I picked up DC Direct Identity Crisis Zatanna this (well, yesterday now) afternoon. I'll review that figure later, but first, I just want to say that I'm really, really glad that I didn't order these figures based on the DCD solicitation pictures, since the figures in the package really don't live up to the preview pix. Green Lantern just looks dumbfounded, Dr. Light appears to have been chipped from a block of granite with a blunt chisel, and Hawkman has some extremely strange coloration, especially on his headpiece (is that a mask, a cowl, a helmet, what?). The only good-looking figures out of the bunch were Deadshot (that's right, the guy without a facial sculpt) and Zatanna, which I bought.
Michael Turner draws some strange anatomy, this is true. It doesn't need poor scultping and paint on top of it.
All I have to say is What the Fuck?!!! The only benefit to this is that the funds are going to A.C.T.O.R which is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. I would pay 5 bucks for a signed copy and a chance to tell Mr. Meltzer, how his story almost made me stop buying DC comics for good. Some people just have way too much money to know what to with.
You know, I have come to reliaze that the best thing to come out of Houe of M is not Decimation, or a depowered Blob, or the Illumanati or hundreds of spin-off titles. No, I believe that the best thing to come out of House of M are the countless of spoofs based on the story such as this one, found all over the internet. I think it took me longer to read this than all eight issues of House of M. I'm really hoping they do a director's cut of this spoof!
I hope you are sitting down because the shit is about to hit the fan. I buy that Professor X might have wanted to slip his hands up Jean Grey's skirt the whole time he was training her. I buy that Jean did not actually die in space, but was instead lying at the bottom of a lake. Hell I can even believe fucking Bucky never died! But the shit that Marvel is trying to pull now with this Illumati story is just irritating. Okay a secret society working under ground since the beginning of the Marvel Universe, sure I buy that, but Namor, Mr. Fantastic and Black Bolt all on the same side...well fuck me running! You mean that after Namor tried to kidnap Sue Richards and kill Reed for the 15th time, they just laughed it off in private over a beer? Professor X working with Iron man and Doc Strange....maybe. So does that mean that the Changeling went to the secret meetings while Professor X was in hiding? Or for that matter Magneto stood in for Xavier when he was gone for 5 years or Jim Rhodes for Iron Man or Strange for Doctor Strange? I'm really shocked Wolvie isn't on the team since he could have been on it and not remembered, because I sure as fuck don’t!!! I just hope this doesn't turn out like Identity Crisis bad or Sins Past bad.
I thought the debate of ownership of Miracleman was over? Is that shit still going? Fuck, let it go Todd! Just swallow your pride and go back and draw some issues of Spider-man, before you drain all your company's money. Or does he still draw or have money for that matter? So, in an effort to move on with his life, or smack Neil Gaiman in the face; Todd McFarlane figures have a new listing for a toy with the name of Man of Miracles. I guess when you have so much money than you know what to do with, you just mass produce a crappy action figure to spit in Gaiman's face! You can check out some more pics of this action figure here.
DC has just announced that that there will be a “special pencil” variant of Infinite Crisis #4. My question is this; why in the hell would anyone want it?
Variant covers are all ready pretty damn near worthless in my book. I mean if you’re going to do a second print, fine. I mean we all know that retailers pretty much suck when it comes to gauging interest and ordering books properly. (But that is a discussion for another day.)But when a variant cover is used, you are encouraging people to re-buy a book they all ready have. And really some saps can’t help themselves.
Now, those of you that engage in this practice are probably asking yourselves; why is this a bad thing? Who cares if I’m a moron and buy the same book twice? Well, I do, and I’ll tell you why.
Most of us, with a few exceptions, can’t buy everything we want as it is. So when you make a conscious decision to buy another copy of a book you all ready have, that money is taken away from a new book you might like, or an existing book you have to skip, thus damaging its sales. Most comics barely sell enough to stay alive as it is. So instead of supporting this practice, try something new! It makes better financial sense, and it helps keep variety alive in our favorite hobby. After all we don’t want a repeat of the “boom and bust” of the 90’s do we?
After wading through the colossal mess that was the Spider-Man “event” The Other; what are we, the good readers rewarded with for our patience? A new costume!!! Opinions vary wildly about this. Some are upset, some are happy; some (like myself) couldn’t care less. Hell, some people even think Spider-Man is real!
