tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57900017142184986502024-02-19T00:18:43.196-08:00The Writing RamblerTheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-38211439726893344612012-06-01T09:50:00.003-07:002012-06-01T09:58:23.921-07:00Yes ONE of several thousand GREEN LANTERNS is GAYWell if you haven't heard it by now DC comics has announced that the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott is now gay in the pages of the alternate universe title Earth 2. Everyone in the comics world saw this coming for weeks now but it is official and with that official statement comes all of the ignorant new articles proclaiming "GREEN LANTERN IS GAY". These articles gloss over Alan Scott's history and how he's not even actually what we today consider a member of the Green Lantern corps, nor is he the character that the God Awful movie starring Ryan Reynolds was based on. Does this matter? I think so. DC loves the fact that they are going to have headlines all over the news and they get to do it without actually scaring off any homophobic fans of the actual Green Lantern comics which are one of their better selling books. It's similar to the way that Marvel made headlines when they "made" an alternate universe version of Spider-Man a mixed racial (Black/Hispanic) young man named Miles Morales. There where screams by the national news that "SPIDER-MAN IS NOW BLACK" despite that this change had no effect on the "real Spider-Man". This news is simply a cash Grab by DC comics who are intelligently using a very relevant topic without actually changing a massive franchise they own. So I submit the below pictures/explanation for those of you possibly confused by today's news.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKiiJEUFJr1QGHmTuGrHPCtwDSxQ0HuxSP-wg898yljQmW_xq3w0sKOAKa-sMdsUuQ15CRo_61w1_mGrlc9-9mELDw5AO7SuUCd6f0d7d66_BWVEfz3yexJUqgD6RSkhJsm3yUnPp_Hk/s1600/Alan_Scott_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKiiJEUFJr1QGHmTuGrHPCtwDSxQ0HuxSP-wg898yljQmW_xq3w0sKOAKa-sMdsUuQ15CRo_61w1_mGrlc9-9mELDw5AO7SuUCd6f0d7d66_BWVEfz3yexJUqgD6RSkhJsm3yUnPp_Hk/s320/Alan_Scott_001.jpg" width="207" /></a> HIM = GAY</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ifuseTTgOTr4O6BqYMY_pKCPGZ873gq75jd70K69hfckBojIRWE3gnAIvc5VELO3kJqSGPwiJyTsMzeSVGEkaR_JeMrskFu3hfXx6mcb3TuDtAL9LGAfq_AJX4u3ASNR-LqgYxEi3fE/s1600/Kyle-Rayner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ifuseTTgOTr4O6BqYMY_pKCPGZ873gq75jd70K69hfckBojIRWE3gnAIvc5VELO3kJqSGPwiJyTsMzeSVGEkaR_JeMrskFu3hfXx6mcb3TuDtAL9LGAfq_AJX4u3ASNR-LqgYxEi3fE/s1600/Kyle-Rayner.jpg" /></a>HIM = NOT GAY</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_zTV-ensjmqFKOoGhyphenhyphenrE28jxMEwRefhIesO1d7RWnZWXcv9Qb38zFftl1_vSkmXVAHtMQLprs2kmjxWRbqsXQNGZflPJk3GEJQax8EbHEovHD9Gqqf6cwYlgkcfoV88tfzYi-bvvaTw/s1600/john-stewart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_zTV-ensjmqFKOoGhyphenhyphenrE28jxMEwRefhIesO1d7RWnZWXcv9Qb38zFftl1_vSkmXVAHtMQLprs2kmjxWRbqsXQNGZflPJk3GEJQax8EbHEovHD9Gqqf6cwYlgkcfoV88tfzYi-bvvaTw/s320/john-stewart.jpg" width="247" /></a> HIM = NOT GAY</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5FZGz43KOeMZ1V1CCsxxJB7JZPsRlbhdy5Ds1POPBkS6nZkxwgWLnPx9pjAOYRtW-v6NFg-GoXl0xOpiw1tPLadA-Q5p7Wb5816Qo6VfunB1P6u5g4gvuDwKffsz7Vsf-NL9EUCboCU/s1600/hal-jordan-green-lantern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5FZGz43KOeMZ1V1CCsxxJB7JZPsRlbhdy5Ds1POPBkS6nZkxwgWLnPx9pjAOYRtW-v6NFg-GoXl0xOpiw1tPLadA-Q5p7Wb5816Qo6VfunB1P6u5g4gvuDwKffsz7Vsf-NL9EUCboCU/s320/hal-jordan-green-lantern.jpg" width="216" /></a> HIM = NOT GAY</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNRT36mzcUpl2_GnsFOi1mptH0WxSUH-oO8FViLFFFiiwpj4GX_7h-P-Vh_3y-vqlrrfX1Sj_TKHNoeGmVdJExkNCtpmOo0mLwshGK8Mu5vwYZXYy1gqMSePA-h91yerM2u-upBqyTUwY/s1600/guy+gardner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNRT36mzcUpl2_GnsFOi1mptH0WxSUH-oO8FViLFFFiiwpj4GX_7h-P-Vh_3y-vqlrrfX1Sj_TKHNoeGmVdJExkNCtpmOo0mLwshGK8Mu5vwYZXYy1gqMSePA-h91yerM2u-upBqyTUwY/s1600/guy+gardner.jpg" /></a> HIM = NOT GAY</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvWPfR7vBLMhgZQfl_G-xnAV0uf4U12HzITbHksU_skNWb3YmJuDFrlEORNuCt4VndERsSRTTJPaxeOERhW52Fy07Pdx0-nfqj_oHX5NyRyBDrcOdoAcYf54KOW4Ow5xomDtr_40i0TQ/s1600/20100120001248!Green_Lantern_Corps-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvWPfR7vBLMhgZQfl_G-xnAV0uf4U12HzITbHksU_skNWb3YmJuDFrlEORNuCt4VndERsSRTTJPaxeOERhW52Fy07Pdx0-nfqj_oHX5NyRyBDrcOdoAcYf54KOW4Ow5xomDtr_40i0TQ/s320/20100120001248!Green_Lantern_Corps-1.jpg" width="320" /></a> ALL OF THEM = NOT GAY (THAT WE KNOW OF)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So in closing, calm it down people. DC Comics made one character who's not even really Green Lantern come out in an alternate universe. Hardly what Id call groundbreaking stuff. My assumption is if any of you are riled up by this its because you probably know nothing about the actual comics world which means DC succeeded in exactly what it planned.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
See ya when I see ya suckers,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Rambler</div>TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-18999995190385477462012-04-22T19:28:00.000-07:002012-04-22T19:28:14.800-07:00Earth Day, Smchearth DayAs I wrap up my evening here in a cold and rainy NJ, I'm reminded that today is that grand tree hugging holiday of old called Earth Day. It's a day I don't particularly care for and not just because I'm an ignorant, crotchety, horrible man. It's actually much more than those facts. See I've always had issues with most things that the majority of people accept as the norm ( My current biggest hatred is the Bullying propaganda being shoved down the children and parents' throats of this country, but that's subject for a whole nother horrid ramble). It's not that I'm trying to go against the grain or anything remotely hipsterish like that. I just never liked things that seem to promote how great we as a society are. Here me out if you will. And if you do I thank you in advance because as I've already admitted, I'm a horrible man.
We often love to create days or movements that proclaim to the world how great we are as a people. That if we collectively band together we can achieve anything with simply our own abilities. Here's the truth, we can't. People in general are selfish, prideful beings. No matter how wonderful of a person one may be, deep down inside at our core we are all about ourselves. Earth day is a perfect example of how wonderful we think we are. We as a people have spent years destroying this world we were given and now because we have grown into a more "conscious" generation of people we act as though obnoxious acts of self righteousness are going to fix everything. Walking somewhere for one day instead of using your car every April and then spending the rest of your year buying and wasting products isn't going to fix anything. It's just going to make you feel better about yourself.
Now I also understand there are some who actually live as every day is earth day who only buy recycled products and the whatnot. I also notice that these are usually the most judgmental folk you can run into. I don't doubt their sincerity always, but I often wonder if even subconsciously it's less about saving the planet than it is making oneself feel that they are more elevated of a human being than others. I know I'm being quite judgemental myself here, but I will thrice reiterate, I am a terrible man.
I'll close my poor excuse for a blog entry with his thought. If you really feel that your efforts are leaving an undeniable positive mark on this world than that's great, do it to your hearts content. But until we as people are willing to actually take a step backwards and completely overhaul our minds and hearts individually there is no hope for a societal change. I'm all for good stewardship, I just hate when stewards walk around talking like their the king.TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-88767984033469278222012-04-17T22:44:00.000-07:002012-04-17T22:44:16.642-07:00Lamenting over John CarterIts been over a month since Disney's John Carter was released in theaters and subsequently crashed and burned upon impact. As far as common knowledge goes, the film was horrible and a giant disaster that Disney will be recovering from for quite some time (don't fret though, they should more than make up for it with the ungodly amount of money that The Avengers will bring in for them over the next month or 2). The problem is, John Carter was a GREAT film. It was fun, accessible to the whole family and was the type of film that Sci Fi fans normally love to watch. While I wont get into the debate of whether this was a better made film than Avatar, I will say as a fan I find it horrifying that Avatar made almost 3 BILLION dollars in sweet sweet box office cash while John Carter is struggling to break 300 MILLION worldwide (it may sound like alot but that 300 mil is pretty much what it cost Disney to make the film).<br />
<br />
There's many places one could point blame when looking at this movie. You could chalk it up to The Lorax stealing away many families that first opening weekend or you could blame today's ignorant movie going masses for writing this movie off as an Avatar clone (despite it being the film version of the book that Avatar stole from most), but for me the blame lays squarely on the films parent company, Disney. There's a large fact that everyone must accept about Disney. THEY HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO MARKET SCIENCE FICTION. Sorry I shouted, Im just still upset over all of this. It just drives me insane that a film with so much potential was absolutely wasted by a company that is soooo good at marketing everything else they own. The best example I can give you is the marketing itself. Here's Disney's huge Superbowl trailer for the for John Carter.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/7krwq5hZPY0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Looks kinda like a SYFY network movie of the week right? No explanation of the character, no idea of the plot. Just generic action music and quick shots of scenes we have no investment in. Now lets try a fan made trailer that at least attempts to engage the audience.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/OzPVYy7LHIo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Seriously....how much better was that? How is it that a fan sitting at home figured out how to sell this movie but one of the largest movie studios with the biggest marketing machine in the world had no clue? Its just seriously sad that the story that influenced so many of our modern classics has been reduced to a giant failure and will more than likely never see the light of day again. This film could have brought the original books (which are free on most digital reading platforms due to them being so old ) back into popular culture and had the opportunity to influence an entire new generation of readers with its fantastic stories. But instead, we just get a big giant FAIL by Disney who will brush this off and never look back. I for one will do my best to share this film with friends as the years pass and hope it reaches some sort of cult status which is the least it deserves. Such a waste. :-(</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ill see ya when I see ya folks,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-63482230296296733112012-03-07T06:49:00.001-08:002012-03-07T06:49:54.968-08:00Its been fun Kindle Fire....But I think its time we went our separate waysDear Kindle Fire,<br />
<br />
How are you my love? I hope all finds you well. Its been a whirlwind romance we've had these past 3+ months and I just want to say that despite the current situation we find ourselves in, Ive enjoyed every moment I spent with you. From the first moment I laid eyes upon you, I knew you were something special. You do so many things right and although our own relationship is coming to an end I know you can still provide this world with so much joy. From your price point of $199 to your wonderful app store where you have something free to offer everyday, you are better than you may ever know. I know it seems odd that as I choose to leave you I shower you with compliments, but I do so in hopes that you continue to grow, as I know your future holds great things. That's the future though and we sadly find ourselves in the here and now.<br />
Right now I just need something different. For the most part you did everything I needed, but the one thing I asked you for most you just couldn't provide. I told you when we first met that more than anything I loved you because you gave me access to the world of digital comics. I needed that access, that ability to be able to find things at a moments notice and for a while you did everything you could to give me that. But alas, then came the new year, and you started to get lazy. I'd come to you asking for titles and you'd tell me you didn't have them, even though I knew you did. You tried to blame Comixology for your problems and said it was their fault and for a time I believed you. I tried to tell myself it wasn't your fault but then I looked around and saw that Comixology worked fine for everyone else, just not for you. I started to realize that they weren't the problem.<br />
I know it seems cold to leave you when your down. To just run off looking for someone else who can give me what I'm looking for but that's just what needs to happen and I'm sorry for that. I made sure that someone else would take good care of you. I found them on Ebay and they seem very willing to open their home to you and provide you the love I no longer can. I'm moving on as well. I've recently been looking into opening my heart up to the Ipad. I know its easy to be angry and just think I'm leaving you for the younger, prettier option that's just popped up in my life, but I need that Comixology fix and I know they can provide it. I hope we can still be friends and someday we can both look back and remember our time together with fondness. Best wishes and luck on all of your future endeavors.<br />
<br />
Love Always,<br />
<br />
Writing Rambler<br />
<br />
P.S. Ill see you when I see youTheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-67437936219037625802012-02-18T00:01:00.000-08:002012-02-18T00:10:53.222-08:00Thoughts on Linsanity<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I love me a good underdog story. I mean Since my youth I've rooted for the Cleveland Browns, it doesn't get more underdog than that. With that said, seeing the electric rise of Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has been nothing short of amazing these past 2 weeks. Now I'm definitely not the first person to have some words on this story and I know I wont be the last but I just found this whole thing too intriguing to not say anything. Now if theres a chance you've been living under a rock for the past several days you may have no clue what I'm talking about, so for the courtesy of educating your ignorance, I am sharing the below link to get you caught up.....go ahead watch away....I'll go make a sandwich or something.....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/1rfhOgmbuIc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">...okay, there you go...now were all on the same page. So lets discuss. Here we have this fantastic story about an undrafted basketball player who struggles getting into the NBA but gets his moment to shine (one of those moments in life where you either step up or regret not having done so for the rest of your life) and he makes every second count so far. Its just joyous to watch and by the mood of fans and the country in general the consensus seems to be that they are enjoying it as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">...Ohh by the way there is one other thing that you may have casually observed in the nice video above. Have you guessed it yet? Let me help. You see this guy, Jeremy Lin......