Bought/Thought 6/1--Spoilers to Come!

[deathshead2]

transformers 5
the incredible hulk 95
runaways 16
Battlestar galactica 0
52 4
mouse guard 3
star wars KOTOR 5
UFF 30

Transformers 5-I enjoy transformers I really do but I have no idea why I buy this comic it goes no where. Nothing really great has happened at all. The art is still horrible and the kids I still can't stand. But Megs is back with Prime fighting him next issue. Furmon better get on the ball or I may drop this. Besides I would rather this be the mini series and beast wars the ongoing sense it was much better. 4/10

hulk 95-Nice ending to an arc took me a good 20 min to read which is what I like sitting down taking my time. The art is still great and the fight with Hulk and SS was nice even though short. Can't wait for the next arc.
9/10

runaways 16-the only bad thing about this book is the cover art and thats it. We got some great stuff in this issue the return of some um well find out for yourself if you havn't read it. And also great emotion from Chase with what happen when Gert found out about the kiss. You really see how much he lovers her. 9.5/10

battlestar galactica 0- Not bad for a 25 cent issue. Really makes me want to pick up issue 1 with its cliff hanger. 10/10

Star wars KOTOR 5-I really injoy the plot of this series and in this issue we find out why the teachers killed there students. At first I thought they were sith but it seems there not and were killing them for the sake of saving alot of lives. Only bad part is the fill in artest.
8/10

the others I havn't read yet.

 

[BrianWilly]

And I'm glad someone replied to it. Anyway, yeah, I just recall coming to that scene and going, "Hey, DC heroes are missing and the government's actually spending time and manpower trying to FIND them? And the individual astronauts seem to genuinely CARE!? Man, if this was Marvel, we'd have a whole scene of people going 'Good riddance!' or just widespread apathy from non-connected folks (as in, non-supporting character folks)".

The thing is, Marvel's superheroes HAVE performed many acts of superheroism. How many broad daylight rescues, battles, or so on have Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Avengers, heck, even the New Warriors done? GRAVITY sort of captured sort of the "day in the life" style of NY superheroics, where a battle between some supers in midtown is almost as common as rubbernecking. And that's not mentioning past events like Kree/Skrull, Onslaught, and I'm sure others. The thing is that Marvel's world reacts differently to it. Spider-Man could stop a nasty supervillian and save civilians from falling rubble and get cursed on the street for doing it. Heck, the MU continues to shift to a place where mutants can be nailed to crosses in BROAD DAYLIGHT and no one says diddly. Meanwhile, in the real world, ethnic relations aren't nearly as extreme.

And no, I don't just mean J.J. and the DAILY BUGLE. One lone newspaper in NY surely can't be responsible for swaying much public opinion on ANYTHING. Real world example; the NEW YORK POST is a longtime newspaper in NY, has a massive readership. They're Right Wing. They endorse Pres. Bush. NY is a blue state. Most New Yorks hate him. Nothing the POST says is going to change that. Which is kind of what I liked about some of the SPIDER-MAN movies scenes. J.J. has his media vendetta, but Joe and Jane Schmoe on the street don't all hate Spider-Man.

Marvel's built itself on a certain way of telling stories, though, and the media backlash works with their themes of isolation and angst. Granted, the thought of Marvel being forever in a state of adolesence should be disturbing, but whatever.

To switch horses for a bit, I think that that sort of obvious differentiation between the two companies is also very refreshing in an odd sort of way.

If we put both universes to the actual real world standard of how people would react to superheroes, the reality is that the DC citizens would probably be a lot more cynical and the Marvel citizens would probably be a lot more grateful. Fictional universes are very often an allegory of real world attitudes but rarely a perfect mirror. It's those inconsistencies and flaws in the reflection that give the fictional universe its character and spice.

