Archive for October, 2009

Hey, so I’m a couple of days late on this… my bad.  I wanted to take the opportunity to say how excited I am to be joining the From Heroes to Icons team.  My job here for the most part will be to review current Marvel comics/storylines.

Now, I read a lot of reviews myself for movies, tv, books, as well as comics.  And I’ve always thought it to be quite a tough gig.  On one hand you have your own personal feelings, likes/dislikes, and expectations.  On the other, you want to be fair, recognizing that not everyone is of the same mind as you.  It ain’t easy!

That being said… let me just say that I am no professional.  This isn’t my life’s calling.  I’m just a fan.  And I will review as a fan.  I can only be me.  I make no apologies!

So, where am I coming from?  Well I began reading comics (mostly Spiderman) as a kid in the early 90′s.  I took a break for about 4 years when I started high school and didn’t pick a comic up again until college.  Since then I’ve been collecting fairly regularly, though a mortgage will change the way you think about spending money on Wednesdays.

As a fan I’ve always thought of comics as a way to escape reality, so over-the-top attempts by creators to make comic books seem “realistic” are never a plus for me.  I like a character I can relate to sure, but in a world so very different than my own.  We are talking about superheroes here aren’t we?  Oh, and keep the President and any other politican for that matter out of it!  If I want someone’s political opinion I’ll turn on CNN or Fox News.

What else can I say?  I love clever team-ups and cameos but hate too many major cross brand storylines.  My favorite comic of all time – Fantastic Four #374 – FF vs. the “New” FF (Spidey, Wolverine, Hulk, Ghost Rider) AKA the one where Wolverine disfigures Thing’s face.  I like my Avengers classic (Cap, Iron Man, Thor).  And (this ought to earn me some quick detractors) I am an admitted Clone Saga junkie.  That’s right, I said it!  It could have been epic, if only for… well that’s a post for another time.

Thanks for reading.  Until then… make mine Marvel!

Big brother NICK has bought the right’s to TMNT for 60 million. This includes the rights to both movie and television shows. The new TMNT film is going to be live action. It is supposed to be shot similar to Where The Wild Things Are. With elaborate costumes, and the facial expressions done with computer graphics. With Nickelodeons track record with TV series I personally think that is a win win scenario. With the film, who can really say. The only thing we can us to compare it to has shown very little. And that is The Last Airbender. All we can do is hope. And pray that the fighting at least is good.

Finally the psp gets a piece of this ever growing franchise. Kingdom Hearts is a great example of bringing two great and very different companies together for something fantastic. This is coming out in January in Japan. We can only hope to get it some six months or so after.

The Wolfman, directed by Joe Johnston id looking fantastic. I probably would see this film anyway. But with Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving this is something not to be missed. Beware the curse of the wolf, February 2010.

Do you have a Wii? If you don’t then you should. Super Mario Bros. are back and no one should miss this awesome reunion, of Nintendo and the guys that help make them what they are today. Coming in November.

These scans are a bit week. But for anyone who is dying to get more on this game will be pleased. Obviously it’s all in Japanese but Oerba Yun Fang. Her summon is no doubt Bahamut the Dragon King. And the name of Sazh firey summon is Brunhilde. Hopefully we’ll get some better scans soon. It seems there is still a bit that is mysterious about Final Fantasy XIII.

For the little time I’ve been with you , all of the articles have been done by myself. Neo Windu. That time is at an end. I have recently acquired the help of two very good friends of mine. These guys are much better at writing than I am. But for the most part I just wish to share my dread.

The point of bringing more writers to the blog is to give more to the people that have supported the site. As for now Chris (ExSleepyInk) will be handling much of the DC Universe. And anything else he can get his little fingers on. You’ll have to watch out for that guy. He can talk quite a bit. His flow is all over the place. But really sounds like he’s talking right at you. Nolan (sick pavarotti) will be bringing us news from the Marvel Universe. He’s much more layed back that either ExSleepyInk or myself. He brings a more subdued and educated feel to the blog. What can I say. You know how teachers are. Anyway, these two are now part of the team. Treat them as you would treat me. Or maybe not. Look for some cool and different things than your used to. As I said with my very first post. This is where the fun begins.

