rev_calibos

True, and given the amount I used to spend on comics just buying them in trade makes more sense anyhow. Consider this though, if you're like me you used to make that weekly/biweekly trek to your local comic shop where, upon entering, a friendly shopkeep would reach for a cubby marked 'Y' for 'Yoda' and bring out a stack of new releases. While a trade is cheaper it just seems so impersonal to stroll into a barnes and noble and pick one up, you know? There's just something a bit more fan-boyish about going to the shop and getting your comics in monthly installments. Like today. Spent 30$ and got Thor 1, One Last Day/Brand New Day, Captain America, Batman and the Outsiders and for fun I dove into back issues like a champ and got a few nifty things like New Warriors #1 and Atom #1 Honestly, of everything I bought today I enjoyed the Atom the most. Any idea why Byrne was on board for only three issues? Overall, I'm not satisfied at all with the state of new comics so this buying spree from today isn't going to become a habit, I just wanted to pick up Spiderman and see what the buzz was all about. God damn it was bad. Real, real bad. Clone Spidey bad.

Jesus yes. It's that plus the Aunt May back up piece, along with the go go dancer super heroine, I forget her name.

See, what I'm wrestling with is trades vs. single issue. I LOVE getting the trade because it's all there in one fell swoop. No tape to pull off a bag, no comic boxes to lug around, it fits neatly on my bookshelf. A comic book is , hell, a comic book! There's just something satisfying about grabbing a big ass long box, opening it and seeing 402 issues of Avengers vol. 1 in utter and complete order. 1 to 402. Bam. After going to that comic shop today I'm afraid that I might have to swear off trades. Just got done with Brand New Day, is it too early to discuss that without spoilers? After reading that two page spread I had a question or two.

Overall I dig it, except for the stars on his shoulders. The dark sleeves/pants are a nice touch and add to that whole notion of 'the bat symbol/skull/star is a target' thing. It's just so different, I'm a bit of a bitch when it comes to change so this is going to take awhile to get used to. The new look, the pistol, the darker feel, I'm not sour on Cap at all, in fact I was pleasantly surprised. I thought I was going to LOVE the new Spiderman and hate Cap but it's the other way around. The first issue for the 'new' Captain America was moody, down to earth, back to basics kind of Cap story which made for a good read. You know, compared to a certain wallcrawler's identity being wiped from the population.

I know, I know....it's just that the second I saw Bucky in that outfit I immediately thought of the Cap Armor.

Yeah, it's been a hell of a homecoming. Also picked up Thor, good shit.....and out of morbid curiosity I got this: which immediately reminded me of this: I'm seeing that I picked a very strange time to come back.

Haven't been into a comic book shop in a bit over two years now, but I went to one today. Figured I aced my calc exam and deserved a treat, I'll probably tell the girl next week....... Anyway, picked up 'One More Day' and 'Brand New Day' along with a few other items.....but I was really looking forward to the Spiderman stuff. Jesus F. You see this cover? Look at that big, sloppy grin on his face.....it's as if he's telling the reader 'Hi fans, Peter Parker (Spiderman!) here, just wanted to let you folks know that hey, even I think the past few issues were pretty silly.....c'mon, lets enjoy my adventures in a mind-wiped universe together, shall we?' This is what I come back to? These writers, the same writers who grew up as fans and have fucking READ Crisis, thought the best way to end the marriage was a deal with the devil. Really? Have we gone back to the Silver Age? Was the past 20 years 'all a dream'? What a fucking cop out. Remember this? The bitch of it is they KNOW when they make stupid, stupid mistakes. They can accept this, address it and even poke a bit of fun at themselves in the process. It's Marvel. Marvel never needed huge, cosmic Crisis like stories to wipe stuff out. They FOUND ways out of binds like that through good storytelling. Peter Parker, the 'everyman' hero, the down on his luck loser who never catches a break, the urban crime fighter who can't seem to save up enough money to rub two nickels together has his marriage wiped from reality. Really? For fucks sake. I'm about to break into 'Brand New Day' now although at this point I'm not even sure I should. Oh well, thankfully I have boxes and boxes of older stuff I can cling to, like this for instance: Jeez I loved Spectacular

Will probably just rent this.......got burned by Lady in the Water.......

