I’m LTTP on this one, but I wanted to see what you guys and dolls think of the latest Thor trailer (posted above). A lot of my friends are hating on the costumes, but they don’t really bother me. The Destroyer looks pretty dope and I totally marked out when Thor used his mystical uru hammer. I’m still not convinced that mainstream moviegoers give a crap about Thor, but I’m totally down for some hammer time. And you?
Tag: Comics
Hugh Jackman Injures Eye on Oprah
It sounds completely lame that Wolverine injured himself on Oprah, but Hugh Jackman did it in the coolest possible way. This isn’t Tom Cruise jumping up and down on a couch like an idiot. This is Jackman slicing his face as he flies through the air! Here’s the story according to Fox NY:
X-Men star Jackman injured himself as he flew on a zip line from the top of the Opera House to the stage — where Winfrey hosted both shows Tuesday — outside the iconic building.
He cut his right eye on the way down to the stage when his leg struck a studio light, forcing Winfrey to call for a break in filming so he could be treated for his injury. The actor, however, made light of the incident, saying, “That was so much fun — let’s do it again.”
I don’t care that he got his big break in Oklahoma the musical. Jackman is a stud!
Do You Like Emma Stone’s Blonde Gwen Stacy Hair?
Here’s a picture of Emma Stone with what’s clearly a Gwen Stacy haircut. Ha! As you know, she’s slated to play Gwen in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot. Did you know that she’s a natural blonde and has been dying her hair for various roles since she was a young teen? I think she’s sexy with red hair and equally delightful as a blonde. What say you?
Coffee Talk #262: My Favorite Interview
RPadholic bsukenyan asked me, “Favorite person you interviewed?” That’s an easy answer! It was DICE 2005 in Las Vegas. I headed up to Activision’s private suite with my coworker Ryan. With each step I took, I got more and more…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the Cliff Lee bonanza, Katy Perry changing her last name, or remembering Elizabeth Edwards, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
RPadholic bsukenyan asked me, “Favorite person you interviewed?” That’s an easy answer! It was DICE 2005 in Las Vegas. I headed up to Activision’s private suite with my coworker Ryan. With each step I took, I got more and more chills. Remember how excited you got when Hulk Hogan “Hulked Up”? That’s exactly what I felt like right before I interviewed Stan Lee.
This was the only time I’ve ever marked out during an interview. I’m cool with game developers, musicians, movie stars, television peeps, WWE Superstars, etc. Meeting a living legend like Stan Lee…wow. That’s something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. It was an amazing honor and I was so incredibly grateful that my career led me to a Stan Lee interview.
Out of curiosity, have you ever marked out when meeting someone famous? Who would make you absolutely lose it?
I Want These Green Lantern Converse All-Stars!
Like most Filipinos, I have more shoes than I ought to. I absolutely don’t need another pair and I really shouldn’t spend the money…but I totally want these Green Lantern Converse! I can’t find any online (in my size), but there are some Journeys stores in SoCal that claim to have them in stock. I really shouldn’t…but they’re so cool!
What do you think of these GL kicks?
TPB Review: Batman & Robin and Red Robin
Two weekends ago I devoured the comic-book trade-paperbacks: Batman & Robin volume 1: Batman Reborn, Red Robin: The Grail, and Red Robin: Collision. I read each one at least three times. Here are some random thoughts on these three books.
Batman & Robin: I absolutely love Frank Quitely’s art. It’s so distinct and full of character. His pencils are consistently great in this Batman & Robin run. Too bad I can’t same the same thing about Grant Morrison’s writing. I really don’t understand what happened to him. He used to be one of best and most consistent writers out there. For the last few years he’s had outstanding moments mixed with ones that leave you thinking, “What the f*ck was he thinking?!?”
Anyway, I was drawn to this book because I’m a big Nightwing fan and I wanted to see how Dick Grayson would do as Batman. I’m also fascinated by Damian Wayne, the new Robin. Damian is the son of Bryce Wayne and Talia al Ghul (Ra’s daughter). He was genetically bread for physical and mental perfection, but he’s also arrogant and harshly warped (being raised by the League of Assassins will do that to you). This version of Batman and Robin is fun because Batman is the light character and Robin is the dark one.
