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Movie Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

Too Hot To Handle

A Film Review of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

By: Lawrence Napoli

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You know what’s highly desirable in Hollywood? To own an insanely popular license, adapt it into a series of very lucrative blockbuster films and continue to draw interest in current and future installments from every audience outside the fanboy/girl core thanks to a contractual alliance with (arguably) the most popular individual in Hollywood today. Oh yes, Lionsgate snagged itself two gems in The Hunger Games and Jennifer Lawrence and both continue to pay dividends thanks to Catching Fire’s global take of about $678 million dollars over a budget of $130 as of December 11, 2013. Unfortunately, “bigness” and popularity alone do not always translate into quality and often allows the consumers of particular media to be very apologetic thanks to those two important elements that compose “true value” in contemporary Hollywood productions.

That is not an admission that I personally didn’t care for this movie; quite the contrary. Catching Fire is a superior “Hunger Games” experience from a visual perspective thanks to a much larger production budget than the original. For a story that takes place in the somewhat, not-so-distant future, I never felt that The Hunger Games showcased the kind of world where superior technology permits the aristocratic minority to dominate the impoverished majority. Catching Fire addresses this early and often throughout its run time by displaying more pyro, larger digital set pieces and more CG visuals. This film also demonstrates more accomplished combat and action sequences such as its version of “storm troopers” actually being physically imposing, more energetic training montages than throwing heavy things at stationary targets and much more danger during the actual games than a bunch of teens/tweens stalking each other with swords and spears. As far as contemporary action/adventure films go, Catching Fire looks, sounds and feels like a more proficient blockbuster.

Where I’m beginning to lose a little interest is in the presentation of this story within the confines of a two and a half hour film. Adaptation is an exercise in tough decision making for the screenwriters(s) so there’s always going to be a number of details, subplots and characters that simply do not come to fruition. Unfortunately, the screenwriting trend in Hollywood’s adaptation movement is to include “as much as possible,” which puts a priority on Easter Eggs and sacrifices screen time better used on cinematic exposition and character development for an audience not already familiar with the story. There are too many moments where references are being made (such as the makeup of this society, the importance of the games, the significance of the districts, the tributes, etc.) that simply has not been well established in the ongoing film or its predecessor, and I can’t appreciate any of these new details. Catching Fire’s story is one that communicates a comprehensive plot and a continuation of the trials of Katniss Everdeen, but it’s also one that is devoid of any interesting subplot for any character not played by Jennifer Lawrence. Katniss is involved in every meaningful moment on the screen. No supporting characters outside of the villains have any meat to them and this takes away from the other thing that makes Katniss interesting outside of kicking ass with a bow and arrow: her love triangle. Yes, the audience gets chapter 2 in the pseudo affair of Katniss, Peeta and Gale, but neither boy has a dramatic identity onscreen that isn’t fully dependent on Katniss’s presence. This may not be the case in the books, but this is the best example of an interesting movie conflict that merely gets paid lip service due to time limitations and priorities placed elsewhere.

Performances by the cast are fairly adequate all around, but I was somewhat surprised to find an actor such as Philip Seymour Hoffman involved with this kind of big budget, mainstream extravaganza. I suppose every major actor needs a fat paycheck every once in a while (just kidding, Philip), but his role in Catching Fire, like every other adult’s over the age of 20, doesn’t require any deep emotional exploration and isn’t afforded any real opportunity to do so even if the actor was interested. It’s not exactly the kind opportunity a king of the indy scene salivates over, but he brings veteran charisma and composure to Plutarch Heavensbee as does Donald Sutherland for President Snow as the primary antagonists of this film. Lenny Kravitz once again produces a regal and heart-warming performance as Cinna and Woody Harrelson thankfully steps into more of a leadership role than the loveably drunk, Haymitch has been thus far. Unfortunately, these adults do not elevate beyond the status of window dressing for the featured young adults in almost the exact same manner the veterans that composed the Harry Potter films were utilized.

Liam Hemsworth is given a few more minutes of screen time in this film to prove that his character, Gale, has some romantic feelings for Katniss and he manages to deliver a revered stillness to his performance that would make anyone raise an eyebrow over the fact that he appeared in an Expendables film. I wouldn’t necessarily say that the chemistry he shares with Jennifer Lawrence remotely approaches “sultry,” but there’s a reason for that I’ll discuss later. Josh Hutcherson continues to refine his keen ability to switch between the natural state of Peeta (somewhat unsure of himself and his feelings) and Peeta’s on air personality for reality TV (brave, confidant and charismatic). Josh has to contend with more characters requiring screen time in this film, but the fact that he shows that his character knows how to play the political game of these Hunger Games is satisfying to the audience even if he isn’t exactly the most accomplished combatant.

As expected, Catching Fire is a showcase for Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen for all the obvious reasons. She continues to portray an empowered, young woman in a harsh reality that is on equal (if not superior) footing as all the guys. Her best moment of this film is when she gives a speech at the district that her friend Rue (who dies in the first film) was from that shows the audience the exact kind of personality that makes Ms. Lawrence endearing in real life: raw emotion with a matter-of-fact, no BS delivery. Unfortunately, Katniss is not called upon to be her true self too often in this film as the constant surveillance of Capitol TV requires her to act the façade of her “fake” romance with Peeta and her shift from sincerity to “talking head personality” in front of the fictional cameras is evident to the audience. All things being equal, this role equates to fishing with dynamite for Jennifer Lawrence. She’s attractive, trendy and sassy and that’s more than enough to portray a character like Katniss, but I really could have used more moments of her patented blend of sincerity in Catching Fire because Lawrence is just plain good at it.

Catching Fire is an entertaining adventure for anyone interested in checking out some neat special and visual effects. It features an upgraded production value that becomes quite evident when our tributes are put to the test in a much more dynamic arena than previously shown in the original Hunger Games. This fictional world is not fleshed out particularly well as much of its references and the overall state of the setting are glazed over as quickly as possible which is unfortunate seeing how Katniss and Peeta begin this film by visiting every district on their victory tour. Sure, we get how every district outside of the Capitol is poor and subject to armies of thugs, but there’s no real distinction among any of them that they could all be District 12. If you can look past the light details and a number of flat characters, this can be a fun film to watch. The violence continues to be neutered in favor maintaining that PG-13 rating despite the subject matter revolving around making entertainment out of watching people slaughtering each other on TV. Risking harsher imagery to deliver a more poignant story might lose the film’s money demographic and if it’s one thing that Hollywood won’t do, is mess around with the prescribed money formula for its various adaptations.

Review: Guardians of the Galaxy #9 (Bendis)

I didn’t think it could get any worse. I was wrong. It could and it did.

You know one of those situation comedies that you occasionally watch a few minutes of as you flip through the channels and think to yourself, “How did this trash ever get on TV?” Guardians of the Galaxy #9 is kind of like that.

It’s literally written like a bad situation comedy. Bendis is trying to be funny and he thinks he’s writing snappy dialogue between Star-Lord and Rocket or Star-Lord and Agent Brand. In actuality, it comes across as forced, silly, and totally out of character for all concerned. Yes – Rocket, Quill, and Brand are all smart-asses and their smart-assy-ness can be funny if it’s done right. In this case it isn’t done right. It’s like fingernails on a chalk-board. It’s like silly “G-rated Family Hour” TV comedy. It’s nauseatingly stupid and hackneyed. It talks down to the readers.

Of course, all the Guardians do is act as a second-string team to clear the way for the all powerful and all wonderful Avengers to return to Earth and save the day. Literally – that’s all they do. The Guardians just act as door men for the Avengers. And once the Avengers get back to Earth, they start ordering the Guardians around as if they’re second-raters. Between Loeb/Wells/Duggan writing all Novas as second-rate or less to The Avengers and now Bendis turning the Guardians into second-rate or less flunkies for The Avengers, I’m starting to get the idea of exactly where cosmic stands in the eyes of Marvel Editorial (as if I didn’t already know). It bodes ill for the future of Marvel Cosmic as long as it’s in the hands of the so-called “creative” teams of Brevoort, Wacker, Alonso, Duggan, and Bendis. Hey geniuses at the “House of Ideas” – even if you (mistakenly) believe a character/team is “second-rate” or even if they are in fact second-rate you SHOULD NEVER write them that way. It makes them look like they have a self-esteem problem. It makes them look unimportant or only marginally competent. It turns off readers (ie your CUSTOMERS) and makes readers turn elsewhere for entertainment. Surely you’d like a few more high sellers to bolster all your Avengers titles as inevitably those sales will fall someday. Let another team shine in their own corner of the universe far away from Earth and The Avengers – you know, like Guardians of the Galaxy USED TO BE prior to Bendis/Wacker and like Nova USED TO BE before you Lo(e)botomized and NINO’d it.

Even the “action” scenes are lackluster and hackneyed. You’ve seen this story before – in a couple of Star Wars scenes. Of course, Bendis’ wholly inadequate understanding of SF is limited to popular SF so it’s no surprise he’d “borrow” those scenes.

Star-Lord and Rocket basically blunder through the situation all to just press a button and lower the force field so the Avengers can get through. There’s none of the brilliant tactical skills for which both are notorious. And Bendis just can’t seem to move beyond treating Rocket as a “joke” character. He has to keep pointing at Rocket and shouting, “Hey! This is hilarious! It’s a raccoon carrying a gun! Get It?! It’s funny I’m telling you – FUNNY!!!!!!!” At least he didn’t attempt to inflict any more catch phrases on poor Rocket this time out. Thanks for that one small favor, Bendis.

So Bendis, since you don’t seem to get it – let me tell you. You don’t have to keep underlining that Rocket is a gun-carrying Racoon. We all get that joke because it’s inherent to the character. The best way to write Rocket is to IGNORE the inherent joke and write him as an intelligent, insightful, brilliant, smart-assy tactician and leader of men. By the way, that’s the best way to write Star-Lord, too. Star-Lord is not a 20-something feckless imbecile with boyish good looks designed to make the teenage girls swoon. He’s an approaching middle-aged complex, grizzled, irritable, intelligent, leader of men. So quit mangling the characterization and get it right for a change.

I know that various comic book snobs at a particularly Craven Bootlickingly Repugnant website’s forums will insist that the art/coloring in this book is absolutely heavenly. Of course, they’d also defend in like manner a book with art/coloring of the quality typically found on the refrigerators of parents with pre-school-aged children. While Francavilla’s art/coloring is certainly not refrigerator quality, I will say that it is not well-suited for cosmic. Drax is slightly more defined than a green amorphous blob – but only slightly more defined. There’s very little definition to distinguish among the facial features of most of the humanoid characters. The villains are interchangeable and so poorly defined that I couldn’t tell who or what they were other than just random humanoid-like creatures shooting at the protagonists. The coloring is jarringly un-appealing to say the least. For certain books, this art/coloring style would work well. This is not one of those books.

At least there’s no letters page so we’re spared any grating comments from so-called “editor” Stephen Wacker and we’re spared from carefully selected letters full of fawning praise from persons who have never read Volume II of GotG (aka The REAL Guardians of the Galaxy rather than Bendis’ Volume III cheap imitations).

Once again, I’m sure the Craven Bootlickingly Repugnant website and the Ingratiating Gonad-less Ninny website will fall all over themselves praising this garbage of the galaxy. But of course, they’re just like Marvel Editorial in only being satisfied with repetitious super-heroic fantasy and failing to appreciate the better quality super-heroic military science-fiction such as that found in Annihilation, The Thanos Imperative, Nova Volume IV, and Guardians of the Galaxy Volume II. Maybe there is something we can all agree on though. I think Bendis would be happier writing family hour TV sit-coms for the Disney Channel. For his own personal satisfaction, let’s all encourage him to move on to the TV sit-coms and leave cosmic to someone else who actually likes and UNDERSTANDS cosmic and the cosmic characters.

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Nova #10 (Wells)

Somewhere Marv Wolfman is wailing in agony at the hack-job being perpetrated against his original concepts by the travesty that is NINO. Somewhere DnA are gagging in disgust at the bastardization and dumbing down of their concepts.

It’s hard to know where to start with this train wreck as there’s just so much wrong with it that it boggles the mind. Let’s just go through it sequentially beginning with the primary cover art.

I have an issue with #10’s cover portraying NINO in a stance of triumph with his foot disrespectfully on the helmet of Rich Rider, a for all intents and purposes “deceased” (via editorial fiat) Corpsman. Since all NINO does is blunder and cheat his way through every situation, at best he should be standing humbly behind ALL of his BETTERS with his head bowed in respect. This cover sums up one of the big problems with NINO, its writers/creator, and especially its so-called “editor.” That is, the lack of respect for the BETTER Nova mythos that preceded it. The variant cover art is just as bad with Rich Rider being given second class treatment when he appears at all.

Also, the #100 sales gimmick is totally disingenuous. I count 90 issues of true Nova comic books and 10 issues of Nova In Name Only books. I’m offended that Marvel Editorial would attempt to conflate the two as Nova Volumes I-IV and Annihilation: Nova belong next to the cosmic classics on the shelves of local comic shops, and NINO deserves to be sandwiched between Archie and Scrooge McDuck in the kiddie section.

This issue of NINO is divided into three separate and truly awful stories. The first story finishes Wells’ boring, unimaginative, hackneyed arc. Watchers of the Ultimate Spiderman cartoon will recognize the characterization. NINO is portrayed as particularly arrogant, ignorant, impulsive, and annoying. In other words, he’s portrayed as the true “idiot” Loeb intended when he misguidedly created this obnoxious character and concept. NINO spends a great deal of this story ignorantly denigrating Rich Rider, The New Warriors, and Rich’s comrades in arms during the Annihilation Campaign while, of course, fawning over The Avengers. Robbie Baldwin and Vance Astrovik cameo and are portrayed as immature idiots. Infuriatingly, Rich’s role in The Infinity Gauntlet is denigrated and he’s mis-portrayed as an un-needed second-stringer when in fact he was the only New Warrior chosen to be in the first wave of the strike force against Thanos – and did in fact attack Thanos after Thanos mopped the floor with the vaunted Avengers. Of course, this sorry excuse for a story ends with a smarmy single mom and son scene so nauseatingly corny that I nearly drained a bottle of Pepto-Bismol for relief.

