Most views I've ever gotten.

My post about the Oscars has been getting a ton of views--my most ever in a day, actually. Why? Well it seems if you go to Google and type in, "Inception Should Have Won" I'm the first post that pops up. How in the name of God I pulled that off I have no clue, but hopefully at least one of the viewers for my Oscar post will come back in the future to enjoy my other stuff too. I just wanted to thank everyone who has been checking out my blog today. [UPDATE: It seems I no longer am the first thing to pop up. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted and hopefully I got a bunch of new permanent readers.]

Two Lame Comics.

Let's look at two comics that aren't very good. One is a mainstream Fantastic Four Annual, the other is from some independent company I have never heard of called Zip comics and features, "The Schizophrenic". Hoo boy, this should be interesting...

Oscars 2011 Reflections AKA Inception Should Have Won.

Well, the Oscars are done, so let's look at what I wrote as it went along, both the good, bad, and lame...

Rant-Reviews--Fantomex, Composite Hulks, Thunderbolts, and a Female Taskmaster.

Fantomex fights Deathloks for a miniaturized science-world, The Thunderbolts fight monsters and Hyperion, Hulk fights his literal opposite named Kluh, and the "Max" version of Deadpool fights a pseudo-oedipal complex. This is a weird batch of comics.

My 2011 Oscar Predictions

I have a few predictions about what will happen at the Oscars, ranging from what will win to more silly guesses.

Flashback Friday: Modok's 11.

Super Villain Team-UP: Modok's 11.
Probably the latest I've ever put up my first post of the day, and for that I apologize, but I was out trying to navigate through the snowstorm most of the day. Anway, with this comic I know it isn't that old, but in comics just a year can be an eternity, so I figured it wouldn't be too big a deal if I talked about this comic from the long-ago era of 2007 and 2008. Why discuss this random comic that didn't tie-in to anything in particular and was just essentially a random mini-series Marvel put out? Because it was a darn good one, that's why. Read on to see what made it so fun...

A Good Finish After a Weak Start--Astonishing X-Men: XenoGenesis #5

Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis #5
The 3rd arc of the oft-delayed Astonishing X-Men series by Warren Ellis that has been split between the main series numbering and this off-shoot miniseries that started before the 2nd arc (Exogenetic) had even finished. This seems to be the last of the Ellis-helmed X-Men comics, but have the delays been worth it? Does, "sort of," suffice as a good answer?

Good Comic, Terribly Long Title--DC Universe Online Legends #2

DC Universe Online Legends #2
In an Elseworlds-style tale, Superman is dead and Lex Luthor is humanity's best hope against an alien invasion. Okay, that plot piques my interest, but does the second issue of the series keep the momentum going?

Rant-Reviews--Just Four Great Comics.

Here at the Newest Rant sometimes I focus too much on the negatives of comics, or ones that aren't good. Therefore, this time let's just review four recent ones I really enjoyed. Click the cut for reviews of Incognito, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, Osborn, and a Venom-focused issue of Amazing Spider-Man.

Underwhelming At Best--Iron Man Rapture #4

Iron Man Rapture #4
The final issue of the Marvel-Knights mini-series set in a slightly different continuity. It's not very good.

Nate Grey Returns to X-Men Comics!

Of all the posts I've ever made, my one about Dark X-Men gets among the most views, often found on Google by people looking for information about Nate Grey and what he is up to. Well, all of you fellow X-Man lovers out there can rejoice because a new X-Men teaser for the series, "New Mutants" shows none other than Grey teamed up with another fan-favorite mutant, Blink.

This seems to be a part of some new series of events post-Age-of-X, but other than that details are scarce at the moment. Still, Nate Grey is finally back!

Zombies VS Robots to Become a Movie. Despite Ingrained Cynicism, I Am Excited.

It has been announced that the popular Chris Ryall-written and Ashely Wood-illustrated series, "Zombies Versus Robots," has been optioned as a movie. It involves a little girl (possibly the last human on earth) being protected by robots from--what else--zombies. Look, I know I've made comments about how the only thing more over-done lately in movies and comics than zombies is vampires, but despite my usual tendency to be cold and logical, I am actually excited for this movie. Why? Maybe it is because I enjoyed the art of Ashley Wood so much that a part of me hopes a movie is just as awesome, or its the kid in me that jumps for joy at the prospect of watching zombies and robots tear each other apart. Whatever the case I am giddy. Wait, what? Michael Bay is involved? The guy who does good special effects but otherwise makes sucky movies like Transformers? My enthusiasm just dropped by two points.

Very Sad News--Dwayne McDuffie Has Died.

February 20, 1962 – February 21, 2011

I learned today at dinner when I check for the newest comic news on my phone that Dwanye McDuffie has died. I really enjoyed his work and he was even one of the few comic creators I ever wrote to--with my expressing support for him back when he was having conflicts with DC comics over the Justice League Title. Apparently he died of complications from surgery. I have some links about how he was a great writer, and how he worked to fight against racial stereotypes in comics and have more people of color both involved in the creation of, and represented in comics.

