2012 Wrap Up

Well, seeing as 2013 is still fresh and new, why not go over the best of 2012.  From music to movies to, yes, comics, 2012 was a great year for everyone it seems.  Some of the categories I'll be discussing will have a list while others will only have one or two items mentioned with it.  Also, at the end of this post, I'll get into what I'm looking forward to most in 2013.  So, let's get on with the show.

Video Games
I've really become more of a gamer than I have in the past these past few months.  Whether it be because of my sudden interest in gaming videos on Youtube or what, but I played some truly magical games last year.  However, of all the games I played, there are two that struck me as the best games I have ever played.  Yes, even better than Shadow of the Colossus, a game that I have loved for years.  The games I'm talking about are Journey and The Walking Dead.  Both games were initially only available via online stores, but the popularity of the games led to them being released on disc.

I first found Journey when I was looking at demos on the Playstation Store.  It was highly rated and, after I played it, I realized that I needed to get this game somehow.  When I finally bought it and played it for the first time, I discovered what I really loved about it: it truly reminded me of Shadow of the Colossus.  There is absolutely no dialogue in this game; the only sounds heard in the game are the sound effects, the music, and the little sounds your character makes.  The settings are just beautifully made, especially the snow and the "underwater" levels.  However, the moment that brought a smile to my face was the first time I ran into another player.  It was on the second desert area and I was wondering why my screen had a bright white section in one of the corners.  Upon further review, I discovered another cloaked figure, and we started "talking" back and forth.  It was truly an experience that I had never had before.  We helped each other with a couple puzzles but, when I had to take a break for a minute, I came back to discover my partner gone.  I was actually kind of sad about it, as I had become alone again.  Overall, this game was just a beautiful masterpiece, one that I will play for years to come.

However, as breathtaking as Journey was, my game of the year was The Walking Dead.  Made by TellTale Games, it was initially released in episodes, much like the TV show.  When the game first came out, I was still getting into my The Walking Dead phase.  By the time I bought the disc version of the game, I was in the midst of my new obsession.  In short, The Walking Dead is now my new favorite video game.  Just like the TV series, it is more character driven than zombie driven.  To me, that is what made this game so fantastic.  For the first time, I really felt like the main character, in this case Lee.  Also, I got to see the outcome of my choices, whether they be good or bad.  A couple of times, I made decisions based off what I would do, which typically was the better way to go, but a couple of times, my emotions got in the way, leading me to make more irrational decisions.  No matter what my decisions were, however, the final episode got me. And, boy, did it get me good.  I'm not going to lie; I cried at least three times during the finale.  I still think about the finale on occasion.  However, I have not played through the game, though I would like to soon.

Movies

This was a very strong year for movies.  Between The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Amazing Spider-Man (just to name a few), comic lovers had their fill of their heroes.  I saw a lot of films I had never seen before; to name a few: The Hunger Games, The Raven, Grave Encounters, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, and Paranormal Activity 4.  However, out of all of those films, my absolute favorite of the year was The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  Up until two weeks ago, I was ready to pronounce The Dark Knight Rises as my favorite film of the year.  However, The Hobbit blew me away.  It wasn't until I saw the film that I realized how much I missed Middle Earth.  It was good to see the old gang again, especially Gandalf.  I absolutely loved Martin Freeman as Bilbo, as well as Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield.  For me, the whole last half hour or so, basically when Bilbo meets Gollum for the first time on, is the best part.  The riddle/lake scene was my second favorite scene; my favorite scene being the beginning with older Bilbo and Frodo.  Even better yet, there are still two more Hobbit films to come this year and next.  At the end of it all, The Hobbit trilogy might rival The Lord of the Rings trilogy for the better trilogy.

So, if I were to rank my favorite films of 2012, they would be in this order:

1. The Hobbit
2. The Dark Knight Rises
3. The Avengers
4. The Amazing Spider-Man
5. The Hunger Games

Music

Not a lot of new music came out for me this year, though what I got was really good stuff.  Obviously, there was the huge hit Gangnam Style, which is way too catchy and addictive to not include on any 2012 wrap up.  Though I only got a couple CDs this year (yeah, I still buy CDs mostly because my car has no MP3 jack), what I got were good stuff.  I downloaded three soundtracks and bought one on CD, all of which were great listens.  I downloaded the OSTs to Journey, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Hobbit, while the one I bought was to The Dark Knight Rises.  Another CD I bought was the newest release from one of my favorite bands, the ska band Reel Big Fish.  They put out their newest album Candy Coated Fury, their first original record in a couple years.  However, the album I was most excited for (okay, second most; more on that in a few) was Red from Taylor Swift.  I've been a closet TSwift fan for a while and this year is when it really hit off.  So, yes, I am a guy who, when Red came out, went out to Target and bought the special edition.  I have little to no shame in admitting that.  The album I was most excited about didn't come out.  It got delayed because the bandleader is a perfectionist and never finished the album in an reasonable amount of time to have it released on the announced date.  The band and record in question would be Streetlight Manifesto's The Hands That Thieve and Toh Kay's The Hand That Thieves.  They were supposed to be out on Election Day, but about two weeks before the release date, leadman Tomas Kalnoky (Toh Kay) announced that they albums were being delayed until January 2013.  Though I was distraught having to wait even longer for new original music from my favorite band, I knew that it was going to be worth the wait.  Sure, it is a bit aggravating that they haven't released any new, original material since 2007, but I know that this album is going to be amazing.  If you haven't heard their music before, check them out.  They truly are a group of extremely talented musicians.

TV

This was the first fall season where I did not have Smallville to look forward to.  I have to say, it was a little weird to go into the fall season not having Smallville to amp me up.  Thankfully, I had another show to fill the void: The Walking Dead.  2012 was the year of The Walking Dead for me, as I started my new obsession for it towards the middle of the year.  That included catching up on the entire TV series.  It has now become my favorite TV series.  Also, Warehouse 13 continued kick major butt, as it had its strongest season yet.  Another show I started watching this year is New Girl.  Yes, I, a 20 going on 21 year old male, likes watching New Girl.  Other shows that I've kept up with are Tosh.O, Brickleberry (which is a very un-PC show), The Soup, Chopped, and Total Darkness, just to name a few that come to mind.

Comics

Well, what can I say about 2012 in the realm of comics?  I'm pretty sure "crazy" sums it up pretty well.  We had Zero Month, Avengers Vs. X-Men, Marvel NOW!, "Death in the Family", the "death" of Peter Parker (again), as well as other crazy stuff.  Personally, I tried out a lot more comics this year than I have in past years and, though my wallet and parents don't like me spending a lot of money on comics, I've had a blast exposing myself to characters I haven't read before.  Especially when Marvel NOW! kicked off, I jumped on a lot of new books, some possibly for the long term, some for an arc to arc basis.  2012 was a year of change for Marvel while DC continued to establish the New 52 even further as the second year started.  For me personally, 2012 was a year of great stories, lots of Spider-Man goodness, my introduction to a lot of new Marvel books, discovering that I actually like the X-Men, thanks to Bendis and Immonen, and how great The Walking Dead really is.

It was hard to hash out a list of my favorite comics of the year, but here is the list of my top 5 favorite comics of the year. 

