It's hard to believe that New York Comic Con has actually reached its tenth anniversary milestone. I still remember the first time I went out to NYCC. Tickets were available up to the actual date of the event, and it wasn't nearly as packed (though I don't believe there were quite as many activities to participate in either). Now we've reached a point where the number of NYCC attendees has surpassed that of San Diego Comic Con International, the biggest comic/pop culture convention in the country up until this point. So where do we go from here? How do you top what has already surpassed the very top? Why, you expand of course! While the Javitz center is the same size as always, New York Super Week has increased the number and size of events, by hosting them in other buildings all across the city, such as Hammerstein Ballroom. This has also helped with crowd control, as it's caused more and more people to move out into the city, with the only side effect being a few confused NY citizens. With so much to do, it's literally impossible to experience everything the convention has to offer. I also believe however, that if we each share our thoughts and experiences, it can be as if we truly did really get to see it all. That's what I intend to do here with this blog, and I hope anyone reading will be willing to share their thoughts and memories as well.
Thursday:
Unfortunately, the first day of the con was off to a bit of a rocky start for me. This was not the convention's fault, but rather the amount of time it actually took me to get through the city and to the Javitz center. I had to walk for a very long time, and barely made the line for my first photo op of the weekend, Natalie Dormer (of "Game of Thrones" and "Hunger Games" fame). While waiting in the line and cooling down a bit, my girlfriend and I had a nice talk with a man in front of us, all the way over from London England. It's really fascinating how an event such as this can bring people from all over the world together. The photo op line moved a bit slower than it has in previous years, but it still didn't feel like too long of a time, and I think the picture came out great. Natalie smiled and shook my hand, while asking how I was doing. I responded "Great now!" to which she laughed a pretty genuine laugh, and we took the shot. Here's the result:
I'm not really sure how my girlfriend didn't break up with me that day, but I consider myself to be lucky.
With the photo op over, it was finally time to explore! The show room was as huge as I remember it, with booths and tables galore. I had hoped that the crowds might be at least a bit smaller since it was a Thursday, but the building was definitely as full as it always gets. While dodging all of the crowds, I managed to check out all kinds of booths, from the big giants of "Marvel" and "DC," to smaller tables with classic action figures and autographs. At the Doctor Who booth, I managed to pick up a print, signed by the famous Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker. I also managed to pick up a print of issue #19's cover for "The Walking Dead," signed by Danai Gurira, the actress who plays Michonne on the TV series. After exploring more of the show floor, there wasn't really much time to do more that night, since we came so late to begin with. It was nice seeing and talking with a few friends before leaving though.
Friday:
While getting to the convention a bit late (yes, again...), I can say that Friday was a much better day in general. There was no rush to get to any specific panel or photo op for me, so things were much smoother. One of the earliest highlights for me was getting to try out the Street Fighter V demo. It didn't take too long to get to the front, since everyone would play a quick two rounds and let the next person go. While I admittedly got destroyed by a person who admitted to playing the game for over 25 years, it was still a lot of fun, and I can't wait to play it once it's out on PS4 and PC. With another photo op at 6, there was plenty to do before then. There were of course many more cosplayers coming out, and the majority of them were beyond impressive. It certainly put my Star Lord cosplay of last year to shame!
The line for my second photo op (with Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, and Jewel Staite of "Firefly") was thankfully much shorter, and took almost half of the time to get to the front of. The cast was wonderful and friendly to everyone, making the experience all the better. Here's how this shot came out:
I always wanted to meet the cast of this show, so this team-up photo was a great way to do it, even if it was only for a few seconds.
The end of this night actually began what would become by far my favorite part of the convention; the Artist Alley. With less than 20 minutes before they began to close up for the night, I started to walk down the first row, just to see who was still left. After briefly speaking with Erica Henderson of "The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl," I happened to meet David Lloyd, the famous artist of "V For Vendetta." I nervously asked if he could sign my copy of the book, and he happily took it. We both talked for at least 15 minutes, and simultaneously laughed over the fact that Alan Moore will likely never sign this same copy of the book. He was an absolute joy to talk to, and he invited me to come see him the next day, where he would be drawing sketches. I would happily oblige.