• Comic Book Resources
• Comics Alliance 1st post, and 2nd post.
• Multiversity
• Onion AV Club
• Bleeding Cool

My heart goes out to his family and friends, along with everyone who was ever touched by his work.

Rant-Reviews--Two Wolverine Comics and Worgen.

Reviews of Wolverine #5.1and #6, plus issue 3 of the Worgen comic gets on my nerves. 

Let me get this straight--Recent Revolutions and Technology

Alright, let me get this straight; because of the internet age, and people being connected via Facebook and Twitter, citizens of nations are doing by themselves what the United States in decades past spent tons of money encouraging--that is, fighting for democracy? We spend thirty-some years prodding Egypt to maybe have more fair elections, and after 18 days and the use of social media a nation's dictatorship is toppled. How the hell did that occur?

Plus we've got the original location this happened, Tunisia, and now Libya seems to be going through its own violent mini-civil war--and that's another nation the US has politely asked to be more fair in our sheepish way we do when a nation has something we want but we can't invade it, and yet again a long-time dictator may be out soon due to a bunch of people connecting with each other on the internet.

Now, I'm happy these nations may finally achieve democracy, but am annoyed by the idea that all the US had to do for these places to shift to a new political model was give people an ability to make status updates. I swear, what a world we live in...

Essay in Honor of Black History Month on the Sad State of Racial Diversity in Comics

A Good Blog to Read is Black Comix

We're past the half-way mark of February, meaning we are also halfway through Black History Month, and I have yet to make a post on the topic. It isn't just because 4thletter does such a good job, nor is it due to some complex reason. I just couldn't think of anything to write about Black History Month in regards to the main subject I write about on this blog--comics. Why? One image got stuck in my head.

Big Post Coming at Noon Today.

I know I normally only say something about the day's post if I will be having a bunch go up so people can get ready, but I felt that my one major post I have planned for today was important enough I would do a prelude post to promote it.

What is the post about? It's about Black History Month, race in comics, black comic creators, and how we otherwise need to work on multiculturalism in comics. It is probably my biggest post so far, and most personally-revealing as I talk a bit about myself and why a white guy is writing about black history. I am proud of the post and hope people enjoy it, and I just wanted to give everyone a heads up to get ready for 12PM, Eastern Standard Time when the post will be going up. Why then? Because you should have enough time to read it on your lunch break.

Rant-Reviews--Three Green Lantern Books.

One book of the Green-Lantern-line came out last week, and two this week. Two were decent and one impressed. To find out which did what, read on...

An issue which involves the Government, Planned Parenthood, and...Justin Bieber?

The House of Representatives has been on a war-path for cutting funding for Planned Parenthood ever since the Republican's took over. Generally Republican's are anti-choice (I refuse to say "pro-life" as that makes "pro-choice" people sound like murderous monsters--although some may think they are) so it isn't too surprising this is taking place, even though I thought the focus was going to be, "Jobs, jobs, jobs," although John Boehner said if some people actually lose their jobs in the public sector from budget cuts, "So be it." Interesting.

The thing that bugs me about the effort to defund Planned Parenthood (full disclosure: I am a member and have attended a conference done by the organization) is that abortion is a small aspect of the numerous services they provide to economically and socially disadvantaged women. From regular gynecological check-ups to assistance with pregnancy for those who choose to give birth, Planned Parenthood provides a plethora of services. However, some in the government have chosen to focus on one small part and make it a moral crusade to end what they consider a, "Holocaust," that has been taking place since Roe Vs Wade.

Now, what if I told you someone existed who was for government-controlled health care (something liberals want in America) but was also rabidly anti-choice (what conservatives generally think)? Also, what if this person were a heart-throb of millions of pre-teen and teenage girls? Interesting right? Well, I just described Justin Bieber, who in an interview in the newest issue of the Rolling Stone describes the American health-care system as, "Evil," and says he is hesitant to approve of abortion, even in cases of rape as, "It's like killing a baby." I can just picture an army of young girls who suddenly campaign for a Public Option in health care and protest outside any location that provides abortions because their overlord Justin Bieber deemed it so. Perhaps I'm being silly thinking his fans would be that mindless of followers, but then again these are the same people who used cyber-attacks on the winner of the Best New Artist Grammy, Esperanza Spalding, after she beat Bieber.

In conclusion, some politicians want to set us back to before 1973, Justin Bieber holds an interesting mixture of views, and Planned Parenthood is under attack for a small aspect of what they do. If you are against abortion, that's okay, I'm not going to argue with you as it is an issue that people just don't compromise on, and I agree there are other options. However, I am still against making abortion illegal so we go back to the era of women getting dangerous “back-alley abortions” from people who have no medical training or license. Also, I would like to point out that all the Tea-Party politicians out there who say they want the government out of their lives in a strange paradox want the government to make laws that tell women what they can and can't do with their bodies. Okay?

