All But This Week's Comics for this week, including JL: Crisis DVD

[dvandom]

                   Dave's Unspoilt Capsules and Awards
         The Week's Picks and Pans, plus Awards of Dubious Merit

Standard Disclaimers: Please set appropriate followups.  Recommendation does
not factor in price.  Not all books will have arrived in your area this week.
An archive can be found on my homepage, http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/Rants 
   Ah, so the elderly Phantasm in Batman Beyond looks like Andrea Romano.

     Note: I have a Wednesday night job-related thing this week, so I expect
I might not get comics read until Thursday.  But I have so much other stuff
in this one I figured I'd just post it Tuesday as a "preview", then repost
the full thing when it's done.  For now, the "New Comics" section will just
list the ones I expect to get, which rarely matches 100% with what I do get.

     Items of Note (strongly recommended or otherwise worthy): Justice
League: Crisis on Two Earths

"Other Media" Capsules:

     Things that are comics-related but not necessarily comics (i.e.
comics-based movies like Iron Man or Hulk), or that aren't going to be
available via comic shops (like comic pack-ins with DVDs) will go in this
section when I have any to mention.  They may not be as timely as comic
reviews, especially if I decide to review novels that take me a week or two
(or ten) to get around to.

     Brody's Ghost Part 2: MySpace Dark Horse Presents - This actually came
out a few weeks ago, but since I don't regularly check MSDHP, it slipped my
mind for a while (also, I read it on CBR so I wasn't "ooh, what's next?" and
had just made a mental note to do the review when it hit MS...then lost that
note).  This installment is more focused on who Brody is, what he can do, and
why he's roaming the cyberpunkish city being a hero.  To go directly to the
story, http://myspace.com/darkhorsepresents?issuenu=31&storynum=1 is the
link.  Crilley does a good job of using his eight pages to establish
character, a little of the setting, create an action-packed conflict AND a
good resolution.  Recommended.  

     Part 3 should be out on Wednesday.  It will be at
http://www.myspace.com/darkhorsepresents?issuenu=32&storynum=1 

     Iron Man 2 Action Figures (Comic Series): Hasbro - And the merchandising
begins!  As with Wolverine, the first wave of figures isn't actually from the
movie, it just has movie branding to whet the market.  Of course, the "Comic
Series" subtitle is easy to miss, which can lead to confusion if buyers are
only really familiar with the movie and wonder what Iron Man's doing facing
the Soviet Union.  Yeah, I got the Crimson Dynamo (the third armor design,
the last one that was all-red), and the cardback talks about Vanko's Soviet
masters (never mind that Vanko never wore this version of the armor).  These
are 4.5" (11cm) tall figures with good articulation and generally good
plastic quality.  Rather than the weak "clip onto the wrist" energy effects
seen on the Marvel Universe figures, the blast effects slip over fists or
onto weapon muzzles...it can still look kinda cheap, but it's a big step up.
They come with cards for what appears to be an online battle game at
ironmancard.com, but that URL redirects to marvel.com right now.  One opaque
card with the torso of an armor, a clear one with the head and arms, and
another clear one with the legs.  Each card has a third of an alphanumeric
code that you presumably enter online to play your mix-and-match armor combo
in the game.  

     I got Crimson Dynamo and War Machine.  The assortment also had the MkI
Iron Man (comics version), the classic MkV and a stealth armor redeco of the
MkV.  Crimson Dynamo has some odd issues with his shins, they look warped but
aren't.  War Machine's clip-on blast effects are kinda sticky, and his
shoulderpads are hinged from his torso so they have to be flipped up to raise
his arms forward, a rather odd design choice.  Both have the standard Marvel
Legends sort of hips where you have to pick the axis of the hinge and it's
hard to get it to change angle.  Other than these issues, though, they're
both pretty good figures, with decent paint applications and a generally
solid feel (unlike Marvel Universe figures that often feel on the verge of
falling apart).  Obviously, I can't say anything about the "armor card" game
yet.  Worth picking up one or two, though.  $8.99 at K-Mart, probably $7-8 at
Walmart and Target once they show up.

