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Post by shawnhopkins on Oct 6, 2017 6:43:38 GMT -5
A few hundred books if you count spinoffs. I also bought an official complete DVD set of Uncanny that was released in the 2000s, so I have even more of it digitally.
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Post by shawnhopkins on Oct 6, 2017 6:39:44 GMT -5
That's what I was waiting for, the trade. If it's out I'm going to pick it up.
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Post by shawnhopkins on Oct 4, 2017 20:06:25 GMT -5
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Post by shawnhopkins on Oct 4, 2017 19:49:58 GMT -5
I thought it was fine and slickly done, but it didn't have any of those surprises, weird quirks and odd angles that make something like Legion so interesting. This is about as straightfoward and predictable as this story could be.
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Post by shawnhopkins on Oct 2, 2017 15:44:09 GMT -5
It's kind of funny to think about Maximus's actions as being mainly motivated by a need to get rid of expensive special effects. By the end of the pilot we've abandoned a bunch of freaks and their huge dog living on the moon for some mostly normal-looking people with no dog hanging in Hawaii. They've even started ditching their costumes.
I think one thing that might put people off from the show is that the Inhumans are nowhere near likable. They are arrogant, imperious and cruel. Karnak seems to revel in toying with the help, Gorgon arrogantly and stupidly exposes the Inhumans' existence, Crystal is vapid, Black Bolt's conflicts on Earth all come about because he has no concept that he can't just take what he wants and hurt anyone that gets in his way, for some examples. And Black Bolt seems to be doing a crappy job of running things as his solution to the resource crunch of living on the moon is forcing people to work themselves to death in the mines if they have inferior genetics. It's kind of hard not to see it Maximus's way, although he is obviously creepy, petty and also a bit stalkery with the women on the show.
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Post by shawnhopkins on Oct 2, 2017 4:32:23 GMT -5
The third episode was much better than the first two. We get an idea of the premise now and it's new territory for Star Trek. We're also looking at some varied, less cookie-cutter characters than we saw in the pilot. Michael's bunkmate was a highlight of this approach.
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Post by shawnhopkins on Oct 1, 2017 7:13:07 GMT -5
I watched it. It wasn't really good. It wasn't really bad. It was meh-diocre.
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Post by shawnhopkins on Sept 28, 2017 8:29:12 GMT -5
I hate sudden and unexplained changes in the way established characters think and act, changes that are imposed just to serve a plot. During the unfortunate AvX event, a few years back, the story naturally demanded that some reason be found for the X-Men and the Avengers come in conflict. Captain America, the paragon of fair-minded, freedom-loving and virtuous heroes, was on the occasion turned into a pig-headed fascist whose credo seemed to include rules like "Security trumps individual freedom", "innocent people can be pre-emptively detained", "might makes right" and "do what I say or else". He was really the bizarro Cap. I'm all for characters changing over time, in an organic and logical fashion. But simply ignoring who a character is just so they can serve a specific story? Blech!!! There was a big one for me when a writer, seemingly at random, decided Luke Cage should be a pro-registration, pro-government voice for Wolverine to lecture about bigotry and racism in a Civil War crossover issue. Look into the character a little bit, at least, and maybe collaborate with all the other writers who are going to have him decidedly anti. Also maybe look into normal human neck sizes, but that's on the artist.
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Post by shawnhopkins on Sept 27, 2017 13:33:52 GMT -5
New, extremely violent and short, teaser trailer.
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Post by shawnhopkins on Sept 24, 2017 21:27:08 GMT -5
Most take like 10 minutes so I usually just power through.
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Post by shawnhopkins on Sept 23, 2017 4:33:02 GMT -5
It's near the bottom of Morrison's output in terms of quality. Basically reads like a Garth Ennis or Warren Ellis book with just a minor touch of whimsy. But the premise is weird and strong, so a good adaptation could make for a show that rises above its source material. I'll check it out.
