High Rez Review | Daredevil

Today, Caine brings us another Hi Rez Review. This time of the first story arc of the newly relaunched Daredevil.

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The man without fear (Daredevil) is bringing fun back.

Let me just get this out there: I wasn't a fan of the Bendis/Maleev 4 year run on Daredevil and I'm happy to say that Mark Waid and Paolo Rivera's run hits the ground running 180 degrees in the opposite direction story wise.

Mark Waid has done an excellent job of taking everything that's happened to Matt over the last six or eight years: quantified it; keeps what he likes; and respectfully leaves everything else alone like a sleeping junk yard dog.  Those story elements haven't been thrown away or removed from cannon they are just no longer the focus of the book and are clearly in Matt's (and the supporting characters) history.

The first issue opens up MacGyver style where Daredevil ends one mission and starts another as Matt Murdock in Matt's own corner of hell's kitchen: the court room.  He takes on the legal defense of an innocent man that only Matt believes to be innocent but he'll need more than Foggy Nelson and a good honest judge to prove it.  Don't forget the world still feels as if there may be some truth to the rumors that Matt Murdoc is Daredevil - who recently went insane and might be responsible for several deaths in the Shadowland incident.

Matt's powers and abilities as well as Matt's personality under the Daredevil mask, are put to good use in the story.  Mark Waid has re-established Matt as as solid individual dedicated to a mission.  Mark has captured a Matt Murdock that's not been seen for a decade or more, he's shed a lot of Matt's darker pshycological aspects (I don't want to label them as I've not read DD in a few years because of them).  There's a lot more dare than devil in DD these days.

While Mark has shed plenty of what's been done to Matt as of late, it's not been forgotten or dissapeared completely.  That would be cheating (like a reboot or relaunch of sorts huh DC?) so Mark embraces it and those elements serves to enhance the story.

The second issue (as well as the third) is structured very similarly to the first with Daredevil having to answer for his crimes of the past via a unique pop quiz delivered to him by another superhero and only once he's passed it (sort of) can he be allowed to move forward and continue with the legal case that consumes his mission for justice.  Let me just say that Mark Waid is the master of the one page character introduction and he uses the technique in all three issues.

While Daredevil is slightly put off guard at the start of the test he's not helpless and it doesn't take him long to figure out who's testing him.  It's a man in the Marvel Universe "with a heart beat like none other in the world". ~Mark Waid

Mark is able to use the test to share new aspects of both the characters and instantly remind us the reader that Daredevil has a large history of doing good in the Marvel Universe and is interconnected to several of the heroes of the even though he's never been a mainstay of any particular team book.

As the issue rounds out to the end Mark again finds a way to keep Daredevil of guard in a very unique fashion, if this keeps up I imagine it to being similar to Ron Marz's promise to never have Green Lantern craft the same thing twice while ring slinging.

This is an awesome scene, easily one of my favorites.

Once again as issue three opens the single page intro (or recap - or both) is used really well here.  Mark infuses a single page with enough dialogue to remind us of who Daredevil is, why hes currently in the perdicament he's in, how much history he has with the Marvel Universe, and how much lighter his outlook on life is now a days.

The true villain is finally revealed, and we the readers see how this villain's actions effect both the street crime Daredevil is dealing with as well as the court battle tangling up Matt and DD's lifes on all sides.

This issue has a lot more action in it.  The court room/ street battle ratio is flipped with issue three in that the street battle is favored and it's moved to the front of the book so that the court room can be in the back.  Like an ending of sorts.  A happy ending?  We'll you'll have to read it to find out.

I can't recommend this book enough.  It's a light read, but one not done in five minutes (I always hate that).  It's a fun read that will leave yo laughing.  It's an action packed adventure captured very effectively in 2d and not surprising it's just damn good.

~Caine

High Rez Review | Teen Titans #1

Today, Caine brings us another Hi Rez Review. This time of the newly relaunched Teen Titans.

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Written by: Scott Lobdell
Pencils/Cover by: Brett Booth
Inks by: Norm Rapmund
Colors by: Andrew Dalhouse

TEEN TITANS
Tim Drake, Batman's former sidekick, is back in action when an international organization seeks to capture, kill or co-opt super-powered teenagers.

As Red Robin, he's going to have to team up with the mysterious and belligerent powerhouse thief known as Wonder Girl and the hyperactive speedster calling himself Kid Flash to stand any chance at all against a living, breathing weapon with roots in another world! They – along with a few other tortured teen heroes – will be the Teen Titans

With Lobdell, Booth, and Rapmund on this book together you might think you'd been transported back to the nineties and were reading a WildStorm book (scary for some, as that decade represents a period of time where many stopped reading comics all together - that is also the last decade that the "definitive" Titans book/run was published) and I loved every single panel of it!  This book is definitely going on my "alert list" (what people used to call "pull lists" before iPads) so I'm sure not to miss an issue!

IT SUFFERS
I'm saddened to report that the book does suffer from the obvious editorial mandate to use the first issue to introduce the most prominent characters via narrative text boxes.  It gives the book a very generic feel as if we really haven't delved into the story much at all.

Also, this means that we have yet to be introduced to any of the new and unique characters that will be on the team yet which is a shame.  Finally it suffers from how they introduce the boy of steel.  I don't want to give anything away but let's just say they aren't doing the character justice with his cloned introduction.

IT SHINES
I'm happy to report that this book does shine.  This is clearly Tim Drakes book.  DC had stated that all of the "Robins" (though they clearly didn't include Stephanie) will have a prominent role in a comic book series and TEEN TITANS was really late on their press release style list of books announced (they were announcing a couple books a week in the beginning) in the DCnU.  Current Tim Drake fans were up in arms for weeks but they should all be fine now.

The artwork is very well situated to the storytelling and the colors chosen for the characters really do well to keep them separate and easily identified.  Each character's look has been updated, and not just for style purposes either but utilitarian purposes have been taken into account with the designs.

