Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: avengers, bran new day, civil war, initiative, marvel comics, new avengers, planet hulk, secret invasion, Spider-man, spiderman, work war hulk
This is not going to be much of a post. I just wantted to point out that Marvels direction of late has thrown me off of comics completely, and I am thinking about quitting. Planet Hulk, World War Hulk, Civil War, the Initiative, Brand New Day, and Secret Invasion have completely destroyed any good feelings I had for Marvel Comics. I am seriously considering cancelling all my titles at my local comic store.
Is anyone else out there having these feelings?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: avengers, bran new day, civil war, initiative, marvel comics, new avengers, planet hulk, secret invasion, Spider-man, spiderman, work war hulk
This is not going to be much of a post. I just wantted to point out that Marvels direction of late has thrown me off of comics completely, and I am thinking about quitting. Planet Hulk, World War Hulk, Civil War, the Initiative, Brand New Day, and Secret Invasion have completely destroyed any good feelings I had for Marvel Comics. I am seriously considering cancelling all my titles at my local comic store.
Is anyone else out there having these feelings?
I just want to make a super fast post here. After the Eskies got destroyed by Saskatchewan on the weekend, I hear a lot of fans talking about the Edmonton defense. What the hell? How many games do you win in the CFL where you only score 9 points? None! What motivation is there for the defense to keep battling when the offense is performing so poorly. How can you expect the defense to perform when they can never get off the field for more than 3 downs? Don’t blame the defense. Blame the coach. Danny has been living on borrowed time for three years now. His classic strategy of calling for a three yard hitch pass on second and 10 has got this team where it is. Could this be the last season for Maciocha mayhem? Tune in next week at the same Bat-time. The same Bat-channel.
Filed under: Edmonton Oilers, Uncategorized | Tags: Edmonton Oilers, Glencross, Hemsky, hockey fights, Horcoff, mactavish
So I have been holding off writing about the Oil so far. I have heard a few things discussed all around me, and it is driving me crazy, so here I go on my rant.
First of all, Rob Schremp is not the answer. Rob has consistently given the Oiler’s coaching staff absolutely no reason to take a chance on him. In training camp, and on his rare call ups, Schremp has shown nothing. No jump. No work ethic. No desire. No emotion. No chance of making the team.
The Oilers played their home opener against the Avalanche and produced a giant stink bomb. They did come away with the two points, but winning ugly is an understatement. Horcoff, Hemsky and Cole were very ordinary and never seemed to generate any kind of pressure aside from a couple of Hemsky shots on the rush. If you look at the stats page it looks like they had a pretty good night, but in reality they need to be a LOT BETTER!
The Young Guns are being highly criticized this week, but I thought they had an ok night. My expectations for this line are justifyably low, so I liked the fact that they were trying to make things happen, and just failed to click. A couple of lucky breaks like Penner got and we would be talking about how great this line looked.
The Moreau, Penner, Pisani line comes up with two goals and everyone says they had a good night, but I sure didn’t see much I liked, other than the two goals. I just can’t find anything I like about this trio. Individually they are all players I have a great deal of respect for, but as a line they do not seem to have the same mission statement. Moreau plays a great defensive game and is a great search and destroy checker. Pisani has a great two way game, but plays soft in my opinion. And I have not decided if Penner is a soft player, of if he just lacks the speed to get into position to make a good hit. Regardless, this line DID come on as the game went on, so I am going to have to reserve my final judgement till a later date.
The fourth line has me a bit mystified. Can somebody please explain Marc Pouliott to me? Sure he plays a responsible defensive game, a trait that MacT values above all others, but what else does he contribute? Speed? No. Scoring? No. Physical play? No. How the hell did this guy manage to bump Brule off the roster? As for Stortini, he is just Stortini. He does what he does and does it well. I do not know how much longer MacT is going to be able to banish Brodziak to the fourth line. Kyle is too good for a checking line. At this point he needs to be skating with some more talented linemates.
And Garon was unbelieveable. ‘Nuff said.
Just a few more random thoughts:
The fuss everyone is making about the Oilers riding bikes in Jasper without helmets is just dumb. People should mind their own business more. And if the Oilers decide to go to Jasper to do some bonding as a team, maybe they should ask the media to stay home.
Steve Staios got pounded pretty good in Sunday’s game. I liked the fact that Souray went and had a talk with the Avalanche player the next time they met on the ice, but really Staios deserved what he got. I doubt that Steve would have any problems with it either. I hope the Oilers will watch and make sure they react accordingly the next time Hemsky gets run from behind! When that happens Steve Staios is usually the first guy to come to the defense of his team mate, but we need someone a little tougher to make the satement. It doesn’t make much of a statement if you drop the flippers and lose. You need somebody to go to war and win the battle like the Avalanche player did (sorry folks, I have no idea what this guys name is. Just some nobody in my mind. A nobody who can give Steve Staios a beating, but still a nobody.).
