My Two Cents and The Comics it Buys

Well, It's reached the halfway point and I've decided to cancel the 31 Days project. I'm essentially writing to myself and I have far more valuable things I could be doing with my time. So, the project is finished.

Another double header today, so lets get on the way.

Day 13
Hiding in Time #1 (Image)
Writer - Christopher Long
Artist - Ryan Winn

The story - In the distant future, the best place to hide witnesses is in the past. When two witnesses in a notorious trial turn up murdered in ways that would be impossible, given their time period, red flags start to go up and the race begins to save the last of the witnesses.

To start, I have to say that time travel stories have always held a place in my heard. I can't entirely say why it is, it simply is. That being said, this one all right. So far the story is less about time travel than it is about revenge. The time travel aspect is simply a garnish. If this story were placed in a futuristic setting, it would hardly be any different. In that sense it's a little disappointing. They just don't seem to be making it as big of a part of the story as I think it should be. If they have something like this it should be important. The story seems a bit too generic, and the time travelling is just there for show. It's almost senseless.

That said, the dialogue was well done. For the most part everything sounded natural. There wasn't a lot of deep conversation. All around it is a pretty shallow story. The characters all seem fairly simplistic, you know who they are, and what they are like, but it's hard t really care about them.

The art was hit and miss. Overall I would say it was good, but occasionally, when a character is drawn smaller they lose all their detail and become strange misshapen humanoid creatures. Also, the angles and posing are a little over-dramatic and unnecessary.

After about 5 pages I was preparing myself for a horrorfest of cheesy overdone action and poor writing. I'm looking for something a with a little more depth and thought than the average superhero book. That's why I haven't been paying much mind to things like X-Men or Spider-man. I mean, they're great, but their like popcorn flicks, I'm not there to be amazed. I'm looking for something more when I stray from the beaten path. Luckily, this one wasn't the worst book so far.

The Verdict - I'll check out the next issue, maybe it will pick up.

Day 14
Hiding in Time #2 (Image)
Writer - Christopher Long
Artist - Ryan Winn

The Story - The creator of the time machine used to send witnesses back in time for protection is forced to go back to colonial American times to rescue the third witness in a major trial. As a black man, he does this at great personal risk. We are also introduced to the man he is being sent to save.

This one let me down a little. It added very little interest to the story overall. We meet the guy who's being hunted and his family, but, again, there's very little depth. He's an eccentric carpenter living in the past making toys of "absurd" imagined creations, like planes and trains. It's all just a little simple and predictable. The dialogue doesn't get any better; I always hope that it will improve once I read the second issue of a book, what with the awkwardness of a first issue, and all of the things that have to be explained. It doesn't happen in this book. The writing isn't "Bad" it's just a little uninteresting, and none too compelling. I've scanned through the issue three times after reading it, and I'm still finding it difficult to find anything noteworthy, or worth mentioning. As far as reading "rides" go, I would probably equate this to a ferris wheel. It's not entirely bad, I'm sure a lot of people enjoy it, it's just not what I'm looking for.

The Verdict - It lost me with this issue. I won't be back for issue #3.

BTW - As a quick addendum, if you're reading this, we're almost at the halfway mark. If you're still reading along let me know what you think. It's starting to feel like I'm talking to myself.

So this one’s a big one. I couldn't get on the internet last night, so we’ve got 3 going up today. Also included is the first 2nd issue of this “31 Days” series. So, without further ado, Days 10 – 12.

Day 10
Brawl #1 (Image)
Writer -Dean Haspiel (Billy Dogma), Michel Fiffe (Panorama)
Artist - Dean Haspiel (Billy Dogma), Michel Fiffe (Panorama)

The Story – This book contains two separate stories. The first, Billy Dogma, seems to be about two lovers that happen to awaken an age-old creature living underground. The monster then goes on a rampage. The second, Panorama, is about a kid whose body appears to be a difficult to control shape-shifting substance. Think of the corn starch and water mixture you play with in elementary school science class.

While I liked Billy Dogma for its simplicity, both in premise and dialogue, Panorama was a bit difficult to get into. It was hard to tell what the driving plot was. Who is this kid? What happened to him to make him the way he is? Where is the story going? There are no real answers given to explain what is going on with him.