Tim is the strong leader (or will be).  Bart is the impulsive one (or at least I assume it's Bart).  Cassie is strong yet unsure and Conner is very young, the member with the most power and the least experience.  All of the pieces are there for great stories for titans fans of (hopefully every era).

APP THAT
DC recently redesigned it's iPad app from the ground up.  The different sections have been broadened and restructured to be much more user friendly.  If you've been debating going digital there's never been a better time.

Have a great weekend!
~Caine

High Rez Reviews 3 | Nightwing #1

Today, Caine returns with another High Rez Review - this one of the new Nightwing!

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LAST ISSUE.....
It all started on November 4th 2008.  All of the major comic book news blogs reported the following:

Robin, Nightwing, Birds of Prey to End in February

"While fans are still up in the air about whether or not Batman will actually die at the end of Grant Morrison’s “Batman: R.I.P.” arc, DC has confirmed three casualties for Newsarama.
According to the publisher, the February-shipping issues of Robin, Nightwing and Birds of Prey will be the final issues of the respective series.
As well as being the final issues, Robin #183, Nightwing #153 and Birds of Prey #127 will end eras for Batman-related titles, as each stretches back at least nine years." ~Newsarama

That means we went 31 months without a Nightwing comic (and BoP as well for that matter) but no more.  Dick Grayson is back in a domino mask instead of a cape and cowl.

I have to admit I was most nervous about this particular title in regards to the DCnU relaunch.  As I stated last week it seems, even to industry pros, that execution varies greatly within each title but I'm happy to report that Nightwing's first issue steps up to the trapeze and lets it fly right out of the gate.

Michael Powell, a twitter follower of mine may have perfectly summed up Nightwing #1 in less than 140 characters on twitter the other night while I was writing this:

"I haven't read an issue of Nightwing in...ever. This was a great introductory issue."~@Mpowelljr

That's the point isn't it?  Attract a new fan base while hopefully keeping the old one?  Well guess what, they succeeded.  Kyle Higgins has crafted a great new backstory that encompasses both Dick as Batman as well as being Nightwing and Robin before that (the only thing not mentioned yet is the Titans and Starfire).

Like Barbara Gordon Dick has been de-aged although it's not quite as apparent as Barbara.  He's being drawn younger, like maybe 22 or 23, but he has his own loft apartment and just finished a year as Batman (as well as filling in for Bruce Wayne in the corporate world) so in my opinion he seems a bit older still than Barbara over in the Batgirl book.

HIGH RES COMIC REVIEW...
Nightwing #1 starts out strong and never lets up.  Dick is on patrol when the book opens (the climax of the first scene taking place just after all the panels I've used in this post) and the reader is filled in on the backstory through narration as Dick makes his way through Gotham city as Nightwing once again (for probably the 10th or 12th time now so he's in the groove once again) after a year break filling in for his mentor.

Eddy Barrows and the rest of the art team are doing a fantastic job.  With clean lines and dynamic colors they are using Nightwing's new color scheme to the fullest while never forgetting they are crafting one half of a visual story so narration boxes and word bubbles have been placed with care - all pointing to a well designed set of pages.

Both Kyle and Eddy are big fans of Nightwing, it shows in their work and the inclusion of little details.  In the story it's revealed that Dick wants to live on the wrong side of the tracks in Gotham, not in a billion dollar estate on the outskirts of town.  He has better access this way and he can get a glimpse of the neighborhood he's trying to save.  This is one way he and Bruce differ.

In the art Eddy shows us that there is much more to Dick's new Nightwing suit than simply looking aerodynamically cool.  The ridged or ringed lines in his gauntlets and boots aren't just for looks they are pouches like on a utility belt.  In Eddy's case the artwork is so subtle you may miss it but it's there.

FINAL THOUGHTS...
This book will appeal to both old school Nightwing fans as well as Dick Grayson Batman fans.  Kyle's Dick Grayson is who he is because he did do a year as Batman.  You get the feeling from the story that Dick wasn't Nightwing for all that long before he needed to step up and take over for Batman.  Going up against Gotham's worst of the worst puts you in tip top shape and Nightwing is going to be glad he's in tip top shape as he gets back in touch with Haley's circus since the death of his parents.  You see Gotham has a way of twisting what you love against you....

~Caine

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly review 1

With so many comic books coming out so fast right now Caine will be looking at different ways to review them - such as reviewing more than one per post.  Just so you know, we are less concerned about spoilers blogging at this speed (we are all ready a week behind), but if you still haven't read the first round of the new DC 52, there be some spoilers below.

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I have to say that when reading the comics that came out on the 7th, three of them truly did fit into the following categories:

THE GOOD:
Batgirl
Unless you've been living under a rock you've no doubt heard that Barbara Gordon (formerly ORACLE in the old DCU) is back to being Batgirl.  There have been no shortage of blogging, social media, and message board posts on the fact that Barbara (and many other characters) will be de-aged and given the use of her legs back.  Legs she'll need as she's once again BATGIRL!

Gail Simone (who was an advocate for Barbara being the only Batgirl in the DCnU from the beginning) and crew have done an excellent job!  This was a great read and a book that I'll be picking up.  There isn't a single fear that anything in her history was removed or severely altered, if that's what you were worried about you can throw a batarang at it because it's all there.  Yes, yes, that includes the Killing Joke and the loss of her legs.  Barbara simply had far less time without the use of them is all.  Was she ever actually Oracle?  They haven't said yet one way or another, and I doubt they will hope they don't for a while.  Dish it out slowly is what I say.  Her relationship with her father, a new room mate and friend and (more than likely) the Batman is out there too.

This is an action adventure comic book staring a relatively new person in a cape and cowl to make it even more interesting.   This was a fast paced read filled with kicks to the face, characters freezing up and making mistakes, leaving black rubber all over the street, and a new villain (or two) that one could sink their teeth into.