Pepto-Bismol is no match for the second story. To tolerate it, I had to break out my finest and most potent Absinthe. Duggan’s first NINO story carries on the sad tradition of NINO idiocy patented by Loeb and carried on by Wells. NINO is once again inexplicably involved in kill-or-be-killed combat light years from Earth – but he uses silly video-game terminology to describe and make light of his actions throughout the fight. Meanwhile, his mother proves once and for all that she’s a totally unfit parent as she meets with NINO’s Principal and covers for NINO’s school truancy so he can continue to skip school and participate in kill-or-be-killed combat. So Marvel Editorial and Disney – are you trying to send a message to the kiddies that playing video games is more important than attending school? Tell me, if they don’t attend school, how are they going to learn how to read? Won’t illiteracy negatively impact your bottom line? That plus glorifying child combatants places your NINO stories in direct conflict with Western Civilization’s values and morals. How do you justify such reprehensible positions? Maybe the CCA needs to be revived to look over your shoulders as you’re not doing such a good job of policing yourselves – especially for a book aimed not at the adult audience that can afford to buy comic books, but at the kiddies relying on the adults to fork over money to buy comic books. Maybe you need to re-examine the demographic you want to reach and then do the smart thing and ditch NINO.

Moving on; the second story begs many questions such as why a “Black Nova” is engaging in police actions usually reserved for “Gold Novas;” who exactly is processing distress calls since the Worldmind is inactive and presumably destroyed, and why does the little idiot go blind at the end of the story when Novas are supposed to have a healing factor? I can only hope that the blindness is followed by muteness, deafness, and permanent paralysis from the neck down so we can be rid of the little idiot once and for all. I know it’s a vain hope, but I can indulge a dream of a better world without NINO can’t I? I think this sorry excuse for a story telegraphs to us what Duggan’s run as writer is going to be like. In short – more clichés, more dumbing down, more puerile silliness, and continued total disrespect of Nova continuity and established concepts.

Saving the worst for last, Duggan gives us a glimpse of issue #1000 of NINO featuring an adult NINO presiding over his child’s birthday party. This was truly a disgusting waste of time and paper complete with “art” comparable to that typically found hanging on the refrigerators of parents with pre-school aged children.

Speaking of art, Barberi and Lopez’s art for the first story was barely acceptable, and Medina’s art for the second story was only slightly better. Medina’s rendering of NINO’s mother in one panel made her so scarily bug-eyed that I had to do a double-take to make sure she wasn’t morphing into some sort of monster. So even the art – once the only saving grace of this waste of time book – is slipping. Curiel’s colors are nicely done but aren’t enough to save the day.

Of course, the capstone of the train wreck is insufferable “editor” Stephen Wacker’s letters page. I rolled my eyes when he disingenuously dedicated this issue to the very fans he so often derides and denigrates in the forum of an un-named but Craven Bootlickingly Repugnant website well known for allowing him to verbally abuse fans but protecting him from the ire of the very fans he has insulted. Of course, he picks nothing but letters dripping with fawning praise from readers who admit they never read a Nova series before and thus have no basis of comparison. If they had such a basis, maybe they wouldn’t be so complimentary. At least the Indie Comic Books have the courage to print dissenting letters in their letters pages.

There was one nice touch – and that was a thumbnail reprinting of all previous Nova series covers from Volume I through Volume IV. Too bad even that was sullied by the inclusion of NINO covers 1-10.

Marvel Editorial is always quick to dismiss any discontent with NINO as the disgruntled ramblings of a minority of difficult to please fanboys. Of course, Marvel Editorial is so obsessed with selling formulaic super-heroic fantasy that they truly can’t seem to see how they’ve taken away everything that was good with cosmic and replaced it with street level comic book clichés. It’s analogous to some insightless executive replacing Star Trek with Lost in Space and then wondering why fans are upset. And I’m sure some Craven Bootlickingly Repugnant and cosmically Ignorant Gonad-less Ninny websites will fall all over themselves praising the waste of time, money, and paper that is NINO #10 – but those websites have never been able to appreciate well told cosmic tales so their praise should be taken lightly and in that context. Like Marvel Editorial, those websites are also obsessed with hackneyed “super-heroic fantasy” and can’t appreciate the refreshing difference of super-heroic military science-fiction and science-fantasy that made Marvel Cosmic so special prior to its hijacking and dumbing-down to mundane street-level super-heroic fantasy at the hands of Loeb and Bendis. We appreciators of true cosmic stories remember how the true Nova – OUR Nova, Rich Rider, was out saving the universe while the vaunted Avengers pettily quarreled amongst themselves in their ridiculous Civil War. We remember how OUR true Nova, Rich Rider, saved the universe from Thanos and E-Vell; while the vaunted Avengers have made a mess of things in the disappointing Infinity event – an Avengers vehicle thinly disguised as a cosmic story. And finally, we appreciators of true cosmic stories know that Loeb’s NINO and Bendis’ Garbage of the Galaxy are critical failures and betrayals of the very fans who allowed through their loyal support pre-Loeb/Bendis Marvel Cosmic to evolve into something special and unique among comic books.

Comic Book News

COVER SHOOT: The Top 5 Comic Covers for November 20th, 2013

COVER SHOOT

By: Chris “DOC” Bushley

This weekly feature will take a look at THE most visually compelling comic book covers on the market today. Whether they be rare variant editions or just your standard fare, these are the top 5 covers that stand out amidst the bevy of books released each week. They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words” but these covers are worth more than that! No matter the storylines behind them, these covers compel you to at least check them out, which can be worth exponentially more than just words to the companies that publish them! Enjoy!

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1. Indestructible Hulk #15 (Marvel): Mukesh Singh creates one of the coolest Hulk covers I have seen in a very long time! This amazing, digitally enhanced image is outstanding on it’s own but when you get to take in all the little details, the veins, the sinew, the S.M.A.S.H. time — it’s perfect! I am not a Hulk fan in the least, but this cover has made me become a Mukesh Singh fan for life!

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2. X-O Manowar #19 (Valiant): Clayton Crain has become synonymous with brilliant digital art, but this cover is truly bursting with energy. The exploding, the tearing down and eventual destruction of the central character is enthralling! Crain has not wasted a single inch of this cover, everywhere you look their is something going on, the eye has a virtual smorgasbord to take in — Awesome!

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3. Wolverine Max #13 (Marvel): Pop Art has been making it’s way back to comic covers quite prevalently as of late and Jock is at the top of his game with this one! The bold black and white intersecting lines not only make every other book around it pale in comparison, it actually makes a vertigo effect, drawing you in with it’s complex simplicity. Jock has been creating amazing, gallery worthy covers for a long time now, but this one is cut above the rest.

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4. The Shadow #19 (Variant Edition) (Dynamite): One of the best crime noir artists out there today is Francesco Francavilla and this cover is another shinning example as to why. The whitewashed background mixed with the sketch style central character makes for great juxtaposition. The line work Francavilla shows is impeccable, deviating from subtlety to intense slashes of black shadow, it makes the foreground jump off the page as well as help convey that the character is in the middle of a snow storm — something very difficult to pull off!

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5. Fables #135 (DC): Greg Ruth has created my personal favorite cover of the week by painting a solemn image that is overwhelming with emotion. His use of subdued hues and subtle placement of the images on the page help to convey the feeling of loss and longing, and an overall feeling of despair. It is exquisite in it’s composition and let’s us know that sometimes you can’t come home again.

Comic Book News

Review: Harley Quinn #0

It only took 16 artists and 2 over the top writers to tell the tale of Harley Quinn in a way that it deserves to be done! Bruce Timm, Jim Lee, Charlie Adlard, Amanda Conner, Art Baltazar, Sam Keith, Adam Hughes, Walter Simonson, Jeremy Roberts, Dave Johnson, Chad Hardin, Tradd Moore, Stephane Roux, Becky Cloonan, Tony S. Daniel and the incomparable Darwyn Cooke, all converge on one of the biggest artistic line-ups ever forged, to help tell the tale of one deranged woman and her penchant for mayhem!

Amanda Conner along with hubby, Jimmy Palmiotti, write a tale that lets the reader see exactly how disturbed our “clown princess” truly is. Not only do they let her break the 4th wall, they let Harley critique the artists renderings, ask for better plot lines and she even gets to attend Amanda and Jimmy’s wedding!

Yes, some fans are going to compare this issue as a Deadpool rip-off, but it is so much better than simply following suit on another book. The inclusion of so many talented artists truly sets this book apart from anything done before. Not only does each artist get to render their own zany version of Harley but Amanda and Jimmy’s critiquing of their work through Harley’s eyes is hysterical. The tale is laced with inside jokes, subtle jabs (sorry Jim Lee) and an overall lack of formality, which is exactly what you should get from a Harley tale! It is quirky and twisted, letting the blood flow on quite a few occasions, but it is also quite thought provoking regarding the way the comic medium sees as the “correct” way to tell a story. This tale isn’t a story that will get you from points A to B in a concise manner. This tale is a whirlwind of ideas that may seem haphazard but in all actuality, comes to an inevitable, logical conclusion. Without the seasoned guidance of Amanda and Jimmy at the helm, it could have come off as just a menagerie of Harley pin-ups instead of an amazing assault of the senses! It is a tale that is unique unto itself and will pleasantly surprise you with how easily you are swept up into the chaos of it all!

If you need something different, something irreverent, something blatantly hysterical — than look no further than this issue! It’s chock full of all the quirkiness and eye catching art you will ever need!

Marvel Comic Book News

Op-Ed: The Loeb-otomization of Nova

The Cosmic Triune

An Opinion-Editorial

“The Lo(e)botomization of Nova”

Lobotomization: to deprive of intelligence, vitality, or sensitivity.

-Definition courtesy of Merriam-Webster Dictionary

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According to Marvel Editorial, Issue #10 of NINO is the 100-issue mark of “Nova” comic books published. I dis-respectfully disagree. I count 90 issues of true Nova comic books and 10 issues of Nova In Name Only comic books. It’s insulting to equate Nova with NINO in any way, but Marvel Editorial’s whole approach to the Nova fans since the “hiatus” of Volume IV has been insulting. They frequently talk about Rich and NINO in the same breath as if there’s no difference between the history of the two. Hey Marvel Editorial – they’re not interchangeable. Rich was great. NINO is a farce. And a sub-standard farce at that.

Sure I know it’s just a marketing gimmick to try to improve the rapidly declining sales of the ongoing insult to and dis-respect of true Nova fans that is NINO, but I think this “occasion” calls for an analysis of how the “creative team” of Loeb, Wacker, Bendis, Brevoort, and Alonso took a good concept and ruined it for all the wrong reasons. I liken their process of turning Nova into NINO to the above defined dis-credited Neurosurgical procedure of lobotomization as popularly portrayed in such movies as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Sucker Punch – and I refer to their process as “Lo(e)botomization.”

The Deprivation of Intelligence:

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Loeb himself has been directly quoted in various articles saying NINO should be written as an “idiot.” I could stop writing this section directly after such a quote, but I think it’s important to detail how this Lo(e)botomization is made a reality and how it affects fans of the true Nova concepts.

Let’s start with a little Nova history. In 1976, Rich Rider was created and portrayed as a late teen/young adult struggling to learn how to control and use the powers he had been granted by an emergency deputization. Finally, in the Annihilation event, he was transformed into a powerful and mature leader of men. Fans both old and new praised this metamorphosis, and Nova Volume IV became the best Nova series to date with its imaginative, intelligent, action-packed storylines and its new and improved hero. Of course, it received none of the marketing hype and support that NINO has enjoyed, and it was eventually placed on “hiatus.” What we didn’t know is that prior to “hiatus” it was apparently decided by Alonso et al to declare Rich “dead” even though Volume IV writers, Abnett and Lanning, have been quoted as saying that in their storyline Rich was never dead but merely temporarily “marooned” in the Cancerverse. Obviously, Rich was declared “dead via editorial fiat” in order to create room for Loeb’s new “idiot” character, Sam Alexander (aka NINO).

Setting aside Alonso’s disrespect for and disregard of Rich Rider fans for a moment, his decision marks the beginning of the “deprivation of intelligence” aspect of the Lo(e)botomization of Nova. Loeb immediately created a 14-year-old Peter Parker-ish character (without the Parker intellect), hi-jacked and watered-down the look and concepts of the Nova mythos, eliminated all true cosmic elements by plopping the little “idiot” on Earth in a one-horse town, and set out to appeal to a pre-pubescent audience (and to a small post-pubescent audience who just can’t seem to get enough of hackneyed teen angst storylines) with silly, implausible stories involving the “idiot,” NINO, blundering and cheating his way through every situation. To say that the NINO storylines are juvenile, puerile, un-imaginative, boring, and intelligence-insulting in comparison to Volume IV would be an understatement.

To make matters worse, Loeb has presented no reason why NINO deserves to have or keep the powers other than that the powers are “inherited” by NINO from his drunken father’s “magic helmet.” Even worse, 14-year-old NINO has had no training to use powers equivalent to the power of a tactical- nuclear-weapon-carrying fighter jet and is continually put in kill-or-be-killed combat situations with the full knowledge and consent of his (apparently negligent and unfit) parents.

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So readers are expected to believe that an “idiot” child can responsibly confront situations on Earth and in space for which he has no prior experience/training; that he can safely handle powers that could level a city without endangering himself and the public; that his parents have no problem with him constantly risking his life sometimes light years from home, and that everyone in the Marvel Universe is completely fine with it? I don’t know about other people, but I like a modicum of plausibility in cosmic stories. Loeb’s scenario for NINO is intelligence insultingly implausible.

