DC 52: On the 1s & 2s: Frankenstein

About, oh, two weeks ago, I asked folks for examples of DC 52 books they might be interested in seeing reviews for. I had the idea for reviewing two issues of a series at once, largely because I wanted to use the "on the 1s and 2s" phrase, but, also, because it has felt like there isn't always enough meat to the single issues of this relaunch to fairly judge just one. The first up is Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.


The first thing I noticed when going over this selection was how at odds the cover art seems to be with the interior. Employing JG Jones on covers doesn't just give you art that is at conflict with the interior pencils, but suggests practically a brand difference.

But then breaking past that initial concern, I'm faced with yet another apparent contradiction. The story elements, on the surface, seem to suggest more action movie than indie drama. But the muddied, moody art (including the way coloring is employed) suggests the type of story you'd see in Vertigo books, where the action is rarely THE THING, but mostly there to service the story. The coloring, in particular, really seems to fit what I more often have seen on Vertigo product than DC Universe: larger sections of one solid color, rather than more intricate detail. Which, separate from a review, makes me wonder if there's some manner of cost savings in such a move, rather than simply being an artistic decision.

This is not to say I don't enjoy Alberto Ponticelli's art at all. I do, despite some of the inconsistencies (namely Frankenstein's monster looking like several different characters throughout the book). His art is always effective, tells the story ably and can handle the blend of action, humor and drama well. One of the strongest stretches for the art appears with a flashback in the second issue. In relating a supporting character's history (and, also, informing us on some of S.H.A.D.E.'s history), the art team perfectly evokes the feeling of old, grainy home movie footage.

The book uses classic horror movie characters, which would seem to suggest the style of art is fitting, as moody/muddied is often found in horror comics. But the cast is really a swerve, as it is much more of a sci-fi book with huge, bloodied battlefields through the first two issues; a sort of "sword and raygun" fantasy that might be better served by cleaner pencils.

The writing is very strong. I'll be honest: despite my warning above regarding single issues being hard to judge a property by in DC's 52, I had decided to stray away after the first issue, until this book was suggested for review. I'm very glad for the opportunity, as the additional installment casts the whole in a different light. It's difficult to pinpoint where and why there was a change, but suddenly everything clicked much more nicely once I was several pages into #2. Ideas seem less thrown out there, but are, instead, part of well-executed world building and character depth. Not every note is perfect (the gag about no one telling the doctor that Frankenstein's monster was such a gentleman comes to mind), but, somehow, the accumulation of bits between the issues starts to gel, without there being anything to put my finger on as being done differently from one issue to the next.

Lemire deftly weaves horror concepts into sci-fi properties and makes some of his sci-fi concepts feel all too real. Whether we're talking their base of operations, the prison within it, the communications system or the nature of the external threat in this first arc, all of the ideas just work.

Except when it comes to lettering. Of all the things to still have difficulty adjusting to, it was the method of delivery for S.H.A.D.E.net communications. The lettering was an x-on-black style (where x could be white or, more commonly, some other color that was used in large amounts elsewhere on the page) that was a bit of an irritant to my eyes. Why the purpose was clear (setting itself apart from other captions/bubbles), the combination of using it in such dark areas of art and often using non-white colors (making it stand out slightly less well on the black) was a source of frustration. Hopefully, it is something they can adjust and I can adjust to going forward.

Overall, this is an enjoyable series with a talented creative team. I think I'll be adding this to my regular purchases going forward.

A Request

I'm looking to review a swath of New 52 books from DC. I've read practically all of them, but I'm not such a masochist that I'm eager to go through them all. Ideally, I'd like to go over the first two issues of at least ten of the titles. But, since I'm being selective, I'd like to get a little direction from those who are reading the blog.

Please take the time to note five of the New 52 that you'd like me to review the first two issues of. With the limited replies I generally get, you just might see me review all five of your requests. ;)

Review The Reviewer

After being bothered by it for years, both by sites I contributed to and sites I merely visited, I've been giving great consideration towards "reviewing the reviewer".

