"Superior Iron Man" Is Fascinating--A Mini-Run Review of issues #1-8

Iron Man, Minus the Moral-Compass

"The Superior Iron Man" is a series written by Tom Taylor that has had a variety of artists contributing a solid look. It is a fascinating comic (that admittedly started slowly but now is firing on all cylinders) in that it takes Tony Stark and essentially amps-up his less desirable attributes to absurd levels. He's still a genius, but now he's self-absorbed, thinks he's better than everyone, and still wants to save the world, but has methods for doing so that are dangerous at best and evil at worst. Basically--as the letters section mentions in the seventh issue--taking the swagger Robert Downey Jr. brings to the role, but leaving out the personality element of actually caring about people. So yeah, Iron Man, minus the moral compass. It makes for a Tony Stark who truly does think he is superior.

How did we get to this new, more self-absorbed Iron Man? Well, the series has made allusions in the earlier issues to the fact that Tony Stark had his personality warped (readers may recall the mostly unremarkable "Axis" event that made heroes kind-of evil and villains sorta good) and it has stayed that way even if most other folk reverted back to their original personality. Thankfully, one does not need to have read that event to follow-along with this series.

This Stark is not one we empathize with, it is one who disgusts us but at the end of the day we kind of envy. Yes, he's a jerk. Yes, he's rude and believes he's smarter than everyone else. Oh, and yes, his "Ends justify the means" way of thinking is arguably dangerous, but man if this Tony Stark isn't a hoot to watch with his wild actions and even sharper-than-usual wit.

The series opened with Stark relocating to San Francisco and debuting a new "App" that allows anyone who uses it to have their genes essentially altered by Extremis to have great health and look gorgeous. The problem is this app costs a lost of money, and has led to an uptick in crime.

 From this problem we saw Daredevil/Matt Murdock enter the scene, be teased with getting his vision back, and then the arc ending with Tony wiping his friends mind of a shocking discovery about the app (it doesn't really do anything, Tony put Extremis in the water supply). This sounds harsh, but Stark could have let Matt fall to his death at one point and that twinge of humanity maybe left in Stark resulted in him saving his friend's life.

It is actually those little hints that Stark isn't all bad that keeps him from appearing to be a villain, even if he is clearly not a hero.

Not Quite a Villain. Definitely Not a Hero.

Early on in the series we are introduced to "Teen Abomination," a young monster-boy named Jamie who keeps trying to attack Stark until Tony finds out he is just 13 and has a recently deceased Mother. Tony says he'll help Jamie but later fully admits he was thinking of just taking advantage of Jamie's condition and how to make money off of it. That was his plan at least until he discovered the boy's birth-father happens to be none other than Stark's close friend Happy Hogan, who died not too long ago. With this Stark says he actually will help Jamie, as that friend was one of the few people he maybe truly cared about. Again, not a hero, but not exactly a villain.

Things get even more interesting in the most recent issues, where it is revealed how Tony's on-again off-again girlfriend Pepper Potts has been working with a computer back-up of his mind in an effort to possibly "fix" him. The thing is, even this mental back-up of Tony poses a danger to society, and with the end of issue #8 it appears the real Tony is going to take some extreme measures to make sure any plans he has to improve the world are not disrupted.

This involves Stark appearing to use mind control on a local partying-populace so as to fight against robo-Tony. Okay, that is actually pretty villain-like, but it still makes for good reading regardless.

Do We Love the Bad Guy?

Thinking about how much I've enjoyed "The Superior Iron Man" got me thinking about the last time I really enjoyed a Marvel comic that focused on a less-than-nice main character. That was when Rob Williams expertly wrote about Wolverine's son, Daken, up until killing him off in the series finale...well, seeming to kill him off as then the character popped-up in other comics only to eventually die--and now apparently be alive again or something? I don't know, I just like to pretend Marvel left Daken alone after Williams.

Anyways, even though they behave like horrible people, I find myself fascinated by these "heroes" who are mean people, but know it too. It just seems that seeing a "hero" behave in ways that are un-hero-like may not be new, but them feeling little remorse about it is something seen much less often. Plus, those small hints of Tony still being a nice human (saving Matt's life even if he mind-wiped him, helping Jamie/Teen Abomination as a tribute to Happy) keep him from being completely horrendous.

