Why does Namor the Submariner from Marvel get more respect than Aquaman or The Deep?

Today's post is less informative than my other posts, as it is asking a question of my fellow nerds out there in the hope that someone can provide me with an answer. Here is the question:

Why does Namor, the Submariner from Marvel get more respect than Aquaman or "The Deep" from The Boys for that matter? Here are a few observations:

They all have similar powers. Although "The Deep" from The Boys seems to have no connections to an underworld community of Atlantis (which probably doesn't exist in those comic books), Atlantis is a very real place for Aquaman in DC and Namor in Marvel. In fact, they both rule those places as kings.

Aquaman seems to have always been conceived as a hero-type, whereas Namor plays a villain quite often. This makes Namor land firmly in the anti-hero description. And The Deep just seems to be pure villain if not outright self-serving yet (ultimately) kind of spineless to stand up for things he clearly knows are wrong.

By leagues and bounds though, The Deep and Aquaman are ridiculed for doing certain things with fish (even though there is no proof that I've seen that Aquaman has sexual relations with fish). And the disrespect doesn't stop there, as he is frequently poked fun at by people who make these movies. I think the Big Bang Theory also took this route with the minority character, Raj Koothrappali, who was a punching bag for the other nerds throughout the series. It was one of the things I didn't like so much about The Big Bang Theory.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the old Superfriends cartoon in which Aquaman was essentially useless most of the time.

Anyway, if some of y'all out there can answer the question above, I'd appreciate what you could teach me about this phenomenon.

Jupiter's Legacy is the first superhero story I've been exposed to that doubled down on straddling the gulf and conflicts that can arise between generations of people.

I finished watching Jupiter's Legacy on Netflix, and I gotta say that I enjoyed it quite a bit. I guess the show is adapted from a superhero comic book series created by Mark Millar. It's the first time that I'd taken notice of his work, although I guess he has quite a bit of superhero cred having penned Captain America: Civil War and Logan. Those are two stories that I enjoyed very much.

When I first saw the trailer for Jupiter's Legacy, I was going to watch it eventually. But then I heard or read some background information about Mark Millar, and it convinced me that maybe I should make watching the show more of a priority. One of the things I heard was that Netflix was looking at Jupiter's Legacy as a possible entry into the whole "shared-universe" thing. Thus far, I've liked what I've seen of "shared universe" story arcs, so this was an exciting development.

For example, I like what the CW has done with the Arrow-verse (which is now dominated by the Flash), and I like Universal's "Monster Verse" with King Kong and Godzilla. I also like the MCU and I like the DCU as well, even though I think DC would be stronger if it embraced (rather than shunned) its small screen stories. Why actors in movies and actors in television have always had a strained relationship is beyond me. But I think it has to do with a "stigma" that someone who appears on television is not a "real movie star." But are there actually any real "movie" stars today? I personally like to give all the credit of a "thing" being good to the writers and the directors. In the case of television, it is the showrunner that I pay respect to. But actors? Not as much.

Anyway, for all of the above reasons, I got more excited to see Jupiter's Legacy. And then I heard a story about Mark Millar talking with Stan Lee. I guess the two were chatting about Mark's work at Marvel, and Stan encouraged Mr. Millar to branch out on his own to tell his own stories. He said something like "Spiderman and the Avengers are old stuff. Every generation needs its own stories and its own superheroes, and I think you might be the right person to tell those stories." Even if this is paraphrasing (and it is) that would have been a remarkable conversation to have with someone of Stan Lee's magnitude. So Mark Millar took his advice and started doing his own stuff. That really got me interested in taking a deeper look and seeing what's there.

For what its worth, Jupiter's Legacy really does a good job straddling the gulf and conflicts that arise between generations. At the core of the story are these aging superheroes who really want to pass down a nice legacy to a group of youngsters with astounding powers. But "The Code" that they used to police their own activities doesn't fit well with the troubles of a modern world, and it puts them at unnecessary risk from increasing and horrible violence perpetrated by supervillains.

Jupiter's Legacy also happily embraces the dysfunction of families, at how the Superman-figure called the Utopian might actually just be a raging narcissist, and how the kids are riddle with anxieties and depression from being reared by a toxic narcissist. Every "super teen" in the show is pretty much broken in the mental department (neuro-diverse?), only they have tremendous powers and lashing out is incredibly destructive. But it also doesn't go quite the way of Amazon's The Boys which doubles down on the idea that the world is filled with nothing but horrible people. Instead, Jupiter's Legacy spends its eight episodes carefully convincing us that if we want a better world, we need to put in the hard work to make it happen, even if a lot of that work no longer makes good sense. With the end of the eighth episode (and season finale) I feel like the table is set for some bigger storylines, and some family drama that will end up changing the world of Jupiter's Legacy in a very interesting way.

Anyone else watch Jupiter's Legacy and care to share their opinions?

It blows my mind that illustrated comic books in full color were sold so cheaply in the middle of last century.

