Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Believe It Or Not: Sequoia Reviews X3 Again! (Triple Whoo!)

As if her previous post wasn't detailed enough, Sequoia has another crack at her thoughts on the latest X-Men movie. My glee knows absolutely no bounds, although it sure puts me in the less than enviable position of somehow measuring up even the tiniest bit to her when I finally come around to reviewing the movie myself ;) Anyhoo, read on once more...

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I’ve now seen X-Men: The Last Stand three times, twice by myself and once with my parents. The movie does improve with repeated viewings, and since my mother expressed interest in seeing it again, I may go for a fourth time in several weeks, and would like to make a date of it with Peter as well. Even though he thinks I’m crazy. [Albeit in the cutest way imaginable! --Peter]

Perhaps I should amend my statement - some things about the movie improve with repeat viewings. Quite a few. Almost all of my minor annoyances and quibbles have disappeared, but the most serious, core problems have solidified. Before I go into my thoughts, I’d like to give an idea of how my parents reacted to it, since unlike myself they are not crazy, obsessive X-Men fans, and are coming into it like most of the general public. They’ve seen the first two movies on dvd but didn’t remember much about them, and neither has read a single issue, seen the cartoons, etc. They know who Wolverine, Magneto, Xavier, Storm, Phoenix, and Cyclops are if you show them a picture of the actor in costume, but are fuzzy on names and powers.

My father:

1. Enjoyed it mainly for the action scenes, particularly when things blew up, and the bridge.

2. Thought Halle Berry was hot, but that she was in the movie too much.

3. Wanted to know how "the nurse" knew it was Charles in the end scene, resulting in a lesson concerning Charles’ many girlfriends, and Why Moira Rocks.

4. Thought "Mirage" (Mystique) was interesting, and more of a villain than Magneto or Phoenix.

5. Thought Pyro was the most evil character of all.

6. Loved Beast and thought Angel was dumb.

7. Wanted to know the comics history between Charles & Erik but took issue with my description of Charles living in the lap of hippie luxury. I remain steadfast - Charles was a hippie, not a ferret-owning ‘I hate my filthy hippie owner’ type of hippie, à la The Onion, but a hippie nonetheless, and obscenely wealthy.

8. During the movie, at the Kitty/Leech moment, when Leech says her powers won’t work around him, my dad leans over and points out that neither will Juggernaut’s. I’d forgotten that in the movie, Juggernaut is a mutant and had been confused by this scene, assuming that maybe that wall was super hard? Thanks, Dad =D

9. Wanted to know if Jean was going to come back again, and how many times she had died/why she had died in the comics, but I’d had a couple glasses of wine and really got on a roll, resulting in his exclaiming, "I didn’t do it!" and fleeing upstairs when I got to the travesty known as X-Factor.

10. Thought there should have been more Magneto and Phoenix scenes, after she killed Xavier.



My mother:

1. Enjoyed it mainly for the Logan/Jean romance. She loves Hugh Jackman, especially as Wolverine, thinks Famke Janssen is one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood, and thinks they have fantastic chemistry together.

2. Was "relieved" when Cyclops died early on - her exact words were, "Oh, thank God, I’m so relieved he died so soon." She’s very mean - she does a cruelly hilarious imitation of Scott’s crying at the end of X2, and had several comments about his "whining and sniveling" in this movie. She was very surprised when I explained to her what Scott was like in the comics way back when, and aghast at the X-Factor developments. But is still a steadfast Logan/Jean ‘shipper.

3. Didn’t think Young Jean was a bitchy little psycho, just that she was acting quite like many twelve year olds. I don’t think the two ideas are mutually exclusive.

4. Felt very strongly that Charles had done the right thing in placing the psychic blocks in Jean’s mind because he was "doing what he had to do protect a child from herself", that Jean was "like his daughter", and she would have done the same thing to me. We argued for a bit and wound up agreeing that the blocks themselves were the correct thing to do, and that Xavier’s lack of ethics in the situation lies with his not slowly releasing them one at a time and helping her learn to control all her powers, which would have also kept her personality integrated. But then, while Charles is ethical, he's always made his own ethics.

5. Wanted much more of Charles, Erik, and Jean. She didn’t care for the "Cure" storyline very much at all.

6. Loved Beast in action, hated him in his suit and tie. Was annoyed that "he had Frasier’s voice." [I loved both the suit and tie, more than his X-Men jacket, and his voice, the perfect type of animated erudition that works so well for Beast :)]

7. Hated Angel - she thought he was horribly ugly, a terrible actor, and a distraction from the rest of the film. I wholeheartedly agree.

8. Loved Kitty Pryde, especially in her scene with Juggernaut. Thought Bobby was boring and Pyro was very creepy and soulless.

9. Thought it felt "choppy", but she wasn’t sure what was missing except for a scene with Phoenix and Magneto after the house scene.

10. Hated it when Wolverine pushed Storm up against the door, because she said all she could think of was Halle Berry getting beaten up by her boyfriend and it made her mad at Logan.

11. Wanted to know everything I could tell her about Jean, Logan, Charles, and Erik in the comics.

12. Understood perfectly that in the last major scene, the Jean persona is allowing Logan to get closer, while the Phoenix persona is pushing him away, and that it was a suicide, not "Wolverine being more powerful than Phoenix" as many internet fanboys seem to think.

As for me... I maintain that the movie’s single biggest flaw is the lack of something with Jean and Erik immediately following Charles’ death. If people who have never read a comic and have barely a clue who these characters are, outside of what they’ve been shown so far in the film, think it’s obvious that something is missing, and it’s a monstrous and momentous issue that needs to be dealt with, the movie screwed up big time.

With each viewing, I’ve also been able to see a lot more detail. My favorite thing to do is to examine their facial expressions very closely. The first time I was too distracted by the action/plot unfolding, and now I feel like I can focus on the characterization. Ian, Patrick, Famke, and Hugh all do a splendid job, and I know I’m terribly biased, but I think Famke is just spectacular during some of her scenes, even when she’s not speaking. [I don't think I share your bias but agree completely, even after only the one viewing. Crazy, I know! =D] She’s doing most of her acting with her eyes - you can see the play of Jean and Phoenix in her mind. The house and the lab scenes are the standouts, but even at the end, when Magneto tells Juggernaut to kill the boy, and they switch to her face... the first time I saw it I thought she was simply observing. But the second time I noticed that she looks slightly trembly, teary. I liked that very much, that she was Jean at that moment, and was torn up inside about a child being killed, but wasn’t going to stop it because she was so shattered herself, and there was no going back from what she’d done.

The repeated viewings also helped me see and understand the Phoenix better, and to enjoy the movie’s interpretation. For some reason, the first time, it seemed like "Jean" wasn’t in the movie at all except for the few moments in the lab and at the very end, only Phoenix. But when I looked at it as being Jean except when her eyes went black and she became all veiny - which I wasn’t looking forward to, shades of Dark Willow [gag!], but found absolutely terrifying and better than any firebird would have looked onscreen - it really helped me to love it. It was Jean who wanted Logan in the lab, it was Jean who fought with Xavier: but it was Phoenix who took over and took it too far, killing him (and Scott). It was Phoenix who didn’t want to control it, Jean who followed Magneto with an air of shell-shocked despair. Jean who wanted nothing more than to die herself, and Phoenix who wanted to consume the world.

I don’t like a clear cut line in behavior between "Jean" and "Phoenix". I like some complexity and blurring of which is which, and since they are the same person, that should happen quite frequently.

My favorite scene remains the second at the Grey house... everyone and everything is just spectacular and perfect, from start to finish. I love the physical battle with Wolverine, Juggernaut, Storm, and Callisto while a much more serious psychic battle also rages. I love Charles’ palpable desperation for Erik to just shut up because Charles is the only one who truly knows what Phoenix is capable of... that if she is fully unleashed, ideals and wars and weapons mean absolutely nothing. I love Erik’s helplessness and fear for his dear, respected friend, and Jean’s own anger at Charles and hatred of herself giving in to the siren call of the Phoenix, which promises peace but causes only deeper agony.

And I cried this last time, at the end... Charles’ smile and last words to Jean, to his daughter. The way Erik picked himself up when it was over, the complexity of emotions on his face and in his eyes, the way he touched and spoke to Jean with such care, who was so absolutely hollow and broken herself. ‘My dear, come with me.’ Ian McKellen is one of our finest actors of the last century.

I think it would be one of the most enjoyable movies ever if the alleged Magneto prequel is made with Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, using that miraculous fountain of youth software - and why not use it on Famke Janssen as well, show us some of these "private sessions" and perhaps other things we don’t know about the history of Erik, Charles and Jean in this universe. Erik "liked this one" - I doubt that was their last interaction. And let’s have Moira involved as well! [And Beast, don't forget Beast, what with him being one of the original X-Men and all!]

So... besides the "missing" scene, and Young Jean being a little more unbalanced than I would have liked, my remaining major qualm about the movie deals with Storm and her stance on the Cure. She was so adamant that nothing was wrong with "us", that there was "nothing to cure", that mutancy is not a disease... and yet she has no hesitation on "curing" Magneto. It’s only unethical to use it on mutants you like, Storm? Where the hell is your supposed integrity? [That didn't even register with me at the end. Weird!]

I truly feel that was crossing a line they shouldn’t have crossed. Or should have at least shown that it was the only way, and that they still regretted doing it. Instead there was practically glee. I was reminded of how in the comics, it used to be a gigantic deal if an X-Man accidentally killed someone during a fight, because they always tried to avoid it at all costs. Colossus almost had a nervous breakdown over killing Proteus. And here in the movie they’re electrocuting, bashing in heads (there’s no way Colossus wasn’t sending heads flying), decapitating and mortally stabbing (see Colossus comment and apply to Wolverine)... Beast, with all his strength, was probably driving bones into organs... I think the X-Men may have actually killed more people in that final scene than Phoenix did, which raises unintended ethical questions.

