Drew is a Geek

Review: Green Lantern Corps #1

2011-09-26T23:25:00.001+08:00

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Fernando Pasarin, Scott Hanna

It was disappointing that Peter J. Tomasi's run in "Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors" was just so-so considering his run on the previous "Green Lantern Corps" was a very fun read. He understood the GLC, giving each member their time to shine whenever possible, complete with interesting stories.

I actually liked Tony Bedard's run on "Green Lantern Corps" more than Tomasi's. But it's interesting to see Tomasi back on the title and see what his plans are now that Kyle Rayner is out of the book.

It's great to see Guy Gardner and John Stewarts' human lives and how their Green Lantern duties affect it. Tomasi is clever in using these plot points as a means to introduce the two main characters in the book, while also explaining to readers how the Green Lantern power ring works. I think all these are necessary in first issues especially when attracting new readers. Something which lacks in Geoff Johns' "Green Lantern" #1.

We get a tease in the beginning regarding the villains in this story. Although they will be eventually revealed later on, I have a feeling they would be one of those "long lost people who swear revenge against the Green Lantern Corps" groups that we've all seen before. I hope to be proven wrong, though. In addition, the scene where apparently a whole planet's water got sucked out left me confused me the first time I read through it. I actually didn't know what happened there and had to read it again.

As for the art, Fernando Pasarin's art looks better here than I can remember before. The facial expressions he draws for the characters really stands out of the pages. And I have to say his backgrounds are gorgeous. Every panel in the book has detailed backgrounds that adds to the story and feel of the book.

Overall, the re-introductions of Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and rest of the Green Lantern universe are a nice touch for readers, and certainly the bulk of characterization and focus is on those two. However, the plot in this first issue is just average. We get a tease of the villains, but it's hard to care for the villainy things they do in this issue since I think Tomasi just created some random GLs and a planet that we don't know. Nevertheless, I'm still sticking for issue #2 and see where it goes.

Rating: 3/5

Review: Batman #1

2011-09-25T22:39:00.003+08:00

Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion

Green Lantern titles are the only comic books I read in DC Comics. I get a few collected editions DC's big events from time to time. But when DC announced they will relaunch everything in their line-up, I thought it would be a perfect jumping on point to other titles.

I always wanted to get into Batman, as he's probably the only other superhero I care about in the DC Universe. And with this "New 52" relaunch, I'm sure glad I picked this title up.

Snyder doesn't waste time on this first issue. It out with Batman's rogues gallery early on in the story and also adds in a little surprise for the readers. He uses this scene to set-up a new technology that I believe Batman will use for the rest of the story - a contact lens that has remote access to the Batcave computers. With this new tech, Snyder introduces the other members of the Bat family through little information boxes throughout the pages that only Bruce Wayne can see.

I've never read anything written by Scott Snyder before, but I have to say the pacing in this issue is good. He balances out the story showing both sides of one person - Batman and Bruce Wayne - enough for the readers to get an idea on who the main character is. And by the end of the story, we get a really good cliffhanger that holds dear to Bruce Wayne.

This is the first time I've encountered Capullo's art. His art has this cartoon feel to it, not that it's bad. His action scenes look really great and I could feel the punches Batman throws out to his villains. Furthermore, his take on the villains are interesting, especially Two-Face. However, I have to say the characters in the book pretty much look alike. I'll even go as far as to say that Lincoln March even look more like Bruce Wayne that the real Bruce Wayne. But those are just minor observations from me.

The book has great pacing and story that will surely intrigue readers (I know I am). Moreover, it shows all sides of Batman with action scenes and detective work, the things we know he does best. The mood is perfect and shifts with the story as shown in Capullo's art. With that said, I can't wait for issue #2.

Rating: 4.5/5

Review: Green Lantern #1

2011-09-15T22:00:00.000+08:00

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Doug Mahnke

Based from the past interviews and statements from DC, only the Batman and Green Lantern books are left unchanged in "The New 52." As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

This first issue is a direct continuation of Johns' recent "Green Lantern" run. The status quo is all the same. It really feels like it should have been "Green Lantern" #68, but instead we get a #1 issue with a fresh start from all the chaotic madness from the recent stories.

The issue starts where "Green Lantern" #67 left off. Sinestro is in Oa's citadel with the Guardians, trying to persuade the blue people to get rid of his green ring. Now, new readers may be confused as to why Sinestro is wearing the green ring, and not Hal Jordan. But thanks to the recent live-action movie, that might not come as a surprise.

Hal Jordan takes a backseat, with him dealing with all his human problems (and Carol Ferris) while he was away doing his Green Lantern duties. Johns explores the human side of Hal, and I think that's a plus. It's been a long time since we've seen Hal Jordan be Hal Jordan. He is now broke, down on his rent, doesn't have a job and a car. Johns even uses Carol Ferris as a plot device to further accentuate that Hal is nothing without his ring.

It's nice to see Doug Mahnke's art again. He draws some pretty good aliens that really look like aliens, with scary pointy teeth! In the scene where Hal was in jail, I already felt that Hal Jordan misses his ring just by looking at the art of Mahnke.

Those familiar with Geoff Johns' writing style definitely knows he writes for the big picture. He has already planted the seeds through different subplots here, and we can expect to see them in the coming issues. That said, the issue feels more like an epilogue that sets up things for another Green Lantern event in the future.

Rating: 3/5

"Street Fighter X Tekken" TGS 2011 Trailer

2011-09-13T21:11:00.001+08:00

Capcom has released a new CGI trailer for their upcoming crossover fighting game, "Street Fighter X Tekken," pitting two of the best fighting game franchises against each other.

In this trailer, we see Rufus (so I guess he's confirmed) fighting against another big-bodied character, Bob. We also see a previously revealed character, Zangief, here. Lastly, a Tekken character is teased at the end of the video.

Click the jump to see the previous cinematic trailers.

Justice League #1

2011-09-05T23:41:00.002+08:00

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Jim Lee, Scott Williams

Well, it's finally here. The first title to debut from DC's much talked-about line-wide relaunch is now here with Justice League #1. And since it's out, it has gained a lot of attention. I have friends talking about it, wanting to reserve a copy in the local comic book store. Was it able to live up to the hype? Will new readers want this? Is it a good introduction into the new world of DCU?

With the first issue, Geoff Johns decided to start with the origin story of how the league got the together. And since this is a set-up story, the whole league doesn't appear in this issue. Instead, Johns decided to focus with Batman and Green Lantern, with a litte pre-Cyborg Vic Stone thrown in the mix.

The whole issue revolves around the interaction between Green Lantern and Batman, with only a mention of the main villain for this first arc. Johns' decision to use Batman and Green Lantern as the main characters in this first issue is a wise choice. With the recent release of the Green Lantern movie (it sucked) and the audience's familiarity with Batman (Nolan's Batman movies), it's easy to identify and familiarize with the characters. However, that's all we get in the first issue.

There's a lot of dialogue exchange between the two, but it doesn't help the plot move forward. And the main villain doesn't even appear in this issue. I think it would've worked more if this have been a double-sized issue, so Johns could get more characters from the Justice League in the book, even just short teases introducing the readers to each member.

There's so little happening in this issue that it makes me think this story would read better in collected form, which is not good considering this is priced at $3.99. Granted, the ending cliffhanger intrigued me into looking forward to #2.

The art of Jim Lee has not changed since the last comic book I read that he drew. It looks great to be honest, but it's too busy to really focus on what's really intended for the reader to look at. Also, some of the poses the characters are in look awkward, as with Jim Lee's main problem with his art.

I'll take a look into #2 when it comes out, and hopefully we could see more characters and the pacing of the story improves from there on.

Rating: 3/5

Green Lantern Infographic

2011-07-19T20:59:00.002+08:00

You've probably already seen the Ryan Reynolds-starred "Green Lantern" movie and wondered, "what the hell is Green Lantern about again?" Well let's face it, one of the reasons why that movie didn't go so well is because of the information overload the movie relayed to the audience. Even fans like me thought it was hard to keep up with all the character developments in the movie.

Luckily, I stumbled upon a Green Lantern infographic while browsing Newsarama and decided to share it. It's a good way to familiarize yourself with the Green Lantern universe, if you're still interested. The Green Lantern universe is fascinating and thrilling. However, it's very big and convoluted for new readers to easily understand the concept of the whole character. This infographic explains the background, history and other important things to introduce you into Green Lantern.

DC Comics Superhero Collection #83: GL Kyle Rayner

2011-07-19T00:14:00.000+08:00

Finally after 82 issues, they released Kyle Rayner's lead figure. Although I would much prefer for Eaglemoss to have sculpted him in his classic black costume. But anyway here he is.

Kyle Rayner has always been my favorite Green Lantern, maybe because the first Green Lantern comics that I read already featured Kyle as the current Green Lantern. That's a little biased but as I read more comics, I still liked Kyle Rayner the most.

One of the reasons why I like Kyle is his creativeness. He is the most creative Green Lantern out there due to his artistic background. Unfortunately, he has a bad reputation when it comes to relationships. All of her girlfriends died, but his current one, Soranik Natu, is still living. I hope she stays that way.

DC Comics Superhero Collection - Blackest Night #8: White Lantern Sinestro

2011-07-18T23:06:00.000+08:00

Presenting to you the very first White Lantern - Hal Jordan's nemesis, Sinestro.

Nobody expected Sinestro to be the first to wield the white light in "Blackest Night". It was quite a shock. Yes, he was a Green Lantern once but he is known to be a villain most of the time.

Good thing his time as a White Lantern was only short, since the color white doesn't really suit him well. But still it was fresh to see him in a different color other than yellow for a change.

Batman: Arkham City Gameplay with Catwoman

2011-07-03T23:07:00.000+08:00

To give us a little taste on how Catwoman would be like in "Batman: Arkham City", the guys at Warner Bros. Entertainment have released over 10 minutes of gameplay featuring Catwoman in the start.

The video displays Catwoman's moves and tricks using the dynamic attack system of the game. Also, it features Batman showing some new moves (e.g. catching a chair thrown at him and throwing it back) coupled with the familiar fighting system that we all loved back in "Arkham Asylum".

"Batman: Arkham City" is the sequel to the highly acclaimed superhero game, "Batman: Arkham Asylum". With fans calling it the best Batman/superhero game ever made, this highly anticipated sequel is set in a new place called Arkham City. It is five times larger than the previous Arkham Asylum and lets the player roam around freely. Arkham City is the new "security home" for criminals, where they can roam around freely in the streets, build gangs, etc. as long as they within the secured grounds. The sequel introduces a brand new story with returning characters like the Joker, and also some new ones like Two-Face (who you will see in the video below.)

DC Comics Superhero Collection - Blackest Night #7: Indigo-1

2011-06-19T23:31:00.000+08:00

Out of all the Lanterns, the Indigo Tribe is by far the most mysterious, as not much is revealed about them. But recently, Geoff Johns has been slowly working out the characterization for this particular tribe. Anyway, here's their leader - Indigo-1

I don't have anything much to say about this character, but they're first appearance is in "Blackest Night". And they are able to channel other color lanterns' powers within their immediate vicinity. It proved helpful when killing Black Lantern zombies.

I guess I have to read the magazine for more info about this character, LOL.

DC Comics Superhero Collection - Blackest Night #6: Parallax

2011-06-19T23:13:00.000+08:00

Here comes the yellow entity of fear - Parallax, in Hal Jordan's body. One of the best villains in the Green Lantern mythos in my opinion.

Parallax is the yellow entity of fear. He's the living embodiment of it. This figurine is just Parallax inside Hal Jordan's body. If you're curious as to what it really looks like, well, this.

But to Green Lantern fans, when you talk about Parallax, first thing that comes to mind is the psychopathic Hal Jordan. He's the reason for the demise of the whole Green Lantern Corps. And only Kyle Rayner was able to stop him and take Parallax out of Hal's body.

DC Comics Superhero Collection - Blackest Night #5: Star Sapphire

2011-06-05T23:36:00.000+08:00

Okay, it clearly says "Carol Ferris" on the magazine cover. But she's the most well-known and only Star Sapphire of Earth so it's only right to call her that. Here's Hal Jordan's love interest - Star Sapphire Carol Ferris.

Carol Ferris, one of the most important people in Hal Jordan's life, but still can't seem to be with him. Their relationship together has been a bumpy one, an on and off relationship. But deep inside they know that they love each other so much. Oh, the hardships of wearing a colored ring.

I was supposed to get the "Heroes of the DCU - Blackest Night" bust of Star Sapphire. However, after seeing it in person at a local comic book store, forget about it. The sculpt made it hard to display properly, and the face was pretty bad. So I just settled for this instead.

Moving on, Blake Lively is portraying Carol Ferris on the big screen, in the upcoming "Green Lantern" movie. Definitely not a bad choice!

DC Comics Superhero Collection - Blackest Night #4: Saint Walker

2011-06-05T23:19:00.000+08:00

After the Red Lantern Atrocitus, let's take a look at the lead figure of Saint Walker, the Blue Lantern of hope.

One can probably argue that the Blue Lanterns are the weakest of the bunch. They need a Green Lantern within their vicinity to properly operate, and they boost the powers of a Green Lantern. It makes sense though, since hope and willpower really go hand in hand.

Blue Lanterns sound like priests or monks in the comic books. But I guess that's why they have "saint" in their names.

DC Comics Superhero Collection - Blackest Night #2: Atrocitus

2011-06-05T23:03:00.000+08:00

Diamond Comics, the distributor, had a little mess up with the releases of these figures. If you've read my previous post, you'd notice Larfleeze got out first before Atrocitus. But all's good now that the big red monster is out.

