Though it's been out for a few months, I've just gotten and watched Batman: Under the Red Hood. It's a 70 minute, animated movie revolving around a new villain/crime lord usurping control of Gotham: Red Hood. He rounds up the other crime lords and informs them that they're working for him now, instead of the Black Mask. This ignites a street war that, of course, get Batman involved.
It's great to see the DC animated movies taking on a more serious/mature aspect of the comics. These aren't your kids' cartoon heroes! From Joker beating Robin with a crowbar to Red Hood killing any criminal that gets in his way, this definitely earned its PG-13 rating! It in no way feels like a kids Saturday morning cartoon like some of the past comic movies (Public Enemies or the Avengers). The storyline is engrossing and not so cut-and-dry (even if you somewhat know the storyline from the comics). The voice acting could have used some work though. I've always thought of the Joker as having a whiny, crazy voice rather than the deeper voice and the Black Mask just didn't work right either. Neel Patrick-Harris was a good pick for Nightwing, though, as was Bruce Greenwood as Batman. His gruff one-liners (or no words at all) are exactly how I'd picture Batman responding.
Either way, it was an excellent, action packed movie. I would definitely recommend this movie to any comic book fan and give it an 8 out of 10. I only hope that DC continues with this trend of animation; maybe a Green Arrow movie on par with this one?

Defendor: Fight Back!

Defendor is a little known movie I had the pleasure of viewing starring Woody Harrelson. Much like Kick-ass, Defendor is about a "superhero" in the real world. Woody plays slow-witted Arthur by day and Defendor by night. Armed with marbles, wasps, and his trusty trench club, he stalks the night, searching for his nemesis: Captain Industry.
The story is a bit more realistic than Kick-ass. There are no unbelievably skilled ex-cops or assassin-like 11 year olds, just a man with no real grasp on reality. Arthur thinks he's a superhero, even going as far as thinking he's bulletproof (you'll have to watch it to understand). He doesn't inspire other people to take on the guise of a vigilante, though he does get recognized in the papers and talked about on the radio. Like a true hero, he helps any one in trouble, from the prostitute to drug addicted thugs.
It's a great movie with great acting! Woody plays the hero perfectly! I would definitely recommend this movie. It's a great blend of humor, action, and a twinge of melancholy.

The Brave and The Bold: new heroclix set

The new set for Heroclix came out a few days ago: The Brave and The Bold! This DC set revolves around the current DC event: Blackest Night. Duo figures are in high gear here, making up 14 of the 59 figures. This is also the first set to introduce Alter Egos. Enter the game as bumbling Clark Kent and win the game as Superman! The REV style figure somewhat return (though I'm not a big fan to be honest).
Some Friends and I bought a few packs (a brick essentially) and were not disappointed! of the first 6 bought (3 for me, 2 for Mark, and 1 for the store) 5 were super rares! I managed to pull the Shazam/Black Adams duo, which is the first to let you use it as a duo (at 280 pts) or choose to play Black adams or Shazam separately (at 140 ea). I also pulled Mr Miracle and.... his dwarf friend while Mark pulled the Flashes and Booster Gold/Blue Beetle and the story pulled Poison Ivy/Harley Quinn. The figures, stat wise, seem to be amazing! though most of the sculpt seem kind of dull. I haven't had a chance to use them yet (that comes tonight!) but I'll let you know how they stack up!

Absolute Justice!

Smallville had a t.v. movie that premiered this month: Absolute Justice. It was an amazing movie! Apparently, the JSA were founded in Metropolis in... I don't remember the year but I pictured it in the 50s. They were rounded up and hunted down by the government, pretty much framed. The only remaining members at the start of the movie was, Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Starspangled Kid, Stargirl, Sandman, and... well I guess that's all that played a role but there were cameos in flashbacks such as the Green Lantern, Flash, and Catman (I think that's his name but I can't recall), and also a reference to a new group: Checkmate and the coming "Apocalypse"
Anyways, someone is killing off the old heroes so they have to team up to put a stop to it! Turns out though, the killer was Icicle... which was a bit of a let down to be honest... seems like there should have been a villain team up... like the Injustice League or something. He didn't seem a match for both the JSA and the JLA.
It was great to see super heroes playing the role of super heroes!
That's not to say that it wasn't without flaws. I don't understand how they can have a museum for the entire JSA (which was a public group if I'm not mistaken), yet no one in the JLA or Chloe had ever heard of the museum or the heroes. Hawkman's flight was also a bit choppy. I thought his wings should flap a bit... but I'll let it go because they did show a glimpse of the real Martian Manhunter!!

