Film Review - "Fantastic Four - First Steps"

This film finally gets the characters that make up Marvel's first family right. Not only does it set itself apart from the other MCU films in the stylistic visuals that have more in common with the Jetsons than the Avengers. The tone of the film is different as they are family first, and the chemistry of the actors makes it click into place. It might not get everything perfect, but it gets them better, which was enough to make this work. Could there have been more Dr Doom to show how crucial he is to their DNA? Yes, but I understand why there wasn't since he is a contrast to Reed Richards first and foremost, and they needed a villain who was a threat to the family in a larger sense. 

They did have the Super-Apes on screen, which made my day. Was the Silver Surfer in this incarnation a weak link? Yes. They missed the chance to bring Norrin Radd in, but distinguished the difference between him and who was on screen. Mole Man was more impressive as he got the character. While not set in earth 616  they colored the world in such a fashion that made it work, while setting the stage for their return, which they faked out the audience on when it came to how they were going to run from Galactus. Speaking of the big purple guy, he was an impressive sight and presence.  One of the stronger effects moments, though Ben Grimm worked more often than not as well. 

Ben could have gotten to punch more things and do more. The same could be said for Reed who only showed a fraction of what he does in the comics, but the story was served, it never got bogged down into Disney's Hollywood politics and aside from not being a part of the larger universe, felt like it captured what it is that the team does and how they are set apart from the Avengers or the X-men. It was the best movie since "Spider-Man No Way Home" and they understood the assignment better than most filmmakers who have fumbled properties like Thor and Black Panther. 

Daredevil - Born Again

 I am just watching the first four episodes at present, though it's less of a comic book feel while still being true to the character. Charlie Cox is carrying things on his shoulders, as this show is largely without the comic book violence except for the fight scene against Bullseye which sets a somewhat false tone. This sets up the death of Foggy, causing Murdock to go into a depression of sorts causing him to give up his Daredevil identity, in the face of his arch-enemy Wilson Fisk becoming the Mayor of New York City. This does happen in the comic books, though the comics had more of Murdock suited up as well. 

Where the Netflix show was gritty, the Marvel show sends the kind of mixed political messages Disney has been encouraging. At this point, I am surprised they are letting the Punisher logo be shown.  Though most of this is done with a passive-aggressive undercurrent. When it comes to the hyperrealism they are trying to ground this in, I do like how the theme of the show is an exploration of what it means to be a vigilante. However, the courtroom drama tone of the first four episodes means looking into the Justice System, with failed attempts at trying to pull sympathy for petty thieves with 25-page rap sheets, it's just bad writing with mixed messages, as the subject they want you to empathize with is just an entitled dumbass, with nothing to make you like him.

 This plays into a mixed bag of writing as they did a better job of exploring the gray area with White Tiger. Frank Castle gets a good monologue but his appearance feels a little wasted, though we still have five more episodes. It is a very slow-burn build, with Murdock only getting physical in two of the episodes, In episode five things better start popping off. D'onofrio is not as earnest in his portrayal of Fisk, less imposing and leaning more into the voice than the kind of honesty that made Fisk likable as a villain in the Daredevil show. Also no Elektra yet, and only a wink that the mantle of White Tiger might be passed on.  If you are a fan of the character it is still worth watching to Daredevil is too Murdock heavy in the first four episodes. 

 

Review : Werewolf By Night

 In one episode, the one-hour special was better than She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel and Moon Knight combined. The main reason for this was focus. There was no wasted time. This might not seem like a bold statement, when you consider it introduced three of my favorite Marvel characters Jack Russell, Elsa Bloodstone and Ma-thing to the live action universe, in a manner that respect the source material, though they should have sprung for the red hair dye for Bloodstone. Elsa is likely my 2nd favorite female super-hero after She-Hulk, A show which has been plagued by a lack of focus and wasting complete episodes. 

Filmed in black and white to pay homage to the Universal Monster movies, after all the title character is basically Marvel's Wolf-man.  There was not a great deal of him in wolf form, but what was there worked. He was in his hybrid wolf man like form, which I prefer over showing were-wolves as just big wolves. Man-Thing's potential as the Nexus of all realities is not really hinted at and he comes across as the new Groot. But I can live with that, and he looks fabulous. The show was way more violent that I expected from Disney, with Elsa taking an axe to someone's head, my only complaint is in the test of hunter's ritual they could have used characters from the comics. 

Fiege has hinted at the fact the dark corner of the Marvel Universe this opened the door for is going to factor in going forward, I liked the fact you see Wendigo and Sasquatch in the opening sequence. Maybe one day we will even get Frankenstein. I think the big take away is we can at least look forward to seeing the main protagonists showing up in the bigger picture at some point. They were more interesting than anyone Marc Spector encountered in his series for sure.    

Review : She-Hulk Attorney at Law

Jennifer Walters is my favorite female super-hero. With the Hulk being my all-time favorite. I bought the first issue of “Savage She-Hulk” when it came out in 1980. With that said, I have been looking forward to a live action adaptation. Though considering how Mavel has treated the source material up to this point, it has been balanced with well-deserved skepticism. Her comic in the 90s took a fourth wall breaking comedic turn. I knew this was the direction they were going with it. While comedy is not my thing the show felt like it got the job done in that regard without trying too hard like the most recent Thor movie. CGI was bound to be an issue. I would say it looks better than the Ang Lee Hulk movie, but not as good as Ed Norton's “the Incredible Hulk” . The visual fx issues Marvel has been plagued with since most notably the Black Panther movie, comes with therate at which they pump these things out with. I personally do not care how real my big green monsters are looking as the suspension of disbelief is already out the window, as it should be.