[whispers] He's Asian (American of Taiwanese descent to be exact)...... Yup, I can here it already. The sirens of the PC police are on their way to my house for daring to publicly notice that someone is of a different race than myself. Its funny how every story I've seen on Lin walks on eggshells when mentioning his race. Now please understand I am as horrified as anyone when people like Floyd Mayweather run their mouths claiming Lin's hype is only due to him being Asian or the geniuses who run the MSG network find it okay to show a graphic of Lin's face coming out of a fortune cookie (my eyes are still rolling especially at that one), but I just think as mature adults we should be able to recognize what Lin is doing on behalf of Asian Americans and appreciate it for the positive thing that is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> What Lin is doing currently is remarkable regardless of his race. Hes come out of seemingly nowhere to lift a team that has been severely under performing in what most had hoped would be a year of resurgence for the team.Hes inspiring, humble and a marketing dream come true. BUT...... to not say his race has even slightly helped his appeal is ridiculous. Now I know I may have lost some of you with that statement, but please, here me out if you will. Jeremy Lin is doing something groundbreaking and that's a positive thing. Besides all of his on court heroics he is breaking the stereotype for what makes an NBA player. An excerpt from a study published in Slam magazine from 2011 shows the following:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">"–In the NBA, 83 percent of the players were people of color, an increase of one percentage point from last year’s totals. This represents the highest percentage of players of color since the Racial and Gender Report Card began reporting the composition of the NBA teams. The percentage of African-American players increased by one percentage point to 78 percent, equaling the highest since 2001-02. <strong>The percentage of Asians remained constant at 1 percent</strong>. The percentage of Latinos increased by one percentage point to 4 percent. The percentage of people of color classified as other was slightly under 1 percent. The percentage of international players decreased by one percentage point to 17 percent, the lowest percentage since the 2003-04 season. </span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>–At 17 percent, this was the lowest percentage of white players since the Racial and Gender Report Card began reporting the composition of the NBA teams</em>."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Those facts alone show that what Lin is currently doing IS unique & theres nothing wrong with recognizing it. I applaud J-Lin (clearly were friends by my casual nickname) and the fact that hes given so many people who don't usually connect to the game of basketball something to cheer for. You cant say the fact that there will be a generation of young Asian American kids who have a new role model to look up to is a bad thing (If there was a large, out of shape Irish-American man with a red beard currently dominating the league, Lord knows I'd be on his bandwagon). Diversity is a beautiful thing and I for one have never subscribed to the "theres only one race, the human race" nonsense. Lets recognize each other's differences, learn from them and be better people for it (yeah even my teeth hurt after typing that one, lol). So calm it down everyone, Jeremy Lin is Asian and he's also awesome. I say hooray for that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> To end this pile of nonsense I call a blog entry I'll say I look forward to seeing where his career goes from here. I also look forward to seeing how other teams adjust to defend him (New Orleans did enough of it to pull off a win against the Knicks tonight) & just how he'll fare with a healthy Carmelo Anthony back on the floor. All in all its a fun time to be watching the Knicks play ( a statement no one has been able to say for quite some time now) and that's good for any real basketball fan regardless of their ethnicity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">See ya when I see ya folks.....</span></div>TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-32586424084362647022012-02-14T08:17:00.002-08:002012-02-14T09:14:15.743-08:00The Episode 1 DilemmaDear friends and lovers..... I must assume at this point if you still follow me its your own fault if you get disappointed in my horrid lack of updates....truly I am a master of slackery (not a word) and all things it encompasses and I realize now that apologizing for it every time I decide to finally post something would just be insulting to us all.....so with that said I will simply say hello and hola (German) and I truly hope you are all well....with that ugly business out of the way lets get onto more pressing matters:<br />
<br />
I recently ran into a conundrum..... My daughter, an extremely sweet and funny 8 year old, came to me and asked the question any nerd parent dreads.....that question of course was "Daddy, can we go see Star Wars Episode 1 in 3D?"..... It was like all the air was taken out of the room and I forgot how to speak for what felt like days.....as I recovered from the question I simply said "sure sweetie" and then left her presence to return to my own world of inner turmoil over this series of events that had just unfolded.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxirOEpwA27JqvM7irl41O99Gm3fpoR4WuyrBrn_JAt93P4Fm9QWcw33MdAd4xKZK4n793K1LuaKgR3_XIGPVgsUrSgEhnuryHP_deA2T9ipmu8Tkh9FNrFpnkKJfkN8MjtywAt3xAXk/s1600/STAR+WARS+3D+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxirOEpwA27JqvM7irl41O99Gm3fpoR4WuyrBrn_JAt93P4Fm9QWcw33MdAd4xKZK4n793K1LuaKgR3_XIGPVgsUrSgEhnuryHP_deA2T9ipmu8Tkh9FNrFpnkKJfkN8MjtywAt3xAXk/s320/STAR+WARS+3D+7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Let me say before anything else, I DO NOT HATE EPISODE 1..... Don't get me wrong, I get all of the hate and I fully understand the many reasons nerds around the world gather in unison to loathe this film.....but still for me it wasn't that big of a deal.<br />
<br />
I love STAR WARS.....Always have and always will....and though EPISODE 1 is without question my least favorite of all, I still cant find it in myself to say I hate it....this sentiment alone will make many a nerd furious as its become widely accepted that you cant be a real STAR WARS fan anymore without hating EPISODE 1... I say that's nonsense...hogwash even if you want me to get vulgar.....<br />
<br />
I've never fully understood all the hatred because so much of it could be applied to any entry in the series....one of the biggest complaints I always here is that the dialogue is terrible and wooden at times (which i fully agree with) but has there ever been a STAR WARS movie that hasn't had wooden dialogue? For all of his achievements, George Lucas has never been the best at writing things people would actually say....I mean most of the star wars movies dialogue is laughable at the least when compared to other solid franchises......but this is all beyond my point, lets get back to that shall we...<br />
<br />
...So after running these thoughts of nerd rage towards EPISODE 1 through my head I realize the whole argument is ridiculous....the point of the matter is I have standing before me an 8yr old girl who is excited to go see a STAR WARS movie. In a world where we now have pink Lego's (because apparently regular color Lego's are just too much for girls to handle) and millions of other stupid barriers that are set up to morph my daughter into a brainless clone of a living Bratz doll, here she is simply asking to share in an experience that I grew up with as well (I was a child who grew up with the Original trilogy and the prequels in my late teens/early twenties) and because of the horrible cynicism that our geek culture uses as its lifeblood I had for a second considered not taking her. But alas, that second passed and I decided there was no way we wouldn't be in attendance.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NmxsSzr9wMzlAaxE5xh6jUvEpb5FAVHIwGExMyPpZnWdLIhknrOolOE-x0hok3K7iUWyyCN93yLlDrMjGL5DICHSbwBOlghKazAIy6vxmWKRaQILK4glnVdcTX5VTX35aVK6mmSue8c/s1600/PINK+LEGOS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NmxsSzr9wMzlAaxE5xh6jUvEpb5FAVHIwGExMyPpZnWdLIhknrOolOE-x0hok3K7iUWyyCN93yLlDrMjGL5DICHSbwBOlghKazAIy6vxmWKRaQILK4glnVdcTX5VTX35aVK6mmSue8c/s320/PINK+LEGOS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
...After a week of her behaving at school to make sure I didn't cancel our trip we were off to see the movie. Her excitement was infectious, She couldn't wait to see if we got the special 3D glasses and toy our theater had advertised as part of a STAR WARS kids event day and I was excited for her. We got to the theater and had the fun of seeing a line full of parents and kids (some of whom were in full costume) all excited to experience the event together. We watched the movie, she participated in some of the free events after (face painting, Lego building..etc) and all in all we had a great day.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijyczpMRfi1KmeOUDyjBDXBCSqzpt-3CuoClVhmesDRJE8Si55HPYNC2dnIrUVdQookNd-6Wjwnl1OGYBRve_D02PsfxUSQdTgdfgtscbD0orhXywa7vIeZFvDz3if1jjSkKJKobPyhEc/s1600/STAR+WARS+3D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijyczpMRfi1KmeOUDyjBDXBCSqzpt-3CuoClVhmesDRJE8Si55HPYNC2dnIrUVdQookNd-6Wjwnl1OGYBRve_D02PsfxUSQdTgdfgtscbD0orhXywa7vIeZFvDz3if1jjSkKJKobPyhEc/s200/STAR+WARS+3D.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5zBdDubDfNL6fuBQE6foJ5jmL_Nh9Is0XCypJCsmwjSTd3rzdw-8zZDf0LVlrYuI11nFTSh6iMBgipJ0p6pRVXXnsWJF814ZRxxRXX0RlKaEkMO7JwKwEy0tjQNvXQl8yp-48LOPYeIs/s1600/STAR+WARS+3D+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5zBdDubDfNL6fuBQE6foJ5jmL_Nh9Is0XCypJCsmwjSTd3rzdw-8zZDf0LVlrYuI11nFTSh6iMBgipJ0p6pRVXXnsWJF814ZRxxRXX0RlKaEkMO7JwKwEy0tjQNvXQl8yp-48LOPYeIs/s200/STAR+WARS+3D+1.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwM9jklZI8zcHmmrGg97jvqHPIOK3E4NxlPbC2zRkrw2ywEJaMTImjdJPnvkY3cSE5lc0p-YzcFDlBB83WCZX6cxsBdTpX_DGROQwNRcbbuuc36VeMCo3JQ-nA85grJGTpRqNfIkeUTXM/s1600/STAR+WARS+3D+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwM9jklZI8zcHmmrGg97jvqHPIOK3E4NxlPbC2zRkrw2ywEJaMTImjdJPnvkY3cSE5lc0p-YzcFDlBB83WCZX6cxsBdTpX_DGROQwNRcbbuuc36VeMCo3JQ-nA85grJGTpRqNfIkeUTXM/s320/STAR+WARS+3D+6.jpg" width="191" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
The one thing I think I took most from this was seeing how many parents and kids were out enjoying the movie together. Sure I still think EPISODE 1 is terrible in so many ways ( I literally cringe when I here the racist Asian accents of the trade federation and pretty much every time Jar Jar Binks is on screen) but it doesn't really matter. STAR WARS was never made for adults who nitpick every scene of a movie. In all honesty the prequels probably should have never been made because they re not meant for today's society. All 6 of the films thrive off the viewer either being a wide eyed child or an adult who can relate to that. These movies were made for children who don't notice the terrible parts in the world but simply see the fun and beauty of it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Kk1WS_ab1KG7Z_ShPqiwMuVY4ZddMcbitKXna-H_1m2L3pocTt8uvgAfZowH1uWMvn6ngRqGjFmgEKMyMfgi9kq-_deyhnmbVUxQ0DlawPDWcbheIDDIXxvbFnQHmiU0C4nhac1_t2o/s1600/STAR+WARS+3D+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Kk1WS_ab1KG7Z_ShPqiwMuVY4ZddMcbitKXna-H_1m2L3pocTt8uvgAfZowH1uWMvn6ngRqGjFmgEKMyMfgi9kq-_deyhnmbVUxQ0DlawPDWcbheIDDIXxvbFnQHmiU0C4nhac1_t2o/s320/STAR+WARS+3D+8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
So for 2+ hours I got to see the world through an 8yr olds eyes again and it was a lot of fun. It didnt matter that we already own this movie at home (on more video formats than Id like to admit). It didnt matter that the movie was in 3D (it added nothing to the film). All that mattered was that we had a fun time at the movies. Thats all STAR WARS has ever been about and that's all it ever needs to be. Also, I dare say one hasnt lived until they see an 8yr old girl ask to have her face painted like Darth Maul, while other kids run around pretending to be warriors from another Galaxy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypi_jDkGJHeZ8_AO99ay0pXlKuijMTrOPsnOSmklQ54TeFu6hY_UsbJN1ywYrBNL-tf6RkgEIg5ValZEkpwZc04BUYj8AzgSMd-A7V9u3tdRuBho5YGBNkcpnwouGCsE_1Xn6SIB4R6g/s1600/STAR+WARS+3D+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypi_jDkGJHeZ8_AO99ay0pXlKuijMTrOPsnOSmklQ54TeFu6hY_UsbJN1ywYrBNL-tf6RkgEIg5ValZEkpwZc04BUYj8AzgSMd-A7V9u3tdRuBho5YGBNkcpnwouGCsE_1Xn6SIB4R6g/s320/STAR+WARS+3D+2.jpg" width="191" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6Gbpm94_je3Igtc3x5PldMkAzEh8iCswiugei14fio7TC3Se80shejcBpHDb8gqDXdaPYKmhiPRM5WeCm0TWXiTV8ResC_PbW7YzGqoRHiwjZoYnOrg9ZU3O4bNNE3V3P524BdLcZ0I/s1600/STAR+WARS+3D+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6Gbpm94_je3Igtc3x5PldMkAzEh8iCswiugei14fio7TC3Se80shejcBpHDb8gqDXdaPYKmhiPRM5WeCm0TWXiTV8ResC_PbW7YzGqoRHiwjZoYnOrg9ZU3O4bNNE3V3P524BdLcZ0I/s320/STAR+WARS+3D+3.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><br />
Ill see ya when I see ya folksTheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-6340080165764620122012-01-27T23:07:00.000-08:002012-01-27T23:07:15.486-08:00Get some FREE SPIDERMAN love while its hotJust a quick ramble and some info while it lasts.....Looks like theres gonna be a cool fan event going on around the world on Monday Feb. 6th for the new spiderman movie.... these events are always fun and theres usually some cool stuff/giveaways for the fans.... heres the main link for all the sites <a href="http://www.theuntoldstorybegins.com/#">http://www.theuntoldstorybegins.com/#</a> <br />
<br />
... and heres the link for the NYC event taking place at 3pm on the 6th <a href="http://www.gofobo.com/rsvp/promotion/55f977d20ea528326c028e49d1914c9e">http://www.gofobo.com/rsvp/promotion/55f977d20ea528326c028e49d1914c9e</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
.... hope to see you when I see you there!!TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-19698681131015580912012-01-18T07:33:00.000-08:002012-01-18T07:33:15.156-08:00One last thing about 2011........Good people of the interwebs....I have returned to you with tidings from the great state of Imwaytoolazytokeepupwiththisblogville, USA, hoping that you've all been well and we can continue our joyous relationship of my rambling and you reading in this new year....I'd love to say that I have some new found resolutions to discipline myself in this year of 2012 so that I write more entries and don't live my life as a complete slacker, but alas its who I am and I wouldn't want to pretend I was anything else...with that said Ill do my best (fingers crossed) to get on here more often and spew out some patented Rambler shenanigans as only I can....<br />
<br />
I figured the best way I should start off this new year would be to actually remember to write about something I had meant to include before the year's end and then start fresh from there.....<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>-I'll give you the main reason my "Slackertude" was in full effect at the close of 2011 and that was the Joyous Event of the century that took place when I had the pleasure of marrying the current Mrs. Rambler. Although I have mentioned it before I did want to bring up one fact about the wedding that I wanted to share with anyone who comes across this page. In looking for a cake topper for our nuptials I came across a really great artist who created a topper for us and just wanted to show her some love on here..... you can check out her eBay page here <a href="http://myworld.ebay.com/cin701/?_trksid=p4340.l2559">http://myworld.ebay.com/cin701/?_trksid=p4340.l2559</a> .... excellent work and extremely professional and easy to work with....here's a pic of the work she did on our topper (What can I say, I really like Arkham City)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-0Rj4FUztFMw3KeNvEy7dDbCONPRxV58jt7k5P28wazwAPj6-SVKWkugNAw91A0btsTNN7dK7f1AYGoNv20XBsSuBoZiZrI0tYXtihxwMmBFUhhG7OnrFLpBhe9V3FTjF_UyWt9VBNE/s1600/cake+toppper+wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-0Rj4FUztFMw3KeNvEy7dDbCONPRxV58jt7k5P28wazwAPj6-SVKWkugNAw91A0btsTNN7dK7f1AYGoNv20XBsSuBoZiZrI0tYXtihxwMmBFUhhG7OnrFLpBhe9V3FTjF_UyWt9VBNE/s320/cake+toppper+wedding.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>....Cynthia from Awesome Toppers really did a great job and before I did anything going forward I just wanted to give her a shout and say thanks for making a great memory from our wedding....<br />
<br />
...with that I can move forward properly and will be posting some other thoughts as the days and hours pass....see ya when I see ya pplTheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-76857809107893667862011-11-17T11:08:00.000-08:002011-11-18T07:48:09.095-08:00More Fire!!!...More Fire!!!!Ohhh my friends how I've missed you!!!.... So I've been off getting married and cruising around the world and stuff as of late (more on that in future blogs) So I greatly apologize that my blog has become the digital equivalent of tumbleweed blowing on an old west landscape.... I have much to spew about but I wanted to start off showing some love to the thing now makes me smile every morning....no, not the new Mrs. Rambler you fools....what I speak of is the 24 hours of bliss I have experienced with my nice shiny new Kindle Fire......<br />
<br />
....I know there's a lot of curiosity around the device especially with the holidays upon us so I figured I'd help answer some simple things about it.... also I took a few minutes and just made a video of the Fire in action....enjoy and feel free to hit me up with any questions you have..<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/kneE191WY2c?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-39485641473924053382011-10-14T08:00:00.000-07:002011-10-14T08:27:12.944-07:00Dr. Pepper prescribes sexism?So here's the thing.....I'm a pretty stubborn guy....I can be ignorant, old fashioned and downright sexist at times (but enough about my good points)....What I've come out of suspended animation for (I realize how long its been since Ive posted anything my lovely people and you have my sincerest apologies...Frankly, I'm a lazy, lazy man and that inherent laziness coupled with child rearing and an upcoming wedding that is consuming my free time is just no good for the business of collecting my thoughts here) is some commentary on this commercial:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/TTs-BmLOGWQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
