by Warren Ellis and Chris Weston, Image 2001, 2004
This is a nice little alternate history where the Brits get hold of the German rocket scientists after World War II, rather than the Americans. An ambitious, and only slightly insane fighter pilot, Dashwood, lobbies for the creation of the Ministry of Space. Within a few years, Britian is in space. Just a few more and they have space stations and reach the moon. And then just like that, they hit Mars.
Now the story is good. Not Ellis' best although there are some cool bits. But what sells this little three parter, for me, is Ellis giving us some lovely visuals, courtesy of Weston's very able pencils. Stylish retro-type designs. A very cool mass landing on Mars.
And there are some ugly looks in the mirror as Ellis shows us our dark side. It's worth a read, but borrow it if you can.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
4.1
zeroing all data...
wipe complete...
parameters redefined...
clean install...
system stable.
Now then, where was I?
wipe complete...
parameters redefined...
clean install...
system stable.
Now then, where was I?
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Crash
Processing Insufficient...
Corruption Ubiquitous...
All connections severed...
Recovery Impossible...
Total
System
Failure...
Corruption Ubiquitous...
All connections severed...
Recovery Impossible...
Total
System
Failure...
Sunday, January 21, 2007
topher 4.0
sometimes a thing happens that requires a total system reboot. an event that reformats reality. initiates an update to the operating system of the universe.
so today we begin Topher 4.0. Everything is different. Nothing will ever be the same. I am blasted to atoms, re-integrated, a fresh install of a brand new OS. I am terrified. And so very turned on.
Anything could happen.
so today we begin Topher 4.0. Everything is different. Nothing will ever be the same. I am blasted to atoms, re-integrated, a fresh install of a brand new OS. I am terrified. And so very turned on.
Anything could happen.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
300 "widescreen" HC
by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley
Dark Horse, 1998
i picked up this "widescreen" HC recently because i wanted to sell my original issues as the movie approached. but after re-reading this, it's obvious that this wide format is really the way this book was intended to be experienced. a truly cinematic scope is presented on these long pages, making me hope that these "shots" are used in the film. Miller's genius for lines and perspective is absolute. the "camera" can be nowhere else. and there are the highly stylized anatomies and costumes of all of his work. along with a mastery of shadow and light. beautiful.
then there is Varley's color. moody as hell but perfectly naturalistic. her skies warm the air and her rocks crumble under the weight of sandaled feet. fabrics and metals are tangible. spartan blood is salty when it splatters our cheeks.
Miller's narration and dialogue are crafted as carefully as his set pieces. an epic poem really. King Leonidas says exactly what he means, nothing more. the cast is going to have to chew the hell out of the scenery to make this work. if the the trailer can be trusted, we may be alright.
this is very, very good stuff. don't miss it. even if u see the movie first, come back home to this book.
Dark Horse, 1998
i picked up this "widescreen" HC recently because i wanted to sell my original issues as the movie approached. but after re-reading this, it's obvious that this wide format is really the way this book was intended to be experienced. a truly cinematic scope is presented on these long pages, making me hope that these "shots" are used in the film. Miller's genius for lines and perspective is absolute. the "camera" can be nowhere else. and there are the highly stylized anatomies and costumes of all of his work. along with a mastery of shadow and light. beautiful.
then there is Varley's color. moody as hell but perfectly naturalistic. her skies warm the air and her rocks crumble under the weight of sandaled feet. fabrics and metals are tangible. spartan blood is salty when it splatters our cheeks.
Miller's narration and dialogue are crafted as carefully as his set pieces. an epic poem really. King Leonidas says exactly what he means, nothing more. the cast is going to have to chew the hell out of the scenery to make this work. if the the trailer can be trusted, we may be alright.
this is very, very good stuff. don't miss it. even if u see the movie first, come back home to this book.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Nextwave:Agents of H.A.T.E. #11, February 2007
By Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen
So pissed that this book is cancelled. so very pissed. not surprised at all. but pissed nonetheless.
i will miss everything about this when its gone.
this is all wrapping up next issue. and warren and stuart are pounding the hell out of these last issues. and i really think that this red-linning, beat-it-'til-it-breaks-then-set-it-on-fire style is only going to make those who loved it miss it all the more and those who hated it say "see, he's absolutely fucking barking"! and this, i think, is the point.
i love this book. which is no shocker. i have huge man-love for ellis. all that comes forth from his throbbing will is golden streams of liquid psychoses. What can i say, I'm a Romantic.
this book is funny.
brilliant characters. miserable and frustrated as usual. each with a particular affectation that make them irresistable. way over the top super-hero ideas. determination to the point of masochism.
there is a gag in here that works beautifully in its snarky homage. (if that makes sense) We are given six, that's SIX! double page spreads of outrageos fights between Nextwave and Beyond Corporation manufactured monsters.
it's a fight comic at its heart. punching things until they cry or explode.
pick this up. buy the trade. whatever. but go get this.