 I think actress Titiana Maslany does a great job as Jennifer Walters, perhaps better in her human form, but there is room for her to grow into her big green persona. The trailer made it look like they were going to try to elevate her character as better or stronger than the Hulk, which would be a deviation from the comics and this is not the case, even when they tussle, she is only fighting a Professor Hulk, or the merged version that feel more like the mid 80s version. Once again, the MCU tends to deviate, but they at least got that part right. There is plenty of social commentary that Disney/ Marvel and let's face it Hollywood in general panders to, but not enough to become a distraction. The villain situation might prove tricky despite hearing the Wrecking Crew will finally appear. Titania, who Jameela Jamil portrays, makes a brief appearance, and feels like she is on par with a villain from the Power Rangers. Not sure if a more comic book accurate look will come about for her, but perhaps it might aid in the feel of the character who is little more than a henchwoman to begin with. 

The series is very rooted in the Marvel Universe and feels less apologetic for being based on a comic book than the bulk of their output thus far. Ruffalo might be a little too comfortable in his role, and I have only found him as a passable Bruce Banner preferring Norton. I am sure budget wise that is more than likely his only appearance. I also do not like origin stories but feel this one was handled as best as they could and came close to the source material. The ship from planet Skaar has online buzzing about a World War Hulk set up, and I am fine with that not happening as key characters like the Sentry have not been introduced, then there is the whole no Tony Stark thing. But that is a future we are not in yet, and it is unlikely the world is even going to make it that far, so I am thankful for the first episode and if they maintain what they started here, that should make this the best Marvel show so far for sure.

Film Review : the Eternals

 

There is a great deal that needs clearing up in regards to "the Eternals" . Both the "gay" superhero hype and the film's underwhelming Rotten Tomato score, which has marked it as the MCU's worst film. It shows you how fair weather critics can be, and how hyping a movie based on a marketing agenda with a false sense of inclusion is running out of gas, if this box office does to show the tank is already on empty. We had the "first" black superhero movie from Marvel studios, since we are not supposed to count "Blade" and if you did not think "Black Panther " was a great movie you were a racist. Though the tides have turned , since not liking  "Eternals "  does not make you a homophobe. Despite the gay back lash over this hype, this movie is far from "Brokeback Mountain". The fact the character is gay is a minor detail, really only accented by the most awkward kiss we have seen in a Marvel movie .In truth Kingo's character seemed more gay. Kingo's character also show how Marvel makes a mess when trying to force diversity, as this Indian heroes being a part of the Bollywood world plays into stereotypes in a more racist way. I am surprised it is not getting banned in India as well, it is worse that what they did with Shang Chi, But they needed an angle since know one knew who the Eternals were unless they were a hard core Marvel comics reader. 

The Eternals tend to only cross over in the more cosmic titles , with perhaps Hulk being the one exception, but he traverses so many places he runs into everyone at some point. They do not come in contact with the street level heroes at all really . Thor , Dr. Strange and Fantastic Four, sure even Captain America not so much ,really due to the fact they they are so far out of his league in terms of their powers. The movie conveys this pretty well. It does a good job of making the more unknow among the like Druig and Gilgamesh more fully formed characters. Where Ikarus is more card board due to his stoic nature. There is some gender flipping as Ajax is a make character and is portrayed n the film by Selma Hayek. What the movie does get wrong is the lineage of when these beings were created and in what order as well as leaving out some character in the comics that might have made for more interesting story telling.  

This movie could have uses some serious editing, but it was more fun than tedious. I think some of the elements that could have taken it from being just ok to great would have been to go ahead and use Black Knight, Star Fox and Pip. There was speculation of Hercules being in this . Instead we get characters used in ways that might not have played up to their strengths.. The Deviants would have been better served in a more humanoid form like they are in the comics , rather than just video game monsters. There is more fighting and action than the trailers lead you to believe I would say on par with Justice League. This movie is more like the Thor films than other Marvel movies. It is better than both Shang Chi and Black Widow, as well as Black Panther and Captain Marvel. It could have been better and maybe Marvel is going to learn their lesson when it comes to straying from source material, I think it will also serve as a wake up call regarding the direction they have been heading if it is not too late to course correct.      

       

The Punisher Season 2

When the smoke clears the Punisher has stood taller than the other Netflix shows, with Daredevils coming in a very close second. I am not sure how I will even bring myself to watch the 3rd season of Jessica Jones. Which is a shame as the first was pretty good. The second season finds the show still apologizing for being from a comic book, even though Jigsaw's gang wore masks. Jigsaw was a pretty big disappointment. They gave him a few scars and called it a day so not even coming close to the movie version. Where the show does work is in some of it's grittier moments and the raw fighting style of Castle.It is often more depressing than it is dark.

There is less cross over with the Marvel Universe as a whole , which is a mistake on their part. If it is in the same world as Luke Cage, when how far removed should Stilt Man be ? He does wear the skull a little more this season. He has his van. But I think the depiction of him from the 2nd season of Dare Devil. They did bring up online why does this ignore the events of Infinity War? While I don't need this to have happened, I think a vigilante like Castle would have proved more needed in a world run rampant after half the population disappeared. What does that look like on a street level. Half the police force would be reduced it could be like Mad Max anarchy in the street with the Punisher being the one who is left to clean up after it.

