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.

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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!

Thor is Officially an Avenger, Plus Secret Avengers and New Thunderbolts

Thor was announced as a member of the upcoming Avengers team ( I am avoiding calling them the New Avengers, since we've been there, done that...) which means this is looking more and more like a classic line-up. I am very glad they are going this direction, as the multiple iterations of the Avengers (each with their own Wolverine, it seems) were wearing thin on me.


Marvel is also coming out with a second Avengers title, Secret Avengers, written by Ed Brubaker, but so far no official word on who will be on that team. The teaser images suggests Gorilla-man and maybe Doctor Strange, and if that is case, count me in.
I am also optimistic about the post-Siege Thunderbolts line-up as written by Jeff Parker. The new team is led by Luke Cage, and includes Juggernaut, Ghost (my favorite from the current crappy line-up), Moonstone, Crossbones, and the coup de grace: Man-Thing. The title will go back to the series roots and be more about the reformation of villains under Cage's leadership. This story starts in issue #144 and is the first issue I am actually looking forward to since Warren Ellis left the book.

A Heroclix Named Desire

It is OK to want:

Heroclix announced their new Blackest Night starter set for 2010. Other figures in the set are Hal Jordan Green Lantern, Lex Luthor, Mera, The Flash, Wonder Woman, and The Atom, all in their appropriate lantern colors.

The NEW Old (New?) Avengers!

As you may or may not know, after the events of Siege wrap up the current myriad of Avengers titles will axed. Dark, New, Mighty, Initiative; they will all be finished to make way for an Avengers reboot, as well as a new attitude in the major titles at Marvel dubbed "The Heroic Age." Marvel has slowly been revealing the Avengers line-up for the relaunch, and so far I like it. Here is the link to Newsarama detailing the roster so far.

Tony Stark: Iron Man!

Finally, Clint Barton back in the purple Hawkeye costume.
Looks like the Bucky Cap. I am ok with this, I'm just wondering what is going to happen to Steve Rogers.
Spider-Woman.
So far, so good. Rumor has it that Thor is also going to be on this team. I am looking forward to the new #1 issue.

What Could Have Been

If you needed more proof that we indeed are not living in the best possible of worlds, animation director and storyboard artist Steven E. Gordon told Marvel Animation Age (as reported by MTV's Splash Page), that there was maybe going to be, but now definitely won't be a Beta Ray Bill animated movie:

“The DVD was going to be done like they did the 'Hulk Vs.' DVD where half would be devoted to the ‘Ultimate War’and the other half was planned to be a ‘Thor’ story,” continued Gordon. “At one point the ‘Thor’ story they intended on adapting was Beta Ray Bill, but I believe they dropped that after some exploration. We never got too far on finding a look for the Thor adventure.”

Argh! So close. This news begs the question: is it better to know the miserable truth, or live in ignorant bliss? I blame Steven E. Gordon for not fighting hard enough to get us a Beta Ray Bill animated feature. And there is your non-news of the day.

Beta Ray Bill appears in Planet Hulk movie!

According to reviews I have read, Beta Ray Bill makes an appearance in the new Planet Hulk movie due out on DVD on Feb. 2! Apparently, Bill is replacing Silver Surfer's role from the original story, which isn't a large role, but an important one. And it is always nice to get some more animated Beta Ray Bill, since all we have up to this point is an episode of the 90's Silver Surfer cartoon, in which the Korbinites are depicted as weaklings trapped in an illusion of gladiatorial combat. (with Scottish accents?) I am now more excited about this release than I was, and I was pretty excited before.

A Cheery February

There is some cool stuff coming down the pipe, and frankly, I can't wait! Those long, excruciating weeks between the Super Bowl and the beginning of the baseball season needs to be filled with something, lest you are driven into the depths of depression and despair by winter's icy grip, and this year we are extra lucky. In February we get the Winter Olympics, complete with hockey and curling, two of my personal favorites, as well as the animated feature Planet Hulk on DVD Feb. 2.

Plus, on Feb. 23, we get Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths DVD from Bruce Timm, which looks fantastic.

(By the way, Mark Harmon of NCIS fame will be voicing Superman in that one!)

These bits of animated goodness should be able to get me through the winter, and tide me over until the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament starts in March.

So rejoice, for this is a rare February that won't feel like it is actually longer than its total 28 days suggest. Just try not to get stuck in a loop on Groundhog's Day to make up for your life's moral failings and everything will work out just fine.