SuperSearnold - Comic Book Reviews

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Friday, October 31st, 2008. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you - letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Deadpool #1 - #3, the latest arc about the merc with a mouth published by Marvel, written by Daniel Way (Ghost Rider, Wolverine: Origins) with pencils by Paco Medina (New X-Men, New Warriors). This first arc launches Deadpool’s new series with a Secret Invasion tie-in. Today I’ll be talking about the arc as a whole - check out Saturday, September 13th, 2008 for my detailed review of issue #1.

Premise:
Deadpool fights in the Secret Invasion! But whose side he’s really on will surprise you! (At least, that’s how Daniel hyped the book at Comic Con!)

Awesome Parts:
Daniel really pulled it off. He actually managed to surprise me. I assumed that what he meant was that Deadpool would be on the Skrulls’ side. That’s not so hard to believe given Deadpool’s unstable character and mercenary nature. And of course - at the end of the first issue - it looked like that predictible surprise was coming true. But nope - there’s all sorts of other stuff going on inside Deadpool’s head and whose side he was on remained a surprise right up to the very end. Daniel did a great job of getting inside Deadpool’s crazy head - I enjoyed watching him have dialogues with himself. I could totally relate to that - wait, does that make me insane, too? Anyway, I also had the biggest laugh I’ve had in a LOOONG time in issue #2. Deadpool explains that all of his pouches are great for picking up his body parts, “Right, Rob?” He is of course breaking the fourth wall and talking to Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld. But one of the confused Skrulls promptly asks, “Who’s Rob?” I love Deadpool’s crazy sense of humor.

Less-Than-Awesome Parts:
Issue #3 had a nice surprise that could have given this book huge implications for the Secret Invasion. But I’ve read Secret Invasion #7. And what happened at the end of this arc was completely irrelevant. I wish the creative forces had worked together a bit better on that one. Also - I didn’t feel that the action lived up to Deadpool standards. Maybe it was the way he was over-using his healing factor, but I just didn’t feel that Deadpool was ever in any danger, so there was no suspense. Good action needs suspense. Deadpool got a bit over-talkative for a while, too. But I was kind of okay with it because he made a joke about being delayed by an “exposition heavey scene.” I really love it when he breaks the fourth wall. On that note, one other thing I noticed was that Deadpool reverted to a bit of a Spider-Man type humor for a while. Spidey’s quips about how his opponents are stupid and incompetent are great for Spider-Man - but Deadpool’s humor has always come from a more completely random pop culture reference place. Daniel is clearly capable of making those types of jokes - so I feel like he dropped the ball on that one.

My Recommendation:
If you’re looking for a good laugh mixed with a bit of action, pick up this arc. If you’re looking for some character development, don’t pick up this arc. If you’re looking for a story relevant to Secret Invasion, don’t pick up this arc. However, if you like Deadpool, chances are you’ll enjoy this arc on a whole. I’m less certain now than I was after just the first issue that Daniel Way has what it takes to write Deadpool consistently well. On the flip side though, I find myself anxious to read issue #4 to see what happens to Deadpool next.

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you next time. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you - I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com, www.myspace.com/SuperSearnold

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Thursday, October 30th, 2008. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you - letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today we’re doing something a little bit different. Before reading this, go back to yesterday’s entry and read my review of the free online preview of the upcoming Dabel Brothers comic book project Dog Eaters. Then, follow my recommendation and read said free preview on the Dog Eaters website:
http://www.dogeaters-manga.com/

Then come back here and check out my exclusive interview with Dog Eaters creator Malcolm Wong conducted via e-mail on 10/20/08. It’s important that you read the Special Bonus Section: The Story Behind Dog Eaters in the preview. There’s a lot of great information about how this project came about in there - and I didn’t want to repeat any questions. In fact, I would consider this interview a follow up to that special section. So go check that out and then check this out:

Searnold: Hi Malcolm. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me about this project.

Malcolm Wong: Thank YOU for the review, Searnold! You were right about the ink & amp; tones. The color really separates the figures from the background, especially the Roaches.

Searnold: Well the preview was great and I look forward to being able to review the actual comic book.

Malcolm Wong: Thanks for the kind words! We’re hoping the word gets out!

