Reporting on Marvels and Legends

Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 27 - High Treason, Part 2

2012-01-29T12:06:00.002-06:00

Plot: As you might expect, the execution of Brisco and Bowler does not goes as planned. Wickwire made some rubber bullets, Viva, Whip, and Pete pretended to be the undertaking detachment to pick up the guys. Socrates has no idea what's happening, but that won't stop him from waving his coat over his head wildly in joy.

The quintet splits up again, with Brisco and Bowler heading south to find Jennifer Hart, since she's the only one who can clear their names. Unfortunately, General Quarry has sent Colonel March (still played by Terry Bradshaw, BOOOO!) after Jennifer and Carlos Falco. He captures Falco, but Hart escapes with the good guys. They aren't out of the woods yet, though, because March has himself an elite squad to pursue them. Aldo Bertucci (Ken Norton Jr.), who can track a man over solid granite. If only they could get his subtitles to match what he's saying. Yes, they gave him subtitles even though he's speaking English. Gristle Wallens (Carl Banks), who once carried his horse across the Colorado River. Cowboy (Jim Harbaugh), who um, uh, well, he's good at menacing defenseless peasant women. I shouldn't be surprised at such behavior from the future coach of the 49ers. Bill Walsh used to steal oversized lollipops from babies in strollers (Note: May not be true). Anyway, they doggedly pursue as Bowler, Brisco, and Jennifer try to arrange for a pick-up, from the last direction March would ever expect.

Meanwhile, Pete, Viva, and Whip's attempt to flee didn't go so well, and they wind up in jail. Thus are we presented with a situation where Whip Morgan is the most mature person in the room. Frightening, I know. They do manage an escape, just in time to save the President from an assassination attempt by March (disguised as Falco). And so, the day. . . is saved. Thanks to the Powerp - er, thanks to Brisco County Jr., and his faithful companion Lord Bowler!

Does Brisco use his gun? No.

Stuff Comet does: Knows Morse code - sort of. Can lead other horses. Can get himself a ticket for a train.

Kiss Count: 0 (22 overall). I forgot to mention this last week, but just before the execution, Brisco asks Socrates to tell Dixie he was thinking of her at the end. That's sweet.

Is Pete Hutter in this episode? Yes. He also nearly dies. Again. And he loses his piece. Again.

Pete Hutter Quote: 'I scoff at your moronic interpretation of hoosegow architecture.' Screw it, it's the last episode, let's do a twofer. 'Ergo, when fleeing, I suggest you follow the flight of the flea who knows how to flee the fastest. And that would be me.'

Non-Pete Hutter Quote: March - 'Aldo, follow that thing.' Aldo - 'But that thing, it don't lay tracks, do it?' Subtitles: The situation seems intractable. Don't you agree?

Coming Things: Wickwire's airship, now with helium!

Other: With it being the season finale (they didn't know it would also be the series finale), they went all out on the humor. Jokes about helium in the airship, several football related jokes (but how can you both blitz someone, and burn them deep? One's defense, the other offense!), Brisco and Comet arguing over Morse Code, Aldo's subtitles, the whole bit in the jail cell. You will believe Bradshaw can quote Patton!

Pete and Viva play so well off each other. Pete has a tendency to speak with an air of authority or knowledge, and even though he'll inevitably be proven wrong, Viva can't help needling him. But Viva's an easygoing guy, so it doesn't feel too mean.

Not all the gags were winners. I couldn't believe they spent 2 whole minutes on a bit about Bowler's ears being jammed because of the pressure change.

There is a sequence where Cowboy tries to give orders and March cuts in. Cowboy - 'Everybody spread out, wide formation.' March - 'I give the orders here. Everybody spread out, wide formation.' A classic dick move, but they're both quarterbacks, and Bradshaw's the one with 4 Super Bowl rings. Titles talk, losers walk, so get steppin' Harbaugh. Also, Bradshaw had the single most accurate line he's ever spoken: 'I'm a little slow'. Yes, you are. For some reason I made a note that "Andale" is the extent of Harbaugh's Spanish.

Oh, Bowler said "Damn!" twice. Which brings the Unofficial Bowler's Damn Count up to 9. Those are the first ones I have for him since "Bounty Hunter's Convention". Also, Bowler will not remove his hat when getting his picture taken with the President, which I find amusing somehow.

I do love this two-parter, and it makes me sad this was the end of the series. The extras on the DVDs indicate they were considering making Brisco the sheriff of a particular town for Season 2, which could have interesting. If he still works for the President from time to time, there's nothing to prevent him from continuing to travel. I do wonder what changes to the cast that might have brought about. Would Dixie have settled there, or only passed through occasionally? I can't imagine Bowler's going to move out of his nice house on Nob Hill, or that Socrates would move to whatever place Brisco chose. Oh well, the world may never know.

So, next Sunday, a new series begins. Likely not the new series I was planning on originally, but it'll be some show, I can practical guarantee that.

Starting Off From That Steve Rogers Thing Again

2012-01-28T09:57:00.004-06:00

During the discussions of Steve Rogers giving the OK to torture in Secret Avengers, there was a point raised about whether superheroes do this sort of thing in comics all the time. A commenter pointed out it isn't uncommon to see superheroes beat people up until they provide information. The question was if that's any different from Rogers letting/telling Moon Knight to stab people in the hand until someone talks.

I had to think about that, because you do see heroes going into bars to threaten their friendly neighborhood snitch, or Batman's dangling some guy off the roof by his ankle. If I wanted to try splitting hairs, I could argue the people being dangled are usually career criminals, whereas there was only a 1 in 3 chance (six possibilities, two Avengers) the Secret Avengers were actually going to hurt the guilty party. I don't want to split that hair, though. Just because someone made mistakes in the past, shouldn't mean they have to be subjected to that the rest of their lives. They decide to rob a jewelry store and Daredevil shows up and kicks their teeth in, fine. They made a decision to commit a crime, they can accept the risk that accompanies that. In our world, that's jail time, maybe getting shot depending on how far they go in trying to escape incarceration. In a comic book universe, add a guy in a costume swooping out of the night to beat them up. To have Costumed Person come into a bar where they're getting a drink and starting punching them in the face until they say something the puncher wants to hear/believes, because they committed crimes in the past, no.

I started thinking about specific examples, and most of them were older comics. In most cases, the hero was presented as not being himself. The worst thing I could remember Captain America doing was holding a couple of teenagers up against a wall by their shirt collars to learn where he could find some drug dealers. That was during Gruenwald's "Streets of Poison" story, when Cap had been caught in an explosion at a factory where they were producing heroin or cocaine or something. He was probably concussed, and definitely having a reaction to drugs he was exposed to. As a result, he was behaving strangely, hearing voices, distrusting his friends, beating the crap out of Daredevil. He even had scruffy stubble to show how out of sorts he was.

During the "Death of Jean DeWolff" story, Spider-Man comes charging into bars, busting heads in a search for Sin-Eater. One of the random mooks in the bar comments he recalls seeing Spidey like this once before, when he was searching for the Master Planner. What I took from that was this is atypical behavior from Spider-Man. Daredevil alludes to it later on when he has to fight Spidey, that the webslinger was too worked up, probably feeling the situation too intensely. There's also a scene where Spider-Man drags a drug pusher to a known criminal hangout and makes a big show of how they're such good buddies in an attempt to force information out of Mr Jablonski (Spidey at least feels bad about doing it). It doesn't work (Gerald doesn't know anything), but it does force Jablonski to turn state's evidence so he can go into witness protection before all those questionable characters who saw him talking with Spidey pass that along to the wrong person. It's ugly, but again, Daredevil calls him on it, though he tries to make the distinction between that and roughing someone up for info, which yeah, I'm not so sure about that.

It happens with Batman too, sometimes, where if he gets rough with someone it's taken as a sign he's not quite himself (slapping Snitch around in the Untold Legend of Batman, though Snitch had pulled a gun on him by that point).

I feel like, for the heroes who aren't known for their excessive violence (Frank Castle, Wolverine, Moon Knight sometimes), the more standard progression is: Hero enters hive of scum and villainy. Hero requests information, either of specific person or the crowd at large. Some of the crowd object, try to rearrange hero's face with pool cue, chair, broken bottle. Hero defends self, much larger fight may break out, or may not. Eventually someone decides it would be better to talk than waste time fighting badly, tells hero useful information (or is suitably convincing that they don't know anything useful). Hero leaves, possibly thanking informant. Note: Thank you may be sarcastic, depending on hero.

In the cases where the hero comes in spoiling for a fight first and foremost, it was presented as unusual, a bad reaction to stress or some outside influence. When Spidey's after the Master Planner (psst, it's actually Doc Ock!), it's because the Planner stole a serum Spidey needs to save Aunt May, who is dying from the radioactivity in Peter's blood after he helpfully gave her a transfusion. So yeah, he's feeling the pressure a bit. In a more normal circumstance, Spider-Man would stick to the reactive model of superheroics. He's already reacting to a theft by searching for the Master Planner, but he wouldn't resort to violence until someone else resorted to violence against him first. The Jean DeWolff thing is similar. He's too worked up, nearly beats Sin-Eater to death, but when he's calmed down, had some time to think (and Daredevil's gotten himself in trouble), he swings in and saves them both from an angry mob. He reacts, and he saves people in trouble, even if he doesn't like either of them very much at that moment, because that's what a good guy does.

Of course, all the examples I mentioned and can think of are from the early '90s at the latest, going further back from there, so perhaps not terribly relevant, except as comparison between then and now. I think the point then was to illustrate that a hero might use violence, but it was as a way to protect innocent people. When the hero uses it out of frustration, anger, whatever, that's out of line, it's wrong, and typically unproductive. Might have been to make a point to younger readers, because the writers truly believed it, or because of the heroes' vigilante status. They're already operating outside the law, it's risky enough to be intervening in actual criminal operations. Seemingly hurting people unprovoked in some vague "search for information" might have been a step too far.

Maybe that isn't such a concern anymore, at least in the Marvel Universe where so many heroes seem to be connected to a government somehow. Or they were, I'm not clear on what the status is these days (What's Rogers a Commander of, for example). I would think working for an official governing body would mean more oversight, but maybe it's a suspicion of authority theme. The idea people in power will cover up and sanction what you do if it helps them. That's fairly cynical (though not without justification), but not new to superhero comics. How many times has a plot involved a hero uncovering a seedy operation an agency was running quietly? The difference now is the heroes may be the ones doing the things being covered up.

Let's Try For A Twofer

2012-01-27T19:22:00.002-06:00

I watched both these movies before the Year In Review posts, so we'll see how much I can remember

Six Three Three Squadron - A Royal Air force squadron is tasked with destroying a German factory producing fuel for V-1 and V-2 rockets. Except the factory is positioned within a narrow fjord with a significant rock outcropping above it. So it's highly dangerous, but Commander Roy Grant (Cliff Robertson) and his pilots aren't given a choice. No worries, those Norwegian freedom fighters led by Lt. Bergman (George Chakiris) can knock out the German division manning the AA guns guarding then length of the fjord. Then he can return to England and be reunited with his sister Hilde (Maria Perschey), who may also be getting through Roy's cycnical, hard bitten shell.

What about two German divisions, though? Uh. . .

It's not a happy ending. Unless you are comforted by the idea that the squadron will continue to exist even though every single guy on the mission died. What? That's what Air Marshall basically says when it's pointed out they all died. But the squadron lives on. Oh, well, la-dee-da. Men died, but abstract constructs survived! Whoo!

The thing I don't understand is why, if the mission was so vitally important, they couldn't assign a few Mosquitos for ground attack. They send a dozen to drop bombs; they couldn't find two or three more to load up with guns and send in first, to try and wipe out the gun emplacements? I get they were working under a time constraint, but that didn't stop them from expecting the Norwegians to do all the prep work without support. If the mission has to succeed that badly, you go the extra mile to make sure it succeeds. As an added bonus, maybe you don't have as many of your men die as a result. Just a thought.

Saddle the Wind: I picked this one to watch because Rod Serling wrote the screenplay. I wanted to see what he'd do with an actual Western film. As it turns out, we have Steve and Tony Sinclair (Robert Taylor and John Cassavetes), owners of the Double S ranch. Steve used to be a hired gun who had to raise his brother. Tony's the kid brother who learned the wrong lessons, or perhaps just came out wrong. He doesn't really understand the difference between using a gun because you have to, versus using it because you want to, or think you have to. That's how it goes. Tony kills a man, a gunfighter that was looking for Steve. This causes problems with the local big wheel who knows about Steve's past, and does not want the kind of trouble it can bring.

That leads to Steve trying to rein Tony in, which only makes Tony buck harder. He thinks he has to prove how good he is, which only makes things worse, naturally. There's also Joan (Julie London), who Tony became smitten with on a business trip and brought home with him. She was looking for anyway out of singing in dive bars, but Tony's not as much of an upgrade as she hoped. But she still worries about him, and that leads to more trouble.

It's hard for me to decide whether Tony's actions are a consequence of growing up watching his brother, or something else. There's a sequence where Tony's practicing with his new gun. When he tires of firing at a skillet, he opens up on his own reflection in a puddle. Subtle it isn't. Still, there's the idea growing up with a skilled gunman for a brother, Tony learned what you'd expect a kid to learn. Guns are cool. Real men are good with guns. Any person who disagrees with you is disrespecting you, and the only answer for that is shooting. I don't think Steve wanted Tony to learn that, but there it is.

Whether The Enemy Is Below Or Above Depends On Your Perspective

2012-01-26T15:31:00.002-06:00

That and likely more blindingly obvious statements coming to you courtesy of this discussion of The Enemy Below!

Robert Mitchum plays the new captain of a destroyer escort in the South Atlantic. Curt Jurgens is a U-Boat commander on a mission to pick up a code book from a raider and return said book to Germany. Jurgens is sick and tired of war, and drinks to get to sleep. Mitchum has had two boats torpedoed out from under him, including a merchant freighter that his wife was on. She died, but Jurgens' son died in the war as well. Which man has more pain?!

The destroyer escort comes across the U-boat running on the surface, and doggedly pursues. Mitchum is able to anticipate Jurgens' every move, but only because Jurgens is so stubborn about staying on course 1-4-0. Mitchum is able to count on the sub always returning to that course eventually, and work accordingly.

There are a few things I want to bring up for consideration:

Jurgens is discussing submarining in the Great War, and how it was a lot of guesswork and luck to actually hit a ship with a torpedo. Now the periscope tells you course, distance, and speed, and a computer figures out everything else. He complains that they've removed humans from war. I figure that's bunk because you're still killing humans with the torpedoes whether a computer tells you when to fire or the captain just guesses at it.

There's a subplot in the movie about some of the crew being uncertain of their new captain, especially as he starts his command in his cabin, seasick. It doesn't really go anywhere, because once he steps out of his cabin, Mitchum's performance never gives the crew reason to doubt him. He's always able to anticipate what Jurgens will do, or if he's been given the slip, figure out where to meet him again. That and the bit about Mitchum's wife having died from a U-Boat seem like elements added, but the scenes that were going to expand or follow up on them were cut.

There's a sequence where the ship proceeds to drop depth charges around the sub every hour, trying to hound them into surrendering. One of the crew of the sub loses his nerve and tries to climb out, and when stopped by the rest of the crew, grabs a wrench and starts swinging. Everyone backs off and Jurgens strides in. He basically makes the boy give up the wrench by sheer force of will, standing there, asking if he believes in his captain. Then he tries to lift the crews' spirits with a rousing song. Which was pretty cool except for how indicative it was of the strain they were feeling. Of course, the dedicated Nazi was the only officer to want to surrender. Everyone else (presumably just Germans) believed in Jurgens. And he nearly pulled them through.

Wherein I Discuss Several Things About Steve Rogers

2012-01-25T11:51:00.006-06:00

About Steve Rogers letting/telling his Secret Avengers torture people:

I'm not a fan.

I read a review (Chad Nevett's) where he said that was something Warren Ellis had been exploring throughout his stint on Secret Avengers. Not torture, per se, but forcing characters to make choices that conflict with their typical morals, or straining those morals, something to that effect. I can see how this would fit that idea, but I can't help feeling Steve Rogers would find a way without actually resorting to torture. Sorry, letting his associates torture people.

Then again, I'm the guy who didn't have a problem with Gruenwald's assertion that Cap didn't kill anybody during the war*, so I'm willing to accept my idea of Captain America is a bit, unrealistic? Antiquated? Something.

I get where the people saying "Commander Steve Rogers can do things Captain America can't," are coming from, but I disagree with that, too. Yes, Captain America is a symbol, and so there are certain things he couldn't be seen (or be known) to have done, but I feel it's flipping things. It suggests being Captain America makes Steve Rogers who he is, when I think it's the other way around. Steve Rogers was a character that was supposed to represent the best things Americans believed their country was about (or liked to believe their country was about, depending on your level of cynicism), but wasn't able to do anything. He wanted to protect those who were weak, at least partially because he knew what it was like, but also because he thought it was the right thing to do. But he couldn't. Spirit willing, flesh weak, as it were.

So he took the Super-Soldier Serum, taking the chance it wouldn't kill him or drive him nuts or whatever, and used the power from it to fight those who abused their power. He still believed the same things as before, but now he could do something.

I got a bit off track, but the point was I think Steve Rogers would be opposed to torture whether he was wearing his Captain America uniform or not. The clothes don't make the man, the man makes the clothes**. Now if you figure Steve would be OK with torture under certain circumstances, then I could follow the idea he still wouldn't do so as Captain America, because that's something larger than him.

For myself, I don't agree with Warren Ellis' idea of Steve Rogers. Especially given they know only one person in there is actually involved with this evil organization they're hunting. They're going to stab and zap people who are most likely completely innocent and unaware of anything they're interested in? That's people with power abusing those without, which feels like exactly the sort of thing Steve Rogers ought to be preventing. I suppose you could have Steve try friendlier methods, fail, leave in frustration because he won't cross than line, then have Black Widow and Moon Knight torture them without his knowledge. Natasha strikes me as "ends justify the means" sort and Moon Knight's crazy, there's not much I'd put past him as this stage. The issue there is it makes Steve look incompetent, his subordinates doing this without him knowing it, maybe even going against his orders.

Which is kind of a problem with him being boss of all superheroes. Before, if the Widow did some periodic ops for Russia, Quicksilver went crazy and turned on the Avengers because his sister married an android, or Wolverine killed 50 guys 'cause it's Tuesday, well, that wasn't great for relations between superhumans and the everyday chuckleheaded morons who inhabit the Marvel Universe, but Captain America wasn't directly responsible for it. Now (in theory) he's their boss, they take marching orders from him. When they screw up/disobey orders/go crazy/get mind-controlled, it makes him look bad. Like he can't control the people working for him. Steve Rogers ends up looking ineffectual if he says anything against their actions, because why didn't he stop them in the first place? But if he says or does nothing, he could be seen to be tacitly endorsing said actions. As we've discussed before, nothing good happens for the person in charge in the Marvel Universe.

One thing I should have realized before that I hadn't was how differently Captain America could appear to someone who isn't from the United States. That shouldn't have been a surprise, since even people in the U.S. don't agree about the character, but the blinders are on sometimes. It wasn't that Warren Ellis hails from the British Isles, it was an Australian commenter on David Brothers' post on the subject. The commenter said prior to the movie, he thought of Cap (paraphrasing) as representing US hegemony, or the current mindset of the country, rather than being a guy that represents some ideal of decades past. I hadn't thought of that before, so it was a perspective I was glad to read.

There are some other thing I want to get into, but they aren't strictly related to Steve Rogers' character, so I'll save them for a later post.

* Though depending on how it's presented, I don't have a problem with saying he did take lives in combat.

** It's kind of funny, I'm typing this while reading a Grantland piece about Bernard Hopkins, and he said the same thing about a shirt he was wearing while training. He makes the shirt, it doesn't make him

I Must Have Forgot To Laugh

2012-01-24T16:59:00.004-06:00

But I'm going to blame that on Dark Star, rather than myself.

That's an overstatement. I'm sure I could have figured out by watching it that it wasn't meant to be taken seriously, even without the Star Wars style scrolling intro from Dave O'Bannon that preceded the version on my DVD. I don't think I would have laughed any more without it, but I couldn't have laughed any less.

The film follows a crew of four as they travel the cosmos. Their exact mission is either to destroy planets in unstable orbits in systems humanity plans to colonize. The Lieutenant Doolittle is really just interested in blowing things up, and the captain, well the captain isn't an issue. The ship is in various states of disrepair, the crew is weary of the trip and each other, and frankly, everyone seems to be going a bit batty. Talbot spends most of his time in the clear dome on top of the ship, watching the stars, Boiler is messing around with some laser rifle, Doolittle can't stop talking about his surfboard, and Pinback? Pinback's a different sort of problem.

I suppose that's the problem with comedies. It's either funny to you or it isn't. Take the sequence where Pinback chases their "mascot" (the closest thing to intelligent life they've found) around the ship, and winds up dangling from the underside of the elevator for about 20 minutes in the film. I get it's supposed to be funny. The thing that looks like a rotting tomato with feet outsmarted this guy and left him hanging. Instead I found it tedious. I wanted it over. Whether that meant Pinback lived or died was irrelevant. I was more interested in the conversation Talbot and Doolittle were having. It really seemed to be each of them having a conversation with himself, since neither guy paid the other much attention.

An American Assassin In Italy

2012-01-23T17:04:00.003-06:00

When trying to describe The American, "leisurely" is the word that keeps coming to mind. Which seems a strange choice for a movie where Jack (George Clooney) kills three people in the first five minutes. Two of them are people there to kill him (in retaliation for some earlier hit he'd made), but the third was a lady friend he was spending time with in a cabin in the Swedish wilderness, and he shot her in the back, just like that. He did at least have the decency to look panicked about having to do so.

After that, when his handler directs him to an Italian village to lay low, the movie slows a bit. Jack finds a place to stay. He is, against his will at first, drawn into conversations with the local vicar. He visits a brothel, but finds himself attracted to one particular woman. The movie has the feel of an inevitable confrontation, but isn't in any rush to get there. Which is fine. It uses that time to give us a sense of Jack as a man ready for a change, but whose past isn't going to let go.

There is a tension underlying that leisurely feeling. People following Jack, his own suspicious and cautious nature. Watching the film, I wondered whether it was supposed to be something Jack was unaware of, something just for us. What I mean is, we as an audience can see that final confrontation coming, at least partially because we watch movies. We know how these things tend to play out, that they will come to a head eventually. So we're left wondering when. But does Jack have that same feeling? Could he even tell the difference between it and the usual air of danger that pervades his life?

I wouldn't say you have to see The American. The story about the hired gun who is tiring of the work isn't a new one, though this film tells it fairly well. You might find the connections between characters a little vague, which I think was purposeful. My dad and I had some confusion about they were related, who they were calling, and so on. That might have just been us, though. If the opportunity arises to see it, at a friends, or as a rental, I'd say give it a chance.

Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 26 - High Treason, Part 1

2012-01-22T10:36:00.002-06:00

Plot: Brisco and Bowler are placed under arrest and put on trial, accused of treason. At the trial, the story behind this is revealed from testimony by Colonel March (Terry Bradshaw, BOOOO!), Brisco, and Pete Hutter?! Yes, Pete survived a throwing star to the back.

As it turns out, Brisco and Bowler were approached by General Quarry to put together a team to rescue Jennifer Hart, daughter of a powerful newspaper publisher, from one Carlos Falco, who is constantly leading raids across the border to before fleeing back to Mexico. Which is how we get Pete, Whip Morgan, Aaron Viva, and Professor Wickwire all in the same place. Upon reaching Falco's stronghold, it's quickly apparent things aren't as they seem, but due to some communication breakdowns, they end up taking Jennifer back, only to change their minds and let her escape. They facilitate the escape by throwing TNT at approaching cavalry units. Yeah, the Army doesn't like it when you throw dynamite at them. And here we are, as it becomes readily apparent that Brisco and Bowler are pawns in a much larger plan by Quarry and Mr. Hart, with March as the ambitious, boot kissing lackey.

Despite a valiant effort by Socrates in place of the worthless Army lawyer they were assigned, the outcome is never in doubt, and the penalty for treason is to face the firing squad.

Does Brisco use his gun? No.

Stuff Comet does: Play chess.

Kiss Count: 0 (22 overall).

Is Pete Hutter in this Episode? Yes.

Pete Hutter Quote: 'I have never violated any agricultural quarantine laws.'

Non-Pete Quote: Bowler - 'Tell me that ain't Jennifer Hart with her arms around Carlos Falco?'

Coming Things: Rhinestone jackets, there's mention of an airship.

Other: Obviously we just saw Whip in the previous episode, and Pete in the one before that. We hadn't seen Viva since "Hard Rock", or Wickwire since "Steel Horses".

I don't normally mention the chapter titles, but the first one in this episode was "The Unprofessionals", playing off the movie The Professionals, with Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Woody Strode, and Robert Ryan trying to rescue Claudia Cardinale from Jack Palance and make it back across the border. I still haven't decided whether Palance played it too crazy, or not crazy enough. Things were not as they seem in that film as well.

Pete's middle name is Leviticus. His demands for his assistance have decreased since "Baby Makes Three". Now he wants a pardon and his piece back. No air screw? He's great in this episode. From his premature insults to his cellmate, to bringing his own Bible when he gives his testimony (which he sets down and nudges away with his foot eventually). Even Pete knows Wickwire is a father figure to Brisco.

The serious flaw in Brisco's plan was he never worked out an "abort" signal with Pete.

The trial is an irritating thing to watch. Intentionally, I'm sure, since it's so rigged. Their defense lawyer asks open-ended questions on cross examination. The prosecution is allowed to ask blatantly leading questions, and make long-winded, prejudicial, ass-kissing speeches during what is supposed to be cross-examination. The tribunal even threatens Brisco and Bowler with contempt of court, which is pretty funny considering they're trying them for treason and planning to shoot them.

Don't Forget The Violent Women

2012-01-21T12:06:00.003-06:00

That whole time I was doing the year in review posts I was watching movies, so now it's a matter of trying to catch up. Might as well start with The Violent Men.

Something I realized watching Key Largo was I can't take Edward G. Robinson seriously when he plats a gangster. I keep thinking of a Bugs Bunny cartoon that had a version of him in it that Bugs humiliated. I see Johnny Rocko acting tough, and all I can think of is cartoon Edward G. Robinson on his knees, pleading with "Bugsy" not to rub him, while Bugsy grimly informs him, 'It's curtains for you, Rocky.' Cue, slamming curtains over his head and running of, as Rocky snarls, 'Oh, Rocky's really mad now!' Kind of nerfed him.

I mention that because Robinson plays Lee Wilkison in The Violent Men. Lee runs the Anchor ranch, which dominates the valley it occupies, and is in the process of cementing that grasp, by harassing all the other ranchers, the farmers, and so on into selling at pitifully low prices. Well, Lee lowballs them, but he lost the use of his legs in some earlier land struggle, so his brother Cole (Brian Keith) has returned and is leading the fear campaign. The next target is the last rancher, John Parrish (Glenn Ford), and he shouldn't be much trouble. He doesn't carry a gun, and he only moved out West because the climate was good for the wound he suffered in the Civil War. Now that he's healed, he's ready to sell and move east with his lady love. He initially pretends to take offense at the low offer, but he still plans to sell.

Cole proceeds to bollix that up, by sending out a bunch of the Anchor guys, who kill one of Parrish's men. Parrish, knowing the sheriff is a crooked, cowardly sumbitch in the pocket of the Anchor ranch, manages to goad the guilty party into drawing on him, and kills him with his deceased man's gun, thus sparing his other employees the trouble of being accused of murder. But now the hand is dealt, Parrish can't leave. Despite his best efforts, he cares enough about this valley and the other people in it he can't leave and let the Wilkison's dominate it. So it's to be war.

The real star of the movie for me was Barbara Stanwyck, who plays Martha Wilkison, the matriarch of the Anchor Ranch, and the true power. Everything Lee does, he does for her, because he promised her the entire valley would be hers. The twist is the same is true of Cole, who is here at her urging, because Lee seems to have mellowed with age. Perhaps the loss of the use of his legs has given him a greater appreciation for the cost of violence. Martha supports him publicly, but privately carries on an affair of convenience with Cole to keep him wrapped around her finger. Eventually, Cole figures this out, and chooses to leave and live with his actual girlfriend, Elena. But the moment it appears Lee is out of the picture, he throws Elena over and runs back to Martha, every true thing he knew about her having flown out of her head.

I'm very impressed with Martha. She's devious, cunning, and cruel (and more than a little racist). It's not uncommon to see an evil rancher in a Western with those attributes. Robert Ryan played Ike Clanton that way in Hour of the Gun. It's a little different for a women to get to play that character, though. She manipulates Lee and Cole into doing her bidding. Even when Lee grows tired of the violence, or Cole tired of her running hot and cold on him, they still do what she wants, because she knows what to say to override their common sense. She uses her daughter's temperamental nature to sabotage her attempt to blow the lid on Martha's scheming. Takes advantage of Parrish's aggression to remove another roadblock, and get the full force of the law behind her side of the conflict. It all falls apart on her eventually, because this Western was made in the '50s, not the '70s, and so ambiguous or crappy depressing endings were not the default, and it is immensely satisfying when it happens.

There is a romantic occurrence at the very end that doesn't feel properly built up to, but it's late enough in the film, and short enough that it doesn't detract from the movie overall.

What's The Value In It?

2012-01-20T10:49:00.004-06:00

I've been thinking about why it's so vital to the powers in the afterlife that they get Mitch Shelly's soul. Offhand, it seems like there's some sort of cosmic rule that when someone dies, one of the afterlife realms/dimensions/planes has to get their soul. Total # of deaths = Total # of souls. Mitch, having died a whole bunch of times, would throw things out of whack. This also leads me to wonder how someone like pre-relaunch Ragdoll would fit in, since he had no soul at all, and it was indicated that while rare, that is not a completely unique situation. That would mean more deaths without souls landing anywhere.

The angel did make a comment that Mitch's soul shines brightly from all his resurrections, but I can't quite figure what that would mean. Are resurrections supposed to be the sole province of divine beings, and that fact Mitch can manage it so readily and so frequently makes him extraordinarily powerful, and thus valuable? Or does it make him an affront to their sense of superiority, and that's why they want to stop him? Neither side seems particularly nice, as I don't buy that bit about how the plane from issue 1 was destined to crash. Yes, it crashed because you attacked Mitch while he was on it and it was in the air. If she exhibits more restraint, or heck, less restraint and attacks while it's still on the ground, things would have been fine.

Then I had another thought. What if Mitch's soul does cross over every time he dies, but he gains a new one when he comes back? It could explain his lack of memories, if we go with the idea certain strong memories would be attached to the soul, rather than particular neurons in the brain. It might also relate somehow to his having a different power each time he dies.

In that circumstance, if Mitch is more frequently a good man, there would be an imbalance. Heaven, or whatever realms collect good souls in the DCU, would be getting a surplus thanks to Mitch dying all the time. He might be a jerk some of the time, so the other side would get a few, but on the whole, they'll be losing out. Which could be a sticking point, if you figure that the afterlife realms are in conflict with each other, and more souls equal more power. It would certainly be in the losing side's interest to cut that off, but it might also be in the interests of the side that's currently ahead. After all, given enough time, Mitch might grow bitter, resentful, angry, and lash out in ways that would start sending his souls the other way. Better to stop the whole thing while they still have the edge.

The Good Thing Asking For Movies As Gifts. . .

2012-01-19T13:17:00.002-06:00

You don't feel bad for wasting your own money if you don't like them.

I hadn't head of Twelve Chairs before, but I figured Mel Brooks has a pretty high success rate with me, it was worth a try. I didn't realize the movie is based on a story by two Russian journalists. I think that, combined with being made somewhat earlier in Brooks' career (it's his second directorial credit, after The Producers) is why it doesn't feel very much like one of his films.

The story is set in 1927, and former aristocrat Ippolit Vorobyaninov (Ron Moody) is still struggling with being a menial clerk in the new Soviet state. His mother, on her deathbed, confides that she hid her jewels in one of the 12 chairs they had in their dining room before the Revolution. Vorobyaninov sets off after the chairs, which naturally leads him all over Russia, in the company of a sort of roguish beggar named Ostap Bender (Frank Langella). Before she died, Ippolit's mother also revealed this secret to her priest (Dom DeLuise), so he's in the mix as well.

There was on bit in the film that really made me laugh. A street sign said "Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky Way", except Trotsky had been X'ed out. What? On the whole, I didn't find it very amusing. If DeLuise had toned things down about 4 notches, I think his character would have worked better, but as it stood, he overdid it so much it was mostly annoying.

I couldn't understand why Bender didn't ditch Ippolit sooner. I understand the thematic reason, assuming I understand what Ilya Ilf and Yevgeni Petrov were going for, but on a pure story level it doesn't make sense. Bender does more of the work in finding the chairs, getting them into places, past guards or employees. The few times he asks Ippolit to do something, such as taking part in a play to maintain the lie that he's an actor), Ippolit utterly fails.

