Midweek Manga Reviews: From Headache Remedies to Addictive Online Games!

Aspirin vol. 1
Story & Art: Eun-Jeong Kim
Translation: Soo-Kyung Kim
Adaptation: Che Gilson
Publisher: Tokyopop

I’m not sure how many reviews you are going to read that include a joke about having a headache and getting some Aspirin…so I will spare you the lame intro and just move on to the book. Hell, even in the back of the book they make a joke about temporary relief of pains and side effects. I guess I really didn’t do that good of a job at sparing you a lame intro, sorry. Lord When Ondar accidently breaks the crystal orb he accidentally releases three powerful demons loose and King Dan-Goon orders the fool Ondar to bring them back. Unable to fulfill this task on his own, Ondar is accompanied by the legendary foul mouthed warrior who trapped the demons in the first place; Haemosoo. But what journey wouldn’t be complete without a wizard and the wizard in this story is none other than David Cupperfield. Along the way, they come across quite an interesting array of characters: a gang of crazy armed nuns who make them scream out their lord and master’s name, the mysterious Samson with singing powers, the acrobatic twins Pai and Pei, and more! I have to say that between this and Crayon Shinchan I couldn’t stop laughing. The humor is so over the top and the pictures reminded me of Slayers and Hunter X Hunter. But, the book also has its share of action and plenty of moments that left me gasping. If you are looking for a break from all the serious and typical shonen titles this is the book for you. A

Bastard!!!! Vol. 17
Story & Art: Kazushi Hagiwara
Translations: Kaori Kawakubo Inoue
Adaptation: Sean McCoy
Publisher: Viz

I think that Bastard suffers the same curse as Blade of the Immortal; they are both wonderful books, but they take forever to come out. The problem with Bastard is that the manga started coming out in 1988 and in Japan they are on volume 25….so you do the math considering this is a review of volume 17. I think Viz is doing the right thing with this book and not playing catch-up. Putting months in between releases gives this reader a sense of anxiety and depravation. All hell is breaking lose in the world of Dark Schneider. After dying and not coming back to life he went and got himself trapped in hell and is now having a face-to-face talk with Satan! Meanwhile his friends have come up with a crazy plan to get him out of hell. All they have to do is keep the Angels from destroying the ark and ruining D.S.'s chances of ever returning. If you think the shit has been hitting the fan, wait until you meet the most powerful Angel; Michael. Who shows up and prepares to deliver the final blow to mankind! Fortunately, Lucien appears and buys the world a little more time, but just how much? While in the pits of hell Satan tells DS that he is a major part of the end times prophecy, and will lead demons and mankind to war against God and his army. It seems that more and more Hagiwara is changing his art style. It is simply getting amazing and you can tell why he takes so long between volumes, there is more detail in one panel then most single issues of comics today. He really knows how to deliver a well-drawn story that is so full of testosterone and make the reader care about each character. A-

Blood + vol.2
Story Adaptation & Art: Asuka Katsura
Translation: Camellia Nieh
Publisher: Dark Horse

I remember loving Blood the Last Vampire anime so much, that I probably watched it a total of ten times. When Viz released the manga I probably read it a total of five times. After watching the Blood + anime I really couldn’t wait to read the manga, but Melanie had first dibs. Now I finally got to read both volumes 1 and 2 back to back and things are quite different for a manga based on the anime. Saya is now a high school student stricken with amnesia and she has been enjoying her peaceful life with her adopted family, but her destiny as a monster-slashing warrior catches up with her sooner than she expects. In this volume she is closer to finding out who she really is and what her powers are capable of doing while trying to find the kidnapped Riku. The story is a wonderful mix of mystery, humor, horror, high-school romance and government intervention. I guess I am at a bit of a crossroads with this book. Had I not seen any of the Blood + series it would have been more enjoyable, but it’s hard to judge it as a separate medium because it is based on the original TV series. There is definitely a different appeal to some of the characters and a nice welcome addition of some new characters. I must note that as the anime series itself is violent, so don’t let the innocent looking artwork in this book fool you, there is plenty of blood and gore. Along with that gore you there is also a bit of vulgar language, which really you just can’t have the one without the other. But it’s not all gore, the book has plenty of light-hearted moments that keeps the story from being too heavy and serious. The book is very fluid with such expressive storytelling that it doesn't require watching the anime to get the plot. The art is quite nice as well, with crisp lines and lots of beautiful contrast. The characters themselves don’t look all that original, but they’re all drawn well. Katsura’s fantastic action scenes capture the spirit of the story and makes every chapter fun. If you are expecting a continuation of Blood: the Last Vampire this book will certainly leave you confuse, but give it a chance and it will grow on you. New readers, I recommend this book to introduce you to the wonderful world of Blood. B+

Crayon Shinchan vol.1
Story & Art: Yoshito Usui
Translation: Sheldon Drzka
Lettering: Wilson Ramos
Publisher: CMX

I never bothered picking up Crayon Shinchan when ComicsOne were releasing them. I skipped the anime, thinking how I couldn’t stand to watch something so poorly animated. At the time, I really thought the book was made in the 60s, even though some people were comparing him to Bart Simpson. I was an idiot to skip that anime series and not read this book before. This book was simply hilarious and I had no idea how insane it could be. It follows the life of 5 year old kindergartener Shinchan Nohara as he causes all sorts of trouble for his parents (specially his mother). He is rude, loud, makes the most inappropriate comments at the worst time, and isn't afraid of exposing his nude body and private parts for all to see. Yes, he is very obsessed with his penis and his naked body…but what little boy isn’t at that age? Shinchan is a free spirit in every sense of the word. For a 5 year old Shinchan is smart at times but dumbfound at others. He already knows pickup lines, uses children books to hide porn at the bookstore and outsmarts his mother. Other times he goes home to ask his mother their phone number so that he can tell the grocery lady so she can call his mother and ask how much ground beef she needs. Sure it's not drawn very well, but I wouldn’t say it was terrible because the humor makes up for it. I highly recommend this book to all who have had to deal with small children, remember being that young, and would like to read something funny, cute, and semi-obnoxious. A

Me and the Devil Blues: The Unreal Life of Robert Johnson vol.1
Story & Art: Akira Hiramoto
Supervising Editor: Takashi “Hotoke” Nagai
Firearms Consultant: Heihachiro Matsumoto
Translation: David Ury
Publisher: Del Rey

That is one long title for this book, but when you consider that the book is over 500 pages, it justly deserves it. It is a great pleasure of mine to keep finding the most unique manga and by fart this takes the title of most unique manga I have read this year. Keep in mind this is coming from someone that has been reading manga for almost 20 years and has read almost every kind of manga you can find out there. It’s unique for a manga creator to write and draw a story about the 20’s and 30’s in the Mississippi area and featuring an almost all African American cast focusing on the blues.

It is loosely based on the story of bluesman legend Robert Johnson, who lived a very mysterious life, died at a young age, and managed to only record 24 songs that still influences musicians to this day. In 1929 we find RJ, who works on a plantation and dreams of becoming a bluesman (even though he really stinks at playing the guitar and sinking). He has a young wife Virginia that is with child, yet he still manages to sneak off to the local bar every night to drink, hear the blues, and just forget about life. Legend has it if you want to sell your soul to the devil he can make all your dreams come true. But you have to go to a crossroad and play a single song. Enter the devil! For some reason when RJ goes back to play for the people at the pub six months had passed. In those six months his wife and child had died. To him that was the price he had to pay to learn the blues. Now he travels along with the devil and even runs into classic historical characters like Bonnie and Clyde.