The problem, as Dan Brown would but it, is when we begin to believe literally in our own metaphors. JJ's persecution of Spider-Man sets a nice tone of isolation and that of being an outsider...but as you said, defamation on that scale would pretty much never fly in the real world. And the more that the writers try to convince us that it would be that way in the real world, the less convincing that it is. In my opinion, Civil War believes a bit too literally in its own metaphor. The more that I look at this registration act, the less convinced I am that it would ever really fly in a completely realistic, nonfictional perspective. And yet that's the exact tone that the writers are pushing, that this is exactly what would happen in the real world.

I might argue that this sort of "problem" doesn't really affect the DCU because characters like Superman and Wonder Woman are metaphors through and through, and the writers know this. They are symbols, and work best as symbols. Character like Spider-Man or Wolverine can be seen as metaphorical, yes, but they are also meant to convey realism and "unromanticized" fiction from day one. I would argue that writers need to be incredibly careful with just how real and unromanticized that they make the Marvel universe because you risk forgetting just what these characters are in the first place.



Oh wait, I completely forgot one review.

Ultimate Extinction #5
I read every word of this all the way through at the comic shop. When I got to the end of the issue, I completely expected it to say "To be continued."

What. The. Hell.

That's it?

That's just...omigod. Xavier and Jean shoot a bit telepathic beam at Gah Lak Tus, and then Reed shoots a Big Bang beam at Gah Lak Tus. There's no fight. He never even gets close to the Earth's orbit. The only action that the heroes see is from a bunch of cult clones or something. After all that suspense and all of those years of setup, this is the big finish?

I can honestly say that, IMO, the combo of Ultimate Nightmare, Secret, and Extinction is hands down the worst, the most overblown, the most overestimated, and the most disappointing mega-event from either Marvel or DC in the last three years. Considering that includes X-Men: The End, that's saying a lot.

(1 out of 10)

 

[PWN3R]

lol, glad I never picked that book up BW!


Man, I want Runaways now.

 

[GNR]

The Ultimate crossovers never interest me.

 

[PWN3R]

Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk is good. But that isn't a crossover really?

And do we have a date on that yet? Issue 3??

 

[Elijya]

To clarify something from earlier, Joe Q WAS NOT responsible for Sins Past. At least not directly. It was JMSs idea to have the two twins who were Gwen's and raised by Norman. However, he wanted PETER to be the father. Joe Q told him to make it Norman.

Which would you have prefered?

(yesyes, I know, that the story never occured, but between those two? The story was entirely JMSes idea anyway)

 

[GNR]

Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk is good. But that isn't a crossover really?

And do we have a date on that yet? Issue 3??

Oops,I actually like that mini.

I was talking more in the vein of Ultimate War,Secret,Nightmare,Extinction and the upcoming Power.

 

[PWN3R]

Oops,I actually like that mini.

I was talking more in the vein of Ultimate War,Secret,Nightmare,Extinction and the upcoming Power.

Ultimate War was kinda lame. Magneto was cool, and Colossus owning Ironman was sexy though.

All the others have never interested me, although Power, I am gonna try it out when it hits.

Question on Hulk, what issue did the whole Planet Hulk start on? I think I am gonna start picking this up.

 

[GNR]

#92.It's been kickass since.#95 just came out today.Get all 4 and read them together since it's the end of the first arc.

 

[Marcdachamp]

Runaways- PICK OF THE WEEK! Man, this arc scares the **** outta me. We all know something big is coming, and I, for one, am really worried for this cast. I love each one of them (even Victor, the newb), and the idea of one of them dying is just sad. Whoever it is, I know that Vaughan is gonna make it compelling. His love for his creations is evident throughout every issue. This issue is no exception. The character moments (particularly between Gert and Chase) are just plain touching. The only complaint I have is with the ridiculous scientist early in the issue. The idea of a scientist in the Marvel Universe not believing in aliens? Silly. 9/10

Ultimate Fantastic Four- Wow. I bought this for the Marvel Zombies tie-in, but all I could think was "Man, I've been missing out". Greg Land is a little like Jesus. I know not everyone believes, but I just can't wrap my mind around it. The man's art is freaking GORGEOUS. Part Two cannot come out any sooner. 9/10

