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Friday, August 5, 2011 11:16 AM |
(Last updated on Friday, August 5, 2011 12:22 PM) | Recyclotron |
by Fëanor |
Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.
- The ultimate "Spock is not impressed" image. (Definitely check out the Tumblr if you've never seen it.)
- Creepy-cool illustration of Wilbur Whateley.
- Very cool good-bye tribute to Harry Potter in the form of a poster.
- These illustrations make a very pointy point about gender in comic books.
- Hee hee.
- A lovely piece of Hobbit art by the always delightful Mr. Hipp.
- Scientists have found evidence of flowing salt water on Mars! Neat!
- I posted this video to Twitter/Facebook a while back, but it's so wonderful I'm posting it here again: a mariachi band serenades a beluga whale.
- The first official photo of Henry Cavill as Superman, the first official photo of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, and a very unofficial, Game of Thrones-mashed-up 'shop of the Catwoman photo (that was quick).
- This trailer for the upcoming animated series Tron: Uprising features lots of cool concept art, an exciting video clip, and bits of the Tron: Legacy soundtrack in the background - a soundtrack which, I may have already mentioned here, I am obsessed with to the point of mania.
- The new Ultimate Spider-Man is half-black and half-Hispanic. For some people, this poses a problem. Those people are wrong.
- Wondermark is very strange, and I love it.
- Steampunk Samus Aran arm cannon!
- NASA is sending LEGO minifigs representing Jupiter, Juno, and Galileo to Jupiter.
- Game of Thrones as a (NSFW) 8-bit (or is that 16-bit?) RPG.
- John "Walter Bishop" Noble is hosting a new show for the Science Channel investigating true stories of fringe science. It's called Dark Matters.
- Joe Quesada's Twitter feed isn't always all that interesting, but the other day he went through his process for creating a piece of art for the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four, and it was really cool. Plus, the piece came out great. Luckily, Comics Alliance collected the entire sequence of tweets.
UPDATE:
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Tagged (?): Animals (Not), Art (Not), Batman (Not), Celebrities (Not), Comedy (Not), Comic books (Not), Cosplay (Not), Costumes (Not), Craft (Not), Fantastic Four (Not), Fringe (Not), Game of Thrones (Not), Harry Potter (Not), LEGO (Not), Links (Not), Lovecraft (Not), Metroid (Not), Movies (Not), Music (Not), Photoshop (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Science (Not), Sherlock Holmes (Not), Space (Not), Spider-Man (Not), Star Trek (Not), Steampunk (Not), Superman (Not), The Hobbit (Not), Tolkien (Not), Toys (Not), Tron (Not), TV (Not), Video (Not), Video games (Not), Web comics (Not) |
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Wednesday, July 20, 2011 03:10 PM |
Recyclotron |
by Fëanor |
Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.
- An amazing, 11-minute, Spike Jonze-directed, Beastie Boys music video starring action figures in all the roles. It features zombies, a yeti, a shark, and plenty of the old ultra-violence.
- Guillermo del Toro is doing a Beauty and the Beast adaptation starring Emma Watson, who is disturbingly hot.
- Here's a video from Toyota showing off their concept of a car window as a touch-sensitive smart device. Woah.
- I don't have the time to read it just now, but maybe you do: Neil Gaiman's short story "The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains." I like the title, anyway. (Via)
- Here is an astonishing product: glow-in-the-dark rats that you can wear on your fingers, which are advertised as "Ideal for NIGHT BLOGGING."
- Remember Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake's "History of Rap" medley from a while back, and how it was way better than it should have been? They've done another one, and if anything it's even better.
- Here's the trailer for the new Spider-Man movie. Can't say I'm too impressed. The dude playing Peter Parker looks ridiculous (what is with the two-foot high haircut?), and dragging his parents into the story seems unnecessary. That being said, the first-person shooter-style final sequence is pretty exciting. I assume that's what the video game version will be like?
- Take a gander at the craziest experimental weapons of the 19th century.
- Concept art from the third Riddick movie.
- Helena Bonham Carter is joining Johnny Depp on the cast of The Lone Ranger.
- Speaking of casts, here's the latest casting news for season 2 of Game of Thrones. We now have Stannis, Melisandre, and Davos. I'm not familiar with any of the actors, but they all look right, at least, and everybody else on the cast so far has been so great, it's hard to imagine they will be bad. (There goes the rumor that Eccleston will play Stannis. Ah, well. Maybe he'll show up as Balon Greyjoy.)
- I am intrigued by this short story collaboration between Lev Grossman and Mike Mignola - even if the only other prose collaboration I've read by Mignola was not so good.
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Tagged (?): Art (Not), Automobiles (Not), Books (Not), Celebrities (Not), Game of Thrones (Not), Links (Not), Mike Mignola (Not), Monsters (Not), Movies (Not), Music (Not), Neil Gaiman (Not), News (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Spider-Man (Not), Technology (Not), Toys (Not), TV (Not), Video (Not), Zombies (Not) |
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Wednesday, April 27, 2011 12:50 PM |
Recyclotron |
by Fëanor |
Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.
