This just makes me smile. Well...this and candy.
Happy Halloween!
Let me take a few moments away from my snit, and wish you all a Happy Halloween, courtesy of the ever fabulous Little Black Cat.
This just makes me smile. Well...this and candy.
This just makes me smile. Well...this and candy.
Life as We Know It [2010]
Director: Greg BerlantiCast: Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel, Josh Lucas, Christina Hendricks
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Comment: "Everything as we know it, nothing less and nothing more..."
It is a safe bet that nobody is going into the screening hall expecting Life as We Know It to tell a comedy-romance story any differently. Sure, it is a promise that the movie provides plenty of laughs and heartwarming moments, but it doesn't bring anything new to the table either.
The movie begins with the two main characters, Holly and Messer meeting up for a blind date, but it was apparent from the first few seconds that they do not get along very well. Even though they hate each other, they cannot help but to be in the same room every now and then since their best friends marry each other. The story really picks up when tragedy strikes; Holly and Messer now find themselves in the care of their best friends' one-year-old baby daughter.
On the bright side, as formulaic as it all gets, the film deserves credit for trying not to be your run-of-the-mill comedy-romance as made popular by the likes of Matthew McConaughey and Katherine Heigl herself. It may have resulted in the movie being dragged out a tad longer than necessary, but I for one appreciate surprises, so I would consider this as a strength.
The plot may be a bit bland, but it definitely makes up for it in the casting department. Katherine Heigl was just doing her typical career woman character, but what really brought colour to the movie is its male lead, Josh Duhamel. It's not about his looks, really. He simply captured the laid-back attitude so well. Kind of like a surfer dude without the board and the waves. The kind of persona women simply love, and men try haplessly to embody.
With all that being said, I am in no way trying to drive you away from watching the movie. As long as you don't expect anything groundbreaking or memorable, Life as We Know It provides a leisurely entertainment for casual movie-goers who just want to pass the time with your loved ones.
Points Calculation
The Good [+100]
- Chemistry between lead actors
- The baby is just too cute
- Occasional pleasant surprises
The Bad [-50]
- Formulaic plot
- Does not stand out in any way
100 - 50 = 50 points
The movie begins with the two main characters, Holly and Messer meeting up for a blind date, but it was apparent from the first few seconds that they do not get along very well. Even though they hate each other, they cannot help but to be in the same room every now and then since their best friends marry each other. The story really picks up when tragedy strikes; Holly and Messer now find themselves in the care of their best friends' one-year-old baby daughter.The result? I could name five movies on top of my head with similar themes and the same fish-out-of-water element that could top this movie hands down. But there are certain things about the movie that grants it more than the usual cheap laughs. The movie balances well between subtle jokes about marriage and parenthood, as well as physical comedy. In fact, there is one scene that is reminisce of the Farrelly brothers type of humour (Kingpin [1996], There's Something About Mary [1998], Me, Myself & Irene [2000], Shallow Hal [2001]). However, bear in mind that I am drawing that comparison very, very loosely.
On the bright side, as formulaic as it all gets, the film deserves credit for trying not to be your run-of-the-mill comedy-romance as made popular by the likes of Matthew McConaughey and Katherine Heigl herself. It may have resulted in the movie being dragged out a tad longer than necessary, but I for one appreciate surprises, so I would consider this as a strength.
The plot may be a bit bland, but it definitely makes up for it in the casting department. Katherine Heigl was just doing her typical career woman character, but what really brought colour to the movie is its male lead, Josh Duhamel. It's not about his looks, really. He simply captured the laid-back attitude so well. Kind of like a surfer dude without the board and the waves. The kind of persona women simply love, and men try haplessly to embody.With all that being said, I am in no way trying to drive you away from watching the movie. As long as you don't expect anything groundbreaking or memorable, Life as We Know It provides a leisurely entertainment for casual movie-goers who just want to pass the time with your loved ones.
Points Calculation
The Good [+100]
- Chemistry between lead actors
- The baby is just too cute
- Occasional pleasant surprises
The Bad [-50]
- Formulaic plot
- Does not stand out in any way
100 - 50 = 50 points
Let Me Continue to Flog this Dead Horse
I'm STILL pissed about Winick's treatment of Ice in the latest issue of Justice League:Generation Lost. Which is a shame, because really, otherwise, I have been enjoying the book. But I've been abruptly YANKED out of my comfort zone, and instead of being mildly annoyed at his characterization, I now feel as though I've been pummelled about the face.
I also can't help but wonder how people would react if one of the BIG DC heroes had been so maligned? I also feel a heck of a lot more sympathy for fans of Cass Cain and Stephanie Brown, not to mention poor Roy. I liked them well enough, but they weren't my favorites, so I was a bit callous about their suffering. It couldn't happen to ME after all. Well...of course it has.
I'm also feeling just a tad alienated towards the editors of this book. WHAT were they thinking? Or did they even know who Ice was? I'm beginning to have my doubts. Do they just go out and drag in off any passing stranger off of the streets and hand over the editing job? I would think that at the very LEAST, the editor should have a passing knowledge of the characters being used. Of course, you would think that would ALSO apply to the writer. Winick just annoys the piss out of me, because I know that he can do better...but apparently can't be bothered.
Interestingly enough, Guy Gardner also underwent a massive transformation in characterization over the course of his travails in the Green Lantern books, through the old JLI, and in his own book. He started as a nice guy, who was horribly traumatized, and put in a coma, then woke up as a completely different man, to become the raving jackass that we all knew and loved. Gerard Jones treated him differently in Green Lantern from Keith Giffen and DeMatteis, but he was still recognizable as the same person. Then he got his own book, and changed a bit more, under Jones and then Chuck Dixon. It wasn't until Beau Smith got a hold of him that he REALLY underwent a sea change.
Oh yeah. Lost the bowl cut, got an eyepatch, and lost his powers and went looking for new ones, drinking the Warrior Waters, and discovering that he was actually the last Vuldarian...or at least a half-breed one, with amazing morphing powers and stuff. It was ALL quite ridiculous really.
And yet...it worked. And it worked, because Beau Smith was so very very careful to MAKE it work. He didn't throw out everything that had come before, he integrated into the new. Guy was a jackass, and now he was a jackass with his brains back...and it WORKED!
They have more or less retconned the whole Warrior thing since then, when Geoff Johns had Guy's Vuldarian DNA overwritten by his human DNA back in Rebirth. But he DIDN'T decide that it had all just been a figment of Guy's imagination! Nor did he throw out years of continuity, or completely trash stories from the past.
Guy has met Ice's mother, Queen Olaf. He speaks her hidden Ice Kingdom language. Ice's Mother actually came and visited his BAR for heaven's sake! She thinks of him as her adopted son. She also met all of the OTHER members of the Justice League! She's met Fire! Ice's brother Ewald went to the bad, and killed their father and tried to usurp the Kingdom, and the ENTIRE FRIGGIN JUSTICE LEAGUE showed up to overthrow him. He was killed and THAT was when Ice managed to gain her amped up powers.
But that's ok, it was all just a figment of Ice's imagination!
Oh, and that "you have to keep calm all of the time" advice given by her "father"? This is a woman who dated Guy Gardner. That is simply not POSSIBLE! He took her to a porn theatre. He took her to cock fights. He accidentally pushed her down a flight of stairs. She watched him get beated to a pulp by Hal Jordan, and didn't wig out. Heck, she managed to get KILLED without losing her cool.
So...I am going to ignore all of this. The same way that I am ignoring Power Girl, since Gray and Palmiotti and Amanda Conner left her in Winick's palsied hands. I'm going to cover my ears and go lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalallalalalalalala!!!
And I'll wait for the day that Geoff Johns, or Peter Tomasi or a REAL writer comes along and fixes this.
I also can't help but wonder how people would react if one of the BIG DC heroes had been so maligned? I also feel a heck of a lot more sympathy for fans of Cass Cain and Stephanie Brown, not to mention poor Roy. I liked them well enough, but they weren't my favorites, so I was a bit callous about their suffering. It couldn't happen to ME after all. Well...of course it has.
I'm also feeling just a tad alienated towards the editors of this book. WHAT were they thinking? Or did they even know who Ice was? I'm beginning to have my doubts. Do they just go out and drag in off any passing stranger off of the streets and hand over the editing job? I would think that at the very LEAST, the editor should have a passing knowledge of the characters being used. Of course, you would think that would ALSO apply to the writer. Winick just annoys the piss out of me, because I know that he can do better...but apparently can't be bothered.
Interestingly enough, Guy Gardner also underwent a massive transformation in characterization over the course of his travails in the Green Lantern books, through the old JLI, and in his own book. He started as a nice guy, who was horribly traumatized, and put in a coma, then woke up as a completely different man, to become the raving jackass that we all knew and loved. Gerard Jones treated him differently in Green Lantern from Keith Giffen and DeMatteis, but he was still recognizable as the same person. Then he got his own book, and changed a bit more, under Jones and then Chuck Dixon. It wasn't until Beau Smith got a hold of him that he REALLY underwent a sea change.
Oh yeah. Lost the bowl cut, got an eyepatch, and lost his powers and went looking for new ones, drinking the Warrior Waters, and discovering that he was actually the last Vuldarian...or at least a half-breed one, with amazing morphing powers and stuff. It was ALL quite ridiculous really.
And yet...it worked. And it worked, because Beau Smith was so very very careful to MAKE it work. He didn't throw out everything that had come before, he integrated into the new. Guy was a jackass, and now he was a jackass with his brains back...and it WORKED!
They have more or less retconned the whole Warrior thing since then, when Geoff Johns had Guy's Vuldarian DNA overwritten by his human DNA back in Rebirth. But he DIDN'T decide that it had all just been a figment of Guy's imagination! Nor did he throw out years of continuity, or completely trash stories from the past.
Guy has met Ice's mother, Queen Olaf. He speaks her hidden Ice Kingdom language. Ice's Mother actually came and visited his BAR for heaven's sake! She thinks of him as her adopted son. She also met all of the OTHER members of the Justice League! She's met Fire! Ice's brother Ewald went to the bad, and killed their father and tried to usurp the Kingdom, and the ENTIRE FRIGGIN JUSTICE LEAGUE showed up to overthrow him. He was killed and THAT was when Ice managed to gain her amped up powers.
But that's ok, it was all just a figment of Ice's imagination!