When I think that comic books in the mid 20th century used to be like twelve cents, I'm kind of blown away by that. If you account for inflation, that's like $1.32 in today's dollars. These were publications that had hand-drawn art. They were colorized, and many of the art panels were packed full of details. I recently finished an art piece myself. Admittedly, it is way more detailed than what many comic book panels have. However, it took me months to draw it. Comic book artists crank out these things like they are nothing, which really makes me appreciate how talented they all are.

But twelve cents? How was that even possible? A book today that is an illustrated edition can run into the hundreds of dollars. Comic books never had illustrated editions because the whole book was illustrated. I would also argue that distribution nationwide of these things was a marvel of its time as well. Imagine how much it would cost you to get something distributed to stores nationwide in today's dollars. Yet the founders of the comic book industry, like Stan Lee, were able to get this kind of thing done in an obviously affordable way that actually allowed them to pay talent a living wage.

And what about color? I would argue that it is cheaper and easier to get access to color printing in the modern world than it has ever been. But how could you print out entire comic books consisting of ten or more pages in full color for less than 12 cents (or a $1.32 today). It actually couldn't be done at all.

Anyway, it's just a random thought I had regarding art and how cheaply many artists work. They/we spend days and even months toiling away at something, and it ends up looking great, but I doubt if all that many actually make a dime on all that work. Art is cheap, and comic book art must have been cheap and easy to do (because extreme talent made it easy) or there's no way an entire industry could have risen from it. All those characters from Spider-Man to Galactus to Superman to Wonder Woman and Black Manta all had a unique look that originated in an artist's head, was put to paper, story-boarded, colored, and then printed for mass consumption for less than you can buy practically anything in today's world.

That's just nuts. I know that a lot of comic books from the Golden Age are worth some money these days, especially if they feature "first appearances" by famous superheroes, and they are in good condition. However, I'm going to put a controversial opinion out there: they should have been worth a lot of money when they were first printed. The amount of effort that some artists put into these could never have been rewarded with the proper financial compensation (if they only charged 12 cents for a book). 

Thanks for reading and have a good weekend.

The great Stan Lee understood that the troublesome issues of the day belonged in Marvel comic books.

I hear all the time from white religious people in Utah about how they wish television, movies, comic books, and other forms of entertainment (they enjoy) didn't include things like feminism and other social justice warrior issues. I look to none other than the late Stan Lee for an explanation of why entertainers should never completely cater to the escapism crowd who (in their hearts) just wants to ignore the fact that our government is putting brown people in camps. This was such a refreshing find to stumble across on the internet:

For any of his faults, Stan got it. I just wish other people did.

Spider-Man Far From Home was an excellent movie that managed to keep its audience on its toes.

The latest Spiderman movie called Far From Home was an excellent film. I've seen it twice now, and I may be just a bit biased because I think Tom Holland is "the bees knees"--at least that's what my good friends are telling me. However, and even ignoring Tom's deliberate talent and enthusiasm to play this role, the show and the story does a lot to keep you on your toes.

Spoilers ahead....

Mysterio seems like the perfect bad guy to introduce at this juncture, post Thanos and post Iron Man. Most of us who went into this movie assumed that Mysterio was a bad guy, right? And we assumed that he was lying about something big, but it was "never" for sure until the M. Night Shyamalan-esque twist that pretty much nailed it halfway into the story. Why do you suppose that is?

It's because Marvel as a whole has done a great job in subverting the usual story-telling tropes and defying the comic material. For example, in Endgame (a movie I didn't really like, but I grant that it was still a solid film) they kill Thanos pretty much right off the bat, and it leaves you wondering what the hell the Avengers are going to do with the rest of the time in a three-hour slog of a movie.

Things that happened in Far From Home are just more echoes of this. Is M.J. "really" only interested in Spider-Man and Peter himself? Is Mysterio actually a visitor to Earth-616 (which is the official Marvel designation for the MCU for which Earth all these stories take place on)...like how would Mysterio know this? And even though Mysterio ends up being a pure con-job the entire time, it remains that a multi-verse probably does exist for the MCU. At least let me put it this way: I don't know why it wouldn't.

Ultimately, though, the movie does a great job of moving the story forward while acknowledging that half the people on Earth went away and came back, and that there are now dead Avengers. And it manages to do all that by telling Peter Parker's next story, which is probably the best person in the MCU through which to do this. Peter is young. He represents a hope and promise for a new generation of heroes. Whether or not he becomes a kind of Iron Man on his own...whatever happens in the next stage (and whatever villain Disney decides to go with) is going to have to keep us on our toes in order to ensure that Avengers: Endgame was not (in fact) peak Marvel. And that is the key, right? How do you top Avengers: Endgame? Well, you top it by not letting go of the ball and you keep playing. You keep going, and you give the audience things that are unpredictable. You keep the audience on their toes.

Far From Home did this, and I think it's a good sign that the next stage is gonna have some surprises that keep the whole thing fresh and exciting.

The Walking Dead introduced Jesus and Richonne became a thing so could a tiger named Shiva be next?

Walking Dead spoilers ahead folks. You have been warned.

