Binge Mode

              

               With Game of Thrones returning on 14 April, I thought I would highlight another podcast favorite of mine: Binge Mode. For those of you that are unaware, Binge Mode is a Ringer podcast about many things, but they have a particular love of Game of Thrones (and A Song of Ice and Fire) and Harry Potter. For GoT, Jason and Mallory have gone through, and beyond, every chapter and TV episode. The same can be said of their sojourn in Harry Potter (Except with films as opposed to episodes, obviously). They have also covered a number of other pop culture topics.

               What makes this show so good is two things: the hosts and their passion. Jason and Mallory clearly have a deep connection with each other and with the materials they cover. And that makes all the difference in the world. Are these two very intelligent that do their research, inform their audience, and have substantial discussions about whatever topic is their focal point? Absolutely, but any number of people can do that. They go above and beyond that to be both wildly entertaining and express genuine affection (I don’t think I can count high enough to tell you how many times I’ve heard Mallory tearing up/on the brink). What these two do is make me even more passionate about not just these stories, but every story I interact with. And that’s all I need.

The Future of Supernatural... Or lack thereof

               This past weekend, I shed a couple tears. I was going to write about it immediately but couldn’t form the sentences I needed. But now I can talk about the fact that Supernatural will be ending after its 20 episode 15^th season. This is absolutely devastating. It is hard for me to ever declare anything my favorite, but Supernatural is the closest I will ever come to declaring a television show my favorite.

               Now, I was not part of the Supernatural family from the beginning. In fact, I only joined after the initial five season story arc had concluded. I watched all five (and 3/4 ish) seasons in a month or two when I finally decided to watch. I finished season six watching it live. Hard to believe that was almost ten years ago. But it was and I have never looked back. This family is incredibly dysfunctional, as is befitting of this show, but I have seen them come together to do real good in the world through charities, GoFundMes, etc. And I am incredibly proud to count myself among this fanbase.

The Winchesters are incredibly important characters to me. So are Castiel, Bobby, Jodie Mills, and any number of other characters on this show. The way they have grown, changed, died, come back, adopted children, acted as surrogate father figures, and saved the world countless times. It is honestly astounding what you can do with over 300 episodes worth of characterization. The same goes for the incredibly complex mythology. 15 years forces you to really create new layers and Supernatural has been very good about rarely contradicting itself. It does happen occasionally, but 300 hours is a lot of continuity.

And it goes beyond the show. You see the people involved with this show and they are examples to be looked up to. The actors are good people, fathers, friends, etc. The showrunners and crew are always positive. I have never seen anyone say they didn’t love being on this show.

And finally, this is a show I have grown with, as a person. Part of that is natural to growing up and being thrust into the world. But some of that is a show about family and love and choosing your own family and knowing that they will care for you no matter what happens. That is the real importance of Supernatural. That is the real power of this long winding story.

I think I will be doing a re-watch over the course of this year so that I can have everything fresh in my mind when the end comes. And there will be plenty of posts about that re-watch that go more in depth into my thoughts and feelings about this show. I just wanted to acknowledge this sad news. Its almost time for that long promised peace for these wayward sons.

Comic Reviews 03.25.2019

               Hey y’all! I read a decent number of comics this week. And they were mostly pretty good! The Comics of the Week goes to Young Justice #3! It’s a good comic, fun comic and that’s all I want it to be.

               On a side note, Jonathon Hickman is coming to save the X-Men! I loved Hickman’s work on Avengers and Fantastic Four so I’m psyched. Coming in June, two miniseries. Anyway, let’s get to the comics. As always, Spoilers for everything.

Comics Reviewed: Young Justice #3, Age of X-Man: Apocalypse and the X-tracts #1, Age of X-Man: Prisoner X #1, Age of X-Man: X-Tremists #1, X-Force #1, Uncanny X-Men #14, The Flash #58

Young Justice #3

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Patrick Gleason and Viktor Bogdanovic

Colors: Chris Sotomayor (pg. 6-16) and Hi-Fi

Inks: Jonathon Glapion (pg. 12,14-15,18) and Alejandro Sanchez (pg. 1-5)

Letters: Carlos M. Mangual and Josh Reed

Cover: Gleason and Sanchez

               This is a good, fun comic, y’all. My only problem is that the story is moving at a snail’s pace. Which is not surprising for a Bendis comic, but for whatever reason, it feels extreme here. The writing is snappy and I like that each issue is a focus issue, although I am not sure Bendis quite has Connor’s voice nailed down. It is super interesting that Connor has decided to  settle down and start a family in Gemworld. I wonder how that will effect this arc. And does his kid make Superman a grandfather? If so, is Lex one too?

