A few years ago I picked up a hardcover trade in a Borders bookstore in my hometown of Austin, TX. As I sat down to read the first few pages I got hooked and hooked FAST. The detailed art was unbelievable and the well written story brought a character who had previously been on the periphery of my interest to the center of my focus. Needless to say I walked confidently up to the counter, whipped out my debit card and completed the purchase without a moments hesitation. That night I read the entirety of ‘Green Lantern: Rebirth’ by Geoff Johns in one sitting then closed the book and read it again. Flash forward to today and the walls of my bedroom are slowly accumulating action figures and posters. My DVD collection has turned from ‘just great movies’ to ‘superhero movies…and other stuff I like’. I have four BOXES full of comic books and I keep track of any and all news released about the upcoming live action Thor and Green Lantern movies. Geoff Johns made me a comic nerd but, sadly, Geoff Johns is slowly muting my passion.
Since I entered this world of comics, I’ve heard of a ‘condition’ called ‘event fatigue’. While an official definition has yet to be coined, the basic gist of it is a feeling of exhaustion and almost boredom comic readers get when comic companies build up huge events that crossover into multiple titles. One or two such events (especially when written well) are all well and good, but in recent years it seems as if both major comic companies (DC and Marvel) cannot go a month without having SOME sort of event on the horizon.
I got into comics after DC had released the first two trades of ‘Sinestro Corps War’ into hardcover. Since then Geoff Johns has built the character into one of DC’s biggest selling properties. Last year Johns headed an event centered around the character called ‘Blackest Night’. ‘Blackest Night’ was an 8 issue stand alone mini series that flowed in tandem with both existing titles of ‘Green Lantern’ and ‘Green Lantern Corps’. From there DC decided to publish 3 more three issue mini series: ‘Blackest Night Batman’, ‘Blackest Night Superman’ and ‘Blackest Night Titans’. After the first issue or two of those mini series came out, we got word that DC was going to do it again with ‘Blackest Night Flash’, ‘Blackest Night JSA’, ‘Blackest Night Wonder Woman’ and ‘Blackest Night Tales of the Corps’. Then came the multitude of inevitable tie-ins that spanned DC’s existing books like ‘Booster Gold’, ‘Justice League’ and ‘Secret Six’ to name a few. Then 6 issues or so into Blackest Night the main series, we received news that they were doing a ‘skip month’ in which no new issue was going to come out for the Blackest Night main series but instead DC was going to resurrect a few OLD titles they had cancelled in the past for one tie-in issue each (Phantom Stranger, The Atom and Hawkman, Power of Shazam, etc.). By the time DC finally finished Blackest Night, we had well over 20 issues involving the storyline and I had bought them ALL.
I was floating on an event high. Not only had the main books (and a good slice of the others) been exceptionally well written, but I had just finished reading a MASSIVE story involving my FAVORITE DC character.
Then we got word that DC was launching it’s newest event following ‘Blackest Night’, the 26 issue main series called ‘Brightest Day’. It was advertised that ‘Brightest Day’ would follow one main series and sub plots (which would all have SOMETHING to do with the main series, to an extent) would extend through ‘Green Lantern’, ‘Green Lantern Corps’ and a multitude of other books. So I started buying ‘Brightest Day’ and continued to buy the Green Lantern books and picked up the first issue of each of the ‘Brightest Day’ banner books. I dropped them all one by one (except ‘The Flash’) and quickly began to understand what people meant by ‘event fatigue’. I was (am) BURNED OUT. I’m still excited for the comic series that I am currently reading, and I’m still an avid comic fan, but events have stolen the feverish passion I once had for comic books. Now it’s just a passion, no fever.
