drqshadow

:urock:

I adored Dead Space, and you can't go wrong with Bioshock.

Seriously, at some point the well is going to run so dry they'll be remaking movies from the previous summer.

Ultimate Spider-Man #131 - Wow, this was actually fantastic. Bendis has this weird way about writing tie-ins to major events that are twenty times more fascinating than his writing on major events themselves. This was entirely a reaction piece to the big tidal wave of Ultimatum, focusing on the common man's reaction around the fringes of the catastrophe, rather than the superheroes duking it out in the middle of the crater, and it was a hundred times more poignant than the muck that Loeb is crapping out in the primary series. If you've ever read a Spider-Man comic before, you owe it to yourself to read Jameson's monologue in the first quarter of this issue - it's something we've been waiting almost fifty years to see, and Bendis just plain nails it. Peter's interactions with the Hulk border on slapstick from time to time, but they never cross the line and it's so much fun to watch the two cautiously interact that I can overlook it. Great issue, undoubtedly the best of the crossover so far. 10/10 My New Fighting Technique is Unstoppable - I've had this for years, and worried that it wouldn't be nearly as funny the second time around. I was wrong. Basically just a compilation of David Rees web comix from years ago, before he went all political with "Get Your War On". If you love inane humor, a metric ton of profanity and homemade production values, this is your ticket to an hour of pure ecstasy. Wish it were longer, and some of the strips are pure filler, but when it's on there's nothing else like it. Fast reading, but god is it worth it. 8/10 Comics: 35, TPB: 5

My work machine. Dual-monitor ftw.

Happy belated, guys!

Punisher: Frank Castle #67 - A mild improvement over last month, but it's still more brainless action than I'd really like. What I loved about Garth Ennis's run on this book was the way he transformed Frank from an ageless wonder with a bottomless armory and an itchy trigger finger into an older and wiser, more collected, conniving character. Two issues into this new creative team, and he's back to his old ways. As thirty-odd pages of random killings go, this was fine, but it's lacking the depth and heavy atmosphere that's kept me on board this long. The new characters feel like pale impersonations of the supporting cast Ennis completely wiped out before he left, and the thin premise is already working on borrowed time. 4/10 Also, IIWY: REBELS #1 and The Darkness #75 Comics: 34, TPB: 4

The wife and I saw it last week, really enjoyed it. I hadn't read the book, but it retained the charm of a lot of Gaiman's other work.

Awesome

Epicurus the Sage TPB - Old school Sam Kieth and William Messner-Loebs, repackaged and reprinted in '03 with an extra story and three pages of sketchbook material. I never really noticed how deeply the 1970s underground comix influences ran in Kieth's work before, which is odd because I've followed him somewhat religiously forever and they're plain as day here. Overall, he's had much better showings - both in the earlier stories, which were printed between '89 and '91, and the later tale which was created specifically for this TPB. He churns out a few gorgeous spreads but indulges his lazier side wayyy too often which gives the whole book a secondhand, unfocused flavor. The story is kind of rambling and really gets caught up in itself from time to time, but I guess that's to be expected when both lead characters and half of the supporting cast are Greek philosophers. When it gets away from informing readers of how wacked out most of these guys' theories really were and focuses on adventures through the era's mythology, it's great. Doesn't happen nearly as much as it should. 6/10 Edit: IIWY? this weekend, two books: The Mighty #1 and Eureka #1 Comics: 31, TPB: 4

New Punisher #2 - Pretty much took everything I liked about last month and threw it back out the window in favor of another cookie cutter Punisher story. I get that every month can't be a slobberknocker, pitting two unlikely adversaries against one another with nothing to do as far as the plot is concerned beyond finding new and interesting ways to beat each other up. I also get that Frank's new partner is supposed to inject a dose of humanity to the mix, to give readers a familiar perspective and maybe return a sheen of cold, hard badass to Castle's veneer. That doesn't mean the end result needs to be as dry and redundant as this was. I was really looking forward to seeing how long the new series could continue its breakneck pace, and as it turns out that number was just about one month. This isn't bad, but it's so much of the same old stuff we're getting elsewhere twice a month that it also isn't necessary. 6/10 Also, two more contributions for IIWY: Buckaroo Banzai: Big Size #1 and Hero Squared: Love and Death #1 Comics: 29, TPB: 3

Well played, sir.

Finished up Half Life 2 and Half Life 2: Episode One and I'm now slowly making my way through Episode Two. Nice story and I love the first person adventuring stuff although I'm not that big on the vehicles and it gets a little too gun-crazy in later chapters.

