Multiversity Comics: July 2009

Friday Recommendation: The Invisibles

- Posted by Carina Avila on Friday, July 31, 2009

Being the newbie has it's perks. I get to call dibs on doing the Friday Recommendation for this week and I have chosen it to be about one of my favorite comic books by what seems to be an author all the contributors and readers of this blog enjoy.

Through his seminal stories for Starblazer, 2000 AD, Animal Man and Doom Patrol, Grant Morrison had established a formidable reputation as a writer of seriously dark and adult comic books to rival Alan Moore and Frank Miller. The series that he had always wanted to write--a fusion of every conspiracy theory, counter-culture rebellion and political plot ever--finally became a reality when DC Comic's Vertigo imprint launched the first installment of The Invisibles.

Part of Morrison's sheer genius was to take familiar conspiracy and disinformation culture memes - Philip K. Dick's Vast Active Living Intelligence, Terence McKenna's 2012 Omega Point, the Rennes le Chateau mystery, Situationism: and re-shape them into new scenarios. The Invisibles series is full of encyclopedic cut-and-paste references to films, pop music icons, tabloid controversies, historical figures, fringe science theories and even more. If this already sounds like Morrison at his finest, you'd be right. The series was broken up into three separate volumes for it's original Vertigo run. The thing with these volumes is you couldn't really begin a volume without reading the one prior because the breaks between each one are natural breathing points for the story, much like episodes of a TV series or movie sequels.

The first series chronicled the initiation of Dane McGowan, a troubled teenager from Liverpool, becoming "Jack Frost" (who may very well be a manifestation of Buddha). Offered the chance to join an Invisibles cell led by the enigmatic King Mob, a former horror writer named Gideon Starorzewski, Frost becomes a key part of their battles against the Cyphermen and the Outer Church. Morrison hints in places that these two opposing forces fighting to control humanity may simply be two sides of the same coin. The Invisibles continued to break new ground with characters like the trans-gender Brazillian sorceress Lord Fanny and the time-traveller Ragged Robin, but his attention to historical detail (featuring author Mary Shelley, libertine the Marquis de Sade, George Byron and Percy Shelley as characters) and unusual locations perhaps alienated a target U.S. comic-phile audience unfamiliar to multi-layered complexity and ambiguity.

Changes were made for series two positioning The Invisibles cell as a classic DC Comics team. The Dionysian rebels were transplanted to more familiar X-Files settings like UFO-lore's Dulce military base in New Mexico with powerful results because Morrison still played with audience expectations. Set a year later whilst the Invisibles recuperate in America, the series answered many questions and filled in the relevant backstory to our heroes. Somehow, the stories still retained a dark edge: Invisibles members are manipulated by subversive mind-control technology from the Outer Church, and are torn apart by tension and betrayal. Travelling across multiple time lines, the Invisibles uncover the multi-dimensional horrors unleashed by Robert Oppenheimer at the Trinity atomic bomb tests that signifying the original Biblical Fall. Virtual assassins, tantric sex rites that warp space-time topography, reslity viruses, immersion tank fiction-suits, Monarch butterflies and aggregate languages spread by alien anti-bodies all feature in a dizzying story arc. This vast scope features an alternative cosmology to the Big Bang where our universe is the phase boundary between an ailing and a healthy universe (suggested by Michael Grady and Hannes Alfvens).

With the third and final series, Morrison again surprised fans by choosing to count down to the millennium. While the issue itself had been scheduled to be released in time for the year 2000, publishing issues caused it to get pushed back until April. Self-referential and playfully ironic humour underlies references to Moonchild coronations and British Royal Family conspiracies, which are but minor details in a perpetual war. And hopefully, the prodigious Morrison will reveal the identity and purpose of Barbelith: a mysterious satellite relic/alien stone orbiting behind the Moon.

This series itself can cause me to write 10,000 word dissertations about it. I feel like I have done the impossible in successfully (at least in my terms) describing each volume to you. This blog has become what Matt, David, Gil, and I like to call the "Grant Morrison fan club" and I'm only doing my part in hoping that some of you will pick up at the very least the first volume and enjoy it as much as I have. It's one of the most funny, outrageous, weird and occasionally rather poignant comic books I have ever read and it's a good example of what the comic book medium has to offer. The fact that it will never reach the kind of audience it deserves is a terrible shame and if I have somehow influenced at least a handful of you to at least consider picking it up I have done my job.

Wednesday Is New Comic Book Day! (7-29-09)

- Posted by Matthew Meylikhov on Thursday, July 30, 2009

Welcome to another exciting issue of Wednesday Is New Comic Book Day! Remember to keep checking back as we put our reviews up, or you'll never know what to read!

MATT'S REVIEWS

Ultimatum #5

Remember last week? I read and reviewed Incredible Hulk #600 and I ripped it to tiny pieces. Then I picked up those tiny pieces and ripped them into even tinier pieces. Since that still wasn't enough, I doomed their existance to the Anti-Matter Universe (just to add comic book company insult to comic book company injury). Those who have been keeping up with WINCBD also know that I have smashed and slammed every issue of Ultimatum every chance I get. Everyone here at Multiversity has a particular comic book related "villain" that we antagonize. For Carina, it's Rob Liefeld and his stunning artwork. For David, it's the Sentry. For me? It's Jeph Loeb.

So now that Ultimatum is done and over with, what did I think of the big finale? Meh. I know, you're surprised, but in all honesty, I didn't hate it. While I didn't loathe Ultimates 3 like everyone else did (although it was a serious departure from anything resembling decency in the Marvel U), I thought Ultimatum could still be ok. I mean, Loeb did write Hush, and Hush is a favorite of mine! Ultimatum 1 also didn't start out horrendous. It was a big explosion and upheavel and it didn't hold back. Interesting enough, right? But with every subsequent issue, it continued to show Loeb's severe lack of anything resembling talent. Loeb favors style over substance and would much rather show an unneccesary shot of the Blob eating the Wasp rather than develop any real reason for us to care that the Wasp is dead. Hell, it's not the real Wasp, and when she died at the end of Secret Invasion everyone cared. That was a big deal. This? Meh. And in true Loeb fashion, rather than end it he allows it to have an "air of mystery" at the end, which really translates to "he wasn't clever enough to come up with a legit ending so he's going to put a dark figure in a corner and let someone else figure it out."

So what did we end up with? A rushed attempt at a unifying event that essentially is a reboot to a failing franchise. Not to be overly rude, but the Ultimate line has been suffering since all the big names moved on. Fantastic Four and X-Men dropped into the ground and sank, and Bendis' priorities lay with the real Marvel U so his appreciation of his own fake continuity suffered. The extra Ultimate tie-ins were also very subpar, and even Warren Ellis couldn't put together an interesting enough story. Ultimate Origins, which was supposed to bring light to all the odd continuities and show how everything is connected, ended up being a joke and presenting us with annoying retcons and the most idiotic idea of the Marvel U so far that ended up being a deus ex machina in the end. The Ultimate Universe needed to die. I just wish it had gone out with more of a bang instead of a slow and pathetic whimper.

Hopefully, the rebooted series with Mark Millar, Brian Michael Bendis, and Warren Ellis will all be a bit more interesting. I trust that if we let them start at ground zero and work their way up. If they're smart, they will just work on it casually as an alternate universe thing and not try and incorporate every little detail of the real Marvel U into this one. Sure, Galactus is cool, but Gah Lak Tus was not. Sure, the Clone Saga was crazy and cool and changed Spidey's life forever, but Ultimate Clone Saga was dung. I've read a bit about what Millar and Bendis plan to do, and so far it seems alright. They just need to stick to their original ideas of the Ultimate U, and that's a place to tell new stories with classic characters and none of the restrictions.

Fantastic Four #569

Mark Millar's most recent entry into the Marvel Universe has been quite epic. Putting together a trilogy of seemingly unrelated stories, he crafted a tale that was really magnificent in scope, but in actuality somewhat failed to deliver in the end. At least, with Fantastic Four. 1985 as it's own thing was a good self contained little number - nothing overly special that you'd wanna write home about, but nothing to scoff at either. Old Man Logan so far has been great, and while in the end it's seemingly taking flash over substance with a lot of two page spreads and a lot of story potential being skipped, it's definitely a great read. But without Fantastic Four, you can't link the two of those stories together, and Fantastic Four definitely suffered with the worst ending.