This is the Hilltop Colony where Jesus comes from. It's full of nice people and
has about twice the survivors that Alexandria does (that's Rick's community).

Yay. For once, the Walking Dead had a relatively good episode where none of the major cast members died, and we met an interesting character (that's in the comic book adaptation) that isn't a total douche bag. For what it's worth, I've been really looking forward to the introduction of Jesus from the comics. And from what I remember, the way in which he is introduced in the show pretty much mirrors how it happened in the graphic novel. For one, Jesus was this guy that could do all kinds of martial arts moves and secondly, he was an incredibly nimble escape artist. We saw both of those in the episode that aired last night.

So the Walking Dead's world is about to get blown up really big. Jesus is from this community that has like 200 people living in it and they have chickens and livestock and a wall and more resources than even Alexandria has. And they're actually pretty nice people. There's also a third community that's called "The Kingdom," which will be introduced through Jesus. So he's kind of a big catalyst to move the show in an entirely different direction.

The Kingdom is ruled by a very colorful character called Ezekiel and he has a pet tiger named "Shiva" that he keeps on a chain. A former zookeeper with delusions of grandeur, in the post apocalyptic world he's essentially a benevolent king with a unique fascination on medieval life, i.e., he holds court, calls himself a king, and has knights. Interesting, right? I guess you gotta do something in the apocalypse to keep yourself busy. And I think it's going to be really cool for the Walking Dead to introduced a tiger...I really do.

All of this is to prepare viewers for basically all out war between those three communities (allying together) to fight Negan because he's that awful. I'll be curious to see how the television show handles Negan because he monologues a lot and says "F*ck! F*ck! F*ck!" all the time. Of course, the show does differ from the comic in major ways. For one, there's no Daryl. And for another, I can't quite remember Rick and Michonne getting together, so I'm glad to see it happen on the show. It seemed very organic and honestly, they're perfect for each other. They're both tough as nails, and she's Rick's moral center for pretty much everything.

I don't think we're going to be seeing the kinds of people that aren't suited for this world anymore. The apocalypse happened years ago and people are adapting to it in so many creative ways. Anyone that couldn't adapt just died so it really is the rise of a new world order doing things in a different way and just learning to manage the zombies. So in a way, Jesus is an obvious biblical symbol. He represents a rebirth for everyone that's made it that far and now will open the minds of those who managed to survive.

This show really is the most brilliant thing on television. Thank you Robert Kirkman. :) You've made Sunday nights so awesome.

Eight reasons why you should drop what you are doing and go see Kingsman: The Secret Service

I (like most of America) went and saw Fifty Shades of Grey. But I don't want to talk about Fifty Shades. I want to talk about Kingsman: The Secret Service, because I saw it twice this weekend and really want to go again soon. WARNING: SPOILERS ARE AHEAD.

Some of you probably know that Kingsman: The Secret Service is a comic book by Mark Millar. But if you didn't, or if for some reason you are not a fan of comic books, you should put all your prejudice aside and go see this extremely fun movie. Why? Let me count the ways in which it is awesome:

• The violence is gratuitous, hypnotic, crazy and wonderful. People's heads explode like fireworks done to the British anthem. With Vaughn at the helm, the action is pure gun-kata, which is basically Batman + guns divided by karate--a formula that creates pure win.
  
• The nods to Bond are crazy good. The villain is Samuel L. Jackson with a lisp. Think about that for a moment at the awesome that is Samuel L. Jackson when he says, "Shoot that mother f*cker now!" with a lisp? There is no one that can drop "mother f*cker like Samuel L. Jackson. He can't stand the sight of blood, but he's a mass murderering insane billionaire, and his assistant in true Bond style is an athletic woman with prosthetic legs capable of amputating limbs and lopping off heads with a single blow. Odd Job and Jaws got nothing on Valentine's assistant.
• The great gadgets are full frontal! A bulletproof umbrella that is also a gun with many different effects, a watch that can render someone unconscious and give them amnesia, a cigarette lighter that's also a grenade, a H.A.L.O. balloon rig that can shoot down a satellite, a pair of oxford shoes that have knives in them coated with lethal neurotoxin, a fountain pen that can dispense poison that remains dormant in the system unless a switch is activated, a SIM card that makes people crazy so that they beat each other to death, and on and on and on. WOW! I was breathless.
  
• Taron Egerton. Hands down the best eye-candy in the world. He's replaced Chris Evans at the top of my list (sorry Chris). Colin Firth is very handsome too. Even aside from the eye candy aspect of Eggsy, he's a really good person. For example, he won't shoot his puppy like the other candidate did. Seriously, if that doesn't make you love the character nothing will. What put Taron on top though is his accent...which leads me to...
• British accents. They are everywhere and they are glorious. When Harry (Colin Firth) turns to a crazy church goer in this movie's homage to the Westboro Baptists and responds to "where are you going?" in thick British (and wearing a proper suit), "Madame, I'm a Catholic going to visit my black Jewish Boyfriend whom I have sexual congress with outside of wedlock who works in an abortion clinic. Hail Satan." It's delivered with the bravado that only the British can muster. And of course it precedes the most incredible display of psychotic violence I've seen outside a Tarantino film.
• It breaks the fourth wall. Kingsman is a carefully constructed film that walks the fine line between absurdity and seriousness by having a complete blast with all of its tropes. It's literally a rollercoaster ride, even when consuming McDonald's cheeseburgers at a billionaire sit down dinner.
• Knights of the Round Table! All of the Kingsman are knights of the round table. There's Lancelot, Arthur, Percivale, Galahad, and on and on. They even have a Merlin. Arthurian knights as British spies just convince me that all of the best spies in fiction are British.

