Friday, September 30, 2011

Darkwing Duck #1 Review







































Today where going to look at something good. Darkwing Duck was a TV show in the 90's about a  anthropomorphic duck superhero whose alter ego is mild-mannered single parent Drake Mallard. I use to watch it when I was younger but I can't really remember much about it. So let's get started with Darkwing Duck #1. The cover is great, it seems to be a parody of Batman the Animated Series something that happens quite a bit in this new series. The comic opens with a flashback of Drake remembering the days when he was Darkwing Duck, and stopping criminals.




















We cut to present day where Quackwerks Corporation has stopped control of crime, and Drake works there. At a meeting Drake questions the city's dependence on the Quackwerks' crimebots but the manager assures him that everything is great now.






































The meeting is interrupted by Drake's daughter, who thinks her teachers are working for a supervillian. He tells her that there aren't anymore supervillians. When he goes back to work a surprising person is working there. It turns out Megavolt has retired as well, and works with Drake. Megavolt is suspicious about Drake since he reminds him of someone.
























 Drake keeps being reminded of the Good Old Days. Meanwhile Megavolt is kidnapped on his way home. When Drake get's home the calls Lanchpad but doesn't respond when he answers. He is interrupted by a loud crash, and Drake runs downstairs to find the Crimebots who are there to arrest Honker for illegally downloading music off the internet. Drake tries to stop them but gets shocked. His daughter comes with his costume and tells him the only way to stop them is by being Darkwing Duck.























The comic ends with Megavollts kidnappers revealed to be the other Supervillians who are trying to put the group back together. This comic was pretty good. The art is great, and the jokes are clever with the exception of some duck related puns. I recommend this.

Rating: 3.5/5

Next week will be October and I've planned to do Halloween theme reviews all October. So see you there!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 Review







































SPOILER WARNING

Today we are going to look at something that I've been looking forward to for a while now, and how disappointing it was when I got it. This is the first "Batman" comic I've read in the reboot. The last two weeks I got Action Comics #1 where Superman acted much more like Batman then Superman, and Superboy #1 where they give him a origin in which he kills a bunch of people and hangs out in virtual reality with Deathstroke's daughter. Anyway  let take a look at Red Hood and the Outlaws #1.

The cover isn't that bad, however there is one problem. In a interview Scott Loboell states he's trying to have the Red Hood move on from Batman even though there's a bat in the logo and the Red Hood himself has a bat symbol on his chest. It's not like it was always there they added that to his costume. Anyway the comic opens with Red Hood revealing Roy Harper tried to help the people of Qurac overthrow a brutal dictator, afterwards the people hired assassins to put Roy in jail.

Sorry to go off on a tangent but Roy's character is a bit messed up. In the miniseries Cry for Justice Roy lost his arm and his daughter. This caused him to start using drugs again, and he turned evil. But in this reboot he has his arm back, and apparently he's" too young" to have a daughter so why is he evil. Why isn't he Red Arrow. Anyway Jason breaks Roy out by pretending to be a priest reading Roy his last rites. Batman did something similar in the Batman The Brave and the Bold episode Chill of the Night.























They get away but are surrounded by tanks, and they are saved by Starfire. After a hard day of work they go rest on a beach, which is only here for fanservice since Starfire is in a bikini swimming. She also narrates how she can't tell human boys apart. While this is happening Jason talks to Roy about how her species has short attentions spans, and that she won't remember being part of the Titian's. First, why? Secondly, how does the Flash stopping himself from saving his mother change a race of aliens genetic makeup? Also what happened to Jason's white strand of hair? It was an effect of using Ra's Al Ghul's Lazarus Pit to bring him back to life. So what happened to it, and for that matter what happened to Scarlett you know Jason's sidekick? The girl who he risked his life, Dick Grayson's life, and  Damian Wayne's life in order to save her.

Anyway Jason goes to talk to his imaginary friend named Essence. They talk about a mysterious new group called Untitled that Jason apparently fought before but since we've never heard about it before it's just confusing especially since they talk about it in the past tense like it all ready happened. While that is happening this happens:



















This is unbelievably out of character for Starfire. Why? Why does no one act like themselves? Why did Scott Loboell feel it completely necessary to make Starfire such a slut? And don't give me any of that empowered crap, there's a difference between a empowered woman and one that has meaningless sex just because she can. This is all the Flash's fault for making this universe where sex and violence thrives and where Character's just act completely different for no f#cking reason.

They go have sex. Meanwhile in Chicago a man finds a picture of Starfire a kid took while she was sunbathing. The man recognizes her as a Tamaranean. Jason leaves by himself to find information about Untitled, and the comic ends with Jason being surrounded by a bunch of evil people on the Himalayas.






































This comic isn't good, most of the characters act completely out of characters, and the fact they completely ruined Starfire. Plus it raises a lot of questions, I mean the ending says To Be Explained instead of being To Be Continued. The art is pretty good but it's not enough. I'm not getting the second issue, and I'm done with this crappy reboot.

