New Comic Day May 31

Ultimate Spider-man #95

This was a good issue for the most part. In terms of fitting in with the rest of the series though, it seems like it's just a two parter to fill in some space before Bendis redoes the Clone Saga (barf). I thought the scene with Peter and MJ was well done and seemed to be the sort of things that two people in that situation would say. Same thing for the Peter/Kitty relationship. However the vampire stuff, as stated just seems to be there for the sake of being there. I would have preferred that instead of a two issue Morbius thing, we get two issues of Peter's love life on the go. Still what's there is good enough for me to recommend the issue.


Robotika #4 (of 4)
This is a weird series, but in a good way. I really liked the artwork and samurai that get annoyed with their former masters and leave to become mercenaries always makes for a good romp. Another thing that I liked was the vertical text used in one of the characters word balloons (see example here). I have never seen this before in comics and thought it was a clever way to portray a character talking in a different language. Apparently there was a fan outcry about it and in this issue, they urge readers to email in with comments and suggestions for how they reprint the series in trade paperback. I think it should be left as is because, although it makes the text hard to read), you really pay attention to what that character has to say. Many times I find myself just burning through a comic in like 5 minutes, but here you have to slow down and pay attention. It's been a while since I read issues #1-3 so I'll re-read them and do a review as a whole in a week or so. It would have been nice to get a greater sense of closure with the series as it ends with saying something like "a new adventure begins" and there will be another series in 2007. I don't really understand why it isn't an ongoing title. Maybe it takes a while to do the artwork. Definately recommended for those that want to try something different.


Ultimate Fantastic Four #30

This issue begins to resolve the Zombie Fantastic Four sub-plot that was begun back in issue #22 or so. I enjoy Millar's writing but it would have been better to do one of the two things he's trying to accomplish here: namely do another Dr. Doom story OR do the Zombies, not both. As well Greg Land does 2/3 of the issue and the the other third is done by someone else who looks like he REALLY rushed through it. Greg Land hasn't really impressed me too much as his characters tend to look pretty stiff and his poses are nearly identical everytime you see the same character. I think the second issue of this three parter will be better as we (hopefully) get to see the zombies in action. This issue is not particularly recommended.

X-men 3: The Last Stand Review

WARNING!! This post contains spoilers for the movie as I talk about specific events which happen. If you have not seen it, I recommend NOT reading this review.

Overall: 6/10

Well sir that's about as close to 2/3 as I can get (rounded down) and I gave it that score because I only really liked the first two acts of the movie. Now lets get into specifics.

Things I Liked

Despite the lackluster score I gave, there was some things I really liked seeing on the screen.

The inclusion of the Danger Room in the beginning was really cool (though it would have been nice to see the full sentinel). I actually thought they were doing a MI3 move where they start at the end of the movie, show credits, then do a flashback and work up to where you start. I never really clued in, but when I did I thought it was awesome.

I liked the way they did Jean's powers. The Phoenix is supposed to be the unmaker of worlds and I feel that really came across as she basically "unmade" everything that got in her way by disintegrating objects. They also made her look kind of scary when she used her powers which was a nice touch. Very creepy.

I thought Kelsey Grammer did an excellent job as Beast/Hank McCoy. It's too bad he wasn't in it a bit more and it would have been nice to get some backstory on him.

Seeing Iceman "ice-up" at the end was a nice treat as well as seeing Jean burn off Logan's skin only to have it keep growing back.

Really awesome thing: Two, count 'em TWO fastball specials (where Colossus throws Wolverine).

Things I Didn't Like and/or Things That Were Dumb

I didn't like how Colossus turned another teammate into organic metal in the Danger Room sequence. He can't do that. That was dumb.

UPDATE: I've been informed that it was actually Rogue that Colosus was protecting, so she must have absorbed his powers for a bit to steel up. I missed it the first time around as it was a quick scene. So -1 dumb points for X-men 3, bringing the total dumbness to a nice round 75%.