Is 'Awesome' a color? Going back to spiderman I figure that it took me coming home from the theater and really thinking about what I saw to realize that, ultimately, it wasn't as awful as I had thought when I just stepped out of the theater...... I had higher expectations for SM 3 then I did for Superman Returns. I tried to insulate myself from teasers/screen shots, etc. so when I saw the film I could be suprised....... Because Spiderman 1 and 2 were so much better then the other marvel fare (save Xmen 1 and 2) the expectations were much higher......it's not the same as going to see Ghost Rider or Elektra.......Spiderman is the centerpiece to the entire company and for that and because of the level of quality with one and two I expected the same level of quality for 3. We didn't get it. When I got home and had a chance to really think about the film and try to piece together what exactly bothered me about it I found that no matter what horrible decisions they had made in the film I still found it enjoyable......the parts that bothered me weren't enough for me to dislike this film. It's the same with Fantastic Four. They botched Doom, Reed wasn't aloof enough, Sue wasn't matronly enough.....but when you compare those downsides (which there were quite a bit) and compared it to what was GREAT about the FF movie (spot on Torch/Thing banter, the Thing and Torch in general, Stan Lee as Willie Lumpkin) it made the movie tolerable and as a result I enjoyed it despite it's shortcomings. I don't know if you guys were bothered by this as much as I was but remember when you first saw that full size image of Routh as Superman for Superman Returns.........what was the first thing that popped into your head? For me it was 'Why is there an S shield on his buckle?' That belt buckle bugged the living shit out of me for the entire movie.....but it wasn't enough to stop me from digging Superman Returns. There was a lot more working against SM 3 but I don't consider it enough to stop me from enjoying the movie......it's just not nearly as good as SM 1 and two and Xmen 1 and 2. I guess my logic is kind of strange when it comes to SM 3 but you have to figure this: 1) Higher Expectations for SM 3 compared to other comic film properties 2) When expectations are dashed you compare it to other comic book properties It's not enjoyable BECAUSE it could have been worse......it's just that when I got over my disapointment in the film I took a look at it objectively and found it to be enjoyable and still better than a lot of the comic book films I've subjected myself to. For instance Joel Schumacher could have gotten his mitts on this and we could have seen Spider Nipples.......

Looks awesome. I doubt though that any trailer they come out with now can match the one for GTA 2: http://www.dailymotion.com/popular/search/...nd-theft-auto-2 Trippy shit.....

I'm partial to Man Thing II: Thing HARDER Hey, you know what's awesome? I checked out wiki for the Punisher II release date and do you know who they have pegged for Microchip? This guy right here....... 'Hello.....Microchip.....' 'Hello......Frank....'

Oh yeah, there's no gurantee of anything......but with the amount of comic book properties that ARE headed to the theaters it's hard to believe that they wouldn't..... Let's look at Marvel films since 2000.....well, 98 if we consider Blade..... Blade X-Men Blade II Spiderman Daredevil X-Men II Hulk Punisher Spiderman II Blade III Man Thing (Man Thing? What in the blue hell?) Elektra Fantastic Four X-Men III Ghost Rider Spiderman III Fantastic Four II In the wings we have Iron Man, Hulk II and Punisher II....... It's a good time to be a comic fan.....a bit over ten years from 98 to 08 (Hulk II and Punisher II tenative release date) and we have 20 movies (MAN Thing?) and a handful of direct to video releases (Avengers/Dr. Strange/Iron Man). I hope the trend continues......as much as I wish that Spiderman 3 was better it certainly wasn't bad enough to be a franchise killer like Batman and Robin.

