Update: Been Busy

I haven't posted as much lately as I'd like to. I have a ton of stuff to read and review and I do plan to get on that. At some point regular-ish posting should resume, possibly even with a deluge of short reviews and thought pieces.

Robin? Robin? NOOOOOOO!

Attention:

I liked Damian Wayne. However, just as Grant Morrison truly brought the character into the world it seems it will be Morrison who takes him away from us. What a cruel world.

That is all.

One Sentence Summaries (of Some Recent Comics) Strikes Again!

It Begins
Back in October I tried out a new "bit" where I summarized some newer comics with one sentence. These were not reviews so much as first impressions of various comics I had read or at least skimmed enough to make a snarky comment. I found it fun so lets do it again!

One Sentence Summaries of Some Recent Comics

Bedlam #4
This comic went from being a slow-burn murder mystery to the apparent serial killer just going all-out and starting a rampage, but the comic is interesting enough I'll let the jarring change of pace slide.

Fearless Defenders #1
An entertaining comic featuring female super-heroes which proves that just because the comic's characters have two, "X," chromosomes that doesn't mean their carrying a book is an impossible task--although that lesbian kiss came off as somewhat creepy fan-service.

New Avengers #3
This is still moving a little slowly for me but we are starting to see where this syncs-up with the normal Avengers' book, plus I like how Captain America never compromises his morals unlike those other gutless folk in the Illuminati.

Justice League Dark #16
I like this comic, but feel something is missing which is preventing the book from really "clicking" for me.

All New X-Men #7 
This is good so far, but God help me the near-weekly release schedule for the comic is kind of absurd.

Thunderbolts #4
I stand by what I said about this being a good series even if people hate on it--it's an interesting book full of terrible people doing terrible things.

X-Men Legacy #5
This continues to be the best Marvel NOW book that people seem to not be reading.

Scarlet #6
Holy crap, this comic still exists after a year-or-so delay and is pretty good?

Deathmatch #2
The intrigue behind how all these characters became forced to fight each other continues to be more interesting than the fights themselves, and that's perfectly fine.

Young Romance: The New 52 Valentine's Day Special
This contains completely forgettable stories, but those Valentine's Day cards you can rip-out and keep (or give to people) are just adorable.

Daredevil: End of Days #5
If one of the apparent Daredevil replacements isn't Danielle Cage (the daughter of Daredevil's friend Luke Cage and Jessica Jones) I will be quite surprised.

Avengers #5
There is a callback to Grant Morrison's "New X-Men" which I loved but otherwise this was just a bunch of random space-junk featuring everyone's favorite forgettable aliens, the Shi'ar.

Stormwatch #17
The dysfunctional nature of this team makes The Justice League look like one big happy family.

It Ends
There we go, I hope you enjoyed my summaries and perhaps noticed that three of the comics I reviewed were written by Bendis. That guy has continually written a ton of comics for years now, I wonder when he sleeps?

DC Comics and Orson Scott Card Have Got People Angry, And I Honestly Have No Opinion...Is That Bad?

DC recently announced the various contributors to their new digital-followed-by-print anthology, "The Adventures of Superman." One of the people working on the book, Orson Scott Card, resulted in a huge amount of anger and protest followed by calls for boycotts or other such action. All of this had me asking the deep, soul-searching question, "Uh, who is this Orson Scott Card person?"

Apparently, Orson Scott Card is a sci-fi author whose work I honestly have never read (the books, the comics, any of it). Then we have Superman whom everbody knows, but Superman also is a character I generally don't read solo-adventure books of.  Therefore you end up with someone I've never read writing a character I shrug my shoulders at.

When the New 52 happened I read Grant Morrison on, "Action Comics," for seven or so issues before I realized that I was bored. Unless it's, "All Star Superman," not even Grant Morrison can get me interested in Supes by himself. Superman and the Justice League playing off each other? Sign me up! A comic focused on Lex Luthor such as the comic, "Luthor," by Azzarello & Bermejo (or the Paul Cornell run in Action Comics)? That sounds good too! You just give me Superman though, and I'm going to pass on the comic almost always--I will see the new movie though as that looks like it might be fun. This lack of interest is why it is awkward to say I don't have much of any opinion about DC getting Orson Scott Card to write a Superman story for their new digital-first-followed-by-print anthology series, "The Adventures of Superman."

 I don't have an opinion because I just completely lack any interest in Card or Superman. From what I've heard about Card he seems to be quite the jerk, working with an organization that tries to stop marriage equality and writing articles about how all gay men are bound to be child molesters or were molested themselves. That said though, I just know so little about Orson Scott Card that I don't really care what he thinks; I've never read his stuff or listened to him and lack any plan to start doing so. I would be lying to you if I said I'm not going to pick up the Superman comic as some form of protest. This is because regardless of whether the comic had Card's involvement I still would not be buying it. It's a comic about just Superman, and most of the time those don't interest me.