Why the %&#@ was EVERY OTHER MUTANT EXCEPT THE MOST FLEXIBLE AND DEXTROUS (ie. Mystique) INSIDE A FULLBODY CAGE THAT YOU COULDN'T SEE THROUGH?

Juggernaut's dialouge was terrible. "I'm the Juggernaut, Bitch!" Just awful.

Speaking of Juggernaut. Juggernaut is NOT NOT NOT a MUTANT!!! He is a regular guy who picked up the Gem of Cyttorak and was granted powers. THEREFORE KITTY PRIDE'S TRICK TO GET HIM TO RUN INTO A WALL AND KNOCK HIMSELF OUT (WHICH WAS DUMB IN ITS OWN RIGHT) WOULD NOT NOT NOT HAVE WORKED. She and Leech would have been jelley. I know it's a knitpick cause I know more about X-men that the average movie goer, but %&#@, GET IT GODDAMN RIGHT OR DON'T HAVE HIM IN THE %&#@ING MOVIE! Ahem, sorry about that. Moving on...

This movie suffered from the same thing as the first. There were too many new characters which weren't dealt with deeply enough. The second movie was good because you already know the characters from the 1st one so you can get right into the story. Here there seemed to be characters that were in it just for the sake of having them in it. Examples include Angel (he REALLY didn't need to be there), Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man, and Psylocke (even though I don't think she was mentioned by name).

The Golden Gate Bridge scene was pretty silly and the special effects for it weren't as well done as I expected. It looked very fake. As well one minute it is broad daylight and the next it is nighttime! WHAT IN THE %&#@??!! Then Magneto sends his "pawns" in as a first wave to absorb alot of the cure weapon ammo and they all get taken out. Then there's a second wave after the X-men show up? I don't get it. Where the hell did they come from. It felt very much like the earlt Batman movies where you just get wave after wave of faceless drones. Not cool.

Jean didn't really do a whole lot eh? She spent alot of the movie just standing around, dicking around. That's bullshit. They really needed to develop her more and I think the movie would have worked better if Magneto wasn't in it and you just did the original Dark Phoenix storyline with the Hellfire Club. But I guess they wanted to resolve the whole "Mutant War" thing that's been brewing.

Finally, the deaths and the cure thing in general. I figured Cyclops would die but as comic books go, no body = probably not dead. Professor X's death was unexpected but I thought was well done. HOWEVER, we were told to wait after the credits for a clip. In this clip we see Moira McTaggert tending the man she explains to the students is brain dead during Charles's lecture on the ethics of using powers. In his lecture he said something to the effect if we are able to transfer someone's consciousness into his body are we ethically allowed to do that? Anyways, in this post-movie clip, we here Prof. X's voice from the person in the bed! For those slow on the uptake, this means he transferred his consciousness into this brain dead body! WHAT IN THE %&#@??!! I will discuss this again in a bit after we talk about this cure business.

To %&#@ over Magneto, Beast stabs him with 4 (!) vials of the cure (to de-power him obviously) and at the end of the movie we see Magneto move a metal chess piece. Therefore I see two problems with this. (1) The cure doesn't work or only works for a limited time. Which is dumb because what was the point of the movie in the first place? And Rogue is in for a wake up call once her powers kick back in. (2) The cure only works on certain mutants. Also dumb because every mutant has the "X" gene which causes mutation and we are explicitly told that the cure suppresses that gene.

So let's sum up. Proffesor X isn't dead and Magneto is still Magneto. My problem with this is it is TOO comic-bookish. I realize it's a comic movie, but with comics, these types of things are kind of expected. I really don't think that type of thing works in a movie though. As well, because Prof. X is still alive and Magneto is still Magneto, there was NO POINT to do anything to them in the first place. When X's death happened, I was surprised but expected him not to be gone forever. When they start the scene at the end with Magneto in the park, I thought "He still has powers." Why did they do this? Because you can't kill Charles Xavier and you can't get rid of the X-men's greatest villain. The status quo must remain unchanged. So the "death" and the "depowering" were only there for shock value and by the end of the movie are undone anyways.

