Necrosha, again WTF?!?!

Ok, I know I've been a little negative lately. I've done a lot of reading over the past few weeks with all the days off. So I've been catching up. In full disclosure I usually wait for the Trades to come out for X-Men books. The ones that I get monthly would be X-Force, Cable and Astonishing X-men. I think those have been real quality and don't always flow with the regular series, especially Astonishing X-men.

But I just don't get this Necrosha story. It seems like Marvel was looking at what DC was doing and said we need to have something like the Black Lantern story. First off, there are many things that I inherently don't think are plausible, and for a comic that really bad.

1) They're very wishy washy on trying to explain M-Day and the rise of all these dead X-Men.

2) Most of the "dead mutants" no one cares about. That's been a problem and a gift by the Marvel teams. The popular mutants don't die. Remember M-day and Ice man lost his powers. Well, you can have that so magically he got them back in some half assed explanation ASAP. Magneto's dead and powerless, I don't think so... I can go on. So these mutants that are coming back alive, I have no idea who or they are nor do I care.

Luckily Cable and Ast. X-Men aren't really involved in this story so their books are still solid. But take X-Force. Great idea. Cyclops own personal hit squad. Going after the humans that would have them dead!! I love it. And let's not forget about the art. Crain is putting together some amazing work and has the talent to really do something special. But with such abstract and never seen before art, you really need a simple good story to go along with it or it just confuses me even more.

This is early in the scope of the Necrosha story so I'll give it a chance and maybe the regular books, when they come out in trade form, will tie this together for me. For now, I think they're wasting their Writer's talents as well as their Artist's talents with a wacky story that doesn't seem to be anything we need. The X-men have enough issues with their new island home, moving to the west coast, waiting for the return of Cable and Hope.... Just keep it simple and tell some simple arcs until we get deep into what is surly going to be a big year for the X-men either in 2010 or 2011 (I just get that feeling once the Dark Reign / Siege is over).

What the ?#@$%? happen to SW #10?

You're not going to find a bigger fan of the new Secret Warriors book than me. I've loved it and truly enjoyed it each month. It has been one of the few books that I still get excited when it's in my stack.

Now maybe it's just me, but what the fuck is up with #10? I loved the whole idea leading up to this issue but I can't make heads or tails of what's going on. I feel like I've missed #9 or something. I'm going to have to go back and check out the previous few issues to make sure I'm not missing anything. The art sucks compared to the other issues and most of this book is a re-telling of a couple of different books. I've still never grasped the fact that Ares and Hercules are on earth and are supposed to be "gods" that are somehow not apart of Asgard and Thor's mythos, it's like they've got separate religions and faiths going on at the same time. But that's fine because you've got other types of "gods" like in the Iron Fist books or Dr. Strange. I've accepted that there are just "gods" and all types of "gods", it don't make sense but I'll go with it.

But I want Nick Fury to be kicking as and taking names. It feels like in one issue we've gotten away from Fury's storyline and into some strange direction about the god of fear and how he comes to be, which really isn't explained well. It touches on two swords and I can't tell what is what? Then at the end Ares says that the kid has to die anyway? What the fuck?!?!

I don't mind deep stories but I'm a comic book reader. If I wanted to have to figure stuff out and look deep into a story to understand it, I'd read a big book with no pictures. I'm not giving up on the series or anything but to plunk down $2.99 for a recap and some pages of shit I don't understand, well that's not fair. Especially when the book has been so good. It's not like one of those books you buy and you know it's going to be shit but you buy it anyway just in case or maybe you'll get around to reading it. I expect this book to be good in the way that when you're done, you're pissed and want more. Now I'm just confused and don't know what to do next, like after you lose your virginity. Again, maybe it's just me. We'll see what #11 brings us.

Batman and Robin #6

So we've gotten a good dose of this book. There is definitely something to be said about how Morrison and Quitely work together. Tan is an above average artist but the book has lost something since issue #3.

Morrison's ability to bring up and insert crazy characters into a story and make them relevant is part of his greatness and what can make him annoying and makes me run away at times. What see many reviews missing is that Damien (sp? - the new Robin) is starting to become likable in his crazy way. Being a brat is one thing but it was getting tired. Now he's getting some fleshing out and growth, which I like.