The first half of the book is kind of mess thanks to a really lame villain. The second half is infinitely better thanks to the return of the Red Hood (Jason Todd, the second Robin). It’s fun watching the Red Hood try to modernize vigilantism with a brutal sense of justice and using social media tools like Twitter. The second half of the book is really good, combining a sharp story, excellent action, and great art.
Red Robin: First off, it was hard to read these books without thinking of endless fries at Red Robin. Getting past that, this was the most pleasant comic-book surprise I’ve had in 2010. As I mentioned in this Coffee Talk, I love “tweener” characters — heroes that are no longer sidekicks, but aren’t the primary heroes just yet. These two books trace Tim Wayne’s (formerly Drake) path from being a sidekick as Robin to becoming his own man a Red Robin.
I absolutely loved Chris Yost’s writing in these books (you really need both trade paperbacks for the full effect). It blends action, mystery, a global chase, coming-of-age, romantic tension, and more. The story is well paced; it does a fantastic job of alternating the fight scenes with Tim’s cerebral stuff and fun banter between the various characters. The two books culminate in a plot by Ra’s al Ghul against Red Robin and it’s so completely awesome to see how Tim outsmarts one of Batman’s sharpest foes. [Minor Spoiler Alert!!!] I totally marked out when Ra’s called Tim “Detective” right before kicking him out a window. Ra’s usually reserves that title for Batman and using it on Tim shows how his respect for the former Boy Wonder has grown.
Like most Bat Books, the story begins and ends in Gotham. In between, Red Robin travels the world on an impossible quest. Of course he emerges triumphant, but it’s one hell of a ride to the end. While I can’t fully recommend Batman & Robin volume 1, I highly suggest picking up these two Red Robin books. I expected to enjoy them, but I was surprised that they were among my favorite reads of 2010. Excellent stuff.
Binary Thoughts on the Young Justice Premiere
I just watched the premiere of the Young Justice on Cartoon Network. As a standalone cartoon, I thought it was great — lots of fun and quite enjoyable. As a huge fan of the Young Justice and Teen Titans comics, I had some problems with it. I’ll definitely be watching the series regularly and have high hopes for it, but I’ll have to get used to some things. Here are some binary thoughts on the premiere.
Bad: Using Earth-16 as the show’s setting gives the writers a lot of freedom. It also allows the writers to piss off fans of the mainline comics. As I mentioned earlier in the week, the show mixes elements of Young Justice and the Teen Titans books. In some cases, it takes the best of both worlds (5150). In other cases, the writers unnecessarily create new elements that will annoy comic-book fanboys (like me).
Good: The premiere was well paced, with snappy writing and fun action. The team is a good mix, with Robin providing the book smarts and Aqualad bringing calm wisdom. Kid Flash wasn’t defined well and Superboy didn’t add much (which makes sense from a storytelling perspective). I’m confident that Supes will come along, but I worry about KF being redundant (more on this later). I’m really looking forward to Miss Martian, as she’s one of my favorite characters in the current Teen Titans books…and green chicks are totally hot.
Bad: This complaint has everything to do with me being a fanboy. Although the Robin in the Young Justice cartoon is supposed to be Dick Grayson, he’s more like an amalgamation of the first three Robins. Like Dick, he has incredible acrobatic skills and reacts well in most situations. Like Jason Todd, he’s impetuous and sometimes acts without thinking things through. Like Tim Drake — one of my favorite characters over the last few years — he’s a skilled computer hacker. I really don’t like this mix. I wish the writers went with a pure version of Tim Drake; in the comics he’s the least physically powerful member of the team, but his leadership, computer skills, maturity, and intellect make him the perfect leader. In the cartoon he’s kind of an impetuous and goofy kid that can flip around and hack computers.
Good: I like the Aqualad is the smart one in the group…mostly because I like that the brown kid is the mature and logical one.
Bad: Would someone explain to me why Aqualad is brown? If he spends most of his time underwater, I don’t see how he (or his ancestors) can maintain a tan.
Good: I loved Speedy’s (Green Arrow’s sidekick) portrayal. He was excellent as the rebellious youth.
Bad: Sadly, Speedy bails 11 minutes into the show and it doesn’t look like he’ll be a regular.