So those are eight reasons why you should drop what you are doing and go see Kingsman: The Secret Service. However, if you need more, maybe you should watch the clip below.

I really want to talk about all things comic book today

Well sort of? Yesterday was huge for comic book announcements. You all may have already heard that Sony and Disney kinda/sorta got together and hashed out a deal where Spider-Man is now going to be in Captain America: Civil War. But if you haven't heard it, well you can't say that anymore. So what is Civil War?

It ran in 2006-2007, was a Marvel seven-issue crossover, and takes place around the framework of the U.S. government passing the Superhero Registration Act. Cap is opposed to the registration and Iron Man is the figurehead for "pro-registration." Spider-Man is basically caught between both sides. Spider-Man reveals his identity to the world (spurred on by Iron Man) but later comes to regret it. The conflict between sides continues to escalate until Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic (from the Fantastic Four) build a prison in the negative zone to contain the super people unwilling to register. This news makes me wonder if Marvel is actually going to approach Fox for the rights to the Fantastic Four.

Okay so onto who I want cast as Spidey (since Andrew Garfield is out and I gotta say...I never liked him): I want actor Reeve Carney. I've blogged about him before so I'll let you guys google him to see what he looks like.

Next on my docket is talking about Beth on The Walking Dead, or more appropriately where the actress who played Beth is gonna land next. Guys, Emily Kinney is coming to The Flash! She's playing Brie Larvan who's also known as the Bug-Eyed Bandit. Now the Bug-Eyed Bandit is a known enemy of the Atom. This means that Ray Palmer is going to crossover from Arrow to the Flash in the same episode that's gonna have Kinney in it. Frickin Awesome or what? Oh and check out the Atom suit above because it's awesome!

And finally, I want to say that comic books are expensive. I know because I have five huge boxes of them (the big white long ones that cover the length of a table) and they are in mylar baggies to keep them happy in storage. But I don't buy many comics anymore because...well...the price. However I've learned that there's a new digital service coming from Scribd that will offer over 10,000 comics and graphic novels from Marvel, Arcana, Archie, Boom! Studios, Dynamite, IDW/Top Shelf, Kingstone, Space Goat, Top Cow, Valiant, and more. Yeah, I'm a little disappointed DC isn't mentioned but ah well. Anyway, the service costs a measly $9 a month. Who knows? Maybe if this service gets popular enough, then DC will hop on board.

So yeah, all of this got announced on the same day. I knew Tuesdays were good for something.

The Flash and Nightwing are both coming to Arrow and that makes me excited

I am super excited that actor Grant Gustin is playing The Flash on this season's
Arrow. However, even more exciting is the fact that he's getting his own series.
The Flash totally deserves a series to make up for that awful one about twenty
years ago (yes it still haunts my dreams). Oh and he's Barry Allen. I like Barry
so that's a great choice. Wally West was always a little "meh" to me.

Marvel may be the undisputed ruler of the silver screen, but DC is really making a strong showing on the CW, and I've gotta say it's pretty cool. Sure, one could argue that DC's properties "The Dark Knight" and "Superman" are always money makers. But outside of those properties, I really can't think of any that are a success. In comparison, Marvel has Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, the Avengers, and will probably add Dr. Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy to that very soon. What does DC have? Ben Affleck playing yet another version of Batman only this time he gets to beat up on Superman. I'll go and see it, but I don't expect it to be spectacular in the same way that last year's The Avengers managed to be.

In contrast, however, Marvel has no showing on mainstream television that really grabs my attention. I've been watching Agents of Shield dutifully on Tuesday, but to be honest, I've almost fallen asleep twice during that show. I think I expected it to be more exciting, and it just has failed to live up to my perhaps "unrealistic expectations."

I suppose that the biggest surprise of all has been how much I love Arrow. I mean...I REALLY LOVE ARROW. I look forward to it every Wednesday, because the first season just blew me away. I never thought Oliver Queen could be so interesting. In Smallville he was some decent eye-candy and kind of/sort of was made interesting because of his association with random guests that showed up that happened to have a tie to the Justice League.

Since that time, the CW has reinvented Arrow as more than just a Batman clone. For one, he doesn't have nearly the extent of emotional baggage that Batman has. Ollie doesn't brood. He's a man of action and I love the flashbacks to his time on the island that became the crucible where all of his combat and survival skills were forged. Plus as Sarah Falen pointed out in a private conversation with me, it's cool when the hero gets beat up and Ollie gets smacked around a lot.

