Persona 5, the Return of Spider-Man, and Underwhelming Comics

Almost back to back, I got two bits of wonderful news that has me very excited for things coming up. Which is good, because I've needed something to look forward to!

Persona 5

First, a gameplay trailer for Persona 5 launched. IT WAS AMAZING. This is already my GOTY (game of the year), and I won't be playing until at least 2016 (Japanese release date is sometime 2015, so I'm HOPING we're sometime 2016). I love the red colors, the cat burgler-esque themes, the grittier characters, the more dynamic dungeons, persona enemies instead of shadows, etc etc... The only thing I'm not seeing in the trailer is a cast that exceeds for playable characters. It's not determined by the trailer, obviously, but I wouldn't even be mad if that was the case.

Oh, and it's coming to PS4 (and PS3), which 100% justifies my purchase of the system. Perfection. Watch it below, the Elder Gods know I have...

Spidey's Return

Next up, we have the "return" of Spider-Man to Marvel, in regards to film rights. Marvel has brokered a deal that allows them to use a new (not Andrew Garfield/ASM series) Spider-Man in their films (which is already impacting upcoming releases -- like May's Captain America: Civil War!). Sony will choose the actor and have final say in regards to character development, but I'm hoping they see reason and more or less follow Marvel's lead.

Doubt they'll go this route, but an important Civil War moment...

Then Sony will continue to produce solo Spider-Man films, which may now see inclusion of MCU characters. While I no longer trust Sony with anything related to my favorite super hero, I'm hoping the cross-pollination with Marvel will produce quality results. And having two studios pumping out related MCU films sounds like a perfect setup to me (though I would prefer Marvel having ownership of all rights back, just to allay the shakes and mental anguish ASM2 still causes).

Apparently the agreement was reached without Marvel actually paying anything, either -- they won't be getting any money from Sony Spidey-films, and Sony won't be getting any money from MCU group films. Honestly, it sounds like Sony got the lesser half of this deal, unless they're expecting the MCU marketing to be worthwhile... Or maybe there's something else there going on.


Now, on to actual comics...

Guardians of the Galaxy

Because... Venom.

I was excited that Guardians of the Galaxy was finally going to the home planet of the symbiotes. We've seen a "Planet of the Symbiotes" in a 90's crossover, featuring Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider, and Venom titles, but never the actual point of origin for the species.

Guardians promised to take us there, and they did... but they didn't exactly deliver anything worthwhile. The arc is mostly taken up by the Venom symbiote jumping from Guardian to Guardian (as if we EVER expected anything else), eventually taking over the ship and directing the group to its home. Upon arrival... well, there's a very short, very anti-climactic stay. I won't even bother spoiling things for you, but the reveal of the species as a whole is unfortunate, white-washes a potentially interesting story, and retcons information offered in the "Planet of the Symbiotes" arc (Planet of the Big Fat Liars is more like it).

All in all, after reading decades of Venom, Carnage, and their extended family, it comes as a real let down that this is the direction Marvel went. I wanted a potential inter-galactic threat, or something menacing in some way that explains all the bullshit abilities and costs the symbiotes seem to offer or impose. Instead... blah. Going back to NOT reading GotG.

Spider-verse

As a whole, Spider-verse hasn't been as inclusive or as interesting as I hoped. "Every Spider-Man ever" isn't actually pulled off, and it's a giant chase scene between an arbitrarily super-powered family hunting Spiders, with limited-to-no logic applied. The Spiders could just as easily get help from the other super powers in their multitude of dimensions, but instead they wait and allow some of my favorite Spiders to get killed off.

GUESS WHO'S AT THE END?!

On that note, I won't even start on how annoyed I am with the "Scarlet Spiders" run ended. The bastards did it again. They. Did. It. Again.



For now... Well, wish me luck in netting a Majora's Mask Edition New 3DS XL. I, like anyone who wasn't a filthy scalper, missed the tiny pre-order window (less than 20 minutes, I believe), and have had to resort to sending The Wife out to flirt with associates of certain stores, in an effort to secure us a copy come Friday. The Wife seems confidant of her success... You'll be seeing a review of the system next week, if she's correct!

Nerd-Dad: One Month Later

I have been a father for a whole month now. It really, really doesn’t feel like it, but the calendar doesn’t lie. Or so I’ve been told.

Before I go on a tangent about not trusting calendars, I wanted to talk about some things I’ve learned in this first month that I either didn’t know or didn’t appreciate before.

1.       Not sleeping is a super power.

I don’t have it, but The Wife does. She’s pretty impressive. I… mostly turn into the Hulk when I’ve not slept.

2.       Babies CAN be cuter than cats.

I didn’t think this would ever be true for me, but at the very least I find my baby adorable. And I’m much more likely to grab baby-variant covers than cat-variant covers of comics…

3.       It doesn’t require x-ray vision to tell when a diaper change is needed.

Seriously. If you didn’t hear it happen, you’ll definitely smell it by a month in. The first few weeks were mostly odor-free, but this current plot twist stinks.

