Episode #7 : The Long Con

On today's episode we talk about Comic-Con! Yay! We mostly talk about comic book movie news with a few other things like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Emmy's embracing Netflix, the state of television, among others. If you missed Comic-Con, we have you covered. No need to read anything else. We covered everything. Everything.

Reviews 7/17/13

here we are another week and another round of reviews!

Avengers #16
6/10
another two weeks have past with another setup issue of Jonathan Hickman's Infinity crossover event. i would love to tell you what happened in this book, but I'm not too sure. The Avengers got their collective asses handed over by a robot. I will say, that fight did deliver one of my favorite moments of this series so far when the mega robot throws captain america face first into a wall, nothing stellar. just really cool to see some heroes get beat up once and awhile.



Animal Man #22
9/10
BOOK OF THE WEEK
the Vultures only like to pick from the dead. this story is really something, telling the tale of our hero, Animal Man, at his darkest moment after feeling responsible for his son's murder. But, just when he thought nothing could get worse he gets nominated for an oscar for his portrayal in the indie movie, 'tights'. there's significantly more, but for time, i'll leave you with that. if you're looking for a DC book look no further. Jeff Lemire has such a good handle and clear direction he wants to steer this character. the art matches the tone perfectly reflecting the horrors of a animal serial killer. i will say though, if you're squeamish, don't engage in this book. not a issue goes by where i clutch my cat and hope nothing happens to her like in this book.

Superman Unchained #2
7/10
Now why doesn't Scott Snyder write more Superman? He seems to have more of a handle on the character than he does the bat. I'm liking this more sci-fi take on Superman, as he  fights a group of hackers akin to Anonymous. Eventually throwing him in front of General Thunderbolt Ross, oh i'm sorry, Lane... the book has a good cliffhanger. but i got to say, Jim Lee is one of the best artist of this generation, but his Superman has always been lacking. he just doesn't have that good hopefully vibe that Superman should have.


Ultimate comics: Spider-Man #25
8/10
Spider-Man no more continues in a dramatic fashion as Miles realizes that he can't continue to ignore his responsibility as Spider-man anymore. after losing his mother in a spider-man vs venom fight, he gave up the mask for a solid year. after 4 issues of updating us on what happened in this year, Miles finally dons the mask again. But, even with that i have to say that it was the final three pages with Jessica Drew's (spider-woman) monologue that stole this show. I swear, if i ever do another monologue again in my life, I'm choosing this one. David Marquez still shows that he has the chops to be a top tier spider-artist. i mean for god sakes look how cool that cover is?! I MEAN, C'MON!?!?

Justice League of America #6
7/10
Follow the events of Justice League #22, we start off with an all our brawl of heroes kicking the teeth out of other heroes. the action gets halted though when a panicked Superman yells for his own lockdown which ended being one of the cooler looking moments in the book. with supes lockdown, i can only imagine of his own volition, the finger pointing begins as wonder woman starts the search for the woman she thinks corrupted him, Pandora. which leads her head first with the justice league dark, its a good second act, but i don't think that Doug Mahnke had enough time or handle on this book. his pencils is usually pretty clean and precise, this, not so much.

X-Factor #259
8/10
gonna be honest, my heart breaks everytime i see a new issue come out. knowing that the end is nigh for one of my favorite books is always rough. But, in my time reading comics in 20 years, i've seen this book come and go so frequently that its almost moot. but the way they are handling this time. it seems final. with that, we finally get an explanation as to how exactly shatterstar and longshot are related. this was a mystery that nobody was really asking anymore, but that's whats so scary. why answer that question if you're going to come back to these guys. its a bittersweet ending with only 3 more issues left to go.

Nova #6
6/10
This book catches us up to current events in the Marvel U, with Nova being away from his family for a few months saving the world from the Phoenix and all (that takes place in Avengers Vs. X-Men) this was a good issue. not much happens but it's got a great handle on dialogue and the exchange between Sam and his Mom was just fantastic.





All-New X-Men #14
8/10
HOLY FIGHTING MUTANTS! It's been almost a year of talking about how our favorite original five time-displaced X-Men shouldn't be here. this is the first time we talk about why they shoudl be here. and the answer is because they are badasses! this was the first real action book we've had in the series of actual bad guys fighting the good guys. it was fun seeing Sabretooth get taken down by someone else than Wolverine. but, the scene stealing moment happened when the Uncanny Avengers showed up and Iceman trying to confirm that they were real, throws a snowball at Thor's face... oh, Young Bobby Drake, you so crazy, and terrified.

