Category Archives: Marvel
The Top 6 Snow and Ice-Themed Comic Book Characters
Winter is upon us here in Central New York. I should know, I spend almost every morning having to scrape the frost off my car. Sometimes it’s even on the inside of my windows. But that’s probably something wrong with my car. Regardless, we’re talking winter, people. Snow, ice, freezing cold, big coats, fuzzy hats, icicles, popsicles and the deep chill of the frozen white.
So why not warm up by talking about some wintery superheroes?
If you’re at all familiar with this blog, you know I love talking about superheroes. That’s the fun of being a comic book geek. Cold-based powers are a popular choice when it comes to designing a superhero or a super-villain. Creating ice, throwing snowballs, bringing about a new ice age! These are the powers of winter! And there are a lot out there, these are just the Top 6!
Marvel and Avengers to Rule Our Lives With New Facebook Game
Hi, my name is Sean M. I’m a Facebook game addict. Sort of. I don’t play a lot of Facebook games, I tend to pick one game and become dangerously attached to it for no discernible reason. It’s not like the games are even that fun. I just…I just like going to them and achieving the things they put in front of me. I need help.
I was only able to break my ridiculous addiction to Mafia Wars by starting up The Sims Social, which I’ll admit to playing ride now alongside writing up this post.
Well hopefully I’ll be able to give up The Sims Social by playing Avengers Alliance, produced by Marvel comics somehow. Announced on USA Today, it’s a free-to-play strategy game in which you’re a S.H.I.E.L.D. trainee charged with putting together a team to fight evil. A team composed of Marvel superheroes, of course.
So...everybody remembers there's a movie coming out in May, right?
Here’s what USA Today and TQ Jefferson, Marvel VP of games production, had to say:
At the outset of the game, players learn to customize their character with accessories and weapons, and are instructed in battle. “That character will go right into the game and fight alongside Spider-Man or Thor and Black Widow,” Jefferson says. “We want to make the game approachable.” Hard-core fans will revel in the appearance of more than 100 characters. “You don’t need to know 75 years of Marvel continuity to understand what is going on,” Jefferson says, “but if you do, those elements are in there.”
I’m happy to say I never have and never will spend actual money to play or improve these Facebook games. But there are worse ways to kill a few minutes online. There are also much, much better ways.
Review: Defenders #2
With the team already set up in issue #1, this follow-up second issue deals mostly with exposition and fighting. Writer Matt Fraction has clearly thought up a pretty detailed plot, and now he’s got to tell us all what it is so that I guess we can enjoy the rest of the story. This issue was not very exciting, I’m afraid. Not at all bad, but nothing to blow minds or convince me that The Defenders is the next big thing.
Defenders #2
The Defenders has yet to truly ‘wow’ me or show why it should be considered anything more than a Matt Fraction vanity project. The stellar art of the Dodsons isn’t enough.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright!
This is a humor book where the jokes are more subtle and less slapstick, and unfortunately don’t land most of the time. The characters, while enjoyable, take a back seat to the plot explanation. And the plot is cool, I guess, but it’s hardly anything noteworthy or groundbreaking. This series is so far pretty much just standard superhero fare. Sure it looks fantastic and is well-written, but everything about it falls pretty flat. This feels like it should be a high-profile book, but is failing in that regard.
It’s some of Marvel’s top talent launching a series that doesn’t need to exist. Nobody was screaming for a new Defenders series. So when Marvel let’s Matt Fraction and the Dodsons create The Defenders, I want to know there’s a purpose. Spoilers and synopsis after the jump.
Review: Punisher #7
Greg Rucka throws us a curveball in this issue, writing a darn good character piece while solving none of the problems I’ve had with the series so far. If anything, this issue makes those problems worse. The story doesn’t move ahead at all. We learn nothing new about the villains, their motivation or anything, really. And neither the Punisher nor the Bride even appear! Instead we get the reason why Detective Ozzy Clemons dislikes the Punisher. That’s it.
Punisher #7
Still, it’s a well-written character examination. And the art of guest artist Michael Lark is to die for.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright!
The problems with this series do not weigh down this issue, as they have previous issues. Rucka is clearly still going for style over substance, and with this issue, he does a very good job with it. Of course, I’d give the issue a higher grade if anything actually happened story-wise. As I said, the Punisher doesn’t even appear. It’s the Ozzy and Bolt show, as the two have a long talk about various topics (mostly the Punisher) on their way to the upstate lodge where Punisher and Bride did all that killing last issue. I’m a sucker for a good character exploration.
So hopefully I can explain why I’m cool with this issue, despite it not fixing any of the series problems, moving the story forward or providing much depth. Synopsis and spoilers after the jump.
Who Buys This Shit?
The world is full of a lot of stupid shit. And a lot of it you can buy. Take, for example, some of the recent offerings unveiled for merchandise that ties into the upcoming The Avengers movie next year. The website Comic Book Movies posted several of the images today, and I just have to roll my eyes at how insipid some of these items are. You can check them all out at the link I just posted, but I have a couple of my least favorites.
Who in their right mind would buy some of this garbage? It has nothing to do at all with the Avengers movie other than to slap the logo on a product, along with some highly detailed character images, and then just throw it in stores.
It’s like that scene in Death to Smoochy where the executives sit around a big table making check marks next to all the pointless drivel that will now that Smoochy’s face stamped onto it. Or all the jokes in Spaceballs. So much for either movie being some kind of satire.
I mean, c’mon, look at this shit:
Who in their right mind would pay money for any of this crap? Who needs an ‘Avengers’ bicycle helmet? It’s just a bicycle helmet with Avengers stickered onto the side. There’s absolutely no thought or creativity in any of these items. And that just disgusts me.
But those little plushie Avengers toys were adorable!
Henchman-4-Hire