The Week in Geek: 5/25/16 or My Breakup With Arrow

So, This Week in Superhero Television.....I think I'm done with Arrow. For those of you that don't follow me on Twitter, I do the weekly livetweet for Flash and Arrow under the Black Nerd Problems account. One of my editors, Omar Holmon, used to do it, but I think his neighbors found out he was stealing cable and he had to shut that shit down. Anyway, I'd usually be honored by the opportunity, but Arrow's redemption season has been a painful trudge to the middle of the road. I mean, the show has maintained a steady standard of "not as good as The Flash but better than Legends of Tomorrow" but let's be honest; that's not a high bar to clear in the first place.

When this season started, there seemed to be some light at the end of the tunnel, an attempt to right some of the creative wrongs committed in the previous season. But the writers seemed to make an almost deliberate attempt to solve those problems by either highlighting everything that's been wrong with the show or stepping over said problems altogether. Case in point, the Black Canary II. There has been no one more against Laurel Lance taking her sister's mantle than me. They choreographed her fight choreography terribly and she spent the past two seasons being unnecessarily unlikeable. So, you would think I would be happy they killed her off. But then, her Earth 2 doppelganger shows up on The Flash and she stole the whole episode. She was an amazingly fun villain as the Black Siren, it brought into realization that the writers just plain squandered her on Arrow as opposed to the thought that she'd fallen so hard, she couldn't be written back into glory again. It was just a waste, retrospectively.

The finale was like a window display of everything that's been wrong with this show. Much of this show has been about Oliver Queen's fight against his darker nature and the killer instincts that he picked up during his time on The Island From LOST. For a few episodes, they telegraphed to viewers that the way to combat Damian Dahrk's Sith Lord Magic was for him to expel the darkness in his own heart and embrace the light. But in the end....after Dahrk's magic was nullified by the people of Star City using The Third Act In Dark Knight Rises against him...Oliver ended up succumbing to the darkness by killing Dahrk after he was clearly beaten. Even Diggle, the Arrow's moral compass ended up giving into his dark side by murdering the older brother whose soul he'd been trying to save all season because Andy trolled him a little in defeat. I mean, really, Diggle had turned to the dark side when he tried to kidnap his enemy's wife and pistol whipped her in broad daylight, but hey....who's counting at this point? It's just strange that the show has spent all this time cloning Batman (more blatantly in the finale than ever before) and yet picked the strangest time to step out of Batman's shadow. One of the big problems with American shows like this is that they go on past their structural shelf life. In a perfect world, Arrow would have ended after Season Two when he defeated Slade Wilson and conquered the darkness within the second time (he's gone back and forth about killing no less than four times not including his useless flashbacks to The Island From LOST). But because the endgame is to monopolize CW with entire blocks of the Arrowverse (as is more evident by the inclusion of Supergirl), these shows have to go on being built far away from the foundations they were built on and the past season is the resulting category 4 shit storm. Rest In Peace, Arrow. We will never forget. But we will try.

My comic reviews for the week on Star Wars and The Mighty Thor are available on Black Nerd Problems. And don't forget my ongoing webcomic series with Katie Coats, Neverland: The Untold.

We Need to Talk About Batman v Superman

***MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!! THEY'RE MINOR BUT STILL***

So, I finally got around to heading to the movie theater to check out Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and umm....yeah, we need to talk about that.

The movie wasn't that bad, but it also wasn't that good. It looked fantastic. Zack Snyder knows how to create truly legendary looking moments in a way that pulls directly from comic book aesthetic. The problem is that as much as Snyder looks to the artform visually, he doesn't show that much respect for the stories structurally. Most of the actors were perfectly fine in their roles (except Jesse Eisenberg, who I'm convinced thought he was playing the Riddler), doing their very best with this Bernie Sanders hairdo of a script. Amazingly enough, Ben Affleck, who everyone was so worried about, was an awesome Batman. The issue wasn't really the cast, it was the fact that the creative team doesn't really understand the characters they're working with. In fact, I can see how Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman has been lauded by critics since she was the one character that Snyder fucked up the absolute least.  

A lot of the fanboys are on the whole "Batman doesn't kill" thing which we have to accept is bullshit and has always been bullshit in the context of Batman films. My issue is Batman and guns. To Batman...at least since the silver age, guns have always been a symbol of the crime that plagues his city and the thing that took his parents. In many ways, it's borders on a post traumatic experience for him. Dream or not, the visual of him gunning down flunkies is a little weird. Other than that, Affleck pulls off the duality of Bruce and Batman. Bruce Wayne is a damaged old man whose childhood night terrors conjure the Batman, an vengeful armored man-golem who drops down on superstitious villains like the Righteous Hand of God.

The plotline that worries me the most is this "People are scared of Superman" premise. If you're writing a story about how people are scared of Superman, you don't really understand the point of Superman. We're talking about a character who, despite being an alien, is the absolute pinnacle of human goodness. He's a beacon of hope. Hell, "hope" is literally written in a big red symbol on his chest. Superman inspires people to be their better selves. He loves humanity, sees the best in us even when we don't see it ourselves. The guy they have Henry Cavill playing has sad eyes all the time, is almost resentful of humanity (probably because his mother reinforces the antithesis of his father's idea that he owes his gifts to the world..."You don't owe this world a thing"....what the fuck kind of thing is that to say to a superhero?). The fucked up thing is that even with Snyder's Superman being tattooed with all these blantant misnomers and misunderstandings of the character, he still has to fight Batman for a plotline and some decent character development to call his own. In that regard, this movie is quite true to its title. Having said that, it's pretty obvious that Snyder is setting Batman up to be the leader of the impending Justice League which is also bullshit. Why the FUCK would a guy who commonly hides in the shadows, only comes out at night and employs fear and deception as his weapons want to lead what is almost certain to be the most visible, flashy group of peacekeepers their world will ever know?

I mean...what happened to this guy?

And I haven't even gotten to the ENDLESS plotholes left gaping wide by Snyder's compulsive need to have his characters positioned perfectly to play out the pretty scene he wants to see like a six year old setting up action figures in a playset just to bang them together and scream "BOOM" repeatedly. I think that's what I resent most about this movie: It reinforces the idea that just because they come from comics, all these sort of movies have to be is loud and obnoxious with heroes that aren't particularly heroic like Transformers. But in all likelihood, that's going to be this franchise's bread and butter if Dawn of Justice is the measuring stick.

The Week In Geek- 3/23/16: Well, That Happened....

I know this is usually where I'd offer some comprehensive review on the things I liked and didn't like about Batman vs. Superman, but I haven't seen it. Honestly, I'm not in much of a rush to see a Superman movie where the entire premise is based on "people are scared of Superman." Having said that.... 