I had to read this book in two sittings, mainly because I stayed up till three in the morning on a workday because it was nearly impossible to put down. I was taken by surprise at how well this book captures the poverty, music, dialogue, and even the blistering hot days of the time. Hiramoto draws African Americans better than any manga artist I have ever seen. They look like real people and with the exception of one or two panels there are no over the top manga cutesy panels here. I found it interesting that he was even able to capture the relation between whites and blacks in that era. Even though RJ is running with the devil he still fears the white man more. The panels really come to life whenever you see someone playing the blues, it’s amazing how much heart went into making this book. The only bad thing I can say about the book is that the artwork during action sequences can get a bit confusing and make take a second glance. This book wasn’t just a story, it was an experience and that by far this year’s biggest comic surprise. It is a book that not only fans of the manga or comic genre can pick up, because it caters easily to new readers. I can’t go on enough about how much heart this book had so I will just give it my highest possible recommendation. A+

One Piece vol. 18
Story & Art: Eiichiro Oda
Translation: JN Production
Adaptation: Lance Caselman
Publisher: Viz

Joined by the ship’s new crew member Tony Tony Chopper (the ship’s doctor) the gang has finally made it to Alabasta. Home to Princess Vivi and desert kingdom, but of course it’s not that easy getting there. Because we finally are introduced to Mr. 2 Bon Clay a flamboyant ballerina man who ate a gum gum fruit. This gave him the power to mimic anyone’s face, voice, and body. But more importantly, we are introduced to Portagaz D. Ace, Luffy’s older brother who is being chased by Captain Smoker. After an invitation to join Whitebeard’s crew, Ace takes off, but not before leaving Luffy a piece of paper that was something important according to him. It seems that Vivi knows the leader of the rebellion against her kingdom and it used to be a childhood friend of hers. We are also given an inside look at the dealings of the Baroque Works officers. There is never a dull moment in this series. As ridiculous and stupid as some of the characters act, you really get that sense of brotherly bonding that is mainly found in military outfits. The book always keeps me on my feet and I even get emotional when reading the flashback stories (still recovering from Chopper’s story). Oda lists amongst his influences Akira Toriyama and this is really starting to show more and more. This influence is seen most prominently in Mr. Oda's style of writing which contains huge epic battles punctuated by lots of humor. His artwork does create a unique vision to his storytelling. A

Warcraft: Legends vol.1
Story: Richard A. Knaak, Troy Lewter, Mike Wellman, and Dan Jolley
Art: Jae-Hwan Kim, Carlos Olivares, Nam Kim, and Mi-Young No
Cover: Udon with Saejin Oh
Publisher: Tokyopop

It’s been a great week of manga reading, I don’t think we read a bad book this week. So I was really excited to read this book, considering I know nothing of the Warcraft world (other than it’s an addictive videogame) and I missed out on the Sunwell Trilogy. The book is split up into four separate stories that don’t really require prior reading, with the exception of the first. The first story seems to be a follow-up to the first series and features Trag Highmountain, a tauren (minotaurs) who has been reborn as an undead. Now seeking the help of a shaman he is betrayed and left on his own. The Journey is about a farmer named Halsand and his family and having to put up with some adventurers looking for treasure. Halsand gets involved in a battle that kills all the adventurers and he is forced to drink the infected water which leaves his family with a sad outcome. Sly Lazlo is the main character of the third story, he also happens to be a gnome who is overlooked and an outcast because of his fascination with useless inventions. But when a troll invades his town, he turns into a hero. The final story is a campfire story that features Nori Blackfinger, who is a master blacksmith. He accidently sells one of his fine weapons to an elf who serves Havoc, the heartless. But, when Nori’s son Eli was killed by the same blade his father made, it is up to Nori to avenge his death. Every story was a fun read, sure the first one continues into volume two, but the rest wrapped up. I was blown away by the gorgeous art, especially Jae-Hwan Kim’s take on a decaying tauren. If you are a fan of the series, you are probably already picking this up, but I suggest fans of fantasy and magic to give this a shot. A

Episode 109 - A Magic Trick

Here's a magic trick for you: Dan got the podcast posted within 16 hours of it being recorded. Lately, that's magical.

In this episode, we spend the hour discussing a small art-house film about puppies and butterflies called The Dark Knight.

Episode 109 - A Magic Trick

Uncanny X-men # 500 Review

Story: Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction
Pencilers: Greg Land & Terry Dodson
Inkers: Jay Leisten & Rachel Dodson
Colors: Justin Ponsor
Covers: Alex Ross, Terry Dodson, Greg Land, and Michael Turner

It's been a long time since I reviewed an X-men comic; let alone an Uncanny X-men comic. But the X-men fighting hippies in San Francisco weren't the X-men to me. So I just kept reading and saved everything I had to say for the podcast. But how could I not review the 500th issue of one of my favorite books of all time? Even though I haven't enjoyed a 00 issue of Uncanny since 200, but something always get me excited about an anniversary issue, even though it really starts showing my age.

The plot is really simple and I think it's just used as a set up for the latest crossover; Manifest Destiny. The X-men are now in San Francisco and give the mayor a tour of their new base/house/school. Meanwhile a conceptual artist Guy Demonde establishes a "Celebration of Mutants Kisch" in the downtown area. He even goes as far as putting depowered Sentinels in the area. Everyone is dressed like their favorite mutants and the X-men fit right in with these people. Magneto makes his return in the lamest way possible wearing a suit that gives him his powers back. In the end he is easily defeated by the X-men, had really no point in this issue other than to bitch, and takes off with the High Evolutionary. For some reason the next great threat seems to be a bunch of thugs wearing Hellfire Club mask and a relative of Bolivar Trask makes an appearance.

There was a nice nod to the Night of the Sentinels story and I loved Emma's reaction to the Sentinels being part of this rave. I have no idea where to start with the problems in this issue. The dialogue seems really off, specially Magneto, who comes across like a whining bitch. Where the hell did he come from anyway? Does it even matter these days? Was it supposed to be a big deal that he came back, because it didn't really feel like anything special. And that was the problem with this issue, it didn't feel like an anniversary issue; it just felt bland. I'm wondering why the High Evolutionary gave Magneto a suit instead of his powers back? This is the guy that took away all of the mutants' powers and gave it back to them, what a fucking dick! Say what you will about Chris Claremont, but the man knew how to plan ahead and foreshadowed things to come in one panel 50 issues before it happened. This story just feels like it came out of left field and I have no reaction as to the future of this title.

Terry Dodson and Greg Land...well they get the job done. Land's photoshopping style is so much different the Dodson's over exaggerated tits and ass style that the two of them can't make this book work. Land as always has poorly layed out panels with odd perspectives and all his characters have stiffness to them. Dodson's women (although ridiculously shappened and I am an ass-man) are at least clear and crisp and look different in every panel. The only thing that works are the fight sequences with Magneto and the Sentinels. At least Dodson gives the book a sense of realism in his characters, Land just thinks the team is made up of porn stars and underwear models. I fear for the future of one of my favorite books, but to be honest with you, it hasn't been in good hands in years. D+ It's a shame those variant covers are worth so much money and a shame that Michael Turner's last piece of work was wasted on a dull book like this.

Midweek Manga Reviews: From Immortal Samurai to A Struggling Rock Band!

Blade of the Immortal vols. 18 &19
Story & Art: Hiroaki Samura
Translation: Dana Lewis
Lettering: Tomoko Saito
Publisher: Dark Horse

Blade of the Immortal seems to be the only manga that is still stuck in the 90’s. It’s printed in comic book format, reprinted in TPB format, printed from left to right, and has a price tag that is high for a manga. The thing you have to remember that much work goes into the translation of this manga. Each panel has to be cut and re-pasted on the new pages in order to capture the real essence of Samura’s art style. The sound effects have to be as close to the original as they can make it, because sometimes the sounds are part of the art style. To put it bluntly; it’s worth the admission price. It’s been a long time since I read the last volume of Blade of the Immortal, almost a year to be exact. Be that as it may, it still feels like I haven’t stopped reading the book. It was good to see Rin take another spotlight and learn of Doa’s and Isaku’s past. But do we really need three books focusing on trying to find the secret of immortality by chopping off cannon fodder’s arms and legs? It seems like Rin and Manji have been apart forever and it starting to feel like Rin will never get her revenge. When Isaku gets captured and seems to be taken to the same place the shogun are experimenting on Manji, it’s up to Rin and Doa to rescue both of them. Hyakurin wants to help, but Rin knows about her pregnancy so instead she sends Ozuhan to assist the girls. The artwork is excellent as always and has more diverse locales now that the action has taken a step back. Samura’s art always has been one of the best amongst the seinen category. There is a huge glossary for terms used in volumes 1 through 19 that help out remembering names and places. These last two volumes are used as a set up for the next volume, which I hope has plenty of action, because honestly I’m ready for Manji to get out of those chains and cut loose. B

Bleach vol. 23
Story & Art: Tite Kubo
Translation: Joe Yamazaki
Adaptation: Lance Caselman
Publisher: Viz

From the very first page when Ulquiorra rips his eye out to show master Aizen what happened in the real world, I immediately knew this was going to be a kick-ass story. The first third of the book is simply humor and drama as the Soul Reapers get used to living on earth and going to school. There is a wonderful scene between Matsumoto and Orihime and I’m with Kon on that one. It’s definitely a forbidden garden scene. Now the real danger begins when Grimmjow Jaegerjaques leads a group of Arrancar to earth to destroy anyone that might pose a threat to them. It was nice to see Rukia get her powers back and show her true skills and the fighting was top notch between the Soul Reapers and the Arrancars. But who really stole the show was Ikkaku Madarame, with his intense fight against Edorad. Without a second thought, Ikkaku unleashes his Bankai, unbeknownst to not only the readers, but according to him; his friends and comrades. There are also three small chapters in the end entitled Bleach Zero, which focuses on stories from Rukia and Ichigo’s perspective before the series started. While the art remains untouched from the original Japanese release, there is one part where one of the characters has their middle finger removed from one of the chapter titles. I have to say, I haven’t enjoyed a Bleach volume this much since volume 13 and I eagerly await the next installment. A+

