For The Love of Comics

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting and don't forget to tip your waitress!!

You know, if I didn’t already think Countdown is one of the most ridiculous things to ever be published…

…this would convince me.

“Kill you to death” was funny the first few hundred times I heard it, but that was when i was eight. I mean, not only did people get paid for writing this crap, but at least four people had to have thought it was actually decent dialogue in order for me to be reading it now.

And these aren’t stupid, inexperience kids new to the industry. The people involved in this book are all industry veterans, repeatedly proven to be able to do amazing work.

That’s what really kills me about this crap. Any single one of the creators involved in Countdown could do better than this on their own, so why is it that, as a group,
they are putting out such complete and utter shit?

Technorati Tags: Comics, DC, Countdown, Substandard Craftmanship

Share

Popularity: 13% [?]

A little over an hour ago, “—” left this comment on my last Dark Knight viral update post:

its good to see some of you clowns still have a little faith in me. keep your eyes peeled when the guy in diapers stops bye. a new game is going to begin

Originally the only “guy in diapers” I could think of was “Baby New Year”, but New Year’s is already here. You’ll have to forgive me for that one, I had a long day and my brain must have needed food, because it hit me while I was throwing down on some sesame chicken - CUPID!

I still wasn’t completely sure the comment was legit, so I did some research. As always, the geniuses at the Superhero Hype boards were already on the case and I learned that this has been showing up all over the ‘net tonight, all from some variation of “laughing matters” - the email address that “—” gave for the comment registration was “laughingmatters50 @ yahoo.com”.

So… it would appear that the game, once again, is afoot! Keep your eyes out for a special website with a name something like “laughing matters”

EDIT!

I emailed the address that “—” left and got this reply:

HaHaHa. I see that you have your own little ways of jumping a HEAD of the game.
I admire that in a clown. I have a little mission for you. just be patient and youll find
all the clues a clown could use. That is if you have what it TAKES

I wonder if there’s any significance to the all-capitalization of “HEAD” and “TAKES”.

More as it develops, though there may be nothing until Valentine’s Day.

Another Edit at 12:30 AM EDT
Everyone at the Superhero Hype boards is a little skeptical… I just got this email as I was heading to bed:

So my spy tells me you have doubts. A good clown should always be suspicious. It’s true things didn’t go as planned.
Just sit tight like the hoarding mass you are. A new boss will be taking over in a few days. He will instruct you when
the first arrow gets shot.

Final Update 7:25 AM
Call off the hounds. While I was sleeping, “Lou-fin Matters” stepped up and admitted he’s a faker. What a douche.

Technorati Tags: Movies, The Dark Knight, Batman, Joker, Viral Campaign, Laughing Matters

Share

Popularity: 15% [?]

Batman On Film has an update on the Dark Knight Cellphones via this email from one of their readers:

“’Chicago Joker Phone Guy’ here. Just got a text at 10:49 PM (CST) on The Joker cake phone that said that $30 was added to my account and the phone is now good until 3/29/2008.

After looking at the account information once the phone was initially received back in December, I found that the phone was set to expire tomorrow (1/30), leading us Bat-Fans to believe that the viral campaign (at least with the phones) was going to end. With the addition of the extra minutes, this means that the viral campaign lives on despite the untimely death of Heath Ledger (may he rest in peace). I have looked on message boards and several of the other cities have also confirmed that their phones have received extensions until the end of March as well.

[If this is indeed the case], I applaud Warner Bros. for continuing the marketing campaign and not letting the fans down or suppressing Heath’s extraordinary performance. We all have the greatest respect for Mr. Ledger and I believe we all know how to separate the Joker character from Heath. Heath’s performance should be celebrated and shown to the world and I believe that is exactly what Mr. Nolan and WB plan to do.

I cannot wait for the next viral to start and I will keep you updated as always.”

I agree with “Chicago Joker Phone Guy” on this one - I think the best way for WB to honor Ledger is by promoting his last performance as planned - by spotlighting that performance and riding it for all that it’s worth, which I suspect is quite a bit.

Technorati Tags: Comics, Movies, The Dark Knight, Viral Marketing, Batman, Joker, Heath Ledger, Cell Phones

Share

Popularity: 15% [?]

