she was a teenage. Little Kal is all grown up now and Kara remembers he was a baby yesterday when she last saw him. She doesn't know Krypton is destroyed until Superman tells her and her teenage attitude comes into play quickly in dealing with all of this. This is a great book and, so far, a fun read as well. It's definitely one of the titles I can' wait for each month, so I can find out how she ended up where she is to see if it's the same as either of the last two origins or not.
Superboy: Scott Lobdell is doing an awesome job on this book as he redesigns the origins of this clone of Superman (and Lex Luthor, though they haven't stated that yet in this series). Superboy before the end of the old DCU was a clone of those two, but we never really saw the origin from the beginning. This time we see him as he emerges from the test tube for the first time after what I have decided is definitely the evil organization N.O.W.H.E.R.E. created him. If you're a fan of young heroes who haven't yet figured out they're supposed to be heroes, read this book. Superboy is definitely a young man who needs to find his place in the world, but to do so he has to get out from under his "mom" and "dad"; both of whom are not loving parents.
Batman: While the Bat-books are some of the few to not have drastic changes in them, they are definitely relaunched in the DCnU. Batman is back to his roots dealing with the craziness of Gotham. No high tech evil like Darkseid in these books. Batman is down in the streets searching for a serial killer who is using the worst villains of Arkham to slow down the Bat. Pick up this book no matter what, but especially if you're a fan of classic Batman.
Detective Comics: Everything I said about Batman above goes double for this book. Okay, so of the DC's characters, Batman is my favorite, but isn't he most people's. This book shows why we have come to love Batman. He's a street level hero, the average joe (well, okay, so he's a billionaire) who has trained his body and his mind to be at the peak of its very human ability, but yet he'll still walk into a trap knowing it's a trap to be the hero that Gotham needs as he so eloquently puts it at the end of the movie, "Dark Knight".
Batwoman: Okay, so I'm not sure why we have Batwoman now that we have Batgirl back, but the stories are definitely a darker side of Gotham and the Bat books that we don't see in Batgirl. And to say that a Bat-book shows you the darker side of Gotham means it's really dark here. Batwoman reads more as a horror story with a superhero trying to figure it out than a gritty, street level superhero book like most Bat-books. If you like dark, gothic horror with a superhero twist, check this book out. Do be advised that you may have to answer why Batwoman's alter ego dates other women for younger children though.
Batman: The Dark Knight: Like Batman and Detective Comics, this book brings Batman back to his roots even if it is emphasizing the newly formed Batman, Inc. unlike the other books. The fight scene in number 2 between Bruce Wayne and his assassin show why Batman is who he is. His knowledge of Gotham is why this is his city and why the villains of Gotham know that he should be respected if not feared.
Batman and Robin: No, not that Robin, this is Damian Wayne, the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al'Ghul and he's got all the attitude and bloodthirstiness to prove it. Batman has to learn to trust his son to work with him and be the hero he knows he can be if he tries, but does Bruce Wayne really know how to be a father even though he's raised two young boys to young adults as Robin. It seems that Bruce and Damian as well as Batman and Robin have a lot to learn in this book. I recommend this book especially if you want to see why Bruce Wayne should have never had children much less had children with the daughter of his arch-enemy.
Batwing: The Batman of Africa leaves something to be desired, maybe because we already have Batman in four of his own books, two proteges in the form of Nightwing and Red Robin in two other books, and two female versions of Batman (Batwoman and Batgirl), so I wonder if we really needed a Batman of Africa. The writing is good as is the artwork in this book. The hero is sponsored by Batman, Inc. and was trained by Batman to carry the mantle of the Bat in Africa. The story is even intriguing although I'm more interested in the background story that isn't fully being revealed yet then in the main story at this point. It seems that Batwing may not be or at least was not always the altruistic hero he appears to be on the surface. I do like this book, but in the myriad of the other Bat-books, I think it is my least favorite and I will probably stop reading after this first arc.
Batgirl: The one true Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, not Cassandra Cain or Stephanie Brown, but the real Batgirl is back in this series. Having regained the use of her legs a few years after her shooting and paralysis by the Joker, Barbara Gordon returns to her Batgirl identity. This is one of the Bat-books that is as much fun as it is gritty. Barbara Gordon exalts in the freedom of being Batgirl and she is not weighed by the tragedy that Bruce Wayne has gone through or even the tragedy that Dick Grayson (Nightwing/original Robin) has had. This book is a fun read and is as much about the character as it is about her smashing bad guys in the face. Gail Simone (writer) does a wonderful job on this book and with this character and it's easy to see that she loves this character.
Nightwing: I have always been a fan of the former boy wonder in his new identity as Nightwing ever since he changed from being Robin to Nightwing in the pages of the Teen Titans. This book takes him back to his roots as a carnie when Haley's Circus returns to Gotham and Nightwing becomes embroiled in the secret life of this circus that meant so much to who Dick Grayson was and would become despite the death of his parents unlike the man Bruce Wayne became after the death of his parents. I recommend this book to really get to know this former Boy Wonder and hero in his own right.
Catwoman: Judd Winick is spinning an interesting tale with Catwoman. Though are some issues that I have with the way the book started in the first issue, but the book seems to be finding its stride now and just did a poor job I think of depicting the human need for companionship even between strong solo characters like Batman and Catwoman to start with. By the end of the second issue, I definitely see promise in the series and I'm going to continue to give this book a chance. If you're a woman, you may not like Winnick's first issue, and it's possible it will offend you even if you're a man and a fan of Catwoman (it did me). The story has definitely gotten better as we moved through issue 2, and I really want issue 3 to come out now, so I can find out where it goes next.
Birds of Prey: I love this new team even with Oracle missing; she went back to being Batgirl after all. The team is now made up of Black Canary (still), Starling, Katana, and recent addition Poison Ivy. These ladies know how to bring a fight to the bad guys and how to deal with it if it gets brought to their doorstep. Duane Swiercznski is doing an excellent job of writing 3 of these 4 ladies (Poison Ivy just showed up at the end of issue 2, but I have confidence) and introducing us to the new incarnations of Canary, Ivy, and Katana and I really like the new character (maybe she's an old DC character that I'm just not familiar with) of Starling - so much like Lady Blackhawk was in the previous series, but very different at the same time. I love this book!!
Red Hood and the Outlaws: I hate what Scot Lobdell has done with Arsenal/Speedy/Red Arrow/Roy Harper in this book. He's turned him into a 15 year old in a grown man's body and I really hate it. I also hate the way he's depicting Starfire, although his interview makes it seem like that was just a poor method of trying to depict something; I'm not completely buying it though, and I think he's just backpedaling after all of the bad critiques on what he did with her. I do like what he's done with Jason Todd/Red Hood; it makes more sense to see a former sidekick of Batman proving that he didn't just convert to evil because he had a bad day when Joker killed him. The story from issue 2 is good, while issue 1 highlighted way too much of what I didn't like about the book. Hopefully, issue 2 is what this book will really be about and we can kind of forget the false start of issue 2.
Green Lantern: The only problem with this book is I'm not sure why it got a relaunch. The story continues from where it ended with the previous series, and it's still great. Sinestro is a Green Lantern again because the Guardians don't know how to stop him from being one since they can't get the green ring off his finger. Hal Jordan is no longer a green lantern until Sinestro gives him a green lantern ring with a twist - it's completely under Sinestro's control. Geoff Johns continues to twist and turn the Green Lantern series with every issue, and unless you absolutely hate Green Lantern or Johns, you should read this book.
Green Lantern Corps: So far, I've got no idea what this book is about other than Guy Gardner and John Stewart, green lanterns .3 and .4. The writing is good, and the villain is definitely a major threat, but sometimes I think the Green Lantern Corps should be about the other green lanters (the non-Earth ones) and not always center on the ones from Earth. I would much whether see Arissa leading a team of green lanterns to stop some major threat than Guy Gardner and John Stewart. If you're a fan of the Corps, pick up the book, otherwise just stick to the main Green Lantern title.
Green Lantern: New Guardians: So far, I like the direction that I think this book is going in. The problem with this book is I'm not sure where it's going yet though, so I'm just making all kinds of assumptions so far. The book is good because of that though, Kyle Rayner (Green Lantern .2) suddenly has a ring from all 7 corps wanting to be on his finger, which has made the various other corps none too happy with him. It also seems to have greatly aggravated the current guardians, which I think is the point. I think the new guardians are about to usurp the guardians and their citadel on Oa and I think the new guardians will be made up of one member from each corps as designated by Kyle Rayner. Get in on the ground floor with this book because I think this is going to be a game change for how the various Lantern Corps work.
Red Lanterns: This book is a strange read so far. Atrocitus, leader of the Red Lanterns, is out to change his corps of rage and slaughter into a corps of rage and vengeful justice. In his eyes, rage's purpose should be to avenge those who have been wronged and spurred into rage and not just to rage against everything. His new lieutenant Bleez has been given her intelligence back to set about achieving this very specific goal, although she seems to have some more subtle and possibly ulterior motives at heart. I'm recommending this book although I originally wasn't going to even pick it up.
Justice League Dark: What happens when a powerful sorceress goes absolutely insane? What happens when the person you think is helping to assemble a group to stop that insane sorceress proves to be assembling the other supernatural heroes to be slaughtered by the insane sorceress? Read this book and find out because I've been surprised in both issues so far. Peter Milligan is writing this series that stars Zatanna, Shade, Deadman, and John Constantine as they fight against Enchantress (and now, Madame Xanadu). The interesting take is that as the story progresses you learn that all those who seem to be a part of the supernatural powers of the DCnU are all just a little insane and slightly broken inside. I recommend this book, especially if you like something just south of the superhero genre in darkness and powersets.
Swamp Thing: Alec Holland has yet to become the Swamp Thing, the previous Swamp Thing that everyone thought was Holland was just a simulacrum based on Holland. The time is quickly coming though where Alec Holland needs to become the Swamp Thing, the strongest knight of the Green ever or the Rot will take over our world and everything will die. Another of the books highlighting the darker corners of the DCnU, and well worth the read - remember to pick up Animal Man as well though as these two books appear to go together as the 3 sides of a war with the Green and the Red on one side against the Rot on the other side.
Animal Man: Buddy Baker used to think his powers came from an alien race who gave him the ability to touch the morphogenic field (the energy field of all life), but he was wrong. Buddy's powers actually come from the Red and all has been orchestrated by them up to this point. And the main character isn't Buddy Baker, but his daughter Maxine who is destined to be an avatar of the Red in their battle against the Rot. I wasn't going to buy this book, but it hooked me in the first issue. This is Animal Man in a way you've never seen him before with a new origin and mythos being written before our eyes, go start reading it before you have to wait for a trade paperback that's already been spoiled by me in this blog.
Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E.: So far, this book is just a fun read. After all, who can resist a comic book about monsters fighting monsters more evil than you thought they were. Frankenstein and The Bride; 3 science projects reminiscent of a vampire, werewolf, and the creature from the Black Lagoon; and a mummy fight Cthulhu level monsters in this book to defend the world. It's reminiscent of BRPD, but with a cast of characters you already know from the beginning. Did I mention that their leader is what apppears to be a fourteen year old girl? If you just want a fun book to read, read this one. It gets a little dark at times, but when dealing with the supernatural that's to be expected.
I, Vampire: I am lost in the normal routine of this book. Vampirella does it better. If you want to read a book about vampires who don't sparkle set in the DCnU, read it. Otherwise, save your money.
Resurrection Man: I like the main character in this book, but I have yet to see a common story thread running through the book. I'm slightly confused even though they have already revealed that Heaven and Hell are both out to capture Mitch Shelly (Resurrection Man). I'm sticking with the title just to see where it goes, but I don't recommend it at this point.
