Now, the first and only time I'd been to Disneyland before this past Friday was when I was 20. (That's 13 years ago for anyone counting.) But when planning for our Christmas in San Diego, hotWife(tm) and I thought it would be a cool, fun little break on the way back, and as luck had it -- Disneyland is hotWife(tm)'s favorite place like EVER, so we were pretty much going.



Making it even more anticipated was the fact that WrongRobot and wifeBot(tm) were going to be in LA, and so we decided to all hook up there. Alas, wifeBot(tm) came down with Ebola and they had to bail out. They were VERY bummed, and so were we, but it ended up being the most amazing date for hotWife(tm) and I in years, so all was good.



ONWARDS!



First of all, Disneyland is very, VERY R3-approved, as exhibited by their tram...







...which took us from the parking structure to "The Happiest Place On Earth." Alas, and unfortunately, dancing is not allowed on the tram...







Sigh. So I refrained.



We got hooked up with free passes to the park for that day from a friend of my father-in-law, and they were these "Park-Hopper" things, which allowed you to go freely back and forth between Disneyland and the California Adventure Park, which is definitely new since last time I was there. We went there first, since we live in California and figured there really wouldn't be that much there of interest.



CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE PARK





(hotWife(tm) throws threes)



This park definitely has some cool stuff in it, but it perpetuates the false rumour that California is sectioned off into two distinct sections -- Hollywood and San Francisco. Eh, whatever.



We went in here and cruised through their Hollywood section first, which was SUPER fun. It's totally like being in Hollywood, except without all the crackheads, whores, struggling porno actresses, and the Walk of Fame. So basically, it's not like Hollywood at all. Hahaha!!!



It's really constructed amazingly, with facades of old-school movie houses and deco streetscapes and huge billboards and just all kinds of stuff. This is also where the more "edgy" costumed Disney castmembers roam. The Incredibles were here, also the monsters from "Monsters, Inc.," and Woody and Buzz from "Toy Story." We remarked to each other how this must be the most incredible thing for children to have seen a movie and then to come around a corner and see Mrs. Incredible walkin down the street. They must feel like if you or I turned a corner and saw Brad Pitt or something.



Anyway, time for a ride!



TWILIGHT ZONE TOWER OF TERROR







This is very hip. You go into this huge old deco hotel, in which the lobby is all dusty and cobwebby, and you learn, in the library, of the family who came in here and disappeared into the Twilight Zone. This is relayed to you by Rod Serling on a crappy old black-and-white TV, which is super cool. Then through the boiler room to the service elevator, which is where the family disappeared from in the story. The elevator is a ride, so when you go inside, there are seats with seatbelts there, which you file into and begin to rise. You stop at a giant mirror and wave goodbye to yourself as you reflection distorts and disappears. Then you stop on another floor and when the doors open, there's a hologram of the missing family, who disappears again, right in front of you, and then the hallway in front of you elongates and becomes filled by stars and then you plunge 3 floors, unimpeded. At the bottom, you fly back up a couple floors and drop again. Rise again, drop again. Rise again, and this time when the doors open, you're looking out over the park, probably 10 floors or more up. Then about a 5-second freefall, screaming and clutching at the air the whole way. It's really exhilarating and totally unexpected.



After riding this, we cruised over to A BUG'S LIFE.







Why this was in the California Adventure Park, I'll never know, but whatever, it was super cool, even though it was implicitly made for the kiddies. The only issue we ran into here was when hotWife(tm) tried to go fill her water bottle...







She's already pretty small, but everything at "A Bug's Life" is made huge, so that you feel like a bug.



Off to the San Francisco section of the park...



This was disturbing...







...but at least it didn't cost $5 to cross it.



None of the rides here struck our fancy, so we just admired the construction of the dioramas. After a while, we decided that CAP was mediocre at best and started out. Then this came rolling around the corner...







...followed by this...







...and then this...







I don't know what the fuck it was all about -- some version of some TV show about some school or some shit, I don't even care. It's very R3-approved, and clearly, the California Adventure Park is FAR more progressive than Disneyland. Speaking of which, let's bounce the fuck outta here and get to Disney!



DISNEYLAND





(hotWife(tm) rocks Tomorrowland)



First stop -- Tomorrowland. Everything in Disneyland is divided into "Lands." Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Frontierland, etc.. In Tomorrowland, they have all the futuristic shit. "Star Tours," "Honey, I Shrunk The Audience," and our first ride...



