Where the heck is that Shark-Repellent?

Some days, you just can't get rid of a bomb...

Two new looks for movie heroes...

Superman and Wolverine have new images out, and both have pluses and minuses.
Here's Logan:

The Good:
* This is a slick look. Granted, it'd be difficult to make Jackman look bad. This makes me think of The Transporter with Jason Statham. (Excuse me, Silver Samurai, while I take my jacket off - before I do the best there is at what I do on your a$$.)

The Bad:
* I know he's in Japan, not Madripoor, but all that's missing is the eye-"patch".
* The hype - articles saying this is Logan's new "suit" and everyone, including me, read Logan's new "costume".

Here's Kal-El:

The Good:
* Unlike the pic from the upcoming Riddick, this is what a male hero's chest is supposed to look like.
* Overall, I like the look - not as good as Christoper Reeve's but way better than Brandon Routh's.

The Bad:
* No hair curl. That's like giving Logan a smooth shave.
* The whole New 52 approach.
* Here's the biggy, despite being somewhat off-topic - where are the pics of Clark? Will he have glasses and be a reporter? Or is he going with just the "Gentle-Ben" look until the third act?

Casting update on Amazing Spider-Man 2...

Okay, it's been already said that Jamie Foxx is Electro in the upcoming sequel.

Well, it seems that one villain ain't enough because another of Spidey's rogues has (supposedly) been cast:

 Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich (a.k.a. Rhino).

That's not the interesting part. The interesting part is who they've chosen:

Paul Giamatti.

This is definitely a head-scratcher, but I'm not sure which is causing the bigger flakes.

A word about passion...

...now, I'm not talking about the kind of passion you see in Romeo and Juliet...

...or, god forbid, Twilight...

...I'm talking about the kind of passion we dorks, nerds, geeks and the like have for that which we call our "thing".

That thing that grabbed us at that special time in our lives when we knew, in that moment, that that "thing" would be a part of us the rest of our lives.

You know what I'm talking about.

One of my favorite films of all time...definitely in my top 10...is Searching for Bobby Fischer. There's a scene roughly ten minutes in when the boy is in the park with his mother and sister and he sees the men playing chess for the first time. He is so engrossed in the game that he lets go of his mother's hand, loses touch with everything else around him and just...watches...the game.

The look on his face - in that moment - shows that chess will be a part of his life regardless of what he ends up doing for a living.

Every single one of us dorks, nerds, geeks and the like have had that moment happen to us.

For me, that moment was when I was 16. I got to hang out with a high school friend of mine and he asked if I wanted to go to "Jim's". I had nothing going on, so I said "sure." Halfway there, he tells me that "Jim's" is a comic shop he goes to regularly in Waterbury, CT (roughly a 45-minute drive from school).

I didn't have a car at this point, so I'd only been to Waterbury, or anywhere else for that matter, when my parents were driving to go clothes shopping or see the occasional movie.

Plus - I had no idea what a "comic-shop" was.

By this point, I had started buying/reading/collecting comics thanks to the convenience store (back before they were called that) located next to the local library I walked to once a week, which was also across the street from our church...that I had to go to once a week.

So I knew of comics and had been hooked on them by then. I just thought a "comic-shop" was a place that had two spinner racks, or something like that.

Then I walked through the front door...

It was Disneyland. It was Willy Wonka's Factory. It was FAO Schwarz.

It was a bunch of men playing chess in the park.

And there were comics everywhere.

I knew in that moment that comics would forever have a place in my life.

Now, it's 25 years later. I have a wife. I have a child. I have a job that's driving me nuts. I have a house. I have a car and a truck and bills and debt and fear and stress and...

...a passion for comics.

One of my dreams was to own a shop like that. To take my passion for my "thing" and make good use of it.

But the digital age is upon us. "Comics" as I know them are going the way of cassette singles and VHS.

I can't even hold onto my subscription to a magazine about comics.

But I have this blog. A place that is mine to talk about my passion.

My "thing".

X-Men Days of Future Past Update...

Couldn't decide which to use, so I included both.