I actually only saw this commercial a few days ago but my immediate reaction was "Wow Dr. Pepper....that may have been the worst attempt at humor ever". Its pretty weird because I firmly believe that in the realm of comedy anything goes. You cant get hurt feelings because that's just the nature of the beast. I normally have no problem laughing at most things that normal good hearted people find offensive (I mean, I personally want to start a campaign to protect bullies because of all this, no more bullying, Gestapo-like, nonsense that is currently going on in America's schools). So why, ohh why, do I find myself offended for women when I see this? Am I going soft? Has old age and raising two daughters turned me into some bleeding heart pansy? Possibly, but I think my real dislike of this whole product campaign is that it comes down to its reasoning in general. In today's highly PC culture I refuse to believe that a major corporation put this ad out with no idea it would drum up controversy. This whole ad is made to bring attention to a brand that is trying to step up and compete with the bigger boys (Coke & Pepsi). It's like Sprint taking a huge monetary gamble and getting the IPhone but instead of risking your bet on one of the world's most beloved tech devices they are instead betting the house on controversy and good old fashioned disrespect. Some people might consider it a smart move because it does make people talk about the product and as its always said "any publicity is good publicity" but the way they chose to go about this is just pure ignorance to me. The commercial probably wouldn't have made me care either way were it not for the tag line "not for women". Why? Why throw those words in there.... It just doesn't make sense to me...does the controversy of those 3 words drum up enough business to justify turning off an entire section of buyers? Just putting the idea that any product your selling is "not for someone" is basically saying "please don't buy our product, we don't want your kind's money". Honestly if Dr Pepper would have just left out this tag line it would have been an idea (a still somewhat crappy produced and yet another carbon copy of the old spice guy format version of an idea...but an idea nonetheless) about turning a diet drink into something "manly" and no one would have been able to complain (well they would have, but I wouldn't have considered their complaints valid therefore clearly they would not have mattered.....see I told you I can be ignorant when I try).... I don't know, I just think this was a dumb move on Dr. Pepper's part and if the creators are actually as sexist as they claim then I have one question for them: "If your sexism assumes this drink isn't for women then I'd also assume in your ideology you assume most women still do the grocery shopping (which in many cases is a fact) and in that case who exactly do you think will be buying this product?".... I know I won't and I'm not even a woman (despite my dad who does the grocery shopping ways)...Just some food for thought...<br />
<br />
......see ya when I see ya folksTheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-34878722062000816872011-09-08T10:41:00.000-07:002011-09-08T10:41:24.967-07:00Self for Sale....Get your Selfs while theyre hotHow goes it my lovely friends? I was thinking recently about the many way in which we as a society have become quite good at selling ourselves.....Now I know what your thinking...."how could you lower yourself to selling your body for money Rambler?".... Well to answer that Ill first say I appreciate your care but clearly you don't know me very well for its pretty common knowledge that for the right price Id do just about anyth.......(.I clearly need to stop writing now).....Secondly and much more relevant I am not talking about physically selling oneself, though the truth isn't that far off....<br />
<br />
... what I mean by this is that we have become increasingly obsessed with the culture of self....I mean its been going on for years with "reality" TV for example. Anyone who has even watched TV in the past 10-20 years has been able to observe a drastic shift from (successful) scripted television to cheap, quick, loosely scripted shows starring casts ranging from normal everyday Joes to wanna be actors doing their best pretending to be everyday Joes. We have created a celebrity culture for ourselves and by ourselves (Please don't be so ignorant as to blame TV programmers as it is we who dictate what is successful....trust me if all of a sudden people watched in masses a show about helping the poor and bought helping the poor shirts and helping the poor videos from itunes than helping the poor shows and copycat shows would be up and down or local programming guide....okay I'm getting off my soapbox now). Long gone are the days of looking up to our movie stars and sports heroes (whether that was ever healthy is a whole nother story). What we do now, to put it simply, is look up to those of us who without much talent or training find a way to make it in today's culture....Now personally I think its a horrible sign of how out of control and lost our current society is but one cant deny that people like the derelicts of the Jersey Shore and the ever business savvy yet mostly talentless Kardashian family are the hot melty center of our pop culture Stromboli (I have to stop blogging around lunch time)....<br />
<br />
...Where am I going with all this passionate rhetoric about how we've become a society of people looking for ways to sell themselves and become the next talentless fool who cashes in?.....Nowhere particularly to be honest...I just thought it'd be fun to talk about how horrible each and every one of us are as human beings despite how good we think we are as a precursor to me trying to sell myself (Now isn't that ironic).... and with that said I shall join in on the quest for talentless success by providing you with the following ;-)<br />
<br />
get at me on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/Writing_Rambler">http://twitter.com/#!/Writing_Rambler</a> @Writing_Rambler<br />
<br />
follow me here Duh!: <a href="http://thewritingrambler.blogspot.com/">http://thewritingrambler.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<br />
ans last but not least patron my pockets by buying from me on Ebay: <a href="http://myworld.ebay.com/itslvg3">http://myworld.ebay.com/itslvg3</a><br />
<br />
read my weekly comic book reviews on <a href="http://www.aintitcool.com/">http://www.aintitcool.com</a><br />
<br />
..... Ill see ya when I see ya folks.....TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-65884154021421373762011-09-07T20:53:00.000-07:002011-09-07T20:53:11.482-07:00Thank you Nike for making my dreams a realitySo when I was a kid my favorite movie was without question Back to the Future 2....I lived it...I breathed it and Im pretty sure I can still recite every word to it........<br />
<br />
....so when I get online and read a story tonight ( check it out here <a href="http://www.nicekicks.com/2011/09/is-nike-taking-us-back-to-the-future/">http://www.nicekicks.com/2011/09/is-nike-taking-us-back-to-the-future/</a> ) about Nike having a Patent for actual power lacing shoes and a lot of secret tweets being sent out...well I assumed it was just too good to be true....<br />
<br />
Then I saw this video...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/PZ6SkdkXjAQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
...All I can say is MIND BLOWN.....TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-51720930309153916402011-09-01T13:58:00.000-07:002011-09-01T13:58:47.449-07:00THE NEW 52 & THE DIGITAL REVOLUTIONHey there fine people...its been a little while hasn't it? what can I say, the summer just seems to fly by and with having to juggle fatherhood, writing reviews, watching movies, working now and then from home, camp counseling, battling hurricanes, inspiring the youth, playing horseshoes, creating nanobots, locating Frankensteins brain, visiting the Amish and general tomfoolery it's been hard to keep up with my writing here....But don't fret, I still love you all nonetheless...<br />
<br />
So today is 8/31 (technically 9/1 by the time I post this) and for most it is a day that harshly reminds one that the joys of summer have come crashing to a halt and Fall will be soon upon us ....we all know what that means don't we? Sweater weather...kids back in school...the leaves changing to a glorious Autumn hue and my natural enemy, the soulless crossing guard, will once again be slithering from there dank caves to torture us all before we know it....ohhh how I despise those creatures of the day....................................<br />
<br />
....................(okay I vented...I'm better now)..........<br />
<br />
..........but for Comic fans, today was also a day of change in our world....Today saw DC comics release FLASHPOINT #5 & JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 ( I wont officially review these here....though I will say they are both very satisfying and should be picked up....especially JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 for old and new readers alike)......the only 2 new releases from the company today signified a major changing point in the DC comics universe, as years of storylines and history have been suddenly reset and all titles (52 over the next month) have been renumbered as #1's and are set to welcome a new generation of readers into the DC world.....<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91SlMLRI0bOeQaajpOQguGOqe5aywfcyyLlX99xWDiu0uAmlNVIVLqJPwMY8pXGoctSIjhefTNDTMrlnuXAbUFCkCGzv4HvhjEdpgmjWlnscwd-iPDC9GPV_DzXJQTXhVd1QusF0nzQQ/s1600/justice+league+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91SlMLRI0bOeQaajpOQguGOqe5aywfcyyLlX99xWDiu0uAmlNVIVLqJPwMY8pXGoctSIjhefTNDTMrlnuXAbUFCkCGzv4HvhjEdpgmjWlnscwd-iPDC9GPV_DzXJQTXhVd1QusF0nzQQ/s320/justice+league+1.jpg" width="206" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVnOS4PHRt3_vZaaFnXtmGkAPIu-hAbgdpIX91mGLRd5Fx_vvB-CAWsrzm-SMVxqYBigPznXHORRMQpeOyuZrvYJ63Nkj98WWzJ76IrTisUcysV1lmTIrPtNUkT30YMb0sG9EzhNmDY6g/s1600/Flashpoint_51-666x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVnOS4PHRt3_vZaaFnXtmGkAPIu-hAbgdpIX91mGLRd5Fx_vvB-CAWsrzm-SMVxqYBigPznXHORRMQpeOyuZrvYJ63Nkj98WWzJ76IrTisUcysV1lmTIrPtNUkT30YMb0sG9EzhNmDY6g/s320/Flashpoint_51-666x1024.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><br />
...Many people have written this "REBOOT" off as a marketing ploy and I cant blame them, as the comic book industry as a whole has often used gimmicks and shocking storylines to make headlines and sell some extra copies of a particular book. One Thing that is unique about this moment though, is that it is seemingly a company wide change. While a big gamble for DC comics, as they risk polarizing their core audience, they also are bravely attempting to broaden their status in popular culture.Currently DC comics takes 2nd place to Marvel comics in overall sales and name recognition (Not my personal opinion, just facts....personally I prefer DC's brand of storytelling much better) so a move like this makes sense as they want to claim the top spot in the comics world......<br />
<br />
...Where this story gets really interesting is one of the ways that DC is attempting to "push" their comics to the top, which is day and date availability of their books digitally as well as in traditional comic shops. For some this looks like the nail in the coffin for the retail comic stores that are becoming very outdated with every new technological update. For others its a revolution that will forever better the industry as a whole. .............<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYuHKXYGLltG-yLoml-ExokARC-alInAgWeiH8xJf4FdVQNqvnjbmiARZBpvViy5iN_d-z2SMvLCjHiWwpyEra2Q7iWC7PoHdVR7W7SSMi13owojr5FalWiEXpN78y0mTVop8CWxKu7Bc/s1600/ipad-dc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYuHKXYGLltG-yLoml-ExokARC-alInAgWeiH8xJf4FdVQNqvnjbmiARZBpvViy5iN_d-z2SMvLCjHiWwpyEra2Q7iWC7PoHdVR7W7SSMi13owojr5FalWiEXpN78y0mTVop8CWxKu7Bc/s320/ipad-dc.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>.................My Opinion (and really that's what your here for)is that its a mixed bag of both but for the most part will be a positive move for DC and the Comic industry as a whole. The ability to be able to read your favorite stories the day they are released no matter where you are is an awesome advance in technology and can definitely help bring in revenue. It also becomes somewhat appealing to those people who may not be comfortable strolling into the troll dungeons that many local comic shops can often resemble but still would like to read some books (I say this out of love as I myself can be quite the comic book troll at times). It's just a fact, your average person either doesn't know where a local comic shop is (and their numbers get lower every day) or wouldn't be caught dead walking into one, for fear of not looking cool (something I gave up on quite some time ago).The main negative response I can see (and it mostly comes from comic book nerds, after they are done complaining about changes to Superman's costume......seriously guys, get over it) is something that isn't really a negative, and that is pushing the comics to go more mainstream is destroying part of the culture that we nerds so often lovingly (you could also probably use the words violently or creepily here as well) cling to with a passion. While I get your fears my fellow nerds, you have to learn to live with these changes......were a digital world and we've got to accept that world includes comics now (side note: there's a terrific App called COMIXOLOGY that you can get for your Apple or Android devices that pretty much works like the Itunes store but for comics, this is also where DC and Marvel both provide their comics digitally each week....though Marvel has not embraced day and date release....at least not yet..........you folks should check it out if interested....a great way to keep up with stories without having to go to the store to buy the books)............sure in the long run some old school comic book stores are going to disappear and it sucks but the comic book culture will thrive on.........comics have embedded their way into our culture and are responsible for some of the biggest entertainment franchises ever.... simply put...they're not going anywhere!<br />
<br />
....all in all everyone needs to calm down....at the end of the day your favorite stories are still going to be there whether your crazy about the new ones or not.....I get how it sucks when your into something and then all of a sudden it gets popular and now everyone is seemingly an "expert" on it....these things are just going to happen and the only choice you really have to make is wheter you are going to embrace the change and enjoy the future of the comic industry or join the ranks of the miserable cynics who wouldn't be happy if the next issue they bought came with a million dollar check.....for me, I'm gonna embrace the change and keep enjoying what new stories I get each and every Wednesday, hopefully you will too........<br />
<br />
.......If I have personally come away with anything from this whole experience it's that never have I wanted a digital tablet more in my life than I do now. So Kudos to you DC Comics, Geoff Johns, Jim Lee and all those involved as no matter what happens with the outcome of this venture you will be responsible for me owning a tablet of some sort in the near future (of course that will be after I'm done paying for my wedding because that is much more important.........Just in case the future Mrs. Rambler is reading this).<br />
<br />