SPACE MOUNTAIN







Space Mountain is an indoor rollercoaster in damn near pitch black. The only light comes from the stars that are everywhere. The idea is that you're supposed to feel like you're flying freely through space, and it is DOPE. I loved this ride 13 years ago, and I loved it last week. hotWife(tm) proclaims this to be her favorite ride in the park -- along with Thunder Mountain, The Matterhorn, POTC, The Haunted Mansion -- OK, she likes em all.



Next up, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN.







This used to be just one of many moderately interesting but ultimately forgettable rides, but there's something to be said for transforming it into one of the most successful movie franchises in movie history. The line is now a whopping 75 minute wait, and they have red velvet movie ropes weaving through all new sections of the park to accomodate said line. They've also changed the ride GREATLY. There are not one...







not two...







but THREE animatronic Jack Sparrows...







...an animatronic Barbossa, and a hologram of Davey Jones. Strangely, it's also been toned down a bit. There's no more drinking and whoring in Tortuga, which is wierd, but the ride is still just as fun, and totally worth the looooong wait. The animatronics in Disneyland are out of this world. There are certain robots that until you're right up on em, cannot be discerned from real actors. It's cool as fuck. Savvy?



After this, it was starting to get dark and cool, and we only had on hoodies. Not to mention that we had a car full of all our shit in the parking garage. (read: four boxes of gifts, three laptops, two iPods, and a TomTom in a pear tree.) And it was past 4, so we could finally check into the hotel, take a break, shower, um ... relax a bit ... you know, the usual. So enough of this Mickey Mouse bullshit!! We got work to put in!!











BACK TO THE PARK!!







Once night fell, we figgered the park would be pretty dead. Kids all gone, only adults left -- we could not have been more wrong. In fact, thankfully, we got our hands stamped when we left, as the park was only accepting return visitors -- no new ones. (We later found out it was their busiest day of the year.) And to add to that space madness, as soon as we hit Main Street, which is just beyond the gate, we were confronted with the crowds awaiting the light parade. And there was where we hit a dead stop in our forward progress. But fear not, brave listeners! Me and hotWife(tm) are city folk, and I myself lived in Chinatown long enough to develop an almost superhuman ability to navigate even seemingly impossible crowds. Thus, we ducked and weaved our way all the way to the rides in about 5 minutes -- roughly 2 minutes longer than if there were no crowd at all. We looked like WR navigating traffic in his MINI. Just slower.



Which brings us to THE INDIANA JONES ADVENTURE







This one is my absolute favorite. You're taken through all manner of movie-riffic 30's archaeological excavation sites, most directly out of "Raiders Of The Lost Ark," in a giant jeep. The jeep holds 16 people in 4 rows of 4, and guess who got landed right in the driver's seat? That's right. Your boy Lung. All the seats have a bar to hold on to, except for the driver's seat, which has a fixed steering wheel. I soaked this shit up, playing like I was driving through the whole thing. And to add to the realism, at this point, I was wearing a vintage army jacket and a fedora. So I feel as though I looked the part. It was fun as shit, driving through tight corridors where tubes on the walls are shooting puffs of air at you as if they were poisoned darts, walls covered with scattering bugs (by way of projection through the jeep's headlights), rickety bridges, giant snakes, and the grand finale -- a massive boulder rolling right towards you, under which the floor drops out and you drive below. SO fun.



In addition, this ride's line is constructed better than any other in the park. This was another huge wait -- 80 minutes or so -- but as you weave through, you're in all manner of jungle base camp setups, so you can see maps, bugs mounted behind glass, oil lamps, rickety generators, Nazi trucks ... it's very cool and it makes the line seem MUCH more bearable.



On to THE HAUNTED MANSION







Now, this being Christmastime, The Haunted Mansion had been COMPLETELY redone -- in the manner of "The Nightmare Before Christmas." It was TREMENDOUS. I totally fell in love with it, and hotWife(tm) and I decided that next year, we're decorating our loft for Christmas in the same manner. Skulls with black Christmas-bow ties, jackolanterns EVERYWHERE, it was out of this fucking world, man. Short line, too. You're cruising through and Zero the dog comes floating by, an animatronic Jack Skellington arrives with a sack of gifts, the big green blob guy (whose name I forget) sings and dances, ghosts circle a crazy Christmas tree, it's just unfuckingbelievable, and I highly recommend going to Disneyland AT Christmastime, if you're planning a trip there at all. Whether you have kids or not, you'll flip out. It's that good.