Oh, if you choose to comment in agreement or disagreement, please remain civil; name-calling or other juvenile behavior will get your post deleted. However, if you say something well thought-out and intelligent regardless of what side you are on, I will eagerly welcome your post as I love it when people comment on my blog.

I'm Befuddled--The Amazing Spider-Man #654

The Amazing Spider-Man #654
I haven't been following the Spider-Man comic for more than a year now, so when I pick up an issue for the Venom back-up, what do I think of the main story itself? Hint: I am utterly confused.

Film Friday: The Thing

The Thing
A classic horror movie from 1982 (that was actually a re-make of an even older movie), directed by John Carpenter and starring a young Kurt Russel and a really young Keith David (whom I've discussed being a big fan of). This movie was great back in the 1980s, but has it aged well? Let's review...

Check It: New Thor Trailer!

The newest Trailer for Thor has been released and it is nice and meaty, full of content and things to get excited about. As I commented when the first trailer came out, they are going with the "Is he crazy or really a God" angle that would be the best way to get a character like Thor to work with the other Marvel Studios' properties that are more realistic like Iron Man and Captain America--after all, both are base in the real-world sciences of robotics and steroids. Anyways, check it out:

Now that's a quality ad, plus it shows more of one of my favorite actresses, Natalie Portman. This should be a great movie, I truly hope for it to be.

How One Panel Can Ruin All Goodwill Toward A Comic.

You know when a comic is liked by people and the writer is held in good esteem even if he made some mistakes during his run on a comic? Imagine having one panel that can just ruin all the goodwill you built up. Observe:

And with that J. Michael Straczynski destroyed any love people had for his time spent doing the Spider-Man comics. Sure, you can say then-Editor-In-Chief, Joe Quesada made him do the stupid storyline where Peter and Mary Jane's marriage was magically wiped away from existence, but that doesn't change the fact that it was done. Just because Marvel editorial wants something to happen doesn't mean it is a good idea. Has the spider-man comic really been that much better with the marriage gone? Seriously, I'm asking--I stopped reading it a few months after the continuity-wipe. Now if we want to see Spider-Man married to Mary Jane we have to read the terrible newspaper comic where Spidey does little more than whine and get whatever guest star shows up to do his fighting for him. That, or Aunt May tries to marry Mole Man. The last part isn't even a joke.

So That's What HotLinking Means.

Before I understood what Hotlinking was, it seems I did it in my older blog posts--AKA December ones. In other words, instead of just saving an image and uploading it to blogger from my PC, I would use the function where you can enter the image's URL and it will show. The problem with that is the original source can change at any time--thereby altering the picture, and more rudely, you are essentially leeching bandwidth off of others. I plan to go to these older posts from before I changed my methods and stop hot-linking. My apologies if I did it to you and it caused any issues as I know it can be annoying and bad web etiquette. Just wanted to update folk on that.

Marvel Announces New Series For Characters I Like.

Marvel has a new thing called the, "Big Shots Initiative," with the already announced "Moon Knight" series, some more Punisher comics picking up where Rick Remender left off in his series and mini-series, and Daredevil returning with a new #1 comic. Does that mean that the Black Panther comic which took over for Daredevil will keep it's current numbering even though that is the actual number of the Daredevil comics? Yeah, that's confusing. Should be a fun summer with these comics at least, assuming the writers and artists are good!

Two Things I've Been Enjoying Lately On The Internet

Let's have a fun little post about things I've been enjoying lately on the Internet.

1. Through my girlfriend's prodding I finally started my own Stumbleupon account and boy do I love wasting time on it! I tell it my interests and it just pops up random stuff that generally I like seeing, be it a fun joke comic, a piece on politics, or a fun game.

2. A web-program called Pearltrees where you can link your interests together into a tree and...well it's kind of hard to explain, watch this video:



That's what new things have been wasting my time.

Quick Thought on World Events

So Tunisia led to Egypt which has kicked off fights for independence in Iran and Bahrain. I'm happy for Egypt, but I wonder if Iran can pull the same thing off considering attempts have been made but quashed. Meanwhile Wisconsin is falling apart too if you are interested in what is happening in our corner of the world. It's an active world we live in.

Both my Borders Are Shutting Down. Guess Who is Ticked?

One Borders was shutting down due to a lease dispute, and now the other near me is part of the 192 Borders plans to dismantle in its effort to declare bankruptcy but not completely die. God Damnit, now I've got to get a Barnes and Noble membership or use my girlfriend's card to enjoy discounts. What's that you say? I could just use Amazon? True, but I enjoyed the whole element of browsing about, enjoying the atmosphere, and otherwise relaxing. Now doing that at any of my Borders is gone. This sucks majorly, as I think kids today say. Oh well, There are still the independent bookstores around I suppose, I can support those too.

I'm Officially Sick of The Newest "Fear Itself" Teasers.

Yet another one of Marvel's "Fear Itself" teasers has come out, with 3 characters fighting over a magic hammer. This time it isn't a case of two making sense and one making no sense, it's just a bunch of random folk:

Ant-Man, Ms. Marvel, and The Absorbing Man? Okay. I am tired of watching random people fighting over a hammer. It's lost any charm it once had.