Apparently, Atrocitus has a lot of history with the Green Lantern Corps, dating way, way back when the Guardians of Oa were still ordering Manhunters around. His planet was destroyed by the Manhunters, which is why he hates the little blue creatures so much. Anyway I like this Red Lantern.

Mortal Kombat Skarlet DLC Trailer

2011-05-31T22:22:00.000+08:00

I've been having a blast playing Mortal Kombat 9 recently. It's a return to form for Mid... Netherrealm Studios as they went back to the original MK1-MK3 timeline and went on from there. But it's not just the story that is good, the gameplay's great!

But anyway here's a trailer for the Skarlet, a rumored character from the old games. But now she comes into reality as NRS already created her for the game.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy

2011-04-21T16:44:00.002+08:00

If you guys remember the Mortal Kombat: Rebirth short the debuted way back on the internet, well the guys decided to just make it into a webseries!

Mortal Kombat: Legacy is a continuation of the Rebirth short. And will feature Michael Jai White and Jeri Ryan. It will be a reimagining of the Mortal Kombat universe, rebooting the characterization of the klassic kombatants we all know and love closer to the "real world".

Two episodes are already out. And from what I've seen, it kicks ass. You can check the first episode below, and new episodes come out every Tuesday.

"Green Lantern" WonderCon 2011 Trailer

2011-04-05T22:51:00.001+08:00

In case you missed the first trailer of "Green Lantern", the recently held WonderCon 2011 premiered an exclusive trailer for the movie. This one is MUCH longer than the first trailer, clocking in at 4 minutes! In fact, I don't know if you could still call this a trailer.

This trailer contains a lot of new footage of other members of the Green Lantern Corps, including Sinestro, Abin Sur, Tomar-Re, and Kilowog. We also get a glimpse of a dirt-looking creature that attacks Abin Sur, maybe it's Parallax?

Hit the jump to see the trailer!

To be honest, the first trailer didn't hype me up for the movie. It was actually pretty bland and a bit disappointing, mainly because of Ryan Reynolds' portrayal of Hal Jordan. But this one looks much better and at least it got me to accept Reynold's as Hal Jordan. Oh, and this trailer pretty much summed up Abin Sur's story.

I actually got goosebumps when he recites the Green Lantern oath.

Classic Marvel Figurine Collection #140: Beta Ray Bill

2011-04-03T14:49:00.000+08:00

Up to this day I'm still wishing I could get Thor's lead figure. He's really hard to find nowadays and whenever I see one, either he's reserved or the price is jacked up to Asgard. But Beta Ray Bill will chip in his place for now.

Beta Ray Bill received Thor's powers when they fought. Thus, looking pretty much the same as Thor other than looking very alien. Odin deemed Beta Ray Bill worthy of lifting Mjolnir (Thor's trusty ol' hammer). And so he gave him Stormbreaker, his own hammer.

"I HAVE THE POWEEEEEERRR!!"

DC Comics Superhero Collection - Blackest Night #3: Larfleeze

2011-04-03T14:30:00.000+08:00

You read it right, we're into number 3 already. I don't know why the distributor (Diamond) of this figures skipped Atrocitus. But oh well, on to the post. The comic relief of the bunch and the only member of his corps - Larfleeze.

Larfleeze, or as other creatures of the universe call him, Agent Orange, is the only member of his corps. Other members of the corps are made by Larfleeze through his power ring. He bears the orange light, the light of avarice. So basically, his character revolves around getting and talking about what he wants.

Recently we've been getting some hints about his backstory. But as of now, he serves as a comic relief in the comics. I still like him though.

Mine! Mine! Mine!

Larfleeze's corps logo as his base.

DC Comics Superhero Collection - Blackest Night #1: Black Hand

2011-04-03T14:17:00.000+08:00

No doubt "Blackest Night" has been a great success for DC, spawning toy lines and recently, a mini-bust line, and now Eaglemoss has jumped into the bandwagon and started its own "Blackest Night" line of lead figures.

And who's better to start a "Blackest Night" line than the main villain of the story - Black Hand.

Black Hand (real name: William Hand) is a very old villain of Green Lantern. Actually, I don't know anything much about him as I've never seen him before "Blackest Night". I haven't read the magazine that comes with the figure yet so I don't know the backstory of this character.

But from what I've seen of the scans of the "old" Black Hand, is that the Black Lantern Corps' logo basically was based on his logo. And he doesn't look that menacing compared to what he is now.

Eaglemoss has really captured the "zombie" look and feel of the character.

The design of the base is based on the character's corps logo. It adds a nice touch.

DC Comics Superhero Collection #70: Power Girl

2011-04-03T13:57:00.000+08:00

One of my favorite female superheroes (along with Ms. Marvel) gets the lead figure treatment by Eaglemoss - Power Girl.

For those wondering why she is very similar to Supergirl, well she is, in fact, Supergirl in a way. Power Girl (real name: Kara Zor-L) is the Earth-Two counterpart of Supergirl, which means Power Girl is the parallel version of Supergirl.

She is also a member of the Justice Society of America, which I like better than the Justice League of America. But anyway, here are the pics.

Her smile is just ridiculous, don't ya think?

Heroes of the DC Universe: Green Lantern Hal Jordan Bust (Blackest Night)

2011-03-16T00:34:00.000+08:00

Even though the Blackest Night event from DC comics ended a year ago, new products revolving around it is continue to come out. For one, DC Direct has just started a Blackest Night line for its Heroes of the DC Universe line of mini-busts. And of course, I got myself the Hal Jordan mini-bust.

I'm starting to think DC is milking out Green Lantern (maybe for the upcoming movie), considering they just released a Green Lantern mini-bust for this Heroes of the DC Universe line not so long ago. Yeah I know, this is spin-off line focused more on "Blackest Night", but still.

I like this one better though. The base looks much better compared to the other one (where it depicts Hal busting out of a lantern battery). Jean St. Jean's sculpt really captures the art of Ivan Reis (who draws a pretty kick-ass Hal Jordan), with the raised Green Lantern logo and all.

I like the base much better than the other Hal Jordan bust in Heroes of the DCU line.

The different corps logos add a nice touch to the base.

Been Busy

2011-02-28T23:42:00.000+08:00

What's up, guys! Sorry I haven't been posting something lately. I've been busy with a lot of stuff for the past few weeks. First up, I have a job now. So it would be pretty much hard for me to post some long articles and reviews. But don't worry, soon I will be posting some things!

Next, I usually go home from work around dinner time. And when I do arrive home, my time is usually split between practicing my guitar and playing my PS3 (Super Street Fighter IV and Marvel VS. Capcom 3). After that, I have to go sleep because I need to get up early the next morning.

So that leaves me free on weekends. However, usually I go out with friends or do something else with my free time. I assure you this site is not dead. I will posting some stuff soon. So thanks to you guys (whoever you are) who read my blog, LOL.

Cheers.

Meet the New Superman!

2011-02-01T22:58:00.000+08:00

The comic book community has been buzzing lately with news of a newly-cast actor as Superman for the Zack Snyder reboot movie. Meet Henry Cavill and he's British, and that's about everything I know of him. Kinda funny a British actor will play an American character, eh?

As for the looks, he certainly got the hair and the face for Clark Kent. He just needs to be a bit bigger to play as Superman. But I don't know why they had to replace Brandon Routh. I didn't like "Superman Returns", but I definitely thought Routh was a good choice as Superman.

Oh well, I trust Zack Snyder and his decisions as he somewhat accurately directed comic book movies such as "300" and "Watchmen".

Marvel VS. Capcom 3 Episodic Trailers

2011-01-29T11:51:00.000+08:00

Marvel and Capcom has been releasing long trailers for their long awaited game "Marvel VS. Capcom 3". Their not just your normal trailer though. Each trailer holds its own story while slowly revealing new characters as they release a new trailer (episode).

If you wanna see Marvel fighting Capcom characters in a cinematic way, then you better watch this trailers!

So far, only these three trailers have been released. A lot of new characters have bee revealed since then, like Spider-Man, Pheonix, Sentinel, Thor, Mike Haggar, Gouki, Taskmaster, etc.

Keer you eyes peeled! MVC3 will be released on February 15th, 2011 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

First Photo of Andrew Garfield As Spider-Man Released!

2011-01-16T11:11:00.001+08:00

The internet has been buzzing lately with the first official look at Andrew Garfield donning the Spider-Man suit for the reboot movie. Apparently, the costume has been redesigned. It still retains the classic look of Spider-Man's costume, but with a tweaks here and there.

Full photo after the jump.

First of all, I don't know why they had to redesign the classic costume for the movie. The costume from the previous movies already looks spot-on with the comic books (except for the raised silver webbing). However, since it's a reboot, I'd understand that they need to make this stand out from the previous trilogy.

Anyway, it sure looks different and feels weird without the red belt. Maybe it's just because I'm so used to the classic costume. Also, the redesign of the gloves looks unnecessary, but it adds a nice touch.

I'll wait for a better picture of the suit (with the mask on) before I can fully comment on it. Right now, it feels like the costume is overdone. There's one thing I like though, no more silver webbing!

So what do you think?

"Thor" Classic Version Mini-Bust by Bowen

2011-01-09T21:30:00.000+08:00

This is my first collectible for the year 2011 - Bowen's Thor classic version mini-bust. I've been waiting a long time for a new Thor mini-bust to come since the old Bowen Thor bust doesn't come with arms. But now here he is, the God of Thunder!

The bust looks really good overall. My only gripe is that the paint could've been better. Knowing Bowen, their products are top-notch but the paint on this one is sub-par compared to their previous releases. But I'm still happy with this.

Bowen used real leather for the strap on Mjolnir. However, the engraved text on Thor's hammer is not present on this mini-bust, which is too bad but I can live with it.

DC Comics Superhero Collection Special: Kilowog

2011-01-09T20:38:00.000+08:00

I got a new lead figure weeks ago, but I just got to posting it now. Here's the big guy of the Green Lantern Corps: Kilowog.

Every Green Lantern reader knows Kilowog. He's the one in charge of training new recruits for the Corps. Furthermore, he's already an established character in the GL universe and one of my favorite Green Lanterns.

"Batman: Arkham City" Hugo Strange Reveal Trailer

2010-12-14T23:21:00.000+08:00

It seems 2011 will be another year full of superhero goodness! A new trailer has appeared for the sequel to the acclaimed "Batman: Arkham Asylum" video game titled "Batman: Arkham City" featuring the one and only Dark Knight.

"Batman: Arkham Asylum" took the the superhero genre of gaming to a new height, being crowned as the best superhero video game to date. And I completely agree with that.

Anyway, in this trailer we see the probable main villain of the game - Hugo Strange. The CG trailer looks really impressive, as it almost looks like the characters are real actors. Here's the trailer.

"Thor" Official Trailer Released!

2010-12-14T22:42:00.002+08:00

If you were fast enough, you would've have seen the leaked trailer from Comic-Con a few months ago. It got some fans really excited, including me. But this time Marvel has officially released the trailer.

Although it's pretty much the same as the one leaked before, it contains a lot of new scenes with different cuts, and pretty much looks like an "official movie trailer" if you catch my drift.

Review: Amazing Spider-Man #648

2010-11-23T22:01:00.000+08:00

Story: Dan Slott
Art: Humberto Ramos

"Brand New Day" is over, and "Big Time" starts. Now, Dan Slott is the sole writer of the book, with artists rotating between Humberto Ramos, Marcos Martin, and Stefano Caselli. With this, I hope the storytelling and flow between stories become more consistent compared to when the book had several writers.

This issue features an all-star cast - Avengers, Sinister Six, the supporting cast of Spider-Man appear in the book. Slott has laid the groundwork on this issue that will play out as time goes by.

Slott definitely wrote the story here catering to new readers while still giving old readers a ride on Spider-Man's world. He introduced each supporting cast member well with a character background, leaving no one behind.

One good thing about this issue is Slott's acknowledgement of Spider-Man's intelligence. Through the years, Spidey's intellect has been put on the wayside by many writers, when clearly Peter Parker is one of the most intelligent person in the Marvel Universe. It's good to see his brains finally got him employed.

The Sinister Six's appearance is mostly fan service, as the other members like Sandman, Rhino, Mysterio certainly didn't do anything significant. Although Slott gave them character backgrounds for the new readers. There's also a new villain introduced that's been following J. Jonah Jameson around. His costume doesn't look that good to me, though. And an old villain has finally made his return to the book.

As Slott created new relationships (i.e. Flash and Betty are together now), it's interesting the he wrote Michelle Gonzales out of the book. But since Vin is back, there's no reason for Michele to stick around. On the other hand, Harry Osborn seems to be out of the book already.

Humberto Ramos' art is surprisingly good. I'm not really a fan of cartoony drawing, especially in American comic books, but his art looks really amazing here. His action scenes are great and his facial expressions really show off. At some points, his art has a Chris Bachalo feel to it.

The book certainly feels a lot more positive compared to the "Brand New Day" era. Fans will be pleased to see Peter Parker's life in a more optimistic point of view. With the return of a classic villain, I know I'm excited for "Big Time".

Rating: 4.5/5

"Green Lantern" Movie Trailer Released!

2010-11-22T21:43:00.000+08:00

Finally, Warner Bros. has released a trailer for their upcoming superhero movie, "Green Lantern". The film stars Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, Blake Lively as Carol Ferris, Mark Strong as Sinestro, and Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond.

The trailer already features a lot of characters from the Green Lantern universe - Kilowog, Tomar Tu, Sinestro, and a look at Oa. Also, we get to see the Green Lantern costume in action. What's interesting is that instead of the traditional spandex, the costume is made of a construct from GL's ring, and it definitely looks like that in the trailer.

