TheRaySays

Okay, GoGo. I'm going to check me out some Plastic Man on your recommendation. :thumbsup: Oh, and I edited my post above to include some Ultimate mini-series that I had forgotten. ("Bad Ray! Bad!" )

Here are the... Comics Releases for August 11, 2004: Identity Crisis #3 of 7 Publisher: DC Writer: Brad Meltzer Penciller: Rags Morales $3.95 To quote the mighty StrongBad... "This is what I'm talkin' 'bout!" Thus far, I had been sharing TGC's hatred of Brad Meltzer's ham-handed "mystery," but he may have won me over in this incredible issue. To bring those out of the loop up to speed, Meltzer's a best-selling novelist who made his comics debut picking up Green Arrow after the departure of everyone's favorite silent filmmaker Kevin Smith. Identity Crisis is his attempt at a big buzz murder mystery starring a bunch of major players in the DC Universe. Now, the first two issues left me cold and in a quandary. The murder in question, of third-rate hero The Elongated Man's wife Sue Dibny, made most casual fans go "Who?" and most old-timers go "Why?" Add onto that the heavily implied crime of rape that purportedly predated her murder by more than a few years, and we're almost in DC Vertigo Mature Readers Only territory. I know I certainly wouldn't be able to sell this series to a kid and keep a clear conscience. All that aside, it looked like we were heading for an overly sensationalized and unnecessarily brutal take on the dangers of secret identities. It's a tired premise, although I must admit to never having seen it handled in this way. Well, with the third issue of this mini-series, Meltzer goes right for the throat with a 12-page dismantling of over a half dozen of the Justice League's more solid midcarders, including Atom, Flash, and Green Arrow at the hands of Teen Titans nemesis Deathstroke. I have to confess that I'm a big fan of seeing heroes get their asses handed to them in new and imaginative ways, and neither Meltzer nor Rags drop the ball on this one. Great, great stuff. But a cool fight is one thing. What about the overall story arc? Well, it gets very interesting with a startling confession that makes sense of an old Justice League tale that had implications that obviously no one but Meltzer ever seriously considered. Not only does Meltzer consider it, he resolves it, but in a fashion that clearly forms the crux of the entire mini-series. Add to that some brief two-page teasers that show such easily dismissed characters as Captain Boomerang, Robin, and Jimmy Olsen in interesting roles, and then finish it off with another possible murder (I say possible because just like with the old movie serials, a death in the last page of an issue isn't a sure thing until you see the next issue), and you've got a good, solid, entertaining read. Now, I'm still not happy with the way Meltzer opened this series, and I may never be, but if the rest continues in the vein of this issue, he might end up with a mini-series that does far more right than it does wrong. Right now, I wholeheartedly recommend this issue, especially to more mature fans of either the Justice League or Teen Titans, but the jury's still out on Identity Crisis as a whole. I guess I'll reconvene in thirty days. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Soulfire #1 Publisher: Aspen Storyteller: Jeph Loeb (supposedly) Art: Michael Turner $2.99 This one's almost exactly a year late, but Mike Turner's been keeping busy with various covers and projects for DC, and it's only natural that he backburner his creator-owned title. In fact, the cover proudly boasts that Soulfire is by the same creative team behind the wildly successful Batman/Superman. I'm sure that's a recent addition since this was originally solicited for order long before that, but whatever helps sell a book is fine by me. So, is it worth the wait? In a word: No. In two words: Hell no. In three words: No Fu... Okay, you get the idea. Now, don't get me wrong. I didn't absolutely hate