Wednesday Comics, May 27th, 2009

Hands down the BEST day of the week! In a world constantly plagued by government agencies announcing the latest thing that's out to kill us, celebrities and the moral vacuum they tend to inhabit, and the general day-to-daydouchery that many of us manage to encounter around each and every corner, Wednesdays are the day of the week where my world stops and asks the question, hey, Captain America, how are things in your neighbourhood? Or perhaps, Doctor Doom, I hear you have a new world-conquering scheme you've been cooking up, how about giving us a little taste? So kiddies, let's have some fun. My pull list this week is as follows and in no particular order:
Marvel
New Avengers #53
X-Force #15
Elektra: Dark Reign #3
Ms. Marvel #39
Guardians of the Galaxy #14
The Incredible Hercules #129
X-Men Legacy #224
The Hood: Dark Reign #1
Avengers the Initiative #24
Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk #6
The Immortal Iron Fist #26
Avengers Invaders #11
DC
Green Lantern #41
Justice Society of America #27
Superman #688
Justice League of America #33
Wonder Woman #32
Dark Horse
Star Wars Legacy #36


Now some of you might be saying, clearly this fellow doesn't have a whole lot of financial responsibility if he's able to buy all of those comics in just one week, and.... well, that would be a pretty fair statement. I mean certainly it takes a pretty high level of commitment to read so many things but these have been my reading habits since I was 12 and I can't imagine them changing anytime soon. Now, the point of my weekly Wednesday comics posts isn't so much to review any particular issues, though I will make comments in regards to many of them throughout, but rather I wish to explore what these comics means to me on a far deeper level than simply saying, the Hulk punches Wolverine in the face therefore this comic rocks; if that's all you're taking away from your comic book experiences, then all the power to you but chances are you have the intellectual capacity of an orangutan.

You may have noticed that I listed my marvel titles first, and not only that, but they are in far more of an abundance than my DC list. The fact of the matter is, DC has recently scorned me, and like a scorned lover after the dissolution of a tawdry affair, I hold a grudge. Truthfully I just find Marvel to be much more interesting; they have taken a lot more chances in the last few years, (House of M, World War Hulk, Civil War, Secret Invasion, and currently, Dark Reign) and though not all of them were stories of success, they slept in the bed they made. DC on the other hand, well, they just don't take chances, (Infinite Crisis, Countdown, and Final Crisis) they promise big changes, and yet the status quo hardly seems compromised. Earth was transformed into Apokolips, and yet where is the aftermath for that in any of DC's titles?? And the ballsy move that DC recently made a la Batman R.I.P. well, that storyline was a complete waste of time, and they didn't even kill him at the end. In fact he "died" in issue 6 of Final Crisis (because apparently now Darkseid's omega beams no longer actually kill people, they just leave behind a smoking corpse while at the same time transporting the target into Earth's past. No, they didn't use a condom when they mind-fucked any of us and we should probably all get ourselves checked).

Even if you aren't the biggest Marvel fan, and for a while I really wasn't I was far more entrenched on the DC side of the equation, you've got to give it up to them for sticking to their guns. After poorly conceived stories like House of M (I mean, the X-Men universe STILL feels the ramifications of that storyline TODAY. And that's like 5 years later, which is essentially a lifetime in the comic industry). And once again, via New Avengers, Marvel is shaking up the status quo. AGAIN! And this time their sights are on the universe of magic and one institution of the Marvel universe that hasn't seen a significant change in years; the sorcerer supreme. That's right, there's a new magical mamajama in town, and it'll knock your pants off. And simply because I think it's fucking rad, I'm gonna say who it is. If you don't want to know then do not read the next sentence. The new sorcerer supreme is Brother Voodoo. Look me in the eye and tell me that isn't awesome. I'm not going to say anything else about this simply because it was revealed on the last page, and who knows, it could be a trick, but I like the concept if it's for real. Time will tell. Elektra Dark Reign deserves honorable mention; it has been great so far, in fact, all the Dark Reign stuff is really really good. Now is a great time to be a Marvel fan.