Saturday:
From this day forward, I knew the Artist Alley was going to be a major priority. After not being able to attend the signing of the Regular Show cast (because we were told we needed wrist bands for this event, even though we saw no listing of this anywhere on the website or show booklet), I went over by the Del Ray booth to get my copy of "Star Wars: Aftermath" signed by the author, Chuck Wendig. He was very fun to talk to, and his personality even reminded me of my own friends, if the picture below is any indication:
To finish up the show floor, I picked up copies of two classic comics, "Howard the Duck (Vol. 1)" #1, and "Kamandi, The Last Boy On Earth" #1, and stopped by the Double Take booth to pick up the "Genesis: 10 First Issues" collection that was being advertised all over the convention. The people there were very friendly, and even asked me to contact them after reading, to let them know my thoughts. I'll be happy to do so and likely blog about it here to give them some more exposure, as indie comic makers need this kind of boost at conventions more than anyone! I also met briefly with the artist and writer of the current "X-O Manowar" comic by Valiant. I told them that this was the book that got me back into Valiant's reboot of their classic series, and they seemed really thrilled to hear it. They gladly signed a copy of the first trade paperback for me.
It was back to the Artist Alley to finish off the night. I was thrilled to meet Carla Speed McNeil of the "Finder" series. "Finder" is quite possibly my favorite indie comic book series of all time, and she was even more of a joy to talk to than I could have imagined. By far the most animated person I chatted with all weekend.
I went to see David Lloyd once more to get a sketch, and it was incredible. He also talked to me about his collection of sharpies, crayons, pastels, etc. that were all on his table, ready for any type of paper that could come his way. I learned about all kinds of experiences he went through as a comic illustrator, and it easily made my night.
Just before finishing Saturday off, I got to meet Joel Adams, character designer of "King of the Hill." He was also very fun to talk to, and I simply had to pick up his print, with character Dale using a bug spray on Spider-Man, shouting "I'm your worst nightmare!!" He made a very interesting point to me, about how San Diego has gotten less about its comic book roots, and how NYCC was actually much more respectful and accommodating to comic book artists. This made me happy to hear, and was a great way to end the night.
Sunday:
It's hard to believe that things could possibly get any better from this point forward, and yet that's exactly what happened! I went early to see if I'd be able to get in line for the Steven Blum signing. For those who don't know, Steven Blum has voiced all kinds of characters in various cartoons and anime, including Spike from Cowboy Bebop, Zabuza and Orochimaru from Naruto, Jamie in Megas XLR, and many many more! I was privileged to be number twelve in the line, and had a great time chatting with him and getting a picture. He is far and wide my favorite voice actor of all time, so this was very special for me.
Following this, it was all Artist Alley, all the time! And boy, did I pick a time...
So things started off as normal. I started to walk down through the rows I didn't get to the other days. The first table I absolutely had to stop at was Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, one of the three members of "Run D.M.C.!" It was awesome meeting a member of one of my favorite old-school rap acts of all time, and even more awesome getting to pick up an issue of his latest comic.
This alone would have been enough for me, but one more amazing thing happened at the last second. I was walking up to the booth of Ryan Ottely, artist of the comic "Invincible," to see if I could get something signed. There was also a familiar bearded man standing in front of the booth. It took me a second, and then my eyes suddenly started to widen, or at least I imagine they did. I nervously approached him and began to ask "Are you...?" "No no!" he said. "Everybody says I look just like him though!" The men at the booth started to play along. "Yeah, that's Brian. He gets that all the time though, really!" Finally, the charade was up, and he said "Yeah, it's me!" Rob Kirkman, creator of "The Walking Dead" was talking to me! I told him the story of how my friend and I walked past him a few years ago, thinking it was him, but not being entirely sure. We of course found out later that it was him and we had missed our chance. He was happy to take a picture with me and sign the same "Invincible" comic.
Although nothing in the day was as epic as previous moment, I went onward and got a quick sketch done by Erik Larson, of "The Savage Dragon." Although our talk was brief, he was really positive and very polite. Being consistent with a title like "The Savage Dragon" is no small feat, especially when you're not with a big publisher like Marvel or DC, so it's nice to see people from other publishers getting to live out their dreams as well.
Because I just didn't quite get enough, I also went over to Tim Sale to get my copy of Batman: The Last Halloween signed. He looked like he hadn't stood up all day (which his wife actually confirmed to be true!), but was still kind and happy to sign for me. With that last signing, it was just about time to head out.