Fantastic Four's beginning run was so amazing in my mind, and it stayed that way until the Masters of Doom arc. Once we got here, we were just given a lot of flashy images but not a lot of development. While we were introduced to the Marquis of Death, we had no real reason to sit and/or care about him other than the fact he's Doom's Master. The only real reason would be if you've read all of 1985 and OML, as well as the entirety of Milar's run because all points are, seemingly, leading up to this final battle. Sure, it's interesting, and it's definitely bad ass, but I feel like this lacks some of Millar's clever abilities at writing stories. When you look at his alternate reality Superman in Red Son, comprised of 3 oversized issues, and then you look at this, you just kind of wonder. However, I do really like the ending. While I don't believe in spoiling anything about this read, it definitely sets a whole new dynamic for the Fantastic four's hero/villain dynamic.

My only other real complaint with this issue is that Hitch didn't draw it. Hitch had been doing every issue of this series up to this point and it was utterly fantastic (pun intended). However, in this last issue Stuart Immonen was brought on board to finalize the project. It was a bit jarring at first, and when it settled in and we started seeing the bigger two-page epic spreads Millar concocted, I began to miss Hitch's work a lot. There is one final epic universe expanding/shattering battle at the end that would have been amazing if drawn by Hitch. While Immonen did fine, all things considered, it would have been better done by Hitch, and I felt that really took away from the finale. I don't like it when art is changed around like that, no matter what the delay. I'd rather wait for the finale so it could be done right rather than have a new person come in to attempt to imitate a style, even if that new artist is someone I like. It's just a slight pet peeve.

All in all, Fantastic Four ended all right. Considering what had been done up to this point, it kind of pales in comparison, but it's still an entertaining story and it's definitely pretty bad ass, and I think that's what Millar is realy known for. He writes these alternate reality type stories that, when it comes down to it, are just bad ass. I've never been a huge Fantastic Four fan, but with this issue I definitely want to keep reading (and with Hickman on board, who doesn't!) further.

Dark Reign: The Hood #3

I'm a pretty big supporter of the Hood. I think that he's one of the coolest new characters to receive the Bendis' treatment of fame. However, this whole Dark Reign stuff is confusing, and it ultimately ends up detracting from the character. Let me break it down:

On the one hand, I love this book. It really is a sequel to Brian K Vaughn's initial book about the guy, and it actually shines a whole new light on the events that took place in said book. There were a lot of loose ends that were pretty aggravating all things considered, and Bendis essentially ignored them and reshaped the character for his own needs. This issue takes the new Hood stuff and makes it work with the Hood's origin, and I think this is a great touch. I also love the character exploration of Parker Robbins. He's ultimately not a bad guy, just a very amoral character who will do what he needs to get by. He doesn't take a lot of people into consideration as he does his thing, but he definitely has feelings.

On the other hand, I can't tell if this is canon or not. I mean, I suppose it's supposed to be, but it doesn't match up with the rest of the current Marvel U. Or does it? I don't know. I'm having a hard time understanding where this fits in because the representation of the Hood here is different other representations of the Hood. Look, I get that people will reinterpret characters when they need to, and this is ultimately a necessity in order to create character development, but I don't know who the real Hood is anymore. In one book, the Hood loves the power Dormamu gives him. In this book, he hates it. So which is it?

He's such a complex character because no one can decide who he really is. I'd imagine that right now Bendis is pretty much the Hood mastermind because all of it works ultimately into his final plan to finish off Dark Reign (eventually), but I wish that the people who were working on the Hood would collaborate a bit more. I like the character, but he needs definition.

X-Men Forever #4

I love the first three issues of this series absolutely. This is the first issue that I felt was kind of slow/predictable. The first 3 issues were very cool, a great remix of the old 90's style that brought me into comics in the first place. However, this issue felt slow, and the shocking ending wasn't so much a shocking ending as it was the only logical solution. My thoughts are actually pretty consolidated on this issue like that. Chris Claremont's return to X-Men is 100% welcome and incredibly exciting, but as excited as I was for this issue initially I felt a bit left down. We pick up exactly where we leave off, but I understand there was so much to do with the five issues of this arc. A twist had to be revealed, and while it came out it just seemed so mundane that I didn't find myself clamoring for the next issue as much as I did between other issues. Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited to see the finale, and to see where the book continues to go from here. This issue felt a lot like a stagnant filler point, though.

Perhaps it's my negativity seeping in from my disappointment in the other books I've reviewed this week that's causing me to look at this in a more negative prospect, just keep in mind this book really is a treat. A gift, even. Claremont's original run was cut short by Marvel as the company wanted to do other things, but now they're allowing us to see how he would have ended it, and it's a very exciting prospect for those of us who read the comics when we were younger and remember his run as the defining run of the X-Men. While I love the modern day X-Men stuff Fraction is writing, Claremont's X-Men will always be the definition of how it should be, with a core cast of characters and everything in it's right place. So even though I didn't care for this issue, I still recommend this series through the roof.

Ignition City #4

Warren Ellis is one of the hardest working men in the comic industry today. Seriously, have you seen the amount of books that he is working on/involved with? He's got an upcoming Ultimate Comics title, he's got about 10 different books on Avatar, a new "issue" of Freak Angels every week, and the upcoming Planetary final issue. Of course, then there's my favorite little gem of his: Ignition City.

This issue is my favorite out of all the books that I've reviewed this week. In just 4 issues, Ellis managed to craft a world that I cared about with characters that mattered to me, and this issue brought in a brand new character who is most definitely my favorite, if only for his constant screaming of "science!" I felt like the art in this issue really stood out a lot because it primarily took place in a single setting, yet the backgrounds always felt incredibly rich and full of life and texture. This issue also set in motion the events that will certainly lead to the final act of this mini, so it's a very exciting tease.

My only complaint, and it's a minor one at that, is that I wish this wasn't just a five issue mini. I've heard rumors that the story will continue in later volumes of minis, but I feel like this whole book would make a great on going story, perhaps on Vertigo or something.

Either way, I'm very excited to see how this is going to wrap up. We've only had 4 issues, but I really enjoy this story a lot. I'm a steampunk junkie as it is, but this definitely hits all the right notes regardless.

DAVID'S REVIEWS

Secret Warriors #6

At this point, I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record about Secret Warriors. I have no problem sharing that I think this is the best book Marvel is making today, and in terms of straight up superhero books this is probably my favorite as well (apologies go out to Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps and Secret Six!). From top to bottom this book is quality. From the entertaining and occasionally quite shocking plot laid out by Jonathan Hickman and Brian Michael Bendis, to the script loaded with humor and grade A one liners, to the career best work by penciler Stefano Caselli, this is just ridiculously great work.

This issue does two things: it wraps up the first arc (and Bendis’ last) of the series and it finally finds the team coming together and becoming everything Fury thought his young caterpillars could become. It does all this in stunning fashion, as the Secret Warriors find themselves in the midst of an intense fight against both Hydra and HAMMER forces as Fury and Dum Dum Dugan execute a plan to steal back old SHIELD helicarriers. Caselli renders the action sequences in larger than life ways (quite literally at times), as every fight happening on the page feels like a near-death experience for our favorite characters. Given that Hickman has proven he has no problem knocking characters out of commission, it makes these fights seem all the more intense.

Not only did we get a fantastic wrap up, but Hickman set us up with tasty tidbits for the future, including two massively intriguing situations where a double cross is shown or at the very least evident, and the Secret Warriors team leader Daisy confronting Fury with the same questions the readers have been asking. Bendis may be jumping off, but I really feel like this book will be just fine without him, as Hickman has a firm grip on everyone involved and Caselli is the man.

Justice Society Of America #29

This issue marks a brand new start to the topsy turvy new volume of Justice Society of America. While it has been fantastic at times (the Thy Kingdom Come arc and the early stuff), I sort of always had the feeling that Geoff Johns and Dale Eaglesham did not accomplish all they could have with this book. In the hands of new writing team Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges along with new series artist Jesus Merino, we’re given a new beginning with basically the same team, yet there is a similar feel from before.