 

I'm gonna cry

               In terms of the art, I hope Gleason is alright. It’s not great that there is another artists so early in this series, but it also might not be Gleason’s fault. Either way, his art remains impeccable. Bogdanovic’s is… less so. The isn’t anything in particular that is wrong with it, but the art on his pages is just not as dynamic. But it is plenty good enough for a fill in issue. I just hope Gleason returns for the full issue next time.

Verdict: Buy

Age of X-Man: Apocalypse & the X-Tracts #1

Writer: Tim Seeley

Artist: Salva Espin

Colors: Israel Silva

Letters: VC’s Travis Lanham

Cover: Gerardo Sandoval and Silva

               I don’t know what to say about this comic. Nothing really happened in it. Apocalypse is leading an insurgency against the X-Men. You get it? It’s just the opposite of Age of Apocalypse. There aren’t really any interesting characters here. Even Kitty Pryde is boring. How did Seeley manage that? And I know he’s a good writer, but this comic felt phoned in.

              

               Salva Espin’s art was fine. Everything looks sharp and is clear. Some of the faces look the same and it just isn’t very exciting art.

Verdict: Pass

Age of X-Man: Prisoner X #1

Writer: Vita Ayala

Artist: German Peralta

Colors: Mike Spicer

Letters: VC’s Joe Sabino

Cover: Patch ZIrcher and Brian Reber

               I really enjoyed this comic. That was several days ago at the time of writing and I barely remember what happened. Does that mean it was bad? No. Does that mean I want to come back for more? Probably not. Vita Ayala had some decent lines of dialogue, but beyond that, I found it to be just fine. Also, I know this an alternate universe (Or something like that?), but Beast seems completely out of character and I don’t believe in it at all. Same with vindictive Gabby. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.

               German Peralta’s art mirrors that feeling. Everything looks good and is easy to follow, but the environments are bland, and the characters don’t look particularly special. Except Beast and Polaris. Because he is a big blue furball (And in an outdated design, but alternate timeline, I guess?) and she has green hair.

Verdict: Borrow

Age of X-Man: X-Tremists

Writer: Leah Williams

Artist: Georges Jeanty

Inks: Roberto Poggi

Colors: Jim Charalampidis

Letters: VC’s Clayton Cowles

Cover: Razzah

This was a fun little comic. I don’t know Leah Williams, but I think she had some fun, snappy dialogue here. And the story seems rife to explore the morals of these characters. What a weird group of characters too. How did Monet and Northstar end up on this team? He doesn’t even seem to serve any purpose. Of course, that probably means he’s the key to whatever we end up seeing in this series.

Strange lineup

Georges Jeanty is a very good artist that has both an innocuous and striking style here. It is so hard for me to talk about because it is very much something I enjoy, but also something that doesn’t stand out. Normally I’d label that as “fine” art, but something here make sit better than that. Maybe it’s the expressive faces? This is why I tend to focus more on stories and writing in these reviews. I am FAR from an artistic expert.

Verdict: Buy

X-Force #1

Writer: Ed Brisson

Artist: Dylan Burnett and Juanan Ramirez

Colors: Jesus Aburtov and Brian Reber

Letters: JVC’s Cory Petit

Cover: Pepe Larraz and David Curiel

               Ed Brisson is my guy on the X-books, but this comic is boring. The backup story is much closer to what I was expecting from the main story: focused, charming, and character driven. The main story is instead driven by characters from the country Mt. Wundagore is in and none of the characters have discernable personalities. Its pretty disappointing from that angle. Except for my girl Boom Boom! Her backup story feels so much more energetic and interesting, like Brisson wanted to make it the entire issue. Also, the person that fits Kid Cable’s description that gets mentioned a couple times in this issue is definitely Kid Stryfe, right?

              

               And the art… I don’t think I like Dylan Burnett’s art. It is not inherently unappealing. I can tell what is happening in every panel and the backgrounds look fine. But every character is off model in most shots. Look at Kid Cable’s arm in the above panel. It looks like that every few panels. What is going on?

               On the opposite end, Juanan Ramirez’s art is much more my speed and even improved from his story in Uncanny X-Men #11. It is much more energetic and has far more personality that Burnett’s. It also seems to be all on model. Pretty good.

Verdict: Pass

Uncanny X-Men #14

Writer: Matthew Rosenberg

Artist: Salvador Larroca

Colors: Guru-eFX

Letters: VC’s Joe Carmagna

Cover: Larroca and Rachelle Rosenberg

               Y’all! A good issue of this arc has arrived! The dialogue here is kinda stilted, but the story was interesting. Have the Morlocks, led by Chamber, was  fun. They’re now based in Chernaya which is interesting. There are problems here, though. I know that Cyke and Logan are the focal characters of this story, but why was Havok there during the meeting with Val Cooper. They worked together in X-Force! They worked with Madrox too, but he was too busy being wildly out of character and beating a powerless mutant with multiple baseball bats. I think Matthew Rosenberg hates this character. Everyone is mostly in character. I still don’t think Rosenberg really understands Cyke, but oh well.

