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Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer #15 (Bendis)

This whole idea that The Avengers have to have one or more representatives on the team at all times is just annoying. What authority do The Avengers have over any other vigilante team – especially one that operates (in theory though not in practice under Bendis) far away from Earth? So now we have Venom on the team and apparently Captain Ms. Marvel will be joining soon. Despite the cover, she won’t be joining this issue. In fact, other than the cover, she makes no appearance – so if you’re buying this issue because of her, you’ll be disappointed.

I’m guessing she’ll be brought in to be the muscle on the team, and she’ll begin by rescuing (eye roll) everyone captured by the great powers of the local group of galaxies. I suppose she and Venom make more sense on the team than Iron Man – but that’s not saying much. Under Bendis, the Guardians (in Name Only) are portrayed as weak, and in his hands will always take a back seat to any Avenger. Never mind that they dealt with Universal threats in the past without the aid of any of Earth’s heroes. Now, they are so weak and incompetent, they have to be rescued by an Avenger who can’t keep sales on her own book above cancellation threshold. It’s sad what this title has become under Bendis.

This issue has its problems – but it is one of the better of the worst. I have a real problem with Rocket begging for his life. That REALLY annoyed me in a very bad way. It’s one of the more egregious out of character moments under Bendis’ typical mangling of the better characterizations of the past. On the other hand, I felt like Drax and Gamora were back in character for a few moments, and the action scenes for Gamora and Star-Lord weren’t bad at all. Though it’s not clear what Groot’s story actually is at this point – it does have potential if Bendis uses it to tell a good Brood tale.

Venom and his faux (Skrull imposter) Avengers team story was expected and predictable – existing purely to pull more Avenger-zombie dollars into this book. You could skip right over that part of the story, and the book would read the same. Bendis is clearly going to use Venom as the gateway character – as if anyone reading this book needs a gateway character. I predict Venom will be about as annoying on the team as Stark was. Really Bendis, the “duck out of water” angle isn’t necessary. We get it that the universe outside of Earth is different. We don’t need a character within the story constantly underlining that obvious point.

As always, the art and coloring are the best parts of this book. Bradshaw, Stewart, and Ponsor deliver on all fronts.

A major motion picture based on DnA’s version of Guardians of the Galaxy will be released in three months. It’s telling that in every interview about the movie, DnA’s version of GotG is mentioned and Bendis’ GotGINO is not mentioned at all – even though Bendis’ GotGINO will be in print at the time of the movie’s release. The MCU decision-makers seem to be deliberately distancing themselves from Bendis’ super-hero-ing up and dumbing-down of the characters and concepts – and who can blame them?

Nova #17 Review (Duggan)

In this issue of 1960’s Spiderman Inferiorly Re-packaged………..er……….I mean, NINO, the cover pretty much sums up everything that’s wrong with this book.

Upon seeing the silly, cutesy, child-oriented cover of this book sitting on the shelf of the local comic shop, I immediately realized it was designed to make adults say, “Awwwwww – how cute – they’re playing dress-up” and without thinking buy this trash for their children. Now – if they thought about it – what you’ve got depicted is two irresponsible minor children playing with a weapon of mass destruction and irresponsible parents allowing/encouraging them to do just that. I know – I know – all the zombies will be quick to point out that “it’s not real – just fantasy.” But is that the message you really want your impressionable children picking up from their “fantasy?” And if you’re an adult – don’t you have to go to extraordinary effort to ignore the absurdity and suspend disbelief? Doesn’t that extraordinary effort speak to the quality of the product and render it too puerile for adult consumption? That’s the first thing that made bile begin to rise into my throat.

Then I read the content of the word balloon and sneered because it sums up Marvel’s attitude about this book and the Nova concepts. They refer to the customer as “dummies” (aka “zombies”) and demand that you buy the book or be deprived of GotGINO (Guardians of the Galaxy In Name Only). Not much of a threat there for me. If I owned any of Bendis’ GotGINO, the snaggle-toothed little idiot depicted on the cover would be welcome to come over and rip them up. I just shook my head and let the nausea subside. Brevoort has threatened repeatedly that we either buy NINO or there will be no “Nova” at all – and there is a paraphrase of that attitude in print right there on the cover of this book. Fine. I’ll take no “Nova” at all over NINO any day. I’m not so desperate for a book that has “Nova” smeared across the cover that I’ll accept this trash. But just out of curiosity – I’ve got a few questions for those still buying this crime against the Nova mythos: Do you enjoy being taken for granted? Doesn’t it upset you that Marvel is basically saying to you in print what a certain former Marvel Editor says to you on forums (i.e. “Bitch all you want. I know you’ll still buy every issue”)? Do you like being called “dummies” for buying an inferior product while they laugh and know you’ll buy it anyway? Do you like a business trying to sell you something by making fun of you and insulting your intelligence?

I could stop writing now because the cover really does sum up the entire issue and everything that’s wrong with this book. But – let’s press on anyway.

Once again NINO proves he’s a disgrace to the uniform. First – NINO brings some radioactive material home and irradiates his neighborhood – endangering everyone’s lives. Brilliant, responsible, and heroic? I think not. Then he’s left babysitting his sister and he falls asleep failing to secure the “magic helmet.” Whereupon his sister puts it on, gains the powers and blows a hole in the side of the house. Brilliant, responsible, and heroic? I think not. Then he intervenes in an accident and his actions cause someone’s house to catch fire and burn to the ground. Brilliant, responsible, and heroic? I think not. Idiotic, irresponsible, and foolhardy? I think so.

Further, in a recent interview, Duggan described NINO’s mother as a “soldier’s wife.” He therefore tacitly acknowledges that Jesse and Sam are indeed “super-powered soldiers” and not classic vigilante “superheroes.” The zombies are quick to point to New Mutants, Young Avengers, Robin, Teen Titans, etc. as examples of teen vigilante superheroes – using “precedent” as an argument to justify the morality of NINO’s existence as a child soldier. I would point out that a soldier is not a vigilante. A soldier is recruited according to set criteria and trained in the art and science of combat. A soldier reports to and is empowered by a higher authority. A soldier has a code of conduct, a duty, and a mission to perform – in other words, specified responsibilities. NINO wears the uniform and carries the powers of a Nova Centurion – a living weapon of mass destruction – the backbone of Xandar’s military. However, NINO is a 14-year-old child irresponsibly playing at being a soldier as if playing a video game. NINO has none of the training and commitment to duty of a true soldier. NINO is also repeatedly sent into heavy kill-or-be-killed combat by adults who should know better than to endanger a child. Xandar was never portrayed as a rogue civilization that used child soldiers like Somalian Pirates or Al Qaida. Marvel/Disney is sending a bad message to the kiddies at whom this book is presumably aimed. In a way, they’re glorifying the use of child soldiers in kill-or-be-killed combat. NINO is not only a disgrace to the uniform, his very existence as a child soldier is immoral. Before any zombie shouts, “Bucky!” – his existence as a 15-year-old child soldier was immoral, too. Also – just to preclude the typical zombie arguments in defense of NINO, Rider was 17 (age of military enlistment eligibility in most Western nations) when he got the powers and 18 when he went to war.

Speaking of NINO’s mother – she once again proves that she’s unfit to lead a family. She allows NINO to skip school – sending a message to the kiddies reading the book that school isn’t important. Knowing of NINO’s irresponsibility, she leaves him to babysit and he falls asleep and allows his sister to endanger her life and the lives of others by playing with a weapon of mass destruction. She repeatedly encourages NINO to fly off and endanger his life. What kind of mother does things like this? That is, besides the ones who have files with Child Protective Services? And the Avengers, New Warriors, Beta Ray Bill and others who are age of majority also encourage this? Is every adult in the Marvel 616 an idiot? The zombies will again point out that this “isn’t real.” Yeah zombies – I know that. And will you admit that it’s so “unreal” that it’s absurdly and intelligence-insultingly stupid? Is disrespect for school and teachers the message you want sent to children? Don’t you want your entertainment to talk up to you? Or has the zombie virus totally taken over your brains?

Face it, NINO represents the Justin Bieber-ization of the Nova concepts by a bunch of out-of-touch, middle-aged Marvel writers/editors who mistakenly think they can capture a young audience by re-packaging tired old comic book tropes and dressing them up with things that used to be of interest to 13-15-year-olds (video games, skateboarding, backward caps, slang expressions, etc). Bieber-NINO is a miserable failure as proved by steadily falling sales despite the greatest marketing campaign I’ve ever seen for a new comic character (i.e. cartoon appearances, video game appearances, variant covers, crossovers, merchandise, top artists, popular writers). That should tell you something, Marvel Editors. It should tell you that NINO is a bad concept. It should also tell you that you’ve completely alienated the existing Rider Nova fan base because NINO sells less well than Rider Nova did without all the marketing hype.

Let me spell it out. With NINO you have the right marketing strategy paired with the wrong (and terribly inferior) concept. With Nova Volume IV, you had the wrong marketing strategy (i.e. non-existent) paired with the right (superior) concept. I suppose it’s too much to expect Brevoort and Alonso to actually get something right, but the next step is obvious. Nix Bieber-NINO, keep the marketing strategy, and apply it to a resurrected Volume IV Rider Nova.

I know that will never happen. Bendis has said he’s had the story of Rich’s fate in mind since before NINO was even announced. If that’s true, you can bet he’s not going to treat Rider Nova or his fans kindly. Bendis will no doubt continue the humiliation treatment by definitively killing Rich, or completely de-powering Rich, or villain-izing Rich, or Bieber-izing Rich by revealing that he is really an age-regressed Sam, or bringing Rich back to play second-fiddle to NINO, or revealing that Rich is really the aged and broken-down-drunk-loser, Jesse. What Bendis definitely won’t do is bring Rich back as the mature, powerful, Nova Prime from Volume IV – because that would be too much of a threat to Bieber-NINO – the absurd, immoral trash that Marvel desperately wants to sell. Frankly, I would personally prefer Rich’s fate to remain in doubt until NINO fails and a better writing/editorial team comes along in the future that actually respects the Rider Nova character and his fans. I don’t want Rich brought back to in any way play second-fiddle to NINO. And I’m willing to wait for as long as it takes to have Rich brought back right – because I know that Bendis, Brevoort, and Alonso will just make Rich a NINO, too. Better no Nova than NINO.

Movie News Reviews

X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014) Review

The Ultimate Mulligan

A Film Review of X-Men: Days of Future Past

By Lawrence Napoli

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There’s no questioning the ambitious nature of a film production of this magnitude. Not only is director Bryan Singer attempting to unite two separate, yet equally popular casts of successful X-Men films, but he is also attempting to correct the course for one of 20^th Century Fox’s most valuable licenses where installments he wasn’t responsible for may have, shall we say, veered astray. Oh yeah, he’s also trying to make an excellent summer blockbuster while laying the foundation for an ever expanding X-Men, cinematic universe (Channing Tatum as Gambit in a standalone is real) and all of this is somehow supposed to be accomplished in 2 hours and 11 minutes. A solid attempt was made to corral all of the above, with several more A-list characters added to the fray, while nodding to one of the most influential X-Men storylines ever conceived, but Bryan Singer is no Franklin Richards. He does not make fully functional universes in the palm of his hand with the speed of thought and with instantaneous relatability and comprehension by the audience. There are plot gaps, there are awkward moments, there are unsatisfying resolutions and it’s all to be expected because there’s simply too much to account for, but they’ll be damned if they don’t try to cram it all in.

The primary reason for this is the same reason why Sony is attempting a similar strategy by pitting Spider-Man against most of his famous rogues at once by pursuing the Sinister Six storyline. Fox wants that Avengers money and they want it now. Apparently, the only way to do this is by chucking more characters, subplots, and spectacle at the audience as possible. Thus the writers must deliver or be discarded and Simon Kinberg, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn responded with a story that’s a jack of all trades, but clearly a master of none. First, let me note that despite Hugh Jackman’s presence in addition to his character’s significance, this is the first X-Men film that is not all about Wolverine. The story is a tale that is as much Wolverine’s, as it is Mystique’s, as it is Professor Xavier’s, as it is Magneto’s. Unfortunately, because this script is particularly required to focus on so many primary characters, the audience isn’t privy to a more rounded presentation of any of them. This film is able to reconcile this deficiency due to an assumed familiarity with at least X-Men’s1-3 in addition to First Class and the hope that everyone remembers the good guys from the bad in addition to what they are all about as individuals. Every reference to the past, every reference to the future, every comedic quip and all the clever banter does not pay off for those in the audience who are not in the know. Those that are will be treated with layers of nostalgia and an unending parade of familiar faces which is, by far, this story’s absolute strength. There are plenty of campfire scenes throughout to hammer home the team camaraderie theme, but as good as that feeling is, it is noticeably incomplete with several significant characters left out in the cold if not entirely forgotten all together.

This is the reality of the limitations of a script and how it translates to the final minute count, but the compromises do not end with character development, they extend to the story’s format. As this film is initially told as a flashback from an (ahem) apocalyptic future of totalitarian hate, the audience is constantly shifting settings between the future (original cast) and the 70s (newer cast). The dichotomy between worlds is an intriguing contrast that eventually gives way entirely to the 70s because ultimately the future subplot is window dressing for the 70s despite being infinitely more visually dynamic and interesting in general. More screen time could have yielded a better balance in the importance of the activity of both realities, but there were more pressing matters to spend time on, like exposition. There is an immense amount of off screen plot that has been at work since X-Men: First Class and it is leaked via dialogue to explain why the future is the way it is as well as why the 70s are the way they are. Despite these obligatory scenes the most important plot device of this film (the time travelling element) is frustratingly revealed to be not exactly what we think it is and it is to be accepted completely on faith and forgotten immediately. When is a DeLorean, not a DeLorean?