Oh, and that "you have to keep calm all of the time" advice given by her "father"? This is a woman who dated Guy Gardner. That is simply not POSSIBLE! He took her to a porn theatre. He took her to cock fights. He accidentally pushed her down a flight of stairs. She watched him get beated to a pulp by Hal Jordan, and didn't wig out. Heck, she managed to get KILLED without losing her cool.
So...I am going to ignore all of this. The same way that I am ignoring Power Girl, since Gray and Palmiotti and Amanda Conner left her in Winick's palsied hands. I'm going to cover my ears and go lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalallalalalalalala!!!
And I'll wait for the day that Geoff Johns, or Peter Tomasi or a REAL writer comes along and fixes this.
Worst Retcon...EVER!
I finished reading the latest issue of Justice League: Generation Lost...and I am almost speechless with rage. Almost...but not quite. And, in keeping with my theme of highlighting the various paramour of the Green Lanterns this week, let me just point out that WINICK has just come up with the most idiotic retcon of Tora Olafsdottir's origin that could possibly have been perpetrated upon an unsuspecting and innocent audience.
ARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Verily, I am wroth.
This is Tora, aka Ice.
Isn't she pretty?
She also happens to be the girlfriend of my very favorite Green Lantern.
Tora has always, ALWAYS been depicted as the very epitome of sugar and spice and everything nice.
Which wasn't to say that she didn't have an inner core of iron when it happened to be needed. It's just that she didn't run around being stereotypically "strong" most of the time. She was shy, sweet, humble and adorable.
That is, until Winick got a hold of her.
There was a bit of a ripple in the comics world in the past couple of weeks, when it was leaked that Winick had come up with a bright shiny new origin for her. People were a bit perplexed because she already HAD a perfectly good origin. Tora is the daugher of King Olaf, who rules a secret Ice Kingdom somewhere in the frozen north of Scandanavia. She inherited her ice powers, and could even claim to having been worshipped as an Ice Goddess. She joined the Global Guardians at a very young age, supplanting the original Ice Maiden, and hooked up with Beatriz Da Costa, and when they joined the old JLI, they became Fire and Ice.
She is not a Gypsy. She doesn't belong to an evil clan of Scandanavian Roma, who run around stealing things. This IS incidentally a stunningly insulting portrayal of the Roma. Dick Grayson would be horrified. Hell, even Kari Limbo would be horrified.
This is what Winick has come up with for Tora's NEW origin.
I guess this guy is supposed to be her real father. Yeah...right. And our sweet little Tora has these enormous untapped powers, that she must learn to control, and must always therefore...stay calm.
But wait, there's more!
Gypsy Tora's evil Grandfather wants to USE her ice powers in order to...RULE THE WORLD!! Bwhahahahaha! Cuz he's evil. So she has to use her powers, and inadvertently kills her own father! With her powers! So she apparently MADE UP THE WHOLE STORY about the Ice Kingdom!
I...I am simply aghast.
Never mind, that we have all SEEN her father, King Olaf, not to mention her mother, and her brother. Never mind, that the Ice Kingdom was an entire story arc of the Justice League, and that the entire Justice League traveled to the Ice Kingdom to help Ice defeat her brother, and avenge her father. Never mind, that she taught Guy how to speak her ancient Ice Kingdom language, and that he was able to go to this Ice Kingdom that was an apparent figment of her imagination and talk to her imaginary mother. Or that she was shown visiting her imaginary Ice Kingdom over in Booster Gold only a few months ago.
What enrages me the most, I suppose, is that Winick seems to have nothing but utter contempt for me as a fan and a reader, to think that I would swallow this load of crap. It flies in the face of EVERY FACT that we have been presented with, over Tora's history. She's not a new character, she's been around for a while...long enough, certainly to have a rich and sensible background. Well, sensible for comics, anyway.
The only redeeming feature to this steaming pile of shit, is that when we get a GOOD writer, he or she can retcon this retcon, and point out that it was all Max Lord's doing,and he's just messing with Tora's head for the hell of it.
This...is not Tora.
THIS is Tora.
I need to go and start drinking. Heavily.
ARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Verily, I am wroth.
This is Tora, aka Ice.
Isn't she pretty?
She also happens to be the girlfriend of my very favorite Green Lantern.
Tora has always, ALWAYS been depicted as the very epitome of sugar and spice and everything nice.
Which wasn't to say that she didn't have an inner core of iron when it happened to be needed. It's just that she didn't run around being stereotypically "strong" most of the time. She was shy, sweet, humble and adorable.
That is, until Winick got a hold of her.
There was a bit of a ripple in the comics world in the past couple of weeks, when it was leaked that Winick had come up with a bright shiny new origin for her. People were a bit perplexed because she already HAD a perfectly good origin. Tora is the daugher of King Olaf, who rules a secret Ice Kingdom somewhere in the frozen north of Scandanavia. She inherited her ice powers, and could even claim to having been worshipped as an Ice Goddess. She joined the Global Guardians at a very young age, supplanting the original Ice Maiden, and hooked up with Beatriz Da Costa, and when they joined the old JLI, they became Fire and Ice.
She is not a Gypsy. She doesn't belong to an evil clan of Scandanavian Roma, who run around stealing things. This IS incidentally a stunningly insulting portrayal of the Roma. Dick Grayson would be horrified. Hell, even Kari Limbo would be horrified.
This is what Winick has come up with for Tora's NEW origin.
I guess this guy is supposed to be her real father. Yeah...right. And our sweet little Tora has these enormous untapped powers, that she must learn to control, and must always therefore...stay calm.
But wait, there's more!
Gypsy Tora's evil Grandfather wants to USE her ice powers in order to...RULE THE WORLD!! Bwhahahahaha! Cuz he's evil. So she has to use her powers, and inadvertently kills her own father! With her powers! So she apparently MADE UP THE WHOLE STORY about the Ice Kingdom!
I...I am simply aghast.
Never mind, that we have all SEEN her father, King Olaf, not to mention her mother, and her brother. Never mind, that the Ice Kingdom was an entire story arc of the Justice League, and that the entire Justice League traveled to the Ice Kingdom to help Ice defeat her brother, and avenge her father. Never mind, that she taught Guy how to speak her ancient Ice Kingdom language, and that he was able to go to this Ice Kingdom that was an apparent figment of her imagination and talk to her imaginary mother. Or that she was shown visiting her imaginary Ice Kingdom over in Booster Gold only a few months ago.
What enrages me the most, I suppose, is that Winick seems to have nothing but utter contempt for me as a fan and a reader, to think that I would swallow this load of crap. It flies in the face of EVERY FACT that we have been presented with, over Tora's history. She's not a new character, she's been around for a while...long enough, certainly to have a rich and sensible background. Well, sensible for comics, anyway.
The only redeeming feature to this steaming pile of shit, is that when we get a GOOD writer, he or she can retcon this retcon, and point out that it was all Max Lord's doing,and he's just messing with Tora's head for the hell of it.
This...is not Tora.
THIS is Tora.
I need to go and start drinking. Heavily.
The Amours of the Green Lanterns
Three days in, and I'm still stuck on just Hal! I could do this for a MONTH probably!
As you all know, Hal does manage to get around. And he's not shy about checking out alien women either. Yeah, they may come in funny colors, and have a few more apendages than he's used to...but dammit Hal is ADVENTUROUS! And horny.
As you can see, Hal will kiss just about anyone.
But this is more what I was thinking of.
You all remember Arisia of course. Gosh, but I like Arisia. She got something of a bum deal, when she fell for Hal, but it must be admitted, that she had a lot of company in that regard.
She was portrayed as being just a young girl, albeit a young girl who was worthy of becoming a Green Lantern, which is something that gets overlooked sometimes. Hal used to pat her on the head and call her "little sister", which made it just a tad creepy, when she used her powers to enhance her growth to the age of consent. Hal was delighted, and practically jumped in bed with her on the spot...which is rather reminiscent of his reaction to Kari Limbo. Hal is nothing, if not impetuous.
Alas, although her nubile figure was mature, Arisia was still fairly youthful in her head, and Hal dumped her after a while. He tried to come on to her again when he was Parallax, but thank goodness she had the strenght of mind to turn him down. And, she WAS glad to see him when she was rescued by Hal and Guy on Biot, she hasn't been hankering after him since her return from the dead. Which is probably quite healthy. Hal's probably a little miffed however.
Oh Hal.
As you all know, Hal does manage to get around. And he's not shy about checking out alien women either. Yeah, they may come in funny colors, and have a few more apendages than he's used to...but dammit Hal is ADVENTUROUS! And horny.
As you can see, Hal will kiss just about anyone.
But this is more what I was thinking of.
You all remember Arisia of course. Gosh, but I like Arisia. She got something of a bum deal, when she fell for Hal, but it must be admitted, that she had a lot of company in that regard.
She was portrayed as being just a young girl, albeit a young girl who was worthy of becoming a Green Lantern, which is something that gets overlooked sometimes. Hal used to pat her on the head and call her "little sister", which made it just a tad creepy, when she used her powers to enhance her growth to the age of consent. Hal was delighted, and practically jumped in bed with her on the spot...which is rather reminiscent of his reaction to Kari Limbo. Hal is nothing, if not impetuous.
Alas, although her nubile figure was mature, Arisia was still fairly youthful in her head, and Hal dumped her after a while. He tried to come on to her again when he was Parallax, but thank goodness she had the strenght of mind to turn him down. And, she WAS glad to see him when she was rescued by Hal and Guy on Biot, she hasn't been hankering after him since her return from the dead. Which is probably quite healthy. Hal's probably a little miffed however.
Oh Hal.
Green Lantern Girlfriends
Man are there a lot of GL girlfriends. Hal ALONE has a dozen or more! Kyle accounts for quite a few as well. John and Guy are a little more restrained. Not to mention the fact that a few of them...such as Kari Limbo are SHARED girlfriends.
One for all and all for one takes on a whole new meaning.
Hal of course is still taking center stage. Here, we have managed to cover TWO of his heartthrobs.
As far as I can tell, Jillian "Cowgirl" Pearlman is just in it for the fun of it. Which may make her the most sensible of all of Hal's women. The minute you start to get clingy, is when he pulls his disappearing act. Poor Carol knows this of course...but she's still hanging in there. AND giving him a dose of his own medicine in the latest issue of Green Lantern. Makes for a change anyway.
One for all and all for one takes on a whole new meaning.
Hal of course is still taking center stage. Here, we have managed to cover TWO of his heartthrobs.
