Suicide Squad and Superhero Movies

A friend that'd been out of town asked about Suicide Squad, which my wife and I watched on Friday.  We both enjoyed it, which is about all I've said to anyone about it when asked.  But he pressed for more and I struggled to find the words.

There's a lot of movies that are okay - not great and not terrible.  I tend to keep my movie "reviews" short, to about a sentence, and as general as possible.  Because there's just too much to encapsulate otherwise and I just don't want to go into that about movies I'm not passionate enough to love or hate.

This is what I eventually said:

It's... I don't know... it's funny, it's violent, it's mostly good but kind of a weak villain.  It's basically a darker Marvel movie (or less comedic Deadpool?) that might give you Pacific Rim flashbacks with the amount of rain at night.

I'm a little afraid using comedy and action to distract from an otherwise poor script might be the new superhero formula.  Marvel's been using it for years, then Deadpool ramped it up to 11, and now DC is getting in the game with Suicide Squad.

Filling a script with comedy and action to make a movie "fun" is hardly limited to superhero movies, but up until this year I've enjoyed the different takes Sony, Fox, and Warner Brothers were taking with their respective properties.

I'm always hopeful the next one will be different, but I'm mostly disappointed.  Entertained, sure, (except in rate instances like Fantastic Four) but there's always a nagging "...but it coulda been better." in the back of my head afterward.

Indie Corner - 04/22/2015

Each week I'll spotlight a couple independent books I've read and may have flown under people's radar.

Henshin

HENSHIN

My comic shop has a rack by the counter they put new trades on each week.  Every week, I circle around this rack looking for anything interesting.  Henshin leapt out because I instantly thought, "Man, that looks like I Kill Giants..."  For good reason!  It's drawn by the same guy - Ken Niimura.  As a fan of the man's work, I snapped it up instantly.

Inside are 13 vignettes, of about 20 pages each, running the entire emotional spectrum.  It's a bit like a one-man anthology.  Most are slice of life, though some have a twist ending.  If that sounds interesting to you, or if you're a fan of Niimura's work, I recommend it.  I loved it.

The Life After 9

THE LIFE AFTER 9

Recently, I've been watching Dragon Ball Kai.  So when a large demon throws a little girl into a rock face that shatters when she hits it, I'm thinking, "That's awesome!" and at the same time, "Dude, that's not cool!"

Last issue, we followed Jude and Hemingway on their misadventures in hell.  This issue, we follow the rest of our cast while that was going on.  The Kids get their new-found demon pal to take them to hell in pursuit of Jude and Hemingway, only, as predicted, she's not so friendly once they arrive.  Things quickly devolve into DBZ-style, people hurtling into rock faces that shatter on impact.  Then there's a snuggle huddle.  Wait, what?  Trust me, it all makes perfect sense.

Next: War!  And: Return of the Space Potato!  Apparently.

Indie Corner - 04/15/2015

Each week I'll spotlight a couple independent books I've read and may have flown under people's radar.

RUMBLE 4
I didn't do a review of issue three, but it was great.  The weird goings on of the first two issues gets explained in a major way, but in a way that doesn't feel heavy on exposition.  The humor is ever-present, pulling us out of flashbacks and to the situation at hand.  That continues here.  While issue four has dramatically fewer flashbacks, the explanations haven't stopped.

The story, the art, the action, the humor, it's all fantastic... and you're probably not reading it.  But it's probably my new favorite series and I want everyone to give it a read.

Deadly Class v2

DEADLY CLASS v2

Like Zero, this is another book I waited to read until I could dedicate myself to it.  I loved the first volume, and listening to the guys at the comic shop talk about it as the issues came out, volume two was going to be even better.  Exactly how much better, I couldn't have imagined.

I read this in bed last night until I could physically no longer stay awake.  Then, when I woke up, I finished reading it before I even rolled out of bed.  This is easily the best thing Remender is currently writing.  I'd have to double-check, but it may actually be the best thing he's EVER written.  The writing is phenomenal, but the art, the lettering, the colors... everything comes together perfectly to produce a story that's fantastic yet populated with entirely realistic characters.  It's absolutely brilliant and I can't recommend it highly enough.

CHRONONAUTS 2

There's literally no part of this that I can talk about without spoiling something.  I just want to make that clear before you read onward.  Spoilers.

Well that escalated quickly!  Page 1, Panel 1, I'm having flashbacks to Joe the Barbarian.  The insanity escalates from there as all of human, and pre-human, history now lay open for a couple of jerks to do as they please.  The results are predictable, yet somehow still jaw-dropping.