Unfortunately, the biggest loser when it comes to this film’s accommodation of so many characters and subplots is the action and visual effects, you know, the real reason people go to be wowed by summer blockbusters. First, the number of action sequences can be counted by a fraction of the fingers on one hand. Second, the combat in both the future and past crawls along at a snail’s pace thanks mostly to a healthy application, reapplication AND REAPPLICATION of slow motion effects. Third, the character powers and Sentinel activity portrayed in the future when compared to those depicted in the 70s is like comparing the special effects of Avatar to those used in Spaceballs. (I get that the 70s can’t be as stylized as the future, but mutant powers are no less amazing in any time and should be presented as such) Fourth, the hand to hand combat demonstrated by Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique is as sensual as it is breathtaking; too bad she’s the only character who demonstrates this ability in the entire film. (I’m looking at you “bone claws” Wolverine)

Now I invite the reader to forget everything and focus on the film within the film: Days of Future Past which I affectionately have labeled: Recruiting Quicksilver. The small cross-section of this film that encompasses the character’s presentation, dialogue and action scenes are so uniquely satisfying that removing them from the final film would yield an end product that could only be described as average at best. The Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver sequence is the first and last thing the audience will remember about this entire movie and its entertainment value is liquid gold in its comedic timing, glistening diamonds in its visual effect wizardry and pure platinum in its overall brilliance and added value to this cinematic adventure. This sub-film even has its own 3 act structure that begins with pulling into the Maximoff drive way, shifts gears as soon as the headphones go on and decelerates when arguably the most powerful character the audience has seen thus far is unceremoniously dismissed to go back home to momma. Evan Peters absolutely owns this character and he (along with the visual effects company that created his effects) deserves a standing ovation for invaluable contributions to this film that infuses significant moments of fun and joy throughout an otherwise foreboding film.

As for everyone else, I’ll see if I can touch base on the entire cast. James McAvoy delivers the best performance all around featuring sincere frustration, depression and redemption as a young Professor X. Hugh Jackman delivers the most tame and tempered manifestation of Wolverine to date. Michael Fassbender’s Magneto turns into a cookie-cutter, somewhat disinterested, pseudo-antagonist. Jennifer Lawrence makes Mystique more and more interesting, seductive and much more sympathetic than Rebecca Romijn ever did. Halle Berry’s Storm couldn’t be more irrelevant thanks to a severe lack of lines. Nicholas Hoult is the quintessential, Big Bang Theory kind of Beast. Anna Paquin is barely referenced as Rogue. Ellen Page’s Kitty Pryde has an unexplained evolutionary jump in powers and still looks like a little girl amongst the rest of the cast. Peter Dinklage commands respect on the screen as Bolivar Trask, but cannot stop playing (and winning) staring contests throughout the film. Shawn Ashmore’s Iceman has a beard. Omar Sy’s Bishop looks more impressive than his ability to impact a battle. Josh Helman’s young Stryker does a decent job channeling Brian Cox with limited screen time. Daniel Cudmore’s Colossus somehow has fewer lines than he had in X2. Bingbing Fan’s Blink had an excellent visual effects team in charge of her. Adan Canto’s Sunspot speaks softly (or not at all) and carries an enflamed stick. Booboo Stewart’s Warpath uses knives. Patrick Stewart’s Professor X is heartfelt and grandfatherly. Ian McKellen’s Magneto is extremely old. Lucas Till’s Havok says hi to prove his character is still alive in this universe. Evan Jonigkeit’s Toad has got some mean goggles.

X-Men plus $200 million dollars of production budget is going to draw a crowd and make money and that’s completely independent of the concept of quality. The proof is X-Men Origins: Wolverine and that movie was, sorry to say, a steaming turd by all accounts yet it made $373 million globally. I have plenty of reservations for this film due to 1) having followed every previous X-Men film, 2) being a rabid fan of the 90s cartoon series and 3) casually following the current stories from the comic books. There are more than enough plot gaps and inconsistencies to downgrade its status from “great” because a film so reliant on connections to its predecessors should not be so flippant with “maintaining” its own continuity. What makes X-Men: Days of Future Past a “good enough” blockbuster is the huge nostalgia factor of character interaction throughout in addition to anything involving Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver. However, this film cannot bear the weight of its own plot because there’s simply too much going on in and between every scene. In fact, just about every subplot could sustain its own, respective, feature length film. Alas, the order of the day is to gloss over as many details as possible in order to bombard the audience with character, after plot twist, after character (and so on…) until the final credits roll. At the end of the … Days of Future Past, this film serves Bryan Singer as the ultimate nullifier for abominable X-Men installments of the past so as to reassume control of a franchise he foolishly spurned for Superman. We can all have hope for the future, but I certainly have nothing good to say regarding the post credit teaser in this film, which by the way, IS the lead-in to the sequel come 2016.

Comic Book News

Review: Forever Evil #7 (of 7)

The long awaited conclusion to Forever Evil is here and BIG changes are in store for the DCU! It seems as though we have been waiting “forever” for this issue to hit the stands, but it is well worth the wait!

Geoff Johns has created a tale that will bring long lasting changes to all the corners of the New 52, a feat that has been promised with other crossover events throughout comicdom but never seems to pay off well. Believe me, by the time you turn the final page, you will be gasping for air!

Beginning directly where issue six left off, this issue begins in a rush. It feels that mere seconds pass between the first few pages and the shock of issue six’s conclusion is lost just as quickly as our heroes and villains ready themselves for an even more brutal attack. It is no holds barred as all the pieces fall on the table and Johns entices readers with page after page of devastating battles that culminate in more than just a few deaths. David Finch draws some of his best work and stages the layouts in glorious ways to harness the sheer brutality of each and every fight. Every panel feels like a splash page of ferocity even though there is only a single splash page in the book and it comes at the very end!

Even though Johns is quite generous with the amount of eye popping violence throughout the tale, it is the quieter moments that truly define it. Johns finds the true voice of Lex Luthor in this issue. He is an amalgam and every tiny nuance comes into play. From his brilliant deduction skills to a deep rooted sadness over the loss of “family,” Johns makes him THE best villain in the entire DCU in a single issue. There are instances where you will be left speechless and one that will spark controversy, but all of them culminate in an epic tale that is at the pinnacle of perfection.

I could tell you TONS of spoilers, but that’s not my thing! What I do want is for you to run out, get this book and behold the beginning of a darker world. One where the line between hero and villain has become blurred, where a man who has saved them all may have more than just good intentions up his sleeve. One where Lex Luthor has become greater than he ever was before!

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Original Sin #2 (of 8)

Jason Aaron brings more questions than answers to his tale of the death of the Watcher, but is that a good thing or just a way to drag this book out for a full eight issues?

The second installment to Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato’s tale, that will “forever change the Marvel Universe,” is completely intriguing. Laced with more than a few occurrences of superhero fisticuffs, this issue weaves in and out of the separate storylines that follow the different teams assembled to find the Watcher’s murderer. Along the way, we find out that from the Moloids to nether realm demons, something or someone has been taking lives for a very long time and they might just be the ones responsible for the death of the Watcher as well. As old villains stick their heads out of the shadows and into the spotlight of the tale, our curiosity peaks, making us ponder about where all of this is going and just how did the numerous machinations Aaron throws at us merge to forge this tale?

Although there are many fronts and just as many plot twists to his story, Jason Aaron harnesses them with precision and has brought a darker voice to the Marvel Universe with this tale. Hinged on the murder of the Watcher, this story is bleak from the start, but the way Aaron gives “life” to the Mindless Ones is overtly creepy and brings the tale to a deeper level. The horrors that these creatures can “see” because they now know sin, is a direct reflection to the loss of innocence and their “awakening” in the world. It gives an underlying level of sadness to these creatures that are used as pawns in the grand scheme of things and now, only wish for their minds to “be quiet” by any means possible. This aspect of the story helps bring a richer quality to it and offsets the levity that usually permeates these types of tales.

This multifaceted tale is building up a great pace with plenty of surprises to keep us at the edge of our seats. Although the big reveal at the end was somewhat of a let down, everything before it has got me baited for whatever comes next!

Movie News Reviews

Godzilla (2014) Movie Review

Yep, Another Giant Monster Movie

A Film Review of Godzilla (2014)

By Lawrence Napoli

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There’s only so much you can do with a monster movie when your monsters 1) don’t speak, 2) aren’t the real focus of the story or 3) behave exactly the same as they have in every giant monster attack film seen by audiences all over the world since the birth of this genre. That still won’t stop Hollywood from trying as everyone’s favorite beast from the east, Godzilla, rears his stubby snout and portly belly [sign that lizard up for some Jenny Craig!] in a disaster film that tries to breathe some freshly radiated energy into the creature’s origin and purpose for existing. I don’t mean to lay a MUTO egg down the throats of everyone that helped make this film (because there is artistry in every completed film thanks to its collaborative nature; regardless of its end quality), but I struggled to find any entertainment value in this film. In recent history the audience has seen more visually imposing disasters, better looking monsters, more satisfying action involving said monsters and most importantly, more interesting human stories that always become the plot engines for these types of spectacles.

Novice screenwriter Max Borenstein created this screenplay for Godzilla based on a story conceived by one of the “brains” behind The Expendables franchise, Dave Callahan. In it, the audience is treated to a retro-reboot of the King of Beasts’ most iconic films of the 60s and 70s which thankfully ignores the atomic bomb that was Roland Emmerich’s interpretation in 1998 starring Matthew Broderick and sees Gojira return to his heroic roots. At one point in this film’s first act, an idea is introduced suggesting that the Big G is a force of nature meant to restore balance to the planet. That would have been a neat idea to frame an entire giant-monster-attack film around. Too bad it was conveniently pulled out of thin air by Dr. Serizawa (the “lead” MUTO scientist?) and shelved immediately because this moment’s only purpose was to get the audience thinking the giant lizard might be good. These are the kinds of plot twists that make a story more interesting because (traditionally) they are well setup for the audience to discover with onscreen action or investigative dialogue. Unfortunately, Godzilla’s story is not presented with any methodology outside of left-field, coincidental moments of clarity where the divine intervention of lazy writing empowers every character to move the plot ahead without any particular connection with or loyalty to any previous scene.

The other problem I have with this story is the fact that people go to see these movies for Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, etc., yet they aren’t the main characters in their own tales due to the understood communication deficiencies of these larger than life beings. Thus, the story must focus on the screaming masses of human beings that foolishly try to control the situation while they avoid being stepped on. In this regard, Godzilla is likened to Michael Bay’s Transformers in that the movie should be renamed: Stupid Humans and Their Godzilla Pet. That’s not to say the monsters couldn’t accomplish this task, but that would have required shutting up the entire cast for chunks of screen time to allow the Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms to pantomime some plot and formulaic filmmaking will have none of that. Perhaps the strategy of leaning on the monsters more wasn’t even considered, but it would have been a welcome novelty considering every aspect of the human part of this story is as annoying as it is recurring. Scientists that are experts in their fields have no clue what’s going on, military people want to blow everything up, soldiers want to protect their families, blah, blah, blah. Zero of these human subplots have any emotional weight. They feel tacked on, with minimalist dialogue and performed with the gravitas of a high school musical save for Bryan Cranston’s contributions (but we’ll revisit his situation later).

The visual spectacle of giant monsters destroying locations of the world that aren’t named New York City, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. looks good enough, but certainly nothing different from the city wide destruction we see every day on the national news as a result of war and natural disasters. Part of the problem is that the audience doesn’t actually see the giant monsters actively ripping skyscrapers to shreds until the climactic battle late in the film. What we do see is a lot of aftermath shots of urban areas that look like bombs were dropped all over, but they are static and completely devoid of danger. It makes you wonder where all the money from a very healthy $160 million dollar budget went, and I presume it went to animating Godzilla himself who looks great (especially when he “charges up”), but he’s the only exceptional visual effect at work for the duration. I’d also like to restate how the climactic battle was a real treat to watch, but it left me wanting more and wondering why I didn’t get it this whole time. I suppose long time special effect engineer turn director Gareth Edwards felt that a couple of really good looking moments with monsters is enough to satisfy an audience so long as it’s supplemented with some average looking stunt work featuring people being crushed, people falling down and people otherwise at the complete mercy of these forces of nature.

As this review closes out, I will briefly comment on the “acting” that was apparently at work in Godzilla for which the entire cast can be described as looking like the “deer in the headlights” at all times. Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) seem to be a package deal as they play husband and wife Ford and Elle Brody in this film as a family displaced by a mega monster grudge match. I guess I can’t blame them for a severe lack of romantic chemistry seeing how they have two scenes together, but I can blame the casting directors (four of them, if you can believe it) for recruiting an actor meant to play a tough soldier leading man who still sounds like he’s 13 years old. I suppose casting someone from the Olsen bloodline was fine for Godzilla because her role impacts no other character, no additional subplot and is completely irrelevant. David Strathairn and Juliet Binoche are here strictly to pick up their paychecks. Ken Watanabe further demonstrates his exponential mastery of the English language with his five lines. As for Bryan Cranston, the most respectable actor in this entire cast, I only have two things to say to the reader: Deep Blue Sea (1999) and Samuel L. Jackson. You do the math.

The fact is that Godzilla is a license that’s going to keep coming back to the big screen because of a ready-made fan base and global recognition, but whether these films are ultimately good is strictly in the eyes of the beholder. However, I gained increased appreciation for the 60s and 70s films after watching this most recent installment and especially for the ones that showed cheesy dialogue between Mothra and Godzilla regarding the king lizard’s hesitance to help human beings because they always open fire on him whenever he shows up to help. That’s Academy Award winning material when compared to this film and although the campy films of the past don’t have all the bells, whistles and big names of 2014’s Godzilla, they have a hell of a lot more heart. This film is a pass. It’s too bad this movie will still be occupying IMAX theatres into next week because I’d rather spend a few more bucks to watch Days of Future Past on the largest screen possible.

Comic Book News

Review: The Walking Dead #127

Warning: Spoilers Dead Ahead!

After the controversial ending of Robert Kirkman’s twelve part event, “All Out War,” wrapped up last issue, he sends us all two years into the future and starts “A New Beginning.”