It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out, but really this whole business affects me and my comic-buying plans exactly 0%. Should I have more of an opinion? Does it matter that I don't? Somebody tell me, because I just don't know....or care.

Let Me Get This Straight--DC Is Actually Calling Their Event, "WTF Month"?

"WTF," indeed.

I'm going to tell you story about something that seemed like a good idea at the time but turned out to be one of the stupidest things ever attempted. I was in junior high and there was a big contest our science club entered (yes, I was in science club, I am a nerd). The idea was you had to drop a pumpkin from a certain height and have it protected enough by padding/boxes/whatever you chose that it didn't break at all.  Anyone who came up with the best design and showed it off won...something, I don't recall what. Anyways, we all came up with ideas in our science-club groups and one group decided they had the most genius concept of all. They wouldn't put the pumpkin in a box or something. No, they would get something really light such as a milk crate, place the pumpkin in it, and then outfit the milk crate with various complex parachutes that would result in the pumpkin floating to the ground from the 500-feet-or-so it was dropped completely unharmed. The crate would not have a lid, packing peanuts, or anything that could cause it to weigh more than the pumpkin and its parachutes. In other words, there was nothing to protect the pumpkin but this:

You probably sense things aren't going to end well.

The day came when we tested our designs out and the local fire station was kind enough to send one of their trucks over. Each team got in the fire-ladder, it would go up to the requisite height, and we would drop another teams box (this was to prevent any sort of cheating or something, I guess...although how you could cheat at this I don't know). I had the honor of taking the milk-crate pumpkin up and dropping it with the rest of my team. The group who had assembled it were looking proud. Yes, their pumpkin would gently come down to the ground utterly unharmed and they would look awesome, or so they thought.

The fire-ladder reached the required height, my team held the box over the edge, and things got ugly. The crate immediately flipped upside-down as we tried to let go and the pumpkin fell out. About 3 seconds later a loud, "POP," was heard as the pumpkin hit the ground and shattered into more pieces than all the King's horses and all the King's men could ever put back together. A split-second later the pumpkin was followed by the milk crate which had failed to deploy its parachutes even without a pumpkin inside it.

What had seemed like a good idea at the time was in fact one of the worst thoughts ever dreamed of. If only someone on that team had said, "Hey, maybe this won't work," something could have been done to prevent the tragedy that befell the pumpkin that day. No one did anything though, so when the team debuted their "genius" design and it failed spectacularly, all we could really do was ask, "What were they thinking?" and proceed to clean up the countless bits of pumpkin that had scattered everywhere.

I'm telling you this story because DC is doing something that I bet within their offices seemed like a good idea when they thought it up. No one in the office said, "Hey, maybe this isn't the best plan," so DC kept things going and before you could say, "Uh oh," they had announced, "WTF Month," for April's comics, and the metaphorical pumpkin had fallen out of the milk crate.

Within any of the mainstream DC titles you cannot under any circumstance have a character say, "Fuck," unless it is bleeped/blacked-out/etc. Sure, the Vertigo books can have all the swearing and nipples they want, but Superman won't be dropping F-bombs anytime soon. Therefore, I ask you to let me get this straight, DC is actually calling a month of their comics, "WTF Month?" For those who don't know, that stands for, "What The Fuck?" Generally this is used negatively, but DC apparently feels that with this month of comics that feature special, "gatefold covers," people will be so shocked when they fold the cover open to reveal the surprise they will exclaim, "Oh fuck, DC, you got me you motherfucker, what the fuck?" in one loud sentence of harsh expletives. Besides my finding it funny DC actually is encouraging people to pick up their comic, reveal the full cover, and swear loudly in front of everyone in their comic store (some folk whom may be children or not appreciate random cursing), I think that actually saying your comics are, "WTF Certified," or whatever is pretty stupid.

Saying, "fuck," generally just comes off as crass. If someone swears all the time you kind of think they have bad manners or are trying too hard to look tough or cool. DC does not allow the word, "fuck," to be uttered within any of the comics they are dedicating their, "WTF month," to this April, which makes this seem even worse because it is as if DC is trying to have their swear-cake and eat it too without suffering any consequences of using the f-word (with said consequences being people not picking up their comic for the children DC claims to be targeting more since the reboot). 

Anyone I have spoken with or read the words of on the internet seems to think this is a stupid idea. Do note I'm not saying having shocking covers is a bad idea. That could be a cool promotion that gets someone to pick up a comic they don't normally read, see the surprise when they fold the comic out, and maybe even buy said comic out of curiosity. However, actually calling this idea, "WTF month," is idiotic beyond belief. The pumpkin has hit the ground, but this time instead of a marvelous explosion we've just gotten a, "thud," of disbelief.

