Me Geek, You Geek

Today's Daily Rant can also be heard by using the audio player at the end of this post, downloading the audio file to your computer or subscribing through iTunes.

Slow slow news day again.  Man, what is going on?  You'd think this was a holiday week or something. 

So I rant on about Romita Jr. and Millar being shameful to the industry and the characters they have worked on in the past.  Maybe we are being too critical?  Maybe this shouldn't be such a big deal.  But my gut says it's an issue, so I go with it.

In other news the Marvel Universe Online game may be canceled leading me to rejoice so they can release it for PS3!  Yah for cancellation!

And Alex Ross farts in a bottle for Wizard and they go ga ga over it.  No, that didn't happen.  But he thinks the digital marvel comics scheme is a good idea, so now Wizard does too.  If it's good for Alex, it's good for Wizard.  Hence the fart in the bottle.

Okay.  I'm done.

Alright, the rant is over, you have your fix. As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download Daily Rant

Posted by Jon at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Today's Daily Rant can also be heard by using the audio player at the end of this post, downloading the audio file to your computer or subscribing through iTunes.

Comic book news is s.....l......o......w over the last couple of days. 

But not to be one that gets shut up easily, I rant about the geeky goodness I got for Christmas.

Take a listen and here are some teases:

Hell yes!

Some more stuff:

And I'll get pictures of that blanket (man that sounds lame when I type it out...but this thing is actually really cool).

Alright, the rant is over, you have your fix. As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Posted by Jon at 9:59 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Weird...

Merry Christmas anyway.

Posted by Jon at 8:48 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Here it is...hot off the presses!

Heath Ledger's voice actually sounds really cool...a cross between Jack Nicholson and the Joker voice thats been in my head all these years.

I love it when the Joker, after getting hit by Rachel Dawes says, "A little fight in you, I like that" and Batman responds with "Then you're gonna love me."

Classic.

Wait. Did I just say "classic" in regard to "The Dark Knight"? After months of ripping on it? See, I can admit when I might be wrong.

Bart? What say you?

Labels: The Dark Knight

Posted by Jon at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Today's Daily Rant can also be heard by using the audio player at the end of this post, downloading the audio file to your computer or subscribing through iTunes.

Nothing much going on today for a rant.  A lot of anticipation is being felt across the net while we wait for the first hi-res version of The Dark Knight trailer to pop up.  My informants, me, thought tonight was to be the night it would premiere online.  And heck, even the viral site says to watch the space on Sunday. 

But as the hours pass I'm starting to wonder if they'll get it up today.  Don't worry though, my browser has been on their page all day and I've been hitting F5 at least twice an hour.  So as soon as I know I will have it up and running for you.

After seeing the trailer and the teaser bootlegs over this weekend, I think my mind is changing on "The Dark Knight" and Heath Ledger's version of the Joker.  "Gasp!" I know....but the bootlegs are crappy bootlegs at best and they are still titillating.  I love that word.

In other "The Dark Knight" news, they have a new image of the Joker out.  Looks damn fancy, and cool, if you ask me.  Which you didn't, but this is my blog so I get to ask the questions and answer the questions. 

Classic Joker purple.  Classic Joker card.  Classic Joker knife...wait what?

Oh, and by the way, I beat Call of Duty: Modern Warfare today.  Dammit.  Know how am I gonna waste my time?

Until we meet again...tonight...when TDK comes online!

Alright, the rant is over, you have your fix. As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download Daily Rant

Labels: Daily Rant, The Dark Knight

Posted by Jon at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

The audio is awful, the screen is only 80% visible.  But, this little nugget of video will give everyone, even the haters like me, something positive to talk about.

And by the way, after seeing this I don't think I can be a hater anymore.  This is pretty decent.  Better than decent actually.

Be on the lookout for the authentic trailer to be released from WB sometime today as stated on their new The Dark Knight viral site.

Labels: The Dark Knight, Video

Posted by Jon at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Today's Daily Rant can also be heard by using the audio player at the end of this post, downloading the audio file to your computer or subscribing through iTunes.

John Mayo, staff writer at CBR always does a good job of reporting on the sales estimates of the industry for each month.  I've had this story printed out since December 5th and have been sitting on it until a slow news day.  So here I go.  For me, it's important and necessary for us comic book fans to digest these numbers so we have a true state of where the industry is.  Even though it borders on being very boring. 

So these are my thoughts on the numbers as reported by CBR.

First of all, DC Comics released 27 more books in the month of October than Marvel.  That's crazy.  Twenty seven more books?  Huh.  But, and this is a big but, they only edged out Marvel for the Total Reported Dollars mark by $100K.  And when you're talking about the $9.5 million they brought in that's just a small edge in the dollar amounts.  Basically what that means is Marvel is making more profit since less books means less printing costs, less distribution costs, and less creative personal costs.   Interesting.

But check out this figure before I move one.  In the month of October, between the big three companies, Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, the total estimated reported dollars earned, according to this report, is $19,997,117.28.  $20 million! 

What I always find is encouraging is to look at small press company, say Aspen, and see that they put out one book and made $44,000.

Or our new favorites Red 5 Comics, who put out 1 book and made $10,882.55.  That's quite the amount for a new publishing company with one book coming out this month.  Fantastic.