     Justice League: Crisis on Earth-2 DVD: Warner Brothers - I picked up the
Best Buy exclusive 2-disc set that comes with an Owlman figure.  (Target's
exclusive had a bonus disc with some JLU eps, but since I already have all
the season sets of that I wasn't interested.)

     The Spectre short is done in the style of a 70s grindhouse sort of
movie, complete with deliberate "film defect" effects and overexposure to
simulate a reel that's been played a few too many times.  Plus, of course,
the obligatory funk-fusion soundtrack.  It works REALLY well in this style,
almost worth the price of admission on its own.

     Of course, it doesn't have to carry the weight.  This is a very good
movie, combining "threat to all reality" stakes with a philosophical argument
about the nature of free will and whether anything can have any meaning at
all in a multiverse.  Oh, there's lots of violence as well, including
on-camera deaths and a little sadomasochism on Superwoman's part, but this
isn't PG-13 just for the occasional spatter of blood or innuendo.
Multiversal nihilism is a bit heavy to drop on kids, after all.

     Disc one extras are a look at the upcoming Red Hood movie plus the old
"previews" of previous DC Animated movies.  Speaking as someone who didn't
care one whit about the Red Hood story in the comics, I'm looking forward to
"Batman: Under the Red Hood" now.  Disc two has a featurette, the
Justice Lords episodes of JLU.  The packaging suggests that the Spectre short
is on disc two, but it's really on disc 1 and therefore available to people
who buy the single-disc version.

     The Owlman figure goes back to the sort Best Buy included with the JL:
Last Frontier DVD, 3.5" (8.5cm) tall and permanently affixed to its base.
The arms move at the shoulders, but the cape keeps them from rising above
"slap the cuffs on" level.  The head turns, no other articulation.  I think
it's made of light gray plastic, with extensive dark gray paint and some
details in black, plus white eye highlights and fleshtone face.  The sculpt
is very good, and the paint is competently applied (I didn't notie any
exceptionally good or bad samples on the shelf).  It pretty much just stands
there looking vaguely menacing, but it does it well.  Worth the $3 more this
cost over the Target version (Walmart's two-disk version is $20, so don't
even bother with them if you have a Best Buy or Target in town.

     To be honest, if you have all of JLU on DVD already, there's not a whole
lot of reason to get the two-disc version.  Sure, it comes with Digital Copy,
but I don't know anyone who finds that a selling point.  However, the Owlman
figure is pretty nice and only comes with the two-pack at Best Buy (I think
it also comes with the Blu-Ray, but I don't pay attention to that format
yet).

     Strongly recommended that you get some version of this.  $19.99 at Best
Buy, $16.99 at Target for two-disc, cheaper for one-disc.  Prices good during
week of release, then they go up a few bucks, but if you're not rushing out
to grab it you can get it cheaper online anyway.


Time-Shifting:
     Sometimes I get a comic a week or two late because of Diamond's
combination of neglect and incompetence.  If it's more than a week late,
though, I won't review it unless it's very notable.  Additionally, I will
often get tradepaperbacks long after publication or even sometimes before
Diamond ships them, and those will go here.  If I'm reasonably sure I'm
reviewing something that didn't ship this week, this is the section for it.

     Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers #2: IDW - The time-shifting is
kept to a low boil this time and the plot actually moves forward from "now"
(although "now" is before Ultra Magnus arrives in The Transformers ongoing,
he leaves for that this issue).  Roche and Roberts juggle a fairly large cast
of characters, most of whom have no real characterization in prior fiction to
lean on (either they never appeared in comics or cartoons, or like Overlord
they have to get new origins to fit into the IDW-verse).  Regardless of who's
doing most of the actual scripting, the dialogue really works well this
issue, it was a Good Read in pretty much every respect.  Roche's art is good,
although at times it's a bit too cartoony for the tone he's shooting for.
(Oh, and we get to see the rest of Verity's armor, it's not as Fire Convoy as
I'd thought it might end up from the view of the gloves last issue.)
Recommended.  $3.99

     Avengers vs. Agents of Atlas #2 (of 4): Marvel - Most of the issue is
your standard "superhero misunderstanding" fight scene, including elements
that are starting to become Atlas cliches (Bob uses illusions to mess with
people and then gets coldcocked, Venus almost wins the fight by singing until
someone manages to one-shot her, etc).  The actual mystery of the time stuff
doesn't really get any work towards resolution, though, and it looks like
another big fight next issue.  The backup story is a cute shaggy dog story
starring Jimmy Woo.  Mildly recommended.  $3.99


New Comics:
     Comics and comic collections that I got this week and were actually
supposed to be out this week, as far as I can tell.  These reviews will
generally be spoiler-free, but the occasional bit will slip in.

