BOUGHT/THOUGHT June 6, 2007

[PhotoJones]

Jim Henson Studios worked on Farscape. In fact, I think part of the reason the show was made in the first place was to show off Jim Henson Studios' special effects and puppetry. That's why Farscape is one of the very few sci fi shows made after 1985 to use puppets extensively. And, might I add, to badass effect. (Farscape's my favorite sci fi show of all time.)

I was also kind of disappointed in the final battle of Heroes. It wasn't terrible, and I did actually like seeing Jessica beat the **** out of Sylar with a parking meter, but it was just over so quickly. They didn't even need really impressive special effects; just a minute or two more fight choreography, with maybe a fire blast or invisible punch thrown in, and I would've been happy. It seems like BSG is the only sci fi show around right now that can do awesome action and awesome character development.

Puppets are underrated, man. I'll take a kickass puppet over CGI anyday.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It depends on the circumstances. The Peacekeeper Wars used CGI for Rygel, but it was necessary because he was swimming around underwater. It's just impractical to try and put a puppet in some places. But, on the other hand, I think really good puppets feel a lot more alive than any CGI to date. A good puppet and a good puppeteer can sell a creature really well.

Zoic does most of the effects for BSG.

They deserve a ****ing medal for that Galactica freefall/FTL jump maneuver on New Caprica.

 

[GNR]

Oh yeah, we're talking at least by season three before somebody starts in on the I want more cash routine. But they've said some of the people wont be coming back next season. They're just gonna add few new characters. Only ones we know for sure that is coming back Peter and Hiro.

And I believe it is possible to outsource the work. I thought I heard that most of the shows on Sci FI have a specific studio that works on their effects. Like Jim Henson Studios I think. I could be wrong.

Nathan is coming back for sure.Adrian talked about it himself and those Joe and Aron guys who do the weekly HEROES Q and A @CBR have confirmed that the Petrelli Bros arc is far from over.

 

[LouFerignoDemon]

Word yo. I mean, just look at this past season of BSG when they rescue all the folks from New Caprica and when the Pegasus shows up and just ****ing owns. Amazing.

Easily one of the best scenes in the entire series is when the Galactica jumps mid ****ing atmosphere drop to deliver it's troops.

And the Pegasus scene.

 

[Anubis]

Nathan is coming back for sure.Adrian talked about it himself and those Joe and Aron guys who do the weekly HEROES Q and A @CBR have confirmed that the Petrelli Bros arc is far from over.

Sweet

 

[BrianWilly]

Wait seriously? Nathan is still alive, or he's just "coming back" a la flashbacks and whatever?

'Cause I don't want him to just all of a sudden be alive again. It makes his sacrifice kinda ghey when it was originally really awesome. "You saved the cheerleader, so we could save the world."

 

[GNR]

Wait seriously? Nathan is still alive, or he's just "coming back" a la flashbacks and whatever?

'Cause I don't want him to just all of a sudden be alive again. It makes his sacrifice kinda ghey when it was originally really awesome. "You saved the cheerleader, so we could save the world."

Adrian said that his character would have to do alot of work on the road to redemption next season.Kind of hard to do that if he's dead.

The argument has been made tonnes of times,we've seen how fast Nathan can accelerate,the guy broke the sound barrier.He had plenty of time to get away,plus,there's no way they would kill the Petrelli bros so soon.They were the best characters on the show.t:

 

[BrianWilly]

Is there a link to this?

I'm really not into that.

 

[Unthinkable]

'Cause I don't want him to just all of a sudden be alive again. It makes his sacrifice kinda ghey when it was originally really awesome.

It really is like a comic book then, eh?

 

[BrianWilly]

Actually? Yeah, exactly.

 

[Anubis]

Well, Getting back on topic

Bought:
Dynamo 5 #4
Superman #663
The New Warriors #1
Invincible #42
Avengers: Initiative #3
Johnah Hex #20
Birds of Prey #107
Countdown 47
Omega Flight #3
The Loners #3
Detective Comics #833
Outsiders #48
Punisher Max #48


Thought:
Dynamo 5 #4 - Good issue. Good to see the team bond a little more. My moneys on the Captain Dynamo being a robot. Rated: Sweet

Superman #663 - Another good issue. Pacheco amazing once again on art. weird to see the New Gods kids. Bet they play some sorta role in Countdown eventually. Arion shows his hand, and next issue should be sweet. Supes gets mind jacked is always a good plot line. Rated: Sweet

New Warriors #1 - Really enjoyed it. Love how this team fits into the status quo of the new Marvel. Renegades, gotta love em. Really good to see good ole Barnel again too. Can't wait to find out who everybody is. Rating: Freakin' Sweet

Invincible #42 - Okay I guess. It was a recap issue for all the losers that hadn't gotten off their asses and jumped on sooner, so you know, been there, done that. I'm sure it served it's purpose. Best part was definitely the ending. Good to see Oliver again and even better to see his powers are already starting to show up. Rated: Sweet

Avengers: Initiative #3 - Not bad. More insight into the character of Komodo. Smart, Asian, kinda sexy when not scaly, and suffering from some serious self esteem issues. That Hardball or handball guys in idiot who probably did something bad to get his powers. I don't really care. Rated: Sweet

To be continued...