I'm sure there's a point to that. The bourgeois are greedy, selfish, proud and haughty without having any particular skills to merit being proud. They are completely worthless, existing only to drain others' wealth and prosperity. The one time Ippolit is useful, it's by pretending to have epilepsy so that people will take pity and give him money they need to continue. But Bender is the one who conceived of the idea, and he likely could have figured another way. Granted, it probably would have been something sleazy like wooing some housewife (he clearly fancies himself a ladies' man), but still, he could have managed without Ippolit.

What's Under The Surface?

2012-01-18T09:08:00.005-06:00

Something else I'm wondering about in regards to Grifter. What exactly happens when a Daemonite hops into a human body? Is it simply a soul/mind transfer, or something else? We see this blue mist or ghost leave the bodies they were inhabiting when one dies. In some cases, it's more like they took a person's skin, and fit it over their regular bodies. The cop in issue 2, the one the military has video footage of impersonating a soldier.

The first method seems more careful, since it wouldn't seem to leave any evidence the deceased was anything other than a normal human, but the second seems to make them more powerful. At least, those Daemonites have kicked Cole around more than the one on the airplane was able to.

Maybe it's a progressive thing. They transfer their essence into a human, but gradually they form a body inside the person. Sort of the reverse of how a pearl is formed, where the oyster gradually coats the grit and builds up this shiny coating so it doesn't irritate them.

Which raises the question of how far they got with Cole. He can hear them and he's at least occasionally showing greater-than-human reflexes (catching an arrow fired at him). Whatever the Daemonites were transferring into him, it doesn't seem to have a consciousness of its own. That doesn't mean there couldn't be something forming inside him as things progress.

This is the frustrating thing about Grifter. There are all these conceptual things, world-building I guess, that I find really intriguing. Yet I didn't stick with the book because the characters failed to engage me.

The Dilemma Of The Gun

2012-01-17T15:35:00.002-06:00

It's interesting that James Garner played Wyatt Earp in Hour of the Gun, since he'd play Earp again years later in Sunset. I wonder how often that happens, an actor playing the same character in unrelated films.

Unlike Sunset, Hour of the Gun is a more typical Earp film, focusing on the OK Corral and the aftermath, with Jason Robards as Doc Holliday, and Robert Ryan as Ike Clanton. I still prefer Tombstone myself, but this version has some things to recommend it. It's either more focused, or just less subtle about the idea that Wyatt is going against what he believes in. When the Earps are put on trial for their actions in the shootout, Wyatt makes it clear that he's not prone to killing men, except in upholding the law. This in contrast to Doc, who has mostly killed men over money since the war ended. Once of his brothers is killed and the other crippled however, Wyatt is depicted as having accepted the federal marshal position as a way to get revenge. He uses the badge as a license to kill, at one point goading one of the men responsible into drawing his gun so Wyatt can kill him.

That's contrasted with Doc who has signed on to watch out for his friend, and also because he seems to find the idea of serving law novel. At one point, while searching for liquor, he comes across one of the men with two buddies, and makes an honest attempt to arrest him. The two friends object, shooting ensues, and Wyatt, who had trailed Doc, gets to kill the guilty party. Doc ends up being Wyatt's conscience, for all the good it does.

My dad pointed out that Wyatt was throwing away everything he believed in, and for what? I said, the satisfaction of killing the men who killed his brother. Great, he says, what's he got left after he does that? Which made me think of two things. First, Ennis' Widowmaker arc in Punisher, where Jenny has to deal with the same issue.

Second, the idea of situational ethics. I considered bringing that up with him then, but the movie was still going, and it seemed likely to distract. I wondered if Wyatt couldn't set aside his principles because of the circumstances. Normally, he wouldn't abuse the power of the law to carry out personal scores, but in this particular situation, he had to bend his principles a little, or he might break. There were no witnesses, there was no legal way to arrest and convict those men, and Clanton made it quite clear he wasn't willing to settle for merely driving the Earps away from Tombstone. In that case, standing to his principles was a good way to get him and his entire family killed. Even if he survived somehow, he'd have to live with everyone else being dead.

What's Their Game?

2012-01-16T09:50:00.003-06:00

The last page of Grifter #4 reminded me of certain questions I've had for awhile. One of the Daemonites interrogating Ms. Reese states that it hates this world, and this body it's in, and will do anything to get away from both.

I've wondered pretty much since the series started what was the Daemonites' purpose on Earth. They don't seem to be making a concerted effort to conquer the planet. There isn't yet any pattern apparent to the people whose appearances they assume. If Cole's near miss was anything to go by, they mostly work by opportunity, seizing easy targets. Which minimizes the risk, but doesn't allow for a strategic approach. Maybe they couldn't manage that, if what the one Daemonite said about Earthlings all looking alike was true. They wouldn't be able to distinguish people in useful positions to replace. At any rate, Dire Wraiths they aren't.

I thought there might be a chance they were searching for something. An object, maybe a person. They showed up five years earlier, right around the time all the superheroes and other strange things appeared in the DCU. Maybe something they wanted fell to Earth. That's how Earthworm Jim got his supersuit, it was lost in transit, and he ended up having to fend off all the alien weirdos who came looking for it. Admittedly, different universe, but the point is, that's something that happens in fictional universes where aliens show up. So far, there hasn't been any indication they're looking for something.

Mostly, they seem concerned with staying hidden. Which would explain why they're so freaked about Cole. He can hear their discussions, which means he can help locate them, which means their covers aren't secure. But if they hate being here, and hate pretending to be human, why not leave? The simplest answer is they can't. Their ship or transmatter portal is busted, and they're stuck here until they fix it, someone comes to pick them up, or they stumble across a man-made method of getting where they want to be. In that case, why impersonate people? There have to be places on the earth they could go and retain their regular appearances and just wait, or work on their ship.

The other possibility is they're hiding from something else. Something that scares them so badly, they hide in the bodies of creatures they despise because it offers them some protection. In that case, it might be better to randomly take people to hide within, because they can spread out over a larger area. That might prevent whatever they're afraid of from wiping them all out in one go. Assuming it doesn't have the firepower to level the entire world, or if it does, that it's unwilling to do so without evidence Earthlings are in cahoots with the Daemonites. Being scattered, if one of them was attacked, it could alert the others and their distance would give them a bit of time to prepare.

Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 25 - Bad Luck Betty

2012-01-15T10:51:00.002-06:00

Plot: It's Socrates' birthday, and the celebration's being held at the Horseshoe Club. Whip Morgan (having returned quite quickly from Arizona, where he said he was going at the end of the previous episode) has even finagled Soc a giant cake. With a girl inside, naturally. The lights go off, and when they come back on, the cake is there, and so is the girl, but Soc is not.

The trail leads to Midnightville (Population: Strange). Unfortunately, Sheriff Hyde's in a full body cast, which means the only help from local law enforcement the guys can expect is Deputy Betty O'Donnell (Annabella Price). "Bad Luck" Betty, as she's known. With the hotel burned down, the guys seek lodging in a funeral parlor-turned- boarding house run by a Diana Grayson (Jane Sibbett). Diana is young and pretty (which means Whip's head get turned), but she's also a bit strange herself, setting a place at the table for her deceased father, discussing his theories on people returning from the dead. And wouldn't you know it? That's just what seems to have happened. Donald Grayson, dead for 10 years, is back and taking revenge on those he feels executed him unjustly, including Socrates.

Does Brisco use his gun? He fired repeatedly at the ghostly hearse, and he shot through some hangin' ropes.

Stuff Comet does: Know when to take cover.

Kiss Count: 0 (22 overall)

Is Pete Hutter in this episode? No.

Pete Hutter Quote: N/A

Non-Pete Quote: Betty - 'Oh, it was an accident.'

Coming Things: Hot showers, battery-powered horseless carriages, girls jumping out of cakes!

Other: I wrote in my notes, 'Does everyone on this show have 2 dead parents?' Diana, Bowler, Brisco, Whip's mother and the man who was like a father to him are dead, though his biological father isn't. No idea about Soc's parents, though.

The episode is pretty clearly doing a Psycho homage, between the ominous boarding house set on the hill, the truth about the killer, and they even do a gag based on the shower scene. And it is a pretty grim episode, with at least two murders, and several other close calls for Brisco, Bowler, Whip, Soc, a Mrs. Van Allen, and so on. But when you incorporate Betty into the mix, plus the general humorous tone of the series, it feels like a Scooby-Doo episode.

'I'd have gotten away with it, too, if not for those meddling bounty hunters and their horse!'

Next week, we start the two-part season (and series) finale.

Seven Months Behind Everyone Else. . .

2012-01-14T10:51:00.002-06:00

It's an X-Men First Class review! Well, calling it a review may be a bit strong. I tried watching the film two Wednesdays ago while Alex was at work. I got as far as Little Charles and Raven's first meeting before turning it off, and watching Rio Bravo with the commentary on instead. I was in some strange mood that night, I don't know. So I tried again the next morning, and made it the whole way through.

Which makes it sound like more of a chore than it actually was. I think I may have liked it more than any of the other X-flicks. I never watched X3, the first two were OK, and Wolverine would have been better if it had decided whether it wanted to be silly or ultra-dramatic, and then stuck with it*. First Class seemed better written, and had a more consistent tone. Serious, but not to such an extent there couldn't be some funny moments.

I still wouldn't rank it with my favorite comic property movies. I took about a page of notes while watching it, and when I'm not complimenting Kevin Bacon on his stylish coat, or calling various characters "Man of Action", I'm asking questions.

Is it a good idea to disrupt the concentration of the guy levitating your submarine? *Erik drops sub on beach, submarine breaks open* I guess not.

How were the non-Sebastian Shaw mutants going to survive a nuculear war when their sub was right in the middle of it? Could Shaw absorb the energy in a sufficient radius to shield them? What were the Cubans up to during all that? I at least expected the military to show up and defend their own beach.

Why couldn't Darwin adapt to having an energy ball dropped down his throat? I wasn't under the impression his power required conscious control. Why say afterward you can't even bury him? You can bury ashes.

During her visit to the 'Russian military retreat'**, why did Emma remove her coat, when she was just going to use telepathy to make the Russian general think he was getting some? That was a big house, with large windows, probably inefficient central heating. She didn't need to remove her coat. How did Erik manage to crack her neck if she's really diamond in that form?

OK, most of those are petty little things, and by and large, I enjoyed the film. Xavier's portrayed as vastly overconfident in his ability to manipulate people, which fits with a young man who hasn't had much difficulty in his life up to then. So, faced with real challenges, he makes mistakes, like misjudging Raven's inner turmoil, and I wasn't a fan of his mindwipe of Moira. I know, he had to protect his students, but there had to be some way to pull that off that doesn't leave the CIA director saying essentially, 'This is why you don't let skirts in the Agency." Anyway, it is interesting to see that Charles in his own way, is ruthless. He's not as indifferent to other's suffering as Erik, but he can still be the cause of it easily enough.

Erik, of course, loves to play the victim, even when he has enough power that shouldn't be an issue. He immediately blames Moira for Charles paralysis. Never mind he was the one who simply altered the trajectory of the bullets when could have easily stopped them like he did the dozens of missiles moments before. I guess that's the good things about Erik and Charles, they call each other on their bullshit. I'm not sure how much either one listens to the other, though. They both seem too entrenched, even at their relatively young ages, to consider the weaknesses of their respective positions.

I'm glad I watched it the whole way through, even if I don't feel the need to see it again. Alex Summers' Hula Hoops of Death alone were worth seeing once. Oh, and Oliver Platt as the Man in Black. So happy to have his theory validated, and just as quickly he loses control of the situation, when Charles points out his telepathic amplifier is useless without a willing telepath to use it.

* Not that action movies can't have humor. I like some funny with my fighting and explosions, but Wolverine swung so wildly from one to the other it was jarring. All the dramatic screaming at the sky, then lets have a boxing match with a really fat guy, or see Logan destroy the kind old couples' bathroom.

** I love those titles. That one and 'Covert CIA Research Base'. Apparently they hadn't hit the Age of Cool Names for Places yet.

2011 Comics In Review - Part 5

2012-01-13T08:37:00.002-06:00

This brings us to the end of the year in review posts. After this, I'll get back to the usual mix of books, movies, Brisco, and yes, comics.

I was looking at the Part 5 lists from the previous two years, and I'd say 2011 was somewhere in the middle of them. It was a better year than 2010 in terms of ongoing series (I could have done a Top 1 for 2010's ongoings), but not nearly as good for mini-series. On the flip side, 2009 was generally a better year for ongoings, but it wasn't quite as strong on mini-series. It's close, though.

Favorite Ongoing Series (min. 6 issues purchased):
1. Daredevil
2. Batgirl
3. Heroes for Hire
4. Darkwing Duck

1 and 2 are pretty close, then there's a bit of a gap, because H4H didn't have as strong a stable of artists as Batgirl and DD.

Favorite Single Issue of Each Ongoing (min. 4 issues):
Angel & Faith #3
Avengers Academy #14
Batgirl #18
Batman Beyond #6
Daredevil #6
Darkwing Duck #13
Grifter #3
Heroes for Hire #6
R.E.B.E.L.S. #27
Resurrection Man #4
Secret Six #30

Favorite Mini-Series:
1. Mystery Men
2. Atomic Robo: Ghost of Station X
3. Legion of Monsters
4. Annihilators

MM gets the nod because the next 2 haven't finished yet. There's a chance Clevinger or Hopeless could flub the ending, like DnA did on Thanos Imperative. Other than that, those 3 are pretty close, with Annihilators lagging because of the art on the title story.

Favorite One-Shot:
1. Defenders - From the Marvel Vault
2. Avengers Academy Giant-Size
3. Thanos Imperative - Devastation

Those are really the only options.

Favorite Trade (bought in 2011, regardless of whether it was released then):
1. Atomic Robo Vol. 4 - Other Strangeness
2. Suicide Squad - Trial By Fire
3. Taskmaster - Unthinkable
4. Dr. Strange - Into the Dark Dimension

Favorite Writer:
1. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
2. Christos Gage
3. Ian Brill
4. Brian Clevinger

Favorite Artist (min. 110 pages produced):
1. Tim Green II
2. Patrick Zircher
3. James Silvani
Honorable Mentions (artists I like who did reach the page cutoff): Fernando Dagninio, Juan Doe, Rebekah Isaacs, Marcos Martin, Dustin Nguyen, Paolo Rivera, Ryan Stegman, Brad Walker

That covers everything I can think of. Thanks for reading.

2011 Comics In Review - Part 4

2012-01-12T10:32:00.002-06:00

It's rare DC wreaks more havoc on my pull list then Marvel. 'Course, it's also rare they cancel and relaunch their entire line. Usually my pull list dwindles slowly, due to the steady attrition of Marvel canceling something I'm buying every few months.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #24-28: I think this was actually canceled to make room for all the Flashpoint garbage, but a cancelation is a cancelation. The only real story was the revenge of Starro the Conqueror, who fell a bit short, largely because he's terrible at employee relations. Tony Bedard wrote all 5 issues, and Claude St. Aubin drew most of it, except for 10 pages HDR (is it H? I keep thinking it might be KDR, the font isn't terribly clear) drew in #26.

High Point: The back and forth between Starfire and her sister was entertaining, and Lobo and Smite deciding they liked fighting and drinking together too much to kill each other was a nice turn of events. The tone of the book in general wasn't overly serious, which I appreciated.

Low Point: There isn't much that stands out. Not because it was a great book, but it was a solid one. Not ground-breaking, but getting the little things right. Except for that bit in the last issue where some of the pages were stapled in the wrong order.

Resurrection Man #1-4: Mitch Shelly tries to figure out his life while avoiding people from his old job, as well as some very determined otherworldly soul collectors. More DnA writing, with Fernando Dagnino as penciler, Santi Arcas as colorist, and Rob Leigh as letterer.

High Point: I'm really enjoying the idea of the afterlife realms being after Mitch, even if there are aspects of it that don't make sense to me. The Body Doubles have been more fun than I found them last time, and Dagnini's art channels Gene Colan occasionally. Not always, but sometimes when it's appropriate, that's what it reminds me of, and that's never a bad thing.

Low Point: I was a little disappointed the Transhuman wasn't really an old man assassin.

Rocketeer Adventures #1-4: Anthology series are always dicey. I mentioned that last year with Girl Comics, but the stuff I like is over too soon, to make room for stories I may not like. This was definitely a mixed bag, but I'll still give the next round a try.

High Point: The John Cassaday story that led off issue 1, and the one Darwyn Cooke did in issue 2 as sort of a movie serial where Betty saved Cliff.

Low Point: Lowell Francis and Gene Ha's story where Cliff tries to retake some over flight prototype, with the broadcast of a prize fight mixed in. The boxing match aspect of how the story was presented that bugged me. Ryan Sook's offering was a bit overdone. Oh, how awful Cliff saved Betty and everyone in the theater from being robbed at gunpoint!

Secret Six #29-36: The Six survived working for Luthor, squabbled with the Doom Patrol, went to Hell, and tried to destroy Batman's family. They failed at the last one, though Bane seemed sastified with disentangling himself from the rest of them. Gail Simone wrote all the issues, J. Calafiore drew 30-36, Marcos Marz drew issue 29.

High Point: I liked the Doom Patrol match-up. Couple of oddball teams, with oddball bosses. I'll have to get around to getting the second part of it one day. Bane's trip to the carnival with Spencer was amusing in its awkwardness. I must say, Spencer was remarkably open-minded about Bane's life. King Shark's version of Hell. Clearly I like the book best when it doesn't take itself too seriously.

Low Point: Catman trying to threaten Etrigan was a bit ridiculous, to the point I wouldn't have minded the Demon handing Blake his entrails. The Luthor match-up did nothing for me. I don't care about the pissing match between Vandal and Lex, and I already knew Vandal was a terrible father.

She-Hulks#3, 4: This book kind of caught a bad break. Changed to a mini-series before it even really got going. Jen and Lyra continued to capture Intellegencia members, only for the Wizard to use what he received as bribes for helping to escape and attack Lyra at the prom. Which outed her as a Hulk and ruined her life. Funny, I thought things went better for the ladies, and it was the guy Hulks who had all the bad luck and hated being Hulks? Harrison Wilcox wrote a fine story and Ryan Stegman drew it well, with an assist from his inker Michael Babinski. Guru eFX helped make everything bright and clear (I really prefer books with bright color schemes. Maybe because so many books are dull and murky these days).

Suicide Squad #1-3: Ugh, do I have to? Fine. It's the last book I tried coming straight out of the relaunch. Adam Glass writes it. Federico Dallocchio drew part of issues 1 and 2. ransom Getty drew the other half of issue 1, Andrei Bressan the other part of issue 2. Cliff Richards drew all of issue 3. While Alex loved the first 3 issues when he read them, I hated them. The sex and violence don't seem to have a purpose other than to be edgy or mature, and the way the characters behave not keeps butting up against how I think they ought to act.

High Point: Captain Boomerang didn't have a bad entrance. Getty's art wasn't bad.

Low Point; Everything else.

Thanos Imperative: Devastation: The one-shot that outlined certain aspects of the post-Thanos Imperative status quo, and assembled the Annihilators for their mini-series. Still more Abnett and Lanning, this time with Miguel Sepulveda as artist.

Villains for Hire #0.1, 1: Purple Man escaped from prison during H4H's Fear Itself tie-in. Since Misty had taken control of what was originally his idea, he's started up a separate enterprise, using villains to do his dirty work, rather than heroes. Which is probably safer, if less personally satisfying. His problem is that Misty has her own crew of villains working against his. The last thing we'll touch on written by DnA, with Renato Arlem on art chores, and Jay David Ramos as colorist.

Wolverine and the Black Cat - Claws II #1-3: Arcade and the White rabbit find a friendly alien, steal some of her weapons, and send the heroes into the future where they team-up with Killraven until they rescue that same alien, who helps them travel back to their time. Jimmy Pamiotti and Justin Gray wrote it, and Joseph Michael Linsner drew it. I was hoping for a lot more Arcade, personally.

I'm just going to skip "High Point, Low Point" for that one. Which brings us to the end of the comics. All that's left is lists made according to my arbitrary standards.

2011 Comics In Review - Part 3

2012-01-11T08:29:00.002-06:00

The last few years I've kept track of which artists I was buying the most of work of, out of idle curiosity I suppose. I usually track who makes it to 110 and 154 pages (5 and 7 22-page comics, respectively). So it was 13 and 6 in '09 (I typed 15 in a post back then, but I can't remember the 15th artist, and the 14th was Gabriel Hardman, who was actually a few pages shy), and 9 and 3 in 2010.

This year I considered lowering the cutoffs to 100 and 140 pages, since DC and Marvel have each gone to 20 pages an issue. If I do that then it's 10 and 3, but if I stick to the 110/154 line, then it's 7 and 2, because Pere Perez (101), Sean Chen and Brad Walker (108 each) are all a little short, and J. Calafiore (140) did draw 7 complete comics, but they were each only 20 pages. The only artists to clear the 154 line were Tan Eng Huat (160 pages) and James Silvani (250). There's always one artist way ahead of the others. Silvani this year, Calafiore in 2010, Paco Medina in 2009. I'm sure you've had enough numbers talk, so I'll get to the books.

Defenders #1: By Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson, as the Hulk asks his old Defenders acquaintances to track the physical manifestation of all his rage and anger. It could be an interesting story, but I have some concerns about Fraction's approach to Dr. Strange and to a lesser extent, Namor.

Defenders - From the Marvel Vault #1: I bought this because I liked the Busiek/Larsen Defenders series, and I generally enjoy Fabian Nicieza, Mark Bagley, and Kurt Busiek's work. This was a fill-in Nicieza and Bagley did just in case, that never ended up being needed, and the script's been lost over the years, and so Busiek basically came up with a story based on the art. Which is pretty cool.

Fear Itself - Fearsome Four #2-4: Jack never got around to sending me a first issue, and frankly, I'd have been fine if he forgot to send the rest of the issues as well. Brandon Montclare wrote it, and a wide variety of artists drew it. Simon Bisley, Ryan Bodenheim, Ray-Anthony Height, and Don Ho for issue 2. Tom Grummet on layouts, with Height doing pencils, and a few pages by Flint Henry for issue 3. Height, Tim Green II, Rick Ketcham, and Michael Kaluta on issue 4.

High Point: The overall idea was sound, Man-Thing driven crazy by an entire world gripped by fear? Psycho-Man trying to take advantage? A ragtag group of heroes left to deal with it because everyone else is too busy getting cool armor from a drunk Tony Stark? And with Man-Thing's access to the Nexus of Realities, having different artists makes perfect sense.

Low Point: The execution wasn't quite there. Still not sure what was up with the New Fantastic Four's attitudes, or Montclare's take on Nighthawk. The idea that it was the fear of the heroes that were fighting him that was driving Man-Thing nuts, amongst all the other terrified people seemed like it was pushing too hard for the idea of fear feeding into itself.

Flashpoint - Secret Seven #2: I haven't read much by him, but people usually speak well of Peter Milligan's work, and George Perez was supposed to draw it, so even if the writing was crap it would look good. But Perez didn't even finish the first issue (which I never got), and Fernando Blanco drew this, and it made very little sense, and hopefully I've learned my lesson about buying tie-in mini-series to Big Events I don't care about.

Grifter #1-4: And we reach the first of my New 52 purchases! With Nathan Edmondson as writer, Cafu as artist for issues 1-3, and Scott Clark drawing issue 4. Cole Cash can hear the disguised aliens, but he's the only one, so he has to try and stop them before they, the authorities, or annoying superheroes like Green Arrow stop him. Whether that happens or not, someone else will have to tell me, because I've dropped it.

High Point: Like Fearsome Four, the concept is solid. Edmondson's dialogue is fine. I really like how Cafu would incorporate the title of each story into the page itself, like making it part of the 'copter's spinning blades in issue 3.

Low Point: The characters failed to grab hold. I don't care about any of them, including Cole. I don't understand why people with projectile weapons keep walking up to each other and standing with their weapons pressed against each other's chest. The point of projectile weapons is you don't have to be close! Oh, and 4 issues in, I have no idea what the Daemonites are up to, why they're here, why they pretend to be human, why they take the humans they do, on and on.

Heroes for Hire #2-12: Hey, only one Marvel ongoing I was buying was canceled this year! 'Course, I've only bought 4 to begin with. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning wrote it, with art by Brad Walker (2, 3, 6, 8, 12), Robert Atkins (4 and 5), Tim Seeley (7), and Kyle Hotz (9-11). The heroes smashed various criminal enterprises, only to learn they were being manipulated by the Puppet Master. Then they had to smash those operations again, with an assist from Spider-Man and some trouble with Batroc the Leaper. Then there was a Fear Itself tie-in, then they smashed the illegal Atlantean drug operation for good by getting Namor's attention.

High Point: Any issue Brad Walker drew was pretty good. Even if I find his faces a little odd sometimes, he knows how to draw action. I liked the Spider-Man team-up, because he was sort of funny, but not as funny as he thought he was, because Misty got out of the chair and did some damage on her own, and because it amuses me how irritated Paladin gets with Spidey.

Low Point: The Fear Itself tie-in worked fairly well for the book, but I still would have preferred to see what DnA would have done with those issues without having to tie-in. It's not like it bought the title much extra time. I don't think Abnett and Lanning get Silver Sable's voice right, which is a little thing, but it does bother me. I also don't think the Punisher would have shot the Puppet Master that quickly, without even trying to torture some information out of him.

Legion of Monsters #1-3: Something is driving the inhabitants of the Monster Metropolis mad, and so Elsa Bloodstone reluctantly teams up with Morbius and his group of monster cops to try and find out what it is and stop it. Dennis Hopeless writes, Juan Doe handles the art, Wil Quintana is the colorist, and Dave Lanphear in the letterer.

High Point: Elsa's assualt on Dracula's castle was entertaining. The bickering amongst the monsters is amusing. Juan Doe's art is very nice. He gets a lot done with what seems to be very few lines, and Quintana's doing some excellent work with the colors. There are plenty of shadows, but not in a way that makes it hard to tell what's happening.

Low Point: That Doe had to draw Dracula in his current, lame incarnation? That issue 2 didn't have nearly as much monsters with motorcycles action as the cover suggested?

Mystery Men #1-5: David Liss comes up with some pulp archetype heroes and sets them in the Great Depression against a group of powerful, greedy people, and a highly dangerous fear god. There's a lot in the story about how what you do when you lose hope is important, and marks the person you are. Patrick Zircher was the artist, Andy Troy the colorists, and dave Sharpe the letterer.

High Point: The first issue had a lot of dirty cops getting beaten up. Always good to see corrupt people in power taken down a peg. Most of the scenes with Nox and the General were good, especially as a counterpoint to how the General behaves with everyone else. Plus, Zircher can draw very good rotting corpses or attractive (but creepy) ladies, both of which are more necessary than you might think for Nox

Low Point: There wasn't one that I can think of.

Power Man and Iron Fist #1-5: It's what the title suggests, the new Power Man and Iron Fist team-up to try and clear the name of Jennie Royce, Fist's old secretary, of a murder charge, and run afoul of many different problems, from corrupt companies, to freaky gamblers, to shadowy killers, to a comic opera troupe of assassins. Fred van Lente writes it, Wellinton Alves drew issue 1, 4, and 5, and about half of issues 2 and 3. Pere Perez drew the other half of those two issues. Alves has Nelson Pereira as an inker and Bruno Hang as a colorist. Perez inks his own work, and Antonio Fabela colors it.

High Point: The Commedia Dell'Morte, Noir, and Pokerface were interesting ideas. Maybe someone will use them again down the line. Always good when someone adds to the toybox. I wouldn't say it was a great murder mystery, but my general feeling is van Lente played mostly fair with the reader, and I was just too slow to put the pieces together. Nothing new there.

Low Point: I don't think all the heavy shadows really suited Alves' artwork. I liked it better on Nova, where things were a lot brighter.

Tomorrow, the last nine titles. There'll be a couple of good ones in there, but also some severe duds.

2011 Comics In Review - Part 2

2012-01-10T08:34:00.003-06:00

Compared to 2010, I bought slightly more comics this year. By "slightly", I mean 135 versus 134. By "comics", I'm talking about new single issues, because, while I am doing better at keeping track of trades, I'm still not tracking back issues buys well. As a rough guess, add those two categories in and 2010 was probably a bigger year. Sticking to the new stuff, Marvel dropped to just under 52% of the total, which is a new low, beating 2010's 59%. DC dropped a little, to about 30%, and everything else comprised 18%, a roughly threefold increase on last year.

Of course, Avengers Academy was supposed to stop showing up six issues sooner, so the total should really be 129, unless I had gotten the first issue of Angel & Faith, plus those two Ducktales issues that were part of "Dangerous Currency", and - ugh - Suicide Squad #4 (which I ordered, but Jack was out of, and I told him that was just fine). That would make 133, and Marvel would be 48%, DC would be about 32%, and everything else would be 20%. As you can tell, my mind has lots of time to wander while I walk dogs.

Batgirl #17-24: A highly enjoyable series lost with the relaunch. Stephanie Brown dealt with the Reapers, who were being manipulated by her father, out of some twisted desire on his part to test her and make her a better hero. You couldn't have just bought her some workout equipment, Arthur? Amongst that she had team-ups with Damien, the Boy Irritant, as well as Squire and Klarion the Witch Boy. Bryan Q. Miller wrote all the issues. Dustin Nguyen drew 18 and 21, Ramon Bachs 19 and 20, and Pere Perez drew 17 and 22-24.

High Point: There were a lot of little moments, such as Steph using "SHAZAM!" as a signal she needed assistance, and those pages at the end of 24 that hinted at the stories we didn't get to see were nice, in a bittersweet day. The prize goes to #18, the Valentine's team-up with Klarion. It was a wonderful mixture of strange and hilarious, and beautifully illustrated by Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs, with Guy Major handling the colors on the non-painted parts (which Nguyen painted himself).

Low Point: I don't understand what the Reapers' plan was. Maybe Arthur was just playing them for saps, in which case I don't understand what line of bull he sold them to get them on board initially. Money obviously, but how were they lead to believe that what they were doing would accomplish that? What did trying to steal a lot of decomissioned money all at once have to do with a sample from the corpse of a nun with alleged healing powers have to do with each other?

Batman Beyond #1-8: The book hardly got started before the relaunch came along and shut it down. It'll be starting up again next month, with Norm Breyfogle as artist. Whoo! Adam Beechen had Terry team-up with the Justice League against some dying, angry former employee of theirs, then cope with the return of Blight and labor unrest at Wayne-Powers. Beechen also started a subplot about Max trying to uncover the identity of Undercloud, some renowned 'Net presence. Ryan Benjamin drew issues 1-3, and 5-7. Eduardo Pansica drew #4 and Chris Batista drew #8.

High Point: The Blight story wasn't bad, since it'd been awhile since he was an active presence. The Undercloud subplot is intriguing, as Max is trying to handle it without involving Batman.

Low Point: I didn't like the origin story for Inque in #8. The idea of giving her a tragic origin isn't bad, but it plays at odds with her actions in the story, which make her appear to be someone ruthless, who enjoys inflicting pain on people weaker than her. I mean fine, that's what happened to her, violence gets paid forward, but it's not an origin than enhances the character.

Daredevil #1-7: Oh, this is good stuff right here. Mark Waid writes a Matt Murdock making an active attempt to not let his life be all gloom and doom. Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin draw the hell out of it. Javier Rodriguez (Rivera' color artist) and Muntsa Vicente (Martin's) make it look bright and vibrant. Joe Caramagna is the letterer, and he does an excellent job working with the art, especially Martin, who makes sound effects such a big part of what he does. So far DD's interfered with Klaw's attempt to reconstitute himself (at a shadowy figure's behest), made himself the target of 5 major criminal organizations, and saved a bus load of kids lost in a snowstorm. Or they saved him. Same thing.

High Point: All of it. All of it is great, and lovely, and makes me happy reading it. If I were going to pick just one moment, though? Issue 5. 'Oh no! Six armed mercs wearing night vision goggles! Whatever will I do? *flips light switch* That's some good smart-aleckness right there.

Low Point: There isn't one. Accept it. Move on.

Darkwing Duck #8-18: Boom! lost the licence for this, I assume because Disney owns its own comic company now. What can you do? Ian Brill wrote it, and James Silvani drew it. We saw Darkwing and friends fend off Negaduck and Magica once, then again at the end of the series (plus the Phantom Blot, the Beagle Boys, and a horde of other Darkwing and Ducktales' villains). In between, Darkwing was nearly used to summon Duckthulu, faced a horde of new super-villains, and tried running for mayor, which went as well as anything involving Darkwing and public popularity ever does.

High Point: The battles against some of th new villains, like One-Shot and Cat-Tankerous in issues 13 and 14 were fun, and Silvani can draw a good fight scene, so they looked good as well.

Low Point: I thought the final story felt a little rushed. I'm not sure if Brill was ready to make the big reveal about the ink, or have a Ducktales crossover when he did. Maybe he was, and it's just because I don't have the Ducktales chapters that made the story feel disjointed and cramped. I'm hoping to get those two issues sometime soon.

Darkwing Duck Annual #1: This could have been thrown in with the ongoing, but this section is pretty short, so I don't think it'll hurt. Ian Brill (with Sabrina Alberghetti as artist) did a story about Quackerjack trying to make himself a ton of cash by threatening to turn people into toys, while Darkwing tries to get him away from this more violent approach at the urging of "Jacky's" girlfriend, who met him while they all worked at Quackwerks. The story does not end happily, though Quackerjack does return for the final arc of the ongoing. There's also a backup story by Darkwing creator Tad Stones (with Silvani as artist) about a pet turtle with time-traveling powers.

