Numbered Things I Love and/or Hate: DC Comics (Over the Last Decade)

When we last left off, I was expressing my opinion on the current mainstream comics landscape with regards to Marvel Comics.Well, it is only fair to give the Distinguished Competition the same treatment.

So, DC Comics. They...have not been having as good a time as Marvel has. Despite releasing two of the most lauded and respected films of the last decade (and an apparently middling follow-up; I still haven't seen The Dark Knight Rises) and an excellent run on video games that the new Injustice: Gods Among Us is shaping up to continue, everything else has gone kinda...bleh. Their one time dominance of animation has dwindled down due to killing off those few shows that were growing into themselves and becoming much more developed (good night, Young Justice and Brave and the Bold) while replacing them with half-hearted clones of previous successes (seriously, Teen Titans? Seriously? And I'm not even bothering with Beware the Batman). The live-action department hasn't been doing much better, with Arrow pretty much the only non-Batman property to remotely stand for any length of time. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the elephant in the room: the New 52. A editorial and marketing crapstorm of epic proportions. With every hit, another two titles got knocked out before their first storyline got finished. But with Man of Steel on the horizon (although still involving Nolan) and the comics universe now reaching a weird state of equilibrium, can DC get back to being top dog once again?

Vermillion’s #CBR5 Review #03: Dungeons of Dread by Gary Gygax and Lawrence Schick

SPECIAL GUEST REVIEW FOR MAGNETIC EYES OF SUPER-POWER

 

The Skinny:

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5.

Series Order: S Series, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition

Links

Book's Website: Dungeons of Dread on Wizards.com
Book/Author's Twitter: @Wizards_DnD
Amazon: Buy Dungeons of Dread Through My Affiliate Link!
Goodreads:

In Six Words: Four Adventures Collected For Nostalgia's Sake.

Numbered Things I Love and/or Hate: Marvel Comics (Over the Last Decade)

In a effort to jump-start my blogging juices, I decided to try something new. Since list posts seem to be the most popular type of post you can do, I am going to view-whore for all its worth with this one! So Welcome to Numbered Things, a hopefully recurring feature where I condense everything I love and/or hate about a particular thing into easily digestible chunks for the time-starved and attention deficient!

Today's topic: Marvel Comics. home of flawed heroes, complex villains, and a much more realism-oriented world than the distinguished competition. Recently undergoing a renaissance in pop culture relativity thanks to the success of Marvel Studios and the Avengers experiment and now part of the Wonderful World Dominating Conglomerate Of Disney, Marvel the company is riding high. But the comics arm, arguably the flagship of the company, is hitting some nasty bumps in the road. I can't say why that is for anyone else, but I can give my unasked opinion on the subject.

So, without further ado, let's talk about...

All images courtesy of marvel.wikia.com

Vermillion’s #CBR5 Review #02: How To Be Black by Baratunde Thurston

Okay. My last review was...disappointing. I really liked that book, but in my efforts to not drown you in fanboy zeal, I instead gave a stilted, disjointed list of pros and cons with little to no real context. I failed to do what a review is supposed to do, which is get you ineterested in the book. And even if I did (somehow), and you were satisfied with the review, I wasn't. It wasn't good enough for that book or for CBR. So I am throwing all caution out the window. I am simply typing my thoughts on the books I read, with no editing outside of general spelling and grammar, as well as factual corrections. I am sorry you had to read that mess, and I hope this will fit better.
With that out of the way....
Hello, everyone, My name is Vermillion, and I am Black.

Vermillion’s #CBR5 Review #01: Hard Magic by Larry Correia

Well, hello again. Welcome to my latest attempt at completing a Cannonball Read. First off, for those who are new here and are not from Pajiba or the CBR blog, Cannonball Read is a free-for-all reading marathon that anyone can join. Started originally between two commenters at my favorite movie and pop culture website, it has grown into a nicely-sized conglomeration of folks celebrating the life of a great person and the idea of reading for fun. Regardless of my completing it or not, I do appreciate CBR for getting me back into reading as much as I used to. If you would like to find out more, read other reviews, or maybe join up yourself, please visit the site here.

So without further ado...

Hard Magic is the first book in the "Grimnoir Chronicles" by Larry Correia, author of Monster Hunter International (a series that I am also tackling during CBR, based mainly on this book). The Grimnoir Chronicles is an alternate history series, at the basic level, Great Depression-Era X-Men. The first book follows two characters: Jake Sullivan (the big palooka on the cover) and Faye (actually not the woman on the front, I'll get to that) as they end up embroiled in a secret war between the Grimnoir Knights (a group of people with special abilities who are trying to avert World War II) and the Chairman (the near-godlike leader of a supremely powerful Imperial Japan, who seeks to cull the weak in his own attempt at saving the world).

Now, for those of you wondering, in this world, magic does exist, but instead of wizards and witches, you have people born with a single magical ability, or Gift. These people are called either Powers or Grimnoirs (I'll get into THAT later). The discovery of the source of this power and its effect on humanity is an important plot point (and looks to be the plotline for the entire series).

So let's get down to brass tacks. Pros and Cons of the book (warning: a few spoilers abound, but barely). Keep in mind: "pros" and "cons" represent both my logical and emotional responses to things in the book. A particular character I like/dislike will be listed in the respective area, whether or not the text indicates I am to feel that particular way about them.

Pros:

Jake Sullivan. Jake is a Heavy, a Power who can manipulate gravity. Right from the outset, Correia shows us that in contradiction to his ex-con status and his hulking frame, Jake is a cunning soldier and is a borderline genius when it comes to his insights into the Powers. He isn't spouting magibabble or anything, but is shown experimenting with his powers and noting his limits. He acts like a scientist, while putting on a front of the dumb muscle.

