For those of you who want to stay in the loop on Amazing Spider-Man and its previous and upcoming releases, I recommend IGN as the place to go. http://comics.ign.com/objects/740/740875.html
IGN provides previews and reviews that might add some insight to my last review. It also posts most of the recent issue covers over the last few years.
The beauty of the site though is that it is extremely comprehensive, and most mainstream titles can be found here.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
The Hunt is On
So due to popular demand, this week’s comic will be an arc called Grim Hunt, covering issues of Amazing Spider-Man (ASM) 634 – 637. For those of you who don’t read the Marvel big time titles, they like to have one big story a year, typically with all the others leading up to that point (these are also the kinds of stories that get made into movies). So for several months before this arc, Spider-Man was forced into the Gauntlet, facing several classic villains each arc as Kraven the Hunter’s daughter was working behind the scenes to finish off our favorite web slinger for good.
On one hand, it was good to see a classic villain, Kraven, back and running around without being forced to the backseat by the new villains as the arc progressed. After the arcs One More Day/Brand New Day, the ASM series has undergone a total revamp. Spider-man was no longer married as a result of selling his marriage to the Devil to save his aunt’s life, and several new villains were running around. The staff claimed that this would allow them to escape from the old villains (like Venom, Dr. Octopus, and the Green Goblin) who have had their characters watered down over the years and introduce new villains as a fresh start.
Why am I explaining this in a review supposedly about Grim Hunt you ask? Because for a move that alienated most of ASM’s standing fan base in order to try to attract new readers with new characters, they sure have been falling back on the old characters but in new forms (for example one new villain is Grey Menace, who rides on a glider and has super powers from ingesting a formula based on the Green Goblin).
So after a bloody start, Kraven’s back with his family of hunters and wrecking havoc on Spidey’s life. This goes on for a while as Spider-man is forced to face more and more trials before eventually overpowering the hunters and returning some normalcy to his life. In other words, nothing really new has happened in the end, which is normal for a regular arc, but not for one as hyped as this one.
In the end I felt that the whole point of this arc was to characterize Kraven’s daughter so that she could take Kraven’s place in Spider-Man’s roster of villains. As a reader I couldn’t help but feel somewhat cheated by the whole thing since now instead of a hunter who just likes the thrill of the sport, we have a whiny age 12 little girl running around with daddy issues.
Overall the arc was entertaining, but felt shallow. It was good to see the writers connect the new villains to their older classic counterparts, but at the same time it felt unnecessary to do so. Sure it attempts to add some depth to the new characters, but why say you’re going to give the readers something new if it’s just the same character wrapped in new packaging.
But this is why I avoid a rating scale on these reviews. If you were to read just the arc itself, it would probably be entertaining and enjoyable. Yet if you’re a constant reader like I was, then you might feel a little let down after about a year of steadily building up to this and all the hype around it.
On one hand, it was good to see a classic villain, Kraven, back and running around without being forced to the backseat by the new villains as the arc progressed. After the arcs One More Day/Brand New Day, the ASM series has undergone a total revamp. Spider-man was no longer married as a result of selling his marriage to the Devil to save his aunt’s life, and several new villains were running around. The staff claimed that this would allow them to escape from the old villains (like Venom, Dr. Octopus, and the Green Goblin) who have had their characters watered down over the years and introduce new villains as a fresh start.
Why am I explaining this in a review supposedly about Grim Hunt you ask? Because for a move that alienated most of ASM’s standing fan base in order to try to attract new readers with new characters, they sure have been falling back on the old characters but in new forms (for example one new villain is Grey Menace, who rides on a glider and has super powers from ingesting a formula based on the Green Goblin).
So after a bloody start, Kraven’s back with his family of hunters and wrecking havoc on Spidey’s life. This goes on for a while as Spider-man is forced to face more and more trials before eventually overpowering the hunters and returning some normalcy to his life. In other words, nothing really new has happened in the end, which is normal for a regular arc, but not for one as hyped as this one.
In the end I felt that the whole point of this arc was to characterize Kraven’s daughter so that she could take Kraven’s place in Spider-Man’s roster of villains. As a reader I couldn’t help but feel somewhat cheated by the whole thing since now instead of a hunter who just likes the thrill of the sport, we have a whiny age 12 little girl running around with daddy issues.
Overall the arc was entertaining, but felt shallow. It was good to see the writers connect the new villains to their older classic counterparts, but at the same time it felt unnecessary to do so. Sure it attempts to add some depth to the new characters, but why say you’re going to give the readers something new if it’s just the same character wrapped in new packaging.