Demon Knights: The DC Universe goes to the dark ages in this series. Etrigan the Demon and his team of Madame Xanadu, Vandal Savage (yes, that Vandal Savage), and Zauriel the Shining Knight among others fight against Morganna and Mordred for the remains of Camelot in this series. Sometimes not by choice. The series is a fun read even if it's billed as being part of the darker side of the DCnU. Paul Cornell is an excellent writer and this book really shows it. It helps that he's British and the book is set in the olden days of his homeland. I recommend this book for fans of Etrigan or fantasy comics and anyone else who wants a fun read that isn't completely superhero.
Stormwatch: One of the three titles to cross over from the Wildstorm comics of old and doing an awesome job of integrating itself in the DC Universe. If the Justice League is the team to fight against the threats no one else can deal with alone, then Stormwatch is the team to fight against the threats we didn't even know existed including probably themselves at some point. This book is darker and grittier than the main line of DC comics, but it is definitely a part of the universe as a whole. i can't wait for the Stormwatch vs. Justice League arc. If you were a fan of Wildstorm previously and if you've ever been a fan of DC comics, you should try this book.
Voodoo: The second of the three titles crossing over from the Wildstorm line. Priss is bene upgraded and is no longer half Kherubim/half Daemonite but is fully alien. She's an alien shapeshifter (possibly full Daemonite, but the Grifter series puts this into serious doubt) here for some unknown reason and our government wants her brought in for interrogation and experimentation to figure out why. Voodoo got an upgrade with telepathy in this series and doesn't just possess people anymore, but reads their minds and changes her form to match theirs. If you were a fan of Voodoo from WildC.A.T.S. before, you'll like her here to; she's better than ever. This book is more mature than the normal superhero line though, so I don't recommend it for the younger children, but I do recommend it for everyone else.
Grifter: The third of the three series originally from Wildstorm. Cole Cash is a grifter and con man extraordinaire until he's kidnapped by aliens who possess humans for some ulterior motives. Now he's been left with the ability to hear and see these aliens, so he's the only that can fight against them. Sounds like a raw deal for a street hustler until you find out that he used to be Army special ops. This book is Grifter in a whole new way, but still fighting the good fight against the Daemonites who are completely different in the DCnU. Highly recommended.
Suicide Squad: Take a bunch of death row inmates with superpowers, put tiny bombs in their heads to control them and kill them with if they get out of line and then make them do whatever you want and you've got the Suicide Squad. Some of your favorite villains work for the government in clandestine operations against their will and if that's not enough for you, see how psychotic Harley Quinn really is...all this time, you thought proximity to the Joker made her insane, but in this series, you'll learn very quickly that she may be the one that cranks Joker's insanity to new levels. Bloody in the extreme, so not for the younger kids, but definitely a book worth reading especially if you have ever wondered about the validity of conspiracy nuts.
Deathstroke: Deathstroke is the best mercenary in the DCU; supposedly he always has been. This series looks at what happens when people decide that Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke has past his prime and quickly shows us that not only has he not passed his prime, but he's even more brutal than ever. I'm not a fan of the villain comic book although I read my fair share in the nineties, but if you like that sort of book and lots of blood and mayhem, then you'll like this book.
All-Star Western: Jonah Hex is invited to Gotham City 100 years before Batman roams its streets and what he learns may leave him and pioneer crimin psychologist, Arkham Asylum, dead on arrival. If me telling you that this book is set in the Gotham City of the old west and that Jonah Hex was in it, you probably shouldn't read this book. This is the old Gotham City depicted in the limited series, The Gates of Gotham, and it sets down roots very quickly for why Gotham City is as corrupt as it is even in the modern era. Jonah Hex is just the man needed to bring justice to this town until Batman is born if he can survive his first visit.
O.M.A.C.: O.M.A.C. stands for One Man Army Corps or at least it used to. I rarely say this about a comic book because the writers and artists do things that I can't do, but I hate this book. I read the first issue and it didn't impress me and I never picked up the second issue. I never read any of the previous incarnations of O.M.A.C. as a comic book although I saw what Brother Eye and his O.M.A.C. soldiers did under the control of Maxwell Lord before Wonder Woman killed him in the last DCU and I wasn't a fan. I didn't like the writing in this book or the artwork, so I don't recommend it at all.
Men of War: I liked the backup story in this comic in the first issue, but liked both stories for the second issue. This is definitely a very specific genre of story and I'm not sure how it exactly fits into the greater DCnU yet. I'm going to give it a little while before I rule it out completely especially since I liked the back-up story, but if you don't like stories about soldiers in war even if they are fighting against super menaces, you won't like this story. Even if you do, the slow start from issue 1 may turn you off on this series as well.
Blackhawks: The first issue set the stage, but the second issue definitely shows you where this comic is going. Blackhawks is a covert paramilitary force under the control of the UN for fighting against threats that normal military forces cannot. They have state of the art hardware, but we quickly learn that as with any war, the other side may have already advanced beyond your own hardware. I really like this book after two issues, there's just the right mix of the fantastic with a real human story to keep me reading. If you liked the old Checkmate series from DC or even the old SHIELD series of the '70s and '80s from Marvel, then you should check out this book. It doesn't have all the WWII drama left over like the SHIELD books, but its definitely in that vein of high tech vs. high tech.
Teen Titans: These aren't the sidekick heroes making up their own team. In fact, Red Robin is the only one that has ever been a sidekick. The rest of them are just teens who developed superpowers and got on the radar of the organization known as N.O.W.H.E.R.E. from Superboy. Red Robin is using the training that Bruce Wayne gave him when he was Robin to help these young men and women survive and possibly even take the fight back to this new enemy. If you're a fan of teen aged superheroics or were ever a fan of the Teen Titans, then you should pick up this book. Scott Lobdell is doing an excellent, if slow at times, job of developing these characters with fresh perspectives. Although, if you're looking for Raven, she's not here and I find myself not that upset by her absence.
Static Shock: All I can say is I read the first issue and I still don't like this character or his book. :( My recommendation is to save your money here unless you're a fan of the character.
Hawk and Dove: After two issues, I'm still not enamored of this book. It's an okay read, but I want to make sure that I understand that the first bad guy(s) are Hawk and Dove in a different color? Okay, so that's not quite right, but it's pretty much the gist of what's going on so far. Hawk and Dove are the avatars of war and peace and their first real confrontation is with another pair of avatars Condor and something (sorry, that's how much I didn't like it) who are avatars of something else. I don't really recommend the book unless you're a fan of the characters. The shame of it is that the development of Dawn Granger's (Dove) character in her secret identity is a better story than the main story so far.
Blue Beetle: This is a book to read whether you've ever read Blue Beetle in the past or not. Fresh perspectives on his origin with similarities to the past incarnation and good characterization by Tony Bedford so far. I really like this character even though I never read any of his series before even though they were recommended to me on several occasions. Blue Beetle gets his powers from a parasitic (maybe symbiotic) alien scarab and he got them by accident and his scarab is damaged otherwise it would have set him on a path of conquering Earth. I can't wait to see what happens when the scarabs real owners consisting of other hosts converted by their beetle scarabs get to Earth to see what's going on.
Legion Lost: I still want to like this book, but so far, I'm having a tough time of it. I like the characters from the Legion of Super-Heroes that are here and the writing by Fabian Nicieza is good. My problem is the setting and I still don't understand how we got here completely and what the lost Legionnaires are going to do about everything. If you don't understand that, the premise of the story is that a virus that will alter human DNA to give anyone it comes into contact with some kind of super power, which may or may not ultimately kill them, has been released into present day earth by a nut job from the future. The Legionnaires who are now lost in our era due to their time machine being damaged failed to stop this from happening and are now trying to deal with it; so far, they're batting a losing streak on that just like with stopping the virus from being released to begin with. It's a very depressing tale so far, which I'm really not used to from Nicieza. I have no recommendation as I think some might actually like this sort of series, and I'm not sure it's bad as much as it just doesn't seem to be for me.
Legion of Super-Heroes: In the thirty first century of Earth, tweens from all of the universe have been inspired by the Heroic age and especially the exploits of Superman. Due to the philanthropic nature of an alien named R.J. Brande who's life 3 of them saved, they have been funded and become a legion of super-heroes who fight against the evils of their century on Earth and throughout the United Planets. This series picks up where the last series left off with some minor events having happened in between. They are cut off from time travel to the past though by the Flashpoint barrier, which is why they cannot mount a rescue of the Legionnaires from the previous title. Now they are trying to move forward after the loss of key members and the incorporation of their last class of trainees. This is still the Legion of Super-Heroes and if you've ever been a fan of the book, then you should pick up this series too. It's a good read.
Well, that's more than enough for today. Have fun and thanks for reading.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Catwoman #2
So, I picked up #2 of this series to see if th etrend from #1 continued for the rest of the series. It definitely continues into this issue. The first 3 pages are the morning after of the Batman/Catwoman one-night stand, although I'm not sure one-night is accurate since they've done this before. Like with the last issue, these 3 pages were really unnecessary to the story as all they did was show that Batman cares about Catwoman at som elevel and Catwoman cares about him at some level. This is something they could have shown in something less than a sexual escapade. It's also a real shame because behind all of these sexual escapades that they are writing Catwoman into as well as the whole distinguishment of Selina as an apparent bimbo who shakes it for any one cute that walks by including Bruce Wayne who she does not know is Batman in the new DC Universe, although he does know she is Selina Kyle.
Other than the cat and mouse (excuse the pun) game that Selina and Bruce play at the charity auction episode in the book, there is actually an excellent story going on in this series. All you have to do is see past the soap opera style woman they have made Selina into. A situation that I don't get, again, because I recognize that judd Winick is an awesome writer who shouldn't need to resort to sex to sell this book. Even more so, the sex scenes really have nothing to do with the story so far...nothing at all. They are no more than grautitious sex, which as Laura Hudson mentioned in her review of the first issue does not make Selina Kyle/Catwoman into a strong, independent woman as Winick may think it does. Depicting women as sex crazed nymphomaniacs who will jump into the sac with people to show they have feelings or that they are as liberated as men just makes them into sex crazed nymphomaniacs. Personally, I don't think it really depicts male characters as anything other than scumbags who don't know how to commit to a relationship either. It definitely doesn't make them into strong male characters. All, in all, I just hope that now that Winick has truly revealed who the true bad guy is in Catwoman, that he will move on and write the story that is there and seems like it might be an awesome story.
I'm still not sure I would recommend this book to anyone, and I especially recommend you not buy it for anyone under the age of 16. Hopefully, next month, we'll get to see the story that Winick is truly capable of and Selina Kyle/Catwoman will move back to the character she is supposed to be instead of being a soap opera tart.
Thanks for reading.
Other than the cat and mouse (excuse the pun) game that Selina and Bruce play at the charity auction episode in the book, there is actually an excellent story going on in this series. All you have to do is see past the soap opera style woman they have made Selina into. A situation that I don't get, again, because I recognize that judd Winick is an awesome writer who shouldn't need to resort to sex to sell this book. Even more so, the sex scenes really have nothing to do with the story so far...nothing at all. They are no more than grautitious sex, which as Laura Hudson mentioned in her review of the first issue does not make Selina Kyle/Catwoman into a strong, independent woman as Winick may think it does. Depicting women as sex crazed nymphomaniacs who will jump into the sac with people to show they have feelings or that they are as liberated as men just makes them into sex crazed nymphomaniacs. Personally, I don't think it really depicts male characters as anything other than scumbags who don't know how to commit to a relationship either. It definitely doesn't make them into strong male characters. All, in all, I just hope that now that Winick has truly revealed who the true bad guy is in Catwoman, that he will move on and write the story that is there and seems like it might be an awesome story.
