LIKED
– The Web is the first of JMS’ “Red Circle” comics that I’ve actually really enjoyed. This is not to say that Hangman and Inferno were bad comics; they were competently made bland ones, featuring Yet Another Spectre and a kinda boring guy-who-transforms-into-another-guy-who’s-on-fire. The Web actually has a pretty good hook, though, in that its hero is a guy who knows he’s kind of a shithead and has decided he doesn’t want to be a shithead (and has billions of dollars so he can be a superhero), and then his first time trying to not be a shithead manages to be a shithead anyway, but just a superheroic one. And then he learns a lesson. It’s kind of a twisted take on the Spider-Man origin and it works pretty well.
– I’m really enjoying Overlord II, more for its sense of humour than its occasionally annoying gameplay. Having command over an army of annoying hyperactive murderous runts is, it appears, endlessly entertaining. Listening to the heroic elves champion “all creatures, so long as they are fluffy and cute” is hilarious too. Really, it’s just a funny game with occasionally annoying controls.
– District 9 is good. (Insert dialogue about potential racist aspects of movie here.)
MEH
– How inessential a comic is Power Girl? Lemme put it this way: while hunting for a torrent of old Golden Age crime comics, I saw one for the new issue of Power Girl. It would have taken me one click to read it. I did not click. That is how inessential Power Girl is. And that comes from somebody who likes Power Girl and Amanda Conner’s art.
DIDN’T LIKE
– Wendy’s is doing this new line of “boneless wings,” which might be better called “nuggets in sauce.” They taste like you would expect nuggets in sauce to taste. The Asian Chicken ones are my least favorite, as they are nuggets basically dipped in a mix of honey and cheap, not particularly spicy sriracha. The Buffalo ones are worse. Given that Wendy’s has what is easily my favorite fast-food chicken item of all time (the Spicy Chicken sandwich), this comes as a disappointment.
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Would Power Girl be better if Frank Cho was doing the art?
Wendy’s is the only place I go for fast food anymore. Their burgers are impossible to beat.
Zenrage- The art is far, FAR from the problem with Power Girl.
I’m willing to give PG a few more issues to iron out the kinks, because it’s basically enjoyable- they’ve got the basics down. More of Kara’s secret identity, some stuff with Starr Ware (even though it’s now some sort of futuretech company instead of a software outfit), monkey fighting, Peej’s personality is pretty much right, etc.
But it is kinda weird that they think she has to directly battle sexism each issue. I don’t know if the Ultra-Humanite has some kind of misogynistic background, but it felt forced.
I absolutey love District 9 (best movie of the year thus far). How many other other people found the abortion secne disturning? They were just so blase, (felt Wikus dam near had to change his pants), about doing it and yes I know it represets the horrible past Jo’burg is part of. Felt the space aparthid subtext was excellent and properly handled. Especially the part about calling the aliens Prawns and giving them human names even though they already have their own naems. Really liked the ambiguous ending too.
Those wendy’s nuggets in sugar sauce looked pretty scuzzy. I’m sort of glad to get confirmation, with out having to actually try them.
District 9 had fun special effects, but the plot felt so wooden, I really don’t think I’d enjoy watching it again. Once you take out the surprise elements of it, it hasn’t got much. I almost felt like the writers wanted credit for doing an apartheid story, but didn’t want to actually get their hands dirty talking about apartheid in an intelligent manner.
I didn’t like the first few issues of PG but this new one really clicked with me for some reason. I was ready to drop it too but now I’m going to give it a few more issues.
Was it my imagination or did Terra strip down to her underwear to fight? 🙂 I’m liking the friendship PG has started with her. It feels nice.
Bringing in the male cast of the Big Bang Theory was a nice touch too.
I must be the only peron who has liked PG so far. I’m all for it being about the book taking a mentor/student approach as opposed to PG clobberin’ stuff every issue…
Why is it (bearing in mind that I have yet to see District 9) that the accusations of racism seem to be predicated on the film addressing racism?
Especially with regard to South Africa, a country whose problems the West frequently turns a blind eye to because, hey, Apartheid is over right?
Right?
I liked the Terra series (and the yummy art) but yeah, the stories are meh.
Should I care about JMS’s new characters? Do any of them seem like they’re going to be the new breakaway hit?
marvinmartian:
I think the accusations of racism mostly stem from the black mobsters who scream like rabid animals, whore their girlfriends out to aliens, and get their rocks off on cannibalism. That and taking place in a world where apartheid never ended because the blacks can join with the whites in hating the aliens so much more.