1. Batman
   The best book on the shelves without a doubt.  The stories that Team Batman have been telling have been masterful, from the conclusion of the "Court of Owls" storyline to the current epic "Death of the Family".  Batman #13, the first chapter of DotF, actually might be the finest comic I have ever read.  Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, and the rest of Team Batman own this book and I'm so excited to see how DotF concludes.
2. Daredevil
   When this book launched in 2011, I never saw myself enjoying the book as much as I am today.  I was initially interested in the art by Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin.  However, I'm now in for the long run.  Mark Waid has made me love Matt Murdock, no matter what hell he is put through. 
3. Amazing Spider-Man
   Though Peter Parker's journey ended (for now), it was one heck of a year for my favorite hero.  He gained and lost a side kick, took on not one, but two Hobgoblins, took on the Lizard and Morbius, went into space, met Miles Morales, and saved the world.  Sure, he passed on (again, for now), but he went down a hero, fighting to wits end against one of his worst enemies. 
4. Captain America
   Without a doubt, this books is my favorite Marvel NOW! books (so far).  Rick Remender has put Cap in a foreign land and forced him to survive.  With art by John Romita, Jr., this book is one of my favorite looking books, as JR Jr. gets to draw crazy monsters.  This is such a fun book and I'm happy I decided to check it out.
5. Ultimate Spider-ManThe story of Miles Morales continued and there was some gooooood stuff thrown his way.  From meeting 616 Peter Parker to finally obtaining his webs, Miles has had a good year.  You know, minus the fact that he was thrown into war for the first time and got stranded from home.  And that his Uncle Aaron died.  But you know, the future looks bright for young Mr. Morales, so he has that going for him.Fantastic FourYes, I'm cheating and putting one more book in my Top 5.  See this as 5B to Ultimate Spider-Man's 5A.  I've always been a FF fan, but I've never really read the book because Hickman built up such a daunting run, I never got into the book.  When it was announced that Matt Fraction and Mark Bagley were taking over the book, I decided  to check it out and I've really enjoyed it so far.  

Just missing out on the list is a couple of great books: Captain Marvel, Smallville Season 11, Avengers Academy, Indestructible Hulk, Justice League, and Deadpool.  Also, I would be amiss if I didn't add that I've really been enjoying The Walking Dead in comic form.  I have every issue now, minus #104, thanks to the holidays.  I finished compendium #1 before New Years and I'll be tackling #2 in a couple of days.  And I still have a couple of Marvel NOW! titles coming out in the coming months.

Not only did I get introduced to new books and characters, but maybe most exciting was the introduction to new artists.  Seeing as comics are a visual medium, being introduced to new artists is exciting, as you get to see different takes on characters you already know.  Some of the new artists that I've grown to like/love last year were Olivier Coipel, Mike Allred, Becky Cloonan, David Marquez, Kenneth Rocafort, Dexter Soy, and Ryan Stegman.  All of their different takes on characters, whether they be some of my favorites or new ones, were unique and awesome.  Personally, the three that I'll be following closest will probably be David Marquez, Becky Cloonan, and most definitely Ryan Stegman.  

2013

So, what am I looking forward to in the year 2013?  Well, there is a lot of stuff to look forward to.  In the theaters, I'm looking forward to The Man of Steel, the newest Superman film that looks really, really good.  I'm also waiting on the edge of my seat for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second part of the Hobbit trilogy.  Lastly, I'm looking forward to my annual Paranormal Activity fix, which will be coming, like it always does, in October.

Musically, the thing I'm looking forward to most is the release of the new Streetlight Manifesto/Toh Kay albums.  I'd go into more detail on that, but I kinda already did earlier.  So please refer to that for the music section.

I'm primed to be getting a good number of video games this year, something that has not happened in a long time.  While some games are coming out relatively soon, like Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and God of War: Ascension, the games I'm looking forward to most either come out later in the year or don't have a release date yet.  The game that I'm surprisingly pumped for and I believe will be my 2013 Game of the Year is The Last of Us, which is coming out in May by Naughty Dog (the same guys who did the Crash Bandicoot series).  The other games I'm looking forward to, well, I'm not even sure when they are going to come out.  Those games would be the necessary second season the The Walking Dead and a game I've been waiting for since, oh, about 2009: The Last Guardian, the spiritual sequel to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.  I pray that this game finally sees the light of day in 2013.

Comics-wise, there is so much to be looking forward to.  Off the top of my head, the two things I'm looking forward to would be the conclusion of "Death of the Family" in Batman and the beginning of Superior Spider-Man.  Other stories I'm excited to read are "Venom Wars" over in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man (the first chapter is phenomenal), the Riddler story in Batman, two new Scott Snyder books, The Wake and  the unnamed but most likely Man of Steel with Jim Lee, discovering the mysterious threat in Daredevil, reading my second X-Men title (which was unheard of a couple years ago), and so much more.

Personally, I have some resolutions for the year 2013.  Some more personal, some I'm happy to discuss.  I would love to do better in school, make a good amount of money when I go back to work in the summer, and, probably the hardest one to achieve, find an artist for a possible comic book I would love to publish.

So, 2013 is shaping up to be a pretty good year, maybe even better than 2012.  I hope that this year isn't filled with death and tragedy.  There were too many last year and 2013 must be better than 2012.  Hopefully, things will be much better in 2013 for everyone.

Thanks for reading!

Amazing No More

Hello, everyone!  I hope that you had a great holiday season. Mine was particularly enjoyable, as I got a lot of good stuff, like 102 issues of The Walking Dead and an awesome Batman fleece hat/cowl. But, enough about me.  You came here for some reviews.  For those who somehow don't know, this week marked the end of The Amazing Spider-Man, one of Marvel's longest running series.  As I did with Amazing #698 a couple weeks back, I will post my other review before I go into spoiler mode.  However, you have been forewarned about spoilers, so read at your own risk.

Justice League #15

http://media.dcentertainment.com/sites/default/files/JUSTL_Cv15.jpg

The issue starts off with the US military out at sea, getting ready to test some missiles.  However, something or someone activates the countdown and changes the coordinates for the missiles, sending them straight towards Atlantis.  Meanwhile, back in Smallville, Clark continues his talk with Diana and gives her a pair of glasses for herself.  Back at the Watchtower, Cyborg is talking with his dad about the situation with the U.S.S. Mabus when Watchtower goes dark.  Now, in Gotham City, Batman is taking on a boatload of Scarecrow's men while talking to Cyborg.  Batman takes down almost all the guys and gets an unlikely assist from Aquaman.  Later, Batman and Aquaman talk about the problem with Atlantis, as Aquaman tells Bats that the fish aren't responding to his commands, which means that something is wrong.  Then, Mera shows up and Batman starts to inform them about the U.S.S. Mabus.  Meanwhile, in Metropolis, Clark and Diana are enjoying a nice date.  Just after they both admit that this is a nice night and that they hope to have more of these date nights, the power goes out and the U.S.S. Mabus is thrown into Metropolis via tidal wave.  Clark and Diana suit up and save Metropolis from being squashed.  Clark, however, cannot save Lois, but a man named Vulko saves her.  However, Vulko is weak and either passes out or dies after stating that he needs to find Aquaman or his brother will sink it all.  Mera tells Aquaman that this is a first strike against Earth and Aquaman realizes that this is the Atlantean War Plans, something that he had written.