I'd likely hit most of the major sites that contribute comic book reviews (and possibly other popular forms of entertainment) to dissect how common it is that the "reviews" are over 50% recap, rather than critique.

My question to the eight people still reading this with any regularity: would you be interested in seeing such an examination?

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

After hearing all the horrible reviews, I still wound up going to see it. Those reviews normally lead me to enjoy a movie more, due to setting expectations low. Since I was already not expecting much, those reviews dug out the basement to establish a new all-time low. That pretty much saved the movie for me.

For instance, I've heard the film dragged. For me, while I could see a lot that should have been left on the editing room floor, it never really made me want the film to pick up the pace. There have been complaints about not being able to differentiate between many of the Transformers, it was much improved over the last film and, where there would be confusion, there's really nothing that can be done to prevent the issues.

The one issue that there's no getting around, however, are the racially stereotyped "Twins". Two Autobots that could genuinely be considered the "Step & Fetchit" of modern day flicks. Gold teeth, slang and the whole nine yards. The problem, though, is the lack of an actually assigned race to machines. In many current movies, if you slap that particular set of characteristics on to a non-black character, you generally get a bunch of people laughing and no one crying foul. So we have "raceless" machines with these traits. That's where they obviously thought they'd be OK, but clearly where they cause their problems. Without an assigned race, interpretation will revert back to the race that the stereotype is about.

For what it's worth, though, the audience in this showing was of diverse ethnic backgrounds and the laughs at the antics of the Step & Fetchit twins were loudly coming from all over the theater. So whether actual mainstream America will make an issue of this or it will just stay with the critics and the talking heads remains to be seen.

The other noticeable bit was the generous helping of profane language. I'm not a prude, but you hear so many curse words coming from a flick that, from my understanding, is supposed to aiming for kids as well as adults, each time one pops up, it grabs your attention. Fuck, shit, asshole and pussy all wind up getting thrown around liberally.

One or both of those issues will be grabbed by a conservative values group to make hay over, I believe. I doubt that aspect will really have a negative effect on the film. I can respect the racial one being strongly objected to. But when it comes to the "I can't let my kid watch that" crowd, they generally need to realize that vetting stuff for their child's viewing is their job as a parent. On top of that, companies need to realize that those who protest on these sorts of things are often not the consumer it was made for to begin with, so they're not losing patronage of their product.

Terminator Salvation: Pretty Pedestrian

I had high hopes for this latest Terminator flick, due to the involvement of Christian Bale. He's normally a fairly good indicator of a quality film, my experience. But I guess he doesn't quite bat 1.000.

This film had such potential, but squandered it. While the effects are great, the script (or what of it saw the screen) was found lacking.

Bale wasn't given an opportunity to really act. Comparing this to the Batman movies, under Nolan he performs as an actor, but under McG he's simply a movie star. I'm sure he gave it his all, as he tries to lose himself in the character to the point of possibly being a personal mental health concern. It seems as though the script basically gave him scenes to yell in and then scenes to tell the audience what they should have been showing them.

Helena Bonham Carter and Bryce Dallas Howard are completely wasted in this movie. Carter is only in one scene that actually requires any acting, where she acquits herself nicely. Howard is just left to be pregnant and concerned. There's really nothing noteworthy about her character in the movie.

Sam Worthington (Marcus Wright) and Moon Bloodgood (Blair Williams) are probably given the most to work with (which still isn't a lot). While their dialogue and scenes are no better written than any others, they are afforded a better opportunity to demonstrate a wider range of emotions. Anton Yelchin does a really good job of evoking Michael Biehn's version of Kyle Reese, helping you believe that this is the man that grows up to save Sarah Connor.

What the movie lacks is the chase element seen in the first three movies. Instead of a Terminator stalking our protagonists. Instead, we get one protagonist plodding across the first half of the movie to get to the other. While some of the Skynet machines do briefly chase from time to time, there isn't one consistent character stalking anyone. Due to this, it felt like the movie lacked any real tension through most of the two hours. You didn't have a sense that a terminator or other Skynet machine could pop up to attack the protagonists at any given moment, despite their being scenes of just that happening.