THE BAD:
StormWatch
You see a long time ago in a galaxy far away there were these six comic book creators who went to Marvel and said....then Jim Lee sold his imprint WildStorm back to DC and those books were never the same.  I kinda thought, what with Jim being a DC big wig these days, that those WildStorm titles returning to print would be good again.  I was wrong.

Dead wrong I'm afraid.  "There can be only one" kind of wrong in fact.  This book wasn't any good at all.  First of all it's not StormWatch as one might be led to believe - what with that name printed on the cover and all.  Confusing I know.  The book is actually a hybrid of StormWatch and The Authority but here's the thing: The Authority was created specifically to be the opposite of StormWatch.  How does it make sense to combine them into one book?  Won't half of the fans of each book be misled and ticked off to one degree?

This book is messy.  The plot jumps all over the place right out of the gate.  They begin introducing characters we've never seen before and have no vested interest in and leave us right where they leave us on Justice League.  The page posted is the last page of the comic, as if you couldn't see that coming.  I sure as hell Grifter is better than this.

THE UGLY:
Hawk & Dove
You see a long time ago in a galaxy far away there were these six comic book creators who went to Marvel and said....then Robert Liefeld got into some trouble, more than once.  Still, he works professional in comic books and I don't so you can't bee to hard on the guy right?  He's stated all over the place that he has been focused on turning in work on time for the last couple of years. He's tweeted art work and his thoughts on the industry.  His work seemed to be, to this blogger, looking more realistic and of better quality but like Nicholas Cage he seems to be phoning it in these days.

I could pick this apart but I don't think I need to.  It just doesn't look that good.  Not at all.  I know people call Liefeld "Polarizing" meaning everyone either loves or hates the guys work but it's ridiculous.  Early on, before they become zombies, the bad guys are dressed in suits that look just like SHIELD field agents.  When Hank "Hawk" Hall is out of uniform and talking to his father (like Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson Hank has been de-aged), both characters look the same.  Who do they look like?  Robert Liefeld.  Funny enough it would seem that Hank Hall and Dawn Granger have suffered the fate that Barbara Gordon didn't: The Teen Titans have been seemingly erased from existence like a leak in the flux capacitor.

Final Thoughts
While I was writing this I was on twitter and a famous comic book writer gave me a thought regarding the DC Relaunch: "Execution is different on different books."  I'd say that hits the nail on the head right there.  H&D and StormWatch were not good examples of "new", "fresh", or "open" in order to attract new fans to what was undoubtedly an unsustainable business model of decreasing fan bases.  Both of them are steeped in character lore and relationships that have not yet been shown to us yet and may not for some time.  Or character relationships that weren't popular the first time around and are probably not well known to the masses.  Both of them are messy and all over the map story wise.  H&D is down right ugly and doesn't feel like anything close to what it was before, or even like it should be one of the "Young Justice" books it's being released under.


This bloggers hopes lie with Batwoman and Nightwing (as usual). 

~Caine

High Rez Reviews 2 | Justice League #1

Today, Caine returns with another High Rez Review - this one of the new Justice League!

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LAST ISSUE.....
It all started on May 31st...
"On Wednesday, August 31st, DC Comics will launch a historic renumbering of the entire DC Universe line of comic books with 52 first issues, including the release of JUSTICE LEAGUE by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling writer and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns and bestselling artist and DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee. The publication of JUSTICE LEAGUE issue 1 will launch day-and-date digital publishing for all these ongoing titles, making DC Comics the first of the two major American publishers to release all of its superhero comic book titles digitally the same day as in print."

HIGH RES APP PREVIEW...
Today I'll be reviewing a comic purchased on my iPad from the DC Comics digital comic store: The Justice League.  As a rule these High Res Reviews will be spoiler free unless we give you lots of warning of the contrary.

 DC's Digital Comic store is laid out similarly over the web as well as on the iPad (so if you don't have an iPad the app portion of the review should still apply to web users/ readers).  At 2:00 p.m. eastern time I was able to launch the app and see the comics available on August 31st.  Before then there was a general weekly preview digital comic that was offered for free.  DC's Comixology powered app works just fine.  The comic was selected, paid for and downloaded very quickly over wifi with no glitches or crashes.

There is a problem, in this blogger's opinion, with DC's standard website however.  Simply put there is no link to download the comic from their browse comic page.  Now, you can access all of DC Comic's digital comics through read.dccomics.com but what happens if you don't know it or can't remember it?  If there was a link on the page below it wouldn't matter...

HIGH RES COMIC REVIEW...
The JUSTICE LEAGUE has always been DC Comic's greatest heroes come together to take on those threats too large for any of them to handle on their own.  The new JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 is no different, accept it that it is.  Confused?  Don't be.  You see Super Heroes are brand new to the DCU now.  They've only been around for about a year and all of them (by them I mean the JLU) seem to have sprung up nearly all at once around the U.S.  None of them really know each other and nearly all of them feel that the others may not even be real.

The book opens on the Gotham City roof tops with this "Batman" character being chased by the GCPD in riot gear, swat attack helicopters, and sniper rifles.  They don't seem to be assisting him, nor do they care that he's trying to save the city.  As the chase continues we are introduced to Batman for the first time only to have him literally bump right into the Green Lantern who's come to assist this mythical man who seems to dress up like a bat.

 We are introduced to the very arrogant Green Lantern (and I happen to think his updated personality is an improvement) for the first time and once they escape the police and continue chasing the threat to the city there is conversation of an alien who's rumored to exist over in Metropolis.  Where, as it would happen, is the very place they need to go.

You see?  It's all new, not only to us the fans/readers but to the characters inside the DCnU as well. 

The art by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair and the rest of the team possess a particular "gritty-tech" feel to it.  If you liked the way HUSH looked visually then you are all set.  Like all comics the art (and the writing) won't be liked by all fans but DC has their "Brightest" on this book so I'm betting they think this is the preferred look of the DCnU.