I’m on my way out the door for an appointment, so I don’t really have time to get into this, but I was just emailed this story:

NEW YORK (AP) — Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday at a downtown Manhattan residence, and police said drugs may have been a factor. He was 28. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the Manhattan apartment believed to be his home. The housekeeper who went to let him know the masseuse had arrived found him dead at 3:26 p.m.

Read the full AP story here and I’m sure I’ll post more tonight after I get home and read about it.

EDIT! Comic Book Resources has an excellent write-up with running updates.

I know I said that I would probably have more to say later, but I really don’t know what I can say. Obviously I don’t know that I would even be posting about this if Heath Ledger wasn’t playing The Joker in The Dark Knight, but it goes beyond that. Ledger was quite possibly the most talented actor of my generation and it breaks my heart that by the end of this year, we’ll have seen the last performances that he’ll ever make.

This is a deep, deep loss. I don’t think we’ll ever know how big of a loss since we’ll never know how much better he would have gotten.

Technorati Tags: Comics, Movies, Heath Ledger, Joker, The Dark Knight

Share

Popularity: 10% [?]

The Omniscient Rich Johnston of Lying In The Gutters has some new rumors of impending doom for some DC “Heavyhitters”:

So. If Warner won’t let DC Comics kill off Batman in “Final Crisis,” who can DC get away with introducing to the Grim Reaper? I mean it has to be decent names, but it also has to be someone that a major franchise license isn’t totally resting on.
From Geoff Johns’ CBR interview: “There are still tons of characters to write. Aquaman is a big one. I have very specific ideas for him. Very specific.”

From the letters page of this month’s Johnny DC “Justice League Unlimited,” in response to a young reader who doesn’t like the changes made to Aquaman: “Fans of Aquaman’s original look can look forward to a new comic book later in 2008.”

May be the original look, but will it be the original character?

I only ask, because the two names marked for karking I’ve been given by a DC source are Martian Manhunter and Aquaman.

I can only assume “karking” is similar to “killing”.

He also has rumors of an impending resurrection:

Frenzied old school DC fans may be placated by another series. What I hear is… Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver, “Barry Allen: Rebirth.”

It’s hard for me to get overly excited about any of this news, because I’m not exactly a big fan of any of these three characters, but I’m kind of annoyed on principle. A common theme in my opinions lately is that the publishers really need to quit messing around with the characters. There’s a reboot, death, resurrection, time-wall punching, or unexplained magic every time I turn around lately and it’s getting both boring and highly annoying.

STOP IT!!

Technorati Tags: Comics, DC, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Barry Allen, death, rebirth

Share

Popularity: 7% [?]

Hollywood Chicago is reporting that the phones from last month’s Step Right Up marketing finale are receiving text messages from the Joker.

Here is the email sent to Hollywood Chicago from the person who found the Chicago Cake:

I have the cell phone and I just got a text message from the Joker today from humanresources@whysoserious.com. Here’s what it said:

“You still out there, clown? Reply and let me know.”

I replied “yes” and I got another response:

“See you found my little message. So do you think you have what it takes to be a part of my circle of friends? Are you a backstabbing, self…”

Then the message gets cut off. Others I have talked to with the phone have said the same thing. I am sure this is an automated response.

I replied back “yes” to the last text and I am waiting to see what happens. I will keep you updated!

~ Vlkers54

Let the games begin again!

And give me something to do down here in Orlando, WB!

Comics, Movies, The Dark Knight, DC, Batman, Joker, Step Right Up, Why So Serious

Share

Popularity: 10% [?]

Technorati Tags: Comics, Movies, The Dark Knight, DC, Batman, Joker, Step Right Up, Why So Serious

After reading Issue 4 of Death of the New Gods, I have two predictions/points of speculation/whatever word you want to use.

The first may be a bit of a “duh” moment to most of you, but it just hit me - the souls of the New Gods that are supposed to be going to the Source are going to Jimmy Olsen instead, which is why he keeps exhibiting all of these strange powers. This explains the “Jimmy Olsen must die” tagline - Jimmy must die in order for the souls to be released and return to the Source Wall.

