Testing the Wife #2 Grandville

In this episode of Testing the Wife, we re-visit Bryan Talbot's Grandville. Lindsay has read at least one volume, as she read it before I did. Will she remember that though? Next week it's Fables Vol. 1, 2 and 3.

Testing the Wife #1

First episode of Testing the Wife #1 in which I quiz my wife on things.

Night of the Owls! Batman Vol. 2 #8 and #9.

So, anyone who knows me or reads my blog knows that I took a peculiar sort of, well, offense to DC deciding to reboot everything. So much so that I gave up reading them well in advance of Flashpoint and the event. I decided that if DC wanted to ignore their history, so would I and that I wouldn't want anything to do with them anymore.

I know a lot of people who claim that it's to help new readers get into comics, ala Marvels (awful) Ultimates series. Some people I know have even claimed that you can't truly collect comic books because unless you have issue one you don't have a complete collection. To that I of course brandish many expletives. Regardless recently a friend of mine convinced me I should give DC a try once again. So after thinking hard about it, I went with Batman, Superman and Justice League. Granted he then told me "Well of course the flagship characters will win you over." To which I respond, "Yes, but if it turns out they can't write their flagship characters, I'm going back to only Marvel again."

Despite saying that, I am not going back to only Marvel again. I will review Superman and Justice League at a later date, but boy oh boy is Batman back on track.

Granted I never thought that Batman got particularly bad. I'm one of the few who thought that the Return of Bruce Wayne was good fun. Though of course DC had many, many, poor stories featuring all of their characters being dumb or poorly written at some point. Then they rebooted it and all the rumors, etc, well I just gave up hope. Batman after all is one of the best characters of all time. I mean;

Ok so that's a poor example of Batman. Funnily enough it's hard to think of one specifically good example of Batman. He is awesome the world over, even when it's a poor writer he just emits brilliance. Does he now still?

Well I don't know about when the reboot first came out. I didn't read any up until now. Let's start with Issue #8.

Holy Art Batman! That cover is impressive. What's better is, unlike the issue of Incredible Hulk I reviewed recently, this cover actually has something to do with the issue! Jumping in at this point can be confusing however, I had to do a little bit of research but otherwise this issue works well. You get a lot of what makes Batman great.

Specifically you get (for most of the issue) a wounded Bruce Wayne fighting off possibly hundreds of ninjas (come on that's what they are) with nothing but his pajama bottoms and dressing gown. Does he win? Not exactly, but then again he doesn't lose either. It just continues into the next issue. I will admit I was a little worried in one panel, when it seemed he killed one of them. Though they were careful to have the guy talking afterwards, and it turns out these guys have some sort of Wolverine-esqe healing factor, I didn't like the fact that he still stabs him to pin him to the roof. A bit over the top for my taste. I've always thought of Batman as a "fighter so skilled, he doesn't really need to maim." Let alone kill. Either way at least he doesn't kill.

Issue #8 ends with the signal being sent out to the Bat-Family as the Owls aren't only attacking Wayne (who they didn't know was Batman), but all of the key officials in Gotham. The Family are mobilised to take down the Owls. It's a good cliffhanger, but unfortunately it's also a lead into other books. Which I doubt I will read as my comic list is getting expensive enough at the moment. I can't complain about tie-ins when they make sense though. For example Nightwing and Batman Incorporated, etc. The Batman Family titles. They should be tied-in. I'm all for keeping the whole Universe going as one giant thing, but when you do events like say Countdown, that have tie-ins to nearly all of your books, and stupidly high numbers of limited series created to be tie-ins. That's when it gets bad. So, as far as I can tell, there aren't many tie ins to this. Just the ones that count. After all it'd be a bit silly for Superman to become part of this struggle, wouldn't it?

Issue #9 is not as grand as #8 but still good. 

The cover isn't awful, and it does again tie in to the book, which we've learnt lately isn't always true. It's just a little bland. The issue opens with Batman kicking ass in a specially designed suit that will protect him from the caves now sub zero temperatures. Then during this fight so many things happen that confuse me. For one, I am not a fan of seeing Batman getting thrown around like he does for a lot of this fight. I don't care if they're ninjas, he's Batman. I tend to think of him as mostly untouchable, yet in this fight he gets beat on, a lot. 