Instead what we got was another gangster tale that could have been from any true crime show. What did set it apart is knowing what the identity or persona of the Punisher does to people . The skull was an effective tool to get into Jigsaw's head and made him even crazier from the ptsd it instilled .The show was not boring it kept me watching , but like many of the Netflix mishaps , it tended to go off into side stories of characters that were not the Punisher and not as needed. This could have been invested in something that would have been more engaging in the Marvel world around it. Even pulling from other ties like how the Owl was created in Daredevil and never fleshed out . Worth watching if you are fan of the character as he has really settled into the role so here is hoping for a season 3. Not holding my breath.

Film Review : Deadpool 2

The sequel to the quirky mutants anti-super hero film, is more of a super hero film and it continues to make fun of that fact. The problem this self aware fourth wall breaker faces is the shock of being different only works once. I think the inclusion of Cable , Domino, Juggernaut and hell even Shatterstar, makes this feel more like it's placed in the Marvel Universe. When I walked out of this movie I realized I could not remember who the bad guy was in the first movie and in this film the bad guy is even more unimpressive. Deadpool faces a problem similar to guys like Black Panther, Luke Cage and Iron Fist have, a shallow rogues gallery. Deadpool does have enough of a personality to carry a movie where the other heroes mentioned are less fleshed out and somewhat stiff.  This in turn makes the tension dulled. There is now sense of urgency as we are hoping a kid who is not even cool enough for the New Mutants doesn't go off the rails.















Reynolds is pretty comfortable now in this role. Brolin also slides into the techno virus of Cable pretty easily. When it comes to Domino I think this was a missed opportunity. Deadpool himself calls her a black Black Widow, which is how this character comes across. I got the ironic easter egg in the fact she landed on an inflatable panda bear who looks more like Domino than she did in this movie. Domino's scenes came across as just something that looks good to get the blood pumping to dub step. Of course people are raving saying she should get her own movie or one she teams up with Deadpool. There is little chemistry between her and Reynolds. Half of their interaction is over a head set and most of the time she in wandering off doing her own thing. In an X-Force movie it could work, but left to her own the problems that Deadpool has would be multiplied.

Some of the film's strongest performance came from CGI'ed characters Colossus and Juggernaut. With the rest of the returning cast going overboard to compensate for us having seem them before. The winks at the audience trying to hard. Deadpool's trademark crazed banter with himself continued to have charm of it's own, though when taking more blatant pop culture references wore at you by the end of the film where it culminated into almost Wizard of Oz level melodrama. I get that this movie is stupid fun almost to the point now of being like one of the "Airplane" films. It is like laughing at fart jokes, though those are almost more high brow than this movie at times. It was fun, and though Deadpool didn't die another movie might find them going to the well too many times. This is supported by the films 66% drop it's second week. Deadpool might have avoided one bomb, the future might be an uglier one time travel can't save him from.

The Truth About Black Panther- (an unpaid film review)

This movie has a lot of hype around it. Marvel wants to break into a demographic with what you would be led to believe is their first black led film...if you have forgotten about Blade. They want you to this is as important as "Roots" and "Chaka Zulu" combined but it is more like "the Lion King" meets "James Bond". It is not as terrible as I feared, but it's not great either. Social media might even try to tell you it's racist to not kiss this movie's ass, so if you are into below average cgi, accents that come and go at random and every action movie plot cliche then believe the reviews the studios have paid for.Before you shout conspiracy, I personally been paid to write positive reviews for albums by record labels, and movie studios have much more money than record labels.

Black Panther got his start as part of the supporting cast of the Fantastic Four. He was a Bat-man of the jungle. His book has been cancelled more often than not due to the fact he works better as part of a team than on his own, and even this movie conveys that. When he appeared in Civil War, I thought Boseman was a little small to be Black Panther and when he appears shirtless on screen this fact is further hammered home. Boseman looks like he did yoga to prepare for the role rather than hit the gym. He seems unsure of himself as king, and the biggest disservice it does to the character is having him rely on his supporting cast for his tech rather than have him at the level of intelligence he possesses in the comics. Seems racist to me, but this is just one of the movies many flaws.

Klaw is well acted by Serkis, but nothing like the character in the comics, who most importantly doesn't die. He is not a pink energy monster, which might have been more interesting. I think he is also a better bad guy than Jordan who appears to be just another black guy with a chip on his shoulder a stereotype Hollywood has already gotten enough mileage out of. They are trying to tell you that he has a slant other Marvel villains have not had. A bastard who is shut out from his birth right and wants to claim the throne? Loki did that better. Man-Ape is also a villain who is wishy washy  in his motives and I can't see giving in to help Wakanda.

The strong females are just as two dimensional as the Amazons in Wonder Woman. Most get confusing because it becomes hard to tell who is who if not for their hairdos, most act like teenagers and it seemed like T'Challa was kissing his sister at the end , until she pops back up when they go to California. Also the end scene with Bucky was meh and overall the movie did not feel connected to the larger Marvel universe. Why didn't it come up in Killmonger's big plant to take over the world with black power that he would have to get through the Avengers to do so and judging by the fire power in the big fight at the end of the movie Wakanda would't stand a chance against them. The Hulk vs Man-ape and the kissing rhinos...no contest. Iron-man vs Wakanda tech...no contest. Thor could have put an end to all that real quick.

