The Smax and Pog Super Happy Fun Time

The List for 29th March 2006

2006-06-03T10:37:00.000+08:00

Hey there,
Been sick for a week or so which has totally messed this blog up. I've almst found a home for Smax and Pog which is nice but i have to work out some size issues - hopefully i'll have something to report soon.

Anyway - rather than a rundown of this week i'm just going to list them;

10. Warlord #2 - I odered this in advance. I couldnt finish it. Blerk.

9. fantastic Four 536 - Not liking JMS' run on this at all. Dull.

8. Green Lantern #10 - As sad as it is to say this i'll be dropping GL - I've given it 10 issues, its just not working for me. Plus it smells funny.

7. Thing #5 - good not great. Looking forward to Spideys appearance next issue.

6. UXM #471 - fizzled.

5. All Star Supes 3 - hmmn. Have to re-read this one. Was good - didnt like it as much as previous issues though - the art is amazing and i dont like Quitely!

4. X-men Deadly genesis #5 - very good. I dont see what peoples problems with this series are; possibly they just expect more of Brubaker. I've really enjoyed it! Arts a bit off but hey (they shoudl have got Silvestri doing more than just the covers. WoW!

3. Action #837 - Excellent. Superman's really solid at the moment!

2. Blue Beetle #1 - Really liked it. Hope it keeps up this pace. Like Hamners art too!

1. New Avengers Illuminati - sure there were many horrible problems (Iron Man predicting EXACTLY what was to happen, one page of reactiosn after IM told them of the bill) but the inner fanboy in me just loves this. And Maleevs art was great as well and I'm not normally a fan.

Smax and Pog #12 - One Year Later !

2006-05-31T20:33:00.000+08:00

Smax and Pog #11 - One Year Later !

2006-05-31T20:27:00.000+08:00

Smax and Pog #10 - The Joys of the Internet

2006-05-31T20:20:00.000+08:00

Sick!

2006-05-30T12:33:00.000+08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. M'a bit sick at the moment, as is my 2 yearold and 4 week old ..i'll be back soon..and i'll give my impressions of the x3 movie..a little different to Aydins..

Aydin's review of X3

2006-05-28T11:16:00.000+08:00

There will be spoilers. They will come frequently and without warning. Beware!

First off, let me say that any innaccuracies to the comics hardly phased me in the movie. Which is saying something because I'm the first to yell out "Dr. Doom doesn't have lightning powers! Spidey made his webs! Green Goblin doesn't look like that!" etc, etc. The pace in this movie is so nonstop that I didn't even have time to think about it.

It begins with a great action sequence, and ends with a stunning cliffhanger, as all great action movies should.

This movie gets rid of any characters that get in the way of action pretty quickly and gets right down to the fighting. After Jean comes back and we see some great emotional conflict from Logan, its death, destruction and cured mutants everywhere.

The pivital point in this movie is the Cure. A mutant (Leech) has the ability to drain mutant powers and it has been put into a medicinal form. Of course, many mutants leap at the opportunity, while many (magneto at the forefront) are outraged and demand blood for the affrontery. Ian Mckellen is given some great rabble-rousing speeches that show just how much he cares about seeing his goals met.

My biggest worry going into the movie was the seeming love triangle between Rogue, Iceman, and Kitty. Its definitely nothing to worry about. Iceman's just way to nice and doesn't know he's offending rogue, and the conflict gets resolved nicely at the end.

Of course, the part we all care about is the xmen versus magneto's army fight. Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Collosus, Iceman, And Kitty against a horde of mutants. The Xmen get vast amounts of but, and bodies fly. The one on one fights are great too. Iceman and Pyro duke it out in a great display of Dragonball Z glory, and Kitty even squares off against Juggernaut. Great stuff.

Ratner pulls mutants out of his @$$ left and right for this 'un. So many mutants, so many people impaled on canadian claws.

All in all, a great movie with great acting, great fighting, and one little romantic sequence that will make every couple lean closer to each other. Awwww.

Aydin Reviews gives this movie a 9 out of 10.

