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COMICS! |OT| August 2015. Overwhelming.

The value proposition of buying blu rays is still wayyy too much for me, i'm rarely willing to spend $20 on a movie. Only thing worse is buying comics...

I haven't bought a blu-ray for like three years now. The last one was Dredd, I think.

I still need to get rid of all the ones I bought before, but nobody I know has a player.
 

Boogiepop

Member
So, I saw Bay Turtles. Wasn't as bad as I was expecting, at least. Obviously a ton of stupid/questionable plot points that make you go "wait, what? That doesn't make any sense!" And the jokes are... not great, for the most part. I did appreciate the casting of Will Arnett as Vern, though. And I actually liked the ridiculously over the top Shredder design. I mean, the concept behind the character was kind of "here's a ton of sharp bits", so it kind of worked. Plus the action was a HELL of a lot more readable then the first two Transformers (didn't see past 2). So it wasn't a good movie, certainly, but it was at least better than Transformers 2, so that's something, I suppose. The one thing the movie did do that legitimately dissapointed me: made the Foot Clan generic soldier dudes with guns. I mean, seriously?
 

Owzers

Member
I haven't bought a blu-ray for like three years now. The last one was Dredd, I think.

I still need to get rid of all the ones I bought before, but nobody I know has a player.

One day you look back on your purchase of Panic Room on dvd and realize that you've made bad movie purchasing decisions and should stop. In my defense this was before redbox/netflix streaming so the only way to rent movies was for $3-4 at blockbuster.....so blind buys was appealing.
 

Boogiepop

Member
Also, almost at the end of the second Johns GL omnibus now. "Finished" Blackest Night (IE reached the end of the actual event) and... that was a weird event. It was a result of all the big buildup of the run so far... but then it's kind of weird the amount of focus other characters end up getting as a result of it being a line-wide event instead of just a GL one, and it kind of took me out of it a little that, for example, I don't really know much about Firestorm. Also bizarre: it had several deaths and at the start I was like "huh, they actually are going pretty hard in on killing characters", but at the end it was only a few dead relatively minor characters, and it just kind of bizarrely is like
"hey, also, a ton of random characters are alive again because screw it, seemed like a good time to do this!"
. Just felt weird and abrupt and more than a little random.

Also, really didn't like what happened with Hawkgirl here. Admittedly, I've only read part of the Johns run of Hawkman thanks to them only putting out one Omnibus and then never following up with the rest of the run, but I really liked that they had Kendra being all "yeah, I know what you're saying about destiny and reincarnations and crap, but I'm my own person and I don't love you", and it was like the best part of the run. So again, I admittedly missed some stuff, but it felt totally disrespectful and awful to her character that
her last words are all "jk, I totally did love you". And then at the end they revive the old Hawkgirl instead and are all "yay, happy ending!"
REALLY didn't like that.

Also, I like Larfleeze, and I feel like the Indigo people felt pretty lame and almost kind of filler-y. Like, "well I had nice enough ideas for all the other colors, so I may as well finish it off. Screw it, mysterious tribal people that people can't understand!" Of course they still have time to get some better development and turn my opinion around, though.
 
One day you look back on your purchase of Panic Room on dvd and realize that you've made bad movie purchasing decisions and should stop. In my defense this was before redbox/netflix streaming so the only way to rent movies was for $3-4 at blockbuster.....so blind buys was appealing.

DVDs were easy to get rid of, my siblings split them amongst themselves since they none of them really go in for streaming or blu-rays (I am the only one who can even turn a computer on). I kept some of my 80s/90s cartoon sets, but that's about it.

We don't have redbox here, we have an XtraVision Express in one of the supermarkets in town but it seems to be the same price as the XtraVision (it's basically Blockbuster) that closed down a year or two ago. No blu-rays either, it's all DVDs.

in 2015

I have Netflix, but I never use it. I'm scared to cancel now because they've put the price up, and I know I'll go back again when Jessica Jones comes out.

I don't really like movies or TV that much anymore anyway. TV has gotten smarter and I've gotten stupider. I'll go to the DBZ movie, and I'll make the trip to Dublin for Star Wars in IMAX, but that's about it for movies. I liked working in the cinema, but I don't like actually going to the movies that much. If I try to watch something at home, I just end up playing with Lego or something and losing interest.
 
This is not a drill, people. GOTHAM CENTRAL OMNIBUS!

Gotham Central Omnibus
Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka
FRONTLIST
On Sale Date: May 10, 2016
$99.99 USD, $112.00 CAD
Hardcover
Comics & Graphic Novels / Superheroes
1.3 lb Wt
9781401261924, 1401261922
Contributor Bio:
A one-time cartoonist, Ed Brubaker has been working as a writer since the early 1990s, and in that time his work has won several awards, including both the Harvey and Eisner Awards for Best Writer in 2007, and has been translated around the world. His comics credits include Batman, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Sleeper for DC Comics and Daredevil, Captain America and Criminal for Marvel. He lives and works in Seattle, Washington, with his wife, Melanie, and many pets.

