Review: The Legend of Oz - The Wicked West #1

I hate it when I do this, sit on a book that I've had for a while only to love it. I should have been talking about The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West #1 weeks ago, but instead I've only just read it. Usually anything Wizard of Oz related outside of the original movie I don't care for and that includes the original source material; but this is Big Dog Ink and a simple adaptation on a classic is anything but usual. This take on Oz sees a rough and tough Dorothy Gale and her horse Toto lost in the wild, wild west known as Oz and if that's not interesting enough... it only gets better. The book opens with Gale (as she prefers to be called) dreaming of the day three years ago when she was sucked into a tornado and delivered to Oz. Now she's following the gold brick road looking for the Emerald City, problem is that most people have stolen the Gold making the road difficult to navigate. Thankfully she has Toto, her ruby spurs and matching pistols. Along her travels she arrives at a strange town and is greeted by the scarecrows. While having a drink in the bar she's confronted by some outlaws that turn into flying monkeys. The bar fight spills out onto the street as these monkeys strike that flying Gorilla's try to get the best of Gale.

The first issue introduces the core cast that every one is familiar with when it comes to Oz, but does it more in a tip-of-the-hat manner than to just come out and say, "that's the Cowardly Lion!" This does two things for the story: 1) gets the introductions of these characters out-of-the-way and 2) switches up the meet and greet that they have so that the story can progress differently. It's a great way to do the introductions and the timing and duration of the meetings is just enough so that you know who they are, but short enough that you're not bored reading who they are. In fact I wonder if they'll even come out and say who's who as it's really un-needed. This is some of Tom Hutchinson's best writing and surpasses even the newest issue of Critter.

The art was a real treat as Hutchinson has a knack for finding talented artists that match his style of storytelling. This book introduces Allison Borges on art and Kate Finnegan on color. They do a wonderful job on the book and really create a very different world for Oz than the one you're used to. The western landscape seems more southwestern inspired, but that may play into the story later. Borges pencil's are very strong and she does a great job of drawing people and animals without either species suffering from lack of detail. Finnegan's colors a perfect for the book and she is quite a talent to have on the book.

This title just premiered at New York Comic Con over the weekend and I have to say I wish I picked up my copy there. Instead I will track it down via the internet or more than likely bugging my local comic shop to order it for its official release and so should you! This was a great book, not surprisingly great as Big Dog Ink has frankly never let me down. They really have a great balance of characters, story, art and sex appeal that a lot of other companies just can't seem to do. If you're not a fan of Oz adaptions (probably due to that Syfy crap mini-series) then I'm with you, but this book is taking only a dash of that and creating something fun and interesting with gun-play and action. What's not to love about that?

Score: 4/5

What a Non-Comic Fan Would Say: The Voice Acting on this New X-Men Anime is Awesome

My God, who wrote this shit? Whatever, if you happen to have G4 for some reason you can watch it tonight.

Trailer Time: The Strange Talent of Luther Strode

I'm not sure why this wasn't put out there more since clearly some production value went into making it, which is why I'm talking the ball and jotting down the finish line with it or whatever. I read this comic and maybe one day I'll review it. It's descent enough but I wouldn't give it the crown for best new book or anything yet. The second issue is better... yeah, I read it already! Any ways, the trailer is pretty good... could have been better. When you hit the 47 second mark you'll known what I mean. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQyI82q_y6E

Motion Comics Are Terrible: John Woo's Seven Brothers Premiers

Let me break out some comic knowledge/history on this since I was apparently the only person in the news media to actually buy and read this entire series. If I wasn't then someone explain why everyone posted about this but didn't say anything about it. First off it was originally released by the now defunct Virgin Comics, which had most of its properties picked up by Liquid Comics which has done nothing but re-release them in digital format and now terrible motion comic format. To be completely honest the book sucked. At the time I kept buying it because it was John Woo and Garth Ennis! I kept asking myself, "How can it be bad!" Here's the worst part, I bought the second series as well which was even worse. The story is basically that seven brothers have been reincarnated into new forms and they're all basically the scum of the earth, but they're also the last hope for the earth. Also there is a dragon in there somewhere. I bought it, I read it and frankly I kind of bought everything back then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnYT_wD671E

Flash-forward four to five years later and we now have a motion comic of the series which begs the question, "Why?" The voice acting is terrible and frankly it seems like the effort that goes into animating a 2-D page could be easily spent making an original animated drawing. This "episode" which equates to about the first seven pages of the issue, opens with a man reading the caption boxes from the comic. I could not take him seriously even for a moment. I thought that he was going to try to sell me dog food or a car any moment it was that bad. Also this thing is six minutes long and two of those minutes are spent on credits and a preview of the next episode. That's right, you get to watch a full minute of the next four-minute episode...

At any rate check it out for yourself and see just how terrible it is. If you're interested in reading the bad comic it's based off of you can find it digitally or probably in some back issue bins at a comic shop. The worst part is I bought both covers of each issue... fucking waste of money I regret everything.

Trailer Time: Justice League: Doom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zRUt3q3VnRs One word--Vandal FUNKING Savage! What? Er...wait, that's not right.

I Strangely Want To Play This: Locke & Key Card Game

I don't play card games, mostly because they take up a lot of time and its a pain to find people you want to play with. I feel like I would be tolerating people just to enjoy the game and that, doesn't sound enjoyable at all. But this one has me curious and I may just try it out. Cryptozoic Entertainment, developer and publisher of the World of Warcraft® Trading Card Game, is pleased to announce that the company has partnered with IDW Publishing to create an exciting new card game based on the Locke & Key comic series by award-winning author Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez. Launching in 2012, Locke & Key: The Game will bring players inside this haunted world.