They pretty much blew their wad with this one unless Nekra is the bad guy for the next film or they bring in the Fantastic Four and Dr.Doom, because Black Panther's rouges gallery is pretty limited. Just like the character himself. The depth of the rogues gallery should bring out different sides of the character... Spider-man is a good example here. Black Panther was more fleshed out in the comics than here. The last 30 minute began to put me to sleep which was the supposed climax, the fight vs Killmonger in the mine seemed like it was retread from any sci-fi  action movie you might name and the space ships were pitiful. The big sweeping shots and afro-heritage scenes came across the most Lion King,  I am glad I did not pay to see this and while it was not as bad as I feared, it feel short of Ant-man by a few degrees. It was better than Cat-woman or Steel, so there is that.  Sure more racial issues are touched on than other Marvel films, unless you count the Hulk being discriminated against for being angry while green, I looked at it in terms of here does it stack against the comics and here does it stack against other Marvel films.

Film Review : Thor Ragnarok

The third installment of the Thor movies is the most entertaining of the three, but is that really saying much considering how flawed the first two are. The first well Thor doesn’t have his powers most of the movie, the depowering route means the writers don’t know how to handle the character in their true form. The second movie was better to some extent though we had elves in space ships. The third film is fun , but has major problems. I am a huge Thor fan, I have the Walt Simonson Thor tattooed on me. So the bar is high, but I want to see Thor on screen. I like Chris as Thor, I think the script he has to work with most of the time leaves something to be desired.

Clearly this movie was following a blueprint laid out by the Guardians of the Galaxy films.As it tried to inject more humor into the story. To the point of making the Hulk come across like Drax when he was given something to do aside from smash. Sometimes this worked better than other, using the Hulk in a humorous context worked better on the first Avengers movie , if the Hulk was going to have a sense of humor which he is typically to angry to have one, it should be handled more like it was there. But of the movie’s problems this was actually the mildest one. I can understand on following the comic books frame for frame. When it comes to the actual Norse mythology, the comics have been more faithful to it than others , but have adhered to the basics, aside from obvious faults like turning Jane Foster in a Thor. I get that Valkyrie was not Brunhilde, though I did like the wink to her in the flashback sequence. The problem is Valkrie’s are not sworn to protect Asgard they are sworn to take dead warriors to Valhalla, pretty basic core stuff.

Another big plot fail is the fact Hel is the daughter of Loki, not his sister. OOPS, that pretty much pisses on the point of the movie. Toilet flushing inserted here. So with the basic premise being foolish, let's look at what I liked. Dr Strange being way more powerful was cool to see. I also liked Korg and Meik being included in the wink to the Greg Pak “Planet Hulk” storyline. Funny how it made it into this movie after having Beta Ray Bill replacing the Silver Surfer in the cartoon adaptation. Why Beta Ray Bill wasn’t in the movie I don’t know , while the Hulk is my favorite superhero I would have prefered Beta Ray Bill fighting Thor in the arena if we had to go that route. I thought Hel looked good and Skurge was fairly true to the character. The film leads us up to where Thor and Loki are going to fall into the Infinity War. We already know the Hulk buddies up with Rocket Racoon. So it’s too bad the Thor films never got it right , but at least this one was fun getting it wrong.  

Marvel the Summer of Discontent

I have been sitting on this one for awhile and need to just get it out so I can move on. I think if it took my all summer to get this post out then it is obvious that Marvel has been less than inspiring considering when I started this blog I wrote once a week about comics. So this is a collection of various glimpses into the releases of the summer as well as a grim look at the big picture. Secret Empire continued to suck as well as Marvel comics in general. This isn't just me, I went to a panel of comic retailers and they all agreed , Marvel might have you fooled when it comes to the movies , but the books are not selling. People are pissed and want their characters back I am not sure Marvel has had an event worth a shit in past few years.The best part was bringing back Banner for an issue and watching him plow through everyone.  X-men even with it' overly cerebral slant is one of the best books going since Dedato is doing the art. Not my favorite team of all time, but I'll take it. Mighty Thor 22 issues later is even worse of a mess, like when they had Hulks of too many colors now there is Volstagg as a war-Thor. Speaking of Hulk the Hulk Generations was ok and brought Banner Hulk back, but I am unsure what is really the point of this the Generations Wolverine book was about the same quality, no real point considering those two had already met, it just looked like something else to mess with the time line. Speaking of messes the Infamous Iron-man's 11th issue seems like something that should have gone down in either the Fantastic Four who needs a return to comics or in Dr.Strange. Nothing to do with Iron Man at all.

Black Panther 17 was the best yet from the new writer, but I have a hard time seeing how he can hold up a movie on his own. Speaking of movies bound to flop based on the comics , the Mighty Captain Marvel is an even more contrived space opera that is hard to care about even with the Alpha Flight involved. Now to further clutter things up we have Hyperion and the Ultimates. Granted the latter at leastw works with Danvers current mythos. When it comes to Avengers there does seem to be some hope for the Uncanny Avengers who find Scarlet Witch back in their ranks in the 26th issue. I think this book would work better with Beast in it instead of Rogue. Johnny Storm as needs to go. The team doesn't need two magic users, ask anyone who plays D&D so get rid of Brother Voodoo. That would leave us with Quicksliver, Wasp, Scarlet Witch and Synapse. Bring in Beast and another odd Avenger from the past like Jocosta, Mantis or Tigra and it would be a great book. See I just named off three more female super-heroes so I am all for girl power. Just not a she-Thor.