4.       Babies have more outfits than Spider-Man has costumes (that’s saying something).

Strangely, I’ve noticed a bigger selection of boy clothing than girl clothing, but I may be prejudiced/shopping in the wrong area. Either way, Lorelai has more clothes than the Wife or me, and that includes a super hero (Batgirl) costume!

So. Many. Cloths.

5.       Hand-me-downs are AWESOME.

I used to think getting folks' old, used comics was pretty awesome. Now I’m all about the baby clothes and accessories – new old stuff is freaking awesome!

Babies smell!

6.       At this point, babies are like Oscar the Grouch.

They’re loud, they don’t like anything, and they smell. Doctor Grant was right…

7.       Getting pooped on isn’t all that bad.

Don’t have anything witty here, just as surprised as you to find this is true. Just know it’ll happen.

8.       Baby crying > Kryptonite.

Woof. At one month you can’t really tell if the baby is crying because she’s hungry, hurt, or just uncomfortable. And the volume is really picking up. You’ll try everything, from burping to bouncing to 4:00am walks in the Ergo, but there is no easy or surefire fix. And, just like Kryptonite in the comics, there’s going to be a ton of it…

9.       Super Soldier Serum is really coffee, energy drinks, and straight caffeine.

On those nights when I barely make three hours of sleep, I’ve found that an Amp or a large coffee can keep me feeling like Captain America. Otherwise, I kind of feel like Swamp Thing.

We're out of coffee!?

10.   Having a good partner is the most important thing there is.

I’m extremely lucky to be married to such a wonderful mom. I certainly couldn't have done any of this without her – I’m really more of a sidekick at this point than anything. Hopefully, when Lorelai is older and able to, I don’t know, hold a conversation, I can get promoted from Robin to Nightwing. Hopefully.

For now...

I imagine this will be the first post of many. We’re one month down and… forever to go?

Now, about those calendars…

Board Game Night: Ticket to Ride

Last night was the second night at my attempt of a regular board game night. Previously, we played RISK: Legacy and a couple quick games. Last night the feature was Ticket to Ride: Europe Edition.

The final board.

You may remember that this game was recently featured on TableTop, considering I wrote about it. Well, one of our regular players, whom I'll call "The Roommate," happened to own a copy. Since The Wife was joining us, along with "The Mick" (seriously, that's not being racist), I thought it would be a perfect game to try out.

It went very, very well. I didn't quite think I would enjoy it as much as I did, but there were more avenues for strategy than I had initially realized, and the rules were very simple to follow. Turns could go fast or slow, depending on how prepared the players were or how screwed they got when someone stole the route they were planning on taking. There were two moments where I got blocked and either had to take a long way around or use a train station.

For being a lengthy game with a decent amount of pieces, it was incredibly easy and fun. It reminded me of simpler games such as Monopoly, yet actually had options and strategy. I strongly recommend it for any gaming group, just starting or veterans.

The final scoring process was also a lot of fun, if a bit heartbreaking. I'd managed to complete my four routes (no one took extras) and only used one train station -- I was in first place. Then we counted the longest route... and I was short by two cars! The Wife got the bonus ten points and won the game at the literal last second with a score of 109 to my 107. Damn.

The victor (playing red trains).

Final Stats

Difficulty: Easy to Intermediate
Fun Factor: High
Replayability: High, especially considering the different versions.
Winner: The Wife
Rating: 9/10

After that, the guys and I played a couple games of Cthulhu Fluxx. The Fluxx games are fairly simple, but I especially appreciated the attention to Lovecraft Lore the cards and card synergy reflected. Fun for any group due to self-explained rules and especially fun for fans of the Cthulhu Mythos.

House Rules for Younger Players
-Play without Destination Tickets the first few times and simply focus on scoring points by taking routes and getting the "Longest Train" bonus. This keeps the game simple and allows players to get used to basic strategies (like cutting off an opponent to try and stop their "Longest Train" bonus). After a few games of this, introducing Destination Tickets should be a smooth process. For any bonus rules that come with different versions, they are generally well explained, but feel free to introduce them when they make sense for particular play group.

Day 12ish: Drama on TableTop!

... So, I fell asleep again. Instead of some content I worked (relatively) hard to create, I'm going to let Wil Wheaton take the wheel! Well, kind of.


Tsuro and Tsuro of the Seas aren't normally my kind of games, but I think The Wife would get a lot of enjoyment out of them -- she's stated in the past that tile laying games interest her, and the rules seemed to have no nonsense. The Wife generally refuses to play a game with a recommended age above 8, but I'm generally able to convince her. Maybe I'll hunt down one of these so I'm not such a lousy (board game) husband.

Also, there's a chance to win a signed copy of this game... The thought of owning something signed by Wil Wheaton is almost bucket-list worthy, if I didn't want to add another very unlikely thing to my already improbable list.