“We’re very excited to be able to team up with IDW, Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez on Locke & Key: The Game. With the growing popularity of the Locke & Key comic series, we felt it would a great franchise around which to build a fun and compelling card game,” said Cory Jones, President and Chief Creative Officer at Cryptozoic Entertainment. “Locke & Key: The Game will contain a more than 150 cards, including specially designed ‘key’ cards based on the various powerful keys in the series. Once acquired, these special ‘key’ cards will empower players to unlock new strategies towards possible victory.”

“Locke & Key is one of IDW’s most highly acclaimed series and it’s a great opportunity for us to be able to extend the Locke & Key universe in to gaming through this collaboration with Cryptozoic,” said Ted Adams, IDW Chief Executive Officer and Publisher. Created by acclaimed suspense novelist and New York Times best-selling author Joe Hill (Horns, Heart-Shaped Box) and featuring astounding artwork from Gabriel Rodriguez, Locke & Key tells the tale of Key house, an unlikely New England mansion, with magical keys and fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them…and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all.

Locke & Key: The Game is designed for 3-6 players and includes 150 strength cards, 19 challenge cards, 15 key cards, one 3D stand-up initiative marker and a comprehensive rule book. For more information on the 2012 release of Locke & Key: The Game, visit www.cryptozoic.com for more information.

Episode 1: The New 52 and Us

We're very happy to give you the first episode of our podcast. This is something that we said from the beginning was a must and it took a little longer to do than either of us would have liked. Hopefully now that life has settled down we'll get these out to you each and every week starting... now! So upload it on iTunes or something if that's your preference or just sit right here and listen to it. If you want the mp3 of the recording to better suit your needs then just leave a comment and we'll contact you. NOW, here our bastard opinion on the New 52!

Review: The Theater #1

First off, I would like to apologize to the people at Zenescope Comics. The reason for that is simply due to the tardiness’ of this review.  If I had read The Theater when I first got it I could tell you instantly that this is their best book ever. Let’s go.

A young couple enters a theater to catch a movie; the movie, The Change. In the year 2025 a virus aids to the dead returning and feasting on the living. Everything goes to hell, humanity is wrecked but the armed forces fight back and destroy the hordes of the dead and slowly rebuild the world. When all is said and the dead are wiped out, all of the dead but one.

Three years later, young David and his father receive the news that it’s all over. The dead are no longer a threat. A few months later the father and son attempt to adapt into some sort of human routine. They try to become comfortable living their new way of life. In one of their outings searching for food, the unspeakable happens and David’s father is bitten by one of the last zombies. The two escape but David’s father is now sick and he’s changing.

That’s it. That’s all you need to know and here’s why. It’s the POV from David that matters and it’s his thoughts that carry the book and it really works. The trick with The Theater is that it reads like a cornucopia of different things. It seems to pay a little homage to Tales from the Crypt, a squirt of Steven King’s The Mist, a dash of The Walking Dead (the early days of the comic only) and hell, even a little Dead Alive. But get it straight, the horror-zombie wheel isn’t being reinvented here but that’s the best part, it doesn’t need to. All The Theater needs to do is be entertaining and it does that in spades.

The Theater harkens back to an 80’s style of horror storytelling and presentation and that just adds to the amazing atmosphere making for an awesome book. With the kick-ass art work by Martin Montiel (Earp: Saints For Sinners) and the smooth dialog from Raven Greory (Fly) you will find something to like here. If there is a nitpick to be had, it‘s a small one. The pick is, that the book becomes a little to self aware by having the young movie theater couple discuses the movie’s ending almost as if to explain it to the reader. It almost takes away from momentum and power that The Change story had. But at the same time that story is over and that is what people do when they make a trip to the cinema so you got me on that one Greogry, ya got me.

Bottom line, Theater number one is a great comic book. It felt like it hit a spot that horror comics books sorely needed again. What spot is that you ask? If you’re a true horror fan or just a real comic book fan you’ll know that spot when you read it.

Score: 5/5

WTF!? Phoenix to Return 2012?

Dear Marvel, Go Fuck Yourself.

Love,

The Bastards

Why Do Comic Fans Hate Each Other?

One thing became very apparent to me at New York Comic Con…I hate you. It’s nothing personal it’s just that your opinions are stupid and based in some whimsical fanboy world where it actually makes sense to ask a panel of DC exclusive employee’s what their favorite New 52 book is. In my world, that’s stupid. But it occurred to me that as I watched these massive groups of friends (stupid friends) walking around that we still had a lot in common. We both obviously enjoy comics, video games and other nerdy shit that was at this and every convention. And yet I don’t really hear about or experience myself the act of making new friends at cons. I’m sure it happens,but it seems that it’s a much rarer thing. So why is it that comic con isn’t just a massive friends list that everyone is on? Could it be that secretly as I’m making fun of you for your opinion and turn to my friend and say something nerdy, that you too are judging me and making fun of me to your friends? Could it be that really this is a con filled mostly with people that hate other nerds? Or… is there a nerd hierarchy that keeps people like me from being able to befriend the more…ignorant nerds as equals and thus keeping them at arm length or at least a seat between?

Especially this year it just seems like I should have made a lot of friends with like-minded people, but at every con I just find more and more people that really… I can’t stand. Sure I’ll occasionally see a guy that’s around my age and looks like he’s into same fashion, but then I see him pick up Marvel freebies that were given out in any reputable comic shop months prior. Tsk, tsk I say as I wouldn’t be caught wasting my time on such propaganda marketing fueled books.

