A Small Town With A Big Tale, That Just Got Bigger

Had some difficulties this week with viewing Eureka. I'm now back at college, (which should give me better structure and discipline to commit to this blog), and forgot that the cable service that's provided here goes off of east coast time, so I missed the originally airing of today's episode by three hours. I realized that it was on again, but by the time I turned the TV on, it had already started. So by Friday I should have a review up of the show.

I lie though when I say I didn't watch any of this week's episode; I did catch a glimpse of a scene that has Allison working at Global Dynamics when she suddenly sees (oh, this is a spoiler by the way) Nathan's ghost. I'm glad that they're keeping Nathan around for little scenes like this, because quite frankly, I just love the character and I hate to see him go. However, for those of you who are still reading this and haven't seen last week's episode "I Do Over", it is probably one of my favorite of the series and although you almost knew that Stark wasn't going to make it, I think both cast and crew did a wonderful job of drawing the viewer into believing that he'd actually survived before disappearing into photons of light (which was a great visual that had a poetic touch to it).

Though this appearance of Nathan's ghost may not mean anything, it is exciting to see where the writers are going with the plot of this third season. What I like so much about Eureka is that each episode is pretty well contained and very accessible to new viewership; but still, the threads that bind the characters and their lives together remains to paint a picture that is truly engrossing. It would be interesting to find out if Ed Quinn is still on Sci Fi's payroll or if these scenes were filmed before his character died. I'm sure I could find out if I dug around on the net, but I'd rather just sit and watch as the season progresses, hoping to be surprised.

One scenario that I though up after the "I Do Over" episode has to do with the 'Fixer's' mysterious plans to find out about the nuclear testing done in Eureka. Possibly they could tie this into experiments that happened during the first nuclear tests, of which dealt with invisibility, teleportation and possible time travel; i.e. the Philadelphia experiment and the Nazi bell project. I'm not sure if the times really correspond (the Philadelphia experiment supposedly happened in 1943). And I'm sad to say that I've already forgotten what years they tested nuclear weapons in Eureka (but I taped it so I'll have to check that out -- I believe it came up during one of Henry and Thorne's conversations but I'm not sure). Also, as far as my knowledge goes, which is vastly limited, I don't think that the Philadelphia experiment had anything to do with nuclear weapons besides the physics involved.

Anyways, I'd love to hear what you have to say about this new season or just the series in general.

Keep watching, it should be worth it.

And if Sheriff Carter was scum, I guess Eureka would need him too.

Into The Long Box

Reviews of: The Mighty Avengers #16, Thor #10, The Invincible Iron Man #4, The Incredible Hercules # 19

The Mighty Avengers # 16
Though "Secret Invasion" has been a bit of a bore (c'mon Bendis, we're halfway in and the only significant findings are Ms. Marvel is a skrull and Fury's back), Bendis' "Avengers" books have provided back story to the event that has not been over exciting to say the least, but still maintains to keep my interest. In this installment of "Mighty Avengers", Bendis shows us readers how Elektra was skrullified. Now, never reading the initial Elektra skrull revelation book in "The New Avengers", I'm not sure if this issue brings completely new material or rather regurgitated stuff that the readers have already seen but just from a different perspective. Anyhow, the book looks good overall and anyone that really wants to know what is happening in "Secret Invasion" almost has to pick up both Avengers titles.

Spoilers: While its not clear if the Elektra presented at the start of the issue is the real Elektra, this Elektra does do battle with quite a bit of Skrull super hero hybrids. First she meets up with Ghost Rider type, then to be attacked by a duo of Daredevil with Cyclops' eyes and Wolverine with Mr. Fantastic's stretchiness. Later Daredevil is shown to have a trio of powers with Nightcrawler abilities. It seems that the Skrulls have a handle on the hybrid thing and I hope that Bendis shows more of these cross-breeds kicking human ass in "Secret Invasion". Some things to note that raise the curiosity of the mind: what's up with Electro's 'mission' at the beginning of the issue, and what is to come of the Skrull Elektra being used as a wedge between The Hand and Hydra.

Overall: Like I said, if you have any interest in Secret Invasion, then "Mighty Avengers" is almost a must buy for you. With that being said, this issue is probably one of the fastest visually paced issues in Bendis' back story Avengers issues, and provides for any fan of seeing a female martial artist kicking ass.