For those of you that are unhappy, allow me to point you to some hype-busting fun from Amazing Spider-Man writer (If you can call him that) J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI via a Newsarama interview;
NRAMA: Any idea at this stage how long readers can expect this costume to be around?
JMS: We've always said that this is not going to be permanent. I don't want to give out specifics, because that would compromise aspects of Mark's Civil War story, but I'd certainly expect the original costume to be back sometime by 2007.
Wow! At least we now know “The Other” is leading to a lasting change is the Spider-Man “mythos”. (Note: This is sarcasm.)
(Totally off the subject but did we ever find out who the Other was? Or the mysterious disease that Peter had was? Plotitis perhaps? Or in this new age of throwing continuity out the window, does this now apply to last months books too? Food for thought here kids!)
So really at the end of the day what did we learn here? If you like it, good! It’s a short change you can enjoy. If you hate it, fine! It’s only going to last a year or so. Everything will be back in place by Spider-Man 3. Also announced in this same interview, was that Amazing Spider-Man #529, in addition to being the first appearance of the new costume, will be part 1 of Countdown to Infinite Crisis. Oops, I mean The Road to Civil War, so be sure to check it out! Here is the link to the actual story.
I have been watching anime for as long as I have been reading comics if not longer, for about 22 years now. I have also been a fan of martial arts film for years. So one thing I notice when it comes to animation is how well some of the fight scenes are choreographed. In 1998 I watched a TV series that really changed the way I saw anime forever. I was into watching fights in Dragonball Z, Saint Seiya, and Street Fighter and so on, so not really that realistic. I remember noticing that the guys that did Cowboy Bebop must have loved Bruce Lee because of all the references Spike makes about him, but most of all Spike's fighting style is borrowed from Lee himself (Jeet Kune Do). Nothing impressed me more than the fighting sequences though they seem so real and every time someone would get punched in the face, I could actually feel it. So my point is, after watching all these movies for so long I start noticing similarities. I am assuming that the crew behind Naruto really digs Bruce Lee or Cowboy Bebop. I found this scene comparison a prime example of art inspired by art.
As little as I usually care about Wolverine, the announcement of the new creative team leaves me less than enthused. I mean Daniel Way (who I usually love) can’t even write a decent Wolverine story. So when Daniel Way and Steve Dillon got shifted to their own title, who do we get for the ongoing?
Hope you’re sitting down. It’s writer Marc Guggenheim and fan-favorite artist Humberto Ramos!!! Holy crap! Marc Guggenheim!
Wait a damn minute; who the hell is Marc Guggenheim? Let’s here it right from Joe “Flip Flop” Quesada himself;
“When Marc Guggenheim was a college intern at Marvel Comics, he dreamed of one day writing the actual comics he witnessed being created daily. Perseverance and clarity of vision have paid off in spades as Marvel proudly announces that they have signed that once starry-eyed youth to write for one of their most recognizable characters as part of the brand-new creative team behind WOLVERINE!
Guggenheim, an attorney, cut his writing teeth on TV’s ‘The Practice’ and ‘Law & Order’ before serving as Supervising Producer of ratings juggernaut ‘CSI: Miami’ and the critically-acclaimed ‘Jack & Bobby’. Most recently, he has joined the writing staff of ‘In Justice’, again as a Supervising Producer. TV hasn’t been the only playground for Guggenheim’s fertile imagination. He collaborated with software giant Microsoft on the script for ‘Perfect Dark Zero’, the much-anticipated launch title for the Xbox 360.” Source: click here
The Practice? Law and Order? Jack and Bobby? What the hell? Last time I checked these are all old-timers shows. So much for appealing to the younger crowd. You know, the mythical new readers that live next door to the Leprechauns. I suppose this is a good thing as Jack and Bobby was VERY much in the mold of a good Wolverine yarn. Uh oh, hold on… wasn’t Jack and Bobby created by Brad (Identity Crisis) Metzer? Damn, I wonder who got raped 20 years ago that Wolverine knows? Could it be Kitty Pryde? Cyclops? Chris Claremont? I guess we will find out soon enough…
IMPORTANT UPDATE: This just in! Andy Griffith will be taking over Astonishing X-Men when Joss Whedon departs. Andy’s playing Matlock all those years will really help him understand the mind of a vigilante. I can’t frickin’wait to see what Marvel has in store next!!!