I am not going to lie, seeing characters that I have been following since the very beginning thrust two years into the future was a little jarring. Some of their physical appearances have changed so much it was hard to find their “voice” as I read along, especially Rick’s!

Most comic stories that make dramatic jumps in time are merely for gimmick reasons. It is to foreshadow things to come, bring back a dead character or, worst case scenario, work around a horrible plot that failed commercially. This is not the case with The Walking Dead. Robert Kirkman has progressed the story two years without upsetting the overall tale of the story in any way. It is directly related to the events that happened in “AOW” and even if you haven’t been following TWD for very long, you can follow and enjoy this tale without missing anything. It is crafted to be the perfect stepping stone for those that have never ventured into the world Kirkman has created and still will enthrall ravenous fans with every page!

Kirkman has been promising “BIG” changes to the world of TWD this year and we can finally see what he means with this issue. It is no longer about a group of survivors struggling through the world searching for a safe place to stay and some scraps to eat. Kirkman has officially changed the entire scope of his book to include the rebuilding of civilization itself. There are communities, families, trading, farms, schools and careers all being built and it gives the book an air of hope that has never been felt before. Kirkman adds so many new layers to characters this issue as well. Rick has become the older, wiser leader that exudes strength and hope through his community and has acquired a new way of utilizing both hands! Andrea has grown as the more physical leader of the group and as Rick’s “right hand woman,” makes sure that all is well with construction and roamer corralling. She has also become “mom” to Carl as well. Carl has emerged as the budding teenager, seeking to become his own man, and has begun to ask certain questions a father may find uncomfortable answering. Whom he asks instead, is a great ending that is both shocking and fitting and is sure to be all the buzz at the water cooler tomorrow.

With the introduction of new characters, the future exploration of fan favorites and a new logo to top it all off, this issue was perfect on all levels. It was fascinating to see how the characters progressed not only by themselves but as a community as well. Some may complain about the two year jump and that they want to see how the characters got to this organized world. I say reading two years worth of planting seeds and training people to ride horses does not keep readers interested in your book.

This was an overall great great book for fans and new comers alike, a book that will re-energize Kirkman’s entire franchise!

Comic Book News Marvel

Oped: Nova: The Showdown with Marvel Editorial

The Cosmic Triune

An Opinion-Editorial

Timelord

Nova: The Showdown with Marvel Editorial

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Now is the time for all true Richard Rider Nova fans to come to the aid of their favorite character.

As everyone now knows, Bendis will reveal the fate of Richard Rider in Issue #18 of his GotGINO (Guardians of the Galaxy In Name Only). This development has been met with a great deal of consternation from Rider Nova fans worldwide – and for good reason given Marvel’s treatment of the character and fans of the character over the past two years.

A little background is in order. The Annihilation event and subsequent Nova (Volume IV; 2007-2010) series redefined the Richard Rider character from the teenage Peter Parker-ish inspired iteration originating in Nova (Volume I; 1976-1979) and persisting in slightly modified form over succeeding volumes to a mature, powerful, battle-hardened leader of men. Fans of the character celebrated this major change for the better, and most long-term fans believed that their favorite character had finally actualized the potential they had always longed for but only rarely glimpsed in the character. Writers, Giffen and DnA, had recognized the same potential as the fans and acted to bring it to fresh, stunning and imaginative life; while most prior writers had merely focused on trying to re-create Spiderman. In essence, with the new and improved Richard Rider Nova, we had a Nova for a new generation.

As an interesting aside, I’ve had personal communication with Marv Wolfman, creator of the Rider Nova character, and he indicated to me that he intended to take Rider Nova in the same direction as Giffen/DnA of more mature space-based adventures had his original series not been cancelled. Essentially, the Peter Parker-ish similarities were originally used to sell the idea to Marvel Editorial and to get the comic book buyers of the 1976 era to give the series a try, but he always intended to evolve the character into something better, more mature, and unique for the era. Sadly, Marvel Editorial has not shared such vision for the character and has been determined to keep the character/concept a “One-Trick Pony” – stuck forevermore in “pale imitation of Peter Parker” mode. And that brings us to NINO (Nova In Name Only).

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As we all know, the best and all time fan-favorite Rider Nova iteration, Volume IV, was placed on “hiatus” in 2010 prior to The Thanos Imperative event. Then Marvel EIC, Joe Quesada, stated that sales were not a factor in that decision; so fans naturally assumed that the series would resume after The Thanos Imperative event. So we waited. And we waited some more. And we eventually learned that “hiatus” is apparently “Marvel-speak” for “cancellation.” We then learned that Jeph Loeb had hijacked the Nova concepts and was replacing Rider with an obnoxious 13-year-old teen Peter-Parker-ish personality/storyline. In other words, Loeb was back-stepping to the old clichés we’d finally overcome – in essence creating a “Nova” (In Name Only) for a past generation by once again re-packaging Spiderman, and in ultimate disrespect of the loyalty of the Rider Nova fans, he believed we’d buy anything with the word, “Nova,” smeared across the cover of the book.

Marvel Editorial was complicit in the disrespect of the loyalty of the Rider Nova fans; suddenly declaring Rider “dead” (though the same treatment didn’t apply to Thanos, Drax, and Star-Lord since they were going to be in a movie soon) and therefore in need of a “replacement” even though Volume IV writers, DnA, had clearly stated in several interviews that Rider was merely temporarily “marooned” in the Cancerverse. In an insincere attempt to assuage outraged Rider fans, Marvel EIC, Axel Alonso, said he expected the Rider Nova fans to “embrace” NINO and then faux-canonized Rider’s now ret-conned “death” as something too special to undo. Yeah – right. Somehow Rider’s “death” was too special but Thanos’, Star-Lord’s, and Drax’s same story/same cause/same event/same “death” wasn’t quite so special? Hey Alonso – disingenuous much?

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I coined the protest term, NINO (Nova In Name Only), to set Loeb’s version apart from all other versions of true Rider Nova comic books. We’ve now been afflicted with 16 cliché-filled issues of NINO sullying the concepts – all of them ranging from bottom-of-the-barrel to mediocre in quality. Despite tons of marketing hype (that Volume IV never received) and numerous variant covers (featuring Deadpool of course), publicly available sales figures have ranged from nearly equivalent to less than Rider’s Volume IV sales – so Marvel Editorial, where’s the beef? Where’s the proof that NINO is a better concept? You’ve got none. Despite your best efforts, NINO is a failure – critically and financially. And when fans point that out, they are immediately attacked by one or more Marvel Editors (you know who I’m talking about).

So now Bendis is poised to tell us Rider’s fate. Given his driving of GotGINO into the ground, I’ve previously described looking forward to his take about as much as I’d look forward to root canal surgery. Many theories have been floated as to which comic book cliché Bendis will choose to explain Rider’s death. Some believe Bendis will just flat out kill Rider as a means to solidify NINO in place as the goofy teen Lone Ranger “idiot” (Loeb’s own description of his own character) that Marvel Editorial seems to desperately want to sell. Another theory is that Star-Lord was forced to kill Rich to escape the Cancerverse. Others have posited that Bendis will give Rich the Parallax treatment and turn him into a Shuma-Gorath-possessed villain before killing him as a means to formally hand the torch to NINO. Another theory is that Thanos absorbed Rich’s powers and if Rich returns at all he’ll be de-powered. Still others think that Jesse Alexander and/or Sam Alexander are time/alternate-universe-displaced versions of Rich. There are probably many more clichés I’ve failed to mention. But so far, few believe that Rich will be brought back into the 616 to take his rightful place as the mature, powerful, Nova-Prime as that would be too much of a threat to the NINO that Marvel desperately wants to sell; even though NINO has been soundly rejected by most of Rider Nova fandom.

What I find most disturbing is the passive complacency many fans exhibit – acting as if there is nothing that can be done to affect the outcome of this process. Might I remind you that Joe Quesada encouraged us to vote with our dollars? It’s very simple. If you want Rich back, stop buying NINO and send an email to Marvel telling them why you’re not buying NINO and why you want Rich back in his rightful place as Nova Prime. Encourage all your friends to do the same.

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As far as I’m concerned, the only acceptable outcomes for GotGINO #18’s story of what happened to Rich Rider is for Rider to be returned to the 616 as Nova Prime intent on re-building Xandar and The Nova Corps or for Rider to be left alive marooned in the Cancerverse as a freedom-fighter for a better writing/editorial team in the future to bring back to the 616 once NINO inevitably and deservedly completely fails and is cancelled.

Let’s get organized and begin a showdown with Marvel Editorial. Let’s make a pledge to kill NINO if Marvel kills, de-powers, or uses one of the other clichés mentioned above to marginalize Rich Rider.

What do I mean by “kill NINO?” NINO is teetering on the edge of cancellation already – and NeWINO (New Warriors In Name Only) featuring NINO as the headliner character premiered to cancellation threshold sales. It would just take a small push to end NINO and NeWINO.

If all the true Rider Nova fans still buying NINO and NeWINO in vain hope of Rider’s return to Volume IV-era glory are once again disappointed and disrespected by Bendis’/Marvel Editorial’s upcoming explanation of Rider’s fate, and they would simply join the rest of us in boycotting NINO and NeWINO, then NINO and NeWINO would be pushed into cancellation and Marvel would reap just punishment for disrespecting us and our favorite character. With the most recent issues of NINO and NeWINO only selling 22K and 23K, respectively, a few thousand less buyers and both are done.

It’s a very simple message to Marvel Editorial: You allow Bendis to kill or otherwise marginalize Rich Rider, and we kill NINO and every other book in which NINO appears. We also boycott all NINO merchandise and boycott the Ultimate Spiderman cartoon and the rumored upcoming GotG cartoon if it features NINO. Better no Nova than NINO.

Hey – we’re just doing what Joe Quesada said and voting with our dollars. We have the numbers to deal the death strike to NINO and GotGINO if Marvel once again disappoints us. I say we use our power to maximum advantage.

Nix NINO! Long live Rich Rider!

DISCUSS THIS IN THE COSMIC BOOK NEWS FORUMS

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Comic Book News

Review: Original Sin #1

Marvel’s next “World Changing Event” crossover is here, and whether it will truly live up to the mass amount of hype remains to be seen as this debut issue lumbers along through the motions without stirring up the overhanded “shock and awe” needed to pique a readers interest.

In a market that over floods itself with its own “leaked” information in order to drive interest in a book, we finally see how overexposure of key plot devices can harm an overall well constructed story. Jason Aaron’s tale of the murder and mutilation of the Watcher suffers from the fact that fans knew what to expect months ago. The essential shocking reveal, so desperately needed to drive the story, is lost in the mix and feels like just another page to be turned in order to see what’s next. Some may argue that the death of the Watcher is not the most important piece in Aaron’s tale, but rather, who did it and why they did it is more essential overall. Although those questions are what drives the story forward into the multitude of books to follow, it still felt as though the emotional impact was lost.

Jason Aaron’s story is still a well thought out “mystery play” that solidifies itself by interweaving subtle character moments and grandiose action sequences into a single intriguing tale. From Cap, Wolvie, Fury and Widow’s unique “meat night” sequence to the ominous Mindless One’s use of the Ultimate Nullifier, Aaron creates thought provoking character interaction that is top notch. The commingling of unlikely heroes, Punisher and Dr.Strange or Ant-Man, Black Panther and Emma Frost, takes this story from just another “Avenger themed” crossover into a multi-faceted exercise in character development that is usually lost in Marvel’s “event” books. Aaron’s choice of character grouping seems to solidify all facets of the Marvel U. and also brings a sense of fun to the pages, an almost whimsically classic feel amidst such dark parameters of the tale itself.

Mike Deodato’s art is well done and hits all the key notes on cue, although some panels seem to become muddied and facial expressions become lost when the characters are not in costume; it is well done overall. Deodato’s overall tone and thick shadowing are harmonious with the mood and scope of Aaron’s tale and help elevate it too a deeper level of intrigue.

Overall, Original Sin is a good opening number and sets the stage for what is to come. I only wish that we didn’t know so much about the overall concept prior to release. It would have been exponentially more wonderful to be surprised by the death of such a classic character if we all hadn’t already known his fate.

Movie News Reviews

Review: Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Revisiting a Sticky Situation

A Film Review of The Amazing Spider-Man 2

By Lawrence Napoli

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The summer is fully up and running what with a second comic book blockbuster to grace the box office in the much anticipated sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man. We are almost two exact years to the day removed from The Avengers and the (ahem) amazing things it did by interweaving multiple franchises into a culminating, team-based extravaganza the likes of which have never been seen before. Marvel Studios, and Kevin Feige in particular, certainly had sky-high ambitions regarding this effort, but they continue to reap the rewards as the trend setters. Since then we’ve seen every other major studio with comic book rights setting themselves up for the same kind of “Avengers-like” mega film in hopes of duplicating, if not surpassing, $1.5 billion in global sales. Warner Bros.’ Man of Steel/Justice League, 20^th Century Fox’s X-Men and of course Sony Picture’s Amazing Spider-Man franchises all aspire to Marvel Studios’ success, but they all want to get to that Avengers money faster, and they’ve all figured throwing a whole bunch of major characters at audiences in one fell swoop is the key.

We all knew the rouge’s gallery was coming. Every trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 specifically showed us the tech that “belongs” to classic members of The Sinister Six of which Sony has confirmed will have a stand-alone film not to mention a separate film to introduce everyone’s favorite lethal protector, Venom. Rest assured true believers, references, name-dropping and direct appearances from major characters in Spidey’s universe are part of the very joy that makes ASM 2. Unfortunately, it is also the major source my criticism for this film as I predict similar problems for future films in other franchises pursuing the character-bomb method. You see, if a film is trying to sell me on multiple antagonists, then that film better have enough screen time to get the job done properly. The problem is that ASM 2 is a film primarily concerned with Peter Parker’s struggle with his alter ego, his relationship with Gwen Stacy, his relationship with Aunt May and his search for the truth surrounding the mystery of his parents’ disappearance. All of that stuff was absolutely great as Spidey’s moments with his girlfriend and Aunt are far and away the most dramatic and emotional high’s (and low’s) of this film. The screenwriting team of Kurtzman, Orci, Pinker and Vanderbilt carried over the best plot elements from the first film and expanded upon Web-Head’s drama in the second.

