Bought/Thought 12/17

[Spade]

I'll give YOU something to yank!


t:

I don't know if it's the upside-down kiss avatar or not, but I probably read more into this than I should have.

 

[Manic]

Yeah, because if all those things happened to you in the short span the story cannonically takes place (which is less than 2 weeks, yes?) you wouldn't be super ****ing depressed.

That's the thing, though. For me, it felt like the game was trying too hard. I've played plenty of video games with sad and lonely protagonists, but Cloud's story was one of the few that made me pause the game, put down the controller, and say "Really?!"

I was emotionally invested in Cloud's story toward the beginning of the game, but as the game went on, I just found myself uninterested and wanting to focus on any of the other characters.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Avengers: The Initiative - Another good issue and probably the best tie-in to SI.

Mighty Avengers - Great issue for Pym, fans. Good job Bendis.

Thunderbolts - Ends on somewhat of a good note.


Has Nobody Read Comics Today?

Mighty Avengers was excellent!

Although Hank's outburst at Jan's funeral (along with Thor's appearance) was very well done, i would have quite frankly paid the cover price for the verbal sparring between Clint and Osborn alone.

 

[Spade]

It was definitely the best part of the issue, though it felt a bit awkward to laugh while I'm reading what's supposed to be a sad sendoff for Janet.

 

[El Bastardo]

Yeah, because if all those things happened to you in the short span the story cannonically takes place (which is less than 2 weeks, yes?) you wouldn't be super ****ing depressed.

It's pretty lazy writing to go into it saying, "Hey, all this bad crap is going to happen to the hero [sidebar: bad and depressing crap tends to happen to most heroes. Note, this is not actually said in the exampled dialogue here] and he'll be really depressed and so we can justify him being majorly anti-social and we'll call it brilliant character development." That's pretty much the direction FFVII's writers went with Cloud. Heck, Vincent was practically more talkative and well-adjusted than Cloud was. And if THAT isn't bad enough, poor Cloud gets mind-raped by Tifa in Mideel, too. And wasn't that a bucket of fun?

To boot, the game's overall story and overall development was pretty bad, too. There was a good idea at the core, but that got muddled pretty quickly.

But the game did do some revolutionizing. After all, the grand success helped pave the way for that smashing hit Final Fantasy 8. And it introduced to the genre tons of new fans who think FFVII is the epitome of greatness and nothing else can compare.

 

[RockSP]

Bought

Solomon Kane #2
Kull #2
Terra #4
Dark Reign: New Nation
X-Men: Kingbreaker #1
Iron Man #8
Birds of Prey #124, #125
X-Factor #38
Thor: God-Size
Thunderbolts #127
Ultimate Fantastic Four #59
Highrollers #4
Death Defying 'Devil #1
Legion of Superheroes #48
Ex Machina #40
Avengers: The Initiative #19
Mighty Avengers #20
Uncanny X-Men #505

Thought

Ultimate Fantastic Four - This comment is really about the previous issue.The guy writing this now seems to have forgotten that Reed and Ben aren't the same age. Reed skipped a few grades, according to their origin back in the early issues. Otherwise, just another "eh" issue. Had been contemplating dropping this but since it's supposed to end next issue...

Mighty Avengers - Wasn't going to pick this up, but ended up grabbing it anyway. Like pretty much everyone else has said it was probably Bendis' best on this book...that I've read, anyway...I dropped it back when it was in single digits. Bring on Slott.

 

[GNR]

Powerless by Cherniss/Johnson/Gaydos

Bought this in the summer but had the chance to read it again.This mini series is so overlooked,it's quite a shame.It's basically a character driven story of the Marvel Universe stripped of its costumes and superpowers.The story is told from the POV of a certain cosmic being with Logan,Parker and Murdock in the forefront.There are countless supporting characters in this as well such as Banner,Castle,Fisk and Osborne to name a few.

What's great about this series is the fact that the attitudes and personalities of the characters are really put in the spotlight,and it's a strong reminder of how established and iconic these Marvel characters are even without the costumes or powers being showcased.Logan is still the haunted spirit who can overcome the impossible,Murdock is still the attorney who will do anything to ensure justice and Parker is still the awkward teen who tends to always do the right thing.Alot of the predicaments the characters are placed in make for some very compelling storytelling.It's interesting to see how characters react when they can't just put on a costume and solve their problems.The Murdock/Castle/Fisk plotline was probably my favorite,great "oh ****" moment at its conclusion.

