The Social and Political Differences Between the America of Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One" and "Holy Terror"

Another Of Those Rare Fully-Serious Posts.
Yeah, I'm actually going to do it again, I'm going to make one of my essay-type posts where I look at a subject seriously and discuss it. Today I'm going to talk about Frank Miller and how he seems to view America. Miller has made some amazing comic works but lately hasn't been that popular with some folk after saying some really nasty things about Occupy Wall Street--which if we are honest started out as a good idea that has now become one big mess that is mostly being ignored anyway. The thing is, the Frank Miller of today is so much different from the Frank Miller of 1987, and I think they view America in vastly different ways--ways best illustrated by two of his works.

Batman: Year One OR A Man Dressed As a Bat Fights The Rich

Nowadays Frank Miller calls people protesting America via Occupy Wall Street louts who need to join the military and fight extremist Islam (his words, not mine). However, in 1987 Frank Miller painted a picture of an America through the famous Gotham city that was ruled by a cold elite who had Batman to fight them. Batman: Year One doesn't really have any super-villains, it has Batman taking on the city of Gotham's rich and politically powerful who try to get him killed for challenging their rule.

The only other decent person is a police officer named Jim Gordon who has been transferred to Gotham. He's middle-lower-class, dealing with a corrupt Commissioner, and miserable. The world of Batman: Year One is not pleasant. It's full of crime, its grimy, its a hard place to make a living. This is the kind of world that Occupy Wall Street probably fears America is destined for.

This Gotham City is representative of an America Jim Gordon is terrified for his son to be born into, because it's so vile and terrible. This is an America where Batman isn't fighting the Joker or Clayface, he's fighting those in power because through his working for the helpless he inadvertently is making the so-called 1% very nervous at the idea they won't maintain an iron grip on everything. It's very telling that in the few scenes where Batman has to be, "Bruce Wayne: Playboy," so as to create the illusion he is one of these rich and uncaring few, he acts out as if a caricature of the people he is fighting against--because that is how Batman/Bruce Wayne really views those cold, rich people who are keeping the poor men and women down in his mind.

The book doesn't end with any big victory either, it just sort of concludes with the year coming to a close with Batman helping Gordon rescue his son from some of the elite's kidnappers. There is still evil in the world and a lot has to be done. After all, you expect the world to change in just one year of a Batman? It's very anti-climatic, it shows you can't just "win". Miller did a complete 180 degrees on all of this with Holy Terror.

Holy Terror AKA The Sorta-Batman Kills A Lot of Terrorists

Frank Miller recently made a book called Holy Terror which is about a man named the Fixer protecting his city of...look, let's be honest here folks. This is a Batman story. Frank Miller started writing this book as, "Holy Terror, Batman," but at some point it became too extreme for DC comics, so he changed a few things and made it a story about a man named the Fixer who is pretty much Batman, teaming up with a cat burglar named Natalie Stack who is essentially Catwoman, as his home of Empire City (pretty much Gotham) is attacked by Muslim terrorists and they fight them off.

Unlike Batman: Year One, this is both written and illustrated by Miller, resulting in his interesting art style and odd habit of doing black-and-white with color occasionally dashed in (sometimes for no apparent reason). Here, the bad guy is not anyone wealthy, no, it's a lot of Islamic terrorists. This is a world where America is so great, a young Islamic girl can't help but drink some beer before blowing herself up and having nails rain down on the city, whilst other terrorists fly jets into Empire City's statue of liberty analogue. This is an America where you can go to an underground base, blow up the bad guys, and you've solved terrorism. Yes, this is an America where once you catch one of those dirty Muslims (who is a terrorist of course, but they probably all are so you know, its all good) its fine to joke about how his name is probably Mohammed and then torture him until he tells you what you want, because here in America torture is now apparently okay.

In this new America Frank Miller lives in there are no flaws, its a shining jewel, and we need to look out for those people who don't believe in Jesus (although Jews are okay because Israel keeps those radical Muslims in place). This is a strange book, and if you handed me both this and Batman: Year One, I would have thought Holy Terror came early in this man's career and Batman: Year One came later, because Holy Terror is just not that well-written (and this is looking at it objectively, with no political slant). It's simplistic in how its little more than a simple revenge fantasy--some bad people hate us, we will kill them, and everything will be alright. Quality aside, it is just so striking how differently this Miller thinks than the Miller of the past.

And So Here We Are
From 1987 when Batman: Year One first came out as individual comics to the first printing of Holy Terror in September 2011--which it stresses to point out was in September, as it wants you to be aware of how its 10 years after when we were attacked by terrorists in real-life--Frank Miller has changed a a lot. From just looking at these two books you see a Miller who has gone from a young and perhaps liberal view to an older and highly conservative outlook. Also, Batman: Year One is much better than Holy Terror, but that isn't due to politics so much as how it just has a lot more care put in its craft.

Frank Miller circa 1982, shortly before some of his huge works.

 Miller had a view that almost mirrored that of Occupy Wall Street, writing about corrupt rich people and a vigilante fighting against them, and then Miller changed and it became about how our nation was perfect and it was those outside of it who wanted to tear it down, so shut up with those protests because it's America, "Love it or leave it." Batman Year: One also ends without any easy answers, whereas Holy Terror wipes the bad guys from the map. Perhaps the Miller of today thinks the decisive torture-and-kill methods of The Fixer are better than Batman's pledge to never kill someone too.

