Category Archives: Marvel
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 8/3/13
If you’re reading this Saturday morning, then I’m well on my way to the Boston Comic-Con! Woot! Should be a fun time. I’m going in costume as an X-Men character, and I’ll be posting pictures and sharing stories sometime next week, once I’m back home. But for now, I wanted to keep up the comic book reviews so that my blog isn’t totally dead. I’m a hard worker, like that. Though because I left on my trip on Thursday, this week’s reviews are going to be pretty short, since I didn’t have a lot of time to work on them. Thankfully, being a fifth-week Wednesday, there weren’t too many comics released this week anyway.
The comics that were released include some of my favorites, like FF, which takes a turn for the meta this week, and Uncanny X-Men, which continues my love of all things Cyclops. This week also sees the end of the first major storyline in the new X-Men, as well as the end of Grant Morrison’s entire run on Batman with his final issue of Batman Incorporated. How does it work as an ending? Well…it’s fine. I’ve been saying this for awhile now about Batman Incorporated, and it really holds true for the final issue, but this series has lacked any sort of excitement or momentum for a long time now. The air has been let out of the tires and the energy has just been sapped.
Oh well. Morrison’s run was a lot of fun overall. As for Comic Book of the Week, I’m gonna toss it to Uncanny X-Men, simply because nothing was all that spectacular this week.
Comic Reviews: Batman Incorporated #13, FF #10, Uncanny X-Men #9 and X-Men #3.
The Artsiest Fan-Film You Will Probably Ever See
The following 17-minute movie is about a comic book character, but I’m not going to spoil who. You’re just going to have to watch and enjoy.
The little movie is written and directed by Joe Lynch, the same guy behind that Punisher fan-film Dirty Laundry from a few years ago. This film is long, sure, and it’s in an odd black and white style, similar to a classic foreign film called Man Bites Dog. But don’t let that scare you. Like I said, it’s the artsiest and neatest fan film you will probably ever see.
At Trask Industries, the Future is Giant Robots
In one of the funnest marketing stunts of all time, the people behind X-Men: Days of Future Past have started up a whole, legit-looking website for Trask Industries, makers of the Sentinel robots.
It’s a pretty neat site. There isn’t a lot about the new movie, but I rather enjoy when companies go this extra mile just to be awesome. I hope somebody had a lot of fun designing and implementing that website. Also, if you didn’t know, Peter Dinklage is playing Trask. So that’s jut badass. Again, click here to visit the promotional site. It’s a fun way to kill a few minutes of afternoon.
Review: The Wolverine
Wolverine could be the next James Bond. Think about it. James Bond comes out with a new movie every few years and everybody flocks to see it. Few of the movies have anything to do with one another, especially when they change the lead actor. They’re all usually just stand alone James Bond adventures. If The Wolverine is any indication, that could totally work for everyone’s favorite clawed Canadian. There are decades worth of Wolverine comics, and an endless number of original ideas just waiting to be put up on the silver screen. We could be watching Wolverine movies for decades to come. Just point Wolverine at the latest super-villain and let him SNIKT his way back into our hearts each and every time!
The Wolverine is an entertaining, solidly-made action hero movie that keeps the story focused on its hero, where it should be. The movie is solid proof that Wolverine can easily hold his own as a leading man and doesn’t need the rest of the X-Men or a wealth of comic book references to make a good flick. Though it’s hardly a perfect movie.
Movie Rating: 7/10 – Good.
The Wolverine isn’t anything special. There are no great, memorable moments or lines. My pulse and heart were never racing. I maybe chuckled a few times. It’s just a solid, well-made movie with a great leader actor. Hugh Jackman returns for his umpteenth time playing Wolverine, and he continues to own the character. For that I give him all the credit in the world. Here is a guy who absolutely knows that playing Wolverine made him a star, so he’s more than happy to stick with the character to keep the fans excited. And it’s probably a ton of fun to play Wolverine anyway. Jackman is the strongest part of the new film, which is mostly about the character’s journey from lost soul back to hero – or from ronin to samurai, if you will.
Joining Jackman is a pretty great cast of Asian actors, including two new actresses playing his sidekick, Yukio, who was a lot of fun, and his love interest, Mariko, who was fantastic. The rest of the cast is good, and while the plot could get a little confusing at times, it was altogether a quality story. I’m sure when we have time to look back in hindsight, the villain’s scheme probably has a few holes in it. But I was never really bothered while watching the movie. Nor was I ever very surprised. I saw the twist ending coming from a mile away. And the big battle in the finale seemed more gratuitous than reasonable, as if the director thought the film had to have a Final Boss Battle.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think a giant, evil, robot samurai really fit with the soul-searching, personal movie that came before it.
Join me after the jump for the full review. There will be some SPOILERS!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 7/27/13
We check back in with a few different comics this week that I’ve skipped over in the past, namely Uncanny Avengers and Wolverine and the X-Men. The latter impressed me, if only for its superb use of Toad, while the former was kind of disappointing. The Marvel Universe is an odd place these days, and I just don’t think Uncanny Avengers really has a place in it. Maybe a few years ago it would have been something special, but these days, it’s lost in the shuffle.
Fortunately, Marvel is also publishing the excellent Superior Spider-Man comic, and I’ve finally given in to fan demand and read Avenging Spider-Man, now renamed Superior Spider-Man Team-Up. I liked it a lot, but this week it pals in comparison to the outright awesomeness of the Comic Book of the Week, Superior Spider-Man #14! Otto Octavius finally embraces his new Spider-Man persona, and it is glorious to behold!
How have we gone this long without Spider-Man henchmen?
Comic Reviews: Justice League Dark #22, Larfleeze #2, Superior Spider-Man #14, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #1, Uncanny Avengers #10 and Wolverine and the X-Men #33.
Henchman-4-Hire