Rating: 1/5

Saturday, September 17, 2011

My Opinion on Neku Being in Kingdom Hearts 3D



























The big news in the gaming world this week is Neku Sakuraba the protagonist of the game The World Ends With You will be in Kingdom Hearts 3D. Neku is the first crossover character that is not a Final Fantasy character or a Disney character to appear in a Kingdom Hearts game. I think this is great, I thought The World Ends With You was a great game and if we don't get a sequel at least we get an appearance in Kingdom Hearts.















However what if this meant that more Squae-Enix characters will make an appearance. Maybe Crono from Chrono Trigger, next thing you know they'll ad Adam Jensen from DE: Human Revolution. Anyway I'm buying this game which mean I'll have to get a Nintendo 3DS. So see you next time.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Super Mario Bros. #2 Review







































Today I'm going to look at a Super Mario Bros. comic. Super Mario Bros. is probably the most well known game all over the world. I myself grew up playing Super Mario 64, and Mario Kart as well as Super Smash Bros. I don't think I have to explain anything when it comes to Mario, so let's jump straight into Super Mario Bros. #2. First off the cover isn't that great, however it does raise curiosity, and does catch the eye. However what in the world is a Comic System? I know what there trying to do but it's just stupid sounding. Also a tiny caption asks "Is Princess Toadstool going through her "rebellious phase"??" The short answer is no. The long answer will make less sense.

The comic opens with the King and the Mario Bros. watering flowers. Luigi complements the King for knowing all the flowers names. Mario says it's not so hard since their all named Bud. *sigh* If your hoping there aren't anymore puns, you might as well stop reading. There even more annoying then Toad in the first game.














The King hears the phone ringing, and its Bowser (or King Koopa as he is known in this) making a prank call. So Why is Bowser, the evil tyrant that will stop at nothing to rule the Mushroom Kingdom, make a prank call? Better question why does he use the most over used and obvious prank call of them all? That's right he asks him if his refrigerator is running. *sigh* Anyway Princess Toadstool starts to yell at her father because he got mud all over the carpet.

She calls the cleaners, while Mario and Luigi start to dance because they think the foot prints are to show them how to dance. I think this comic just made me stupider. I mean we can't be more then ten pages in.

The cleaners finish up and the Princess pay them with cookies, what a b*tch. However the carpets start to float due to the special conditioner they used to clean it. Toadstool stands on one and it flies out of the sunroof. She flies past the ozone, and flies right into the oh no zone. Getting sick of  the puns yet I sure am. Eventually she floats into the Koopa Zone where Bowsers henchmen hypnotize her. Mario and Luigi go tell the King that his daughter is missing.
Wow Princess Toadstool curses a lot in this book.


















The hypnotized Toadstool attacks them, and she got a wardrobe change on the way. She looks like one of the mutants from The Dark Knight Returns. Mario is wondering how to stop her when he sits on magic fertilizer that causes a giant bean stalk to grow. Convenient. Luigi tells Mario the last one up is a jolly green giant. Don't worry where almost done. So how do they stop her? They don't, she just runs into the bean stalk and that cures her of her mind control. Man that Deus Ex Machina fertilizer really came in handy. The story ends with Toadstool telling her father that he can track mud into house anytime he wants.

Did you learn a lesson, because I sure didn't. This comic is annoying, and it's not even over. But I've had enough horrible puns for one day. In closing Super Mario Bros. #2 makes me wish this was all just a horrible dream. Yes that was a bad joke but it's not any worse then the jokes in this comic.

Ratings: 2/5

Thursday, September 15, 2011

"Thor" First Thoughts

























I never saw this in theaters now I'm regretting it. This movie is great, the acting and casting was superb, and the story was good. I think I might like this more then First Class, it's that good. If there's one thing wrong with it and it was that it felt a bit like a TV pilot or the first arc of an ongoing series. However that didn't take anything away from the overall story.















There where mentions of Bruce Banner and Tony Stark, and Hawkeye made a cameo. Plus, am I the only one who thinks Josh Dallas (the guy who plays Fandral) would make a great Green Arrow? Just get a Green Hoodie, cut off the sleeves, and steal Hawkeye's bow. 



















However the guy that steals the show is Tom Hiddleston's Loki, he pulls off evil and cunning while still being reliable. This guy is just awesome, and I hope he comes back as the villain in the Avengers movie as it was hinted at during the after credits scene. Anyway, I recommend this movie even if your not that familiar with the source material. You won't regret it.

Rating: 4.5/5







Friday, September 9, 2011

What If? Spider-Man Back in Black Review







































For those of you have read my review of Ultimate Spider-Man #160 you may notice I mentioned a certain story called One More Day. For those of you who don't know during the Civil War event Spider-Man revealed his identity to the public, so during the Civil War when Spider-Man switched sides this caused problems. Kingpin hired someone to kill Peter but the assassin shot Aunt May instead leading to her death. Feeling so guilty about it he made a deal with the devil in order to bring her back to life, but in return he would have to give up his marriage. So being the responsible person he is he goes threw with it. I hate One More Day, but you may be wondering how it ties into the comic I'm reviewing today. Well this story is really What if Mary Jane was shot instead of Aunt May? So let jump right into What if? Spider-Man Back in Black.