Tomorrow, we not only finish the Ds, we reach the back half of the alphabet! Because there are a lot of mini-series, one-shots, or ongoings I didn't buy many issues of. 9 different titles in all.

2011 Comics In Review - Part 1

2012-01-09T10:31:00.002-06:00

Hi there! If you're new to the blog, this is pretty basic: Parts 1 thru 4 are a look back at each title I bought this year, who worked on the books, some of the major storylines, and what I considered to be high and low points. Sometimes those are in story, sometimes they relate to creative teams, and there's no guarantee there will always be a low point, because sometimes I'm so positive. Part 5 is a list post, and the opening paragraphs will touch on whatever stuff related to my buying habits I feel like mentioning. OK, the recap for new readers is over, let's get going. As has been the case the previous years, most of what I buy is in the front half of the alphabet, so we aren't even reaching the Bs today.

Angel & Faith #2-5: I'm sure I'll get the first issue at some point. The question is whether I'll consider it part of 2011 or 2012. The primary arc is Angel's mission to resurrect Giles, while Faith struggles to stop him without completely taking the wind from his sails. Christos Gage is writing the book, Rebekad Isaacs drew issues 2-4, Phil Noto drew #5, which involved Harmony hiring Angel to help her prevent damage to her reputation.

High Point: I'd say it's how well Gage and Isaacs get the title characters. Their attitude and dialogue sound right, and Isaacs draws them looking recognizably like their actor selves, without being overly stiff and referenced, as sometimes happens when the artist wants to keep a character on a specific model. The book feels right, and it has well-drawn fight scenes and bits of humor.

Low Point: I guess issue #5, mostly because Harmony's willful obliviousness to the destruction in her past grated on my nerves. I don't need Angel's sackcloth, ashes, and rats routine, but acting as though none of it happened is a bit much. The presence of Whistler in #4 wasn't welcome, except for the prospect of one of the title character disemboweling him. He's one of those characters that nips at the heels of real movers and shakers, but acts like a big wheel, and all I can do is wonder how he isn't dead yet.

Annihilators #1-4: This mini-series and the next one are what Cosmic Marvel had to offer in 2011. On one hand, we have the DnA team working with Tan Eng Huat on the heavy hitter team Star-Lord always envisioned guarding the galaxy. On the other, Tim Green II is the artist for the story of Rocket Raccoon tracking down his old buddy Groot to help him figure out why a clown made of living wood was sent to kill him.

High Point: Ronan taking down Doctor Dredd, after the dissing Ikon gave him wasn't bad. The bit with Quasar trying to bluff Immortus was nice, though I fear the idea of Quasar having some major role down the line is going to get lost as readily as the idea of Jack Flag dying to save the universe did. I liked essentially all of the Rocket/Groot back-up.

Low Point: Tan Eng Huat's art isn't suited for big cosmic action. His characters look awkward and stiff, and there's not much sense of force or power in his art.

Annihilators: Earthfall #1-4: The follow-up mini-series, where the heavy hitters (minus the Silver Surfer) travel to Earth to try and stop the return of the Magus, only to end up brawling with the Avengers. Eventually the Avengers realize the Annihilators have good reason to be here and both sides manage to tolerate each other long enough to work together. In the back-up Rocket and Groot are trapped in one of Mojo's television shows, dealing with his mercurial artistic temperment, as well as his desire for maximum merchandising possibilities. Creative teams are the same as on the previous mini.

High Point: The back-up. Especially the duo being menaced by a wide variety of variant Rockets. The Church of Truth zealots on Earth being smart enough to play terrified humans when the Avengers arrive. The back and forth between Captain America and Ronan. Tim Green's art.

Low Point: Let's start with the art on the Annihilators' section, same complaints as before, though if anything, Huat's art look more rushed. I'd have preferred to see more progress on the solution to the Magus problem before the last five seconds, which probably could have happened with less pointless arguing about whether it's OK to kill possessed kids. The Avengers weren't gonna go along with it, just move on.

Atomic Robo - Ghost of Station X #1-4: My first foray into Atomic Robo in single issues. Robo is nearly killed after a fake call from NASA lures him into low Earth orbit, then nearly killed some more by armed troop guys in Nebraska. A valuable lesson about staying out of Nebraska. Meanwhile, an entire building has vanished in England, something Robo is supposed to know about, though he hasn't a clue. It's reached the point where both plots are about to come together. Brian Clevinger's writing, Scott Wegener draws it, Rhonda Pattison colors it, and Jeff Powell letters it.

High Point: I liked the Tesladyne staff coming up with a solution to save the nonexistent orbiter in a short period of time, the ideas proposed and dismissed, and how the one was ultimately implemented. I like how Clevinger's gradually revealing what's going on, and I think Wegener drew the bit with the satellite and Robo's near death well.

Low Point: Wegener's backgrounds are not his strong point, and. . . um, I was confused about what the CB and ham radio people were doing in issue 4? The specifics, not the general idea that they were somehow tracing the orbital signal that was being used to track Robo. It would have been quicker to say "No low point", wouldn't it?

Avengers Academy #8-21: This was supposed to be dropped from my pull after June, but Jack kept sending it. By then it'd picked up enough I didn't mind, and was willing to keep paying for it as long as he kept sending it. He must have decided I was only buying it through Fear Itself, because it stopped showing up in November. Which is fine. It was a nice series, but not one I feel I have to keep reading. Christos Gage wrote this too, with art handled variously by Mike McKone, Tom Raney, Sean Chen, and Andrea DiVito.

High Point: The confrontation between Finesse and Taskmaster in #9 was well done. The prom in #13 had its moments, and the cadets struggle against Titania and the Absorbing Man was well-written. I also liked how serious Pym got when he learned the cadets had been sent into battle. Geez, am I turning into a real Hank Pym fan? What's next, rooting for Cyclops?

Low Point: I know it's in her coninuity now, but I could have done without anyone bringing up The Hood pistol whipping Tigra as she cries. It wasn't that Gage's story in #8 was bad, I just didn't want to be reminded of that. Also, I don't give a damn about Korvac, so 11 and 12 were a dud for me. My favorite artist on the book was probably DiVito, who naturally only drew one issue.

Avengers Academy Giant-Size: This was originally a mini-series called Arcade: Death Game. Then it was canceled and resolicited as this one-shot, which is a better value, pricewise, but I'd rather have the triptych cover that was actually story relevant than the generic Ed McGuiness cover that has Spidey, Iron Man, and Steve Rogers in the background, even though none of them appear in this story. Not even as robot fakes used by Arcade. That's how it goes, I suppose. Paul Tobin wrote it, David Baldeon drew it, Jordi Tarragona inked it, Chris Sotomayor was colorist, and Dave Lanphear lettered it.

Avengers Solo #1-3: I picked this up because I like Hawkeye, and because Jen van Meter wrote an outstanding Black Cat mini-series in 2010 (which I ranked my favorite mini of the year). So far the results have been mixed. There's also a back-up story written by Jim McCann and drawn by Clayton Henry involving Pym, Striker, and Finesse against Alkhema, an old Avengers foe.

High Point: Jen van Meter seems to get Hawkeye, that what he has going for him more than anything is stubborness. That and boundless confidence, which is not quite as much on display. Artists Roger Robinson (issues 1 and 2), and Al Barrionuevo (issue 3) have had some good pages, either nicely done fight scenes, or maybe a particularly good expression.

Low Point: This hasn't worked as well as Black Cat did. Part of that is I like caper flicks, so the Black Cat was in that sweet spot, and Hawkeye isn't going to fit that, so some other plot had to happen. I guess I'd prefer it be less tied to the Avengers. The other part is Robinson and Barrionuevo aren't as strong an art team as the pair of Javiers, Pulido and Rodriguez, van Meter had for Black Cat. For all the good panels or scenes the current artists are doing, there are ones with unclear action, strange anatomy, or curious layout choices. Some of it is Robinson's art was frequently murky and difficult to follow. Which sounds like a colorist issue, but Fabio D'Auria's been the colorist for both of them. Robinson apparently inks himself, while Barrionuevo has Raul Lopez, so maybe that's the difference.

That's a quarter of the books done! Tomorrow will only cover 4 different series, but I will make it into the Ds! Not through them, but I'll at least make a start!

Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 24 - And Baby Makes Three

2012-01-08T10:38:00.003-06:00

Plot: Brisco and Bowler are enjoying a little downtime, watching Dixie sing at a club, when in rushes Pete Hutter, carrying a baby (in the same manner a waiter would carry a tray, which hardly seems safe). Pete dumps the baby in Dixie's arms and flees, but not from Brisco or Bowler, but from a group of mysterious ninjas who trounce our heroes and abduct Hutter.

The ninjas are part of the Black Lotus, a group that has history with both Brisco Sr., and with Li Pao (James Hong). Li Pao used to be their leader, but Senior helped him get out, and now a Mr. Chan (Tzi Ma) is in charge. And he wants that baby, because it's a very special baby. So while Dixie (with an assist from Whip Morgan, who's just glad to be out of jail) try to take care of "Jesse", Brisco and Bowler try to find and defeat Chan and his forces. Or that was the plan. They spend most of their time either rescuing the baby, or trying to get the baby someplace safe. The heroes are mostly on the defensive in this one.

Does Brisco use his gun? No.

Stuff Comet does: Well, he's come when Brisco whistles, and he's willing to serve as a rocking horse for Jesse, but it never gets put into action.

Kiss Count: 3, Dixie (22 overall). This episode marks the point where both parties are finally open about their feelings, right as circumstances move them apart from each other. Isn't that how it always goes?

Is Pete Hutter in this episode? Yes.

Pete Hutter quote: 'Hand over the papoose or prepare to spend a little quality time with the reaper.'

Non-Pete Hutter Quote: Dixie - 'Look, I want no part of this. I believe in parenthood as an institution, but I'm not ready to be institutionalized.'

Coming Things: Would an "air screw" count? Get your mind out of the gutter! I'm talking about a flying machine.

Other: Li Pao returned for the first time since "Fountain of Youth". We also get to see Todd again, this time as a caterer. We last saw Todd at registry desk in "Bounty Hunters Convention", and before that as a waiter in "The Orb Scholar".

Li Pao's suggestion for fortune cookies (add "between the sheets" to enhance it greatly) is not as useful when your fortune cookie doesn't actually have a fortune, instead opting for some description of you as a person. Sigh, I'm still waiting for my "You will find love on Flag Day".

We learned a couple of things about Pete. One, his mamma used to slap him. No surprise there. Two, he may be a dope, but he thinks big. He demands in return for the baby were a grant of immunity, a million dollars, the return of Pete's Piece, and the aforementioned air screw, designed by "Le-a-nare-do Dar-Vinchee".

In addition to be the Lady of Liberty for her work in Jalisco, Dixie is now revered as a golden angel who saved the future Emperor in China. She'll be the first global music icon if this keeps up. I noticed this last week while I was watching The Big Sleep, but there's a particular way Lauren Bacall says certain words that Kelly Rutherford seems to be using as well. It's not a drawl, exactly, but they roll certain letters as they say them. I doubt it's an homage or anything, but if you're going to be the female lead and banter playfully with the male lead, you could do a lot worse than to follow Bacall's lead.

Bowler likes pistachios. Unfortunately for his private stocks, so does Whip. Fortunately for Bowler, his fortune cookie said "Things are looking up" Remember, add "between the sheets".

With an embassy involved, and the revelation Chan killed Brisco's mother with a carriage accident (in retaliation for Senior helping Li Pao), this started to feel like Lethal Weapon 2, since Brisco gets to fight Chan at the end. But Bowler doesn't shoot any diplomats, so I it doesn't hold. Pete Hutter's tomfoolery, and Dixie's uncertainty when it comes to babies aside, it's kind of a dark episode. Pete gets Chinese water torture, then he gets killed. We learn what happened to Brisco's mother, and he's presented with a chance for revenge, as he was with Bly.

It's interesting that in "Hard Rock", Brisco told Whip that he got justice, not revenge. Which is true, to a point. He didn't arrest Bly or bring him to trial, he had (at that time) imprisoned him in the Orb, which is poetic justice, at least. Since then, though, Brisco's had another confrontation with Bly, and that time, he did kill him. I guess it wouldn't count as revenge, though he was doing it in part because Bly killed Bowler (even though Brisco had already traveled back in time and averted that).

Whiskey Rebels Against The System

2012-01-07T17:05:00.003-06:00

I spent most of New Year's Day reading David Liss' The Whiskey Rebels. I live an exciting life, I know. But I had enjoyed Liss' The Devil's Company, and his and Patrick Zircher's Mystery Men, so, the book seemed worth a try.

This story is set in the 1790s, and follows a Captain Ethan Saunders, once a noted spy for George Washington's Continental Army, now disgraced under suspicion of being a traitor. Saunders is prepared to die at the hands of an angry husband, but is rescued by a man who needs his help. Saunders wouldn't care, but it also involves a Cynthia Pearson, who he was supposed to marry before the disgrace, and he still carries the torch. Which leads to Saunders trying to stop a plot wreck the recently founded Bank of the United States.

Liss utilizes some historical figures, such as Alexander Hamilton and William Duer, but the focal points at Saunders and a Joan Maycock, and he tends to alternate chapters between the two. I found the Maycock chapters terribly dull for much of the book, until Liss more fully started tying them into the plots running through the Saunders' parts. Looking back, the earlier chapters explain why things are happening as they are, but on the initial reading, I couldn't figure why Liss was wasting my time with these folks who were suckered into moving to the Pennslyvania wilderness. I preferred Saunders' story where any relevant backmatter came up in the course of the investigation (or relevant flashbacks).

Attack The Block

2012-01-06T10:19:00.003-06:00

A nurse walks home one night, only to be surrounded by 5 teenagers on bikes, who then take her purse and ring at knifepoint. Then an alien plummets to earth, hitting the car next to them. Curious, or perhaps bored, the leader of the teens, Moses (John Boyega), tries to investigate, only to be clawed across the face. The teens set off in pursuit and beat the alien to death. At which point more aliens crash in their South London neighborhood, and it turns into a struggle for survival, not just against the aliens, but also against Hi-Hatz, a local drug honcho Moses and his friends have kind of pissed off.

The first half of the movie is mostly out in the neighborhood, though director Joe Cornish does take a few minutes to show us the housing block all the kids live in (by having them run home to grab whatever weapons they own for alien hunting), as that's where the second half of the movie is set. Upon realizing the new arrivals are much larger than the first one, and after some difficulties with both the cops and Hi-Hatz, they concluded the safest place to be was in the block, which they know so well. It doesn't work out that way, as they don't understand how the aliens perceive things, or what they're after, so all hiding in the block really accomplishes in put them in a confined space and put neighbors at risk.

Which is something I don't think they wanted to do. Moses and his friends end up protecting Sam, the nurse they robbed earlier (after forcing their way into her apartment to hide), and one of them tells her they wouldn't have robbed her if they knew she lived in the block like them. People they share circumstances with are not to be hasseled apparently. It's outsiders that aren't to be trusted and are fair game. No one in the block other than Sam appears to have much respect or hope for the cops or the soldiers, who aren't seen doing much during the film. They seal off the block, but there's no sign that they're trying to stop the aliens, or trying to help the people in the block. From inside the housing complex, it might look like the authorities were content to just keep everyone, human or alien in one location and see how it plays out.

I wonder about the distrust of police. It could be as simple as the fact Moses and Co. rob people, which makes them crooks, which would almost necessitate a less than friendly relationship with the cops. But I get the feeling that crook or no, people on the Block don't have a great relationship with cops. There are two kids who've dubbed themselves "Probs" and "Mayhem", trying to get Moses to let them tag along throughout the film. After they kill one of the aliens with a Super Soaker, they run down an alley and meet a bunch of cops in riot gear. The cops first reaction is to start screaming for them to get on the ground, now! Which, guys, it's a freaking Super Soaker, and not even one that looks like a real gun, and they're freaking kids. The boys' response is to run back the way they came and hide in a trash bin. That says a lot about how the cops behave around there*.

There's a lot of use of fireworks in the movie, mostly to distract or frighten the aliens. The downside is they also make a lot of smoke, which makes it hard to see, and obscures their vision. But it's a readily available weapon, the guys don't understand entirely what they're facing, and I don't think they have a concrete plan. Especially once they started getting picked off, I think Moses and his friends want to, well survive, certainly, but strike back. And fireworks startle the aliens, so they use them.

I like Boyega's performance as Moses. He doesn't talk a whole lot, except when he really has something to say. He mostly remains calm, not showing much emotion one way or the other except in extreme circumstances. I'm left wondering what prompts that attitude. We see a little of his life, and it's interesting that as the one member of his group who seems to have no consistent parental influence, he's the parent figure of the his band. He tries to keep them from doing stupid things, tries to keep Probs and Mayhem out of it for their own safety, and leads from the front, whether where he leads them is good or bad.

It's why Sam so completely changing her opinion of him by the end of the movie doesn't seem too horribly cliched. He did scare her badly, and he brought this mess into her apartment, but having done so, he also protected her, and she saw how much he tried to look after his friends as well. I'm biased, though, because characters who show strong loyalty to friends above most anything else, are a favorite of mine.

I have been trying to figure out the title, because "Attack the Block" doesn't seem quite right. "Attack on the Block", or "Protect the Block" seem more accurate. Maybe "Don't Attack the Block". Unless we consider the whole mess Moses' fault, in which case he's set off the attack.

* It's similar to the Local Hero arc in Hitman, when Tommy took the Tac Squad leader hostage. He rides away clean from about 50 cops, while residents of the Cauldron look on and cheer. Tac guy can't believe it, but Tommy points out the cops only come down there to collect protection money or beat people up, so they really can't be surprised even a hitman can be a hero to the locals if he sticks it to the right people.

What I Bought 12/31/2011 - Part 4

2012-01-05T11:05:00.001-06:00

If you were wondering, I'm planning to kick off the 2011 Year in Review posts next week. Probably Monday through Friday.

Daredevil #6, 7 – Issue 6 concludes the second arc, as Matt defeats Bruiser, and rescues Austin and Mr. Randall. He does this by getting his hands on something that 5 major criminal organizations all want, thus making it clear he’s the threat, not Austin. I’m not sure Austin still wouldn’t be targeted simply because he does know about the Omegadrive, but yes, Daredevil having would be a bigger problem. Issue 7 involves Matt trying to take some kids on a nice holiday jaunt, only the bus crashes and a wounded Matt has to try and lead them through a frozen wilderness. He makes a few missteps in trying to keep their spirits up and have them involved in saving themselves, but things work out well in the end (except for the bus driver).

It’s a nice contrast of issues. From Matt being beaten nearly to death saving two people from worldwide criminal networks, to Matt nearly dying leading some kids through the woods in winter. High stakes both times, but one is caused by deliberate maliciousness (or indifference), the other is just bad luck (stupid deer). It’s amazing how calm and in control Matt is with five guys pointing ray guns at him, and then he keeps losing his cool trying to rally the kids. Different challenges, and we get an idea of which ones Matt’s more accustomed to handling.

Marcos Martin draws #6, Paolo Rivera #7, so it’s a good-looking book either way. I don’t know whether to credit Martin or Joe Caramagna for the nice work with the sound effects. I like the sound of the boat following the boat’s path, while simultaneously moving into the next panel, adjacent to DD’s ear, the effect showing the change in direction, and moving back into the original panel. I also need to give some credit to Muntsa Vicente, the color artist on 6. Martin’s a top notch artist, no doubt, but it doesn’t hurt that the colors are so bright, vivid, and distinct. It’s not the murky look a lot of the other books have, and it helps Martin’s art pop off the page. For example, I love the radar effect look at the Omegadrive, and part of that is the hues of everything Matt’s picking up within it. Rivera and his color artist, Javier Rodriguez, do a similarly good job with it in issue 7.

I love wrapping up reviews on a positive note.

What I Bought 12/31/2011 - Part 3

2012-01-04T10:55:00.003-06:00

Jack didn't have any copies of Suicide Squad #4 to spare. I told him that was fine. The only thing better than being done with that book after 4 issues, is being done with it after 3 (since being done in 1 or 2 is already out of the question).

Defenders #1 – Owing to circumstances which no doubt took place in some Hulk comic I didn’t read, some dark, monstrous aspect of the green goliath is on the loose, causing all manner of problems. Hulk asks Dr. Strange and some of his old buddies to handle it. Iron Fist is there because they needed a fast private jet to get where they wanted to be (and Fraction wants to write him again). Couldn’t the Surfer and Namor have just carried Red She-Hulk where they needed to go? Strange said he flew to where Namor was, so she’s the only one who might really need a lift, and heck, she could do the patented Hulk jumping thing. Anyway, Prestor John shows up with the High Evolutionary’s Ani-Goons and shoot Iron Fist, so he may be having the shortest stint on any team ever.

The good news is Fraction got the entire team together in one issue, rather than taking an entire arc. The threat sounds sort of interesting, though I don’t know why Prestor John’s hanging out with New Men. Still, a Hulk whose mere presence sows discord and sorrow would be a problem. I’m a bit concerned with Fraction’s portrayal of Strange as some womanizer, that it's a trait that exists to the point Namor comments on it. Maybe we chalk that up to the malicious influence spreading over the world. Also, isn’t “tis” more of a Thor world than a Dr. Strange word? Fraction’s Namor seems a little off, too, not arrogant enough. Maybe there’s a reason for that, too. Dodson’s art is not spectacular, but there were a few bits I liked, mostly relating to the Silver Surfer.

Grifter #4 – Grifter drives a car into Oliver Queen’s lobby. Which brings Green Arrow into play, and he chases Grifter across town, eventually catching him. Then he loses him because of one of his employees on a motorbike with smoke grenades. His time talking with Grifter may have convinced Ollie to look into the Daemonites, though he might want to stop calling them “Demon Knights” first. Meanwhile, Miss Reese, Cole’s ex-girlfriend, is still spitting in the face of people trying to question her about Cole.

The book is still mostly technically sound, but I still find myself not caring about the story or the characters. I can't for the life of me remember Ms. Reese's first name, even though we were told it in each of the first couple issues. She's making no impression whatsoever. Which is kind of a problem, and why I'm also dropping this book at this stage.

Scott Clark penciled this issue, and there’s nothing strictly wrong with his work, though I wasn’t clear on how Ollie went from having his bow drawn and aimed at Cole to having one hand around Cole’s wrist, and the other holding an arrow he used to tase Cole. I guess he dropped the bow, but it seems kind of awkward, and raises the question of why he got that close to Cole in the first place. And why, for the second consecutive issue did we have people using projectile weapons move within arms’ reach of each other to have a chat? With Cole’s brother it was somewhat understandable, since they were siblings and all. Do we chalk it up to this Ollie being as much of a dope as the old version?

Resurrection Man #4 – The Transhuman slugs it out with Carmen, while Bonnie has a talk with Mitch. Turns out she’s quite the conversationalist when it looks like someone will use a sonic scream to take off her head. Through that, she realizes Mitch really doesn’t know her, and convinces him to come along peacefully in exchange for getting answers. I can’t decide whether she’s a good liar, Mitch is terribly naïve, or if she honestly believes what she’s saying. That last one could be interesting, though it may not matter as once she and Mitch settle down Carmen and Darryl the angel from the first issue appears and seems to have disintegrated Mitch.

I’m not clear on why she was bothered that she actually killed him. I thought that was the point, that it was time for him to stay dead. How can you make that happen if you don’t kill him? Anyway, I’m very curious about this development, plus I’d like to see where DnA are going to go with Mitch’s boss, and if the Body Doubles really end up being different this time around. Also, that was kind of a surprise about the Transhuman. Nifty, though I did like the idea of a legitimately old hitman.

What I Bought 12/31/2011 - Part 2

2012-01-03T15:24:00.003-06:00

Today it's four mini-series, each at a different point in their story. One is wrapping up, another just starting. There's two in the middle, but of those one is set up for the climax, and the other seems to still be ramping up.

Annihilators: Earthfall #4 – As none of the Avengers can bring themselves to kill the people possessed by the Magus, as as no one can figure out how to turn off the belief font, things get desperate. Gladiator attempts to absorb all the faith energy himself, to deprive the Magus of its power. Or to trick the Magus into confining himself to a single (immensely powerful) body, since that’d be easier to kill. In theory, anyway. Instead, Iron Man and Ronan work together to create a trap to house the Magus’ energy, then the Annihilators whisk it away, to the Avengers’ annoyance, as Quasar has to make explanations I don't think Captain America bought. But the Annihilators are based at the edge of the universe, so what's Cap gonna do about it? Nothing, that's what. In the back-up, Rocket and Groot learn a truth about this particular Mojo, and make a decision that doesn’t seem terribly heroic, but will certainly be lucrative for them.

My major problem is both endings came out of left field. That slow build I mentioned with Atomic Robo yesterday? Not happening here. The solutions for both stories appear at the 11th hour. It bothers me less with the back-up, since there was less space to work with, 20 pages total, but Abnett and Lanning had 80 pages for the main story, maybe something about the capacity of Sentries to contain psychic energy, or the faith energy receptors of the Cardinals’ armor could have been mentioned sooner? As for the art, nothing’s changed. I still like Tim Green’s work on the back-up, and still feel Tan Eng Huat was not the right call for artist of the main story. The action is awkwardly posed most of the time. I don’t think the story played to his strengths, or else he was sorely rushed.

Avengers Solo #3 – Hawkeye and Alicia Guzman (in the Trace armor) square off with the solider-types and the Trapster, and beat them handily. There’s some discussion afterward about the study they were a part of, and how it gave the appearance of being backed by the Avengers, or at least Captain America. Which is not a possibility Hawkeye wants to contemplate, but he’s cautious enough to keep all this to himself. Chance gives them a lead in exchange for a set of playing cards, and then Trace lets herself get captured to help them find this group’s primary research facility. Which is entrusting a lot to Hawkeye’s tracking capabilities, but play the hand you’re dealt. In the back-up, Alkhema - Ultron’s other wife - is behind the robot versions of the old West Coast Avengers. Why? No idea, but I can’t say I like Finesse and Striker’s odds against someone who fought an Avengers lineup that included Thor and the Scarlet Witch.

I have a feeling van Meter’s story is going to end sadly for the people Hawkeye’s trying to protect. The strange look Steve Rogers gave him as he left the mansion. The question of whether Stark uses Hawkeye’s bike to monitor his position without permission. The concern people who have unwillingly developed powers from this study might be registered or locked up. Al Barrionuevo was the artist this month. In some ways, it’s an improvement. The Trace armor seems more like armor now, and they’ve changed colorists, which has made things much less murky. Thank you, Fabio D’Auria. On the other hand, I think Roger Robinson drew Hawkeye’s costume better. It had more texture, less of that “painted on” look. So it’s a mixed bag.

Legion of Monsters #3 – I’ll get around to posting covers eventually, and then maybe someone can explain why Elsa’s holding her pinky out while being attacked by crazed monster cops. Sure, she’s British, but this is hardly the time to be concerned with proper etiquette.

Speaking of the monster cops, they’re falling apart. The Living Mummy’s dust, Jack Russell is dying, Morbius is withholding, and that is how we get Elsa Bloodstone attacking Dracula’s castle for answers. Morbius follows, but can’t stop Dracula from explaining who was behind the outbreak years ago at Angel Grove, and how much of a sucker Morbius is. Par for the course. Even worse, he realizes how it is the virus started infecting the citizens of Monster Metropolis, and surprise! Also his fault. Not the living vampire’s day.

Every time I see “Angel Grove”, I think Power Rangers, which Power Rangers meet Elsa Bloodstone, along with either the Legion of Monsters and/or NextWave? I’d read that. Also, the idea of Elsa dousing her hair in holy water, then using her pony tail as a deadly whip against the undead is fantastic. That’s the kind of creativity I’d expect from GrimJack, the highest praise I have when it comes to monster killin’. On the negative, I hate this new look for Drac. That’s not Juan Doe’s fault, and he does the best he can with it, but Drac’s old look had style. Now he looks like the bad guy out of a Final Fantasy game or something.

Villains for Hire #1 – Purple Man’s out to acquire a piece of evidence from an armored truck, and he has the villains to do it. Only problem is someone else has lackeys prepared to steal it from his lackeys. After some fighting, the mystery player’s hirelings get the prize, leaving Purple Man rather miffed. To my surprise, and a little disappointment, the secret mastermind isn’t Headhunter double-crossing Purple Man.

There isn’t much else to the issue besides villains fighting each other, except Purple Man proving he’s really not very good at being an executive type, given his rapid resort to threats and hysterics. It’s nice to see villains not getting along rather than the heroes for once. Could have done without Crossfire. That guy irritates me, and I wasn’t sad when Hawkeye ripped out his cybernetic eyepiece about a year ago. Well, i was, but more because it felt like some attempt to make Hawkeye "hardcore". Fortunately, it was ultimately presented more as a sign Clint had lost his way. At any rate, one might thin Crossfire would take the hint, but bad guys never learn.

Renato Arlem’s art is OK. His version of Tiger Shark seems huge when he first appears, compared to Death Stalker, certainly. Maybe he’s supposed to be that big. Arlem does do better at avoiding some awkward positioning in the fight scenes this time, but the characters are fighting in an open area, so there aren’t the same concerns as with the previous issue’s fight in the subway. I can’t decide whether Arlem is using photo-reference. I keep thinking his Purple Man reminds me of someone, maybe Tommy Lee Jones, but I’m not sure. It could be he uses real people as a sort of outline, but then adds his own touches from there.

Offhand, I were t0 pick a favorite, it'd be Legion of Monsters. The story isn't necessarily that much better than Villains for Hire, for example, but I enjoy Juan Doe's art much more than any of ther other primary artists. Tomorrow, 2 DC titles, and the start of a Marvel ongoing I'm already questioning picking up. Swell.

What I Bought 12/31/2011 - Part 1

2012-01-02T09:18:00.004-06:00

Hey, it's the first post I've actually typed in 2012! Ain't that somethin'?

No, huh? OK, if you say so. Hopefully you had an enjoyable, or at least not unpleasant New Year's. Mine was fine. We did very little, other than much driving during the day so I could procure the comics I'll be discussing the next four days.

Angel & Faith #4, 5 - A copy of the first issue has not yet materialized at the store. In issue 4, we learn that the Mohra Blood won't help either of our heroes with their plans. Not Angel with his plan to resurrect Giles, or Faith with hers to make Angel human. It will however, help Whistler and the annoying sibling pair that don't like Angel. I think I mostly just don't like the brother's hair. It's so stupid looking, he needs his head cut off for that alone. The other issue is a standalone where Harmony shows up asking Angel to find out who's trying to blackmail her over a tape of her siring someone. It turns into a story about whether dwelling on past misdeeds accomplishes anything whatsoever, as Harmony contends it's a waste of time. When she even bothers to consider the idea of considering past misdeeds, that is.

Of the two, I preferred issue 4. I like Issacs art a bit more than Phil Noto's. Not expressions are pretty good (though something about his noses bugs me), but the action seems a little awkward. It isn't a huge issue, but there's a bit more fighting in #4, and Issacs does a good job with it. Plus, Harmony irritates me. As a supporting character, I didn't mind her, but a complete issue with her in a starring role? Eesh. Gage's writing is still good. He seems to have several different subplots going, and he's hinting at more all the time. And his dialogue's pretty good at capturing the character's personalities.

Atomic Robo: Ghost of Station X #2, 4 - And now I'm all caught up. Hooray! In issue 2, we see Robo narrowly survive being hit with a satellite and fall a few hundred kilometers. This is when he and the cast realize NASA didn't call them, which lead to them trying to trace who did, which is why they're in Nebraska in issue 4, being chased by attack helicopters. They manage to escape at a truck stop, then enlist the truckers and ham radio enthusiasts in pinpointing where the satellite being used to track them is receiving instructions from. Which leads them to the same island the trio investigating the missing house are headed towards. So everyone is going to meet up in the middle of the Pacific for the big showdown next issue. Should be fun.

One thing I'm enjoying about this is how Clevinger is slowly revealing what's going on behind the curtain. As a reader, that means I get to put it together along with the cast. The idea the missing house is connected to the attack on Robo wasn't a huge surprise, but how I think they're connected is. It's a nice slow burn. Wegner's art is a little weak in the backgrounds, which shows up during the chase scenes in 4, where it's mostly cars against a largely blue background, a little strip of road at the bottom. Still, I think he does a good job helping with the pacing of the humor, and his action sequences are pretty good.

Tomorrow, Marvel mini-series review post day!

Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 23 - Wild Card

2012-01-01T19:23:00.000-06:00

Plot: We start with Brisco and Bowler doing a poor job guarding a stage full of money. They spend so much time debating who was smartest, or most dangerous of Bly's gang that they get ambushed by robbers, including one with a figure that's pretty familiar to Brisco.

The trail leads to a cabin near Reno, and to Dixie Cousins, plus her younger sister, Dolly. Seems Dolly's casino was stolen out from under her by a family called the Tattaglias, and they're raising enough money for their crack poker player to win the casino back from the youngest Tattaglia, Dino. The Cousins sisters' problem is their crack poker player is Whip Morgan. Not that Whip isn't good, but he's still not always bright, especially when dealing with Dino's older brother, Joey (Paul Ben-Victor).