Also, as a side and so I feel a little bit better about this sparse post, all Pokemon fans should make sure they've seen Pokemon: Origins. It is made up of four episodes that tell the story of Red as his story goes through the journey we all played in the original Red and Blue titles. There are a lot of nostalgia moments and the anime is beautiful, what more could you need?

Origin of The Nerd (Part I: Video Games)

No, I'm not talking about the origin of the word "nerd" or even the origin of nerds as we know them. I'm going to do a three part series about how I got into the things I talk about most on this blog: Video Games, Comic Books, and Movies/TV Shows. I don't often write about myself, so this will be an interesting exercise. And maybe I'll connect with some readers who have had similar experiences, would like to get into new things, or want to talk about how they themselves got into the given subject.

I will, however, post the definition I most identify with when I think of nerd:

"A nerd is a person, typically described as being overly intellectual, obsessive, or socially impaired. They may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, obscure, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical or relating to topics of fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Additionally, many nerds are described as being shy, quirky, and unattractive, and may have difficulty participating in, or even following, sports. "Nerd" is a derogatory, stereotypical term, but as with other pejoratives, it has been reclaimed and redefined by some as a term of pride and group identity."
-Wikipedia (emphasis mine)

For this first installment, I want to talk about how I got into video games. Check it after the break.

Man of Steel: Kryptonite Not Included

I convinced the Wife to go see Man of Steel's midnight release. It took some coaxing but, in the end, we both agreed it was totally worth it.

I'll give my initial, non-spoiler reaction, then post a few thoughts I had that could potentially be spoiler-ish after a marked off section, so no need to fear spoilers from this nerd.

If you're wondering if Man of Steel is better than Superman Returns, the answer is yes. Yes, and you're a fool for thinking anything could be worse.

This was an action packed origin movie that covered a lot of plot details quickly and succinctly while still having time to introduce recognizable and interesting heroes and villains. It could have done more with some of the supporting characters on both sides, but I respect the decision to keep the film at a manageable length for movie-goers of all levels of interest in Superman.

My biggest complaint is that I didn't care for some of the casting of Lois Lane. Lois Lane's character was written very, very well (in my humble opinion), but casting Amy Adams in the role really brought it down. She doesn't pull off a refined, experienced, no-nonsense investigative journalist as well another actress could, and I was also distracted by the decision to change Lois' hair color. As if there aren't enough superheroes with red/orange haired ladies. Even so, the character wasn't ruined, just not as great as she could have been. I may not have liked other casting as well, but Amy Adams was definitely the most glaring issue for me.

Not saying she's a bad actress, just a sub-par Lois.

Henry Cavill as Superman was spot on as far as I'm concerned, and that's the important part, I suppose.

Otherwise, the action in this film was truly stunning. The fight scenes were intense, dramatic, interesting, and still believable (given the scope of the characters, of course). My first thought was that whoever shot these fight scenes NEEDS to be put on a Dragon Ball Z movie ASAP. Some of the fight scenes would have fit a live-action version of the anime series to a T.

Ok, those are my spoiler-free initial reactions.

Arbitrary rating: 9/10 - It's a bird... it's a plane... it's an actually awesome Superman movie!

---------Potential Spoilers from this point on, you've been warned!--------------

Since it is late and I am quite sleepy, I'm simply going to mention a few thoughts on the film.

The last days of Krypton: My Superman lore knowledge is fairly low. I've seen a few versions of Kal-El (later Clark Kent) being put in a mini-spaceship and sent to Earth as Krypton dies a fiery death. The way this was portrayed in the movie was not congruent with my exceptions and slightly unclear on the whole "the planet is exploding but no one is bothering to, you know, leave" part. Maybe I missed it, but I'm not sure why the planet was exploding, why no one left (I know Jor-El was arguing with the council at one point, I must have missed something then -- I hope), and I think the "Phantom Zone" could have been explained a touch better. 

Zod's fate: Again, Superman lore isn't my strong suit, but I'm pretty sure the big guy is against killing, no matter what. Snapping Zod's neck was awesome, appropriate, and done well, but seems out of character with my comic book expectations. Is this a different direction for movie-Supes? Does Superman kill when he absolutely has to? I don't know. I liked it and it makes Superman a more interesting character, personally.

Nobody puts Zod in a corner!

Indestructible man of steel: Supes apparently kills Zod by snapping his neck. Assuming Zod is actually dead and not in a 'Healing Coma,' this would potentially mean that Superman could be killed in the same way. I don't know how suitable they are, but I'm fairly certain there are several characters in the DC universe that could muster up the strength to do so (in the comics, anyway). Makes Superman feel a lot less powerful and a lot more real. This is a good thing for me, who does not particularly like Superman comics, but I wonder how others are reacting? Or do we bank on healing coma?

