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Some people may prefer to post every day. But I find that the "start a topic, then abandon it for a month" strategy provides much more suspense. That being said, here's the long-unawaited conclusion to my too-late-to-be-of-any-use review of this summer's comic book movies.

I saw Hellboy II: The Golden Army while I was at Comic-Con in San Diego. You'd think that would be the perfect environment in which to watch such a film. Unfortunately, it was at 10pm on Friday night, when every other person at the Con was out partying with their friends, co-workers, or significant others. I was all alone and was getting bored with walking the streets like a homeless person, people-watching, so I decided to take in a show. The theater was almost entirely empty--not what you'd expect for a comic book movie at Comic-Con, and more than a little depressing for Mr. Lonely Guy. But the empty theater actually worked in my favor--they had movable armrests, which I pulled out of the way so I could lay across three seats like I was on my couch at home. Now you know: I have no shame.

So far, this isn't much of a review, but there's really not much to say about Hellboy II. Visually, it was wonderful. Guillermo del Toro is a visual genius--his character design is amazing, and he really knows how to frame a scene. The action in this film was well-choreographed, and his choice to use puppets over CGI in some of the scenes paid off, in that it gave the characters a weight that a lot of comic book movie characters just don't have. But as good as this film looked, the writing was awful.

For some reason, del Toro decided to position much of the film as a romantic comedy. Every scene with Liz and Hellboy came off too cutesy, and the slapstick around Abe Sapien was a little over the top. Normally, I push for more character development, but in this case, I would've liked more of the action and the primary storyline, and less of the BPRD residents. More of Prince Nuada plotting against humanity and less of Hellboy plotting to help more around the house. Also, the ending was way too abrupt. While it looked like they were trying to leave things open for a sequel, I'm not sure I care about the characters enough to stick around.

If you liked the first Hellboy film, you should give this one a try. It wasn't terrible, and was pretty too look at. But I also found it pretty disappointing, perhaps because I loved the first one so much. I thought this would be like the first film on steroids, but it was more like the first film after a few too many Rum and Cokes. Sadly, it was probably the worst comic book movie I saw this summer. Not surprising if you compare it to Dark Knight and Iron Man, but maybe a little surprising once you know I also saw Speed Racer.

Wanted, on the other hand, was in contention for the title of "Best Summer Action Movie," in my opinion. I'd read the comic book years ago, but found it to be fairly unimpressive. And knowing they'd taken the superhero elements out of the film, I thought that would be even more boring than the comic. I had no plans to see it, but started to reconsider once the reviews started pouring in from my friends and coworkers. None of them had anything bad to say about the film. Every one of them recommended I see it. And since Friday wasn't my only bored and lonely night at Comic-Con, I did go see it--the Saturday 10:30pm show, to be exact.

Put simply, my friends were right. This film was good. It's no Godfather, but it was a solid, well-directed, well-acted action film. From the first scene, they establish that the laws of physics are a bit different in this film's world, and that they're taking a slightly tongue-in-cheek approach to the subject of assassination. But if you can suspend your disbelief enough to accept this universe, you're in for a fun ride.

The cast of this film was solid, from top to bottom, but I think it would've worked even better without the big name talent like Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie. The writing and directing were really the stars of the film. It had the workplace humor of an Office Space perfectly balanced with the action of a Die Hard film, and shot in a style that give it some indy texture. It was pretty impressive how it all came together.

Although some people are calling this movie "gun porn" (much like Shoot Em Up and other recent "more bullets than brains" action fare), I think this movie takes a more intelligent and witty approach to the genre and can be enjoyed by people who don't necessarily attend films for the body count. It's definitely a film you should see in high def or at the theater, and you may even be able to find it at the dollar theaters soon. That way, you won't say I owe you money on the off chance you don't agree with my review.

Finally, I wanted to include a movie that's actually based more on a cartoon than a comic book--though there are now comics out based on the series. I saw Speed Racer at a sneak preview screening sponsored by the Asian-American group at my company, which meant it was free and during the workday. I have to admit that may've biased my opinion favorably toward the film. Either way, despite this being a very unpopular opinion, I have to admit I enjoyed the movie.

I've already reviewed the film here, so I won't go into more detail about it. I just wanted to throw it in this list, as I consider it one of the "comic book movies" of the summer, and can't discuss the other movies I saw this year without including it. I can understand how some people were disappointed in Speed Racer, but I think this film will have a good run on DVD. It may not have made its money back at the box office, but it will do well once in-store purchases and rentals are factored in. And I don't think history will remember it as badly as some other modernizations, like Godzilla or The Flintstones. If you can catch it at the dollar theater, you should do so. And that's the last I'll say about that.

I haven't really planned my winter movie viewing, yet. Once I saw the extra Watchmen footage at Comic-Con, I already started looking forward to 2009. That's my favorite book/series, and the footage makes me think it will soon become my favorite feature film. I'm more amped about this movie than I've ever been--this may be what Star Wars fanboys felt about The Phantom Menace. Anyway, if you have some winter/fall recommendations, let me know. Besides The Spirit and maybe Land of the Lost and The Wolfman, I'm not even that aware of what geek-oriented films will be in the market at that time.