The art did not get in the way of the story, which flowed nicely and built to a climax at the end of the first issue as we were successfully re-introduced to three of the future members of the JLU,  teased by the namedrop of a major villain in the DCnU, and given a good dose of the way this new reality feels.  There were pleasant surprises, fun moments, and happy reunions that any major DC fan isn't going to want to miss. 

PAPER COMIC DEATHWATCH NOTE...
I went ahead and got my hands on the printed paper copy of the same comic and look what they are placing inside?  QR Codes.  :)

Well that about does it for this round of HIGH RES REVIEWS.  What do you think?  Are you a tablet owner?  Are you reading comics on it?  If so are you buying comics on it?  Thoughts on the 3.99 price point?  We'd love to hear from you about this review, and about digital comics in general.  Feel free to leave any comments you may have.

~Caine

FBU Roundtable: Darker/Edgier Green Lantern?

Now I know that comicdoms reaction to the Green Lantern movie was, ahem, mixed but I think Warner Bros. President Jeff Robinov seems to have found a way to unite us all by promising to make the sequel "darker and edgier"



Needless to say, when I saw that, I quickly called an emergency meeting of the Flashback Universe Blog Squad to discuss this development. Here is what we had to say. (Note: the covers are just there for spacing.)

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JIM: Yeah...because that's what the audiences enjoyed in the first Iron Man Movie - all the Dark and Edgy stuff in it. Wait...there wasn't any was there? Look, I get it; The Dark Knight made a lot of money. But isn't it just possible that a dark edgy movie might fit Batman because he's that type of character? (I also think Ledger's performance and death contributed to the box office as well, but that's another topic for another day.)

If anything, Green Lantern needed to be more fun. I don't know that any kids (or adults not familiar with the character) that watched that movie really got a sense that having a power ring would be fun or cool.

Matt, Have you seen any kids picking up GL stuff in the bookstore?

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MATT: We had a table and endcap set up with GL stuff. There's even these beginning reader type books that had little files on all the various aliens and of course Hal himself. I haven't checked actual sales numbers but it doesn't look as though a lot of it moved.

I agree with you about it being more fun and I think spending much more of the movie on Oa would have helped with that. Earth would be fine as a way to bookend the thing but the experience should have been following Hal into this brand new world and his training.

"Dark and edgy" possibly the only phrase more tiresome in regards to superhero comics than "post 9/11 world". Seeing the movie versions adopt that as the default solution to everything would be pretty pathetic. Besides, do these people really think Green Lantern had an excess of joy and that's what killed it in theaters?

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CLAYTON: Ok I confess to being maybe the only Green Lantern fan out there who has not had to time to se the movie as yet! I hope to be able to do so when I take my vacation around the first week of October.

With that being said, Green Lantern did come in basically last in line of the super hero movies this summer. At least from what I have read. But there is not one person who I have talked to that didn't like the movie.

From what I have seen, most of comicdom has the "darker is better" mindset. So it doesn't surprise me in the least that it would carry over to their moves as well. In my opinion, Green Lantern is not the Dark Knight, and shouldn't be treated as such. I know they are going off the Sinestro War, but seem to be forgetting that when they turned GL into Parralax (which I may have spelled wrong), the readers didn't seem too fond of it.

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PIERRE: I am not surprised by that direction. It is pretty typical from producers.

They see how Green Lantern under-performed.... and without really understanding why.... they try to conjure up an answer. In short.... they don't have a clue as to what happened.

They figure that Dark Knight was successfull because it was dark. Not because people might have thought it was a well made... well wrtitten... well filmed movie with good actors. It HAD succeeded because it was dark. So if Green Lantern did not succeed... it must have been because ot was not "dark enough"... right??

It cannot be because the editing was choppy because they took out a lot of scenes at the last minute. Or because they repeated the Galactus mistake from the 2nd FF movie and made the main villain a big cloud. Or because they tried to introduce to many characters/elements in the first movie.

It HAD to be because it was not dark enough. Sounds like a lot of BS talk from the producers to try to save face. A producers will never admit that a project did badly because they failled to do their job properly.

They have to assign the blame elsewhere. In this case... the it's not "dark enough" excuse/comment. Personally... I loved the Green Lantern movie.... but I am not blind to it's flaws. The flaws did not keep me from enjoying the movie. But it seems that it kept a LOT of people from going to see that film.

I understand where they went wrong.... but sadly if all they can come up with to explain the poor performance of the Green Lantern film is that it was not "dark enough".... I fear that they will make a lot of the same mistakes in making the sequel.

I guess we will have to wait and see.

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CAINE: I wouldn't mind a "darker and grittier" GL movie, but for the right reasons, not because a producer thinks it's the golden ticket to success that they seem to think it is.

First off you can't do "Dark & Gritty" with Ryan Reynolds, he's a comedian with spot on timing.  He would have made an AWESOME FLASH but he just wasn't right for the GREEN LANTERN.  If they are going to do "dark and gritty" Reynolds will simply have to go.  On that note, with HAL JORDAN representing "The Best of us" (us being the lantern corp) then HAL probably has to go as well, unless they are telling a story where he's loosing it and going insane - then they may be able to pull it off.

The key(s) to making a successful GL film are as follows:

• Decide if the movie will be about the "Corp" or a solitary lantern
• Focus on which ever you decide from the first point
• Leave Earth and normal humans who do not possess a GL ring out of the movie (with the possible exception of a human GL's significant other) and keep it in space
• What ever you do, which ever lantern you focus on, insert a 2nd lantern for the b story and be ready to focus the next movie on that character

Oh, and if the producers MUST MUST MUST have Earth in the movie then let us focus on FATALITY, she's an awesome GL vila

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TREY: I can’t immediately say that “darker” or “edgier” wouldn’t help, but I’m wary of the idea that what is successful in comics is what mainstream theater audiences want to see.  The article suffers from a bit of “this is what I like, so of course it will be popular!”  Fans (me included) would make different superheroes films than the ones we get—but I think its an unproven  assertion that that would make them more economically successful.

