2007 Comics In Review, Part 4

And so, we have come to the end. I think I've drug this out long enough, so as of this moment, I don't intend to try and do some ranking of best story arcs, ongoing titles, mini-series, etc. Of course, I could change my mind by tomorrow. I'm wacky that way, especially since that Titans Lost Annual came out. I didn't even buy it, but the bits of it I saw on Scans Daily have apparently warped my fragile little mind. So we'll see. Anyway, 2007 was the year Annihilation wrapped up, and Annihilation: Conquest began. Conquest hasn't equaled its predecessor in my eyes, but I haven't regretted spending money on it, which is more than the people who bought Amazons Attack can say, I'm sure. *rimshot* I also put Nova in here because the titles came out of Annihilation, and it's been mixed up in Conquest to a certain extent the last seven issues.

Annihilation: Conquest - Prologue - The thing I've enjoyed about both of the prologues the Annihilation events have had, is that they clue you in on what the score is before everything starts going wrong. You find out what at least some of the important characters are up to, and so it gives someone unfamiliar with them at least somewhat of a starting point, without having to resort to Wikipedia. Always a good idea, from my perspective anyway. I do have to say, looking back over it, there's something off about Mike Perkins art for me here. It seems like either the inking or the coloring aren't really complementing his style. Facial features seem to get lost at time, or faces seem too plastic.

Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar (1-4) - The search for the "Savior" by a novice Quasar and her girlfriend, Moondragon, complicated by a Phalanx-Select Super-Adaptoid that's hunting them, plus a host of other problems.

High Point: I was generally very impressed with how Christos Gage handled Phyla and Heather's relationship, and there was Wendell Vaughn's brief, but nice cameo in the last issue. But you know me, I'm big on fights, so I'm going to choose the series of battles between Phyla and the Super-Adaptoid. What's interesting is that in a battle between a person with the Quantum Bands, and a machine capable of imitating all the powers of the Avengers, it wasn't really a case of one overpowering the other. They kept outsmarting each other, and using abilities not taken from other sources (the Adaptoid using it's ability to adapt to simulate Quantum Bands in #2, and Phyla using her speed to cause S-A to wipe out in #1).

Low Point: This is just me, but I was kind of disappointed that the "Savior" is Adam Warlock. I guess I saw too much of him during the '90s. Not the character's fault, and I don't have a better suggestion (other than Rom the SpaceKnight, naturally), but I had a "Him again?" moment when I saw Warlock emerge from the cocoon in #4.

Annihilation: Conquest - Starlord (1-4) - For my money, the most enjoyable of the lead-ins to the actual Conquest mini-series. And it just so happened to be written by the fellow who brought me Annihilation in 2006, how nice. I liked Timothy Green II's art more at some times than others. It matched the generally light tone of this Dirty Dozenesque story, but there were times his depiction of movement seemed incorrect, or didn't convey the movement well. Minor quibble, on the whole.

High Point: Gabe and the Uni-Force's strategy to uncover the defense against the Phalanx's big weapon was clever, and it was good to see Gabe show some toughness, given that he'd been somewhat flaky in the early going. But I'm going to go with #1. I know, that doesn't seem like a good thing, saying the first issue was the high point, but for an issue that was essentially just exposition on the characters and the situation, with no actual action or progress, it was very entertaining. Starlord's realizing he needs to adjust to weapons with recoil was, for example, pretty funny.

Low Point: Um, nothing jumps to mind, actually.

Annihilation: Conquest - Wraith (1-4) -Everyone was so sure this guy was Rom, but no dice. New character. Seems a tad overpowered, what with his ability to strike fear into the Phalanx, and I wonder how it is his weapon can't be infected by the Phalanx. It seems high-tech enough, but maybe the virus can't be that close to Wraith either? I don't know. I was very pleased with Kyle Hotz' art, and Gina Going-Raney's coloring, because they really sold the dark, creepy atmosphere that seems to hang around Wraith. Very horror-vibe, which is appropriate for a story about a fellow who can't die and body-controlling viruses, don't you think?

High Point: I'm fond of the point in #2 when Ronan is trying to interrogate Wraith, and having gotten nothing from Wraith, and having been told by the Phalanx that his complete submission to them is inevitable, and completely loses his shit. The former Supreme Accuser seemed like one of those types that usually maintains his cool, but he just lost it trying to kill Wraith. Plus, it was pretty cool watching Wraith casually pull himself off the spire he was impaled on, and ask Ronan if that was the best he could do. It's cliche, but it works well after what had just been inflicted on him.

Low Point: The idea that the Supreme Intelligence wasn't actually dead. He got a good sendoff from Ronan in Annihilation #5, and it seemed kind of a waste to bring him back now. Plus, the idea that he could be used to transmit psychic message to submit to the Phalanx didn't quite fly with me. I'm not sure why that was the thing I got hung up on in this mini-series about dead characters bonded to soulless parasites, but there you go. It was good to see the Phalanx had multiple strategies working.

Annihilation: Conquest (1-2) - Only two issues released in 2007, but they certainly upped the ante against the white hats, what with Ultron being restored to a properly menacing form as the leader of the Phalanx show.

Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus (1-2) - Each issue had two stories, and each story dealt with a different Herald. I think I enjoyed the Stardust story the most, but maybe that was just for the idea of a sentient group of beings made out of energy that is constantly changing form, where nothing lasts for more than a second. That seemed extraordinarily cool to me, if somewhat hard to grasp, conceptually. The Silver Surfer vs. Tenebrous and Aegis story was a lot of fun, in the more basic sense of having kickass fight scenes. Really, none of the stories were bad.

Nova (1-9) - This comic is quite a lot of fun for me. We've seen Rich go home, tell of Iron Man, make the Thunderbolts look like chumps, and recoil in horror at Dark Speedball. Then he dallied around in Kree space for his Conquest tie-in, and then things got awesome.

High Point: As cool as his verbal smackdowns of Tony Stark were, there can be no other choice that issues 8 and 9, where Rich helps defend a sort of scientific/religious commune - set inside a Celestial's severed head - from NotZombies with the aid of a telepathic Russian dog. That sentence is a reason why comics are awesome. Also worth noting is Ko-Rel (Nova 01) and the Wolrdmind's battle against a Phalanx Select Richard Rider in #6. At least, up until the end of the issue.

Low Point: I think it's Ko-Rel dying in #6. I suppose I understand the reasoning, but I think it would have been nice to have a Nova involved with Conquest, since Rich seems like he's going to spend all his time trying to get to the Phalanx homeworld, and Ko-Rel was right there, already powered up and ready to go. I really wonder why, if the Nova Force can revive a Richard Rider that looked like a dessicated corpse from slamming into the barrier around Kree Space, it couldn't have fixed one little stab wound to Ko-Rel. I know she didn't have as much Nova Force, but the injury wasn't as severe either. And Rich has got to start putting the Nova Corps back together at some point, right? Just seems a waste.

What If? Annihilation - Let's just call this a purchasing mistake on my part. Sure, it was nice to see Iron Man and Captain America put aside their differences to deal with a true threat, but it wasn't really worth the money.

So, I'm either done at this point, or I've got one more of these in me, but either way, I'm going back to posting other stuff for at least a week. That way I have time to decide if Starlord #1 was better than Brave and the Bold #7, if I wind up doing that.