Greater DC references: I was enjoying the movie enough to not be hunting them, but I didn't see many references to the larger DC universe. The military enacted "Operation Trident" -- maybe an Aquaman reference, maybe not. And there was a LexCorp logo on a fuel truck during a fight scene, but I didn't catch any other names or references I knew. Considering we're supposed to be getting a Justice League movie eventually, it would have been nice to hear a name drop or two, at the very least. Note: if I missed any, please let me know!

When a rock meets a hard place: It is always interesting to see how a superhero fight is going to be handled when both parties have excessive strength and/or abilities. When every blow can potentially knock an opponent miles away, fight scenes can get both repetitive and slowed down. Man of Steel did not suffer from these problems. In fact, I think this movie had some of the best superhero smack downs I've ever seen. I loved Faora-Ul's fight scenes, even when she was taking out the military. Her enhanced speed being shown with stop-frame like quality was a joy to watch each and every time

Even with my questions and uncertainties, this was an almost perfect super hero movie for me. I want more of this, and I want it now.

What were your thoughts/favorite parts of Man of Steel?

Comic Tour to the Capitol

Hi All,

Just wanted to post that you can find the Twitter recap of our trip to Washington, DC here: #comicsandcapitol.

Stay tuned for some PLRs soon and possibly some news on another social media front. I'm playing around with the idea of incorporating a Tumblr into this mess...

Highlights from the trip:

Day 1 Haul

I picked up a bunch of Ultimate X-Men, including at least 30 consecutive issues that I can start reading now, which will bring me up to issue 69 (I have some later issues, but refuse to read series out of order).

I was able to find a good amount of Exiles comics for cheap, including the first 10 or so issues, meaning I can start reading the series.

DASH RENDAR ACTION FIGURE! YES!

I found some sets I didn't know I wanted, completed a few sets I've been hunting for for awhile, and found a few random series that look worth following up on.

Biggest finds for me were probably the random issues of Y the Last Man, Wasteland, and Preacher. They are all somewhat difficult to find series that, up until this trip, I'd not had a single issue of. And I managed to find all these in $1 or 50 cent bins.

Speaking of bins, the best comic shop from the trip would have to be Main Street Comics in Milltown, NJ. It was relatively small, but 90% of their back issues were in ORGANIZED $1 bins. Normally, cheap bins are disorganized messes that you dig through for hours and HOPE to find an issue or two you're looking for. I was able to pick up a ton of good stuff here and will hopefully find time to swing by again before moving back to MA.

Honorary mention to Captain Blue Bird Comics and Stormwatch Comics, the last two stops on our trips that I also really enjoyed and sported a good selection of cheap bins.

Oh, also, DC was a lot of fun. It was cold and windy, which made it like an adventure (at one point it even seemed like a Post Apocalyptic adventure). My favorite part would have to be the Dinosaur Exhibit in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Not only do I love dinosaurs, the Wife does too!

Rare sighting of the elusive Nerd...

Ok, that's all for now.

This Week... (Now Playing and a Request)

Hi All!

This week I'm going to be crammed under a ton of work and don't think I'll find time to blog anything substantial. That being said, I've got a Now Playing update and a request:

Now Playing

PS3: Dead Space 3 (Early impressions/series review next week)
3DS: Fire Emblem: Awakening (Review incoming, GET THIS GAME)
PC: Jagged Alliance 2 (Well, haven't started this, a bit distracted)
Netflix: Sherlock (for the third time)
Amazon Prime: Downton Abbey (almost through season 2, this show is awesome)
Hulu: Seven Samurai (finally watching this masterpiece as research for my YA novel)

My other consoles/shows are being neglected due to the work load and titles listed above.

The (Re)quest

The Wife and I are taking a mini-road trip from the NYC area to Washington, DC this weekend. The focus of the trip is to hit any interesting comic book stores we find along the way; if you know of any, leave their name/town and why we should stop there in the comment section.

Alright, that's all, expect to see a bit more of my next week!

The Nerd's Bucket List

I know, I know, I should be working on my Pull List Review. I'll have another post up by the end of the week. For now, however, I feel like talking about me!

I discovered my birthday present a bit early (aka as the Wife showed me but told me I can't have it until February), and it was an item that I have always wanted. I jokingly said that it was something I could scratch off the ol' Nerd Bucket List. The Wife, doing what wives do, asked what else was on the list. And I said...

Nothing. I was stumped. Normally, I find the idea of Bucket Lists kind of silly (what are you supposed to do when you complete it, commit seppuku?), but a list of nerdy things I wanted to do in my life but hadn't done yet appealed to me.

And so I will (attempt) to start a Nerd Bucket List in this post. I'll add items in the future as they come to me (using the tag Bucket List so they can be quickly compared), but this will serve as the base:

------------------------------

THE NERD'S BUCKET LIST

-Own Darth Revan 30th Anniversary Fan's Choice Figure 

First item on, first item off. I'm a HUGE fan of Darth Revan (from the Knights of the Old Republic video game, as well as The Old Republic MMO), and the Wife got me this figure, as well as Darth Malak (again, Knights of the Old Republic) and some other misc figures. She knows me so well!

