The Week In Geek 1/17/15

So, this week, Marvel released the first of its Star Wars comic material and thus far, the reviews have been mainly positive. I'll be talking about the book itself a little further down (with the reviews), but this is a really exciting time to be a Star Wars fan. I can't speak for anyone else, but I wasn't a huge fan of the Dark Horse books at all. I basically regard them the same way I regard David Goyer's idea to develop a Superman show without Superman in it. The timelines usually kicked off either so long before or so long after the movies I grew up with, I didn't quite understand what I was supposed to be relating to. Disney bringing all these elements under one umbrella is a breath of fresh air. As we've seen with their handling of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney likes their properties and characters being as accessible as humanly possible.

"You know Spider-Man? Sure, come on over. Don't like the movies? Don't worry about it. Here's an entry level cartoon for you. Don't like cartoons? Thinking about jumping into comics? I've got just the thing.

"Oh, you know who Luke Skywalker is? Come on in! You don't play The Old Republic? No problem. Here's this comic book you might dig."

As we get closer to Episode 7, it's going to be interesting to see what other properties Marvel can crank out.

My reviews for the week are up and available on Black Nerd Problems for your viewing pleasure. Feel free to like, comment and share at your leisure. This week, I took a look at....

Batman Eternal: This issue really meant well. It really did. The Bat-family going to break up a Mad Hatter caper should be some exciting shit. But it just didn't come off that way and the art was a huge reason why. As expressive as the faces were, it's strange that Joe Quinones wasn't bigger on detail everywhere else. It came across as a comic book you'd get with a 90s Batman toy. Honestly, this book can't really afford to have an issue that's this lacking visually so close to the end we've been waiting for.

Star Wars: See the problem with the handful of Star Wars I read during Dark Horse's reign was that the level of quality didn't justify the amount of material Dark Horse used to put out. You might find a decent issue once in a while, but you had to wade through a lot of crap. It's a lot like Azelia Banks. Sure, she drops jewels on Twitter once in a while about race relations but you have to sit through the stupid shit she says about everything else. And even when you do find the good books, often times, they were so far removed from the Star Wars universe I was used to (the characters and events in the movies), it only felt like it was just marginally a Star Wars book. Marvel's first new effort was the first time in 30 years I'd read a Star Wars comic that properly recreate the feeling I got at the movies. When the action starts, I was cheering out loud. Jason Aaron has a really good handle on what makes Star Wars so iconic. And it starts at a point where you don't have to feel left out. "If you watched the first movie, you're in. We'll take it from here."

My Favorite Things 2014: Movies and TV

Television

True Detective: If someone had told me a year ago that "American Horror Story For Murder Mysteries" would be one of the most awesome things to happen to television in 2014, I would have laughed heartily at them. And I would have been dead wrong. Nic Pizzolato took everything that's enjoyable about the experience of a hard boiled mystery novel and packaged it into a well-produced, streamlined series. I mean, these were some of the most beautifully shot parts of Louisiana I've ever seen. And it took full advantage of Matthew McConaughey's new season in the limelight. Rustin Cohle is one of the most compelling (at times, confounding) characters I've seen on a show like this in years. The only sin committed was that we didn't get to spend more time with these backwater super sleuths.

The Flash: I have to say this one took just about everyone by surprise. CW finally has the expanded superhero franchise its wanted so badly. The best thing about the Scarlet Speedster's series is that it never attempts to capitalize off of Arrow's success with creating a dark, gritty, Nolan-esque universe for it's lead to play in. In fact, it does the opposite. It's genuinely hopeful and intentionally trite, making Grant Gustin's Scarlet Speedster a Superman surrogate of sorts. And Jesse L. Martin playing Joe West does this show so many favors on so many levels.

Movies-

Captain America: The Winter Soldier- TWS is easily the best representation of where Marvel is in terms of production quality and representation of source material on the screen. This is what it looks like when you manage to tell a decent story and still deliver fast paced action without really compromising either element. Who would have thought the same guy who killed it as Johnny Storm (the only real standout aspect of the Fantastic Four movies) would go on to become and, basically, OWN the role of Captain America?

The Week In Geek 12/24/14

So, this week saw me with a pull list WAY over my usual budget which is good because it takes a lot of comics to wash the taste of AXIS out of my mouth. I feels like my editor and I (we took turns reviewing it for Black Nerd Problems) are finally free from an evil curse placed upon us by the Comic Gods. I was going to do an "Anatomy of a Comic" piece, dissecting why it was so horrible, but honestly, I'd like to relive as little of that as possible.

