comic books | the m0vie blog

Daredevil by Ed Brubaker Omnibus, Vol. II

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Darren

Still, it must have been nice for you, Murdock.

What?

To win this one. It seems like you really needed it.

– North and Murdock

There goes the whiniest superhero I ever met.

– Mr. Izo

I’ve said it before and I’ll likely say it again: Daredevil has had an amazing ten-year run under the stewardship of Kevin Smith, David Mack, Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker. It’s just been a really well-put together comic book which really works. one of the finest compliments of the book I’ve read, and one I sadly can’t take credit for, is that Daredevil mostly avoids the deconstruction which has been a fixture of many iconic runs, while also avoiding the pitfalls of nostalgia that typically define the reaction to deconstruction – instead, the book has found a third way: it has found a way to take the conventional tropes of the superhero genre, and use them to offer something relatively new and exciting, exploring the story potential inherent in ideas like a secret identity, or what happens when a vigilante creates a vacuum in crime. Ed Brubaker, who – if you ask me – has offered the most fascinating run on the character and has surpassed his work on Captain America, finishes his run here and closes a chapter in the life of the Marvel Universe’s most tragic superhero.

Stars in your eyes...

Note: This review will contain spoilers for the end of Brubaker’s run, if you aren’t already familiar with it. I’ll flag them beforehand, but consider yourself warned.

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: ande parks, black tarantula, comic books, cruel and unusual, daredevil, daredevil by ed brubaker, daredevil by ed brubaker and michael lark, daredevil by ed brubaker and michael lark omnibus, daredevil by ed brubaker omnibus, david aja, ed brubaker, graphic novel, greg rucka, lady bullseye, marvel, marvel omnibus, matt murdock, michael lark, return of the king, review, the blood of the tarantula, the hand, the kingpin, tragedy, wilson fisk | 2 Comments »

Has Jonah Hex Killed the Comic Book B-Movie?

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Darren

The reviews for Jonah Hex are not good. The box office for Jonah Hex is equally not good. I think it’s safe to say that there won’t be a sequel. But are the implications deeper than that? I’ve certainly read some suggestions that this might not just be a bad result for the bad ass, facially-scarred cowboy, but for fans of minor comic book characters in general:

Remember all those ambitious plans DC and Marvel’s film crews had to use their massive character libraries as movie R&D? After sub par returns for Kick-Ass, The Losers (two movies that deserved better box-office) and with Jonah Hex a near-certain bomb, fans may want to dial down those dreams of an Ant-Man or Booster Gold movie.

When the bell finally tolls in Hollywood for films based on B-list comic book characters – and you can bet Quasimodo is warming up in the bell tower — you might be able to blame Jonah Hex for being the tipping point.

So, has Jonah Hex killed any chance for lesser known characters on the big screen?

Has Jonah put a Hex on less popular comic book characters?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: comic book films, comic books, dc comics, films, jonah hex, marvel comics, Movies, sueprheroes | 13 Comments »

The Absolute League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. II (Review)

Posted on June 4, 2010 by Darren

I don’t think it’s really fair to split up The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen into two separate volumes. I’d argue that they are instead two halves of the same tale. It’s to the credit of this second storyline that it doesn’t feel like a sequel to the original – it feels like the second half of a circle, closing it out.

Out of this world!

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: absolute, absolute edition, alan moore, allan quartermain, comic books, Comics, dc comics, dr. jekyl, dr. mornaeu, h.g. wells, hg wells, hyde, jekyl, kevin o'neill, league of extraordinary gentlemen, league of gentlemen, martians, metafiction, mr. hyde, pulp fiction, the absolute leage of extraordinary gentlemen, the league of extraordinary gentlemen, the war of the worlds, victorian fiction, war of the worlds | 8 Comments »

The Absolute League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. I (Review)

Posted on June 4, 2010 by Darren

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is, like most works from writer Alan Moore, a strange beast. Essentially a pulp comic book narrative banding together several iconic fictional characters from Victorian fiction (Allan Quartermain, Mina Murray, Captain Nemo, Hawley Griffin and Edward Jekyll form the main cast), the series is much more than that. Cleverly and insidious cross-referencing and weaving its way through a slew of existing fictional and non-fictional elements. I spent as much time googling a rake of obscure and semi-obscure names and events and locations, all tying back to the great authors at the turn of the last century. How ironic that a pulpy Victorian tale would be perhaps the first classic of the internet age.

Nothing to Hyde...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: absolute, absolute edition, alan moore, allan quartermain, comic books, Comics, dc comics, dr. jekyl, fu manchu, hyde, jekyl, kevin o'neill, league of extraordinary gentlemen, league of gentlemen, metafiction, moriarty, mr. hyde, pulp fiction, sherlock holmes, the absolute leage of extraordinary gentlemen, the league of extraordinary gentlemen, victorian fiction | 2 Comments »

Ultimate Comics Iron Man: Armour Wars

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Darren

Iron Man has always been a character better suited to defining character arcs than to defining runs – which is arguably odd, when considered with most iconic characters. When we talk about Daredevil, for example, we talk about Frank Miller and Brian Michael Bendis; when we talk about the X-Men, we talk about Chris Claremont; when we talk about the Green Lantern, we talk about Geoff Johns. On the other hand, when we talk about Iron Man, we talk about Armour Wars or Demon in a Bottle or Extremis. Perhaps that’s a strength when releasing a big budget blockbuster like Iron Man 2 – it’s easy to flood the market with reprints of six or seven issue storylines, rather than having to deal with huge chunks of narrative. It’s also perhaps the reason that this particular miniseries – essentially a modernised continuity-light retelling of a classic story – seems like such a great idea. It’s ridiculous to suggest a retelling of an iconic writer’s tenure, but remaking a single iconic story seems much more reasonable and more than a bit smart – surely it’s a great way to bring readers into step with arguably the most popular comic book character in the world right now?