I know this is much delayed, and fairly useless. After all, either you've already seen them, or you never will. But I still thought I'd do a short wrap-up of the big comic book movies of the summer, if only to get back on the blogging horse. And also because I saw most of them BY MYSELF, and thus haven't had much of a chance to talk to anyone about them.


Iron Man was the first to come out, and really kick-started the summer season for me. It was actually my favorite comic movie in years. First off, the casting was ridiculously good. Robert Downey Jr. was a great choice as Tony Stark, as was Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane. Even Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts and director Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan were okay. Terence Howard didn't have much to do, but he was really just in place for the sequel. Speaking of which, I hope we do see more of James Rhodes, as I worry Robert Downey Jr. is a little old to do another six or seven years as Iron Man without starting to look a little silly. Transitioning the armor to another actor should help the staying power of the series.

Beyond the good casting, solid acting and obviously top-notch special effects, my favorite thing about Iron Man was that it was the first comic book movie I've ever seen where I said, "You know, all of this could actually happen." I mean, every other movie seems to either have heroes with superpowers or normal humans doing superhuman things (such as when Batman falls eight stories and walks away, or leaps thirty feet in a single bound). But Iron Man had normal humans living under normal human limitations. Sure, the armor did some crazy things, but it's not all that far-fetched. The Army has been working on body armor and jetpacks for years, but can never get past the problems of weight, cost and fuel consumption. Well, Tony Stark figured out all three in the movie. If someone could do that in real life, we could actually see something like the Iron Man armor. More realistically, we could see something like the Iron Monger.

Hey, it's all still just superhero science and suspension of disbelief. But compared to the other movies on this list, and cast with Oscar-winners, it came off as very believable. It was easy to get totally engrossed in the world of the film.


The Incredible Hulk was next on my summer watch list. I enjoyed this one a lot, too, though not as much as Iron Man. It had equal acting strength with Edward Norton (one of my all-time faves), Tim Roth and William Hurt, while Liv Tyler was adequate as Betty Ross. I was amazed at how stocky she looked, but she sort of looked like a woman who would actually pine for a middle-aged scientist. I also liked how they threw some solid actors into sequel-capable roles, like Tim Blake Nelson as the future Leader and Ty Burrell as the eventual Doc Samson. I'd love to see a sequel just to see if they'll bring those two forward a bit more.

The plot of the movie was very simple, but none of these films tried to be much more than what they were, which was one of the good things about all of them. This one was simply meant to establish the dual identities of this legendary character, and it did an admirable job at that. Like you'll hear me say for at least one of the other movies on this list, I thought the best parts of The Incredible Hulk were the parts that had no superheroics or CGI--Edward Norton on his own is more fun to watch than any green giant. But they did tone back some of the cartoony aspects of the Hulk and made his actions have a bit more weight, which was an improvement on the previous film. Overall, it was a fun ride, and left me wanting more. Which is exactly what Marvel intended when they rebooted the franchise. It didn't make any more money than the last Hulk movie, but it's definitely in better position for big-money sequels.


I should have less to say about The Dark Knight than the other movies I saw this summer, if just because everyone else has already said it all. I definitely enjoyed it, but it wasn't perfect. The writing was all over the place--some of the scenes were brilliant, while others were filled with Bat vs. dog combat or long-winded speeches about justice. The film was intense enough to keep my eyes glued to the screen for the entire three hours, but should have been shorter by almost half. And I really wish we'd seen less of the hero in costume and a little more of everything and everyone else. I love Christian Bale, but the worst parts of the movie were when he was the bat--his movements looked too choreographed, his costume was too elaborate and bulky, and his voice...well, I think everyone's already weighed in on that.

Anyway, the only thing I should be talking about in regards to The Dark Knight is Heath Ledger's performance. I was sympathetic towards his family and friends when he died, but I won't confess to feeling any great sadness for myself. As shallow as it sounds, however, watching his performance in this movie did make me a bit sad that he won't be around for a sequel. He was so good that I wanted to see much more of that character. I don't think there was enough meat in the role to make it Oscar-worthy, but there was definitely enough to get him some minor awards and even more recognition as a versatile actor. Gary Oldman and Aaron Eckhart were also good in this film, and when you combine them with Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, you have as solid a cast as any other summer blockbuster. But the movie was definitely Heath Ledger's showcase, and all future Bat-villains will pale in comparison.

Finally, though I wasn't a fan of the way The Dark Knight ended, I had no problem with the fate of Maggie Gyllenhaal's character. I've never really been bothered by writers killing off the wife/girlfriend to incite heroic action. Not because I'm a misogynist, but because it's motivation I can immediately understand. There's nothing that would incite me to violence like losing my wife. It's one of my biggest fears in life. As overused as it is, it almost always works to get me to feel for the hero and root for him.

I just wish it'd been done in the previous movie, when Rachel Dawes was played by Tom Cruise's baby maker.


Next Time: Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Wanted, and a bonus film for which I forgot to make an image!