The Shazam backup starts off with Billy and Freddy chowing down on some fast food.  Freddy really wants Billy to buy beer for them, but they only have $.75 left.  So, they decide to use Billy's powers to rob an ATM.  Just when the boys think that they are getting busted, it is shown that a couple other guys are shown robbing the same bank.  Billy stops them and the boys make off with the cash.  They make it to a liquor store where Billy stops yet another robbery attempt.  However, instead of getting booze, Billy, when asked how he can be repayed, asks for all the junkfood they can carry.  After stopping a guy from hot wiring a car, Billy talks to Francesca, one of the magical beings from the Rock of Eternity.  She warns him about Black Adam and to prepare himself.  After discovering he can fly, Billy and Freddy get into a heated argument about Billy changing back into kid form.  Freddy leaves in a huff and Billy finally meets Black Adam face to face.

First off, I would like to welcome Ivan Reis and Joe Prado to the book.  If this issue is any indication to their run on the book, then Justice League fans are in for a treat.  The art team is in their comfort zone, being the ex-Aquaman team.  It was nice to have a good issue from a new art team is always a plus.  This was the first issue of Justice League in a while that was well done all around.  While a lot of the recent issues were good (especially the Zero issue), this was the first one where everything was complete.  Everything connected nicely and I'm really looking forward to this mini-event in this book.  I'm going to have to figure out if I need to buy Aquaman for this story to make sense, but even if I do, I'm still excited to see this new story.

Grade: A

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

Well, I've avoided the spoilers so far, and I would like to help those who have not read Amazing Spider-Man #700 and Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 by blatantly telling you that THERE ARE HUMONGOUS SPOILERS UPCOMING. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ EITHER AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700 OR AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #15.1, THERE ARE GOING TO BE HUGE, MONUMENTAL SPOILERS IN THE FOLLOWING REVIEWS.  

Amazing Spider-Man #700

The issue starts off with Potter and MJ, discussing their "relationship".  Potter admits to MJ that he wants to be in a relationship with her, but gets distracted when he receives news about Doc Ock escaping the Raft.  Potter then flies to JFK Airport, buying a ticket to flee New York, knowing that Ock's body will be dead by the time he returns from Belgium.  Back in Doc Ock's lab, Peter is working with hours left to live, and he has a near death moment, where he sees almost everyone who has died since he became Spider-Man.  His journey culminates in a visit with Uncle Ben, who tells Peter that he has to stop Otto one last time, then someone else can be Spider-Man.  Peter is rejuvenated and is ready to start his master plan.  Meanwhile, Jonah looks over the jailbreak from the Raft and publicly calls Octavius a loser, which Potter hears.  Peter and his band of unmerry men take on the 18th Precinct, where Peter retrieves the golden Octobot.  However, he gets delayed a tad when Carlie shows up.  He tries to tell her the truth about his situation, but she doesn't believe and opens fire, which ricochets off of Peter's tentacles and hurts Carlie.  Spider-Man then shows up and the houses and workplaces of everyone important in Peter's life, telling them that Doc Ock is on a rampage and that he is coming for them because of Peter's connection with Spider-Man.  When Potter has gathered his "loved ones", he gets into contact with Doc Ock, gloating that he has won and that Peter will be dead in a short period of time.  Scorpion and Hydro-Man slow down the police while Peter and Paste Pot Pete Trapster work on the Octobot, which leads to Trapster thinking that "Otto" is going to swap minds with him.  Instead, Peter captures Trapster while escaping with Scorpion and Hydro-Man.  Back at the safe room, the Jameson family finally reconcile while MJ goes to talk with Potter.  Even though Potter acts like a total dick to her, MJ admits her love for him, which leads to Potter making out with her.  Back with Peter, he and pals break into Avengers Tower, hoping that the Avengers will be there and willing to help him.  However, Otto, who shows up on the scene, has already thought ahead, deploying Octobots around the globe, thus drawing the Avengers away.  Scorpion and Hydro-Man attack Spider-Man, but Scorpion gets distracted when Spider-Man makes him believe that Otto is going to harm the Jamesons, leaving Peter facing Otto again, this time for the last time.  When Scorpion attacks the safe room, Spider-Man swoops in to save them, but starts having weird visions/flashbacks.  After Spider-Man attacks Peter's friends and loved ones, Peter grabs Spider-Man and throws them both out a window.  However, Otto spins a web airbag which basically stops Peter from doing anything physical.  Peter has one last plan, however, and puts it into effect when his golden Octobot tries to penetrate Spider-Man's brain.  However, Otto knew that something like that would be coming, and put plating armor on, protecting him from any Octobot attacks.  As Peter lays on the ground, mere seconds from death, his life starts to flash before his eyes, and he forces Otto to watch, but with Otto being Spider-Man instead of Peter, making Otto feel everything that Peter has felt over the years.  Otto instantly wants to quit being Spider-Man, but can't, as it is too late to do a mind change.  Almost suddenly, like magic, Otto has a change of heart and decides, as Peter dies, that he will be a better Spider-Man and Peter Parker than Peter ever was, proclaiming that he will be the Superior Spider-Man.

Ugh.  That's my opinion on this issue.  When I first read it, I had tears in my eyes as I threw it across the room in a pissed off rage.  I've never gotten this mad about a comic before, even when the other Peter Parker, the Ultimate one, died.  Mostly because I feel like that Peter died a hero.  He died saving his loved ones from his most deadly enemies.  This Peter, however, just handed the reins to arguably his worst enemy, just because he didn't want to kill him.  That is cowardly in my opinion.  He gave an enemy free range on his life without truly knowing that he had a change of heart.  I was so excited for this issue but I honestly felt let down by it and, in return, I feel less excited for Superior Spider-Man.  I'm hoping that this storyline only lasts a year or so, because if it lasts longer than that, I may lose my love for Spider-Man, something I never thought would happen.  Like many others have admitted, I love Peter because I can relate to him, something I cannot do with any other comic character.  Strapped for cash, terrible luck, not smooth with the ladies, and a true friend, that is what appeals me to Peter.  Now, with Otto in Peter's body, we are going to be getting a Peter who seems to be a huge dick.  If his dialogue in this issue, the Superior Spider-Man preview, or Daredevil is any indication, Otto is going to be a jerkwad to basically everyone, especially MJ.

Though I am miffed about this issue, there are good things about it.  First and foremost, I must give a huge amount of praise to Humberto Ramos.  When he was announced on the book when "Big Time" started, I was not enthused what so bit.  Now, he is one of my favorite artists.  I have nothing but love for his artwork now and he does a masterful job handling the emotional scenes as well as the action ones.  The end section with the life flashes was beautiful and it really helped nail the scene.  Though I do not like the story, I still must praise Dan Slott.  While I don't like the way that Potter is being written right now, I must admit it is sort of interesting to see this new spin on Spider-Man.  Plus, the end, while I don't really buy the sudden change of heart by Otto, is obviously powerful enough to bring me to tears.  I was very lukewarm on this issue the first couple of times I read it (by that, I mean the first 10 times I read it).  However, as I slowly start to accept that Peter has died for now, I start to think about the future of Spider-Man.  I will be checking out Superior Spider-Man when it comes out in a couple weeks, though it will be with a heavy heart for the first few issues.  However, as much as I dislike the ending, I do not think it is bad enough to warrant sending death threats to someone.  I know I've written about this before, but c'mon guys and gals.  It's comics, where no hero ever stays dead.  Peter will be back eventually (especially as there seems to be a back door for Peter to return some day) and, while I'm looking forward to that day, I guess you could say I'm anxious to see this new spin on Spider-Man.