Par Armor...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: armor wars, armour wars, comic books, iron man, iron man armor, iron man armour, iron man: armor wrs, iron man: armour wars, marvel, steve kurth, tony stark, ultimate armor wars, ultimate armour wars, ultimate comics, ultimate comics iron man, ultimate comics iron man: armor wars, ultimate comics iron man: armour wars, ultimate marvel, warren ellis | Leave a comment »

Absolute Green Lantern: Rebirth (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 12, 2010 by Darren

Face facts, John. The real Hal Jordan is back. And he’s bringing the past with him.

– Batman

Batman states the above as if it’s some sort of dire threat. Perhaps to him, one of the darker of the superhero community, it is. However, to writer Geoff Johns, it’s a mission statement. Let the reconstruction begin. It’s easy to balk at a relatively recent superhero comic being given DC’s prestige ‘Absolute’ format (it’s even easier when you realise it’s only six issues long for that hefty price tag), but Green Lantern: Rebirth deserves it. Not because it’s as iconic as, say, Alan Moore’s Watchmen or Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, because it isn’t. Nor is it because of the series’ increasingly important place in the DC canon. It deserves the treatment because of what it represents. This was the moment that the pendulum swung back in mainstream comics, a conscious rejection of the “darker and edgier” philosophy that gripped the medium in the nineties. It’s also a pretty good read.

Shine a light...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: absolute edition, absolute green lantern, absolute green lantern: rebirth, absolute rebirth, alan moore, comic books, dc comics, dc universe, ethan van sciver, geoff johns, green lantern, green lantern: rebirth, Guy Gardner, hal jordan, Kyle Rayner, parallax, rebirth, retcon | 4 Comments »

Some Superhero Legacy: How Spider-Man Changed the Movies…

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Darren

This is one of my entries on the latest cross-blogging event, tracking down some of the most overrated movies of all time. It’s being run by Mike over at You Talking to Me. I can’t spoil the list by giving you any of the other titles, but I can tell you another entry will be appearing on this very blog before the week is out.

Let me pitch you a scene. It’s early 2002. There’s a whole rank of huge blockbusters looming. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; Star Wars: Episode II; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; Austin Powers in Goldmember; Men in Black II; Ice Age. And then there’s a strange one. Spider-Man, from that guy who made The Evil Dead. Really? Sure, Richard Donner’s Superman was great, but that was decades ago. Joel Schumacher had killed the Batman franchise only a few years back. That Bryan Singer fella had proved he wasn’t a one-hit wonder with X-Men, but it wasn’t exactly box office gold (only the eighth biggest film of 2000). Comic book movies were a strange proposition – transitioning the characters to the big screen just didn’t work naturally. Somethings aren’t meant to be adapted.

Has Spider-Man Blackened the Name of all Superhero Films?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: blogging, comic book, comic book films, comic books, daredevil, films, Movie, Movies, spider man, spider-man 2, spider-man 3, spider-man ii, spider-man iii, superhero movies, superheroes | 10 Comments »

Marvel-ous Day: Marvel Optioning Off Smaller Projects on Smaller Budgets

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Darren

I hope you aren’t tired of comic book movies, because it seems like the past few summers have just been an attempt to whet our appetites for even more of the four-colour heroes. Marvel, ever keen to stay one step ahead of their “distinguished competitor”, have announced a scheme to allow the less well-known of their characters a day in the spotlight. DC is still struggling to get its iconic heroes to the screen, let alone put together a coherent shared universe, and Marvel is already scouring the depths of its published materials for new films. I have to admit, I’m kinda excited about the news.

Who's next?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: comic book films, comic books, dc, film, genre, marvel, Movies, subgenre, superheroes | 7 Comments »

Astonishing X-Men Omnibus by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Darren

Why did I have to follow Grant Morrison?

– Joss Whedon’s email correspondence with Marvel

What with all that talk of Whedon directing The Avengers on the big screen, I decided it was worth checking out his run on one of the most enduring superhero teams of all time.

Is this a breakout hit?

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: arts, astonishing x-men, astonishing x-men omnibus, avengers, breakworld, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Cassandra Nova, comic books, Comics, cyclops, emma frost, Genosha, grant morrison, graphic novel, john cassaday, john cassidy, joss whedon, kitty pride, marvel, marvel comics, Mutants, new x-men, nick fury, review, scott summers, x-men | 2 Comments »

Why Not Every Superhero Has To Be “Dark and Edgy”…

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Darren

News surfaced earlier in the week that reported Sony are reportedly less than pleased with how The Green Hornet is turning out. What are they unhappy about? Oh yes, the fact that the movie from Seth Rogan and Michael Gondry about a man who fights crime in an emerald business suit with a domino mask and a Japanese man-servant might not be delivered with the poe-faced gravitas that the very concept deserves. Apparently, it’s campy.

Wait, what?