Frank Miller in what I believe to be a picture from 2012

Some people on the internet who are mad at Miller for his statements about Occupy Wall Street say he's gone crazy and is obsessed with fighting all forms of Islam, not just extremism, and that it's all he thinks about. I don't know if that's true because I lack the ability to go into Miller's mind. I don't think he's crazy so much as his views just radically shifted, however. The sad thing is, when your views shift so much and you want to show people about it, you really need a better book than Holy Terror to do so. People who reviewed it objectively putting aside politics still weren't that big on it other than liking some of the art.

What's the lesson in all this? I'm not sure there is one besides the fact that people's views change, at times dramatically. Also, the way Miller's views changed, people who once identified with him now hate him and others who found him annoying in the 1980s when he was doing the "Strip AIDS" fundraiser and other then-highly liberal things probably now love him and would invite him to a Tea Party rally. Things just really change with time, I suppose.

Project Comic-Con Day 2 Overview

The Start

I wasn't at Project Comic-Con as much today (it'll be yesterday when I get this post up) as I needed to sleep in after all the time I spent at it the day before and even then still felt a bit tired. However the time I did spend there was fun, meeting some more people and walking about. Below I present how things went, this time in no particular order.

My Day

I met Clayton Henry, who has done a lot of stuff but my favorite work of his would have to be Exiles. I've read so much of that series and it was really fun. He said he had a fun time working on it too, so it's good he has fond memories of such an awesome comic. His site is here.

I also met JP Roth who has a comic titled, "Ancient Dreams." The plot sounds interesting with the idea of ancient rituals and such, plus I like the tagline, "Fairy tales are just for children, in the adult version everyone dies." However, it was the art for the comic that really caught my eye before I even read it. It is beautifully drawn and compliments everything quite well. Sometimes independent comics don't have the best art, but this looks better than a lot of the art in some mainstream comics. Another issue comes out soon to coincide with San Diego Comic Con and should be fun. The Facebook for Ancient Dreams is here.

I met the creator of Pangaea, Kevin Wolf. It's a humor comic on the web, and I bought one of his collections as I do enjoy humor strips. He was very nice and eager to talk about the series. The series can be found here. 

Artist Eric Basaldua was there, he is well known for his drawings of attractive ladies. While I have been hard on a particular artist in the past who also draws scantily-clad women *Cough* Ed Benes *Cough* his don't look that great and he can't do anything else. Basaldua does draw some male characters and those actually look really cool too, I loved his Wolverine. So in this case I won't hate, even if I'm still not a fan of making money off female super-heroes in sexual poses. His facebook is here.

I also met artist Mayonnaise And Bread who had a very neat style. He used red and blue with black and white to create very interesting-looking images. His site is here.

The End

So went my Project Comic-Con Experience. It was a really fun time and I'm ready to sleep quite a bit to regain all the energy I spent. Seeing fellow comic fans was also fun as comic reading is itself a solitary activity, but sharing your love of comics is something people always love to do as a big group. As I said in the last post, thanks is owed to Steve of Newcastle comics and Jeff for getting the convention started and putting the whole thing on. I look forward to next year!

Project Comic-Con Day 1 Mega-Overview

Intro
I'm back from Project Comic-Con after spending many hours of the day there! I had quite the fun time, meeting many nice creators, vendors, and other assorted folk.Yes, even little ol' me with my often sarcastic and cynical outlook had a really good time, probably the most fun I've had in awhile. Let's do a big overview of a chunk of the stuff I did and the interesting people I met--some with helpful images from the Project Comic-Con website to tell you more about them! This isn't in perfect order of how I did stuff, but it's pretty close.

It Begins

I arrived to Comic-Con at around 9:50 AM or so, and even though it didn't officially start until 10 AM everyone was already being let inside--so yah for not having to wait! Upon going in I spoke with the pleasant Jim Valentino. He is one of the founders of Image comics and the guy behind the brand within it, Shadowline. We and some other fans chatted about comics, he showed some upcoming Image stuff, and I complimented how with all the hubub about creator's right at the moment (you know, with the Before Watchmen business) Image has been getting a bit more attention for how it lets people have their own intellectual property and such. He said from the start they've been about creators rights, that's one of the reasons behind Image's founding and he believes in it. A cool guy. Here is the Shadowline Website.

I stopped by the table of Kenneth Rocafort who some may know for his current artwork on, "Red Hood and the Outlaws." Yes, it did have some controversy at the start with the character Starfire and her behavior, but that was the writer, and regardless of that the book has and currently does look pretty darn good, with Rocafort's kinetic-action style of drawing. Plus, the guy couldn't be nicer. I told him how I enjoyed the way he drew Jason Todd and he said it was fun character to draw. Also, a young girl whom had drawn Iron Man with crayons was at his table and traded it with him for a very snazzy-looking drawing of X-23 he made for her. While the Iron Man drawing was cute, I think getting fully inked and colored drawing was a pretty sweet deal, showing how nice Rocafort is. Here is his site.

I spoke a bit with Micke Mckone,  whose work on Avengers Academy I've enjoyed, he was busy so we didn't talk too much, but he was nice just as everyone else was at the event. Here is his Facebook.

