Category: Comic review

Dr Strange & Dr Doom: Triumph and Torment

triumph and torment

Many know I’m not much of a magic, fantasy kind of guy but I love Dr Strange and Dr Doom because of this book. Because of whacky cartoons in Strange’s case and Doom’s horrible film adaptations  as is my tradition with comics, I went out and searched for stories to see how warped the translations were. I’m a huge fan of the Doctor Strange ( 2016) movie and well, maybe we can get a good Doom movie in the MCU finally since they have the Fantastic 4 rights back now.

Triumph and Torment is the story of the competition to decide Sorcerer Supreme, whether Stephen Strange will continue his title or will it be passed down to another. Many gifted sorcerers come, but only one truly worries the group, Victor Von Doom. In a twist of fate, the weaker contestants are possessed by a mystic force and its Strange and Doom against the horde. Strange emerges victorious, keeping his title and Doom comes in second, asking a favor of Sorcerer Supreme as is favor: help him rescue his mother’s spirit from the depths of hell! Together these unlikely foes must ban together against the seemingly impossible, while discovering they are more alike than they originally thought.

It’s a short read but damn is it strong. For an older book, the writing is trippy and cool and the writing is really good. I found Doom and Strange both captivating characters and the final fight at the end is epic as hell. If you are looking for a cool, severely underrated Marvel story to read or new to Marvel in general, I highly recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Lucifer: Comic Compared to Show

lucifer

So when the show Lucifer came out I decided it was a cool concept. The devil gets sick of hell, moves to LA, ends up helping the cops. Turned out it was based of a DC comic (and later printed by vertigo comics), but as a guy that wasn’t big on comics I didn’t want to run out and buy a bunch of them I said screw it and just watched the show. The show was pretty awesome, so I decided to read some of the comics. Now clearly there was going to be some fairly large differences. There always is. Now a few seasons in and about 10 comics in here are some of the bigger ones I have come across.

First and foremost, show while not for kids is pretty safe for teens. The comic however is pretty R rated. Not just nudity, but its pretty violent with Neo Nazi skin heads jamming a bottle up a gay mans..well use your imagination.

Another difference is Mazikeen, while in the show is a demon that takes the form of a beautiful young South African woman with insane physical skills, you rarely see her as an actual demon. In the comic however, she wears mask over one side of her face to hide her skull. Her physical skills and combat prowess is still there, and she still kind of misunderstands many social ideas.

Another big one is Amenadiel himself, who may have undergone the biggest change of them all. In the comics he is kind of borderline evil white angel that seems to think he knows exactly what god wants despite what god has said or done in the past. In the show however Amenadiel is a Black angel struggling to please god (father). The 2 characters may as well be 2 different angels all together.

Finally there is Lucifer Morningstar himself. He is also quite a bit different but not as extreme as Amenadiel. Lucifer is still pretty much overconfident and self-centered. But he lives up to the being evil portion more in the comic, in fact he actually manipulates and kills people quite often pretty early in the series.

Both the show and the comics are vastly different, so much so that watching/ reading one won’t really do much to the story of the other. The comic doesn’t even have Lucifer as a detective. Regardless of which one you check out tho, you will enjoy yourself. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Captain America: Civil War (Cap side)

cap civil war

“United we stand, divided we fall” Optimus Prime and/or Pink Floyd.

Much like our Freddy Vs Jason (Jason’s side) ( Freddie vs Jason, The Freddie side. ) reviews this Halloween, we bring you the Saviorgaming Civil War special.

After the events of the first two Avengers films and Captain America: Winter Soldier the world begins to see the Avengers in a new light after Scarlet Witch causes an accident during a mission. Things get hurt, cities get demolished and people every time they get involved. They get summoned by Gen. Ross ( Incredible Hulk ) and presented with the demand the government now regulates the Avengers. Cap is outraged, not trusting the government and there intent after Shield was infiltrated. But Tony Stark, Iron Man, of all people sides with Ross. Tensions begin to flare between the frienimies but come to a boiling point when Winter Soldier seemingly strikes again, assinating King Tachaka of Wakanda, setting prince T’Challa  to assume role of Black Panther and hunt him down. Cap has to make a choice, follow the laws of the United States and stand by his team or save his best friend from the crimes Hydra forced him to commit as the Avengers collapse and fight!

So, of the huge trifecta of superhero collaborations in 2016 ( Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse , and Batman Vs Superman ) this is the best of the 3. The action scenes are entertaining and there is some good drama to balance. It’s a great end to the trilogy and a good start to Phase 3. The biggest flaw in the movie is the villain, Zemo, who is practically invisible to the plot…he feels a lot more like a glorified name drop. Sadly, I’m not really versed in the book as much as I want to be but I have to say I feel the movie does push the actual issue of government inferring in superheroes to the side for the Winter Soldier plot. I’m all Cap America in this situation; being a superhero means having to break rules and be strong enough to know the limit to operate yourself in.