The movie is set to be released in June 17th, 2011.

Review: Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #4

2010-11-17T22:41:00.000+08:00

Story: Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Fernando Pasarin, Cam Smith

I guess the cover of this issue says it all - Sodam Yat is back! He gets a major development in this issue but it pretty much doesn't meet up with the what the cover says.

Tomasi's work on "Green Lantern Corps" was really outstanding. But I gotta admit his work here is not that good compared to that. He gives most of the book to Guy Gardner, trying to make him likeable. But that's the downside of the book, sadly.

To be honest, Guy Gardner does not really appeal to me as a lead character. He works better in "Green Lantern Corps" because he's just a support type of character. Anyway, Guy and the gang goes on a side trip to Daxam to look for Sodam but to no avail. So they go continue on their journey to look for the "source" of their powers getting drained.

They arrive in planet called Rank and beat up a bunch of aliens. Now, Fernando Pasarin's art is good. However, his aliens don't really look that alien-y. As I've read in another review, his aliens look too humanoid, where the alien-y features are left out to conform to a more humanoid form.

So far, the main story of the book (i.e. draining of their energy) is not that striking and interesting. I'm interested more in Sodam's subplot than the whole plot of the book. Maybe when we finally get to that part this book will become more fun to read.

Rating: 2/5

Review: Amazing Spider-Man #647

2010-11-09T23:11:00.000+08:00

It's been three years since the "Brand New Day" era began, and now the web-heads braintrust are putting an end to it with this issue. After the very controversial arc "One More Day," many fans dropped the book, but some fans still supported "Amazing Spider-Man" despite of the big retcon Marvel did. I'm one of those fans.

Anyway, "Amazing Spider-Man" #647 is the final issue in the "Brand New Day" era of the book. And just like "Amazing Spider-Man" #600, all of the web-heads, or braintrust, each contributed a story. Since some of the stories aren't really connected with each other, I'm gonna review the stories individually.

"Another Door"
Story: Fred Van Lente
Art: Max Fiumara

This story is the probably the main story in the issue. Van Lente writes this story pretty well, wrapping up some of the cast stories, while also setting up new ones. Apparently, Vin Gonzales is finally released from jail, and tries to make ammends with the people he has hurt. Peter goes shopping with Carlie for Halloween costumes but ends up in a big fight.

I don't know why Overdrive is here. The last we saw him he was all webbed up and put to jail back in "Amazing Spider-Man" #645. But I think Van Lente chose him so the Spider Mobile could make an appearance. And it was pretty out of character of Spidey to just yank out the windows of a building, not thinking of the collateral damage he has done.

Stanley Osborn (Harry Osborn's new son) dressed as Dr. Octopus is pretty funny and ironic. After reappearing in the book for "Brand New Day," he will leave again and go some place far away. But I can't blame Van Lente for this though, Harry's story is pretty much finished anyway, with his new baby and telling Peter that Spidey and he are square.

And because of that, the role of Peter's best friend is now left to Mary Jane. That would bring some interesting plots in the future just because of the fact that MJ knows about Peter's secret. I gotta give it to Van Lente, Peter and MJ's conversation here is a lot better than the whole "One More in Time" arc by Joe Quesada. MJ dressed as Jackpot is another "Brand New Day" irony.

On the other hand, we now know that Hobgoblin will make a comeback, and Van Lente may have already given us a hint on who Hobgoblin will be. Vin revealed to Harry his Green Goblin tattoo and Norman Osborn is his higher power. So they turned Vin from a really good guy into a villain now.

This particular story is basically an epilogue to the "Brand New Day" and a set up to the upcoming "Big Time."

"Honor Thy Father"
Story: Zeb Wells
Art: Michael De Mundo

Harry Osborn might have shown a little bit of his goblin side by beating up Vin in this story. I can't say I didn't enjoy that, though. In the previous story, we see Vin reveal his relationship with Norman Osborn, and Harry took it as a threat to his baby.

Props to Zeb Wells for giving Harry Osborn the confidence he needed to be his own man before he disappears from the book again.

"Stand Off"
Story: Bob Gale
Art: Karl Kesel

In my opinion, Bob Gale is the "weakest" in the braintrust in terms of writing a good Spider-Man story. "Stand Off" is basically a filler story to the issue, as it did actually nothing to contribute to the plot in general. The whole story is just to give an interaction between Mayor Jonah and Spider-Man.

"Norah's Last Night in NYC"
Story: Joe Kelly
Art: J.M. Ken Niimura

Who else better to write a Norah Winters story other than Joe Kelly? Winters's mom is asking her to leave New York and come home to Wisconsin because she didn't "make it" in journalism. But Spider-Man convinces her to stay. I believe Norah Winters to be one of the most interesting underused supporting cast in the book, and it's good see she is the main focus in this story. Thank you Joe Kelly for including her in your stories. I wish to see more of Winters in "Big Time."

I'm not really into anime art in American comic books, but the quirky art of Niimura suits the character of Norah Winters well, so this one's okay to me.

"J. Jonah Jameson - The Musical"
Story: Mark Waid
Art: Paul Azaceta

Well, this isn't really a story at all but a single page poster featuring a fictional J. Jonah Jameson musical. Maybe the fact that Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta already did "Origin of the Species" that they got way with just this. There are a some funny lines though.

"American Hero"
Story: Marc Guggenheim
Art: Graham Nolan, Mark Pennington

Flash Thompson makes an appearance again in the book. Guggenheim writes a story that gives a reflection to the real world. Flash and Spider-Man have a conversation about how they both inspire each other. A good and touching story by Guggenheim.

"You Again"
Story: Fred Van Lente, Dan Slott
Art: Adam Archer

Back in the start of "Brand New Day" (ASM #546) we see a girl kissing Peter. Van Lente and Slott gives her a story with this one. The girl's name is Mia Flores and she has the hots for Harry Osborn. She tries to befriend Peter to get closer to Harry but because of Peter's secret alter-ego, Mia always misses Peter whenever she tries to catch up with him.

It's a pretty interesting story because Van Lente and Slott used a character from the beginning of BND to recap the major events that happened throughout the era (Paper Doll, New Ways to Die, Gauntlet, etc.)

Overall, this issue is packed with Spider-Man goodness from all the members of the braintrust. Although some of them are pretty much filler stories, they are still a good read. Aside from the main story, I really liked the Norah Winters and Flash Thompson stories.

Now that "Brand New Day" is over, it's time to move on and hit the "Big Time"!

Rating: 4.5/5

Review: Brightest Day #13

2010-11-08T23:15:00.000+08:00

Story: Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Adrian Syaf, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Vicente Cifuentes

"Brightest Day" has finally reached its halfway point with issue #13. And because Hawkman and Hawkgirl have been absent from the book for a couple of issue already, it's not surprising that almost all of the issue is dedicated to them, with the last two pages about Deadman and Dove.

One good thing about it is the story flows throughout the book consistenly. And because of that, we get to read almost a full story about the characters, instead of little chunks of story like in the previous issues.

Hawkman rages throughout the issue, trying to get to Hawkgirl in time before she dies from Hath-Set's torture. Johns and Tomasi gives us a back story about Hawkgirl's mother and her relationship with Hath-Set, and also about Hawkworld in a two-page spread. I'm still confused with the whole background of Hawkman and Hawkgirl's death and rebirth cycle though.

However, this story might finally end that cycle. Johns and Tomasi's "Brightest Day" might finally wrap up the story of the Hawks and move on, at least they already progressed with it significantly in this issue. Furthermore, Hawkman and Hawkgirl's story will stretch out further away into the DC Universe as depicted in the issue's cover.

What's surprising about the art here is that four artists contributed to this issue - Adrian Syaf, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Vicente Cifuentes - and the art still looked consistently good. The artists depicted Hawkman's rage pretty well. And the two-page spread of Hawkman flying towards the reader looks really fierce.

"Brightest Day" #13 is a change of storytelling in the book as it mainly features the Hawks. And I find Hawkman and Hawkgirl's story more interesting than Martian Manhunter's. There's still a story about Deadman and Dove in the last two pages of the book, and it transitioned well from the other story considering it almost took over the whole issue.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Amazing Spider-Man #646

2010-11-08T22:07:00.000+08:00

Story: Mark Waid
Art: Paul Azaceta, Matthew Southworth

This issue wraps up the final arc on the Brand New Day era of Amazing Spider-Man, "Origin of the Species." Dr. Octopus has hired several of Spider-Man's deadliest villains to kidnap Osborn and Lily Hollister's baby.

Lizard has captured the baby from Chameleon, and has taken the baby to his underground lair, although it is unclear why he wants the baby aside from the fact Lizard hates Osborn.

Waid makes good use of the Lizard's recent development in "Shed," where being in close proximity with the Lizard would bring out the reptilian characteristics in a human brain. As Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus search for the Lizard, Spidey has sensed Dr. Octopus talking "reptilian."

I feel bad for Dr. Octopus, though. He's one of the top Spider-Man villains and seeing him like this is pretty sad. Anyway, he comes back and fights off with both Spider-Man and the Lizard.

Another thing that Waid makes good use of is Spider-Man's intellect. Spider-Man beat Dr. Octopus pretty easily and discovered a big plot twist regarding the baby by analyzing the baby's DNA.

Paul Azaceta's art in this issue looks good, surprisingly. Unlike the early issues, Azaceta's faces have more expression in them. The action scenes also look very dynamic. I don't know what Matthew Southworth contributed to the art, but the art in this issue looks okay.

This issue wraps up the stories of most of the cast in Amazing Spider-Man. It would probably take a long time before we see Lily Hollister again, the same goes for Spider-Man's villains as we see them get their butt kicked big time. Furthermore, Waid maximized Spider-Man's intelligence, and also used the recent developments of the villains.

Rating: 3.5/5

"Captain America: The First Avenger" Pictures

2010-11-02T22:30:00.000+08:00

Marvel has released some high quality pictures from their upcoming film, "Captain America: The First Avenger." The photos feature Chris Evans in his Captain America costume, as well as Hugo Weaving in a Hydra uniform.

Hit the jump to view the pictures. "Captain America: The First Avenger" is set to be released on July 22nd, 2011.

Review: Amazing Spider-Man #645

2010-10-26T23:46:00.000+08:00

Story: Mark Waid
Art: Paul Azaceta, Matthew Southworth

Origin of the Species is the final arc on this Brand New Day era of Spider-Man, and the team of Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta are going all out with this one.

Basically, Doc Ock hired Spider-Man's most dangerous villains to kidnap Norman Osborn and Lily Hollister's baby. With the combined goblin blood of Norman and Lily, Doc Ock believes that the baby could cure his current illness. But of course, our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man won't let that happen.

However, Spider-Man's not feeling particularly friendly in this issue. Spider-Man goes all Punisher on the villains, taking them down one by one with ease. Waid shows the real strength of Spider-Man, particularly in one scene where Spidey took a whole warehouse down all by himself, which is something we don't see everyday.

On the other hand, there are some inconsistencies with Carlie Cooper. She said she hates Lily Hollister because of what happened to her, but now she's concerned for her, even rushing to where they are hiding (I don't know how Carlie knew that, though). And I still don't get how MJ easily accepted Carlie to be a good enough replacement for her.

As for the art, when the first issue for this arc came out back in Amazing Spider-Man #642, I really hated Azaceta's art. I mean, for a grand finale Brand New Day arc, shouldn't Marvel be going for a better artist? I'm not dissing on Azaceta's art, I kinda liked it back in his Electro arc. Anyway, this time I think the art grew on me 'cos it's starting to feel more "natural" in this book compared to ASM#642. And I like the little detail on the panel with Electro, with the lightning expressing Electro's pain as he is tied up.

Overall, this issue is good read showing how dangerous Spider-Man can be when angered to his limits. With a good pace on the plot and a great finale story, I can't wait to see the big showdown of Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Green Lantern Corps #53

2010-10-25T15:05:00.001+08:00

Story: Tony Bedard
Art: Tyler Kirkham, Batt

Bedard's "Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns" arc just finished last issue, and it proved Bedard to be a great writer for the book. Here comes the first chapter of his new arc, "The Weaponer," and it doesn't fall short to his previous story.

The issue focuses more on the tandem of Kyle Rayner and Soranik, who's role would be essential to the story later on. Judging from this issue, the story seems to build up from the "Sinestro Corps War" as it focuses on Sinestro's relationship with the Weaponer of Qward.

It seems The Weaponer has created a shield from the White construct he found way back in an issue of Brightest Day. He easily beats Kyle Rayner in Korugar, kidnaps Soranik, and orders Kyle to get Sinestro to Qward. We're still left without an explanation for this mad-on towards Sinestro as clearly forged Sinestro's ring in the early pages of the book.

Kirkham is the artist for this issue. I don't much complaints about his art, although there some panels where Kyle looked like Batman. But that's just me, I guess. His style gets a little sketchy at times, but it's all good.

This issue of "Green Lantern Corps" sets up a possible big fight between the Weaponer and Sinestro, with Kyle and Soranik caught in the middle of all of it. Bedard's writing reads almost the same as Tomasi's, and I'm sure fans will be happy with that. I know I am.

Rating: 4/5

Classic Marvel Figurine Collection #129: Ant-Man

2010-10-12T22:50:00.000+08:00

Although this Ant-Man is not Dr. Hank Pym anymore, the name Ant-Man is still one of the core members of the Avengers. The more I look at this figure, the more it looks better to me.

