Podcasts: "Magical and Transcendent" on 5by5's Giant Size

This week we're talking about the most interesting Superman origin stories, with host Moises Chiullan, BlueTights.net founder Justin Korthof, and myself. Moises also had the chance to sit down with veteran writer J. M. DeMatteis to discuss origin stories and his most personal work, Brooklyn Dreams.

You can listen to the all-new, reformatted Giant Size right here! 

And if you don't mind a few off-topic spoilers in your life, Moises and DeMatteis keep the conversation rolling into talk of Dr. Strange and DeMatteis's original 1986 graphic novel Doctor Strange: Into Shamballa.

You can listen to that extended bit on the latest Giant Size After Dark.

Quick Thoughts: Taking a Look at Marvel's 'Big Hero 6' Comics

Sometimes writing about comic book movies is a lot of fun, and sometimes it is WORK.  Nobody has really been paying much attention to Marvel's upcoming animated flick Big Hero 6, and since I cover the Marvel Studios beat at Movies.com, I took it upon myself to read the most recent 2008 mini and the original first issue that kicked the property off in 1998 (titled Sunfire and the Big Hero 6, itself a spin-off from Steven T. Seagal's short late-90's Alpha Flight run).

I wasn't a fan. Scott Lobdell's original mini-series just barely skirts an uncomfortably stereotypical "ah-so, most honorable reader"  line, and he's further weighed down by Gus Vasquez's noticeably rookie pencils. Veteran writer Chris Claremont and manga artist David Nakayama teamed up for the second mini in 2008, and while it's arguably improved, it's still a bit of a mess. The series is about young Japanese operatives who never really gel as a team, sent on a mission to protect mysterious artifacts by a Japanese Nick Fury surrogate named Furi Wamu (she's even missing an eye). I never got the impression that any of the creators involved on any of the Big Hero 6 minis had any kind of handle on the team's personality or larger purpose. Claremont makes a noble attempt at more light-hearted fare than what he's known for, but the five issues just aren't particularly inspired. There's a lot of visual manga cliches as well, such as having all of the characters spend an issue in their beachwear.

Now, despite not liking the characters or the books themselves, I actually still have high hopes for the movie. One of the bad things about the property on the page is that it's still a bit of a blank slate. That makes for tedious reading after a fistful of issues, but it also means that a movie has free reign to approach the team in a way that matters. Maybe the Disney movie will kick off new interest, and we'll see a worthwhile ongoing Big Hero 6 book in 2014?

You can read about the film and the characters of Big Hero 6 in my Countdown column at Movies.com.

Quick Thoughts on 'Shadowman' Vol. 1

I'm rooting for Valiant. I like their enthusiasm and I like their branding. I like that the company was revived by Valiant fans, who are dedicated to producing quality material. I also like trade paperback collections that are $9.99, which was the perfect price point for me to pick up their first Shadowman volume. I read X-O Manowar every month, and I tried out the first issues of Bloodshot (too military and needlessly violent for my tastes) and Shadowman. Shadowman #1 was frustrating because the hero didn't turn up until the final page of the book, and the first issue failed to tell a whole story. I feel like a first issue should reveal the hero, his powers and motivations, and give me some sort of complete beginning, middle, and end, so that I can get an understanding of what I'll be buying into on a monthly basis. Shadowman, while sporting competent writing by Justin Jordan and appealing art by Patrick Zircher, was good enough to intrigue me, despite not delivering what I'm looking for in a single issue. I kind of knew then that I'd be picking up the trade.

​The positives? The supporting cast is strong, as is the villain, Master Darque, who turned out to be my favorite part of the book. The downside is that as an introduction to Shadowman himself, it leaves a lot to be desired. He's not as three-dimensional as the two characters who assist him, and his powers are ill-defined and nebulous (at least in this first outing). If you already have a taste for mystical superheroes there's a good possibility you'll find the little mysteries of Shadowman's world more involving than I did, and I recognize that my indifference here may be chalked up to my own personal taste and not that the comic itself is bad, per se, because it's not. Shadowman is a perfectly acceptable action comic that just didn't get its hooks in me in the way that I'd hoped. Your mileage may vary.