Kamichama Karin Chu vol. 1
Story & Art: Koge-Donbo
Translations: Althea Nibley
Adaptation: Athena Nibley
Publisher: Del Rey

The name Koge-Donbo rung a bell the entire time I was reading this book and not until the end did it finally hit me that this was the same lady that did Digi Charat. At least I feel better now, because it really would have bugged me where I knew the name from. Anyway, Kamichama Karin Chu is a sequel to Kamichama Karin. I have never read the original series, but what I gathered from this series is that Karin is a reincarnation of the goddess Aphrodite and can transform using a ring left to her by her parents. Nya-Ke is her pet cat/goddess, but every magical girl has to have a pet-sidekick. Kazune and Himeka are some kind of reincarnated versions of her husband and daughter who also posses powers and are now living with her. If that doesn’t catch up, I really don’t know what will. Threat comes in the form of Karin’s and Kazune’s future child Suzune who tells them to look for three noble Gods who can bear new rings to stop evil from taking over in the future. So, as far as the plot goes, Kamichama Karin is a rather generic “magical girl” story where an ordinary girl suddenly gains magic powers and is forced to fight evil. It feels really weird to be reading a book like this where the main two characters are completely in love and even live together and then I’m reminded that they are in middle school. I understand that the infatuation with this idea in Japan, but I still feel a little odd reading it. I found it interesting that the end of the book had the episodes that filled in the gap between this series and its predecessor. The art, much like Digi Charat is very cute and that is the main focus, every character keeps getting cuter and cuter, except for the villains (they get no love). The story reminded me of Sailor Moon and Kamikaze Kaito Jean, but I couldn’t get into it. I will give the second book a try, but I don’t think there is much for me here. However, if you were a fan of the first series or are completely into magical girl stories you are going to love this book. C+

The Key To The Kingdom
Story & Art: Kyoko Shitou
Translation: Sheldon Drzka
Lettering: AndWorld Design
Publisher: CMX

At first glance, I thought this was a new Ceres volume, because the artwork on the cover reminded me of Yuu Watase covers. However, after reading this book it’s really more like Basara and Orfina more than anything. When the king and prince are killed in battle the country of Landor is left without a ruler. Now the future of this country has fallen on Asta, the 13 year old last surviving member of the royal family. Unfortunately for Landor, Asta is not interested in ruling Kingdoms or hot chicks, but would rather read his books. At last resort the advisors and elders go back to a legend that will unify the land. Whoever finds the legendary Key to the Kingdom will inherit the throne. This peaks Asta’s interest, because he wants to find out why his brother and father wanted to find this key. Along with his protector Captain Baddorius Urius (or just plain Badd), he will go on this journey that will take him through great Peril to find the secret that his brother was hiding from him. My only gripe with this book is Asta, because he really doesn’t look like a boy, not even a pretty boy. He just looks like a girl and I guess in a way that kind of makes sense because he is very spoiled and comes off like a brat. However, he does have a good heart and means well and Badd is a great partner for him, because their characters really play off each other. The book is full of action and the attack on the wyrm really got my attention. Shitou seems to have a range of art style drawing some badass dragon fights and some almost too pretty boys. However, you can count me in for this ride. B+

Kujibiki Unbalance vol. 1
Story: Kio Shimoku
Art: Koume Keito
Translation: David Ury
Publisher: Del Rey

I thought the name sounded familiar when I read the title. I have only read Genshiken volumes 1 and 2 and highly enjoyed them. The majority of manga and anime references made in Genshiken are on the fictitious series known as Kujibiki Unbalance which was a stereotypical romantic comedy. I always found it funny that Kujibiki Unbalance was likely originally conceived to avoid potential copyright problems from referencing another series too heavily, but it is now a full fledge manga series. The story focuses around Chihiro and his bad luck, who wins a lottery that, allows him to enter at Rikkyoin High School. It seems that everything is decided by chance at this school including the positions for student council. It’s completely insane when every day members of this council must risk their lives to save the school from evil forces. From giant robots, that look like right out of the pages of Ghost in the Shell to a demon possessing sword. This book was an otaku’s dream come true. I got addicted to this book thanks to girl-genius Renko and Keito’s gorgeous artwork. Sure it’s cute, but it’s so damn detailed and engaging it’s hard to not say kawai at every little girl. It’s a stand-alone story that requires no knowledge of Genshiken so new readers are welcomed. A

Yonen Buzz: Plastic Chew
Story & Art: Christina Plaka
Translation: Nina Olligschlaeger
Adaptation: Zachary Rau
Publisher: Tokyopop

According to the solicitations of this book, this serves as a prequel to Plaka’s Yonen Buzz, so lucky for me I haven’t read that book and I have no idea how this one is going to end. This was not a story I thought I'd enjoy, but it really surprised me. This is a tale of a struggling rock band, searching for a new lead singer. Jun, who happens to be the backup vocalist and guitarist, now, has to be very picky when it comes to a new lead singer. Enter Sayuri, who is a young girl that wants to be nothing short of a rock star. Now, all four of the band members have to live together to get over their pettiness. Just as soon as Jun and Sayuri start getting together, he learns that she is a runaway and that pushes him away. Jun is an orphan and understands how important parents can be. Now it’s up to Keigo and Atsuhi to keep the band together before their big break! This is why the book kept my interest. It has a range of diverse characters and real life insecurities and complexes that come with being young. Beyond the repetitive character designs and the over exaggerated limbs there is a lot to like about the artwork. There is a good sense of flow to the book. Plaka is not afraid to break panels and vary spacing to create different emotions, but the movement of the page is never hindered. She seems to be inspired by western comic art and breaks the mold from the standard Japanese comic. Of course this might be because this is a German title. B+

Grendel: God and the Devil TBP Review

Penciller: John K. Snyder & Tim Sale
Inkers: Jay Geldhof & Bernie Mireault
Colorist: Jeremy Cox
Publisher: Dark Horse

Matt Wagner has gotten some recognition over the years for his mainstream DC books like Sandman Mystery Theater and Trinity (not the current ongoing series). I have been a fan of his since the 80’s, but I have to be completely honest before you read this review. I have never read a single issue of Grendel. I remember seeing the comics by Comico in the 80s and always liking Grendel’s costume. I was a huge fan of Mage and I even recall that there were some Grendel back-up stories in the Mage comics, but I never bothered to read them. So lucky for you and I that Dark Horse has been reprinting the old Comico stories in comic format and TPB format with new colors since 2000. The original stories were printed in Grendel # 23-33 and then reprinted in a 10 issue miniseries with a prologue (issue 23/0) drawn by Tim Sale.

It is the year is 2512 and several centuries have passed since the mask of Grendel has been worn, and in that time humanity's survived a third World War, the fall of Western Civilization, and the rise of an all-powerful Catholic Church state. America has been separated into a number of corporate systems dominated by that church. The new Vatican seems to be in the mountains of Colorado and fanatically controlled by Pope Innocent XLII. There are two men that make a stand against the church’s corruption. Orion Assante is a corporate auditor and aristocrat determined to expose the pope for who and what he really is. The second is a mysterious madman wearing the all-too-familiar face of Grendel. This time around the man behind the mask is a factory worker named Eppy Thacher who is driven by his belief that God hates him and his addiction to the drug Grendel. Innocent turns out to be the vampire Tujiro and hires Pellon Cross head of the mercenary group known as Confederacy Of Police (COP) to help establish a second inquisition and take care of Grendel. This was all part of his plot to develop a new weapon to block out the sun. In the end Assante leads a private army to destroy this weapon, Cross (now a vampire) leads an army of vampire/cops against the Vatican, and Grendel and Tujiro fight to the death.

I really didn’t know what to think when I read the prologue. The narrative focuses on the tribulations of Cardinal Emmett Fairbanks, whose domain is Laserus, apparently the LA metropolitan area in this future. I was completely lost between issues zero and one. It wasn’t until I read the entire trade that I could appreciate it’s effective foreshadowing. It was the satirical content and Tim Sale’s art that drove me to keep reading. Coming into this book with no previous knowledge of Grendel was kind of tough. I was left in the dark with much of the complexities involving politics and religion. For example the lead character (well, one of the three) Eppy, has a problem with stealing, murdering, and starting riots. It’s very uncommon for a protagonist to have this sort of moral relativism. Half way through the book I got completely lost. I have read tons of books on the corruption of religion and politics, but the dialogue was heavy and drawn at times. But, damn am I glad I stuck with this book to the end, because the payoff was intense and massive.