- Daphne from Scooby-Doo. Helloooo nurse!
- Annie Wu draws Dr. Mrs. The Monarch.
- A typically wonderful rendition of Emma Frost by Dan Hipp.
- Chris Samnee slaps down an amazing sketch of Captain America on Comic Twart. You know what that means: Cap is this week's selection! Awesome. (Also check out Samnee's wonderful, old school-style sketch of Dr. Doom and Mr. Fantastic fighting.)
- Arnold's returning to the Terminator franchise. On the one hand, I wouldn't mind having him back for old time's sake. But on the other hand, how do you explain a robot aging? And what else are you going to bring to the table besides Arnold? If there's not a good screenplay and a good director, it doesn't matter much who's in it. I mean, just look at the last Terminator movie. Or, on second thought, don't look at it. It's terrible!
- io9 takes a look at "The unlikely graffiti of Chernobyl."
- A dude who writes Syfy original movies developed a new way to make ice cream.
- The first official, HD trailer for Tarsem Singh's Greek mythology epic, Immortals. Oh my God, it looks so good. I love Singh's other films, and was really looking forward to seeing what he could do with this material and a big budget. Looks like he knocked it out of the park. These are the thrilling, wildly imaginative visuals I've come to expect from this filmmaker. I can't wait to see the complete, final product.
- This io9 article led me to these two interesting pieces: Michael Chabon's appreciation of a wonderful little book I haven't read in ages, The Phantom Toolbooth; and an analysis of why Julie Taymor's Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark failed.
- A couple of dudes were watching Game of Thrones, got into an argument over which of the characters was going to "win" (by which I guess they meant, take the throne and defeat all other challengers?), and it turned into a physical fight that ended with the police arresting one of them. Heh. That's silly, because clearly Jon and Dany are going to win, and I'll throw you through a window if you say anything different.
- The Beastie Boys are streaming their new album right here. You have to go and listen to it right now because it is fantastic.
- Hey, The Autumn Society is teaming up with Dreamworks Animation! Cool!
- I really enjoy the work of artist Katie Shanahan. Here's her version of Frank Miller's Robin.
- Fed up with toasters that don't give you even heating? Check out this round model!
- Water-ski alone with this skier-controlled tow boat. You know, if you're insane.
- A remote-controlled superhero.
- Oh, lord. A post-apocalyptic Zorro movie is on the way.
- Warner Bros. just added $9 million to the effects budget of Green Lantern, apparently as a last minute attempt to make sure the movie lives up to everyone's constantly rising expectations. I can't say this makes me feel particularly optimistic about this movie. You're trying to fix it by piling more effects on top? Yeah, that always works.
- In case you haven't seen it yet, here's the first official picture from the set of The Avengers, which started production the other day. Woo!
- Replacing the dialog in various scenes from Star Wars with depressing, existential French philosophy is surprisingly hilarious.
- Super Punch presents an illustration roundup and an image roundup.
- I posted these to Twitter the other day, but here they are again because they're awesome: cover art for a new limited series from Marvel called Red Skull.
- I love that we're bringing back the old William Castle theatrics and actually installing movie theater seats that shake you around for Super 8. Of course, they're probably doing this because they're desperate and feel they have to pull out all the stops anymore to get you away from your TV, your computer, and your smart phone and into the movie theater. But still.
- "Bacon-Fat Keyboard Lets Real Birds Tweet." It's about time!
- The art of Dushan Milic.
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Tagged (?): Animals (Not), Art (Not), Avengers (Not), Books (Not), Captain America (Not), Cartoons (Not), Celebrities (Not), Comedy (Not), Comic books (Not), Crime (Not), Food (Not), Gadgets (Not), Game of Thrones (Not), Green Lantern (Not), Links (Not), Michael Chabon (Not), Monsters (Not), Movies (Not), Mythology (Not), News (Not), Philosophy (Not), Products (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Science (Not), Scooby-Doo (Not), Spider-Man (Not), Star Wars (Not), Technology (Not), Terminator (Not), TV (Not), Twitter (Not), Video (Not), X-Men (Not) |
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Friday, February 4, 2011 10:39 AM |
Recyclotron |
by Fëanor |
Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.
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Tagged (?): Advertising (Not), Art (Not), Batman (Not), Books (Not), Captain America (Not), Celebrities (Not), Comic books (Not), Commercials (Not), Holiday (Not), Links (Not), Lists (Not), Movies (Not), Music (Not), News (Not), Photography (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Spider-Man (Not), Star Wars (Not), Super Bowl (Not), Thor (Not), TV (Not), Video (Not), Web comics (Not) |
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Thursday, December 2, 2010 12:09 PM |
(Last updated on Thursday, December 2, 2010 01:41 PM) | Recyclotron |
by Fëanor |
Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.