this book, but so much is done wrong, it's hard to get jazzed about what's done right, but I'll try to start on a positive note. The Michael Turner art is pretty. Now, some might call it gorgeous, but I'm a picky bitch, so "pretty" is about as far as I'm willing to go. And if you're buying a book by the artist behind Fathom, "pretty" is pretty much what you should expect. Then it gets tough. The story, as it is, is flaccid and derivative. We start with a straight up rip-off of the movie Reign of Fire, which serves to just set up an extended sequence with a dragon laying waste to future San Francisco which just serves to set up our mysterious pretty chick which just serves to... may Ray very bored. To say this debut issue is heavily padded would be a disservice to padding. We're talking 2 double-page spreads and 2 splash pages out of only a 22-page book. That doesn't leave a lot of room for character development or foreshadowing, so why bother, right? No, instead, our creative team chooses to devote 4 full pages to a hologram arcade for no very good reason than to give Michael Turner various weird settings to draw (including a shootout in virtual Deadwood, which at least had a character gunslinging a pair of revolvers with the appropriate twelve bullets). If Turner's already bored with his creation and has to resort to this sort of crap to fill the book, this project's in deep trouble out of the gate. Then we get to the editing, which I don't normally bother to comment on because by its very nature, editing should be a transparent affair. It's meant to keep things like word balloons that are missing words or misspellings or bad punctuation out of the book. At least in theory, a theory NOT in practice here. I'd love to find out what, actually, the editor DID catch. I think that about covers it. If you absolutely, positively have to have more Michael Turner art, by all means drop another $3 on this issue. Hell, treat yourself and pretend it's the early 1990s by buying all 6 variant covers (same interior content) for $40 or so, because you know in fifty years this book'll be worth a small fortune. Not so offensive to be worth major heel heat, but nothing to go crazy about either. The literary equivalent of 1 Val Venis. Iron Man #87 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Mark Ricketts Penciler: Tony Harris $2.99 Well, #86 was the "Avengers Disassembled" follow-up to Avengers #500, and this continues "The Singularity," the story begun there. The gist is that Iron Man, Tony Stark to his friends and colleagues has been appointed U.S. Secretary of Defense and just loses it on the Latverian ambassador at the U.N. (the events of Avengers #500), calling him everything but an asshat, and resulting in speculation that he's fallen back ON the wagon and is now under congressional investigation. Last issue left us on a cliffhanger, when what appears to be Iron Man lets loose and smokes the entire board of directors of his own Stark Enterprises, almost killing Tony Stark's best friends in the whole wide world Hap Hogan and Pepper Potts (man, are *those* names dated...). Well, this issue, we get some backstory in the form of a series of flashbacks that detail the relationships between Tony and his ex-girlfriend (Japanese corporate bad girl and Paris Hilton wannabe Rumiko) and evil competitor Clarence Ward (who got caught selling WMDs to the Iraqis, if you call giant cricket robots WMDs...). Then it's on to this issue's big cliffhanger swerve, which is confusing but cool, in the sort of way that makes me want to read the next issue. Score one for Mark Ricketts. The art is kinda bland but serviceable, and while the face on characters are very expressive, they're sometimes a bit melodramatic. A prime example is Pepper Potts who looks emotionally wrecked in a scene that's actually played for cheap laughs. I liked this one enough to check out the next, and that's really a triumph for Iron Man these days. :thumbsup: See ya next week!

