The Week In Geek 2/4/15

This week, Netflix announced they're developing a Legend of Zelda live action television series. It's awesome that this came along in the wake of the Daredevil trailer because it sends a strong message that Netflix wants to be in the nerd business in a big way. These sort of projects have way more opportunities than they did when I was growing. I remember when we were stuck with Captain Lou Albano as Super Mario inviting pro wrestlers and Cyndi Lauper over to his fake house in between short Zelda cartoons (remember when Link was basically a rapey dudebro with a sword?).

Also, Brian Bendis announced he'd be leaving the X-Men books after he finishes the current arcs. Despite my being a huge Bendis fan, I think it's good that he's getting out. The longer a high profile writer stays on a book, the stronger the trolls get. For everyone out there that exalts Chris Claremont for his tenure on X-Men, there are people (like me) who struggle to understand what the big deal is. My only regret is that it looks like he won't get around to explaining how the hell Charles Xavier got into bed (literally) with Mystique.

My comic reviews for the week are up and available on Black Nerd Problems for your viewing enjoyment. Feel free to like, share, comment or whatever makes you happy. This week, I took a look at....

Batman Eternal: ACO's art was incredible this week. Great follow up to David LaFuente's turn at bad. As far as the writing, I ge t that there's the impulse to throw material at the reader rapid fire to close all accounts, but this sort of thing got easily convoluted in the middle of the series and you definitely don't want anymore tangles in the cords towards the end.

Star Wars: Considering the fact that John Cassaday managed to crank out not only one but two books on time (early, in fact), it's only appropriate to say that lightning has offcially struck twice with this book. It's very quickly becoming one of the absolute best titles in comics. Jason Aaron's Darth Vader is just about pitch perfect right down to his asking Luke Skywalker "Who sent you here to die like this?" 

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 31 or Superman Shouldn't Be Stealing Supergirl's Poses

Superman/Batman #5: If this weren't a DC Comics "New 52" title, I'd actually be able to feign shock at the fact that this book went from "good" to "sucks" in the time it takes (enter obligatory Rob Ford crack binge joke here). Greg Pak and Jae Lee opened this story up so strong with a story arc that had everything from body snatching trickster demons and time travel to magic world-ending crystals and Lois Lane firing sidewinder missiles at Wonder Woman. Granted, it got a little convoluted for a minute, but it was mostly a strong story. Now, Pak has teamed up with Brett Booth for a whole new storyline that....well...umm...just

isn't up to par.

The second thing you notice (I'll get to the first thing later) is that this story picks up where the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel have now been working together for 5 or 6 years which is odd considering the book just wrapped up a story revolving around them meeting for the first time. It's off-putting and makes the whole thing feels rushed in an effort to get the timeline up to speed with the rest of "New 52" continuity. The duo encounters Hiro Nakamura (Toyman...except renamed Toymaster) in the midst of an "evil video game" caper. I'm not kidding. This issue is about an evil video game. Let that sink in. Now, that its sunk in, amazingly enough, THAT'S not the biggest issue with this book.

One of the main attractions of this series has always been the internal narrative that depicts how Superman and Batman respond to one another's crimefighting methods and logic. That's still here in this incarnation except the banter between them feels like bickering teenagers. If there'd been no action beats throughout the issue, it would have read like an episode of Pretty Little Liars. Superman actually admitted he was "trolling" Batman. Look, I understand that DC's been trying to make a more modern Clark Kent by making him a mild-mannered blogger who dresses slightly hipsterish, but Superman, the moral standard for all other heroes, should not be saying shit like "trolling." He's not supposed to completely feel like one of us when he's in the uniform. He's supposed to be the guy that people strive to be like. I shouldn't open a comic with Superman in it and feel like I'm going to see him texting Wonder Woman with an "LMAO."

As for the art, it could be that I'm still on a Jae Lee high from the last issue, but Brett Booth's renderings of people seemed unsteady and awkward. There was a eyesore of a panel where Superman, while flying, seemed to be posing as if he were laying on the beach auditioning to be America's Next Top Model. Just because Rob Liefeld is still getting work does NOT mean we're supposed to be emulating him. The next time you see Brett Booth on the street, take this issue and rub his nose in it like you're paper training your german shepherd.

Oh, and the way the cover is depicted above? That isn't a mistake. That is the very first thing you notice that's wrong with this book. You have to turn the entire thing sideways because it's done in "widescreen" format. I don't understand how this was supposed to enhance the experience....but it didn't. This is a fundamental example of DC getting something wrong just for shits and giggles. This is also why regular books (which have been around for centuries) are not turned on the sides to read. It's not fun, it's not convenient. It's a pain in the ass. It's just another drop in the bucket of annoying things about this book. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Bottom Line: If you really want to get your Christmas shopping out of the way right now and you don't feel like buying anymore Snuggies for your in-laws....here's your stocking stuffer. 4 out of 10.