Yeah, this was a rough one for me to get behind but here's my logic: I'm sure everyone here has seen or has heard of these films: The bootleg Fantastic Four The Justice League Television movie David Hasselhoff IS....Nick Fury..... The Captain America straight to video with an Italian Red Skull Batman and Robin The list goes on so I'll digress........ I've seen good comic book movies (Spiderman 2) I've seen poor comic book movies (Spiderman 3) and I've seen 'gouge your eyes out with a plactic fork they're so bad' comic book movies (listed above). With Spiderman 3 there were DOZENS of problems......for instance the meteor that contained the symbiote......just HAPPENS to fall 10 feet away from Peter and Mary Jane? .....the fuck? We all know this film's shortcomings......but what about it's strengths? For instance.....it isn't any of the films I've listed above. For as much as we all feel that Spiderman 3 fell short I take comfort in the fact it could have been a LOT worse. In Jr. High I got wind of some of the original scripting ideas for the 'new' spiderman film that was supposed to hit theaters in the summer of 1990 something.......Spiderman battles an 8 tentacled Dr. Octupus to save the world from a weather satellite. The reason for the 8 tentacles was that the screenwriters didn't think that the average moviegoer would understand that Doc Ock has four tentacles IN ADDITION to his four limbs......so fuck it, give him 8. I'd rather have a Spiderman musical romantic comedy be released than suffer through Spiderman battling a satellite in orbit over the earth.... For all of our issues with the movie, the script, the dialogue, the characterization, it was still a FUN movie.....I was able to put most of my hesitations aside and enjoy watching this movie....something I wasn't able to do with any of the films listed above. Plus, I don't think that this is the last film of the franchise........a lot of the complaints I've heard stem from the fact that they feel that it was rushed out.....waaaaaaay too much was jammed into this because Raimi was just like, fuck it, it's my last movie........why not just throw EVERYTHING I want into this? This may be the last hurrah for Tobey/Kirsten/Raimi for the Webhead but in this day and age where we're seeing dozens of comic properites being made into films it's just a given imho that we'll see another big screen Spidey film. That being said, this wasn't NEAR what I wanted to see.....and Raimi fucking knows better because he DID make 1 and 2......but.... 1) It could have been a lot worse 2) It was fun to watch, a visual feast for eyes even if the script/dialogue/plot was lacking 3) It's not the last Spiderman film.....with the sheer wealth of material to work with another director, another group of performers will get their stab at it and I'm fairly certain they'll be able to breathe new life into the franchise.

Punisher/X-Men 3/Spiderman 3 All three films are almost uniformly panned by my lil' circle of friends but I'll defend the living hell out of 'em. Bloom County: Greatest comic strip of all time Zima: My friends hated Zima but I always loved it.....it's a Malt Liquor, much more manly than drinking MGD Lite or some other macro brew...... Evolutionary War: Maybe it's a midwestern thing but any comic geek I speak to in Illinois (home state) seems to hate this crossover. I don't get it, I own every tie in including the Alf Annual......good stuff that.

My gf got me the barebones FF initial release ( I love her to bits but what....we couldn't wait a few months for the sexy double disc?) and it's one of the special features in there.....it's bizzare.... They filmed it but didn't complete the sfx......what you'll see is Reed's face as he turns to camera as the wolverine type hair skeleton ghosts about his head. That knowing smile he gives us, the viewers, is just.......bad..... I still haven't had the chance to grab the dead sexy double disc FF film so I don't know it's there as well.......

I'll have to watch it again......it may have but if it was I didn't notice it.....I may have been too busy being overwhelmed with the power of hope or some such. While I'm a fan of these 'nods' to fans they have the danger of backfiring.......recall the deleted scene from the first FF movie where Reed used his pliability to morph into a more appealing form for Sue.....something to the affect of 'Well SueDarling.....I know I'm not a 'tough guy'....maybe you'd prefer something like THIS!' ....and he makes himself look like Wolverine......and then turns to the camera, breaking the fourth wall by giving the audience a knowing smile 'Hey! You've seen the X-Men! YOU ALL know who this is!!' I'm torn between being relieved that they didn't put it in and mortified that they even filmed it in the first place.......

