Category Archives: Batman
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.
Let’s Start the Day With a Little Batman!
The video game convention E3 is in full swing this week, with all sorts of trailers and previews and announcements. I bet it’s just a bunch of fun to be there. Unfortunately, I am not cool enough to get to go, so I’m stuck back here just watching the trailers on Youtube. C’est la vie.
But one of those trailers is a whole mess of gameplay footage for Batman: Arkham Knight!
Just look at the scope of that game! That cityscape is huge! Or maybe it’s just the fact that driving around on the streets in the Batmobile makes it look bigger than when we’re zipping around on rooftops in previous games. Either way, that part looked great. And the Batmobile looks cool…except it instantly made me think of any Grand Theft Auto game, where the moment you start driving around at high speeds is the moment you’re going to cause a ton of collateral damage. The game employee who managed to make turns and drive mostly straight might be good, but the rest of us are going to crash into everything around us. So I guess it’s a good idea to remove pedestrians.
Still, the game looks pretty darn sweet. It’s not enough to convince me to plop down several hundred dollars on a new console, but maybe I’ll get a better graphics card for my computer at least…
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/7/14
Happy Birthday, mom! If it wasn’t for you, mom, none of us would be here today reading a bunch of comic book reviews. So I think we can all thank her for that. I’ll probably give her a phone call later, just to make it official. But the great thing about having a blog is using it to talk to family members! I have more conversations with my brother via the comments section of my blog than I do through any other means. Good times.
And good comics – mostly! A random smattering of books came out this week, and I read an even more random smattering of that random smattering. Of import is the fact that I finally got back to reading Black Widow and Moon Knight, two new books I didn’t want to lose track of if I could help it. On top of those classics, we’ve got new issues of All-New X-Factor, Batman Eternal and Original Sin…which is turning out to be pretty much garbage. Hopefully this will mark the death knell of the Big Event at Marvel.
Comic Book of the Week goes to newcomer Cyclops #2! I never had much intention of reading the new series starring Young Cyclops, but after the first issue got such stellar reviews, I just had to take a look, and the book is as good as everyone says!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Cyclops is the most dynamic character at Marvel right now.
Comic Reviews: All-New X-Factor #9, Batman Eternal #9, Black Widow #7, Cyclops #2, Moon Knight #4 and Original Sin #3.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 5/31/14
Whether it’s to make up for the massive pile of reviews last week, or maybe just plain old laziness, my stack was a bit shorter this week. Less work for me, right gang? Who doesn’t love to slack off a little bit during the week. Maybe kick up the heels and watch that new Axe Cop cartoon? I know I do!
Though I was apparently hard at work elsewhere on the Internet. You can check out my reviews for Inhuman #2 and Deadpool #29 by clicking those links. Both comics were pretty bad. I just can’t get into Deadpool‘s humor, and Inhuman continues to be a spectacularly worthless comic. If all of Marvel’s hopes and dreams depend on turning Inhumans into the new mutants, they are pretty screwed – or maybe we’re pretty screwed, because there’s probably nothing stopping Marvel from just bulldozing over what we want in favor of what they want. Did you hear about the Fantastic Four?
Bad comics continue over at DC this week, with the worst issue of Batman Eternal yet. If there’s anyone else out there in comic book land who also can’t stand what they’re doing with the Gotham Police in Batman Eternal, please let me know. I hope I’m not the only one pulling their hair out.
Fortunately, this week also saw a new issue of Ms. Marvel, and that fills me with overwhelming joy. Kamala Khan is just too awesome. Ms. Marvel #4 easily wins Comic Book of the Week for its humor, its heart and, finally, its superheroics. Our little Kamala is growing up!
The look on her face brings me nothing but joy
Comic Reviews: Avengers #30, Batman #31, Batman Eternal #8, Ms. Marvel #4 and Nightwing #30.
Henchman-4-Hire 