Avengers: Age of Ultron - A Spoiler-Free Review

When the first Avengers movie came out three years ago, I was in the midst of a boycott of all things Marvel following Spider-Man: One More Day. I relented only because of my love of Joss Whedon's writing.  Afterward, I agreed to limit my boycott to Spider-Man related materials, since it wasn't fair for me to punish myself by avoiding the works of creators I liked in the name of proving a point against a single publisher.

I mention this because the thing that astonished me most about The Avengers was how accessible it was. Despite my not having seen Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger or anything after the first Iron Man movie, I was still able to follow the plot without any issues.  Whedon took care to introduce all the players and relate all the information we needed quickly and subtly.



Age of Ultron doesn't manage the same feat. How can it?! At this point, The Marvel Cinematic Universe is fast becoming as complex as the comic books that inspired it and to miss one movie is to lose a piece of the puzzle. In this respect, it is a weaker film than its predecessor because it cannot stand on its own merits.

That being said, it does have a lot of merits and the good far outweighs the bad.  In fact, I'd say it does improve upon the first film in one respect by giving Hawkeye and Black Widow some much needed definition. Ironically, the newer heroes don't get that much development in comparison but that may be rectified by the longer director's-cut that has already been promised for the Blu-Ray release.

This is a Joss Whedon movie, so you should all know what to expect: witty dialogue and lots of humor amidst the action. Unfortunately, a lot of the best moments have already been spoiled by the trailers but there are some good moments that aren't. One of these involves the greatest Stan Lee cameo yet and I shan't say a word beyond that.

Well, I will say one thing.  There is a mid-credits scene to wait around for.  There isn't anything at the end of the credits, apart from a note that The Avengers Will Return.

In the end, the best thing I can say about Age of Ultron is this. I had a royally bad day before I went into the movie theater.  Two hours later, I had forgotten my troubles. And once I remembered them on the drive home they didn't seem quite so worrisome.

This movie lightened my heart at a time when I needed a pick me up. And when you get right down to it, isn't that the mark of all good escapist fiction? I think it is.  And Age of Ultron is very good escapist fiction.

Thor (2014) #2 - A Review

The second issue of Thor provides few clues as to the identity of the mysterious woman who has somehow claimed the power of Mjolnir. It seems clear that she's a woman of Earth and that she has encountered Thor before, but that does little to narrow the field of suspects.  One oddity is that she seems to be possessed by some spirit akin to that of Thor, though her thought processes are still her own.


Jason Aaron is quick to throw out these hints before throwing us into the action, as this new heroine finds herself facing an army of frost giants.  The stakes are high with a team of Avengers frozen, but this war maiden is more than capable of rising to the challenge before her.  Much to the dismay of the frost giants!


As before, the only real weak point of this series is the artwork of Russell Dauterman.  The inks of this book are too thin at times, making the characters and the backgrounds difficult to separate.  This is doubly true in the case of the frost giants and the icy environs around them.  Thankfully, this is a minor distraction at worst and the detailed pencils make up for the lack of detailing.

Thor (2014) #1 - A Review

After a long self-imposed exile, Odin has returned to his people to find that much has changed in his absence. His wife, Freyja, has taken up much of his power in his absence and is now loath to relinquish her position as The All-Mother of The Aesir. More, following a battle in the realms of Midgar, his beloved son Thor now finds himself unable to lift his hammer, Mjolnir. Indeed, even Odin himself cannot stir the great weapon, despite having personally crafted the enchantments on it that prevent it from being wielded by the unworthy!

This bodes ill for many reasons, not the least of which is that the enemies of the Aesir run riot on Midgar in Thor's absence.  But hammer or no, Thor will not let his obligation to protect the people of his chosen home go unmet. And Mjolnir must be wielded by a worthy warrior, though the warrior may not be Thor...


Jason Aaron offers new readers a number of mysteries with this first issue. What could Nick Fury say that could cause Thor to lose his worthiness? Are Nick Fury's actions even related to how Thor lost his hammer? If so, why can't Odin move it? And who is the mysterious woman who is able to lift Mjolnir at issue's end?  This last mystery does seem to have an obvious answer, but we will need to wait another issue (at least) before the obvious theory is confirmed.

Aaron wisely spends the second half of this issue showing that Thor is still a threat and still a hero even with the loss of his famous weapon. Hopefully this will quell the worries of established Thor fans who feared Thor being made to look foolish or second-rate in the wake of the news that a woman would be wielding Thor's hammer for the foreseeable future.


