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.

Twitter

-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

Screw You CW

I'll be getting to the reviews I promised soon. But first, I'm gonna rant about the CW and how terrible they are.

So, as you probably heard, Smallville and Supernatural were delayed a week, allowing the Vampire Diaries and Nikita to be re-aired because of bull crap reasons. The CW claims that the re-airings are due to a mayoral debate and a basketball game. Bull. The real reason is that American Idol blew their crappy shows out of the water and the CW, shiftily, tried to get Smallville and Supernatural fans to watch their crappy shows with little to no warning.They knew that American Idol was coming on and they still didn't do anything. The delays led fans of both shows went into an uproar yesterday. I was planning on joining them but got caught up with some personal things. But the CW deserves to fall apart after Smallville and Supernatural are done. They have shown both shows no respect what so ever. I can't wait to watch the CW crash and burn next fall. Okay, rant over. I think. Okay, review time.

X-Men #7


The issue starts off with the X-men going around, stopping crimes and saving lives. You have Angel saving a suicide jumper, Colossus stopping some thieving clowns, and Wolverine stopping a hostage situation. Meanwhile, Scott and Emma are talking to a PR agent. The PR agent talks to the two, telling them all about how she wants to get the X-men on Facebook and Twitter. The agent asks Scott what he wants, and Scott replies that he just wants "the world to love us". Jump to Utopia, where Logan and Scott have a little scene where Logan commends Scott on his gutsy call in the last arc. Later, after learning of a disturbance in Manhattan, the small team of Logan, Storm, Emma, and Gambit head out to figure out what is going on.  The hunt leads the team down to the sewers where Emma is having a hard time figuring out where the whispers of thoughts are coming from. They go down deeper into the sewers and find a room full of dead bodies. They get attacked by a combo of lizards and crazy people. Logan tries to follow the creatures after Storm scares them off and gets owned by his Avengers teammate, the amazing Spider-man.

Now, this was my first issue of X-men ever. I was never really drawn to them and I would have never have picked up this book if not for two big factors. One of those factors is Spider-man, my favorite comic character. Unfortunately for me, Spidey only appears on the last page, but he does get the upper hand on Logan, sending him flying backwards. The second reason I picked up this book is the art duties done by Chris Bachalo. Chris was my second favorite artist on the Amazing Spider-man, behind Marcos Martin. I've seen some of Chris' work on other projects, some of them X-men related and they were pretty good. This issue is included in that. Chris did an excellent job on this issue and it makes me sad that this is only going to be an arc thing.

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

Avengers #9


This issue is split between two seperate stories: one about the Hood and how he got out of prison and on the trail of the Infinity Gems and the other about the present with Steve Rodgers questioning Tony Stark.  So, seeing as there are two seperate stories, I'll summarize them both seperately. The Hood starts off in Ryker's prison, talking to the guard stationed outside his cell. Parker tries to bribe his way out of his cell, but the guard tells him that he's going to be transferred, seeing as he doesn't have powers any more. Later, the Hood is shown in the cafeteria with his friend where he notices a new guy. Parker's buddy tells him that the guy may be a mutant. A week later, Parker introduces himself to the guy, who tells Parker that his name is Ertzia. The next week, Parker gives Ertzia a gift and Ertzia, taken back by the generosity, tells Parker that he is an Inhuman. Later in the week, Ertzia tells Parker about Black Bolt and that the Inhumans left Earth but he stayed behind. Ertzia then goes on to tell Parker about the Gem that Black Bolt had. Later, the guard that Parker was trying to bribe comes back, ready to take the bribe. Then, in the present day, Parker, back in his Hood gear, heals Madame Masque's face and tells her that the Gems are talking to him.