Again I liked the art in Billy Dogma. Again, it is very simple, but it looks nice; it has a cartoony goofiness to it. It’s never difficult to follow what is going on. Panorama, on the other hand, was less appealing. Some of the panels were interestingly done, but overall I didn't like the style. I think my biggest problem was in the faces. Also, everything seemed to be cracked. For most thinks it was alright, but for clothes and faces the lines seemed odd, and unpleasant to look at.

The writing for both stories was fine. Billy Dogma was, again, very simple. Everything is short and to the point. The whole story has it’s own distinct style, both in art and writing, and they both fit perfectly together. It was a little difficult to understand what the point of the whole story was, but once I stepped back and realized that there probably wasn’t a “point” in the traditional sense of it, it was a lot easier to enjoy. I don’t care if I find out what this character’s history is, how he came to be immortal; I’m here for the ride, the simple pleasure of reading the story. Panorama was slightly different. The dialogue worked, nothing was awkward or strangely worded, but this one isn’t about the ride. I feel like there is a deeper story in there, I’m sure the main character’s past will play a part in the story. There will be an explanation of how he came to be, and that’s okay.

On my first read through, I wasn’t very fond of Panorama, but looking back at it I want to see where it goes. And I think that is what this “31 Days of Comics” is about for me now. I tended to take a very superficial glance at comics as I read them. I rarely thought about why I liked a book, or where a story might be going. It was strictly about what was on the pages. But this kind self-reflection is not what these posts are for; they’re for sharing what I think of a book, I ought to keep the self-reflection off the page, or for another post, so on with the show.

The Verdict - I liked this book. I’ll keep reading it.


Day 11
After the Cape #2 (Image)
Writer – Howard Long (creation/dialogue), Jim Valentino (plot)
Artist – Marco Rudy and Manny Trembley

I’ll have to take a slightly different approach to this one, as it’s the second issue, and the second issue I’ve reviewed, so I’ll have to take what I said in the previous post as given. So…

The Story (this issue) – The super-group Ethan (main character) was affiliated with during his super days find out he is responsible for several bank robberies. Ethan goes to meet the mysterious caller from the last issue, who turns out to be the leader of the Triad, and who happens to have a very important job for our former hero. While Ethan is out, his family is in the process of moving into their new home and they receive a visit from Ethan’s best friend from his days as a hero. He informs her of Ethan’s career criminal status, and it is implied that she subsequently leaves Ethan.

This one was a fairly natural progression from the last issue. There were no real surprises. I was wondering when it would be figured out that the guy robbing banks by manipulating gravity, and the no-longer-practicing hero who used gravity to fight crime might be one and the same. I would imagine that you would have to rob several banks in order to work up the amount of money you would need to buy a home and retire.

I found this issue to keep very much in line with what I was expecting from it. It didn’t blow me away, but it didn’t disappoint either. The dialogue seemed to improve slightly in this issue too, which was nice.

The Verdict – I liked it. It met my expectations. I’ll see it through to the end (the next issue)


Day 12
After the Cape #3 (Image)
Writer – Howard Long (creation/dialogue), Jim Valentino (plot)
Artist – Marco Rudy

So, here is the final issue in the After the Cape mini.

The Story – This is the final issue of this mini, so it all comes to a head. Ethan’s former superfriends confront him during his robbery attempt, and a big fight ensues. The bad guy (girl) is arrested, and Ethan is left all alone.

The dialogue seemed to fall off again in this issue. This is probably because there was so much more of it. It all seemed a little forced; nothing quite sounded natural. Other than that, it was an okay issue. Akin to A&E’s Superhero Intervention. I understand where all of it is coming from, it’s just that by the end I didn’t really care.

They also really seemed to be pushing the Alcoholism angle in this issue. Every flashback picture you see of Ethan has him holding a bottle or a glass. I’m sure this was intentional, to really drive home the point, but I found it to be a bit excessive. I know he’s an alcoholic, I know that’s why he was kicked off the team. They could have been a little subtler with it, I think.

I did like the flashback portions, even though they tried too hard to show that he drinks too much. They gave a lot of his personal history, and underlined his family life, I guess to show what he loses in the end. But if that was their purpose, I think they might have been better served in the last issue. When it’s put in this issue it seems all too obvious that when he gets home his wife and kids won’t be there.