I found Eppy’s dialogue quite funny. I really got the sense that this Grendel was unique, because the more and more I kept getting closer to the end, I could tell he was losing it. Assante’s inner monologue reminded me of those old Slam Bradley or Dick Tracey strips. For a story that was this dark, I figured they would have gone with another artist. When I first saw Snyder’s work, I didn’t think it was going to work. However, the more I kept reading; the more his exaggerated anatomy grew on me. His depiction of this ruined future really set the stage for the story to move along. His artwork is definitely built on clarity and color and reminded me of Keith Giffen’s work on Trencher. Unfortunately it does feel a little dated and at times, it’s hard to follow those fight scenes. Jeremy Cox’ coloring is completely stunning and make Snyder’s art brighter and more distinctive. Even though he makes the characters brighter, that dark tone manages to pop up. I’m not sure if Grendel’s tale is one huge saga spanning different centuries, but I can tell you that this particular book works well as a stand -alone story. For my first introduction to the Grendel universe this book keeps me intrigued and wanting more. As complex a story and dialogue heavy as this book is, after a first reading I was content with the entire story. I suggest any fans of Criminal, Berserk, 100 Bullets, Zen, Mage, or just people that appreciate a good solid story to pick this up. B+

Pic of the week (or weekend, as things turned out)

Episode 108 - I can use my finger to push it down

Oh, please, don't kill us. Please, please don't kill us. You know I love you baby. I wouldn't leave ya. It wasn't my fault.

No I didn't! Honest... I ran out of gas. I, I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD.

Actually, I was at my in-laws and they didn't have internet access, so I wasn't able to upload the episode. Here's the run down:

• Transformers Animated & Universe toys
• Emails from Jeff & Ray
• Secret Invasion 4 (again)
• Booster Gold 1,000,000
• Final Crisis - Requiem
• Action Comics 867
• Hellboy II

Episode 108 - I can use my finger to push it down

The Dark Knight Review

Hmmm hmmm hmmmm....after all the hype for this movie, and now all the praise, I felt conflicted about even writing a review for this movie. I mean honestly...what can I say that you, my dear reader, haven't already read, heard, seen, or at this point, thought yourself about this movie? I mean the simple fact that you're browsing this website means you're probably apt to check up on those giants of nerd.com lore such as newsarama or ain'titcool or any number of countless other sites that dwarf this one. Those have been loaded to the point of Dark Knight critical mass with reviews, interviews, and all sorts of other buzz. Well, I decided I'd do it anyway for my track record's sake, since that's pretty much my function on aboutheroes. But I am going to quickly browse over most the stuff that's generally already known. Ready?

Ok, here's what you should know thus far. It's good. It's very good. It's so good that there were times where I honestly kind of felt like tearing up just because it was so damn good. It was just pieced together so comprehensively and artistically that I couldn't help but feel my heart-strings being tugged with thanks at the fact that people who really love these characters as much as us fanboys are in the driver's seat on this one.

Heath Ledger is truly worthy of all the buzz he's getting on this. All you've heard is true. He just cuts through the film like a razor, messing everything up and leaving a path of destruction in his wake. He's a monster, he's truly scary, and he's loveable in the most sinister fashion conceivable. He literally cannonballs into the roll, going from silly clown menace to intimidating violent psychopath and the drop of a hat, and it's sooooo good.

Harvey Dent is sooooooo well handled here. I was surprised that they took him full circle in this. Pleasantly surprised, though. He's the main character of the story, and thus needs to have his story play out for a good sense of closure. He plays a really good straight man to the titular character, our man Bats. He's the other side of the crime-fighting coin that operates in public, cracking down on criminals in the court rooms and saving Gotham city through the proper channels. It's good to see him operate in tandem with the caped crusader to get Gotham's cowardly and superstitious lot behind bars. Aaron Eckhart does a really good job of playing the two sides of this character, and when he goes around that corner, man, you're right there next to him, feeling just what he's feeling. Too put it frankly...Man, it's so brutal.

And then there's our man, Batman. Decked out with a few new tricks up his sleeves, it's amazingly fun to watch him run around in this movie kicking ass and taking names. Christian Bale continues to play both Batman and Bruce Wayne very convincingly, I do however come up a bit short when I try to think of praise for Bale here because this isn't really his movie. That's not to say he isn't in it very much, but Batman's story was really told in the first film. This story flutters from one character to the next, and it does so very well. Bats is certainly one of the more prominent characters, but like I've said before, it isn't his movie. It's Dent's, but also his supporting cast as well.

The supporting cast continues to be amazing in this series. Gary Oldman fully settles into his roll as Gordon. Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) continue to be good counter-balances for the Dark Knight, holding him up when he's failing and encouraging him when he's struggling to get the job done. They are perfect casts. And Maggie Gyllenhaal fills Katie Holmes' boots very well as Rachel Dawes. But to get back to the beginning of this review, this is all stuff you should know by now. So here's what you might not have heard. The stuff that's not great. And it isn't much. The Bat-Pod is a little silly, but once you get past it, it's really cool in terms of what he can do with it. One of the gadgets in the film is a little too big for it's britches, but again, just swallow that pill and enjoy the effects. Other than those two things, the movie is just about flawless. But then, you knew that didn't you? If for some reason you didn't/don't, then I'd prescribe a trip to your local theater for a liberal dose of TDK, otherwise known as The Dark Knight. A.

Also, one neat little thing is that the Mayor of Gotham city is played by Nestor Carbonell, also known as Batmanuel from the short lived live action "The Tick" tv show from years back. As soon as I saw him in the movie I started giggleing like a child and was surprised to find that none of my nerd-friends had made the connection. I thought it was a stroke of genius. Not to discredit Mr. Carbonell though, he played the part quite well.

Watchmen Trailer!!

For those that haven't heard yet, the new Watchmen trailer is up, and it looks pretty bad-ass.

Enjoy!

For Hi-Def go here:http://movies.apple.com/movies/wb/watchmen/watchmen-tlr1_h720p.mov

Midweek Manga Reviews: Playing Catch-up

Alive: The Final Evolution vols. 4 & 5
Story: Tadashi Kawashima
Art: Adachitoka
Translation: Anastasia Moreno
Publisher: Del Rey

What started out as a high-school horror manga has certainly changed over the last few volumes. The premise was an intriguing one; a strange otherworldly virus was making people commit suicide. Taisuke Kano was just an average high school student who was always taking up for his friend Yuichi Hirose. The tables have now turned though. Hirose acquired powers and has turned on his friend. He kidnapped Megumi (Taisuke’s girlfriend) and is on the run. Meanwhile Taisuke is traveling with Yuta and Nami. Of course teaming up with Nami wasn’t that easy, after she nearly killed Taisuke and Yuta she decided to team up with them to find Katsumata’s Comrades and find her brother’s killer. On their way to Hokkaido the trio run into of Katsumata’s comrades: Gou Okada (he looks like your stereotypical otaku), who uses his Grim Reaper powers to kill people that have broken promises to him. Meanwhile Katsumata and his gang head to Hokkaido, where Acro’s Heart, an object that is the key to his plans, is hidden. I have to say that after reading volume 5, I really don’t think there is any coming back for Hirose to the side of the angels. While volumes 2 and 3 really felt like they were lacking in depth and action. These last volumes have more than made up for that. The action has become more gruesome than it has ever been in the series. Particularly in one flashback with Nami that was both emotional and graphic. While the main plot still lingers about the end of the world, the characters manage to keep realistic reactions and human emotions that make it fun to read. Unfortunately Katsumata, Yura, and Morio still seem like one dimensional villains, but the addition of Nami to the cast has really strengthened the story. B+

Daemonium vol. 1
Creator: Kosen
Retouch & Lettering: Michael Paollili
Publisher: Tokyopop

I really didn’t know what to expect from this title. I had never heard of Kosen and didn’t know if it was an OEL or a manhwa. However, when I saw that it was a horror title I really didn’t care where it was originally printed. As most of you know I am sucker for the horror genre and if you throw horror in with comics than that is a sealed deal for me. After reading the first three pages I immediately started reminiscing about episodes of Twilight Zone and couldn’t wait to see where this ride took me. Siezu has an emotional and physical scar from a car accident that killed his parents. He still suffers nightmares and has haunting visions of that day. For some reason that scar on his face seems to bring him trouble at school and after a fight his sister Alys takes him to monastery for a little getaway. It is here where he meets the mysterious Yabrail and together they search for Siezu’s sister. It seems that the hotel staff needed his sister to open up a gate. Now with Ophel another angel he must find a way to get his sister and his newly found friend back. I think I really built my hopes up too high for this book what I thought was supposed to be a horror book, turned into more of a fantasy/love story. Sure it’s got gore and supernatural elements, but that doesn’t make it horror. The story itself was okay and the art while beautiful at times got a bit confusing. I appreciate the love and time that went into this project (based on the character sketches and the narration by the creators), but the end result left me wanting. C