The second story deals with the Avengers discovering that the Illuminati is still operational. Steve Rodgers is extremely mad at Tony, saying that he trusted him. While Steve and Tony are talking, the Illuminati tell the rest of the Avengers about what was going on. The Thing questions Reed if Sue aka the Invisible Woman knew about it, which Reed says she doesn't, and Luke Cage questions Doc Strange, saying that there were supposed to be no secrets in the New Avengers. Steve and Tony's discussion gets heated until Thor reminds Steve of the situation at hand. Steve, realizing that Thor is right, tells Tony that when this mission is over, he is out of the Avengers for good. The Illuminati inform Steve and the Avengers about the Infinity Gems and they determine that the info was not given out by one of them. Red Hulk tells Rodgers about his plan to get to the other Gems before Parker does and then use the Gems to defeat him. Spidey tries to come up with an alternatvie method but can't. The story ends with Rulk asking the Illuminati where the other Gems are.

At first, I wasn't sure about getting this issue. The last arc ended really quietly and the first two issues of this arc seemed kinda slow. However, this issue was phenominal. The story was very face paced and I really enjoyed the split story between the then and now. Bendis does a really nice job with this story and the art done by John Romita Jr. was great in this issue. Romita's art on the last few issues was okay, but this issue was really good. The eventual fight between the Avengers and the Hood is shaping up to be an epic throwdown that I cannot wait to see.

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

New Avengers #8


Another filler issue this month for New Avengers. The issue starts out with Luke Cage and Jessica Jones at a restuarant. The two, on their first date for some time, discuss the future of their family and their superhero lives. Jessica isn't sure if she wants to be a superhero while trying to be a mother and her and her hubby get into an arguement about it. Luke tries to convince her to get back into superheroing when something falls through the sky with Ms. Marvel trying to stop it. Dr. Doom emerges from the ship and starts to fight Cage and Ms. Marvel while Jessica calls for the New Avengers to come for aid. Jessica then comes to the aid of her husband when Doom looks poised to attack him.  The couple then discover that it really wasn't Dr. Doom and that it was a Doombot instead. The rest of the Avengers show up and the Thing destroys the Doombot. Back at Avengers Mansion, Victoria Hand tells the Avengers what she is able to tell them about the Doombot. After, Jessica tells the team that she is going to go back to being super, going by the name "Power Woman".

So, this was the first issue of New Avengers that I have gotten in a while without Stuart Immonen on art duties. While the art in this issue was okay, it was definitely a step down from the regular spectacular stuff that Immonen puts out. Hopefully, he will be returning once Fear Itself is over. However, while he is gone, Daniel Acuna comes in with an interesting art style. He painted this issue and the art is pretty good, but there were a few spots that were weaker than the rest of the book. The best section artwise for this book was at the end, with the Avengers sitting at the dinner table. That was really nicely done. Bendis writes another issue that got my attention but in the end, it really didn't stick out to me. With a new arc starting up next issue, hopefully the story telling will pick up.

Story- 4/5
Art- 4/5
Overall- 8/10

Reaction Time

So Johnny Storm died in the Fantastic Four arc named Three. This was not my original choice, as I picked Reed Richards to kick the bucket. I didn't think that killing Johnny would provide a large enough spark to effect the entire Marvel Universe. It seems the only ones affected by his death are the Fantastic Four themselves, Reed and Sue's kids, and Spider-man. I have to say, the art looks impressive from the few panels I saw. Too bad I will probably never get my hands on this issue. However, I do not think that this death will stick for long. I, along with a number of others, believe that Johnny will be reborn at the 600th issue of the Fantastic Four or FF or whatever they are calling the book now. It also seems that Spider-man will fill in for the Torch for an arc, as the Spider-man solicitations for March aren't released yet.

It's been revealed that the new Venom is going to be Flash Thompson. Interesting choice, but it doesn't surprise me. When they said that it was going to be someone from the Spidey universe, I knew that it was going to be Flash or Vin Gonzales. I'm pretty pumped for this book, so hopefully it will be good. With Remender at the helm, I don't think I have to worry about the book being bad.