A closing criticism: Jean should have been naked when she resurrected; the campy, ridiculous uniform [how deliciously ironic that the supposedly "realistic" leather outfit is called campy and ridiculous by my all-too-perfect girlfriend. Go Sequoia!] pulled me out of the scenes and distracted from the supernatural eeriness they created with the water, the light, and later with the floating objects at the lake. Have her hair cover her breasts, and the camera shoot from the right angles, and they could have shown nothing while making the scenes much more effective and realistic.

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And that, as they say, is that! I wouldn't be surprised if more thoughts spill forth from my darling's ever-churning X-loving brain sometime soon. In the meantime, I bid you all a fond adieu and au revoir! (or is that relire? ;)

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Fifty-Two Week Three

It’s the third week of the year we’ve skipped ahead in the DCU, and for the second time in a row, day 7 is missing. I guess nothing at all happens on Sundays or something? Joe Bennett continues to provide more than adequate pencils on a book that appears to be plodding along nicely, slowly building up steam and getting geared up for a couple of climaxes around the first quarter of the covered year, if the solicitations for upcoming months are any indication.

Despite the intriguing Two-Face-esque cover depiction of Lex Luthor, it’s Black Adam who takes up most of the issue, which is a pity, because he is rapidly becoming disturbingly one-note: gone is the troubled mixture of Marvel’s Magneto and Namor, whose well-intentioned arrogance made him the perfect anti-hero throughout Johns’s work on JSA. Instead we are left with a bloodthirsty maniac. It would be one thing if Adam decreed who lives and dies within the borders of his own nation. However, in the course of the past few weeks, we’ve witnessed him committing grizzly murder over and over again: brain-poking, head-popping, limbs torn off, bodies ripped in two...

He may have been well-intentioned once, and I’ll readily admit I was interested in his take-over of the Amazonian embassy as seen in 52 #1, but it’s become impossible for me to relate to Adam anymore. In the final scene of JSA #75, we were left with a man who had lost what amounted to his best friend and whose team-mates had forbidden him to come anywhere near them anymore. It was already a bit hard to swallow that he’d throw his hat in with a criminal organisation like the Society, but this takes it one step further. Going to extremes to do what you believe is right is something one can understand, if disagree with, but under the guidance of Geoff Johns the character has been driven straight through extremism out the other end, emerging as the ultimate black-and-white villain, far less appealing than the sum of his parts. A disappointment, to say the least.

As for the rest, the two things of note are the obvious tampering “our” Luthor did with Alex’s body, last seen in the final pages of Infinite Crisis #7 (where he was disfigured in the same way Two-Face once was—and still had hair, at that), and Booster’s increasing worry about Skeets’s flawed memories of history, prompting him to look for the time-traveler supreme, none other than Rip Hunter. Something’s obviously amiss with time, as the disappearance of the various scientists shown in the previous issue indicates, most of them being involved with time-tampering of some sort. It’s currently the most exciting aspect of the series, because I do love me a good time-twisting story and I feel like Morrison is at the helm of most if not all Booster’s scenes. The character feels like he’s right up his alley, at any rate.

Apart from all that, the cocoon at the end was a nice teaser for future issues: what will happen when the nefarious alien worm with the hilarious-yet-awesome moniker of Mr. Mind grows into his next phase? I do hope the answer won’t turn out to be he’ll become a nefarious alien butterfly...

After three issues, I’m beginning to worry about the relative pacing of the series. Week two ended with Ralph Dibny confronting Wonder Girl about the resurrection cult, but there’s no mention of this plot in week three, which seems more than a bit off. At least with the Question/Renée Montoya plotline, it’s conceivable that good ol’ No-Face is letting her stew for a week. But I presume that Ralph is no less on the case this week, so his absence this time around was jarring. The four pages at the end reserved for the nonsensical History of the DCU featurette could’ve been put to better use in that regard. At least Jurgens draws a nice pin-up/collage page.
I’m still in for the long haul, but I would appreciate it if they could forego the typical conventions of monthly comics and amp up the opportunities that a weekly format provides the creators with (scenes happening simultaneously, for one thing, would be rather welcome, rather than the one-scene-a-day routine). Still GOOD, but with its (serious) flaws.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Sequoia Reviews X3! (Woo-Hoo!)

Sequoia and I both went out to watch X3 yesterday (on separate continents, mind you) and what follows is her lengthy, awesome review of the movie. Mine will follow sometime later but let me say this already: I want a Beast-movie! :) Anyway, read on, true believer... and beware of spoilers!

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Moviefone: "What are your mutant’s hobbies and interests?"
Famke Janssen: "They do puzzles together, Cyclops and Jean.."
James Marsden: "They do puzzles together, that’s it, big puzzles of Logan, big Wolverine puzzles."


* * * * *

I went to see X-Men: The Last Stand with high hopes but very low expectations. I had spoiled myself with trailers and a few minor clips, and stumbled across the fates of several characters while online, but did not know any details. Online reviews from fans and critics alike seemed to bemoan it as a travesty of proportions so dire and epic I assumed the worst - it would be a absolute butchering of characters and storyline, sloppily rushed through, with no heart and soul, but hey, it promised Magneto and Phoenix sharing at least one scene, and I’m easy that way. As my two favorite characters from the comics, their smallest interaction of any sort, in any incarnation, can leave me feeling embarassingly giddy.


What I discovered was that The Last Stand doesn’t suck. Not only does it not suck, I found it extremely enjoyable throughout, and it is my favorite X-Men film by a significant margin. Was I completely happy? Was it perfect? Absolutely not. At times it’s a deeply flawed film, but never fundamentally so; and it entertained me in a genuine way. There were more than a few moments that thrilled me. And I can’t wait to see it again.


Before I go into more detail about what I did and didn’t care for in The Last Stand, I feel I should say a little bit about what I do and don’t like about the X-Men in general, because I have particular tastes that influenced my feelings on the film. I started reading the comics with the Roy Thomas/Neal Adams issues and adored them until Claremont flaked out during the Madelyne storyline. To see it go from a dark, Hitchcockian thriller (if you’re a fan of the old comics and have somehow never seen Vertigo, do so as soon as possible - Scott, Madelyne, Jean, and Jason are paying more homage to Scottie, Madeleine, Judy, and Gavin than the Brood did to Aliens) to a simple coincidence was severely disappointing, but I stuck with it because I loved the characters. And then X-Factor happened, and the wholesale slaughter of history and character. And I despaired.


Since then I’ve had some mild enjoyment from a handful of Lobdell issues; loved Joe Kelly and Steven Seagle on the books and the excitement and hope they gave me; and tried my best to give Morrison a chance until his Emma/Scott storyline took a sharp detour from where I thought he was going, and turned out to be nothing more than a bad episode of Melrose Place. I haven’t read more than five 616 comics since. I loathed the 90's cartoon, didn’t care for Evolution, and think Ultimate X-Men is half-way decent at times. I have the habit and ability to completely and happily disregard large chucks of continuity (i.e, The Great Phoenix Retcon).


Most importantly, I adore the possibilities of fanfiction and their endless alternate ideas and stories, and I view the movieverse as Marvel sanctioned fanfiction. Every fanfiction writer is different - good writers telling good stories, bad writers telling bad stories, bad writers telling good stories, and good writers telling bad - or just not that interesting to you - stories. For me, the first two X-Men films fall into that last category. I don’t mind if Brett Ratner didn’t copy Bryan Singer’s vision because I didn’t like Bryan Singer’s vision (I do like Bryan Singer, House is excellent and I’m interested in Superman for the first time in my life).


While technically proficient, I found the films largely tedious, X1 moreso than X2, but both were guilty. I like many slow, methodical movies shot through with occasional bursts of action if you’re lucky - The Constant Gardener was my favorite movie of 2005 - but I don’t want to see that in an X-Men film because I don’t think anyone in Hollywood is capable of doing it well. Not with this many characters and this much history to sift through and condense and the stigma of it being a comic book. I think Singer was Hollywood’s best chance at making that kind of movie, and with the exception of a few moments here and there that rose above the rest I was left sitting there thinking, ‘God, this is boring. Why did he want to make it so boring? What’s wrong with me that I’m finding this so boring?’


I honestly feel that Ratner has continued in Singer’s footsteps, which includes making sure not to vary from the idea that in this alternate universe, Logan is the center, the Hero, the character all others sit around making puzzles of, only he’s given it a shot of much needed energy. That Logan continues to be the focus and that many thing do not line up with their view of how they should be, or how they are in the 616 universe, twists many fans into paroxysms of indignant rage - a feeling I’m very familiar with when reading X-Factor and 90's era comics but that I’m blessedly free of while watching the films, the same way I am while reading fanfiction. This is the whole point of creating an alternate universe, to do things differently while keeping the basic core of who the characters are the same.




I felt alive while watching The Last Stand. There were scenes that made me gasp, scenes that made me cry, scenes that made me scoff, and scenes that made me yearn for more. I was never bored. A little hollow with thinking of how perfect it could have been if there had only been about fifteen minutes more devoted to the Phoenix storyline, and feeling as though scenes were not rushed (I quite liked the quick pace) but sadly a little clipped in places. A better editing team would have made all the difference in the world.


Anyway, if you’re still with me after all this rambling, some specific comments about The Last Stand.


