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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 9, 2022 17:17:30 GMT -5
Welcome Back To Another Installment Of... OFF THE RACKS!Real Readers, Real Reviews.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 9, 2022 14:58:37 GMT -5
Prince Hal thwhtguardian Saw a report today that Jackie Bradley Jr is signing with the Toronto Blue Jays. Maybe in a late season game against the Sox he can rob a HR or throw someone out at the plate against the Sox and steal a win that might have put them in the playoffs...be even better if it was Duran he was throwing out. -M Just saw that myself, I hope it works out for him and they go deep in the playoffs. The odds don't exactly favor them, but I wouldn't mind partying like it's 1993.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 6, 2022 8:17:53 GMT -5
Aw, typical. The Balkans are in Mordor.. I noticed that too - my first thought was, almost where Dracula is from, but I suppose Transylvania would be a little to the north? My geography could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Romania is just south of where it says Ash Mountains, so yeah Dracula was an ally of Sauron. What I have always enjoyed is that when you overlay Middle over Europe the Sea of Nurnen is almost right on top of, and nearly the same size and shape of the Sea of Marmara which always made me see Middle Earth as just Europe in the far distant past as a kid.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 5, 2022 5:18:13 GMT -5
I'm not sure what to think of Peach Momoko's Demon Wars book. The art is as beautiful as always...but the plot is nearly incomprehensible. The Ironman Demon was easy enough to pick up on...but was the eagle demon meant to be a Captain America stand-in? It seems like a play on Civil War so that kind of opposition would fit but it wasn't clear. That's sad to hear, though not surprising.. her books are indeed amazing art wise, but the further away from Japanese folklore and the more Marvel bits that have been added the more hard to follow the plot becomes. What with the oni and their world there is plenty of Japanese folklore around...but the whole bit about the girl from the "real" world being part oni that started back in demon days is still not that great, and then the attempt to throw in civil war compounded that making for an odd mash up that just wasn't clear enough to read well in my mind.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 5, 2022 5:15:30 GMT -5
The New Champion of Shazam #1Written by Josie Campbell Art by Doc Shaner Summary: While Mary Marvel has moved to New York City to reinvent herself in her Freshman year of college...the power of Shazam follows along. Plot: I'll get this out of the way right at the start...Hoppy the Marvel Bunny makes his return here! Sure, the story of Mary wanting to reinvent herself and develop her own identity away from her family is definitely compelling and very relatable...but Hoppy! Come on, bringing back that amazing little bunny is the real selling point. I don't know why Billy is gone or why the family got de-powered but it doesn't really matter, it's a solid character study with a great action scene and Campbell isn't afraid to embrace the fun that is inherent in the Marvel family. Art: On top of a really fun introductory issue you have some truly delicious art by Shaner. His art is just so crisp, bright and energetic and in my eye he's the guy that should be the artistic "voice" of the DCU, his eye for details and the way he modernize classic, nostalgic designs is just pitch perfect. Grade:10/10
Best book this week. Loved it. Definitely my favorite as well, I hope the folks at DC get the message that fun books like this and Worlds Finest are what fans want and they publish more like them.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 4, 2022 17:37:57 GMT -5
I definitely see the business reasons for dealing him and I wouldn't be upset IF they had dealt him out to another team. I just don't believe there wasn't some deal out there that would have been beneficial to the team in some way. Getting some minor league prospect and agreeing to say pay half JBJ's way would be a better deal than getting nothing for him for instance. Just letting him go just feels like, and looks like they just didn't care enough about him to try and get a deal for him once they saw they didn't have a spot for him on the team and that just feels disrespectful and makes the management look inept. It's enough to make me feel spiteful, I hope that JBJ gets snapped up quick and that the team that does knocks the Sox out of the hunt for the wild card. They may have shopped him around, we don't know. They weren't getting credible offers for Eovaldi or JD, so there may not have been much interest for JBJ out there either and assuming they could get prospects or even cash for him is a big assumption. Not many teams were looking