A Lemur and a Funeral

Well, well, well. That was a waste of an episode.  Smallville's recent episode, "Fortune", was a fun yet not progressive episode.  This episode had nothing to do with the storylines already in place and did absolutely nothing to progress the Superman storyline.  Basically, the storyline behind this episode was "The Hangover" just with Smallville's characters. 

Clark and Lois' bachelor and bachelorette takes a turn for the worse when the couple plus their respective parties (Chloe, Tess, Oliver, and Emil) drink enchanted champagne sent by Zatanna.  Then, Clark wakes up with a lemur, Chloe, and a whole bunch of questions.  The two find the limo they took and start to get a lead on clues to finding out what happened that night.  After Clark superspeeds into a wall, he goes and finds Emil, dressed as Elvis, and Tess singing on stage. Emil is arrested for allegedly stealing an armored car and Clark then realizes that he might have stole it. Lois and Oliver then wake up on some railroad tracks and Lois discovers that her wedding ring is missing.  After Clark discovers that he did steal the armored car, Lois finds a clue to where her engagement ring might be in her bra: a chip from the Metropolis Fortune Casino.  Back at Watchtower, Chloe discovers that Emil never was booked and that leads Clark to believe that Emil wasn't really arrested by real cops.  Lois and Ollie arrive at the casino and discover that Lois bet her ring and that the ring winner, the guy who is leading the torture session against Emil, cheated his way into getting it.  Ollie and Lois end up getting tied up backstage and, after freeing themselves, find show girl costumes and decide to use the costumes to escape and get Lois's ring back.  They take the stage just as Clark and Chloe enter the casino, looking for Emil. As Clark takes off, Chloe notices Lois and Oliver when they start to perform.  Amos Fortune, the owner and owner of Lois's ring, notices Chloe and orders his men to attack her.  This causes Oliver and Lois to take action.  Oliver, in drag, and Chloe take down Fortune's men while Lois scampers across the ground to get her ring back.  In the end, Clark saves Emil, Lois gets her ring back, and Chlollie beat Fortune's men.  After, Clark and Chloe talk in the barn loft and Chloe tells Clark that she is leaving again, as she got a job at a Star City newspaper.  Chloe also let slip about "a billionaire with high tech toys and a wondrous woman". Later, the gang find and watch the infamous tape and realize all their shenanigans, including Tess and Emil in a steamy situation.  The episode ends with Oliver showing Chloe that they got "married" and they agree to go to Star City together.

I did not really enjoy this episode.  There were parts that made me laugh and that I liked, but for the most part I thought it was a waste of an episode.  There was barely any superhero-ing in this episode and it just gave that cheesy feeling.  I did like the Batman and Wonder Woman references and I must say, Cassidy Freeman looked amazing at the end of the episode.  It was kinda weird seeing Tess and Emil hook up like that but it's nice to see Emil let loose and to see Tess actually laughing and having a good time for once. I'm going to give this episode a 7 out of 10, and that's being generous.



As promised, I'm going more in depth in my review of Amazing Spider-Man #655.  It starts off silent, with Jonah and Pete both getting ready for the funeral of Marla Jameson.  With Jonah's friends and family all there, Pete can't feel anything but guilt.  After the funeral, Pete lays in his room, unable to sleep, but eventually falls into a trippy dream.  Pete sees Uncle Ben, his faceless parents, and the burglar and they all get onto a plane, preparing to take off.  Aunt May tries to get on but Pete stops her.  May then changes into Marla, who tells Pete that if she was a supervillian, she would be back as villians always come back.  We then go to a trippy yet astounding double page spread with Pete seeing everyone who has died since he became Spider-Man.  Pete eventually spots Gwen Stacy and chases her, eventually meeting Charlie, Wolverine's friend that Pete killed.  Pete lements that he never meant to kill her but the Green Goblin shows up with Gwen.  Pete swears to kill Gobby but Gwen tells him that he couldn't, not even for her.  Then, a bunch of villains, including Goblin and Mysterio, saying that they keep coming back because Spider-Man never killed them. The villains are then gunned down by the likes of Scourge, Punisher, and Wolverine, saying that killing villains is the only way to make sure they don't come back.  Even heroes like Captain America and Sentry tell Pete that sometimes killing is the only thing to do. Pete then sees the Burglar again and procedes to beating him to death.  The Burglar then morphs into Uncle Ben and then Marla, in front of everyone who has died, asks Peter what he will do now?  The next morning, Pete swings around the city and declares that as long as he is on the scene, no one will die.  Unfortunately, someone already has during the stand off between Captain Watanabe and Massacre.