As far as I can tell, Jillian "Cowgirl" Pearlman is just in it for the fun of it. Which may make her the most sensible of all of Hal's women. The minute you start to get clingy, is when he pulls his disappearing act. Poor Carol knows this of course...but she's still hanging in there. AND giving him a dose of his own medicine in the latest issue of Green Lantern. Makes for a change anyway.
What Shall be the Theme for THIS Week?
Here we are, with a bright brand new week, all laying out before us...and not a clue as to how to fill it. Blogging is hard!
However, since I'm still fixated on Kari Limbo for some reason, I think that I'll do something exciting, and post about all of the women in our favorite Green Lanterns lives. Hal, Guy, John AND Kyle. I know that Alan has women in HIS life, but I don't have any pictures, and besides, he's married, and has been for years. And I don't like Jade anyway, so pooh.
But yeah, speaking of Kari Limbo...
...here she is alternately swooning and sucking out Hal's tonsils. She did quite a LOT of that for a while. Cowgirl may not be my favorite Hal babe, but at least she doesn't swoon. Neither does Carol.
Hal was SUCH a sucker. And Guy was well out of it, as I think he eventually came to realize. Which STILL doesn't excuse Hal's behavior.
I should just let this go.
However, since I'm still fixated on Kari Limbo for some reason, I think that I'll do something exciting, and post about all of the women in our favorite Green Lanterns lives. Hal, Guy, John AND Kyle. I know that Alan has women in HIS life, but I don't have any pictures, and besides, he's married, and has been for years. And I don't like Jade anyway, so pooh.
But yeah, speaking of Kari Limbo...
...here she is alternately swooning and sucking out Hal's tonsils. She did quite a LOT of that for a while. Cowgirl may not be my favorite Hal babe, but at least she doesn't swoon. Neither does Carol.
Hal was SUCH a sucker. And Guy was well out of it, as I think he eventually came to realize. Which STILL doesn't excuse Hal's behavior.
I should just let this go.
Les Femmes
And isn't THAT an intriguing title? I am of course, referring to some of the women who are such a part of the Green Lantern saga. But mainly, I'm wondering about some of the women who had the good luck (or bad, depending upon your point of view)to be loved by both Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner.
I'm looking at YOU, Kari Limbo!
Kari holds a unique position in the the story of Hal and Guy, the only woman to be engaged to TWO Green Lanterns...and yet, she never actually ended up married to either one of them. But she came close...oh so very very close.
Which, you must admit is a better track record than Carol, or Arisia, Veronna or even my sweet Tora. So obviously, she had SOMETHING compelling or attractive about her.
And yet...I simply can't STAND Kari Limbo...an opinion shared by quite a few.
It wasn't because she was so different from the average Super Hero Girl Friend. Instead of being a sassy reporter(Lois and Iris) an out and out psychotic (Jean Loring) or a competent businesswoman(Carol), she was a bit more exotic. A gypsy fortune-teller, no less, with raven black hair and an odd streak of blonde in the front. She had an acquiline nose and dark eyes, and wasn't the conventional blonde "good girl". She had a bit of an accent and spoke in broken English, which rather annoyed me, but fortunately, that seemed to pass with time.
It...it's just that she was so damned manipulative! Now it could be said, with perfect justification that Lois, Iris, Jean and Carol were all a bit on the manipulative side themselves. But I don't think that it could be said that they went from grieving for the (supposed) death of their fiancee one minute, to the arms of the man who was marginally responsible for that death in the next.
Yes, she was upset.
And really, who can blame her? But then, she was ALL OVER HIM! So...she needed some comfort. I can understand that. But next thing you know, they are wandering around solving crimes together, and she's just working him SO well. And Hal...being an idiot...FALLS for it!
She actually manages to get him to the Altar! And it is only at the last minute...the VERY last minute, that she "suddenly" realizes that Guy isn't dead after all. Did she really have a vision of Guy being tortured, or did it occur to her, that being married to Hal wasn't necessarily going to be a bed of roses?
So, she and Hal part on fairly amicable terms, with both of them no doubt thanking their lucky stars. And the minute that Guy is back, she goes back to trying to manipulate HIM. Guy is brain-damaged and violent and obnoxious and rude...but he's STILL smarter than Hal Jordan, and doesn't fall for her shenanigans. Of course the fact that he was WATCHING the two of them canoodling the whole time that he was in the zone, and being tortured by Sinestro may have had something to do with that.
What I want to see, and I don't know if I ever WILL see it...is having Hal and Guy get together and discuss the whole Kari Limbo situation. I'd like to see Hal have to come up with an explanation of why he did what he did. Because I don't think that Hal was ever in love with Kari. I don't think that Hal was ever in love with ANYone...with the possible exception of Carol, and even that is a bit debateable.
I also wonder if Hal ever wonders what Arisia meant to Guy. Guy made a big play for Arisia when they first met, but I think that was mostly just to annoy Hal. But later on, after she'd lost her ring, and was stranded on earth, and Hal had gone all Parallax on everyone's ass, Guy had gotten his brains back, and he took her in and gave her a home and a job. He DIDN'T try to marry her however. Their relationship was...and remains...more of a big brother/little sister one, in my view.
Actually, when you think about it, Guy was running quite the halfway house at Warriors for a while. He took in Arisia, he gave Lady Blackhawk a job and a home, and the same thing for Veronna. Heck, I wouldn't have been surprised if Bea had moved in either for a while. And they ALL GOT ALONG TOGETHER! Nobody ELSE was doing something like that, not the Justice League, or any of the big hitters. Just Guy.
Heck, he even gave his MOM a home!
And that took some serious courage. Green Lanterns really ARE without fear!
So. Would any of you like to have a discussion between Hal and Guy about the women in their lives? Hal and Guy have such a touch relationship most of the time, and it is apparently going to get touchier. But still...it would be interesting.
I'm looking at YOU, Kari Limbo!
Kari holds a unique position in the the story of Hal and Guy, the only woman to be engaged to TWO Green Lanterns...and yet, she never actually ended up married to either one of them. But she came close...oh so very very close.
Which, you must admit is a better track record than Carol, or Arisia, Veronna or even my sweet Tora. So obviously, she had SOMETHING compelling or attractive about her.
And yet...I simply can't STAND Kari Limbo...an opinion shared by quite a few.
It wasn't because she was so different from the average Super Hero Girl Friend. Instead of being a sassy reporter(Lois and Iris) an out and out psychotic (Jean Loring) or a competent businesswoman(Carol), she was a bit more exotic. A gypsy fortune-teller, no less, with raven black hair and an odd streak of blonde in the front. She had an acquiline nose and dark eyes, and wasn't the conventional blonde "good girl". She had a bit of an accent and spoke in broken English, which rather annoyed me, but fortunately, that seemed to pass with time.
It...it's just that she was so damned manipulative! Now it could be said, with perfect justification that Lois, Iris, Jean and Carol were all a bit on the manipulative side themselves. But I don't think that it could be said that they went from grieving for the (supposed) death of their fiancee one minute, to the arms of the man who was marginally responsible for that death in the next.
Yes, she was upset.
And really, who can blame her? But then, she was ALL OVER HIM! So...she needed some comfort. I can understand that. But next thing you know, they are wandering around solving crimes together, and she's just working him SO well. And Hal...being an idiot...FALLS for it!
She actually manages to get him to the Altar! And it is only at the last minute...the VERY last minute, that she "suddenly" realizes that Guy isn't dead after all. Did she really have a vision of Guy being tortured, or did it occur to her, that being married to Hal wasn't necessarily going to be a bed of roses?
So, she and Hal part on fairly amicable terms, with both of them no doubt thanking their lucky stars. And the minute that Guy is back, she goes back to trying to manipulate HIM. Guy is brain-damaged and violent and obnoxious and rude...but he's STILL smarter than Hal Jordan, and doesn't fall for her shenanigans. Of course the fact that he was WATCHING the two of them canoodling the whole time that he was in the zone, and being tortured by Sinestro may have had something to do with that.
What I want to see, and I don't know if I ever WILL see it...is having Hal and Guy get together and discuss the whole Kari Limbo situation. I'd like to see Hal have to come up with an explanation of why he did what he did. Because I don't think that Hal was ever in love with Kari. I don't think that Hal was ever in love with ANYone...with the possible exception of Carol, and even that is a bit debateable.
I also wonder if Hal ever wonders what Arisia meant to Guy. Guy made a big play for Arisia when they first met, but I think that was mostly just to annoy Hal. But later on, after she'd lost her ring, and was stranded on earth, and Hal had gone all Parallax on everyone's ass, Guy had gotten his brains back, and he took her in and gave her a home and a job. He DIDN'T try to marry her however. Their relationship was...and remains...more of a big brother/little sister one, in my view.
Actually, when you think about it, Guy was running quite the halfway house at Warriors for a while. He took in Arisia, he gave Lady Blackhawk a job and a home, and the same thing for Veronna. Heck, I wouldn't have been surprised if Bea had moved in either for a while. And they ALL GOT ALONG TOGETHER! Nobody ELSE was doing something like that, not the Justice League, or any of the big hitters. Just Guy.
Heck, he even gave his MOM a home!
And that took some serious courage. Green Lanterns really ARE without fear!
So. Would any of you like to have a discussion between Hal and Guy about the women in their lives? Hal and Guy have such a touch relationship most of the time, and it is apparently going to get touchier. But still...it would be interesting.
4 Irritating Mistakes Movie Characters Always Make
#4 Not Closing the Door Behind Them
Some might argue that this is not necessarily a mistake, but when you put it in the proper context, it does become one. This is a very irritating mistake movie characters always make when it comes to movies where there is a 'race' element involved.The Scenario: We have the good guys on the run for some sort of a relic/treasure, or maybe they just have to save the world. Not only they are pressed for time, they also have the villains to worry about who are after the same thing.
The Mistake: The good guys finally made it to the finishing line, after figuring out how to enter the building/cave/dungeon they simply let themselves in and leave the door open.
The Consequence: The bad guys simply follow their trail and wait for the good guys to claim the treasure. Then they would dramatically make an appearance while saying something along the lines of "Not so fast!" or "Thank you, (insert hero/heroine name), if it weren't for you we wouldn't be able to find this place..."