Grade: B

Avenging Spider-Man #15.1

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121005190606/marveldatabase/images/2/21/Avenging_Spider-Man_Vol_1_15.1_Textless.jpg

This issue is the bridge between Amazing Spider-Man #700 and Superior Spider-Man #1.  It begins with Otto laughing at Peter's defeat and death (wonderful start, by the way).   Then, after setting up a date with MJ, Otto swings to Horizon to do some work.  While he works, he reminisces about his former life as Doctor Octopus and his "life" as Peter Parker.  The next couple days, Otto continues his work on a new, better Spider suit.  During one day, Otto recollects "his" memories of Mary Jane, and while he acknowledges that she is a liability, Otto admits that Peter was a fool to not have been involved with her more.  On Day Four, Otto is walking to Horizon when he instinctively stops a petty theft.  After blowing off Uatu and Grady, Otto determines that he needs tech from one of his personal labs, and goes into one.  However, he must fight one of his own inventions made to protect the lab.  While fighting the defense, Otto thinks about his situation, mainly how he lost no matter what and how he always failed.  The issue ends with Otto suiting up in his new suit, proclaiming that Doctor Octopus is dead and that he is the Superior Spider-Man.

This was a great issue.  It made me actually start liking Otto as Spider-Man.  If you can't tell, I wrote the Amazing and Avenging reviews on different days.  When I wrote the Amazing review, I was filled with anger and rage.  Now, after reading this issue, I'm more calm and a bit optimistic about the future for my favorite character.  Though I didn't like the beginning of the issue, as it was a complete 180 of the end of Amazing, where Otto was more somber, the rest of the issue was pretty good.  I'm still a bit upset about the ending of the Peter's life, but after reading this issue a couple of times, I'm gaining my interest in Superior Spider-Man back.  I must give kudos to Chris Yost for writing a great bridge to Superior and to getting me interested in Superior again.  However, the real star of this issue was Paco Medina.  His art was breathtakingly awesome.  I know that the amazing Marco Checchetto is going to become the new regular Avenging artist, but I would love to see some more Paco Medina Spider-Man work down the line.  Spider-Man is lucky to have such a great cast of artists on the book, something that a lot of books would kill to have.  So, even if you, like me, weren't sold on the ending of Amazing Spider-Man #700, check out this issue.  It's so well done that I promise that it will make you interested in Superior Spider-Man.

Grade: A

So that's it for this small, but very powerful week. Though I got a lot of my griping out of the way dealing with Amazing #700, I might have another post on that before Superior Spider-Man #1 comes out.  I'm currently working on a "Best of 2012" post, but I'm not sure when it will be out.  I'm currently under the weather and haven't been able to work on it as much as I would like.  Hopefully, it'll be out before or shortly after New Years.

Thanks for reading!

Concerning Spider-Man

Hello. I know that I haven't blogged in a while, mainly because of the stress of finals and doing holiday shopping.  I was planning on returning after Christmas, when Amazing Spider-Man #700 came out.  However, I felt the need to come out to talk about something.

If you don't already know, Amazing Spider-Man #700 spoilers have come out.  I've done a good job of avoiding them, for the most part.  To get it out of my system, I looked at the pages when they were extremely small on my page but did not read the text. It has silenced my needs to be spoiled until the 26th.  I still tend to be careful, because I do not want the story spoiled for myself.  However, there are plenty of people that have spoiled it for themselves and have attacked writer Dan Slott.

Readers who have been upset about the ending of Amazing Spider-Man #700 have started becoming very vocal, threatening Dan with violence and even death.  My response to that is: "Really? What are we, five years old?"  Threatening someone over a fictional character is just ridiculous and pathetic thing to do.  Not only is it a sad thing to do, but it is also illegal and I hope that anyone who sends Dan death threats get what they deserve: legal action.  If, by chance, someone who has threatened Dan is reading this, I want you to know something: Stop being such a whiny bitch and leave the man alone.   None of these people who have threatened Dan would dare say it to his face. Instead, they say it when they are disguised behind fake names and their computer screen, like little wussies.  I absolutely hate people that make threats online because it is a cowardly thing to do.  You feel like a big, tough guy behind your computer screen, but in really life, I doubt you could say something like that.

Now, anyone who has read this blog before know that I have respect for Dan Slott, as he is my favorite Marvel writer and, along with Scott Snyder, my favorite writer in comics.  Ever since Brand New Day started, a lot of my favorite Spider-Man stories have been written by Dan, especially the Big Time material.  Though I may not agree with some of his non-comic opinions, he has done more than enough to earn my trust.  Sure, I might be a little upset when I first read #700, but I (as everyone else should) am going to remember that this is part of a larger story.  I'm not going to write some threat against a man's life because something has happened to a fictional character that I like.  I honestly have no clue how someone who has written so many great Spider-Man stories can get so much unneeded grief about a single issue.  It doesn't seem like anyone has been under fire recently more than Dan, which is a shame.  Though I have never met Dan (something I want to change next year when I hopefully go to a con), he seems like a really nice guy who is passionate about his work and he does not deserve these kind of attacks.

I know that probably not a lot of people are going to read this, but I just needed to get my feelings out there. Death threats are nothing to kid around with and no one should be receiving them no matter what they do.  With all the messed up stuff going on in the world today, we should all know better and not do stupid things like this.  In times like these, we need areas where we can escape to, a place where we feel safe and away from the cruel world we live in, yet people want to cause harm to a person who provides one to us.  Though I might be a little miffed about possibly losing another Peter Parker, again, this is simply a part of a larger story.  To echo what Dan has been saying, read Amazing Spider-Man #700 in full and then read Superior Spider-Man #1.  If you still have ill-will towards the team after those two issues, then don't continue to read the book.  It'll still sell without you, plus it will be a better place for those who enjoy the book.  But please, stop all the threats toward Dan.  This isn't the first time something like this has happened to him and I cannot understand how people can attack someone in the manner that they are.

Dan, if you somehow read this, I want to thank you for the great stories you have given us so far and for the great stories you will tell in the future.  And to anyone that disagrees with my opinions, screw you. I'll go as far as to give you my Skype identity so you can say what you want to my face instead of being a little wuss behind your computer screen.  Let's see if you are so big and mighty when you actually see the face of the person you want to insult.

Ball's in your court, haters.

Two Weeks of Reviews-Part II

Part two of my review posts, this one is (thankfully) shorter than the last post.  Mainly, it is because I was unable to get All New X-Men #2 and Superman #14.  I'm hoping to get them in the next week or two.  However, there were some really good issues to come out this week and, even better, no big spoilers like Amazing Spider-Man #698.