I'm sorry DC, but you've lost the pumpkin-dropping contest for the upcoming month of April.

Film Friday: A Soderbergh Trifecta

Soderbergh himself, in a recent photo from early 2013.

Opening Scene
Steven Soderbergh has directed numerous films with such varying tones it is amazing. Some directors find a genre, niche, what-have-you, and stick with it their entire career. Soderbergh, however, just makes whatever movie he damn well feels like--be it an Ocean's 11 remake, a flick about a high-end prostitute ("The Girlfriend Experience,") or one of the three films I'm going to discuss.

Soderbergh has said he is quitting/retiring/done with movies. He might do television, perhaps work on a play, but he's finished with the movies, and his newest release today, "Side Effects," may very well be the last movie we ever see from him (I hope it isn't). I haven't seen, "Side Effects," but I have seen other films that Soderbergh has directed, and I'm going to discuss the three that I feel are worth talking about. The movies are, "The Informant!" "Contagion," and yes, "Magic Mike."

Fun Watching Films
One thing I want to mention first, Damon is great in the two movies of these three he appears in. Both, "The Informant!" and, "Contagion," have Matt Damon involved, (although he gets more screen-time in, "The Informant!") and both of the movies have his characters in over their heads. Whether Damon is trying to eek out a deal with the government about his company's price-fixing or dealing with the death of his wife and son things sure aren't easy for him. Of course, in Contagion the big baddie is the virus and society's eagerness to panic, whereas in, "The Informant," by the time we reach the end it seems the most shady of everyone was in fact Damon's character.

Don't let the charming face fool you, this guy is weaselly.

While, "The Informant!" was a great movie it didn't seem to get as much press as the other two movies, which is why I can sort of link, "Contagion," and "Magic Mike," together. You see, the existence of these films themselves sparked our imagination, sometimes more than even the movies did. "Contagion," had everyone talking about how scary it is to imagine a virus like the one on the silver-screen. Picture something suddenly forming and coming close to destroying society, it is scary. "Magic Mike," had people talking because, well, women liked the idea of seeing a movie about a bunch of half-naked men, especially if one of them is Channing Tatum. Soderbergh subverts expectations with both movies in a way, however.

"Contagion, "the movie that had everyone washing their hands.

In "Contagion," some of the, "best," characters either die or have their story-line end with enough unanswered questions even their survival is in doubt--the more morally grey characters or out-and-out sleazeballs such as Jude Law's character manage to get out relatively unscathed--that's quite a change in the idea of the hero always winning the day. "Magic Mike," surprises you because underneath its glossy exterior of male strippers is an interesting story about human beings who are horribly flawed but trying their best to make life something that can be withstood. Seriously, pretty much none of the characters in, "Magic Mike," are particularly endearing, but they are fascinating nonetheless (Matthew Mcconaughey reminds us in this flick that if he's given a good role he actually can act the Hell out of it). Also, for a movie about male strippers, "Magic Mike," has a ton of female nudity--its almost as if Soderbergh realized some straight men would get dragged along to the movie who didn't care about his masterful storytelling in all his films, so he threw them a bone in the form of Olvia Munn's breasts .

Soderbergh went from a movie about how touching anything could be deadly to a film about half-naked men grinding on women. There's something interesting to that.

"Contagion," and "Magic Mike," both have the concept of time passing as an important aspect of the films too. In, "Contagion," we see how the virus spreads from Day 1 of its existence in a human to the bitter end of when a vaccine is finally created. "Magic Mike," shows us what life is like over a period of some months for our characters, with all the ups-and-downs of living that a month can entail. However, while, "Magic Mike," is more of study of just Tampa and its inhabitants, "Contagion," is a global experience of seeing how the world exists and falls into disarray. "The Informant!" involves the flow of time too, as we see Damon go from 30 or so years ago to near-present day.

Another thing linking these three movies is how Soderbergh always manages to get a stellar performance out of his actors. "The Informant!" has a ton of known and lesser-known comedians among its cast, but in a clever occurrence Soderbergh does not have them all necessarily being funny so much as he does just have them be normal people. Seeing Joel McHale not cracking jokes is a bit weird, but it illustrates that these folk have range beyond telling jokes. "Contagion," is just stock-full of amazing performances, from Matthew Damon to Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard to Brian Cranston, Laurence Fishburn to Jude Law, and Kate Winslet to Chin Han. "Magic Mike," also succeeds with its characters be it the aforementioned Mcconaughey being a huge jerk, Alex Pettyfer as the headstrong stripping-newbie, or Channing Tatum as the man who knows he's getting too old for stripping but has limited options--and seriously, getting Channing Tatum to do a good job acting is pretty hard; the man may look amazing but his acting tends to be a bit under-cooked.

Joel McHale is in a comedy movie, yet has a serious role. Interesting, no?