WOOOOOT! One down!

-Go to a Star Wars Celebration
I've always wanted to attend one of these, but they always fell during important dates at school/work (working in Higher Education, specifically Residence Life and Housing, means we end up training every year around the Celebration). Hopefully next year the dates will align better! Also... hopefully Disney being on board doesn't change anything too much! Speaking of Disney (and Star Wars)...

-Go to a Star Wars Weekend at Disney World
This kind of goes hand in hand with the above, but the Wife and I love Disney World and I think it would be perfect to go on one of their Star Wars days. We haven't done it yet because A) it isn't exactly cheap and B) I really dislike crowds, and nothing draws a crowd at Disney like Star Wars days (or so the internet tells me).

I guess Disney doesn't like us as much as we like it...

-Get Published in a Fandom 
One of the blog writers I follow, Amy Ratcliffe from Geek With Curves, just got published in Star Wars Insider #138. I wouldn't mind being published in a magazine of a fandom I relate to, but even more I'd love to get a fiction story published -- say a Star Wars novel or the like. First, I'll need to finish and get something of my own published, but I'm hoping my MFA Thesis course next semester will get me pretty close to that goal. Then I'll work towards this step.

-(UPDATE!)Play Star Wars Battlefront 3
This is kind of a risky one, simply because there's no confirmation the Battlefront 3 will ever come out (no matter how much I pester Lucas Arts Games on Twitter). That being said, I loved the originals and think, with today's technology and game comparisons, a third installment will be amazing and a matter of time. Update: Battlefront 3 was announced! Yes! This is totally going to happen!!!

And now that it's on my Bucket List, I guess Lucas Arts needs to get on this, or won't they feel silly?

-Go to San Diego Comic Con
I love Boston Comic Con (I've been several times) and enjoyed NYCC (I went once), but San Diego seems so far away that I never really imagined I'd make it. Then, to my surprise, the Wife said she was sad we missed it -- she had seen some new and events at the convention and was actively interested (NOTE: the Wife is NOT a nerd, despite all my attempts to turn her to the Nerd Side). So this is making it on the list with hopes for a future SDCC!

If you're asking why I wouldn't go by myself... Well, I REALLY don't like crowds, but I feel marginally better with a friendly face.

Nathan Fillion!

-Get Retweeted by Nathan Fillion
I love that guy.

-See Star Wars Episodes 7-9
I mean, I know they're coming out now and I know I'll see them... so let's get something I can definitely mark off this thing.

-Watch Every Episode of Star Wars with my Children
I don't have any children yet but, one day, they WILL watch Star Wars.

-Own Every Issue of Amazing Spider-Man
This got infinitely easier now that the series ended.

You know, unless it starts back up. Again. Which I expect (hope) it will.

-(NEW!)Play a boardgame with Wil Wheaton
I see no reason why this would EVER come to pass, but I enjoy everything Wil Wheaton has done recently and I especially love his YouTube show on the Geek and Sundry Channel, TableTop.

------------------------------
That will have to do for now. As I said before, I will continue to add to this as time goes on, so if any suggestions that you feel fit here, let me know in the comment section below!

I'm actually looking forward to crossing these off. I rescind my previous opinion on Bucket Lists.

P.S. I wonder if almost knocking author Nick Flynn over at a reading should go on here... It WOULD be nice to have another item crossed off my list...

Pull List Review: Minimum Carnage Finale

Hi all,

Sorry for the absence, I've been enjoying my holiday and not doing anything that looks remotely like work. I've occupied my time with Star Wars: The Old Republic, comic books, spending time with the Wife, Supernatural, and Star Wars Blu Ray (expect to see a continuation of Machete Order soon!). Good times.

Before I get to the first post for the current Pull List Review (I'll try to follow up with the next few shortly), I want to explain a minor change I'll be making to the blog. The three buttons you see up top (with difficulty on mobile browsers, sorry about that -- I don't know how to make them automatically resize for mobile) will be getting a couple more additions, featuring my more popular post tags. In additional, I'm moving away from the three days a week schedule and going to a minimum of two posts a week, preferable at the beginning and end of the week.