I'm still not sure I would recommend this book to anyone, and I especially recommend you not buy it for anyone under the age of 16. Hopefully, next month, we'll get to see the story that Winick is truly capable of and Selina Kyle/Catwoman will move back to the character she is supposed to be instead of being a soap opera tart.
Thanks for reading.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Blue Beetle #2
Sorry, I know it's been a while since I've written anything here. It's been a busy couple of weeks for me, both in terms of time and just events that have kind of shifted me around a little bit and caused me to evaluate and think about a lot of stuff.
Blue Beetle #2 is a good read much like the first issue. Bedard continues to write an exceptional origin story for Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes, and Guara's penciles continue to do justice to the character and his environment. The origin story continues here, and we're past the alter ego story establishing who Jaime Reyes and his friends are. We are now on to establishing who the Blue Beetle will be and who/what the scarab is in the context of the DCnU.
The story has Jaime all but giving up his identity from the get-go to his friends and the person who will obviously become a major enemy to the Blue Beetle within this issue. It's obvious that Jaime has no idea what he has become or what he's supposed to be doing yet. He knows he doesn't want to kill anyone, which creates an antagonistic relationship between he and the scarab from the beginning, although Jaime seems to win this battle for now. He also knows that he needs to help his friend(s) with the Blue Beetle armor while he can as he saves his friend Paco from the supervillains who are indirectly responsible for him being grafted to the beetle scarab.
In this issue, we also get more of a glimpse of just how ruthless and evil the aunt of the young lady that Jaime likes may actually be. This lady, Dama, is also the aforementioned enemy that Jaime almost spills the beans about who he is to. Thankfully, the beetle scarab has a mission parameter that requires its host not reveal who it is, so it keeps Jaime from revealing his identity to anyone for now.
I continue to be impressed with this title, and I'm thinking right now that I should have picked up the previous Blue Beetle series that was cancelled late last year/earlier this year long before the DC reboot.
Go pick up issue 1 if you can find it along with issue 2 and start reading this book. It would be a shame if the title was cancelled again as it has a lot of potential and is one of the more awesome books not about the bigger DC characters that we all know and love.
Thanks for reading.
Blue Beetle #2 is a good read much like the first issue. Bedard continues to write an exceptional origin story for Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes, and Guara's penciles continue to do justice to the character and his environment. The origin story continues here, and we're past the alter ego story establishing who Jaime Reyes and his friends are. We are now on to establishing who the Blue Beetle will be and who/what the scarab is in the context of the DCnU.
The story has Jaime all but giving up his identity from the get-go to his friends and the person who will obviously become a major enemy to the Blue Beetle within this issue. It's obvious that Jaime has no idea what he has become or what he's supposed to be doing yet. He knows he doesn't want to kill anyone, which creates an antagonistic relationship between he and the scarab from the beginning, although Jaime seems to win this battle for now. He also knows that he needs to help his friend(s) with the Blue Beetle armor while he can as he saves his friend Paco from the supervillains who are indirectly responsible for him being grafted to the beetle scarab.
In this issue, we also get more of a glimpse of just how ruthless and evil the aunt of the young lady that Jaime likes may actually be. This lady, Dama, is also the aforementioned enemy that Jaime almost spills the beans about who he is to. Thankfully, the beetle scarab has a mission parameter that requires its host not reveal who it is, so it keeps Jaime from revealing his identity to anyone for now.
I continue to be impressed with this title, and I'm thinking right now that I should have picked up the previous Blue Beetle series that was cancelled late last year/earlier this year long before the DC reboot.
Go pick up issue 1 if you can find it along with issue 2 and start reading this book. It would be a shame if the title was cancelled again as it has a lot of potential and is one of the more awesome books not about the bigger DC characters that we all know and love.
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Another Character from Champions Online
This is another one of my characters from the MMO, Champions Online. I call him MITHRAL.
MITHRAL stands for Mystically Integrated Technology for Human Reconnaisance Assault and Life-support. The heart of MITHRAL's armor and its power source is the sword Excalibur and its magical scabbard which was purported to heal all wounds as long as King Arthur carried the scabbard.
Robert Graille or Ireland was trying to create a suit of armor for use by law enforcement to better protect them in dealing with the supervillains of his world. The only problem was he was having problems engineering a power source that would be light enough and cheap enough to mass produce for the armor in order to make it affordable for law enforcement agencies to purchase in bulk to protect their officers.
Having reached a mental block and with no new ideas after several failed attempts, Robert went on vacation to England and just starting hiking through the country side, trying to clear his mind and think of what he should try next. As he wandered through an old growth forest, he suddenly found himself staring at a vast lake, much larger than the forest should have been able to contain, yet there it was. Robert moved towards the lake thinking he would try to locate its source and possibly follow it out of the forest to see how such a vast lake ended up in what he thought was a smaller forest. When he reached the banks of the lake, a beautiful woman rose up out of the lake. She looked at him, smiled, said, "You'll do for now," and handed him an ancient bastard sword. Robert looked down at the sword and scabbard in his hand and when he looked up, the woman and the lake were gone. Robert would have thought he had had a hallucination if not for the weapon in his hand, but when he looked down again, the sword was gone and in his hands was a silver blue metal disc. Robert was baffled.
When Robert returned to his lab, the strange disc went with him. Robert decided to try to determine what the metal was using his knowledge of metallurgy. What he found was that the metal was not a metal known to man at this time. Even more interesting was the metal seemed to be generating an electromagnetic field powerful enough to actually use as a power source. Robert decided to call the metal mithral after the tales of the fabulous silver in the old Tolkien stories.
He then considered the probable use of the metal in his armor as a power source, all he would have to do is reproduce the metal. All efforts to recreate the metal failed, however, which left Robert at almost the same place he was previously. He had a power source that was small enough to work with the armor, but no way to mass produce it and he was unsure how to actually utilize it in the armor since he couldn't reshape the disc and his armor was not made to work with this shape. Not knowing, what to do, Robert labored all night with the disc and the breastplate of his technological masterpiece of modern day armor. As the hours waned towards dawn and no closer to a solution, Robert faded off to sleep on his workbench with the disc sitting on top of the breastplate in a last desperate attempt where Robert was trying to determine how to make a cavity to fit the disc and then use it as a power source.
When Robert awoke around noon the next day, the disc was gone. He thought it had been stolen at first, until he thoroughly examined the breastplate and ran tests on it and found that somehow the mithral disc had fused with the breastplate in a perfect symmetry. Robert knew there were forces at work he didn't understand. He had often heard of magic, and he knew this was what he was dealing with. Robert took the breastplate to the stand and placed it in place with the rest of the armor. As he adjusted the fittings to hold it into place with the rest of the armor, there was a humming of energy and the breastplate began to glow as the mithral flowed out and over the rest of the armor forming lines of power across the armor and even fusing into the cooling fluid lines that Robert had on this version of the armor from when he was trying to use a power supply that seemed to run too hot. After a few minutes, the glow faded leaving only the lines of power and the cooling lines with a soft silver blue glow to them.
Robert put the armor on and went to his test lab to test it. All of the systems were online as soon as the last components were locked into place. The weapon systems which he thought he would have to calibrate to the new power source were powered and the armor was fully operational. No sooner than he had completed testing, an alien armada launched a full scale assault on several cities across the globe. Many current heroes answered the call to arms to drive back the invaders, and Robert arrived to fight off the attacks across the UK. Dubbing himself MITHRAL for the mystical integration that the disc had enacted upon his armor, Robert now fights against the evils of the world as an armored superhero...unlike so many though, he knows his armor is powered by magic and not technology.
(c) Donovan Hicks, 2011
Well, that's another one of my character's backstories. It's all I really had tonight.
Thanks for reading.
MITHRAL stands for Mystically Integrated Technology for Human Reconnaisance Assault and Life-support. The heart of MITHRAL's armor and its power source is the sword Excalibur and its magical scabbard which was purported to heal all wounds as long as King Arthur carried the scabbard.
Robert Graille or Ireland was trying to create a suit of armor for use by law enforcement to better protect them in dealing with the supervillains of his world. The only problem was he was having problems engineering a power source that would be light enough and cheap enough to mass produce for the armor in order to make it affordable for law enforcement agencies to purchase in bulk to protect their officers.
Having reached a mental block and with no new ideas after several failed attempts, Robert went on vacation to England and just starting hiking through the country side, trying to clear his mind and think of what he should try next. As he wandered through an old growth forest, he suddenly found himself staring at a vast lake, much larger than the forest should have been able to contain, yet there it was. Robert moved towards the lake thinking he would try to locate its source and possibly follow it out of the forest to see how such a vast lake ended up in what he thought was a smaller forest. When he reached the banks of the lake, a beautiful woman rose up out of the lake. She looked at him, smiled, said, "You'll do for now," and handed him an ancient bastard sword. Robert looked down at the sword and scabbard in his hand and when he looked up, the woman and the lake were gone. Robert would have thought he had had a hallucination if not for the weapon in his hand, but when he looked down again, the sword was gone and in his hands was a silver blue metal disc. Robert was baffled.
When Robert returned to his lab, the strange disc went with him. Robert decided to try to determine what the metal was using his knowledge of metallurgy. What he found was that the metal was not a metal known to man at this time. Even more interesting was the metal seemed to be generating an electromagnetic field powerful enough to actually use as a power source. Robert decided to call the metal mithral after the tales of the fabulous silver in the old Tolkien stories.
He then considered the probable use of the metal in his armor as a power source, all he would have to do is reproduce the metal. All efforts to recreate the metal failed, however, which left Robert at almost the same place he was previously. He had a power source that was small enough to work with the armor, but no way to mass produce it and he was unsure how to actually utilize it in the armor since he couldn't reshape the disc and his armor was not made to work with this shape. Not knowing, what to do, Robert labored all night with the disc and the breastplate of his technological masterpiece of modern day armor. As the hours waned towards dawn and no closer to a solution, Robert faded off to sleep on his workbench with the disc sitting on top of the breastplate in a last desperate attempt where Robert was trying to determine how to make a cavity to fit the disc and then use it as a power source.
When Robert awoke around noon the next day, the disc was gone. He thought it had been stolen at first, until he thoroughly examined the breastplate and ran tests on it and found that somehow the mithral disc had fused with the breastplate in a perfect symmetry. Robert knew there were forces at work he didn't understand. He had often heard of magic, and he knew this was what he was dealing with. Robert took the breastplate to the stand and placed it in place with the rest of the armor. As he adjusted the fittings to hold it into place with the rest of the armor, there was a humming of energy and the breastplate began to glow as the mithral flowed out and over the rest of the armor forming lines of power across the armor and even fusing into the cooling fluid lines that Robert had on this version of the armor from when he was trying to use a power supply that seemed to run too hot. After a few minutes, the glow faded leaving only the lines of power and the cooling lines with a soft silver blue glow to them.
Robert put the armor on and went to his test lab to test it. All of the systems were online as soon as the last components were locked into place. The weapon systems which he thought he would have to calibrate to the new power source were powered and the armor was fully operational. No sooner than he had completed testing, an alien armada launched a full scale assault on several cities across the globe. Many current heroes answered the call to arms to drive back the invaders, and Robert arrived to fight off the attacks across the UK. Dubbing himself MITHRAL for the mystical integration that the disc had enacted upon his armor, Robert now fights against the evils of the world as an armored superhero...unlike so many though, he knows his armor is powered by magic and not technology.