- Craig Ferguson's song-and-dance explanation of Doctor Who for clueless Americans.
- Related item: a TARDIS bed!
- io9 has posted a gift guide - specifically for lightsabers.
- A look at the imaginative art of Yoko Furusho.
- Conan's version of the Spider-Man musical (FYI, the video player at that link doesn't load properly in Chrome, so don't bother trying to watch it in that browser), and a horrifying look at what a Hulk musical might be like.
- Mondo is starting off its Director's Series of posters by focusing on the films of Guillermo Del Toro. Underwire has many images of the Blade II poster, and one of the Hellboy II poster. What I'd really like to see is the Pan's Labyrinth poster.
- That space Nazi movie, Iron Sky, is finally actually going into production, and Underwire has a ton of pics.
- A set of 20 cards featuring Steampunk Victorian versions of some familiar heroes. (Via)
- Another fun art challenge on Whitechapel: the poster for a Justice League film, if it were made in 1977 by Malcolm McLaren (who managed the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls, among other things). Annie Wu's entry is clearly the best so far, but this one and this one are also fun.
- More fun reviews of old Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes by Zack Handlen at Onion A.V. Club. I just saw "Reunion" again recently myself and enjoyed it, even if Duras turns out to be just about the clumsiest assassin of all time. I hugely agree with Handlen on this aside from his review: "I wouldn't want to lose a minute of the Ritual of Poking The Dead Guy With The Cattle Prod. That was awesome."
UPDATE:
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Tagged (?): Art (Not), Celebrities (Not), Comedy (Not), Comic books (Not), Doctor Who (Not), Hellboy (Not), Hulk (Not), Links (Not), Movies (Not), Music (Not), Photography (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Science (Not), Spider-Man (Not), ST:TNG (Not), Star Trek (Not), Star Wars (Not), Toys (Not), TV (Not), Video (Not) |
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Thursday, September 9, 2010 12:13 PM |
Recyclotron |
by Fëanor |
Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.
- Another fun clip from Red.
- I've mostly gotten tired of the endless top 10 lists on the web, but I rather enjoyed this list of the top 10 evil geeks in the movies.
- A couple of fun Captain Marvel illustrations.
- Rather amusing computer-animated short that tells the story of why Jabba put that price on Han Solo's head in the first place.
- Using SCIENCE to compare apples and oranges. It can be done!
- Andrew Garfield has been cast as Spider-Man in the reboot, and he is truly fucking honored. Meanwhile, Hilary Duff may be Gwen Stacy.
- Clint Eastwood says he was offered the role of Superman in his youth, but turned it down because it wasn't for him. Also, he reveals his favorite comic book character: The Sub-Mariner. Nice pick!
- Trailers! Here's a new one for Monsters. Looks like it could be fun. And here's a trailer for a completely different kind of sci-fi movie: Never Let Me Go. That one looks fascinating, and brutal.
- I already mentioned this on my Twitter, but it's so exciting I'm linking it again here: Ron Howard and his team are adapting Stephen King's amazing Dark Tower novels as a trilogy of movies and a TV series. It sounds crazy and new and awesome.
- Set pics from Captain America and X-Men: First Class. They feature, respectively, Cap and Emma Frost in costume. Exciting!
- Previous previews of the Tron Legacy soundtrack were apparently fake and unofficial, but this is apparently official and totally for real. (Via)
- A NSFW gallery of witch pin-ups. Enjoy!
- I posted a while back that Natalie Portman might save Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, but apparently it was just a rumor. Bummer.
- Supposed Ghost Rider 2 plot details. For some reason I'm still hopeful this will be a good movie.
- Fun bear-, moose-, and jackalope-related art.
- Awesome bumper stickers for parents of gamer children. I will have to make sure Griff earns one or more of these.
- Martin Freeman, who plays Watson on BBC's Sherlock, might play Bilbo in The Hobbit. Assuming they ever really make that movie. Sigh.
- Bruce Campbell's concept for The Expendables of horror sounds kind of brilliant.
- Very cool surreal paintings.
- Cosplay! Gotta love it.
- Very cool poster for Moon.
- A Simpson-ized version of the Black Knight. Exceedingly geeky!
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Tagged (?): Animals (Not), Art (Not), Captain America (Not), Cartoons (Not), Celebrities (Not), Comedy (Not), Comic books (Not), Cosplay (Not), Costumes (Not), Food (Not), Ghost Rider (Not), Links (Not), Lists (Not), Monty Python (Not), Movies (Not), Music (Not), News (Not), Photography (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Science (Not), Simpsons (Not), Spider-Man (Not), Star Wars (Not), Stephen King (Not), Superman (Not), The Dark Tower (Not), Tolkien (Not), Tron (Not), Tron Legacy (Not), TV (Not), Video (Not), Video games (Not), X-Men (Not) |
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Friday, August 20, 2010 11:29 AM |
The Take |
by Fëanor |
Fëanor's (semi-)weekly comic book review post.