While leaving, I realized that while I had spent different parts of the weekend worrying about all of the things I didn't get to do, I never stopped and really thought about all of the things I DID get to do in the process. I didn't bother with any panels this year, due to wanting to walk around more (and thanks to NYCC's official Twitch page for giving me the highlights), so I can't really comment on the setup, or the wrist band system, which I have yet to participate in, since I never seem to get to the con early enough and get into the panels I would like. But that's all OKAY. The convention experience is what YOU make of it in the end. It's important to go in with a solid game plan, yes. But I learned you still need to remember to have some fun at these things too. I certainly did, even though I didn't realize it until much later.
So I suppose this concludes another New York Comic Con for me. I'd like to thank Lance Fensterman and crew for once again giving us the best comic book/pop culture convention in the entire country, and all my friends that I happened to catch (Nasser, Willie, Tom, Jonathan, Allesandra, Brian, Andrew, and of course my lovely girlfriend Kelsey). For more pictures of the convention, and all of the wonderful swag that came with it, feel free to check out my album on Facebook at the link here.
Thank you all again so much for reading this. Feel free to share your convention experiences as well. I'd love to hear it all!
Last Saturday, I attended a brand new convention in Parsippany, New Jersey. "A Video Game Con" just had its first ever run, focused on all forms of gaming, from classic and new. I was also thrilled with being approved to do two panels at this event. The first was "Streaming Video Games 101," a panel focusing on why people like to stream video games, as well as a primer on how to jump into the craze. The second panel, "The Wonderful World of JRPGs," talked about what separates JRPGs from the rest of the gaming medium, as well as examples of games that impacted the US in particular (more on these two panels later).
Those who know me are aware I've been to a pretty large number of conventions at this point, both local (AnimeNEXT, Great Philadelphia Comic Con, etc.) and not so local (New York Comic Con, Walker Stalker Con, etc). I've got a pretty good idea of how these events are typically run, as well as what kind of expectations you should go in with. Over the years, I've found myself enjoying local conventions more than the big-budget ones, simply because there is much less to overwhelm you with while you try to sort through all of the events and decide which ones you'd like to attend the most. They are also much more personal experiences, due to significantly less people crowding up the rooms.
The first thing I noticed when I reached the PAL center, was how quickly the parking lot had already filled up with people, and how big of a line was forming out the door, with the con about 30 minutes from opening. Because I was a panelist (and because I was hosting one of the first panels of the entire day!), I was allowed to come in before the line to setup. I happened to see my good friend (also named Justin) waiting in line, and found out I was being given an extra badge, just for being a panelist. Naturally, I gave the pass to him, so he could come in early with me and help set things up (because LORD knows I needed the help!). The center was a pretty reasonable size, with the exception of a few narrow hallways. It didn't seem like anything too overwhelming at the time (though keep in mind, this was before the place started to really fill up).
I didn't get much of a chance to check the place out before we had to head right in and set up for the first panel, "Streaming Video Games 101." The team who helped me set up (Keith and Anthony in particular) were invaluable in getting the speakers and projector to work. I'd have gotten nowhere if it wasn't for these two running around and fumbling with everything, so that we could be ready in time. Unfortunately for me, my own hardware wasn't quite up to par. My laptop actually crashed on me 3 times before the panel was done, as if I wasn't nervous enough already! I tried to recall everything I had down on my slides as best as I could, and even try to come up with some new dialogue as well. The crowd wasn't very large for this panel, but that was mostly due to how early it was in the day, and the people who did come were very nice and a pleasure to talk to. I hope they felt the same about me! (They all took my business cards, so that had to be a good sign, right???)
After this, my friend and I were finally free to explore! We headed down the first narrow hallway that we saw when we first came in, and scouted all of the dealers and merchandise they all had to sell. Wow, what a selection! I was finding everything from classic Atari and NES/Famicom games, all the way to the recent (but sold out) Metal Gear Solid V Collector's Edition. This was one of those times where it was extremely difficult not to just throw your money at everything around and pray you didn't overdraft after the fact! I ended up getting excellent copies of Final Fantasy VII in its original black label (my original copy was lost/stolen), and Super Metroid, which I've never owned the original cartridge for until now. A good, albeit small haul if I do say so myself.
By the time 12:30 began to fast approach, my friend and I made our way to the 'SomecallmeJohnny' panel. For those who don't know, SomecallmeJohnny is a now famous YouTube personality, who is known for hilarious playthroughs and online reviews of classic and current-gen video games. He is more or less in a place I'd love to reach someday, so it was very insightful to listen to Johnny and his crew talk about some of their past experiences, as well as the hard truths, such as "It doesn't happen overnight, and may not happen for years at that." While I admit I haven't watched many of his videos in the past, I did enjoy the few that I've seen, and having such a great and funny personality is definitely making me want to go back for more.