Rant Reviews--X-Factor, An Avenger Book (Out of the Too Many), and Hired Heroes.

Madrox and Layla do some investigating, The New Avengers bores me, and Heroes For Hire keeps doing good stuff.

It's Finally Happened; Borders Declares Bankruptcy.

I've discussed it a bunch on my blog, and it has finally happened. Borders has declared bankrupcty and is closing about 1/3 of the their stores--or 200 of the 600-ish they currently have operating. Of the two near me, one was closing earlier due to a lease dispute many stores in a mall were having, but the other one I called this morning still wasn't sure if they were to remain open, with the news coming to them later in the day. I wished them the best and am hoping for good news. I don't want to lose both my Borders!

Thoughts on Marvel Teasers and Some Month of May Solicitations.

Today was a big day for announcements from Marvel, with a new "Fear Itself" teaser, an announcement about a certain super-team, and the May solicitations. Let's look it over the first two and analyze the stranger of the solicitations (note that this isn't my usual listing of what looks good or bad, just pointing out some strange items)

Great Animated Short.

Below is an animated short which is described as such, "The film was directed by the French animation collective H5, François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy and Ludovic Houplain. It was presented at the Cannes Film Festival 2009. It opened the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and won a 2010 academy award under the category of animated short." It is darkly hilarious and not for children as it has a fair amount of swearing. I found it fascinating in how it both uses and sort of skews corporate logos, and it has a message in the end about oil spills that is pretty relevant considering what we went through last year.



Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

Not That Good A Comic--Fallout: New Vegas, All Roads

Fallout: New Vegas--All Roads
A prequel comic that sets up the story for Fallout: New Vegas that came with the collector's edition of the game and can be bought online as a digital download or something; I wasn't that impressed. Why? Let's continue...

A Shout-Out to Another Blog.

I enjoy reading the 4thletter blog, and as it is Black History month David Brother's has been doing some interesting posts as he always does when that time of the year rolls around. So yeah, you should be reading 4thletter now and any other time of the year because it is good stuff.

I should do a list of Blogs and Websites I like to read sometime and share that with everyone.

Rant Reviews--Two Teams of Teenage Avengers, Black Panther, And Why Not Some Deadpool?

Avengers in training, Black Panther improves, Young Avengers has some good action, and Deadpool finally gets around to honoring his friend Cable.

 Avengers Academy #8
The issue that provides some closure to the whole "Tigra getting beaten up by the Hood" storyline from New Avengers that made Tigra look like a victimized wimp with it taking some time to get her to this point where she seems like a strong individual who was forced into a weak moment. Also, because this has the character of the Hood, e.g. Parker Robbins, this ties in to the main Avengers book, taking place a bit before issue #7 where Robbins was climbing a mountain--and us readers not knowing how the hell he got out of prison until issue #9 of that series setting that plot in motion. Therefore, if you are reading this book that knowledge may be useful, and if you aren't it may be a bit confusing. Either way a solid book with an ending that I imagine will not stick in future issues, but could have some fun short-term consequences.
3.5 out of 4 stars.

Black Panther: The Man Without Fear #515 
 David Liss has improved over the last issue but things still aren't as good as his debut on #513. In this issue Luke Cage doesn't seem as out-of-character, and the fighting scenes have a great flow. Plus, some sub-plots start to form that are interesting. Above-average
3 out of 5 stars.

Young Avengers: The Children's Crusade #4
As I noted in another post, this is the issue where it is explained why Wonder Man is chatting with the Avengers in this book but swearing to take them down in another--thanks to quick piece of dialogue to clear that continuity up. This issue also has hints that while it seems the Scarlet Witch may not have her powers anymore, something is definetely amiss with Doctor Doom himself noting how odd it is for his wanting to marry Wanda. Plus some cool fights happen, and the plot inches forward. A pretty good issue.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Deadpool and Cable #26
Cable died in the big X-Men crossover event half-a-year ago-ish, so seeing as how he and Deadpool shared a comic for a long time it would make sense to have Deadpool acknowledge this. Wrtier Duane Swierczynski has a pretty good handle on Deadpool (as was shown in the 25th issue of this series that came out a year or so ago) and makes me want to check out his Marvel Knight's title, "Wade Wilson's War". The sad thing is that this comic comes off as an afterthought to a series that ended awhile ago and I have no clue where they are going to collect it. Anyways, the story itself is fun with Deadpool going to a third world country and trying to turn it around in the same way Cable liked to do. There is nothing too amazing, but the peeks into Deadpool's mind and how he is genuinely missing his friend Nate Summers are sweet and show how Deadpool can have depth when written well.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

New Fear Itself Teaser--Not Too Impressive

Marvel has released a new teaser for "Fear Itself" and I don't find it too interesting as some of the earlier ones were:

There is of course speculation on the internet why it is being asked who is worthy to wield Thor's hammer--after all, why is Thor missing? Then we have the odd choice of characters to be looking at the hammer. Captain America and Iron Man makes sense, but why is that Gargoyle fellow there too? Isn't he a D-lister at best? It just seems so random.