If you like/dislike the changes, let me know. Otherwise, enjoy my review of the final issues of Minimum Carnage (and the following Scarlet Spider/Venom issues):

Scarlet Spider 11 (Minimum Carnage Part 4) This issue starts with a nice fight scene between Carnage and Scarlet Spider as well as Venom going crazy against the Enigma Force (group, not power). Venom gets calmed down and then captured along with his friends, while Scarlet gets the upper hand on Carnage, only to give it up in an effort to save the Redeemer. We finally meet Radu, learn the history of symbiotes in the macroverse and Radu's plan with them, which is the build an army out of Carnage and Venom's suits. It's an action packed issue with strong art and a decent enough storyline. Issue gets an 8/10.
Venom 27 (Minimum Carnage Part 5) An army is created by cloning and combining Venom and Carnage's symbiotes with mindless Macroverse clones Radu had been growing. Venom and Carnage fight it out, but Carnage has the upper hand because he can control the symbiotes due to not being nuetered (also, Carnage has been shown having the ability to manipulate many hosts via his symbiote before, so this isn't much of a stretch. Venom realizes he has to release the beast, so to speak, and fights viciously, beheading Carnage. Pause. This doesn't make sense to me because Carnage continues to live -- Cletus Kasady, the host, should be dead. The symbiote shouldn't have anything to do with him surviving that, but that gets ignored. Scarlet comes to aid in the fight, while the Enigma Force are busy escaping with Venom's reported friend. Radu is seen fighting the uncontrollable symbiotes and then teleporting away before the Enigma Force can attack. Venom once again goes all out, unleashing the symbiote more and more in his fight against Carnage, finally using a psychic shriek to defeat the clones and Carnage (which happened with Eddie Brock in Planet of the Symbiotes, way back when). Carnage, however, sinks into the floor, disappearing. Why the symbiote can break down and rearrange its host, I'll never know. Seems like a new thing to me. Either way, we next see some microscopic carnages wreaking havoc back in the real world, while our heroes remain behind. The art is awful for most of the issue, the Carnage inconsistoncies bother me, and the whole trip through the Macroverse doesn't seem to accomplish too much, leaving this a 6/10 for me.
Minimum Carnage Omega This issue ooens with Carnage killing random folks while growing bigger and bigger, both due to time spent in the real world and his absorption of the clones that traveled with him. Our heroes get sent back to Earth by the Enigma Force and go toe to toe with Carnage -- literally, because they're still no bigger than his toe. The heroes get their ass kicked for a bit before reverting to their original size, at which point they begin to turn the tables. Venom finished the fight by force feeding Carnage a sonic grenade given to them by the Enigma Force. One of the major turning points for the whole arc comes when Scarlet Spider, realizing (FINALLY!) that the heroes are responsible for every time a killer escapes and kills again, lobotomizes Cletus Kasady with one of his spikes. Venom doesn't agree with this tactic and tries to get Cletus medical help. We learn that, while Cletus may be gone, the Carnage symbiote is now in 100% full control, making him more dangerous than ever. This is a bit unfortunate because Cletus was already suffering from a painfully repetitive personality, but we'll see how it goes from here. For now, however, this issue gets a 9/10 because of the lovely art, the acceptable conclusion to the story line, and someone not completely insane (ie, Punisher) realizing that imprisoning some of these super-villains isn't enough.
Scarlet Spider 12 How does Scarlet feel after this big revelation? Upset that he was, is, and always will be a murderer. He gets hammered and attempts to leave Houston and his friends behind. Fortunately, a heist occurring in the hotel Kaine is living in spurs his friends into action, which eventually gets him into the action. It's definitely a filler issue, but shows that Kaine is a bit deeper than some other characters and really shows some interesting relationships he's building. I'll rate it an 8/10 and am looking forward to seeing where the series is going.
Venom 27.1 This is a bit of a strange issue. Per usual, Flash is depressed and thinking about all the shitty things that have been going on. When he sleeps, however, the demon/symbiote setup seems to take him over and terrorize both criminals and Flash's mother, with Flash waking up none the wiser. The big issue looked at here is Flash coping with how much of a bully he was in high school. He meets up with someone he bullied terribly for being gay and then talks to Peter about their rocky history. After Peter is painfully honest, Flash announces that he's officially leaving New York, forever. This issue was nothing special but not terrible either, so it gets a 7/10 and we'll see Venom in Philadelphia next time.

Next post (coming after the weekend) will feature the rest of the Spider titles I've read this month. Until then, I hope you have a Happy New Year!

Hunting Game(s): The Old Republic News

Hi All,

I'm just popping in quick to post about some news regarding Star Wars: The Old Republic and then to mention what I'll be writing about next week.

First, Star Wars:

The first ever "expansion" for The Old Republic was announced this week: "Rise of the Hutt Cartel".

It includes a new planet (Makeb), a boosted level cap (to 55), and extended story missions (faction, not character, specific). If you're a subscriber now and pre-order, it costs $10. Otherwise, it's $20.

Here's hoping the next few months see something more interesting.

I'm glad things are still being worked on, but this sounds like the weakest excuse for an expansion I've ever heard of. No new class stories and an uninteresting faction story (opinion, of course. I find Hutts boring). The additional five levels doesn't sound all that exciting either, especially if there's no additions/changes to the classes themselves.

I'll buy it, mostly because $10 isn't too bad and I wouldn't mind leveling up my level 50 character, but I really think the devs need to get their head out of the sand and give players what they actually want, which so far HASN'T been seen.

Well, there's my two cents. I've been playing TOR more and more lately and am still enjoying it, don't get me wrong, it just seems to have failed on ever level an MMO should strive for. It's a great single player MMO, though.