This post covers new releases from the weeks of 6/30, 7/7, 7/14, 7/21, and 7/28, as well as some back issues picked up during that time period. Basically, I'm catching up on a huge pile of unreviewed comics here. Beware spoilers!
New releases
Abe Sapien: The Abyssal Plain #1 & #2
We head back to the mid-'80s to tell a solo Abe story wherein everybody's favorite fish dude dives to the wreck of a Russian submarine in search of a magical artifact: Melchiorre's burgonet. The artifact has a fascinating history, but the real story here ends up being about the Russian soldier tasked with guarding the artifact - his love, his tragic death, and his boundless loyalty. Artist Peter Snejbjerg contributes some truly haunting, eerie, beautiful images, with the usual wonderful coloring by Dave Stewart. And hey, there's a fun cameo from Miss Varvara! Gotta love her. The plot is a pretty classic ghost story, but it's well done. It's also kind of interesting to meet a B.P.R.D. agent who's just a complete dick.
Thumbs Up
Astonishing X-Men #34
What with all the other X-Men miniseries Warren Ellis has been putting out lately, I completely forgot that he had a separate, unfinished story arc still going in this title. It's been so long since an issue came out I just barely remember the plot, but it's easy enough to pick it back up again. Anyway, Ellis' X-Men books are less about the plot and more about sitting back and enjoying the bitter, amusing banter among the characters as they slay gigantic, hideous monsters, and this issue is no exception. I particularly love the way Ellis writes Emma Frost and Abigail Brand. Using Frost to do some hilarious meta-criticism of the weird history of the X-Men and their villains was ingenious. My only problem: I feel like I should probably know who the shadowy figure in the wheelchair is at the end. But that's okay, I'm sure everything will be explained in the next issue.
Thumbs Up
Batman #701
Grant Morrison is so good at writing Batman. Which is why I buy all his Batman books. This book - which jumps back in time to fill in the gap between Bruce's escape from Hurt and the beginning of Final Crisis - opens like this: "Surviving is easy. Surviving is what I do. Ever since that first night, when Joe Chill turned his gun on Dad and Mom, I've been surviving." There's some fun banter between him and a girl he saved, and him and Alfred. And a lot of ominous brooding over Hurt. There's lots of narration, but it's good narration. "I could still taste graveyard soil. And I felt disembodied, haunting the halls and stairways of my own home." It's all a bit unnerving, hinting at some giant conspiracy. The events of Final Crisis, of Batman R.I.P., of The Return of Bruce Wayne - they're all somehow tied together in a great twisted loop of doom that spans hundreds, maybe thousands of years. It's brilliant stuff. I also like the way Bruce describes his relationship with the super-powered people: "I've worked so hard to gain their respect, they sometimes forget I'm flesh and blood. In Superman's world, everything is mythology." And then, the conclusion: "The hole in things was everywhere I looked. The trap I was so sure I'd escaped was locking into place all around me. Think fast, Batman..." That is good stuff, people. The next issue should be the conclusion of this story, and I can't wait to read it.
Thumbs Up
Batman and Robin #13
We open with a creepy, alternate history retelling of the story of Thomas Wayne, then move to the future for the death, at Thomas Wayne's hands, of Dick Grayson. Then it's back in time three days to explain how this could have happened. Hurt is a very unsettling character for lots of reasons. He cuts at the very heart of what Batman is. To take away the idea that Batman's father was anything but a good man is to take away Batman. Is this "Thomas Wayne" from an alternate Earth? Or is he a creature with false memories created to bring Bruce down? And what are we to make of the return of the Joker? Is he really trying to help? It's hard to believe. I'm fascinated by the relationship between Grayson's Batman and the police. They're aware that he's not the same Batman, but they're not sure just who he is. Gordon pokes at him politely, trying to figure him out, and even mentions that his men prefer him to the other Batman. Meanwhile, Professor Pyg, his Dollotrons, and his infectious addictions have come all the way back from the beginning of this book to haunt Batman again. The image of dominoes falling gives us the sense again that there's a huge plan behind all of this that's only now coming to its fruition. Morrison likes the long con.