Because of this I tend to rely heavily on my current circle of friends and let’s not kid ourselves there is a nerd hierarchy with me basically sitting at the top in my area of expertise. And that’s the key,because they’re my friends I know that they have different strengths in nerd knowledge from expert to novice and we’re able to balance out because of this.But at comic con’s I only have your Comic, Video Games and Movie knowledge to go off of and if you score low in all three… then what would we talk about?You’d never bring anything to the conversation and frankly if you have nothing to talk about with someone, then you’re not really friends.

So to answer my own question of why comic fans hate each other, we don’t. In fact I’m very happy to see so many comic fans and every level of interest in to the industry, but don’t expect me to run up to you with hugs of friendship. Although we have similar interests we may not ever click in the way friends do. That being said I’ll still be your friend on X-Box or even tweet back and forth with you and if you ever have a comic related question and if you don’t come here first I’ll be deeply offended. We may not know each other or even like each other, but we respect each other’s hobbies and when it comes to comics, that’s the most important thing we can do for each other. But seriously, stop offering me free hugs I hate that shit.

My Spider-Man Is Dead

I just finished reading the "Death of Ultimate Spider-Man" and the first issue of the new Ultimate Spider-Man and it left me with a lot of thoughts that I wanted to talk about and share. The first being that my Spider-Man is dead and I don’t think I can read the adventures of the new one and it has nothing to do with race or the fact that it’s not Peter Parker. At the end of the death issue I really felt complete, after all its been over a decade that I’ve been reading the series so it’s not illogical that after such a long time that I would be done with it. What it really boils down to, is that I can’t relate to the new Spider-Man and really shouldn’t have been able to relate to the previous one. When I started reading Ult-Spidey I was fresh out of high school and the Ultimate books were some of the first titles that I started collecting seriously. They reminded me of an experience that I just finished myself (minus the superheroheroics) and became something I enjoyed the reminded me of relationships and good times that developed in the years that followed. Even as my life changed dramatically as I moved cities and furthered relationships with others I held a soft spot for Ult-Spidey and have collected nearly every issue.

But I can’t relate to Miles. I don’t come from the inner city, I didn’t have to go to a charter school or pray for a lottery to change my life and as good as the tale is that’s all it is to me… a tale, a story, a bit of fiction to pass the time. With Ultimate Peter Parker he wasn’t just afresh coat of paint on an old character. He was his own character with his own mistakes and pitfalls that I could relate to. He was the character that could have an entire issue of meaningful conversations as he revealed his identity to his girlfriend. If you take out the costume vigilante bit this is very similar to sharing deep truths about yourself and family to a serious girlfriend for the first time.

It’s exposing your inner workings and praying that they don’t run away after what they see and that’s something I can relate to. That’s also something that the book has often times strayed away from. Soon Bendis was having conversations just to have conversations and they weren’t personal, they weren’t intimate. But then the last story before the death arc brought it all back and Bendis remembered what made this version of the character so special and his death was meaningful. It had substance and couldn’t be articulated any better than Peter saying that he couldn’t save Uncle Ben, but he could save Aunt May. He paid the penance for his mistake that had been the driving factor for his life as Spider-Man and this is where he stood out from his 616 counter part as he was clearly traumatized by the guilt of his Uncle's death.

With Miles I can’t relate to him. I can’t relate to his struggles anymore and the soft spot in my heart is for a different character and I’m okay with that. With Ultimate Peter Parker it was personal as I associated a lot of emotions with the character as I read the stories over the years, but even still his life moved at a much slower pace than mine. Now I’m married and trying to turn this writing stuff into a paid career and I’m not sure I can relate myself to a high school kid any more. I don’t know or understand them anymore than they do me. Now I find myself needing a Spider-Man that’s older, married perhaps and going through things in life that I too am experiencing for the first time. Unfortunately that Spider-Man has been wiped out of existence in favor of a bachelor life style that I again, cannot relate too.

I will say that I enjoyed the new Ultimate Spider-Man. I didn’t have that specialness that the first series had where you were dying to see the new take on an old character. They introduced the Prowler and he’s very different, but he’s wearing the same old costume as before and that doesn’t set the world apart like it did previously. I wouldn’t mind giving the series a few issues as the different spider powers that Miles has is interesting and it’s interesting to see if Bendis can do something different with this character and not have the classic Spider-Man to barrow from any more. But at the end of the day, I would only be reading for the stories and not because I have any emotional ties to the book or characters.

Say what you will, but at some point most people tie emotions to fictional characters. Be it their favorite TV show character, a Disney Pixar movie or their favorite Superhero that they read about monthly. The best reading experiences are the ones that make you care about the character, not just a good story and pretty art. Without that character even the most developed worlds can become hallow and uninteresting.As it stands Marvel has now killed two Spider-Men for me, and sure you can argue that Amazing Spider-Man is good again under the direction of Dan Slott,but it’s simply not the Spider-Man I’m looking for. I’m looking for one that relates to me and that leaves me stuck reading old stories of a character that I have always loved.

P.S. Never feel that you have to keep reading a book, just because you’ve always read the book. The biggest problem with comics is that people stay on past their own point and then get burnt out. If you leave with the book at a natural progression and move on to something else you’ll find that your comic reading life is much more enjoyable.

NYCC 11: Final Impressions

When talking to Kevin about NYCC, it became clear to me that I never wanted to visit New York again… for a comic convention. NYCC had to bethe poorest ran event that I have been to all year ever! My badge was checked twice in the three days I attended. Once on Thursday and then again on Friday morning. On Saturday I was never checked and frankly saw several people walking around without badges and accessing everything and no one to stop them. I’m not saying that it needs to be locked down the way that San Diego is, but seriously the lack of staff and care for NYCC made me not care.