For next week, when I'm not sleeping, I plan on doing this month's Pull List Review! The Wife picked up my Pull List this month as my Xmas gift and I've been very much enjoying some of the new stuff coming out of Marvel NOW! Since there are so many issues, I'll space out the posts through the week. Keep an eye out because the next post will review the last few issues of Minimum Carnage!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Review

I managed to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey this weekend and figured I would do a quick, spoiler-free review.

I'd like to start by saying Peter Jackson must have read a different book than I did.

WARNING: It looks like I spew a lot of hate in a moment. Bear with me, because I DID enjoy the movie.

I've read The Hobbit numerous times, as opposed to only reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy once. This being so, I had several issues with the film:

They added a new character that I didn't enjoy and felt wasn't necessary to the plot. Everything he represented could have been handled simpler and with the traveling group, as opposed to flashing to this particular character. In the novel, his portion was relegated to a passing remark by Gandalf about the nature of the world and a certain area in it. It was expanded upon in this film as a better direct lead to the Lord of the Rings, but I still feel it was unnecessary.

The movie is heavily action packed. The book had almost no fight scenes whatsoever. The change isn't done poorly, it is just unfortunate that a current audience wouldn't be able to watch something unless it involved constant adrenaline pumping events. Instead of the journey from the Hobbit novel, we get something closer to the journey of the Fellowship of the Ring, under constant pursuit.

Also, we lose sight of the title character far too often, and when we pan back to him for a big moment, it seems awkward and not fitting to the character, especially how the character was written.

The book was originally 310 pages, where The Fellowship of the Ring was 531 pages. The film adaptation of Fellowship ran for 178 minutes, while Unexpected Journey, the FIRST OF THREE HOBBIT FILMS, ran for  169 minutes. It wouldn't have been impossible to do The Hobbit in one film. At the very least, it would have been an acceptable double feature if they were both 2 hours. Turning the book into 3 films is beyond excessive -- where Peter Jackson didn't have enough room for each of the Lord of the Rings movies, he's adding too much to The Hobbit. I don't normally expect film adaptations to be faithful to the written work, but I had come to expect quality from Jackson. I really can't see a reason for the additional 6 hours (I'm assuming each movie will be similar in length). I assume it's something to do with more money, but I dislike how this means the novel will be stretched and perverted.

It doesn't even take nine hours to READ the novel.


Ok, for the most part, those are my issues. If we take out the fact that this film is an adaptation of a novel, I really enjoyed it. The action scenes were done well, even if this sets a new standard for "plot armor". Certain characters are given appropriate detail and made very interesting. And, as much as I don't feel it was needed, I enjoy the new pursuit aspect they included, and I think it is done better than in the Fellowship of the Ring.

The cast is amazing. There are several actors I really enjoy, though I didn't care for Martin Freeman's rendition of Bilbo, as much as I love the actor. There are too many characters to build an appropriate relationship with, but they did well enough for those focused on. And the gave the group antagonists that will carry them through the films, which I suppose is necessary when considering the unreasonable length of the trilogy.

Yeah, try to name them all without Google, I dare you.

There are also a few times where the movie quotes the novel, word for word. Those moments in particular made me smile (as opposed to the foam that appeared when they missed  a perfectly quotable opportunity).

A random note, we accidentally saw it in 3D: when they said, "The Hobbit", I said, "Shut up and take my money", apparently. That being said, this was one of the better films I have ever seen. It wasn't filled with gimmicky scenes that attempted to launch out at you (damn you, Amazing Spider-Man), the 3D just added and really beautiful layer of depth that I think most 3D movies have lost sight of. AND this was in a theater that couldn't get it's stuff together.

I could go into some more comparisons of particular scenes and events from the novel to the movie, but that would venture into spoiler territory. I'll save that for next year, right before The Desolation of Smaug comes out. Uhg, what a rubbish title.

Ok, since I've obviously gone more negative than positive in this post, I suppose you'll want some sort of rating scale. Here it is:

In case you wanted a size comparison...

If you judge Unexpected Journey against The Hobbit novel, I rate the movie a 4/10. It takes too long to tell a relatively short story, Jackson added (and changed) too many story elements (something he DIDN'T do with the LotR movies, for the most part), and most of the characters, due to their extreme number and Jackson's additions, don't get appropriate focus. I honestly doubt ANYONE seeing the movie (without reading the book) could name even half of the company Bilbo travels with.

Now, if you judge Unexpected Journey on its own merits, I actually think it was either a 7 or 8/10. I'm on the fence because the issue with too many characters still persists and I hated the additional character and all his scenes on their own merit, not to mention their unnecessary inclusion.

The Wife, having never read the novel, had no issues and gave the film a thumbs up. Well, actually, she eventually had an issue because I kept leaning over and saying, "in the book...".