There are some great twists and turns all the way through,characters succeed at various costs,some even paying with their lives.There's various winks and nods to MU history as we see the "origins" of certain characters but with different results.Gaydos' art is just as phenomenal here as it was in Alias.

Overall,I'd say this is one of Marvel's best stories to come out in the past 5 years.It's a really organic story that doesn't try to shoot too high or accomplish anything spectacular,especially with a large number of characters.Cherniss and Johnson seem very comfortable focusing on only a few characters as the leads.Supporting characters pop up from time to time either as winks to fans or in very crucial roles.The main draw of it all is seeing these larger than life characters we've grown so complacent with over the years taken down to our level and our world and seeing their individual fates play out.

 

[fifthfiend]

That's the thing, though. For me, it felt like the game was trying too hard. I've played plenty of video games with sad and lonely protagonists, but Cloud's story was one of the few that made me pause the game, put down the controller, and say "Really?!"

I was emotionally invested in Cloud's story toward the beginning of the game, but as the game went on, I just found myself uninterested and wanting to focus on any of the other characters.

I think it was the point where I found out that Cloud wasn't anybody but some crazy **** who stole another dude's clothes and **** yet was somehow still the hero for some reason that wasn't particularly clear at all where I went "seriously guys, WTF."

That and like the twelve different up-and-backs in the plot. "The huge revelation is_______ ... except wait no it isn't!" like, over and ****ing over again.

the short span the story cannonically takes place (which is less than 2 weeks, yes?)

WTF? That seriously doesn't work at all, unless they're throwing out even a bare pretense of cohesion between gameplay and story. Even then I'm not sure that it does.

It's pretty lazy writing to go into it saying, "Hey, all this bad crap is going to happen to the hero [sidebar: bad and depressing crap tends to happen to most heroes. Note, this is not actually said in the exampled dialogue here] and he'll be really depressed and so we can justify him being majorly anti-social and we'll call it brilliant character development." That's pretty much the direction FFVII's writers went with Cloud. Heck, Vincent was practically more talkative and well-adjusted than Cloud was. And if THAT isn't bad enough, poor Cloud gets mind-raped by Tifa in Mideel, too. And wasn't that a bucket of fun?

To boot, the game's overall story and overall development was pretty bad, too. There was a good idea at the core, but that got muddled pretty quickly.

Had me...

After all, the grand success helped pave the way for that smashing hit Final Fantasy 8.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaand, lost me.

 

[Spade]

Think he meant that sarcastically.

If he wasn't...I don't know what to say to that. I didn't think FFVIII was a good game. FFIX was the next installment past FFVI that I liked, and I find that the primary reason I liked FFX was because it had a pretty design and Auron was a bad@ss.

 

[fifthfiend]

In fairness to FFX I really liked the battle system and the plot actually more or less held together.

I didn't enjoy the ending much but that was mainly my own fault for overleveling the **** out of my characters (I decided to get all the God Weapon **** on my first playthrough before I ever went through the final boss) which killed whatever dramatic impact the final battles might have had.

(One thing I ended up really appreciating in Dragon Warrior VIII was that it only unlocks the secret extra-hard bonus dungeon after you've beaten the game normally.)

 

[BrianWilly]

Ah, I started something beautiful.

Cloud was fine. Come on, we've all known far worse protagonists, with even less personality and even more melodramatic frowning and self-pretentious posturing. I mean hello, we read Marvel comics. His only real crime was to become overrated, and that didn't even happen until way later.

VIII's play system was probably the single worst of the series and contends for the worst out of a whole lotta RPGs in general (Junctioning stats to...neopets...?) but y'know what, I liked the story. There was a whole assload of subtext in there that isn't apparent at first, a lot of plot and character points that you really have to think about instead of just having it all explained to you.

And no, I'm not talking about that damned Rinoa theory because it is a ******ed theory.

Back when FINAL FANTASY was a game and not a series of cinemas with gameplay occasionally poking in.

I actually agree with this about 359%. People tout X as being this super-engaging masterstroke of visual storytelling epic event whatsis thingy, but personally I was a bit distracted by all the LOOK WE'RE BEING CINEMATIC NOW WOOOSH CAMERA ANGLES LOOK. It's like every single moment of dialogue was taking film school and beating it till it glowed.

Look, Squarehards. Just because you can do something in scene composition doesn't mean that you should.

Genesis

...*twitch*







Anyway comics yup.

 

[SouLeSS]

WTF? That seriously doesn't work at all, unless they're throwing out even a bare pretense of cohesion between gameplay and story. Even then I'm not sure that it does.

