-GJ
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Redshirts Theme Song
Song created and performed by Jonathan Coulton for the book Redshirts by John Scalzi.
-GJ
Monday, May 28, 2012
Comic Review: Exiles #70
Writer: Tony Bedard
Penciler: Paul Pelletier
Inkers: Rick Magyar w/ Hennessy & Meikis
Colorist: Wil Quintana
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Distributed: Marvel (November 2005)
Ripped from their separate realities the Exiles, Blink, Sabretooth, Mimic, Morph, Beak, and Heather Hudson, now travel from reality to reality partaking in near impossible missions to save each reality from certain destruction.
During the start of the Exiles' adventures they were just tossed around from reality to reality on a whim. Now though they have managed to take control of Crystal Palace; an observatory outside of time and space that allows the Exiles to move amongst the different realities at their choosing.
First stop Beak's reality, Earth #616...
Home is not as Beak had left it. When ripped from Earth #616 beak had a wife and children. Now that he's returned home he has discovered things are no longer as they were. His wife Angel has no memory of him and is acting very weird, and his children have never been born. The roles amongst humans and mutants have also been reversed; mutants are now the norm and humans or "sapiens" are second class citizens scrimping by and fighting for survival.
On this world, Magneto is King and commands the governments of the world. The usual diabolical Sentinels are only used to protect all citizens in this reality; not their usual hunt those who aren't the norm and destroy.
When we join the Exiles, Beak is wallowing in self pity that Angel no longer remembers him. Mimic tries to comfort him but only manages to upset Sabretooth. While Mimic and Sabretooth argue and pull the rest of the team's attention away from Beak, Beak catches a glimpse of Angel through a crowd of sapiens and takes off after her. However things don't go as planned for Beak when Angel swoops down out of nowhere and kidnaps him. Morph sees and points out the abduction to the rest of the team, but before they can follow a female human appears and stops them from pursuing, claiming she has information they need.
After leading the Exiles to a sapien center the female finally reveals herself to the Exiles; her name, Moira MacTaggert.
Moira explains of her son Kevin and his rare mutation that caused her to watch her son decay in front of her eyes. Moira tried to reverse the mutant gene in her son, but King Magneto stopped her for her "cure" could potentially be the undoing of mutant kind. Moira fled and is now the most wanted sapien on planet; her son Kevin also escaped the Sentinels sent to bring in Moira, and he himself has now found a way to aid his mutation problem...
Going by the name MutantX, Kevin, will now seek out other mutants and take over their bodies, draining them until they are useless and then moving on to the next. MutantX's current host body, yep you guessed it, it's Angel.
The discussion with Moira is interrupted however when several Sentinels come barging into the center from below. After a brief battle the Exiles come out on top. And now decide they need to find Beak quickly and stop MutantX before he chooses to feast on the body of their friend.
The issue ends with the Exiles finding their way into a warped reality and coming face to face with MutantX in Angel's body; all the while Beak hangs upside down and unconscious.
If you're a fan of different types of X-Men comics then Exiles is one you should check out. The characters are ones you will be mostly familiar with or at least have heard of, though the only thing in this case is to remember that the Exiles are from different realities and traveling through different realities, so don't expect them to be just like the versions in your favorite X-Men comics.
Exiles #70 had a great story, was paced well with action and information, and crisp artwork to boot. This one should find it's way to your reading list. (Note: issue #70 is part 2 of 3, so you may want to pick up #69 and #71 as well).
-GJ
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Live Action Tetris (Movie Trailer)
Okay not a real film, but why the heck not? At least it doesn't star Rihanna.
-GJ
Friday, May 25, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
G.I. Joe: Retaliation DELAYED
Paramount announces that G.I. Joe: Retaliation has been delayed until a non-specific date in 2013.
Reason, because they want to make it 3D. Really, a month away from release and now you decide the movie needs to be in 3D? Does this movie even really need to be in 3D? Our opinion, not so much.
There's a nice piece over on Blastr.com by Marc Bernardin, WTF did Paramount just do to G.I. Joe: Retaliation? And Why?, where he gives two really good reason's for Paramount's late decision in converting to 3D...
- 1. They fear Marvel's Avengers will wipe the floor with their film; therefore suffering the same fates as Battleship and Dark Shadows.
- 2. G.I. Joe: Retaliation isn't that good of a film. Paramount needs to take extra time to reshoot scenes and do a better job of promoting their movie.
Sadly we were ready for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and making us wait just so you can convert it into 3D, something we won't be spending money on in any case, makes us consider passing up on paying theater prices and instead just spend the $1.99 and get it out of RedBox later down the road.
What do you guys think? Does it being in 3D make a difference for you? Or did Paramount just blow a chance at your money altogether?
-GJ
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Heroclix Score
Scored these tonight while making a Wal-Mart run. Only paid $6 for each.