Well, if at first you don't succeed in winning your casino back, open another one and steal all the Tattaglias business. Which leads to inevitable conflict, eventually bringing in Enzio Tattaglia, patriarch of the family. Amongst all this we have the issue of Dolly making eyes at Brisco, which leads to Dixie playing around with Whip, which leads to sniping between the sisters, and a bit of chest puffing out of County. But nobody makes eyes at Bowler, so disappointing.

Does Brisco use his gun? He fires repeatedly at various outlaws.

Stuff Comet does: N/A

Kiss Count: 1, Dixie (22 overall).

Is Pete Hutter in this episode? No.

Pete Quote: N/A

Non-Pete Quote: Joey - 'It's funny, you always did rely a little too much on luck, Whip. But luck, it's kind of like an unfaithful woman, right? Eventually, it runs out.'

Brisco's Coming Things: Neon lights.

Other: Even though I'm on the record as not being a fan of mobster movies in general, I did mostly enjoy this episode. It helps I don't think we're entirely supposed to take them seriously as threats. Dino's clearly a clumsy dope, and while Joey's clever, he's a little to sure of that, and a little too hot-headed. Enzio has the benefit of experience making him calmer, but he and Brisco also negotiate in the middle of the street, sitting on chairs at a little table with a red-and-white checkercloth on it. A bit too tongue in cheek to take seriously. Which is fine. "The Brooklyn Dodgers" suffered because it expected me to take the Tommies seriously as threats to Brisco and Bowler, and I resolutely refused to do so.

The downside was that we hadn't seen Dixie since "A.K.A. Kansas", and this seems to play out much the same story. Brisco can't express his feelings, but also gets proprietary when Whip starts to believe Dixie is interested in him. It's a little irritating he hasn't managed to address this since the mess with Doc McCoy. He does go a long way towards demonstrating his feelings when dramatically rescues Dixie from some of Joey's guys, and that was an impressive scene. But it wouldn't have been any less impressive without all the friction between Dixie and Brisco earlier in the episode.

McQ

2011-12-31T18:59:00.000-06:00

The most interesting thing about McQ was that in the final showdown with Santiago and his men, McQ (John Wayne) actually has the firepower advantage. He has a MAC-10, and we've already seen he's an excellent shot. Meanwhile, Santiago and his men are carrying pump-action shotguns and assorted handguns. How often does the good guy have the better weapons, in addition to be smart enough to use them properly? Also, even though this movie was made in the '70s, not the '80s, the bad guys are still morons. In particular, after McQ shoots up one car of bad guys, the lone survivor, loudly opens his car door and steps out to try and shoot McQ in the back, rather than just sticking the barrel out the window and shooting him in the back that way. Complete moron.

Other things of note:

There's a car chase sequence that felt like it was trying really hard to emulate Bullit. I don't think it pulled it off, partially because he was chasing a delivery truck rather than another fast car. The chase sequence on the beach at the end was pretty good.

The main female lead was played by Diana Muldaur, who I knew mostly as Dr. Pulaski from thos seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I never liked Pulaski, mostly because she was so biased against Data. "Oh Data, you can't be Sherlock Holmes because you don't have intuition like us humans. Ha, ha!" Damn it, he's trying hard, cut him some slack! I shouldn't have been surprised, since Data himself mentioned humans could be very prejudiced like that the first time he met Riker. It still didn't do the character any favors with me.

I wondered how a cop could afford to have a boat, and a Trans Am. The answer was "Borrow heavily against his pension." He should have tried the "Steal drugs from the evidence room" tactic. That seems to work pretty well. Until it doesn't. It's be too much to hope for that Wayne would play a dirty cop.

He does engage in a little beating up of a mouthy "militant radical", who looked an awful lot like a hippie. Hippies don't strike me as particularly militant. Mouthy, sure, but militant, not so much. This one was though, and he got kicked in the kneecap for his trouble. Oh, sorry, he "ran into a chair".

Narrow Margins

2011-12-30T18:34:00.002-06:00

Narrow Margins was a little different than I expected. For a movie about a mob boss having his thieving attorney killed, then needing a witness eliminated, said mob boss is largely absent. He appears in the opening scene, when the killing takes place, and again at the end, during his trial. For a movie about the mob boss having a mole in the district attorney's office, we see very little of that. We don't even see what happens to the mole once he's discovered, we just know Gene Hackman as Deputy D.A. Caulfield figured out who it was, and eventually called someone higher up.

Almost all of the movie takes place on a train heading to Vancouver, as Hackman attempts to keep the identity and location of the witness hidden from the professional killers on the train with them. He does a good enough job of it that most of the tension comes from Hackman trying to avoid being spotted by them, which leads to several instances of him ducking into someone else's cabin and trying to explain why he's there, and in one case, leaping into bed with a woman, which seems like pushing your luck a little. Very surprised she didn't burst out screaming the second he left.

The movie does cheat a little by ensuring that Hackman can't get ahold of a real gun long enough for it to do him any good. They fall off the train, or he has to leave it behind because he's under fire. Had to be a degree of difficulty, I suppose. This is marginally offset by the professional killers being fairly stupid, under the apparent '80s movie rule that all bad guys are morons (Except Alan Rickman). I mean, for guys who thin so highly of themselves, they don't do very well at all. Sure, they have no idea what Anne Archer's character looks like. But they do know what Gene Hackman looks like, and it takes them until the last third of the movie to pin him down, then they fail to stick to him until he leads them where they want to go. There's only so many other places on the train he could stay before he'd have to check back in with her. otherwise she might decide he's been killed and jump off the train. I give her better odds of surviving alone in the Canadian wilderness than Hackman or the two killers.

A Different Take On A Belgian Detective

2011-12-29T09:16:00.002-06:00

Having worked through most of the David Suchet Poirot mysteries he had, my dad turned to the other tv movie versions of Agatha Christie's work, which including a few stories with Peter Ustinov in the Poirot role. Which was different, since Ustinov doesn't play Hercule Poirot as nearly fastidiously neat as Suchet does. He's also much more abrasive and frustrated with his sidekick Hastings. Suchet had a sort of amusement at Hastings' frequent befuddlement, but it was good-natured. Ustinov is more mean-spirited about it.

The one I found most interesting was Thirteen for Dinner, where Ustinov plays Poirot, and Suchet plays Poirot's other sometimes partner, Scotland Yard's Inspector Japp. What was curious was the interactions between the two characters were more like Holmes and Lestrade, with Poirot bugging the hell out of Japp, and the inspector resenting the interference of this civilian in his investigation.

Not that Japp didn't have a point. During Poirot's big speech revealing who did it and how, he also reveals that he found a critical piece of evidence in one of the victims' possessions, a piece of evidence he failed to mention to Japp until that precise moment. Which sounds like withholding evidence, but Poirot was right, so I guess that makes it OK.

It does bring up a problem I have with a lot of these sort of mysteries. You have this indepenent investigator nosing around, and they find some crucial piece of evidence during their attempt at breaking and entering. Then they present it as the clincher to prove their theory that so and so is guilty of murder. We know they did find it exactly where they say they did, but a lot of times there wasn't any one in the story there to witness it. The rest of the characters only have their word for it, which would seem to be a potential flaw in prosecuting the case. I mean, that's kind of an unstable chain of evidence, but most of the stories are concerned with finding the killer, and prosecution is handled off-screen afterward.

This Floyd Still Wants To Live

2011-12-28T11:33:00.003-06:00

Looking over the current Suicide Squad series, I'm starting to feel the new Deadshot has more in common with Rick Flag than with the pre-relaunch Deadshot.

His air of indifference seems more forced. Like the bit with Harley, making certain to point out that he just wanted to get his rocks off. Not that pre-relaunch Floyd was a romantic, but he seemed more prone to let his actions speak for themselves. He'd sleep with a woman, but he might shoot her later if he felt like it. Ask Jeanette. He didn't feel the need to state it, because his actions spoke louder.

Relaunched Floyd has more of a preexisting relationship with Waller than the rest of the Squad. Which won't necessarily save him, but it does allow him to argue with her in a way the rest of the team isn't afforded. Current Floyd clearly doesn't have the old Floyd's death wish (at least not yet), given how insistent he is about getting the bomb out of his head, and being cured of the techno-virus he's been infected with. He does have some of the old Floyd's indifference to his teammates, and he doesn't have Rick Flag's deep sense of duty, but at the same time, it feels like he's having to try a bit to not care about the rest of the Squad. It was easy for Old Floyd, to the point you couldn't be sure he might not kill you himself, and it was surprising if he saved someone.

Admittedly, one of my biggest complaints about the current Suicide Squad has been the characters don't seem right. Meaning they aren't behaving how I think they ought to based on old appearances in a continuity that no longer seems to exist. But it could be interesting, a Deadshot not looking for his own end, but who might get that way from how cavalierly Waller toys with his and the other Squad members' lives. Or he could let the facade drop and reveal he actually does care about his teammates, if only a little, and feels some responsibility to them.

I lean towards the latter, if for no other reason than Waller. She's made it pretty clear she doesn't care about any of them beyond whether they complete the job, and that's not an attitude designed to create a sense of team (except a collective loathing of her). It seems more like to engineer an "every crook for themselves" attitude, with each person trying to stay alive first, complete the mission second, and maybe worry about a teammate third. Which is the sort of attitude that's going to impair the success of a mission at some point. It helps to have someone to watch your back, but I'm not sure anyone on the team would do that for anyone else right now.

Self-Sacrifice Rears Its Head Again

2011-12-27T09:35:00.004-06:00

I'm a little behind on Avengers Academy, so perhaps this has already been answered. In issue 21, Jocasta appears to have been attacked, and the body she'd been using wrecked. Quicksilver confirms she didn't download her consciousness into any of her other bodies, and there's no trace of her in their systems. So she's basically dead, and someone shut down the security systems from within, so it was one of them. Dun, dun, dun!

So how confident are people this was something Jocasta planned? She was talking about studying the cadets to figure out what they need, for the purpose ot "saving" them. She also there would be pain, though she doesn't specify pain for them or pain for her.

I'm not sure how her appearing to be dead is going to help the cadets. They could start questioning the teachers and their motives more, but they've been doing that ever since they learned the real reason for the Academy. It could be she feels Veil's departure has disrupted their friendship and she thinks this will bring them closer together. Whether that would happen because the kids decide to find her murderer, because they think some of the teachers suspect them, or because they feel they need to protect themselves against whichever teacher has gone round the bend. Maybe it's about the teachers, she wants to spur them into being warmer towards the cadets. Don't look at them simply as students, or soldiers, but as kids who need a friendly older presence. Especially with Justice and Speedball gone, the teachers seem less likely to be jovial.

What Happens After The Aliens Are Dead?

2011-12-26T11:29:00.006-06:00

War of the Worlds was on yesterday. The aliens were killed by bacteria, or viruses, as they typically are. What comes after?

That wasn't all the Martians there are, surely. They must have had some idea what was happening to them and sent a warning back home. So will there be more Martians, prepared to try and protect themselves from pathogens? If they're smart enough to reach Earth, they have to be smart enough to come up with something that might protect them against diseases.

What about Earth? Will they concentrate on rebuilding, or would we see several wars of opportunity? Rulers of smaller nations that perhaps weren't hit as hard deciding this is their big chance to elevate their status. I suppose there'd be a race to reverse-engineer the Martians' technology, but would it be to use it against other Earthlings, or for a revenge strike against Mars? Maybe humanity would really surprise us and try to adapt it to something peaceful. I don't know what Martian tripods use as an energy source, but it's almost certainly an upgrade of the types of power plants we have.

Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 22 - Stagecoach

2011-12-25T11:51:00.002-06:00

Plot: It's a bit of an espionage-themed episode, as Brisco is enlisted (rather rudely) by the U.S. government to escort a prisoner to Mexicali (while Bowler heads there separately to wine and dine the Spaniards). There, Emma Steed will be exchanged to the Spanish for one of the United States' agents. This requires Brisco and Emma to be handcuffed together on a stage along with a colorful cast of characters, who promptly begin dying one at a time. This leaves Brisco trying to keep himself and Emma alive until he can determine who among the passengers is the killer. There's also the question of just why Emma is really there. Turns out Agent Brown wasn't the only crooked guy in the government.

Does Brisco use his gun? He shoots out the barrel of a sniper rifle.

Things Comet does: N/A

Kiss Count: 2, Emma (21 overall). That's the first kiss since "Mail Order Brides". heck of a dry spell there, Brisco.

Is Pete Hutter in this episode? YES!! Whoo!

Pete Hutter quote: 'In all my years, in all my days, I have never hit a woman. I hit a man in a dress once, but that was another story.'

Non-Pete Quote: Emma - 'Why would I head south?' Brisco - 'Because you're hiding something from me, Ms. Steed.' Emma - 'Mr. County, I'm your prisoner. Of course I am.'

Brisco's Coming Things: Stand-up comedy, maybe. It pretty much lays out how the airline industry is gonna go, from pre-prepared food, to seats as floatation devices, to pamphlets with safety procedures on them.

Other: I should have mentioned this earlier, but at the end of "Bye Bly", Brisco and Bowler are asked by the President to serve as special agents. Soc had already become an 'intelligence operative for the executive branch' at some earlier date. Which makes the agents gathering Bowler and Brisco at gunpoint in their bedrooms all the more curious.

Amongst the passengers, we have Bobby (Aries Spears) as the aspiring entertainer, Ms. Plowright (Debra Jo Rupp, who I always think of as Kitty from That '70s Show), and Dr. Milo (Timothy Leary) as a slightly spacey botany professor Brisco had for Biology. Brisco got a C-. There's also Ashok (Shelley Malil), the stage driver. This episode also sees the return of Owen (played by series creator Carlton Cuse), the landscape painter, who painted the rock the train carrying the Bly gang crashed into in the pilot.

This actually starts as a bit of a mystery, since Brisco's trying to find the killer amongst the passengers, as well as figure out what Emma's game is. As it turns out, Emma doesn't know everything that's going either, and she might be even worse off than Brisco, since she thinks she knows what the score is.

I'm predisposed to like this episode, if for no other reason than it brought Pete Hutter back. He's ridiculous, but some of it is intentional, and I like villains that go weird with their plans. Pete does enjoy using rocks. It also appears that Bowler as Brisco's "faithful companion" has spread to the underworld, since even Pete calls Bowler that.

Bowler's Spanish is much better than Brisco's, which is why he was assigned the wining and dining. Unfortunately, he wound up having to try and catch up to Brisco with Soc in tow. Those two are always a fun pair, since Soc is, perhaps despite himself, fascinated by the work Brisco and Bowler do, and the skills they've learned, such as Bowler's tracking skill. At the same time, he isn't so keen on the rest of it, sleeping outdoors, eating snakes (Bowler's first rule of the trail: Don't eat what you bring, if you can eat what you find), and so on. Which gives Bowler something to needle him about. Soc - 'I don't backwash!' Bowler (as Soc drinks from canteen) - 'I do.'

Are prisoner exchanges typically on a time limit? Trying not to give too much away, the crooked government fellow wants Emma dead, presumably so she can't be exchanged for the guy the U.S. is getting back. Couldn't the U.S. scrounge up another prisoner to use? I guess it would take time, and if it took too long, then the crook would get what he wanted. As it turns out, assuming the Briscoverse has the same history as we do, he got what he wanted anyway. It just took another 4 years.

A Humanoid Typhoon Would Fit In With The Other Disasters

2011-12-24T10:07:00.005-06:00

I originally discussed this in response to Fantastic Fangirls' Q & A #140, but my comment was a tad incoherent, because I got so wrapped up in possibilities I forgot to proofread. Appalling, I know. So I'm going to try it again.

Question: What manga character would you like to see in the Marvel or DC Universe?

Vash the Stampede from Trigun, into the Marvel Universe. He already feels a lot like a Marvel character. He lost someone very important to him, but the lessons she imparted are what drives him to try to save everyone. He likes to help people, but also has an immense power he can't always control, capable of devastating cities. If it weren't for his protecting humanity from his genocidal brother*, there'd be a fair question whether he's done more harm than good. Oh, and he's feared and hated by humans he swears to protect. Partially because of his destructive capability (even if I don't think most people have any idea how he manages it), and partially because I think people know on some instinctive level that he's different from them. Which makes them afraid, and that's dangerous.

A little Spidey, a little Hulk, a little X-Men. He'd fit right in. He has the silly personality most of the time, which could be to put people at ease if they're concerned about his reputation. I think it could also be because he prefers to find the lighter side of things, rather than sink into depression. Kind of similar to how you can see Spider-Man's jokes as a defense mechanism, but they could simply be Peter Parker letting loose a little, showing the sarcasm and humor he didn't often get to when he was a bullied academic. It may be an act, but it also has an element of truth to it.

Vash has a seemingly endless optimism within. Even having lived over a hundred years, having seen and been subject to a variety of cruelties inflicted by his brother and humanity, he still has compassion for both. He still believes humans are worth protecting, that people will revert to their better values given a chance, and that conflicts can be settled without bloodshed. He doesn't always manage to carry it off, but he continues to try (allowing for his occasional fall into a funk after being forced to destroy another city). Maybe that would be a foolish attitude to maintain in the Marvel Universe, where no situation is so bad it can't be made worse by yet another Norman Osborn ascendancy. But it can't hurt to have a consistently upbeat person around to counter some gloom and doom, lend a little hope to the proceedings.

OK that's more thematic, but there are any number of stories I'd enjoy seeing with him. Assuming his $$60 billion bounty carried over, the Marvel U. is full of colorful hitmen. From Taskmaster, to Deadpool, the Sinister Syndicate, or this Bruiser fellow Waid just created, all the way down to guys like Chance or the Trapster. Would I like to see Vash dodging Arcade's death traps? Yes, yes I would. At least some of the Gung-Ho Guns would fit right in. An assassin who uses lethal soundwaves from a saxophone (though it goes beyond that), when he's not fronting a band in his white suit and pink shirt?

He's potentially long-lived enough you could have some adventures set in the past, dealing with Mr. Sinister (who would almost certainly be interested in the power Vash and Knives have), or maybe some prior avatar of Khonshu. Or a Ghost Rider, or Two-Gun Kid. I mean, you'd almost have to do something with Marvel's Western characters at some point, given the style of Trigun. Or there could be adventures in the far future. Vash meets the X-Men of 2099, both sides still struggling for acceptance. There's no telling what might have happened with the plants by then. Probably nothing good, given the stuff Alcehmax and the rest got up to. Maybe the plants are getting a little fed up with how humanity treats them, or Stark-Fujikawa created some knockoff Knives and surprise! lost control of them. Or some iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Look, if freaking Wonder Man can make it to the 30th Century, I refuse to believe Vash can't ration his power to last at least that long.

On a planet that has Damage Control and Night Nurse, the Bernardelli Insurance Company could certainly exist. Though with as many superhumans as it would have to contend with, Vash might not be nearly the priority he was in his series. Would Bernardelli hire superhumans to use to try and prevent trouble? Go and shut down villainous acts before they start?

Though really, Vash seems perfectly suited for a run in with the childlike version of Hulk. Because trying to befriend the behemoth is exactly the sort of thing Vash would do. Things are going well, beans and donuts are being shared, until some aspiring hitman takes a shot at Vash, and succeeds in enraging the Hulk. Which leads to the Hulk going on one of his town destroying rampages, with Vash trying to calm him down or divert him. Failing that protect all the townspeople by getting the Hulk mad at him, so that now he's trying not to get smashed. And that pesky triggerman just doesn't know when to leave well enough alone.

* I still contend naming Vash's brother Knives was a horrible idea. I mean, Knives, really.

Run Thru The Jungle, Before It Gets Flattened

2011-12-23T17:03:00.004-06:00

I wasn't quite as excited at the prospect of watching BAT*21 as my dad was when it arrived in the mail. I like Gene Hackman and Danny Glover as actors all right, and it turned out to have Jerry Reed in it, as Glover's commanding officer, but I didn't have any particular reason to be super excited.

It's "based on a true story", which of course leaves me wondering how much of the movie is actually true. I assume they spiced up some of the dialogue, either added or subtracted some profanity. I imagine "Ham" (Hackman) did get shot down on a mission to gather information of enemy missile defenses he volunteered for. I also believe the idea of using golf terminology as code to fix Ham's location. Half my mom's family loves golf, and I wouldn't have a clue what Ham was talking about. What chance would the enemy forces have?

But did a Vietnamese kid really save him from a boobytrap on a cane bridge, prompting Ham and the kid to exchange gifts? Did Ham really have to kill some random Vietnamese man who came across Ham on his property, eating his rice? Did Danny Glover actually steal his commanding officer's helicopter to go try and rescue Ham? I could see the rescue unit as a whole making a last attempt right before the massive carpet-bombing was set to begin, but for the guy to steal a chopper on his own, when he hadn't flown one in 15 years, I don't know. Truth is stranger than fiction, I guess.

I did enjoy the back and forth between Hackman and Glover, the attempts to to keep Ham's spirits up as he gets a much closer look at war than he ever wanted. It reminded me a little of Die Hard, only with a jungle full of NVA* instead of a skyscraper full of thieves posing as terrorists. I like Jerry Reed's character a lot more than Deputy Chief Dwayne Robinson, though, largely because Reed wasn't as big an idiot.

Actually, the very end of the movie reminded me of Predator. Large section of jungle, flattened/burned out, wounded guy(s) staggering out of the haze, here comes a rescue, well, it was a rescue boat, but there was a helicopter at the very end, close enough.

* Or were they Vietcong? Some of the guys had the "black jammies" look that I think is shorthand for VC, but I figured the tanks were North Vietnamese Army.

Adam's Rib

2011-12-22T20:10:00.004-06:00

I hadn't thought of Spencer Tracy as a comedic actor. All the movies I've seen him in - Inherit the Wind, Malaya, Bad Day at Black Rock - were pretty serious. I laughed at his beatdown of Ernest Borgnine in Bad Day, but it wasn't really meant to be funny. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised at Adam's Rib, though there are a lot of people in that film who need a punch in the face, Actually, I think everyone, including Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, probably deserved at least one during the film.

A woman trails her husband from his office to the apartment of another woman he's fooling around with. The wife then barges in on them and tries to shoot them, managing to wing her husband. She's put on trial. Tracy is Adam Bonner, assistant district attorney, assigned to prosecute. Hepburn is Amanda Bonner, defense attorney, married to Adam, who takes it upon herself to defend the woman.

Her argument is that if a man barged in on his wife with another man and shot at them, he would be (and has been in the past) acquitted. As she stridently believes men and women are equal, Amanda argues Mrs. Attinger should also be acquitted. Which is the sort of argument a lawyer would make. "Because past juries were filled with imbeciles who make poor decisions, you should follow their example and make an equally poor decision!"

Being on opposite sides of the case quickly starts to harm the Bonners' marriage, which seemed to be a very good one. They're both loving, Amanda seems a little flighty, but Adam is kind of absent-minded and gruff, so they balance each other well. But Adam doesn't really approve of how Amanda is going about defending her client, especially as it includes a couple of occasions where she publicly humiliates him.

Adam made two mistakes: He underestimated her, and also overestimated the intelligence of jurors. She knows his weak points, how to prod him into losing composure, while at the same time making her point about the equality of women. So she takes full advantage, making him lose trains of thought, fumble his words as he does when he gets angry, and so on. Meanwhile, Tracy figures it's incredibly obvious Doris Attinger is guilty, so he relies on the facts to make the verdict self-evident, not realizing that Amanda is working the jury emotionally very effectively. He really shouldn't have let her end every question she put to Mr. Attinger with 'Tell the truth'. That's prejudicial as hell, I'm pretty sure Adam could have objected. He gets his revenge later on, but it looked like he destroyed his marriage in the process. But, if he's telling the truth at the very end, he pulled one over on her again to fix things. Pity he didn't show those wiles in the courtroom, he'd have gotten that conviction he was after.

David Wayne plays Kip, an incredibly annoying songwriter/piano player who clearly has designs on Amanda and everything he does makes me want to punch him in the face. He's like a prototype of the character Charlie Sheen played on Two and a Half Men. I just hope it was more of a stretch for Wayne than it was for Sheen. Mr. Attinger really did have what he got coming, but Doris and the other woman weren't exactly prizes either. Amanda pulls some stunts that probably ought to have gotten her thrown out of court, and Adam says some really stupid, sometimes patronizing stuff to Amanda at home. So yes, everyone deserved a good sock in the jaw at some point. Which I suppose means they're fairly human characters. Most real people deserve to get punched at some point in their life.

Where I Argue With James Garner About The Cause of Wars

2011-12-21T08:47:00.005-06:00

Also known as watching the Americanization of Emily. It has its moments, it's funny, it has James Coburn in it. I don't think I've ever watched a movie with James Coburn in it I didn't enjoy at least a little. Perhaps the Morgan Freeman Corollary needs to become the Coburn Corollary. Or I could create a Coburn Coefficient.

Still, I heartily disagree with Charles' (James Garner) point to Emily's mother about war. He insists that the best way to stop wars is to stop exalting dying in wars. I tend to think that's the human tendecy to make the best of a bad situation. A person loses a loved one, they don't want to think it was meaningless, or for no reason. So you get the idea they died for some great cause serving their nation. I think we'd be better served trying to eliminate greed, because how often do people start conquering because they want more than they have? Hitler argued - among other things - the Germans needed more Lebensraum, literally "living room". And German people said, "Sure, having more stuff sounds good, and he says we're a master race, so we ought to be able to have what we want."

One of the easiest ways to get more stuff is take it from a nearby person who already has it. The Vikings, the Aztecs, all the European imperialism, it was on some level about getting more stuff. More livestock, land, slaves, gold, natural resources, favorable trade routes so they can get that other stuff faster. It certainly ought to be easier to eliminate what Charlie's talking about than greed, but I'm unconvinced doing so would solve the problem of war.

I mean, do most people who participate in war eagerly anticipating their own deaths? Thinking, "Oh boy, I can't wait to be shot and die on some beach I'd never heard of!" I have my doubts. War is profitable. It enables officers to advance, to gain more money, authority, opportunities, power. Businessmen have the chance to mass produce all the things a war requires. Soldiers don't have that level of opportunity, but they can always take what they find as they go. Spoils of war of war, and all. Maybe people dress up their reasons in the terms of "liberation" and "manifest destiny" as Charlie asserts. That was Hitler's excuse for annexing the Sudetenland, to join the heavily Germanic population there with the one in Germany. Underneath it all though, wars start frequently because one group of people want something, and decide to take it from someone else. Then some other group of people decide they won't let the first group take what they please and away we go.

Now, I don't entirely disagree with Charlie, but someone needed to challenge him. Few people do. Emily and her mother don't, they sit there and let him make his big speech. Buzz (Coburn) argues with him later, but he makes the very arguments that Charlie's railing against, that being on the front lines and dying for your country is some great honor, and they should both feel blessed for the opportunity. That Buzz then loses his damn mind and chases Charlie onto Omaha Beach with a loaded .45, rather than let him withdraw to shoot the footage he's supposed to be getting, kind of proves Charlie's point. No one ever challenges Charlie calmly and rationally. It's Emily getting weepy and emotional, or Buzz being gung-ho.

I don't have an issue with Charlie being a coward. I wouldn't want to go to war and be shot at, possibly have to kill people, either. He did serve on the front lines (at Guadalcanal), albeit briefly, so he has an idea what it's like up there. Being scared of dying seems like a reasonable response. Admittedly, Charlie being the only one who doesn't place some moral value on dying makes life hard for him, since his superiors are just as enamored of his dying in battle as everyone else. So he gets overwhelmed by the sentimentalists, especially at the end.

I don't know what to make of the end. Charlie vows to tell the truth about what happened, then changes his mind and goes along with the lie about his being a brave hero. He does so for reasons that are perfectly in character for him. Namely, he doesn't want to go to prison for admitting cowardice in the face of the enemy, but that means he's allowing himself to be played up as the hero who bravely lead the charge onto Omaha Beach, which is exactly the kind of thing he dislikes. I guess Charlie is against the mythologizing of war in the concrete sense of it getting him or his brothers killed, which fits with his character. He says he doesn't believe in acting on principles. So maybe Arthur Hiller is saying to combat the mythologizing, you need someone opposed to it on principle, not merely on the grounds they don't wish to die.

I don't know if I'd call it a good movie. It's preachy, and one-sided, but heck, there are plenty of movies that extolled the virtues of dying in war. Having one going the other way is more than fair. There are quite a few parts that are funny. Charlie's just enough of a jerk - he's the kind of jerk who these days would say, 'I'm just telling it like it is' - that watching him get screwed over by this war mania of his superiors and friends is very amusing. I didn't want him to die, but I did like seeing him sweat.

Perhaps He Is Comrade Accuser?

2011-12-20T08:57:00.004-06:00

Captain America - 'What would you do if this was Hala? Would you sanction the deaths of so many Kree citizens?'

Ronan the Accuser - 'I would. I have. Too many times to count.'

{Annihilators: Earthfall #3}

I thought that exchange made for an interesting contrast.

Cap fights so others don't have to, and I think that's part of why he's so deadset against sacrificing non-combatants. Because if he has to resort to that, he hasn't done his duty, as he's allowed those people to be dragged into it. Ronan seems to take the approach that he's fighting, and there are other soldiers, and people who aren't soldiers, but the people who aren't soldiers aren't exempt from the conflict. No one is totally a non-combatant in the Kree Empire because at the end of the day, the Empire is the important thing, more than the individual. Because he isn't lying up there. He was prepared to kill every Kree on Hala with Sentries at the tailend of Conquest, as his way of shutting down the Phalanx. It would kill a lot of Kree, but the Empire as a whole would be preserved. They are Kree, they will endure.

Captain America certainly cares about his country, and wants to defend it, but part of what he's defending is people's freedom and individuality. He wouldn't support a United States that was a police state, simply because it was the U.S. In that sense, the two characters are similar, in that they fight for what they believe their home stands for. Their homes just happen to stand for very different things.

I was going to say Cap's an idealist, and Ronan a realist, but I'm not sure that's true. Cap knows people die in war, he said as much to Mettle last month in Avengers Academy, so it isn't as though he has his head in the clouds. And I think Ronan believes in the strength of his people and their ability to overcome anything too much to not have some of the idealist in him. It may simply be buried deep, like his romantic streak was prior to meeting Crystal.

It could be a matter of their circumstances. Captain America has lived through a time where the Earth is almost constantly in danger. From Galactus, the Kree, the Beyonder, the Red Skull, Iron Man, whoever. But everytime, the planet pulls through. It's not always clean, but it does always work out. The Kree have been kicked in the teeth a lot recently. Not as bad as the Skrulls, but it's been ugly. Unable to eliminate the Skrulls, the evolutionary dead end, stymied by a backwards mudball (Earth), half their empire lost to Annihilus, conquered by the Phalanx, millions killed by their own crazy leader, millions more killed by the Shi'ar's crazy leader. Things frequently don't come up roses for the Kree. They die in great numbers, and unlike Cap's costumed friends, they frequently don't come back.

Following this line of thinking about the Kree started me wondering if they were originally meant to be Space Soviets. It doesn't work entirely, because I'm pretty sure the Kree Empire's economy is at least somewhat capitalistic, but politically it might. The Supreme Intelligence was a massive computer somehow comprised of the minds of many of the brightest citizens and generals in the Empire. A giant collective. He eventually became ruler of the Empire, to the point he's worshipped as a god by some of his subjects. OK, given the Soviets disapproval of religion that might not fly, but then again, we're talking about treating the Fearless Leader as an infallible being, so maybe it does. He also killed a lot of his people with a Nega-Bomb, because he thought it would help the Empire. The leader having lots of his subjects killed because he thinks it's best for the state is something the Soviet Union was certainly familiar with.

Falling further down the rabbit hole, I start to wonder if Annihilation could have been read as a commentary on the state of Russia, after the fall of communism. Let me lay it out, then you can laugh.

The Supreme Intelligence had been lobotomized by the House Fiyero, a group of merchants and businessmen who usurped power, even though they don't know anything about running an empire -certainly nothing about winning a war - and are really only concerned with protecting their own backsides and lining their pockets. This becomes apparent when they make a backroom deal with the representatives of the Annihilation Wave, a destructive force from an opposing universe that has invaded while claiming they are merely defending themselves from outward agression (of the universe which the Kree inhabits natural expansion). Ronan, at this point a loyal follower of the Supreme Intelligence*, shows up, kills the leaders of House Fiyero as traitors to the Empire, and rallies the loyal soldiers against the Annihilation Wave. They stave off being entirely conquered, but still lose half their territory.

OK, let's see. That makes Supremor Leonid Brezhnev. House Fiyero, um, Boris Yeltsin, maybe Gorbachev? No, maybe they stand in for the various businessmen who have made a killing since the fall of communism. I think that makes the U.S. (or the various Western powers) the Annihilation Wave, and that would make Ronan. . . Vladimir Putin? Or he was the hardliners from the August Coup of '91. Which would make the Inhumans Yeltsin, though I'm not sure how to reconcile that with Ronan and Crystal's marriage. No, given Putin's time in the KGB, let's stick with him for Ronan.

