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The plans of mice and men

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Walt

usagionshelfwith2volsY’know….when the year was dawning, 5/6 weeks ago…I hastily rushed into a couple things.

One was a “to-be-read” book challenge—I assembled a list of twelve books I’ve been meaning to read, and the goal is to get through those by the end of 2011. An “alternates” list is allowed, which I also maxed out at 12 books. The year is still young—it only took one full month to get through my first book, and I’m already into a second book—which I didn’t even realize was going to exist. Meanwhile, I’m about 1/3 into the audiobook version of one of my alternates.

buffyssn1The other thing was something I’d heard about from several podcasts the last several years—to “adopt” a character. I decided to do so with Usagi Yojimbo, having intended for ages to read and learn more about the character, but never quite getting myself around to it.

Then as the year actually dawned, I realized multiple seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer were on Netflix streaming.

Thought about picking up where I’d left off 5 1/2 years earlier at the end of the first season, but opted to just start fresh at the beginning. Some idle curiosity combined with some casual checking out, and I found myself quickly drawn into the show.

buffythevampireslayerseasoneight001Tonight, I finished the 3rd season; meaning I’ve averaged about half a season per week. Of course, I’m now to the point where Angel spun off into his own show, and the question becomes: do I simply continue on through Buffy, and then double back to watch Angel…or do I flip back and forth and attempt to follow both series simultaneously, the way they originally aired?

And as I realize how much time I’ve spent…Usagi sits on the shelf, and it seems that I’ve in many ways “adopted” Buffy as a character to focus on this year.

Continue reading →

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Fall of the Hulks: Alpha [Review]

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Walt

Quick Rating: Good
Story Title: Meeting of the Minds

The Leader and his group of intellectual villains work behind the scenes through Marvel’s history to assemble the lost knowledge of the Library of Alexandria.

fallofthehulksalphaWriter: Jeff Parker
Penciler: Paul Pelletier
Inker: Vicente Cifuentes
Colorists: Guru eFX
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Cover: Ed McGuinness, Mark Farmer, Dave Stewart
Production: Irene Y. Lee
Assistant Editor: Jordan D. White
Associate Editor: Nathan Cosby
Senior Editor: Mark Paniccia
Published by: Marvel Comics

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this issue, except perhaps a jumping-on point in preparation for the coming Fall of the Hulks "event." What I did not expect was what seems to essentially be an "Illuminati" of intellectual Marvel villains and their "backstory" throughout Marvel’s past.

This issue basically follows The Leader, M.O.D.O.K., Egghead, The Wizard, The Mad Thinker, The Red Ghost, and Dr. Doom as they assemble the contents of the formerly-believed-lost contents of the Library of Alexandria through the years. Their first mission is an incursion into the home of the Eternals. Here the protagonists discover there are other locations around the planet with further Alexandrian contents, including Wakanda and Atlantis. Bucking the silver Age trend of simplicity, here we see that it takes months and years for the protagonists to prepare to actually launch a mission to gain the knowledge they’re after, as well as the explanation that allows for what we’ve already seen in the last half-decade of continuity regarding these characters. As the issue closes out, we get some info regarding the Red Hulk, which actually intrigues me after never before this having any interest in even the concept of that character.

The story is pretty good in and of itself. It’s not spectacular, and I’m not a huge fan of retcons…but for my understanding of things, the backstory that is here inserted into existing continuity seems to work. Additionally, I feel like I have a better understanding of who The Leader and The Red Ghost are now than I ever did before.
The art is also quite solid…while keeping its own feel, it also evokes some of the feeling of the different eras the story touches upon.

Though I came to the issue familiar with little more than the characters’ names and visual representations (excepting Dr. Doom), everyone was quite recognizable, and I really enjoyed the visuals.
Even though I’ve not followed the Hulk side of the Marvel Universe since World War Hulk ended, I still really enjoyed this issue and found that I didn’t need to know recent events. I’ve often enjoyed stories that flesh out villain characters and give them depth and motivation, and true explanation for why they would door act as they do, and this is one such issue.

I expect this is little more than set-up in the grand scheme of things, but if you want a Leader story involving a teaming-up of supervillains (including death and betrayal) reminiscent of 1980s stories but with a modern feel, this is a great issue for that.