Tony Stark wants to save the world, but to make sure nobody can stop him hopes to buy a media empire. That's pretty wild and shows how there are anti-heroes who are all conflicted about what they do, but when you get someone borderline-evil like Daken or this Superior Iron Man who don't care they're bad people, well that is just intriguing. Stark knows people will be mad at him, and he doesn't care as long as he can control the media to keep them quiet. That's a bad-guy move, but also pretty ingenious and fun to read about.

This all begins to raise the question of if some of the, "Ends-justify-the-means," heroes we worship such as Batman are really that far removed from these so-called heroes who also go about things in questionable ways, but instead of feeling all dramatic about it just shrug their actions off and go have a drink (the newly Superior Tony Stark definitely has broken his sobriety).

The current Superior Iron Man is not the Iron Man people know and love, and even though I find him really interesting the world may not be long for this Tony Stark considering how Marvel is looking to really shake things up with their "Secret Wars" event. Still, I really have enjoyed this series about a less-caring Tony Stark, and when it ends relatively soon will look back upon it with fond memories.
4.5 out of 5 stars. (for the overall eight issues).

Rant-Reviews--Five First Issues of Random New Series

The Intro
My God, it really has been forever since I've done capsule reviews, hasn't it? The last time I engaged in "true" miniaturized reviews was back in May of 2013 when  I spent a day discussing Marvel comics in the Morning and other publishers in the Afternoon/Evening.

Perhaps I haven't done much in the way of capsule reviews because I've enjoyed  giving more detailed thoughts on certain comics. Maybe I haven't done mini-reviews because I read fewer titles. Perhaps I just didn't feel like it.

Whatever the reason I haven't done these sorts of reviews for awhile. However, because I have recently read a bunch of "first issues" of various series (or mini-series) I thought I would share my thoughts on them in somewhat bite-sized form. None of the comics were bad by any means, but some definitely were great and others just  good. Keep reading to see what I mean...

The Reviews
Loki: Agent of Asgard #1
For quite some time Loki has been written by Kieron Gillen, who sort of rehabilitated the character's image from being a simple one-dimensional bad-guy into the youthful trickster we know and love. From the re-booted "Journey Into Mystery" to his shenanigans in the amazingly-awesome (and sadly just-ended) "Young Avengers", Loki has been doing marvelous stuff thanks to Gillen and his artists. Hence, when I heard someone besides Gillen would be writing this title, Al Ewing, I had some nervousness.

I'm not familiar with much of Ewing's previous work, but have been enjoying his "Mighty Avengers" despite Greg Land's art and thought if the same quality could be carried over to this book all would be fine. Luckily, all is indeed fine and possibly even better, because "Loki: Agent of Asgard" is an incredibly fun romp discussing some of Loki's past and much of what he hopes for the present (and future). This comic has the Loki who is not evil, but more of a fun and lovable trickster. The tone hits just the right mixture of adventure, comedy, and foreboding with a surprising twist at the end,  making for a comic that had me wondering what I was all worried about. This is a wonderful first issue and shows that maybe there are some fresh ideas in the "House of Ideas"/Marvel after all.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Royals: Masters of War #1
This comic basically asks, "What if Royalty, in addition to having everything, also had super-powers?" and then runs with the idea. We have some exposition explaining to us how throughout time Kings, Queens, and their offspring from various nations have had super-abilities, but things are currently at a point in World War II where it is agreed no such powers will be used. At least, that is the case until one of the royal sons gets fed-up with all the pointless death and destruction, and takes action...which then sets us up for future issues which will undoubtedly have lots of fighting between royal-folk who have powers.

Rob Williams (who wrote the awesome "Daken" comics I loved a bit ago) turns in a sturdy script and the art by Simon Coleby makes everything look "grounded" enough that there isn't too much of a disconnect between the 1940's atmosphere and people with the ability to fly--it probably helps no one is wearing a bright costume or such. This is a solid comic, but it hints at much more interesting things coming than which actually occur in this issue. In other words, it is good enough for a flip-through but maybe it'll read better in trade with the whole story collected.
3 out of 5 stars.