After that bit of fun, and a trip to the Burger King across the street later, we came back to try out some of the playable areas. There were two (relatively large) rooms for this type of setup. One had a large amount of TVs hooked up in rows with different games from multiple eras (about the size of a school gym), and the other (about the size of a standard auditorium) with multiple arcade machines coiling around the room, and a big stage on the other side. We thoroughly examined both rooms, and had some fun playing the Dreamcast version of Garou: Mark of the Wolves, my favorite game in the Fatal Fury series. There was a section of the large gym room that had some projects from local indie developers, mostly still in development. I tried out a game called "Boris: Hero of the Universe" by Suave Games for a few minutes. While it was obviously nowhere near completion, it was also far from unplayable, and I felt like I could definitely get a grasp of what the developer was going for in the look and feel. I had a good conversation with George Yockachonis (their CEO) about all of this too, and wished him the best of luck.
I had heard that Bill Mitchell, the famous gamer known for breaking multiple world records in classic games like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, would also attending the convention. What I didn't know was that not only did he come and play on multiple arcade machines during his visit; he even managed to break his own Donkey Kong record in the process! While I unfortunately did not get to witness this legendary event, someone was kind enough to make a video and put it up on YouTube. You can watch it through the link below.
By the time my friend and I got to enter this room, Bill was long gone, but we got to see most of The Schwam's performance. They were a great mix of punk/ska, and their covers of songs from Super Mario to Toy Story were a blast to listen to! I didn't expect to get a really fun concert at this event too, so I was quite surprised. It also didn't hurt that three of the band members were cosplaying as Tingle from Zelda, Gohan from Dragon Ball Z, and Donkey Kong from... Donkey Kong. Really entertaining stuff.
After everything listed above, as well as meeting with some old friends of ours, it was only a matter of time before my second panel would begin. Such a matter of time in fact, that I actually read my schedule completely wrong and was almost 10 minutes late!!! Luckily, a kind staff member remembered me from my first panel, and she even went to find me and let me know what was happening. (I don't know where you are right now Elyse, but if you ever find this blog, know that you were my hero that day!)
So how did the second panel go, you ask? Thankfully, MUCH better than the first! The laptop didn't crash on me once, and the crowd was HUGE! Easily the biggest (and loudest!) I've ever had in the few panels I've hosted so far. They were an absolute joy to talk with, and we all exchanged quite a few laughs at the expense of all the things we love and hate about JRPGs. Afterward, people even came up to me after the panel was over, just to talk more. One girl even came up to me, just to say how happy she was that I had mentioned "The Last Story," one of her personal favorites. Little moments like that make everything even more worthwhile. I hope this isn't the last I see of all these amazing people.
I didn't get to stay for the night events following (sorry Lily, I heard your show was amazing, and I have no doubt it was!), and there was a bit of a mishap with getting out (due to some idiot's car blocking me from getting out), but thankfully the staff was more than welcoming, and one even helped fit my car out of the tight spot! One more detail I had to add is that this was easily the most friendly staff of any convention I've ever been to. No one acted rude or condescending, and they genuinely cared about if you were having a good time, on top of simply following procedure.
So that's about it from me. For a local convention, I found this to be absolutely amazing. Sure, they'll need more space in the future, but that's only testament to how well this whole event came together, and I'm honored to have been a part of it as well. Special thank you to all of the staff and whoever was crazy enough to approve my panels! Another shout out goes to the cosplayers. While there were not very many of you, you were all truly great at what you do. And finally to all of my friends, who kept me feeling upbeat and confident in a time where I was incredibly nervous. You all make these events worth coming to. Here's to next year's AVGC!!!
Alright everyone, let's face it: I'm not the most politically correct person on the planet (being the "Merc-With-A-Mouth" will do that to ya). Being as Deadpool-y as I am, this also makes my character completely sexist, until I'm not, for unexplainable reasons other than "New writing team, ermahgerd!" With all of that said, how could I NOT be enthused to run out and see 'Straight Outta' Compton' as soon as humanly possible!? This is the group that put gangsta rap on the MAP people!
This film works in more of a biopic style, just to give you an idea of the strength of street knowledge you are about to witness (bonus points if you just said that in Dr. Dre's voice!). Even more interesting was that Ice Cube's part was actually played by Ice Cube's son! How awesome is that!? I'm sure daddy was real proud of that one, as he did an excellent job with the part. Hell, pretty much EVERYone did. There wasn't a bad actor among the bunch, just some that got to shine more than others here.