This Ant-Man is Scott Lang. I don't know much about him 'cos I never read an Avengers title with him in it. I'm familiar with Eric O'Grady, though.

Anyway here are the pics!

Review: Green Lantern #57

2010-09-27T00:45:00.001+08:00

Story: Geoff Johns
Art: Doug Mahnke

Johns is slowly revealing each of the seven colors' entities per issue. Last issue, it was Ophidian taking over Hector Hammond, this time it's the Predator, though the Predator is already known.

The focus of this issue is more on Carol Ferris than Jordan and Larfleeze. It picks up where the last issue ended - Ophidian. After a little battle with the two, Ophidian-Hector runs away and goes for Carol in Las Vegas, where Jordan and Larfleeze follow suit.

The Queen of the Zamarons inform the other Zamarons that their main battery is weakening and they need to find the Predator to have a new permanent power source. The Queen tells Carol Ferris that the Predator is in Las Vegas.

We are introduced to a man named Abraham Pointe who is obsessing over a woman in a casino. The Predator visits him and takes control over him. Hal and Larfleeze arrive in Las Vegas and shortly after, the Predator. Although Ophidian-Hector said he would go for Carol, he's missing from the rest of the issue. I guess Johns wanted to focus more on the Predator from here on out.

Eventually, Carol Ferris kisses the Predator to free Abraham from the entity. Hal gets jealous and they all go back to Zamaron.

Doug Mahnke's art is still great as ever. For me, he's the best artist in the Green Lantern books. His details with the Predator being crystalized shows his great talent. On the other hand, I think my eyes hurt from all the purple in this issue. But that's not the artist's fault.

"Green Lantern" #57 didn't do anything much except established the little plot point at the end of the issue. This issue is more of a re-introduction of the Predator back into the books, with Larfleeze for comedic purposes. Overall, it's still a good read.

Rating: 3.5/5

Classic Marvel Figurine Collection #101: War Machine

2010-09-16T22:19:00.000+08:00

If you have Iron Man in your collection, you gotta have a War Machine. He's like a greyscaled Iron Man, but with more guns and missiles!

War Machine started as just another armor of Tony Stark. Eventually he gained massive popularity and became a separate entity from Iron Man. Up to this day, War Machine is still regarded as one of the best armor Tony Stark has created.

"I'm War Machine. I have teeth and Iron Man doesn't!"

Classic Marvel Figurine Collection #30: Black Panther

2010-09-16T22:05:00.000+08:00

Here's another one of the main members of the Avengers - Black Panther.

If you noticed the figure doesn't have a box. But it doesn't matter because I got this one a lot cheaper than the other lead figures. I don't really know much about Black Panther, just that he dresses like a black panther.

"I'm the Batman! Psyche! No, I'm not, LOL!"

Classic Marvel Figurine Collection Special: The Hulk

2010-09-16T21:49:00.001+08:00

After waiting for a few years, I finally got myself one of the core members of the Avengers - The Hulk. Good things come to those who wait, indeed. Hulk Smash!

If I remember correctly, Hulk is the first special lead figure. He was first released back in 2005 so it's hard to get him now. But luckily, I found one during a local convention. The moment I saw Hulk I immediately grabbed him before other people could.

Hulk nipples!

DC Comics Superhero Collection #60: Dr. Fate

2010-09-16T21:33:00.000+08:00

When I got into the DC line of lead figures, I said to myself to only get the Green Lanterns. But when a WIP of Dr. Fate was sneaked a long time ago, the sculpt is so beautiful that I knew I had to get him when he comes out. So I present Dr. Fate!

Good thing I have the lead figure of Alan Scott, at least Dr. Fate wouldn't be left out of the group since both of them are part of the JSA. With that said, Dr. Fate is one of my favorites in the JSA.

This guy has one of the coolest helmets a superhero could have.

DC Comics Superhero Collection #38: GL Guy Gardner

2010-09-16T21:12:00.001+08:00

Here's another Green Lantern figure I got. He's probably the angriest and most aggressive Green Lantern there is.

Out of all the Green Lanterns out there, Guy is the one I like the least. Although he has good intentions, I just don't like his character at all. He makes a good supporting character, but as a lead character, I don't think so. He's still a part of the bunch so I got him.

DC Comics Superhero Collection #55: GL John Stewart

2010-09-16T20:51:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I posted something related to DC lead figures. Well, I got another GL figure - John Stewart.

Since John Stewart came from the Marines, he's probably the Green Lantern with the best tactics and field experience. And that's his specialty.

Review: Brightest Day #9

2010-09-15T21:40:00.000+08:00

Story: Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Patrick Gleason, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado

It seems Boston Brand is the only character who consistently appears on every issue of "Brightest Day". That's no surprise, because he's pretty the White Lantern as of this moment. On the other hand, other characters like Firestorm still does not appear in this issue.

We are teased with the new Aqualad, a boy by the name of Jackson, showing us a bit of his powers. It is then cut-off with his dad warning him about using his powers in public, then calls him inside.

But the main part of the story of this issue is focused on Martian Manhunter and his quest in Star City. And that left confused. No surprise there again, 'cos even the Green Arrow is confused with what happened. Martian Manhunter stops by Star City's forest and started a rampage, much like what happened to him a few issues ago. Although this time, the other green martian got affected by it too. With the White Entity dropping out a bunch of messages/hints, it's hard to tell what the White Entity really wants for J'onn to do. The only thing I got out of it is that Mars is alive, and he has to eliminate the other green martian.

With that out of the way, the issue ended with an interesting twist. Black Manta appears again after getting teased on several issues back. And it's revealed that the new Aqualad, Jackson, is actually Black Manta's son.

Patrick Gleason outshines the rest of the artist in this issue with his art on Martian Manhunter's story. His detailed transformation scenes with J'onn shows his creativity and attention to details. Ivan Reis and Joe Prado also do a good job with art, though Gleason's is the best for me in this issue.

The issue has a good start, and a good ending. The middle part left me confused though, but I think it will be expounded more in upcoming issues. Still, this issue does little to move the plot forward, a little disappointing compared to how good the two previous issues are.

Rating: 2.5/5

Review: Shadowland #3

2010-09-10T22:35:00.000+08:00

Story: Andy Diggle
Art: Billy Tan

I really had high hopes for Shadowland when it was first announced. Daredevil slowly moving on to the dark side? I wouldn't say brilliant but it's the logical next step when looking at Daredevil's character. Unfortunately, with three issues in, the event is still pretty disappointing.

The subplot with the Kingpin and Lady Bullseye is probably the most interesting part of the event and I'm eager to see what happens next with the confrontation of Ghost Rider and Kingpin. At least we got the answer why Ghost Rider just suddenly appeared like that.

The main problem with this book is Daredevil himself. He's gone out of control without Diggle giving us a clear motive of why he's doing it. Of course there's the brief explanation in the first issue, but it just doesn't cut it. In this issue however, Diggle gives us an anti-climactic explanation. Apparently, Daredevil isn't himself, but being controlled by Snakeroot. Well, that explains the very first scene in the first issue. Honestly, the original idea of Daredevil going nuts is purely himself is better than having Snakeroot control him.

Another problem I see here is a lot of characters suddenly keep appearing. Diggle's been doing this since the first issue. However, I don't know if it's Diggle's original idea to have them like that or Marvel's idea so they could produce more tie-ins with this event. Either way, it's hurting the story.

Bullseye's resurrection is pretty much predictable considering he's a top villain in the Marvel universe and add to the fact that Diggle killed him immediately in the first issue.

Fortunately, Billy Tan's art helps the issue with the dynamism of his action scenes. Furthermore, the panels with Ghost Rider look beautiful with the flames looking natural.

This issue is definitely better than the first two. But still not as I expected it to be. I suppose introducing more characters in the middle of the arc is not a good idea.

Rating: 3/5

Review: Invincible Iron Man #29

2010-09-05T00:14:00.000+08:00

Story: Matt Fraction
Art: Salvador Larroca

Everytime I read Fraction's "Invinvible Iron Man" I feel like I'm watching a TV drama. And just like every drama shows out there, there's something big about to bust out eventually, usually towards the end.

For almost a year now, "Invincible Iron Man" has been about rebuilding Tony Stark. The last arc was about "resurrecting" Tony Stark back to life, and this arc is about rebuilding Stark Industries to Stark Resilient.

Pepper Potts has fully recovered and finally back into her Rescue armor, with her armor getting an upgrade as well. Stark and his crew find a place where Stark Resilient could settle, and Rhodey talks with General Babbage to take hold of War Machine and monitor Hammer Industries. But Gen. Babbage rejects Rhodey's proposal and insults him back.

Meanwhile, the Hammers are also slowly building up their Detroit Steel to compete with Stark. They recruited a bunch of geeks who unknowingly control real missiles through their phones that will aid Detroit Steel.

The good thing about Fraction's writing is the characterization and development of characters. His pace lets Fraction give the main and supporting characters proper development. Furthermore, instead of giving us the full capabilities of Stark's new armor, Fraction is giving little hints as to what a "rebooted" Stark is capable of.

On the other hand, it's been a while since we saw some action in this book. And truthfully, it gets really boring at times.

Larroca's art has this realistic feel to it. There's even one panel of Gen. Babbage where he actually looks like a former President of the United States. Larroca's faces are very uniques from each other and their expressions are really well done.

It would probably take a while before we could see some Iron Man action, but at least we get some good characterization and story going on.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Amazing Spider-Man #640

2010-09-01T22:40:00.001+08:00

Story: Joe Quesada
Art: Paolo Rivera, Joe Quesada, Danny Miki, Richard Isanove

After the miraculous CPR of Peter last issue, the other explanation we get for that by Joe Quesada is... love. Yes, a miracle like this happens in real life, but in the context of "One Moment In Time," I can't get it out of my head that Mephisto's all behind it. That love concept may be an easy way out when one cannot give a rational explanation, however if you can't accept that, then you just have to believe. You decide on that.

Quesada got me with the nurse wearing a red outfit last issue. I assumed that was Mephisto, but after reading this, I guess she's just a plain nurse working for Kingpin. What a perfect red herring (pun intended).

The strongest point in this issue is the middle part of the story. It's where Quesada shows another reason why Peter and Mary Jane can't be together, as we see MJ's aunt being the new target of the Kingpin. Eddie, the former goon of Electro in the last two issues, comes back here working for the Kingpin. It's pretty obvious he's going to come back with the way Quesada developed that character in the last two issues.

MJ goes back to being another damsel in distress, being chased by Eddie. Spider-Man saves her and goes straight to Dr. Strange. And this is another answer to an another OMD related question, "how did Peter Parker conceal his identity again?" It's logical that Dr. Strange would be the go-to person for the magic stuff. But Quesada adds another twist at the end. It was highly implied since BND started that only one person is responsible for concealing Peter's identity again, so the end is a bit surprising.

Quesada's art in this issue is the same as the last two issues. Peter still kinda looks like him, and MJ is still ugly. It really contrasts the beautiful art of Paolo Rivera. The luchador mask is a brilliant idea and funny at the same time.

The opening scene of this issue does not really work that much for me, but it's acceptable. Despite that, it gets good as I read through it and the ending gave me a little surprise. Oh one more thing, there's a panel where the nurse actually referred to MJ as Peter's WIFE!

Spidey Sundays: Stan Lee and Marcos Martin's two page story is still light-hearted like the previous ones. But what really stand out are Martin's layouts. It shows how creative this guy really is.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Secret Avengers #4

2010-08-30T21:53:00.000+08:00

Story: Ed Brubaker
Art: Mike Deodato, Jr.

Ed Brubaker's first arc on "Secret Avengers" comes to a clese with this one. The whole arc has been a good read, but I'm not sure if making them go to Mars as a first mission is a good idea. I'm starting to think that Brubaker chose this path because of Nova. There's a line in the last page of the issue where Steve says that Nova will be out of the group for a while, so that could mean the next arcs would involve the group just staying on Earth.

The previous issues were really a good read, but this last one is not as good as the previous ones. This is due to the fact that almost half of the cast is missing for the most part. They're conscious alright, they are not just used much throughout the issue. Moon Knight, Black Widow and Valkyrie are only in a few panels, Moon Knight maybe even less. Add to that the fact that the main "villain" in this story is their own teammate.

There's nothing wrong with a teammate acting a villain. It has been used many times in different stories, but in the first arc of the issue? It probably means the group will have many more problems in the future.

There's so many people acting as villains in this issue, it's hard to tell who really posed a real threat to the Secret Avengers in the long run. Brubaker gave us the idea of ancient beings in this story by giving us a taste of it here. But it was mentioned before that there are three crowns lying around, so will we see the other ones? If so, then I don't think this group is fit for that kind of threat, even if they have Nova.

Deodato's panels really add to the dynamism of the story, especially in the action department. My only gripe about his pencils are his overly muscular bodies that bulge out. It's pretty distracting to me. Other than that, it's all good.

The ending may not be good for this first story, but I can see a future with this title. I have faith in Brubaker.

Rating: 2.5/5

Review: Green Lantern Corps #51

2010-08-29T23:04:00.000+08:00

Story: Tony Bedard
Art: Ardian Syaf, Vicente Cifuentes

Tony Bedard's first arc on "Green Lantern Corps" is shaping up to be a real great read. Cyborg Superman has taken control of the Alpha Lanterns and used them to fight against the Green Lanterns. He kidnapped Ganthet to force him to change him back to a normal person again, so Cyborg Superman could be free from being immortal.

The opening scene of the issue is already great, showing how ruthless Cyborg Superman really is by ordering one of the Alpha-Lantern to kill himself (or itself?). He even made Ganthet feel a new emotion later on in the book.