This is probably why I think the Comic Gods for the existence of Black Science. This is easily one of my favorite comic books of the past ten years. I mean, if you're into comics and not reading this book, you're doing yourself a disservice. It's so good, it's sort of hard to mentally resolve the fact that Rick Remender writes this AND Axis. He takes the Lost in Space concept and completely turns it on its ear so effectively that the book's Evil Dr. Smith ends up becoming the hero. And Matteo Scalera's artwork is essentially above reproach. For him to create so many new, unique seeming worlds for the characters to jump to without much repetition is a fairly outstanding accomplishment. For me, someone who reviews books weekly and tries to be as meticulous as a comic reader can about his budget, the highest compliment I can give is that I have NEVER finished a single issue of Black Science, wondering if I was going to be back for the next one. There have been times when I was ready to drop Batman Eternal and I love that book. Furthermore, it's one of those books that makes the case for non-superhero comics. Image is really prevailing as a top shelf refuge for people that want a break from the Big Two. It comes with as high a recommendation as I can think to give outside of just walking around and handing the goddamned book to people.

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

Avengers/X-Men: Axis- (see first paragraph)

Batman Eternal: Although I really enjoyed this issue, it's a shame the action slowed down because this book is proving to be at its most effective when Batman is punching people in the face while teaching Alfred's daughter how to run operations for him. The whole "Batman on a Budget" concept is pretty awesome, though.

Uncanny X-Men: As much as I enjoy reading Cyclops having it out in a duel of ideologies with pretty much every branch of the X-family there is (because that's a lot of what this book has been thus far), it would be really nice if this book picked up speed again only because I want to know more about Charles Xavier being married to Mystique. Because at this point, she could write a tell all book about the men of the mutant community a la Karrine Steffans.

The Week In Geek 12/17/14

My comic reviews for the week are up and available on Black Nerd Problems for your viewing enjoyment. As always, feel free to click, like, dislike, agree, disagree and share at your leisure (and your supreme leader's bidding). This week, I took a look at.....

Batman: I love what Scott Snyder's doing with what I call "The Last Joker Story," but I have to say I feel bad for whoever has to come after him. It was a couple of years after "Death in the Family" before Snyder himself could use Joker again just to give him the proper gravitas. If Endgame is headed towards an appropriately horrifying conclusion like I think it is, it's going to be tough to follow up.

Batman Eternal: So, the issue slowed the main plotline down a little bit, but the creative team definitely has a better handle on juggling multiple storylines. However, Jason Bard's character feels a little too whiny now that he doesn't have any real power and basically bungled his takedown of Batman. It was a good move to create some degree of sympathy for the character, but this version of Bard that seems to kick himself when he's down and is desperate for friends now that he's fucked up is a little depressing.

All New X-Men: For a story that has been moving so slowly, this book is SUPER entertaining. Young Beast taken captive by Doctor Doom, spilling his feelings for Jean Grey is worth its weight in gold. And Young Iceman versus the Mole Man's monsters was outstanding. Young Bobby Drake is proving to be this book's Spider Man (because every Bendis book needs a voice like Spider-Man's).

Making the Case for Spider Verse....

It has come to my attention that some of you Spider-Man fans out there are not reading Spider Verse. I am encouraging those people to break themselves of this habit immediately. Now, I know SM fans (myself being one of them) tend to be divisive in their ideas of what makes a quality Spider-Man story, but I encourage you to give this one a shot no matter what side of the fence you're on.

1). Nostalgic Value: Every other beat calls back to the fun ridiculousness of the 90s animated series. As a matter of fact, the plot itself calls back to the final episodes of the series where Spider-Man had been chosen to lead an army of Spider-Men against (I shit you not) Spider-Carnage. Oh, it was delightfully silly. Basically, Peter was the only Spider-Man with enough compassion and caring for his fellow man to realize that all Spider-Carnage needed was to see Uncle Ben again and he would give up trying to destroy all of creation. I'm not kidding, by the way. Peter went and got Uncle Ben from another dimension and defeated Carnage with Love. Granted, Spider Verse deals with a far more vicious bad guy from the JMS era of Amazing Spider Man, but yeah, it's a lot of fun.

2). Dan Slott: He's quickly becoming the guy who takes a premise that should be really stupid and making it work because of the unique voice he brings to the project. Last year, I was at the head of the "Superior Spider Man Sucks" Chorus, going off about how it was a travesty and how Marvel was out of ideas blah blah blah, but the second half of the series (that dealt mainly with the war of the Goblins and Norman Osborn basically tearing down New York) really turned things around in showing that shit goes wrong when Peter Parker isn't Spider Man. If Slott can change MY mind, he can change anyone's mind.


3). The Art: Oliver Copiel is at the absolute top of his game here. Shut up and look at this gorgeous panels!

4). The Themes: The thing I personally find to be the most interesting that didn't happen in the animated series (see #1) is that instead of power and responsibility being the thing that makes 616 Peter so special, it's the thing that links all the Spiders together. It's their nature. It essentially MAKES them Spiders in the same way willpower and fearlessness makes Hal Jordan a Green Lantern. Their foes, the Inheritors basically have everything they have because they took it by force because they could. Even their name "Inheritors" implies that power is something they're supposed to have just because. "Might makes right" is their nature.