Kasumi vol. 1
Story: Surt Lim
Art: Hirofumi Sugimoto
Translation: Harumi Ueno
Publisher: Del Rey

One of my favorite things to do with manga is jump right in and get on with the story. I hate reading the backs or reading anything about the title. I really don’t want to know what the book is about. Unfortunately you can’t do that with 90% of American comics, because 9 times out of ten they turn out to be about superheroes. So reading Kasumi, I was really surprised every time she used her magical powers. I had no idea this was going to be another magical girl story. But it was more than that, it was a story about a girl that feels alienated at school because she lost her mom and her dad has to keep moving from town to town due to his job. She never got a chance to settle down and grow up like a normal kid, despite her use of magic. When she is introduced to her new school Seiran High, it really brought back memories of my first few days of high school and how big and scary a place like that was. She has always used magic powers to make friends, but for some reason these people here aren’t easily impressed……well until she turns invisible But lucky for Kasumi, she made some friends right away despite getting bullied by everyone else; an otaku Yuuta, a mute girl name Maiko (who seems to have mystical abilities herself, and Ryuuki the pretty boy at school seems to have an interest in Kasumi. This of course doesn’t sit well with Reina, who wants Ryuuki to herself. This story was a delight to read and it would be a great book for kids. The art style is cute and poppy and it fits the story perfect, the only bad thing I can say about the art is that the adults look like kids too….just with facial hair sometimes. Still an enjoyable read that has an innocent humor to it. A-

Oh My Goddess! vol. 9
Story & Art: Kosuke Fujishima
Translation: Dana Lewis
Adaptation: Toren Smith
Publisher: Dark Horse

Does this book ever start off with a normal day at the Morisato household? I have been reading this book for 14 years now and it seems that just when we get a chance at a little R&R something always happens. It reminds me of the X-men stories of days of old: X-men never go looking for trouble, but trouble always finds the X-men. Am I complaining? Not one bit, I love the insanity that comes attached to this book. I hate to say this, but this is not the best volume of Oh My Goddess, but even a less-than-stellar volume is better than the vast majority of comics. What appears to be a normal day is just a set up to introduce us to Hikari and Senrigan; the two small ninjas that have come to kill Kodama for leaving their clan (It’s a bit confusing considering they were all rats to begin with). In the end everyone leaves Mara and stays with Belldandy. Speaking of Belldandy, Keiichi finally gets to spend some alone time with her, because Urd and Skuld have to leave for a while. Keiichi wants to make best use of the time alone with Belldandy, but she falls sick - so while trying out various medicines on his own self before giving them to her, Keiichi undergoes changes into a woman. Other plot threads include a visit from an old flame of Urd's, and a classmate of Keiichi's who thinks she's a mystical healer. Oh My Goddess is at its best when it's at its most innocent and good-natured. Several of the stories stray from this pattern: in particular, the pre-gender change and the story involving Keiichi receiving an anonymous love letter. That's not to suggest it’s sleazy, but the story simply loses its stride. Of course two small gripes that are overshadowed by some beautiful artwork and great dialogue. This volume includes four pages of color, Mini-Goddess strips, and a message from creator Kosuke Fujishima. I again recommend anyone wanting to know what manga is about to pick up this series. B

Presents vol. 2

Story & Art: Kanako Inuki
Translation: Sheldon Drzka
Publisher: CMX

After reading what I thought was supposed to be a horror comic, I really felt the need to read something spooky. And let me tell you, Kurumi gives me the shivers every time I look at those damn covers of Presents. There is something really creepy about those giant dead-eyes and that sinister grin. Presents volume 2 continues the story of Karumi the psycho dead girl that never got a present on her birthday, she was always overlooked or purposely forgotten and by some weird twist of fate this made her into the spirit of presents. She is the only recurring character, and she creepily brings ruin to everyone she comes across. Sometimes it seems really unfair, but then again some people deserve what they get. Most of the unsuspecting victims of her presents are selfish and petty, and prove that karma can be a bitch. By far the story that stands out the most in this volume is Santa Claus. His presents were not the same as we have grown up to believe. The format of the book remains the same and unfortunately that is the biggest problem with the series. Each chapter is relatively short and lightning paced, it’s hard to get to know the characters that populate the pages. Without having an emotional connection to them, it’s hard to get worked up when they meet up with Karumi and ultimately when they meet their end. There is more gore in this volume, but the scary factor was really turned down a notch. B-

Private School vol. 1
Story: Brandon Montclare
Art: Michael Shelfer
Lettering Michael Paolilli
Publisher: Tokyopop
I have to wonder if there is an unrated version of that cover, because judging by the interior artwork I seriously doubt that this final version is what the artist was shooting for. While the story does borrow elements from different comics/manga it seems that it has done something original here. Young looking government killers are bused into a top secret military training facility which has been disguised as a high school in order to receive federal education funds from the government. The nation's Black Ops budget is over-burdened and the best way to secretly re-allocate money is to trick people into thinking they are using their tax dollars to fund a normal school. The cadets not only have to look like high school students, they unfortunately have to act like them too. They have to train to be the stereotypical nerds, bullies, jocks, emos, and cheerleading dimwits. The two main characters are Debbie Doll (Grunt) and Francine Yo (Tsunami). They seem like best friends and mortal enemies at times and there is plenty of sexual tension there…..including a fight in a bathtub with some inappropriately placed bubbles. My biggest complaint with book is that there were so many supporting characters and so many sub-plots mixed into the first volume. It didn’t seem like there was adequate time devoted to any of them, and so they mingled all together. Nobody had a distinctive voice and to be honest I found the leading ladies a little boring. While the story is a bit derivative, borrowing elements from The Initiative and Tenjho Tenge, Shelfer’s artwork is crisply appealing. Panels can be on the cluttered side, but the character designs are clean and even sexy. I see a lot of potential in both the artist and writer so I will definitely be checking out future volumes. B-

Vassalord vol.1
Story & Art: Nanae Chrono
Translation: Alexis Kirsch
Adaptation: Jennifer Keating
Publisher: Tokyopop

When I saw the name Nanae Chrono I just had to check this out. Now the creator of Peacemaker now sinks his teeth into a new vampire story, sorry it’s been a long day and that’s all I could come up with. Cherry…err umm Charley is a cyborg vampire (yeah, that’s right) who happens to do the Vatican's dirty work. Johnny Rayflo happens to be his vampire master and also the local playboy. The two live together in LA and of course they fight crime and solve mysteries. It seems that they can’t help but get into to some kind of trouble everywhere they go whether is helping Vampire Princess Marie or solving the murder crimes at the Holy Neo Union church. With the help of their dog and now Cheryl Shane Kates they really do make an unbeatable team. I have to say that this book really took no time to read. Unfortunately some sacrifices had to be made in order to have some fantastic art. Those sacrifices include some clarity in the story. There seems to be a long history between the two leading characters, but the flashbacks at inappropriate times confuse me. Maybe that was Nanae’s goal all along; give you enough confusing clues to keep you reading further volumes. If that was his task, he achieved it. The book is full with plenty of fast-paced action, thrilling suspense, and enough plot twist to keep me hook for future volumes. A-

The Spirit - New Trailer

Figured I'd post the new trailer that just came out today.

Based on what one sees....the filming techniques used in this sucker are gonna be "unique" to put it lightly.

The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite TPB Review

Writer: Gerard Way
Artist: Gabriel Ba
Colors: Dave Stewart
Covers: James Jean
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

The only time I had hear of My Chemical Romance was when my brother asked me if I wanted to go to one of their concerts about five years ago. I wasn’t into the whole scremo and emo music, no matter how many times my brother tried to get me into it. Then I hear that the lead singer of MCR was going to do a comic book. So I laughed and sneered at the thought of a guy wearing make-up and singing about being sad writing a comic book. To me it was just another case of a semi-celebrity using his popularity to get to write a comic. So I read the first issue, mainly to butcher on my website and I ended up loving every single moment of it. Waited for the trade and was pleasantly blown away by the rest of the story.

The story of Umbrella Academy is much like X-men or Doom Patrol, if I had to compare it to other comic books. The Professor X or Doc Niles of the book is Sir Reginald Hargreeves (The Monocle) and he adopts seven infants that will grow up to save the world. They are a dysfunctional group of superheroes who try to live as a dysfunctional family. As kids they just referred to each other by numbers, but as adults they each have their own code name which include; Spaceboy, Rumor, Kraken, Séance, Future, White Violin(okay not all the codenames are that great), and Horror (who didn’t live long enough to get a decent codename). After a brief background the story jumps ahead to 20 years and kicks off with Spaceboy getting a call from Dr. Pogo (a talking chimp) with the sad news that the Monocle is dead. This brings the rest of the cast together with the White Violin a warning about a new suite and Future comes back from the future after being gone for almost 20 years.