Meanwhile, Green Lanterns Kyle Rayner, Soranik Natu, and John Stewart try to win over the resident robots underground into joining them to stand up against Cyborg Superman by creating a construct of Green Lantern Stel. The robots eventually agree to the Green Lanterns, but when Alpha-Lantern Boodikka shows up Lost Lantern Hannu appears and punches the hell out of Boodikka.

Boodikka finally comes back to her "senses", recognizing Hannu and the rest and lets them recharge through her power battery. But does this mean she dies?

Bedard leaves us with a little subplot that's gonna be big in the future arc. A resident of Qward has acquired a white net construct used by Boston Brand in the "Brightest Day" title.

Speaking of "Brightest Day", Ardian Syaf's art in that title sure looks great, and it's no different in here. The art is consistenly good since the first part of the story. In here, Syaf's facial expressions really add to the emotion of the characters, especially in the scenes of Ganthet. Syaf proves to be a good replacement for Patrick Gleason. I say even a better one.

This issue of "Green Lanterns Corps" shows how dangerous Cyborg Superman can be. But with the Green Lanterns finally able to recharge, will Cyborg Superman get what he wants? We'll see how Bedard ends his first arc next issue.

Rating: 4/5

Review: Brightest Day #8

2010-08-28T23:16:00.000+08:00

Story: Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Patrick Gleason, Ivan Reis, Ardian Syaf

In the previous issue Boston Brand, Hawk and Dove were the main characters featured throughout the book whereas here the Hawks and Martian Manhunter lead the story, with a two page story of Hawk, Dove, and Deadman. Aquaman and Firestorm are nowhere to be found here.

We get a little backstory at how the fight between M'Gann and the mysterious green martian happened in issue #6. But we still don't get any information from the martian antagonist aside from the fact that she is really a green martian and hates white martians with a passion.

Gleason's art really helped the story of Martian Manhunter. The panels where the mysterious green martian is attacking M'Gann while is slowly transforming back into a white martian adds depth to the story.

As for the Hawks, Tonrarr gives us a little history of Hawkworld while Hawkgirl fights Hath-set and ends up with a twist. This is just from personal taste, but I liked the story about the Hawks better than J'onn's. Syaf's art on the Hawks are very detailed, with great shading and nice angles for the panels.

The end of the issue leads us to Star City. But it's I bet it will not get touched upon at least until in the next two issues. This is the problem with too many featured characters in a book. Some subplots and characters really get left out and takes time to develop them.

Despite that, Brightest Day is starting to become interesting compared to the previous issues.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #1

2010-08-28T22:15:00.000+08:00

Story: Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Fernando Pasarin

Peter J. Tomasi left "Green Lantern Corps" and went on to write another new Green Lantern-related title, "Emerald Warriors". The title features three main characters - Guy Gardner, Ganthet, and Atrocitus - but we get our hands on Guy for this launch issue. But is it as good as the "Green Lantern Corps?"

Unfortunately, it's not. In "Green Lantern Corps" we get to see pretty much the whole corps. And Guy Gardner works well in that book as one of the many supporting characters for the book.

Here, we get Guy for almost the whole issue. Does this mean he's out of the "Green Lantern Corps" title? Anyway, as usual Guy uses his aggressive and reckless methods as a GL to intercept a threat after recording a message. Being aggressive and reckless is what makes Guy who he is. However, we get to see a lot more of that through the whole issue, and it gets tedious.

Gardner makes a pact with Ganthet and his new buddy, Atrocitus, to head onto the unknown sectors to stop and intercept a threat. But Atrocitus sends out Bleez instead. Sodam Yat makes a quick appearance here, unconscious. We'll see where that subplot goes in the future.

Fernando Pasarin's art looks good. I like his Guy Gardner better than Patrick Gleason's when he was still in "Green Lantern Corps". The opening scene is where his art shined the most in this issue. The action looks very dynamic with a strict attention to detail.

Although Guy Gardner does not really work well as a main character (at least for me), the issue ends up well hinting that something big is gonna come in the future. But still, this is not a good start for "Emerald Warriors".

Rating: 2/5

Review: Shadowland #2

2010-08-24T00:36:00.000+08:00

Story: Andy Diggle
Art: Billy Tan

Let me get things straight, I love Daredevil. He's one of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, I'm starting to have doubts about this book.

A huge ninja headquarters in the middle of Hell's Kitchen declaring martial law with Daredevil leading it? That's the main plot of Shadowland. It actually sounds like a great idea if you ask me. However, it stills feels like there's something missing in this book.

First up, the recap page doesn't really cut it for me. I don't know why Daredevil is doing all this. What's the real motive? He's slowly becoming a villain as he wanted to expand his base of operations. I know a lot has happened to Matt Murdock in the past few days, but I don't really think Matt Murdock would actually do this kind of stuff.

Furthermore, Ghost Rider and Spider-Man suddenly pops up out of nowhere. I understand that Spider-Man would appear eventually because he's one of Daredevil's closest friends. But Ghost Rider? On the other hand, Moon Knight's involvement is delivered well. This issue opens with Moon Knight taking notice of Shadowland, and gets the attention of the Hand ninjas to get in.

Luke Cage and company gets more screentime this time, trying to talk some sense into Daredevil. And that's where Spider-Man should fall in. Spidey is closer to Daredevil and they've been to a lot together. So it's more logical for him to be the first one to take concern to Daredevil than Luke Cage and the others.

Billy Tan's artwork is better here than the first issue. The splash page of Ghost Rider's appearance looks stunning. And there aren't any awkward poses this time within the cast.

The build-up to Shadowland was great. It brought the hype it needed for the book. I mean, the idea behind the book sounds good. But two issues in, the story still seems a little slow. On the plus side, I find this issue better than the first one, which I think that this issue could easily pass a the first issue altogether.

Rating: 2.5/5

Review: Brightest Day #7

2010-08-10T13:03:00.000+08:00

Story: Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark, Joe Prado

After establishing the status quo and experimenting with the newly reborn characters, Johns and Tomasi finally sets the plot forward in a significant pace in this issue. We finally learn what the white entity wants for the twelve resurrected to do.

In this issue, we see all the featured twelve characters make an appearance, although some of them in just a short exposure. For instance, Captain Boomerang and the new Black Adam only get shown in one panel.

The main story in this issue centers around Hawk, Dove, and Deadman, with the other characters on the wayside but still get some major development. After the white entity told Boston to eat a cheeseburger last issue, the issue opens up with Boston and Dawn in a diner eating a cheeseburger. Hank shows up and eats a cheeseburger as well. Suddenly the three of them gets transported to the location of the white lantern power battery, with the white entity telling Boston that "he is ready."

Johns give us a background about the white entity. Apparently, the white entity is looking for a replacement since it is dying. It is still not clear if Boston Brand is the replacement, but the entity tells him he needs to embrace life once again.

A lot of subplots appear in this issue as the white entity calls each of the resurrected characters and gives them a mission. Black Lantern Firestorm is trying to escape from Firestorm to destroy the white entity. Hawkman is still stuck in Hawkworld, and Hawkgirl is captured by Hath-Set. Jackson reappears in this issue and we are hinted he may be related to Aquaman in some way.

As with the previous issues, the art is awesome. The White Lantern costumes of the heroes look really good. The two-page spread that foreshadows what's gonna happen showcases each of the artists' strengths.

Basically this whole issue is a set-up of what's to come in the title. We get some really good developments for each character throughout the whole issue. Furthermore, as with the "Sinestro Corps War," Johns teases us of the future in a two-page spread. I hope it will get better from this point on.

Rating: 4/5

Review: Amazing Spider-Man #639

2010-08-08T21:15:00.000+08:00

Story: Joe Quesada
Art: Paolo Rivera, Joe Quesada, Danny Miki, Richard Isanove

Last issue explained how the wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane never happened. This time the team explains why they stayed together after what happened in the wedding. Those Spider-Man comics over the years with Peter and MJ still happened right?

While last issue mixed new content with panels from "The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21," this time it's all new content from the Quesada and Rivera. As a result, this issue flows a little better than the last one.

The issue opens up immediately where the last one ended. Spider-Man trying to find MJ to give her an explanation why he missed the wedding but ended up getting shut down by MJ. She asks Peter to finally give up being Spider-Man but to no avail. MJ then talks with her aunt Anna who tells her to give Peter a second chance.

This is the scene where Quesada gives us why these two stayed together after their disaster wedding. If not for those years of marriage where Peter and MJ were married, I bet these two would easily just break up right there. Apparently, MJ wants to marry Peter because she wanted kids. But since she can't marry Peter because of Spider-Man, which means not having kids, the two just stay together without getting married. Well in my opinion, that's a plausible explanation from Quesada.

On the other hand, Quesada's explanation on how Aunt May survived the gunshot from OMD is not so good. I mean, what the hell happened there?!

Quesada's art is still a pain to the eyes in this issue. It makes me wonder what happened because back in OMD, his art looked fantastic. Thankfully, we have Paolo Rivera on board and his art shined throught the whole issue. His art has some dynamicism to it and really captures the emotions of the characters.

Overall, the issue is good until the ending. Rivera's art really helped the issue remain strong and the how Peter and MJ still stayed together is acceptable. Now we are left on how Peter's identity became a secret again and how the couple broke up.

Rating: 3.5/5

Street Fighter X Tekken Announced!

2010-08-02T11:18:00.000+08:00

Yoshinori Ono, producer of Super Street Fighter IV, has announced a new crossover game in SDCC. Street Fighter X Tekken (pronounced as "cross") will pit two of the best fighting games today against each other in a 2D gameplay.

Watch the trailer and gameplay after the cut.

The game will be released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 but it will not be out until 2012. Apparently, Capcom has been in talks with Namco about making a game like this when Street Fighter IV and Tekken 6 came out a year ago.

Namco will also develop a game named Tekken X Street Fighter using their own engine.

Never in my life have I thought this game would even be possible. Street Fighter and Tekken both have different gameplay - one is 2D fighting and the other is 3D fighting, respectively. But now that I've seen with my own eyes, I'm excited! Two of my favorite fighting games are now put into one! It's the best time to be a fighting game fan. Thanks Ono and Harada!

Review: Green Lantern #56

2010-08-01T15:34:00.000+08:00

Story: Geoff Johns
Art: Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy, Tom Nguyen, Keith Champagne

The more I read about Larfleeze, the more interesting he gets for me. He gets a lot of face time in this issue. Larfleeze has decided to live in Earth because of the fact that humans share the same insatiable desire as him.

Most of the time, he comes off as a comic relief whenever he makes an appearance. But I bet that is Larfleeze's charm. Geoff Johns sure knows how to develop this character, as Larfleeze discovers about Santa Claus. That part really come off as funny to me because of Larfleeze's background.

Moving on, Hal Jordan obviously goes to talk to Larfleeze to return the things he stole from the locals. But also to talk about the growing subplot about the mysterious hooded guy acquiring the entities of each color. We learn that the entities are here on Earth so Hal asks Larfleeze how he imprisoned Ophidian (orange entity) into this power battery.

But soon Hector Hammond arrives on the scene and takes away the orange power battery. Obviously Larfleeze doesn't want to give it so Hammond just ate the whole thing. In this scene, we got a short peek about Larfleeze's old life before he became Agent Orange. Shortly after, Ophidian took over Hector Hammond and turned out to be one of the creepiest creatures I've seen in the book.

There's also a new subplot involving The Question and Saint Walker. Walker gave some kind of a eulogy to Victor Szasz with The Question on the scene. He talks about how "all will be well" and tells us Adara (blue entity) is coming.

But the main reason this book is great is because of Doug Mahnke. I'm starting to consider him as the best artist in the Green Lantern books. In the scene where we see Larfleeze and his orange constructs and the things he stole from the locals, Mahnke's art showed great detail. Also, the panel where Hal is talking to Larfleeze that he lives in a different galaxy, the construct Hal made showing different planets and the words "You Are Here" show his creativity.

Overall, the story moved forward with a good pace, and with Larfleeze in it, the story turned out to be fun. But with Mahnke's art, the issue turned out even better.

Rating: 4.5/5

Lazy Sunday #38: Back From the Dead

2010-08-01T12:59:00.004+08:00

As you might already have noticed, this blog is up and running again. It's been months since I last posted something in this site, but I didn't want this to go to waste. Now it's alive again and I decided to post my reviews of the comic books I read here.

I also redesigned the whole blog to give it a new look as a symbol of the "resurrection" of this blog. Well I actually just clicked and clicked in the new designer feature of Blogger. I'll customize it in the future to give it more a personalized feel than looking at a template as soon as I get my lazy ass to do it.

Well that's it for now. See ya!

Review: Green Lantern Corps #50

2010-08-01T12:31:00.000+08:00

Story: Tony Bedard
Art: Adrian Syaf, Vicente Cifuentes

The last time we saw Cyborg Superman was three years ago in the "Sinestro Corps War." By the end of the arc, we see his brain got taken by the Manhunters. Tony Bedard takes the character from where he got left off and gives him a new direction in this issue.

For those who don't know much about Cyborg Superman, Bedard gives us a quick background check of the character. He gives us the whole origin of the character in just a single page. Next, Bedard explains what happened to Hank Henshaw after the Sinestro Corps War ended.

Apparently, Hank Henshaw was present during Blackest Night. He provoked Nekron to take his life and finally end his misery. However, the Black Lanterns were looking for hearts and Hank doesn't have one. He encounters the hooded guy who collects the entities and told him the Alpha-Lanterns are the key to his freedom. On a side note, this hooded guy is appearing in all the Green Lantern books. We'll still see where this subplot goes.