Because they were only 12 freaking cents and sold out in a heartbeat... That, and I was too stupid to save one. :ohwell: And Jean Grey died after going absofrigginglutely ballistic at finding Emma (White Queen) and Scott (Cyclops) making time together. She did the heel turn, Phoenix thing, and then got jacked up by Magneto in New X-Men #150.

Not nearly the event-filled week last week was, but here are the... Comics Releases for August 6, 2004: Batman & Catwoman: Trail of the Gun #1 of 2 Publisher: DC Writer: Ann Nocenti Artist: Ethan Van Sciver $5.95 (prestige format) This is the Catwoman I prefer... spandex so tight you can see her navel and a cocky attitude that makes men crumble. The story is a simple one, Catwoman is public enemy number one after supposedly committing mass murder with a coveted smartgun that never misses. The fact that this doesn't fit her M.O. doesn't seem to bother anyone in Gotham other than Batman. The story opens with a tired debate over gun control that hits every cliche we've heard in the past twenty plus years on the matter. After that though, it's full steam ahead with a borderline campy caper story straight out of Ocean's Eleven or Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead. Ethan Van Sciver (of New X-Men fame) really cuts loose on the dive bar Real McCoy's and the colorful characters Zipperface Malloy and Brickhead Pete. But after that, it's all downhill fast into an anti-gun rant that's hard to enjoy. I'm no gun nut nor very right-wing, but I don't read comics to be preached to, and at $5.95, it's hard not to be angry at being treated like a moron. Whether or not you agree with the message, you'd struggle to find a better anti-gun advocate among the superhero populace than Batman, but a prestige format book is hardly the forum for a one-sided debate. Sadly, I can't recommend this book. The art is gorgeous, but for the price, you can purchase two regular comics with a much greater chance of entertainment. Even if you're avidly anti-gun, there's little here you haven't already heard a thousand times over. Detective Comics #797 Publisher: DC Writer: Anderson Gabrych Penciller: Pete Woods $2.95 Okay, this is billed as Act One: Part 1 of 8 of "War Games" a massive crossover running through all the Batman titles. Normally, this sort of thing is a trainwreck, especially with different writers going off in different directions, but with Marvel running Avengers Disassembled, I guess it's just natural for DC to retaliate with their crossover "big gun", Batman. We begin "in media res" as they say, with an arranged shoot-out between Gotham's crime bosses that leaves most ventilated and done before things even get started. No big names drop, so no surprises there, but things definitely have an air of importance that an event storyline like this desperately needs. Now, I don't know how this is going to resolve itself, but if this issue sets the tempo for the overall storyline, I'm in like MF'ing Flint! The art is solid without being overly flashy, but the true gem is the action scenes, including a piece with Batgirl pulling a "Kill Bill" stand-off against a Triad, Batman himself using Latino gangstas as literal stepping stones to get to their newly crowned boss, and a complex sequence involving a motorcycle, a LAW rocket, and innocent bystanders. "I had nothing to do with your father's death. But that doesn't mean I won't have anything to do with yours." Great stuff. The end of the issue has a clever twist that attentive readers will find puts a new spin on the events of the story and answers an important plot question in a surprisingly satisfactory fashion. The back-up feature, by Shane McCarthy and Tommy Castillo, follows up on The Riddler's attempts to hide himself following the events of the awesome "Hush" storyline. Even with his wicked intellect, he finds himself at the mercy of a former ally who's powers are rapidly spiralling out of control. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and, hopefully, the rest of the "War Games" storyline to any Bat-fans out there. Batman's been on a real roll of late, story-wise, and it's good to see that DC isn't just going to spin their wheels until the dream team of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee return to the fold. If you're not up on current storylines, it may take some getting used to, but the dialogue catches readers up right quick without resorting to dull exposition. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: X-Men: The End Book One Publisher: Marvel Writer: Chris Claremont Penciller: Sean Chen $2.99 Here's the deal. The premise is old school X-Men writer Chris Claremont gets to tell what would be the ultimate LAST X-Men story. By definition then, this isn't part of current continuity, but it isn't quite a "What If?" story. Somewhere in between, I guess. Regardless, it's highly anticipated, but that can set expectations pretty high... We start with a quick history lesson on The X-Men, told from an unknown perspective, and with particular focus on their interactions with the alien Shi'ar Empire. Not my favorite X-lore as I think the whole alien thing strays away from their "hated heroes" schtick, but I'm willing to accept it as part of their backstory. My big problem with this whole shindig is the expository writing. For example, "But even The Brood can be taken by surprise. For all their dread (and well-earned) reputation, there are some powers even they respect. The Starjammer is one of them." Sure, it tells you what you need to know, but the issue is so full of it that folks new to The X-Men will be hopelessly lost, while X-Fans will already know all this stuff. I appreciate that it's a fine line to tread, but for all his laurels, Claremont should be more adept at it than this. Some of the best stuff in this issue are the little things that curiously go UNexplained. Things like Jamie Madrox as a tool of the alien Kree, Kitty Pryde running for office in Chicago, and Wolverine gently tending to a paralyzed Storm. Sadly, each of these examples is given just a single page and much of the issue deals with the daughter of Bishop and Deathbird and the return of Jean Grey's Phoenix persona. *YAAAAAWN* I guess I can recommend this to die-hard X-Fans, but if you're one of those, you undoubtedly already grabbed this up. Otherwise, I'd just take a pass. I guess this makes this my first :thumbs-in-the-middle:. I didn't hate reading it, but I didn't come away eager for more, either. :ohwell:

I've never had a problem with Amazon. Their descriptions are supposed to be supplied by the manufacturer or publisher so that's why they're often craptastic. Companies seem to give less than a shit about ad copy or accuracy. For example: Ring of Honor - The Era of Honor Begins - starring Dusty Rhodes! WTF?! Actually, I think Dusty has a hand in how they were distributed to Amazon (via his Turnbuckle Classics DVD line), but that almost turned me off of ordering it thinking I might've been getting the wrong thing or they might send me the wrong thing, but it was all good. Have fun trying to find the right version of TV mini-series as well. Amazon had about 3-4 versions of Merlin listed, on DVD and VHS, all with different running times. That was a crapshoot and a half, but I did get the one I wanted. As for the comics thing, trust me. Dealing with the ONLY comics distributor of note in the free world, no one does an even serviceable job of listing what issues are included in what trades. This is a constant griping point of mine, and I'd recommend folks do a little online research to figure this out before ordering a hard or softcover compilation because the distributors/publishers are zero help with this crucial info. Pisses me off...

Well, I can't tell if that was supposed to be some trolling around or if you really just want attention. I'd gladly like to see what you have to say as your former post was pretty vague and un-necessary. ← Not trolling, tho I acknowledge that it'll stir up a shitstorm to lambaste the most overrated franchise in cinematic history. Any thoughtful debate seems unlikely to convince you as you indicate that my previous post was "vague and unnecessary (sp)," but I'll allow you to serve this volley. Pick something supposedly awesome about the Star Wars Trilogy, and try to be more specific than "the special effects". I will then gladly rebut.

Star Wars, while occupying a key role in my formative years, has always sucked wookie nuts. Don't make me prove it in thoughtful debate. It's brought men to tears. That is all.

Sean's Sig Rules~!

See my review above, which is specifically for #3, but covers my general impressions of the series thus far. :thumbsup: I'll try to fit in recommendations/review requests as stuff comes in. Thanks!