Confusing element number two, is the dinosaur in the cave suddenly alive, or robotic? Since when? Is this a reboot thing or just a random thing thrown in? It's kind of cool but seems really random to me. Also; ninjas blind sided by a t-rex? Ok then.

Then we have this whole back story about owls being released into the cave when the house was first purchased. It's true cheese, oh the bats were killed, but they weren't because they can survive in the darkest coldest parts of the cave, then they killed the owls when... yeah you see where this is going. Batman takes off the clunky, slowing him down, heat suit and proceeds to fight in his normal suit. In sub zero temps. You know, because he's the god damn Batman! The story this issue ends with the death of Mr March whose last words are about saving Gotham from being a hell hole. Nice guy really. Though this isn't the end of the issue.

I can not work out if this is going to be a limited three issue series that ties in, or is in fact going to be a three part story (with this being part one already). I hope the latter because I don't want to buy another comic to get the full story. Either way we have Fall of the House of Wayne which, in this part at least, is from Alfred's father's point of view. Which is, ok, but to be honest kind of boring. It's all a letter to Alfred so totally narrated and quite expository. It is not as good as the rest of the issue. 

So is Batman still worth reading, post reboot? Yes. Is he as good as he was? In canon yes. Will I carry on reading him? Definitely. Seriously, who would of gotten upset over the reboot?... 

Man of Steel - Concerned for a Hero.

Although I felt betrayed by DC's reboot, recently I did find it in my heart to forgive them and have found myself once more reading their comics. Granted, I still feel like the reboot was pointless. I do however, feel like this can wipe the slate clean for some disasters like Countdown, Cry for Justice and Identity Crisis. That however isn't what this post will be about today. Today we will discuss Superman.

Ok so I personally do not have a favorite superhero. It's impossible for me to decide who is the best. Take Marvel's recently successful Avengers flick. My friends were all backing individual heroes, one prefers Thor, the other the Hulk. The wife prefers Captain America and another friend adores Iron Man (or Robert Downey Jr. It's hard to be sure which). I can't say I prefer one though. I know all their strengths and weaknesses, I know who I back in a fight between them, but even then I can never call it at 100% certainty. That is because I love them all. Yet there are certain truths. Undeniable elements to comics  that although often are argued are just things all fans accept. The Hulk is Marvel's strongest. Batman is the Worlds Greatest Detective. Green Arrow is Left Wing to Questions Right Wing. Captain America stands for his country. Well there is one truth that is often forgotten by writers (and film producers it seems).

Superman stands for the people of Earth. He doesn't pick America over Russia. He doesn't fight the Nazi's just because they're a foreign country. He looks after everyone, everything. He is the true defender of the world and the truest hero there is. Why do I mention this? That's easy. Man of Steel.

Why does that concern me? Surely a Superman reboot is a good thing I hear you cry? Well unfortunately, it's a reboot that is happening because of The Dark Knight. Not Rises. Just The Dark Knight. Am I the only person that remembered how appalling bad Batman Begins was? That Nolan only has done one good Batman movie thus far? Now they're trusting him to produce Superman. Problem? Superman can't FIT in a "real world" environment. He's an alien for starters, but ignoring that, unfortunately past experience has taught what producers think a real world version is. Notice how Nolan's Batman movies are all really dark, with dank and dilapidated buildings and crummy weather? That's great for Batman, but that's also what most "real world" stuff winds up being.

Before you all cry foul, how can I possibly know that it will be all dark and dank ala Dark Knight?

This is how.

First off the logo is terrible. It's muted colours and rusty look, Superman it is not. Steel it could be, and maybe that's the joke. Man of Steel will be a new Steel movie not Superman? Ah well, but what if the logo is just a teaser? 

Ok so he isn't rusty at least, but the hell is with the muted colours? That was a major complaint of the movie Superman Returns. Which this one is "ignoring like Ang Lee's Hulk was ignored by Marvel." If you wanted nothing to do with that movie don't make the same freaking mistakes that it made! Then we get the biggest issue. Granted, I pulled this synopsis from Wikipedia but it seems to sum up the info I found everywhere else.