Within the past few month we’ve gotten word that DC plans to put out ANOTHER event called ‘War of the Green Lanterns’. Whether this is an event that is SUPPOSED to cross over through MULTIPLE titles or just the Green Lantern books I do not know. But DC is building it up to fans. Not only that but they have two MORE big story lines and/or event’s lined up to begin soon, ‘Flashpoint’ and ‘Reign of Doomsday’. I’m tired. I’ll still pick up ‘War of the Green Lanterns’ and ‘Flashpoint’ but I wish the comic companies would take a BREAK from events for a couple of months. Can I PLEASE just have my STORIES back? I suppose from a marketing standpoint it may work (‘Brightest Day’ got me interested in the Flash and now I’ll be buying ‘Flashpoint’ as a result) but eventually comic readers are going to get pushed so far into the burnout that comes with event fatigue that they just are going to DROP whatever titles have a crossover and look elsewhere for their comic entertainment. I hate to say it, but if they don’t stop pushing Green Lantern into these HUGE story lines, I may just end up sacrificing my FAVORITE superhero character of all time in order to save my comic book passion.
It took a lot of words to say something so simple, but some comic readers don’t see event fatigue as a real thing. Even Dan Didio thinks its just another term for ‘getting sick of this shitty comic book’ (http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/11/dan-didio-vs-joe-quesada-on-event-fatigue/). That’s not true. ‘Blackest Night’ was AWESOME in my opinion and I STILL have event fatigue from it. I’m ENJOYING the main Green Lantern books and ‘Brightest Day’, but I still need a BREAK. Come on DC, I’m begging you…
Can we do an EVENT skip month? Nothing but AWESOME one shots? Please?
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Sunday, October 24, 2010
'Superman: The Movie' Villain Line-Up...
On December 10th, 1978 Warner Brothers released the very first big screen adaptation of Superman. Starring Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent/Superman, the film opened a door the comic medium had previously been unable to breach. In later years, not only would there be three more Superman movies but Batman would also follow close on his heels into his own film series. With the recent up-tick in Superhero movies over the past 10 years or so we’ve seen countless superheros brought to life on the big screen. We’ve seen Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron-Man, Superman, Batman, Ghost Rider, The Fantastic Four and the X-Men. In the next few years we should expect to see even more with Thor, Captain America, Green Lantern, The Flash, a Spider-Man reboot, X-Men First Class and even an Avengers movie. But somewhere in the midst of the superhero movie flood waters, we will see yet another Superman movie.
By now you SHOULD have read my earlier blog regarding my picks for the villains in the next Batman movie. (Read it HERE) While this recent reboot of the Batman movie franchise has proven to be a tour de force for DC Entertainment, they’re looking to bring the man who started it all back to the big screen. Superman has proven to be one of the most recognizable characters on the planet. His symbol has appeared on just about anything you can name. But despite all of the marketing and no matter HOW good the comic plots may be, there has NEVER been someone who has embodied what Superman stands for more than Christopher Reeve himself. After his accident in 1995 he refused to give up and, as a result, started The Christopher Reeve Foundation. As of early 2006, the Foundation has awarded more than $64 million in research grants and more than $8 million in quality-of-life grants. (According to online stats) Christopher Reeve was the symbol of everything Superman stood for and what he brought to the character himself in his acting role has endured.
References and homage’s to the original Christopher Reeve adaptation of Superman have appeared in almost every comic medium since. Some comic artists have made sure to use Reeve as their model when drawing the Big Blue Boy Scout. Comic writers have also taken lines from the movies and inserted them into their own story lines as a subtle nod to the iconic film. Before his death, the T.V. series 'Smallville' hired Reeve in a supporting character role in seasons 2-4 to help Clark begin to discover more about his Kryptonian roots. 'Superman Returns' supposedly takes place after 'Superman II' and even uses a famous line or two from the original movies, “I hope this experience hasn’t put any of you off flying. Statistically speaking, it’s still the safest way to travel.” While I have not seen any episodes from the 'Adventures of Lois & Clark' T.V. series, I’ve been told there have been more than a few respectful references to the Christopher Reeve Superman.
