Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a great movie

I saw Scott Pilgrim vs. The World last night, and I have to say it is one of the most original and entertaining movies I've seen in a long time. Coming into the movie I had only read the first volume of the comic (a problem I 'll soon rectify for sure) and I felt it adapted the comic to film better than any movie save perhaps Sin City.

I couldn't help but be reminded of Sin City while watching Scott Pilgrim, even though they are, thematically at least, completely different movies. Having only read Vol. 1 of Scott Pilgrim and The Hard Goodbye from Sin City, my references may be limited, but I think enough that I can make this comparison.

If you remember back to Sin City, the graphic novel(s) of hard boiled crime-noir, the movie took that premise and ran with it, Robert Rodriguez fully embraced the genre of both noir and comic adaptation, fusing the two into a visually stunning piece that felt like a living breathing comic book by Frank Miller. Groundbreaking at the time and copied to varying degrees of success (300, Watchmen). Scott Pilgrim has a similar formula, a graphic novel of comedy/romance and video game tropes, the movie also fully embraces the source material and fuses them into what a romantic comedy video game might be, brought to life on screen deftly and with a total comprehension by Edgar Wright.

Neither movie pulls back for a second to either pander to a common denominator, or explain ham-fistedly why you are seeing these things in a type of hyper-realism. They both know exactly what they are and what they hope to accomplish, and they both expect the viewer to keep up.

This was the one criticism I had of Inception, my other favorite movie of the year and also an excellent film, was that it seemed to not trust the audience enough to keep up, and thus endless explanations of where the characters were and what was happening throughout kept me somewhat disengaged from the movie at times. Sin City and Scott Pilgrim put you into their unique worlds and keep you there as a citizen under their own rules of reality.

One beef I have after seeing Scott Pilgrim that actually has nothing to do with the movie itself, was Brandon Routh appeared in the movie for a total of about ten minutes and engages in more action than in the entirety of Superman Returns, and shame on you Brian Singer for wasting that opportunity.

Avengers teaser trailer

Not terribly exciting, as we all know how to spell "Avengers" but here it is anyway.

http://io9.com/5604936/comic-cons-avengers-teaser-trailer-assembles

Hulk-mania! Jeff Parker is cool and so is Hulkington Post

Just some updates I wanted to share:

Cool new site for fans of the Hulk, The Hulkington Post. You should check them out, if only because they have a cool name. You can (and should) also follow them on Twitter @HulkingtonPost. It looks like they are just getting started, so help 'em out!

In other Hulk news, Jeff Parker will be taking over writing duties on Hulk with number 25. Perhaps you recall (probably not) my infuriation at the direction the title took, dragging on and on with the Red Hulk crap. I dropped the title around #8 or so in disgust. Well, Parker, the writer of some great and current ongoing series at Marvel, announced on his blog that the first 75 people who emailed him promising to try Hulk #25 he would send a signed comic. He wanted a chance to convince people to read Hulk again and what can I say, I like free stuff. I especially like Parker's work on Thunderbolts and Atlas. I received a signed copy of World War Hulks: Classified #1 and true to my word, I ordered up a copy of Hulk #25.

The word must have gotten out that Loeb's run on Hulk and the whole Red Hulk thing were not that popular. Parker has one issue to convince me, and if anyone can do it, it's him.

Batman Beyond!

I just finished reading Superman/Batman Annual #4. This story takes place in the Batman Beyond universe and picks up right where the animated series left off.

It is a superbly written comic by Paul Levitz that explores what happened to Superman and Metropolis after he was released from Starro's control. If you were a fan of the animated series, this comic cranks it up a notch. The story is as dark as the show was, and hits all the right notes to expand on that established universe.
It is really more a story about the Superman of that world, and after being under the control of Starro for so long, and then disappearing, what effect his absence has had on Metropolis. This issue leads into the Batman Beyond mini-series that is coming out soon.

As a fan myself, I am very encouraged by this issue. I want to see more of the Batman Beyond world in comics. It really works here, and I'm excited for more.

Best panel of the comic:

Avengers movie line-up?