As I've stated before, this is and probably will be, one of my favorite issues I will ever read.  The writing was amazing (excuse the pun) and everything flowed together perfectly.  However, as much as I liked the writing, the section that was silent seemed to be the most moving.  All you have for those pages is Marcos Martin artwork to tell you the story.  Speaking of Marcos, the art in this issue was better than awesome.  I know that some people don't like Marcos for whatever reason, but I am not one of those people.  Marcos's art is both old school yet modern at the same time.  His double page spread of Pete chasing Gwen was astounding, along with his Spider-Man/Burglar spiral scene to start off the dream sequence.

This issue was way to good to be rated.  There is no possible way I could even rate something of this caliber.  Let's just say that if you haven't read this issue, you are missing out on a modern day masterpiece.  Too bad there is a three week wait until the next issue. :(

More reviews and news later in the week.
-RandomBlogger

Remember Me?

Hey there everyone. I'm the RandomBlogger and I haven't blogged in a while.  Too long has my blog been empty so there is a post. There is NO way that I can review everything that I've read/watched recently so I will instead be giving my opinions about basically everything: comics, Smallville, V, NBA trades, NFL work stoppage, and the amazing concert I went to.

Comics

First and foremost, Amazing Spider-Man #655 is a thing of beauty.  The writing was phenomenal and the art was stunning.  This was, and probably will be, one of my favorite comics I have ever read.  Slott and Martin completely owned this week and I'm expecting the next issue to be as great as this one was.  The scene with Gwen Stacy and the Green Goblin was disturbing yet very emotional at the same time.  Also, the Uncle Ben scene after Peter beat him up was disturbing yet awe-inspiring.

"Death of Spider-Man" started to a somewhat slow start with Ultimate Spider-Man #153 and Ultimate Avengers vs New Ultimates #1. Right now, the stories have nothing to do with each other but I'm expecting that by UA vs NU #3, which has Spidey and Punisher on the cover, the whole story will begin to come together.  I'm starting to grow fond of Sara Pichelli's work, except for her Mysterio.  He still looks weird to me but besides that, it's starting to grow on me.  And I know that I was harsh on Mark Bagley before, but after seeing some of the preview art for DoS, I'm pretty convinced that this arc is going to rock.

A little side note about DoS, I'm actually a little surprised that Bendis is bringing back Norman Osborn.  The way that he "died" was really memorable and added to the great storyline that was "Death of a Goblin".  I mean, I knew that Norman would come back somehow, but this soon? Didn't see that coming.

On the Avengers/ New Avengers front, I was not very pleased with the stories so far.  The Avengers Infinity Gem storyline is getting boring while New Avengers is not that impressive to me anymore. There is probably a good chance that I'm going to drop one of these books in the near future, which is a shame because they both have so much potential. 

TV Stuff

Smallville has been pretty good since it's return.  Collateral, the first episode back, was a little weak because it was not really about Clark and more about Chloe returning, just like I thought it would.  The next episode, Beacon, was a really good episode with a really shocking twist at the end.  Alexander Luthor, the clone of Lex, is revealed to actually be Conner Kent aka Superboy!!  There had been rumblings about Alexander being Conner but I didn't buy that. When it was though, boy, I was shocked.  And then, this past week's episode, Masquerade, really upped the anty for the rest of the season.  Introducing Desaad while having Clark finally don the glasses makes for a great episode.  And the twist at the end of that episode was great too, revealing that Oliver has been marked by Darkseid.  I cannot wait for the rest of these episodes, except for tomorrow's episode, Fortune, which is basically a rip-off of the Hangover.

Another side note, THANK YOU MICHAEL!!!  Michael Rosenbaum has announced that he WILL be returning to Smallville to play Lex Luthor again. Such great news.  This finale is going to be sooooooo epic.

V has been stepping up its game recently, taking some bold steps towards the end of its possible last season.  Killing Erica's ex and Eli Cohn in the same episode was great, plus there was a Tyler slap to the face in there, which made it even better.  I really hope this show has another season because I love seeing Erica in charge of the Fifth Column and I want to see that expanded more.

Sports News

Today was the trading deadline in the NBA and my Cavs made a trade that I'm not so thrilled about.  The Cavs traded Mo Williams and Jamario Moon to the Los Angeles Clippers for a 1st round pick and Baron Davis.  I do not like this trade despite basically everyone else liking it.  I think that the Cavs should have gone for someone a little younger and is more willing to actually play here and be "the man" of the team, neither of which Baron is. Honestly, I wanted the Cavs to go after Monta Ellis of the Golden State Warriors but, alas, this will have to do, I guess.

The NFL still hasn't gotten a new labor agreement and I personally don't believe that they will anytime soon.  I hope they do get one soon, but I'm expecting to miss a few games right now.  When we get closer to the draft, I will have some version of a mock draft up and I might possibly do a big board when the combine is over. Possibly.