- Famke Janssen finally sold me on Jean. I love her as an actress, think she’s gorgeous, but she was my choice for the role of Mystique since I first saw her in Goldeneye and while watching the first two films, I’d always think, ‘Eh, she’s good, but I wonder who else would have been better.’ I no longer even want to think of someone who may have been better. I have a different ‘picture’ in my head of comics and fanfic Jean, but Famke embodies movieverse Jean to perfection. Every expression, every inflection of tone, the way she carried herself... she portrayed the confusion, fury, passion, sorrow, and insanity so consummately it gave me chills. I loved the perpetual ‘forgetting to breathe’ expression when she wasn’t actively doing something. Even the way she sat in the chair, waiting for Xavier, touched me - she looked at once so lost and as though she were laying in wait. I only wish there had been more of her, and I wasn’t the only one - the only specific comments I overheard after the movie were ‘The Phoenix stuff was really good’ and ‘There should have been more of Phoenix.’


- Young Jean wasn’t as good as I would have liked. I wanted to see a bit of vulnerability there, mixed with the haughty bitchiness. I wanted to feel like she was Jean with Phoenix tendencies, not like Jean is nothing more than a neutered Phoenix. It’s why the Jean/Phoenix dichotomy is so interesting and complex to me... both sides of the personality are organically hers. But the special effects used on Charles and Erik in that scene were awesome.


- Patrick Stewart finally sold me on Xavier. I always thought his casting was lazy. So he’s bald, he never reminded me of Xavier, although I like him very much. And in the first two films, Stewart portrayed Charles as the simple, benevolent, saintly, glossed over version of the character I detest. Like Harry Potter, Charles Xavier is not interesting to me when everyone around him thinks he’s wonderful, including the narrator. Xavier is controlling, whatever his reasons. He is not just righteous, he is also self-righteous. He is a hypocrite of the highest order. And I love him for it. It balances nicely with his truly good heart and endless optimism. In The Last Stand, when he was talking to Logan in the infirmary, and later to Erik and Jean, I saw Xavier for the first time. There was an edge, a determination. He’s not all soft and cuddly, he’s a man to be reckoned with.


- Ian McKellen has always been fabulous as Magneto and my favorite part of the first two films...he was no less spectacular this time, but I was shocked at his coldness, particularly towards Mystique. I could see movieverse Erik turning on her in that he no longer feels there’s a place for him by his side, but to leave her, naked and alone, in the middle of nowhere, after she’s just saved him from a fate he views worse than death? Cold. And jarring. I would have liked to have seen more kindness from him there, a gentleness, a brief scene letting us know that he would make sure she was okay even if he doesn’t want her as a partner any longer. One of the biggest problems in the movie, in my opinion, because it would have fixed a giant plot hole - heartless in the name of his cause, I can see, but I can never see Erik as stupid. And it was stupid to turn his back on her like that, especially since they still could have had Raven turn on him later. She could have felt betrayed without it being done so completely.


- I thought Jean’s rise from the lake was handled well, with the special effects - the vortex in the water scared me, and the glowing light was beautiful - but I wanted a longer moment with Scott. And I don’t know why, but it really bugs that she resurrected in that hideous uniform. If Rebecca can have a ‘nude’ scene, so can Famke. As much as I once loved Scott in the comics, it doesn’t bother me he’s played such a tiny role in the movieverse. Famke and James conveyed a sense of being in love, but not a sense of being soulmates forever and ever, as Scott and Jean did in the comics around the Dark Phoenix saga. I don’t mind that he was killed because it makes more sense in this world for Logan to be the one to save her at the end. I just wish that people at the school had expressed more sorrow over his death; and I don’t know how they would have done it, but I really would have liked to have seen a scene at the end of the film, maybe right before the credits, of Jean and Scott on the astral plane/afterlife, together, and at peace. I have a picture of him kissing her on the forehead, forgiving her for what she’s done.


- I liked Storm this time around. Don’t tell anyone. I liked her twirly whirlies, and how strong she was in her opinions, despite her complete lack of empathy and compassion for mutants that might not be as blessed as her.

- The woman who played Callisto was awful. Just a terrible actress, in my opinion. The weakest link in the cast by far. I wanted to laugh every time she spoke. Even her smile annoyed me.

- That’s some rapid sunset they have their in San Francisco. I enjoyed the bridge scene greatly - Magneto didn’t want to just go to Alcatraz, he was making a statement. Liked seeing him ‘fly’.

- I expected to hate Juggernaut, and thought he was very well done. Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde was an inspiration. My heart just swelled watching their scene together, it was like looking at a comic book come to life.

- The view out of Leech’s window is more exciting than what’s on his tv.

- Bah to bad dialogue. All three movies have had their share, the only ones that made me actively cringe in this installment were the ‘Hell hath no fury’ from our 120 year old president, and Magneto’s stint as the Exposition Fairy. ‘Arclight, use your seismic powers over there! Aim for their weapons!’ Sheesh. I think I’m blocking some of it, it was so bad. Just say Arclight and gesture grandly in the general direction. You’re Magneto.

- Magneto. Not Osama bin Laden in a miniature cave that looks as though it were made of compressed Glad trash bags.




- Biggest flaw in the movie for me, and the only thing that truly bothers me - I understand that after Jean kills Charles, Erik makes a choice. He still wants her with him, even after what she’s done (the look on her face, and his, the way he puts his arm around her and says, ‘come with me, dear’ just kills me). They need to get out of there before Wolverine and Storm come on the scene. But there needed to be a scene in the movie between that one and the speech in the forest where they have some sort of further acknowledgement about what just happened. This is big. She killed Charles Xavier. Her mentor and his best friend. A man who meant a tremendous amount to both of them. I don’t care if it’s alone, or together - I’d prefer both - but there needs to be something. Anything. I found myself imagining possible scenes, to make the rest of the movie feel more right. I feared that there would be no sign at all from either that they even remembered that it happened, but I quite liked Magneto’s reaction to Pyro. That was good. But it would have been better with another scene preceding it.


- I really liked the use of Multiple Man. I was all groany when I heard he’d be in the movie, since his comic book incarnation annoys me to no end. Maybe it was the judicious way he was used, but I found it smart and fun, and a little bit surprising.


- Angel and Beast. First Angel - I’m sorry, I’m shallow, I thought the actor was homely and not terribly talented. Little Warren was very good, Big Warren was just meh. And Warren Worthington III should never be meh. If they had to use him in that role, they should have dropped him after he flew off into the sunset. Showing up at the school at precisely the right moment to make me roll my eyes all the back into my head was a waste of time that took away from Phoenix. And what the hell with his father at the end? Was he hovering, waiting, for someone to throw his dad off the building? He just happened by? Beast I hated at the beginning and grew to really really like by the end. Hank is one of my favorites in the comics, and I just didn’t like Kelsey Grammer in the role. I know, I’m in the minority, but it didn’t feel right. But I warmed up to him, even if I hated the makeup job. He looked like a fuzzy, electric blue, tank. Loved hearing stars and garters...I think I would have let myself love him if only there had been a mention by Hank of what was happening to Jean and what happened to Scott. I think it’s implied that Scott, Hank, and Jean were Xavier’s first X-Men in the movieverse, I would have liked to have seen a mention of that, even if it was just a photograph on the desk. Hank and Jean are my favorite friendship in the X-Men and I felt its absence sorely. I know, I know, alternate universe.


- Fastball Special! Woo!


- Can’t believe I’m only now getting to Wolverine. I loved him, as always. To me Jackman is Wolverine, the best Wolverine. Everything I like about comics Wolverine and nothing I hate. I thought the progression in his character was consistent with the movieverse, and organic. I like my Logan tall, I like him lovesick over Jean, I love him slicing and dicing to protect the ones he loves. And ooooh, the kiss. Hot. And scary. But mostly hot.




- Iceman and Colossus look like such dorks when iced/metaled up. I thought CGI was better than that these days.


- Olivia Williams is Moira MacTaggert. Fantastic. And I didn’t hate the secret scene like I thought I would. Didn’t like it that much, but didn’t hate it.


- Glad Mopey Rogue went for the cure. Maybe now she can finally be spirited. Or the slightest bit like her comic counterpart. Just a basic personality trait. A crumb. Not 90's sexpot, ‘why, ah don’t have a thought in my pretty little head, Gambit!’ Rogue, but tough and sassy and kind of dark and sometimes whiny kickass 80's Rogue. Oh wait, she’s cured, she can’t. This is why I wish they would freaking teach her to control her powers so she’d have something else to do besides mope and whine and stoically cope.


- I think Pyro is the worst character in the movie. Honestly. Phoenix is clearly insane, and I think a rather good case can be made for Magneto as well at times. The humans behind the cure were misguided, but seemed to genuinely want to ‘help’. When Pyro said that he would have killed Xavier if Magneto had asked....my skin crawled.


- Liked the use of Leech. Didn’t mind the ‘cure’ storyline, but really had to suspend disbelief at times...didn’t mind though, because I was having so much fun with the movie in general. The we are the world, sunshine and kittens and lollypops at the end of the rainbow ending had me scratching my head a bit though. Looks like everything is perfect in human-mutant land! No more X movies! Except when Wolverine has to get thrown all over by a recovered Magneto in his spin-off.


- Jean’s death. So close to being so perfect. I was welling up with tears. It was ridiculous in a lot of ways, but I loved it. It had to be done that way. But it needed to be longer. Shave off a little bit of Angel, of Leech, of Arclight dragging WWII up to the roof, whatever, but let Jean and Logan express more emotion. Let her say something more. Let it him hold her longer. It was good, it was beautiful in its way, but I wanted it to be everything it was capable of being. They were so close.


Anyway, that’s it for now, my hands are falling off and it’s 11pm and been a hard day and I don’t know if I’m still making sense. I’ll be seeing it again on Monday, and will be interested to see if my views on anything have changed.