Finally, the last page of the book shows him crying and staring at a hip flask that he is holding in his hand. This might have been a more compelling image had he not had anything to drink throughout the series. It seemed to me that he had had a number of drinks over the three issues, and that he hadn’t really conquered his drinking problem. If, however, he was shown to be resisting temptation and truly trying to better himself over the span of the series I would see how this would be a slightly more powerful image.

The Verdict – I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have liked. I won’t be back if they continue the series. It just doesn’t have my interest.

So today’s post is a toofer. Tomorrow’s will be as well, to make up for lost time. So without any more wasted time, let’s get to it; days 8 and 9. These ones come from the way back.

Day 8
After the Cape #1 (Image)
Writer – Howard Wong (creator, dialogue) Jim Valentino (Plot)
Artist – Marco Rudy

The Story – A disgraced, alcoholic superhero is kicked off of his super team and tries to live a normal life. Given his abilities, though, he is drawn to the criminal life, and the easy money it provides. He attempts to buy his way out of that lifestyle, and provide a better life for his family, but a fiendish and shadowy figure has other plans.

I like the book overall, and I can see it being rather good. The general idea seems a little clichéd to me, I feel as though I’ve seen this story somewhere before, but adding the alcoholic superhero angle makes it a little different and a little more interesting.

It’s quite well written. The dialogue can be a little unnatural and forced at times, but overall it’s not too bad. It moves the story along, and the greater story seems interesting enough to make up for the occasional lapse in dialogue quality. For the most part all of the characters know who they are, and they speak as such, it’s just not always as diverse as one might like.

The art was a bit off-putting at first, but that is mostly because I’ve been reading coloured comics lately. It has been a long time since I’ve read one in black and white. After one or two pages I grew to quite like it. It is not very often that “black and white” is done well. Quite often it is more done in grayscale for convenience, or for cost effectiveness. This book actually embraces the two tones. There is no in between. It’s quite nice to see, it’s a refreshing change.

In short, I like it. I like the art, I like the plot, and I can handle the occasionally bad dialogue.

The Verdict – I will get the second issue, and I will probably continue from there.


Day 9

Graveslinger #1 (Image)
Writers – Shannon Eric Denton, Jeff Mariotte
Artist – John Cboins

The Story – In the wild west, one man is charged with the duty of returning to hell several escaped souls. He has a pact with the devil, who promises to return the man’s wife to him.

I like the way the first issue of this comic felt. I’ve never really been a fan of westerns, but that’s not to say I never understood their appeal. Perhaps I was too young to appreciate them when I watched them. This one is quite enjoyable. The art is unique, the dialogue is fairly good, and the plot is somewhat interesting.

The writing for this one is rather good. The dialogue can be a bit much some times, they speak in a manner befitting of a western. For the most part, though, things fit. No one speaks in a way that seems out of place for who they are. I also like the idea of a story about hell’s bounty hunter.

The art is quite interesting in this book. I like it now, but it was a bit of an adjustment. A lot of the art seems very jagged and almost unfinished, but in a good way. I would say it is similar to Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night), only slightly simpler. The sharp edges and sketchy look probably won’t appeal to everyone, but I like it.

The Verdict - I like it. I will buy into it. I love the art, and the story is entertaining.

How about that, we've made it to 1 week already. Tomorrow's will have to go up on Monday, though, I've got a business trip to go on. But I digress.

Urban Monsters #1 (Image)
Writers – Will Wilson, Joanne Moore
Artists – Tone Rodriguez, Rick Ross

The Story – In a world where monsters coexist with humans, although as second-class citizens, there exists a group of zombie friends. These friends, upon seeing ad for an open casting call for monsters, head to L.A. to take part.

So far I’m really enjoying the book. It seems light-hearted enough, and the premise itself is oddly appealing. I see this as having the potential to be quite entertaining. I mean, who would think to write about inbred hillbilly werewolves? I wasn’t blown away at any point in time by either the writing or the art, but it is a nice refresher from the average super hero book. The dialogue is a little bland, and not very engaging, though.