A+X #2

This is the first A+X issue I've gotten and I have to admit, the only reason I got this issue was because Chris Bachalo was doing art on it.  And, boy, was it nice to see.  His story, which he also wrote, has Black Widow team up with Rogue to take down a loose Sentinel.  The Sentinel is set to blow, so Widow gets the idea to shoot it from a distance.  However, since her hand was broken earlier in the fight, Rogue has to do it, obtaining the ability to do so by kissing Widow.  The Sentinel goes boom and the girls enjoy a day at the spa, ignoring their calls to go into action.

The second story has Kitty Pryde, my personal favorite X-Men member, visiting Resilient, a company owned by Tony Stark.  Tony offers Kitty, who is battling her allergies, a job at Resilient, telling her that he plans on eliminating obesity by utilizing Pym Particles.  However, when in the room with said particles, Kitty sneezes, unleashing a hoard of Brood, the things that Kitty was "pregnant" with during Wolverine and the X-Men.  Tony suits up, but the Brood have adopted Kitty's phasing ability, and they attempt to take over Tony's Iron Men suits he has at Resilient.  However, when they get control of the suits, Kitty phases through them, short circuiting and defeating them.  Tony realizes that this would happen all the time with Kitty there, and she politely declines the job offer.

Just like AvX, this was a fun book, mainly as it isn't as serious as other books on the stand.  Sure, there are still drama filled moments, but for the majority, the stories are just fun.  I know that there are a good number of people who absolutely hate the Rogue/Widow kiss, saying it was pointless and it was thrown in there just to appease fanboys.  Maybe that's true, but I didn't care either way.  It was just a funny moment in a funny story, that's all.  Anyways, the plot in both stories was short and sweet, though Peter David's story with Tony and Kitty gets a gold star for acknowledging the Brood storyline from WatXM.  Chris Bachalo actually wrote his section, and for the most part, it was written pretty well.  The art for the book was stupendous.  Both Michael del Mundo and Chris Bachalo's work was spot on and it made the issue that much more enjoyable.

Grade: A

FF #1

The flip side to Fantastic Four #1, we get to see the new Future  Foundation start to form.  The form of the issue is pretty interesting too.  We get shots of the students, saying who they are and giving various information about the Future Foundation, and then the other parts is the actual members of the Fantastic Four recruiting members for the group.  Reed recruits Scott Lang (Ant-Man), Sue recruits Medusa (Black Bolt's wife), Ben recruits She-Hulk, and Johnny takes his girlfriend out to breakfast, as he totally forgets about asking someone to fill in for him (though we know that his girl, Darla, will become Miss Thing). Everyone is thrilled to join, except for Scott.  Seeing that his daughter Cassie in The Children's Crusade at the hands of Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom, Scott doesn't want to be in charge of more children, afraid that his track record will catch up with him again.  Reed and Scott talk about what happened and how Reed is sick and needs to leave to get cured.  Eventually, Scott agrees to take his place as the head of the FF, asking Val and Franklin to inform him all about the Future Foundation.

Overall, this was a really fun issue.  It was a very nice introduction to the characters and it was cool to see the students view of the Future Foundation.  Matt Fraction, who is overseeing both Fantastic Four and FF, writes a funny story that also has a nice section of seriousness in the form of the Reed/Scott talk.  The one scene that I personally enjoyed was during the Thing/She Hulk conversation.  Ben says what everyone has been thinking whenever Reed talks about being gone for only four minutes: things don't go according to plan for the Fantastic Four.  For whatever reason, that was the line of the book for me, as it foreshadows the terrible events that will be happening to Marvel's First Family.  The art was just fantastic.  Mile Allred returns to Marvel full time and it is a gorgeous thing to see.  The one panel that stuck out to me was during the Sue/Medusa part, where Medusa's hair formed a heart around an image of Black Bolt when the two of them are talking about him.  It's just the little things like that that make me enjoy Mike's work.  Even though I'm still new to Mike's artwork, I can already tell that I'm going to love it.

Grade: A

Thor: God of Thunder #2

This issue mostly centers around young, brash Thor, though we get a little bit of story with present day Thor and two panels of ancient Thor.  The issue starts with Thor trying to get Mjolnir, but he is not worthy enough for it yet.  Now in the Baltic Sea, Thor is leading a group of warriors to a battle when a figure is shown stalking the boats.  The figure is revealed to be Gorr, the God Butcher.  While in the middle of the battle, the horse of the locals god arrives, bloody and without a rider.  Thor leaves the battle with the steed, and eventually runs into Gorr for the first time.  Though Thor gives a decent fight, Gorr still puts a whooping on him.  The only way Thor survives the fight is when he calls upon lightning, shocking Gorr literally and metaphorically.  Back in present day, Thor has defeated the "guard dog" that attacked him last issue.  Thor swears to avenge the slain gods, stating that he will finish what he started years ago before flying off, with the final shot of the issue being young Thor in a crater, looking defeated for the time being.

I really enjoyed the first issue of Thor: God of Thunder and this issue, while not as strong as the first issue, was still really good.  I liked how we actually got a story involving just one of the Thor's for the first time, and it leaves a nice cliffhanger for when we see young Thor again.  I am a little disappointed that we didn't get to see a lot of ancient Thor this issue, but his story seems to be front and center in a couple of issues.  However, that was my only major gripe.  Everything else in the issue was fine.  I know that some people think that Gorr looks like Voldemort from Harry Potter, and while I thought of that at first, it really doesn't bother me that much.

Grade: A-

Venom #27.1

The first issue post "Minimum Carnage" shows Flash struggling.  Not with the outcome of "Minimum Carnage", but with the symbiote.  In the beginning we see Flash taking out some punks that Daimon Hellstrom sent him after.  Flash loses control sort of during the fight and then again when talking to Daimon, smashing the glass.  We then see Flash, Peter (who is still Peter Parker at the time), and Flash's sister and mom checking out a room at a Center of Wellness for Flash's mom.  Flash mentally acknowledges that the reason that his mom is moving is because she is hiding from him, from Venom.  Peter and Flash talk for a bit, and Peter brings up that someone from high school has moved back into the city; A.J. Patton, someone who Flash bullied back in the day.  Flash goes and meets A.J. and apologizes for bullying him so much.  When A.J. leaves to talk to his husband, he says that he sees Flash as a wash-out now, which Flash can hear loud and clear.  Later, Flash wakes up from the dead of sleep to call for the suit.  He then goes and interrogates one of the punks from the previous night, but is shown to be possessed by the demon that lies inside of him.  Demon Venom then goes to the Center of Wellness, where he waits outside Flash's mom's room, freaking her out.  The next day, Flash and Peter have another talk, where Flash tells Peter that he is leaving New York for good.

This was a pretty good issue.  First and foremost, I loved the parallel between Peter and Flash when it came to the suit.  Just like when Peter first had the black suit, it would latch to him and they would go out fighting crime.  This time, there is a bit of a twist, as it is the demon that wants to go out, and uses the Venom suit to do just that.  I do kind of wish that Flash and Peter would learn each other's identity, but we may never get that, depending on what happens post-Amazing Spider-Man #700.  I do think the scenes with A.J. were a little pointless, as it really didn't do much for the story.  Besides that, though, the issue was pretty good.  Cullen Bunn does another good issue writing, especially the conversation at the end between Peter and Flash.  I also really like the twist with the demon using the Venom suit to do it's own terrifying tasks, including the creepy scene with Flash's mom.  The star of the issue, though, was Marco Checchetto.  This guy needs to be put on a Marvel book ASAP, because he is way too good to not be doing anything for them.  I would definitely love it if he was put onto some kind of Spider-Man related project, but he should be on something.

