Comics Roundup for 5/12/10

Lots of stuff came out this week. Here's what I got:

Siege #4 (of 4) - This was definitely a satisfying series, as it didn't drag on for too long, and it gave us the ending that's been a long time coming. Of course, it does seem a little hasty that the Superhuman Registration Act has just been completely thrown out, but does anybody want to read Avengers: The Congressional Debates? (An act of Congress thrown out by The President? The Tea Party was right! Obama is becoming a dictator!) It also makes more sense now that Steve Rogers is letting Bucky continue to be Captain America, considering that Rogers is now the top guy in the Marvel Universe. Just like the endings of Civil War and Secret Invasion, this leaves me curious as to what's coming next.

The New Avengers: Finale - Considering that this was one of my favorite series, I was a bit disappointed with this big wrap-up issue. I think that part of it is that Brian Hitch's art has suffered from a decline of late, and this issue is his biggest drop-off yet. I suppose that the story was fine, even though they had to shoe-horn Wolverine back into the mix. Now that the "Dark Reign" is over, I really have to wonder why they're going to reboot this series. I can see why there will be a Secret Avengers, but continuing this series just seems like a way of filling up the shelf space. Still, I'll at least give the first couple of issues a try.

Dark Avengers #16 - Now this is more like it - a finale that doesn't disappoint. The jig is up for the whole villainous gang, even though Dakken gets away. As for Norman Osborn, he's locked up deep down in a prison cell with only his alter ego of the Green Goblin to keep him company. I also thought it was interesting that Steve Rogers decided not to have Victoria Hand suffer the same fate as the rest of the Dark Avengers, and even more interesting, he'll allow her a place in his new regime. That scene was rather well done.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1 (of 6) - So this is what happened when Batman got zapped by Darkseid's omega beams. I always assumed that they destroyed the person that they hit, but I guess they send you back into prehistoric times. So why does he hop forward yet again? I don't know, but I hope they explain it. For me the best part of this issue was Chris Sprouse's art; I'm not sure who's doing the next issue, but he'll be a tough act to follow. (I seem to recall reading that the series would have a different artist every issue.) Supposedly in the main Batman book, some more gaps will be filled in - like what happened to Batman between RIP and Final Crisis. I guess I'm going to have to reread everything, because this is a lot to absorb.

The Flash #2 - Now this is more like it. I admitted to not being too enthusiastic about The Flash: Rebirth series, but I did enjoy the first issue of the regular series. This one was probably my favorite comic of the week, and that's saying something considering how much I liked Siege and Dark Avengers. The best part? The Flash races into the library and reads a ton of books on architecture then quickly rebuilds an entire apartment complex that was destroyed in a battle. He does all this as the residents stand there in amazement. What really makes it work is the artwork of Francis Manapul, whose work on Adventure Comics was perfectly serviceable, but this series is a much better fit for his talents.

Batman #699 - Tony Daniel wraps up his writing run before the return of Grant Morrison next issue (and Daniel back on art duties). I'd say that he did a pretty serviceable job, and I wonder if he's going to get to write some more since he left some threads dangling. I wonder if Paul Dini was out of ideas for The Riddler, because Daniel pretty much took over the character. Anyway, this was a fun read, and I liked the part where the one dude turned into a tree.

The Amazing Spider-Man #631 - This issue was decent enough, as it continues the story with The Lizard. Even more interesting, it looks like Kaine is back as well, and he's going to be a part of the whole "Gauntlet" storyline, as he encounters the daughter of Kraven the Hunter. I hope they do a good job of tying all these disparate threads together at the conclusion of this rather large story.

Comics Roundup for 5/5/10

Hellboy in Mexico - Hellboy, vampires, and Mexican wrestlers. What more could you possibly want in a comic book? I've been following the adventures of Mike Mignola's creation ever since the first series, and I don't think that I've ever enjoyed them more than I have lately. Richard Corben also does yet another great job on the artistic end, but I'd still like to see Mignola draw some more adventures of Anung un Rama.

Echo #21 - Terry Moore has created one of the most macabre villains with Hong Liu, the physicist with half a face. It looks like he's met his maker here, but this is not the first time where he supposedly "died". I hope he comes back only to be even more grotesque. Also, Annie, the scientist who died in the first issue has now completely taken over the mind of Julie, the main protagonist of the series. As always, a solid installment of a compelling series.