Thor #10
First off, Thor is probably the all around best comic that Marvel is publishing right now. With Stracynki's talent of weaving an intriguing tale and Coipel's artistry that allows that tale to come alive, there is little reason not to be picking up Thor. As for the story, it starts off from where #9 left off with Loki telling Balder that he is a son of Odin and thus a rightful heir to the throne of Asgard. I'm no expert in Norse mythology and have no idea if any of this has any background whatsoever, but really, I don't care. The story stands by itself, which is they way it should be. What made Thor such a great character back in the Kirby and Lee days was not because he stayed true to his Norse mythological heritage, but rather because the stories were ones that readers could care about. A common problem with gods being portrayed about in comic books is that the writers tend to feel obligated to stick to the real mythology. Often times this gets in the way of the story (i.e. The set up issue to the 'god squad' -- Don't spend a whole issue on what these gods do, just tell a story and show their uniqueness through that story!). But none of that is in Thor which makes for a great comic.

Spoiler: Plenty of story to spoil, but nothing overly significant (yet the issue was fun, which proves that you don't have to have blockbuster events to sell a good comic). One thing I would like to touch on is Thor's appearance of calmness in the wake of what should be the storm of Balder's 'coming out party', which could quite possibly turn into a challenge to Thor's throne. Perhaps Thor's playing it cool; for if he denied Balder's request to go public with the revelation, he might lose his trust. And one would think that Thor needs to keep all the allies he can for Loki's apparent rebirth as a 'good guy ('er girl)' obviously won't last for long.

Overall: Great book. If your a fan of Thor or just a fan of mythology then pick it up. Like I said, though isn't real mythology, Stracynski manages to create a mythology of his own. And Coipel's Asgard, gods, and Kansas are all downright beautiful. Now that the whole regeneration stuff is out of the way, "Thor" seems to be headed the right way.

The Invincible Iron Man #4
After the first issue of this new series, I was a bit concerned of where my favorite Marvel super hero was headed. I had no problem with Fraction's writing, although I did have a problem with the art (and still do). Perhaps the reason I felt distant to the Tony Stark that I held in my hands was because I loved the Knauf's run on "Director of SHIELD" so much that I wasn't ready to except any change. Having said that, three issues later and my fears have mostly disappeared (except for concerns about the art). The story is great, though it obviously rips the script of the Iron Man movie (no disrespect to Fraction there in anyways, I realize that this was probably not his decision but rather his editors told him that this was the type of story he was to write). This issue is not nearly as faced as the previous three, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it slowed down at all. The set-up to track Stane and the building between Stark and Pepper's relationship are both clever and anything but boring. Matt Fraction's Tony Stark is one that readers can love again; except for those hard corp Cap fans. And by that I mean that Fraction brings Stark back to the lovable playboy who has stayed true to his cockiness but also his soft heart for the people he truly cares for.

Spoiler: Just a small nit pick (and please correct me on this if I am wrong): On the first page, Fraction has Stark thinking that Reed Richards can stretch the size of his brain and thus make it 'smarter'. Now I'm no biology major, in fact I'm as opposite of a biology major as you can get, but to me, being able to stretch your brain wouldn't allow you to think any better. It's not like Reed is creating new molecules when he is stretching, he's just stretching the ones he already has. Being the clever writer that Fraction is, (and the clever person that Tony is), I'm surprised Matt put that bit in the script. Who knows, it was probably just a joke on Tony's part.

Overall: For fans of the film, this is an obvious fit. But if you have never been drawn to Marvel's knight in the iron suit, I can't say for sure that this will be appealing to you. For one thing, the rendition of Tony is borderline terrible, where he seems to be different in every panel, looking Mexican in some and Asian in others. And please, cut down on the bushy mustache. Minus the artists' portrayal of Tony, and admitting that I am an Iron Man fan, I like this book.

The Incredible Hercules #19
The more and more I get deeper into this story, the more and more I start to dislike it. Don't get me wrong, I think the overall story is fantastic. Nothing more would I like than to see a bunch of humanities' gods go and kick some Skrull god ass, but somewhere there is something lost in translation. Perhaps its just that there is too many gods on the god squad, resulting in little panel space for the reader to get connected to them. Maybe its the strain of having two writers on the book (somehow I think this book would be much better under one director, and that preferably being Pak). Whatever it is, this book has a great concept, but it is just left of being a truly enjoyable journey.