Summary: Gotham City: a town teeming with corrupt cops, ruthless crime lords, petty thieves…and just a small handful that would oppose them. Grizzled veteran Harvey Bullock, Captain Maggie Sawyer, Detective Renee Montoya and the GCPD are the law force that stands between order and complete anarchy. Gotham’s Finest work around the clock to not only keep the world’s most psychotic criminals off the street…but also cleaning up the mess left behind by Batman’s one-man war on crime.

Written by critically acclaimed authors Ed Brubaker (Captain America) and Greg Rucka (52, Detective Comics), this Eisner Award-winning series follows the detectives of Gotham City’s Special Crimes Unit as they navigate against the city’s greatest villains—in the shadow of Batman himself. This Eisner Award-winning series is now available in its entirety in this Omnibus edition. Collects issues #1-40.

I think I need this.
 

Messi

Member
NEW Guardians book? Ooh la la tell me more!

guardoi2015001-cheung-1-149230-1-600x873.jpg


GUARDIANS OF INFINITY #1
Written by DAN ABNETT & JASON LATOUR
Art by CARLO BARBERI & JIM CHEUNG
Cover by JIM CHEUNG
Variant Cover by CARLO BARBERI

IN THE INFINITE EXPANSE OF TIME AND SPACE IS THERE ROOM FOR MORE GUARDIANS? YOU BET THERE IS!

Defending the galaxy is a good gig, but Drax isn’t thrilled with the combat hours (not enough of them) and Rocket isn’t thrilled with the compensation (not enough of it). They’re off on an adventure to supplement both, and Groot is happy to come along. But instead of the perks they want, they’re about to get more trouble than they can handle. Good thing the Guardians 3000 are on hand to help! But what about…THE GUARDIANS 1000??!!

Also in this issue, Latour and Cheung tell a one-off story of Ben Grimm and Rocket Raccoon, stuck on a planet where culture is based on Earth-style professional wrestling…but the stakes are life and death! THIS AIN’T KAYFABE, BROTHER!
 
But you see, what OP needs is more characters in the main cast.
Absolutely
Dude, you are 100% correct. The main problem I see is that Oda likes...



To jam too many fucking characters in and try to give them all attention, and fails miserably at that. I'm not just talking about MCs; I don't give a shit about the fish people. I just don't. And there are so many of them. He doesn't kill off ANYONE.

This is one of the main problems with shonen on general, just look at Naruto and bleach alongside this. All past enemies become allies, then it's a total shitfest trying to give them all a bit of attention. At least HxH has the decency to introduce a set number of characters and focus on them for an arc. Chimera Ants - bunch of new people, but no Leolio or Killua, and obviously it benefited a lot from that extreme focus. Actually, Chimera Ants is the epitome of shonen storytelling for me. It was so excellent.
Oda doesn't like to kill characters unless it's a flashback. Probably why Marineford is my favorite arc. Now, normally I'm in the camp of "characters don't need to die left and right in order to create tension and drama," but Oda treats almost every character like a main character. Now, in fairness, a lot of characters leave the story after the Straw Hats leave whatever island they were at, but when the Straw Hats themselves are such a big crew (9 people right now) plus the cast of major players in that arc (there's usually at least 4) then you get overinflated.

Also, as for the Chimera Ant arc, I always thought that arc had some pacing issues in the anime. There were moments during that where it felt drawn and padded out. Particularly during some of the fights, where some of the Ants have powers so complicated and ridiculous that they spend more time talking about their abilities rather than fight. Also, it's Leorio and Kurapika that are gone, not Leorio and Killua. Killua is most definitely there.
 
Absolutely

Oda doesn't like to kill characters unless it's a flashback. Probably why Marineford is my favorite arc. Now, normally I'm in the camp of "characters don't need to die left and right in order to create tension and drama," but Oda treats almost every character like a main character. Now, in fairness, a lot of characters leave the story after the Straw Hats leave whatever island they were at, but when the Straw Hats themselves are such a big crew (9 people right now) plus the cast of major players in that arc (there's usually at least 4) then you get overinflated.

Also, as for the Chimera Ant arc, I always thought that arc had some pacing issues in the anime. There were moments during that where it felt drawn and padded out. Particularly during some of the fights, where some of the Ants have powers so complicated and ridiculous that they spend more time talking about their abilities rather than fight. Also, it's Leorio and Kurapika that are gone, not Leorio and Killua. Killua is most definitely there.