...Till next time...Ill see ya when I see ya folks<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-58631100445743852032011-08-31T23:05:00.000-07:002011-08-31T23:05:57.193-07:00COMIC REVIEWS FOR 8/26 <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">BRIGHTEST DAY AFTERMATH: THE SEARCH FOR SWAMP THING #3<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Writer: Jonathan Vankin<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Art: Marco Castiello<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Publisher: DC<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reviewer: The Writing Rambler<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1bqkhsiIPweCm7U2rGgMDWy5-AXONNRejbCzX9YbKZKp5SCj0uSyNCyMyjAw7IXWjZeG3dDcJ3HAhHPk3i2NZBPsXTKEV_AWB9LcfNwqTSCyqhnFAe50KM438v8pSxsLJRHkuCf3chIM/s1600/Brightest-Day-The-Aftermath-The-Search-For-Swamp-Thing_3-665x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1bqkhsiIPweCm7U2rGgMDWy5-AXONNRejbCzX9YbKZKp5SCj0uSyNCyMyjAw7IXWjZeG3dDcJ3HAhHPk3i2NZBPsXTKEV_AWB9LcfNwqTSCyqhnFAe50KM438v8pSxsLJRHkuCf3chIM/s320/Brightest-Day-The-Aftermath-The-Search-For-Swamp-Thing_3-665x1024.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So I’ve had the pleasure of being able to read/review all 3 of the BRIGHTEST DAY AFTERMATH: SEARCH FOR SWAMP THING issues for AICN and boy does this final issue end with a glorious bang. Yup, those are the exact words I would use to start a review if I lived on the Bizzaro planet of Htrae, where everything is opposite. Unfortunately I don’t and for the 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> time DC readers are given a jumbled, messy story that has no real meaning or explanation towards the reintroduction of John Constantine and Swamp Thing to the mainstream DCU.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> and final issue of the limited series was supposed to be the conclusion of Constantine’s journey searching for Swamp Thing and the newly resurrected Alec Holland, but instead were given more of the same confusing runaround with no real furthering of the story. Random appearances from Madame Xanadu, Batman, Superman and Deadman (who I assume was thrown in to remind us this is supposed to connect to BRIGHTEST DAY still) add to the “chaos” of this series. To put it simply there is no point to this book other than being a 3 part reminder that Constantine and Swamp Thing are part of the DCU again. From Constantine’s odd change of heart at the end of the book to Batman’s horribly cheesy comment about EPA regulations, this final issue seems like a culmination of bad ideas put to paper.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There’s not much new or unique about the book’s artwork other than it is consistent with the first two issues. Marco Castiello returns to take the reins back from Renato Arlem who handled the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> issue and while he does a good job depicting the mess of a story that were given, I did find it funny that his version of Batman here just made me think some drifter stole Batman’s costume and is pretending to be him. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me but something is off about this story’s caped crusader.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I do have something positive to say about this book and that is I’ve finally come to peace with the cover art. If you’ve read my past reviews on this series you’ll know I’ve been pretty annoyed how the covers so far have both misrepresented the content and then mostly copy and pasted the previous issue’s artwork. Well with this issue we finally get a cover that has something to do with the content within, so I guess that’s a good thing, right?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall, this entire series has been a huge disappointment to readers who were anticipating learning more about John and Swamp Thing’s place in the current DCU. When you couple this with the fact that this series is also supposed to be the wrap up to a huge event like BRIGHTEST DAY you realize how much of a failure this really is. All I can hope is that with the relaunch of the DCU upon us we will be given much better stories for all of the characters involved.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">GREEN LANTERN EMERALD WARRIORS # 13<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Writer: Peter J. Tomasi<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Art: Ron Frenz<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Publisher: DC<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Reviewer: The Writing Rambler<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbYsKHi1j7PfKm6ueAcT8SOta4GVWfyGyf7wTTbWPW4yHdcKuovkUVEDAMW_Tenyet4uCSYyWt9loVDqtOupM_reDcIIabqK1hCZuGkM7oqZTGO_hysBX0weGxl6wviGguMViHUwGDxeg/s1600/Green_Lantern_Emerald_Warriors_Vol_1_13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbYsKHi1j7PfKm6ueAcT8SOta4GVWfyGyf7wTTbWPW4yHdcKuovkUVEDAMW_Tenyet4uCSYyWt9loVDqtOupM_reDcIIabqK1hCZuGkM7oqZTGO_hysBX0weGxl6wviGguMViHUwGDxeg/s320/Green_Lantern_Emerald_Warriors_Vol_1_13.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>EMERALD WARRIORS 13 is the final issue of the series as well as the last GREEEN LANTERN title we get in the pre “reboot” DCU. While there is no big, epic story that some may have hoped or even a bridge to what will happen in the “new” DCU I actually really enjoyed what we’re give here. It’s yet another one shot focused on Guy Gardner (much like the past two EMERALD WARRIOR issues), who this time is teamed up with Batman in what feels much more like an issue of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD than any GREEN LANTERN title.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I really love what Tomasi has done with these final issues as he is great at delivering stories that use Guy Gardner’s personality to the fullest. He just seems to really enjoy writing Guy stories and it shows. Throw in getting to see him include Batman and the unique “chemistry” that he and Guy share and you have a really enjoyable story overall. The issue is a quick whodunit that takes place on an international space station but truthfully none of the background matters as it’s the fun of watching Batman and Guy act as a successful team that keeps you turning the pages. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The art by Ron Frenz blends with the story and keeps everything moving well. The art in any book is there to enhance what should be a well written story and it’s exactly what we get here. Nothing we’ve never seen before, but enjoyable because it flows with everything and never becomes a distraction to the reader like I’ve experienced in some of the WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERN: AFTERMATH books as of late.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJZ-sptSXnaQVp6JPkKwQS3MT3UfvfLrAzL8znFYcAuEIFlEl7J0N3SAJYnjm4uLb_Dh6SNF0hhWQLChqY2i850Vzc54zb7UVX0CDVwGgcZc9rM9QnUjYjrOJTMcTfGPDQHdM8FJHw-8/s1600/EMERALD+WARRIORS+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJZ-sptSXnaQVp6JPkKwQS3MT3UfvfLrAzL8znFYcAuEIFlEl7J0N3SAJYnjm4uLb_Dh6SNF0hhWQLChqY2i850Vzc54zb7UVX0CDVwGgcZc9rM9QnUjYjrOJTMcTfGPDQHdM8FJHw-8/s320/EMERALD+WARRIORS+13.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This book probably isn’t for everyone as many people don’t like throwing down their hard earned $3 to buy a one shot that has no real significance in the larger GREEN LANTERN storylines, but these are often the stories that are made for the die-hard fans. As a fan of GREEN LANTERN I definitely recognize that many of the major events in the DCU for the past few years have somewhat had a Lantern influence and if anything we’ve been spoiled with large arcs that have taken the title to new heights. Because of this, we often dismiss smaller issues that don’t have some type of larger theme/event going on and it’s a shame. An issue like this should mean just as much to a fan because without books that create and build up these character’s personalities for us to love/hate, their actions in larger stories would be pointless. In a way I think this issue is a fitting end to this series as it reminds me that despite not having several lanterns featured or any universe spanning story it’s still a completely enjoyable read and that it’s the personality of characters like Guy Gardner that keep me coming back for more.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div>TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-16100298879866919112011-08-31T23:02:00.000-07:002011-08-31T23:02:44.759-07:00COMIC REVIEW FOR 8/22 <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">GREEN LANTERN CORPS #63<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Writer: Scott Kolins<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Art: Scott Kolins, Daniel HDR, Freddie Williams II and Joe Prado<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Publisher: DC<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reviewer: The Writing Rambler<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbD9yqGrtQfNGzVj1Jsti5JVXsgLZP1DDcIsqWSPItcs7KfbAs_9Hzzqe0-SeZpsijaLQ6yG13OAfUUlDgGxxb7Uv2fwSi71FwDHN5kFbFbG5-VVFzeNAFRuaVSk0wO4LTv7yU5LONnwg/s1600/Green_Lantern_Corps_63.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbD9yqGrtQfNGzVj1Jsti5JVXsgLZP1DDcIsqWSPItcs7KfbAs_9Hzzqe0-SeZpsijaLQ6yG13OAfUUlDgGxxb7Uv2fwSi71FwDHN5kFbFbG5-VVFzeNAFRuaVSk0wO4LTv7yU5LONnwg/s320/Green_Lantern_Corps_63.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>They always say all good things must come to an end and after 63 issues as the main cover reminds us it’s time to say “goodbye” to the GREEN LANTERN CORPS. This “goodbye” will be short lived of course, as most readers are fully aware GREEN LANTERN CORPS will continue in the new GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1 (currently scheduled for a September 21<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> release). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nonetheless, I enjoyed this issue as it continued to show how disheveled the Corps have become in the aftermath of the WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS and took time to remind us that despite the hard times there is still honor amongst the Corps.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Scott Kolins presents the reader with four different chapters showing some of the different ways the GREEN LANTERNS CORPS are suffering in the wake of this past war. I actually enjoyed how this was handled for the most part. The way the stories are presented sets up some ideas for where the series may be headed in the relaunch and it does so without focusing on main characters like Hal or Sinestro. The fact that some of the “lesser” characters are given focus here is the high point of the issue and a good reminder that though most larger stories revolve around the 4 earth lanterns, there is a much bigger GREEN LANTERN CORPS who are being affected by these events. Probably the best of the 4 stories actually revolves around the idea that many of the GREEN LANTERNS have reached a boiling point towards their disdain of the earth lanterns and are tired of them seemingly always being the center of the Corps’ problems. I’m hoping this idea is explored in depth once the relaunch happens as it could provide some great stories of conflict within the Corps.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyockBXzyzWsu_4E9-PrWKJRYaWdgQSxNJbWtEFeojIXgGqeTHg_V14eVcPxaEwLvIKwZeWcWRjex7iDtqKRG2dZwgBoeZ7SwHQBhsGNoHAjIBx949rGQrQF6hfRHSB9YqcKqBvYl_1A/s1600/GL+CORPS+63+VARIANT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyockBXzyzWsu_4E9-PrWKJRYaWdgQSxNJbWtEFeojIXgGqeTHg_V14eVcPxaEwLvIKwZeWcWRjex7iDtqKRG2dZwgBoeZ7SwHQBhsGNoHAjIBx949rGQrQF6hfRHSB9YqcKqBvYl_1A/s320/GL+CORPS+63+VARIANT.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The art in the issue is much like the story as it is divided into four unique chapters. Normally I’m not a fan of multiple artists handling one issue (as it can become a distraction) but it works here as were presented with each individual tale. All four artists hold their own in the book and I especially liked the combination of Freddie Williams II’s art matched with Kolins’ story about the anger towards the earth lanterns (which Kyle Rayner is forced to be the recipient of). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also loved the variant cover featuring Kyle<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>looking like the toughest version of a blue lantern I’ve ever seen, though I must point out, at no point in this issue (or any of the relaunch cover previews for that matter) does Kyle become a blue lantern. In all honesty it makes no sense as a variant to this issue but its artistic quality should still be commended.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As the issue ends, the reader is presented with the idea that despite all of these obstacles, true members of the GREEN LANTERN CORPS know their duty comes above all other things. Some may find the wrap up of the issue somewhat cheesy and forced (which I can understand to an extent) but I think the overall reminder that members of the GREEN LANTERN CORPS hold a high honor and take it very seriously despite their disagreements is a great way to end the 63 issue run. While I wouldn’t say this was the best possible way the series could have “ended” I do think its handled well enough to give proper closure to a solid book and bridge the gap for what’s to come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-14960038823760695342011-08-31T23:00:00.000-07:002011-08-31T23:00:14.200-07:00COMIC REVIEWS FOR 8/15 <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS: AFTERMATH #2<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Writer: Tony Bedard<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Art: Ransom Getty & Andy Smith<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Publisher: DC<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reviewer: The Writing Rambler<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANk1jwiOv8J6LNCVcqwTPozDDqF8c__XqKpA9VotqMDyJE_P8e3vbZlBL2ef2hU5yoILR7bomX3nMxdt-OO5YYCTLe5cskSefVSD9G8wN2DW7Hk7xkjIP1boc4iffmVv_a1ksi6DKSRA/s1600/war-of-the-green-lanterns-aftermath-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANk1jwiOv8J6LNCVcqwTPozDDqF8c__XqKpA9VotqMDyJE_P8e3vbZlBL2ef2hU5yoILR7bomX3nMxdt-OO5YYCTLe5cskSefVSD9G8wN2DW7Hk7xkjIP1boc4iffmVv_a1ksi6DKSRA/s320/war-of-the-green-lanterns-aftermath-2.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>With WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS: AFTERMATH # 2 we finally reach the end of the entire WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS story. There’s so much happening that there’s no real closure given to the overall storyline but it’s not necessarily a bad thing in this case. While it does a lot more on the setting up end than actually closing out the WAR story, it is still an enjoyable read and is definitely great for any GREEN LANTERN fan waiting for all the repercussions from the events that just took place to be fleshed out more come September.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One thing I particularly enjoyed about Tony Bedard handling this AFTERMATH story is the way he focuses on each of the lantern’s personalities in his writing. While I enjoy Geoff John’s large scale stories and what he’s done with GREEN LANTERN overall, I do always like seeing how Bedard can “take it down a notch” and get back to focusing on what’s going on inside the heads of the main characters. He gives us a story where the Corps are all but broken and there’s a real sense of confusion amongst most of its members as to what is going to happen next. Characters are angry, dealing with loss and having to accept decisions they don’t agree with while still remaining loyal to the corps. It sets a great mood for the series overall and is a good starting point for what’s to come.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I also enjoyed the art in this issue and actually preferred Getty and Smith’s work here over Miguel Sepulveda and Tyler Kirkham’s work on the first issue. There were a few panels in the first issue (specifically a few oddly drawn captures of Sinestro) that just took me out of the story but here I feel like everything is crisp and flows well. I also have to mention the Cover art (both the regular by Tom Fleming and variant by Dave Johnson) which are just beautifully drawn and do a great job of conveying the tone of the books in very simple yet detailed work.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAzJ1qgF3XF4LOKW9rnJimocqiqJYCANF9_dkUrNLD8vAP0X3SiMdQ6T5zxccU0nvnHEwXTqEKxmTFewql-ZRbiQq1U4_b2w7YzP6wkOtnsIRplVg5SKI6VBgC_muGLeymw94H0JnWJU/s1600/War_of_The_Green_Lanterns_Aftermath-2_Cover-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAzJ1qgF3XF4LOKW9rnJimocqiqJYCANF9_dkUrNLD8vAP0X3SiMdQ6T5zxccU0nvnHEwXTqEKxmTFewql-ZRbiQq1U4_b2w7YzP6wkOtnsIRplVg5SKI6VBgC_muGLeymw94H0JnWJU/s320/War_of_The_Green_Lanterns_Aftermath-2_Cover-2.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The only real low point of this book is when the story jumps back to a conversation taking place between Saint Walker and Ganthet. While I have no problem with the story that’s being set up, it just seems to come out of nowhere in the book (much like it did in issue #1) and feels out of place in the issue. It’s like there should be a cheesy caption above it that reads “Meanwhile…on the other side of OA”. All in all, it’s a small blemish in an otherwise well handled story.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall, WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERN’S: AFTERMATH does a good job of continuing the story, though it does present more questions than answers. It leaves the reader with some closure for the larger war (particularly a great “memorial” for Mogo) but still anticipating everything that’s on its way. It shows just how much the events of this war have taken out of the Corps and how there will probably be a lot of changes coming because of it. Personally, I think it’s a great time to be a fan of GREEN LANTERN and with four different titles coming in the DC relaunch I’m hoping for even more exciting stories in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-89260033714480221842011-08-13T23:06:00.000-07:002011-08-13T23:07:27.841-07:00Comic Reviews from 8/8/11<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>FLASHPOINT: BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #3<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Writer: Brian Azzarello<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Art: Eduardo Risso<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Publisher: DC<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reviewer: The Writing Rambler</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcu_3eXT_gzzjvL_fMMZ_Q2Zs1YkQ8ryoCokOw15gpARaRlWpkCr6FVaN6xIqbsbGmArRAEeo0u69QaPlVsT-vF-NRp4t3AnPLvLj0mh3p_zJurH6l445wIJSZZVDuOSDD_Mj0kR5u11I/s1600/batman+knight+of+vengeance+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcu_3eXT_gzzjvL_fMMZ_Q2Zs1YkQ8ryoCokOw15gpARaRlWpkCr6FVaN6xIqbsbGmArRAEeo0u69QaPlVsT-vF-NRp4t3AnPLvLj0mh3p_zJurH6l445wIJSZZVDuOSDD_Mj0kR5u11I/s320/batman+knight+of+vengeance+3.