Thumbs Up
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #4
A classic scene of Old West violence ends with a woman praying: "Oh, dear Lord... if you cannot... send me a miracle of love and salvation... send your darkest, truest angel... of... retribution..." Enter Bruce Wayne, with lightning. Nice. Turns out the folks who hired Hex to take out Bruce are two nigh-immortal beings: Vandal Savage and Doctor Thomas Wayne. Is this the Doctor Hurt from the other Batman books? It seems likely. So he's clearly not Bruce's father - he's some other kind of being entirely, ages and ages old. Anyway, Savage and Wayne seem to think if they can open the box with the bat symbol on it that this family's been keeping for Bruce all these years, they can ensure their immortality, although others say it will bring about the end of the world. In fact, it turns out there's just a book and some papers in there, but they may in fact be the key to oblivion. The closing narration continues the story of the Wayne family history, and suggests that "Thomas Wayne" was also Jack the Ripper. Meanwhile, Bruce jumps forward to what looks like modern, or near modern, times. Only two issues of this one left! I'll be curious to see how Morrison ties it all together.
Thumbs Up
Captain Swing and the Electrical Pirates of Cindery Island #2
Now that the mysteries are getting cleared away in this book, it's getting less interesting. But I am fascinated by the conflict between the pirates who want to give the power of science away freely to everybody, and the cult of the establishment who want to keep the power of magic for themselves alone.
Thumbs Sideways
Hellboy: The Storm #1
Awww. Hellboy's got a girlfriend. That's nice. An army of dead British guys is also rising up to follow him, although he doesn't know where they're all going. Sadly it looks like Queen Mab and her people have been killed. I'm not totally sure who that old guy is the pig dude runs into at the end, but the book's been pretty good lately at going back and filling us in on anything we might have forgotten, so hopefully that will happen again in this case. Not a whole lot happens in this issue, but it's still well drawn with some very thrilling moments.
Thumbs Up
Heralds #5
The final issue of this miniseries is truly great. A woman faces her fears and a new hero is born. I'm not sure what else to say. Just read it!
Thumbs Up
Incorruptible #8
The cover of this issue seems to promise a fight between the old and new Jailbaits, but sadly that does not occur. However, Max does get to take out some racist scumbags, and picks up a clue that will apparently lead him to his next adventure - and will help unlock more of the secrets of his past. I have to say, this book is really losing me. The writing is just nowhere near as strong as it used to be, and I continue to really dislike Horacio Domingues' childish, overdone art.
Thumbs Sideways
The Invincible Iron Man Annual #1
I swore off Matt Fraction a long time ago, but all the comic book fans I follow on Twitter kept going on and on about how great this book was, so I picked it up. Yeah, still not a Fraction fan. I mean, it's a well told story and all, tragic and brutal. I just didn't love it.
Thumbs Sideways
Irredeemable #14 & #15
I read these two issues in the wrong order, because I missed 14 the week it actually came out, so I was a little confused at first about what happened, but I think I have it mostly sorted out in my head now. There's a huge climactic fight which pretty much concludes this story arc, and ends with the death of a major character, although it's not who you might expect. Qubit makes a last second decision which may or may not have been the right one. He also keeps a pretty big secret, and I think is on the verge of figuring out another. Meanwhile, Modeus' mysterious plan is still playing itself out. Intriguing and exciting.
Thumbs Up
The Man with the Getaway Face
Darwyn Cooke's original plan was to adapt the first four of Richard Stark's Parker books, but as he explains in the introduction to this book, he decided there were two later books in the series he was more interested in adapting. That meant dropping two of the earlier books. But he couldn't discard The Man with the Getaway Face entirely, as it sets up some of the events of the later stories. So he decided to do a shortened adaptation of that book as a prelude to The Outfit, and put it out as a separate, over-sized, $2 preview. The result is a tight, brutal, crime noir tale. Certain parts of the story, Cooke accompanies with loads of wonderfully written narration, while other parts are completely wordless, relying entirely on his powerful imagery to tell the story. Skim's tale is a twisted sort of mirror image of Parker's own tale, but Parker himself doesn't really see it that way. I have a feeling Skim is going to misunderstand what happened during this heist and come back to haunt Parker in the future. I look forward to seeing if I'm right.
Thumbs Up
New Mutants #15
Now that all the giant, maxi-series X-Drama is over, we can return to the far more interesting story Zeb Wells was in the middle of telling before all that started: the one about that troop of bad-ass army dudes who came back from Limbo looking to take out Magik. Gillen gives us only a vague sense of what these soldiers have been through and how they've been changed - which just makes them that much more intriguing. I particularly love the moment when one of the guys in the unit, his face entirely bandaged, lifts the goggles off his glowing red eyes, and says "Ruff! Ruff!" to a nearby normal human soldier, just to freak him out. Meanwhile, our heroes are getting drunk and making out in an attempt to get over all the crap that's happened to them lately. But crap ain't done happening! And Pixie's in trouble! Fun!
Thumbs Up
Scalped #39
It seems like forever since I've read an issue of Scalped. I suspect I missed one or two issues. The good news is, this is the first issue of a new story arc, so I wasn't completely lost. Although the various plotlines and character relationships, spread across past and present, are beginning to get so complex I feel like I need a chart to keep track of them all. This storyline is about Carol finally getting her shit together, which is good to see. Then there's the usual shock ending. Wait, I thought we already knew who Bad Horse's father was?? Well, I guess that makes his relationship with the Chief's daughter a little less icky than I thought it was...