While the team is still crazy enormous (two new characters? Come on now, the team is already gigantic), Willingham and Sturges did a very smart thing by giving us one narrator for the whole issue (Jay Garrick) and a few key characters whose perspectives we’d focus on (the new All American Kid, Stargirl and Mr. Terrific). However, while it helps, the fact of the matter is this fresh start puts us exactly where we were before with this book: with a massive roster of characters and very few who actually stand out amongst the rest. Without any characters really stepping up (besides Magog who is an ass and instantly earns my derision because of his connection to Kingdom Come), this issues is kind of a mess.

It does provide us with a few genuinely surprising moments and is fairly entertaining, plus Merino has a great feel for the look of all the characters, but given the “all new!” nature of this issue, it sure feels like more of the same to me. I’ll stick it out for a bit more, but unless Willingham and Sturges pick it up, this book will go back to not being on my pull list quite quickly.

Thunderbolts #134

Given that we went from a writer who writes pure gold (Warren Ellis) to an acclaimed one who I’d never read before (Andy Diggle), I was quite skeptical. Of course, I was foolish to be as this book continues to be every bit as entertaining as Ellis’ extremely awesome run (and secretly has been for the entirety of its existence).

With this issue, former Thunderbolt and fugitive from the law Songbird continues her run as Norman Osborn’s black ops team gets closer and closer to tracking her down. Within these pages, Diggle perfectly captures the voice of three old standout T-Bolts (Songbird, Mach IV, and Fixer), along with developing two of the more recently created characters in Headsman and the mysterious Mr. X. Given the dynamic of this team (one obvious traitor, a number of hired guns, and a few complete wild cards who may just be involved to take everyone out), any interaction is an intense and often entertaining one. This issue is full of them, especially the one between the aforementioned Headsman and Mr. X. Not only that, but you even have a power struggle at the top, with the traitorous Black Widow being replaced as team leader by Scourge (as in of the underworld, as in a maniacal murderer…probably).

Of course when you get down to it, this issue is very good until the very end, when it becomes truly excellent after a huge reveal (one that I didn’t even see coming). It turns out not all is as it seems at Thunderbolts Mountain, and the rest of this arc is set up to be an extremely exciting one. While Miguel Sepulveda does a solid job on this issue, I must admit I miss Roberto de la Torre’s work on this, as the grit and intensity he adds to scenes is occasionally sorely missing. Regardless, this book continues to be one of the best Dark Reign titles and I really can’t wait to see it start dovetailing in with the rest of the Marvel universe.

Northlanders #19

As a rule, I pick up every new title that Vertigo puts out. It is fact that almost everything they put out is quality, and you should only avoid a new series if it features a creator that you strongly dislike (i.e. Howard Chaykin). Northlanders was an even easier sell, as it is written by Local and DMZ creator Brian Wood and it is about Vikings. Who doesn’t want to read about Vikings?

No less, the story never really follows the same characters around for long, instead giving us snippets into the life of a Viking for two to four issue arcs at a time. This issue wrapped up a new arc called “the Shield Maidens”, and was another standout for Wood and his artist of the arc (Wood’s collaborator switches up each arc) Danijel Zezelj. There isn’t anything really dynamic about how this issue is presented. Wood chooses in this arc to forsake stylish misdirection (which appeared in his last arc) for just straight up violence and good storytelling. He wraps up the story of the wives of Danish warriors and their tale of revenge and preservation of life in stunning fashion, especially when he reveals Thyra’s final fate. Worth a read just to see what Wood does with her.

This book continues to be an under-read gem, as I’m one of the few people at my local comic store picking it up. I highly recommend picking up the trades for this series, as it is another well made book by Vertigo and Wood. Plus, it’s about Vikings! How can that possibly not be awesome?!

Unknown Soldier #10

Before this series came out, I decided to pick up the trade of Vertigo’s 1997 series of the same name, as written by Garth Ennis. That series provided me a general idea of what I would be getting into, but really, it isn’t remotely similar to what this book is really like. I’m going to admit at first I somewhat dreaded reading this book as it was somewhat slow to roll out, but now that it is ten issues in Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli’s book is an absolute gem.

This issue follows the titular protagonist (aka Dr. Lwanga Moses) as he attempts to kill movie star and Ugandan rights activist Margaret Wells, and what it does for his sanity when he fails completely. Moses is a completely engrossing character, as he is a character who desperately wants to resolve the horrible situation in Uganda (as based on the actual situation in Uganda) but is uncertain if he can truly do so. The most interest dynamic that Dysart imbues Moses with is the fact that he desperately grasps to his sanity, but the more he does the less effective he is in his personal war against the status quo. The more crazy and murderous he is, the more effective he is. It’s a horrible teeter totter Dysart has set him up on, but it provides for intense situations and incredible drama.

With each passing arc Dysart’s stories and characters become more connected and well drawn and Ponticelli grows increasingly in sync with him, and this book is moving up in the ranks of Vertigo books as well. Another hit for Vertigo, and another gem for Dysart.

GIL'S REVIEWS

New Avengers #55

It's just like Marvel to put Wolverine is a book he's not even in. While Wolverine has his hands full with the X-Men/Dark Avengers crossover(I know, it's weird. Marvel is actually respecting contiuity right now) over in San Francisco, the rest of the team have their own Secret Society to deal with. But like I said, Wolverine has to find his way in there, so he's passed out on the couch in a flashback. OK, now that I've given you your daily dose of Logan, let's move on.

Immonen's art is as good as it's ever been in this issue, beaturifully rendering Captain America and company along with Parker Robbin's group of baddies. While it's a really birght highlight, that's as far as it goes. Spider-Man, usually a great source of comic relief and quotable one-liners, has become preachy, a little self-righteous, and whiny. If I have to hear him complain about sharing his secret again, I swear I'll find a way to punch Peter in the Spider-Nuts. The ending, while being heart-wrenching because our team is certainly i nthe position depicted on the cover is that...it doesn't make sense. Why can't Spider-Man hold onto webbing anymore? Webbing isn't part of his power set. Why can't Clint Barton do anything but collapse into a lump on the ground? He's not a superhuman, so the villains little doohicky should have no effect on him whatsoever.

War of Kings: Ascension #4

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Darkhawk. I'm not even reading the main War of Kings event, and I had to pick up this title. The series as a whole has really turned the character status quo on his head. Streamlining the character while simulataneously expanding his role in the Marvel U as a whole.

The art is fantastic and it fits really well with the action packed script. My only problem is a continuity error on the part of Abnett and Lanning. Being a fan of Darkhawk with a freakishly sharp memory, I know his method of deafeating the other Raptor shouldn't work. It just shouldn't. But that's a nitpick, from a superfan that remembers way more than he should.

Superman #690

What is there to say about this book. It's so eratic and all over the place, I could not connect to any one bit of the book. There are several disjointed points of view that don't have anything to do with Superman, other than that they're in Metropolis. The best would be featuring John Henry Irons. To put it bluntly, I DON'T CARE about The Sentry. I DON'T CARE that he has a guy on his team who's gay. I JUST DON'T CARE. And What is this about Zatara?(Zatanna's...brother? cousin? I'm not sure. This isn't Teen Titans.) The only way this is Superman related is the villain that shows up for two seconds. I fee like I'm reading Wednesday Comics again, and one is enough. Thanks.

The New Krypton arc as a whole is starting to wear thin, much like The Dark Reign.

Blackest Night: Tales Of The Corp #3

This was easily the best of the mini-series. Instead of spotlighting new characters, or characters that we don't care about, it focuses on two of the more popular ancillary characters, like the Green Lantern Drill Instructor, Kilowog, when he was in boot camp. This is Peter Tomasi at the top of his game, where you actually care about what's going on. I can honestly say by the end of it, I was really rooting for the young Kilowog, and feeling for the losses sustained by the Corps. There's even a cameo from a certain Lantern who's since fallen from grace. The second story was a little hokey, but also a lot of fun. It gave us the history of Arisia, the Lantern from the sector next door(so to speak). Her family was unique in the fact that they were all Green Lanterns. Kind of a hardcore famly business! The emotion is palpable when you see the ring go through the family, until it finally reaches Arisia. Again, this is

The art is pretty pretty stellar in both stories, with the edge going to Arisia's origin, because Mark Mayhew's art has a real polished, almost watercolor style to it. It's lovely to look at. Much like Arisia herself. But that's not detracting from Kilowog's "New Blood." Far from it. New Blood is beaturiful to look at, but is more gritty, which is far more suiting to the theme of the short. Kudos.