Living Here In Pandatown

So people are still talking about One More Day? {Well, still screaming about it, yes. But now we've got the people telling the screamers to calm down, or just shut up, and I find them more annoying.} Really? {The screamers are passionate. Frighteningly so, but the passion is endearing on a certain level. The ones telling them to shut up are giving off that faux-hipster, "cooler than you" attitude like it was a serious case of B.O. Besides, they're being morons. Telling people to stop talking about One More Day only encourages those people to comment about why they're still talking about it, which turns it into another fit of screaming about it. It's a self-perpetuating cycle.} I guess so. Are you screaming? {Nah. I'm just sad, and a little amused by the mess they seem to have made, which I am also confused by. We should probably move on, though it's likely that the comments on this post will be flooded by people who want to complain/discuss that story. We really shouldn't have mentioned it by name.} Sorry. {It's OK. I did it too. We'll just soldier on.}

Right! Well, maybe if we start with hugs, it will make people happy, and no one will want to scream or complain. {Yeah. Good luck with that.} You have to believe! Clap if you believe! {What, are we in Peter Pan now? Will I be able to fly soon?} Not with that attitude. {Rats.} Hug for Jamie Madrox, who got blown up, and now has a stupid tattoo to remember his trip by. And a Hug for Layla, because she's stuck in the future. I hope they remember to go get her after Messiah CompleX is over. {Me too. I wonder what the other Jamie's up to, in that other future?} Probably getting shot at, Marvel future's always seem to be bad. I think Gamora needed a Hug, because she was kind of sad at times during this last issue. Nova should have told her why he stopped spending time around her, instead of just trying to stay away from her. {But he figured he was the only one with any serious feelings about the relationship, so she wouldn't care. But as I recall, Rich also bailed on Namorita when she turned blue the first time, so he's got a track record of running when the interpersonal stuff gets too heavy.} Well that's not right.

Bonk for Nova then, for bailing on Namorita and Gamora. {So we're handing out retroactive bonks now?} Well, I'm still Bonking Tony Stark for Sallyp, even though he hasn't always done something that particular week, so yeah, I guess so. {OK then. Just making sure.} Hmm, Bonk for Bishop. I know his future is bad, but I'm not sure what he's going to do if he gets his hand on that baby. {I know, he'll take it into the future, where it'll be treated for exposure to the techno-organic virus that it was probably exposed to from being around Cable, and then it'll return to the present to to kill Cable, and become. . . Cable!} That doesn't make any sense! {We're talking about the X-Men, and time travel. Nothing ever makes sense. Not to me, anyway.}

I am going to Applaud Nova, because he didn't abandon Gamora, and even though he might be dead really soon, he's still trying to finish the mission he gave himself. {Yep, all the best heroes in the Marvel Universe are somewhere other than Earth. As long as you don't count The Seven Cities of Heaven as being on Earth, and if you figure that Deadpool is just weird enough to not actually exist on 616-Earth. Somehow.} You're counting Deadpool as a hero? {Certainly more of one than the Mighty Avengers. He gave his soul, part of it, so T-Ray might live. Truly noble.} I think Layla should get some Applause, because she was clever to steal that grenade, and she knew she had to send Jamie back, even if it left here there alone. {Geez, I really hope they go back and get her soon.}

2007 Comics In Review, Part 3

Lots and lots of solo titles this year. Heck, I'm actually leaving one out, because I think it fits better in Part 4, which we'll get to on Saturday. I did include the Spider-titles this year, rather than keeping them separate, because there weren't as many. I don't have anything else to say so let's begin.

Amazing Spider-Girl (4-15) - This title's been one of those steady books for me, rarely knocking my socks off, but also rarely depressing or aggravating me. I've been a little worried that DeFalco's run out of things to say about the characters, but I think Ron Frenz' artwork has made a dramatic improvement over where it had been during his work on the previous Spider-Girl. May's made a full return to the webs, with all the problems that causes in her personal and academic life. MJ's gotten a job at the school, in addition to her fashion work. Carnage showed up, and the story remarkably did not suck, probably because the symbiote was primarily a means to an end, and the real focus was on how the characters react. And through it all, Hobgoblin's been trying to tack control of the New York criminal underworld, with Black Tarantula periodically taking steps to slow him down, when Spider-Girl doesn't do it first. Interestingly, Peter Parker hasn't been much of a factor in the series this year, as it's been mostly about May and Mary Jane.

High Point: I'm going to give it to #6, when Jimmy Yama convinces his girlfriend to dress up as Spider-Girl, to help promote their comic, with hilarious consequences. OK, I suppose Hobgoblin showing up and abducting Heather to draw out the real Spider-Girl isn't hilarious (more like terrifying), but I was glad to see another Spider-Girl/Hobgoblin direct confrontation. All the behind the scenes stuff Hobby's been up to is nice, but sometimes you just need a reminder that the Hobgoblin is a personally dangerous dude. #14, where Hobgoblin learns all about Black Tarantula's history was pretty good too.

Low Point: I'm going to say #15, when Mindworm begins messing with May's mind, but then May breaks loose, a bunch of heroes show up, and Hobby and Mindworm retreat. As much as I've felt that the gang war arc has dragged at times, this part seemed to happen too fast, and I thought it might have been better to show Mindworm gradually messing with May's mind, while Hobgoblin continued to make inroads in his schemes elsewhere. Mindworm's still out there, so I suppose he can try again later, but it felt rushed, like DeFalco just needed a conflict to fill part of this issue.

Amazing Spider-Man (537-542, Free Comic Book Day offering) - Wasn't that great of a 2007 for Spidey, was it? I must say though, I think not having bought One More Day has lowered my reaction to it. I'm still not happy with it (seems incredibly half-assed. Quarter-assed, even), but at least I didn't spend money on it like I did Sins Past and Sins Remembered (back when it was much harder for me to give up hope on a title). And for the record, no I'm not planning on buying Brand New Day (though Jackpot intrigues me for some reason), because that would tell Q I thought his break up the marriage scheme was a good one, and I don't. Vote with your wallets, blah blah.

High Point: #542, where Peter Parker goes to the prison and breaks out the can of ass-kicking on Wilson Fisk. I am surprised Fisk didn't have a better plan than to try and fight Spider-Man hand to hand (no weapons hidden in the cane?), but on a sheer, visceral level, I enjoyed Spider-Man reminding Kingpin of just how much nothing he is compared to someone who can bench a city bus. Daredevil can have his legal victories, temporary as they always seem to be, but Parker can outright humiliate Fisk in front of all the people he wants fear and respect from. Plus, as overwrought as JMS' tough guy dialogue came off at times, I thought Garney and the rest of the art crew (inker Bob Reinhold, colorist Matt Milla) did a great job on the whole arc.

Low Point: #537, because it had those two pages of Captain America quoting Mark Twain to Spider-Man. Yawn.

Cable/Deadpool (36-48) - Severely hamstrung by Mike Carey stealing half of the main characters, thus removing the major thing the book was built on, Cable and Deadpool interacting, and how they affect one another. Still lots of funny moments, but it just wasn't the same.

High Point: The fight with Taskmaster in #36 was fun, and who could forget #38, where we first meet Bob, Agent of HYDRA? The two issues with Wolverine (#43 & 44) were pretty good, especially when Logan realizes Wade was right all along at the end, just for the confusion on the Canucklehead's face. #46 had its moments, but I got tired of Black Panther's attitude pretty quickly. Jerk. Still, the high point goes to #41, when Wade arrives on Providence to help Cable in the aftermath of that Hecatomb or whatever nearly destroying the island. Really, the scene where Domino tells Cable that Wade showed up and saved Irene from Sabretooth, and Cable smiles a little, it was just great. I think it really surprised Nate, and in a good way.

Low Point: Eh, I'm going to say #39 and #48, because I really don't care about T-Ray, or his issues with Deadpool. Of the two, I'll say #39, because #48 had the scene where all the different parts of Wade's mind appear as different heroes, including IronPool, who says he will start a Civil War in Wade's brain, and all brain cells must register. #39 had none of that, so it loses.

Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1 - I felt I'd already read this story, it's largely the fourth Dark Tower book, so I didn't really need to buy it twice. Maybe the next set, since that seems to be something that wasn't in the original books.