Transformer Roll-Out: 'Robots in Disguise' #17 Explores the Origins of Shockwave

Julian Titus is a writer/editor for PixlBit.com and the host of the Nerds Without Pants podcast. He's also the biggest Transformers fan I've ever met and will be covering IDW's Transformers comics right here on a regular basis.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise # 17, Dark Cybertron Prelude: “Shockwaves”

Oh, dear. I’m torn when it comes to this month’s issue of Robots in Disguise. On one hand, this is an interesting prelude to a new story arc. On the other hand, it’s drawn by my Transformers artistic nemesis: Livio Ramondelli.

This issue almost reads like a Spotlight, as it’s squarely focused on the origin of Shockwave, the Decepticon’s ever logical and pragmatic strategist/scientist. I found the story to be fascinating. Just as it was revealed in More Than Meets the Eye that Ultra Magnus was once a happy-go-lucky ‘bot we learn that Shockwave was once an impassioned member of the senate before the war began. Moreover, he was a completely different configuration than the iconic one-eyed, purple arm cannon-wielding Decepticon that we’re familiar with. I don’t want to give it away, but the way that Shockwave becomes the transformer he is today is the product of a shocking event that really colors Cybertronian society in a bad light.

This interesting tale is almost completely ruined for me thanks to Ramondelli’s artwork. I’m sure he has his fans, but I find his work on the Transformers to be confusing and lacking in power. “Senator” Shockwave looks far less distinctive than the Decepticon version, and I routinely confused him with other characters in the book, like Dai Atlus and Proteus. I suppose this is the best work he’s done for IDW’s Transformers, and it does look far better than the Chaos storyline. Still, I am not a fan in the slightest and his art really impacted my enjoyment of this issue.

Also on shelves is the trade paperback of the Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots limited series. I didn’t get a chance to read it in its entirety, but I reviewed the final issue in an earlier Roll Out. The art is solid, and if you enjoyed the recent Transformers video games from High Moon this continues the storyline of that series. It also leads in to the upcoming series, Beast Hunters.

Into the Pit: G.I. Joe's 'Special Missions' #3 and 'Real American Hero' #190 Reviewed

Tyler Mager has written for CollegeMovieReview.com and the Scorecard Review and is a filmmaker based out of Austin, TX. He also happens to be an enthusiastic G.I. Joe fan and covers IDW's Joe comics right here in his regular feature "Into the Pit."

G.I. Joe: Special Missions #3 Review

After a ridiculously distracting previous issue, Chuck Dixon's Special Missions title is on the hot seat.  The continued focus on the underwater adventures of Scarlett and Mainframe is an odd choice considering the relatively interesting power struggle happening on the surface.  A three way battle is brewing between Baroness' mercenary force, the Joes and a scheming Serpentor representing Cobra.  So far, much of the story has been a slow build toward this huge moment that could potentially serve as a multi-issue spanning sea battle.  If Dixon can pull it off, maybe some of this unnecessary wheel-spinning will have been worth it, plot-wise.

Variant cover to G.I. Joe Special Missions #3. Hasbro/IDW.​

It's sort of amazing how little the Joes have had to do so far in this title.  Sharks have been the biggest obstacle and that threat is smartly taken care of rather quickly in order to get Scarlett and Mainframe back up to the surface.  But wait, now they have to take time to decompress because they were too deep for too long.  Instead of seeing the Joes prepare for the coming action we get to see Scarlett giving orders through a headset while Mainframe chugs a soda. Why are the Joes so boring?  Dixon is typically good for at least a few solid action set pieces each issue but he really appears to be dropping the ball here.

While there isn't much in the way of action, there's lots of movement on the bad guy front with Baroness further asserting her control of the situation by quelling a potential mutiny from her mercs.  Watch out for this in the coming issues, I have a feeling instead of a triple-threat match for the dough, we might end up seeing a fatal four-way.  Speaking of threats, Serpentor finally figures out the Baroness' location through some scheming of his own and sends a team of his best soldiers to intercept the salvage ship.  I'm still not quite sure what Cobra's true play is in this besides just salvage recovery.  Before, Serpentor appeared to have some sort of score to settle with the Baroness, but now with the brief appearance of the Cobra Commander everything seems to be about the money.

Since the beginning, I haven't been a fan of Gulacy's art on Special Missions.  It's wildly inconsistent with the bigger scenes and action being fairly well put together but it's his faces that take me out of the story every single time.  They feel rushed and lazy with very little detail and an unfortunate reliance on shadows that make some of the dialogue scenes rougher than they need to be. If Dixon can deliver on the big action that's being hinted here, the tide could turn on whether this is a Joe title worth getting month to month.  It's hard to recommend Special Missions right now, considering the new Cobra Files title is great and Van Lente's main title gets better with each issue. 