After this, we knew we had about 30 minutes left till the big fireworks spectacularama, so we grabbed a bite to eat, leaving hotWife(tm) proclaiming...







..."Enough of this Mickey Mouse bullshit! Let's go check out the show!"



Now, the fireworks was something to behold. I have no pictures of it because I was slack-jawed with amazement. They had a 50-foot tall animatronic Maleficent dragon from "Sleeping Beauty," complete with fire-breathing, holograms projected onto mists of water, showing all the villains from the classic Disney movies, a live Peter Pan fight on a life-size pirate ship, with gymnasts swinging all around, pyrotechnics, and tons and tons of shit all leading up to the giant fireworks display. It was incredible, frankly.



After this, as the crowds ambled towards the exit, I remembered something I'd heard in passing on the way in earlier in the day ... "All the stores on Main Street are attached." So we ducked into one and cut through all of em to the exit. 3 minutes. CHECK.



We ambled back to the hotel, laughing and cutting up like a couple of kids. Kids with VERY sore feet, that is. We'd been in Disneyland for a total of almost 12 hours at this point, and we were REALLY beat. So we were pretty much asleep before we pulled up the covers.



And that's that.



I give this day in Disneyland a 9/10 CLANKS! It only missed 10 because WR and wifeBot(tm) weren't able to share it with us. The thing that makes it so great is the level of detail that's put into the rides. The animatronics, as mentioned, are SO believable, but it's the little details (such as the dioramas in the Indiana Jones line) that make it so great. Add to that the technological advances that Disney sticks in there. Consider the holograms. Whether projected on a fine mist of water, on a plane of smoke, or on a thin scrim, Disney's rides are given an amazing amount of depth and believability by these holograms, and I, for one, am sold.



So that's your 15-page essay for the day, my fine robots -- now off to Disneyland with you!!

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This isn't a full blown, In-Depth review by any means, merely my first Visceral impressions of Mel Gibson's newest and somewhat controversial new flick. Realistically, I could delve into inaccuracies and Gibson's scandals and whatnot, but personally, when I watch a movie, I tend to ignore most of that and focus on whether I feel anything, and what it is that I'm feeling.



Just based on that, I think Apocalypto is a success. At it's most basic, and frankly, that seems to be the only level it's really operating on, Apocalypto is a Race Against Time Chase Movie. There are all sorts of little historical details and allusions to dress it up, but you're pretty much gonna spend the time watching a guy try and get from point A to point B as fast as possible and while taking out as many of the bad guys as he can in the process.



For those of you not in the Know, Apocalypto is the story of a man, Jaguar Paw, living in central/south America. While the hardware sported by the villains look Mayan, much of the practices are Aztec, so I'm not really sure exactly where or when it takes place. At any rate, his villiage is raided by a large force from a distant large city, taking prisoners, and killing or raping many others. Receiving a premonition in a dream just before the attack, JP finds time to secrete his young son and Suprisingly sexy pregnant wife down a hidey-hole before the invaders spot them.

JP himself is captured, and drug for days through gorgeous forests until reaching a large city, amazing looking, and rife with disease and sacrifice (Welcome back from LA, Thom!) After a series of pretty grisly sacrifices and some bloodsport, JP manages to escape, wounded, and chased by a handful of pissed off city boys.



I really enjoyed it. I walked out of the theater feeling like it was missing... something, but all the same, I had a good time watching this poor bastard try and escape back to his wife and son who are trapped down a hole.



There is a fair amount of gore, though nothing really as excessive as some reviews have made it out to be, and plenty of native rears and boobies, and there are also a few scenes that could make you motion sick. All of these things are selling points in my book, just so ya know.



Say what you will about Gibson, the man knows how to make some pretty pictures, the scenery is immaculate and the natives are just the right amount of cool and scary with their Piercings, Tats, bad teeth, and body part armor. The main man, Jaguar Paw is really good, conveying the urgency and pain he experiences well. Mel also injects a good amount of humor into the flick, some of which through the Subtitles where modern language pops up, to mixed effect.