Well, some mistakes have already been made, but overall, things are going well.

I started the day with a "comic-con for beginners" panel, which was pretty informative, then took my first walk on the show floor around 11pm. To say it was overwhelming would be an understatement. Imagine a typical convention--booths, booth babes, street marketers handing out bags, pins, posters, etc. Video screens everywhere, minor celebrities signing autographs, product demos going on, contests and competitions being run.

Now imagine that convention five to ten times larger than you'd previously envisioned. Now, you'd really have to pick and choose what you wanted to see, right? Otherwise, you'll never get through the place with your sanity intact. But what if everything on the floor is something you want to see? What's your strategy now?

And what if it's not just the people working the floor? What if most of the attendees were also worth seeing? All of them in crazy costumes, dressed up as characters from your childhood or from your favorite shows, books and movies? Then, how would you be able to focus enough to see everything you want to see?

But wait, that's not all! At the same time all of this is going on, elsewhere, there are panels giving sneak peeks of your favorite shows and guest starring your favorite celebs. But if you go to those, you miss the giveaways, events and people on the exhibition hall floor. And often, there are two panels going on at once covering two of your favorite pop culture phenomenons. How do you fit everything in?

The secret is that you don't. The fact that everything is going on at once is intentional. It's a sort of crowd control. If they only had one panel at a time, or the panels didn't conflict with the big events on the floor, you'd quickly find that all 125,000+ attendees were falling all over themselves to attend each event. By putting the Chuck screening and panel opposite the Pushing Daisies panel (which is exactly what's happening on Saturday), you force the crowd to choose, hopefully ensuring neither room gets too overcrowded. It makes sense, but it still sucks.

I have to admit, I love the exhibition hall floor. I'm a people watcher and I don't mind crowds. And I LOVE to window shop, which is pretty much what you're doing down there--looking at new games, toys, comics, shows, etc. as you walk around. I think there was actually a point where I stopped blinking--it was causing me to miss to much. Of course, my addition to the floor meant I skipped a couple of panels I was interested in. I sort of regret that. Not just because they would've been fun, but also because if I'd have gone to the True Blood panel like I'd intended, I wouldn't have had to wait in line AT ALL for the Dexter panel (which was the biggest event of the Con so far, thus had the largest line).

Now, I'm finally back in my hotel room, having returned to drop off my bags and get something to eat. But I'm doing so at the expense of one of my other intended activities--I'm skipping out on Robert Smigel's Comedy Central TV Funhouse. And I would've had second row seats for that, since it was in the room I was already camped out in for Dexter. But I haven't eaten anything but a pretzel and some water since I woke up this morning, and I figured I'd better get my blood sugar back up before I go to anything else. I have a camel-like ability to go long times without eating or drinking, but even I have my limits.

Wow, look at the time. I think I stayed up here just long enough that I missed my chance to see a sneak peek of the new Punisher movie, which is a shame, since the panel featured Julie Benz, who I was lucky enough to see earlier in the day, and who has already won my award for hottest person at the con. And if I stay another minute or two, I'll miss my chance for the Saw 5 panel.

Oh well, life is full of trade-offs. I think I still have a chance to get a burger and then make it to the world premiere of Lost Boys 2, starring not only a much older Corey Feldman, but Keifer Sutherland's half brother, Angus Sutherland. I'd rather go to the Star Wars fan film awards, but like I said, life's full of trade-offs.

I'm uploading some pics from day one right now. I'll have more tomorrow, along with another report. Goodnight, everyone on the east coast--I'm off to find some food.

I know I said I'd blog about some of the things I was looking forward to seeing at Comic-Con, but it's a little late for that now, considering I'm already there.

It's hard for me to leave town, there is always so much to do or to hand off. This time was no exception--after a short and hectic week, I pretty much pulled an all-nighter last night, trying to finish things up. Since I can't sleep on planes, I arrived in San Diego this afternoon a bit exhausted. I was lucky enough to be able to check into my hotel early, so the first thing I did was take a nap. Bad idea. I didn't have passes to the sneak preview event, so I didn't have anything to do when I got up, but I did have a massive headache.

It may've been fatigue or low blood sugar, but I awoke with the biggest migraine I've had in a while. So I showered and headed out to a pharmacy to get some Advil, then went in search of food.

It's weird (and a little sad) being in a big city by yourself. I wandered the streets and felt like I was the only person not in a group or with a partner. Combine that with a headache, and it was sort of a crappy night. I did eventually find a good place to eat--I had a great applewood bacon cheeseburger at a place called Nicky Rotten's--and then treated myself to an ice cream sundae at Ghirardelli's. I kept myself amused while eating by watching Justice League: The New Frontier on my iPhone. Even with all of that, I was still bored and wandering again by 9pm. Too early to go to bed, and unwilling to walk the streets anymore by myself, I went to see Hellboy II The Golden Army at a local theater.

It was a so-so movie, by the way. Not very well-written--the dialogue was too cheesy and the characters seemed to have become shallow imitations of who they were in the first movie--but Guillermo Del Toro does great creature design, and the fight scenes and special effects were top-notch. It was entertaining, but not great. Exactly the right thing to see when you're bored, I guess.