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #190 Review

The locale-jumping of A Real American Hero continues with a new issue focusing on a different set of Joes in what looks to be the jungles of Southeast Asia.  Team leader Chuckles is joined by Jinx, Lady Jaye, and Lowlight in an effort to stop Major Bludd along with a local warlord named Generalissimo Tep from killing innocent village dwelling civilians.  It's the same plot from countless action movies and even features the damsel in distress, in this case Lady Jaye.  I'll give it to writer Larry Hama, he certainly is sticking to his old school schtick right down to the clichéd plot and dialogue.  Unfortunately it doesn't make for an interesting story with each beat even more predictable than the last.

​Cover to G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #190. Hasbro/IDW.

With the previous issues, Hama has been able to coast on well-executed action scenes that move everything forward at a good pace.  Here it feels like chore going from panel-to-panel seeing boring characters spout hammy dialogue without much investment in anything that's going on.  We're sort of just thrown into the conflict without much context so when the Generalissimo starts going over the top with the razing of the village, you can't help but laugh and wonder just why in the hell any of this is happening.  Why is Lady Jaye so attached to this village that she'd be willing to risk her life to save it?  What's the bigger picture for the Generalissimo and why is Major Bludd so interested in helping him? Why is Chuckles wearing a ridiculous Hawaiian shirt? These are important questions!

Look, I'm all for a cheesy, old school action romp in the jungle fighting over the top warlords while saying hilariously campy lines like “To hell with the Pentagon, Generalissimo Tep just wrote his own firing order.” but you have to at least give us something interesting to have fun with.  Everything feels like it's on autopilot and Hama let a computer program to write the story.  Throw in a curveball, give us a great action scene, or focus on one character and their relationship to the events taking place.  Stereotypical jungle villagers, lame action and the promise of a better follow up issue just isn't enough.

Hopefully Hama can get back the spark that made the last few issues entertaining despite the problems.  The mini-arcs are doing their job of providing a fast paced, fun ride for readers that allow timely jumping on points to happen every few issues but please give the loyal readers a little more to grab ahold of.  For now I'll have to be content with the two titles that I actually give a damn about and hope better material is on the way.

Both Special Missions and A Real American Hero continue to be the weak links in the G.I. Joe chain of titles.  Veteran writers Chuck Dixon and Larry Hama have to step up their game and deliver something of interest in the coming weeks.  The level of quality here has been disappointing month to month considering the talents of all involved.  It's time to step up fellas and start producing the material that Joe fans deserve.

Transformer Roll Out: Review 'Transformers: Regeneration One' #91

Julian Titus is a writer/editor for PixlBit.com and the host of the Nerds Without Pants podcast. He's also the biggest Transformers fan I've ever met and will be covering IDW's Transformers comics right here on a regular basis. This week, he's reviewing the latest book from IDW...

Transformers: Regeneration One #91, “Destiny” Part One

I don’t like where Regeneration One is going.

Really, I haven’t been entirely on board with this book since it came back from the depths of cancelled comic book purgatory, as excited as I was for it when it was announced. I think bringing the story into the present was a misstep, as opposed to having a Transformers book that picked up right where it left off in the ‘90s. With only nine issues left, my expectations for this glimpse back into the original comic book universe are quite low.

In the aftermath of Scorponok’s failed plan to remake Cybertron in his image, the Autobots are left picking up the pieces. Many of them can’t come to grips with what they did when their moral compass was removed by Scorponok, and guilt pervades this issue. It’s all very dour stuff, and I’ve come to realize that Simon Furman doesn’t have any characters in this book to lighten the mood, or really display any emotion beyond depression and/or guilt.

Hot Rod is trying to come to grips with being placed in charge, but his little trek into the bowels of Cybertron during one of the worst events to occur since Unicron’s attack leaves him in a precarious position. Meanwhile, Galvatron seeks to claim his promised bounty from the slain world destroyer. This issue specifically references the bleak alternate future story from issue 67, and that bothers me. I get that Simon Furman has always preferred to write stories about Hot Rod and Galvatron over Optimus and Megatron, but the simple fact is that these characters are less interesting.

With not much in the way of action and a story nearly devoid of friendly faces, the beginning of the end of Regeneration One looks dire. I guess the silver lining is, for better or worse, it’s almost over.