Comic Book Challenge Day 09 - Most touching comic book/comic book scene

Day 09 - Most touching comic book/comic book scene

Y the Last Man

Absolutely the saddest and most touching scene I have seen in 20 years of reading comic books is oddly between a man and his monkey.

As I intend on re-reading Y the Last Man from start to finish again this year, I don't want to crack open the final TPB to review this scene and spoil it for myself later. Going on memory, this is a very touching scene and the only time in my comic-reading-history that a book made me cry.

*SPOILER ALERT*
If you haven't read (or finished) this series, DON'T read on.
*END SPOILER ALERT*



Long after the story is ended and years have passed by, Yorick is living life, still the only man left on Earth (aside from his many clones). Ampersand, Yorick's faithful monkey (that has not only been his best friend for decades but also possibly the REASON he survived the plague) is at death's door. To spare him a painful death, Yorick takes him into the forest for a final friendly walk together. He gives Amepersand, who is looking old and frail wrapped in a blanket in Yorick's arms, a date with arsenic (or some poison) on it. Upon taking a bite, Ampersand begins to feel the violent effects. Yorick apologizes over and over again through tears as he watches his oldest friend pass on.

That's the version I remember and, being an animal lover, I guess that scene just hit a soft spot with me.

- Jeff

Transformers: Dark of the Moon "Movie" Review...

This movie is better then part two...but damn, did you SEE part two? The story looks as thrown together as the shrapnel-inspired robots. It is literally another, long toy commercial (I can already see "Moon Prime" and "Grapple Launch Sam" in my mind) that gave not thought to anyone over the age of 8. The love of Transformers always came from the diverse (and unique-looking) robots. Each one more different than the last, making each mission an adventure. Here we get canned dialogue that you can literally tell Michael Bay got them in for voice acting and told them to just "say a bunch of shit" and they'll make a movie out of it.

An actual conversation between Starscream and Megatron goes like this, I can't remember Starscream's exact line but this is pretty much their discourse:
Starscream: It pains me to see you like this, my master.
Megatron: You know only what you have been told...which is NOTHING!
...that was the entire conversation. If you can call that a conversation.

It's great having Shockwave & Laserbeak in this movie (I guess Ravage outlived his usefulness after the last movie?) but there are dozens of robots in this movie and I don't know 90% of them. They don't get dialogue, there is no dramatic tension between them other than the simple premise that Decepticons hate Autobots and vice versa. See one? Kill one!

Speaking of killing, a lot of the Transformers die in this movie (don't worry, you won't have a clue who's shooting who or who just died, anyway). The design of the robots has been one of this series' biggest obstacles. They look like a bunch of cutlery held together by static electricity...and fall apart just as easily! Seriously, these robots are supposed to have been around for millions of years and they're only just now being torn apart with one bullet to the torso? At least I think that's what I was looking at, I could barely tell the robots from the flying debris in the air. What is so wrong with the original Hasbro designs? Not only would the toys still sell, they'd sell even more because people like me would love the modern designs based directly on the originals. Look at the recent video game War for Cybertron for inspiration, those looked great!

The last 30-40 minutes of this movie is actually entertaining in the sense that it's almost one continuous action sequence (though sloppily edited together) and when it's over, you relax, just then realizing you've been tensed up for half an hour.

Unfortunately, I spent too much time in this movie wondering what anyone's motivation for anything was. All hell's breaking loose and Sam's having a chit-chat with his parents about relationships? The world's about to end but Sam's (hot!) girlfriend wants him to choose between saving the planet and going to a dinner party with her? WTF? It's like they filmed two separate movies and had to mash them up. The action is fast-paced but I found myself asking "How did they get there?" and "Where the fuck is Optimus?" (seriously, he's always disappearing or getting caught in crane wires to keep him out of the fight for some reason).

Editing was a huge problem during much of the action. There is one neat scene in the movie where Sam is riding in Bumblebee and there is an explosion they must avoid but they're going 100mph down the freeway. So, all in slow motion, 'Bee' ejects Sam into the air while he transforms and flies through the air himself, keeping debris away from Sam. All the while, Sam is screaming like a little girl and flailing his arms thinking he could die at any second. After safely surviving the explosion, Bee catches Sam, transforms back into a car and tosses Sam safe back inside screaming and shitting his pants. Bumblebee then comes to a screeching halt and Sam calmly announces "Let's get back to base". Everything in this sequence was awesome...until we cut to Sam saying "Let's get back to base". It looks like the explosion and stunt were filmed on Wednesday and then Sam's line and close-up was filmed on Friday and the continuity director was sick for those three days. It's as if Darth Vader clearly cut off Luke's hand and an instant later, they are still fighting and Luke has two hands.