On the flip side the book I was really excited to read in the DC universe was Green Lantern. That is the exception to the rule in the DCU simply because it's written by DC's best writer, Geoff Johns. Green Lantern is certainly the place to be, especially this summer when Blackest Night kicks off, and so far the two Lantern titles have been amping the whole war of lights up big time. In Green Lantern we're currently being introduced to Agent Orange, guardian of the orange light. The light of avarice and greed. So far I've found the Orange lanterns to be the least interesting of the new lantern corps introduced thus far, and I have a feeling that Agent Orange won't play an overly significant role in the upcoming war, which is fine by me. I was also looking forward to reading the newest issue of Justice Society because Bill Willingham, writer of my FAVORITE indy book, Fables, is taking over creative duties, and was dismayed to find a fill-in storyline by Jerry Ordway, which was fine enough, but when you're jonesing for a steak and instead you get Chinese food, an hour later you realize you're hungry again.

Finally, I was very excited to see that the new wave of Marvel minimates shipped this week and I managed to pick up the Bucky Captain America and Red Skull two-pack, though the classic Iron Man with AIM Agent was arguing a strong case. I may have to pick that one up on my Sunday comic run.

By the way, for those of you who may be wondering, yes I've already finished reading this weeks released, I finished like 5 hours ago. I don't mess around.

God, We Have Good Times.

This is the first post in an ongoing series of posts all sharing the name God, We Have Good Times. Whenever I get together with my group of friends (and you could set a watch to this) Ryan says, "God, we have good times". And we do. In fact, some of the best times of my life. I've never laughed so hard, debated so much, and felt so accepted in my life. Many would probably look at us as a group of misfits, and in some ways we are. I look back at my childhood and, in particular, middle school was difficult; being a boy who had no interest in sports and would rather spend his recess reading made me a target for all of the jock-wannabes and so-called "popular" kids. I'm 24 now and people ask me, why do you still read comic books? Why do you still collect action figures? Even my parents don't fully understand that, for me, comics are about so much more than just a desperate attempt to cling to an element of my childhood. It's because, for all intents and purposes, through all of those times I was bullied and picked on, comics were a realm I could escape to, where it was cool to be different, and, as lame as this may sound, The X-Men and the Fantastic Four and all of those characters were my friends. I read comics to this day not because I desperately seek to remain as childlike as possible, but because comics were what got me through some incredibly difficult times in my life and they mean so much to me that I can't even contemplate letting them go.

Now back to the topic at hand, when I get together with my friends, there's a kinship there, a mutual understanding and, I think particularly between Stacy and I, a shared past. Like me, there is nothing more holy to Stacy than comic books, and like me, he grew up being ostracized for it, and yet looking at him now, he's one of the most entertaining, creative, intelligent and hilarious people I know. He is a testament to the fact that, no matter how difficult your childhood can feel like, it's possible to grow beyond it. The tragedy of so many people's lives is their inability to let go of the past; most of them don't even realize the only one it hurts in the long run is themselves (though speaking from direct and recent experience, some people who choose not to let go of their past can be incredibly harmful to those who are simply trying to love and support them). Sufficient to say, much like I see the rest of my group of friends, I consider Stacy to be family.

So my parents have been out of town for about a week now in Hawaii, and I have the house to myself. Now, my house is very breakable, and my parents are very insular people, so I generally don't have company over too often, so when they're on vacation of course I'm going to jump at the opportunity to host as many nerd gatherings as I possibly can. Last night there was no agenda, which there usually isn't, so we spent the evening playing gamecube (with Mario tennis and Hunter: The Reckoning being the favorites of the evening), this was naturally peppered (heavily) with conversation of all things nerd, and the big topic of the evening seemed to be Wolverine Origins. Oh yes. Because I haven't said enough about that movie yet. I feel very validated in saying that, for the most part, my previously mentioned criticisms were shared by the majority of the group present, with Greg being the only naysayer (his argument that it was ultimately a good action flick; not something I'd necessarily disagree with, but it certainly wasn't a great action flick). The conversation also invariably came to Frank Miller. Now everyone in the world has that one person that, if they were presented with the opportunity, would fill-up one of those easy-shatter glass bottles full of piss and throw it at someone, well, my person is Frank Miller. I think before I did it I would eat just a whole bunch of asparagus (and I don't even like that shit) so my pee smelled really rancid, and then I would heat it up in the microwave so it was nice and warm, and then I'd just launch the bitch at Frank Miller's head and hope for the best. Extreme? I disagree. I'm not going to enter into a Frank Miller-related rant at the moment because there's plenty more blog for that, let's just leave it at I hate the man. Now the night's starting to get a little late and people are starting to get punchy and we're flipping the channel between the tail-ends of Star Trek: Insurrection and Resident Evil 3 and we're talking shop, and somehow Stacy drops the "Cock to balls.... err... I mean Kirk to Bones" joke and he lights up like a Christmas tree. It was possibly one of the best laughs I've ever seen the man have, and I choose to chalk it up to the fact that he was pretty exhausted. We start to call it a night, but before everyone leaves we have an enlightening conversation about sleepless Edmonton trips, the ambiguous sexuality of one of our mutual acqaintances, and another round of laughter inspired by a mis-communique between a dick and a nutsack. I bid everyone adieu looking in anticipation to tomorrow's festivities; it's opening night for the new Star Trek flick and we're all planning on lining up and getting our geek on. God, we have good times.