Anyway, tomorrow the Con officially starts. This may sound weird, but I'm a little nervous. I'm someone who's usually good in crowds, and who has the people skills necessary to easily adapt to new places and unfamiliar situations. But I have so much excitement for this event that I'm actually worried my head may explode when I walk in. I'm nervous that I didn't bring the right stuff, that I won't be able to find my way around, that I'll miss some of the sessions/booths I really want to see, or that I'll once again be faced with that feeling of being alone in a big crowd. That last concern's not my biggest fear. I had zero energy today, so I wasn't being very social. But surrounded by my people and with a good night's sleep, I should be able to make some friends tomorrow.

This trip has made me realize how dependent I am on my friends and family, though. I used to be able to go anywhere alone, but all I can think now is how much I want to come back next year with Alecia. I wonder if she'll be up for it?

Anyway, I plan to get up fairly early tomorrow and be in line around 8:30pm for registration (which begins at 9:30--with the doors opening at 10am). I may still be too late to avoid lines, but Thursday is supposed to be a slower day, and a lot of the people going on Thursday have their passes already because they had to get them for the sneak preview event tonight. So maybe I'll get lucky. If I get in quick/first, I could land some cool swag if I hit the right booths. And I can maybe also buy some of the toys I want to take home without having to deal with huge lines, which will save me from having to stand around waiting for them later.

Here's what I'm hoping to take in tomorrow. See how there are two conflicting events almost every hour? I'm going to have to make some decisions.

10:00-11:00 Kings: Exclusive Sneak Peek of the Pilot Prologue Screening and Q&A with Cast and Executive Producers
10:00-11:00 Fans' Guide to Comic-Con
11:00-12:00 Professional Writing: Threat or Menace?
11:00-12:00 The Disney Animation Story Process
11:30-1:00 20th Century Fox: The Day The Earth Stood Still and Max Payne
12:00-1:00 How Not to Break into Comics
1:15-2:45 Summit Pictures
2:00-3:00 Red Sonja: One-on-One
2:00-3:30 Animation on a $hoestring
3:00-4:00 Disney: Race to Witch Mountain
3:30-4:30 Entertainment Weekly's The Visionaries: Comic Creators
4:30-5:30 HBO's True Blood
4:45-5:45 "SCREAM" Like a Girl
5:00-6:00 The Pitching Hour
5:00-6:00 Comics Experience: How to Write a Pitch!
5:30-6:30 Dark Castle: RocknRolla
5:45-6:45 Showtime: Dexter
6:00-7:00 DC Nation
7:00-9:00 Comedy Central TV Funhouse with Robert Smigel
8:00-8:30 Lionsgate and Marvel: Punisher: War Zone!
8:30-9:00 Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures: Saw 5
10:00-12:00 Warner Premiere and Warner Home Video: World Premiere of Lost Boys The Tribe

Well, time to hydrate up and hit the hay. I'm sure I'll have some sitting around time tomorrow as I wait for a session or two to begin, so I'll try to blog then. I'll also post new pics on my flickr and or facebook account. Because iPhones don't allow cutting and pasting, it's too much of a pain to embed pics here, but I'll try to provide links where I can.

Wish me luck!

I'd been sitting on this info for a few weeks while budget, reservations and travel were all up in the air and indefinite, but I just booked my flights and consider it safe to announce that I'm going to the 2008 Comic-Con in San Diego next week!

As geeky as this is to admit, attending the world's largest comic book convention has always been a dream of mine. Some people dream of traveling the world--I dream of attending mega geekfests. And this one is the king of them all. Even better, it's not just a comic book convention anymore. There are no less than thirty TV shows and over two dozen feature films parading their cast and crew to the convention to show off sneak peeks, meet the fans and try to gain eyeballs for upcoming seasons/releases. It really has become a multimedia extravaganza, drawing celebs from Hollywood as well as game developers, toymakers, and anything else that would remotely appeal to the young male demographic.

I've only looked over the schedules for Thursday and Sunday in detail, but I've already seen a ton of sessions I'd love to attend. Just on those two days, some of my favorite shows (Dexter, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica) are hosting Q&As with their stars. And those aren't even the big days--I can't wait to see what they've got planned for Friday and Saturday.

Turner will have a pretty big presence at the Comic-Con this year, as they always do, but it will once again be mainly Cartoon Network. Cartoon is sending a TON of people to show off all of their kids' shows and their Adult Swim properties. TNT and TBS won't really have a presence--we sort of missed the boat with at least one or two of our new shows--but maybe we'll make a better effort next year.

If you're also going to Comic-Con or you just live in the San Diego area, let me know before next Wednesday and I'll look you up. As excited as I am about the convention, I am a little nervous about being totally alone out there. I have friends at Cartoon Network who are going, but the Cartoon group is notoriously cliquey and (with the exception of my friends, of course) a little stuck up. I think they hear way too often how cool their jobs are, because a lot of them won't give you the time of day, even on campus, where we all work for the same company, eat in the same cafeteria and get our checks from the same source. It will be interesting to see if even the nicer Cartoon people will give me the time of day once they're off-campus, among their snobbier coworkers and surrounded by adoring fans who continue to kiss their feet and tell them how great they are.