Big ups to Spicy Chicken Sandwich!
Peege does appear in your Toronto Star today, though. Let’s see Rex do that!
Man, I dunno, I really like Power Girl. I think the comic delivers superheroics in a very pure, uncomplicated way that a lot of DC comics have missed out on. For instance, most of the time Teen Titans have someone attacking them, or betraying them, or there’s some vendetta involved. I never get the idea they’re trying to make the world better. Karen Star is doing that, both at her job and as a super heroine. Plus, she has a supporting cast that doesn’t look they’re all going to go insane, which is nice.
I also like the pacing of the comic. Ultra-Humanite was taken care of in what? Three issues? This new one was a done-in-one, and made me laugh. PG stands for epic situations without overdoing the drama and requiring comic-spanning crossovers to get. And Amanda Conner puts a lot nice additions in the backgrounds, so it adds to the re-reading experience. The comic’s fun to read, and that’s about as essential as it needs to be for me. I’d recommend more DC comics to follow its format, really.
I felt this week’s issue of Power Girl worked a lot better than the previous ones. Strangely enough, reading about the Adventures of Power Girl and Terra (featuring entertaining and well-written scenes both in superheroing and everyday life) is a lot more fun than reading the Dull and Pointless Origin of the Ultra-Humanite.
I can’t help but feel like the boneless wings would be enjoyable if they cost about a $1.50 less than they do. As it is, I’m pretty sure they cost more than the Spicy Chicken, so they make me feel ripped off more than anything else.
Totally agree with you about ‘The Web’. Lets get the hardware and softwear and superhero wear out of the way early and lets start dealing with moral condundrums and the guilty conscience. Loves me a superhero who beats himself up more than any villian could. And the art is as great as his look.
Oh and Zenrage – every comic is better when Frank Cho does the art.
If I hear one more person bitch about District Nine, ANY part of that movie I am gonna scream. Imagine if you will the movie you WOULD have had if Hollywood’s Machine had made this feature. Then shut up. ’nuff said.
I think that most of the “potential racist aspects,” etc., of District 9 are only there when people try and make the film a 1:1 allegory for apartheid. While the movie certainly references that past, it really isn’t a film about historic injustices; rather, it’s an interpretation of the way modern society would interact with a wholly new non-human minority. I know that seems obvious, but it seems like a lot of people see “aliens-in-Johannesburg” and run with apartheid, instead of actually looking at the story itself.
if you are seeking golden age comics then you really should visit goldenagecomics.co.uk
The spicy chicken sandwich is the ONLY reason to go to Wendy’s… That and Frosty’s.
Man, I LOVE their chicken sandwich. I used to get the spicy one all the time but recently I’ve been on a massive chicken club kick. It’s not spicy but has the added benefit of bacon and cheese. Mmmm…
So, did you find a torrent of golden age crime comics?
(Insert dialogue about potential racist aspects of movie here.)
I’m glad someone brought that up. It seems like I’m the only person in my circle of friends that really took issue with it, at least until I pointed it out in conversation. I still liked the film, but not only were the Nigerian gang members an incredibly broad caricature, they were spoken about by every character who referred to them as if this is what *all* Nigerians are like, not just this gang or the Nigerians within District 9. Even the characters who were obviously sympathetic to the (extraterrestrial) aliens spoke of the Nigerians as if they were a degenerate race of which you could expect nothing better.
I think this reflects an unintentional bias on the part of the filmmakers — it’s too consistent and unexamined to be deliberate from someone clearly making a film that actually tackles racism in other aspects of its story.
Bah: you said it’s not a 1:1 allegory with Apartheid, I think you’re dismissing it too broadly. Sure, that’s not *all* it is, but the Apartheid element is far too large a factor in the overall film to be downplayed so. The name “District 9” is a direct reference to a District Six in Cape Town from which non-whites were forcibly relocated by the Apartheid government. Look it up. That doesn’t mean I think that element has anything to do with most people’s concerns of racism, though — it has nothing to do with mine.
Kal: no, you shut up. Just because it’s probably a better film than anything Hollywood (that great, monolithic entity composed of a thousand thousand people who never take any risks or vary in execution in any way — or something) would have done with the same concept doesn’t mean it is perfect or above critical discussion.
THERE IS NO ALLEGORY HERE, MOVE ALONG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:District-Six-Memory-Plaque.jpg
How essential does Power Girl need to be?