29 April 2010

A Few Thoughts on Comics from This Week

This was a rather sizable week for books so I'll be focusing my attention on a few rather than trying to touch on everything. The 'everything' way is fun though. Well, we'll see.

I believe the book of the week for me was Invincible Iron Man #25. One of a number of books to feature at least a scene set after the events of 'Siege' (which is awkward as that series is not yet complete), this issue seeks to set up Tony Stark's post-Siege status. He admits to some stupid mistakes (just because he's one of the world's smartest men doesn't mean he's perfect), works to restore his company, and starts restoring some of his good-will amongst his older friends that haven't trusted him in awhile. The book also features a new suit of Iron Man armor as well as a tie-in of sorts to the upcoming 'Iron Man 2' movie. I found it to be an excellent starting point for the upcoming future, one part remembrance, one part starting anew, without flushing away the stories we'd been reading of late. Very excellent.

Transformers #6 features a Combiner that can't quite get it's head together and Optimus Prime stomping some tail. The overall situation of the Autobots changes but things still aren't rosy and happy. This is good stuff. Every issue makes that live-action Transformers movie more of a distant memory.

Secret Warriors #15 pushes things forward on a number of different fronts. One of the early complains of the book was that the shock ending of issue #1 changing everything we knew about certain spy agencies that had existed in the MU for years. As the book has gone on, the details (the 'true' details if you will) have been fed out so that the 'shock ending' seems more and more fleshed out and reasonable. The change may still be annoying (like the erasing of Peter and Mary Jane's wedding in Spider-Man) to some but the stories we've gotten from the change have been solid and entertaining. I'll admit I'm surprised that i'm still enjoying this and that the book has managed to survive this long.

Hack/Slash #32 is the end of the 'superhero' storyline. The twists are good and the ending is, well, not bad, not impossible given the story, but just kinda 'whoa'. I think part of my increasing ambivalence towards the title is the main character's attitude. She's dark and brooding and has every right to be so but her 'tough-gal' style is getting a little old.

The Mighty Avengers ends with issue #36. The Ultron storyline is wrapped up in a clever manner, different from earlier encounters with the robot consciousness. There are some additional 'wow!' ideas to be explained and it still feels full of concepts. A scene near the end of the book seems to give away a twist from Siege #4. Boo to that. Otherwise very enjoyable.

Fantastic Four #578 does a few things. It explains the text endings of late. It re-introduces another classic concept, fleshing it out for future use. It also starts to move forward some of the concepts from recent issues, moving them towards the 'epic' mode I've been expecting. Love it.

27 April 2010

Encouraged

Over the past few months, one of the things that's been a source of irritation for me as been the amount of time I spent writing on a daily basis. I'd read articles about other writers, most of which I admire to some degree, talking about setting aside this period of time or that period of time during the day or night to write. Eight hours a day. I'd compare it to the time I snagged for it and worry. Was I not working hard enough? Was I not capable of more? Maybe I can't do this?

Then I read another interview with one of the writers that I'd seen multiple interviews with before. He talked about days where he got nothing done or had a hard time getting work done. It wasn't just eight hours of putting words on paper; it was work.

I thought about myself again. I can sit down most days and write for an hour, maybe two, with limited interruptions. The time I spend typing up those handwritten pages counts as writing. For that matter, so does my writing here, on this blog. I wasn't counting that.

Maybe I wasn't sitting down for eight hours a day but the time I was spending was fruitful. Maybe I was using my time efficiently, that was good, right?

My perception of myself changed. There was still work I could do to improve but perhaps I'm not as far off as I thought.

For that, as much as anything else, thank you Steven Moffat!

26 April 2010

Music Monday - The Misfits

Some time ago, I threw up a Misfits video and called that a day for Music Monday. I don't remember why I did that so today let's do it properly.

The Misfits start as part of the punk rock boom in the late 1970s. Taking their name from Marilyn Monroe's last film, the band's core was singer Glenn Danzig and bassist Jerry Only. Taking the style of 1950s and 60s rock as punk had, as well as the speed and energy of punk, Danzig fused in the imagery of monster movies. While not seen as such at the time, Horror Rock was largely born out of the efforts of the Misfits.



The band falls apart in the early 1980s. Danzig would continue on in Samhein as well as the band named after him with an even dark style of lyrics and an increasingly metal sound. By the 1990s, Jerry Only was ready to try again. With his brother Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, he got permission from Danzig to restart the Misfits and did. Just like the vampires and wolfmen of old, you just couldn't keep these monsters in the grave. With imagery 'borrowed' from movie serial 'The Crimson Ghost', they were back!



After a few years and a couple of albums (as well as some time appearing on WCW was that ever weird), that fell apart as well. Doyle got hurt, the new drummer and singer left, and there was only Jerry. Currently Jerry's lead singing with drummers and guitarists that will hang out with him for months or years at a crack. There's talk of a new album. I give him credit for hanging in there and doing what he loves but I'm not all that fond of Jerry's singing voice. To the point where I say, why put a video of that up when I can post another song I like?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGUWla4OVrY

Perhaps there will always be a place in the world for punk rockers that dress up as old school monsters. There may not be a place for this however...



The Misfits Box Set     Famous Monsters     Project 1950

25 April 2010

Doctor Who - 'The Time of Angels' review

Synopsis:

After saving River Song, the Doctor and Amy find themselves wrapped up in her adventure, exploring a crashed spaceship that held in its hold... a Weeping Angel. They seek to shut it down but are stuck in the dark, underground, with more danger around them.

Thoughts:

It's fun to watch how irritated the Doctor becomes when River's around. She's fun, flirty, and forceful. It's unclear as to why she gets on his nerves. Is it her knowledge of his future? Is it his knowledge of hers? Is it just that he feels 'forced' into dealing with her because their timelines aren't synced up? It doesn't seem personal, apart from her ordering him about and calling him 'sweetie'.

The Angels were creepy in 'Blink' and that doesn't change here. We barely see them and that makes them all the more frightening. The dark doesn't help. The cave they find themselves exploring would be creepy without the Angel in it.

Amy gets to sulk, be playful, and be very, very clever. She seems amused by the concept that River and the Doctor may be husband and wife at some point. Perhaps she's confused. She doesn't seem offended, as if she was claiming him, which is good. Amy also gets to be very afraid, which is good against the Angels.

The Doctor continues to be the sort of guy that speaks, realizes what he's said and who to, and then apologizes. A bit. This is entertaining when the apology isn't accepted.

This episode gets really creepy as it goes along. This is a good thing.

No crack in reality this episode but the trailer for next week does show one as well as the Doctor noticing it. Good! That thread won't be ignored by our favorite Time Lord for the bulk of the Series and wrapped up in two episodes. At least that's what I'm guessing, I don't know.

If some of the earlier episodes in the season felt breezy to you, then halfway through this episode things get Very Serious Indeed.

Excellent stuff.

(Post 700)