I also ran into a man who was probably one of the friendliest guys at the show, eager to hear about my blog and everything else I do. Plus he looks like a clown (literally) and made a great series known as the Oblongs. Yup, I ran into the famous (infamous?) Angus Oblong. I have proof I survived our encounter:

He was very funny and a joy to chat with. Anyone reading this who hasn't seen the Oblongs ought to, it is both depressing and funny. Depressing because if you think about it the main plot is that of social disparities between wealthy people at the top of the hill and deformed poor people at the bottom. Funny because Oblong has a twisted sense of humor that takes that premise and makes absurdly hilarious situations out of it. Here is a link to his site.

I also spoke with Joshua Dysart, who has done a lot of stuff, but I've most enjoyed his run on Unknown Soldier for Vertigo. It's worth checking out. It discusses the conflict in the Sudan in a way that is both tasteful while still making fora great story. His website is here.

I of course talked to the famous Denny O'Neil. I told him how much I loved his work on The Question--which he told me was one of the favorite things he wrote! His wife was with him too and she was very sweet. I went to a panel where he spoke about comics, and his thoughts about how continuity can useful when used logically but can't weigh you down ring especially true as writers try to explain everything and take every past event in a heroes life into account instead of just having fun with a tale. As of now I couldn't find an official website for him to share, but I do have this picture of us:

His wife was nice enough to snap it, the reason he has that look on his face is not because I am suddenly just popping up behind him and snapping a pic, but we were having issues getting my phone to take the picture and he was worried if it would work. On picture three it did!

Also in the morning I met the creators of the webcomic Nextuus and plan to check it out as they told me it is sci-fi and I do enjoy that topic. Here is a link.


At this point I took a late lunch
After all these creators and some booth-shopping at this point I took lunch. I went out of the event center and had a buffalo burger as readers of my blog will know with my beef allergy I can't eat cow. Yes, cow. I know I'm a horribly weird person. Anyways, after lunch I returned to the event center...

Afternoon

I had a lot of fun talking with Steve Lightle. I talked with him about his past Doom Patrol work and how to make comic characters interesting without making them seem too "different". We also talked about how characters get relaunched in ways that aren't always familiar and how that can work out well and not so well. He was working on a sketch for someone and they came by to see how it was going and I think they were a bit dismayed I had been taking up so much of Steve's time talking to him for quite awhile about comics!

On my way to meet Cullen Bunn I met one of the individuals behind the Comic Book Showdown. I tried Podcasting on my blog some time ago but it just didn't seem to be getting many listeners and all that editing and recording can take a bit of time, so I admire anyone who puts in all that work. Why not give them a listen? Just follow this link.

I then met Cullen Bunn and he was a fun guy. We chatted a bit about his new work on Wolverine, and I told him I had heard lots of great stuff about The Sixth Gun and had been meaning to check it out. He's also going to be writing Venom soon, so he's doing all kinds of new projects for people to start reading. He can be found online here.

Readers of the blog know I am a fan of alt-culture magazines, and at the convention I met Caesar Crawford, the owner/creator of The Dead Timez. He was fun to talk to; we discussed tattoos and how while I think they can look neat I am terrified of getting that many needles repeatedly shot into me (so yeah, I'm never getting one). It's a magazine about, "Local & Independent Art, Music, Film, and Entertainment." I picked up two back-issues and look forward to checking them out! Here is a link to them.

I met Robert Atkins and we discussed how I enjoyed his work on Heroes For Hire. He is doing a neat thing where he makes a sketch a day for all 366 days this year. I told him with it being a leap year he should have taken a day off and just done 365, but the man is dedicated. Here is his site where you can see all those sketches and more.

I met the creator of those Mini-Marvels comics I love and the popular G-Man series, Chris Giarrusso. He was kind enough to give me his card which he joked can be used as a bookmark. You can find his stuff here.

I met some guys behind an independent comic, I've got the first issue and the next one will be the 99th. You heard me. In a clever twist the first issue tells how the main character was born and the next will be about his death. That's a fun idea, and the comic is pretty wacky fun from what I've flipped through so far. You can learn more about them here.

I met the creators of  the webcomic Camden Bottoms. The art style for it is very snazzy and worth a look. Here is the link.

I stopped by the table of Dennis Hopeless and told him how I enjoyed Legion of Monsters, which he thanked me for. Link, here, you know the drill.

I met a neat artist with a cool style named Neil Fitzpatrick. The characters are adorable and the huge black eyes are both cute and creepy (in a good way). Find more of him here.

There was a table with a writer and artist who have a comic about a Gargoyle by Moonlight. It looked fun and the whole issue was a big self-contained tale. They gave me a link but when I go to it it currently says it is under construction. That may change soon. Here it is.

I also met a webcomicker behind Frik'In Hell. A tale of a medieval warrior who works in Fast Food. It's a comedy comic. Here is a link to the first episode.

The Day Ends
As the convention started to close up at 6:00 PM I put the bits of stuff I bought in my car and went back for the after-party. I was tired and needed to get a late dinner so I didn't stay too long. I had a really fun day and plan to be there again tomorrow. I will be getting there a bit later because lord knows I need some sleep after all the stuff I did today! As always, we owe thanks to the 2 guys behind this, Steve of the great Newcastle Comics and Jeff.