Wednesday Comics #4

Ahhh, the thing us men do to get laid. That's the premise so far for Kamandi, and well, I think all men can can relate to that. This is vast improvement over last weeks stalemate-a-thon. some clips seem to be trapped in a holding pattern, and it doesn't feel like they will go anywhere satisfyingly enough. Green Lantern is getting ready for a flashback only a third of the way through the arc, and Supergirl is STILL chasing those damn pets. Cats are douchebags, even when they have superpowers hailing from Krypton. The Flash is a time-travel clip, and time-travel always gives me a headache. He arrives ten minutes to Grodd's hideout the second time ten minutes before he did the first time? Ow. Superman is getting far more interesting. The art is gorgeous(probably the best in the collection) and the story is finally ramping up (read: no Toy Story Aliens) to a place where I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next week. And no, not because I'm a Superman fan. I'm actually enjoying the Metal Men portion, and it contains a twist that had me worried for Dr. Magnus and his metallic cohorts. I'm going to admit I've given up on Wonder Woman. Nightmare on Themiscyra St. is unecessarily verbose(unlike me, of course) and the art isn't too eye catching, so I stopped wasting my time. Batman feels really old-timey and such, but there's no Batman. bruce Wayne, sure. But I don't need to see how he's getting laid by some femme fatale. I want to see him in costume beating up bad guys with batarangs and Bat Female Villain Repellent Spray. We see more of Batman in the Hawkman venture. and it's just a talking silohuette. Seriously.

Marvel To Release Two Japanime Films

- Posted by Matthew Meylikhov on Thursday, July 30, 2009

Animated super hero shows/films are a very lucrative market for comic book companies. Not only do they cost less to make, but they're much easier to get out and they're somewhat always in demand. Fanboys love the animated movies because they keep closer to canon and don't suffer from Hollywood syndromme, and kids new to the stories are there to fill all remaining gaps because all kids like cartoons. Essentially - this is a goldmine.

But what's another goldmine as far as cartoons of the moment go? Anime.

Let's face it: Japanimation is a hot market. The kids love it because Japanese animation is the most frequent type of existing cartoon, older kids love it because the stories are ridiculous (and sometimes awesome), and adults love it because they grew up with it. Everywhere you turn, you will see some kind of Japanese Animated whosawhatsit. It could be as annoying as Bakugan or as popular as Dragonball Z - I don't care. It's there. And Marvel wants a piece of the pie too. Marvel made a deal with Madhouse, the company that previously produced Hulk Vs. for them, to make two animated feature films on the two most popular characters in the film Marvel world: Wolverine and Iron Man. They brought in Warren Ellis and said, "Hey. Write us two cool films." And he did. And now, we have trailers. BEHOLD:

Wolverine

After I watched this, all I could say was, "Hahahaha, really?" This looks to be the most ridiculous thing ever. Ok, so Wolverine is in Japan. Makes sense. But since when was Wolverine some guy with long flowing hair and no side burns? Heck, it almost looks like he has un-curled Jewish side burns with that hair! It's positively ridiculous. It's also positively AWESOME. There comes a point when things just pass the border of seemingly idiotic to amusingly badass, and I feel like this movie will do just that. I can't imagine it really having any kind of real plot, but what it will have is the most ridiculous looking Wolverine in the world finding giant samurai. I don't think I could ever take this seriously but I would most definitely watch it.

Iron Man

This looks to be a lot more serious. Did anyone ever see the two Karas movies? No? Ok, well this is what I thought of after watching this trailer. Karas played out more like a Japanime Green Lantern, but I think the same basic concept lies within. We have no idea if this is going to be an origin story (probably not) or just Iron Man being bad ass, but I get a better sense that this movie will be the more legitimate one. While the Wolverine movie features mondo hair Logan versus giant samurai, this looks to be a film about man in machine versus man in machine, and that's a pretty core Iron Man idea when you get down to the nuts and bolts. This trailer definitely intrigues me more.

New Bone? Sign me up!

- Posted by David Harper on Thursday, July 30, 2009

I want you right now

Jeff Smith's Bone series has long been a favorite of mine. My brother started collecting it when it first came out (we have the entire series in issue form) and on a monthly basis this comic caught our imagination like very few others did. Through its 55 issues, Bone continued to get better and better, transitioning from a funny book about three odd brothers lost in a foreign land into a sprawling fantasy adventure story with the greatest of ease (and it even added "stupid, stupid rat creatures!" to our vocabularly for a lengthy stretch). One way or another it never lost its heart.

Now after the series has become an enormous worldwide hit for children and adults alike (millions sold...hard to believe but unbelievably fantastic), Jeff Smith and Scholastic announced that new material will be coming out for the first time in five years.

There will be two new pieces of material from the Boneverse. The first up will be coming in the summer of 2010, and as Jeff Smith says it's a "major repackaging" of an older release he and collaborator Tom Sniegoski put together in 1999 titled Stupid, Stupid Rat-Tails. It will feature the story from that, but it will also feature a long out-of-print story from Smith's Disney Adventures work and two new Big Johnson Bone stories from Sniegoski. Not only that, but these stories will be told by Phoney and Bartleby to three Bone Scouts after they've returned to Boneville. Considering the fact that anything featuring Phoney and Bartleby is complete gold, color me excited.

Then, the pièce de résistance. In 2011, Scholastic will release the first of three new Bone novels as written by Sniegoski titled Bone: Quest for the Spark. While it is not written by Smith nor does it feature any of the primary characters, Smith promises that we will see some old favorites (Roderick the Racoon and stupid, stupid rat creatures are mentioned) and that it is completely hilarious. Scholastic obviously was head over heels for the idea (I'm pretty sure the executives who first heard this idea only heard "ka-ching, ka-ching" repeating in their head as Smith and Sniegoski spoke), and requested that Smith add illustrations. There will be "about twenty, full bleed and in color" according to Smith, which just adds to the amazing.

While I am a pinch skeptical about the whole thing (the series ended so well, why keep going to that well?), I am very excited to see new material coming out involving this universe and these characters. I'm really hoping that they will match the quality Smith has given us up to this point, and come on, is it really that much to ask for a Roque Ja appearance? Come on Sniegoski.

Dr. Manhattan's Pants

- Posted by Matthew Meylikhov on Wednesday, July 29, 2009

This isn't news... but it's still worth a post:

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

The Avengers: John Barrowman Wants To Be Captain America (And We Support It!)

- Posted by Matthew Meylikhov on Wednesday, July 29, 2009

If there's one thing being overly discussed at the moment, it's most definitely the upcoming Avengers film from Marvel. The Avengers are, without a doubt, Marvel's team. Sure, we've got the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, but there is no team that really says all there is about Marvel except the Avengers. Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man are essentially Marvel's Holy Trinity of heroes (whereas DC is Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman). And now that Marvel is producing a series of inter-connected super hero films (which is how it should have been done from the start), everyone is wondering who is going to play who? In the past, I discussed the pick for Thor in great detail (and why I thought it could work), and we already have Tony Stark (which we've already seen work). We also have our Nick Fury, Black Widow, and Hulk.

But what about the leader of the Avengers? Who is going to shout "AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!" in the film while the fanboys (like myself) fall over?

At Comic-Con this weekend, actor John Barrowman (most famously known in the geek world for his iconic role as Captain Jack Harkness, leader of Torchwood) announced at the Doctor Who/Torchwood panel that he wanted to play Captain America. He then quickly remarked that because he said this, it "totally won't." But you know what? I think it totally should. John Barrowman is actually a ridiculously skilled actor. I don't know how many readers here have watched Torchwood, but the man has this air about him on the show that no other actor has in the Doctor Whoniverse (except maybe the Doctor himself). In fact, Barrowman/Harkness was the only thing that kept me watching the show episode after episode until the phenomenal third season, of course, and now I just love the show. Torchwood's third season, or miniseries, showed the kind of character that Barrowman clearly has the ability to play. He can play a guy who is affable but serious, and most importantly a good leader. He can also play a guy who can make the decisions no one else has the ability to make. This is what Steve Rogers is all about. While I can't say Rogers would make as many jokes as Harkness does (or comment on how attractive a dog is), Rogers is a leader and a revolutionary at his core. Above all suggestions for Cap, Barrowman is the first one that I sat back and say, "Holy frak, this could REALLY work." Barrowman is the first actor who I've considered and WANTED to work. In fact, now I can't see anyone BUT Barrowman in the suit! And he doesn't look too bad with the blonde-hair blue-eyes awesome-chin look.