It's a great read, beautiful to look at, and I can't hardly imagine what new havok will be unleashed on the time-stream next issue.

BPRD v10

In a surprising break from the norm, this book contains three separate tales.  The first is a modern-day haunting in BPRD headquarters, related to and mingled with Hellboy's first field mission.  I thought the Hellboy flashback was more interesting than the situation in the present.

The second, happening at the same time as the haunting, though half a world away, features Johann and a small team in Japan.  They spend some time running away from giant monsters, and the story concludes with a rather spectacular giant monster fight.

The third centers on a small town trying to find a way to carry on in the new world.    It's the shortest of the three, but packs quite a punch.  This volume may not have become my new favorite, but the series continues to be excellent and will forever remain on my recommended list.

EI8HT 3

I reached the end of this issue and thought, "This is a miniseries, right?"  I can handle it if it's a miniseries, because that means things will start making sense soon.  If this were an ongoing, things could stay weird and vague pretty much indefinitely, and I'm not sure I could handle that.  But I've just verified, with Dark Horse's June solicits, that this is a five issue series.  That's a relief.  By that logic, a lot of things should start making sense next issue, and hopefully wrap up nicely the month after.  I can stick with it until then.

Indie Corner - 04/08/2015

Each week I'll spotlight a couple independent books I've read and may have flown under people's radar.

ZERO v3

I kept this at the bottom of my to-read pile until I had sufficient time and to read it in one sitting and the proper mind-set to give it the attention it deserved.  So I was surprised to discover the linear nature of the stories within.  Unlike previous volumes that jumped through time to various points in Zero's life, this is a straightforward read.

Some things of note: 1) The art is as spectacular as always.  For a different art to tackle each issue, the art is consistently good.  2) Ales Kot writes fight scenes like no one else.  I've read plenty of American, European, and Asian comics, but no one writes fights that are this intense, brutal, and heart-pounding.  3) I desperately want to know what happens next.

The Legacy of Luther Strode 1

THE LEGACY OF LUTHER STRODE 1

Just yesterday I wrote about how, in Zero, Ales Kot writes fight scenes like no one else.  Today, I read this and it's... beautiful.  While I stand by that statement, the fights in Zero are intimate.  Close, personal.  The fights here are basically comic equivalent of The Wachowskis or Michael Bay.  Tradd Moore has seriously outdone himself here.  At one point, Luther hits the street so hard it ripples!  And that's, honestly, the least of the visual insanity contained within this issue.  Justin Jordan, Tradd Moore, and Felipe Sobreiro are putting everything they have into this, and I'm loving every glorious panel of it.

DESCENDER 1 & 2

The first issue of Descender was amazing, and I completely failed to write anything about it.  Time to make up for that.  The second issue?  Also quite good.

The series starts with a futuristic world.  Things are humming along well enough, until BOOM widescreen craziness.  A lot of people talking about or attempt "widescreen" in comics.  This book pulls it off gloriously.  Cut to 10 years later when a robot boy wakes up.  Any sense of surprise related to this boy being a robot was destroyed by the preview pages released prior to the book going on sale.  Movie trailers are bad enough, I don't want my comics spoiled as well, thanks.  Cut back to that futuristic city to see how things have changed in the intervening years.  Spoiler: it's not good.

Issue two picks up right where the first left off - with bounty hunters going after the newly awakened robot boy.  The book alternates between current events as he runs and hides from the bounty hunters and with "flashbacks" of his early life.  It works better than you might expect.  Tension was high on each of the current pages, and I just barely resisted skipping ahead of the flashbacks.  For their part, the flashbacks were running high on emotion as the boy and his adopted family bond with one another.  It's touching and a little heartbreaking.

The first issue is 30 pages of story with some sketches at the back and is absolutely worth the $2.99 asking price.  Try it.  I think you'll come back for issue 2.

SAGA 27

At first, I thought the character on the cover was Hazel, after going through another time jump.  But that wouldn't make much sense given how the last issue left off.  What does make sense is the issue being a deep look into Marko's past as he goes on a bad trip from the drugs he took last issue.  It's pretty dark stuff, tempered only by the hilarious comedy of Ghüs and Prince Robot.  I loved every second of it.

