Sponsored Links (which Premium Members will never see):
(From "Lightning Comics" volume 2, number 3, 1941.)
Comments Off on Facebook?
Posted in Daily Random Panel
By: Andrew Hines
In the last few months, we've seen a few of the "old guard" join the fight for a better Earth. The ranks of the soon-to-be-formed Justice Society now include Flash, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern and Atom. We even see appearances and a mention or two of others in here that are among the founding members of the classic JSA. We even see Terry Sloan come back into the picture in a rather intriguing way. The Green and the Grey are going strong in both universes. Seeing that alone makes this worth a read. I can't reality say much here without bringing in spoilers, sorry.
James Robinson keeps surprising me at every turn, giving me everything I've been hoping for and even some stuff I didn't know I wanted to see. The pacing is good but not great, and the transitions are about the same. One page leads seamlessly right into the next. Even the concept of the Grey on Earth 2 looks fantastic. Then there are the inclusions of such folks as Wesley Dodds, the original Sandman, who is apparently from the Great White North. There is a mention of Jay "pulling a Ted Grant" which just filled me with fanboy glee. The dialogue is good, though not his best work. I can't decide whether the most fantastic part is Alan Scott's new take-charge attitude or the cliff-hanger ending.
The art is still good, with Nicola Scott being as awesome as she is. Trevor Scott is doing a good job on the inks, giving us decent lighting effects. Alex Sinclair's colors are good and make the roots that Grundy commands very organic/decayed in color. The team is doing a better job on every issue, slowly pushing onward and upward. The best look is on the Wolrd Army's Central Command Center. Despite the fact that it looks alarmingly like a room you'd find on the second Death Star, it's a really cool space. The World Army's uniforms are a nice touch as is Wesley Dodds' new look, particularly his gas mask.
I give this one a "B+" on account of the slightly slow pacing in this one. We don't really get much farther from where we ended in issue 4. I'd love to sit here and tell you that it's the best stuff I've ever read, but I really think he needs about 3 or 4 extra months to bring in everyone to the Justice Society.
Comments Off on The Green versus The Grey
Posted in Super-Hero Stuff
My question for you today is:
If a friend came to you who had never read a comic book/fantasy novel/science fiction novel before (your choice) asking for your advice on what to read, what one book would you give them to introduce them to the genre?
You only have to do one of the three (though you can do more if you like), but I'm going to take a crack at them all.
In science fiction, I always recommend they start with "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. It's well written, with intriguing characters you really come to care about, and it's nothing so crazy far-out that it would scare them off.
If they're a religious person, I recommend "The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell. It posits that First Contact with an alien planet was made by a group of Jesuit priests. Only one returns, and the novel is about figuring out what happened. It's great science fiction, raises some excellent moral and spiritual questions, and is accessible to anyone even if they know nothing about sci-fi.
On the comics front, I'd probably go with the Frank Miller/David Mazzucchelli Daredevil collection "Born Again". (For a non-religious person, that's two religious books. Hmmm.) I think it's grounded enough in reality for anyone familiar with pop culture to be comfortable with, but with enough super-hero elements to be a decent introduction to the modern incarnation of the genre. Plus it's a gorgeously illustrated and written book.
Finally, on the fantasy front I think you probably can't go wrong with "The Sorcerer's Stone", the first Harry Potter book by J. K. Rowling. It has all the juicy fantasy tropes presented in a friendly way. If they were a darker sort of person, I'd go with Steven Brust's "The Book of Jhereg". Because it's written in first person, I think it's easy to get into the character's head, and I love the way that Brust makes the magical world very commonplace in the mind of the main character. After all, for him it's just normal; it's only magic to us. Or, if they're a more literary sort of person, I'd give them Brust's "The Phoenix Guards", set in the same universe but with different characters, told in the style of Dumas' "The Three Musketeers". It's just a rollicking good read all the way around.
Most of those (and more) can be found on my Amazon Listmania list of sci-fi/fantasy books that I love.
Now, your turn!
Comments Off on Sharing Day: Good Reads edition
Posted in Sharing Day
(From "Lightning Comics" volume 2, number 2, 1941.)
Comments Off on The moral of the story is, a disintegrator solves any problem. The End.
Posted in Daily Random Panel
I knew djuby made fantastic illustrations, but wow, I had no idea just HOW awesome until at AMS' suggestion I checked out his forum here on HeroMachine.com. The images are simply outSTANDing. Here's a sample:
If you're looking for some inspiration, I highly recommend you check out his work. It's pretty incredible stuff.
Comments Off on Forum Highlight: djuby
Posted in Things I Like
By: Andrew Hines
With two and half months to go before the end of Amazing Spider-Man at #700, there really aren't any punches being pulled on this one. There've been some big changes in the least few months on ASM, but some of the biggest were Peter's "nobody dies" rule that he's been strictly enforcing wherever he goes. He thought he'd let himself down with Silver Sable's apparent death until the new Madame Web told him otherwise. Then there was the super-douche sidekick, Alpha and thankfully that didn't turn out at all. Now the original Hobgoblin is back as is the third iteration who now works for Kingpin. Also, Madame Web/Julia Carpenter has been getting odd prophetic dreams of the world changing *spoiler alert* Marvel NOW! *end spiller alert*.
Dan Slott has done a great job on the last couple years of writing Amazing Spider-Man. The fact that the title is soon coming to a screeching halt hasn't deterred him from putting out great material. Getting help from Christos Gage on this issue didn't hurt. It actually gave us more awesomeness. We get more Peter Parker this issue, which I really liked. Seeing how he deals with his world beginning to unravel certainly doesn't hurt the story, in fact it makes it far more interesting. The inclusion of two different Hobgoblins is great as is Peter's visit to the Daily Bugle. I really can't find much of anything in the script that didn't work. Way to go, folks.
Giuseppe Camuncoli's pencils are a nice change of pace from Humberto Ramos' pencils in the last arc. Likewise with Dan Green's inks and Antonio Fabela's colors. The inks are good and clean and the color are more subdued, which I think works better than the overly contrasted work that some colorists go for. The title page (pg 3) and the spread on pgs 17 & 18 are the best examples of the spectacular work this team has done.
This is a better issue than the ones before in many aspects and as such, earns an "A-". The only thing stopping it from being a solid "A" or an "A+" is that it sort of feels like it's borrowing from DC on the double-page spread: dWLuh.jpg.
Comments Off on Return of the Hobgoblin(s)
Posted in Super-Hero Stuff
In our last episode, we were fleeing from our giant roach-alien-monster infested building when we were confronted with a cordon of military officers and a choice:
Comments Off on You're Going to Die VIII
Posted in RPG Corner, You're Going to Die
(From "Lightning Comics" volume 2, number 2, 1941.)
Comments Off on Onomatopoeia can be awfully literal
Posted in Daily Random Panel
I'll put the images after the jump for those who don't want to have the look of the new movie spoiled, but "Iron Man 3" stills have emerged showing the film's new armor. I'm curious what you all think about the design changes.
Comments Off on Iron Man 3 Armors
Posted in Bad Super Costumes, Movies and TV
(From "Lightning Comics" volume 2, number 2, 1941.)
Comments Off on Meanwhile, in the Video Game Mirror Universe
Posted in Daily Random Panel
Three middle-aged nerds (including yours truly!) review all of the MCU movies in chronological order. Short, funny, and full of good vibes, check it out and let us know what you think!
Nerdmudgeon.com