Chris and Nolan at the Big Apple Comic Con

What’s up world? The name’s Chris. I’m an aspiring writer working on a few things.  I’m also a HUGE comic and movie fan. Jay (Neo Windu) was kind enough to invite me along on this joyride so you’re gonna have to put up with me being a bit of a back seat driver , but I will do my best to bring you nice little tidbits and a different point of view.
Once I get acclimated I’ll start to leave some interesting stuff and reviews, but for now I’ll quickly touch on the more obvious…The Big Apple Con. Neo touched base on a few things already, so I’ll just meander a bit. To begin with, The Javits it is not! The set up was more of an upside-down T, artist alley all the way at its base. I felt bad for these guys because there were heaters blowing directly down on some of their tables. This sucked for the people waiting for an autograph or a sketch, as well.
Sketches, my friends, are a whole different story, don’t even get me started on what some of these artists charge. I admire the ones that remember this sort of thing is just as much for the fans, if not more, as it is for self promotion, and not just a “fan” for the flames of their ego. There were a few well knowns, but more that I have never heard of, or just weren’t on my radar. I suppose the beauty of these events is, if nothing else, discovering new things (that and filling in the gaps in your back issues). Rare and Cheap comics were in no short supply. It was collector heaven. I’d even rate it better than the last Comic Con in that respect. I could barely walk, my back pack was so full at the end of the day. Remind me to call my chiropractor about that. Right in the midst and clamor of the “alley” was a superb chalk artist. Really great stuff.

People should have been asking this guy for his John Hancock.

As you’ve seen in previous posts, there was plenty of eye candy. The Delorean and original tv Batmobile were parked right next to each other, and right in the same area, at the top of the T, were the likes of Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Ernie Hudson, Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Adam West, Julie Newmar, Will Shatner (Who I didn’t see), and Thomas Jane (who I also didn’t see). Lest I forget, what would a COMIC Con be without Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges? (Don’t ask me).
In that same General Vicinity was not only the Wizard Booth, which had scheduled signings throughout the day with Jim Lee, Joe Quesada, Adam Hughes, and the Kuberts, but also a booth dedictated soley for one of my great Batman Idols, Neal Adams. I had the great priviledge of talking to him and getting my favorite old key issues signed (most of which he worked on with long time collaborator Denny O’Neil). I was lucky enough to be shown art that he is working on for a new Batman tale where Bruce is telling his life story to a yet to be revealed character. The work was beautiful. All of his old standards were brought to life anew. Man-Bat. Ra’s Al Ghul. Of course his sketches of Bruce were amazing. He voiced his distaste for some of the changes in the Universe, most notably all the new people brought into Batman’s life. He felt it odd how there seems to be Robin after Robin growing up and yet Bruce doesn’t appear to age much. I tended to agree whole heartedly on his oldschool view of things. He assured me Dick Grayson would be Robin in this piece. Can’t go wrong with that! I had wanted to get something drawn by him, but 300 for something i can fit into a wallet photo insert was too rich for my blood. My Batman 232 also got damaged during a signing, but that’s a whole different mope-fest (I’m over it) haha.

Neal Adams working on a personalized trading card.

On our way out there was a big Nintendo testing area with plenty of Wii’s and DS’s to try out new games on. The hottest buzz seemed to be around the New Super Mario Brother’s for Wii. Like the DS’s version they are going back to the old side-scrolling based adventure, but with the addition of possible 4 person Co-op. Right by the entrance was a promotional area, and meet and greet, for Joe Mad’s “Darksiders”. That seemed very cool; from what I saw, a more open worlded RPGish experience. This you can also read about in Neo’s Big Apple article. To sum it up, this was at best a tide over until the next “Comic Con”. There were very few sneak peeks and Screenings, no big panels, and although I was surprised by the celebs they pulled in on short notice, it seemed thrown together last minute. It was, however, a little bigger than last years Big Apple Con, just not quite WIZARD caliber. Give me more comic creators and artists any day…sorry Ferrigno!

Well, I had fun messing around on this tonight, tomorrow is the early shift (and comic book day!!!) so I’ll say goodbye for now. Stay tuned, and if you have any questions just drop me a line! —ExSleepyInk