But this is why I avoid a rating scale on these reviews. If you were to read just the arc itself, it would probably be entertaining and enjoyable. Yet if you’re a constant reader like I was, then you might feel a little let down after about a year of steadily building up to this and all the hype around it.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
So after a long and tedious week of waking up and going to class, driving home to help my best friend out with his newborn son (Applaud here. It’s cool, I’ll wait), holding him for thirty minutes, then making the four and a half hour journey back; I read Scott Pilgrim (and played the video game… Don’t judge me).
Now this is one of those comic books that most people have never heard of until they make a movie of it and even then most don’t realize that the book came first (cough cough Green Hornet cough). I’m ashamed to say it but I was one of those people too. I guess being out of the comic gig has gotten me out of the loop. That or it’s because it’s Canadian. For the sake of my pride as a nerd and so that being a complete social outcast for the last 21 years has not been in vain, I’m going to go with answer B.
Anyways, usually I read the source material first, but as I said before the movie got to me first. Luckily it was a good movie considering they put six books worth of story into a single film, because I immediately went out to seek my own copies of the six books: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness, Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the Universe, and Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour. It makes sense though, because all six books are just a continuation of one another, and the movie wouldn’t make sense without having one big “To Be Continued” marked at the end. But that’s not why we’re here.
Scott Pilgrim is a 23 year old Canadian that really has yet to get his life around. He’s jobless, plays the bass in his band Sex Bob-omb, and lives with his cool gay roommate. But his like changes for the better when he first meets/stalks a girl by the name of Romona Flowers (actually it pretty much stays the same but he has Ramona now).
But in order for our comical protagonist to date Ramona, he must battle and defeat her seven evil exes who wish to control her love life and break off his relationship with Knives, his 17 year old current girlfriend.
The art itself is fitting for the kind of story Scott Pilgrim is. It’s simple and the frames move at a fast pace to match that of the story. The action can be a little jumpy, having it jump from frame to frame like an ADD jackrabbit one a hot summer’s day is part of the charm. It’s so random that you can’t help but laugh at some of the lines and banter exchanged between the characters.
The one problem that occurs is that the books seem to lose some of its comedic effect as the story progresses and the plot becomes more of the focus point. It’s still hilarious each time he must fight an evil ex and hearing Ramona explain her reasoning behind each one (like Asian twins at the same time), but the pacing seems to drag. This makes the art style suddenly lose its flair a bit, but typically it can pick right up again.
The events in the story work well and flow together quite nicely. Despite the books being published a year apart, they still feel like one piece of work, which works for the die-hard comic fans and possibly against the casual readers who want a quick read.
Overall I was quite surprised how charmed I was by Scott Pilgrim. For something so under my radar, it’s refreshing to see something this good that can constantly make me laugh. Anyone looking for a good time, I recommend taking a look at Scott Pilgrim.
Now this is one of those comic books that most people have never heard of until they make a movie of it and even then most don’t realize that the book came first (cough cough Green Hornet cough). I’m ashamed to say it but I was one of those people too. I guess being out of the comic gig has gotten me out of the loop. That or it’s because it’s Canadian. For the sake of my pride as a nerd and so that being a complete social outcast for the last 21 years has not been in vain, I’m going to go with answer B.
Anyways, usually I read the source material first, but as I said before the movie got to me first. Luckily it was a good movie considering they put six books worth of story into a single film, because I immediately went out to seek my own copies of the six books: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness, Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the Universe, and Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour. It makes sense though, because all six books are just a continuation of one another, and the movie wouldn’t make sense without having one big “To Be Continued” marked at the end. But that’s not why we’re here.
Scott Pilgrim is a 23 year old Canadian that really has yet to get his life around. He’s jobless, plays the bass in his band Sex Bob-omb, and lives with his cool gay roommate. But his like changes for the better when he first meets/stalks a girl by the name of Romona Flowers (actually it pretty much stays the same but he has Ramona now).
But in order for our comical protagonist to date Ramona, he must battle and defeat her seven evil exes who wish to control her love life and break off his relationship with Knives, his 17 year old current girlfriend.
The art itself is fitting for the kind of story Scott Pilgrim is. It’s simple and the frames move at a fast pace to match that of the story. The action can be a little jumpy, having it jump from frame to frame like an ADD jackrabbit one a hot summer’s day is part of the charm. It’s so random that you can’t help but laugh at some of the lines and banter exchanged between the characters.