- Crossbones
- Gargoyle
- Quicksilver
- Starfox
- Stingray
- Abomination
- Captain America
- Patriot
- Quicksilver
- U.S. Agent
This could just be the start of something beautiful.
-GJ
Kids Discussing Night of the Owls
While waiting to pickup dinner we had the pleasure of overhearing the following conversation...
- Kid 1: "Dude this Night of the Owls series is awesome!"
- Kid 2: "I know right bro. They outta kill one the Batman characters though"
- Kid 1: "Oh dude that would be a total bad@$$ move by DC"
- Kid 2: "Yea man, they should kill that Batwing loser, he sucks so much bro"
- Kid 1: "Man what's wrong with you that's racist, fool I don't even know you"
- Kid 2: "Come on dog that ain't racist, I'm part black, it's ok"
- Kid 1: "I don't know dog, that just ain't right"
At this point they walked out the door.
They did make a valid point though, DC could stand to knock off a character from the Batman line; there really are a lot of people to choose from.
If up to you, who would you have the Talons take down?
-GJ
First Thoughts: CW's Arrow
Finally got around to watching the preview trailer to the CW's new series Arrow; based on the DC Comics' Green Arrow character.
Just being a teaser we didn't get much, but it was enough to get us interested in seeing an episode or two if nothing more. Still too early for us to tell how this one will play out.
However we still have to wonder if the CW is doing the right thing. Think back a little less than a year ago and one of CW's biggest shows was Smallville; a show about a young Clark Kent (Superman). And in this show there was a Green Arrow; played by Justin Hartley, who in his own right was a fantastic Green Arrow.
It just seems that it would have made more sense to stick with what they already had; an established Green Arrow with backstory already in place, an easy way to bring in other heroes and guest stars, and probably the most important thing for any show, fans. A lot of people liked the Smallville Green Arrow.
What do you guys think? Should the CW have stuck it out with the Smallville version of Green Arrow? Or have they done the right thing by rebooting the character?
-GJ
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
There Should Have Been A Johnny Storm Cameo
So like most fans of Marvel's Avengers we too had that urge to see a cameo from Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man (see Spider-Man Rebooted Too Early?).
However we've also come to the conclusion that the funnier cameo would have been Captain America himself, Chris Evans, portraying his Fantastic Four character Johnny Storm, aka Human Torch.
Like Spider-Man the Fantastic Four are also headquartered in Manhattan New York, so it would make perfect sense to have Chris Evans show up as Johnny Storm to see if the Avengers needed the Fantastic Four's help.
Come on you know you'd have laughed at this too.
-GJ
Friday, May 11, 2012
Spider-Man Rebooted Too Early?
In 2002 Marvel Studios released their first Spider-Man movie starring Toby Macguire; now just ten years later Marvel is set to release The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield; the question to you is, was it too soon to reboot a successful franchise?
Now many of you are probably already arguing over our use of the word successful, but let's face it folks, three movies and millions of dollars later grants it the privilege of being called a success.
It's not like Marvel had gone through all of the Spider-Man villains or that Toby Macguire was too old (born in 1975) to play the part that a call for change was absolutely necessary. Granted each of the three Macguire films had their ups and downs but what movie doesn't?
We were kinda happy with the original franchise too; Peter was out of high school and college, he had established his career as a freelance photographer, and best of all ended up with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). Now we have to once again endure Peter's suffering in high school, watch as he tries to discover how to use his abilities, and now have to suffer through his crush on Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) not Mary Jane.
Did the reboot cost Spider-Man a spot in the Avengers movie?
Five years ago when Marvel first dropped hints that they were creating an Avengers movie, the internet started to run rampant with rumors of who the Avengers would be; at the time Spider-Man was a prime candidate to fill almost everybody's fantasy Avengers team.
Of course in the Avenger comics Spider-Man is often the talkative, try to find humor in every situation guy, which probably would have been a little much in the Avengers movie since Iron Man had this down pact. On the other hand, since the all out rock'em sock'em Good vs Evil battle was in Manhattan, NY, we kinda expected at least a cameo from Andrew Garfield in his Spider-Man costume checking to see if he needed to help out or something. Guess it was too much to ask for.
What do you guys think? Too early? Not soon enough? Don't care? Hit us up in the comments below.
-GJ
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Comic Review: Batman Shadow of the Bat Annual #2
- Writer: Alan Grant
- Pencillers:Tom Raney and Joe Station
- Inkers: Tom Raney and Horacio Ottolini
- Colorist: Gina Going
- Letterer: Albert Deguzman
- Cover Painter: Brian Stelfreeze
- Published By: DC Comics (1994)
In this issue we see what happens when the citizens of Gotham City know that Batman is Bruce Wayne; what lengths Batman will go to to protect those citizens; how the villains don't seem to be the actual villains; and how Jonathan Crane, aka Scarecrow, is Batman's partner.