Let's face it: Marvel is getting real. The Dark Knight changed things. Forever. (Get it?) Most people (not me) are tired of run of the mill superhero films and want something serious. Fantastic Four with Chris Evans and Jessica Alba just isn't going to cut it anymore! Marvel is going for a whole new era in their film adaptations and not allowing studios to take over and do their own thing while putting Marvel's name on it. They're picking actors who have serious chops to them, as well as trying to find directors who aren't satisfied with the bare minimum. We've got Kenneth Branaugh directing Thor, as well as primarily stage actors in the main roles. We've got Robert Downey Jr and Edward Norton, both Oscar nominated actors, as our heroes and talented folks like Jeff Bridges, Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell, William Hurt, Tim Roth, and Tim Blake Nelson all putting in contributions to the film Marvel U. So who is left for Captain America? We need someone serious, someone talented, and someone who can really take a role and make it an icon. We also need someone with the appropriate build who is big and muscular but not a behemoth of a man. We need a man like John Barrowman. Leo DeCaprio? Brad Pitt? No thank you. I'll take my red, white and blue with a little more talent, thanks.

So what did I, the humble owner of Multiversity Comics and John Barrowman fanboy did? I made a petition. That's right - all those "We want so and so to be so and so" online petitions that seemingly never work? I made another one. I made one that I want to work. So sign it, send it around, and let's see if we can't ignite a little spark in someone's office. Let's see if we can get just one person involved with the development of the film to say, "You know? This Torchwood: Children Of Earth DVD is really good. Somebody call this guy's agent!" Let's see if we can get someone awesome to play one of the greatest comic book characters of all time.

You've got your homework. GO!

Marvel vs Capcom 2 Out Today on XBOX Live!

- Posted by Matthew Meylikhov on Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Awwwwww, yeah! You know what time it is! It's time to turn on your XBOXs and download this awesome fighter and re-live the glory days of gaming. Remember when you had to go to the local Bowladrome or Arcade to play this? I sure do. Now you have it from the convenience of your own home!

This game, which features a pretty impressive roster of Marvel Comics characters as well as TWO Wolverines (I don't understand this either), costs 1200 MP and is set to consume all of my time, so Wednesday comic reviews might be a little late. However, if you have an XBOX and want to play, my gamertag is Jewnado. I'd be more than happy to throwdown with Spider Fists of Fury, smack talk and all.

The Sentry: Worst Character in Comics?

- Posted by David Harper on Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Golden Guardian of Suck

Everyone who reads comics has their favorite characters. My favorite characters are all versions of the Flash, Kyle Rayner, Jesse Custer, Bigby Wolf, Deadpool...and really the list goes on and on. Quite often though, you're going to have your least favorite character as well. In my case, the character I dislike I have enough disdain for to honestly believe that he is irrefutably the single worst character in comics and in this post I will make my case for it. After my five points I believe you'll even agree with me.

So who is the character?

The Sentry.

1. He’s so over-powered he has to be written out of every event

While the Sentry is seemingly a constant early on in every mega-event that Marvel puts on, he never seems to appear very much in the middle and end of events. There is a pretty good reason why that is, and that's because he's so freaking overpowered that there isn't a lot any writer can do with him.

I mean come on, his first real appearance in a regular continuity Marvel book was in the first arc of New Avengers, in which his first big action scene was flying Carnage up to space and then tearing him in half. Yes...as in Carnage from Spider-Man comics. As in the one that tortured Spidey endlessly and was a legitimate heavy in Marvel comics. The Sentry dealt with him as I would deal with a fly, or as Spider-Man would deal with Paste Pot Pete (minus the killing on the last part).

For an example of the Sentry being completely useless when it comes to events, may I guide you to Secret Invasion or Silent War. In Secret Invasion, Bendis (who is seemingly the only person at Marvel who likes to use the guy) effectively writes him out of the book, sending him deep into space after a Skrull transforms into his alter-ego/nemesis the Void. Poor widdle Sentry, getting scared of the big bad shape shifting alien. No less, the Sentry lasts exactly two issues into Marvel's biggest event before getting completely written out. Nice.

2. If he isn’t, he’s effectively a mobile deus ex machine

Let's say you do want to use the guy in the event. What are you going to do to make him not end it immediately? I mean the guy has the power of one million exploding suns...that sounds pretty powerful. Kind of sounds like someone who can come out of nowhere and pretty much wrap up a story in a snap.

Well, according to Greg Pak's World War Hulk, you use the Sentry's agoraphobia (seriously...more on that later) and his fear of his own power as an excuse for the first four issues, and then you send him in when you paint yourself into a corner, pretty much make him seem crazy and Earth-threatening, and then have the Hulk defeat him to turn him into the hero of the story.

So essentially the only event he was used in, he was saved until the very end so he could reverse the fortune of the primary character and wrap up the story nice and tidy like. Sounds like deus ex machina personified to me.

3. His main personality traits are crazy and…crazier

Back to the agoraphobia thing. So let me get this straight...the Sentry is the most powerful character in Marvel Comics right? From what I understand, it's not even close. But because they want to make sure he isn't a walking game-changer (like he was in WWH), they saddle him with intense agoraphobia and schizophrenia, and not just any schizophrenia, but the type where it manifests itself in the form of your own arch-nemesis.

So the Sentry is the world's greatest superhero but also is afraid of public places and is quite literally his own worst enemy.

Priceless. Completely priceless.

4. The only characters he has a good relationship with are Norman Osborn and Black Bolt

If you were an overpowered superhero with severe mental problems, who would you likely associate yourself with? Unless your answer is the mute ruler of the Inhumans and the sociopathic leader of America's military forces who occasionally wears a goblin mask to get his kicks, then you are mistaken.

Seriously, could you imagine these three hanging out for football Sunday? Sitting around the TV watching the Vikings/Packers, with one of them never speaking, one of them acting very sullen because he's worried he may switch to his other identity and murder the other two, and the other one contemplating how he can most easily murder the other two. Let's just say if there was a draft of Marvel characters that you would want to hang out with, these three would be part of the last five picks, along with the Watcher and Fin Fang Foom.

Not only that, but as a sub-point, the Sentry is ridiculously easy to manipulate. Because the Sentry is overpowered and because Norman Osborn is power hungry and bat shit crazy, ol' Normie moves the Sentry around his chess board like the good little pawn he is. "It's no big deal if you murder a bunch of Atlanteans Robert! They would die without water anyways." Oh Normie...you're such a hoot.

5. I've met Superman, and you sir are no Superman

Last but not least, we have Gil's favorite point. I'm pretty sure I've read this character before. His name was Superman. The only differences between the Sentry and Superman is that Supes doesn't look like a hippie, is not insane, and actually can participate in events without having to be used as a complete deus ex machina. It's crazy! Well, not Sentry crazy, but crazy no less.

My point is this: Marvel is a universe of characters we can relate to and ones that can seemingly be defeated. The Sentry is neither of those. Join me in sharing with Marvel that we've had enough of the Sentry, and that next time he flies off into space in the midst of a world crisis/event comic, he can stay there.

A CHALLENGER APPROACHES: Penance joins M:UA2

- Posted by Matthew Meylikhov on Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Were we even supposed to know this one? I remember that the news of Green Goblin and Venom "leaked," and I have seen nothing from the M:UA2 team promoting this. HOWEVER, I have seen the character video for him so it's definitely legit. Either way, we now have one of the final 3 characters, and he makes 100% sense unlike the last two.

For those don't really know Civil War that well, none of it would have happened without Penance. Or, as he was known at the time, Speedball. See, the reason Civil War happened was the New Warriors were trying to stop a supervillain who exploded in Stamford, Connecticut, killing everyone (women, children, and New Warriors alike) except for Speedball. Filled with grief, he was tried and found guilty for being the cause of all these murders and sent to jail where he was tormented and beaten by other inmates. At the end of the War, however, he was put into the new Thunderbolts rehabilitation program as Penance, the most emo-tastic super hero/villain ever. Including Penance in the games playable roster is something that, to me, is easily understandable. We already have several Thunderbolts on the team anyway, why not add the only one that really matters to Civil War?