Deadpool/Great Lakes Initiative Summer Fun Spectacular - I don't know what to say about this. I really liked it though. Especially Squirrel Girl's heartbreaking quest to find Speedball, and Tippy-Toe's assertion that Squirrel Girl's victory over Dr. Doom counts because it was in story that involved Steve Ditko, so deal with it fanboys. Plus, the adventures of Deadpool as the deadbeat houseguest the GLI can't get rid of.

Dr. Strange: The Oath (4-5) - Oh, there's not really enough here to do a high/low points, but I do want to say I loved this mini-series (BKV for the win!), and I especially liked Strange bringing the martial arts beatdown in #5. Hell yes. And heck, Dr. Strange and Night Nurse being a couple even made it into New Avengers, though based on where Bendis went with the Hood, maybe that isn't a good thing. You'll have to decide that for yourself, as I don't read New Avengers anymore. Thank goodness I broke free of it! My soul has been so much lighter since then!

Immortal Iron Fist (#3-11, Annual) - I don't seem to love this title as much as everyone else. I mean, I enjoy it, but not with the "This is the greatest thing EVER!!!" passion of some others. I must say though, it reads a lot better when I read several issues in a row for this post, which I guess is a pretty convincing argument for the trades. It just seems as if they take the Countdown approach of advancing all plots incrementally every issue, rather than the 52 strategy of advancing one plot a lot, then the others only a little. Maybe I'd like it more that way. Or maybe I just want more kicking.

High Point: The Annual was pretty damn good. Of course, so was #6, when Danny and Orson, with a little Heroes for Hire backup, fight HYDRA, Crane Sisters, and that punkass Davos. #8, with our introduction to Fat Cobra was pretty badass as well. But, for my money, #7, with the story of Wu Ao-Shi, takes the gold. I don't know why exactly, it just seemed like a stirring tale of love, honor, triumph through force of will and cunning, but with pirates, and chi energy fired like arrows of lightning.

Low Point: Hmm, there hasn't really been an issue I can point to and say, "That was awful", but a lot of these Tournament of Heaven issues aren't moving enough for my tastes, so I'll say #10, which felt a lot like an issue of pure set-up, though the parts with Davos and Wendell Rand were plot advancing.

Ms. Marvel (11 & 12, 14-22) - Kind of an up-and-down year for Ms. Danvers. She made some strides to make up for her unpleasant attitude during Civil War, bu then there was the whole thing with Puppet Master, and now I'm very worried about what she's going to be like when this Brood thing is over. Are we on the verge of a Carol that strives for world domination? And how will Tony Stark respond if Carol gets closer to accomplishing that than he does? On the plus side, we got an arc with MODOK, we have Aaron Stack and Sleepwalker, and I, at least, enjoy the presence of Arana on the title (I may be the only person other than Brian Reed of that opinion, though).

High Point: I'm going with #19. Not only is it Tigra's best moment of the past year (her mind-controlled battle against Ms. Marvel, where she actually holds her own), we got Aaron Stack in a fake mustache. Aaron Stack is comedy, if it were turned into gold. And I have no idea how one would do that. Also worth mentioning is the Scientist Supreme checking out Wonder Man's butt, and Wonder Man appreciating it (he's such a skank), the battle with Doomsday Man in #11 & 12, and of course, Carol's attempt to make things right with Julia Carpenter in #14.

Low Point: #20, when Carol lets the Puppet Master blow himself up, because she knows she'll survive it somehow. It's not that she let the bad guy kill himself; I don't care if he wants to commit suicide. But how did Carol know that all the women he'd abducted were far enough away that the explosion wouldn't harm them? She couldn't have, but she let him do it anyway. Then she lied about it. If you're going to play hard, then damnit Carol, take responsibility for it! Don't try and lie about stuff! I know, it's supposed to demonstrate that harder edge she has, her Binary personality I guess, but still. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

The Punisher (43-53) - And soon, Garth Ennis' run on this title will conclude. It's probably for the best that he wraps it up before he runs out of stories to tell, but I can't help but be bummed out. Sure, it's the very definition of "written for the trade", but that doesn't mean it isn't awesome. I'm willing to give the new person, whoever they wind up being, a first arc to prove themselves, but it's going to be a hard act to follow.

High Point: So much to choose from. There's Frank's battles with Barracuda in #51 and #53, or just the final page of #52, when it looks like "Cuda has made a severe tactical error. For my money, though, I'm going with #49, the conclusion of The Widowmakers arc, when Jenny exacts her revenge, and then tries to go on beyond that. I saw someone say the arc was giving a message of "Girls can't be vigilantes", which I don't buy because up to a point, Jenny is as calm and cool as Frank ever is. Yeah, she loses it with her sister, but she feels betrayed by her own sister, so it figures she'd lose it. Frank lost it with those people in The Slavers arc, and they weren't family, so why can't Jenny have a freakout? The point I figured Ennis was trying to make wasn't about whether certain people can be vigilantes (though I think the detective illustrated that to a certain extent), but that Frank isn't a normal vigilante. It isn't revenge with him, it's something beyond that, and that's the difference between him and Jenny. I felt it was a really powerful arc, though I don't understand why Jenny had to have breast cancer specifically.

Low Point: #48 was kind of slow, but I think I'll go with #47, when we learn how Jenny got to the point she's at. It was a very disquieting issue to read, which was Ennis' hope, I'm sure. Still, it was not an enjoyable experience, to read about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband, and her friends. It did help paint the picture of how she sees herself, though. Still, it was perhaps too ugly for my delicate sensibilities.

Thor #2 - I bought it because the Legion of Doom asked me to join in their Book of Doom discussion that week. It's a very pretty book, certainly, and I thought Copiel did an excellent job conveying the sense of loneliness Thor must feel, but not much happened to make it worth the time.

Ultimate Spider-Man (104-117) - The Ultimate Clone Saga ended, Spider-Man helped bring down the Kingpin, and Osborns went crazy again. Also, Mark Bagley left (and I wept), and Stuart Immonen did his best to step in. He's done pretty well, but there's just something lacking. A lack of clarity, perhaps.

High Point: #105 had its moments, from MJ wanting to know why Fury is always on Peter's case, to Fury admitting he was wrong about Peter (And Peter's "Thank You!" in response), and Kitty finding out the hard way she's been dumped (Bad Ultimate Peter Parker). I'm going to pick the Ultimate Knights arc, because it was when Peter really seemed to step up and take control. He told the other heroes that if they tried to kill Wilson Fisk, he'd bring Fury down on them because they are supposed to stand for something more (someone might want to clue the Ultimates in on that though). Then he told Fisk to leave all of them alone for the same reason, because he remembered that Fisk knows Fury protects Spider-Man. Plus, there was the point where he confused Moon Knight by saying he was there for chicken wings (Moon Knight's response: 'There - there are no chicken wings' He's so funny when he's all confused), and when he managed to talk Daredevil out of killing Fisk's comatose wife. Man, Daredevil was pretty scary in that scene. Good times.

Low Point: #117. Not so much because Harry died (weird that one Harry dies as another is brought back), but the whole thing just felt rushed, and it really did feel like Bendis just had to get the Osborns wrapped up somehow, and in a hurry. So, it was a lot like the Isolationist story in X-Factor in that regard. Stupid events, messing with preexisting story arcs on actual good books.

My gosh, that took forever. And as I type this, I haven't even added the images to break up my boring text. As far as I know right now, Saturday will be the last one, unless I decide to do some big ranking thing after that. I'm kind of getting a itch to do it, but I'm not sure I'm up for it. Either way, Saturday: Cosmic Marvel!