I'm waiting for the trades of the new Batman books since his "death" (spoiler alert!!) so I'm not up to what's happening in the other books, but Batman and Robin is doing good for me. I just hope that now Morrison has had his fun with Dr. Pyg and this Flamingo guy, he can focus on them or Jason Todd or even an established villain and tell a story.

I don't mean to ramble but one of the things that I liked from the RIP crap were all these odd villains. Now just do something with them. I think this is a problem with comics in general, is that they are always trying to lead into the next thing. There seems to be a fight to never have a third and final act. We can never had a conclusion because the stories have to roll into each other. I don't feel that's true. I think you can have a story that actually has a clear cut finish and then in the next month start something new. That's what I think is the biggest failure of DC in the last few years. With both Crisis arcs and Batman RIP mixed in, it just goes and goes and goes. It's OK to have a 3 or 6 book arc that ends and then we start something new. I think that would resolve a lot of these issues of endings not paying off. To me, comics have gotten great at building stories up. Then after months or in TPB we never get a real good ending, where you put the book down and then say, "that was a great story". I think that's why I like The Long Halloween, is because it ends. Same as the movie, The Dark Knight. Sure they leave a few things where they can take the next arc or come back to it one day, but there's an ending.

I don't need everything to roll into the next summer event.

Sorry it took so long to get this latest post up. I know the one or possibly two people that read this have been wonder where I've been. I could probably just email my mother with this info and the same amount of people would have read it.

District 9 - review

So District 9 isn't a comic book, well not yet. I saw it last night and I wanted to say a few words on it.

First of all, this is what I'm talking about (if you're ever so graced to speak with) the future of what the entertainment business can be. I think the movie cost about 30 million to make. 30 million is nothing to shake a stick at but if you've seen the movie you'd think that this cost well above 100 million to make. Out of a short film that got the attention of Peter Jackson, a great and cheap movie was made. It has already made more than what it cost. From today on, we're talking profit. I'll be that this movie makes more than any "blockbuster" this year from the standpoint of pure profit.

The movie was good. Not the greatest sci-fi movie ever but it was really good and I'd see it again in an instant. It also leaves so many doors open that you could spin this off into hundreds of directions. Of course all mediums from sequels to prequels to comics to video games (let's hope the Gears of War movie learns from this one, because it's almost identical in many ways) are possible. You could also focus on 30 years before, the three years that's discussed in the movie, the 28 that the aliens have been on earth, the planet they come from almost any direction is up for grabs. This means more money to be made.

The movie is great and I suggest anyone to go see it. It's cool, violent, bloody, has some emotion, action packed (especially at the end) and overall really creative. I guess the real point is that this is how a nobody can become a somebody in the entertainment industry. With a good idea and even more important a brilliant way to make the movie, you can then have the freedom to do whatever you want. The tech is there. For 10 - 20k, you can have a full fledged production studio and make something that will lead you to the next level. So much is going to be about execution and if you can think out how to make something look good for cheap, then you'll have the world at your finger tips. Not only will this director get a second chance but will probably be given what ever he wants. And if he was smart enough to get a piece of the action, then it won't matter what he does from now on.

It was enjoyable to see a good movie last night but also to see my overall plan be executed as well. Go create and don't think too small.

Comic Con thoughts

So I haven't been to the Con in years. The last time I went I had great time. I was able to get a nice hotel and buy a ticket on Saturday for that day. I sat in on one or two panels but mainly just checked out the people in costumes and what was on the floor.

I don't even try to bullshit my way down to SD, my second favorite city, for the Con because 1) it's a mad house and 2) it is NOT about comics anymore. When I hear reports that hardly anyone who wanted to see the Disney panel to check out Tron and Avatar footage was locked out because thousands of moms and daughters where sleeping overnight to check out the gay Twilight panel, I'm sick to my stomach.

Things like Twilight are not COMICS. I'd even say Tron or Avatar or even Transformers (which I love) are not comics. I'm all for a movie convention that shows us glimpes of what's to come but this is supposed to be about Comics and Comic related things.