(c) Donovan Hicks, 2011
Well, that's another one of my character's backstories. It's all I really had tonight.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, October 10, 2011
My Personal World - My Son's Vocabulary Humor
Okay, so my son is 17. He's a junior in high school. I love him to death, but sometimes getting him to see the importance of certain subjects in school is difficult. For example, he had a Facebook post earlier this year where his use of the English language was some of the worst I had ever seen. Today he had a conversation with his mom (we're divorced and he lives with her) that went as follows (you'll laugh):
Well just now DJ learned the importance of vocabulary hahaha I am dying laughing at him as he storms off to bed. We are planning a trip to the Grand Canyon early summer. He and I were looking up some stop over interesting things to see or do to break up the trip. I came across a haunted Sanitarium along the way. Our conversation went like this:
Me: Hey DJ, this looks like fun, want to visit a sanitarium?
Him: that would be cool..
<I did a double take>
Me: Do you know what a sanitarium is?
Him: not really...
So I then had him read the website about the place. His eyes almost bulged out of his skull.
Him: ARE YOU NUTS?! SEE RIGHT THERE ~ DEAD PEOPLE... people have DIED.. do you read that?! GHOST!!!! You are out of your ever loving mind if you think I am stepping one foot near that place! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING... and on and on and on.....
Me: Then why did you say it would be cool to go see?
Him: I THOUGHT SANITARIUM MEANT A REALLY CLEAN HOTEL
I was falling on the ground laughing so hard I couldn't breathe! I finally managed to say
" Well see, English and vocabulary are both extremely important subjects in school."
Him: You are an evil woman
Hahahahaha...I bet he realizes he needs to consider what a new word means in the future a little more.
Thanks for reading, and sorry I didn't really have time for a real post, but this was hilarious to me and probably will be to anyone who has children in his age range whether they're yours or your brother's or sister's or maybe even just a friend's.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Huntress #1 and Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #1
Huntress is back in the DCnU with this limited series, and she's beating down thugs and not bothering to take names as always. She seems to be a little less bloodthirsty than in the previous incarnation, but she's still fairly brutal. Not much of a change to her costume, but it's the little things in a costume redesign that impress me. If something's not broke don't fix it is a motto in field service where I've worked for years, and it stands true here. There wasn't really anything with Huntress's costume, so why give it a major redesign for modernization. They've added some armor bits that make sense and given it a more streamlined appearance with the armor, but overall, it's still her costume.
The story in this issue was pretty cool too. Not your typical superhero after supervillain story here. It's a tale from real life of bad guys who are trafficking guns and women they've kidnapped into slavery as prostitutes or whatever else they choose to do with them. And it makes sense for Huntress to be taking care of this type of crime. She's a normal person after all with just the right skills and attitude to tackle these kinds of issues. Paul Levits did a wonderful job reintroducing Huntress to the DCnU, and I love it. Previously Huntress was the daughter of the Batman and Catwoman of Earth-2 (a parallel Earth tot he main DC Universe Earth, commonly referred to as Earth Prime) who had ended up on Earth Prime. They haven't revealed if that's still true for the Huntress yet, but she's definitely fits those lines still with the attitude.
Marcus To, who's work I have always loved (going back to when he was working on Soulfire with Aspen) does an amazing job in this book. I actually have an original pencil by Marcus To that he did for me at San Diego ComicCon one year early on when he was with Aspen. His pencils have only gotten better as time has progressed in my opinion, and I thought he was really good back then. The details he puts into a face to show expression is awesome, like the seriousness of the driver who drops Helena (Huntress) off at the hotel to the bellman who gives her a little smile and tip of his hat with an eyebrow raised as she enters the hotel.
Pick up this comic if you like Huntress, it's classy and gritty all at the same time, which is no surprise given a girl from Gotham who is familiar with Batman travelling to Italy to stop criminals from smuggling more problems into Gotham.
Ahh, the Penguin, the squat, ugly little rogue of Batman that no one really likes. I think Danny Devito did the best Penguin possible in Batman Returns. He was hideous and callous and Tim Burton's directing just made it creepy. This first issue of a 5 issue limited series really shows us this side of the Penguin. He's a creepy little man with no real superpowers, but who takes vengeance to whole new levels of pettiness. This first issue gives us a fresh glimpes into the origins of the Penguin and how he ended up the way he did. Born wiht a hideous nose that marked him as the man he would become, the Penguin was a child that only a mother could love and she was the only one that ever did according to this comic, so she's the only person he has any affection for in a reveal within this comic.
As to the revenge aspect of the Penguin, Gregg Hurwitz (the writer) is a man I would not want to offend in any major way given the revenge cycle he writes out for the Penguin for a man who bumps into the Penguin in the Penguin's club and before realizing it's the Penguin starts to tell him to watch where he's going. The man quickly realizes his mistake and apologizes...the Penguin laughts it off at this point, but that's not the end of it. Towards the end in a series of panels, the man is brought before the Penguin, and he tries to apologize again. Penguin laughs it off as if it is no big deal and then explains all the things that he has done to ruin this man's life since the incident earlier...including framing him for embezzlement, burning down his apartment complex with one of the man's good friends locked inside, cuts the brakes on his parents' car so they go over a cliff, and infects his girlfriend with an incurable disease that we are left to imagine will eventually kill her in some horrible method of suffering. Don't aggravate the Penguin is the moral, and for anyone close to Hurwitz, I would say don't aggravate him either; he may not be the Penguin, but you never know what a man with that kind of imagination might do to your cat. ;)
Artist, Szymon Kudranski, does an excellent job on the book too. The book's moody dark tones and colors by John Kalisz only add ot the pencils by Kudranski. Everyone around the Penguin is accentuated with various expressions of joy or barely perceptible smiles that they give only to keep their jobs and lives as they move around the Penguin. Crime never looked as evil as Kudranski makes it in this book. While the Joker may be the Clown Prince of Crime and stories with him, you expect to be full of insanity and violence, the world of the Penguin is a world of violence surrounded by darkness and melancholy, and that is the world depicted in this comic. If Gotham is a place of darkness and grime where the insanest of villains ply their illicit activities, the corner the Penguin is in is one of the darkest areas in the city.
If you like stories from the villain's perspective without them being turned into heroes (or anti-heroes as the case may be), then this book is one you should pick up and read. In the background story for why the Penguin is the way he is interspersed throughout the main story, you feel some sympathy for the Penguin, but then when you see how it has truly molded and shaped him, you realize that he has gone much further than his life has led him in how evil he has become.
Two Bat-family books that truly give you insight into two great characters from the family and its enemies. Huntress is as gritty as the Batman ever was even if it is against the cultured backdrop of Italy, while the Penguin shows why Batman is the way he is given the rogues gallery that he has to go up against.
Thanks for reading.
The story in this issue was pretty cool too. Not your typical superhero after supervillain story here. It's a tale from real life of bad guys who are trafficking guns and women they've kidnapped into slavery as prostitutes or whatever else they choose to do with them. And it makes sense for Huntress to be taking care of this type of crime. She's a normal person after all with just the right skills and attitude to tackle these kinds of issues. Paul Levits did a wonderful job reintroducing Huntress to the DCnU, and I love it. Previously Huntress was the daughter of the Batman and Catwoman of Earth-2 (a parallel Earth tot he main DC Universe Earth, commonly referred to as Earth Prime) who had ended up on Earth Prime. They haven't revealed if that's still true for the Huntress yet, but she's definitely fits those lines still with the attitude.
Marcus To, who's work I have always loved (going back to when he was working on Soulfire with Aspen) does an amazing job in this book. I actually have an original pencil by Marcus To that he did for me at San Diego ComicCon one year early on when he was with Aspen. His pencils have only gotten better as time has progressed in my opinion, and I thought he was really good back then. The details he puts into a face to show expression is awesome, like the seriousness of the driver who drops Helena (Huntress) off at the hotel to the bellman who gives her a little smile and tip of his hat with an eyebrow raised as she enters the hotel.
Pick up this comic if you like Huntress, it's classy and gritty all at the same time, which is no surprise given a girl from Gotham who is familiar with Batman travelling to Italy to stop criminals from smuggling more problems into Gotham.
Ahh, the Penguin, the squat, ugly little rogue of Batman that no one really likes. I think Danny Devito did the best Penguin possible in Batman Returns. He was hideous and callous and Tim Burton's directing just made it creepy. This first issue of a 5 issue limited series really shows us this side of the Penguin. He's a creepy little man with no real superpowers, but who takes vengeance to whole new levels of pettiness. This first issue gives us a fresh glimpes into the origins of the Penguin and how he ended up the way he did. Born wiht a hideous nose that marked him as the man he would become, the Penguin was a child that only a mother could love and she was the only one that ever did according to this comic, so she's the only person he has any affection for in a reveal within this comic.
As to the revenge aspect of the Penguin, Gregg Hurwitz (the writer) is a man I would not want to offend in any major way given the revenge cycle he writes out for the Penguin for a man who bumps into the Penguin in the Penguin's club and before realizing it's the Penguin starts to tell him to watch where he's going. The man quickly realizes his mistake and apologizes...the Penguin laughts it off at this point, but that's not the end of it. Towards the end in a series of panels, the man is brought before the Penguin, and he tries to apologize again. Penguin laughs it off as if it is no big deal and then explains all the things that he has done to ruin this man's life since the incident earlier...including framing him for embezzlement, burning down his apartment complex with one of the man's good friends locked inside, cuts the brakes on his parents' car so they go over a cliff, and infects his girlfriend with an incurable disease that we are left to imagine will eventually kill her in some horrible method of suffering. Don't aggravate the Penguin is the moral, and for anyone close to Hurwitz, I would say don't aggravate him either; he may not be the Penguin, but you never know what a man with that kind of imagination might do to your cat. ;)
Artist, Szymon Kudranski, does an excellent job on the book too. The book's moody dark tones and colors by John Kalisz only add ot the pencils by Kudranski. Everyone around the Penguin is accentuated with various expressions of joy or barely perceptible smiles that they give only to keep their jobs and lives as they move around the Penguin. Crime never looked as evil as Kudranski makes it in this book. While the Joker may be the Clown Prince of Crime and stories with him, you expect to be full of insanity and violence, the world of the Penguin is a world of violence surrounded by darkness and melancholy, and that is the world depicted in this comic. If Gotham is a place of darkness and grime where the insanest of villains ply their illicit activities, the corner the Penguin is in is one of the darkest areas in the city.
If you like stories from the villain's perspective without them being turned into heroes (or anti-heroes as the case may be), then this book is one you should pick up and read. In the background story for why the Penguin is the way he is interspersed throughout the main story, you feel some sympathy for the Penguin, but then when you see how it has truly molded and shaped him, you realize that he has gone much further than his life has led him in how evil he has become.
Two Bat-family books that truly give you insight into two great characters from the family and its enemies. Huntress is as gritty as the Batman ever was even if it is against the cultured backdrop of Italy, while the Penguin shows why Batman is the way he is given the rogues gallery that he has to go up against.
Thanks for reading.
Christ is Love, not anger
You were warned in the description that sometimes I would give my musings on Christianity. Let's start with the fact that I am a Christian. I believe in God with all my heart and that Jesus is God; they are one and the same. I also believe that the Bible is the only true guidance in how we should live our lives and in what we should do. A pastor, preacher, priest, or whatever your religion designates a leader in your church can help you understand the Bible, but only what is in the Bible is truth and not anything that one of those men might take upon himself. In this regard, I try to read my Bible every day in hopes that I will gain some new englightenment about how to live my life or what it is I'm supposed to do to be someone that pleases God.