The art for the first half of the book was good. It really fit with the story and was easy to look at, but when it changes after page 9 it just goes downhill. The faces and poses all go a little out of whack. I counted 9 visibly closed mouths between the page when the artists switched and the last page of the book (excluding Bert, that sasquatch, who almost always seems to be smirking). It might have been fine if they were dynamic facial expressions, but everyone seemed to have the same slack-jawed, fly-catching, open mouth. The poses were often a little awkward and unpleasant, as well. Something about the second half of the book rubbed me the wrong way.

I can see the plot of this one becoming quite enjoyable. The characters have all been given enough personality to be distinct, so by the end of the first issue, you have a fairly decent idea of who everyone is. There’s the fish-boy with dreams of grandeur, the punching bag, sap of a zombie, the under-appreciated, and well aware of it, stage actor Pan, and the jock sasquatch. All of the personalities quite fit with who they are as monsters. I do like the way they thought of that.

The Verdict – I liked it. I will be back for issue #2. I want to see where it goes.

Gutwrencher #1 (Image)
Writer/Story – Shannon Eric Denton (Writer/co-creator), Keith Giffen (Story/co-creator), Steve Niles (Story/co-creator)
Artist – Anthony Hightower

The Story – A man is possessed by a mystical vengeful creature from years long gone after he fails to receive an invite to his high school’s 10 year reunion. The story mostly follows a two friends as they run into old acquaintances at their reunion, but shows quick snippets of the possessed’s preparations for the after party.

The story itself sounds enjoyable, and I was quite looking forward to reading it. The cover gave me the impression that it would be mostly comedic with a splash of the horror genre blended in. Given this expectation, I was a little disappointed. It seems more to me like a b-grade horror movie put to paper. The dialogue matches what you would expect to find in a Friday the 13th, or something of the like. The pacing seems all right though. I expect the next 3 issues to be a splatterfest, but at least it moves along smoothly.

The art seems to sway back and forth between quite nice and natural, and something that is almost painful to look at. The biggest problem I have is the faces. I just can't seem to make what emotion most of them are trying to convey. In one case I am sure the character is meant to be laughing, but it looks closer to a hissing snarl. In another panel the main character, who must be almost 30, looks like a 14 year old emo kid with eye shadow. Outside of the faces the art is fairly nice, and occasionally the faces do look proper.

The main problem I have with this comic is the characters. I don’t feel any connection with any of the characters, or any desire to know their background. That’s the problem with creating characters that are too plain. They may be believable, but I don’t care what happens to them. If all of the characters the reader is introduced to in the first issue were to be killed on the last page, I wouldn’t really be disappointed at never hearing about their past.

The Verdict – I won’t be back for issue #2. It wasn’t what I was expecting, and the art wasn’t spectacular enough to carry me through to a second issue.

Day 5. We’re almost at a full week now. And again it’s a first issue.

Overman #1 (Image)
Writer – Scott Reid
Artist – Shane White

The Story – A hitman stumbles on a super-tech learning machine in a run down house out in the country. He enters the machine, and so begins his journey. At the same time members of uber-corporation “Omikon” visits the prison complex “Exodus” somewhere in space to retrieve a man who has been merged with their “demolator” armour for several years. They find him just in time for him to wake from his long term coma, and for him to plunge the prison complex into a state of chaos.

This one started off on a bad foot with the slightly cheesy “disclaimer” at the beginning. Something like that says to me that the writers take themselves too seriously. The dialogue doesn’t seem too bad. It doesn’t stand out as spectacular, but it’s not poorly done. My biggest complaint is with the names. I understand that it takes place some 130 years in the future, but really, “Demolator” and “Omakon?” Maybe I put too much emphasis on the details, but that’s because I feel that they’re important. Everything looks nicer with a little polish. The narration seems a little long winded at times, but thankfully, it’s only used occasionally.

The art in the book is mediocre as well. I’ve seen better and I’ve seen worse. I’m not really fond of the character designs either. They all seem like they’re trying too hard to be different. Anyone that is remotely important is given such a unique look that it would be impossible to mistake them for anyone else. While this in itself isn’t a bad thing, they take it a bit too far.

The plot seems like it could be alright, but the stress is on could. It sounds like it’s just going to end up being a story about the hubris of a major corporation leading to it’s own. The pieces are all there, self-involved higher-ups from a mega-corporation, the weapon they created, the (possible) desire for vengeance. It all seems like it was done before, to me. And the writing style strikes me as very self-important.