Thus, it should be to no one’s surprise that this leaves little old Electro (and everyone else) a whole lot of bupkis regarding screen time to develop themselves as characters, to make their presence meaningful and to compare/contrast with the hero’s motivations to perhaps identify them other than flat, evil and dull. I simply could not help but think that every one of these supposedly alpha villains was a mere afterthought to Peter’s intimate relationships, and this problem is amplified by their sheer number. These fellows go through some pretty drastic personal and physical transformations in no time flat that results in some plot gaps here and convenient plot devices there just to get the audience from point A to B as efficiently as possible. That’s all well and good for animated series and comic books because there’s always the next episode or issue to explain what just happened. Movies need to get it right the first time around because sometimes a character arc gets fully resolved in the same film he or she is introduced. Every single villain in this film, regardless of how strong or menacing they appear to be, pale in comparison to the Tyrannosaurus Rex that is Peter Parker’s personal insecurity, guilt and shame. ASM 2’s villains are vacant spectacles of eye candy and they could have all been replaced with common bank robbers and gang bangers.

If story isn’t your meat and potatoes, ASM 2 has some of the best CG effects at work in the film industry today, and it almost makes up for one of the worst endings I’ve seen in a comic book adaptation to date (but more on that later). I loved how the virtual camera gets in super close to Spidey’s POV while swinging around NYC. and I appreciated more than just one static angle where the audience only sees his hands, then webs then rinse and repeat. Spider-Man has never appeared as aerial as he does in this film, and this welcome feature infuses some visually pleasing movement to the frame without jarring explosions or mid flight fisticuffs muddling the flow. I believe director Marc Webb finds a good balance between real time and bullet time effects for the overall action. Yes, yes, we all know the “Spider-Sense” is technically “on” all the time, but it would get pretty boring to watch slow motion action in every scene. The visual aesthetics don’t get any better than the powered up Electro whose CG team were clearly drawing some inspiration from Watchmen’s Dr. Manhattan. Every sinewy, neon bolt pops from every background in both day and night and seeing that character fling lightning and transport from place to place is a sight to see.

Cast performances are all over the map, but thankfully the main roles that are reprised are solid once again. Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy is easily the most charismatic character onscreen, and it’s more than just her good looks at work. She has a great smile, great energy, comedic timing a notable ability to dial it back for drama and dial it up for anger and all while having some genuine chemistry with Peter Parker a.k.a. Andrew Garfield. And speaking of whom, Spidey is a perfect blend of smart-ass, hopeless romantic, and indecisive pariah as the charming Mr. Garfield delivers once again while minimizing his ADD nervousness around Gwen when he wishes to communicate his guilt about the relationship in light of the promise he made to Captain Stacy. Sally Field gives the audience another reliable “mom performance” and continues to keep Aunt May energized with some attitude, which is fine by me because I never want to see that character as a decrepit grandmother ever again.

Everyone else appears to be out-acted by Dennis Leary playing the stoic ghost of Captain Stacy. Paul Giamatti hasn’t played a more irrelevant character as Aleksei Sytsevich since the fraudulent Rudy he played in The Negotiator opposite Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson. His appearance in this film as the “Rhino” is nothing more than a paltry down payment for future films which will hopefully evolve into more than a series of snarls and grunts, but don’t hold your breath. Chris Cooper goes un-credited as Norman Osborn in an absolute throwaway role. I suppose this is just as well because I too would want to forget that I was criminally underused as perhaps the most talented thespian of the cast in a mega-budget paycheck film. Dane DeHaan delivers a duplication of the dreary and demented Andrew Detmer from Chronicle. Seriously, his rendition of Harry Osborn is the exact same character, but with better clothes, and his Green Goblin … well, it could very well end up with the golden razzie for worst character of the year.

Perhaps it was silly of me to expect more out of an academy award winning actor like Jaime Foxx because quite frankly, those actors are usually not filling out these kinds of “popcorn” roles. He definitely overplayed the hokey nature of Max Dillon almost as if he was mimicking Jim Carrey’s Riddler. I understand he did this to accentuate his obsessive compulsive social disorder which in turn makes him a more pathetic target for everyone else to push around if not completely disregard. It explains the anger he lets loose as a severely pissed off Electro, but it also left open a moment for Electro to be a sympathetic villain which almost happens in the Time Square sequence. Due to time constraints and the pre-designation of that scene being a “fight” scene, that moment vanishes as quickly as it’s suggested as whatever character he had left loses all dimensionality and transforms as another, ho-hum (I’ll get revenge on Spider-Man!) villain that’s about as cookie-cutter as comic book villains get.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a film that suffers from way too much going on at the same time for the duration of the entire film that it lessens the emotional impact of every moment as a result. Peter Parker’s internal struggle was conveyed well at the expense of trivializing his external conflict. This would not have been an issue had Electro been the sole villain which would have (potentially) expanded Spidey’s ability to talk down a would-be villain or find some way to reason with him or her to resolve the conflict other than knocking them out. Alas, that option literally goes up in smoke as what seems like a natural end to the film after a climactic battle drags out into a half-hearted, amended ending for no other reason than squeezing in a couple more characters for the last precious minutes of screen time. It’s the kind of moments you would see shoehorned into a post-credits or mid-credits teaser (of which there is none, so once you see the X-Men thing, you can leave the theatre). What’s worse is that these token battles bookend a major (and somewhat expected) plot twist that simply does not deliver the emotional outburst it damn well should have accomplished. It was a disappointing end to an already slumping third act that I kept shaking my head over and over seeing how the first 2/3 of the film was shaping up so well.

Spidey fanboys will go nuts over all the references in addition to all the dramatic placeholders left in this film that expanded universe films might eventually deliver upon. There is plenty of action and special effects to satiate the average audience member looking to take a mental vacation for a couple of hours. But if you’re looking for a real character-driven, action-adventure, set in an ever expanding cinematic universe, you might still be able to catch a screening of Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier. This Spider-Man suffers from too much tacked-on, especially at the end. Topher Grace knows exactly what I’m talking about.

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: The Amazing Spider-Man #1

Spinning directly out of his best selling book Superior Spiderman, Dan Slott, puts Peter Parker back in the tights and unleashes enough hilarity and intrigue to satiate any Spidey fan!

Dan Slott has been both scathed and praised for his tale of Dr. Octopus as the Superior Spiderman. Personally, I was in awe of the way Slott created a story revolving around one of Spidey’s greatest villains, one that both destroyed and exponentially enhanced Peter Parker’s life simultaneously. From that very first issue, I pondered the possible outcomes and how Slott would hopefully make Peter’s return one that would be wrought with challenges he never saw coming. Today, all those thoughts come true as Peter emerges into a world he never created but now has to deal with.

Dan Slott writes a tightrope of a tale, balancing between the two things that make Spider-Man work — humor and consequence. From page one, Slott, makes an opening sequence that will shock you, one that will have lasting ramifications for years to come and will start a fresh controversy all over again! From there we are immediately thrust into an all out action sequence rife with comically infused banter that Spidey fans have been missing. The humor goes over the top (“spidey skivvies” anyone) before we are jettisoned into a press conference regarding Peter’s role at Parker Industries. Slott continues this pattern of humor and intrigue throughout the remainder of the first story, and we are left with a scene between Peter and Anna Maria Marconi that will change their relationship forever.

From there we are given small vignettes from Chris Yost, Peter David, Joe Caramagna, and Christos Gage, as well as Slott again, that hit on particular characters that will be stirring things up for ol‘ Peter in the new series and beyond. With a multitude of artists in tow, these writers give us tantalizing tales about Kaine, Black Cat, Electro, and someone new, that show just how Spider-Man has changed their lives whether it was Doc Ock or Peter behind the mask. The build-up is intense, and it will leave you clamoring for more!

Overall, this was a great read that gives you all out action, amazing art by Humberto Ramos, plenty of hijinks and of course, the always needed — screaming of J. Jonah Jameson!

Slott has begun a new era of Spidey tales in classic fashion and fans will be delighted by every page!

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Original Sin #0

I see Brevoort is listed as editor of this mini. Of course, he isn’t going to miss a chance to promote NINO (Nova In Name Only). He actually believes NINO is the best embodiment of the Nova concepts. As usual, he’s dead wrong.

Waid delivers an interesting tale about the background of The Watchers, borrowing heavily from Star Trek’s Prime Directive mythos and the mythos of other SF efforts about the dangers of advanced civilizations interfering in the natural evolution of primitive civilizations. In a way it is well-treaded ground both in the history of SF and in the history of Western Civilization on Earth. However, it does kind of give a foundation to the reason for what the Watchers do. Hardly as groundbreaking as some reviews would suggest, but not silly or completely implausible either.

The real weakness of this story is NINO. I realize NINO is only present in this story to try to reverse the flagging sales on his own book, and that Waid is using NINO as the gateway character for the reader to gaze in “wide-eyed wonderment” into the awe and majesty of the Watcher’s technology and mission. And he uses NINO to provide some energy and drama for this otherwise downbeat and introspective story via NINO’s teen antics/dialogue and his family problems.

Frankly, I would’ve preferred a more fleshed-out story focusing on The Watchers without the addition of NINO into the mix. As usual, NINO’s annoyance factors and implausibility factors vastly outweigh his entertainment value. NINO’s wide-eyed wonderment, teen antics, teen dialogue, and contrived family drama were hackneyed right out of the gate and have only become more annoying and hackneyed with the passage of time. The Avengers actually approving his actions sets off all my implausibility alarms. This is not the best embodiment of the Nova concepts, Mr. Brevoort. This is an inferior re-tread of what Wolfman did back in the 70’s. NINO isn’t innovative, interesting, or entertaining.

Turning now to the art and coloring, I’m happy to say that the art and coloring for this book are truly eye-pleasing. I especially enjoyed the manner in which the alternate universes monitored by the Watcher were portrayed.

In short, Original Sin #0 was a mildly interesting though hardly innovative explanation of the motivations and history of The Watchers. Sadly, it was sullied by the completely un-necessary addition of the annoying NINO character. Supposedly this mini and its tie-ins will explain the fate of the Earth’s true Nova, Rich Rider. With Brevoort and Bendis handling it, I’d say there’s cause for all true Rider Nova fans to be worried. It’s a foregone conclusion that with Brevoort’s and Bendis’ involvement, Rider’s return will be un-satisfying to his fans and Rider’s fate will follow some typical comic book cliché. I’m guessing he’ll either be brought back as a Shuma-Gorath possessed villain, be heroically killed off for good to solidify NINO in place, and/or it will be revealed that NINO/Jesse are really time and alternate-universe displaced versions of Rich. Any of those cliché’s sound good to you Rider Nova fans? Me neither.

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Guardians Of The Galaxy #14 (Abnett, Lanning, Bendis)

In the Bendis-written portion of this issue of Avengers Re-packaged…..er…..I mean, GotGINO (Guardians of the Galaxy In Name Only), we drop in on a bored, horny, lovelorn Star-Lord lying in his bunk lost in a pity-party over his love life and letting his entire world fall apart around him. Tell me Star-Lord fans, does this sound like the Peter Quill you know and admire? Never let it be said that Bendis lets continuity, consistent characterization, or (especially) plausibility get in his way.

It gets worse.

Quill is fantasizing about Kitty Pryde who would be about half his age if Marvel hadn’t somehow regressed Quill in age from his late 30’s-early 40’s to 21. Now this has to be one of the dumbest hook-ups in comic book history, and obviously done purely to try to capture some X-zombie dollars. Anyway – his self-indulgent negligence allows daddy’s Imperial forces to capture him, Rocket, and Groot, which paves the way for Bendis to again pull out the hackneyed daddy issues and have Quill and Jason tell each other how disappointed they are in each other. Yawn.

Venom is shoe-horned onto the team with no real explanation in an obvious attempt to capture some Spider-zombie dollars. Drax is way too easily captured by the Shi’Ar. Gamora is – again – way too easily bested by the lame bounty hunter who bested her a few issues back. And then Captain Ms. Marvel is shoe-horned onto the team in an obvious attempt to capture some Avengers-zombie dollars. I’ll say this much for Bendis, he doesn’t miss a chance to capitalize on the zombie virus. He’s already hit the Avengers-virus (multiple times), the Spider-virus, and the X-virus (multiple times). What’s next? Deadpool, Wolverine, The Thing, or one of the Hulk family on the team? I’d bet good money on it.

The Bendis portion of this faux-100^th-issue-Anniversary of GotGINO is a disjointed mess that accomplishes exactly what Alonso and Brevoort set out to accomplish. When they say there is no more Marvel Cosmic – only the Marvel Universe – they mean that everything must be reduced to Earth-centric, street-level dramatic, derivative super-heroic fantasy. Congratulations Bendis and Bonso (Axel Alonso and Tom Brevoort) – you’ve succeeded in removing everything that was unique and special about Marvel Cosmic – and replaced it with forgettable, generic tripe.

The Lanning-written portion of this issue is probably the highlight. It chronicles young Groot’s early childhood and escape from Planet X. It is cleverly written and entertaining, but is quite brief.

Abnett’s portion is essentially a brief introduction to the original Guardians of the Galaxy for those unfamiliar with the original team. The story is just a little skirmish to introduce the freedom fighters to those unfamiliar with Guardians of the Galaxy history. It was great to see Major Victory and his team once again, but for those of us familiar with that version of the team, it felt un-necessary. Perhaps if Abnett had been given much more space and freedom to write, we would have gotten a real adventure featuring the classic team, and that would’ve been quite welcome.