In an effort to expand comics awareness as well as force myself to read more comics than I usually do, I'm going to rant on each week's selection of comics. I'm not going to spoiler too much ("OMFG! Superman is teh dead!"), but if you haven't read a title in a while, I'm going to be working on the assumption that you're caught up, so recent developments MAY be spoilered. I will edit in more stuff as I read/review it, then post a new batch as new stuff comes in next week. Make sense? If so, sit back, relax, and see if there's anything worth throwing a few sawbucks at for a quick, fun read... Comics Releases for July 28, 2004: Army of Darkness: Ashes 2 Ashes #1 Publisher: Devil's Due Writer: Andy Hartnell Pencils: Nick Bradshaw $2.99 As a fan of Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and the Evil Dead franchise, I approached this book with certain skepticism. The first thing one notices upon casual observation is the art style, which is reminiscent of Don Bluth's Dragon's Lair, a kind of quirky, offbeat caricaturish brand of art that strangely fits the humorous and surreal subject matter. The first third of the book is basically a big recap of the events of the film, with the new story picking up immediately afterward. Andy Hartnell does a good job of capturing Ash's dialogue, and you can almost hear Campbell's voice as you read it. Maybe I'm easily amused, but, while I didn't find myself lol-ing, the jokes are pretty good and fit Raimi's style. As per the films, there is a steady diet of cartoony gore as well, and fans of Ash's chainsaw tactics shouldn't be disappointed. I recommend this book to fans of the films, Bruce Campbell, or schlocky horror/fantasy. :thumbsup: Astonishing X-Men #3 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Joss Whedon (yes, THAT Joss Whedon...) Artist: John Cassaday $2.99 If you didn't know that Joss the Boss (Buffy, Angel, Firefly) got a gig writing Marvel's mutant franchise, then you need to catch up, and quick. Now, understand, I'm not the X-Men's biggest fan. In fact, most of the time, I find them to be an insufferable bunch of whining, overly angsty, self-pitying little whores, but Whedon clearly has a love of the characters that is certainly contagious. If you like his television work or not, you have to admit that Joss knows how to juggle an ensemble cast, and he's up to snuff thus far on this series. Most notable is the return of Kitty Pryde, who Joss has clearly cast in the style of Willow from Buffy, still naively vulnerable but no longer the awkward adolescent she once was. The story is fast-paced, with Whedon jumping between scenes of 2-4 pages or so with each ending on a dramatic pause that hooks the reader. The dialogue is predictably first-rate, with some lines making you wonder why no one has written it before (Cyclops to Nick Fury: "Even for a guy with one eye, your vision's incredibly narrow." Ironic, coming from someone nicknamed Cyclops...). Fury's cameo is great, and he comes off as a grizzled Malcom Reynolds from Firefly. If there's one complaint I have about the series thus far, it is that fans of Joss will find some of his characterizations strangely familiar. Wolverine's noble roguishness and grief reeks of Spike, Kitty as Willow, Fury as Mal, Beast as Xander, and so on... It's not distracting thus far, and will probably feel like less of a crutch as he explores the characters' motivations (Beast gets the best handling by far given the story). And the story is an intriguing one with lots of possibilities. If mutants can be "cured", should they be? Who decides? Parallels to genocide, supposed cures for homosexuality, and abortion are easy to make, but Joss never falls into the trap of afterschool special lecturing. Instead, he puts various characters at different points of the compass and allows us to see their points of view, resulting in a debate where everyone has a different perspective and no one is wholly right, as it should be. I recommend this book to anyone who'd ever even touch a superhero comic. You don't need to actually know much about the X-Men other than the basics from the movies or cartoons or comics. They're mutants... They try to be heroes to a world that hates and fears them. Enjoy. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Avengers #500 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Penciler: David Finch $3.50 Brian Michael Bendis is Marvel's golden boy of the moment, having made Ultimate Spider-Man one of the biggest surprise hits in recent comics memory. He's moved his creator-owned title Powers to Marvel and is now under exclusive contract to them, so it stands to reason that they'd tap him to reinvigorate "Earth's Mightiest Heroes." I've been a big fan of the Avengers since my childhood, and it led to me finding joy in characters I'd never have checked out otherwise like Captain America, Hawkeye, Iron Man, and Thor. Lately, the roster has been bolstered by the addition of some solid midcarders like The Falcon, She-Hulk, and Black Panther as well as some jobber fodder like Ant-Man and a brand spanking new female Captain Britain. This gives Bendis the daunting task of making a dozen characters interesting. Sadly, it's hard to say whether or not he'll be able to pull that off, because his run on the title starts with a literal bang and doesn't let up to the final page. That's not to say that there isn't ANY character development, but this issue hits so fast and so hard that you'd swear the closing quiet moments would play out right before the opening theme in the sort of way that modern TV dramas try to hook you with a shocking teaser and then cut to the credits. The story involves a mysterious foe absolutely blitzing The Avengers on some vendetta, using some of their own former and current members against them in unique and original ways. In particular, She-Hulk is handled in a way that keeps her from being just a sexier but more boring version of her namesake cousin. The art