Grade: B+

Alright, that's it for this week.  Next week is going to be another fun week, with Avengers #1, All New X-Men #3, and Amazing Spider-Man #699, among others, coming out.  Not sure when I'll have reviews posted, as next week is when my finals start.  I'm aiming for either Saturday or Sunday being the dates, but I'm not sure.  It could be earlier than that for all I know.  Just keep a weather eye on the horizon.

Thanks for reading!

Two Weeks Reviews - Spoilers Abound

Below lay spoilers to one of the biggest stories of the past few years, Amazing Spider-Man #698.  If you have avoided spoilers so far and have not read the issue, please click away from this page.  I don't want to ruin the experience of reading such a monumental issue like people have done to others.  Thankfully, I powered down the Internet and ignored Tweets.  The only other time I had done something like this was before Ultimate Spider-Man #160 came out, which was the issue where Ultimate Peter Parker died.  Does Amazing Spider-Man #698 spell the same fate for 616 Peter? Read on to find out.

However, though Amazing Spider-Man is the most noteworthy issue, it isn't the only issue to come out.  So, because of that, I'm putting the Amazing review at the very end, so you don't have to read it right off the get go.

Captain America #1

This was the first issue of Captain America that I've ever gotten.  I was initially unsure if I was going to get this series but I decided to try it anyways.  Let's just say that I might be on board with this series now.  I've always liked Captain America, but I've never had the urge to pick up an issue until now. When it was announced that Rick Remender and John Romita, Jr. were going to be on the book, I decided to try it out.  It was a very good first issue, and I'm thinking that I'll be back at least for the first arc.  I really enjoyed the short but sweet moments between Steve and Sharon as well as the moment in the beginning of the book, with the Rodgers family.  While some people didn't like JR Jr.'s art in this issue, I enjoyed it.  John Romita, Jr., has always been a personal favorite of mine, so whenever he gets announced on a project or book, 9 times out of 10 I'll be picking it up. While I don't know much about the villain of the book so far, I am intrigued by him and the storyline that Remender is laying down, and I'm planning on pulling at least the first couple of issues now.

Grade: A-

Captain Marvel #7

Dexter Soy returns on art duties while the book gains a co-writer for this arc.  Coming off her adventures in space and in time, Carol decides to take on an underwater adventure.  And that allows her to beat up some sharks, without even using shark repellent.  For every good see adventure, one needs a skipper, and Carol's skipper for this adventure would be Monica Rambeau, the ex Captain Marvel. However, it wouldn't be a sea adventure without some kind of monster and, in this case, it is a giant robot made out of debris.  This was a pretty good issue, as Dexter Soy's art is really growing on me.  I'm thrilled to hear that he, along with personal favorite writer Christos Gage, will be doing the Age of Ultron issue of Superior Spider-Man.  Writing wise, I love the banter between Carol and Monica.  Kelly Sue and guest writer Christopher Sebela nail the conversation the two friends had as well as their conversation between Frank Gianelli. Though a little light on action, this was still a fun issue.

Grade: A

Daredevil #20

Another great issue from Mark Waid and Chris Samnee.  This issue gives us the origin of Coyote, showing his motives and some of the jobs he has pulled.  However, while Coyote gives DD's head the spiel, his body goes on an exploration, finding the device that is keeping his head and body separated.  We have a creepy scene where we see all the heads that Coyote has kept over the years, and we get to see him feed them.  We get a little bit of a view of what Kirsten is up to, but not much.  The big reveal of this issue is that Coyote isn't real Spot, I think.  We'll have to see next issue what is really going on with that whole situation.  Like I said earlier, this was another great issue of Mark Waid's run.  If you would have asked me two, three years ago if I could see myself enjoying Daredevil, I would say no.  The movie left a bad taste in my mouth and I sort of soured on the character.  However, what Mark Waid and his merry band of artists have done on the book is just marvelous.  I'm planning a DD love post somewhere down the line, so keep an eye out for that.

Grade: A

Deadpool #2

Deadpool versus more undead Presidents, round two.  This time, the Merc with the Mouth goes up against Teddy Roosevelt while starting his weird team up with the ghost of Ben Franklin.  This was another funny issue that was, yet again, drawn beautifully by Tony Moore.  The full page panel of Deadpool being skewered by the elephant tusk was just plain gruesome.  Then, of course, you have Deadpool electrocuting an elephant, setting it on fire and killing it in the process of killing Teddy again. The team of Brian, Gerry, and Tony are great for the book, as they cause the book to have equal levels of humor and epicness.

Grade: A-

Indestructible Hulk #1

Of all the first wave books that were announced when Marvel NOW! was revealed, this was the one that piqued my interest the most.  Marvel did one of the smartest things ever: they put Eisner winning Daredevil scribe Mark Waid together with superstar artist Leinil Yu.  That team could do a Groot book and it would be a best seller.  Thankfully, Marvel put them on Hulk, a character that had gotten a fresh breath of air under Jason Aaron, but another breath was needed.  These two pulled it off.  We have Bruce Banner, who is working with the Hulk. Sounds weird, right? Well, it basically equals down to the Hulk and Bruce share a mind and work together.  Banner seems to know what he is doing, enough to offer his service to Maria Hill, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Banner is upset that he isn't getting respect for being one of Marvel's geniuses.  That causes Bruce to blackmail Maria, and he offers the Hulk's service for his liberties.  We then get some beautiful Yu pages showing the Hulk doing what he does best: SMASH! One of the best first issues of the Marvel NOW! era.  If Mark Waid continues his success from Daredevil here on Indestructible Hulk, then we'll all be in for a treat.

Grade: A

Justice League #14

Picking up right where last issue left off, we see the League trying to defeat a Cheetah infected Superman.  For the remainder of the issue, the League splits up, with half dealing with the Cheetah while the others try to cure Superman from the infection.  The story also gives us the New 52 origin of the Cheetah, which is not the same as what it was in the old DCU.  There are three great scenes in this issue that I personally just love. The first one is Aquaman holding the Cheetah underwater with piranhas surrounding them.  The next scene was the one where Clark and Diana go to Smallville, eating at a diner and visiting the Kent house.  The final scene that I loved was the last one, where Batman is being all creepy and spying on the new couple making out.  The Shazam backup finally starts to pick up too, as Black Adam makes his way to the city while Billy buys clothes and looks to be getting food. We end the issue with the introduction of Sloth, one of the Seven Deadly Sins.  Overall, a good issue.  The main story actually felt really short; likewise, the Shazam backup seemed to be longer than it usually does.  The best part of the issue was definitely the Superman/Wonder Woman moments at the end of the main feature.  Geoff Johns writes the scene pretty well, and the backup was written well as well.  The art on this issue was phenomenal, with both Tony Daniel and Gary Frank doing great jobs on their segments.

