Special Movie Review : Joss Whedon's Avengers 2012

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Directed and written by : Joss Whedon

Story by : Joss Whedon and Zak Penn

Cast (In alphabetical order)

Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff : Scarlett Johansson
Captain America / Steve Rogers : Chris Evans

Hawkeye/Clint Barton : Jeremy Renner

Hulk/Bruce Banner : Mark Ruffalo

Iron Man/Tony Stark : Robert Downey Jr.

JARVIS : Paul Bettany

Loki : Tom Hiddleston

Maria Hill : Cobie Smulders

Nick Fury : Samuel L. Jackson

Pepper Potts : Gwyneth Paltrow

Phil Coulson (Agent) : Clark Gregg

Thor : Chris Hemsworth

[Editors Note: ALL images in this article are especially compiled HIGH RES so, click and use on your desktop!]

There are tons of reviews out there and you can pick any one of them up and read them. But it won’t change the fact that you’ll be watching this film regardless (unless you’re an idiot, in which case, get back to your made-for-TV rom-coms). So why read this? Because it’s a review by a comic-book fan for a movie for comic fans (and others, sure...) directed by THE comic fan of our era.

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The Future of Marvels Cinematic Universe post-Avengers

With the worlds first ever superhero crossover movie event -The Avengers - set to release tonight here in India (special midnight premier screening, don't bother we tried and it's sold out!), everyone is already talking about future marvel projects

The current line-up for Marvel Studios post avengers are as follows:

Iron Man 3 on May 3rd, 2013

Thor 2 on November 15th, 2013

Captain America 2 on April 4th 2014

Unnamed Marvel movie on May 16th 2014

The only spot left for Marvel Studios is May 16^th 2014 so it would be interesting to see what is more to come up. It may be possible that they go with Incredible Hulk 2 as he is really stealing the spotlight in trailers and other clips.

There are other films in development at Marvel Studios as well - Dr Strange, Luke Cage/Heroes for Hire, Black Panther and of course Edgar Write being firmly attached to an Ant Man movie. Word came out on various websites that Marvel and Disney may go with three films a year, with a two of them releasing in summer and one releasing in the fall. Thor 2’s date was pushed forward because of the same reason and if the experiment is successful they can go ahead with three films per year.

Now let’s talk about the confirmed movies and speculation/rumours

Week In Review : Avengers #25 / B.P.R.D: The Long Death #3 / Batman #8 / Nighwing #8 / Ragemoor #2 / The Shadow #1

 Avengers #25 (Marvel)

Story : Brian Michael Bendis

Art : Walter Simonson

(Reviewed by Anubhav Sharma)

As I’ve said last week, I’m a big fan of Bendis penned event tie-ins, mainly because he gets the level of characterisation and depth stories as big as the events we’ve been seeing for the last half decade which may not fit in well with all the big action in the main books. At face value, one may not see how relevant this issue is to AvX as a whole, but deep down it gives much needed buildup on the Avengers side of the conflict at the core of the event, and serves as a bridge between the recent Osborn storyline and AvX. Captain America and the Protector, in particular, get their motivations fleshed out, which explains some of the former’s decisions in AvX so far and the latter’s solicited actions.

Of course, one can’t talk about this issue without talking about the return of legendary artist Walt Simonson to Marvel. With modern colouring techniques showing is art in a new light, it’s safe to say it as the same level of dynamism he was known for at his best. Also, is Thor particularly looks as majestic as ever.

SCORE : 8.2 / 10

Special Review: Avengers vs X-Men #2

 

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Story : Jason Aaron (script); Jason Aaron, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman & Matt Fraction (story)

Art : John Romita Jr. (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks) and Laura Martin (colours)

After Brian Bendis set the stage for this epic conflict between two of Marvel’s biggest franchises a mere fortnight ago, this week sees the launch of Avengers vs. X-Men #2, with John Romita Jr. continuing on artwork.

The issue mainly features an out and out brawl between the two teams on the shores of Utopia as the Phoenix Force draws nearer to the Earth.

C2E2: New Comic News!!