"Clark Kent is a journalist in his twenties who was adopted as a child by Martha and Jonathan Kent after he was transported to Earth from the dying planet Krypton. Raised with the values of his adoptive parents, he feels alienated because of his unique super abilities and struggles to find his place in life. When the world is attacked, he becomes the hero Superman to protect it's people."

Emo Superman? Seriously? From what I have read Grant Morrison pitched a reboot concept that was basically his All-Star Superman series. That is so good, and sums up the character so well that I am going to now use that as an example of why Man of Steel is probably going to suck, beginning with the colours.

Superman should not be in muted colours, he is a bright beacon of hope, not some gritty "down to earth" guy. He represents what is good in the world and stands to defend it. He should be bright! Heck he flies in the Sun he isn't a dark character!

Next, since when does he feel alienated because of his powers? Granted in the comics he has a short phase as a kid, questioning why he should hide them, but he never feels alienated. In fact, let's hold of on Morrisons awesome for a moment. In the #8 of Superman this year, he fights Helspont who wants his help to enslave the Earth. Entirely because the people of Earth will alienate him. Superman's response (other than to smash him up alot)?

"I didn't adopt this world. This world adopted ME. I've experienced the best this world has to offer thanks to parents who never once considered me anything less than their son. Give it up. Compared to them, you're irrelevant." 

In a lot of ways, Superman is more human than other characters, even the powerless Batman! What's worse is that having him be all emo and feeling alienated, well that means we're not going to get the true hero that we have in the comics. The guy who is so good and so amazingly heroic that he sees all ordeals, big or small, as his responsibility to help with. Oil truck about to collide with a school? He'll be there. Lex Luthor about to take over the world? He'll be there. A little girl can't get her cat out of the tree? He'll be there. He is there for everyone and Grant Morrison also sums this up best in a scene in All Star Superman (Vol. 2 Page 95 and 96 if you're interested.).

Superman is talking to Lois discussing their life together and what it holds. During the scene we see disembodied speech bubbles. Random people through out the city (or the world maybe?) with "Watch were your walking" and "Cancel that back up." The most prominent being;

"Regan... Oh, God, I'm on my way... Don't put the phone down!"

Superman instantly tells Lois he's going and flys off. Why? Because a young girl is standing on a roof top in tears because her Doctor hasn't shown up to see her. Getting ready to jump she drops the phone off the building and closes her eyes when, you guessed it, Superman shows up.

It is a genuinely heart warming scene and further demonstrates the true nature of Superman. Heck I know that I'd like it if Superman showed up to chat with me when I was feeling depressed. It truly shows that Superman is not a man of just "strength" but a man with strength of character. In All Star Superman more than once does he solve problems with his mind and heart and not his fists. Unfortunately with Nolan's "realistic" and "gritty" take we will lose all of this. What's more is with Snyder directing we already know how the action scenes will go.

It truly is too bad that DC skipped out on Morrison's pitch. It's really too bad that this might be DC's Ang Lee Hulk as opposed to Returns. Ah well, we're stronger than we think we are, maybe it won't be so bad.

Hulk #8 (Vol. 3) A Ranty Review.

Ok, so Hulk once upon a time would easily be considered one of (if not totally) my favorite heroes in all of the comic book industry. Like many thin geeky kids with slight anger issues, I always related to (and envied?) Bruce Banner. The idea that if he lost his cool he could hurt those around him, those he cared for. Yet at the same time, the idea that he did have to lose control to also save those he cared about. Truly it is one of the greatest comic book ideas of all time. So naturally now that I have finally resettled into my life, and I've started my reservations up again, The Incredible Hulk was one of the first ones I picked. Issue #7 Vol.3 being the first I managed to grab.

Issue #7 was great. I mean it is a little hard going for people like myself, who have been out of the loop a while. It does however cover a lot and brings new and returning readers up to date (mostly). So Banner and Hulk were separated, and Banner went mad. Becoming a archetypal mad scientist, Banner started to hunt the Hulk. So naturally big green hunts him down and, wait, he kills him?! Ok that I do not like. I am not totally opposed to character deaths. Except I have always maintained that at his heart the Hulk is gentle. He would not kill. Also, killing Banner seems, well, redundant. Especially in the over the top gory way they do it. Either way this issue isn't too awful and the art is amazingly well drawn. Too bad that it doesn't continue that way.

