Bryan who? X3: The Last Stand Review

First of all, the big question: did Brett Ratner ruin the X-Men?
Answer: no.

But, briefly, let me just say that there's not a whole lot to ruin there. These are not classic films, they're big, loud comic-book fun. None of the X-films has come close to having the resonance of a Spider-Man 2, but they've both been entertaining and X2 especially strong.
X3 definitely lacks the steady hand of Bryan Singer, and at times the actors seem lost without him. Early stretches of the film are stilted, and the world of the mutants, at school and at large is not as graceful as in X2. It's a bit like difference between Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire. With a better director, you just buy the world a bit more, that's all.

Also, certain scenes lose their emotional impact in the quick flow of the film. There is a lot to get to, granted, but couldn't we have spent more time with Jean and Scott and their moment at Alkalai Lake? Cyclops is dispatched with quickly, like he was in X2, and Rogue gets the same treatment. The love triangle between Kitty Pryde, Bobby Drake, and her never even gets off the ground, but at least it's not a point the film dwells on. We get just enough, and then we're off.

What Ratner does have in his corner is a fun script. Taking its story genesis from Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men, X3 focuses on a potential 'cure' for the mutant gene. But where the film really excels is past the talking heads (which there are thankfully few of), and into its breathlessly paced battle scenes. This, finally, is what I thought an X-Men film should be six years ago when the first film came out. Balls-to-the-wall mutant madness. All-out battles with all our heroes using their respective powers to their full advantage. Even the adorable little Shadowcat gets to kick some ass.

What truly saves the early parts of the film is the wicked glee that Ian McKellan has with his Magneto. There are very few actors that are more fun to watch than Sir Ian. He makes consistently interesting choices, and all of his scenes have the impact that you wish the rest of the film would. It also helps that McKellan is not an actor that leans on his director to bring out his performances: his vision of the character is what carries the day.

This is certainly the X-film in which Wolverine steps forward from the pack (jockeying for that spin-off are we, Fox?). The films have always featured Logan heavily, but here he is their last, best hope when Jean goes bad. Not because he's ruthless, but because he loves her.
That said, Logan's way too cutesy in the beginning, I'll give Harry Knowles that much. But goddamn Harry, did they kick you out of a screening or something? They did a perfectly good job with the Dark Phoenix material, and you know it.

The filmmakers obviously have deep respect for the source material. They stay true to the spirit of Dark Phoenix, even if they have to change the nature of her powers to coincide with the film's more Earth-bound reality. I love the explanation that Jean's psychic powers are a mutation of her unconscious mind. I'll even go this far: I like that explanation more than the 'Phoenix Force' of the comics.

Another thing I enjoyed is the continuing narrative, not only with Jean but with the X-kids. Seeing their evolution from students to full fledged leather-clad X-Men was a trip, and I loved the showdown with Pyro and Iceman, even if the effects once Bobby went into his ice-body were cheesy. This film, for all its weaknesses, was a hell of a lot of fun.

X3:The Last Stand: B

New Sequart column

My latest 'Black Hole' column is up over at Sequart.com:

Adrian Tomine and the Infinite Sadness

Enjoy!

Also: we're going to see X:3 today. Did Ratner fuck up a great franchise and a classic comics storyline? Stay tuned...

LOST recap: Live Together, Die Alone

Now that we know that it's not just a 'snowglobe'...
Now that we know that you can get off the island...
Now that we no longer have 'the button' to deal with...
How does the show change?

Where do we go in season three? I've said it before, but it bears repeating: imagine the show without Dharma (Namaste and good luck, as Kelvin says); without Desmond, without the button, without the hatch, without Henry Gale.
And remember that these things didn't exist a year ago.
But they did in Season Two, and thank God for them. Because of them the season was deeper and richer than Season One, full of twists and turns. Everything, and everybody, was up for grabs.

Now imagine the show without Michael and Walt.When the electromagnetic pulse blows at the end of the episode, Michael looks like the wrath of God has come down upon him. His weary confession in the woods, his admission that he would have killed Libby even if he didn't have to. Michael's season was one of desperation and irrationality. And what does life off the island hold for him? How do you move on from that? What do you tell your boy, after all you've done to get him back. How can you ever look him in the eye knowing you murdered for him?
And that horrible look of regret he flashes Jack and the gang as he drives away. Notice that after that look, Michael never looks back. But Walt does.

On the other hand, when the pulse hits Henry, he looks straight into it, and he is pissed. Henry clearly holds a powerful position among the Others, even if he's not the 'Him' that he spoke of in the hatch.
I haven't read too much into the map that we see Kelvin painting on the blast doors, but I do remember one thing: it mentions that Alvar Hanso has a son on the island. Henry has to be that son. And maybe he's leading a rogue group of scientists who are rebelling against his father's work. Maybe they really are the good guys.

And will we be following Penny as she tracks down Desmond, with the Hanso Foundation fighting her every step of the way? Will we again be leaving the island for the regular narrative, not just flashbacks?
(How many people thought they'd just gone to commercial when you saw that frozen wasteland pop onto screen?)
Will this be good or bad for the show? Has some of the mystery been taken away?

