'Meister's Musings: 52: Week 4

52: Week 4

I figured I should get off my lazy ass and finally contribute something to this site again. So here we go: 52, Week 4. Don’t read it unless you want it spoiled; then again, the two of you who read this site probably knew that already.

Day 1

All right, so we start off with Renee Montoya doing a surveillance job for the Question. Nothing’s happening, she’s bored.

Up in space, astronauts and Halo are looking for the people who went into space during the Crisis, including the OG Alan Scott Green Lantern and Animal Man (whose series I just picked up in TPB form; mighty good stuff). Halo finds residual Zeta beam transportation waves, which apparently means Adam Strange has been ‘porting. They’re going to find ‘em!

Booster’s being his usual self-centered, sponsored whore of a superhero. Fire isn’t too happy. Booster argues that the future he came from spit in his face, so now it IS about him, dammit! Then he goes to an advertising meeting with Big Belly Burger.

Day 3 (Apparently nothing important happened on Day 2, or they just forgot their little caption box)

Montoya’s still bored with her surveillance, but the Question, who is fast becoming one of my favorite heroes, pops up in her car unexpectedly. He tells her to keep watching this house, since something will happen, even if nothing has for 2 weeks.

In Metropolis, John Henry Irons has some kind of vision/sickness, and remembers how bad it was when the world was missing a Superman the first time. Everybody just showed up and did a bad job of filling his shoes. Some ghost form of Steel shows up and talks to him, perhaps in a dream, while the current self staggers into the bathroom and barfs into a toilet. He then touches a computer, his hands turn silver, the silverness creeps into his face, and the computer explodes. He may have just been stoned. I really don’t know.

Day 4

Meanwhile, Ralph Dibny is still trying to figure out the resurrection symbol on his wife’s grave. The cult he’s visiting sticks him in the ‘striped waters of the river memon’ to show him the afterlife, and ask for something he values in return. He says he has nothing left after his wife’s death, they stick him underwater, nothing happens, and he comes up lacking his wedding ring. Poor guy just can’t get a break.

Day 5

Back with Montoya, a big creepy thing walks into the building she was supposed to be watching as she’s almost dozing. She wakes up and goes inside, only to be met by the Question. They continue on together, fall down a trap door, and find an ugly green monster loading up crates of alien weapons. A fight ensues, the Question is his usual badass self, and Montoya shoots the monster/alien/thingy-ma-doodle with one of the alien guns, killing it.

Day 7 (again, apparently Day 6 didn’t matter)

They’re bringing the stray Zeta beam transmission onto the planet (since apparently teleportation beams can be rerouted onto Earth now), and lots o’ people show up all bloody-like. I recognize a giant Hawkgirl and a bloodied Alan Scott (wasn’t he missing an eye in Checkmate? Well, it’s bloody here), but that’s about it, so I’ll give you a picture and you can see for yourself.

History of the DC Universe Backup Story

Meh. We learn about the Crisis up until Supergirl’s death. That’s about it.


Overall

Decent issue. I have no idea what in the Hell happened with Steel, though I did realize that the whole ‘mysterious-substance-creeping-over-a-person’s-skin’ thing is really overdone in just about every medium. The Question is truly awesome; he’s funny and badass all at the same time. I’m getting a little tired of Ralph Dibny and Renee Montoya whining all the time, but it’s understandable given their contexts. I also wouldn’t mind seeing a bit more help for less devoted readers, since many of the scenes are completely lost on me; I like to think I have a pretty decent knowledge of the DC Universe, but DC doesn’t do a damned thing to help explain who people are or why we should care what happens to them. OYL was great for newer readers, but 52 really isn’t, in any way, shape, or form. But I’m still enjoying it, since I know what’s going on for at least all of the major things. Until some other week when I decide to be a productive member of society, then, I’m off! Make good choices!

--The Almeister

Originally posted on waitingforwednesday.blogspot.com 6/1/06 Read more

'Meister's Musings: 52: The First Week

Well, Infinite Crisis is finally over. And we all know what that means: MEGA-EVENT #458908634698693.3 is here! This time ‘round, it’s 52, the weekly comic filling in the gaps left by the One Year Later jump. Here’s a quick roundup of what’s happening in the first issue. I’ve got some general comments first, and then an actual summary for those who just want to know what’s happening but don’t want to spend $2.50 every week for a year. I could do that mental math, but I really don’t wanna. Don’t worry, though, I’ll put a clear warning of when the summary starts for those who don’t want it to be spoiled for them.

If you don’t know what 52 is, I have to wonder what rock you’ve been living under the past, oh, 6 months or so. DC’s claiming it’s one of their most ambitious projects ever; if they pull it off, I think it could actually be pretty cool. Assuming they can avoid delays, as that would cripple the whole idea of 52, I really think a ‘real-time’ comic is a pretty good idea. So, in a world without Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, we get to see the stories of the other people in the DCU, and see their stories unfold. Should be quite a ride.

*****ISSUE #1 SUMMARY—SPOILERS ABOUND!*****

Here we go. I’ll try to do this as chronologically as I can. Since the issue is broken into days, I’ll go for that too. Sounds decent enough to me.

Week 1

Day 1

Ralph Dibny (The Elongated Man, whose wife Sue died in Identity Crisis) is standing in the wreckage of his house, which has literally been cut in half. It’s a mess. He’s clearly on the edge of a nervous breakdown, and it talking to someone on the phone who’s worried he was hurt in the Monster Society’s tear through Opal City, which presumably caused his housing woes.

Renee Montoya of the GCPD is in a bar, getting drunk like mad. Seems to be a common occurrence lately.

Steel is helping out at a rescue effort in Paris, cleaning up the damage from IC.

Day 2

Ralph’s looking at a picture of his wife, listening to the person on the phone talk about rumors about who’s still alive and who’s dead after IC.

Montoya’s still drinking.

Steel’s still helping out, looking for Green Arrow, who apparently saved some people.

Day 3

There’s going to be a memorial service for all of the dead heroes in Metropolis. Ralph plans on going.

Montoya’s still drinking, but now she’s depressed about lots o’ people dying.

Day 4

Steel’s hanging around, talking to a St. Louis fireman about how the good guys won.

Day 5

Since Superman is gone, Booster Gold is the new hero in town. Since he has knowledge of the future (being from the future and all), he’s able to stop crimes right when they start, so he’s become mega-popular since he’s mega-successful. Corporate sponsorships abound, as does product placement. Good ol’ Booster’s making a killing taking advantage of the future’s history. His flying robotic companion, Skeets, provides all of the info for him, and also tells him when he needs to look sad about all of the death and destruction. Pretty amusing stuff, actually. Furthermore, according to the future records, it turns out that Superman gave some historic speech at the planned memorial service that became legendary for its message of hope, and it also ushered in a new era for the Justice League. Booster hopes to be a part of it, since it will bring him even more sponsorships.

Ralph Dibny is staying at a hotel, and he has a voice mail message telling him someone left a note on his wife’s grave. Good thing he listened to the message when he did, since he had a gun in his mouth and was ready to end it all. But now he has a crime to solve, and he has a purpose. Or something.

Steel and his daughter Natasha argue over her priorities, as she wants to be with the Teen Titans rather than help her father with the rescue efforts. He gives her a lecture, she runs away, he disables and dismantles her armor. She has to put it back together and presumably spend some time in time out.

Over in Kahndaq (which, unfortunately, I know nothing about), Black Adam is going to lead his people as an example to the world of justice, ‘spreading our new gospel.’ Doesn’t sound like it bodes well for humanity. Some guy at the huge meeting in Kahndaq tries to be a suicide bomber, but in classic Black Adam badassery, he disables the bomb and rips off his arm, telling him ‘You have three more chances to tell me who sent you.’ A truly great moment.