Let me just say that I love the fact that Singer is back in charge of the franchise. Having him involved as producer/writer on X-Men: First Class helped a lot to keep things cohesive.

(I'm still on the fence about X-Men: The Last Stand - does it work within continuity or not?)

But I admit I'm excited about this next movie. Even more so when you account for the additional casting:

and

I'm a sucker for consistency...

I had a really hard time getting over the artistic changes between character uses in the films versus the comics.

FOR INSTANCE...Wolverine's joining the X-Men in the first place. In the books, Kitty Pryde joined not long after Wolverine did, and it was his relationship with her that helped cement his place on the team. (In fact, their relationship was so strong, Marvel did the Wolverine & Kitty Pryde mini-series where they both went to Japan...but I'm getting away from myself...)

In the first animated series back in the nineties, it was Jubilee who just joined the team, and Wolverine became protective of her.

In X-Men, it was Anna Paquin's Rogue that Logan felt protective of. 

Hence my confusion and overall sense of "huh?"-ness to the first film.

But one thing about the films I never had an issue with - at all - was the casting.

Yeah, Hugh Jackman was a question mark - but no more so than Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man.

Plus, you could sense that Singer was trying to create a universe, not just a film. All the cameos thrown into X-Men showed us that. (The young woman in the stables brushing the white horse as Xavier showed Logan around? That's Dani "Mirage" Moonstar brushing Brightwind - her winged Asgardian stallion when she was one of the Valkyrie (not to be confused with Brunnhilde, the Asgardian warrior of the same name that was a New Defender for a while))

My point is that with Singer back, he's bringing lots of characters back...and the actors that portrayed them.

Now this may be seen as an "uh-oh" because there's been trouble in other films with too many characters <*cough*> X3 <*cough*>, but with Singer, he knows what he's doing.

My only question now is: will Millar get involved and try to work this film into Whedon's Avengers or the Amazing Spider-Man universe(s)? Or will the X-verse keep to itself?

Personally, I'd like to see the ruins of Stark Tower in the alternate timeline, thus cementing the two franchises together. 

As for the other two pillars of the MMU - Spider-Man and Fantastic Four - I'm still waiting on some level of commitment. Haven't seen Amazing yet, and don't think I ever will, because I thought Tobey did a great job and I can forgive Spider-Man 3 just as much as I can X3.

I'm also convinced that this summer's The Wolverine (July 26th) will have what I now call "the Singer touch".

But that's another blog...

These are too good to pass up...

WHAT THE..?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

ARE YOU F**KING KIDDING ME?

So...J. J. Abrams...

I'm sorry, but I never thought Abrams had talent.

Never saw Lost, and have mo intention of ever doing so.

Fringe? Saw it when it was called X-Files.

Star Trek? I'll give him props for re-booting the franchise, but all the visual effects he put in there were done better back with Whedon's Firefly.

Now he's got the next Star Wars movie gig...

...and to me this is like reading that (SPOILER ALERT) Doc Ock is taking over Peter Parker's body and pretending to be Spider-Man. I don't have feelings one way or the other about it.

The Star Wars franchise ended with Jedi. Pure and simple. Everything done since (including the animated series, the novels, the comics, etc...) is just stuff. I don't love it, or hate it.

I just don't care.

My hope is that Abrams makes a good flick, and the youngsters can get into it like we did back in 1977, but whether it does extremely well or falls on its face like Phantom I'll wait for Netflix, thank you very much.

And this is another sign that I'm just too damn old. Between work and money, I don't have the time and/or energy to go out to the movies on a Friday night. I make time to see the Marvel Studios films because those are the closest things I have to collecting comics when I was young - every film matters, has relevance, continues the overall developmental story of the Marvel Movie Universe, is something I look forward to and leaves me wanting more.

My hope is that DC gets their ball rolling with Man of Steel, but am I going to make the effort to see that film at midnight Thursday night?

No.

Am I going to see both Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World on Thursday May 2, and Thursday November 7 respectively?

Damned right I am.

In Marvel Studios I Trust

Hello Friday...

Too busy to post today, got too much going on.

Hopefully, I'll catch up over the weekend.

Lots to talk about, so little time...