S: Well I hope this helps with that! Let’s go ahead and get straight into it - your concept for Dog Eaters was heavily influenced by your belief that the United States is destroying itself. What do you hope readers can take away from your story? Do you believe a comic book has the power to help improve the current state of our country?

MW: No, I don’t think a comic book has any power to improve the current state of our country. What a comic book might be able to do is direct our attention to the possibility that we are headed in the wrong direction. But the possibility that America is on a downward slide to a Rome-like collapse is just the premise for the backstory for DOG EATERS. Could it happen? Nah!! U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A. will always be number one! Seriously, though, I’m worried for the future. It could all start coming apart at any time and when it does, it could happen fast.

S: You have a “produced by” and “edited by” credit on the comic book. Can you talk to us about what exactly those titles mean and what sorts of responsibilities you had on this project?

MW: For Issue #0, the SDCC Exclusive which we handed out for free, I paid for pencils, inking & toning, and printing. And I coordinated the production.
For the 6 issues that will go on sale starting November 19th, I am paying for pencils, and color.
So I am a producer in that I am putting up money and coordinating production.

S: Can you tell us about the technical aspects of your collaboration with Sean J. Jordan. For example: Who was responsible for what? How frequently did the two of you get together and talk? Who had final say? Etc. Also - how did the two of you wind up on the project together (did you choose him or was he suggested by the Dabel Brothers?)

MW: Sean came to ScreenwritingExpo5 in L.A. with Matt Hansen, Les and Ernst Dabel. Sean was a key member of the Dabels at the time and a part of the team as such. I met him that one time and as this project developed we communicated by email, Skype, and phone. I live in Tokyo, so it is not really that feasible to meet.
Sean did the heavy lifting on the adaptation — converting the 118 pg movie screenplay into a 168 page graphic novel script. I went back over his work and did a lot of rewriting, but all within the structure that he had set up. It was a collaborative process and it was done very economically without conflict or argument.

S: How does your creative process differ between working in movies and working in comics?

MW: I think it could be similar, but comics of course, are much less complicated. I have worked as a director and producer in music videos in Japan, but I haven’t done any movies, so I can’t really say anything about the differences in process. But at some point in the future, I would love to be able say I know something about it as the goal is to get DOG EATERS produced as a movie.

S: In the special bonus section of the preview – The Story Behind Dog Eaters – you said, “the book will take longer to complete than originally expected.” About how long has this comic book taken to put together? How long did it take to finish adapting the script and then how long did it take for the artwork to get finished?

MW: It has been two years, almost to the day, that I won the award to get DOG EATERS adapted into a comic/graphic novel. And it’s interesting that even after all this time, we’re still going to have to scramble to make the deadlines to get this out on schedule! Guillermo A. Angel is the artist on this project, and as you can see for yourself, he’s doing a fantastic job. Doing a great job takes time and he has basically made DOG EATERS his life, for now.
Writing the screenplay probably took about two years with all the revisions and rewrites. Adapting the script was fast.
So all together, we’re talking about 5 years from start to finish.

S: After Jim Mercurio – the Screenwriting Expo contest coordinator – suggested that you may not want to accept the Dabel Brothers Award, you said that you would later “wonder what exactly he knew or thought he knew.” What exactly did you wonder? Have you had further conversations with Jim about this matter?

MW: Yeah, it was kind of mysterious because he kind of pulled me aside as they were closing the party in the pool area at the hotel and told me I had won the Dabel award. DB had given the award the previous year but because the writer wanted an advance — he made his wish known through a lawyer — his book never got off the ground. I asked him, “Why?” because the reason I entered this script contest was the possibility of getting this made into a graphic novel. He sort of shrugged and said that maybe I would want to do it myself. Yeah, right.
I have communicated with Jim quite a few times since and his most fervent hope (slight exaggeration) is that DOG EATERS gets published.

S: In your mind – how exactly did “The Die Off” occur? Is this going to be explained in detail in the course of the series?

MW: Bevan and Tracy talk about the “Die Off” in the screenplay, but for purposes of brevity, it is not discussed in the comic/graphic novel.
I see the “Die Off” happening as a chain reaction starting with economic collapse, war, disease, and famine. The social structure breaks down and it’s every man for himself. In Tokyo, if the food supply is cut off, the only way to survive will be cannibalism. I’m not joking. There is not enough food to sustain 30 million people in this urban cityscape. Even if you have a farm that could sustain you and your family, all your hard work to cultivate your land and take care of your livestock can be taken away with a man with a gun. So you have to have a gun. And that’s when all hell breaks loose.