Amazing X-Men #1: Okay, we're officially getting to the point where there are too many goddamned X-Men titles running again. Every few years, some event or another is used as an opportunity to streamline the X-universe to a couple of strong titles that intertwine here and there. Then, three months later, X-Men books start coming out of the pipeline like running water until you go to the comic shop each week, saying...."Wait, there's another one? How long has that one been out?" If the X-Men were real employees of Marvel, Cyclops and Wolverine would be locked underneath the building hand sewing Avengers beanies for 75 cents an hour. However, this book show some promise. It seems to have the right things going for it: Jason Aaron, Ed McGuiness and the return of Nightcrawler. That was enough to get me interested.

The story starts out focusing on Nightcrawler's life after death, pining away for the good old days even in Heaven (the little we see of it looks gorgeous, by the way). Meanwhile, back at the Jean Grey school, Aaron sweeps the cobwebs off of Firestar, whose starting her first day as an instructor. There's not much different in the format in this book and that of Wolverine and the X-Men. There's a big focus on the hilarious dysfunction of the mutant school whose security system spins a little more out of Beast's control everyday, it seems. The lighthearted yet fantastic aspect really seems to work well for Aaron. The character interactions are hilarious while, at times, a little unsettling. I'll never quite get used to the thought of Wolverine and Storm flirting. My flesh crawled a little bit just writing that last sentence. Firestar, however, seems a little out of place for this team, but I'm willing to go along with it for now. Nightcrawler, on the other hand, is as fun to read as ever and the character seems to be having as much fun adventuring as the reader does watching it play out.

Ed McGuiness' art does a great job of capitalizing on Aaron's exaggerated, silly style. There's an attention to detail on every panel that's so gorgeous, it makes me think that McGuinness might be a robot (Robot Ed McGuiness might have made Prometheus watchable). The two best looking moments come when 1). Nightcrawler gets his swashbuckling, pirate fighting groove back and 2). when Beast swears deadly vengeance on the little "bamf" creatures that have relieved him of his beloved coffee-maker.

Bottom Line: It's funny, it's smart and GODDAMN, it looks great. I'm in. Oh...and thanks for bringing Nightcrawler back. Shit was getting somber for a minute there. 8 out of 10

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 23 or Can We Please Have a Thor/Ted Nugent Team Up?

Infinity #1: For all intents and purposes, Marvel readers SHOULD be suffering from a little jet lag as far as company wide crossovers are concerned. Especially after Age of Ultron. The argument could be made that it's a little soon to throw fans into another event right after AoU's massive letdown ending. Ask a boxer how ready he is to get back in the ring after he's been clobbered. Seriously, wake Manny Pacquiao up and ask him. I'm pretty sure he's still on the floor. However, that may not be a reason sufficient enough to write off Infinity.

In recent years, Marvel's trend has been to have events be chain reactions of one another. "Civil War among heroes caused the world to infiltrated by aliens which allowed Green Goblin to rise to power which brought Captain America back to kick his ass which blah blah blah blah....." Infinity comes across feeling like it has a completely different identity than that. This is largely thanks to Jonathan Hickman's style of crafting stories on an epic sci-fi scale. His work on The Avengers and New Avengers (which have been the primary books building toward Infinity, by the way) are a perfect indication of why his writing is what it is. Every moment in a Hickman book feels like whatever's happening is for all the marbles which is what the Avengers always be about anyway. Even the little things like the ominous fly pages in between beats give you the distinct feeling that you're about to have your mind blown. Infinity is no different in this regard.

This book touches on pretty much all of the important points from Hickman's Avenger stories. The "Illuminati" has been doing top secret, fucked up things for the good of all (again), the "Builders" have been going from world to world doing quite the opposite of building things and....oh, yeah, Thanos is ready to start some shit with Earth again. It's going to interesting to see what a pure science fiction voice such as Hickman's can do with the concept of an ascended beings whose business is "evolving" sentient races. It's not the first time we've seen this kind of thing, but he gives us enough to lead us to believe it's headed somewhere awesome. Jim Cheung's pencils are absolutely gorgeous. This is evident because of a particular page detailing a world being razed that is just one of the best "we've come to destroy all" scenes I've ever looked at.

One drawback that presents itself here is that, being the result of things that happened in at least three different books, Infinity isn't the easiest to jump into. However, if you like grand events and have grown tired of DC's Trinity War (which I'm almost certain is being written with the help of 12 sided dice and a Mad Libs book), this is certainly something to pick up.

Bottom Line: You may have to do a little homework to catch up, but this event is superhero shit done well. 9 out of 10.

Thor: God of Thunder #11: This is a book that flew below my radar for far too long. Thor's stories in the past have, for a long time, been a bit ambiguous with their handling of the character, not really giving him an identity aside from him being the Avenger who talks in "thee" and "thou." But I dare to say that Jason Aaron's run so far is going to end up being one of the essential runs they talk about in ten years when someone wants to get into Thor but doesn't know where to start.

