Category: Comic review

Aquaman: The Trench (New 52, vol.1)

new 52 aquaman

Before the Aquaman movie, my friend Autobot had me read a Aquaman comic, the first book of DC’s New 52. Like many, I saw Arthur Curry as a joke amongst a solid roster of heroes and demigods. Little did I know, there was a lot more to Aquaman than meets the eye.

Aquaman is the definition of a short-change hero; the surface mocks him despite his incredible powers and the people of Atlantis mostly revile him for his half human heritage. Even aligning himself with the likes of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman in the Justice League, no one takes him seriously. But in Amnesty Bay, a threat is looming from the darkest part of the sea where even the king of the sea fears to tread. Ancient monstrous Atlanteans that dwell in the trenches leave in search of dwindling food and it’s up to Arthur and Mera to push them back alone.

While Aquaman (new 52, volume 5) sea of storms  and the few books that followed were good, this is the best I’ve seen from the New 52 line of Aquaman. The story is great and action packed, juggling mythos, horror, and a cool meta nature about the old reincarnations of the character. Aquaman is a complex hero and Mera is a epic badass. Geoff Johns, one of DC’s most talented writers gives Aquaman a hell of a new beginning. The artwork is beautiful and colorful. In the end, this book is pretty much everything I love about the characters of Aquaman and Mera and I highly recommend it if you thought Aquaman just talked to fish. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Shazam: Origins (new 52, vol.1)

new 52 shazam

Billy Batson is a a cocky troubled pre-teen with a good heart that can’t catch a break. Being an orphan most of his life, he’s done everything he could to find his mom but by doing that he’s kept getting booted from family to family. When dropped off yet again, it isn’t long before he finds himself before an ancient wizard that bestows upon Billy the powers of Shazam, making him the ultimate hero…but Billy was not the only one ever given these power. Dr Thad Sivanna unleashed a long vanished god- like Egyptian tyrant: enter Black Adam…

Does most of this sound familiar? Admittedly, 95% of this story was carried into the Shazam movie. The book has a good mix of feels and goofy moments with some really cool art. The biggest difference between book and movie is the villain. Adam is way more badass and fitting as a villain; Adam is Shazam’s nemesis after all. My only damn issue is Adam’s end, which is clever but anti-climatic as hell and I pray this book wasn’t his only outing in DC’s new 52. Overall, it’s a great example of a origin story done right and a good book to pick up if you loved the movie. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Green Hornet

green hornet

For years now, I’ve come to see the past decade as the age of nostalgia. It started to resonate with me when Duke asked “Jesus, why the hell is this coming back?” One of the first times I heard him say this was when the Green Hornet movie was announced.

Britt Reid is a snotty ass spoiled son of a celebrated newspaper mogul who is wasting his life away on partying and chicks. The day comes when his dad dies from his severe allergy to hornet stings. Suddenly Britt has to grow up fast and control his empire, covering the corruption swallowing his city. A calling comes as he befriends Kato, a badass genius who makes some epic coffee. Together these friends will arm themselves and get a awesome ride as they fight against a plot to rule the city from a violent crime boss and corrupt politician..

Honestly, I don’t know shit about the source material, but I don’t really get the hate this movie got. This movie was no Green Lantern by any means. Seth Rogen wasn’t bad as Hornet and had pretty awesome chemistry with John Chou who was badass as Kato.  There was a good mix of action and comedy and a overall good cast behind it. The 3D comic book visuals aged pretty lame however and while it’s a entertaining movie, there’s nothing really overly special. It’s not as funny as Deadpool or have the powerful storytelling of Iron Man (2008) . In the end, it’s a perfectly enjoyable superhero comedy worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Venom 2 title and release date reveal

Why am I not surprised the Venom sequel would have a title like this. The after credit scene made Carnage certain but knowing there won’t be Spider-man and this movie is going to be Pg-13, I feel like this movie has it’s legs broken from the get go. Time will tell but my hopes aren’t strong.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Original Sin

gotg og sin

The Guardians of the Galaxy, the cosmos greatest gang of misfits, have been countless adventures as well as ups and downs. During the The Thanos Imperative they beat the Mad Titan Thanos and sealed the Cancerverse at the cost of losing Star-Lord, Drax, and Nova. Drax returned from the dead and miraculously Star-Lord and Thanos found there way out of the Cancerverse, but not Nova. After Guardians of the Galaxy: Guardians Disassembled  Gamora corners Star-Lord for answers, recounting the horrors of the dimension where death is extinguished as the three heroes clashed against Thanos and the unstoppable Revengers for the Cosmic Cube and the hope for escape. Meanwhile, Flash Thompson has lost control of Venom as the Symbiote is loose on the ship, taking them to there homeworld as Captain Marvel delivers news of there next big problem: the new Spartax election.

This book is a prime example of why I love the Guardians. Quill’s recount of the Cancerverse is pretty harrowing there is a heavy emotional weight to it, while Venom’s story is comical and has some cool lore in it; between the 2 stories there is some cool action throughout. The book, unlike Imperative, flows nicely and feels like a nice easy read for it. I’d definitely pick it up, especially after reading Thanos Imperative and a few stories before it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

30 Days of Night: Bloodsucker Tales (Dead Billy Dead)

30 days 4

With vampires going back towards there former glory and away from the Twilight school of thought and Morbius getting his own movie, I wanted to dive deeper into the 30 Days of Night series, starting with this side story away from the original trilogy ( 30 days of night , 30 Days of Night: Dark Days , and 30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow )

Billy is a asshole, a low life and a burden to the people he loved. One night he gets into a brawl with a psycho who bites him and the madness begins. Billy seemingly can’t die as he is mistakenly shot by a cop but the new powers developing seem connected to vampires. Desperate, he seeks help from his ex girlfriend while fleeing the cops and seeking help from a power hungry Dr Saxton, who has sick plans for Billy. Is there redemption for the creep after becoming a monster?