And there’s a moral issue, too. Why does Marvel/Disney believe it is perfectly moral to un-willingly induct a minor child into a para-military organization and place said child in kill-or-be-killed combat situations? The rest of Western Civilization would disagree on moral grounds, and even as this article is being written the United Nations is forming a resolution condemning use of child combatants. Since Disney makes its money selling entertainment to kiddies, do they really want to send the message that minor children performing combat operations is perfectly acceptable to their company? If so, I can’t wait to read their official explanation justifying their position.

The Deprivation of Vitality

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In Annihilation, Nova Volume IV, and The Thanos Imperative, Giffen and DnA gave us a true Nova – a mature, powerful, effective, true leader of men actually leading other powerful beings to confront and overcome universal threats. These were big stories with edge-of-your-seat excitement that left the reader anxiously anticipating the release of the next issue. These stories talked up to their readership with adult themes and high-stakes situations where literally anything might happen.

In contrast, we have NINO stuck in a small town dealing with schoolyard bullies and blundering/cheating his way through the occasional boring confrontation with a super-villain. Yawn. Have you read that teen super-hero story somewhere before? How many times? Yeah – me too. Loeb, Brevoort, and Wacker present this hackneyed, puerile non-sense that talks down to readers as if it’s something new and special. In actuality, it’s old, boring, listless, clichéd, and utterly predictable. Loeb even made sure to kill off all the “Black Novas,” the only truly innovative and exciting idea he had in putting together the ongoing travesty that is NINO. Those characters were much more interesting than NINO – and readers said so. Once again, Marvel Editorial ignored the readership and retreated to the clichéd old angst-ridden teen superhero formula.

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What was vital about Rich Rider’s Nova, and potentially vital about the “Black Novas” had they been developed, was the “military science-fiction” aspect of the characters/storylines. What made modern Marvel Cosmic (i.e. the Marvel Cosmic of the Annihilation event forward until hi-jacked by Loeb and Bendis) vital, new and interesting were the elements incorporated from both popular military science-fiction/science-fantasy (e.g. Star Trek and Star Wars), hard-core classic written military science-fiction (e.g. Lensmen and Starship Troopers) and written heroic fantasy (e.g. John Carter of Mars). This was made possible because the pre-Loeb/Bendis Marvel Cosmic was niche-audience focused and largely ignored by the “super-heroic fantasy” selling, mainstream-oriented Marvel Editorial staff. Once a Guardians of the Galaxy movie was announced and expected to be a big hit, Cosmic suddenly moved from “neglected niche” to the forefront. It then, of course, had to be made to conform to the “super-heroic fantasy” formula that Marvel sells, so the very essence or vitality of what made Volume IV of Nova and Volume II of Guardians of the Galaxy was discarded and replaced. In the case of Star-Lord, we went from the Giffen/DnA “approaching middle-aged,” scruffy Han Solo-ish characterization to a 20-something feckless dream-boat-ish characterization. In the case of Nova, the powerful, mature, leader of men that was Rich Rider was replaced by an “idiotic,” blundering, immature, obnoxious, teen Peter Parker-ish character sans the saving grace of the Parker intellect. In both cases, the Cosmic aspects of the characters were made incidental rather than central, and we’re left with un-interesting characters obsessed with the petty and parochial problems of Earth. Jeez, Marvel Editorial! Don’t you have enough Earthbound super-heroes to deal with Earth’s petty problems without sucking away the vitality of the cosmic heroes just to make them conform to your comic book selling formula? Ever consider maybe actually promoting a different approach? Maybe if you’d supported DnA’s efforts the way you’ve supported Loeb and Bendis’, this article would never have had to be written.

The Deprivation of Sensitivity

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I’m not using sensitivity to mean “emotionality.” Everyone knows Loeb has loaded NINO with enough smarmy, maudlin, and/or puerile sugar-sweet moments to send diabetic readers into a coma. I know Disney loves that garbage – just watch any of their child-oriented movies if you don’t believe me. For those of us over the age of 8 though – it just comes across as corny and annoying.

I’m using sensitivity as it’s used in a medical-scientific context to mean “reactivity to external forces.” I’ve already discussed how NINO reacts to the external forces of plausibility and morality. NINO gets a grade of “F” in reaction to those two external forces, and I needn’t re-iterate the ground already covered in previous sections of this article. I touched upon what the fans really want under the vitality section and will cover it in more detail now in this section.

Brevoort has made it clear over on his Tumblr page that Marvel Editorial expected a backlash from Rich Rider fans once it was clear that Rich was to be replaced with NINO. He has also made it clear that he thinks Rich had so few fans that the backlash would be of no consequence to Marvel or to NINO’s sales. Alonso made it clear in several interviews that he thought Nova fans would buy ANYTHING with the word “Nova” smeared across the cover and he expected Rich Rider fans to “embrace” NINO. Loeb simply said Rich’s story was “over.” And Wacker has never missed an opportunity to insult, denigrate, and otherwise disrespect the Rich Rider character and Rich Rider fans in general over at a Certain Boot-lickingly Repellant website’s forums where he is given free rein to do so and where the moderators protect him from any fan talk-back. Does that sound like sensitivity to a set of fans many of whom loyal Nova readers since Rich Rider’s premiere in 1976? Heck – that doesn’t even conform to Disney’s model of hospitality. Marvel Editorial Staff – you need to go on down to Orlando and undergo Disney’s Hospitality Training course. You should probably send Wacker and Brevoort two weeks early since they’ll need the remedial (i.e. “slow learner”) version.

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Fact is, NINO is a failure. It’s a failure conceptually, morally, in entertainment value, and – increasingly – in sales. Potential buyers are voting with their dollars and for the most part they’re voting thumbs down. NINO sells less than Volume IV sold without all the hype. NINO has failed to be embraced in large part by the Rich Rider fans who feel insulted and alienated by the treatment shown them by Marvel’s Editorial staff. Heck – even the cover to NINO #10 lavishly portrays an insult to long-term Nova fans with “idiot” NINO standing in a pose of defiant triumph with his foot on Rich’s helmet. There’s a reason why something similar is NOT seen on any of our actual war memorials. It’s because that’s a universal sign of disrespect to a fallen enemy. Apparently that’s how Wacker et al view the Rich Rider fans and they’ve not so subtly made that clear with NINO #10’s cover. If they wanted to show respect, NINO should have been placed standing behind his fallen BETTERS with his head bowed and his hands folded in front of him. In a way though, NINO #10’s cover sums it all up. Marvel Editorial isn’t sensitive to the desires of the Rider Nova fans. Heck – they didn’t even care what we wanted. They just wanted to dish up some warmed-over and “Lo(e)botomized” Spider-man.

Suggested further reading:

Marvel Editorial to Cosmic Fans: “We’re just not that into you.”

Article by Timelord

Dedicated to Loeb, Bendis, Wacker, Brevoort, and Alonso for their tireless efforts toward making Marvel Cosmic mundane enough to appeal to the lowest common denominator of comic book reader.

The opinions reflected herein are purely the opinions of the author of this article and do not necessarily reflect the official opinions of CosmicBookNews.

Discuss This In The Cosmic Book News Marvel Comics Forums

Comic Book News

COVER SHOOT: The Top 5 Comic Book Covers for November 13th, 2013

COVER SHOOT

By: Chris “DOC” Bushley

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1. Coffin Hill #2 (Vertigo/DC): This stunning cover by Dave Johnson is not only beautiful but hauntingly eerie as well. The deep purple and maroon background are the perfect complement to the bright foreground figure. It makes it seem that she was cut form another work of art and overlaid to this one, each piece having merit in their own right, but together make something extraordinarily wonderful!

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2. X-Men Gold #1 (Variant Edition) (Marvel): John Cassady makes a classic throwback cover to the early days of the X-Men in this 50 year anniversary book of Marvel’s merry mutants! The layout has that perfect nostalgic feel of the team diving into battle, young and innocent, with no regrets. But, it is Cassady’s decision to use pop art style design for the background that gives this cover that Jim Steranko feel, and no one can beat that!

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3. Harbinger #18 (Valiant): Matthew Walsh creates an amazingly surreal cover that is compositionally perfect. The way Walsh “bleeds” the tendrils from the Bleeding Monk into the caverns of Peter Stancheck’s mind not only makes for an outstanding effect, but also metaphorically matches the relationship these two characters have with one another. The choice of minimal colors draws the eye away form everything else on the racks today — perfect!

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4. Batman: Li’l Gotham #8 (DC): I don’t even know where to begin with this one! Dustin Nguyen creates some of the most artistic and fun covers on the market today and this is just one more awesome piece! There are so many parts for the eye to enjoy, the vibrant colors, the amazingly rendered characters, mermaids, the pirate ship etc. I could go on and on! This piece is not only poster worthy, but gallery worthy. Whomever says “toon” art isn’t art, is too stuck up to know what true art is!

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5. Batgirl #25 (DC): As frequent readers of this article know, Alex Garner has been present on this list more than a few times. Is there any reason why he shouldn’t be? This painted and digitally enhanced cover is essentially perfect. The strain and determination on the central characters face sets the pace for what takes place in the interior of the book and helps to bring a glimpse of humanity to an otherwise dark and gloomy city! Alex we NEED posters!!

Comic Book News

Review: Unity #1

When it comes to company crossovers, fans are generally more excited by the hype of a product then the final execution of it. There is always something lacking. Weak story, exclusions of characters or just plain horrible endings make the “big event” seem minimal and contrived by the time it wraps up. But here, with Valiant’s Unity, there is no wrap up, there is no “big event” because this ongoing book IS the “big event” month after month!

Superstar writer, Matt Kindt, helms the tale of all the biggest, baddest beings in the Valiant Universe coming together to stop a single, common threat — X-O Manowar! That’s right, Valiant’s flagship character and hero(?) decides that it is time his people have reparations for the hundreds of years they have been missing from earth. He stakes his claim and the world responds with threats of their own, but mere armies are no match for the power of the Visigoth and his armor. So, in secret, other powerful beings unite to stand against such a threat, but are even they enough to overcome the sheer might of the Manowar?! Maybe!

This is how you do “big events” in comics, “Big Two” take note! Kindt lays everything out on the table, A + B =C and we are off to the races! Fans of any Valiant book will be thrilled not only because it corresponds to almost every other book Valiant creates, but because the story is so imbedded in the rich history of their entire Universe! But, the biggest draw, is that ANY comic fan can pick up this series and fully understand exactly what is happening!

Kindt is a master of storytelling, slowing the pace to inform the reader of the background of the characters (giving each their own splash page) before blasting you with all out chaos and carnage the next moment. The tale is rich enough to hold sway over the reader looking for more than just a brawl infused slugfest but not pretentious enough to know when to let go and have some amazing fight sequences. Just like the characters assembled in the book, the story is a myriad of layers that culminate in one fantastic entity that will blow you away!

With outstanding interiors by Doug Braithwaite and a perfect tale by Matt Kindt, this is THE book every comic fan should be reading. There is no excuse to miss the further solidification of an already honed universe — the Valiant Universe! Where “big events” don’t just happen once a year but everyday!

Comic Book News

Review: Batman #25

Scott Snyder continues to show us all that there are still plenty of amazing stories left to be told to broaden the mythos of the Caped Crusader, whether he dons the costume or not!

Though “the Bat” makes a minimal appearance this issue, Snyder weaves layer after layer of intrigue throughout his tale, building the richness of his two year take on the Batman to an even higher level than before.

The “Zero Year” storyline, that is making it’s way through several books this month, truly takes off in this issue. We have young Bruce dealing with the Riddler’s Gotham blackout and an even worse scenario of twisted death by a new threat that brings Jim Gordon face to face with Bruce. This part of the tale is where Snyder shines his brightest. He adds a level of mystery and intrigue to the tale that cannot be played out soon enough for ravenous readers. A mystery that harkens back to the day Bruce Wayne lost everything, a mystery that changes everything we knew, or thought we knew, about Bruce and Jim’s working relationship. It is something that I found unsettling, not because it is revealed, but because it is not and I NEED it to be!

This is not the only mystery that Snyder opens either. The tale is book ended by another, one that begins with a door and ends in fire, and is no less tantalizing than the other one. Plus, somehow, Snyder sneaks in some action sequences that have been flawlessly rendered by Greg Capullo, satisfying your “need for speed” in a book that is more about the building of a larger tale that pure action.

As the back-up tale goes, it was nice but by no means do you need to have it in this book. It is a subtle tale of a brother and sister having to deal with their own darkened corner of Gotham and realizing there is always a light when you need it most. Subtle and effective but not necessarily needed.

What is NEEDED is next month to get here to see what outstanding tale Scott Snyder has in store for us next!

Comic Book News

Review: The Walking Dead #116

After a lackluster 10th Anniversary issue last month, Robert Kirkman redeems himself with an explosion of action and an ending that leaves the reader with both unease and excitement!

This issue, part 2 of the 12 part storyline “All Out War,” gives the reader exactly what they should expect as a swathe of chaos rocks the TWD universe when Rick and Neegan square off against each other. Fans of the hit AMC TV series of the same name, will see some familiar things in this issue but, this time, it is Rick that drops the “zombie bomb!”

Laced with minimal characterization, this issue is all about the action we have all been so patiently waiting for. The first punch in this battle has been thrown, but fans may not want what they have been wishing for by tales end. There is a seething, eerie feeling that will perch in the front of your mind regarding a character that has not been seen in awhile. A fate awaits them that may be worse than death, one that will make any reader cringe as Neegan’s smile stretches across his face.

But, that is why we love TWD! It is the moments that touch us in some profound way that keep us coming back for more and if the last page doesn’t whet your appetite for what comes next — you must be dead inside!