Good day one and all!

Apologies for a hectic week and not enough comic-y goodness for all of you (largely my fault, but I blame the IPL and various other things for our shortcomings!) but we intend to make up for it and then some in the days to come!

For those of you who follow this stuff, there's a HUGE load of comic news that came out during the recent Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, popularly known as C2E2 amongst fans. I've been keeping an eye on their news and announcements and have for you here a sumptuous feast of some of the most choice and tender treats to tickle your taste buds!

This post is a special recap where I've tried to put together as much of the news as possible for your geeking-out pleasure (in alphabetical order for general ease of use!).

So let's just get to it shall we?

To kick things off, from the strange and frighteningly awesome Avatar offices:

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Michael DiPascale’s new project announced at C2E2 is Hero Worship which will premier in July. Keith says that Avatar Press rarely does superhero comics, noting the exceptions by Warren Ellis, and Christos Gage, saying they don’t do them unless there’s something unique about them. He then describes Hero Worship a bit, telling us Zak Penn will be writing, and it’s a six issue miniseries and is about society’s worship of superheroes and how that can be used to screw the system. The main characters are Adam and Zenith. Adam is a normal boy and Zenith is a Superman-style superhero. Adam is Zenith’s biggest fan, and the book is not really about him, so much as the world around him.

Week In Review: America's Got Powers #1 / Deadpool #53 / Frankenstein Agent of SHADE #8 / Suicide Squad #8

America's Got Powers #1 (Image Comics)

Story : Jonathan Ross & Bryan Hitch

Art : Bryan Hitch

(Reviewed by Anupam Sarker)

The story begins with a flashback to a weird, big and shiny blue crystal landing in San Francisco, causing every pregnant woman within a five mile radius from the crash site to give birth. All these newborns had some special super-power except for one unlucky chap named Tommy Watts a.k.a The Zero (means the guy has Zero Power).

So what do these Super-powered kids do when they grow up? They join a reality TV show called America's Got Powers where all Super-powered folks compete to be in the world's biggest superhero team. And what does Tommy Watts do when he grows up? He does menial jobs at a stadium called Powers Arena where the TV show competition takes place.

Back to the present, Tommy and his friend dress as mascots and go about the arena. Sometime after the show has started, a super-powered guy is thrown out of the arena by the gigantic robots and explodes against the barrier wall, causing civilians to get inside the arena. A kid also gets into the arena and Tommy jumps in to save him. The issue ends with Tommy being revealed to have an unknown type and level of super-power while saving the kid.

I'm a big fan of Jonathan Ross. He is responsible for Turf, a five-issue Image mini which was awesome. But I'm pretty disappointed with the familiarity of the story. I mean, after reading the first few pages of the comic, one already knows what is going to happen. The concept of the comic sounds loosely based on another Image series by Todd Nauck called Wildguard, a comic where super-powered folks enter a reality TV show to join the world’s biggest superhero team (talk 'bout uncanny similarities)

Bryan Hitch's art is pretty good, but sometimes the faces seem to get sloppy or out of proportion.

Overall, the comic is interesting with some amazing visuals and extremely awesome colours by Paul Mounts and attractive letters by Chris Eliopoulos.

If you are looking for an awesome comic which will get more awesome in the next issues, then this is your thing.

P.S- Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson does a cameo in a panel of the comic.

SCORE : 8.5 / 10

Deadpool #53 (Marvel)

Story : Daniel Way

Art : Alex Garza

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

No No No!! What has Deadpool done? You want to know? No? Well too bad. Wade here has gone and made himself normal. Well okay, normal is relative. He’s now mortal, he can die, he can finally be with the love of his..err..life, Death. Anyway down to business.

THE GOOD:-

As all of you following Deadpool would know and agree with me. The story is excellent. Deadpool is finally closer to dying. We know he wants to die so he can be with Death. So now, with a serum, he actually loses his healing factor. Has X-force after him, apart from Tombstone who wants to put a bullet through his head. The art follows over from the old issues. The fact that Deadpool is now mortal adds a nice twist to the way one would perceive the issue.