The Transformers themselves have not been given justice at all in this series and I hope a reboot (and a complete re-design) can fix this. The story is about the war between the ROBOTS, not the people caught in the middle. Yes, it can be done, don't say you need a human perspective to narrate the story, that's just lazy. I do think humans should be part of the story just not the entire story. Prime and Megatron are fighting a war they've waged against eachother for countless eons, they have a LOT of history, as do all the characters. Make the characters cosmetically pleasing, it's obvious they steered clear of too much robot stuff because they just looked horrible on screen.

Without spoiling anything, I do think the morals shown in this movie are pretty grim. The Autobots pull the biggest guilt trip ever on mankind just so they could say "See, you need us, assholes" but they let thousands of people die to prove their point! Then Prime takes care of business at the end as judge, jury and executioner without a moment's hesitation. I guess he's as sick of all this as the rest of us.

All I can say is thank god this trilogy is done and someone else can come along and fix everything. Before the next series starts, I'm sure we'll likely be seeing a direct-to-video "Go-Bots" movie that will sadly be a million times better than any of the Transformers films.

- Jeff

30 Day Comic Book Challenge: Day 08 - Best series being published

Day 08 - Best series being published right now.

Amazing Spider-Man

After "One More Day" and "Brand New Day" and all that crap, I was the last person on the planet who wanted to promote this book. However, being a true fan, I stuck with it. Granted, I still despise the way it got here but this book is consistently what it is supposed to be: fun.

My decision was a battle over Spidey and "Captain America" because this volume has been awesome way back from #1. Just too many Cap-themed things going on these days, bad timing maybe.

Though sometimes "Amazing" seems to be steering down a darker path, there are always fun moments and issues to remind you why you picked up Spidey in the first place. The recent "Avengers Academy" story was a filler but fun with a definite "Warner Bros. cartoon ending" that you have to take in stride.

I'm very glad Peter finally has a GOOD job after all these years of proving his genius. I say he's more than earned it. The only flaw is all the Spidey-Suits! I could put up with all the silly action figures that make no sense but now he's actually MAKING these suits in the books? Oh, brother.

I really enjoy a book that is consistent (Spidey, Cap, Green Lantern) as opposed to books that are serious or funny depending who writes them that month (Fantastic Four, Batman & Robin) and Spidey has been great for a long time. However, if "Thor" and "Captain America" movies are any indication, Marvel is going to flood the market with Spidey titles next year.

- Jeff

I did it...no more monthly comics!

I just made a change to my comic book subscription that changes everything I've known for the last 17 years...I no longer collect single issues!

The changes at DC, though won't be as big as many people seem to fear, has been a catalyst for thousands across the continent to cancel DC altogether and/or monthly issues and go to trades. I've been going back and forth for a long time and I just decided to make the change once and for all.

Here is my new subscription list at Hourglass Comics in Port Moody, after much arguing with myself (literally, this took months to finalize)

- Amazing Spider-Man
- Invincible Iron Man (so long as Fraction sticks around)
- Captain America (so long as Brubaker sticks around)
- Green Lantern
- Green Lantern Corps
- Walking Dead


Not knowing just what DC is up to means I'm not going to commit to any of their titles aside from Geoff John's GL (and it's brother from another mother "GL Corps").

I was debating over getting any Avengers but the titles change, come & go so much that I don't know if it'll be worth it. Who knows how long "Academy" will stick around (at least with the same title) and the core books have been horrible since the new #1's came out (did JRJr draw the first dozen issues with his pen in his mouth or what?) with ridiculously huge storylines that are bigger than the summer crossovers and played like minor events.

I was getting Secret Avengers and really want to support it but with Steve Rogers getting back into the cap suit in a few months, who knows where that book is going and if it'll even stick around.

The first comic I ever subscribed to was "Spectacular Spider-Man" way back when Sal Buscema was drawing it (if you know what Cosmic Spider-Man means, you're as old as I am!) and now my single issue days are over. I enjoyed them all. Until the mandatory 5-issue stories became the norm and super event crossovers made following stories impossible unless you had an extra $500 kicking around every month, which I don't.