Finally, the Random Blog is on Twitter. Here is the link to my Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Random__Blogger

Alright. That's it for now. Next weeks reviews will be of Amazing Spider-man #653, Ultimate Spider-man #152 (if it ever gets here), V's newest episode, and Smallville (on the weekend). Make sure you follow me at Twitter. I'll answer all you questions (maybe). See ya later.
-Randomblogger

Championship Sunday

Alright, Championship Sunday has arrived. Unfortunately for me, both teams I picked to go to the Super Bowl aren't playing. Oh well, I'll make do with what I have. The first game is being played at 3 at Soilder Field, Packers @ Bears. The second game, starting at 6:30, is at Heinz Field as the Jets travel to Pittsburgh Field to take on the Steelers.

The Bears and Packers are going at it again, this being their third time playing this year. The first game, played in Week 3 at Chicago, the Bears beat the Packers 20-17. The second meeting came during week 17 and the Packers beat the Bears 10-3 at Green Bay. So, if you take anything from these two games, its that these two defenses are pretty good and it should be a low scoring game. The X-factor in this game is going to be Jay Cutler. If he goes out and has a good game, I can see the Bears edging out the Packers. However, if he throws 2-3 INTs, then they are going to lose this game. I see that happening and I pick the Packers to beat the Bears 17-14.

The later game is picking your poison for me. As a Patriots and Browns fan, I despise both of these teams. Big Ben and the Steelers lost to the Jets at home, 22-17 during Week 15. Ben almost won the game but couldn't pull out the miracle. As I stated before, I hate both these teams. If the Jets would have lost last week to the Patriots, the Steelers would not have a chance to beat the Pats. They don't match up well against them and it would have been an easy game for the Pats. The Jets, however, are a different story. Led by Mark Sanchez, the Jets have beat two of the best QBs in NFL history in Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Sanchez has been near perfect in these games and I think that this stops here. The Steelers D is too powerful and they will force Sanchez to beat them through the air, which he can't do. The Steelers move on to another Super Bowl, beating the Jets 27-21.

Awards Time
Now, I will be picking the major awards in the NFL. Those awards will be MVP, Offensive/Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive/Defensive Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, and Coach of the Year.

Coach of the Year- To me, this years coach of the year is between three people; Bill Belicheck, Todd Haley and Mike Smith. I"m going to say that Todd Haley wins the NFL Coach of the Year award. Last season, the Chiefs were a joke in the NFL, going 4-10. This year, they won the AFC West, normally owned by the San Diego Chargers. The main reasons for the change are Matt Cassel and Todd Haley. And that is why Todd Haley wins Coach of the Year for me.

Comeback Player of the Year- This one comes down to two players: Wes Welker and Michael Vick. As much as I like Welker, I have to give this one to Vick. He made people completely change their views on him by becoming the Eagle's starting QB and taking them to the playoffs. If Kevin Kolb was QB, I think the Eagles lose 1, maybe 2 more games. Nobody had Vick playing this well when he replaced Kolb and that is the reason why Michael Vick wins the Comeback Player of the Year.

Offensive Rookie of the Year- Without a doubt, this award goes to Rams QB Sam Bradford. He led the Rams to the brink of the playoffs, going 7-9 one year after going 1-15 the year before. That is a spectacular turn around and it all gets put on Bradford. He looked like a vet after just a few games and there is no competition for this award, just like the Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Defensive Rookie of the Year- Ndamukong Suh is the hands down winner of this award and is also a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. Suh had a incredible year, playing a huge factor for the Lions. Had the Lion's not lost a few fluky loses and a not injured Matt Stafford, they would have possibly pushed for a playoff spot. The main reason: Suh being a dominating force on defense.

Offensive Player of the Year- This award is between two players again, Tom Brady and Vick. Both had amazing seasons, but Brady wins this award. His numbers were crazy, throwing for 36 TDs and only 4 INTs. He did all this while losing his No. 1 wideout in Randy Moss. He set the record for longest stretch without throwing a pick. This is the reason why Brady wins this award.