              

The art is, once again, very good. It seems a little stiff, but otherwise I still enjoy it. Magik has a Colossus arm in this issue. Was it like that in past issues? I have no idea why, but the mutant they captured and beat looked like Colossus. What’s up with that?

Verdict: Buy

The Flash #58

Script: Josh Williamson

Artist: Rafa Sandoval

Inks: Jordi Arragona

Colors: Tomeu Morey

Letters: Steve Wands

Cover: Sandoval, Arragona, and Morey

               Josh Williamson’s run on this comic has been a mixed, but mostly good, bag. And this issue continues that trend. The general idea of Barry going on a “Force Quest” is interesting, but what does that mean? Its implied that this is some walkabout thing, but is that it? And what does Barry expect to get out of this? A better understanding of the Speed Force. But what does that mean? It just isn’t clear. And will that better understanding help explain what the other forces are? Are they related to the forces over in Justice League? I’m a bit behind on that book as well, but its been implied they are linked, but no real link has been shown.

              

               That was all pretty negative, but I did enjoy this issue. I think the characters were fun and Barry and Iris’ banter was entertaining. Gemini seems like they might be an interesting foe even if they’re being left behind for the time being. There wasn’t much plot progression here, but it was a fun little one off.

 

This is Iris...

               As for the art… It is very good. Unless you look at Barry’s or Iris’ faces. In that case, its awful. But the rest of the art is energetic, expressive, and detailed. Sandoval is an artist I always enjoy and that doesn’t change here.

Verdict: Buy

Google Stadia is cool

Hey y’all, let’s talk Stadia. Stadia is Google’s new video game streaming service with a terrible logo. Like, its just a generic stylized S. But that’s not important. What is important is the potential of this service. For those that don’t know, Stadia is a service through which players will be able to stream video games to any device with Google Chrome. The idea is to essentially eliminate the need for consoles and PC specs. Theoretically, you won’t have to purchase any actual hardware. Unless you want to play on your Chromecast. Then you’ll need the special Stadia controller. Either way, this a very cool idea if it works.

Captain Marvel Review

       

   

               A lot has been made of the fact that Captain Marvel is Marvel Studios’ first female-led film, both in front of and behind the camera. And rightfully so but none of that would matter if the film bombed. It didn’t. Captain Marvel has crushed the box office to the tune of approximately $800 million thus far. Which maybe makes this redundant. If y’all are interested in the film, you’ve probably seen it at least once. But I want to get my thoughts out there and debut a new review format.

               Said format is fairly simple. I am going to list and discuss the moments and aspects of Captain Marvel that had the most impact on me. They could be either positive or negative although this time they’ll be pretty positive because I really enjoyed this film. And this will be VERY SPOILER FILLED.

So, without further ado, let’s jump in!

Blog Update 03.20.2019

               Hey y’all. I’m here to give a quick update on my plans for this blog. As I continue to get into a regular (mostly) groove of writing, I have found that the best days fro me to upload are Wednesday and Friday with Comics Reviews on Sundays. That’s the plan for right now. I will also be writing and uploading on other days occasionally, as my schedule permits.

              

               Beyond the schedule, I have two quick updates: First, I will be posting my official review of Captain Marvel. This is going to be in a different format than I use for the comic reviews and I will go more into detail at the top of the reviews. The other update is that I am looking into potentially moving the site from Blogger. I hastily threw this site together because I have been wanting to do it for a very long time and knew that I would never do it unless I just did it. So I have and as I become more consistent and invested in the continuance of this blog, I want to create a better website for those of you that read (and hopefully enjoy) what I am doing here.

              

               That’s all for now everyone. Expect the Captain Marvel review either later today or by Friday. Then on Sunday, the plan is to have by far the largest Comics Reviews yet. As long as I read everything I plan to. See y’all later!

Comic Reviews 03.17.2019

               Hey y’all! We’re back on schedule this week. It’s a pretty small list of comics I read this week. No X-Men, but plenty of Spider-Man and Wonder Comics. I really enjoyed these issues as whole, but the Comic of the Week has to be Miles Morales: Spider-Man.

Saladin Ahmed, Javier Garron, and the crew are building a fun little world for the best Spider-Man and I am here for it.

Comics Reviewed: Young Justice #2, Naomi #1, Superior Spider-Man #1, Miles Morales: Spider-Man

Avengers Endgame Trailer

This is it! I’ve been waiting for something to get me excited about this film and that something has arrived. Because this isn’t really a trailer about this film. Yes, it ends that way, but this a trailer meant to remind us about the journey we’ve taken with these characters over the last decade as some of them undoubtedly embark upon their last adventure.