Ratings:

Story: 3.5/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Filed under: Classic Reviews, Fall of the Hulks, MARVEL, Marvel Universe | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Transformers: Infestation #1 [Review]

Posted on February 6, 2011 by Walt

Written by: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Art by: Nick Roche
Colors by: Joana Lafuente
Lettered by: Robbie Robbins
Edited by: Andy Schmidt
Assistant Editor: Bobby Curnow
Published by: IDW

Galvatron and his Decepticons battle the zombies that have infested the world. Partway into the battle, Optimus Prime and the Autobots arrive. Galvatron insists they stop fighting each other and focus on saving the world…but by way of the Autobots surrendering to him. Once Galvatron is neutralized, we find out that he’s encountered this threat before. As the Autobots consider their next step, they’re ambushed by someone ready, willing, and capable of giving them all a Really Bad Day.

The story seems really simple–robots vs. zombies. Except these robots are the Transformers…familiar figures likely far more familiar to readers than those that kicked off this “event.” It’s quite amusing–and more than fitting–that the leader of the Decepticons would want the Autobots to surrender to him, rather than throwing himself and his followers at mercy of “the good guys” as would be typical for a story like this.

I’m not familiar with this version of the characters–and I can’t help but wonder if Megatron is to Transformers comics what Shredder is to the original Mirage TMNT run. But as with the Infestation issue that kicked off this event…I don’t feel too lost jumping into this issue. Best of all, I still enjoyed this, even not paying much attention to which characters are which. At only 2 issues…we’re only going to get a glimpse into this world of the Transformers.

The art is strong, and seems to capture a bit of the feel of a cartoon as well as being a sort of adaptation of the “angular” take on the characters that doesn’t seem quite as “boxy” as I would expect. Still, no real complaint here, except that Optimus Prime put me in mind of something from Gundam (though in some ways, one humanoid-shaped robot is gonna remind one of another).

I’d sorta expected to see the CVR in this issue, rather than finding the Transformers in the midst of battle with the zombies. Of course, it actually makes sense that they’re not in this issue–they didn’t discover until after it’d been initiated that the Infestation had made it to other worlds, so they’re bound to show up in the next issue to explain things and deal with the threat to this world.

I enjoyed this issue overall, though I think I’ll enjoy it a lot more once the Infestation event is out in its entirety.

I’m quite pleased that this is its own two-issue mini-series: I can follow Infestation into what I assume is current Transformers continuity, but I’m not having to buy random issues of an ongoing series, tossed into the middle of an already-started story. Similarly, I think it’s probably good that being its own series, readers of the ongoing Transformers series are not forced to read the Infestation event or have the ongoing story interrupted for two issues.

Recommended reading. (For readers of the ongoing Transformers, though, I certainly recommend reading Infestation #1 before reading this.)

Story: 8/10
Art: 8/10
Whole: 8/10

Filed under: INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS, Infestation (IDW) [event], Infestation: Transformers | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Invincible Iron Man #500.1 [Review]

Posted on February 6, 2011 by Walt

“What it was like, What happened, and What it’s like now”

Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Colorist: Frank D’Armata
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editor: Alejandro Arbona
Senior Editor: Stephen Wacker
Cover: Salvador Larroca
Published by: Marvel Comics

Tony Stark attends an AA meeting, and shares his story, recounting in the vaguest of terms his history as an alcoholic and how it’s affected him throughout his career. After the meeting, we see how actually talking about things affects Tony.

The story of this issue is really that simple. I had my doubts about the accessibility of this issue, of what would make it such a good jumping-on point. And really, for this character…I can’t think of anything better. Telling his story at an AA meeting is a perfect vehicle for touching on some of the major points of the character’s history and if not exactly explaining everything to new readers, it provides a glimpse of what’s come before, as well as insight into the character–stuff that provides a bit of foundation for new readers, or reminds longer-time readers of where things have come in recent years in particular.

This sort of issue–a “breather” of sorts, a “slice of life” or whatever–where characters have a chance to reflect, to have “down time” and just be themselves without an actively-moving high-action story–this is the sort of issue I am extremely fond of. And yet, while do enjoy this type of issue, it’s not terribly deep nor overly insightful…and really is pretty formulaic.

The art is the usual style and quality–which is a very strong positive in my book. No real complaints from me on the visuals.

The issue ends with a double-page series of panels “previewing” what is to come in the next year in this title…reminding me very much of Booster Gold #1, an issue (or issues?) of JSA, and generally the way DC‘s done things. So it’s nothing fresh or new…and unfortunately, it does all of nothing for me. I don’t even know what it is we’re seeing, and it doesn’t do a thing to hook me or have me particularly interested/excited to see context/details of how the situation(s) come about.