Heck, I might even become a snob if faced with that level of worship.

Anyway, I could spend four days wandering the floors of the convention center all by myself, followed by four nights of sitting by myself in screenings before taking a cab back to my lonely hotel room. It could be a very lonely time--despite the hordes of people. If you'll be around that weekend, let me know. I'll be glad to see a familiar face.

I'll post more details when I have more time. I'm anxious to look over the Saturday and Sunday schedules to try to plan my weekend. I'll probably write a post about the sessions I plan to attend, just to get myself organized. If you have recommendations, let me know. This is sure to be an exciting--if overwhelming--event!

First off, let me say that when I typed "RIP" in the title above, I realized I gave the same goodbye to a human being as I did to my lost sandals a few weeks ago. This makes me feel guilty, but I don't know whether to change the title for the shoes post or maybe make this one more heartfelt.

Anyway, comic artist Mike Wieringo died last weekend at age forty-four, of an apparent heart failure. He was a vegetarian who worked out regularly and was in great shape, so the sudden death was a shock to everyone that knew him. In fact, his own blog has an absolutely normal and mundane post from Mike on the night before his death, with the next post being one from his brother, announcing his passing.

Mike not only took care of himself, but he was known for taking care of others. He was supposedly a great all-around guy, one of the few pros in the industry who works with absolutely no ego and whose talents are underrated, not overrated. And there are many stories circulating about how he stuck his neck out for one collaborator or another, showing that he knew the meaning and importance of loyalty.

I didn't really know much about Mike. I read most of the Flash issues he did with Mark Waid, and then some of the Fantastic Four issues he did, also with Waid. I remember enjoying the art on Flash (in fact, it was pretty much the only time I've ever really gotten into that character), and absolutely loving his art on Fantastic Four. Wieringo drew one of my favorite characters, The Thing, exactly as he should be drawn. In fact, he seemed to draw most heroes in their most "essential" modes. Casual fans might look at Wieringo's style and remark that it lacks flash, but that's actually what I love most about it. He had a bit of John Byrne or George Perez in him, in the fact that he could draw any character and his drawing would look exactly like that character was supposed to look. And not only could Wieringo draw anything and anyone, his drawings always seemed to convey an energy--a positivity--that isn't often found in current comic art.

I'd always wished he'd get assigned to Captain America, as his version of Cap (below) is exactly how Cap looks in my mind's eye. And heck, if he'd have brought Waid back to the book, I wouldn't have complained about that, either.

I know this isn't much of a tribute to Mike Wieringo. But that's okay. I'm not as familiar with his body of work--or him as a person--as many other comic bloggers are. So I'll let them talk about "Ringo" and his life.

Judging from the sheer number of posts in his honor, he definitely had an impact on the people and the industry. I hope people say half as many nice things about me when I die.

I just realized how the title of this post could also be the title of an interracial porn video. I wonder if that will help my search rankings.

Anyway, last night I attended the midnight release party at Titan Games and Comics for the new Dark Tower miniseries from Marvel Comics, based on the books by Stephen King. Although I have yet to read the book, attending the release party was the geekiest thing I'd done since volunteering at the Atlanta Comicon a few years back, so I figured I might as well blog about it.

Really, I attended the release party for three reasons:
1. I'm a Stephen King fan AND a comic book fan, so I was excited about the series.
2. I was hoping they'd have free stuff and/or great deals at the party.
3. I live within walking distance of the shop and knew I'd be up at that hour, anyway.

Unfortunately, the party was pretty disappointing. In fact, it really wasn't a party at all. I'm not sure you could even call it an event. They pretty much just opened the store for a few hours, starting at midnight, and allowed people to shop like any other day of the year. There was only one special deal going on, which was that the shop had packed a bunch of their old stock into long boxes and was selling the boxes for a dollar apiece. I showed up for the midnight party at 12:03, and the twenty or thirty long boxes had already all been bought...by just two guys. So basically, by being third in line, I lost out on the chance to buy cheap comics. The up-side of this is that I didn't really need more boxes of old, unsellable comics sitting around the house. But it would've been sort of fun digging through them just to see what they contained.

Overall, the event was a letdown. Although I picked up my subscriptions and nabbed a few copies of the new Dark Tower book, there wasn't anything at the event that I couldn't have gotten by just showing up on my usual Saturday-after-payday visit. The store is having its annual February sale, but that started the day before the event, and is still going on. And I needn't have shown up at midnight to get my copies of Dark Tower, since I pre-ordered them and would've had them waiting for me in my box. Really, I'm not sure why Titan even had the event, unless it was just for the modicum of publicity they got on Marvel's website.

It's sort of sad, really, since I often see pictures of comic-related events in other cities on the many blogs I read. Many of them are nighttime events, with alcohol served, creators in attendance, and art on display and for sale. So going to a latenight event and finding things to be business as usual was a bit of a letdown.