S: In The Story Behind Dog Eaters, you said, “Guillermo drew Rebecca from imagination based on what we imagined her healing and spiritual powers to be.” Are there going to be some supernatural elements coming into play in this story?

MW: Very little. Rebecca has a vision for the clan and she has healing powers, but this is not a supernatural tale.

S: The character description for Tommy says, “Though Tommy is being groomed to take Lamont’s place as chief of the tribe, he is not concerned with being a leader just yet - his father is at the height of his powers, and it will be years before Tommy will have to take over.” That sounds like a spoiler to me - are we going to see something unfortunate happen to Lamont?

Lawyer: Your honor, that’s pure conjecture! Objection!
Judge: Sustained.

S: What was your inspiration for these characters’ unique names?

MW: That’s a good question. Some of the names changed during the writing and rewriting process of the screenplay. I’m not being evasive here — I just can’t really remember.

S: You teased us by saying that you based the physical designs for Tommy, Bevan, and Stevie on real actors. I really want to know if I’m right so – who were those designs based on? And did you have those actors in your head at all when you were first conceptualizing the characters?

MW: I’m not going to divulge that secret! But I’ll give you another hint. We also looked at rock stars.

S: If you had the chance to do the entire project again from scratch – all the way back to the moment you first conceived of the Dog Eaters screenplay – what would you change or do differently?

MW: I can’t answer that until this project has run its entire course. There are still a lot of steps for DOG EATERS to take. Steps I want DOG EATERS to take. Much like you evaluate someone’s life, I won’t know or be able to speculate on the decisions I’ve made until it’s over. You don’t know if it was successful or not until the final tally is in. But so far, so good.

S: Well I think that about wraps it up. Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to do this interview.

MW: Thank YOU Searnold! I’d like to say that you are a good, perceptive reader and really wring the most out of the words that are on the page. Many people just skim and ask questions that are already answered. Be sure to let me know the links to your site and I’ll post on MySpace and www.dogeaters-manga.com.

And there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this exclusive interview. If you haven’t yet - be sure to go to the Dog Eaters website and check out that free preview. And make sure to ask your comic book retailer if they’ll be carrying Dog Eaters when it gets released on November 19th!

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you next time. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books that you’d like me to review for you - I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com, myspace.com/SuperSearnold

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Wednesday, October 29th, 2008. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you - letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Dog Eaters #00 - the official preview. This new comic book being published by the Dabel Brothers was originally written as a screenplay by Malcolm Wong. It won the Screenwriting Expo contest and was adapted into a comic book which will be available on November 19th. The adaptation was written by Sean J. Jordan (Sixgun Samurai, editor for Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter) with art by Guillermo A. Angel. The free preview edition can be found on the Dog Eaters website at:
http://www.dogeaters-manga.com/
The preview also contains some behind-the-scenes information written by Malcolm about how this project came about.

Premise:
In the future - after most of the planet has died off - humanity consists of nomadic tribes (and a few casino cities). This is the story of one such family - The Black Dog Clan - and their struggle to survive.

Awesome Parts:
I like the way that Malcolm is able to have a subtle message without being preachy. There’s no political agenda in this book. But the point of inspiration was Malcolm’s fear that we won’t be able to move beyond our dependence on petroleum. That subtle seed is planted in the mind of the reader when they see the desolate future this has led to. But the book itself is mostly a post-apocalyptic action book - which is always fun. Anyone who’s been reading for awhile knows that I’m a big fan of behind-the-scenes information. So my favorite part about this preview was definitely the Special Bonus Section: The Story Behind Dog Eaters. It was well written and very thorough. Come back tomorrow for my exclusive follow-up interview with creator Malcolm Wong!

Un-Awesome Parts:
I don’t feel that black and white does justice to this comic book. And maybe it’s because I’m reading it on my computer screen, but I felt that the characters sometimes bled into the backgrounds. I’m excited to see what this looks like in print with full color! There were also a few times where the action moved too quickly for me to follow exaclty what had happened. I think in those cases it was clear that this was adapted from a film script where we saw every second of the action. The writers knew exactly what was happening. But in a few cases, I just wish we had one or two more panels to flesh out the action and make it easier to follow.