The movie is directed by F. Gary Gray. If you don't know why that's a good thing, then you haven't seen 'Friday' nearly as many times as I have. It's basically the greatest movie about nothing, ever, with lots and lots of puffing... No, I don't mean the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man; Jesus! Unlike 'Friday' however, this film also has a lot of depth and emotion. Whether they're tears of joy or tears of sadness, you'll be crying them; make no mistake!
Whether or not you're into rap, this is simply a well-made movie regardless. Sure, it left out some... uncomfortable things involving Ice Cube and Dr. Dre that we won't talk about here (even though that should have been obvious since the two of them produced the damn thing!), but not even so much as a mentioning of said "thing" in the film brought some disappointment with it. It may be a little thing to some, but to others it's a very big thing and for good reason. Again, I'm not going into it. I'm just talking about how I'm not going into it for a whole paragraph instead. Seems to get the job done! (Now everybody who understood all of this is nodding their head slowly, while everyone else is running to Google to search for clues like Scooby and the gang!)
Details aside from the bit above, the film was an overall great representation of the history of this group and legacy, as well as their impact on gangsta rap in general. You want to know where "F@#k Tha Police" came from? You're going to f@#king learn where "F@#k Tha Police" came from! When you think about it, it's a miracle a movie like this even came out! When was the last time you remember Hollywood approving a project as sensitive as this one? Go ahead, I'll wait... Yeah, that's what I thought!
An interesting bit of trivia for you: The group and filmmakers all had to have real security on site at all times. During filming there was even a drive-by shooting and a hit-and-run. This stuff is real folks. Real-er than all the fourth-wall breaking I do. REALLY F@#KING REAL!
So do yourself a favor. If you do claim to know the history of the group and have any interest in their story or music, see this. If you do not possess any of the above qualities, see it anyway. Why? Because you just might learn something about the harsh realities of the world that you never have to see (I'm talking to YOU, white people!).
8 Dope-Ass Lyrics Out Of 10
I'm going to request my movie have some type of free-style rap segment. Since I can literally do ANYTHING in my comics, I see no reason why my movie can't function the same way. Oh, right... Money... Son of a-
MOAR DEE BEE ZEE!!! Every time you think it's over, more of it comes back to slap you in the face and call you horrible names behind your back. I have to say, it's a complete shock to me (even a few years later!) that we're still getting more Dragon Ball Z at this point. This series had 293 epic... -ally drawn out episodes with action, shouting, and declarations of who the greatest warriors in the universe are. And fans are STILL NOT DONE! On top of these new movies (of which we are now on numero dos), there is also a new series called Dragon Ball Super, which appears to be the same story of these movies, but longer and more drawn out, so you can all continue to live out that "To Be Continued..." fetish that you love so much. But one glorious testosterone-infused thing at a time here, people.
What's this new movie about? I'm glad you asked... FRIEZA IS BACK MOTHERF#&KERS!!! That's right folks. That no-good, whiney, angry, lies-about-his-"true final form," "behold-my-circular-ears," "longest-five-minute-fight-ever" crackpot has returned, and this time with a new death metal theme song! I'll try to go into more details about how any why he came back later, but for now, just know it's all pretty damn outrageous. Did I mention he's now sporting a new form made of GOLD!? That's right! Hot off the cat-walk, here comes Frieza, sporting the latest in menacing Japanese villain attire. "You got the gold chains?" "Bitch, I AM THE GOLD!!!"
I'm sure I'll come up with more jokes regarding gold later, but for now, let's move on. Goku and Vegeta (after the events of the last movie) have been training hard with Whiz, that blue person who is way too happy to just watch the world(s) burn. Beerus is there as well, but plays no major part in this movie, other than eating a lot of food and complaining about irrelevant things, usually involving said food.
Because we cannot seem to get Emperor Pilaf out of these stories, he and his gang are still around, trying to find the dragon balls (again). They are then apprehended by a former minion of Frieza's, Sorbet (because why WOULDN'T that be his name!?). Sorbet's icy delicious goal, is to revive Frieza with the dragon balls and use their technology to put him back together; after Future Trunks went all slicey-dicey on his then cyborg-ass. Somehow, this actually works, and Frieza is back to taunt us about scouters and power levels all over again with his then scaly ass!