I love it when they pull stuff like this....... Takes me back to Batman Forever.......one of the few redeeming qualities of that film was hearing Val Kilmer quip 'must be halfway to Metropolis by now.....'

I think that was the zombie Reed...... Abut the Ultimate U....I just don't know. In fact Yoda I think we've had this discussion before many moons ago..... Perhaps I'm just getting old (Hell, no perhaps about it....) and I just can't stop clinging to the way things used to be...... Honestly though....when they started numbering the earths all I could do was think 'Crisis'.......it's a nod to the DC system of planet numbering I know...

Artists.......favorite is John Buscema with John Romita Jr. pulling up in second...... The only artist I can think of off the top of my head that I despise is Rob Liefeld. I didn't like him back in the heyday of Image and nothing has changed. Kurt Busiek is my favorite writer.........his run on Avengers (vol. 3) was a joy to read....and he hit JLA/Avengers just out of the park. The writer I dislike the most is Beau Smith.......anyone who had the misfortune of picking up Guy Gardener: Warrior can attest to that.........

Yikes.....it looks like I'm the only one here who doesn't like it......... I've read the first 20 issues or so and I really enjoyed it........for the most part..... Mark Bagley has carved himself a nice little niche and I really think that he's going to be considered one of the classic Spiderman artists.........the writing and dialogue is crisp and the story moved along at a nice clip...... The reason I dislke it is that it's not happening in the Marvel Universe Proper......... The Ultimate line is a great experiment in theory......who wouldn't want to read vibrant, colorful 're-tellings' of the iconic Marvel classics? Who wouldn't want to support an EIC's attempt to do away with decades of continuity.......giving younger fans a chance to jump on and enjoy......in a different light.....the same stories we've become so familiar with? Who would look down on such an obvious labor of love? Unfortunately, I would. When I look for a great Spiderman story I want to be able to pick up a copy of Amazing Spiderman. When I want a great Fantastic Four story I want to pick up a copy of Fantastic Four. Ditto for X-men......same for the Avengers. It seems incredibly shortsighted to have that point of view......but if you're going to have great comic book stories......if you're going to put all this time and effort and obvious care into crafting great stories....why not do it in the books they originally sprang from? Another problem I have with the Ultimate Spiderman is that when the younger fans who have grown up reading Ultimate Spider start picking up the Core Spiderman titles.....they're going to feel just as disoriented and out of sorts THEN as they're going to feel now if they pick up a copy of Spiderman..... So in ten years are they going to have a new rehashing of the books to enable the next generation of readers to have a jumping on point for Spiderman? The Ultimate line is again....a labor of love so I can't bitch too much......but all this is doing is pushing Marvel further and further down the path to a dark, dark door that has the word 'Crisis' on it. I'm all for fun stories, but not at the expense of the source material........

What's going on Yoda........I happened upon one of your posts on the board and I thought 'Hey.......I like comic books...' And voila.....I'm here. Thanks for the welcome Dread......I'm looking forward to giving the show a listen....... Speaking of great covers......this is yet another of the HUNDREDS of reasons John Buscema is my favorite artist.......

Greetings all......first post. I was lucky enough to get some time off last week (t-giving break and all) and had the chance to stop by a comic shop. Was able to pick up the first 15 issues of Wolverine from his '88 series. I'm a bit out of the loop as it were to newer stuff so I have a habit of sticking to older stuff and I lucked out that day, snagged them all for $20. The series was fantastic and jumped off right where they left him off at the end of the events of his run in Marvel Comics Presents........Logan is in Mardipoor under the guise of 'Patch'.......the world believes the X-Men to be dead and that's a misconception he wants to protect. Chris Claremont knocks out the first 8 issues or so before handing the reigns to a more than capable Peter David...but what really gives this early run so much polish is the artwork of John Buscema. I had this when it came out and I remember buying every new issue.....nearly 20 years later and it still holds up.