THE BAD:-

The story has been going so well so far. And when it comes to the story the only thing I can say is, WHY IS HE MORTAL?? That’s something that’s going to make things weird for a bit. But I guess it may become one of his many quirks. Or he’ll just be dead. I doubt he’ll just stay dead. I don’t know, Deadpool being normal-ish just doesn’t seem right. I guess only time will tell.

THE FUNNY:-

As I have stated before. EVERYTHING!

My favourite moments include the following (and everything else in the issue):

- the secret ingredient to the serum is baby hair. (YES BABY HAIR!! Yikes!)

- Bob: “You’re not mad?” DP: “I’m a MAD genius. Maybe....”

- E.V.A.? Expliquez. S’il vous plait.

- “it doesn’t work,” (expression) “It doesn’t??” “it only works on you” “YESS”

- Deadpool getting smacked on the head by Bob, yes Bob, with a pot.

My final opinion... I eagerly look forward to the conclusion. I want it I want it I want it!!!

The story arc so far, 9 out of 10. Grab a copy NOW!

SCORE : 8 / 10

Frankenstein Agent of SHADE #8 (DC)

Story : Jeff Lemire

Art : Alberto Ponticelli

(Reviewed by Rijul Raut)

I love done-in-ones. Writing for the trade is something I can tolerate, and its ubiquity in recent comics makes it all the sweeter when a good one-shot issue sneaks past that combines characterization with plot relevancy. This issue is one of that rare breed, mixing flashback with reality as a sort of mirror (another semi-recent example would be Greg Rucka writing in pre-reboot Detective Comics) and providing insight into that issue that every Franken-fan has pondered - what caused Frankenstein and his Bride to separate way back when?

SCORE : X / 10

Suicide Squad #8 (DC)

Story : Adam Glass

Art : Frederico Dallacchio

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

This is among the worst books DC has in it's new line-up, but I can't lie – it's also one of the most entertaining guilty pleasures.

Violent, blatant, shameless and mindlessly entertaining, this new incarnation of the fan-favourite and acclaimed Suicide Squad titles is nothing but the epitome of the 90's-style “EXTREME” that DC has been pushing in several of their books – mostly in the crappier of the lot. But here it works somehow, despite Glass' often mediocre writing and insufficient characterization.

FOR THOSE JUST COMING IN:

The latest version of the squad is officially known as Task Force-X and still run by Amanda Waller. The mainstay members are Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Black Spider, King Shark and El Diablo. In only seven short issues they've had brutal missions including one where an entire stadium was sealed off because it was possessed by something evil and not only did they get team-mate Voltaic to kill them all, Deadshot popped him in the head after that to pin it all on him. Between that and other members getting their head blown off (literally!) by nano-bombs they all have implanted in their necks (in case they get frisky!), this has been a pretty hardcore series. Not to mention Harley going AWOL and brutalising an entire police station after hearing Joker died (read Detective Comics for more on that story).

MOVING ON:

The last issue ended with Harley finally getting what she deserved and after a bullet at extremely close-range, being put down after her murder-spree of madness! Now this issue she's been revived and given one last chance before they pop her head like a potato in a microwave.

This one is kind of an interim issue in that it follows what's happening with the squad after several missions and the fallout for them, both personally and in terms of their deal with Waller. In a sense this is the closest you'll see to character development by Glass is my guess and he doesn't do too bad a job on it here. El Diablo is now back on the team and Savant is released back into the wild, his term complete and such, ending with a deadly new mission ahead which promises that the next issue will be a return to the usual bloody, violent and wicked form that makes this title a success.

Don't get me wrong, I don't love it for that, I just enjoy it and am willing to admit that if done well such mindless fare can be fun too. However unless he can really up his game, Glass should limit the characterization attempts and stick to crazy adventures. The only thing that worries me is the rate at which he's killing folks here, either they need to create a bunch more characters that are there just to be killed brutally or try and find adventures where they don't die quite so often or something. How long this series will stay readable, I don't know – but for now it's entertaining enough that I'll keep catching it when I see it.

