Ultimate Wolverine VS. Hulk (finally!)

All the way back in early 2006, Damon Lindelof and Leinil Francis Yu started what was to be a mind-blowing mini-series. The first two issues certainly lived up to the promise, and promised more to come. Unfortunately, the third issue didn’t come out until May 2009.

I bought those first two issues way back in early 2006, and have recently purchased the last four issues of "Ultimate Wolverine VS. Hulk", finally completing the series.

The art is great. I like Yu’s pencil style. Of, course, the story idea is awesome. Wolverine-Hulk fights rarely (if ever) disappoint. And the actual fighting in the mini-series is anything but disappointing. Wolverine’s characterization is super cool, and the Hulk is done well. Unfortunately, the last four issues that we fans had to wait three years for are pretty disappointing story-wise. Why? Betty Banner as She-Hulk, that’s why.

Sorry to Lindelof if I’m giving away the “big twist” that comes mid- late-series, but I don’t think I’m really spoiling anything for would-be readers (especially since She-Hulk is on the cover of issue 4).
For some damn reason, Lindelof decided to ruin an otherwise great story with the one of the most stupid ideas to pop up in the Ultimate universe.

I still suggest it for anyone looking for some cool Wolverine action and dialogue, and some cool Banner/Hulk discussion. If you’re really averse to She-Hulk and dumb ideas though, maybe you should steer clear.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man

Okay, so, I didn't read "Ultimatum" (I plan to buy the TPB eventually) and I haven't been able to get my hands on Ultimate Spider-Man: Requiem #2, but I did just pick up the first two issues of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man.

I read Ultimate Spider-Man from about issue 20 to its recent "end". For the most part, it was a highly enjoyable blend of superheroism and teenage angst (I say "for the most part" because, well... Bendis did the clone stuff too...). Now, the new series starts off at issue 1 and it's six months after Magneto's tidal wave attack (which devastated New York and killed many of the heroes). Peter is dating Gwen instead of Mary Jane, the Daily Bugle is out of business (so Spider-Man has to work in fast food, which is hilarious), and things in general are a bit topsy-turvy.

Now, I must admit that I'm very interested and want to see how the series develops. I think the "jump" certainly allows for some accelerated story-telling, but....
While I'm not a professional writer, I do enjoy the craft of writing. Jumping ahead six months is typicaly laziness, I think. It's an attempt to move the story along without actually having to develop the interim stuff.

Still, I look forward to the series (though the re-numbering is dumb, as it usually is in the comics industry). Bendis is still writing fantastically, and even though I'm not sure if I can really like Lafuente's art style, it does bring a new flavor.

Ads

Okay, so, you can probably tell that there are ads on the blog (or at least will be). I'm not going to ask you to click on them or anything (I'm not allowed to, actually), but I do hope that you won't view me harshly.

I hope that you can continue to enjoy this blog and not hold my selling out against me.

The Bad Art Collection

(I know this was made LONG ago, but I only just now bought and read it.)

Johnen Vasquez’s “Bad Art Collection” is an interesting piece of work. On the inside cover, he claims that the art and jokes are intentionally bad, and I believe him. However, just because you make something bad on purpose doesn’t mean that it winds up being good.

I love “Johnny the Homicidal Maniac”, “Squee!”, “I Feel Sick”, and of course “Invader Zim”. The “B.A.C.” is somewhat akin to the Meanwhiles and Happy Noodle Boy pieces in Vasquez’s past works, but… well, it’s just not there.

Good thing, though, is that it only has a $1.95 cover price.

Dick Grayson as Batman

I’m now caught up on Batman (the title, not the character overall; this is the only regular Bat-title I bother to read). So, I just read Part Three of “Long Shadows”. This is part of the “Batman: Reborn” line. Right now, Dick Grayson is Batman, Damien Wayne is Robin, and Tim Drake is Red Robin. Also, Two-Face is able to tell that the man in the cowl isn’t the TRUE Batman.

Now, I was initially dead set against Bruce’s death. I still am. I think it’s stupid. I don’t think it brings anything good to the character, readers, or the DCU. Bruce Wayne is an amazing, fantastically rich character (and I’m not just talking about his money). Most other characters, even Dick Grayson, fall short in terms of character depth when compared to Bruce.
Hating the whole “R.I.P” story and his death in “Final Crisis”, of course I hated the idea of Grayson as Batman and the whole Robin/Red Robin thing. As of Batman #690, however, I can kind of get behind Dick Grayson as Batman. Still don’t like the overall idea, hate that Tim Drake is running around as Red Robin while Damien Wayne is Robin, but I am now actually enjoying Grayson behind the iconic mask.

So far, Winick is writing okay and Bagley is drawing alright.

We’ll have to see where this goes.

(Also, I’d like people to note that this ain’t the first time Dick filled in for Bruce)

Ponyo

“Ponyo” is the latest film by animation genius Hayao Miyazaki. The same cat who brought us “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away” has done a pretty cool movie about an adorable, magical goldfish who turns into a human girl.

Now, as a general rule, I’m not a fan of fantasy. Miyazaki, however, is a master of the genre and usually wins me over. I did enjoy “Ponyo”, but I don’t think it’s the masterpiece that most people are making it out to be. That said, I’m not sure if any of the Studio Ghibli films is better than the next, but personal preference winds up playing a big part in enjoyment of each film. I prefer the R-rated “Princess Mononoke” that contains violence and action and adults driving the plot over the G-rated “Ponyo” (the English version being about the love between the youngest Jonas brother and Hannah Montana’s sister).

I really enjoyed the action-y part in which Ponyo is running on the fish-waves (you’d have to see it to know what the hell I’m talking about). This part actually made me really want to see a Flash movie, and some of the underwater stuff made me want to see at least an animated Aquaman movie.

The other day in Japanese class, I overheard a girl talking about seeing the movie with a friend. Her friend was apparently like “This is dumb. I don’t get it. What the hell?!?” and she responded with “Just go with it. Let go of your expectations. You just have to sit back and watch.” I felt like this friend of my classmate had some fair criticism. There’s nothing wrong with you if you don’t like fantasy and want a movie to make sense.

Now, I was able to “let go” and just enjoy a kiddy fantasy movie, but it certainly wasn’t without its flaws. The number one rule for movies is that they shouldn’t break their own rules. A problem with this movie is that the rules aren’t very clearly established, so by the end I’m not entirely sure whether the rules are strictly followed or not. The end, unfortunately, is a bit anti-climactic.

The English voice cast is pretty good. I was originally a bit ticked that Disney went to such in-house pandering lengths as to cast Frankie Jonas (the little brother to the tween-oriented band the Jonas Brothers) and Noah Cyrus (the little sister of Miley Cyrus) in the lead roles. Surprisingly, the kids did well, though I think Disney should have gone with seasoned (adult) vets like Tress Macneille, Pamela Hayden, and Bumper Robinson (to name only a few). Tina Fey did alright. So did Betty White, Cloris Leachman, and Cate Blanchett. Liam Neeson was excellent as usual. Matt Damon was unnecessarily cast (his character had only a handful of lines! Why cast a big-name for that when you could get Billy West or someone like that for much cheaper?).
A problem was that the original dialogue doesn’t seem to translate well, so some of the actors are stifled by what seems to be bad writing.

Overall, I enjoyed it, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get the DVD. We’ll see. “Spirited Away” had to grow on me over time.

Is anyone out there?

I know it's been a long time. This has been because of a mixture of laziness and lack of money (if I can't see movies or buy comics, what will I review or talk about?).

However, if I have just ONE reader, I will keep posting!

So, if you're a reader, please post a comment to let me know!!!!