Though this issue–as part of the Marvel.1 “initiative”–is designed to be a jumping-on point, and I’d intended to bail after #500, this also serves as a bit of an epilogue to Fraction‘s run on the character thus far…and if there’s a 2nd omnibus-style hardcover for his run, I would be quite satisfied if it ended with this issue.

Whether looking for a jumping-on or jumping-off point, if you’ve enjoyed any of Fraction/Larroca‘s run or have been curious about the title, I definitely recommend this issue.

Story: 7/10
Art: 8/10
Whole: 7.5/10

Filed under: Invincible Iron Man, MARVEL, Marvel Universe | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

DC Universe Online Legends #1 [Review]

Posted on February 6, 2011 by Walt


Full review posted to cxPulp.com.

 

Story: 3/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Filed under: cxPulp.com, DC, DC Misc., DC Universe Online Legends | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

On the Comic-Con 2011 sellout

Posted on February 6, 2011 by Walt

Comic-Con 2011 Four-Day Passes Sell Out in Under 3 Hours | TheHDRoom.

I’ve seen a number of stories about this yesterday and this morning. It continues to affirm my personal feelings of NOT wanting to go to San Diego/Comic Con.

Sure, it’s the pinnacle of conventions for people like me…or at least, it WAS.

SDCC has become SUCH a pop culture event that it seems to me like comics are almost secondary, or some “quaint” holdover from years past.

Plus…while I can handle crowds to a certain degree…I just cannot begin to fathom how it can be fun to have tightly pressed crowds where one would have to basically fight their way through a crowd everywhere they go, spend hours and hours in line, maybe sit through (a) panel(s) one’s not even interested in, just to be able to attend that ONE panel that everyone’s clamoring to get into. And on the convention floor, if there’s no room to be out of the flow of foot-traffic…I’d imagine it’d make it hard to simply stop at random booths to see stuff or even consider buying stuff, without it being some “frenzy” of activity.

When the four-day passes sell out nearly instantly, 5+ MONTHS before the show…there’s obviously a huge demand. It also means–for someone like me, in Ohio–a ridiculous amount of planning and finances would have to go into planning for such a trip.

Continue reading →

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Faces of Evil: Prometheus #1 [Review]

Posted on February 6, 2011 by Walt

Quick Rating: Good
Story Title: The Man who Murdered Prometheus

The true Prometheus finds himself free, and seeks revenge on the man who has used his name during his imprisonment.

facesofevilprometheus001Writer: Sterling Gates
Art & Color: Federico Dallocchio
Letterer: Swands
Editors: Adam Schlagman & Eddie Berganza
Cover: Mauro Cascioli
Publisher: DC Comics

Opening with a fairly "classic" "one punch takeout" by Batman, we see the original Prometheus dealt with by Batman and Martian Manhunter in a flashback. Moving to the present, we find that Prometheus has been imprisoned for a couple years (comic time), and isn’t seen as much of a threat by the guards assigned him. Prometheus recalls his own origin (a simple story device/excuse to fill readers in on it). When he finds himself let loose of the Martian Manhunter’s control (J’onn’s death in Final Crisis #1 / Final Crisis: Requiem), he sets out to continue his mission of revenge against agents of justice as well as against the imposter using his name of late.

I was interested in this issue by its title alone: I vaguely recalled Prometheus from a couple of issues fairly early in the Morrison JLA run over a decade back, and thought it’d be interesting to see where the character is–or would be brought–in the present. Story wise, I was not disappointed. The plot is a bit cliched, but works for me as a one-shot though I doubt it’d work for me as a longer story. We have a reconciliation of sorts of the character (I never knew that someone other than one character has used the name "Prometheus" in DC’s continuity) that sets him up to be a big player in future issues.

Offhand I am not at all familiar with the artist’s name, but with art like that in this issue, I certainly hope to become familiar. There’s a gritty realism to the art that fits quite well with the story. I’m not a huge fan of the Prometheus costume–can’t quite put my finger on it, except it just looks…weird. I don’t have any old issues to reference to see how similar or different it is to the original, but hey…whatever.

I haven’t found the Faces of Evil bit all that engaging in most of the other DC titles (particularly Booster Gold, Green Lantern Corps, and Action Comics) so far. However, this issue seems to be exactly what Faces of Evil is all about, giving a solid, full story about a villain with insight into the villain him/herself. With quality like this, I’d even be somewhat interested in a regular series of spotlights on various villains if it kept to this price point.