Defensive Player of the Year- Another easy award, this one goes to Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers. Suh almost wins this award, but Matthews deserves it.  He had 13.5 sacks and was an explosive force of nature on the field. He is one of the main reasons that the Packers are still in the playoffs. His presence on the field left other defenders open to get at the quarterback. Clay was a great player this year and I can't wait to see him play today.

MVP- Again, this award goes to Patriots QB Tom Brady. As I stated before, Brady lost his No. 1 target, had to re-invent his offense halfway through the season, and played with players who would not be playing on other teams. Now, this may seem like a man crush pick, seeing that I'm a Pats fan and I love Brady, but he totally deserves this award. You could make an agruement for another player, but Brady did almost the impossible with what he was given. Yeah, he lost last week, but that doesn't diminish his performance during the regular season.

Okay. That's it for this post. And just in the nick of time. I know for a fact that I'll have a post up on Thursday with another somewhere in the between there. Twitter account will be operational in a few days, maybe hours even. I'll post it when I get it going. Until then, stay safe. And go Packers.
-RandomBlogger

Mega Review Day

It was delayed by some personal stuff (aka laziness and college), but the massive review day as arrived. I will be reviewing the last two episodes of V, possibly the finale of Blue Mountain State, and Amazing Spider-man #652. Now, my last review post caused some ruckus and it really surprised me. So hopefully this one will be calmer, but my thanks go to Dan Slott for tweeting about my blog. Speaking of Twitter, I should have a Twitter account up in the next few days.

"V" Reviews
The first episode that I will be reviewing is "Serpent's Tooth", which aired on January 11th. The main plot of this episode revolved around the Fifth Column hunting down the leader of a recent string of suicide bombers and the possibility (and ultimate proof) that Erica's partner, Agent Malik, is a V. For me, the strongest part of this episode was Father Jack's story line. The first suicide bomber went to Jack fora confession just before he attempted to take Chad Decker's life. Jack, feelikng guilty for possibly helping provoke the attack, must deal with the mental problems he pputs himself into. Two callbacks to the old V happened in this episode. The first one was with Diana, Anna's mother and the older leader on the old V show. The second callback moment was when Anna ate a rat and fed Ryan's kid with it. It was pretty gross. The cliffhanger was good in this episode too, with Jack trying to call Erica to warn her about Malik while Erica discovers it while driving. The car flips over and we are left to wait until the next week to discover what happened.

The second episode I will be reviewing will be "Laid Bare", which aired this past Tuesday.  This episode picks up right where "Serpent's Tooth" leaves off. Erica continues to tussle with Malik and just as it starts to look bad for Erica, Hobbes and Jack show up to save her. Lisa, horrified, discovers that her skin is changing, meaning that it is getting close for her time to mate. This could end up being a win-win-lose situation. The first win comes from seeing more Laura Vandervoort in hot scenes. Another win might be that Tyler, the most probable canidate for V shagging, will lose his head like the soilder in Season 1 did. The negative is that if this happens, Lisa will become more like Anna, which isn't a good thing. The main storyline of this episode is Erica and Ryan doing the parent thing and searching for someone's missing daughter, who was kidnapped by the Vs. Meanwhile, Father Jack deals with being Anna's new target with Chad interviewing him and then staging a fight to dispute it. That Anna; she is a tricky one. The two best parts for  me in this episode both occurred at the end. First, Chad is introduced to the entire Fifth Column, finally making him a member. The second part comes at the very end, as it seems that Lisa and Tyler have switched mothers, as Erica comforts Lisa and Anna uses Tyler. Interesting stuff.

Both episodes were very good and I would give "Serpent's Tooth" a 8 out of 10 while giving "Laid Bare" a 9 out of 10.

