Yearly Archives: 2013
Full Batman: Arkham Origins Trailer
Remember last week when I posted the first teaser trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins, and it was pretty much just a short, well-animated fight between Batman and Deathstroke? Well now the first full trailer is out, and it’s basically just a long, well-animated fight between Batman and Deathstroke.
Not that I’m complaining. It’s very well animated. And it features Deadshot and Black Mask, so yay for that. But honestly, it doesn’t show any of the actual game. And nothing in that trailer says ‘Origins’ to me. That could simply be the trailer for a game set at any point in Batman’s career. When did they go back in time to his early days for this story? Was that the only way they could think to bring the Joker back? Are they that desperate to use the Joker again?
Oh well, again, I’m far from complaining. This should be an awesome game. Also, apparently there will be a pre-order bonus that lets you play as Deathstroke. I’m definitely going to get that.
Review: Ultimate Comics: All-New Spider-Man #23
Wow. Forget everything you thought you knew about Miles Morales. When that kid tore up his Spider-Man costume at the end of last issue and declared “No more!” he really meant it. On the very first page of this new issue, Miles hasn’t been Spider-Man for an entire year! And now everything is different! I guess writer Brian Michael Bendis may have spoiled this in some interviews, but I had no idea that Ultimate Spider-Man was going to jump ahead one year. It was a complete surprise – and a glorious one at that.
Ultimate Spider-Man #23
The one-year jump is always a risky maneuver in fiction, but Bendis sticks the landing with ease, giving us a more mature, young adult Miles Morales, and successfully taking us into this new chapter of his life.
Comic Rating: 4.5/5: Very Good.
I am in awe at the skill from both Bendis and artist David Marquez in showing the passage of time, and how it has changed Miles and his supporting cast. Miles clearly went through a growth spurt sometime in the past year, and is clearly in the harsh grips of puberty. Ganke too. Both of them look a little taller. Their faces, the way they carry themselves – everything about them looks a little more mature, but just enough that they still look like teenagers. Ganke is still pudgy, but his body is definitely growing into his weight. He’s not the chubby-faced little kid he was just one issue ago. Their dialogue is different too, at least with Miles. He’s not a different person, but like another reviewer said, you can practically hear his deeper voice. The change in these characters is a marvel to behold.
The story this issue is basically just a tour of Miles’ new status quo, with visits to his father, Gwen Stacy, Spider-Woman and even his new girlfriend! As we all could have guessed, that cute girl with the colorful hair who was eyeing Miles in class is now his girlfriend, and she’s Kate Bishop from the Young Avengers! How fun. With the exception of some cliffhanger action at the end, this issue is all talking heads, which is Bendis’ specialty, and he is at the top of the game. The conversations are full of character and do an excellent job of getting us situated in Miles’ new world. I love a good talking heads issue.
I also have to agree with Bendis that we probably didn’t need to see the days, weeks and months after Miles’ mother died. It was probably just filled with grief, horror and tough reconciliation. This is definitely a much stronger footing to start the next chapter in Miles’ life.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
So This Happened, and the Internet Giggled at Itself
Remember Patton Oswalt’s awesome Star Wars/Avengers/Wrath of the Titans movie mash-up? The Internet sure does.
Good times. I say this a lot, but it bears repeating: I love the Internet. Posted by iZacLess.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 5/18/13
It’s taken me long enough, but I think I’m finally going to start using the .5 in my ratings system. My current 5/5 rating is needlessly complex, what with the words and exclamation marks that probably only make sense in my head. I want to clear things up a little and give myself a little more leeway in terms of classifying comics. Because there are a lot of comics this week that were better than ‘alright’ but I wouldn’t say they were particularly ‘good’. And the basic gist of my review scheme is just me thinking about how I would describe a comic’s quality to someone in one word.
1 – Terrible
1.5 – Very Bad
2 – Bad
2.5 – Pretty Bad
3 – Alright
3.5 – Pretty Good
4 – Good
4.5 – Very Good
5 – Great!
I hope this makes a little more sense. If it doesn’t, please let me know. I haven’t heard any complaints about my ratings system yet, but I want you guys and gals to let me know if I’m not making any sense or could do something better. You’re my readers and the best ones available for giving me feedback. So please don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments.
That being said, it’s a pretty good week for comics. There are one or two gems in my pile, and a few that were mostly so-so. A lot of this week’s comics were just moving the story along, getting us through to the next chapter, and that’s fine. But it’s not overly compelling. But then there are also issues like Wolverine and the X-Men #29, which has the most fun I think anyone has ever had designing a possible alternate future for the X-Men. Jason Aaron must have holed up in his office all day just thinking up wacky character references and one-off gags to make, and they’re all a heck of a lot of fun. Wolverine and The X-Men easily wins Comic Book of the Week.
I know some of my readers at Wolverine and the X-Men haters, but for me, this issue really brought back some of the heart and energy that I enjoyed at the start of the series.
Comic Reviews: Age of Ultron #8, Batwoman #20, FF #7, Nightwing #20, Red Hood and the Outlaws #20, Wolverine and the X-Men #29, and Wonder Woman #20.
Review: Star Trek Into Darkness
I am not a Trekkie. I never watched the original series. I’ve only caught glimpses of Next Generation. And I didn’t even see the 1980s Star Trek films until only a few years ago. Of all the things I’m geeky about, Star Trek simply isn’t one of them. So keep that in mind when I tell you that Star Trek Into Darkness is a phenomenally exciting film, with some of the best characters and action since The Avengers. This is how you make an action movie. In space.
Star Trek Into Darkness is a wonderfully entertaining movie from beginning to end. It takes some of the coolest characters in sci fi history and puts them into harrowing, twisting scenes full of action, energy and, most importantly, heart. Because an action movie without heart is just Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. And nobody wants that.
Movie Rating: 5/5 – Great.
The best way to describe the new Star Trek franchise is that it’s definitely a 21st century action movie, but one told using beloved characters and iconic sci-fi history to better enrich the experience. The action is fast-paced, the editing is rapidly cut, and there’s an emphasis on camera movement and angles. There are explosions and there is gunfire, but those are no longer the biggest draw of an action movie. Instead, Star Trek Into Darkness is mostly about the characters, and the extreme action and big set pieces that they find themselves in. I love the movie for that.
Like I said, I’m not a Trekkie, but Star Trek is so infused in our pop culture that even I love seeing Kirk and Spock kicking ass and exchanging vows of friendship. I love seeing Scotty use his engineering know-how to save the day. I love seeing Klingons show up in the movie, just because I know what it means to have Klingons hanging around. And I love the reveal of the villain, and how his true identity makes him just that much more evil and fascinating than if he’d been just an original character.
Star Trek Into Darkness is a fantastic sequel, easily expanding upon and surpassing the first Star Trek from 2009. It takes the iconic characters we met in the first film and puts them into a bigger, badder adventure, while simultaneously growing them as people and as heroes. And possibly most important of all, Star Trek Into Darkness embraces its beloved fandom. This is not a movie that shies away from it’s geeky roots. Heck, there’s a tribble in this movie, for crying out loud!
Join me after the jump for my full review. There will be some SPOILERS here and there, but I’ll try to avoid spoiling some of the big stuff. If you want to remain completely unspoiled, then read the rest of my review only after you’ve seen the movie. Because right now, I really, really want to talk about Star Trek!
Henchman-4-Hire 