Maybe appropriately, the movie felt mechanical. It was just a collection of standard parts put together. Nothing too special about the parts or how well they were connected. In fact, some of the parts seemed worse than the standard. Take note, for instance, how obvious they try to make things about Marcus Wright by how he is posed for his execution. I half expected Keenan Ivory Wayans to pop on screen and shout, "MESSAGE!"

Despite all of the negatives I can rattle off about it, I didn't feel regret for having spent my $6 on a ticket. It was entertaining enough that I didn't want my money and my time back at the end of it...but JUST enough. The T-800 used towards the end probably put it over the top.

I wouldn't suggest running out to see this urgently, but I, also, wouldn't try to dissuade anyone who had planned to see it from taking the trip to the theater. If you're interested in the Terminator franchise, you're going to want to see this film. Just temper your expectations.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I had the privilege of seeing an advanced screening of the new Brad Pitt/David Fincher movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

This is probably the first movie since Amelie or Big Fish that I would simply call beautiful. It tells a strange, inspirational love story. Much like Amelie, love story means more than romance. Similar to Big Fish, the path is paved with bits of fairy tale. This film, at its heart, is about the love of life. And really, isn't that what many of the best movies convey to the audience?

I spent time during the movie wondering what the greater purpose this movie was supposed to serve. What was its message? But then it hit me that it had been subtly showing the audience, rather than beating us over the head with it.

Through the fantastic, Fincher and Pitt show us that life can be a rich, rewarding and, yes, beautiful experience, despite or because of our struggles to live it. The world is seen through such innocent eyes, even when it is at its most cruel. Benjamin seems to be a character that chooses to find the good in even a bad situation.

His sense of wonder infects the viewer and leaves you thinking about how you view the world after you've left the theater. And really, isn't that what many of the best movies do?

SCHWAPP!!!@TheMovies: INCREDIBLE HULK (Theatrical Release)

SCHWAPP!!! FLASH GORDON #1

Ardden Entertainment tries to update FLASH GORDON for a new era. What did they change? How's the art? Does it work? Check the vlog.

STREET KINGS on DVD? Why Bother?

Just saw the commercial for STREET KINGS coming out on DVD. Isn't it great when they think it's perfectly fine to spoil the whole plot of the movie by telling you in the commercial who the real antagonist is, when you're supposed to be trying to figure that out for the first 2/3rds of the flick?

Anyway...here's the review I ran when it was out in the theaters.



A third party review:



And details on Hugh Laurie's man-crush on Keanu Reeves:

SCHWAPP!!!@TheMovies: REDBELT

Now that it is out on DVD, I thought re-running this review was worthwhile:

SCHWAPP!!!@TheMovies: Get Smart & Love Guru

Better late than never...

SCHWAPP!!!@TheMovies: HELLBOY 2

Just a reminder: You can subscribe here or directly in iTunes to receive free downloads into your iTunes podcast directory.

And the studio is giving ringtones and wallpapers for free over on Myxer.com:

More from HellBoy II : The Golden Army at Myxer

JUDENHASS: My Biased Take On The Book

So, Dave Sim has come out with JUDENHASS, the work that some in the blogosphere seemed to be waiting with baited breath for over the last few months and are falling all over themselves to compliment (even if they're no fan of Sim due to his misogynistic tendencies).

While I was interested to see what this would turn out to be and felt it had potential to be a great work, I'm not going to be heaping praise on it. This comes with a bit of potential bias on my part, because one of the first pages I saw (through accident of how my copy tended to flutter open on its own) contained his quoting a hadith that had Muhammad saying the end of times would see inanimate objects yelling out to muslims to kill the Jews that were hiding behind them.

First of all, he is quoting a hadith. There are many hadiths. Unlike the Quran (or Koran, if you like...either spelling is just as good as the other), hadiths are not infallible. They have not been controlled and kept from being changed and perverted like the Holy Quran. Many were compiled after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

In fact, many muslims believe that false hadiths were planted by Cabalist Jews in what was more or less a form of psychological warfare. An Islam with its followers divided in arguments over religious texts would be less of a threat than a united one.