2 heroes/villains are left - who will they be?

Green Lantern: First Flight Review

- Posted by Matthew Meylikhov on Tuesday, July 28, 2009

To say that we here at Multiversity are Lantern fanboys (and girl) is to put it lightly. Green Lantern is very easily one of our top heroes, and is probably my third favorite comic book character of all time. He's definitely my favorite hero character. What with Geoff Johns' resurrection of Hal Jordan in Green Lantern: Rebirth, his popularity is spiked up exponentially. It's pretty obvious then that DC would cash in on a bit of this popularity and make an animated film of him, right up there with Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman (the Trinity, pun intended). This is where Green Lantern: First Flight comes in.

As far as the plot goes, it's pretty basic to the character: Hal Jordan is the test pilot for Ferris Air when an alien named Abin Sur crash lands near the testing grounds and summons him. Hal is summoned by the Guardians and is tested for his aptitude as a Lantern and brought under the tutelage of Sinestro, the number one Lantern. Hal proves himself time and time again, but when framed for a murder he didn't commit, Hal has to find out who did it and save the day. Voice acting comes from greats such as Michael Madsen (Kilowog), Christopher Meloni (Hal Jordan), and Tricia Helfer (Boodika), as well as featuring appearances from lots of famous Lanterns such as Tomar Re, Kanjar Ro, and someone who remains unnamed but I'm pretty sure is stupposed to be G'Nort.

To say that it deviates from the actual origin is to put it lightly, however. There are obvious nods to his original origin, but all things considered this is a brand new interpretation in a similar way that Geoff Johns' recently re-did his origin story. Abin Sur has a new killer, and Sinestro's eventual plunge into the dark side of Lantern-dom is also re-interpreted, although to some degree the Sinestro "Corps" is still a present entity. There are no mentions of Parallax, and Oa is also in it's original incarnation as opposed to the latest one that is essentially a giant floating power battery in space. The question, in the end, is "Are these changes OK?" I would say yes and no. On the positive hand, the story flows well enough to get by. I can see how this interpretation could work out, and it could appeal to new fans who are not familiar with the vast Lantern mythos. The color spectrum is a big entity to tackle with, and it's more than an hour and a half movie can handle on it's own. However, on the negative hand, fans of the original Lantern stuff will obviously feel a tad bit slighted by this move on DC's part. Let's face it - the Lantern's origin isn't hard to tell at all. They don't need to get into the creation of the universe with the Monitors and early versions of the Guardians, nor do they really need to explain the stuff about Manhunters, but I feel that some of the changes they made really lose the impact the original stories give. Also, a big thing about the Lanterns is that they can not kill, so giving one member the ability to is just ridiculous in my opinion. On top of that, the existence of the yellow entity is really mulled over briefly, and the explanation the movie gives is nowhere near as good as the one Johns' invented for the Sinestro Corps.

As far as everything else goes, I think the film is a winner. Aside from the Guardians and their ridiculously goofy heads, the animation is great. Everything flows very smoothly, and there's one fight scene in some kind of hyper speed that is really fun to watch. The voice casting is really top notch, and all the choices made were excellent, especially Michael Madsen as Kilowog (I died when he said "poozers"). There are enough hardcore Lantern references to keep any fanboy complacent at the very least, and the recitation of the Lantern oath made me smile ear to ear. I think, if nothing else, this showed me how well a Green Lantern feature film could do with Ryan Reynolds. People worry that Reynolds will be too much like himself and less like Jordan, but I think Reynolds will be able to pull this role off incredibly well. Hal is a ladies man who is slightly sarcastic and very defiant - that sounds like Reynolds to me, especially in The Nin9s. Also, knowing that the Green Lantern movie (live action) is intended to be the first of a trilogy makes me believe that they'll be able to tell the epic grandiose of Hal's rise as well as Sinestro's fall much better than an hour and a half animated film.

So all in all I'd recommend Green Lantern: First Flight. It's a fun movie, and it's very well animated. DC Animated films are pretty good, all things considered, and unless you're a real stickler for continuity I think you'll enjoy it. I myself am a huge stickler for continuity but I've found myself relaxing and taking things as they come in regards to movie and television adaptations, and I ended up enjoying this for what it was. Honestly, I'm just happy to see a Green Lantern movie, animated or not, and have it be relatively close to normal. While I would have definitely done things differently, this just about hit the majority of my expectations.

Final Rating: B-

Spectacular Spider-Man DVD In Stores Today!

- Posted by Matthew Meylikhov on Tuesday, July 28, 2009

As far as modern animated cartoons go on Saturday morning, the selections are really weak. I would say that I hate 99% of them. However, there are two absolute gems that Marvel has created to refuel kids love of legitimate superheroes and not just Poke'mon rip-offs, and one of those cartoons is Spectacular Spider-Man.

Spectacular Spider-Man tells the story of Peter Parker at his truest form. He's 16, he's in high school, and he's a superhero. WHAT TO DO! Fortunately for Pete, he's got his good friends Harry and Gwen to help him out from bullies like Kong and Flash. However, with a new Kingpin of crime in town and a whole slew of super villains, how is a kid supposed to balance the time between going to school and saving New York from constant threat?

Spectacular Spider-Man is good for many reasons. For one, the animation is wonderful. While the characters themselves might look a little goofy, the animation during the fight sequences is so clear and smooth I think it rivals that of any other animated program of today. It needs to be that good because the moves Spider-Man does during his fights are all acrobatic and aerial, and the animators capture that with pure and crisp accuracy. Second, as much as it deviates from the comics, it remains true in spirit and heart and makes consistent references to the actual continuity. On top of putting in a large majority of familiar villains and name references (Miles Warren in season 2 is my obvious favorite), Peter spends the entirety of his time taunting his villains as they battle, which is something the movies were severely lacking in (outside of the occasional "Hey, Gobbie!"). It's important to remember that Parker is a young guy of 16 years old, and he's really scared when he goes out there and battles super villains. His taunting is what helps him ease his edge and get into the rhythm of things, as well as distracting his opponent from recognizing that he's just a kid. The show captures these elements perfectly.

The best part of the show, however, is how deep it really is for a kid's show. The thing is, I might obviously be over reading this, but during the entire Green Goblin arc, I took it as one large metaphor for drug abuse. I actually wrote an entire essay based around that single principle, and now I'd like to copy and paste said article for you to enjoy (now with pictures). All I hope to illuminate is how great this show really is if you aren't into it and possibly show that a children's show can be more than just a children's show:

Warning: MASSIVE Spoilers Ahead

Maybe I am digging too much into a kid's cartoon, but as I watched The Spectacular Spider-Man's Green Goblin arc I began to notice an underlying identity crisis, which is true to the age of the protagonist. But it wasn't even in Spider-Man that the identity crisis was happening. Peter Parker was 100% clear on who he was at that point, what was important, and what he needed to do. This is nothing like the average 16 year old. Even if a 16 year old is sure he is on a certain path for the rest of his so-called life, he usually has some kind of issues he needs to deal with. Spider-Man is only dealing with what is good and right at this point. This is why the black costume/symbiote will be important to fleshing out his character: Peter Parker needs to walk both sides of the line. 16 is a confusing time full of hormones, and the fact that Parker can only see the light is a bit unrealistic because everyone at some point has to look into the dark part of their souls. However, in the character of the Green Goblin (who in this version of continuity is actually Harry Osborn first) is nothing but an identity crisis and a perfect character for kids to relate to (although I doubt a 16 year old is still getting up to watch cartoons, it is an important lesson for kids to see at a younger age in between ads for cereal and toys).