The Bunker #1
Writer Joshua Hale Fialkov and artist Joe Infurnari have a story here that is a strange mixture of science-fiction, young-adult drama, and a dash of horror. Basically, a group of good friends (some of whom are couples) stumble upon a mysterious bunker when going out to put away a time capsule before they all split up for their various jobs and such they now have. Inside the bunker they discover messages from their future selves that warn how they are going to be responsible for the near-destruction of the Earth. The question now becomes if these letters will help them avoid the mass-death and violence they seem destined for, or only ensure the horrible things we see in the mixture of past-and-present storytelling come true for sure. It is all pretty trippy.

The science-fiction aspects of the story are evident, where I get the feeling of hints of horror would be in how the characters are freaking out and trying to run away from this dark destiny almost as if they were the same youths in a slasher film attempting to dash away from a chain-saw wielding maniac. Plus, the horrible things we hear about and see are almost more scary than any monster could ever be--if only because the idea of humanity almost being wiped out the way the story describes sounds so eerily plausible (and no, I won't spoil just what puts humankind near the brink of extinction, finding out is part of the fun). This comic has a fascinating concept, plays out interestingly, and I wonder just where things will be going next.
4 out of 5 stars.

X-Force #1
This is an odd one. The art is by someone I don't recall ever seeing the work of before, Rock-He Kim, and it is a new "X-Force" comic, kind-of spinning out the previous two that ran for a bit. The odd part is that with Si Spurrier is writing it, there is a quirky and slightly-absurd tone, but Rock-He Kim's art style reminds me of the excessively muscular and tough-style comics of the 1990's. Therefore, it is almost like a tonal clash between the writing and art. Spurrier is pretty much done now with "X-Men Legacy", and that too had a somewhat off-kilter style, but the art matched it. I just feel kind of strange reading dialogue and captions that seem to be a tonal 180 degrees from the art.

The thing is though, it kind of actually almost works. The story is interesting, and the art isn't bad so much as giving me flashbacks to 20 years ago; the weird mashing-up may give a reader weird feelings, but I still liked the comic plenty. I just wonder if Rock-He Kim would be better served on a more serious straight-up action comic and Spurrier would be more complimented by an artist in the vein of his previous collaborators on "X-Men Legacy". I may just really miss "Legacy" however and be trying to imagine this comic being something it's not because as I've said before, "X-Men Legacy" is/was a really, really good comic. This isn't a really good comic, but it is a good one and I'm interested in seeing where Spurrier will be taking the plot and if eventually the art will feel like it meshes better with the tone. We shall see. Oh, and I give Spurrier bonus respect for remembering something most writers forget, that Fantomex likes to pretend he is French and speak with an accent.
3.5 out of 5 stars (the extra .5 is for remembering the accent for Fantomex).

The Fuse #1
As with "The Bunker" this is a science-fiction comic, but this one isn't scary so much as an example of what could occur if you mixed a police-procedural with a futuristic spaceship tons of people live upon. Antony Johnston writes about a gigantic piece of metal floating in space where life sounds kind of miserable, and the idea of a cop volunteering to work there--as one of our protagonists named Dietrich has--sounds utterly absurd. There is humor (much of it from the grizzled old detective, Klem, she isn't one for beating around the bush), some action, and of course a mystery that needs solving and which will hopefully be figured out successfully by our investigators.

While this comic does a good job of establishing our main characters, they do come off as a bit one-dimensional. Klem is older and sarcastic, and Dietrich is serious and clearly a talented officer, but what else is there to them? I also feel as if readers don't really get a feel for what life is like for people who live on the Fuse, or why exactly it is supposedly such a bad place. Perhaps later issues will delve into those matters more, but as it stands now this is a comic that has a great concept and some quality storytelling. The thing that will determine if this is truly an awesome comic is how interesting the current mystery (and future ones) turn out to be, and if there is more to Klem and Dietrich than initially meets the eye.
3 out of 5 stars.

The Closing
A variety of comics have debuted lately, and it is encouraging to see many of them are good as opposed to boring junk. Perhaps I've just been lucky enough to not stumble across a particularly bad comic lately, but we all know they are lurking out there.