Halt mutant!

Despite my initial reservations, I ended up getting a fully assembled Sentinel action figure. However the caveat here is that I didn't buy all the individual figures (though I did during Christmas 2005 break and took them back cause it was too much $$$) and instead won an auction on Ebay. I almost ended up winning two of them because I was bidding on 2 different auctions! Luckily I was outbid with an hour to go. Anyways, my figure arrived on Thursday and here are some pictures!

This one has me holding a 12inch ruler in front so you can get the idea of how big this sucker is.

Here's another showing the scale of the Sentinel with Juggernaut beside him and The Flash between his legs.

That's all for today! I'm debating whether or not to take it into work so there might be some more pics in the future with Green Goblin vs. Sentinel!

New Comic Day May 24

Ah my life is made easy again this week as I only got one comic today, namely:

Teen Titans #36

This was kind of an odd issue as I am not really familiar with the Doom Patrol, who feature prominently in this issue. I can't tell if the writing by Geoff Johns is to help readers understand a bit of backstory about them or if it's just him showing off his knowledge of the DC universe (or maybe both). There wasn't anything really exciting in this issue. We get to see Robin kind of acting more like Batman in his paranoia and we're reminded of his efforts to clone the now deceased Superboy. The artwork by Tony Daniel (check his blog by clicking the link) is a bit hit and miss this issue. Some panels are really nice looking (ie. some of the Robin close up, moody shots) and others look plain weird (something just don't look right with Wondergirl). I'm not recommending it unless you're already familiar with the Doom Patrol. As well I am a bit annoyed when I get an issue of Teen Titans that may as well be an issue of Doom Patrol guest starring the Teen Titans.

New Comic Day May 17

Finally back to some comic reviews, I only got two today which is a big incentive to get back into the swing of things.

All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #4

I don't really know why I keep getting this book. I guess it's because it comes out so rarely (this one is two months late) that I don't mind splurging every now and then. It's been a while since I read the last one, so I have no clue why Vicky Vale is in the hospital nearly dead. After reading this issue I realize that Frank Miller must be in need of some serious bling because he's S-T-R-E--T---C----H-----I------N-------G things out SO much that really nothing happens. Honestly folks, NOTHING happens except they get to the batcave. That's it. Do not cross go, do not tell a good story, collect big paycheck for writing a story which looks like it will take upwards of 300 issues to complete. Oh yeah, and a goofylooking Superman says "Damn!" twice and carries a car from Paris to Gotham (however the arrival of the car in Gotham likely won't be seen for another 5 issues). Despite the lack of story, Jim Lee does offer some nice eye candy with his art work and his 6-page(!) spread of the batcave looks pretty snazzy and on retrospect is the reason I bought the thing. I mean how often do you see a 6-page fold out nowadays.

Not too shabby eh? Anyways, I really, really, really should stop buying this and I will once Grant Morrison and Paul Dini start on Batman and Detective Comics respectively. They know how to write. And Batman is such a dick in this series. Batman shouldn't be a dick.

Ultimate X-men #70

And yes that is the blob dropping a hoagie on the cover. This issue was ok. Elliot seems to be a real power house, but cocky. I don't know who his parallel is in the original marvel universe, so it's nice they're introducing some new characters (maybe). Not a whole lot happened here either except the Phoenix comes out at the end looking to rock the house. Just put a bullet in her already. I can't help but think this arc is coming out now because of the new X-men Movie which opens in a few weeks, which will of course have Jean Grey as the Phoenix. Anyways, it was entertaining, but just barely. And what's with Nightcrawler looking like he's taking advantage of a chick in a coma? Something I did notice in this issue was the use of a sound effect which I think is awesome. For those of you that don't know, a "sound" effect in comics is just some text that is supposed to repesent the actual sound something would have in real life. Nightcrawler goes "Bamf" when he teleports (see Nightcrawler link) and Wolverine's claws go "Snikt." Tutorial done. So what is the cool sound effect you might ask? Well it takes place when Elliot actually moves the Blob, which is impressive because the Blob's mutant power is the ability to NOT move if he doesn't want to (pretty shitty power, but there ya go). So here goes:

BRAKKA-RAKKA-BA-CHOOM!