Here are some suggestions for ways Titan can spice up their next event, maybe getting more publicity and greater attendance in the process:

1. Get the hours straight. The Titan site stated (and still states) that the event was running from 10-2am, which was only for one location. I know to the employees of that store, they see the company as a whole, but I honestly couldn't tell you where the other stores are. I only know of--and visit--my local shop. So when I go to their website and see an event time with no location mentioned, I assume it's for the location I visit. I showed up for the event at 10:43, and couldn't figure out why the store was closed.

2. Serve refreshments. Yeah, I know that handing out sticky soda or crumbly cookies in a shop full of carefully packaged and preserved pieces of memorabilia isn't necessarily the best idea. But making the customers feel like special guests should be a goal for any event. Maybe there's a food or drink that can be found that doesn't have as much risk of grubbing up the product. Or the consumption can be restricted to the front of the store so that people can't spill anywhere near any sellable items.

3. Have door prizes/giveaways. Honestly, this one should be an obvious one. If people are going to drag themselves to your store in the middle of the night, there should be some incentive. Giving something small but free to every customer would be nice, as would having a drawing for something big and expensive. Heck, why couldn't they have split the comics from the $1 longboxes into 10-comic "mystery bags" and handed those to each customer that came in? That would've been cool. And they could've always packed any remainders back into the longboxes after the event, to be sold for a buck that weekend.

4. Give a special discount. Assuming you're not opening the store for a social event, but instead are trying to increase business, why not have a two-hour discount during the event? I know the February sale is already going on, but why not add an extra 10% off just for that event? Or offer a discount on just items related to the reason for the event. For example, give an extra discount on all horror-related titles for the Stephen King release. Any small bonus is going to seem like a reward for those latenight visitors brave enough to hit the streets for their geek hobby. (Oh, and a limit of one per customer on the longboxes would've been nice, though I'll admit I wouldn't be saying so if I was first in line and had the chance to buy a bunch for myself.)

5. Bring in the talent. I know getting Stephen King was an impossibility. And even getting Peter David or Jae Lee (the creators of the Dark Tower comic) would've been equally as unlikely. But maybe there was a writer or artist on some other series that would've been able to appear to sign their own work. The event could've been the "Midnight Madness Event, featuring the release of Stephen King's The Dark Tower along with an autograph signing by Random Artist, creator of Some Comic You Know." In the least, the store should've tried to get some signed books or variant cover versions from Marvel as thanks for the push they're giving the book. Those special editions could then be sweepstakes prizes for the attendees.

6. Make it a stunt. Getting a mention on Marvel's website has to be a nice treat for a local shop. But wouldn't getting on the local news, in Creative Loafing or on local radio be a bit more beneficial from a publicity standpoint? And the way to do that is to add a bit of crazy into the mix. Instead of just having a release party, have a costume contest or some other competition that could be covered by a bored news crew on a slow night. Maybe do something record-setting (even if it's a stupid record). Anything attention-getting would help get the word out about the store and its location. Any press is good press for a local business.
   

In the end, the event at Titan was underwhelming enough to pretty much guarantee that I won't attend another. And considering that I live just blocks away and am a fervent fan of the industry, that's pretty sad. I should clarify, though, that I have no animosity towards the staff at Titan. I've only been shopping there for about a year, but I've found their employees to be friendly, intelligent, helpful, and quick to start up a conversation about any comic/sci-fi/animation topic you can come up with. They're a good crew who run a good shop. I just think they dropped the ball on this event, and could use some help in the marketing/promotions department.

Who knows, though, maybe there will be a live band and free pizza at the next event. Or at least a free comic for showing up. If not, I think I'll stay in bed.

When I stopped by the comic shop this past weekend, one of the books I picked up was the new copy of Blue Beetle. In case you're not a comic book geek like me and didn't know, the most recent incarnation of Blue Beetle--Ted Kord, a former Charlton hero who was brought into the DC universe after Crisis and who was an on-again, off-again member of the Justice League--was killed at the beginning of the recent DC mega-crossover, Infinity Crisis.

The Blue Beetle in the comic I picked up on Saturday is the newest incarnation of the hero. And he's much different than his rich, white, scientist predecessor. The new Blue Beetle is a sixteen-year-old Latino named Jaime.

So far, the story and art for the series have been surprisingly good. I'm not sure what compelled me to pick up the first issue, but I've been enjoying the book. It's very reminiscent of the Crimson series by Humberto Ramos and Brian Augustyn in the late nineties, in that they both feature a similar, cartoony art style and teen heroes thrust unwillingly into costumes and a supernatural world. And I loved Crimson right up until the awful ending.

As good as the book is, however, every time I read it, I start thinking about DC's habit of re-casting B-list heroes as minorities. It seems as though, every few years, DC kills off or retires a hero or two and replaces them with an African American, Asian, or Latino equivalent. Often, these new heroes get their own books (none of which ever seem to last).