Another thing I do have a problem with is the logic of the god squads formation and mission. The reason for it all: to save the human race by defeating the Skrulls because if there are no more humans, then there are no more worshipers (this logic was also used in Thor's revamp). Let's see, how many worshipers of Ajak, Mikaboshi, and Hercules can you name. The Greeks don't even believe in the "Greek gods' anymore; they're mostly Orthodox Christian. I think it would be much more interesting, but with out a doubt way the hell to controversial for Marvel, if the 'god squad' was composed of active gods. Wouldn't it be awesome to see Buddha, Vishnu, L. Ron Hubbard, and Jesus kicking Skrull god ass? And what would Jesus' contribution be? Oh nothing much, just raising comrades from the dead, giving an endless supply of food, and turning oh let's say water into wine. If I ever make it as a comic writer, I promise to do a Jesus comic somewhere in my career.

Spoilers: Nothing really to spoil (or at least nothing to spoil that I could make sense of). The coyote pup is definitely a skrull, which was revealed at the end of #118, and he is discovered and taken care of by Atum.

Overall: The only reason I'm continuing my monthly purchase of this book is because I like to have an unbroken run of a title, and I'm hoping that the title will get back to its roots after the whole skrull invasion subsides. But until then, if you're looking to save money, I suggest cutting this book out of your pull list. Which is a shame, because a god-squad should be so much fun.

That's all for this week.

Look for my reviews on the newest episodes of Stargate Atlantis and Eureka sometime tomorrow; and early next week for reviews of Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Gods #1 and Storming Paradise #2.

Be a true Greek,
drop the politics,
and watch the Olympics in celebration of mankind.

Sir Issac and "The Watery Place"

Just a quick post on an Issac Asimov short story, "The Watery Place", that I read the other night that got me thinking.

The story, a very short one, tells of a rural deputy's experience with extraterrestrials. The premise of the tale is that aliens come to earth to make contact with this peaceful rural community and come to what they think of as its leader, the town sheriff. When they meet the sheriff they ask if humans would like to join their organization and to arrange a meeting with the U.S. president and so forth. With a hint of xenophobia and a stubborn focus on taxes rather than the visitors, the sheriff tells them to leave and never come back. The aliens leave and all is revealed to the sheriff that they sure were aliens. The deputy goes on to state that because this sheriff was not paying attention, mankind would never be able to travel through space or time. The deputy even makes (a retrospectively bold) remark that humans will never travel to the moon.

Now that last part is what particularly interested me. After reading the statement, I quickly flipped to the first page of the short to eagerly find out the publication year, 1956. Sure enough, the story was published more than a decade before the first lunar landing in 1969. Now the question that immediately came to mind was if Asimov truly believed that mankind would never make it to the moon. Perhaps, it was just his character, the deputy, that had these thoughts. (Which begs the question of whether or not readers can be too eager to connect a character's ideas with its creator, the author). Anyhow, I would have loved to have been able to ask Asimov after the first lunar landing if he had any second thoughts about a short story he had written in the '50s.

Another point to make of this fun story is that how stories can change due to significant events. Before 1969, this story held more of a moralistic tone to it than anything else -- sort of on the level of an Aesop fable of how you can miss out on very important matters by being distracted by something as trivial (though annoying) as taxes. But after 1969, that statement made by the deputy just hangs out in front of you, showing the clear mistakes of man's ability to predict anything.

I know I'm getting ahead of myself here; it is just a science fiction story. But in truth, something can be learned from that statement. All of us who deny mankind's or U.S' chances of landing on another plant, or finding life on anther planet could very well be completely wrong (I sure hope they're wrong). And if we do land on Mars or find life on Venus, won't are descendants be surprised when they find a silly old story or article about how their history could never be rationally plausible.

Such is the joy with science fiction -- many write to the future, and the next generation(s) have to wait and see whether they were on to anything.

Baseball and Upcoming Posts

Just wanted to talk a little a baseball seeing that a blockbuster trade went down involving my Dodgers just before the deadline. For those of you that aren't baseball fans, this won't concern you, but for those of you that are, I'd like to hear your opinion.

For those that don't know, Dodgers acquired ex-Boston slugger, Manny Ramirez, for four average (and easily replaceable) prospects; which went to Pittsburgh, but we won't get into the details. For the Dodgers I think this trade is a no-brainer, due to the fact that you get a reliable slugger for virtually nothing. Seeing that LA did not have to trade anybody out of their current line-up, you can hardly call Ramirez a "rental player" even though his contract expires at the end of this season. Though with Ramirez comes controversy, he should fit into the LA atmosphere; and as long as he produces, LA fans will have no problem learning to the love the long haired Dominican.