The only non-comic book fan opinion I have (a friend in the film industry) sited the “silly” aliens and heavy CGI as what he didn’t like about the film.  These are the very things the article suggests should be played up.

After Dark Knight, Watchmen was a product of the idea that darker sales tickets.  After Watchmen’s under performance, WB decided to move away from darkness.  Now they’re going back.  It seems like flailing.

My thoughts on Green Lantern’s cool reception: it followed the same basic character arc as Iron Man (the same arc as followed by Thor basically) but with a less compelling lead, and just good old fashion audience fatigue at getting told the same story with the same stock character archetypes over and over.  The film tried to do too many things (it’s science fiction! it’s romance! it’s daddy issues drama! It’s action!) and got muddled.  Now, I don’t see enough difference between Thor and GL to account for the box office returns, but I think its part of a downhill arc of too much reliance on formula in supers films that Captain America reversed.

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Well, that's our thoughts on the matter - what do you think?

- Jim

High Rez Reviews 1 | Darkhorse Unleashed

Editor's Note: While I'm housesitting for my in-laws in their modem connected house, CAINE has returned to help me out by starting a new series of posts here on the FBU. Welcome back Caine!

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LAST ISSUE.....
It all started three years ago.  Jim, the editor and chief bottle washer around here, got it in head that comic books published on paper were simply going the way of the Dodo and he wasn't exactly alone in that revelation.  He started posting under a new column heading: PAPER COMIC DEATHWATCH and many many of those posts were filled with all sorts of possibilities regarding devices to create, publish, and read digital comics on (they didn't even have an official name back then).  Some of it we saw coming, some of it we called out right, and some of it missed the boat but digital comics are here to stay!

HIGH RES PREVIEW...
Today I'll be reviewing a comic purchased on my iPad from the DARKHORSE digital comic store: STARWARS: The Force Unleashed!  As a rule these High Res Reviews will be spoiler free unless we give you lots of warning of the contrary.  So to that end I'm going to steal the story overview from it's amazon page, no reason to reinvent the wheel here:

"Since childhood, Vader’s nameless agent has known only the cold, mercenary creed of the Sith. His past is a void; his present, the carrying out of his deadly orders. But his future beckons like a glistening black jewel with the ultimate promise: to stand beside the only father he has ever known, with the galaxy at their feet. It is a destiny he can realize only by rising to the greatest challenge of his discipleship: destroying Emperor Palpatine.

The apprentice’s journeys will take him across the far reaches of the galaxy, from the Wookiee home world of Kashyyyk to the junkyard planet of Raxus Prime. On these missions, the young Sith acolyte will forge an unlikely alliance with a ruined Jedi Master seeking redemption and wrestle with forbidden feelings for his beautiful comrade, Juno Eclipse. And he will be tested as never before–by shattering revelations that strike at the very heart of all he believes and stir within him long-forgotten hopes of reclaiming his name . . . and changing his destiny." ~Amazon

HIGH RES COMIC REVIEW...
I've not played the game that is the basis for the comic, but I have read the novelization of this story as well as the comic and I have to say the comic is by far my favorite way to experience it.  The story is formulated very similar to the way the first three movie plots were formulated (particularly A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back) and we open up with a shot of deep space as a rag tag band with a rebellious nature are in search of something they very much need to begin an important quest.

The art team (Brian Ching, Bong Dazo, and Wayne Nichols) gives us a beautiful portrait of the STAR WARS universe panel by panel and done so in a "gritty" fashion the way A New Hope was grittier and dirtier than most scifi films before it.

Soon a droid is found, and as you might suspect, it plays a pivotal role in the story as well as the narration of the story focusing on Starkiller, Vader's secret Sith apprentice.  The reader is immediately whisked away on mission after clandestine mission as a tag along member of Starkiller's crew with no time to spare as Vader pushes his apprentice farther and farther, all the while expecting him to fail at each turn of the story.  The speed and pace of the action in the story is very similar to that of a video game and you can tell the author (Haden Blackman) very much intended it to be so.

As it takes place two years before the battle of Yavin (The Deathstar run from A New Hope) The Force Unleashed does an excellent job of tying the two trilogies together and utilizing popular characters we've all come to know and love.  It's a fast paced action adventure comic set in one of the most recognizable scifi environments ever to be published in.  The Force Unleashed delivers everything that Digital Comic fans and Star Wars fans alike have come to expect when they fire up their tablet or smart phone for graphic entertainment.  The Force Unleashed is done beautifully in full color and at 128 pages it's well worth the $5.99 price tag (11.00 cheaper than the novel and 10.00 cheaper than the game). 

HIGH RES APP REVIEW...
The DARKHORSE digital comics store (and app) have been live for some time now.  This is my first comic actually purchased from the app which has some very nice features.

Before we go briefly into the features I should note that the DARKHORSE app is significant due to the fact that it's not been built/developed on top of ComiXology's own app as both MARVEL and DC's comic app have been.  DARKHORSE has in house developers and their app, while sharing some of the same options, is different from those others.

The DARKHORSE app is free to download and it includes a store, a book shelf, and archive (collection) sections.  The archive is set up for you to send your comics too in order to free up memory/space on your tablet or smart phone.  With one touch collected (archived) books can be moved back to the bookshelf section to be read again.  The store has a moderate selection of widely popular comics for free and then plenty more to buy.

One thing I really enjoyed about using the DARKHORSE app was how easy it was to navigate the comic pages.  By moving your finger across the screen pretty much any way other than to the left (or back) the comic moves forward for you.  It seems to "know" when you require a wider shot consisting of having more of the page showing on your screen and when you'll want it to focus on a panel or even a part of a panel.

From time to time this zooms in just a bit to far and begins to pixelate the image but the clarity returns immediately once it's stopped zooming in so far in on any one particular page.  The only real complaint I have about the app is the speed in which it loads, begins to expose books to you, and how fast it downloads a book that you've chosen to either buy or receive for free from the store.  The entire app seems just a tad too slow in nearly all areas until you get the comic downloaded to your machine.