The issues keep the same kind of feel of bizarre spectacles, twist and turns, and compelling mysteries. Introducing new villains such as the Conductor and moving the storyline along through flashbacks and some insane revelations. Once you think you got someone figured out, you really are in for a shock. The title Apocalypse Suite is dubbed from the Conductor as he claims that if played accurately it would bring about the end of world. This is where one of the siblings comes in….the White Violin, who ends up killing Dr. Pogo and her brothers and sister have to do battle with her to stop the end of all that is. Without going into too much detail, all hell does break loose and there is plenty of gory action for everyone. Almost all of the characters in the story get a moment or two to shine, and not always in the most obvious of ways. There is even a mansion that gets destroyed ala X-men every three years.

With his use of eccentric dialogue, nicely paced foreshadowing, and secret histories Way really had me hooked from beginning to end. This book doesn't break any new ground as far as comics go. The way I see it everyone who has ever read comics has one or two good stories in them. There are countless of Justice League, Fantastic Four, Doom Patrol, X-men and Avengers stories out there, but is the few that are done right that stand out above the rest. To me that is what this book accomplished. It had a strong story from the beginning, with just the right amounts of insanity, dark humor, suspense, heart, darkness, and hope to keep me coming back for more. By the end of the volume, I was really sad that I wouldn’t be reading the further adventures of the Umbrella Academy until November.

Of course Way’s vision wouldn’t be complete if he didn’t have the perfect artist to compliment his story. That talent came in the form of the expressive and vivid artwork by Gabriel Ba; whose artwork reminded me of a cross of Mike Mignola, Michael Oeming, Tim Sale, and Guy Davis, but with more of fluidity to his shapes and forms. His layouts are dynamic, I enjoyed his work on Casanova by Matt Fraction, but this is a whole new level. His facial expressions were cute and creepy as if Tim Burton or Edward Gorey had design the characters. Ba does a fantastic job of grounding the insane stuff, giving enough attention to details of the weird such as the gorilla spacesuit or the walking Eiffel Tower to make them seem realistic within every panel. Of course having drawing a chimp whose brains are splatter all over the floor, I’m sure he got to break loose those hidden talents. The colors by Stewart only make the comic stand out from most new books on the market. It wasn’t all perfect though, at times, particularly during the flashback sequences, I had a hard time distinguishing between characters. I guess that’s why Way put someone in a monkey suit and put a chick in a violin outfit.

I’m sure fans of My Chemical Romance have already checked this series out, but if that is the reason some of you aren’t reading this book; I can assure you that Gerard Way is talented in writing comics as well. If you like Hellboy, Atomic Robo, the Goon, and X-men,, Scryed, Doom Patrol you'll most likely LOVE Umbrella Academy. If you like weird, fun, and well plotted, paced story buy this book. If you like My Chemical Romance, I’m sure you have already bought this book. It was a real treat to read. This volume also contains the Free Comic Book Day special and the short story originally featured at darkhorse.com .Dark Horse plans to release The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite Limited Edition in November and it would make a fantastic gift for those friends that haven’t read it yet. A-

The Chronicles of Conan: The Corridor of Mullah-Kajar & Other Stories

Writers: J.M DeMatteis, Len Wein, Larry Hama, Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas.
Artists: John Buscema, Neal Adams, Ernie Chan, Bob McLeod, Vicente Alcazar, Yong Montano.
Publisher: Dark Horse

Ah yes, as time passes, so comes another volume of Conan. The 15th volume Dark Horse has put out of The Chronicles of Conan, this trade encompasses seven stories of the Barbarian from Cimmeria

The first story in this volume called "Crawler in the Mist" starts out with Conan being rescued by some nomads, having laid in the desert sun, poisoned and weak. As Conan comes to, he finds his rescuers are traders and soon realizes that they mean to trade HIM as a slave. Conan being well... Conan, whoops some arse and sends two of his slavers fleeing, the third unable to run, left chained to the mighty Barbarian. Deciding not to cut off the slaver's hand and be free of him Conan drags the trader along with him as he looks for shelter with night approaching Wandering through the desert Conan and his "traveler" eventually come upon a city...seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The trader warns Conan of this city being home to a monster that prowls the streets at night taking anyone foolish enough to be wandering out of their homes, Conan scoffs at his companions' plea and they enter the city laying down on the streets for sleep. Deep in sleep Conan is awakened to hear his friends' cry as a huge red slug-like creature takes hold of the trader. Amidst the battling, the slug creature severs the chain linking the trader and Conan, fleeing with the helpless slaver in tow, Conan in pursuit. From here the rest of the story plays out Twilight Zone-like so I won't ruin it for you, other then to say it ends somewhat sadly.

The rest of the stories within this volume play out pretty close to the first one, Conan either runs into trouble or goes looking for it, a tussel ensues and the foe is defeated. All the tales are enjoyable to an extent. Certain readers will definitely get more out of these collected Conan volumes then others. Those not big on reading loads of text I can tell you right now will have issues with this Conan volume. At about 190 pages this sucker feels like twice that in overall dialogue I personally like the expanded dialogue as it gives more depth to the story an characters BUT...then again I am a fickle/weird comic reader.

The art within each story varies with the artist. For the most part John Buscema does a majority of the art within this volume and it is alright...it's not mind-blowing but half this stuff was in the 70s and 80s so you gotta cut the guy some slack. The best page out of this whole volume though in both story and art is in, "The Phoenix on the Sword". Art by Vicente Alcazar an Yong Montano, it displays Conan looking to tear apart those before him, an image of Kull of Atlantis above him, Roy Thomas writing of the parallel in this scene between Conan & Kull.

I don't know what it is but this page just kinda hits you in a right way...almost makes me wanna go back and read up on Kull of Atlantis, (another creation of of Robert E. Howard's).

In closing, this volume as a whole is GOOD. Not great but good. If you like Conan you'll dig this volume and for those that have never read of the mighty warrior borrow this volume from a friend...you may just be glad you did.

Hellboy 2 Review / Dark Knight PSA

Oh boy. Well the usual pattern with these movie reviews that are sequels is for me to lightly touch upon the first film and do a sort of mini-review and then move on to the main show, the sequel, which is Hellboy 2 in this case. Also, stay tuned after the review for a PSA you should probably read about the Dark Knight. No spoilers, I promise, I haven't seen it either. Ok, onward and upward kiddies! Hellboy 2!

So, the first Hellboy movie is a movie I enjoyed. I wouldn't say it was great by any measure, but it was enjoyable and had fun and interesting characters. I guess now is as good a time as any to mention that I really don't read any Hellboy comics or any of the related stuff like B.P.R.D. or Lobster Johnson, although I know that isn't REALLY too connected. That being said, we can just assume I'm writing this review from the point of a film reviewer, not a comic reviewer. So as a movie, the first Hellboy film wasn't great simply because there never really seemed to be that great of a momentum for the story and it's all resolved by Hellboy basically saying "Eh....no thanks." I'd rate it a C. Pretty to look at fun at times, but just full of holes. NOT plot holes, just incomplete and kind of disappointing.

Hellboy 2, which I just got home from watching no more than 20 minutes ago, is a different story. Guillermo Del Toro has showed that he's a competent director with work in the Orphanage and of course, Pan's Labyrinth. Something about Hellboy just makes him bad though, just like something about Marvel makes Jeph Loeb bad (at least generally speaking, I've heard good things about his character profile arcs, like the most recent Captain America: White). This movie, right from the get-go, is just awful. It's piss poor in just about every aspect other than crazy creature displays, and even that wasn't handled too well, but I'll get to that part later. The first scene opens up with an awful kid painted up as Hellboy in his early adolescent years being read a bed time story setting the backdrop for the Golden Army, and it's just terrible. Never have I wanted to punch a kid in the face so badly. Now that I think of it, it might be that English is a second language for GDT. Maybe he doesn't know what convincing English sounds like. I'd prefer that to the fact that he just let acting slip away to play second fiddle to a bunch of ooh-la-la and a story that just makes excuses to display nutty creatures inspired by Mignola's comic.

The acting in this film is lackluster at best, and spearheading this campaign of mind shattering-suckery is Selma Blair as Liz Sherman, Pryo-lady. She wasn't the only one though, it was a tight race and she really had to work for it to beat out some of her competition. Just like in the first movie, romantic scenes between Blair and Perlman (Hellboy) are just painfully awkward, and in the big romance scene of the movie, Perlman is literally unconscious, so he can't be blamed. I can't really remember ever seeing Selma Blair truly act well, but I know she's more capable than what I saw tonight. But enough about her. Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Jeffrey Tambor (Tom Manning) and Luke Goss (Prince Nuada) all weigh in and come up short as actors. Now, it shouldn't go without saying that a bad script had at least a hand in this, but there were many times throughout the movie where I was literally cringing in pain at what I was being exposed to at the expense of my hard earned dollars. Perlman comes across too awkwardly in the titular roll, seeming like an awkward cosplayer at a convention feeling just a bit too silly to really get into character. Tambor is just dealt with poorly as a character, too his credit, although I've still seen him be much better. And Goss. Sweet awesome badass Goss. Why couldn't you have channeled whatever GDT struck up in you in Blade 2 and just played a good Villain? The only character I enjoyed pretty whole-heartedly was Johann Kraus, and that's because he was basically a mime with somebody else talking for him. I enjoyed this character a lot despite a silly fight with Hellboy until the very end of the movie, where they take him as a character, open up his containment suit, and start to poop in it (Bad writing again).