The Verdict – I didn’t enjoy reading this comic. I won’t be back for issue #2.

Day 4. This is starting to look more like “31 Days of First Issues,” but that’s okay. First impressions last a lifetime, or so they say.

The Engineer #1 (of 4) (Archaia Studios Press)
Writers – Brian Churilla and Jeremy Shepherd
Artist – Brian Churilla

The Story – A massive sentient blob, created at the dawn of time, lives to feast on the very fabric of reality. There is one object in existence that can stop it, but it has been dismantled and its’ parts spread across several dimensions. One man is charged with retrieving the pieces and putting “The Konstrukt” back together. This man is ‘The Engineer’. He seems to be at odds with the means employed by the specters that travel with him, though they seem to be the ones calling the shots.

Overall I quite enjoy this book. The writing seems fairly good. The dialogue is concise, and fairly straightforward. One spot where the writing could be better is in the main character, ‘The Engineer.’ He seems to switch between a well-read intellectual and something akin to Spider-man’s in-battle persona. The Albert Einstein quote in the middle of an action scene seemed quite out of place and a little forced. It’s as though they want him to seem so much smarter than the reader, without actually working the intelligence into his normal dialogue. Outside of that the plot seems intriguing. I’ve always been a fan of the “collection quest” type stories; Legend of Zelda and Dragonball were staples of my childhood.

I like the art from this book as well; At times it’s reminiscent of Mike Mignola. It’s realistic enough to keep it’s seriousness, but cartoony enough to fit with the more light-hearted moments. Overall it is a very suiting and enjoyable art style. I personally place a lot of importance on “suiting.” If an art style does not match the tone of the book it can ruin it.

I like the way the story has been put together and I want to see how it all plays out.

The Verdict – I will definitely buy the second issue, and in all likelihood I will see it through to the end.

Day 3, let’s begin.

New World Order #1 (Image)
Writer – Gustavo Higuera
Artist – Giuseppe De Luca

The Story – A group of underground rebels, under the tutelage of an alien fight to bring about change and a “new world order.” Their way is referred to as “the third path” or “the middle way,” and their goal is to make the human race something better; “to remove the veil that separates the human from the god within.” It seems to draw a little from religions and their teachings.

This one was a bit tough to get into. The first issue covers three generations, and poorly at that. I understand that there might be a fair bit of history that needs to be explained, but perhaps flashbacks, or short one-page histories would have served the purpose better. Instead we got 3 and 4 page story chunks, that were too long and that tried too hard to drop hints. The pacing really did not work for me. The dialogue, as well, seemed a little clunky to me, and don’t even get me started on though balloons. I detest thought balloons. They always seemed to me a cheap short cut. The information is rarely necessary, and they always seem tacky. In this issue I don't think any of the thought balloons contained anything that was necessary for understanding the story.

The art on this one was mediocre. I’ve seen worse; he was able to draw consistently enough, but I was not overly impressed. The story needed to be drawn; he was able to draw, so now the story is drawn. It neither adds nor detracts from the book.

The plot of the book could be good, given enough time. Conspiracy theories are always fun. But with the boring dialogue, uninspiring characters and mundane art, I’m not interested in seeing it all unfold. I would like to see and understand a little bit more of the religious aspect of it, but I feel like I would probably be better off to just Wiki what I want to know.

Even the final page of the book was a let down. This doctor and a dark haired kid are looking at some sort of metal implant and it ends with the doctor saying “…With this kind of technology in their hands who knows what the New World Order could be planning next…” I have no idea who this doctor is supposed to be, or the “New World Order” he refers to, and I have only a vague idea of who the kid is. Simply put, it doesn’t entice me to buy the next issue.

The Verdict – I didn’t like it. The closer I looked the less I liked it. I won’t be buying the next issue.

So, Day 2 in a series of 31. So far so good. Let's talk about todays comic, shall we.

KICK-ASS #1 (Icon)
Writer - Mark Millar
Artist - John Romita Jr


The Story - An average "nobody" teenager decides to stray from the beaten path when it comes to career choices, and dons a spandex suit and mask. It's all fun and games and playing around on rooftops until he decides to actually do some crime fighting and subsequently gets his ass handed to him. There are implications that in the future he is narrating from there are more people who've picked up the cape and tried to make the streets safer.