Rocket Raccoon has a voice...maybe

I've mentioned before that like Pixar, Marvel Studios - despite their greatness - will produce a 'flop' of sorts. Not a bomb necessarily, but certainly a film that fails to meet expectations. It's inevitable.

Most people agree with me, but always look at Ant-Man as the doom-bringer. I'm calling out GotG for one reason...

Explain to me how this character will work. CGI or old school "guy in a costume", I just don't see it.

But Marvel Studios is going forward with it anyway...bless 'em...and names have been revealed as potential - I don't know, voices(?) - for the role:

This doesn't fill me with confidence...

In Marvel Studios I Trust

Casting Call: Magik

Illyana Rasputin is a wonderful character that I remember from The New Mutants way back when.

She's Colossus' younger sister, and Kitty Pryde's best friend.

She is a mutant, but everything beyond that is whacked-up and sideways.

Her born ability is teleportation, but unlike Nightcrawler, her ability works in two steps. First she teleports to a place known as Limbo, and from there goes on to her final destination.

But Limbo isn't just a place of nothing - it's full of creatures easily described as "demons".

Belasco, the ruler of Limbo, sensed the power within Illyana and basically kidnapped her into Limbo to train her as an apprentice in the mystical arts of the realm.

By the way - Belasco took her when she was a child, around 10 or so.

She spent the next 7 years in Limbo living among Belasco and the creatures before eventually returning to Earth-616...only to learn that time moved differently in Limbo, and the teenager Illyana had only been gone for less than a year.

She ended up ruler of Limbo, but her time there corrupted part of her soul.

As a New Mutant, she worked on gaining control of her demonic side and control over her teleportation ability (which can move her through time as well as space) with the use of her Soulsword - the manifestation of her magical strength that appears when she needs it (along with armor, but that's another story).

Now, there's a show Mrs. Adorkification and I have been watching on Netflix recently called Lost Girl...

...about a succubus trying to find her way between the worlds of humans and fae - which is what they call everything from vampires to demons to will-o-the-wisps to leprechauns etc.

Bo is the main character - the succubus - but her partner/sidekick/human is Kenzi (the woman second from the right in the pic above), basically a gypsy/thief of Russian descent that winds up with Bo, played by Ksenia Solo.

Now, you could pick any episode you want to prove my point, but it was the Baba Yaga episode from Season 2 that clinched it for me. You may recognize Solo from an episode of Nikita, or her part in Natalie Portman's Black Swan, but Solo would be an excellent Ilyanna.

Of course, now we'd have to talk about how Magik would appear on screen.

Assuming that The New Mutants are among the characters FOX has snatched up for the forseeable future, my hope is that she'll appear in the X-Men: Days of Future Past sequel as the full-on Darkchylde version, before appearing at the end as a young girl.

I would love for the New Mutants to be their own spin-off franchise, but it would have to be the originals, Cannonball, Sunspot, Wolfsbane, Karma and Mirage...with Magik joining later....

...played by Solo, of course.

Crossovers have their limits...

So this month...today in fact, if my intel is right...Archie #641 features yet another crossover:

This isn't the first time Archie's gang enter other universes...

...or even connected with other musicians...

...but I have to say that they've jumped the shark here.

It looks to me as a 'last gasp' effort on both parties. If they want to do a crossover with a musical television show, both sides should go all out.

Here's what I mean, starting with the comic:

* Back in my day, Bloom County (which was a fantastic comic strip by the way) released a book where the characters formed a heavy metal band. To promote the story, they included a 'floppy record' - a square record made of flexible vinyl that could be played on a device my generation called a  r e c o r d - p l a y e r. Nowadays, there'd be a link to iTunes where buyers of the comic could download a copy of the Glee kids singing "Sugar Sugar" or something. That'd be cool.

As for the show:
* They could have a bunch of 'transfer students' show up for a few weeks (and tie into the plot of the comic).
* Or they could meet up with Archie's gang at a different competition in another state.
* They could even have the cast dress up and act as Archie characters for an episode.

My point is - there should be a higher level of commitment on both sides.

But I still have $5 that says there will be a "Sugar Sugar" cover on an episode in the near future.