I'm about 94% sure they said somewhere in the game, or somewhere in an interview post game that the overall story if taken from when Cloud jumped off the train to when Cloud omnislashes Sephiroth to end the game, it's less than a month.

I'll go find it. Maybe, the game came out a longass time ago and not all interviews were website friendly at that time.

 

[fifthfiend]

There was a whole assload of subtext in there that isn't apparent at first, a lot of plot and character points that you really have to think about instead of just having it all explained to you.

Like where all the characters who just met a week ago actually grew up together twenty years ago in an orphanage which they then forgot about because they have Pokemon-incuded amnesia which they then never talk about or make reference to again.

SUBTEXT

 

[SouLeSS]

Heh. FFVIII, how we love thee.

 

[BrianWilly]

Like where all the characters who just met a week ago actually grew up together twenty years ago in an orphanage which they then forgot about because they have Pokemon-incuded amnesia which they then never talk about or make reference to again.

SUBTEXT

Junctioning, while utterly stupid as a gaming system, actually plays a huge part in the storyline. When Ellone takes the team into the past, she's in fact junctioning them to Laguna's trio. When Ultimecia uses this technique to take over Edea and Rinoa in the present, she's in fact junctioning herself to them. Later on she draws the memory of Griever from Squall himself and then junctions herself to that.

It all makes a bit more sense when you realize, after having a bunch of FAQs explain it to you, in my case, that the entire magic system of the FF8 world -- the GFs, the Sorceress powers, draw points, all of it -- is based on memories.

Also, considering that the founders of SeeD used to, well, run that orphanage, compounded with the revelation in the end that it was Squall himself who told Edea to create SeeD, it's actually pretty significant that most if not all of the members of that orphanage wound up being SeeD members. Rinoa wasn't in that orphanage and, through amazing coincidence, she wasn't a SeeD member. You see? After Squall told Edea what she needed to do, she and Cid used their home as a drafting ground, which is what would eventually lead him into telling her what to do in the first place.

Time travel.

 

[SouLeSS]

Thanks for taking the time tp type what I wanted to for me.

 

[yenaled]

I love FFIX... unhealthily.

To make this a review:

Manhunter #37

Format surprised me but after reading it I think it's the best format to tell the final story in (and hey maybe it means she and the cast can't become cannon fodder in the next event). Found it funny that Ram was gay but it didn't feel forced (was his Boyfriend meant to be Atom Smashers son?). The daughter of Obsidian and I assume Damon Matthews being called Jade made perfect sense - but it didn't that she started attacking Ram. Loved seeing Mark Shaw again and I hope they tie up all the Order of St Dumas stuff.

I'll miss this book a lot.

 

[El Bastardo]

Think he meant that sarcastically.

Yes, it was sarcasm. Thank you for having a working detector.

In fairness to FFX I really liked the battle system and the plot actually more or less held together.

I didn't enjoy the ending much but that was mainly my own fault for overleveling the **** out of my characters (I decided to get all the God Weapon **** on my first playthrough before I ever went through the final boss) which killed whatever dramatic impact the final battles might have had.

Ha, yeah, but then, that blame - if blame is the right word - can't really be placed on the game's plot. I rate FFX pretty highly, and tend to consider it one of the strongest FFs. That's not necessarily saying much, but hey.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Can we please stop referring to Final Fantasy as FF???


There is only one FF.

 

[SouLeSS]

If we were just saying FF, yes, but we're putting numbers after it, so no.

 

[Franklin Richards]

THIS is FFVII!

 

[Manic]

I always refer to the Fantastic Four as the F4 or Fan4.

 

[The Geek Vault]

I know this isn't really the right thread but Does Anyone know when the next The Twelve is coming out?

 

[CaptainCanada]

It's been scheduled for sometime in January; more JMS scheduling problems, I assume.

 

[Dread]

I actually agree with this about 359%. People tout X as being this super-engaging masterstroke of visual storytelling epic event whatsis thingy, but personally I was a bit distracted by all the LOOK WE'RE BEING CINEMATIC NOW WOOOSH CAMERA ANGLES LOOK. It's like every single moment of dialogue was taking film school and beating it till it glowed.

Look, Squarehards. Just because you can do something in scene composition doesn't mean that you should.
...*twitch*







Anyway comics yup.

Exactly.

I know this isn't really the right thread but Does Anyone know when the next The Twelve is coming out?

I don't know. The last issue, #8 I believe shipping in October and November was a "skip" month. Weston's detailed art is probably hard to keep to a schedule, even though I heard he had considerable lead time for THE TWELVE.