I suppose the key is to be open to examining new things, because you never know what fascinating comic you may find. Of course, should a comic be so good you want to get all future issues you may need to cut something else if you are on a tight budget like myself, but so is life.

I hope these new capsule reviews were enjoyable enough to make up for their lack of appearances for some time, and maybe I'll get more up in the future before as much time has passed. I guess the key is there being enough comics I want to talk about, but not do too in-depth with. We will see.

The Unnecessary Return Of Daken.

If you've been reading my blog, you know I feel Daken's series became amazing when Rob Williams took over. You also know the series ended with Daken dying in the best possible way to tell his story. I discuss all this here.

Now then, if you've been reading Uncanny X-Force you know that a new Evil Brotherhood of mutants has emerged recently, and who is there helping lead it? Daken. God-damn it Marvel, you couldn't even let him stay dead for a year?

"I was dead? Little ol' me? You don't say!"

I know his death was slightly mysterious, the story said he made it that way on purpose so people would always wonder, "What if?" Now you just go and show him alive and kicking. Why? We've gotten a few interesting moments between he and Evan/Genesis/The Possible New Apocalypse. In the latest issue we have a neat scene where Sabertooth basically says he wants to be Daken's adoptive father in a sense...it's all well and good, but Daken was better off dead. I'm disappointed in Marvel and writer Rick Remender. That's all I've really got to say on the matter.

It's still a really good comic though.

How Wolverine's Son Daken--When Written By Rob Williams--Both Defied Heroic Tradition And Ended His Series In the Best Way Possible

Intro--Evil To The End

Daken has been a complex character. The last issue of his series came out some weeks ago, and I've had time to think about Daken, and how he's been pretty much unlike any other "hero" character in that he was born evil, stayed evil, and died unrepentant. The evil son of Wolverine, Daken was at first presented to us as a character we were supposed to think of as being super-cool but the more Marvel tried to make him awesome the harder he was to like. Then he had his own series launched with Daniel Way that made him a bit better, but it wasn't until Rob Williams took over the character on issue #9.1 (yeah, they gave it a .1 to segue) that something magical happened--Daken and his series became one of my favorite comics.

The One Change We Needed
Rob Williams essentially just changed one thing with Daken, he quit making us trying to think Daken was, "all that." Daken still thought he was incredible, awesome, and the best, but Williams now wrote him in a way where we saw this wasn't true, it was a glaring character flaw. This one change made the comic a fascinating character study. Daken came out to LA, got himself a boyfriend (Daken was bisexual, so yah for diversity but boo for the trend of always making bisexuals bad guys) and set about planning to take over the city as he did another one called Madripoor earlier in his series. However, unlike his taking over of Madripoor we now were seeing Daken not as a bad-ass, but as a man with a complex about his father who had convinced himself he was the best even though he really wasn't.

Daken got hooked on a drug called Heat that could actually beat his healing factor, and this made him even more interesting--as the character that for a long time was shown to be infallible was finally slipping up. He met a fellow sociopath named Donna Kiel, but with the difference being that she used her dark side for the FBI. When bodies started turning up seeming to have been killed by Daken he tried to solve the mystery with her, but not because he felt he was a hero--he did it because he thought the idea of him going on drug-fueled kill-binges was below him and it must be a set-up. It turned out it was and his boyfriend was behind the murders, getting Daken hooked on Heat, and otherwise causing a lot of trouble. Daken and Kiel took down his now-ex with the help of some other heroes, but when he tried to fully bring her over to his dark side of killing people she turned on him, showing he truly is just a lonely sociopath that can't be related to. This put Daken on his final mission--ruin things for his daddy.

If You Can't Live Up to Him, Destroy Him
That's what this has really been about. Daken tried as hard as he could to be unique and separate himself from Wolverine, but he's always in his father's shadow. Even when confronted by another hero named Moon Knight who with his multiple personalities thinks he's Wolverine (long story, must run with), Daken flips out and attacks the man--even though he says he knows full well it's Moon Knight a part of him just wants to attack the part claiming to be his father, even if it's just a hero's psychosis.