* * * * *

And that, as they say, was that. Many thanks to the most wonderful woman in the world for putting so much effort in this review. I'm inclined to say "ditto" pretty much across the board, but I shall certainly endeavor to come up with something more ludicrously loquacious than that! In any case, I enjoyed this review tremendously, and I am sure I am not the only one. If any of you reading this want to read more of Sequoia's thoughts (on the X-Men or on anything), please do tell in the comments section, for in my not-exactly-humble opinion the world at large should be graced with her thoughts far more often!

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Rapid Fire Reviews #1 - May 17th releases

I had nine comics on my list to buy at the store this week, but only managed to get eight (Green Arrow wasn’t in my box, just like last time, I made sure it was on the list now). So what did I get, and how did I like it?

52 Week Two – Just seeing Ralph Dibny’s patented nose-twitch along with the dryly delivered implication that he’s a better detective than Batman made the issue for me, adding a lot of goodwill to a series I was already willing to give the benefit of the doubt. Other highlights included a teaser-filled conversation between two not-quite-obscure, not-quite-well-known scientists (I bet Morrison wrote that one), a funny-yet-ominous Booster Gold action scene, and a yummy Question/Renée Montoya confrontation—my guess is that Harvey Dent is using the guise of the Question, for some reason. Whatever the case may be, seeing him disappear in question-mark-shaped smoke kicked all sorts of ass. Just like the first issue had to have a gratuitous gory scene, this issue had one moment that turned me off and pulled me out of the story: Renée and her girlfriend wearing bra and panties while asleep in each other’s arms. Tacky on a variety of levels and reminiscent of the ridiculous scenes where Scully of X-Files fame would go to bed wearing a bra. I know some comic book writers may not have slept with a woman yet, but come on! The art was nothing stellar but more than serviceable and rather eye-pleasing despite its straightforwardness. For this DCU fan, a VERY GOOD issue.

Robin #150 – The “Boy Wanted” arc continues, as Robin is confronted with the mastermind behind the once and former Batgirl’s disappearance. I still like both writing (snappy dialogue if light on plot mechanics) and art (clear action-packed layouts and story-flow) but this felt like a bit of a step down from the previous two issues, though it's hard to pin-point why. I do find Tim’s hard-ass behaviour somewhat hard to swallow compared to his exuberance over in the Face The Face arc, and the manner in which Cain has been tied up doesn’t carry across the intent: that he’ll strangle himself if he tries to move. Come to think of it, I don’t really like Tim using that tactic in the first place, even if Cain is meant to be one of the most dangerous men alive. And of course the revelation of the aforementioned mastermind is who I’d already guessed, making it disappointing, although I’m still hoping for some twists and turns in upcoming issues. Nonetheless, as I said in this review, the new creative team is to be recommended for their efforts, making this a GOOD issue.

Moon Knight #2 - I reviewed a preview copy of the first issue and based on my enjoyment of it, decided to buy the opening arc to see where it’d all go. I can’t honestly say I was as fond as this second outing as I was of the opening salvo. The extremely gory and bloody violence, for one, didn’t appeal to me at all, which I do realise is just a matter of personal taste. I didn’t get the impression from the previous issue though that we’d take this route, so it’s off-putting. Moreover, writer Charlie Huston attempts to create effect in the captions through repetition, succeeding only in creating sameness and boredom. Witness the captions of page 1: “A hero. As if I ever was. As if that’s what you wanted from me. As if that’s what I gave to you. As if that’s all I gave.” As if I give a rat’s ass about all the as-if-fing. On page 2 we get “how many times” three times (how many times can Huston repeat it before I throw the damn comic away in disgust?), next it’s five times of “blame it on...” in a row (repeated again several times later, to which I say: “blame it on weak editing”).

Or how about this weak sequence: “The hatred born from slaughter. Slaughter born from friendship. Friendship born from recognition. Recognition of a kindred soul. Souls hating each other. Hating as you can hate only one thing”, accompanying a brutal fist- and knife-fight resulting in a fate for Moon Knight’s attacker which is just too sickening to write down here. Yes, I’m that lamely squeamish, sue me. It was disturbingly neat when Garth Ennis did it back in the early days of Preacher, but this seems more like pathetic pandering to the gore-lovers out there (gore without the capital g, of course. Though I believe the character Moon Knight maimed is called Bushwhacker, so maybe it’s about Gore-lovers after all :p)

While the first half shows us how Moon Knight came to lose everything in brutal, over-rendered flashback, the second half is more interesting again as Huston appears to have a better grasp on dialogue than on thought-captioning. Between the zealous line-work and the weak writing though, I was reminded of Todd McFarlane’s opening arc on his Spider-Man book, “Torment”, which was indeed quite torturous, so not a compliment at all there. I will still give the team a chance and support their endeavours for the time being, but the viciousness displayed in this issue makes me inclined towards scrapping it from my pull list—a damn shame considering my original praise for the first part of the arc. All in all, not recommended.

Ms Marvel #3 – In my reviews of the previous two issues, I already remarked upon the slipshod writing of Brian Reed, whose enthusiasm for both the character and for working within the Marvel Universe as a whole does shine through in the letter column (let’s hear it for the return of letter pages across all of Marvel’s series, woohoo!) but doesn’t materialise in the finished product itself, which turns out to be not living up to my expectations. There is too much of a focus on a fight with a blah-looking alien whose motives are too one-note to be of interest. I would’ve preferred some more of a struggle between Carol and the Brood, who are depicted on the cover but nowhere to be seen inside the comic.

The over-the-top cliffhanger of last issue is resolved cleanly if tamely, but I was dismayed to see the apparent destruction of an entire community be dismissed so casually while the New Warriors are vilified over in Civil War for the deaths of a couple 100 people (which wasn’t even their fault, but anyway). I would like to imagine that even as Carol is happy she averted the fate the Brood had in store for Earth, she’d also show some signs of distress over her inability to save the people of the town of Spaulding, Georgia. The writing strongly hints at a return of not only Cru (not someone I’d like to see again, so let’s hand out a “bah!” for that) but Spaulding as well (“this is world full of marvels” after all, as a news commentator sagely points out.)

And while the cliffhanger this time around does propel us straight into an entirely different situation for our heroine, one that makes sense considering her efforts to become “the best of the best” (and publicity is everything), there’s still something missing from the writing to make it as special and fun as I’m sure Reed intends it to be. Not a bad read, but if this series wants to survive, the creators really need to pull out all the stops. My fingers are crossed that the next installment will be more of the type of slam-dunk action I’m looking for (some more villains like the Stilt-Man would go a long way to satisfy my classic-Marvel-cravings :p) The art was still pleasing to my eye, so let’s give it a careful OKAY for now.

Captain America #18 – This sees the beginning of a new arc revolving around the plans of the Lukin/Skull merger, prompting Cap to team up with Union Jack (always fun to see both flag-draped heroes together, now how about some Captain Britain for good measure?), with a pretty cool Bucky scene as well as a murderous Crossbones/Syn (she’s scary-hot!) scene thrown in to keep those plots simmering as well. Brubaker juggles all his scenes nicely, as I’m used to, and Epting is as awesome as ever, particularly his face-shot of the Red Skull in the limo (loved the Skull’s face reflecting back to Lukin’s, very well done). Usually I’m no fan of overly “realistic” artwork, and I must admit I do prefer his older work on the Avengers, for instance, but this is still rather marvellous stuff. “Twenty-First Century Blitz” looks like it’ll be a lot of fun, making this kick-off point a VERY GOOD issue.

Shadowpact #1 – I love Bill Willingham’s Fables and despite its obvious sexism I’m also a fan of his Ironwood saga, which he wrote and pencilled alike, just like he does with this fresh start for the offbeat magic-themed team called the Shadowpact (as introduced in last year's Day of Vengeance mini-series). It’s clear from the inclusion of Superman in his story and the way they work around it, effectively bumping into the team’s appearance in 52 #1 last week, that he has no idea how to write within the confines of a company’s continuity. Based on Fables and Ironwood though, he does know how to write a rollicking tale of magic merriment and bloody betrayal, so I’m still quite looking forward to what he has planned.

His pencils appeal to me, even if I’m not too thrilled with his redesign for the Enchantress and Detective Chimp (no more Sherlock Holmes hat when he goes out on a case?! Outrageous! At least it was still featured when he was smoking at the bar) and if I think of this series as having its own parallel-universe continuity, I think I’ll be able to roll along with anything he comes up with, no matter how out there.

The bad guys are very bad indeed and the good guys are a colourful, oddball bunch, plus the Phantom Stranger guest-stars, which automatically raises any comic to the level of GOOD, with room to become better (though, I fear, not much time, since I can’t see the series being long for this world, so I’ll be getting it while I can!)

Aquaman, Sword of Atlantis #42 – Drunken stupor-induced nookie with a mermaid! Calamitous underwater bar fight! The Sea Devils! And the unexpected return of a character thought dead that made me squeal in delight! (yes, I squeal, wanna make something of it? :p) Busiek continues the entertaining tale he began One Year Later (aka two months ago) and improves upon the already-good previous two issues, giving me high hopes for a long and healthy run (if Guice can keep up, which I’m doubting considering this book was late, though I don’t mind so much because his art is scrumptious. With pages like the Sea Devils’ aquatic fortress, I can give him a bit of slack :)). The mix of action, mystery and revelation is pretty much perfect with the same high production values as before, so I’m definitely back to being a regular Aquaman fan. This one would be my favourite of the week if not for...

Fell #5 – It’s been a couple months since Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith graced us with another chapter in the life of hard-ass detective Richard Fell, but it was worth the wait, of course. Templesmith succeeds perfectly in bringing Ellis’s grimy, seedy world of Snowtown to life in general and does another well-expected admirable job with this issue’s tightly-scripted panel-to-panel camera work and the moody colouring. Focusing almost entirely on an interrogation scene, both writing and art keep the tension high and manage to tell us more about the titular hero than a lot of exposition in other series would.