Astro City: The Dark Age - Book Four #4 (of 4) - I haven't read this one yet. I'm going to sit down and read this entire, epic, sprawling series sometime soon. There's a lot of other stuff that I want to reread, so it might take a while until that happens. Still, some of my favorite comics ever were tales of Astro City, so I'm sure that I won't be disappointed.

The Amazing Spider-Man #630 - The Lizard, one of my favorite villains, is back. This almost has the feel of an episode of Batman: The Animated Series where the villain is pushed into his villainy by a heartless corporate boss. (Seems like some kind of communist indoctrination if you ask me!) I also like the relationship stuff - stuff that could not exist if Spidey was still married, of course. It certainly gives more of a reason for The Black Cat to be in this series anyway. Also, Chris Bachalo's art is good, but sometimes it borders on being a bit confusing, and his panel layouts don't always flow together. Still, it's an improvement over some of the stuff that this series has seen lately.

Batman and Robin #12 - The identity of Oberon Sexton is revealed, and it looks like the villain from RIP is making a comeback. When Bruce Wayne finally gets back to the present, we'll have to have a rematch, I suppose. Not much else to say about this one other than it was enjoyable and I look forward to the next installment.

izombie #1 - It was a buck, so I figured why not? The concept is interesting, as the main character is a zombie who's trying to lead a normal life, but she has to eat human brains once a month in order to not turn into your more stereotypical, mindless zombie. She solves this by working at a graveyard. I'll probably pick up the second issue, as there are some interesting possibilities here - especially since she gains the memories of the people whose brains she eats. Also, it's always nice to see Michael Allred on art. Did he ever finish his Book of Mormon adaptation? I'm still curious about that one, and I might wind up buying it one day.

Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine - #1 (of 6) - Normally I'd dismiss a limited series like this as being little more than shelf-filler. Still, I was intrigued enough to check out an online preview. After all, one of my favorite comics of all time is the now-classic Spider-Man Versus Wolverine one-shot from more than twenty years ago. I was impressed enough by the story (Peter and Logan are trapped in prehistoric times) and the art (Adam Kubert) to pick it up. Definitely a fun read, and I'll be getting the next issue as well.

Brightest Day #0 - 1 - I passed on the "zero" issue a couple of weeks ago, but after flipping through issue number one, I became intrigued enough to check this series out. There's a lot of stuff going on here, and there are several protagonists. While some of them I don't really care too much about (Hawk) I'm pretty interested in what's going on with the others (Aquaman in particular). This is a biweekly series that'll last for a year, so I'll have to make sure that I'm really enjoying it if I'm going to continue to get it.

Rating the Hamlets - Addendum

About two years ago, I wrote my thoughts on Hamlet in film. Specifically, I discussed my thoughts on four adaptations, which you can read at this link. To quickly summarize it though, I wrote about how I love the Kenneth Branagh version, really like the Mel Gibson one, only somewhat like the Lawrence Olivier film, and somewhat detest the Ethan Hawke movie.

Last night, I finished watching a more recent one, starring David Tennant as the title character, so I wanted to get down my thoughts about that one. Technically, it's not a film like the other four, as it was not released for the theaters. In fact, it was originally a stage production from the Royal Shakespeare Company. The BBC then went and created a made-for-TV movie using all of the actors from the stage production.

I have to admit that when I first heard of this, I wasn't really interested. I've seen the BBC's stage adaptations before, and while I really hate to use this word (as it makes me sound like a teenager with limited vocabulary) they tend to be pretty damned boring. The main problem is that they simply have the actors perform it on a stage, and then you wind up with a very static view of the whole thing. In other words, they're not filmed like movies, and so it doesn't just lack the immediacy of a live performance, but it lacks the dynamic qualities that film can provide.

I changed my mind when I saw a clip on YouTube though. While it certainly doesn't have the production values of a Hollywood film, it seems to me that the producers wanted to avoid the aforementioned problems. You get more camera angles and a lot more movement from the camera than you normally do with these things. Also, in a decision that could have proven to be somewhat cheesy, the camera often gets close up on the actors when they give their soliloquies and asides, and that's the closest you'll ever get to the personal feeling of live theater when you're watching something on your television.