What I Bought 1/9/08

Ken was having another back issue sale today, in honor of the return to town of Valued Customer and Organizer of Back Issue Boxes Jack, and I grabbed a few things. Haven't actually bought them yet. Friday, I think. Anyway, a few of us were down there, rooting around like pigs after truffles (well, I was anyway, and I'm willing to admit that's how I am when going through long boxes. Keep your head close to the comics, push the comic back just far enough you can see what it is, then grab if you want it, or keep flipping if you don't) and talking about this and that. Jack hasn't really been that in the loop on recent comic events, so Messiah Complex, and the continuing saga of S-Person-Prime came up, and of course, One More Day. While we were discussing it, I came across a couple of issues of Chuck Austen's Uncanny X-Men run and said, 'All this talking about One More Day has me depressed. I'm going to read The Draco to cheer myself up.' It's probably unfair of me to continue to pick on Chuck Austen for that story, but it got a laugh out of everybody, and that's always a good thing. Now, on to new comics!

Nova #8 - Well, at least there's something going on with this cover. Nova and Gamora find themselves in someplace, but they aren't sure where they are. They are attacked by odd, neon glowy things, and must work together to survive. Rich is sweating the virus pretty heavily, and Gamora keeps encouraging him to just give in, but Nova, being a true hero, refuses. As things progress, it comes out why the relationship they had during Annihilation fell apart. Personally, I thought it fell apart because Gamora was willing to be a guerrilla fighter for years, while Rich wanted to finish it all by going after Annihilus, but the events described here could probably have happened between then and Annihilation #1 (where we see they are definitely at least sleeping together). Rich eventually puts some distance between her and him, and continues on to Kvch, but he's running out of time.

First, credit to Wellington Alves, he draws some very nice oddball space creatures, and to Guru eFX, who did the coloring, which is quite lovely. Also, Alves did a nice job subtly showing the transmode virus slowly overtaking Rich, spreading back out over him again. I like how Abnett and Lanning write Rich here. He's still a hero, not wanting to kill if he can avoid it, and not totally willing to write off old allies. But at the same time, he's got that toughness that Drax and Gamora helped instill in him, where he's not naive or trusting, and he's not going to let his feelings get in the way of accomplishing his mission. I'm not so sure about Gamora's portrayal. The thing she did Rich took issue with, I can see her doing, but I'm not so sure about the moment when she really lets her defenses drop around him. I guess she trusts him, cares enough about him to do that, I just wish we had more interactions between them to go on. This issue suffers in comparison to the previous two, what with the lack of a telepathic Russian dog, but it was still pretty good, and I want to see what Rich encounters on Kvch. Given he's infected with the transmode virus, I expect the reception may not be friendly. Though if it was, that would be pretty cool.

X-Factor #27 - With Mr. Sinister, it's hard to tell whether he's enjoying himself on that cover, or if he's ticked off. I think it's the former, but you can never tell with him. So, Gambit presents the baby to "Sinister", X-Force pursues them, Xavier and Cable talk about stuff, and Layla does something of questionable intelligence. Oh, and it looks like some more of the New X-Men are going to die next week. Big surprise, that. I'm surprised they even bother to name those kids.

So, I'm confused. The Madrox that was with Layla, was that Madrox-Prime? I know it was supposed to be a dupe (and the recap page says it was), but did they ever explain why the Madrox that stayed behind fell into a coma all of the sudden? Now we understand Bishop's motivations, I guess, but I'm still unclear on Cable's. Is this because they're looking at different futures, or is Bishop thinking in the short-term, and Cable the long-term? Because based on what Bishop's childhood looks like, I can't figure how that baby makes Cable's future better. Is it Cable? Does this have anything to do with that future that Tryp (from the first year of X-Factor) came from? Ugh, I am so terribly confused. At least the tie-ins are done. Hopefully the fallout from this doesn't cock up the book too badly. I would really not recommend this book. There are some interesting moments (well, for me the Layla/Jamie stuff), but on the whole, not enjoyed.

Tomorrow, the return of 2007 in Review with the solo Marvel titles! Man, were there a lot of them. Relatively.

2007 Comics In Review, Part 2

Today I move over to Marvel, which actually took an even larger percentage of my money in '07 compared to '06, as mentioned yesterday. Of course, what I've noticed is that what I buy now sits on what I'd call the periphery of the Marvel Universe. There's only a couple of titles I buy that actually pay much attention to the Initiative/House of M/World War Hulk stuff. I think that's probably at least part of why I don't seem to rage as much anymore (besides making a concerted effort to not let the stories get to me as much), a bad story is even worse when I actually pay for it, as opposed to just hearing about it online. Anyway, I'm starting with team books today, though there weren't many of those this year.

Exiles (90-94) - Tony Bedard, whose run I greatly enjoyed, left the book at the end of 2006. Then Claremont came on, and promptly drove me off the book. It's not so much that he had to have Psylocke on the book, as it is that every character's voice seemed off from what they had been before (which is understandable I guess, if jarring), and the fact the stories made no sense. I still haven't figured out how exactly the universe the Exiles went to save in Claremont's first arc appeared to be destroyed, only to return a few months later, with everyone unharmed.

High Point: If I have to actually pick something, I enjoyed the fight between Psylocke and Sabretooth in #91. Even if it is a different Sabretooth, I understood Psylocke's reaction, and it was a pretty entertaining fight.

Low Point: #94, I suppose, since I didn't understand what was happening. I guess there was also the scene that implied Elektra defeated Tony Stark in his Iron Man armor and a host of other bodyguards, or Longshot abruptly not being mind-controlled because of his luck powers, when he was apparently mind-controlled until that moment.

Heroes for Hire (8) - I think I bought this issue because I was having a poor pull week, or maybe because Bully had insisted this title was more fun than people thought. It did have some fun, with Shang-Chi getting Master of Kung-Fu on the Headmen and their Doombot, and ultimately scaring his teammates and making a little kid sad. Awesome, but not enough for me too return to the title.

House of M: Avengers (1-2) - I figured this might be worth a look. If nothing else, I figured Tigra might get some good fortune, which didn't really pan out, though at least she got to save a life. But Mike Perkins art felt kind of lifeless, or still is maybe the better word, and it seemed like Gage was trying to fight in too many characters for only a five issue mini-series.

New Excalibur (15-24) - I bought this title right up to the point Marvel discontinued it, and if that Excalibur series by Paul Cornell ever starts up, I'll probably give it at least a cursory glance. Yeah, I doubt it would bear any resemblance to Claremont's, but that's hardly a bad thing at this point.

High Point: #16 and 17, the two issues were Nocturne is unexpectedly struck by a stroke and struggles to adjust to her situation and begin to rehab. You could tell Claremont cared a lot about this story, and Scot Eaton drew her facial expressions beautifully, depicting the fear, confusion, and frustration so well. And lost amid Bendis' annoying use of thought bubbles in Mighty Avengers, Claremont used them to what I thought was great effect to demonstrate the difference between things inside Nocturne's head, and how they tended to come out when she tried to vocalize them.

Low Point: His big Albion story (18-24). I bought it all, yeah I'm a chump. I thought it would be interesting, with Excalibur up against Albion and his forces, the Dark X-Men, and that government agency Black Air. Except Black Air was pretty much a no-show, and things really didn't play out too clearly. And that's what frustrating for me with this story. It seemed intriguing, and I think it could have been good, but things were too jumbled. It seemed like both sides were supposed to be spread out allover England, one side causing problems, the other responding, except everybody seemed to keep tripping over each other, and certain things didn't seem to make sense. How was Albion contacting depowered mutants to join his cause, and why depowered mutants? Albion isn't a mutant, why would he turn to people who always relied on powers, but have none? And we never even knew who any of the depowered chumps were, which made it especially pointless. The use of three different artists didn't really help much, and character reactions seemed off. Scenes started, then stopped at a climax, but weren't returned to until after the climax would have passed. Just a disappointing experience as a whole, but I figure it's probably my last chance as one of the two Lionheart fans to see her in some sort of useful role before she gets used as cannon fodder.