Bad: What’s up with Young Justice being Batman’s covert operations team? I suppose this makes the show a mix of Young Justice, Teen Titans, and The Outsiders, but shouldn’t Bats use…I don’t know…adults for covert-ops missions?!? Perhaps Batman was watching too many episodes of 21 Jump Street when he came up with this brilliant idea.
Bad: I worry about Kid Flash being redundant. While I like that Robin and Kid Flash have a tight rapport (Dick Grayson and Wally West are best friends in the comics), they were too similar in the premiere. It made me wish that the writers used Impulse (Bart Allen) instead. Bart’s goofy innocence — kid was raised in the future in a lab and doesn’t quite understand how the world works — would have made for a more distinct character. Then again, the “not understanding the world” thing would have conflicted with Superboy (a clone) and Miss Martian (a…uh…Martian).
Even though I listed more bad things than good, I’m really looking forward to watching more Young Justice. I just have to get used to the show’s setting and the spin on characters I know so well from the comics. I’m sure it will be fun and, at the very least, I’m sure I’ll dig all the cameos by the adult heroes.
If you happened to watch the premiere, let’s talk it up! I’d love to hear your thoughts on Young Justice.
Don’t Forget to Watch Young Justice on Friday!
I’m totally psyched for the premiere of Young Justice on Cartoon Network. The new DC animated series kicks off with a one-hour special on Friday before regular episodes in January. Even though the show is called Young Justice, it has more in common with the Teen Titans comics than the excellent Peter David books. The lineup includes Robin (Dick Grayson, not Tim Drake), Kid Flash (Wally West, as opposed to Bart Allen’s Impulse), Aqualad (who is brown skinned for some reason), Superboy, Artemis (instead of Arrowette), and Miss Martian.
In addition to the teen sensations, there will be plenty of cameos by the grown ups. Batman, Superman, Green Arrow, Captain Marvel (don’t call him Shazam!), and others will be in the show’s initial run.
I hope a bunch of you watch or record Young Justice so we can talk it up over the weekend. Any of you interested in the show?
Binary Thoughts on the Green Lantern Trailer
If you haven’t seen the trailer for the upcoming Green Lantern movie then check it out (embedded above). As a huge fan of the GL comics, I had mix thoughts on the trailer. Let’s break it down binary style.
If you haven’t seen the trailer for the upcoming Green Lantern movie then check it out (embedded above). As a huge fan of the GL comics, I had mix thoughts on the trailer. Let’s break it down binary style.
Good: I loved seeing the supporting characters. I marked out when Abin Sur, Tomar-Re, Sinestro, and Kilowog were on the screen. The aliens look frickin’ awesome and I’m already excited for a sequel with a yellow-ringed Sinestro. It’s also kind of cool that Jango Fett is playing Abin.
Bad: I never liked Hector Hammond. He looks like a nob in the comic books. He absolutely looked like a nob in the trailer. There’s no way to make this character look cool. Peter Sargaard is a fine actor, but I sincerely doubt he can make this character interesting.
Good: Ryan Reynolds looks great as Hal Jordan. When he first started ring slinging, Jordan was young, brash, and reckless. I absolutely get that feel from Reynolds. Perhaps that’s why he snagged Scarlett Johansson….
Bad: I really hate the Green Lantern costume Reynolds wears. The ridges bother me. I said this before, but it’s worth repeating: the costume looks like a green piece of salmon nigiri.
Bad: I’m not digging Blake Lively as Carol Ferris. She’s too damsel-in-distress and doesn’t seem like someone that’s in charge of a large aviation company. Perhaps I’ll change my mind if she appears in a purple bikini in the sequel as Star Sapphire.
My initial vibe is that it’ll be okay, but hardly one of the best superhero movies. As a Green Lantern mark, I’m sure I’m going to enjoy it. Please check out the trailer and let me know what you think!
Marvel Pinball Featuring Spider-Man, Iron Man, and More
My buddy Cbake at Marvel just posted this cool video of the upcoming Marvel Pinball for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. The game features Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, and Blade pinball tables with their respective villains making appearances. (On a side note, did Blade get in the game through affirmative action?) As a comic-book fanboy and a pinball fan, I’m really looking forward to this one. Kindly check out the video and let me know what you think (please)!