It's not Braveheart, hell it's not even Thunderdome, but it is one of the prettiest chase movies I've seen in years.



8/10 SPLAMS!

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Anyone see this yet? I was thinking about picking it up on DVD this evening...



-Chris

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Bullet points #1-2



Bullet points #1-2

Writer; J. Michael Straczynski.

Artist: Tommy Lee Edwards



I was long looking forward to this project, since it was first announced, accompanying the news of TLE’s exclusivity to Marvel. But my interest was largely in seeing the classic Iron Man armor again. Beyond that, it’s one of my favorite artists doing…whatever… doesn’t even matter. But in fact, it’s hard to say whether or not the book’s strongest point is script OR art. Both are very well done. JMS is using the concept of a single bullet, and the Butterfly Effect of it’s use, to reinterpret and re-explore the Marvel universe, on the basis of events occurring differently than we knew them to in the mainstream Marvel canon. It’s not a new concept, certainly, but it’s a fun one. I love What If? Tales, and this is a through one. Some of the connections and correlations are tenuous, but that’s fine. They don’t need to be directly cause and effect to make the story work. The reader knows that the all-bets-are-off premise allows for JMS to play with these characters as he likes, and it’s fun to watch.



A single rifle shot takes out soldier Ben Parker in WWII, and so it begins. The lack of a male figure in orphan Peter Parker’s young life will lead to a very different young man than the one we know. But first, the main event that I was most interested in: The new Iron Man. Scrawny Steve Rogers is unable to participate in the failed Supersoldier program, but seems like just the guy for the OTHER secret military project, Reed Richards’ Iron suit of personal infantry armor. It’s a great concept. The armor always did look to have a militaristic vibe to it, and the vision of this thing thundering out of a landing craft, surrounded by infantrymen, a machine gun on the forearm blazing, is awesome. One of the better Iron Man scenes EVER. I loved it. The concept of Iron Man’s wearer being tragically bonded to his armor is turned on it’s head by the simple change of introducing choice: Steve Rogers chooses to be bonded to the control system of the armor, knowing it’s permanence. And it’s great fun to see Reed Richards, younger, with a bit of a beatnick haircut. Tommy lee Edwards has never done better.



But I was truly impressed by the second issue, the origin story of the Hulk. Largely because I wasn’t expecting to care one way or another… but Edwards knocked me on my robotic ass with some very simple design choices. This time, it’s not Bruce Banner rushing out to rescue Rick Jones on the test field. It’s ne’er do well Peter Parker, who’s Aunt is too busy pining over the wartime death of her lover Ben to reign the kid in, so Parker’s a wayward, depressed, frustrated youth… still picked on… but without a decent coping mechanism. He’s out there at the test site getting into trouble when the gamma bomb goes off, and spends some time in the hospital, surprising physicians with his mere survival. He checks himself out and staggers out to the street, where the beratement from his peers begins, triggering his Hulking for the first time. Now, this was where I was floored. First, TLE pulls a brilliant twist on the green iris thing with banner starting to get pissed, this time being the clever green tint to one lens of his glasses:







Then, once the Hulk is out throwing cars around, Edwards has done a very simple, and entirely effective design change to the way the hulk is portrayed, that I loved. We’ve seen different Hulk shapes in the past, from the big-footed blocky Hulk of traditional Marvel, to the muscle-bound behemoth of the Heroes Reborn experiment, over-drawn by Whilce Portacio (in Iron man) but this was perfect. Hulk has stocky, but more vertical proportions. But more importantly, he’s BIG. Towering over the cards like a B-Movie monster. He looks incredible.







I can’t say it enough: Tommy lee Edwards, and his cohorts like Jean Paul Leon, can turn any comic project into gold, as far as I’m concerned. But this project is tailor-made for him. Period context, classic characters, the human angle. And he hits it out of the park.



My only complaint is that I don’t get to see an ongoing series spring out of this, with reinterpretations of everyone… the retro-Ultimate universe, something like that. Because I will be disappointed when this is done.



10/10 Clicks!

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Anyone here ever read Walter jon William's Hardwired? It was the primary 'action-oriented' Cyberpunk book back in the day. I recall this being the root of the classic cyberwear that illicits a shudder: snake-oid robotic thingie that hides in a hollowed out cavity in the user's throat, and then is used by prostitute/assassin/seductress types to snake on down their victim's throat and eviscerate them...