Check out that cover! Banner's dead, Punisher fighting the Hulk, Hulk looks pissed and the title "Stay Angry" can only mean good things! Too bad the title is a lie. The art suddenly changes from Portacio's artistic and realistic pencilings to Dillon's child like cartoon style. Hulk is bald, which he was in #7, but previously it was implied to be due to the Gamma explosion. In this Hulk barely is bigger than a man, he looks dumb with the bald head thanks to the art, and it gets worse. He does not fight the Punisher. In fact, this is a team up. What makes it worse is that the Punisher should definitely not be drawn in a cartoony style. Especially if you're going to have him torture some one.

To make matters worse, killing Banner off was entirely pointless and it hasn't been more than an issue yet! No Banner is alive and just as evil as ever (apparently remember that last time I got to read any he was still the good guy), and is some how part of Hulk again. "Stay Angry" relates to the switch around, no longer is Banner trying to not be Hulk, it is Hulk trying to not be Banner. I would say that is original, except that we know that Hulk always tried to stay as the Hulk once he was out. They always have been separate people. So this isn't original it's just back tracking. 

The closest we get to this cover is when Punisher shoots Hulk several times in the face, at Hulks request, after they've already teamed up for most of the issue. Yeah, the cover is a lie. The art makes it tacky, the story line is boring, and kind of insulting. If anything it makes the previous issue totally worthless. Why bother to kill Banner off in a gory, hideous way (designed only to shock of course) if you are only going to have him continue to be Hulk's big villain?

Overall this issue has put me off reading the Incredible Hulk. I may return to him one day in the future, but for now I am going to settle for reading the (surprisingly for me) better Red Hulk comics. I suggest that everyone do the same. Let us hope that one day the Incredible Hulk will return! 

Marvel: Avengers Alliance

Anyone who is at all interested in the Avengers, is also probably (even if it's only slightly) interested in gaming. So naturally they would be interested in the fact that the Avengers is one of the few comic book movies not to get a pre-film tie-in game.

Initially there was going to be one, created by THQ Australia, which got cancelled because THQ shut down that studio. Personally, I hope they're kicking themselves thanks to the box office of the Avengers movie. If you are interested, Kotaku has some interesting footage of the pre-alpha. Interestingly enough this game was going to be on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

I say 'interestingly enough' because there is now going to be an Avengers game released, by Ubisoft. Only on 360 on Wii U. Yeah, they've decided to drop what looked like a good and interesting game concept by THQ and go for gimmicky Kinect and Wii U stuff. Fun.

Regardless, there is a reasonably good (or at least addictive) Avengers game, that you can play right now. Right this very second in fact! For free! Marvel: Avengers Alliance!

Ok so it is a Facebook game. I will just wait a moment whilst you groan about that.

It's actually pretty good though. Yes there is the option to spend money, which probably does give you and advantage. I've only spent money once for this, and to be honest it was in a massive moment of stupid weakness. It was a special offer of $1 for 20 gold (normally $5 I think). Regardless. You can play this entire game for free, never having to spend money. Granted you might go slower than those who spend their whole pay check each month, but you're still going to be able to afford food after you play.

The wikipedia page refers to the game as a "Turn Based Social Game." Whilst that is accurate, I have considered it more of a "Semi-multiplayer Action RPG." In some ways it reminds me of a watered down Final Fantasy game. There is a storyline, and although it's not that deep, it isn't insultingly poor to the material either. It does a decent job of coming up with a reason for you to be constantly seeing these different characters.

The graphics are pretty decent, you can tell who each character is, and there are alot of characters. Which, is probably the biggest real issue. You'll want them. I have been playing since just before Avengers came out here in the US. I only just got Hulk. Granted I have a handful of characters, I could of gotten him sooner if I really waited. Except that you start realising that you need other characters. Different "classes" etc, and that one you're waiting for probably won't be as useful as this one that you don't really care about. Except you can spend money to help with that.