SCORE : 6 / 10

Week In Review: '68 Scars #1 / New Avengers #24 / Rich Johnston's Iron Muslim #1 / Saga #2 / Secret #1

'68 Scars #1 (Image Comics)

Story : Mark Kidwell

Art : Nat Jones

(Reviewed by Anubhav DasGupta)

I didn’t know what the hell ’68 Scars was before I read the comic. Turns out it’s about Zombies in the year 1968, at the height of the Vietnam war.

It starts out horribly with an unfunny, politically incorrect gag. It somewhat improves afterwards.

There are three stories in this comic. Two take place in Vietnam during the height of the war, and one concerning two Chinese immigrants takes place in Chinatown, New York. All of these aren’t very good, merely passable, and one of them is absolutely awful.

Each panel is cluttered with a lot of dialogue, none of which is particularly good, with most of them falling into the category of “it gets the job done”. The art is just okay. It surely would have benefited from a better inking and colouring job. While the inking is somewhat passable, the colouring is just horrendous. Everything looks dull and bland. It tries to be gritty by borrowing the colour palette of every Vietnam movie ever, but fails miserably in that aspect. In my opinion, it would have fared better if it were a black and white comic.

TV Review : Ultimate Spider-man The Animated Series ep 1 & 2

Ultimate Spider-Man TAS is based loosely on the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book and said to be taking place in the Marvel Cinematic universe premiered this week. Here is the review of the first two episodes "Great Power" and "Great Responsibility".

Starring:

Drake Bell – Spider-Man/Peter Parker
Chi McBride – Nick Fury
Tom Kenny - Wizard/Bentley Wittman , Dr Otto Octavious
Clark Gregg - Agent/Principal Phil Coulson
J.K. Simmons – J. Jonah Jameson
Tara Strong - Mary Jane Watson, Thundra
Matt Lanter - Harry Osborn, Eugene "Flash" Thompson, Klaw/Ulysses Klaw
Stan Lee – Stan The Janitor

Review: Captain Gravity And The Power Of The Vril

Captain Gravity And The Power Of The Vril!!

Sounds like something out of a 1940’s or 50’s television or radio serial doesn’t it?

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You can almost imagine the guy shouting “Same Vril time! Same Vril Channel!” at the end of every episode.

And you really almost can, until you sit down and read this wonderful mini-series from the ever fertile mind of one of my favourite comic creators of all time - the reclusive Joshua Dysart. Eisner-award nominated writer, NY Times best seller and border-line cult figure to those familiar with his work, Dysart has made a reputation for great stories and ideas often fantastic in their lack of outer complexity, yet containing a darker themed core within. His comics tend to be explorations of the human condition and more often in regard to our violence and fascination with it and with human horror. His works such as Violent Messiahs (which I plan to write about soon, I promise!) are almost seminal works in their own unique ways.

Never over-the-top or disgusting or disturbing, Dysarts work simply leaves you wanting more and yet happy to be finished at the same time. But still able to be read over and over. To me that puts him in a league all his own in terms of being a story-teller.

This particular series however, reads a little bit different from his usual work and is a tad less dark - partly that’s because this series is a beautiful little love-letter to the golden age of comics and characters like The Rocketeer, Buck Rogers, Phantom and even a touch of stuff like Indiana Jones in the way it’s all told. (Woohoo!!) And given that he has worked not just on offbeat stuff like Swamp Thing or on more mainstream superheroes, but his previous experience in pulp icons like Conan and Hellboy show that he is no stranger to the style and sensibility.

Week In Review: Danger Club #1 / O.M.A.C #8 / Supreme #63 / Voltron Year One #1 (DOUBLE REVIEWED)

Danger Club #1 (Image)

Story : Landry Q. Walker

Art : Eric Jones

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

F*** Yeah!!!

If there's a new superhero comic to try and a new world to explore – this would be it!

It's only the first issue.

I was amused in the first couple of pages which are done very nicely like a good old silver age comic that give us character names (like Kid Monstro and Apollo) and a feel for how this new world works with the superheroes that are like the Teen Titans of this world.

