The Quarter Bin

For many fans of Marvel Comics’ Ultimate line of books, there are two distinct periods: Pre-Ultimatum and Post-Ultimatum. Almost all agree that anything that came out before the ill thought out Ultimatum miniseries was pretty good and a fun read. However, anything that came out after Ultimatum (or as I call it, the Loeb Era) has generally been, how can I put it…? Well, crap. Fortunately, the Pre-Ultimatum era gave us loads of great comics to revisit in trade paperback collections. One of the highlights for me is the concluding chapter of the Ultimate Galactus Trilogy, Ultimate Extinction. Read the rest of this entry »

I consider myself a pretty big Green Lantern fan. I’ve been reading the various Green Lantern comics faithfully for more than fifteen years. Imagine my excitement when Warner Brothers and DC Comics announced they’d finally be bringing GL to the silver screen. Sadly, that excitement was completely wiped away by my experience at the movie theater this week. While Green Lantern isn’t anywhere near as terrible as Ghost Rider, Punisher: War Zone, Batman and Robin, or Elektra, the film doesn’t just struggle to be coherent, it also has a hard time just being fun. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not going to lie, my expectations weren’t really all that high for the Captain America game. Hell, I’ll say it: they were downright low. Last month’s Thor proved that developers are still more than happy to release absolutely awful movie tie-in games to superhero films, even in a world where Batman: Arkham Asylum proved that it was more than possible to turn the genre into something absolutely brilliant. That said, in my time with the game, I walked away not only impressed, but excited to see if the rest of the game could hold up the level of quality presented in the demo. Read the rest of this entry »

The Justice League of America has had its ups and downs over the years. It seems for every “Lightning Saga” or “Generation Lost,” we also have something like… the Detroit League (the less said the better). But I think everyone can agree that one of the greatest eras in the League’s recent history was Grant Morrison’s 41 issue run when the book was titled simply JLA. He brought the “Original Seven” back together and gave us a monthly widescreen adventure that starred the best and brightest of the DC Universe. One of the finest stories to come out of this period was not in the monthly comic, however. That story took place in an original graphic novel where Morrison teamed with frequent collaborator Frank Quitely called JLA: Earth 2. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s going to be a big year for Green Lantern. The comics are arguably as popular as they’ve ever been, there’s a blockbuster movie coming out in just over a week, and there’s even a Green Lantern video game hitting stores today. Not one to be left out, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Home Video have teamed once again for another direct-to-DVD feature focusing on the Corps. Like Batman: Gotham Knight before it, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights is an anthology tale made up of a few different short stories. Though Hal takes a back seat to some of the lesser known members of the Green Lantern Corps, Emerald Knights is still an entertaining film that casual and hardcore fans can both enjoy. Read the rest of this entry »

I love the X-Men. I love the animated series from the 90s. I love the current comics run by Matt Fraction. I love mohawk Storm. Cyclops will forever be one of my favorite characters in any form of fiction. When Fox and Marvel teamed with Bryan Singer to make the first X-Men movie, I was ecstatic. The same went for the sequel. The third movie wasn’t so great, but Fox knew that these were characters that could keep bringing people back to the theater. After the announcement that X-Men: First Class was going back to the beginning under the helm of Matthew Vaughn, I was skeptical, but held out hope nonetheless. Thankfully, I was rewarded for my optimism as X-Men: First Class, flawed as it is, might just be the best X-Men film to date. Read the rest of this entry »

I’d be a liar if I told you I was a huge fan of vampire comics. What I am a fan of though are creator-owned comics. Especially those handled by some of my favorite creators. Shinku #1 happens to be all three of these things, and after reading Ron Marz and Lee Moder’s debut issue, I may be adding a vampire comic to my pull list. Gasp! Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve never played a Red Faction game before. I’d heard all about the great fun my friends had with the environmental destruction in the last game, but just never picked it up. When I heard that this new Red Faction was going to include even better destruction physics, I knew there was no way I could miss out on it. Fortunately for me, Armageddon lived up to the hype. A solid story teamed with excellent player-created carnage, as well as a decent multiplayer mode, makes Red Faction: Armageddon another strong entry in the franchise. Read the rest of this entry »

I am something of a Thor purist. As far as I’m concerned, the only writer who ever did the book correctly was Walter Simonson. Every writer who has worked on the title since has been compared to that legendary run of issues and has been found lacking. This is a large part of the reason I stopped even trying to read the book years ago; the disappointment each and every month was depressing. But with the advent of the new Thor movie hitting the big screen, I decided to pick up a Thor trade to scratch the itch I knew was coming. I went with the first volume of J. Michael Straczynski’s tenure on the book since I always thought his Amazing Spider-Man was some of the best writing that book had seen in years. Now that I have finished his opening arc on Thor, all I can think to say is, “Wow!” Read the rest of this entry »

I was a huge fan of Archaia’s first Days Missing series, which started in 2009 and spanned five issues. The sci-fi series, which is published in association with Roddenberry Productions, follows an immortal man calling himself “the Steward” as he manipulates time to save humanity from itself. I was worried that the second series, the fifth issue of which was released this week, wouldn’t live up to the first, but after reading the conclusion I believe that Days Missing: Kestus is actually even stronger than its predecessor.

Read the rest of this entry »