X-men Blue is decent in it's 10th issue . None of the X-books have really been that great though I am glad that Daken is back.Jean Grey finds it 6th issue being much better than you would ever imagine her being able to hold down her own book. Granted each issue has guest ranging from Dr. Strange to Thor to Scarlet Witch, you might notice I just named some of my favorite characters to I am sure that factors into the equation, but I think this book pays homage to the canon that came before it. So lets hope the fall finds them making some better choices with Legacy.

2017 : Marvel Should be Ashamed

The fact that it takes an act of sheer willpower for me to power through and write about comics, after having a blog devoted to them speaks volumes to the sad state of things. Marvel Should be ashamed of themselves. It's not just me that feels this way. I went into a local comic book store and talked to the owner . He told me things are rough for Marvel and fans are not pleased. He said it's a great time to be a D/C fan because you watch Arrow on TV and then go open a comic book and those characters are generally the ones you loved from the show. People go to a Marvel movie and then pick up a comic book and are confused. This diversity trend is hurting things just like I predicted.

 Are things getting better this year?  well with half the heroes replaced by impostors it can't get worse. U.S Avengers is another take on the New Avengers it follows the former Sun-spot and gets mired down slightly by a time line hopping Danielle Cage, the art is great and it has the Red Hulk in it so I am hopeful s he seems more like Hulk than Cho. The two big events on the front end of the year to follow up the underwhelming Civil War 2 that seemed just a vehicle to kill off more of the old favorites are the In-humans vs X-men and this Monsters Unleashed. Of the two Monsters Unleashed might be another vehicle to promote their new teen characters , but is also has more of a classic Marvel feel. I like the fact Ilsa Bloodstone is in this, of the newer characters she is one of my favorites .It is more like a D/C story line as it's just a bunch of random fighting. The In-humans vs X-men might also be a bunch of fighting, but it doesn't pack the punch it feels like it should.

The Clone Conspiracy is not terrible, but I am not sure if it is really making anything any better in the long run. Avengers comic books are mired down in another Kang thing, Glad Hercules is back in the mix, but the stories are disjointed. Thor's Unworthy book is decent. The Mighty with Jane Foster another story that feels forced. Solicits for Sam Wilson's book shows him back in the Falcon costume, it just won'r sell as many books if the title was Falcon. Black Panther is so terrible there is no way that movie can't be a disaster. Guardians of the Galaxy are being spread thin in solo books, and the main one which finds them on Earth is not what it once was. Scarlet Witch is a mess and Dr. Strange which has been the strongest title is heading in that direction. It's also hard to care about anyone on a street level as Daredevil had potential that is now kind giving us stories we have read before, and I am finding it hard to care about the Punisher. We won't even start on how bad Iron-man is .

For me to almost not want to even bother reading comic books is a problem I have been reading them for over thirty years, Marvel you should be ashamed of your self.

Catching up with Marvel

With everything that has been going on with my life, I have still been reading comics, have done little else than compile the reviews here and never finish it so this is a helter skelter compilation of issues that came out in December and have been sitting here for a month, I am going to make another post where I sum up the year maybe even do a top ten comic books of 2016, but until then lets catch up with what Marvel did last month.


The 8th issue of Black Panther finds it going back into a contrived Game of Thrones like family drama and losing all of the fun a super-hero comic should have. Contrived story lines abound in the explanation of Gwen's jump into this world in Amazing Spider-man as now the tangled web grows bringing Kaine into the mix. The 15th issue of the Sam Wilson book veers from his story to focus on Demolition man's wrestling. Not bad but not great either. The 13th issue of Old Man Logan turned into a bizarre anime like thing. I'm fine with Black Cat coming on board for the 12th issue of Hell-cat, but what is up with Jubilee? The book would benefit from better art and less of a Squirrel Girl attitude.The 16th issue of Extraordinary X-men wraps up the silly Inferno like story line so they can go head on with the In-humans, it all felt a little contrived. The same could be said for Black Widow which finds the book floundering by it's 8th issue. The first issue of this new volume of Ghost Rider doesn't owe too much to the Agents of SHIELD version of the character allowing Robbie to be who is is. With the addition of Cho Hulk and X-23, I think it was too cluttered as those guys don't show a connection to Ghost Rider. The second issue of the Great Lakes Avengers was well drawn and not a thoughtfully plotted out.

All New Wolverine's 14th issue is predictable but keeps the story moving in the new Enemy of the State arc that finds Laura at odd with Shield. The 14th issue of Dr. Strange brings in Satanna, who attempts to force fed strange into the role of her celebrity hell, I like the way she is drawn in this and want to see more of her in the Marvel U. The second issue of Jessica Jones does a great job of blending the feel of the show with what a Marvel comic books should have and much of this is due to the inclusion of Spot from Spider-man's rogues gallery. Not of fan of the break up with Luke Cage. The second issue of the Infamous Iron-man only just begins the show down with Ben Grimm that is teased on the cover. It's ok, nothing to really get too excited about. Mosaic's second issue was better, but I am not sure he can hold his own book, he belongs in the In-humans.