As it is comic conventions are becoming popular in and of themselves as people want to learn about comics, see demos for video games and hear hot Hollywood news before others. Because of that I can excuse the lack of con experience that was very apparent at the con, but it’s shocking to see that the company that produced the well-oiled C2E2 also phoned in this con as well.

Friday it became clear to me that this con was going tobe a sit in one room and watch every panel type con. This was mostly due to the fact that the ten people in charge of lines for all fifteen panel rooms were not letting people in to the rooms as they cleared out. Most panels experience a large exodus of people when the Q&A begins and at most cons they funnel more people into the room. Not NYCC, they would not fill the room again until the next panel which created massive lines that was completely pointless. There was never a room I didn’t get into due to the line, but I still had to wait for the control Nazi’s to let me in the door. In a lot of cases it seemed as if they just wanted to create hype for the room or have people talk about waiting in line as to give the con a much bigger feel. It honestly felt like they were intentionally creating lines.

The only thing that NYCC has going for it was the fact that most of the comic publishers were willing to reveal a lot of juicy details about their upcoming projects. Either by accident or planned, it didn’t matter.It could be in part due to the time period in which NYCC falls as it is the last con of the season which could play to two schools of thought. One being that they’re tired of cons and traveling and just forget what they can and cannot say and the other being that they need to keep the interest for the books until the next years cons and what better way than to spoil something three issues out.

My general impressions of New York Comic Con can be boiled down to this: Unorganized, poorly set up, full of inexperienced visitors,decent panel information, lack of security, lack of volunteers and dirty. That’s right try emptying out a trash can once in a while so it doesn’t smell and look like a dumpster please. Also if you’re going to serve popcorn don’t burn it as that smells even worse when you’re trapped in a basement waiting in a pointless line with sweaty nerds. Would I attend NYCC again? Probably not. It would take a lot of convincing and several friends in attendance with me in order to make the trek again, but as it stands I think this was the worse con I’ve been to all year and it really made me want to go to C2E2 and Wonder Con instead.

NYCC 11: Justice League Panel

First of all… this place is a fire hazard! If there’s a fire I’m kicking teeth to get out of here. On to the panel. Bob Wayne MC’ing again. He’s calling out Johns and Lee and they’re showing pages form the second issue. Green Lantern fighting Superman and then Hal calls Flash to help him out of it. Flash shows up and spins Superman around. Pretty cool looking. Now they’re showing Lee’s pencil’s for Aquaman on issue #3. Johns jokes that Aquaman is the world’s worst superhero and what makes him cool is that everyone hates him.

A guy asks what Aquaman’s land powers are, Johns shoots back "the ability to kick your ass."

Now they’re showing issue three for some reason as they just showed Wonder Woman and Dark Seid. Wayne asks if they’re incorporating Kirby’s fourth world. Johns says they’re take is different and that they’re not going to do it the same as before. Johns says that he’s not going to wear knee-high boots and skirts. Lee says he’s going to wear a thong, but it’ll be very fourth world. (lots of laughs)

Dan Jurgen’s comes out and they show the cover to the fourth issue for Justice League International. Again, showing pages from the fourth issue. Interesting that JL proper doesn’t even have colored pages for the third issue and everyone else is on #4 or 5.

Talking about Aquaman now. They’re bringing out the art team. Showing the cover of the issue of #5. Johns says that Aquaman is fighting on a plane and he falls out and lands in a desert. Now we’re looking at issue#2. Johns asks if they art team makes sound effects while drawing. Issue #6 is going to be a Mera issue.

Moving on to Wonder Woman. Bob’s asking the team why they changed the origin to Wonder Woman, Brian says they enhanced it. Bob asks if he lost sleep on it and Brian says not at all and he was tired of the conversation being about her pants and wanted to make it about her genes. Obviously referring to the fact that she’s now Greek. Showing Strife and his new take on her. More pages really taken out of context it has no value. Brian is giving avery funny play by-play and asks for the next slide.

Flash now… apparently this is a panel for every character on the JL. Franny Manapul and the other Brian is coming out. Bob asks if this is his first major writing gig, he jokes that it’s his first credited writing gig.Showing pages and saying that the energy is better because it’s just two people for the entire process… I’d have to disagree. I do like the Spirit inspired credits. They do talk about one cool thing of how do you beat the fastest man alive and the answer is to make him stand still. Now Manapul is talking about the challenge of the Will Eisner title page so there… I was right. Sadly this is making me interested in the book again.

Savage Hawkman time with Tony Daniels, Bob asks if everyone is enjoying Hawkman and receives less claps then Daniels did. Daniels is a poor public speaker I can be bothered to understand what he’s talking about there are so many “ums” and “ands” going on. Basically he’s kissing the artists(Philip Tan) ass. Showing pages and without Daniels dialog to clutter the page it looks pretty good… I’m sure they’ll fuck it up. Daniels has plans for the entire year. Everyone is distracted by the next room overs speakers as they over power DC’s presentation. Daniels is still rambling on and it’s pretty boring. Talking about a new villain that will be the equivalent of Batman’s Joker… doubtful.

Mister Terrific is up next. I’m confused by the panel as it seems to be a bunch of characters thrown together. Showing #4 cover. Wallace say she was asked where Terrific’s adventures can take place and he hints at New Orleans and says it ends in Outer Space.

Moving on to Firestorm… I will now type my favorite lines from Futurama… just kidding. Snore fest… one of the firestorm balls looks like Iron Fists logo. Bob asks if he had some interest in Firestorm before, he says since the 90’s.

