Norway Jumps Into the Superhero Movie Biz with Antboy

Possibly to whet my appetite for the upcoming Ant-Man movie, Norway (the country) has come up with a trailer for their own movie called Antboy. It’s in Norwegian, and there are no subtitles, but it’s a neat little trailer anyway.

Oddly though, they trade shrinking for acid piss. Norwegians are weird.

Review: Scarlet Spider #18

Who knew Kaine could be so funny? I know he’s a clone of Peter Parker and everything, but he’s usually a sourpuss straight man. I guess with Aracely mostly sitting this issue out, somebody’s got to keep up the chuckles. Because what would a book like Scarlet Spider be without some humor? And Wolverine isn’t about to deliver. That guy is as sourpuss as they come. But I’m not going to complain when Scarlet Spider gets some attention from the rest of the Marvel Universe.

Scarlet Spider #18

The continuing Scarlet Spider/Wolverine team-up is as entertaining as it was last issue, albeit for different reasons. Writer Chris Yost is doing a team-up right.

Comic Rating: 4/5 – Good.

Somehow, seemingly against all reason, Scarlet Spider is still chugging along 18 issues later. I’ve never seen it mentioned as a comic due for cancellation. Does it have an audience? Is it actually selling? Because that would be fantastic. Maybe this Wolverine cameo will help punch up sales for a little bit. It was a classic maneuver back in the day for new comics to guest star Wolverine or Spider-Man as quickly as possible. What better way to sell a new hero to audiences than by giving him or her some team-up time with the big shots? That’s kind of what happens here. Maybe this is even an homage. Scarlet Spider and Wolverine team up to take on some colorful bad guys. It’s as classic as comic books get.

The art by Carlo Barberi and Ale Garza is, likewise, top notch. It’s clear, detailed and full of action. I was unhappy for the longest time with Scarlet Spider‘s artist, but now the series has got that taken care of. So at this point, Scarlet Spider needs to take the comic to the next level. It’s got solid storytelling, solid characters and solid art. It’s entertaining and fun to read. But it could stand to be…something more. One can’t exactly say what it could use, or what exactly could be done. Deeper stories. More meaningful character development. Maybe a hot romantic relationship? Who knows! But when you’ve got a good, quality comic, you can’t just rest on your laurels. Kick things up a notch, Chris Yost! Take Scarlet Spider to the next level!

Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!

Read the rest of this entry

Gob Bluth stars in Now You See Me

Oh Internet, I love you.

That’s Gob Bluth, from Arrested Development, cleverly inserted into the trailer for the movie Now You Seem Me. The movie is about magicians who turn to crime. Gob is a magician who is simply pretty terrible. The two go together surprisingly well. And for that, I love the Internet, and mix-master James Harrop.

Let’s Celebrate Our Independence Day!

This Fourth of July, two of my favorite Internet comedy groups, Screen Junkies and Cinemas Sins, have worked their movie parodying magic on the classic alien thrillride, Independence Day! And what better way to celebrate the holiday (besides fireworks, flags and fried food) than by watching those videos!

We’re not going quietly into the night on this blog, baby!

And welcome to Earth! Did you hear they’re trying to make a sequel to Independence Day? Wild!

Robin Watch: Damian Returns!?

I did not see this one coming! Damian Wayne is coming back! Just…not back to life. An interesting twist in the search for the new Robin is an upcoming Elseworlds mini-series starring Damian Wayne. Revealed today in the pages of USA Today, the series will be called Damian: Son of Batman, and will take place in an alternate future where Damian grew up to become Batman.

Damian

Possibly by killing Batman?

Alternate futures are a staple of comic books, and Damian has already been the subject of at least one.

The 4-issue mini-series will be written and drawn by comic book legend Andy Kubert, who was the artist on Batman #666, which was itself a futuristic story about Damian as Batman in a post-apocalyptic Gotham City. The first issue of the new mini-series will be released on Oct. 30.

Kubert had this to say:

“I had a big affinity for Damian when I drew Batman issue #666 (in 2007). I really liked that Batman and always wanted to revisit him. Damian is a bit different than the ‘Bruce Wayne’ Batman. Grant Morrison tweaked his character in a way that made it very endearing for me to draw. And to write. Basically, what I’m doing is exploring the path that Damian has taken to become Batman. I think readers will see him in a different light than before.”

This sounds like a pretty cool story to me. I’m sure everybody will tell you that DC killed Damian long before his character wore out his welcome. I didn’t like Damian at first, like pretty much everybody else, but the little twerp grew on me over the years. I never particularly liked him as Robin, but as Damian, he was a pretty cool character. He still had a lot of potential. But Grant Morrison is Grant Morrison, and if he wants to kill off his own creation, then he’s allowed. Being a legendary comic book writer holds that kind of power.

So I don’t really know what to expect from his upcoming mini-series. Andy Kubert is great, and I’m sure he’ll tell an exciting story. This doesn’t reveal anything in terms of who is going to become the new Robin, but it’s definitely something to keep our eye on here at Robin Watch!