Faye. The secondary protagonist, she is an Okie girl who can Travel (basically Jumper-style teleportation) with more skill and power than most others like her. She proves to be quite resourceful, acting more like the viewpoint character when Jake isn't available to do so, and she is badass in a way that is believable. She has probably the best fight scene in the book between her and another teleporter, that ends epically.

Characters. Nobody runs around acting like they hate their powers. Nobody cries about not being normal. Everyone takes full advantage of their abilities and come up with some wickedly brilliant uses for them. Jake is the king of this, but everyone manages to do some impressive feats by the end of the book, including the villains. And everybody (aside from most of the villains, and even then...) is likeable and worth following. Even Faye's grandpa (who's kind of a dick) is shown to be a loyal and loving man.

The action scenes. Oh good God, the action scenes. Right off the bat, the first fight is a brutal knockdown brawl between Jake and his Brute ex-girlfriend (Brutes are the superstrong Powers) that tears up a blimp depot. He also takes down a magically enhanced near-invulnerable samurai with the assistance of a duel-wielding German gunman in all white who can phase through solid matter, ending the fight in a way reminicent of the hallway fight in Inception. The fights are grimy yet fantastical. Correia is known for his action scenes and his attention to detail and function when it comes to firearms in his books, and he does not disappoint here. Again, the Traveler fight between Faye and her rival Toshiko steal the whole shebang, though there isn't a sour note among any of them.

The mystery of Pershing's death. Fairly easy to figure out around halfway through, but that may have just been me. Correia does do a fine job of keeping the clues subtle enough that you might not pick them up right away, with all the other stuff happening. Most of the really big keys to the puzzle revolve around relationships to other characters, which are made clear.

Cons:

The name "Grimnoir". Okay, this is jsut my thing, but while it is pretty cool to read (the quotation of its creation in-universe is quite cool as well), and it isa nice badass appelation for our heroes, it is really awkward to say. I keep telling myself to get the "n" sound after the "m" sounds, and it just sounds like something is stuck to the roof of my mouth. It is just something that bugs me.

Pershing's killer(s). They were still assholes, regardless of their motives. And really, a lot could have been avoided if they didn't think they were so much smarter than everyone else. Again, this isn't a knock against Correia or the book (if anything, it is a compliment to his characterization), I jsut thought they were assholes.

Conclusion

Totally worth a read. It is an action-packed thriller and can easily compete with some of the better adventure books and movies out there. I am surprised it hasn't gotten any film offers (although MHI has been sold for a TV show), but who knows, maybe someone will. All I know is, if they can convey half the awesome in this book on a movie screen, they already have my money and maybe my firstborn.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Correia has sample chapters from all his novels for free on his blog, Monster Hunter Nation, including Hard Magic. Give it a whirl and let me know what you think.

My Latest Film Review

I have done it again. Check out my review of This Christmas on Pajiba.

Stuff I didn't get to include in the review:
1. Thanks Mom and Sonya. You really made it a lot more enjoyable.
2. Regina King + Lingerie = YAY. (Non-negotiable) Regina King + Sharon Leal + Catfight+ Rain = DOUBLE YAY. (also non-negotiable)
3. I hate remakes of classic songs by singers that weren't even born when it came out. It sounds less honest. Chris Brown, you have a nice voice, but stay away from the Hathaway and Stevie Wonder, or I may have to hurt you.
4. My mother asked me if I was secretly hiding a white woman from her. Having her live in Britain and not really acknowledging our relationship doesn't count as 'hiding', right?
5. It is really weird how much the movie paralleled my own life. I think I just got plagiarized. I mean, I can think of several examples off the top of my head:
- A character named Claude
- A character from Morehouse (albeit one who still believes in the missions statement)
- A character who is a professional student aka hasn't graduated after 7 years (in my case 8).
- A brother in the military
- An older sister who reminds the youngest who raised who
- A standoffish eldest brother
and so on.

Yep, I took the plunge

Check out my first foray into paid critic work.

My review of The Comebacks at Pajiba.

Fables: Making the Big Bad Wolf into a Badass

Seeing as how Daniel over at Slowly Growing Bald did a review of Y: The Last Man, I figured it was time for me to showcase a few of my favorites. And I get to start with another Vertigo series, Fables.

This series, created by Bill Willingham, centers on the lives of fairytale characters who now live in an magically shielded area of New York City. The first storyline, Legends in Exile, introduced most of the main cast, including the two main protagonists: Bigby Wolf aka The Big Bad Wolf, now able to take human form and working as the sheriff; and Snow White, deputy mayor of Fabletown under the leadership of Old King Cole, which really means she runs the joint.

The plot of Legends of Exile is a classic murder mystery, where Bigby tries to find out who killed Snow's sister, Rose Red. Of course, the mystery is only a tool to propel the reader into the crazy world just on the outskirts of humanity. As the series progresses, you learn more about why these characters are hiding in New York. But don't assume they are the only ones. Just about any public-domain literary character can and does show up, and while they may not be the same as in the tales, their changes are organic and relatable, and some are quite surprising (like a certain amphibian royalty and his buddy, the azure trumpet player).

Willingham has become one of my favorite authors, and he seems especially skilled when it comes to magical stuff. Along with Fables, he previously wrote Elementals, a superhero comic that went to some very dark places considering when it was published. He has currently been working for DC Comics on such titles as Shadowpact and the upcoming House of Mystery.

The art ranges from really good to gorgeous. Many of the flashback stories have an old-timey, Middle Ages look to them, and the modern day settings are bright with with a darker edge, illustrating how these former children's tales have gotten somewhat dirty during their exile.

The Onion AV Club has a great interview with Willingham, where he talks about his inspirations and projects and such. Definitely check it out if you are a fan of the tales, and like mature (instead of so-called 'adult') twists to childhood faves.

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