Tags: Picture of the day
1. WOLVERINE 2. Yes, it’ll be in Japan. Yes, it’ll star Hugh Jackman. Yes, it’ll start filming in January. January! Why not now? Claremont/Miller’s classic miniseries (and the best Wolverine story ever told) is practically a storyboard! Even McG could direct it without screwing it up!
2. UGH-D. I saw Alice in Disney Digital 3D (not iMax), and left annoyed and with a headache. It’s barely 3D. It’s more like 3 layers of 2D. Then, the next day, new research came out showing that 3D causes eyestrain and may affect proper eye development in young people. Now I learn that Green Lantern will be in 3D. Not to mention the next Spider-Man and the Alien prequel. I hope they still show them in “regular D.” That’s how I saw Avatar, and it was still an amazing visual film.
3. WB FAILS TO KILL SUPERBOY. They moved him from Thursday to Friday night, but that didn’t kill him. Smallville has been renewed for Season 10. Frankly, the move helped me (it no longer competes with so many other good Thursday night shows). But it’s got to change if it’s going to keep me for another year. Let him wear a cape, already, and let’s see lots more guest stars. We want Nightwing! Oh, and replace Lex Luthor, too. The show lacks a solid villain, and Zod is kinda mealy mouthed. I say they turn it into a Teen Titans show. How great would that be? And can anyone really argue that this would hurt D.C.’s chances at making another Superman movie?
4. MORE UGH-D! And speaking of 3D, I saw a 3D preview of Tron Legacy. Feh. It doesn’t look so great. It looks like an excuse to use that damn 3D. Our kids may be entertained, but they’ll grow up blind.
5. FRANKENCASTLE UPDATE. Warning: Spoilers ahead (sort of)! If you read Punisher #16, you already know that the gem at the center of the drama has restorative powers. I have been assuming that that will be the device used to restore Frank Castle to his original, scarred but bolt-less self. But now, with issue #17, they’re changing the title of the book to “Frankencastle.” I’ve been enjoying the storyline, mostly because it was a great way to bring back The Legion of Monsters, but I’m not sure how much longer I want to see Punisher as a superhuman. Part of the fun of Remender’s Punisher run has been the way he’s helped Frank adapt to fighting in the world of superhumans—beginning with stealing a stash of supergear including Ant Man’s helmet, Doc Ock’s arms, etc., from the Red Hood. Frankencastle is, essentially, a gimmick. I’m not sure it can sustain. But it will be cool to watch the next arc: Frank gets revenge on Daken for slicing him into little bits during the Dark Reign: The List one shot (one of the best-drawn non-Max Punishers I’ve ever read). Oh, and if he’s staying in the supernatural world, a team-up with Blade seems highly appropriate. The art in the new arc will be handled by three guys: Tony Moore, Dan Brereton, and Roland Boschi. They’re all solid, and best of all none of them are Steve Dillon. Why do people like him? He’s the reason I don’t even want to bother with Jason Aaron’s reboot of Punisher Max, no matter how good the story sounds like it could be. Seriously, any of you know why Steve Dillon gets so much love? He’s not gritty, his art is flat, and it’s cartoonish!
6. AVENGERS CARTOON. The Avengers have always been my favorite “group.” I even bought a bootleg transfer of the old Avengers cartoon on e-bay, knowing it would suck, just because something is better than nothing. So I’m psyched that Disney XD will finally release the new “The Avengers : Earths Mightiest Heroes” cartoon this fall. 52 episodes featuring Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Giant Man and Wasp, preceded by a 20-part “micro-series” telling each of their origins. This is a huge commitment. Can’t wait!
7. THE YEAR OF PATTON. Do any of you watch the new BSG spin-off/prequel “Caprica”? Because if you’re not watching it, you’re missing the best new show on T.V. You’re also missing Patton Oswalt’s best role. It’s the role he was born to play: A smarmy, cynical, liberal talk-show host. And now he’s signed on to write a comic book based on Joss Whedon’s highly underrated movie/TV series “Serenity/Firefly.” Dunno if it will be any good, but it definitely has a high curiosity factor.
8. THANK GOD! Deadline Hollywood reports that The Office’s John Krasinski won’t be throwing the shield for Marvel in the Captain America flick. I had no problem with his age—he’s far younger than the hfolks he’ll be teaming up with in the superflicks (Don Cheadle, Robert Downey, Jr., etc.) because, after all, he was frozen in ice back in his prime, but John K. just doesn’t have the look. Or the biceps. I’d rather have seen The Rock in the role than him. Or a Baldwin brother. Or Zombie Cap. Hell, I’d rather have them pick a black actor. (Actually, that might be kinda cool.) My first choice is still Jeremy Renner or Sam Worthington. But John could be Batroc the Leaper.