Welp. Batman v Superman is finally here and apparently holding at somewhere around 30% on Rotten Tomatoes which is....well, bad. I'm sure it's more than a minor cause for concern over at Warner Brothers because, correct me if I'm wrong, Justice League Part One is ready to begin filming. With the myriad of criticisms about BvS, the studio has some hard decisions to make about the overall direction Zack Snyder is taking DC's cinematic universe. Then again, Man of Steel has been a target of an equal amount of criticism and it doesn't seem to have slowed Snyder's vision at all, so it's entirely possible that this could end up being one of those franchises like Transformers or even X-Men where the movies are consistently trash but not trash enough for people to stop watching them. But for that to happen, this movie would have to do Transformers numbers at the box office (if you're waiting for me to explain how Transformers keeps doing numbers, nobody's that smart), meaning that people would have to either show up to the theater because all the criticism has them curious or because they're making a conscious decision to ignore the criticism. But at this point, who knows, really?

My comic reviews for the week on Star Wars and Batman are up and available on Black Nerd Problems for your viewing enjoyment. And be sure to get a look at the latest page in my ongoing webcomic series, Neverland: The Untold.

The Week In Geek: 3/16/16 - Never Too Many Daredevil Posts

Yesterday, the second season of Marvel's Netflix series, Daredevil, happened. Since I had the day off and I needed something to discuss today, I got up early and binged the whole goddamned thing in a day while I cleaned around the house and got drunk. I'll admit that I was a little worried at first that the show might lose a little bit of fire in the belly since the showrunners seemed to go for broke right out of the gate in Season 1.

First and foremost, Jon Bernthal was pitch perfect as the Punisher or, as I think of him, Who I See Myself As When I Play The Division. Though there have been some good portrayals (despite being in heinously bad movies) over the years, Bernthal has Frank Castle down so well, it's actually a little unsettling to watch. In the first season, the Kingpin was mainly a behind-the-curtain type of villain for the first episodes where we didn't get to see much of him for a while. Season 2 blatantly has no time for that shit. This time around, they get right down to business, throwing us right in the middle of Hell's Kitchen becoming a pot ready to boil over thanks to the new "hero" in town. Punisher's body count in any one episode resemble Steph Curry's season average. The fight scenes are twice as brutal as the first season. Last year, there were a lot of parallels drawn between Daredevil and Batman (the Nolan version) when the show premiered. Clearly, Marvel wanted desperately to distance one character from the other since we're a week away from Dawn of Justice because this season puts Matt Murdock through twice the shit he went through physically last time.

Character development was a bit more interesting. Karen Page definitely evolved from "step into harm's way constantly" to "stepping into harm's way for a good reason or at least good intentions." She's learned a thing or two from being around two friends who are entirely capable of handling themselves despite not being conventional tough guys (as far as she knows). For a show that borrow so heavily from Frank Miller (who has always been trash with writing women), this is a vast improvement. Foggy Nelson develops into someone with a little more personal agency once he realizes his blind best friend isn't exactly the handicapped person he thought he knew in Season 1. He blithely throws himself into some wildly dangerous scenarios without thinking it all the way through, but you feel his need to prove he can handle things on his own since his good looking, confident, silver tongued partner has essentially abandoned him. Even Claire Temple is basically just trying to either a). keep her job, b). DO her job or c). give the main character what they need so they'll get the fuck out of her face so she can get back to keeping/doing her job. You can watch each one of these characters play out their particular issues and be perfectly entertained without looking at your watch, waiting for Daredevil to fly through a window beat the unholy shit out of everyone....though that is usually a plus. The Elektra storyline doesn't have as much emotional resonance as the Punisher plot does, but it's still very well developed and wrapped up about as neatly as could be expected. Scott Glenn is still an absolute godsend as Stick. There simply isn't a single scene that isn't that much better because he's in it. Also....DAREDEVIL VS. NINJAS!!!

Will there be a third season? This series certainly deserves one, but with Iron Fist happening and The Defenders soon after, I could imagine there's some uncertainty as to when they'd get to churn out another Daredevil season. Of course, that was the case with the first season and we were promptly gifted with another, so we'll see.

My comic review for the week on Superman: American Alien

as well as my article on the upcoming Black Panther comic series are both up and available on Black Nerd Problems for your reading enjoyment. Feel free to like, comment or share your leisure.

Also, we're back with part 2 of Chapter 1 of our ongoing fantasy webcomic, Neverland: The Untold. So, definitely check that out.

The Week In Geek: Star Wars Edition

So, This Week In Star Wars....Star Wars happened this week. So, it's should be pretty obvious that this week, I am going to be discussing Star Wars. With that in mind, if you haven't watched The Force Awakens yet, now is the time to jump ship because there are going to be spoilers after the jump. Last chance so there's no excuses.

The Week In Geek 8/5/15

-So, Secret Wars is being pushed back AGAIN so it'll now be ending in October now. Man, I like this event a lot but for fuck's sake....I'd like it a lot more if Marvel wouldn't drag it along like this. DC and Marvel sometimes have a tendency to suck with these scheduling issues. DC shit the bed last year pushing Forever Evil back so far, rest of the books in the line had moved on past the event and basically gave away the ending. Now, with SW being delayed, there's so many moving parts in Hickman's story, the tie-ins have to be careful not to give away too much story. In truth, they wouldn't have so many problems with scheduling if they'd cut events like this in half. Marvel had the right idea when SW started off biweekly. Despite being so god-awful, at least Convergence got in, told its story and got out. Then again, considering Esad Ribic's artwork, it might just be worth the wait. 

-The Strain, the FX show based on Guillermo Del Toro's vampire apocalypse series, just got renewed for its third season. And despite my liking this show, I have no idea how that happened. I get that FX is doing its damnedest to stretch out this story with a little cinematic nuance and get the most out of the basic plot points, but Christ Almighty....it's the Vampire Apocalypse and the city's reaction to it is, at best, lukewarm. People feel completely comfortable, going to groundbreaking ceremonies, meeting in dimly lit parking garages, putting up "missing" flyers and flirting with cute latin girls in Indian food restaurants. So far, the most exciting plot points this season are a). the flashbacks of Abraham Setrakian Da Gawd and b). the Vampire Black Ops Team....and they just got snuffed out in stupid ass network television fashion, so that doesn't leave us much except the vastly underused Kevin Durand and Corey Stoll, Vampire Hunter which....umm, isn't all that exciting. The major problem is that in the era of existential horror/drama/misery porn like The Walking Dead where people can make the smartest decisions possible and STILL never have a single moment of happiness, it's getting noticeably hard to sit through a show where the characters seem to consistently make such awful decisions. I'm talking about the little stuff. They just stroll right into abandoned places, hardly ever clearing the rooms or even scanning them for vampires. Even Corey Stoll, Vampire Hunter's son, Zach is getting intensely annoying. But this is also a show where the high points maybe balance out the bad points, so it always ends up doing just enough of the right something to justify its continued existence. So, the result is an hour every Sunday where you keep hoping the good will start to actually outweigh the bad instead of just cancelling it out. But probably not.   