I wasn't always this way. I was raised in a church, I went to church when I was a teenager in high school, and I dabbled in church a little bit after I left home as an adult for a couple of years. Pretty quickly though, I just left church behind. I still believed in God, but I didn't give God the praise or worship He deserved for a very long time. I came back to God and the church almost 3 years ago now. It took me almost a year of being back in church to actually let God back into my life. I still make mistakes every day, and there are times when I wonder why God still loves me, but I know He does.
One of the things that has always been a problem in my life is anger, and I'm not talking about, the kind of anger where you give someone a stern look to let them know they've displeased, but pure anger that will just well up inside of me until it has to be released because of some wrong inflicted on me; sometimes even imagined wrongs because I'm the only one that really sees or feels them. When I was a kid, this would come out in temper tantrums. I see this in my granddaughter. When I was in junior high school, it would express itself in fights - I was kind of a skinny kid all through junior high and high school, and in junior high I got picked on a lot by people I didn't even really know; I would take it for a while, but eventually someone would push that one step too far. The worst part was when I was really starting to get angry, I would start to cry (my mom shared this trait as well), which would generally encourage people picking on me to tease me even more because they thought they had really hurt me. What they never realized until the first punch was that I wasn't sad, I was angry. As I got into high schoo, I put away the fighting, which was good; it helped that most people matured enough to stop picking on each other or just formed cliques where people like me never really saw those people who used to pick on me. As I moved into adult hood I even tried to get past my anger and the only physical reaction by this point became me yelling at whoever or whatever made me mad. I went to a therapist one time for what I considered my anger issues. What I learned from the therapist was that what I was doing was natural - people would do things that hurt me and made me angry and I would react angrily to it. In the world of psychiatry, it's good to express your anger, so what I was doing was normal.
I still express my anger by yelling today, though I do my best to try to take a moment or two and just not get angry. It doesn't work well all the time, and my children and wife are the only people who even realize or have really seen this side of me in years. That part is a shame. The truth of anger though is that it is not really normal or good in the way we express or use it, especially not as Christians. Christ is love and that's what he wanted us to understand through His examples over and over again. He never got angry at those who persecuted Him; He actually felt pity for them in my understanding of what I read in the Bible. He never hated anyone, He only felt love for everyone He ever met including those who persecuted Him. In fact the last words he speaks before He dies on the cross are words of forgiveness. This is what we should be striving for in our own lives is a place where we do our best to live our lives the same way. We'll never truly achieve this peace here on earth, but we should be looking for it.
The worst thing about anger is that most of the time unless you do like I did in junior high and punch someone, the people you're angry at aren't really bothered by your anger. This is why we react by screaming or being violent in our anger, so the people who hurt us can be hurt too. What a ridiculous sentiment to be remembered by. The one example that even comes close to showing Jesus angry, identifies it not as anger, but as zeal for the temple, His Father's house. Even here, Jesus does not react angrily, although I'm sure some would disagree. The text shows that he made a cord to whip people who were selling the animals for sacrifice our of the courtyad. He overturned tables that the moneychangers using, but through it all, I see no mention of anger or even of Him trying to hurt anyone. He could have called down the full power of God on them to punish them. He could have gotten a stick and beat them with it. He could have gotten a real whip like He was eventually beaten with, but He used a cord that He made, so while I imagine it probably stung, I doubt it left any real pain or hurt. Even in this Jesus showed mercy, and He deserved to be angry and to punish people, to judge them. Christ is love because everything He did, He did out of love for us, to try to show us the way we should act towards one another.
The other thing that stands out about anger is that anger is a judgement by you upon someone. If you are angry with people, it is because you have decided that they deserve for you to be angry with them. They have done something that deserves this punishment. Consider parents with their children. Why do parents get angry with their children? Generally, it's because the child has done something that the parent has defined as wrong, possibly even after the child has been told several times not to do it. The parent then judges that the child deserves to be punished by spanking, scolding, grounding, whatever. Yes, the parent still loves the child, but there are times where it is anger that is driving the punishment and not love. I've been angry with my children (especially my daughter as she could attest) at times because I didn't know what else to do. It showed a lack of wisdom on my part to allow the anger to determine the punishment whether than to put the anger aside and use wisdom in determining the punishment. I have even made people angry before with something I've done. The anger is usually a judgement upon my action; sometimes I didn't even realize what I was doing would make someone angry, it just kind of was some stupid thing I did without thinking or considering how someone else would take it.
At the end of the day, anger never solved anything for me. Every fight I ever got into in junior high school, never really made those kids stop picking on me. Every time I've yelled, it never changed anything. In fact, every time I've been angry, the only person who has ever been hurt by it has been me. What has changed things has been stopping and listening, using wisdom, and showing love. In every instance when I've been angry with someone that mattered in my life, it was after the anger subsided and I applied wisdom and spoke calmly and rationally that things were resolved. Granted it is difficult to do this with younger children, but it does work. Sometimes children (and even adults) need a spanking, a scolding, or to be put in time out, but it will always bear the best results when it is done out of love.
One day, I'm going to get to Heaven. When I get there I will be judged for my time here on earth. Nothing I can do will ever change that judgement. Christ is the only one who can change that judgement by his death, burial, and resurrection. He changes it by his forgiveness of my sins and my anger. I imagine if God wasn't perfect, we would all be dead and this world would have been destroyed at Eden when Adam and Eve first sinned and in doing so, showed their disobedience of God. God loves us though, and he has put his anger aside for now, even when He corrects us now along the way, He does it in love and wisdom. One day, God will truly judge the world though, and on that day we will see His anger for the first time ever. If we want the forgiveness of God, we need to be more like Him and do as He said and judge not lest we be judged. We need to put our anger away and speak things to others in wisdom. When someone hurts us, we need to explain that to them, and if we are the other side, we need to listen with wisdom as well. God examines what's in our hearts and not what we do each day, no action I take will ever save me from God's judgement, only God's actions in Christ can do that. Love God as He loves you, not because you deserved to be loved by Him with all of the bad stuff you've done, but because He has chosen to love you out of His great mercy.
The worst part of all of this is you have groups of people out there who will tell you that they speak on behalf of God, that they are Christians. If you read your Bible, you will find quickly the truth. Anyone who professes that God hates anyone is a liar and does not speak on behalf of God. Whether they are Christian or not, I'll leave for God to decide. The Bible clearly tells us that God loves everyone of us, and in fact, if you look at the actions of Christ, He loves the sinner all the more because if we weren't all sinners, Christ would never have had to die for our sins and for us. Let your anger pass, and learn to love and be wise. There are many points in our grand history that might have been different if people would do this.
Thanks for reading, and God bless you.
I wasn't always this way. I was raised in a church, I went to church when I was a teenager in high school, and I dabbled in church a little bit after I left home as an adult for a couple of years. Pretty quickly though, I just left church behind. I still believed in God, but I didn't give God the praise or worship He deserved for a very long time. I came back to God and the church almost 3 years ago now. It took me almost a year of being back in church to actually let God back into my life. I still make mistakes every day, and there are times when I wonder why God still loves me, but I know He does.
One of the things that has always been a problem in my life is anger, and I'm not talking about, the kind of anger where you give someone a stern look to let them know they've displeased, but pure anger that will just well up inside of me until it has to be released because of some wrong inflicted on me; sometimes even imagined wrongs because I'm the only one that really sees or feels them. When I was a kid, this would come out in temper tantrums. I see this in my granddaughter. When I was in junior high school, it would express itself in fights - I was kind of a skinny kid all through junior high and high school, and in junior high I got picked on a lot by people I didn't even really know; I would take it for a while, but eventually someone would push that one step too far. The worst part was when I was really starting to get angry, I would start to cry (my mom shared this trait as well), which would generally encourage people picking on me to tease me even more because they thought they had really hurt me. What they never realized until the first punch was that I wasn't sad, I was angry. As I got into high schoo, I put away the fighting, which was good; it helped that most people matured enough to stop picking on each other or just formed cliques where people like me never really saw those people who used to pick on me. As I moved into adult hood I even tried to get past my anger and the only physical reaction by this point became me yelling at whoever or whatever made me mad. I went to a therapist one time for what I considered my anger issues. What I learned from the therapist was that what I was doing was natural - people would do things that hurt me and made me angry and I would react angrily to it. In the world of psychiatry, it's good to express your anger, so what I was doing was normal.
I still express my anger by yelling today, though I do my best to try to take a moment or two and just not get angry. It doesn't work well all the time, and my children and wife are the only people who even realize or have really seen this side of me in years. That part is a shame. The truth of anger though is that it is not really normal or good in the way we express or use it, especially not as Christians. Christ is love and that's what he wanted us to understand through His examples over and over again. He never got angry at those who persecuted Him; He actually felt pity for them in my understanding of what I read in the Bible. He never hated anyone, He only felt love for everyone He ever met including those who persecuted Him. In fact the last words he speaks before He dies on the cross are words of forgiveness. This is what we should be striving for in our own lives is a place where we do our best to live our lives the same way. We'll never truly achieve this peace here on earth, but we should be looking for it.
The worst thing about anger is that most of the time unless you do like I did in junior high and punch someone, the people you're angry at aren't really bothered by your anger. This is why we react by screaming or being violent in our anger, so the people who hurt us can be hurt too. What a ridiculous sentiment to be remembered by. The one example that even comes close to showing Jesus angry, identifies it not as anger, but as zeal for the temple, His Father's house. Even here, Jesus does not react angrily, although I'm sure some would disagree. The text shows that he made a cord to whip people who were selling the animals for sacrifice our of the courtyad. He overturned tables that the moneychangers using, but through it all, I see no mention of anger or even of Him trying to hurt anyone. He could have called down the full power of God on them to punish them. He could have gotten a stick and beat them with it. He could have gotten a real whip like He was eventually beaten with, but He used a cord that He made, so while I imagine it probably stung, I doubt it left any real pain or hurt. Even in this Jesus showed mercy, and He deserved to be angry and to punish people, to judge them. Christ is love because everything He did, He did out of love for us, to try to show us the way we should act towards one another.
The other thing that stands out about anger is that anger is a judgement by you upon someone. If you are angry with people, it is because you have decided that they deserve for you to be angry with them. They have done something that deserves this punishment. Consider parents with their children. Why do parents get angry with their children? Generally, it's because the child has done something that the parent has defined as wrong, possibly even after the child has been told several times not to do it. The parent then judges that the child deserves to be punished by spanking, scolding, grounding, whatever. Yes, the parent still loves the child, but there are times where it is anger that is driving the punishment and not love. I've been angry with my children (especially my daughter as she could attest) at times because I didn't know what else to do. It showed a lack of wisdom on my part to allow the anger to determine the punishment whether than to put the anger aside and use wisdom in determining the punishment. I have even made people angry before with something I've done. The anger is usually a judgement upon my action; sometimes I didn't even realize what I was doing would make someone angry, it just kind of was some stupid thing I did without thinking or considering how someone else would take it.
At the end of the day, anger never solved anything for me. Every fight I ever got into in junior high school, never really made those kids stop picking on me. Every time I've yelled, it never changed anything. In fact, every time I've been angry, the only person who has ever been hurt by it has been me. What has changed things has been stopping and listening, using wisdom, and showing love. In every instance when I've been angry with someone that mattered in my life, it was after the anger subsided and I applied wisdom and spoke calmly and rationally that things were resolved. Granted it is difficult to do this with younger children, but it does work. Sometimes children (and even adults) need a spanking, a scolding, or to be put in time out, but it will always bear the best results when it is done out of love.