From other teasers it seems Thor's dad Odin will be back and might take Thor down, so perhaps Thor is going to die (AGAIN) and some heroes will have to take up his hammer or something. I don't know, maybe if we knew what exactly Fear Itself was about I'd be more excited. Really, it's just all about heroes losing hope and fighting a God of Fear or something, and vampires are involved, and the whole thing just seems messy. The one beacon of hope is that Matt Fraction is writing it and he generally does a great job.

A long comment I made on another blog.

On a great re-post of an old review by Sean T. Collins for "Dark Knight Strikes Again" I wrote a comment that I thought was good enough to post here--unlike many of my comments on other blogs that are just quick notes or such:

Nice review, I hope to write one as snazzy sometime. Saying DKSA was ahead of it's time is pretty accurate. Occasionally something comes along that seems like it was plopped down from the future by accident--I felt that way listening to OutKast's ATLiens those years ago--and we have to just try and decipher it. DKSA is comics indulging in it's inner primal urges, with a healthy mixture of throwing whatever it can at the wall and seeing what sticks. I think is the book hadn't been billed the way it was as a sequel/prequel to Miller's first magnum opus it would have fared better in the fanboy/fangirl community than it did, what with the screaming about it being the worst thing ever by Miller (this of course being before the actually purposely absurd All Star Batman and Robin that some view as if it were coming of the Anti-Christ). DKSA is what a teenage boy who takes too many psychedelic drugs would see in his hallucinations if they manifested in comic book form--day-glo, full of testosterone, and incredibly violent. 

Thoughts on Grammys

Let's share some thoughts about the 2011 Grammys that honor albums from 2010 (except December, which has to wait for next year, meaning that amazing Kanye West album must wait to win accolades). Note that I missed the start of the show and other bits so this is by no means a very extensive overview so much as a few notes on the bits I saw and thought were worth discussing/making fun of.

New Marvel Action Figures With One Big Name Missing.

Hasbro has released information about Marvel characters getting action figures, and I have to ask, where is Luke Cage? I mean, Darkhawk gets  figure but we ignore Power Man? If I were a nerdy fan-boy I would get all huffy and whine. Oh wait, I sorta am doing that. Oh well, maybe we'll get a figure of Mr. Cage someday soon.

Too Bad It Was Short-Lived--Vengeance of the Moon Knight

Vengeance of the Moon Knight Volume 1
Collecting issues 1-6 of the brief Moon Knight re-launch after Huston and Benson's run, this arc shows how to do Moon Knight right. Plus, the fantastic art by Jerome Opena helps.

Borders To File For Chapter 11.

It's pretty much official, Borders is going to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy as early as next week. I saw the news on CNN and have found other articles about it on the internet, such as the above Wall Street Journal link. Of the two near my town one was closing in a mall due to lease disputes (other stores in the mall were too), and now I worry about the other.

My Favorite Kind of Breakfast Pastry.

This is probably the last post for Saturday, and it is just a short post about what I find to be utterly delicious and a great part of breakfast. Namely, the pastry known as a Bear Claw:

 I like mine to have no filling, and be grilled. It makes for good--if not entirely healthy--eatin'. So go on out and get yourself a bear claw, many diners have them.

Oh, and Sunday I'll probably put up something that is actually substantial in terms of content. After that busy Friday however, I thought a nice break was due.

Flashback Friday (A Tad Late)--Punisher War Journal Volume #5

Punisher War Journal Volume 5: Secret Invasion
I said this would come out late yesterday, but instead it will be early today. Sorry!
Before the Punisher re-launch that came out of Dark Reign and led to the new mini-series "In the Blood" there was the Punisher War Journal series that started out as being written by Matt Fraction but then was joined by Rick Remender (who has been the writer for the new Punisher series and mini-series). While the newer series was great whether it was Frank fighting The Hood or turning into Frankencastle, War Journal was a bit more hit-or-miss. Sadly, after the solid preceding Volume 4, this final volume would count as a "miss". Why? Let's discuss....

Looking Over This Week's Comic-Book Haul

It's Friday, so let's review all of the comics I've bought/borrowed for the week two days after they actually came out--with reviews for a few of the titles possibly coming not too long after. Make a comment if you want me to review one especially soon (although there is some stuff that is a bit older I need to get my thoughts put up for too). After all, I do this blog for you, the reader...and so that I don't bore the people in my everyday life with my thoughts about stuff they have no interest in.

Rant Reviews--Iron Suits, Bone Claws, Green Arrows, and Robots Fighting Zombies.

The first of Marvel's ".1" issues, this time featuring Iron Man, Wolverine's son causing trouble, Green Arrow sucking a bit less, and one dollar for some snazzy Ashley Wood art.

A Bunch of Comics News

Because a bunch of stuff that I find interesting is happening...