Soderbergh also is great with how he gets the, "look," in his movies. "Contagion," often seems to have a sharp, sickly color, and "Magic Mike," has a strange haze-y look much of the time except for the scenes that take place within the strip club itself, where the picture gets bright and clear, as if Soderbergh is saying everything inside the club is hyper-real and memorable while outside life for the characters is just more-so a blur. "The Informant!" has a variety of hues but mainly I didn't notice anything in particular about the lighting or shades that stood out. Yes, Soderbergh gets so much right in his movies. From the way it looks, to the acting, interesting stories, and whatever else he does to make all his films as enjoyable as they are.

Closing Credits
Steven Soderbergh has done a lot of work, and much of it has been great. This little exercise in discussing three of his films has been fun and shows that despite the immense differences in each flick he creates there tends to be things that unify them in some sense or the other. Soderbergh saying he is basically done with film makes me sad, but also has me wondering what fascinating things he could be cooking up next in whatever career he chooses to pursue. I'm eager to see what happens, aren't you?

Why I Can't In Good Faith Purchase the New Simcity Game AKA Damn You, DRM!

Excitement Gives Way to Upset
When I first heard about there being a new SimCity game in development I was ecstatic.

To this day I still boot up my copy of SimCity 4 (with the Rush Hour expansion installed too, of course) and play it. I get a nerdy thrill from connecting my various cities' residential locations, industrial zones, and commercial-shopping areas. Having a perfectly balanced budget whilst maintaining the health & education of my population gives me an indescribable thrill. I'll even admit how I feel the weirdest sense of satisfaction from getting my population to switch from cars to using my majestic public-transit systems. Yes, I love SimCity 4 and would declare it one of my favorite games ever.

Hearing about a new SimCity that would be amazingly deep and potentially even more enjoyable just had me going nuts...then the news broke about the requirement that the game always had to be connected to the internet. My enthusiasm deflated so quickly you could have sworn you'd heard a balloon pop.

It Just Doesn't Make Sense
Games get pirated, but treating your paying customers as if they are pirates doesn't solve the problem. If your game could be played as a single-player experience why would you make it a requirement for a person to always be online? Diablo 3 has this rule and after a horrendous launch with servers crashing to a point people couldn't play the damn game there still is controversy about that stupid rule.

Therefore, even with SimCity having the online economy, the ability to play with friends, and all that jazz, why not offer some of us the ability to play in our own little sandbox that doesn't impact the "normal world"? I don't want the internet-community price of oil or whatever to impact my little land, just let it exist on its own. To hear claims that being online all the time is a computing requirement because the game is so powerful...that just boils my blood. You don't need all that power if you're offline, as has been pointed out.

Being forced to always have an internet connection is the most insidious form of DRM (also known by the seemingly-innocent name of, "Digital Rights Management"). I understand wanting people to have a code they enter once to play a game. I get a bit upset when every single time they boot up the game it has to verify with the internet it is a legitimate copy. I become outraged when you have to always be online to even play the thing as a single-player. I'm playing a game by myself, why do I have to be connected to the web unless I start bringing friends in?

Also, what if with one of these always-online games the company decided the game no longer made enough money some years in the future and shut the servers down? That is a risk people take with online games, but because it is thought your game no longer is worth running the servers for it becomes impossible to play the single-player mode? Imagine that happening.

Opting-Out
This always-online requirement for SimCity is just a deal-breaker for me. It treats players as if they are criminals, is a pain if I ever want to play the game and my internet is down (or I'm somewhere with no internet), and is just something I can't in good faith support however-slightly by purchasing this new SimCity game. Until EA and Maxis make it so that you no longer have to be connected to the internet to play this II shall not be buying it, even if I get the best computer ever to play it and reviews rave over it.

I often support GOG because they sell great games with no DRM. I can play them on my own computer and if I get a PC I do not have to worry about transferring my games (which happened a year ago when I bought a new laptop and went smoothly as possible). I'm treated as if I'm a decent human being, and it feels good to not be perceived as a potential thief. Until I can say happily that SimCity is free of the always-online requirements I won't support it. It's DRM no matter what claims EA and Maxis want to make, and DRM is a wretched thing.

I guess I'll be playing SimCity 4 still for some time. It's okay, my regions will just get even bigger and better--without DRM in the way.

A Bunch of Rant-Reviews on Great, Good, and Terrible Comics--Breathe it in, Sucka

Been awhile...

I was looking over the site and realized it has been awhile since I did my smaller rant-reviews/capsule reviews/whatever you want to call them. When I do those I'm not always snarky or attempt to be funny, but for fun's sake let's try to return to form.