for an all glove no hit 4th outfielder for the pennant chase. And by releasing him now, rather than later, they give him a chance to catch on with a team and be eligible for the post season, wheras if they hung on to him until Kiki actually comes back, he wouldn't be eligible for the post-season with the team he catches on with if its a contender. I get it, I really like JBJ and hate to see him go, but I can't honestly say I think keeping him over some of the other options makes any sense for the team. I think the biggest problem was that Kiki got hurt and JBJ had to be an everyday player rather than an occasional starter and defensive replacement, and that exposed his decline and shortcomings all the more making him an unattractive option for both the Sox and other teams. Had he been able to stay in a reserve role and be less exposed, he might have had more value and drawn more interest this time of year. -M I can't justify keeping him over another player either and definitely agree that he works much better in a platoon role rather than a starter but I just don't believe there wasn't some deal to be made and literally just about any deal would be better than no deal at all. We'll never know for sure that no deal was out there but it just feels that way to me.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 4, 2022 17:18:01 GMT -5
I'm pretty pissed off over this move. For one, cutting JBJ is just disrespectful, to just cut the guy after all he's given the organization is horrible. And two, it's just a poor business move, if they didn't want him they should have traded him before the deadline; he might not be the greatest offensively but you're telling me that no team had any interest what so ever? So now we disrespect the guy and we get nothing. I'm not sure another team was going to give up a player for JBJ with where his contract is at right now (somewhere near $10 million I think). Claim him off waivers and have the Sox pay the bulk of his salary sure, but give up a player, no. And with adding Pham and Kiki ready to come back, and with the emergence of Refsnyder (before injury), there wasn't going to be any playing time for him, and they were not going to carry 6 outfielders, so I understand the move form a business and roster management perspective, even if I don't like it. Duran is a young potential longterm starter so they need to see what they have with him and play him. Verdugo is not going anywhere. As flaky as Pham is, he hadn't hit a home run for all of July, but still has more homers than any current outfielder on the Sox roster, and has speed and defensive capability to boot, and is an upgrade to any outfielder currently on the active roster, Kiki is going to play when he gets back, and for a reserve, Refsnyder is a solid defender and offers more offensively than JBJ, so where's the roster spot or playing time for him the way the roster is currently constituted? They traded for him because of his defense with the hope that coming back to Boston would help his offense bounce back? It hasn't. Even with his superior defense he was still a -2.1 WAR player. And I say all this as a big fan of JBJ. There wasn't a spot for him on the roster any more and he had no options to store in the minors, so who should they have gotten rid of instead of JBJ and would that have made them a better team in either the short or long term? I don't think Refsnyder gets activated again until rosters expand in September either, and he has played much better than JBJ this season. -M I definitely see the business reasons for dealing him and I wouldn't be upset IF they had dealt him out to another team. I just don't believe there wasn't some deal out there that would have been beneficial to the team in some way. Getting some minor league prospect and agreeing to say pay half JBJ's way would be a better deal than getting nothing for him for instance. Just letting him go just feels like, and looks like they just didn't care enough about him to try and get a deal for him once they saw they didn't have a spot for him on the team and that just feels disrespectful and makes the management look inept. It's enough to make me feel spiteful, I hope that JBJ gets snapped up quick and that the team that does knocks the Sox out of the hunt for the wild card.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 4, 2022 15:26:11 GMT -5
I'm seeing reports the Red Sox have DFA'd Jackie Bradley. Jackie has always been one of may favorite Sox players and watching play the field is a joy, but I guess his continued offensive struggles have made him irrelevant for the Sox. I hope he can catch on somewhere else. -M I'm pretty pissed off over this move. For one, cutting JBJ is just disrespectful, to just cut the guy after all he's given the organization is horrible. And two, it's just a poor business move, if they didn't want him they should have traded him before the deadline; he might not be the greatest offensively but you're telling me that no team had any interest what so ever? So now we disrespect the guy and we get nothing. Great move Bloom.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 4, 2022 10:55:56 GMT -5
