Sinestro Corps #1 (Review)

The comic book event of the summer has arrived! If you think that the events of a Green Lantern special event won't have significance for the rest of the DC universe, think again. Sinestro, former GL and current renegade psychopath, has regained his yellow ring counterpart to Green Lantern technology, and made duplicates of it to form his own evil "Sinestro Corps". In direct philosophical opposition to the Green Lantern Corps, the Sinestro Corps exists to create order through fear.

For this terrifying task, Sinestro has recruited evil and disturbed aliens from across the universe and already the GL casualties number in the dozens.

So why does this event have any significance for the rest of the DC universe? Because Sinestro has recruited villains (and even one HERO!) that are among the most powerful characters in the DC universe. And not just GL villains, but major players in the DC Universe.

The writing is spectacular and gripping, and the art is detailed and engrossing. This one shot that leads into the main events in Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps is NOT to be missed!

(SPOILER WARNING!!) (SPOILER WARNING!!)

Included in the roster of the Sinsetro Corps:

Cyborg Superman

Superboy-Prime

Kyle Rayner and lastly, prepare to shoot liquid crap...

THE ANTI-MONITOR!!!

The DC Universe is officially hosed...

PSM

For some reason, PSM chose to send me yet ANOTHER issue that I will be selling at the used bookstore. I cancelled my subscription despite the increasingly large lettered flyers that came with each issue proclaiming, "This is your LAST chance to renew your subscription!" I guess they don't know what the word "last" means.

So why did I cancel my subscription? Well, Sony made some real bonehead moves with the PS3. First off, the price is ridiculous because of the blu-ray player that I have no interest in using. Second, I'm seeing fewer and fewer RPGs listed for development with the PS3. (I don't count Final Fantasy, as the last several installments have been big let-downs for me.) And lastly, did I mention the price is ridiculous?

Aside from that, PSM has reached the point that comes between systems where all they seem to cover is the new system. Since I won't be upgrading to any next-gen console until I've bled the PS2 completely dry, there's not much for me to read.

But hey, I'm sure I can find something nice at the bookstore with the trade credit I'll be getting for my latest "Last Chance" issue of PSM!

Podcasting!

Well, this week I'm finally taking the plunge into podcasting! I'm going to start a weekly podcast for Spirit Blade Productions. I've been thinking about it for awhile and have even done some sound design work for it, but now I'm really going to do it.
It won't be just about Spirit Blade Productions, though. I'll use it as a place to expand on the weekly Bible study over at "The Spirit Blade Underground" and to give my reviews and thoughts on geeky stuff like comics, games, tv shows and movies. All from the perspective of a Christian who is a super freak when it comes to that stuff.

I'll be sure and let you know when the first podcast is available to listen to. But if it's gonna happen, I'd better get to work on it!
Bye!

The Flash #13 and Justice League #10

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE FLASH #13 AND JUSTICE LEAGUE #10!!

CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

At long last...
It would appear the editors and powers that be at DC comics have come to their senses. As of issue #13 of the new Flash comic book series, Bart Allen will no longer be the Flash. Next month will be issue #1 of something called "All Flash". After "All Flash #1", the Flash series will pick up again using the numbering system of the previous flash series where Wally West has been the Flash for the last 20 years. Mark Waid will return to write.

For those unaware, Mark Waid is the author that made the Flash one of DC's top selling books in the last 10 years. And, as of Justice League #10, Wally West has returned to the DC universe, along with his wife and now adolescent children! (They were infants when Wally and his family vanished into some kind of energy field.) Hopefully we'll get a good explaination for his abrupt and mysterious disappearance with his wife and kids last year during Infinite Crisis #4.

Either way, despite the fact that I was ready to drop the Flash comic book (I still can't believe it had come to that, but the writing was awful.) it looks like it's making a steady recovery and will soon be racing along with its full glory restored.
I'll keep you posted, but that's the word for now!

p.s.

I'm posting early this week because I'm headed out of town for the weekend. Talk at you again on Monday!

F4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (Review)

After seeing the first Fantastic Four film, I remember telling people it was "fun". Not too serious, but certainly not silly throughout. It had some good moments and was definately worth seeing despite a little "family-friendly" goofiness. Even that was forgivable, since the Fantastic Four is one of the few superhero teams rooted in a literal family.

The trailers for the sequel seemed to promise a darker film with higher stakes and incredible action. Don't get your hopes up.

I saw the film last week and was not at all impressed. This film clocked in at 89 minutes, and it's easy to see that all the stretching (no pun intended) was done at the beginning.There is very little action in the first 30 minutes of the film, the characters are as 1-dimensional as they were in the first film and the script was terrible. Sometimes the actors almost seemed to struggle through cheesy dialogue, desperately trying to make artistic choices that made sense in a senseless script.

I will say that the Silver Surfer looked incredible, and his action scenes were great. Too bad they needed to invent a plot device to cut back on the Silver Surfer's special effects. I won't spoil the details, but the Surfer doesn't look as cool as he should for way too much of the movie. I think if they didn't have the budget to keep him the way he's supposed to look through the whole film, they should have waited another 10 years to use the character.

Now, if you are the parent of elementary age kids that love action and superheroes, this will probably be a great film to take them to. YOU just won't get a lot out of it. And now that I think about it, I'd even recommend waiting to rent this one for your kids, since they'll want to skip past the first 30 minutes of time filler anyway.

Marvel has had a really good pattern of superhero movies. But if they're not careful they'll one day look back and remember this film (as DC remembers "Batman Forever") as the beginning of the end.

Score: D+

Phoenix Game Con

I had a BLAST at the Game Convention this weekend! I know better than to launch into stories about characters I played (Note: Even gamers don't like hearing about someone else's character for more than 15-30 seconds.) but I had a great time and picked up two prizes for being voted best role-player at the tables of two of the games I played in! Woohoo!