Well, these smarty-pantses have found a way to at least meet us in the middle, with surgical throat bots.



I'm shuddering anyway.

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Thanks for being a part of the TRDL community!

Here's to much, much more in 07

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Even if it took me until 12/21 to make it to the shop...



As usual, in the order in which I scooped them up off the floor beside the nightstand.



Ion 9- Kyle's Mom is sick and the Tangent Universe is gonna destroy the DCU, or at least that's what the Monitors think. A lot of plate spinning here. I think Kyle is hurt by seperating him from the rest of the Corps. A special figure among the Corps is a cool idea, a meandering guy in green is not. 4 of 10



Fables 56- Fun Yuletide story, with just enough darkness in parts to make sure you know what comic you're actually reading. Just another fine issue in an always fine series. 7 of 10



52 Week 33- More holiday cheer, or as much as we can muster. The Question is on his last legs and Ralph's answers start with a gun he pulled from his mouth at the start of the year. Plus, the Black Marvel Family falls into the sights of the Suicide Squad while Lex Luthor has himself a merry little Christmas. My favorite scene was Renee comforting the ailing Question and the moment of tenderness between her and Kate Kane that followed. Not exploitive, just very, very real. Good week. 7 of 10



Ms. Marvel 10- Not even my love of Mike Wieringo can save this clunker. Warbird coming from a world where Carol didn't save the day like she did at the series launch is one thing. Having her hop from world to world taking out herself and Rogue every time... LAME! No explanation either, just "I've done this a number of times, I'll do it a number of times more" from evil Warbird. Plus, her relationship with Hank McCoy being strained messes with my enjoyment of Wonder Man 1 last week. 3 of 10, sorry Ringo.



Y: The Last Man 52- We're racing for the finish line here, and I'll miss poor Yorirck when he goes. There is a bunch of laugh out loud funny in here, as well as tight pacing and the good-bye of a central cast member. Y proves that the Vertigo model works; Let creators tell the story they want to tell in the right length to tell it and print it forever for all to profit by. 6 of 10



Secret Six 6- After dealing with Vandal Savage, Cheshire and Dr. Psycho the Six are five again. And along the way Gail Simone wrings some serious comedy out of the strangest places, including a line from the Mad Hatter that would have made me feel skeevy if a male had written it. From her it made me laugh, and Brad Walker's art made me agree. Same time next year guys? 'Cause I wouldn't want it every onth, but ongoing mini's are fun, just look at the B.P.R.D. 8 of 10



Shadowpact 8- When this book dies it's low-sales related death, we can look at the lack of a regular series artist as the prime factor. An interesting spotligh on the Ragman, with a good ballpark of how much time you have to spend in the suit to account for all your misdeeds in this world. Shawn McManus was an interesting fill-in, but find a regular for this yesterday! Justiano is wrapping The Creeper soon, maybe we can get him back? 5 of 10



Teen Titans 42- The tragic tale of Kid Devil. Ah, Neron and your silly candles, I always enjoy your appearences. Plus, anytime Peter Snejbjerg draws anything I'm happy. I love that Swede's art! 7 of 10



Birds of Prey 101- Gets extra points for a LONG series of inappropriate jokes about Big Barda's Mega Rod and Barda herself making an escape to make her husband proud. DOuble points for the whole Oracle versus Spy Smasher and using the extra great Manhunter as a part of the new team. Very fun read. 8 of 10



Catwoman 62- A lot of questions get answered here, not least of which is 'Who is Catwoman's baby's daddy' (insert your Springer/Maury geust voice here). There'll be trouble coming down the pipe later, but for now everyone's happy and on the same page. Next month the crap hits the fan when we get back to Holly escaping police custody while being sweated for the murder of Black Mask, which was actually Selina's crime. Nice job by all here, but here's to Will Pfiefer's script for building on all of Ed Brubaker's fine work. 8 of 10



Checkmate 9- The infiltration of Kobra continues with a little help from the Shadowpact and Mr. Terrific picks an unexpected Bishop. This book get better each issue and I'm really looking forward to the detail's of Fire's unpleasantpast in the next arc. 7 of 10



Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes 4- See previous Round-Ups. Casey and Rosado continue to give good retro while Hanks starts to lose his shit. Yellowjacket is on the horizon! 6 of 10



Union Jack 4- Wraps up the series nicely, as the terrorist attack on London is foiled and the architect is brought to light. Also a nice Monty Python gag in the later pages. 6 of 10



Captain America/Iron Man: Casualties of War- Gage and Haun do a nice job of fillin g the gaps in Civil Wars' schedule with Cap and IM trying one last tiem to make peace. It does a great job of working through the long history the two have while stabbing at the central issues of Civil War. That said, I'm with Cap 100%. This will all come to no good. And Tony is a monumental jerk. Yeah, Cap's ideals are almost impossible to live up to, but the people who try get to be sure that thier heroes. That's what heroism is, an ideal. Not the realistic way to control things, but fighting for the way things ought to be. Um, just don't ban me for coming down on yer boy, WB... 7 of 10



New Avengers 26- I'm not sure what that was, but it was beautiful. Alex Maleev just draws the hell out of this book. And in the end Hawkeye is still off the table, Boo. 7 of 10



New Avengers: Illuminati 1- Speaking of beautiful... I read Bendis saying that Cheung drew the hell out of this book and he wasn't just whistling dixie. The Big Brains get thier butts handed to them by the Skrulls, and only Tony Stak's iron will saves the day. Also fun are conveinent shadows hiding Tony's Iron Junk and recalling the same moment as the Civil War special. 8 of 10



Criminal 3- Others have said that this issue was just spinning wheels, but I disagree. This is the issue where everything goes straight to hell. Mark my words, there are a number of threads here that will end tragically. It is merely the calm before the storm. Still, executed with skill and panache. Brubaker and Phillips are a killer team. 8 of 10





Pick of the Week- Ultimate Spider-Man 103- Brian Bendis has big brass balls! Huge, I tell you!! He takes the name and central premise of the most reviled Spider-Man story of the modern age and turns crap into gold like a little Jewish alchemist. The twists and turns in this one are fast and furious, but at the end of the day Bendis shows that the Green Goblin is a pussy compaired to the evil genius of Otto Octavius. More that this I cannot say, but it is inspired and it is good. All books this week bow down to it and it only misses a perfect score for being the penultimate chapter of the story.

9 of 10!!

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According to this press statement, the popular comic author has joined Lost's writing team.



And with him, let's just go ahead and choose to believe, some bad assery to come!

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WTF?!?!

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/ ... 774929.cfm



I know the look has always been changing but this is quite the radical jump for the look of the Archieverse.

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Uncanny X-Men #475-481



The story so far, approaching the half-way mark in a large arc normally seen pulled out and into some sort of 'maxi-series,' is essentially continuing the saga of Vulcan, the third Summers brother who apparently was secretly a member of the doomed mission to Krakoa, the Living Island, along with another mutant, Darwin. Vulcan has general-use bad assery powers, while Darwin's powers adapt to his environment, which is, in fact,, really cool, along with a cool name... unfortunately, both look like ass.



So Vulcan's busting ass on the way out to Shi'Ar space, to go kill the once and future Emperor D'Ken, and basically ventilate a lot of Shi'Ar ships along the way. He's had a life of slavery or torture or whatever, and he's pissed. Professor X assembles a team of X-Men, loosely covert, steals a startship, and chases after Vulcan, with Darwin along for the ride. Brubaker has done a good job over the first few issues, bouncing between what our heroes are up to, and what Vulcan's been eviscerating, all told in fairly succinct, one-issue stories, kind of like how Watchmen was... individual issues comprising a larger tale. Not too common these days. Anyway, some interesting ideas along the way present themselves: conspiracy and coup in the Shi'Ar empire after lilandra takes a powder, so to speak... the release of despot Deathbird again, the introduction of Korvus, a Devil May Cry rip-off with a giant Phoenix Force sword, who also seems to have a similar upbringing as Vulcan... and two Shi'Ar crewman who the X-Men save, but take this opportunity to thank them by kidnapping Professor X and shipping him to the homeworld for bad nasty business.