This screenplay is a super duper swiss cheese extravaganza with a built in oil drilling rig just in case there weren't enough holes when you walked in the door. This thing has more plot holes and underused themes there were hairs on Chewbacca. There's a whole conflict of humans not truly accepting Hellboy despite him protecting them and whether he should fight for them or the nutty creatures that he's helping essentially rid the world of. A fine plot-line to be sure. To bad it's only really briefly touched upon here and there in the movie and then just kinda of splurged away at the end of the movie leaving you a tad flat. The biggest piece of sillyness in the film was the awkwardly crammed in love story between Princess Nuala and Abe Sapien, who after just meeting Abe, falls in love with him, and prompts him to do the same, only it didn't stop there. They use Abe's crush (and trust me when I say it's an awkward one) to strum up a drunken kareoke-esque scene with Abe and Hellboy crooning out the musical equivalent of Air Supply, which is funny for a few lines, but quickly takes a turn to being inappropriate and out of place, joining the ranks of Super Dance-off Mr. Fantastic from Fantastic Four 2 and Emo-Bluesdaddy Parker from Spider-Man 3. And the titular Villain, the Golden Army, is dealt with in the same manner as the first movie, with Hellboy basically just speaking up and saying "Nooooo, stop that." Granted, this movie did flex much more impressive fight scenes (the Golden Army scene is very pretty, I'll give them that, and Johann Straus more than makes up for his locker-room exploits earlier in the film here). Still, the resolution of everything still feels a bit anti-climactic and the meat of the sandwich of a film is very stringy and undercooked.

The one thing this movie did with flying colors was bring out the freaks. There isn't a character in this movie that doesn't look awesome, whether it be Wink, the Wrecking Ball-Fisted Brute, The Angel of Death, or a giant CGI Rock-Door guy, they are look great. And that's a good thing, except for the fact that when you want to have one of the main plot points of the movie be how Hellboy interacts with the human race, you're gonna want to show some interaction with humans. The most we get is just a crowd essentially yelling "BOO! YOU'RE WEIRD! BOOGAH BOOGAH BOOGAH!!!!" Nice job guys, you've alienated and destroyed the best subplot you had going for you and essentially alienated your audience, since we all love Hellboy. We, as humans, are painted as uncaring and un-understanding, but with no reason whatsoever, much like Spidey is in the comics just after beating a deadly supervillain. It's frustrating enough to make me want to rip my horns...er....hair out.

All in all this movie was just a bust. I recommend you save yourself the price of admission and just rent it on netflix when it comes out. Just be sure that when you do, you put it on mute and just turn on a good action-oriented album and let the awesomely designed characters run around in your noggin for a bit. I give it a D.

DARK KNIGHT PSA

Ok kiddies, gather 'round and listen up. I know you're probably excited for next weekend when the Dark Knight opens up next weekend. You can bet that I and probably a few other writers here at AboutHeroes are going to toss up a review for it, but I beg you. Please, learn from the past and calibrate yourselves. I see so many people walking around talking about how this movie is going to be awesome AND I'M NOT SAYING IT ISN'T. Just take it down a notch, ok? Let's all make sure we don't psyche ourselves out for this. Just relax. When you go to the theaters with all your buddies, have a good time, but be calm. Don't let what happened to me in Spider-Man 3 happen to you. Make sure you go in just hoping for an enjoyable, entertaining movie. Don't expect the best comic book movie ever because as good as it'll probably be, it might not be that. Look, all I'm saying is don't ruin it for yourself. Just do yourself a favor and forget the hype. Just go see a Batman flick and hope it's on par with the first. Ok? Good talk, now get out there and give 'em hell, and come back next weekend for the Dark Knight Review ala Joshiebear!

Episode 107 - In Japan...

Omar and Melanie are back! They regale us with Japan stories, and we then work our way to Buffy 16, Batman 678, Joker's Asylum - The Joker 1, Patsy Walker: Hellcat 1, Astonishing X-Men 25, Doctor Who - Journey's End, Y - The Last Man and American Dream.

Episode 107 - In Japan...

Midweek Manga Reviews: Back From Japan!

Berserk vols. 21 & 22
Story & Art: Kentaro Miura
Translation: Duane Johnson
Publisher: Dark Horse

Alright, it has been a while since we have done manga reviews. Getting married and going on your honeymoon does put a damper on things. But, we are back and took some manga to read with us on the plane. Of course you know that I had to take Berserk with me, I have stated before that every time I get a new volume, I put everything else I’m doing down and read non-stop. There is nothing better than the sensation you get when reading about demons eating and destroying humans while your plane hits some heavy turbulence. On to the review: The end of the Birth Ceremony arc and the beginning of the Hawk of the Millennium arc happen in these two volumes. We finally get to see the final fight between Father Mozgus and Guts and we get to see that maybe Farnese has stronger feelings for Guts than she lets on. The down side is that there wasn’t much character development in the 21st volume, but that’s not to say that there weren’t a few moments that made the book worthwhile. I can’t believe Isidoro turned down a freebie from the ladies!!! Volume 22 turns everything around by bringing Griffith back, no, not Femto, but the original Griffith teamed up with Nosferatu Zodd. At this time we don’t really know whether or not Griffith remembers any of what happened to the Band of the Hawk. But who really shines in this issue is Serpico, because of his loyalty to his half-sister Lady Farnese. That’s right, it turns out that they are siblings and Serpico is so set on protecting her that he burns his own mother alive to prove his loyalty. This book never lets down and even though the first half was nothing but non-stop action, we get so much more from volume 22. A-

Dragon Eye vols. 4 & 5
Story & Art: Kairi Fujiyama
Translation: Mari Morimoto
Publisher: Del Rey

I have always been a sucker for shonen action titles; you can blame it on Dragonball Z or Fist of the Northstar. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if the books don’t have an ounce of originality to them, I just keep reading them. But after reading as much manga as I have, you seem to wonder if there are any original stories left? Because everything borrows from something else and it’s just a case of art imitating art. So sure, Dragon Eye feels like Naruto and Harry Potter with a little Bleach thrown in, but then that’s not what makes the series work for me. I enjoy the small character interactions and the humor found in each volume. And oh yeah, the action that is delivered in each volume. Issa has managed to keep the Dracules from invading Mikuni City, even at the cost of unintentionally burring some of his team mates. Aio Shizue makes her debut and almost recruits Leila for her squad. Finally Yukimura confronts Issa about his sister and the cliffhanger leaves me wanting more. Fujiyama demonstrates a great skill in his rendering of humans and the Dracules. This is where his strength lies and you can tell when he delivers more and more action. But, he does have his downside, sometimes the fighting sequences rely too much on action lines and that can take away from the character details and even loose you in the middle of a fight. If you are a fan of Naruto, Bleach, or Peacemaker you should definitely give this book a try. B-

Gunsmith Cats Burst vol. 3
Story & Art: Kenichi Sonoda
Translation & Lettering: Studio Cutie
Publisher: Dark Horse

I leapt for joy when I saw the cover of Gunsmith Cats Burst 3; well I think I may have gasped, because I was on a plane and couldn’t really express myself. Bean Bandit is the man and every time he graces the pages of GSC I know I am in for a treat. It was really sad to see Rally shop for a new car. I loved that Shelby 500 GT as much as she did. Of course she can’t have a normal test drive in a vintage Cobra without someone trying to gun her down. Bean Bandit shows up, because he still owes Rally and she aims to collect. This time he is entering in a race all in the hopes of luring in detective Percy and get him killed in an accident. Of course Rally doesn’t like the idea of being remotely involved in killing a policeman, so she enlists in the race herself in her brand new Cobra. The unfortunate part is that I have to wait till the next volume to see how it all goes down. The race itself was like watching Cannonball Run, Gone in Sixty Seconds (the original not the Angelina Jolie remake), and Vanishing Point. Sonoda’s designs remain sharp edged and detailed. However it’s great to see a combination of detailed machinery and cute anime faces. Throw in some guns and some fantastic action sequences and Dark Horse have themselves a winner. I would definitely recommend going back and reading the Omnibus collections, because they are amazing and affordable. A