I have plenty of qualms with the MCU and it’s individual chapters, but I keep coming back. It’s definitely not because of the plots because at least half of those are average or below. It’s because a majority of the characters are incredibly well realized. I’m sure this will be the last time we see my favorite for at least a while and probably the last time with Chris Evans' face. That’s going to be sad, but there are plenty of new heroes to have fun.

              

               Anyway, I’m finally excited for Avengers: Endgame. I’ll see y’all again son for my Captain Marvel review.

Comic Reviews 03.13.2019

               Sorry for being late with this set of reviews! I had an insane amount of homework this past week. But I’m back now and I will be back on schedule this week.

               This week I jumped headfirst into Age of X-Man with mixed results. DC’s Wonder Comics line continues to be very good. And there’s a couple other books in here. Comic of the Week is easily Wonder Twins #1. Its just fantastic.

               Overall, I am pleased with the comics here and I hope this is a fun set of reviews. As always, Spoilers.

Comics Reviewed: Uncanny X-Men #13, Age of X-Man: The Marvelous X-Men #1, Age of X-Man: NextGen #1, Age of X-Man: The Amazing Nightcrawler #1, Heroes in Crisis #6, Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2, Wonder Twins #1

Go See Captain Marvel

Here's a trailer for Captain Marvel to get everyone excited. The film officially released today and everyone should go see it. My roommates and I went last night to an early showing. I’ll be doing a full write up next week, but the short version is that I really enjoyed it. Brie Larson embodies Carol Danvers in a way that maybe no other Marvel Cinematic Universe actor has, with the exception of Chris Evans and Captain America. I feel like that might be a hot take, but it is my opinion. Just a short post here. Watch the trailer above and go see the film. There's 2 credit scenes, by the way.

Strong Songs

Hey y’all. I wrote a short thing about the Frozen 2 trailer a couple weeks ago. That combined with my Kingdom Hearts III playthrough has really invigorated my interest in them first film. I had forgotten how good it is. Very good it turns out. Butut that's not why I'm writing this. Although I might in the future. I'm here to talk about Strong Songs.

Strong Songs is fairly new podcast hosted by professional musician and form Kotaku editor Kirk Hamilton. Every episode, Kirk chooses a song and discusses what makes them work. Thus far, he's covered such songs as Africa by Toto, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, and, most recently, Let It Go from Frozen. And that's the episode I wanted to point everyone towards today. It's a very good episode. And it, like every other episode, has made me think about music differently. And Kirk has put it in more eloquent terms than I could hope to.

You can listen up at the top or you can probably find it on any podcast app. Really, check it out. It's a great show that's worth everyone's time.

Comic Reviews- 03.03.2019

So, I didn’t have time to read many comics this week as I wanted this week, but I’ll compensate by giving you a couple longer ones. This was a up and down week, but overall positive. I really enjoyed a couple of these and am very excited because the next issues have released. The others make me curious, but I am not in love with them. The Comic of the Week was pretty easy to decide though: Young Justice #1. By far the stand out and I’ll have the review for issue #2 next week.

As always, Spoilers ahead.

 

They sure are Bart. They sure are.

Comics Reviewed: Young Justice #1, Heroes in Crisis #4 & 5, Age of X-Man Alpha, Uncanny X-Men #12

New Dark Phoenix Trailer

So, here's where the X-Men franchise stands: Uncanny is fairly mediocre right now and they're in the middle of an event of unclear quality. Their hasn't been a above average quality film in the series since at least 2014 (Yes, this does include Deadpool, but I have yet to watch Logan). And the probable final non-MCU films in the series are going to be released this year. And boy do they not look great.

Starting with Dark Phoenix, what even is this film? It appears to be an adaptation of The Dark Phoenix Saga, but it also seems to have another government organization that captures the X-Men and I saw an interview the Simon Kinberg in which he says the X-Men will be fractured and set against each other. You know what other X-Men film had a ton of plot lines and Phoenix? The Last Stand. But at least Cyclops has a chance to finally be a interesting character in the films (My guy, James Marsden, was done dirty).

As for New Mutants? It looks interesting. It has been pushed back so many times that I don't know what to think. It comes out in August so that means the studio believes in it, right? Or is August too late to be considered the summer window? Either way, the horror tinge to it has me interested. Especially if Demon Bear is in it. They have a pretty good cast a a director whose last film I remember being well received. I will definitely watch this.

Overall, I am kinda sad to see the end of this universe. It has been a steady franchise most my life and to see it end is sad. Having said that, let's take the best team  of superheroes ever created away from Bryan Singer and his influence.