DC also beat Marvel out in the TPB numbers.  They had 25.95% of the sales while Marvel had 24.85%.  They put out roughly the same amount of books at 22 and 20 respectively.  This brought in $1.7 million for DC and $1.6 million for Marvel, without the cost of the creative staff to take into account.  Almost 2 million in reprints in one month. 

Dark Horse was also strong in the TPB category putting out 19 books and bringing in $1 million.

Coming in last for TPBs was Fantagraphics Books who put out one book and report $19K.

The top ten comics sold were:

1. New Avengers #35
2. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24
3. Justice League of America #14
4. Mighty Avengers #5
5. Justice Society of America #10
6. X-Men Messiah Complex One Shot
7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer v2007 #7
8. Marvel Zombies 2 #1
9. Uncanny X-Men #491
10. Wolverine #58

Five Countdown books made it between 11 and 20, which is actually impressive since it's a weekly series and it sucks.

"Captain America: The Chosen" took a hit with #3 as people are no doubt not liking the story.  The art is fantastic (hear from the artist Mitch Breitweiser here) but the story, the only real story taking place with a live Captain America in it, blows pretty hard.

My boy Daredevil is at risk of slipping into the bottom 50 at the 48 spot but is up since issue #100.  Here's a tip Marvel: We're getting bored with the "grim-all-the-time" stories.  Let Matt be a hero.  Oh, and bring back the use of his powers in the stories.

Howard the Duck #1 rounds out the top 100, which means I could be creating and writing comics for a living.

The top trade was a Buffy book.  We see Bendis break the top 10 with Powers v10: Cosmic.

See to me, this stuff is very interesting.  I guess we would need to put this up against historical data, but are they really doing that poorly when you take into account single issues, trades, hard covers and merchandise?  Somebody smarter than me let me know.

And let me finish up this rant with this little quote from Ray Stephenson, actor of the upcoming movie "Punisher: War Zone" in an interview with Wizard Magazine:

"This is in no way to be seen as 'Punisher 2,' or even 'Punisher 3.' "It's going full-on for the Garth Ennis and Tim Bradstreet take on Frank Castle. We're staying very, very true to the authenticity of the comic books. The whole look of the film, the mise en scene, has that light and dark, harsh sodium colors. Frank Castle is definitely the predator. Not to take away from anything Tom Jane has done, and I think that movie stands up on its own, but my take will be different. It's a newer, darker version."

No...not to take anything away from Tom Jane. But our movie is going to be watchable.  But not to take anything away from Tom Jane.

I love when people talk smack in a nice way like that.

Alright, the rant is over, you have your fix. As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download Daily Rant

Labels: Comics, Daily Rant

Posted by Jon at 5:15 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Okay, here it is.  The authorized one comes out tomorrow so I will comment then.

I may be retracting some thoughts I had.  Woot!

Labels: The Dark Knight

Posted by Jon at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

This Review can also be heard by using the audio player at the end of this post, downloading the audio file to your computer or subscribing through iTunes.

The New Avengers #37:

Quick Score (out of 5)

Nothing about this issue was exciting. 

It read fine.  You never actually get bored reading a Bendis book.  His dialogue is written with a lot of beats and it has a rhythm to it that keeps you moving through pretty effortlessly.

Basically what happens is The Wrecker gets captured by the New Avengers (and mirages of every other Marvel hero as summoned by the Strange Doctor) and then The Hood breaks in to S.H.I.E.L.D and gets him out to demonstrate he can and will.  To quote The Hood:

"I told you things are different now.  My guys don't sit in jail."

The Hood then goes on to proclaim that he's mad at the New Avengers for handing a financial hit and that he's going after them.

This all could have happened in about half an issue.  Back in the Lee/Kirby era it would've taken place in about 3 pages.  Now I'm all for setting up a plot line and getting to know the characters, but really, at issue 37 now, what's really happened in this series?  I mean, 37 issues is three years worth of comics!  And not much stands out at all, except a bunch of scenes with Spidey, Dr. Strange, Cage, and Wolverine sitting around and talking.

I'm a Bendis fan so I expect more.  More earth shattering.  More excitement.  And to me excitement is not "listening" to the characters banter back and forth while meandering around during a fight scene which doesn't have a significant outcome.

As for the art, it's not bad.  It's actually quite good...if it were on another book.  I just can't seem to see how this type of art fits on this book.

So if you haven't picked this issue up yet and you aren't a completist, I will tell you to spend your hard earned elsewhere.

As always feel free to send in your ideas for Reviews or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download this Review

Labels: Comic Book Reviews, Marvel Comics

Posted by Jon at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Today's Daily Rant can also be heard by using the audio player at the end of this post, downloading the audio file to your computer or subscribing through iTunes.

I knew at some point it would happen.  That there would be something that came out of The Dark Knight that excited me.  It wasn't images of the Joker.  Or images of Bats new suit.  Or images of the Bat Pod.

And the teaser hasn't be released yet (next week my informants tell me.  Informants...ha.  I love when website's say that and what they really mean is the major sites).

Well here it is, the first thing that got me excited, the poster for the movie.

This is actually a very cool shot of Bats.  I love the fact that the is looking over Metropolis, er I mean Gotham.  Why is Gotham so bright and fancy looking?  It doesn't matter, it makes sense that a city made of dirty money would be Las Vegas like, so I am cool with it. 