This Week in Marvel

dare

After what happened at the polls this week, the Riri Iron-man books, feels like a discarded foot note in Marvel's social justice warrior agenda. I can't see Disney wanting to be considered subversive, so no more M.O.D.O.K Trump jokes. What is eluded to here is the fact Tony Stark might have been killed off in Civil War 2. So Marvel is really spitting in the faces of it's fans by taking away a third character we know and love. Three from the cinematic universe, if they continue to commit marketing suicide. This week it was obvious we are tired of being politically correct, so give us back the original characters living and dead.

All- new X-men brings back the Inferno arc and seems like it is setting the ground for their next Monsters on the Loose cross over, though we know some of that is coming from the Cho-Hulk series. Amazing Spider -Man's Renew Your Vows feels good as a story until you consider where this is going to fit into to continuity.  Speaking of outside continuity that go back and tell a classic Avengers story on the 1.1 Avengers book. Why not just make this line-up the new team and kick the imposters out? This eliminates the margin for error more ret-conning can cause. As for ret-conning gone wrong, the seventh issue of Captain America, finds this hail Hydra story line muddying the waters even further. The 13th issue of Daredevil is a waste of time as Murdock is barely in the book which focuses more on his side kick we could not give a shit about and the serial killer chasing him in the sewer.

Ret-conning continues with the second issue of the Clone Conspiracy. The Jackal brings back everyone who has died on Spider-man's watch with what he implies to be the best intentions and they do handle the two Gwen Stacey's as well as one could deal with that without killing them off, which is what is best. This does raise the question of if this will create more problems than it solves. The Uncanny X-men was a slight improvement, but the Uncanny Avengers was much better as they square off against the Hulk who is resurrected by the Hand. The team sees that they are out classed. Though Rogue goes into the fight thinking she can hand with any version of the Hulk. This version can't talk but doesn't seem to be totally mindless as it has enough memory to fight out of instinct. Not sure Cable is going to help much.

Net Flix's Luke Cage : Review

Ok, I waited long enough to post this, though it took me longer to get through this series than any other of the Netflix Marvel shows so that right there should tell you something. Since I waited it's open seasons on spoilers, so here we go. My wife who has watched every other Marvel show on Netflix could not get any further than the first episode and then lost all interest. This puts it about on pr with Agents of Shield who might have surpassed this show with their Ghost Rider alone.   I saw the first wave of hip-hop inspired gangsta movies in the 90s like New Jack City, so this show seemed to be very derivative of that . it was  blaxplotation in the most vanilla sense of the genre. At least with Coffy we got clothes tearing cat fights.The world it occurred in was never a graceful transition into the MCU. This world had not progressed past the first Avengers movie.  `found myself fast forwarding through large portions of the dialogue in hopes something interesting would happen.

The big bad was hardly there and much less compelling than any of the gangsters from Board Walk empire where that goon cut his teeth. Mariah edged her way toward being a Kingpin by killing her cousin, but mainly felt like Oprah Winfrey if she went off her meds. Colter was really the shows only strength, along with perhaps Dawson.  Shades was a waste. The  tension was never really brought to the level of Dare Devil or Jessica Jones. Sure Daredevil did not have super powered villains, but Dare Devil might have enhanced senses, but is not invulnerable. Truth be told Cage doesn't have much in terms of his own rogues gallery, a problem that Black Panther will face because are Man- Ape and Klaw enough? Who is Carol Danvers going to fight when she gets her day ? Moon-stone? The same could be asked of Iron- Fist and many other of the b-list heroes about to be brought out. Sure we got a suped up version Diamond Back in a suit that was supposed to be Hammer-Tech, but looked like he was playing laser tag. I had a hard time believing that suit could provide that kind of protection or generate that kind of power, something more like Robo-cop or Iron-man would have made more sense.

While there were portions of the show that were entertaining you could have compressed that down into four episodes at most. Method -Man's cameo was cheesy as fack. Misty Knight did not get her cyborg arm and they left the door open for that. No cross-over aside from the Night Nurse. Net Flix was bound to get a stinker so it was only a matter of time, here's to hoping Iron Fist will be better.

Catching Up with Marvel

Agents of Shield started back. The appearance of the Robby Reyes Ghost Rider is a mixed bag as even my 6 year daughter expected him to be on a motorcycle. Not really blown away by the first episode, but it's darker and I guess we will see where it goes from here and how it is going to tie in with Dr. Strange though it looks like things like the spirit world and ghosts will factor in. It's gotten to the point of where Marvel is getting so contrived it's hard for me to even write about it . Sure I have the Unworthy Thor 4 issue series  and a She-Hulk series just called Hulk, which is a slap in the face to both characters, but even the big throw down in the 4th issue of Civil War 2 didn't feel that inspired. None of the fights were very decisive. Spider-Man finds most of the issue dedicated to Miles talking to Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, then goes back to the fateful day banner died, which really doesn't shed a ton of new light on any one's perspective. One of the better issues of Uncanny In-humans however does more to push the Civil War story along.

While it is the lesser of the two In-humans books, All- New In-humans finally finds Gorgon back on his feet in the 11th issue, the rest of the book is life on a ship and Crystal's birthday. While it's a little more hooked into the story, the 6th issue of  Black Panther finds the book still floundering. So the Crew which is a quartet of black super-heroes who have nothing else in common aside from race, gets introduced. The 7th issue of International Iron-Man is another waste of time, who gives a shit who Stark's parents, it's just more ret-conning.It's a shame that they writing went out of the window for the 10th issue of the Punisher. Jane Foster like Capt Hammer is the hammer is what we learn from the last issue of Thor which I can in some ways deal with better than her being Thor, but still have severe problems with booth this book and the character. None of the X-books including the Civil War tie in did much for me, though X-23's Wolverine book seemed to be the best of the bunch.