The one problem that occurs is that the books seem to lose some of its comedic effect as the story progresses and the plot becomes more of the focus point. It’s still hilarious each time he must fight an evil ex and hearing Ramona explain her reasoning behind each one (like Asian twins at the same time), but the pacing seems to drag. This makes the art style suddenly lose its flair a bit, but typically it can pick right up again.
The events in the story work well and flow together quite nicely. Despite the books being published a year apart, they still feel like one piece of work, which works for the die-hard comic fans and possibly against the casual readers who want a quick read.
Overall I was quite surprised how charmed I was by Scott Pilgrim. For something so under my radar, it’s refreshing to see something this good that can constantly make me laugh. Anyone looking for a good time, I recommend taking a look at Scott Pilgrim.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Welcome to My World
So as of late I've kind of been unemployed. With that comes all sorts of benefits such as being genuinely poor, and rationing (didn't we outlaw that after WWII or something?).
But anyways, the point is that a longstanding hobby of mine (collecting comic books) was forced to be put down due to lack of funding for my addiction and my parents refusing to enable me. After the long and painful decision between comics and food (and it was a close one people), I decided that I would choose comics, and then later food after three weeks and a few missing pounds.
So all that remains unread of my ten years of being a social outcast and the founding idea for the stereotypical nerd lies piled in a peanut box on a shelf next to real book that I will honestly get to someday (in Garrett’s Super Awesome Blog of Incrediblenessocity, TBA).
In this box sits several runs of series that I had been holding off on reading just so I could truly appreciate the story, the art, and the overall interaction within the universe. The problem with this idea is now that the box is no longer overflowing, I’m never motivated to keep up with it like I was. I know the moment I hit the bottom it will all be over, and my childhood hobby will be dead.
So how this blog will work is that each week I’ll post on some comic or series that I’ve read and discuss the elements within it. Some will be mainstream titles (like Marvel’s Spider-man) and others will be not so main stream (like Zenescope’s Grimm Fairy Tales). Heck some might even be legit books to lend myself some credibility as a reader.
But that’s not all folks. For the next ten weeks we will be slowly working our way down to the granddaddy of them all. I’m talking about the last installment of the X-Men’s Messiah trilogy called Second Coming. Yes it’s a big deal. Let’s just say the first installment literally involved a DO NOT DISTURB announcement to a bus full of high school kids and a bribe to a freshman to hurt anyone who bothers me between issue 1 and 13. This was four years ago and I’ve been waiting eagerly to read this final arc ever since then.
So sit back. Relax. Accept change (heh a little Secret Invasion humor for all those who know what a Skrull is. For those of you who don’t just laugh and back away slowly, making no sudden movements. My eyesight isn’t as good as yours).
But most importantly I hope you have fun as I work my way through this list and enjoy the last pieces of my collection before I say goodnight to the hobby forever.
But anyways, the point is that a longstanding hobby of mine (collecting comic books) was forced to be put down due to lack of funding for my addiction and my parents refusing to enable me. After the long and painful decision between comics and food (and it was a close one people), I decided that I would choose comics, and then later food after three weeks and a few missing pounds.
So all that remains unread of my ten years of being a social outcast and the founding idea for the stereotypical nerd lies piled in a peanut box on a shelf next to real book that I will honestly get to someday (in Garrett’s Super Awesome Blog of Incrediblenessocity, TBA).
So how this blog will work is that each week I’ll post on some comic or series that I’ve read and discuss the elements within it. Some will be mainstream titles (like Marvel’s Spider-man) and others will be not so main stream (like Zenescope’s Grimm Fairy Tales). Heck some might even be legit books to lend myself some credibility as a reader.
But that’s not all folks. For the next ten weeks we will be slowly working our way down to the granddaddy of them all. I’m talking about the last installment of the X-Men’s Messiah trilogy called Second Coming. Yes it’s a big deal. Let’s just say the first installment literally involved a DO NOT DISTURB announcement to a bus full of high school kids and a bribe to a freshman to hurt anyone who bothers me between issue 1 and 13. This was four years ago and I’ve been waiting eagerly to read this final arc ever since then.
So sit back. Relax. Accept change (heh a little Secret Invasion humor for all those who know what a Skrull is. For those of you who don’t just laugh and back away slowly, making no sudden movements. My eyesight isn’t as good as yours).
But most importantly I hope you have fun as I work my way through this list and enjoy the last pieces of my collection before I say goodnight to the hobby forever.
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