Category Archives: Batman
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/28/14
Don’t look now, but I’m apparently in a crummy mood this week. I feel fine, personally. But going through these reviews, it began to dawn on me that I just didn’t feel all that excited about any of the books that were released. Last week was killer, but this week was kind of a bummer, even though we’ve got new issues of Batman, Amazing Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Justice League, and the debut of Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr.’s Superman. I thought I’d be happy!
Kind of by default, Ms. Marvel wins Comic Book of the Week. It’s one of my favorite titles these days, and it’s going to take a heck of a lot to knock it off its pedestal. Maybe I’ll get a week where Ms. Marvel, Saga, Hawkeye, Silver Surfer and a brand new Multiple Man #1 all come out at the same time. Then I’ll be in Heaven.
Though Amazing Spider-Man #3 wins moment of the week for the greatest J. Jonah Jameson panel of all time, courtesy of Humberto Ramos.
That needs to be on T-shirts!
Comic Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man #3, Batman #32, Batman Eternal #12, Justice League #31, Ms. Marvel #5 and Superman #32.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/21/14
Now this was a good week. I love comics. I’m pretty sure that’s kind of obvious, what with this blog. And it’s weeks like this that remind me why I love them so much. So many good issues, so many fun characters, such good writing and art. Comics are so brilliant these days. And I’m sure I’m barely scratching the surface as I stick to mostly Marvel and DC. There’s probably a world of indie titles that are even better.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the week where I dive headfirst into indie comics. Instead, this is the week where Marvel and DC put out some great books! Not only to we get a couple of big finales in Uncanny X-Men and Thor: God of Thunder, but Wonder Woman has a pretty amazing pre-battle sequence. Quality comics, the lot of them. Over at DC, I was delighted with the new issue of Harley Quinn. And even Batman Eternal managed a few surprises. Can you believe it? Of course, the issue was still pretty crummy, but who doesn’t like surprises? The latest issue of Original Sin was also pretty crummy, but it had a neat surprise too.
Comic Book of the Week would have to be Silver Surfer #3 by Dan Slott and the Family Allred. It’s the most Doctor Whoish issue yet, and that’s just wonderful.
Comic Reviews: Batman Eternal #11, Batwoman #32, Harley Quinn #7, Original Sin #4, Silver Surfer #3, Thor: God of Thunder #23, Uncanny X-Men #22, and Wonder Woman #32.
Khal Drogo as Aquaman is Probably the Best Choice Imaginable
The rumor mill is swirling again around casting in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, this time claiming actor Jason Momoa will make a brief cameo as Aquaman. This particular rumor has been around for awhile, abut now it’s apparently been confirmed by HitFix. Momoa, of course, is most famous for playing Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones and the titular barbarian in the recent Conan the Barbarian movie.
Roles which clearly make him the perfect choice to play the big screen Aquaman, and I mean that with complete sincerity!
Those idiots better not dye his hair blonde…
Hear me out: Aquaman has an image problem, everybody knows this. Everyone the world over views him as a joke. Noted Batmanologist explained why once upon a time: Aquaman’s only real introduction to mainstream audiences was Super Friends, which was a pretty crummy presentation all around. Guys like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman eventually had their own movies and TV shows to wipe away the memories of Super Friends, but not Aquaman. So people are going to think of him as a joke above all else, and that is clearly something the people behind Batman v. Superman need to address.
And I think casting Jason Momoa is the perfect idea!
How do you make Aquaman cool? Transform him from a skinny white guy in an orange shirt into a massive, badass barbarian!
I don’t usually comment on casting rumors like this, at least not until they’re made official. But I wanted to say something this time because I think Momoa would be a perfect reboot of Aquaman! Nothing says the movie Aquaman has to be comic book accurate. Movie Atlantis can be anything the producers want. So why not make it more of a barbarian culture? Not saying Momoa can only play barbarians, obviously, but he doesn’t look anything like comic book Aquaman. I think that clearly means director Zack Snyder is going for a different version of Aquaman for his films, a more badass version, and I think that would be great.
I also stick by my suggestion that Aquaman be the post-credits teaser.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/14/14
Have you ever walked out of a movie? I haven’t, but I’ve stopped watching films if I’m at home and don’t like them. And now I can say I’ve walked out of a comic book. I want to like DC Comics, they have some great characters, but their current output is just…so, so bad.