OK, you can laugh now. I know it doesn't hold together. It was worth a shot.

* Looking on the Internet, it appears Ronan hasn't always been a big fan of the Supreme Intelligence, even trying to overthrow it at some point. The Kree-Skrull War, probably, since Rick Jones was involved.

Terra Incognita

2011-12-19T15:26:00.002-06:00

I started reading Persona Non Grata, the third book in Ruth Downie's Medicus series, without realizing it was the third book. It didn't end up making much difference, as I stopped reading after 70 pages. I found Ruso's family in Gaul even more irritating than he did, and decided I really didn't care about their money problems.

Then I found Terra Incognita, the second book in the series, and read that instead. In this installment, Ruso has agreed to travel north with one of the legions to the very border of the Empire. While he's there, he gets dragged into the murder of the local unit's trumpeter. The Romans think the killer is a local, due to a recent rise in local unrest, spurred on by the mysterious Stag Man. However, the doctor for their unit is also claiming responsibility, though he seems to be mad. The Romans would prefer to convict the local, and while Ruso wouldn't object if he's guilty, he can't figure why the doctor is saying he's the murderer.

The situation between Ruso and Tilla is still a little dodgy. At the end of Medicus, Tilla had opted to stay with Ruso. Because there are certain things about Ruso she likes, even if he is a foreigner. While Ruso certainly cares for her, he also still considers her his slave. Which makes the part about them sleeping together kind of awkward. Downie tries to circumvent this by making it clear Ruso doesn't actually own Tilla, that she's there of her own choice. There's also the fact the Ruso doesn't do well as a commanding presence with her, and frequently opts to simply try to talk with her, person to person. You could make the case he doesn't truly think of her that way, but falls back into it because that's how everyone else perceives their relationship. Which still isn't a particularly admirable position, and it's one that continued into the early part of the next book. Regardless, it's kind of strange when one person believes they're there by choice, and the other thinks the first person is there because they have to be.

Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 21 - Ned Zed

2011-12-18T09:49:00.003-06:00

Plot: Presented as a father reading a dime novel to his son, we find Brisco on the trail of Bly Gang member Ned Zed (Casey Siemaszko), the 'most notorious and best bank robber' around. This leads Brisco to the town of Lumberville, where he makes two less than welcome discoveries. One is the presence of Bowler, working as payroll transport. The other is one Francis McCabe (Brenda Bakke), Brisco's one-time fiance?! Brisco has to deal with the attraction he still feels for Francis, put a stop to Ned's latest bank robbery, while contending with Ned's new upgrades. And looming in the background is shadowy, furious figure of Frenchie Bearpaux (Ray Bumatai), and his sidekick, Jacque!

OK, "sidekick" is a little strong. Jacque is a stuffed bear Frenchie talks to. He's not entirely right in the head, you see.

Does Brisco use his gun? He tries some target practice with bottles. He shoots repeatedly at payroll bandits, and he took some shots at Ned.

Stuff Comet Does: Avoid bear traps. Open safes.

Kiss Count: 0 (19 overall). There might have been something happening off-screen, but I can't be sure.

Is Pete Hutter in this Episode? No.

Pete Hutter Quote: N/A

Non-Pete Hutter Quote: Frankie - 'Dad, I don't mind if you skip the mushy stuff.'

Brisco's Coming Things: Ned's "machinery gun". Hand replacement surgery, sort of.

Gang Count: 1, Ned Zed, arrested (11 or 15). This concludes the Gang Count.

Stuff the Orb Can Do: N/A. I'm going to drop this section, because the Orbs have shuffled off stage.

Other: I'm not certain entirely when the story the father and son are reading takes place. The beginning of the story starts with where Brisco was initially in the pilot episode: About to be lynched in Mexico because they thought he was cheating at cards.. Given that he's sending sarcastic telegrams back to the tycoons, I think he'd been after Bly's gang for awhile, at least. He and Bowler aren't working together yet, but they are at least somewhat friendly, so my guess is this is somewhere between "Pirates!" and "Deep in the Heart of Dixie".

This episode is a bit more light-hearted than the previous one, so perhaps it serves to let the audience decompress a bit after the recent showdowns with Bly. We get a deathtrap involving a saw mill, and I don't believe I've ever seen Brisco that unnerved by a brush with death. This time around, it's Briscos who gets left behind by the girl, instead of the other way around. Bowler plays the comic foil a bit, as he learns how difficult payroll transport really is, and he has an unpleasant run-in with Ned. Ned himself is clever, and certainly despicable, but he's presented in such a way that's he's still funny.

I'm highly amused by Frenchie, but I can't decide whether he would have worked as a recurring comic villain. They kind of have Pete Hutter to fill that role (as we'll see in subsequent episodes), but there's no reason we couldn't have had another silly, kind of crazy villain.

2011-12-17T10:39:00.002-06:00

For some reason I decided to watch Khartoum last night. Well, anything to take a break from the John Le Carre-fest we've been through this week. I'm sure those stories are accurate representations of the espionage trade, but I don't particularly enjoy watching a bunch of pompous old Englishmen sit around and spout off about how cleverly they've turned an asset or whatever.

So Khartoum instead, with Charlton Heston as Charles Gordon, sent up the Nile to try and protect the English and Egyptian citizens at Khartoum from the forces of the Mahdi (Laurence Olivier). Gordon, in his obstinate way, decides to try and save everyone. Once he learns the Mahdi is not going to stop, and will kill all the unbelievers, Gordon realizes the British military must get involved. Which is exactly what Prime Minister Gladstone doesn't want to do, which is why he sent Gordon alone, save one Colonel Stewart who was there as much to spy on Gordon for Gladstone as to help Gordon. So Gordon stubbornly refuses to leave Khartoum, though he does evacuate the European citizens. In this manner, Gordon essentially holds himself hostage to try and force Britain to act, since it's well known they sent him there, and if the movie is to be believed there was great outcry to send help in the public.

I need to stop watching movies when I'm tired. The first hour breezed by, but the second hour dragged, probably because I wanted the film to end so I could go to bed. In a way, it works well with the film since the Mahdi has placed Khartoum under siege by that point. I imagine that would be a tense situation, with thousands of people outside waiting to kill you. Never knowing if help is on the way, or how close it is. But there'd would also be a boredom to it also. Day after day, trapped within those walls, unable to risk much of an excursion, food being rationed to make it last.

I don't think the movie was going for that effect, since it frequently cuts to Colonel Stewart heading downriver, the British troops flailing about on their camels, or Gladstone trying at all times to distance himself from the situation. If the movie had stuck with events within the walls of Khartoum more consistently, it might work. As the movie actually played out, it's really just a way for me to excuse my boredom. "Hey, the movie wanted me to be nodding off, so it's OK!"

Early on, Gordon travels to meet with a former slave trader. The man was a big shot in the Sudan before Gordon's first visit, when Gordon stopped the slave trade, and by his reckoning brought peace to the land. Now he wants this man to go back and try and bring the tribes under his control, thus robbing the Mahdi of his power base. Considering Gordon killed this man's son and took away his livelihood, I'm sure it won't surprise you to learn the former slaver declines.

What I was left wondering is if the Mahdi is Gordon's fault. By removing the slave trader from power, did he create a local vacuum that the Mahdi was able to rise and fill? In theory the Egyptian and British troops are the power, but I think the situation for them is much as it was for the French as described in The Conquest of the Sahara. Where there are troops, they're in control. Where there aren't troops, they control nothing. Sometimes, even where there are troops, they don't control anything, because they're on the Mahdi's turf.

I have to figure the slaver wouldn't have allowed a religious fanatic to get started in his territory, as it would likely disrupt business. I don't know if the Mahdi cared about the evils of slavery, but I imagine many of the people buying slaves would be unbelievers, and it's rather hard to run a business if all your customers keep getting killed. I guess it would depend in part on whether the Mahdi was genuine, and that's something I'm not clear on. Did he really believe he was receiving visions, or was he a charlatan? I think it's the former, because Gordon regards the Mahdi as someone with as much faith in his god as Gordon has in his, and I suppose Gordon's meant to be perceptive enough that someone faking it wouldn't fool him. If the Mahdi was a faker, and the slaver was there, he wouldn't have tried it, because it wouldn't have seemed a prudent course. If he is genuine in his beliefs, then I imagine he would have emerged whether the slave trade was there or not, but I still think he'd have been cut short before he could rally much support.

Of course, that leaves them with a still-thriving slave trade, which is bad. I'm not certain how it compares to a man who plans to sweep all the way to Constantinople, putting to death any unbelievers he finds in his path. His plan seems to be that if he kills everyone within the walls of Khartoum, everyone will get the point and clear out of the way. In that way, it serves as a lesson to prevent further bloodshed, much like how Gordon killed the slave trader's son as an example. The problem is, there will be people with no place else to go, and would thus be stuck in the path, and someone would feel bound to defend them. The Mahdi was never going to have an easy trek to where he wanted to go.

The End of One, The Start Of Another, Whichever

2011-12-16T17:53:00.003-06:00

So this time we'll go with "start". It's the beginning of Year 7 here at Reporting on Marvels and Legends. I can't say I envisioned it going this long when I started, but I enjoy it. Even if coming up with topics is a task sometimes.

On the positive side, I'm only my longest consecutive days with a post streak ever (I blew past the previous record the middle of last month), and I have a shot at getting to 2,000 posts by the end of the month. Then I see someone like Siskoid, who manages about 800 posts a year, and it's kind of staggering.

On the downside, I didn't manage to come up with any stories to feature Adorable Baby Panda in. I couldn't seem to come up with one that fit properly. Maybe I could have adapted the "Ink-Stained Trail", but it'd probably help to have some idea how I would finish it. Which is sort of a positive and negative, in that I did tinker with a few stories, but didn't write the endings. I'm worried they'll disappoint, but I suppose I should get on with it.

On the downside, we've gone yet another year with my starting up the Spider-Man: Giant Slayer posts I've been mentioning since, oh, 2006.

On the upside, I did start the TV episode reviews I brought up last year so who says I don't occasionally show follow-through? I am trying to decide, when I get to shows with half-hour episodes, whether I should switch to doing two episodes at a time, rather than just one. At least I have until February to decide.

Comic reviews started getting more clumped together, as I haven't been in a position to pick up comics weekly since spring. Which is annoying in that it puts me so far behind everyone else. By the time I'm ready to discuss something, the rest of the blogowhatchamafloogle's moved on. I probably need to start reviewing trades I buy more often. Maybe that's the thing for Year 7.

All that having been said, I would like to thank everybody who reads the blog, and especially those who comment, since you're all very polite and informative, which is a handy thing to have in a commentariat. Hopefully I can continue to provide some entertainment for you over the next year.

Everybody Hates Their Boss

2011-12-15T10:31:00.004-06:00

I thought the Avengers Academy cadets getting in Captain America's face was pretty amusing, if a little forced (I still think Cap was being surprisingly tactless). That's how it goes in the Marvel Universe these days, isn't it? The top guy does questionable things, starts getting a little too bossy, and pretty soon everyone hates his guts.

Tony Stark's an obvious example, with the Neagtive Zone prison, and the nanites that block powers he tried to use on friends that disagreed with him, and well, his list of jackass behavior is really long, so let's move on.

Gyrich was a jerk to begin with, so maybe it wouldn't have mattered what he did, based solely on how he acted. Still his attempts to hamstring the Avengers, like limiting the roster or forcing them to put the Falcon on the team, plus the crap he was pulling (or being manipulated into) during the first four years of Thunderbolts, didn't win him any points.

Nick Fury brainwashed the heroes he roped into his Secret War garbage, which is how Luke Cage wound up hospitalized from an attack he had no clue he should be expecting, because he didn't know he'd taken part in a secret mission to Latveria that pissed a bunch of people off. And of course Fury told them this from a distance, through an LMD, because when he turned ruthless, he apparently lost the nerve to take what he has coming to him like a man.

Osborn, well, he was crazy and a super-villain to begin with, so it wasn't as though anyone with a brain trusted him to begin with. Unfortunately, the list of people without brains in the Marvel Universe is pretty extensive, including politicians, Ares, and most of the average joes on Earth. The point is, there wasn't any trust for Osborn to break with any individual that actually knew him.

Now here we are with Steve Rogers. I was already concerned last year, when he asked Hawkeye to stick with Mockingbird and her group, because they could be useful if they stay on the right side. It's true, but it's an awfully cold statement for Rogers, and doesn't demonstrate much trust in Bobbi Morse. Then I flip through an Avengers trade, and here's Steve Rogers, joining the Illuminati. That's great, rather than disband the secretive dorks who attempts at secrecy have accomplished nothing, become a secretive dork yourself! Truly, T'Challa is the smartest guy in the Marvel Universe, because he told them it was a bad idea from the start, and wouldn't join.

Now Steve's being insensitive to teenagers and they're trying to punch his lights out. I guess Wonder Man's still ticked at him, too, so add a former Avenger to the list. He's got a ways to go to catch Iron Man, but there's still time before Cable kills him (if Cable's planning to kill all the Avengers, I don't think he has enough bullets), or the Phoenix Force shows up and ruins everyone's day.

Was Not Expecting To Be The Half-Full Representative

2011-12-14T17:42:00.003-06:00

My dad and I had a disagreement on a certain point that came up during The Sand Pebbles. The other sailors refer to Holman as "Jonah" on two occasions. I didn't understand, and was told its shorthand for someone considered to be bad luck for sailors, since Jonah was swallowed by a whale and all.

I countered that's good luck, because he survived. Any sailor, when placed in close proximity with a whale inclined to eat them, could be swallowed. Only a really lucky sailor would survive the experience. I figure anyone can fall prey to or survive little bad luck. Dire misfortune is another matter, and I'd want the guy who can survive that nearby.

What do you think?

Can Tony Curtis Survive Against Jack Lemmon And Peter Falk?

2011-12-13T11:14:00.003-06:00

OK, "survive" is overstating is a bit. While Professor Fate (Lemmon) and Max (Falk) certainly have no problem with causing harm to the Great Leslie (Curtis) in The Great Chase, they don't seem interested in actually killing him. Well, at the beginning, maybe, but none of their attempts to sabotage his acts of derring-do are lethal to them when they inevitably backfire.

The movie is dedicated to Laurel and Hardy, but it reminds me of those Dick dastardly Wacky Races cartoons. Leslie wants to have an automobile race from New York to Paris*, and Fate is determined to finally beat him, on his own terms, naturally. Complicating matters for Leslie is one Ms. Dubois (Natalie Wood), who is determined to prove women's equality with men by covering and participating in the race. When the car she procures proves insufficient, she rides along with Leslie, through a combination or pleading, bribes, and wiles.

Wood's character bothers me some. She's a suffragete (to say the least), but she's presented in a way so as to not threaten the male audience. She's clever, but her attempts to prove herself Leslie's equal consistently fall short. He knows more languages than her, he's a superior fencer, her attempt to escape an evil baron's castle, ends with her literally falling into the Baron's arms, in her undergarments. I mean, credit for resourcefulness, using her dress as an improvised rope, but she didn't pull it off. Leslie ends up rescuing her (and his right-hand man, Hezekiah, and the drunk fool of a prince), by scaling a castle wall with a grappling hook, and swordfighting the Baron bare-chested (something for the ladies, to counter Natalie Wood in her underwear, perhaps). I think "plucky, yet overmatched" might be the best description of Ms. Dubois. At the end of the day, she still needs saving.

This was a comedy, so I'm not sure how serously I should be taking all of this. Dubois is part of a movement led by the wife of the editor of the newspaper Dubois convinces to hire her as a reporter, and get her a car to use. While Maggie's circling the globe, she's leading at sit-in at the newspaper, one that eventually sends her husband to the nuthatch, placing her in charge, Nothing much comes of that, other than she declares they won't be mentioning Leslie's car in the paper until the company that made it agrees to start hiring women. Which is the sort of biased reporting I'd resent from a paper I'd be paying to read.

I love Professor Fate. He's a great villain, all melodrama, disguises and dirty tricks, but with a certain code he follows. Not one that rewards honesty or honor, but one that demands he win his way. Which means he needs Leslie, as someone to push against. Going around the world wouldn't mean a thing if he wasn't doing it faster than Leslie. Which is kind of sad, but it gives him an anger that's very amusing, and it leads to all sorts of ridiclous stunts. Like leaping out a window to get a head start on designing his car for the race. Whatever it takes.

* I'm not clear on how they were supposed to cross the Pacific in their cars. I know how they ended up doing it, but I can't imagine that was the original plan.

Because I Doubt The Writers Will Leave It At A Coincidence

2011-12-12T14:29:00.004-06:00

This is sort of related to what I was saying about the Transhuman last week, where a lot of things seem to have started happening in the DC Universe about 5 years ago. Aliens arriving, people with superpowers popping up, so on and so forth.

Here's the question: Do you think the end result of this is going to be a revelation where all of this is planned, or at least, not a coincidence? That all the homegrown superhumans are a result of some work behind the scenes (which I think was the big reveal about the Ultimate Universe), that the aliens are all being guided here by some force, or have arrived on their own because they recognize it's kind of screwy, what's going on here. I feel like writers do this sometimes, either because they like for their to be conspiracies, or they think they're streamlining it. Byrne's Spider-Man: Chapter One was the latter, since I think Spidey, Ock, and maybe the Hulk (or was it the Lizard?) got their powers in the same accident. I have this vague sense the Ultraverse was closer to the former, but I haven't read enough of that to be certain. Those Earth X books had the "Celestial Egg" answer for all the heroes, I'm not sure which that is.

I know this situation is at least partially engineered, since things are in their current state because Barry Allen helped the mysterious Hooded Woman "fix" things, but that would raise the question of why she (or he) would want so many things to all start at once (and how did he fix things so Demon Knights takes place, since that predates his original messing with the timeline that gave us Flashpoint in the first place?). It feels like, with the interconnectivity of the books, that there's going to be a startling reveal about a common origin for all this, that will have emerged somehow from that original timeline manipulation. Whether it'll be part of some grand, possibly malevolent plan Hooded Woman has, or just the universe shaping itself to fit the conditions she and Barry imposed on it, I don't know.

Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 20 - Bye Bly

2011-12-11T10:09:00.004-06:00

Plot: Professor Coles told Brisco at the end of "Fountain of Youth" that his final conflict with John Bly was yet to come. Well, the day has come, thanks to an corrupt, power-hungry federal agent, and Pepe Bendix, ze stereotypical French safecracker of Bly's gang. Brisco has the assistance of Karina (Melanie Smith), a time traveler from the year 5502. Her people created the Orbs, but she's come back to help Brisco keep Bly from using them to, as he told us previously, return to his time and take over the world. Except, as is typical for time travelers, she's real stingy with the useful information until after it's too late. So it'll come down to Brisco vs. Bly after all, and you had better believe there'll be time travel shenanigans.

Does Brisco use his gun? Brisco shot Agent Brown's gun from his hand while holding his own upside down.

Stuff Comet does: N/A

Kiss Count: 0 (19 overall). Hard to believe he passed up the chance to kiss a pretty time traveler, but her immune system was probably taxed badly enough by the general conditions in 1894 as it was. Or maybe she was afraid of giving him something.

John Bly Spreads His Arms Dramatically Count: 2 (13.5 overall). This concludes the John Bly Arm Spread Count.

Is Pete Hutter In This Episode? No.

Pete Hutter Quote: N/A

Non-Pete Hutter Quote: John Bly - 'The terms are even.' Brisco - 'You shot my friend, so I give myself the advantage.'

Brisco's Coming Things: N/A

Gang Count: 2 (10 or 14 overall). Pepe Bendix (shot), John Bly (defenestrated, er, turned to ash).

Stuff the Orb Can Do: Nothing we didn't already know about.

Other: The events of "A.K.A. Kansas" occurred a month ago. Which suggests Bly was only trapped in that Orb for a week or two, tops.

Apparently clothes are only an impediment to long-distance time travel, since Brisco didn't need to doff his for his trip back to get the Orb. Sorry, ladies. Bowler as Brisco's "faithful companion" made it from the dime novels into the history books. Sorry, Bowler. Turns out Bowler lives in Nob Hill, which is the same part of San Francisco as a relevant character from "The Brooklyn Dodgers".

This'll come up again, but the government has a funny way of asking for help. Not just evil Agent Brown, who we saw previously in "Crystal Hawks", but even the ones who ask for Brisco's help keeping the Orb away from Brown do so at gunpoint. At least U.S. Attorney Breakstone is nice enough to ask politely, if in the most deadpan voice possible.

There are some things about the time travel in this episode that make my head hurt. Brisco travels back once, to get the Orb in the Nevade government lab, as we saw him do at the end of "A.K.A. Kansas". His dialogue doesn't match, which feels like it should be a screw-up somehow. Unless we're operating of the idea that by seeing himself travel back to take it, the future of the Brisco who was in the present during that episode was changed, since he knew he would at some point come back and get this Orb. Though what he said was less helpful the second time.

Brisco then goes through a second time portal after initially killing Bly, because the stupid Orb won't save Bowler. He goes through without the Orb, but somehow travels back to the moment just after he returned from his earlier trip in the past with the Orb. So rather than there being two Briscos, one with an Orb, one without, there's only one Brisco, like the one amking his second trip back displaced or overwrote the one from the first. Yeah, this post is getting the "time travel" tag. Ugh, my head.

There are just certain things in this episode that require people to behave stupidly. When Pepe breaks into the safe Brisco stored Professor Coles' Orb in, why did he bother to pull out one of the rods? So he could see Bly trapped within, drop it, causing it to leak whatever that fluid is, allowing Bly to escape, naturally. Why do first Bly, then Karina, open time portals, then screw around long enough for Brisco to go charging in ahead of them to where he wants to go? And how does that work? Does the Orb just open a door in time, and you jump in a tell it where you want to go? Because otherwise, Brisco should have wound up in either 5502 or 2506, depending on whose portal he was using. And after Brisco used his portal, why couldn't Bly get it to open another one for him? That I might be willing to attribute to the Orb not liking Bly (though Karina explained what the Orb is, and none of the words she used necessarily suggest awareness as part of it's powers), but if it dislikes Bly (or likes Brisco), why wouldn't it help Bowler, for Brisco's sake?

I think, as far as send offs for Bly go, "Fountain of Youth" was the stronger one. Brisco finishing his father's work, with a little help from his father's gun, and trapping Bly within the object he so coveted seemed appropriate. More so than a time traveler appearing and being generally unhelpful until after the fact.

Medicus - Ruth Downie

2011-12-10T10:31:00.005-06:00

I made some corrections to yesterday's post. Sand Pebbles had more nominations than I thought, but I don't thin McQueen won Best Actor.

From a movie with a subplot about purchasing a girl's freedom, to a book with a subplot about purchasing a woman's services, we turn to Medicus.

Set in Brittania during the end of Trajan's time as Roman Emperor, and Hadrian's ascension, the book centers on a recently arrived doctor, a Gaius Petrius Ruso. Through a series of circumstances involving overwork due to a colleague's food posioning, Ruso finds himself purchasing an injured slave girl. Which is really not an extravagance he can afford, since his father's recent death has exposed his many debts, which Ruso is supposed to be helping his brother back in Gaul to pay off, so they can keep the family farm. But what's done is done, and Ruso does his best to make it work with Tilla (not her actual name, but it's the one she thinks he gave her, and he can't pronounce her true name to save his life).

Ruso also finds himself troubled by the young women who are turning up dead around town, since they all seem to be slave girls connected with a local bar/house of ill repute. Despite his best efforts to stay out of it, word gets around he's investigating, which leads to people telling him things that inevitably draw him deeper, and things progress from there.

Downie mentions in the author's notes that at least some of the hierarchy she describes in the administration is fabricated, I would guess for our amusement as Ruso finds himself struggling with the bureaucracy imposed by the administrator, the sort of detail-obsessed, big picture missing type that's is so often the bane of dedicated professionals, at least in fiction. Probably also in real life.

Ruso's an interesting character. I liked him, because I tend to empathize with characters who just want to do their jobs and be recognized for their skill, and not have to waste a lot of time buddying up to the higher-ups or politicking. But he's not the most outwardly friendly or empathetic fellow. He's not Dr. House, but he's not Hawkeye Pierce, either. I did find it a bit of a nice change to read a mystery where the person investigating is not some almost frighteningly focused person, but rather someone who would rather stay out of it. It isn't his profession, or his business, and he has other things he thinks he should be worrying about. But, the fact he took even a small interest once puts things in motion, and it goes beyond his control.

The situation between Ruso and Tilla had me worried. I was afraid there would be a start to a romantic relationship while she was his slave, which would have been awkward to read. I think it would have felt as if either Ruso is trying to take advantage, or Tilla is trying to use that to manipulate him. Neither of which would have been terribly pleasant to read. Downie handles this by having each character see something good in the other, but they're still aware enough to the circumstances that it can't go any further unless said circumstances change.

Should Have Stayed In The Engine Room

2011-12-09T12:09:00.005-06:00

'Hey listen, I just run the engine. All this other is just. . . look-see pigeon. I beg your pardon? To make a show, something for the officers. I don't fool with it.' - Jake Holman (Steve McQueen).

I was surprised to learn The Sand Pebbles was nominated for 9 Academy Awards, and including McQueen for Best Actor . I'd never heard of it, and his character seems pretty similar to most of the other ones I've seen him play. Glib, dedicated to his work, disdainful of authority, tough exterior, but decent enough underneath. Which is fine, I've liked pretty much every movie I've seen him in.

The movie's set in China in 1926, with McQueen playing Jake Holman, the new engineer, for the American gunboat, the San Pablo. Jake's a good engineer, but not much for the military aspects of serving in the Navy. And the San Pablo is simultaneously highly military, and very unmilitary. The captain, Collins (Richard Crenna), insists on regular drills to repel boarders, and expects all the sailors to stand watches, which Jake feels is not an engineer's duty. At the same time, all the scut work on this ship is handled by a horde of Chinese fellows, which Jake also objects to, because he doesn't want them messing with his engines. So there are problems. Plus, this is right about the time the Nationalist and Communist movements are gathering momentum to oust all the foreign powers, though the movie focuses almost entirely on their relations with the U.S. It's a not terribly veiled metaphor for the situation in Vietnam at the time.

The orders for the gunboat are to not open fire unless fired upon first, so they essentially count on intimidation (or goodwill). Which works fine. . . until it doesn't. That's a recurring theme in the movie. Trusting a piece of paper that says you aren't Americans anymore to protect, which works. . . until it doesn't. When the time for shooting starts, counting on superior weapons to carry the day, which works. . . until you run out of ammo before they run out of men.

It's a long movie (3 hours), but it's an interesting one. For the first half of the movie, all the violence is either between Americans (the crew fighting amongst itself, or with other patrons at their favorite dive), or it's instigated by Americans (the fight between Skeet and Po Han, which Jake put in motion).

The attitudes of the sailors towards the Chinese. Jake, for example, doesn't have a real high opinion of them (he calls them slopeheads at least 3 times), but he does become friends with Po Han, though he never says as much. But I don't think that, or the fact Po Han proved he could learn how to run an engine properly, really changed Jake's opion of the Chinese as a whole. Frenchy (Richard Attenborough) falls in love with Mayli, but yeah, I think his affection is confined to her. That relationship in itself is really interesting. She had to get $200 dollars to get out from under Mr. Shu, and Frenchy (with an assist from jake and Po Han) raised it. He did so to set her free, but they end up together, and while he clearly seems to love her, I wonder if she didn't stay with him out of some sense of obligation. He says he paid to set her free, but she might still feel he purchased her. Jake says it's more that she loves him, but sees the difficulty in being with an American sailor who could be transferred or shipped out at any moment, and probably couldn't bring her along.

The whole idea of letting the Chinese handle all the scut stuff on the ship worked great. . . until it didn't. Then we see how slack the sailors have let themselves get about the duties they ought to have been doing instead of standing watch. Without local support, they aren't as effective of a fighting force. The ship starts looking filthy, so do the sailors, and discipline breaks down. It's a nice statement about how hard it is for a foreign power to maintain control without any of the native population on their side.

The sailors look bad then, but when it comes time to fight, they shape up. Everyone is on the same page, even with Holman, who they were ready to throw to the wolves the day before. I'm not sure what to make of them all looking up as the flag is raised over the ship. I suppose there's a sense of pride, but maybe they're remembering all of Collins' speeches about them honoring the flag, and not allowing it to be pulled down in shame, and they wonder if they're being sent into battle out of Collins' love for it. Certainly Holman ought to have those concerns, since he's seen how unsteady Collins is.

If you can spare three hours, I'd definitely recommend it.

Did He Come To Villainy Late In Life?

2011-12-08T10:30:00.003-06:00

From what I can tell, in the current DC Universe, all these superheroes, supervillains, aliens, and so on appeared five years ago. Morrison's Superman is set five years ago. According to Grifter, the first known appearance of the Daemonites was five years ago. I think some of the other titles are set five years ago (Stormwatch? Maybe Justice League?)

Which brings me to Darryl. He was a friend of Mitch Shelly's (the Resurrection Man) father in the Portland rest home where Mitch's father lived out his last years. He was also, if we believe him, a high-end professional supervillain known as the Transhuman. Considering his suit of what appears to be high-powered armor, I'm inclined to take him at his word.

What I'm wondering is how long of a career he could have had. If he popped up five years ago along with all these other guys, he couldn't have been at it more than a couple of years before he retired to the rest home to meet and befriend Mitch's father.

The simplest answer is his career predates all the obvious superhero, paranormal whatever. That he was at it for years before Superman showed up in his farmboy jeans, terrorizing corrupt businessmen. Which would make sense, except I thought DC wanted to set things up so Superman kicked things off again, and it feels a little strange for their to have been costumed supervillain contract killers like the Transhuman and (I'm guessing) Deathstroke already running around. If that kind of criminal activity was already going on when Clark decided to get active, I'd expect him to be dealing with that from the start.

There is the possibility he only started within the last five years, was a huge success, but retired quickly, perhaps because the idea of being a supervillain didn't occur to him until he was fairly old? He'd always been brilliant, but the idea of using his mind to create weapons that would let him kill people other people would pay to have eliminated didn't occur to him until later.

Or. . . he isn't retired at all. He's still active, and got wind of Mitch Shelly being a man wanted by powerful, wealthy people, and he saw it as a big paycheck. Big enough he was willing to play the long game. Move in to a rest home. Befriend Mitch's father. Play up at being a crazy old man who thinks he's a supervillain. Eventually the prodigal son will apear, if only to collect his father's things after his passing. And then, ka-ching!

The other possibility is Darryl just thinks he was a supervillain, but never was, but is smart enough to build a suit that looks like powered armor (and for his sake, facing off with the Body Doubles, it better be functional). Which is probably the most likely possibility. If he was successful and retired, why would he live in that particular rest home? It didn't look that great, as far as those facilities go.

Old Movies Return

2011-12-07T09:07:00.002-06:00

Yes, more old movies. The Caine Mutiny, to be specific. Set in World War 2, it tells the story of a beat-up minesweeper of the Pacific Fleet receiving a new captain. A Captain Queeg (Humphrey Bogart). Queeg has served for a long time, and perhaps that's taken a toll. His demands for everyone to follow regulations with regards to haircuts, shaving, and keeping their shirts tucked in aren't unusual, but his tendency to perceive every misstep as some deliberate slight against him is. This becomes a problem when Queeg gets too involved in berating two of his officers because one of the deckhands has his shirt untucked (because he has a heat rash). He orders the pilot to maintain a hard right, and is so lost in his tirade, he fails to realize they are about to run over the tow line they're using to haul a target behind him, which results ins etting the target adrift. Queeg then compounds this by stating the report will be the cable was defective and broke on its own.

This produces dissension amongst the officers. Young Ensign Willis agrees with a senior officer Keefer (Fred MacMurray), that Queeg is unstable, and should be relieved of command. The exo, Maryk (Van Johnson) continually resists this, wanting to be loyal to his captain, but Keefer's claims that Queeg demonstrates all the signs of mental instability wear of Maryk. Eventually, when Queeg's orders seem lie to get the ship destroyed in a typhoon, Maryk invokes Article 184 and assumes command. Naturally, he's court-martialed for it.

Fortunately, his attorney, a Lt. Greenwald (Jose Ferrer), is able to clear him once he gets Queeg in to give his testimony. It's more impressive that he does so, with the naval tribunal there, making sure he doesn't in any way impugn Queeg's record. Talk about playing against a loaded deck. "You must prove the exo had reasonable cause to invoke Article 184, but don't you dare criticize the Captain's record!"

On the whole, it's a good film, but it suffers from the fact that apparently the studio didn't want to entirely make a naval captain out to be the bad guy (Since it was set in WW2, and released shortly after the war). So there's a scene where the officers are celebrating Maryk's not being hung. Greenwald shows up, and in addition to lowering the boom on Keefer, he hammers all the officers. He points out that at one point Queeg asked for their advice on how to make things run more smoothly, and they all disliked him so much, they said nothing. This is true. Greenwald claims that if they had helped Queeg, things would have gone better, and he wouldn't have had to destroy the man on the stand.

That is bullshit.