Why are you still reading this? Go out and see X3 right now!!

The list for 22nd March 2006

2006-05-22T11:10:00.000+08:00

Yeesh. over 20 books this week. When i get my comics from my local shop i'll be lucky to get five..Anyway heres some of them ..here we go..

Comics From 22nd March 2006

The Bad and Average

Hawkgirl #50 – A shame. This was so highly anticipated and again I feel going into this book I was already against it due to the months of dislike that have been leveled against it but no. Not good. Hey, at least stuff happened but I never imagined it would be happening as poorly as this. I love Walt Simonson but this ..this was not good. The dialogue seemed stilted and corny and didn’t engage me at all. Chaykin? This was the first stuff from Chaykin that I’ve actually sat down and read (I have seen his stuff before but not in a book that I cared to read) and I wasn’t impressed at all. The faces looked so samey and Kendras constant sneer got on my nerves. I hope to god I haven’t preordered #51 as well. Not good.

Wolverine #40 – FINALLY this is over! Man, I would have never bought this if I hadn’t ordered it 3 months in advance. Yeah I liked Tex and Salteres’ art on the book – harkening back to the old days of Wolvy in the 90’s – but it wasn’t enough. This comic is the poster child for decompression – it was one issue, two max stretched out and it took 5 minutes to read each issue. The only other exposure I have to Way was in his Hulk arc building up to Planet Hulk so I’m not hugely keen on the guy so far.

X-Factor #5 – Nope. Sorry – its really not working for me. I don’t know whats with PAD being in the dark and gritty mode at the moment. Ok, it’s all well and good here but its even seeping over to friendly neighborhood for cripes sake. Anyway back on topic – this didn’t work for me. At all. The art…the art, just not my thing – and the story? Nope no sale on that either. Thumbs down all round I’m afraid and this is the 2nd issue in a row which ive been disappointed with.
Look at the scores for the first 6 issues ..
#1 – 9, #2 – 7.5, #3 – 6.5, #4 – 6, #5 – 5

The fact that Roy Allen Martinez is coming onboard and Quicksilvers also dropping by may be enough to keep me on but so far Ive been majorly disappointed with this series…

Squadron Supreme #1 – I’m trying to think of something to say about this comic. I tried to get into Supreme Power but gave up really early in the run. It has been a title though that I’ve been intending to go back and read in trade form where I’m hoping it would work better but having read this I just can’t muster any enthusiasm to do it. Nice art though – although I liked it better when Gary frank had a cleaner less sketchy style back on the Hulk and Birds of Prey. All set up.

The Good
Batman #651 – You know its funny writing thoughts and reactions to comics that are almost 3 months old and old news by now. Anyway – Batman. As everyone said – not as good as the Detective counterpart. I also feel the art team doesn’t hold up as well as ‘Tec’s and while Part 1 had the ‘cool’ factor of reintroducing the dynamic duo (heh) to their proper standings this was more of a typicval by the numbers issue. Liked it – looking forward to where this storys going.

New Avengers #17 – I still fail to get excited over this book dabnabbit! Beautiful cover though – McNiven I presume? Anyway – Mike Deodato on this comic doesn’t jive with me man. I used to be a big Deodato fan but I’m not pleased with his new style – the extra effort for realism as well as (ironically) the oversimplification of some elements just turns me off. Its not horrible but its certainly not two thumbs up that’s fer sure. As for the story? I don’t know. Its good to see the Avengers up against something of some stature for once but it didn’t get my blood pumping. I liked it but I so want to love the Avengers.

Amazing Spider-man #530 – A bit f a let down after the fantastic last issue – one of the reasons being Garney not drawing the damn thing. What, he drew one issue? Anyway one of the Top Cow artists is handling the art chores and it looks nice – I just was really impressed with Garneys stuff last issue. Silly Image people – always aking over when Rons on a roll ;) Anyhoo – no major plot details here suffice to say this kickstarts the Civil War stuff so mostly features Tony and Peter in political discussion. It was important stuff and interesting but didn’t make for a particularly fascinating read. It was cool to see the black costume if only for a panel though..