• DC is going to have Green Lantern comics that tie in with the upcoming movie's continuity. I always scratch my head when you have a comic based on a movie based on a comic. 
• Speaking of confusing tie-ins. The new Batman game will have a comic based on the video-game which draws inspiration from the Batman comics.
• Lee Bermejo, who did the great "Joker" original graphic novel with Brian Azzarello, is in fact doing his own OGN featuring Batman titled (as of now), "Batman: Noel." I imagine it will come out around Christmas this year.
• The new Elephantmen one-shot looks like a fun comic and great jumping-on point for readers. Also, it mentions Ladronn is finally almost done with the new issue of the Hip Flask comic we have been waiting forever for. The continuity of the comics can be confusing with "Elephantmen" taking place in the past "War Toys" even further in the past, and "Hip Flask" moreso in the present, but the story is always so fun and enjoyable.
• Wonder Woman is selling cosmetics. Okay?
•  Secret Avengers will have a new writer and artist taking over--which is bittersweet as Secret Avengers was pretty much known for being the Ed Brubaker Avenger book, but things may still be good.
• Diamond Comics, the company that practically holds a monopoly on comic-book distribution is trying to expand into digital comics too. It's like that old horror movie the blob, it just keeps growing.
• Lastly, in news that both excites and worries me, there is an article on the new Moon Knight comic by Bendis and Maleev. It excites in that we learn more, but worries in that it is taking the concept of Moon Knight having multiple personalities and expanding that to having him emulate his Secret Avengers teammates. What? I'm still willing to go with this though, because if you had told me the same team was going to do a Daredevil comic where they revealed his identity, I may have had doubts, but the results spoke for themselves. Also, a nice piece of art: to close things out:

What I'll be Posting Throughout Today.

This is just a brief post to get everyone excited for the good stuff I have planned for today.

1. This morning I will have a bunch of comic-book news I rounded up for you to digest as you see fit as a nice fact-breakfast. Look for that around 8AM.
2. After that appetizer, I have a nice entree of reviews of some various comics in one of my often-done "Rant-Reviews" where I say comments about what I've read recently. Expect that around Noon as your lunch.
3. Then, as both a dessert and to give you hungry for more from my blog, I will have my second-ever post of a "Haul Examination" where I give a list of what I got for that week of comics. The reason you stay hungry for more is because you'll want to read reviews of the new comics I list, and I even ask in my post if there are any particular comics of the ones shown you want me to get to first. This snack of a post will go up at 2PM.
4. There will of course be one of my Friday features--either Film Friday or Flashback Friday--but I haven't yet decided what to put up for that or what time I'll aim for. Expect it anywhere from around 5PM as a dinner to close out the day, to possibly 7PM, or even as a late-night 11PM snack.

With so much stuff tomorrow you know I'm not going to really post much of anything on Saturday. I need my rest too! I hope you enjoy all the content today.

X-Men First Class Trailer Released

The official trailer for X-Men First Class has been released. It makes the movie look pretty good.



I may not rush to see this like the Thor and Captain America movies, but it looks promising enough that it'd be worth viewing.

It's all coming together--Irredeemable #22

Irredeemable #22
I've done short reviews of this comic before, but this issue was one I felt was worth spotlighting.

Terrible Comic Coming Out Next Wednesday.

I just wanted to warn everyone out there, that the terrible, "What-If The Venom Symbiote Possessed Deadpool?" Whatever you do, do not buy this comic, it is one of the worst I have ever read. How do I know it is bad? Well, it originally ran in four parts as a back-up to the most recent "What-If" mini-series. For your benefit I have put another copy of the review after the cut, along with some additional stuff. You have been warned:

Breaking News About The Former Fantastic Four!

I have just learned that Fantastic Four which is being re-launced as "FF" finally has had the actual title revealed. Future Foundation. Plus, Spider-Man is going to be on the team and they have these wild new outfits. Maybe I'll pick this comic up (I stopped reading Fantastic Four for some reason even though I liked Hickman's writing. I think the price put me off. Wait...this is $3.99 too? I may be sitting this one out....)

Because I Read Independent and Art Comics Too--Asthma

Asthma
I enjoy reading art-comics, and after reading a post in the Comics Journal more than a year ago about Asthma I finally got around to buying it from Sparkplug Comics (a great independent comics company). I then eventually finally had time to sit down and read it through, and boy was I confused.

Rant-Reviews--Dead Supermen, Hulk Smashes, yet more Wolverine.

Just three new reviews for today, DC Universe's first issue gets a gander, Hulk stays solid, and Wolverine isn't really the best there is when it comes to the comic I review...

Random Links: A Real-Life Horror Story and An Analysis of Fictional Ones. Plus Gnomes.

