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November 30, 2005
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes
I caught this newsflash from Dan Didio after Turkey Day about a new title spinning out of Infinite Crisis: Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Long time fans know this is a nod to the 1970s comic titled "Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes." These were the classic years, drawn by Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell, and the Legion became so popular as a result that they kicked Superboy out of his own series. Supergirl made regular visits to the future as well.
There was an ongoing plot related to the romance between Braniac 5 and Supergirl. Kara was able to do what no other woman could: get Braniac to think with his Johnson instead of his head. In this opening scene to one tale, we see Braniac's ultimate wish fulfillment, going away forever with his super beautiful girl (from S&LOSH #204, "Braniac's Secret Weakness").
I like the current Legion series by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson. I like it, but I don't love it. I don't feel really engaged by it yet, but I hope that will change. In looking at these hot-n-heavy scenes between Brainy and Kara, I think I know why. When I think back about the Legion, I remember a few key things. One was the romance angle, like this hot-n-heavy kiss. In looking back it may have been juvenile, but wouldn't it be cool to feature romance in today's Legion?
The second thing was the costumes the women wore. Those skimpy, skin-tight, suck-in-your breath outfits. My favorite was Saturn Girl's classic 70s number, leaving just about everything exposed. She wouldn't need to read my mind if I saw her wearing this in real life. I really wanna see this costume return to the present series. I'll buy five copies per issue to support sales. And get Frank Cho and Adam Hughes to draw Saturn Girl as well!
And last, the classic battles, like the Great Darkness Saga that had the Legion squaring off against Darkseid. It was the first time that I had ever seen Superboy and Supergirl with the Legion at the same time.
Re-reading this issue, in a few pages you really get the sense of Supergirl's character. Noble, self-sacrificing, and smart in combat, like in this scene where she throws Darkseid around a few times (click to expand). The newest Supergirl is a fierce warrior, but I haven't seen much character yet, like I said in my article last week covering Supergirl's first three issues.
I hope that changes in this new series. Apparently it doesn't replace Supergirl's solo series, since another article mentioned that Greg Rucka will take over as writer. At least Rucka realizes what needs to be done, but I can't say I've read too many straight superhero comics from him that I enjoyed. Will Waid write Supergirl and the Legion? Will the new Braniac 5 fall head over heels and maybe even have sex? Only time will tell. Nuff said.
November 29, 2005
XBox 360 Launch Week 2: Nerds Held Hostage
I've been scouring message boards for a week since the XBox 360 launch, looking for evidence of a second shipment. Lots of people said that today (Tuesday) would see a second shipment of 360s arriving in stores. I found one such case on IGN 360 boards: this fellow walked into a Target in Minnesota as the clerk was restocking the shelves. Lucky bastard picked one up; I think I would have bought two. Other nerds are stalking Best Buy stores with such frequency that they may have to file restraining orders. J.C. Penney might have tried to sell the XBox 360 premium for $800, although it has been removed and looks bogus to me. One fellow said he ordered the XBox 360 from Sears.com on Thanksgiving Day and he has received it already.
I had a big dilemna this morning: go to work or check out Target? In the end, work won, I need a paycheck for the 360 and the plasma TV. Let me know if you find evidence of second shipments. Nuff said.
Posted by Kid Flash at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)November 28, 2005
No Xbox 360: I’ve got a Big Red One instead
I didn't get an Xbox 360 on launch day. I wasn't worthy. The true hardcore fans either pre-ordered months in advance or they camped out overnight. My attempt to buy one was laughable; I left at 6:30am and went to Wal-Mart. A group of four guys stood in front of the door, all 360-seekers, waiting for the store to open at 7am. This Wal-Mart in Pleasanton closes at 11pm; I had called the day before and they assured me the 360s would be sold when the store opened. When I saw such a small line I did a fist pump, yeah baby, I got it! The joke was on me when the sales clerk opened up the door and said: "We sold all the Xbox 360s at midnight. We had 75 people in line and the manager didn't want to make them wait overnight." I was mad as hell, but what could I do? Everywhere I drove, I found lines of hungry gamers who camped out at Best Buy, Target, and Circuit City. I knew the people in those lines exceeded existing inventory. In a last ditch attempt, I drove to Costco at 9am. No one in line, yes, god, maybe there is a chance! Then I saw a sign that said: "We are not currently selling the Xbox 360."