For Boston however, I think this was both a good and bad trade. First off the good: Through what the press has told us of Ramirez' relationship with the GM and ownership of the Red Sox, it is understandable that both sides would agree to call it quits. Similar to the situation with Shaq and the Lakers, its seems that Boston and Ramirez' relationship had run its course. There was no room left for either side to feel comfortable and neither side was willing to give up enough ground to compromise. In this respect the trade was most likely good for Boston since they acquired a descent player from the Pirates and were able to wash their plate clean from the stains that Manny had been leaving behind. However, Manny also brought a lot of food to Boston's plate, and by food I mean home runs and hits that win games. The way I see it, whatever hope Boston had at defeating the Angels in the post season (that's assuming that the Angels stay healthy) just walked out the door to LA. Without Manny's bat, I don't see the Sox going very far in the post season.

Tomorrow, I start what will become a regular weekly post on this blog. From August onwards, every Friday I will post in-depth reviews on the comics I recently purchased at the shop the prior Wednesday. Tomorrow's reviews will consist of Thor #10, Mighty Avengers # 16, Incredible Hercules # 119, and Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods # 1.

Saturday I will kick off another weekly post that will focus on a series or two of Sci Fi shows. The two that I will start reviewing are Stargate Atlantis: Season 5 and Eureka: Season 3.

In addition to those weekly blogs, I will be making three monthly posts.

The first will consist of an in depth and researched, but unpolished (which means I'm only gonna spend enough time for two drafts) essay on any of the subjects listed under this blogs title (Comics, Cartoons, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Hockey, F-1, and of course some Star Wars here and there).

The second will be a review of all the trades I have read for the month. To explain to you non-comic readers, a trade is just a collection of serialized comics bounded together in paper back. I also use the term 'trade' in place of 'graphic novel' for reasons that I will discuss later.

The third post will be a review of the book or books (but most likely just book) that I have read for the month.

Of course, I will blog on things that interest me from time to time, especially when hockey season starts rollin' come October.

That's all for now, and remember, feel free to comment on anything you like.

And remember,
Lucas made Bounty Hunters really cool in less than a thirty second movie clip.
What have you done lately?

Really Short Post on Comic Con

Well my friends, Comic Con 2008 is finally here, a holy crap is it crowded. Last year, to get my badge, it was a long but fairly quick walk up the escalator and to the badge pick-up area. This year there was a line that stretched the length of the convention center and wrapped around many times. But enough about long lines.

The con floor was fun. I got my exclusive minimate invaders set from diamond select toys. Filled in some gaps in my fantastic four collection. The best part of the night was meeting Chris Giarrusso and having him do a hellboy sketch for me. For those of you that don't know, Chris G is the man behind Mini Marvels. The first time I really ever came across him was his spoof on World War Hulk. I'll tell you more about it later.

Told you this was going to be short. I go to a lot of panels tomorrow, which should give me much more to write about. And I promise that I will commit myself to writing such wonderful and tantalizing topics and story development and the "Lone Negro" of Disney animation studios.

But for tonight, I'm as worn out as I can be -- And that was only after three hours! Hopefully I can survive the weekend by pacing myself; not buying a whole lot of heavy stuff in the morning that I have to lug around; and by seeing as many panels as I can.

Should be fun.

Until tomorrow night (and with the celebration of the funny books in mind),
May the farce be with you.

Sin City, Comic Con, and Clone Wars

Sin City
I know, it's pretty pathetic that a man that identifies himself as a comic book fan just got around to reading the first trade in the Sin City series. However, the Eisner Award winning comic by the comic book industry's front man, Frank Miller, delivered in every way possibly. For those of you who know me, (which is probably only the people who are reading this blog -- hopefully not, but probably so), I'm a pretty slow reader and like to pace myself through a story. In other words, I don't rush through my comics or my books, and don't usually read a 200 page trade in one sitting. However, Miller's art was so action packed that I kept turning the pages, my heart racing with every danger Marv faced. And I'm serious about that last part, I was so intrigued by this story that when my girlfriend asked me to look at a graphic design she was working on, I had to pull myself out of Marv's world, realize I was not witnessing an interrogation in a whore house, and go back to my real world. Such are the characters that Miller has created, that you can't help but be intrigued by even the smallest characters such as the priest who Marv confesses to.

One interesting point about the comic is that the story itself is not that gripping and interesting. Let me rephrase that. The story is fine and the world that Miller sets it in is wonderfully disgusting. But if not for the characters and Miller's keen mind for writing dialogue and Marv's thoughts (which is probably some of the best thought boxes I've ever come across), the story would be the normal stereotype about a dump city with corrupt police, religion, and authority.