Russell Dauterman proves a skillful artist.  The amount of detail he puts into the artwork on this issue is astonishing.  Sadly, much of that fine detail is lost due to thin inking.  There are some panels where it appears like the only inking was a black outline around the different characters and even then certain elements of the art are difficult to distinguish from one another.  This makes the action difficult to follow at times, in spite of how good everything looks.

Still, this is a promising first issue overall. The mysteries of the on-going plot are sure to intrigue both new readers who may only know Thor from the movies as well as long-time fans of the Odinson.  To say nothing of the mystery of whom the new wielder of Mjolnir is!

Con Report: North Texas Comic Book Show - July 19, 2014 - Part Three

And now, pictures of the cosplay contest and some of the contestants involved...


Ash Deadpool and Pika-pool.  

Angel from X-Men.

Loki

This vicious little Riddler threatened to steal my money, cut off my head...
and shave off my beard!  What must her parents think?!

A questionable fellow, this one...

Arkham Origins Deathstroke

The proud father with his Bat-Brood.

Thor vs. Loki

Quicksilver

The Great Sayin Man!

Arkham City Harley Quinn

Princess Azula from Avatar

The Seven Winners: Deathstroke, Princess Azula, Poison Ivy,  Ash Deadpool, Thor and Loki, Quicksilver and Harley Quinn.

A-Kon 25 Cosplay Pictures - Part Two

Jigen from Lupin The 3rd.


Alas, I didn't get all of this group of Disney Princess Sailor Scouts.  But I did catch three of them!
That's Glitzy Geek Girl as Sailor Ariel.


Pedo Bear helps Thor Girl look heroic.  


A golden Dalek


Star Lord, Gamora and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.


Princess Celestia from My Little Pony


Steven and Pearl from Steven Universe.


Zapp Brannigan from Futurama.


The Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.


My pal Sam as The Lone Wanderer from Fallout 3.


Harry Dresden.


Lemongrab, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline from Adventure Time. PB and Marcie are my friends Karla and Kara.


A gaggle of Adventure Time characters.


Karla and Kara with two Banana Guards.


The always lovely Princess Marty (aka M. Alice LeGrow) with some random Comic Book Guy.

Dallas Comic Con 2014 - ALL THE PICTURES! - Part Four

Captain Hammer-Pants.  And he dances too!





Jafar from Aladdin


Deathstroke


Wonder Woman


Stephanie Brown Robin.


Tigra.


A Minecraft Player.


Deathstroke and Black Mask


Codex and a mini-Codex from The Guild.


Zombie Spider-Man!


Yet another Deathstroke.


Chun Li from Street Fighter.


A non-zombie Spider-Man.


Glitzy Geek Girl as Thor.


The Joker.


Hipster Elsa from Frozen

All-Con 2014 - Day Three, Part One

Saturday was my busiest day at All-Con by far. It started with the early-morning screening of Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog - once again organized this year by Rick Gutierrez and The United States of Geekdom.  While I wasn't helping out in an official capacity this year, I was still on hand to riff the movie along with the rest of the usual suspects. 

I was, however, officially involved with USG's Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Story So Far panel.  Rick Gutierrez, Andrew Farmer and I spoke for an hour about the hidden connections between the various Marvel Studios movies.  I don't think I added much to the panel, save that I was the only one of our trio who had seen every episode of Agents of SHIELD and thus the only person who knew the significance of Odin (i.e. a disguised Loki, as of Thor: The Dark World) sending Sif to Earth to recover Lorelei - a frequent Loki ally/conspirator in the comics.

Speaking of Loki, the trickster himself showed up for the panel along with one of Captain America's back-up dancers.  Because even a god gets lonely.



After that, I had to dash to lead my own Introduction To Doctor Who panel.  Once that was over, I had a few hours to walk around and capture some cosplay pictures before grabbing a late lunch/early dinner - a necessity given my schedule had my entire evening booked solid.



Black Mariah (of Naked Girls Reading) on her way to the Ms. Star Wars contest.  


Sif and The Enchantress


 Enasni Volz as Slumber Party Harley Quinn.

Storm


"Gallifrey Stands!"- The War Doctor



Ariel from The Little Mermaid


A little dancing robot with blinking lights.  



Neil Gaiman's Death


Anna from Frozen


White Lantern Kyle Rayner


Poison Ivy attempting to restrain a hyperactive Riddler.



Another new attraction at All-Con this year - a Slot Car Racing Arena!



Wonder Woman, Black Canary and Zatanna after their race was done.