Blue Mountain State
Not going to discuss this show that much, seeing as it was the season finale on Wednesday. But I must say, it is a pretty good tv show. I started watching it this season and instantly liked it. I watched the majority of the first season online and I'm caught up after missing a few episodes thanks to work. Hopefully this show gets renewed for a third season as there is some potential for some great storylines, especially with Alex and Mary Jo finally getting together.

Amazing Spider-man #652 Review


Alright, so this issue starts off at a roller derby, with Peter, MJ, Aunt May, Jay, Flash, and Betty all cheering on Carlie. MJ starts thinking to herself how it doesn't seem fair that Pete is happy with Carlie but instantly takes it back. Meanwhile, Smythe aka the Spider Slayer, Mac Gargan aka the Scorpion, and some other freaks look on at the Andru Air Force Base, site of the impending rocket launch of John Jameson's rocket. Jonah is a little bit nervous for the launch and Max Modell offers to bring Peter along to help oversee things. Cut back to the roller derby, where the match is over and Pete and Carlie have a cute little moment before MJ shows back up. She tries to gage whether or not Peter is going to tell Carlie his secret, which Peter replies that he won't. Cue the day of the launch and Pete, while looking over his notes, gets a blaring signal from his spider-sense. He tells Max to delay the launch, which he tries to do but Smythe has taken over. As his swarm moves in, Spidey swings in to save the day. However, Jonah tells Spider-man to forget about him, Glory, and Jay and to go save his son from the soon launching rocket. Spider-man gets a line on the shuttle just as it takes off. After struggling to get onto the shuttle, Spidey is met by Gargan, who is ready to kill him.

This was a pretty good issue. It was my introduction to a Stefano Caselli story and it was pretty good. There were some parts that were a little iffy for me, but that just may be that this is the first true time I'm looking at his work. It shows a lot of promise and I can see myself enjoying his art very quickly.  Dan Slott's story was written pretty well. The only problem I had with it was the whole jealous MJ scene. I don't know what Mr. Slott has planned, but for the slightest second, he made me believe that he was going to set up a love triangle with Pete, MJ, and Carlie, which may actually turn into a love square with Carlie wanting to set MJ up with Spidey. However, that is just a little thing and I still enjoyed this issue a lot.

Story- 4/5
Art- 4/5
Overall- 8/10

Well, there is my massive review post. Next week should be another larger review post, but with no tv reviews seeing as V is off next week thanks to Obama. If everything goes as planned, I will being reviewing Avengers #9, New Avengers #8, Ultimate Spider-man #152, and X-Men #7. Tomorrow (or later today, depending on where you are reading this), I'll pick the football games going on this weekend and do a wrap up on the NFL season, picking the major awards.

In Rodgers I Trust
-RandomBlogger

10 Things

Not really tired right now, so I decided to finally post the new feature to my blog called 10 Things. In this feature, I will be discussing, as it sounds, 10 things about a certain topic. For my first 10 Things post, I will discuss the top 10 things I wish for the second half of Smallville's Season 10. Smallville has been my favorite TV show since I started watching it during its sixth season. After a few episodes, I was hooked and started to get the DVD sets. Now, I must prepare for one of the hardest things: losing my favorite TV show. Over the years, the producers have done an excellent job at staying close to the comic book continuity while, at the same time, establishing themselves in their own universe. The first half of this final season has gone pretty well, but it has seemed slow at points. So, now, here is my wish list for Smallville's second half.

10. Bring back Zatanna, and do it right- Last season's episode "Warrior" brought Zatanna back to Smallville, but they played her as someone who was desperate for Clark's attention. She eventually placed a spell on Clark just so he would kiss her. This isn't the way I want Zatanna played. She needs to be portrayed as the awesome spellcaster she is supposed to be.

9. Do Darkseid right- As of right now, Darkseid has been alluded to be coming, being called "the Darkness" by everyone but his followers.  However, I'm afraid that, just like Doomsday, everything will fall short of its potential.  The final fight with Doomsday was terrible and was not done very well. The studio should pull a "Salvation" and have an epic fight with Darkseid like he did with Zod. I mean, Darkseid is a GOD!!! He deserves to be done right. If not, his followers will find you.