I say all of this to bring you this piece of disturbing news regarding the plans for the upcoming Superman movie,
“As I have already explained, the film will focus on the early days of Superman, so there will be no links to the other movies. This is not a remake then. Similarly, although I still can not talk about the script, I can assure you that this new Superman will not be based on any particular comic book story.” –Zack Snyder (Director of the next Superman movie)
(link to the original online story here)
While my initial reaction to this news was one of profound fury, I’ve since given it some thought. ‘The Adventures of Lois & Clark’, ‘Smallville’ and even the comics themselves are all separate entities. Though each has managed to pay tribute in their respective ways to Christopher Reeve, they stand on their own legs in their respective mediums. The story is different and the character developments take a different route. We shouldn’t expect this new Superman movie to adhere to the guidelines laid down by the first movie series. I must admit that if this new movie doesn’t make a subtle nod or two to the original, I will be quite upset.
That being said I DO have some ideas and reasoning as to who (or WHAT) should be the next major foe in this Superman movie. I’ve thought these choices through very carefully and have decided to not just assume that what Zack Snyder said is for SURE what is going to happen. Fan reaction to the idea of starting the Superman movie from scratch was initially negative (mostly for the reasons I stated above) and it’s possible the script could change. A prime example of this is the Green Lantern movie. It was first going to be a comedy spoof featuring Jack Black. Fan’s reacted so negatively towards this idea that now, in 2011, we’ll see a faithful live-action movie featuring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan.
Bearing in mind that the script MIGHT change down the line, here are my villain choices for the next Superman movie…
Lex Luthor... (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Lex_Luthor)
Doomsday... (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Doomsday_(New_Earth)
Metallo... (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/John_Corben_(New_Earth)
By now you SHOULD have read my earlier blog regarding my picks for the villains in the next Batman movie. (Read it HERE) While this recent reboot of the Batman movie franchise has proven to be a tour de force for DC Entertainment, they’re looking to bring the man who started it all back to the big screen. Superman has proven to be one of the most recognizable characters on the planet. His symbol has appeared on just about anything you can name. But despite all of the marketing and no matter HOW good the comic plots may be, there has NEVER been someone who has embodied what Superman stands for more than Christopher Reeve himself. After his accident in 1995 he refused to give up and, as a result, started The Christopher Reeve Foundation. As of early 2006, the Foundation has awarded more than $64 million in research grants and more than $8 million in quality-of-life grants. (According to online stats) Christopher Reeve was the symbol of everything Superman stood for and what he brought to the character himself in his acting role has endured.
References and homage’s to the original Christopher Reeve adaptation of Superman have appeared in almost every comic medium since. Some comic artists have made sure to use Reeve as their model when drawing the Big Blue Boy Scout. Comic writers have also taken lines from the movies and inserted them into their own story lines as a subtle nod to the iconic film. Before his death, the T.V. series 'Smallville' hired Reeve in a supporting character role in seasons 2-4 to help Clark begin to discover more about his Kryptonian roots. 'Superman Returns' supposedly takes place after 'Superman II' and even uses a famous line or two from the original movies, “I hope this experience hasn’t put any of you off flying. Statistically speaking, it’s still the safest way to travel.” While I have not seen any episodes from the 'Adventures of Lois & Clark' T.V. series, I’ve been told there have been more than a few respectful references to the Christopher Reeve Superman.
I say all of this to bring you this piece of disturbing news regarding the plans for the upcoming Superman movie,
“As I have already explained, the film will focus on the early days of Superman, so there will be no links to the other movies. This is not a remake then. Similarly, although I still can not talk about the script, I can assure you that this new Superman will not be based on any particular comic book story.” –Zack Snyder (Director of the next Superman movie)
(link to the original online story here)
While my initial reaction to this news was one of profound fury, I’ve since given it some thought. ‘The Adventures of Lois & Clark’, ‘Smallville’ and even the comics themselves are all separate entities. Though each has managed to pay tribute in their respective ways to Christopher Reeve, they stand on their own legs in their respective mediums. The story is different and the character developments take a different route. We shouldn’t expect this new Superman movie to adhere to the guidelines laid down by the first movie series. I must admit that if this new movie doesn’t make a subtle nod or two to the original, I will be quite upset.