Day 6

Unfortunately, I have no clue what’s going on for a whole page. Some little scientist is complaining about Captain Marvel being gone and rants about how science beats magic. He is then abducted by a lizardy guy and a hairy guy. Sorry, but I have no clue what that was all about. If you do know, please fill me in.

It’s the day of the memorial in Metropolis. People whom I recognize that show up:

Green Arrow
Black Canary
The Ray
GeoForce
Dr. Light
Power Girl
Black Lightning
Speedy (Arsenal, maybe? You kids and your name changes these days…)
Jay Garrick
Wildcat
Martian Manhunter
Booster
Shadowpact (all of ‘em, I think)
Bart Allen (not costumed)
Huntress
Metamorpho
Nightwing
Wonder Girl
Beast Boy
John Stewart
Guy Gardner
Hal (I think; no gray hair, but it looks like his costume)

There are a few more, but that’s all I recognized. Again, please feel free to fill in some gaps.

Anyway, they have their little soiree, and Booster is freaking out when the speech doesn’t start when it should. Clark Kent comes up to Booster and explains that the Big Three aren’t coming.

Day 7

The Question rips off the bat on the Bat Signal and spray-paints a question mark on it. Montoya has a little monologue about how she’s tired of losing partners, including a woman named Daria whom she drove away. I think we’re to assume Montoya and Daria were lovers, but no more. Then the Question shines the new signal on her window and says ‘Are you ready?’

And that’s the end of Week 1.

*****END SPOILERS*****

Sorry that was so long, but I think that’s a pretty decent summary of all that happened. I sure hope I don’t have to write these every week, but I will if nobody else steps in, just ‘cause I love you guys. All, y’know, 3 people who read this…

Anyway, feel free to add things I missed, and please leave a comment or two. It’s always nice to get feedback from people. You can also email me at aswindle@gmail.com if you’d like. And, as always, all previous posts are archived at meistersmusings.blogspot.com. Until next week, then. Tally-ho!

--The Almeister

Originally posted on waitingforwednesday.blogspot.com 5/10/06

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The End of the Crisis

Well, Infinite Crisis finally ended today. I figured some exit comments would be appropriate. It’s not a long rant, but I figured I should speak my mind, and I’d also like to invite others to do the same. So if ever you were to leave a comment on a post, let it be this one, and let’s have ourselves some discussion!

Some minor spoilers for #7 are discussed, but there's a clear warning before and after. So you have absolutely no reason not to contribute your thoughts. I WILL find out where you live...

For over 2 years now, DC has made one of the best attempts at creating a cohesive universe that I have ever seen, and likely ever will see: the DC Universe has meshed incredibly well since Identity Crisis, and I’m now a DC fan because of it. I enjoy reading DC and Marvel because they essentially are their own mythologies, with entire universes and decades of history backing them up. I think that’s truly amazing for a company to be able to do that. And DC, I would say, has pulled it off marvelously in recent years.

Everything about DC lately has impressed me; this is due, in large part, to their editorial staff, as they have made a universe out of a collection of different titles operating in the same world. When something happens over in Superman, Batman knows about it; if Batman’s having a bad day, Supes knows about it. It’s been great. While Marvel used to have Thor fly overhead and tell you to read Thor’s book (although that’s much more effort than their editorial staff has put into inter-book continuity in years), DC doesn’t have to do that. It’s much more subtle, and it fits together so much better. I’ve loved every minute of it.

As for Infinite Crisis itself, I would have to say I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit. Despite my lack of knowledge of all of the B-, C-, D-, etc. tier characters, I realized that the entire universe was there, and all of the heroes were at their best. Just like the original Crisis 20 years ago, we got to see the heroes of the DC Universe be just that: true heroes, who are willing to put everything on the line to save innocents. Furthermore, all of the plot points that have been building up for years now in DC have finally come to a head, and I thought it was truly enjoyable seeing a series truly mindful of its history and roots. I liked it. Heroes were heroes, some major stuff happened that will undoubtedly have ramifications for months or years to come, and we got to see that DC’s heroes are icons, even if they have been a little bit darker in recent years.

I do have one rather major complaint about the end of Crisis 2, though:

*RELATIVELY MINOR INFINITE CRISIS #7 SPOILERS FOLLOW*





The sonsabitches over at DC have pulled a Spidey: since the Earth of the DC Universe is a new one, due to all of the mucking around Alexander Luthor and Superboy Prime were up to, DC decided to introduce their equivalent of organic webshooters. Batman Begins and Smallville are hugely popular, and it looks like DC decided to retcon their way into movie continuity since they’re essentially whores. Remember how Joe Chill was caught in Begins? Well, according to good ol’ Alex Luthor, in this new Earth ‘Batman still fights for Gotham, even though his parents’ killer was caught.’ Furthermore, ‘There are recorded rumors of Superman’s activities before his appearance in Metropolis.’ Smallville, anyone? Don’t get me wrong; I thought Infinite Crisis #7 was a great end to the series, and it was packed with truly heroic and just plain kickass moments (the Supermen fighting Doomsday was incredible), but those 2 little retcons pissed me off. Not only does it insult the intelligence of new readers, as they apparently can’t understand that comics and TV shows are slightly different, but it felt like it cheapened the entire issue a bit. Now, I think that’s actually one of the cleverest retcons I’ve ever seen, as they actually had a somewhat legitimate excuse for it; better than Superboy punching on the walls of time to justify anything you want. I just think retcons are stupid in general, and this was a rather cheap, obvious way of changing comic continuity to reflect mainstream media. They could have at least said those things in their respective titles, and tried to be more subtle with vague allusions to the past. Bleagh.




*END SPOILERS*


Other than that little gripe, I’d say DC has really gotten their act together over the last few years. Hopefully I’ll be able to write another column next year (assuming we’re still here, of course) that will reflect the same idea about 52. For now, DC definitely has my interest piqued, even if it was through a massive company-wide crossover. While Spider-Man’s still a good character, I’ll take an entire cohesive universe over Peter’s financial problems any day. For now, make mine DC.

Agree? Disagree? Please, let me know. As I said before, this seems like it could be a fun topic to debate, so by all means, leave some comments and let’s have a talk. Always feel free to email me, too, at aswindle@gmail.com and I’ll get back to ya right away. As always, this and all of my previous 'Meister's Musings columns are archived at meistersmusings.blogspot.com.

--The Almeister

Originally posted on waitingforwednesday.blogspot.com 5/3/06 Read more

'Meister's Musings: Batman: Thrillkiller TPB and Action Figure

After waiting months and months since the release of the Batman: Thrillkiller action figure, Thrillkiller is finally traded. Since I collect action figures of Batman, I had to buy it when Elseworlds Series 1 came out; since I like to know where the versions come from, I had to try to track down the issues. Was it worth it? Read on. Reviewed are both the TPB and the action figure that made me buy it in the first place.

Batman: Thrillkiller TPB

Batman: Thrillkiller is an Elseworlds story set in 1961 and ’62 in Gotham. The summer of ’61 sees a ‘dynamic duo’ take the streets: Batgirl and Robin, who are trying to clean up the ridiculously corrupt GCPD. Detective Bruce Wayne is assigned to bring in both the Bat-guys and the bad-guys, in this case meaning the corrupt policemen. Bruce is, of course, his usually goody-two-shoes self, and foolishly doesn’t accept bribes. Wotta loser.

Anywho, hijinx ensue, Bruce gets involved more and more, and eventually he even becomes Batman. Why? I ain’t tellin’. Read it yourself if you wanna know. Is it worth reading? Yeah, I suppose. Is it worth buying? Probably not. Here’s why:

Art: 8/10

The art in Thrillkiller is both great and kinda crappy, all at the same time. It’s a very painted look (probably because it was painted, though you can never be sure...), though not necessarily the cleanest. And yet sometimes the art is great: faces here and there will look as realistic and expressive as any of Alex Ross’ work, but sometimes it just looks clunky and the faces are just…ugly. Brereton’s style is certainly unique, and it does work for the most part; the gaudy colors all pop, the action is clear enough to follow; and yet sometimes, particularly with Robin, the characters just don’t look too good. Their faces are distorted, their lips like Angelina Jolie but worse; kinda weird on that front.