So thank you Warner Bros., you're giving me something to be excited about.

In other wonderful, great, awesome comic book movie news, on Saturday Daredevil is set to air on FX at 3 p.m. and on Sunday at 10:30 a.m.  Have yourself a good laugh as the holidays approach.

And here is some more Deadpool movie news from Comics2Film:

"Leading up to the events of 'X-Men', 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' – written by David Benioff (The Kite Runner, Troy) – tells the story of Wolverine's epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe.

Could this be the Deadpool appearance we've been hearing about?"

Well could it?  Hmmm? Here's to hoping!

Alright, the rant is over, you have your fix. As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Labels: Daily Rant

Posted by Jon at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Today's Daily Rant can also be heard by using the audio player at the end of this post, downloading the audio file to your computer or subscribing through iTunes.

I'm right.  I'm damn right I tell you. 

Now half the time, I'm not right.  Hell, if you talk to my wife I bet I'm not right 90% of the time.  But on this subject I am!

E-comics and the distribution online of these wonderful e-comics.

And a special note for some of you small press guys....pay attention!  This is a revenue increasing idea you need to follow up on.

Have you heard the news about Yahoo and Adobe (you know, the pdf makers) have joined forces to allow a service which will allow creators of pdf documents to embed Yahoo ads into their documents?  It's kinda like the whole Google Adwords/Adsense program but instead of the ads running on your site, they will be running in your pdf files of course. 

Now does anyone know of a wonderful little comic book reader which can "read" pdf files?  Why yes...ComicRack of course.

Damn I need to get the creator of ComicRack on this blog.  It's in the works folks!

But I digress.  It's all there.  The future of comic books are distribution online, with ad support.  Here is a free service that allows you to not even have to worry about going out and finding advertisers.

Now grant it, this is no get rich quick scheme, but it is the start of something. 

I'm right.  I'm damn right I tell you.

Moving on.

I loved the Transformers movie.  I was too stupid to go and see it on the big screen but watching it in the comfort of my living room still kicked ass and I fell in love with the characters again.  I was even excited to see that they were coming out with a new cartoon.  I thought the toon would tie me over until Transformers 2 came out. 

But alas, like so much lately, I saw a teaser and was not impressed. 

By the powers granted to me by the YouTube gods, I give you said teaser:

What's up with their curved mouths?  Their robots for god's sakes!  And if I see another dang cartoon in this anime style, just so they can be "hip", I'm gonna...I don't know...but I will.  So this is apparently not the Transformers fix I was hoping for.

Now on to my bad man Stephano Caselli.  Twas a day that Stephano and I corresponded frequently.  Twas a day where Stephano had time for little old me.  Twas a day.  But not NO more. 

Nope, my Italian brother has some penciling to do and he best be doing it since he continues to make a name for himself.  Finally Marvel gave him the covers to his book like he deserved and I'm starting to see that reviews and previews of The Initiative are beginning to talk about his art instead of just the writing.  Well deserved.

Here are some preview pages straight from his blog, posted without his permission since the guy doesn't ever call me anymore...sniff.

Dand dang dang.  That boy can draw!

But all kidding a side, I'm proud of the guy.  I remember meeting him at a convention in Chicago literally the day before he was called back for a portfolio review. That portfolio review eventually lead to a Mutant X one shot, then to Devil's Due and then his stinton The Initiative.  I remember fondly sitting at a convention table, $6 slice of pizza in hand, watching him sketch a Daredevil for me.  It was amazing.  Seeing any artist that is solid at his craft is amazing actually.  All these little scribbles came together to make this kick ass DD sketch. 

And I proudly have it displayed in my home office, framed for all to see.  A keepsake.

Until he gets more popular and I can make a buck on Ebay with it.

Alright, the rant is over, you have your fix. As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download Daily Rant

Labels: Daily Rant, Marvel Comics, Stephano Caselli

Posted by Jon at 9:29 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Welcome to another episode of our show! Skypecasting all the way.

The shows topics include:

• Atomic Robo #3 reviewed.
• Batman and the Outsiders #2 reviewed.
• Ultimates 3 #1 reviewed.
• X-Men #205 reviewed.
• A bunch of other comic book geekiness.

As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics and make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download Daily Rant

Labels: Comic Book Reviews, Internet Talk Show (MP3)

Posted by Jon at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Today's Daily Rant can also be heard by using the audio player at the end of this post, downloading the audio file to your computer or subscribing through iTunes.

Well.  There are a couple of things you need to know before this rant.

One, I have the flu.  Yeah, yeah, I'm done whining.  But it is the reason why the shows are a day late, but I promise to make sure to get 365 rants completed in 365 days.

And two...I broke down and bought a PS3 on Sunday.  So call my Joe Mad, call me J. Scott Campbell.  But when you get a PS3 you have to dedicate some time to her.  It's like getting a new girl...quality time is needed.  And I know I'm late to the game with the PS3, it was on purpose, but if you have one and you haven't picked up Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, well my god stop listening to me, take $60 from under your mattress and go buy the damn thing.  It's the most intense game I have ever played.  Look at these screens of actual game play:

And since yo have to see it live to believe it:

Now is that intense or what?  And yes, it's that amazing to play through. 