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Thor: The Dark World

A Supreme Victory!

A Film Review of Thor: The Dark World

By: Lawrence Napoli

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Let’s not beat around the bush on this one. Thor: The Dark World is a great sci-fi, action adventure film that has all the trappings of an excellent summer blockbuster that reaffirms its roots, acknowledges the events of The Avengers in a meaningful way and tempts the viewer with all kinds of possibilities regarding the potential of “Phase 2” and beyond. In essence, this film does everything that Iron Man 3 simply could not be bothered with and fortunately for the audience, this translates into a superior cinematic experience and worth 100% of the price of admission. Deeper levels of relevance and interconnectivity is the true superpower of the big screen Marvel Studios adaptations, but what made this expansion possible is the fact that each Avenger film stands on its own with varying degrees of success. The mighty Thor’s sequel is the only solo Avenger follow-up (so far) to be a significant upgrade from its establishing film and it does so with more of everything: story, action and effects and happens to do so without sacrificing character development or curtailing screen time in the process.

Experience in the Marvel Universe by the writers of this film best explains why this next chapter in Thor’s cinematic life is entertaining to both fanboys and novices alike. Those responsible for the screenplay begin with Christopher Yost, a veteran of several Marvel animated TV shows such as Iron Man: Armored Adventures, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Hulk Vs. while Christopher Marcus and Stephen McFeely helped co-write Captain America: The First Avenger and The Winter Soldier. As for Thor’s general story, Don Payne also helped write Fantastic Flop (er) 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer and though Robert Rodat hasn’t partaken in any Marvel license prior to The Dark World, he did write some fairly recognizable films like The Patriot and Saving Private Ryan. Everyone involved with this script is coming from a very comfortable place in terms of the superhero genre as well as how Thor ought to fit in this Marvel film universe. The strongest points of the story involve Thor’s evolved relationships with wayward brother Loki and difficult-to-please father Odin. Both were highlights of the original film, but The Dark World enhances the impacts of these subplots by introducing a new opposition that is by no means a pushover even when compared to the likes of the Chitari Invasion of NYC.

Of course, no story is flawless as I felt the implementation of comedy at various points truly fizzled thanks to the misplaced loyalty to some characters already established in this mythos. The repartee between Thor and Loki is, once again, pure genius thanks mostly to the chemistry and performances of the actors, but the interjection of Jane Foster and the rest of her human friends are inconsistent at best. In addition, I’ll make note of an old criticism concerning the use of the rest of Thor’s Asgardian Power Rangers such as Sif, Fandral and Volstagg which carries over from the first Thor. While their roles are only slightly more active and only slightly more significant in The Dark World I still would have liked to see more of them, their interactions amongst each other and how they influence Thor himself. Alas, characters that are purely situational support simply cannot be given expanded screen time to have satisfactory subplots fully mature and resolve when there are so many other characters waiting in line for it. Perhaps we’ll see more of Asgard’s marquee talent if and when Loki gets his spin off/prequel movie green lit? I hope X-Men: Days of Future Past has a specific plot device prepared to address its much larger cast of alphas that doesn’t involve “just making it a Wolverine movie” once again.

Let’s hear it for the action! Let’s hear it for the effects! The Dark World showcases much more frequent and higher quality action sequences and battles than its predecessor in so many ways, but none more pleasing than seeing the thunder god truly cut loose with power beyond clobbering jerks on the head with Mjolnir. There’s lots of lightning, lots of flying and lots of pure, unadulterated rage. There’s also plenty of close quarters brawling and swordplay, but the scale and scope have been expanded to raise the stakes and the suspense. I was a bit concerned when the word on the street was that this film would channel the look and feel of Game of Thrones when that would be a clear back-stepping of the higher plane tech/magic establishment of Thor thus far. Thankfully, this film does not get a Braveheart overhaul and actually looks and feels much more like a sci-fi film specifically thanks to the new enemy: The Dark Elves. The contrast between the idyllic paradise of Asgard and the cold technology of the Dark Elves yields a visually dynamic frame in almost every moment. The Dark World only saw a $20 million dollar bump to its budget from its predecessor, but it seems as though the money was put to much better use in regards to moment to moment visual effects, explosions and mass destruction.

The Marvel Studio films are, for the most part, exceptional action blockbusters, but another pillar of their success (beyond their interrelation) is character development and you simply don’t have it without solid performances by your cast. Unfortunately, the one actor in The Dark World that is currently in possession of an Academy Award is, ironically, the least impressive in regards to her performance. It could very well be that director Alan Taylor specifically told Natalie Portman to present Jane Foster as a lovesick, pre-teenie-bopper that doesn’t have a true grasp of the global impact of The Avengers and Thor in particular despite being a supposed “scientific leader in the field of inter-dimensional phenomena.” If this was the case, then Portman is the best actor on the planet, but I doubt Foster was meant to be so flippant and, candidly speaking, girly. Portman feels out of place and looks immature for a mortal woman meant to carry on a relationship with an Asgardian. The same holds true for the character Kat Dennings plays as the contributions of both of these actresses elevates to nothing more than damsels in distress and vapid, eye-rolling, comic relief. Their mere presence in a film like The Dark World is only to attract more young women within the money demographic to join their fanboy brethren at the box office.

I also had no clue what was going on with Stellan Skarsgard’s Erik Selvig for the entirety of The Dark World. Apparently he gets a concentrated dose of “the crazies” and never fully recovers. Mark him down as another comic relief character which is a shame seeing how one can tell that behind that glazed over and clueless demeanor, Skarsgard is aching to deliver a line of some relevance for the entirety of this film. I also want to make note of Anthony Hopkins, while still solid as Odin really shows his age in this film. He does not bring the same energy or sage, fatherly wisdom or warmth from the original and perhaps this was meant to be a specific status shift for the character, but doing so by way of stoic facial expression and a couple of eye twitches doesn’t exactly evoke a moving performance of any kind. I did like Jamie Alexander’s Lady Sif and for a while, it looked like the film was going to have a more capable and empowered woman impact the plot a bit, but alas Jane Foster is a more “important” character.

The real performances to make note of are (surprise, surprise) Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth as Loki and Thor, respectively. Hiddleston is a master of presenting the charming, smug, back-stabber and is rewarded with additional screen time to explore more redeeming motivations to his character. Hemsworth embodies everything demanded of the classic Hollywood hero with a heart of gold, but does so from a much more humble state of mind as his character has been through a lot and has clearly outgrown his brazen childishness. These two individual performers would be a windfall for any production, but together represent the best one-two character combination of any comic book adaptation, ever. Their onscreen chemistry is so good that I fear neither character will be allowed to grow on their own in future films in this ever expanding Marvel Universe. Not that I want to see Hiddleston without Hemsworth or vice-versa, but Loki shouldn’t be Thor’s “big bad” in every story.

Thor: The Dark World is a must-see for any Marvel true believer, comic book fanboy, or anyone interested in seeing a good looking, special effect driven adventure. And for as much money as Iron Man 3 made this past summer ($409 million in US, $806 million abroad), Thor’s sequel is a better movie; the end. Box office projections don’t see this film exceeding $100 million on its opening weekend, but I have a feeling those predictions may be debunked once word of mouth gets out. It’s winter time ladies and gentlemen and that means we’re all going to be subjected to some heavy handed dramas and Oscar contenders to power through the awards season. Grab some cinematic fun and whet your appetite for Phase 2 because the Marvel movement isn’t running out of steam anytime soon. Excelsior!

Comic Book News

COVER SHOOT: The Top 5 Comic Book Covers For 11/6/2013

COVER SHOOT

By: Chris “DOC” Bushley

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1. Mighty Avengers #3 (Variant Edition) (Marvel): We have all seen album (What’s an album?) cover art depict scenes and characters from pop culture, well, now it’s Marvel’s turn! Salvador Larroca does a fantastic job rendering the cover of the latest Eminem release with a little something extra! The Invincible Iron Man is chillin’ with Marshal Matthews at the ol’ homestead and fans are loving this ridiculously cool idea! I wonder if they’re going for some Shawarma next!

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2. Cyberforce #7 (Variant Edition) (Image): Marc Silvestri is creating some exquisite covers these past few weeks and I am loving it! His highly detailed sketch covers is some of the best work I have seen him put out in the past few years. The immense attention to detail, the subtlety of shadow and the crispness of his lines proves that this co-founder of Image Comics is still at the top of his game. Who says you need color to enhance your art?!

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3. Batman: Black and White #3 (DC): This hauntingly simple, yet compositionally perfect cover from Olly Moss will be hard to pass up at the local comic shop. The lack of color draws the eye away from everything else on the racks, but the cavernous silhouette of the Batman will make you pick it up just to add to your collection of museum worthy covers. It is bold and striking, everything you should expect in a Batman cover! Perfect!

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4. Shadowman #12 (Variant Edition) (Valiant): Shadowman is getting a complete makeover this month and this amazing cover by renowned artist Kekai Kotaki, is just the thing to kick it off! This beautifully painted work of art depicts Jack Boniface cutting a swath through the Deadside. Usually rendered in dark forms and colors, Kotaki’s choice of vibrant blues and striking whites gives it a fresh, clean and yet, eerie feeling that has never been seen before. Utterly fantastic!

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5. Spawn #237 (Image): Todd McFarlane may not do a lot of art these days, nor is he fandom’s favorite creator but when he brings something new to the table — he blows us away! This “Dia de los Muertes” style cover is stunning within itself, but as you look deeper into the image it s full of beautiful, intriquette details. The subtle lines and the inverted double image through the bridge of the nose are stunning and the use of the vibrant purple background makes the image truly pop off of the page!

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Guardians of the Galaxy #8 (Bendis)

Bendis’ “Dark Reign” of Marvel Cosmic continues with the travesty that is GotG #8. The characterization is just bad. That’s all there is to it. Either Bendis doesn’t understand the characters or he’s hell-bent on creating the perfect antithesis of DnA’s vastly superior characterization. Whatever his motivation may be, he apparently doesn’t understand that what

Comic Book News

COVER SHOOT: The Top 5 Comic Book Covers For 10/30/13

COVER SHOOT

By: Chris “DOC” Bushley

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1. Sandman: Overture#1 (DC): Fans have long awaited the return of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed series and today, they not only get their wish but this amazing cover to go with it! Done by the talented J.H. Williams III, this cover is filled with a myriad of vibrant colors surrounding the dark and shadowy central figure, creating a vortex effect that is stunning. This is a true work of art!

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2. Captain America: Living Legend #12 (Marvel): Adi Granov is known for his visually perfect, photo-realistic covers and this one is top-notch. The faded background lets the eye focus it’s attention solely on the central figure, one that embodies all the facets of a perfect Cap picture. Steel nerves, honor and relentlessness in the face of great odds, fans can feel all of it with this single image. Perfect!

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3. Witchblade #170 (Variant Edition) (Image): Marc Silvestri pays homage to himself with this amazing cover! Returning to his early days as an X-Men artist, Silvestri mirrors his fan favorite cover for Uncanny X-Men #251, with this amazing pencil sketch of Witchblade. You can see every detail in this cover, from subtle fades of shade to bold crisp lines. Sketch covers are where you can see the true talent of an artist and this one exceeds every expectation!

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4. Superior Spider-Man #20 (Variant Edition) (Marvel): Few artists are more well known for drawing the female form than J. Scott Campbell and this cover further proves the reason why. Bringing back Spidey’s favorite “bad girl” would have been missing something if Campbell hadn’t been involved! A stark white background makes you focus solely on the central figure and Campbell’s fun, stylistic sense of the female form. Plus, Halloween is tomorrow and you always need a Black Cat around for that!

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5. Infinity #5 (Variant Edition) (Marvel): Scottie Young covers have become some of the most coveted things out there in recent years. Baby versions of Marvel characters may seem silly to some, but my daughter and I love these things and try to get as many as we can. Not only cute and amusing, Young is a fantastic artist bringing his “cartoon” style to the front of comics today, letting it be known that ALL styles of art should be used in the medium. Plus, read what Cap is saying on the cover, it sums up all of Marvel Cosmic in one blurb!

Comic Book News

Review: Guardians of the Galaxy #7 (Bendis)

And the sad Avenger-ization of Guardians of the Galaxy continues.

I guess it all boils down to the hype surrounding the movie, but I honestly don’t know how this book keeps its 60K readership. It’s been seven issues now and nothing much has happened. I guess the Avengers-zombies buying this book have been conditioned by years of Bendis’ writing to put up with it.

Star-Lord is written completely out of character. All he does is make a series of silly references to old pop culture. I guess Bendis thinks that’s cute. It isn’t. It’s annoying. He comes across as an immature idiot – not a mature leader of men. That was apparently Bendis’ intention because – as always expected – he writes Tony Stark as the real leader of the team and even has Tony call Star-Lord out about the silliness. It’s sad to see how Bendis has so corrupted and degraded the concepts that made Volume II of Guardians of the Galaxy great enough to warrant a big budget movie adaptation.

Apparently Bendis doesn’t know that Drax was originally a human and has all of the memories of his life as a human as he writes Drax as being unfamiliar with the religious concept of “Heaven.” Of course, this is nothing new. All of the characters are written out of character. Bendis is re-defining GotG to be just another Avengers clone of a comic book – talking heads, interchangeable characters, and of course highlighting the real Avenger on the team, Iron Man, to the exclusion of everyone else.

This snooze-fest of an issue features the GotG team conducting a silly and boring interrogation of Angela led by Tony Stark (of course) – then simply letting her go. That’s it. Honestly. That’s all there is. No wonder Gaiman tried to minimize his involvement in writing this turkey. He was probably embarrassed by how bad the writing truly is and ran the other way wishing he could back out or maybe use a pseudonym.