Savior is covering the Iron Man (2008) trilogy and someday I will read the books for Civil War 1 and 2 and visit the topics again. Until next time true believer, may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Captain America: Winter Soldier

capws

With Infinity War coming to us in a few short months, I thought it would be only fair I cover the MCU as well as I can thus far. For the fourth of July I already talked about Captain America: the First Avenger and Savior covered both Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) films as well as Doctor Strange ( 2016) , so I thought it would be fitting to finish talking about Cap. In this case, I have read the comic too so I got some extra insight on this story.

After the Avengers, Steve Rogers has found a routine in our modern day, working for S.H.I.E.L.D taking down terrorists with Black Widow and being a badass, but it’s not easy being out of your time. He begins discovering quickly how all isn’t right at S.H.I.E.L.D and how a ghost from his past has essentially come in and is trying to kill him after leading to the fall of Nick Fury, a metal armed assassin called the Winter Soldier. It’s up to Captain America to stop this threat along with Falcon and Black Widow and try to bring Hydra out in the open…

Winter Soldier is the definition of a superior sequel. Captain America is much more badass in this film, even from the get go. The fights with him and Winter Soldier are some of the best hand to hand fights I’ve seen in my life. The plot is fairly strong as is the acting and cast. The graphic novel goes into a much greater detail around the backstory of Bucky Barnes during WW2 and his hero/ sidekick relationship with Cap but is still a great read if you like a good spy thriller. Either book or movie, it’s a great story and definitely worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Marvel stories I want to read before I croak…

marvel banner

Comics are stars in a infinite universe, it becomes damn near impossible to visit every star but some by reputation shine brighter than others. These are just a few I’ve heard throughout the years I want to check out when I get the chance, in no particular order, let’s start with…

avengers vs xmen 1. Avengers vs X-men

Just the premise alone is enough for any comic fan to crap there pants, two of Marvel’s greatest teams battling each other. Is there more I need to say?

armor wars 2. Armor Wars

There’s two huge reasons I want to read this story. First, I’ve actually never read an Iron Man story fully all the way through. Two, I’m a huge fan of Dr. Doom. Kill two birds with one stone.

age of apocalypse 3. X-men: Age of Apocalypse

X-Men: Apocalypse disappointed the hell out of me. When X-Men the animated series , a cartoon meant for kids delivers a more badass mutant god than a million dollar movie, it’s easy to see why I wanted to experience him as he should be.

house of M 4. House of M

I’ve heard a summary of how this story goes, something like Inception if you were stuck in Scarlet Witch’s head. She’s one of my favorite characters in the MCU but I’ve never read much into her, so this sounds like the perfect place.

That was a small list but I’m sure the list will grow, if anyone has read any of these or any other awesome Marvel stories, hit me up in the comments and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

 

5 Marvel characters I’ve never read before

marvel logo

I’ve only really been reading comics for about five years now and I admit the films, for better or worse helped guide my direction in what to read. In a universe so huge, it’s hard to figure out where to go sometimes, so here’s a list in no particular order of famous Marvel characters I haven’t read yet starting with…

ghost rider 1. Ghost Rider-

I loved the first movie for the spirit of vengeance, because well, how do you get more badass than a flaming skeleton on a motorcycle from hell?

punisher comic 2. The Punisher-

I’ve seen his movies, played the controversial game on PlayStation 2, and loved him on Daredevil season 2 but never read his comic. I enjoy a good revenge story, who better to give a bit of punishment?

capt marvell 3. Captain Marvell-

In the Thanos Imperative I had a little experience with the lesser known Captain, but the most recent, Carol Danvers, has become quite famous. Played by Brie Larson in the upcoming MCU film as well as being one of the leads of Civil War 2, I want to get into one of her stories soon.

silver surfer 4. Silver Surfer-

I’ve found myself becoming fond of the cosmic side of Marvel like Fantastic 4, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Inhumans. Surfer was my favorite part of Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer so I would love to see his exploits on the page.

thor comic 5. Thor-

This blows peoples minds but I know next to shit about comic book Thor. The old English gets me but I love the movies and the comic art is beautiful so I’ll give it a shot.

In the end I plan to try them, but if anyone has ideas which stories to start with, I’m all ears and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

My thoughts: DC New 52 vs Marvel Ultimate

jla ult marvel

Hey everyone, I’m glad to be back; I’m just going to start with a quick apology for being gone much of this month, I had some pretty deep shit fall on me but I’m back with my thoughts on the reboots.