Fucking JT Krul is coming out to talk about Dr. Manhattan strike that Captain Atom. Cover sucks and I’m dreading the Q&A with this many people on hand. Assholes like to ask entire panel questions like “Who’s your favorite character that you haven’t worked on” and stupid pointless shit like that. Yeah, Captain Atom can do anything he wants… just like Dr.Manhattan. The doctors in the issue magically know that Atom is inside a boys brain and tries to cure the boy thus attacking Atom. Krul admits that he’s basically Captain Atom, but claims that he read the Charlaton character that Manhattan was based on… bullshit. Also the Flash shows up in issue three talk about desperation to keep sales high cameo already.

Now they’re bringing up the first woman of the panel who’staking over on Green Arrow. Anne admits that she’s the token female… not a good thing. She says that she’s instantly adding a female villain like Typhoid Mary for GA. Almost exactly since they’re going to be dating.

Bob Wayne asking about Booster Gold and his role in the new 52? Is Booster a blank slate. Booster’s experiences are intact, but he doesn’t remember anything. He can’t recall. Johns eggs on Jurgens asking if Skeets and Rip Hunter remember.

Q&A time

Asking about Wally West… blank looks.

Justice League pricing. Curse of Shazam is the second story arc with Gary Frank on the art and its Shazam’s relaunch.

Wonder Woman question… Asking why WW’s father is her father.Brian asks if she wants him to ruin it or read the book. He tells her to read the book.

Asking who the Hooded Woman is… Bob Wayne dodge’s the question.

Boy asks why to do the new 52? Panel is stunned. Johns asks what the first comic he ever read. Johns asks him if he likes the new 52, kid sound so-so on it. Lee is giving the press release answer. Basically to get new people as they’ve said from the beginning.

(I’m sure this will spin-off my hate filled questions)

Here we go already… asking about the inflated numbers that its old readers coming back and then asks about Catwoman and Star Fire controversy?

(This will be good.)

Wayne is saying that they’ve reached a little of all three categories such as current, old and new readers. Talks about the Nielsen survey and that they really think they’re reaching a lot of new readers.

Guy yells out why Star Fire is a slut. Lee says that they’renew books with different tastes and that it’s premature to judge the character.And that he assumes that Scott will address it in an arc… I’m sure he’s going to be forced to now. Basically it sounds like he snuck it in under the radar and now they have to deal with it.

(Seriously there is no reason to have this many people on the panel.)

Guy asks why Cyborg gets a promotion to Justice League? Johns answers saying basically he’s a good character and he’s always like him and he didn’t want to do the same seven character in JL so he was an important addition. Says that he’s plugged into all tech including the Bat computer which drives Bats nuts.

Lee is taking about Anne taking over GA and that she created Typhoid Mary… so she’s just going to do it again. Lee points out that they hired two woman before Comic Con International when DC was accused of not hiring women… that really doesn’t help their case and they’re starting to sound like the white guy on sitcoms that don’t have any black fans. This panel was really toned down and again missing the usual attitude of a DC panel and it wasn’t due to the lack of Didio I think that they’re taking a new approach after San Diego in order to not antagonize the fans and get a lot of bad press.In general everyone seemed to be biting their tongues and letting Lee take the hard questions as he’s been groomed by the parent company very well I might add.

NYCC 11: Superman Panel

I have to pee so if my notes come across un-interested or rushed you now know why. Also they’re playing 80’s music which I’m sure half of the crowd is too young to know. Bob Wayne is doing some rounds talking to people in the crowd… looks like press people maybe. My question to him is where’s Dan to stir the pot? The crowd isn’t as big as it was for Justice League which is strange considering its Superman. I haven’t heard if Grant Morrison is here or not, but if it is I expect angry questions. Also I'm pretty tired so excuse any typos or grammar mistakes... or don't either way I'm not fixing it!

Grant isn’t here, but they’ve added stuff that wasn’t planned… sure. Superman Earth One volume two. Shane Davis is here. Fall 2012 for the second volume… that seems long. Shane says that real men wear their underwear on the outside. The cover is basically Supes standing over some burning bodies and doesn’t look a thing like the first volume cover. Deals with what damage he can do, where his authority begins and ends and his love life.Thanks the fans for the New York Times bestseller list. Instead of Romance and Adventure he says it’ll be more Sex and Violence… PG-13 rated. Says he was working on a Tsunami scene when the incident in Japan happened. More spoilers,but basically Supes is dealing with what he can do and cannot do. Parasite is going to be the villain and he starts off as a serial killer which is a very different take. Parasite is going to be power mad and not a gluten, but an addict. Basically the most powerful man has his hands tied and that the world is too complicated for him to solve all of the problems. Davis is rambling and needs to be cut off.

Now for 52 stuff.

Action #5 is Supes origin and the new take on it. Andy Kubert is the artist for the issue.

Steel Suit plays out differently than in past take. Gene Ha helps out on the flashbacks for issue #3 (probably to help with the art delay) They’re show the new Krypto and he’s bad ass looking and also dead. There is a different threat that is threatening Krypton.

Supergirl – Co-writer and artist come out. They have a more of a clean slate for her and not hindered by the past. They’re keeping the circumstances of her arrival a mystery. Sounds like they’re going to take the good from the past. Showing the cover to #5… interesting. Argo city is where the fifth issue takes place. Issue two sees distrust between Supergirl and Superman and they fight. She knocks him through a tree. In issue four they explain why she was able to spring out and be more powerful than Supes. Art is going to change style to his market style that he’s used to.