Le Chevalier d’Eon vols. 4 & 5
Story: Tou Ubukata
Manga: Kiriko Yumeji
Translation: Ikoi Hiroe
Publisher: Del Rey

I have to say that those covers get me every time. It may seem like your typical T&A book, if you judge it by the covers, but there is so much more of that going on here. While I followed the first volume really easy, there were times in volumes 2 and 3 that I was left a little puzzled. It’s the French history that kept popping up and the all the stuff with the poet, I was getting confused and couldn’t keep up with who was a poet. As of volume 4 though, things have started to clear up. During her abduction by the twin poets, Madame De Pompadour has learned of the existence of Lia and the Poets. Lia has ascended to the sixth rank of Gevurah and we got poets using French/Japanese translated palindromes. These two volumes were definitely action driven and that really makes up for some of the confusing parts of the story telling, because the artwork is drop dead gorgeous. Yumeji has an outstanding range of art. Thin and thick detailed lines are used on the characters, while the streets and settings have a gritty feel to their atmosphere. At times the battle scenes can be a bit confusing, but the translated sound effects help out. It is still a fun read and I always leave satisfied by the end of each volume. There is still plenty of potential character development with such a huge cast and I hope that Yumeji takes the next volume to focus on those characters. B

Martin & John vol.1
Story & Art: Hee-Jung Park
Translation: Soo-Kyung Kim
Adaptation: Ailen Lujo
Publisher: Tokyopop
When I was packing to fly to Japan, I wanted to grab some books that I would that seemed interesting and unfortunately we do judge books by their covers. Then I noticed the name Hee-Jung Park and immediately packed Martin and John in my suitcase. I was a huge fan of Fever and really enjoyed Hotel Africa so I couldn’t wait to open this book and find out what it was about. This book is three different, well four if you include 0, stories about three different men named Martin and three different men named John. It’s really that simple they range in subjects about love, relationships, and especially their feelings. This collection of stories take place in different places, in different times all about a man named Martin and a man named John, and the struggle for love between them, even the women that stand between those feelings. But it’s not really what you think, because some of the stories like the one about John and his step-brother Martin were really touching. I love how elegant and skillfully drawn the storytelling is with a touch of contemporary flair. The drama feels grounded in reality, with a modern melodramatic twist. However sometimes the stories take a while to develop and I was left asking myself, so what happens next? While the art is beautiful, sometimes I think that Park has a hard time getting the right facial expression through. Overall it was an entertaining read and I will most likely check out the second volume. B-

Tokko: Devil’s Awaken vol. 1
Story & Art: Tohru Fujisawa
Translation: Satsuki Yamashita
Adaptation: Zachary Rau
Publisher: Tokyopop

I have learned my lesson after missing out on Rose Hip Rose. That lesson is that I have to try anything by Fujisawa. I guess I should have known better because I loved GTO so much and eventually did get around to reading RHR and was pleasantly surprised. Ranmaru Shindo and his sister Saya live together and have an unusual relationship (she keeps teasing him about shoving his head between her breasts). It seems that five years prior to their living situation there was a massacre that killed their parents and everyone in their apartment complex. Ranmaru seems to be having dreams of a girl for quite some time and they are becoming more and more frequent. Ranmaru graduates from his cadet class and has become the new investigator for the Special Mobile Investigation Troops First Division (TOKKI) in order to avenge the death of his parents. Eventually he meets the girl from his dreams; Sakura Rokujo, who happens to be a member of Section 2 Special Public Safety Task Force (Tokko). Sure it’s not the most unique manga out there, but the art style and character growth really keeps you hooked and wanting more. It’s just as hardcore as any of Fujisawa’s series, but it has more of a dark twist to it. His art seems to have changed a bit, adding more shadows and dark heavy inks to add to the mysterious mood of the narrative. I will definitely be checking out the rest of the series. A-

Episode 106 - In Which We Speak Very Little About Comics

Bit of a delay getting this episode published; would you believe a hard drive crash? No? How about a driver conflict? How about six fishing boats and a dinghy?

Anyway, Ray joins us this week via Skype to discuss Omar's wedding, Secret Invasion & all of its crossovers, Doctor Who - The Stolen Earth, the Incredible Hulk movie, Wall-E and Pixar films, Transformers Spotlight Cyclonus and Batman: Gotham Knight and RIP.

Episode 106 - In Which We Speak Very Little About Comics

Transformers: The Legacy of Unicron

A few months ago I went to the 2008 Transformers Botcon convention in Cincinatti, OH with Dan and Omar. While many Transformers fans were buying old toys and the Botcon exclusive toys, I was on a different mission. I was interested in finding some old Simon Furman Transformers comic books. I was in luck, there were two different booths selling TF comics. Not only did I find the final TF hardcover comic I was searching for, I also spotted a oversized TF graphic novel titled “The Legacy of Unicron.” I had never read this story since it was originally published in the Marvel UK Transformers comic book series. I was thrilled to find this for two reasons. First, I love Unicron. Love him to death, he’s my all time favorite TF bad guy. Second, Simon Furman was a guest at Botcon and I wanted to get this bad boy signed by him despite my not having read the story. Needless to say the story did not disappoint.
This story really should have been the basis for the second animated Transformers movie. The book opens with a few pages of notes about the Transformers UK line of comics and then dives into a two-page recount of the events of the original Transformers animated movie. The premise of the comic is this: after the final scene of TF: The animated movie, Unicron’s head lands on the planet of Junk. It seems the matrix of leadership didn’t destroy Unicron’s brain, thus he is re-activated on the planet of Junk. Unicron then quickly uses his mind powers to enslave the Junkions into rebuilding his body. Wreck-Gar, leader of the Junkions learns of this development and quickly contacts the Autobots for help. A villain called Death’s Head has set his sights on Rodimus Prime. Galvatron has been buried deep inside a volcano on Earth so his allies Cyclonus and Scourge find themselves in combat against the Autobots and Death’s Head. So basically there are multiple forces manipulating and battling against one another.
Unicron finally regains control of Cyclonus and Scourge and orders his former minions to launch a full-scale attack on Cybertron. Cyclonus and Scourge decide to obey their former master and begin the attack. While all hell is breaking loose across the universe Wreck-Gar finally contacts Rodimus Prime and informs him of Unicron’s new plan. Ultra Magnus tells his leader to return to the planet of Junk and deal with Unicron while the Autobots make a stand against the full Decepticon battle fleet headed their way. Can’t you just feel the excitement? This is why this story would have made a great-animated movie sequel and we are only halfway done!
Rodimus returns to the planet of Junk and to his horror watches as Unicron is being rebuilt by the enslaved Junkions. To make things worse, Death’s Head has also been introduced to Unicron. Unicron tries to use his mental powers on Death’s Head but it seems that this bounty hunter is able to resist Unicron. This ultimately culminates into a mental battle deep within Unicron’s mind. Death’s Head needs some time to get his bearings and tricks Unicron into revealing the true history of the Transformers. It seems that there were two forces in the universe many milleniums ago. Unicron, the chaos bringer was a huge warrior (not a robot) destroying all in his path. There was also Primus, a noble knight protecting the galaxy against this dark god. The two were evenly matched, so Primus realized he needed to trick Unicron so that the fighting would stop. Primus lured Unicron into a huge asteroid, thus trapping their spirits inside the huge rock. The rock split apart and the two warriors drifted through space in their rocky tombs. The spirits were not dead though and after thousands of years Unicron re-formatted his rocky prison into a massive robotic planet. Unicron continued to master his prison and finally managed to transform into his robot mode making him the first real Transformer. Primus realized his foe was stronger than ever and also re-formatted his body in the planet known as Cybertron. It was on Cybertron that Primus created his children, the Transformers, in hopes that one day his race would stand against the chaos bringer. Simon Furman would later introduce this origin of the Transformers in his Marvel Comics US run.
In the finale of this story, Unicron summons Scourge and Cyclonus back to the planet of Junk. Rodimus Prime and Wreck-Gar fire missles and lasers at Unicron to no avail. Finally, Death’s Head brings Rodimus into Unicron’s mind for a final astral plane battle. As the war rages on the planet of Junk, Unicron feels victorious until he realizes that Rodimus and Death’s head have merely kept his mind busy while he newly reformatted body has been taking damage. Much like the finale of the TF animated movie, Rodimus uses the matrix of leadership to trap Unicron’s essence once and for all. Cyclonus and Scourge retreat and their fellow Decepticon warriors quickly succumb to the Autobot forces on Cybertron. Death’s Head also leaves to pursue new targets in the galaxy. Once again, the Autobots have saved the universe from Unicron and the Decepticon forces.
Thoughts/Comments:
WOW! This really felt like a sequel to the original TF animated movie. The action was intense, the artwork was amazing, and Simon Furman continu