When I say Abnett’s and Lanning’s portions are brief – I do mean brief – as in over in a few pages. Apparently, the editors wouldn’t let Lanning or Abnett near the team concept of this book for (realistic) fear of them overshadowing Bendis. So they were stuck with doing brief background on one character or on the history of the original concept.

The art and coloring are certainly acceptable across all three stories, but there’s really little else to be said about that aspect of this book. It’s nothing about which to either rave or complain.

In summary, the Lanning and Abnett portions vastly overshadowed Bendis’ phoned-in effort, but their portions were way too brief and editorially constrained. Even Abnett and Lanning can’t turn this book around from the nose-dive into the ground course set by Bendis and Bonso. Save your money and leave this one on the shelf.

Comic Book News

Review: The Walking Dead #126

Warning: Spoilers Dead Ahead!

The pace has been fast and unrelenting, but Robert Kirkman’s twelve chapter tale, “All Out War,” has wrapped up and it may leave some readers scratching their heads.

With all great stories, there comes a time when the characters we know and love, evolve beyond the meager confines they began with. They stretch and grow and become multifaceted, pushing readers to evolve with them and to see if the reader’s empathy can withstand the change.

Without a doubt, there will be fans debating the final outcome of Kirkman’s tale with a multitude of pros and cons. This issue was brutal for some of the characters – poor Rick – and life changing for others – poor Negan – but all in all, it wrapped up a fantastic tale in a way that fans won’t see coming. I for one, think that it was a great move not to have the finale wrap up with a slaughter of poignant characters just to bring a moment of shock and awe. Some may complain that the ends didn’t justify the means, and they may be right to a point, but the end Kirkman gave makes way for so much more.

After last issues shocking conclusion, Rick stabbing Negan in the neck, fans were pouncing on the chance to see either Rick or Negan, or both, die in this issue. Sadly, none of that occurs, but with the lack of death comes an even bigger story that will broaden the world of The Walking Dead far beyond mere slaughter. Kirkman gives Rick a chance to become a true leader of a people far greater than he has ever known before. He takes Rick out of the confines of just a guy trying to hack his way through the world and sets him up to become a patriarch of a new world — a better world, where the concept of “us” versus “them” can be boiled down to the lowest denominator of “living” versus “dead.”

Kirkman has laid out a grander scheme for things to come; one still filled with action and intensity, but also with a broader purpose than “just getting by.” It is a new era for Kirkman and his band of misfit survivors, one that will have fans crying foul for not killing Negan, but also will have them chomping at the bit to see what comes next!

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Transcendence (2014)

Not More Than Meets the Eye.

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Nova #16 (Duggan)

You know those vinyl stickers you see on the rear windows of trucks? The ones of Calvin taking a whiz on something the driver of the vehicle holds in disdain? I think Brevoort and Alonso (hereinafter referred to as “Bonso”) must each have one of those stuck on the rear windows of their vehicles with Calvin’s target being the word, “Cosmic.”

I never thought I’d be thinking of Quesada’s tenure as “The Good Old Days,” but at least he admitted that he didn’t like or understand Cosmic. Then he had enough true leadership skills to give the fans what they wanted by getting out of the way and letting truly talented Cosmic writers create what became Marvel’s penultimate modern Cosmic universe. Then along came Bonso and in a textbook demonstration of bad leadership, Bonso decided to “fix” what wasn’t broken. In creatively bankrupt fashion, Bonso re-packaged The Avengers and Spiderman to give us the atrocious GotGINO (Guardians of the Galaxy In Name Only) and NINO (Nova In Name Only), respectively. Seriously, Brevoort has said many times that in his opinion Nova was “coolest” as a goofy, teenaged, Lone Ranger-type flying around on Earth spouting one-liners and that the Nova Corps “wasn’t cool.” Pretty much sounds like every issue of NINO doesn’t it? You want to know who to blame for NINO? Blame Bonso.

NINO #16 is embarrassingly bad cover-to-cover. That’s why sales of this series are deservedly low and falling fast.

When I say, “bad cover-to-cover,” I mean it literally. Beginning with the cover, we see NINO lifting Stormbreaker as if the little idiot is the least bit worthy of accomplishing such a feat. The Beta Ray Bill fans should be offended – and I hope they respond by boycotting this issue and this series. Everything NINO does proves he’s not worthy of his uniform or to lift Stormbreaker. He treats life and death issues with all the seriousness of a video game. He makes stupid mistakes that hurt and endanger people. He has no respect for education or his elders. The little idiot rides a skateboard around his little cow town and has no real fighting skills when he’s out of uniform. What makes this so “cool,” Bonso? I don’t see it. It sounds lame. It is lame. You’re out of touch, Bonso. Get out of the way and take Bendis, Loeb, and Duggan with you. Cancel NINO. Then let truly talented cosmic writers resurrect the better cosmic that existed before you came along.

It gets worse.

Inside the issue, Duggan produces a plot and dialogue worthy of a Saturday morning cartoon aimed at 5-year-olds. NINO unbelievably bests a more experienced and better armed opponent; then screws up in disarming him. Dumb. Implausible. He then “High-5’s” BRB (eye roll). Then he tracks down the lame, hen-pecked bounty hunter who easily bested him a few (sad and atrocious) issues ago, has a totally uninteresting negotiation session with him, and then in sexist fashion both NINO and the bounty hunter are shown shaking in their boots in reaction to the bounty hunter’s shrewish wife. So where’d you get that sexist plot element, Duggan? Perhaps a late 1950’s or early 1960’s network situation comedy? How original of you.

The art and coloring have long been the only saving graces of NINO. They’re certainly acceptable, but nothing to rave about by any stretch.

In short, the only saving grace of this book is that it takes about 5 torturous minutes to read. At least the pain is over quickly.

I did like one single line in this issue. Cosmo has had enough of NINO’s idiocy and says, “I miss the old Nova.” So do I, Cosmo. So do all of us long-term fans of the one and only true human Nova, Rich Rider. Nix NINO! Bring back Rich Rider and The Nova Corps!

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude Infinite Comic

Rejoice my friends and all hail the antithesis of Bendis!

Hey Bendis – you paying attention? Ignore all the Marvel hype about you and attend DnA’s master class about how to write a good cosmic comic book. Same to you, Brevoort and Alonso (hereinafter referred to as “Bonso“).

Mind you – this is not the Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy Volume II. Nor is it any other Gamora comic book incarnation – especially (Blessedly! Thankfully!) not the Bendis-fied cardboard cut-out GotGINO version of Gamora wearing the trademark GotGINO cheap Japanese anime “costume.” This is the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Gamora, and for the first time since Bonso decided to fire DnA for DnA’s success in creating an innovative new property that defined itself by defying super-hero cliches, I feel like we have a Gamora that is finally back in recognizable character. If this book is any indication of the quality of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie, we have a great deal to look forward to when the movie is released this fall.

DnA’s Guardians of the Galaxy was basically a science-fiction version of The Dirty Dozen. It was para-military science-fiction which respected the characters, gave each a defining role and voice, and took the subject matter seriously. The characters were not meta-humans, but were instead characters who possessed abilities greater than those of humans because of having evolved on planets other than Earth. In other words, it was respectable science-fiction, and while it represented a change for the characters/concept – it was a change for the better. In contrast, Bendis and Bonso deliberately decided to simultaneously super-hero up and dumb down the team. GotGINO abounds with super-hero team cliches, the characters have lost their defining roles/voices and have been reduced to generic and interchangeable roles/voices just like any Avengers or X team you care to name, and perhaps most egregiously – the entire concept has been reduced to the level of farce with Rocket and Groot just around to shout catch-phrases, make lame jokes, and perform “zany antics” which would be right at home in any Looney Tunes cartoon. DnA created a powerful team full of interesting characters who were capable of addressing universal threats. Bendis and Bonso reduced said team to a sad, 3rd-rate, Avengers-wanna-be team that is a shadow of its former self and deliberately portrayed as weaker than and subordinate to any of the (way too many) Avengers or X Teams you care to name. DnA talked up to their readers. Bendis and Bonso talk down to theirs. DnA’s version was a change for the better. Bendis‘ and Bonso’s version is a change for the worse.

I’m happy to say the the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Gamora draws her inspiration from DnA’s portrayal. In this prequel to the upcoming movie, we’re introduced to Gamora shortly after the events portrayed in the Thor: The Dark World teaser for Guardians of the Galaxy involving Sif and Volstagg delivering an Infinity Stone to The Collector. It seems The Collector has in mind collecting all the Infinity objects, and he manipulates Gamora into begrudgingly helping him. Along the way, Gamora, dressed (thankfully) in clothes reminiscent of her Volume II portrayal, proves exactly why she deserves the title of “The Most Dangerous Woman in the Galaxy.” At the end, we get a glimpse of Star-Lord, Yondu, Ronan, Rocket, Groot, and Thanos as portrayed in the upcoming movie to complete the whetting of our appetite for the movie.

Andrea DiVito returns to cosmic for this book, and his art is truly magnificent to behold. I’ve missed seeing his work, and his return is truly welcome. Villari turns in a great job on coloring.

If I had one criticism of this book it would be that it ended way too quickly. I was left really wanting more – and that’s a drastic and welcome departure from my reaction to each new issue of Bendis‘ GotGINO. Pick this book up and get your Bendis Antithesis today!

Movie News Reviews

Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Holy ‘Merica!

A Film Review of Captain America: The Winter Soldier

By Lawrence Napoli

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As we approach the end of the Phase 2 Marvel Studio films, we see an upward trend in the quality of these individual blockbusters which continue to prime an already rabid (and ever expanding) fan base for Avengers: The Age of Ultron. Captain America’s second installment is a very well balanced action/adventure that ups the intensity in hand-to-hand combat, gunplay and vehicle stunts without its plot degenerating into a half baked Die Hard sequel that should never have seen the light of day. If Hollywood sees fit to add the month of April as the new starting point for the parade of summer blockbusters, then I couldn’t pick a better film in The Winter Soldier to thaw us all out of this chilly “Spring” as quickly as humanly (or in this case, superhumanly) possible.

The story, by itself, is one that several war, action and science-fiction films have addressed a multitude of times in the past: How much security does the world need at the expense of liberty? This will forever be a hot button issue for humanity as the military industrial complex continues to proliferate and specialize into increased automation which dehumanizes the task of enacting security, allowing those in power to make drastic choices efficiently without the burden of diplomacy, ethics or morality. Obviously, the difference is we’re seeing this dilemma unfold in the Marvel Universe with its most iconic soldier thrust into the epicenter, but let’s be frank, we’ve seen this before. It becomes quite clear that an organization as powerful as S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t content with simply cleaning up any messes The Avengers leave behind, let alone sitting on the bench when it comes to “protecting the planet.”

I like how the script continued to touch upon Cap’s “man out of time” theme while the character entered this personal conflict between following orders and simply doing the right thing, but then we all saw how upset Steve Rogers got at Nick Fury in The Avengers when that whole Tesseract WMD project was revealed. Personal connection, trust and a moral compass are the things that drive Captain America to have a mission in the first place. Without them, even regular men would begin to find difficulty in being soldiers, police or any security personal with the power of using lethal force to maintain order. As a result, the audience is taken on a journey that sees Steve Rogers develop as a leader not just as a combatant, but as a tactician and an inspiration. I only wish the story had time to shed this kind of light on Black Widow, Falcon and Nick Fury, but alas, Cap had some serious character maturation going on here, and it demanded just about every minute.

If all you really care about these individual Avenger films is checking out some kick-ass action, The Winter Soldier absolutely has your back with high quality special and visual effects, explosions, but most importantly fight choreography. Captain America doesn’t fly, shoot lightning or steps on his opposition, but he does punch and kick and throw his shield with improbable accuracy, and it is the speed at which the camera captures it that makes it impressive. Every close quarter combat sequence masterfully blends ballet-like strikes and counter-strikes with gut wrenching brutality. There are several moments during fight sequences when the camera gets in a little too close and stays there for the duration of each conflict that it might get too blurry for some in the audience to maintain who’s who and what exactly just happened, but I didn’t find this too problematic. There are enough moments when the camera pulls back to let you catch a breath in order to appreciate the impact of the action, but close-ups and quick cuts will forever be the director’s best friends when it comes to capturing stunt actors doing what they do best as opposed to faking it with lead actors hooked up to wire rigs yanking them all over the place. I also really enjoyed how weapons were incorporated into every fight. Pistols, machine guns, knives and of course, the shield, are in constant use and showcased at every conceivable range from far out to in your face.

The performance of the cast as a whole is without any glaring deficiency, but also without an absolute standout akin to the signature eccentricity of a Robert Downey Jr. or the charisma of a Chris Hemsworth or Tom Hiddleston. For instance, all of the supporting characters that return from previous Avenger appearances retain their previously established reliability. Samuel L. Jackson is still a bad-ass Nick Fury; Scarlett Johansson is still a sexy, innuendo-dropping Black Widow, and Cobie Smulders is a no-nonsense and businesslike Maria Hill. In their defense, none of these actors are really given huge opportunities to give the audience something new, but the plot puts a noticeable dent in the mythos of this fictional world that I would have appreciated a more significant shift in character status from all these actors. Anthony Mackie provides a successful integration into the world of the Avengers as a solid sidekick in Falcon, but his scenes as regular guy Sam Wilson are much more compelling and provide some golden nuggets of dramatic chemistry with Chris Evans.

The villains are not much to write home about because the real “villain” happens to be the flawed system/philosophy behind contemporary global security/control. But Cap needs to punch someone in the face, and Sebastian Stan gets ripped to go toe-to-toe with the Star Spangled Man. He also gets very proficient with a consistent death glare he sends everyone he shares any screen time with because his character has precious little dialogue to speak of. Robert Redford’s Alexander Pierce was more than I was expecting when compared to Ben Kingsley’s hilarious, yet ultimately irrelevant portrayal of “The Mandarin.” Redford is icy cool and matter-of-fact, but never deviates from that level of emotional tenor.