Now you may be asking why the heck I am spending this much time and this much bandwidth on video games when this is a blog on comics?  Well I offer it as a mild excuse for my lateness and because of this:

See, since I have my PS3 now I am actively awaiting this game to come out cause it looks amazing.  Iron Man going up against jets?  Seriously.  The aerials look amazing.  So if you have $400 laying around with nothing better to do, go grab a PS3.

Okay, how about more Iron Man movie stuff.  They recently released images of the Iron Man movie toys:

Make 'em bigger by clicking on them.

Also, in the old folks news report I read some plot details from the upcoming Indiana Jones 4 movie, titled "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".  It's from USA Today and it reads:

When last we saw Indy, he was riding off into the sunset in 1989's The Last Crusade, set in 1938 near the start of World War II. The new movie, due this spring, is set at the height of the Cold War in 1957, so the character has aged in real time — 19 years.

"He's teaching and having kind of a quiet life," the producer says. Once the archaeologist is thrust back into danger, the signature Indiana Jones red line tracing across the map will take him to New Mexico, Connecticut, Mexico City and the jungles of Peru.

"Indy's a fallible character. He makes mistakes and gets hurt. He has a few more aches and pains now," Marshall says. "That's the other thing people like: He's a real character, not a character with superpowers."

I have no doubt that this movie will be cool.  I'm not that excited to see it but I will go and check it out when its released.  I like the fact that they will be playing up his age as a comical bit, which is the only sound way to do it.  And you got to give Harrison some credit since he brought to life some of the best characters in movie history with Han Solo and Indiana Jones. 

But he is looking his age:

Who knows, the old man may still have a crackle in his whip.  And by whip I don't mean his crotch.  And by crackle I don't mean - oh never mind.

Alright, the rant is over, you have your fix. As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download Daily Rant

Labels: Marvel Comics, Movie Trailers, Movies, Video Games

Posted by Jon at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Today's Daily Rant can also be heard by using the audio player at the end of this post, downloading the audio file to your computer or subscribing through iTunes.

Well if you haven't heard yet the "Speed Racer" franchise is the next old cartoon to be pulled out of it's coffin and reimagined for a new generation. 

The boys that did the Martix Triology is helming the chair.  Let's hope if they find success in the first "Speed Racer" movie that they don't do any sequels since we all know how that turned out.

This first video trailer looks really good.  It has a funky style to it, a style I've never seen before.  They keep with the original music, they keep with the original logo, they keep with the look of the characters, so they have me interested so far.  Plus John Goodman has a role.

So by the powers granted to me by the YouTube gods:

For a look at a hi-res version, check out the hi-res Speed Racer trailer.

In other comic book movie news I was excited to read the following rumor from CHUD.com:

"Now a trusted informant has told me that another familiar character will be showing up in the movie - none other than the merc with a mouth, Deadpool. In the comics Deadpool got his start in Weapon X, so it makes sense that he'd show up here. And we've been hearing rumors that Marvel is going for more movie continuity, with a scene being shot to link Incredible Hulk and Iron Man, so why not start Deadpool off here before spinning him into his own film, which David Goyer has been talking up for ages? And how exciting is it to see a second generation spin-off in the movies? The Deadpool movie could be the Good Times to Wolverine's Maude, which spun off from X-Men's All in the Family.

Fan (and Goyer) casting has had Ryan Reynolds playing Deadpool forever. Now that it looks less and less likely that Reynolds will be playing The Flash in anything anytime soon, could this be his superhero franchise?"

If you hear laughter in the distance it's Bart chuckling at my thinking Deadpool would make a great movie.  But I'm not ashamed, I think a Deadpool movie would be kick ass.  It could have the very serious over the top violence we all love from DP but with the quirky "merc with a mouth" humor as well. 

I'll be watching for more news on this one.

(Notice there was no reference to Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld.)

And last, and certainly least, more news about TDK.  I've been harsh on this film, and that's being polite.  Now CBR has a first hand report written by Andy Khouri about two guys, Simmons and Parrot, who went to see the teaser.  Read the entire spoiler filled teaser by following the link, but here's what Andy reported at the end of his column:

"The montage climaxed with an eruption of applause as the IMAX screen displayed a 62' tall Batman standing on the edge of a rooftop, his hand on his head, before cutting to a very emotional James Gordon swinging an axe into the Bat-signal, shattering it completely.

After nearly eight hours of waiting to see eight minutes of footage, Simmons and Parrot remarked, "That was very cool."

Reading through the spoilers you'll find that it was a Joker scene that was shown.  And actually the scene, not being able to see it, played out wonderfully in my mind as I envisioned a comic book version Joker in my head.  But once I inserted Heath Ledger and his jacked up face into my imagination I quickly lost interest. 

Okay I lied, that wasn't the last thing I wanted to talk about.  This is.

"The Spectacular Spider-Man" is a WB cartoon that will be airing in March.  I previously reported on this cartoon of which I am highly anticipating (go here to see the first The Spectacular Spider-Man video trailer) and wanted to follow up with some more pics from the first episode featuring the vulture. 

So here you go:

Here's a quote from the news source, ComicsContinuum that I liked very much:

"The spot that aired Saturday also revealed that, through an apparent artistic choice, the size of Spider-Man's eyeholes will change to reflect emotion."