This is a good one-shot–though it’s not an entirely new character, one can certainly see how this’ll be a launching point for a dangerous DC villain that hasn’t had much play time the last few years. If you can find it for cover price, this is well worth a look-see.

Ratings:

Story: 4/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Filed under: Classic Reviews, DC, DC Universe, Faces of Evil (Event), Faces of Evil (One Shots) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Dragonlance: Chronicles #8 [Review]

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Walt

Quick Rating: Above Average
Title: Dragons of Autumn Twilight

The Companions battle Verminaard and his minions in Pax Tharkas with many lives hanging in the balance…

dragonlancechronicles008Story: Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
Adaptation Script: Andrew Dabb
Pencils: Steve Kurth
Colors: Djoko Santiko of IFS
Letters: Brian J. Crowley
Editor: Mark Powers
Cover Art: A: Steve Kurth and IFS, B: Tyler Walpole
Publisher: Devil’s Due

This is the final issue of this particular Dragonlance mini-series, and as such, things can be generalized a bit more than in previous issues.

The art has maintained a pretty solid level of quality–though I’m not sure we’ve had the same artist for the entire series. We do have Kurth on art chores for this issue, which is a plus, regardless of previous issues. Kurth‘s art is definitely a departure from a lot of the "classic" Dragonlance art from the 1980s, and even a lot of what I recall from the 90s. And while it may not be definitive, exactly, it very certainly fits these characters and the story. It’s not perfect (what art is, though?) but one gets a sense that these are (physically) 3-dimensional characters interacting with each other. There’s a certain creepiness here that captures the dark nature of this part of the story–and it works well. Where it fails is in some of the details of the story, as it’s not always clear from the visuals exactly what’s going on panel-to-panel.

The story itself comes across as very choppy. Perhaps I’m too biased, having read the original Dragons of Autumn Twilight as many times as I have in the last decade. This issue feels like an extremely abridged retelling of that story, as if it has certain points that it hits on, but lacks the detail of the original–and as such, comes across choppy.

I felt like I had to keep thinking back to the book to fully "get" what was going on with these characters. While the art gives a sense that these could be real, 3-dimensional beings, the story comes off as shallow and 2-dimensional. The blame for this is shared, and it should be noted that the novel this mini is adapted from is itself possibly the weakest of the Weis/Hickman Dragonlance Chronicles volumes.

The story caps off the first volume of the trilogy as the companions battle Verminaard in Pax Tharkas, while a couple dragons tear it up in the background, and Verminaard’s slaves reunite with their families as they prepare to take their leave of the fortress–provided anyone survives the battle.

I suspect that the story on the whole comes across better if read as a whole–reading an adaptation in eight segments separated by several weeks likely takes away from the overall experience. Given that, I don’t recommend this single issue unless you have already been following the mini. However, in a few weeks when the collected volume (advertised adjacent to the final story-page in this issue) is released, consider checking it out.

On the whole, this series has been a solid jump-on point for anyone interested in the "classic" Dragonlance saga. It introduces the core/original characters, generally conveys some key aspects about them, and the art particularly gives a visual interpretation of the characters that is much more realistic and believable than earlier visual renditions.

Ratings:

Story: 3/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Filed under: Classic Reviews, Dragonlance: Chronicles (Devil's Due), INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Favorites of Walt: The Comic Shops #1 – Capp’s Comics

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Walt

favoritesofwaltcomicshopslogo

Capp’s Comics was the first comic store I ever experienced. I recall being amazed at its very existence, as well as the selection of comics available. There was a long row of tables covered with stacks and stacks of new comics. There was an aisle-length upright, double-sided rack of new comics. DC and Marvel on one side, Image and other smaller publishers on the other side. There seemed an endless selection of comics in boxes along the outer walls of the store. There were comics and the walls.

I’d never seen such a place. They had recent Superman and Batman comics, like what they’d have at Waldenbooks or Finast. They had older issues, including issues I’d missed years before. They had early issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures, and they even had some of the Mirage-published issues.

After being introduced to Capp’s, Waldenbooks and Finast seemed second-rate. I preferred to get my comics at Capp’s…and over a period of several months, started going there more and more (thanks to Dad driving me, and buying my comics for me).

