Tagged: DC

The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 30

  • News
  • August 1, 2008

A pretty slow week in comics, as everyone’s still gasping for breath post Comic-Con (including me, even though I stayed at home this year). Not even a dozen books worth reading this week, and I somehow missed the JSA annual. Still, some interesting stuff, with a strong DC showing.

9716_180x270-1950612Book of the Week: Blue Beetle #29 — This was a really strong debut issue from Matthew Sturges, which makes it all the more unfortunate that the finished cover (not the same as the image at right) lists the writer as "Rogers," meaning the departed writer, I imagine.

There’s also a bizarre bit of text added that says: "No trespassing: Violators will be Prosecuted." Except the last word is crossed out and "Persecuted" is written over it. Meaningless fluff that distracts from an attractive bit of art.

Like I said, though, the issue is good stuff aside from a few minor awkwardnesses as Sturges warms up to the series. Jaime keeps on adventuring, though he’s falling into a big mess involving Intergang and smugglers.

Sturges uses that to create a nice dynamic, as Jaime is forced to take a side in the immigration debate. This is a really good jumping-on point, if you’ve been thinking of giving the series a try.

Runners Up:

Green Lantern #33 — Geoff Johns keeps working his magic, digging through the unexplored patches of DC lore for this tale of Hal and Sinestro’s first teamup. It’s a very Obi and Anakin scenario, except if Obi was the one who turned evil.

Johns uses subtlety in examining the reasons Sinestro went mad with power, and the prophecy of the Blackest Night finally is starting to be revealed.

Thor #10 — Not a lot to say here, just another issue that somehow makes believable the idea of Valhalla appearing over the U.S. Reality and myth mingle, and the seduction of Balder deepens. Great stuff.

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Interview: Geoff Johns on “Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds” and his Favorite Projects

  • News
  • August 1, 2008

action-comics-863-teaser-p-23-00-6574178Back in June, I spoke to superstar writer Geoff Johns about the return of Brainiac in Action Comics and all things Superman. With this month’s release of the first issue of Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds, I spoke to the writer about bringing back one of DC’s most beloved superteams, The Legion of Super-Heroes, as well as some of his favorite projects.

COMICMIX: What can you tell us about the Final Crisis: Legion Of Three Worlds miniseries?

GEOFF JOHNS: It’s a really complex, big story. But the simple premise is that it’s Superboy-Prime and The Legion Of Super Villains vs. Superman and The Legion Of Super-Heroes. Superboy-Prime is foreign to the future and through what happens when he first gets there he makes an attempt to destroy everything that Superman has inspired while utilizing the Legion Of Super Villains. So the Legion Of Super-Heroes, who are struggling to come back together, who are almost obsolete at this point in the eyes of a lot of the United Planets, have got to come back and rally together for this challenge.

I’m trying to focus in on character here. I’m trying to introduce these characters to people that don’t know them and for those that do, to see them go through new experiences and new challenges. My main goal in this series is to tell a gigantic, epic story that centers on Superman and The Legion Of Super-Heroes. It’s just like when I worked on Sinestro Corps War, I wanted to do an epic Green Lantern story. There is a lot of emotion behind everything in this. That’s what I’m trying to focus on: the emotion of the characters and what they’re going through. Why should you even care about a character like Lightning Lad, Sun Boy or Dawnstar? What makes these characters compelling? Why are they worth following? Why are they worth learning about? My main goal is to, by the end of it, have people say, “I love Dawnstar! I love Sun Boy! I like Lightning Lad” or “I like Cosmic Boy!” (more…)

Video of the ‘Watchmen’ Owl Ship

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  • July 31, 2008

watchmenewcover-3691354In case you’re one of the 18 people on planet Earth who didn’t go to San Diego last weekend for Comic-Con, you’ll be interested in this video from TV Guide, which gives a pretty extensive tour of the inside of the replica Owl Ship from the upcoming Watchmen movie.

Quick…what’s lime green, weighs 9,000 pounds and came all the way from Canada? If you said the Watchmen’s Night Owl ship, then give yourself a pat on the back. TVGuide.com was lucky enough to score an up-close look from the driver’s seat of the actual ship used in next summer’s movie based on the DC Comic. The ship is used by the group of ragtag superheroes who come out of retirement to investigate the slaying of one of their own. It doesn’t really get much cooler than that.

Indeed.

“Resident Evil” and “Devil May Cry” Comics Coming

  • News
  • July 30, 2008

7beb793509a0a5d3feea1110-_aa280_-l-4151943Having previously announced Bionic Commando and Lost Planet comics coming from Devil’s Due, Capcom is bringing even more of their hit games to comic books. In a joint press release with DC Comics, they announced that the WildStorm imprint will publish comics based on Resident Evil and Devil May Cry. Details, like who’s writing and drawing it, or when it will be announced at a later date.

Devil May Cry follows demon fighter Dante in a gothic anime influenced world with over-the-top weapons. It’s been previously released as best-selling manga from Tokyopop, but this will be the first time content has been created by American comic artists.

Jim Lee must really like playing Resident Evil. Back in the pre-DC Comics era, WildStorm published a pretty successful comic/fan magazine based on the horror survival game. If you’re living a sheltered life, Resident Evil tells the story of pseudo-law enforcement officers battling the amoral Umbrella Corporation and their continual involvement in zombie plagues.