I'm having occasional trouble with the pacing of this story, but in concept, I'm liking all the component parts, and certainly, the pacing is better than most of what we've seen from Marvel on large-scale arcs in the last several years... especially becuase there haven't BEEN any. This was different. Brubaker came on and started a 12-issue arc. Like the old days. But better, in some respects, because of what preceded it. It's building on X-Men continuity, not relishing in nostalgia or trying to rip it a new one. Granted, it's central conceit is pased on a significant ret-con: the third Summers brother. But even that has it's roots in the throw-away reference from whoever it was, Sinister? So OK.



I like Shi'Ar, not so much because of what they are (a Star Wars clone) but more so because they were so important to the X-Men mythology when I was growing up. I like the hair. I like our friend with the giant sword that contains pieces of blue Phoenix Force or some e=such rationalization, and the design of it's very skinny handle, and very fat blade. Obviously an anime cipher, but anyway. I like the exploration of Rachel in the post Claremont butchery, as a young woman once again looking for her own identity (and in this issue, perhaps from the inside out, what-not first, baby!) And frankly, I like seeing Professor X tortured, that sanctimonious bastard,







Probably what's hurting it for me is Billy Tan's post Silvestri artwork. The colors are great, but the style of the art isn't my cup of tea. But it's better than so much of what we've had, that I'm not really complaining. And while he can sometimes throw in some wildly. Messed up faces and fake musculature, as if the spirits of Liefield and Portacio were having a punching match in his midbrain, I feel like he';s getting more comfortable with it. His Rachel in the latest issue was actually pretty cute. And I have to give him credit: unlike the more artistically ambitious Pacheco, or the treading water situation with Salvador Larroca, Billy Tan knows how to tell a story with pictures. Basic comic storytelling? Check. Surprising to think how rare THAT is, too. I've noticed lately that some of the books I've been enjoying, despite my lack of...I don't know, enthusiasm for the art... are primarily because those artists have strong storytelling skills, if at the expense of style. Sometimes doing it right is more important than doing it clever, I guess.



Plotwise, I like the intergalactic conspiracy angle, with a coup attempt from within the Shi'Ar government while Lilandra has apparently been recuperating in an asylum or what have you, after getting used and abused by Cassandra Nova. Points again for referencing the stories of previous writers, which adds to good continuity building. In addition, the use of Vulcan from the X-Men mini-series Deadly Genesis, the third Summers brother, is cool, and I haven't even READ that book yet. The motivations are clear, there's a reason for this Alpha-powered mutant to go apeshit on the Empire, and I'm all for it. The issues with Clayton Henry doing art chores, while odd because of his clean, more cartoony style, were still interesting, watching him mop up the floor with the Imperial Guard, to apparently fatal results, and in general, how he cuts such a wide swath through the Shi'Ar forces on his way to the homeworld. Equally interesting is this guy Darwin, along for the ride to help rescue his mentor. His having an alien appearance dovetails nicely with the way the X-Men are uneasy with their trust of him, especially since he apparently predates all of the "Giant-Size X-Men." But he's become quite the badass. I love the scene in the latest issue where you see him clutching to the roof of the ship entering the hangar bay. If he can survive the vacuum of space, I say give that guy some room.



What hurts, though, and maybe Tan just inherited the designs, but while the Shi'Ar stuff is well designed, both Vulcan and Darwin have lame, basic costumes. They look like City of Heroes rejects. So, that pulls me out of the experience a bit. Even IF Vulcan has started wielding a tattered cloak in an Akira 'homage' to put it politely.



I hope the results of this arc have some repercussions. At the very least, it's kept two teams from sharing the mansion at the same time... Make that three teams I guess... And finally they can't all share Wolverine (with the Avengers, too, ha) so some variety is a good thing, Also, points for Phoenix/Rachel's new hot outfit, I say!



And sheeee-it, we're not even half way done!



Oh, one last note: not a big fan of the de-evolution of Proudstar. As someone who followed, pleasantly, all of the post Liefield X-Force issues that actually allowed those kids to split from Cable and forge their own destinies, I quite liked the man he had become, who had really looked to be the more interesting brother at the end of the day, long past his dead older-brother's shadow. Now? He's a clone of the original character, and it bores me. Especially an X-Man with bad combat knives out of one of those iffy 'survival' -slash- fantasy costuming weapons catalogs. But it's never too late to let him out of that rut, guys!



7/10 Clicks so far...

Related posts:

1. X-Men: Deadly Genesis #6
2. Criminal # 06
3. Review: Thunderbolts #129

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