Avengers #3

I like Hickman when he does the big-idea stories full of grandiose concepts. This series started with that but this issue illustrated clearly the big flaw Hickman suffers from--namely, ending the story terribly. "The Nightly News," is an absolute joy until those last few pages with the supposed, "big reveal," being just plain stupid. His Fantastic Four mega-story-line kind of whimpered out when Hickman stayed on the book after what should have been the concluding issue (should have stopped with #604 and not gone to #611 or whatever it was), His time doing the, "Ultimate Comic's Ultimates," started with a wonderfully surreal concept of a bubble-world and an evil Reed Richards before it ended with Tony Stark's brain cancer forming a friendly psychic child....really. I still love Hickman's, "S.H.I.E.L.D." comic because he cleverly has never had the last issue come out, thereby preventing me from insulting him for it (seriously, that thing has got to be at least 18 months late). Therefore Hickman yet again starts strong and ends this arc with a resounding, "What the fuck?" Apparently the aliens on Mars who murdered countless earthlings with bio-bombs are going to be allowed to just chill on that planet and create stuff as long as they promise to leave Earth alone now. Um, since when have the Avenger's let mass-murder slide? Even if some super-being makes everyone chill-out and think things are cool...just...wow. This third issue doesn't just falter at trying to, "Stick the landing," this thing lands so abruptly and terribly it should give reader whip-lash. Hopefully the next arc won't do the same thing, but I doubt it. Oh, and Jerome Opena is one of the best artist's around so at least these 3 issues stayed stellar art-wise the whole way through.

2.5 out of 5 stars.

Saga #9

Brian K Vaughn is just so damn good. Even some of the best comic writers out there can only dream of getting to drink his bathwater in hopes that Vaughn's sweat contains a modicum of his writing ability. The man writes such good stories and Saga is shaping up to be an amazing tale from what we've seen so far. Even this issue which breaks away from our main characters to focus on some secondary ones is fascinating and advances some plot points I honestly didn't expect to be resolved as quickly as they were, but that's Vaughn for you, always surprising the reader. Fiona Staples delivers amazing artwork to go with this too and frankly if you aren't reading this comic you're missing out. Drop one of the sucky comics you buy only out of a feeling of responsibility to whatever character they feature and pick this up instead.

5 out of 5 stars.

Batman #16

I really hope it is revealed that it isn't actually the Joker wearing that Joker flesh-mask. I say this because Scott Snyder has pretty much gone too far with the idea of the Joker being evil in this issue. Snyder has taken the Joker from an intriguing foil of Batman to just a weird psycho-monster who makes living flesh-paintings in a comic that reads more like torture-porn than a Batman comic. By making the Joker too inhuman he just can't be as interesting. When there is that hint of a shred of humanity within the Joker he is more interesting. Even at what could have been his most evil in, "The Killing Joke," Alan Moore had that quiet moment of humanity right at the end where the Joker himself admits its far too late to change for the better, he has just been too ruined by life. This issue of, "Batman," however, it just makes the Joker over-the-top evil to a point of obnoxiousness. Please, please have that not be the Joker or have there be some twist that it was all a test, dream, or simulation. I normally hate those kind of story, "cheats," but I'll let it slide this one time, just to save everyone's enjoyment of the Joker.

1.5 out of 5 stars.

X-Factor #250

How can there be a God? Seriously, how? In what world with a deity who isn't a total dick does someone as talented and cool as Peter David suffer a stroke while meanwhile Rob Liefeld gets to swim in money and attempt to sell a shitty screenplay about the early days of Image comics (which Abhay Khosla hilariously thinks would go like this)? You probably now see my point about how God either doesn't exist or is a huge jerk, and this example of yet another stellar comic by David illustrates my argument even further. I just hope Peter David recovers as best he can and continues to make awesome comics.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Team 7 #4

This comic is better than that time I was trapped in an elevator with a rambling hobo and had to listen to his ideas for a comic series set before, "Watchmen." I later realized the hobo was in fact Dan Didio, and if I hadn't thought such a stupid idea were impossible I maybe could have saved us all. With that hindsight I also would probably have told the hobo/Didio to axe, "Team 7," before it ever could have existed. The reason is that the whole thing just feels so unnecessary--yes, this series started with some promise, but it has just gone down the drains. It's dull, written with awkward dialogue, and fails to make me care about any of the characters on the team other than for the fact that a bunch of them in the future of the DC Universe have important roles ("Team 7," takes place earlier-on in the DC Universe's 5-ish-years-of-heroes-being-around history). This is just a completely underwhelming book, but at least isn't so stupid as to be insulting...it's just stupid enough to be annoying.

2 out of 5 stars.