The 12th issue of Guardians of the Galaxy was well done and shows how they got screwed by teaming up with Carol. The 10th issue of Scarlet Witch was ok. Better than some and she fights an Oni, but in the grand scheme of things the book could be a lot better. Old Man Logan continues to squander it's potential in a similar fashion. The Unbelievable Gwenpool's sixth issue finds her more intent on breaking the 4th wall to convince Miles that he is in a comic book. The fight they get in is very one sided and makes this character even harder take seriously, with her getting jobbed like this. Speaking of silly books Dead-Pool's 18th issue was pretty decent. The 9th issue of Agents of Shield was pretty entertaining. The 11th issue of Vision might have been my favorite book as it was cool seeing Vision single handedly kick the asses of the Avengers. The beating he dealt the Jane Foster Thor the most satisfying. Amazing Spider-man's 18th issue really handled Doc Octopus's looming return well.

Catching Up with Marvel This Week

Ok...  a week after Dragon-con , things are returning to normal. Thinking back at the Con it seems Dead Pool is the most popular character in the Marvel Universe based off of the sheer volume of merch worn and cosplay. Comic wise we are in a lull as they have taken have taken too long for the throw down that should be the new civil war.

Amazing Spider- Man is full on into "Dead No More' and showed up Prowler's fate and how the new female  Electro comes about, but there was little in the way of actual Peter Parker. Uncanny X-men did not have much going on aside from the introduction of the New Hell-fire club. Introductions has been the them lately as Dare-Devil's 11th issue entangled him with the In-Humans, and also brought in this new serial killer big bad. Squadron- Supreme had them squaring off against Spider-man, who held his own against the team longer than you would suspect. The 12th issue of Silk finds them at the beginning of the end for this series as she is off in the Negative Zone, and away from the back drop that works best for her character. Invincible Iron-Man find the ground work being paved for Victor Von Doom to take over.

The All New All Different Avengers was another book full of prep work for Marvel's agenda to replace every one so Disney will be left holding their mouse dicks, as they continued to introduce this new version of Wasp, even though Janet is not going any where.While it gets points for being both original and a mind fuck the 6th issue of Moon Knight, continues to make things more obtuse. The 11th issue of Dr. Strange re-introduces Baron Mordo and I dod give them props for not feeling the need to make him the black Mordo from the movie coming out in a couple of months. If diversity is not organic than it is just another buzz-word in the agendas of bigger machines moving toward a one world government... and that is not just a Hydra plot.

This Week In Marvel

So Marvel might not be as bas as D/C, but they are making some poor choices like re-writing Captain Marvel's origin and not using Johnny Blaze for when Ghost Rider rides into Agents of Shield. Sure there is the Nick Cage connection and they claim Danvers origin is too close to Green Lanterns, but here powers are not.So now on the poor choices made in comics like  the Avengers annual is the worst waste of time ever, much like the rabbit hole of fan fic the book delves, I am not sure why they would think anyone over the age of 20, which is the bulk of the comic buying public would want to waster their money on it, is Marvel this out of touch with their demographics? Like the comment section of the page I read the tenth issue of Daredevil the new story arc is off to a slow start. This goes to show my the writing of the golden age of comics is superior to today's writing, this is not a Netflix show, this is a comic this would never have flown twenty years ago. The 9th issue of Scarlet Witch is a mixed bag, though the vast improvement in the art work makes some of my questions in regards to how she interacts with her brother. Black Panther continues to be terrible so start asking your self now if these past issues were the story board for a movie just how bad would it be....terrible.

Old Man Logan was decent. Some of the perspective the scenes were drawn from one of the books strongest traits. I think it has everything you might want from the book.All-New X-man was o.k, not great, I like X-23, Warren not so much. The story was a little teeny bopper in places. Black Panther show nominal improvements in it's fifth issue, but continues to make me question if he can hold his own in a full length film. The 8th issue of Agents of Shield was the best Civil War 2 cross over so far , even better than the Accused. The Accused one shot breaks down the Hawkeye trial and was more of a Dare-devil issue. The latest issue of Agents of Shield also focused in on Daredevil's world finding him becoming more of a player in the Marvel universe, guess his Netflix series doesn't play into that.

Weeks of Marvel

Here is a little catching up. First off the second issue of Civil War 2 is better than the first though I do not like what I think is going to happen with Bruce Banner. If Carol Danvers kills him, before he can turn into the Hulk, I'm contemplating just giving up on comics all together. I mean then only Dr. Strange will be left of my top 3 characters since Thor is still m.i.a. I like how Stark took down the In-Humans. Karnak's depiction in every other book that is not his is better than what happened in his solo book. Speaking of In-Humans , both their books were just terrible. Trying to go with these more "diverse" In-Humans instead of focusing on the core is really weakening them. You want an In-Humans book, get Gorgon out of the wheel-chair, then focus on Triton, Karnak, Medusa, Black Bolt, Crystal and Maximus. Sure I'll give you Lash, but none of the others are worth a damn. The cross over in Squadron Supreme, was a fake out if you were to judge the book by it's cover.