Nightwing is Robin all grown up. 

To add to this mix is a fully dynamic world that isn't afraid to introduce any and all elements of the DC Comics universe that make it super awesome. We've got the Birds of Prey in the form of Huntress and Black Canary! We have Raas al Ghul, perhaps Batman's most dangerous villain. If that isn't enough, the League of Shadows is everywhere and does that mean Bane is right around the corner? We've also got Flash being introduced in just a couple of episodes (and he's getting his own series soon thereafter) and I learned just last night that Nightwing is on his way into Arrow!

Actor Steven McQueen getting ready for his role as Nightwing on Arrow. I think
it's awesome that we live in a day and age where guys can actually have the bodies
of the superheroes that they play. I imagine it's pretty hard getting these roles. And
for those of you that don't know, this Steven McQueen is classic Steve McQueen's
grandson so good looks run in the family.

How awesome is that?!

For those of you who are at a complete loss as to who Nightwing is, he's Dick Grayson a.k.a. the first Robin who studied under Batman. He joined the New Titans where he fell in love with an outerspace princess by the name of Koriander (Starfire) and took the name Nightwing.

ZOMGAH! Seriously...this is so frickin' awesome. If they bring in Nightwing, they'll probably introduce Starfire at some point and then maybe we'll get Raven and some of the other New Titans. We could even be looking at a scenario where Batman shows up and that would be just...wow.

I think that the CW is my favorite network. They've done such a great job with DC that I absolutely can't wait for the series "Amazon" slated for 2014. And no, this isn't about the bookseller. It's about Diana Prince a.k.a. Wonder Woman, and I won't be surprised to see them introduce the title character in an episode of Arrow in 2014.

Is there real world science that could make Marvel's Banshee fly?

Caleb Landry Jones was the actor who played Banshee
in the Marvel comic movie X-Men: First Class.

As some of you may know, Banshee is a Marvel Universe character that possesses a sonic scream capable of harming enemies, causing physical vibrations, and flying (as shown in the movie X-Men: First Class). I'm ambivalent in my feelings toward this character, however, I was wondering if sound really could make someone fly. It's one of those things that kind of hung in the back of my mind. I know the writers of comic books sometimes go to great efforts to explain superpowers as best as they can using scientific principles to lure the audience into a suspension of disbelief. The same thoughts also go into magic systems, which are all the rage these days in fantasy fiction. So here's the question of the day: is there real world science that could make Marvel's Banshee fly? It turns out that the answer is yes.

Sound by itself may not allow someone to fly around at incredible speed, but it can be used to defy gravity. I guess once you accomplish this perhaps all that's needed is a propulsion system, right? Allow me to introduce you to a phenomenon called acoustic levitation.

Below is a video that demonstrates how sound waves can be used to levitate individual droplets of solutions containing different pharmaceuticals. The machine featured is called (simply enough) an acoustic levitator and was originally developed for NASA to simulate microgravity conditions. It uses two small speakers to generate sound waves at frequencies slightly above the audible range--roughly 22 kilohertz. When the top and bottom speakers are precisely aligned, they create two sets of sound waves that perfectly interfere with each other, setting up a phenomenon known as a standing wave.

At certain points along a standing wave, known as nodes, there is no net transfer of energy. Because the acoustic pressure from the sound waves is sufficient to cancel the effect of gravity, light objects are able to levitate when placed at the nodes. Simple enough concept to grasp, right? I think this video is incredibly cool and you should watch it :) It's not magic, it's science. Have a great Tuesday and don't forget the IWSG tomorrow!

The reason why comic book movies will always be better than actual serialized comics

I like comic books just like most other people (well maybe not as much as George R.R. Martin). However, I have to remind myself from time-to-time that comic book movie adaptations should have an open license to do anything with the characters, and I shouldn't complain.

Why would I say this? Well for starters, over time comic book writing is some of the worst that there is. Take Wolverine for example. I'm looking forward to the new movie, so I brushed up on some of the history on this character. After I did so, I came to the decision that I honestly don't care where the movie goes as long as it has a self-contained story that makes sense and has good action scenes. Here's Wolverine's history as it's evolved over time (I'll let you be the judge):

1) Wolverine was originally meant to be an actual wolverine turned into a human by the high evolutionary. His claws were part of his gloves.

2) The claws became implants created by Weapon X, and he was a mutant.

3) Someone decided he was meant to be Sabertooth's son.

4) Someone decided he had bone claws all along and they just got covered over with adamantium. Magneto exposed this by ripping all the adamantium form his body which made his regeneration insane (see number 6).

5) In the present incarnation, he isn't a mutant. He's a Lupine, which is a human-looking species that evolved parallel to humans but from wolves and not apes. There are two tribes of lupines: blond and dark-haired. They hate each other, hence Sabertooth vs. Wolverine being in conflict all the time. Other Lupines include Wolfsbane, Feral, Wild Child, and Thornn. All of them are manipulated by an elder Lupine called Romulus.