Caligula #2

David Lapham has arguably the most disturbed mind in comics when it comes to the things he thinks up. Murder, Mutilation, Violent Sex, and demonic body-parts are all shown in such graphic detail that while reading this in public I felt a need to look around and over my shoulder for fear that someone would view what I bought and think me a deranged monster. Fear of being ostracized for reading this comic aside however, it is a pretty good story. Just don't give it to any children or you will be having to go door-to-door anytime you move to inform your neighbors you're on a registry...and I don't mean bridal one.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Deadpool #4

The first issue of this didn't overly impress me. The second issue failed to get me really, "sold," on this new Deadpool series too. Then the amazing third issue came out with its hints of meta-awareness, clever historical jokes about our dead Presidents (who have come back as zombies), and otherwise awesomeness. Thankfully, that trend of great quality has continued with this fourth issue which moves at such a rapid pace in killing the lesser known zombie-Presidents that it is sheer mayhem, but good mayhem. Plus, Deadpool fights former President Lincoln in a mixed martial-arts cage-match. What else could you want?

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt #5

This comic at once does things that are really fun and neat while simultaneously sometimes being teeth-grindingly hokey. I did my huge post about Peter Cannon some time ago and much of my points still stand, with the plot only thickening in some interesting ways while also getting sillier in others. Then that last-page reveal this issue makes me think things could be getting even more strange...whether for better or worse will be seen soon. I still think this is one of the best super-hero comics people are, "sleeping on," though.

4 out of 5 stars.

All New X-Men #6

I'm waiting, just waiting. Waiting for what, you may ask? I'm waiting for that point where Bendis will mess up writing a team book. When Brian Michael Bendis does a solo-tale such as his run on Daredevil it can be great stuff, but if I've said it once I've said it multiple times: The man can not do team books. When he first started up on New Avengers (his first run) it was okay, then got pretty subpar. Then his other Avenger's works and event books were so bad I just dropped the titles until this new run by the already-discussed Hickman. That is why I'm so surprised to see this series actually so far be good. The characters' stories are well-balanced, things are interesting, and...I'm waiting for it all to go wrong. Maybe things will stay good, but at the first sign of trouble I'm off this.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

There we go

If you had been missing my little-reviews you should now find yourself sated yet also regretting what you've spent your time doing. Sort of the same way I feel anytime I watch reality television.

Interview Time: Cullen Bunn

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Cullen Bunn at Project Comic-Con in St. Louis over the summer. He is known for creating the popular comic, "The Sixth Gun," and doing extensive work for Marvel on such projects as, "Wolverine," and, "Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe," along with current comics such as his writing on, "Venom," and the upcoming, "Fearless Defenders." Back during last Summer he said he would be happy to do an interview, and we recently did just that! We talked about his aforementioned works along with other past, present, and future comics he will be doing. Now for the interview itself:

Hello Mr. Bunn, I would like to thank you again for taking the time to do an interview. How was your holiday season?

The holidays were great! I pretty much took it easy, but those few days of relaxation have put me a little behind when it comes to work!

Let’s start by discussing what has to be one of the most bizarre comics I've read in some time, “Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe.” It seemed people either loved it or hated it (with myself enjoying it), and it sold quite well. Did you know it would get as strong a positive and negative reaction that it did?

I knew that it would be a different book than what most people were accustomed to… and that often tends to rub folks the wrong way. Going into the story, I wanted to present a version of Deadpool who was unlike anything readers had seen before. Did I know it would bother some people? Sure. Did I care? Not a bit. I told a story I thought would be interesting and fun and horrific at the same time. I had a few people who hated it, but the response was overwhelmingly positive… enough so that it warranted a sequel in DEADPOOL KILLUSTRATED.

It seemed the message of the book was that the thing holding Deadpool back from being a complete murderous psychopath was his thin grip on reality and a ever-so-slight concept of ethics. Once that is gone he becomes an unstoppable being of destruction. Do you personally feel that Deadpool works better as the reluctant hero or the villain—as he clearly was in this book?

Was he the villain? I mean, yeah, he was butchering everyone who stood in his path. But as far as he was concerned, they were nothing more than fictional constructs created as the playthings of sadistic “gods.” He thought he was doing them a favor!

Okay. He was the villain of the piece, obviously.

As for how he works best, I think it depends on the story. For DEADPOOL KILLS, I think it only works with him playing the Freddy Krueger/Jason Vorhees slasher role.

The fourth wall isn't just broken in "Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe, its shattered to pieces.

Throughout, “Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe,” the fourth wall gets increasingly broken, up to the point Deadpool apparently is planning to kill the writer of his own comic, you. His character has always been one to break through the fourth wall, but what made you want to take it as far as you did?

I think that was the natural progression of the story. Deadpool was trying to destroy “the continuity” of the universe, and I needed to end the series in a big way. I think the idea of Deadpool trying to destroy the creators of the book came to me around the time I decided he would be trying to breach the Nexus of All Realities.

Deadpool Killustrated is coming out soon, it features Deadpool going into various famous works of literature and wreaking havoc. Is this is a direct sequel to, “Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe,” with him now killing the literary universe, and if so how did "you" avoid being slaughtered so as to write it?

