Comic Con 2016 NO TRAILERS?! - Fox Pulls Out of Hall H - REACTION aka RE...

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Lee Falk’s The Phantom - 80th Anniversary Special

One of my all-time favorite characters.

Batman v Superman - A Popcorn for One review (with SPOILERS)

There will be some SPOILERS thrown in here so if you haven't seen the film be warned.  I'll not give everything away, but the trailers already showed us quite a bit.

First off, I was not one of those folks that hated MAN OF STEEL nor did I have a problem with Henry Cavill as Clark/Superman. It was a different take and a bit darker than some folks might want their Kal-El, but I was fine with it. Like some folks I wasn't crazy about the ending of the film and the death of General Zod, but I could except it.  If anything, it showed that DC and Zack Snyder were creating a different film universe. You could look at the Nolan Batman films and get a hint where things might go.  Hell, things certainly aren't rosy in any of the Marvel films, either.

I also was willing to give Ben Affleck as Batman a chance, since I didn't think the things wrong with DAREDEVIL were his fault entirely.  Since then he has proven himself as both actor and director. Yeah, I did have some issues with Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, but looking back it was more the costume which seemed a Xena knock-off and not the outfit we are accustomed to in classic WW.  She did seem a bit small in the first shots we saw of her, but she looked much better in the trailers and the WW teasers.

Beginning the film with Bruce, his 'origin' and witnessing of the Superman/Zod battle, I thought was smart.  The first time you see him in costume with the police finding the sex trade victims was really creepy.  You can see why criminals would fear him.  That's the Batman you want to see.  I think Affleck whether in cowl & cape or in a business suit was fantastic.  This is an older and much more cynical Batman, he is certainly more brutal and apparently lethal. I can't wait to see the solo Batman film.

Gal Gadot won me over as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman.  She is, of course, beautiful, but she also beings an air of mystery that we haven't seen in the character before.  You believe this woman has been around a very, long time and has witnessed incredible things.  Her one comment in the heat of battle about having fought 'alien creatures' before really does have me looking forward to her solo adventure as well.

Okay, I admit to being one of those that threw a lot of hatred at Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor as he appeared in the teasers and trailers.  This certainly wasn't the Luthor we were expecting, even though I have never thought the big screen versions of Lex really captured the menace of the character at all.  Early on in the film however, it is revealed that this is not the Lex Luthor we thought, but his son.  The neurotic son of a domineering and brutal father certainly would have some issues, especially someone as intelligent as Eisenberg portrays him.  While physically he doesn't inspire fear, it becomes apparent that this is a much scarier Luthor than we have ever seen before.  Also, frightening is that he believes he is doing the 'right' thing no matter how brutal his methods may be.  He believes he will be the savior of mankind.

One of me small problems with the films were the portrayal of Lois Lane as the helpless woman in peril over and over again. I realize that plays into the importance of Lois in Clark's life, but the first time showed us that. The other times could have been written differently, especially the final time where there really wasn't a need to put Lois in danger as she was showing how brave she could be up to that point.

The second problem was the end, which seemed to be there simply to allow the use of Doomsday to be justified (no pun).  Yeah, the final shot we see indicates this isn't the last we'll see of one of the three leads, but there really wasn't a need for it.  And yes, I admit to actually feeling for the character at the end, but it was a bit of manipulation since comics fans know what is going to happen.

By the way, I think Jeremy Irons is fine as Alfred, a role that can be thankless, but here works perfectly.  It was cool seeing the three other Justice League members, even briefly. Loved the scene with The Flash and the short glimpse we see of the character who will become Cyborg is chilling to say the least.  Can't wait to see more of Aquaman as well.  I happen to like the look.

In the end, I'll give the film a solid 'B', and throw in a '+" for any scene with Affleck, This has me looking forward to the Wonder Woman movie as well as the up-coming DC films.  This surprises me, but also has me excited.

Have you read Squirrel Girl?

THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL, VOL. 1 - I've heard nothing but good things of this book and the character, so when we received a copy of the TPB here at the Library I decided to take a chance. What a delight!

Ryan North and Erica Henderson do a wonderful job with Doreen Green, a young lady with the 'proportional strength and abilities of a squirrel'. Yep, you heard that right.  Heck, she even has her own theme song, which she made up and sings herself.  It does remind one of the old Spider-Man theme song, but that might just be a coincidence.  Heck, she is able to confront Kraven the Hunter, who seems to be fixated on another hero, until SG sets him straight.  And how many young super-heroes can claim to have fought Galactus on the Moon and actually convinced him to leave Earth alone for a while? Oh, did I mention that Squirrel Girl can also communicate with squirrels and that they are much more than we suspect? Tippy-Toe is her current squirrel sidekick, easily recognizable due to her pink bow.

If you take your heroes seriously, then this is not the book for you.  However if you have a sense of humor and want to see an all ages, female friendly book you can recommend to even non-superhero fans, this might be a good place to start.