On a side note, have you seen the trailer for the Capcom-produced CGI movie Resident Evil: Degeneration that was shown at San Diego Comic-Con? You’ll never travel through an airport the same way again. (Video posted after the jump.)
 

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ComicMix Radio: Kumar And The Guide To DC Hell

 We’re back from Comic Con and ready to hit the comic shop in search of so much we saw previewed on the floor in San Diego, plus:

  • Kal (Kumar) Penn shows us how he landed on Fox’s House
  • Keith Giffen prepares us for this week’s visit to the DC Version Of Hell
  • ComicMix‘s Denny O’Neil warms up the BatCave for Gaiman

Get a pen, your shopping list and then Press the Button!
 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-8659514 or RSS!

 

 

SDCC: Mortal Kombat Versus DC Universe Explained

  • News
  • July 29, 2008

The biggest North American comic convention wraps up another show. The hall is closed and the lights are off. But the videos from the show floor live on. 

Way back when Mortal Kombat Versus DC Universe was first announced fans worried that Superman would be a horribly unbalanced character. A veteran reader of many Silver Banshee attacks Superman storylines, I speculated that since the Mortal Kombat universe was steeped in magic, this would explain how Sub-Zero could freeze Superman or Scorpion could set him on fire. Turns out I was right.

 

Midway has released the video shown (seen below) at San Diego Comic-Con where creator Ed Boon explained to fans how his guys can beat up their guys. And it looks amazing! The video also explains new in-fight mechanics: close combat and free fall combat. Also in the video were fights featuring Batman, Flash, and Catwoman.

 

No word yet if the villain from the Superman Returns movie shows up: A rock. A really big rock.

 


‘Watchmen’ Atop Amazon Fiction Sales

  • News
  • July 28, 2008

watchmen-cover-2203991From a Wired article about the excessive success of this year’s Comic-Con is a little tidbit about the success of comics: Watchmen is now sitting at the top of Amazon’s fiction and literature sales list.

DC has been printing up copies like mad to meet the demand, which is of course churned up by the upcoming Zack Snyder film adaptation.

From the article:

Last week’s release of the movie’s trailer sent sales of a paperback collection of Alan Moore’s original Watchmen comics through the roof. The graphic novel now sits at the top of Amazon.com’s literature and fiction sales list.

"That’s never happened before," said DC’s Levitz. "We literally can’t print enough…. I don’t think we’ve been able to kill any more trees fast enough."

Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #12 – “The Stolen Earth”

The hit BBC series Doctor Who is now in its fourth season on the Sci-Fi Channel, and since we’re all big fans here at ComicMix, we’ve decided to kick off an episode-by-episode analysis of the reinvigorated science-fiction classic.

Every week, I’ll do my best to go through the most recent episode with a fine-tooth comb (or whatever the “sonic screwdriver” equivalent might be) and call out the highlights, low points, continuity checks and storyline hints I can find to keep in mind for future episodes. I’ll post the review each Monday, so you have ample time to check out the episode once it airs each Friday at 9 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel before I spoil anything.

Missed a week? Check out the “Doctor Who in Review” archive or check out any of the past editions of this column via the links at the end of this article.

Keep in mind, I’m going to assume readers have already watched the episode when I put fingers to keyboard and come up with the roundup of important plot points. In other words, SPOILER ALERT!

Let’s begin now, shall we?

Season Four, Episode #12: “The Stolen Earth”

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Shiny, Shiny Superheroes, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • July 28, 2008

Despite the graphic to the right, this week’s column isn’t another screed against “everything you know is wrong and will be wrong again” superhero plotting. We’ve pretty well strip-mined that topic, and unless I get inspired by original thought I’ll wait for DC and/or Marvel to make the next move.

This column is in the wake of a lengthy and continuing series of conversations I had with my ol’ pal John Ostrander. Having such conversations is the best part of the job; really, if you like talking with knowledgeable and highly creative people, I strongly recommend you become a comic book editor. I can’t quote from these conversations – for one thing, you’ll be seeing some of the results right here on ComicMix, and for another, I understand the Wi-Fi reception down at Gitmo isn’t so good. But I can give you the gist.

We were talking about doing superheroes in 2008. John does a lot of ‘em; depending upon your view of GrimJack and Jon Sable, I don’t do all that much in the genre. But I like it. I’m an American comic book fan and I proudly admit I enjoy a good superhero story. But there’s that “relevance-to-our-times” thing.

Brand-new superheroes were created in two waves: the build-up to World War II (Superman, Batman, Sub-Mariner, Captain America, Captain Marvel) and the cold war build-up to Vietnam (Spider-Man, The Hulk, Iron Man, The Question). There wasn’t a truly successful superhero created in the ten years following World War II, and the only totally original superhero created in the post-Vietnam years that comes to mind is Len Wein and Herb Trimpe’s Wolverine.

It’s easy to understand the element common to each of these two fertile periods: the reader had an overwhelming need for security. In the early “Golden Age” we were in a devastating economic depression with unemployment hovering around 25% and surrounded by massive international inflation. Japan had invaded China, Germany was beginning to engulf its neighbors and nations historically friendly to us were looking to us for war material. We had a lot of unemployed people who could aid their, and later our, war effort. (more…)

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