My Recommendation:
You know how much I love free things. Trust me - the preview is worth your time. Will the actual comic book be worth your money? We’ll have to wait until November 19th to find out! Make sure you ask your local stores if they’re going to be carrying Dog Eaters. But until then, read the preview here:
http://www.dogeaters-manga.com/
And be sure to come back tomorrow for my exclusive interview with Malcolm Wong.

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you next time. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you - I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com, www.myspace.com/SuperSearnold

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Tuesday, October 28th, 2008. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Are you interested in a comic book but not sure if you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you - letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
So I Didn’t Destroy The Universe? The 24 Hour Comics Day project by my friend and fellow SCCG member Jeremy Rathbone (Munkie Revolution, SCCG TV). This is a photo comic that Jeremy made available for free online: http://ididntdestroytheuniverse.smackjeeves.com/comics/479199/page-1/ Oh yes - and the photos are mostly of me. Check out yesterday’s review for some comments about the 24 Hour Comics event in general.

Premise:
Me in the future comes back in time to the past to prevent myself from destroying the universe. Yeah - it’s a bit confusing. Getting all three of myselfs to cooperate for the photo shoots was a pain, too.

Awesome Parts:
Jeremy always does something interesting on 24 Hour Comics Day. This year what he wanted to put together was a good argument for the making of photo comics. He wanted to show that a photo comic can look just as good as any drawn comic book. And I think he absolutely succeeded. The book look great - even considering it was made completely in 24 hours. He also CLAIMS that everything he did with photo shop was simple enough for just about anyone with a camera to be able to put together their own comic book.

Un-Awesome Parts:
So the basic premise is sort of confusing - right? Well that’s NOTHING compared to the ending. In fact - once he started running out of time - the ending in the actual comic wound up MORE confusing than it was when he first explained it to me. There are also some grammatical errors which makes reading the text more difficult than I think it ought to be.

My Recommendation:
Well you HAVE to read it. It’s free. And whether or not you enjoy (or even understand) it isn’t completely relevant. You should look at it and decide for yourself whether or not photo comic is a viable method of creating sequential imaging stories. I think it is - but don’t take my word for it. Go to: http://ididntdestroytheuniverse.smackjeeves.com/comics/479199/page-1/

That’s all for today. As always - thank you for reading - see you next time. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you - I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Monday, October 27th, 2008. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Are you interested in a comic book but not sure if you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you - letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Well… not so much an “issue” as an event. 24 Hour Comics Day to be exact.

Premise:
So I imagine you’re probably asking yourself “What exactly is 24 Hour Comics Day?” Well random person who mysteriously stumbled upon my comic book review blog - I’m glad you asked. 24 Hour Comics Day is an event held once a year where comic book creators answer the challenge of completing 24 comic book pages in a single 24 hour period. I know what you’re thinking, “That’s crazy! It can’t be done! And all the comics produced in such a manner probably suck!” Well, you aren’t necessarily wrong. But it’s still grand fun and an excellent creative challenge. If you’d like more information, check out the official website at:
http://www.24HourComicsDay.com

Awesome Parts:
I can only talk specifically about the event I attended at Empire’s Comic Vault in Sacramento, California. (Check out their website at http://www.empirescv.com/ ). We started at 9am Saturday October 18th, 2008. Some people brought their computers. Some brought their pencils and papers. Others had all sorts of crazy art equipment (like colors and ink! Who even understands those crazy artists people?) Some of us were writers worried about how ugly our comics would be. Others were artists having a difficult time coming up with a viable story. But we were all there for a common purpose - and what a great purpose it was! The greatest part for me was the comradery between fellow comic book creators. All day the room was filled with so much creative energy it was practically tangible. Also - what better inspiration could you ask for than being trapped inside a comic book store all night? Having free coffee, soda, and pizza was definitely a plus. I finished with a scant hour and a half left to go (though my art is THE worst art you can imagine - not having standards will do that to you.) A few of my friends finished Sunday morning with mere seconds left before 9am. (Tomorrow I’m going to review Jeremy Rathbone’s comic “So I Didn’t Destroy The Universe?”). Overall, it was a grand ol’ time.