One day, I'm going to get to Heaven. When I get there I will be judged for my time here on earth. Nothing I can do will ever change that judgement. Christ is the only one who can change that judgement by his death, burial, and resurrection. He changes it by his forgiveness of my sins and my anger. I imagine if God wasn't perfect, we would all be dead and this world would have been destroyed at Eden when Adam and Eve first sinned and in doing so, showed their disobedience of God. God loves us though, and he has put his anger aside for now, even when He corrects us now along the way, He does it in love and wisdom. One day, God will truly judge the world though, and on that day we will see His anger for the first time ever. If we want the forgiveness of God, we need to be more like Him and do as He said and judge not lest we be judged. We need to put our anger away and speak things to others in wisdom. When someone hurts us, we need to explain that to them, and if we are the other side, we need to listen with wisdom as well. God examines what's in our hearts and not what we do each day, no action I take will ever save me from God's judgement, only God's actions in Christ can do that. Love God as He loves you, not because you deserved to be loved by Him with all of the bad stuff you've done, but because He has chosen to love you out of His great mercy.
The worst part of all of this is you have groups of people out there who will tell you that they speak on behalf of God, that they are Christians. If you read your Bible, you will find quickly the truth. Anyone who professes that God hates anyone is a liar and does not speak on behalf of God. Whether they are Christian or not, I'll leave for God to decide. The Bible clearly tells us that God loves everyone of us, and in fact, if you look at the actions of Christ, He loves the sinner all the more because if we weren't all sinners, Christ would never have had to die for our sins and for us. Let your anger pass, and learn to love and be wise. There are many points in our grand history that might have been different if people would do this.
Thanks for reading, and God bless you.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Action Comics #2 and Animal Man #2
Okay, I got two comics read yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to post anything because I was gaming last night.
Action Comics continues to amaze me. Grant Morrison's vision of Superman is what I think it should be. I have mentioned in the past that I don't like Superman, I don't normally like him because he's so powerful and undefeatable for the past era in which I've read comics (80's to now) that DC has literally had to try and force something to be as powerful as him, hence the creation of Doomsday in the 90's as a being even more powerful than Superman, so powerful in fact that he actually supplants Superman as the most powerful thing on Earth other than when Apokolips shows up. Grant Morrison in this beginnins story of the DCnU (it takes place 5 years before the current continuity of the DCnU) has brought Superman back to his roots of the 30's, 40's and 50's though. Superman is not all powerful. He can be hurt; he doesn't just immediatley stand up after being slammed into the wall by a speeding bullet train, and he doesn't immedialy recover from being shocked with 500,000 volts of electricity at 10 amps as in this issue. It takes Superman time to recover now, time to heal, not as long as you or I because he is still Superman, but it does take time. I've always liked Grant Morrison as a writer, and this comic proves why. He has taken a character that I all but hated and made him into a character I love to read about. He has also made the character very human without needing to make him human. In this issue, Superman has been captured by General Sam Lane and is being experimented upon by Lex Luthor. At some point after his capture, his cape (what we all know is his baby blanket from Krypton) was taken from him to see how much damage it could take (it proves to be up to the challenge by the way), and the first thing Superman does when he finally gets free is not make a break for daylight, but demand they return to him what they took from him (his cape). They do not return it of course because they are already in recapture mode, so he searches through the base until he finds his baby blanket and then he escapes after a small detour to find his rocket that the base also has, which he didn't know about. Here there is a brief scene between he and the rocket which appears to have some intelligence before he tells the rocket to look after itself for now and he'll be back for it later. All showing Superman's very human side without overburdening him with the need to fly home to maw and paw Kent to get in touch with his human side (Maw and Paw Kent are actually both dead in this continuity by the way). I have to give kudos to Morrison for creating a character that people can sympathize with again.
Also, that little detail that Grant Morrison wrote in the last issue about the object in the sky that Lex Luthor noticed in the sky; we find out what it is in this issue. I'm pretty sure it's Brainiac, but they haven't shown that part yet.
The pencils by Rags Morales continue to be amazing. Capturing Superman at a younger age without making him seem like a tired teenager. His pencils add as much to capturing the humanity and less powerful Superman as much as Morrison's writing. His images of the battered and tortured Superman in this issue do a wonderful job of showing us that Superman can be hurt even if he does heal up quickly given time. And the motion he attached to Superman when he is loose and, dare I say, revelling in his power are absolutely amazing. You can almost hear the controlled passion and anger in Superman's voice as he demands the soldiers give him his cape back.
Pick up this title and read it if you like Grant Morrison. If you couldn't figure out why you didn't like Superman but always wanted to, pick it up. If you love Superman, pick up this title. Just get out there and read it before you're stuck looking it for it later when no one wants to part with their copies of this comic.
Animal Man continues to amaze me as well. I wasn't even going to buy this title. I picked it up last month because it was selling out quickly, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It shocked me and showed me a Buddy Baker who was not the Animal Man I thought he was, but someone more confident and secure in his powers. And then it began to turn how we thought his powers worked and where we thought they came from on its head to show us that there is even more to Animal Man than we ever thought.
I don't think I had ever previously read any work by Jeff Lemire, but his take on Animal Man in this openinc arc of the series is spectacular. He has connected Buddy to his family again and introduced new elements to Animal Man in a way that I would have never foresaw. The villains he and artist Travel Foreman introduce fully in this issue are amazingly creepy, and if I was still 10 would probably give me nightmares. The variant powers of Buddy's daughter, Maxine, first revealed at the end of issue 1 shows you a taste of what Buddy could be capable of if he fully understood his powers, while Maxine seems even more powerful than Buddy to begin with as she seems more intimately connected to the source of their powers.
If you ever liked Animal Man before, this is definitely a book you want to be reading. If you never gave Animal Man a chance because he seemed like a B rated and uglier Vixen, you should give him a chance with this series. It's obvious that Buddy is capable of so much more than just grabbing the strength, speed, or other characteristics of animals if he fully explores the use of his powers completely. Hopefully, we'll see him doing more of that as this arc and series progresses.
Thanks for reading and have a good day.
Action Comics continues to amaze me. Grant Morrison's vision of Superman is what I think it should be. I have mentioned in the past that I don't like Superman, I don't normally like him because he's so powerful and undefeatable for the past era in which I've read comics (80's to now) that DC has literally had to try and force something to be as powerful as him, hence the creation of Doomsday in the 90's as a being even more powerful than Superman, so powerful in fact that he actually supplants Superman as the most powerful thing on Earth other than when Apokolips shows up. Grant Morrison in this beginnins story of the DCnU (it takes place 5 years before the current continuity of the DCnU) has brought Superman back to his roots of the 30's, 40's and 50's though. Superman is not all powerful. He can be hurt; he doesn't just immediatley stand up after being slammed into the wall by a speeding bullet train, and he doesn't immedialy recover from being shocked with 500,000 volts of electricity at 10 amps as in this issue. It takes Superman time to recover now, time to heal, not as long as you or I because he is still Superman, but it does take time. I've always liked Grant Morrison as a writer, and this comic proves why. He has taken a character that I all but hated and made him into a character I love to read about. He has also made the character very human without needing to make him human. In this issue, Superman has been captured by General Sam Lane and is being experimented upon by Lex Luthor. At some point after his capture, his cape (what we all know is his baby blanket from Krypton) was taken from him to see how much damage it could take (it proves to be up to the challenge by the way), and the first thing Superman does when he finally gets free is not make a break for daylight, but demand they return to him what they took from him (his cape). They do not return it of course because they are already in recapture mode, so he searches through the base until he finds his baby blanket and then he escapes after a small detour to find his rocket that the base also has, which he didn't know about. Here there is a brief scene between he and the rocket which appears to have some intelligence before he tells the rocket to look after itself for now and he'll be back for it later. All showing Superman's very human side without overburdening him with the need to fly home to maw and paw Kent to get in touch with his human side (Maw and Paw Kent are actually both dead in this continuity by the way). I have to give kudos to Morrison for creating a character that people can sympathize with again.
Also, that little detail that Grant Morrison wrote in the last issue about the object in the sky that Lex Luthor noticed in the sky; we find out what it is in this issue. I'm pretty sure it's Brainiac, but they haven't shown that part yet.
The pencils by Rags Morales continue to be amazing. Capturing Superman at a younger age without making him seem like a tired teenager. His pencils add as much to capturing the humanity and less powerful Superman as much as Morrison's writing. His images of the battered and tortured Superman in this issue do a wonderful job of showing us that Superman can be hurt even if he does heal up quickly given time. And the motion he attached to Superman when he is loose and, dare I say, revelling in his power are absolutely amazing. You can almost hear the controlled passion and anger in Superman's voice as he demands the soldiers give him his cape back.
Pick up this title and read it if you like Grant Morrison. If you couldn't figure out why you didn't like Superman but always wanted to, pick it up. If you love Superman, pick up this title. Just get out there and read it before you're stuck looking it for it later when no one wants to part with their copies of this comic.
Animal Man continues to amaze me as well. I wasn't even going to buy this title. I picked it up last month because it was selling out quickly, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It shocked me and showed me a Buddy Baker who was not the Animal Man I thought he was, but someone more confident and secure in his powers. And then it began to turn how we thought his powers worked and where we thought they came from on its head to show us that there is even more to Animal Man than we ever thought.
I don't think I had ever previously read any work by Jeff Lemire, but his take on Animal Man in this openinc arc of the series is spectacular. He has connected Buddy to his family again and introduced new elements to Animal Man in a way that I would have never foresaw. The villains he and artist Travel Foreman introduce fully in this issue are amazingly creepy, and if I was still 10 would probably give me nightmares. The variant powers of Buddy's daughter, Maxine, first revealed at the end of issue 1 shows you a taste of what Buddy could be capable of if he fully understood his powers, while Maxine seems even more powerful than Buddy to begin with as she seems more intimately connected to the source of their powers.
If you ever liked Animal Man before, this is definitely a book you want to be reading. If you never gave Animal Man a chance because he seemed like a B rated and uglier Vixen, you should give him a chance with this series. It's obvious that Buddy is capable of so much more than just grabbing the strength, speed, or other characteristics of animals if he fully explores the use of his powers completely. Hopefully, we'll see him doing more of that as this arc and series progresses.
Thanks for reading and have a good day.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Batman: Detective Comics #2 and Swamp Thing #2
What can I say, I read two tonight and tha was it, so I figured I'd give you a taste of both of them.
Detective Comics continues to amaze me with a Batman who is the way he should be. Tough as nails, but still able to be surprised by the criminally insane that call Gotham home. Joker has had his face sliced off (at least the skin) as seen last night, and it's driving everyone crazy trying to figure out what's going on, especially Batman. Is the Joker dead? No one knows and I'm not sure this issue answered the question yet, but this new villain, Dollmaker, creeps me out even more than the Joker ever did. I'm thinking that's the Joker with him on the third to last page of the story in the creepier than usual jester get up. Batman is still fighting for all he's worth the way you expect him to, but Dollmaker and what I can only imagine are his human dolls don't fight fair and want to add Batman to the list of victims. I'm still recommending this comic. It's Batman the way he should be. Tony S. Daniel and Ryan Winn are doing an excellent job with the story and the art. And I'm really loving the new looks of the vehicles, not completely redesigned, but like many of the costumes, redesigned just enough to give them a new edge and a modernized look (or futuristic look as may be the case with some of the Bat-vehicles).
The story in this arc continues to be disturbing and engrossing. And, I'm still not really sure where it's going to end. I hope Batman wins, but at this point, I'd say I'm not sure and it's obvious with this issue that the gloves are off and major characters aren't necessarily considered hands off anymore in the DCnU.
If you haven't tried this comic yet, you're missing out on a great Batman story.