Hardly an issue that would keep me from future purchases by any means.  Maybe I'll take a look at Firefly next.

Well that about does it for this round of HIGH RES REVIEWS.  What do you think?  Are you a tablet owner?  Are you reading comics on it?  If so are you buying comics on it?  Thoughts on the 5.99 price point?  We'd love to hear from you about this review, and about digital comics in general.  Feel free to leave any comments you may have.

~Caine

The Once and Future Caine

You know, this was the first place on the web where I allowed my posts to be signed by my real name.  Everywhere else online I go by BlaqueSaber (deviant art, twitter, aim, posterous, wordpress).  In fact, I didn't sign the first post at all, that was Jim's editorial influence.  :) 

I don't remember Exactly how I found the FBU web site.  I do remember sort of "discovering" digital comics read through a software rather than over the web and I must of stumbled on to the FBU through a search.  There weren't as many people doing digital comics back then, now you do a search for digital comics and you get the phone book, but I think Jim was an early adopter.

After I read most of Jim's comics I came back here to the website to learn more about it.  On the download page, at the bottom, there's an ad for: "The 3 origins of the RuneWraith."  It's labeled "coming soon" and it's been labeled that way since before I ever discovered this web site.  Jim and Pierre have their reasons for why it's not actually come out.  I'm sure I was told them but it didn't pique my curiosity so I donated to the FBU web site in order to get a peak behind the curtain and surprisingly the guy running this site, Jim, emailed me back. 

If only Jim had known what he'd been getting into when responding to my email.  :)

Now that I had Jim's email I began to continually ask about more comics (RuneWraith in particular).  When could we get more?  How could I help speed p the process?

I began making suggestions!  I suggested that he 'brand' a comicbook reader software and have it pre-populated with links to this site; it's comics, and it's updates (thankfully Jim didn't waste any time on this).

Still, I wanted more FBU content and felt that there was more somewhere....

I asked him about the character bio pages and if he had any more?  I suggested that he could do another downloadable comic filled with them (like a who's who) and I think I piqued Jim's interest with that one as I was suggesting how he could offer more content to the fans of this blog (not just me).  It turns out he's not a huge fan of the bio comic books, but you never know until you ask right?

I started sending him technological posts (straight out of google reader) about gadgets that I thought would fit in his "Paper Comics Death Watch" posts.  Things that could be used to view digital comics, or make them.

Soon Jim stopped responding with "thanks" and started responding with "do you want to write something about this?" and I became a blogger here.  I've held the Friday spot for quite a while now.  In addition to that I've written a story or two, helped script a comic book, and helped letter a comic during my time here at the FBU.

Which brings me to the purpose of this post.  This will be my last "regular" Friday post.  I've REALLY enjoyed my time working for/with Jim & Pierre and am really very fond of the FBU in general.  I'm sure I have a few posts left in me here or there and I've let Jim know that if he needs any help from me in the future all he need do is reach out and I'll help him with whatever.  Who knows, maybe there will be more comics.  I hear tell that Pierre may have some more free time in the near future.

I'm going to focus my time/energy on creating serialized fiction as web content.  Whether that's going to be comics, podcasts, flash animation, or e-books I haven't completely decided or limited my self to as of yet.  I all ready have some content up now such as the PALADIN BRIGADE that we didn't get finished in time for Zuda's colapse and the characters of APOLLO CITY that I created last year for two different writing events.

I have one comic book written, one podcast (audio drama style), and one third of an ebook written so we'll see where it goes and which milestone I hit first.

If you're interested in following me and catching up on what I'm doing you can always do so at  or hit me up at BLAQUESABER.COM on TWITTER.COM/BLAQUESABER. 

The first thing I have on my plate will be the #30Character challenge Tyler James is putting on again this year.  We're creating a character a day in November, which is no small feat let me assure you.  Last year I was also attempting to do nanowrimo in November as well (that's the 3rd of an ebook I mentioned earlier) so it was hectic but I'm a little more sane this year. 

Have a great weekend,

Caine

Marvelous Rumors from the Bullpen

Today we'll turn a recently added feature (where we discuss television series that would make great comics) on it's head to examine some of the recent rumors of Marvel properties being developed for the small screen.

HEROES FOR HIRE (focusing on ex-con Luke Cage offering to take on bad guys for a price)
DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON (a dynamic female duo, one with a bionic arm and the other a granddaughter of a samurai, open a private-detective agency)

I combined these two.  While Luke Cage is probably a strong enough character to build a series around (with or without Danny Rand) I don't think enough people even know who the DotD are and since Luke will need a supporting cast it makes sense to combine them (unlike the next category). 

I think this could really be enjoyable to watch and if they paired it with the correct show it could work.  If I were producing I think I'd start with a reverse Remington Steele approach and have the DotD all ready in business but lacking street cred so they bring on Luke Cage who's been recently let out of prison under "mysterious circumstances".  I'd leave Danny's guest appearance for the season ending cliff hanger of the second season.

MOON KNIGHT/ THE HOOD (a low-rent criminal discovers a cloak that gives him superpowers)

These two characters are not alike at all.  This leads me to believe that either a.) these two characters were never actually in the running or b.) the people in charge have only the slightest inkling of the characters they chose to develop.  If I were asked to produce it I might go with...

MoonKnight is always being compared to the Batman so to change things up I'd have Marc Spector not be the main character.  Actually that's the name of a long dead soldier who once died while under the influence of the "curse of Khonshu".  Other people who died while under the influence of the curse: Steven Grant and Jake Locksley who all now reside in the head of the main character of the television show - who's the latest person to fall under the "curse of Khonshu" which releases the vengeance of the fist of Khonshu: MoonKnight.

