Category: Comic review

Ultimate Fantastic 4: N- Zone

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Originally my plan was to cover volumes 3 and 4 together but the next volume is literally like 3 stories in one where as volume 3 is one solid story. Also to avoid a recap, check out my review on Ultimate Fantastic 4: Fantastic / Doom but essentially we’re wrapping up there primary origin as the 4 embark into the N- Zone, where it’s believed they got there powers.

After facing the nefarious Mole Man and Dr Doom, Reed Richards ( Mr Fantastic) discovers a means to travel to the Negative Zone, the place who’s mere exposure caused there mutations and Doom’s deformation. It takes some talking with the volatile General Ross but Reed gets clearance to venture unto the breach with there custom shuttle, the Awesome. The N Zone is a dying universe, cold and near lifeless. The rules of physics are nearly null and void. The environment has a nasty, almost lethal effect on Johnny and his powers but they can’t go back without answers or empty handed. They come across a mangled space station inhabited by the starving dwellers of the universe, overseen by Nihilus, a eerie fly like creature who is desperate and wants a way out by any means necessary. Can the Four overcome this new threat with a man down and escape this dying hell?

This is a solid book but there is some drawbacks. There are some strong character moments between Sue and Johnny as brother and sister and I like seeing the conflict in Reed stemming from his ambition.  Nihilus does have a creepy vibe to him his motives are sympathetic. A problem that kills the story for me is the fact he’s honestly a wimp. One punch from Thing basically takes him out, and once they return to our dimension Johnny pretty much roasts his damn posse in 30 seconds. I felt like the pacing was off and the beginning was a little too long and the end game was too quick and there were a few times there could have been some sweet action scenes. In the end its a good solid story I think many would enjoy. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Captain Marvel trailer 2

After Captain Marvel trailer 1 I was pretty excited but I have to say now I’m pumped up ten fold. Seeing her red and blue costume in full, kicking ass in space was pretty damn sweet. We finally get to see the Skrull which look better than I thought they would. It’s good to have Sam Jackson back in the MCU once again. With the Avengers 4 trailer coming soon, the timing was perfect and the hype was real. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Infamous 2

infamous 2

Infamous left off with Cole standing over Kessler, enlightened that a dark future was coming. The Beast was coming and Cole was going to fail against it. Infamous 2 begins right after the first leaves off, with the foretold Beast invading Empire City and Cole faces off against him, failing miserably and the city does fall. Cole and Zeke fall back to the Cajun town of New Marais so Cole can heal and grow his shattered powers to new heights he has yet to achieve. Monsters emerge from the Bayou, the gangs are fighting over the streets, a hate filled politician with a dark secret is fueling the hate against Conduits, and Cole finds himself facing bigger, harder choices that go beyond New Marais, but the future of man and Conduits. The Beast is coming…

Infamous 2, like many sequels, kicks up the crazy factor up 10 fold. Cole’s electric powers from the first return, now with multiple options to each attack, a cool new set of melee attacks, faster travel, and the ability to splice your powers with icey Kuo or firey Nix making a epic ton of options. The story maintains good quality and once again there is a lot of replay-ability. While the Beast wasn’t as interesting or as challenging as Kessler in the first, Bertrand makes up for it as a interesting villain. One huge issue I have is even on hardest difficulty, the Beast is too easy. A smaller issue I have is with all the attack options, having to stop the game to open a menu to readjust everything can be cumbersome but you get used to it. The game is epic as hell as the first one and definitely worth playing. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Infamous

infamous

We all have the ability to be special, and we all have the ability to ride our paths towards good or evil. Infamous took this very much to heart and made one of the few games where I could be a real superhero or the ultimate outlaw. The choice comes down to you.

Cole Mcgraph was your average guy living in Empire City: he was a bike messenger, he had a girlfriend Trish and a best friend Zeke…until he delivered the wrong package. The Ray Sphere. He accidentally triggers it, starting a cataclysmic event that would lay part of Empire City in ruin, many dead, and Cole changed. He discovers the power to control electricity.  Empire City becomes quarantined by the feds and hell breaks loose amongst the gangs that emerge under the First Sons and there leader, Kessler. As Cole learns to control his power, and fights for survival, will he become a symbol of hope or dread?