Anyway, the reason Hank kidnapped John Stewart to lure Ganthet in. He tells us Ganthet is the only one who can save him. As Kyle Rayner, Sonarik Natu, and John Stewart run off to hide, they discover the whole population of Grenda underground. That's not much of a cliffhanger for me, as it didn't leave "hanging" much. But it still works.

Adrian Syaf's pencils has this Ivan Reis feel to it. And that's good, 'cos as we know Ivan Reis is one of the best artist in Green Lantern. The splash page with Cyborg Superman holding Ganthet shows the sinister feeling of the scene. I could almost hear a background music when I saw it.

Tony Bedard turned out to be a good replacement for Peter J. Tomasi for this book. He keeps the "Corps" feel of the book with the ensemble cast that Tomasi was good at.

Rating: 4/5

Review: Secret Avengers #3

2010-07-29T23:03:00.000+08:00

Story: Ed Brubaker
Art: Mike Deodato Jr.

After the great first two issue of Secret Avengers, this third one sets in pretty slow. Here we are introduced to the real threat, which I think should have been introduced last issue or so. Although Nova may seem the antagonist here (in a way, he is), apparently there is a much bigger threat behind all of this.

Brubaker introduces us to a new character in the opening scene, Aloysius Thorndrake, a man who came from a post-Civil War America and then got sucked into a dimensional plane. Later it is revealed that Thorndrake is actually the boss of Nick Fury (is this really THE Nick Fury?) and the Shadow Council, and he knows much more about the crowns.

Speaking of the crown, Archon, the guardian of the Serpent Crown explains that each of the three crowns could channel the dark children's powers and awaken their father, the Abyss. When I read that, the character Abyss from the video game Marvel VS. Capcom 2 came into my mind. But I don't think Brubaker is referring to him. Anyway, Archon tells us that the Abyss has been around long before the Celestials and devourers of worlds existed, and Archon is created by a Watcher. I don't know much about the cosmic stuff of Marvel so I'll just leave it at that.

Other than Nova, Steve, Valkyrie, and Ant-Man, the rest of the cast doesn't do much in this issue. We don't get an update from Sharon Carter. Black Widow and Moon Knight are unconscious thanks to Nova. War Machine is just used as a plot device to inform Steve that Ant-Man went missing. Back in issue #2 Ant-Man got sucked in a wormhole, now he ended up in the base of the Shadow Council in Texas, in Earth. It's pretty weird that he didn't contact anyone from the Secret Avengers at all though. But I can say that Brubaker's making him a pretty interesting character.

The scene where Ant-Man is being warped and tumbling down to another place looks great thanks to Deodato's art. The scenes of Valkyrie also shows the might of the Asgardian and the panels of her going head on with Nova is just intense. Also, the double-page spread of with a Celestial, Silver Surfer, and the archons shows how good Deodato's art is.

Overall, nothing much really happens in the issue except for the introduction of the real threat in the story and also establishing the subplot with the Shadow Council further. However, the scenes of Ant-Man and Valkyrie were enjoyable.

Rating: 3/5

Review: Amazing Spider-Man #638

2010-07-26T13:54:00.000+08:00

Story: Joe Quesada, Jim Shooter, David Michelinie
Art: Joe Quesada, Paolo Rivera, Danny Miki, Richard Isanove, Paul Ryan

It's been more than two years since the dreaded arc "One More Day" changed the status quo in the Spider-Man universe (i.e. undoing the marriage of Peter and MJ, Peter making a deal with Mephisto) and angered fans all over the world (including me), thus dropping the book altogether (I didn't). However, the stories after OMD were good with solid art that it made me accept the change.

Over the years, fans have been waiting for an explanation on just how the "unmarrying" actually happened. Well, Joe Quesada finally gives us that answer, writing this arc called "One Moment In Time" himself. Basically, the first issue of OMIT is just a retelling of The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21, the marriage issue, with new scenes added by Joe Q. and Paolo Rivera in between to show what really happened.

The issue opens up with the infamous panel in back in ASM #545 where MJ whispers something to Mephisto. Lots of speculation over what MJ actually whispered have been going around and with Quesada finally giving us what she said, it turned out to be very anti-climactic.

Quesada focused more on the problems and doubts of Peter and MJ about marriage, which is already present in the Annual itself, and expound it even further. The scenes about Peter and MJ's pre-wedding parties tell us how these two are totally different people and why they shouldn't get married. Add to that Peter's feelings for Gwen and his nightmare where the supervillains attacked Spider-Man and MJ (which actually happened during Civil War).

Mephisto transforms into a bird and lets Electro's goon, Eddie, get away from the cops. A little thing like this could actually lead to something much bigger, and it did. Eddie is the main reason why Peter missed the wedding. One thing though, how could Eddie throw a cinderblock and hit Spidey dead-on in the head who is on a water tower? Even if he's ripped, a normal person wouldn't be able to throw a cinderblock like that.

Although Paolo Rivera's art does not really blend in well with the Annual pages, his art still looks great. It's pretty obvious to spot as the Annual pages have more vivid colors and Rivera's art has a darker tone to it. On the other hand, Quesada's art is just bad. I don't know why MJ looks the way she is in the issue, because when Quesada drew OMD she look just fine. Also, I noticed that in some scenes of Quesada, Peter actually looks like Quesada! What?!

One More Day left a bad taste in many of Spider-Man's fans out there. And this issue is a reminder of that controversial arc over two years ago. Despite all of that, they're finally giving answers and explanations as to how it actually happened, and overall this issue is good and they executed it well enough. Now that all of that is out of the way with this issue, I think it will get better from here on.

Spidey Sundays by Stan Lee & Marcos Martin: it's good to see Green Goblin as the Green Goblin again. With Bull playing catch with him, it's a fun read.

Rating: 3/5

Review: Brightest Day #6

2010-07-24T14:15:00.000+08:00

Story: Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, Scott Clark, Joe Prado

In every issue of Brightest Day there's always a lead character. This time it's J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter. Throughout the book, the lead character's story is spread out with the other characters' story in between. As a result, the pacing is of the general story of the book is moving pretty slow since Johns and Tomasi are dealing with twelve characters in the title.

However, we still get some developments about the characters bit by bit during each segment, like how it was revealed that Mera is actually an assassin and that Siren is Mera's younger sister. Well if you read the previous issue, it was pretty obvious.

Since there's a lot of characters in this title, it would be difficult for all of them to get some proper characterization. The different characters only get about 3-4 pages in this book, - and sometimes they don't make an appearance at all like the Hawk-people - except for the lead character. In this case, it's J'onn. But there's also a character that seems to be present in the book all the time - Deadman. Well it's understandable since he's wearing the white ring and appears to be the "messenger" of the white entity.

It's finally good to see the story of Hawk, Dove, and Deadman go somewhere, because I think theirs is where the least happens. Hawk made Deadman resurrect Don Hall and Holly Granger but to no avail. It seems they can't just revive people they want like just what happened in the issue. We still don't get why the featured characters were resurrected, 'cos we only get a cheeseburger explanation. Maybe for Deadman, that's the reason. But I believe they hold the key to the explanation why the selected people were resurrected.

Moving on, Jason and Ronnie fuses again to be Firestorm. I don't know if they will be able to separate willingly but I guess we'll see in the next issue.

Now there are several artists in this title, and it works. As I've said earlier, the book is divided into segments with each of the four artists assigned to them. I can only tell Reis' and Gleason's art, and their art is still beautiful as ever.

Still, only a few answers are given here so far. But it's interesting to finally see the different stories of the characters move forward. And there's a shocker at the end: one of the members of the Teen Titans dies.

Rating: 3.5/5

TTC Presents: INDESTRUCTIBLE (SSFIV Tournament)

2010-07-20T11:27:00.000+08:00

The 1st TTC Super Street Fighter IV tournament!
Featuring lagless SDTV's, a commentary booth, recorded match footages!

Click here for details: http://sf4philippines.freeforums.org/ttc-presents-indestructible-t117.html

Review: Secret Avengers #2

2010-07-18T14:39:00.000+08:00

Story: Ed Brubaker
Art: Mike Deodato, Jr., Will Conrad

After a great start with the launch issue, now we find Steve Rogers and his team in Mars, mainly to rescue Nova. However, things may be a little more complicated than that, as we get to read through.

Writing "Captain America" certainly helped Brubaker in writing Steve Rogers, showing why he has been the leader of the Avengers for so long. Another character he seems to write well is Beast. Maybe Brubaker's stint with "Uncanny X-Men" also gave him an advantage.

The good thing about this issue is we get to see a of lot plot developments. Now the team has arrived in Mars searching for Nova in what seems to be an abandoned mining base. But Black Widow discovers some footprints which hints that somebody has been there recently. Later, they got ambushed by the agents of Nick Fury. We then learn later on that they are being mind-controlled.

Steve Rogers splits the team up to go around the base area. Brubaker experiments with the whole cast of Secret Avengers in this scene. First, we get to see a subplot involving Ant-Man and War Machine. He gives us the idea that Ant-Man is a happy-go-lucky guy, like Johnny Storm. Anyway, as Ant-Man separates from War Machine, he seems to get sucked into a portal of some sort. Next we get the team of Steve Rogers and Beast. They soon discover Nova's helmet and a creature appears. Then lastly, we see the sub-team of Moon Knight, Black Widow, and Valkyrie. Brubaker uses this scene as a set-up for a fight with Nova as Nova spots the team and goes in for an attack.

There is also a scene involving Nick Fury and the Shadow Council. Nothing much is revealed about the group other than they may be working for the government.

Moving on, Mike Deodato, Jr still rocks with his art. However, we get a fill-in artist for this issue - Will Conrad. I don't know where he helped Deodato because I don't see any change in art the entire issue.

Overall, although it may be weird that the first mission of an espionage team to be set in Mars, but Brubaker gets it to work. And in this issue, we see the writer gives us further interactions with the members of Secret Avengers. A well-paced book, with a good story, I can't wait for issue 3.

Rating: 4/5

Review: Shadowland #1

2010-07-17T00:26:00.000+08:00

Story: Andy Diggle
Art: Billy Tan

Daredevil gets pushed aside most of the time when it comes to exposure. Yes, he's a pretty popular character in the comic book universe. But during big events - Secret Invasion, Civil War (the DD there is actually Iron Fist) - he's not really present fighting alongside the good guys. And now Daredevil comes back with a vengeance with his own mini-event involving other street-level characters.

Although this event is centered around Daredevil, he doesn't appear much in the issue. Andy Diggle decides to focus more on Bullseye. The good thing about it is he shows us just how insane and psychotic Bullseye is, and that made the issue interesting.

Having Bullseye wear a mask just like Hannibal Lecter explicitly tells us that this guy is dangerous, as depicted by how he faked his death, and then kills the two guards with a defibrillator to the face. It gets more interesting as Bullseye goes into Shadowland alone calling out Daredevil into a fight. But Daredevil comes out with his ninjas instead. Diggle here uses the ninjas to further illustrate how menacing Bullseye really is, with him killing each ninja with no sweat.

However, as Bullseye defeated the ninjas with great ease, apparently he's no match with Daredevil, in this issue at least. Even though we've seen DD VS. Bullseye a lot of times before, I don't think Bullseye could be taken out like what DD did so easily. But with Bullseye going out like that, I'm pretty sure it will not stay like that for long. I'm still not digging the black costume of DD, but whatever.

There's also one-panel appearances of Moon Knight, Spider-Man, Punisher, and Kingpin. I don't know what Diggle wants to tell here, because they don't do anything relevant other than him establishing a subplot with the Kingpin saying, "I think we're ready to begin."

The Avengers also make an appearance in the issue. It set the notion that the Avengers know about Shadowland, and I don't know how they knew about it. Anyway, Iron Man sends Luke Cage and Iron Fist to talk to Daredevil.

As for art, Billy Tan is good, but his art is inconsistent throughout the issue. Just like when he was drawing New Avengers, there are some good panels and other not-so-good panels. Case in point, the Avengers scene. Tan draws the rest of the issue pretty well except this scene. He seems to have failed to express the right facial expressions here as it left the characters pretty bland.

Overall, although the Bullseye scenes were a fun read, this issue is pretty disappointing to me. Nothing really happens other than establishing that Daredevil pretty much went over the limit, which should have been developed at the start of the issue. It felt decompressed for me. Also, the ending felt anti-climactic because the cliffhanger is already spoiled in the teasers. But I'll still give it a chance for I have a feeling this will get better in the following issues.

Rating: 2.5/5

Review: Amazing Spider-Man #637

2010-07-16T17:30:00.003+08:00

Story: Joe Kelly
Art: Michael Lark, Marco Checchetto, Stefano Gaudiano, Matt Southworth

Just like the previous issue, Marco Checchetto comes back to help with the art alongside Michael Lark. However, we get TWO MORE fill-in artists for this issue - Stefano Gaudiano and Matt Southworth - which seems to be happening a lot lately in the Spidey books. Now that I've seen more of Checchetto's art, I can say for myself that I wish he drew the whole Grim Hunt arc. That's not to say Lark's art was ugly. Checchetto's use of shadows fit more with the theme. His panels are more dynamic compared to the other artists in the issue. Plus, and I've said this before, he draws a pretty good Kraven.

As for Joe Kelly's script, he recaps the whole "Kraven's Last Hunt" through a monologue of Peter in the second page. As Peter goes through each "spider people" involved in the story, I can't help but wonder why Spider Woman (Jessica Drew) isn't here. Is it because she's not one with the spider?