I'm At Project Comic-Con This Weekend

This weekend I will be attending St. Louis' very own Project Comic-Con. I will have my writing tools and recording devices with me so as to bring you footage of fun times at the event, and possibly some video-interviews with the various guests in attendance should they be interested in speaking with me for the blog. I will of course write down my thoughts about how things went and should you be attending I encourage you to say hello to me if we bump into each other. It shall be quite the fun time and if you haven't bought your tickets yet and are in the area, you can always do so at the door or in advance. See you there!

I've Been Moving

I've been moving, hence a lack of posts. I haven't moved far, just around the Missouri area, but moving all of one's stuff still takes forever. There should be things soon as I have opinions. I always have opinions.

Television Tuesday--Glee and Saturday Night Live

Cold Open
Tonight is the season finale of Glee, this past Saturday was the season finale of Saturday Night Live. The two episodes that ran last week for Glee and the Mick Jagger-hosted one for SNL both carried with them an air of finality for a variety of reasons even if each series will be continuing, if only for the reason that next year they won't quite be the same. Let's discuss.

Glee Episodes "Props" and "Nationals"

First off, I spoil everything that happens in these two episodes, know that. I started watching Glee early in its third season. My girlfriend would want to watch it and instead of leaving her to view it alone I was nice and viewed it with her. Despite my initial complete lack of interest in a show about the trials and tribulations of high school and involved in singing I kind of enjoyed the program. The only thing I was initially interested in was Jane Lynch's awesome character of Sue Sylvester as I've been a fan of Lynch since she popped up on, "The L Word," and other programs. I was surprised that I didn't hate all the other stuff as I usually have so little interest in stories about high school or teenagers singing today's or yesterday's hits. The plots sometimes are kind of strong however, and I actually would probably like the show even more if it didn't have the singing, as I just really don't need to hear Lady Gaga's music, be it coming from Lady Gaga's mouth or the Glee kids.

A Great Actress

Interestingly enough, the episode, "Props," pretty much illustrated everything that can be right with Glee, and everything that can be downright cheesy and terrible. The story with the character of Puck and his dealing with the stress of thinking he's a failure, lashing out, having his story cross-over with the gym teacher (Beiste) who has been in an abusive relationship and realizes she has to leave it--that's the good stuff. Yes, it's pure soap opera, but its well done soap opera. Tell me you couldn't feel a huge surge of tension when Beiste is standing there in the kitchen in that flashback holding a kitchen knife as her husband yells at her, and until she lets go and it falls in the sink you genuinely wonder, "Is she gonna cut a fool?" Seeing characters who are interesting go through tough times in their lives and come out on top despite being underdogs is just great, and I enjoy it. Unfortunately, we also have to put up with the awfulness of Tina and Rachel's tales.

Puck and Beiste are the best thing this episode

In an almost self-aware meta-textual twist the character of Tina who has done absolutely nothing since I started watching the show to a point where I didn't even know her name till this episode, throws a huge fit. Her fit is about the fact that no one pays attention to her and she is basically scenery. I could almost picture the actress behind Tina having this fit in the writers' room demanding she get more screen-time, as this character really has done nothing. The whole self-aware gag of her character freaking out is fine, but then she hits her head and imagines she is Rachel Berry (and everyone else switches bodies for some weird reason that is a slightly funny joke that gets milked for way too long). This results in her learning a valuable lesson that maybe she belongs in the background and the supposed awesomeness that is the horribly annoying character Rachel Berry pretty much gets, "Yes, you're awesome," told to her yet again. I hate the Rachel Berry character. She thinks she is entitled to everything. She is annoying, whiny, and just bugs me. The character of Kurt is just as talented and doesn't rub our faces in that fact constantly. So yes, this is the downside of the, "Props," episode. This is the stuff that shows Glee at its worst, trying to be cute with fantasy bits and highlighting characters I either don't care about or hate. At least things work out with Beiste.

Body-switching, how...fun?

The other episode that ran as this was a dual-episode was, "Nationals." It had a lot of singing so I zoned out a fair bit. Also Lindsay Lohan appeared as herself in a desperate attempt to revitalize her on-life-support career (did anyone else crack up when the announcer referred to her as, "America's Sweetheart?") along with Perez Hilton--who is looking a lot older than I remember him being. The Glee kids win, everyone is happy, Rachel Berry gets way too much screen time and Puck, Kurt, Quinn, or any other characters I find more interesting get much too little attention. It's still sweet to finally see the team win though.

Tonight the last episode of the season will run, and a lot of the characters are going to leave the show/"graduate". It's sad but better to have them leave now while they're popular than wear out their welcome and be in their 40's posing as 18 years-old. There will undoubtedly be an infusion of new characters, and  the show won't be the same. Whether it can still succeed with its new additions and some remaining cast will be seen.
"Props"--3.5 out of 5 stars (The good stuff was so good it most overpowered the terrible).
"Nationals"--3 out of 5 stars (Kind of dull, but it was nice to see the team win).