Green Lantern: New Gaurdians #22
3/10
SNORE! wow, i'm really trying here on this book, but there's a good chance this was my last issue of New Guardians. its just such a boring book. even with it being the first appearance of the new big bad guy for all the GL books. i just can't find it a giant space dude with a light vacuum strapped to his back all that threatening.





Fantastic Four #10
7/10
Well, this cover pretty much spells everything out for you. its the FF vs. a Ben Franklin skrull while trying to make slavery last longer in the US. it's a bold move by the writer, Matt Fraction, to take such a hard stance against slavery, but at least finally someones standing up against it!




Batwoman #22
5/10
ever buy something that just looks really pretty but doesn't really serve any other purpose. that kind of sums up the last few issues here. they are setting up a big showdown between Batwoman and Batman soon, but, other than that, i really couldn't tell what else was going on here. but damn, this book looked good.





Savage Wolverine #7
7/10
excited for the upcoming wolverine movie? well, nothing will wet your whistle quite like this. Wolverine kills a bunch of ninjas, like a bunch! he even comments about how tiring it is that he only ever really get to cut loose on ninjas. but, Joe Mad is really what you should be buying this book for. his characters look great and he really has a good handle on the toon style that comics need.





FF #9

8/10
a sequel to a Fantastic Four book from earlier, we meet up with an alien julius caesar, and he ends up giving the FF a time machine to save the Fantastic Four. but that's not what made this book good, in fact it actually got in the way. the real core of this book was the kids at a pool party. you really get the sense of chaos that kids at pool party can cause, particularly those that have super powers. this was just a delight to read.

Episode #6 : Giant Robots and Mild Heart Attacks

On today's episode, Steve and Matt talk about Pacific Rim, the best movie of the summer. It is exactly what we were looking for in a movie. Giant robots fighting monsters. I mean, what else do you need? We also get sidetracked and talk about the general state of movies and how original movies don't do well. Steve hasn't seen a handful of original sci-fi movies and Matt hasn't played the last traditional Ratchet and Clank. We're both sorry excuses for geeks.

Matt's Soapbox : Eric Snowden and the Surveillance State

 
You can say many things about Eric Snowden. You can say that he did a great public service to not only Americans, but citizens of the world. You can say that he put lives at risk with his release of sensitive material. I don't think you can say, however, that he is a coward. Sure, he's hiding in Russia at the moment, but it's not like that's a secret. It's a funny story that someone would choose to stay in Russia over the United States for almost any reason. The posturing by Russia is obvious, they really don't care about Snowden, they just want the U.S. to look bad. But, it looks to me, they have done that to themselves.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin

The whole Snowden case is really about America's willingness to do anything for safety. After 9/11, the Patriot Act was hastily passed, overwhelmingly I might add, by Congress. This was the first step in a downward spiral of freedoms being taken away for safety. Everything that is happening now is a result of this passing. George Orwell once wrote a book that showed what it may look like when governments are suspicious of their own. I'm sure he didn't intend on it being an instruction manual when he finished it.

The surveillance state that America, and, the world has become is very disheartening. Sure, maybe we can't truly be "free" from invasion of privacy, but the extent to which it has been breached today is overreaching. I don't think anyone expects to be completely anonymous in today's world, it is just too connected. There are just so many people who have accounts stretched from Google to Facebook that it's not too difficult for governments to really find out everything about us. What Snowden did was leak information, which he claims was basic as to not harm anyone, that just asked a simple question, do we really need this extensive network of surveillance? That question was answered rather quickly, with a resounding yes.

"Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience. Therefore individual citizens have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring." - Declaration Made at Nuremberg

Snowden made that comment very recently when talking about his situation. He said that after all the information he released seemed to upset people throughout the world. For instance, after it was revealed that the NSA had a program, called PRISM, it upset even the United States closest allies. I mean, why would you want to be in a relationship when the other country (person) cannot really trust you. I think their claims are justified. It wasn't just our allies that got upset, other countries, mainly Latin and South American countries got livid. Apparently, Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, was re-routed when it was believed Snowden was on his flight. He didn't like that. Not one bit. Other countries south of the border offered asylum to Snowden shortly after that debacle. The thing is, that many of these countries grow tired of America's "imperialistic" games. These countries grew out of imperialism, and only recently (in historical terms) have these countries been given a sense of self. They do not want to go back to when they were just slices of their European masters. They believe that standing up to Snowden is standing up against the global footprint that is the United States.