The plain reality is that The Winter Soldier is all about the growth of Steve Rogers/Captain America and the actor that plays him: Chris Evans. Once again, Evans successfully channels the boy next door who gets abs and arms and buns of steel, but there’s just something missing in his Captain America that simply playing him as “just another guy from the block” doesn’t quite cut it in this film and will most certainly not fly for the remainder of his Avenger appearances. I’ve seen enough of the plainest superhero alive. Evans shows moments of Cap’s signature heroic assertiveness towards the end of this film, but the fact is he’s been Captain America for a while now, and Steve Rogers has had a handle on his personal sense of right and wrong well before his mannish head never grew into his formerly boyish body. Don’t get me wrong. Evans absolutely nails his down-to-earth Steve Rogers with Peggy and Steve Rogers with Sam moments. It’s nice to see heroes with their capes off just trying to be people, but eventually the capes go back on and I’m still waiting for that moment where I see Evans own it onscreen as Captain America: the iconic hero that every Marvel superhuman acknowledges in some way. He’s more than capable, and I hope he gets there before his character is killed off or cast aside or dealt with according to Kevin Feige.

This is the first must-see of the Spring/Summer run of blockbusters and the number one reason to do so is for the action. Effects and eye candy would be reason number two. The story and characters are all well and good, but I see a whole lot of place holders for even more significant things set to happen in future films involving Captain America. I happened to see this film in IMAX 3D which wasn’t distracting at all, but I wouldn’t qualify this film as an absolute necessity to experience it in that format. Obviously, you have to wait for all the credits to roll to get those teases for where Ultron might be heading, but I was more enthralled with the Easter Eggs throughout Cap 2, particularly the nod to Dr. Stephen Strange.

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Guardians Of The Galaxy #13 (Bendis)

Yawn.

This issue of X-Men……er……..I mean, GotGINO (Guardians of the Galaxy In Name Only), is one enormous anti-climax (in every sense of the word) with a few lame jokes thrown in along the way. And that about sums it up. Seriously. All that build-up, and then it’s over in a few panels after a minor scuffle and teenage Cyclops throwing around a few threats that he couldn’t possibly back up in his wildest dreams or at his most powerful. Plus, it’s so slow-paced and boring that if it could be bottled, it would be a miracle cure for insomnia. For the life of me I can’t see why this crime against the Guardians of the Galaxy’s good name continues to sell well enough to keep it afloat. Has to be the movie hype. If Gunn and Feige are keeping track of the downward spiral this book is on in terms of writing, they have to be pulling out their hair in worry over a soured audience leading up to the movie’s premiere.

This issue epitomizes everything that’s wrong with Bendis’, Loeb’s/Duggan’s, Brevoort’s, and Alonso’s Marvel “Pseudo-Cosmic” Universe. Under DnA, the Guardians were big players in an enormous truly cosmic universe. Under Bendis/Brevoort et al, the Guardians are insignificant players in a tiny Earth-centric pseudo-to-non-cosmic “universe.”

Case in point: This issue would have read exactly the same if the Guardians hadn’t appeared in a single panel. They were incidental, throw-away, supporting characters to the X-Men. The Guardians of the Galaxy really didn’t contribute anything important to the story. In the single brief and boring fight, Rocket is used in cliché manner – just there to tote a big gun and talk some smack. In the denouement, Rocket and Groot are used as the butt of some extraordinarily lame jokes that made me cringe and roll my eyes at the same time (i.e. Groot attempts to put the moves on some non-sentient Earth trees; Rocket yells at some non-sentient Earth raccoons to “Put on some krutacking pants!”). Basically, Bendis keeps Rocket and Groot around simply to provide lame comic relief and a chance to push Bendis’ made-up curse word, and both come across looking like idiots. Also in the denouement, Starlord – resplendent in his cheap-Japanese-anime-inspired “costume” (which he apparently stole from a Battle of the Planets character) – awkwardly (creepily – considering their true age difference) hits on Kitty Pryde. The rest is all X-Men character development mixed with a bunch of smarmily sentimental dialogue flying back and forth between X-characters. Totally boring unless you care about the X-characters, and nearly totally boring even if you do care about the X-characters.

You want to know why I call Bendis’ take GotGINO? Just read this issue. It’s got Guardians of the Galaxy smeared across the cover – but inside it’s anything but GotG. In the “pseudo-cosmic” universe of Bendis/Brevoort/Loeb/Alonso, only the Marvel big-seller headliner characters are important. Everyone else is just a supporting character. Bendis pretty much tells you in how much esteem he holds the cosmic characters when he has the Guardians of the Galaxy make only cameo appearances in their own book!

You know what else really bothers me about the pseudo-cosmic universe created by Bendis, Brevoort, Loeb, Duggan, and Alonso? They think any cosmic character is inherently funny just because they are space-centric – and that’s the mark of silly, campy, BAD storytelling in general and bad “cosmic” or “science-fiction/fantasy” in particular. They want to turn Guardians of the Galaxy into a space farce – simply because the characters live and work in space. They take a Norse God, a WWII super-soldier, a billionaire inventor, and mutants who shoot destructive energy beams out of their eyes (where does that kind of energy come from anyway?) totally seriously and give them heavy dramatic stories. But if it’s an alien that looks like a tree, and in the past has been portrayed as both highly intelligent and a magnificent warrior, they reduce him to idiot level and have him try to bang a real tree for some cheap laughs from the imagination-challenged zombies who are so far gone that they actually think Bendis’ GotGINO run is worthwhile. If it’s a humanoid cosmic character (e.g. Starlord), they have said character act like an idiotic, bumbling nerd who couldn’t get laid on a bet. Tell me – would anyone be celebrating Captain America: The Winter Soldier nowadays if it had been written and played like the 1960’s Batman TV series? A campy farce deliberately making fun of comic books? I think not. That day has long passed, and it passed quickly even back in the 60’s. So why, Brevoort/Bendis/Duggan/Loeb/Alonso/Young, are you reducing cosmic to the level of farce now? Why? Because – as I’ve said from the start – none of them understand science-fiction/science-fantasy.

The art and coloring are certainly acceptable – nothing to write home about. The art and coloring have always been the best parts of the Bendis/Brevoort/Loeb/Duggan/Alonso/Young pseudo-cosmic universe – but I liken it to putting lipstick on a pig. It makes the pig look a little better, but you still don’t want to kiss it. Unless, of course, you’re an imagination-challenged zombie and/or you’re Bendis/Brevoort/Loeb/Duggan/Alonso/Wacker/Young – in which case you’re first in line at that kissing booth.

Comic Book News

Review: The Walking Dead #124

Building off of the characters big push on Sunday’s episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead, Eugene finally takes center stage this issue — with astounding results! Kirkman has been gradually making this mediocre character into something multi-faceted in the last few issues, but this is where he truly shines. Kirkman puts Eugene in a situation where he NEEDS to become a leader without hesitation, a life or death moment that portrays him with confidence akin to Rick. A moment that has completely changed the character from “brilliant oaf” to “brilliant leader” in an instant, and I can’t thank Kirkman enough for it!

Robert Kirkman wastes no time with this “feverishly” paced issue that leads to the most dire of consequences for many key characters. Besides Eugene’s transformation, we see the battle rage on between Neegan’s forces and the residents of the Hilltop. We also see the results of the wound Rick received from last issue, and NO, I will not reveal it’s end result — unless I already have in this review!

Even though this issue is a must have for every Walking Dead fan, Kirkman’s layout and pacing is too rushed in this issue. Everything after the opening sequence seems forced upon you and it never becomes truly fleshed out, leaving too many simple questions unanswered. Questions like, “If it’s too dark to see anything, how did Dwight attack Rick?” and, “If Dwight and Neegan were together when he attacked Rick, why are they not when they follow him?” It’s the simple things that build a story and keep it cohesive, unfortunately, this issue lost some of that in order to quicken the tale to fit within it’s 12 issue parameter. But, I can see past the rushed feel of the story for the overall end result. The “big reveal” may not come as a shock but it is still shocking none the less, and it is those great build up pieces that will keep fans clamoring for more regardless of how quickly the story pushes on!

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Nova #15 (Duggan)

And the foolishness continues.

Duggan has been writing Deadpool so long that he’s forgotten how to write anything else (if he ever could write anything else in the first place). This issue of NINO is just silly, campy, DUMB child-oriented fantasy at its absolute worst.

I think about so many titles that were so much better than this garbage – Agents of Atlas, Young Allies, Incredible Hercules – (not to mention Volume II of Guardians of the Galaxy and Volume IV of Nova) – and Marvel keeps this trash on life support? There’s something in the works we don’t know about at this point.

We do know that Bendis is going to write the fate of Rich Rider as part of his GotGINO tie-ins to Original Sin. That ought to be about as enjoyable as a combined root canal and colonoscopy. There’s one thing we can count on: with Bendis, Brevoort, Alonso, Loeb, Wacker, and Duggan having anything to do with it, Rich definitely won’t be returning – at least not in any way any Rider Nova fan will find satisfying. The Marvel Clown Car drivers are determined to cram NINO down our throats. If you’re still buying NINO, you’re just making it easier for them.

Anyway, in this issue NINO continues to bumble his way through the situation somehow using powers he’s never been trained to use in heavy combat situations to best THREE rogue Spaceknights. Yeah. That’s plausible. He then takes a break to attend school. Yeah. That’s plausible, too. At school, he sleeps through class (great message to the kiddies at whom this book is aimed), and then agrees with his science teacher that there are no aliens. I guess that teacher slept through Bendis’ Secret Invasion? Come to think of it, I did, too, after I got bored with counting all the alien invasion movie concepts Bendis ripped-off while writing that utterly derivative and boring “event.”

Next issue’s cover features the little idiot lifting Stormbreaker. NINO isn’t worthy of the uniform he’s usurped – and Marvel wants to portray him as worthy enough to lift Stormbreaker, too? Yeah – you’ve pretty much got to have the mentality of an 8-year-old to buy into the entire concept of NINO. I find myself rooting for the villains in every issue. I’d rejoice if one of them killed the little idiot.

The funny thing is that Duggan et al just keep doubling-down on everything that isn’t working despite falling sales that should be telling them that the NINO concept has been soundly rejected. Nix NINO, and bring back a Rider Nova book aimed at adult readers is the message Brevoort and Alonso are deliberately ignoring to push the worthlessness that is NINO.

The art and coloring are certainly acceptable; though I found portraying Cosmo to be morbidly obese a bit off-putting. But, again, that’s just a single off-putting example of a book filled to the brim with off-putting bastardizations and ret-cons of the much better true cosmic that preceded it written by actual talented cosmic writers such as Giffen and DnA. Marvel’s strategy of firing the talented writers and bringing in the hacks has worked wonders for cosmic hasn’t it? Good job Alonso and Brevoort.

So buckle-up Rider Nova fans. Unfortunately it’s been bad – but the worst is yet to come. Marvel isn’t through insulting, disrespecting, and underestimating us. They’ve commissioned Bendis to deal the death blow. They think we’re too few in number to matter, and that we’ll eventually just give up and/or fade away – and they want to hurry that process along with Bendis writing Rich’s ultimate dire fate. Let’s prove them wrong. Join me in continuing to boycott NINO. Boycott Original Sin and GotGINO, too. Marvel needs to be punished in the only manner they understand – monetarily – for their “original sin” of running cosmic into the ground and disrespecting/insulting/underestimating cosmic fans in general and the Rider Nova fans in particular.

Comic Book News Marvel

COVER SHOOT: The Top 5 Comic Book Covers For 3/19/2014

COVER SHOOT

By: Chris “DOC” Bushley

This weekly feature will take a look at THE most visually compelling comic book covers on the market today. Whether they be rare variant editions or just your standard fare, these are the top 5 covers that stand out amidst the bevy of books released each week. They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words” but these covers are worth more than that! No matter the storylines behind them, these covers compel you to at least check them out, which can be worth exponentially more than just words to the companies that publish them! Enjoy!

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1. Noah (Image): This movie adaption hardcover not only has a stunning cover by the world renowned, Niko Henrichon, but he does all the interior art as well! The linework and layout of this image exudes desolation, a single man bearing the weight of the world, no one could have conveyed that powerful of a thought more beautifully than Henrichon. This cover is so pristine and epic that it is overwhelming!

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2. Trinity of Sin: Pandora #9 (DC): From the foreground pose to the choice of illuminating the background in an onslaught of baby blue, Julian Totino Tedesco, made all the right choices to make this cover pop off of the racks! The slightly diluted painting scheme is truly beautiful and helps solidify the main character in her new role of warrior of the light. It is almost heavenly in scope and astonishing to behold!

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3. Daredevil #1 (Variant Edition) (Marvel): This variant edition by Paolo Rivera, was originally petitioned as a color piece with Daredevil’s suit in a crimson red. I think this stark black and white version is even more eye catching than the original thought and helps to accentuate the graphic background design that Rivera meticulously laid out. While the foreground image of DD is done very well, it is the background that makes this cover great for me. Not only does it offset with the foreground image but it also represents the story well in regards to acting as a maze. It mimics DD’s disadvantage of being in a new city perfectly, making the whole book something special.

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4. Harbinger: Bleeding Monk #0 (Variant Edition) (Valiant): Clayton Henry is a master of mixing digital and painted art to make some of the most outstanding covers on the market today. This one is no different but the layout is done so exceptionally well, that it blows everything else away! The forced perspective is amazing, making you feel as though the focal point is literally floating above you. The central image alone can sell this book, but Henry made the background colors a complete juxtaposition to the foreground, creating a solid piece that is truly stunning!

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5. Thor: God of Thunder #20 (Marvel): Do I need to say anything about this cover? Does anyone create a Thor cover better than Esad Ribic? “I say thee, nay!” This image is pure power, pure strength and pure excitement! The detail Ribic puts into “old” Thor is astounding but just look at, even “older,” Galactus in the background! The eye has so much to take in it’s dizzying! There is not one inch of this cover that doesn’t make the inner fanboy in me squeal with glee. ’nuff said!