Harry Osborn is a geek in all senses of the word. He has crappy hair and dresses in a sweater vest to school. He doesn't get enough love from his father, and his mother is gone. He wants one of the popular girls to like him, but for some reason she only has eyes for this one jock (who is reminiscent of a mongoloid who would be in Genghis Kahn's army). He's also good at science! EW! So Harry begins to try and branch out. He tries out for the football team and makes the cut (even though Peter tries out with him to make him feel comfortable and is inevitably better than him, which causes a rift between the two friends (oh, and did I mention the only other geek girl (now portrayed by Gwen Stacey, who was always viciously supermodel hot) only has eyes for Parker?)). With this, he eventually gets the girl of his dreams, and all the jock friends. He gets to take them to the Fall Formal in his limo and promises to take them all out on the town afterwards. However, as soon as Peter arrives at the Formal with Mary Jane (who causes great chaotic rifts in the high school social structure), Harry and his money become second to nothing in the eyes of the popular crowd. Not only that, but at the dance, his girlfriend's ex shows up and wins her back with only a single rose. So with a shattered home-life and a close taste to what he wanted in high school gone on an important social function, where does Harry turn? The only place to turn: The Globulin Formula (or, in simple metaphor, drugs). With a single chug of this green chemical, Harry grows in strength and his dark side is fully unleashed as he, a 16 year old boy, takes the role of one of the most maniacal villains in Spider-Man's history (Green Goblin is to Spider-Man as the Joker is to Batman, although the Green Goblin's motivations have always been more clear than the Jokers). Of course the chemical is actually creating a schizoid personality in him that Harry can't control but feels the need to embrace. Of course, Spider-Man eventually assumes the Green Goblin is actually Norman Osborn, but it is clear from the beginning that it is Harry who couldn't take the pressure of his high school life.

There was one very important line, I thought, that is a bit cliche, yet still had a very important meaning in the show. Spider-Man and the Green Goblin are fighting, and at this point Spider-Man is sure he knows it is Norman. He shouts to the Goblin, "Give it up Goblin! I know who you really are!" And the Goblin laughs, replying "Oh really? What is the real mask, Spider-Man? Is it the one we wear over our face, or is it the one that actually is our face?" For a show aimed at children waking up early to watch World Of Quest, that's pretty undeniably deep. When Spider-Man injures the Goblin and breaks his leg, the Goblin flees and Spider-Man meets him at the Osborn's home on top of one the sky scrapers. It is at this point where Spider-Man learns the truth, and the scene that plays out was really moving for a kids show in 2008. Most kids shows now are so cookie cutter boring that there is nothing to really get into, but this was different. Harry had just removed his mask with his father and Spider-Man watching, and he begins to have a manic episode right there. His personality switches quickly between the naive dorky Harry to the sinister and murderous Green Goblin. And the Green Goblin made a very big effort to literally kill people, hiding a bomb in the middle of a social function, nearly stabbing another character in the face before that character cracks, giving a group of thugs a mortal ultimatum (work for me or die), and trying to trick both Spider-Man and Tombstone (this series' equivalent to the 1994 cartoon's Kingpin as lead villain in organized crime, and usually the go-to villain when a big crime boss is needed) into a vat of molten hot lava before imploding the building around them. This 16 year old boy had a personality so dark based on the persecution he faced in high school that he became a murderous glider riding nut job.

And what were the reasons for his murderous rampage? Simply to set things right in Harry's world. His mother was gone due to his father's job, and his father was all he had left. However, Norman was being threatened by Tombstone, and had been bullied in front of Harry by Hammerhead. So the Goblin first tries to get Tombstone to step down as the kingpin of crime. When this doesn't work, he simply tries to blow him up (although nothing can actually kill Tombstone, for those that know the character). Then, when Spider-Man foils this, he offers Spider-Man a partnership, but almost instantaneously tries to kill Spider-Man at the same time, and never stops putting him through trial after trial (which of course Spider-Man will survive, although by all rights and standards, he probably shouldn't). In the next episode, he sabotages Tombstone's lead scientist, Doctor Octavius, turning him into Doctor Octopus, who in turn becomes a megalomaniac and starts reigning chaos. And finally, in the last part of the arc, he attacks Gwen Stacy in school (although, mildly, only pushing her against a locker because it is a kids show) and tries to kill three people, two of which are trying to hurt his father, and one of which is simply in his way. He's killing somebody just because he's in the way! This is what pushes the Green Goblin to a dark realm. Most try and simply defeat Spider-Man. While this could mean killing, it is never specified, and they are doing it because it is what they are paid to do. They're basically contract killers. But the Green Goblin has no real reason to kill Spider-Man at this point. Spider-Man hates Tombstone as much as the Green Goblin, he just believes in the power of the law. The Green Goblin recognizes this and decides that due to his beliefs, he must die. And it is a MUST die because at the beginning of the final arc of the three part episode, the Green Goblin visits both Tombstone and Spider-Man and tells them they will need to meet him later at his molten lava trap.

All of this leads to a good cartoon for kids to watch, but an even better cartoon for people like me to watch. With the old 1994 Spider-Man cartoon I grew up with, it spelled out everything at the end of the day with Parker's inner monologues. There was some mildly deep stuff in it, but not like this, because the creators of this show feel the need to explain nothing. The final scene in the episode is Peter sitting with Gwen and Mary Jane (who transferred into his high school for the theater department, because apparently cartoon high school in New York is like college) and Gwen mentions that Harry is no longer going to be in school as he is traveling abroad. Then she gets quieter and says, really earnestly, "To get the help he needs." And Peter knows what she means. And the kids have an idea of what she means: he needs to stop being a super villain. And the scene pans out on them with no happy ending, which paints an excellent scene of desperation and a reality check from Spider-Man's super hero glamor life. And it is an important lesson to learn even if there is no monologue explaining it all: high school is a hard time, your own understanding of self identity is important, and you should never turn to drugs to solve the problem. Arguably this cartoon with that message runs a bit far and just about as ridiculous as most commercials as those that feature a kid smoking marijuana and shooting himself or his friend. But the kids that wake up early to watch The Spectacular Spider-Man need to learn that being okay with yourself is important because they won't be the jock crowd in high school who have "life handed to them on a silver spoon" most likely. In every instance you read of a serial killer, a typical cliche is that he had a troubled child hood. Harry Osborn is a stereotypical serial killer and he makes an excellent point when he asks the masked Spider-Man what a mask really is. Peter will begin to struggle with these problems himself in the next three episodes when he dawns the black costume, and he will once again portray an important message.

And THAT, boys and girls, is EXACTLY why I think you should go out and buy this full season today. It's a wonderful show and I absolutely adore it, so if you haven't given it a chance yet, now's the time. Marvel's other animated show, Wolverine and the X-Men, also happens to be really great - but we'll get to that review when the full season DVD comes out instead of silly volumes. For $20, this is an absolute steal.

MAGNETO'S BACK, BABY!

- Posted by Matthew Meylikhov on Monday, July 27, 2009

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't often post news here, or even posts that aren't long diatribes, but I have to do this one. Can I get another "Aww, yeah"?

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Matt Fraction to death now. Magneto being depowered was one of the saddest moments of comics to me because I consider him to be one of the greatest villains of all time. He's charismatic, he's not 100% evil, and he's a Jew - he's me with a red helmet on! Ever since Brubaker did Messiah CompleX, I've been getting back into X-Men big time, and ever since Fraction joined and took over, the series has been through the roof phenomenal. While I'm not a huge fan of Utopia, I trust that Fraction has a bigger goal at the end. So what is that goal? We're bringing back Magneto!

Magneto first appeared with his powers again right before Utopia, having been given his God-give abilities back through work with the High Evolutionary. Since that one page of him laying on the floor cackling his return, I've been on pins and needles waiting for news of him to come back. Magneto is one of those characters who can be the greatest hero or greatest villain, so what I'm wondering is which will he be now? Fraction has been laying little bits and pieces for this "event" for a while now, and at SDCC it was finally revealed to some degree what the future plans will be with Nation X:

X-fans of the world, get ready to join a new nation this September when writer Matt Fraction begins an all-new, all-different era in mutant history with Nation X, the next step in the evolution of X-Men stories.

"It's not so much a storyline as a status quo update - a mandate dictated by the way things are coming out of Utopia and DARK REIGN: THE LIST - UNCANNY X-Men," explains Fraction. "Things change in a very big, very real and very different way. You've never seen the mutants in the position they're in at the end of DARK AVENGERS/UNCANNY X-MEN, and Nation X speaks to and of that change."

Fraction remains silent over the exact details of Nation X, as the storyline follows the direct consequence of events currently ongoing in both DARK AVENGERS and UNCANNY X-MEN. However, the writer reveals that Nation X acts a definite, seeable change within the X-Men franchise and puts the merry mutants in a position different from any they've ever been in before.

"For 30, 40, 50 years, the X-Men have been stuck in this sort of dichotomy between Professor X's dream and Magneto's vision," says Fraction. "It's become this sort of black-white, yes-no state. Now, between that dream and that vision, Scott has come up with a plan. There's a third way, and that's what we're exploring. What happens when Scott gets to sit at the big boy table, and what is Scott's plan for his people as framed by his faith in Hope, the mutant baby off of CABLE?"