For those who played the game, you’ll know how much I over simplified some pretty good plot points. Either way you play, there is a good story that is very much worth 2 playthroughs.  That’s where Infamous shines, depending on how good or evil you become, you’re the side effects to your powers change, even getting a special ability based on your karma (evil was my favorite). Much of the gameplay is divided into parkour and third person shooting and flows pretty easy between the two, as the game progresses you do start feeling almost god like which is awesome, especially if you go evil. For the good story and fun gameplay, there are some peeves I have with it. Cole can die easy as hell in the beginning and not being able to touch water is annoying as hell; another aspect I found irritating as hell in the beginning was the parkour which felt clunky but thankfully other abilities you get throughout the game make traveling more fun and way faster. The score varies from bland to epic and the voice acting is solid. In the end, if you want to play a different kind of superhero game that tries to be special, Infamous is well worth a try. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Mo Amer: The Vagabond

As some of you may have noticed I have been back on my stand-up kick lately, so today I was checking out Mo Amer. I hadn’t seen him before or even really heard of him beyond seeing him as I scrolled pass on Netflix. The good news is, I am happy I decided to watch this. This Arab American Muslim uses his experiences to make people laugh in unexpected ways. Admittedly in today’s world, many people would see some of his jokes as inappropriate, for example, he talks about how his brother Omar decided to become a pilot or that he has a nephew named Osama and he can’t really use his name at Walmart and has to use fake names. Which he finds it unfair because all the terrorist attacks from white people haven’t forced people named Timothy to change their name.

Again obviously with context, these jokes make more sense, but if reading about this strikes a nerve with you, maybe you shouldn’t watch him. However, I enjoyed it including his story of going back to Kuwait, the country his family fled when he was 9 to do a comedy show for the troops. For me, it was a pretty cool perspective from a comedian. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Green Lanterns rebirth: Rage Planet

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Over the past few years I’ve been watching how DC’s rebirth has been going and finally I took my first step in with the newest Green Lanterns series, following the adventures of new Green Lanterns, Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz.

Baz, a troubled, arrogant young Muslim found himself in deep trouble with the government only to be rescued by the fabled Green Lantern ring; Cruz is a young woman who had fallen victim to depression, anxiety, and Agoraphobia after a tragedy befell her. Both are assigned to protect Earth by legendary Lantern Hal Jordan, but when he notices the friction between the duo, he assigns them the same power battery, forcing them to work together. What could go wrong? A exiled, fugitive Guardian finds his way to Earth searching for Jordan, finding his way to Baz’s family with a powerful weapon that can potentially dwarf the Green Lantern’s ring. But this event gets swept aside when the Corp’s nemesis and Red Lantern leader Atrocitus plans to unleash Red Dawn on the Earth, infecting the world with rage. Can these rookies work together, get a grip on there powers, and stop the rage?

Rage Planet is a good start for DC rebirth as well as for a Green Lantern or comic fan. Baz and Cruz are solid characters I found relate-able, especially Cruz who struck a note with me. Atrocitus has some awesome moments and some depth to him that makes him one of my favorite Lantern characters. It’s a good start up story and I’d say its well worth a read for fans and readers new to comics. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

R.I.P Stan Lee, a legend

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I’m very sad to say a few days ago we lost a beloved icon in nerd history, the man himself Stan Lee. For those who didn’t know ( how can you not in this day and age, but hey it happens) he was one one Marvel comics earliest writers giving us such beloved heroes such as the X-Men, The Fantastic 4, The Incredible Hulk, Dr Strange, Daredevil and Marvel’s iconic Spider-man. Stan Lee helped revolutionize the way we think of superheroes and villains because him and Marvel were the first to treat them like real people that dealt with real issues: the F4 were a dysfunctional family, the X Men were outcasts in a time of the Civil Rights and several other movements in our country- Magneto was a traumatized holocaust survivor, the Hulk openly talked about the effects of child abuse, and Spider-man was an average teenage geek. Marvel characters were the first to feel like us, people we knew. I once heard Stan Lee say the point was that any of us could be heroes, no matter what and the world was full of them. I took that to heart a lot as a kid.

He’s appeared in so many shows, video games, and of course his awesome cameos in Marvel movies, which sometimes were the best part. I think I speck for nerd kind when I say I don’t what will be harder, seeing Stan Lee’s final cameo with a dedication at the end of the movie, or watching a movie all the way through and knowing he won’t be there.

In closing, I just say be a true believer: believe in the extraordinary, believe you can be extraordinary no matter if your thin, big, small, where you came from, what color your skin is, or even if you’re a chess geek that got bitten by a spider. There is a hero in all of us, even the villains, and we are all people. From Savior and I, rest easy Stan Lee and for those he inspired in his wake- Excelsior!