She-Hulk 2 #6 – I really have to sit down and write these things after I read the issue. Trying to remember what happened in a dozen odd issues after 4 hours sleep every night for 3 weeks is harder than it sounds. Fill in art on this issue but it was nice enough..seemed to be emulating Deodatio in some points but another artiost who I can’t think of right now (handy) in others. Still I liked it – more 90’s in style which I actually liked – for the most part. I’m not sure I’d want him on She-Hulk but I’d definitely like to see him on something. Storywise it featured Starfox so it cant go wrong can it? Well – it was ok..it makes sense really – showing the dodgy side of Starfoxes powers but its kinda icky to think about. Plus it didn’t have the normal fun that I associate with Slotts Shulky. Still liked it though.

Spider-man loves Mary Jane #4 – Yep. That’s right. I read this book. And no I’m not a teenage girl so bleh. And you know what? I like it! If it wasn’t for the fact that I need to cut down on my books and I can buy this in digest form for half the price I’d be buying it for as long as it comes out..which I still will be – albeit in a different format. Normally it’s a solid 7, but this issue was great – really cool, really had some emotion in it – plus I love the art. Thumbs up!

The Great

Ultimate Fantastic Four #28 – What the..? I have a love/hate relationship with this comic and this is another that’s gonna face the chop next month. But I’ll have to keep picking it up in trade I think. Anyway it seems that I either love this comic or hate it. And this one I loved. Really cool. And while I’m still not a huge fan of Millars writing (why do people pronounce it Mill-Arrr?) and I’m not convinced ths is th ebest place for Lands art it works. Sometimes..

Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes #16 – Wow. How hard was it for me to find this comic? Long story. First of all this was one of the only OYL titles I didn’t preorder as I had no interest in the Legion at all. No interest. But then I read the first trade and looooved it! Decent sized issues that weren’t part one of 8 – featured great writing and nice art. – again, loved it. So of course I had to go and find this issue then from my local shop and of course it was sold out the day it released. Anyway long story short – found it, bought it, loved it. Curious to see where its all going. Glad to be finally reading legion!

Nextwave #3 – Wow (again). I LOVE this comic. I love the art – Immonens going nuts – it looks fantastic!! And the writing is just so eccentric and exaggerated – I love it. Great fun comic that I hope is around for a long time to come with the same creative team – can you really imagine it with anyone else? And the icing on the cake was the letter column where they dissected the deeper meaning behind Totos hit “Africa” It was fantastic!

Robin #148 – I think this is the first ever comic I’ve bought and it saddens me to learn that Karl Keschel isn’t hanging around for next issue. I mean, what is up with that? The books relaunched essentially, and the artist stays on for a single issue? Anyway – I’ve seen the artist on #149 and that looks great as well so I can’t complain too much. Anyway really good comic – great mystery, love the new costume, really enthused to see where it goes. I hope, hope, hope, it stays this good as id like to become a regular Robin reader.

Daredevil #83 – Woah. What an issue. Again the team manage to blow me away. Not quite as strng as their first issue but I loved it. What more is there to say. I can’t wait to read the next issue to see what happens and sadly I don’t say that about enough comics these days. Wow.

Smax and Pog #9 - Green Lantern

2006-05-19T19:07:00.000+08:00

Yep. Green Lantern was one of the ONLY OYL titles that actually dropped in sales. This baffles me. I havent actually read the OYL issue of GL yet but it just makes no sense. For a title that was selling so well to actually drop after that big marketing push..well, lets just say i'm curious to see how the title performs in the second month post OYL to see if this was just an anomaly...
Of course it is possible that the lack of G'nort drove sales down. I mean, why wouldn't it? You know it makes sense.

I find the sales numbers of OYL fascinating and at some stage id like to do a feature looking at the books - which ones worked in my mind, which ones didnt and how they ended up selling. Even more interesting is to see how the sales numbers do from the first OYL issue till the second. Myself i ordered practically every OYL book and I'll only be continuing with about five of the books.
What OYL books did you all enjoy or buy that you don't normally read?