Enough questions. Let's deal with what we saw.
Jack Bender was back in the director's chair for this one, and he's good. He's real good. So is Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond. Schmaltzy 'I'm winning this race for love' moments aside, the flashbacks worked and were just as entertaining as things that happened on the island.
What's with that bird, by the way? And why did it say 'Hurley'? And that 'Colussus of Homer Simpson'? Da fug?
Anyway: LOST is all about guilt (that's why I was so quick to jump on the Purgatory bandwagon, a spot I begrudgingly relinquish after this one), and it was the overriding theme in this episode again.
Michael's guilt of course. Desmond's guilt, for prison, for Pen, and finally for Kelvin. John's guilt for Boone.
But for John and Desmond there was a bright shining moment of connection, of purpose. That was maybe the best moment of this episode: That radiant beam of light uniting two men and giving them the strength to go on (by the way, I'm not going to overburden you with this: but Desmond's moment with the gun and the bottle was his Gethsemane, and there was a ton of Jesus symbolism revolving around him in this one.)

There was a lot of cheesy sci-fi fun here as well, especially Kate and Sawyer twitching after being hit with the darts. It's to Bender's credit that the scene doesn't come off as goofy as Pippin and the palantir in Return of the King. Oh, and speaking of the world of Tolkien, what a great Two Towers cliffhanger: Mister Frodo's still alive, but he's in the hands of the enemy.
Or, if you prefer, Luke, Han, and the princess all just got put into Carbon Freeze.
Is it September yet?

LOST Episode 2:23, Live Together; Die Alone: A

New Comic Reviews:52, Captain America, All-Star Batman

52 #2

Marvel's big summer event, Civil War may have deep allegorical signifigance and intrigue, but look:52 has lesbians!

It's also having fun with itself. It's not the boatload of pomposity that I'd feared going in. It knows a few things about its characters: The Question has to be mysterious, Booster Gold is an ass, and Rene Montoya likes the booze ("I've got a new job, it's called being a drunk.")

I like the stuff towards the end involving the Kryptonian Super-Religion. Superman as DC's Jesus hasn't been fully explored, not in this direct a fashion anyway. I don't remember ever seeing any image this blatantly Catholic in a Superman comic before. This has to be Grant Morrison's doing. No way Geoff Johns came up with that (if he did, bravo Geoff, there's hope for you yet).
Next time in 52, Black Adam rips off more faces, and Power Girl has breasts.
52 #2: B+


CAPTAIN AMERICA #18

I always liked the Red Skull. He's always been one of my favorite Marvel villains. So when Ed Brubaker killed him in the first issue of his Captain America run, I didn't fret. He's just too good to stay dead.And there he is...kinda. I'm not sold yet on the Red Skull in General Lukin's brain thing yet. I need to spend a little more time with it. But I trust Brubaker, I've loved his run on this book.

Captain America right now lives and dies on Steve Epting's art. He has an ultra-realistic style that works well for a meat and potatoes hero like ol' Cap. Since there's something so basic about what Captain America stands for, it only makes sense to have his world portrayed in the same no frills manner.

That said, the style doesn't always make for an exciting comic. Especially in the fights. When the art seems a bit rushed, it can lead to boring images like this:
But at his stylistic peak, Epting is capable of some truly sublime moments. I love this image,and I love this bad guy, even though I've not been reading Cap enough lately to know who he is. I wouldn't fuck with him, that's all I know. Or his girlfriend.

The main plot, though, with Cap teaming up with British C-list superheroes is more than a bit boring. Maybe it's that I don't know who he's fighting alongside, or their history together that is alluded to in conversation. Maybe it's because the big reveal, The Nazi Supermen at the end of the book, feels like nothing new. But, for any reason, I just didn't fully connect with this issue. It was pretty at times, but never exciting. Just ok.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #18: C+


ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN #4

OK:

Why is Vicki Vale dying, why can't Superman fly, why is Batman such a douche bag to Dick Grayson, and why isn't Frank Miller even trying to make a good book here?

It just keeps getting worse, I swear to God.
On the one hand, Miller clearly wants to do a throwback book: Vicki Vale collapsing into Alfred's arms with a damsel-in-distress sigh, a Golden Age Superman who can only 'leap tall buildings in a single bound', and a murderous perverted Batman.
But then why is Robin the only character who seems to be from a time past the 1950's? He calls things queer, he gives Batman lip, he reeks of Generation-Z.
Is this deliberate?
Is Miller, since he's never written the young Grayson Robin before, having fun with the idea of one of today's back-talking wise asses thawing the heart of the grizzled, gun toting, Golden Age Dark Knight?
Is he pointing out how old-fashioned these iconics figures are?
Or has he just lost it?
And don't get me started the ridiculous six-page fold-out reveal of the Batcave. It's not effective, it's numbing; and not all that impressively rendered by Jim Lee.

I am done done done with this damn book.

ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN #4: D-

New Comic Reviews:Moon Knight & Super-Skrull

MOON KNIGHT #2

Somewhere, William Gaines is sitting at the right hand of the Lord, smoking a fat cigar and loving the hell out of Moon Knight #2. They never did let old Bill get away with the whole ripping off the bad guy's face thing.
But here we are, sixty years on, in a mainstream comic with the words 'PARENTAL ADVISORY' camouflaged into the bar code, and yup, old Moonie just ripped off that dude's face. Why did he do this? Well, we're led to believe Moon Knight's insane. But beyond that, I just think Moon Knight's got a hack writer working for him. Exactly the kind that E.C. employed all those years ago.

It's a fine line to travel when you're doing the whole 'hard-boiled' thing. It's all too easy to veer off into unknowing self-parody.
Example: "Blame it on the passing years. Blame it on him. Blame it on our hatred. The hatred born from slaughter. Slaughter born from friendship. Friendship born from recognition. Recognition of a kindred soul. Souls hating each other. Hating as you can hate only one thing. The reflection in the mirror."