This is probably the most unrelated assortment of links I have ever posted:

1. First, we have Paul Haggis dishing on Scientology. While I won't begrudge them for the actual beliefs (all religions have odd elements) I will get angry about the physical violence, psychological manipulation, and economically bleeding believers dry. Thanks to the Huffington Post for pointing out the link.
2. Next up, we have a fun post about the "Seven Deadly Sins of Horror Movies" that I learned of thanks to the blog of Mr. Sean T. Collins (always a fun read, plus he reminded me about the above link too).
3. Zenoscope comics will be killing off a character in their weird fairy-tale comics line. You hear that? It's the sound of absolutely no one caring about what they do with their cheesecake-style drawn characters.
4. Another blog I like to read posted a great review of the "Wolverine Goes to Hell" story arc.
5. It would be funny if Gnomeo and Juliet had an ending close to Shakespeare's actual play. Imagine all those kids leaving the theater crying because the gnomes committed suicide.

Book Time--"Erasure" by Percival Everett

Erasure by Percival Everett
This is not only an extremely clever book by Everett, it is also funny, sad, and all-around good. Let's go into detail about why I like this book and the genius ways it uses the book format.

A Call For Writers!

Do you have opinions about movies, television, politics, books, comics, pop-culture or anything else that you want to share but don't know how for fear that no one will care?
Have you read a blog and thought, "I'd like to write stuff too instead of just screaming my opinions on the street corner!"
Are you worried you wouldn't be able to post consistently for your own blog by yourself or don't want to put up with the annoyances of making a new one and it taking forever to get any readers?
 If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then do I have an offer for you!

I'm looking for anyone who would be interested in writing for the blog I currently do alone, be it making three posts a week or even just one a month. You can write about whatever you want, although the blog does focus on comics generally. Do you think I'm too liberal? Write about why you think conservatives in politics are better! Think I don't talk about DC comics enough? Join me and write to your heart's content about why you think Marvel sucks! It's fun, it's a great way to pass the time, and most important of all, I don't have to pay you because I lack any money! Why am I looking for more writers, you may ask? Well, I want to help people with interesting thoughts get their ideas out there, I want more variety of opinion, and I also wouldn't mind getting more content put out by the blog.

So why not join the team (i.e. me) and write posts? You'll get your opinions out there and have the satisfaction of knowing other people now know what you do and don't like--it is a narcissist's dream come true!
Send me an email at davidbitterbaum@gmail.com or davidfun102@gmail.com and start writing today! You probably won't regret it!

Thor and Captain America Super-Bowl Ads--Not Too Amazing.

Because everyone else is posting them, here they are with my thoughts below:

Frankly, I was underwhelmed by both pieces, we've had a really good Thor trailer, and this one didn't feel as good, even if it showed new footage. The Captain America piece was better, perhaps because I was excited to see the first official footage from the film, or maybe because it seemed to provide more of a plot overview during its brief air-time. I still wasn't as amazed as when I saw the Iron Man 2 trailer or the above Thor trailer however. Perhaps as we approach the release date of the film a more solid preview will emerge than the teaser we got during the Super-Bowl. They at least accomplished their goal of making me want to see the movies more, so they have that going for them. I was still more excited by the game, however.

Post Game Update: My Super-Bowl Predictions AKA I Make Smart-Alec Comments.

I have some reflections on my predictions that will appear in italics. Below is the article:
Today in less than six hours is the Super-Bowl. I will now share my thoughts about the game itself, and other things that don't involve actual football but do relate to the Super-Bowl. In other words, get ready for some snarky comments.

• I would have really loved to see a Jets-Packers match-up but oh well.
• Even though it would be nice for the Packers to win, I think the Steelers will come out on top as they have Roethlisberger, and they have some of the same guys who won the last Super-Bowl appearance by Pittsburgh not long ago. I was wrong, the Packers won despite it looking pretty close at one point. So Green Bay fans must be quite pleased.
• The half-time show will suck because I hate the Black Eyed Peas ever since they added Fergie and went from a somewhat decent independent hip-hop group to commercial whores who make annoying pop songs. I was ready to give the performance a D, but then Usher showed up and for a brief moment I stopped feeling underwhelmed and actually was pleased. Then he disappeared, so a C.
• The commercials will be genuinely funny 40% of the time, and annoying or lame 60% of the time. Not really that funny this time, maybe 30% were good.
• People who paid 200 dollars to stand outside the Dallas stadium and watch the game on a big-screen in the freezing cold will realize about half-way through the game they made a really stupid choice.
• Christina Aguilera will butcher the National Anthem with her tendency to emphasize words, making something simple like, "and the rocket's red glare," sound instead like, "annnnnnnd the rock-et's, reeeeeeed glareeee-ieeeeee-aaareee." I called this one pretty accurately.
• Brett Farve is going to be sitting somewhere watching the game, constantly reminding people that he too used to play for the Packers before becoming a punchline for late-night talk shows who want to make jokes about his constant mind-changing about retiring or sending pictures of his junk to women. You know he bragged in-between texts during the game.
• God will be thanked by the winning team, thereby insinuating that he hates the other team and wants to make them suffer. Was there any doubt this would occur?
• Everyone watching will hopefully have a good time (see, not all my comments are rude).

There we go, have a fun day and don't drink and drive, because you know the police will be out in full force looking for idiots to bust.
Overall it was an exciting game and I am pleased I watched it even if the commercials were a bit disappointing this year. 