The funny thing about this whole mess is that Snowden just confirmed what many Americans have thought for years. They were fine when they were kept in the dark about these programs. Once they are enlightened, they freak out. Doesn't make much sense really. Maybe they're less freaked out about what was told to them and more freaked out about what they don't know. The floodgates are open and Snowden has more information to give. Are people really mad as hell? Are they not going to take it anymore? Probably not, for now. Eventually, things will settle down and people will go about their lives like they always have. Oblivious to all that is happening around them. Even with all the information in front of them, they choose to remain in the dark. Maybe it's easier to live in the dark than to walk in the light.

"the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
-Alfred Nobel

I guess the reason I started writing this is because I read that Snowden should get the Nobel Peace Prize. According to the quote, he definitely deserves consideration. Has he done enough to truly warrant the prize though? I mean, this is the prize that has been given to Henry Kissinger and Yasser Arafat. It is the prize that was never given to Mahatma Gandhi, whatever your opinion of him. Like all awards, it is extremely political. I mean, they gave one to Obama, and he really hadn't done anything. For many, the award doesn't really mean anything or mean what it used to, if it ever did. Giving it to Snowden wouldn't be the worst thing that the committee has ever done. There are probably countless other people or organizations that may deserve the award more. Many of the winners were given the prize only after years of hard work. Others, like the above mentioned, were very reactionary to the times. If Snowden wins this year, which I think unlikely, it is because it is the popular choice. If he wins down the road, it is because what he did was a catalyst to making the world reevaluate the way it does business.

Brace yourselves, winter is coming. And everyone is going to get Snowden.

Reviews 7/10/13

Hello all! I'm changing up the format a little on the the reviews, mostly because i want to write about all of them, but i go to work in an hour so i'm pressed for time! oh! and i'm putting numbers in! there's no science to it. just how i think this book ranks

BIG TIME SPOILERS

The Indestructible Hulk #10
8/10
Sometime after the avengers film, somebody realized that people give a shit about Hulk, and people want to give a shit about Hulk. this book brings that quality. every issue reads like its a summer blockbuster. with giant action, quirky jokes, and a level of destruction that i always thought was required for hulk, this book in particular brings out all those qualities. the hulk goes blind and rampages, daredevil makes some smarmy remarks about how the Hulk is a little dumber than usual, and the bad guys nearly destroy hells kitchen trying to stop a blind hulk. if you liked the avengers film, this is a great follow up.

Justice League #22
6/10
this starts as the opening act to the much talked about, long awaited, and much hyped, trinity war. in it we have a Shazam (or captain marvel if you're more comfortable with that) trying to spread the ashes of his fallen foes, Black Adam. Shazam says one of the best lines i've read in comics in a while when asked why he had to bury him. "because even "bad guys" deserve to be buried" and after getting to the end of this book its nice to read that there is still some heroism left in comics.

you see a basic setup for what you would expect from a JLA crossover. A rookie making a rookie mistake (shazam crossing a middle eastern border, making it look like an invasion). A bunch of people meeting for the first time (justice league/ justice league of america) and superman murdering the newly inducted JLAer. wait, what?


Quantum and Woody #1
8/10

OH YES! I have been looking froward to this book for a while now. this is the revival of the first "comedy" comic book i was ever given. I was a little let down that the jokes were few, I forgive it because they are setting up a new status quo for a book few know about. but should be reading.



Batgirl #22

9/10
Oh Batgirl, you are the crowning jewel of a diminishing batline. this book is to set up to what is going to be writer Gail Simone's next big arc "Batgirl: Wanted". and this book is what i love about this series, it acts as a decompression issue. Babs goes on a date with a failed former car thief, who's actually a great guy! they get mugged and instead of just one of them defending the other they go at them together and you really see that there might be more to this relationship than you think. you feel the drama and the weight of what Batgirl has gone through in the last year.