Saturday Night Live Season 37, Episode 22/Season Finale
For the Season Finale of SNL things were quite definitely switched up a bit. Mick Jagger was both the host and sort-of the musical performer. I say he was sort-of the performer because this was a rare occasion where there were three musical bits, and they all had different people with the exception being a uniting factor of Jagger as a part of every piece. Arcade Fire went first, then Foo Fighters, and lastly Jagger did an interesting and highly political song called, "Tea Party," with Jeff Beck where some stations cut away because he said, "Shit," at one point. Of course, these stations also were in areas that were more conservative and probably didn't appreciate the content of the song, but I'm sure that had nothing to do with it, right? See it here, surprisingly uncut. Jagger also was genuinely funny in the bits he appeared in, such as secret word where for once someone was able to match Kristen Wiig's actress-character's sheer insanity. How did he do this? With his own actor character who portrays macho-men on the screen but is quite clearly barely-in-the-closet. The bit where he attends karaoke as a shy man and people pretend to be Jagger  was funny also.

Jon Hamm appeared in the cold open where Kristen Wiig's creepy character who always appears on the Laurence Welk show spoof did her usual thing but this time seemed to actually finally find love with Hamm's character. The things he did to her hands...oh my. Speaking of cameos, Steve Martin oddly popped up toward the end of the show for a blink-and-you'll miss it joke too.

While I'm going to tell you of a saddening departure soon, it is known that Andy Samberg and Jason Sudekis have contracts that are up. As for if they will be on the show next season, that is unclear. What is clear would be how Andy Samberg and crew's digital shorts are still hilarious as this 101st one illustrates with its, "Lazy Sunday 2." At first I was afraid we were going to get a retread, but then the beat switches up, the rhymes get fresh, and I indeed laughed--"Still waiting on a ******* youtube check," indeed. Those last verses from Samberg and Parnell seem kind of final though,"On these New York streets I hone my fake rap penmanship," "That's how it began," "And that's how I'mma finish it." I hope he is around next year just because I love the shorts so much if nothing else. Observe:


















Lastly, all this talk of Kristen Wiig getting so much screen time hints at it, and surely enough the biggest news probably was that this was the episode where it was made official she is leaving the cast of SNL, with her being given a send-off by Jagger and friends singing, "Ruby Tuesday," in what started out as a skit but turned into the goodnight-segement (so really four musical bits if you think about it). Everyone in the current cast danced with her and past cast members who hadn't even appeared in the episode showed up to say goodbye to her. It was truly touching and I'm sad she is leaving the show as she was arguably the strongest female presence on the show.

I will miss Wiig being on the show.

All-in-all this was a pretty strong episode (Stefon showed up in Weekend Update too!) even if some sketches were a bit dull (The Al Sharpton one dragged). It was a decent season with some strong episodes and some weak ones, but I'll most remember the talent that was lost at the end of the season or may be lost depending on who else leaves.
3.5 out of 5 stars (for the episode, it's too hard to give the season itself a solid rating. 3 out of 5 maybe).


Credits
There you go, those are my thoughts about Glee and SNL. I hope the season finale of the former is good tonight and equally hope SNL brings in some good talent next year to try and fill the gap left.

Rant-Reviews--My Free Comic Book Day Comics

Start
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) was a bit ago. I finally went through my lot of comics and can review them. It took so long because I had finals--with the tests and big papers, et al. Now it is summer, so besides hopefully having an internship I shall be a bit more free to complain about and insult comics/movies/books/games/etc. rampantly on the web. Theoretically at least. I've got a long list of things to read and review I'm working on. Let's get to this.

The Reviews

Mouse Guard: Labyrinth and Other Stories
Everyone has been going on about how beautiful this hardcover book looks compared to the other Free Comic Book Day floppies that were around, and while it is quite pretty I don't know if it is something to jizz your pants about--which it really seems folk are. After all, once you crack this thing open and read the contents you get a decent refresher in Mouse Guard lore, a weird tale about a lonely troll-man, an incomprehensible Dapper Men tale, something called, "Rust," that I admittedly enjoyed, a piece about Cursed Pirate Girl that tries a bit too hard to be weird to a point where it loses some of the fun, and a cute-but-throwaway story about a young cowboy who hunts down his nogoodnik relatives. In other words, like almost all anthologies it is a grab bag with little really grabbing me other than, "Rust," which has a strange surreal feeling and charm to it I could possibly find worth following into its main book. Still, the actual comic's design sure is nice.
3 out of 5 stars.

Superman Family Adventures/Green Lantern: The Animated Series/Young Justice
I wanted to like this more, but the, "Superman Family Adventures," I found the best cut off really soon, the Green Lantern bit is quite subpar, and Young Justice is just a lame teaser. No thanks.
2 out of 5 stars.

Avengers: Age of Ultron
This is really just a reprint of Avengers #12.1 but now called #0.1 with Spider-Woman having her outfit colored-on so parents won't freak out about their kids reading this after getting it at FCBD. It's a really sort of pointless Avengers tale that sets up some mega-event with Ultron coming in some months that the Bendis Moon Knight comic also just turned out to be a 12-issue lead-in for. The art is decent enough, I suppose.
2 out of 5 stars.

An Image Comic Sampler (Not It's Real Name, But I Don't Know What It Is)
A random assortment of stories that start up and get cut-off so you go buy the main book--other than a fun thing by Steve Niles and Scott Morse. Otherwise we don't get complete tales, but previews of books, some of which look entirely worth skipping ("Revival") and others that I've heard good things about ("Near Death"). It's still previews though, and if you want me to think your FCBD offering is quality don't give me a smidgen of a story and call it a day.
2 out of 5 stars.