My review of this week's Ms. Marvel issue is up and available on Black Nerd Problems for your viewing enjoyment. As usual, feel free to read, like, comment and share as you see fit. You know the drill.

Not Another Magic Negro Story

So, everyone who isn't at San Diego Comic Con has two big highlights in comics for the week. One of them was good, one of them was bad....both of them were Mark Waid's doing. Unbreakable, the one digestible film M. Night Shyamalan ever made, featured Bruce Willis as an invulnerable shmuck and at the other end of the spectrum, Samuel L. Jackson as the entirely TOO vulnerable intellectual. That's the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Mark Waid's varying work this week: Archie #1 and Strange Fruit #1. Archie turns out to be genuine, endearing and heroic in a way you didn't expect like Bruce Willis' character while Strange Fruit is a brittle and ill-constructed constellation of good intentions like Samuel L. Jackson's character at the end of the movie screaming, "I am not a mistake!"

In other words, Strange Fruit is sort of terrible. Let's start with the fact that it's an "African-American myth" created by two white men. Don't get me wrong. I'm a fan of Mark Waid and up until this week, had not read a single bad book from him. In fact, the fact that his name was on this book is the sole reason I even considered picking this up was because his name was on it. But even with that in mind, haven't we been down this road before? Wait...what am I saying? We go down this road all the time. We go down this road so often, we don't need GPS. We don't even street signs as markers. We can just say, "Turn at the mailbox next to the Sit n Sleep billboard." I would like to feel like we've entered a different era of intellectual property where the need for two white creators coming up with magic negro stories to make sure we're all on the same page about racism being wrong would be long past. Then again, I would also like to think the need for Jurassic Park movies would be long past as well....and yet here we are. Jurassic World is in theaters and Strange Fruit exists.

The basic premise thus far is that there's a big flood coming and the black people aren't working fast enough for the white folks' liking because racism. On the other hand, the black folks would probably work a lot faster if the white folks would actually help out but we know that won't happen because racism. Oh, and some black guy may or may not have stolen from his white employer, but he'll probably get hung somewhere throughout the series whether he did it or not because racism. The names are unimportant and the character development is even less important than that (I'm assuming this is the case because there is virtually no character development) because it is clear right away that the only character you're supposed to be focused on is Racism. In the midst of all this, a naked black man falls from the sky. He's super strong and takes no shit off of these white folks on horses. He then puts on a Confederate flag because dem white folk ain't gonna take kindly ta him walking around wit his swingin johnson all about. I want to be able to say that that this is Waid refurbishing the old Jewish "golem" myth for the Deep South, but we're not given any tangible indication that this story intends to go that heavy. So, essentially, what we're left with is a 1920's remake of The Brother From Another Planet or, as I like to call it, Not Another Magic Negro Story. 

But it's unfair to say that this is all Waid's fault. Artist J.G. Jones is every bit as complicit in this constellation of condescension as his colleague is. I wouldn't be able to accuse Issue #1's of trying too hard to be Eisner bait were it not for the final image of Naked Alien Black Guy's junk bulging through the Confederate flag, presumably symbolizing the white supremacist's implied fear of black phallus or some shit. I dunno. I don't really have any black dick jokes so, that's the best theory I can pry out of my guesses at Jones' logic. Worse yet, there's the rendering of the people of color in the book.

Note how the principal character (light skinned in this case and a couple others) in the panel is rendered in an attempt at photorealism while all the other people of color in the background are drawn in an exaggerated blackface style that makes the mural in the opening credits of Good Times look like the Sistine Chapel.

Now, let me stop here and say that I don't think this necessarily qualifies as intentionally "racist" anymore than white people who want to touch a black woman's hair without asking. However, the intent doesn't always absolve the result or make the action any less offensive. That said, intentions are basically the only thing this book has going for it, but even that has it's limits. We're past the point where a book simply pointing out that racism is wrong and giving us a splash page with a black alien in the nude ain't gonna cut it.

It's not enough for comics to point out that racism happened a long time ago anymore. Even if the endgame of Strange Fruit (fully realizing that it's only the first of four issues) is to craft a old school superhero myth along the lines of Truth: Red, White and Black, race relations and society's understanding of race relations have to evolve past handing out pats on the head for rehashing the basics. I could very well be speaking too soon since there's three more issues to go. For all I know, this book could engage us in twists and turns that question the way we look at the history of systematic racism in America. But I seriously doubt it.

My reviews for this week's issues of Batman and Archie are up and available on Black Nerd Problems for your viewing pleasure. As always, feel free to like, share, comment at your leisure. You know the drill.

The Week In Geek 6/17/15

So...Game of Thrones. Since a lot of you are super spoiler sensitive, we'll be talking about the season finale after the jump.

The Week In Geek 1/28/15

So, the trailer for this summer's Fantastic Four reboot film debuted this week and...umm...wow. Now, I'll admit that I have basically maligned the production process of this movie on almost every level. I mean, the studio's elevator pitch sounded pretty bad and far removed enough from the source material that it was a turn off from the start. And the on-set pictures of Doom still look horrible. But then, I thought about a post I wrote a little more than a year ago about how fanboys need to learn to let go a little bit when it comes to movie adaptations. As I mentioned in said post, the thing that fanboys often forget is that over the years, there have been aspects of film adaptations (and television) that are folded into the source material and, at times, heralded as gospel within the lore. Despite my colleague, Jordan Calhoun's disdain for the character's status on Arrow, John Diggle has now been introduced in the current Green Arrow comic due to his notoriety on the show. Phil Coulson, after his becoming so popular, Marvel brought him back from the dead for the express purpose of squeezing a spinoff show out of him...is now a mainstay comic book character that actually doesn't suck in Jeph Loeb's hands (because that shit happens often). In other words, sometimes good things come of movie properties that are SO good, we actually want them to stick around in the comics.

After listening to Josh Trank's commentary about the trailer, getting some insight about his grasp of the source material, it actually sold me on giving this movie an honest shot. I get fandom's perpetual fear of Hollywood gentrifying comics forever, but honestly, I don't think that's the case here. Don't get me wrong. Trailers have deceived me before and for all I know, this movie could very well still be the shitshow I originally predicted. But I am saying the trailer has elevated thinking to a minimum of "Okay, Josh Trank, I'm listening."

Anyway, don't forget to check out my opinion piece on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. Also, my comic reviews for the week are available on Black Nerd Problems for your viewing pleasure. As always, feel free to like, dislike, share and dissect at your leisure. This week, I took a look at....