Thumbs Up
Secret Warriors #17
This is not a book I'd normally pick up, but I couldn't resist the subtitle of this story arc: "The Last Ride of the Howling Commandos." Not much happens in this first part, however; it's basically all setup. Looks like they're using the old "start at the end and then flashback to explain what happened" structure. Not sure I'll bother to keep reading, though, as nothing in here really intrigued me all that much.
Thumbs Sideways
Star Wars: Dark Times #17
At long last, the "Blue Harvest" story arc comes to an end! And what a doozie of an end it is. I truly love it. It reminds me a lot of the series finale of Angel. "They're going to kill you! Why are you doing this?" "It's my job." Bad-ass. The short scene set in the Bomo Greenbark storyline is interesting, too. I get the strong sense the Jedi who showed up offering his help planned to betray Greenbark and his friends - and might still plan to do so. Killing the troopers was probably all show to gain their trust. Hmm...
Thumbs Up
Steve Rogers: Super Soldier #1
Ed Brubaker and Steve Rogers both seem really busy these days, but here they are, together again on yet another book. This time Rogers finds himself on the trail of a descendant of the Professor Erskine who turned him into who he is. At first this Erskine seems to be using his grandfather's work for evil, but Rogers quickly discovers there's a lot more going on than he realized. It's a vaguely intriguing story concept, but not exciting enough to get me to keep reading. The most interesting thing in the book, actually, is a reprint of the original version of Captain America's origin story. I'd never actually read that before.
Thumbs Sideways
Thor #611 & #612
Loki's still causing trouble! His earlier machinations lead, in these issues, to Thor having to go to Hell to protect the souls of his fallen brothers. It sounds like a great idea, but the story itself is actually a bit dull, maybe because it's hard to really get interested in such cosmic, inhuman drama. Plus, the idea of Mephisto making out with cannibalistic zombies is pretty nasty.
Thumbs Sideways
Thor: The Mighty Avenger #1 & #2
Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee have teamed up for a new ongoing Thor series which seems to be sort of a reboot of his story, probably in preparation for the release of the movie. Thor shows up on Earth with only vague memories of who he is and where he came from, and ends up relying on museum department head Jane Foster to acclimate him to the confusing vagaries of Midgard. Oddly, the first villain he has to face off against is the rather lame Hyde. Regardless, the book is kind of fun so far. We'll see where it goes from here.
Thumbs Sideways
The Unwritten #15
Tommy follows a trail of literary clues and finally comes face to face with his Dad - who promptly kicks Ambrosio's ass, before getting a nice punch in the face for his troubles. Meanwhile, we get a better idea of Lizzie Hexam's origins, although she herself seems unaware of just how much she's changed since then. And all along, the release of the final Tommy Taylor book comes closer! Tense and exciting.
Thumbs Up
World War Hulks: Spider-Man vs. Thor #1
I've mostly been staying away from the World War Hulks maxi-series because I dislike the work of most of the writers involved. But this two-part miniseries was written by Kieron Gillen, so I thought it might be interesting. Sadly, I was mistaken. It is kind of fun seeing Hulkified versions of Spider-Man and Thor. But their Hulkified dialog, while funny at first, starts to get stupid and grating very quickly. Plus the story makes contrived use of random memories from the characters' past to get them to fight each other, which is just lame.
Thumbs Down
X-Men: Second Coming #2
This is the concluding part of the most recent X-Drama maxi-series - the one I was talking about earlier. There are four chapters in this book, one by Zeb Wells, one by Mike Carey, one by Craig Kyle and Chris Yost, and one by Matt Fraction. They all deal with the aftermath of the events of "Second Coming" - which means another superhero funeral with lots of tearful speeches. Ugh. I'm so tired of that crap. There's also a ridiculous two-page spread of X-Force posing for the camera, courtesy the pencil of Greg Land. Oh, and naturally the Phoenix raises her ugly head again. Sigh. Sometimes the X-Men just make me tired.
Thumbs Down |
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Tagged (?): Batman (Not), Comic books (Not), Darwyn Cooke (Not), Ed Brubaker (Not), Grant Morrison (Not), Hellboy (Not), Hulk (Not), Iron Man (Not), Jason Aaron (Not), John Arcudi (Not), Kieron Gillen (Not), Mark Waid (Not), Matt Fraction (Not), Mike Carey (Not), Mike Mignola (Not), Roger Langridge (Not), Scalped (Not), Spider-Man (Not), Star Wars (Not), The Take (Not), Thor (Not), Warren Ellis (Not), X-Men (Not), Zeb Wells (Not) |
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Wednesday, June 2, 2010 12:03 PM |
The Take |
by Fëanor |
Fëanor's (semi-)weekly comic book review post.