Daken is in LA trying to be a criminal kingpin, be unique, not be anything like his dad...but once he's rejected by the only woman he ever felt came close to him in amazing-ness, and sees LA can't really be his due to another actual kingpin, Daken figures he's going to do whatever he can to take his dad down a notch.

So Daken plants bombs outside of super-hero bases/mansions/buildings and tries to whip New York into a frenzy about their heroes....but they never were big on heroes, so what's it matter? All the heroes show up to stop him, and when he asks his dad if he wants to know why he even did this Wolverine just tells him, "No."

That, "No," must really piss Daken off, as his father is the one man he's always wanted to both destroy and in some ways impress. I'm amazed though, because here we are in the last issue of Daken's series because it got cancelled and he's staying evil, this isn't going to be the usual cape-comics cop-out of redemption. Then this happens:

He holds his father...tells him he's sorry. It's sweet. I should hate it, but I don't. Daken has been so evil, so bad, and maybe just maybe he feels something human...but no:

Daken reveals he planted one last huge bomb at Wolverine's school...and then he blows himself up, leaving behind nothing to bury, so everyone always wonders, "Is he really dead?" In a true mocking of super-hero tradition.

By the way, Wolverine rushes home for that last bomb to discover Daken left nothing more than a Wolverine little doll, the last ultimate "up-yours" to the father he never could equal, but who also was unable to make his son something more than a villain.

This Was All Just So Stellar, And Defies Tradition
Perhaps having his series cancelled was actually a good thing for Daken, this is the one time it actually helped a character. Had he lived too long Marvel maybe would have wanted to redeem him, make him learn a lesson and become a good guy. This way Daken goes out the way he always was, unapologetic in how he is just plain evil.

This may be the best writing of Rob Williams career, and I applaud both him and Marvel for letting Daken end the way he started--a bad guy. In the future there may be urges to bring him back for some reason, but this was just so wonderful and perfect a way to end the story of Daken that he should just be left alone. Don't try to make him a hero or something awful like that. Daken was just amazing once Williams took over and while I'm sad its over, the way it ended was pitch-perfect. You killed it Marvel, drop the mic and walk off the stage, never to touch Daken again.
5 out of 5 stars (for #23 and the whole run in general)

NOTE: If you want to read Williams amazing run you need issues #9.1-#23. So far this has been collected in, "Daken: Dark Wolverine: Big Break (issues #9.1-12) and "Daken: Dark Wolverine: The Pride Comes Before The Fall (#13-19). I believe the last book is called, "Lost Weekend (#20-23). Trust me, you should read them, even if you don't know squat about Daken. You really don't need to know much about him to enjoy these.

Rant-Reviews--Evil,Vigilantes, Arm-Breaking, Old-School Formats, And Last Issues.

Let's Start The Reviewing

Daken: Dark Wolverine #22
Since Rob Williams took over this book it became really, really good. Therefore, that of course means it has to cancelled, and it will be as of the next issue. This issue has an interesting narrative idea of Daken trying to make people hate heroes, and putting aside how in the Marvel Universe people already seem to always hate heroes that is kind of clever. I think perhaps seeing someone being a bad guy and just being unrepentant about it is a bit refreshing in this era of anti-heroes or villains with a soft-side where even Dr. Doom has to cry about something. Plus what Daken does to Reed Richards and says to him is just pretty hardcore.
4 out of 5 stars.

The Punisher #9
Frank Castle is going to have a female side-kick. I am not that excited about this. Why? Well, Garth Ennis did a female-Punisher really well already, there apparently was a good Punisher-Painkiller Jane cross-over that did this, and ehhh. It looks good and the action was well done so that is pretty neat, and the hyper-condensed water that makes a dangerous weapon is kind of cool...and but wha? We're heading into that cross-over with Spider-Man and Daredevil now? Hmmmmm.
2.5 out of 5 stars.