Story: 7/10

The story itself is OK. Maybe even pretty good. But I wouldn’t classify Thrillkiller as a must-read among Bat-stories. As an Elseworld it isn’t too bad, as the concept of Batgirl and Robin inspiring Bruce is rather interesting; however, beyond the 3 issues of the main story, there’s also Thrillkiller ’62, which is really just an excuse to throw in as many cameos of as many characters as possible. Overall the story is relatively gripping, and you really do get a sense of Gotham’s corruption; it just isn’t among Batman’s most memorable adventures. The three-issue series itself is quite decent, but Thrillkiller '62, which is really when Batman comes into play, is almost a chore to read.

Overall: 7/10

I would recommend reading Thrillkiller if you’re a fan of Batman or especially of Batgirl. I’m just not sure if I would recommend shelling out 15 bucks for it. Everything is pretty good overall, but there are enough flaws to bring the total score down a bit, and aside from a decent plot, there isn’t a whole heckuva lot of other stuff going for it. Borrow it, enjoy it, but don’t expect another Long Halloween or DKR (assuming, of course, DKR isn’t the Antichrist in your eyes.)

Ooh, but there’s more: the action figures!

Batman: Thrillkiller Action Figure

DC Direct’s Elseworlds Series 1 contained 2 Thrillkiller figures: Batman and Batgirl. Of all of the Batman figures I have, this is one of the coolest, particularly now that I have the source material it comes from. I don't have Batgirl, though that one looks pretty cool. So, quick review of good ol' Bats:

Sculpt: 9/10

DC Direct is phenomenally good at capturing artists’ individual styles in the action figures they produce. The Tim Sale Long Halloween figure looks exactly like it stepped out of the page; Thrillkiller Batman is really no different.

Following the blocky, square style of Brereton’s painted work, the figure has the stocky physique Detective Bruce Wayne has in the comic. The head is particularly well-sculpted, as everything down to the little eyebrows on Batman’s mask look like a 3D version of Brereton’s art. DC Direct has yet to disappoint me on that front. The rest of the figure is also pretty cool: far from being just a boring, dull black, Batman’s dubiously-long gloves and boots are all nice ‘n shiny. Great for entertaining simple people like myself if you have a flashlight nearby. Much like the only dancing hooker in Vegas, Bats is ‘very twinkly, very sparkly, like a holiday.’ Good fun to be had by all.

Posability: DC Direct/10

Do I really need to give this one a score? It’s DC Direct. Of course the posability sucks. This isn’t usually a problem, as DC Direct figures are really more like small statues, but in Batman’s case he has problems standing on his base. It’s not too big of a deal, but don’t expect him to compete with your Marvel Legends figures. The only one he’d be whupping would be X-23.

This really is a pretty good figure, though. If you’re obsessed with Batman like me, add him to your collection; if you like shiny boots, add him to your collection; if you like having artists’ work in 3D, add him to your collection; if you like posability, run like Hell.

Well, that’s it for this installment of ‘Meister’s Musings. Never hesitate to drop me a line here or at aswindle@gmail.com and I’ll happily reply to anything you have to say. And if you didn’t notice my banner, all of my posts are archived at meistersmusings.blogspot.com, so if you want to feel better about your own writing talents, go have a laugh at my expense. Should be fun. ‘Till next time, folks!

Originally posted on waitingforwednesday.blogspot.com 4/20/06 Read more

Almeister's Top 6 Self-Contained Stories

Yep, I'm finally getting around to writing another column! Amazing, isn't it? This one's pretty self-explanatory: my top 6 self-contained stories are the ones without forty years of continuity behind them, so you can get the entire thing and not be missing out on anything the story has to offer if you don't live in your mother's basement reading back issues. I keed, I keed. Why six? 'Cuz I was too lazy to write ten. So here goes.
First of all, I love continuity as much as the next guy. In fact, that's probably the biggest factor keeping me reading DC and Marvel Comics, since they essentially have their own mythologies, histories literally spanning billions of years and nearly 70 real years of stories behind them. That's incredible to me. But as much as I love that, sometimes it's nice to just read a tighter story that you don't have to be a die-hard fan to enjoy. A story where the writer creates everything he needs to tell the story, rather than relying upon others' creations to give the backstory.

There were a lot of comics I could have picked for this column. Some of them are relatively famous, some aren't. I didn't, for instance, choose Watchmen; I personally just didn't think it was nearly as spectacular as everyone else seems to think it is. I also could have chosen more indie books, but my exposure to them is honestly very limited. I've been branching out into less mainstream titles lately but I'm still sorely lacking in that department. So books like Blankets, which I've heard many a good word about, aren't on here, though I will likely add that one to my already-overstuffed bookshelf soon. The stories on my list are all very good, at least to me; but more importantly, they've all made me stop and think a bit, and, with all of the cookie-cutter comics out there, that's quite an accomplishment. While I love good ol' Spidey as much as the next guy, rarely have I returned to thinking about a Spider-Man adventure months or even years later. These are different. These have all really made me think about the world or my own life or something in a new way, and I think that's pretty cool. So here goes (and I mean it this time):

*Note that these are in no particular order. I love all of these, and I really can't pick a #1.*

#1: Rising Stars--JMS

Were I to pick an all-time favorite story, this would have a very good chance of getting that honor. JMS' 24-issue epic is absolutely phenomenal in its execution. What begins as a story about some kids with superpowers evolves into a murder mystery, followed by a touch of superheroic brawls, and ending with a truly thought-provoking climax. I really can't say much without spoiling a wonderful ending, but the story becomes much more than your average superhero fare. It deals with the fact that superheroes are essentially gods, and that they have the power to reshape the world if they would only work together and apply themselves. Rising Stars is actually 3 TPBs (or apparently a single omnibus edition as of a few months ago, though I've never actually seen a copy), each collecting an 'act': act 1 is the intro and murder mystery, act 2 is the superhero bit (and also, in my opinion, the weakest section), and act 3 is where the story matures and becomes exceptional. Everything comes together, everything is explained, and it all fits beautifully. You can't help but think about humanity as a whole reading the last act: our greatness, our folly, everything. I honestly can't praise the story enough. It's clever, and ir really does more for the superhero genre than most stories I've read. The art is fine too, though it does look somewhat bland in a late nineties/early whatever-we're-calling-this-decade kind of way. But it certainly does its job, and the focus here is really on the story anyway. Buy it. It's good stuff. Really. Quick side note: there have been a few miniseries going into more detail about the characters, but I haven't been too impressed by them, nor do they really affect the overall story. I wouldn't worry about them.

#2: Superman: Red Son--Millar

My favorite Superman story of all time. In an Elseworld setting, Superman's rocket ship lands not in the American Midwest, but in Soviet Russia and, as such, Superman is raised believing wholeheartedly in Soviet ideals. Hilarity ensues. Somewhat similar to Rising Stars, Red Son looks at the fact that Superman really is an uber-mensch. Assuming I spelled that correctly, this means that Superman is a genius, he's superstrong, and he can essentially rule the world singlehandedly. So he does. Lex Luthor over in America opposes him at every turn, and a Soviet Batman even joins in the fun. While a little knowledge of the DC universe doesn't hurt, you really don't need anything beyond simple name-recognition to get most of the nuances, and even without that you'd be fine. Again, like Rising Stars, the ending made the book for me. In fact, Red Son's ending utterly blew me away, boggled my mind, and did all sorts of other cliché things to me. Again, spoiling it would ruin everything, but it's a truly amazing ending that made me enjoy the book even more than I had when we were examining how Superman's control may have made him a monster instead of a hero. The saga of Superman's life is a very well-told and compelling one, and it really makes you think about what it means to be a hero. Again, good stuff.