Ugh. That just makes me want to yurk (how the fuck is slaughter born from friendship?), and the blood dripping from every goddamn panel in this book does the same. Finch's art still impresses, on a basic, visceral level, but the detailed beauty of it is deadened by constant closeups of blood drenched eyeballs and cut sinew. Also, the layouts are starting to bug: every once in awhile, we could use some basic eight-square panel pages, thank you. Slow that camera down, Scorsese, ok?
I kind of like this guy, though. He seems like he stepped into the wrong comic, like Bill Murray in Wild Things or Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean. An oddball you can't take your eyes off of, but has nothing to do with the plot-not really. Just some actor with his own agenda.
Again: I know nothing of the world of Moon Knight previous to this, so he may be an old character. But either way, he's the only thing that gets close to being interesting about Moon Knight 2, an ugly, poorly written book.

MOON KNIGHT #2: D


ANNIHILATION: SUPER-SKRULL #2

Super-Skrull, on the other hand, is looking up. The art is still inconsistent. At times, Greg Titus manages a great sense of atmosphere, either cartoony or dangerous:Other times, he seems to have missed the boat entirely, and it's all ugly, confusing lines that blend one into another. This impedes not only the flow of reading, but the ability to follow the story. And the story ain't bad.
It may not take a rocket surgeon to figure out that little R'Kin is Super-Skrull's long lost son, but until that big reveal, there's a lot of whizz-bang action to keep us satisfied. And I love how Javi's dealing with R'Kin's growing mixture of disgust and awe towards Super-Skrull who, while certainly not a hero, is working out of a moral duty to first his planet, and now his son.
Against this Annihilation Wave, it may not be heroes who will carry the day. Sometimes you have to be willing to do what the other guy won't. Like setting your enemy on fire after he's given you the information you requested of him. 'Flame On', indeed.
This is a fun book. It will undoubtedly be in the 50-cent bin in a few months, but it'll be the best 50 cents you've ever spent.

ANNIHILATION: SUPER-SKRULL #2: B+

LOST recap: Three Minutes

Where do we go from here? Now that so many character's dynamics have changed forever, what can keep us with them?


How do we still sympathize with Michael, after he's killed two people for nebulous reasons?
Notice that Miss Clue never told him to kill anybody, but she did say to bring four back (are they the good people or the bad ones?) Mike created his own situation, he dug his own grave, just as he dug Ana-Lucia's later in this episode.
I also like the symbolism of Michael being unable to clean up the blood on the floor (out, damn spot!); while Eko did it with ease. Michael's new to this killing thing, Eko is not. But he has made peace with his past, he can absolve himself and others. Michael, on the other hand, keeps painting himself into his own blood-stained corner.


How do we still believe in Charlie, after he's beaten Sun and scared the camp half to death for petty revenge (his own and Sawyer's)?
Well, we start by getting clean forever, don't we Charlie? One day at a time brother, chuck those things as far as you can.
The fetch scene with Vincent though-that was hilarious.
But Charlie's written likeable only half the time: what's with his little bitch fit to Eko? But, alternately, Eko's really taking this whole pushing the button thing to heart. I guess dreams of your dead priest brother will do that to a fella.

So: how do we stay with our characters, after so many of them have darkened?BOAT!

So: it's The Others, right? But that's too much like last year. Perhaps it's the Hanso/Dharma/whoever folks. Or maybe it's fucking Desmond. I dunno. What I do know is we've got two hours of Season Two left, and a hell of a lot more questions raised than answered. But that's the way I like it.
We'll find out who's on the boat in a week, we'll find out a lot according to ABC. This is the twentieth time we've been told the next show 'changes everything'. I feel a little more likely to believe them now.

The Others seem startled, even scared, of Walt's abilities. Is Walt even aware of them? Is it a sort of remote viewing thing he does, perhaps in his sleep? Something very important about Miss Clue's words to Michael: "For someone who wants his son back so badly, you don't seem to know much about him." Those are the exact words of the lawyer in Michael's flashback earlier this season. Coincidence? Plain truth, since half of Michael's desperation is built of the guilt he feel for not being there for Walt as he grew up? Or is this meant to throw all of the flashbacks into doubt? Look for more strange flashbacks in Season Three. They are not all they seem.

Beyond all of these questions, was this a good episode?
Well, yes and no. It was fun, with its cheesy Others camp (Dad! They're pretending!), and 'Planet of the Apes' homage (Zeke's takedown of Michael).

It was moving, with Hurley's simple: "They're DEAD."
Even Sawyer and Jack seemed to have a genuine moment, before Sawyer charged gleefully out to kill Zeke. Sawyer is a con man, yes, but he doesn't deal well with death. I think this will shake him to the core. This many finally be what links him and Jack.

But the money scene, Michael and Walt's reunion, was flat. A lot of this episode seemed a bit too by-the-numbers. Something to move the story along just far enough to keep us tuned in for the big finale (which does look good. Real good.) Nice to see ya, Walt, gee you look like you've grown two years in these 20 days. Oh, I'm kidding.

This was a stay-tuned episode, and it did well enough as that: same Bat-time, same Bat-channel? I'm there for sure.
LOST Episode 2:22; Three Minutes: B-

New Comic Reviews:52 & Super Skrull

52 #1
"Booster Gold, Ladies and Gentlemen! He's from the future! How cool is that?"
Well, actually, surprisingly cool. I like Booster Gold, his pomposity, his grandeur, but mostly the fact that he's an E True Hollywood Story waiting to happen (sorry, I've been reading Godland). If we didn't know that Booster is a genuine hero when the chips are down, all this grand show would be unforgiveable. But we do know that, so we cut him some slack.