Notable offenders: National Treasure franchise, Indiana Jones series, The Mummy franchise, Race to Witch Mountain [2009]
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#3 Being a Typical Villain
Yeah yeah, I get it. Villains have to be villains in order for them to actually be villains. But seriously, why does being a villain often make them some sort of a genius, yet they always make the dumbest of mistakes? For the most part, the idiocy of villains are revealed at the very moment when they almost win.The Scenario: They are literally one step away from total victory. This victory may come in form of having the hero at gunpoint, or they are one button away from taking over the world.
The Mistake: The speech. Please villains, can't you save the speech when you do actually have something to brag about? But nooo! They have to make a speech about "how feeble the hero is compared to him or her, and how the world will soon be theirs" (Frozone, 2004). Sometimes more retardedly, villains will just do that maniacal laugh to the hero's face.
The Consequence: Heroes like to do everything on the eleventh hour, and the reason they are heroes is because they have superhuman determination to save something (Like jumping off a plane to rescue someone while plummeting towards earth at 200km/h). With that being said, the amount of time you provided them by making that speech means you can kiss your taking-over-the-world dream goodbye.
Notable offenders: Return of the Jedi [1983], Parodied in Last Action Hero [1993] and The Incredibles [2004]
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#2 Being a Typical Good Guy
On the opposite side of the coin, we have heroes who always make the mistake of being a typical good guy. Again, it is understandable that good guys will be good guys. But please, make good use of your brain as well, will you?The Scenario: The hero almost win by almost getting the villain killed or foiling his/her plans.
The Mistake: Sometimes the villain will start begging for his/her life. But even if they don't, the hero will suddenly lose his/her nerve anyway and let the "universe/nature decide the fate" of the villain.
The Consequence: They're villains, what do you expect? The frailty they exhibited was just an act to get the element of surprise on their side. As soon as the hero turns his back, the villain will attack him before getting killed anyway. But the point is, the hero is putting themselves at an unnecessary risk by not finishing the job. Heck, the hero is going to kill the villain anyway, might as well do it the first time around.
Notable offenders: Revenge of the Sith [2005], Return of the Jedi [1983]
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#1 "All in the Name of Science!"
Everybody appreciates a good work ethic and commitment towards one's work. But there's no commitment quite as irritating as scientists in superhero comics or movies.The Scenario: Despite the dangerous and volatile nature of science, comic book scientists often work for the most unreasonable employers ever. These scientists often have to use themselves as guinea pigs for the experimental drugs just because the people funding their research couldn't wait for one more day.
The Mistake: Using themselves as guinea pigs.
The Consequence: Doing so will guarantee physical transformation and development of villainous traits. Ironically, there are superheroes who are originally scientists as well, but these people gain their powers through accidents. If you have to intentionally inject yourself with something, or enter some sort of a chamber, know that nothing good will come out of it.
Notable offenders: Spider-man franchise, The Incredible Hulk [2008]
Green Lantern Corps #53
Well I'll just say here and now, that Tony Bedard is doing a bang-up job with the Corps.
Come with us now, to Qward, and a little bit of history, concerning the head Weaponeer. He apparently was the one who made that bitchin' ring for Sinestro. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out quite the way that they all expected, and Sinestro is pretty much persona non grata on Qward nowadays.
Meanwhile, on Korugar, Kyle is busy saving various natives, and keeps ringing up Soranik. Soranik is just a tad busy herself, so Kyle actually has to do things himself, but that's ok, because the Korugarians are actually THRILLED to be rescued by a Green Lantern. Who'd a thunk? Several members of the Sinestro Corps however, are not pleased by the acclaim being awarded Kyle, and start blustering.
Kyle has obviously been hanging around with Guy for too long, because he's a little on the cocky side. It IS funny however. Arkillo decides he's not going to interfere, so the guy with no brain decides he's going to take Kyle down. Kyle, STILL in cocky mode, points out that he's fought Sinestro, Parallax, Oblivion AND Mongul. Suddenly Brainless isn't quite as enthusiastic as he was formerly. It all becomes moot however, when the Weaponeer shows up...and suddenly there is one fewer members of the Sinestro Corps.
The Weaponeer is looking for the REAL Green Lantern, which I have to admit, made me snicker. Poor Kyle. You just don't get any respect. Kyle does get to do some nice visual things with his ring and some armor, all of which leaves the Weaponeer completely unimpressed. If you all recall, he has some serious firepower using that bit of white power left over on Qward by Deadman.
Fortunately for Kyle, Soranik shows up in the nick of time, and rescues his gorgeous behind. Unfortunately for her, the baddie not only knows who her Daddy is, but he's there to take her as a hostage for Sinestro. It seems that he's a mite displeased with Sinestro, and really who can blame him.
Kyle somehow takes the news of Soranik's parentage in stride, although I have to admit that I would have liked to have seen him display at least a LITTLE bit of consternation. This IS a rather huge revelation after all. But without skipping a beat, Kyle goes flying off to Earth, in search of Sinestro, so that the two of them can go and rescue Soranik.
Sinestro however, is having none of it. I don't know if he's really that disinterested, or if he just doesn't want to work with Kyle. You have to admit that the whole situation is a bit...awkward. After all, Kyle IS sleeping with his baby girl!
But Kyle, God bless him, is just not taking no for an answer.
Heehee! Now Sinestro knows how Hal feels most of the time! And you must admit that Kyle probably found this to be satisfying. MOST satisfying!
Guy would be so proud.
I can hardly wait for the next issue!
Come with us now, to Qward, and a little bit of history, concerning the head Weaponeer. He apparently was the one who made that bitchin' ring for Sinestro. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out quite the way that they all expected, and Sinestro is pretty much persona non grata on Qward nowadays.
Meanwhile, on Korugar, Kyle is busy saving various natives, and keeps ringing up Soranik. Soranik is just a tad busy herself, so Kyle actually has to do things himself, but that's ok, because the Korugarians are actually THRILLED to be rescued by a Green Lantern. Who'd a thunk? Several members of the Sinestro Corps however, are not pleased by the acclaim being awarded Kyle, and start blustering.
Kyle has obviously been hanging around with Guy for too long, because he's a little on the cocky side. It IS funny however. Arkillo decides he's not going to interfere, so the guy with no brain decides he's going to take Kyle down. Kyle, STILL in cocky mode, points out that he's fought Sinestro, Parallax, Oblivion AND Mongul. Suddenly Brainless isn't quite as enthusiastic as he was formerly. It all becomes moot however, when the Weaponeer shows up...and suddenly there is one fewer members of the Sinestro Corps.
The Weaponeer is looking for the REAL Green Lantern, which I have to admit, made me snicker. Poor Kyle. You just don't get any respect. Kyle does get to do some nice visual things with his ring and some armor, all of which leaves the Weaponeer completely unimpressed. If you all recall, he has some serious firepower using that bit of white power left over on Qward by Deadman.
Fortunately for Kyle, Soranik shows up in the nick of time, and rescues his gorgeous behind. Unfortunately for her, the baddie not only knows who her Daddy is, but he's there to take her as a hostage for Sinestro. It seems that he's a mite displeased with Sinestro, and really who can blame him.
Kyle somehow takes the news of Soranik's parentage in stride, although I have to admit that I would have liked to have seen him display at least a LITTLE bit of consternation. This IS a rather huge revelation after all. But without skipping a beat, Kyle goes flying off to Earth, in search of Sinestro, so that the two of them can go and rescue Soranik.
Sinestro however, is having none of it. I don't know if he's really that disinterested, or if he just doesn't want to work with Kyle. You have to admit that the whole situation is a bit...awkward. After all, Kyle IS sleeping with his baby girl!
But Kyle, God bless him, is just not taking no for an answer.
Heehee! Now Sinestro knows how Hal feels most of the time! And you must admit that Kyle probably found this to be satisfying. MOST satisfying!
Guy would be so proud.
I can hardly wait for the next issue!
Another Good Week!
Great Guardians, but there were some nice books! Not quite the motherlode that was last week...but I'm not complaining.
We begin with Brightest Day of course. After all the bombshells that were dropped last issue, I don't know what I was expecting, but we ended up with still MORE goodies, only this time it is centered on my favorite Martian. He finally meets up with the OTHER green Martian, and her name is D'kay D'razz. Oh, and what a cunning piece of work SHE is!
They throw in some bits with Firestorm and Deathstorm and even a cameo by Deadman and Dove, just to keep them in play, but for the most part, this is all J'onn J'onnz. She's all set to start making more Martians, and he wants nothing to do with her, because she's CRAZY, and it's a battle of wits that will knock your socks off.
Fabulous.
And speaking of sock-knocking...Batman & Robin was spectacular...as usual. I love the interaction between the Joker and Damian. and the erstatz Thomas Wayne shows up and is all set to wreak vast amounts of mayhem...except that he's not who he says he is...and he's not quite as smart as he thinks he is.
Be still my heart.
Catwoman: The Road Home, was another One-shot, but it was a nice one. I'm always happy to see Selina. For not being that much of a Bat-fan, I sure am picking up a lot of Bat Books lately. Vicki Vale is definitely in over her head, and Selina's thought process is rather fun to see. A good book for sure.
Oh Fables. You may be late sometimes, but you never let me down. The showdown between Mister Dark and Frau Totenkinder is drawing ever closer, with a guest appearance by none other than Bigby's dear old dad, the North Wind. And apparently the cat is out of the bag about Bigby and Snow's seventh child. Again, an excellent read.
Green Lantern Corps #53. EGAD!!!!
Justice League of America #50. You know, I actually liked this. Robinson is apparently finding his footing on this book, and brought in the Tangent Universe Green Lantern, not to mention the Good Ol' Crime Syndicate. It's nice to see the Multiverse again, and it's interesting to see how the baddies stack up against an all NEW Justice League. And vice versa of course. This was...fun. Who knew?
DC Universe: Legacies #6. Well, we get past the first Crisis, and stuff. It's always a nice romp through history as seen through the eyes of a policeman and his family who lived through it. And the second story,which has Superboy meeting the Legion was...a hoot. A hoot and a half.
I slithered over to the Marvel side of the aisle, and picked up Loki, #1 out of a four part mini-series, mainly because I've been a Thor/Loki fan from way back. And Loki is always fun too. Not bad. Not bad at all. Not quite as much fun as the new Thor book with Chris Samnee on the art, but still...pretty worthwhile.
Wow. I liked EVERYTHING this week! I should just be drummed out of the Comics Critics Union!
