tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-237206452024-03-12T19:05:34.764-07:00GEEK U.S.A.Comics, Film, & Television<img src="http://www.geocities.com/geekusablog/spidey-logo.gif">Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-38026492517819849702007-06-15T12:03:00.000-07:002007-06-15T12:05:13.828-07:00The more things change...GEEK U.S.A. has a new home. All future posts will be made here:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.geekusablog.blogspot.com">www.geekusablog.blogspot.com</a><br /><br />Thank you.Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1162504507817395682006-11-02T12:55:00.000-08:002006-11-02T13:56:26.280-08:00Smokey and the BanditEpisode 3:04 Every Man for HimselfEpisode 3:05 The Cost of Living<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/dead%20eko.0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/dead%20eko.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>So. That happened.<br /><br />So here's why I avoid spoilers. I would really have liked last night's big moment to be a shocker (especially since the rest of the episode was so dissapointing), but some DICK on a message board posted that particular spoiler without the customary 'SPOILER' tag. Like I said, DICK.<br /><br />Anyway, I guess Mr. Eko's dead now. Again...huh. Ok. Apparently Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was a real pain on set, like was rumored about a certain now-unemployed Latina cast member last season. We can't all get married and bond whilst skinny-dipping, you know. Regardless, Eko's gone. And I thought he was going to be really important to the overall arc of the island. <br /><br />He was, in that he put in doubt exactly what is causing everyone's visions (Jack and his dad, Shannon and Walt, Locke and Boone, Eko and Yemi), is the island out to help the survivors, or letting them serve some purpose then killing them? And also, we needed to see the monster again and be reminded that it is a genuine threat. So how better to show that than to have it off the one who sent it cowering last season? But Eko was a strong character, he played well off of Locke, and Adewale's performances were wonderful, even if he turned into a prima-donna on-set. <br /><br />But on to how the episode played as a whole, which is to say: not well at all. This was an episode for people who have never seen a single episode of LOST (yes, I know it's very important for the show's health to grab new folks, but let's not start pandering, please). The opening segment, always an attention grabber, was instead a recap how Eko came to be a priest. <br /><br />Dude-I know. I know how that happened because I watched it in my living room last year, and if I've forgotten I can pop in Disc Three of my Season Two DVD set. And so can anyone with Netflix. We've got a lot to get to here, just jump right in. Man. <br /><br />I also wonder how a couple of newbies, Alison Schapker and Monica Owusu-Breen got the call from the bullpen to handle a moment this major. It certainly seemed to be the writing that was off. <br /><br />And Paolo and Nikki: shut up. Just shut up. "Eko's <b>brother</b> is in that plane!" Fucking hell. What, did she learn that little fact while braiding Claire's hair? They're like that annoying couple at the movies that won't stop talking through the feature. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/nikki.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/nikki.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Nikki's a little yummy, though. Still, keep it shut sister, I'm watching my stories. <br /><br />But I did like a few things, among them Patchy McPatcherston here: <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/patch.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/patch.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>We'll see him sometime in Season Four. <br /><br />I liked bad-ass priest Eko scaring off the villagers. Note to McFarlane Toys: this is the Eko action figure I want, gripping that bloody machete in his hand. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/machete.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/machete.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/yemi.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/yemi.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>And the island's taunting of Eko: "You speak to me as if I was your brother." Great line, good moment, and a nice cliffhanger. <br /><br />Part of the reason this one seemed so dull is that LOST had been on a roll. <u>Every Man for Himself</u> was some great TV. Love the torture scenes, especially the twisted moment with Ben and the bunny. And Michael Emerson's brilliant delivery on full display at the end, quoting Steinbeck while staring with Sawyer at the survivor's home island. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/island.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/island.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>How do I feel about that? Why not? Pour on the weirdness. I love the show most when it throws you for a genuine loop. But what I really enjoy is the character moments, and seeing the ever-proud Sawyer genuinely decimated was awesome, and Josh Holloway actually brought something to the moment. Cheers all around.<br /><br />Elsewhere: the producers have been getting my letters after all...<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/kate.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/kate.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>So they teased us with a Sawyer death, and I know I keep saying it, but despite the whole Eko thing, I still think possibly as soon as next episode, James Ford's gonna bite it. <br /><br />What else is going on? A lot to cover in two episodes. Jack and Juliet's moment with the whole Bob Dylan cue card thing was ok. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/juliet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/juliet.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>But we saw something like that coming. I don't know if that was the most effective way to do it. But it does set the good doctor up wth a genuine moral dillema. Oh, hell, people, it's JACK. He won't kill him. You haven't been paying attention the last three years if you think he will. <br /><br />And back to 3:04, and the return of Cassie with baby in tow, I can't believe that Mr. Bad Ass con artist didn't even ask for a damn blood test before giving the kid a cool $10 million. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/baby.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/baby.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Get it together, James! You taught the woman how to run a con, remember?<br /><br />So we've got one more until the break (no LOST until February, not counting the LOST Nikki and Paolo Holiday Special featuring Bea Arthur), and a lot of end will probably be wrapped up in tiny ways while probably leaving us with at least a few GASP moments to tide us over all that time. This season really has been great so far, I have faith, and Damon and Carlton writing. And Captain Browncoat himself, Nathan Fillion is guest starring. What more do you geeks need?Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1161304983848239222006-10-19T16:38:00.000-07:002006-10-19T17:44:14.333-07:00"I was wrong": The Return of John LockeEpisode 3:02 ;The Glass BallerinaEpisode 3:03; Further Instructions<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/normal_instructions-cap-001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/normal_instructions-cap-001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>In a clip aired in the preview for <u>Further Instructions</u> (but not, I believe, a moment that made it to the final airing, unless I missed it. Tim, help me out here!), John Locke holds a hunting knife in his grimy hands and says, "I missed this."<br /><br />So did we, John. So did we. <br /><br />There was a hint (ok, more than a hint) of 'give 'em what they want already' about 3:03. Didn't like the hatch? It's a crater now. Been missing the snarky hobbit (Beth Sweeney, I'm looking in your direction)? Here he is, in rare sarcastic form. Missed the John Locke whose faith in the island carried the castaways through Season One? Got 'im. Oh, and missed the polar bear? Yup. He's here too, horrid CGI and all. <br /><br />Locke episodes are almost always good. This was good, if a bit rushed. I love that we're getting the mystical John again. But what I will say in defense of the way he was presented last year is that without his loss of faith, this episode wouldn't have felt so special. Like the retun of an old friend. <br /><br />Speaking of old friends, Boone was back, and apparently Ian Sommerhalder couldn't be bothered to cut his friggin' hair for the guest appearance. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/normal_instructions-cap-220.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/normal_instructions-cap-220.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Well, I guess your hair and nails do continue to grow after you're dead. I always loved the way that John and Boone played off each other in Season One. I had hoped to see a bit of Boone hauntings last season, but I guess this will do. I liked the airport hallucination, and I liked the hippie commune flashback. But really, did you think for a <em>minute</em> that John was going to pull that trigger? <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/normal_instructions-cap-561.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/normal_instructions-cap-561.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />But once again, we have a John Locke who gets betrayed by someone he tried to help, and being rejected by those he calls 'family'. This is why Locke <em>works</em> so well as a character. For all his mystical bravado, Locke is merely a lost little boy seeking daddy's approval (like every other male island resident, come to think of it). But still, it's very, very nice to have the hunter back.<br /><br />Oh, and let me say <em>this</em>: Desmond is Jesus. Told. You. So. <br /><br />I'm one to find some sort of religious symbolism in damn near anything (I was raised Catholic, that's what we do), but really: <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/normal_instructions-cap-651.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/normal_instructions-cap-651.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>That's a halo, people. And he sees the future now? Miracles! Hope! Where the hell is Penny?<br /><br />Oh, and where have Nikki and Paolo been all this time? Are they staying in Cousin Oliver's tent?<br /><br />Meanwhile:<br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jX1k9jglgyY"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jX1k9jglgyY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />I love that moment. But I don't believe that will be enough to make Jack pull a Michael and betray his friends. But with this show? You just never know. <br />And again, mad love for Michael Emerson as, apparently, Benjamin Linus. He's more fun to watch than any other actor on television. His delivery, his expressions, he's brilliant. <br /><br /><u>The Glass Ballerina</u> was good. The more we see of Sun, the less we're able to sympathize with her. She got the MAID fired, for Chrissakes! <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/normal_3x03-ballerina-cap004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/normal_3x03-ballerina-cap004.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>And she's lied the her husband about every...single...thing. Quite an interesting turaround from the Sun we were first presented with, way back in the Pilot, who we felt sorry for because her husband was yelling at her to button her top button. Jin, you don't know the half of it! She can't keep her clothes on at all. <br /><br />I doubt the efficiency of Sayid's 'let's build a bonfire and shoot whoever shows up' plan. But let's not forget that Sayid is operating out of revenge for Shannon's death (remember Shannon? I know we're all trying to forget). Even though it was Ana's fault and Michael took care of that a mere four days ago in island time. But when The Others did show up, it wasn't Sayid or Jin doing the shooting. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/normal_3x03-ballerina-cap531.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/normal_3x03-ballerina-cap531.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>There are other, better, websites tracking the amount of island residents who've taken a life either before or after the crash. Suffice to say: a LOT of them have now. <br /><br />Sawyer is right, by the way: no matter how peaches and cream she is to Jack, Juliet would have plugged Kate in a second. This is a woman what loves her job. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/normal_3x03-ballerina-cap440.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/normal_3x03-ballerina-cap440.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Does anyone else think that Sawyer might...die this year? Just a feeling, don't get all teary-eyed now.<br /><br />In other news, Kate Austen tastes like strawberries. I knew it. I just knew it. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/normal_3x03-ballerina-cap418.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/normal_3x03-ballerina-cap418.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />Season Three is on the right track. We're getting a return to the strengths of some of our heroes and we're playing on the weaknesses of others (Jack really, really wants to go home...). Everybody's all heroic and desperate. <br />But, please, can Charlie start using again? He was so much more <em>interesting</em> then. Don't choose life, Charlie! Who needs reasons when you've got heroin? And give Evangeline Lilly something to do as well, other than play the damsel in distress. Girl's got chops, let her show them off.