Superboy now I’m going to guess the cover for issue 4 is being shown. No real info other than what was obviously established in the first issue.

Moderator asks if Doomsday will be introduced… short answer yes, when they’re ready.

Bringing up Dan Jurgens who’s going to take over on Superman. The cover they’re showing is terrible. Half fire and half ice and a close up on his face. Jurgens is talking about his constants of the character and Jurgens will be drawing which I guess means he’s leaving Green Arrow for Superman.I hope that GA gets a better artist then…

Q&A

Asking about Earth One Supes costume… who cares… seriously he’s still talking and has said nothing.

Someone asks about the continuity of Supes and if the old stuff will be revisited… stock answers nothing good.

Someone asks if Absolute All-Star Superman is coming out…it’s been out for almost a year.

Why such a radical change for Superboy (apparently isn’t watching Young Justice)… took the risk like they have on a lot of other characters.

These questions suck and the answers suck and the mic guykeeps adding on to the answers and I wish he would shut up.

Guy asks if Earth One books are considered Elseworlds. Basically that it’s like a movie off on its own but in comic format.

How did they resist not rebooting Action Comics, there was a time when they weren’t going to reboot

Action and Detective Comics, but that the reboot wasn’t going to work unless it was an all or nothing.

Supergirl question… are we going to see Supergirl and Wonder Woman “go at it.” Sounds like fan response will make it happen.

Some jack ass asked what the panel is enjoying from the new 52… seriously? Like they’re not going to answer all of them. Oh big surprise they’re all reading everything. Also Dan Jurgens is one of the DC guys that gets all the books in print. Big surprise the artists didn’t have time to read anything.

Next eight months of the books is already planned which is good to know… I doubt that includes the art.

Davis is doing the covers for Superboy starting issue 3,also he’s read ahead in the book.

Good plug for I,Vampire and that the book will surprise people. Crowd doesn’t seem to know the book.

Some jackass asks if the Eradicator is coming back and then pitches his new version of him. No… not bringing him back and limiting how much Krypton stuff is introduced.

(Hopefully they lock the shit down and not water it down.BOOM!)

Lady is asking if they’re will be more Flashpoint stories…answer is doubtful.

Why is George Perez leaving the book… joke answer, because of you. George is leaving for another project and didn’t have as much in the tank for Superman.

How long is the new superman costume going to last with the jeans and shirt? Has a definite end point which should be obvious. We’re going to see proto characters that aren’t polished.

How do we know that the 52 stuff is going to stick? Short answer this is what we’re doing and the amount of money invested and its success has it staying. There’s no back door escape for it, so this is it. Some reference to the Star Trek reboot and them not getting grief. Really sounds like they’re losing the crowd.

Which version of superman do they prefer? God they need toplant a question or something this shit is boring. Stock answers pick your own.

What’s the biggest obstacle that Superman has to get over?No answer…

Asking if Gen 13 is going to be introduced by Katlin Fairchild and Nowhere? Not going to answer it which is probably a yes.

Justice League and Action Comics are set five years in the past… that’s new! Way to let that slip!

Some old guy is asking if they’re going to do a Batman/Superman World’s Finest Book. No.

Last Question: Asking what will happen with Lois and Jimmy in the books… a fan yelled out read the book which is the only right answer to a stupid question. I’m not going to bother writing the stock answers given by the panel. Seriously this was the worst Q&A I’ve been to for DC, felt like I was at a Marvel panel these questions are so bad.

NYCC 11: DC Green Lantern Panel

This will probably be a waste of my time, but here we go anyways. I will say that the crowd is bigger for GL then for the Ultimate Line which leaves me wondering why so many people are still excited for GL? Let’s hopefully find out. Also there are a lot of surprises aka spoilers that they revealed so you've been warned! Bob Wayne (Sales VP) and Brian Cunningham (GL Editor) are on deck. They’re bringing up Johns to talk shop about GL (lots of claps). Split the dynamic of how Hal and Sinestro operate. He knew Sinestro couldn’t give it back. Issue three sets up the next big storyline for all of the Green Lantern books. Hal gets his ring back in issue three SPOILER! We will see Sinestro have fun with the ring and teach Hal to do something with the ring that no other lantern knows how to do.

Animated series. Bruce Timm is in charge of everything. The first year is all about the Red Lanterns. Larsfleeze has an episode in the series. There’s a comic to tie-in to the series from the Tiny Titans team.Johns just gave cosplayers a challenge to dress up as an mad ball looking character. Literally I heard twenty people all say "Challenge Accepted." In general Johns looks tired and is not his usual talkative self.

Bringing out Peter Tomasi to talk about GL Corps. What’s the biggest challenge of working on Corps and the new 52? None what so ever he says. Johns interrupts and says that Pete calls him every day complaining about it. Says it’s a fine line to get the new and the old “eyeballs” and that everything is accessible to readers.Showing the splash on issue two one character gets really upset about the two dead lanterns. Compliments to the artist. The bad guys are the “Keepers” and they’ve been in charge of the power batteries of the GL and they’re not happy that the Guardians took them away. Spoiler there for you. Decided to go “Call of Duty” on the first issues and then will dial it back.

New Guardians now with Tony Bernard. Says it’s a great opportunity to explore the different cultures and approaches to the different corps. Kyle is a great character to bring these characters together because he’s more emotional and that he’s capable of doing things across the spectrum that no other lantern can. As per the norm, they’re showing the pages of the book. Johns came up with the last scene of the first issue and the mystery will go on through the first year of the book. Kyle heads back to OA to find out why this is happening and what he discovers is worse than dealing with all of the corps attacking at once.