An entity that The Hood had been seeking for quite some time, in his battle to maintain control over New York's gangs.  Now that this new civilian has fallen under the curse and controls MoonKnight the battle between these two characters is on!

THE PUNISHER (one man wages a war on crime)

This television program would have to be cable or it would suffer from the A-Team's "many bullets, few deaths" syndrome.  If I was asked to produce this show I might....

Start things off with a Frank Castle all shot to hell.  He's powerless (and all out of ammo) to keep a federal task-force from breaching his compound and bringing Frank Castle in.  Can they escort this unique prisoner all the way to a judge and jury of his peers so that he can have his day in court?  Will Frank escape?  Will he be broken out?  If he's loose on the street will he kill again?  If so will it be a "bad person"? 

I'd insert a lot of "Cat & Mouse" into this concept much like "The Fugitive".

CLOAK & DAGGER (two mutant children, with interlinked powers of dark/light, struggle to find their place in the world)

As the resident "DC Loving" member of the FBU staff Cloak & Dagger have always been one of my faverites.  I'd personally go "balls to the wall" with this concept.  There would be so many special effects that this show couldn't afford to run weekly.

As "odd" as it sounds I'd really turn this into a mutated "Highway To Heaven" but instead of a good christian escorting an actual angel around the country righting wrongs I'd have Dagger (with her blades of solid light) continue to push Cloak (with his cloak of night) around the country - all the while trying to keep from feeding on human emotion (which their powers almost demand).

THE HULK (Bruce Banner flees when he's hunted for murdering.....himself )

I personally don't think this can work.  Let me provide you with a list of why not:

• The Bill Bixby/ Lou Ferrigno television show/ telefilms is still fresh in a lot of our minds.
• The two big screen movies made were not huge successes and failed to resonate with fans
• The Bruce Banner character's suffered from a few reboots as of late with the Hulk showing up in the Marvel "Ultimate" line of comics/ animated features.

Thoughts?

Have a great weekend,

Caine

DC Comic's latest announcement actually makes me sad.

"Beginning January 2011, DC Comics will implement a line-wide pricing adjustment, lowering the prices of all standard length 32-page ongoing comic book titles currently priced at $3.99 to $2.99, it was announced today by DC Comics Co-Publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio."
“Today’s announcement re-affirms DC Comics’ commitment to both our core fans and to comic book store retailers,” said Jim Lee, DC Comics Co-Publisher. “For the long term health of the industry, we are willing to take a financial risk so that readers who love our medium do not abandon the art form.” ~DC Comics

I shouldn't be sad about this, I know I shouldn't, but I am.  Here are some positive (probable) effects that are pretty easy to come to after learning of the price drop:

• More people will be able to afford comic books.
• People buying comic books will (presumably) be able to buy more comic books.
• More purchases of a book will allow it to be published longer.
• More purchases of a book will allow for it to be collected that many more times.
• More purchases of a book will increase the chances of that book (or it's primary characters) making the leap into animation, movies, television, games etc.

In addition to the after effects mentioned above it seems likely to this blogger that the price drop could benefit digital comics as well.  Lets examine this:

If at $3.99 BATMAN sells 50K copies that equals 19,9500.00
Multiple teams of employees: creators, advertisement, publishing are being paid to work on the book.

If at $2.99 BATMAN sells 50K copies that equals 14,9500.00
The same teams of employees are still being paid to work on the book.  That would mean DC is taking a cut in profits from the price drop (you could argue that the recently announced re-org may cancel this profit loss out all together but that still remains to be seen - the cost of making a comic is still fairly fixed for DC I'm sure).

DC is hoping this price drop will actually increase it's profit through an increase in sales.

If at $2.99 BATMAN sells 75K copies that equals 22,4250.00
The same teams of employees are still being paid to work on the book.

How does DC intend to obtain a larger fan base to buy their cheaper comics? 

Their movies?  That hasn't been working so far.  That business model will need an overhaul.  I think it's working the wrong way right now, comic fans are seeing/buying the movie.  DC needs to flip that and get the movies to draw in new fans.

Their new MMO?  We'll see, it just might at that.

Digital comics? Maybe, the Zuda comics look amazing on the iPad because they were formulated for the computer screen instead of the printed page.  There are those out there who are really into digital comics and even if the Zuda operation has shut down DC knows there is an on line fan base who will try out new books.

Speaking of "formulated for the computer screen" what about all of the design/conceptual work we've seen from the DC MMO?  If you were DC Comics why would you not utilize all of the digital media used to create the MMO in a digital comics project?

You know we'll see MMO art work on t-shirts, lunch boxes, and pee-chee folders so why not comics?

Why not do something unique and allow a player to "sell" a digital comic based on screen captures of their character's game play.  The "money" made could only be spent back inside the MMO.  You could fill each comic with MMO advertisements.

So why am I still so sad?

Dick Grayson isn't going to go back to being Nightwing any time soon.  :(

Have a great weekend,

Caine

Ideas for Wildstorm's Integration into the DCU

Last week we brought you the news that DC was shutting down the WILDSTORM imprint.  DC hinted in their press release that the characters wouldn't die, just the imprint, the characters would live on in the DCU proper.

There are some obvious uses of of Wildstorm characters in the DCU.  Some might be a little too obvious like suddenly adding Gen13 characters into the Titans or having Apollo befriend Superman and hang around with the Justice League.  I'd fear fan reactions to those set ups. 

One "obvious" integration I wouldn't fear? 

ZEALOT (and by extension the Coda) being seen in the pages of WW, living as Amazonians.
"Zannah took the name Zealot when she formed a sisterhood of warriors, known as The Coda, on earth. She fought with them for many years, even leading the group for a while. However, an incident occurred in Troy (presumably during the Trojan War), causing her to be branded a traitor and expelled from the order. She arranged for the Coda to help the Greeks conquer Troy in exchange for 99 female babies to be raised as new coda. She helped Ulysses conceive of the trojan horse and stationed Coda warriors inside it. During the fighting she decided that the killing of all of the unarmed women and children of Troy was going too far, so she saved the life of the royal family"~wikipedia
Zealot was obviously created from the same ink well as the "warrior" version of Wonderwoman. They've done a good job of making her unique while staying close to the template.  She'd fit right in.