I'm not really that pissed overall because I'm just as thrilled to know and see and hear about these movies and games that I'm interested in but I would love to know and hear more about fucking COMICS!!! Of the 10 hours of Comic Con stuff that I watched, about 15 minutes was about comics. I'd love to hear or see stuff about the writers and artists and have discussions or reports on what directions the comics are going into. Maybe someone could have asked someone at DC what the fuck was with Batman RIP and Final Crisis (both I was not happy with)?

It's only a thought to mention more about comics next time around, it is the COMIC CON for god's sake.

End of an Era

The Ultimate brand is and was amazing. If not for the Ultimate brand comics and entertainment would not be where it is today.

It was years since I bought a comic book. I still loved good art but just didn't care about comic books any more. Not after all the Image failures and 50 variant covers, which we all bought. I didn't even read the books.

But time passes and we all grow older, and I still had friends in the biz and others that still would buy comic books. Fortunately I began to make good money and had tons to spare. A few close friends would tell me, "have you read any comics lately?" or "Have you seen what they're doing in the books?" To be honest I could care less. But after months of pestering and then my dear friend Ethan, lent me the Ultimates first trade. I didn't even know what a trade was. I didn't realize that they where telling stories that spanned 5 or 6 issues and where complete stories.

I read Ultimates and was very surprised. It was good. The art was great. And for the first time I actually read the book all the way through and like the story. I was on my way to a week-end trip to visit my aunt in San Diego for some reason. On the way I decided to stop at a comic book store. I picked up Rising Stars first trade and the frist 3 trades of Ultimate Spider-man. I was hooked. By the time I got back from our trip, I was back in the comic book frame of mind.

My girlfriend found a great store that had just opened down the street from her office and she was picking up comics every Wednesday. She told me that this store was actually really cool and the owner took the time to help her out. That store was Earth 2, still the greatest comic book store around, and she said I had to visit them. Thinking that sure, they were nice because you're a hot girl in a store full of geeks, but they won't be nice to me. But I went. To make a long story short, I walked out of there with two short boxes and a $500 tab! Since then, I've been a weekly reader.

The many different Ultimate titles have had their good and their bad, but if not for them I and many others wouldn't have gotten in or back into comics. The new breed of writers and stellar art pushed the medium forward and layed the foundation for all the movies that you're seeing today.

I don't know what the Ultimate brand will look like but I am sad to see it shrink. But like all things, it has served its purpuse. I will miss these books but look forward to the next generation.

Black Panther #1-3

I know this is the cover for #4 but I like it better then the first 3, so deal with it. I'm really enjoying the Black Panther these days. He's been a cool character for a while but it seems that if there isn't a clear direction, writers have a hard time coming up with how to use the Panther and the Wakanda backdrop.

At first, I thought the whole Storm marriage was just a stunt. I guess I watch too many VH1 "I love disease harvester ______" shows. I thought taking Storm away from the Xmen would hurt both sides but it hasn't. It's given Storm power and let her grow at the same time, she gets grounded when she interacts with he old teammates. I find a lot of the stories in Panther to be about acceptance. Not white on back or mutant on human but black on black and royalty on normal or outsider acceptance.

Again, I think issue #3 suffers from what Dark Avengers #3 suffers from which is they need 6 issues now to fill a trade so this one seems like you could have put half of this in 2 and the other in 4 and would have been fine. Wakanda could be like the world of BSG in that it's basically the same as ours but has grown just slightly different and has been on that path for many years. We see a full society that doesn't need shaping, it's complete, we need to shape ourselves around it because Wakanda is not going to change.

I'm liking the book, but really must add that the Black Panther : Secret Invasion crossover was really great. Those few books are well worth reading and shows just how bad ass the Panther world is.

Dark Avengers #3

This will be short but sweet. I have loved all the Bendis Avengers stuff for the past year. I felt the Secret Invasion tie-ins where even better than the actual Secret Invasion book. Although I like Dark Avengers and the twist it puts on, well everything, I'm not a magic fan. I love the Osborn / Sentry stuff in the beginning and now Doom has got his shit together #4 should be great.