Woo hoo!  I've always liked my Spider-Man eyes to be squintable.

Alright, the rant is over, you have your fix. As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download Daily Rant

Labels: Comics, Daily Rant, Movie Trailers, The Dark Knight, Video

Posted by Jon at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Today's Daily Rant can also be heard by using the audio player at the end of this post, downloading the audio file to your computer or subscribing through iTunes.

DC and Dark Horse finally get some love today with some Me Geek, You Geek reviews.

Up first.  JSA #11 by Geoff Johns and Dale Eaglesham.

The Kingdom Come Superman continues to try to fit in to the current timeline JSA and we get the introduction (at least to me) of Judomaster, a gal that cannot be effectively attacked unless the attack is not directed at her.

Geoff Johns knows how to write DC characters and presents a classiness and understanding of these legendary heroes.  Do you hear me Marvel?  While the storyline didn't grab my attention that much, and while the whole "multiverse after we destroyed the multiverse" irritates me, it's a solid comic book read.

The art is also very respectable, more of a classic look, which was refreshing after having to suffer through Ultimates 3 #1.

Overall a good book with some surprises thrown in with these classic heroes.

Moving on to the JSA cousin we have JLA #15. 

I wasn't impressed with the writing of this issue.  It seemed to be rushed and there were really no consequences to what was taking place between the characters.  The art by Ed Benes is good enough, he draws good action and a better Wonder Woman.  This issue featured in the title "Vs. Injustice League of America" but it was short lived.

While any DC follower needs to be picking up the JLA series at all times, this issue was not memorable.  Hopefully they are quickly getting through this to move on to something better.

I'm waiting.

On to our pals over at Dark Horse with my childhood favorite non superhero character Groo.  Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier unite again for this four issue mini "Groo: Hell On Earth".  

Being a fan of the old Mad Magazines and loving to look at Sergio's little one shot comics in the gutters of the pages, I always enjoy looking through the Groo stories.  He puts so much detail in the page it's just incredible.

Groo has always been about reflecting what is going on in current events and these two issues are no different.  Basically there are villages that are trying to create war for war's sake and also polluting the environment without a care in the world.  These are obvious references to the Iraq War and the global warming such and such that has everyone with their undies in a bunch. 

The story was boring to me due to this storyline.  It wasn't funny.  It was too preachy.  If I wanted to feel bad I'd just turn on CNN and listen to how bad everything is, not read a supposedly humorous comic book.

However, I will finish this series off since I'm a completist and I like looking at Sergio's art.

Overall I found these books to be "not painful" to read, which in this day and age is something.

Alright, the rant is over, you have your fix. As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download Daily Rant

Labels: Comic Book Reviews, Daily Rant

Posted by Jon at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I got my weekly pull list today.  Very excited to sit down and read Ultimates 3 #1 and Atomic Robo #3.  Since I'm usually pretty negative, I'm starting with the Atomic Robo #3 review since it continues to score high.

In this issue we get introduced to the other characters that seem as if they're going to be showing up now and then.  Of course the main character is Atomic Robo and he's at the center of all the action.  The plot is strong again as in the last two issues, but the script seemed a little weaker.  Not bad, just not as good.  That can be a problem when you come flying out of the gates kicking ass with issues 1 and 2. 

So Robo (can I call him Robo?) and his crew are looking into a strange occurrence in Egypt.  Apparently there's a pyramid that just up and started moving across the desert on it's own.  So the team has to go investigate.  There's a lot of talking in this issue to set up the characters and the plot, which is okay, but it made me realize that I like the book better when it's just Robo doing his thing.

There are some cool ideas at the end of the issue (read it and find out) and some mild action.  But here's something that was odd...

The end was abrupt and seemed unnatural.  I had to take a couple double takes to see what the heck was going on as it seemed like I missed a page.  There is no "The End" or "To be continued..." signs telling me what to expect.  It goes from the last page of this story right into a 4 page back story which has nothing to do with the main storyline.  It seemed very unnatural and it prompted me to go on the Al Gore net and see if there was a misprint or something.  At this point I haven't seen anything.

Back to the book.  The art is outstanding.  Scott Wegener is fantastic again.  I keep up to date on his blog and he seems to be saying this issue was troublesome, but he knocked it out of the park.  His strengths are drawing Robo, and all other tech, so including other human characters in to the bunch steals some of the magic away from his strengths, but again, nothing too major, or nothing that makes me want to stop reading.

So like I have said a million times, pick up this book.  Go get issue #1 (first printing) and bag and board it.  This series will be big someday.

Okay, on to the negative.

Ultimates 3 #1.

So I'm off again with Marvel. I got my comics last night and was eager to read Ultimates 3, the continuation of the line by Jeff Loeb and Joe Mad. Loeb is always a sure thing (until now) and with Joe Mad being back in comics it's a sure thing. Right?

I was utterly disappointed. And not just in the art or the story. No...I was disappointed in so much more.

The first page, no, the first panel, has Tony Stark giving it to the Black Widow from behind. Then the next panel has a big screen television which shows them in a different position and leaves nothing to the imagination.  Third panel, close up of Widow's lips and sweat rolling down her face.  Fourth panel, we see the same screen but this time Widow is down on her knees, clearly in the mode for a Paris Hilton moment.  And also on this page is Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch cuddling on the couch like their about to do the same thing.  What?