The clip was enough to convince me to pre-order the Blu-Ray. Part of me wondered if I should just settle for the standard DVD, as it wasn't like they were showcasing all kinds of dynamic cinematography like you have with Kenneth Branagh's version. Then again, the Blu-Ray was only a couple bucks more, so I figured why not? I can tell you that I'm glad that I went for it. The picture is crystal clear, and when Hamlet looks into the camera and bemoans his mother's hasty marriage to his uncle, you feel like he's in the room with you. There is also an effective use of black and white contrasts that really come through with high definition.

What about the film itself? I have to say that I was really impressed. Sure, they went and cut some stuff - some of it I can do without like when Claudius talks to Laertes about some Norman who was impressed with Laertes' swordfighting skills. Other stuff I miss, like Fortinbras coming in and becoming the new king while bodies are strewn about the throne room. For me, that bit is crucial as it restores order and lets the audience know that tomorrow will be a better day even though our protagonist has shuffled off this mortal coil.

Still, the acting was top-notch. I might even dare say that I like Tennant better than Branagh in the title role. Branagh can sometimes be a little too whiny and teary-eyed. I like how Tennant plays the scene in the above clip, where he seems more annoyed and angry than anything else. Still, just like any good Hamlet, Tennant manages to convey a wide range of emotions and moods - something that the Olivier version doesn't do enough and that the Hawke version completely lacks.

The other actors did a great job as well, and I found myself laughing out loud when Oliver Ford Davies delivered many of Polonius' lines. He did a great job of making the King's advisor look absent-minded and foolish without making you wonder why Claudius would even want this guy as an advisor. Oh, and speaking of Claudius, I have to say that Captain Picard/Professor X does a great job in the role. Not only that, but he also plays the ghost of Hamlet's dad. I don't know if that's ever been done before, but I think that it creates all sorts of interesting psychological possibilities if the two brothers were also identical twins.

Much like the Ethan Hawke version, this one is given a more modern setting. Hamlet wears jeans and kills Polonius with a gun. Also, the whole motif of spying is showcased using surveillance technology just like in Hawke's Hamlet. This one, however, puts it all to better use. Oftentimes the camera angle changes, and we are made aware that all of Elsinore is littered with cameras. Hamlet even tears one off the wall, making even more sense of why he would start off his second soliloquy with "Now I am alone".

The running time is three hours, so while they do cut some stuff out, they don't cut out much. As for moving things around, there's only one major instance of that. I found it jarring at first, but then I found myself really liking it and even wishing that Shakespeare had done it that way in the first place. Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy and his subsequent falling-out with Ophelia is placed earlier in the play and is immediately followed by when Polonius attempts to question him only to get a series of "pregnant" replies. Considering that during the scene with Ophelia, Hamlet discovers that Polonius is spying on them, (that's the implication from the text, and I always see it interpreted that way) it makes far more sense that Hamlet would be so passive-aggressive toward the old man.

I'm often reluctant to give any sort of absolute statement on my feelings regarding a movie so soon after I've viewed it. However, I think it's safe to say that this very well might be my second-favorite Hamlet. If they were able to have the same production values (and kept Fortinbras in the ending) as Branagh's, it might very well have been my favorite.

Comics Roundup for 2/28/10

The Amazing Spider-Man #629 - Perhaps I'm becoming a sentimentalist, but I really enjoyed the feel-good ending to this story which wrapped up the three-part follow-up to the classic "Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut". It's not particularly original nor profound, but I liked the exchange between Juggernaut and Spidey at the end:

Juggernaut: You're right, Webs. We're all here by accident.

Spider-Man: Yeah, but what we do afterwards - that's what matters.

Perhaps it's just because it goes along with my personal philosophy. While I do not believe that anything is caused by some sort of higher intelligence, I am not a nihilist. I do think that what we do here with our lives is important. Anyway, all that aside, I have been lamenting the lackluster art on this series lately. Obviously, it has been really strong with this arc with Lee Weeks doing the pencils. Looks like Chris Bachalo is handling the next story, and that's a good thing. There was a preview for it at the end of this issue, and the Lizard will be returning. I'm hoping that they do something interesting with this. After all, we know so much more about DNA and the human genome than we did back when Stan and Steve did the original Lizard stories. I think that they can put a new spin on an old story.