Grade: B+

Ultimate Spider-Man #17

In what I believe to be the last tie in issue to the "Divided We Fall"/"United We Stand" event, Miles finds himself in his first battle with the Ultimates, where Spider-Woman is his chaperon, much to her chagrin.  Overall, this was a so-so issue.  It was still good, but it wasn't anything special.  Maybe having the knowledge that "Venom Wars" is coming up distilled my enjoyment of this arc, or maybe it was having different artists on the issues. I'm not entirely sure.  I do like the set up for the next issue, though; we end the book with Miles, out of web fluid, stranded in Wyoming.  However, the cover and solicitations for this issue and next are kind of misleading.  The solicitation for this issue mentioned the secret connection between Miles and Jessica, but it barely gets a mention in this issue.  And the cover for the next issue, which can be seen here, doesn't show Miles in Wyoming.  The art by Pepe Larraz was okay, though not as good as Marquez or Pichelli.  Thankfully, Marquez is back next issue and then, with "Venom Wars", Sara Pichelli is finally back.

Grade: B

Before I get into big time spoiler details, I want to thank you for reading my reviews.  Check out the next post for this weeks reviews.  As it is nearing finals times, I'm not getting to write as much as I would like, so busting these review posts, seeing as they were massive ones, was extremely difficult. I'm hoping to have another post out soon, discussing Superior Spider-Man, but I am, as of now, unsure when it will see the light of day. But, again, thanks again for reading!

Alright, here we go.

For the last time, SPOILERS LIE AHEAD

Do not read on if you have not read Amazing Spider-Man #698

Amazing Spider-Man #698

The issue starts out with the medical squad on the Raft rushing to Doc Ock's room, as he begun to say two words: Peter Parker. Speaking of good ol' Petey, we see him swinging around and stopping crime, exclaiming how awesome it is to be Spider-Man.  He seems to be a little more violent and blows off the police when they ask him to come downtown to do paperwork.  After a pit stop at his place to change into some fancy clothes, Peter heads to Horizon, where he and Max have a meeting about needing an invention, as the quarter is coming to a close.  Peter is confident, claiming that he'll put all his other inventions to shame.  After making some web fluid, Peter heads over to MJ's, where he meets up with MJ and basically tells her that he wants to start dating again.  MJ, a little shocked over the brashness Peter is showing, tells him that they must go visit Aunt May, who is still recovering from the Alpha accident.  However, when she leaves to get her jacket, Peter is seen checking out some other ladies.  While with Aunt May, Peter tries to initial talks with MJ again, but is interrupted by his Avengers card going off.  He attempts to leave, but Jay freaks out on him again.  However, MJ has his back and, while Jay is still pissed, May is fine with it, as she realizes that Peter and MJ may be getting back together.  At the Raft, Captain America tells Spider-Man that Doc Ock is asking for Peter Parker.  Peter unmasks, telling Ock that he is Peter.  That is when the bombshell is dropped: Peter Parker isn't really Peter; it's Doc Ock in Peter's body with all his memories.  While Doc is in Peter's body, Peter is in Doc Ock's dying body.  Doc Ock gloats, saying that he will never give up his secret and walks out as Peter/Otto flatlines.  Doctors try to resuscitate him while Otto/Spider-Man walks away with the Avengers none the wiser.

I, uh, I'm going to come out and say it. I hate what Dan Slott did. Yet, at the same time, I absolutely love it.  I knew that something was up with Peter throughout the issue, and I had no clue what it was until I finished the issue, my mouth gaping.  After rereading the issue, I finally got what happened and I'm unsure on how I feel about it.  I'm game for having Doc Ock as Spider-Man, though I'm not sure on how long I will enjoy it. This is the beginning of a three part story, though, so we'll have to see how Dan continues the story.  Plus, the preview art for issue #700 shows that Peter is still around and fighting, though a little differently than I expected.  I trust Dan Slott, as he has given us a great run on Spider-Man so far.  However, I'm not going to lie when I say that I hated this issue the first couple of times I read it after the "holy sh!t" reading the first time.  After the third or fourth time, though, I realized how monumental this issue is going to be.  The art by Richard Elson was very good, especially his dying Doc Ock/Peter Parker.  I may actually check out the first issue of Morbius: The Living Vampire because of his art.  This issue made me very nervous for Peter.  I've never been as nervous for a character before, so this is an odd feeling.  The preview art for the final two issues of Amazing show that Peter is not done fighting yet, but I'm not feeling too sure if he is going to make it out unharmed/alive.

Grade: A

Busy Bee

I'm sorry that I have not been updating the blog as much recently.  I've been bogged down by a lot of school work and it doesn't look like it will be letting up anytime soon.  I've got a huge music history project that I've been slowly working on while working on about 10 other things.  I'm hoping that once Thanksgiving is over, I'll have a brief period of down time before finals.  However, you didn't come here to read about my boring personal life; you came here to read some awesome comic reviews.

This was a HUGE week for releases, with a plethora of Marvel NOW! titles got released as well as the next chapter of the Batman epic "Death of the Family".  Seeing that there are going to be a good deal of comics this week (plus having a lot of school work I should be doing instead of this), I won't be giving a story recap as I normally do.  Instead, I'll just be giving my thoughts on the book with grades.

All New X-Men #1

 

And so begins my trek into the X-Verse.  Sure, I've gotten a few issues of Wolverine & the X-Men in recent weeks, but this was my first "true" X-Men title.  With Marvel NOW!, I wanted to explore the X-Men a bit, as they've always been the line I ignored like an ex-girlfriend.  So, what a better way to try the characters than in a book by one of my favorite writer/artist teams.  I loved what Bendis and Immonen did on Ultimate Spider-Man back in the day, so when it was announced that they would be on the "core" X-book, I knew I had to at least give it a look.  I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the book. Sure, the price could be a factor in the future along with my interest in the relaunched Uncanny X-Men, but this book started off with a bang and I'm looking forward to exploring the X-Verse.

Grade: A

Amazing Spider-Man #697

This was a great conclusion to the Hobgoblin story and it sets up the end of the title nicely.  I only wish that we had a little bit more time before Superior Spider-Man because I would have loved to have seen this arc drawn out a tad bit more, with maybe just an extra issue, because it was really fun to read.  Obviously, there is a bit of foreshadowing here, as "Dying Wish" is now upon us, so we see the golden Octobot again, this time in New York City.  However, there are a pair of cliffhangers that seem to be setting up something huge in Superior.  One of them would be Rodrick setting up a villain version of Batman, Inc., with villains all over the world in action and under Rodrick's control.  The other cliffhanger is the reappearance of the Osborn family.  Not only do we get a a glimpse of Harry and Stanley, but we also get an update on Norman as well, something I was not expecting at all.  The Spidey team, with welcomed guest Christos Gage, pull off another spectacular issue, and I'm pumped to see all this start to wrap up next week.