We begin with Brightest Day of course. After all the bombshells that were dropped last issue, I don't know what I was expecting, but we ended up with still MORE goodies, only this time it is centered on my favorite Martian. He finally meets up with the OTHER green Martian, and her name is D'kay D'razz. Oh, and what a cunning piece of work SHE is!
They throw in some bits with Firestorm and Deathstorm and even a cameo by Deadman and Dove, just to keep them in play, but for the most part, this is all J'onn J'onnz. She's all set to start making more Martians, and he wants nothing to do with her, because she's CRAZY, and it's a battle of wits that will knock your socks off.
Fabulous.
And speaking of sock-knocking...Batman & Robin was spectacular...as usual. I love the interaction between the Joker and Damian. and the erstatz Thomas Wayne shows up and is all set to wreak vast amounts of mayhem...except that he's not who he says he is...and he's not quite as smart as he thinks he is.
Be still my heart.
Catwoman: The Road Home, was another One-shot, but it was a nice one. I'm always happy to see Selina. For not being that much of a Bat-fan, I sure am picking up a lot of Bat Books lately. Vicki Vale is definitely in over her head, and Selina's thought process is rather fun to see. A good book for sure.
Oh Fables. You may be late sometimes, but you never let me down. The showdown between Mister Dark and Frau Totenkinder is drawing ever closer, with a guest appearance by none other than Bigby's dear old dad, the North Wind. And apparently the cat is out of the bag about Bigby and Snow's seventh child. Again, an excellent read.
Green Lantern Corps #53. EGAD!!!!
Justice League of America #50. You know, I actually liked this. Robinson is apparently finding his footing on this book, and brought in the Tangent Universe Green Lantern, not to mention the Good Ol' Crime Syndicate. It's nice to see the Multiverse again, and it's interesting to see how the baddies stack up against an all NEW Justice League. And vice versa of course. This was...fun. Who knew?
DC Universe: Legacies #6. Well, we get past the first Crisis, and stuff. It's always a nice romp through history as seen through the eyes of a policeman and his family who lived through it. And the second story,which has Superboy meeting the Legion was...a hoot. A hoot and a half.
I slithered over to the Marvel side of the aisle, and picked up Loki, #1 out of a four part mini-series, mainly because I've been a Thor/Loki fan from way back. And Loki is always fun too. Not bad. Not bad at all. Not quite as much fun as the new Thor book with Chris Samnee on the art, but still...pretty worthwhile.
Wow. I liked EVERYTHING this week! I should just be drummed out of the Comics Critics Union!
And Now It's Wednesday!
Boy, I'm having trouble coming up with titles this week! Sheesh!
Nothing too exciting is going on either. I'm all fresh out of outrage or fan entitlement for the moment, so I'm just awaiting that blissful moment, when I can cast off the shackles of work, and head on out to the Comic Book Store and once again, wallow in the joy of new comics.
I must say, that this week seems to be almost as large as last week, so there will certainly be MUCH wallowing.
Enjoy YOUR comics!
Nothing too exciting is going on either. I'm all fresh out of outrage or fan entitlement for the moment, so I'm just awaiting that blissful moment, when I can cast off the shackles of work, and head on out to the Comic Book Store and once again, wallow in the joy of new comics.
I must say, that this week seems to be almost as large as last week, so there will certainly be MUCH wallowing.
Enjoy YOUR comics!
Well...It's Tuesday...
And I haven't got a thought in my head. So here's a picture that I did of Guy.
I've really got to do some more drawing.
I've really got to do some more drawing.
Feeling Refreshed!
Well, back from my long weekend, of frivolity. I went to a play, marched in a parade, ate barbecue till I almost burst, and spent money foolishly. I feel...so ALIVE! But nevertheless, it is Monday, and therefore I must return to reality. And that means comics.
Wait. Comics aren't reality! They are our sweet sweet escape from reality! Or something. Nevertheless, I went three whole days without a computer or even picking up a comic to read, and I'm famished.
Did anyone pick up the Untold Tales of Blackest Night from last week? I hemmed and hawed about it, but naturally, gave in and got it, and it was pretty good! Not every story was absolutely necessary of course, some of them were more like outtakes, but the Ethan Van Sciver tale with Karu-Sil was really good. And the Ivan Reis pages were lovely. I liked the idiots who decided to kill themselves, in order to be on the "winning" side of the battle...and it didn't work. Haw! So, well worth picking up.
I did finally get Brightest Day from TWO Wednesdays ago, and it was pretty darned fantastic. Booster Gold was a hoot as usual. I'm very glad that Blue Beetle didn't remain a chipmunk...although he WAS awfully cute. And the emotions that Skeets is experiencing is quite interesting. The scene where Estrogina vomits Ted back up, and the look on the other pirate's faces is simply priceless. "It's a Boy!" Indeed it is. And WHAT a boy!
I liked Jonah Hex, although I found the art to be a bit muddy and a little hard to follow, something that happens with this book once in a while. I know that the sepia tones are practically required, and normally I love them, but it can get a bit bogged down occasionally.
The art in Justice League: Generation Lost on the other hand, was quite stellar. And Tora fighting for Bea and for her life, make perfect sense of course. I'm not necessarily TOO happy about that final page, it all depends upon what Winick is going to make her do. If she suddenly starts being all badass and there's more swearing, I'm going to cry.
R.E.B.E.L.S. had Green Lanterns and Lobo on the cover, so of course, I had to pick it up. I'm not reading this regularly, but still get an issue here and there, and am abreast of the most simple plot lines, so I have to say that it's pretty good. I'd have to say that Vril Dox is doing a bang up job of making the Green Lantern Corps look like a bunch of schmucks. Way to go, Guardians!
The Return of Bruce Wayne, #5 was good. Really really good. I liked it much better than the western one, which is kind of odd, now that I think about it. But still, this was excellent, and it had Ryan Sook artwork, so it was pretty too!
Secret Six was sensational! Kudos to Jeanette for knowing when she's licked, and not making a fuss of it. My jaw literally dropped at Bane's decision, so I'm hoping that it's a fakeout. And I really wanted Waller to punch Spy Smasher right in the kisser. But I imagine that Amanda has more subtle ways of getting even.
And finally, if you aren't reading Thor,The Mighty Avenger, I have to recommend it. Highly. Chris Samnee can really draw, and it's just so...so CUTE! And it had Namor! NOT acting completely douchily!
Wait. Comics aren't reality! They are our sweet sweet escape from reality! Or something. Nevertheless, I went three whole days without a computer or even picking up a comic to read, and I'm famished.
Did anyone pick up the Untold Tales of Blackest Night from last week? I hemmed and hawed about it, but naturally, gave in and got it, and it was pretty good! Not every story was absolutely necessary of course, some of them were more like outtakes, but the Ethan Van Sciver tale with Karu-Sil was really good. And the Ivan Reis pages were lovely. I liked the idiots who decided to kill themselves, in order to be on the "winning" side of the battle...and it didn't work. Haw! So, well worth picking up.
I did finally get Brightest Day from TWO Wednesdays ago, and it was pretty darned fantastic. Booster Gold was a hoot as usual. I'm very glad that Blue Beetle didn't remain a chipmunk...although he WAS awfully cute. And the emotions that Skeets is experiencing is quite interesting. The scene where Estrogina vomits Ted back up, and the look on the other pirate's faces is simply priceless. "It's a Boy!" Indeed it is. And WHAT a boy!
I liked Jonah Hex, although I found the art to be a bit muddy and a little hard to follow, something that happens with this book once in a while. I know that the sepia tones are practically required, and normally I love them, but it can get a bit bogged down occasionally.
The art in Justice League: Generation Lost on the other hand, was quite stellar. And Tora fighting for Bea and for her life, make perfect sense of course. I'm not necessarily TOO happy about that final page, it all depends upon what Winick is going to make her do. If she suddenly starts being all badass and there's more swearing, I'm going to cry.
R.E.B.E.L.S. had Green Lanterns and Lobo on the cover, so of course, I had to pick it up. I'm not reading this regularly, but still get an issue here and there, and am abreast of the most simple plot lines, so I have to say that it's pretty good. I'd have to say that Vril Dox is doing a bang up job of making the Green Lantern Corps look like a bunch of schmucks. Way to go, Guardians!
The Return of Bruce Wayne, #5 was good. Really really good. I liked it much better than the western one, which is kind of odd, now that I think about it. But still, this was excellent, and it had Ryan Sook artwork, so it was pretty too!
Secret Six was sensational! Kudos to Jeanette for knowing when she's licked, and not making a fuss of it. My jaw literally dropped at Bane's decision, so I'm hoping that it's a fakeout. And I really wanted Waller to punch Spy Smasher right in the kisser. But I imagine that Amanda has more subtle ways of getting even.
And finally, if you aren't reading Thor,The Mighty Avenger, I have to recommend it. Highly. Chris Samnee can really draw, and it's just so...so CUTE! And it had Namor! NOT acting completely douchily!
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #3
All Will Be Well! Well...maybe not.
Dang it if that isn't a pretty cover. Of course, Guy doesn't actually attack Warth, he's too busy trying to fight off Bleez, while Arisia and Kilowog dance around trying to get a shot off, and Warth stands there looking QUITE bemused at all the antics of these crazy aliens. Like all Red Lanterns, Bleez is a hard to handle, but finally, Warth gets a hold of her, and tones things down long enough for them to understand exactly why she's attacking Guy. He wanted to get the red purged from his system, but she, (and Atrocitus) think that this would be a bad idea, and that he'll NEED both the red and green power to take down the baddie.
Makes a certain amount of sense, no? Meanwhile though, Warth is puzzled that the power levels of the assembled Green Lanterns are only at 99%. In his presence, their power levels should be off the charts, not to mention his own. Something peculiar is going on, and we finally get a hint of exactly what it is that Atrocitus, Ganthet and Guy are going up against.
The HIGHLY unpleasant individual we saw last issue, is still hanging out in the uncharted regions, siphoning power off all those unfortunate telepaths, and using that power to suck tiny amounts of power from the Green Lantern Corps, not to mention manipulating them a little bit. Oh, and that tiny ragged little person with the green chains, who has imprisoned both Ion and Parallax shows up, and he/she seems to be in cahoots with Zardor, the bad guy. I STILL think that it might be Sayd, and if that's the case, then poor Ganthet is in for a bit of heartbreak. I suppose that it is also possible that it might be Scar...she DID seem to die a little too easily back in Blackest Night.