Blink 182 broke up?

I loved his Daredevil and Green Arrow, but he never seems that dedicated to his writing and I've kind of quit following his films. Never saw the second one of these although I liked the first, and the hate is making me glad I stopped when I did.

One of my absolute favorites, a real treat when Bendis and Oeming can manage to get an issue out. It's getting to be as bad as Fell in the "genius work once a year" department. A TV series could be fun.

Looks interesting. That video was pretty hilarious. Like three minutes of uncomfortable staring with a guy in need of medical attention.

It just gets better and better.

That line says a lot. I'm pretty sure both were in the wrong, but I'm much more sympathetic to Bale than I am the DP. There's no reason whatsoever for him to be fooling around with the lighting and wandering around in the background during a take, especially one as emotional and draining as this one seemed to be. Twice as bad that Bale had warned him more than once before during production. Did he step over the line? Maybe, but if a simple request didn't work several times in the past, stronger wording may have been justified. I'll bet they didn't have any problems with people wandering around during filming afterwards.

This would be a lot of fun to play around with and the control scheme is perfect for it, but I cringe at the thought of what the graphics will look like.

Does it let you carry over your previously created characters? More importantly, can your character actually have a beard? Get the hell outta here with that stubble garbage. Maybe they can combine the two, and if your character previously had stubble, when you launch ME2 he'll have four years' worth of facial hair.

New Avengers #49 - Well, at least that storyline didn't linger. This read like a quick blowoff that trivialized the only interesting development from last month's issue and just reset the status quo on a whim. But whatever, at least now we don't have to deal with a sixteen-issue arc about chasing an abducted baby. Feels like it's been five years since the Civil War, but we're only just now getting the promise of a real face-off between the dueling Avenger squads (naturally, the very second one roster completely changes), but I don't know if I buy Hawkeye's reasoning as much as his teammates did. A very mediocre showing from Bendis meets artwork of a similar level from the blase Billy Tan. 5/10 Daredevil #115 - I love the Izo character, and can't wait to see his relationship with both Murdock and Iron Fist evolve over the next few months before he's unceremoniously slaughtered before their very eyes by the next big threat. Still don't see a lot of promise in Lady Bullseye, but it's becoming clear that she's little more than a pawn in the grand scheme anyway. I was ready to cheer aloud when Murdock pulled down his mask to REALLY join the battle in the middle of this issue, but then all the fighting stopped and it was time to talk for a while. Laughed my ass off at the message of that talk, too , but I don't think that's what Brubaker was going for. A bit of a slowdown following the chaos of last month's issue, but still a fine read. I didn't think much of the Hand's "Plan B" comment until I turned the page and saw the cover for next month. If that means what I think it means, shit... 8/10 Ultimate Spider-Man #130 - After a few months of subpar contributions, the real Stuart Immonen is back! His work on the countless splash pages that coated this issue was phenomenal, particularly the shots of the grounded ship in the middle of NYC and the Hulk confronting Spidey at the end of the issue. Simply gorgeous. It's a shame this was slammed right into the middle of Ultimatum, because it made actually reading it a bit disorienting. When we left them last month, Pete and friends were headed downtown to party with Johnny Storm. From the outset this month, his buddies are busy rescuing civilians from a communter train and Parker's in full wardrobe swinging through the city without so much as an editor's note. Surely that could've been done a bit more smoothly...? 7/10 Wolverine #69: Old Man Logan - The gimmick is starting to wear a little thin at this point, and I don't know if I can live with a book that ships twice a year. Naturally, this issue came out in November so I'm a little behind, but it's taken that long for a copy to remain on the shelves long enough for me to actually buy it. McNiven's artwork varies from breathtaking to sloppy, and Millar's story follows suit. The cool stuff is really cool but the boring stuff balances things out by being really boring. I loved this series after the first two issues, but my patience is wearing thin. 5/10 Also two issues for IIWY? (Fathom #5 and Mighty Avengers #21) but I'd already read one of them. Comics: 26, TPB: 3

I actually really dig a lot of Millar's work too. I loved his work on The Authority, Ultimate X-Men, Fantastic Four and Kick-Ass. Does that mean I worship the ground he walks on? Nah, he's capable of producing stinkers just as regularly as he does good stuff. Just take a look at War Heroes for proof. But I'm willing to read one issue of his crappy concepts and drop them in exchange for something that's as good as his work with The Ultimates was.

I'm happy to help out.

I loathe the number of terrible remakes on TV and in theaters today, but if there were ever a series that badly needed a refresh it's this one. The original's special effects are so cheesy it's tough to watch.