Swamp Thing is a title I wasn't sure I was going to like. The Swamp Thing is one of those characters that I think people usually love or hate. I always liked the concept of the character, but I never enjoyed what they did with the character, even as recently as in Brightest Day and its aftermath title, The Search for Swamp Thing. This new series has surpised me at every turn so far though. The first issue left me wondering why Alec Holland wasn't the Swamp Thing since this was the relaunch and that's what I expected to be the case. Instead he was working construction with these past memories of the Swamp Thing and no real understanding of it all other than he was finished with it. At the end of the first issue, a Swamp Thing shows up. Issue 2 reveals that this is not the Swamp Thing we're used to, but a previous Swamp Thing who's human host has died already and is now a husk of his former self. We learn that Alec Holland is not the Swamp Thing right now because he has yet to have actually become the Swamp Thing. It seems that the original origin from when Holland's lab blew up and he died and then became the Swamp Thing wasn't really him becoming the Swamp Thing, but a simulacrum of him that the Green decided to create to make the newest Swamp Thing because Holland is supposed to be the greatest hero of the Green yet. The fact that Holland's consciousness was never really in the Swamp Thing kept it from reaching the full potential of Swamp Thing or from being probably restrained by a human conscience. The truth is that the accident in which the lab blew up did not make Alec Holland the Swamp Thing, but kept him from becoming the Swamp Thing.
Now there is a second chance with Alec Holland alive again for the green to make him into the Swamp Thing. And they need him to be the Swamp Thing because their greatest enemy is coming for them with no less desire than to destroy the world as we know it and remake it a place of death and plague.
Scott Snyder is writing a great story about the Swamp Thing, and it's a story that I want to keep reading. The artwork by Yanick Paquette is exceptional and works well for the tone of this character and story. I have to say I'm loving this book, and anyone who loves the Swamp Thing will love it. I also think if you used to hate the Swamp Thing, it's time to give him another chance; this story may change your mind about him. I can't wait to see what happens in issue 3 given the cliffhanger in this issue.
Well, that's it for today. Thanks for reading.
Detective Comics continues to amaze me with a Batman who is the way he should be. Tough as nails, but still able to be surprised by the criminally insane that call Gotham home. Joker has had his face sliced off (at least the skin) as seen last night, and it's driving everyone crazy trying to figure out what's going on, especially Batman. Is the Joker dead? No one knows and I'm not sure this issue answered the question yet, but this new villain, Dollmaker, creeps me out even more than the Joker ever did. I'm thinking that's the Joker with him on the third to last page of the story in the creepier than usual jester get up. Batman is still fighting for all he's worth the way you expect him to, but Dollmaker and what I can only imagine are his human dolls don't fight fair and want to add Batman to the list of victims. I'm still recommending this comic. It's Batman the way he should be. Tony S. Daniel and Ryan Winn are doing an excellent job with the story and the art. And I'm really loving the new looks of the vehicles, not completely redesigned, but like many of the costumes, redesigned just enough to give them a new edge and a modernized look (or futuristic look as may be the case with some of the Bat-vehicles).
The story in this arc continues to be disturbing and engrossing. And, I'm still not really sure where it's going to end. I hope Batman wins, but at this point, I'd say I'm not sure and it's obvious with this issue that the gloves are off and major characters aren't necessarily considered hands off anymore in the DCnU.
If you haven't tried this comic yet, you're missing out on a great Batman story.
Swamp Thing is a title I wasn't sure I was going to like. The Swamp Thing is one of those characters that I think people usually love or hate. I always liked the concept of the character, but I never enjoyed what they did with the character, even as recently as in Brightest Day and its aftermath title, The Search for Swamp Thing. This new series has surpised me at every turn so far though. The first issue left me wondering why Alec Holland wasn't the Swamp Thing since this was the relaunch and that's what I expected to be the case. Instead he was working construction with these past memories of the Swamp Thing and no real understanding of it all other than he was finished with it. At the end of the first issue, a Swamp Thing shows up. Issue 2 reveals that this is not the Swamp Thing we're used to, but a previous Swamp Thing who's human host has died already and is now a husk of his former self. We learn that Alec Holland is not the Swamp Thing right now because he has yet to have actually become the Swamp Thing. It seems that the original origin from when Holland's lab blew up and he died and then became the Swamp Thing wasn't really him becoming the Swamp Thing, but a simulacrum of him that the Green decided to create to make the newest Swamp Thing because Holland is supposed to be the greatest hero of the Green yet. The fact that Holland's consciousness was never really in the Swamp Thing kept it from reaching the full potential of Swamp Thing or from being probably restrained by a human conscience. The truth is that the accident in which the lab blew up did not make Alec Holland the Swamp Thing, but kept him from becoming the Swamp Thing.
Now there is a second chance with Alec Holland alive again for the green to make him into the Swamp Thing. And they need him to be the Swamp Thing because their greatest enemy is coming for them with no less desire than to destroy the world as we know it and remake it a place of death and plague.
Scott Snyder is writing a great story about the Swamp Thing, and it's a story that I want to keep reading. The artwork by Yanick Paquette is exceptional and works well for the tone of this character and story. I have to say I'm loving this book, and anyone who loves the Swamp Thing will love it. I also think if you used to hate the Swamp Thing, it's time to give him another chance; this story may change your mind about him. I can't wait to see what happens in issue 3 given the cliffhanger in this issue.
Well, that's it for today. Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Champions Online - Costume Contests
So, I posted one of my characters from the MMO, Champions Online, about a week ago. I talked about my character, but not the game much. Champions Online is one of a rare genre of MMO's in that it uses the superhero genre for its world and the characters. It's not as rare as it once was, but compared to all of the fantasy world MMOs that have come and gone, it's still a rare genre. There are 3 of them right now: City of Heroes/Villains (CoH/V or CoX) (the first), Champions Online (CO) (the first based off of a previous PnP game), and DC Universe Online (DCUO) (the latest and the worst). I've played all three of them and so far other than a few minor details that DCUO capitalized on as the latest game, Champions Online is the best in my opinion.
One of the things I like about CO (and I liked it in CoX too) is that you can customize your character's looks as they give you many pieces of "clothing" to choose from to outfit your character and make your personal superhero (I have 18 right now) look like what you want. This led to the rise in CoX before it and the continuation in CO of costume contests (CCs) where people compete for in-game prizes to see who has the most awesome costume based on the judges' opinions. The CCs are generally held by supergroups (the superhero genre's version of guilds if you play WoW) who give away things like costume unlocks (more cool clothing for your hero's look), items that can give your characters bonuses for their combat abilities, or just in-game money (globals in CO instead of gold).
One of the three supergroups I have heroes in is called the Krewe de Champions. It's my wife's supergroup and I guess mine too technically, since I gave her the idea for the name. I'm from Louisiana originally, and a supergroup with Mardi Gras motifs just seemed appropriate. We held our supergroup's first CC tonight. There are different types of CCs you can hold, usually based on a theme like tech heroes, monstrous heroes, cutest heroes, etc. One of the more rare ones due to the time they take are bio CCs. These use the biography or background stories of your characters as a judging point as well as the costume. Biographies are typed by the players for their characters and can be read by anyone by selecting an option called info for a character. I like these types of CCs because I get to see not just how fashionly creative other players are but also how creative they are with their writing skills. I always wanted to be a writer, but never really pursued it, so it interests me.
Anyway, without further ado, I thought I would give you a peek into the great costumes some other people come up with. There was no way to cut and paste all of the character bios for these great characters without using up a lot of their valuable game time, but I wanted to share this creativity.
These first two pictures are our honorable mentions. We chose 5 characters for this, and I really wish you could see some of the details in all of these costumes. Names of the characters, but not their handles are below the pictures. The names for all pictures are from left to right for ease of reference.
We had honorable mentions and then we had an inbetween level after honorable mentions, but before our top 3 picks for the CC. We call them judges' favorites, but really all 10 of these were our favorites.
Next is our second place winner. Her picture is not great, but her character is only about half the size of the other characters (pretty much the smallest sized character you can make).
And finally, this was our first place winner. Her semi-transparent look just added to the name and the bio that she had in a very cool way. I had never even seen the item she used to do this with before, but my mind is already reeling over what I could do with a new character if I ever find the item myself.
Like I said, I love the CCs, but the game is fun in and of itself even without the CCs. If you don't believe me, you should check it out for yourself. The game is actually free to play - yes, free, not for 20 levels, but for every level that everyone who pays has as well. What? How can that be? Well, you don't get everything quite the way those who pay do. As a free to play player, you have to play what's called an archetype (it's a set architecture of powers in your character that you gain as you level; there's a couple points where you get to choose between more than one, but not much), where as players who pay for the game can create free from characters using powers from any of the trees that make up the power sets. Also, pay players get a lot more costume pieces options for free and free players have to find or buy these pieces, and all of them are not even available for them, but there's still plenty to choose from when designing your hero's look.
I don't advertise full immersion in the game and starving yourself to death like some MMO players have ended up in the news for, but with reasonable borders for yourself, spending a couple hours in an MMO, especially a good one like this can be fun. If you have any interest, you can always check out the free to play version of this and see some of the creativity I'm talking about by signing up for an account and downloading the client at Champions-online.com
One of the things I like about CO (and I liked it in CoX too) is that you can customize your character's looks as they give you many pieces of "clothing" to choose from to outfit your character and make your personal superhero (I have 18 right now) look like what you want. This led to the rise in CoX before it and the continuation in CO of costume contests (CCs) where people compete for in-game prizes to see who has the most awesome costume based on the judges' opinions. The CCs are generally held by supergroups (the superhero genre's version of guilds if you play WoW) who give away things like costume unlocks (more cool clothing for your hero's look), items that can give your characters bonuses for their combat abilities, or just in-game money (globals in CO instead of gold).
One of the three supergroups I have heroes in is called the Krewe de Champions. It's my wife's supergroup and I guess mine too technically, since I gave her the idea for the name. I'm from Louisiana originally, and a supergroup with Mardi Gras motifs just seemed appropriate. We held our supergroup's first CC tonight. There are different types of CCs you can hold, usually based on a theme like tech heroes, monstrous heroes, cutest heroes, etc. One of the more rare ones due to the time they take are bio CCs. These use the biography or background stories of your characters as a judging point as well as the costume. Biographies are typed by the players for their characters and can be read by anyone by selecting an option called info for a character. I like these types of CCs because I get to see not just how fashionly creative other players are but also how creative they are with their writing skills. I always wanted to be a writer, but never really pursued it, so it interests me.
Anyway, without further ado, I thought I would give you a peek into the great costumes some other people come up with. There was no way to cut and paste all of the character bios for these great characters without using up a lot of their valuable game time, but I wanted to share this creativity.
These first two pictures are our honorable mentions. We chose 5 characters for this, and I really wish you could see some of the details in all of these costumes. Names of the characters, but not their handles are below the pictures. The names for all pictures are from left to right for ease of reference.
Dark Mistress, Sari the Reaper, Savage Surgeon
Autumn, Toy Soldier
(the smaller figure is an action figure, like a pet, you can collect in game)
We had honorable mentions and then we had an inbetween level after honorable mentions, but before our top 3 picks for the CC. We call them judges' favorites, but really all 10 of these were our favorites.
Captain Whiteout, Lamia Minora
This next picture was our third place winner for the evening. The fact that his name stands for something should give you an idea of the creativity in use by him and many of the players involved in this game.
Z.E.I.R.O.
Pixie
And finally, this was our first place winner. Her semi-transparent look just added to the name and the bio that she had in a very cool way. I had never even seen the item she used to do this with before, but my mind is already reeling over what I could do with a new character if I ever find the item myself.