Bad Medicine #1
The complete first issue of a new series called Bad Medicine where the hook essentially is someone has invented invisibility. It's an entirely passable story even if it does some jumping around in time that is completely unnecessary to the plot. Plus, the issue seems to just sort of end, and not in the way a comic should, but like they just ran out of pages for the story. Methinks this maybe was written as a trade paperback and they decided to split it up into an individual comic--at least that's my theory as the way this just comes to a halt on the last page is weird.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Dinosaurs Versus Aliens
Grant Morrison should be a winner, but we get very little story, then some writings by the authors about how they wanted to do this and make a movie out of it, and then some concept art. I don't take kindly to being given comics that are little more than thinly-veiled movie pitches, even if they look somewhat pretty. The main story could turn out well, but this free comic is bleh.
1 out of 5 stars.

Lady Death: The Beginning
I've reviewed Lady Death before, and she is fine as a cheesecake with some violence thrown in, which is exactly what this is. Something that is impressive however, is that in this era of highly decompressed storytelling how much stuff they cram in here. There is enough material for some authors to stretch out over 12 issues and this just goes at a breakneck pace with its higher-than-usual page-count to help the bunch of stuff that occurs breathe at least a tiny bit. This may be essentially swords-and-boobs, but it's swords-and-boobs done well. That's a good thing.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Valiant 2012
We get the start of, "X-O Manowar,", which is about some ancient man getting a space-age suit, I believe. I say, "I believe," because the story cuts off before that happens but I've heard about the version of this from years ago and how its being relaunched. There is also an incredibly short snippet of something called, "Harbringer," which is about a psychic kid or something? I have no clue, its so short that I'm lost. There are also random writing pages with script notes or something for another comic. This was a bit lame. Like finding out all those mystical people you believed in don't exist (Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy) level of lame.
1.5 out of 5 stars.

Witchblade: Unbalanced Pieces
The first story is interesting, with the idea that the Univerese was reset and only one man--the wielder of The Darkness--knows about it. Sadly, that is a very short piece of this comic. The rest is a long Witchblade tale that ends up getting cut off (but not because its a short preview, I think its because the issue truly ends). The Witchblade story still isn't that good though. It has a weird bone-and-flesh suit enemy, evil bikers (could we be any more cliche?) and just sort of rambles along with its exposition as apparently this story is being told to us in the past tense by the main character...ugh. I'm intrigued about The Darkness and could skim that, but Witchblade is mediocre at best.
2.5 out of 5 stars (and I'm being generous because that first short tale caught my interest).

The Hypernaturals
Superheroes in the future, unnecessary jumping around in time that doesn't help the plot much, a clearly lacking hook besides the aforementioned superheroes in the future...I'll skip any future issues I think.
1.5 out of 5 stars.

Atomic Robo
An awesome Atomic Robo story that is quite fun and hilarious, then a dull short from Neozoic and a sample of Bonnie Lass. The last two things don't really matter compared to the first story, which is a real keeper with its mad scientist dinosaur. Yes, a mad scientist who is also a dinosaur, you can thank me for pointing you towards this comic later.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Intrinsic
This apparently takes various characters Arcana comics has the rights to and puts them together in a completely and utterly forgettable tale about heroes and demons, alternate dimensions, or something. Dull, dull, dull.
1 out of 5 stars.

The Ride/Anti
One story is about a man taking a woman from a, "key party," out to the middle of nowhere and killing her violently, then driving off. The other story is about demons coming to earth or something and a woman who kills them violently. Putting aside how utterly wretched, "The Ride," part was even though its other comics have been okay, the Anti story was pretty horrible too. The fact we have one comic that is just a man brutally murdering a woman and then saying, "Well that happened," and it was given away on FCBD as if people would enjoy reading it is just utterly insulting and disturbing however.
.5 out of 5 stars (the .5 is for Anti having okay art).

The New 52
So, DC Comics wants new readers for their re-launched comics and puts out this impenetrable thing of flashbacks and flash-forwards that looks okay, but barely makes sense at the moment? Okay, whoever said that was a great idea must have been so coked up out of their mind at time that going, "The New 52 is selling so well, I think we should do this ultra-big-encompassing story but forget to have it make a lick of sense," actually seemed like a good idea in their drug-raddled brain. Why are DC executives sniffing cocaine? Two reasons, they are celebrating this New 52 doing quite well, and their magic machine that sees the future showed them how well, "The Avengers," did and they realized they passed on Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman and only drugs can numb that pain. Yes, DC has a time machine, but they only use it for comic-business purposes so as to avoid creating a time-disturbance. You can read all about it in my true news story  which also discusses how Dan Didio has sex with a pile of, "Before Watchmen," scripts and mails it to Alan Moore weekly because Didio is kind of sick like that. Really, I'm working on the scoop for this as we speak (no I'm not).
2 out of 5 stars.

Bongo Comics Free-For-All/Spongebob Comics Freestyle Funnies
The Simpson's story is pure time-passing average, we also get a nice story from a certain famous artist of Mad Magazine (Sergio Aragones) but the Spongebob stuff is where the fun is really at, with a contribution from Kochalka adding some nice flavor.
3 out of 5 stars.