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="http://images.wikia.com/theflash/images/6/67/FlashPoint_Batman_Knight_of_Vengeance-3_Cover-1.jpg"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>With the month of August upon us, we find ourselves heading toward the finale of the entire FLASHPOINT story and the impending reboot/re-launch of the DCU. With the end so near, we are also getting the final chapters of some of the tie in books, which for many fans have been the best part of the whole FLASHPOINT event. This week we see the close of arguably the best tie in with BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #3.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After the setup of the first issue, which showed the reader the kind of Batman that Thomas Wayne was and the emotional sucker punch of the Joker reveal in the second issue, I was anxiously waiting to see how Brian Azzarello would close out this wonderfully told Batman story. To my delight, Azarello yet again creates a classic Batman tale and finishes up the story near perfectly. It stays dark and continues providing us a backstory of just how this world’s Batman and Joker came to be. It really is a thing of beauty to see a classic Joker/Batman fight seamlessly intertwined with a tragic backstory of a parent’s loss (told through flashbacks during the battle). As the book closes we see not only that we have been given a fully fleshed out Batman tale but also a motivation for Thomas’ actions in the overall FLASHPOINT story. It left me satisfied and really looking forward to what Batman will do in the final issue of FLASHPOINT. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As the battle and the overall story come to a close its quality is only exemplified by Eduardo Risso’s artwork yet again. All the pain and loss that both Batman and Joker have suffered in this world are able to be felt in each panel through Risso’s work. His style perfectly blends with Azzarello’s writing and together they present a Batman story for the ages. As good as Azzarello’s writing is I honestly think this book could have contained no words and still conveyed one of the best Batman stories in years. One other thing I would like to mention in regard to the artwork is a commendation for Dave Johnson and his work on the cover art. He has done a great job throughout these 3 issues of setting the tone of the book with great covers for each and especially on this third and final issue. The image he presents here of a husband and wife mourning the loss of their child is both haunting and beautiful and it is one of my favorite Batman covers in a long time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My only real problem with this final issue has nothing to do with the book in any way. It is simply the fact that I don’t want to give it up and would love nothing more than to continue reading stories based in FLASHPOINT’s version of Gotham. Everyone involved in BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE should be proud as they have crafted not only a fantastic Batman story but truly a unique universe on its own. I don’t know what the future holds for Batman and the DCU as a whole but I can only hope somehow, someway we get to revisit the world of BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE again.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>BRIGHTEST DAY AFTERMATH: THE SEARCH FOR SWAMP THING #2<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Writer: Jonathan Vankin<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Art: Renato Arlem<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Publisher: DC<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Reviewer: The Writing Rambler</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirdQ9KoYI6KamjkZwyIrPsXP4426h268958tcL5UoYCvsa7iE97MhLwHb5lMu2pd-3BKxtmQ-T5oOHZtTdMn0qJSRTBgvaF4VuQcRZRoC8HYTyuRcLRp7URcSQtwmAvIW4c-M5lgG_TmE/s1600/brightest+day+aftermath+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirdQ9KoYI6KamjkZwyIrPsXP4426h268958tcL5UoYCvsa7iE97MhLwHb5lMu2pd-3BKxtmQ-T5oOHZtTdMn0qJSRTBgvaF4VuQcRZRoC8HYTyuRcLRp7URcSQtwmAvIW4c-M5lgG_TmE/s320/brightest+day+aftermath+2.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A little over a month ago we were given a pretty weak start to BRIGHTEST DAY AFTERMATH: THE SEARCH FOR SWAMP THING. Sadly with issue #2 we are given more of the same. What we have here is basically a book full of questions with no answers in sight. The only real difference in this issue from the last is that John Constantine is interacting with Superman instead of Batman.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This second issue, much like the first, is all over the place. We have Constantine trying to use Superman to help him find Alec Holland while were also being given a story of Alec Holland trying to piece his life together in his old lab. Much like the first issue seemed more aimed at force feeding DC readers who may be unfamiliar with John Constantine his general bio, this issue seemingly does the same for Alec Holland. While I get that the company wants new readers to know these characters I feel that they are doing more of a disservice to longtime fans who are looking for a good three part story before everything is reset come September anyway.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The art in the book outshines the story much like the first issue and the transition from Marco Castiello to Renato Arlem works just fine. The main difference is in how Arlem’s work has a more “old school” vibe to it, especially in the way he captures Superman. Overall I didn’t mind the change though it didn’t make or break the issue in any way.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Once again though, I have to comment on the cover art for this series which has now become a sore point for me. Last month I mentioned how the cover seemed poorly executed and included Superman when he didn’t even appear in the issue. This month while we do actually have everyone’s favorite Kryptonian in the issue, we are basically given a rehash of the first issues cover! The cover is literally an alternate take of the last one minus Batman and Zatanna being included. I understand the cover doesn’t make the story but in this case it seems reflective of the content; repetitive and somewhat pointless.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I really hate being negative when it comes to a title but so far this short series seems like a complete waste of time for readers. I don’t know how this story will be wrapped up in issue 3 (if it even can be) and while I look forward to seeing what’s in store for Constantine and Swamp Thing in “The new 52” I fully assume the finale of this series will leave us all scratching our heads much like the first two chapters have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All in all I wouldn’t recommend this series as there are much better things happening in the DCU but as a completest myself I’ll be there to see how it all wraps up.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></div></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"></div>TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-21085312695923507102011-08-13T22:53:00.000-07:002011-08-13T22:53:37.234-07:00Comic Reviews from 7/16/11 <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>GREEN LANTERN #67<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Writer: Geoff Johns<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Art: Doug Mahnke<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Publisher: DC<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reviewer: The Writing Rambler<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04GDjs1CaeN0A5yObcw2gFuJAIccI21PZFQf-ohLDrPvsOOsB2k891vk6CkBNeuk6sf3Zgf7Z41jYG2_WLkZL51YJng8INSjWtVAk-fTqMnF6u4K3mBqPZmN3yPEeUqMAhPXE-6WBiqA/s1600/green+lantern+67.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04GDjs1CaeN0A5yObcw2gFuJAIccI21PZFQf-ohLDrPvsOOsB2k891vk6CkBNeuk6sf3Zgf7Z41jYG2_WLkZL51YJng8INSjWtVAk-fTqMnF6u4K3mBqPZmN3yPEeUqMAhPXE-6WBiqA/s320/green+lantern+67.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> After some delays we reach the finale of the WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS storyline in GREEN LANTERN # 67 and unlike many other final “event” issues this one was actually worth the wait. There was a lot to wrap up in this book and for most part it did a great job, both with payoff for the time the readers have invested, as well as some interesting set up for this September’s re-launch of GREEN LANTERN. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As I said the story is told well and if you’re a fan of what Geoff Johns has done with the GREEN LANTERN story over the past few years this is yet another of his best moments(I personally think this was much better than BLACKEST NIGHT or BRIGHTEST DAY). You can really see his love for GREEN LANTERN on the pages as it always seems he’s out to top himself with each new issue. I especially like what he has been able to do as far as his management of the several different color lantern corps and despite how easy it would be for all these different corps to get stale very quickly he has been able to keep them an enjoyable part of the overall GREEN LANTERN story. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The artwork in the issue is great; just as it has been for Mahnke’s work overall on GREEN LANTERN. I would assume this may have been the cause of the delays but seeing the final battle take place is such a thing of beauty through his work that it was clearly worth waiting the extra few weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As far as storyline (Spoilers Ahead) in this issue, we get one final battle with Krona and though Hal is obviously the focal point of the book others get their chance to shine as well (I especially enjoyed Kyle getting to use his abilities as an artist to help turn the tide). Each page is action packed and full of the great moments fans have come to expect over the past few years. As the dust settles, were left with several questions to carry us over into the September re-launch. Most notably what is going to become of Sinestro and his newfound “acceptance” back into the GREEN LANTERN corps and how exactly will Hal Jordan fit into the new book(s) now that he has been seemingly stripped of his ring? I honestly have no idea where Geoff Johns and the entire GREEN LANTERN story are headed but I am happily looking forward to whatever next story he has up his sleeve. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>GREEN LANTERN CORPS #61<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Writer: Tony Bedard<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Art: Daniel Hdr and Keith Champagne<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Publisher: DC<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reviewer: The Writing Rambler<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-LwcDBCn0yB7qvWWZu18ppB1tv6RYUJZZxSBTcoHKrKI56IMDeyZ_9WrLpGmK8FkzFjQ1_vZtIOMkbfAqxgIVx7E3YcJX3GxvX7JPB5-Re5xvi_sMrvTcmGGfrMznjobLEEJdr-3RZ8/s1600/green+lantern+corps+61.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-LwcDBCn0yB7qvWWZu18ppB1tv6RYUJZZxSBTcoHKrKI56IMDeyZ_9WrLpGmK8FkzFjQ1_vZtIOMkbfAqxgIVx7E3YcJX3GxvX7JPB5-Re5xvi_sMrvTcmGGfrMznjobLEEJdr-3RZ8/s320/green+lantern+corps+61.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the same week that we get the battle filled epic finale to the WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS we also get a much smaller tale in GREEN LANTERN CORPS # 61. Much like the latest issue of EMERALD WARRIORS did with Guy Gardner, this issue is pretty much a stand-alone John Stewart tale (though the background is actually connected to the major storyline unlike Guy’s). In many ways it was a perfect complement to the large scale action we saw in GREEN LANTERN # 67 as it shows that even as the battle ends, everyone has to simply “get back to work”.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Bedard’s storyline is simple enough. The reserve lanterns are turning in their rings due to the events of WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS having completed and one feels she shouldn’t have to, so she heads to John Stewart for advice. From here were given a story of John as a mentor for a rookie lantern and despite John being a military man who will always “take the shot when necessary” he teaches her diplomacy and what it means to truly be a bearer of a green ring. It was a solid story for John Stewart and it showed that despite him being able to make the hard decision of killing Mogo in the last issue, he is fully aware and feels the pain of his decision.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The artwork in the issue is good and I especially love how John is captured at the end of the issue where you can really see the pain he feels for Mogo. The one thing I do have some issue with is the choice for the cover art where we see an enraged John Stewart with the words “John Stewart killed another Green lantern….and He’d DO IT AGAIN” flying off the page below him. I really did not like this. It just completely contradicts the entire story were given in this issue and John Stewart’s personality as a whole. As were shown in the issue, John is an intelligent and strategic warrior who will only make a hard decision when he must and I wish the cover did a better job telling that as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When all is said and done, this was a good issue that allowed the reader to take a breath after the major events that had just concluded. While nowhere near as large scale and full of surprises as this week’s other GREEN LANTERN entry this was a nice addition to the story and a good starting point for WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS: AFTERMATH<o:p></o:p></span></div>TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-445646178364081222011-08-13T22:38:00.000-07:002011-08-13T22:44:02.627-07:00Comics Reviews from 7/11/11<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>FLASHPOINT: BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #2<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Writer: Brian Azzarello<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Art: Eduardo Risso<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Publisher: DC<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reviewer: The Writing Rambler<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRg_NuTlBYwbDlTCvbuBdLGCY5vvjyk-U5M-WUSzWMAO-7AXJEimhxiC5n3ypMCCNluwLdLWzn-BYk8xXR1MTZhwGVoYtACgZDktaWgAt6H7mDlozNkyTxyK09G57uo0F3lPgD_xbvVs/s1600/batman+knight+of+vengeance+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRg_NuTlBYwbDlTCvbuBdLGCY5vvjyk-U5M-WUSzWMAO-7AXJEimhxiC5n3ypMCCNluwLdLWzn-BYk8xXR1MTZhwGVoYtACgZDktaWgAt6H7mDlozNkyTxyK09G57uo0F3lPgD_xbvVs/s1600/batman+knight+of+vengeance+2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> </v:stroke></v:shapetype></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As we reach what’s around the halfway mark of FLASHPOINT I’m realizing more and more just how much I’m enjoying this “event” and most of its tie ins. This week were given what is becoming arguably the most talked about moment of the whole storyline so far. Funny enough it doesn’t happen in the main FLASHOINT story, but instead, within the pages of the second installment of BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE. This book is dark, gritty and contains a memorable twist that will keep the comic world talking for some time(I contemplated whether or not I would share spoilers for this as it’s such a great story/twist, but there really is no way to not talk about it, so be warned). <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Brian Azzarello does an excellent job continuing the story of Thomas Wayne’s Batman and the darker more violent version of the caped crusader that he represents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In only two issues (five if you count the main FLASHPOINT books which feature Batman as well) you really get to see the kind of Batman that Thomas is and sub sequentially why Bruce is so unique of a character in the “normal”, non FLASHPOINT world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You get into the psyche of how this isn’t someone who grew up training to bring evil to justice but instead how this world’s Batman, at his core, is simply a parent angrily out to avenge the murder of his child.