Warren Ellis may come across as a bit of a nincompoop in his online ramblings, to me, but he’s a very talented popinjay nonetheless! One of those talents is the ability to easily make me swallow the violence, which somehow feels appropriate, likely because of the noir atmosphere that has been established since the very first issue. He’s also quite good at throwing in little things that pop up upon closer rereading, or when taken in hindsight, adding some extra value to an already entertaining and gripping little story. In closing, with lines like “I can do things to men that poodles only dream of!” (you had to be there), I cannot give this richly served representation of a well-worn theme (crack the bad-ass’s attitude) anything less than an EXCELLENT rating. It’s only 2 bucks, so get out there and hand over your change to the geek (or in my experience, cute girl) behind the counter!

Whew, that wasn’t as rapid-fire as I’d wanted it to be! Maybe I’ll do this again next week, if the offerings are appealing enough. This was a pretty satisfying week for the comics I buy, so it deserved being spotlighted.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Three Minutes Of Lost

It’s doubtful I’ll be able to write this in three minutes, but since that’s the title of this week’s Lost episode, I’ll do my best!

The season finale is upon us next week, so apparently the writers decided we needed to slow things down dramatically with only the tiniest bit of progress in the present and some time-filling flashbacks that show what exactly happened to Michael while he was gone. In a nutshell: he got conked over the head several times by different people (including the girl who would be Deat—er, Alex) and at the very end was quite easily swayed, through an encounter with Walt (who?), to do the supposed Others’ bidding, puzzling as their request may be: bring four specific Lostaways to the Others’ (fake) camp for reasons as of yet unknown. Such meat to build an episode around, no?

When Michael tells his fellow islanders that only a very select few can launch an assault on the Others, they all swallow it far too easily, especially since he wants Hurley to come along: the fat guy who claims he brings bad luck to people and who’s got a personal stake in things, making him blind to possible harmful consequences. You’d think someone would question this decision, but no, on Plothole Island everyone thinks like a dink (Jack in particular). Apart from Sayid, apparently, which is what made the episode for me. Halfway through, after Sawyer invites our favourite Indian-Iraqi to join them (which earned a “hell yeah!” from me), we see Michael desperately trying to sway Sayid from coming along, repeating his incessant “do-you-have-a-son/I-want-my-son-back” routine, and apparently, *gasp*, succeeding!

I gave Lost the Double Finger in disgust at that moment, but as it turns out, unjustly so. What I hadn’t seen coming was Sayid figuring out that Michael had been “compromised”, as he so carefully put it, creating a situation that could well turn out to be quite interesting next week. Planning to play along with whatever Michael’s got planned—and isn’t it oh so convenient that Hurley decides to go island-traipsing after an initial refusal—Sayid might well be crucial in finally getting an advantage over the semi-mysterious Others. So, as usual, the interesting turns of events happen during the final few minutes of the show. Everything else is largely filler until we’re hit over the head with Sayid’s little revelation and, far more out of left field, the arrival of a quite nice-looking boat (Sun seems to have lost the power of speaking in proper sentences this episode, I might add). Not really sure where we’ll be going with that, but now that they’ve written out two characters once again, they’re probably going to throw in a couple of new ones for next season.

As slow, plodding and repetitive as some if not most of the scenes were, I rather enjoyed the bits with Charlie, Eko and Locke. The role-reversal between black and white was staged well, as Eko has now become obsessed with the damn button, abandoning little-boy-lost Charlie, while Locke appears poised to take our very own addicted Hobbit under his wings once again, witnessing him getting rid of his temptation once and for all (until more heroine comes falling out of the sky, of course).

Speaking of Locke though, I must take issue with Lost’s pacing once again: last week he was deeply dissatisfied with himself and his role on the island, this week we get virtually no follow-up. I realise they must work with a specific focus to make syndicated viewing easier, but when working with a large ensemble cast it feels out of bounds to ignore people for various episodes until it suits you to write them back in. It’s happened to almost every single character now (except for the one whom I’d like to see a LOT less of, Jack, with Kate next in line). I don’t get the feeling that there is a logical flow to the series as a whole, something I’m rather sensitive to, I can’t help it. Maybe they’re doing it to create tension but in my case they’re only creating substantial aggravation.

Something I was perturbed by was Michael’s decision to become a killer just to be reunited with Walt again. Now, I don’t have children, admittedly, but even so, Michael knows the Others are duplicitous, why would he trust them to keep their word? I can see a man committing murder if well and truly forced, but Michael was in a situation where he could’ve tried to get help, fighting back somehow. Instead he basically rolled over and shot two people who were in his way. It’s clear he feels guilty (they sure hammered us over the head with it when Eko pontificated on the boy who killed his dog to protect his sister) but come on, way to irrevocably destroy a character. He wasn’t brainwashed, he wasn’t really coerced so much as edged into it, it seems weak to me. Suspension of disbelief, dramatic license, I’m aware of these things, but they can only get the writers so far, and they’re losing me.

Naturally, because their character work is shaky and they know it, they throw in a new plot twist. Lost may pretend to be a character-driven show all it wants, but it’s as plot-driven as a show can possibly be with some occasional character bits that work. The hatch, the plane, the button, the blacklight map, now the boat, they’re all ways to introduce something new and to keep the blood pumping. But seen as part of a larger pattern, we’ve watched over 40 episodes without any clear answers or logical storytelling at all. Nor is there a feeling of community amongst the Lostaways, who get along and disagree with each other whenever it’s useful for the writer in charge. The meant-to-be gripping funeral scene is a perfect example: Ana Lucia and Libby might have been around for most of the second season, but for the islanders she arrived, like, 2 weeks ago? At least Hurley added a little bit of emotion to the scene, before Sun attracted everyone’s attention to the sudden appearance of the boat. Dear lord, I’m having flashes of us having to wait a whole season until we find out who’s on the damn boat ;)

All in all, a fairly weak outing for a show that is only strong on occasion but keeps me interested just enough to keep watching. At least I’m not paying any money for it like I do with my bloody comics! :) Fingers crossed that next week will actually be riveting (I don’t watch previews, so I’m in the blue as to what might transpire, which is exactly how I like it, thank you very much!). Lost attempts to be thrilling, which it usually manages during the cliffhanger moments, but it'd be nice if there was a certain level of excitement during the preceding 4 or 5 acts as well. Better luck next time!

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Office musings

I may not be at my actual office, as it's Sunday and all, but that won't stop me from sharing some thoughts on what I consider to be one of the finest sitcoms ever to be shown on American television.

I got into the series thanks to my wonderful girlfriend, who had told me it was an excellent show. I had bought her the season 1 dvd set and we watched those episodes together. The very first one was modeled after the British Office series opener, and as such I found it far more unsettling than what was to come. You see, the British series is much more mean-spirited than its American counterpart, the way I view it, and while it can make me laugh as well, it doesn't make me feel good to be watching it. British boss David Brent is pretty much a despicable human being, while American boss Michael Scott is deeply misguided, living in a fantasy world all his own, but nonetheless a pretty decent man who realises when he has made a mistake and tries to make up for it, no matter how clumsily.

Which is why the American show is so great: despite the incredibly awkward situations Michael creates--and some of them, like Diversity Day, are painful to watch, in an "I-can't-look-away" kind of way--there is something pleasantly kind-hearted about the show as a whole. Most of the characters are quirky at the least, downright bizarre at their worst (such as Creed, he really is a weirdo), sometimes hilariously annoying, and always entertaining. Even better, despite how easy it'd be to degenerate into cartoony portrayals, they all feel incredibly real, their actions as well as their interactions.

The best evidence of that can be found in the various office relationships that have been budding in the past 28 episodes. Pam and Jim were front and center, of course, the Ross-and-Rachel of this show (only much, much better). While they are the heart of it all, it's the ancillary relationships that really ground the series as a whole: the strange attraction between Michael and his own boss-on-the-rebound Jan; the near-obsessive feelings Kelly has for office temp Ryan (who not only has to deal with her but with Michael man-crushing on him as well); and best of all, the secret romance between Dwight and Angela, the office's two most uptight employees whose affection for one another is shown in deliciously subtle ways (Pam having figured it out and helping them keep their secret is the cherry on top).

Pam and Jim form much of the main thrust of the show, since we obviously root for him to get the girl, even if she is already committed to someone else for too long a time now. It's rather mind-boggling how Pam ever ended up with her current fiancé, considering he doesn't seem to care about her feelings, dreams and wishes in the slightest, while Jim would bend over backwards to make her happy. I'll admit that the tension would be higher if Roy wasn't such a jerk towards her, because it'd be even worse if Jim was in love with someone who's already got a good catch, but this does make it much easier to be on his side, hoping he'll eventually win her heart. Of course, if he does, that might take a lot of wind out of the dramatic sails, so I don't know if we're actually going there in the third season (I'm assuming there'll be a third season anyway!)

Another fun aspect, apart from the various romantic threads, is the long-standing enmity between Jim and Dwight. In last week's penultimate episode, the unending string of office pranks that Jim pulls on Dwight is punctuated somewhat disquietingly by his insight that it's really all his life amounts to so far: prank after prank to get him through boring day after boring day (the other half spent mooning for Pam). No wonder he's thinking about a transfer to see if he can make it elsewhere. Even if Jim thinks the pranks aren't as funny anymore as they once seemed (and it doesn't stop him from fooling Dwight into thinking he's a telekinetic, with some help from Pam, in the next ep), I still do, since the writers really go out of their way to come up with creative ways to pester someone at work. And in all fairness, Dwight sort of has it coming to him, with his attitude, although I'm sure Jim's way of dealing with him isn't improving matters any.