Superior Spider-man #13
8/10
this finally wraps up almost everything left dangling from Dan Slott's (soon to be legendary) Big Time arcs. Dr. Connors outs himself as his mind has been hiding in the lizard's body in jail, serving his penance. and Spider-man kills again! but there is more brewing under the surface here. This book lays the groundwork for what will be the superior spider-man's greatest (evil?) achievement!




Young Avengers #7
9/10
on the run from their parents and tweeting all about it. the writer/artist duo really seem to actually understand how this next generation interacts with each other and has a whimsical voice that is missing from certain other teen superhero books (looking at you teen titans).






Batman #22

4/10
boy, this whole book feels like a train wreck. Snyder, you're missing the point of the bat. if this book didn't look so damn good it would've been graded lower!







Uncanny X-men #8
6/10
this was a fun read, but i didn't think fun read should be in this book. following a team of outlaw X-Men I would be more interested in seeing how they run a school in the middle of Canada and still evade the government. there's a lot of promise in this book. but it just feels like Bendis (writer) is just biding his time with the reader

Daredevil #28

8/10
This issue starts off as Matt working out what has happened to him these past couple months and instead becomes about him facing his long lost bully. it gives you the other side of bullying. Grant it, I think the way they try to make you empathize with him is lacking, but i think that's mostly my own hang ups with bullies. but the end of the book really sinks it teeth into you and you just have to know what's going to happen next!

Hawkeye #12
7/10
another piece of the puzzle is unfolding. follow the unconventional story telling Fraction is adapting these past 4 issues. focusing on the same day, but following different points of view. here we see the jealous older brother/failed super villain, trick shot, down on his luck, homeless, willing to take a punch in the face for 5 bucks. its a very hard up book that makes you think about how desperate people can get just to eat. this has a happier ending than the last few issues, but still very dark.



Astro City #2
9/10
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Mr. Busiek, you are a gift to all of superheroes. It's a shame that mainstream comics don't handle superheroes as well as you do. If Man of Steel felt half as hopefully as this book does it would be oscar worthy! i would say more about this story but i would just be gushing. The art is simply great, the perfect amount of cartoon layered over realism. a must read.



Nightwing #22
3/10
Man, i really want to care about this book. but reading it feels like such a chore. It's always last in my stack and it takes me an hour because i would rather be doing something else. at least the art is improving, but this story lacks so much heart that it feels like a rehashing of the dark knight, but, like, the transmorphers version of dark knight.

Episode #5 : Technical Difficulties

Here is latest episode. We had originally created the best podcast ever. Not just for us, but in the whole world of podcasting. In the new and improved episode five we talk about comic-con and learn why Steve shouts and knows how to read. We learn nothing about Matt.

The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #1

Book of the week

Woo boy! this has been quite a busy week! but i'm still making time for the blog and trying to get the reviews out in a timely manner.

I'm going to prefix this whole review by telling you i love villains. they are the lifeblood of comic books. without them there are no heroes to fight, no morale high ground or low ground, and at the end of the day, no punching or action. And when a book like this comes around that focuses solely on the villains of Spider-Man i can tell you 2 things. 1) its not going to sell well, and 2) its not recomended for children.

The book focuses on the new Sinister Six, Shocker, Speed Demon, Overdrive, The new Beetle, and their fearful leader (and our narrator) Boomerang! Yes, I know that's only five people, but this book does a great job of building up a mystery behind who the sixth member is. something that I think that comics has been missing this last decade.

early on Boomerang get thrown into jail and he has to convince his only two friends, (well, what he has to settle on as friends) speed demon and shocker, to feed his bird. and not even feed the bird, but just deliver bird food inside the apartment. after 3 pages of dialogue that could've been directly from pulp fiction. they decide to do get the bird food.

of course they do this in the only way two z-list criminals with superpowers know how to do. Rob the pet store, steal a puppy from a little girl and of course, the bird seed. Its a issue of mundane activities, but how terrible awful people with powers would handle them.

The only issue i had was when the new Beetle was robbing a store that originally looked like a record store, but ends up being a comic shop. they make a few easy pot shots at the industry but it all comes off as pandering. which is always just tough to read.

all in all. this was a great first issue that makes you root for the villain, but still makes you want to just pound his face in!

Episode #4 : First Guest and Getting Sidetracked

Today's episode brings us our first guest, Mike Frontera. He is the brother to Steve. We initially wanted to talk about summer movies, but instead ended up talking about comics. Typical Steve and Mike behavior. It's difficult to get a word in with these two.