5). It's the best event Marvel's had in a while: I loved Infinity and ever since, Marvel's crossovers and tie-ins (except the Trial of Jean Grey) have been pretty questionable. X-Men's Battle of the Atom was awesome and so many things to love right up until you figured out it had absolutely no point. Original Sin is probably the WORST crossover event I've ever read. There were eight issues and at least three of them were a bunch of superheroes standing in a room either a). listening to a story or b). responding to the story they just heard. And Avengers/X-Men: Axis is a traveshmockery. My editor over at Black Nerd Problems, Will Evans and I split review duties on this book and every time it comes up on the assignment list, we both cringe like it's our turn to mow the lawn. Spider Verse takes place away from any other happenings in the Marvel Universe and so it doesn't suffer from too many shoehorned personalities that the story doesn't need unlike Axis and its Deadpool fetish.

Spider Verse isn't just another event. It's not even just The Best Event Marvel Has Right Now. So far, at least as far as the 21st century is concerned (showing much respect to the greats like Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and so forth in the 20th century), this book makes the case for Spider-Man. I can't speak for All Fans Everywhere, but that's why I think Spider Verse at least deserves a shot from anyone who fancies themselves a fan. Then again, I could be wrong.

The Week In Geek 12/10/14

So, this week's midseason finale to The Flash kicked several levels of ass. The fight between Barry and Reverse Flash...who is TOTALLY Dr. Wells (sorry if that's a spoiler but if you haven't figured that out by now...)....was pretty incredible looking for primetime network television. I've been hearing a lot of complaints about Iris West's character, but I'm sorry....I love a pretty brown girl as the leading lady in an interracial relationship. By the way, I don't seem to remember all that complaining when Lana Lang was the leading lady in Smallville and that was maybe one of the worst shows in nerd history. Just saying. At this point, the complaints that "it's so CW" just have to stop. We (I'm speaking to my generation in particular) have to learn to get used to the fact that comic culture HAS to attract younger viewers to survive. I mentioned this in an article a while back, but fans have to get better about sharing. Otherwise, we end up looking like insiders and troll. Just ask the Gamergate trolls.

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

Thor: I am more convinced than ever that the new lady Thor is actually, Roz Solomon, Odinson's SHIELD girlfriend. That's why she was so desperate to get the hammer back before she turned back into Someone That Roxxon Would Recognize (from the Last Days of Midgard story). Anyway, I do appreciate that the hammer kinda offer tutorials in how to be Thor like Green Lantern's ring. Other than that, there's not much else to say. Jason Aaron is going to be remembered as one of the premier names when they talk about Thor in the 2010s.

Avengers/X-Men: Axis- Okay, this week was slightly better for Axis but not by much. I know Deadpool is supposed to something of a hood ornament to uptick your sales a little bit, but it just didn't work out here. Spider-Man, as usual, was something of a boon to the story and Scarlet Witch looked great and all, but this plot is so rough. It literally pains me to review it.

Batman Eternal: The funny thing is that the whole Jason Bard plotline hanging over the book has basically made plot "A World Without Jim Gordon", furthering DC's initiative to make Commissioner Gordon into a nigh-superhero. I've said this before, but aside from Batman, he's the only other thing saving Gotham from descending into Hell. This is, in part, why I'm so disappointed that the Gotham tv series sucks so bad.

No, I'm NOT Calling The Flash and Arrow "Flarrow"......

So, this week was the big two night "Flash vs. Arrow" crossover event and despite my mild skepticism (a "versus" scenario would have been a bit more plausible a few weeks ago before Barry did Mach One to put Not-Quite-Colossus on his ass), it was actually much better than I expected. One thing it did very well was establish a clear tone for each respective show in this one universe. And love or hate them, you can at least say that these two shows know exactly what kind of shows they want to be. You've got a shitshow like Gotham that has virtually no identity and, at the same time, EVERY identity. Sometimes, it wants to be a by-the-book procedural cop drama set in a famous fictional city. Every once in a while, it's a Batman prequel when it needs to bring back viewers. Other times, it wants to be Boardwalk Empire set in a famous fictional city. Some days, it's Rise of the Penguin. And sometimes, as evident by the many larval stages of Jada Pinkett Smith's wig, it wants to be a Bronner Bros. hair show in Atlanta. Arrow, makes a very clear statement in almost every scene that it's a primetime Batman surrogate. The Flash is obviously meant to be a Superman replacement (because we will NOT see Superman on primetime television again for a while; Thanks for nothing, Smallville), far more hopeful and cartoonishly optimistic than his gritty counterpart. It's actually the kind of dynamic I hope will take place in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (despite Henry Cavil's sad eyes). DC gets a lot of crap for being so slow to the starter blocks in competing with Marvel's unstoppable engine of movies, but as far as TV goes, they know how to sell a product. Then again, I could be wrong.