So, for those new to comics, let me give you a quick rundown exactly what DC’s New 52 was as well as Ultimate Marvel. Both are alternate universes respectively, but more importantly fresh starts for the universes. I know many, including our very own Savior, that complain that a huge reason they don’t read comic books because of how damn confusing the can be. I mean, it is a valid point. Whereas manga, you can pick up the books labeled 1 through how many their are, but good luck doing that with comic books. Marvel came out with Ultimate first, taking there most famous properties and reinventing them for the new millennium such as X-Men, Avengers, Fantastic 4, and Spider-man. Nearly a decade later, DC came out with there New 52, which is a another reboot, albeit a more confusing reboot because of Green Lantern’s story referencing stuff from Brightest Day, and Batman never really restarting, but having a different kind of restart with the Court of Owls while characters like Shazam and Cyborg had a total reset back to there origin.

I’m not an expert on either but I have read a decent share of each. I do enjoy a majority of Ultimate Fantastic 4 and the Ultimates- the flagship series that retells the Avengers, influencing the MCU on a positive and negatively influencing the Amazing Spider-man films and the despicable Fant4stic . On the whole though, I’m not a big fan of the series however. While I enjoy what was done with Thor and Hulk, and I can accept that Captain America is much more of a action movie hero, things like Green Goblin being green Hellboy that throws fireballs, Dr Doom emerging as a goat man that lives with hippies, Carnage beginning as Peter Parker,  and Gi-ant Man being a total scumbag just pissed me off. The New 52, while sure as hell not perfect, has come out with cool stories like Aquaman, Batman, Shazam, and some Flash. I do have issues with what they did with some villains like Grodd and Black Adam and I’m not keen on turns in Green Lantern but I feel the stories themselves make up for it better. Either way, neither are bad places to start for new comers to comics. I hope this helps, best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

I Hate Fairyland: Madly ever after (book 1)

i hate fairyland 1

I’m starting this review off by thanking my friend Autobot for getting me this book for my Birthday. I’m a huge fan of Image comics and there stories. I hate Fairyland is essentially the story of every bubbly kid’s fantasy becoming a nightmare. Gerty was a little girl when she was brought to the colorful, wonderful Fairyland by Queen Cloudia and sent on a magical, mystical quest to find a key back to her world with her talking fly companion Larrigon Wentsworth 3 (Larry) and sent off. Well, thirty years later Gerty has gotten pretty pissed and gone a bit mad searching and slaughtering her way to get her escape. While not physically aging, mentally Gerty has become a vulgar, cynical, angry murderer with a itty bitty drinking problem. Cloudia gets enraged finally when Gerty kills her stars and tries like hell to bring the forces of Fairyland to kill the brat for her, even going so far as to recruit Happy, another innocent to finish her off. After getting defeated by Happy and facing the realization she may die in Fairyland, Gerty makes the decision to join forces with the darkest forces of Fairyland to seek her revenge…

I really love this simple revenge story in a very happy, kiddy world. I love the fusion of children’s story archetypes and insane gore. Think God of War in the world of Care Bears. I really enjoyed the writing and art style and the ending is badass. I think it’s definitely worth checking out and I will dig farther into the series as I have with Nailbiter: vol 1 there will be blood , which reviews for volumes 2 and 3 of that series are coming soon. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

5 of my favorite Deadpool stories

deadpool movie What can I say, the Merc with a mouth has stolen the hearts of millions since the debut of his movie and that atrocity we don’t talk about in 09, you know what I’m talking about. I picked up Deadpool in late 2013 and have been a fan ever since. Here’s a list of awesome Wade stories I’ve read in no particular order starting with one I already covered…

deadpool vs xforce Deadpool vs X-Force – what can I say, Cable and the X force hunting Deadpool through time so America doesn’t become a tyrannical superpower in the future. Such WTF.

dp draculas guantlet 2. Deadpool: Dracula’s Gauntlet- if you are a fan of horror like myself, this book is for you. Dracula has a job for Deadpool, but than comes a double cross and we get a great WTF story.

night of the living dp 3. Night of the living Deadpool- Deadpool in the modern zombie craze. Zombie fans will eat this story up as we get some pretty funny jokes about the zombie cultural phenomenon as well as a good story.

Dp killstrated  4. Deadpool: Killustrated- I briefly touched on this story during my 5 Marvel stories that hooked me post, being part two of the Deadpool kills trilogy, centering on Deadpool slaying the fictional characters that inspired the Marvel Universe with appearances by such as Moby Dick, the Little Women, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the stories ultimate antagonist, Sherlock Holmes.

dp v carnage 5. Deadpool Vs Carnage- two super powered psychos duke it out like a episode of R rated Looney Tunes. It’s funny, crazy, and bloody. Simple but classic.

I hope you all found this helpful; it’s good to be back. Best wishes and may the gaming gods be with you all.