6) Originally he could heal faster than most. It evolved into an uber superpower so that at one point, he was left as a skeleton from an explosion and healed completely within seconds. To set limits, every time he dies, Wolverine had to fight the Spirit of Death to return to the living. And then they got rid of that, so he doesn't have to do it anymore. But now if he dies, this time, it's the real deal! *shocked face

And you can do the above analysis with any serialized comic book character. Spiderman, Hulk, Superman, Wonder Woman... Every single one of them from Jean Grey to Dr. Fate is a complete hot mess. And let's not even get into how every single female character now has rape in their background because "rape" makes female characters "edgy." At least that's what writers think. "Let's put a rape in the background and that explains why she's all doom and gloom now."

Comic book writing is just...SO BAD... I really understand why I no longer
buy them. Maybe that explains why I think so much of the YA genre
featuring comic book-ish heroes is bad too. Writers are emulating this crap.
But hey, it sells. So as long as the money train is rolling hop on for a ride.

To anyone that reads and appreciates good writing, comic book movies will always be better than the actual serialized comics. Yes, I said it. I don't care how bad the movie is either. Just look at the complete and utter mess Wolverine is and try to argue with me. You can't. You'll just lose.

Seriously, anyone who pokes fun at George Lucas for tampering with Star Wars over time and yet loves serialized comic books has nowhere to stand. If you're one of these people, you're a complete hypocrite. The plot holes, the continuity problems, the stuff that plain just doesn't make sense at all is the reason why comics for the most part are just examples of the most awful commercial writing available. However, because all superheroes come with six pack abs, sexy bodies and big tits, and action scenes rife with special effects, they will always make billions of dollars. That being said, I'm looking forward to the new Wolverine movie. Here's the latest trailer (it hits theaters July 26th):

Win a FREE copy of A Hero's Journey by P.T. Dilloway with one comment

Isn't the cover fantastic on this? That's cause it's by the blog world's very own
RUSTY WEBB (or RUSTY CARL) or whatever he calls himself these days. He
blogs at "The Blutonian Death Egg." 

I'm friends with Patrick who blogs over at his website: P.T. DILLOWAY. He's a man of unflinching honesty. He never sugar coats anything, and I kind of like that "confrontational" style that he embraces when leaving comments on the web. And a lot of them are funny. Anyway, Patrick has written another book. As an author, he's quite prolific so this may be his fourth or fifth published novel. You can check out my five star review of it HERE on GOODREADS. If you want to be supportive, please mark it "to read." I end my review by saying:

"A Hero's Journey is appropriate for any age level. Children should have a lot of fun with it and be inspired by Emma in her fight against the forces of evil. I hope that when you finish it, you'll join me in my desire to return to Rampart City soon. There's definitely enough source material to keep the story of the Scarlet Knight going for many books to come."

Now I'm going to turn my blog over to Patrick who is exploring a comparison with A Hero's Journey and my favorite television series, "Breaking Bad" which (I have to say) I'm solely responsible for getting him hooked on.

MR. WHITE Vs. MR. X by Patrick Dilloway

First of all, thanks to Michael for hosting me today!

As a longtime reader of Michael’s blog, I know one of his many favorite TV shows is “Breaking Bad” on AMC.  Unlike most of his other favorite TV shows, I actually watched this one recently on Netflix.  As I did, I noticed some similarities in the show’s main character, Walter White, and the villain of my novel A Hero’s Journey.

When the series begins, Walter White is a pretty normal guy.  He teaches high school chemistry and works on the side at a car wash to make up a few extra bucks. He’s got a teenage son with cerebral palsy and another kid on the way.  So what makes him decide to join forces with a junkie to cook crystal meth out of a Winnebago?

Mr. White reminding all of us why chemistry teachers
have the most fun.

It’s because he’s diagnosed with lung cancer and given only a short time to live. Walter wants to provide for his family, and he knows he can’t do that on $40,000/year from teaching and whatever pocket change he gets at the car wash. Cooking meth seems like a good way to make some quick cash that can provide for his family after he’s gone.

Aaron Paul who plays Jesse Pinkman has the ability to look sexy in anything. That includes
a chemical suit in a New Mexico desert with a shitty Winnebago in the distance.

In my book, the villain “breaks bad” in a different way, but it’s very similar.  It starts out with just a small idea.  In this case a tragedy befalls Mr. X’s family.  He’s able to convince himself that putting on a suit of cursed armor and becoming an ancient monster known as the Black Dragoon is a good way to get justice for his family, especially when it becomes clear the police are not going to be of much help.

In both cases it starts with a little rationalization and then it snowballs.  Mr. White says, “I’ll just make a little crystal meth and then get out.”  Mr. X says, “I’ll just kill these people for my family and then I’m done.”  Except it’s not that simple.  Because as Yoda said, “Once you start down the dark path, forever will it control your destiny.”

Or in other words, once you’ve done one bad thing, it becomes easier to justify doing another one.  You might start out wanting to make some money or avenge your family, but soon you become drawn into lies and murders and so forth.  Eventually you start to lose sight of what caused you to break bad in the first place.  All that nobility becomes washed away in a sea of blood.