Over at i09, this poster made a movie poster depicting what we already know about the upcoming Avengers movie. Could this be our Avengers line-up?

Here is the link.

And here is the picture:
There are also rumors of casting Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, but if the comments of the rumored actor are true, I want no part of the Ultimate Hawkeye. I demand purple tights and a bow and arrow!!!

Here are links to the concept art for Captain America's movie costume and Thor's full costume. I hope they are planning a little more variety on Thor from the waist down, and a winged helmet. PLEASE let there be a winged helmet!

Spoiler-ific Capsule Reviews

This week I got some comics, B.P.R.D. : King of Fear #5, Hellboy in Mexico one-shot, Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis #1, Dark Avengers #16, Siege #4, The Return of Bruce Wayne #1, and Thor and the Warriors Four #2. I will warn you, I am going to review each one with no regard for spoilering them, so proceed with caution!
Here we go!





Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis #1When I saw the solicit for this mini-series, I thought, "Written by Warren Ellis and drawn by Kaare Andrews!? SOLD!" After I read it, I was left scratching my head and turning up my lip...egh. I thought Andrews work on Spider-Man: Reign was fantastic, but I'm not sure what happened here. Emma Frost looks like a blonde sack of potatoes. And the fact that the X-Men spend half the book arguing about African politics just doesn't interest me. I don't usually drop a book after one issue, but in this case I'll make an exception.


B.P.R.D. : King of Fear #5
This series was advertised as the end of the so called "War on Frogs" and it ends with a bang. I have to admit that I am not completely caught up on the Hellboy universe, and I only started this series because Lobster Johnson was in the beginning, but this issue brings some big changes to the world and the nature of the B.P.R.D., who are now under the control of the U.N. And I'm not sure what is going on with Abe, but I hope the next mini Abe Sapien: The Abyssal Plane sheds some light on his new direction. Good stuff, but I wouldn't recommend reading it with out being somewhat up to speed. Oh, and I don't know who the tea drinking robot in the Jules Verne style submarine is, but I heartily approve!



Dark Avengers #16 & Seige #4

I'm gonna hit these both together. Let me say that I was on board after "Secret Invasion" wrapped up with the Dark Avengers (though I wished they had just stayed Thunderbolts, I thought that was working great) and I was interested to see where it was all headed. Now, I'll say that I am SO GLAD this CRAP IS FINALLY OVER! About halfway through this arc I became completely fed up with Norman Osborn. And joy of joys, Sentry is dead! This character has held the Marvel universe hostage for far too long, and except for the truly awesome Age of The Sentry, I hope we can all just pretend he never existed. Steve Rodgers in back, basically as the new Nick Fury, and Thor has a big mess to clean up. Lets move on and be glad this little episode is behind us.

Thor and The Warriors Four #2
I am digging this series. It is fun and awesome. I don't care what you think about Power Pack. Beta Ray Bill shows up for this one, which is great, and has to continually assert that he is NOT a horse, or a 'Thorse' for that matter (half Thor, half horse!). Sure it is silly, but I recommend it. And the cover is hilarious!


The Return of Bruce Wayne #1

One word: Awesome!

Hellboy in Mexico

Two words: Totally awesome!

Robot 13: The best comic you aren't reading

I don't remember specifically how I stumbled upon Robot 13, but I am sure glad that I did. I took a chance on this quirky looking series and was richly rewarded.

In three issues, creators Thomas Hall (writer) and Daniel Bradford (art) of Blacklist Studios have managed to introduce one of the most unique and interesting characters in comics since Hellboy. The comparisons to Hellboy don't stop stop there either, (and that isn't a bad thing) but while the art and feel can seem Mignola-esque, this isn't a one note rip-off.
Book 1, Colossus!, which is comprised of three issues, has managed to set up an intriguing world that blends myth and reality. The true genius of the book is that the world, while still mysterious in it's true nature, is already rich with details that set it apart from any other setting we've seen. And that all of this has been done with epic fight scenes and relatively sparse dialogue is truly astounding. This is visual storytelling at its best.
When we first meet our hero, Robot 13, he is introduced by immediately leaping into battle worthy of Clash of the Titans (the original). We soon find out he is suffering from amnesia, and being a skull in a robot suit doesn't really lend itself to easy explanations.