is spectacular, and equal attention is paid to the big action sequences and the character's reactions to the events of the story. Emotion is painted on the faces of all of the members as they go from being concerned, to worried, to outright maddeningly scared at their own destruction. The running storyline is entitled "Avengers Disassembled," and they get decimated here in a way that hasn't been done since The Masters of Evil trashed the mansion and laid Hercules out on the lawn. Now, while Avengers fans will be marking out all the way through, non-fans would be better off not bothering. There's sadly nothing in here that'll convert someone to Avengers fandom, and much of the emotional punch of the events will be lost on someone who doesn't already have an attachment to these characters. In that regard, the comic is only a mixed success, because big events like this are usually designed to get people to take notice of a title, while the best Bendis could really hope for is that fans who ditched the title during its seemingly interminable lameness will jump back on board. I give this book the highest possible recommendation to anyone who's ever enjoyed The Avengers or any of the team's iconic characters such as Cap or Iron Man. To non-fans, the book might be a fun read, but might be a little too much action with not enough context. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:, but with reservations. Catwoman #33 Publisher: DC Writer: Ed Brubaker Artists: Diego Olmos & Jimmy Palmiotti $2.50 Those looking for Halle Berry should scroll down now. This isn't Warner Bros.' Catwoman... okay, well, since DC Comics is *owned* by Warner, and not in the pwned way but in the "We'll make the movies the way we want to, geeks be damned" sense, I guess it *is* their Catwoman, but you get the idea, I hope. This is the comics Catwoman, the thief with a conscience of sorts who has a love/hate relationship with the Dark Knight Detective. Now, pencil me in under the column of folks who *loathe* the new, girl-friendly, art deco zippered jumpsuit for Catwoman. I understand the desire to take the character into a direction away from tits and ass, but seriously, what better character to peddle tits and ass than a chick who runs around in high-heeled leather boots wielding a whip? Come on, Susan B. Anthony she ain't... But, assuming that DC's gambit to attract female readers who'd be scared away by camel toe and thigh-high stilettos, I'm willing to cut Catwoman some slack. The tagline on the cover, however, "Her Life, Her Town, Her Law!" just screams Smackdown theme song and promises a level of cheesiness I may be unable to prepare myself for. The self-contained story unfolds out of sequence and with changing perspectives, almost like a Tarantino flick, and I'm hip to that. The art is kinda clunky and chunky, with heavy inks and sparse backgrounds, but tells the tale well enough. And the tale, while a cliche little urban tale, has enough noir to fit what the title should be about. Catwoman shouldn't be running around dropkicking robots. She's a burglar and a vigilante, and Brubaker does a good job of portraying her as such and drawing the distinction between her brand of justice and that of Gotham's more infamous defender. Looking for a hot chick in spandex? Look somewhere else. Looking for a fun little urban superhero book with potential? This might be your bag. :thumbsup: JLA #102 Publisher: DC Writer: Chuck Austen (ewwwwww) Artist: Ron Garney $2.25 Okay, I haven't read the first part of Austen's Justice League debut because I absolutely cannot stand his writing. That's going to make this difficult, but I've been following JLA on and off for over 100 issues now, and old habits die hard. Austen, however, in all his hamhandedness sticks me in the gut with this absolutely atrocious effort. I loved Garney's art on Mark Waid's relaunch of Captain America a few years ago. His skills are wasted here in a morality tale about, of all things, smoke alarms. Seriously, this shit reads like a PSA from the 1970s, and it doesn't hold up well at all. This issue is just a part of an overall story arc ("The Pain of the Gods") which seems to revolve around the notion of heroes not being able to save everyone. This isn't anything new and was handled much better in recent issues of Thor which had the Norse hero suddenly taking his supposed "god" status seriously. A fireman telling Flash "You *never* get used to finding dead kids." doesn't come off as so much dramatic as just cheezy, and Flash's reaction (giving everyone smoke detectors with his superspeed) is just flat-out lame. Seeing a full page of The Flash rapidly installing smoke alarms draws inappropriate laughter at best. "It's a battery. Costs a dollar and it could save your kids' lives." Seriously. That's just weak. Now, while this is part two of "The Pain of the Gods", and I get the impression that part one focused on a similar situation with a different hero (Wonder Woman?), we're "treated" to an epilogue with Superman coming to a similar realization that he can't save everyone and the teaser caption "Next: Green Lantern". Man, is this what I have to look forward to? Up to this point, I was starting to wonder if I just liked comics too much because I was enjoying everything I had read, but this comic is simply deplorable. The Flash vs. Fire and Fire wins! Wow. Not that I'm adverse to introspective stories of this nature, but this was just lazy and cheap, especially when we're given the panel of dead children followed by a page of discussion with the fireman. Worse, I can't see where this is going to pay off any time soon. The JLA trying to take responsibility for the state of the world? Grant Morrison did a much better job of showing the problems with that in the first four issues of this very series, and without trying to sell extra tissue along the way. I recommend avoiding Austen's work entirely and this issue in particular. :angry: That's it... for now.