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Popcorn for One: DEADPOOL, my review (with spoilers)

There will be some minor SPOILERS in here so if you haven't seen DEADPOOL yet you might want to look away.

Wade Wilson is former military, now working as a small-time mercenary.  He's a wise-cracking guy who enjoys pop culture, drinking and sex.  One day he meets a girl and falls in love, unfortunately Wade soon discovers that he has cancer and may not have long to live.  Hoping to be cured he agrees to take part in some experiments, which will attempt to unlock any mutant abilities Wade might have. Quickly he  discovers that they are being conducted not by the government but by a group attempting to create super-powered assassins for hire.  When Wade survives the testing he finds he has become hideous, but with the power to survive almost any wound.  He also decides to find the man who did this to him.

I have to admit that while the comic book character, DEADPOOL has a huge following I'm not really among them. Like DC's LOBO, I always found him a rather one-joke character, plus I'm not really into the X-Men/mutant thing so that was two strikes against him. One of the things that turned me around on the character was the actor Ryan Reynolds, who loves the character and has been trying to get this movie made for years. I must say that I'm really glad he did.

The movie is just so much fun and never takes itself too seriously, but still finds time to really allow us to find the man beneath the mask. Wade is a much better man, in some ways, than he believes himself to be.  Still not a hero, as we'd normally think of them, he still can do the right thing, even if not in the way that a Superman or Captain America might. Deadpool might help you get your cat out of a tree, but then he'd probably steal your car so he could go out for pizza.

From the very opening credits to the ones at the end, the film seldom lets up.  In fact the opening credit scroll gives you a pretty good idea that this is not your standard super-hero movie.  Also, the movie has an "R" rating for several very good reasons, not just the violence and language.  I'm hoping that the fact that the movie has been doing so well doesn't push other folks into doing "R" rated comics films just because it worked here. Deadpool is a very different kind of movie and not for everyone.  You could almost say it's like THE WATCHMEN played for laughs.  Yeah, these are superheroes, but do you really want these folks running around unchecked.

If you've seen the trailers for this film or some of the remarkable promotional videos and posters online you already know some of what you'll see.  Oh, and a really nice surprise was seeing how the X-Men Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (the coolest name for a super-hero in like forever!) were not only there for a brief cameo, they were an essential part of the story.

Do yourself a favor and check this movie out, on the big screen if you can.  Oh, and please don't leave like some folks after the credits. You really will be sorry.

Is He Still Reading Comics or Is the Four-Color Fiend Still Around?

The answer to both those questions is a yes, which should come as a surprise to no one except a comic shop owner or two.  I'm currently back into collecting, or to be honest reading comics again, as I generally don't buy them to collect or sell.  I just don't toss the comics or pass them along immediately after I'm done with them. There are only a few titles that I ever actually get around to re-reading.

The Big Two (Marvel & DC for those non-fans out there) are usually the ones that drive me from collecting by sucking me into yet another one of their company-wide "events" or cross-overs.  For the past decade or so some 'new thing' will get me interested enough to purchase and a year or so later, realizing I've been suckered again, I get disgusted enough with the industry to drop everything from all publishers.  Probably an over-reaction, but if you know me you'll know that's not uncommon.

For DC it was the "New 52" that got me back after "Blackest Night" ended and I was disappointed with what came next.  Like so many others I ran down to my shop and put in an order for all fifty-two Number Ones prior to publication, to ensure I got them all.  In over half the cases a single issue was enough, but with some I hung on for six months or a year.  I think it was the Court of Owls storyline over in the Batman titles that pushed me out that time around from the last few books I was still collecting.  Everything else had either already been cancelled or I had given up on beforehand.
The only DC books I've picked up since have been a couple of issues of Hellblazer (the John Constantine series if you recall that short-lived TV show) and the limited SECTION EIGHT series, featuring secondary characters that had appeared in the HITMAN title years ago.

Marvel got me back with SECRET INVASION, after I had found myself dropping all the titles I was reading from them over a few years.  A lot of that was the company having the writers of their books drop everything to shoehorn their title characters into some cross-over event or other, half of which you couldn't understand if you were only reading regular titles and not the event-specific books.  Granted DC does/did much the same, but I was buying more Marvel at the time.  I stuck with Marvel through S.I. and whatever it was that followed immediately. Then they started something which I think was called the "Heroic Age" or something and it certainly didn't seem like that to me.

Call me stupid, but the recent SECRET WARS/Battle World titles from Marvel had me back in the shop at least for a while.  A few like THORS were actually pretty good and of course, if you put "Marvel Zombies" in the title I can't resist so that was a couple of books right off the bat.  After all that, and I actually gave up on the main S.W. (not the Lucas/Disney stuff if you have lost track) title I've only been getting a few of the new Marvel books. 

Both companies now seem on the verge of doing everything all over again, especially DC with something called REBIRTH, which they been promoting but I haven't quite figured out what it is all about.  I've heard that it isn't another reboot, but that it is supposed to being the print comics more in line with what we are seeing with the cinematic versions of their characters. It might be interesting but I don't know if that is enough to get me back into buying their books on a regular basis.