- Jeff

PS - just finding that old issue of Spidey's "Captain Universe" days made me extremely nostalgic, this was one of my first comics after subscribing!

30 Day Comic Book Challenge - Favourite Comic Couple

I'll take the literal term for 'comic couple' and go with Booster Gold and Blue Beetle!

I admit I never read "Justice League International" back in it's hey-day but I did get to know these two through modern books where they guest-starred. From starting their "Blue and Gold" delivery services (getting in Green Lantern's way) and one of my favourite comics ever, "Martian Manhunter #24". In this silly issue, J'onn's oreo addiction is pushed to it's limits when Booster and Beetle hide his stash. The ensuing rage that consumes J'onn as he chases them through the city shape-shifted as a giant "Hulk" was great fun (highlighted by them passing by Max in a very important JLI-related investors meeting).

Booster and Blue Beetle were just coming into their own and growing up right around the time "The Omac Project" started and they were really growing on me. Unfortunately, it was all a trap to make me like them so Max could shoot Blue Beetle in the head. I wasn't shocked that it was him that died (considering you could see his dead body on the cover to Infinite Crisis) but that they downright blew his brains out! Not some 'death ray', or scattering his atoms across the cosmos or some crazy "off-panel" death where they could easily bring him back someday...a bullet to the head (with brains flying everywhere) pretty much ruled that out. Booster (our time-travelling hero) did go back to the instant before Ted's death to save him but ended up blowing that big time.

Though I'm not a huge fan of Jaime as the new Blue Beetle (though I did enjoy his series before cancellation), I've happily followed Booster's series from the start. It's a great little side series (that ends up playing a huge role in the DCU).

- Jeff

Jeff's Review: Green Lantern

I love that they're making so many comic-based movies...it really really really makes me appreciate the books soo much more. For the last 6 years or so, the Green Lantern book has gone from fledgling staple to an absolute must-read for the majority of comic book readers. Love him or hate him, Geoff Johns has re-created a mythos that was already totally cool and turned it on it's ass, making it fuck itself until impregnated with the seed of creation and then exploded at birth all over our faces. That may sound harsh but that's exactly what happened. The Green Lantern Corps feels like the real deal and Hal Jordan is finally an interesting character, surrounded by even more interesting characters. This took years to accomplish and took place over a wide variety of stories through two books, "Green Lantern" and "Green Lantern Corps". Many were giant crossover 'event' books, yes, but through it all, you learned a lot about various characters and their drive to succeed as Lanterns and Hal's cartoonish villains were updated to fit the 21st century.

The Green Lantern movie I just saw had four screenwriters. Think about that when you watch the film. It took four people to write, and agree upon, a finalized script that took decades of careful storytelling and throw it out the window.

This movie is an origin story, sure. It opens with a voiceover that explains the history and role of the Guardians in about 30 seconds...I feel like the same could have been done with Hal's origin. "One day, an Earth-man was gifted one of these rings, this is his story.." and get right into the action. What we got instead was an hour and a half of cocky jet pilot Hal Jordan suddenly deciding he's not cocky at all, he's a little pansy man who's scared of responsibility. The entire film deals with his inability to overcome fear of becoming a 'space cop' and not living up to the role left behind by Abin Sur (his predecessor). In the comics, when offered the ring, Hal's first words are pretty much "Hell yes" and we're off to the races. The book origin is more about proving to his fellow Lanters that he deserves the ring and he shows it in classic Hal Jordan style. Watching a movie about a Hal Jordan that doubts himself (after proving he doesn't doubt himself at all earlier in the movie) makes this movie a little painful to watch. It contradicts itself with that plot thread.

Also, this is the story about how one person protects an entire sector of outer space. How about he is forced into a war on another planet and sees firsthand how difficult this job is really going to be? What a wasted opportunity simply having the lazy plotline of him just thinking he can't do it right.

Parallax is a recent addition to Hal's enemies, having been possessed by him for years in the books, Hal and the Corps' history has only now been laced with a history with the villain (in the movie, he is a disgruntled Guardian, not the actual entity of fear as in the books). The movie absolutely didn't need to have Hal face off against his greatest enemy in the history of the comics right off the bat, especially since I heard they had a trilogy in mind. Parallax would have been a great villain to lead up to and end on.