Other News

So, that concert I went to was on Saturday, February 13th.  The headliner was the always spectacular Streetlight Manifesto and it was a blast.  The opening acts, including the Terrible Things and my hometown band the Shams, were awesome as well.  When Streetlight took the stage, everything went crazy. Me and my friend were stuck in the middle of the room when they started and it was like a mosh bomb went off.  I actually lost my left shoe during the first song and went the next hour or so with only one shoe and a sock that was drenched with beer and water.  It was probably the craziest yet most awesome concert I've ever gone to.

So, that's it. I finally posted another post and it feels so good to be back.  I'll try to get a review of Smallville on Saturday along with a full review of Amazing Spider-Man #655 and, if it comes in the mail by then, Ultimate Spider-Man #154. I have a busy week with work and mid-terms coming up so I'll try to get something up besides the reviews, whether it be a big board or the long talked about 10 Things Artist post.  Either way, something will be up soon.

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-RandomBlogger

Radio Silence

Sorry about the radio silence that I gave you guys for the past week. With the snowmageddon in the Northeast this past week and my pure laziness, I never got around to posting my new 10 Things post about my favorite comic illustrators. That WILL come tomorrow while I will review three things today. I will be reviewing Ultimate Spider-man #152, Amazing Spider-man #653, and the latest episode of V. In addition to those things, I will be giving my non-important views on the recent comic news. Now, it may seem like the Random Blog is starting to be all comics, and I considered changing it to just comics. But it will remain a Random Blog.

Ultimate Spider-man #152


This issue starts out two weeks in the past.  The Black Cat is spying on Mysterio while he is recording a message for the world.  Spidey then swings in and the building explodes. Jump to the present day, with Aunt May and Gwen trying to get Iron Man away from their house before someone realizes Peter's secret.  Stark doesn't figure it out right away and, when he finally does, he plays it out as cool as he can and flies off.  Flashback to a week ago, and the Black Cat is searching for something in Mysterio's wrecked lab.  She uncovers what she was looking for: a device called the Zodiac Key.  Mysterio walks in on Cat and tells her that the Key was the reason why the Kingpin stayed in power for so long.  Mysterio tells Black Cat that he doesn't know how to work it but she does, using it to get away from Mysterio.  Back in the present day, Pete, Johnny, and Bobby are walking home from school, talking about girls and their secret identities.  They overhear that Iron Man was in the area and they rush home to see if Aunt May knows anything.  When they get home, they are shocked to see that Gwen has returned.  May tells Peter that Iron Man came to start Pete's training.  Gwen takes Peter upstairs to talk about them and their relationship.  Peter gushes his heart out to Gwen, but Gwen insists that they break up.  Gwen tells Peter that she feels like she forced him into dating her which Peter denies.  The two decide to be just friends as Peter gets a call from Stark, telling him to get over to Stark HQ to start his training.

This is the last issue before the prelude to "Death of Spider-man" and it does not disappoint.  The art duties are split by David Lafuente and Sara Pichelli.  Pichelli continues to draw the Black Cat/Mysterio aspects of the story while Lafuente draws the Peter Parker aspect.  While we don't see Spidey in his costume until the final page, it doesn't matter. Bendis keeps the plot moving not only with the Peter story but with the intriguing Black Cat story.  I'm really starting to feel that Mysterio is going to have a big hand in the DoS storyline, using the Zodiac Key to control the Ultimate Six.  The art on this issue rocked. This is the first time that I found myself enjoying Pichelli's art as it was very clean and very impressive, even though she didn't have a lot of material in this issue. This issue also brings back one of my favorite artists David Lafuente. There are a few times in the issue that the art seems a little rushed, but the final panel of Spider-man swinging through the city is amazing and deserves to be a poster or t-shirt or something.  The only complaint I have with this issue is Bendis mixing up his storylines regarding Mysterio.  He shows Mysterio recording this post-Kingpin message which happened in Issue #2.  However, he shows Spidey appearing and the lab being destroyed, which happened in the third annual.  This was a little bit confusing but it did not take much away from a phenominal story.  I'm so happy that for these next few months, Ult. Spidey will be coming out twice a month, even though Bagley is returning. I'm looking forward to DoS like crazy now and I hope it does not disappoint.