The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning

hills beginning

I’ve been asked where my love of comics began and it feels strange to say but it all started with a movie tie in book, namely the prequel story to the The Hills Have Eyes(06) as told through the perspective of Hades, the first mutant and main antagonist of The Hills Have Eyes 2 . A small mining town in the New Mexico desert gets ordered to evacuate by order of the US government. Poor and prideful with nowhere else to go, most of the citizens stayed. A band of army men dispatch themselves into the town to try forcing the people to leave. After a women’s family is killed and she’s raped by one of the army men, she vows revenge. The bombs begin to drop soon after and the people flee into the mines. For years they fall as the townsfolk live underground. The woman is blessed with a baby, but the massive child hardly resembles human. Hades is the first of a new kind.

After Hills 2, I was pretty damn let down by the series but the Beginning restored my faith. Beginning, like the first, is a multi-layered revenge story. It’s bloody, shocking, and badass and pretty much everything I loved about the first movie. Hades is much more sympathetic and gruff as a main character and I like that from the get go we are lead to follow the mutants as the protagonists and humans are the bad guys. The book is paced very well and a must read for fans of the series. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

The Dark Knight Rises

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You know how people say there are no perfect trilogies? Most of us have our subjective favorites, but 9 out of 10 times the landing at the end may not be perfect. After how insanely epic Batman Begins and the The Dark Knight were, how did the final installment land?

8 years have passed since the death of Harvey Dent and Batman disappeared. Everything Dent did has been upheld under the Dent Act, locking up hundreds of criminals. Crime seems low, Gordon is nearly obsolete and Bruce Wayne is a battered recluse living in the renovated Wayne manor. Physically and emotionally he’s been torn down and Wayne Enterprises is bleeding money. A mysterious philanthropist named Miranda Tate and notorious Rowland Dagget are clawing for the company from 2 sides. After a run in with a cat burglar, Selena Kyle, Wayne discovers bad times are going to come again. A masked mercenary has come to Gotham with a small army of highly trained soldiers at his heels, working to break the city from the inside out. Enter Bane, the man who broke the bat; can the citizens of Gotham survive without there protector?

This is going to sound weird but despite how flawed it is, I do love this movie and I think, logical leaps aside, it’s a great end to the trilogy. I have to say Tom Hardy as Bane steals the show with his great dialogue, intimidating physical presence, and strange accent; I do wish Nolan picked a better explanation for Bane’s mask. I don’t get why Venom couldn’t be a mix of steroids or something, it didn’t have to have outrageous effects. I personally really like Anne Hathaway as Catwoman although she doesn’t have the cat puns or  the trademark whip. The supporting cast is great and I liked the inclusion of the “John Blake” character. I felt Bale’s performance in this was fine but I hated how much he growled as Batman and well, here we come to the logic leaps. Batman is paranoid and an extremely cautious character by definition so why the hell would he reveal all his secrets to a chick he slept with a couple days prior , let alone be shocked when she betrays his ass? Questions like this, how the hell he could get across the world and back to a quarantined Gotham in less than a day kind of break immersion. Another little issue I have is the final act drags a bit after the climax with Batman and Bane. It may sound like I’m nitpicking this movie but there’s great story arcs and a very powerful message in this final chapter that completes the trilogy quite nicely. In the end, it’s not perfect but it’s a damn good way to end the legend of the Batman. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Dark Knight

dark knight

For a long time there was a debate on the greatest superhero movie of our time, either Dark Knight or Avengers . Which ever side of the spectrum you personally fall on, it’s one of those few movies that is simply great.

Months after Batman Begins , Gotham is starting it’s turning point. Jim Gordon and Batman have fought to take on the mob with the new, handsome DA Harvey Dent and have pushed them to near extinction. A tomorrow is on the horizon it seems where Gotham would no longer need Batman; he sees how the people look towards Harvey’s warm, earnest smile for hope- a good man without a mask, the hero Gotham deserves. But what’s standing in the way? In there desperation, the mob turned to a mad man without scruples, without morality and is determined to watch Gotham fall into chaos and Batman become the lunatic he was meant to be: enter the Joker…

This is one of the rare times I believe a movie deserves the praise it gets. Bale again is great as Batman at the height of his reign with a a fantastic supporting cast. Heath Ledger as Joker was terrifying; I’m ashamed to say I was one of the nay sayers who hated on him when it was first announced he would be Joker but the second I saw him I was speechless and he truly changed the game and was a legendary villain. A huge actor overlooked in the movie is Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent and subsequently Two-Face. He absolutely nailed what made Harvey’s fall tragic while maintaining the menace and stature he had in Batman: the animated series . The plot is winding and well paced, full of real suspense and great action and character moments. The score, cinematography, and story are top notch. The movie is damn near perfect in my opinion and it’s a must see masterpiece. May the gaming gods bring you glory.