That is just awesome. I should note that the punctuation is part of the sound effect, so I will leave you with something to philosophize on: What is the sound of an exclamation point?

New Action Figures

Today was a glorious day. It had been several months since the last time I got an action figure (due mostly to the insistance of Pam that I stop buying them), but today series 13 of Marvel Legends came out and I couldn't help myself. I picked up Green Goblin and Loki from a store at Metrotown called Ages 3 and Up, which sells action figures, magic cards, and other assorted goodies. It is a very good store and I'm pleased I found it. This ties in with Neil and Daniel's thoughts on EB Games as they are a very good specialty store. Anyways here they are in a few different photos.

This is them set up on top of my computer shuttle box (ie. small tower) at work.

This is a rather dramatic pose I set up with an older Spider-man figure that I had. Note the kick ass huge playing card I have hanging in my office.


This is a shot showing where I have them set up in on my desk at UBC. Note the layer of dust by my computer "tower," the kick ass River Rock Casino coffee mug, the little stikfas man from last year's free comic book day, and some pens.

I should note that these figures are part of the Onslaught series

where they come packaged with a piece to make a larger figure. I've commented on this in the past but have since changed my stance as the sentinel figure is really cool. However, I opted to buy these figures out of the package because I only wanted them and didn't want two pieces of Onslaught sitting around forever. They were out of the packaging because the store has to open a set of figures so they can build the big figure and sell it to some poor schmo. In addition to me not having two pieces of Onslaught sitting around forever, I also saved a couple of bucks!

This likely has a record for most imbedded hyperlinks (at least for my blog).

Free Comic Book Day 2006

My FCBD lasted a good two hours. Elfsar, my preferred comic shop in the Vancouver area, always makes Free Comic Book day a huge event. Last year I arrived when the doors opened at 11am and I was pretty much the only one there. This year I got there about 11:10 and the place was packed! There was a good 30 people in there snatching free comics left, right and centre. I was very pleased to see the large turnout of young people (ie. kids) as comics are a gateway to reading. And reading is good, m'kay.

They had all the comics setup on a table with a buffet-line going around. You were allowed as many titles as you wanted, but only one of each (which I think is reasonable). I feel sorry for the poor employee who had to supervise the table to keep things orderly and in nice stacks. A downside was a few jerks who didn't understand why they couldn't just take huge stacks of the free comics.

They also had several creators in such as Darren Davis and Diana Greenhalgh of Victoria Secret Service fame, the owner of Arcana studios, Sean O' Reilly, and Todd Demong, a Star Wars Artist.

There were also free heroclix demos and the best part was the storewide sale. Prett much anything in the store was buy 2 of something, get the third free. For example: if I want 2 Grant Morrison New-Xmen trades, I get a third trade free. I took advantage and bought 67 bags/boards and got 33 free. I also picked up 3 issues of Robotika. As well there was a back issue sale where you buy one, get 10% off, 2 and 20% off, etc.. up to 50% for 5 and up.

All in all it was a successful FCBD for myself and the store (I was in again on Sunday and they said they had at least 500 people through in the day) and props to Elfsar for promoting it so well.

Another year, another Free Comic Book Day. Once again my comic shop, Elfsar did an incredible job promoting this event. As a neato-keen bonus, I found another issue for the "100 Best Single Issues Since You Were Born." That comic was Batman/Planetary. Anyhoo, I'm off to read some comics and piss away the afternoon.