So pissed that this book is cancelled. so very pissed. not surprised at all. but pissed nonetheless.
i will miss everything about this when its gone.
this is all wrapping up next issue. and warren and stuart are pounding the hell out of these last issues. and i really think that this red-linning, beat-it-'til-it-breaks-then-set-it-on-fire style is only going to make those who loved it miss it all the more and those who hated it say "see, he's absolutely fucking barking"! and this, i think, is the point.
i love this book. which is no shocker. i have huge man-love for ellis. all that comes forth from his throbbing will is golden streams of liquid psychoses. What can i say, I'm a Romantic.
this book is funny.
brilliant characters. miserable and frustrated as usual. each with a particular affectation that make them irresistable. way over the top super-hero ideas. determination to the point of masochism.
there is a gag in here that works beautifully in its snarky homage. (if that makes sense) We are given six, that's SIX! double page spreads of outrageos fights between Nextwave and Beyond Corporation manufactured monsters.
it's a fight comic at its heart. punching things until they cry or explode.
pick this up. buy the trade. whatever. but go get this.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Web of Spider-Man 1-3, April-June 1985
by Louise Simonson and Greg LaRocque
okay, ahem...these were bad. But they were really good at it. what i mean is that they were all the things that make super-heros ridiculous, and now, twenty years later, it's funny.
We have a little arc in which four clowns have gotten out of prison, where they learned design secrets from the Vulture. They have built themselves winged suits and call themselves the Vulturions! They are pissed at Pete for putting them in prison and want revenge, of course. ooohh and they have poison darts!
This is happening while Peter and MJ are broken up and He and Aunt May aren't speaking. So he's all fucked up and whiny.
So fucked up in fact, that he can't seem to notice that there are three girls living in his building that are constantly sunbathing on the roof! There names are, and i'm not making this up, Bambi, Randi, and Candi! (Oh Louise, what ARE you dreaming about?) They are nothing to Peter but a distraction. All he wants them to do is get off of the roof so that he can sneak in and out as spider-man. Dude! WTF! Did I miss the issue were we learn that Pete is gay? Are you seriously telling me that Peter would rather swing around the city with four tools in vulture costumes than play "who wants more webbing" with girls gone wild? Wa-huh?
And just a little more interesting than that, May is shacked up with some guy in a wheelchair. And it ain't Charles Xavier. (which would be awesome!) May Parker, you little minx.
So blah blah blah. There's terrible dialogue and vanilla art. And a total disregard for the laws of physics.
Oh and May's new handicapped fuck-stick, calls Pete a "rapscallion". Nice.
okay, ahem...these were bad. But they were really good at it. what i mean is that they were all the things that make super-heros ridiculous, and now, twenty years later, it's funny.
We have a little arc in which four clowns have gotten out of prison, where they learned design secrets from the Vulture. They have built themselves winged suits and call themselves the Vulturions! They are pissed at Pete for putting them in prison and want revenge, of course. ooohh and they have poison darts!
This is happening while Peter and MJ are broken up and He and Aunt May aren't speaking. So he's all fucked up and whiny.
So fucked up in fact, that he can't seem to notice that there are three girls living in his building that are constantly sunbathing on the roof! There names are, and i'm not making this up, Bambi, Randi, and Candi! (Oh Louise, what ARE you dreaming about?) They are nothing to Peter but a distraction. All he wants them to do is get off of the roof so that he can sneak in and out as spider-man. Dude! WTF! Did I miss the issue were we learn that Pete is gay? Are you seriously telling me that Peter would rather swing around the city with four tools in vulture costumes than play "who wants more webbing" with girls gone wild? Wa-huh?
And just a little more interesting than that, May is shacked up with some guy in a wheelchair. And it ain't Charles Xavier. (which would be awesome!) May Parker, you little minx.
So blah blah blah. There's terrible dialogue and vanilla art. And a total disregard for the laws of physics.
Oh and May's new handicapped fuck-stick, calls Pete a "rapscallion". Nice.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Daredevil HC Vol 6, The Murdock Papers
Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, Marvel 2006
this was bendis' last arc on the book. and i have to say that he fucking topped it off like only he could do. Everything that made this run as great as it was, is here in this last arc. Matt's faith and desire for a healthy relationship. Fisk's position, even from prison, as the scariest, most powerful fucker in New York. Elektra, in her new position as leader of the Hand, still very much in love with Matt. Natasha, ultra-cool, ridiculously sexy, and probably in love with Matt. Even Maria Hill, acting director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and one of my very favorite Bendis creations, makes a perfect appearance. Urich, Foggy, Luke Cage, Agent Del Toro, ooohh and The Night Nurse (i loooovve the Night Nurse). The gang's all here and their voices have never been truer. Oh and a fan-tas-tick rooftop scene, a staple of the series really. If you are not caught up on the Bendis run, please don't pick this up. go get 'em all. every issue is golden. and as a run, they are as good as super-heros get.