While nothing spectacular or groundbreaking, this is a solid vampire story. While reading it, I felt more than tad of influence from the Morbius comics only full R rated. Billy isn’t a bad character to follow but I have to admit Saxton was a more interesting villain and a pretty sick one at that. The art is pretty common to the series, blurry and bloody, so however you felt about the others is pretty much how you’ll feel about this. In the end it’s a pretty solid book but not really special. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Why I fell out of favor as a Marvel fan.

snowflake_safespace  While Marvel reigns supreme at the box office, may have had it with there latest comic debacle in there attempt to prove how inclusive they are. Enter Snowflake and Safespace, two of Marvel’s latest new heroes as part of a new team of teen heroes and while none of the other heroes sound much better, these two are supposed to be non-binary twins. While I believe everyone deserves a hero and their are should be more varied, original heroes to break the barriers, I couldn’t take any of this seriously. The names alone are mockeries of the people they are trying to represent. I finally felt my last bubble of hope in Marvel comics deflate after the past few years. Before I begin, I just want to say there maybe a hot button topic or two here and while I applaud Marvel’s push for inclusion, I can’t say I approve how they go about it which is part of the few reasons they fell out of my favor.

Years ago, around the time Marvel’s popularity was skyrocketing because of the first phase of the MCU, they started transplanting many of there iconic characters like making Falcon the new Captain America, making Jane Foster Lady Thor, or Kamela Khan becoming the new Ms. Marvel after Carol Danvers assumed the persona of Captain Marvell. While a lot of these changes didn’t bother me, things like 2 factions of X men existing in the same universe and Kitty Pryde, Agent Venom, and the Thing joining Guardians of the Galaxy was a bit hard to swallow; Kitty becoming Starlord makes no sense to me. Some complained about the change of beloved characters but for the most part I was was able to see it making sense.

Around the same time, reading multiple series, I couldn’t help getting irked at the lack of solo stories, meaning there was a overabundance of Events going on. I recall them dropping one after another and it becoming too much of a hassle to follow. Something I give DC, there recent comics still include a huge catalog of solo stories for it’s characters. What also didn’t help was how Marvel’s multiverses ended up colliding in two many versions of the same character existing on the same plane; good luck being a casual and trying to talk about Spider-man and not knowing which Spidey you are following. now I know what you may be thinking, ‘ Torsten, why not wait til you can get the graphic novel and read it all at once’. Well, that would be a good point if not for the price tags. Since the MCU took off, the size of most solo Marvel graphic novels have shrunk as the prizes rise, especially for the Event books which declined in quality. Civil War II was not well received; Secret Empire angered many at it’s plot twist of Captain America being a Hydra agent all along. By the time Snowflake and Safespace came into play, my enthusiasm was far from healthy and I just shook my head, remembering the once amazing work from Marvel, which inspired myself as well as countless others. Someday I hope to call myself a current Marvel fan and call myself a true believer once more, but for now the present is bleak as the $ overrides creative wealth. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

JLA Dark: Apokolips War trailer

I was kinda curious what the next big DC animated flick would be and I have to admit, the idea of a R rated Darkseid movie is pretty sweet. The cast of characters we’ve seen is pretty impressive and the voices fit pretty well. While I’m not to familiar with the source material, it looks like a promising film. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Ultimate X-men/ Ultimate Fantastic 4

Ult x f4

What would bring a huge misunderstanding between the mutant peacekeepers and the first family of Marvel? Cerebro, Professor X’s device that amplifies his telepathic abilities across the globe, has been stolen while the most of the team deals with a crisis far away. Wolverine tracks Cerebro down to the home of the Fantastic Four; accompanied by Ice Man and Kitty Pryde they attempt to infiltrate the Four’s new HQ, being registered as intruders by the Four. Wolverine battles Mr Fantastic and the Thing while Ice Man battles the Human Torch as the ladies of the group bump into each other and the fighting seizes, but the question is who is responsible?

While not a bad quick read, there were some serious missed opportunities. While seeing The Thing and Wolverine was cool as hell and Ice Man vs Torch was sweet, the fights could’ve been longer and I wish there were more X Men. The end of the book is a bit anticlimactic but it’s a nice little crossover with some nice interactions between characters that’s meh overall. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Ultimate Fantastic 4: Inhuman (vol.4)

ult f4 v4

After the events of Ultimate Fantastic 4: N- Zone , the Fantastic 4 are out in the open and unveiled to the public after thwarting Annihilus and they are in trouble. Sent back to the the think tank at the Baxter building by there handlers, they discover a disgruntled genius calling herself the Thinker is out to prove herself the superior mind, any way possible. After dealing with her, Sue and Johnny’s distant mother comes into there lives to uncover Namor, while Johnny meets a cute girl that proves to be not so human, introducing Namor the Submariner and the Inhumans in the Marvel Ultimate universe.

What I like about this particular book is you get 3 mini stories for the price of one. The first story is a good epilogue to the last book and it is cool seeing the Four face there own home as a enemy. While I don’t like Namor’s Ultimate backstory, I can’t lie the fight between him and Torch is pretty cool and the story is a nice look into Sue Storm’s character. As a fan of the Inhumans, I don’t like the designs in Ultimate but Karnak vs Invisible Woman was one of my favorite Ultimate moments. While the stakes aren’t overly high in the book, it’s nice to get some bite sized chunks with Marvel’s first family and it’s not a bad book to pick up if you read the others. May the gaming gods bring you glory.