And again, it's O-KAY if the fighting is the only reason you came. This is Dragon Ball 'Effing Z, is it not!? If I come into a new Sailor Moon movie, it'd better have Usagi flirting up a storm with Tuxedo Mask, while shooting magic beams out of her tiara, or I'm asking for my damn money back! It's just the principle of the thing. In this case, you expect shouting, grunting, powering up, and changing hair colors. That's their thing. It's what they do.
So was the movie ultimately satisfying? Yes, I'd say it was. It hit all the right notes that you look for in this type of series, even if it didn't speak much regarding the grand scheme of things, and where in the hell this is all going. Perhaps by the next movie (and yes, there WILL be a next movie!), we'll have a clearer picture of where this is all going. In the meantime, feel free to re-watch Frieza getting destroyed again and again in glorious high definition!
8 Out Of 10
This was another fun romp, but this series needs to stop resorting to the same old tropes, or else people are going to get bored real fast. Luckily, we haven't reached that point yet, but jeez, I don't want to either!!! But seriously, where can I pre-order that new Super Saiyan God Goku figure? >_>
I can't say I know of many people who haven't come out of Ernest Cline's first novel, "Ready Player One" with less than sheer enthusiasm. It managed to be both relatable (in the sense of the main characters, their actions and motivations, etc.) and fun/exciting all at once. I read a quote, describing the book as "Willy Wonka meets The Matrix," and I'd have to say I agree with that statement. Cline's next novel, "Armada" is now out for all to jump into, but does it live up to the hype of its predecessor? Strap yourselves in folks; this is going to be a bumpy ride.
"Armada" stars another young boy, named Zack Lightman. Zack is a gamer (like his father before him), who starts seeing spaceships in the sky, thinking he's gone completely insane as a result. As if dealing with school bullies and his widowed mother wasn't enough, Zack also has to fight with conflicting feelings as he tries to convince himself not to believe what he is seeing. He frequents a game called "Armada," in which he is currently ranked #6 in the world. The skills Zack displays in this game eventually lead to a sequence where he is asked to join a Federation, in order to use his abilities to aid in protecting the planet from an oncoming invasion.
If bits of this sound like "Ender's Game" or "The Last Starfighter" to you, that's because it's more or less supposed to. Cline makes no hesitation to list his inspirations throughout the story, and they make plenty of sense in context. Here's where things are also about to get a bit rocky however. If you've read the stories that Cline mentions throughout the book, then you're likely going to end up a bit disappointed by the lack of actual surprises in the plot. Every time I had hoped I was going to be wrong about a direction the book was taking, it ended up going exactly as I had predicted. Others may go for this type of set up, but as someone who's already read and watched way too much science fiction in my day (which seems to be the target demographic for this book anyway), I was hoping for a little more than I actually got.
That's not to say this is a bad read by any means, but after the success of "Ready Player One," I thought we'd be able to hold Cline's writing to higher standards by this point. It turns out, this second book actually should have been proofread a few more times, as the writing style/grammar was a bit off-putting in places. Cline throws in all kinds of references to media of the past (just like in "Ready Player One" once again), but unlike the author's first novel, the use of these references feels much more forced this time. It's a shame too, since this was one of the factors I loved the most in "Ready Player One." While I'm glad the author still likes to throw these into the pot, it just doesn't prove to be purposeful or relevant in any way this time around.
The characters are mostly likable on their own (especially the crew that Zack later teams up with), but none of them get any real time to develop beyond a few small conversations. I had read through about 3/4 of the book, beginning to wonder why more wasn't really happening by that point.
Unfortunately, pacing is another big issue I had with this title. While it's great to be very descriptive of your environment and sciences (Isaac Asimov was brilliant at this concept for example), things just didn't seem to come together very well here. The dynamic and the events themselves all seemed to simply "happen" for no real reason or significance. I hate to say that the ending (without going into spoilers) didn't really add much to the story either, other than giving us the notion that there could be more to come someday.
Perhaps it's the concept of the book itself that disappointed me the most. It's not a unique concept by any means. It's been done before multiple times, and better in many cases. This simply did not live up to the hype of predecessor. While it is still an enjoyable read and a great way to spend a couple of lazy afternoons, it won't make you want to jump for joy like "Ready Player One" did. This does not sway my positive opinion of the author in any way however, and I will happily read more as Cline decides to write it.