Over in the British version, Tim (Jim's "other self") is really even more pathetic, which dampens the mood. Jim remains this great, nice guy who'll try to keep things cheerful even if everybody else makes it really hard to do that, he's just stuck in a bit of a going-nowhere job and a non-existent relationship. Tim's experiences are similar, yet brought to life in a more unsettling way, robbing the humour of its vivacity. I easily prefer Jim, whose good-natured behavior makes him very easy to relate to (quite the plus, being the co-star of the show, along with Michael).

Michael, then, forms the main impetus behind many of the series' storylines. He's bigoted (albeit in a naive way), self-absorbed as well as self-aggrandizing, astonishingly boorish, and petulant when he doesn't get his way. In short, one of the worst people to put in a position of command (yet people like him get to be the boss the world over, go figure). He may well be a very little, small-minded man, but he does have a heart of gold, as shown when he has to deal with various co-workers' children on Bring-Your-Kid-To-Work Day or when he is about to get Jan in trouble through his self-deluded ideas of being in a relationship with her and then admirably covers for her. It's all very funny, endearing, yet also serves as high drama. What more can one want from a comedy?

Apart from the main four characters (Michael, Jim, Pam and Dwight as the eternal foil to them all), the Office is littered with a variety of side characters, both in the actual office and in the warehouse, all of whom add immeasurably to the feel of the show, ranging from the totally subdued Toby (from Human Resources) to the extremely irritating (in a cute way) Kelly. Tensions can run high, and the co-workers are in no shape or form the kind of family Michael imagines/wishes them to be, but they are a dysfunctional family of sorts, and one we can, again, relate to. as outlandish as the plots sometimes get, it's still all very down-to-earth, which only strengthens the comedy (and the recurring pathos).

With superb writing and acting, not to mention a perfect editing hook (the show is an actual documentary, so they can do a lot of uproarious cut-scenes and "spy" on people, intensifying the personal touches), the Office is a can't-miss show that I look forward to each and every time we are delighted with a new installment. I don't quite know what the future plans are for the series, but I hope it is fated to run for a while still, as I don't think they're running out of steam yet. Chalk this one up as yet another show I started watching thanks to the best girlfriend in the world and which I now wouldn't miss for anything other than for her, of course (she really knows what I like, it appears :))

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

The Don Of Comics

Ever since I could read, I’ve been engrossed by the adventures of the Duck family: Scrooge, Donald and the three nephews, with their assorted companions and opponents ranging from Gyro Gearloose to Magica DeSpell. For years and years, up to my 18th birthday, I was an avid buyer of the Dutch Donald Duck Weekly magazine, which featured stories from Duckburg written and drawn by Barks and those who followed in his footsteps (alongside various other Disney-related stories and text pieces in installments—the weekly mag was a great way to get kids into reading more than just strips).



In all those years though, I don’t think they ever printed Don Rosa stories, which is a crying shame, considering he is by far the writer/artist who is truly Carl Barks’s equal, and on occasion his better (yes, I’m blasphemous, I know!)



I did come across one installment of the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck back in the day, printed in the monthly “Donald Duck Extra. It was the chapter expounding on Scrooge’s encounter with Bombie the Zombie, one of my very favourite Barksian characters in his unstoppability. Hmm, I’d like to see the Juggernaut go up against Bombie, I think. That should be entertaining if only for the style clash :)



Ever since, I’ve been on the hunt for stories by Rosa. Not once have I been disappointed, on the contrary: a Rosa tale tends to be densely layered, full of humour and mad antics brought to life by a supreme storyteller. His skills in moving the story along from panel to panel is hard to find in the world of superhero comics and his dedication to the details of real-life history is awe-inspiring. It always strikes me as baffling that lazy superhero writers will bemoan the heavy anchor of continuity while a crafty plotter like Rosa will take human history, which is far grander in scope than any superhero universe’s continuity, reboots and all, and weave existing facts all throughout a tale filled with peril and daring-do, particularly in his excellent Scrooge epics.



The particular example of his work I read today, “The Once And Future Duck”, a decade-old gem, does not star Scrooge, but it’s no less rich in expressionist detail, tongue-in-cheek action and madcap adventure. In a mere 24 (!) pages, Donald, the Nephews, Gyro and his all-important Helper invent a time-travelling helmet, go to Stonehenge, are thrown back in the past where they encounter King Arthur himself, snowballing into a couple of near-death experiences and the origins of the legend of the Holy Grail, the sword in the stone and of course Arthur and his knights themselves. Not only that, Donald gets to wear an armour giving him superpowers, kicking some serious Arthurian booty before falling prey to his own usual clumsiness. Luckily they get some (un)expected help and all’s well that ends well. That’s quite a bit of plot to pack in those few pages, but it’s done admirably in no less than a whopping 200 panels! In this day and age of decompression (a lazy tendency that’s luckily losing popularity in favour of actually developing a plot again), reading such a compact, rereadable mini-saga is a pure joy, even if it’s 10 years old already.



Not only is Don Rosa able to make it all fit seamlessly, he also manages to create not one but two cliffhanger moments, as this story was originally intended to be three 8-page chapters to be published in one of the many European weeklies devoted to the Ducks. On top of that, I think it’s both a laugh-riot and a lovely little “thriller”, combining the best of both worlds, the perfect type of story to be enjoyed by anyone between the ages of 1 and 101.



One of the highlights of Rosa’s non-Scrooge stories is his imaginative use of the oft-overlooked Helper, the little lightbulb-headed fellow who tends to silently bail out Gyro whenever one of his inventions goes spectacularly awry, much as this one does through no circumstances he could’ve really foreseen. The Helper is usually the unsung hero of the piece, but this time around Donald is well aware of his mighty feats, leading to a fitting denouement.



Giving Arthur and his band of heroes feet of clay was quite the nice angle, as was the use of the ancient, authentic-sounding names. It’s one of Rosa’s many talents to take a concept and turn it on its head for maximum effect. There are numerous references to Arthurian legend, all played for comedic value, each and everyone enriching the tapestry of the story for those who understand the references, without dragging the entertainment level down when the reader is still too young to fully comprehend it all. What’s especially cool is that for young kids, these types of stories might end up guiding them to the library (or these days, the internet) to start, *gasp*, looking up stuff and learning about things just because it’s fun!



It remains a travesty of sorts, then, that Duck-centric tales will usually be dismissed by a lot of fans as “silly” or “childish”, which is particularly ironic considering how many superhero readers are annoyed by that selfsame labelling when the general public does it to them. I’ll admit that there are a great many dumb Duck-tales (mmm, Ducktales, woo-hoo!) but when Rosa or Barks are involved—and luckily they’ve been rather prolific—we’re talking about some of the best achievements in comic strip storytelling.



Over at gemstonecomics.com, you can check out what Duck-related comics they publish and even order some back issues if you’re so inclined. Be sure to go over the contents first though and aim for Barks and Rosa tales, because an issue without their work might be disappointing for a first time reader. They may seem rather pricey, but you’d be surprised at how often you can reread these actually funny comic books, which really adds some bang for your buck. Even better, you could order “The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck” through Amazon.com: it’s one of the finest works in graphic form I’ve ever had the pleasure to read (and I’ve read a lot!)



Yeah, I’m shamelessly plugging here, but hey, as a fanboy, I just do my part in spreading the holy Duck-gospel! :)

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Opening Salvos #1 - Black Panther

There are many ways to kick off a new ongoing series, but none are quite so out there as the ultra-white sidekick to the black lead sitting on a toilet, wearing no pants and pointing a gun at a rat. Talk about being dropped in the middle of things!


Nearly a decade ago, when Joe Quesada was given merely the keys to a little corner of the Marvel kingdom in the form of the Marvel Knights imprint rather than to the universe entire, Christopher Priest was approached to chronicle the tales of the first black superhero, the Black Panther. Proving that, yes, he *would* kick total ass on Batman, he gave King T’Challa an even grimmer and surlier disposition than DC’s avenger of the night while infusing him with the classic sense of “where does he get all those wonderful toys?” which is very appropriate considering he’s meant to be the ruler of the most technologically advanced country in the world.

Despite the superficial similarities, Priest turned the Panther into a character entirely his own due in a large part to the presence of Everett K. Ross, white boy supreme, über-wonky narrator, unrelenting companion to the Wakandan monarch, who’s almost Doctor-Who-esque as he sweeps up those surrounding him into crazy adventures filled with action and intrigue and damn engaging, often somewhat surreal or out-of-left-field cliffhangers. Ross brings both humour and pathos to the series as a whole, which makes me think it was a big mistake to basically write him (as well as T’Challa himself!) out around #50. To my mind, this led to the series being cancelled. Change can be a good thing, but not always. That’s a story for another time though.

In this first issue, we are introduced to Ross (he actually first appeared in Priest’s ill-fated issues of Ka-Zar, but who read those other than me and some other completist nutters?), his boss and lover Nikki Adams, the Panther’s entourage (mad old Zuri and the Dora Milaje, a.k.a "deadly amazonian high school karate chicks", yum!) and last but not least the updated take on the Panther himself, which, in its unrelenting bad-assitude, is quite different from what came before yet feels like an entirely logical progression for the character. Before Priest, T’Challa was noble and stuff, which is all good and well for Peter Parker but very run-of-the-mill once applied to every other character out there. As of this first issue, the emphasis was on him being a king, a ruler, not a mere superhero who’ll engage in fisticuffs but a man who will do whatever it takes to protect (and avenge) those people he not only feels but genuinely *is* personally responsible for.