Bummer. But every cloud has a silver lining. I have all these new Xbox 1 games that I barely started playing, including Call of Duty 2: The Big Red One. It turns out to be a pretty nice WW2 FPS, even though the graphics can't hold a candle to the 360 game. I must confess that I didn't like the first Call of Duty on the Xbox. I didn't like changing characters in different locations as the war progressed. The BRO fixes that by making you a member of America's "Fighting First" infantry division. You join the team as they prepare to kick Rommel out of Africa, and stay with them as they help kick Nazi butt across Europe. You can carry two weapons and a bag full of grenades. The weapons are standard grade WW2 material, and so is the level design. In one mission, I had to storm an airfield, take out Nazis room by room, and wind my way through to an anti-aircraft turret. While the Americans fought the Nazis in the sky, I manned the turret and shot down a number of German planes. The sound effect was so awesome on surround sound speakers, that I think Ol' Grandma Hardcore should refrain from playing the level-it might crack her bifocals!
The sound design in Big Red One is the most spectacular thing about the game. You get a lot of vehicle and turret variety. I think it's an enjoyable shooter; a lot of reviewers are knocking it because it does nothing to advance the WW2 genre, but what can? Oh yeah, the real Call of Duty 2 for Xbox 360. OK, maybe you should rent BRO from Gamefly like I did. Nuff said.
Posted by Kid Flash at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)November 27, 2005
ROME: $100 Million of Fetishes from HBO
Whatever your fetish may be, HBO's Rome probably featured it during the first season. There was incest (between Octavia and Octavian), lesbianism (Servilla and Octavia), S&M sex (Servilla gets a bound slave with a huge cock), adultery (Niobe having a kid with her brother in law), etc. I can't directly recall homosexuality, but it is pretty funny when Octavian's mother proudly thinks he might be having an affair with Caesar. There was no shortage of violence in episode 11, which featured lots of limbs getting hacked off in an arena.
Pushing all of this smut to the side, ROME was one of the finest series I've ever seen on television-the best since Band of Brothers. Every penny of that $100 million ended up on the screen. And it wasn't just a glorified history lesson. The writers deftly wove a story out of fictional characters involved in the lives of Caesar and Mark Antony. The actors chosen to play the Romans were all from Great Britain. Thirty years ago there must have been a casting rule mandating that all Romans and Nazis must be played by actors from the British Isles. In this case, the casting was dead-on perfect, especially Kevin McKidd as Lucius Vorenus, Ray Stevenson as Titus Pollo, and Ciarán Hinds as Julius Caesar.
As the series progressed, I wondered how far in time it would proceed. I was hoping we'd see a year or two of Caesar's early rule. But when Caesar traveled to Egypt and spent a year there, fathering a son with Cleopatra-I knew the series was progressing fast. The last episode presented Caesar's downfall in the Roman senate. They pulled no punches, showing the first wound coming from a knife that Caesar attempted to grab. Brutus delivered the final stab, an especially horrible blow, as Brutus might have been Caesar's illegitimate son. The staging of this scene was incredibly realistic and well done.
Women were not ignored in this series. I loved the ongoing conflict between Servilla of the Junii and Atia of the Julii. Servilla had an affair with Caesar which Atia ruined. Servilla responded by seducing her daughter Octavia. Atia retaliated by hiring hoodlums to attack Servilla's carriage and strip her naked. Servilla then decides to take out Caesar through her son, Brutus. The way that Servilla chose to distract Lucius Verenus from Caesar's side was incredibly evil. It had terrible consequences for his wife (Indira Varma). What a lovely actress! I will miss her in ROME's second season. Another season for this series would seem like a natural, after the high ratings and critical acclaim. AICN and the New York Times report that HBO's head honcho is having qualms about the high production costs. I hope it does get made. I want to see Mark Antony's efforts to retain power, and Octavian's rise to Emperor. And a Servilla-Atia catfight, round two! Nuff said.
November 25, 2005
Daredevil 79: DD and Elektra fight Bullseye!
Wow. That's all I gotta say after reading Daredevil 79. Best appearance by Bullseye in years. I always wanted to see DD and Elektra fight him at the same time. The issue ends in a very surprising climax which I won't spoil, save for the fact that we have a nice little guest appearance from an old DD friend. Wilson Fisk has a deeper plan in mind that we ever imagined. Good stuff.
Not everything is perfect: I have some problems with the fight scenes. Maleev doesn't have the Miller chops to carry off what the script calls for in terms of visuals. Daredevil beat Bullseye once; Elektra beat him once in Elektra Lives Again graphic novel. Should Bullseye last that long in a fight, and does he know kung fu that well? I guess that costume is permanently ditched for the target scar on his forehead. Minor quibbles, I love this book. Nuff said.