The Wildstorm integration could be used to breathe new life into characters.  Some of which never really reached amazing heights of popularity but might if given a shake up and a new station.

UNION is drafted into the Green Lantern Corp.
"Ohmen was a member of a faction, called the Protectorate, on his home world of Aegena. The world was mired in a long civil war, as the Protectorate fought against another faction, the Directorate, for control of the planet. The members of both factions had special "stones" (in reality, a symbiotic organism) embedded in their chests. The stones imbued them with a variety of powers, including super strength, flight, energy manipulation and a staff composed of pure energy."~wikipedia
With a costume redesign, his experience with the JUSTICE STONE of the PROTECTORATE would make him a natural with a ring.

In my opinion the best way to ensure that the Wildstorm characters successfully integrate into the DCU is to immediately bring Wildstorm villains in and put them through the ringer.  Begin having the DCU heroes battle them and this will bridge the gap between the two universes.

Helspont battles both the Green Lantern Corp and the Justice League in a year long theme within DC.
"He may not look like it, but Helspont is a Daemonite, a race of aliens harvested to serve the Kherubim. The Daemonites rebelled and the Kherubim/Daemonite war began. Helspont became a military commander sometime during this war and was stationed on the Daemonite ship that crashed on Earth thousands of years ago. He, along with the two other highest ranked surviving Daemonites, took the title High Lord and became a leader to the other Daemonites. Helspont controlled most of the Daemonites but the other High Lords (Defile & Hightower) became his enemies, each with their own plan to either take over or destroy Earth. Sometime during his time on Earth, Helspont somehow managed to get a hold of an Acurian body, and since all Daemonites are capable of possessing other beings, he stole it. The exact circumstances for his acquisition of the alien host are unknown, but according to Spartan, it happened some centuries after the fall of the Roman empire."~wikipedia
As Helspont's back story begins to unfold, so too can the back story of the Wildstorm characters as they make minor appearances at first.

Here's hoping that we do see plenty of Wildstorm characters in the DCU very soon.

Have a great weekend,

Caine

A new Lost Universe?

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is another one of Caine's explorations into the Lost Universes of defunct companies. You can read other Lost Universe articles here. - Jim

Today were going to take a look at what is reportedly the newest comic book universe to to join the ranks of the "LOST UNIVERSE'S" here at the FBU, that of the WILDSTORM Universe.

Dan Didio & Jim Lee had this (and more) to say on the subject:

"After taking the comics scene by storm nearly 20 years ago, the WildStorm Universe titles will end this December. In this soft marketplace, these characters need a break to regroup and redefine what made them once unique and cutting edge. While these will be the final issues published under the WildStorm imprint, it will not be the last we will see of many of these heroes. We, along with Geoff Johns, have a lot of exciting plans for these amazing characters, so stay tuned. Going forward, WildStorm’s licensed titles and kids comics will now be published under the DC banner. "~The Bleed

Of course, they are saying that the WILDSTORM characters will not vanish into the wind and will show up in the regular DCU but to what end?  The DCU has 75+ years of history and the characters know one another.  The WILDSTORM characters, as stated above, only have 20+ years and they don't all really know one another so well.

Where will characters like Midnighter, Apollo, and Mr. Majestic (who's been in the DCU proper before) find a place in the DCU when they were basically created as an analog to pre-existing DCU characters in the first place?  Its easy to hypothesize a miniseries where Midnighter goes toe to to with Batman, or Apollo meets Superman in space but beyond that it's any ones guess.  Could Lucas "Midnighter" Trent be one of the Batmen we've been told to expect?  Would he want to?  Bruce Wayne had a raving psychotic on his staff once before, Jean Paul Valley, so I'm not sure he'll go for it again.

What about the non character type entities of the WILDSTORM universe?  What about organizations (I.O., Black Razers, Black Ops etc)?  The DCU all ready has Checkmate, The Suicide Squad, and others.  What about alien life forms ( Kherubim, Daemonites, & The Drahn)?  The DCU all ready has Tamarans, Ungarans, & Kryptonianans.

I don't think this will be good for the Wildstorm characters at all.  I'm not the only one either....

"I received a bit of bad news yesterday, Wildstorm will cease to be at the end of December. While WS and I didn't always see eye to eye, a good part of my life happened there. First pro work, met Jess there, learned the ins and outs of comic production. So it's with mixed feelings I write this, sad to see it go, hoping that the old WS might see a resurrection in the DC universe. Hoping that whoever does something with Backlash doesn't change stuff just to change stuff. Good bye Wildstorm, you will be missed.  Brett [Booth]"~Demon Puppy

"My thanks to Bob Harris for believing in us...for Jim Lee for believing in Bob and us and for the crew at wildstorm for letting us get a bit nutty under their guidence. As well a big thanks for all the wonderful talent that were along for the ride...the best of the best. Below is a cover gallery of some of those books. Enjoy."~ Jimmy Palmiotti

As for me, I don't think I ever enjoyed an entire universe of comics more.  I remember discovering StormWatch, about a international peace keeping force stationed on a space station, completely by accident.  When I flipped open the pages I saw art done by Scott Clark, who'd drawn another comic I'd liked before although the Wildstorm art he was doing was very different. 

It was in StormWatch where I learned of a costumed spy who could turn to mist, kind of like a vampiric Nick Fury (Backlash) who was just as cool, if not cooler than Batman (he who all heroes are judged against :).  This led me to a mini series where he and another guy with a trench coat, a jagged red rag of a face mask and two big pistols (Grifter) took on a  pack of Ferrel people.  I haven't stopped buying comics since.  Thanks Wildstorm.

They even published some of my art...




Have a great weekend,


C Dorr