So the story starts that there is a sex tape of Tony and Widow.  We get to see Valkyrie's impression of a wet t-shirt contest.  Then Captain America put two and two  together and is told by The Wasp that Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch are more than loving of each other.  As The Wasp says it,

"No. It's more than that.  They're in love."

What a great start.  Sex tapes with Joe Mad drawing basically porn and well known Marvel characters going down on one another.  And a brother and sister combo being incestuous. 

If this is where "cutting edge" comics are going, leave me be. My word.

Plus, on top of it, the story and art sucked.  Yeah yeah, I said Mad's art sucked.  And I stick by it.  His pin ups are cool enough to look at and they have a cool design element to them, but how about story telling capabilities?

So I got snookered.  Hard.  Orally. Anally. Incestuously.

Thanks Marvel.  You are so newsworthy now.  So "hip".  So controversial.  Bring back the code and let's ship Mad back to his video game development.

Alright, the rant is over, you have your fix. As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download Daily Rant

Labels: Comic Book Reviews, Daily Rant

Posted by Jon at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Today's Daily Rant can also be heard by using the audio player at the end of this post, downloading the audio file to your computer or subscribing through iTunes.

Daredevil one shots have been few and far between. I remember the old days when the DD graphic novels where coming out on a regular basis. Books like DD: Love and War, DD and Black Widow: Abattoir and The Black Widow: Coldest War where great pick ups. I loved the "out of continuity" stories which featured DD in usually more adult stories than what he was getting himself into in the monthly.

Well in that same vein, be on the look out for the Daredevil/Magdalena crossover hitting stores in February. DD and Marvel fans may miss out on this one since Marvel doesn't have the solicitation rights and therefore the book is not advertised in the Marvel Previews section. You need to find it in the Top Cow Previews.

Writer/artist Phil Hester takes on the Catholic heroes, who seem to be a good match for one another. It sounds like the storyline is standard fodder for crossovers. Hero meets hero. They have a misunderstanding and begin to fight. They realize the misunderstanding and team up to go after the true villain.

The storyline takes place on Christmas Eve, which is odd since it's not coming out until two months after Christmas. But what can you do. The cover looks cool, more like the old school DD than I haven't seen in a long time. It's refreshing to see DD drawn this way since Maleev and Lark have a more realistic, grungy look. Sometimes you just need gold old fashion pencils to do the trick.

In an interview with CBR, Phil Hester states:

"Of course, Matt has nun/mother issues, so that's a 'gimme'."

Don't we all?

Here's the promo cover:

In another story from Ain't It Cool News there are rumors going around that the Marvel movies are going to start crossing over. Interesting huh?

Here's the rumor from the site:

"There are some fuzzy politics going on with the Iron Man and Hulk movies - they're shooting a scene TOGETHER! The trouble is, I can't tell if its an Iron Man scene with the Hulk in in or a Hulk scene with IRON MAN in it, more interestingly, it's possible that the SAME SCENE or some variation of it might be in BOTH movies lending to the comic book / single universe, many heroes idea seen in the past - uber cool."

It makes sense since the characters can be CGI-ed in pretty easily. So give us a small battle, or at least a fly by of Iron Man in Hulk. It sounds like they're doing acting too...so it will probably be pretty cool and not just a cheap stunt like I asked for one sentence ago.

They also report that Nick Fury, who is being played to look like the Ultimate's version by Sam Jackson, may be in both films which will pull together the cohesiveness. 'Bout damn time.

Now all I need is a Ben Affleck/Toby Maguire team up on a DD/Spider-Man movie.

Actually, no I don't.

And the last bit of news I have is from my on-again/off-again love affair, Marvel Comics. (We're on again in case you were wondering.) They've posted a Marvel Zombies Cookbook online and I must pass on some of the delicious entrees. Since Christmas is coming and all. Now, if you have your great Aunt Milly coming over for Christmas, make sure to cook her up some "BBQ Beast Burger". Or some "Colonel America Casserole". Or my favorite: "Rack of Giant-Man". Here's the ingredients:

Rack of Giant-Man
Ingredients
2 tablespoons finely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground oregano
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons celery salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 racks of Giant-Man ribs
For sauce, combine all ingredients.
Preheat a BBQ pit or an oven to 250F
Rub both sides of the Giant-Man ribs with sauce. Place on the pit or oven, bone side down, and roast for three hours.

Now I don't like the whole Marvel Zombies story or books. I'm quite sick of zombies actually and am anxiously awaiting for the genre to die out for 20 years again. But I am grateful that the success of the book has given me the opportunity to feed my kids a "Galactus Pie". Oh the look on their face when they bite in to a juicy piece of "diced Silver Surfer breast".

Mmmmmm, goood!

But wait! I have my own contribution to the Marvel Zombies cookbook. How about my recipe for "Giant Size Man Thing Wiener Schnitzel"?

The same preparation instructions for the "Rack of Giant Man" applies to my "Giant Size Man Thing Wiener Schnitzel" recipe. It states:

"Rub the Giant Size Man Thing with sauce and place bone side down."

Ahem.

Pass the ketchup please.