Amazing Spider-Man- JMS does a terrific job of convincing us why Peter is Pro-Registration. I was a little skeptical of why Peter would choose this path, but JMS does a fantastic job of actually showing us. Like Runaways, I'm a little concerned about this arc, but, done correctly, we have the makings of Marvel history. 9/10

Son of M- "War". That one word is so powerful, quite literally in this case. Just like the rest of the mini, I had no idea how this series would conclude, and I loved that. Seeing the story continue in Civil War and X-Factor is going to be a wonderful treat. 8/10

Ultimate Spider-Man- Bags freaking rocks. This issue is so dark, and it's pretty interesting. Can't wait to see what Bendis does with Urich. Between that and Peter's relationship with Kitty, I find myself loving it when Bendis' does things differently in the Ultmate Universe. 8/10

Books of Doom- This issue wasn't bad, but this mini just didn't do it for me overall. Maybe it's because Doom's story has been told so many times. I dunno. Interesting ending, though. 7/10

Transformers- Megs kicking some ass in his own camp. Interesting. Read way too fast, but next issue should be fun. 7/10

 

[PhotoJones]

Ultimate Fantastic Four- Wow. I bought this for the Marvel Zombies tie-in, but all I could think was "Man, I've been missing out". Greg Land is a little like Jesus. I know not everyone believes, but I just can't wrap my mind around it. The man's art is freaking GORGEOUS. Part Two cannot come out any sooner. 9/10

your art would be awesome if you traced over photographs from fashion magazines, too.

 

[Marcdachamp]

your art would be awesome if you traced over photographs from fashion magazines, too.

Nah, it would still look sucky. Trust me, I know my art better than you do.

 

[Manic]

52 #4 - Wee! Question-y goodness!

Daughters of the Dragon #5 of 6 - Why isn't anyone buying this mini? Buy it! It's good, sexy fun. Plus I want to make sure Marvel follows through with their plans for a Heroes For Hire ongoing.

 

[PhotoJones]

52 #4 - Wee! Question-y goodness!

Daughters of the Dragon #5 of 6 - Why isn't anyone buying this mini? Buy it! It's good, sexy fun. Plus I want to make sure Marvel follows through with their plans for a Heroes For Hire ongoing.

i don't think you need to worry about heroes for hire. i think it's pretty much a lock.

 

[PWN3R]

Can someone give me an example of when Land traced over a fashion magazine?

 

[PhotoJones]

Can someone give me an example of when Land traced over a fashion magazine?

there's a thread about it, but i'm too lazy right now to look it up. he's traced magazines, movie posters, movie stills, etc...

 

[Manic]

there's a thread about it, but i'm too lazy right now to look it up. he's traced magazines, movie posters, movie stills, etc...

That makes sense, now that I think about it. I mean, some of the facial expressions he gives people are waaayyy off.

 

[Elijya]

there's a picture of Reed Richards I think from the Crossover arc where Reed's face is taken EXACTLY from Topher Grace's face on the poster for Win a Date With Tad HAmilton

 

[PhotoJones]

there's a picture of Reed Richards I think from the Crossover arc where Reed's face is taken EXACTLY from Topher Grace's face on the poster for Win a Date With Tad HAmilton

that's one i remember, yeah.

 

[Kotagg]

Wait whu? How does he get paid to do that?

 

[Elijya]

because he does it really really well

 

[PhotoJones]

because he does it really really well

for being a hack, yes. he's very good at being a hack.

 

[Kotagg]

HAHA I'll have to take a look at UF4 to see what you guys mean; this sounds interesting.

 

[Elijya]

it doesn't make him a hack, jones. There's not a professional (non-abstract) artist on the planet that doesn't use reference at some point or another

 

[PhotoJones]

it doesn't make him a hack, jones. There's not a professional (non-abstract) artist on the planet that doesn't use reference at some point or another

there's a difference between "using a reference" and tracing over something that was someone else's creation.

he and roger cruz should start a club.