The cover is great, and very epic. The comic opens with a recap of One More Day. According to the narration this is what would have happened if Peter's Spider-Sense pick up the bullet a second earlier. Peter pushes Aunt May out of harms way, but turns around to see Mary Jane was hit by the bullet. Peter runs to her side only to be shot as well. The assassin tell the guy who hired him that his job is done, and that he wants his money. However Peter is still alive, and starts to strangle the assassin.

























The assassin tell him the Kingpin hired him but tries to pull out a gun but Peter the guy who's about being responsible with his super powers punches him so hard it kills him. This is totally out of character, and I know his wife was just killed but I mean come on he already learned that revenge isn't the answer to his problems. Anyway we cut to Kingpin who is in jail, he knows Peter is coming to kill him so he calls the F.B.I. Meanwhile Aunt May asks Peter what happened, and he tells her he killed the assassin and the Kingpin is next. Aunt May tells him he doesn't have to do this but Peter changes into his Black Suit and tells her to bring Mary Jane's body to Jarvis (Tony Starks butler) so she can have a proper funeral.

The F.B.I. contact Ironman, and tell him to stop Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Spider-Man finds S.H.E.I.L.D. agents taking Kingpin to safety. Spider-Man tries to stop them but is attacked by Ironman. Spider-Man tells him that Kingpin killed Mary Jane, and knocks his faceplate off. Spider-Man tries to get Kingpin but is once again stopped by Ironman. Kingpin takes the opportunity to escape in a police car. Spider-Man tells Stark that there is a weak spot in his armor, and punches it causing his armor to fall off.
























Spider-Man finds the Kingpin, and the start to fight. Kingpin starts to mock him, and reveals that he has captured Aunt May and killed Jarvis. Great, another unnecessary death to give more reasons to hate this book. Kingpin tries to kill Spider-Man but Spidey punches him in the stomach. Killing him. All he needs to do now is start carrying around a bunch of guns and paint a skull on his chest to be the Punisher. Spidey saves Aunt May but she tell him to get away he's not the boy she raised. Ironman, and the police arrive and the comic ends with them taking Spider-Man away as Ironman comforts Aunt May.

I don't like this comic, the art isn't that good and it actually made One More Day Worse. All this comic did was turn Peter Parker into a Murderer. The only thing I liked about this comic was the cover and the backup Runaway story. See you next time when I'll review something that doesn't make me hate one of the characters I looked up to as a kid.

Rating: 1.5/5

Friday, September 2, 2011

Flashpoint #5 Review







































THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

The summer began with the Death of Spider-Man now it ends with all of DC rebooting. Today where going to look at the last comic of the current DC universe before the reboot. The cover is epic, Professor Zoom is holding the Flash and Thomas Wayne with the subtitle "It all changes here!" The comic open's with Zoom standing over the Flash. The Flash starts to fight Zoom, yelling to tell him what he did. Zoom explains he didn't do anything, the world changed because of The Flash. DUN DUN DUNNNN!!! It turns out that after The Flash found out about Zoom killing his Mother, he ran backwards in time in order to save her. Flash used the entire Speedforce to stop Zoom, this cause all of time to shatter. Creating the mother of all Butterfly Effects.















This also had the side effect of removing Zoom from the time stream. So now Zoom can kill The Flash at any time without erasing him becoming the Reverse-Flash from existence. Zoom is about to kill the Flash but Thomas Wayne impales him with a sword, killing him. Thomas Wayne is a badass! Grifter and the Resistance arrive, and fight off the Amazons and the Atlanteans. Superman arrives and he tries to stops Aquaman and Wonder Woman.

As the world is about to be destroyed Thomas Wayne gives the Flash a letter, and tells him to give it to his son. The Flash runs back in time in order to fix everything but remembers doing so will kill his mother. He goes to talk to her but she tells him he has to fix time.














The Flash starts to run back in time again, and stops himself form stopping Zoom. As everything changes the Flash starts to talk to a mysterious cosmic lady? I have no idea. Anyway she tells him that the world was spit in to three (DC, Vertigo, and Wildstorm) a long time ago, and he has fixed it. But at a price. The worlds merge together, and the new DC universe is born.



















The Flash wakes up at work, and runs to see Batman. He tells Batman what happened, and wonders why he can remember everything. Flash gives him the letter from his father, and the comic ends with Batman thanking the Flash.

This comic wasn't as epic as I thought it would be. It didn't tie up all of the lose ends like who hire Martin Man-Hunter to kill the Outsider? What happened to Dick Grayson after he join the resistance as the new Doctor Fate? Why did Kid Flash sacrifice himself? Plus it raised more questions like: Who was the mysterious Cosmic Lady? Who separated the universe into 3 pieces? What is the price the Flash must pay?

Everything just seemed rushed. However I liked Thomas Wayne through all of this, and some of the story points like Zoom being removed from time where interesting. So over all this wasn't bad but it wasn't the best.

Rating: 3/5