Reilly2040's Blog

It was a really quiet comics week this week, which was a bit of a relief after 2 weeks of monster pull lists consisting of Bat-titles, Dark Reign and New Krypton. Still no sign of GLC #31 in my local shop annoyingly, so I may make the trek to the other shop this afternoon and brave the shoppers.

Highlight of my very light pile this week was probably the conclusion to Rann-Thanagar Holy War. It was nice to see Adam get back into his Planet Heist outfit a couple of issues back, and the conclusion to the war surprised me, with the people of Rann faking their own deaths, and relocating to the decimated Throneworld (now called New Rann) to escape the Thanagarians. The lingering love of Lady Styx is quickly lost once they see her in person (well, over a monitor screen) and realise the monster she truely is.

The only thing that really rang false for me was that, after Adam and Prince Gavyn’s big speeches about how the people of Rann have a lot of rebuilding ahead of them, all the other characters upped and left. A bit better explanation was needed there I think (although thanks to the solicits we know that at least some of them will be meeting up again in next year’s Strange Adventures title, also by Starlin).

I’ve enjoyed this series on the whole, and over the last few years, DC have done a great job of bringing more focus to their stable of cosmic non-GL characters. If anything though, it might be nice to see a bit of GL intervention in the next series. Given their prescence in the DCU, it did seem odd the way they were completely absent from all the Synar/Lady Styx stuff. Especially the way Lady Styx’s fleet decimated Throneworld without the GL’s intervening. Although I guess that’s a concession that has to be made to allow these characters to be built up.

Perhaps including a new GL character in the next series could be an idea. You presume the sector GLs would be slightly baffled as to how Throneworld is populated despite the kicking it took.

I’m also slightly surprised that no one twigged that Comet is the original. I guess that’ll be a plot point for a future series.

Overall though, this was fun.   I’m really enjoying these various mini-series focusing on the various space characters.

I think they’re going to need a bigger Mustang…

This has not been Tony Stark’s best year ever. When the Skrulls invaded, they brought with them a virus designed to shutdown all Stark Tech. And not in that “Have you tried switching it off then on again?” kind of way. All affected Stark Tech across the globe is completely toast, including Tony’s Extremis enhancements, which is making controlling his armour a tricky prospect.

Then to cap it all off he’s sacked and his job is handed to Norman Osbourn.

This issue kickstarts the arc which sees Tony Stark as the World’s Most Wanted. Its a great start to the story as well, focusing on the day Tony hands over the reigns of power to Norman. And like Bendis in last week’s Dark Reign special, here writer Matt Fraction has some fun with the fact that Norman’s unstable. Its obvious to Tony that Norman’s appointment is going to go badly wrong, and he’s under no illusions as to just how evil Norman is.

The reprocussions of Norman’s appointment are quickly made apparent when he starts asking Tony for access to the Superhero Registration Database. I hadn’t even twigged to this aspect of Osbourn’s new job, and Tony is quick to point out that Norman isn’t allowed to access the database with proper authorisation and court approval.

Of course, this doesn’t stop Norman, who promptly brings up what he thinks is the database and types in “Spider-Man” (is Spider-Man unregistered now? I’m confused by the impact of One More Day, but I’m pretty certain that wouldn’t have worked even on the real database). Tony is naturally two steps ahead of Norman though, and the database is a trojan, designed to cripple HAMMER’s computer systems if its accessed without proper authorisation.

This nicely explains to me exactly how Tony ends up the World’s Most Wanted. We’d been discussing it in the comments section, but its clear now that as the possessor of the only copy of the registration database (Tony’s Extremis abilities allowed him to keep all the information in his own head, safe from anyone trying to find it) Norman’s going to be gunning for Tony bigstyle. Crippling the computer systems of the US’s main intelligence agency is probably enough to ensure Tony makes the most wanted list.

Its a cracking start to the story, and I’m definitely on for picking up Iron Man monthly again. I’m very interested by the fallout from the virus completely knocking out Tony’s Extremis enhancements, and its made clear that as a result, we’re going to be seeing a new suit of armour in the near future. Tony’s been wearing his current suit for a while now, so it’ll be interesting to see what they’ve got in mind. And I wonder just how similar to the movie suit it’ll be

(On a related note, looking at War Machine’s recent appearances, its interesting how his current armour is very obviously a silver and grey copy of the movie suit, with extra firepower strapped on).

Incase anyone’s wondering, the reason I haven’t done my usual gushing review of GLC this month is because my local comic shop didn’t get in their order.

I’d hoped it’d turn up with this week’s shipment, but unfortunately its still absent. A real shame, as I was really enjoying the Star Saphire Arc.

I’ll still pick up the next issue but missing this part stings. The Christmas shoppers make getting to any other comic shops a dodgy prospect, but hopefully I’ll be able to find a copy once things die down.