Less Than Awesome Parts:
The thing is - for me - anything that might be considered a negative is just part of the experience. Some people might not enjoy the lack of sleep. Others might find the time restriction stifling. Some might not like having to create the entire comic themselves. But I didn’t mind any of that. Part of the comradery was keeping each other going through the hardest parts of the night. The time restriction makes it all that more challenging. It’s like a haiku - creative restrictions often lead to something beautiful that never would have been conceived of in a free form setting. And creating the entire comic book by yourself helps give you a better feeling about what all partners in a comic book creative team go through. In no other situation would I even TRY to have drawn my own comic - so this event helped me get inside an artists’ head better than ever before.

My Recommendation:
I absolutely positively recommend this event to any creative person. The 24 Hour Comics Day website has a listing of all the locations hosting the event. Of course - you’ll have to wait about a year until the next one rolls around. If you don’t fancy yourself a creative type, but are interested in the process of creating a comic book, I still recommend the event. At least at Empire, everyone there was welcoming of anyone who wanted to come in and sit with us. Even if you have no idea what you’re doing this could be an incredibly fun learning experience for you.

That’s all for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you next time. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books (or conventions/ events) that you want me to review for you - I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Sunday, October 26th, 2008. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you - letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
As promised, here is my review of Daredevil (vol. 2) #111, the first part of the new Lady Bullseye arc written by Ed Brubaker (Uncanny X-Men, Captain America) with art by Clay Mann (Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four, Heroes For Hire). This has been hyped as the perfect jumping on point for new Daredevil readers - and to promote that, Marvel put out a free comic book called Daredevil Saga to catch you up on DD’s latest exploits (check out my review on Monday, September 15th, 2008.)

Premise:
Lady Bullseye - a mysterious new villain - stalks Daredevil for “unknown reasons” that are promptly revealed at the end of the issue.

Awesome Parts:
I like seeing a new mysterious villain. It was fun not to know exactly what her motivations were (for a few pages at least.) I certainly didn’t feel like I was missing anything - so they did a good job of living up to their hype of a good jumping on point. I also felt compelled to read the next issue - so double Kudos Mr. Brubaker. On the last page, there was a great (albeit short) internal dialogue about the difference between Daredevil and his alter ego Matt Murdock.

Un-Awesome Parts:
I don’t like how much they revealed by the end of the issue. We know Lady Bullseye’s origin. We know her objective. We understand her basic motivations. All the mystery is gone already. Also - as someone who hasn’t been reading Daredevil - I didn’t know who Dakota North is (a MAJOR female player in this issue). I would have liked to know how she knows Matt, or more specifically, how she knows his secret identity. This should NOT have been a mystery.

My Recommendation:
Tricky. And this is why: if you haven’t been reading Daredevil, you probably have a reason. And I didn’t feel like this was anything so amazingly spectacular that you have to go out and read it. It was just a well-written Daredevil story that just about anyone ought to be able to follow - even without prior Daredevil experience. So if the reason you aren’t reading Daredevil is because you’ve never tried, this would in fact be a good time to start. But if you don’t read Daredevil because you don’t like the character or the dark tones - well this issue didn’t change any of that, so you probably wouldn’t like it.

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you next time. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you - I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Saturday, October 25th, 2008. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you - letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Ultimate Civil War: Spider-Ham, published by Marvel back in January 2007. This is an “Ultimate” book that I only recently stumbled upon. I heard Straczynski (Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four) mention it in a Marvel podcast and had to go looking. Being a Spider-Ham book, it’s a complete non-canon parody, so I figured it would put a nice cap on The Ultimate Review Week. The credits for the book are as follows: Pig Tale by J. Michael Hamzynski; Pigpen-ciling (and Inking) by: Mike “The Swine” Wieringo, Mike Manley “Hamly”, Nick “The Pig” Dragotta, John “Ham of Legend” Severin, Skottie “Lil’ Piggy” Young, Jim “Pigging Out” Mahfood, Ariel “Hamming It Up” Olivetti, Clayton “Whole Hog” Crain, Laurence “Son of Ham” Campbell, Chris “When Pigs Fly” Giarrusso, Todd “Mad Hog” Nauck, Robert “Ham-panella” Campanella, and Sean “In a Pig’s Eye” Phillip. What a plethora of artists! And now you really know everything you need to about the terrible pun humor that fills the pages of this comic book!