Looking Glass
I don't advertise full immersion in the game and starving yourself to death like some MMO players have ended up in the news for, but with reasonable borders for yourself, spending a couple hours in an MMO, especially a good one like this can be fun. If you have any interest, you can always check out the free to play version of this and see some of the creativity I'm talking about by signing up for an account and downloading the client at Champions-online.com
Monday, October 3, 2011
Farscape TPB Vol. 1
Farscape rocked! That's all I can really say about the series from when it was on SciFi. It's a shame they cancelled it by moving it to a night where it had to compete with major shows on major networks instead of leaving it in its original steadily watched timeslot. They claim it was a ratings issue, but its ratings were fine until the network powers that be moved it to another timeslot. Here's a hint for TV moguls, if the initials of your network aren't ABC, CBS, or NBC, don't move a highly rated show to another time slot to compete with one of their highly rated shows; some of the people watching yours are probably watching theirs too.
Anyway, Farscape was one of those sci-fi shows that comes along every once in a while and is great at what it does and is sometimes a little ahead of its time. Other sci-fi series that are/were like this include Star Trek (the original was cancelled after only 3 seasons for poor ratings) and Firefly (never actually cancelled by the network, just gone...which I think may be worse - most people are probably more familiar with the movie, Serenity). Like both of these series Farscape took a group of people and brought them together to create a family cohesive unit of friends willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. Closer to Firefly in the fact that it was a bunch of misfits and outlaws whether than a military structured force, Farscape was based around an earthling, John Crichton, getting yanked through a wormhole while test piloting the experimental spacecraft, Farscape 1 (hence the name). Crichton ends up on the far side of the universe, popping out right in the middle of a space batttle between the dominant space empire, the Peacekeepers, and a group of prisoners who have just escaped their cells on a prison ship known as Moya. Crichton's ship accidentally causes one of the Peacekeeper fighters to be destroyed; the pilot of the ship happens to be the brother of a high ranking officer who now wants vengeance on Crichton whoever he is. So, while the prisoners with John Crichton and his ship now onboard escape in their own prison ship, there is no way Crais (the officer) is going to let them get away. The TV series lasted four seasons before being cancelled. The thing about this show is while there were a lot of action packed scenes of space fights and land based laser fights, the show hit the heart by making the characters realistic in nature and developing something about the characters in each episode along with the fights. If you've never seen the show, you should check it out in syndication or pick it up on iTunes.
Rockne S. O'Bannon created the series and it was produced by the Jim Henson Company (the Muppets guys). The series was left on a cliffhanger, and a year later thanks to funding by several people, a mini-series entitled, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars finally gave fans closure on the TV series.
Why did I tell you about all of the TV stuff? Because the comic book series picks up right after the Peacekeeper Wars, so you pretty much know what it's about now. The comic book series, at least its first four issues collected in the volume one trade paperback continue the same excellent story that the series made famous. The characters who have survived are still there. It's kind of a must to at least watch the Peacekeeper Wars to know who the characters are talking about to understand what's going on in at least the first issue and who D'Argo is. I wish the series would have continued, and there was still an awesome tv show to watch, but seeing the series continue in comics is just as satisfying if not more so, since they'll never have to worry about whether the budget can afford something with a comic book. As long as they can pay the artist and writer, they can afford whatever they want to do as long as the artist can draw it and the writer can think of it. Rockne S. O'Bannon continues to write the story though others script the actual comic book. The pencils by Tommy Patterson capture the same essence of the show that anyone who has seen it loved.
My only regret with this trade paperback is that I waited until the series was being collected in trades to pick it up. If you are a fan of Farscape and you miss it, pick up the trades for it at your local comic shop or ask them to order them now and then start picking up the series itself. There have even been a few limited series spun off from the main series. If you've never heard of Farscape or never watched it, go watch it and then pick up the trades and comics; I know you'll want to after seeing the first season alone.
Thanks for reading.
Anyway, Farscape was one of those sci-fi shows that comes along every once in a while and is great at what it does and is sometimes a little ahead of its time. Other sci-fi series that are/were like this include Star Trek (the original was cancelled after only 3 seasons for poor ratings) and Firefly (never actually cancelled by the network, just gone...which I think may be worse - most people are probably more familiar with the movie, Serenity). Like both of these series Farscape took a group of people and brought them together to create a family cohesive unit of friends willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. Closer to Firefly in the fact that it was a bunch of misfits and outlaws whether than a military structured force, Farscape was based around an earthling, John Crichton, getting yanked through a wormhole while test piloting the experimental spacecraft, Farscape 1 (hence the name). Crichton ends up on the far side of the universe, popping out right in the middle of a space batttle between the dominant space empire, the Peacekeepers, and a group of prisoners who have just escaped their cells on a prison ship known as Moya. Crichton's ship accidentally causes one of the Peacekeeper fighters to be destroyed; the pilot of the ship happens to be the brother of a high ranking officer who now wants vengeance on Crichton whoever he is. So, while the prisoners with John Crichton and his ship now onboard escape in their own prison ship, there is no way Crais (the officer) is going to let them get away. The TV series lasted four seasons before being cancelled. The thing about this show is while there were a lot of action packed scenes of space fights and land based laser fights, the show hit the heart by making the characters realistic in nature and developing something about the characters in each episode along with the fights. If you've never seen the show, you should check it out in syndication or pick it up on iTunes.
Rockne S. O'Bannon created the series and it was produced by the Jim Henson Company (the Muppets guys). The series was left on a cliffhanger, and a year later thanks to funding by several people, a mini-series entitled, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars finally gave fans closure on the TV series.
Why did I tell you about all of the TV stuff? Because the comic book series picks up right after the Peacekeeper Wars, so you pretty much know what it's about now. The comic book series, at least its first four issues collected in the volume one trade paperback continue the same excellent story that the series made famous. The characters who have survived are still there. It's kind of a must to at least watch the Peacekeeper Wars to know who the characters are talking about to understand what's going on in at least the first issue and who D'Argo is. I wish the series would have continued, and there was still an awesome tv show to watch, but seeing the series continue in comics is just as satisfying if not more so, since they'll never have to worry about whether the budget can afford something with a comic book. As long as they can pay the artist and writer, they can afford whatever they want to do as long as the artist can draw it and the writer can think of it. Rockne S. O'Bannon continues to write the story though others script the actual comic book. The pencils by Tommy Patterson capture the same essence of the show that anyone who has seen it loved.
My only regret with this trade paperback is that I waited until the series was being collected in trades to pick it up. If you are a fan of Farscape and you miss it, pick up the trades for it at your local comic shop or ask them to order them now and then start picking up the series itself. There have even been a few limited series spun off from the main series. If you've never heard of Farscape or never watched it, go watch it and then pick up the trades and comics; I know you'll want to after seeing the first season alone.
Thanks for reading.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The Bionic Man #1 and #2
Okay, so I'm going to date myself. I used to love watching "The Six Million Dollar Man" when I was a kid. I thought it was just cool. I'm pretty sure I even had a Steve Austin action figure at some point, but I can't remember for sure. The series ended in 1978 after 5 seasons on the air. I loved this show because it was one of the earlier science fiction shows that was played during prime time when I was a kid that I actually got to see. Many of the other science fiction shows I only really remember in reruns later.
Flash foward to today, a fairly well known movie writer, director and producer by the name of Kevin Smith writes a script for a new Bionic Man movie. The people who own the rights to make the movie turn his script down. Oh well, Smith has plenty of money from his Jay and Silent Bob series of movies I suppose, and he still writes comics once in a while. Oh yeah, since he writes comics, he takes his script to a comic company known as Dynamite Entertainment who happen to have procured the rights to the Bionic Man for comics. So, we never get to see the movie, but the comic based on Smith's script is awesome so far and it's just two issues in.
Colonel Steve Austin is at the end of his career as a test pilot, and as per the series, it ends up placing him in a position where it may be the end of his life as well. We've already seen what the antagonist for the series can see by the time we are even actually introduced to Colonel Austin in issue 1 of the comic and it's not very pretty. I would say that the short lived rehashed Bionic Woman series that got killed due to the writers' strike a year or so ago took some from this script or vice versa. In this series there was another bionic man before Steve Austin, and that candidate has had a severe psychotic breakdown and gone rogue.
We're all the way through issue 2 and Austin is only now on the operating table with doctors trying to save his life after the crash of the latest stealth bomber that he was flight testing. The series is well written and I couldn't put it down once I started issue 1. I was glad I had forgotten that I wanted to pick it up until I saw issue 2 was out, so I got to read straight through both issues. My only regret is I wish I had waited until the whole series was out because I want to know what happens next.
ARt is provided by Phil Hester and it's stunning from beginning to end. The details are what makes the artwork fabulous. When you see the picture of Steve Austin's fiancee in his cockpit at the beginning, you think it's a nice touch. It's an even nicer touch when you see it catching on fire as the plane starts to crash later. It's nice to know that both the writer and penciller knew this had to be there to show the loss that is occurring.
If you were a fan of the old series from the '70's or even if you've never seen it before, I recommend this book. If you were a fan of the '70's series, you'll get a rush seeing Steve Austin back in action. If you don't know what I'm talking about, if you like science fiction and the plausibility of cybernetic men, pick this up and see your imagination ignited again with a story that was originally conceived in 1972 in the novel Cyborgby Martin Caidin. For me, The Six Million Dollar Man was the show that showed me that a man could be a hero, much like Superman: The Movie made me believe that a man could fly (at least in my imagination).
Thanks for reading.
Flash foward to today, a fairly well known movie writer, director and producer by the name of Kevin Smith writes a script for a new Bionic Man movie. The people who own the rights to make the movie turn his script down. Oh well, Smith has plenty of money from his Jay and Silent Bob series of movies I suppose, and he still writes comics once in a while. Oh yeah, since he writes comics, he takes his script to a comic company known as Dynamite Entertainment who happen to have procured the rights to the Bionic Man for comics. So, we never get to see the movie, but the comic based on Smith's script is awesome so far and it's just two issues in.
Colonel Steve Austin is at the end of his career as a test pilot, and as per the series, it ends up placing him in a position where it may be the end of his life as well. We've already seen what the antagonist for the series can see by the time we are even actually introduced to Colonel Austin in issue 1 of the comic and it's not very pretty. I would say that the short lived rehashed Bionic Woman series that got killed due to the writers' strike a year or so ago took some from this script or vice versa. In this series there was another bionic man before Steve Austin, and that candidate has had a severe psychotic breakdown and gone rogue.
We're all the way through issue 2 and Austin is only now on the operating table with doctors trying to save his life after the crash of the latest stealth bomber that he was flight testing. The series is well written and I couldn't put it down once I started issue 1. I was glad I had forgotten that I wanted to pick it up until I saw issue 2 was out, so I got to read straight through both issues. My only regret is I wish I had waited until the whole series was out because I want to know what happens next.
ARt is provided by Phil Hester and it's stunning from beginning to end. The details are what makes the artwork fabulous. When you see the picture of Steve Austin's fiancee in his cockpit at the beginning, you think it's a nice touch. It's an even nicer touch when you see it catching on fire as the plane starts to crash later. It's nice to know that both the writer and penciller knew this had to be there to show the loss that is occurring.
If you were a fan of the old series from the '70's or even if you've never seen it before, I recommend this book. If you were a fan of the '70's series, you'll get a rush seeing Steve Austin back in action. If you don't know what I'm talking about, if you like science fiction and the plausibility of cybernetic men, pick this up and see your imagination ignited again with a story that was originally conceived in 1972 in the novel Cyborgby Martin Caidin. For me, The Six Million Dollar Man was the show that showed me that a man could be a hero, much like Superman: The Movie made me believe that a man could fly (at least in my imagination).
Thanks for reading.
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