The 8th issue of Venom Space Knight, was a little bit of a let down. The new art falls really short of where the old artist held the bar and Flash chasing after Venom, was on the lame side. The second issue of Thunderbolts was really weird the art looked like it was from a 90s comic and now the In-humans are coming out of no-where not sure how much sense it made. The other lets down were the Amazing Spider-man which saw very little Parker and more Regent than anything. Vote Loki's first issue is pretty pointless as was both the obtuse Spider-Gwen and Black Widow.

The 12th issue of New Avengers is a big improvement, the art is great. Squirrel Girl is back to being drawn relatively hot instead of looking like a teenage lesbian. The arc with Dum Dum, might drag this book in a weird place unless they have a show down with the Howling Commandos. I am a little confused with where this falls with the death of magic arc over in Dr. Strange, I am assuming, that was resolved by this point?  The first issue of the "Gods of War" series of Civil War, was fun and pretty much picks up where Hercules left off. The art is very suited for the story being told though the Cho-Hulk is drawn a little oddly. One of the best books over the past couple of weeks was Ant-man, whose 9th issue told a charming story without risking becoming a cliche.  Civil War X-men was much better than Uncanny.

This Week in Marvel : 6/1/16

So there are a few holes in Civil War 2, why are X-men or any mutants around In-humans when they have this virus thing going around? We certainly know Dazzler was supposed to be infected by it, not to mention how screwed up is continuity here. We just saw Jen hulking out big time over in A-Force which was mildly entertaining if not cartoonish, but she just died. I am not sure the battle lines and what they are fighting for this time around is as compelling or well written as it was in the first Civil War, but sequels very rarely are. When it comes to the deaths in this issue their editor was talking to Comic Book Resources and the focus was not on She-Hulk, but the fact they killed War Machine who is black. This is where one you start pandering to someone, you can never stop. Now the cries of don't green lives matter? or what about the fact She-Hulk is the strongest woman in Marvel, what does that say to women, it's not ok to kill off a black man, but ok to kill strong women, come on feminists get on this.


Amazing Spider-man's 13th issue got a little silly with the fight be-tween Peter and Iron-man. Then it shifts to Miles and Regent. All New Wolverine finds the book losing a little gas, why does Shield care about logan being in Fing Fang Foom's stomach and why is he in there in the first place are all questions for this issue. We just saw him over with the Cho-Hulk, so the dragon should be off somewhere else. Get it together Marvel. The 10th issue of Iron-man is a litte precise with it's narrative, but makes it hard for me to really care about any of these character even though the art is awesome.

The All New Avengers has a gotten a little better with it's 10th issue, they are on a quest to find Sam's dad, for reasons not really spelled out. Annihilus is revealed as the new big bag, I suppose they are in the Negative Zone now. The kids didn't annoy me too much, their voices were sometimes shaky. The Omega Issue of Spider- Women is pretty good.  I like how the fact Gwen never learned how to throw a real punch is brought up, that is something I have often wondered with many heroes. Old Man Logan got by on the art on brutality of the 7th issue and is perhaps a glimpse into what the 3rd Wolverine solo film will be like. Speaking of brutal that is one thing the second issue of the Punisher had going for , but not much else in the way of story. Moon Knight is managing to be much more interesting in it's dive into Marc Spector's twisted mind.

This Week in Marvel : 4/20/16

It was a really rough week for Marvel , books that started off good are now quickly going sour , the second issue of Power Man and Iron-fist being one of those. Uncanny Inhuman's pretty much wasted the issue on politics as if we are not getting enough of that on television these days. Loki spun a tall tale in Thor that is introducing some Hulk-viking, which sounds cool on paper until you realize we have too many Hulks already. The art was pretty terrible during his yarn, but at least Jane Foster was not in this issue. Captain Marvel's 4th issue was an improvement, the art doesn't do a lot for me, and it feels like an off shoot of Sar Trek the way its being written. The 5th issue of Guardians of Infinity is decent the art is great, so that makes up for a lot . The 6th issue of Nova is better than this series has been. the 7th issue of Silk was pretty good even with the inter dimensional mish mash and the alternate take on dr octopus. The third issue of Karnak was absolutely terrible. Sam Wilson's solo book which had as much Steve Rogers just proves Rogers is the dominate character and Sam is nothing more than a side kick when he is around Rogers, and that's how it should be. Do they really think college kids are going to relate to Starbrand and Night Mask? The 5th issue is alright for what it is, but I don't see this book lasting.

 I really couldn't make myself care about the 9th issue of Extraordinary X-men. This Apocalypse story line is boring me to tears at this point. Hyperion's 2nd issue didn't do much for me. Guardians of Infinity wasn't bad despite it was one villains monologue and not much else happening. The Totally Awesome Hulk saw the beginnings of  the air being let out of it's tires, the art was the best thing so the fact they are switching out artists for the current artist of Weird World doesn't feel right for that book. The Enchantress seemed to have too hard of a time enchanting Cho. Sure he might be smarter than Thor, but doesn't have the will power of a god. New Avengers which focuses on the Gamma Godzilla that chants USA when it fights giant robots was on of the better issues this week so that spells trouble.  Wow ! Nova might have been the best book this week. He fights his father or doppelganger or what ever the fuck is going on, which I suppose would be the one flaw in the writing there.