Friendly Fire Episode 16

Tracie's Pull List - Week of September 28, 2011

We're in the final week of The New 52. There have been successes and disappointments.

Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman each have at least ONE really good book to their name and sadly, that has not always been the case.

I'm likely skipping on Superman, this week, as I have little interest in Perez and Merino guiding the book. If I hear that it's outstanding, I could change my mind, but I'm pretty darn happy with Action Comics so there's no reason to get greedy.

WHAT ELSE?

OCW - September week 3: Marvel's Whitemane

So... Its a Horse in the Marvel 616. What more can I say?!  Check him out at this link!

Tracie's Pull List - Week of September 21, 2011

It's Week 3 of The New 52 from DC Comics and it feels like there's a bunch of books I just can't get excited about. I'll give 'em a flip-through if they've got them in the shop, but I dunno. It's a pretty heavy Marvel week for me so I don't feel too bad about it.

I like Judd Winick a lot but the art has me a little iffy on Selina's portrayal. I got burnt out on Green Lantern Corps and Emerald Warriors, though EW was probably the stronger of the two. I LOVED GLC when Tomasi and Gleason were on the book and it's suffered since they left. Having Tomasi return is promising, but I feel like they should trade artists with Doug Mahnke on Green Lantern. It just seems like Mahnke and Tomasi draw these aliens better than anyone and who's got more aliens than Green Lantern Corps? They even tease you by putting that gorgeous Mahnke cover on the book. Let some other dude draw regular ol' Hal Jordan. Anyway, I looked at the preview pages for GLC and was pretty turned off by the mutilation in the first four pages. I really have no interest in Captain Atom or the current Legion of Superheroes, and while I love Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle, the covers just turn me off and Bedard hasn't really excited me much in a long while. We'll see.

As for what I AM getting this week, well let me tell you...

College Humor does it again

OCW - New 52 Superman

 

So a few weeks ago, I posted the "OCW" (Obscure Character of the Week) as the New Superman. Well I always intended to draw him, but all of us at CBXF are pretty busy. I've been posting sketches as I've gone. Then, I computer colored it. And now I can finally say I finished this today. I took inspiration from the classic "Neal Adams" Superman breaking Kryptonite Chains pose. (See image below) And I spent sometime trying to copy the colors and text to put my own spin on this cover. I'll say this... Some artist have drawn the new costume very well, others not so much. But you can count me as one who'd prefer to draw the "Pre-Crisis" costume over this one. The piping and belt are not easy and I find it hard to make this look like armor vs. making it look like spandex. All in all, it is still a cool design and I'm not one to stand in way of progress. I just wish the new Superman artists good luck in rendering all that detail.  

Man of Steel Fanny Pack? Nope!

Tracie listened to a previous Friendly Fire podcast and pulled ONE LINE out of it to disagree with. Of all the dumb, horrible things I normally say. She chose this one line to criticize. Well I'm here to stand by my statement. "EVERYONE LOOKS COOL IN A POUCH BELT." Even Superman. Yes, even Superman. Sorry Tracie. We don't disagree often. But, Everyone looks better in pouches!

I bought it... Blu-Ray Star Wars

When it was announced that they were going to release the Blu-Ray edition of the whole Star Wars Saga, I was pretty indifferent. I have the trilogy, (Both original and Prequel) in VHS and DVD editions. What the heck do I need the Blu-Ray edition for? As the day grew closer... my curiosity grew. I knew George has messed with them and probably screwed something up. Sure this was Blu-Ray, Super Hi-Res quality, Sci-Fi Mecca for home movie watching. BUT, I buy dvds and such for one reason only. The extras. I love the extras. Commentaries, and behind the scenes. Deleted scenes, actor interviews, and hilarious out-takes. Again, I had all that on the DVDs that I already owed. WHY, Why would I buy it all over again? Well, last night I talked myself into it. And here is my review.