I've never been sold on the fact that DC can pull off 52. Monthly is hard enough to sustain fan interest and as we saw last year over in the Spidey books at Marvel, 12 issues is a long story arc when it's done badly: so 52 straight weeks of story?
Well, I'm still not convinced about the long haul, but they've started well here. Issue 1, while not perfect was fun.
I'm not sure if the split page storytelling with Ralph Dibny, Rene Montoya, and Steel is going to work. It was fairly tedious in this issue, especially the Steel fragments. Luckily, they dropped it after the first few pages. Still, it could become a crutch as they go on.
I do like where the Montoya story arc is going, and this is the first time I've seen the character. But, again, 52 weeks of redemption is a lot of heartache to handle. Can we make her an honest to god superhero, like, now?


Can I stop for a moment and just say that Black Adam is a bad-ass? Did you see what he did to Psycho Pirate in Infinite Crisis? Bad-ass.
I hope they do him justice here, he's got great anti-hero possibilities.

I also like the twist towards the end, with Mr. From-the-future-isn't-that-cool totally freaking out at the absence of the DC Holy Trinity. I think we're figuring out that IC re-arranged not only DC's past, but its future as well. And what is Booster without his foreknowledge? I guess you'll have to stay tuned, won't you?

Over in Gotham, Rene goes to sleep one off but is distracted by some Dick Tracy reject stamping his symbol over the Bat signal. Somebody tell Mr. Eko! Take me to the question mark, Locke!

Anyway, one last thing: I love the ultra-dramatic, 'Next time in 52':Which tells us nothing at all, of course, but is a blast.
Kind of like the whole issue.

52 #1: B

ANNIHILATION: SUPER SKRULL #1

This book is a few weeks old, but I missed it and had meant to pick it up, because I am a great admirer of Javier Grillo-Maxuach.
For those of you who don't know Javi's work, he wrote some of the best episodes in LOST's brief history, including All the Best Cowboys..., Collision, and ...In Translation.
He's really good at the kind of redemptive stories that are the cornerstone of the show, and he jumped full steam into comics last year with the fun-for-all Middleman. So how does Javi fare when set loose in the Marvel Universe?

Um, well...uh...

Ok, first of all, I admit I don't know anything at all about what this 'Annihilation' cross-over is all about, all I've noticed about it is bitchin' covers and god-awful interior art. Unfortunately, that's a pattern that continues here.
Greg Titus' layouts are confusing and his faces contorted when they don't need to be and not contorted when they should be!
It's the kind of Marvel Western-Anime hybrid style that kept me from getting back into comics for years. One of the few people any good with this style is Chris Bachalo over at Uncanny X-Men. But do you see me reviewing Uncanny?
Nope, cuz I ain't reading it.

There are some vintage Javi momets shining through:

"...you so much as look at me the wrong way and the last thing you ever see will be your spinal cord in my clutched fist--do we understand each other?"

And I like the plot, with Super-Skrull, by all rights one of the most powerful villains in the Marvel Universe, considered a joke by his people for his inability to beat Reed Richards and his Fantastic Four. And the fact that Super-Skrull must ultimately team up with Reed to save his son (Son? Whaaaa?). There's a lot to like here, but the difficult-to-follow art is derailing a potentially strong story.

ANNIHILATION: SUPER SKRULL #1: B-

Opportunity Knocks

I am now what they're calling a 'featured columnist' over at Sequart.com. My first article is a side by side comparison of All-Star Superman to All-Star Batman and Robin:

All-Star, So Far

I'd like to give sincere thanks to David Golding for turning me on to Sequart, and Mike Phillips for welcoming me aboard and helping me with the posting process. I'll be posting a new column there every other Sunday, along with continuing work on good ol' GEEK U.S.A.

Top 10 Comics since 19795. We3 #3: Pirate

Vertigo
January 2005
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Frank Quitely







Frank Quitely is hands down the best artist in comics right now. By the time he's done, he'll have redefined sequential art in the same way that giants like Joe Kubert, Harvey Kurtzman, and Jack Kirby have. He's just that good.
Most of his recent projects have been collaborations with Grant Morrison, which is appropriate because Grant is altering comic writing in the same spaced-out fashion.

We3 is the story of a military project gone wrong: super intelligent, talking animals placed in mechanized suits with unlimited firepower.
Stay with me here, I promise it's worth it.
Anyone vaguely familiar with the movie Short Circuit or Project X knows what happens next, the project is decommissioned, and the sweet, lonely doctor sets her subjects loose. The animals roam the countryside, an ultra-violent version of The Incredible Journey.
There is a dog, Animal Weapon 1, leader of the group; a cat, Animal Weapon 2, loose cannon (like all cats are in their hearts), and a bunny, Animal Weapon 3. The animals have been given a serum to make them understand and imitate human speech, though in a pidgin style (good, for instance, becomes 'gud').
Issue 3 is the conclusion and the awakening, when the animal's newfound consciousness leads to their salvation.

A drifter runs from helicopters overhead, stumbles through the rain into an abandoned shack. He can't know if the cops are after him or not, but he's had enough experience to stay away. Inside, he discovers the animals, who have become very sick as the serum wears off. "Sick. Bad sick." 1 says, as he shuffles towards the drifter's outstretched hand, "Is gud dog?"