Anyway, here we see Spider-Man rage. Not like that is something new, as we have seen Peter get really pissed off in a previous story years ago - Back in Black. It's also pretty nice to see Peter back in the black costume again. I think he's the only superhero who can change between two costumes and still look bad ass.

On to the Kravinoffs, we see Sasha demote from a strong, initiating, leading type of woman to a pitiful mistress. I mean from the whole Gauntlet up to this point on she was portrayed as a strong woman with a plan. However, as soon as Kraven showed up everything went spiraling down. This is a perfect example of the "be careful what you wish for" cliche. She realizes everything is going wrong then goes to slit Madame Web's throat, which in turn, kills her. I'd like to point out, though, in this particular scene where Sasha was talking to Kraven then suddenly he becomes Spider-Man. Like, what? After rereading the whole issue again, I still at a lost about what happened in that scene. Does that mean Spidey can give illusions when he's angry? I have no idea what Joe Kelly wanted to happen for that scene, but I didn't get it.

Kelly sets up a new status quo in this issue as well. As Madame Web dies, she transfers her power into Julia Carpenter. Thus, making her the new Madame Web. Julia Carpenter then gives her costume to Araña. With Julia being the new Madame Web, we'll probably get to see her more often in future issues.

Kelly's depiction of Kraven is good though. Kraven is still the hunter we all know about, however this time, he wants Spider-Man to kill him off, to be free from his curse of immortality. We also get to see how insane Kraven is, killing Sasha (which is ironic) and Vladimir himself.

I don't why Kelly opened the story up with J. Jonah Jameson, but I guess he was just there only to blame Spider-Man for all that's happened.

J.M. DeMatteis and Max Fiumara's conclusion of "Hunting the Hunter" even showed more of what was going throught the minds of Kraven and Kaine. We also get to see why Kraven buries Spider-Man alive in "Kraven's Last Hunt", because the same thing happened in this story only it was Kaine doing the burying.

Finally, we get to Stan Lee and Marcos Martin's Spidey Sundays. Brain and Bull still doesn't realize that Peter and Spider-Man are one person. And we get some cameo appearances from the creators. I don't know who the other is, I guess that'd be Martin himself, but the other is Joe Quesada in a Mickey Mouse hat.

Overall, at first I thought bringing back Kraven was a stupid idea, but seeing how he ended up being immortal and only Spider-Man can kill him is pretty interesting. Although that could lead to stories where Kraven would orchestrate plans only for Spider-Man to kill him, since after the whole arc, it's pretty much clear Kraven wants to be at peace again.

And seeing how this ends makes the whole Gauntlet pretty useless, although we got some good stories from that. The Gauntlet's main purpose was to wear Spider-Man. But we didn't see one sign of Spider-Man being exhausted at all. And that swine flu also didn't make much effect on him as the story went on.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Amazing Spider-Man #636

2010-07-15T11:50:00.002+08:00

Story: Joe Kelly

Art: Michael Lark, Marco Checchetto

Amazing Spider-Man #636 slows down the pace compared to the previous two issues which involved a lot of action and suspense. Kraven is finally resurrected by the Kravinoffs, but how does the man feel about it? This issue takes a look at how Kraven feels about his resurrection. Spider-Man doesn't make much of an appearance here.

Speaking of Spider-Man, I think it's pretty obvious that the Spider-Man we see here hung up on Kraven's wall with a huge stick sticking out of his chest and two knives stabbed in both his shoulders isn't the Spider-Man we know. There's also an explanation on how Kaine got into a Spidey suit just in the nick of time. Apparently, as Peter fell into the pit from last issue, Kaine was immediately there to save him. I have no idea how he got there that fast, but anyway, Kaine takes the suit from Peter, punches him in the face, and buries him alive. That's Kaine's "hero moment."

Going back to Kravens, they, especially Chameleon, sense something's wrong with Kraven.Writer Joe Kelly in this particular scene delves into the idea that maybe Kraven doesn't want to be resurrected at all. If we recall in "Kraven's Last Hunt" (one of the greatest Spider-Man stories ever told), Kraven shot himself in the head. In the back-up story by J.M. DeMatteis, it is implied that Kraven is looking for an ending, so finally he can find peace and happiness. Also in that back-up story, we discover that Kaine doesn't easily get killed off by normal means.

Kaine still hasn't degenerated (clones degenerate when they die) after the assumption that he got killed by the Kravinoffs for Kraven to come back to life. With that, I believe he may still be alive.

The Kravinoffs feel that Kraven is not all too happy about his resurrection, with Kraven saying, "You have no idea what you've done here, Sasha." Furthermore, Kraven provokes Ana to kill him, resulting in Ana stabbing his own father in the chest. So Kraven's dead, not. He realize that he might have become immortal. The ritual corrupted by Kaine's blood. WHAT?!

Michael Lark takes a back seat as Marco Chechetto is artist for the first 18 pages. His art mixes well with Lark's, unlike the previous arc "Shed" where the two artists's different art styles killed the comic for me. Chechetto's art fits the arc's shadowy and gritty theme, also draws a good Kraven.

Overall, this issue focuses more on the newly resurrected Kraven than Spider-Man (he actually doesn't appear 'til the end of the issue). Lots of "Kraven's Last Hunt" references here too - from the rats going wild, MJ's feeling that something's wrong, Peter coming out from the grave. However, the thought of Kraven being immortal is not really a good idea as it takes away the nobility of the hunter. I hope that's not the case. Kraven's better off dead than alive.

Rating: 3/5

Bowen Captain America Mini-Bust

2010-03-13T01:10:00.000+08:00

I wasn't able to get myself the original Captain America mini-bust from Bowen that was released way before, so I was excited to get this one. Cap finally got the bust revisit he deserved. The original Cap bust was great, but I thought Cap should get a new sculpt with arms. And finally it's here.

More pics after the cut.

My only gripe with this mini-bust is the baby blue color on his shield. That should be the same color as his costume. But other than that, I love this mini-bust.

I Am a New Avenger

2010-03-03T22:17:00.000+08:00

Marvel has announced the "New Avengers" title will relaunch in June with Brian Michael Bendis as writer and Stuart Immonen as artist. And just this week, Marvel has already released two teaser images as to who will be a part of this team.

So far, it has to a no surprise for me.

Well I guess the Spider-Man looking guy in the Secret Avengers teaser is not him after all.

Ibuki, Makoto & Dudley SSFIV Trailer

2010-02-18T13:56:00.000+08:00

With the recent confirmation of the worst kept secret of new characters to be added in SSFIV, Capcom finally released a new trailer featuring Ibuki, Makoto, & Dudley from Street Fighter III. So far all the rumored characters were all correct, and that leaves us with Hakan, a wrestler who's obsessed with oil.

You can check more screenshots of the new characters here. And there's a teaser at the end of the video that pretty much confirms Hakan.

Valentine's Day With Super Street Fighter IV

2010-02-14T14:53:00.003+08:00

Capcom-Unity greets us a "Happy Valentine's Day!" by posting some cool Valentine's Day greeting cards that you could send to your loved ones. And pretty much leave the impression of how much of a Street Fighter gamer you are. Be ready for a Tiger Uppercut from your girlfriend afterwards.

Also, Capcom posted a trailer for SSFIV featuring some girl-on-girl action with Chun Li, Cammy, and Juri. We'd rather have that than some new character reveals right? Trailer looks kick-ass and hot though.

New "Secret Avengers" Teaser Images

2010-02-11T11:40:00.000+08:00

After the announcement of the new title "Secret Avengers", two new teaser images have been released by Marvel. These two new images depict the two characters wearing capes. One is a silhouette of a woman, while the other seems to be a man.

Secret Avengers #1 hits stores in May 2010 featuring the creative team of Ed Brubaker and Mike Deodato.

I Am a Secret Avenger

2010-02-09T01:58:00.000+08:00

Marvel released a new teaser image for a new Avenger book, named "Secret Avengers", written by Ed Brubaker and art by Mike Deodato to be released this May along with Avengers #1.

So it seems that "Avengers" isn't the only Avengers title after Siege like what was rumored before. Teaser image after the cut.

Based on the pose of the character, the logical answer as to who that could be is Spider-Man. But I have my doubts. Anyway, I don't have any other character in mind that fits in with the pose.

I Am an Avenger

2010-02-07T14:37:00.000+08:00

After the announcement of Marvel's "The Heroic Age", the Avengers title will have a relaunch with "Avengers" #1 in May, written by Brian Michael Bendis and art by John Romita Jr. Also, Marvel is slowly revealing who the members are in the group with promotional images.

Images after the cut.

Marvel: The Heroic Age

2010-02-07T14:24:00.001+08:00

The reign of Norman Osborn is coming to an end. With Marvel's "Siege" event, heroes will turn the status quo back to the way it was before, where the Marvel Universe shines again with its heroes full of optimism and enthusiasm.

Dark Reign turned the whole Marvel Universe into a dark world where villains posed as heroes, S.H.I.E.L.D. got defunct and replaced by H.A.M.M.E.R., and Norman Osborn as the head of it. But Siege will be the end of that and thus The Heroic Age starts.

To start The Heroic Age, Marvel plans on stopping all Avengers titles and launch with just a single Avengers book - simply titled as just "Avengers" which would be written by Brian Michael Bendis (again). The title will go back to #1 instead of continuing from its last issue number. The full line-up hasn't been revealed yet although Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America (not sure if it would be Bucky or Steve Rogers) will be in the team for sure. I guess Hawkeye is back on team the now too.

I think the teaser images are a representation of different teams featuring the "The Heroic Age" banner. It would be weird if that gorilla from Agents of Atlas joined the Avengers.

Bowen Daredevil Classic Mini-Bust

2010-01-13T15:26:00.000+08:00

Daredevil is one of my favorite Marvel characters along with Spider-Man and others. That's why I've been looking for this bust since I started collecting. I'm not into buying online (yet) so it's hard to find old pieces in local comic stores. These things are limited after all. But patience really is a virtue. When I went to a comic book store yesterday I saw this bust there and I immediately bought it!

The store owner was even kinda surprised that he still had that bust in his shelf. Now my belief in the saying, "Good things come to those who wait," has increased because of this.

Ain't this Daredevil bust just beautiful. It will look good beside my Spider-Man bust.

Druid's Keep: A Trip to Magallanes

2010-01-12T21:20:00.002+08:00

When I first heard of Druid's Keep, it got me wondering why I've never heard of the comic book store before. But now I know the answer - it's far. It's not located in your usual malls like SM or others. But everybody keeps saying that this is the place to be if you're looking for superhero collectibles such as statues and busts. In short, geek heaven. That was the only thing I needed to start looking for the place. And it's located in Paseo de Magallanes.

This post is about my adventure with a friend going to Druid's Keep.

Druid's Keep is located in Paseo de Magallanes. It's a commercial center where lots of stores and restaurants can be found. And of course, it's located in Magallanes, Makati. Commuting can be hard, so walking is required (unless you take a taxi, but in my opinion it's not needed). Walking is more fun anyway.

First we took the MRT and got off at Magallanes station. Then we walked towards South Superhighway or whatever you call it.

EDSA

Ayalaland Southgate Mall

We kept going and going until we got under the MRT tracks and highways. Underneath was a simple but beautiful park called the Magallanes Interchange Park.

That's me.

Somewhere down the road.... is Paseo de Magallanes and Druid's Keep.

Keep walking.

And finally we're here!

Druid's Keep is located in the 3rd floor of the Gateway Center, the commercial center beside South Park Plaza (above). I forgot to take a picture of the Gateway Center. :P Anyway, when you see Starbucks, go around it and there will be an entrance beside Pancake House. Take the elevator to the 3rd floor and congratulations!

Druid's Keep!

They were right! Inside is a plethora of superhero collectibles at the best prices! The owner of the store, Felix, is a very accommodating and friendly person too. It was just my first time to come there but Felix was already really friendly. We had a conversation about mini-busts and also lead figures.

Although it's quite hard to go there by commuting, it was all worth it! I bought something too but I'll save it for another post.

I have this mindset that fans are for girls. Real men take the heat! But whatever it was freaking hot and I borrowed my friend's fan. I got caught in that pose because I was telling him to walk faster. Oh, you can see here what I bought.

But anyway that's it. A day well-spent. :)

New Super Street Fighter IV Trailer - 3rd Costume and New Ultras

2010-01-07T23:04:00.000+08:00

It's the new year, and we've got a new trailer for SSFIV from Capcom! In this trailer, Capcom shows us some new ultras that they have previously announced. The only one shown before was Ryu's Metsu Shoryuken. But now we get more from the other characters. I especially like Fei Long's new ultra! 1 inch punch for the win!

As for the new costumes, some are good and some are just... meh. Aside from those, Capcom added some new rival cutscenes - Adon VS. Sagat, Dee Jay VS. Rufus, and so on.

I'm so hyped for this game! Here's the video:

Lazy Sunday #37: Start 2010 With an Iron Fist

2010-01-03T23:36:00.000+08:00

First post for 2010 - after the fireworks and a good 2009, here comes 2010, which means I have to find a job! But for now I'll keep buying my comics and statues. Just today I bought a new trade paperback of The Immortal Iron Fist (the one on the right) 'cos it's long overdue. It's been a while since I last bought one and it's nice to finally get a new one. I still prefer single-issue comic books though.

Vacation time is over for me so that means I'll be back to practicing my drawing skills. Furthermore, Street Fighter IV gaming again. I didn't play much SFIV competitively during the holiday so my skills went down. Since vacation's over it's time to pick up my iron fists again.

Ciao.