That being said I DO have some ideas and reasoning as to who (or WHAT) should be the next major foe in this Superman movie. I’ve thought these choices through very carefully and have decided to not just assume that what Zack Snyder said is for SURE what is going to happen. Fan reaction to the idea of starting the Superman movie from scratch was initially negative (mostly for the reasons I stated above) and it’s possible the script could change. A prime example of this is the Green Lantern movie. It was first going to be a comedy spoof featuring Jack Black. Fan’s reacted so negatively towards this idea that now, in 2011, we’ll see a faithful live-action movie featuring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan.
Bearing in mind that the script MIGHT change down the line, here are my villain choices for the next Superman movie…
Lex Luthor... (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Lex_Luthor)
Doomsday... (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Doomsday_(New_Earth)
Created on Krypton long before it exploded, Doomsday is the ideal warrior. Well, he's more like the ideal mindless killing machine. If you wanted to win a war, all you'd have to do is let him loose in the middle of enemy territory and all would be wiped out in a matter of days. He's the ONLY villain to have ever KILLED Superman.
While Doomsday makes a GREAT visual for audiences, he's not the perfect pick for a complete reboot and for obvious reasons. You can't just KILL Superman in the first movie. But if they allowed for the previous movies... this would be phenomenal. Could you imagine the visual of Doomsday leaping into the sky and falling to the ground in front of Superman? He raises his head and we see that he towers over Superman. As Superman stands bewildered, Doomsday delivers a punch that could crush mountains into sand.
In addition to being an emotionally and visually awesome villain choice, Doomsday also works because of his ties to Krypton. Because Superman himself is from another planet, we can allow for the villains in this film to be more 'comic book-like' than those villains featured in the Batman movies.Metallo... (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/John_Corben_(New_Earth)
Corben makes an interesting choice for one other reason. Superman MIGHT not win this one. Not only can he not get close to Corben, but Corben's HEART is pure kryptonite. In order to take Metallo down he'd have to rid himself of the kryptonite first which means killing Corben...and Superman just doesn't do that.
Brainiac... (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Vril_Dox_I_(New_Earth)
As I stated earlier, Superman is an alien and therefore you can logically use aliens as a threat in the storyline. Vril Dox from the planet Colu became obsessed with knowledge. His obsession became so viral that he resorted to shrinking and capturing entire alien cities. Once he captured a city, he then destroyed the planet it came from so no other being but him could possess their unique knowledge. He is also tied to Krypton in this way. He captured the lunar colony of Kandor before destroying Krypton's moon. (Some stories say he also destroyed Krypton itself)
If Lex Luthor and Superman are a prime example of brain vs brawn, Brainiac by comparison seems like a GOD next to Lex. Brainiac is arguably the smartest being in the DC Universe in his timeline.
So there you have it. Thoughts? Don't forget to COMMENT!!!!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
'The Dark Knight Rises' (Batman #3) Villian Line-Up...
The wildly successful reboot of the Batman movie franchise has earned well over $200 Million dollars in the past few years. The majority of the success can be attributed to well written scripts, a good director and good casting. However, one could theorize that some of the Bat franchises success could be because this superhero movie series doesn't FEEL like a superhero movie series.
There are no chemical accidents, no metahuman powers, no spooky science experiments gone wrong, nobody flying or gifted with super strength and absolutely NO over the top costumes. It's just a well trained billionaire fighting machine against a bunch of insane criminals. In keeping with the 'realism' of these last two movies, I've got a couple of theories as to who the villains could be in the upcoming Batman movie: 'The Dark Knight Rises' (initial reports set Batman 3 to begin filming in April of 2011).