This post covers new releases from the week of 5/5. Beware spoilers!
New releases
Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #1
This is the start of a six-issue limited series by Jason Aaron, with art by Adam Kubert. It's rather an odd story in which Wolverine and Spider-Man are sent back in time, apparently by accident, to just before the extinction of the dinosaurs. The time travel happens in the middle of a bank heist - a heist, I might add, being pulled off by The Orb and his gang; it's nice that Aaron is giving work to the weird old Ghost Rider villains he recently resurrected. Anyway, after some time in the past - long enough to seriously screw things up and come face to face with various other strange mysteries - our heroes jump in time again, this time to a twisted future ruled over by war-like people riding Devil Dinosaur robots. Whoops. Obviously there are some cool ideas in here, but for whatever reason - maybe the tons of narration and the depressing apocalyptic tone - the book just didn't grab me. I don't think I'll be collecting the rest of the issues.
Thumbs Sideways
Batman and Robin #12
Good lord, I love Grant Morrison. In this issue, Dick Grayson and Slade Wilson fight both face-to-face, and across a distance with Damian as the go-between. Wayne Manor is discovered to be a bat signal sent across time. The crazy, cold-as-ice Talia Al Ghul reveals she has had a backup Damian all ready to go, just in case he should choose to betray him. And indeed he does, choosing to remain as Robin and side with Batman. She tells him he is now an enemy of the House of Al Ghul, and he responds, "I hope I can be a worthy one, mother." Awesome. Meanwhile, Dick seems close to working out the riddle of Bruce's adventure through time. And, the big shocker: Oberon Sexton turns out to be, not Bruce Wayne, but the Joker! I did not see that coming at all. I'm not sure it makes a lot of sense, either, as Sexton is a pretty serious guy, and a good fighter. But then again, the Joker has been through a lot lately, and maybe Morrison will explain further in the next issue. Regardless, fun!
Thumbs Up
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #35
You can pretty much take my review of #34, copy it in here, and apply it to this issue, as well. One good thing about this issue: at least the decision that Buffy and Angel make at the end feels right and fits their characters, even if almost nothing else they've done recently in this story arc has been true to character. Of course they would give up any hope of peace in an eternal paradise where they're ultimately powerful in order to return to Earth and help their friends in a hopeless fight against hordes of monsters. That's what they always do. As Buffy says, "I never do what I'm meant for." But that still doesn't explain why Angel became Twilight and did all this crap in the first place. I guess we're still going with the dumb excuse that "the Universe" made him do it. Ugh.
Thumbs Down
Hellboy in Mexcio
Mike Mignola and Richard Corben team up again for another amazing Hellboy one-shot. This one has a frame story set in 1982 Mexico. While Abe and Hellboy are waiting for pickup, babysitting a mysterious monster locked in a suitcase, Hellboy tells Abe a sad and wonderful story about the last time he was in Mexico, back in 1956, when he joined a trio of Mexican wrestler brothers in fighting a bunch of local demons, and then ultimately ended up wrestling for the soul of one of the brothers. There's the suggestion that he spent a couple of months after that doing some professional wrestling himself. It's a classic Hellboy story, funny and subtle and moving and creative, fantastically illustrated by Corben.
Thumbs Up
Incorruptible #5
Looks like this title just got a new artist. His name is Horacio Domingues, and sadly I don't think his exaggerated, cartoonish style really fits the serious tone of the book. That being said, this issue is still pretty interesting. A new character is introduced, and Max's protective feelings for Jailbait become better defined even as she gets herself into greater danger.
Thumbs Sideways
Irredeemable #13
Hey, there was a new issue of each of Mark Waid's one-word-title-that-starts-with-an-I books this week! This one's useful in that it goes back and better explains some of the more recent plot twists, but mostly it just feels like filler, and a pause in the action. Which is slightly disappointing.
Thumbs Sideways
S.H.I.E.L.D. #1
Holy crap did I love this comic. It's an epic, thrilling, and creative reimagining of what S.H.I.E.L.D. is. It turns the organization into an ancient secret society that's existed since the beginning of civilization. The strongest and wisest men of each generation have been members, and have acted to protect the world from various alien invasions. The rather disturbing part is that they seem to be only postponing the destruction of Earth - preparing the planet for some other mysterious final doom. The writing is wonderful, with fantastically over-the-top dialog, and I love how famous historical figures are tied into the story, and shown using impossible inventions and weapons to fight infamous Marvel space villains. Then there's the unexpected appearance of Agent Richards and Agent Stark, not to mention Leonardo da Vinci. They're building a really interesting mythology here, and the fascinating diagram of "The Human Machine" in the back of the comic only adds to the mystique. Excellent stuff! I will definitely be collecting the rest of this series.