In this issue, we get a fitting ending to the "Godbomb" and with that, an end to the saga of Gorr, the God Butcher. The Son of Odin was given a time bending, universe spanning problem to deal with, challenged just like a god should be and that challenged answered in epic turn. One theme that presented itself quite often in this story questions the existence of gods, whether or not they do more harm than good and whether they truly deserve to preside over man. Eventually, Aaron's villain, Gorr has a god slaughtering good times making the characters wonder if perhaps his quest is somehow, in a macabre way, justified. Now, it could be argued (and has been by the idiots at IGN) that what we're given is something of a cop out in favor of giving the Thunder God a happy ending. One thing to keep in mind...and this is something IGN couldn't be bothered to remember...is that Thor, despite being noble, determined and a decent judge of character, has NEVER been a philosopher in any sense of the word. Asking comic book character, especially one like Thor, for an insightful answer to a question that real life civilizations have pondered, fought and died trying to answer since forever....that's like asking Ted Nugent, well, anything. The only thing that would have made me happier is if he looked Gorr directly in the face and said, "Because I'm Thor, bitch."

Esad Ribic spared no creative expense while wrapping this arc up in style. The pencils here lend the sort of jaw dropping gravitas a story of this magnitude deserves. There are more than a few moments in this book that look like they should have come out of a mythic tome somewhere. Every time Thor used his hammer, your reaction should be nothing less than "Oh, shit! Are you serious?"

Bottom Line: An awesome, gorgeous ending to the kind of legendary arc that Thor deserves. This is a frontrunner for "Best Goddamned Comic Out This Week" and considering Saga came back this week, that's saying something.

9 out of 10.

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 13 or Occupy DC Comics....Because Somebody Should

Notes from the Writer: Some of you will notice that I'm only reviewing two books this week. Well, do not fret. To make up for the slight decrease in content for this post, you will be receiving a special Free Comic Day post tomorrow and another bonus on Monday. Why? Because I love you. But I must rest. Until then, enjoy the reviews and thanks for reading.


Thanos Rising #2: I thought I'd reached a point in my life where if a book, movie or show looks awful. I can just go with my gut, not watch it and be content that way. It usually works out. It worked out with Liam Neeson vs. Board Games (I think they call it Battleship). It works out with reality shows like Bet My Baby. It should have worked out after reading the first issue of the Mad Titan's origin story. After one issue of one of Marvel's most awesome, time honored foils getting the Anakin Skywalker treatment, I should have had enough.

However, like some comic book adventurer, I stood there at the shelf of new releases, saw the second issue, shrugged my shoulders and said, "It can't hurt." I mean, with Jason Aaron and Simone Bianchi working on it, there's no reason it shouldn't be able to turn itself around. After all, there are only so many feelings you can pack into one title. And, ideally, the first issue of any title should be considered experimental like a television pilot. The CW's Arrow took several hints and improved upon the obvious weaknesses of the inaugural episode. In other words, I assumed this issue couldn't be so bad. This was a flawed hypothesis.

A few years have passed from the events of the first issue to the second issue which I was certain would cut down on all the kiddie angst. Of course, that didn't stop Degrassi from happening so that makes me 0 for 2 on my guesses for this week. Thanos has gone from whiny outcast to teen prodigy. The time jump feels out of place and the pathos still feels contrived, but it's less so than the last issue. Still, this isn't what really takes away from what could have been an awesome story. The trouble here is that for a story that takes place in space, it doesn't feel very...space-like. I've mentioned before that a fun part of Brian K. Vaughn's Saga is the fact that the dialogue feels natural because they don't talk like ex-communicated Dune characters. The other side of that coin is that it's a book where big spider with a battle axe can have a conversation with a guy who has a television for a head. In Thanos Rising, two high school kids were making out and got abducted. There was no difference between this happening on ANOTHER PLANET and this happening in any movie Jennifer Love Hewitt or Sarah Michelle Gellar was in before the turn of the century. All in all, this book has several opportunities to be awesome, but to to properly show out....you have to show up first.

Bottom Line: 30 gorgeous looking pages of disengaged drivel. 5 out of 10



The Movement #1: The fun thing....or the thing that was supposed to be fun about the DC reboot was that it doesn't necessarily have to stick to a time honored script laid out by years and years of tradition (no matter how much fans actually LIKED that script). The part where it has failed in this regard is that we're getting the same things that we found stale in the first place except some people are younger, some people aren't married and...oh, yeah...there's a Muslim Green Lantern. It's like Domino's Pizza "making better pizza" even though you liked Domino's just the way it was, but they give you the same pizza and call it new and relevant because now it's Muslim.

Well, now we're getting some variation in the DC universe with Gail Simone's story of superpowered residents of Coral City standing up to the corruption eating away at their neighborhood Occupy style. One problem with this premise is that it would have been a bit more resonant with the Occupy sympathizer audience back when the Occupy movement took up more media attention. Simone's script is somewhat balanced and manages to introduce a fairly large cast without the book feeling crowded or rushed. Freddie Williams' pencils seem to convey the gritty vibe that Simone seems to be going for. Of course, some of the heroes feel a little...silly. There's a guy who controls rats. That's it. That's his whole power. There's another member who looks sort of like steampunk Hawkgirl. This has the potential to be a decent addition to DC's ranks because it's a universe from which we don't receive as much street level action. But we need a better reason to care about these characters than "people are broke and mad."

Bottom Line: Gail Simone gives us a serviceable start to book with a premise that seems relevant and irrelevant all at once. 7 out of 10.