Other nitpicks:
- Carol Ferris' pilot handle is "Sapphire". If you read the books, you know why that's a stupid throwaway.
- Upon failing to save a life in one of his first battles, Hal is quite upset for two seconds. In the next scene, he and other character related to this person have completely moved on.
- Oa/Earth-hopping, it seems a Green Lantern can be on Oa at a moment's notice and address the Guardians directly without an appointment. In the books, they're pretty busy and don't have time for conversation.
- Hal's constructs. Creating something from your mind into a solid form can't be easy, yet Hal does it almost instantly with (how ironic) computer-imaging precision! The constructs he first creates here should be weaker and certainly less detailed.

I can see why people will be (not could be, WILL be) disappointed in this movie. It doesn't have anywhere near enough action (or cool graphics) based on the material it draws from. It also fails to successfully make me want to see more (though it tries to set me up for it, see 'spoilers' down below). Though it was GREAT to see a Green Lantern movie made and it wasn't as horrific as I'm painting it, they really screwed the pooch on this one. The editing was awkward and some of the effects were what I would call "Smallville-level" (Hal often flies away off-screen with a 'whoosh' sound....like, really?).

- *SPOILER ALERT* Hector Hammond doesn't survive the film, which is sad, considering he's a great psychological presence in the books.
- *SPOILER ALERT* Sinestro spends the film understandably upset that his friend Abin Sur has not only been killed but replaced by a human. He has a chip on his shoulder but soon comes to respect Hal's choices and see him as a fellow Lantern. With that, the film ends...but we are then treated to a post-credits easter egg! It's a shot of Sinestro stealing the Guardian's only existing yellow power ring and putting it on. His suit changes to yellow and his eyes glow with power. WTF?? Based on his actions and dialogue in the movie, this is completely out of character. By the end of the movie, Sinestro is still a good guy and then with absolutely no motivation at all, he becomes evil Sinestro? Why?! The ONLY way they can save this HUGE mistake is to start the next film with Sinestro still a Lantern and that exact post-credit footage is shown again later in the movie when he officially turns on the Guardians (so what I just saw was a preview of the next film, not actual footage laced with the movie I just saw).
- *SPOILER ALERT* Hal finish Parallax off with a giant fist punch to the face. I wish I was making that up.

- Jeff

Day 06 - Most annoying character - Damien Wayne

Day 06 - Most annoying character:

Damien Wayne

Calm down all you Damien lovers, I don't necessarily hate him as a character, what I hate is that he is officially ten years old.

It's easy to write the regular characters in comic books because it's passable to say they are perpetually in their 30's (a recent issue of Iron Man places Tony Stark at 35 years old exactly). Then you have the second generation in Nightwing and the other kid heroes of the DCU (to a lesser extent, Spider-Man, who was only 16 when he got his powers). Dick Grayson is the "20-something wonder" who passed his mantle to other Robin's, including the no-longer-Robin-for-some-reason Tim Drake. The stories in "Red Robin" have to have Tim at 18 or 19 (since he's making out with adults), meaning he's aged about three years since around 1991.

The reason I find Damien Wayne as the most annoying character is that he really dates everyone else. As Batman's son, that means Bruce nailed Talia 11 years ago so starting now, he's been Batman for 11 years already. So how do we explain the next decade or two of stories? Batman should easily be pushing 40+ by then.

Comic-to-reality time is a tricky thing that you can ignore easily as long as your characters are 16 years old and older. Here's an easy formula: If a monthly comic story takes 12 issues to tell but takes place over a few days or a week, that means that I age one year and Batman ages a week. That could easily mean that in 20 of my years, he's only aged roughly 6 months. Easy cheesy. However, Tim Drake has aged a few years and so has Dick Grayson and now they have to keep Damien Wayne as a 10 year old for at least a decade, possibly two. These aren't The Simpsons we're talking about, it's much harder to do considering Dick had debated becoming a police officer, then he went through training, then he was an officer and now he's since quit. That's at least a year gone right there which would have to carry Damien along (if he were around at the time) to age 11.

They really should have not added a 10 year old boy to the roster to justify the continuity nerds like me. I can easily work around stories with the formula above but Damien just throws a big monkey wrency into the works.

So kill him off! Call now! You did it to Jason Todd and Joker hasn't killed a major character for a long time!

- Jeff