Thor: Okay, if it's not completely obvious who Lady Thor is at this point, you haven't been reading Jason Aaron's Thor work as closely as you should have been. I've been saying it since the first issue and the evidence is just piling up now. I'm not going to say it anymore. Just remember who was right all along.

Uncanny X-Men: You know, it's amazing how often these X-Men catch all kinds of trouble and turmoil because of time travel and STILL think this shit is a good idea. And they don't even train the new ones to know better. If I were an X-man, the front door would real, "Fair Warning: The Future WILL try to kill you.

Batman Eternal: I love seeing Bluebird in action at last. Even furthermore, I love that her trademark is just having a giant fucking rifle. I love seeing everything from Batman #28 finally coming to pass. I love when a writer promises you a moment in advance and the resulting story is that writer reverse engineering that moment, unraveling the cogs and gears that sum up such a moment.

Batman: I think we can all agree that Scott Snyder is making Endgame into one of the creepiest Joker stories I have ever read.

Anatomy of a Comic: So You Wanna Write A Shitty Crossover Event.... Part 2

Well, Original Sin wrapped up last week and I was sure bringing this event to a close would iron out the overt problems throughout the plot. If anything, it seemed to either a). create new problems or b). worsen the old ones. Mike Deodato is still The Thing This Book Has Going For It, but other than that, it was basically a hot mess.

He's got the last Pumpkin Spice scone! Rush him!

Once again, starting with the cover.....

I cannot stress this enough, but EVERY aspect of the cover should be indicative of what's happening in the comic especially when it's as "OhMyGodThisIsEpic" as Marvel would have you believe it is. Having said that, of the seven notable Marvel characters on this cover, only three of them are actually found in this book. No Captain Marvel, No Daredevil, No Iron Fist, No Mister Fantastic. You can't even say it's an huge exaggeration of something happening in the comic. It's just plain lying. One good example of a well done, symbolic cover (even though I got some shit from a few of you guys for using this example last time) is Identity Crisis.

Here you've got the Justice League which, at this time in the DC universe, was always characterized very much as a family. Everything about this picture conveys a very familial vibe. The broken picture is obviously representing the tragedies and breaches of trust that leave this family broken and divided.

Or if you want to make the comparison against another Marvel event, take Civil War.

Aside from the time honored trope of defeated heroes sprawled across a mount of rubble, it doesn't get much more literal than this. Captain America
and Iron Man, two generals on opposite ends of a major conflict, finally come head to head and beat the unholy hell out of one another. Simple. No hyperbole necessary.

But going back to the Original Sin cover, it says across the bottom "The Final Judgment." What the fuck does that mean? Anyone? Are the Watchers pointing down supposed to be the judges in this case? The Watchers aren't judges. They're Watchers....who just watch stuff. Their whole job description is the antithesis of judging. So, seriously....who's being judged and how? I shouldn't be asking MORE questions going into an event's finale.

And, holy shit, did this book ever leave the audience asking questions. For example....

"Take him apart. So I may drink his blood and consume his knowledge, one bite at a time."

Umm....what? This was the whole problem with Dr. Midas as a villain. Everything was so vague and unexplained. What occurred in this entire series that would lead him to believe that eating a corpse would make him all powerful?

Why have the Watcher's eyes suddenly turned murderous? Does this mean the Watcher's body parts can work independently of one another after he's dead? Is the Watcher a Castlevania villain? What the fucking fuck?

Now, it's a rarity that I would actively shit on the usually immaculate artwork of Mike Deodato, but he screwed the pooch a couple of times here. First of all, this is Black Panther, Dr. Strange and the rest of the heroes who teamed up (for some reason) busting in to fight...umm....someone.

Now, here's Black Panther and Dr. Strange at the end of the book in full outer space gear. Huh?

Also, if you look closely, here's Thor with his hammer firmly in hand. But wait a minute....in issue 7, Nick Fury whispered something to Thor that made him suddenly unworthy to hold the hammer. Now, he's totally holding the hammer.

And now later as the heroes are all leaving, Thor is left back where he was in the last issue trying to pick his hammer up. Shenanigans.

And when exactly did it get decided that Bucky was the new "Man on the Wall"? Did Fury choose him? When did he choose him exactly? The last thing he ever said to Bucky was "Get everyone back." You can't even dismiss that as saying it was unspoken tough guy talk and "he just knew."

Or this. So, Dr. Midas' severed hand turned the snake to gold when he bit it, but not the Exterminatrix (man, villains are really exhausting the shit out of the Big Book of Bad Guy Names) when she stole it? What?

Granted, I'm not saying there shouldn't be room to leave elements as "implied" in a story. But in an event like this where much of your story is extremely contained and doesn't need tie-ins to explain every fringe element (which is something that Marvel has been really good about in recent years)....it's okay to hold your reader's hand just a little bit. And inevitably, the fallacies here will laid at another writer's doorstep to explain how exactly Bucky became The Man on the Wall or who this new Watcher (I'm guessing that's who the glowing old man at the end is supposed to be) is. DC was really bad about this shit last year with Trinity War turning into a promo that basically forced you to buy Justice League and Forever Evil (which, to be fair, was pretty good) just to understand what happened in a 6 or 7 issue miniseries. 

Making someone interested enough in your characters to buy more comics is what a good comic should do. Insisting upon your reader buying comics to properly understand the vague collision of words and images that took place in another comic borderlines on extortion.

The Week In Geek 9/3/14

So, this week the announcement finally went out officially that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will be playing Black Adam in an upcoming Shazam movie. He's been screwing with fanboys on Twitter for months, posting pictures of possible characters he could have been playing, but it's nice to have officially have confimation. Arguably, this is the first no-brainer DC has actually gotten right in the casting department. Truthfully, they needed a win after a few lackluster choices that weren't necessarily bad but don't really leave anyone camping out in front of the theater.

Granted, I was almost sure he was going to end up being Shazam (because playing a 10 year old in a superhero's body is the kind of shit Johnson can do in his sleep) but I could see his Black Adam being fucking menacing. There's an argument that it's a miscast because Dwayne Johnson's thing is that he plays heroes and would be a great addition to DC's cinematic hero roster. Normally, the fact that this is an opinion that came from IGN would be more than enough to make it inadmissible evidence because most opinions that come out of IGN either come from a). bad information or b). a lack of information. The argument of "I don't want to see The Rock as a bad guy because he's not a bad guy" is, at best a sort of hilarious stance to take. Anyone who holds this logic will have to come to the realization eventually that Dwayne Johnson is, in fact, NOT an actual superhero that DC is actually adding to some list of actual superheroes. He's an actor. He's a wrestler. Even then, the Rock was actually a heel back in the day just before the pinnacle of his wrestling career. He was also a bad guy (a shitty one, but still...) in The Mummy Returns and, before eventually becoming a hero (because Universal would have been stupid to give him up), he was the guy the Fast and Furious team was on the run from. These are nitpicks, but still....to say that an actor should always be a hero just because he's done it well before sort of misses the point of acting, especially when said actor is one of the rare cases in which a wrestler has enough range and charisma to keep getting decent work. Besides, Black Adam's path in the comics has gone for unapologetically evil to kinda-sorta-antihero. And we all know how well that's worked out with Loki over in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's entirely possible that we could get that kind of popularity for this character over at DC.