Marvel is now promoting something called CIVIL WAR II. Coincidentally enough there seems to be a film coming out this year with a similar title. Do we really need to see this all over again? Will somebody besides (SPOILER WARNING) Cap get offed this time (END SPOILER).

Next time out I'll mention some of the comics I am currently reading, most of which don't come from the Big Two, which shouldn't surprise anyone at this point.

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Star Wars: Episode VIII Production Announcement

The Blue Man by Kin Platt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first read this book in Jr. high and was completely blown away. I guess this was the first book, other than say the Tom Swift, Jr. and Hardy Boys novels, aimed at 'teens' that I read and could identify with. Possibly because the lead character was also named Steve.

Very happy living with his parents in New York City, Steve is not thrilled when his parents decide to send him off to spend the summer with his aunt & uncle. They run a small hotel in a rural area, and he finds himself pretty bored. When a rather odd looking guest registers and Steve accidentally discovers he is blue, things take a very, dangerous turn. Believing that his uncle has been killed, Steve steals his car and takes off in pursuit. However, how can a sixteen year old kid track down someone who may very well be an alien.

This book hooked me like few others. I must have read the book close to a dozen times over the next few years and still find it just as entertaining now that I'm more than forty years older than I was when I first discovered it.


View all my reviews

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Official Final Trailer [HD]

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Spoilers Review (Collider Videos)

Darth Santa

Pass The Popcorn: STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - A review with few spoilers

It was difficult staying away from all the social media spoilers that were popping up from the day of the Premiere until Thursday night when Kristina, Sarah, Michael and I hit the AMC Theater (La Jolla 12) for a 10:50pm showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  Despite an embargo on reviewers requested by Disney for 24 hours, there were still things going around, plus the usual conjecture.  The only review I read, since I can trust him not to give things away, was the one by Leonard Maltin.  After seeing the film myself I could see that he pegged it.

I'll try not to throw in any major spoilers, but if you are still one of those who haven't seen the film yet, you might want to skip this until you have.  Otherwise, don't complain to me!

Happy was I that the film opened with the Lucas logo and then the scroll we have all come to expect.  I had told Kristina that if there wasn't a scroll I was going to walk out.  Probably an overstatement, but it wouldn't be Star Wars if we didn't see those words spreading before us. We hear the music of John Williams and we are transported (Can we say that about a non-Star Trek film?) to that galaxy far, far away.

We get desert planets, lush jungles and bars filled with the worse scum in the galaxy. More stormtroopers then we have ever seen before and an evil guy in a mask. All things we wanted and that were hinted at in the trailers.  We see characters we have grown to love over decades and get introduced to some new heroes and villains we will learn to love and hate over the course of at least two more films.  It is both an introduction and a reminder of worlds we have known in a lot of forms since 1977.

We meet Rey, a young woman making a living by foraging the broken technology from the ruins of ships and machines abandoned over the years. We get to see FN-2187, a member of the First Order taken from his family as a child and trained to be a stormtrooper. Never in actual battle before, he witnesses the brutality of those he serves for the first time and finds that he can not follow the orders he is given.  Poe Dameron, a member of the Rebel Alliance and one of their best pilots, finds himself captured, but is able to enrust an important piece of information to his droid, BB8 before he is taken away.  We also are introduced to Kylo Ren, a mysterious masked figure whose goal is to follow in the footsteps of Darth Vader.

Along the way we get to meet some old friends, some of whom have gone their separate paths.

There is a meme going around that if you've seen STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE you've pretty much seen this film. A bit of an exaggeration but one can see some similarities.  We do have Rey following in the footsteps of Luke Skywalker, as she seeks revenge for what has happened to her life at the hands of the Empire.  Lightsaber battles, ariel dog fights over a planet and the danger of a super-weapon.  Still J.J. Abrams and his team have taken those elements, added some new ones and brought back the Star Wars that many of us thought we would never see again, after those prequels.

I hate to rank my favorite Star Wars films, since each of the three original ones hold such great memories.  It's hard to judge them simply as films at this point. George Lucas created with them an entire universe which has become embedded in our culture.  I can't think of any other film franchise, excepting perhaps Star Trek that has gone from entertainment into almost a religion for some folks.

This is not a great film, but it is a good movie and reminded me of why I have loved these characters and this universe from my introduction in '77. (Okay, to be honest it was actually in '76, when I saw a presentation for what was to come at the San Diego Comic-Con of that year.)  I'm glad to see everyone back and I'm already looking forward to all that Disney/Lucas has in store for us.

Do yourself a favor and see the film, if haven't already.  It will remind you why you fell in love with this world years ago.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens ALL Trailer & Clips (2015)

Are they giving too much away?  I have to admit that with each trailer I'm growing more excited.  Nothing will touch the emotional impact of that first teaser where we first see Han & Chewie, but nothing has caused me to dampen my expectations.

Got my tickets for opening night and already thinking about what to wear.  My Chewbacca with skateboard is probably the right choice.

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