#3: V for Vendetta--Moore

Everybody holds Watchmen as the gold standard of mature comics, but I firmly believe that title should go to another Alan Moore comic: V for Vendetta. Maybe it's just because I'm a fan of Orwell's 1984, but I absolutely loved V: the imagery, the theatrical elements, the story itself, the underlying themes present...I loved it. If you enjoyed the movie, you'll probably love the comic even more; if you didn't like the movie, read it anyway. The story of freedomfighter/terrorist V and his quest for anarchy is extremely well executed, and V is one of the most compelling characters I've seen in a work of fiction for quite some time. The contrast between his truest form as an idea and his human form as a vengeful, theatrical murderer is striking, and the entire story is brilliant in large part because of this. Though it gets bogged down by too much emphasis on the nuts and bolts of government sometimes, V for Vendetta is nonetheless a very powerful story. The ideas are very mature ones, the story a very cool one, and this sentence a very fancy one. Isn't that nice? I think so. Honestly, V for Vendetta is everything comics are capable of as a medium. Just like novels, comics are capable of producing true works of literature, and I think V is one of the finest examples years upon years of comics' publication has produced.

#4: Bone--Smith

Ah, Bone. Everybody who's read it most likely loves it. How could you not? Except for the fact that it's 1300 pages in its entirety, the story of the lovable Bone cousins and their adventures far from home are a combination of Lord of the Rings and Bugs Bunny cartoons, and it's simply a fun read. On the surface the cartoony art might turn some people off, but that really becomes a strength of the story. The art itself is phenomenal, as, even though the series took years to finish, the style is amazingly consistent throughout. On the story side, the fact that Bone is in fact 1300 pages is also a strength: characters can be developed to a degree not found in any other comic I've seen, and that makes them all even more lovable. Like Lord of the Rings, there is an entire world and mythology the characters inhabit, and both are fleshed out enough to give you a sense that the world of Bone has existed for centuries, and we're just reading about one small saga in their overall scheme of things. Like Bugs Bunny cartoons, there's enough of a sense of humor to get even the most surly reader smiling, as evil rat creatures discuss quiche and an old lady races cows (as in, she tries to run faster than them) for fun. Though I thought the ending could have been a bit better, Bone is nonetheless a great ride if you're willing to read it all the way through. And once you pick it up, you won't put it down, even if your arms can't hold up such a massive book for long. While not necessarily particularly thought provoking I suppose, Bone is a great example of how a good story should be told. So give it a shot. Two quick notes: Rose and Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails are both pretty good fleshings-out of the story, though they shouldn't be read until after you've read all of Bone; also, the one-volume edition is rather difficult to find, so either see if your library or comic shop has the individual books or buy the new colorized versions that are being released slowly right now.

#5: Wanted--Millar

This is the iffiest book on my list. While it's certainly thought-provoking, some people are sure to hate it pretty much beyond all other comics. It's about bad guys and the evil things they do, and it's most definitely not for children. Swear words, blood, guts, fecal matter, and sex are all quite prominent in this second Millar book on my list, so if any of those don't sound appealing to you, don't buy it. Simple as that. The last two pages will also either make you stop and think or make you throw the comic out the window; I personally found it insightful, while the owner of my local comic shop was enraged and offended by it. The story overall was good, though perhaps not spectacular; for me, though, the thought-provocation level was pretty high at the end. I recommend borrowing the book from a friend, a library, a store ('borrowing,' of course, being the active word there), or reading it in the shop, since you might hate it. Or you might love it, but see if you can avoid spending the money on it before you know. It's good, but it also has the possibility to turn you into a ball of living rage. And that can't be good for your blood pressure.

#6: Demo--Wood

Demo is actually the most recent addition to my comics library, and I loved it overall. Yet another Brian Wood book I really enjoyed, Demo is a collection of 12 completely self-contained stories that have no bearing on each other whatsoever. It's also the clearest example I've seen of a series evolving over time, since, to be honest, I think Demo starts out somewhat weak. The first few stories deal with young adults with some kind of abnormality (read: superpower) which, while good, are somewhat less enjoyable because of the fantastical element added into what are otherwise very well-developed character studies. While I like superhero stories, I think the first issues would have been better if they dealt with normal people rather than employing what is essentially an out-of-the-blue surreal element to end very real stories. However, as you read more and more issues, they become less fantastic and more relatable: two of them, 'Mixtape' and 'Breaking Up,' deal with relationships in a way nearly everyone can relate to; others look at the evolution of friendships over time, or how people deal with personal convictions in the face of outside pressures. All of the stories certainly have something to offer, but I myself preferred the later, more down-to-earth tales. I highly recommend picking this one up as, much like Local, if you don't like one story you're sure to find one you do enjoy.

So there you go. These are, in my experience, some of the best comics have to offer. With the possible exception of Wanted, these are all truly great stories, and they've all made me stop and think (except for Bone, which wouldn't let me stop reading it since it was just a damned good story). When a story can do that, and when I carry part of it with me for years to come, I think it succeeds in a way most things never do. I began reading exclusively superhero comics, but the more I branch out, the more I realize what the medium has to offer. So put down your Batman comic and try something new (you can even start with the Superman one if you want); you might even learn something. Lighten your wallet and expand your mind. Materialism isn't good for blood pressure either.

As always, please feel free to leave comments/criticisms/love poems either here or in my inbox at aswindle@gmail.com

Originally posted on waitingforwednesday.blogspot.com 4/12/06

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Another POA POV: Meister's Musings on the Marvel Legends Apocalypse Series

This week, in a special guest Points of Articulation Column, I destroy any credibility Uli may have had with his articulate, well-thought-out articles! Enjoy!

Incidentally, strap yourselves in for a long one. This review is a doozy. Luckily, there's a handy summary at the bottom for those of you who, like me, suffer from ADD.

I finally bit the bullet today and spent my $50 to get the Apocalypse series. Was it worth it? Well, true believer, read on to find out!

Reviewed:
Astonishing X-Men Wolverine
Bishop
Iron Fist
Maestro Hulk
Sasquatch
X-23
Apocalypse

The Marvel Legends series has shown that action figures can both be ultra posable, making them great for kids and collectors alike, and that they can look pretty good at the same time. For the most part Legends figures have improved since Series 1 oh-so-many years ago; the sculpts generally look better, there's a higher degree of articulation for most of the figures, and they come with much better incentives to buy them: Instead of picking and choosing your favorite characters, you now pretty much have to buy the entire series lest you want a crippled Galactus, Sentinel, or Apocalypse trying to rule the world. To quote Freddy Pharkas, that just doesn't work like that. Unfortunately, despite all of the improvements throughout the series, Legends figures still aren't perfect. Some of the best new articulation points from previous series are strangely absent from figures in later series. For instance, chest articulation has been figured out; having that little gap between the chest and abs of characters allows for a much greater range of flexibility, and yet, in the Sentinel Series, Cyclops didn't have it. Which inevitably leads to a grand ol' WTF? From the buyer. A few problems like that have reared their ugly heads again in the Apocalypse Series. Where, you might ask? Read on, and ye shall see.


Astonishing X-Men Wolverine
Sculpt: 8.5/10
Posability: 8/10
Coolness factor: 9/10
Overall: 8/10

This is now the fifth Wolverine figure in the Marvel Legends Series; first we had the good ol' yellow-'n-blue, then the brown costume, followed by Weapon X, and now we have Astonishing. Overall, this is a pretty good figure. The sculpt is very good, from the tiny wrinkles around joints to individual seams on the costume. Other than weirdly flat feet, this is pretty much exactly how Cassaday's art in Astonishing X-Men should look as an action figure. You also have to give 'em bonus points for making the figure physically short. He barely comes up to Cyclops' chin when standing next to the figure. I've never seen that in a Wolverine figure before, so kudos to them. The claws are also sturdy enough not to bend all over the place, so they actually look like claws instead of pipe cleaners for once.

