New to Comics? The Avengers

This is a new column i'll be writing if you're interested in starting a collection or just reading some really good comics of your favorite heroes. I was originally going to do this on Superman considering that they made a film loosely based on the character. BUT! Then i thought i'll start off with something everyone and their mom likes right now. THE AVENGERS!

Avengers: The Korvak Saga

Avengers Vol. 1: 159, 167, 168, 170 - 177

Oh, the place you will go Michael Korvak. from a lowly slave-like computer tech to god. literally  he become god. imagine god. now imagine he has an early 80's feathered haircut and is completely bonkers because he was tortured by a bunch of idiot aliens that have no idea what they were doing when they gave him his god like powers. keep in mind, this all actually happened, i'm only being 5% snarky.

so, what does a god do when he obliterates his captors, and returns to an alternate universe earth (that would be the marvel earth that we know and love) and remake it into a utopia of his own design. so, the Guardians of the galaxy (not the guys that will be in the movie but a time displaced superteam that consist of The Vision as their spaceship and captain america's shield as an ancient relic (again not trying to be snarky)) pursue korvak and warn the avengers of his plans to rewrite reality.

so, in classic avengers form they punch their problems away. and all get murdered in the process! i won't ruin the ending because as ridiculous as this story sounds it is absolutely timeless and a defining moment for the team and everyone that makes it up.

Avengers: Once an Avenger...

Avengers Vol 3: 1-3

what does it take to be an Avenger? after a reality wrapping adventure that took the avengers back to when they first formed and some of the worst story telling to ever plague marvel and the Avengers. they got back together to decide who has what it takes. then Morgana Le Fey comes in a just does a reality punch sending every single Avenger back to the time of swords and sorcery! yup... they followed a reality warping story with another reality warping story. only this one is good.

after being sent back, everyone goes about business as usual, except the ultimate Avenger, Captain america. he starts to recruit people he knows have dedicated their lives to the team. first being Hawkeye where he probably says one of the best lines in the story.

after recruiting a small rag tag team together, its off to war against Le Fey and her loyalist. obvious things get switched back, but the how and who pulls it off is what i'll leave to your imagination. of read the book. both work.

In this who's who of avengers,it's hard not to find someone in these issues and not go down the internet rabbit hole with them. the A-listers are good but if you want to see how deep the bench is on the avengers goes. this is the book to read.

Avengers: Disassembled/New Avengers: Breakout

Avengers vol 3 500-504/New Avengers 1-6

Think of this as The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi for Avengers. with part one completely destroying everyone's hopes and dreams on the team that the other instilling you with hope.

Disassembled start Brian Michael Bendis's run on the Avengers. And he started it with a simple idea. what if the avengers just had a really bad day. now a bad day for you or i would classify as stubbing your toe and having your boss yell at you. but a bad day for the avengers would be a zombified version their recently deceased friend returning from the grave and exploding. then the vision would melt as he crashed a quinjet into what remained of Avengers Mansion. oh wait, She-hulk just went feral and is now rampaging! but hold on shouldn't Tony Stark be able to fix him, well, if he wasn't drunk he should be. and guys that was the opening act. there's an alien invasion, a death of one of the core members and an even bigger betrayal that literally fractures the team into pieces

But, when there are pieces their are always people there to put it back together. and that's where this book picks up. with no avengers, the B-list Spider-man villain electro, decides to stage one of the largest super villain breakouts of all time! that's when you see one of the coolest assembly of a team ever. With different heroes coming together for different reasons trying to contain a island of super villains from getting to New York. these 2 stories laid groundwork for the next 10 years of avengers comics. but, breakout still stands out as the star of a killer series.

also, Spider-Man is just really funny and Luke Cage just busting skulls is a blast to see.

Young Avengers

Young avengers 1-12

oh, 2005. you gave us so much good avengers. its hard to keep track.

while not being a true avengers books. This is the pinnacle of good comicery (yeah, i made up words, what, do something about it internet!) This book takes place after Disassembled and is about a bunch of Fanboys of Avengers being told that they were next in line to succeed the Avengers. basically every teenage nerds dream! with scarlet witch's son, an alien prince (oh, an they're gay, and adorable), a black bucky that gets his powers in a way that is under much scrutiny, one of the best female characters ever written, a snarky speedster, and Ant-man's daughter, and a time displaced iron lad. they made up the coolest team you could ever hope to see. this book is a prime example that characters drive story not the other way around. 

i cant tell you how much of this book just works.I know this a big leap for you internet but, this is a must read if you just like reading in general. I want to give more specifics but i would hate to deprive you of the journey that these kids have. its heartbreaking/warming/maddening. just... just stop reading this and start reading that!