Last Post for 2009

2009-12-31T15:56:00.000+08:00

In just a few hours, 2009 will be over and 2010 comes in. It will be 10 years after 2000, and 10 years before 2020. It will be 2 years before 2012 (the rumored end of the world. But seriously do you believe this?). 2010 only contains three digits - 0, 1, 2. Those are the first three numbers in the number alphabet (I dont know what to call it). 2010 is divisible by 10, and if you split it in half you will get 20 and 10, which is in descending order. If you rearrange it to ascending order, you will get 10 and 20.

2009 has been a great year for me. And I wont elaborate on that anymore because they are so many and I pretty much cant remember all of them. But I enjoyed 2009 very much. I noticed a lot of improvement in myself this year. So 2010 here I come!

What is my new year's resolution? Nothing. It seems new year resolutions don't get done anyway for most people. People list a lot of things, but that list somehow gets lost or gets eaten by a dog (not that I write a list or anything). Thus, nothing happens. So I'll let it go and just let myself be who I am this coming new year.

Happy new year guys!

Lazy Sunday #36: After Christmas

2009-12-28T01:04:00.001+08:00

I almost forgot to do an update but good thing I remembered! Oh look at the times, the end of the year is near already. Time flies by so fast that I have to find a job now. Anyway how was your Christmas? Did you spend it with your family? Well you should have.

The December holidays must be one of the most hectic holidays of the year, and also the happiest. Never mind the hecticness of the holiday, just enjoy spending time with your family. It's the only time where the whole family is complete in one single roof spending the holidays.

Now some updates in my life (I assume you're interested), I usually go to Vigan to spend Christmas with my father's side of the family. But this year, my relatives from the US came home for the holidays so I decided to just stay here and spend it with my mother's side of the family. They only come back every 5 years or so.

On another note, I'm getting impatient. I've been waiting for a bust to get released from Bowen Designs for months now ever since it was sneaked to us. It's a Captain America mini-bust to be exact. Their website states that the release date is December 2009. But the year is going to end and there's still no mini-bust. Oh delays.

I took a break in my Jeet Kune Do training because I don't have time for it. I'll go back in the new year and hopefully my body wouldn't take a beating.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T01:55:00.000+08:00

Hey everybody! Merry Christmas to all of you out there! Remember it is the season to be jolly (fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la) so forget all your problems and just have fun! If you are on a diet, forget it and just keep eating! Continue your diet next year! Enjoy all the food that are being served on parties. If you wanna buy something, then buy it! Dont worry about the money for now. Just go buy stuff and gifts and be broke later.

If you are sad this Christmas because you are heartbroken or something, listen to Last Christmas by Wham so you could get all lonely and then go spend time with your friends and family. Go out with them if you want. They will always be by your side.

It is the time of the year to be happy and give gifts to the ones you love. So Merry Christmas everybody! Be happy and smile. :)

Lazy Sunday #35: Laziness

2009-12-20T20:45:00.001+08:00

I am a lazy boy. I am a bore. Gotta stop this and show some enthusiasm in my life.

School's Over?

2009-12-18T02:01:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was the last school day for me. We finally passed our thesis that's been making us bleed for a year now. But of course it was only my groupmates who passed it physically because I was lying in my bed... sleeping. I didn't get to wake up early! Sorry!

The more important thing is that my groupmates got to pass our documents and as the documents left their hands, I'm pretty sure a big burden was lifted out of their shoulders, and also mine while I was sleeping.

With that said I would be able to update this blog again regularly. Sorry for the lack of posts lately because I was busy but not anymore. 'Til then I hope you all have a nice day. :D

Iron Man 2 Official Trailer

2009-12-17T11:13:00.000+08:00

After getting a teaser trailer at Comic Con, and the teaser poster of Iron Man and War Machine, they finally gave us THE official trailer for Iron Man 2. I'm having geekasms right now.

Go check the trailer at CBR 'cos I have no idea how to embed it here.

Official Iron Man 2 Poster

2009-12-01T20:28:00.000+08:00

The official poster for Iron Man 2, the sequel to the highly successful Iron Man movie last year, has been released. And it kicks ass so much! War Machine FTW!

Disco Time!

2009-11-30T13:48:00.000+08:00

As you may have already know, aside from metal, I also like disco songs or techno songs. So it makes me wonder how it was like to live in those era, where disco ruled the airwaves. The funky beats make me want to get up and just dance. Those cheesy and corny dances from before were some of the best.

I consider disco music to be one of the best music genres I've heard. Once you hear a catchy beat, you couldn't help yourself but just to move to the beat. That's another reason why I loved the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City so much. It had a nice story, main character, the setting, and of course the music! It's the only GTA game that I played over and over again. And driving throught Ocean Drive in the game with some nice groovy music was already satisfying.

Here's a song for you to enjoy:

Super Street Fighter IV - New Fighters Trailer Part 2

2009-11-26T11:31:00.000+08:00

This single video just made my day. When Capcom officially announced that Cody, Guy, and Adon will be joining the new cast of SSFIV alongside T. Hawk, Dee Jay, and Juri, I was really excited for this game.

And now Capcom has released a new trailer featuring some Guy, Cody, and Adon action! I'm really hyped up for this! Guy and Adon looks badass!

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths Trailer

2009-11-24T16:30:00.005+08:00

DC has been continuously releasing new animated films lately. Just this year, they've released three direct-to-DVD animated films - Wonder Woman, Green Lantern: First Flight, and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. In my opinion, they're all much better than the ones from Marvel.

As if that wasn't enough, they showed a new trailer for their upcoming animated film, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. This takes on the "Crisis" canon depicting parallel worlds in the DC Universe and putting it to film. For this film, the Crime Syndicate and the Justice League duke it out.

Lazy Sunday #34: Revisions

2009-11-22T18:13:00.001+08:00

It's been a while since I last wrote an entry to Lazy Sunday. Good thing I remembered this time and got my lazy ass to write this. As you may have already know, we passed our thesis. But still with some revisions. However, that's not stopping us from doing our best.

So here I am just bumming around the best way I can. There's basically nothing to do (besides thesis) but read comic books, buy a new toy, play Street Fighter IV, read comics books, and play more Street Fighter IV. Recently, I found the time to draw another sketch of a superhero. And it felt so good and probably will draw a new sketch. I'll post on my deviantART once I finish scanning it.

Anyway that's it for now. Not much has happened these last few weeks. Just thesis and thesis.

DC Comics Superhero Collection #41: Golden Age Green Lantern

2009-11-20T11:54:00.001+08:00

Behold my very first DC lead figure, Earth's first Green Lantern - Alan Scott.

Before Hal Jordan ever became Green Lantern, there was already Alan Scott - the very first Green Lantern. No Guardians of Oa, no central battery, no corps, there was just Alan Scott and his very own lantern battery (that's why he has a different costume design). His ring construct works in a different way than what we're used to with the Green Lantern Corps, but still his ring can do wonders.

I said before that I'd never get into the DC line, but seeing as I'm such a Green Lantern fan that I just couldn't let this go. And that's one rule I made when I got into the line, Green Lanterns only. Now I have to get Guy Gardner back in issue #38. And I'm still thinking if I should get Hal Jordan or not.

Until I get another Green Lantern figure, excelsior! Oh wait, that's Stan Lee's line.

Green Lantern Corps #42

2009-11-19T01:58:00.004+08:00

Note: Contains some spoilers.

Green Lantern Corps #42 was released last week and that really was a shocker issue for me. A lot of things happened in that issue, and I mean a LOT. However, one particular scene in that issue really caught me off guard. It was totally unexpected for me that that was the reason Guy Gardner turns into a Red Lantern. I wasn't able to read the solicits for that particular issue but I doubt DC would put it there.

It seems the pacing of events in this Green Lantern Corps issue went slow then finally accelerated in the end. Peter Tomasi crams in several things in the book. But when you put in a lot of content in a 22-page comic book, you're sure to get something disappointing in return.

The book contains a lot of action and fights. In fact, the whole book is just full of fighting - undead children with their undead parents trying to kill Green Lanterns mixed in with a Red Lantern killing all those undead Lanterns.

Despite all that, there's one scene in this issue that surely means something significant. It's actually in the last few pages where things really get moving. Just when the corps couldn't handle the barrage of attacks from the Black Lanterns anymore, Kyle Rayner sacrifices himself to save the Green Lantern Corps Central Battery.

Kyle Rayner is dead.

So my favorite Green Lantern "dies" in here. And Guy Gardner gets hella mad and finally becomes a Red Lantern. Now let's see that in next issue!

Conditional Pass

2009-11-18T02:06:00.002+08:00

After weeks of stress due to our beloved thesis, add to that the tender loving care we received from our adviser, who didn't believe in us after doing our best, who kept on nagging even though we keep doing our job, we have finally got a verdict from our defense yesterday. And the result was - a conditional pass! What a relief.

But the fun doesn't stop there, we still have lots of revisions to do to completely pass. The panelists gave us a LOT of MAJOR, MAJOR revisions to be met by the given deadline. Talk about torture. But still it's a pass so that one pain in the ass taken out.

By the way, the revisions we have to finish were really MAJOR, MAJOR in epicness. If you don't believe me, here's the actual verdict from the thesis sheet.

'Cos we're hardcore.

Also congratulations to the other thesis groups who got a conditional pass. :D

I'll probably have more time now to update this blog of mine. But for today, this will do it.

Lazy Sunday #33: Undas

2009-11-02T21:36:00.003+08:00

Time flies by so fast these days huh. The month of November has already started and I didn't even notice it! Well since it's November 1, people go to cemeteries to visit their loved ones who passed away. Since I couldn't go to my province because of thesis, I just stayed here and went to the columbarium (a place where urns are kept; like a cemetery for urns). And I just learned that word earlier!

It was my first time to go a place like that. It felt so new to me and it was such a different experience than going to a usual cemetery with tombs like the one I got used to. The place looked something like this (but that's not the actual place):

No, those are not Nazi symbols. Anyway, inside the Chinese columbarium stood a giant statue, most likely a Chinese god or something in that sense. Small Buddha statues surrounded the walls of the place, each representing a single person.

After doing prayers and giving gifts, we left the place. Oue next stop was in Chinese Cemetery then we did the same thing but it was a normal cemetery now.

So anyway that's it for now and I hope you enjoyed your holiday.

Lazy Sunday #32: Back to the Arcades

2009-10-27T13:51:00.000+08:00

Note: I already got this done last Sunday but I forgot to publish it. Silly me.

I can still remember when I started playing fighting games competitively in the arcades. It was during the times of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection then it continued until the release of Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion. I stopped playing because Tekken 6 was a disappointment for me so I quit. It's not as exciting as T5:DR.

When I stopped, I moved on to continue my other hobby: collecting collectibles (I find that funny).

However, when I got myself a copy of Street Fighter IV for the PS3 my fighting spirit for playing competitively came rushing back to me. Finally I'm enjoying playing in the arcades again. Although I had to learn the very basics and fundamentals of playing 2D fighters like SFIV, it was all part of the fun journey in becoming great in fighting games.

Comparing to Tekken, I can say Street Fighter has a more rewarding gameplay. You have to learn how to zone properly, do cross-ups, tick throws, and baits in SF4. Combos are very rewarding once you know how to execute them.

My collecting will take a back seat for as I go back to the arcades and play. It's good too because it's much cheaper than collecting.

Parallax Returns...Again?

2009-10-20T13:29:00.001+08:00

I was browsing through the solicitations for DC Comics in January of next year and I came across this cover for Green Lantern #50. What's so intriguing about this cover is it shows a character that I haven't seen for years - Hal Jordan as Parallax.

This maniac killed every Green Lantern there is and eventually destroyed the planet of Oa. However, I still find him as a cool villain, even if he was just a way to later introduce Kyle Rayner as the last Green Lantern.

So will we see him again next year?

Here's the official solicitations info from DC:

GREEN LANTERN #50
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Doug Mahnke & Christian Alamy
Variant cover by Jim Lee
Sketch Variant cover by Doug Mahnke
BLACKEST NIGHT spreads with an oversized anniversary issue! Surrounded by friends and enemies, Hal Jordan goes into battle with a being he will never defeat – the Black Lantern Spectre! Can Saint Walker, Sinestro and the others put a stop to this bizarre Spectre rebirth?
Plus, Atrocitus reveals a tie to a power that may make him the most unbeatable of all the Lanterns!
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with three covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Doug Mahnke & Christian Alamy), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Jim Lee). For every 100 copies of the Standard Edition, retailers may order one copy of the Sketch Variant Edition (with a cover by Doug Mahnke). Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale January 27 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

It's an anniversary issue so it will be a double sized issue. I wonder what the Jim Lee variant looks like.

Lazy Sunday #31: Happy Birthday Gwen!

2009-10-18T23:17:00.000+08:00

Today is one of my best friend's birthday, Gwen. So I'll greet you a happy birthday! We had a get together last Friday at Glorietta. She arrived late but it's okay. No biggie. Anyway, we watched The Ugly Truth and it was one of the greatest romantic comedy movies this year.

Here are some snowcones for you.

Moving on, today was filled with guns, octopus legs and snow cones. Me, my brother, and my friends went to the CKSC fair this afternoon. I was kinda disappointed because I wanted to go there on a Friday or Saturday to see some old faces, 'cause Sundays are boring. :P

Anyway, I just ate two snow cones (still the best part in the fair), and rode the Octopus with my friend. At this point we thought further staying at the fair (without my old schoolmates to stare at) would be a total waste of time and money, so we decided to play Counter-Strike instead. And the rest is history up to this point where I'm listening to love songs while typing this post.

Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, neka neka neka neka..... (No I'm not listening to this right now. It's just the joke of the day for us friends)