What you’ll learn is that the “progenitors” have created a number of shadow universes as decoys. So, the version of Cullen Bunn who dies at the end of DEADPOOL KILLS was just one of many alternate Cullens.

Deadpool Killustrated sounds like an idea so silly it will either be amazing or terrible. What can you say to assure me and other readers it will be the former instead of the latter?

I don’t know that I can convince someone of the concept. It is what it is. Deadpool decides to slaughter the icons of classic literature. But, just as with DEADPOOL KILLS, there’s more to the story. And even though the concept sounds ridiculous, the series isn’t really played for belly laughs. There are funny moments, sure, but this is a dark book, and there are some really twisted, disturbing revelations awaiting.

Speaking of violent anti-heroes, I enjoyed your run on Wolverine. My favorite part was seeing Dr. Rot again and the rest of his family being introduced. What made you want to further elaborate on his character who until your arc had only been seen in his first appearance within the pages of, “Wolverine: Weapon X”?

The Rot storyline was not my first pitch, but for various reasons it was the one we went with for my first arc. I think it made a nice transition from what Jason Aaron, who created Dr. Rot, did to what I wanted to do. I’m a huge horror movie nut, so I wanted to expand Rot’s family, a la TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE or HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES.

Your time on the Wolverine series seemed to be cut short by Marvel NOW, but you actually will still be writing a version of Wolverine in the upcoming Ultimate mini-series about him and his son. Having written the “normal Wolverine,” and now writing the, “Ultimate Wolverine,” which do you find more enjoyable to scribe tales about?

I like them both. I’m a classic Wolverine fan and always will be. But the chance to write a “different” Wolverine, a character who is a little more “fresh” was pretty exciting for me.

 As Wolverine is actually deceased in the Ultimate Universe I imagine we will only see him in flashbacks, with the present-day story focusing on his son, Jimmy Hudson. Hudson is a relatively newer character and this is his first solo-book; what do you have planned to make him someone readers want to follow the exploits of?

Yes, you’ll be seeing two stories—one Logan’s, one Jimmy’s—that will be running parallel. Jimmy will be learning quite a bit about his father… and his mother. He’ll also be facing some tough challenges. He’ll have to change his approach if he hopes to survive.  In the end, this story will serve as the moment when Jimmy really becomes Wolverine rather than just being the son of Wolverine.

Let’s switch the topic to your independent work for a minute. I’m embarrassed to admit that I myself have not read, “The Sixth Gun.” I hear great things about it, but all I know is that it’s a comic with western and supernatural themes. I've also read some people think it fits comfortably into the genre of horror. Can you explain it to someone such as me who maybe has heard of it, but has not read it?

THE SIXTH GUN is an epic fantasy set in the Old West. It is the story of six cursed revolvers, each possessing a different terrible power. The most powerful of the six pistols vanished at the end of the Civil War, but it has now resurfaced in the hands of an innocent girl. There are horror elements, yeah, but it’s more of a swashbuckling adventure. I hear so many people tell me that they don’t like Westerns but they love this series.

Speaking of, “The Sixth Gun,” that is a creator-owned project, which is to say you (and I assume your artist Brian Hurtt) own the rights to it. You also are doing a lot of, “work-for-hire,” currently with Marvel. Do you prefer doing work that you own the rights to, or get more enjoyment from doing work-for-hire?

They are such different beasts. I love writing work-for-hire stories because these are the characters I grew up loving. I enjoy the idea of adding to that mythology. But there is something intensely satisfying about bringing your own stories to life.

You are currently writing the exploits of Venom. The latest issue [at the time of the interview] had him arriving in Philadelphia. What made you decide to have him “move” to that city?

Flash Thompson needed a change of pace, and Venom needed a chance to get out from under the shadow 

of every other hero who called New York home. I think it’s a great idea to see the Marvel heroes branch out a little. Philly made a lot of sense because it is a big city with its own personality. It’s also close enough to New York that Flash can visit his friends and family there when he needs to.

You co-wrote Venom with Rick Remender before taking over it solo. Since then, you've had multiple stories ranging from Venom dealing with a demon-issue, to being emotionally scarred since going into the Micro-Verse with Scarlet Spider and Carnage. It seems that between Remender’s run on the book and yours Venom keeps constantly being put through the wringer. Will Philadelphia be a nice break for the character, or will things just get worse for Flash Thompson?

Things are only going to get worse. He’s not in Philly long before Toxin shows up, followed by a new threat called the Symbiote Slayers.

You have a Marvel NOW book coming out titled, “Fearless Defenders.” It features an all-female team of various heroes such as Misty Knight and Valkyrie. What can you tell us about it and its upcoming stories? Will people need to have read the maxi-series, “The Fearless,” which ties into this in order to understand it?