The drifter leaves in search of food for the animals and tool to get them out of their battle armor. Look at the way Quitely plays the moment when the drifter steps out, and is confronted by the police. Time slows down and speeds up all at once. The drifter's (and the reader's) eyes are everywhere at once, the brilliant lights of the squad cars, the gloved hands reaching towards us, the all too threatening police tape.The drifter is offered a reward, "...sorta money you could use. A guy like you." He responds:
The army and the cops have the animals surrounded, and have released their newest project, Animal Weapon 4, a giant Rottweiler, mechanized and larger than life. Poor little 3 is the first to come face to face with him, while the others search frantically for him.
Look at this moment, with 2 leaping over an abandoned train car. This is how you portray quickness in a static medium: In one leap, 2 is gone and 1 is left alone, and whines plaintively,
On the very next page, we get the ugly truth. 3 hangs crushed in the jaws of the enormous black beast, blood pouring out of his head and sparks flying from his damaged armor. 1 growls and readies his attack, but a tiny pellet comes from 3's behind which, naturally, is explosive. 1 survives the blast, and runs towards a familiar voice, Dr. Roseanne Berry, his caretaker in the lab. Dr. Berry knows that the shoot to kill order has been given, and her mission is to give the sharpshooters enough time to hit their mark. But as the red laser targets of their rifles collect on 1's forehead, she pulls him close to her and whispers:"Run Bandit, run far!" she screams, and pushes him out of the way, taking the bullets meant for him. Quitely presents us with an image of fearful symmetry: the red lasers entering her body at one end and the red blood shooting out of her at the other. Comic art is like photography, it's all about stopping time at the right second, and Quitely is the master.
And look at this brilliant, heartbreaking moment, rain drops falling into eyes that will never close on their own again. A more poignant image of death has rarely, if ever, been seen on the comics page. That we're given the scene upside-down makes it all the more unsettling.

Bandit runs howling after 4, and finds him at the same time as 2, who comes leaping off the train car to bury his claws in 4's eyes.
I have to give you this entire sequence, look at what Quitely does here,First we have the raging mania of 2 as he plunges his claws over and over into the beasts eyes and circuits. Then, watch the way that Quitely follows their frenzied battle:4 and 2 stumble into a brick wall, and go crashing through it, falling infinitely through the panel borders. As we turn the page:They continue their fall, their momentum stopped only by the cars crashing into them. It's a spectacular sequence that very few comic artists could have pulled off, but Quitely makes your heart race here.

Weapon 4 is remote terminated after the crash, his head bursting like a water balloon ("Damn thing almost ate a police officer.") and 2 and 1, now forever Bandit, make their escape into the countryside. They return to the same place that they met the drifter, and plan to wait for him, but the army is still following them.
As they descend the stairs Bandit, who has taken human life and saved human life comes to a stark realization, "Broken." he says, "Is leg coat...Bad Coat. Coat. Is coat not 'Bandit'."
Bandit's journey of discovery has ended. He understands who he is, and what he was used for. He has come to the depths of his purpose there in the basement. He decides to be a regular dog again. To destroy the suit that has turned him into a killer.
Nature has cast of the shackles of man, and is again pure. Bandit and the cat stay with the drifter, to live out their days as innocents.

Grant Morrison has written stories dealing with animal testing and its cruelty before, but by giving the animals voice he makes his strongest statement yet. Not only about the terrible things that people do to nature and ourselves, but ultimately, what it means to be human at all.

LOST recap: ?

That, by the way, is really the episode's title. As in "what the ? is Michael doing shooting people in the hatch?"We've had a week now to get used to the notion of Michael the murderer. It hits me sometimes how very early we are in the history of LOST. Go back and watch the shows before the hatch, before the Dharma Initiative, before we'd seen the Others. It's hard to imagine the show now without those things in them. And now we'll always look back at a time before Michael did what he did. Five years on, it'll be unthinkable that he was a relative innocent. But now he's forever untrustworthy, regardless of what they did to Walt, and what was promised to him.

His secret is apparently safe, with Libby unable to finish her dying thought. Libby was expendable, just like Boone, but all the characters on LOST go out with style. Libby's death was without a doubt the most wrenching, the most heartbreaking moment yet. Hey wide eyed terror that she might be putting all the survivors at risk if she just...can't...finish...
Give first time LOST director Deran Sarafian the credit here, everyone was spot-on tonight. Every note hit home.

What an episode. What performances.
This is not an astonishing collection of actors, they're mostly has beens and never weres, but when they have material this good to work with they step up to it, time and time again. This is a show hitting its creative peak.
My favorite moment tonight, and it's a little thing really, was the scene right after Libby dies, when they're panning across the broken Virgin Mary statue, and we see Kate crying. Not only because it was beautiful and evocative of loss and sadness, but because it perfectly fit the theme of the episode which was shattered faith.

Tonight, it was Locke losing his way. His arc this season has been his 'personal' relationship with the island: what it has shown to him, what it demands from him, what his ultimate purpose is. Finding out he was a 'rat in a maze' crushed him, but Eko let him in on the bigger picture, and renewed his faith in the island and in himself. Yemi would be proud. Eko may be a killer, but he is a true man of faith as well.

There's something about Jack's reaction to the heroin that makes me think he's a former user. He figured out Charlie's secret pretty quick, although he is a doctor and doctors are used to watching for druggie behavior in patients. Still-Jack has a secret Thailand history we know nothing about.
Speaking of Jack: the moment in which he uses Kate as a tool to find Sawyer's stash was brilliantly underplayed, Jack was truly ashamed, but he just couldn't help himself. Something dark's going on inside the good doctor.

I love the new hatch, the viewing station, reminds me of an old sci-fi movie (well, a lot of them actually,), I think I'm thinking of Logan's Run but I've only seen it once ten years ago. Anyway, it's old and creepy and I love the new Dharma training video.