Story- 4/5
Art- 5/5
Overall- 9/10

Amazing Spider-man #653

This issue starts off right off where the last issue left us.  Smythe's robo-bugs are attacking Jonah's limo, which holds the mayor himself, Jay Sr., and Glory Grant.  Gargan and Spidey are still fighting on the rocket, with Pete having trouble figuring out what to do. Knowing that he needs help, Spidey phones the Avengers Mansion, home of the New Avengers.  Unfortunately, no one is home except for Squirrel Girl, who tells Spidey that the Avengers are on their way home from a mission.  Spidey freaks out on her and while Squirrel Girl starts to in return lecture him, he loses her.  Back on the ground, Max Modell and Mr. Muntz decide to stop the rocket without Peter and Max starts to think about Spidey and Peter never being in the same place at the same time. Though Spidey gets Max to get into contact with the rocket, the real hero is, surprisingly, Doc Ock, who saves the rocket because it will mess with his master plan. The rocket gets released and Spidey and Gargan falling off the rocket.  Jonah gloats to Smythe, but Smythe tells Jonah that his slayer swarm are watching his friends, loved ones, and everyone he holds near and dear to him.  Spidey tries to web together a parachute but Scorpion tackles him.  However, Ms. Marvel comes to Pete's rescue and Smythe picks up Gargan after he crashes to the ground.  The rest of the New Avengers show up to fight Smythe's swarm until Jonah shows up, asking the Avengers to rescue his friends and family.  Peter tells Ms. Marvel and Jessica Jones to go to the Bugle, Luke Cage and Iron Fist staying at the launch zone, and Mockingbird, the Thing, and himself going to the spa to save Mrs. Jameson and Aunt May.  The swarm makes it to the spa and the Bugle and the teams make it to their respective points.  The fighting begins, but the slayers have a spider-sense like attack which makes it almost impossible for the Avengers to fight them. Pete swings off to Horizon to whip up an invention but gets confronted by Max, who questions him about Spider-man.

This issue was pretty good.  The actual writer of this issue was Fred Van Lente while Dan Slott did the plot, due to Slott's recent sickness and Marvel's move and the craziness it caused. The script is written very well and Van Lente's back story, involving Spider-man, the new Power Man, and the Looter, is also written very well.  The art by Stefano Caselli was better this issue. I really liked how Caselli drew the New Avengers and I'm really digging his Scorpion. Slott deserves a lot of credit; he is making this book one of the best books out there. I really liked his decision to bring in the New Avengers, as I like that team more than the true Avengers.  The finale for this arc is shaping up to be epic, plus with this issue ending, we are one more issue closer to Marcos Martin. But that is no slam on Caselli or Humberto Ramos. This is probably the best book out there right now.

Story- 5/5
Art- 5/5
Overall- 10/10

V Episode 2.4 "Unholy Alliance"

This episode was a bit of a let down after the last few episodes.  The main parts of this episode were about Anna going to the Vatican to talk to the Pope and Erica and the Fifth Column going after Eli Cohn.  The main reason for Anna going to the Vatican is to get those who speak out against the V's, like Jack, out of service. Though she was turned down in the beginning, after basically threatening the priests, she gets her way and the Vatican bans anti-V services.  Meanwhile, Erica gets a new partner who is primed to stab her in the back, again.  However, it looks like this guy is NOT a V, which I guess is a good thing.  The thing that upset me the most in this episode was Tyler. He is starting to be a real annoyance and I really wish that his character would get written out or die.  We all know that he is probably going to die after mating with Lisa, who had too little of time in this episode.  The character of Eli Cohn is an interesting one.  His radical movement of the suicide bombings and the murders of the Peace Ambassadors are a little too extreme, but I like how the Fifth Column decides to let him join up.  They need his connections if they are going to beat the Vs once and for all.

Random Stuff

• Finally, Smallville returns tonite. I am so super pumped for this. I will be reviewing it tomorrow during the 10 Things post.

Kryptonsite posted some pictures from the episode "Masquerade". In this portfolio, they finally had good pictures of Clark in his super jacket. Here is one of my favorites:

• There have also been some new pictures of Chris Evans as Captain America flying around. Here is one of them: 
  I must say, I am intrigued by this movie. I like Chris Evans in the Fantastic Four and, even though I'm not the biggest Cap fan, this movie looks pretty good.
• Now, I know that I made a post about my lack of excitement about Mark Bagley returning to Ultimate Spider-man for "Death of Spider-man". But the pictures I have seen so far are pretty good and I'm optomistic about it.
• Marvel, via Dan Slott and a few others, have slowly been releasing images of Marcos Martin's and David Lafuente's most recent stuff. I absolutely LOVE all of the things I've seen.
  
  Lafuente via Marvel

         Marcos Martin via Stephen Wacker's Twitter

Well, that's it for this extended review post. Tomorrow I will be posting my review of "Collateral" and my top 10 favorite comic book artists. Sunday will be the day that I pick the Super Bowl. Follow me at Twitter.

Okay. See ya guys later.

-RandomBlogger