The series has successfully combined big time action, mystery, humor, science fiction and Greek mythology to weave quite a tapestry of an epic tale. Robot 13 is what a good comic should be, and you should stop reading my review of it go out and read it.

Namor comes back an X-Man

Good news, everybody! Namor is coming back in his own series! Yay! And it will be closely tied to the X-Men and their battle against underwater vampires...wait, what? Marvel announced the new Namor: The First Mutant #1, and the description is just plain stupid if you ask me.

First off, I don't care that Namor helped out the X-Men in Dark X-Men, Namor is not an X-Man. Technically, he isn't the first mutant either, but I guess calling the book Namor: A Really Old Mutant #1 doesn't have that catchy ring to it. Secondly, what happened to :The Sub-Mariner? And third, since when do the X-Men fight vampires? (oh, right, since Twilight ruined everything)

Bad form, Joe Q. This could have been cool. At least we know it will be cancelled after 6-12 issues anyway.

Sif one-shot is good, not great

Read the Sif one-shot this week. Good solid effort on both writing and art by Kelly Sue Deconnick and Ryan Stegman respectively. It is completely ok, not mind blowing. Honestly, with an appearance by Beta Ray Bill and the title being Sif, I expected much more butt-kicking. And there is some, but I was expecting full bore face-kicking action. Then there is the situation where Sif gets to meet Bill's new squeeze, which could have been much more awkward, interesting, character developing, but instead is quickly brushed aside to get to the plot. In fact, having Sif say the word 'awkward', doesn't make it so.
And then there is the stock plot, interesting but underdeveloped villain, and basically a lack of epic-ness. And really, that is what I was expecting, and maybe that is my fault for demanding so much from this one-shot.

Wow! This blog is still on!? - Hellboy thoughts.

Hello again! I'll dispense with the usual excuses as to why I haven't posted in, like, forever. Just know that I got a new job and that's taking up most of my time that isn't also filled with baseball and Netflix.

Anyway, here we go.

I am slowly catching up on Hellboy via the trades. Most recently I finished Book 6, "Strange Places" and I was reminded once again just how good Hellboy is.

Let's compare Hellboy to a standard story by the Big Two. There is almost no comparison. As I was reading somewhere (I think in an interview with Mignola) the Big Two offer the illusion of change. It happens every month. Plastered on the cover of Brightest Seige: Frontlines: The Return (or whatever) are scrawled the words "Nothing will ever be same again!" Except it always is the same again. Batman or Captain America 'die' for awhile, but then they get better.

In Hellboy, as far as I have read (no spoilers please) Professor Bruttenholm dies, and stays dead. Roger the Homunculus sacrifices himself and it actually means something. It haunts the characters years later. Hellboy discovers more and more about who he is on his journey, and we feel that it has weight, that it is all leading to something. Real change and growth in characters as the status quo is allowed to shift.

This may mean that at some point the story may come to an end, but I'm ok with that. Ultimately, at the end, I think it will all feel more rewarding.

icon

Why, Marvel, why?

With all the news coming out about the Avengers relaunch, I assumed we would get one new consolidated Avengers title, and for that matter, one team. Then Marvel announced Secret Avengers, and they have yet to name the team members. OK, I get it. I guess. Get your mainstream team and then have a quirky "B-team" to play with and explore the darker or stranger corners of the Marvel Universe. But now, you've gone too far.
Marvel is also releasing a New Avengers title, which so far contains all the old "New Avengers", or as I like to call it, "everything that is wrong about the Avengers, Avengers." Why? Do people really want Spider-man and Wolverine on an Avengers team? I sure don't. Here I thought finally, we can return to some normalcy in the Avengers world. And what is the point of relaunching New Avengers with a new #1?
I say forget this. I'm still going to read Avengers #1. But I am officially fed up with Brian Michael Bendis now. Give me one, unified Avengers team and call it a day. WOLVERINE IS NOT AN AVENGER!