Anyway, I'll talk a little about the scourge of fuckery in the nerd community known as #GamerGate tomorrow mainly because I'm in a good mood today and would like to remain so. Until then, my comic reviews for the week are up on Black Nerd Problems and available for your viewing pleasure. As always, feel free to comment, like, share at your discretion. This week, I took a look at:

Iron Fist, The Living Weapon: As much as I enjoy this book, I think they've done the whole "break the hero down as much as possible" thing enough. I think everyone reading this book should be just about ready to see the hero win a little bit. I mean, I doubt the the payoff is going to (or can afford to) suck when the titular hero has a Netflix series in production.

Uncanny X-Men: Okay, I wasn't too happy about Chris Bachalo's return to this comic. I mean, I like his style, but honestly, I felt like it served its purpose in previous issues. In fairness, it wasn't that much of a bother because there wasn't a lot of action this time around (because sometimes his action beats are difficult to follow), but Kris Anka just raised the bar so high, it's hard to forget. Aside from that, Bendis' dyfunctional family narrative is still working out well.

Batman Eternal: Let me just say....a villain called the Architect whose outfit theme is clockwork is a little silly. DC really runs the gamut of costumed villains as if there's a compendium of names versus a list of themes and they just close their eyes and pick one from each list. Other than that, this was a pretty good issue.

The Week In Geek 8/27/14

So, one of this week's Geeky Things That People Were Talking About was the announcement that, Donald Glover, to the apparently overwhelming joy of Twitter, will be voicing Miles Morales in an episode of Ultimate Spider-Man. On one hand, it's cool that the social media campaign that inspired Miles in the first place gets a (kinda) win in seeing their idol on screen in some form. I'm just not entirely sure this is that much of a "win." Mainly because Ultimate Spider-Man is a uniquely awful half hour of television. The thing that makes it so notably bad is that a). Spectacular Spider-Man, a perfectly decent show got bumped for this and b). it's a titled after a Brian Michael Bendis work but follows it in the same way the latest batch of X-Men movies follow the comics (meaning there are characters with similar names and attributes, but aside from that....nope). I could go into everything this show does wrong but I digress. Donald Glover.

I'll say this for Marvel: They draw we better
edge-ups than DC (sorry, Mister Terrific).

Let me just say right away that I like Donald Glover. As this is being written, I'm actually listening to his Because the Internet album. I respect that he (as I've found out in the past couple of months) has a fanbase that is, to say the least, rabid. So, I don't have any personal distaste for the guy (I'm really trying hard to save myself any fan backlash here because I've seen them in action).

With that said, he's no Spider-Man, cartoon or otherwise. Black, white, whatever...there's a certain atmosphere of iconic, dormant heroism to everyone to play/voice Marvel's poster child. Tobey Maguire had a wide-eyed, nebbish Luke Skywalker quality to him. Andrew Garfield is a dorky smartass more like the Ultimate Peter from the comics. Even Christopher Daniel Barnes from the animated series that dominated most of the 90s had an unassuming everyman quality. Donald Glover is....well, Troy Barnes. Putting Troy Barnes in a Spider-Man costume is nothing less than fan service. And that's okay. With superhero comics, if they run long enough, it's inevitable that they're all subjected to a degree of fan service. It's just that sometimes, that works out for the better (Dick Grayson as Batman, Bucky Barnes as Captain America, Wolverine being on virtually every major Marvel team possible) and sometimes you get Childish Gambino being snarky in a Disney cartoon for 30 minutes.

Then again, I really could have stopped this little analysis at "Ultimate Spider-Man is a uniquely awful cartoon" anyway.

Anywho, my comic reviews for the week are available on Black Nerd Problems for your perusal. As always, feel free to comment, like, share and troll as you see fit. This week, I took a look at.....

All New X-Men: I have to say that I like the groove Bendis has found for his take on the X-franchise. The Original X-Men are at their best when they're getting into trouble while the staff isn't around. I like the direction of the whole "different factions fighting for different aspects of the dream" thing, but the Originals, not having all of that baggage, serve as a nice break from all that without completely departing from it either.

Batman Eternal: Finally, some major plotline payoff!!! This is definitely one of the top 3 best issues of the book. James Tynion IV did a pretty good job of balancing all the plotlines he had to work with. Granted, he conveniently didn't have as many to juggle as pretty much every other writer has, but still. Masterful job getting to Gotham's big upheaval. I'm VERY excited about what's next.

The Week in Geek 8/6/14

So, this week, Black Nerd Problems published an exchange between me and my editor, Will Evans about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and whether it's a Pass or a Play. Granted, I argued for seeing the movie mainly because thus far, I haven't personally seen any aspect of it that makes the whole thing a "non starter" like it has with some. In truth, I think the thing that has hindered the movie before we even got a trailer is the perpetual press junket. I harped on this a little bit in my Comic Con commentary last week but as a whole, (running the risk of sounding like an old man) I think cinema in general has been somewhat hindered in the era of social media.

Don't get me wrong. As a member of "New Media", I recognized how much progress has been made as far as independent property being circulated and having so many options for alternatives to hoping for the old mainstream venues to notice you. However, for the mainstream big budget films, I remember seeing nothing more than a thirty second trailer and maybe an endorsement from some fast food joint and being able to go into a movie cold with an open mind about what I was about to see. BvS is a prime example of how there is a headline now to tell you every single level of the production process to the point where there's no mystery anymore. Marvel is a pretty good example of an outfit that knows how to use the media engine to its advantage, control what gets out and treat their fanbase to some quality tidbits for its loyalty, but even with that in mind, I still basically walked into Guardians of the Galaxy KNOWING it's going to be awesome as opposed to the degree of wonder that should come from a Marvel movie that doesn't feature conventional superheroes (though, yes, I get that it's in a superhero filled universe). In any case, I'm not exactly #TeamZackSnyder, but I think I've seen enough that movie deserves a we'll see.

Also, I'll have a few thoughts about Guardians of the Galaxy up some time tomorrow.

My comic reviews for the week are up and available on Black Nerd Problems for your viewing pleasure. This week, I took a look at.....

Why the FUCK would you point your flashlight at Killer Croc
and NOT YOUR GUN?!