Then it throws it all out the window.

Picture a bunch of characters that are like alternate-universe-young-adult-versions of all your favourites like Kid Vigilante (Batman!), Apollo (Superman, duh!), Fearless (Nick Fury), etc... Now picture an Earth where all the superheroes left to combat some great threat in space months ago and now... well, lets just say that things are not looking good and Apollo has lost his marbles more than a little. I'm not saying the characters are direct rip-offs, but one can see parallels and archetypes at play here when creating the style and characteristics of all of them.

Week In Review: Action Comics #8 / Daredevil #10.1 / Dejah Thoris and the White Apes of Mars #1 / Men of War #8

Action Comics #8 (DC)

Story : Grant Morrison

Art : Rags Morales

(Reviewed by Anubhav DasGupta)

Grant Morrison has written the greatest Superman story of all time. This, however, is not that story. It just falls short of being amazing. It’s not Morrison at his best. It is, however a damn good book.

We’re still in Superman’s early years (He’s just got his suit a few issues back). The comic starts with Superman battling against Brainiac/Collector and a Brainiac-possessed Metallo after he was asked to choose between Metropolis and Krypton City of Kandor (both of them miniaturized!) in the last issue.

Rags Morales’ art is brilliant. I love how everything seems to be in motion, how everything is so fluid and full of life. And Morrison is at times, very good and at times mediocre. Sometimes his writing feels as if some other writer is trying to ape his style. Bits of it seem quite forceful, and that’s what holds this issue back. And I am at a loss when it comes to deciphering Krypton-speak. Maybe we aren’t supposed to understand those bits, but still, it’s headache inducing.

The best part of the comic has to be Luthor’s dialogue in the first few panels of the comic.

Tribute - Peter David and company

Hello and welcome to another.....what shall I call it?
It's not a DC column, for sure. It wasn't scheduled, but then, nothing in life generally is.
I don't think any of this has been collected so far, but from experience, I can say that's how the best stories are. You find something, somewhere you never thought you would, ever and sometimes, your life is the better for it.
Circa the early nineties, Annuals at DC and Marvel were an unruly bunch - DC had their crossover events and all the annuals of that year had to confirm to the main storyline. Before that, Annuals were merely collections of stories, in the sixties, and later on, full length one shots. But this new breed of storytelling was all the rage for a few years - at least, until the Annuals existed. DC usually went all out, with all the Annuals dedicated to one event, while at Marvel, different families of titles had different events, most of the times. These annuals contained a main story, as well as a few smaller stories, pin ups and all. The main stories would get collected in trades, if released, covering that particular event, but the smaller ones are questionable.

REVIEW: Avengers vs. X-Men #1

It’s that time of the year, folks!

After the more character focussed issue #0, all the AvX action begins this week with the launch of the much awaited Avengers vs X-Men #1 – and legions of fanboys could not be more excited!

Also, before I get going, you are hereby warned of some Spoilers ahead.

John Romita Jr. handling art might be part of the reason, but the opening of the issue does seem to feel a lot like the opening of your generic Bendis-penned Avengers arc, which makes me wish the build-up on the Avengers camp had been more at par with the that of the X-Men.

While the dialogue is expectedly well done, Nova’s arrival serves the purpose of giving us some action before the main conflict is set to begin in later issues. 

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Pages of Madness

Something wicked, this way comes.

Fair warning dear readers, this one is not for the faint of the heart. Content wise its really far out. And those of you who consider themselves Peter Pan fanboys might wanna give this a pass. But on the other hand, if you, like me, were drawn into the mythos of Peter Pan, yet could tell something was off in the story and are hooked to reading something twisted... Then boy do I have a story for you!
Wendy is an experimental manga from the get go. And it is for mature eyes only. Under-age readers you'd best wait a while.

New Home for Geeks!

Free Dark Horse motion web-comics. Gaming round-table sessions. Critical and fan favourite web-series. The best of Indie culture. A Fantasy book club. All in one place.
Got your attention? Yeah, thought it might.