Now, if they could only get Mickey Dolenz to appear on the show...

Actresses photoshopped as Avengers...

...and I approve!

First came this -

Now there's this -

This is awesome. If I had any computer imaging skills myself, I would have done stuff like this years ago.

But I'm old, so I'll do as we do and comment on what the kids are up to from my front porch.

HOT SPIT!!! I TOTALLY CALLED IT!!!

There's confirmation (as of today anyway) that in addition to Winter Soldier, another character from Cap will return in the sequel (Warning - HERE THERE BE SPOILERS!!!)...

Interesting thing...

I was checking Adorkification's visit history and found that the following made the top 10:

#10) Ladies and Gentlemen...Nathan Fillion

 #9) Elektra Part 14: Daredevil #190 (Jan, 1993)

 #8) Zombiemania

 #7) A Dork(ification)'s Movie Review: Ocean's Eleven (2001)

 #6) A Dork(ification)'s Movie Review: Legend (1985)

 #5) Casting Call: Ava Lord - A Dame to Kill For

 #4) Malcolm Reynolds Part 4: "Shindig"...

 #3) Gene Simmons' Family Jewels

 #2) Firefly - The Series (2002)

 #1) Malcolm Reynolds Part 3: "Bushwhacked"...

Let me begin by saying that I hope #1 wasn't because I spelled Bushwhacked wrong.

Second, all of these feature images that are easily "snagable", meaning that visiting Adorkification to snag a pic counts as a visit. I'm okay with this, because if you come for a pic, it increases the chances that you'll come back for my snappy patter. The Gene Simmons album cover gets viewed quite a bit.

The fact that four of the ten involve Nathan Fillion doesn't surprise me at all...because he's awesome.

Daredevil #190 features Elektra's (first) resurrection, so that makes sense.

As for Zombiemania - you're all freaks.

Casting Call is something I only did once, but I'm guessing between the Megan Fox pics and the upcoming film there's been a lot of attention drawn to it. I may do this again, but I'd need the time to do some research first...

What surprised me most was that both Movie Reviews are in the top 10. I dragged my feet with those because I wanted something different than the typical review stuff and needed time to decide what data to mention, the format to bring up said data...and time to gather to data. Again, there are images galore in those, but I'd like to think that some of the 231 combined visits include people actually reading the things.

It's interesting and informative to look this stuff up. Thanks for the views, and feel free to comment if there's something you want me to do more/less of...

I was afraid of this...

...the defense...

...it's all about the defense...

...Belichick knows this...

...he's been trained as a coach in defense...

...they've got to make plays...

...or else.

Balls.

I'm back...

Okay, I know I've been out a while so let me spend this morning catching up with stuff...

A while ago, I talked about a Valiant Comics panel I attended at the 2012 Coast City Comic Con (which I will finish by the way) where I asked if there were any plans for a Unity-type event in the near future...

...I was told "not at the moment"...

...well either I was outright lied to, or I gave someone the idea, because "Harbinger Wars" is coming in 2013.

According to an article in CBG (two, maybe three issues left and counting?) the storyline will involve Harbinger and Bloodshot, and bring more of the previous Valiant's characters back into play. But not X-O Manowar.

So while technically a cross-over, this isn't an all-out company-wide event. I call this a draw.

Am I Ready for Some Football...?

Heck yes I am.

I was sooo glad Denver lost I can't even describe it.

The 49'ers and Falcons play first today at 3:00. The Pats play the Ravens at 6:30.




I have to work today ('natch) but I'll catch the second half. The Pats' defense has stepped up, but all this talk about Brady is nuts. Each of their three Super Bowl wins was by three points. That's a field-goal, not a touchdown. Plus, in every game, the defense made plays and took the ball away. Now, Brady's a Hall-of-Famer no question. But he's not the reason the team has three rings. The team is the reason they've got three rings. Brady would be the first person to say that too. So the announcers and commentators need to open their eyes...and history books...and stop talking up just the QB. That's all I'm saying.

Damn this game's addictive.

What I don't understand is how my best friend, who started the game after I did (and has helped me out with all the SHIELD points) is like twenty levels ahead of me...