This summer’s shaping up to be a good time for movies, with the delayed Star Trek and Harry Potter, Transformers 2 and now Wolverine’s solo film.   Newarama have the trailer up:

http://www.newsarama.com/common/media/video/player.php?videoRef=NA_121508_xmen

I must admit, while I knew the film was in the works, I hadn’t realised it was this far along, so I was surprised to see the trailer.  But I think it looks brilliant.  Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine has always been spot on (if a bit tall, but that’s forgivable) and this looks like a lot of fun.  Its very tantalising seeing those brief shots clearly inspired by the Origin series, with the young James Hewlett and his bone claws.

That’s Star Trek and this had very strong trailers.   It’s nice to have something to look forward to movie-wise this year, as frankly I think this Christmas has been a real letdown.   There’s nothing out I want to see (especially the Day the Earth Stood Still – being a fan of the original story I think this looks absolutely atrocious) and those films I was looking forward to (Quantum of Solace) were a bit dissappointing.

We’re now past the halfway point in the big Superman event: New Krypton. And so far I’ve been really enjoying it.

I admit, I’ve been skipping the various one-off specials as they didn’t really appeal, but I have been picking up the three main titles. I really love how quickly things have gone south since Kandor appeared on Earth. Its an interesting aspect of Kryptonian society that I’m sure is a new post-Infinite Crisis addition. That Kryptonians are largely untrustworthy. During Kurt Busiek’s “Third Kryptonian” arc, it was established that before Krypton was the more isolated, peaceful haven of science we’d known, Kryptonians had actually established a galaxy-spanning empire.

Basically, once they’d realised that the yellow suns common throughout the galaxy gave them super-powers, they quickly started taking the place over. It was only as the years went on that the Kryptonians realised this was ultimately self-destructive, and so had removed themselves back to their homeworld, under their red sun, and barred themselves for venturing out again, lest the yellow suns tempt them.

We’re pretty much seeing history repeat itself here. A large number of the Kryptonians, having found themselves free and with super-powers have automatically set themselves up above Earth’s native inhabitants. The big shock being that one of these is Alura, Supergirl’s mother. Meanwhile things are spiralling out of control with Luthor and General Lane taking the fight to the Kryptonians, in the form of reactivating Brainiac’s ship, and even the rest of Earth’s super-powered community is banding together, having realised that the Kryptonians have gotten out of control.

Its a really enjoyable tale. And while I still like the idea of Clark being the last Kryptonian, as brought in during the post-Crisis Byrne revamp, I must admit I really like this fresh take. Forcing Clark to face up to the fact that his own people, may not be that great.

Another interesting point is the appearance of the new Nightwing and Flamebird. Specifically Nightwing, with some fairly unsubtle hints that he’s Connor Kent, somehow back from the dead after the events of Infinite Crisis. I know I can’t be alone in hoping this isn’t a fake-out. I’m really interested to know where they’ve come from as well. Clark was pretty tied up with his father’s death after Brainiac’s defeat, so I’m not sure he had time to arrange for this new Nightwing and Flamebird to guard the Phantom Zone projector from Zod’s troops. Nonetheless, it does make sense that they’re working with Clark.

Newsarama have just published some previews for March that drop some tantalising hints as to the post-New Krypton landscape in the DCU, and I’m very interested to see how this pans out.

So following on from the events of Secret Invasion #8, Marvel now brings us Dark Reign #1, which properly shows us the events behind the “evil illuminati” gathering at the end of that mini series.

Its a nice little one shot, although I’ll get the negative out of the way first, by saying what the heck’s happened to Namor? I get that he’s obviously fallen on some bad times, but there was nothing recognisable about the character. Nothing regal about him at all.

However, what this special did, was nicely lay out Norman’s gameplan. Now he’s successfully grabbed the reigns of power, he intends to keep them. And he’s doing it by making backroom deals with the forces who’ve caused the most trouble in the Marvel Universe over the years, with the goal being to make it look like he can keep them in line where Fury and SHIELD failed. However, just when you thought Norman’s transformation into Lex Luthor is complete, there’s a sting in the tail.

I enjoyed this special. Its a complete setup issue, and it makes the Marvel Universe an interesting place. With the supervillains all registered and running side operations for Norman, and the superheroes unpopular for dropping the ball over Secret Invasion (although that was hardly their fault), its a dangerous time to be wearing primary colours in the Marvel Universe.

I loved the little aside with Namor and Doom as well, where they both admit they’re going to play along until it all falls apart, and then swoop in and take over.

But the big shock was the ending, with Norman returning to Thunderbolts mountain only to be confronted by the Swordsman, who feels he’s been used by Osbourn and threatens to reveal to the world what he’s really like. At this point, the public face of Norman drops, and he snaps, grabbing Swordsman’s own sword and killing him. It was a nice surprise, and nicely underlined that the writers haven’t forgotten that this is the same character who has the habit of flying around on gliders chucking pumpkins at Spider-Man.

I’m really interested to see where things in the Marvel Universe go after this.  Say what you like about the Civil War and Secret Invasion mini-series, but there’s no denying that each established a big shakeup to the status quo in the Marvel Universe, that established some clear storytelling directions and introduced some interesting ideas into the universe.