<br />Boy, marry a couple of actors off and their characters get all the life sucked out of them.Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1160158829483442732006-10-06T10:31:00.000-07:002006-10-06T11:20:29.613-07:00'Tis the East: The Evolution of LOSTEpisode 3:01;A Tale of Two Cities<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/normal_twocitiescap-0057.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/normal_twocitiescap-0057.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />We're back in business and true to form we open with a dodge. This is the problem with the modern era of fandom: obsessives knew it was a Jack flashback episode, even by avoiding any major spoilers. So Juliet HAD to be on the island. And she is, along with apparent former lover 'Ben', otherwise known as the twitchy, squirmy Henry Gale. Interesting to see Henry as a calm, collected leader, not as a captive scrambling to stay ahead of his story. <br /><br />The opener was different from the norm in many ways, but the most essential was the fact that none of our captured regulars had any contact with each other until Sawyer and Kate had their moment in the cages. Which was sweet. And after all that time without our usual banter, we were just as relieved as Kate to hear Sawyer call her "Freckles" again. And really, the moment in the cages showed exactly why Kate is attracted to Sawyer, had that been Jack across from her he would have been moody and intense, desperately plotting a way out (as he spent all of his time in the aquarium), not cracking wise to ease a girl's mind. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/normal_twocitiescap-0847.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/normal_twocitiescap-0847.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />But the producers know that as much as we love Sawyer, we love to see him get hurt even more. So here comes Juliet (who's frigging everywhere on that island, apparently) with the taser. <br /><br />J.J. Abrams was back with Damon Lindelof for the first time since the pilot episode, and Jack Bender was directing, as he did with last year's Desmond bookends. Last season, our focus was shuffled onto the tail section survivors, but only <em>after</em> we'd learned the fate of the raft crew and the scret of the hatch. This season we're having new characters integrated into the cast AS we find out the fate of those who were either kidnapped or potentially magnetically blown up. Or whatever. <br />This, I think was the cause of some of the negative online response to this episode, and a lot of female Juliet bashing seems to be out there. <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/normal_twocitiescap-0574.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/normal_twocitiescap-0574.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>But you know what? I'm an Elizabeth Mitchell <em>fan</em>. From as far back as Frequency, and Gia before that. I think she brings an intelligent sweetness to Juliet that grounds her. Of <em>course</em> this woman's favorite book is <u>The Stand</u> by Stephen King. <br />I also think they're setting her up well as Jack's romantic interest, she is after all a "woman of Science" and argues for free will right before 815 goes down. She's not going to be an ultimately useless 'Libby'. I'm looking forward to her flashbacks, and I think she works. So there. <br /><br />But Jack. Poor, poor Jack. The further down his story we get, the more we realize that the Jack we've known is a man with little to no grip on himself. How far removed from attacking his father at a frigging AA meeting was the doctor when he crashed anyway? And he's hallucinating daddy <em>again</em> (I know, I know...or...is he?). I'm still waiting for the mid-season Thailand era flashback. I bet I'm right about the good doctor chasing the white horse. <br />But man oh man, can Jack not give up (like the childhood bully said, "You should've stayed down, Jack."). I thought Matthew Fox did his usual Matthew Fox job in this one. I think he works as Jack because he brings with him an unassuming nature. The whole point is that Jack doesn't want to be the center of attention, but always will be.<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/normal_twocitiescap-0979.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/normal_twocitiescap-0979.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> And I thought he did a great job at episode's end, when instead of asking for the name of the man that stole his wife he simply asks, "Is she happy?" <br />Maybe an old dog can learn a few tricks after all. <br />If you had problems with this one, watch it AGAIN. It was disorienting, and strange, but it was also very good.Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1159467062430802362006-09-28T10:45:00.000-07:002006-09-28T11:29:53.400-07:00GEEK u.s.a: Back on the airOk, so how did you all spend your summer vacations? Mine was clearly not spent blogging, as the lack of posts since Spidey's big trailer debut shows.<br /><br />I had many reasons for the lack of posting, but keep in mind that I was posting a ridiculous three times a week at my peak. My current job does not allow for that, not in the slightest. I've been working twelve hour days and barely buying comics or watching things geek. <br /><br />Oh, but that all changes on October 4th, doesn't it?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.lostpedia.com/images/8/82/Sea3promo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.lostpedia.com/images/8/82/Sea3promo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />Yes, kids, I am posting again because LOST is soon to be back on the air. And if there's one thing worth blogging about, it's America's favorite sci-fi soap opera. Year Three is big. We lost a few viewers last season, but so did Desperate Housewives, so there. Those that stuck around got some genuine shockers and some brilliant episodes (ok, LOST geeks, how many times have you watched Live Together, Die Alone since it aired?).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here is the preview for the premiere, featuring Sawyer all angry and stuff behind bars and Jack staring down a wall of water with very Jack-like earnestness and integrity. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/m_xj2KigW_k"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/m_xj2KigW_k" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />Oh, fun. Anyway, I have to keep Matt's mom happy, so I'll be posting episode recaps again. I promise, Mrs. Gill, that I'll keep the swearing to a minimum. You know, until Michael shoots someone <i>again</i>. <br /><br />I'll also be getting around to a few things I've wanted to post for awhile, most notably high praise for some recent comics, especially the always amazing All-Star Superman (also, I've been meaning to post a public apology to Joss Whedon for some time. I hate admitting I'm wrong). <br /><br />But, careful attention will show that the REVIEWS is gone from the blog title. That's because I've decided that, in general, I'm a bit judgemental in life. Why carry that over to the geek world I love so dearly? <br />So: the commentary remains, the letter grades are <b>gone</b>. Dig?<br /><br />I look forward to hearing from all of you again. Excelsior!, as the man says.<br /><br />-Matthew GuerreroMatthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1151519493155262592006-06-28T11:23:00.000-07:002006-06-28T11:34:01.560-07:00Yes! Just...I mean...yes!<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_vP-JWHdgoQ"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_vP-JWHdgoQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />Take notes, Brian Singer: <i>this</i> is how you handle a superhero franchise. <br /><br />Spider-Man 3 looks awesome, the fan-boy in me in squealing like a Beatlemaniac. I'm glad they're going with the black suit story, and I think Topher Grace is the perfect 'bad twin' to Tobey Maguire. <br />After the jaw-dropping brilliance of #2, I trust Raimi to the ends of the earth with Spidey, and I think he may be able to pull out an interesting Venom.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/sq_spidey3_black_costume.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/sq_spidey3_black_costume.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I can't wait.Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1151415347413956052006-06-27T06:21:00.000-07:002006-06-27T06:35:47.453-07:00Gill throws a Frosty gauntletIn his comment to my review of Astonishing X-Men #15, Matt <a href="http://penultimate-panel.blogspot.com/">"you down with SPP?"</a> Gill said the following:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"We have an entire page devoted to Emma Frost forcing her tears. Stan Lee could have gotten the same thing across in one alliterative caption."</span><br /><br />First of all, I agree with Matt that the scene is dull and that information could be conveyed either more simply, or more dynamically by any number of comic writers. <br />However, I think that Matt is perhaps forgetting Mr. Lee's long winded nature. <br /><i>One</i> panel? I'm sure he'd devote at least half a page to Emma's internal struggle, something the more 'subtle' Whedon has only hinted at. <br /><br />So! What's that caption, dear reader? What would Stan the Man put in Emma's beautiful, wicked head? Extra points for alliteration, per Matt's suggestion. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/emma.0.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/emma.0.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The challenge is before you, now bring it!Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1151360203754455112006-06-26T15:14:00.000-07:002006-06-26T17:03:31.526-07:00New Comic Reviews:Eternals, Astonishing X-Men, All-Star SupermanFirst off, a quick word about my selections this week. <br /><br />I had intended to pick up copies of All-Star Superman #4, Astonishing X-Men #15, and the re-launch of The Flash. I even checked out Flash artist Ken Lashley on the <a href="http://www.comicartcommunity.com/gallery/categories.php?cat_id=390">Gallery of Comic Art</a>, just to see what I could expect. I liked what I saw, and actually got a little excited about picking up the book. <br />Then I saw what they did to his art. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/FlashFastestMan.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/FlashFastestMan.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Flash #1 is without a doubt one of the ugliest comics I've ever seen (and I own a few Rob Liefeld books). I don't blame Lashley at all. Here's an example of his uninked work: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/pencils.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/pencils.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Not flawless, but kind of dynamic. Certainly not the screaming mess that it turned out to be. Coloring, since it all went digital, is a hit or miss proposition in comics these days. When done well (Jamie Grant, for instance in All-Star Superman), it can really propel a book's art into another realm of realism or fantasy. But when done <i>this</i> poorly, it can ruin a book completely. I'm not the only person that left Flash on the shelves because of it. <br /><br /><u>ETERNALS #1</u><br /><br />This is what I bought with the money I'd planned to spend on Flash, and I think I made the right choice. I'm not familiar with Neil Gaiman much beyond 1602 (which is just ok), I never read Sandman or any of the other billion things he's written on his way toward becoming one of the most respected names in the business. So I picked up Eternals not because of his contributions, but because even on a cursory flip-thru read in the store, I was impressed with John Romita Jr.'s artwork. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/eternals.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/eternals.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>The Eternals are a Jack "King" Kirby creation, which was quite obvious even as I cracked the book open in the middle. You can tell a Kirby character immediately, even through another artist's vision. One thing I'll love forever about the King was that he was a cigar chomping New Yorker who created a pantheon of space age gods and goddesses. Here was a guy that appreciated how deeply the thread of mythology runs in our lives, and used it to create some of the most memorable characters in comics history, side by side with Stan Lee. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/flourish.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/flourish.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>But I'd never heard of The Eternals, which was Kirby doing for Marvel upon his return what he'd done at DC with the New Gods. Wikipedia tells me it ran for what looks like two years under The King's hand, starting in 1976, then popped up sporadically through the decades. <br /><br />This version of The Eternals, anyway, is off to a good start. Gaiman has a good grip on Kirby's world, distilling a lot of information (and I mean <b>a lot</b>) but making it all fairly digestible. Again, not being a long term reader of the Eternals, I don't know if they were always trapped in these modern day lives, having forgotten their true identities as immortals. If not, this move by Gaiman is more than a little similar to Grant Morrison's treatment of DC's Kirby crew, the New Gods, over in the Mister Miracle mini. Though when it comes right down to it, that may be the only way to introduce these kind of characters in a modern context. <br /><br />Regardless, this is a good issue, and the art is stunning in places. I can't quite tell if it's Romita's pencils I'm responding to, or if if Danny Miki's inking, but the whole operation strikes that balance between Kirby homage and something brand new. If Romita Jr. still resides under the shadow of Kirby <i>and</i> his father, it's no great knock against him, as practically every comic artist since those two has been aping one of them. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/killed.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/killed.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>This is a book with energy and life. I'm not sure I could see this world existing past the six-issue mini Gaiman's planned, but I'd be pleasantly surprised if it did.<br /><br />ETERNALS #1: <b>B</b><br /><br /><br /><u>ASTONISHING X-MEN #15</u><br /><br />As anyone who saw Serenity (and is being totally honest with themselves) knows, Joss Whedon has a tendency to spin his wheels a bit. His storylines are set up like a sitcom, set-up:punchline, set-up:punchline, drama, set-up:punchline, climax. Which is all well and good when you're on the punchline or the drama or the climax. But when he's setting up, sometimes your patience wanders. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/emma.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/emma.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>This issue seems rushed is what I mean. Everything, right down to John Cassaday's art, feels like we're just doing <b>this</b> to get to <b>there</b>. On whatever end, also, whether it's Cassaday or Whedon's fault, this is a poorly "directed" issue as well, in that scenes begin before we need them to and end before we need them to. This is disorienting, when we've got several strands of story to follow: Emma's turn, Scott's coma, Kitty sinking down to the abyss, the X-kids and their dire predictions, Wolvie and Beast's fight, the rise of Hellfire, the return of Danger (the sentient Danger Room from Whedon's last Astonishing arc which will interesting, but poorly executed), and the imminent peril of Breakworld. <br />Whedon's X-Universe is bursting at the seams, and it doesn't always seem like he has it under control. <br /><br />There are fun moments as well, who doesn't love seeing Logan making paper dolls?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/logan.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/logan.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />And the last page in the book is a nice reference back to Claremont and Byrne's Dark Phoenix/ Hellfire run.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/kitty.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/kitty.png" border="0" alt="" /></a> Again, though, Whedon's cramming this whole 'Kitty Pryde as potential badass' thing down our throats. Buffy she will never be, Joss. I half expected her, as she turned to 'camera' to be saying, "Do you know who I am? I'm Shadowcat, <b>bitch</b>."<br /><br />Get it together, guys.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/beast.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/beast.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />ASTONISHING X-MEN #15: <b>B-</b><br /><br /><br /><u>ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #4</u><br /><br />Thankfully, some things in this world you can count on. All-Star Superman <b>delivers</b>, issue after glorious issue. <br /><br />This time, our focus is on Jimmy Olsen (Superman's Best Friend, as the silver age title told us); here transformed from naive, freckled sidekick to ultra-modern, metrosexual adventurer. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/frontier.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/frontier.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Everything about Jimmy, his hair, his apartment, his luscious gal-pal, seem like a culmination of what people in the 60's thought people would be like in the new millennium. <br /><br />To contrast specifically to Astonishing X-Men, here we have an issue that deviates from the central storyline of Superman's seemingly unavoidable death and doesn't feel like mere filler, but an expanding of the universe (wanna bet Krypto gets his own issue somewhere down the line?). Superman appears in the issue, but only as a Super-foil for Jimmy's adventures. While running Leo Quintim's P.R.O.J.E.C.T. for a day, Jimmy stumbles across Black Kryptonite which, they soon discover, turns Superman evil. <br />I love the way the effects are revealed, with Superman carving his symbol into the desk like a truculent teenager in detention:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/curse.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/curse.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Evil Superman was the kind of thing that happened every other week in the silver-age, and everything about the fight is exciting. To go back to what I said above, just look at what Jamie Grant adds to these scenes with his coloring:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/you.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/you.png" border="0" alt="" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/weaker.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/weaker.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>One thing I'm loving about Quitely's layouts in this series is that even though he doesn't deviate from the standard 'block' format panels, his pages feel expansive, unlimited, because of the composition <i><b>within</i></b> the panels, a valuable lesson for most modern comic artists. Instead of trying to make the page look dynamic with jagged and ugly panels and exaggerated musculature, just learn solid anatomy and motion, fellas. What you end up with is so much more elegant.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/where-am.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/where-am.png" border="0" alt="" /></a> <br />Grant is unloading every silver-age fantasy he ever had into this series. This another title bursting at the seams, but Grant is able to make it all run smoothly. He knew going in exactly what he wanted this book to be, and his vision is being carried out phenomenally by his collaborators. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/haiku.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/haiku.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>As usual, this is the best book on the stands right now.<br /><br />ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #4: <b>A</b>Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1150984729028086842006-06-22T06:37:00.000-07:002006-06-22T07:02:19.273-07:00Even tho it don't make no...sense!We have our winner, and it's regular reader/commenter Jason Carlin aka <a href="http://the2scoops.blogspot.com/">the2scoops</a>, who runs his own excellent blog as has fabulous taste in music. <br /><br />Jason, hit me with your address at geekusablog@yahoo.com and you'll receive the prize which is...(drumroll)...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/34305_20060330013107_large.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/34305_20060330013107_large.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />A barely read copy of Green Lantern #10 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. Yes, this lovely issue is the only thing to receieve a <a href="http://billyblack23.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_billyblack23_archive.html">failing grade</a> <span style="font-style:italic;">(to find the review, scroll to the very bottom of the page)</span> in the short history of this site. <br />Seriously, scoops, I want this the hell out of my house. <br /><br />But, <i>actually seriously</i>, thanks for being a regular, 2 scoops and anyone else paying attention in the bloggosphere. <br /><br />Between my new job and an upcoming move my posts will probably be a little less frequent in the next month or so (I have <i>no</i> idea if I'm gonna get those Sequart columns in on my already irregular twice a month schedule), and I look forward to having the time to really expound on all that is glorious and geeky soon. <br />It's a hell of a thing buying a copy of All-Star Superman or Astonishing X-Men when you're saving up for a deposit and first month's rent. So if I don't review those books for a month, you know why. <br /><br />BBMatthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1150902836260248012006-06-21T08:01:00.000-07:002006-06-21T08:18:33.290-07:00Comic Book Meme Episode IIIPart One <a href="http://billyblack23.blogspot.com/2006/06/wherein-i-join-comic-book-meme-already.html">here</a><br />Part Two <a href="http://billyblack23.blogspot.com/2006/06/comic-creator-meme-part-two-contest.html">here</a><br />Part Three below...<br /><br /><br />CAPTAIN AMERICA<br />Writer & Artist: Frank Miller<br /><br />It's perfect, isn't it? <br />Just imagine what gloriously sacrilegious things Miller could do with Ol' Cap. I'm picturing a very Dark Knight Strikes Again type book, a bitingly funny mix of politics and supervillains. <br />Imagine Miller taking on Red Skull! <br />Get Marvel on the phone, this is brilliance...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/miller-cap.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/miller-cap.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />HAWKMAN<br />Writer: Geoff Johns<br />Artist: Jim Lee<br /><br />If there's one thing Geoff Johns is good at, it's straightening out tangled continuity, and no character right now features a more intricate and pointless history than Carter or Katar or whatever in the hell he's called right now. But I have a weak spot for the Hawk, so I'd have faith in Geoff to bring him back to Kubert-era glory.<br />I put Jim Lee on this title 'cause he can draw bare chested barbarians and big-chested valkyries like nobody's business. <br />Besides, he sells, sells, sells. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/lee-hawkman.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/lee-hawkman.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />JLA<br />Writer: Ed Brubaker<br />Artist: Carlos Pacheco<br />Darwyn Cooke is the obvious choice here, and he's brilliant, but Brubaker's great at combining old characters with modern surroundings (see the resurrection of Bucky over in Captain America). <br />Pacheco is one of the underrated talents in comics today, when he's solidly inked, he represents the best the current era of comics has to offer. Never showy, always strong. <br /><br />Roster: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, The Atom, Hawkgirl, Hourman, Booster Gold<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/jla-pacheco.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/jla-pacheco.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />THE AVENGERS<br />Writer: Peter David<br />Artist: Cameron Stewart<br /><br />Cameron Stewart's bound to burst into stardom at any moment, why not give him a boost towards that by putting him on a classic title with a classic roster? <br />Cap and Iron Man are gimmes, and I miss Thor in the Marvel U, let's make him work again. Hawkeye returns from the dead, Black Widow hangs around for a little Iron Curtain sex appeal, and we'll keep the Spider-people from New Avengers but kick out Wolvie and Luke Cage. <br />Peter David is the ideal collaborator for Stewart, this would be another fun book. <br /><br />Roster: Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Panther, Black Widow<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/cameron-spidey.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/cameron-spidey.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />SEVEN SOLDIERS<br />Writer: Grant Morrison<br />Artist: Jaime Hernandez<br /><br />Oh yeah. I think that Jaime could do an amazing superhero comic, and I think that given the schizophrenic nature of the Seven Soldiers and the varying artistic styles throughout the minis that Jaime is one of the few artists capable of bringing them together in a way that truly works. <br />I think working with Jaime would be great for Grant, also. I really would love to see what these guys would push each other towards. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/soldiers-jaime.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/soldiers-jaime.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a>Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1150810961320347602006-06-20T06:31:00.000-07:002006-06-20T06:49:03.256-07:00Comic Creator Meme Part Two Contest UpdatePart One <a href="http://billyblack23.blogspot.com/2006/06/wherein-i-join-comic-book-meme-already.html">here</a>. Now to continue:<br /><br /><br /><br />FANTASTIC FOUR<br />Writer: Tom Peyer<br />Artist: Rags Morales<br /><br />These guys <span style="font-weight:bold;">must</span> be brought back together, and I think they'd do well on Marvel's First Family. Peyer was always great at using sentimentality without getting too saccharine, and would have an absolute blast with the self-pitying Ben Grimm. <br />Morales would be a natural for Mr. Fantastic, after the great job he did with Elongated Man over in Identity Crisis. Since the Richards are probably about to be split up in Civil War, this is the perfect team to being them back together. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/ff-morales.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/ff-morales.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />THE FLASH<br />Writer: Mark Millar<br />Artist: Mike Wieringo<br /><br />Ringo's done Flash before, but he's matured since then, and between his kinetic art and Millar's wicked sense of humor, they could make this book the most fun of any on our imaginary roster. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/ringo-flash.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/ringo-flash.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />DAREDEVIL<br />Writer: Brian K. Vaughn<br />Artist: Moebius<br /><br />I considered making this a silent book with Moebius on art, since a concept as goofy as a blind superhero is perfect sci-fi artist territory. Also, Moebius is brilliant with shade and texture, and could make the back alleys of Hell's Kitchen alive with danger. <br />I put Vaughn on this book because I think he deserves work, frankly, and I think he could do a wonderful job with Matt Murdock, a character not unlike the central figure of Ex Machina in his guarded nature. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/moebius-daredevil.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/moebius-daredevil.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />GREEN LANTERN<br />Writer: Alan Moore<br />Artist: J.H. Williams III<br /><br />This book would cover all members of the Green Lantern Corps, and I'm sure Alan Moore could do amazing things with the physics of the Lanterns, and the nature of their powers. <br />Williams does his best, most far-reaching work with Moore, and I think they could turn this book into the next Swamp Thing, mysterious and cosmic. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/williams-lantern.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/williams-lantern.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />THE INCREDIBLE HULK<br />Writer: Grant Morrison<br />Artist: Frank Quitely<br /><br /><br />I want to see these guys take on the Hulk for the very reason that they've made Superman soar: the Hulk, as is, is boring. Not with this team on board. <br />While Grant's delving into the intense dual psychology of Banner/Hulk, Frank gives Hulk the wide open spaces he needs to express his boundless rage. <br />With Quitely's gift of emotion and Grant's brilliant prose, this could be the Hulk project that Ang Lee was trying to accomplish. I have no doubt this would be the best book of the 15. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/quitely-hulk.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/quitely-hulk.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />That's it for the meme post today. Look for the thrilling conclusion soon. Will I put R. Crumb on Birds of Prey? Hup!<br />In contest news: Reading's off the clock, and our next candidate is from Ontario, Canada, and was referred by good old Site Meter. 2scoops, is that <span style="font-style:italic;">you</span>?<br />2 days to write, buddy.Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1150746918876155432006-06-19T12:54:00.000-07:002006-06-19T14:24:21.450-07:00Wherein I join a comic book meme already in progress...<span style="font-style:italic;">Hypothetical situation: Due to diminished readership and rising paper costs, it has been decided only fifteen comic titles will be published from this day forward. You have been charged with the decisions of which titles shall be printed and what creative teams will be assigned to them.<br /><br />Artists may only draw one title; writers may script up to four (unless the writer is also the artist, in which case he's limited to one). Also, while it would be awesome to have Art Adams drawing a monthly NFL SuperPro book or Alex Ross painting the further adventures of the TRS-80 Computer Whiz Kids, we all know that's not going to happen, though feel free to use them for a few issues a year as fill-in artists or to take advantage of other such loopholes.<br /><br />You may also set a creative direction, tone, or other details if you see fit (i.e. choose the Avengers or JLA members who would appear should you decide to have those titles make the final cut).<span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span></span><br /><br />This comes from a meme thread posted on <a href="http://yeoldecomicblogge.blogspot.com/2006/04/for-further-discussion.html">Ye Olde Comick Booke Blogge</a> several months ago. I just now saw it, and will weigh in with my choices, five at a time. So!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SUPERMAN</span><br /><br />Writer: Grant Morrison<br />Artist: Phil Jimenez<br /><br />Since people are just going to insist on keeping Superman going, why not throw big daddy Grant Morrison on it, and see if he can bring the kind of off-the-wall fun to the title that he's bringing to All-Star. No one's had a better take on the Man of Steel in almost 70 years. While I'm at it, I'm going to reunite Grant with his artist through the bulk of his Volume 2 of the Invisibles, Phil Jimenez. Phil did a good job with the various Super-people of Infinite Crisis, but we'll get a better inker on him this time. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/superman-jimenez.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/superman-jimenez.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">BATMAN</span><br /><br />Writer: Alan Moore<br />Artist: Joe Kubert<br /><br />For the all-time best DC character, we're giving you the all-time best DC artist: big Joe Kubert, whose two sons are tragically unemployed in this alternate universe. Thinking about it now, I'm surprised that they never tried Kubert on the mean streets of Gotham. We'll fix that. And for writer, why not bring Alan Moore, who's written some excellent Batman stories through the years and has the darkness that the title requires.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/batman-kubert.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/batman-kubert.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SPIDER-MAN</span><br /><br />Writer: Mark Millar<br />Artist: John Cassaday<br /><br />Mark isn't here because I think he did a particularly good job the last time he took on Spidey, but because I think that he can do better. With Cassaday as a partner, I think his imagination would be unlimited. What I like about putting Cassaday on this title is he brings a weight to his art, a realism that would work well with Millar, since Mark never really gets spacey.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/cassaday-spidey.3.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/cassaday-spidey.3.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">X-MEN</span><br /><br />Writer: Peter David<br />Artist: Steve Mc Niven<br /><br />McNiven is good with teams, and David has the ability to keep things fun, and both would suit the X-Men well. The roster is: Cyclops, Wolverine, Phoenix (Rachel or Jean, writer's choice), Shadowcat, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Iceman. Emma Frost and Magneto are both evil, as is Quicksilver. Also: we're killing Professor X off right away.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/mcniven-x-men.1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/mcniven-x-men.1.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WONDER WOMAN</span><br />Writer: Joss Whedon<br />Artist: Ryan Sook<br /><br />Whedon's great with women that kick ass and take names, and Sook is maybe the most dynamic artist working today. I think having a partner with those capabilities would open up new worlds for Joss. Also in this alternate universe, Ryan Sook would be capable of bringing a book in on time every month. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/sook-wonder-woman.1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/sook-wonder-woman.1.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />Ok, dear readers: it's your turn. You don't have to pick fifteen, you don't have to agree with my choices (except for Kubert on Batman, I mean <span style="font-style:italic;">come on</span>). <br />If you want to put Chris Ware on The Flash (think about it, the most static artist teamed up with the most fluid character.), that's totally cool with me. <br />Comment away.Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1150638722309941132006-06-18T06:37:00.000-07:002006-06-18T06:52:02.310-07:00Spidey Column, Hard Luck for ItalyNot only does Italy have to suffer the indignation of a tie with the United States in the World Cup, but the three days are up and my Italian visitor has not e-mailed me to claim this fershlugginer No-Prize. So we move on. <br /><br />Our next potential winner comes from the UK (Oi!), specifically The University of Reading. He or she was referred by Matt Gill's <a href="http://penultimate-panel.blogspot.com/">The Silent Penultimate Panel Watch</a>. You've got two days, Reading. I hope to hear from you at geekusablog@yahoo.com<br /><br />Also, another Sunday edition of the Black Hole is up over at Sequart.com. <br />Today, the first in a four part series examining the recent "Spider-Man: The Other" cross-over that, to use a Phil Hendrie quote, went down like a freaking Piper Cub. See where it went wrong here:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sequart.com/columns/?col=114">The Other: Part One</a>Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1150559020433572672006-06-17T08:30:00.000-07:002006-06-17T09:21:11.950-07:00Spider-Man Unmasked:Marvel's Civil War #2Let's not waste any time here:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/peter.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/peter.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Every one of these blockbuster events promises to shake its respective universe to its very core. Usually that means a minor character is bumped off, a team or two splits up, but the status quo is held intact. But this. <br /><br />Peter Parker is <i>defined</i> by his outsider status. Keeping his secret identity is central to everything he holds dear in his life. How many times did they play the 'Oh no, someone's going to learn Peter's secret and that puts ______ (Aunt May, Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, etc.) in grave danger!' card back when people actually <i>read</i> Spider-Man comics? <br /><br />Do I think they should have done it? Absolutely not. Do I think it's in Peter's best interests? Oh hell no it's not. Do I think it works?<br /><br />Yes. <br /><br />It works, it's brilliant, I actually love it. Even though I hate it, I love it. Even though I think someone very close to Peter is dead, rotting meat now, I love it. Even though this would appear to put Pete in Tony's camp, I love it. <br />Because it takes guts. Because it's something real. Because it represents a genuinely life-changing moment for one of our most beloved comic book icons. <br />Make no mistake about it: I love this move. <br /><br />And I love this book. In my review of <a href="http://billyblack23.blogspot.com/2006/05/my-flagboy-and-your-flagboymarvels.html">Civil War #1</a>, I said I hope that this book would finally give the company a solid identity for the first time in the remarkably scattershot Joe Quesada era. It's living up to that promise for me. <br /><br />I'm completely gripped by the action scenes. Here's where Steve McNiven really excels. Take the scene where Patriot of the Young Avengers is chased by S.H.I.E.L.D. helicopters:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/pariot.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/pariot.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>It's an extremely cinematic scene, but at the same time it works in the language of comics, something that many other artists can't seem to get the hang of. Especially that second panel above, with Patriot leaping from building to building: you feel the silence, you feel time slow down for the terrified young man. This book is Steve McNiven's coming out party. <br /><br />And I like Mark Millar's writing, and his dialogue especially. He creates scenes that feel <i>real</i> but-again-still belong to the world of comics. <br />He's great with Tony Stark's confusion, just like he was with Captain America's last issue. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/tony-stark.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/tony-stark.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>If there's a glaring weakness to this book so far, it's that Millar and the editorial crew are so clearly on Cap's side. But that makes the plight of Tony Stark all the more compelling as he's swept along by his own self-doubt into battle against his brothers. <br /><br />I love the sad moments with Sue and Reed in the Fantastic Four's headquarters as well. This is what you always figured their marriage was like: Sue, neglected and pining for attention, and Reed completely absorbed with his equations and gadgets. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/sue-storm.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/sue-storm.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>The only time he takes any notice of her is when she reaches for his disk marked '42' (is Millar giving a nod here to Hitchhiker's Guide?) and Reed grabs her wrist (not her hand, her wrist) and says "I'm sorry Susan. But I'm afraid that's classified information."<br /><br />There's a lot of internet fuss about Joey Q bitching about how writing for married couples is boring, and perhaps the unmasking and Reed's coldness are calculated to split both super-marriages up. I think Joe's <a href="http://www.newsarama.com/JoeFridays/JoeFridays48.html">interview</a> was a great big red herring, and if not it ultimately says more about his own personal issues than anything else. Pete, Reed, Mary Jane, and Sue function perfectly as married folk. If your writers are having trouble with that, get better writers. If you don't like marriage, Quesada, get counseling and leave Spidey alone. <br /><br />But regardless of that kind of wild speculation, whether or not Reed and Sue are torn apart by this crisis, we're only two issues in and we've gotten something as big as the Spidey reveal. Who lives? Who dies? Who can guess after this?<br /><br />For the first time in years, I'm proud as hell to say: Make Mine Marvel. <br /><br />CIVIL WAR #2: <b>A</b>Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1150424598624112742006-06-15T19:12:00.000-07:002006-06-15T19:23:18.636-07:00We Have a Winner<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/1000.0.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/1000.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Earlier today, we reached visitor 1,000 on GEEK U.S.A., and as promised that person will receive a lovely prize. <br /><br />But first, I want to thank Mr. Tom "Superfrankenstein" Peyer, writer of the brilliant Hourman for linking to my review from the main page of his site. I've gotten more hits in the last two days than I usually get in a week. Namaste, brother. <br /><br />Ok, so the winner is from Italy: Milano, Italy to be specific, and reached the site from a Google search for Super Skrull reviews. <br /><br />As stated in the rules, he or she has three days to write me at geekusablog@yahoo.com<br /><br />If not, we move on down the road.Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1150299847683683132006-06-14T08:06:00.000-07:002006-06-14T08:51:23.573-07:00Am I legally required to blog about this?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/BatwomanColor.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/BatwomanColor.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>It seems that everybody and their mother (but not mine, she's too Catholic) is sounding off about this lesbian Batwoman nonsense. <br />Apparently, it's major world news, as well ( There are wars still going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, right? I'm just checking). <br /><br />Ok, so how do I feel about Lesbat? <br />Well, when I initially heard they were bringing back Batwoman as a lesbian I thought, Great: That must be Rene Montoya! And only a week after I asked someone at DC to make her a superhero "like, now". <br />No such luck, instead we've got Kathy Kane, who every major news outlet insists on referring to as a "buxom lipstick lesbian". What's the matter, DiDio? Don't have the cojones to put a raging bull dyke under the cowl? <br /><br />They've got a regular Castro District going on over there in Gotham City, man. I'm waiting for Gay Vito and Johnny Cakes to come strolling along hand in hand. <br /><br />It's all about sales, and that's fine. Same thing years and years ago when Northstar came bursting out of the closet. It got a lot of mainstream press, and that's the whole point. <br />Infinite Crisis was big, but didn't make the dent outside of the comics world the way DC probably hoped it would (try explaining why three Supermen are fighting each other to a lay person. <em>Try it</em>). But now DC is getting some serious coverage and gets to look progressive, or even cool. <br /><br />Also, I don't like the costume. Red on black is an ineffective choice, especially since Bat<em>girl</em> and her classic blue and gray is so ingrained in people's minds. <br />Since DC's best writers and artists are wrapped up with other things, expect this whole Batwoman experiment to go down in flames, and quick.Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1150225774298258532006-06-13T11:51:00.000-07:002006-06-13T12:09:34.530-07:00The First Official GEEK U.S.A. No-Prize<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/341875204_l.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/320/341875204_l.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />We are rapidly approaching our 1,000th visitor here at GEEK U.S.A., and it took only four ever-lovin' months to do it. But since I <b>do</b> have regular readers (you're quiet but you're out there, hello people), I thought it only fair to thank them. <br /><br />Anyway: for that lucky visitor we have quite a surprise planned. In the tradition of the eternal blowhard Stan Lee and Marvel Comics, we will be sending the first Official Geek U.S.A. No-Prize. What is it? Maybe it's candy. Maybe it's wine. Maybe it's a comic book that I really don't want anymore. Perhaps it's a handsome plaque. <br /><br /><br />Sometime next week, we'll all know the answer. I will mention that family members are ineligible (sorry Uncle Fester). I'll know who the winner is by checking my Site Meter reports, I'll post the general location when the magic number is reached, and the winner will have three days to e-mail me at geekusablog@yahoo.com, if they fail to do so we'll move on down the line to visitor 1,001 and so on. <br /><br />Excelsior!<br /><br />PS: That is indeed a young Billy Black in the photo, Los Angeles, circa 1983. I've been a geek for a very, very long time, kids.Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1150030019970843422006-06-11T05:04:00.000-07:002006-06-11T19:57:15.263-07:00New Comic Reviews:X-Factor, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Ion, Wonder Woman<u>X-FACTOR #7</u><br /><br />Musical artists continues over at X-Factor, with Denis Calero yielding to Ariel Olivetti for issue 7. Calero will be back, but someone at the top over at Marvel needs to decide on a permanent artist, like <span style="font-style:italic;">now<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span>. For the first time, the lack of a steady hand has really, really hurt the book. <br />The problem with this issue is that Olivetti doesn't appear to have any clear <b>style</b> to speak of. At different times he appears to be attempting to channel Rags Morales, Terry Dodson, Frank Cho, former X-Factor artist Ryan Sook, or a hundred other current pencillers par-excellence. But he fails. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/dupe.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/dupe.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Let me tell you something about our man Peter David:he needs to work with talented artists because he is wordy as fuck, and in the hands of amateurs his pages can be stilted and boring. That, unfortunately, is what we've got going on here. <br />There is a nice story here, as Syrin deals (or doesn't deal) with her father's death. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/syrin.0.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/syrin.0.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>There is the all-important continuation of the Singularity storyline. <br />But the composition of the issue is so dreadfully boring that the words have no time to sink in. Needless to say, Olivetti does not have my vote as full-time penciller. I have a newfound appreciation for Calero. He may have been imprecise, and at times ugly, but he was never this <b>boring</b>, a far greater sin.<br /><br />Next time in X-Factor, Civil War comes to Mutant Town, and the great Ryan Sook returns for one issue. <br />Say, Jamie, do you think maybe Ryan can put aside whatever personal issues he's got going on, come onto the title again and make this the classic X-book it always should have been?<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/jamie.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/jamie.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Yeah, that's what I thought.<br /><br />X-FACTOR #7: <b>C+</b><br /><br /><br /><U>FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #9</U><br /><br />I know that saying a Peter David comic is self-indulgent is like saying John Wayne Gacy had a thing for clowns: a massive understatement. <br />But no other words come to mind to describe the messy, pointless ninth issue of Friendly Neighborhood, a title that started out strong, but is treading water right now. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/chalkboard.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/chalkboard.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>All the expository hoop-a-joop in the world isn't gonna make this storyline any more plausible or any more interesting. The revelation that The 'Hobgoblin of 2211' is the daughter of that timeline's Spidey is a great big who cares, and the costume they give to that Spidey is so ridiculous as to be distracting to what is, ostensibly, a dramatic story.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/spidey.0.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/spidey.0.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/world.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/world.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>There's some lovely art here; Mike Weiringo brings his A-Game as usual, but this issue is dead from page one, and our own Spidey doesn't make his first appearance until the very end of the book, and then mainly used as a kind of un-funny comic relief. One of the things I like best about David, his corniness, derails here.<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/hitting.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/hitting.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Fonzie is circling the shark, baby, and he looks ready to jump. <br /><br />FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #9: <b>D-</b><br /><br /><br /><U>ION #1</U><br /><br /><br />This book is over a month old now, but I had made a note to check it out when I had spare time (and money), and when I did I was pleasantly surprised. <br />Kyle Rayner is my favorite of the many Green Lanterns. Yes, Hal is the classic, John Stewart is the moral center, and Killowog would look great on a Burger King glass; but Kyle stands out for me. I especially enjoyed Geoff John's treatment of him in Green Lantern:Rebirth. I like the concept of Kyle being the strongest Lantern because he is the only one to <em>know fear</em>. He's the Frodo of the DCU.<br /><br />In the fall out of the Rann-Thanagar War, Kyle is now Ion, but we (and Kyle) are not exactly sure what that means yet. What we do see is that Kyle's self-doubt makes him eternally, violently unstable. And with great power comes, well, the ability to wipe out entire galaxies. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/ask.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/ask.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Ion, it seems, is the DCU's Dark Phoenix. <br />What is causing this instability? And why doesn't Kyle remember any of it? Writer Ron Marz isn't tipping his hand yet. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/home.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/home.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>What I really loved about this issue, though, was the impressionistic, sketch-like art work of Greg Tocchini. His work in this issue reminded me of those 70's life-drawing instruction books, and I mean that as high praise. All the more appropriate because Kyle is an artist, the style of the book mirrors the unpredictability of its central character.<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/canvas.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/canvas.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>This book was far better than I'd hoped it would be. <br /><br />ION #1: <b>B+</b><br /><br /><br /><u>WONDER WOMAN #1</u><br /><br />When 52 was first announced and the news came out that DC's Holy Trinity, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were going to be leaving the scene for a full year, it was speculated that their respective partners or former partners: Conner Kent, either Dick Grayson or Tim Drake, and Donna Troy were going to step in and fill their shoes. <br />I thought this was a great idea, it seemed like the perfect way to breathe a little more life into both sets of characters, young and old. <br />Conner's death in Infinite Crisis slammed the door on that fascinating concept, but look:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/donna.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/donna.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Donna Troy <b>does</b> get to play at being Wonder Woman for awhile. And, thanks to Terry and Rachel Dodson, she looks perfectly adorable while she does it. Yes, the Dodsons are known for their gorgeous women, but they (unlike, say, Frank Cho) understand how to make a comic page feel vibrant, not just scandalous. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/guess-not.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/guess-not.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I don't know a damn thing, really, about Wonder Woman's history. In fact, this is the very first Wonder Woman comic that I have ever picked up and read, cover to back, in my life. <br />But this is good: a fine re-launch and an inviting introduction to her world. <br />I was skeptical about Allan Heinberg's ability to write an engaging comic, since I'd not read Young Avengers and I absolutely <em>loathe</em> Sex in the City, but he has a great deal of fun with a sixty-year old concept that never really got off the ground (invisible plane, my ass). <br />Moreover, the art and the writing are so complementary that it feels like this creative team has been together for years, not that this is their first issue. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/holding-back.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/holding-back.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Heinberg has found a way to make Wonder Woman interesting without breaking anybody's neck, and that's no small feat. <br /><br />WONDER WOMAN #1: <b>A</b>Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1149557126665021942006-06-05T18:13:00.000-07:002006-06-05T19:18:07.846-07:00Top 10 Comics since 19794. Hourman #7: The Human League<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/4.%20hourman%207.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/200/4.%20hourman%207.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>DC Comics<br />October 1999<br />Writer: Tom Peyer<br />Penciller: Rags Morales<br />Inker: David Meikis<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Hourman didn't last long: it ran for only two years, and has yet to be collected in trade paperback form. It's the quintessential modern cult classic. What made Hourman work was the team-up of two of comic's most expressive creators, Tom Peyer and Rags Morales. <br />I have gone on at length before about the high esteem I hold Morales in, but to hit on it again, briefly: no one in comics is better with emotion, and his facial expressions bring a whole different level of 'performance' to his characters than most other artists in comics today. In Hourman especially, though, Rags is having a blast. Big, bold layouts. Figures flying though panels and out of windows. Hourman was a playground for Rags, a showcase for his playful nature. <br />Same can be said for Peyer's writing on the series. Few series have ever been as unpredictable as Hourman was, literally anything could and did happen. Hourman, essentially, was a Pinnochio story where the puppet stayed a puppet. Tagging along beside him, playing Jiminy Cricket, was Snapper Carr, disgraced former JLA groupie. <br />Peyer also brought with him great pathos and understanding of what it is to be human: a never ending struggle between wants and needs. It is that sense of eternal longing that makes <u>The Human League</u> so special. <br /><br />Amazo, an android with the ability to absorb the powers of any superhero he faces, now has the ability to literally steal the humanity from his victims and leave them, in Snapper's words, "humming like a refrigerator." He has already done this to the entire JLA, who are now dispassionate robots.