Also: Claire's psychic? You know he's lying, but now I think we can guess that he is connected to the Dharma Initiative in the same way that Jack's father is. Look for a lot more of this in the Third Season flashbacks.

I still wonder if we can trust Eko's dreams. What does the island want from him and John? Eko trusts too blindly, while people like Jack don't trust at all. But it's important that the island has picked those two to speak to and that those two have had the closest contact with Smokey the Smoke Monster.

This was a moving, tragic, wonderful episode.

LOST Episode 2:21; ?: A+

Top 10 Comics since 19796. Chosen #3

Dark Horse
August 2004
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Peter Gross





Jodie Christianson is a pretty normal twelve year old boy. He has a crush on the girl next door, he picks his nose and wipes it under the furniture, and oh yeah-he's pretty sure he's the reincarnated Jesus Christ.
After Jodie survives a run-in with a pickup truck that by all rights should have crushed him, he becomes aware of certain abilities: turning water into wine, walking on water, and awakening coma patients, for instance. Sometimes puberty's a bitch.

Welcome to the mind of Mark Millar.
Millar, in this story at least, is reminiscent of Stephen King. He has King's formula of heavy religiosity mixed with heavy vulgarity. He's also wickedly funny and bizarre. Fortunately for the reader, Millar can tell a story like this in a few dozen pages, not two thousand.
The art is by Peter Gross, and what stands out are his watercolor backgrounds. His figures and faces are very simple, but that is appropriate for this story of an average American small town rocked by a possible Second Coming.
At the end of issue 2, the town is paralyzed by a mix of awe and fear. Because if God and Jesus are real, then so is their judgment; and so is Satan and his Antichrist. That fear is what issue 3 is all about.

The local church is filled now only with non-believers. Those that refuse to follow Jodie as it becomes more and more clear that he is performing genuine miracles.
Chief among the non-believers is Father Tom himself, who is angry at God for taking his brother away in a senseless accident years before. He has held on to that anger his entire life, and become so bitter towards God that the sacraments of the Church are empty ritual.Father Tom is always drawn angry, his eyes rimmed with dark circles, his brow furrowed. You could imagine a chubby Billy Bob Thornton in a blonde wig. This is a man who has given in to his hidden rage and doubt.

When Jodie is approached by his teacher to heal his sick mother, he refuses. "Trust me," he says, "She'll be fine. You're the one who has to live down here among all the squalor and dirt." Even the old woman is at peace:Outside, it's a far different story: "Avert your eyes!" screams a voice from the crowd as Jodie emerges from the house. The adults in town are a terrified rabble, with bowed heads and grey faces.
The only rational calm in the face of the hysteria are Jodie and his 'disciples', all his school friends who were the first to believe his abilities and whose doubt has never wavered.
Even Jodie himself lacks any fear. Children have a remarkable ability to just accept whatever life presents them. Fear is a learned behavior, and Jodie has a complete confidence in his faith and in his powers.

Father Tom, meanwhile, is still racked with doubt. Not only about Jodie's powers, but about his role in Jodie's story.So this man of the cloth does what he hasn't done in far too long: he prays for guidance. For a sign.Outside, one of the first recipients of Jodie's powers is hitting a towering home run, aided by his newly perfect vision. The ball lands in the street and bounces, attracting the attention of Father Tom's dog. He gives chase, right into the path of an oncoming car.
Devastated, Tom takes the dog to Jodie's. While his mother and his step-father (a pale and fearful worm of a man) begs for reason, Jodie clears off the table and prepares to bring the dog back to life. "I can do this, Dad. Just stand back and don't throw me off."Jodie places his hands on the dog. There is not a shred of doubt within him. He can do this. He believes in himself and in God. But there's something strange about the look on his face, about the power coursing through Jodie's hands as he works.A red glow spreads throughout the room. Lightning fills the sky.From the narration, Jodie describes the chaos: "Outside, it was like somebody turned the streetlights up until they just couldn't take it anymore and popped like firecrackers from one end of town to the other...children's hair turned grey, people's eyes changed color, everyone having sex orgasmed for a full twelve minutes..."

The dog is healed, and with it Father Tom's faith. He collapses and embraces his pet. If anything, Jodie's parents behind him look more terrified than ever. But no one can ever doubt Jodie's powers again.
Jodie makes the decision to leave home, "They said I could see my parents whenever I wanted, but I just didn't see the point after awhile...there was no malice in this decision you understand. The sad truth was they just didn't even smell right to me anymore."
A Cadillac pulls into the driveway to take Jodie, dressed in his Sunday best, off to his important new life.
"We gotta train you..." says the mysterious woman inside, "we gotta teach you to focus so you're ready for the big Grand Finale twenty one years down the line..."
She tells Jodie that he's off to meet the boss, his true father.
"I'm going to meet God?" Jodie asks.
"No, silly boy, whatever gave you that idea?"
Before the big reveal, two panels down, we see the license plate:
IM 666Jodie himself is the Antichrist he had thought he'd be facing.

We flash forward twenty one years. Jodie is telling this story to a collection of reporters and yes men, his face eclipsed by shadow. He laughs at the notion that he had once assumed he was Christ the redeemer, "It's only natural, I suppose. No one likes to think they're the Grendel to someone's Beowulf."
A woman asks him if his father found it funny that he's assumed he was the son of God.In those horrible lost years, Jodie learned a fear he could never have imagined. Fear that became hate, hate that became a pure, destructive rage.
Jodie, now President of the United States, readies an attack on the Holy Land. He is twisted and dark. We know how great his power is, and it can only have grown in the decades since an innocent and faithful child brought a man's only friend back from the dead, a gift of perfect kindness.
That child is gone forever, replaced by a man built of a deep and awful fear, and filled with power and anger.