“You have 24 hours to save the universe, Lantern Jordan.”

Although we’d previous seen it in the preview, it was great to have those scenes on Oa in my hands. Carlos Pacheco’s art really shines (I’m assuming its him drawing book, frankly I’ve lost track), and I must admit I’m taken a bit by surprise as to how much focus the GLs are getting here. Morrison uses the Corps to add a real sense of the cosmic threat, beyond Earth to the proceedings, and the scenes at the close of the issue with the GLs entering the gravity sink around Earth are really dramatic.

Meanwhile on Earth, everything is going from bad to worse. Darkseid has awakened and solidified his direct link to all those who have fallen under the anti-life equation. His influence seems unstoppable, as Earth itself is being skewed through space/time, and to be in Darkseid’s very presence causes his followers to die. Here Darkseid is infused with a level of threat I’ve never felt from him before, and it really seems inconceivable that Earth’s heroes have a chance against him. Their only hope being in the form of the ousted Monitor who starts to remember what he once was.

I’ve made no bones about my love of this series, but I must admit, with each issue I read, the more I think this is a series that’s really going to shine in trade form. I really do think that a lot of the complaints that have been levelled at its pace will vanish when read back-to-back.

The other Final Crisis issue this week, Revelation, again fell victim to the curse of the red band covers. I really, really hate this design DC have been using.

I’ve said before how I think it makes the issues look too similar, and this was again proven when my comic store had accidentally put the Revelation issues in with the Final Crisis issues. At least after the Rogues Revenge carry on, I’d learned my lesson and checked the shelves carefully to see what was there and what wasn’t, so I made sure I got both comics.

Revelation I’m still finding a strange beast. although its a Final Crisis tie-in, like all the others, this really feels to me like a separate story that’s been shoe-horned into Final Crisis. To Rucka’s credit he does his best to try and link Cain’s resurrection with the events of the 5th World over in the main series, but to me, this is very much the next chapter of Rucka’s Crime Bible stuff and very little to do with Final Crisis (in much the same way that Rogue’s Revenge was about tying up some of the Flash plot threads from the last year, or Legion of 3 Worlds is about the Legion, and neither series feeling like a proper tie-in to the main event).

To be honest, I’m still not too fussed about the Crime Bible stuff, which is a shame as I usually like Rucka’s books.  However for some reason the Rene as the Question/Batwoman/Crime Bible stories just haven’t grabbed me.  Why then am I still buying this at issue 4?  Well to be honest, I suspect its the Final Crisis banner at the top.     Although in fairness, I did really enjoy the early issues with the Spectre going after the various DCU villains like Dr Light.

Regular readers will know I’d been debating what new phone I would get this year. For a while there, the Blackberry Storm really caught my eye, until it was announced as a Vodafone exclusive. And from the initial reviews floating around, its looking like I may have dodged a bullet on that one.

Instead, I went for the more traditional style Blackberry, the new Blackberry Bold. And I must admit, after some initial connection hassles between the shop and the network, once the device sprung to life, it quickly became apparent why they’ve got the nickname crackberries.

Setting up email was an absolute doddle. I simply got a message saying my Blackberry account was active and prompting me to add in my email details. I gave it my address and password, and it figured out everything else. 20 minutes later and new emails to that address were getting pushed out to the device. Simple and how it should be.

I’ve also added various apps to the Blackberry.  Google sync for my contacts and calendar, Windows Live Messenger, Facebook.   All of which work great, with new Facebook alerts or Windows Live messages causing the red light to flash just like emails or texts.  Brilliant.

The other device functions are great as well.  Having not had a 3G device before, its a revelation as to how fast it is, and its great fun using the builtin GPS with Google maps.   As someone who’s not completely sold on the iPhone’s touchscreen keyboard as well, I must admit to being very happy with the Bold’s full qwerty keyboard.  Typing on it is very natural, and while it means the device is a bit wide, I’m glad I went for it for the slightly larger keyboard and screen.

All in all, the Blackberry Bold is definitely a device I’d heartily recommend to anyone interested in a smartphone.   Its only real failing for me is that the 2 megapixel camera’s a downgrade from my previous 3.2 (not to mention my previous one had a nice picture stability function which compensated nicely for my shakey hands).

Newsarama have put up a preview of Final Crisis #5.   Its quite lengthy running at 7 pages, and lets us see Kraken/Granny Goodness’ attack on the Central Power Battery on Oa.

I’m quite surprised they’ve let us see that much of the issue, but I’m pretty happy with it. I was worried that events on Oa were going to be just a throwaway mention, so its nice to see them get so much focus. I’m assuming there’s a few more pages or panels to it than in this preview, as Kraken’s reveal seems a bit sudden here. Nice to see Guy and Kyle turn up in Hal’s defense.

I’m looking forward to seeing the pages in hand on Thursday, as the art looks very nice, although obviously a bit grainy due to just being a preview, so its hard to completely appreciate.   Can’t say I’m a big fan of that Wonder Woman cover though.  The likeness just doesn’t work for me.