Batman Eternal: I think every comic has a make/break issue that can harm the quality at any given time. With Warren Ellis books, it's the overall patience of the reader. With Jonathan Hickman books, it's his tendency to meander in the world he builds for the reader. With Greg Land books, it's Greg Land. With Batman Eternal, at any given time, the artwork can easily sink this boat for that week. The gift AND the curse of having Dustin Nguyen on the title was that it raised the bar. Anyone who's seen his previous work on Batman books knows that his style feels so natural for this universe. Then, for Andy Clarke to have to follow up behind Nguyen's gorgeous work was rough. It was a decent job, but after a plot where some of the panels were simply terrifying, chasing monsters in the sewers should have felt much scarier and atmospheric than this did. Hopefully, this improves next week.

Iron Fist, The Living Weapon: I'm really having a hard time deciding whether we're going to look back in a couple of months and find this to be a sleeper hit by the time Kaare Andrews is done....or if Marvel is going to cancel it prematurely and leave us wondering what happened to this run in a few years when someone else comes along and gives it the Shang Chi treatment (I'm sorry, but that book is awful).

Stuff I Read This Week 6/11/14

My comic reviews for this week on Black Nerd Problems are now up and available for public consumption.

Batman Eternal: Okay, I think I'm developing a crush on this book. I mentioned this in the review, but it's sort of addictive in the same way a weekly television show is. One problem is that there are issues where it feels like it crams an hour worth a material into a half hour format. This can be disorienting depending on who's handling script duties that week, but it's sort of a minor problem so far. I can see that the REAL issue with this book from week to week is going to be artwork. Different artists trying to maintain the same aesthetic has has mixed results at best. The visuals have been mainly fantastic lately, but this week's character designs were unforgivable. This is still a solid book, but being a weekly title sort of subjects it to having more issues than a conventional monthly or biweekly book.


All New X-Men: This has been a strong book from the start but this particular run is stellar. It's a really great balance of action and exposition. As much as I love Brian Bendis, he has a habit of leaning heavy one way or the other. He did a great job of keeping things exciting while giving some real gravitas to Charles Xavier Jr (they've REALLY got to come up with some kind of codename for that guy).

Uncanny X-Men Special: Look, I'm not bashing this book, per se. You'll know when I'm bashing a book. It's very apparent. So, no, I don't hate this book. It's really funny and it's a good example of maintaining elements of another writer's aesthetic. But the first issue of any good comic should be the one that justifies the book's existence. It should say right away, "This is why I've gathered you all here today." This book didn't. I hope it at least tries to not seem like a cash grab and an excuse to put Iron Man in stuff (since his own book was a very well put-together "meh" the last time I read it).

Stuff I Read This Week 5/28/14

My comic review picks for Black Nerd Problems this week are up and available for your enjoyment (or dismay). Here's a few notes on the books I took a look at.

Ms. Marvel #4: It's really hard not to love this book. Marvel seems to be doing really well with their more "quiet-as-kept" titles like this and Daredevil and this seem to be taking it quite seriously. The only thing I'm really wondering about is whether or not Kamala Khan will (or should) be immersed fully into the Marvel superhero community. Sure, it's canon, but there are a handful of titles that have historically worked better secluded from large crossovers and team ups (Matt Fraction's Hawkeye, various Punisher titles, Daredevil). I'm curious as to what's going to happen if G. Willow Wilson decides to veer off into team-up territory.

Batman #30: Without repeating myself too much, it's really hard not to love Scott Snyder's take on Batman. I mean, this is easily one of the best books in comics. Snyder has such an engaging take on Batman, but another really commendable act is in the fact that he really gives plentiful amounts of glory to Jim Gordon. He's always eyeing his options, rarely gives up and takes as many death defying risks as Batman himself. If there were a cop as tough, determined and incorruptible as him in real life, he would hailed by the media as a borderline rockstar.

Batman Eternal #8: I really have spent the past eight issues or so eating my words about how most weekly books just don't work out as well as they could for DC. Batman Eternal, even in spite of some strange hiccups in artwork here and there, is a exercise in damn good superheroing. This particular issue stands out for me as the best looking of the series so far. I'm almost inclined to say that my review didn't stress nearly enough that Guillem March's pencils here are SICK. His "night in the life of" depiction of Batman in the first few pages was absolutely EPIC. I am, however, wondering how long Snyder long game is going to take in getting us to the fast forward we saw in the teaser issue of Batman a few months back.

Stuff I Read This Week 5/21/14

This week's comic reviews on Black Nerd Problems are up and available for public consumption and enjoyment. This week, I took a look at.....

Batman Eternal #7: The 52 series from some years back really put a bad taste in my mouth about DC doing weekly titles, but this addition to the Bat series has been an impressive showing so far. I will say all of this is going to read much smoother once they get the first story arc into a graphic novel collection. One complaint I had that I left out of my review is that the depiction of Catwoman was a bit exploitative (more than usual) to say the least. The gender politics of mainstream comics as whole have been questionable for a while now but DC strives to raise the bar.

Uncanny X-Men #21: Bendis' take on Marvel characters has always been divisive among fans for some reason I may never figure out, but I have been unquestionably on board for his fresh perspective on the X-franchise. In particular, this is the first time I've actually found Mystique to be an interesting villain probably since that Wolverine story where they knew each other back during the Prohibition era.

Justice League #30: DC is really hitting home runs with their depictions of notable female characters this week. And by "hitting home runs," what I really mean is shitty. Granted, Wonder Woman hasn't exactly been known for her subtlety in recent years, but for fuck's sake, this mostly awesome issue of Justice League paints her to be an unlikable bully. Other than that, I really enjoyed The Self Proclaimed Redemption of Lex Luthor. Granted, we all know this isn't going to last, but Geoff Johns is really good at making villains fun to read. So there's that.

Stuff I Read This Week 5/7/14

Iron Fist The Living Weapon #2: I'll be honest with you. I don't know if Marvel is going to really invest in keeping an Iron Fist title alive. Historically, despite decent sales, they haven't kept the series around for very long. I CAN tell you that if they do plan to really keep this series happening, Iron Fist: The Living Weapon stands a pretty good chance.

Issue #2 picks up almost directly after the first one in the immediate aftermath of the (I shit you not) robo-ninja attack on Danny Rand's apartment. As I mentioned in the last review for this title, readers who are used to a slightly more jovial Iron Fist might feel a little disoriented by this battle-worn, disengaged take on the character. A lot of the issue is centered around giving us a look at the magical city of K'un Lun where Danny Rand had to kill a dragon barehanded to acquire his kung-fu powers and become the Iron Fist (Did you hear me? I want to take a second and harp on that fact that HE HAD TO KILL A DRAGON to become a superhero!!!!). Sadly, Kung Fu Heaven's festivities are about to be interrupted by uninvited guests. We also get to see an equal amount of spotlight lent to the moments in Danny's childhood that inevitably lead to him becoming the Iron Fist. Kaare Andrews is clearly influenced by old martial arts films and brings several of those elements to the script with shrieking women, strong familial bonds and grand speeches driving the narrative. Visually, the book has yet to lose a step. There are certain panels that look like they could be stories from an old scroll. Andrews makes Danny's abilities really seem like something you'd have to kill an ancient dragon to obtain.