Bane... (http://www.comicvine.com/bane/29-6129/)
There are no chemical accidents, no metahuman powers, no spooky science experiments gone wrong, nobody flying or gifted with super strength and absolutely NO over the top costumes. It's just a well trained billionaire fighting machine against a bunch of insane criminals. In keeping with the 'realism' of these last two movies, I've got a couple of theories as to who the villains could be in the upcoming Batman movie: 'The Dark Knight Rises' (initial reports set Batman 3 to begin filming in April of 2011).
Bane... (http://www.comicvine.com/bane/29-6129/)
Bane is a physical powerhouse. While his real name is unknown (at least to me and my research) he is not the Bane you may be familiar with. In the animated Batman series (as well as the 90's Batman Movie Batman & Robin) he is a grunting goon subject to the whims of whomever happens to be using him at the moment.
In reality though, Bane is a brilliant mind. Capable at one point of locating the Batcave on his own, Bane could prove to be a worthy opponent for Batman WITHOUT his strength enhancing 'Venom'. Bane makes an interesting choice for a villain in two ways.
1) Should the writers decide to take him down the familiar path of 'blockheaded brute' we would still get to see Batman go up against someone who is CLEARLY stronger than he is. Seeing Batman take on a foe 3 (maybe even 4) times his size would show us a Batman who would have to re-think his approach. This option also lends itself to the idea of bringing in a 3rd party mobster or crime lord of some kind. After all, if you're going to send a mindless brute after the Batman, shouldn't you have a sender?
2) Should the writers decide to hold firm to the Bane of the comics, you have an outmatched Batman to deal with. Batman isn't strong enough to take him down physically and seemingly not smart enough to stay a step ahead of him. This could leave Bruce feeling vulnerable and inadequate. Classic set-up for further hero development.
Deadshot...(http://www.comicvine.com/deadshot/29-5763/)
Deadshot (real name Floyd Lawton) is the DC Universe's best assassin. The man who never misses. Deadshot makes an almost perfect villain for the next Batman movie for completely different reasons than Bane. Deadshot is skilled. Not only is he THE greatest marksman, but he's also a fighter. Should Batman confront him face to face, he stands to be in for a hell of a fight ... with a man unafraid to use deadly force.
The last two Batman movies, while good, lacked one CRUCIAL aspect of Bruce Wayne's crime fighting persona. We missed out on Batman, the DETECTIVE. We caught a glimpse of him when Bruce got the finger print off of the shattered bullet in The Dark Knight, but that aspect of our hero has yet to be fully showcased in a movie. Deadshot provides that challenge for Bruce. Not only does he have to find out WHO Deadshot is, but he must also figure out who his next target is. This leaves Batman to rely solely on his wits, reasoning and instinct.
I suppose the only other option possible (if we were to keep to the 'realistic' themes of the last two movies) would be The Riddler. Multiple internet sites have stated that the script for Batman 3 has been leaked, confirming that The Riddler will be the next villain to go toe to toe with the Batman. But I have my doubts...
The Riddler... (http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/The_Riddler)
Edward Nigma may be a classic Batman villain, but the danger of using his character is quite obvious: We've already had a clown. Now I KNOW lots of die hard Batman fans will jump at the chance to point out the MANY ways that The Riddler and the Joker differ, but you have to take a step backwards and view this from the audiences point of view. Do you REALLY think they'll see much of a difference?
The ONLY redeeming quality in a pick like this is that this character COULD lend himself to exposing the detective side of Bruce we have yet to see (as I mentioned earlier). Having Batman solve riddles is a very simplistic formula to bring out the super sleuth in him.
But this choice is HIGHLY unlikely seeing as how Christopher Nolan himself has sworn up and down that 'The Riddler' will NOT be the next villain in 'The Dark Knight Rises'. (Follow the L.A. Times story here)
So there you have it folks. It's simple, it's understated, but those are the villains I believe stand the best chance at being in the next Batman flick. What do YOU think and why? Don't forget to comment!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
DC Announces Green Lantern Classics Wave 2!