Premise:
This is my favorite premise for a comic book in quite some time. Spider-Ham is upset that he has lost his thought bubbles. On his quest to find them, Dr. Strange accidentally transports him through all sorts of alternate dimensions where he sees various versions of himself such as Wolverham and Captain Hamerica.

Awesome Parts:
This is odd. Looking back on it (I actually read the issue yesterday) I remember it as being quite funny. The jokes are quick and pointless and, well, mostly ham puns - but I remember it as being quite funny. Oddly enough, I also remember that while reading it I was thinking “During the Un-Awesome Section I’m going to mention that humor is not Straczynski’s strong suit.” So obviously I must not have thought it was very funny yesterday. My guess - most of the book is riddled with bad puns that got old after a few pages. But looking back, I only remember the funnier ones.

Un-Awesome Parts:
Well gee, comedy sure doesn’t seem to be Stracyznski’s strong suit. See - this is why I shouldn’t wait a day before I write my reviews. One of the things I do remember not being a fan of - many of the alternate universes were just pin-ups with a name and maybe a one-liner. We don’t really see Spider-Ham going on any sort of “adventure.” And the Ham jokes do get old very quickly.

My Recommendation:
Honestly - if you can find Ultimate Civil War: Spider-Ham - it’s worth the money (or at least worth its cover price). If you HATE puns, you won’t like it. And if you aren’t familiar with the Marvel characters this parodies then I don’t see why you would find it funny. Also - it’s such a quick read - you might could get away with scanning it while in the store (I’m kind of a cheap bastard, so ideas like that pop into my head even though they oughtn’t.)

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you next time. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you - I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Friday, October 24th, 2008. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you - letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Ultimate X-Men/ Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #1 and Ultimate Fantastic Four/ Ultimate X-Men Annual #1. These are two extra-large annuals that go together to create a single story written by Aron Coleite (Heroes, Ultimate X-Men) and Joe Pokaski (Heroes, Ultimate Fantastic Four) with art by an assortment of talent: Dan Panosian, Mark Brooks, Danny Miki, Troy Hubbs, Brandon Peterson, and Eric Nguyen. They take place in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, right before the upcoming Ultimatum event. (They also take place AFTER Ultimatum - it’ll make sense in a second.)

Premise:
20 years from now, a future version of the X-Men have come back in time to kill Reed Richards because they blame him for the terrible future they live in. They can’t seem to kill him, so they kidnap him into the future, and the Fantastic Four enlist the aide of the current X-Men to go into the future and get him back.

Awesome Parts:
I’ll be honest - I did not enjoy these comic books. I like the idea of a time travel story, but everything that could have been a positive point was executed poorly. I did like seeing that Kitty has learned new ways to use her powers. I like that the scenes in the future had different artists than the scenes in the past - that was a nice touch. Oh - and I like the direction they took future Ben Grimm (The Thing). That was cool. In fact, since I’m going to be recommending against these comics, I have no problem giving this tiny minor spoiler - because it was the best part of the book. Ben decides to team up with his past self against the team he’s on in the future. I felt like that was the natural thing for him to do. That, in fact, was one of the few moments in the entire two issues that I felt someone acted true to character.