BALTIMORE v5

Baltimore always reminds me of Witchfinder in the "Oh hey, we haven't gotten a new one of those in a while" and obviously the "Cool, new stuff from the Hellboy guys!"  Baltimore, for those unclear, is the one not set in the Hellboy universe.  I actually thought the previous volume was the last, because my comic shop guy - whom knows more about these things than I do because he actually read The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire - indicated the comics had caught up with the original novel... and that should have been that.

Well, here we are with a volume 5, and a new mini series set to start next month. I'm not complaining because it's always great stuff. Baltimore is the typical badass, but gone is the single-minded mission to hunt down Haigus. Now, he and his friends are smiting in any and all forms. Here, two short mini series are collected: The Witch of Harju, a kind of zombie Frankenstein with a witch and some not-quite frogmen thrown in, and The Wolf and The Apostle, a werewolf tale. Both are far better than the brief summaries in the previous sentence indicate. I mean, we're still talking about Mignola, so there's drama, suspense, death, and new twists on classic stories. It's great, and I'm looking forward to more.

Indie Corner - 04/01/2015

Each week I'll spotlight a couple independent books I've read and may have flown under people's radar.

CLUSTER 2

For a book I wasn't planning to pick up, I'm quite enjoying it.

Our cast was stranded at the end of the first issue.  This isn't a spoiler, it's kinda the premise and in all the marketing material.  While the first issue pointed out why no search or rescue would be conducted, I don't think anyone in the audience actually believed it when the characters said it.  So a search gets underway this issue.  But that's not all.  Something else appears to be going on, but we'll have to wait until next issue to learn more.  I'll be picking it up to see where this title goes.

Lady Killer 4

LADY KILLER 4

After this issue, I really need this to continue as a series of mini series.  Josie's making moves all over this issue, barely standing still long enough to take a breath, and every second of it is brilliant.  I love the art, the writing's fantastic, and there's only one issue left.  If you've missed the series thus far, wait for the trade.  Trust me, it'll be worth it.

LAZARUS v3

I've mentioned before how I tend to read comics in bed.  There's a whole stack I've been making my way through this week, including several trades.  I brought Lazarus to bed last night, thinking I'd read an issue or two before crashing.  I wound up reading the whole thing.

In this volume, we find out what happened to Jonah, since last we saw him way back in volume one.  A gathering of the families follows, with plenty of posturing, backroom negotiating, and general politicking.  The stand-out scenes for me here were seeing the various Lazari interacting and Forever's continuing quest for the truth.  It's all brilliant and I can't wait for the next installment.

THE DYING AND THE DEAD 2

This is the team building issue.  If you've ever seen a heist movie, you should be familiar.  The main character from issue one goes around collecting old friends and acquaintances for... well, no one actually says, "one last job" but since so many are dying or near death already, it's kind of implied.  If this really is a team book, that means at least one of the following will happen by the end of the first arc: a new member will join, a member will die, or one member will betray the others.

It may sound like I didn't enjoy the issue, but I actually did.  Thankfully, with this out of the way, the book can get back to what made the first issue great.

LADY MECHANIKA 0 - 5

I bought a couple issues of this when it was originally printed, years back.  Loved the art, but didn't think too much about the story.  Reading it from the beginning with the recent Collected Editions was a real eye-opener - the story is actually good!  For years I've thought Lady Mechanika was just an excuse for drawing steampunk and attractive women.  In reality, it's a fun adventure book with a lead reminiscent of Tomb Raider.  She's smart, more than capable, and yes, attractive.  She also has a cast of villains and supporting characters, and a world with history that grows more defined with each issue.

The next series, The Tablet of Destinies, is out this month.  Benitez has help this time, which should lead to a more regular release schedule that plagued the original series.  The art, already detailed and gorgeous, is even more so in Tablet.  You can see a preview in issue five.  It's already on my pull list, and I recommend anyone into steampunk give it a look.

Indie Corner - 03/25/2015

Each week I'll spotlight a couple independent books I've read and may have flown under people's radar.

SAGA 26

I love this series, so I find it especially surprising that it's taken me this long to read the latest issue.  Goes to show just how into my other project I'd become.  That said, I can't actually talk about much that happens here.  It's all incremental progression of what's come before, so my summary would wind up being longer than if you just read the issue yourself.  Which you should, because it's quite good.  Not as great as some issues, but my heart didn't break this time... maybe just stepped on by that last page.

Also, this issue features the results of the latest Saga Reader Survey, which are also definitely worth the read.