<br />Amazo is handling his newfound humanity with the grace and subtlety of any newborn: He's a mewling, puking mess; grabbing every sensory distraction near him.<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/try-my-luck.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/try-my-luck.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/rightfully-mine.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/rightfully-mine.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Amazo is a bull in a china shop, a being of unlimited power who cannot cope with his newfound emotions. Overriding, though, is his guilt and shame. But when he can't deal with the shame, he rages. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/better-already.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/better-already.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Peyer makes you believe his transformation not because of the wrath or because of the shame, but because Amazo experiences them <em>simultaneously</em>. <br /><br />The JLA, now androids, show up to stop him, and he throws a crew man into he ocean to distract them. "He presumes that endangering an innocent will divert our attention," says android Superman, "His presumption is inaccurate."<br />It is Amazo himself that saves the man, screaming in anguish, "What have I done?", and diving into the ocean after him. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/data.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/data.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/don%27t-die.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/don%27t-die.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>"It's human to regret one's actions," Amazo tells the confused JLAndriods, "I feel great compassion for this man--but I still have none for you." With that he snares them in a net and drags them below the water. He takes him to his lair, where he bombards their circuitry with self-contradicting stimuli: Baby Hitler, planes dropping flowers instead of bombs. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/torture.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/torture.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>"A terrible way to go, I know, but if you want a job done cruelly, give it to a human!" says Amazo. <br /><br />Meanwhile, Hourman is having a crisis of faith. Snapper, his "humanity coach", has been turned into an android, not even phased by the fact that his poor little kitty Starro has been knocked out by Amazo's attack in the previous issue. It's finally by accepting his unhumanity that he succeeds, using a modem signal to locate the JLA, and souping himself up into a battle tank to take out Amazo.<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/modem.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/modem.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/hopeless.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/hopeless.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>"You can add options and extras until you're big as the moon, but you'll never match my complexity! I have feeling ! Free will!" screams Amazo, charging towards Hourman. With a giant WHONK, Hourman knocks him out.<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/unmade.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/unmade.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />His humanity restored, Snapper asks Hourman if what Amazo said about him not being human bothers him. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/improved.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/improved.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The issue ends with Hourman speeding off to his next breathless adventure, and the series ultimately ended that way. <br />When Hourman 'unmakes' Amazo, it is in one way his first act of compassion. Not just to bring back the JLA and his friends, but to ease Amazo's own suffering. It is that same compassion that sends him into battle with Amazo at series' end; this time overtly to save him from himself. <br />Hourman's book was a joy, a touch of Silver-Age goodness with a modern twist. That sense of fun and adventure is rarely seen in comics anymore, and when it is it should be celebrated.Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1149380169959528952006-06-03T17:13:00.000-07:002006-06-03T20:26:10.396-07:00Where we are, guys: LOST Season Two in review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/cast.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/cast.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>LOST took some major risks this season. It is a testament to the strength of the writing on the show that almost all of those risks succeeded. <br />To begin with, they answered the question that dominated last season and the following summer: what's in the hatch. Well, Desmond's in the hatch. But who is Desmond and why is he there? That question lingered until the finale, which set the stage for a whole new show next season. We know the world is still out there, but will Penny find her man? And will he still be alive for her?<br />This was a deeper,richer season than the first. The writers played with show constructs like the flashbacks and redemption story lines. The Dharma Initiative is a fun addition, an all-powerful corporation with unknown agendas. Having Dharma at once grounds the show further in reality, and allows for more sci-fi foolishness. <br />We had the saga of the fake 'Henry Gale', Ana-Lucia and Shannon lived up to the horror movie tradition of dying after sex, and we got just a little more of the Monster that eviscerated the pilot last season. But what a scene. <br />That's the thing about this show: it takes a long time for story threads to be fleshed out but, man, when they are...<br /><br />Let's take a look at where we are now, two seasons into the best show on television. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JACK</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/JACK.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/JACK.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Jack is the guy that got on everyone's nerves this season. His main problem seems to be that whereas last season he was the go-to-guy on the island, this year he wasn't so much. Everyone seemed to be contradicting him, and with good reason. The good doctor is clearly losing it: running off half cocked into the woods after Desmond and then Michael isn't going to help his rep in the camp any. Though he made peace with John towards the end of the year, I'm certain that if Locke survives the hatch explosion, the old rivalry will flare up again. What do The Others want with jack? Why is he on the list? Is it merely another good people, bad people list? Jack seems to be a saint, even in his 'hey honey I just made out with a smokin' hot Italian chick, what do you mean you're leaving me?' flashbacks. But there's still a lot we don't know about Jack's past. Is he one of the 'bad' people after all? <br />I like Jack, and I like Matthew Fox as Jack. He's a centering presence on the show, he's our main character and our eyes on the island, from the very beginning. But his profile needs to be restored in Season Three. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">LOCKE</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/LOCKE.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/LOCKE.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>"I was wrong."<br />Locke is always wrong. John's ''pathetic struggle through life" (as he called it) just keeps on getting more pathetic. If last season was about his renewed confidence, this season was about that confidence shattering. John was not quite the mysterious jungle man he was a year ago, either. Part of that is the flashbacks. The more we know of Johnny Locke, the more he seems like some schmo from a box company playing a real-life version of Pitfall. If John survives in Season Three (and he has to: if LOST stopped right now, John Locke would be its greatest contribution to pop culture), he will have lost his stature and will be even more desperate that this year. Or he could be embittered. Locke's arc is to go evil, I guarantee it. Season Three is the start of that, I hope. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SAWYER</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/SAWYER.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/SAWYER.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>After the cuddly, lovable Sawyer we'd been saddled with since the raft explosion, the bad-ass wild card's return in The Long Con was a breath of fresh air. We saw just how his mind works, and what he's capable of getting people to do. Aside from holding the guns and drilling Ana-Lucia, though, Sawyer was relegated mostly to one-liner dispenser for the bulk of the season, even though he invited himself along on most of the expeditions. He'll be in the thick of things next year, though. <br />Put money on it: big reveal in Season Three or Four: Zeke is the "real Sawyer". <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SAYID</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/SAYID.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/SAYID.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Talk about disappearing. Sayid, aside from torturing Henry Gale, did jack -all this year. He lost Shannon, but that was never a believable romance. Had Ana-Lucia survived, that would have been more intriguing a pair. <br />Naveen Andrews is a magnetic presence, and Sayid is a good character, but he needs more screen time; with Jack taken away does he become the leader of the castaways now? <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">MICHAEL</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/MICHAEL.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/MICHAEL.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The defining moment of the series so far. The biggest shocker, no kidding. The moment where the writers stepped forward and said: no one is safe. <br />Yes, Michael was heading down a desperate path all year. But this? If anything, I thought he'd get himself and his boy both killed by the Others. But the Others aren't so mysterious after all. They kept their bargain, and Michael and Walt are gone...but forever? Walt, sure. But Lando will be back to save his friends (it was significant that he called them "friends", by the way, and thinking of them in that way will make it all the harder for Mike to stay away). <br />That would be the ultimate test of the redemption storylines: if they can redeem Michael, they can redeem anyone. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">KATE</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/KATE.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/KATE.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>What did Kate do this season?<br />She hallucinated a horse, but no wait: that was real. Umm, let's see...she got captured at the end. That's something, right?<br />Didn't give Evangeline Lilly a whole lot this season, that's for sure (we didn't even get any gratuitous Kate cheesecake, what gives?), she tagged along on a few missions, got "caught in a net" with the good doctor, and we found out who she killed and why. But again she, like Sawyer, needs to have a bit more to do next year. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">CHARLIE</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/CHARLIE.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/CHARLIE.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Charlie went evil, and back again, in and out of crush with Claire. He knocked out Sun on Sawyer's behalf to get back at Locke, who pounded him into the surf the episode before. We saw the depths of Charlie's addiction, and the heights of his promise: he finally got rid of those Mary statues. <br />Dom Monaghan has always struck me as a actor who over thinks his roles. His Charlie is no exception: the creepy sith voice, the twitchy withdrawals. But it''s to Dom's credit that Charlie, as annoying as he can be, remains likeable. Charlie is one of the many characters that slipped in and out of our focus this season. He basically just hung out in the background until Eko forced him into jungle adventuring, and he was the only witness to Eko's stare down of Smokey Smoke Monster. <br />But here's one big problem with the finale: Charlie and Claire's kiss was nice, but shouldn't he be more concerned about Eko and the hatch? <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">CLAIRE</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/CLAIRE.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/CLAIRE.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Lost that baby weight super fast, huh? They may not give Emilie de Ravin a lot on this show, and that's usually a good thing. Claire's adorable, but Season One's flashback episode was boring, and so I was surprised that they had <em>fun</em> with her flashback this time around; giving Claire the first on-island flashback was brilliant. Making her a doped up mess, therefore throwing that flashback into doubt for the first time, was even better. <br />I also loved Rousseau's warning, that Claire should be prepared to kill her baby if it comes to that. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SUN & JIN</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/SUN%20%26%20JIN.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/SUN%20%26%20JIN.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Season Two was bookended by the exclamations: "UDDERS!", and "BOAT!" When Jin manages the former, we're two hours into the second season, when Sun yells the latter, we've only got two left. <br />I don't think the writers knew what to do with these guys this season. Once Jin and Sun were reunited, we didn't hear much from them. They became camp scenery, getting an occasional thumbs-up from Hurley but otherwise just fishing and doing laundry. <br />We did learn Sun is pregnant, and it may not (probably is not) Jin's kid. Did the island heal Jin? I guess that's a possibility; but clearly Sun had an affair with the dapper bald gentleman from Korea, or she wouldn't be so nervous. <br />Here's a big question for season three: will Jin ever find out that, besides bugging him with Kinks songs, Charlie's been beating his wife and dragging her through the jungle? <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">EKO</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/EKO.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/EKO.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Everyone's favorite new bad-ass. Eko could straddle that line of the stereotypical 'mystical black man' figure, but as with the other stereotypes on the island (redneck, brit rocker, noble arab) they've fleshed him out very well in his flashbacks. Eko was a bad, bad man. Now he's trying to be good, but some of his former life bleeds through (for instance, head butting John to get him to lead him to the question mark). <br />Eko will survive. You can't set up a character that brilliantly then walk away from him in Season Three. And besides, the way that he plays off of Locke seemed, and <b>is</b> important in the grand scheme of the show. Plus, Eko shows the kind of bold, faithful leadership that the panicky Jack and the shaky Locke have none of. The island residents need him more than they know. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HURLEY</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/HURLEY.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/HURLEY.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Poor, poor Hurley. <br />At times irrational, at times insane, at times violent (just ask Sawyer), but more than anything, life gave Hurley one great reward, and then took her away from him. <br />What I love about Hurley is that they keep him consistent. He didn't charge Michael after he confessed: he looked destroyed, weakened. His voice cracked on Libby's name. Hurley is our innocent, but Season Three could be the time he's forced to grow up. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">ROSE & BERNARD</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/ROSE%20%26%20BERNARD.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/ROSE%20%26%20BERNARD.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Oh, these guys killed me. What's wrong with me that I almost cried when we found out that the schlubby white dude in the other hatch was indeed the husband that Rose just <em>knew</em> was alive somewhere on the island. <br />Ok, so they didn't have much to do in the larger scheme (they're not even 'official' cast members yet), but they make me smile, and that's enough. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">DESMOND</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/DESMOND.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/DESMOND.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Maybe it's the Scottish accent, but Desmond cracks me up. My favorite moment of the finale was his exasperated "dammit" after his gun runs out of ammo on the boat, at the very beginning. <br />The only problem is since Desmond represents hope and meaning and connection (for Jack, and Locke, and all the survivors in the form of Penny and rescue), he is a symbol. And symbolic characters have a way of being the only characters to not survive things like giant electromagnetic explosions. <br />I'm just saying. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">'HENRY GALE'</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/HENRY%20GALE.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/HENRY%20GALE.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Love that Michael Emerson: but is Henry truly evil? He seems to be playing him that way. There are shades of doubt, though. My guess is Season Three will be a lot about the Others and Dharma, and we'll probably get a Henry flashback by the end of the season. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">ANA LUCIA</span>: R.I.P.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/ANA-LUCIA.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/ANA-LUCIA.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>I'll miss Ana, and not just for her low-riding jeans and devastating swagger. She was the female Sawyer, so it made sense that for all the puppy dog eyes she was making towards Jack, she jumped James Ford at the first opportunity. <br />Ana had two flashback episodes, both were brilliant and changed the direction of the show. Michelle Rodriguez has one hell of an agent, let's say that. Too bad she can't stay out of county lock-up long enough to enjoy it. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">LIBBY</span>: R.I.P.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/LIBBY.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/LIBBY.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Libby did nothing but die and not tell anyone who shot her. Lucky for her, Michael was dying to tell them. <br />Really: what did Libby do, besides be crazy and get shot? I guess she gave Desmond a boat as well. Anyway, kids, the Disney corporation would like you to know: their employees do <em>not</em> drink and drive. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SHANNON</span>: R.I.P.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/SHANNON.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/SHANNON.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The best thing Shannon ever did for the show was to take one in the chest. <br />Shannon was universally abhorred, and now she's gone. But she gave Season Two the kick start it needed, and it made Sayid into the first of Season Two's wild cards. <br />Now that she's gone, do we miss anything about Shannon? No, except the way that she played off of Boone, and without Boone she had little to do. <br />Shannon was a sacrifice that the island (or ABC anyway) demanded. <br /><br /><br /><u>EPISODE GRADES</u><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Man of Science, Man of Faith</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/1.0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/1.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Introduced Desmond and the hatch. It was disorienting, but brilliantly done. <br />A+ <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adrift</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Overlong stretches with Michael and Sawyer on the raft slow down an otherwise fine episode. One hell of a cliffhanger, though. <br />C+ <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Orientation</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The button and Dharma are introduced. Desmond runs off into the jungle, and Terry O'Quinn excels.<br />A<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Everybody Hates Hugo</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/4.0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/4.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>A hard shift down to a Hurley flashback. Awkwardly written and directed.<br />B-<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">...And Found</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/5.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The least engorssing of the Sun & Jin flashbacks, essentially their meet-cute. <br />B-<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Abandoned</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/6.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Shannon gets a wretchedly boring flashback, and whines in Sayid's arms, but at least she dies. Also, Walt is back and creepy.<br />C<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Other 48 Days</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/7.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The crash of flight 815 from the other side of the island. The first time that Ana-Lucia and Eko stepped up to be characters with real depth.<br />B+<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Collision</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/8.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The best episode of LOST so far, Ana-Lucia and Jack's meeting in the jungle with its haunting memories of a life lost forever, made me a Javi fan for life.<br />A+<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What Kate Did</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/9.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Rushed and silly. Seemed to need to find a place to fit in a Kate flashback in a season that she did very little in.<br />B-<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The 23rd Psalm</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/10.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Eko stares down the smoke monster. Truly, he is the shit. By the way: Charlie really, really likes heroin.<br />A<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Hunting Party</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/11.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Jack makes pointless threats in the woods. 'Light 'em up!'<br />A-<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Fire + Water</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/12.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/12.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Charlie still likes heroin, Locke beats the shit out of him. Diaper commercial the stupidest thing ever on the show.<br />A-<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Long Con</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/13.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/13.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Sawyer gets evil again, Charlie goes to the dark side.<br />A<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">One of Them</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/14.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/14.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Henry Gale is introduced, but the Sayid flashback does not advance the story much. Also, Naveen's performance falls flat.<br />B-<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Maternity Leave</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/15.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/15.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The flashbacks are thrown forever into doubt with Claire's' drug-addled memories of Ethan and the other hatch. <br />A-<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Whole Truth</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/16.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/16.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Sun is a slut, Henry is a liar.<br />A+<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lockdown</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/17.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/17.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>We see the map, and John gains a new obsession. <br />A+<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dave</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/18.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/18.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>It's all a dreeeaaam.<br />B+<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">S.O.S.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/19.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/19.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Rose is healed by the island, Michael returns.<br />B-<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Two for the Road</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/20.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/20.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Michael shoots Ana-Lucia and Libby. <br />A+<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">?</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/21.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/21.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Eko and John find the viewing station, and Libby's final word is "Michael."<br />A+<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Three Minutes</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/22.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/22.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Michael and Walt are reunited<br />B-<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Live Together,Die Alone</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/23.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/23.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Desmond blows the hatch, the big three are kidnapped, the world still exists outside of the island!<br />A<br /><br /><B>LOST Season Two: B+</B>Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1148860459375106042006-05-28T16:51:00.000-07:002006-05-28T18:04:36.446-07:00Bryan who? X3: The Last Stand Review<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/xmen8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/xmen8.