Un-Awesome Parts:
I have so much to say - where do I even begin? Let’s start with the premise. Reed Richards accidentally creates a device that leads to a dystopian future? Sounds like Earth X to me. X-Men from the future come back in time to prevent a dystopian future where mutants are hunted and captured or killed? Sounds like Days of Future Past to me. I know the Ultimate Universe derives its creative inspiration from the Marvel Universe, but these stories were just too similar. They were also chaotic and confusing. And I don’t mean because of the time travel. They jumped around a lot from place to place, with different groups of people in different places, and in general it was just hard to follow. I got the basic ideas, but I didn’t feel like I got to see any of the stories unraveling. We saw the conflict, cut to another scene, cut back and the conflict is resolved. Hey - you know what cutting back and forth between too many characters sounds like? Heroes! What a coincidence that this story was crafted by two Heroes scribes.
Also similar to Heroes, characters don’t seem to act logically. They tend to act how they need to act for the story - not how these people would actually act. For example, they had Ben flirting with Liz in order to set up something that happens in the future. I could tell that the thought process went like this: “We have this cool situation in the future. Well, we should do something in the past to set it up.” I have a problem with that sort of thinking because it makes characters act unnaturally. I did not buy the flirting scenes as coming naturally out of Ben’s character. There were also multiple surprise allegiance shifts that had NO set up. The readers were just as surprised as the characters. While surprise can be a fun convention, when you don’t give any sort of set up, allegience shifts feel completely out of character. So then you have to go into a whole expository explanation about why I was pretending to go along with you so that I could really accomplish my own goals… Blah blah blah - boring.
One of the things I normally like about time travel stories are seeing the possibilites of what characters might become in the future. In Heroes, Aron and Joe did this quite well. But I didn’t find the future situations in this story interesting. For example, there’s an army of Wolverine Sentinels - that just felt weird. Sue has gone through some MAJOR changes, which I just didn’t buy. They say that these changes were brought about by the upcoming Ultimatum - but that means that Ultimatum isn’t actually going to be “the end” of the Ultimate Universe, as they have been hyping. There had also better be a damn good reason why the characters inside the universe refer to the event as “Ultimatum”.
Two other minor issues. The future characters don’t really look much older. Kitty looks maybe 20-ish, not 36. The only character who looks aged is Sue, and she is the identical spitting image of her mother. I thought she WAS her mother for awhile. Finally, just a general trap that a lot of time travel stories fall into. They come back in time and have decided (generally against character) that murder is the only way to save the future. Seriously guys - you just came back in time 20 years. You’ve got a while to settle your differences. Why must you IMMEDIATELY go for the killing thing? Can’t we talk this out?

My Recommendation:
I know I already spoiled this - but no - I do not recommend these issues. They just weren’t written well. Because they mostly take place in the future, you won’t be missing anything if you skip them. So please, save yourself $8 and pass on these Annuals.

That’s all for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you next time. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you - I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Thursday, October 23rd, 2008. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review you for it - letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!

Today’s Issue:
Ultimate Spider-Man #123 - #127. This is the current arc of Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man, written by Brian Michael Bendis (Mighty Avengers, Secret Invasion) with art by Stuart Immonen (Action Comics, Nextwave). The arc should wrap up once #128 hits shelves.

Premise:
It’s the return of Ultimate Venom! And the return of Ultimate Carnage! And the return of Ultimate Silver Sable! And the return of Ultimate Nick Fury! Oh wait… that’s not a return - this story is all taking place before he dissappeared (how weird - right?). And - because nobody asked for it - the introduction of Ultimate Beetle! A more standard summary of the story would look something like this: a few months ago, Venom returns and attacks Spider-Man, but Silver Sable intervenes and captures Venom. The mysterious Beetle breaks Venom free. In the ensuing battle, the symbiote reattaches itself to Spider-Man, who is then forced to fight the Ultimates. Meanwhile back when Green Goblin broke out of the Triskelion, he inadvertantly released Carnage (who still thinks she’s Gwen Stacy) who finds her way back to Peter’s house. To be concluded!

Awesome Parts:
I love a good Venom story. And I love Spidey being forced to attack his idols, the Ultimates. Following his thoughts through the battle added a nice blend of comedy to the kick-ass-action. There are great mysteries surrounding Roxxon and Trask industries and their plans for the symbiote. It was also refreshing to see The Ultimates working together as a super hero team - as opposed to the dysfunctional gathering of individuals we saw in Ultimates 3 (see my review on Thursday, September 4th, 2008.) I also like what Bendis has done with Ultimate Venom. He still has some of the same core characteristics as the original Venom - psychotic killer, dual personality, love of Spider-Man, kick-ass powers. But he makes more sense. The conflict between Eddie Brock and the sybiote is one of Venom’s most interesting attributes - and it stopped making sense in the Marvel Universe many years ago. But in the Ultimate Universe, the dynamic between these two entities who need each other to survive is great.