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The story itself shines in that it doesn’t try to be overly complex (AGAIN, Some big spoilers lie ahead so be forewarned). This world’s Joker has kidnapped Harvey Dent’s children while Batman and Jim Gordon are franticly trying to find them before it’s too late. Its classic Batman vs. Joker and it’s done very well. The story is dark and we get one of the more menacing versions of Joker we’ve seen in a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scenes that play out between Joker speaking with Dent’s children are especially creepy and it makes you realize early on that this can’t end good. With that said, it doesn’t. In a span of the last few pages you have Joker tricking Chief Gordon into shooting Dent’s daughter while his son is forced to watch and then Joker slicing Gordon’s throat while Dent’s young son yet again watches horrified. I honestly was floored at this point seeing how much had just happen, which is exactly when the book hits you with its strongest sucker punch. While you’re still trying to digest what just happen to Chief Gordon and Dent’s daughter, you flip to the last page where it’s revealed that Batman indeed already knows Joker’s true identity and it is none other than his wife, Martha Wayne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a way, as twisted as she is, this Joker has the most grounded origin as the murder of one’s child could clearly drive someone mad. All in all, a great story with a great twist.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Though it’s hard to transition from that story twist to anything else, there has to be some words commending Eduardo Risso for his artwork. The art in the book is a perfect complement to Azzarello’s story. It’s dark and helps covey the brooding nature of the story being told. I especially love the use of shadows as they are almost a character on their own.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With one issue left of BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGENCE to go, I honestly have no idea where this story is headed after the events told here. There was a reveal earlier in the story that this world’s Oracle is Selina Kyle instead of Barbara Gordon so maybe well get a little more explanation on that but I think it was more of a cameo <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to show how the FLASHPOINT world is different, than anything else. I know many people are writing off the entire FLASHPOINT “event” as just another ELSEWORLDS story but I think that’s an unfair assessment. The events taking place in this story and other FLASHPOINT titles are leading to the entire re-launch of the DCU, so while more than likely these stories will no longer “exist” come September, they are still the events that will bring about that change (i.e. the horrors of this issue causing Batman to help Flash fix and reset the DCU in the main FLASHPOINT storyline). I for one am enjoying this series and think it’s great to watch a writer and artist tell a fantastic story when they have the freedom of creating their own continuity as they go. To put it simply, this is definitely worth your $2.99.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>FLASHPOINT: ABIN SUR THE GREEN LANTERN # 2<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Writer: Adam Schlagman<o:p></o:p></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Art: Felipe Massafera, Robson Rocha and Joe Prado<o:p></o:p></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Publisher: DC<o:p></o:p></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Reviewer: The Writing Rambler<o:p></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVrtKqOF9i52uGFXNF7_XSEonI-7NXMFOxYfw8by0Fwu6fsOC5CbV0KG-r0wYPQ4gYoECoe2g-3HP0UjwXW3CwSMQoOKo04T9ro_dC1IHzRosaOQYNrV7TLFpUeFoFkKq8Qo4Bd3s-6c/s1600/abin+sur+flashpoint+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVrtKqOF9i52uGFXNF7_XSEonI-7NXMFOxYfw8by0Fwu6fsOC5CbV0KG-r0wYPQ4gYoECoe2g-3HP0UjwXW3CwSMQoOKo04T9ro_dC1IHzRosaOQYNrV7TLFpUeFoFkKq8Qo4Bd3s-6c/s320/abin+sur+flashpoint+1.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span> So, I’ll just start out with some honesty here. I can’t fully review FLASHPOINT: ABIN SUR THE GREEN LANTERN # 2 without admitting that I am a little biased. See, the thing is, I love all things Sinestro. I love that despite all of his evil deeds I still want to root for him and still consider him the greatest of the Green Lanterns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when I saw him on the cover of this issue looking like he’s preparing to put Abin Sur out of his misery (Old Yeller style), it was a no brainer that I was buying this. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That said, I’ll do the best I can reviewing (WITH SPOILERS) the issue.<o:p></o:p></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The book starts off much like the first issue did with a flashback scene, except instead of Abin as a child we now see him training Sinestro on Ungara “Many years ago”. From there were rocketed forward to the well-known scene of Abin’s crashed ship being found by Hal Jordan, except in the FLASHPOINT universe Abin doesn’t die and pass the ring to Hal, but instead Cyborg, working on behalf of the U.S. Government shows up, “shoos” Hal away and takes Abin in for questioning/experimentation. As Abin heals, after some coaxing from Cyborg (who seems to be the FLASHPOINT world’s own mixture of Iron Man and Captain America), he joins what is apparently President Obama’s own superhero squad and fly’s off to check Europe for survivors of the Atlantean/Amazonian war that is taking place. While doing all this he is warned again by the guardians that he is not following orders (given to him in the first issue) to retrieve the white entity from earth, before it is destroyed. They also warn him he’s dangerously close to having his ring stripped from him for disobedience, though he ignores them completely upon hearing this. This all leads up to Sinestro arriving to inform Abin that he knows what’s happening in this world (due to an imprisoned Atrocitus informing him…though how he knows is never explained) and is aware of the prior non FLASHPOINT timeline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abin doesn’t want to hear what Sinestro’s selling and a huge fight breaks out between the two ending in Sinestro amputating Abin’s ring slinging hand with one of his blade constructs. <o:p></o:p></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Two things that I don’t quite get about this book is why we’re being given so much backstory about Abin when it seems like he’s about to be murdered by Sinestro at the end of this issue. It feels like Adam Schlagman is trying to explain everything about Abin’s personality to new readers (I assume they were hoping maybe the GREEN LANTERN movie would have some new people picking up comics…though I highly doubt that is the case after seeing the GREEN LANTERN film) as quickly as possible while also trying to balance Sinestro’s role in what’s actually happening to the universe in the main FLASHPOINT storyline. With that in mind, the second thing I don’t get is why this book is even about Abin Sur. I mean, I like Abin and I’m pretty much fine with any GREEN LANTERN story personally, but it seems to me like the most important parts of these first two issues (here goes my bias in full swing) revolve around Sinestro gaining knowledge of the FLASHPOINT prophecy. I just think this book would serve a better purpose if it were more about Sinestro and the FLASHPOINT event as a whole (Though, in the writer’s defense I also think breakfast, lunch and dinner should involve more Sinestro as well, so what do I know).<o:p></o:p></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As far as the artwork in the issue goes, it is drawn very well, though I think it does suffer a little from having three different artists handling the job. There are a few times that I turned the page and the artwork style completely changed, so much so that it took me out of the story. The other thing I have to mention is the Lantern’s costume designs as well as the design of the guardians both clearly seem to be taken straight from the movie. I don’t have a problem with it I just thought it was interesting that in the FLASHPOINT universe some designs follow the DC movie style exactly (side note: the FLASHPOINT Joker also suspiciously looks like heath ledgers take from THE DARK KNIGHT).<o:p></o:p></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Overall I still enjoyed the issue, but like I already said, it’s very hard for me to not like a GREEN LANTERN story that involves Sinestro. I’m looking forward to seeing how the final third issue of this pans out and if Sinestro actually has a bigger role to play in the FLASHPOINT finale as a whole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All in all it’s a good read but if you only have one or 2 DCU books you’re looking to pick up, you may want to skip this in lieu of the 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> issue of the main FLASHPOINT title or the fantastic FLASHPOINT: BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGENCE #2.<o:p></o:p></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></div>TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-66279822914902737022011-08-13T22:33:00.000-07:002011-08-13T22:40:33.163-07:00Comic Review from 7/4/11<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">GREEN LANTERN EMERALD WARRIORS # 11<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Writer: Peter J. Tomasi<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Art: Bernard Chang<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Publisher: DC<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reviewer: The Writing Rambler<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6D5cQDThGUjazkD91dgEu-jbrhM0ZLf79AXVo8b0Uk2UvfCGaWpt_tZyqVOan-pMBNCtofnfk-3T0Sz8nBimLkKlMXEXBhdVfTo7Tgj-yB2Y6LiNxlVQrg9we45Gc7XCLbJVy-g_7YY/s1600/emerald+warriors+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6D5cQDThGUjazkD91dgEu-jbrhM0ZLf79AXVo8b0Uk2UvfCGaWpt_tZyqVOan-pMBNCtofnfk-3T0Sz8nBimLkKlMXEXBhdVfTo7Tgj-yB2Y6LiNxlVQrg9we45Gc7XCLbJVy-g_7YY/s320/emerald+warriors+11.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I wasn’t sure what to expect this week when I picked up GREEN LANTERN EMERALD WARRIORS # 11. My nervous system is still somewhat reeling from the 1,2 punch of having 3 issues of WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS released on the same day about a month ago and then a few weeks later being mentally abused by the GREEN LANTERN film. After hearing of release delays for the WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS finale I wasn’t sure what we would actually be getting in the issue. Originally advertised as the beginning of WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS: AFTERMATH storyline, this book is actually nothing more than a “one shot” Guy Gardner adventure, which in no way is a bad thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The story is pretty basic. Guy is headed for some well-deserved R&R but gets called in on a mission to help a dignitary’s ship, he reluctantly accepts and from there trouble ensues. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s as simple as that. The story is quick and even wraps itself up nicely by the end of the issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s no start of a 10 part arc or a cliffhanger ending to keep you coming back next issue. It’s classic comic book storytelling. For a fan of GREEN LANTERN and Guy Gardner in particular this is exactly the reason you read comics. Guy’s attitude and cocky swagger is on full display and it really reminds you of why this hot tempered, honor guardsman is such a fan favorite.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The art in the book is much like the story in general, simple and to the point. Bernard Chang does a good job telling the story through the visuals. It’s nothing groundbreaking or something that goes against the grain; it’s just quality artwork that serves its purpose. There is also some solid artwork on the variant cover (which seems to be what they would have gone with had this actually been a WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS tie in).<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJw0hGkz7rjiWbwVlyqUf93JDFvSMisabft1WMC4TXuy9J0ONLamRgticN64T-dgnhKXScSmuv3a-JpMQAKAGD5ytScgrUlJmqti9h2Ow-NmydXweRszFQR3fvzWWjpj-yYV2Tym7_cO0/s1600/emerald+warriors+11+variant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJw0hGkz7rjiWbwVlyqUf93JDFvSMisabft1WMC4TXuy9J0ONLamRgticN64T-dgnhKXScSmuv3a-JpMQAKAGD5ytScgrUlJmqti9h2Ow-NmydXweRszFQR3fvzWWjpj-yYV2Tym7_cO0/s320/emerald+warriors+11+variant.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>While I can fully understand someone feeling duped into buying this book because they were expecting some info/closure on a storyline they’ve already invested themselves in, it still doesn’t justify saying this is a bad issue. The fact is that larger storylines get delayed and sometimes there needs to be filler. That’s exactly what we have here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s no denying that this issue was either an old story that was sitting around waiting to be used or something that was quickly put together to fill a gap, but that in no way means it lacks quality. I’m looking forward to what the future holds for GREEN LANTERN in general and I can’t wait to see how WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS ends, but for now I happily enjoyed this story, as I always think there’s room to see Guy Gardner’s personality on display.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-67226931053741747932011-08-13T22:28:00.000-07:002011-08-13T22:40:08.748-07:00Comic review from 6/27/11<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">BRIGHTEST DAY AFTERMATH: THE SEARCH FOR SWAMP THING #1<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Writer: Jonathan Vankin<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Art: Marco Castello & Vincenzo Acunzo<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Publisher: DC<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reviewer: The Writing Rambler<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidaXPjc0HaqxeXLz1SsOUlGbVP4Cd3PkObvXo2xvhaAnasvjoBbn_7mILGc6YjeXA7eRgpI3EJMgwO-XqU1917gK3r_mQi3SVO-OHeK-TIg_6bs9FMUi9zNYn5m6RlMxS7lhK8icHVADg/s1600/brightest+day+aftermath+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidaXPjc0HaqxeXLz1SsOUlGbVP4Cd3PkObvXo2xvhaAnasvjoBbn_7mILGc6YjeXA7eRgpI3EJMgwO-XqU1917gK3r_mQi3SVO-OHeK-TIg_6bs9FMUi9zNYn5m6RlMxS7lhK8icHVADg/s320/brightest+day+aftermath+1.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><v:stroke joinstyle="miter"><v:formulas><v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"><v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"><v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"><v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"><v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"><v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When DC’s series BRIGHTEST DAY wrapped up in issue 24 many people, myself included, were left with the burning question of “okay, now what?” There were questions left of what would become of Swamp Thing, the newly resurrected champion of the earth and exactly why John Constantine was appearing in a mainstream DC title. Those questions are pursed though not really expounded on in BRIGHTEST DAY AFTERMATH: THE SEARCH FOR SWAMP THING #1.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The book itself is an odd read overall. I didn’t hate it, but I also feel like it did nothing to further the story and basically was just 20 pages (I’m not counting the ads, especially the Subway comic where Grodd is defeated by a basketball to the face….I still feel slightly violated after reading that) of letting the non-Vertigo readers know who John Constantine is. The whole story just follows John traveling to the US to find Batman and voice his concerns about Swamp Thing’s return. There’s an appearance by Zatanna as well, but again it almost feels forced, simply to say “See, Constantine knows Batman and Zatanna so he definitely belongs here”. While there’s nothing done particularly wrong, it just feels like a lot of wasted space in a limited series that is only set for 3 issues. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One thing I will commend the book for is its artwork. It does a great job delivering the overall grittiness of Gotham and Constantine’s personality as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also really like the way Swamp Thing is captured. While only appearing on one page of the entire book, you can clearly see the power behind the character represented.