For the record, Curtis Glencross is a dick! He has been spouting off about how the Oilers were not showing interest in signing him. I KNOW that Oilers management had been talking to Glencross and were already wondering where HIS head was at. They were concerned that he was not interested in signing with Edmonton. And if he thinks the priority of any team is to sign a fourth liner before Marion Hossa, he needs to give his head a shake anyway.
That’s about it for today as I have lost my train of thought. There was an AMAZING scrap in last nights game between Philly and Pittsburg. I believe it was Riley Cote and Eric Goddard, but I could be wrong. I strongly encourage you to look this one up on hockeyfights.com!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: CFL, Edmonton Eskimos, Football, Rider Pride, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Well I went to Commonwealth Stadium last night to watch the Eskimos play host to the CFL best Saskatchewan Roughriders. There were about 50,000 people in attendance, and if you judged the crowd solely on the basis of our section, you had to believe that about 35,000 of them were ‘Riders fans. I’m sure you could hear a rat fart on the Saskatchewan prairie from ten miles away last night, because half of the damn province was at the football game in Edmonton!
‘Rider pride is always a fun phenomenon to witness. I swear, every Roughrider fan alive must own a ‘Riders jersey. They showed up in their jerseys, with faces painted, and wearing all sorts of corny gear. Quite a few fans were wearing helmets made from watermelons (or great imitations!). One guy was wearing a Darth Vader mask with a football helmet and, of course, a ‘Riders jersey. Another had a shirt that said something like, ‘Go Riders’ on the front and ‘Edmonton chicks think I’m hot!’ on the back. We got a good laugh out of that one.
The beer was flowing and, having attended the labor day rematch against Calgary in the past, I was expecting things to get a little out of hand by the end of the game. Usually the Calgary game features more than a few battles in the stands as well as on the field.
Maybe it was just the fact that Saskatchewan lost, or maybe the Rat-landers just have way more class than our neighbors to the south, but the trouble I was expecting just never happened. There was a good sized brawl near us, but it could not have involved any ‘Riders fans since there were no jerseys involved in the fight and, as I established in the second paragraph, Saskatchewanians seem to be issued their ‘Rider wear at birth! Other than that one incident I did not see anything to suggest that the visiting fans were there to do anything except support their team.
Nice job Roughrider fans. You are a real classy group! I can only hope the hicks from Cow-town can behave as well in September.
Filed under: Comic Book Reviews, Uncategorized | Tags: action comics, atom, batman, bookie, brand new day, comic, dc, marvel, review, screwball, Spider-man, spiderman, superman, toyman, xuthl
Well I have to admit that I am having more fun with this blog than I expected I would. The only thing I am missing so far is comments from you, the reader. I really want to encourage you to share your thoughts, or if there is a comic title that I have not been reviewing that is really a must read in your opinion, please let me know what it is.
So I read the All New Atom #7&8. Once again we get the team of Gail Simone and Mike Norton and a cover by Landronn. The story goes like this: a strange fairly omnipotent time traveler shows up looking for a professor. The Atom has no idea who he is talking about, but the traveler insists that the professor will show up, and he tells Atom to let him know when he does or he will kill him. So next the professor shows up, except he is mysteriously missing half of… well… himself. As it turns out, he swallowed some sort of time portal and it sent half of his body into the future, where it lives a separate life on it’s own. In the end it turns out that the professor is suffering from Alzheimers and is a little bit delusional. The cover work is very nice. I give it 5/5. The story is enjoyable. Kind of gets confusing at times, and that is becoming a Simone trademark in my eyes, but still I give her a 4/5 for this work. The art is really outstanding. 5/5. And for relevance I think 2/5 is about the best I can muster. Total score 16/20. A good read. Do not hesitate to pick this one up.
Next on the list is Action Comics #865, written by Geoff Johns, art by Jesus Merino, covery by Kevin MaGuire. In this issue the Terrible Toyman escapes from his confinement in Arkum Asylum and kidnaps Jimmy Olson. It is unclear whether Jimmy just happens to be in Gotham and gets kidnapped or if he is abducted in Metropolis and brought to Gotham. Regardless, Toyman tells the story of his origins. What turned him bad. He tells about how he lost hope when his wife died in a hit and run accident. Eventually Jimmy uses one of Toyman’s Superman dolls to burn through his restraints and activates his Superman signal watch. Salvation arrives, but in the form of Batman, not Superman. Bats battles Toyman’s constructs and he grabs Jimmy and starts to run when Superman shows up and obliterates all the little Superman dolls. Toyman begs Superman to take him to jail so that he will not be considered to be a “Batman villain”. The end of the story is the most interesting. It turns out that Toymans “wife” was just another one of his toys. So, for the cover I am giving 5/5. It is colorful, it is interesting. Very effective. The story I am also going to give 5/5. Very entertaining! I recomend this issue. Art gets a 4/5. Not perfect, but very strong. Relevance is where I struggle when it comes to DC books. I am a self confessed Marvel junkie. Why I am reading so much DC lately is a mystery. Let’s just say I have been giving it a try and enjoying it. I guess that is all that matters. So, while I doubt this issue will really have any significant impact on anything, I will give it a 3/5. Overall score is 17/20. A very good book!