9. JACK BAUER. I dunno if “24” counts as comic-type news, but some of you might want to know that the show won’t be back next season. I say, good riddance—this season is awful. But they’ve also begun a script for a “24” movie. Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of a serialized, real-time show? Are Keifer Southerland’s two expressions (“Grrrr!” and “Ouch!”) really worth seeing on the big screen?
10. SUPERMAN: LAST BATTLE FOR KRYPTONZZZZZZZ. Finally, a question: Why is it Marvel can handle several simultaneous events, like the Death of Cap/Rise of Bucky alongside Civil War or the current Fall of Hulks/Battle for Olympus/end of Dark Reign, but DC can only seem to manage Blackest Night (and that, just barely)? Superman is the publisher’s flagship character, and yet nobody seems to care that Supes left Earth a year and a half ago, and now seems poised to return. I know I don’t care. (But at least the Nolan/Goyer team has confirmed they’ll reboot Superman after Bat3 wraps.) Batman, too, has left his own books and is getting ready for the big “Bats: Reborn” treatment. Yet, again, the only DC “event” that’s making any kind of news is Geoff Johns’. Seems sad. I was a big fan of the Braniac story that led to World of Krypton, but as soon as that ended it seemed like Superman went off the rails. They need to invest in that character, make us care again….What do you all think?
Tags: Captain America, Filthy Muties, Superheroes
A buddy of mine recently played for me what he said was an “advance” copy of The Dig’s “Electric Toys.” (He probably called it an advance ‘cause he knows I won’t listen to leaks, but that’s how much he loves this band—he’s willing to lie to me about it.) I’d never heard of The Dig before. There was some band called Dig about ten years ago whose CDs were inescapable if you thumbed through the bargain bin, but this isn’t them. (As I recall, that band’s album had what looked like a well-carved turd with a stupid face on the cover.) This is The Dig, a straight-ahead indie rock band who managed to bring, on their debut album, a collection of tunes that are truly amazing. One song is better than the other, making use of all the indie cred qualifications, styles, and techniques: They’re based in Brooklyn, but come from California and (get ready) Canada. They waver, go loud/soft/loud, toss in a creeping baseline and bubbly
guitar that never becomes overwhelmingly intense . . . Tastes of Nirvana, Pavement, Spoon, U2, Gary Newman . . . I can’t tell you how much “Two Sisters in Love” rocked my world. Except that then I heard “You’re Already Gone,” and my world was rocked even harder.
This is an amazing, amazing record. Truly.
Try the free sample track, and get into it when it comes out in April.
THE DIG ON TOUR W/ PORTUGAL. THE MAN AND PORT O’BRIEN
3/13 Atlanta, GA The Earl
3/18 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
3/19 New York, NY Highline Ballroom
3/20 Pittsburgh, PA Mr Small’s Theater
3/21 Cincinnati, OH 20th Century Theater
3/24 Columbia, MO Mojo’s
3/26 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
3/27 Vail, CO The Sandbar
3/28 Aspen, CO Belly Up Aspen
Tags: Indie Pop
Now this is my kinda Scooby flick.
Scooby Doo (Hey! Demo)-MF DOOM (alt link)
Tags: Cartoons, Picture of the day, Scooby Doo
I know I’ve already written about this, but now that we’re almost in The Heroic Age, I thought I’d revisit who is appropriate for the main Avengers title. I mean, who would best represent what the team is supposed to be: The best of Marvel, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, protectors of our world from cosmic threats like Thanos, The Collector, Baron Nefaria and the Masters of Evil (and Egghead)? More importantly, who do I want to see Brian Michael Bendis write about? That’s the key part of this. After all, having multiple, interlocking Avengers titles just wouldn’t have worked during Dark Reign without a single vision guiding the ship.
I know this isn’t the lineup—that’s already been announced, pretty much–but this is who I’d go for on the main team. I’d make the team big, like it was back in its heyday, so that we could have multiple simultaneous missions. Hell, if this was the team, I’d probably read it if it came out weekly!
1. Captain American and Iron Man. Obviously. It will be great to read Bendis’ take on how Tony and Steve re-forge a relationship of trust and respect. But I wouldn’t include Thor. I like him out on his own, being all Godlike and aloof.