The comic in question is Justice League United #2, smack dab in the middle of its Justice League Canada storyline, and the New 52 introduction of Adam Strange. I haven’t particularly enjoyed the series so far, but it was still on my review docket…then I had to stop reading halfway through because it was just so bad. I just couldn’t take it anymore. The dull, endless exposition. The weak, context-less banter between the characters. The generally crummy plot. The awkwardly cut and pasted panels.
Look at this!
How does that pass any sort of muster at DC Comics?! The banter between Green Arrow and Animal man is pretty lively, with the two characters nearly at each other’s throats, but NOBODY MOVES AN INCH FOR THREE WHOLE PANELS! They have the same smiles and faces, every single one of them, despite some pretty harsh dialogue. It’s insane!
There’s also a random Supergirl cameo that completely ignores the fact that she’s a Red Lantern these days.
Fortunately, we’ve still got comics like Lumberjanes, which easily won Comic Book of the Week for the best issue yet of this fledgling series.
So don’t expect a full review of Justice League United #2. My review stack is actually pretty light this week due to just crappy comics and a pretty busy week for me personally. I had this infectious Malware problem Wednesday night that just wouldn’t go away. I had to stay up all night cleansing my computer. It was madness, and left me a very tired Sean.
And for those interested, you can check out my reviews for Captain Marvel #4 and New Avengers #19 at Word of the Nerd. Both of those were pretty solid comics.
Comic Reviews: All-New X-Men #28, Astro City #13, Batman Eternal #10 and Lumberjanes #3.
DC’s Leaked Movie Plans are Impressive, but Doubtful
The geek blogosphere was on fire yesterday with a leaked list of DC Comics’ planned superhero movies stretching into 2018. The list comes courtesy of journalist Nikki Finke, who based on everything I’ve read, is pretty infamous when it comes to Hollywood news. Apparently she’s equal parts known for getting great scoops as she is being full of baloney. I don’t know her, I don’t know her integrity; all I know is that everybody whose anybody is talking about this list, so I thought I’d take a crack at it.
May 2016 – Batman v Superman
July 2016 – Shazam
Xmas 2016 – Sandman
May 2017 – Justice League
July 2017 – Wonder Woman
Xmas 2017 – Flash and Green Lantern team-up
May 2018 – Man Of Steel 2
The only official film we know of so far is Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. That movie is already in production, with a solid release date confirmed. We also kind of know that Joseph Gordon-Levitt wants to make a Sandman movie, but I’m pretty sure that’s still in ‘when pigs fly’ status. The rest of those are all brand new revelations that speak to a pretty intense schedule for DC.
Three movies a year?! That definitely trumps Marvel’s plan of two movies a year.
DC is also doubling up on superheroes
So yeah, that’s definitely an impressive list. We’re all anxiously awaiting a Wonder Woman movie. And Shazam is always cool. Man of Steel was a big success, so getting a direct sequel seems about right.
I’m surprised about that Flash/Green Lantern team-up film. That sort of thing has never been tried before, unless you count Black Widow’s huge role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but that was still a Captain America film for all intents and purposes. Will a straight-up team-up film be easy to pull off? I don’t see why not.
I’m also surprised that Batman doesn’t have a solo film in that slate. Considering Batman is their hottest commodity, I would think Warner Bros. would be chomping at the bit to get Ben Affleck up on the big screen in a new solo trilogy.
I’m fully prepared for Affleck to be the most popular Batman of all time
And I guess that’s why I’m taking this list with a grain of salt. Again, I don’t know this Finke lady, and I don’t know her sources, but everybody on the webs seemed to think this list was solid enough to talk about. I just don’t see Warner Bros. or DC getting their stuff together quickly enough or successfully enough to pull this off. Batman v. Superman is already in production, but we haven’t heard a lick about Shazam. Are we expected to believe DC is going to rush a Shazam movie out the door to make a 2016 release? I suppose they have two years to make the film, but usually there’s some talk of pre-production by this point.
For example, Marvel’s second 1016 feature, Ant-Man, has been all over the news for the past few months about their pre-production (woes and all). Are we to believe Warner Bros. have been a bunch of movie ninjas when it comes to Shazam?
Or maybe this list is just something DC and Warner Bros. hope they can pull off.
As with most news of this variety, I’ll believe it when I see it. I’ll file this alongside the rumored Metal Men, Lobo and Justice League Dark movies.
Henchman-4-Hire 