Aquaman #6
Mera, Aquaman's wife, is not to be trifled with. Touch her without permission and you will get a broken arm. Also, make jokes about how she needs water and she will us her powers to dehydrate you. Basically, if you mess with her Mera will fuck you up, without question. That's sort of been the plot of the Aquaman comic in general about Aquaman himself too. Geoff Johns is being kind of clever in making our hero and his wife much more tough and not at all happy to put up with other people's B.S. Plus, Ivan Reis turns in great art. It's not an amazing comic, but it is quite enjoyable.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Crack Comics #63
Another one of Image Comics, "The Next Issue" things they put out every year or so, this is enjoyable enough. At times it seems to be a straight-up homage to classic golden-age comics, then at other points it is slightly updating them with a bit of humor or making fun of them gently. That, or being minimal and neat such as with the last tale of The Red Torpedo. For my money though, the best story is the depressing two-pager about Slap Happy Pappy. That's some harsh stuff. Overall a fun assortment of material.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Black Panther #529
The last issue of the Black Panther comic that picked up with Daredevil's numbering, and kept it when Daredevil returned with a new first issue because Marvel comics is just plain weird. Black Panther's run had some ups and downs, at times being meh and at other times being fantastic. I would say it ends decently and that friend of the blog (I interviewed him) and writer David Liss did right by the character over his tenure with T'Challa.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Nothing too horrible this time, and some quality comics. I guess life doesn't have to be a downer.

Mini-Runs Of Daken, Flashbacks To Warren Ellis' Thunderbolts, And iPad Games

I Plan To Visit An Art Show This Friday AKA Today
Yeah, I'm gonna see art tonight. Anyways, let's talk about a comic that has been just plain bonkers in terms of its story. It's been twisty, clever, and just plain delightful to read. It's called, "Daken: Dark Wolverine," and since Rob Williams started writing it some time ago its become just a treat. Speaking of treats, a big trade paperback collecting all of Warren Ellis' work on Thunderbolts came out a bit ago. Do my extremely fond memories hold up with everything put together? Yup, it's still pretty awesome. Then, how about we round things out by discussing some fun iPad games? Yeah, this is an annoyingly positive post. I'll make up for it by trying to get something up sooner than later dripping with my somewhat-usual venom.

Daken Can Be Awesome... 
When Writers Quit Trying To Make Us Think He's Awesome

Daken: Dark Wolverine #12-16
Daniel Way was writing the Daken comic, he was trying his hardest to make Daken look oh-so-cool and snazzy. Yes, Daken is a bad guy, and a scheming fellow. Trying to convince us he is some sort of awesome genuis just gets old though. Then Rob Williams came in and started writing the comic in a, "Why didn't anyone else writing Daken think of this?" way. Namely, he made it so that the comic showed Daken as continuing to think he was just the bee's knees and incredibly cool, but we the reader see how he is a pretty delusional guy with some severe daddy-issues (understandable if your Poppa was Wolverine).

Throughout the issues I randomly decided to review for this we see the end and start of some arcs, but really everything has so far been one big story with everything linking together beautifully. Oh, and did I mention that seeing as how Daken is in LA and Moon Knight is there too in his own comic it only makes sense they would cross paths? Yeah, one of my favorite heroes is in this comic too.

What has the plot been? Well, you could start with the "#.1" issue that actually successfully told a single tale and set up the current status-quo and go from there without me spoiling things...but basically Daken is trying to become a big-time Kingpin of LA while also figuring out who a mysterious serial killer is that is murdering people with claws. There is also a borderline-insane FBI agent helping him out when she isn't trying to take him down. Plus Moon Knight, Moon Knight is always good.

This series is great, and it says something that I dropped my Wolverine books during my purge of numerous Marvel books but kept this. Buy it, read it, love it.
4.5 out of 5 stars (for all the issues).

Flashback Friday: Warren Ellis' Thunderbolts

Thunderbolts: Ultimate Collection
There was the Marvel Civil War event where heroes fought heroes about having to reveal their identities and blah, blah, blah. The interesting thing is that Warren Ellis came onto a comic called Thunderbolts and took the idea that some villains would have registered as "heroes" and what it would have been like as the media tried to make them look good whilst they of course crumbled from the inside-out. It was an amazing 12 issues that took forever to come out due to delays that resulted in little one-shots by various other authors using the team on fun little missions--but Ellis was where it was at.