Review of X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Let me preface this review by saying I'm a HUGE X-Men fan, and like most X-Men fans, that means I love the comics from the 70's-80's, and the first two X-Men movies. The last few years of X-Men comics have done a lot to redeem the franchise since the incredibly drastic dip in quality that the X-Men took from the mid 90's until around the mid 2000's; ever since Ed Brubaker wrote the epic Messiah Complex crossover which essentially revitalized the stagnant X-Men franchise as well as Whedon's incredible characterization and humor in Astonishing, the X-Men were finally good again. Cue X-Men 3. Oh Brett Ratner, were you aware that by utilizing the concept of the X-Men properly, one would be capable of making relevant social commentary while at the same time entertaining the eye and dazzling the mind? Instead, X-Men 3 was a cornucopia of crap served within a miasma of obliviousness to the source material and disregard to the lore established within the preceding films. As a fan you feel completely disenfranchised; it's not that we need it to be the same as the comics, in fact, that would never work on film, but when the source material is completely ignored, it signifies a deep disrespect for the genre and for the fans (both the comic fans and for the average movie lover who doesn't necessarily read the comics, but appreciates the movie). When you take a concept like the X-Men, a franchise that has been used to explore sensitive topics such as bigotry, racism and genocide, and reduce it to a bunch of guys with flashy powers beating each other up, you end up disappointing an audience who's come to expect so much more but received so much less.

So on to Wolverine. Like most comic fans, I can't stand Wolverine. He's in EVERYTHING. Like, literally. He has something like 3 solo titles, he regularly appears in New Avengers, Astonishing X-Men and X-Force, and pops up very frequently in Uncanny X-Men. So sufficient to say, you get a little too much exposure to him. I was apprehensive about this movie, X-Men 3 really let me down, but my excitement was piqued at last year's San Diego Comic Con, the Mecha of the comic world (where trendwhores from all across the world flock to once a year in order to act like they're legitimate comic fans and not bandwagon hoppers) when Hugh Jackman himself made an unannounced appearance and came with raw footage in hand. From what I heard during the panel, the crowd's reaction was intensely positive and I was sufficiently stoked. Cue anticipation and an 8-month wait, and suddenly there I was standing in-line for a midnight screening for Wolverine with some of my best friends, who I shall now take the time to introduce since we will be encountering them very frequently throughout our travels. The brothers Dooks, Ryan and Stacy, two of my closest buds who I share a love for comics, Star Wars, Transformers and much, much more with (Stacy being the other out of the group who truly gives me a run for my money when it comes to comic knowledge, and Ryan, a veritable Star Wars guru). The lovely Yrol, a movie fanatic with a deeply ingrained love for all things Star Wars, and one of the more enthusiastic and compassionate women I've ever encountered. Cam, the one other person in the group who loves the X-Men as much as I do, Kris, our wayward friend from Banff who is an unparalleled costumer, and Kayla, new to our group but a Star Wars fan through and through who also seems to love Harry Potter for some misguided reason (I kid! Sorta.) And, I'm not gonna lie, it was hard staying stoked because, honestly, Yrol and I were the only ones who were really excited to see the movie. Everyone else was just sorta meh. So finally the doors open and we race in (naturally we were the first in line, because that's how we roll) and we were able to secure our favorite seats, second row from the top and center. I was equally as stoked for the coming attractions because I had heard that the new Transformers trailer, as well as the new Terminator trailer were attached, so imagine my disappointment when neither was shown. I would soon discover that this would not be the first time I was let down that evening.