I'm not totally opposed to this trend, by the way. I'm all for more minority heroes appearing in the funnybooks. It's obvious that the minority populations are drastically underrepresented in comics, often appearing as sidekicks, secondary characters (cops, doctors, etc.) or non-powered buddies, if they appear at all. I was doing a project the other day where I was trying to find the equivalent of Marvel's Falcon in the DC universe. I was looking for a black character that flies...and couldn't come up with one. Eventually, I remembered Northwind from Infinity Inc. Considering that he mutated into a hybrid hawk-thing a few years ago, I'm not sure he even counts. But that sort of proved my point. While there is a Caucasian hero and villain of every type, power, and origin, there are significantly fewer minority heroes and villains of note.

Anyway, once I started thinking about the many heroes and villains recast as minorities, I started trying to list them out, to see which ones I could remember. DC's definitely done a lot more "minority recasting" than Marvel, and neither company seems to have touched their biggest heroes with the affirmative action rule.

Here are the ones that came to mind. Please add your own in the comments, as I'm sure I'm missing a ton:

DC
The Atom - formerly Caucasian scientist Ray Palmer, now Asian-American professor Ryan Choi
Black Condor - formerly Caucasian Ryan Kendall, now Latino John Trujillo
Blue Beetle - formerly Caucasian inventor Ted Kord, now Latino teen Jaime Reyes
The Crimson Avenger - formerly Caucasian newsman Lee Walter Travis, now African-American female Jill Carlyle
Dr. Light - formerly Caucasian villain Arthur Light, concurrently Asian hero Kimiyo Hoshi
Firestorm - formerly Caucasian physicist Martin Stein and Caucasian student Ronnie Raymond, recently African-American teen Jason Rusch and Asian-American teen Mick Wong
Green Lantern - formerly Caucasian Hal Jordan, concurrently African-American John Stewart
Johnny Thunder - formerly Caucasian Johnny Thunder, now African-American youth Jakeem Johnny Thunder
Mr. Terrific - formerly rich Caucasian Terry Sloane, now African-American hero Michael Holt
The Spectre - formerly Caucasian hero Hal Jordan, now African-American cop Crispus Allen
Wildcat - formerly Caucasian boxer Ted Grant, recently Latina journalist Yolanda Montex and Latino boxer Hector Ramirez

Marvel*
Captain Marvel - formerly Kree soldier Mar-Vell, recently African-American cop Monica Rambeau
Yellowjacket - formerly Caucasian scientist Henry Pym, recently Latina thief Rita DeMara

* Marvel seems to like to recast characters as females, more than minorities (see She-Hulk, X-23, Spider-Girl, Moonstone, Captain Britain, Lady Octopus, Lady Bloodstone, Namorita, etc.), which I'm not counting for the sake of this exercise. While I believe that women could definitely be treated better in comics, given more respect, greater roles and less T&A shots, I'm not including them in my minority report because I am sexist.

I know it's been a while since I've posted, and everyone's probably dying to see how my Christmas was, how work is going, and what I think of the Time Person of the Year choice, but all of those topics will have to wait until I get more time to sit down and type.

For now, I've just visited Grabbing Sand, where Thomas scripted a great post about four books--available for free online--that would be great "gateway drugs" for future comic fans. As usual, he was dead on in his reviews and summary, so I started to leave him a comment to say as much. And, as usual, my comment started to get longer than his original post. I suck like that.

I didn't want to hijack his blog with my stupid ramblings, so I figured I may as well take my thoughts back to my own site--you know, the place where I'm SUPPOSED to rant and rave.

Anyway, read the original post here, then come back for my response, below. (The former will be worth your while, but I make no promises about the latter.)

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In response to More Comic Book On-Ramps:

Ironically, of the books he mentions, I just finished reading Morrison's entire Animal Man run, as well as a reprint of the first issue of Sandman. And I finally read the first issue of the new JSA book. I think Grabbing Sand reviewed that weeks and weeks ago, but my shop gave it to me at my last visit. How did he get it so fast (or how did I get it so slow)? Makes me wonder if my shop is holding out on me.

Anyway, I'll have to agree with Thomas's assessments of all of the books on his list. While I think Animal Man is a bit scattershot at times, and often handicapped by Buddy's involvement in Invasion!, JLE, etc., I agree that it was a unique experiment in storytelling and in breaking down the fourth wall. I found the end of Morrison's run a little less than satisfying, but was still intrigued by the direction he was taking things (and he had one of the most interesting letter columns I've ever seen in a superhero book). Sadly (or perhaps not), I didn't read a single issue after Morrison's run.

As for Sandman, again, the review is spot on. The book was a clever re-imagining of an old character that somehow stays true to the original ideas but brings a whole new concept to the fore. I would also agree that the first issue was very different than most of the rest of the series. Not that it was any better or worse, just different.

I haven't read any of the Starman stuff, but I've heard good things and will get to it soon. (I have a list of must-reads that I'm currently working through, which is why I just read Animal Man.)