Heroes like Batman and Spider-Man are driven by guilt and anguish, making everyone their responsibility just because of their personal loss. The Panther, as first representative of an entire nation, must put his citizens’ best interests front and centre, which will have a great many political implications during the course of the series. In this opening chapter, there are many signs of the political angles to be found already, from the situation with the refugees to the “Wakandagate” that made T’Challa return to the States. Usually, these political brouhaha’s are advanced through cleverly staged fight scenes or Mexican stand-offs, resulting in a climax which then ups the ante even more, steamrolling straight into the next arc. Which you don’t really notice in this particular issue but I thought it was worth mentioning :)

The feature that really made the series stand out was Priest’s love for non-linear storytelling, each out-of-order chapter (comprising as little as one panel in some cases) generally marked by humorous mini-titles above them and all individually important to the plot at large. As jarring as it was the first time around, it ended up being a very strong staple of the series setting it apart from other books. Moreover, the non-linear element wasn’t simply a stylistic decision but a genuine element of the story itself, as Ross has the tendency to make up totally out-there stuff, omit certain embarrassing parts or jump around in the sequence of events depending on his particular fancy. Related to this, “The story thus far” became a familiar catch-phrase which would unabashedly confuse the readers as often as it’d clarify things for them, adding layers of complexity and oddball humour to events that would inevitably spin out of Ross’s control, as T’Challa (aka “the client”) would not exactly be inclined to share his plans-within-plans to his American liaison.


None of this is spelled out at the beginning of the series, yet in hindsight is clearly exemplified both by the bizarre opening page and the fantastic final scene, book-ending Ross’s discomfort perfectly. I mean, the guy lost his pants (why, we won’t find out for a while yet, much to Nikki’s frustration) while attempting to represent his Wakandan client, is stuck with a drunk warrior and giant rats, and has to deal with the sudden appearance of the Lord of Lies, Mephisto himself! It’s the inclusion of Mephisto that really made me sit up and take notice, not only for the comedic value instilled in the excellently written and drawn in the final few pages, but for the sheer unbridled embracing of the Marvel Universe as a whole.


Priest had the chance to play things straight, steeping the stories in realism and “keeping it real”, so to speak. Instead he uses the politics and real human drama as background to a bevy of mad Marvel ideas that are often too silly or sometimes just too outdated for their own good yet completely fit in the shameless, irreverent, Ross-driven framework that the writer conjures up. While Sal Velluto would end up being the definitive artist on Black Panther for me, Mark Texeira offers a strong opener, giving everything the necessary grit but not without the equally required comedic touches. Coupled with colours that are either bright or subdued where necessary, and high-quality paper-stock, this issue is a real pretty sight, a comic that felt like it was worth its money at the time and even more so now, after the multiple rereads.

It’s a damn shame, then, that Marvel has only collected the first 12 issues (in two separate trades) of the entire 62-issue run that Priest wrote, while giving pretty much anything currently published at least a trade paperback if not a prestige hardcover, usually undeservedly so. What’s even worse is that the current Black Panther series is everything that Priest’s incarnation was not, which is like rubbing salt in the cancellation wound: “Here’s the title you loved back, only it has nothing in common other than the name of the letters column. And oh yeah, it’s really badly written too. Psyche!”


In short, this was an opening salvo that more than paid off, paving the way for many twists and turns and recurring themes of friendship of betrayal and plain old weirdness. Priest worked on Power Man & Iron Fist back in the 80s (before it got cancelled—it’s his well-known curse), which was a bit of a buddy-movie book. His Black Panther was a buddy-movie book for the 21st century (slightly ahead of its time, then, being published during the tail end of the 90s) and one that would make for a hilarious and compelling translation on the silver screen, if anyone was ever inclined to approach Priest’s material with the respect it deserves (which I’m sure they won’t).

Well-plotted, well-drawn, well-scripted, even well-edited (yeah, I know, it’s a shocker). One of my favourite first issues ever, without a doubt. To end, a couple of quotes from this first issue that are great examples of Priest's knack for awesome dialogue:

  • "This is like watching Pulp Fiction on rewind." (it really is!)
  • "Killing is frowned upon here in the United States." (this still makes me laugh so hard)
  • "The guy's as dangerous as Batroc. I mean, think about it--he's got no powers or anything." (the underestimation of the century, I daresay :)
  • "And so..." (meaningless when out of context but picture the scene: bad guy gets a free shot at BP, tries to knife him, fails horribly and is then casually pulled up by his hair (!) to the rooftops in about 10 seconds, where T'Challa decides to torture said bad guy a bit as follows:
  • "Fear not--my energy dagger is on a non-lethal setting. You will feel only pain." (now that is bad-ass, my friends)
  • "They took my pants." Because it is funny as hell (heh, I think I made a pun there, considering ;)

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Lost In Thought

I didn't start watching Lost until the second season started. I had gotten my hands on the full first season though and watched the episodes in rapid succession. This led me to the conclusion that Lost certainly had its good moments, but as a whole it all seemed slipshod and ramshackle, with the writers appearing to make things up as they went along to create new wrinkles in an ever more convoluted mystery.

A strong start to the second season made me continue watching the series (it's free, after all, there's a more casual commitment to sit down and watch a tv show than there is to buy monthly comics) but by and large they were starting to lose me as I just got bored more and more. The inclusion of Henry Gale, Lost's best guest character yet, as well as the mysterious map that Locke discovered, did help a lot in revitalizing my interest in the show. Moreover, the episodes are slowly gearing to a climax which no doubt will shake things up amongst the islanders. It feels like there's an actual direction again (a problem most tv series will experience mid-season, as there is the usual lull before the final sweeps, it's all about the ad money after all!)

This week's particular chapter of the lives past and present of those stuck on the island, was enjoyable to watch. A nice surprise opener, and a logical continuance of Michael's return. It was all quite predictable, really, and I read a lot of the character's lines along with them, calling their actions before they actually performed them, especially during the ending. Despite the predictability, and the inanity of Sawyer "losing" his gun to Ana without even noticing (he'd be used to sitting on it, he'd feel it in an instant, but then I guess he's a dumbass), I had a good time watching this. So much so I'm looking forward to rewatching both series 1 and 2 during the summer, once the finale has come and gone, to prepare for the third season and eke out clues and red herrings.

Some theories of mine after this episode are that:
  • Claire is Jack's half-sister (cementing my idea that Jack is "special", that he's potentially responsible for Locke and Rose being healed just like he healed his wife, without even knowing it. There's apparently something odd in Jack's family's genetics)
  • there are two groups of others (the barefoot rag-wearing ones the Tailaways encountered during their trek across the island, and the ones who lived in the medical hatch and captured Claire--both groups are insane in their own way)
  • and Jack's father is potentially the leader Henry speaks of in such awestruck tones (his casket was empty and we've seen him walking around on the island...)
Much like I was taught by the X-Files, I trust no one, least of all the writers :)

I think it's probably the most fun aspect of Lost, the many bones thrown to allow viewers to create out-there theories that could all be true in some way, depending on the writers' whim. I actually suspect a lot of their ideas stem from reading such theories on the internet, on message boards devoted to the show.

Lost is in no way a stellar show, but it can be pretty entertaining, even when I'm shouting at the stupidity on the screen (yeah, I'm no fun to watch tv with, I spout off more commentary than I do on here! :p)

Bring on next week's "?" -- my pick for best episode title of a show ever ;)

Friday, May 05, 2006

Judging A Book By Its Cover - JSA #85

Usually a George Perez cover is a thing of beauty (it certainly was the best part of Infinite Crisis #7, which I'll lambast this weekend, count on it). This one though, I'm not too sure about. It attempts to convey a certain mood the same way his chilling cover to Avengers v3 #19 did (the return of Ultron), but it sort of falls flat to me. It's like he couldn't be bothered to do a "real" cover and simply did an outline of the five heroes involved, leaving the rest to colorist Tom Smith (who's duly credited on the cover itself, next to Perez's signature). Even Smith didn't put in too much effort though, merely going for a greenish-blue glow. The lack of background isn't so much unsettling as it is boring. As covers go, not an eye-catcher nor a page-turner.


It's fairly representative of the story inside, which is competent and all, but not altogether thrilling. I had expected more of this, to be honest. I wanted the Gentleman Ghost to be spotlighted in a fast-paced, exciting romp, but it's far more middling than that, which can't be helping my favorite obscure DC villain. Like ghosts themselves, I predict that in the end, this arc will just fade away...

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Civil War: What Is It Good For? (Absolutely Nothing)

Unlike Infinite Crisis, I really wasn't looking forward to Civil War, because it smacked of derivative desperation and pathetic pandering. We've been hammered with hype for months now and we already knew the following:

1. Civilians die during a New Warriors-related battle.
2. American citizens get all pissed.
3. Captain America and Iron Man will be on opposing sides of the question: should the heroes be forced to register or not.

Guess how much we learned after this first issue?

This is plot-hammering to the nth degree: because a villain decides to blow up a school in Stamford (causing 900 casualties, including several classic Warriors--I'm sure the surviving inhabitants of DC's Blüdhaven will cry them a river...), suddenly all heroes are responsible by default, being called "baby-killers" by apparent losers who owe their existence to the people they're suddenly decrying. There is no logical progress here, we're just quickly jumping ahead to the point that's necessary for the fireworks to start (only they don't start yet, of course, that'd be too soon!)

Yes, I understand that the New Warriors working for reality tv is a factor, in that they underestimated the villains they engaged in combat because of a desire for ratings. But that wouldn't make the entire country rally against all the superheroes. It's forced.

What's even more forced is having the FF, the Avengers and the X-Men all gather (with several other heroes, one of whom should be in freaking prison still, yet not enough of them to really see the diversity of the MU) to express some slapdash viewpoints on why they should or shouldn't register, followed by the "momentous" appearance of the Watcher, who "only appears to record moments of great change and cosmic upheaval". In other words, Millar uses him as a tool to lend importance to a flailing plot, same way as Lobdell did during the abominable Onslaught saga (or Harras during Galactic Storm, although at least in that story, consequences were grave for the space-faring alien cultures that are part and parcel of the MU like the Kree and the Shi'ar).