Posted by Adam Warlock at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)LOST in Michelle Rodriguez and writers commentary
My favorite TV show at the moment is LOST. By the time every episode is done, I wish I could instantly see the next one. In a way, I think the people who can wait for the DVD compiliations are lucky. The last few episodes have concentrated on the survivors of the tail section of the plane, who crashed on the eastern side of the island. Their leader emerged almost immediately: Ana Lucia, played by Michelle Rodriguez. There's something I've always liked about Rodriquez from her film work: Girlfight, The Fast and the Furious, and Blue Crush. She doesn't have a look that can be stereotyped--she's not cute, not pretty, but she's extremely fit and attractive in an undefinable way. The LOST writers have taken advantage of Rodriguez' film roles to make Ana Lucia a tough-as-nails, take-no-shit leader. In the episode titled "The Other 48 Days" we learn how the Others attacked the tail survivors and Ana Lucia's efforts to defend them. With the support of Mr. Eko (who seems to Locke's counterpart to this group) the tail survivors roam through the jungle hoping to elude the Others. Just like the west coast group, they have an Other "spy". At first, Ana Lucia thinks it is a fellow called Nathan (remember Ethan from the first season) but this a red herring. The real spy turns out to be a fellow called Goodwin who Ana Lucia busts in a pretty cool interrogation scene while eating some fruit. It's the first indication we get to Ana Lucia's past: she must have been a cop. A trigger happy cop, because she accidentally kills Shannon in the jungle.
In "Collision", we see Ana Lucia going berserk, pointing her gun at everybody to contain Sayid, who naturally wants revenge. This episode had to be one of the finest hours of network TV that I have ever seen. Rodriguez performance is worthy of an Emmy award. We see layers of repressed emotions on her face as we learn about her life as a cop back in Los Angeles. The scene where Ana Lucia pumps a creep full of bullets almost seems lifted out of an Ellroy novel. I also liked seeing Total Recall babe Rachel Ticotin as Ana Lucia's mother. If you still have this episode on your TIVO or VCR, you can download the writers commentary on the LOST podcast site. I played it and watched the episode a second time and marvelled at how fast we can now get this immediate behind the scenes info! The writers are funny, talking about fanfic (Sawyer and Jack in the shower scene), Evangeline Lilly learning Golf, and calling the Dharma bunker a "bachelor pad". If you're a LOST addict, you have to download the MP3 file.
The 11/30/05 episode focuses on Kate's past and her love triangle with Jack and Sawyer. One thing that bothers me is that the Others subplot is taking so long to develop. In the season finale to year 1, we had the impression that the Others were coming to invade the survivors campsite. Now that they have Walt, this threat seems to have subsided. (What's up with Walt appearing before Sayid and Shannon in the jungle? Is he real or is he a ghost?) From Goodwin and Ethan, we know that the Others are intelligent and they have a plan. I would think for Michael, his number one priority is organizing a band of people to search for Walt as soon as possible.
After listening to the LOST podcasts, one thing is for certain: LOST writers are making this up as they go along. They may know certain things in advance, like the tail section plot and Michelle Rodriguez joining before season one ended. But much of the story is growing organically. So far, I think they've made the right choices, let's hope it continues this way. Nuff said.
See also: ABC's Official LOST podcast
Posted by Adam Warlock at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)November 24, 2005
Zatanna 4: Morrison Does the Unthinkable, Improves Fishnets
I think you can tell from Brian Bolland's image gallery that I love Zatanna's fishnet stockings. It's one of the sexiest costumes ever made. It's not even a real superhero costume, just a stage outfit. I hated the "superhero" costume that someone designed for Zatanna's JLA stint in the 70s. I always thought her original costume was a classic and could never be improved in any way. Grant Morrision proves me wrong with this new outfit in Zatanna #4. Click on the image to expand. Great design. The fishnets cover her upper body, leaving her legs exposed. The story is really good, too, even though I only understand about two thirds of it. Are those the agents from the Matrix at the end? If you remember Zatanna's father, you will really want to read this one. Nuff said.
November 23, 2005
Marvel and Word Balloon Podcasts
I found out about the Word Balloon podcasts from an article at Newsarama. I've listened to two of them and they are great. Very professionally done, and the interviewer asks the right questions. The first one I heard was an interview with Jeff Loeb, where he talks about working on Smallville, Superman\Batman, Ultimates (vague hints) and his new job as a member of the writing staff for LOST. He also talks about the sad loss of his son, Sam, to cancer and the Superman\Batman tribute issue based on Sam's plot. Another WB interview is with John Ostrander, covering his work on Star Wars, Suicide Squad, The Spectre, and Grimjack.