Go see the movie! If you haven't, I strongly suggest you DON'T read the novel to prepare yourself. You'll become bitter, like me. Read it after, because it is an amazing book all on its own, and easily one of my most read novels ever.

Friday at the Movies: Supernatural

Unfortunately, there haven't been any movies I've been interested in seeing in theaters. I was half interested in Total Recall but haven't heard enough since opening to NOT wait for a Netflix release.

I actually don't know of any movies I'm interested in seeing on the horizon, which is unfortunate.

That being said, I'm going to do a few reviews on series I've seen in their entirety (though some are still being released, so that's not 100% accurate) and enjoyed.

For this week's rendition, we've got just one such show!

Supernatural features the talents of Jared Padalecki (Gilmore Girls' Dean) and Jensen Ackles (who was a model, I guess). Jared plays Sam, who starts out as a college student in a long term relationship, trying his best to move on and get away from the family business. Jensen plays Dean (yeah, that's not confusing for fans of Gilmore Girls...), who comes to drag Sam back into the the aforementioned family business.

Ok, from this point on, I'm going to try to avoid any spoilers, just a short, general review of the show and why you should watch it. In the future, maybe I'll do a season by season examination. For now, though, an intro to Supernatural:


Right, on to the good stuff! Dean has come to recruit Sam to help him find their father, John Winchester, who went missing on the job. John, along with Dean, are in the business of hunting and killing monsters and demons and other supernatural creatures in any shape, size, or form they come in. They put their lives on the line every time they do a job and live as nomads, living in hotels and motels while making their money through credit card scams (because hunting monsters everyone else thinks are make-believe doesn't pay well).

For some reason, Sam would rather go to Law School. Strange, I know, but that's a conflict that carries the season as the Winchester brothers team up to find their father, taking down Wendigos and Ghouls and other creatures as they do so.

That's just the tip of the iceberg, though, and I can't get into too much without adding a ton of spoilers, which I'd like to avoid for the most part.

The show is good for several reasons: the story is interesting, the individual episodes can range from hilarious to serious, from campy to impressive, and from meh to I MUST SEE MORE! It reminds me of Buffy the Vampire in that way. Actually, a lot of connections could be made between the two, I'm sure, but I'm not as familiar with the Vampire Slayer as I'd like to be.

Dean's Impala, basically part of the family.

Sam and Dean's relationship, while constantly changing and adapting as the show goes on, is always done very, very well. There are some moments in the later seasons where it begins to wear thin and I think some attention to detail is lost, but it does get back on track and continues to drive the show forward even more than the ever-expanding supernatural elements in the plot.

Sam is the book smart, reluctant Hunter who has many hidden strengths. Dean is the pretty boy, childish, natural hunter -- Dean can be down right merciless. Of course, even these things all change in interesting as the characters grow. The show is very fluid and you really don't know what's going to happen next.

Father and Sons

Beyond Sam and Dean, there is a steady cast that they run into that also add an element of freshness to the show. There isn't a single repeat character that shows up and makes me groan (well... maybe Ghost Facers, but even they have good episodes...), hoping this is the episode they die. In fact, just the opposite -- there have been some that met their maker that I wish hadn't, but even then it's done well.


Season 4 actually introduces one of my favorite characters, so, if you find yourself not loving the cast, try and give it until then! I don't know why'd you'd have a hard time enjoying the rest, but season 4 is a major turning point.

If you must have some cons, the show absolutely goes WAY out there as the seasons go on (there are currently 6 out on DVD with a 7th coming out later in the month). Also, some story elements run on excessively long and aren't always central to a given episode, potentially leaving you hanging while you wonder what's going to happen next.

There may be a few more flaws, but up until know I've been able to forgive all of them. If you're looking for a new TV show to get hooked on and enjoy humor, brotherly bonds, and tons of monsters and the hunting of them, you've come to the right place. If you're just looking for something different, I also suggest it -- you will fall in love with the characters.

The Wife: It's not ALL about the weird stuff.

I should point out that my wife doesn't much enjoy sci-fi or fantasy, yet we both love Supernatural.

So far, Fridays haven't had that many movies for me to take a look at. I may need to switch up the Friday post until more interesting movies are coming out -- I'd rather keep these posts for newer releases. More on this later, I suppose. For now, go watch Supernatural! It IS on Netflix!!

Friday at the Movies - Pushed Back!

Hi all! I'm going through rigorous job training this week and next and so haven't had time to work on a Friday at the Movies post. I have, however, been working diligently on the Spider-Man costume post and I expect to be posting that tonight or tomorrow.

If you'll take that as an equal trade, awesome. If not, sorry! I'll take suggestions for next week if you'd like!

In slightly related news, the Wife and I are starting our annual Big Bang Theory marathon in anticipation of the next season's release in September.

If you don't watch The Big Bang Theory, you really, really should. It is one of my all time favorite TV shows, and I'm not normally a fan of sitcoms of any kind.

Ok, see you soon with some Spidey!