My Flagboy and your Flagboy:Marvel's Civil War

The above panel is by Civil War penciler Steve McNiven, who has been Marvel Comic's best kept secret for some time. His guest shots on New Avengers highlighted not only his own ability, but the weaknesses of regular artist David Finch. He's got a touch for hyper-reality: he's great at breaking down moments into exact seconds; making each image a snapshot of time. It's an ability that Frank Quitely shares, though McNiven's figures are not as fluid as Quitely's.
Civil War's lead writer (though it's an event spanning several books, and used a by-committee creative process) is Mark Millar, who at his best is playful and energetic, but at his worst is obvious and bland. So far, in Issue 1, we're seeing Millar at his high energy best.

We begin with tragedy. Half a city is leveled and thousands are killed when a superhero reality show gets out of hand. In the quest for ratings, the New Warriors and their camera crew pick the wrong fight with the wrong people, and pay the price.
That moment, while a bit overblown, does connect Civil War to the real world, which is something that Marvel in its heyday prided itself on doing. With its heavy political overtones, complete with cameo by G.W. Bush and his cabinet, Civil War is not shying away from allegory. From the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act to the proposed National ID card.

We're also getting a look into the hearts of two characters that have for most of the Marvel Universe' history been its strongest pillars: Captain America and Iron Man.
Their friendship and trust has been key to the world's survival from the Silver Age on. From Avengers to Secret Wars to the New Avengers, they've been through it all, always on the same side.
But it's finally the issue of what liberties each man is willing to give up for security that divides them.

The public outcry against costumed superfolk hits Tony Stark, in a sense, harder than the rest, because he is the public face of the New Avengers. Everyone knows where their money comes from, and when they mess things up, it's Tony Stark who gets dragged through the mud. Other heroes, whose alter-egos are also public, such as Reed Richard and the rest of the Fantastic Four, are also affected by the incident in their normal lives. Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, is beaten outside of a nightclub by an angry mob:Though, to be fair they're not concerned citizens, they're people who paid to see Fantastic Four in the theater. And Johnny Storm's been begging for a beating for forty-odd years.

What we see in Issue 1 as well is that Captain America stands not so much for the country itself, but for its ideals of 'life liberty and the pursuit of happiness'.
And, when the government turns against those ideals, it's Cap who fights back. The scene is brilliantly done. It manages to be what so few comic book fights are: genuinely thrilling.
In true corny Millar fashion, when Cap hitches a ride on a passing F-14 by smashing through the cockpit, the stunned pilot screams: "JEEZUS", and Cap admonishes him, "Watch that potty mouth, son." Keep in mind, Cap is a leftover from the Golden Age, and this moment is meant, no doubt, to highlight his old-fashioned values. It's silly, but I think it works.

At the end of the book, Tony and Reed have promised President Bush that they will do what Cap would not, which is take care of all the rebellious superheroes who oppose the registration act (check out Daredevil's creepy cameo, earlier in the issue: he's not going along with the group, and he's not going down without a fight).
The battle lines are clearly drawn.
It's appropriate that Marvel's big event is about its heroes struggling amongst themselves, since that's what they've been doing since the beginning. Marvel has always been defined by angst, as opposed to DC, who in their big event was fighting against the weight of their own history.
The book is off to an incredible start. If it keeps up this level of quality, this could be the moment that Marvel Comics regains a solid identity for the first time in more than a decade.

CIVIL WAR #1: A+

New Comic Reviews:Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man &Infinite Crisis

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #8

It great to have Mike Weiringo back on this book, it's really not the same without him. He adds a gentle, humorous touch that carries the lightweight stories well.
Friendly Neighborhood is carving out its niche as the 'Twilight Zone' Spidey comic, one or two issue tales with twists at the end. I just wonder if this book is in a bit of trouble, since this is the second storyline in a row that I just can't quite get behind.The issue starts with a twist, actually, a re-creation of Lee and Ditko's first Spider-Man tale, except--wait for it:Yes, Uncle Ben survives and Aunt May dies, by simply falling down the steps as any typical old woman could do whether or not her nephew had just been bitten by a radioactive spider.
Peter learns no responsibility from this experience, but he still has that 'great power', so he becomes an insufferable prick: first hiring Uncle Ben as his manager (in this story, Spidey continues his wrestling career, something David is clearly hung up on); then firing him when he becomes inconvenient.It's an interesting take, but a bit too 'Behind the Music' obvious.

Luckily this is all an illusion, a mind game being played on poor old Uncle Ben by The Hobgoblin of of the Year 2211. Y'see, I want to like that idea, but I just freaking can't. It's a fun thing, sure, but it's also more than a bit lazy. The whole issue, in fact, doesn't stand out. Maybe because it doesn't play to Ringo's strengths: slam-bang action. But, for whatever reason, it's just sort of there.

And, I know every time I come upon an Iron-Spidey sighting I bitch about it (I'm not even buying Amazing until they dump that shit); but it's a giant artistic handicap:Artists from Ditko on have managed to turn a faceless character into one of comic's most expressive. But the blank golden eyes of the new suit betray no emotion (especially in an issue where he has been reunited with the man he loved most in his life).
Anyway, we're promised some craziness and great art next issue, so in the meantime this issue did give us Spider-Man with a lightsaber:Which is really more than enough.