Maleev's art is breathtaking. actually breathtaking. your breathing...it stops. light, shadow, weight, texture. all magic. certainly he uses photo reference, but he gives it such a gravity. soaks it with so much ink. masterful, really. along with Dave Stewart's colors. fucking hell, they are all alive. heavy and real. in some kind of saturated way.
so what happens.
the kingpin brings Urich to prison to have him report on Fisk's proposed deal with the fbi; they let him walk and he gives them proof that Murdock is daredevil. he has the feds by the balls. everyone knows it. of course they are gonna deal.
the story hits the press just as matt is in bed with Milla, who has come back saying she's still in love with him. that she freaked out. that she wants to be with him. the absolute worst time right. just like every other thing in this poor bastard's life.
electra is standing in the window in one of those holy-fuck-bendis-moments. holy fuck. there to tell matt of the Murdock Papers and lead him to the evidence against him, which she and only one other person know the location of. they bail and leave milla.
the black widow goes to see maria hill, (who i love more every time we see her), to ask her the favor of making the evidence go away. hill says sorry, its out of her hands. "take it up with Fury" she says.
Cage and Iron Fist grab Foggy before the media trample him.
the new White Tiger, Del Toro, quits the fbi and runs to help dd.
then Bullseye (oh fuck, Bullseye!), the other person who knows where the papers are, shows up and gets his ass kicked by DD and Elektra. then gets hit by a truck!
then BOOM!, the fbi director has Matt sniped by an unknown black book agent in exchange for that agent's clean slate. ho-ly-fuck.
just then fisk says there are no papers! but now they have the gun shot wound. fuck u feds.
Urich snaps, cursing Fisk. awesome.
cut to the night nurses secret med center. elektra calls the hand, danny and luck show up with foggy and widow shows up with milla. up pull the feds. and just before a free for all explodes, Matt staggers out of the med center, healed by hand medicine, wearing his fucking costume! and gives up. "i dont want this fight" he says.
This is how Bendis hands the title over to Brubaker. Are you fucking kidding me? Matt in prison, exposed. Now i've read that they discussed how Bendis would end it before the hand-off. but shee-sus. unbelievable.
i'm exhausted.
this was bendis' last arc on the book. and i have to say that he fucking topped it off like only he could do. Everything that made this run as great as it was, is here in this last arc. Matt's faith and desire for a healthy relationship. Fisk's position, even from prison, as the scariest, most powerful fucker in New York. Elektra, in her new position as leader of the Hand, still very much in love with Matt. Natasha, ultra-cool, ridiculously sexy, and probably in love with Matt. Even Maria Hill, acting director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and one of my very favorite Bendis creations, makes a perfect appearance. Urich, Foggy, Luke Cage, Agent Del Toro, ooohh and The Night Nurse (i loooovve the Night Nurse). The gang's all here and their voices have never been truer. Oh and a fan-tas-tick rooftop scene, a staple of the series really. If you are not caught up on the Bendis run, please don't pick this up. go get 'em all. every issue is golden. and as a run, they are as good as super-heros get.
Maleev's art is breathtaking. actually breathtaking. your breathing...it stops. light, shadow, weight, texture. all magic. certainly he uses photo reference, but he gives it such a gravity. soaks it with so much ink. masterful, really. along with Dave Stewart's colors. fucking hell, they are all alive. heavy and real. in some kind of saturated way.
so what happens.
the kingpin brings Urich to prison to have him report on Fisk's proposed deal with the fbi; they let him walk and he gives them proof that Murdock is daredevil. he has the feds by the balls. everyone knows it. of course they are gonna deal.
the story hits the press just as matt is in bed with Milla, who has come back saying she's still in love with him. that she freaked out. that she wants to be with him. the absolute worst time right. just like every other thing in this poor bastard's life.
electra is standing in the window in one of those holy-fuck-bendis-moments. holy fuck. there to tell matt of the Murdock Papers and lead him to the evidence against him, which she and only one other person know the location of. they bail and leave milla.
the black widow goes to see maria hill, (who i love more every time we see her), to ask her the favor of making the evidence go away. hill says sorry, its out of her hands. "take it up with Fury" she says.
Cage and Iron Fist grab Foggy before the media trample him.
the new White Tiger, Del Toro, quits the fbi and runs to help dd.
then Bullseye (oh fuck, Bullseye!), the other person who knows where the papers are, shows up and gets his ass kicked by DD and Elektra. then gets hit by a truck!
then BOOM!, the fbi director has Matt sniped by an unknown black book agent in exchange for that agent's clean slate. ho-ly-fuck.
just then fisk says there are no papers! but now they have the gun shot wound. fuck u feds.
Urich snaps, cursing Fisk. awesome.
cut to the night nurses secret med center. elektra calls the hand, danny and luck show up with foggy and widow shows up with milla. up pull the feds. and just before a free for all explodes, Matt staggers out of the med center, healed by hand medicine, wearing his fucking costume! and gives up. "i dont want this fight" he says.
This is how Bendis hands the title over to Brubaker. Are you fucking kidding me? Matt in prison, exposed. Now i've read that they discussed how Bendis would end it before the hand-off. but shee-sus. unbelievable.
i'm exhausted.
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