Alright, the rant is over, you have your fix. As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download Daily Rant

Labels: Daily Rant

Posted by Jon at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Just to reiterate that I'm right about this Iron Man movie.

It will be the best superhero movie to date.

Now if you think that is cool, click on it to see the high res version.

Labels: Marvel Comics, Movies

Posted by Jon at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Welcome to another episode of our show! Skypecasting all the way.

The shows topics include:

• The Sensational Spider-Man #41 reviewed.
• Thor #4 reviewed.
• A bunch of other comic book geekiness.

As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics and make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download Daily Rant

Labels: Internet Talk Show (MP3)

Posted by Jon at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I just received my shipment from Mailordercomics.com and thought it would be productive to show everyone what care they take when packaging the comics.  I know a lot of people tend to stay away from mail comic book subscription services because they are afraid their books will be smashed to hell.  But take a look at these pictures and see how these books are treated.  And remember, I am getting Teen Titans: Year One #1 for 74 pennies.  And that's not the only crazy buy like that.  You can get the same deal my friends.

*And remember.  Before your books get in your hands at your local comic book shop they are sent through the mail with a heck of a lot less care then this.

Just a normal box...

Packed with peanuts up the wazoo...

Within the sea of peanuts we find our comic book treasure.

See the books all snug and safe inside more cardboard?

A plastic bag reinforces the books and keeps them tight. (Usagi Yojimbo!)

Finis! What a wonderful gift to receive.  The gift of comics at your doorstep.

Posted by Jon at 7:11 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Today's Daily Rant can also be heard by using the audio player at the end of this post, downloading the audio file to your computer or subscribing through iTunes.

Regular readers/listeners of the Daily Rant are well aware that I have been hammering Marvel lately.  Just hammering them.  It all started with the changes to Spider-Man ushered in by Michael J. Stracynski (and his previous work on FF which left me feeling like a crumbly butt rock on the photocopier of life).  Then the let down that was World War Hulk.  The death of Captain America, followed by an all new Captain America carrying a piece.  Civil War.  Bendisitis.

("Bendisitis" TM and Copyright Me Geek, You Geek, 2007.  All rights reserved.  Definition: The term Bendisitis refers to a highly contagious, yet highly curable writing disease in which storylines takes several months to inch forward and lots of talking heads propel the story, albeit, not quickly.  If anyone uses the term "Bendisitis" without expressed written permission from Me Geek, You Geek our lawyers will be contacting you.)

Anywho.  Let me continue with my recent disdain for Marvel.  Where where we?  Oh yes.  Civil War.  Bendisitis.  Joe Quesada attempting to draw books and pushing the entire line back on their release dates due to his ego.  The release of Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited (you know a name sucks when I have to google the damn idea behind it to figure out what they hell the named it).  And on and on.

But.

This all changed tonight.

I sat down into my comic book reading chair (okay fine, my living room recliner) and cracked open the first book I am reading from my recently shipped Mailordercomics swag.

The Sensational Spider-Man #41.

Why did I go for this book first?  To be honest, I went for it first so I could run to my computer and write a scathing rant on how bad it sucked.  How I couldn't wait for Michael J. to move on to The Twelve and off of MY Spider-Man.  How I was itching to see Joe's art as rushed, over the top, horrible.

The Sensational Spider-Man #41.

If you are a follower of Marvel and comics in general, I think it's safe to say that this issue may just be the start of a new age.  And no, I am not kidding.  This book changed shit around.  Much dung for sure.

The Sensational Spider-Man #41.

One More Day.  Part Three of Four. 

Bart and I have been joking about how Peter is having the time of his life.  Aunt May is dead and MJ is kicked to the curb.  Time to find Black Cat and live a heroes'  life.  Finally.

We've had the first two parts of this story basically being Peter in a hospital bitching about all the crap that is happening, without doing anything.  Just a bunch of head shots and talking.

Bendisitis.

The Sensational Spider-Man #41.

Blew. My. Nuts. Off!

Everything I just ranted about is out of my mind.  It was all fixed in this issue.  I kid you not.  What?  You don't believe me?  Listen up then...time for you to learn something.

SPOILER ALERT!

The first 15 pages kept up the same old trend.  It looks as if Peter is in a dream as he walks around and really nothing happens.  I thought, "Dammit, here they go again!".  You get to page 15 and after hearing (for 15 pages mind you) that he could have had thousands of different possibilities in his life, Peter finally gets ticked and starts telling the "dream narrator" to basically go to hell.  Yawn.  Then you turn the page.

BOOM!

Mephisto.

Drawn more wicked than I have ever seen him before.  Joe's art is fantastic in this issue.  Just fantastic.  I will even say it was worth the wait.  His art is wicked.  Just wicked.

But wait...it's still could go south in a hurry.  The first thought that went through my mind was, "Great, another 'sell-my-soul-for-my-loved-on' storyline."  And just as that thought entered my mind, Peter basically says the same crap and we find out that Mephisto (who I very much remember kicking DD's ass in that great JRJR run!) has bigger plans for Peter.

So Mephisto says, and I quote (can you quote the devil without going to hell at some point?)

"What I want is greater that what one paltry soul can provide me.  What I want is the one thing in the universe that is truly greater than the sum of its parts and tastier than any single soul I could devour.  I want that which gives you joy.  That which sustains you in your moments of greatest despair.  The source not of your power.  But of your strength, your happiness, your dreams and your passion.