Oh, and Sodam Yat wakes up, after being freed from the sun of Daxam. It's been turned red again, so all the Daxamites lost their powers, which pisses quite a few of them off. Sodam has been saved by a ragtag bunch of freedom fighters who think that he's just the bee's knees. He's also apparently being hunted down by the powers that be...including his own father. Geez, he's a real creep. I think that Guy and Soranik may have Sodam still beat in the rotten Father category, but he's pretty obnoxious.
So anyway...Guy decides NOT to purge the red from himself, and Warth warns him that there may be...consequences. And off they go.
The story is nicely advancing, and the art is awfully pretty. I have to say that Fernando Pasarin has chosen to give Guy a nice Joe Staton nose, which is quite appropriate
Good stuff!
Dang it if that isn't a pretty cover. Of course, Guy doesn't actually attack Warth, he's too busy trying to fight off Bleez, while Arisia and Kilowog dance around trying to get a shot off, and Warth stands there looking QUITE bemused at all the antics of these crazy aliens. Like all Red Lanterns, Bleez is a hard to handle, but finally, Warth gets a hold of her, and tones things down long enough for them to understand exactly why she's attacking Guy. He wanted to get the red purged from his system, but she, (and Atrocitus) think that this would be a bad idea, and that he'll NEED both the red and green power to take down the baddie.
Makes a certain amount of sense, no? Meanwhile though, Warth is puzzled that the power levels of the assembled Green Lanterns are only at 99%. In his presence, their power levels should be off the charts, not to mention his own. Something peculiar is going on, and we finally get a hint of exactly what it is that Atrocitus, Ganthet and Guy are going up against.
The HIGHLY unpleasant individual we saw last issue, is still hanging out in the uncharted regions, siphoning power off all those unfortunate telepaths, and using that power to suck tiny amounts of power from the Green Lantern Corps, not to mention manipulating them a little bit. Oh, and that tiny ragged little person with the green chains, who has imprisoned both Ion and Parallax shows up, and he/she seems to be in cahoots with Zardor, the bad guy. I STILL think that it might be Sayd, and if that's the case, then poor Ganthet is in for a bit of heartbreak. I suppose that it is also possible that it might be Scar...she DID seem to die a little too easily back in Blackest Night.
Oh, and Sodam Yat wakes up, after being freed from the sun of Daxam. It's been turned red again, so all the Daxamites lost their powers, which pisses quite a few of them off. Sodam has been saved by a ragtag bunch of freedom fighters who think that he's just the bee's knees. He's also apparently being hunted down by the powers that be...including his own father. Geez, he's a real creep. I think that Guy and Soranik may have Sodam still beat in the rotten Father category, but he's pretty obnoxious.
So anyway...Guy decides NOT to purge the red from himself, and Warth warns him that there may be...consequences. And off they go.
The story is nicely advancing, and the art is awfully pretty. I have to say that Fernando Pasarin has chosen to give Guy a nice Joe Staton nose, which is quite appropriate
Good stuff!
Green Lantern #58
Egad! There are a whole lot of interesting things going on in this issue, some of them quite amusing, and some just a little mindboggling.
We begin with Sinestro and Atrocitus hot on the trail of the Rage Avatar, which they track to a prison in Montana. Putting Atrocitus and Sinestro together is...and interesting combination. But they do manage to keep from eviscerating each other, although Atrocitus does lose it when he comes across a bunch of murderers, and engulfs them in bloood or fire or whatever it is that he engulfs them in. Sinestro, finds this all to be QUITE amusing, picturing the look on Hal's face when he finds out what Atrocitus has done.
Hal in the meantime, is hanging out on Zamaraon with Carol. He can't believe that she's going to go ahead and assume the position of Queen, and...as usual...tries to make it All About Hal. Carol is apparently keeping the Predator as something of a pet,which Hal doesn't like at all. That's ok, the Predetor doesn't like Hal either. When Hal starts to press Carol, she finally has enough, and tells him that she'll be coming home when her job is finished, and oh, by the way how's Cowgirl?
Carol rocks.
In Michigan, a fourteen year old girl has disappeared. Turns out it IS the worse possible situation,she's been kidnapped by some creep...but it's ok because she forgives him. Unfortunately for him, the Hope entity Adara shows up, and well...All Will Be Well.
Larfleeze is having some trouble dealing with the loss of his Lantern, and the poor schlub who was possessed by the Predator last issue, picks exactly the wrong time to bring up some of the things that he saw in Larfleeze's heart. Larfleeze can be such a comical character that it is easy to forget that he's actually QUITE dangerous...as Abraham Pointe finds out. Fortunately for him, Hal shows up and tries to rein Larfleeze in. When Hal gets a bit sanctimonious, telling Larfleeze that he can't cross the line, Larfleeze points out...rather accurately...that HAL is the one crossing the line all the time by even working with such people as himself, Atrocitus and Sinestro.
Before Hal can say anything, St. Walker shows up, all happy and giddy, because Adara has risen. On Oa, Salaak is wondering why Hal hasn't shown up with any prisoners for the science cells. Voz and Larvox point out that maybe Hal is just taking some time off, but Salaak isn't buying it. Oh Salaak, I love your curmudgeonliness.
St. Walker is all thrilled about Adara, Hal is less so, since she IS only a kid. She does instill a bit of hope in Larfleeze about his family, and then she stuns Hal by telling him that HE has hope too...but he's afraid to show it.
Wait...Hal AFRAID of something? Say it ain't so!
And...just then, Barry shows up, and he's not particularly happy about the company that Hal has been keeping. THIS is going to be very interesting.
The art is gorgeous of course. I find it rather amusing that Hal just seems to be along for the ride, as it were, everyone else is making things happen, and he's trying to ride herd on this very disparate bunch of misfits while chaos is going on all around him. Knowing Hal, something is going to blow up sooner or later. Probably sooner.
Fabulous.
We begin with Sinestro and Atrocitus hot on the trail of the Rage Avatar, which they track to a prison in Montana. Putting Atrocitus and Sinestro together is...and interesting combination. But they do manage to keep from eviscerating each other, although Atrocitus does lose it when he comes across a bunch of murderers, and engulfs them in bloood or fire or whatever it is that he engulfs them in. Sinestro, finds this all to be QUITE amusing, picturing the look on Hal's face when he finds out what Atrocitus has done.
Hal in the meantime, is hanging out on Zamaraon with Carol. He can't believe that she's going to go ahead and assume the position of Queen, and...as usual...tries to make it All About Hal. Carol is apparently keeping the Predator as something of a pet,which Hal doesn't like at all. That's ok, the Predetor doesn't like Hal either. When Hal starts to press Carol, she finally has enough, and tells him that she'll be coming home when her job is finished, and oh, by the way how's Cowgirl?
Carol rocks.
In Michigan, a fourteen year old girl has disappeared. Turns out it IS the worse possible situation,she's been kidnapped by some creep...but it's ok because she forgives him. Unfortunately for him, the Hope entity Adara shows up, and well...All Will Be Well.
Larfleeze is having some trouble dealing with the loss of his Lantern, and the poor schlub who was possessed by the Predator last issue, picks exactly the wrong time to bring up some of the things that he saw in Larfleeze's heart. Larfleeze can be such a comical character that it is easy to forget that he's actually QUITE dangerous...as Abraham Pointe finds out. Fortunately for him, Hal shows up and tries to rein Larfleeze in. When Hal gets a bit sanctimonious, telling Larfleeze that he can't cross the line, Larfleeze points out...rather accurately...that HAL is the one crossing the line all the time by even working with such people as himself, Atrocitus and Sinestro.
Before Hal can say anything, St. Walker shows up, all happy and giddy, because Adara has risen. On Oa, Salaak is wondering why Hal hasn't shown up with any prisoners for the science cells. Voz and Larvox point out that maybe Hal is just taking some time off, but Salaak isn't buying it. Oh Salaak, I love your curmudgeonliness.
St. Walker is all thrilled about Adara, Hal is less so, since she IS only a kid. She does instill a bit of hope in Larfleeze about his family, and then she stuns Hal by telling him that HE has hope too...but he's afraid to show it.
Wait...Hal AFRAID of something? Say it ain't so!
And...just then, Barry shows up, and he's not particularly happy about the company that Hal has been keeping. THIS is going to be very interesting.
The art is gorgeous of course. I find it rather amusing that Hal just seems to be along for the ride, as it were, everyone else is making things happen, and he's trying to ride herd on this very disparate bunch of misfits while chaos is going on all around him. Knowing Hal, something is going to blow up sooner or later. Probably sooner.
Fabulous.
I've Hit the Motherlode!
Galloping Guardians! I only had two books last week, and I had fifteen this week! Granted, some of them were SUPPOSED to have come in last week, but still...that's a lot of books by any standard.
I have MY afternoon all planned out, I can tell you that.
Not one, but TWO Green Lantern books, plus Secret Six, Booster Gold, Brightest Day AND Justice League: Gen Lost, Batman & Robin,, Jonah Hex, a couple of JSA books, A couple of Bat books, R.E.B.E.L.S (which has Green Lanterns on the cover), and my lone Marvel contribution, Thor: The Mighty Avenger, which is by Roger Landridge and Chris Samnee, and is simply adorable.
I may swoon at all the comic goodness!
I have MY afternoon all planned out, I can tell you that.
Not one, but TWO Green Lantern books, plus Secret Six, Booster Gold, Brightest Day AND Justice League: Gen Lost, Batman & Robin,, Jonah Hex, a couple of JSA books, A couple of Bat books, R.E.B.E.L.S (which has Green Lanterns on the cover), and my lone Marvel contribution, Thor: The Mighty Avenger, which is by Roger Landridge and Chris Samnee, and is simply adorable.
I may swoon at all the comic goodness!
All Kinds of Neat Things
All sorts of interestings things seem to be afoot. Firstly, DC(and Marvel to a degree) have come to their senses and dropped the $3.99 price hike on the books, which is a GREAT relief. I'm in the fortunate position of not having to watch my pennies too closely, but certainly not everyone is in that position, and I'm sure that it made a huge difference in gambling on a new mini-series or new book. A 30% price hike is absurd by any means.
DC is apparently dropping the price on ALL their books, although they are losing about two pages of content, which I can live with. Marvel is a little less forthcoming, I believe that the price rollback only applies to new books...so I will still not be picking up much in the way of Marvel books for the forseeable future.
But this is a good thing.