Chrononauts 1

CHRONONAUTS 1

Have you read Remender and Scalera's Black Science?  This is like that, only as told by Millar and Murphy.  Science jerks dicking around with things better left alone and quickly being shown the error of their ways.  Scalera and Murphy are two of my favorite artists right now, so we'll all good there.  The main difference is in Millar's more straightforward storytelling.  I like a good deal of Remender's work, but Black Science never sat right with me.  Chrononauts, so far, has great character development for the two leads and being an excellent read on top of that.  I have very little to say except that I look forward to the rest of the series.

EI8HT 2

While reading the first issue, I kept flipping back to the table at the inside front cover depicting which color corresponds to which time period.  I didn't do that as much this issue.    While the book doesn't give us much more in the way of explaining what's going on, who all these characters are, or why they're doing what they do, it has managed to capture my attention enough that I'll give it a few more issues before considering whether to drop it from my pull.

SPREAD 6

This issue brings out dysfunctional family trip to town to an end.  There's blood, severed body parts, last second escapes, reversals, more blood, and a last page surprise that trumps anything this series has shown us to date.  I still love every time No opens says anything, Jack is hilarious, and Molly is amazing.  I hope this series runs for a long time.

Bonus: There's an 8-page Luther Strode short at the back that takes place between Legend and Legacy.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 43

This issue is wall-to-wall action as Krang defends Burnow Island from the invading Shredder, mutants fight rock soldiers, Baxter makes his move, Old Hob and his gang blast their way into Foot headquarters, Splinter fights Karai, the Turtles break into the Technodrome, and more that would be spoiling!  Despite the sheer number of things happening this issue, these are all long-running storylines, dovetailing in exciting ways.  None of it's confusing or disjointed; it all makes perfect sense.

The question that interests me most is what happens next?  There are so many moving pieces, so many storylines ending or changing direction, I have no idea what this series will look like once this arc is over.  It's an amazing feeling and I very much look forward to enjoying the ride.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 44

A few days ago I couldn't imagine how this story arc was going to end.  Now, I don't want to believe it.  This is truly heart-breaking, much worse than that issue of Saga a few months back.

Everything wrapped up, though most of the storylines morphed in unexpected ways, giving us a new status quo that we won't fully understand until at least next issue.

Chew v9

CHEW v9

I'd read about some major things happening in recent issues and am pleased to have avoided spoilers until I was able to read this for myself.  Indeed, major things happen here.  Things that would be much darker if not for the title's usual comedic flair.  I'm not going to talk about any of it, except to say that I loved every second of it.  Even when trying it's hardest to enrage or sadden me.

Once the series is closer to the finish, I'll likely start picking up the issues to avoid both spoilers and the excruciating wait.  I did the same with Locke & Key and that worked out well.

SAMURAI JACK 17

A surprisingly quick end to the Master of Time story, but it ended like I expected.  Unlike the Threads of Time story arc that started this series, The Master of Time was a pretty clear hoax from the outset... at least to the audience.  Still, from it, we get a fun adventure story.  An extra bit of Jack before the series concludes at issue 20.  I'll take it.  Next month: more familiar faces!

CONAN RED SONJA 3

Conan and Red Sonja are together at the start of the issue, so they don't have the typical "meeting" scene like the previous issues.  However, the "fight each other" and "team-up" are still just as present as ever.  It might sound like I'm putting this issue down, but it's actually decidedly better than the second issue.  Sins of the past catch up to our heroes, and now they must pay the price.  I'll be glad when this series wraps up next issue.  Four issues seems like the right number to tell a story without artificially dragging things out.  That said, I would have enjoyed a longer run if it were better written.

THE LIFE AFTER 7 & 8

I've been a bit behind on my reading, if you haven't noticed.  Being sick this week has helped me catch up on some of my reading, including these two issues.

Issue 7 fills in more of the backstory while advancing the middle-management plot and moving our two main leads to a different section of the afterlife.  Issue 8 is largely those same leads coming to terms with their new setting.  The title is as wild as ever, and I'm loving every second of it.  I will make absolutely certain to read issue 9 the week it comes out, instead of putting it in a pile at the edge of my desk for a month.

MUTANIMALS 1 & 2

If you haven't listened to me so far, about how great the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series from IDW is, you're probably not going to care about one of its mini series.  Maybe you're still reading this because of the recent press related to Donatello.  In that case, let me just say that each mini series always winds up tying back into the main series.  Here, we've got a mutant cat (Old Hob) and his single-minded vendetta against businesses that experiment on mutants.  Simmering under that is the building clash between Hob and fifth mutant turtle Slash.  That will very likely come to a head in this series, and I expect some long-term ramifications from however it shakes out.