     The Transformers #4: IDW - 
     JSA #36: DC - 
     Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe 2010 Update #1 (of 4): Marvel - 
     Thunderbolts #141: Marvel - 
     X-Factor #202: Marvel - 
     I Am Iron Man #2 (of 2): Marvel - Finishing up the adaptation of the
first movie.
     The Marvels Project #6 (of 8): Marvel - 
     Ms. Marvel #50: Marvel - FINAL ISSUE.
     Avengers the Initiative #33: Marvel - 
     Iron Man vs. Whiplash #4 (of 4): Marvel -
     The Amazing Spider-Man #622: Marvel - 


Gone Missing:

     Stuff that came out some places this week and that I wanted to buy, but
couldn't find for whatever reason, so people don't have to email me asking
"Why didn't you review X?"  (If it's neither here nor in the section above,
though, feel free to ask, I might have forgotten about it!) 

     Current list as of 2/24/10: Official Handbook of the Gold Digger
Universe #22, Gold Digger v3 #105, Marvel Index #13, SWORD #4.


Awards:

"Yeah, The Ghost Is The Least Creepy Aspect Of This Situation" Award to
     Brody's Ghost Part 2

--BRODY'S GHOST PART 3--

"Ivan Vanko Would Have Loved To Have Seen That Suit, Though" Award to the
     Iron Man 2 Comic Series Action Figures

"I Prefer Enlightened Nihilism" Award to Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

"Until All Are Getting Along!  Wait, No..." Award to Transformers: Last Stand
     of the Wreckers #2 

"To Be Fair, Tony Wasn't Really An Alcoholic Yet At That Point" Award to
     Avengers vs. Agents of Atlas #2 (of 4) (Unless there's a retcon I
     missed)

Other awards to come later.

   Dave Van Domelen, "Brought the cavalry?" "I brought the MARINES." - Superman and Martian Manhunter, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

Comments

[querldox.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the Venus bit reminded me of the Squadron Supreme's second appearance circa Avengers #146. There's a line about how it's always a gamble with Lady Lark; either she gets her song out and wins the fight, or someone hits her before she can. That's the problem with all or nothing powersets, at least dramatically.

[diosoth.livejournal.com]

I watched the Justice League film. It's safe to say WB wants "big name" actors instead of the standard long-time cast. Mark Harmon seems to fit as Superman, loosely, but he's a bit too old these days and probably becoming known as too much of a hard ass thanks to NCIS. The ending... Turtles Forever came out less than 2 months ago and they also did that "destroy Planet-Prime" ending plot.

Actually, I'd say Turtles Forever was a more fun take on the idea overall.

Deathstroke as the President was nice but I question Lobo being just a weak goon. Power-wise, he can at least match the higher-ups. Or maybe this Lobo has no real ambition or something, too lazy to be The Main Man. It was also odd that Batman chose to kill 2 people by the end, as if the writers just forgot who they were dealing with. The whole "organs on opposite sides" thing also seemed like a goofy plot point. "Mirror" isn't supposed to be literal.

Well, except when Captain N did it but they had a special case.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Remember, "Lobo" was a human granted powers, a Made Man. And the heart thing can be blamed on Grant Morrison, who used it when he brought back the Crime Syndicate a while back (and ignored the "Crime Syndicate as Qwardians" version that had been done previously as a post-Crisis insert).

[jarodrussell.livejournal.com]

...but he's a bit too old these days and probably becoming known as too much of a hard ass thanks to NCIS.

Which is why, when I saw the previews for this on the "Superman/Batman: Most Wanted" DVD, I was deeply, deeply disappointed Mark Harmon wasn't Batman. As a fan of NCIS, Gibbs as Batman would be a dream come true. :)