Pat Gleason, one of my absolute favorite artists and Peter Tomasi, one of my favorite writers are teaming up again, on Batman and Robin. I am simply delighted! I can only hope that eventually they will bring in Guy Gardner for a guest spot, and have him interact with Damian, which would probably be hilarious. And, or, explosive. But I can dream at least.
They are doing an animated Green Lantern feature, to come out next year I believe, with Hal and Kilowog. This is also a Very Good Thing. Not to mention the live-action Movie, which is coming out in June of 2011. You can NEVER have too many Green Lanterns. There is also a rumor of another Lantern getting a book, with a Red Lantern being mentioned.
I have gotten to the point where I can no longer look at a spectrum of colors and NOT think of each color without associating it with the appropriate Corps. Thank You Geoff Johns!
I'm still painting my kitchen. It's taking a long time because I'm doing it by myself, and it is a LARGE kitchen, with a walk-in butler's pantry, so there is a ton of cabinetry. Also, I paint for ten minutes and then have to stand back and admire it for a while. But I'm getting there.
Alan Scott's birthday was October 2. John Stewart's is on this Sunday, October 17. Exactly why I know these things, I could not tell you. Does this make them both Libras?
I am looking forward to tomorrow with uncommon lust. There are TWO Green Lantern books coming out, plus Booster Gold, and all the books that my store was supposed to get LAST week, so it is going to be expensive. But soooooo worth it.
And finally,
For no special reason at all, except that I like looking at Guy pictures.
DC is apparently dropping the price on ALL their books, although they are losing about two pages of content, which I can live with. Marvel is a little less forthcoming, I believe that the price rollback only applies to new books...so I will still not be picking up much in the way of Marvel books for the forseeable future.
But this is a good thing.
Pat Gleason, one of my absolute favorite artists and Peter Tomasi, one of my favorite writers are teaming up again, on Batman and Robin. I am simply delighted! I can only hope that eventually they will bring in Guy Gardner for a guest spot, and have him interact with Damian, which would probably be hilarious. And, or, explosive. But I can dream at least.
They are doing an animated Green Lantern feature, to come out next year I believe, with Hal and Kilowog. This is also a Very Good Thing. Not to mention the live-action Movie, which is coming out in June of 2011. You can NEVER have too many Green Lanterns. There is also a rumor of another Lantern getting a book, with a Red Lantern being mentioned.
I have gotten to the point where I can no longer look at a spectrum of colors and NOT think of each color without associating it with the appropriate Corps. Thank You Geoff Johns!
I'm still painting my kitchen. It's taking a long time because I'm doing it by myself, and it is a LARGE kitchen, with a walk-in butler's pantry, so there is a ton of cabinetry. Also, I paint for ten minutes and then have to stand back and admire it for a while. But I'm getting there.
Alan Scott's birthday was October 2. John Stewart's is on this Sunday, October 17. Exactly why I know these things, I could not tell you. Does this make them both Libras?
I am looking forward to tomorrow with uncommon lust. There are TWO Green Lantern books coming out, plus Booster Gold, and all the books that my store was supposed to get LAST week, so it is going to be expensive. But soooooo worth it.
And finally,
For no special reason at all, except that I like looking at Guy pictures.
Unnusually Mellow
Man, I'm feeling oddly at peace with the world! Maybe it was getting my Anti-Winick rant off of my chest. Maybe it was the absolutely PERFECT Fall weekend weather. Maybe it was going out and doing something completely frivolous with my Sweet Baboo. We don't do frivolous nearly often enough.
At any rate, I'm calm, collected and looking forward to Wednesday's new comics. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up all the ones that were mysteriously missing from LAST week. There should be a new JLI this week, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some form of Green Lantern book as well. Plus, I'm actually taking Friday off to go out and do MORE frivolous things.
Plus, Tony Stewart won in Fontana. Woohoo!
So while, I'm feeling all happy, here's a nice picture of Hal, at his humble best.
Oh...Hal. Never change.
At any rate, I'm calm, collected and looking forward to Wednesday's new comics. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up all the ones that were mysteriously missing from LAST week. There should be a new JLI this week, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some form of Green Lantern book as well. Plus, I'm actually taking Friday off to go out and do MORE frivolous things.
Plus, Tony Stewart won in Fontana. Woohoo!
So while, I'm feeling all happy, here's a nice picture of Hal, at his humble best.
Oh...Hal. Never change.
Trainspotting [1996]
Director: Danny BoyleCast: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremer, Johnny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Kevin McKidd, Kelly Macdonald
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Rating: Adult (explicit drug use, strong sexual content)
Comment: "A dark comedy-drama that doesn't hold back on so many levels ..."
Widely credited as actor Ewan McGregor's breakout role, Trainspotting should really be notable for being a spectacular film in its own right. The horrific take on the subject matter might be off-putting for a lot of people, but if there's ever a more apt anti-drug movie, Trainspotting would be it.
The story takes place in Scotland, some time in late 80's involving a group of heroin addicts. Narrated by the main character, Renton, who is basically sick of the drug scene attempts to clean up his act and move on with his life. But his past is hard to shake off and he is often tempted into relapse.
From the beginning, the film keeps you at the state of discomfort and holds nothing back to keep you there. The strong visuals and explicit content does most of the job, a good example would be the toilet scene, scenes involving intravenous drug use, and as to not spoil it for those who haven't seen the film, just take my word for it that it doesn't stop there. But don't get me wrong, there's nothing more satisfying than a really engaging movie.
Another thing that I like is the anarchy subtext. Drug addicts in the movie - if only they are not so dependent and messed up all the time - have one admirable trait, their non-conformist ways of looking at things. Being a student of individualist anarchism myself, it only make sense to me that there should be more than one way to live your life. The conventional belief, well said by Renton himself, goes like this;
I guess what I am really trying to say here, is that you should not dismiss Trainspotting as a "just a drug movie". After all, it didn't end up at number ten of BFI's Top 100 British Films of All Time for being anything less than impressive.
Points Calculation
The Good [+100]
- Originality
- No-holds-barred
- Strong visuals
- Explicit content
- Deep, engaging themes
The Bad [-0]
- (None)
100 - 0 = 100 points
The story takes place in Scotland, some time in late 80's involving a group of heroin addicts. Narrated by the main character, Renton, who is basically sick of the drug scene attempts to clean up his act and move on with his life. But his past is hard to shake off and he is often tempted into relapse.From the beginning, the film keeps you at the state of discomfort and holds nothing back to keep you there. The strong visuals and explicit content does most of the job, a good example would be the toilet scene, scenes involving intravenous drug use, and as to not spoil it for those who haven't seen the film, just take my word for it that it doesn't stop there. But don't get me wrong, there's nothing more satisfying than a really engaging movie.
Another thing that I like is the anarchy subtext. Drug addicts in the movie - if only they are not so dependent and messed up all the time - have one admirable trait, their non-conformist ways of looking at things. Being a student of individualist anarchism myself, it only make sense to me that there should be more than one way to live your life. The conventional belief, well said by Renton himself, goes like this;Really makes you think, huh? I had long believed that 99% of the people in this world have an extremely narrow-sighted view on what life is all about. Truth is, there is no one definitive answer."Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television... Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons..."
I guess what I am really trying to say here, is that you should not dismiss Trainspotting as a "just a drug movie". After all, it didn't end up at number ten of BFI's Top 100 British Films of All Time for being anything less than impressive.
Points Calculation
The Good [+100]
- Originality
- No-holds-barred
- Strong visuals
- Explicit content
- Deep, engaging themes
The Bad [-0]
- (None)
100 - 0 = 100 points
Lebanon [2009]
Director: Samuel MaozCast: Oshri Cohen, Zohar Shtrauss, Michael Moshonov, Itay Tiran, Yoav Donat, Dudu Tassa
Genre: War Drama
Rating: Teen (violence, brief nudity)
Comment: "A claustrophobic take on war..."
Based on the director-writer's own experiences as a war conscript, this film is a dramatisation of the events in the 1982 Lebanon Wars between Israel and Southern Lebanon. Unlike any other war films, Lebanon takes place almost entirely inside a tank, focusing on the drama between its four tank crew.
What began as a seemingly simple mission of "clearing up" a town after an air raid, the four members of a tank crew learned the hard way that in war, even the simplest of missions can be chaotic.
An interesting take on this particular war film, almost its entirety involves shots from within the tank. One might be inclined to think that being in a tank means there would be less drama as they are relatively well-protected from shots, blasts and debris. I believe the production team achieved what they intended to bring forth; showing that an implosion can be just as damaging as an explosion. For someone who is a bit of a claustrophobic myself, I found the movie to be even more gripping.
According to reports, Lebanon has yet to receive worldwide release yet the film has accumulated a fair amount of controversy, even in its country of origin in Israel. Generally received as an anti-war film, the movie might put off critics on both sides of the fence. Plenty of Muslims might see it as a feeble attempt to "humanise" Jews, while Jews criticise it for deterring Israeli youths from joining the army.
Nobody in the movie screamed jingoism like any war epics to come out of Hollywood. There was no attempt to justify all the acts of terror. Nobody screamed "Freedom!!" while heroically charging into enemy lines. Instead, there was a lot of confusion, miscommunications and trauma. Just like an actual war.
Truth is it's high time for people to realise that war is hell, for civillians and soldiers alike. In the end, it's the people at the bottom who suffers while those at the top pretentiously thinks that they are doing the world a favour.
Points Calculation
The Good [+100]
- Originality
- Gritty
- Very realistic
- Credible anti-war flick
The Bad [-0]
- (None)
100 - 0 = 100 points
What began as a seemingly simple mission of "clearing up" a town after an air raid, the four members of a tank crew learned the hard way that in war, even the simplest of missions can be chaotic.An interesting take on this particular war film, almost its entirety involves shots from within the tank. One might be inclined to think that being in a tank means there would be less drama as they are relatively well-protected from shots, blasts and debris. I believe the production team achieved what they intended to bring forth; showing that an implosion can be just as damaging as an explosion. For someone who is a bit of a claustrophobic myself, I found the movie to be even more gripping.
According to reports, Lebanon has yet to receive worldwide release yet the film has accumulated a fair amount of controversy, even in its country of origin in Israel. Generally received as an anti-war film, the movie might put off critics on both sides of the fence. Plenty of Muslims might see it as a feeble attempt to "humanise" Jews, while Jews criticise it for deterring Israeli youths from joining the army.Nobody in the movie screamed jingoism like any war epics to come out of Hollywood. There was no attempt to justify all the acts of terror. Nobody screamed "Freedom!!" while heroically charging into enemy lines. Instead, there was a lot of confusion, miscommunications and trauma. Just like an actual war.