Red Lantern now, they start off with a Cosplayer dressed as Atrocitus holding a fake Dex-star crossing the stage. Milligan isn’t here so the editor is talking. The mantra going into the book is an eye for an eye and then some. We’ll get involved more with the other characters and their tragedies that lead to them to becoming Red Lanterns. They have no other info so it’s more cosplayers Bleez. She’ll become Attrocitus’ first in command. Probably just so Bene's has a pretty girl to draw.

Bob asks how much interaction do the writers have with each other? What they’ve been doing with the launch is make sure they all stand on their own, but know what each other is doing. They talk a lot to each other basically. They’re all meeting tomorrow while in the same city. They’ll be talking about the bigger story that they’re building to, but first they want to develop the characters again. Meaning they’re taking a break before slamming us with another event.

Talking about the DVD for GL… I don’t know why they would bring that up. Apparently the director’s cut is better… yeah right. Johns is talking about Brian and how he loves to work with a good editor. Because he’s so mellow when you surprise him you know it’s something good. Hal and Sinestro’s dynamic is what the book is going to be focusing on for a while.

Johns put a lock down on Larfleeze because he wanted to write him, but he’s in New Guardians #4 and when he finally returns to GL and he’ll have his oath revealed. No time frame really though probably a year at least I’m guessing.

Questions

Guy dressed up like a Guardian.

Will Sinestro show any admiration for his dead friends ring.Yes, but no one will see it.

Cowboy coming back? Probably. (Let’s hope not since she hasn’t worked in the series since "One Year Later.")

Are we going to get any other origin stories for characters that may not be in the book?

Maybe a little, but basically to develop their corps’personalities so you know how they deal with an event.

Second arc of the Green Lantern book is called “Secret Origin of the Indigo Tribe.”

Guy dressed as Guy Gardner asking where’s g'Nork – John’s he was rebooted out of the line.

Atrocitus guy asks if they’ll sign his cat.

Any more animal lanterns, Johns… maybe one more.

With the reboot how long has Kyle been a lantern… 2 years.

Is the Sinestro Corp still called the Sinestro Corp? Johns says it will be address when Hal and Sinestro take

on the Corp. Spoiler!

Guy asks what they honestly think about the movie and it’s negative reception. Johns says they wanted to be as successful as Titanic, but it got the character out there and made a lot of kids fans of the character.Basically nothing negative was said and people actually cheered for the movie…I think they need to watch it again.

We’ll see where the white ring went and they’ll be inserting the other crap back into the book soon enough!

Guy asking if earth will have a red lantern? Short answer…yes, besides Dex-star.

Johns is announcing the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special,like the Star Wars special. Surprise!

Now were watching a dog dressed up in GL costume… and the owner gets a copy of the War of the Green

Lanterns hard copy… pointless.

Someone asking why Saint Walker was picked for New Guardians and not a lesser known Blue Lantern? Liked his interaction with Kyle and wanted to surprise you with the character. Also Syad will play a big role in New G.

Will Kyle have a new GF? Still up in air, but the best fan response I heard was “For her sake I hope not!” and someone yelled refrigerator.

Some guy apparently didn’t understand that they’re not going to cross the books over any time soon and asked when they’re going to cross the books over… stupid. Take note and don’t ask dumb questions like this people!Also it’s too early to talk about it if they did have plans so they wouldn’t tell you!

Last question is about the Indigo tribe and Black Hand and if he's still alive and dies again does that reset everything and start the Blackest Night again, they gave a bullshit answer but I have to say it's something I've considered as well. After all it was one of their most successful events. Well that's all I'm off to get my free Wayne Casino poker chip!

NYCC 11: Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man Panel

In general the panel basically kissed the butt of the Ultimate line and talked about the first three issues of each book. It mostly dealt with the issue of their being a new Spider-Man that some people still can’t get over. A character is a character and it’s the story that they’re in that makes them good. Several fans who claimed that they read all of the Ultimate comics since the beginning didn’t seem to understand the rules of the world and continued to ask if dead was dead and if previous events would be forgotten and Marvel had the same answer as always: Dead is dead and nothing is forgotten. Meaning everyone that died in Ultimatum is still dead and sadly that Ultimatum still happened. Really they didn’t talk about anything new or exciting coming up just that there were plans… no shit, after all the “Death of Ultimate Spider-Man” was talked about in a summit over a year ago I'm pretty sure they have plans. If you’ve ever attended a Marvel panel then this was exactly like all of them are. Boring and the same information that’s been presented months ago given over and over again. The sad part is that only the artists of the books were present and none of them could speak of the stories they were working on. Probably because it’s out of their pay grade and they’re just the pencillers. I don't care what you say they don't do art, they do what their told. This is how corporate Marvel has become that they basically assign whatever artist they want to a book and basically tell them to get the job done.

I wish I could say that the questions got any better, but as I said most of them were stupid or just ignorant. Some weren’t even questions as it became a public forum of praise for the line and the new Spider-Man.Particularly disgusting was the panel moderators dig at the DC Reboot, which love it or hate it worked for the company. It seemed childish and stupid from a company that’s rebooted every series that’s made it over 500 or 600 this year.By the end of the panel I wondered why the hell I was at this panel. It had no personality and what little it had, was annoying (Ultimate Line Editor I’m talking about you). They presented no information or insight and really anyone could have gotten more out of reading the solicits in Preview then at this panel. So what did I get out of it? A “I Spider-man Marvel” pin with the new Ult Spidey logo… I got two so who wants one?