The writing in this one is great. I suppose that is to be expected, really. But even the best writers can write a bad story. I love the plot, I like the character, I like the dialogue, it's all rainbows and sunshine. The whole story seems very much grounded in reality. Case in point, on his first foray into the business of crime fighting he gets beat to a pulp and stabbed by three hooligans. As I mentioned earlier, he is nobody special; his mother died abruptly of an aneurism, he's not well known in school, he plays video games, reads comics, and does what I imagine most comic book reading teens do. He could be about 10 different people I know (aside from the whole dead mother thing).

The art is great. I have never really been a big fan of John Romita Jr., but with this book his style fits perfectly. It has a nice blend of humour and seriousness, both of which he seems to be able to execute in his art. There's not too much else to say on it really. It looks quite nice, sometimes it's a little lacking in detail, but the detail is there when it needs to be.

To be concise, I like it. Plot - good, writing - good, art - good.

The Verdict: I will continue to buy this one, and I would recommend it to any fan of a superhero books or anyone who dressed (dresses?) up as Spiderman for halloween.

So this is Day 1 of the 31 day Comic-a-Day project. Well, let's get into it.

The End League #1
Writer - Rick Remender
Pencils - Mat Broome

The story - In 1962, Astonishman is manipulated into destroying a peaceful alien civilization under the sea, setting off a chain reaction of events that creates hundreds of thousands of super powered individuals.  Over time, most of these powered individuals use their powers for personal gain.  Eventually, they band together and wipe out the good guys, a day dubbed "The Day of Annihilation."  Flash forward 12 years.  Astonishman and a small group of powers are living in an underground HQ trying to find Mjolnir, the one weapon that could turn the tide in their favour.

For a first issue it seems quite good. The one thing that stands out as being bad is names. But what's in a name really? The writer certainly doesn't seem to care too much. Names like The Miraculous Astonishman, Brother Occult, and Arachnakid might not be out of place in something like Sidekick, they just don't seem to mesh with a serious book.  But I imagine this fits in with the bigger idea the writer has in mind.

The writing in particular was quite impressive.  I haven't come to expect much from super hero books, but this book comes in with a solid back story, a pretty clear idea of their characters' histories, and surprisingly well done dialogue.  All of the characters have their own distinct voice, and it was done in such a way that it all seems quite natural.  I imagine there is a lot of pressure on a first issue, especially one for a team book.  You have to include so much information in just 30 pages.  You need to tell readers about 5 or 6 different characters, their history, their personality, that it can be tempting to just say it outright.  This kind of cop-out exposition detracts way too much from the story, though.  The trick is subtlety.  The devil is in the details, as the saying goes.  You can say just as much using tones, and the right situations.  

There is one case in this book where the moment seemed a little forced, but it was handled in such a way that the writer appeared almost aware that he was copping out.  At one point a team member is chosen to go on a trivial mission and kisses her girlfriend to celebrate.  Under normal circumstances I would be irritated that they couldn't find a more suiting time to show off their relationship, but they recovered by having one of the other characters comment on the unnecessariness of their display of affection ("Congratulations, you get to go on a grocery run").  Well handled in my opinion.

The art isn't half bad, either.  I wouldn't give it any kind of reward, and a lot of the characters seem a little bit familiar looking, but it doesn't hurt my eyes to read it.  He seems to have the same problem with feet that plagues so many other artists.  His heroines also dress like common whores, but the heroes all seem like archetypal super heroes, so if they didn't dress like street walkers it might not fit with the image that he was looking to go for.

In all it seems like it is going to be a thoroughly enjoyable read.  I will definitely continue with this title.  The idea that I get from the first issue, is that he is using the stereotypical super team (omnipotent super-man, speedster, magician, "Mysterious and dark" guy, psychic) to push the idea that humanity is flawed, and can't be trusted with their own future.  Perhaps it's because I don't entirely disagree with this perspective that I enjoyed this book as much as I did.  I also see a lot of potential in it, it could turn out to be a great story.

Verdict: I will see it through to the end of the first arc.