Before I go any further, I'm going to try to do this without mentioning too many spoilers, but if you haven't seen it yet then it might be a good idea to stop reading here. Just sayin'. So it gets about half an hour in, and I'm hooked. The childhood scene at the beginning was great, and the scenes that flashed during the credits of Wolverine and Sabretooth during the American Civil War, and the First and Second World Wars were fantastic (and man, was I crossing my fingers for a Nick Fury and the Howling Commandos nod, which sadly didn't come, but would have made my head explode), and their subsequent recruitment into Weapon X by Stryker had me hooked. Even the maskless Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds, was forgivable because he was just so badass (he cuts a bullet in half with a sword! Look me in the face and tell me that isn't awesome!). So Wolverine becomes disenfranchised with the whole bloodthirsty killer thing and quits the team, moves back to Canada, and shacks up with the super hotty, Silverfox. And let me tell you, their chemistry was not only believable, but incredibly touching. And up until this point I was impressed, they'd managed to take a character that I wasn't particularly fond of, and made me care about him. And that's when the ass fell out of the whole thing. Without going into gritty detail, Wolverine quickly fell into the exact same trap that X-Men 3 fell into; pointlessly throwing in X-Men characters that added no value to the story, and a vacant and almost directionless ending that fell very short of expectation. The final fight scene was so anti-climactic, that it took me right back to Iron Man, which was an amazing movie, with a really bad final fight between Iron Man and Iron Monger. I mean, with Wolverine, the whole movie was about his relationship with Sabretooth; wouldn't it have made more sense to have the giant slobber-knocker be between Wolverine and Sabretooth, not Wolverine and (quite possibly) the worst thing that came out of that entire movie? I mean, the "Deadpool" of mutant powers, really? These are the ideas that Hollywood finds valuable?

Now look, I'm trying so hard not to be one of those Internet fanboys who hates everything, because I really don't. It actually hurts me so much more because the first half of the movie had so much depth, so much integrity, and so much promise, and to see it take such a heartrending turn for the worse was difficult to swallow. I hope and pray that the average moviegoer who pays his $12 ticket price finds value in the movie, but for me, knowing and loving the X-Men franchise as much as I do, I just can't bring myself to like it. If you're a fan of the X-Men, then I recommend going and seeing it and forming your own opinion of the prequel, and if you just want to go see a really great action flick, I suggest waiting until May 21st for Terminator Salvation, which will surely knock your socks off! :o)

Get to know me, start to love me. Let's face it, we know where this is going.

So this is my first blog entry. Ever. Honestly, what have I signed myself up for? What kind of long-term commitment have I agreed to? Will this be where I dedicate the few free hours I have each week? I mean, let's face it, we're all busy people and yet for some reason, there are those of us (humans, that is) who find a deeply intrinsic gratification in being able to share their feelings, thoughts and opinions with the world. But who honestly cares? Moment of truth: I'm 24, and before you all remind me that "I'm still young" and that I "still have my whole life ahead of me" let me share something with you. Most of my closest friends are between 9-13 years older than me, and I love each and every one of them to death, but they never fail in their efforts to remind me that I'm still "just a baby". I've buried friends and loved ones; I've had my heart broken into so many pieces that there were days I thought I would never be okay again, so I'm 24 but that doesn't make me naive, nor does it mitigate my life experiences. And as I've grown older I've started to wonder how much of myself will be left behind when my time is up. I've never been one for keeping a diary or a journal, and I often forget my camera, so documenting my time with pictures usually isn't an option. So Blogger, that's where you come in, and my mission statement reads as follows: this is what it's like to be a 24-year-old male who has no idea what he wants to do with his life and absolutely no plan for getting there.
This blog is about my love for comic books, my passion for collecting nerd paraphernalia, and my personal experiences with being a nerd, but it will also explore my personal life, my job, my education, my friends and family, and my love life, and my goal is to be as subjective as possible. I won't try to cast myself as a hero if I most certainly play the villain in a particular event, because at the end of the day I'm human, and I make mistakes. But most importantly, this is for me. I'm not writing this blog for anyone else but myself. If you chose to take this journey into my very mundane life with me, know that I appreciate the company, but that I do not require it. I will continue to post on here as long as I find personal value in doing so. That said, here I go into the great unknown...