Week of Wednesday Day Four

So I decided to play a little off of yesterday’s post, dipped into my upstairs neighbor’s collection and came up with this.





No fear? Check. Macon. Would there be any cooler Green Lantern? I think not.

Week of Wednesday Day Three Part Two

As promised here is the second post for today. There were a lot of things to write about. Supernova’s identity has been revealed and I would like to say that I called it. Not the how but definitely the who. Detective Chimp tried on the Helmut of Fate for a little bit and what resulted was a really enjoyable one shot. Gen 13 is proving that there is no story that Gail Simone can’t craft. In the end though I come back to an old standby, a comic that whenever it hits the shelves always seems to make its way onto this blog.

I’m talking about the Green Lantern.

Recently I have felt that Geoff Johns might be burning out a little. I haven’t been totally blown away by his Teen Titans arcs and Action has been really good but Busiek’s Superman has been knocking my socks off. He is still a great writer but with so much on his plate I think he has been a little overextended. Then you pick up GL #16 and you realize that he might be having a dry spell in other titles but not here.

I am of the Kyle Rayner generation and while this character brought me into the world of the Corps there is no topping Hal Jordan. There is also no topping how Johns writes Hal Jordan. Nowhere else in comics will you find such a human character who understands his own faults and seeks to overcome them. There is such an emotional arc to the comic that you almost forget the action. Then you see panels like this and it comes right back to you.




There are good books in stores. There are great books in stores. But there are few books out there that can hold a candle GL. Can’t wait till the Sinestro Corp comes raging in. I’m calling it right now though: Hunger Dog is John Stewart in disguise. I just have a hunch. He’s making a Lando and Leia move against Amon Sur and pretending to be a bounty hunter in order to save Hal from a block of carbonite…er you know what I mean. If I’m correct I want a cookie.

Week of Wednesday Day Three Part One

So my Internet was down yesterday, something about the router and the blah blah blah, but it's fixed now. To continue with my seven posts in seven days promise today you'll be getting TWO. Oh yes.

So I was flipping through one of the Marvel comics I collect when I came across this.



Um. What the heck?

Do you guys remember in Seinfeld when Kramer tried to get a perfume company to make his cologne called "Beach"? The scent was that of a person when they come back from the ocean. Well, the guy he pitches it too says no one wants to smell like salt water and dead fish. Dejected, Kramer walked away unhappily. Well if no one wants to smell like the beach who is going to want to smell like a superhero?

90% of comics is fighting and jumping and dodging and running and so on. All these activities cause us to perspire. That is not a pleasant aroma. Who wants to smell like Peter Parker after a battle with Doc Ock? Or Captain America’s forty-year-old costume?

I can just see it now. I walk up to my fiancée, she gazes lovingly into my eyes and goes, “Oh Ben, you smell just like the Incredible Hulk’s jock. I love it.”

It just goes to show you that if they can put their stamp on it Marvel will. Now that they’ve broken into this world I expect a whole line of Marvel related items; perhaps Wolverine's hair gel, Cyclops' eye drops, or feminine hygiene products bearing the Scarlet Witch for those “Not so fresh days.” It just baffles my mind.

There is an upside to this. When discussing this development with Devon of Seven Hells fame he said, “I bet Tony Stark smells good.” So in line two look for Iron Man. It’ll smell like 007 after a brisk run.

Civil Bore

O.k. so I’ve been away at school for a couple weeks and with twelve-hour days of classes and workshops it was impossible to post. To make up for it I will post everyday for the next week. It will be hard but I am committing to making this site updated more frequently so that all those people who do care about my opinion, if there are any, will be able to read more often.

To get started I’m going get going on a topic that has been bugging me since I last posted. Like a thorn in the paw it’s been twisting and turning with every step, jabbing me with every stride. I said that Civil War felt like it had less aesthetic changes, that the story threads created would have lasting effects. After careful reflection I think I’ve realized why?

BECAUSE NOTHING HAPPENS IN THE COMIC!

It’s easy to see the issues coming out of Civil War because it’s not resolving anything itself. I read issue six, the second to last issue, and it was freaking boring, a total snooze-fest. Exciting things happened sure. Punisher infiltrated Fantastic Four tower, Punisher shot some villains, Captain America punched the Punisher, Namor put his crotch out there and we ended with both teams ready to go head to head. Despite all these things happening there wasn’t an emotional arc underneath to make me feel anything. How can you end on the edge of a major rumble and be so boring? How can you have so much of Namor’s crotch?

The problem with the arc is that it is starting to feel like set up rather than an actual story. Whatever, your problems with Infinite Crisis or House of M were at least they were stories with complete beginnings, middles and ends. Without its tie-ins Civil War has turned into little more than a prison break tale that will finish with more questions than answers. I’m starting to feel a little played. It’s true that the newly revealed cover of issue seven shows the fallout of this terrific battle and I’ll buy it but I’m just saying it better be one heck of an issue.

I mean how do you turn this boring?