Grade: A

Batman #14

Somehow, this issue was better than Batman #13.  I mean, this was just spectacular.  My LCS owner told me to wait and read this last, and man, was it a great decision to do that.  It's amazing to think that we are only two issues into a five issue storyline.  The way that Scott and Greg along with the rest of Team Batman tell the story is just masterful.  "Death of the Family" is shaping up to be an epic story, with not only the Joker, but a bunch of Bat rogues seemingly being involved.  And Joker's master plan is just pure evil: he wants the take out the Bat family, but he's going to make Batman himself do it.  The whole scene on the bridge between Batman and Joker was just perfect.  Also, the panel that made me laugh yet stare in awe was one of the simplest of the issue.  The panel would be the one of the radio Bruce uses to listen to the tape Joker left behind.  The radio looks like the Joker, with his eyes/knobs all crazy, the sound bars as his hair, etc.  That was just so darn clever that I laughed the first time I read it.  Again, Batman just continues to amaze me and I love Team Batman so much for putting out such great books month after month.

Grade: A+

Batgirl #14

I've decided to get Batgirl during the "Death of the Family" storyline, as the premise of the arc seems really, really interesting.  Not only does it have Barbara going up against the man who paralyzed her, but he seems to have "fallen in love with her".  I'm skeptical about the Joker's new found love for Barb, but it definitely is interesting.  Having Joker propose to her on the last page of #14 was definitely a shocker, especially when you realize that it is Barb's mom's finger he cut off to propose with.  Add in the fact that James Jr. makes a slight appearance in the book foreshadowing something even bigger on the horizon, and you got a good comic.  Plus, Barbara makes a sandwich. There's a woman in the kitchen joke somewhere in there, but I think it would be best if I don't try to find it. But c'mon, Barb. No meat on the sandwich? Just lettuce, tomato, and bun. How hard would it have been to put some turkey or salami on that, huh?

Grade: B+ (D- for sandwich making)

Fantastic Four #1

A new era for the Fantastic Four has begun.  Written by Matt Fraction with art by Mark Bagley, the book looks and sounds right up my alley.  I've always liked the Fantastic Four, but Hickman's run was way too daunting for me to tackle at first.  Eventually, I'm going to work my way through it, but we are talking about NOW!  The premise of the book seems interesting enough, with Marvel's First Family leaving to go on an intergalactic adventure for a year, which will end up being for only a minute or two by the end of it, as Reed put a time machine on the ship.  Also, it's pretty interesting to see why Reed needs to go on this mission, as it is something that I don't think we have ever seen him deal with.  This book was a blast to read and I can see myself getting it for the long run.

Grade: A-

Thor: God of Thunder #1

Yet another Marvel NOW! #1 issue out this week.  This time, we have the Asgardian god Thor and his adventures through time, though not in the traditional manner.  Typically, when there is a story detailing an adventure through time, time travel technology is utilized.  However, that is the nice spin that Thor: God of Thunder provides; we instead get to view Thor's life at different points.  The story shows Thor trying to figure out who or what is killing a bunch of gods.  The story mostly takes place with young and current Thor, though King Thor makes an appearance at the end.  Though we don't get to see Gorr, the God Butcher in this issue, we feel how big a threat he is, especially on the last page, as King Thor takes on the Butcher's army as the last Asgardian alive.  Another great start for a Marvel NOW! book and I can definitely see myself following the tales of Thor.

Grade: A

Venom #27

The penultimate chapter of the "Minimum Carnage" storyline finally brings Scarlet Spider and Venom together to fight Carnage, something that has not happened since Minimum Carnage: Alpha and Scarlet Spider #10. Not only does that happen, but there is actually a great deal of action in this issue as well.  Seeing the unlikely duo going up against a ton of symbiote charged zombies was definitely a lot more interesting than most everything that has occurred in this crossover so far, sadly.  I still have hope for the end of this crossover, but I'm actually a tad disappointed about it.  Not a lot has happened story-wise, though this issue helps ease that.  Having such nice artwork (at least in Venom) definitely helps to help cure the feelings, but that can only go so far.  I'm not bagging on the crossover, though it seems like I am.  I'm just, as I said, a bit disappointed with the mini-event.  However, the finale could quickly change that view, as it looks to be not only action packed, but also jam packed with murder and death, just what you expect from a book with Carnage, Venom, and Scarlet Spider.

Grade: B+

So, was that a good week or what? Honestly, it might have been the best week of comics for me personally in a long, long time.  Somehow, my pull for next week might even rival it.  However, I do not know when my reviews for next week will be posted, as it'll be Thanksgiving. I'm hoping to have them done that Wednesday night/early Thanksgiving morning.  If that does not happen, they'll more than likely be up Friday or Saturday evening.  As you can tell, I have a busy schedule, so I should get going now and start doing some work. If I don't talk to you before then, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks for reading!

Rolling Out the Red Carpet- Double Feature

For the second installment of Rolling Out the Red Carpet, I decided to do not one, but TWO films.  Because of this, I won't be delving too deeply into each story, though I will get into my thoughts on the film. The two films are more recent, having been made in 2011 and 2012. The films I'll be writing about this time are The Raven and Grave Encounters.

The Raven is a film that delves into the last days of Edgar Allen Poe's life, showing him solving a murder mystery that uses his works.  The killer literally takes a page out of Poe's book, killing people in the exact same way that Poe writes it.  Poe is one of my favorite writers and I've been dying to see this film for the longest time.  I must say, I was very impressed with the film.  John Cusack plays Poe and he does a great job at it.  I really enjoyed seeing the intelligent side of Poe, as he was able to identify his stories and determine what the killer was up to next.  It was really cool to see some of Poe's popular and more unknown works given the live action treatment.  The ending was really well done too, as it parallels the beginning of the film.  The reveal of the villain, too, is something that you don't expect, especially from the character that it is (though once it is revealed, the character becomes really creepy looking). However, as much as I loved Cusack as Poe, I loved Luke Evans as Inspector Emmett Fields almost as much.  He was a really cool character that delivers the ultimate justice to the killer in the end. Being a big Poe fan, I didn't want this film to be a bust, seeing as it had such a promising story.  Thankfully, it did not disappoint, and it turned out to be a really good film.  Out of 5 stars, I give The Raven a 4 out of 5.

The other film that I watched (I watched these films back to back) was Grave Encounters.  The film is a knock off of the Paranormal Activity line, with the TV show Ghost Adventures mixed in.  The movie details a team of ghost hunters who have gone to locations and faked their results. They decide to go to a mental hospital, expecting another routine show.  What they get, however, is the exact opposite.  Though the story is a tad slow in the beginning, it helps you get a little more attached to the characters as the activity starts to happen around them.  When the activity starts, though, it goes balls to the wall. There are a few moments where the activity is small, like doors opening or sounds happen, but for the most part, the scares are hard core.  There is one scene with a little girl that just gave me chills.  Also, the scene with the tongue freaked me out too.  The deaths are pretty good, minus one that occurs late in the film.  The acting was eh, though the actors did a decent job of acting terrorfied when they needed to be.  Grave Encounters has quickly become one of my favorite scary movies, though I might need to watch it again when it is bright out so I'm not as scared to watch it (yes, I was a chicken when I watched it).  Again, out of 5 stars, I give Grave Encounters a 4.5 out of 5.

Alright, I'll be back in a day or two with some fresh comic reviews, including Deadpool #1 and a couple others. I hope that you will check them out.

Thanks for reading and have a nice day.