Nation X also features the return of the X-Men's oldest foe and sometime ally, Magneto. After having appeared only occasionally the course of the past two years, the enigmatic Master of Magnetism-once again fully powered thanks to the actions of the High Evolutionary-returns as a "very specific response" to the conclusion of the Utopia crossover. Magneto's return brings to fruition a chain of events Fraction started piecing together when he first began writing UNCANNY X-MEN.

"It's pretty great and pretty weird and pretty spooky all at the same time," admits Fraction. "I always sort of forget where I am, and what has come out and what hasn't come out because it's this really complex, slow plan. It's like, 'Oh right. The Magneto thing. We can finally talk about that now because it's finally being published.' But it's been happening in my head for two and a half years. It's weird. It's like what time travel should be like."

As for how he personally sees the character of Magneto, Fraction says that while he finds the character's actions rather repugnant at times, the events of the past few years may have had an impact on how the one-time Brotherhood of Evil Mutants leader sees himself and the actions he often takes to achieve his goals.

"He is a person unafraid of extremes and who has no moral equivocation when it comes to using violence as a tool for persuasion," says Fraction. "Personally, I'm repulsed by that, but I can put myself in his shoes and pretend I'm not repulsed by that. Magneto is a guy who looks at violence and who looks at terror and sees them as a means to an end. Or at least, he did...

"What if it was Magneto who articulated that 'Scott has found a third way' notion? Stay tuned. Or stay subscribed."

-Marvel.com

So you can color me overly excited. As I've said, Fraction has done all his best work in X-Men. I love his Invincible Iron Man work (congrats on the Eisner) as well as work he's done on titles like Immortal Iron Fist, but when I recommend people Matt Fraction I tell them to pick up any recent issue of X-Men (especially the last issue right before Utopia where Beast and the X-Club go back in time). Nation X, right off the bat with the title alone, brings up the image of Planet X from Morrison's run, and I can't help but wonder if Fraction is going to pull off a stunt like that - something so twisted that Marvel decides to quickly retcon it. I doubt it, but it could happen. Either way, here's to Matt Fraction and the return of Magneto!

The 2009 Eisner Awards!

- Posted by Matthew Meylikhov on Saturday, July 25, 2009

You know how Hollywood has the Oscars, TV has the Emmy's, and Broadway has the Tony's? But what about comic book world? Oh, don't worry - we have awards too! We have the Eisner Awards, named after legendary comic book artist Will Eisner, who you might have remembered for the Spirit if a) Darwyn Cooke hadn't made that book his or b) Frank Millar hadn't raped the Spirit to death. One of the two. Either way, I can't think of a better person to name this award after, and I'd be honored to win one myself one day. Until that day happens though, I though I'd present to you the 2009 Eisner Award winners announced at Comic-Con this year. These are all (probably) worth checking out, so I suppose I'm also presenting you with your new reading list of 2009!

Enjoy:

Best Short Story: "Murder He Wrote," by Ian Boothby, Nina Matsumoto, and Andrew Pepoy, in The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror #14 (Bongo)

Best Continuing Series: All Star Superman, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC)

Best Limited Series: Hellboy: The Crooked Man, by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben (Dark Horse)

Best New Series: Invincible Iron Man, by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca (Marvel)

Best Publication for Kids: Tiny Titans, by Art Baltazar and Franco (DC)

Best Publication for Teens/Tweens: Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, adapted by P. Craig Russell (HarperCollins Children's Books)

Best Humor Publication: Herbie Archives, by "Shane O'Shea" (Richard E. Hughes) and Ogden Whitney (Dark Horse)

Best Anthology: Comic Book Tattoo: Narrative Art Inspired by the Lyrics and Music of Tori Amos, edited by Rantz Hoseley (Image)

Best Webcomic: Finder, by Carla Speed McNeil, www.shadowlinecomics.com/webcomics/#/finder/

Best Reality-Based Work: What It Is, by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Graphic Album—New: Swallow Me Whole, by Nate Powell (Top Shelf)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint: Hellboy Library Edition, vols. 1 and 2, by Mike Mignola (Dark Horse)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips: Little Nemo in Slumberland, Many More Splendid Sundays, by Winsor McCay (Sunday Press Books)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books: Creepy Archives, by various (Dark Horse)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material: The Last Musketeer, by Jason (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan: Dororo, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)

Best Writer: Bill Willingham, Fables, House of Mystery (Vertigo/DC)

Best Writer/Artist: Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library (Acme)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team: Guy Davis, BPRD (Dark Horse)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist: Jill Thompson, Magic Trixie, Magic Trixie Sleeps Over (HarperCollins Children's Books)

Best Cover Artist: James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse)

Best Coloring: Dave Stewart, Abe Sapien: The Drowning, BPRD, The Goon, Hellboy, Solomon Kane, The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse); Body Bags (Image); Captain America: White (Marvel)

Best Lettering: Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #19 (Acme)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism: Comic Book Resource, produced by Jonah Weiland (www.comicbookresources.com)

Best Comics-Related Book: Kirby: King of Comics, by Mark Evanier (Abrams)

Best Publication Design: Hellboy Library Editions, designed by Cary Grazzini and Mike Mignola (Dark Horse)

Hall of Fame: Judges' choices: Harold Gray, Graham Ingels; Voters' choices: Matt Baker, Reed Crandall, Russ Heath, Jerry Iger

Other Awards
Will Eisner "Spirit of Comics" Retailer Award: Tate's Comics, Fort Launderdale, Florida, USA

Marvel purchases the rights to Marvelman, so I'm giving a Character Spotlight

- Posted by Gilbert Short on Saturday, July 25, 2009

Today, at Comic-Con, Marvel did the unexpected. They announced that they purchased the rights to the legendary character Marvelman, a character originally created by Mike Anglo for British publisher Quality Communications(along with American publisher Eclipse Comics).

Marvelman has had a storied, and troubled history in the world of comics. He's a character who can be directly connected to Superman through lawsuits. Originally, Captain Marvel was created shortly after Superman, actually eclipsed Superman in popularity for a time. DC was not very pleased with this, so they sued. Now, as I said, Captain Marvel was really popular, even moreso than the iconic Man of Tomorrow. With the loss of this character, Quality sought to reclaim some of the readers lost with the disappearance of Captain Marvel. So what do they do? They created an English replacement. His name? Marvelman, naturally. Pieces of his origin are familiar. He's a young reporter who's empowered by an astrophysicist(not a wizard) and imbued with powers by uttering the word "KIMOTA!"(That would be "ATOMIK!" backwards). And yes, they're based upon atomic energy.

As I said, he's had a storied history, and oddly enough, the most interesting part is not fictional. He ran for 346 issues in the 50's and 60's(in a weekly publication) until Anglo's relationhsip with Quality ended. He then entered a sort of limbo until the great Alan Moore reinvigorated the character in the early 80's by putting his signature touch on the character. It was filled with all the darkness we've come to love from Moore. he dealt with psychoses, rape, and ideas like apotheois.

However, due to Marvel Comics ownership of the name "Marvel," he could never be called what he was best known as. Instead, he had to be known as "Miracleman." This led to Moore proclaiming he would never work for Marvel ever again, after creating the character Captain Britain.

After Moore's departure from the title with issue #16, Neil Gaiman took over the reins along with current Fables penciler Mark Buckingham. His run, although planned for eighteen issues, was cut short after eight, when the American publisher Eclipse Comics(the current owner of the character) folded.

Later, Todd Macfarlane purchased the assets of Eclipse, allegedly with the intent of reviving Miracleman for the new Image Comics. But there was a dispute with Gaiman, who also claimed to own the rights to the character. Which he did. Alan Moore, who owned part of the character, gave his portion to Gaiman after he departed the series. Gaiman and Macfarlane battled over the the character, until the courts ruled in Gaiman's favor.

But today, Marvel announced that Marvelman now rests in their hands, and will be joining the Marvel Universe next year. Time can only tell how this will work. How will he co-exist with characters like The Hulk, or The Sentry? Will he be a cosmic character? Will he be an Avenger? Only time will tell, and I'm excited to see where it leads.

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