Queeg was a delusional paranoid, capable of fitting any occurence into his scenario of people being out to get him. He wasn't like that at all times, but when he felt criticized, he started pointing fingers. During his testimony, it was revealed one month before Maryk took command, Queeg gave him a glowing performance review. Now he's claiming Maryk was always unreliable?He might have truly wanted suggestions on how to make things better at the moment he asked, but it's entirely likely that he would construe any suggestions as disrespect. If any of the suggestions failed, he wouldn doubtlessly have blamed the officers for trying to make him look bad, for trying to undermine his authority.

Probably because it's Bogart, it puts me in mind of The Bogie Man, where no matter what happened, "Bogie" would figure out some way to fit it into his perception of the world as some strange amalgamation of all Bogart films. In a situation where that sort of person is your captain, I'm not sure what could be done about it.

So that part of the ending was a bit of a dud. Ferrer sells it well. He's a little tipsy, angry at himself for what he had to do for his client, angrier at them for what he feels they did to push things to this point. That doesn't change the fact he's completely wrong. There's also a romantic subplot in there about Ensign Willis, who struggles to patch things up with his girl, who feels she'll always be less important to him than his mother. Unless it's supposed to reveal Willis' susceptability to being controlled by manipulative authority figures (like Keefer), I don't see the point. It's not the most terribly shoehorned romantic subplot I've ever seen, Bullitt still holds the record for that, but it's pretty awkward.

Should I Make A Joke About Missing The Mark?

2011-12-06T10:44:00.001-06:00

When I reviewed Avengers Solo #2, I mentioned there were some sequences I thought weren't laid out logically, and said I might have to try and get a shot of one of them. And that brings us to today.

Here's the page I was talking about. I know, the glare from the flash is irritating, just work with me. The thing that bothers me about this is we have this big shot of Hawkeye with the bow drawn, and he's facing left, towards the beginning of the issue. Then in the lower right corner, we have this little panel of the actual path of the arrow, which Hawkeye arced down the staircase so it would hit his target and plant a tracer. You can't really tell from the way I took the photo, but the panels in the top half of the two pages are set up so you read across the two pages. So the reader's eyes travel across the top of the page. Then it seems like the reader's eye might follow Hawkeye's arm back to the left, along the arrow, only to have to go back to the right for that last panel. Or perhaps the reader skims from Hawkeye's steely gaze straight down to that corner panel, ignoring the arm, bow, and arrow. In one case, it would seem like it's counter-intuitive layout, in the other, it's kind of wasted space.

I wonder if the large shot of Hawkeye was flipped by accident. If he was facing the other way, then the reader's eye could travel from Hawkeye, along the arrow, and that would almost naturally lead the eye to that panel in the right corner. I don't have any proof that's the case, but I've seen panels like that in other books, where things look like they were reversed*.

I do think it might have worked better if the shot of Hawkeye spanned the bottom half of only one page, and the flight path of the arrow took up the lower half of the other page. As it stands, we have this shot of Hawkeye with the bow drawn back powerfully, and the flight of the arrow is this small panel, almost weak. Like a Roadrunner cartoon, where the Coyote tries to launch himself with a bow, and it looks like it'll be some powerful shot, and it duds somehow. His face hits the bow, the bow falls over, or he just doesn't go anywhere. In the story, Hawkeye's making a pretty good shot, but I'm not sure the way things are laid out really conveys it.

* My main example was from BKV and Kyle Hotz' The Hood mini-series. Near the end a character had a briefcase of money in her left hand, a gun in the right. In the panel where she's killed, they've switched hands. There's no background to tell anything by, so I've always wondered if Hotz drew it, and it somehow was flipped in the printing or copying, or something.

What I Bought 11/29/2011 - Part 4

2011-12-05T08:14:00.000-06:00

We've reached the Atomic Robo portion of our reviews. So let's not waste time gabbing.

Atomic Robo: The Ghost of Station X #1, 3 - Like I said, not consecutive issues. The story begins with a request from NASA to save one of their orbiters which is falling out of orbit. Robo and his crack team of action scientists devise and implement a plan to do so (essentially build a functional airframe around a ridiculously powerful supersonic engine), but surprise! It was a trap, Robo's hit with a satellite, and the first issue ends with him plummeting towards the Earth.

He survives, and he and his team travel to Omaha, where the fake call appears to have originated from. Surprise! The building is empty, but is shortly surrounded by several men with guns. And tanks. And large robots. And an attack helicopter. Multiple attack helicopters, actually. In addition to this, there's a second plot about an entire building that somehow went missing England, and Robo has two of his less than favorite employees working with a member of British Intelligence to sort out where it went, and what is its significance. I assume the two stories will intersect before all is said and done, but it's also possible Clevinger and Wegner are playing the long game here.

Credit to Clevinger. Even though I have the first 5 trades of Atomic Robo, I don't remember all the details of past adventures, but he tells the reader enough to follow along. We know vaguely why those two scientists were sent to Norway on polar bear patrol. The comic also has a quick recap on the inside of the cover, so not totally lost without #2. I like Clevinger's dialogue. I wouldn't describe it as realistic, in the way that some people complain that teenagers or whomever wouldn't use certain terms. But there's wit to it, Clevinger uses it to give us glimpses of supporting characters' personalities, and I do think the way people respond to challenges and other characters is accurate. Pragmatism, anger, pessimism, mild irritation to give them time to think.

Scott Wegner's art helps. He seems like he's capable of rendering emotion or action with a relatively few lines, and yet things are clear and easy to follow. I imagine it takes a lot of work, but it looks like it's easy, which is impressive.

Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 19 - The Brooklyn Dodgers

2011-12-04T11:41:00.002-06:00

Plot: While Brisco and Bowler try to apprehend a crook named Yasmin, to snot-posed teens from New York try to steal Comet. Which goes as well as you'd expect. Shannon (Mercedes Alicia McNab) and Tommy (Michael Cade) are trying to make it to San Francisco. One of their uncles owned a mine there, and has left it to them. Assuming they can get their before a man claiming to be their "second uncle" does. Or before the Irish gangsters get ahold of them and make them sign the deed to the mine over to them. Brisco and Bowler try to protect the kids, even though Tommy makes one wonder why they bother, while Socrates does a little sleuthing into the deaths of Tommy and Shannon's parents.

Does Brisco use his gun? he fired in at Billy Monahan, one of the gangsters.

Stuff Comet does: Walk in circles to give time for Brisco and Bowler to catch up.

Kiss Count: 0 (19 overall).

John Bly Spreads His Arms Dramatically: 0 (11.5 overall).

Is Pete Hutter in this Episode? No.

Pete Hutter Quote: N/A

Non-Pete Hutter Quote: Billy Monahan - 'I take it Mr. County doesn't think you're grown-up enough to make your own decisions.' Tommy - 'Well he thought wrong.'

Brisco's Coming Things: Sushi bars, and their outrageous prices.

Gang Count: 0 (8 or 12 overall).

Stuff the Orb Can Do: N/A.

Other: There was a quote I considered using because it sums up the entire episode. But I really only like it because Brisco delivers it to a group of belly dancers who had him and Bowler at gunpoint. Socrates gets a good one in on "Richard Trahern" as well. Unfortunately, Soc undermines that moment of awesome by then telling the fake Trahern exactly where the kids are at that moment.

The problem for me in this episode is Tommy. He's such an unapologetic jerk for the first 37 minutes of the show (I have a note that says, 'Only took Tommy 37 minutes to pull his head out of his ass') that it's rather difficult to want Brisco and Bowler to help him. Shannon's considerably nicer, and more intelligent. Not that she's a Valeria Richards style child genius, just that she's smart enough to realize listening to Brisco and Bowler is better than constantly double-crossing them and then refusing to apologize when the double-cross goes bad. But she's the younger sibling (and a girl) so her suggestions go unheeded. I mean, honestly, after the first horse-stealing attempt, Tommy punches Bowler in the face. It has no effect, other than riling Bowler, but still, I don't think I want this kid inheriting a fortune. Think how much of a pain he'd be with some money to back him up.

The Johnnies are another issue. Perhaps because they look so out of place in their black suits and derby hats, sporting their Mausers, they're difficult for me to take seriously. Maybe reading Punisher comics for years has made me unable to take mobsters of any ethnicity seriously as a threat. Whatever the reason, I just couldn't buy they were that much of a challenge for Brisco and Bowler. They aren't particularly clever (so much as Tommy is too unwilling to trust the right people, and too easily swayed by crap like the quote I used), they aren't vicious, there aren't that many of them (compared to the Swills), they aren't that well armed, and they should be totally lost out in the West.

I did enjoy the Socrates parts of the story. Socrates isn't a two-fisted action hero, but he has a meticulous personality, and I think his time with Brisco his piqued his curiosity. Whenever he's involved, there's almost always a scene where someone tries to back him down or intimidate him, and you can see him marshaling his resolve. I always enjoy those moments. His investigation of the ferry accident, the meeting with the ferry captain, who has basically been destroyed by the incident, the foggy docks where he does most of the sleuthing, contrasted with the upscale neighborhood where the search ends. All of that was very entertaining.

What I Bought 11/29/2011 - Part 3

2011-12-03T09:49:00.005-06:00

I was positive I had something to serve as an introductory paragraph, and now I've completely forgotten it.

Resurrection Man #3 - I would never have known Ivan Reis did that cover if his name wasn't on it. It isn't how I normally picture his art, though I imagine he doesn't draw that skinless people. Then again, knowing Geoff Johns. . . The way he drew Shelly's hair, I thought it was horns and he'd resurrected as a demon. It's the new 52 version of Kid Devil!

This issue is largely Mitch getting his butt kicked by the Body Doubles. They killed him once last issue, and after he manages to escape a shadowy demonic force that was holding him in whatever empty realm his soul normally lands in before he comes back, he returns with armor skin. Well, it looked like rock to me, but the ladies said "armored" so whatever. And they killed him again. So he comes back, more quickly this time, with a sonic scream, and, would 50 CCs of Sedabarbitol kill someone or knock them out? I'm guessing from "seda" in the title, it's a sedative, since killing him would just bring him back with another new power. Maybe some cool narcotic power.

"All right, girls, time to get high!" No, that's stupid.

It's actually amusing how bad he is at defending himself. Maybe Mitch is too nice. Also, the Doubles are smart enough to not give him any time to figure out his powers. I'm curious if there'll be some dissension in the future. Carmen seems a little more compassionate than Bonnie. She was almost gentle with Mitch after she drugged him. Admittedly, I'm not nearly as interested in the people the Doubles are working for and how they're connected to Mitch as I am in the metaphysical stuff, but I am curious, if only to see how differently it plays out from DnA's first go-round with the character.

Nothing new to say about Dagnino's art. I'm still fond of it, and I'm curious about when he alters the thickness of his lines. Sometimes they're heavier than others, and it isn't a matter of some characters getting heavy lines and other lighter ones. Something to keep an eye on, maybe.

Suicide Squad #3 - I thought that guy on the cover was Lock Up, that stupid villain from that one episode of Batman: The Animated Series. But no, it's Mad Dog. What? I thought the background suggested a prison, and I've been watching some BTAS recently. Is Mad Dog supposed to be Wild Dog, only they changed the name for some reason, the same way Belle Reve became Belle Reeve? They called it that again in this issue, so I assume it was not a spelling error, but a deliberate alteration.

The Squad's attempts to lie low until they're picked up fail miserably, which is unsurprising since Deadshot took Harley with him to buy groceries. Yes, the chalk white girl with multi-colored pigtails who is also CRAZY! was going blend in seamlessly. Tactical genius there, Floyd. OK, yes, she did use, something to get them their supplies without paying (I think we're supposed to assume sex appeal, but she may have slammed the cashier's head into the scanner until it broke for all we know). Black Spider and El Diablo learn what really happened to Voltaic, the team survives a run-in with Mad Dog, who may or may not have survived his run-in with King Shark. If there ain't a corpse to be warm, you can't say he bought the farm.

Wow, that's also stupid. 0 for 2 today on the attempts at clever. The team is not rescued. Instead they get some new recruits, and told to stay in the field, and look it's Captain Boomerang!

I don't know. Glass had piqued my interest in Black Spider a little, but for the time being at least, he's gone, and I wouldn't be surprised if we learn later that this version of Waller has him dumped out of the helicopter on the way back. Hell, he's wounded, that makes him worthless, right? I still can't disassociate my past experiences with these characters from reading their current versions, and the comparison isn't doing the current versions any favors. That's probably why Black Spider was working for me, because if he's a preexisting character, I don't know about it, so there's no past conceptions. The thing between Harley and Floyd, as it stands felt thrown in their for, shock value, because they can, something? Maybe Glass will turn it into something more than that, down the line. As it stands, it felt out of left field.

Also, Cliff Richards drew this issue, which makes 4 artists in the first 3 issues.

Villains for Hire #0.1 - This whole Point 1 thing seems kind of ridiculous to me, especially to start a series. Why couldn't this just be issue 1? Also, wasn't this originally going to be a five issue mini-series? I saw in the last solicits it's down to 4. Geez, Marvel, would you have a little goddamn patience? This is pretty much what I was afraid of. Marvel sees the early (relatively) positive sales DC's getting, and I think they're starting to panic. Or I'm reading to much into all the cancellations, layoffs, and abbreviating of mini-series.

This starts out like most issues of Heroes for Hire. A hero in the field, trying to deal with a problem. In this case, Silver Sable trying to stop the new Stilt-Man from stealing antiquities. The chase goes into the subways, and here comes the Black Panther. It's strange to see him dealing with something so low-level. I know he's been doing it for awhile, but still not what I'm used to. He mostly handles it, with an assist from Daimon Hellstrom? Shouldn't they have saved all these Hellstrom appearances for October, rather than November? Whatever, job well done heroes. Too bad the Purple Man plans to take back "his" idea and use it with villains.

I'm curious how this is will play out. Are we going to see how "Villains for Hire" works, is it going to be about Misty trying to put the brakes on it and having a showdown with Kilgrave? But hey, Headhunter! Haven't seen her since Byrne's Namor (where she was introduced, right?). Perhaps before this is over, she can use her hypnotic eyes on Kilgrave and take his operation. Then kill him, because Purple Man's a creepy asshole of a character, and I'd really enjoy seeing him get offed.

Not sure I'm excited about Renato Arlem as an artist. The expressions are better than I remember from seeing him on Peter David's X-Factor run, but the action is awkwardly posed, and is a subway car really the best place for a Stilt-person? I didn't think they were as wide as they're presented in this issue. I'd figure the leg would go out the window and get stuck, or tangled in the handholds, or something.

For Monday, two books, both from the same mini-series. Not consecutive issues, though, which could make things tricky.

What I Bought 11/29/2011 - Part 2

2011-12-02T10:21:00.005-06:00

I hate going to the laundromat when there are other people, because inevitably one of the other people is the sort that needs 5 washers and 7 dryers, and bloody hell, save some space for the rest of us!

Darkwing Duck #18 - All the "HAHA"s on the cover remind me of some Joker image of him clutching his hair while "HAHA"s filled the background. Actually, there are probably a lot of Joker images out there like that.

I'm not sure if I'm overthinking this, but I didn't understand entirely what's going on. We found out the source of the weird slime. The answer was pretty much what I guessed, originally, but then talked myself out of. Negaduck comes back to the physical plane, along with Morgana, but his return somehow makes the slime less powerful. Yeah, I didn't follow that, or how finding one's "inner Donald" helps to fight the slime. The assembled villains combine with the slime, which proves to be a poor decision when Darkwing beats Negaduck with the truth, triggering a spell Morgana had placed on the villain during their shared incarceration. And everything ends mostly happily.

I don't know whether this story was rushed by BOOM! losing the license, or if I'm just struggling because I'm missing two chapters, but there are definitely certain mechanics of this story that are confusing me. Silvani's art wasn't quite as strong as usual, but that may be due to the repetition of some of the panels (there are 12 consecutive panels of just characters hitting the slime). They also went with a few more double-page spreads than normal, and I'm not sure that's playing to Silvani's strengths. I think he's very good at having action flow from one panel to the next, but large single images perhaps aren't his forte. It bugs me that "forte" is supposed to be pronounced "fort". The "ay" makes it sound classier. Or has it changed to where "For-tay" is an accepted pronunciation now? Back on topic. It wasn't the strongest ending, but I do feel like things have to be sped up, and endings are tough under situations.

Grifter #3 - Cole's brother - with the aid of a helicopter - has caught up to Cole again. Which leads to several pages of them pointing guns at each other, while gradually moving closer to each other, and spouting all the ways in which each one has disappointed the other. Then one of the Daemonites shows up, and before Cole can kill it, Max has his ride land on him. Cole kills the alien (probably not), and makes its partner drive him back to where they came from. Which is Seattle, which is how we get Green Arrow showing up in the next issue. Also, Cole's former partner has been captured by people in black suits and trenchcoats, who want to know about Cole.

There are certain parts of this that felt odd. The bit with Cole and Max moving closer to each other, until they're guns are pressed against each other's chests. Then they lower their guns, then Cole puts a knife up near Max' throat, only to throw it away two panels later. So what was all that? Macho posturing? Cole losing his temper for a second, or trying to make a point? That he's not the mad dog Max apparently thinks he is, because if he was, he'd have shanked Max just then? Why is Gretchen so unwilling to talk about Cole? Could be mistrust of authorities, or recognition that she's relatively safe as long as they need something from her, but I don't know. She seemed pretty done with Cole after pulling a gun on him and telling him to stay away last issue.

I don't usually have much to say about Cafu's art. It's not spectacular, but gets the job done in terms of presenting information clearly, which is more than some artists can say. I do want to compliment him on the title pages. Maybe it's Edmundson's idea, but either way, Cafu's done a nice job incorporating the title of the issue into the page. This issue, he fit the phrase "On-Ramp" in the 'copters whirling propeller blades. Last month it was on a sign in the diner, one probably used to announce the specials. It's a nice touch.

Legion of Monsters #2 - Contrary to the cover, there are no extended motorcycle sequences in this issue. Bikes are used, but in the parts we don't see.

Morbius concludes the team is wasting its time sedating and incarcerating the crazy monsters in their underground city. He splits them up and sends them out to see if anyone else can determine what's wrong. Which sends the mummy and Manphibian to Damion Hellstrom, who does call up the force behind it, but only succeeds in getting N'Kantu possessed and then crispy fried. Damion Hellstrom, everybody! For when you absolutely need the situation to get worse.

Meanwhile, Jack Russell and Elsa have traveled to a closed down rest area which is a portal to hell dimensions. Because Jack wants to pick Satannish's brain. Elsa unwisely comes along, then even more unwisely, gives Satannish an opportunity to screw them over, by telling them something useful. This is bad because a) they now know Morbius knows what's going on (which puts them about 10 pages behind us), and b) the only reason the demons weren't eating Elsa's soul was Satannish owed Jack a favor, and now the favor is paid. Things go downhill from there.

It's an interesting issue, I don't know if it's a good issue, in an objective sense, but I did like it. I like the scenes, the unusual worlds the monsters travel in, and how they aren't accepted even by the people in those circles anymore than they are by average folk. I still haven't the slightest idea who is behind all this, unless it's the "Susanna" Morbius mentioned. Satannish said Dracula was the only other vamp besides Morbius to survive the last occurrence, but it doesn't strike me as a Dracula sort of scheme.

Tomorrow, the other two DC books, and Villains for Hire kicks off!

What I Bought 11/29/2011 - Part 1

2011-12-01T09:13:00.005-06:00

Comics, and just in time. I was starting to scramble for content, if the consecutive days of game reviews hadn't tipped you off already.

Annihilators: Earthfall #3 - The Earth and space heroes have set aside their differences to lock up the 30 Magi children while they debate what to do with them. Ronan, unsurprisingly, advocates killing all the children and taking care of the Magus that way. Captain America, equally unsurprisingly, is not in favor of this plan. The situation changes, if only by degrees, when the Magus uses the belief font within the church to amplify his power. He does this so he can place his consciousness within 30% of the U.S. population. Which to Ronan, just means they have to kill a lot more Earthlings. The Church of Truth templeships show up and most of the heroes step outside to smash them, while a few stay inside for the "cobble together a techno solution to the problem" portion of our story. In the back-up, Mojo sends our heroes through several different environments, for two purposes. One, as an excuse to create variants for the toy line, and to have an excuse to unleash a giant, evil Groot to menace the good guys.

The Annihilators part felt padded out, like this and the fighting between the good guys last issue could all have been handled in issue 2. I like the back and forth between Cap and Ronan, but beyond that. . . Part of it is Tan Eng Huat is not cut out for these big action pieces where all the heroes are fighting waves of Church zealots, with spaceships all around. The action looks stiff and awkward, which means I'm not enjoying the fight scenes, which makes them seem that much more like filler. The back-up isn't really making huge plot progress either, but for one thing, it's only five pages, and for another, it's not taking itself as seriously, so I'm more inclined to enjoy the silliness. And I like Tom Green's art a lot more than Huat's. That helps.

Avengers Academy #21 - Mettle's looking a little Red Skullish there on the cover. Oh crap, the Skull learned the Ovoid mind transfer trick from Dr. Doom! Someone call Captain America, there's Nazi-punching to be done!

Oh wait, he's already in this issue. Everyone's trying to settle in at the new Academy location, but some of the original cadets aren't happy about all the newbies, and figure they're being cycled out. Which makes tempers shorts, which leads to Striker mouthing off to Captain America, which leads to a big misunderstanding battle Jocasta has to break up. The kids try to calm down and reassess, and so do the adults. It really is a bad sign when Hawkeye was the most mature acting adult present. Apologies are handed around, Hawkeye joins the staff, and Jocasta's dead. Oh, and Reptil's having a bad day. Should have known the Korvac arc was going to come back to cause problems.

The fight seemed tacked on. Not the cadets wondering about their place in the new situation, or Striker running his mouth, or Mettle clearly still struggling with what he had to do during Fear Itself. Cap being so tone deaf about it was odd. He had to deal with Hawkeye when Clint was at his most loud-mouthed and hot-headed. I'd think Cap would be better at defusing a situation like that by now. Gage has quite a few subplots running, between the reveal at the end, and Jocasta's death, and the various problems the students are dealing with, Hazmat's resentment of Lightspeed, and such. We'll have to keep our eyes on Pym, since Veil's defection may cause him to make poor choices, as he sometimes does when suffering setbacks.

Avengers Solo #2 - I know that's supposed to be glue from Paste-Pot Pete Hawkeye's stuck in, but it just makes me think there'll be a Spider-Man appearance. There wasn't.

Hawkeye escapes from Paste - sorry, Trapster in a fashion I'd consider insulting to the villain if we weren't talking about the Trapster here. He really does make it look insanely easy for being pasted to a wall. After that, Hawkeye keeps his appointment to meet with these people who were part of the mysterious study, just as said people are being attacked by armed, masked merc types. He buys them time to escape, but one - Emi - sticks with him while they track down the overly aggressive armored person who'd been protecting them before Hawkeye came along. Armored person - Trace - has a grudge against the Avengers, something to do with Captain America. I'm not seeing how all this ties together yet. In the back-up, Hank, Striker, and Finesse make it into Dr. Maclain's lab and find robot versions of the original West Coast Avengers. Kind of disappointed they didn't that hideous Christmas colors costume Wonder Man had for awhile. Because I enjoy laughing at that doofus, you see.

Back on the main story, Roger Robinson's art is hit or miss. Some of that might be the coloring, where everything is sort murky and grainy, but there were certain sequences I thought weren't laid out in a logical fashion. In one case, I think flipping one panel so the character faces the other way would have made a big difference. I may have to take a picture, and do a larger post about that. We'll see.

Tomorrow, the end of Darkwing, Grifter tries to hold my attention, and monsters on motorcycles!

Moving To A Game I Managed To Beat. . .

2011-11-30T12:28:00.002-06:00

We have Wild Arms 3. I've mentioned previously that with the RPGs I've purchased, I've been lucky enough to pick games that each had something unique about them, to make them distinct from the others. I wouldn't always say that feature is a good thing - the issues of weapons repair and necessity of having water in Dark Cloud got old real fast - but it's something to start with.

With Wild Arms 3, it was the Old West setting. It's still some fictional planet with magic and monsters and such, but the fact the characters use guns, rather than swords, and wear some odd combination of the types of clothes common in Westerns, if not real life, it helps the game to stand out a little. And it fits with the overarching story in the game, that the planet is dying, gradually drying up, and nobody is quite sure why. This leads some people to live concerned only with getting what they think they need or want, while others are more concerned with protecting the innocent, or proving themselves.

One of the members of your crew has no past, and so he lives to get what he can now. Or so he says. Under that wealth-obsessed exterior, he might be a bit nicer than he appears. It's a bit of an Eastwood character in a Leone western, where you don't really know anything about him other than what he does (gun for hire), but over the course of the story, you learn he's not as mercenary as he appears. Things like that, and the history of the world they inhabit, make for some interesting fodder.

I won't claim I understood everything characters said about harnessing energy or dream demons, but I didn't find myself bored by the story, or the writing. There's enough humor to keep things from getting too introspective. Which is nice. The game doesn't fall into the trap some games I've played do (Okami), where they kill all the tension and momentum of a boss fight with some dull, overwrought, extended cut scene. It also sorts of twists the pattern where the heroes defeat several bosses, then learn that doing so has enabled the real threat to emerge. It still sort of happens, but in this case it's more like the true threat had plans of their own that would have been interfered with by the other evil schemes you stop.

And it avoids the typical strategy of gradually building your team up which most of the others I've played follow. Where you start with one of two characters, then, like Baron Munchausen, you keep meeting oddballs you decide to join your cavalcade for one reason or another. With Wild Arms 3, everybody meets at the same time. There are Prologues, which are very short dungeons that detail each character's abilities and how they got to that place. Took me about an hour for all four, but it'd take someone more observant a little less. I had a hell of a time finding the dungeon Gallows' part was supposed to take place in.

Which does bring up one thing I didn't like about the game. Trying to find where you're going is a pain in the ass. You wander the landscape, hitting a shoulder button which causes your characters to emit some kind of radar pulse, and if there's anything (dungeon, sign post, random goodies), it'll appear. If you aren't close enough, you'll walk right by without a clue, which, combined with the randomly spawning monster fights, gets irritating. Especially if all you have is some vague description of their being monsters to the northeast, given to you by some bartender or townfolk to work with.

The gameplay's nothing too complicated. Travel to location X, find Bauble Y, fight randomly spawning Cannon Fodder Q, until reaching Boss. Since each of the characters has various tools they can use to help the team get around, and they acquire these as they progress, there's a bit of that backtracking to old locations that always reminds me of Metroid Prime. There's not nearly as much in Wild Arms as there was in that game, but it happens occasionally. With the fighting, you give the characters the standard commands like shoot, defend, use magic, use item. Because they're using firearms, they do have to periodically reload (if the fight goes long enough), but they do that automatically if you tell them to defend. They eventually collect these mediums, which grant them access to guardian spirit powers, which is helps with the magic.

What's nice is you can swap the mediums around, since they each carry different spells with them, and in theory, you can put your force together in a way to give them the best chance to win. There are several different approaches to take, depending on whether you want to focus on keeping all your character alive, or killing the boss as quickly as possible, or attack magically, or whatever. So that's nice. I'm usually trying to strike some balance between "kill them fast" and "Don't die", but sometimes (if the enemy has strong attacks of a type one of my characters I highly vulnerable to) I just accept that character's going to die, and I'll bring them back when the fight's over.

I would say the final boss battle is a little overboard. I get what they were going for, the new version of the planet defending itself with progressively more complex lifeforms that would gradually inhabit it, it's a neat idea. But when I'm on my 9th consecutive boss fight without any sort of break in the action, and I'm still not to the end, it's getting a little overboard. I spent almost 3 hours on that fight. But. . . they didn't kill the tension with lots of overwrought dialogue, so I can't complain about that.

Pimp Slapped By The Hand Of God

2011-11-29T11:52:00.003-06:00

I was sure I would have done a post about God Hand at some point, but I can't find it. Maybe I was waiting until I beat it. Since I don't see that happening any time soon, the wait is over.

God Hand (on the PS2) is a beat 'em up, plain and simple. There are a few mini-games, like blackjack and betting on chihuahua races, but those are just ways to get more money so you can buy more power ups or new, devastating attacks. The rest of it is sending Gene around each level to beat up every hostile weirdo he sees, before they do the same to him.

Since many of these weirdos are possessed (or empowered) by demons, this can be quite a challenge for an ordinary human, as Gene learned when his right arm was lopped off for trying to rescue some poor schmoe. Fortunately, Gene crossed paths with Olivia, the last member of a group of people tasked with protecting the God Hands. She attached one (it's not just a hand, it's an entire arm) in place of his missing limb, and now they travel together. She's usually forces Gene to get involved, either by kicking him out a hotel window into the middle of a fight, or by threatening to take back the God Hand - with a hatchet.

There are around 100 different regular attacks you can purchase for Gene to use, though you can only assign about 10 of them to button commands at a time. There are Orbs you can purchase or find, and these let Gene perform big attacks. Some are for one target, others for a group, some long range, some short. Again, you can decide which ones will be in the "roulette" when you decide to use the orbs, so if one isn't suiting your fancy (I eventually dumped Mule Kick because I got tired of an attack that was useless if unleashed against a female opponent), you can swap it out once you find enough other techniques. I'm fond of Kung Fu Samba myself.

In addition to your health bar, there's a second bar representing an energy gauge for the God Hand. When it turns from purple to orange, you can activate the God Hand and go to town. It only lasts for a limited time, and refills as you land strikes, so I try and save it for boss fights, or desperate situations. My strategy usually involves throwing anything I can first, then hammering away with any blunt instruments that are handy. After that it becomes strike, retreat (when they block), counter (when they start to attack), repeat. It's a little tricky fighting lots of opponents at once (I was hung up awhile at an 8-on-1 battle which included a boss character along with the usual goons), but it mostly works. When I can keep my reflexes up.

In spite of all the stuff about demons, and people getting arms lopped off, the game doesn't really take itself seriously. They have Daran Norris, who voiced Spottswoode on Team America: World Police as the voice of the Belze, the leader of the demons. Maybe it's just me, but that makes it a little hard to take that guy seriously as a threat. Plus Shannon's attack that turns Gene into a chihuahua, and then there's Elvis. Not Elvis Presley, but a fat stereotype Mexican guy who smokes cigars and keeps calling Gene "cabron", but mostly "pendejo".

Then there's the lower level bosses like the gorilla luchador, the dwarf Power Rangers, the demon rock band, or Tiger Joe, the man dressed like a rugby player with an eye patch. And the cannon fodder of amazons in spiked bikinis, samurais, fembots, and all sorts of people who must have been on loan from Road Warrior. The Road Warrior guys are fond of proclaiming "I'm Alexander the Great!" right after punching me in the face. Which, hey, whatever amps you up for a fight, I guess. Tiger Joe likes to describe his style as "impetuous", usually after kicking Gene in the face five times.

The game's a bit sexist. The guys dress strangely, but outside of what I think were 2 fellows dressed as Vegas showgirls*, they're mostly covered up. The women not so much. Also, if Gene can land enough strikes on one enemy without getting hit in response, said enemy will get dazed. Gene's then free to assault them with rapid pressing of the circle button. On some foes that means pummeling them with fists or feet in rapid succession. For others, it means repeated knees to the face. For all the female characters? Spanking, the finale of which sends the enemy flying across the room to either hit a wall or skid along the ground. It doesn't do less damage, but it's a little awkward to be playing a game that encourages such activity. I'd really rather just punch the crazy Amazon repeatedly, OK?

Most of the violence is like that. Cartoonish. Contrary to the image I included above, you don't see blood, the enemies and Gene don't show visible signs they're getting beat up as fights progress. I don't know that I'd quite equate it to an '80s cartoon like G.I. Joe, since the cut scenes do show enemies dying, being incinerated, whatever, but the actually gameplay doesn't go the Mortal Kombat "cheap gore" route.

* They seemed like guys, considering their flat chests, and the game doesn't skimp on cleavage typically, but the Mule Kick was useless, so perhaps they were just very muscular women.

The Hate Doesn't Always Stick With Me

2011-11-28T11:50:00.005-06:00

Someone posted this question on a forum, and I thought I'd ask my audience. Is there a character you disliked when initially introduced to them, who you later warmed up to? The shift in your opinion can be caused by anything. The thread starter listed Amanda Waller, because they didn't like her on the Justice League cartoon, but changed their mind after reading some Suicide Squad.

I was having a little trouble thinking of one at first. It seems like if start out not liking a character, then I usually avoid them after that. Or any appearances they make after that are viewed through my biased perspective, and aren't able to change my mind. I didn't care for Cyclops when I first read comics with him in them, and that hasn't changed 20 years later, for example. I did come up with a few, but I only listed the first one that came to mind.

Hank Pym.

I hadn't read much Avengers prior to picking up Kurt Busiek's run, so I'm not sure how much I knew about Pym prior to that. Busiek made it clear Hank had made some mistakes in the past, and had some problems he was still working through, both in how he viewed himself, and in his relationship with Janet van Dyne. These problems were brought up, dealt with, and at least somewhat addressed. I don't have the comic with me, but I feel like Hank and Jan agreed reaffirmed their friendship, though they weren't back together as a couple, which is still nice. Soooo, great. Problem solved.