I don't know how many of you out there are familiar with a lady named Felicia Day. I would say less than 50% would know here, though according to her its probably only 10%. Hopefully a lot more than I'd guess, but just in case I'm wrong:

Felicia Day is an American actress, known for her work as "Vi" on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and for parts in movies such as Bring It On Again and June, as well as the Internet musical, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Day is also the star, script writer and producer of the original web series The Guild, a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also starred in the Dragon Age Web Series; Dragon Age: Redemption (you really should check this link out!), which she wrote. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Web Television.

At only 32, she is the creator and star of The Guild, an online series whose episodes have garnered over 150 million views since it began in 2007 and for which she's won two best actress Streamys as well. Oh yeah and earlier this year the Hollywood Reporter named her one of the industry’s top 50 digital power players on a list that included George Lucas.
So there you have the basics, essentially she is a geek icon - writes comics, acts in cult favourite movies and TV shows (Buffy, Eureka, etc) and is a complete gamer through and through. In fact her profile both on facebook and google+ have huge followings that reflect her diverse fan-base, recently she's even been hosting hangouts on G+ with fan.

BUT today is less about Felicia as it is to share about the website + video channel she has just launched mere days ago, titled simple Geek and Sundry.

Week In Review: Atomic Robo – Real Science Adventures #1 / Avengers vs. X-Men #0 / Avenging Spider-Man #5 / Deadpool MAX II #6 / Ferals #1 / The Avengers #24.1

We're back folks! Here's Round 2 of this week's reviewing for your reading pleasure. 


Atomic Robo – Real Science Adventures #1 (Red5)

Story : Brian Clevenger

Art : Ryan Cody, Yuko Oda, Chris Houghton John Broglia Joshua Ross

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

More Atomic Robo!! Whoohoo!! If there's a book/comic/character that I love as shamelessly and undoubtedly as fellow reviewer Anant loves Deadpool, it's Robo – Atomic Robo. Period.

From the first issue of the first series this has been one of the most amazing and unique series with some of the most original, creative and clever writing and this latest outing raises the bar yet again. Clevenger ups his game by changing tactics AGAIN. Previously Robo has started in a series of mini-series with no regard to chronological order (that I've personally noted anyhow) and reads like an old school just-having-a-blast comics. This time around however, we have a series of five short stories here – three are done-in-one style simple adventures while two are the first part of (unconnected except through Robo) multi-part stories that will presumably carry on through the remainder of this series of “Real Science Adventures”. I'll tackle them in order for you:

Week In Review: B.P.R.D. : The Pickens County Horror #1 / Bloodstrike #26 / Daredevil #10 / Justice League Dark #7 / The New Deadwardians #1 / Voodoo #7

Welcome fellow ComicAddicts, to another new week of releases - and do we have a load of amazing titles for you guys this week! In fact we had so many great releases that we have more than the usual number today AS WELL AS TOMORROW! So dive in and enjoy!

B.P.R.D. – Hell On Earth : The Pickens County Horror #1 (of 2) (Dark Horse)

Story : Scott Allie

Art : Jason Latour

(Reviewed by Anubhav DasGupta)

None of our usual BPRD players turn up in Pickens County Horror. There’s no Liz Sherman, Abe Sapien or Johann Krauss. Instead, we are treated to two field agents who land up in South Carolina to investigate something about a fog that, well, “moans”. There are Vampires in this issue.

Firstly, this comic is not groundbreaking or mindblowing, but it gets the work done. What really stands out in this issue is the art. I love this Latour guy. This is the only comicbook of his that I’ve read, but he’s impressed me, and I’m totally going to fish around for more of this guy’s work. The amount of character he brings out in each and every panel is amazing. And the nighttime scenes are just brilliant. It also helps that Dave Stewart is handling the colors. I bet his colors would make a page drawn by even Rob-goddamn-Liefeld look good, and with Latour’s art, it not only looks amazing, but also adds to the story.

The pace is just right. This comic takes its time, letting us know the characters before heaping the good stuff on us and ending with our heroes in a questionable situation. This is textbook horror storytelling.