So, as some of you may or may not have heard, DC has teamed up with Mattel to bring a whole new series of Classics figures to us fans. The Green Lantern Classics line has begun and the solicitations are out. Wave One features Sinestro Corps member Maash, Sinestro Corps member Low, Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, Black Hand, Black Lantern Abin (or Amon) Sur, a Manhunter and Collect and Connect Sinestro Corps member Arkillo. While that is an impressive line up for a first wave, it’s not very appealing to me personally. The only two figures I’m getting from that wave are Green Lantern Kyle Rayner and Black Lantern Abin/Amon Sur.
But Mattel outdid themselves with Wave Two! Wave Two’s line up features: Red Lantern Skallox, Green Lantern B’dg, Red Lantern Dex-Starr, Ion (Green Lantern Sodam Yat), Green Lantern Mediphyl, Green Lantern Nautkeloi, Red Lantern NightLikk, Star Sapphire (Carol Ferris), Sinestro Corps member Despotellis and Collect and Connect figure Green Lantern Stel!
I’m DEFINITELY buying the entire wave so I can have the C&C Stel figure. But the only figures I’ll actually keep from the wave will be Green Lantern Sodam Yat, Green Lantern B’dg and Red Lantern Dex-Starr. Considering the amount of figures in this wave, I’m going to assume Dex-Starr, Depotellis and B’dg could one or all be extra figures packaged with various other full sized figures in the wave.
But here is a picture of each of the new figures courtesy of Mattycollector.com
Now tell me that Stel doesn't look AMAZING?! I personally believe that figure is worth buying the whole wave. Add to that the fact that I'm keeping Sodam, Dex-Starr and B'dg and I'd say I'm definitely getting my moneys worth.
Oh yeah, mattycollector shows that this wave will also feature a figure based off a Green Lantern from the upcoming Green Lantern movie. Unfortunately, they've shadowed the figure so as to not 'spoil' any fans with their solicitations.
But, fortunately for you, a friend of mine on the comic forums did some digging and found a CGI image of one of the alien GL's featured in the movie that seems to match up quite well with the suspicious shadow...
So there you have it folks, Green Lantern Classics Wave 2. Awesome sauce ain't it? What will YOU be buying? Don't forget to comment!
But Mattel outdid themselves with Wave Two! Wave Two’s line up features: Red Lantern Skallox, Green Lantern B’dg, Red Lantern Dex-Starr, Ion (Green Lantern Sodam Yat), Green Lantern Mediphyl, Green Lantern Nautkeloi, Red Lantern NightLikk, Star Sapphire (Carol Ferris), Sinestro Corps member Despotellis and Collect and Connect figure Green Lantern Stel!
I’m DEFINITELY buying the entire wave so I can have the C&C Stel figure. But the only figures I’ll actually keep from the wave will be Green Lantern Sodam Yat, Green Lantern B’dg and Red Lantern Dex-Starr. Considering the amount of figures in this wave, I’m going to assume Dex-Starr, Depotellis and B’dg could one or all be extra figures packaged with various other full sized figures in the wave.
But here is a picture of each of the new figures courtesy of Mattycollector.com
Now tell me that Stel doesn't look AMAZING?! I personally believe that figure is worth buying the whole wave. Add to that the fact that I'm keeping Sodam, Dex-Starr and B'dg and I'd say I'm definitely getting my moneys worth.
Oh yeah, mattycollector shows that this wave will also feature a figure based off a Green Lantern from the upcoming Green Lantern movie. Unfortunately, they've shadowed the figure so as to not 'spoil' any fans with their solicitations.
But, fortunately for you, a friend of mine on the comic forums did some digging and found a CGI image of one of the alien GL's featured in the movie that seems to match up quite well with the suspicious shadow...
So there you have it folks, Green Lantern Classics Wave 2. Awesome sauce ain't it? What will YOU be buying? Don't forget to comment!
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