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #8: B-


INFINITE CRISIS #7

Holy Double-Page Splash, Batman!
Yes, the two-page spread, when you just don't feel like writing anymore.
I liked Infinite Crisis 7, it did what it had to do. It was exciting, it wrapped up the main story, it even kept the door open for a sequel(!). But a lot of it felt like a Michael Bay film: jumbled and disorienting. Confusing composition and action with little time for story or character. Where to look? What's going on? Is this person dead or...no wait, there he is...but...

Infinite Crisis should have been subtitled 'Superman Grows a Pair', because finally he does so in the conclusion, beating raging teenager Superboy-Prime senseless ("You won't let me be Superman, so I'm gonna blow up the whole universe! Nyah-nyah! That'll show you!").I love that self-destructive race to the center of the Universe with Superboy and all the flying members of the DCU.
And we finally get some clue into Alex Luthor's motivations, in a single panel, tiny and locked into the middle of an action sequence.We got so much of Superboy-Prime's backstory, but hardly anything real with Alex. He was, and he dies as, a cardboard villain. There's no excuse for Johns not developing him more. None.

Along the way there is a dreadfully confusing bit with the Flash:Long story? We got time, junior. Explain yourself. And he stands de-powered at the end of the issue, handing over his gear to old Jay Garrick, who had previously been de-powered in issue 4. Oh, whatever.

By the way, is Dick Grayson dead?
He sure as fuck looks dead there. That's the red, red vino spilling out of his skull there, all right. Man, DC has not been very kind to poor ol' Dick lately: first Frank Miller turns him into a mass-murdering pederast in Dark Knight Strikes Again, and now this.
So he's dead there, and we have a Nightwing in the great big hero spread at the end, but no Robin. Not that I could find, anyway. Does that mean Tim Drake takes on the role of Nightwing? But what sense does that make? And if Dick is ok, why not a moment with him saying as much?

But, there are many things that work in this issue. Batman's attempted murder of Alex Luthor is intense, but I didn't get the whole thing with Wonder Woman afterwards, Did she break her sword on purpose, to send a message to Bruce?
And the all-Superman showdown was bloody fun, but since Superboy was drawn exactly like the other two, it was very hard to tell who was hitting who, until our Superman ripped the "S" off of Superboy's chest.
And, since we still have Alex to deal with, the most hideous figure in the DCU takes care of him for us: But, really, why wasn't the Joker in more than two scenes for the biggest DCU event in 20 years? He's the creepiest, baddest villain they've got.

The epilogue, with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, deciding to walk away from their heroic alter-egos for a year (I believe Superman has no choice, since he flew through so much Kryptonite he has no powers for awhile) was boring and dreary.
In the sum of it, Infinite Crisis was entertaining at most, brilliant at times, awkward at worst. It was not the awe-inspiring event it should have been. The inconsistent art is a big reason, but the wishy-washy story is a bigger one. What it did give us, though, is a 'Break Glass in Case of Emergency' all-purpose Super Villain.Which is more than I had expected it to do.

INFINITE CRISIS #7: B-
INFINITE CRISIS: B

LOST recap: Two for the Road

Holy shit.
Well, they certainly gave Harold Perrineau something to work with this time, right?
This is why I go out of my way too avoid message boards and other potential spoilers. If I'd had any notion that Michael was going to turn that gun on Ana, and that Libby was going to bite it along with her, I wouldn't have had the moment of complete slack-jawed surprise that I did tonight.
With Michelle Rodriguez's legal troubles, it's not a big surprise they wrote her off the show. Just this week, when the story of her sentencing came out the show's producers said they could work around her absence.
Yeah, by putting a freaking bullet in her! (Yahoo UK had it right, though.)
They even made her last episode revolve around her drinking problem. Was tonight's episode just one long intervention for Michelle? Or a 'Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out'?

Just when I was starting to like Ana-Lucia, too. I'll say this much for Ana, now that she's gone. She provided for us two of the best episodes of the season, Collision and now Two for the Road. This was a remarkably well directed episode, in terms of pacing and performance. Paul Edwards, who previously did the just OK What Kate Did was behind the camera and he gave us a tight, engrossing episode even before the gut-wrenching final minutes.

I love having John Terry back as Jack's dad, even if it was a bit far-fetched that he'd meet up with Ana and whisk her away for a Lost Weekend in Sydney. But, really, what else was Ana doing? What else did she have to live for? This episode was, more than anything else, about the guilt that Ana kept wrapped around herself, guilt that finally killed her.

Ana didn't just jump Sawyer, she essentially raped him, because she used her sex as a form of control, as the only power she had available.
More revealing is how she reacted to Sawyer when he yelled, "Go on, GET!." Ana was just a stray dog, whimpering around with her tail between her legs, occasionally snarling or biting but really no danger to anyone but herself. Michelle Rodriguez did a great job tonight, she was believable and sympathetic. I'll actually miss her on the show, something I could have never predicted her first few episodes this season.

So: Is Michael a bad guy now? Is he a mole? Is he infected with the 'sickness' that Rousseau's always going on about? He was clearly conflicted right up until that last minute, when he pulled the trigger, and horrified when Libby walked in, and he had to pop her, too (Ana was really almost a mercy killing). And Edwards gave us a nice long moment after the shooting to absorb what had just happened. I hope in the last few episodes of this season Perrineau gets a chance to shine, and I also hope that he survives the season because suddenly Mike's interesting again.
Was he possibly doing this because it was the only way they'd let him have Walt back?

LOST is all new until the finale. Everything changes now. One huge question I have: What evil shit are the Others doing that makes someone turn this violently?
This was sweeps television as it should be.

LOST Episode 2:20; Two for the Road: A+