Which leads me to my next point of speculation, on the identity of the killer of the New Gods- some future version of Scott Free. Hear me out on this one. Say that at some point in the future, most likely Final Crisis, Scott finds out that the Source and/or the Source Wall is depleted and the only way to restore and/or patch it is through the sacrifice of the New Gods, whose souls would go back to the Source and thus replenish it. The problem is that it would have had to have been done months ago, so Scott uses his mastery of the Anti-Life equation to go back in time to save the Source and/or the Multiverse. This would explain Metron’s horror at finding out who the killer is, the Forever People’s assertion that it was the “most unexpected visitor of all”, and their refusal to succumb to Scott Free and the Anti-Life Equation, since the only thing that could resist the Anti-Life Equation is - in theory - the Anti-Life Equation.

That’s what I think, at least; only time will tell whether or not I’m right

What do y’all think?

tag: Comics, New Gods, Jimmy Olsen, Mister Miracle, Metron, Scott Free, Death of the New Gods

Share

Popularity: 4% [?]

Okay, Folks, I just took some time to sift through some news reading backlog (I swear, a day will come when I don’t have any reading backlogs - comics, news, or otherwise) and found some interesting stuff, so I’m just going to rock you with one post full of quick hits.

First up, via the Blog @ Newsarama, Tim Kring showed a trailer for Heroes: Vol. 3 at the Jules Verne Adventure Film Fest in Los Angeles and apparently someone recorded it on their camera phone:

Next, via IGN, the trailer for Hellboy II: The Golden Army has been released, and it is glorious!

2008 is starting to look like an excellent year for comic movies.

Finishing out the comic movie theme, The official Dark Knight site now has a page where you can download the trailer and a digital copy of my favorite poster so far:

Also, The Unofficial Dark Knight Movie Blog has some excellent screen captures from the aforementioned trailer. Here’s one of my favorites:

Finally, if you’re not reading Loli Loves Venom, you really really should be. Here’s the latest, Christmas edition of the webcomic:

And my current favorite, that I meant to post about weeks ago:

And I believe that catches me up with that. I plan on making one more post for Christmas, about Messiah Complex, before I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and head off for a week’s vacation which will likely be devoid of internet access.

tag: Comics, Movie, Heroes, Tim Kring, Hellboy, Golden Army, Batman, The Dark Knight, Joker, Loli Loves Venom

Share

Popularity: 16% [?]

Warning: Here thar be spoilers!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I owe you an apology. Based solely on my love of Batman and respect for Paul Dini and Co, I hyped the Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul storyline like nobody’s business. I talked about how I don’t know much about al Ghul, but everything I had heard about him being the Moriarty to Batman’s Holmes and so on had me intrigued, that the prelude in Batman 670 piqued my interest, and pledged to follow the entire crossover.

I followed the crossover, I gritted my teeth through every scene featuring Talia and her annoying crotch dropping, I kept watching for something to change, secure in my belief of Batman and good storytelling, and now I am pissed. At the end of the crossover in Detective Comics 839, everything returns to the status quo. Batman, Robin, and Nightwing all go back home, none the worse for wear; Damian disappears again, albeit possibly more mature; Talia is still a backstabbing wench. The only change we get are Ra’s is alive again - I didn’t even know he was dead and even if I had, it doesn’t take a crossover to return an immortal - and the only things even close to a twist were the revelations that The Sensei was Ra’s al Ghul’s father and the White Ghost was al Ghul’s son. Frankly, I don’t really care about either one.

And this is why this crossover was the biggest disappointment and waste of time in 2007, a year full of some pretty big piles of crap, including Countdown, which wasn’t too far behind in its second-place spot.

On a side note, does anyone know Damian’s last name? Is it Damian al Ghul or Damian Wayne?

tag: batman, Biggest Disappointment of 2007, comics, Damian, DC, Paul Dini, Ra’s Al Ghul, Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul

Share

Popularity: 7% [?]

Ok, folks, if you go to A Taste For The Theatrical and click the “download now” link, you will be redirected to the trailer for The Dark Knight, the new Batman sequel.

Enjoy it, I’m off to do the same.

tag: A Taste For The Theatrical, The Dark Knight, Trailer, Batman, Joker

Share

Popularity: 16% [?]