Ultimate X-Men (78-79) - Xavier "died", and I found myself not caring much. It's odd because I thought I would be interested to see these mostly kid X-Men trying to get by without him, but I didn't really feel invested. Maybe it was Xavier's revelation in 2006 that he loved Jean that did it for me. Didn't mind him going to the future after that, I suppose.

X-Factor (15-26) I don't think this year was quite as kind to X-Factor as '06. I certainly can't say I enjoyed the book as much. Madrox hunting down dupes was good, the X-Cell storyline was sorta interesting, but hampered by Pham's weak artwork (it seems improved on Incredible Herc, I'm unsure why), and the Huber story ended with kind of a thud. Then the Messiah Complex tie-ins started, and I really couldn't care less, beyond the fact I think this is screwing up the book (Rahne on X-Force? Really? And do we actually need X-Force? Hint: The answer is no.)

High Point: X-Factor #15 and 16. You have Madrox Prime being mistaken for Madrox, Agent of SHIELD, and captured by HYDRA. I was very interested by the idea that if you gave Jamie a nuke, and had him make dupes, each dupe would also have a nuke. Then he tracks down a dupe that's actually happy, and that causes quite the little ethical dilemma for Jamie, especially after what he did the previous issue.

Low Point: The Huber story. Not because it was bad necessarily, but the end was kind of flat, and PAD hadn't really done anything to support Huber's claims that he was behind Singularity and the X-Cell. If there had been a few more hints of that in earlier issues, it might have worked better, but for Huber to just pop up and say it, maybe he was lying, maybe he wasn't, but it's hard to muster up the energy to care. It wasn't all bad, Layla's confrontation with an increasingly wacked out Pietro was good, and the Rahne/Rictor stuff was interesting, but the primary story just didn't fly with me.

OK, that's Part 2. Thursday, all solo Marvel books, and there are quite a few, so consider this a calm beforehand.

2007 Comics In Review, Part 1

2007 is gone, and all that's left is the comics I purchased to remind me. Well, there's other stuff, but for the purposes of these posts, the comics are all that's left. I bought fewer comics in '07 compared to '06. An average of three fewer comics a month, to be exact. And despite my growing dissatisfaction with the party line Marvel's put forth for their post-Civil War world, Marvel actually made up a slightly larger percentage (87% vs 85%) of my buys this year. But that's mostly due to the sharp decline in DC stuff. Anyway, I'm going to do this pretty much like I did it last year, only this first post is going to be everything not Marvel, as opposed to just DC. Yep, I actually bought enough non-Big 2 comics to feel like it's worthwhile to discuss them. So, in alphabetical order.

Bloodrayne (Plague of Dreams #3, Tibetan Heights one-shot, Red Blood Run #1-2) - The major thing about all of these was the way the books are all starting to tie together, the clear pattern that there's something going on with the people Rayne works for. I'm not sure whether I actually like that more than when it seemed like the one-shots and such were mostly unrelated stories from different times in Rayne's life, but I'll be around to see where it goes from here. Red Blood Run #3 did actually come out in 2007, but I didn't order it because the art from #1 depressed me so much I just didn't think I'd want to read it. So we'll see how well the upcoming releases do at filling in what I missed. I hope the art picks up a bit though. It looked terribly rushed for most of this year, which tends to hurt my enjoyment of the story.

Blue Beetle (11) - This was the second month of my 2 month trial run on the title, and the story of Jamie traveling to some planet to save Brenda from a Hunter of New Gods just didn't work that well for me, so I dropped the title. Near as I can tell, it became concentrated outstanding immediately after that, so you know, you're welcome.

Brave and the Bold (7) - If I were doing the various categories I used in my 2005 reviews (and I still might, if I eliminate one of my other review posts), this issue would be a definite contender for "Best Single Issue". Power Girl is a bit more gung-ho than I'm used to seeing from my glances through Justice Society of America, but I figure she had her reasons, and I like her confidence, the way she doesn't back down around Wonder Woman, who I think probably intimidates a lot of other heroes, even though she doesn't mean to. George Perez is not my favorite artist (though he's up there), but his work in this issue was quite good. he really does draw some lovely scenery, especially when it starts getting destroyed. On the whole, there was a complete story within the issue, but it also pushed forward a larger, multi-issue story arc, and I love when creative teams manage to do that.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (6-9) - Along the same lines as B & B #7, this would have been in the running for "Best Story Arc". It's Brian K. Vaughn, who'll we'll talk about some more when I get to Dr. Strange: The Oath, writing about one of my favorite characters from the Buffyverse (really, it's her or Spike).

High Point: I'm kind of partial to the opening scenes of #6, as we see what Faith's life in Cleveland is like, or Giles telling her all about how he understands what it's like to live with the mistakes Faith's made (could have stood to do that during Season 3, though, Ripper). I was also quite partial to the fight scene with the gargoyles in #7, and the Faith vs. Gigi slugfest in #9. If I were going to pick, probably that's the one, because I think Jeanty's art got stronger as the arc progressed.

Low Point: Any scene with Buffy. Oh, I'm kidding. Most of them were necessary to keep the larger plot moving, and I thought the point when Buffy and Faith actually cross paths was very well done, and summed up their relationship very well. So in that spirit, no low point.

Shadowpact (9-16) - I don't know what to say about this title. I ran with it for awhile, and I started off digging it, but it got too. . . something after awhile. I can't put my finger on it, but I just stopped being engaged by it.

High Point: Issues 9-11, when Blue Devil gets a promotion to the rhyming class of demons, Etrigan steals his trident and kicks most of the teams ass, and they have to go on a recruitment drive to get it back. I thought the idea of Blue Devil's success as a hero being good for Hell was clever, and what the team ended up doing with Etrigan was pretty amusing as well, although it's gonna have to come back and bite them in the rear eventually, right?

Low Point: #16, when Dr. Gotham created a volcano right in the middle of Chicago that caused massive damage, and we get a whole bunch of guest starts showing up to help. It seemed kind of ridiculous (odd thing to say, when talking about a book with a talking chimp, I know), and all the guest starts seemed to have the same voice, so that say, Superman and Hawkgirl's dialogue was interchangeable. That really annoyed me.

Suicide Squad (1-2) - I picked this up due to my great love of Ostrander's GrimJack, and because everyone and their stepmother has been gushing about his Suicide Squad work. Well, I liked the first issue, when they went on a mission to Russia to rescue Rick Flag, but after that there's been entirely too much focus on who Rick Flag is, and what he's about, and not enough of the team going into dangerous situations and having to struggle to survive, which is what I signed on for. Plus, I think it's hamstrung because it has to stay in line with all the Countdown/Salvation Run garbage that DC is putting out right now. I think if it could be its own creature, it'd probably be better, but I've got no proof of that.

And that does it for Part 1! Part 2 tomorrow, as we move into the Marvel side of things, because, as one of the few Marvelcentric comic bloggers out there, it's my duty to cram lots of Marvel stuff in your face! Seriously, I've got a card with instructions on it, that's what it tells me to do, or else I get such a pinch.

My Titles Are Legend!

Or not. I was going to do an "I Am Sparta!" title, but I figured the horse has left the stable on Sparta jokes, so best to move on. I finished reading I Am Legend last week, and I figure I might as well talk a little bit about it.

The ending seemed to come upon me rather abruptly, but I think that's my fault. I didn't really pay attention to the table of contents, so I saw the book had 300+ pages and figured that was all I Am Legend, but the last half is actually a collection of short stories by Matheson. So as you might imagine, I was rather surprised when the book ended, since I was expecting a whole lot more stuff, like a prison break, or Neville becoming one of them, then destroying them from within, something like that.

