May 31, 2010
The Return of Bruce Wayne #2 hit the stands Wednesday and it was f*ing awesome. I don’t review Grant Morrison’s work because, by own admission, Morrison’s writing reduces me to a rabid fanboy. In keeping with this tradition, this is not a review, a recap or even commentary on the story. I have left those tasks to more capable writers than I.
If you permit me, I want to get a bit panoramic and talk about the idea of an Oeuvre. As I was reading David Uzumeri’s fantastic Annotations: ‘Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne’ #2 it dawned upon me: one of the reasons Grant Morrison stands out as one of the mediums finest writers, of all time, is because for the last 20 years or so Morrison has been diligently constructing his Oeuvre at DC. Read the rest of this entry »
3 Comments | 
Comic Reviews | 
Permalink
Posted by YWz
May 30, 2010
“Initiation”, “For the Man Who Has Everything”
“Initiation”
Justice League Unlimited isn’t really that different a show from the first Justice League cartoon. In fact, I’m pretty sure that they’re considered the same series. Of course, the big difference between the two was on focus: Justice League followed the founders of the League, while Justice League Unlimited followed a much larger cast in more epic adventures. Because of that, “Initiation” had to act as both a series and season premier.
Read the rest of this entry »
3 Comments | DC, DC Animated Universe, Justice League, TV Reviews | Tagged: Alan Moore, Bruce Timm, Dan Riba, Dave Gibbons, DC Animated Universe, For the Man Who Has Everything, Initiation, J.M. DeMatteis, Joaquim dos Santos, Justice League Unlimited, Stan Berkowitz | Permalink
Posted by Cal Cleary
May 29, 2010
This all began with a comic script I was working on. I had a killer idea, one that would quietly build up steam over the course of (let’s just ballpark it and say) 18 issues into a stunning, heartfelt climax. So I scripted the first issue and it was boring as hell. Literally. Picture the hell of an adrenaline junkie. Picture the BMV, except with endless lines and you STILL can’t bring a water bottle or cell phone in lest you get yelled at because what if it were a bomb and the terrorists were attacking a suburban Bureau of Motor Vehicles office in northern Ohio. Then, turn that into a comic book script. That’s how boring it was.
Read the rest of this entry »
9 Comments | Comic Books, Review/RANTS! | Tagged: Comic Books, criticism, serialization | Permalink
Posted by Cal Cleary
May 27, 2010
A couple of weeks ago, I was very pleasantly surprised by the first issue of this bi-weekly series. This was due in part to low expectations. So I wondered, with my expectations raised, would I enjoy the second issue as well.
Read the rest of this entry »
9 Comments | Brightest Day, Comic Reviews, DC, Justice League | Tagged: Booster Gold, Brightest Day, Joe Bennett, Judd Winick, Justice League, Keith Giffen, Max Lord | Permalink
Posted by lebeau
May 22, 2010
Everyone has a set of entertainment by which they’ll swear, the ones they’ll eventually convince every friend to watch/listen to/read. Sometimes, those suggestions are echoed time and again all over the place, and even the most jaded, world-weary or dirt-poor fan of the medium has to get curious about just what all that fuss is for. That’s why I’ve started The Unread Canon, my attempt to experience a great deal more of comics than I already have and take a look at the books that, over the past few years (or, in some cases, decades) have achieved passionate, vocal critical and fan supporters that have nevertheless managed to slip by me and to try and look at how they grew, how they aged, why they work, or why they might not work so well anymore.
Read the rest of this entry »
4 Comments | Comic Reviews, Marvel, read/RANT Columns, The Punisher, The Unread Canon | Tagged: Bill Reinhold, Comic Books, Dougie Braithwaite, Garth Ennis, Marvel Comics, MAX Comics, Raul Revino, The Punisher MAX: Mother Russia, The Unread Canon | Permalink
Posted by Cal Cleary
May 19, 2010
I’ve let this slip the last few weeks. From Mother’s Day through birthday parties with various soccer games, dance recitals and gymnastics classes in between (for my daughter, not myself) I’ve been even more behind than usual in comic reading this month.
As a result, I’m going to shake things up just a little. Pi has started doing a similar weekly feature over at his excellent “whatever” blog. He’s improved on my original formula, so I’m going to take inspiration back from him and concentrate more on the books I’m actually going to read (or avoid) rather than attempt to comment on everything knowing I’ll only ever get to a few of the books on the list.
In other words, expect a lot of DC and not a lot of Marvel books. But if you want similar material for Marvel, give Pi’s list a look. He’s like my Marvel doppleganger.
Read the rest of this entry »
6 Comments | Avengers, Batman, Brightest Day, Comic Books, DC, Justice League, Marvel, Spider-Man | Tagged: Avengers, Batman, Brightest Day, DC, Iron Man, Justice League, Legion of Super Heroes, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man, Zatanna | Permalink
Posted by lebeau
May 18, 2010
*Spoilers for Titans: Villains For Hire Special*
About a year ago, I wrote this article about the state of “legacy” characters. What actually inspired the original article was the return of Barry Allen with Wally West shunted off to the side. But I titled the article “How Many Green Arrows is Too Many” because I sensed something in the air surrounding the Arrow family.
At the time, Connor Hawke had recently been written off stage in a very clumsy fashion. Before his exit, Judd Winick changed him into something completely unrecognizable. I couldn’t help but wonder what was best for these characters.
Last week, many readers were incensed by the events depicted in the Titans: Villains for Hire Special. After reading this issue, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the question I asked last year. *Spoilers after the jump*
Read the rest of this entry »
4 Comments | Comic Books, DC, Teen Titans | Tagged: Arsenal, Atom, Deathstroke, Green Arrow, Ryan Choi, Titans | Permalink
Posted by lebeau
May 18, 2010
Sorry for being so damn late about this. I saw 44 movies last year, and these were the best.
Read the rest of this entry »
3 Comments | Movie Reviews, Top Ten "Fill in the Blank" | Tagged: A Serious Man, Antichrist, Bad Lieutenant, Crazy Heart, Goodbye Solo, Inglourious Basterds, The Hurt Locker, The Informant, Up, Up In The Air | Permalink
Posted by brucecastle
May 17, 2010
It’s been a slow day at work today. So I did a little surfing of the Blogosphere and I figured I’d share some of the better reads:
Damon Beres usese the Return of Bruce Wayne as an opportunity to write nothing less than a Comics Manifesto.
The Weekly Crisis takes on the Moments of the Week to hilarious effect. (Or, if not hilarious, very funny effect.)
Final Crisis vs. Blackest Night – the debate rages on. The Mindless Ones weigh in with one of the best comparissons I have seen.
Looks like Marvel got in on pissing readers off last week. All Things Fangirl speaks out against last week’s revelation about Rogue’s sex life.
Every Day is Like Wednesday echoes a thought about the so-called “Brightest Day” that has been rattling around my head lately as well.
Let’s Be Friends Again has a clever little comic about the racism charges that have been levelled against DC lately. I smailed at the title: Geoff Johns, you blockhead!
Comics Daily wonders Who’s Regressing Next.
I think it’s one of the signs of the apocalypse, but I have a new found respect for Shia LaBouf who admits he botched the last Indiana Jones.
Happy reading!
read/RANT!
Leave a Comment » | Blackest Night, Comic Books, DC, Final Crisis, Marvel, MISC, Siege | Tagged: Blackest Night, Final Crisis, Indiana Jones, Siege | Permalink
Posted by lebeau