2. Hawkeye. Bendis has handled the return of Marvel’s archer with superlative skill. Clint is a fan favorite, even if he doesn’t have powers, and he’s always been a major part of the team.
3. Yellow-Jacket/Giant-Man or -Woman/Wasp/Ant Man. Or some variation thereof. They need a size-changer.
4. Vision. Even if he’s a robot, he was always part of the soul of the team. Part of that was due to his marriage to Scarlet Witch, and that obviously can’t happen again, but I’d love to see how Bendis could engineer a comeback here. Maybe the Young Avengers’ version?
5. Ms. Marvel. Her solo series sucked. Someone’s got to maintain her rep.
6. Storm. She needs to get back in the mainstream, and this is a good way to do it. Black Panther could come in once in a while, too, but I don’t see him as a regular. Or if she’s unavailable, how about Psylocke?
7. Hercules. First of all, we all know he isn’t really dead. Second of all, he would provide some much-needed levity to the proceedings. Third, this is the heroic age, and who likes being a hero more than Hercules? I’d say that The Beast could add jokes, but Hank hasn’t been jovial in a long, long time. If they don’t go with Herc, how about Valkyrie? They need some Godness on the group.
8. Quicksilver. I’ve lost track of the character and I’m not sure what he’s up to nowadays, but I always like it when he was on the team. ‘Cause he’s such a jerk. He provides the Guy Gardner ingredient.
9. Amadeus Cho. He could be their Martian Manhunter (or “Chloe” on Smallville)—the genius behind the scenes who keeps it all together.
10. She-Hulk. Nuff said.
11. Puck and Shaman (from Alpha Flight).
Note the omissions: Wonder Man (enough already with this reluctant hero); Dr. Strange (borrrring); Sentry (more borrring!).
Side teams could include:
1. Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, and Wolverine. I really enjoyed them on New Avengers, but Wolverine is over-exposed and they never really made good use of him on the team—he never really got a chance to shine. And Cage and Spider-Woman already got too many chances to shine—he’s not really a “cosmic challenge” type of guy, and she’s certainly not one of Marvel’s “mightiest heroes.” And both of these qualifiers apply to Spidey, too, who is terrific in Bendis’ hands, but it’s time to let the boy go.
2. And how about Dazzler for some Bendis rebooting? I always liked her.
3. Power Pack/Young Avengers. This seems like a potential crew on its own—a young team that needs a solid mentor. (Maybe this is what “Avengers Academy” will be about?) Luke and Jessica Jones, perhaps? Or maybe Bucky Cap and Black Widow? Anyone but Nick Fury.
4. Speaking of Nick Fury, I could see him in charge of a SHIELD Avengers team—some kind of strike force for special, Earth-based missions, with a group of stealthy and/or hard-to-control fringe types like Ghost Rider, Deadpool, Nightcrawler, Mystique, Elektra, White Tiger, Taskmaster or Bullseye (don’t know where they’ll end up after Siege), the now-reformed Silver Samurai, and Iron Fist. With Wolverine as a hanger on. Fur will fly.
5. War Machine! (That’s a gimme and a given, I think.)
What do you all think?
Tags: Superheroes
Bettie Serveert have been around since 1986, coming up with the likes of Superchunk, Pearl Jam, and Belly, and forming the basis for bigger (but less talented) bands like Garbage. Their 2010 release, “Pharmacy of Love,” is a testament to why this band is better than all the other bands who sound like them. It’s the talent, stupid. Their songs are tight, and their musicianship is top notch. The drumming on “Love Lee,” for example, is relentlessly upbeat, while the chopping guitar and bassline come through in waves, making the heart race and the head bob and weave. And then, of course, there’s Carol van Dyk’s vocals. Van Dyk has always had solid range, but she’s not prone to acrobatics. That’s part of what made this band less “pop” than Shirley Manson’s soundalikes–van Dyke is steady and even, not selling the song on the chorus alone.
It’s amazing that the band is still on fire after all these years. The sound is a little dated, sure, because noone is making music like this any more. But if you can get your ’90s chick groove on, this album is a treasure.
Deny All video:
Tags: Indie rock
I know, I know. About a third of what The Game spits is nothing but name-drops and shout-outs. And another third is just lame attempts to sound like everyone else. But when he’s on his game, The Game is pure fiya. When Game hits the mark, he crafts perfect bangers that recall the best hip hop has to offer.
Not sure what’s on this mixtape yet–if it’s the former or the latter–but if it’s got his name on it, I’ll certainly give it a try.