Truth is it's high time for people to realise that war is hell, for civillians and soldiers alike. In the end, it's the people at the bottom who suffers while those at the top pretentiously thinks that they are doing the world a favour.
Points Calculation
The Good [+100]
- Originality
- Gritty
- Very realistic
- Credible anti-war flick
The Bad [-0]
- (None)
100 - 0 = 100 points
And Speaking of Tora...
I found this over at the #@$! Yeah Comic Relations site, and I believe it is by Kevin West, and it shows two of my favorite people.
Oh, isn't it pretty?
Oh, isn't it pretty?
A Little Whine About Winick
I seem to be displaying all of the least attractive features of a self-entitled Fangirl, and in some ways, I'm heartily ashamed of myself. In other ways however, I'm feeling awfully cranky.
What would most fans do, if suddenly, Batman or Superman were to be portrayed as whiney, cowardly, and completely out of character, in comparison to their previous depictions? I'm betting that there would be a helluva lot of screaming.
So why is it that when Judd Winick does exactly that to a woman character, there is hardly any outcry at all, except amongst a few? I'm speaking of Tora Olafsdottir, aka Ice of course, but actually, this same scenario can be applied to several other characters. I don't think that Winick portrays women particularly well. I gave up reading Power Girl, whom I am VERY fond of, because he made her suddenly totally incompetent. For twelve glorious issues, Palmiotti and Gray and Amanda Conner had portrayed her as smart and sassy and fun to be around. Now she's lost her joie de vivre, not to mention all her money, and seems to be stumbling around from crisis to crisis without a clue. Not my cup of tea.
Ice, whom I have pointed out before has ALWAYS been portrayed as one of the nicest, sweetest most loveable characters in the DC Universe. She wasn't a first tier character, and she may not have been everyone's favorite character, but I honestly can't think of too many people who didn't at least like her. I've always loved Ice. I know that she made her debut in the Global Guardians, but it was in the old Justice League that she came to life, along with her best friend Fire, and I thought that she was a breath of fresh air.
It isn't necessary for a woman to be "strong" if it means that she's going to be portrayed as bitchy. Tora was sweet and gentle, but she had a core of steel that was always depicted as being there when she needed it. And having Guy Gardner for a boyfriend meant that she needed it a whole lot. She just didn't go around making a big production out of it. It was NICE having someone who was...nice.
I understand that coming back from the dead can be disconcerting, but I just can't get over the way that Winick is portraying her in the bi-weekly series of JLI. I actually am enjoying the new series, because I love the characters, but every other week, it still sticks in my craw, when Tora starts swearing.
Superman doesn't act like this, and for good reason. And if someone suddenly started writing him that way, there would be one fair old hullabaloo. Pissing and moaning, and cursing doesn't make Ice look tough or strong...it makes her look pathetic. I can't think of a single person who thought that the unfortunate darkening of Mary Marvel was a good idea...so why would they think that it was a good idea to blacken the good name of the last Good Girl that they have? There isn't room in the comic book industry for a genuinely nice female character?
I'm depressed.
What would most fans do, if suddenly, Batman or Superman were to be portrayed as whiney, cowardly, and completely out of character, in comparison to their previous depictions? I'm betting that there would be a helluva lot of screaming.
So why is it that when Judd Winick does exactly that to a woman character, there is hardly any outcry at all, except amongst a few? I'm speaking of Tora Olafsdottir, aka Ice of course, but actually, this same scenario can be applied to several other characters. I don't think that Winick portrays women particularly well. I gave up reading Power Girl, whom I am VERY fond of, because he made her suddenly totally incompetent. For twelve glorious issues, Palmiotti and Gray and Amanda Conner had portrayed her as smart and sassy and fun to be around. Now she's lost her joie de vivre, not to mention all her money, and seems to be stumbling around from crisis to crisis without a clue. Not my cup of tea.
Ice, whom I have pointed out before has ALWAYS been portrayed as one of the nicest, sweetest most loveable characters in the DC Universe. She wasn't a first tier character, and she may not have been everyone's favorite character, but I honestly can't think of too many people who didn't at least like her. I've always loved Ice. I know that she made her debut in the Global Guardians, but it was in the old Justice League that she came to life, along with her best friend Fire, and I thought that she was a breath of fresh air.
It isn't necessary for a woman to be "strong" if it means that she's going to be portrayed as bitchy. Tora was sweet and gentle, but she had a core of steel that was always depicted as being there when she needed it. And having Guy Gardner for a boyfriend meant that she needed it a whole lot. She just didn't go around making a big production out of it. It was NICE having someone who was...nice.
I understand that coming back from the dead can be disconcerting, but I just can't get over the way that Winick is portraying her in the bi-weekly series of JLI. I actually am enjoying the new series, because I love the characters, but every other week, it still sticks in my craw, when Tora starts swearing.
Superman doesn't act like this, and for good reason. And if someone suddenly started writing him that way, there would be one fair old hullabaloo. Pissing and moaning, and cursing doesn't make Ice look tough or strong...it makes her look pathetic. I can't think of a single person who thought that the unfortunate darkening of Mary Marvel was a good idea...so why would they think that it was a good idea to blacken the good name of the last Good Girl that they have? There isn't room in the comic book industry for a genuinely nice female character?
I'm depressed.
It Turns Out that I am NOT the Man!
Sorry, people, but I've been absent for a few days due to GODDAMNED Computer problems! Whew! I am therefore issuing a new ruling in my house, that Nobody touches this fershlugginer computer except to check their e-mail, except ME!!!!! I bought it, I set it up, I get it repaired, and certain teenagers who shall go unnamed then start cruising for porn or gaming sites, and fill it full of viruses and stuff.
So...did anything exciting happen while I was gone? I went to the comic book store yesturday, and all that they had, was the new Batman: Odyssey, and a different Batman book that reprinted some lost stories or something. Oh, and the book about Kevin Maguire that I had ordered. No new Brightest Day, no new JLI, no NOTHING! I don't know if my store got shorted, or if that is all that there was.
I do have to say that I'm enjoying the heck out of Neal Adam's Batman book though. It's absolutely terrible, the plot has Batman being a nervous Nellie, and going emo all over the place, making stupid mistakes, and in general NOT behaving like an omnipotent creature of the Night. Frankly, I'm laughing myself sick. It's just so much fun watching Bats run around making a flaming ass of himself, that I'm just delighted. I would imagine that the hardcore Batman fans are simply horrified. Oh, and the art is pretty too.
Man, I've got to get back into the swing of things, and finish reloading all my music and favorite sites, and all that important stuff.
So...did anything exciting happen while I was gone? I went to the comic book store yesturday, and all that they had, was the new Batman: Odyssey, and a different Batman book that reprinted some lost stories or something. Oh, and the book about Kevin Maguire that I had ordered. No new Brightest Day, no new JLI, no NOTHING! I don't know if my store got shorted, or if that is all that there was.
I do have to say that I'm enjoying the heck out of Neal Adam's Batman book though. It's absolutely terrible, the plot has Batman being a nervous Nellie, and going emo all over the place, making stupid mistakes, and in general NOT behaving like an omnipotent creature of the Night. Frankly, I'm laughing myself sick. It's just so much fun watching Bats run around making a flaming ass of himself, that I'm just delighted. I would imagine that the hardcore Batman fans are simply horrified. Oh, and the art is pretty too.
Man, I've got to get back into the swing of things, and finish reloading all my music and favorite sites, and all that important stuff.
Can We Make a Contest out of This?
Yesturday, I poured out my venom against stupid people on my blog,and felt considerably refreshed afterwards. In fact it was SO cathartic, that I'm considering extending this benefit to all of YOU!
Come up with the most idiotic things that people or customers or co-workers have said to you at your beloved place of employment. Leave out the names of course, to protect the innocent...and vengeful.
I don't know if I actually have a prize...other than a hearty "WOW"! but still...that's worth something. And you'll feel SO much better.
And then we'll all make fun of Geoforce.
Come up with the most idiotic things that people or customers or co-workers have said to you at your beloved place of employment. Leave out the names of course, to protect the innocent...and vengeful.
I don't know if I actually have a prize...other than a hearty "WOW"! but still...that's worth something. And you'll feel SO much better.
And then we'll all make fun of Geoforce.
Disgruntled
Man what a day! Thank goodness it is Friday and I don't have to go into work tomorrow, because I was THIS close to having a...moment. Is it a full moon or something? Something in the water? Because I seemed to only get stupid people today.
I had a guy call at about 10:00 in the morning to ask if we were open. On a weekday, in the morning. I can understand asking our hours, but as far as I know, October lst is not a holiday of any sort.
I had a woman call and ask for our asst. manager, who happened to be at a different store today, so I asked if she wanted that store's number or if someone could help her at our location. She asked for a pencil to jot down the number. She asked ME on the TELEPHONE for a pencil. Then she began shrieking at her kids, and hung up on me. She did eventually call back and ask for the SAME asst. Manager, although at least this time she did manage to get her hands on a writing tool.
It was raining BUCKETS! That was one scary commute this morning.
All I really want to do is come home, have some tea and bury myself in the soft comforting bosom of my comics. On the other hand, that' a rather unfortunate simile. I really SHOULD stop reading bodice rippers.
I...need a hug.
Frankly, I know just how Guy feels.
I had a guy call at about 10:00 in the morning to ask if we were open. On a weekday, in the morning. I can understand asking our hours, but as far as I know, October lst is not a holiday of any sort.
I had a woman call and ask for our asst. manager, who happened to be at a different store today, so I asked if she wanted that store's number or if someone could help her at our location. She asked for a pencil to jot down the number. She asked ME on the TELEPHONE for a pencil. Then she began shrieking at her kids, and hung up on me. She did eventually call back and ask for the SAME asst. Manager, although at least this time she did manage to get her hands on a writing tool.
It was raining BUCKETS! That was one scary commute this morning.
All I really want to do is come home, have some tea and bury myself in the soft comforting bosom of my comics. On the other hand, that' a rather unfortunate simile. I really SHOULD stop reading bodice rippers.
I...need a hug.
Frankly, I know just how Guy feels.
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