The book does a lot of what I hope the movie does (I still haven't gone to see it), as much of the book is about what Neville does to pass the time. Keeping his house fortified, looking for supplies, destroying any vamps he stumbles across, and struggling with the memories of what he's lost. There's a lot of that in the book, as Neville's moods swing wildly from determined, to hopeful, to frustrated, to the depths of drunken depression, and even one night of being nearly suicidal.

When he finds a person near the end, I'm not sure I really buy their concern for him. He really isn't all that nice to them, and given the reason they're there, it just seemed a bit tacked on. The last few pages were excellent though.

Matheson seems to like writing about human psychology. It plays a role in I Am Legend, and there are at least two of the short stories that seem to involve a person in conflict with their subconscious (Person to Person and Dance of the Dead), and Mad House had an interesting idea about the effect we have on our surroundings, and the effect they can have on us. I don't get what Buried Talents was about, though. The dangers of running dishonest carny games? I'm not certain. On the whole though, most of the short stories, especially the longer ones, were pretty entertaining. The shorter ones suffer, for me, because it seems like there's some sort of catch, or a hook, but Matheson doesn't really have the time to explore the hook and what the meaning is meant to be, so I'm just left there going "Huh?"

Flying So High, Until You Fall

Incoming! {What? Oof!} Hi Calvin! {What were you doing in that tree?} Keeping an eye out for you! I'm so happy to see you! Did you bring comics? {Yes. Here you go. You still remember how this works?} Of course I do! Let's just see if you can keep up!

Now let's make some noise! Applause for Ultimate Peter Parker and Harry Osborn, for trying to stop Harry's crazy dad. And we've got to Applaud Adam Warlock for taking on Ultron, and Ronan for tricking Ravenous. That was pretty funny. {Yeah. I liked Ronan's comment about how maybe he should explain things with pictures and tiny words.} I think there has to be some Applause for Carol Danvers, trying to fight a Brood Queen with no powers. {Well, Carol did think she had her regeneration abilities.} Still, that wouldn't be that much help. {I don't know. It's pretty handy to be able to bounce back from any amount of damage, and keep attacking. Certainly works well for Wolverine.} Sure, when he has unbreakable claws to use against the enemy. All Carol had was her fists.

I think Peter needs a Hug. {Because of the deal with Mephisto?} No! He chose to do that! In fact, 616-Peter gets a Bonk for being an idiot! Ultimate Peter gets a Hug because he lost one of his best friends, and had to tell everyone else about it. That must have hurt. {I imagine you're right about that.} Hug for Arana, because they wouldn't let her go out to fight the Brood, but she might get blown up because the Lightning Storm team is bad at fighting aliens. In fact, Bonk for the Lightning Storm team for being incompetent. Also, I've got a Hug for Aaron Stack, because his LMD body failed at the wrong time. {Can we not talk about his LMD body? It's been giving me nightmares.} Why? It's a perfectly natural part of life, that a machine man will someday become a machine woman. {What?! That doesn't make any sense? He's a machine woman right now because he's a freaky perv!} What do you mean? {The less you know, the better.} Fine, then Hug for Quasar, because Moondragon's dead. {Again.} Huh? {Moondragon's died before, and this time she sort of turned to dust. Remember? She told Phyla about it in the Quasar mini-series. She'll be back.} Really? {Sure. Don't sweat it.} Well that's good. I'm going to go ahead and Hug Gabe and Starlord then, because the last few pages weren't very good to them. {Especially for Gabe.}

You said it, and that's why Ultron gets a Bonk. All these people being sad is his fault! {You're starting to glow, kiddo.} It's OK; I don't have anyone else to bonk. {Really? What about Ultimate Norman Osborn?} A bonk is too good for him. He killed his son. I'm going to Banish his soul to a realm of eternal torment! {Whoa, uh, easy there. You're getting a little too '90s era, don't you think?} Well, he's dead, so bonks aren't much use, are they? {I suppose not.}

What I Bought 1/4/08

Man, poor Kornheiser. His throat sounds terribly raw, and he's dealing with LeBatard. At least LeBatard isn't shouting "BAM!" constantly. Only two books this week as well. I don't much enjoy these five week months, because it always seems to scatter my slim pull list too thin.

Annihilation: Conquest #3 - These covers seem a little basic. Some characters posing in the front, then some faces in the upper background, it's a little dull. Plus, why does Adam Warlock have that loincloth thing hanging from his championship belt? He doesn't have that inside the book! Warlock fights Ultron. Quasar tries to get herself some of that action. Things go boom. Ronan is very clever, though I think he's planning to unleash a Nega-Bomb, or whatever that thing the Supreme Intelligence once used on the Kree was. Also, things go poorly for Starlord's group, and someone dies. Not a big surprise that. I am curious as to how Starlord knows about Ultron. Ultron's been an Earth problem and Peter hasn't spent much time there. Ultron couldn't have gained that level of notoriety, could he(it?)

Nice little bit of forward movement on all three storyarc fronts this issue. I don't have any idea how they're going to play out, but that's OK. I like Abnett & Lanning's Ronan. He's cool, confident, devious, and has a bit of a biting wit, which works well with his Kree superiority complex. Raney's art isn't knocking my socks off, but it's doing the job well, I find it expressive and energetic, and I like that there is a distinctly different color serving as a backdrop for each arc. Blues and greens for Warlock/Quasar, mostly beige for Ronan/Wraith, and a sort of deep red/purple for the Starlord stuff. I think it conveys a difference in atmosphere, I just need to think about it for a bit. Still, wanted to give credit to colorist Frank D'Armata for that. Very much enjoyed, it'd be in the low 4s, if I were still grading things.

Binary #23 - It's a nice idea for a cover, but I think the way Carol is drawn is just too different from the eye she's reflected in. It's distracting. Points for effort, though. We learn of Carol's history with the Brood, and this Queen in particular. They make some new memories. The Lightning Storm team arrives, and promptly starts getting their butts kicked. Outstanding. Good to know all that SHIELD training of superheroes is paying off so well. Fortunately, Cru does something to Carol and she's back in the game.

I don't much like Cru. First, there was the willingness to destroy Earth to get the Brood. Then she told Carol she needs to be running this planet instead of trying to be pretty and loved, now she says it might be better to let Carol die, since she's a threat to this world. Hello, you were about five seconds from blowing the whole planet up about 20 issues ago, hardly think you're one to talk. Aaron Stack is still amusing, though I'm going to be real happy when he gets his old body put back together. That LMD he's using is freaking me out. I may be in the minority, but I still like Arana. I like the enthusiasm to do good, to be a hero, to save the day. The Marvel Universe needs more of that, less regimentation. I don't love this comic, don't hate it, I'm very unsure about it. Guess I need to see where Reed is going with this thing.

What I Bought 1/3/08

OK, here we go. Got my comics, time to review. For the record, I gave up on House of M: Avengers. I looked through last week's offering, and I just wasn't feeling it. Maybe I'll give it another look when #4 comes out, but I wouldn't hold your breath. There will probably be spoilers because a) these books came out almost a week ago, so it's doubtful I'll be ruining them for anybody, and b) I'm out of practice, not having reviewed any comics in two weeks.

The Punisher #53 - On a certain level, you have to appreciate the simplicity of the cover Bradstreet went with here. Punisher sees through Barracuda's big "Surprise!" moment from last issue, then proceeds to stomp 'Cuda's face, and hook the car battery to 'Cuda's testicles. Delightful. Frank finds baby, must face off against Barracuda again, and then still again. Frank may just be in over his head here.

Jog, over at Savage Critic(s), already mentioned that he wasn't entirely pleased with the reason why Barracuda is as he is, and I'm basically inclined to agree with him. I suppose the reason could make Barracuda a commentary on how far someone can let abuse they sustained in the past push them, much the same way Frank Castle is a study in how it's everything that happens in your life that makes you who you are, not just one unfortunate incident. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing to do with the character or not.