Whereas previously the art was the only saving grace of this book, it must be pointed out that the art is slipping in quality. Ponsor’s colors remain top notch – with him making the best of what little he has to work with.

Of course, Wacker is back on the letters page. I greet that with about as much welcome as I greet a phone call from a telemarketer as I sit down to dinner. And if you can believe it, Wacker is even more grating than said telemarketer. I smirked in unsurprised amusement when Wacker admitted he has never been a fan of cosmic. Hey Wacker – that shows big time. Truth is, cosmic could be improved substantially and immediately if he resigned from any involvement in it and took all the other non-cosmic-fans (i.e. Bendis, Loeb, and Brevoort) with him – never again to darken cosmic’s door.

One worry is that Wacker mentions the Cancerverse as an upcoming storyline. I greet that with absolute dread. This “creative” (and I use the word, creative, lightly in associating it with Wacker and Bendis) team is bound to pillage, abuse, disrespect, and otherwise fark-up the interesting and innovative concepts pioneered by DnA. I fear that this bodes ill for the hinted at return of Rich Rider as this “creative” team will no doubt do a “Parallax” treatment on Rich, bringing him back as a Shuma-Gorath corrupted villain to be killed off (permanently this time) to cement NINO in place as their one and only “Nova.” That would be consistent with their ongoing disrespect and disregard of true cosmic fans.

So, if you want to do something to stop the further degradation of cosmic, do the sensible thing and vote with your dollars by leaving this turkey of a comic book un-purchased on the shelf of your local comic shop. Then Wacker, Bendis, Loeb, Brevoort and Alonso can move on to fark-up something else and perhaps a new generation of true cosmic fans will come along and bring about the cosmic renaissance true cosmic fans long for and deserve.

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Nova #9 (Wells)

This issue reaches a new low.

Bad enough that NINO’s parents criminally allow a 14-year-old boy to keep the “magic helmet” and actually use vast powers which he is not in any way trained to use, but in this issue his mother encourages him to engage in kill-or-be-killed combat. Even Vance Astrovik points this out in the course of the story. As Vance says, it’s a crime to aid and abet a minor in such an activity.

Is that the message Marvel and Disney really want to be sending to the pre-pubescent crowd at whom this comic book is aimed?

And, of course, in order to “win” the fight with a vastly superior foe, NINO has to dishonorably break his word and cheat. Pathetic. The antagonist repeatedly points out that NINO is an embarrassment to the Nova Corps. I must agree. All he does is cheat and blunder his way through every situation. It seems that Wacker, Loeb, Brevoort, Alonso and Bendis are hell-bent on turning the Nova Corps into the “Keystone Cops” of the universe – a slapstick farce of a para-military organization rather than a force to be reckoned with. It’s sad, really, how misguided Marvel Editorial has become with their re-boot of cosmic. And of course, they just double-down with their misguidedness: ignoring fan feedback and arrogantly producing a cover for NINO’s next issue that deliberately mocks and insults the long term true Rich Rider Nova fans.

And what’s with this issue’s cover? It has absolutely nothing to do with anything that happens in the issue. All it did was get my hopes up for a few seconds that NINO would see his well-deserved demise. Sadly, he survives and the interesting antagonist is unfairly punished.

Justice and Speedball are so written out of character as to be essentially un-recognizable. They’ve both been regressed in age, experience, and maturity to slap-sticky characters on par with NINO, and they just stand around and don’t do much of anything but make a silly comment on occasion. That’s a shame to completely ignore Vance’s maturation from his time with The Avengers and Robbie’s maturation during his time as Penance with the Dark Avengers.

Once again, Marvel Editorial makes a bad call with the direction in which to take these characters. This is no doubt a telegraphing of the tone and target audience of the upcoming New Warriors series – silly slapstick aimed at the pre-pubescent crowd.

The art and coloring have been the saving graces of past issues of this waste of a series, but even the art and coloring have begun to slip – resembling the cartoonish style from the Ultimate Spiderman cartoon. And don’t get me started on the misspells and grammatical errors. I guess Wacker was too busy insulting and denigrating Rich Rider Nova fans on the message boards to actually proof-read this issue.

If you see this train wreck that is NINO on the shelves of your local comic shop – do yourself, your bank account, and Nova fandom a big favor and leave it there. Vote with your dollars and send a message to Wacker, Brevoort, Bendis, Alonso and Loeb that you don’t like the hack-job they’ve perpetrated against cosmic.

Movie News Reviews

Review: Peal Jam 10/12/13 – Buffalo, NY

Pearl Jam Descends on Buffalo

Stop #2 for the North American Lightning Bolt Tour 2013

By: Lawrence Napoli and Cat Carlson

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So many have been eagerly anticipating Pearl Jam’s return to the touring circuit that as soon as it was announced, scoring tickets for any of the venues instantly became a hot commodity and awfully complicated if you weren’t waiting in a line at the box office or some website well in advance. My own adventure had me perusing tickets.com with multiple laptops only to be held in a virtual waiting line for which fate alone would determine the quality of my seats. Despite the three ring circus that process wound up being, I was pleased with getting tickets at all because Pearl Jam happens to be my girlfriend’s favorite band. I, unfortunately, am not a “music guy” and more of a “movie guy” and was only modestly familiar with their work mostly from the early to mid 90s, but I was very excited to go to a live rock show because the word everywhere was that they always put on great shows. As for me, only a recent addition to the Ten Club and relative novice in all things Pearl Jam; stop #2 in the North American Lightning Bolt Tour was nothing short of electrically charged adrenaline that cycled from the stage, into First Niagara Center, onto the audience and back. It was an amazing show, and I felt so privileged to catch Vedder and co. towards the beginning of a tour with fresh legs.

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The show itself started 45 minutes late as we were all wondering how on Earth an opening band could delay the main event for so long. As it turned out, there was NO opening band as Pearl Jam approached the stage with minimal effects and maximum fanfare. “Light,” “light bulbs,” and “lightning” were ever present on the stage as lighting effects which were obvious references to their upcoming album Lightning Bolt, but what I wasn’t expecting was the maximum energy being exerted and sustained by Pearl Jam and Vedder himself for the duration of a three hour show. As soon as they came out, everyone stood up and no one sat down until the last encore was taken. What follows is an incomplete set list for the evening: just a few notables and moments my girlfriend, Cat and I found most interesting.

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Pearl Jam started out with a song from the new album called “Pendulum” which would be one of the slower numbers in comparison to the rest of the evening and followed up with “Low Light” from the Yield album of 1998. Both songs set the mood right away and allowed the audience to ease into the concert.

Then came “Sometimes” (No Code, 1996) and “Corduroy” (Vitalogy, 1994) and anyone could clearly see Eddie was really starting to shift gears to a whole new level. The dial was set immediately to 9 and Eddie toasts wine to the crowd. But then another new song from Lightning Bolt strikes with “Mind Your Manners” (the first release off said album) and pushes that dial to 10 with the evening’s first really good, fever-pitched, song.

“Do the Evolution” (Yield, 1998) was the first of many sing-a-longs where Eddie was both pushing and feeding off of the crowd’s energy. I particularly enjoyed my girlfriend’s own participation as her enthusiasm easily conducted to my own. Eddie takes another moment to speak to Buffalo, gives another toast and promises that Pearl Jam would start pacing themselves because at this point it would’ve been invonceivable for the intensity to get any higher.

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“Immortality” (Vitalogy, 1994) is one of my girlfriend’s favorite songs and according to her is “not one of their standard grunge rock” and “more of a ballad.” It’s the kind of song that reached fans and non-fans due to it peaking at #10 on the billboard mainstream rock charts at that time in history.

“Sirens,” another new release from Lightning Bolt was my personal favorite for the entire evening which is a much more intimate song with mellow tones and on the opposite end of the style spectrum from “Mind Your Manners.” My girlfriend notes how this song indicates how wide the scope of this new album will wind up being.

“Once,” from PJ’s debut album Ten was a full blown love fest that got the whole crowd singing with Eddie and sometimes tagging him out all together. All the fans know the old songs and to many, PJ’s first album still happens to be the best.

The evening goes on a bit more with a relentless barrage of song after song, when Eddie takes another time out to talk about one of his mentors, Neil Young, and the story of how the song “I Got Shit” was created. This got a good laugh from the crowd as he proceeded to play “I Got Shit” (Merkin Ball, 1995) which is another of Cat’s favorite songs which once again reached popularity on several ratings charts from the mid 90s.

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The first encore started with Eddie addressing the audience very intimately as he thanked us all for the great energy he was receiving from the audience which, according to Cat (who was present the last time they came to Buffalo), was most certainly a vast improvement! Vedder always tries to personalize shows to the community he’s in and mentioned how the Sabres insignia was one of the coolest looking hockey logos around – which naturally got a rise from the audience.

Pearl Jam proceeds with “Off He Goes” (No Code, 1996) which Eddie describes as a song about what happens when you don’t get enough time at home. Is this perhaps a self portrait? Is this merely the price one pays for fortune and glory?

Vedder then takes another pause with the audience to share how his youngest daughter scored her first goal in soccer that day and that while he felt really bad about missing it, the crowd’s good energy and a good show so far certainly made him feel better. It really makes you feel for talented entertainers whose professions require them to be on the global move because their art is a double edged sword of success: passion & price. Vedder follows that statement with “Future Days,” another new song from Lightning Bolt which was a perfect bookend to that moment.

Eddie then made a very nice gesture to the ¼ of the arena that was seated behind the band for the entire evening thus far by playing “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” (Vs., 1993). It was another high energy, high participation song and a nice reward for a lot of people that got some pretty crappy seats, but it really made me wonder why the First Niagara Center would be so greedy to sell those seats in the first place. Sure, it gave a bunch of people an opportunity to see the show at all, but I really hoped they paid a fraction of the price.

The second encore had Eddie talking to the audience about what the proper nomenclature is for describing a native of Buffalo, NY. “Are you a Buffalonian? A Buffaloite? (Jeff interjects a Bison?).” At this point, Vedder mentions that his favorite person from Buffalo is Vincent Gallo. (Sigh) I give the man a slight pass for the simple fact that Gallo is probably the only person Eddie Vedder has ever met from Buffalo. Some people really dig Gallo’s experimental art, but I don’t care one little bit for the film Gallo is most known for in Buffalo ’66. I haven’t seen a more depressing, self-absorbed, narrative on film that quite honestly, couldn’t paint Western New York in worse light. Perhaps Vedder was unaware that the classy Gallo sells his own sperm on the merchandising link of his own website vincentgallo.com? I could go on and on, but that’s a whole other article.

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Vedder follows that particular failed attempt at personalizing to the crowd (because the Gallo reference got zero reaction from anyone but me) with “Go” (Vs., 1993).

The show wrapped up around 11pm without an appearance form the standard “Yellow Ledbetter” and instead closed with a cover of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” (Teenage Wasteland). This is Eddie’s regular tambourine-smashing act that had as much energy (if not more) than he had at 8:30.

This was an amazing show to experience and that’s coming from a non Pearl Jam acolyte. My girlfriend Cat had a wonderful time as she was moving and clapping to the music all evening. She made specific note of how this was a much better show than the last one she witnessed in Buffalo. As an additional side note, the interactive scenery that deployed from above the stage at various times during the show was a little atypical for Pearl Jam. It involved a tiered string of rustic-style light bulbs that seemed to evoke some kind of Tesla imagery for obvious reasons. Eddie and the rest of the band played with them regularly as they would be lowered so close to the stage that any of them could bat them around with their hands or their guitars. Cat predicts that Vedder will most certainly shatter one of them before the North American tour is done.

Even if you aren’t a fan of Pearl Jam, but like good rock music performed live, do your best to get some tickets for the Lightning Bolt Tour.

Pearl Jam “Lightning Bolt” is now available through iTunes and Amazon.

Comic Book News

Review: The Walking Dead #115

It has been ten years since Robert Kirkman pitched a deceptive idea to the heads of Image comics, one that would eventually make him into a multi-media juggernaut! Ten years of pushing the envelope and evoking feelings in fans that has caused them to have emotional ties to his characters, something that is rarely seen outside of the confines of characters developed by the “Big Two.”

Today, the “Ten Year Anniversary” issue was released, but I wish that the tale given had as much pomp and circumstance as the promotions have been given. Not that it wasn’t a well crafted tale, it was, but it was merely nothing more than stage rehearsal for the big event.

Issue #115 is rich with Kirkman’s patented “check-in” style of writing prior to some serious shake-ups. We see Rick and Andrea discussing the decision of war, we see Michonne and Ezekiel discussing their potential, we see Andrea and Carl discussing who is in charge when Rick is gone. We “see” the build up, we are given the usual ominous undertones that Kirkman perfectly laces within his tales, but that is all we “see.”

Coming off of an intense past few issues where your heart was racing through the entire tale, this one read like a checklist of sorts. Taking stock of weapons? CHECK. Touching base with all major characters? CHECK. Rick makes angry face at Neegan? CHECK. I understand that this is the “calm before the storm” but for the ten year anniversary issue I was expecting something on a grander scale.

Collect the covers, there are enough of them, enjoy the story but don’t expect too much and you will be fine. Save all that anticipation for the Season 4 debut this weekend and hopefully it will resonate more.

Comic Book News

Cover Shoot: The Top 5 Comic Covers For 10/9/13

COVER SHOOT

By: Chris “DOC” Bushley

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1. Miniature Jesus #5 (of 5) (Image Comics): This series by Ted Mckeever has had some of the most creative covers in it’s five issue run. Known for his use of bland backgrounds and exquisite line drawings, McKeever has quickly become one of my favorite cover artists! Let it be known that simple lines used with extraordinary skill can trump 3D covers any day!