There are, however, a few problems with the crazy Canuck, almost all of which fall into the Posability category. First of all, his hands are a waste of two points of articulation. His fingers can open and close, but there's absolutely no point in doing so: the figures are sculpted in a completely curled position, so his hands just look stupid in any pose other than a fist. Furthermore, instead of a smooth chest/abs joint, there are really only two settings: up and down. While this isn't too big of a deal, it's tough to get really precise posing for him. My last little gripe: his waist joint cuts his belt in half. When he's turned, his belt is completely misaligned, which, while a very minor detail, is enough to be noticeable.

Overall, Astonishing Wolvie is a good figure to get; despite a few very minor flaws, the sculpt is great, and I think it's the best Wolverine we've had so far.


Bishop
Sculpt: 8/10
Posability: 8.5/10
Accessories: 8/10
Coolness factor: 9/10
Overall: 8.5/10

Bishop is one of my favorites of this series. His sculpt is good: he probably has one of the most detailed costumes and body sculpts I've seen. The muscles all look like Barry Bonds' steroidy-goodness, while there are all of the obligatory costume wrinkles to add that extra bit of realism. Or, at least, as much realism as a pumped-up, red-eyed man with a shotgun can have. His guns are also pretty good. He has trouble holding them (more on that in a minute), but the holsters on his back and right leg hold the shotgun and...other thing perfectly. On the posability front, Bishop is pretty good. His fingers are individually articulated, which, for a figure with guns, is a must. All of the usual points of articulation are here, including the side-to-side foot joints (another must), making it possible to get Bishop into all sorts of cool poses.

Now for the bad. Luckily there aren't too many flaws in this figure. The two biggest ones cause problems with his weapons: it's difficult to get his hands to hold the guns, and it's also hard to move his arms as much as one might like. The guns only work in one hand each: the shotgun goes in the right, the plasma doohickey in the left. Each palm has a small peg on it which corresponds to a small hole in each gun. Unfortunately, this isn't enough to hold the guns there, so you have to mess with the fingers until you get one in the trigger guard and three on the handle. Otherwise you're screwed. Furthermore, due to the stickiness of the joints that plagues this entire series, moving the elbow can sometimes be enough of a jolt to send the gun flying, making you start all over again getting the guns in hand. The other big issue I have with the figure is the lack of forward and back shoulder joints. The Spider-Man 2 Ultra-Posable figure, along with Sasquatch from this series, have special joints at the shoulders allowing the arms to swing forward further. For a figure with a gun this is a good thing to have, as that allows the figure to have two hands on a gun (one firing, one supporting), or it can also point the guns straight forward rather than off to the sides. Last problem: like Wolverine, Bishop lacks chest/ab mobility. This is partly due to the great holster on his back, but the joint is also just not that flexible.

Overall, though, Bishop is another good figure. The sculpt is very detailed, from working holsters down to tiny details in his gloves, and the figure is pretty flexible. I like 'im.


Iron Fist
Sculpt: 9/10
Posability: 8/10
Accessories: WTF?/10
Coolness factor: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

My knowledge of Danny Rand is really quite limited. From what I do know, however, fans of the martial arts master should be pretty happy. Parts of this figure are the single best sculpting job I've seen in any Legends figure: his head and chest area are masterfully sculpted, as are his legs; his feet even have individual toe tendons, so the level of detail is really quite impressive overall. Even the little bits of cloth trailing from his belt and mask look great. In terms of posability, Iron Fist rivals most Spider-Man toys in their flexibility; there are a few glaring omissions here, but overall he's got the goods. He also has the greatest degree of confusion in all of Marvel Legend-dom: Iron Fist has mystical powers associated with his hands. As such, Toy Biz nicely includes two fiery accessories for his hands which look really great. The problem is, I can't figure out how the hell to get them on his hands for the life of me. If I could get them on, I guarantee they'd look awesome beyond belief; unfortunately, I appear to be retarded, so my Iron Fist figure is sorely lacking in the mystical hands department. Woe is me.

Once again, like all of the Marvel Legends figures ever made, there are a few issues. Iron Fist, for the most part, has one of the best sculpts I've seen; and yet, for all of that, he looks somewhat idiotic when he's just standing around. This is a direct result of his weird shoulders: instead of being integrated into his chest area, his arms look like they're just stuck onto his body, and stick out strangely as a result. While this does allow for greater flexibility in his arms (they even added an upwards shoulder joint, so that's a good thing), it looks bad when he isn't posed in some exotic manner. There's also a problem with his feet: once again, a very good point of articulation is missing from this figure for no apparent reason. Almost every Legend figure has the side-to-side foot joint that allows the figure to support itself when its legs are going off to the side. Unfortunately, Iron Fist doesn't have that, making a low-to-the-ground martial arts pose trickier to pull off than it should be. I have no idea why that joint isn't there. Maestro Hulk has it, for Chrissakes; you'd think one of the most flexible characters in all of Marvel Comics would be as posable as possible. While the figure is very flexible, it's amazing what this one little omission can do to damage his posability. This is probably the stupidest error of the entire series, right up there with Cyclops from the Sentinel Series lacking a chest pivot.

Despite his few very-noticeable errors, Iron Fist is pretty good. The sculpt is great, though the weird shoulder joints are somewhat distracting. While not perfect, Iron Fist is nothing to laugh at. That's X-23's job, and we wouldn't want to take that away from her.


Maestro Hulk
Sculpt: 8.5/10
Posability: 7/10
Accessories: 7.5/10
Coolness factor: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

I have no clue who Maestro Hulk is. According to the back of his box, he's the Hulk from an apocalyptic future (fitting for the series, no?) ravaged by nuclear war. Is this the Hulk from Hulk: The End? I really don't know. What I DO know, however, is that the action figure looks pretty cool. The head sculpt is great. If he weren't green, Maestro Hulk's head would look great as Zeus or Poseidon. His body in general is pretty cool, too, with individual veins running up his arms and little warts covering his chest. His helmet is equally cool, though its tendency to fall off his head at any moment knocks it down a few points. Posability is the Hulk's nemesis, though: while he isn't Spider-Man, Maestro Hulk has some trouble moving around.

The Hulk is, well, a hulking creature. You probably wouldn't expect him to be too agile, and you'd be right: While he has all of the absolutely vital points of articulation (beating the pants off of any DC Direct figure you're likely to find), he's also got some issues. Maestro Hulk has the side-to-side joints on his ankles that Iron Fist lacked (Why? I don't know, he's on third, and I don't give a darn.), but he doesn't have the joint on his calves that every other Legend figure I've seen has: his foot has to be lined up with his knee at all times, as he doesn't have a joint that allows him to do otherwise. He also has an utter lack of chest movement (even worse than the rest of the series, which, for the most part, is quite a feat), so he's unable to look up or down without moving his neck. This also means he can't tower over a smaller guy like Wolverine very effectively. The last problem Maestro Hulk has is his hands: they're just awkward. They're pudgy and the fingers just don't look very good. His right hand doesn't quite work as a fist, and it doesn't quite work as an open hand. His left looks pretty good open, but they both look bad when you're looking at his palms.

For all of his articulation flaws, though, I have to say I like Maestro Hulk quite a bit. The sculpt is good , and it's definitely possible to make him look good in a pose. Perhaps not as many options as you'd have with, say, Iron Fist, but he's a fun figure nonetheless.