It's a good book. Worth reading and paying the price, which seems to go up every week. You can't expect every issue of a six issue arc to all be home runs (BTW, baseball season starts today). If I had waited and read this all as a trade or set, I'd have liked the book more. I'm ready for the next chapter. This is one of the main reasons to switch to TPB or HC's. But there are some stories I just have to get each month. Sometimes I have the will power to Save them up. Like my Green Lanterns and GL Corps. I've got the past year saved in anticipation of Darkest Night (?). Very excited.

Back to Dark Avengers. Read it. Enjoy. Fucked up characters doing fucked up things for a fucked up leader who is really just fucked up, under the guise of the most honored group ever? How can you go wrong?

P.S. I didn't like the cover. It's only the third issue, can we at least get a good cover of someone on the team? I'm really not too familiar with the villain in the first place. But I am a fan of boobs which you get a good look at here.

Y should I?

Because it's fucking awesome. Y the Last Man is a great comic. If you're a comic book fan, you probably already know this.

I was just doing some house cleaning and was putting away the last TPB of Y the Last Man and, as I so often do, I started to re-read the book. At first I was a little disappointed in the ending. I was hoping for some extreme ending that lived up to how great the book was. After reading the last book again, I realized that it was a prefect ending. There are too many books that just linger on and the endings seems contrived and forced. I know Vaughan needed to wrap the book because of time restraints (such as bring Lost back to greatness, but that's for a different post) and at first I thought that was a pussy way of ending the book. But 60 issues is enough. If you can't say what you want in 10 trades and be happy, you're not that good of a writer.

The more I read the last trade, I feel the whole story wrapping. Yes, it sorta just ended and then you don't see the 30 odd years that happens afterward but that's OK. The deaths of certain Y's friends and @ at the end (I'm not giving anything away it's a monkey and can't possibly live forever), the saddest of all, was OK and I'm OK with it. I love the book. And for someone like me who likes action action action in his books, I really stayed away from this book. I bought the first 4 trades and raged through them. I usually can't get through books that consist of page after page of dialog, but this was such a perfectly written book. Don't get me wrong, it has action. 355, is one of the more bad as characters of all time. And who doesn't like boobies, which this book has a lot of AND lesbians, LESBIANS. The art is simple but goes perfectly with the story. It takes a true artist to give us so many characters that all look different. In so many of my action books, I love the art, but if you changed the costumes on the characters you wouldn't know one big breasted chick from the other. Guerra really does a great job on this type of book.

So if you haven't read this book, get it. Get all 10 trades and enjoy.

Iron Fist

I just finished the first TPB of the new Iron Fist. For the first 3 1/2 books, I wasn't impressed. I've been hearing all this great news about the new Iron Fist. It starts to pick up in the last few books and leaves us at a great spot. We've got a super SUPER powered Danny Rand and some mysterious tournament and a secret book of how to be an even better Iron Fist. It reminds me a little of Harry Potter in an odd way, but there's worse things to be reminded of.

I've got trades 2 and 3, so I'll start on those. I can see why it's getting buzz, but I'll wait and see for the final verdict.

P.S. Not being a regular reader of Daredevil, I'm not quite sure where the bonus pages came from and went to but I can deal with Iron Fist posing at Daredevil, it makes sense in a comic book way. I'm sure the story that leads to this is good. One day, I'll have to get all the trades of the new Daredevil and see what people are talking about.

P.P.S. Really, isn't Iron Fist just Batman with slighly above average super powers? It still can be a good book, but that's my first impression. Except his "Alfred" is a weasel.

Watchmen suck!!!!!

I hated the book and will not see the movie until it is free to see. Why would I need to see it, when every nerd on this planet has already described each scene, frame by frame. I'm sure over time we'll get into many debates over this book. For now, all you need to know is that I don't like the book and I'm willing to debate anyone over the fact that the book sucks major balls. Blue, glowing, radioactive, dangling balls on the readers chin(s).

Want some, come get some....

First post

Welcome to the Bear's thoughts on all that is Comic Book-ing. I love comics and read them every day. If you wish to be just a little bit more intelligent you'll read this blog and learn a little something about comics. This is about fun and should always be taken with a grain of salt. Enjoy.