Naturally, subsequent writers went back to the well and tried to put them together again, seemingly so they (or the next writer) could have the fun of breaking them up. They became one of those comic couples doomed to try and get together only to have it destroyed somehow. With Hank and Jan, it seemed like it was his periodic mental instability, or the time he backhanded her. Which isn't something to be brushed over lightly, but it was strange how much of an issue it would be. It wouldn't prevent them from starting to get together, but it would eventually rear its ugly head and split them up again. Tedious.

Somewhere along the line I put together a run of Steve Engelhart's first 2 years on West Coast Avengers, where he did his own arc with Pym, and it was actually deeply satisfying to read. Hank was struggling with his various issues, almost killed himself, and Firebird (or La Espirita) came along and helped him out, by demonstrating he wasn't a big failure, as he believed. he had made mistakes, but they were ones he could learn from, so he could succeed the next time. It didn't solve all Hank's problems, but it gave him a way to go forward, and I was interested.

Eventually, I figured out it was better to simply ignore all the stories I didn't care for, and once I excised all those repetitive stories from my personal Hank Pym continuity, I liked him a lot better. He still has recurring difficulties with self-doubt and relationships, and that makes sense. Those sorts of insecurities and issues don't go away easily. But they're aren't occurring as frequently, the issue isn't always the same (like most recently he's had to cope with Janet's death or dissolution) and his solutions seem a little different each time. As though he's trying out different theories on how to get it right, which seems appropriate for a scientist.

Anyway, that's how Hank Pym won me over. A few good writers, and a conscious decision on my part to ignore all the other writers. Who's the character for you, and how did they win you over?

Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 18 - Hard Rock

2011-11-27T08:30:00.003-06:00

Plot: Bowler's received word from an old flame, name of Lenore (JoNell Kennedy), asking for his help. So he heads to the town of Hark Rock, faithful companion Brisco County Jr. tagging along. Once there, they find the entire town is being terrorized by Roy Hondo, who offers security services. Lenore is the last person who refuses to pay, and coincidentally, she's the only person whose business keeps getting attacked. The town's sheriff, one Aaron Viva (Gary Hudson, bearing an intentional resemblance to a certain King of Rock n' Roll), can't catch any of the bandits, so he can't prove they're doing so on orders from Hondo.

In the midst of all this trouble, a young hotshot named Whip Morgan (Jeff Phillips) arrives. He's after Hondo for killing his uncle, but he may not be good enough to carry out his ambition. Just don't try telling him that. Don't try telling him anything actually, because he's not likely to sit still long enough for it to sink in.

Does Brisco use his gun? He shot Whip's holsters off. He shot one of the lines holding up a sign so it would swing down and conk a guy. He shot another man's gun from his hand, and there was a lot of general firing in the direction of Hondo's gang.

Stuff Comet does: N/A

Kiss Count: 0, for Brisco, anyway (19 overall).

John Bly Spreads His Arms Dramatically: N/A (11.5 overall).

Is Pete Hutter In This Episode? No.

Pete Hutter Quote: N/A

Non-Pete Hutter Quote: Whip - 'He got even?' Brisco - 'No, he got justice. It lasts longer, and in the end, it feels better.'

Brisco's Coming Things: The 'walk-up window' for eateries. Viva's 'day glasses'. The 'cow pie' sandwich. Relax, it's better than it sounds.

Gang Count: 0 (8 or 12, overall).

Stuff the Orb Can Do: N/A

Other: Contrary to my use of it, nobody busts out the 'faithful companion' line in this episode. I thought the song went "Viva Las Vegas", but apparently it's "A-Viva Las Vegas"? Which would explain the sheriff being A. Viva. Little depressed I learned that from watching that Looney Tunes movie Brendan Frasier was in. I still can't figure out what Steve Martin was shooting for with his character. I find it funny they had an Elvis sheriff in a show starring Bruce Campbell, and years later Campbell would play Elvis (in Bubba Ho-Tep).

The former sheriff and current mayor of Hard Rock was named Sonny Red. I looked that up, figuring it'd be the name of Elvis' manager or something, but it's the name of an alto saxophonist. He had some success in the 1960s, but nothing related to Elvis. Elvis did have two bodyguards, brothers named Red and Sonny, so maybe that's it.

In addition to all the names U.S. Attorney Breakstone listed for Bowler in "Deep in the Heart of Dixie", we can add the one he used while serving in the Army: James Lonefeather. I still like Joe Echohawk better.

There's a lot going on in this episode, and all of it's interesting. Bowler gets to be the focus of a romantic subplot for once. He and Whip both have the opportunity to confront some painful history. For Bowler, it's a chance to make up for missed opportunities. For Whip, well, it's what he's spent half his life preparing for, if we can believe him. Bowler, in essence, is going back to his past to try and start again. Whip's been focused on the future in his constant preparation for facing Hondo. Unless we think of it as living in the past, because he can't move on from what Hondo killing his uncle. Whip's situation also puts Brisco in a mentor role, since he knows a little something about pursuing the man (or men) responsible for killing his father (Whip's uncle raised him).

I think this is the second time we've seen the Brisco crew apply police techniques (or TV show cop techniques) to get someone to talk. The Schwenke sisters played "good cop, bad cop" with that German who was in Juno Hawkins' gang ("Steel Horses"). Now we have Brisco and Bowler playing the "We'll let you go and arrest everyone else so the boss thinks you squealed, and you'll be dead. Unless you really squeal, then we'll protect you." Maybe I should have just said "coercion"? But that sounds like they used phone books, and it was nothing so guttural.

Viva can get a little tiring at times, because he's so obviously out of place, it feels silly, even for a show that heavily involves special orbs from the future that give people power. Fortunately, the next time he shows up, the cast is a little larger, so they can pick their spots with him. Also, he finds an excellent foil.

Again I Consider My Pull List

2011-11-26T11:14:00.002-06:00

Question for the audience. Do you think Rick Remender on Secret Avengers is going to be worth buying? I was going to try the series originally, but Brubaker kind of punked out Nova for the first story arc, I'm not really a big fan of Deodato's art*, and I tend to find Brubaker's pacing pretty slow, so, yeah. Then there was the 4 dollars per issue aspect.

People seem to like Remender's X-Force work, which is encouraging, since it indicates he can write an good team book, unlike certain people Marvel handed the keys to the Avengers kingdom. And they're pairing him with Gabriel Hardman! That's a good sign. The book's still 4 dollars an issue, but I wasn't planning to let that stop me from trying Defenders. It isn't as though I have some major affection for Fraction's work, outside of Immortal Iron Fist, which was a collaborative writing project (David Aja on the art chores didn't hurt, either). Remender's not coming off writing a complete dud of a Big Event comic, either, for what that's worth**.

* I don't hate his work, it has its moments. That issue of Moon Knight he did a couple years ago, with Werewolf by Night? That was pretty good, and with the way he uses shadows (or the way his inkers do), he's suited for those sort of dark, spooky, stories. But his women seem to have their hips permanently locked in the "sway" position, which is a little distracting.

** It's amazing, I think Fear Itself had a more negative response than any of Marvel's other Big Events. Even Civil War has its supporters out there, as terrifying as that is to contemplate.

I'd Like To Blame This On Post-Turkey Gorging Brain Haze, But I Can't

2011-11-25T09:26:00.003-06:00

One series I've been trying to piece together a complete run of is the first volume of Resurrection Man. I'm a little over halfway there. It's slow going, because I like to collect them in order, so I'm not trying to read issues with big gaps between them. Sometimes I break that rule, which is how I wind up with issue 25, when I haven't made it past #18 otherwise.

By the 25th issue, Mitch had crossed paths with the Forgotten Heroes, because they think he's their old friend Immortal Man, and they need help to stop Vandal Savage. The thing that caught my eye* was Cave Carson sporting a cyborg eye. Because it was the Nineties, I assume. I couldn't find any explanation online for that. I'm pretty sure he last appearance before these was in Wonder Woman, and judging by the covers, he wasn't rocking any techno-parts then. At least he hadn't started wearing massive shoulder pads.

Everyone on the team was wearing these matching collars. Basically three rings stacked on top of each other going around the neck, which seemed like an odd choice. The belts with "FH" on them made a little sense, but the neck bands, I don't know. When I saw Shelly and Carson wearing those and talking, I figured they were prisoners, and those were power inhibitors, or something designed to shock them if they tried to escape. Nope, just part of the team uniform. Like those bomber jackets the Avengers were fond of a few years earlier.

* Besides the fact The Ray was on the team, whoo! Ray Terrill appearance, and it even makes sense, considering Ray spent the second half of his series trying not to be manipulated by Savage. When he wasn't fighting a sentient computer program he'd created that was obsessed with pushing him to his limits, that is.

Talking About A Fat Guy On Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T10:49:00.006-06:00

Specifically, Mojo. Because what topic could be more appropriate for the holidays than a fictional representation of crass commercialism that TV executives so covet? Maybe I should have saved this for Christmas. Or Sweeps Week, if I knew when that was. But who has the patience to wait for stuff these days?

Moving on.

Mojo's currently messing around with Rocket Raccoon and Groot after captured them and putting them in ridiculous staged adventures to boost his ratings. Which is how I wound up thinking about him. I haven't read a lot of comics with Mojo in them (counting the first two issues of Annihilators: Earthfall, I think it's less than 10), but I'm curious about the change in his presentation. The Nocenti version from the Longshot mini-series reminds me of a child, albeit an extremely powerful one. He acts without considering consequences, or is completely unaware of them. He's a bit silly, and prone to panic, but he's still dangerous. His very presence on Earth was toxic to everything around him, without any active effort on his part. If he put his mind to it, he was a threat Dr. Strange was hard-pressed to deal with.

The later versions seem less, hmm, "simple-minded", perhaps. He has a greater awareness of his power and influence, and his attention span seems to have improved, but he's a bit crazy, in a Robin Williams' character kind of way. It feels like an act, which if I accept that Mojo's making himself part of his shows, could be his idea of being an interesting character, to boost his ratings. Either way, he does seem to be capable of forming ideas and holding to them for at least a little while, whereas the Longshot version didn't seem to know what he was doing half the time, or remember why he was doing it. I'm not sure which version is more cruel. The Nocenti version is at times unaware of the suffering he causes, and the rest of the time he doesn't care. The later version seems aware, but it's all part of the show, so it's for a good cause (as far as Mojo's concerned).

I wonder if the shift in Mojo's character could relate to the repeated mindwipings Longshot's suffered. Longshot is continuously being reset to a blank slate, and has to start building up who he is all over again. He gets to start his character arc from scratch, and he doesn't always end up in the same place. The Longshot that was on the Australia-era X-Men wasn't the same as the Longshot on Bedard's Exiles. They both had a bit of that cavalier style, but Claremont's was more of sweet, curious kid, and Bedard's had more of a hard edge. He was still a nice guy, but the warrior part of him seemed to have taken a firmer grasp (which might make a certain amount of sense for a guy trying to lead a revolution).

Longshot is forced to start over, but Mojo keeps going. Is his later personality his own attempt to change himself, or is it that he keeps moving down the same path, and where it leads is a overacting ham? That'd be kind of interesting, Longshot stuck in a cycle of rebirth, so to speak, while Mojo keeps plodding along to some final end. Or, here's a question: what happens to Longshot's memories when they're removed? Those recollections, emotions, personal reactions to Longshot's adventures would be like DVD commentary, or a remastered edition. Which sounds like something Mojo would value keeping. Is it possible he stored them within himself, and they've brought about this change? Experiencing the world through Longshot's eyes gave him a greater awareness of the world, but for Mojo, that only gives him a better idea of how to exploit it, because he understands the players and their motivations better now.

Can You Have Too Much Sex And Violence?

2011-11-23T12:54:00.004-06:00

Well, I hit my limit for the latter when Alex dragged me to the first Saw film, but I guess it's really more about presentation than quantity. Rol at Sunset Over Slawit was nice enough to send me a digital copy of the first issue of his new comic, Too Much Sex & Violence a couple of weeks ago. The least I can do is try and write up a proper review.

The story (outside of a few pages in Leceister) takes place in a town called Fathomsby. To the majority of the outside world, Fathomsby is considered a quiet, sleepy village. While I wouldn't classify it as "quiet", what with regular cattle mutilations and children firing guns at front doors for their version of "Ding Dong Ditch". Still, the residents are certainly accepting of a wide array of people, with diverse skills and interests, so it's regarded as a good place for people who don't feel as though they fit elsewhere to move. It's also a good place to dump someone you'd prefer to have out of sight, out of mind.

The basic structure is a series of scenes introducing us to several of the locals, as well as hinting at several mysteries, which may or may not be connected. It works rather well, because we get an idea of how some of the characters are connected, who has the power in town, and enough of the characters' personalities that I can start wondering about their backstories, goals, and motivations.

I want to know what Harry Hall's problem with Magaret Thatcher is. Is whatever Toby let escape from the attic responsible for the cattle mutilation the police were fielding a complaint about? Is Dermot the one responsible for Fathomsby's wider reputation as a dull hamlet, or does he just take advantage of it, the fat toad croaking in his little pond? What's the deal with Wonderful, the large fellow who follows Dermot everywhere? Him I'm especially curious about. Maybe because he's mostly silent, and I figure still waters run deep, but also there's the way he interacts with Dermot. He follows Dermot everywhere, follows his orders, but he doesn't address him as "Mister", or "sir", anything formal like that. Which makes me wonder if he's more than a lackey or trusted assistant. On a meta-level, I'm curious whether the local DJ being a vampire who receives donations from his listeners is commentary on life in that particular business.

There's a fellow named Rusty trying to find out what's up with this town, and he sent his girlfriend a comic breaking down his thoughts (apparently he can run off in tangents as easily as I do). In the second panel he was standing on a beach, with a seabird and a lobster-thing, but there was a figure he'd drawn in one the cliff above and behind him. It wasn't the last time in those pages he drew some shadowy figure lurking above him, which makes me wonder if that's something he knows about his situation he isn't saying. Or is it something his subconscious knows the rest of him hasn't tumbled to yet? Meanwhile, his girlfriend Kathy could really use him being around to think sexy thoughts. Or perhaps a visit to Xavier's Institute is in order. But I'm not sure she handle being on a plane for the flight. What else do people have to think about?

The art chores are handled by several different artists, each handling one of the different scenes. There are some styles I like more than others, but I like the sense that everyone is one the same page. There aren't many characters that appear in two different artists' parts, but they're recognizable when they do show up. This extends to buildings as well. Kelvin Green, Paul Rainey, and Adrian Bamforth all depict the police station at some point. Even though their styles are very different, they made sure to get the details right. The roof in the front comes to a point, with a circular seal just below it. The waist-high, wooden slat gate out front. Those are little things maybe, but it's an attention to detail I can appreciate. People are communicating, making sure they're on the same page.

What's more, while everyone has their own particular way of representing the buildings in town, they aren't so wildly disparate that they would seem strange to be in the same town. At the same time, there is enough variety to give the sense of a town large enough to have a pier/beachfront section, a district for shops, residential areas, including some houses that are fairly isolated (there didn't seem to be any other houses near Harry Hall's, for example). Like how the buildings in Grand Theft Auto 3 (or Vice City, or whichever version you prefer) vary depending on what part of town you were in. The fact it isn't all the same, like some creepy suburb makes it feel like more of a real setting. Plus, the greater variety provides a wider range of places for potentially strange things to take place. One thing I like is the tendency for the buildings to be set very close to each other, with either no space between them, or only a narrow alley. Combined with the tendency of roads to disappear diagonally off between buildings, it makes things sort of sinister. There's no place to get off the main, obvious thoroughfares, except places you really wouldn't want to travel down.

Care To Wager Your Life?

2011-11-22T10:38:00.002-06:00

Once I recognized him, I was very happy to see Chance pop up in Avengers Solo #1. Sure the Marvel Universe already has a bunch of hired killers, but I always liked the idea of Chance treating his jobs as bets. Most of the time, he wasn't simply betting that he could kill whoever it was he was being hired to eliminate, he'd put a time limit on it. That's confidence, plus it's a little something unique about him.

Also, he was clever enough to recognize loopholes in his agreements. There was a time he agreed to eliminate some engineer who had created a box you could lie down in, and it stimulated muscle growth. Chance was hired by a rival executive who was worried no athletes would buy his performance-enhancing drugs. Chance didn't manage to kill the guy - thanks to Cardiac - but it turns out whatever the box did to enhance muscle growth also damages the mind. The target hid in one, it got overloaded by accidental exposure to the power source Cardiac replaced his heart with (as one does), and the guy's mind was completely wiped. He doesn't remember who he is, so he can't make any more*, removing him as a threat, and letting Chance claim victory. it's a bit sleazy, but at least he didn't have to kill the guy.

He didn't insist on killing him, either. A lot of the hired killers in the Marvel Universe are practically mad dogs. I like Deadpool, but he does kill an awful lot of people - not as many as Wolverine, mind you, but still - he probably could have simply knocked unconscious or mildly wounded. With Chance, he's in it for the thrill, which is why he bets his paycheck he'll succeed. But if he can get the job done without killing, or if the job falls through for reasons outside his control, he's not going to keep trying to kill the target. He has too much class to lose control of himself like that.

I'm hoping he'll show up again in Avengers Solo. I'm not much of a Paste-Pot Pete fan, myself.

* Though there were surely plans or blueprints, but I suppose the reveal of the deleterious effects on one's mind would get it banned. Which means athletes will use it illegally, giving the sportswriters of the Marvel Universe something else to wring their hands about. Though between mutants, mutant growth hormone, knockoff Super-Soldier Serum, the fact radiation is roughly 900 times more likely to give someone superpowers than to kill them, I'm not sure what would qualify as illegal performance enhancers.

You Go Right Ahead And Waste Their Lives, Chief

2011-11-21T11:02:00.003-06:00

Over the weekend I came across this Clone Wars Star Wars cartoon that's been going for awhile. The episodes I saw were about a bunch of Clonetroopers who find themselves serving under one of those typical jerk commanding officers you see in war flicks. The one who throws his men's lives away in ill-advised strategies?

In this case, the Jedi wasn't getting them slaughtered out of incompetence, but because a) he was planning to defect, and thought causing the Republic to lose this battle would look good on the resume he was going to send to Dooku, and b) I think he was a little, hmm, what would be the equivalent of "racist" when referring to someone who hates clones and regards them as inferior? At any rate, he had issues with the existence of clones.

I'm a sucker for films about soldiers trying to do their best under hateful or stupid commanding officers, so the story worked. . . until I remembered the clones are the instrument used to wipe out the Jedi. Not just the actual, accomplished Jedi, the little kid that hadn't even started training with lightsabers yet. I'm supposed to feel bad a group of those guys are getting wiped out by their evil commander?

I suppose there's always a chance these clones might refuse to turn on the Jedis, form the backbone of the early Rebel Alliance, but I don't know. These guys had been serving under Anakin, and near as I could tell, they thought he was a good boss. So they'd probably follow his lead, which brings us back around to the kid slaughtering.

Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 17 - Fountain of Youth

2011-11-20T09:53:00.002-06:00

Plot: Brisco and Bowler are trying to track down Professor Coles, who sent them an urgent telegram. Instead they find Lil Coles, a relative of the professor's who suffers from arthritis (for which she has some "special medicine"), under attack from a gang of Fabios. After driving those buffoons off, our heroes agree to bring Lil along while they search for Coles. Only, surprise!, Coles didn't send any telegram. The situation is made worse by the arrival on scene of John Bly, who still wants one of those Orbs. This leads to many double-crosses on all sides, along with more than a couple surprise reveals. And into all this rides Socrates Poole, on a special mission from Li Pao to deliver a key to Brisco.

It all leads up to a final confrontation between Brisco and Bly. Until their next final confrontation, anyway.

Does Brisco use his gun? He uses it to shoot Bly with a magic bullet. Don't laugh, I'm serious!

Stuff Comet does: He can tell when someone is following them, and he knows the difference between genuine and false apologies.

Kiss Count: 0 (19 overall).

John Bly Spreads His Arms Dramatically: 4.5 (11.5 overall). I guess he dramatically spread 1 arm at some point.

Is Pete Hutter In This Episode? No.

Pete Hutter Quote: N/A

Non-Pete Hutter Quote: 'Well, am I the only one who don't got a destiny with this stupid Orb thing?' - Bowler.

Brisco's Coming Things: N/A

Gang Count: 1 Bly (imprisoned), 8 or 12 overall, depending on the Swills.

Stuff the Orb Can Do: Make medicine, restore youth. I'm not sure whether Bly demonstrated telekinesis, or if that wind represented elemental manipulation. Probably the former. We know people can use its power for stuff like that.

Other: Li Pao is back for the first time since the pilot, and we hadn't seen Professor Coles since "The Orb Scholar". Bowler's able to track Coles because he got a look at the professor's wagon in that episode, so he recognizes its tracks. Bowler makes mention of the dime novels being written about Brisco, when he says he hopes their punching out guys using aloe liniment doesn't make it into the stories.

There were actually a lot of quotes I wanted to use from this episode. Bly had at least 3 good ones, but I was trying to find one that sort of summed up the episode, without revealing too much. I do laugh at him describing Brisco as a cretin from an antediluvian world. More people need to use "antediluvian". Or the line about Orb hating evil.

I find the limits on the Orb's awareness interesting. It's established it hates evil, and will destroy those who use it if possible. Which is why Bly's been so leery about messing with it himself. Yet, it can't do anything if a good person uses its power in a way that helps an evil one. Coles touched an Orb rod to water to make Lil's medicine. The Orb doesn't harm him because he reads as good. Yet Bly can drink the medicine to give him superpowers, and suffers no ill effects. I'm still left confused as to how Big Smith was able to receive power from it without being destroyed, which is why I wonder if the Orb produced some sort of change in his, soul, or psyche, or something when it gave him power.

And how is Bly able to use it to return to his time? Shouldn't it be destroying him for trying that, or had the power he received from drinking the "medicine" made him strong enough to resist it? And how the heck was anyone able to make a bullet out of Orb metal?

All those questions aside, I did enjoy this episode. Billy Drago as John Bly is always fun, even when he's playing at being unnerved by one of the Fabio wannabes complimenting him on how good he looks in black.

Some People Are Hard To Be Friends With

2011-11-19T09:29:00.005-06:00

I really enjoy the dilemma Gage and Isaacs have presented Faith with so far in Angel & Faith. Namely, the dilemma of how to be a good friend to someone making bad decisions.

It didn't do Angel any good to sit around brooding (even if he is very good at it), so anything that gets him up and moving sounds good at first. Then it turns out he's decided resurrecting Giles will fix everything. Which, look, back when the Scoobies brought Buffy back, Spike was the only one who realized it was a stupid idea. When even Spike - impulsive, damn the consequences, do anything for love, including that, so whatta ya say now, Meat Loaf? Spike - knows something is unwise, that should be a tipoff it's not the smart play.

You'd think Angel, after all the time he's spent 'helping the helpless' to atone for his centuries of horrific acts, would know it can't be made all better with one stroke. He's the one who told Faith they never stop paying for their crimes*. Still, the big, grand gestures are a lot easier than the daily grind, so it's understandable he sometimes forgets.. It's just forgetting usually involves distancing himself from his friends, or taking over an evil law firm.

Now the problem becomes how far to support him. Faith knows this is a bad idea, she had a discussion with Giles about the very subject (with regards to the vulcanologist she killed in Season 3 of Buffy). She also knows Angel is too bull-headed to be talked out of it easily. If she threatens to withdraw her help if he doesn't drop this, she knows Angel will just go on without her. So she sticks with him, and makes her own plans to make him human with the Mohra demon blood.

I wouldn't say it's a good plan. There are people Angel could save as a vampire, that will die if he's only human. Not that he wouldn't try to save them, which is the critical flaw in her plan. Just because he wouldn't be a vampire, doesn't mean he'd stop trying to fight evil. Which means he'll wind up dead for real soon enough.

Also, if Faith succeeds, there's a very real chance Angel will get his nose bent out of shape over it, which could cause a rift between the two. This probably wouldn't be good for either of them, since neither one has a lot of people they can call friends, while they each have enemies lining up around the block. I think it'd be worse for Faith, to lose one of the only people who ever believed in her, or gave any sign they cared about her. I believe the official list is her first Watcher (Dead), Giles (Dead), Angel**. Maybe she'd be OK with it, feeling she did the right thing, but if he goes out and tries to fight evil as a human, and winds up dead, I could see her taking that badly.

That's kind of how things go for them, they support each other, regardless of what it costs them. Angel protected Faith from the flames of Buffy's self-righteousness, which didn't do the tentative "exes as friends" thing he and Buffy had any good. And Faith nearly killed herself capturing Angelus so he could be reensouled. Which is one of the things I like about those two, that they'll go to the wall for each other. This situation's a little different for Faith, though. A grand sacrifice isn't likely to straighten Angel out. If anything, he'd add Faith to his list of people to resurrect. What she has to do is figure out some way to convince him to redirect this drive towards something constructive. Which can be tricky. If she pushes too hard, he'll get defensive, and trying to force him off this path (by making him human) won't do anything but breed resentment, and lead him to carry out his plans on the sly.

Words have never been Faith's strong suit, so it'll be interesting to see if she can talk Angel down, or if she'll even try.

* Back in Season 4 of Angel, when they took the magic drug fueled trip through Angel's head.

** Xander might have qualified briefly during Season 3, but she blew that to Hell with the nearly killing him and all.

He'd Take Speed Dating To A New Level

2011-11-18T09:45:00.004-06:00

Has Quicksilver been in any relationships other than his marriage to Crystal?

Near the end of Avengers Academy #20, he came across Pym and Tigra 'behaving like two animals in heat', and complained about it, as he tends to do. My initial reaction was either "Oh, like you've never had a public display of affection" or, "Jealous, Pietro?" Then I realized I couldn't think of anyone he'd been in a relationship with.

Then my brain kicked back on again and I remembered he'd been married, had a kid, all that jazz. However, I couldn't think of anyone else, Madrox' jokes in X-Factor about Pietro and Rictor aside. Which in of itself seemed kind of strange. Admittedly, Quicksilver seems to spend about half his time being evil, or crazy, or misguided by messianic notions, which is perhaps not the ideal time to be starting up relationships. The remainder of the time, he seems focused on either protecting his sister, or trying to be a good father and husband.

Even then, he and Crystal aren't really together all the time. At least, not judging by Crystal's relationship with Dane Whitman (the Black Knight). But Pietro doesn't seem to show any interest in finding someone else. Which is interesting. It we go by his "Pietro Maximoff Syndrome", then it's because he's so easily frustrated by how slow everyone else is compared to him, though I'd think the time he spent depowered might have altered his outlook in that regard. But his frustration could overwhelm any attraction he might feel towards someone.

Then again, he does spend a lot of time out of his mind. Someone who tries to destroy his sister because he doesn't approve of the man(droid) she married might not be seen as much of a catch. Though being a periodically evil jackass hasn't hurt Namor's sex appeal, but he also walks around shirtless most of the time, which might have something to do with that. I'll defer to the ladies on that one.

Maybe Pietro doesn't think he's worthy of it? That's certainly something he's struggled with from time to time. That might have been the big reveal of that first conversation with Doc Samson in X-Factor #87, that he holds everyone to an impossibly high standard they don't meet, including himself. By that measure, with all the times he's been manipulated, lost his mind, or not been there for Luna or Crystal, it might be he doesn't think he should get involved with anyone, because he hasn't earned the right. Kurt Busiek addressed it, in a way, while he was writing Avengers, as Pietro would confess that he enjoyed combating evil, because it was where he felt like a success. I'm pretty sure Quicksilver referred to himself as a failure as a husband and father on at least one occasion.

Is it a conscious decision on his part to not get that close, because he thinks he'll let whoever it is down?

Sibling Rivalry

2011-11-17T08:49:00.005-06:00

I may have read it wrong, but when Cole's brother came after him at the end of Grifter #2 I had the impression Cole was the older of the two. I suppose it was Cole's comment that he taught Max how to shoot, which seems like an older brother sort of thing.

If I'm right, it could switch things up from what I expected. When we learned in the first issue that it would be Cole's brother the military was sending after him, I figured Cole was almost certainly the younger brother. He'd tried to be like his big bro, followed him into the military and all, but he couldn't ever measure up. Probably heard a lot of "why can't you be more like your brother Max?" growing up, and while he was in the service. Got fed up with that, and after he was out of the military, put what he'd learned as a 'Delta operator' to use as a con man.

Instead, it looks like Cole might be the older sibling, and so perhaps Max followed him. Max did assure that colonel his loyalty was to the service and his country, not his brother, but talk is cheap, and family can exert a pull whether you want it to or not. It could be interesting. Max might have looked up to Cole in the past, but is disappointed by his more recent career choices. Which wouldn't preclude him from wanting to help or protect his brother, but might make him more likely to doubt his brother if Cole chooses to tell him what's going on. Or Max might secretly envy his brother, who lives by his own rules, rather than following orders. In that scenario, Max could be more inclined to listen to Cole, even try and help him. Which, if Max can use the team he was supposed to assemble (or at least keep them out of Cole's way), could be handy. Or, it could give the aliens one more lever to use against Cole, since it wouldn't surprise me at all if they have people in the military.

What could happen is Cole appears to confide in Max, to trust him, but in fact pulls the wool over his eyes. Could be because Cole is no longer sure who he can trust. Maybe before then he could meet some people who aren't disguised aliens, but are on the aliens side. Their allies or lackeys. Or it could be Cole wants to protect Max from reprisals by his superiors, so he burns that bridge. Or appears to burn that bridge, depending on how much he trusts Max and Max' ability to act. It wouldn't hurt for that colonel to believe the brothers are enemies, when they're secretly still allies.

Or maybe that's just who Cole is now. He's been conning people so long he can't help himself, he's always sizing people up for how he can use and discard them. I don't think it would hold up, Edmundson certainly hasn't played him as that callous. He didn't treat Gretchen as someone he was trying to fool, for example, but it's a possible direction, that Cole's really not a very nice person. He might mostly pull cons on crooked businessman, but that doesn't mean he's all sweetness and light. So even when his brother tries to help, because he cares, Cole can't help but abuse that trust.

There's More Meaning Than One Might Think

2011-11-16T08:27:00.008-06:00

That's a panel from the second issue of the current volume of Birds of Prey. It's fortunate it was posted as part of the 4thletter's This Week in Panels a while back, or I'd have never seen it. Thanks to Gavok for posting it.

Swierczynski used a similar line when he was writing Immortal Iron Fist, during the "Escape from the Eighth City" arc. While imprisoned, Danny starts up a conversation with the prisoner in the next cell, who asks him what his name means. Danny pauses for a moment, and thinks of a line he attributes to Tarantino (I think): 'We're Americans, our names don't mean anything.'

Danny ends up telling the man he was 'named for his father'.

I guess I'm partly amused Swierczynski went with a similar line, albeit changed enough so it fit the situation, but I do like the line in general. It feels accurate, the idea that Americans appropriate things from other cultures, but frequently don't know or care about the history behind it. When I was in junior high, one of my social studies textbooks had this bit at the end of a chapter. It was a story about a family that gets together on the 4th of July, and some of the relatives (in-laws, I guess) are British. The way it plays out, the father/husband tries to boast about all these great things that are American, and the British in-law calmly points out all those things (like hot dogs) originated somewhere else. I don't remember whether the point was to emphasize the "melting pot" idea, or to try and temper potential jingoism by reminding students a lot of the things we love weren't actually devised by Americans. But we forget that. Or ignore it.

I don't necessarily mean it as a negative, since it could relate to the sort of thing Garth Ennis had Tommy Monaghan tell Superman. That it doesn't matter where one came from originally, they're here now, they're Americans. There's the risk that comes with ignoring history, and thus repeating it, but the idea of setting aside the past and everyone simply sharing what they bring to the table is kind of nice, if ridiculously naive.

Maybe none of that has anything to do with why I or Danny Rand don't worry about where our names came from, or why Starling has the tattoos she does (though it may turn out she has a reason for those particular designs). For me, my name is something that was given to me, and its origins are purely academic. Whatever it meant before, it's my name now. Does that make it a shorthand method of describing me? You say my name to someone who knows me, and certain descriptors or images come to mind**. There's a self-centeredness to that, obviously, but my feeling is there are a lot things involved in my being the person I am, but the origin of my name isn't one of them.

Alex has a lot of tattoos. A person who didn't know him might look at all of them and come to the same conclusion Katana did, they don't mean anything. True, some of them weren't chosen for any reason other than they looked cool. Some were picked by Alex with a specific reason in mind. Whether the meaning he derives from them is the same as that which the originator intended I don't know, but for Alex they do mean something, even if the rest of us can't recognize it.

* The St. Louis Cardinals acquired a pitcher this year named Mark Rzepczynski. His nickname, appropriately, is Scrabble. I propose we assign that nickname to Swierczynski as well, because Scrabble is much easier to spell.

** To use a different example, I don't know what "Benito" or "Mussolini" mean, but if I read them together in a sentence, certain things are going to come to mind. Mostly him standing on a balcony, arms crossed, nodding his head vigorously, or trying futilely to get the rest of Europe to agree to limits on the size of their militaries so his could avoid falling behind.