Nearly a third of the total page-count is spent on Captain America's confrontation at and subsequent escape from the SHIELD helicarrier, because of course he isn't willing to comply with the bitchy new director, Maria Hill (yet another useless Bendisian Mary-Sue character). It's all nicely drawn, but Millar forgets he's not writing Ultimate Cap, the way I see it. This is a Bad Thing. (I can't help it, I loathe the Ultimates.)

Then we cut to the end, where there's hemming and hawing amongst some people at the White House, with three classic heroes taking up a full page to proclaime they'll take care of Cap. Let the "Civil War" begin (wouldn't it be a Hero War? I'm just saying). How utterly exciting.

I was expecting the worst, which admittedly I didn't get. But I didn't get a very satisfying story either. I got a concept, as it has been provided on Newsarama, all bones but no flesh. And as skillful as Steve McNiven is, he's just not very organic, often turning out stiff faces and poses, hampering the flow of the story instead of enhancing it.

I appreciate that this story is not aimed at me. It's meant for a wide range of readers, mostly the newer ones, who are less familiar with the Marvel Universe and who can still feel excitement when all the heroes gather for a big brawl. I've seen it happen many, many times though, from Secret Wars to the Infinity Gauntlet to Onslaught (not to mention the DC counterparts), and frankly, I don't give a damn anymore (yeah, I just had to work that in somehow :p)

There's more to it than just me being jaded though. I was excited at the opening chapter of Infinite Crisis, which may have many flaws indeed, as a whole, but it still managed to get me into the story. Civil War remains entirely neutral, verging into the territory of assitude in certain places. The worst part is that it'll carry over in a whole bunch of ongoings over at Marvel that I actually enjoy. I'm very wary whether the spill-over won't diminish my enjoyment of the books involved. At least my precious Runaways remain safe (for now).

The concept's okay enough, I guess, but the execution is that of a mere fanboy (as was to be expected, in all honesty) and so my interest is already flat on its face. I'll follow the story through friends' copies or at the store just to see if I'll be pleasantly surprised (you never know whether something will actually improve along the way), but so far I'm highly doubtful. It may have some nice-looking scenes here and there, it may have some ideas, no matter how bare-bone they are, but it's got no cohesion or genuine internal logic to it, making it plodding and unengaging. I have no desire to see heroes "go to war" over something as inane as this. My suspension of disbelief just won't go along with it.

I realize this will make me look like an ogre to some (because isn't Marvel the greatest? and doesn't Millar just rock?) but hey, it's how I feel. For the record, I'm a major Marvel zombie who got into comics thanks to Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Fantastic Four... DC characters will always hold second place. However, the publishing practices are another matter entirely. There's a lot I don't agree with over at DC, but whenever Quesada opens his mouth, he manages to irk me (his thoughts on the Spider-Man/Mary-Jane marriage, for instance). Quite the talent, since I'm not looking to be irked (as much as I like to complain, I don't like to be actually pissed in general about the universe that captured my heart to begin with).

So. Whose side am I on? Well... DC's, I guess :)

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

To The One I Love

"And there came a day, unlike any other day..."

No, it wasn't the forming of the Avengers, it was the day, three years ago now, when the love of my life, after me having been in love with her for years, agreed to date me, which was only intended as a happy summer fling at the time, but all too soon ended up being the most wonderful, satisfying relationship with a beautiful, adorable, supremely fantastic woman whom I wouldn't want to be without for all the wages in the whole wide world :)

My darling Sequoia, you are everything I've ever dreamed of and far, far more. You surprise and delight me each and every day we are together and bring me happiness beyond measure. I want the entire world to know that you are my lady love, my one and only, and that I pledge my ever-lasting devotion to you. I love you, sweetheart, I always will! I am beyond grateful that you and I are building a future together. May the force (and in my case, oft-times farce) be with us! :D

Happy anniversary, petatje!

Hulk Minus One


Ah, Marvel’s Flashback Month, I remember it well. It was the year of our lord 1997, the merry month of May. Virtually every single title they published that month was released as a “Minus One” issue (see also: DC’s Zero Month and One Million Month). A young, naive me figured that this would be the perfect place to jump on as regular reader of all these titles, as I had previously only been concentrating on Spider-Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Heroes Reborn books (yes, I was one of those suckers buying them, they were my jump-on point to American Marvel comics alongside Spider-Man’s “Revelations”, talk about auspicious starts, eh? ;)) and the new series like Thunderbolts, Ka-Zar and Deadpool. Mmm, the great days...

As it turned out, most of the Flashback issues were clunkers or not much more than fill-in stories. Some writers would use the concept of going back to a past before the hero was first published into his own magazine fruitfully, creating an added building block for future stories. One of the most successful efforts was Peter David’s Hulk for that month, entitled “Grave Matters”.


In it, he and Adam Kubert team up with none other than a grave-digging Stan Lee himself to reveal to the already-tortured psyche of the Hulk what exactly happened to Bruce Banner’s father. Even if one has never read about the Hulk and has daddy issues before, I think this story still packs some punch due to the fantastic storytelling and art, not to mention the fabulous ending.

The Hulk has been knocked out in the previous issue after a fight with a tyrannosaur back in the Savage Land. While Wolverine is dragging him to the Xavier Mansion, PAD makes use of his unconsciousness to trigger a flashback to his origins, even though it all happens before that fateful day at the gamma bomb test site. Stuck in a gigantic graveyard, the Hulk encounters a scrawny little man who turns out be Stan “the Man” himself. Stan was used in all the Flashback stories, usually presenting the tale while interrupting the cliffhanger of the previous issue. Here though, he is an actively participating character, using his “Kirby theater” (nice touch) to illustrate the memory that Bruce Banner has been suppressing for a lifetime.


I love Hulk’s questioning “And you’ll... tell it?” with Stan’s reply “Nah! I haven’t told one of your stories in ages!” That’s the kind of playfulness I like in a Peter David comic. And there is playfulness aplenty in Stan’s character, with his ever-changing bandana (featuring a different character’s logo with each changing panel) and his jumping around, breaking the fourth wall with reckless abandon.

Using actual young-Banner actors with hand-held masks to introduce or end a certain scene is a stroke of genius. It adds another layer of surreality to the events, which are portrayed with glee and irreverence while they actually represent one of the most shocking events in Bruce’s life, which certainly must’ve helped lead to the awesome fury of the Hulk. The contrast enriches the story rather than detracting from it. Another bizarre touch is a white cat who’d show up often during Kubert’s run on the book. I am unclear whether the cat was meant to be a specific character (Bruce’s mother? The Leader?!) or whether it was just an artistic quirk he liked to throw in, but it’s fascinating to see the cat all over the issue, on the cover, during the final confrontation, and watching Hulk on the chilling final page. I should try to find out online what the deal was, exactly...


The first “real” flashback scene featuring Bruce and general Ross is a nice example of Kubert’s skill as a storyteller and an artist, neatly revolving the camera around the room, each panel a different viewpoint, creating a circling motion in just 4 panels. Speaking of those 4 panels, Adam Kubert’s work on the Hulk is full of four-panel grids, which I would usually call lazy but in his case he’s able to squeeze as much out of those 4 panels as humanly possible. This makes me really excited about his upcoming work on Action Comics, for which he should be perfectly suited depending on the quality of the plots (here’s hoping!) Kubert is also fond of using sudden extreme close-ups, often with images reflected in glasses or eyeballs, that might not work as well in another medium but reach another desired effect of intensity here. And how about the creepy puppet-face of Bruce’s crazy, wife-murdering father? Now that’s a great image!


The thrust of the story is that Bruce had actually taken his father, who was responsible for the death of his mother, into his own home once he was released from prison, supposedly cured of his insanity. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth, as Brian Banner begins to break down once more, hating his son for being different, seeing monsters in him where there aren’t any... yet. During a climactic scene at Rebecca Banner’s gravesite, the Hulk finally remembers who was responsible for Brian’s death and more importantly, how it may have led to his own dark birth.


Intertwined with Brian’s downfall is another “birth” of sorts: the origin of Thunderbolt Ross’s insistence that Bruce is a “spineless milksop”, as he would call him throughout the years. When Ross, the Hulk’s eternal foe, tells Banner to “Be a man, if not for your late mother’s sake, then yours”, it’s just all the more ironic, considering the numerous times he’s had to face the monster instead. His imminent resurrection at the time was probably one of the reasons for Ross’s strong presence in this tale, which suits me just fine, as he’s always been one of my favourite supporting cast characters. It’s just a pity that they haven’t done altogether much with him since Peter David brought him back from the dead.

In any case, seeing this unfold before his eyes causes the Hulk to wail in frustration and actually break down, making the character tragic and fearsome all over again in one fell swoop. There’s a reason why Peter David’s Hulk run was a seminal body of work and this is one of the best examples why. Sure, he’s had his flaws and foibles along the way, but this was a true high point for the series (and for Flashback month itself).


In the end, Stan and his merry band of actors turn all ghostly as they turn away, musing that “more than ever... Hulk just wants to be left alone.” Using that typical, recognisable catch-phrase and turning it into a chilling chapter-ender with a whole new meaning to it, is yet another stroke of genius. And look at that creepy picture with the headstones on top of giant headstones, and the Hulk in a tiny circle of light, brought to his knees! And the eerie colours, and the perfect lettering (John Workman is a god). This will always remain one of the very best single issue tales I’ve ever read. Many thanks to Peter David, Adam Kubert and Mark Farmer for creating a modern classic up there with something like FF #51, “This Man, This Monster” (yes, I think it’s that good, sue me! :))