Sasquatch
Sculpt: 8/10
Posability: 10/10
Accessories: 0/10
Coolness factor: 7/10
Overall: 8.5/10

Sasquatch is one of the single most-articulated action figures I have ever seen. Bested perhaps only by the super-posable Spider-Man 2 action figure, Sasquatch can do pretty much anything you'd like him to. From individual fingers being movable, to the shoulder joints that Bishop doesn't have, Sasquatch is really pretty impressive. He's also HUGE. Poor little Wolverine only comes up to his waist. There's also a really good attention to detail on the figure: the texturing is very well done, making Sasquatch a big, hairy lunk of a guy, and the longer hair looks good, too. Really nothing to complain about on that front.

In fact, I have only one complaint about Sasquatch: his accessories are terrible. If the Silver Surfer can come with Howard the Duck, where the Hell is my Marvel Legends Puck action figure, dammit?! Despite that grievous error, there's really nothing to complain about on this figure. Good one to have, overall.


X-23
Sculpt: 5/10
Posability: 6/10
Coolness factor: 2/10
Overall: 4/10

I hate to say it, but I really don't have too many good things to say about X-23. Instead of looking like a ruthless killing machine, she looks like an anorexic who could be killed with a gust of wind going the wrong direction. Other than her extendable foot claws (which are actually kinda neat, as they fold under her feet), she's really got nothin' going for her. She has about as many points of articulation as the first Spider-Man classics figures (except she can't bend her toes, due to the foot claw), and she doesn't have any kind of hand joints at all. While that would have been OK for Wolverine, it just adds yet another point of patheticity (aren't fake words fun?) to an already-pathetic figure. Unless you're a huge fan of X-23, buy this figure for the Apocalypse head and toss her in a drawer. Disappointing all around.


Apocalypse
Sculpt: 8/10
Posability: 8/10
Coolness factor: 11/10
Overall: 9/10

I absolutely love the build-a-figures of the last few ML series. While I never got the Galactus series, the Sentinel is far and away one of the coolest action figures I have. Now Apocalypse is right up there with him. This is why it was worth buying the POS called X-23. The giant Apocalypse figure is just really, really damn cool. First of all, he's utterly massive. Sasquatch comes up to his waist. This means Wolverine only hits the tops of Pooky's knees. The sculpt is pretty well done, overall. Though not as detailed as the Sentinel (and what can be?), Apocalypse is nonetheless really good-looking, in a grey-skinned, blue-lipped kinda way. If you're into that kind of thing, that is. The easiest way I can think of for reviewing Pooky is by part. So here goes:

Head/Upper Torso: X-23
Those bastards at Toy Biz forced us into buying X-23 in order to finish up the figure. Luckily it was worthwile. Pooky's head looks downright menacing; though limited somewhat by his well-sculpted collar, it's also rather mobile. The only problem I had with the upper torso was the coloring of the shoulders. The arm pieces are actually only the forearms and biceps, as they attach to the shoulders on the upper torso. The shoulder ball joints are painted a lighter blue, unlike the black of the rest of the figure. While it matched one arm (more on that in a second), the other arm has a blue shoulder and black bicep, which looks kinda weird. Other than that, no complaints.

Arms: Sasquatch (Right), Maestro Hulk (Left)
The arms are probably the most problematic parts of the figure. As previously mentioned, one my figure's arms isn't the right color. My Sasquatch figure came with a blue arm that matched the color of the shoulder joint. The Hulk, however, came with a black arm that matches the legs and rest of the figure. While it isn't horrifically noticeable, be sure to pay attention when buying figures, as you probably want to shoot for all-black limbs. The other issue with the arms is the finger setup: each finger is individually posable, so that's a good thing; however, much like Wolverine, you really don't want to uncurl the fingers or it'll look funky. The fists look great, though, as do the cables that connect to his back. Unlike other Apocalypse figures, these cables are also plenty long enough: it's impossible to pull the cables taught, so fighting with the cables for posing rights isn't really an issue. I always had that problem with the growing Apocalypse figure from the Animated Series, so it's good to see they fixed that.

Lower Torso: Bishop
The lower torso is really kind of strange. Unlike the Sentinel's, which locked with the upper body using a regular one-way connector, this attaches to Pooky's chest using a weird mechanism that, though effective, results in an annoying clicking sound whenever you use the chest joint. Furthermore, much like the Sentinel, the hip joints are both stiff (which is good for figure this heavy) and noisy. I don't quite know why that is, but any time you move Pooky around you'll get some clicks out of 'im. Not a big deal, though.

Legs: Iron Fist (Right), Astonishing Wolverine (Left)
I really have no complaints about the legs at all. They're well-sculpted, detailed, and very posable; any joint you'd expect to be on a regular ML leg is found on Apocalypse's. Another nice touch, which is also found on the arms, is the lack of visible joint bolts: one can usually see were the bolts holding joints together are on a figure, but Apocalypse has little plastic squares on each side of each limb covering up those unsightly joint holes. A little touch, but a nice one, nonetheless.


Recap time!
Astonishing Wolverine: damn good. A few minor flaws, but good sculpt, and he's finally a midget!
Bishop: worthy effort. Detailed, generally good accessories, not a bad buy.
Iron Fist: another good one. A few weird problems and confounding flaming hands, but good sculpt.
Maestro Hulk: not too articulate (heh, heh) but a fun figure anyway. Helmet's a bit annoying, though.
Sasquatch: no complaints. Very posable, detailed sculpt; lack of Puck is terrible.
X-23: horrible. Buy it for the Apocalypse piece and nothing more.
Apocalypse: godly. Huge, very cool looking, and, despite a few problems with the arms, really really good.

Overall the Apocalypse series is a pretty good one to go out and find. While the character selection isn't the best (do we really need our third Hulk and fifth Wolverine, when there hasn't been a Captain Marvel or Banshee or Hawkeye figure? Sasquatch, Iron Fist, and X-23 are a step in the right direction, at least), and there are a few stupid problems with posability, none of the figures are terrible (with the notable exception of X-23). There are two other problems, though, that apply to this entire series: the first is a lack of bases. The plastic stands that came with the Sentinel Series were brilliant; the Pooky figures don't have them, which is really a shame. Furthermore, I have never seen action figures with joints as stiff as these. All action figures usually require a few minutes of breaking in their joints, but these figures, particularly their legs joints, are really problematic. It's also sometimes a bit tricky to get them to stand up on their own, but that's nothing new. Other than that, though, this series lives up to the expectations that now come along with ML figures. And having a gigantic Apocalypse figure makes up for all of the little details that aren't quite right.

As always, feel free to email me with glorious showers of praise, marriage proposals, ideas, etc. I suppose I'd even read criticism. aswindle@gmail.com

--The Almeister

Originally posted on waitingforwednesday.blogspot.com 3/26/06

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HULK SMASH! (And Hulk Run Meaningless Errands, too!)

The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is pretty much what you would expect from a Hulk game: it's strong on smashing, weak on thinking. Running around wreaking havoc is great fun; completing the story is just a means to an end: namely, being able to break stuff even better. But if you like Hulk for his destructive prowess, this is as close as you're gonna get to actually Hulking out.