I want your love...

...I want your marriage."

Then he tells them (okay, spoiler alert for the last time) they can save Aunt May if they give up their love for one another.  They will completely forget that they were together, however there will be a small part of their souls that remember their love.  Mephisto likes the idea of listening to that part of their soul screaming out throughout the rest of eternity.  What a dick eh?  So they have to decide.  If they let Aunt May live, they lose the conscious memories of each other.

This is awesome.  Marvel just dealt with the entire Spider-Man problem in one issue!  No clones, no deaths.  No divorce, no alien attacks.  Just a clever idea that frees up Spider-Man (Brand New Day makes sense now, eh?  I still stand by that he's looking for the Black Cat though!) to be Spider-Man. 

Marvel.  You had me at "tastier than any single soul I could devour."

Marvel did this so right, and they knew this was going to be such an epic twist they ran all the comic book story with no ads between the story pages!  None!

Then, you turn the pages and you get a great historical essay on Mephisto, which then is followed by a reprint of his first appearance in Silver Surfer #3.  So it ties into the character, ties into Marvel history.  And then, I love this, at the end of the SS reprint it says:

"Continued in Silver Surfer Omnibus Vol. 1"

Cross promotion the way it used to be done in the Lee days at Marvel. Getting people interested in the old stuff.  The history.  Much better than Marvel Comics Unlimited Digital Comics Unlimited Whatever The Hell. 

I had no idea, that all my disdain could be turned on it's ear in one issue.

Bag and board this issue folks.  We will look back on this one with great pride and with rich ($$$) eyes.

And as a bonus...Mailordercomics shipped me a variant cover.  I love those damn guys.

Alright, the rant is over, you have your fix. As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download Daily Rant

Labels: Comic Book Reviews, Daily Rant, Marvel Comics

Posted by Jon at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Today's Daily Rant can also be heard by using the audio player at the end of this post, downloading the audio file to your computer or subscribing through iTunes.

I think WendySkeleton said it best:

"That is a horrible Joker. I can't believe they did this. He's a maniac, no doubt, but he's got a sense of style with his personality. This is not right at all."

But if she thinks the previous pictures of Heath Ledger as the Joker weren't right at all, wait 'til she gets a load of these:

Eh.  The scars are too much.  The eye makeup is stupid looking.  He looks like he's high.  He doesn't look smart, he just looks psycho.  Heath's acting better pull him through on this this...

And what's with Batman's head piece?  His head looks really funky big. Not even close to being proportioned.  Like he's wearing a helmet or is a reject from a Power Rangers episode.  We know Bale's got the chops to play Bats and he looked great in the first movie...why break it if it ain't broke? (Did you notice I was able to stay away from any Brokeback Mountain references?)

Now on to some quotes and news of TDK:

This first quote is from Michael Caine (Alfred) and it comes from DigitalSpy.com:

"Now, we have had Jack Nicholson, who is one of the greatest Jokers and one of the greatest characters in this kind of movie. I have worked with Jack and I know him really well. You do not really want to follow Jack into anything. Unless it's a nightclub...Heath Ledger stunned me.  Jack played The Joker as sort of a benign nasty clown - like a wicked uncle. Heath plays him like an absolutely maniacal murderous psychopath. You have never seen anything like it in your life.  He is very, very scary. I turn up every month or so and do a couple of bits then go back to London. I had to do this bit where Batman and I watch a video which The Joker sends to threaten us. So I'd never seen him, and then he came on the television in the first rehearsal and I completely forgot my lines. I flipped, because it was so stunning, it was quite amazing. Wait until you see it, it's incredible."

Ledger added in the same article:

"He's just an absolute sociopath, a cold-blooded, mass-murdering clown, and Chris [Nolan] has just given me free rein. Which is fun because there's no real boundaries to what the Joker would say or do. Nothing intimidates him, and everything is a big joke. I think we all have that in us."

Funny how they are all coming out about this....they must be reading that the pictures are getting negative reviews.

Bale said this in the recent Empire magazine:

"After I had read Frank Miller's Batman: Year One and various other graphic novels, I looked at those films and said, 'Well, how come it's always been that Batman's the most boring character?' I've never found him to be intriguing at all.  Whereas these graphic novels depicted him as really being by far the most fascinating character. So I feel like we gained that back with Batman Begins.  Now we've made him a character of substance, I have no problem with him competing with someone else. And that's going to make better entertainment and a better movie, which is great.  I don't mind if everybody tries to chew up the scenery!"

This was in response to Empire asking him if he was worried that he would be overshadowed by Heath as the Joker.  And like I give all actors of superhero movies; a big thanks for at least saying you read the comics before hand.

And to top off all of this we will be seeing a trailer on December 14th.  Then, and only then, will we be able to truly get pissed about the Heath Ledger Joker casting.  I hope we are pleasantly surprised.

On a side note, check out ComicRack and see that our "little blog that could" got some mention from ComicRack for mentioning ComicRack.  Did what I just said make any sense?

Alright, the rant is over, you have your fix. As always feel free to send in your ideas for the Daily Rant topics or let me know it you want to be a guest on the show. And of course make sure to subscribe to our feed.

Download Daily Rant

Posted by Jon at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post