This is kind of the point where Walt's "Breaking Bad" has consumed him, and he
is now completely and utterly EVIL.

As they say, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

If you want to see Mr. X break bad, you can buy my book from Solstice Publishing here for only $2.99.  The book is also available from other retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  To find out more about A Hero’s Journey including character bios, deleted scenes, and a visitor’s guide to Rampart City visit my blog located HERE.

AMAZON
BARNES AND NOBLE

And thanks again to Michael for hosting me!

*****

Patrick is giving away a free .pdf copy of his book to one lucky commenter that wants it. Please indicate in the comments whether you would like one or not by leaving your email address. That way he knows to send it if you are a winner.

If you wouldn't mind doing so, please TWEET about this post so that Mr. Dilloway gets as much exposure as possible.

Have a great Monday

The Judge Dredd body count blows away Commando

Judge Dredd. He is the Law. And you never see his eyes.

For those of you unfamiliar with the infamous body count in Schwarzenegger's "Commando," for a long time, it held a record for most people killed in a single film.

I don't know the exact numbers, but Dredd kills a lot of folks in this reboot done some seventeen years since his disastrous big screen appearance helmed by Sylvester Stallone. In my mind, the Judge Dredd body count blows away "Commando."

In looking back at this film , the first thing question that pops into my mind is: who knew women could be so brutal, disgusting, and evil?

Lena Headey as Ma-Ma. She gives a chilling performance as someone
you don't want to cross.

Lena Headey plays Ma-Ma, Mega-City One's most horrible citizen. She manufactures a drug called slo-mo which causes a high that slows down time to 1% normal for those who use it. Imagine life and all of your experiences suddenly going into bullet time for a while. That's what slo-mo is like and the effect that is shown on screen is really cool (a silent nod to the brilliant Wachowski's who debuted this technique in 1999 in the groundbreaking film, "The Matrix").

So what makes this "Ma-Ma" so horrible? In just one scene, she orders three men drugged on slo-mo and then flayed alive. Yes, all of their skin is cut off. Imagine that AND on this drug. It would seem like it lasted forever. And then while they're still on it and not quite dead...she drops them off a 200-story balcony to fall to their deaths...to experience their own heads exploding in gushing red gore in microseconds against unyielding concrete.

The concrete arcology called "Peach Trees." It's probably named that
because life is so "peachy" there. Basically, it's a human sewer.

It chills my blood to even think about it.

Into this scene comes Judge Dredd, and he is there to pronounce judgement (death) upon Ma-Ma. And a fight to the top of a spooky and dreary arcology that houses 75,000 people begins. The blood bath is pretty amazing, and the violence is accentuated by new and different ways to kill people. He sets them on fire, blows their heads to pieces, throws them off balconies, shoots them dead, butchers them, etc.

Do not be alarmed. It's just a little incineration.

And some of it is done in incredible slow motion so that you can see flesh being torn assunder frame by frame.

I have to say, Judge Dredd is not a film for everyone. But it is a film for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the violence carried out in a way that riveted me to the screen.

What about you?

Did you go see this movie this weekend? If so, what did you think?

S.H.I.E.L.D. got greenlit and I just wet myself

S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for Strategic Hazard intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate. I've seen it in half a dozen Marvel films, represented mostly by Samuel "Mother F'ing" Jackson in the role of Nick Fury. And so have many of you.

Why am I bringing this up?

I just read online that ABC has ordered a pilot S.H.I.E.L.D. for an exploration of a live-action TV series helmed by Joss Whedon.

Um, I made$1.5 billion dollars. Wait for it.
I MADE $1.5 BILLION DOLLARS.

Whedon is the guy that just made 1.5 billion dollars off of one movie, "The Avengers." How do you suppose that conversation went?

"Guys and gals of ABC...umm, I just made...I dunno, $1.5 BILLION DOLLARS. Do you want in on some of that action? Cause...there's this series I wanna do and--"

ABC Execs:  "YES! WE'LL TAKE IT! WHERE DO WE SIGN? OMG I JUST SH*T MY PANTS. YES!!"

If you are a nerd and keep nerd gods in your home, pray that this series does not follow in the footsteps of (I dunno) practically EVERY TELEVISION SERIES JOSS WHEDON HAS PRODUCED?

Am I using too many caps?

Seriously, though. Let's hope that it follows in the footsteps of "Buffy" and "Angel" and not "Firefly" and "Dollhouse." I guess he's 50/50 and that may not be so bad afterall. I'd take those odds at craps. Please tell me you guys know what craps is? And no, it's not something you do on the can while playing "Words With Friends" on your iPad. Oh, I mentioned iPad...I'm having a SIRI moment.

Nick Fury hates hotspacho. So should you.

Remember, on the night S.H.I.E.L.D. airs on ABC, it's "Date Night." Siri says so, and I do too.

So what did we learn here?  S.H.I.E.L.D. got greenlit, and I just wet myself. I hope that all the stars from the movies will make cameos. I wonder if Samuel L. is gonna play Nick Fury. That would be Mother F*cking AWESOME. <== see what I did thar?