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2. Batgirl #24 (DC Comics): Alex Garner has quickly become a staple on COVER SHOOT and there is no argument as to why! Using both paint and computer enhancement, these Batgirl covers have become fan favorites, warranting cries of, “We need posters!” across all of comicdom. Lifelike and beautiful, Garner tells a story with a single image, melding perfectly with Gail Simone’s tale within the book. Simply, exquisite!

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3. Thor: God of Thunder #14 (Marvel Comics): Though usually done by Esad Ribic, legendary artist Ron Garney has been making fans salivate over his Thor covers the past few months. Explosive and with an “in your face” composition, this cover exudes everything Thor is about! Brutality, fantasy, power and confidence is forced at you, leaping off the cover, and it makes you want to, no, need to know what’s going on in the story. Perfect cover to draw you in!

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4. Creepy Comics #14 (Dark Horse Comics): Known for trend setting covers, Creepy, always delivers the goods. Especially, with this gorgeously haunting cover by David Palumbo. With meticulous composition, this painted cover draws your eye from top to bottom, giving you the feeling of descent as you gaze upon it. With it’s two color palette, it is masterfully done, setting itself apart from all the bold colored covers around it.

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5. Batman: Arkham Unhinged #19 (DC Comics): Nothing can pull your eye to it better than a cover with graphic shapes, simple lines and a pristine sense of color! With a bleached background and a single image foreground, Christopher Mitten has created something fantastic. Accentuated by simple but exceptional line drawings, this cover pops off of the shelves and makes you take notice. It is simply profound and I would be proud to add this cover to my comic art collection!

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Nova #8 (Wells)

Medina and Curiel deliver some eye-catching art and coloring in this issue. Too bad their talents are wasted on such a sub-par concept, storyline, and leading character. If you like puerile comic book clichés, slapsticky silliness, and all the awe and wonder of an episode of “Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo” – then you’ll absolutely love issue #8.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when Thanos began his Snidely Whiplash routine. I was just waiting for him to don a handlebar mustache and begin twisting it in glee as he contemplated destroying Dudley Do-Right….er….I mean, NINO. Then, Dudley……..er……I mean, NINO, bumbles through the rest of the issue. My favorite cock-up was his taking off his “magic” helmet in mid-flight and losing his powers in a move worthy of Wily Coyote. I swear, you could substitute Snidely Whiplash for Thanos and Dudley Do-Right (or Wily Coyote) for NINO and this story would read the same. I hoped against hope that he wouldn’t catch that helmet before hitting the ground – but alas, no such luck as the little twerp defies physics once again.

What are the writers/editors trying to accomplish? Making the legacy of the Nova concepts an object of ridicule? They’re succeeding.

The much touted return of “The New Warriors” was also underwhelming as the characterization for Speedball and Justice was totally off the mark. And why would NINO hit someone who is not threatening him? Not very heroic.

I’m definitely rooting for Thanos and his minions to put NINO out of our misery – but sadly I know it’ll never happen. The powers at Marvel are stupidly determined to continue the Lo(e)botomization of the Nova concepts.

There was one bright spot. At least we didn’t have to suffer through another letters page from Carnival Barker…..er….I mean “editor” Wacker. Hey Wacker, make that a habit. You weren’t missed. So once again Wacker et al deliver a puerile, hackneyed, and thoroughly uninteresting issue aimed squarely at the 8-year-old crowd who watch NINO on the USM cartoon. If you’re over the age of 8, don’t bother with this book. It’s not for you. And it’s definitely not for cosmic fans of any age.

Comic Book News

Review: Guardians of the Galaxy #6 (Bendis)

It’s really a shame that this book is called Guardians of the Galaxy when it’s such a pale imitation of all the preceding much better efforts using the same name. I wish Bendis, Brevoort, Wacker, Alonso, et al would just get it over with and re-name this book Space Avengers or, more accurately, Avengers in Low Earth Orbit, or my personal favorite: Holy Fark! Not ANOTHER Avengers Book!

Let’s face it; Bendis’ version of GotG is just another Avengers book. And even though the GotG is made up of people who actually have valuable knowledge about how the cosmos works, the politics of the local group of galaxies, and the advanced technology of the great powers of the local group – they’re relegated to wasting time protecting Earth from fairly minor threats while Earth’s protectors are in way over their heads out in the cosmos. Make any sense to you? Me neither.

So the woman who fought Ronan to a stand-still can’t take Angela? So the entire team that has fought The Magus, Thanos, The Phalanx, etc. (and won) can’t take Angela? But a single shot from Quill’s element gun lays her out? Right. Good one Bendis. And it only took you the entire issue to pull off that particular deus ex machina.

As usual, Iron Man is completely out of place, and Bendis writes most of the rest of the cast out of character – particularly Drax. At least he’s stopped trying to create stupid catch-phrases for Rocket. A great improvement in this book could be accomplished simply by dropping Iron Man from the cast and sending him back to Earth where he belongs.

“Editor” Wacker must shoulder a large part of the blame for the decline in Marvel Cosmic’s quality. He along with Bendis and Loeb seem hell-bent on erasing everything that made DnA’s revamping of cosmic into something worthy of a big budget movie, and replacing it with hackneyed storylines aimed squarely at the lowest common denominator of comic book readers. Thankfully we’re spared Wacker’s smarmy glad-handing of easily pleased non-cosmic fans as there’s no letters page to suffer through this issue. Coipel’s art is certainly respectable, but it’s not quite up to the bar set by Pichelli. It’s a shame the writing is not up to par with the art as Pichelli makes an excellent addition to the artists who render cosmic well. Ponsor’s colors remain at their usual eye-catching best. As usual, the art and coloring are the best things about this book.

I suppose the movie hype and the appeal to Avengers-zombies are the elements that keep this book selling as well as it does. That’s too bad as these characters deserve such better treatment than they’re now receiving. In the hands of a capable cosmic writer, GotG could be great again. As it is, Bendis’ GotG is just another Avengers-like glorification of mediocrity which is not truly written as cosmic and not truly meant for cosmic fans.

Comic Book News

Review: Jupiter’s Legacy #3

Your father is the greatest super hero that ever lived, but you will always be in his shadow. The worst part is that he reminds you of it constantly, you will never be good enough to up hold your legacy no matter what you do! But, what if you are not the only one that loathes and resents him for his arrogance? What if there are others out there that have had enough as well, others that are willing to band together to “remove” the obstacle that has always been holding you back?

That is the premise of the third issue of Mark Millar’s brutally honest look into the dark secrets of a superhero family. It is a story that has been told countless times, being felt across the ages as son strives to become a man worthy of his father respect, but Millar puts his patented spill of brutality on that classic coming of age tale and creates something wholly unique in the process.

Known for his over the top sensationalism, Mark Millar combines with superstar artist, Frank Quitely, in order to create one of the most brutal issues I have ever read. This issue is a non-stop blitzkrieg that will shock and astound you and, most definitely, leave you wanting more! But, it is not the overtly callous actions thrust upon a supreme family that makes this such a fantastic book, it is the underlying tale of treachery and deceit that truly holds sway over the reader. It is the slow prodding by a jealous uncle, the final push of a nephew over the point of no return that will resonate far longer as a great read than just the visual destruction of a family. Not that what happens to Brandon’s poor mother or his father’s final moments at his own hands won’t be with you for a VERY long time, but it is that old morality play done with a Millarian twist that will stay with you forever!

If you haven’t been reading this book, don’t start with this issue! I beseech you to travel far and wide to find all three issues and read them in one sitting in order to fully enjoy this mesmerizing tale before it jumps ahead nine years for issue #4! But remember, you don’t have to read this book, you NEED to!

Comic Book News

Review: Green Lantern #23.4: Sinestro

Told from the perspective of ex-Yellow Lantern, Lyssa Drak, Green Lantern #23.4 delves deep into the forbidden history of Sinestro in an attempt to keep the destroyed Book of Parallax preserved for future generations.

Matt Kindt writes a mesmerizing tale of one of the most interesting characters in the Green Lantern mythos — Sinestro! Although it has the makings of the tried and true “origin” story, the way Kindt tells the tale in a warped perspective from Lyssa Drak’s narrative and the actual events rendered through Dale Eaglesham’s glorious art, is both fresh and invigorating! It is an enthralling tale of Sinestro’s beginning to his bitter “end,” touching upon the most important events in his lifetime and pinpointing the exact moments where the presumed “hero” began to slide into the depths of fear. Not only does Kindt re-kindle our love/hate relationship with Sinestro with this book but he also brings the amazing character, Lyssa Drak, back to the forefront as well. Twisted and forever changed by the events of this book, Lyssa Drak, is a character to look out for in the coming months in the Green Lantern family of books. For, where she goes, the legend of Sinestro is sure to follow!

Creative and beautifully drawn, Green Lantern #23.4 is one of the best books to come out of this “all villains” month event. It is smart and engaging and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to re-familiarize themselves with the greatest villain ever created in the history of Green Lantern!

Comic Book News

Review: Justice League #23.4: Secret Society

All in all, DC’s grand scheme to bring about a focus on their villains has been extremely flat. Most books have been only used to tell you what to buy next without giving you a story that would actually make you want to do so! Add to that, the negative hype regarding the 3D cover shortage and the dollar price hike and DC has really painted themselves into a corner.

There have, however, been a few exceptions to the rule and Justice League #23.4 is a shinning example of what this entire event should have been!

Geoff Johns and Sterling Gates give us a glance into the villainous world of Owlman and the alternate version of Alfred Pennyworth, in which evil reigns supreme and history is twisted. Bat fans will enjoy seeing the legend they love so much be shown in a completely different light, one where Thomas Wayne has taken up the mantle of the Bat and Alfred seems to be pulling the strings of the Dark Knight. Speckled with a myriad of Bat characters, this story has that subtle “Easter egg” feel to it, but it is the tale of Alfred and his inevitable change into the character wrecking so much havoc on the Justice League that is the most compelling.

This tale is by far the pinnacle of this “event” for DC. Where other books have failed to grab the reader, partially due to a ton of fill-in writers on the stories, Johns and Gates have created something that has depth and is truly character driven. Not only does their tale deliver on developing a marvelous “new” villain but it directly leads to pertinent storylines in the “Forever Evil” mini-series. Coupled with dark and gritty art by the fabulous Szymon Kudranski, this book is the overall best effort put out so far and it will actually make you want to continue with next month’s Forever Evil #2!

Movie News Reviews

Review: Grand Theft Auto 5

Great, But Not Perfect

A video game review of: Grand Theft Auto 5

By: Lawrence Napoli

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Let’s face facts. GTA5 is the frontrunner for 2013’s Game of the Year, and why not? First, it’s GTA, and its release means a cultural event far greater than the annual installment of CoD yielding plenty of media coverage showing kids craving ultra-violent entertainment, clueless parents acting shocked over “youthful corruption,” and plenty of knuckleheads out there acting out real world violence in the name of the game. Second, despite a number of excellent games in rotation right now like BioShock Infinite and The Last of Us, the hype for GTA5 has made many a gamer instantly set everything else aside to give this game its due. Third, we must recognize the sales, as in over $1 Billion dollars in three days, which cannot be ignored for any reason. Fourth, the game is, simply put, very good and very entertaining. Yes, GTA5 meets much of the hype by providing some of the most adult centric and intellectually stimulating content that Rockstar has delivered via this game series yet. No, this game will not make you a board member of Mensa, but the husky layers of social commentary regarding the state of the Western World are pretty thought provoking should the gamer take a brief hiatus from digital homicide and hooker beatings to read between the lines.

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Presentation: Exquisite

This is easily the prettiest looking installment of GTA to date. Colors are vibrant, nightscapes are sleek, vehicles are exquisite and character models (specifically facial animation) are super smooth. The world of Los Santos is more alive than it’s ever been. I’ve not seen more detail in such an extensive sandbox game that one could literally donate hours of gameplay to simply walking around and taking in the views. The only thing that doesn’t look incredibly awesome in this game is the NPC population, which is totally justifiable seeing how you will be pulling them out of their cars, running them over, busting a cap in their *ss and subjecting them to various other nefarious activities that giving them all the same level of detail as the three protagonists (Franklin, Michael and Trevor) would be counter-productive. The whole environment is beautiful whether you’re hanging out in the countryside, driving around the city, parachuting from planes or deep sea diving.

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Gameplay: Mixed Bag

Rockstar made a big deal about talking about how every control element of GTA5 would be a vast improvement over its much maligned predecessor. If such a thing existed, I certainly did not notice it. The fact of the matter is that the player’s avatar still moves like a tank while walking and running with virtually no lateral movement or ability to change course without throwing the camera angle for a loop. Snapping your character in and out of cover can be very frustrating if you aren’t ducking behind a flat surface. You’ll think you’ve pressed the button to get into cover, but the avatar does nothing because you aren’t close enough to an “appropriate” surface. I noticed a slight improvement in the targeting, but using the aim assist option can sometimes make your character target something your own eyes weren’t tracking at the time; true veterans will go to work without it. Driving also seems more forgiving as taking bumps from traffic and the environment at modest speeds will no longer send your vehicle into a somersault, but that does not apply to pushing super cars to their max speeds and trying to handle corners without a healthy application of the hand and regular brakes in tandem. Flying helicopters is much more user friendly, albeit an acquired skill to engage in smoother flights, but even errant waggles on the analog sticks will not send the vehicle careening into the closest skyscraper instantly. Flying planes is very fun (especially the fighter jet!), but landing them is a whole different story: practice makes perfect and take it VERY slow.

I loved and I mean LOVED the heist (or significant job) planning mechanic and mission based execution. Unfortunately, this isn’t used nearly as much as what the advertising for this game made it appear to be, and it pays out for your characters even less. The first moment for the player to experience this occurs fairly early in the game via the diamond heist, and it’s a bit of a red herring because it is extremely fun to set it up and execute, but the player will see this perfect balance of missions and rewards rarely before the story ends. I thought we were a crew of professionals taking scores like in Michael Mann’s Heat. Shouldn’t we be pulling more jobs than random BS chores from “strangers and freaks” that pay out precisely zilch?