Characters are purchased with Command Points. Command Points aren't too hard to come by in game, you can get them as drops from bosses, and the boss reward has a chance of being Command Points too. Of course, it's easier to just by Gold. Gold is, well inexpensive really, but still more expensive than free. One Gold can be exchanged for two Command Points. So Hulk who costs ninety, suddenly is quicker to get. 

The game also creates a decent reason to replay, not by simply making you need to grind to continue. Instead it rates the mission out of five stars. Each time you play it you add your score on. So instead of having to try from zero each time, you actually build up to five stars. Each star weilds a different prize, which you get regardless of if you over shoot it. So if you get two stars straight away, you get both one and two star prizes. Four stars gets you a Gold, five stars gets you five Command Points.

There are extensive walkthrough and guides available, such as The Marvel: Avengers Alliance Wikia which gives great ideas such as how to beat certain bosses, or how to improve on getting your Command Points.

Overall, for a free game, it does Marvel justice, and is a great thing to play in your down time. It's also a great thing to fill the void before the (probably terrible) Avengers game comes out for Kinect, or the free Marvel Universe MMO comes out. I really recommend trying Marvel: Avengers Alliance!

Avengers vs X-Men #0

It is a little late in the day to star reviewing Avengers vs X-Men, especially one issue at a time. I am however going to begin my binge into comics with the still running Avengers vs X-Men event. I am going to review each issue one by one, I may even crack into one or two tie-ins though I rarely bother with them. A quick bit of background on myself first though.

 I used to be more of a DC than a Marvel, focusing almost entirely on Batman, Superman, Green Lantern etc. Then one day something awful happened, something I will never understand or comprehend. DC decided that all the history I knew and loved didn't happen anymore. Then, as any spurned lover, I found refuge in the arms of another.

Though that wasn't really straight away. Occasionally I would pick up the occasionally Marvel graphic novel/trade paper back. Civil War is one of my favorite story arcs of any comic company ever. Where I used to live in the UK did not have the greatest comic book shop. In fact it didn't have one, I had to travel to the next city to find one and that still wasn't the best. Extortionate prices to make sure I could keep up to date. So, I am largely out of the loop. I tried to stay in it as best I could, but from what I can gather I missed a lot. I only knew about Red Hulk through passing, and with out reading him assumed I'd hate his cheesy, paint by numbers soul. Now I get every one of his issues. I totally missed out on Fear Itself, but fully intend to get the collected edition and review that at some point. I tell you this because, as a fan of comics, it feel really weird taking the sizable break I took. When I got issue #0 of AvsX I also just so happened to get #1 - #4 as well. So I really entered the game pretty late on this one. I haven't been able to read comics for over a year because of a lot of reasons (which you know about if you kept up with me here or on twitter) such as moving country. So, my take on AvsX might be one that you don't expect. I know that my friends in the comic store here really disagree with me. My opinions might be 'old school' when it comes to some of these characters. Especially seeing as I have missed some of their development for well over a year. So I will try to keep up, otherwise please, do feel free to explain bit's to me if I get them totally wrong. Either way let's begin with Avengers vs X-Men #0. (I promise the intro for the next issue won't be this long).

And straight away I prove that I have been out of the loop longer than I thought. I had to wikipedia Hope Summers, and wow, I missed some big stuff. I won't really comment on what I haven't read, but by the sounds of it, there is quite the sh*t-storm surrounding her Scarlet and the mutants. Scarlet I do recognise but even then I quickly find out that there is stuff I haven't seen. The opening fight between M.O.D.O.K and Scarlet Witch (later joined by Ms. Marvel and Spider-woman) is actually pretty awesome. Scarlet doesn't seem as overpowered as she has done for me in the past, and M.O.D.O.K is treated with dignity and respect instead of just being for comic relief. Granted he's not treated as dangerous though. I have got to say, I keep saying M.O.D.O.K he only looks a little like the guy I know, so if it turns out this is a new one, feel free to let me know!