Over to Marvel we have Amazing Spider-man #561. This offering is written by Dan Slott, with art by Marcos Martin. This is the big wrap up of the Paper Doll storyline. There are some pretty interesting twists here. First, it turns out that the mystery girl friend of actor Bobby Carr is none other than Mary Jane Watson. In the first part of the issue we get a glimpse into the origin of Paperdoll, and they kind of establish the fact that she is insane. Then we flash to where Spider-man is trying his best to get a picture of Bobby kissing with Mary Jane. If he can get this picture he will be a millionaire! But when Paperdoll shows up he leaves the camera on autopilot and goes into action. It is an amuzing battle scene with MJ locking herself in a panic room and taunting both Spider-man and Paperdoll through an intercom. Spider-man and Bobby eventually manage to defeat Paperdoll and Peter decides that Paparazi is not for him. He destroys his pictures of MJ and Bobby and most shocking of all, Robbie resigns from the Bugle. The big news in this issue? MJ makes several statements which suggest that she may know everything about Peter. Did she and Mephisto cut a deal? Does she know the way things really are? I guess time will tell. I give the cover 4/5. I am leaning somewhere between 3 and 4, but I don’t give half marks, so I have to err on the high side this time. The story gets 4/5. As I have said before, I really like Paperdoll. She is a good villain, and the writing on this series is pretty good. I hate Brand New Day, but I am enjoying the stories. It is too bad they are wasting such good talent on Brand New Day. Art in general gets 4/5. And since it is Brand New Day I give it 1/5 for relevance. Total is 13/20. Not bad all in all.
Next up I have Amazing Spider-man #562 written by Bob Gale and drawn by Mike McKone. This one really disappointed me on many levels. We go to the “Bar with No Name” where all the MU bad guys hang out and bet on anything and everything. Some loser called the Basher makes a Youtube broadcast challenging Spider-man to face him. This Bookie character, who we have been led to believe is a very professional high roller type has actually hired Screwball to pose as Spider-man and take out the Basher, who is also in on the scam, so the Bookie can make some bucks. Things go bad for the Bookie when the real Spider-man shows up and busts Screwball. The villains in the bar realize that it is all a scam and they look to take it out of the Bookie’s hide. We are left with a typical cliffhanger as Spidey shows up in the bar and prepares to battle about a hundred bad guys. Marvel advertised the heck out of this issue, and the hype kind of backfires. I was looking forward to this issue, and at the end I was left thinking, “So what? Big deal!” The most exciting thing about this issue was the ad for the Secret Invasion HeroClix being released in July. So, cover gets 4/5. It i just ok. The story gets 2/5. The art gets 4/5. It is ok, but some of the characters look a little funny. And since it is Brand New Day, it gets 1/5 for relevance. 11/20. Maybe you should find somewhere else to spend your comic dollars this week.
Well that is it for this week. I had a lot of family comittments that kept me from doing a lot of reading this week. Family wins out every time, right?
I did read a few more issues of the All New Atom, but I will not bore you with that review. I have bought the entire run to date and am reading them as fast as I can, so expect more Atom reviews next week.
The last word goes to Xuthl’s Wilderness Comics and Collectibles which has just made the move from EBay to Comic Collector Live. Go to http://www.comiccollectorlive.com/LiveData/Seller.aspx?id=cc0608d3-03c2-4b73-81dd-40662b76b9c9 and check out the titles I am offering for sale. Please remember to consider the cost of shipping as part of the total price. You will find my prices are often the lowest available. I have also come across some really nice 1970’s Mego Star Trek Action figures which I am listing on EBay. If you go to EBay, and enter the community section, you can search for me under the user id xuthl69 and see the items I have for sale.
Also, if you collect current comics, I encourage you to consider ordering your books from me. I charge cover price plus $3 shipping and handling for the first book and an additional $1 for each book after that anywhere within Canada. This may sound expensive, but with the cost of gasoline continually rising you really can’t lose. This is also ideal for readers living in cities and towns without a local comic shop.
Lastly, if there is a book you are looking for but can’t find, drop me a line and I will see what I can find for you. I have a good network of sellers and have had great success in the past. Feel free to contact me at xuthl@yahoo.ca.
Again, if you have any comments, I would really love to hear them. Please leave feedback!
Have a great week!