I am not a big Hulk fan. I, as well as most of the world, know and love Hulk because he's a big, strong, angry green guy who smashes stuff. Yes, I know, throughout the Hulk's career he's developed from a Jekyll and Hyde clone into a complex analysis of the human psyche, complete with multiple personalities and skin colors to match. While that makes for good storytelling month after month, let's face it: in a Hulk game, screw psychology. We want to be able to break things. And that's exactly what IHUD delivers. If you're looking for a great story, you might be mildly happy, but the story is not the focus of this game. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

The theoretical idea of the game has something to do with fighting the Abomination and/or “The Division,” your run-of-the-mill evil corporation. The real idea of the game is to run around in an open-ended, completely free-roaming world and have fun. You can run up buildings (or climb up them by digging your fists into the walls), leap across great expanses of desert or city, surf on a flattened bus, and fight huge robots. Combine that with incredibly destructible environments (even some buildings can be knocked down) and you've got a good time sitting in your console. Before you know it you'll have missiles flying at you from all sides, be punching or throwing those self-same missiles back at your enemies, be hurling cars at soldiers and innocent people, and be busy fighting off airplanes from building roofs, King Kong style. On to the specific areas:

Graphics: 8/10
While they aren't the absolute prettiest thing you've ever seen your console churn out, Ultimate Destruction's graphics certainly do their job well. More importantly, they do their job without slowdown, at least in the Gamecube version. The visuals may seem a little bit plain early on, but the animations are realistic and the game can handle huge numbers of explosions, damage models, and particle effects without any trouble. You can be in huge fights surrounded by enemies, and you'll always know you can count on the framerate to remain nice and steady. And this certainly isn't to say the graphics are anything to laugh at. The model for the Hulk is very detailed, as are the environments themselves. As mentioned before, it's possible to climb up buildings with your hands. Every time you grab onto the wall with your fingers, little chunks of cement go sprinkling down onto the street. Every time you land from a big jump, a crater will appear on the pavement. Same goes for punching a wall. And super-moves...well, 3-block-wide shockwaves destroying everything in their paths have rarely been this satisfying.

Sound: 7/10
The sound is pretty much what you'd expect: screams, explosions, crunches, explosions, tanks firing, and explosions. Especially fun if you have a decent sound system: the walls will shake with your every thundering step, your eardrums will burst with your every sonic clap. Good times had by all. Except the neighbors, but nobody likes them anyway. Just picture them when you hurl an innocent pedestrian at a wall, and your night just got a lot better.

Story: 5/10
Ultimate Destruction's weakest element. There is a story stuck in amongst all of the smashing. Unfortunately, it isn't that compelling. Bruce Banner is working with Leonard Samson to get rid of the Hulk once and for all. The government's after him. Chaos ensues. The story would have been more compelling had the developers not inserted random pages of text after some missions that suddenly move the story ahead drastically. It's clunky, and it just isn't all that great. But you didn't play this for the thinking anyway, right? I thought not.

Gameplay: 9/10
Easily the most important part of a game like this, and easily Ultimate Destruction's greatest strength. This is just pure, unadulterated fun. Running around destroying everything in sight really never gets old. I've spent many an hour just running around picking up streetlights or trees and throwing them as javelins at things, surfing around on a bus (which can also be thrown as a boomerang, or used as a shield), or just running and jumping through the streets. There are also challenge missions that have fun with the gameplay mechanics, having Hulk see how far he can swat SWAT teams descending from a helicopter as he swings a streetlight pole around as a baseball bat, or piling taxis on top of skyscrapers. The player has complete freedom in doing whatever he wants, and it doesn't get old. There are always story missions to complete which, while repetitive, are actually never too much of a hassle. The combat in the game is fun, so it's never too much trouble to grab that next part of the de-Hulkifier in the story mode. Especially when those missions give you smash points which you can use to buy new moves, moves that allow you to send shockwaves across the pavement or create sonic booms with a single clap. The boss fights are also worth mentioning, as they're just epic. The Hulk, being as strong as he is, needs considerable opposition in order to be taken down. Enter huge robot battles, one of which will literally have you leveling a small island. Who needs nukes? Apparently the effects of gamma bombs work just as well. There are so many things to do and break that any fan of the Hulk, mindless destruction, GTA, Spider-Man 2 the game, or action games in general will find something to enjoy.

Controls: 7/10
There's a bit of a learning curve here. You'll pick up the basics without too much trouble at all, but learning and remembering the plethora of moves you'll acquire is a bit challenging. There's always a list of moves at your disposal, but it's irritating to have to check back and forth. You'll remember your favorites, though, so it isn't too big of a deal.

Replayability: 8/10
After you finish the story, you can start it up again (to relive every...wonderful, yeah, that's the word... moment of it!) with everything you had before. The only reason to do this is to gain more smash points, but that's a good reason in and of itself. You will want every move available, since they're all a lot of fun to mess around with. Furthermore, there are comic books spread throughout the city to collect which contain cheat codes that grant the player new costumes (country-affiliated boxer shorts galore!), damage bonuses, or other gameplay changes such as making every vehicle a bus or putting gorilla balloons all over the city. Even when you've finished all of that, Ultimate destruction is a great way to relieve stress if you've had a bad day: boot up your system, cause millions of dollars' worth of property damage, and feel better instantly. Dr. Phil will be out of a job before you know it.

Fun Factor: 10/10
This game is fun. That's all there is to it.

Overall: 8/10
Don't come in expecting a brilliantly executed story; come in expecting a good time with a game that is clearly designed to let the player just have fun. Worthy of at least a rental, and worthy of a purchase for most, since you can always come back and find news ways to be a menace to society. What more could you ask for?

Originally posted on waitingforwednesday.blogspot.com 3/1/06 Read more

I Got Wood. Again. Luckily, Symptoms LOCALized This Time.

Local is yet another series by Brian Wood (DMZ, Demo) worthy of picking up. Ryan Kelly brings regular people to life with a simple, very indy-looking style. It's simple, and yet it isn't. At all.

Local is just a comic about regular people in regular cities around the US. It's tough to classify, since each issue of the three currently available has been completely different from the last. The first, a stream of consciousness piece; the second, a story about an unorthodox relationship; and the third, a kind of Behind The Music tale. Each story takes place in a different, smallish US town. The first was Portland, OR, then we went to Minneapolis, MN, followed by Richmond, VA. If you live in any of those places (which I don't), it's sure to ring bells, as Ryan Kelly uses actual businesses from the towns as backdrops.

The variety of the stories themselves, as I mentioned before, makes Local a difficult comic to classify. It definitely isn't your typical comic, as it doesn't really have a plot; there certainly isn't a cohesive plot between issues, though one might develop in future issues. This is both a good and a bad thing for the comic: while it keeps things fresh and interesting each issue, people will inevitably like certain issues more than others. I personally didn't really care for the third issue as much as the other two, as I'm not in a band nor do I have any inclination whatsoever to be in one in the future. However, I thought the first two were great, and all three have been deep stories. One might be tempted to blow through an issue in a quick read, but then, by the end, you realize you've missed a lot. There's a huge amount of detail packed into both the story and art, even though it initially doesn't quite seem that way: the stories aren't deep at first glance, but once you get into them, they're much more than initially thought.

There is, therefore, really only one recommendation I can make: pick up an issue and see if you like it. If it isn't quite to your liking, maybe try another one, since it's sure to be something different. The order doesn't really matter, so pick which one sounds good to you: #1, a girl thinking about how things could play out depending on how she acts; #2, a story about a stalker-boyfriend who breaks into a girl's apartment and leaves pictures of himself; or #3, about the trials and tribulations of a band and, more importantly, the people behind the band. They all offer something different, and, as is usual with Brian Wood, his characters make the comic work. They're all well developed, and you instantly know exactly who they are since they're just like real people in the real world. If you're looking for explosions and capes, you're SOL; if you want a change of pace, Local's the thing for you.

End ratings:

Story: 8/10 Again, tough to rate, since they're all different. They're all good, but you'll agree or disagree depending upon your personal interests

Art: 8/10 Expressive, stylized, very consistent. You'll probably either like it or hate it, since it has that...'indy' feel to it. Tough to describe, but that's why pictures are worth a thousand words.

Enjoyability: Really depends on the issue. You don't really get the whole picture until you read the whole thing, but then you're always glad you read it.

Pick up a copy of one of the issues next time you stop by your comic shop and see if it's your thing. It's different, but in a good kinda way.