But the most important part, taken into account with the first point, is that it wasn't the full quote:

"Judgment day shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews, whereas the Jews will hide behind trees and stones, and the tree and the stone will speak and say, 'Muslim, behind me is a Jew; come and kill him,' except for the al-Ghargad tree, which is a Jewish plant."

The end of that quote points to its likelihood of being false. Muslims believe that God has dominion over all. There can be no plant created by man that God doesn't have ultimate control over. In fact, many muslims tend to avoid saying man created anything; where a westerner might say man created a vaccine for polio, a muslim would say man FOUND a vaccine. Why? Because God created everything that was, is, and ever will be. Man just finds God's creations through his hard work.

So, it was with the misfortune of finding this quote before getting to sit down to read the rest of the book that I was already soured on Mr. Sim's approach. He already demonstrated ignorance in his attempt to create a book that he hoped to use to enlighten. God does work in mysterious ways, but I tend to doubt the ability of the ignorant to bring about enlightenment of their own intention.

It didn't help to read what I felt was a backcover full of pretentiousness:

"I decided some time ago that the term anti-Semitism (a 'coined' term of late nineteenth century origin) is completely inadequate to the abhorrent cultural phenomenon which it attempts to describe. For one thing, Arabs are Semites as well and the prejudice as it is generally understood certainly doesn't apply equally to Arabs and Jews."

Well, for one thing, I wouldn't really call it a "cultural phenomenon". But, putting that aside, many before Sim realized that the term was grossly misapplied. To people that have ever understood the word, rather than just having it introduced into their vocabulary by news reports, it has almost been comical to see how many times an Arab muslim or a Palestinian have been referred to as anti-semitic.

"It was in the early stages of researching this graphic narrative that I first encountered the German term judenhass. Literally Jew Hatred. It seemed to me that the term served to distil (sic) the ancient problem to its essence, and in such a way as to hopefully allow other non-Jews (like myself) to see the problem 'unlaundered' and through fresh eyes."

Ah yes. Semantics. That's always been the problem. The wrong choice of vocabulary. Through common use, anti-semitism has almost always been taken to be about hatred or prejudice against the Jews. But Sim's attempt to introduce judenhass into the vernacular is going to be what helps wrap peoples' brains around this problem?

It was at that point that I started to get the feeling that Dave Sim isn't so misogynist. He just has a God complex of sorts where he gives men a slight bit more benefit of the doubt in regards to their potentially being deities as well. I really get the feeling that he's writing this book because there'd be no hatred for Jews in the world if people just read his thoughts (or, more accurately, quotes of hate he's gathered from various literature).

The book doesn't start out on great footing in between the covers, either. His first statement is that he feels that ever creative person should do a work about "the shoah - the preferred Judaic term for the Holocaust - at some point in his or her life". It immediately creates a feeling that he's trying to force his opinion on the reader rather than attempt to enlighten them. I really think that's counter-productive to getting people onboard with what the implied intent of this book is.

"The Shoah was done to Jews - and yes, to others as well. But the fact that "to others as well"has become a universal interjection when the subject of the Holocaust comes up, it seems to me, points to a central and malignant evasiveness on the part of non-Jews."

Really? I don't know, I'd think that homosexuals would prefer that their plight was remembered, as well. I'd, also, think it might be beneficial to remember that it happened to others besides the Jews for a pretty good reason:

"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

Call me crazy, but if one of your concerns is making sure that nothing remotely like the Shoah ever happens again (and Sim expresses just such a concern), you'd want to remind people that it likely won't just stop with that group that they are unaffiliated with. You'd, also, not want to suggest that anyone making sure to include the others who suffered in the Holocaust is a passive carrier of judenhass.

There's a bit from Sim that perplexes me.