This new series stands on its own. Reading FEAR ITSELF: THE FEARLESS might be a good primer, but it won’t be necessary at all. This is the story of Valkyrie trying to rebuild the ranks of the Shield Maidens from the women of Earth. There will be a ton of guest stars and a lot of crazy superheroic action.

Myself and other people have noticed that with Venom dating Valkyrie (as started in Secret Avengers and which has most recently been reflected in Venom #28 ) and he having his own book and her being a part of the Fearless Defenders it makes sense there could at some point be a cross-over, or we at least might see Venom appear in Fearless Defenders. Any comment on this speculation?

Yes, I think it’s safe to say there will be some crossover.

It was revealed that Dani Moonstar will be joining the team as of the 2nd issue. Will there be more additions to the team over time, and if so can you say whom?

The team will be growing over time. In the end, there will 9 core members. I will not, however, be revealing them all at once. The entire team will take a while to come together.

I’ve noticed you haven’t done work with DC, the other company of the, “big two,” besides Marvel. Do you have any interest in doing something for them at some point?

I actually did a 4-issue arc of SUPERMAN/BATMAN that I enjoyed working on. I’d certainly love to work on more DC characters at some point, but I’m pretty pleased with where I am right now.

For a number of issues you did, “Captain America And ____” with the blank being various characters. The book ended, but in an imaginary world where it had kept going what other characters would have you liked to have team-up with Cap? I have heard and spoken with you about your affinity for Gambit and how you would have loved to have him appear, but who else?

I had a number of characters I wanted to team with Cap. The list included Union Jack, Thor, Blackwulf, Ghost Rider, Morbius, Gambit, and many others.

You also write straight-up prose, having published a book of short stories in the horror genre. What other text-works would you like to embark on? A science-fiction tale, a romance novel?

I think I’m pretty set in my ways with prose right now. My first novel was a middle reader horror novel—CROOKED HILLS. I enjoy writing horror and I enjoy writing for that age group.

Do you have any upcoming projects you can give some hints about?

In March, Oni Press will be releasing HELHEIM, a horror series that I’ve described as BEOWULF meets FRANKENSTEIN. It’s a violent horror tale full of witches, undead, and demonic beasties.

Thanks again to Cullen Bunn!

Scattered Thoughts on JLA: Earth 2

I picked up a re-release of, "JLA: Earth 2," written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Frank Quietly. I don't have a true review to offer so much as various random thoughts, observations, and opinions.


A world full of villains with a single hero in the form of Alexander Luthor is both a sad-sounding place and a fascinating one.

To balance out the scales of reality or whatever the Crime Syndicate of Amerika gets to go to the Justice League's world and cause a ton of havoc that we see the after-effects and clean-up of. Considering how these people look quite a bit like the Justice League wouldn't people kind of be freaked out that their heroes had turned on them, sort of in the same way people in the opposite-world had immense trouble believing these apparently-new-but-looking-just-like-the-Crime-Syndicate-folk were there to help? I guess the Justice League just was able to say, "Those were other versions of us," and everyone was cool with it.

I cracked a smile at the "normal" DC Universe's earth being termed, "Earth 2," because the other-world's Luthor thinks of ours as the, "other Universe," which is a clever twist on how things are usually the opposite way around. That's a bit of a meta-fictional reversal, right there.

It's a Earth where a lot of stuff is opposite, but not everything...some things are just strangely changed. I wouldn't let this bother me but Morrison tries to say how everything is in reverse--such as people's hearts being on the other side of their body or the UK having tried to gain independence from America in a clever switch--but then does things such as having Lois Lane be Superwoman (the evil Wonder Woman), or have there be no evil Aquaman (the lack of Martian Manhunter is addressed though), or how Owlman (the evil Batman) and Superwoman are hooking up...although now that Superman and Wonder Woman have a thing going as of later in 2012 I guess that is kind of the reverse and predicted what would happen.


Frank Quietly's art is always a pleasure to look at.

Seeing the evil-version of The Flash with his drug problem cracked me up knowing about the whole story of Green Arrow's side-kick Speedy developing a drug problem all those years ago (although really, wouldn't a nickname like, "Speedy," tip you off there could be an issue?), that was clever.

I think Batman was right in saying the Justice League had no business going to Luthor's dimension. "We're not an inter-dimensional police force," is a wise way of putting it. Still, because the majority of Justice Leaguers think its a good idea to help Batman goes along anyway...and probably feels vindicated to see things go horribly wrong.

I liked the idea that both both the heroes and their villainous counterparts found a earth where they couldn't, "win," due to it being just the way the world is.

The story moves along at a pretty brisk pace. In this era of comics being super-decompressed this is actually a story that I think might have been even better with a bit more space to breathe--make it a third longer and the characters could have been fleshed out more, perhaps.

In the end, this was an above-average story which is made even greater by the top-notch art. I know I said this wasn't really a review but I'm still going to rate this, and it gets a comfortable...

4 out of 5 stars.