NYCC 11: Locke & Key Pilot Impressions

I’m sure a lot of people left the pilot wondering why Fox didn’t pick it up for Broadcast. They'll strike a likeness to the Walking Dead tv show and say the quality and acting was there. Well here’s why… budget! There is no way a normal network could support the show and it would have been cancelled instantly! If a cable channel picked it up it still would have been questionable for the same reason (I guarantee the second season of Walking Dead will see a smaller budget!). Still, it was a good adaptation. I heard one wannabe nerd taking issue with it saying it wasn't exact enough and he didn’t like the early reveals, but that’s the difference between TV and Comics. TV you need to hook the audience and give them a reason to come back and a drawn out mystery is the best way to do that. Personally I thought the reveals that they had were intelligent and that Scott Freeman really understood the source material enough to adapt and alter the plot line. There really was no reason to follow the comic 100%, because it would have been boring and had a lot of overlapping information that could easily been shown like they did in the episode.

As for the story the pilot follows the first six episodes of the original mini-series pretty close. It leaves out a lot of the character progression issues as it focuses on building the world and conflict. But the general story was not changed from the series. The acting was actually pretty good and the young kid playing Bode was perfectly casted. He captures the characters innocent like nature and is the only character that isn’t tainted by his father’s death. In general this pilot was really good, great effects and even better sets which gave it a great look. If I had one thing negative to say it would be that the way its handled is mostly only appealing to comic fans. I couldn't see my parents watching it weekly and enjoying the mystery. Will fan generated interest get the show a green light? Probably not, but again… the budget is going to kill this puppy in the long run, but another thing to consider is TV mini-series?

NYCC 11: Preview Night Impressions

I wish I could say that it was super exciting and just jammed packed with amazing stuff, but it was pretty basic. I'm not even sure why there was a preview night since anyone that spent any amount of time on the sales floor will probably have little reason to return. At any rate his my collection of random photos, I only saw really crappy cosplayers so I didn't even bother making them stop for a photo. Enjoy the commentary since that's going to be the best part hopefully.

Well that's it for today I haven't slept in over 24 hrs so I'm going to pass out!

NYCC 11: Aspen's Exclusives

Well it's been an interesting week so far for me and if you've been checking the site then you're about to get bombed on with a ton of updates so let's get started! Official Press Release:

The Aspen Comics team will be attending this year’s New York Comic Con on October 13th – 16th,and will feature a host of exciting talent and NYCC exclusives for show attendees. Aspen creators Frank Mastromauro, Joe Benitez, David Wohl, Greg Pak,J.T. Krul, Chap Taylor, Jason Fabok, Micah Gunnell, Oliver Nome, Khary Randolph, Emilio Lopez and more guests will be on hand at the Aspen Comics Booth #1246 throughout the con weekend.

In association with legendary film producer Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Motion Pictures, Aspen will be launching an all-new series, Dead Man’s Run, at the show with the release of an exclusive Dead Man’s Run #0 New York Comic Con 2011 cover by series artist Tony Parker and Peter Steigerwald, limited to 500 copies. Dead Man’s Run takes readers into an entirely different vision of Hell from the mind of superstar comic book scribe Greg Pak with art by the talented Parker and Steigerwald.

Aspen and director McG’s Wonderland Sound and Vision have teamed up to launch an all new horror series, Haunted City, by writers Chap Taylor and Peter Johnson with art by Michael Ryan and Kelsey Shannon. Aspen will be celebrating the release with an exclusive Haunted City #1 New York Comic Con 2011 cover by Joe Benitez and Peter Steigerwald. Haunted City is Aspen’s latest foray into the horror genre as readers will see the Big Apple like they’ve never seen before, as it is truly the biggest haunted house in the world.

In addition to the launches of Dead Man’s Run and Haunted City, Aspen will also feature a special NYCC 2011 exclusive cover to their all new action sci-fi release Broken Pieces #1 by creator Mark Roslan and artist Micah Kaneshiro limited to 500 copies. Broken Pieces tells the tale of a future torn apart by a catastrophic virus while in the midst of this disaster, one man must rebuild not only his life, but everything he holds dear in order to save humanity.

Aspen will also be offering an exclusive Fathom #2 New York Comic Con 2011 by Jason Fabok and Peter Steigerwald, limited to 500 copies and only available at the Aspen Comics Booth #1246.

Each day of the Comic Con,Aspen will be releasing a different, all-new art print featuring Aspen’s most popular covers, with each daily print highly-limited to only 30 editions each.Aspen strongly encourages fans and collectors to arrive early at the Aspen Booth #1246 as quantities of the Aspen daily prints are expected to sell out.Aspen will also be releasing an all-new series of their industry-leading art prints, featuring popular art from Fathom, Soulfire, Lady Mechanika and more.

The official Aspen Comics Panel will take place on Saturday from 10:45 am – 11:45 am in room 1A23. Aspen creators Frank Mastromauro, Joe Benitez, Greg Pak, David Wohl, JT Krul, ChapTaylor, Jason Fabok, Khary Randolph, Emilio Lopez, Oliver Nome and Micah Gunnell will answer fans questions directly and preview Aspen’s exciting plans for 2012 including new titles Dead Man’s Run, Haunted City, Broken Pieces,Idolized, Shrugged Volume 2, Homecoming,Fathom: Kiani Volume 2 and more. All fans in attendance will receive a free gift courtesy of Aspen Comics.

For more information on theNew York Comic Con, please check www.newyorkcomiccon.comand for more information on Aspen Comics please check www.aspencomics.com and www.aspenstore.com

Trailer Time: The Avengers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zatgnqdIefs Nine Inch Nails...really?