"Jewish remembrance of Shoah, distilled to its essence of 'Never Again' implies the self-preservation of the life of not only each individual Jew wherever he or she lives, but of all of God's chosen people wherever their collective continued existence is threatened"

"Never Again", when in reference to the Holocaust, would seem to quite obviously be about more than individual self-preservation. To include this bit seems to be stretching for original written content. For lack of a better term, it is a bit redundant and certainly pointing out the obvious. It really serves no greater purpose in the book. If Sim had really contributed much of his own actual writing to this book, an editor might have asked him to trim that out or rephrase it.

In addition to that issue with the quote, it always perplexes me when an outsider to Judaism refers to Jews as "God's chosen people" without some form of modifier. To put a modifier on it, though, would make it sound clunky and quite possibly lead to others wondering why he couldn't offer the phrase up without qualifying it. There's a chance that he chose to use the phrase just out of need for variety, seeing as how there's only so many ways to refer to the Jewish peoples.

Still, it came off weird, just as it would be strange to see a non-muslim refer to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as the seal of the prophets or the Quran as a miraculous, infallible document in a way that implies it as fact. Again, pointing out to the reader that Jews consider themselves to be God's chosen people isn't likely to be a tact that rallies more to the cause of their defense. That makes it seem illogical to include the contention here out of anything but necessity.

In going over this book, which Sim seemed to profess was such an important labor to him, I can't help but notice how he seems to have done very minimal work on it. That isn't to say that the art isn't impressive. But in going over this book with a critical (somewhat cynical, given the circumstances) eye, I can't help but notice how often he does one large page of original work and uses it through at least 2-3 pages in some areas through selective copying and pasting. Given how much of the "narrative" is just Sim's cutting and pasting quotes, that's a bit apropos, yet still a bit disappointing.

Other than the above issues, everything else seems like a nitpick. Putting quotes around the illegal in an issue of illegal immigration in Palestine where two Jews were being deported for having quite illegally trying to permanently immigrate there by overstaying their tourist visas in order to make the British look as bad as their home country that refused their return is a stretch. Framing US Army Guards who returned a boat-jumping Jewish refugee to their ship when it docked for refueling in Norfolk, VA, as evil seems just as much of a stretch. It gives the book a bit of a feeling of a high school student writing a paper the night before it is due in class, scrambling to use any passable info possible to pad for length.

I really think that is one of the biggest problems I had with the quotes and history he uses here. I'm sure Sim could have easily used more hard evidence of how prejudiced members of our government helped to deny applications for immigration to our country from Jews. He could have used more of the dehumanizing quotes from members of the Nazi party. But quoting a cousin of Franklin Delano Roosevelt saying something "anti-semitic"? Really?

The Shoah was a terrible event. We can not be reminded enough that we can never let something like that happen again. In trying to do his part, Sim puts out a book for sale that is not only padded with ill-fitting quotes, notes and citations, but padded with stretching one image out for multiple pages (not panels). I've never seen someone take so many shortcuts while attempting to do something for the greater good of society. That he spent nearly as much time patting himself on the back for this book as he seemed to spend putting it together is such a shame.

SCHWAPP!!! Encore: Black Adam: The Dark Age Review

One of my weaker attempts to put more of a multimedia twist on my vlogging. Still, it reviews the whole of the Black Adam: The Dark Age back when it was only available in single issues. Now it is out in a paperback form, is still a great piece of work by Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke, and still carries a SCHWAPP!!! guarantee that you'll love it.

SCHWAPP!!!@TheMovies: Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

SCHWAPP!!! Comics Week 28: Secret Invasion #2

SCHWAPP!!! Comics Week 27: Gunplay #0

Jorge Vega's GUNPLAY...better than COWBOYS AND ALIENS, but not sure just how much better as of yet...

SCHWAPP!!! Comics Week 27: All Star Superman #10

Grant Morrison...Frank Quitely...All Star Superman. If I gush about it here, I ruin the verbal blow job in the video...

SCHWAPP!!! Comics Week 27: Bohda Te

I happened upon this strange sounding book when ordering my comics for the month and was rewarded with the quirkiest, dry humor weirdfest of a cartoon strip that I've ever stumbled upon. Bohda Te is worth a look if you get the chance.

SCHWAPP!!! Comic Review Week 25: Suicide Squad & Batman Confidential