Comic Book News

Review: American Vampire: Second Cycle #1

It has been quite some time since fans have been blessed with an ongoing American Vampire book. A wait that has been filled with one-shot teases that were satisfying, but not something that wholly satiated the hunger of ravenous fans. Today, that longing can finally cease as Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuqueque unleash American Vampire: Second Cycle upon the masses!

This time around, we follow Skinner Sweet and Pearl into the treacherous nineteen-sixties where their roles have drastically changed since the last time we saw them. Pearl has become the “Harriet Tubman” of the vampire world, taking in children that have been hunted and persecuted, giving them not only a home but knowledge and friendship as well. Skinner has transformed into a one man hit-squad along the Texas/Mexican border, amassing weapons and cash from unlucky smugglers before, literally, going underground.

Snyder’s tale is multifaceted to say the least. There is the core tales of both Skinner and Pearl, ones filled with beautifully rendered flashback panels that will inform and delight even the newest of readers, but he also bookends the piece with an unnerving mystery that continues to build the overall mythos of the world he has created. The commingling of different eras and story focuses is where Snyder’s skill as a writer truly shines. More often than not, writers who converge on too many story fronts fail to make the changes coherent enough to hold the readers’ attention, let alone enthrall them! But Snyder holds sway over the reader, making the changes not only smooth but meaningful to all other aspects of the tale. He makes each “solo” tale so rich and detailed that it could resonate completely on it’s own merit, but placed together, they make for a single perfect tale of tension and ferocity that will enamor even the most fickle of readers!

American Vampire: Second Cycle transcends past the label of “horror comic” and lands squarely within the parameters of “great comic!” Although, those looking for something fierce and haunting will be more than pleased as well. Viscousness is intrinsic to this book and with creators like Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque, the “Modern Day Masters of Horror,” at the helm, who could ask for anything more?!

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Nova #14 (Duggan)

It’s faint praise but this issue is probably the best of the worst thus far.

I say that only because Duggan mangles the Nova Corps mythos a tad less than usual, and of course, because Rich Rider and Cosmo make cameo appearances. Also, Knowhere is back to being portrayed as a Celestial head floating in the Big Rip rather than Bendis’ recent portrayal of it as a desert planet in a binary system (ripping off Star Wars’ Tatooine). Otherwise, this issue is yet another completely forgettable waste of time, money, and paper.

NINO himself remains an obnoxious and thoroughly unlikable disgrace to the Nova Corps uniform and legacy. As usual, he bumbles his way through situations – implausibly and unbelievably utilizing powers he’s never been trained to use during heavy combat situations that he’s never been formally trained to manage. And, as usual, the cute sugary coating that overlies this intelligence-insulting series fairly oozes off each page threatening to send even non-diabetic readers into a hyperglycemia-induced coma. They’re just desperate to turn this tripe into a Disney kiddie movie aren’t they?

That’s one of the things that bothers me most about this despicable series. It isn’t enough that Loeb, Alonso, Brevoort, and Duggan disrespect and insult true long-term Rider Nova fans by replacing him with an annoying child, they also insist on dumbing down the storylines and concepts to pre-teen level.

Continuing Bendis’ wrong-headed ret-conning of Knowhere into an alternate universe version of Tatooine’s Mos Eisley spaceport, Duggan lifts the Han Solo vs Greedo bar scene right out of Star Wars Episode IV. Hey Duggan – have you ever actually read a science-fiction novel? Or does your total understanding of cosmic (like Bendis’) come from being a casual Star Wars fan? It sure seems like the latter.

Here’s the main difference between DnA’s Nova/GotG and Loeb’s-Duggan’s NINO/Bendis’ GotGINO: DnA’s work read like a well-written science-fiction novel that respected readers’ adult mentality, and Loeb’s-Duggan’s NINO/Bendis’ GotGINO read like comic books aimed at children and/or zombies who’ll buy anything. It’s the difference between DnA’s entertaining, intriguing, imaginative, original, high- quality work that respects the characters and fans, and Loeb’s/Bendis’/Duggan’s pedestrian, forgettable, un-imaginative, derivative, hackneyed trash which disrespects the characters and fans.

In an obvious attempt to “throw a bone” to Rider Nova fans, Duggan et al includes a cameo flashback of Rich Rider coming to BRB’s rescue in a heretofore unknown meeting between BRB and Rich. Surprisingly, Rich is treated with respect (for a change) by this (so-called) “creative” team. I suppose this appearance is supposed to satisfy us and make us shut up about Marvel’s shabby treatment of the Rider Nova character and the Rider Nova fans? Nope. Not gonna happen. You’re going to have to do much better than that Marvel Editors.

It was nice to see Cosmo again, but of course Duggan can’t resist turning him into a joke character, and, of course, NINO is completely disrespectful to Cosmo. That’s another of the reasons I just can’t stand the little “idiot” that is the NINO character. NINO – much like his patrons on Marvel’s editorial staff – simply doesn’t realize how inferior he is not only to his predecessor whose title he usurped, but to all the other cosmic characters with whom he interacts.

The art and coloring in this issue are certainly acceptable, but they aren’t enough to justify investing one red cent in this series. If you’re a true cosmic fan and a true fan of Rider Nova, the best thing you can do is leave this trash on the shelf. If we all continue the boycott of Loeb’s/Marvel’s callous insult to true Rider Nova fandom maybe we’ll be rewarded with the phrase, “Final Issue,” smeared across the cover before issue #20 of NINO hits the shelves. Better no Nova than NINO.

Nix NINO!

Movie News Reviews

Op-Ed: Thoughts On A Michael B. Jordan As A Black Johnny Storm

Josh Trank’s Got A ‘Fantastic’ Curveball For Ya!

More Casting Shenanigans from the Hollywood Machine

By Lawrence Napoli

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All right, so we all know by now that 20^th Century Fox is bankrolling a reboot of the Fantastic Flops from ’05 and ’07. Josh Trank, director of Chronicle (2012), will be in command of this reboot starring a bunch of semi-known white actors in the principal roles … and … a black Johnny Storm? Oh yes, Michael B. Jordan (which is I’m sure a stage name that totally and is in no way attempting to siphon off any mojo from ‘His Airness’) has been cast as the Human Torch. Questions?

First, let’s state the obvious. Jordan is Josh Trank’s boy from his break out film Chronicle. Jordan did a great job in that role, but he still happened to be the token black guy in a super-hero-y type of movie so that means [SPOILER ALERT!] he wasn’t the main character and was the first one with powers to be killed. Surprise, surprise. What truly isn’t a surprise, however, is the fact that this kind of Hollywood nepotism or reciprocation or familiarity or whatever you want to label it as is pretty gosh darn common. Just look at anything produced or directed by Chris Nolan and you may notice the carbon copying of entire cast lists. Be that as it may, I have no problem with any director recasting actors with whom he or she developed good, professional relationships with – provided it’s not just about throwing someone a bone and the decision will be mutually beneficial.

Second, nobody knows where exactly this “reboot” is going to go with the story, but examining the sparse details on imdb.com (assuming them to be accurate) allows us to deduce a few things: The Fantastic Four will be Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Ben Grimm/The Thing and Johnny Storm/The Human Torch. Each character would not have been given their pseudonym on the cast page if this reboot was going to be doing something way off formula by changing the origin story from “these people get blasted with cosmic rays in space that turns them into the super-humans we’ve come to know them as.” So it seems that everyone is going to have the same or similar range of status and relationships they share with each other from the comics and the previous films. The issue at bar is that the characters of Sue and Johnny Storm share a biological heritage that is clearly going to be broken based on this most recent casting news. I can only presume that Trank will go for some alternative/adoptive family structure to “plot-device” that little detail away because both introducing themselves as “I’m Sue Storm. I’m Johnny Storm. No relation,” is just plain dumb even for a (non-spoof) comic book adaptation.

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I could care less about whatever taboo may result from reorienting the ethnicities of fictional characters. If anything, Hollywood needs as many truckloads of actual, progressive thought patterns to do anything to kick the white/male hero to the curb and deliver stories whose main characters are women, Asians, Africans, Hispanics, homosexuals – basically anyone who isn’t the stereotypical white, hetero, leading man. I like the idea of casting Michael B. Jordan in this role because of the potential it gives to refreshing a whole lot of super hero been there/done that. My problem with this casting reveal is not that Johnny Storm is black, but that his sister, Sue Storm (Kate Mara, pictured left), isn’t.

There was a real opportunity to do something unique with a fairly popular (though certainly not a flagship) license amidst this tidal wave of comic book films we’ll be digesting for the next 10 years. Seeing interracial couples in films and TV today reflect trends in western society that have been happening for a while, and Hollywood is still catching up. Seeing this in a super hero family for a big budget blockbuster would not only have brought the proverbial spice, but also a whole new angle to reflect on the first family of super-heroes not to mention an added level of depth this potential film’s predecessors could never have addressed. If Trank wants Jordan as Johnny, then that’s fine, but it makes no sense to make his (traditionally) biological sister a different race, regardless of whatever complex family dynamic you’ll only address with these two characters by themselves. Finding the screen time to explain whatever this brother-sister relationship will eventually be defined as will diminish the capacity of the most important relationship in this family: between Reed and Sue (and their future child Franklin who is arguably the most powerful, non-abstract, character in the Marvel Universe). An interracial couple would have raised the stakes, delivered something new and sweetened the drama for the entire cast.

In the end, Josh Trank is going to be directing a comic book adaptation that is going to feature plenty of action and special effects and typically, those kinds of films aren’t primarily interested in commenting on anything too heavy. As much as people may be making a big deal about Michael B. Jordan now, I have a feeling that Trank is going to sweep his ethnicity under the rug in the due course of the film’s progression by making these “however related” siblings as matter-as-fact as possible. One or both of them will be adopted or have different fathers and yada, yada, yada, as long as two white people are hooking up as husband and wife of this super hero team then everything’s fine. Diving any deeper into this subplot turns this film into the Fantastic Two. Denying that depth forces the elephant in the room to get completely ignored and, as a director, you’ve made your actor (in this case, Jordan) completely inconsequential to the character. I suppose it’s a good thing to get to the point in society where things like race and everything else that makes us different from each other doesn’t impact behavior in any way, but maintaining the unique sibling nature of Sue and Johnny with the ethnicity swap would have brought a whole new level of complexity to this film that I can only assume was simply (ahem) too hot to handle for this particular production staff.

I’m sure when more information and promotions regarding this film become available, we’ll hear Trank and perhaps every producer at the top talk about “we just picked the best cast with the best chemistry,” as an explanation for it all. Yeah, ok. This isn’t casting for a high school musical where it would be novel to cast an African American male for Peter Pan, an Asian American female for Jean Valjean, a Latino American male for Sky Masterson and so on and so forth. Picking whomever for whatever shouldn’t enter the equation unless the production is going to make those kinds of choices more meaningful to the overall production than “just ‘cause.” Hollywood films can ill afford to be flippant in regards to any decision made for the production unless that choice fully serves the story; anything less needs to be reconsidered if not instantly retracted. Of course, that kind of idealism doesn’t fuel even your average Hollywood blockbuster and the “just ‘cause” rationale is actually something that pops up quite frequently. It’s one of the main reasons we continue to see some awful filmmaking and the audience notices those choices with every awkward moment we bear witness to.

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All I care about is seeing a really good movie, and I feel this one could be great if the Storm family was an African American family, but let’s dial it back and keep it real with the Fantastic Four. That franchise isn’t anything close to the grandeur of The Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman, Superman or the Justice League. Infinitely less people are going to care if this movie actually gets made, let alone this one little detail. So who gives a damn, right? Well, I would think a filmmaker would want as many people as possible to give a damn by trying to show people a story and give them an experience they haven’t had before. The brother-sister no relation situation seems foolish to push in any film where the story isn’t fully focused on that major plot point. But who am I kidding? It’s just another reboot. Why should anyone expect more from something less?

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Guardians Of The Galaxy #12

Just when I thought GotGINO couldn’t get any worse, Bendis steps up and pushes it down to rock bottom.

It’s very clear that Bendis doesn’t have any idea how to write cosmic in general and Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Drax, and Gamora in particular. The Guardians are really just used as generic supporting characters for the X-Men – just as they’ve been used as generic supporting characters for the Avengers in several past issues.

With the exception of Rocket – whose rendering leaves much to be desired – Pichelli, Immonen, and Ponsor give us some pretty, colorful pictures that resemble the Guardians of the Galaxy of old (even though I still resent Star-Lord being de-aged by about 10 years). Unfortunately, Bendis has extracted the heart and soul of the team. It’s the perfect American product – all style and no substance. It’s sad really. Volume II of this book had the style and substance of greatness – but Alonso, Brevoort, and Bendis threw that away in favor of a “Guardians of the Galaxy in Name Only” Volume III made to appeal to children and Avenger-zombies/X-zombies with the mentality of children. Unfortunately their strategy worked in terms of sales as the zombies keep buying it – so, sadly, we’re in for a lot more of this GotGINO because the exact wrong message is being sent to Marvel. To them, the sales figures say that this is what comics buyers really want. I say – it’s apparently what the zombies want – including the handful of cosmic-zombies who’ll buy anything with Guardians of the Galaxy smeared across the cover. It isn’t what the true cosmic fans want. Let’s hope that Bendis has to give GotG up to focus on Star Wars now that Marvel will be taking over that franchise. When he turns Star Wars into SWINO, that enormous group of fans will give him the (figurative) tarring and feathering he deserves for crimes perpetrated against cosmic.

Pretty much nothing happens in this issue except for Scott Summers and Star-Lord’s catharsis about their daddy issues. What is this obsession with daddy issues? Are you trying to work something out for yourself Bendis? If so, please take it up with your analyst and stop inflicting it on the rest of us. Invite Loeb, Alonso, Wacker, and Brevoort along. Maybe you can get a group discount.