 

[Dread]

For the record, in April, OMEGA FLIGHT #1 sold within the Top 40 with about 58k in sales. This is pretty good considering that this is a B-List franchise with many lessor known characters (and Oeming isn't A-List...yet). It's first issue sold better than Brubaker & Fraction's IRON FIST #1. If the numbers can hold steady for the rest of the mini, at least remain within the Top 60-70, I don't see why Marvel wouldn't make it an ongoing, considering it sells twice as well as X-MEN: FIRST CLASS which made the leap from mini to ongoing.

Wish THE LONERS could share that fate, though.

 

[deemar325]

Hello ese's


just dropping by ain't been here in a while.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Detective Comics #833


That was certainly fun. Dini writes a great Batman. The reveal at the end certainly brought a smile to my lips since it was actually thought out and pretty clever, especially with all the subtle clues beforehand that made sense afterwards.

Art was great and writing was sharp. That's all I can say.

Ms. Marvel #16

I love this book. The writing is always good, the tone is light but not to the point of cartoony (making for a fun read every time), there's action, character development and the art is solid.

I wish Arana would pop up again since she made a nice sort of sidekick but maybe Reed figures he's done with her. We'll see.

I've always loved AIM and MODOK so this arc has been a real treat for me. Looking forward to how Carol stops the DNA bomb.

Definitely in my top 5 Marvel comics right now.

Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness #4

This is definitely been the best of all the Marvel Zombies books for me. It helps that the writer's got a good handle on both the AoD mythos and the Marvel universe as well. There's been all sorts of winks and nods all throughout this mini-series, one of the best being Goliath's death!

The scene with Doom gloating over Reed's insanity from Dead Days was funny and so was Ash's typical moronic behavior leading to the situation going from bad to worse.

And the writer did a nice job by handing any inconsistencies that existed because of Dead Days (which should have done a better job fitting with the Army of Darkness story) by saying that there was another very similar Zombie universe.

Oh and it was cool to see the Necronomicon gloating over Ash.

 

[PhotoJones]

EDIT: I have no idea how this posted twice...9 minutes later.

 

[PhotoJones]

Uncanny X-Men #487 - I've been wanting to read something X-Men-centric for awhile now. The X-Men and their saturday morning cartoon are what got me into comics in the first place, and a couple of discussions here on the hype got me feeling more than a little nostalgic. I've heard Carey's arc isn't bad but the actual team is half stacked of mutants I couldn't care less about. I tried the first issue of Brubaker's Shi'ar/Vulcan arc and to be honest I hated everything about it. Tan's artwork was terrible and I hate, hate, HATE the Starjammers. So basically I was SOL until a new arc started and here we are.

This is obviously going to be a Morlock involved arc, and as long as Storm is here (and she is) I think I can deal with that. It's nice to see Leech again, although my favorite place for Leech is not in the Morlock tunnels, but in the treehouse in the "Danger Grotto" with Artie and Franklin.

It's also nice to read something with Storm in it again (I'm not reading Fantastic Four or Black Panther). I can appreciate what Marvel's doing in making her a more prominent character. She, along with Ms. Marvel, have gotten a lot of attention lately and it's fun to see characters you've been reading for 10+ years to finally be thrust in the spotlight of the Marvel Universe. But Storm's introduction just seemed weird. Where'd she come from? Why is she there? I mean, I know why she's there in a story/plot sense but...hasn't she got her hands full enough with the FF and being a Queen, that randomly stopping by the X-Mansion just seems to much of a lazy way for Brubaker to write her into the story.

As for the plot, it seems Masque is looking for Magneto so he and Mags can lead mutants to rule the world. Hasn't that been done before? In fact isn't that what X-Men plots are? Mutants stopping other mutants from ruling the world? It's so disappointing that that's the best Brubaker can come up with. I mean, the guy is tearing it up on Captain America, Daredevil and Iron Fist. Someone at Marvel needs to tap Ed on the shoulder and let him know that mutants might not be his forte. Maybe that person can also give Bendis a tap, too. Oh, and Xavier's also looking for Magneto. He's pulling a Tony here, in trying to find him before SHIELD does. Man, those SHIELD guys must be complete bastards. Everyone's looking for someone before they get to them.

And then there's the team. Nightcrawler, Warpath, Hepzibah and Storm. Wow. Underwhelm, much? This is certainly the smallest X-Men I've ever seen and it's got to be one of the worst. Hepzibah? Really? C'mon, Marvel...Also, when did Nightcrawler find himself lost up Xavier's ass? The last time I read Kurt and Chuck in the same book was that first issue of the last arc, and even then he was following Xavier around like a sad puppy.