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Something else I need to touch on is the cover art, which is probably my biggest complaint of the issue. While the art looks great, this has to be one of the worst “bait and switch” covers I remember seeing in a while. Dead center behind Constantine is Superman himself; glaring forward as though he’s prepping to lobotomize John for smoking on the cover. It looks great but the problem is that Superman never appears in the issue and is never even made reference to. It just seemed like a cheap way to entice buyers by putting the company’s biggest star front and center for no apparent reason. Also, I recall in the ads for this as an upcoming title that Zatanna wasn’t on the cover and Hawkman was. I’m guessing they switched this out being that Hawkman is also never seen or mentioned in the book either. Again, it just seems odd and leads me to believe this limited series is not that well prepped.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CZaHs6LNdebVYmSelJ_VKR2QiRNaMaQbgTusZ3IJC-ru4_ytm_3pi1qUmpZvHx-6f5kJ45oPtLQkqykHZN83-hjwZiD68oGAJjhPPb_2y1mWCuyrdZXXDS4Zehu2Ezeb7X3vKiXoD2w/s1600/brightest+day+aftermath+1+concept.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CZaHs6LNdebVYmSelJ_VKR2QiRNaMaQbgTusZ3IJC-ru4_ytm_3pi1qUmpZvHx-6f5kJ45oPtLQkqykHZN83-hjwZiD68oGAJjhPPb_2y1mWCuyrdZXXDS4Zehu2Ezeb7X3vKiXoD2w/s320/brightest+day+aftermath+1+concept.jpg" width="204" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With so little time left before the impending “reboot” of all things DC, one has to wonder if this three issue run is really going to be able to flesh anything out. I’m hoping this story gets to be told and is not just serving as filler to get us from point A to B (though after this first issue that’s how I’m starting to feel). Nonetheless, I’ll be checking it out because I’m hoping now that we’ve gotten past a slow start, the last two issues can provide some real “meat” to the Swamp Thing storyline, plus I hate starting things and not finishing them so DC has me on the books for another $5.98 before this is all said and done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>TheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-88927629193927199692011-08-13T22:19:00.000-07:002011-08-13T22:39:29.002-07:00The Summer DroughtHey there folks.... I realize that I've been severely lacking (as usual) in the updates department and I didnt want anyone to assume I had quit here or anything....with that said, I figured that those of you who may not follow me on twitter ( @Writing_Rambler ) are probably not getting my weekly update of links to my reviews on AICN (<a href="http://www.aintitcool.com/">www.aintitcool.com</a> ) so I figured ID share here... while you can find fresh new reviews every Wednesday if you'd prefer to read them here Ill probably be posting them the following week.... with that said... hope you enjoyTheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-25531637335905868532011-07-13T19:52:00.000-07:002011-07-13T19:52:12.017-07:00Thanks for the memories, Harry....I apologize in advance if I am not my usual disheveled, incoherent self in this blog, but I just felt it necessary to say my proper goodbyes in written form, so here we are. For 10 years now I have had the pleasure of thoroughly enjoying the masterpiece that is the Harry Potter series. Now I know for some, you may already be rolling your eyes at seeing the name above, and while I'd love to argue the reasons why your mistaken on your judgment of a book/movie series you have probably never read or watched, that's not why I'm writing this. I will simply say this blog is sadly not for you. Now on the other hand, for those of you who have read the books and/or watched the films I hope you can appreciate the words that follow.<br />
<br />
I wont claim to be one of those people who have followed the series from its humble beginnings in England. I actually went to see the first movie on my own in November of 2001 after it had already been out for a few weeks just because there had been so much positive buzz about it. I liked it but my best description of it at the time was "a really good kid's movie". I thought it was a lot of fun and I looked forward to seeing a sequel. When the second movie came out I missed it while in theaters and just caught it on dvd, again I enjoyed it yet I still don't think I realized how big this series really was. By this point the first 4 books had been released and after some coaxing from others who had read the books and raved about them I figured I'd see what all the buzz was really about. The first two books were, without question, better than the films but I still viewed them as stand alone kids tales and assumed the rest would be the same. As I read the third book I started to notice and enjoy how not only were the characters in the story maturing but also so was J.K Rowling's writing. I noticed little things that she did like how the character of Sirius Black was actually mentioned in the first chapter of the first book. For the first time I realized that instead of stand alone chapters, she was actually crafting one giant story and I was now very curious to see where it was all headed. I burned through the third book and headed into to fourth which was no small feat at 734pgs (almost twice the size of the third book). Again I was met with a story that not only added page numbers but also a real maturity and depth to the tale. As I reached the epic conclusion of "Goblet of Fire" I also reached my realization of how good this series was. I actually remember the moment, it was when Cedric was killed (If this is a spoiler for you still, than you should have in no way been reading this blog entry) and Voldemort actually returns in all his evil glory. I put the book down and mouthed something to the equivalent of "whoa...$*** just got real". Right there I knew there was no turning back, I was completely and utterly hooked. Gone were the thoughts that I was following along with this children's series and in its place was the understanding that I was now reading a future classic while it was happening.<br />
<br />
Going forward I was a junkie for all things HP. I was there at midnight when the new books and movies were released and without exaggeration I consumed each new book within about 24hrs of their release (including the massive 870pg Order of the Phoenix). These weren't just normal books anymore, they were an epic tale of good vs evil in the same manner as Lord of The Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia. These were something that would be passed on from generation to generation and I could not be happier to have been able to experience it as it occurred. As the books came to an Epic finale I was sad that they were done but I always told myself "At least we still have the movies to look forward too".... with that said, I and many others like me find themselves 24hrs away from the actual end of it all, and though sad to see it all end I can look back with fond memories on the numerous nights at the movies and discussions with friends and family.<br />
<br />
In a time where entertainment (and in many ways the world as a whole) has become mostly recycled old ideas or the most horrid forms of dumbed down "reality" programming, The Harry Potter series has always shined in its ability to be a story that teaches just why ideas like morality, honesty, friendship and love are still very relevant and important things. It shows how that despite the horrors evil can bring about, it is simply never a match for the resolve of people who chose to do whats right even if sacrifice is needed for it to happen. These are values that I hold dear and to see them be included in a hugely successful book and movie franchise is something that should be applauded.<br />
<br />
To close, I'll say that as far as the movies go, I could nitpick about little nerdy things but overall it is very impressive to see a major film franchise stay well made and keep the same cast for over 8 movies in 10 years. It is likely a feet we will never seen done again. So to all those involved with the books and movie I simply say thanks for the memories and I look forward to one last time tomorrow night......<br />
<br />
Ill see ya when I see ya folksTheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-63188299462930887402011-07-13T17:29:00.000-07:002011-07-13T17:29:01.228-07:00How goes it my old friends?Hey there intertubes...ohh how I have been neglecting you!....Well, not really the web itself but all of you wonderfully fantastic readers are who I've actually been neglecting .....You have my sincerest apologies.... I think my last rant about the Green Lantern movie took the juice out of me but here I am attempting to make amends for my wrongs....So lets see, whats new you may ask?....Same old same old for the most part, though I have ventured into some more of the literary arts (or maybe it would be considered my defiling of the literary arts...I'll leave that for you to decide)... I recently started the undertaking of writing up some weekly comic book reviews for <a href="http://www.aintitcool.com/">www.aintitcool.com</a> , one of the best places you can find news about TV,Movies,Books and pretty much all things geek within this horrible filthy place we call the Internet.....so stop by and check out the comic reviews every Wednesday... theres always a ton of great stuff to read.....okay enough shameless self promotion..."But what about us", you say? Don't worry my rambling here will remain my first love...<br />
<br />
I have another topic specific blog or 5 coming up but I wanted to just throw out some bullet points for some stuff I may have missed while I was off wandering the abyss (a.k.a asleep on my couch).... so here we go in completely schizophrenic order....<br />
<br />
- Saw Transformers 3....not much to say because by now I assume almost all of you have seen it as it made 80 bajillion dollars (actual amount) over the past 2 weeks.... It's a fun, leave your brain at the door movie....Summer needs those type of movies....would I have liked it to be better? Of course I would (I personally would have wanted a shot for shot remake of the old animated movie but clearly that isnt going to happen) but by now I know my expectations for a Michael Bay movie and honestly it was better than I thought it would be.... also it was the first movie since Avatar that didnt make me regret paying to see it in Imax 3D...soo good for them...they have my approval<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKK7Bd7FvTcfC3NQ6CtpJfjBBqZlF0fCQsRc_uOaBVbruXpYGVLKMHRfIP9tEWjz6oc0hv1KaweVZ0KUBtwQYAzDtu1x9UsxiNv-miZYjtZvBYhFei3YgadbUACt6cMW-TVGhGq67jKMs/s1600/fat+transformer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKK7Bd7FvTcfC3NQ6CtpJfjBBqZlF0fCQsRc_uOaBVbruXpYGVLKMHRfIP9tEWjz6oc0hv1KaweVZ0KUBtwQYAzDtu1x9UsxiNv-miZYjtZvBYhFei3YgadbUACt6cMW-TVGhGq67jKMs/s320/fat+transformer.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
- Went to the beach one day...hid from the sun....did'nt burst into flames...strange little kid asked me to build a sand castle with him....I chose to walk away because I'm fully aware that the sight of me building a sandcastle with a small child who has no relation to me is a McGruff the crimedog commercial on keeping away from starangers waiting to happen....also got jelly fish goo in my beard that day....all in all a pretty good day if you ask me<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkkRfZPobZg0JOj2I-MC_zjfms-xRbnoVD_zKqEKJJBaqqtFEmPMJBJZ2q_jB95hHHk-iK1hn16iQSmRO9ChoV9lnZYkAHvVJT-g5WhwQJ345C8yGqsVdFjjOnrkeVFrsbhTCoEoo6xE/s1600/mcgruff+strangers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkkRfZPobZg0JOj2I-MC_zjfms-xRbnoVD_zKqEKJJBaqqtFEmPMJBJZ2q_jB95hHHk-iK1hn16iQSmRO9ChoV9lnZYkAHvVJT-g5WhwQJ345C8yGqsVdFjjOnrkeVFrsbhTCoEoo6xE/s320/mcgruff+strangers.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><br />
- For anyone who watches wrestling...what C.M. Punk is doing on the microphone each week is honestly a gift to fans so enjoy it before one of the writers in the back thouroughly screws up the storyline<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6iiaFy8WGEtFj3zf7z_-lOAB_iao03XjJBZJN6wAONHSR9Xe-EUg3cshV3k_SzJwLkNtRiaypSTblXiNq6vF7vnv8D6u4NbSExCYeWbXN_2B3FPkbb6Rix5GP4kkGHZIBdif0rao6rT4/s1600/cm+punk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6iiaFy8WGEtFj3zf7z_-lOAB_iao03XjJBZJN6wAONHSR9Xe-EUg3cshV3k_SzJwLkNtRiaypSTblXiNq6vF7vnv8D6u4NbSExCYeWbXN_2B3FPkbb6Rix5GP4kkGHZIBdif0rao6rT4/s1600/cm+punk.jpg" /></a></div><br />
- I got to finally go eat at Bobby's Burger Palace.....my Lord is that place good<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHVwBfHxdsSZskjEAglk1XoKY_IUGFDx9YgbAS_Nc7BidsnsN_yRaTR211QxbnvUANq9coP5CQJ9vrY-ibH-otwkMNJiyZisgZ8rRVWhyphenhyphenxjVJKvEKbYm4F2aETuxOWy8N4Hj_uZx5Ld8A/s1600/bobbys+burger+palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHVwBfHxdsSZskjEAglk1XoKY_IUGFDx9YgbAS_Nc7BidsnsN_yRaTR211QxbnvUANq9coP5CQJ9vrY-ibH-otwkMNJiyZisgZ8rRVWhyphenhyphenxjVJKvEKbYm4F2aETuxOWy8N4Hj_uZx5Ld8A/s320/bobbys+burger+palace.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
- Just saw that Rango comes out on dvd/blu ray on 7/15....seriously an awesome animated film that didnt get nearly as much love as it should have....definitely give it a try<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOf1HdwtZsKgLWfrP1sUrA5o7PPgYA4sQ0EAzuVFrr5oqyahTV9N4eZX1dM4TBM6_7245J3d6F7m_3EJyMuvAvdBXHo1lPOrTkMVsV-IZoBjT99n9fd8BlgIXCbjamas6LoIHSdn6rt_o/s1600/Rango.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOf1HdwtZsKgLWfrP1sUrA5o7PPgYA4sQ0EAzuVFrr5oqyahTV9N4eZX1dM4TBM6_7245J3d6F7m_3EJyMuvAvdBXHo1lPOrTkMVsV-IZoBjT99n9fd8BlgIXCbjamas6LoIHSdn6rt_o/s320/Rango.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
- dont take 2 Advil PM's and then remember you need to write your next blogzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz<br />
<br />
....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzhuh what?.....okay I'm back<br />
<br />
With all that said I'm glad to be back here spewing my own brand of word vomit and I'm even gladder (thats clearly not a word) that your here with me.......<br />
<br />
P.S. I decided to up my ante with the blog and combine my twitter feed with this same wonderful name so feel free to ramble right back at me on Twitter @Writing_Rambler<br />
<br />
See ya when I see ya folksTheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790001714218498650.post-35807545677957629012011-06-22T15:35:00.000-07:002011-06-22T15:35:41.217-07:00Why Green Lantern may have been the worst superhero movie ever...in way more than 10 minutesSo I've had several days to wallow in my own misery and I figured its time to share some of that sadness with you fine folks. The misery I speak of, is of course, the train wreck that was the Green lantern movie. I went through several thought processes on just if and how I should voice my opinion of this film. The first was the "sweep it under the rug" approach where I'd just pretend it never happened and hope you guys didn't notice. That wouldn't be fair though, as I wasted your time in past blogs (for those of you who put up with my nonsense) explaining why Green Lantern matters and why you should go see it. The second approach was the "fly to California and burn down Warner Bros studios" approach, which personally I feel is much more effective and to the point, but then I remembered that Conan works on the WB lot and that wouldn't be fair to him....plus I didn't really have "fly to California to commit arson money" just lying around. So after much deliberation in my brain I figured it would be best to just air my grievances here and let people know what I thought. I'm gonna be all over the place with this review/complaint/breakdown of the movie (but the movie was all over the place too so I feel this is only fair).... Also, I will be ranting about and including numerous SPOILERS of the movie so should you still want to experience this horrid wreck of a film yourself, be forewarned......so without further adieu ( shout out to my native Spanish speakers) here we go:<br />
<br />
- Okay first I'm going to say something nice. I didn't have a problem with the casting in this film. Many people complained but I felt Ryan Reynolds was just fine as Hal Jordan. Throughout all of the problems I had with the film I honestly felt he cared about the part he was playing and only worked with what he was given. You can really ask no more of him here. This goes for the supporting cast as well. Everyone played their parts well enough (especially Mark Strong who brought Sinestro to the big screen perfectly) and they shouldn't be blamed for this future Razzie winner.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyb1t2X1yGJXvo63lbKJVUuEKrKhWE6vvQ3R52c_D7XeHd0XmxfYGaP4dAIq1lx1VlwZ33qlILQP0HlREWlAOhgnPmmmQxFYzTEey1Nsyo0weVY_VLmh3gVgpx7smf4dmkILz3i8WuwnY/s1600/razzie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyb1t2X1yGJXvo63lbKJVUuEKrKhWE6vvQ3R52c_D7XeHd0XmxfYGaP4dAIq1lx1VlwZ33qlILQP0HlREWlAOhgnPmmmQxFYzTEey1Nsyo0weVY_VLmh3gVgpx7smf4dmkILz3i8WuwnY/s1600/razzie.jpg" /></a></div><br />