Yo Gabba Gabba!
I've never watched the show but this comic is actually quite good. It's funny, clever, and cute. I am surprised at its story quality and nice art. Go figure.
4 out of 5 stars.

2000 AD
Some of this is preview-material for other comics, but a good chunk happens to be complete stories, and they are pretty good ones. From a decent Judge Dredd that points out how he is a really authoritarian and kind of evil, to a fun old robot tale and a great super-hero pseudo-parody by Chris Weston this is quite enjoyable.
4 out of 5 stars.

End
As can be seen the Free Comic Book Day comics run the gamut in quality widely. I wasn't able to read all of them but I got a pretty good number and some were real winners, such as Atomic Robo, 2000 AD, Bad Medicine and oddly enough the Lady Death comic. Also, that Mouse Guard hardcover does look beautiful even if the inside contents of the comic aren't utterly amazing. All-in-all it was a pretty good FCBD.

Thoughts On The Walking Dead Video-Game Episode 1 and Electronic Gaming Monthly #254

Zombies and Gaming-Magazines.
This post is all about video-games. A fun one based on the popular franchise, "The Walking Dead," and a magazine that discusses them.

Like, "Heavy Rain," but With More Zombies--"The Walking Dead" Game Episode 1: A New Day

Confession time: I've not watched, "The Walking Dead," television show. That's not too embarrassing, but worse I've only read a very few of the comics. I know what you're saying, "And you dare call yourself a comic nerd and horror fan!" Hate all you want, but I just didn't really find myself that intrigued by the concept of zombies without a twist in this modern day. Romero did such an amazing job with his, "Night Of The Living Dead," and its sequels, along with the clever takes on zombies where they actually weren't zombies such as, "28 Days [or the even better Weeks] Later," films that I just felt I lacked a need for much more zombies.

However, I've known about Telltale games for sometime, and have been aware they put out some pretty good stuff. Their, "Sam and Max," games are known to be quite awesome and other than a misstep with their, "Jurassic Park," attempt which was apparently sub-par, they make quality stuff. Therefore, when I heard they had made a Walking Dead game that had action bits but also clever a use of a dialogue system with many people using a comparison to another game I loved, "Heavy Rain," well...my interest was piqued.

Your dialogue choices can have ramifications later in the game.

Upon playing the first episode I can say that this is one entertaining, suspenseful, and at times a bit scary game. Playing as Lee Everett, a man going to prison for a crime we are not yet aware of, everything goes to hell (with the zombies appearing and whatnot) and the police car he's in crashes. After encountering some zombies Lee meets up with a young girl named Clementine who it is clear has parents that are not coming home anytime soon. Lee takes her under his wing and we're off on an adventure.

One interesting thing about the game is how it claims your choices will impact future episodes or even moments within the same episode. My decision to lie to someone did get me a stern talking-to from them as they informed me they could see through my ruse easily, and the game at times will have you make life-or-death decisions that appear to have an effect on future episodes, with someone I chose to save popping up in the, "Next time on the Walking Dead," teaser for episode 2 after I beat the first. I did make it clear how these are split up into a form like television episodes, right? Well, its quite snazzy and gives everything a good feel. It may only take you 2 or 3 hours to play through the first episode, but for a cost not too much higher than some comics today it really is worth the money--and yes, you can do a, "season pass," where you buy all the episodes in advance which is handy.

I really enjoyed this, with its mixture of action, talking, and a smattering of puzzles thrown in to keep the ol' noggin working hard. Your character, Lee, is a fascinating man regardless of the words you have him choose, and Clementine is unique for a child side-kick in that she isn't annoying as hell and actually is fun, smart, and interesting. I really enjoyed this and look forward to the next monthly installment. Hey, just like a comic book!
4.5 out of 5 stars.

I Remember When This Magazine Died In It's Prime. Then They Brought It Back As This.

Electronic Gaming Monthly was my favorite magazine for a long time. Then one day the company was bought-out and the magazine suddenly killed. People who worked in the office were just told that day to leave. My issue of EGM about the upcoming Wolverine video-game (which actually turned out to be pretty good) was suddenly the last one to ever hit newsstands.

Then a good time later I one day saw the magazine back on a news-rack, and it was a new issue. How was this possible, I wondered? It had been returned from nothingness, and this new opening issue had a blessing from the old magazine's famous Dan "Shoe" Hsu wishing it well. It was wonderful! Except it wasn't. It was an okay magazine, but it wasn't my EGM I remembered. Yes, they had previews, and reviews, and features like all magazines, and even a fun little section in the back with writer Seanbaby making fun of bad games as the old magazine did, but things were just so different. They seemed too positive about games in reviews--where was that old constructive criticism I loved? Their letters section was too nice compared to the old one which used to rip people apart who needed a good insult, it now was bimonthly/every two months...things were just so different.

So now we arrive at this new issue. They've tweaked things again, adding three reviewers to most reviews as in the days of old (well, in the even farther past reviews had more reviewers, but we won't get technical), moving sections around, and changing the design style. What do I think? Well, it's a fine magazine, and one I enjoy reading, but it still isn't truly EGM as I remember it. Perhaps the magic that magazine carried is just lost forever, with the closet thing to its big bulky issues of gaming-goodness being some of the UK mags that are loaded with info and reviews. Maybe its nostalgia tinting my views as EGM was something I grew up with for years and the old issues are something I still treasure as opposed to other magazines I don't hesitate to recycle. Whatever the case, this is a fine magazine and a nice read, but it just is not what I think of when I think of what EGM truly is...or was.
3 out of 5 stars.