Schmuck was always lucky...

WTF? Friday...1/18/2013

This illness has kicked me in the teeth.

Take the picture above, replace the coffee cups with Robitussin and NyQuil and swap out the dress shirt for a comfy fleece pullover and that's been me for the past 36 hours...

The good news is that I'm on the mend, but I'm still dizzy as I make my way to the bathroom so I'm not gonna push it.

Mrs. Adorkification's going to get supplies later today - more meds, a chicken for soup stock, etc...

If you haven't already gotten this bug,  DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO STAY HEALTHY!!!

If I'm able, I'll post stuff over the weekend, but the safe bet is I won't be up and running again until Monday.

Post-poned due to cold...

I feel like crap. Head's heavy and throat's sore.

Still have to go in today...

...

Joss is Boss...

Just a quick update as I have to go to work today...

Word is that Joss has begun scripting the Avengers sequel...which is awesome.

Word is also out that while S.H.I.E.L.D. will focus on the non-powered agents, he says - and I quote -

" ...there will be some people with powers, there will be effects, there will be spectacle of science fiction storytelling..."

...but on a human level. Which is also awesome, because it reminds me of Marvels...

...which tells the emergence of the Marvel Universe from a reporter's first-hand perspective.

You've got scope...powers...Marvel Universe goodness...

(tears of joy fall down my face)

...awesomeness.

RIP, CGB...

As I've mentioned before, I stopped collecting comics around 1991/1992.

It was the hardest thing I ever had to do.

It was a bit later that I discovered Wizard Magazine...

It fed my addiction for comics-related goodness without having to buy ten books a week. It was a fun read, but over the years I found that many in the industry - including Frank Miller - saw this publication as crap.

I didn't see why until the monthly mag started writing more about movies, toys, television and stuff...

...instead of comics.

I let my yearly subscription run out and settled into a life of diapers, mortgage payments, and heat.

Then, in a shop in Moultonborough, NH of all places, I came across the May 2006 issue of Comics Buyer's Guide:

This wasn't a light read. It weighed close to three pounds, and had close to 200 pages of stuff:

* articles from former comic writers...

* data about comic sales for the previous month...

* articles from comic shop owners about sales the previous month...

* the usual highlights of upcoming books, and...

* an up-to-date price guide (for most comics). Plus, along the bottom of the price guide pages was a timeline showing key events (and changes in) the original Teen Titans series.

I bought the book, walked to the nearby coffee shop, got a cup, sat down, and read.

I sat there for an hour, and didn't get close to finishing the thing.

I was hooked, and despite the occasional lack in subscription upkeep, have been a fan ever since.

So when I got an e-mail from CBG last week saying they were ceasing publication, I was sad.

In a way, I could tell it was coming - the page count had decreased significantly in recent years, and many of the articles I followed were dropped.

It did, however, keep Peter David's But I Digress... going.

So now I'm stuck settling into a life of colleges, mortgage payments and heat.

I'm going to need to find a new source for my addiction.

Oscar...Oscar...Oscar...

No...I don't mean Jack Klugman...although that was a fantastic show...

...yeah, that's the one...

Let me say first that it pisses me off that most of the nominated films only come out in December. That sucks. Why can't the powers that be look at what's good instead of what's recent?

Secondly...

HEY!!! THEY GOT A NOMINATION!!!

WOAH!!! WAIT A MINUTE...they only got one?

That's so not cool.

Explain to me how Django Unchained, an awesome film to be sure, gets a nom for Best Picture? Has Tarantino ever had a film nominated for Best Picture before? No, he hasn't. He did get nominated before for Best Screenplay...twice (now a third time for Django)...and won for Pulp Fiction, but Django Unchained for Best Picture? It's a freakin' western.

I'm not saying that The Avengers should be up for Best Picture, but neither should Argo or Les Mis - which, by the way, is a remake...based on a Broadway Musical...based on a book.

Now let's talk about Best Costume Design...

Know what got a nom? Snow White and the Huntsman!

In other words, this...

...beat out this...

...for costume design?

At least they got Wolverine and Mystique for Best Actor/Actress right...