8. Less "Harvest", more "Icarus"- "Harvest" was probably the worst of the episodes so far. It was, at least in my opinion, a very slow episode with a not so interesting story. "Icarus", on the other hand, was the mid season finale and felt like a movie packed into an hour show. The pulse for the remainder of the season should feel like "Icarus". And even though I do enjoy a filler episode every now and then, they really should be a quality filler, unlike "Harvest" which did nothing to the overall story of the season.

7.  This show is about Clark, right?- If it is, then why are other characters getting more face time than the hero and number one character of the show. With Chloe returning and her romance with Oliver probably taking center stage in "Collateral", they need to focus on Clark, seeing that this is the final season and he has a lot to do before he can don the tights and fly off to save the day.

6. Speaking of Chloe...- Do her character justice. Seeing as Chloe is the only Smallville original character left, they need to send her out with a bang. Not to let her disappear into the background. Now, I've heard that her return in "Collateral" is going to be epic. I can only wish that her final bow will also be epic. I've always loved Chloe's character and hope that the producers will do the right thing with her.

5. Kneel Before Zod- There have been discussions that Callum Blue will be returning to reprise his character Zod. If these reports are true, that will be great news. I was absolutely amazed by Callum's performance last season as Major Zod. He played a perfect mini, less intimidating version of Terence Stamp. Even if it is for an episode, which it hopefully is, will be perfect for Clark's progression.

4. Too Many Villains?- Um, it might be a possibility. You have the Suicide Squad running around, the VRA going full force to stop the vigilantes, and the eventual rise of Darkseid. Throw in the possibility of a Zod re-emergence, the return of Lionel Luthor, the cloned Lex and the possible real Lex and that is a heck of a lot of villains. I'm just afraid that all these villains are going to be the downfall of the second half of this season. Trying to do too much with too little time left on the clock.

3. Unite the Justice League- At the end of "Icarus", the Justice League united, but not for the heroic reason. Instead, it was a sentimental moment: Hawkman's funeral. Hopefully, there is a really awesome moment in "Collateral" were the JL fight their way from whatever captured them at Hawkman's funeral. In order to defeat the VRA, the Justice League will need to unite fully. That means that Impulse, Aquaman, Cyborg, Black Canary, and the Martian Manhunter need to come to Smallville, team up with Ollie and Clark, and go kick some butt.

2. The Finale- Everything about this finale will be scrutinized. From the title to the final moments, this episode will be one of the most iconic moments in not only Superman history, but in comic book television history. Rumors have been floating ever since the show began that the final shots will be Clark, with his Superman suit on, flying off to save the day. That has all but been confirmed by the producers. Now, the new rumors swirling around involve the title of the episode and the length; will it be an hour or two hours long? Will the producers name the finale the kind of expected "Superman"? No one knows, but with the finale quickly arriving, these questions will be answered soon.

1. Bring back the bald man- Lex Luthor. Superman's number one nemesis. He needs to return. Now, I know that they are flirting with the idea of having a clone Lex run around and eventually bringing in the adult clone Lex. But, for the fan's sake, the right thing needs to be done. Michael Rosenbaum should do the right thing and return, just for one stinking episode. I know that it sounds like he wants nothing to do with Smallville, but I honestly believe that he is putting up a smokescreen to keep this a secret. Again, this is my hope and, while it seems very unlikely, it's all I have to hope for. Please Michael, return to Smallville. Just this once.

Well, that's it. The first 10 Things post. Hopefully more will come. As it looks right now, Thursday will be a massive review day. I will be review last week's V episode, this week's episode, Amazing Spider-man #652, and maybe a few more. I don't know. It's late and I'm going to bed now.

Go Pack.
-Randomblogger