I have recently seen a lot of people (mostly on Flickr) doing "365 day" projects, and it inspired me. I have a stack of comics that I haven't read yet, as I've been out of Canada for close to 2 years now, and I need to work my way through them. But as with anything that has been piling up for 2 years, the collection, and immensity of the task can be discouraging. Given this, I decided that I should read at least one of those comics every day. There is also the added benefit that I can give my commentary, thoughts and praise/criticism of said comic here. This may not seem like a "benefit" per se, I have been looking for something to push me back into writing, and at this point I don't care what kind of writing it is; I need to sharpen my pencil.

While it may not be a "365 day" project, I don't want to commit to a something for the long term just, yet. Getting on to Livejournal to make the posts is difficult enough in and of itself on account of the "Great Firewall." As well, work and life tend to keep me slightly busy. Consider this the "31 day free trial," though. If I like it, I'll buy into it and maybe I'll extend my subscription for a year.

I suppose I should also include a disclaimer, mostly for fun, but also so I can perhaps be better understood.

I will be critical of books I don't like. If you don't agree with me feel free to let me know, in fact I invite you to, but at least try to do so in an intelligent manner. I see so many forums where people just senselessly attack another poster, seldom providing their own point of view, or backing up anything they say.

I am not a professional writer/artist. I do not think I am better than anyone who gets paid to do these jobs. If I speak harshly about a writer or artist it's because their particular style does not appeal to me. It all boils down to personal preference.

That said, tomorrow begins the "31 Days of Comics." First up The End League #1

So I just got back from Tokyo this morning. I took a trip with Sarah to Tokyo this weekend for the Tokyo Game Show. I had been looking forward to this trip since before I even came to Japan. To start the trip we boarded a bus at Umeda (central Osaka) at 10 pm Friday night. The bus spend 8 grueling hours on the road to Tokyo. I'm not usually one to winge, but it was very cramped, so I didn't have much sleep with me once we reached Shinjuku. We arrived at 6:30 so we had 3 1/2 hours to kill before we could get into the show, and another 5 on top of that before we could check into our hotel.

Flash forward 3 hours later, food in our stomachs, caffeine in our veins, we're in the show. I made the decision before entering the building that I would take every freebee that was handed to me. I ended up with a very big and very full bag of junk. I have to admit, as my first time being to a game show, I didn't understand the flow of things. Being in there before the big crowds hit I should have headed for the major booths to play the big name games before the lineups got to be too much (Squareenix Booth, MGS4 booth), but I just dove in taking every free fan, flyer and cd offered, and picking up any controller that was pushed in my face. I got to play some fun games still, but by the time I got to the big booths the wait times were measured in hours. As cool as it would be to say I got to play Metal Gear Solid 4, I didn't want to wait 4 hours in line to do so. So I'll give you a run down of the games I did get to try.

Super Happy Fun Time Wii Rhythm Game (I don't know the name of it): It was a pretty fun game, similar to Samba de Amigo. You have to move the Wiimotes in the direction of the arrows in tune with the music while happy little people march toward the bottom of the screen. The problem I had with the game was that there was so much movement on the screen, but the arrows were static. This might not be so bad if you could hear the music, but at the show that wasn't really possible, so I had to watch the marching people to see when to move the controllers, distracting me from the arrows. Another problem in the design of the game is that you have to swing the controllers up from time to time. This was a particularly hazardous maneuver considering there is a cable connecting the two controllers, and any time you swing them up, the cable comes with and if you swung fast, the cable comes fast. For your face. Once you get past the control quirks, though, it seems like a pretty simple and fun game.

Shikigami no Shiro 3: Awesome game. I played it on the Wii, I don't know yet what other systems it's available on, but this game is a blast. I have a special place in my heart for scrolling shooter games so I was exceedingly happy to get to play this one. I had a few problems with the controller, the direction button would sometimes stay held after I let go, leading to many an unfortunate demise. This could be because the controller has seen a lot of wear, or maybe the game was a little buggy at show-time, either way, it's a solveable problem. The controls were extremely simple, using the Wiimote as a normal controller. It's nice to see that sometimes. As imaginative and innovative as you can be with the Wii's controller you can also use it just like you would any other console controller.

R-Type Tactics: I was stoked for an R-Type game for the PSP; R-Type Final is probably one of my favorite games of all time. This game was a bit of a let-down, though. It was difficult to get a good idea of the game as it's menu-heavy and all in Japanese. Maybe it's unfair of me to give my opinion on a game I couldn't even play, but a tactical scrolling shooter game just doesn't work for me.

