Looks like the Spanish speaking world got it first!
http://www.cineheroes.net/green-lantern-la-bande-annonce-enfin-disponible
It just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe it is trying to go for the Iron Man crowd, but you see, as a part of that crowd, I was actually excited for Iron Man 1 & 2. This elicits no excitement; just a great sense of uneasiness. Too much CGI, that must be it.
Lauren
Because this teaser from Entertainment Tonight makes it look *horrible*;
-Lauren
God bless Netflix via X-Box. Without it my life would be 20% less exciting. Recently, I started to watch anime through it, and I’ve been (for the most part) not excited by anything I’ve seen.
Then I started watching Gurren Lagann.
I tried reading the manga some time ago, but I could not get into it. Thankfully, the anime is the opposite. The story is easier to follow, and really entertaining. The plot is pretty basic, and reminds me a great deal of ‘City of Ember’. In the future, humans live underground since it is unsafe to live on the surface. These villages are completely isolated, as they have no contact with the surface as well as other villages. Giha Village, where our story opens in, introduces us to Simon, a young digger who is possibly favored by the head of the village since he is an orphan.
Simon only knows of digging to expand the village, and of little else. His older “brother” Kamina has been (from what we assume) trying to break onto the surface for some time, in order to meet back up with his father. Kamina enlists the help of Simon, but after getting in trouble for attempting to break to the surface, all seems lost. That is until Simon finds a giant face (a mini Gunman), and then from there, all hell breaks loose. A bigger Gunman falls from the sky, followed by a busty young red hed named Yoko. The three escape to the surface, killing the Gunman before he can destroy the under ground village. Once on the surface, Simon is shocked by what is above them, but he knows he can’t go back under ground.
Simon and Kamina are two interesting characters, although both seem pretty typical for this kind of anime. However, they are both fun to watch (especially Kamina). Yoko on the other hand bores me. To me, she’s just another busty girl with a big gun who doesn’t want to be objectified, despite the lack of clothing she wears. The series does need her in it, but she’s rather disposable once things get moving. The other supporting characters add more to the show, especially Leeron, the teams mecha-tech. He is one of the best secondary characters in the whole series, with his overtly flamboyant personality and funny disposition. The antagonists are interesting as well. Most of them are some form of Beastmen, whose main goal in life is to kill any humans who come to the surface. They serve mostly as a way of giving team Gurren something to do (although without them the story is still very interesting).
Overall, this is one of the best anime I’ve seen in a long time. The animation is (for the most part) fluid and top notch. There were a few episodes where it has clearly been cut back a little, but over all the series is visually striking. While I have not heard the Japanese audio track, the English dub is perfectly fine. Dubbing has come a VERY long way since I started watching anime in 1990, and this is one of those series that proves it. I strongly urge you to watch the first episode at the very least, and see for yourself.
-Lauren
This show has become a huge success. It has the highest rating for adults. It was just announced that it is being renewed for a 13 episode second season. For those who don’t know the first season is only going to be six episodes long.
Here is a quote from Charlie Collier, President, AMC when asked about the renewel of The Walking Dead: “No other cable series has ever attracted as many Adults 18-49 as The Walking Dead. This reaffirms viewers’ hunger for premium television on basic cable. We are so proud to be bringing back The Dead again, across the globe.”
And I whole heartedly agree. It is good to have a quality show on basic cable. I hope season two is even better than season one.
-Julie
If you’re like me and read Batman & Robin, you know that Bruce Wayne just announced that he has been Batman’s sponsor to Gotham City. He has now decided to make Batman an international endeavor and is creating Batman Inc. This is totally not a spoiler seeing as you can go on DC’s website and see it releasing for Dec oh and also like every other page of a DC comic is just an ad of BATMAN INC.
I’m kinda excited to see how this work out. But I also wonder if its really necessary seeing as we have JSA, JLA, etc. I suppose Batman needed his own team to go global. Batman Inc. has also made it into USA Today (link). Morrison’s run on Batman & Robin is ending and he is moving on to write Batman Inc. One chapter has closed and he is moving on to the next. I’m kinda impressed by how he’s written this plot…and he’s still expanding it. Even if sometimes you make me shake my head at your writing Morrison, I admire that you have connected everything to come full circle.
Also glad that Bruce has finally gotten over being a loner (or trying to be one). Creating Batman Inc. shows that he is opening up to his teammates and accepting that he really can’t continue doing this alone.
I also wonder if Batman Inc will offer a benefits package…
-Julie
The Walking Dead was on at 10, and not 9! But if you were like me, you were pleasantly surprised that another zombie movie was on before! And if you were especially liked me, you then changed it to HBO to watch ‘Boardwalk Empire’.