Marvel's launched a new podcast--you can get the RSS feed here. The first podcast features another writer from LOST, Damon Lindelhoff, and his upcoming work on Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk. Click on the image to expand the picture which gives Wolverine a heck of a challenge for even his advanced healing ability. Nuff said.
Update: For LOST fans, you can get the official LOST podcast here on ABC's website.
Posted by Kid Flash at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)Leeann Tweeden: Let's paint her body gold like Starfire!
Kid Flash told me that I'd like this here new comic, Supergal. I like it better than the Kid, cause I just love to see super ladies kickin each others butt! I'd like to see this story used as the plot for a Supergal movie. Maybe Jessica Simpson should play Supergal. What if she wore a skirt that tiny? I don't think it would cover much in the wind. We'd be lookin at her thong the entire time!
Now, I get some mighty weird thoughts sometimes, lookin at Supergals. I love it that Starfire is back-Mr. Churchill draws her all sexy lookin and all that. I told my chief aid, Joe Bob, lookie here, this costume Starfire's got on looks like one of them outfits from Frederick's of Hollywood. Joe Bob says, "Yeah, like the ones Leeann Tweeden used to model!" Then I got to thinkin: if you took Leeann Tweeden, painted her skin gold, and blanked out her pupils, she'd be a dead ringer for Starfire! Sure nuff, we dug out some old photos and compare the two side by side. Mr. Churchill could have used ol' Leeann as a model. I sure do miss wakin up to Fitness Beach in the morning. Leeann Tweeden, Denise Paglia, Kathy Derry, and Deborah Khazei: the bikini Four Musketeers of silicon! Nuff said.
Posted by Cousin Dick at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)November 22, 2005
Supergirl: Punching Her Way across the DC Universe
The new Supergirl series is a mess. The only thing that could save it now would be another series of puzzle pieces that falls into Infinite Crisis. I really like Jeff Loeb's writing on most of his other projects, and I did like the Supergirl arc in Superman\Batman. The first three issues of Supergirl's new series are a compendium of super-powered fight scenes; I'm reminded of Scott McCloud's one-shot called Destroy!
In the first issue, we see Supergirl's recollections of her escape from Krypton; her name is Kara Zor-El, Superman's cousin. She's discussing her past with Stargirl, when Power Girl shows up and they start fighting. For no apparent reason, Power Girl just keeps going berserk and hitting Supergirl! After a few double splash pages of battling super-fems, Mr. Terrific figures out they are "…like the same person trying to occupy a single space." In the end, they resolve to keep their distance, but Power Girl tells Kara: "I felt something dark inside you. Something you might want to look into."
The second issue wastes no time at all-Supergirl immediately slugs it out with Connor (Superboy) above Smallville. Just when they decide to become friends, the Teen Titans storm in and Supergirl fights all of them. This incarnation of Supergirl is truly powerful. In taking on some of DC's greatest heroes, you start to wonder what villain could ever give her a challenge. Then we see Luthor in his super-suit, equipping his gloves with Green, Red, Blue and Black kryptonite.
In Supergirl #3, we immediately find Kara, bound with Kryptonite chains, getting pounded on by various members of the Outsiders. We have no idea what this is all about. Is it to show how tough Kara is? You do get to see a lot of super-fems fighting each other. Once Nightwing shows up (in a cute sequence where Supergirl has a crush on him), the battle stops and she's given her next puzzle piece: where to find Luthor.
Luthor subdues Supergirl pretty easily and unleashes the black kryptonite. What happens next is really weird: Supergirl lapses into a coma. What arises from body can only be described as…Dark Supergirl! Huh? First of all, I thought she was pretty bitchy already. I never heard of Black K before this story. Wikipedia's Kryptonite entry says that Black K was created in an episode of Smallville. Loeb worked on the show that year; this is its first appearance in DC Comics. This seems premature to me. Usually we see these "Dark" characters long after the primary "Light" characters have been long established: Dark Phoenix, Dark Scarlet Witch, etc.
After the Superman\Batman arc and these first three issues of Supergirl, I still have no impression of Kara's personality. What are her redeeming qualities? What happened to Jeff Loeb's talents with character building? And what's the point of that tiny skirt, she's probably just wearing a thong underneath anyway! I just see Kara punching her way through a tour of the DC Universe. Next issue: more of the same as she fights the JLA. Is this series really meant to go the distance or is it going to change One Year Later? I'm kind of hoping that after OYL, this Kara gets replaced with Karen Star (aka Power Girl): her heart is even bigger than her chest. Nuff said.
Posted by Kid Flash at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