--The Almeister

Originally posted on waitingforwednesday.blogspot.com 2/21/2006 Read more

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! Ultimate Avengers: The Movie is The Ultimates come to life

The first in what will hopefully be a long line of Marvel/Lions Gate Films animated projects is finally on the shelves. As of February 21, Marvel fans can now see Mark Millar's and Brian Hitch's epic Ultimates come to life.

As fans of the Ultimates know, the series is the Ultimate Universe's version of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers. Hence the incredibly original title. Following the first 13 issues of the series rather faithfully, the movie does a good job of making the characters work on the little screen. Minor story spoilers (first 10 minutes or so) follow, so be warned. Although if you don't know who Captain America or the Hulk is, you probably don't give a damn about the movie anyway.

Picking up exactly where the comic does, UatM begins in WWII as the Allied forces go after the Nazis. Captain America is among them, giving us our first taste of the huge-scale action to follow. Leaping into the fray and busting some Nazi skulls, Cap saves America from certain nuclear doom as a true hero would. And then he proceeds to fall into the Atlantic and die. Bummer.

From there, much like the comics, we switch to the present day and meet the rest of the cast. This is where the movie really works, since the characters work nearly as well as they do in the comics. I say nearly, because the comics aren't exactly for children. You can't have Hank Pym abusing his wife in an animated movie, nor can you have quite the same level of social/political commentary Millar infuses his work with. They do have to appeal to a mainstream audience, after all. The characters, though, are spot-on:

Captain America's story and character are developed beautifully. It's dramatic, it's poignant, and it's wonderful. From his battle with the Nazis, to his coping with modern-day America, the viewer really connects with him and can't help but root for the guy.


Thor is just a great character, both in the comics and in the movie. Despite his lack of facial hair, animated Thor keeps the same hippie/Norse God/possibly schizophrenic personality that makes Ultimate Thor so lovable. His quirky references to Norse characters and his love of Asgardian mead only make him better.

Much like Thor, Iron Man/Tony Stark is spot-on. His armor is the classic red and gold, rather than red and gray, but he is portrayed exactly as a rich playboy should be: chasing beautiful women, being the quick-witted smooth talker, and even having that delightful quirk we all love Iron Man for: his devotion to the hard stuff. Bruce Wayne only wishes he were this damn sexy.

Giant-Man, as stated before, has the biggest departure from his character. The wife-beater is gone, replaced by an arrogant “lab-jockey” who loves to bicker with everybody. It's close to his comics personalities, and it's really about as close as the creators could get him and retain a PG-13 rating.

The Wasp, though a relatively minor character, also stays true to her comic roots, as does Banner, in his role as a tragic, misunderstood, slightly psychotic genius. He gets fleshed out (and Hulked out, for that matter) just as well as everybody else. The Black Widow was, in my opinion at least, the weakest of the characters, since she was really just a femme fatale and little else. However, despite that fact, every other character was developed in a way to engage the viewer for reasons other than the big explosions (of which there are many, incidentally). Instead of the mindless kids' movie I was expecting, the story is truly compelling, and the characters work just as well as they do in the comics.

The animation is equally good. It is Brian Hitch's spectacular style, albeit a slightly simplified version of it. Everything is animated smoothly, with a seamless blend of computer effects and traditional animation that leaves painful memories of Spider-Man's badly-rendered New York in the 90's far behind. It's truly top-notch stuff.

The Special Features on the disc are also worth mentioning. "Avengers Assemble" is the typical creators-patting-themselves-on-the-back deal, and really seems like little more than George Perez and Kurt Busiek glorifying themselves. I must admit I didn't watch the whole thing, but I couldn't take it anymore after the first few minutes. If you've seen the analogous bits on other Marvel DVDs, you know exactly what it's all about.

However, one of the Special Feature segments is worthy of a paragraph all its own: the search for the voice talent. A while back fans were encouraged to send in their audition tapes to see if they had what it takes to voice one of the characters. These are their tapes. Some of them are pretty good, some of them are really funny because they're supposed to be, and some of them are riotously funny because they're horrid. Definitely worth your time. There's also a preview of Ultimate Avengers 2, which looks promising if predictable. There's also an Avengers trivia track you can play while you watch the movie, if you so choose. Toss in some trailers for UAtM, Elektra (?!) and some new Heroclix ripoff, and you've got a Special features menu that's at least decent.

Overall, Ultimate Avengers is, at the very least, worthy of a rental. Most stores are selling it for around $13, which, for a 71 minute movie, is rather reasonable. The story is very well executed, the characters are worth caring about, and the animation is top-notch. If you liked Ultimates, or if you have a passing interest in the characters or their universe, give it a shot. Fans of the comics will be happy, fans of animated superheroics will be happy, and the whole family can enjoy watching the bad guys get stomped. Grab yourself a mead or martini, or even a vial of super-soldier serum, and have a blast.

--The Almeister

Originally posted on waitingforwednesday.blogspot.com 2/21/2006

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DMZ: Wars and snipers and...thoughtful characters? Oh my.

Apocalyptic world? Check. Gritty realism? Check. Great characters? Check. What's not to love about DMZ?

DMZ, by Brian Wood (Demo, Local) and Riccardo Burchielli, is “an inside look at a war without an end,” if the subtitles of the first two issues are to be believed. And that really is what DMZ is all about: the inside look. The war in question is a fictitious one: after 9/11, the area of the US from New Jersey inland (the Free States) and Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island (the United States of America), went to war. This leaves Manhattan Island stuck in the middle, a bombed-out shell of its former glory known as the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone). And that's just the first panel of the first issue.

However, this war, thus far, has really only been a backdrop for the true story to be told in DMZ: that of the people involved. Enter Matthew Roth: our eyes in the world of DMZ. A intern for a photojournalist, he goes to Manhattan on his first day on the job. However, things for Matt get much more interesting once they get there, since snipers and the human body tend not to play nicely together. Thus Matt, the only survivor, is left with camera equipment and a unique opportunity: to tell the story of those on the inside, a story no one outside of Manhattan has heard. And this is where DMZ truly begins.

After fainting at the site of the carnage, Matt awakes to meet Zee, the first of the colorful cast of characters in the DMZ. She leads him around Manhattan, meeting up with others on the inside like her. Here we get to see the personal side of the war raging in the country: each character is a unique person, with unique motivations, caring not so much about the war outside, but about life on the inside. We see love blossom across the lines drawn in the sand by the opposing forces, people trying to save their fellow man, and even a group of ecologically-minded zookeepers who may or may not be a mythical special forces unit. Though the story is, on its surface, about a journalist in a war, Brian Wood really just uses that as an excuse to tell the stories of the people who actually live in the DMZ. If you're expecting action, it's here; but that's not the focus of the book. The people are the story, and Wood populates his world with a colorful cast that one could easily meet on the street on the way to the comic book store. Which, incidentally, is where people should be rushing, since they should buy DMZ right now.

The art of DMZ adds yet another layer to an already-engrossing tale. The gritty, detailed look of Burchielli's art contributes to the sense of realism the story creates. Instead of just drawing the characters, Burchielli gives them character: their personalities show through even when they aren't talking, which furthers the wonderful characterization begun by Wood.

Overall, DMZ is a great read. Action, suspense, social commentary, believable characters, and even a little bit of love all come together to create an immersive world full of people you can't help but care about, and that's the book's true strength. It's still early in the series, so it shouldn't be hard to find the back issues; if you haven't picked it up already, do yourself a favor and give DMZ a try. You won't be disappointed.

Story: 8/10

Art: 8/10

Characters: 9/10

Jumping-in factor: 8/10. You need to know about the war, Manhattan's a mess, and that Matt's a photojournalist. Beyond that, you're probably good to go if you just jump in on the most recent issue. However, there are only 4 out as of 2/8, so you may as well get the whole story.

Overall: 9/10. Great read that keeps you wanting more.

--The Almeister

Originally posted on waitingforwednesday.blogspot.com 2/08/2006 Read more