Bottom Line: Another strong offering from Kaare Andrews that'll keep new readers sated for next month. 8.5 out of 10

Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man #1-With all the Amazing Spider-Man 2 in theaters, Peter Parker returned to former glory in his own relaunched title, a Spider-Man 2099 title on the horizon....it's only appropriate that Miles Morales get a fresh coat of paint. Also, Marvel's Ultimate Universe is a lot like a 90's boy band. There's mostly B and C students talentwise and then there's one breakout star that makes it all profitable. So far, New Ultimates is the Joey Fatone (the "who the fuck is that" guy), Ultimate FF is JC Chasez (the "close but not really" one) and Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man is Justin Timberlake, the profitable one.

Despite the new title, there's not much particularly new about this book, really. However, that's not actually a bad thing. This has been the standout property of the Ultimate line for as long as its been around, so if there's nothing broken, there's no need to fix it. And Brian Michael Bendis sticks closely to this old adage. Things pretty much pick up where Ultimate Spider-Man #200 left off. Miles is still coping in the aftermath of Galactus' attack on Earth as well as his father's disappearance. Bendis handles this with his usual perfect blend of humor and real pathos. While most of the dialogue is as good as you would expect from a Bendis book, the interactions with his best friend, Ganke, are easily the strongest in this issue with a Mary Jane Watson run-in at a close second. The book really goes out of its way to hammer home that just because Ultimate Peter Parker is dead, that doesn't mean the problems and villains he left behind are all taken care of. Miles really struggles with the "What Would Peter Do?" predicament and it makes for a layered plot that doesn't chase away Parker fans, but still attracts new readers. And it's always nice that Marvel can manage to write a person of color without constantly hitting you over the head with the fact that he's a person of color (I'm looking at You, EveryoneAtDCWhoEverWroteCyborg).

Keeping David Marquez drawing this book is probably the best decision Marvel's made this year. This issue is probably some of the tightest work I've seen from him on this franchise. There's a clear sense of what's happening in every panel and you're never confused during action beats. And the way he conveys emotion is second to none.

Bottom Line: This is still the best Ultimate book without question. 9 out of 10

Well, The Amazing Spider Man 2....Umm...Happened.

The fanboys are going to have to start learning to live with one inescapable fact: Spider-Man belongs to Sony and the suits would rather lob off their own pinkies in a fit of cocaine induced rage before ever giving him back to Marvel. It will not happen. So, the dreams of a Spider-Man/Avengers cinematic team are just that: a pipe dream that will come to fruition around the same time the Dallas Cowboys win another Super Bowl (that's code for "Never").

I say all that to say that Marc Webb's follow up to 2012's "The Amazing Spider-Man" is probably the most that comic culture can ask for out of Sony's crack team of writers and producers which, judging by the amount of characters and conflicts crammed into 2.5 hours, must be legion. Civilian (non-nerd) moviegoers will almost certainly adore this visually arresting romp. Comic loyalists will be ridiculously divided. I remember sitting in the theater, seeing an unforgivably goofy moment in which Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) saves three different people out of a frenzied stampede of hundreds from certain electrocution using his only functioning web-shooter and I could practically hear the true geeks groaning in unison. However, if they get past their perennial inability to share with mainstream audiences, this actually ends up being a somewhat decent addition to the webslinger's adventures.

The movie opens up with us seeing Peter Parker fully embracing his whimsical personal as Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, loved by the city (most of it, anyway) and loathed by crooks. Meanwhile, in his civilian life, he remains tormented by Captain George Stacy (Denis Leary) who, with his dying breath in the first film, made Pete promise to keep his daughter, Gwen (Emma Stone) out of his death defying adventures. This probably fucks with him so mainly because of their resolve to ignore the Captain's orders. This is easily the most compelling narrative of the film since it involves two of the best performances. Stone's Gwen is brainy and confident which makes her an adequate leading lady for Garfield, the eight cylinder engine powering this movie, who really gets to show off as the fully realized Wallcrawler we didn't get nearly enough of in the previous film, a witty Spidey that wisecracks through pummeling bad guys to hide his inner turmoil, stumbling through the consequences being Spider-Man has on his personal life.

Shoehorned into the narrative was Peter's continuing search for answers concerning the disappearance of his parents (Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz) when he was a little boy. This felt like a rush job that led to a). a heartwarming scene between Peter and his struggling Aunt May (Sally Field) and b). a "sins of their fathers" plotline to link him to his long lost childhood friend Harry Osborn (a creepy, slightly emo Dane DeHaan), whose ailing father, Norman (Chris Cooper), owns Oscorp, the mega-conglomerate that Peter's father worked at. The movie makes no bones about painting Oscorp as NOTHING but the sum total of every "evil empire" ever imagined from which nothing good is derived.

They don't even have appropriate health insurance, evident by Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), a dorky Spidey-obsessed employee who has an unfortunate spill into a vat of electric eels (I shit you not) and becomes the villainous Electro. Foxx did what he could with what the writers gave him, but he has so much natural charisma, he wears the nerd facade about as well as the Roach from Men in Black wore human skin.

Oh, and there's Paul Giamatti as the Rhino, who feels about as "Aww shucks" and comically throw-away as Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow from the Dark Knight films. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we see him in later films getting beaten up for about ten minutes before Garfield goes on to face whoever his main threat ends up being.

Spidey has his work cut out for him as did Webb, who tried his absolute damnedest to tie all these conflicts together in a neat bow. He doesn't necessarily fail, but the script's Frankenstein-like stitches are definitely apparent. Although, in fairness, it's clearer in this movie than it was in the previous one that the faults aren't necessarily his fault. It's obvious that this car was already fresh off the assembly line and that he was just the driver. Although this movie is at its strongest when it's highlighting the internal conflicts of its major players, the battles still pack plenty of punch with enough "holyshitareyoufuckingkiddingme" moments that really show off why our hero is utterly BELOVED by the citizens of New York (to the dismay of some comic loyalists).