Of course, more characters return from the dead with no explanation as to how. Yes – I’m talking Corsair and the Starjammers. Don’t get me wrong – I ‘m happy to see the Starjammers alive and well. They and Magik are really the only X-characters I care much about. I just resent every dead cosmic character being inexplicably resurrected EXCEPT Rich Rider and, of course, Mar-Vell, Genis-Vell, and Phyla-Vell. Apparently – if you’re a cosmic character and there’s more than one “R” or one “L” in your name, Marvel has some sort of rule stating that you can’t be resurrected. Not that I want Bendis to have anything to do with resurrecting Rider or any of the Vell’s. But I would like to see a truly capable cosmic writer (e.g. DnA, Starlin, Giffen) tell those stories.

Save your money on this one guys. The GotGINO barely appear in their own book – and when they do they don’t do anything of consequence. They’re really just Butlers for the A-list X-characters. Besides, this one is a snooze-fest even by Bendis standards.

Comic Book News

Has DC Given Us A Clue That Nightwing Will Die?!

Another Death In The Family?

By: Chris “DOC” Bushley

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We have all heard the rumors before, “Nightwing is going to die!” As a matter of fact, before the New 52, it was rumored that Nightwing, Dick Grayson, was to perish in a most heroic way. This time, however, there are too many scenarios aligning to make this rumor feel like just another rumor, this time it may actually happen!

In the pages of DC’s big event, “Forever Evil,” Nightwing was captured, tortured and his true identity revealed worldwide to the shock and horror of all the remaining heroes. DC also previously announced that Nightwing will be canceled as of issue #30, arriving on stands April 9th. Just these facts alone don’t truly add up to anything, but DC always has some subtle ways of giving clues as to what may come to fruition!

Way back in November, DC placed a lovely teaser image by Jason Fabok within the pages of its “Bat” books. This was solicited as a teaser for characters and storylines that would take place in the new weekly series, Batman Eternal, that just so happens to debut in April as well. You have all seen this image before, but take a look again. There is one character that seems to be missing, yes Nightwing is not there, or is he? The blonde haired character next to Red Robin appears to be wearing a mask that looks a lot like Nightwing. Did Dick Grayson dye his hair, or could that be Calvin Rose a.k.a.. Talon taking up the mantle?

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Either way, it is still something to speculate, considering what this image has already revealed to us. In Batman #28, which takes place six months in the future, we have already seen the debut of Harper Row as Batman’s new sidekick, Bluebird, as well as the return of fan favorite Stephanie Brown — Spoiler! Both are featured here next to Red Robin and the mysterious blond hero. But there is even more!

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Once you take a good look at Jason Fabok’s cover to Batman Eternal #1, we see something even more intriguing. The cast of characters displayed within Batman’s cape are also from Fabok’s Thanksgiving teaser image as well. There are a few additions, such as the Riddler, Scarecrow, Harley and the female Talon, Strix, but the rest are the same — minus two! Which two you may ask? Both Nightwing AND Talon are missing from this picture, and with both of their series being canceled, wouldn’t one think that they would at least be brought into a book called Batman Eternal? It’s hard to think that Dick Grayson, the original Boy Wonder, would be left out of something as big as a Batman weekly series focusing on all aspects of the Bat Universe! Unless, of course, he is no longer around!

But, maybe it’s all just rumor, we truly never know until the the books hit the stands. Maybe I am just speculating too much, but then again, whose bones are those around the fire in Fabok’s teaser? As Batman stands in the pouring rain on the cover of Batman Eternal #1, whose blood is running down his chest? Maybe the cover of Nightwing #30 will help give us some answers. You decide!

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Comic Book News

Review: The Walking Dead #122

A “slow burn” tale awaits you this week as Robert Kirkman continues to build to the deafening crescendo of the, “All Out War,” story arc.

Kirkman is known for his “ebb and flow” style of storytelling and this week is all about strengthening the bonds between the main characters to further the tale along. Taking place mostly at the Hilltop, Kirkman narrows his story to just a chosen few, but he exponentially builds upon their layers of characterization with brief insights between the larger scope of the tale. We are privy to some tender moments between Andrea and Rick, we see a confession from Ezekiel to Michonne, a rather sad exchange with Heath and a doctor and the burden placed on Maggie’s shoulders by here decision from last issue.

These short insights into the individual worlds of the characters drives the overall story, one laced with the converging of peoples against a common enemy and rife with despair for what is to come. But, as well written as those small pieces may be, the revelations about the character of Jesus and Neegan’s new choice of weapon, is what fans will be clamoring about around the water cooler tomorrow! I won’t mention the one secret about Jesus( I’m sure there will be plenty of people sounding off on the message boards about it!) but I will reveal that we are finally given his real name! But I have to say, I’ll still call him Jesus! I also won’t reveal Neegan’s new choice of weapon although it is organic in nature, and no, it’s not a zombie bomb!

Horrible things await our heroes in this continuing story arc and I could not be more on the edge of my seat! Secrets tend to hurt those they are being kept from, by the sheer amount of secrets revealed in this issue alone, everyone will be feeling the pain!

Only two weeks until the next issue!

Comic Book News Marvel

Review: Nova #13 (Duggan)

As Beta Ray Bill said to NINO, “If you are Nova then you are a disgrace to all those who came before you!” I could stop writing this review right now and leave it to BRB’s assessment because truer words have never been spoken, and that pretty much sums up not only this issue – but this whole series. Thank you Mr. Duggan for some rare honesty about NINO on the part of Marvel Comics. NINO is a disgrace to the uniform and legacy of The Nova Corps.

Duggan continues the NINO trademark of silly, intelligence-insultingly implausible storylines about the inexperienced, untrained idiot, NINO, somehow bumbling his way through situations and even besting a true, highly-experienced, and ultra-powerful hero like BRB. After you’ve finished joining me in an eye-roll over that astoundingly stupid story element aimed squarely at 8-year-old boys. Rest your eyes for another eye-roll as NINO’s mother proves once again how unfit she is to parent by sending the minor child, NINO, off to space to risk his life in the company of an alien she’s just met and reacted to with terror. I guess she’d send NINO over to Neverland Ranch for a sleep over if MJ was still alive. Unbelievable. Somebody please call Child Protective Services and have her children removed from her custody. It’s also unbelievable that BRB would invite a minor child to accompany him on a life-threatening combat mission. BRB is better than that.

But why should any of this surprise us? It’s not like Brevoort, Alonso, Bendis, and Loeb set out to create a quality product. They had that with Volume IV and threw it away in favor of this puerile trash.

On the positive side, the art is certainly acceptable and Curiel’s colors are eye-catching. However, you can find great art plus great writing with other better true cosmic books that actually respect their readers, talk up to their readers, and seek to cultivate their relationship with long-term fans. I’m talking Invincible or any of the Warlord of Mars books.

Marvel is trying to milk BRB fandom to stop the rapidly falling sales of NINO by guest starring BRB for the next several issues. Don’t be fooled BRB fans. BRB fans are sure to be disappointed with the shabby treatment given BRB in this book. One of the variant covers for #16 shows NINO lifting Stormbreaker. As if the little idiot is worthy. So, BRB fans, show your displeasure and leave this one on the shelf. Reading it will just piss you off anyway.

It’s clear that Duggan simply needs to go back to writing Deadpool and leave cosmic alone in the future. In the meantime, he’ll do just fine to usher in the well-deserved end of NINO. Sales have dropped well under 30K, and New Warriors has debuted to thunderously under-whelming reviews and general indifference. If we’re lucky, NINO will be gone before issue #20 and NeWINO before issue #10. Let’s continue the boycott and hasten the little idiot’s demise.

Comic Book News

Op-Ed: Nova: The Turning Point; Richard Rider The New “Death of Captain Marvel”

The Cosmic Triune

An Opinion-Editorial

Nova: The Turning Point

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The Death of Captain Marvel is definitely among the best and most poignant of comic book stories ever told. However, it has over time been elevated to “sacrosanct and immutable” status by Marvel’s senior editorial staff. “Mar-Vell dead” has replaced “Bucky dead” (for obvious reasons) as a term meaning that a character is dead and will be prevented from returning to life only due to editorial intransigence. I would argue that Mar-Vell’s death story doesn’t deserve “sacrosanct and immutable” status, but that’s a subject for a future op-ed.

In this op-ed, I will address the recent announcement by Marvel Vice-President, Tom Brevoort, that current GotGINO writer, Brian Bendis, will be addressing a sore spot among cosmic fans: how Star-Lord and Thanos escaped the Cancerverse while the true Nova, Rich Rider, somehow didn’t.

As all true Rider Nova fans and true cosmic fans know, Rich Rider wasn’t really killed at the culmination of The Thanos Imperative. Nova (Volume IV) writers, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, have been very clear in stating that they didn’t kill Rich – just merely put him in limbo until they could bring him back and continue his story when his ongoing series was taken off of “hiatus” by Marvel’s editorial staff. Of course, DnA’s Nova (Volume IV) and Guardians of the Galaxy (Volume II) – considered by most cosmic fans as the definitive and penultimate volumes of both series – never got the opportunity to return from hiatus. As recounted by Marvel President Axel Alonso, it was decided to reboot both series with new writers (Loeb for Nova and Bendis for GotG) in an attempt to integrate Marvel Cosmic into the Marvel Earth universe and make cosmic more accessible to the typical comic book buyer. As we all know, Alonso succeeded – and ruined both concepts in the process.

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Loeb’s Nova (Volume V) has earned the name, “Nova in Name Only” (i.e. NINO), as the mature and ultra-powerful leader of men, Rich Rider, was suddenly said to have been killed at the end of The Thanos Imperative and replaced by an annoying 14-year-old child bumbling his way through pedestrian “adventures” on Earth in a blatant, creatively bankrupt attempt to re-package yesteryear’s teen Peter Parker for today’s pre-pubescent audience. In other words, Rich was “killed” via editorial fiat to make room for NINO. NINO has not been well received, has experienced steadily falling sales, and has earned the ire of long-term fans of the true Nova, Rich Rider. Likewise, Bendis’ Guardians of the Galaxy (Volume III), termed GotGINO by many fans, has replaced the awe and wonder of the cosmos with a pedestrian, Seinfeld-ish version of GotG – literally a “comic about nothing.” Whereas DnA’s version of GotG had interesting characters with distinct personalities single-handedly taking on universal threats, Bendis has reduced the characters to generic personalities shouting catch phrases or making lame jokes while bumbling their way through barely defending only minor threats to Earth that are beneath the notice of the Avengers. Bendis’ GotG are essentially third-string errand boys for the Avengers. How the mighty have fallen.

Given the hack-job perpetrated against cosmic as described above, Rider Nova fans are understandably concerned about a Bendis-written and Brevoort/Alonso overseen account of what happened to Rich after the events of The Thanos Imperative when he was last seen marooned in the Cancerverse with Star-Lord and Thanos.

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The smart thing for Marvel to do would be to see this for the turning point that it is, and take the opportunity to mend fences with the Rider Nova fans (aka – potential paying customers in a comic book environment of falling sales and increasing competition) by bringing Rich back to be the powerful and mature Nova Prime of the cosmos busy doing what he should be doing – resurrecting Xandar. Since Dan Abnett is going to be back writing for Marvel, let him write the story of Rich’s return as he originally intended. To placate the small group of NINO fans and Marvel’s desperation to make NINO the only Nova on Earth, Rich never again has to set foot on Earth. Earth can be left to the little twit, NINO, as far as I’m concerned. NINO won’t make it to issue #20, the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon will be over in 3 seasons, and New Warriors in Name Only (NeWINO) will be DOA despite Marvel’s desperation to make NINO work – so we’ll hopefully see the last of NINO soon if natural selection is allowed to prevail.

But, as already demonstrated by Marvel’s current leadership, we can’t count on them to do the smart thing with cosmic or with the Rider Nova character, and they apparently don’t care about cultivating their relationship with Rider Nova fans. Given their desperation to make NINO work, the open hostility that members of Marvel’s editorial staff have publicly displayed against any Rider Nova fan publicly objecting to the disrespect Marvel has shown to Rider Nova fans, and Marvel’s consistent message to us, to just “shut up and buy NINO or they’ll be no ‘Nova’ at all.” It doesn’t take a weatherman to see which way this wind is blowing. Bendis is going to write a story making Rich Rider “Mar-Vell dead” in order to cement NINO in place forevermore.

Let’s stop that from happening by accelerating the process of natural selection in regard to NINO. NINO needs to be a demonstrated failure so there will be no temptation to make Rich “Mar-Vell dead.” Since all Marvel understands and respects is dollars, the message is going to have to be sent via that route. I know some think the “collaborator” approach is the best way. That is, some think that supporting NINO will bring Rich back. Nope. Buying NINO and GotGINO will only get you more NINO and GotGINO. Sometimes you’ve got to burn the village to save it. If you’re still buying NINO, stop immediately. And don’t buy NeWINO either since it features NINO. Stop watching the USM cartoon and if you’ve set your DVR to record it – stop that immediately to help drive ratings down. Don’t buy any NINO merchandise. Spoil Bendis’ intention to make Rich “Mar-Vell dead” by talking about it on every forum you visit. Then go to Bendis’ Tumblr page or twitter feed, Brevoort’s Tumblr page or twitter feed, and Alonso’s twitter feed and tell them about your displeasure with NINO, and why you’re not buying their products. Make it clear that the same thing will happen to GotGINO if Bendis kills off Rich Rider. That makes more of a difference than you think – and even if they don’t publish it, they still read it. Make them understand why their choices about cosmic are losing them customers (i.e. money). And even if this strategy doesn’t bring Rich Rider back, it’ll at least sink NINO. As I’ve always said, better no Nova than NINO.

DISCUSS THIS IN THE COSMIC BOOK NEWS MARVEL COSMIC FORUMS

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