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Functionality: Needs Patching

This is one of the biggest games, data-wise, that this counsel generation has been asked to digest, and as we enter only the second week of this game’s release, the gaming community is noticing a lot of issues. GTA5 is apparently making Xbox 360’s made prior to 2008 work too hard, forcing the game to crash fairly often. Players are noticing that vehicles stored in safe house garages and aircraft hangers will be erased spontaneously while progressing to story missions that instantly transport characters to a specific vehicle. I’ve personally run into several instances of the environment needing a few seconds to render back to normal fidelity upon exiting “skipped” taxi rides, which always makes me think the game is ready to crash before I get a chance to save my progress. Side missions seem to have an in-game shelf life as I’ve purposely put off doing some due to my increased interest in the story’s progression only to find side mission icons in the map to disappear permanently. That’s not to say all of the programming quirks are all bad. The very popular infinite money glitch involving sea exploration and swapping between two characters to reload money bags is a great way to acquire millions in the early game when money is fairly scarce.

I fully appreciate Rockstar’s desire to cram so much data into machines that almost need to over perform to get the job done, but giving them a complete pass on some of these significant issues is a mistake. I’m sure they will fix these issues in due time. My bet is a massive patch will come when we all download the GTA Online expansion next week.

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Story: Immersive journey with a lackluster ending

If anyone had any apprehension about splitting this GTA narrative into the trials and tribulations of three characters coming from completely different backgrounds, I will have you know that this presentation is fresh, gives the player a greater feeling of control, and made me feel like I was actually forming an in-game GTA crew on par with any other faction in the game. A one man army against a world of opposition can only work for so long, and seeing how GTA5 is trending towards slightly more realism than a series like Saints Row is concerned with, being successful at taking scores requires being a member of a capable crew. The story doesn’t hang around any one character for too long as each one is fully fleshed out as an individual, but their balance and interplay as a group allows the player empathize with them all on a different level. My personal favorite is Franklin, despite Michael’s experience and Trevor’s crazy shenanigans.

Unfortunately, the ending of such an involved journey that GTA5 delivers is anti-climactic at best. There is a direct element of player choice that will determine three very different outcomes to the narrative, but in my opinion, there’s really only one option and I’ll leave that to the reader. The final sequence of missions is varied, interesting and filled with action, but the story leaves you (figuratively AND literally) at the side of a cliff left wondering, “That’s it?” Other games this year have delivered much more drama, but no one has been able to knock the ending out of the park.

Conclusion: Must-buy for adults. Parents beware. Peaks and valleys, despite the beauty. Budgets for many games seem to be spiraling out of control as every developer and publisher is going for AAA, Game of the Year money without having the staff, facilities and vision to produce such a product. This doesn’t apply to Take-Two and Rockstar as they have created another gem of a video game, but considering the time and money that went into this game’s development, anything less than what GTA5 is, would not be acceptable. I say this without factoring in any aspect of the online segment of this game as it’s yet to be released. Running around with an actual crew of your own buddies, online in the world of GTA has been a dream for many gamers and what seems to await us all on October 1 experience. But we don’t know quite yet what will be involved beyond the availability of “hundreds” of missions and micro transactions paving the way.

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GTA5 really pushes the limit of the M-rating for video games as the excessive violence, pervasive nudity and relentless vulgarity are upstaged by the sheer adult content of the story and being able to understand why these characters are driven to the behavior they choose to engage in. Kids that are getting their mothers and grandmothers to buy this game for them should not be playing this because it’s much more involved than Call of Duty shooting. I say this because parents need to get smarter than their kids in regards to these kinds of games and because I don’t want these brats fouling up my online gameplay. Just kidding, but seriously, I don’t believe that video games turn kids into sociopaths, but immature people exposed to this kind of game without guidance might have their world outlook altered in unhealthy ways. Kids will find a way to play GTA5. It’s a fact. Parents need to be there for their kids to talk about it.

GTA5 is an excellent game that’s actually worthy of the $59.99 price point for a brand new copy, but by no means is it a “perfect” game. If I had to sum up its number one weakness (beyond the technical) it would be the restrictive controls and “feel” of the game, which is vintage Rockstar. Sure, the main characters are the furthest thing from trained ninjas, but I would have appreciated more precision to the overall control scheme. I also would have liked bank heists or high end robberies to be a larger presence throughout the game. I don’t think Rockstar would be concerned with stepping on the toes of a game like Payday 2, but as the player’s trio of protagonists attracts more heat, they aren’t exactly seeing the high reward for their high risk which results in fewer dollars to spend on stocks, property, vehicles and weapons to have even more fun with. Despite it all, GTA5 is just too much fun to pass on and the potential of GTA Online is as high as the sky, so my only recommendation to appropriate audiences is to pick this game up ASAP. Please, game responsibly.

Comic Book News

COVER SHOOT: The Top Five Comic Covers For 9/25/13

COVER SHOOT

By: Chris “DOC” Bushley

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1. Artifacts #31 (Image): A stunning cosmic cover that exudes beauty, power and awesomeness! Stjephan Sejic is a true master of blending comic book concepts with high-res digital art to form perfect covers that astound the eye. This cover is so pristine that you can almost feel her fury crackle off the page!

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2. Avengers Assemble #19 (Marvel): Jorge Molina is no stranger to drawing the female for but this cover transcends all his pervious attempts! A culmination of pencil, paint and great graphic design, this cover tells the story in a single image and yet, forces the eye to go beyond the central image and take in the gorgeous detail of the astounding background. Amazing stuff to behold!

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3. Hellraiser: Dark Watch Vol. 1 TPB – Variant Edition- (BOOM! Studios): Not to be outdone by his color savvy competitors, Tom Garcia creates a beautifully eerie cover that is truly a work of art. The precise pencil lines make this cover pop off the page but it is the subtle blending of shadow and background images that make it so wonderful. It is an image that is both rich and haunting and is sure to be a stand out amongst it’s brethren.

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4. Ame-Comi Girls Vol.1 (DC): Amanda Conner has a special place in the heart of the CBN offices and covers like this one is the reason why! Bleached background, graphic design and a simple layout image, combine to make a cover that is unlike anything else you will find on the shelves this week. Some may say that it too plain, too simplistic but anyone can plainly see that it is simply fantastic!

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5. Guardians of the Galaxy #6 (Marvel): Say what you want about the writing, but this cover art will blow you away! Sara Pichelli gives us a classic comic cover layout with perfect lines and a color palette that dazzles the eyes. Strong and imposing, Sara’s Angela image is pitch perfect and I couldn’t ask for anything more. Well, maybe a story that is on caliber with this poster worthy, but that’s about it!

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Prisoners (2013)

Intense Excellence and an Emotional Toll

A Film review of Prisoners

By: Lawrence Napoli

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What is a parent to do in an impossible situation? Your child is missing, but you also have a means of possibly finding out where your child might be and it directly involves doing something horrible. It’s a catch-22 between hell and the devil, and Prisoners is a film that puts the audience right into a parent’s worst nightmare in this exact scenario. This dramatic thriller plagues its cast and all those bearing witness with the impossible choice between the guilt of doing nothing and the demons of doing the unspeakable, and it is incredibly impressive how this is accomplished via the lens of religious morality and secular ethics without allowing the plot to spin out of control in either direction. Make no mistake; Prisoners is the first Oscar worthy film of the Fall thanks to a litany of marquee performances by a veteran cast and a story that that plunges its emotional tendrils into your soul and pushes the limits of your resolve.

Screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski certainly had plenty of material to draw from what with America’s media obsession with child abduction. So many families have been shattered. So many creepers have been thrust to the limelight. So many channels have reaped the ratings. As exploitive as the media may or may not be, it does provide an additional resource to get the word out to larger communities to join in an effort to find lost children, but its presence in this script is surprisingly absent. This helps the story immensely as the script is more concerned with making this fictional tragedy as personal as possible by highlighting those most directly involved with it. Scenes that play out within the victims’ families are written very realistically as self loathing and internal combustion are both fueled by anger, frustration and despair. Scenes that play out with the police are not quite as raw, but become so gradually which reflects how personal it can become for the men and women charged with finding children they have no relation to. What allows these scenes to intensify tenfold is that Guzikowski is constantly framing every conversation and argument within the ethics and morality of the situation at large which forces the audience to anchor at a personal level to what is happening in that instant. Amidst all of this drama, a very thought provoking crime conspiracy is playing out in the background and the balance amongst all the storytelling elements at work is simply masterful.

This film is a character and dialogue driven affair layered with elements of suspense. The fact that there isn’t a significant amount of action hurts the pacing a bit seeing how it runs for over two and a half hours, and the mood never sways from a negatively charged place. In addition to this general lack of movement, this film features one of the least interesting and brown scale color schemes a setting could provide any production. It is not an easy task for any director to look at these supposed handicaps and suddenly weave into an interesting film, but Denis Villeneueve chooses to allow the assets he does have at his disposal to lead the way, by staying out of theirs: the cast. More often than not (especially in films I’ve seen recently), actors have been horse-collared by script limitations that prevent interesting characters to be fleshed out and flat characters to remain so because the actors playing the leads are not as skilled as their costars. This is not the case for Prisoners. Every actor seems to reach perfect synergy with their characters and it takes a director that knows the script as well as his or her cast to achieve that kind of intimacy. The best directors are the least intrusive and provide leadership where necessary to complete the production.

Prisoners is a film that boasts one of the best supporting casts for a dramatic crime/thriller film. Terrence Howard and Viola Davis as the parents of one of the missing girls are exceptionally skilled at summoning tears on command. Maria Bello as the mother of the other missing girl produces a tragic train wreck of a woman shredded by despair. Paul Dano, once again, does what he apparently does best and will seemingly never escape: being extremely creepy. And let’s not forget Melissa Leo’s contributions as her prosthetic makeup conceals her identity, but her performance is anything but forgettable.

As much as Hugh Jackman has been promoted as the de facto Oscar candidate for the male lead in this film, Prisoners is every bit Jake Gyllenhaal’s baby as Jackman’s. Officer Loki is a detective clearly tormented by the utter filth that the worst human behavior has subjected him to as he is a loner, but somehow driven to continue to fight the good fight. Gyllenhaal’s transformation into a man that is almost driven to any means necessary to solve this crime and save lives is truly a sight to see because it doesn’t take someone in law enforcement to identify with helplessness, and the frustration that manifests in attempting to completely hold your emotions in check to get the job done. It will be quite easy for most to overlook Officer Loki because he’s still an average cop, but Gyllenhaal’s everyman approach to it makes his part less about the impersonal role of the law and more about seeking justice without bending the rules of law and order.

Intensity describes every aspect of Hugh Jackman’s performance as Keller Dover, the father of one of the missing girls. He is presented as a burly father and husband who is loving yet very particular about doing things his own way because it is the “right” way. He’s also a man who’s Christianity is clearly a significant contribution to his outlook on life. He’s more of an Old Testament, wrath of God type than a New Testament, turn the other cheek type. All of this sets the table for a man who has always been in control of life to be completely at its mercy, but he’s certainly not taking it lying down. We may have all seen Jackman’s anger and rage in his iconic performances as Wolverine, but he goes well beyond that level in Prisoners. It isn’t a berserker rage that demonstrates this new level of intimidation, but a depraved indifference for any target of his character’s personal investigation to the disappearance of his child through his chilling demeanor akin to a psychopathic serial killer. Keller Dover’s decent into darkness is the fundamental journey of this film, and it is as disturbing as it is stomach-turning. Jackman shows what it means when seemingly average people are pushed to their emotional and spiritual limit, but also the dangers that come with rationalizing the irrational through faith or any other means of justification.

Prisoners is an excellent film, but it makes you feel awful to know that you are a member of a species of life that is capable of doing what is shown in this film, which is a reflection from reality. Any parents new to the child raising game could take a few lessons from this movie regarding always knowing where they are and who they hang out with. They will also leave the theatre completely paranoid over the very real possibilities out there, and the fact that there’s no such thing as a community that’s safe without vigilance, concern and care. Prisoners is a film that poses the question when life puts you to the test, will you abandon high class ethics, doctrines of faith or base human decency when extreme tragedy comes to your doorstep? Are all of society’s rules and regulations meaningless words in certain situations? Are we all just looking for excuses to go feral? So many films are asking these kinds of questions these days, but very few reek as much emotional havoc on the audience as Prisoners.

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Riddick (2013)

Remixing History

A Film review of Riddick

By: Lawrence Napoli

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Anyone familiar with the Riddick Trilogy could have easily seen the trailers for this most recent installment and said, “Hey, I think I’ve seen that before,” and they would be absolutely correct. It seems as if the formula for this excruciatingly rigid character can find no wiggle room outside of stories strictly about being hunted by mercs. What I find most distasteful is the fact that Riddick returns to his roots with an almost exact, bullet point for bullet point, plot recreation of Pitch Black. Of course, this isn’t much of a big deal for those showing up late to the Riddick party, and I can completely understand seeing how these films never seemed to reach an audience outside a cult following. The fans, on the other hand, will be somewhat disappointed because despite the charisma of the character, the story is completely recycled and appears to be going nowhere fast.

Riddick is a film that had no business being made in the first place seeing how Universal and Vin Diesel had abandoned the franchise after the abysmal performance of The Chronicles of Riddick back in 2004 when that film’s global take at the box office was only $10 million dollars more than its production budget of $105 million. According to the Riddick Wiki page, Diesel and filmmaker David Twohy secured the rights to produce a sequel that promised to return to the basics, which in turn got Universal interested in distributing it. In order to finance this production’s near $40 million dollar budget, Diesel leveraged his own house, and what followed was a series of financial setbacks that sandbagged the whole production. Despite these clear red flags, the production managed to pull through and land in the can, and I have much respect for all the crew, production staff and cast that made the film a reality. But an “A for effort” does not a film worthy of your hard-earned dollars make, especially when the story was supposedly going to bigger and more interesting places. “Due to private funding and a limited budget, the ‘Underverse’ plot could not be continued.”