Ellis writing of crazy-people (and the craziest of all, Norman Osborn) combined with Mike Deodato working his hardest to turn in stellar art made just a plain great comic about what exactly heroism is, propaganda, nationalism, and of course really cool fight scenes. It was just plain fantabulous.
5 out of 5 stars

iPad Games AKA Wasting Time When You Should Be Working

I enjoy playing games on my iPad, occasionally I find some fun games worth sharing my thoughts about. Let us discuss. Oh, and note some/most of these can be done on your iPhone too, etc. etc.

Anomaly Warzone Earth
It's available on computers too, but the iPad version is just so fun! We all know "tower defense" games where you build up defenses to fight off attackers, but what about a "tower offense" game where you are those attackers? Yeah, now we're talking! This game is good fun and not too costly so I'd recommend grabbing it!
4 out of 5 stars.

Dark Meadow
Everyone has been talking about this game like its the next "Infinity Blade" and it is quite fun and good. I haven't beaten it yet so depending on how much the story pays off my score is a bit iffy. I'm enjoying myself, but if I feel let down at the conclusion, well pffft.
3.5-4 out of 5 stars depending on how well the tale ends.

ShadowGun
A fun little shooter where you take cover and fire your gun. Think Gears of War but more basic and with a really silly story but pretty good voice-acting. It's a decent time-killer.
3 out of 5 stars.

Where's My Water?
It's really cute and actually pretty challenging. You try to guide water around to assist an alligator in getting some much-needed showering done. Last I checked this was dirt cheap, and again, quite entertaining.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

That's all for now, those should tide you over pretty well though.

To Conclude
You should be reading Daken: Dark Wolverine, Warren Ellis did a great job on Thunderbolts, and the iPad is a fun way to play games even if you have an iPad 1 like me and can't do all the fancy graphics.

Rant Reviews--5 Fear Itself Tie-Ins AKA Get Your Snark On

Fear Itself hasn't been very great, and most comics that tie-in with it are dragged down in quality, so of course I want to engage in the ever-so-fun activity of reviewing comics that directly relate to the event. Yes, I'm going to be a smart-alec in my reviews of these.

Podcast Episode 11--Even Captain America Can't Stop Me From Kinda-Sorta Breaking Marvel's Heart

In this episode I am prone to digressions. I briefly touch upon the Comic-Con that occurred in San Diego, mourn the death of Borders, review the Captain America, and read Marvel a kinda-sorta break-up letter even though I'm still buying a few of their books. To close things out I review Vengeance #1(expertly written by Joe Casey) and Daken: Dark Wolverine #11 (also written superbly, by Rob Williams). What are the digressions? Well, how about rambling talk of all the Marvel movies and a discussion of gay and bisexual super-heroes? Enjoy the episode, there should be another in maybe 2 weeks and then a bit of a gap what with my moving to St Louis.

Listen Here:

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This Series Is Getting Kind Of Awesome--Daken: Dark Wolverine #11

Daken: Dark Wolverine #11
Rob Williams came on board to a series that was decent and over the course of just a few issues has turned it into something I look forward to more than any other Wolverine-related comic as of late. Now that's a quite a feat!

Rant-Reviews--Most Of These Came Out Last Week

Most of these comics came out last week but I finally got around to reading them, so I'm going to review them anyways because it hasn't been a horribly long time like almost a month...except with Heroes For Hire #8. Daken: Dark Wolverine #10, Fear Itself: The Homefront #3, Hulk #35, and Invincible Iron Man #505 are all still kind of new though. I also feel extra cynical today so get ready for some dark humor!

Well That Was Subpar--Ghost Rider #0.1

Ghost Rider #0.1
Consider me disappointed. This starts out decent enough, with Johnny Blaze giving us a fun run-down of why he is not like any other heroes, has him mocking Fear Itself when he sees it on television, and otherwise seems like a good time, even if it isn't going to measure up to the amazing run Jason Aaron had which was just stellar right out the gate. However, it gets weaker and weaker.

Rant-Reviews--Daken, Heroes You Pay, Deadpool Wants To Die, And A Rare Miss For Thunderbolts.

We' got a series of declining returns, with a really great Daken: Dark Wolverine, quite good Heroes For Hire, pretty enjoyable Deadpool, and a surprisingly mediocre Thunderbolts. Yes, they are all Marvel books, but I have something big planned for a DC character on Friday so it's cool.