The Annihilators Might Want A Different Pitchman

2011-11-15T09:12:00.004-06:00

I kind of like Ronan and Gladiator calling out the Avengers for their limited sense of scale in Annihilators: Earthfall #2, but I think it would have carried more weight coming from different characters.

If you haven't read the issue, Ronan's trying to beat down Captain America so the Annihilators can get on with their mission and tells him to get lost, he has no place here. Cap responds that this is his planet. Ronan flattens Cap and 3 other Avengers while stating 'Hardly a courtesy you extended to my world during the Kree-Skrull War, Avenger!'

Then Gladiator (who's trying to melt Iron Man with eye beams, go Kallark!) chimes in, asking where the Avengers were during Annihilation or War of Kings. The answer to the first is they were too busy punching each other over stupid legislation. As for the second, um, that was during Dark Reign wasn't it? So they were busy dealing with the incompetence on their part which let Norman Osborn get a hold of everything. Still, those are pretty small potatoes compared to what as going on in space. And the heroes on Earth really don't ever get involved in the big stuff until it shows up on their doorstep. Then they'll get involved, but until then, out of sight, out of mind.

Yet, there are a few holes in the arguments. I'm pretty sure the Avengers got involved in the Kree-Skrull War because those two parties brought their conflict to Earth. I really dig ya, Ronan, cause you like to hit people with a giant hammer, you're totally devoted to your people, even when they don't deserve it, and you've even displayed a romantic side. Still, once you drag other people into your fight by having it in their house, you can't really complain when they come to your house to wreck your stuff.

As for Gladiator, well, I don't recall seeing the Shi'ar anywhere during Annihilation. And Gladiator could have averted War of Kings if he'd popped Vulcan's head like a pimple and put Lilandra back on the throne well beforehand. I distinctly recall he was the one who whipped that Summers brat's butt when Vulcan first entered Shi'ar space looking for revenge, so he was more than capable of it. But noooooo, Kallark just sat around twiddling his thumbs, and look where that got him.

The overall points are good ones, but they'd be stronger if Quasar, or Beta Ray Bill had delivered them. Guys who have been mixed up in the cosmic badness, but don't have quite the checkered history of the other two. Of course, if they'd kept Quasar there, and sent one of the other two with Ikon, he could have probably defused the whole thing in short order. Which makes me wonder if they sent him away on purpose. Ronan was the one who told Wendell to go with Ikon, and he and Gladiator didn't seem shy about kicking the Avengers around. Maybe Ronan just wanted to crack some Earth skulls, and the zealots from the UCT weren't proving satisfying enough.

What I Bought 11/9/2011 - Part 4

2011-11-14T09:35:00.007-06:00

Today's the day for mini-series that are just getting started. So why don't we get started as well?

Annihilators: Earthfall #1, 2 - Those covers would look a lot better if the colors were a little brighter. Why does everything have to be murky? Anyway, go Bill! Pound him into the ground like a tent peg! Whooo!

The Annihilators (minus the Surfer, who dropped out), have inserted themselves into a struggle between different factions of the Universal Church of Truth. Cosmo learns that the UCT is eagerly awaiting the return of their Chosen One, and that it's going to happen on Earth. Off the team goes, to stop the Magus from coming back. Unfortunately for them, the members of the Church on Earth are smart enough to know when to act like terrified humans, namely, when the Avengers show up and see Ronan the Accuser wrecking stuff. Cue fight scene, and ugh, the Red Hulk? His presence lowers the quality of this book by at least 5%. Blasted Bendis, making him an Avenger. Anyway, the Avengers finally get it through their skulls the Annihilators aren't the bad guys, but by then, the Magus is already up and at 'em. In the form of dozens of creepy children.

The Rocket Raccon/Groot back-up involves them in a series of increasingly nonsensical situations that turn out to be Mojo filming a new series, with them as his captive stars.

Well, I could have done without ever seeing Adam Warlock or any of his various selves ever again, but at least I should get to see Ronan crush creepy children's skulls with his hammer. That'll be fun. The Avengers can stand around and talk about how horrified they are by it all. They've lots of practice at that sort of thing by now. I do wish they had a different artist. It isn't that Huat's art doesn't get things across, but I don't think it really conveys the scale of the battles, or the impact of the hits. Plus, there doesn't seem to be a lot of variation in his expressions. And those noses! You could lose your eye on the end of most of those noses! I'm perfectly fine with Tim Green II's art, though, and Mojo doesn't bother me the way I've heard he does some others. Maybe I don't read the X-books enough to hate him.

Avengers Solo #1 - I bought this because I like Hawkeye, and Jen van Meter earned some trust from me with that awesome Black Cat mini-series last year.

So Hawkeye finds a man running from someone in powered armor. He drives off Armor Guy, but the man runs, only to turn up at the Mansion asking for help. Then he turns up dead, but not before he'd given Hawkeye a disc with a lot of information on it. After surviving an encounter with Chance, wager-killer-for-hire, and the Return of Armor Guy, Hawkeye gets in touch with a person connected to the recently deceased, and learns about a study conducted where people started turning up dead, or missing. Hawkeye agrees to investigate, only to get caught by Paste Pot Pete?! Oh, Hawkeye, that's gonna be hard to live down. In the backup story, Pym takes along Finesse and Striker to investigate why an old acquaintance tried hacking into the Academy's computers as soon as they were set up.

I'm withholding judgment on the plot for now, but van Meter has a solid handle on Hawkeye. The cockiness is there, but more than that, his determination and sense of duty. Hawkeye's likes a bulldog, unwilling to let go. Sometimes that's good, sometimes it's bad. Like when he wouldn't let Mockingbird deal with her own problems, and contacted the family that was convinced she was dead, without consulting her first. And being an Avengers means something to him, in terms of how he handles himself, but also what it means about helping people. He wasn't able to save Tulio Guzman, and that bothers him, because saving people is what he's supposed to do, and that feeds into the bulldog thing and makes him that much less likely to drop it.

I think Roger Robinson's art would be helped if they'd lighten the shadows up a bit. When Chance attacked, my first though was it was Armor Guy again, and Hawkeye just hadn't recognized him at first. Then I noticed the armor was different, and then the real Armor Guy showed up. I know a lot of the story took place at night, but it's New York. There's street lights and crap everywhere. Is it really that murky? Seriously, is it?

Legion of Monsters #1 - Take your NextWave fun where you can get it, right? Did I see Machine Man's been regressed to his old look in the Hulk books? Booooo!

The story is this: There's a Monster Metropolis deep beneath New York, where lots of monsters live, and where Morbius and a few other monsters are trying to serve as a police force, to help create a real society. Enter into this one Elsa Bloodstone, monster killer. She says "monster hunter", or perhaps "monster chaser", but I'd say "killer" is accurate. Or "exterminator". She's tracking a beastie that's been killing people in a small town, and it lead her through a portal back there. The creature dies, but not from Elsa shooting it repeatedly. Rather, something messed with its brain with magic, and Morbius would like Elsa to team-up with his crew to find this problem and deal with it. it's only after he points out that will be less dangerous to innocent lives than relying on her ability to kill potentially 400,000 berserker monsters, does Elsa agree. There endeth the issue.

It's not a bad first issue. Dennis Hopeless introduced all the major protagonists, gave us at least a little peek at their personalities, and we at least have an idea of the problem they face and why it's something to be concerned about. I'm not at all clear on how they'll begin to track down the threat, but I'll guess we'll see. I'm also curious whether the Dimensional Man being stuck in a pipe, rather than in that specialized containment unit will be a plot point. I tend to believe he's the gun we're introduced to in Act One, that will have to be fired at some point, but I've been wrong before. Quite frequently, in fact.

Juan Doe's art is pretty stylized so I imagine most people are either going to love it or hate it. I'd fall into the former category, I suppose, or maybe I'm not most people. I'm really impressed by how few lines he appears to use with Elsa, yet he gets her expressions across so well. The action, when there is some works well. I would like to see the Monster Metropolis fleshed out a bit more. Right now it's some shadowy towering stuff and lots of pipes. Which makes a certain amount of sense, being underground and connected to sewers, but there's a lot more one could do with that, isn't there?

Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 16 - Bounty Hunter Convention

2011-11-13T08:23:00.002-06:00

Plot: It's what the title says. A bunch of bounty hunters, including Brisco and Bowler (they brought Soc along for some reason) gather at an island hotel for a convention, ostensibly to exchange ideas, information, and be introduced to some new, non-lethal, crimefighting equipment. But it quickly turns into a reprise of "And Then There Were None", and bounty hunters start dying in gruesome ways, leaving Brisco to try and piece together the mystery.

Does Brisco use his gun? No.

Stuff Comet does: Knocks on the door.

Kiss Count: 0 (19 overall).

John Bly Spreads His Arms Dramatically: 0 (7 overall).

Is Pete Hutter in this Episode? No.

Pete Hutter Quote: N/A

Non-Pete Hutter Quote: 'Bounty hunters are a bunch of back-stabbing, egocentric loners. We don't share nothing!' - Bowler.

Brisco's Coming Things: stun gun, bullet-resistant clothing, rubber bullets, net launcher.

Gang Count: 0 (7 or 11 overall, depending on if we count the Swills).

Stuff the Orb Can Do: N/A

Other: El Gato and Mountain McClain from "Crystal Hawks" both make appearances. Mountain is adamant that Brisco keep Comet away from Lily, Mountain's horse. Also, Todd, who appeared as the waiter telling Bowler about the "specials" in "The Orb Scholar" shows up as the guy at the registry desk.

Brisco does not want to share a room with Socrates because he snores (see "Brisco for the Defense"). In addition to laying his pants under his mattress to press them, he hangs his socks from a bookshelf so they'll be warm in the morning.

Bowler's unofficial "Damn!" count is now 7.

It's Brisco as the detective in an Agatha Christie mystery. As detectives go, he's no Hercule Poirot. Doesn't have the impeccable mustache, for one thing. I think Poirot usually keeps the death toll down a little more after he gets involved, also. You'd think Trevor Furlong, formerly of Scotland Yard, would be more of a detective, but I suppose if Sherlock Holmes mysteries taught me anything, it's Scotland Yard was staffed by morons.

What I Bought 11/9/2011 - Part 3

2011-11-12T09:28:00.003-06:00

I get sad sometimes, thinking how many Marvel ongoings I used to buy, compared to how few I get now. I think it was 11 at the beginning of 2007, and now it's 2. Course, back in '07, I dropped three of those titles before the end of the year, so I clearly wasn't enjoying them anymore, but I had at some point earlier. I have no real point to this, I'm just struggling with introductory paragraphs as usual.

Avengers Academy #19, 20 - Couldn't Hank make himself only a little bigger than everyone else, rather than gigantic? Then he could stand in the back (behind Pietro and Tigra), and be completely in the picture? I know, it's cute the way he did it, but you think he'd opt for a more practical approach. I'm also surprised Pietro doesn't look more bored, or impatient. And Justice looks really grim for some reason.

In issue 19, the cadets decide they have to cause the Academy to self-destruct before the possessed Absorbing Man enlarges it to their universe, where it'll wipe out a city. To do that, Finesse plans to trigger the destruct, but someone else will have to stay behind to stall the baddies. Two someones, as it turns out. Fortunately, the teachers show up in time to remove the need for sacrifices, though the explosion fails to defeat Titania or Absorbing Man. They leave to go join the big, stupid, fight that wrapped up Fear Itself. So everyone survived, but Veil's had enough of all this nearly dying, so she's leaving. 20 deals with the fallout from that, especially when it's revealed where she's going. Plus, two of the teachers are leaving, and Hank's moved the Academy to the old West Coast Avengers' headquarters, and invited a bunch more students. Oh, and he told Tigra he loved her. Go Hank! Get in touch with your emotions and express them in healthy ways!

I think the reveal of where Veil's going would have worked better if I'd read the Point One issue they did. In my defense, I thought those were for new readers, and I wasn't one at the time. Besides, I was thinking about dropping the book when it was solicited, so I wasn't exactly jumping at the chance to buy more issues. Gage makes it pretty clear why some of the cadets and teachers aren't thrilled with Veil's decision, so I'm not lost, but I the effect was blunted slightly. All I have to go on is hearsay from people, most of whom are clearly biased. I assume this Briggs fellow and whatever he's up to will be a running subplot in the future, so it isn't as though Veil's being written out.

I don't have much to say about Tom Raney's art. His faces are a little inconsistent, so I wouldn't say his art elevates the book, but he's not hurting it, either. There's nothing wrong with solid artwork that does the job, though it suffers in comparison with books where the art is really helping sell the book.

Daredevil #5 - Like this one! Oh Marcos Martin, you're so awesome.

It appears shadowy figures he realized that Mr. Austin Cao wasn't fired for being bad at his job, but as an attempt to protect him, and send armed men after him. Too bad for them Murdock's already there. As he put it, 'Oh no! Six armed mercs wearing night vision goggles! Whatever will I do?' *KLIK* Hee hee, I love slightly smart alecky Matt Murdock.

Having dispatched the mercs, Murdock brings Austin to his apartment and helps him remember what he heard, which tells him why someone would fire a man to protect them. Which sets Daredevil on the trail of Cao's former employer. Too bad he gets there just in time to get whupped by some blocky dork in a terrible costume. He has different criminal organization names and insignias all over the outfit, as if a NASCAR vehicle became human and decided to become a luchador.

Also, Foggy's attempts to convince Assistant D.A. McDuffie Matt isn't Daredevil may have made trouble for Matt. Oh, and she isn't his girlfriend, which is probably good. I used to watch The Practice, and it taught me it isn't necessarily smart for prosecutors and defense attorneys to sleep together. Since Murdock can't really go into court anymore, that shouldn't be a problem.

Let's see, I like that Waid's taking Daredevil out of the strictly street crime and ninjas comfort zone, and I'm curious to see if this and the mysterious figure who tried to help Klaw reconstitute himself will be related. As I said, I also love smartass Matt Murdock. Much better than mopey, grim Murdock. As for Marcos Martin, the man knows how to use sound effects. When Brusier kicks Daredevil, and the "KRAK" fills the entire panel behind them, that gets the point across. Or having the sounds of gunfire cross a panel to represent the path of bullets (which we don't see because Matt doesn't see them, either).

Alright, tomorrow. . . Brisco! Because it's Sunday. Monday, Marvel mini-series stuff!

What I Bought 11/9/2011 - Part 2

2011-11-11T08:32:00.004-06:00

Today I'm taking a trip outside the Marvel/DC stuff. I still don't have any of the issues of Atomic Robo: Ghost of Station X (sad face), but I'm hoping those will show up in the next shipment. Really hoping I don't regret picking up Robo in singles, rather than waiting for trades.

Angel & Faith #2, 3 - The first issue is another thing I'm hoping will be in the next shipment. I went for this because even though I didn't pay too much attention to Buffy Season 8, I still like Faith, and I have a certain amount of trust in Christos Gage. The gist is Angel was controlled by outside forces during Season 8, and did lots of bad stuff, including killing Giles. So he's going to try and fix things now, and Faith is trying to help, because she feels she owes Angel. This while also trying to ride herd on a bunch of Slayers in England, who don't know she's also helping the one who killed Giles. Which will almost certainly cause misunderstandings later.

Angel's current "fix things" plan is to find a source of Mohra demon blood, because he thinks that could resurrect Giles, since it once made him human, instead of a vampire. Faith knows this is the wrong way to be going about things, but isn't sure how to get Angel to see that. As she turns that problem over in her head, they work at finding out where an underworld (in both senses of the term) player is getting his Mohra blood from. There's much killing of demons, trashing of bars, talking to experts, and attempting of undercover work.

I went into this wondering if I'd regret it, but I'm pleasantly surprised. Maybe it's all the fight scenes, or maybe it's all the decompressed stuff I read these days, but I think Gage had a lot going on storywise, and I like the situation he's placed Faith in. Since her character is the primary reason I'm writing this book, the fact he's doing interesting stuff with her is a major plus. Also, he gets across enough information I didn't feel lost. Like, I don't know precisely who Pearl and Nash are, but Gage makes sure I know enough. They worked with Angel at some point, he betrayed them, they don't like Angel, and the feeling is mutual. If there's more that's relevant, it'll come out as things go along. Rebekah Isaacs is the artist, and I like the work done so far. Angel and Faith look recognizably like Boreanaz and Dushku, not just in physical appearance, but also in expressions and posture. I could see the actors sporting those same looks if this were an episode on TV.

So yes, thus far I'm very pleased with the decision to buy this title.

Darkwing Duck #17 - I haven't read Ducktales 5, so I'm coming into this a little blind. The basic are that inklike substance that briefly turned DW and Launchpad against each other has covered most of St. Canard, leaving only the main casts of the two books to try and fix the mess. DW, Scrooge, and Gyro (who created the Gizmoduck armor, though I have no clue why he's here) head for Quackwerks, figuring that's where Magica is at. And they're right, though most of Darkwing's arch-foes are there too, as well as Gizmoduck. I don't know where he's been, either, or how the suit got put back together.

Meanwhile, Launchpad and the kids are trying to find the source of the strange substance, which leads to disaster for Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Also, Launchpad's distressed because Darkwing and Scrooge aren't getting along, and what if he has to choose between his friends? I can relate. I had friends who from elementary school up through high school, didn't like each other, but both got along fine with me. It was always depressing, because I wasn't sure if we could all hang out together without things turning ugly.

The story's hopping back over to Ducktales, before wrapping up in Darkwing 18. While I can follow the general arc of the story without the first chapter, there's enough little things I don't know, that I think I'll be looking into picking up those other chapters. Maybe they have the answers, maybe they don't, but it's worth a looksee. James Silvani's doing his usual excellent work on the art. I especially like the panel of Darkwing puffing away smoke from the end of his gas gun while commenting that he knows a thing or two about picking his battles. He's oozing confidence. Or is it arrogance? Thin line.

Tomorrow, Marvel ongoing series stuff!

What I Bought 11/9/2011 - Part 1

2011-11-10T08:59:00.005-06:00

For the record, the comics were here almost two weeks ago, but I wasn't. So it's on me, and not Jack, that these reviews are as far behind as they are. Let's get the DC stuff out of the way first, shall we?

Grifter #2 - Judging by the contents, I'm not sure why the cover says "Daemonites are everywhere - or are they?" I don't think Edmondson is playing much of a game about whether Grifter is imagining all this or not. Also, has anyone in the comic used the word "Daemonite" yet?

In this issue, Cole's partner/girlfriend(?) Gretchen agrees to meet with him in a diner, where Cole attempts to explain what's happening. Then he attacks a cop. Relax, it was a Daemonite, but Cole still set him on fire, which freaks Gretchen out, causing her to ditch him and board a train for . . . Gotham?! Oh, not Batman, that guy sucks! This is the downside to not reading the solicits on comics I'm planning to buy. It maintains the suspense, but can lead to unpleasant surprises.

Cole introduces another cop's (probably not a Daemonite) face to the pavement, and steal his car, until his brother shoots out the tire. They have a brief exchange of gunfire before Cole escapes. In other subplots, the military leader guy who set Cole's brother after him is aware there's more to this, and he knows more than we do. Or Cole, for that matter.

This issue was better than the first, but the book still hasn't grabbed me. I don't know why, I just don't care about any of the characters. Cafu's art still reminds me of Sean Chen's, at least in the faces. One thing I wasn't entirely clear on. Cole tells his brother he saw him at the diner, but we never saw him, at least, not inside. There were a couple of panels set outside the diner looking in, including one where we see the cops roll up, and so I wonder if those are meant to be from Max' perspective.

Resurrection Man #2 - I like the two bullets passing through the sleeve of Mitch's coat. Somehow that conveys how dire his situation is for me even more effectively than the guns being discharged on either side of his head. Which is silly I suppose, but the visible holes show just how close it's coming.

Mitch makes it to Portland, to a rest home that was apparently the final stop of his deceased father. Mitch meets a neighbor of his father's, Darryl Roth, and tries to get some answers about himself from conversing with the man. This doesn't help much, but Roth agrees to look him up online, because as the former supervillain, the Transhuman, he's a whiz at this tech stuff. Not so much of a whiz his search doesn't alert some interested parties, who teleport those Body Doubles ladies to Mitch's location, where they capture him. Well, his physical body. I have a feeling his soul isn't in it at the moment, judging by the last page.

I've never warmed to the Body Doubles. It feels like Abnett and Lanning (who are about the only people I've read who've written them) make them seem too spacey to be as dangerous as they are. I suppose they're certainly cruel, or indifferent to others' suffering, and that can't be underestimated, but I still have a hard time taking them seriously. Which cuts down on my enjoyment of this issue a bit. I still enjoyed it, though. I don't know whether to take Darryl's claims seriously or not. I hope he really is a retired supervillain, but it's hard to tell. The first panel he appeared he, he looks stern and unfriendly, then two panels later, he reminds me a bit of Stan Lee, with the big glasses and the smile. Which I imagine would only cement "supervillain" in some people's minds, but whatever.

Dagnino's still doing fine on the art. The Body Doubles are ridiculously cheesecakey, no doubt about it, but I'm pretty sure that's how they were designed. So I don't fault Dagnino for that. I do think his art reminds me a little less of Gene Colan, a little more of Ryan Sook this month. Which is fine, I think a Gene Colan style worked better for the first issue, with its sort of horror theme, and maybe for the third issue, if Mitch is going to be wandering some forbidding spirit realm.

Suicide Squad #2 - Why is there a cable wrapped around Deadshot's arm on the cover? Did he rappel down from the roof of the stadium? Is someone trying to capture him?

In this issue, the Squad kills lots of zombies. Techno-zombies. Deadshot turns out to be in direct contact with Waller, so it seems he may have been in on the whole "test" thing from the start. Maybe. The target is a woman who seems to be the origin of the virus, or more accurately, her baby is the target. Get the baby, kill everyone else. Including one of the Squad members, who will take the fall for all these deaths. Of course, this Waller isn't competent (or concerned) enough to get her team out properly, so now they have to escape on their own, with Checkmate after them, and the timer's on their head bombs ticking down.

I'm sure Alex would have loved this, but my past attachment to certain characters is killing this book for me. I keep thinking, "That's not right, Waller wouldn't order that," or "Harley ought to be actually funny," or whatever. Of course, it's a whole new ballgame, but try telling my preconceived notions that. I suppose I should have seen the double-cross coming when Floyd didn't have a comment on his teammate Voltaic like he did on all the others.

About the art. Ransom Getty's gone, and Andrei Bressan is in with Dallocchio. I can't determine a pattern to when they switch off, though Bressan did draw the one page flashback of a person explaining how all this started. I suppose I prefer Bressan's art to Dallocchio's, as well. He's more exaggerated in his style, which makes the violence seem a little less real. Which makes it less horrifying, more absurd, which is fine with me.

I didn't notice the glowing, floaty lady in the cloak anywhere in these. was she a one-month occurrence?

What I Think Of Driving In Blinding Rain

2011-11-09T09:22:00.002-06:00

Morbid Hypothetical for the day: Would it be more a dark turn for a fictional character to die in a car accident driving back from an interview for a job they ultimately were going to get (if they had survived), or an interview for one they weren't?

The first one has that old-style horror twist to it, where the story could end with a panel of an answering machine picking up a message saying they job's there if they want it. So there's the idea things were going to turn around, but the character couldn't weather one last bit of bad luck. The other is more a "futility of it all" statement, a life wasted on an ultimately meaningless quest. The former feels more like the end of a Twilight Zone episode, the rug being pulled. The latter makes me think of a comedy, oddly enough. That last kick in the teeth for the character that's been getting their chops busted throughout.

What Am I Doing In The Age Of Apocalypse?

2011-11-08T15:06:00.001-06:00

I largely missed the Age of Apocalypse story back in the mid-90s. That was around the time my limited allowance started to go towards Game Gear games, rather than comics. Blame the state of the Spider-books at the time, if you'd like. As much as I like Ben Reilly, I'm not going to claim those were great books. I picked up that issue of X-Calibre somewhere along the line, and there's a sequence in it that's always bothered me.

The basic plot is Nightcrawler and Mystique (and they're fully aware that she's his mother in this reality) are traveling to Avalon/savage Land to convince Destiny to come check out this time traveler the X-Men have, who claims this world is wrong. I think it was Bishop, might have been Cable.

The dark-haired woman with the Dr. Strange gloves is Damask, one of Apoclaypse's Dark Riders. When the issue starts, she's just finished killing one of her coworkers, named Dani (Danielle Moonster?), much to the consternation of Dead Man Wade. He's practically blubbering, asking why she killed Dani, and the basic response is they don't need her. Then Damask throws in this little jab: "She never liked you anyway.", and smirks at Wade's stunned "What?!" I don't know if she's telling the truth, but either way, she clearly enjoys the pain it calls Wade. So, OK, she's a wretched human being.

They track the heroes to Avalon, and Wade goes on the attack. Everything here is alive, birds, trees, all that stuff, and he hates it. He's going to burn it all down. But Damask has a change of heart. She's never seen a place like this, and she likes it, so she won't let Wade destroy it. Cue her stabbing Wade in the neck, him shrugging that off (because he's freaking Deadpool, getting stabbed in the neck is probably foreplay), then Nightcrawler teleporting his head off his body.

The Age of Apocalypse universe: Where even Nightcrawler casually uses lethal force. No wonder I ignored it.

Anyway, Damask decides to change sides, and when it turns out the Shadow King had hitched a ride in Wade's head, and was now making the residents of Avalon tear each other apart, she helps the other folks on the cover bring him down. She can project these telekinetic - or telepathic) blades, and basically flense someones psyche. Was she supposed to be A0A Betsy Braddock?

What's always bothered me about this is a sense of unfairness. Damask takes away someone important to Wade, not only doesn't feel remorse, but enjoys twisting the knife in Wade afterward. When she finds something she cares about, though, oh no, Wade can't take it away.

No, it isn't the same, since Damask kills one person (a killer like herself), and Wade was out to slaughter dozens of people who only wanted to get away from Apocalpyse and wound up in the same place as someone important to Apocalypse's enemies. Still, something about it feels wrong. She was a villain five minutes ago, a sadistic killer. Now that her interests coincide with the heroes I'm supposed to root for her? It'd be like rooting for Norman Osborn in Secret Invasion because it's as much in his interests to drive off the Skrulls as it is the Avengers'. I don't care, I'm still not rooting for him.

Maybe if I thought she was looking for redemption, it'd be different. I'm usually down for a good "character tries to make up for past misdeeds" arc. But I'm not sure there's much evidence that's happening here. It appears she may have realized she's been lied to for years, lead to believe whatever Apocalypse says is the truth about the world, and this place contradicts that truth. And she's decided she'd rather defend this new truth, rather than the old one. But there's no real sign she regrets what she did in those earlier days. She's still a killer, she's just killing for the other side now.

There's a sense to me it shouldn't be that easy, that she shouldn't be able to say "Oops, I was wrong! I'm on your side now!" and everything is hunky-dory. Maybe that's wrong, and heroes should be willing to extend trust readily, to give enemies a second chance, though I still think there should be some sign the villain really wants to change first. But in an Age of Apocaypse universe, where things are harsher than they are in the everyday Marvel Universe, I would think that sort of leeway would be hard to come by.

Adventure And Romance On The High Seas

2011-11-07T08:56:00.003-06:00

The last two nights have been Errol Flynn nights, first with Captain Blood, then The Sea Hawk. I initially thought they were part of a series, as the latter could have been a follow-up to the former (if we assume Blood decided being governor wasn't for him), but no. They're just two different nautical films starring Errol Flynn.

Neither movie entirely held my interest, but of the two, Captain Blood had more success. I liked that Blood was a doctor with no alliegance except to those in need of his services, a stance unacceptable to King James. Which is how he winds up a slave in Jamaica. Once there, the amusement came from his consistent ability to put his foot in his mouth. Olivia de Havilland keeps getting him out of trouble, and he keeps being rude to her. To be fair, he's a slave, and she hasn't actually done anything about that, so I can't fault him for being bitter about his circumstances. Still, if not for her, he'd be in truly awful conditions in the mines, or she could easily have told her uncle that he was down at the docks, when he had no suitable alibi. Instead, she covered for him. He does eventually admit his rudeness, although by that time he's a pirate and she's being rather judgmental towards him, in spite of her attraction to him, so maybe it all evens out. They love each other, they each get to be snippy, it's all good.

After he escaped from slavery and became a pirate, I found myself less interested in the movie. Except for Basil Rathbone as the French pirate captain. He was highly entertaining, and I was pretty disappointed at how things turned out for him. If he had remained a pirate, spurning the offers of the new monarch at the removal of his criminal record, I might have been more interested, but it felt a little cliche, and frankly I didn't understand why he did it. He admitted early in the movie he'd fought for the French against the Spanish, and vice versa, but had no interest in getting involved in the current struggle in England. Which doesn't necessarily suggest a deep loyalty to England. So why care enough to help?

The Sea Hawk, didn't interest me nearly as much. The intrigue in the English court caught my attention, but that wasn't a huge part of the movie. I did like the bit about the Spanish using a glimpse of the partially completed map Thorpe's men would use for their mission to figure out where he was going, so they could trap him. I know it wouldn't have made for much of a movie, but I was disappointed Thorpe, when reaching his ship and finding the Spanish in force on it, didn't draw his sword and make a go of it. His other option was capture and being brought to Spain, and does he really want to face an Inquisition? Besides, I don't care what the Spanish captain said, I don't think "accurate" is a word one can use in conjuction with "muskets". Especially when the Spanish captain is down on the same part of the deck with Thorpe and his men, while all the soldiers are on the higher decks. They'll have to be very careful not to hit their captain while they try to shoot Thorpe.

But if he'd gone for the blaze of glory, he couldn't have escaped from the belly of a Spanish galleon, and I wouldn't have wondered about bathroom facilities for the slave rowers in the galleon, so there's that at least.

Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 15 - A.K.A. Kansas

2011-11-06T10:09:00.003-06:00

Plot: Brisco's on the trail of yet another of Bly's gang, Doc McCoy (Christopher Rich), and the trail leads him to. . . Dixie?! Seems Dixie and Doc used to be together, and even while McCoy's trying to steal a cannon from the Army to carry out a mission for Bly, he's trying to rekindle things with Dixie. Brisco, in what is not entirely the smartest idea he ever had, uses Dixie as a way to keep tabs on Doc while he tries to infiltratechis gang as Kansas Wily Stafford. Which is fine, until the real Kansas shows up. . .

While all this is going on, Socrates is hiding out at Bowler's very impressive home, trying to dodge a potentially crazy Ms. Avnet, who has been busted out of jail.

Does Brisco use his gun? It's a trick shot episode. He shoots 6 bottles while blindfolded, shoots another bottle by richocheting off two skillets, and disarms Doc by bouncing a shot of a plow.

Stuff Comet does: N/A

Kiss Count: 0 (19 overall). wait, zero?! In a episode with Dixie?

John Bly Spreads His Arms Dramatically Count: 0 (7 overall).

Is Pete Hutter in this Episode? No.

Pete Hutter Quote: N/A

Non-Pete Hutter Quote: Doc - 'I hate to be greedy, but I saw her first.' Brisco - 'Yeah, but she dumped you. And now she betrayed you.' Doc - 'I can forgive her for her sins. Can you?'

Brisco's Coming Things: I'd say the super-cannon might qualify.

Gang Count: 1, Doc McCoy (arrested). 7 overall. Should I be counting the Swills? I honestly didn't think they were part of Bly's gang (they seem too stupid), plus Brisco already had past history with them, but I'm kind of wondering. They'd bring it up to 11, with Phil, Bill, and Will getting arrested in "Mail Order Brides", and Gil dying in "No Man's Land".

Stuff The Orb Can Do: Transport people through time.

Other: Dixie's back for the first time since "Deep in the Heart of Dixie", which is also the last time we saw Ms. Avnet. U.S Attorney Breakstone also shows up for the first time since that episode, as he turns down Soc's request for protection from Rita's. . . attentions. Brisco uses the alias Kansas Wily Stafford for the first time since the pilot.

We get our first look inside Bowler's house, and we learn that he refers to Brisco as his 'faithful companion', an inversion of how they're partnership is represented in those dime novels the mail order brides were so fond of. It's not the last time we'll hear that phrase, but it is the last time I think Bowler gets to use it.

On the one hand, I enjoy this episode a lot. I like that it follows up on "Steel Horses", in that Juno failed to hijack the wagon carrying the Orb, so now Doc's trying to take it from the government lab in Nowhere, Nevada. Plus, the whole thing with Rita and Socrates is pretty funny, even if she is that cliche "crazy lady" character. Breakstone's reaction to Soc's claims is what sells it.

On the other hand, Dixie kind of feels like this prize Brisco and Doc are fighting over, which is a little irritating. The upside is, Dixie gets involved because she wanted to. She's not abducted, or coerced. She cares about Brisco and wants to help him, but she also loved Doc, and she's unsure whether that flame is still there. What's more, the case raises questions for her about whether Brisco actually cares about her, or if it's merely her connections to Bly's gang that he's interested in. She had an excellent quote to that effect I considered choosing for quote of the episode: 'Well I'm glad I came along, and you know why? Because I learned the truth. And the truth is, that you care more about getting Bly than anything. Certainly me.'

It really puts Brisco on the spot, makes him consider why he's doing what he's doing, how badly he needs to do it, and how much he's willing to sacrifice in the process.