Some of the facial expressions Parlov gives the characters are gold. Barracuda's face when he's "haw haw"ing, Frank's tired expression near the end of the issue, Baby Sarah as the shells fall all around her. Definitely enjoyed, and I'm really eager to see how things wrap up this month.

Ultimate Spider-Man #117 - Oh boy, two Goblins. Wahoo. Well, at least Carol Danvers recognized that her plan is kind of a crap thing to do with Harry, I can at least respect her for admitting she's going for a big play when she's at wit's end. If Maria Hill did that a little more often, I might not have disliked her as much (back in the days before Iron Man commandeered the Douchebag Who Leads SHIELD title from her). At least no public property was damaged, other than Peter's costume.

Such an odd, abrupt ending though. I have to think something in his personal life prompted Bendis to write this story because otherwise it just seems odd to go through the whole mess they've gone through these past few issues, to reach the conclusion we did. It was good to see Harry and Peter working together, though. I mean, I liked 616-Harry as a villain (Ultimate Harry never really got past "pitiable monster"), but it was because there were times he and Peter were such good friends, it made it that much more of a gutpunch for Spidey when it was Harry he was fighting. Immonen's art works pretty well. Nothing gets confusing during the punching, it all flows pretty well, though I'm curious how Peter knows which SHIELD agent was Danvers, since they were all wearing the same armor, and she put it on before he showed up. Not that good of an issue, because it felt like everything got sped up, like they'd taken too long getting here, and had to wrap everything up quick.

Reviews of books that come out this week tomorrow. Huzzah!

Change In Plans

OK, so, heh, well the comic store wasn't open today. So last week's reviews are getting pushed back a day, and we'll jump into movie discussion instead. The one thing I can be certain of anytime I head back to the land of my earlier years is that both my dad and Alex will have an ungodly number of movies I've never seen. So we're just going to buzz through all of them here. No plot synopsis, just general thoughts and impressions.

The Wackiest Ship In The Army: I just can't figure out why there seem to be so many movies that spoof naval service. Yes, the title says 'in the Army', but the characters were from the Navy. It seems as though the Navy is a target more often than the other branches of the armed service. I'm not sure what that's about.

The Professionals: Jack Palance as a Mexican revolutionary worked pretty well, but I felt like there was supposed to be an air of barely repressed insanity in his character he didn't quite pull off. He was energetic, but I don't know, maybe a few more acts of random viciousness would have worked. Of course, the point was that he isn't the real threat, so I guess Palance's style worked for what they wanted to accomplish with the story. So never mind that then. I felt kind of bad for Robert Ryan's character. He kept trying to show trust and compassion, and it kept biting him in the ass.

OK, those were my dad's selections, lets move into Alex's more recent fare.

Superbad: Alex really likes it, which is usually a strike against a movie, given some of the shite I've seen him enjoy. I didn't find it nearly as amusing as he did, but it wasn't bad. The problem for me was that I didn't much care about the two main characters, Seth and Evan. I laughed at lot more at the chicanery of "McLovin" and the two cops, though I can't decide whether the revelation about the cops at the end made it better or worse.

Knocked Up: There were parts of this I laughed at, I think mostly the scenes where the guys interact with each other. Beyond that, I remember thinking that all the squabbling over the "fantasy baseball" thing between the two couples got a little grating. It just seemed like such a stupid thing for the characters to be getting so pissed off about. Also, the scene at the kid's birthday party, where Ben blames Pete for telling him to be honest, and now Alison's decided she doesn't want Ben to feel any pressure to help with their child, made me feel so bad for Pete. He's just trying to help, this guy tells him he sucks, then he has to take the cake out and sing "Happy Birthday" for his daughter. I could swear the jaunty paper crown on Pete's head was mocking him.

Transformers: Alex loves it. Maybe if I hadn't heard anyone talking about it I would have enjoyed it more. Certain questions remain, such as how Bumblebee found Sam before anyone else, but without alerting anyone to his presence. I preferred Bumblebee's old-style Camaro look to the newer one. I mean, if you aren't/can't make him a VW Bug, the Camaro had a classic look. Just spiffy up the paint job a little bit, don't go for this NEW! Camaro look, it's garbage. Stupid product placement. Also, that whole thing about Mikaela having a record seemed tacked on so she and Sam could have some conflict between them, which was quickly set aside because there's no time for it when giant robots are trying to step on you. I know, Michael Bay flick, what was I expecting? I just felt like mentioning it. Still, the Secretary of Defense shooting an evil robot with a shotgun wasn't bad. I certainly wasn't expecting it. Oh, and John Turturro was pretty amusing, even if his character did need to be punched in the face, Peter Gyrich acting jackass.

Spider-Man 3: Like Sam Raimi, I could have done without Venom. Actually, that's a good rule in general: Things are better without Venom. For example, No Venom= No Carnage, and see, that's a huge improvement to Spider-books right there, even if it does deprive bloggers such as myself of things to make fun of. Of course, all that stuff is apparently wiped out now, so I guess it's moot. Cripes, they had to wipe everything out? That is such a half-assed solution for a personal problem of Joe Quesada's. Or is it that writers are too lazy to actually work at writing interesting stories about Married Peter/Mary Jane, and Q did it to stop their bitching? I don't know. Whatever. Moving along.

Eddie Brock wasn't a bad touch, and I guess it's unlikely they'd have him without the symbiote, but maybe Raimi could have put Brock in there, and left the symbiote for the next one, and he could recuse himself from that movie. At least he could have spared himself the pain. Also not a fan of Sandman as Uncle Ben's killer, but did like the Sandman in general. Didn't care much about the Gwen thing, but then I've never cared about Gwen (which I why I wish Spider-writers of the last few years would quit wasting so much time on her, and Peter's apparent obsession with her). Thought Dark Peter Parker, with the hair hanging down over his face, looked like a goofball, or maybe like one of those minor, sidekick bad guys, that usually look greasy, and nervous around their masters. Like Desaad! Oh, but I liked his dancing in that jazz club, swinging on the chandelier, hooking the chair with his shoe, then sliding across the floor on the chair. That was nice.

I liked Harry Osborn, for the first time in three movies. His early attack on Peter, his happier life when he had amnesia, his psychological attacks on Peter (shades of the lead-up his now undone comic book death, which was totally awesome, and apparently never happened, blasted Marvel imbeciles), his big stand at the end. It was really nice to see Harry having a good time, and he and Pete acting like buddies, since I never really got that feeling even in the first movie. Harry always seemed too on edge because his dad always seemed around, or in the conversation or something. So in conclusion, more Harry, more Sandman, less Gwen/Peter/MJ, no Venom would have helped me out a bit.

Land of the Dead: I don't quite understand why that one zombie gas station attendant appears to be the only one that can really figure everything out. The others all seem to just follow his lead. Is he a mutant zombie? Was there something special about him before he was turned? Could have done with fewer graphic scenes of zombies eating human bodies parts. We get it, they're zombies, it's what they do. Stop beating us over the head with it!

Hot Fuzz: I give Alex a lot of crap for the, questionable, choice in movies he demonstrates, at least by my tastes (for whatever that's worth), but he does know a good one when he sees it. I laughed, I cried, I cheered wildly, and I was reminded never to trust Timothy Dalton (as his role as Nevile Sinclair in The Rocketeer taught me that already). Matt already covered one of the other brilliant things about the movie, and I really enjoyed Nicholas Angel, a very driven man, who nearly breaks under his own determination, and under the apparent mundanity of the town he finds himself in. I need to get it at some point, and watch it again to pick it apart some more.