- Second, this movie is one of the most clear examples of corporate tinkering I have ever seen. It seriously reeks of a room full of executives who would say things like "cant we make him save the girl, Superman would save the girl" (theres actually a line in the movie where a character says to Ryan Reynolds, "but the superhero's always get the girl" which prompts pretty much a carbon copy scene from older Superman movies on a balcony) or "lets not show too much outer space stuff because marketing research shows that the 18-35 yr old demographic prefers action over sci fi". It was just clearly a movie that started off as a great idea and then was taken over by people who had no clue/care what they were doing.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRByZiciZn_b4sLVxjOvXCkf4ypT02kSPQhGGnP8wIin2JYVYktlYKXvVpzXu5dQMjfKA2GSEr_bCH6JoytTag5PA_y4GXgX070U-jAsieOFawlJ9t9KfBPgJx_72EbnbXW3kfaRmBEB4/s1600/Corporate_Boardroom_Photography.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRByZiciZn_b4sLVxjOvXCkf4ypT02kSPQhGGnP8wIin2JYVYktlYKXvVpzXu5dQMjfKA2GSEr_bCH6JoytTag5PA_y4GXgX070U-jAsieOFawlJ9t9KfBPgJx_72EbnbXW3kfaRmBEB4/s320/Corporate_Boardroom_Photography.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
-Third, I've read that the script had at least 4 screenwriters....and boy did it show. At times it was like watching 2 or more different movies.I mean honestly if the movie was about a bipolar superhero than it should probably win an Oscar, but being that I personally have a good knowledge of the Green Lantern Mythos I'd say they missed the mark.The movie couldn't decide if it was a love story, space epic or some weird version of a superhero movie mixed with "The Fly".<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8Zb1t1GoLxqMii6Uz7oxEYzkL7SU-2bKMJO6qRE4gffXoWTJyn27_rqSQJJcvW9g2Bk18mV3GsSZym2VXy4H5KQp4GQAFN11_xv9nrYBskFMFQr4mvwvSZARwUWlr_y2sKA-JbZkZ_k/s1600/hector+hammond+movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8Zb1t1GoLxqMii6Uz7oxEYzkL7SU-2bKMJO6qRE4gffXoWTJyn27_rqSQJJcvW9g2Bk18mV3GsSZym2VXy4H5KQp4GQAFN11_xv9nrYBskFMFQr4mvwvSZARwUWlr_y2sKA-JbZkZ_k/s320/hector+hammond+movie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
- Fourth, I love Angela basset and when I read that she would be playing the role of Amanda Waller I had a little nerd party in my heart. Amanda Waller, for those not in the know (or just those of you with real lives who don't bother with these things), is basically a government agent that is a major player in the DC Universe. Most people (myself included) assumed her inclusion in this movie was the start of something bigger in scale (think Samuel L Jackson's appearances as Nick Fury in the Iron Man/Thor movies) that would eventually lead to a huge Justice League/DC Universe "Event" movie. Boy, was this assumption wrong as her character is actually limited to a few lines and shes pretty much made to be a side character (who gets thrown into glass and beaten senseless seemingly left for dead) and nothing more. Her character and the idea of a larger DC film universe may have been the biggest wasted opportunity in a film full of them. DC has the advantage of having all of their properties owned by Warner Bros. so the idea of a full movie with characters like Superman, Batman, Green Lantern,etc is a real possibility as opposed to Marvel who has licensed many of their major properties (Spiderman/X-Men/Fantastic Four/Ghost Rider/Daredevil) away. Yet here we are one year away from Marvel's huge Avenger film that they have perfectly built up (even with a limited roster) over the past few years and WB still pretty much only has "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Man of Steel" Superman reboot on its horizons (side note: including those 2 films there have been a total of 6 Superman and 7 Batman live action movies over the past 30+ years). Sadly, with the failure that Green Lantern is turning out to be both creatively and financially it doesn't look like the DC movie Universe will be expanding anytime soon.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYl-CGfwRi3bilX19f1Jow_oShizjGxbMRYJmYL44k9tz5r5O-N6Brqo_8dno4s9rxW_-ehNfBcCuAZFa2QUTTKl16y76kv4NqTkJ5ZmA39yvOgSHZrUDKJJVpJANiIiL9qX35uSFLow/s1600/justice+leauge+toys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYl-CGfwRi3bilX19f1Jow_oShizjGxbMRYJmYL44k9tz5r5O-N6Brqo_8dno4s9rxW_-ehNfBcCuAZFa2QUTTKl16y76kv4NqTkJ5ZmA39yvOgSHZrUDKJJVpJANiIiL9qX35uSFLow/s320/justice+leauge+toys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
-Fifth, I am a firm believer that in storytelling a hero is only as strong as their villain and this movie is severely lacking in the villain department. Often the best developed and most complex character, the villain is usually one of the best written/strongest characters in a story (i.e the Joker in "The Dark Knight", Agent Smith in "The Matrix", Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series and the crossing guards in my neighborhood to name a few). Instead what we get here are basically 2 villains, neither of which really deserve the title. The first, more basic of the 2 is Hector Hammond (played by Peter Sarsgard). While I didn't really hate his character , there really wasn't much too him at all ( besides way too many awkward screams of pain that he let out (see the above pic)...I actually think he screamed more than he had lines). The filmmakers tried ( I think?) to make Hector's story be an evil version of Hal's story (living in his father's shadow, gained power from an alien, both assumingly after the same girl). It was basically the really horrible job they did with Eddie Brock/Venom in Spiderman 3 but with Hector Hammond instead. The second villain and a really horrible choice for an origin movie is Parallax. Now I know things cant always be based exactly as it was in the source material, but this was pretty bad. I'd love to give a quick synopsis of Parallax's character from the source material but honestly its just way too complex. The best I can say is Parallax was never written as a giant talking cloud that eats souls ( that is what it was doing right?). The Parallax that fans know and love to hate is literally the manifestation of fear in a celestial form ( pretty sure I've lost whoever of you were still here with that last sentence). Its a character that cant really be beaten and throughout time in the books has come to posses members of the green lantern corps and caused them to do horrible things (including causing Hal Jordan to become a villain himself). Its a villain that could have and probably should have been explored over 2 or 3 films. But its not like that has ever worked before (cough, cough, Sauron) so I guess I understand (cough, cough, Lord of the Rings) why they didn't do that. My Final thought on this subject is the way the villains were disposed of. The first was Hector Hammond being eaten (?) by Parallax and having his skeleton fall to the ground so we know he was dead even though any other character that was consumed by Parallax in the movie was dissolved whole and left behind no skeleton. So they basically made him the villain and before his character even really did anything he gets eaten by the bigger villain...got all that?...Good, I didn't either. Next up was Parallax's death (?). So lets backtrack, we've got Parallax...total embodiment of fear...has corrupted a guardian of the universe (this is slightly explained in the movie)... was able to dispose of several of the best green lanterns in the corp without blinking earlier in the film.... has the entire green lantern corp ( a army of 3600 of the universes greatest warriors) in an uproar because they have no clue how to defeat him.... and how is he defeated?.... ohh that's right, the main character of Hal Jordan (who by the end of the film has never really gone through formal training because he quit and has never fully learned how to use his powers) starts to believe in himself and by the power of self assurance punches it in the face causing it to fall into the sun and die....................................................................!@$%&()(*^$#$%&? you say?............yeah that was my reaction too.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73eupYMe9_O884ld8W6UwUveMYTfeNNgsiwbuPvAuNS8Mw_h8vdJK3oUJ8GMBJUOfD-lMFCRQxUX96QTxg4Pf07hZafKq2CJRmZnZ4l-FNe7F4tRCowKLHwPDJ8jvUEn_Q5sJK9tvsLA/s1600/parralax.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73eupYMe9_O884ld8W6UwUveMYTfeNNgsiwbuPvAuNS8Mw_h8vdJK3oUJ8GMBJUOfD-lMFCRQxUX96QTxg4Pf07hZafKq2CJRmZnZ4l-FNe7F4tRCowKLHwPDJ8jvUEn_Q5sJK9tvsLA/s320/parralax.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
- fifth part 2, (for fellow GL nerds only).... why not just use the character of Atrocitus as the main villain? It would have worked perfectly as a stepping stone to larger things and could have better explained Abin Sur's (the alien who died and gave Hal his ring) death. It also would have set up the introduction of the Red Lantern Corps for any possible future installments properly. Wishful thinking on my part perhaps.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoMpcrDrlYoGI6FgHMWh9khhKPFU1HPDRfTOrIRNuR553I8D3_3JrEr8bDTrGOYy9xcHjhscQpBzJgUCvIk52zyFbjM6z6q40TRW4RDHfCDwemIYldhAAXbCqnyC8r5pvHA2CZSdckgI/s1600/Atrocitus.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoMpcrDrlYoGI6FgHMWh9khhKPFU1HPDRfTOrIRNuR553I8D3_3JrEr8bDTrGOYy9xcHjhscQpBzJgUCvIk52zyFbjM6z6q40TRW4RDHfCDwemIYldhAAXbCqnyC8r5pvHA2CZSdckgI/s320/Atrocitus.png" width="215" /></a></div><br />
-6th, this movie more than any other I can remember in recent memory used its trailers to lie to the audience blatantly. There was one trailer in November of 2010 that was released that somewhat focused on Ryan Reynolds ability to be a smarta$$ more than anything else. The trailer was met with anger from the nerd community and general indifference from normal moviegoers. This "outcry" prompted the WB marketing team to say that they had not finished many special effects shots and that's why so much of the trailer focused on Hal Jordan doing things on earth. They went ahead further and silenced most naysayers in late March/early April (In retrospect maybe this whole movie was one giant ongoing April fools joke...and if that is the case then I think it was a masterpiece) when they released a 4 minute trailer (compiled from a 10 minute Wondercon trailer presentation) focusing on the Green Lantern Corps as a whole. This trailer was EPIC in nature. It presented the idea that this was going to be a large scale "Star Wars" like movie that would be based around a huge outer space battle between the Green Lantern Corps and Parallax. They even took the time to have quick shots of numerous corp members (some of which only the most studied Fanboy would know). Fans of the comic were back on board. I was back on board. From that point on, every trailer focused on this idea of a movie about aliens and outer space and how a human was joining these aliens to battle evil. There was only one problem upon seeing this movie. The 10- 15 minutes shown in the previews with the aliens and outer space are the only moments in the film! A good 90% of the movie takes place on earth and is mostly scenes of Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively talking. I consider myself a pretty street smart person who doesn't get fooled that often but I must admit you win this round WB marketing team. You did a good job (that includes putting a legal embargo on reviews for this movie until the day before it was released to keep people from hearing how bad it was) pretending what this movie would be and I applaud you for that at least.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkgyLjauhNsQPh6HqtNfyLTslUJLpI-J4dNnevaYx1oRmdVLxjFdbrdFbi95fXZ8yO4FIKClKXlPrdd9HfwY0KkpfrM82JJfyoPsb1vAQiMEQYPMx1yi2UycVmuaCFzfMlJ3SY8Rfwn0/s1600/green+lantern+corps+movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkgyLjauhNsQPh6HqtNfyLTslUJLpI-J4dNnevaYx1oRmdVLxjFdbrdFbi95fXZ8yO4FIKClKXlPrdd9HfwY0KkpfrM82JJfyoPsb1vAQiMEQYPMx1yi2UycVmuaCFzfMlJ3SY8Rfwn0/s320/green+lantern+corps+movie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
- Seventh How the !@#$% did this movie cost upwards of $300 million (150 for the film and about 150 on marketing) to make?!...... Now I'll be the first to admit, the scenes that took place in space were good but there was not enough of them to justify a budget that huge.... It just seemed like no one creating this film knew what they were doing and they burned through money trying to fix it (apparently with 2 months left to release WB sunk another 9 million on visual effects into this movie...I cant even imagine what it may have been like minus that 9 million)......On a side note, 2 weeks ago I had the pleasure of seeing Super 8, which while not as cgi heavy as Green Lantern, only cost $50 million to make....a perfect example of high cost does not equal high quality<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX54MBz9zOGJQVujZ2hAtjcX1l9tPf1LaglH8etxA2t4WET7W1Yu5FtpQUnVNy7jrh2KufGIo_aOGBtuX6Sy5DCkmF-BCbupseFM8P95HHVFEIvhWYhy0zsterLgeM-Lu1yLizXDWuO4s/s1600/super+8+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX54MBz9zOGJQVujZ2hAtjcX1l9tPf1LaglH8etxA2t4WET7W1Yu5FtpQUnVNy7jrh2KufGIo_aOGBtuX6Sy5DCkmF-BCbupseFM8P95HHVFEIvhWYhy0zsterLgeM-Lu1yLizXDWuO4s/s320/super+8+poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />
- 8th, so this may have been my biggest pet peeve of the movie and I only noticed it because I am a huge nerd when it comes to noticing small insignificant things. Basically with a few minutes left to the movie (roughly the 98 minute mark....yup that observant) Sinestro addresses the corps one final time then raises his arms and the corps members shoot their lights into the sky as the camera pulls away and you see the light coming from the planet OA. Its a great scene but there was only one problem, it already happened in the movie! At the (roughly) 45 minute mark this scene happens for the first time....they literally replayed that clip to save $!!!!!!!!............now I know what your thinking.....that I'm really obsessively picking on this scene and they were just trying to be "cost effective"....but I haven't gotten to the best part yet....some of the Green Lanterns that are included in this copy and paste scene have already been killed (or told to us as killed by Sinestro) by Parallax halfway through the movie.....................I....I'm just done here<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjASF5-Ebz46pZaXOcG93mV2RtSPu_647y1L1jz90EFQ1JcGnISSniqJhNeqQ_bGn0dCGIuTmdaVUocmX8kz3z5-zpd5vXi5_rsO71p-dQ3f6w6Yg4apycyfMnh1HYzjvYajqNT7JxpNSE/s1600/sinestro+movie+scene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjASF5-Ebz46pZaXOcG93mV2RtSPu_647y1L1jz90EFQ1JcGnISSniqJhNeqQ_bGn0dCGIuTmdaVUocmX8kz3z5-zpd5vXi5_rsO71p-dQ3f6w6Yg4apycyfMnh1HYzjvYajqNT7JxpNSE/s320/sinestro+movie+scene.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
- Finally, I cannot finish this therapy session for myself without mentioning the scene that happens post/mid credits..........its a scene most Green Lantern fans have seemingly been waiting a lifetime to see,....Sinestro turning evil and putting on the yellow ring and becoming a yellow lantern, setting up a sequel where he will be the main villain................................ Just a little back story, I love Sinestro...He's arguably my favorite character/villain in the entire DC Universe.... He's cunning, powerful, and believes so much in his cause that you almost want to see him as right despite his evil ways....So to see him in all his yellow glory should have been a dream come true...Unfortunately, it was a nightmare. They took one of the most significant moments in the Green Lantern storyline and reduced it to a cheap post credits scene (The complete opposite of what Marvel has been doing by setting up future sequels perfectly). This scene and Sinestro's entire fall to "the dark side" should have been something an entire movie was based on but instead it was wasted on something half the audience didn't see because they had already had left the theater when it ended. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVBpEBr62iRmsDNJ0c_cTh2t8V_JCDmoF8kzxWnpg34xUxGGY4H-qUe_frEV82_k3I_NswzxI3GLfxQkXhzQX8Fpx97a60qZZI8bysjZLi-8K_hWJx_fBWSB55zc4Ju9OOnWCgrdB3Leo/s1600/Sinestro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVBpEBr62iRmsDNJ0c_cTh2t8V_JCDmoF8kzxWnpg34xUxGGY4H-qUe_frEV82_k3I_NswzxI3GLfxQkXhzQX8Fpx97a60qZZI8bysjZLi-8K_hWJx_fBWSB55zc4Ju9OOnWCgrdB3Leo/s320/Sinestro.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I've read other fans say that the movie was great and not that bad. I've read some people say that even if its bad that no real fan would tell people to not see this movie. Both of those arguments are completely delusional to me. The fact is, we were given a terrible movie based on a very good story. There were hints at what could have been a phenomenal film and a launching point for DC's larger future in the movie industry but overall there was just too much bad parts to pretend its worth seeing. The best advice I can give is one that the movie gave itself. If you stay all the way till the end of the credits there was a screen that came up advertising the Green Lantern trade paperbacks (volumed versions of the comics) and encouraging the audience to read the comics. I like to think that someone involved with the film who knew how bad it was but loves the stories threw that in as a way of saying "I know this sucked but I swear Green Lantern itself is really good". So if you (assuming anyone made it this far into my nonsense) can take one thing from this whole experience its something I learned a very long time ago......The book is ALWAYS better than the movie..... Ill see ya when I see ya folksTheWritingRamblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099343974460419649noreply@blogger.com5