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>First of all, the big question: did Brett Ratner ruin the X-Men? <br />Answer: no.<br /><br />But, briefly, let me just say that there's not a whole lot <em>to</em> 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. <br />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. <br /><br />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? <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/xmen15.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/xmen15.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>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. <br /><br />What Ratner does have in his corner is a <em>fun</em> 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. <br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/xmen13.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/xmen13.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>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 <em>watch</em> 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. <br /><br />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.<br />That said, Logan's way too cutesy in the beginning, I'll give <a href="http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=23420">Harry Knowles</a> 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. <br /><br />The filmmakers obviously have deep respect for the source material. They stay true to the <em>spirit</em> 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 <b>more</b> than the 'Phoenix Force' of the comics. <br /><br />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. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/xmen33.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/xmen33.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />X3:The Last Stand: <b>B</b>Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1148835032492806542006-05-28T09:46:00.000-07:002006-05-28T09:50:32.503-07:00New Sequart columnMy latest 'Black Hole' column is up over at Sequart.com:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sequart.com/columns/?col=114">Adrian Tomine and the Infinite Sadness</a><br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br />Also: we're going to see X:3 today. Did Ratner fuck up a great franchise and a classic comics storyline? Stay tuned...Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1148617445294685152006-05-25T21:11:00.000-07:002006-05-27T14:54:26.526-07:00LOST recap: Live Together, Die AloneNow that we know that it's not just a 'snowglobe'...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/pennyending.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/pennyending.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Now that we know that you <em>can</em> get off the island...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/mike-walt.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/mike-walt.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Now that we no longer have 'the button' to deal with...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/key.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/key.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />How does the show change?<br /><br />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. <br />And remember that these things didn't exist a year ago. <br />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. <br /><br />Now imagine the show without Michael and Walt.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/mike.0.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/mike.0.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>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 <em>would have killed Libby even if he didn't have to</em>. 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 <em>ever</em> look him in the eye knowing you murdered for him?<br />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. <br /><br />On the other hand, when the pulse hits Henry, he looks straight into it, and he is <b>pissed</b>. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/gale.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/gale.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Henry clearly holds a powerful position among the Others, even if he's not the 'Him' that he spoke of in the hatch. <br />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 <em>has</em> 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 <em>are</em> the good guys. <br /><br />And will we be following Penny as she tracks down Desmond, with the Hanso Foundation fighting her every step of the way? <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/penny-tears.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/penny-tears.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Will we again be leaving the island for the regular narrative, not just flashbacks? <br />(How many people thought they'd just gone to commercial when you saw that frozen wasteland pop onto screen?)<br />Will this be good or bad for the show? Has some of the mystery been taken away? <br /><br />Enough questions. Let's deal with what we saw.<br />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. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/desmond-gun.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/desmond-gun.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />What's with that bird, by the way? And why <b>did</b> it say 'Hurley'? And that 'Colussus of Homer Simpson'? Da fug?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/doh.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/doh.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />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. <br />Michael's guilt of course. Desmond's guilt, for prison, for Pen, and finally for Kelvin. John's guilt for Boone. <br />But for John and Desmond there was a bright shining moment of connection, of purpose.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/desmond-light.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/desmond-light.png" border="0" alt="" /></a> 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.)<br /><br />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. <br />Or, if you prefer, Luke, Han, and the princess <em>all</em> just got put into Carbon Freeze.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/tied-up.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/tied-up.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Is it September yet?<br /><br />LOST Episode 2:23, Live Together; Die Alone: <b>A</b>Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1148340208129895442006-05-22T16:21:00.000-07:002006-05-22T19:21:50.783-07:00New Comic Reviews:52, Captain America, All-Star Batman<u>52 #2</u><br /><br />Marvel's big summer event, Civil War may have deep allegorical signifigance and intrigue, but look:<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/lesbians.0.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/lesbians.0.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>52 has <em>lesbians</em>!<br /><br />It's also having fun with itself. It's not the boatload of pomposity that I'd feared going in. <ahref="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/north.0.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/north.0.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>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.")<br /><br />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. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/super-jesus.0.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/super-jesus.0.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>This <em>has</em> 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). <br />Next time in 52, Black Adam rips off more faces, and Power Girl has breasts.<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/52.1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/52.1.png" border="0" alt="" /></a> <br />52 #2: <b>B+</b><br /><br /><br /><u>CAPTAIN AMERICA #18</u><br /><br />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 <em>stay</em> dead.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/red-skull.3.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/red-skull.4.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>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. <br /><br />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. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/skulking.1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/skulking.1.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>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. <br /><br />That said, the style doesn't <em>always</em> make for an exciting comic. Especially in the fights. When the art seems a bit rushed, it can lead to boring images like this:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/bucky.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/bucky.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />But at his stylistic peak, Epting is capable of some truly sublime moments. I love this image,<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/skullboy.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/skullboy.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />CAPTAIN AMERICA #18: <b>C+</b><br /><br /><br /><u>ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN #4</u><br /><br />OK: <br /><br />Why is Vicki Vale dying,<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/oh-hell.0.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/oh-hell.0.png" border="0" alt="" /></a> why can't Superman fly, <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/superman.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/superman.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>why is Batman such a douche bag to Dick Grayson,<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/creep.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/creep.png" border="0" alt="" /></a> and why isn't Frank Miller even <em>trying</em> to make a good book here?<br /><br />It just keeps getting worse, I swear to God. <br />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.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/breast.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/breast.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />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. <br />Is this deliberate? <br />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?<br />Is he pointing out how old-fashioned these iconics figures are?<br />Or has he just lost it?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/not-one-bit.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/not-one-bit.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />And don't get me <em>started</em> 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. <br /><br />I am done done <b>done</b> with this damn book.<br /><br />ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN #4: <b>D-</b>Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23720645.post-1148103532558240572006-05-19T21:57:00.000-07:002006-05-19T22:38:52.876-07:00New Comic Reviews:Moon Knight & Super-Skrull<u>MOON KNIGHT #2</u><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/enough.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/enough.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>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. <br />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. <br /><br />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. <br />Example: "<em>Blame it on the passing years. Blame it on him. Blame it on our <b>hatred</b>. The hatred born from slaughter. Slaughter born from friendship. Friendship born from recognition. Recognition of a kindred soul. Souls <b>hating</b> each other. Hating as you can hate only one thing. The reflection in the mirror.</em>"<br /><br />Ugh. That just makes me want to yurk (how the <em>fuck</em> is slaughter <b>born</b> from friendship?), and the blood dripping from every goddamn panel in this book does the same. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/god.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/god.0.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>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?<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/unveiling.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/unveiling.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>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 <em>really</em>. Just some actor with his own agenda. <br />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. <br /><br />MOON KNIGHT #2: <b>D</b><br /><br /><br /><u>ANNIHILATION: SUPER-SKRULL #2</u><br /><br />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:<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/idol.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/idol.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>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. <br />It may not take a rocket surgeon to figure out that little R'Kin is Super-Skrull's long lost son, but until <em>that</em> big reveal, there's a lot of whizz-bang action to keep us satisfied. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/evil.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/evil.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>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. <br />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. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/1600/not-so-much.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2238/2450/400/not-so-much.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>Like setting your enemy on fire <em>after</em> he's given you the information you requested of him. 'Flame On', indeed.<br />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. <br /><br />ANNIHILATION: SUPER-SKRULL #2: <b>B+</b>Matthew Guerrerohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06938747462189301741noreply@blogger.com0