The Invincible Iron Man #25 - I missed the boat on this series, and I currently have the first three trades. There should probably be a new one soon, and if I'm guessing correctly, this issue marks the start of a new arc (and therefore won't be in the fourth trade). I have to say that this was my favorite comic this week. Turns out that Tony Stark has lost his memory up until the time he got his Extremis armor. That means that he doesn't remember the Civil War, the Secret Invasion, the Dark Reign, or any of that stuff. This could be interesting if it's handled well. I liked Matt Fraction's early Punisher War Journal stuff, but I think that the guy is really hitting his stride with this series. I'm eagerly looking forward to his run on Thor.

Thor #609 - While I do believe that the Siege crossovers are dragging a bit here, I still enjoyed this issue. Still, we get much more of the supporting cast than we do the title character, and that's getting a bit old. It's all wrapping up next issue, and the aforementioned Matt Fraction is taking over after that, so I'll stick around.

Captain America #605 - This story did a good job of proving that the "Bucky Cap" storyline still has somewhere to go. While it was only a decent wrap-up of the current storyline, it was nice to see that he still feels conflicted about what he's doing - especially when it comes to fighting the "crazy" Captain America. I'm hoping that they bring that character back, as he makes for a good foil for either of the two official Captain Americas. He represents the type of American who has great intentions and genuinely loves his country, yet his methods and view of what's right are pretty skewed.

New Avengers #64 - I'm guessing that with the end of Siege, we're also going to see a wrap-up to the whole story of the Red Hood. Basically, this issue just filled in some of the gaps from the main story, and it turns out that he's once again lost the source of his power. Anyway, I'm still wondering why this series is going to continue once the new Avengers title gets underway, but it's been one of my favorite series for some time now, so I suppose I should at least give it a chance.

Information Age Unnoticed

There's an old saying about what happens when you assume, and it often proves to be quite true. Something that my colleagues and I have been noticing lately has made me think of this. Essentially, we were all around our early twenties when the Internet became something that was no longer just the domain of computer geeks. We weren't raised with it, and there was a certain learning curve that came with our using it. Still, we were all young enough that we didn't feel overwhelmed by it. After all, we did grow up with computers, and the Internet is just an extension of that same tool. Of course, many of us have stories of being frustrated with people from the older generation trying to figure it all out. I don't know how many times I tried to explain some of this stuff to my mother, and many of my friends have similar experiences.

The assumption to which I alluded earlier is the idea that the younger generation, the kids who DID grow up with the Internet, would somehow be even more well versed in how to use this thing than us. I'm here to tell you that's absolutely not true. Are there some kids who know their way around this "series of tubes"? Sure. Still, you'd be making a mistake if you thought that your average teenager somehow had any sense for just how powerful a tool this whole thing is. For the most part, the Internet to them is simply a means of socializing. You use it for Facebook, MySpace and instant messaging. You go online and you write about how you're bored or how your parents suck. Essentially, you use it to have the same meaningless bouts of smalltalk that you'd be having some other way.

I have a Facebook account myself, and many of my "friends" are either current or former students. One of the most frustrating things is when they ask me questions on my "wall" that could have been easily answered with even the briefest Google search. I have even had them ask me what a word meant! Honestly, I'm not sure if that's worse than when they misspell a word and say that they just don't know how to spell it. Am I the only one who's aware of the trick where you type in a word's spelling the best you can into Google and then it gives you a result that reads, "Did you mean ___________?" There's also Dictionary.com for that kind of thing.

The first big assignment that I gave my seniors this year was to write an essay in MLA format. I showed them an example and gave them a couple of websites where they could look up and read how to do it properly. I even gave them a link to where all they had to do was enter in some information and it would produce a Works Cited page for them in the proper format. You'd be amazed as to how many couldn't get this right! You'd think that I just gave this assignment to a bunch of Korean War veterans or something. They would even tell me that they used the link that I gave them when their paper was clearly in the wrong format. I'd tell them that it was all wrong, and they'd respond, "Well, I used that link that you gave us." I started to worry that perhaps I goofed and gave them a bad source, so I went to try it out myself. Guess what? It worked out just perfectly when I did it.