While most people aren't likely to assume "Armada" would be a better story than "Ready Player One" before reading it, I think they are also going to come out with some sense of disappointment here. It really doesn't have enough ground to stand on its own, besides the author's name. Do yourselves a favor: Read "Ready Player One," as it is truly an incredible debut novel and ode to geek culture of all types. Only give this one a shot afterward, if you desperately feel the need (like I did). You'll be glad you read it once, but you likely won't see much to come back to a second time around.
I just saw a movie about Ant-Man!!! Seriously, who would have ever imagined 10 years ago that we would be seeing a movie about FREAKING ANT-MAN!!!? I'm still in disbelief that this really happened, and I wasn't just dreaming the whole experience.
So what the hell are we looking at this time? Well, as far as my eyes could tell, we get the story of two major Marvel characters, Henry (Hank) Pym, and Scott Lang. Hank Pym was on to some pretty dangerous technology, involving a suit that could potentially shrink and give its wearer an insane amount of strength, ala-ANT-style! Naturally, Pym realizes that this is completely bats@#t insane (not just because of the impossible science behind it!), and attempts to keep this out of the hands of anyone... No, seriously, ANYONE; even people who could potentially use it for something good. But this movie wouldn't be much fun if we didn't get to see it in action...
Meanwhile, we've got Scott Lang on the other side of the spectrum. He's a professional thief, ah, I mean burglar, trying to go clean after getting out of prison and support his daughter in any way he can. Trying to restart after already having a criminal record is not the easiest thing to accomplish however (as yours truly can attest to!), but Scott is determined! That doesn't really pay the bills at the end of the day, but he's DETERMINED dammit!!!
So how the hell do the paths of these two cross? Well, it would be too spoiler-y for me to tell you all the details, but know it's mostly the fault of Scott and his three hilarious friends (no seriously, they're amazing). Things go down and Scott is eventually asked by Pym to dawn the suit, suspiciously similar to a Kamen Rider outfit (If you don't know what that is, then how are we even friends in the first place!? Oh right, normal people things... Yeah, I guess I can do those too). What follows from this point on is PURE CRAZYNESS!
The effects and overall thought process behind the events in the movie are really something to behold. Seeing someone shrink down and actually gain super strength is just plain silly to look at, and the writers obviously knew this (of whom there are many, but more on that in the next paragraph). While the movie certainly has its cute and serious moments, like the dynamic between Scott and his painfully adorable daughter, it's really all about the comedic aspects. And that's okay! We don't need a "Winter Soldier" or an "Avengers 2" every single time. If anything, I found this to be insanely refreshing after going through all of that drama. (Seriously, you won't find any of that crap in MY upcoming movie! Was that DMX I heard in my trailer? Hell yeah, it was!!!)
Now, in the paragraph above, I promised I'd talk about the writers, so far be it from me to not follow that procedure. Edgar Wright (of Shaun of the Dead fame) and Joe Cornish took on the massive script for this outrageous film..., until they didn't. In May of 2014, Wright announced his departure from Marvel and the project, due to "differences in their vision of the film." This pretty much jabbed a proverbial stake into each and every one of our hearts, but all was not lost! While the script was then taken over by other people, like Peyton Reed and Adam McKay, it was confirmed that it would still be heavily based off the draft submitted by Wright and Cornish previously. And they weren't lying! There are multiple scenes that you can simply tell were written by those two if you're a big enough fan of their work. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief after reading that, and an even heavier one after seeing it for myself. By this point, I believe the person sitting next to me thought I was having a sex or something and proceeded to run away really fast. Joke's on him! I haven't had sex in years! Ha ha... ha...
The movie isn't perfect by any means either. Some of the jokes fell pretty flat, while other scenes that were supposed to be serious really weren't so serious. This didn't ruin any of my enjoyment of the movie per se, but there were multiple instances where I had to question if some of these people have ever told jokes out loud to anyone before. I was also basically being told to feel for characters who I did not have enough time to properly invest in. A shame, but then I remember that this movie has a tiny man riding a flying ant with an army of more flying ants to take on a villain and suddenly I stop worrying about all the little things (pun COMPLETELY intended!).
By about 3/4 of the way through the film, I actually stopped and turned to the person next to me, just to say "This is insane. This is absolutely insane!!!" They then proceeded to stare at me funny and slowly back away into another seat, but I think that was more the scars and burns than what I said necessarily. At least I'm pretty sure that was it... Yeah, that definitely had to be it. Anyway, I'm saying the later parts of this movie were complete and utter FUN! Any flaws you may have discovered over the movie's first half are all decimated by this point. I will NEVER f#$k with Thomas the Tank Engine ever again, and NEITHER SHOULD YOU!