With Miller's art, and again those wonderful thought boxes, I was thrown into a cadence that led me along to finishing the story quickly, but still slowing me down at times to reflect on what's just happened and what's about to. I suppose that is the greatest achievement of the first instalment of Sin City, in that it speeds up during the action sequences, making you turn the page ever faster, and then hits you with a portrait of Marv, both visually through the art and intellectually through the writing.

The only downside with Sin City is that not everyone will get to enjoy because the city is so disgusting and disturbing. For me that 'sin' factor is a plus, but some might find it hard to swallow.

So if you are a fan of Miller's, or a fan of violent crime stories (which Sin City really is -- a detective story where the detective is a 'no good' con) I highly recommend this trade.

Also, what's with the lizard on page 83.


San Diego Comic Con
Comic Con is around the corner and I will be providing a post of what I've seen (I say this because I'm probably only seeing ten percent of the con) Thursday through Saturday. The convention center is supposed to have free wi fi provided by the September movie Eagle Eyes, so hopefully on Friday I'll be able to hook up the laptop in the panel rooms and post directly from there. They only place they will not be providing free wi fi is on the exhibit floor, thank God. The last thing I want to deal with when rushing to a signing or a dealer on the floor is having to avoid tripping over some idiot who thought it would be a good time to blog right in the middle of the aisle.

And there should be plenty of people on the floor to trip over anyways, considering that the whole weekend, that is Wednesday night through Sunday evening is sold out. I recently read an article over at Newsarama (http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080717-GlanzeronSellOut.html), that has those in charge of comic con discussing why it is not a good thing that the con sold out. Also in the article that is of interest to any one who is annual participators of the con is the possibility that Comic Con may not always be held in San Diego. The article states that the con will continue to be in San Diego for at lest four more years (until 2012). By that time, the San Diego convention center should be done with their expansion and then the board will make a decision on whether to stay there or not.

Not really stating where else they would go, I would imagine they would stay in Southern California, or perhaps they would head up north to San Francisco where Wonder Con and APE are held. (Although I don't know how big San Francisco's con center is). Another obvious location would be LA. Living in LA, you would think that would be easier for me, but here's why I wouldn't want comic con in my city. First, if you think the traffic for comic con in San Diego is bad, try driving into downtown LA on weekdays where everyone is trying to get to work, and not to mention that there could be sporting events and concerts taking up parking during the evenings. Secondly, downtown San Diego offers much more than downtown LA. There's more restaurants, hotels, and overall things to do in the lamplight district. Plus, you're on the water. All LA offers is a still relatively shabby part of town.

So please Comic Con fans, if you want the convention to stay in San Diego let them know.

Clone Wars
So the new Star Wars feature film opens up in theaters on August 15. Many fans believe that this might be the very last time the famous sci fi series gets to be seen on the big screen. Oh, and it is computer animated.

While I'm not overly excited about this film, as I was with Hellboy 2 and Iron man, I will be seeing and providing a review on this blog.

The main reason I'm going to see the movie is not because I'm a Star Wars fan but because of a point that was brought up on the Force Cast. The film obviously is about the clone troopers during the Clone Wars and supposedly has a Band of Brothers feel to it. I don't mean the action or the violence, but rather that the audience gets to know the characters and how they bond with one another through war. According to sources, the director, Dave Filoni, was told by Lucas to make each of the clone troopers unique, having distinct personalities with different hair dues, scars, and tattoos.

For me, this is great news and I hope that this film proves to me that these clones, who later turn into the Empires' storm troopers, do in fact have individuality. The main problem I had with the newest trilogy was the fact that the Empire got its army from clones. To me and many other fans, this meant that the storm troopers were all alike and thus had similar beliefs in fighting for the Emperor they served. The reason this is a problem is that it makes the whole war way to simplified if the clones did not have individual choices in choosing to fight for the Empire or not. To make the dark forces effectively evil, you need to give those fighting for the empire a choice to be evil or not. Vader had a choice, and Luke did also. Hopefully now we'll understand that the clones also made those individual decisions to put on those white uniforms we all love so much.

Personally though, I can't blame Lucas or anyone else associated with Star Wars on how the prequel films changed the look of the storm troopers, because truthfully they really didn't. If anything is to blame, let's point the finger at episode four for even mentioning the clone wars. And if you are any level of Star Wars fan, you can't find any fault in the curiosity of Luke Skywalker. If not for that one line, the latest four Star Wars movies may have never been seen.

Well that is all for today. I probably forgot about half of what I intended to say, but then there is always room for improvement.

Fill free to comment on anything, and I mean anything (even if its on the joyous simplicity of Hungry Hippos).

And always remember,
Bounty hunters, we don't need that scum.
Oh but you do Admiral Piett.