Although I didn't go to Dark Con last year, I think I may have to when it comes back around this January or February.

The weekend also got me charged up for the next DC Heroes game session that I run, so hopefuly my players will benefit from my renewed excitement. I can't believe I'll have to wait a MONTH for my group's next game session, though! ARRGH!

Game Con Day 1

Thursday was the first day of gaming at the Phoenix Con Games convention in Mesa, AZ. The game was White Wolf's "World Of Darkness". A survival horror RPG. I played an uptight bookworm character and had a blast.

I didn't do much fighting, but at the very end I went all out to land the killing blow on the big bad guy and finish the game! (And I NEVER get to do that!) On top of that the other players voted for me to win the award for best role-playing during the game session!

It was a great start to what I know will be a really fun weekend. I'll keep you posted the best I can, but for now I better check the theatre schedule to see if I can fit in a showing of Fantastic Four 2 before my next scheduled game!

Comic Book Day!

Just like every Wednesday, today is "Comic Book Day", where I go and pick up my comic books for the week.

DC's "Countdown" is turning out to be another surprisingly great read. Surprising because it comes out EVERY WEEK. The storyline is set to establish the DC Universe (or should I say "multi-verse") after the huge events of last year's weekly event comic, "52".
I'm particularily interested in what's happening with Mary Marvel. She's a 4th string DC character connected to "Captain Marvel" (Shazam!) that DC seems to be upgrading in some way.

This is something I always enjoy watching DC do. Taking a character from their rich history that's faded and lost its glory, and re-making them into something exciting and knew, while paying tribute and always remembering what has gone before. It's the "Legacy Factor", as I might call it. And DC has got it in spades.

Today I'll also be scoping out back issues of "Solar, Man Of The Atom" and looking for the best price I can find on issue number one. I just recently became interested in this book (as I mentioned here last time) and am hoping to colloect the back issues without paying out the ear.

Wish me luck!

Solar, Man Of The Atom

The second book I grabbed with my extra change last week, was "Solar, Man Of The Atom- Alpha and Omega". This was a trade paperback that collected the origin story for this character that was spread out over the course of the first 8 or 9 issues of the comic book.

This character, a re-vamp of a 1960's superhero, reminded me of Dr. Manhattan from Alan Moore's "Watchmen". He gains incredible power to manipulate energy and matter and begins to think of himself as more of a god than a man.

I'll let slip just a wee bit here that Spirit Blade Productions' "Top Secret Project" entitled Absolute Power will find some of its inspiration from stories like this one and "The Watchmen".

This book was truly ahead of its time. Although I think it may be cancelled now, I'm hoping to go back and collect all the back issues for it, since it unfortunately did not make any other trade paperbacks. So there goes my "extra money" problem.

The Authority

After a very small week of comics (I only purchased this week's issue of Countdown!) I took advantage of my extra funds to explore a couple of books I've been curious about for awhile.

The first is Warren Ellis' and Bryan Hitch's "The Authority". I managed to find the first trade paperback collecting issues 1-8 at a used bookstore. After reading it, I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I've never seen a comic with heroes this powerful fighting evil in a way that is "messy". Human casualties number in the hundreds as this team of immensely powered beings tries to change the world for the better.

Similar in some ways to the deconstructionist themes of Alan Moore's "The Watchmen", this is a fascinating read with art that is so epic and cinematic you can't help but be pulled into the world these characters live in.

Although I don't see myself going back to collect all the individual back issues, I'll certainly look for more opportunities to pick up the trade paper-backs of this series.

Dying is easy, Comedy is hard

I've been on a kick lately for supernatural comedies. Last week I finally got Peter Jackson's extended cut for "The Frighteners". If you liked "Ghostbusters", you'll love this movie. A dark comedy, but also a genuinely scary ghost movie. Then yesterday I got my copy of "Death Becomes Her" in the mail. Another very dark supernatural comedy that you should check out if you're a fan of "zombie" flicks. Both of these movies have surpisingly great special effects considering their strong comedic elements. Both are also produced by Robert Zemeckis , producer of the "Back To The Future" trilogy and some other sfx driven films.
So if you haven't seen these films, at least try renting. Chances are you won't be dissapointed.

Computer Gaming

So I'm quickly running out of games on the PS2, but I'm not ready to go next-gen yet. So in the meantime I've been exploring the world of PC games. Now, if you read my post on "The Spirit Blade Underground" last week, you know I'm not a computer person, so PC games I tend to avoid. Sure, the games may be a little cheaper, but it's off-set by the cost of updating your video cards and making sure you've got the newest drivers and all that other stuff.

A friend let me borrow (and even offered to let me keep) "Oblivion" and "Fear". Both look like pretty awesome games. Alas, my video card is too old and I have zero interest in upgrading.

On the bright side, I've just recently discovered the classic "Diablo" games for PC and for those games my video card works great so far! Hopefully they'll hold my interest long enough to last until a price drop for the 360. (Sorry PS3. I've been loyal 'till now but you blew it with your system price. Good luck recovering, Sony.)

Selling and Buying

Yesterday I made some GREAT use of time buying and selling! Between two different used bookstores I took home almost $50 of cash for old (and trust me, worthless) comic books and a few DVDs. Granted, I may have gotten more on e-bay or something, but I had just finished waiting for an online purchase to arrive (Peter Jackson's Cut of "The Frighteners") and was feeling a great desire for instant gratification.

With my "winnings", I was able to purchase my comics for the week, a DVD I had my eye on, as well as pay for almost half of a new board-game! Speaking of which, I'd better get working on what I need to do for Spirit Blade Productions today so I can start enjoying my "Geekend"!

See ya!