It's a happy Wednesday oh nerdy peeps. Be sure to rub your stuffed wookie, click your heels together, and say, "There's no director like Joss Whedon. There's no director like Joss Whedon."

If this guy does a cameo, can you not see the potential here?
Come on, Chris Evans even gives straight men a man crush.

The Incredible George Perez

When I was a teenager, I started collecting comic books. One time in Moscow, Idaho in the late eighties, I walked into this  place called Safari Pearl. The lady that owned the comic book shop started to talk to me about George Perez. Up until this time, I mistakenly thought that all comic books were essentially created equal. Boy was I wrong.

The Incredible George Perez.
I bow to your greatness good sir.

There were actual artists behind these pulpy magazines. And what she pointed out about George Perez was absolutely correct. The guy was a modern day Michaelangelo, and he became my favorite comic book artist of all time. That has never changed even though there are many great comic book artists like Alex Ross and Todd McFarlane. I think George Perez brings a level of detail and dedication to any project that he does that is so good, it sets the bar for my enjoyment of a comic book.

So, with comic book movies being all the rage this summer (talked about on P.T. Dilloway's blog and many others), with "The Dark Knight Rises" destroying the box office that was left in tatters by "The Avengers" and with talk of Joseph Gordon Levitt possibly being cast as Nightwing for his own series (a classic Perez character), I wanted to tell you a little about the great George Perez because he's still alive. He's getting old, and I honestly don't know how much longer he'll be around. I have a goal to meet this guy and hopefully, my wish will come true someday at a comic book convention.

George Perez is a Puerto Rican-American born on June 9, 1954. Above and left, I've included a picture of him. He started illustrating Marvel's The Avengers. The first time that I really noticed his artwork (but didn't pay attention to who he was) was when I started reading "Crisis on the Infinite Earths". If you don't know what this series was, it was a landmark DC series that destroyed all of the various Earths that DC had created in one huge storyline to kind of get a hold of their plotlines which had gone in so many directions that they could no longer keep track.

Here is one cover from the series. I want you to pay special attention to this because it is CLASSIC George Perez. He has detailed a gazillion characters in this cover and each one is carefully drawn down to their eyeballs. I also want you to note the team of Wolfman and Perez. That to me is the sign of "excellence". Whenever I saw those two on a comic book, I knew it was going to be incredible.

This is the cover Perez did to reboot Wonder Woman. Yes, he drew and detailed
all of those warriors on Paradise Island standing behind Wonder Woman.

The very next time that I saw this combo was on the "Who is Wonder Girl" series on the reboot of the Teen Titans to the New Titans. So yeah, I bought into that. But Perez only stayed with it to reboot and then went to work on rebooting Wonder Woman so I followed him to that magazine. Wolfman and Perez owned Wonder Girl and Crisis on the Infinite Earths basically destroyed her origin because a crucial character that saves her as a child is no longer around to save her and DC just went for years after this event, never touching on the fact that Wonder Girl shouldn't be around. When Perez finally returned to the New Titans to redo Wonder Girl's origin, it was nothing less than spectacular.

The story of Wonder Girl's new origin was amazing. And the detail on each and every subsequent cover put out in this series just got better and better. That's Nightwing front and center carrying Wonder Girl. To the right is Starfire (a character that only Perez seems to be able to draw correctly because her costume is asymmetrical), and to the left is cyborg. Behind and rising above the others is Raven who returned in a white cloak after she went missing for many issues following the Trigon the Terrible plotline. Raven was my all-time favorite character in the DC universe. She basically had the powers of a demigod, and she takes on the ultimate bad guy in this series and it's one of the best combats I've ever seen drawn on paper.

Anyway, if you aren't convinced of George Perez's spectacular talent then I'm going to include some other pictures of his for your enjoyment. Again, I'd like you to just take a look at the level of detail that this guy goes to when he does his work. It blows me away every time. I'd love to have a couple of signed prints that I could frame just to hang in my house.

I think Perez has drawn every character in the DC universe here.
CLICK TO MAKE BIGGER

The Avengers as drawn by Perez
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This is a poster of the Avengers that shows them in
 every single costume ever worn. It blows my mind at how
detailed George Perez gets with his artwork.
CLICK TO MAKE BIGGER

So what do you think of the great George Perez? If you didn't know about him, are you now a fan?

Have a great weekend.

Captain America Looks Awesome

It comes out 7/22/2011.

You can look at the official site here.

I'm just going to make the statement right now that this is going to be the top grossing movie of the summer and the one that I probably go and see four times over opening weekend (Yes, I'm being completely serious). Captain America (and comic books in general) is a guy-version of Twilight. And just like you ladies that dragged all your boyfriends and husbands to go and endure Twilight you might as well get prepared now because every man in your life is going to have a total bromance with Captain America this summer.

Anyway, here's the latest trailer for it (and also here's to much kicking of ass). I love how they used CGI to put the actor's face on a really scrawny body and it looks convincing (cause the actor is a bodybuilder in real life).