Honestly, I don't see what's so wrong with that. I mean this guy comes into the interview fawning that he's such a big fan, then just asks very general questions, or ones he seems quick to crow about already knowing the answer to. Many interviewees would be more than happy to just jabber like a big press release, but I got the impression that Lawless would rather talk about something more specific than "briefly summarize your concept album for us". It reminds me of Stephen King getting aggravated at all the times he's had to answer the question "Where do you get your ideas?" or Tori Amos telling Lisa Ling on The View that she draws her inspiration from "spaghetti". Vapid, empty questions like these are shitty interviewing, in my opinion. If you're going to make your living as a serious journalist of some sort and not just some pretty talking head, research is your friend. He gets picked on by Will Ferrell, but James Lipton knows his shit. Same with Charlie Rose. Just my take. YMMV.

Preach on, Brother GZ! Yeah, this is the pinnacle that all other super hero games aspire to. I was a little weirded out by Wolverine's "Adamantium Laser", but I suppose they wanted to give him a ranged attack. I was also fond of the similar Avengers game that had Iron Man, Captain America, Wasp, Hawkeye, Vision, and... I think... Scarlet Witch. My friends and I still sometimes quote Cap's "I... can't... move..." dialogue.

Depends on the definition of "playable". If it's just an advert, you CAN put it in your PS2 and it'll play. Misleading? Definitely. Illegal? No. In the case of the high bidder, this looks like a case of a fool and his money parting ways.

Looks like a demo disk to me, the kind of thing you get at E3 for free for stopping by the Rockstar Games booth. I doubt there's much, if anything, playable on it.

Okay then. Sick it is.

Aren't we just assuming a bit here? While I doubt the kid's 23 playing 10, there is a strong likelihood he's actually older than the 10 year old he's being asked to portray. Shit, Haley Joel Osmet could still play 10.

Rocko's Modern Life > Sifl & Olly > Beavis Y Butt-Head >> Ren & Stimpy Filburt the Turle is awesome, especially when handling comics at Super-A-Lot-Of-Comics ("Turn a page, wash your hands. Turn a page, wash your hands..."). Damn I miss that show. I used to love Sifl & Olly. Something about sock puppets makes me laugh uncontrollably. B&B still holds up, but there needs to be a way to get the full eps with videos. Otherwise, it's just half-assed. And Ren & Stimpy were funny way back in the day and I think the classic eps would still hold up ("Don't Whizz on the Electric Fence!"), but the new ones were just lame. Ah the good old days, TheRay

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is much more layered than any film take on the character. Robot Visions by Isaac Asimov. A collection of his seminal robot stories that influenced the development of real-world technologies and philosophies. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. Excellent small-town horror/fantasy. Just some picks from my bookshelf, TheRay

Comic books? Did someone say comic books? Fright Night Now Comics: Oct., 1988 - No. 22, 1990 1-2 adapt the movie, $2.25 ea. 3-22, $2.25 ea. Fright Night II Now Comics: 1989 1 adapts movie sequel, $4.00 Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood comics retailer, TheRay

The Stranglers - "Golden Brown" Used in the Guy Ritchie film Snatch.