Bunker 10

BUNKER 10

We're thrown a couple curves this issue, as none of our usual cast are present, or series artist Joe Infurnari.  What we get is a day in the life of a couple in the future, drawn by Brahm Revel.  It's both well written and drawn, quickly making us care about the lives of these two characters we've never met and seemingly have no connection to the known cast.

With the next issue coming in two months, this may be a good time to switch reading the series over to trades.  There's a lot to keep track of as it is, and the gaps between issues don't help.

RASPUTIN 5

Well, I don't know what to make of that.

The weird, disjointed adventures of a young Rasputin apparently come to an end with this issue, as the back of the book seemingly sets up a future series.  I, for one, am calling it quits.  I want to like this series more than I actually do, and it time to came to terms with that.

Rossmo, whose work I've enjoyed since Rebel Blood, will be working with Ming Doyle on the upcoming Hellblazer relaunch.  So I'll be dropping this and picking that up instead.

Indie Corner - 03/11/2015

RAGNAROK 4

A great combination of action and story.  The Stone God fights while the Black Elf bloodies his sword and gets closer to finding out what happened to his wife.  The stage is set for the two main storylines to collide!  It's going to be awesome!  And possibly terrible for one of these characters.  I'm loving every second of this series.

I think I read that this issue was delayed, but since the book comes out every other month anyway, it's hard to tell.  Still, I was able to immediately get back into the issue, and even if I wasn't, there's a recap on the inside cover.

A Drifting Life

A DRIFTING LIFE

Another in my series of "bought this years ago and was immediately daunted by its huge size so I put off reading it until now."  Seriously, I have too many books that fall into that category.

I'm going to steal a couple lines from the back of the book now:

Over four decades ago, Yoshihiro Tatsumi expanded the horizons of comics storytelling by using the visual language of manga to tell gritty, literary stories about the private lives of everyday people.  Using his life-long obsession with comics as a framework, Tatsumi weaves a complex story that encompasses family dynamics, Japanese culture and history, first love, the intricacies of the manga industry, and most importantly, what it means to be an artist.

Don't make the same mistake I did, putting off reading this excellent book.  It's broken into chapters roughly 20 pages each, and I would read one to three of these each night, only ever putting it down because it was late or I was exhausted.

It's as insightful as it is interesting, giving a great view of both post-war Japan and the manga industry.  Recommended.

SPAWN RESURRECTION 1

I haven't read Spawn since shortly after it hit issues numbering in the double digits.  In this way, I'm like Jenkins - not having kept up with the minutiae of the last 250 issues.  But I've always maintained a general interest in the character and have thought many times about catching up on everything I've missed.

When Brian Wood was announced as taking over, I was excited.  He had come off a great run of Ultimate X-Men and I was enjoying his Conan work.  I thought, "This is my chance to get back into Spawn!"  That didn't last long.  Jenkins is here, and Resurrection is pretty okay.  It wipes the slate and sets a new stage, which is what's needed for this type of thing.  Jonboy draws a great Al Simmons and Spawn... though I'm still getting used to the mouth.

In the end, I'll check it out for a few more issues.  This didn't blow me away, but it's a nice start to something new.

CASANOVA: ACEDIA 2

Of course the week I start writing about comics again has a Casanova comic come out.  I couldn't not read this, as Casanova is and has been one of my favorite comics of recent years.

Last issue gave us a dramatically different Cass - both the title and the character - with plenty of mystery surrounding the titular character's shift.  Still, it managed to maintain the classic Casanova style and charm of previous series.  This issue gives us a couple more familiar faces and some of the old Casanova Quinn, while slowing picking at the scab of what's really going on.  I loved every second of it.

The back-up is once again done by Michael Chabon and Gabriel Ba.  Ba's art is as fantastic as every, but it feels like Chabon is trying to hard to emulate Fraction.  It's close, but not quite there.  I did, however, find it hilarious once it dawned on me just what the "fucking cute" Quinn was doing.

iZombie 1

I never read the series while it was being published, but have heard nothing but good things about it.  When I saw Vertigo were reprinting the first issue for only $1.00 before the premiere, I took the incredibly inexpensive chance of trying out the series.  In short: it's good.

It's easy to see how, with a few changes, this could make for a long-running television series.