Lastly, there's Larrocca's art. The last time he drew the X-Men I wanted to throw up. It was the crappiest artwork I've ever seen him produce. This time around it's a lot better. Basically, he's decided to go the Greg Land route and start "casting" his characters. At least he's back to actually rendering instead of fully relying on the colorist. It's not bad.

I haven't decided if I'm on board with the rest of the arc. I'll have to wait until next issue and give it the old flip-through at the store before I buy it...if I do at all, that is. I'd like to be at least semi up to date when the crossover starts.

 

[Blaktin America]

Nightcrawler and the Prof. have been rolling pretty thick since the whole "satan is nightcrawler's dad arc" If I remember correctly he stated that Charles WAS his father in every way that counted.

 

[King_Mungi]

Wish THE LONERS could share that fate, though.

Tottally agree it has been a great read, and the book I want to do well ie. Nova was much lower then I expected to debut at

EDIT: Is New Warriors a limited series or on-going?

 

[PhotoJones]

It's an ongoing.

 

[King_Mungi]

It's an ongoing.

Cool, I heard a few months back it got downgraded.

 

[Anubis]

No, that was Loners

 

[PhotoJones]

No, that was Loners

Or Omega Flight.

 

[Dread]

Tottally agree it has been a great read, and the book I want to do well ie. Nova was much lower then I expected to debut at

EDIT: Is New Warriors a limited series or on-going?

NOVA is selling about as well as the ANNIHILATION books were doing. Should be better based on the merits, but considering he is hardly a big name character, it is selling moderately well. ANNIHILATION took characters that in no way would have sold even 5 years ago and turned them into moderate sellers. Not every franchise can hit a grand slam in sales; sometimes base hits will do.

As photojones2 noted, it was OMEGA FLIGHT that was downgraded from ongoing to mini before it launched. It's selling quite well considering and if it holds up I don't see why it wouldn't become an ongoing, even if I feel LONERS offers more of a unique angle. It's personal taste, and honestly I enjoy both, so there you go.

 

[King_Mungi]

No, that was Loners

Yeah I knew that about Loners, but I could have swore there was an interview on newsarama talking about it being a limited series and compared it to Omega Flight.

NOVA is selling about as well as the ANNIHILATION books were doing. Should be better based on the merits, but considering he is hardly a big name character, it is selling moderately well. ANNIHILATION took characters that in no way would have sold even 5 years ago and turned them into moderate sellers. Not every franchise can hit a grand slam in sales; sometimes base hits will do.

As photojones2 noted, it was OMEGA FLIGHT that was downgraded from ongoing to mini before it launched. It's selling quite well considering and if it holds up I don't see why it wouldn't become an ongoing, even if I feel LONERS offers more of a unique angle. It's personal taste, and honestly I enjoy both, so there you go.

Which is a down right shame, I can't wait for Conquest. However, yeah even Conquest is going to have some obscure characters appear again and even Bug from the Microverse. Which is interesting.

Yeah I hear ya, Omega Flight has been slow and I am enjoying Loners quite abit. We shall see where the future holds, heck if their making a new Terror Inc. and Foolkiller mini's I wouldn't say they won't get another mini at some point.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Uncanny X-Men #487 - I've been wanting to read something X-Men-centric for awhile now. [...blah blah blah, review review review, blah blah blah...]

I didn't want to take up tons of space quoting your whole review.

I pretty much agree on all points. Larroca's art was better than I've seen it in a while. The plot does seem to be pretty standard right now, but hopefully Brubaker has a few twists in store. Remember, his Captain America run started off with Cap running SHIELD missions and the Red Skull plotting against him; not exactly the groundbreaking stuff of its later issues.

The team is kind of hit-and-miss for me. I love Nightcrawler, and I was hoping he'd be the leader now that Havok is gone, but it looks like Storm will get that position instead. I don't really mind Storm's presence here, although I was also a bit confused about why she never even mentioned Wakanda. All she says is that she's going to have to call the Baxter Building and tell them she won't be in. Being a superhero on two teams really takes precedence over leading an entire nation for her?

Anyway, Warpath has gotten pretty interesting. I find him pretty likeable, even though he's clearly Bru's 1:1 replacement for Wolverine on the team. At least he's not as obnoxiously overt and cocky about being a badass as Wolverine is. Hepzibah raises a big "wtf?" but I guess since Brubaker killed her man in the last arc, he feels the need to deal with the aftermath through her. Frankly, I would've much preferred Havok to come back to Earth and have him deal with the aftermath of Corsair's death with Scott. Let them redevelop a bit of the brotherly love. They've both been on X-Men teams for the last few years, but I can't think of a single time where they've even spoken to each other lately.

Also, if the box on the cover is to be believed, Caliban will recover and join the X-Men. I'm not sure how I feel about that. My guess is that Chuck'll use him to succeed where Cerebra can't and find Magneto, which is practical but kind of boring. Caliban's always been kind of a non-entity to me. Nothing interesting has ever really been done with him, though lord knows they've tried just about everything on him. I really wish it were Leech joining the team instead of Caliban, to be honest.