Posts tagged comicvine

I had an idea for a column where I would write about comic characters’ “day jobs”, and how exactly their careers played into their personalities. Eventually, that idea became this article.

I like musicians as characters’ careers because they represent this openness that they share with other people, and in turn, the reader. It’s kind of a “meta” thing: we’re used to seeing so much of their personal lives, and when they go up on stage, they’re opening up for other people, as well. This goes double for superheroes like Dazzler or Lila Cheney: their identities as mutants are exposed, putting them in all kinds of potential danger.

Excerpt after the break!

Lila Cheney is a mutant with the power of long-range teleportation; she cannot travel any distance shorter than a light-year (a little under 6 trillion miles). When her powers manifested, she was taken by an alien slaver, from which

 she escaped using a Dyson Sphere (a colony built around a star). This sphere allowed her to tour the galaxy as an intergalactic pop star, picking up considerable skills as a thief along the way. While performing on Earth, she planned to sell the planet itself by moving it through a stargate to some prospective buyers; this plan was thwarted when a band member betrayed her, and she was convicned to give up her scoundrel ways by the New Mutants.

Since her initial origin, she has been a member of X-Force, X-Factorand an occasional love interest of Cannonball. After M-Day, she retained her powers and still continues to tour the galaxy.

I enjoy the concept of Lila because for all the drama that being a mutant seems to be attached to, she seems to avoided anything that’s gotten in her way. I mean, the fact that she can just jump awayfrom any trouble is one answer to danger, but Lila just seems to be doing her own thing. I’m a fan of this, as not everyone who goes into space needs to be an inept, fish-out-of-water sterotype. Lila earns some cool points (and a place on this list) for being a rockstar and awesome musician, rolled into one.

Last week I published an excerpt of a column I was working on for Comic Vine in which I discussed cities in comics, and how they can be done right. The post finally went online the other day, and you can read it here!

Quote after the break!

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Hey all! Just thought I’d take the time to post some excerpts of the comics I reviewed this week. As always, you can find my work on ComicVine!

Alpha Flight #1 (of 8) - Marvel

Northstar’s lover got shoved in the refrigerator pretty quickly; his death was meaningless and only served to eliminate any sense of normalcy the mutant had outside of the team. It would have been much more interesting trying to see Northstar try to manage a relationship with a non-mutant.

Batgirl #22 - DC

I’m love-love-loving the interaction between Squire and Batgirl. Beryl seems to be the friend that Steph needs that isn’t too serious, yet isn’t an emotional waif. Both seem to work well off of each other, and make for a pretty interesting story. While I’ve read a bunch of Batgirl and haven’t been impressed, this issue really grew on me due to its strong writing and the banter between the two girls.

I really like how the Squire isn’t as familiar with Batman as we all are. There’s a scene where she mimics the “ears” on Knight’s helmet and when Batgirl mentions it as Batman, Beryl just says “Oh… I suppose he does have a pair too, doesn’t he?” like it’s something she’s realized just now.

Invincible Iron Man #505 - Marvel

Since when does Tony Stark just leave a fight he can’t win it? Sure, he’s a bit damaged, but to run away from a petrified Paris (especially when people might be still alive) just seems a bit irresponsible. To crack jokes about his company “sprouting redheads” and casually saying that “Paris is a total loss” just seems a bit crass.

Legion of Super-Heroes #14 - DC

It just seem that there’s so much going on in this book that it’s hard to find the sole focus. There’s a fight against Immortus, the assault on the Wisdom world by Saturn Queen (and the preceding sacrifice scenes), drama with Starboy, drama with Mon-El, and a “Justice League Subway” mini-comic in the middle.

I know the writers can’t control that last one, but even without it, the pacing in this issue is just horrendous. I really am quite apathetic about where the series is going, as it’s clear it’ll be one of those “villains destroyed the first two MacGuffins! We should stop them before they destroy the third!” storylines.

Power Girl #25 - DC

While I’m usually not a fan of Judd Winick’s work, this issue was actually pretty decent. I’m a big fan of the portrayal of Rayhan Mazin, the Quraci superhero with the powers of a storm. Seeing the personal drama of his history unfold while Power Girl and Batman clean up his “mess” was great.

The art in this issue is great. I love the character design behind Mazin, as it really evokes a “Sayid from LOST” vibe.

ComicVine just posted the first of what looks to be an ongoing column for me; I’m taking genres and tropes and figuring out what exactly makes them tick. Today’s (first) entry takes a look at team books, and how the team makeup, roster size and stereotypes can fit into their success. Feel free to suggest genres for me to look at through my ask box or through my Twitter!

Excerpt after the jump. Click the image/link for the column.

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So, I’ve kind of gotten behind on the reviews I’ve posted, so here’s two weeks’ worth, with some excerpts for good measure.

Fear Itself: Sins Past #1 (Marvel)

This is a great issue for those looking for more context to Fear Itself, but it’s really unnecessary to the understanding of the rest of the event. It’s a 5 minute look into the pysche of Steve Rogers and how he’s dealt with this kind of thing before, and that’s something we don’t get nearly enough of

Silver Surfer #3 (Marvel)

I’m really disappointed by this issue; Pak seems to have a lot on his plate lately, and sadly one of my favourite characters seems to be a victim of that. I have faith in him to turn it around in another two issues, but for a series that started off with a lot of promise, this issue made me cringe more than once.

Fear Itself #1 (Marvel)

Fear Itself 1 is hard to grade, as it’s the first issue of a crossover. It’s setting up a lot of things that may be boring, but they’re important  to the successful implementation of a complicated story arc.  The villains are threatening, the heroes know something evil’s on the horizon, and we’re just going to have to wait until issue two to see where it all leads.

Sweet Tooth #20 (Vertigo)

Obviously, since it’s a new story arc that’s fairly far in the story’s history (20 issues can be a long time), pick up Sweet Tooth’s previous issues if the prior references are giving you a headache. I’m looking forward to this with great promise, but it’s still setting the arc up: expect some twists, and for some of those horrible feelings in your gut to be right.

DMZ #64 (Vertigo)

Hoo boy, I cannot wait for the end of this series; not because I don’t like it, but because there’s so much I want answered. I’ve been along for almost the entire ride, so having the plot wind down and each character “get theirs” is very bittersweet: I’m happy that Brian Wood has etched out such a great narrative and has consistently done so for 60+ issues.

Justice League: Generation Lost #23 (DC)

I’m worried for the end of this title. At this point, I’ll buy the last issues just to remain complete, but just throwing a badly-paced ending out of nowhere just seems like a matter of poor planning. At the moment, I’m also wondering what the trade paper-back format is going to be like: the story is too long to combine into one volume, yet its too slow starting up to divide into any story arcs.

Superboy #6 (DC)

I love Jeff Lemire’s work, so this book gets a big ol’ recommendation from me. It’s a good jumping off point if you’re a bit late to the series, and really, you’re not too far off from the beginning. Lemire’s work only gets better as stories go on; if you’ve never really liked Superboy, give this title a shot.

Batgirl #20 (DC)

If this were the sixth issue of the series, I would say that the series is just warming up and it should be given a few more chances: at this point I’m really considering dropping it from my to-read list. There’s only so many spots there, and I need something with a little more substance. This is a great title for people looking for not-so-serious superhero-ing, and it really shows in this issue.

Enjoy and give feedback!