8 Terrible ANTony Jokes Out Of 10
It's going to be insanely difficult holding out until 2016 to get more Marvel Cinematic Universe goodness. While waiting for next year's new releases, we'll just have to be good little kids until that time. And if you don't heed my advice, just remember this: Baskin. Robbins. ALWAYS. FINDS. OUT. Peace!
Superman has always been a bit of a hit or miss read for me. Depending on the writer and the story taking place, I've found some stories to be excellent and thought-provoking, while others have left me either underwhelmed or completely baffled in the end. It's caused me to be more selective with the stories I've chosen these days, as comic book prices continue to rise every year. I'm sure everyone has their own opinions on what makes for a great Superman story by this point. In my case, I tend to prefer the stories that are more reflective, and less action-y, outside of the more crucial moments. The calm and sympathetic Superman, who acts more human than any of us sometimes, despite being from another planet altogether. I had a feeling I would want to read the issues contained in "The Men of Tomorrow" due to some factors that didn't actually have to with its story (as I knew nothing about it prior to picking these up).
For one thing, I knew Geoff Johns would be on writing duties, which was an immediate plus for me. This is the man who single-handedly got me interested in Green Lantern again, from his "Rebirth" storyline, all the way to present. I had also heard that John Romita Jr. was on the pencils this time, which has resulted in more hits than misses for me, especially since his artwork in Amazing Spider-Man was some of my favorite during the JM Straczynski run. I understand his art style is not everyone's cup of tea, and I don't like every last panel he's ever drawn, but overall, the good outweighed the bad in my experience with him. These two factors were enough to get me on board, at least to see if it would be worth our while.
So what's it all about anyway? Well, there are of course multiple plot threads to consider (as this IS a Geoff Johns story after all), but the main story really focuses around a new character, Ulysses. He draws many similarities to Kal-El in that he was allegedly transported from a dying world, and brought to our own, with powers of flight, super strength, and others. Part of the fun of this 8-issue story arc was slowly uncovering the truth about Ulysses origins, as well as seeing how he and Kal-El continued to interact, the more their differences became apparent.
There's a lot of heart in this story too, and that may be the strongest aspect of all here. From the joy of Ulysses seeing his parents again, to the small, subtle moments like Clark looking through a photo book to represent his current state of loneliness, you really felt for every one of these characters throughout. It's only made more painful as the story continues and we start to realize that not everyone is going to come out of these events scot-free.
As I said above, Geoff Johns has been known to "fix" a lot of problems in the DC universe and bring things back to a state of former glory again (before messing around with it further!). This arc was no exception for him, as he immediately brought Clark back to working for the Daily Planet, came up with a solution about Jimmy Olsen and the large amount of money he inherited, and addressed many other situations that fans were complaining about previously.
But there was plenty of new to go with the old as well. For starters, we have a new villain called The Machinist, who ends up having a deeper connection to Supes than I was initially expecting. It all flows into the grand scheme of things very well. This is a villain that manages to make you feel uneasy almost every time you see him, which is really saying something when it's not just some big brute that can smash a lot.
One thing I definitely have to bring up is that Superman now has a new power as a result of the events in issue #38. For spoilers sake, I won't go into what it is or how he got it, but it's already added another element of story that is sure to shake things up in the future. Let's just say that between this and Dragon Ball Z's Goku getting a new Super Saiyan God form, we've still got whole new bits of life to look forward to from these legendary franchises.
I'd like to mention one other moment that I believe is noteworthy; the final issue of this story, issue #39. This serves as more of an epilogue to the story than anything else, and yet it provided some of my favorite moments of the entire arc. The dynamic between Kal-El and Jimmy in this issue is completely genuine, and we once again see more of those "human" moments that you don't get in too many Superman stories these days (though I'm hearing the latest issue of Action Comics is right on the money with this concept and I for one can't wait to read it).
This story arc could more or less be made into a movie (or at least an animated film); it's that good. Geoff Johns is at his best here, and I deeply regretted hearing he won't be writing any more stories for this title (at least for now, as far as we know). The artwork became a little less consistent near the end (if the cover of issue #38 is any indication), but this is hardly major or off-putting in the least. If you've been avoiding any New 52 stories like the plague, you may want to give this a try. I've never been a major Superman fan by any means, but I would be if there were more stories like this one out there. Pure gold.