Episode #3 : Last of Laurence Fishburne

Naughty Dog's newest game, The Last of Us, divides Steve and Matt. Steve does not think it's fun, and is not interested in the characters. Matt begs to differ. We talk about that for a little. We also discuss Will Smith's failing career and his first son, Trey. What ever happened to him? Laurence Fishburne and Bonnaroo are also talked about. Matt listens to bands that Steve doesn't think exist.

This Is the End Review : It's the End of the World, and I Feel Fine

If you are looking for vulgarity, look no farther than This Is the End. This movie will also make you laugh, hard. The basic premise of the movie is that Jay Baruchel is visiting his friend, Seth Rogan, for a fun filled weekend of getting blazed and playing video games. It's a pretty simple premise. Unfortunately for Jay, Seth has plans to go to James Franco's for the most epic of parties.

During the course of this party, Jay feels uneasy around all the famous people hanging at Franco's. He did not really want to go in the first place, but, because he's such a good friend to Seth, he tags along. It's at this party where we meet James Franco, I mean, it's his house after all, Jonah Hill, and Craig Robinson. Jay does not like any of these new people because he feels they have changed Seth for the worse. Jay's night at the party ends with him leaving to buy cigarettes.

This is where the shit hits the fan. Or, where a fan (an air conditioner really, but, they have fans) falls on a woman for being a bitch. So, Jay and Seth are in this gas station, minding their own business, having a serious talk about their friendship and this cashier tells these nice people they cannot use the bathroom. Stupid gas station people. Anyways, giant earthquake, blue beams of light, and falling air conditioners will soon be the least of the crew's worries.

Jay and Seth manage to get back to Franco's, where, everything still seems normal. It's not long until a giant sinkhole appears in the front lawn, pretty much taking down every last celebrity you can think of. Aziz Ansari, Kevin Hart, and Michael Cera meet their demise. It's funny to think that when all hell breaks loose it's the celebrities that are left behind. Not sure what that says about celebrities in general or if it's what Seth Rogen (since he wrote and directed the movie) thinks. Sure, a lot of people probably think that celebrities are these vapid, narcissists. But the movie plays into these stereotypes in a very comedic fashion. Still, there's not many things better than watching Michael Cera get stabbed with a light pole. Not because I hate Michael Cera, but because how else are you going to see George Michael get killed.

Anyway, crazy shit is going down. Everyone is in the house, bogged down and scared like a bitch. It's also funny how the movie portrays actors when shit is going down. They all admit to being pansies and good for nothings. Some of the movies best comedy comes from them being scared and practically useless. As the movie progresses, Jay and Seth's relationship take a toll. Finally, they both blow up at each other because Jay feels that Seth sold out to the LA lifestyle while Seth feels embarrassed for Jay for not changing at all. It's actually a good way to divide these two characters against one another.

Other stuff that happens is that Danny McBride shows up the morning after and wastes pretty much all their food and water because he is oblivious to what is going on outside. The group, especially Franco, all hate him. He eventually leaves the house because he was essentially voted out. But it's not until after he mentions to Franco that he will practically cum anywhere he wants to. The cumming scene probably takes the cake for the best laugh out loud moment. He reappears later in the film as a cannibal, and has another very good scene.

So, eventually, Jay realizes this is the actual apocalypse and that nobody in the group was saved. It gives the characters time to reflect how they each have lived their lives. The movie manages to balance comedy with touching moments very well. The group finds out that they can still be saved if they do something selfless. Craig Robinson is the first to really embrace this idea of selflessness as he confronts a demon head on to give the others time to get away. Before he can meet his demise, he is enveloped in the blue light from earlier in the film. He's moving on up, so they say.

One of the better moments is when the group, fully aware of this knowledge, try to each get themselves saved. Of course, Franco decides it's his turn, but manages to fuck it up because he is a cocky bastard. That was probably my personal favorite moment of the movie just because I thought to myself, that I'm pretty sure that blue light is going to just drop him back where it found him. It did. Cannibals ate him. I wonder what Green Goblin tastes like?

Jay and Seth are left and they are met by none other than the devil himself. I'm sure his hands are not idle playthings in this reality. Anyway, when death is slowly approaching, Jay and Seth reconcile their relationship. They both feel guilty for losing sight of what's important. Jay gets encased in the blue light, but Seth does not. As the devil gets nearer, Jay grabs onto Seth and starts racing toward the sky. However, the path gets slower and eventually Seth is bringing Jay down. This is Seth's redemption, he convinces Jay to let him go so he can get out of here. In one of the better uses of a song for a comedy, Seth falls, but, you know the drill by now, blue light special on Seth Rogen.