It wasn’t too long into going to Capp’s that The Death of Superman was announced. The store owner was offering a pre-order deal…you could pre-order however many copies of just "the death" issue, or the whole story. Dad pre-ordered 2…one for us to read and one for putting away. You could also choose to pick the issues up as they came out, or at the end–we opted for "at the end."

That’s how it happened that that day in November 1992, the family had one of our quiet nights in–and Dad and I both read the entirety of The Death of Superman in one sitting. Since the issues had been pre-ordered (and, I believe, pre-paid-for, too) we had no hassles with getting any of the issues.

I became a definite "regular" at Capp’s. Dad would take me most weeks, and I’d get a few comics. The latest Superman issue, definitely, and a bit of whatever else I was following at the time.

In 1999 when I went off to college, I started a pull box, and maintained that throughout my college career, even when I wasn’t following much.

And it was with a definite heavy heart of disappointment that I discovered one evening in early 2004 that the store had closed its doors permanently, after several years at a new location.

The comic shop was a regular part of my life for almost 12 years…at the time, that was almost the entirety of my comic-reading/collecting life. I went to that comic shop nearly ever week for nearly seven years, and on a regular basis those next five.

Now, occasionally I’ll bump into the store owner at local one-day comic events, and we’ll chat briefly; the usual sort of pleasantries.

Capp’s Comics was my first comics "home," and remains one of the most significant comic shops that’s been a part of my life.

NEXT WEEK: Comics & Collectibles.

Filed under: Favorites of Walt, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Comic Shops | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Dragonlance: Chronicles #6 [Review]

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Walt

Quick Rating: Solid
Title: Dragons of Autumn Twilight (chapter 6)

Having been freed by elves from captivity, the companions find themselves witness to the decline of the Qualinesti elves; they also find their next quest in their journey toward saving the world of Krynn…

dragonlancechronicles006Story: Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
Adaptation Script: Andrew Dabb
Pencils: Stefano Raffaele
Colors: Djoko Santiko of IFS
Letters: Steve Seeley
Editor: Mark Powers
Cover Art: A: Steve Kurth and IFS, B: Tyler Walpole
Publisher: Devil’s Due

This is another good/standard issue of the series. It has been thankfully consistent–the story and art continue to work well together, to provide a true adaptation to the original novel (Dragons of Autumn Twilight). Perhaps in contradiction to that, this issue features art by someone other than Kurth. While a side-by-side comparison will undoubtedly reveal difference, taken by itself it works well here. In light of a certain other publisher often combining artists of late on a single issue, that the entirety of this issue is just one is refreshing.

This issue takes the story up with the companions having just been freed from Fewmaster Toede’s slave-train. Their elven rescuers lead them into Qualinost (one of the Elven homelands, but not the original Elven homeland–but that issue doesn’t rear its head til later and isn’t overly relevant here). Once in Qualinost, we view some of the past come back to haunt Tanis, and get to see Tasselhoff marvel at what must’ve been (in his eyes) quite the childhood for the half-elf. The companions then take on a task from the Speaker of the Sun and head for Pax Tharkas.

The story itself is faithful at its heart if not word-for-word to the source material. The only real gripe I have on that angle with this issue is that here we see Tanis deliberately acquire a particular sword, whereas the original novel had him fumble for a weapon, and belatedly realize what he’d acquired, which added a bit more wonder to the weapon as well as what the companions face. Ultimately it is a minor detail, one that works well in prose format, but like a movie, not every minute detail can be adapted, and it’s better that detail is cut than something more integral to the story.

This is a fantasy comic/story, and based on what Hickman himself considers the weakest of these original novels. As such, you will find aspects of the familiar here. The creature the companions face seems drastically out of place given the sort of story here (I can think of no other examples of such a creature encountered anywhere else in the Dragonlance mythos–if anyone else can, I’d be interested in having that noted). However, from a story that was based strongly on a new Dungeons & Dragons module at the time, such a creature is just another generic sort that gives an excuse for a fight. In this story, it serves to introduce a new aspect to a just-met character that will serve a much larger role later in the Chronicles saga, if not this specific arc.

We’re six issues in, and have covered a lot of ground. As I understand it, we’ve two chapters left to conclude this mini/arc. If you’ve not followed along thus far, this won’t be a particularly good point to jump in. If you’re following it, though, don’t bail now!

Ratings:

Story: 3/5
Art: 3/5
Overall: 3/5

Filed under: Classic Reviews, Dragonlance: Chronicles (Devil's Due), INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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