So after beating up M.O.D.O.K and Aim, Ms. Marvel and Spider-woman invite a reluctant remorseful Scarlet Witch back to the Avengers Mansion. I can only assume that this is all tied in to the event in which most of the Mutants were removed. Again that is one I missed, so I don't know how she acted through out that. Scarlet here however seems legitimately remorseful, whether this is because of what she did or the fact that she is shunned by her friends for it. I cannot be certain. Then again I could be completely wrong about all of this, did she do something else that was "really really bad" that I didn't hear about? Either way Ms. Marvel and Spider-woman both seem ok with her coming back. So after a little convincing she does.

Of course, this is short lived when Vision, who I will admit I have never liked, basically throws her out. Now at first I thought that this was because of the mutant events again, but when I looked it up it is apparently because of stuff that happened years ago to do with her manipulating him etc. Is it me or has their relationship been a waste of ink since the beginning? I swear they have never moved beyond this point and evolved. Also, the way Vision reacts is, well, douchey. On a side note, the Ms. Marvel I remember also had a temper on her and I'm surprised she doesn't give Vision a hard punch to the head. Also I had to get flat out told that the Avengers Mansion is no longer Tony's own, because I did think it was weird that Tony didn't just override Vision saying something along the lines of "my house my rules." Regardless, this scene is a bit of a pain, mostly because I dislike Vision, but also because it feels weird. I mean if Vision is really reacting like this because of stuff that happened that long ago - get over it! If it is because of something she did more recently, ok but then why do her friends not just tell him to go to hell? This scene just feels, weird, and (jumping ahead) considering that Scarlet I haven't seen really in the next 4 issues, feels pointless.

So after Ms. Marvel carries Scarlet Witch away crying we cut to Utopia where Hope is planning on running away and Cyclops tries to stop her. This is where it gets really hard, it's lucky I have ANY background in comics and the know how to research this because anyone just coming into comics, kids basing their knowledge on the cartoon or movies for example? They are going to be so lost! Utopia? This really is the first I've seen it, but sounds to me like Scott has gone in the opposite direction that Xavier ever wanted. Let's not get into that though sticking with the comic, it's worth remembering that I haven't read a lot in a while and this is the first time I have ever seen Hope. 

A lot of (and lucky for me) expository dialog to tell me that Hope is the mutant messiah. I have no idea what to think of this. Honestly, it sounds daft, and I really hope that this turns out to be a mistake. That she isn't some messiah and that Scott has to learn the hard way not to rely on prophecy. I will really get into why soon. So they argue a little bit about how she can look after her self (apparently raised by Cable in the future, lucky her) and she uses Cyclops' eye beams against him before flying away with a jet pack. 

So far so good, emphatic powers when it comes to mutants, wants to fly off to use her powers for good. Sounds like a good character oh wait;

Let's just let go of the jet pack mid flight, that's safe, that's what good guys do, randomly endanger people. Ok yeah the thing harmlessly hits a wall, but trust me, this is just a hint of what she is like! So there is a bank heist going on, the Serpent Society is up for a cameo! To be honest, M.O.D.O.K is treated better. So yeah it's a nicely done little fight sequence where Hope takes down them all. Except; she nearly beats them to death! Half a page is devoted to her headbutting Anaconda, which is treated brutally. Oh and if you didn't think this girl, the mutant messiah was psychotic already, she cuts off Bushmaster's arms! This is of course, with out knowing they were cybernetic! In fact, it's implied she would of killed them all if it wasn't for the fact that Cyclops shows up to stop her. 

This is issue #0 and already I am siding with the Avengers! That is saying something, because I personally have always sided with the X-Men, like many nerds I always felt alone at school and still often do. Especially now that I live in another country away from my family. The X-Men are meant to be the group I can relate to. Now they just seem militant and, well, plain evil. These just aren't the X-Men anymore to me. So let's hope they redeem themselves soon, or otherwise I'm going to be back Captain America's shield all the way to Cyclops' face! 

Though, it is well written, and although I dislike Vision, and the X-Men feel like the bad guys, the story did get me enthralled. Of course this is just a prologue issue, the story begins in #1 which we will review soon. The art is also amazing and the issue is worthy of reading for that alone. Avengers vs X-Men is shaping up to be one of the most fun events in comic history. Let's hope it continues that way.