Re: Straw Hats, brace yourself. Luffy said early on in the series he wanted at least 10 members, or so I was reminded lol

I didn't find these issues when I watched HxH, personally. My mistake, early morning foginess. I meant Kurapika.
 
Re: Straw Hats, brace yourself. Luffy said early on in the series he wanted at least 10 members, or so I was reminded lol

I didn't find these issues when I watched HxH, personally. My mistake, early morning foginess. I meant Kurapika.
Yeah. It's funny though, I used to be super into OP. Like, looking up discussions on YouTube and fan theories and reviewers and speculations. I got super into it. Now I just don't care anymore.
Oh, I'm sorry. Did I click the One Piece thread by accident? I was looking for ComicGAF.

Speaking of, I recently found the full reading list for everything Inhumans related, so now I know what to track down.
 

Avixph

Member
"GARGOYLES" CO-CREATOR & "ARCHER" ARTIST LAUNCH MARVEL'S "STARBRAND & NIGHTMASK"

StarbrandNightmask-cov-ef678.jpg


In "Avengers," Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver introduced readers to the Marvel Universe incarnations of characters from the 1980s "New Universe" line -- Starbrand and Nightmask. During their tenure as some of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the cosmic-powered youths traversed the universe and helped save it from a multitude of intergalactic empires and entities.

But while they have experience defending their world, they don't have much knowledge of it. That will change in December when writer Greg Weisman (a comics and animation veteran known for his work on "Gargoyles," "Spectacular Spider-Man" and "Young Justice") and artist Dominike "Domo" Stanton (also known for both comics and animation, whose credits include FX hit "Archer" and "The Big Con Job" for BOOM! Studios) kick off a new "Starbrand & Nightmask" series, where the titular duo will try to balance their responsibilities as cosmic defenders and college students. CBR News spoke with Weisman about his characters' new scholastic endeavor, the college they'll be attending, and the established Marvel characters they'll encounter on campus.
Source: Comic Book Resources
 

Boogiepop

Member
Absolutely

Oda doesn't like to kill characters unless it's a flashback. Probably why Marineford is my favorite arc. Now, normally I'm in the camp of "characters don't need to die left and right in order to create tension and drama," but Oda treats almost every character like a main character. Now, in fairness, a lot of characters leave the story after the Straw Hats leave whatever island they were at, but when the Straw Hats themselves are such a big crew (9 people right now) plus the cast of major players in that arc (there's usually at least 4) then you get overinflated.

Also, as for the Chimera Ant arc, I always thought that arc had some pacing issues in the anime. There were moments during that where it felt drawn and padded out. Particularly during some of the fights, where some of the Ants have powers so complicated and ridiculous that they spend more time talking about their abilities rather than fight. Also, it's Leorio and Kurapika that are gone, not Leorio and Killua. Killua is most definitely there.
I mean, like half the crew got sent off elsewhere for most of the Dressrosa arc. And I don't know, I enjoyed Dressrosa, felt like it was back up to snuff after the last two arcs were a little eh. Plus I still totally enjoy the long haul planning of the series. I mean, we just saw
Kaido
for the first time after he was mentioned waaaaaaay back.

But yeah, I dunno, I still really enjoy me some One Piece.
 

ElNarez

Banned
I can get into that, but like, isn't Starbrand a little too joyful for someone living with the trauma of being responsible for thousands of deaths?
 
I mean, like half the crew got sent off elsewhere for most of the Dressrosa arc. And I don't know, I enjoyed Dressrosa, felt like it was back up to snuff after the last two arcs were a little eh. Plus I still totally enjoy the long haul planning of the series. I mean, we just saw
Kaido
for the first time after he was mentioned waaaaaaay back.

But yeah, I dunno, I still really enjoy me some One Piece.

I mean that's sick and all, but reading from week to week killed me, and the anime was no better in that regard. Feels like there's never really any payoff to the ever so constant hype. It's never as satisfying as it should be.
 

Boogiepop

Member
I mean that's sick and all, but reading from week to week killed me, and the anime was no better in that regard. Feels like there's never really any payoff to the ever so constant hype. It's never as satisfying as it should be.
Yeah, that's definitely fair. Though to some degree I feel that's kind of most manga, just reads a lot better collected than one chapter a week. Not really much to do there but wait and let it build up, I suppose. And yeah, definitely have not heard good things about the anime (haven't watched it since Skypiea, but hasn't it gone to like one chapter equals one episode or something ridiculous like that?)

But it could always be worse. Could be reading Bleach week to week. Now THAT drags something fierce!

Edit: Sorry for getting off topic. To get things back on track: did you guys hear about that new Guardians book?!
 
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