Un-Awesome Parts:
Bendis is playing with time again and it didn’t work for me. Why did this whole story have to take place two months ago? So that Nick Fury could play a role? I understand doing some flashbacks - that works for me. Sure, let’s see what Venom’s been up to. Sure, let’s go back to the moment Green Goblin busted out of the Triskelion so we can see Carnage’s escape instead of being told about it. But why does the WHOLE story have to take place two months ago? That’s just poor story telling in my opinion. Speaking of problems with time - when did Venom have the time to sit down on a park bench and narrate the first issue of this story? There’s also some stuff in this arc that directly contradicts Ultimate Origins #4 (see my review on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008). To make matters worse - they were BOTH written by Bendis. Bendis contradicted HIMSELF! I blame Ultimate Origins. Everything in this arc is consistent with what we’ve seen so far in Ultimate Spider-Man. But there was a reveal about Peter’s father in Ultimate Origins #4 that contradicts a lot of the stuff people say in this arc. There better be a GREAT explanation forthcoming, Bendis, or I will be sorely disappointed.

My Recommendation:
Don’t get me wrong - I absolutely recommend this arc to any Spider-Man fan, and anyone who likes super hero comic books. There’s some great stuff in here - especially if you’re a fan of Venom (as I am.) I wouldn’t recommend this as a jumping on point though - because the playing with time gets a bit confusing if you aren’t already familiar with Ultimate Spider-Man’s chronology. It also REALLY helps to have read the original Venom arc (Ultimate Spider-Man #33 - #39).

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you next time. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you - I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you!

Today’s Issue:
Ultimate Spider-Man #122 - published in May 2008 by Marvel - written by Brian Michael Bendis (Mighty Avengers, Secret Invasion) with art by Stuart Immonen (Action Comics, Nextwave). This was the last issue published before the start of the current arc. It has a stand alone story, and I wanted to review it because it was really good!

Premise:
In the Ultimate Universe, the Shocker is a complete loser (hey - it’s kinda like the regular Marvel Universe! <— Shocker burn!) Anyway, there’s a recurring joke where Spider-Man takes him down but he keeps getting released because Spidey never makes an official arrest. Shocker’s just a small-time thief who provides minor comic relief for the series. But in this issue, Shocker actually captures Spider-Man, unmasks him, and starts torturing him for all the grief Spidey’s caused. MJ has to come to the rescue. It’s good times.

Awesome Parts:
I like that this is a stand alone story. It actually makes a good jumping on point for the series. The “Previously in Ultimate Spider-Man” page recaps everything you would need to know to follow the story. We see some great stuff pushing Peter to the edge of that line between hero and villain. And there are great relationship moments between both Kitty and MJ who have to work together to get Peter out. Bendis also did a great job of turning a joke character into a legitimate threat to Spider-Man and making it feel realistic. He also makes talking heads work. He does this all the time in Ultimate Spider-Man - talking heads that are so engaging you don’t even notice. Kudos, my friend.

Un-Awesome Parts:
Bendis plays with time A LOT in Ultimate Spider-Man. It’s always “two hours earlier” this, “two months earlier” that, and “an hour and a half before that scene that was two weeks before the two months from now scene.” Okay - it’s not quite that bad. And sometimes it actually works. But not in this issue. We see in the very beginning that Shocker has Peter held prisoner. I think that completely ruins the previous fight (which we see later) because we KNOW Shocker is going to win. Of course, if you read the premise of the book, or looked at the cover, you would know he was going to win - so maybe it wasn’t such a horrible reveal.

My Recommendation:
Pick up this book if you’re a fan of Spider-Man and looking for a jump-on point for Ultimate Spider-Man. This is a good issue for that. [I actually recommend starting from the beginning, but understand you might not be able to afford all those trades. Though - and don’t tell anyone I told you this - all of the Ultimate Spider-Man trades and a whole lot of other comic books are available at the Sacramento Public Library. Maybe your library has some, too!] I also recommend this to people who aren’t necessarily Spidey fans but are interested in the human components of torture and other philosophical issues. There are some good questions raised in this issue about how much someone can take before they snap, and crossing that line between good and evil. There are other questions raised about how we know what “the right thing” to do is. People interested in those types of questions should pick up this issue as a nice stand alone story with some philosophical implications.

That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you next time. And don’t forget to let me know if there’s a comic book you’d like me to review for you!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com