When Bruce's parents are killed it's Jonathan Crane who steps in and stops the gunman from taking Bruce's life as well. Crane then seeks and wins custody of Bruce, raising him in Wayne Manor along with faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth.
Even with Crane stepping in as a parental figure, Bruce's life still leads him to becoming the Batman. While out on his first mission, he runs into the Joker who manages to unmask him, revealing his face to all.
Crane has created a toxin to keep evil minded people under control, and with Batman's and Wayne Enterprises help, has been pouring the toxin into Gotham's water supply for over two years.
The villain Anarchy has gathered Gotham's most ruthless villains to lead a multiple front attack on Gotham in hopes to putting a stop to Batman and Crane's plans.
Anarchy with Killer Croc, Clayface, and Penguin find themselves in the Batcave face to face with Batman, Crane, and Crane's new toxin. After a brief fight, Crane tells Batman to dispose of Anarchy, but Batman says he has sworn never to take a life, at which point Crane reveals that Batman has no choice but to listen to him because he's been pouring a mind control toxin into his water his entire life. However Batman manages to fight off the toxin and walk away from Crane with Anarchy; but not before placing an explosive on the toxin container which catches Crane when it explodes.
Batman then confesses what he and Crane have done and turns his fate over to the citizens of Gotham. The issue ends with the people of Gotham igniting Wayne Manor on fire and Batman standing on a balcony looking out over Gotham as he and his home burn.
-GJ
Avengers Movie Review
Without trying to spoil the movie for those that haven't seen Marvel's Avengers (which can't be many of you), here is our spoiler free review.
If only allowed one word to describe the Avengers, well we'd go with brilliant. The action sequences, the humor, the character relationships, everything was just amazing.
There was a great concern going into this movie that with so many heroes somebody wouldn't be getting much screen time, but the fact of the matter is everyone got a fair share; including Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Nick Fury.
The movie also provided Bruce Banner with quite a significant amount of screen time too; not just a few seconds where he becomes angry and turns into the Hulk for the rest of the movie. This move was great because it allowed Banner and Tony Stark to have a rapport with one another which added to both their character development.
As you can imagine there was quite a significant amount of action in the film, but not to the extent where the movie goer loses interest in the film or cause the film to lose the storyline. Action was also nicely spaced, not too much at one time; which allowed for the story to flow nicely and time for important conversations / interactions to take place.
The quality and quantity of humor was also great. The jokes were actually witty and well placed. Most people will have to see the Avengers at least twice due to the fact that you miss somethings due to laughing so hard in a few places. Seriously though, who's going to complain about seeing this film a few times?
Don't be too eager to jump from your seat and leave when the end credits start to roll either. There are two clips after the end credits start to roll; one will be seen right after the actors' names are listed and the other after all credits have run through. You won't want to miss either!
Marvel's Avengers earns a 5 out of 5, is directed by Joss Whedon (Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and has a run time of 2 hours and 23 minutes.
-GJ
Saturday, May 5, 2012
FCBD Score
Got up early and headed to our local comic book store, Coliseum of Comics, to celebrate Free Comic Book Day (FCBD).
For those that don't know about FCBD, it occurs the first Saturday in May at participating comic book stores, and it's a chance to get some comics absolutely FREE.
For the event each of the different publishers create special preview issues or shortened issues, often containing multiple stories, letting fans know what all they have to offer.
Over at Coliseum of Comics, we had the opportunity to score 5 of the free comics; and here is what we came away with...
Also scored another free comic because Coliseum of Comics is running a promotion for those that bring in their Avengers movie ticket they can either get a copy of Thor #600 or The New Avengers #27. Since we already have a copy of Thor #600, we took The New Avengers #27 with the Coliseum of Comics variant cover.
While waiting for friends to show up, we also took the opportunity to sit in on a Heroclix game demo. It was a quick demo, just a two piece game, but can easily say this game would be so addictive if we had money. Would love to write or create battle reports for this game too, so anyone that knows a very cheap way for us to get involved in the game, hit us up in the comments.
In case you're curious I won playing as War Machine, while the store employee (sorry can't remember his name) played as Green Lantern. That's right, Marvel vs DC matchups are possible; in fact Heroclix makes figures for Marvel, DC, Watchmen, Halo, plus many more, and all can be mixed and matched to play your game.
Participating in the demo also earned me a free promotional piece; it was hard to turn down the War Machine piece, but when I heard him say Psylocke I was sold.
Click here for more information on Heroclix
All in all Free Comic Book Day was a fantastic day and we'd like to thank Coliseum of Comics for making it even better.
We'd love to hear how your FCBD was; what did your local comic book store do that was special for you? Which comics did you gobble up?
-GJ
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)