Film Friday (A Day Late)--The Other Guys

First off, I realize my "Film Friday" is being submitted late in the day on a Saturday. The reasoning for that is I had my two big posts about what looked good in previews and what looked bad, so I would wait to post something else (besides the short image of the Moon Knight teaser today) until Saturday. That and I was busy. Anyways, without further adieu, let's review one of the funnier comedy's I have seen in awhile.

This Moon Knight Teaser Gets me Excited.

This teaser for the upcoming Moon Knight series by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev looks completely awesome.

This duo brought us the amazing Daredevil storyline I have featured on my blog, so I have high hopes for this.

February 2011 Previews Part 2--What Looks Terrible.

I said what looked good, now to spotlight what looks to be stupid, bad, or just plain horrible. I do this as a public service to warn you of the unsavory things that lurk in Previews, mostly toward the back of the book where more creative projects can flower, but unbelievably awful things get to grow like mold too. Take my hand and feel free to close your eyes if you find it to be too much...

February 2011 Previews Part 1--What Looks Good.

Time to highlight things that look especially promising the newest Previews. As always there is plenty of consitently good stuff I don't discuss, choosing instead to focus on special issues, debuts, and things that look good. Part 2 will be the things that look terrible, and that post will probably get more views as people seem to love clicking on negative posts--although admittedly I am more funny when making fun of stupid stuff in Previews, of which there was much so stay tuned for this afternoon!

Because I am lazy today--A Picture of a Cute But Evil Puppy.

Nothing else big planned for today, just this:

I like this because it is both adorable and reminds me of an evil super-villain turning his chair to say, "I've been expecting you, Mr. Bond." I hope to get my reviews of what looks good in Previews up soon, as the last time I did that it seemed popular and I promised to make it a regular thing. Now if I can escape being trapped in the snow...

Egypt looks Bad.

From following the news it has become clear that the situation in Egypt is quite bad (and that is putting it lightly). What started as peaceful protests lately have become violent clashes between anti-Mubarak protesters and the police/pro-Mubarak protesters (I use a "/" because it seems both are on his payroll). For a good summary of what has happened read this article by the New York Times. It seems things got especially toxic after Mubarak said he would resign...but not until his term was up in September. This did not go over well with the populace. Now all hell has broken loose and it doesn't seem things are going to get any better soon. I just hope in the end things work out and Egypt gets the democratically elected government the people are protesting for.

Borders Update, Fill in the Blanks Edition: Bankr__t ?

If you couldn't solve the fill-in-the-blank puzzle in the subject line, the rub is that Borders may soon declare bankruptcy or file for protection from it. Please note this isn't the kind of bankruptcy where a company dies, moreso the sort where a bunch of stores get shut down and a lot of resturcturing occurs. This does not bode well.

Newer Thoughts On Playing A Goblin or Worgen in World of Warcraft

I had a previous post in late December in which I compared the experience of playing as a Goblin or Worgen in World of Warcraft. Having played some more levels I thought I would give an update on what the world is like from your teen-levels to high 20s.

New Marvel Teaser Released, My Thoughts On It.

It seems Marvel has a new promotional image asking, "Who are the Mystery Men?" with nothing else to go with the cryptic phrase but a release date of June 2011 and this image:

Some part of me hopes this relates to the MIA series, "The Twelve" but the odds of that are about .1%. The reason such a thought even entered my mind was the old-timey look of the image. It is as if this takes place in the past with some sort of super-team. My money is on something that isn't quite an event like Fear Itself, but more likely a new alternate continuity series like the Noir comics Marvel put out. I could be horribly wrong, but that's just my guess.

Rant-Reviews--Four Marvel Comics.

A decent-enough Avengers, fun done-in-one Deadpool story, the Punisher Plot developing, and Uncanny X-Force being just plain spectacular.

Moreso Links I Found Interesting Than A News Round-Up

Some links to things I found interesting for some reason or another.

Osborn

• It's not a secret I love the Osborn mini-series, so when I saw CBR had a big piece about it and its writer, Kelly Sue Deconnick I was overjoyed.
• Also, there is a good interview she did some weeks ago that I finally remembered to share now.

Wizard

• Sean T. Collins collects what is arguably the most complete list of articles about the death of Wizard magazine (and Toyfare) in existence.

Venom

• An interesting piece about the upcoming Venom mini-series by Rick Remender and Tony Moore, a team-up I always love so I'm going to give this comic a shot despite my reservations.

Gay Character in Comics

• Dorian Wright observing how writers are at least trying to show diversity in comics--in this case in regards to sexual orientation. Now if DC would just stop killing off its characters that aren't white and straight.

A Match-Up I'd Like to See.

We all love to thinking about what would happen if one character fought another from separate companies. Artist Aracubus must have had such a thought and made this awesome image I thought I would kick off your morning with:

Deadpool versus DC Comics biggest-name mercenary, Deathstroke. This image makes my heart happy.

With Thanks to Comics Alliance For Pointing Out The Great Images