Bottom Line: Is it perfect? NO. Is it better than the first one? Possibly. Will EVERYONE be happy? Hell No. Will it entertain the majority? Most likely. In that regard, it was pretty okay. A mixed bag...but there's nothing wrong with that. 7.5 out of 10

Stuff I Read This Week 4/23/14

Original Sin #0: Unless you're a Marvel reader who has been living under a rock (not the one Cliven Bundy's been under, I hope), you know that the Original Sin even is imminent. Not much is known about what kind of event we're in for, but if you've been paying attention to the advertisments...."SOMEONE" is going to die. I don't know that this is something that anyone asked for, per se, but Marvel won some points as far as events go after Infinity (which ALMOST made up for the Shyamalan-esque travesty that was Age of Ultron), so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Issue 0 is mainly a primer going into the main even that lets new readers get to know Uatu, the Watcher. Most of Mark Waid's story is told from the perspective of Sam Alexander (Nova) while Uatu himself is silent just as he is in Nova's solo series (you're really missing out if you aren't reading that, by the way). The book sees Sam searching for more insight about his new alien friend's purpose in the cosmic community. He actually ends up being the perfect character to lead the reader along this journey because of his gung-ho innocence. Having a main character who looks upon this sprawling universe with a wide eyed wonder gives it a much needed feeling of accessibility. Jim Cheung and Paco Medina co-penciled this issue which is usually sort of a hazard when artists differ in art style, but the dazzling ink work makes it less noticeable, making for a gorgeous book in addition to being well written. Though the story itself isn't necessarily groundbreaking here, the look of the issue definitely makes it worth the price of admission.

Bottom Line: Despite not having the most ambitious of plotlines, Mark Waid manages to bang out an engaging read that leaves us ready for the meat of Original Sin. 8 out of 10

Uncanny Avengers #19: It seems this book has started to pick up speed again. Who w It seems this book has started to pick up speed again. Who would have thought th ould have thought this book would make it's return to glory by doing something so revolutionary as actually making sense again? Rick Remender started this title so strong with the Avengers Unity Division taking on the Red Skull and then meandered off through time and space nonsensically until nobody knew or cared what was happening. Then, the series did something nobody expected that changed the game: it ended with the Unity Squad failing to save the Earth from ultimate destruction. 

This issue continues Alex Summers' fight to avenge the Earth while evading the ruling class mutants on Planet X. Kang and his recruits from all across time have joined the fray and it's probably one of the strongest points in the book. Usually, when comics deal with time travel, they seem to get bogged down in showing off alternative versions of known characters (which is ultimately to gauge what action figures the Big Two can hock). Rick Remender takes known alternate characters (Earth X May Parker, Doom 2099, Arno Stark, etc.) and makes them feel fresh and underrated instead of overused. Nobody ASKED for a Doom 2099/Blob fight, but we got one and it was pretty awesome. As far as villains go, Eimin seemed more engaging when she was a layered character who was being used by Kang. This story arc sees her become more of a typical, one dimensional villain. Meanwhile, Rememder is getting really good at writing Kang. His resolve to save the world so that HE can conquer it one day is a joy to read and his dickishness knows no chill. Daniel Acuna's artwork is spot on for this arc, really fleshing out this new world that's part Earth X/part Fifth Element.

Bottom Line: It is great to see this book finally getting its shit together again. 8 out of 10

Stuff I Read This Week 4/2/14

Aquaman and The Others #1: Well, Geoff Johns kicked off the New 52 by doing what once seemed impossible on two fronts: keeping Green Lantern awesome, making Justice League silly and unreadable while making Aquaman, of all characters, fun and engaging AT THE SAME DAMN TIME. Right out the gate, Johns made a hero who'd been a well documented running joke in pop culture matter again. More than that, Aquaman has kept a title consistently now for two years which is better treatment than he's gotten in some time. Well, it seems that this has given rise to a comic equivalent to the Curse of the Bambino. Johns left Green Lantern and in his place is Robert Venditti who is....well, trying his damnedest.

And now, This Week In Things We Didn't Ask For, DC has seen fit to bless us with another Aquaman title with questionable results. It's appropriate that this book is titled "Aquaman and The Others" because that's precisely how treated Arthur Curry's supporting cast. His comrades, despite some a couple of enjoyable action here and there, feel terribly vanilla, uninteresting and their introductions do almost nothing to deviate from conventional "assemble the team" opening cliches. By the way, Prisoner of War might be the WORST codename of all time. I understand that this title picks up where Geoff Johns' second arc left off, so some degree of a refresher course is, of course, necessary, but the fact that we KNOW these "Others" know Aquaman as well as the events of past stories make his explanation feel awkward and shoehorned. It's sort of farfetched that there's a part of America that's so "middle of nowhere" that someone wouldn't know Atlanteans tried to flood the country. Meanwhile, the book comes across with a nasty case of multiple personality disorder. It meanders, not knowing whether it wants to be a superhero team-up or some globetrotting Johnny Quest-esque action/adventure. There's potential here, but first there must be an identity. 

Lan Medina pencils certainly work in the book's favor, however. The action is engaging and fun thanks to his unique sense of perspective and moments of urgency. During the fights, you can easily tell when some attacks are loosed more fiercely than others and at no point are you confused about where characters are in the fight.

Bottom Line: It'll be an interesting book to read once it figures out what type of book it's going to be. Kinda like Kanye West. Until then...meh. 6.5 out of 10

Ultimate Spider-Man #200: The Ultimate Universe has carried on for just about 15 years now. There have been some particularly high points, many of which have greatly influenced the Marvel Cineverse. There have also been a substantial number of low points (I'm mainly looking at you, Ultimates 3) from a black, drug lord version of the Hulk to Ultimate Mister Sinister basically being a pokemon that levels up to Ultimate Apocalypse. The line has manage to go through several overhaul, limping on while one book in particular has consistently stood out and maintained a pretty high standard sometimes outdoing it's 616 continuity counterpart: Ultimate Spider Man.

Three years later, Bendis writes a fitting goodbye to Peter Parker, who sacrificed himself valiantly defending his family against a last ditch effort from Norman Osborn. This issue sees Aunt May inviting Peter's closest friends over to celebrate their fallen friend. This brings about a hefty cast of characters in a single book which would usually end up being problematic, but Bendis handles it as well as could possibly be expected. This, after all, is where he should excel if nowhere else. The man raised this book like a baby so it makes sense that he would have such a masterful handle on these characters. Bobby Drake, Johnny Storm and Kitty Pryde, for example have all been principal characters in other Ultimate books, but it's alongside Spider-Man as his amazing friends (see what I did there?) where they've truly shined with some of their best moments in this universe. There have been superhero books where he would have a lot to exposition, conversation and character development without much action which, admittedly, is not always what someone reading a superhero book expects when they pick up an issue of the Avengers or something of that nature. However, this book pulled off being a meaningful page turner full of superheroes without a single fight....and with a hilarious Tony Stark moment. With such a Who's Who of artists as Mark Bagley, Sara Pichelli, David Lafluente, Mark Brooks and Andrew Hennessey working on this book, it almost goes without saying that the visuals were stunning.

Bottom Line: A gorgeous, heartwarming remembrance of Ultimate Marvel's flagship character. 9 out of 10