Film Fridays: Avengers

My Spoiler-Free, Honest Take On The Avengers? Pretty Great.

So, I saw the Avengers at a midnight premiere last night/early this morning (if you want to be specific). I shall share my thoughts with you now. I can say that this movie was yes, pretty great. It's up there with the first Iron Man in terms of quality. The amazing thing is they were able to take all these huge characters and put them together in a movie and make it feel like each got enough time to breathe (except maybe Hawkeye who sort of gets the shaft--get it? He's an archer and I said shaft? Yeah, I'm lame). Much of the credit for this film being as good as it is goes to director Joss Whedon. You can feel his presence in the film for sure, especially in all the hilarious one-liners sprinkled throughout. Seriously, this movie has some moments that are absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious besides the usual drama and action.

Oh, and what action there is. Things explode, guns fire, people punch, and a Hulk most definitely does smash. I would say Captain America and Iron Man are the best characters in the movie, with Thor and the Hulk doing a great job and the Black Widow and especially Hawkeye seeming a bit like an afterthought. As for Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, he is quite delightful getting genuine screen-time as opposed to his mostly-cameos in the Marvel flicks leading up to this.

My complaints are minor. Even though pretty much all the characters shine you still really want to to see more of them, and that big battle in NYC (this isn't a spoiler, any preview makes it clear there is big fighting in NYC) seems to start to drag after a little bit. Yes, it looks impressive and is interesting, but it just keeps going and going. Also, whereas Loki seemed a bit more nuanced in Thor, in Avengers he seems more just straight-up evil and maniacal as opposed to deeply emotional sad and complex in addition to evil. Still, this is one stellar flick and quite worth seeing. Oh, but make sure you stay until completely after the credits. Even if you think everything extra is done during the credits, stay until completely after the movie if you truly want to see everything in the film.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Thoughts About Avengers Before I See It AKA Fan's Guilt

Things On My Chest That I've Got To Confess....

I haven't seen Avengers yet. I had one of the fun surprises in the movie ruined for me--which was lame--so I've put myself on an, "Avengers blackout," where I won't look at any new reviews or information about the movie to avoid spoiling anything else before I see it tonight at midnight with my incredibly patient-with-me girlfriend.

Before I see it though, I admit that while I am excited and have been waiting for this since that scene after the credits of Iron Man where we hear, "Let me tell you about the Avengers Initiative," I have this nagging feeling. I feel a little like a traitor to the very men who helped create these amazing characters, you see.

What's that? What am I talking about? Well, Stan Lee is happy to mug for Marvel and take the credit for making the Avengers and all those other characters, but so much of it was a multi-person effort with people like Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, and more making these characters and the initial tales that made them so popular. Creators who made some of our favorite heroes (Avengers and all the others) were not repaid with royalties but instead are often dying fighting Marvel for their art back (Kirby),or having to beg the comic community for help for their health problems (Quite a few). There is some help however, in a not-for-profit that was founded known as the Hero Initiative that helps comic creators because publishers don't have the heart to do so.

Even the Initiative can only do so much, as creators like Gene Colan who received help from them still had to sell art to merely pay hospital bills until his passing. The family of the creators of Superman are fighting DC for some money for the most-recognized character of all-time. Jack Kirby's name wasn't even in the credits for the Avenger's movie and Stan Lee sounded like he didn't give a damn, until Marvel at the last minute put Kirby's name in--probably to avoid too much bad press.

All these creators screwed over, and Stan Lee has enough power he could shame Marvel into doing something but they pay him enough money he keeps his mouth shut and he keeps smiling for the camera. I have a complex relationship with Lee. I love him for the things he helped create and write, and will be so sad when he dies, but I also feel a bit bitter about how he doesn't seem to care at all about his fellow creators. He's like a relative who lavishes you with love but ignores all your other cousins. You feel great, but feel bad for them.

How can I truly enjoy Avenger's knowing that creators are still having all this done to them, and fans are cheering about corporations screwing over the men who made these tales because they don't want to risk losing getting their monthly hero-stories if a company decides it would rather not publish Superman or Iron-Man instead of paying royalties? God, look at, "Before Watchmen," and how little respect DC must have for Alan Moore now considering he has said countless times over the years, "DC, please quit screwing with me," and they haven't in the variety of ways I have read about them doing crass things to Moore. Really, how can I? I'm not sure, but there are some opinions out there.

Some people suggest just not seeing Avengers, but I'm not sure that's the way to go. I like the idea of donating money to causes that support creators in equal to your ticket price to see Avengers. That sounds like a really fair thing to do. It show creators we value them, and lets us enjoy something some people have been wanting since that first issue of The Avengers came out all those years ago.

Go to this link to give, and give what you want. Yes, it is tax-deductible as they are a non-profit. It makes me feel like I'm both supporting the people who made the characters I love, and the ability of a company to make more movies about those characters (although its not as if Avengers will be hurting for money).

There, I've said my peace.