It's staggering the amount of information that's at our fingertips nowadays. If you have an Internet connection, the phrase "I don't know how to ____________" is really a mark of shame on your part. Guess what I did when I wanted to learn how to properly cut up a chicken? I did the same thing when I wanted to know how to properly jump start a car. That was the same thing as when wanted to know when Iron Man 2 was coming out.

Can you learn everything you need to know with the Internet? No. But dammit, there's no reason to not know some basic information that helps you get by in the world.

Freyja

I haven't written in my blog much this week. This is mainly due to the fact that I've been bonding with my new puppy, Freyja. I wrote a while ago about how Kirsti and I were debating on whether to get one or not, and even then it was pretty clear that we were going to go ahead and get one.

We've had her for over a week now, and she's been fitting in just fine. Of course, since she's a little puppy, she's pooping and peeing all over the place. Sure, she gets the idea that it's time to go when I go outside with her, but she has to go more often than I can remember to let her out. Luckily, most of our house is covered in laminate flooring, so cleanup is quick and simple. This isn't a surprise, of course, as Argos had the same problem when he was a little guy. It's something that will likely not be an issue as she gets older and is better able to hold it in a little bit better.

She was instantly accepted by our other two pets. Ever since Oliver (the cat) started to get along with Willy, he pretty much made up his mind that he likes all dogs. It was nice to see that this amity extended to puppies as well. He probably didn't count on the fact that this little girl would constantly tackle him and put him in a bear hug every chance she got. He endures it all pretty well, and he even plays back. Of course, it gets a little too rough with Oliver either hissing or the puppy yelping, but it's all much more dramatic looking than it is. I just have to make sure that I referee and break it up when things look like they're getting out of hand.

There was a bit more concern with Willy, considering his history with Argos. The two of them got in a really bad fight years ago, and we had kept them separate ever since. I wasn't as worried with Freyja though, as Willy has shown that he gets along fine with dogs so long as they're smaller than him. Also, he's okay so long as they're not too hyper and they don't try to dominate him. Basically, we're just going to pay really close attention as she gets older. If he starts showing any signs of dominance - even minor ones - we're going to put the kibosh on it right away. Honestly though, he's a much older dog now than he was then, and he's mellowed quite a bit. I think that between that and the fact that Kirsti and I know what we're doing, everything should be just fine. As of right now, the two of them play with each other, and that never gets out of hand.

Where did we get the name? Freyja is the name of the Norse goddess of love. Kirsti wanted to name the puppy Zeus if we got a boy. Basically, we decided that we were going to pick one based on personality. The one we picked just happened to be a girl. She had walked up to me and laid down beside me, and Kirsti held her a while as well. To tell the truth, we probably would have done all right no matter which one we picked. They all seemed pretty good.

Comics Roundup for 4/21/10

Just three books this week, as I passed up on quite a few things. Here goes:

Batman: Streets of Gotham #11 - This wrapped up the storyline involving Mr. Zsasz that's been going on for a few issues. It was a fairly satisfying conclusion, and I'm liking the Damien Wayne version of Robin more and more. I also like the fact that the backup story with Manhunter ties into events in the main Batman series. I really like this series, but if it's going to have another guest writer anytime soon, I might be skipping some issues.

The Amazing Spider-Man #628 - Spider-Man fights Captain Universe. You know, I always thought that the Captain Universe concept was somewhat hokey, but I liked this issue. Spider-Man is always at his best when he's fighting somebody who's clearly several power brackets higher than him. Also, it's nice to see that this whole thing is not simply a rematch with him and The Juggernaut. There was also a backup story, and I don't see much point in it, although it was nice to see some artwork from Todd Nauck in the main Spider-Man book.

Green Lantern #53 - There are some good character moments between Hal and Carol in this along with a scene where the two of them have to deal with Sinestro, who proves himself to once again be the biggest douche in the universe. For the most part though, this issue was setting up plot elements for future stories, both in this series and in the various spinoff books. This is the only one that I'm getting, so I'll miss out on some of that stuff, no doubt. Still, I'm curious as to who this new villain is, and I wonder what's going to happen to all the other various colored corps out there.