Thumbs Up |
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Tagged (?): Batman (Not), Buffy (Not), Comic books (Not), Grant Morrison (Not), Hellboy (Not), Jason Aaron (Not), Mark Waid (Not), Mike Mignola (Not), S.H.I.E.L.D. (Not), Spider-Man (Not), The Take (Not), Wolverine (Not) |
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Thursday, April 1, 2010 10:39 AM |
Recyclotron |
by Fëanor |
Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.
- Remember that movie The Expendables with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, and like everybody else in it? Here's the trailer. Looks like your typical big, dumb action movie. (Via)
- Star Wars pin-ups. (Via)
- The 160 greatest Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes, all collected in one convenient YouTube video. (Via)
- Supposedly Joss Whedon is on the short list to direct the Avengers movie. This is also supposedly not an April Fool's joke. But I find that hard to believe. (Via)
- How about some 8-bit Pink Floyd? (Via)
- io9 gives us 25 reasons to get excited about comics this spring by previewing 25 of the most promising upcoming series. I agree with them on S.H.I.E.L.D., Jason Aaron's Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine (I hadn't even heard about that before), Grant Morrison's The Return of Bruce Wayne, Patton Oswalt's Serenity book, Buzzard, and of course anything having to do with Hellboy. I will most certainly have to try Brightest Day, a few of the new Avengers books, and The Flash, but I don't hold out a lot of hope for them. The rest don't interest me.
- The Hulk, Spider-Man, and other modern pop culture heroes inserted into ancient art.
- Another new Adam WarRock track, this one dealing (at least tangentially) with Flash Gordon.
- A unique, animated entry on Animals with Lightsabers.
- The new, manly way to cook bacon: with a machine gun.
- Paul Greengrass, best known for making a couple of the Bourne movies, has been picked to direct James Cameron's 3D remake of Fantastic Voyage.
- LOLCats trading cards.
- Ah, the Tea Party: a haven for those who truly enjoy experimenting with the English language.
- Leonardo DiCaprio may play J. Edgar Hoover for Clint Eastwood in a biopic.
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Tagged (?): Animals (Not), Art (Not), Avengers (Not), Bacon (Not), Batman (Not), Cats (Not), Celebrities (Not), Comedy (Not), Comic books (Not), Flash (Not), Food (Not), Grant Morrison (Not), Hellboy (Not), Hulk (Not), Jason Aaron (Not), Joss Whedon (Not), Links (Not), LOLCats (Not), Mike Mignola (Not), Movies (Not), News (Not), Photography (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Spider-Man (Not), Star Wars (Not), Video (Not), Wolverine (Not) |
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Thursday, February 11, 2010 10:19 AM |
Recyclotron |
by Fëanor |
Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.
- Check out Sam Bosma's first illustration for The Hobbit. Pretty cool!
- The next Spider-Man movie will be in 3D. I don't think anybody is surprised.
- New Last Airbender trailer! This one has dialog. The only thing that worries me is that it looks a bit solemn and melodramatic; so far it seems to be lacking the series' wonderful sense of humor. But I'm still hopeful.
- Beware the snow Dalek! It even has flashing lights!
- Sam Raimi's 20,000 Leagues will have a bunch of little giant squids instead of one really big giant squid.
- The third Batman movie is confirmed, and Flash and Wonder Woman movies are on the way. Yay!
- Here is an excellent website: OMG LASER GUNS PEW PEW PEW. (Via)
- Roger Corman is making a movie called Sharktopus for Syfy.
- The new Black Hole is going to be a reimagining of the first movie, keeping a lot of the original elements (like the awesome robot Maximillian, the death of the villain, and the design of the spaceship), but with a bigger budget, better special effects, and more accurate science. Cool.
- A new gallery of images from Clash of the Titans.
- "Warner Brothers is negotiating with The Book of Eli's Hughes brothers to direct a live-action remake of the cult favorite Akira, from a script by Iron Man scribes Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby." Man, I'm so conflicted about this news. On the one hand, I would love to see an Akira movie, especially one written by the scripters of Iron Man. On the other hand, how do you capture six huge graphic novels in one movie? And I'm really not sure about the Hughes brothers. I mean, their previous graphic novel film adaptation, From Hell, is okay for what it is, but it's missing pretty much all of the detail and power of its source material.
- A bunch of cool nesting dolls, including robot and Enter the Dragon nesting dolls.
- A review of Blaster Master Overdrive. The fact that it's like Metroid is encouraging, but it also sounds like it gets really difficult in the later portions, and I don't have time for hard games these days.
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Tagged (?): 3D (Not), Art (Not), Avatar (Not), Batman (Not), Books (Not), Comic books (Not), Craft (Not), Doctor Who (Not), Flash (Not), Iron Man (Not), Links (Not), Monsters (Not), Movies (Not), News (Not), Photography (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Robots (Not), Spider-Man (Not), Tolkien (Not), Toys (Not), TV (Not), Video (Not), Video games (Not) |
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