Well, The Walking Dead. It opened up with zombies, it ended with zombies. It is a wonderful adaptation of the comic, and the actors they picked were excellent. The story had a wonderful sad undertone to it, and there were a few times where I wanted to cry over zombies. This series will hopefully get better (and not sink). The makeup and special effects were also awesome, as those zombies looked liked zombies.
Oh and sad face for the horse. 😦
-Lauren
Superman: Earth One (Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Shane Davis & Sandra Hope) is another take on the origin of Superman. I will admit here and now that I am not a huge fan of Superman, and have been exposed to very little of his series so this probably prompts people to ask ‘Then why are you reviewing it?’ I can now say this would probably be considered from a ‘new fan’s’ point of view. What I’m reviewing is whether or not the graphic novel is a successful retelling; and is fans (old or new) would be able to enjoy it.
Just so no one gets upset I’ll put this here: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE.
We open up with him arriving at Metropolis and he gets settled in a run down place and he goes out for a walk. It’s obvious this is a crappy neighborhood and he is about to get mugged. He has a confrontation and it ends by him using his heat vision on the thug. This was my first disagreement with the graphic novel. As we all now, Clark is the Boy Scout. I found this to be extremely out of character for Clark Kent.
Then we go to many different scenarios of him picking a career for himself. He tries out for football and doesn’t hold back using his powers and he gets picked. He tries for a job in a research lab and by giving a formula to the exec that solves something the research team has been working on for ages, he is then offered a job there. As we all know, Clark never used his powers to get ahead in life so I’m wondering why is it happening in this graphic novel? Well the answer comes to us shortly. It seems Clark is doing all this for Martha Kent cause before Jonathan Kent died; he made Clark promise to take care of her. Martha tells Clark that all she wants is for him to be happy.
Next we see him meeting with Perry at the Daily Planet for a job. It’s obvious this place didn’t leave any impression on him and we see that he throws out the application later. We skip to how Martha and Jonathon Kent found him and they are explaining it to a young Clark. Then time jumps to Clark getting a beat down at school. And then we return to the present where Clark is visiting Jonathan’s grave. Here is where I think it depends on the reader how they can interpret the scene. What Jonathan wanted for Clark was to be able to be happy and not have to hide his abilities from people. He knew that Clark’s abilities could also allow him to help people. But he didn’t want him to reveal where he was from to others. Seems like a complicated, jumbled mess to try and explain to a kid in my opinion.
After that, it skips to a military scene where it seems they are investigating the ship that Clark came in. I’m just going to skip through this scene cause its importance is factored in later.
Skipping to the rising action of the story that is that an alien adversary whom turns out is behind the destruction of Krypton has come to finish off the job and kill off the last son of Krypton. They threaten to destroy Earth if Clark does not reveal himself. This is also the biggest news story of the century so Jimmy and Lois are right in the middle of it because a good reporter never runs from the truth.
Clark then receives the memories of Krypton from the scrap of metal from his space ship and he springs into action…sorta. By going to the exec he talked to at the research facility to get his research team to analyze the piece of metal he got from one of the alien killing machines. The guy, of course, refuses and is just a complete douche and says that it isn’t his problem. Way to represent humanity.
We have flashbacks of when he is in Smallville and Martha Kent is making his Superman costume. After a touching scene of Jonathon talking to Clark we come back to the present where he puts on the costume and starts kicking ass. He saves Jimmy from nearly getting shot at and he beats the alien robots down. There are tons of panels of property damage, the usual for a super-hero comic. Then there is the flashback again of how this alien adversary was hired to assassinate the planet, Krypton.
The bad guy then uses drills in every major city and Superman threatens him to pull them back and then a red light smashes him to the ground. Jimmy hands his camera off to Lois and tries to get there to help Superman but he is unsuccessful. Jimmy pulls back and Lois gets the idea of driving a tractor-trailer that was abandoned in and Superman grabs hold of the chain attached to it and it pulls him out.
Superman then goes to fight the alien (who I just never bothered to remember his name) and then the spaceship that brought Superman here appears and hits the alien. The spaceship is made of kryptonian metal so its nearly impervious so then Superman uses it to destroy the bad guy’s ship. So they have one quick final showdown, Superman wins and that’s the end of that.
Clark comes back to the crummy hotel he has and he buys a suit and a completely cheesy tie and puts on those glasses we’re all familiar to. This is his mask, and he has the most CHEESY, TERRIBLE smile I’ve ever seen as he looks in the mirror.
He heads to the Daily Planet again and meets with Perry, Lois and Jimmy and offers an exclusive Superman interview. The reason that Clark returns here is mainly because of Lois and Jimmy. He saw that they didn’t run from that alien invasion. They stood their ground and stayed to get their story.
That is pretty much the graphic novel in a nutshell. If you stuck through this review this long then thank you. The reason I went through a whole summary of the book is because I feel that to enjoy this graphic novel you have to look at it as a whole.