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Post by shawnhopkins on Sept 23, 2017 4:26:19 GMT -5
From stories by pros, Kanigher and Weisinger top the list. I've heard several about Julie Schwartz, too, especially from Gil Kane. Shooter had a pretty nasty rep in his latter tenure, at Marvel. Byrne has built quite a rep for ego, in recent years and Frank Miller hasn't exactly done himself many favors in the last several years. Alex Toth could be quite prickly; but, I got the impression that there were mental issues at play there, either grief, depression, or some combination. The documentary about him, on the Birdman and Space Ghost dvds, suggested that he became really hard to deal with for a lot of people who had been friends. Kane is one that pops up a lot. Howard Chaykin doesn't suffer fools. However, I think he's mellowed a bit (and he has been open about substance issues, that probably added to his rep, a bit). Dave Sim has drawn his share of ire. Now, personally, I have never had a bad interaction with a pro, though I haven't been at any of the really big cons. Heroes Con, in Charlotte, is the biggest and it is a very family-oriented environment and everyone there seemed to be having a good time, fan and pro. I've heard some say they prefer doing it to others, for those reasons. I've had some really nice conversations with people, even just brief ones. The closest I ever came to saying someone was a jerk was in overhearing Mark Gruenwald critique someone's art. It sounded a bit harsh; but, I only caught part of their talk, so it was greatly out of context. In thinking back, and based on what I have seen written about him, it sounded more like he was being brutally honest with someone. It's quite possible he offered him pointers after I moved on. Now, if you want truly despicable, look no further than Greg Brooks, who drew the Crimson Avenger mini-series, at DC, in 1988. He murdered his wife, with a hammer and dumped the body at a construction site. They had marital issues; but, bludgeoning someone with a hammer is a pretty extreme response to anything, apart from slef-defense in a violent confrontation. She had done coloring work for DC and wasn't exactly a saint herself; but, that doesn't condone murder. There was a company in the 90s (Majestic Entertainment) that published a book called Legacy. They also printed NFL trading cards, under license. They were pirating there own trading cards and selling them under the table, which ended up getting their NFL license revoked. According to a Comics Journal article, there were some evangelical religious types involved with the company and there were all kinds of violations of employee rights, as well as many fiscal shenanigans. They owed a lot of people a lot of money, when they went belly up. Now Comics, and Tony Caputo were singled out in another CJ piece, over money owed to creators and missing artwork. In the book, The Comic Book Rebels, Colleen Doran told some stories, without naming names, about some editorial people who tried to exploit her, including one who booked her into his hotel room, at a convention. She also had advances from some people in those positions, as a minor. I've heard stories about someone in an executive position trolling conventions for underage girls, from one of the 80s independent companies; but, don't remember which one. Doran specifically told The Comics Journal that Julie Schwartz tried to fondle her in a limo when she was a teen trying to break into comics. She complained to D.C. but they did nothing. Other women have similar stories.
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Post by shawnhopkins on Sept 21, 2017 23:18:38 GMT -5
Peter Milligan not making the list invalidates it. His work is better than most on there.
Also, I know it's mainstream but Bagge? Ware? Satrapi? David B? Clowes? Cruse? The Hernandez brothers? Bechdel at least?
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Post by shawnhopkins on Sept 21, 2017 21:10:35 GMT -5
I know it hurts because we've bought into the mythology he created for himself, but there are a lot of older creators out there with extremely dim views of Stanley Martin Lieber.
Jim Shooter was also no peach.
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Post by shawnhopkins on Sept 21, 2017 10:13:48 GMT -5
The origin issues are great, and it's really good for a long part of the run. But there's a drastic change around Ultimatum and you might not like it so much after that if you're really attached to the traditional FF dynamic. Lots of squandered opportunities that seem to have been the result of editorial fiats, like getting rid of its more unique Doctor Doom for a 616 carbon copy.
You should also try Ultimate X-Men, just be aware it is all over the place in terms of quality past a certain point. Just read it for as long as you can tolerate it, I guess.
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