Perry Moore's Hero

I know it's been an unbelievably long time but I'm back!
So to continue like nothing ever happened and to continue with the comic book nerdage, I just recently read a superhero book by Perry Moore. It's called Hero. I have mixed feelings about it. I enjoyed the book but I cannot overlook the many things that annoy me a bit.
What's the story about you ask? well, to put it shortly, it's about a gay teen that just so happens to be gay. He's asked by a group of superheroes to join THE LEAGUE! so he has to go through tryouts and tries to make the team, all while trying not to reveal that he's gay, so as not to disgrace his father. There's a bit more to it but if you want to know more you'll have to just read the book!
Now, on to my review! first and foremost, said League is a blatant Justice league rip off! It's lead by Justice: a super strong, super fast, flying alien that has x-ray vision and ice breathe. At first I was like "well... maybe it's a coincidence." I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Then, it's revealed that he was also adopted by an elderly farming couple from, get this! Kansas when his ship crash landed. Warrior Woman is obviously a Wonder Woman rip off. There's another character called Dark Hero that I'm pretty sure is a reference to Batman as well....
But, other than the Justice League steal, the book over all was pretty good. It seemed to be more from the perspective of a gay teen that also happens to be a super hero though instead of a superhero that happens to be gay. I thought it would be the latter. The book goes more into the trials of being gay in a society that isn't as gay friendly as it should be and less into the awesomeness of having super powers. Perry obviously knows about not being accepted and chastised and it shows in his writing, but he skims a bit on the super battles and it doesn't seem to flow right.
On a rating scale, I would give it a 7 out of 10. It could have been better but I still enjoyed it!

Wolverine Origin

Today I managed to see the new X Men movie: Wolverine. To be honest, I didn't have high hopes for the movie. I had seen a few previews and wasn't much impressed and thought they messed up a few characters (Deadpool mostly). In light of comic book day I decided to check it out anyways and see what the hype's about.

However, the movie turned out to be pretty damn good. They incorporated the Origins comic (briefly), and put in some history of the wars Logan and Sabertooth were in (again briefly). The Weapon X group thing was pretty cool and I did like the characters. Sabertooth definitely seemed more like Sabertooth in this film and the history between him and Wolverine is awesome! Blob makes a great appearance. Too bad he didn't play a bigger roll (haha... get it?)

It was cool to see the tests done to Logan with the adamanitium. Usually it doesn't look like it hurts too much but you always hear him bitching about how much pain he was in and blah blah, but when they show his memory it doesn't look overly painful. In the movie though, looks like the most agonizing thing ever: little drills drilling into your muscles and bones, boiling hot iron! You can definitely see what haunts him.

Essentially, it was a damn good film! Give it some leeway with the comic book facts and it's definitely worth watching! It was all pulled off nicely. The only complaint I really found was that, if you hadn't read Wolverine Origins than the beginning does seem a bit random and they definitely didn't spend enough time on his past. In fact, it was pretty much all briefed during the beginning credits and summed up as a bunch of clips of him and Sabertooth in wars through out history. The Deadpool thing was kind of pulled off and I wasn't completely disappointed. If you're in the mood for a great comic book movie or just an action flick, I would strongly recommend this movie!

Free Comic Book Day! A new holiday! Mark your calendars!

May 2nd, 2009: Free Comic Book Day

Probably the most awesome day ever.... in history. The days starts off as any other; waking up, maybe taking a shower... remember that I do in fact need to bathe, deciding I have no time for that shit! (kidding... I do infact bathe everyday [just painting a picture]), eat cookies for the breakfast, etc. But this is NOT just another day! It's free comic book day at the local comic book stores!

We went to Richard's Comics and Collectibles today for the annual event. It was pretty awesome. The weather was good, cool stuff to gather, and lots of people! There were a few artists (of course, not the names that you would find in Marvel or DC, but plenty of indie and/or local artists) They do sketches for you and sign comics and I think it's pretty cool to give back to those that are buying your stuff (I realize they're just trying to get their stuff out there but cool!) Usually the 501st would be there but they weren't this year; which is weird considering they go to everything that could in any way be dorky. Never-the-less, Vader was still present... to scare little kids... which happened a few times... stupid babies. There was also a guy decked out in the Batman suit from the 90s... which was cool and apparently hot as hell.

Anyways, amongst the teaser comics given were The Avengers, Fantastic Four (with Spiderman), Wolverine, Black Lantern (something like that), Star Wars, and plenty others. These are of course, like I said, teaser simply to get you into what going on in the now. Though admittedly, I haven't followed up on ANY of the ones I managed to get last year. Someday I might though... Obviously, I haven't had time to read them all, but they do look pretty cool.

There were also raffles to win comics, posters, and a cardboard cutouts. I'm entered in a drawing for the Wolverine wall...tarp? It's huge... It'll take up a whole wall. Wish me luck!

and in commemoration of this day I will also follow up with a review for the new X-men flick: Wolverine for which I have just returned from for Comic Book Day.