Movies:
The Original Trilogy and Prequels all hold special places in my heart. Each one has memories tied to them for me. Some movies are obviously better than others. Empire is first (A+), then New Hope (A), Jedi (B+), Sith (B-), Clones (B-), ending with Phantom Menace (C+). The quality of these movies is crystal clear. Crisp and clean and just about what you expect. No real ground breaking... I have these movies... I know what I'm getting. If they weren't great, I wouldn't have bought them 3-4 times. Even Phantom Menace was incredible to watch in Blu-Ray quality. I loved em all. Rating B

Packaging:
Holy $%*#, This is the coolest box and presentation I have ever seen for a Box set. The outside slip cover is ok, but once you open it. WOW! I love it. Its a book case with each disk getting a one page slot to hold it. And each page contains a painted image from the movie. I'm super impressed. Rating A+

Special Features/Extras:
I was most worried about this. I have seen EVERY making of, EVERY commentary, EVERY internet special. I had serious doubts there would be any truly "NEW" footage. I popped in the first "Extras" disk and my fears began to be realized. The Prequel stuff... Eh. There were little shorts. A few deleted scenes and animatics I'd not seen before. But really nothing special. So I started to skip around. Disk 2 of the "Extras" Bam! Ok, now we find some gems. The interviews were great. Many I've not even seen before, in the slightest. New commentaries, not heard on the older DVDs. Deleted scenes I've never viewed. By now, I already felt like I had my money's worth. Then Disk 3. This is where I found what I really wanted. Many documentaries and behind the scenes. And the best part, "The Spoofs". almost 2 hours of references tie-ins, and spoofs relating to Star Wars. From Robot Chicken to Simpsons to How I Met Your Mother to That 70's show... All in a compilation. 2 hours. Incredible. It also contained the original "Making of Star Wars" documentary. People... I tell you... If you love Star Wars the way I do. This is a must have collection. The documentary on the 501st was so interesting. It made you tear up and it made you cheer. Seriously. It was so riviting. I'm still watching as I write this and discovering new things as I go.  Please don't discount this collection. Rating A

Overall, this collection has blown me away. I recently got X-Men first class and Thor. Both were good quality in their extras. But pound for pound... $80 dollars for 6 movies, 3 disks of extras and an incredible package was totally worth it.

Friendly Fire - Episode 15

Tracie's Pull List - Week of September 14, 2011

Look, I know pretty much the only thing I talked about to anyone, last week, was DC's first wave of new books--but you know what?

Pretty sure the only thing I'm going to want to talk about this week is Miles Morales, the new Ultimate Spider-Man.

So, thank you Marvel.

Better ending?

Ohhh, Captain America burn!" Best "How it should have ended, yet!" Watch the entire episode.

OCW-September Week 2- DC's Torque

 

Torque was one of Nightwing's first real arch-villains. Created accidently by another Nightwing villain, Blockbuster. Twisting Soames head 180 degrees and miraculously he survived. Taking the name Torque and wearing special glasses, Soames terrorized Bludhaven until his untimely death Ryerstad. (Who?)
Learn more about Torque here....

Thor'sday... again.

It may be a Tuesday... but its also Thor'sday. So, while buying my Blue Ray dvd of the Summer Blockbuster Thor, I came across a Halloween accessory that I just HAD to have. I was able to pick it up and proved myself worthy. I'd argue my brother could be the God of Mischief, and I was blonde, once. So...

Cover of the Month - August

Once again, I find this hard to choose. Many books said good-bye to make way for their "post" Flashpoint counter-point. Some books had great sign-offs, (Secret Six, Batgirl) Some not so great, (In my opinion... JSA, Red Robin). But I can't help but love these covers. Red Robin's was so dramatic and symbolic and tell me who doesn't love a Darwyn Cooke drawn cover?

Sing-a-long with Dr. Who

OCW - September Week 1 - Marvel's Madcap

 

OCW this week is Marvel's Madcap! A devoted Christian, who began to decent into madness. The only survivor of an accident on a bus carrying experimental nerve gas. (Can't make this up) I think he's the poor man's Deadpool. But hey what do I know? Check out this link for real details.

Tracie's Pull List - Week of September 7, 2011

Last week may have been the kickoff of the new DC Universe but this week is where it REALLY gets rolling and this new universe takes shape.

Also some other comics exist.

What're you looking forward to, tomorrow?

Friendly Fire Episode 14

Matt and Robb recorded some of their thoughts on the last issue of Flashpoint and the First Issue of the new 52!  What do they like and what didn't they like about this new direction of a franchise?

A New Direction, with the new 52

At the end of Flashpoint, DC showed me something important. What was it?  Let me first tell  you, the old DC Universe (Post-Crisis) had some standards. Batman was a loner, Superman was the guiding light of the heroes community. Hal Jordan is a cocky pilot, Wonder Woman didn't have pants. And Superman cried, more than Charles Ingles on Little House. I can't tell you how many covers and issues contained Superman bawling! So whats new and different about this NEW 52?  Check it out after the jump.