As for 52, I've been saving the entire series as it comes out, in order to read it as one long book when it's all been published and delivered. Is that a bad idea? Already, I've had some plot points spoiled by things I've read in mags or other comics, so I may be blunting any of the surprises before I even start reading the series. But I tried reading the first three or four issues as they came out, and found that the constant switching between characters meant that each issue only advanced each character's storyline by fractions. This made me feel like I was being teased with a plot while nothing actually happened. It was sort of an extreme case of Brian Michael Bendis's "decompressed storytelling." I thought that reading all fifty-two issues in a row would help with the pacing and keep me more involved in each character's story. I'm not sure how well that will go, but at least it will give me something to read for a few days this spring.

I do have to give props to the DC editorial staff, by the way, for keeping this book on time. From what I've heard, the quality's been there. But even if it wasn't, doing a weekly book of any grade is an accomplishment. They've definitely made Marvel look even worse about all of the Civil War shipping delays.

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Anyway, that's my reply. See how I started to ramble? When I copied it from his comment box and pasted it here, I went in and removed any references to "you" (meaning Thomas at Grabbing Sand) so that it would make more sense. Reading it back, it didn't really help all that much.

Christmas updates and other nonsense coming soon. I hope everyone's had a great and healthy holiday season so far, and that you all stay safe this New Year's Eve.

This is what happens when you fall WAY behind with your posts: you write a review for a series at the same time that the follow-up to the series is being reviewed on other sites. It's like reviewing Empire Strikes Back while Return of the Jedi is in theaters. Oh well, I never claimed that this site would be timely.

Daughters of the Dragon by Marvel Comics

I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who read kung fu comics in the seventies, but I was never one of them. While Shang Chi and the Sons of the Tiger kicked ass around the world, I was entirely oblivious to their activities. I was too absorbed in the antics of costumed heroes like Spider-Man and Captain America. And when Misty Knight and Colleen Wing, the Daughters of the Dragon, made their first twenty or so appearances, I paid them no mind. In fact, I wouldn't have been aware of them at all if they hadn't made a token appearance in Marvel Team-Up. As it was, I only had a passing knowledge of these heroines when I picked up their most recent miniseries.

In Daughters of the Dragon, Misty and Colleen have teamed up to run a supervillain bounty hunting service, chasing down bail-jumping baddies. That's pretty much all the background they give you when you start reading the book, but it's all you need to dive into a book that's long on action and stereotypes, and short on actual impact and drama.

Just so you can keep them straight--I had trouble figuring out who was who when I first saw them--Misty Knight is the tough, black, ex-detective with the cyborg arm. She's pretty much a take off of every hard-edged heroine from any seventies blacksploitation film. She speaks in way outdated slang, wears an afro and a jumpsuit, and is all about dominating men--in the bedroom or in battle.

Colleen Wing, on the other hand, is the international model trained to be the last American Samurai. She's fond of wearing bondage and fetish gear while fighting, and keeps her hair long and loose, which makes no sense for someone who does whats she does. She's quick with a sword, but seems to be the "submissive" in her relationship with Misty.

This book isn't the worst thing I've read this year, but it's pretty much the comic equivalent of an oatmeal patty. It sounds good, and even tastes a little sweet going down. But it doesn't quite fill you up, and leaves you with a sickening aftertaste. At least, that's how oatmeal patties are for me. Anyway, the story is supposed to be, according to Marvel's promotional language, an "action comedy," but while it's full of the former, it definitely lacks the latter. Throwing in bumbling, has-been villains did get my interest, but the villains didn't possess enough to make me laugh or keep me amused. And if the humor was supposed to come from Misty's seventies attitudes and language, that went right past me, as well. Heck, maybe the laughs were supposed to come from the villain, a rich lady named "Ricadonna" (literal translation: "Rich Lady"). But Ricadonna was a cliche without any actual parody to make it look like an intentional mockery of other villains.

As for the art by Khari Evans, at first glance, it looks stylish, curvy, and exaggerated to fit the fun, throwback feel of the story. But when you look at it a little closer, you quickly begin to notice that it focuses little too much on T & A, and it isn't "exaggerated" as much as it's "anatomically impossible." You may also notice that Khari Evans is a sloppy artist. While there are a few pin-up quality images in this title, there are twice as many pages in which the characters look unfinished and the artwork is horrid. Khari definitely comes from the Rob Liefeld school of art, in that both artists have trouble with realistic hands, feet, noses and hair.

Of course, Evans' approach may be intentionally over-the-top on this title. I'd like to see this artist's work on another book before I completely pass judgement. I doubt I'd buy another series drawn by the artist until I see something different, though.

While the concept of this book was semi-interesting to me, I really couldn't figure out why they were reviving this ancient title. And upon reading it, I really wasn't sure why they thought this book needed to be made. A few weeks ago, however, I picked up the first issue of the Civil War-spawned Heroes for Hire starring, of course, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. So, like the last book I reviewed (Ares), it looks like Marvel was just using this miniseries as a launchpad for the next book starring these same characters. In other words, I paid for a miniseries that was really just a trailer for an upcoming series.

Even worse, I hear there's a Daughters of the Dragon television pilot in production. Does that mean I bought a commercial for a bad TV series?