The movie says a lot about what it means to be in a friendship without actually saying much. It's the tale of two people who grow apart and live different lives. It's the story of how change, or the lack of, effects your friends perception of you. I would say that even though the movie is mostly non-stop laughing, at it's core it is a tale of redemption. Not only for Jay and Seth, but for all those who seek to right the wrongs of their past.

Nova #5 Review

oh Sam Alexander. How I would love to hate you... but I just can't! <br/ >

It's no secret to those that know me that I'm a huge Nova fan. and in the entire career of nova there has been one guy, Richard Rider. I cried when Rich and his best friend, speedball, broke up the new warriors. but not as hard when he died, It was a comic book death so those always feel more like breaks than actual finality. it wasn't until this new kid, this Sam, came along that i felt. "B-B-B-But where's Rich? why didn't rich come back?" that's when i felt the scythe of death come to my favorite human rocket. So, the debate to pick up this book was more in memory if Rich and the hopes that he'll show up. we're five issues in and i gotta say... I'm not missing Rich... <br/ >

I really sold on Sam! it's the type of comic book that just works. what would you do if you were 13 and suddenly had the power to go to the moon. well, you would probably go to the moon! <br/ >

but i gotta say, with all thats going on in the story. the art is what sells this book. i used to hate Ed McGuinness, i thought his over cartoony look had no place in comics and they were solely for serious artist. i was a stupid kid. i usually complain when i see 3 splash pages and 1 double splash, but here i don't mind it at all. it's polished and works on every level. With the creative switching up on this book next issue they'll have big shoes to fill. but for the time i look forward to seeing how a this kid deals with secret identities, girls, and just being an awkward teen with the power to crush suns.

Podcast #2 : Comics and Some Deep Shit

Today on Ermahcerst we discuss Man of Steel and Superman in general. We also talk about general comic book things that have happened. This all leads up to the major discussion of the day regarding the "M word" bomb that was dropped in Uncanny Avengers. We solve racism today.
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Hawkeye #11/Pizza Dog #1 Review

BOOK OF THE WEEK Guys, i can't tell you enough how good these past 11 hawkguy issues have been. before i delve into this particular issue here's a quick run through on what the book is about. what does hawkeye do on his days he's not avenging. drinking coffee mostly. well, Matt Fraction's writing differently guided the issue through our small tale. it was David Aja's absolute masterful art that sold the issue of how a superheroes dog sees the world this almost was a silent book the way the panels flowed, also, dogs don't speak english. but they can understand a few keywords, which was illustrated in a great way which all words scratch out but a few words (mostly pizza(this dog loves pizza)) but what sold this book to me was David Aja's way of showing how a dog thinks and processes information, using icons to show what a dog smells and hears. how he's able to connect that to certain people he's familiar with. i think what did me in on this book was when he faced his former owners who were abusive to poor pizza dog (his actual name is lucky, but his superhero name is totes pizza dog). seeing a dog know and recognize his former tormentors was great. but him attacking and be able to get revenge by pushing them off a ledge is something that i like to think ever rescue pet has wanted to do. run do not walk to your nearest computer and buy these issues. sure you could download them. but seriously this book deserves your money!

Age of Ultron book 10 A.I. Review

oh, Age of Ultron what a strange terrible journey you have been. this companion piece/epilogue was far an away the best issue, and may be the best solo Hank Pym book there's been since the 70's. in the book Hank wallows and has to decide who he ultimately will be. they tell the story of a fractured genius. a scientest who decided to fight crime, a superhero who hit his wife, a shrinking man who defeated a god, a man who fathered the worst enemy the Avengers ever faced. And i have to say Mark Waid (writer) tackles a part of his life I've never even thought of, his childhood. and he makes the internal conflict of Hank Pym a parental issue, with his overly-practical parents wanting their genius son to invent something that can make the world a easier place to live. but all the while his grandmother, a B-tier writer of science fiction books, tells him that he should focus on making the world a more beautiful and colorful. and that is one of the coolest ways to demonstrate the unclear writing that has plagued our beloved Ant-man/Giant man/Goliath/YellowJacket/Wasp (and yes, he has gone by all those names at one time or another, sometimes more than once). the practicality of comics has always been at odds with the more whimsical side, Hank Pym has been at the center of that most of his life. and as a reader and a fan of the character i love seeing that. With the Ant-man film coming down the pipeline, Marvel will be pushing Hank into the forefront. which this book does quite well, setting a new status quo for the character, taking himself out a costume and mask, giving him his own team of avengers made up of seemingly only robots (which just sounds awesome!) and make him a more likeable guy instead of the sad sack he's been since the 80's.

First Episode : E3 and Beyond!

First Ermahcerst episode. Today we talk about E3 and beyond. Steve talks about his love for Kingdom Hearts 3 and his hatred for Xbox Live advertisements. Matt just talks in a calm fashion.

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