I’ll be honest, when I first started reading it, I did not like it. I felt complete confused on Clark’s morals and I felt that they didn’t reflect the character of Superman we’ve known for years. But later it was explained to us. He used his powers to try and take care of Martha. But he realized soon that wasn’t what she wanted and abandoned that goal. He still has his strong sense of morals and his ‘Boy Scout’ routine.
Another thing that seemed to make people not a fan of this graphic novel is that Clark had NO personality in this. He really has a listless attitude throughout most of this graphic novel. But thinking more on this I realize that people that don’t fit in, or feel that they don’t fit in, do what Clark does in here. He shields his emotions from others and tries to remain listless. But that still doesn’t make up for hardly any change in the characterization at all.
Basically, these are my problems with this graphic novel. The time skips are everywhere. It’s sometimes hard to follow. Characterization of Clark/Superman was bumpy and no significant change was made from the beginning of the novel to the end.
The art though, which I have not talked about, is really good. The panel set-ups are nice and just the best I’ve ever seen in a graphic novel.
Going back to my main point, after reviewing this graphic novel and talking to some Superman fans I really think old fans will not enjoy this graphic novel. New fans may have a bit of a hard time following this because of the characterization of Superman in here. In terms as to whether or not this graphic novel is successful, I would have to say no. There are other origin/retellings that I believe have done it better.
So here is my overall score of the novel:
Writing: 6/10
Art: 9/10
-Julie
Don’t forget, at 9pm tonight ‘The Walking Dead’ starts on AMC!
So, what are you dressing up as this year?
-Lauren
So for those of you not in the know, there is this spectacular comic series called Lenore, by Roman Dirge. Originally published by Slave Labor, it is now under Titan Comics. However, it still takes roughly 30 years between issues for one to come out.
I guess those 30 years have passed, because a new issue is coming out! According to the email we got this morning…
“Titan Comics is pleased to announce the return of Lenore, the cute little dead girl, with the release of issue #2 of Roman Dirge’s cult comic, Lenore!
“He loved with a love that was more than love.”
After years of shocking physical and mental abuse, extreme violence and unnecessary brutality it looks as if Mr. Gosh’s feelings of unrequited love for Lenore have finally turned? Only time and the twisted creative genius of Roman Dirge can tell.
Featuring more gruesomely grisly tales of Lenore and her demented menagerie of twisted friends, this second chapter in the rebirth of Lenore sees Mr.Gosh, Lenore’s long-suffering unrequited paramour, take centre stage.
Lenore #2 will be a must have for all Lenore fans as for the first time, Dirge reveals Lenore’s surname! A teaser trailer to promote this new issue is available on YouTube.
To celebrate the return of Lenore, last year’s hit issue #1 is being re-solicited with a brand new exclusive cover by Dirge!
Retailers can order Lenore #2 and issue #1 with this new limited edition collector’s cover from November’s Diamond Previews. For more information see Titan Comics Lenore advert and listing within the Comics & Graphic Novel section in Previews.
Take a trip into the dark, surreal world of Roman Dirge!
Lenore comic #2
On-sale January 18, 2011”
Needless to say, I’m stupid excited for the next issue . Woohoo!
-Lauren
That’s right kids! It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Halloween!! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
So if you’re like me, you most likely have to work the next day. Now, at the place I work at, I get up at 4:30am every morning. That means that Sunday-Thursday I’m usually in bed and asleep no later than 10. This is harder on Sunday since Boardwalk Empire is on, and let’s be real. That show is fucking awesome.
Back to my point. If you’re a lame duck like me, you’re gonna be home on Halloween. Thankfully there is tons to watch/read to celebrate the gothiest goth day of the year.
Comics:
Lenore- I love Lenore, the cute little dead girl. You can pick up graphic novels at any comic book store, and they are worth it. Funny, short stories makes up the bulk of the Lenore comics, but every once in a while an actual plot will come out. But don’t worry, they’re not hard to follow. (You could also read any other Slave Labor comic, such as Gloom Cookie or JTHM.)
The Walking Dead- ZOMBIES, MOTHER FUCKER. That’s all you need to know.
Batman: The Long Halloween- The title pretty much gives it away. This graphic novel by Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb is brilliant, if not one of the top 10 best Batman novels ever. In my opinion, at least.
Wolverine Goes To Hell-So far this series has been entertaining, and Hell fits in perfectly with Halloween.
T.V!
The Walking Dead- ZOMBIES PREMIER ON AMC AT 9PM ON HALLOWEEN, MOTHER FUCKER.
Batman and Robin- Because only a true horror, known as this movie, should be watched on Halloween.
The Evil Dead- Back in the day Bruce Campbell was a sexy, sexy guy. Even with a chainsaw for a hand.
Ringu- You know, this is the only movie that has ever honestly freaked me out. The American movie, not so much. But this version left me fearful of my television set for weeks.
And with that, may you have a safe and happy Halloween!
-Lauren
Girls With Comics 