And now we reach my offerings, a couple of things I received as presents recently.

Smokin' Aces: I remember being really intrigued by the movie's premise, based on the commercials anyway. I'm not sure it lived up to my hopes, but it was pretty entertaining, and all of us watching (me, Alex, and B) very much enjoyed the use of the .50 caliber sniper rifle. Somehow, such a large weapon seems to defeat the purpose of "sniping" as I think of it: to kill from a great distance, relatively quietly. But if it works, I guess it doesn't much matter. Certainly worked on those feds. The crazy Nazi brothers were entertaining in their own way, and as a fan of the old Marvel "you can't trust the establishment!" style, I approved of Agent Messner's way of dealing with his anger over the situation. I also sort of called the big surprise at the end, half of it anyway. Not bragging about, it's just that usually with these types of movies, I don't bother to think enough to pick up on something like that. Must have occurred to me during some lull in the shooting.

Crank: It's probably a good thing that I'm not trying to do plot synopses, because what would I say for this flick? Jason Statham spends an hour and a half running around stealing cars, drugs, energy drinks, eluding police, shooting and maiming people, having sex in a public place. It's like Grand Theft Auto: The Movie. That's not a criticism, by the way; I like Grand Theft Auto games, and I liked some of the things the movie did with the camera angles (a lot of extreme upward shots, sometimes further angled to make everything seem off), the lighting, the music cutting on and off at particular moments. I don't quite understand the use of captions at times, such as with the Haitian cab driver, and I thought the stuff he got from said Haitian had cleared out the Beijing cocktail he'd been dosed with. Certainly he didn't show any signs of being overly juiced, like with the epinephrine, or being slowed down like when the drug seriously has its claws in him when he entered the warehouse. There were some parts that really made me laugh, his casual mention that he's driving through a mall, for one, and I think his girlfriend might have been the dumbest character I've ever seen in a movie. Up there (down there) with all the cannon fodder teens in slasher flicks. Or maybe she's just kind of oblivious. I don't know.

Whew. I think that's everything. That was a lot of freaking movies.

I'm Back! Don't Look So Disappointed

Yes, I have returned to walk amongst you, my people. My time away has left me with half of my wardrobe smelling of dogs, the other half smelling like it was used as an ashtray. These circumstances are sadly unrelated. Sadly, because if they were related, it might mean that I had found the mythical Poker Playing Dogs. My journey has also lead me to the conclusion that if I spend next New Year's Eve with Friend Alex, I'm deciding where we spend it. Because this is the third consecutive year the party he's chosen for us to attend has abruptly ended when people reached the critical level of inebriation where they start getting violent, and it's getting tiring, and I've lost all faith in his friends ability to not make asses out of themselves when alcohol is involved. Observing the changes in personality, behavior, mobility, and mental capacity as they got drunker was interesting, though.

But really, other than last night, the trip wasn't bad. I had some good times, and the usual sad feeling I get when I leave, because I know it'll be several months before I see them again, which at least shows I was enjoying myself. But now I'm back for more cash, or I would be if I got paid for this. So I guess I'm back for more love. Talking about books my father got me for Christmas probably isn't the best way to do that, but, as Joaquin Andujar put it 'youneverknow'.

I don't know why I asked for Richard Morgan's Broken Angels. I just picked it off the sci-fi shelves, and I guess the description on the back made it sound good. It wasn't bad, but I'm not sure it was good. It has a somewhat Ghost in the Shell feel, since people can regularly download their consciousness into new bodies, and live for really long periods of time, as is the case with main character Takeshi Kovacs, who used to be some super-secret guy from the Envoys, who are kind of like the Spartans from Halo, or maybe Jean-Paul Valley (Azrael), folks who are taken in, and given a rigorous training program that makes them elite killing machines, whether covertly, or in big, ugly, open battles. Kovacs has gotten involved in a conflict on Sanction IV as a professional soldier, because the pay is good, and he's a valuable enough asset that if his body is badly enough damaged, he's basically guaranteed to get another one.

Early on, Kovacs is approached by another solider with an offer to get in on a chance to make big bucks, with theoretically less chance of dying. It involves a working hyperspace gate, and something that lies on the other side. The gate's a product of "Martian" technology. There's no guarantee they actually originated on Mars, but that's where they were found first, so that's what they were dubbed. They're missing now, but their technology is well in advance of human tech, so all human outer space colonization has been following in the footsteps they've laid out.

I think my opinion of the book suffers because what I was interested in was not what Morgan was interested in writing about. He seems to want to tell us all about how cool Kovacs is, and how interested in him everyone else is, so it seems as though Kovacs answers the same or similar questions repeatedly in the book, just from different people. But I didn't really see anything that particularly intrigued me about the character. He's a soldier that's independent, out for himself first, but shows occasional bouts of concern for others, so kind of a Deadshot-type. I was more interested in the Martians, what happened to them, how they lived, what happened to them, all that. He says they were descended from the equivalent of a bird of prey, that intrigues me, I want to know more, but that's not really the point, I suppose. Even when some of that starts to get dealt with, it gets derailed to show off Kovacs' skills at killing lots and lots of people. I think if that's of more interest to you, you'll enjoy it more than I did. One warning: All the characters tend to. Talk like. This. At times. Breaking up sentences. Into smaller. Separate sentences. For no discernible reason. It gets annoying, because it doesn't feel like they're pausing for dramatic tension, more like they keep losing their train of thought. Which I guess could be the case at certain points (radiation poisoning comes into play eventually).

Book 2, Brother Odd, by Dean Koontz. I discussed my feelings about Koontz' work before, though I didn't have the problems with this book I've had with others, so maybe I'm getting used to his style. This appears to be a story with a recurring character in Koontz' work, called Odd Thomas, and he sees ghosts. And usually tries to help them find peace. But he's suffered heartbreak and retreated to a small abbey in the mountains to recover. But he sees a sign that something bad is about to happen, and has to figure out what and how to stop it. For help, he has the various monks and nuns that live there, a dog named Boo, and the ghost of Elvis Presley.

Don't look at me like that, Koontz is the one that wrote it. It does cause me to wonder if Elvis has sought out others that can see ghosts prior to Odd, but it wasn't addressed in this book. The cause of the trouble is very reminiscent of a particular old sci-fi movie, which Koontz is smart enough to mention in the book itself. Personally, the part of the book I enjoyed most was Odd's interactions with the other guest at the the church, a Rodion Romanovich. There's this constant game of Odd testing Rodion to see if he is who he says, and Rodion make various clever and amusing remarks in response to Odd's attempts at entrapment. The one thing I wasn't so pleased with was some of the inner monologue, if you can call it that. I think this works as an example, from page 7, as Odd tracks an evil spirit creature he called a bodach through the night:

'Here depicted, a solemn St. Bartholomew stands with his right hand over his heart, left arm extended. In his upturned palm is what appears to be a pumpkin but might be a related variety of squash.

The symbolic meaning of the squash eludes me.'

There is just something about the last line that feels off, especially since things of that sort crop up often. I just can't tell who's trying too hard to be clever, Koontz or Odd. This is apparently a manuscript that Odd is working on, and he's been getting advice on writing from a friend from his earlier adventures, so maybe it's meant to represent Odd's particular writing tics? I'm not sure, but it tends to shake me out of the mood of a given scene.

That aside, I probably enjoyed this more than Broken Angels, for what that's worth. It certainly felt less meandering, and more focused on a particular primary plotline, while Broken Angels seemed to shift focus from one to another, sometimes too frequently to keep things coherent.

For the record, I'm planning to pick up last week's books tomorrow, review them, then I've got some movies to discuss Thursday, new comics for this week on Friday, and then a two-week ABP post on Saturday. Oh, and the Year in Review posts will be forthcoming soon. Just need to sit down and review the titles I actually bought this year.