Beautiful Katamari: Katamari is always a fun game. It worked on the 360 fairly well. Nothing seemed too different from the regular Katamari formula, all the basiccs were there. It was fun playing Katamari after being in Japan for a few months, there are so many small little Japanese things I had never picked up on. Things like dango, subway tickets, novice driver stickers, summer masks, hinamatsuri dolls were all just random strange items to me when I was back in Canada. I've always enjoyed Katamari games though, so I will eventually pick this one up.

The show was a great time, overall. I really want to come back another year and do it up right, though. I need a full weekend and a solid game plan (ha ha, get it "game plan" thats why it's Pun_Intended). I don't regret not doing things at the show, I saw plenty, played plenty, got plenty, but some year I want to come back and do it all. I'll bring my PSP and a book to make the lines bearable, leave my 30+ lb bag (or at least the majority of it's contents) at the hotel, sleep more than 3 hours in a place that is not a cramped bus seat, you know, little things to make it easier.

I say go if you can, it's a great time for the equivalent of $9 Canadian for admission. Foreigners don't even have to wait in line, overseas visitors have their very own, much shorter line (think a movie theatre on a Friday night).

I was reading an article by Jesse Hamm over on CBR the other day and it got me thinking about Mighty Avengers. The article was about 8 things that could greatly improve the world of comic books; simple things, not vast sweeping changes. It was a pretty good piece, a lot of the points made sense. I would personally add "Match artists to a project that suits their style," but that's another point for another post for another day.

Back to the article and how it relates to the comic in question. It was point #7, "Thought balloons" that got me thinking. He mentioned that thought balloons catch a lot of flak for showing what a character is thinking, instead of having the character show it through actions. He makes a few good points in defense of thought balloons, and I agree that they can have a place in comics - if they are necessary. This brings us to Mighty Avengers. The thought balloons in this comic are almost entirely unneccesary and end up bringing the whole comic down. It feels like Kevin Smith dialogue to me, like all of the extra thought dialogue is a joke to make Brian Michael Bendis (the writer) laugh. For some titles that sort of humour is perfectly fine, but there is a time and place for everything. A comic that is meant to be taken seriously, one like Mighty Avengers, shouldn't be taking the simple route to humour. In a book like Nextwave Agents of H.A.T.E., where -everything- is pretty much a joke, I would have no objections to seeing these types of thought balloons.

My other big complaint with the title (this doesn't relate to the "8 Things" article) is how it seems to forget the universe it's taking place in. Is it too much to ask a big name Avengers title to pay attention to what else is happening in the Marvel Universe at the time of publication? Maybe I'm being too much of a stickler for continuity, but to make it seem as though Tony Stark is dead, when he is currently being held captive by the Hulk in at least 3 other titles seems slightly ridiculous. Since this can't take place during World War Hulk, it either has to take place before it, or after it. If it takes place before WWH we know that he lives to be captured. If it takes place after, I believe they would sooner kill one of their major characters in this year's big MU wide crossover, in which he is already in danger, than kill him in a regular issue of any non-tie in comic. Furthermore, the issue in question was published months ago, around the same time WWH was starting.

Comic Reader: "Wait, where is Iron Man?"
Marvel: "Oh, he died months ago."
CR: "Then who was that in World War Hulk?"
M: "Ummmm...Life Model Decoy?"

So those are my thoughts on Mighty Avengers at the moment. Certainly not my favorite title.

This is my first foray into the Livejournal world, hopefully things go well and I enjoy it. This is mostly just going to be my place to speak on the topic of comics, but I reserve the right to speak on whatever I damn well please (it is my journal, remember). After talking with a friend recently, one who I rarely see online, I realized that I have a lot to talk about in the way of comics and rarely anyone to vent to. So I will air my feelings here, where I can at least pretend people who know what I'm talking about share my feelings, or even disagree. Disagreement is A-OK too, but if you're going to do so don't be an idiot about it. Please. Well that's it for the intro.

And if you don't know already, the Iron Man trailer is out (http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/ironman/). It looks pretty damn good. Robert Downey Jr., come on now (If you haven't seen Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, do so. He's a funny man).