Clearly, the real world of dollars and cents encroached heavily on this page of Hollywood history, but when big bucks, bigger names and the best effects cannot be relied upon to deliver the spectacle; writing is the only gun you have left in the cabinet. Unfortunately for Riddick, this tale is shooting blanks. I completely understand looking to a franchise’s original film for inspiration in troubled times during a follow-up, but carbon copying the basics of that story is inexcusable. If writer/director David Twohy was so starved for creativity thanks to his distracting production woes and multiple responsibilities, he should have considered shamelessly rebooting the Furyan all together, and why not? Reboots are in. As it stands, the story picks up all but immediately where we left Riddick as the Lord Marshall of the Necromongers, the most powerful force in the galaxy. So naturally, we spend 5 minutes of Riddick taking all of that away from him and stranding old shiny eyes on yet another god forbidden planet. Insert the plot of Pitch Black here (mercs show up, precise killing, creepy crawlies target everyone, an uneasy alliance occurs, retrieving a ship’s power source to escape), and that’s Riddick in a nutshell. I couldn’t tell if the revisited story was more annoying than the awkward cursing by everyone that seemed too forced to overemphasize everyone’s status as a bad ass or the ever bland one-liners by Riddick himself whose quotes easily devolve to vintage Stallone/Schwarzenegger. I understand that certain conventions are inevitable in sci-fi/action films, but that wasn’t what made this franchise (and this character) unique in the first place. Playing around with themes of light vs. dark both literally and contextually through character, rooting for the supposed bad guy and a shoestring budget yielding a big picture look are all things that made Pitch Black unique. There’s nothing unique about Riddick.

I will give the production staff a lot of credit for making this film at least look the part of a big time Hollywood production. Detailed creature CG is sporadic, but very functional in wider angles. Gunplay is standard issue, but not particularly intense. Landscapes are bright, but rudimentary. Costumes are necessarily minimal and vehicles are easily the most impressive in how they move amidst the backdrops they are framed within. I am absolutely certain that Vin Diesel’s home is safe, and an opening weekend just under $19 million is certainly a step in the right direction. However, if the true purpose of this production was to transform this franchise into a more cost effective carrot to dangle in front of studios for future film development, the audience needs more than a good looking movie to spread that word of mouth like wildfire. $40 million dollars can only get you so far, but higher stakes, rounder characters and a unique plot would’ve brought more butts to the theatres.

Riddick is not a film that contains what anyone would refer to as a marquee performance by anyone, but considering its production woes, getting “average” out of anyone could be considered a major victory. Gone is the charm from the likes of Keith David and Judi Dench, and as nice as it was to see Karl Urban again as Vaako, his cameo is merely five minutes of interesting (and far too brief) exposition that connects this film to the last. The cast is basically a collection of tough guys and gals that are physical, intimidating and as flat as your kitchen table. That’s not a bad thing in and of itself, but plenty of action films in the past have had similar requirements of their casts and a number of them proved capable of doing more with less, performance-wise. This is Vin Diesel’s baby, and as much as I appreciate his efforts as a labor of love, he’s still Dominic Toretto with glowing eyes. Jason Statham plays Jason Statham like Michael Cera plays Michael Cera and so too is the same with Diesel. He’s a tough guy without the most staccato of line deliveries. He gives you everything you could possibly expect of him in Riddick.

I actually enjoyed Pitch Black and much of that was thanks to Diesel’s performance as Riddick. He cares about his character and he cares about these stories, and that is something that you just don’t see with most Hollywood productions (especially the big-budget-effect ones). Unfortunately, Riddick is simply not good enough to recommend to anyone paying any price for a general admission. This is a Netflix/On Demand situation all day long, and for all the money and effort that went into making this film, I can’t help but think it could have been more if the filmmakers hadn’t simply gone to ground with the safest, plausible scenario they could think up to make this franchise profitable again. You’d think a smaller budget with less corporate ties and interfering influences would help foster more spontaneity and courage in regards to story and character, but this was not the case for this film. Oh conventionalism, you truly are a silent killer. The audience covets your familiarity, but your lasting impression involves the individual thinking about all the other things he or she could have been doing rather than subjecting themselves to something else they’ve probably seen many times before. My suggestion: Put your $10 towards GTA 5 which comes out in just over a week.

Comic Book News

COVER SHOOT: The Top Five Comic Covers For 8/28/13

COVER SHOOT

By: Chris “DOC” Bushley

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1. American Vampire Anthology #1 – Variant Edition – (Vertigo/DC): This homage to the Godfather is a striking image that is sleek and beautiful in it’s simplicity. Rafael Albuquerque uses an ink wash to create this ode to the past but still manages to convey a high level of detail with such a fickle medium. His level of skill is unmatched and this cover proves it!

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2. The Green Hornet #5 – Variant Edition – (Dynamite): Paolo Rivera gives us a “behind the scenes look” with this sketch cover which will surely draw your eye at the local comic shop! I always appreciate these kinds of covers, ones where we get to see the bare bones of the art in it’s pure, unaltered form. There is something awe-inspiring about seeing the artist concept formulated in high pencil detail prior to color and ink that makes you want to pick up a pencil yourself and give it a whirl!

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3. Batman/Superman #3 – Variant Edition – (DC): Yes, Jae Lee appears on this list again, but give me one good reason why he shouldn’t! With the stark contrast in color between the background and the central characters — everything pops on this cover! There is so much detail and such a visually appealing layout, that the eye doesn’t know what to take in first. Plus, his rendition of Darkseid is PERFECT!

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4. The Wake – Director’s Cut #1 (Vertigo/DC): Sean Cassidy did an amazing cover when this book was originally released, but this one far surpasses that! The bleached white background offsets the minimal color palette used and helps to accentuate the bold lines of the central image. It is truly enthralling and definitely creepy!

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5. Uncanny Avengers #11 (Marvel): John Cassady creates a cover reminiscent of one of my favorite X-Men covers, Uncanny X-Men #249. Although his layout is completely different, his lack of color and placement of Wolverine as the central sacrifice, brings about the same feeling of dread that I felt all those years ago. The cover is rich in it’s simplicity but even more so it the feeling it conveys to the reader. Very nice work!

Movie News Reviews

Op-Ed: A Response To Ben Affleck Batman Nerd Rage & Why Heath Ledger Argument Doesn’t Work

This One is for Brandon

Responding to Affleck Love and Nerd Rage

By: Lawrence Napoli

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Oh internet; you truly are the last bastion of pure democracy. I suppose it makes sense to turn debating things as frivolous as casting calls into an absolute war of the words where no cheap shot will be left untaken and numerous lines will be crossed. The blanket of anonymity emboldens us all, and though it may give the individual courage to speak up where personal insecurities would otherwise keep the one mute, it has a tendency to inspire reckless behavior riddled with negative energy. Perhaps trashing other people’s opinions and perspectives acts as some twisted catharsis, but I’ve never felt pure glee by engaging in it.

Recently some readers took issue with my op-ed concerning my displeasure over Ben Affleck being cast as Batman for the Man of Steel sequel and presumably, all Justice League tie-ins for the foreseeable future.

First of all, that was (as this is) an op-ed which according to the Online Etymology Dictionary is defined as a page of a newspaper opposite the editorial page, usually devoted to personal opinion columns.
It was not an essay making an argument against sending financial aid to countries that appear to be acting against the interests of the US. It was a raw, emotional, soap box moment where I expressed a personal opinion that Affleck is not the right choice for Batman. A choice like that leaves too many questions for me regarding the future of these DC adaptations because the shear inclusion of that character in Superman’s sequel undercuts Kal-El’s own importance. That combined with the debacle that was Green Lantern plus the lack of some teaser, tie-in or reference to this new DC universe independent of Nolan’s trilogy at the end of Man of Steel makes me think there still is no master plan for the movement. Until that changes, “it’s the end” of those films for me.

Second, pinpointing The Town and Argo as proof positive that Affleck will clearly be an excellent Batman is as opinionated as my use of those examples to suggest the opposite.
In both of those productions, Affleck was placed in multiple seats of power and influence as a co-writer, director and lead actor. Is he somehow not going to use those opportunities to showcase himself in the best possible light? I liked both of those films, and I reviewed them here on Cosmic Book News, but until he has been confirmed as the director of Justice League and every other ancillary title where Batman will appear, he’ll have to start taking direction. Affleck and Snyder will certainly have moments of disagreement in their future endeavor as they are both bringing different experiences and ideas to the table. The danger lies in Affleck potentially responding in the way of the prima donna, and then press releases citing “creative differences” occur, people walk off sets and in the meantime, the production gets sandbagged. The Town and Argo are not proof that he can listen to someone else in authority over him to adjust a performance for the better of the film, not just the actor. He was the authority in those films.

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Third, let’s examine the comparisons with Michael Keaton’s Batman and Heath Ledger’s Joker as further proof positive that Affleck’s Batman will be just as unexpectedly successful.
Tim Burton’s Batman may have followed Richard Donner’s Superman, but it is the Dark Knight’s adaptation in 1989 that created the contemporary model of using big Hollywood names in the active, title roles for superhero films in the future as opposed to only support roles like Marlon Brando’s Jor-El. “Big” defined every level of this production and for Tim Burton, a man whose previous production credits only included Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985) and Beetlejuice (1988), it could be understood that the pressure was on. We could have wound up with Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, Charlie Sheen, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Selleck or Bill Murray, but producer Jon Peters liked Keaton’s edginess, and Burton’s familiarity with the actor certainly didn’t hurt. Yes, the fans blew up back then as they are now, but the main difference in the situations (besides the history between the director and lead actor) is that the production hired Batman co-creator Bob Kane as a creative consultant. If you can’t trust the character’s creator, who can you trust? Batman/Superman should have similar DC heavy weights like Geoff Johns or Scott Snyder as regulars on set, in the writer’s room and right now researching plot development, but as of now, anyone else’s involvement in these DC films are rumored at best. Sure, Johns failed Green Lantern as a co-producer, but I believe Affleck would respect actual DC writers if not his own film’s staff if push came to shove. This production requires supervision and/or support.

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As for Heath Ledger, the parallels are once again uncanny. Clearly he was cast against type where films like 10 Things I Hate About You, The Patriot and A Knight’s Tale had him on the path of the classic, Hollywood leading man. But then he starred in films like Monster’s Ball and Brokeback Mountain, and those were considerably riskier roles for a young actor who would eventually perish before his prime. Ben Affleck’s filmography is layered with classic, Hollywood leading male roles depicting him as the love interest, the tough guy or the arrogant power monger; i.e. fairly unchallenging work for a good looking dude to pull off. Nothing about the Joker as a role suggests the use of some formula for casting or performance in order for it to be successful, but then news reports concerning Ledger’s preparation process hit the press prior to his death which was equal parts disturbing and impressive. In an interview with Empire Magazine he stated, “I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with voices . . . I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath – someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts.” That diary has since been revealed to the public demonstrating the obsessive immersion he subjected himself to so as to deliver the Joker unlike anyone before. Yes, working out two hours a day is impressive for Affleck to shape up for Batman, but his character will never be a physical match for Superman. I don’t expect his preparation to involve hanging out in caves or interviewing orphans who were victims of violent crimes, but something a little more mundane like researching with LA’s CSI would sway me more as to his seriousness for the role because it would at least get him in the right detective mindset (assuming that’s the kind of Batman we’ll even see).

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Fourth, I’d like to address my opinion of Ben Affleck in general based on his career’s mixed bag of roles, his overbearing personality that comes out in shows like Real Time with Bill Maher and his less than gracious Oscar acceptance speech with Matt Damon for Good Will Hunting.
I also don’t like the fact that his ability to direct has been identified as some transcendent skill set unique from any other director and has nothing to do with the all-star actors that fill his casts like Jeremy Renner, Chris Cooper, Jon Hamm, John Goodman and Alan Arkin. Before we’re all ready to crown Affleck as the next American Auteur, let’s recognize that his opportunity to direct is specifically due to his being cast as the star, and his star equates to very specific dollars and cents for studios. He’s the money choice. He’s the corporate choice, and that above every other reason is why he is the next Batman. You may not agree with any of these statements, but they are reasonable enough to not like anyone or anything in particular.

Not once did I say that I hate him. Not once did I make some bigoted comment regarding him personally. Not once did I incite anyone else to join in on dedicated bashing like signing that petition to President Obama to remove Affleck from Batman. Heck, I never even said he was a bad actor. He’s simply not my cup of tea and I feel he doesn’t have the intimidation factor and mature mind set needed for Batman. That’s not a fact, it’s an opinion. Facts are as follows: He is an actor, he gets paid lots of money and he will make so much more being Batman.

Now I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our live caller, Brandon for his comments and discussion during CosmicBookNews’ first live podcast. He represents the best of what debates over pop culture can be. His comments were intelligent, entertaining, and although we didn’t agree on everything, nothing got personal and nothing got nasty. I’m not even going to reference the negative comments to my own article in order to address real concerns over the death threats being issued on Facebook pages for Man of Steel concerning this casting situation. I honestly do not know what people are thinking by sinking to that level and it clearly represents the worst of what actual nerd rages are capable of. It’s just a comic book adaptation for crying out loud. Even if people are joking, and even if they don’t really mean it, that is totally out of bounds. Commentary like that is an embarrassment to civilized society. Change that. It’s not commentary; it’s verbal vomit. So once again, I say to Brandon good looks, we appreciate your opinions and invite you to join us again for another live podcast.

Cosmic Book News

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