Yeah, that seems to be the reasoning. The bean counters crunched the numbers and decided they'd "make" more money by writing it off due to tax laws than it would make if released. Whether that's true or not is open to interpretation of course but corporate bean counters in hollywood are pretty good at creative math so I think it's fair to assume they know their numbers pretty well.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 3, 2022 19:55:55 GMT -5
I'm going to hit pause here briefly. Regularly scheduled programming will resume momentarily.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 3, 2022 16:03:42 GMT -5
How are you liking the new run on Batman? While I think Chip's writing is good I'm not sold on yet another Batman needs to be torn down story. Still, I really enjoyed the last page reveal. I haven't read this month's yet. I like Chip's writing as well. I've been tired of Batman beat to s**t lately. Can't we have him somewhat stable. It's only been one (now two) issues, I'll see it if I continue it after the first arc. That's why I love Waid's Worlds Finest; it's the only book with a well adjusted, fun Batman. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a grittier Batman but when that's the only flavor available all the time it gets boring fast.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 3, 2022 15:55:23 GMT -5
I'm not sure what to think of Peach Momoko's Demon Wars book. The art is as beautiful as always...but the plot is nearly incomprehensible. The Ironman Demon was easy enough to pick up on...but was the eagle demon meant to be a Captain America stand-in? It seems like a play on Civil War so that kind of opposition would fit but it wasn't clear.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 3, 2022 15:20:32 GMT -5
The New Champion of Shazam #1Written by Josie Campbell Art by Doc Shaner Summary: While Mary Marvel has moved to New York City to reinvent herself in her Freshman year of college...the power of Shazam follows along. Plot: I'll get this out of the way right at the start...Hoppy the Marvel Bunny makes his return here! Sure, the story of Mary wanting to reinvent herself and develop her own identity away from her family is definitely compelling and very relatable...but Hoppy! Come on, bringing back that amazing little bunny is the real selling point. I don't know why Billy is gone or why the family got de-powered but it doesn't really matter, it's a solid character study with a great action scene and Campbell isn't afraid to embrace the fun that is inherent in the Marvel family. Art: On top of a really fun introductory issue you have some truly delicious art by Shaner. His art is just so crisp, bright and energetic and in my eye he's the guy that should be the artistic "voice" of the DCU, his eye for details and the way he modernize classic, nostalgic designs is just pitch perfect. Grade:10/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 3, 2022 13:46:15 GMT -5
- Batman 126 - That Texas Blood #16 Small week. I'm okay with that How are you liking the new run on Batman? While I think Chip's writing is good I'm not sold on yet another Batman needs to be torn down story. Still, I really enjoyed the last page reveal.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 3, 2022 13:09:56 GMT -5
Sword of Azrael #1Written by Dan Watters Art by Nikola Cizmesija Summary: Seeking a new start Jean Paul Valley has traveled to a monastery in the middle of the Aegean sea but trouble has followed him. Plot: I first started seriously reading just when Jean Paul Valley was introduced and I've been a big fan ever since so I was pretty excited to see him getting a new book even if its just a mini-series. After flying through this issue(it's an action packed romp) I find that what I really loved was the way that Watters quickly gave new readers a brief but comprehensive overview of Jean-Paul’s entire history and in such a way that it was also entertaining for old hands like myself. Some continuity minded readers might trouble themselves over how this fits into current continuity as the references are entirely tied to Knightfall and the events directly after that seminal 90's epic but for me this story stood on its own and I'm not troubled by how it fits into the continuity of the nu52's timeline. Art: While I loved the story I was not as head over heels about the art, while Cizmesija excelled at delivering strong emotions in the nuanced faces the action was done in an overly simplified manga-like style that was bland and two dimensional. That said, the emotions were easy to read and greatly heightened the plot so it's not all bad. Grade:8/10
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