Smax and Pog #8 - Onslaught Part 2

2006-05-18T09:27:00.000+08:00

Ah..Poor Rob. I'm sure he'll come up often in Smax and Pog - its kinda lazy of me really... Click to Enlarge

Xmen 3: The Last Stand

2006-05-18T03:37:00.000+08:00

Wizard's latest issue has a couple-page discussion of the goings on in the latest (perhaps last) xmen movie.

First off, Wolverine. According to Wizard, X3 will be once again overusing wolverine because everyone loves him. He'll be killing things, saying "bub" and attempting to pursue his hopeless love for the most evil entity in the galaxy. Wheeeeee.

My take-Bryan Singer (the director for the past two movies) really leaned heavily on Hugh Jackman's Wolverine for his action and awesome needs. This I have a problem with. The only people that got good action sequences in the past two movies other than Wolverine were Nightcrawler and Mystique. Now, I'm all for blue people and Canucks bashing heads, but Singer gave his line-up some real powerhouses. Storm kicks Toad's butt in the first movie with one lightning bolt, and then her only purpose is to make things really cold and cause a couple of tornadoes in X2. Excuse me, but Ororo Munroe was handling superbaddies without any powers for a while back in the day, so give her more to do than make snow. Cyclops: he shoots a couple things, but doesn't really do much else. I'm hoping that the introduction of Sentinels in X3 gives these characters more to do, because Wolverine can only be Fastball Special-ed so many times.

Beast: Kelsey Grammar is playing Beast.

My take-Woot. Freaking woot even. The Frasier star is the perfect actor for Beast, and he looks great in the blue and furry. Beast fights more primevally (like an animal) than Wolverine and so should have some awesome action scenes.

The Villains-Your regular rogues gallery (Magneto and Mysique) will be joined by Pyro (sans lighter, plus spidey-esque flamethrower), Juggernaut, Dark Phoenix, Callisto, and many, many others.

My take- Sir Ian McKellen is amazing as Magneto. He really understands how to do the Master of Magnetism. Not as a raving lunatic destroyer, but as the self-proclaimed Messiah Homo Superior. He really cares for the well being of his people, but will not take any crap from anyone who stands in his way. Rebecca Romijin's blue, almost naked goodness will be gracing the screen again and will play a very intregal role in the storyline. Dark Phoenix rocks, and gives Cyclops a chance to show his true potential acting wise. It'll be very interesting to see what happens when Rogue and Iceman face off with their once-friend Pyro. Good Stuff.

The Love Triangle-Rogue and Iceman's love has gone sour, and newcomer Kitty Pride steps in to take over.

My take- Ugh. Not only do we have to deal with the love triangle of Cyclops, Wolvy, and Phoenix, but now they're throwing another one at us? The one from Ultimate Xmen no less? Will Collosus end up liking boys in this one too? Come on! I guess Ratner (new director) wanted to be able to show some teen lovin' that didn't end with anyone in a coma. Hopefully there'll be too much action for this to be dealt with much.

All in all, this movie will rock. Love Triangles suck, but the newcomers to the cast, the great storyline, the awesome Rogue's Gallery, and the FASTBALL SPECIAL will make this the Xmen movie to remember. I hope you all will join me in heralding its sure success on opening weekend next week.

Regards,
Aydin

New FF line up?

2006-05-17T08:38:00.000+08:00

A civil war quiz (possibly from Wizard magazine) has been doing the rounds that contains the following question.

Which pair of heroes will join the Fantastic Four after Civil War?

With the options...
Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, Human Galactus and Silver Surfer, Storm and Black Panther, She-Hulk and Hawkeye

Looking at them one at a time we have,

Luke Cage and Jessica Jones- Not likely as Jessica has given up the heroing and has a new born child, and I can't see Bendis giving up his new toys that easily. Having said that Luke has been an FF member before.
My guess - 10% likely

Human Galactus and Silver Surfer- Pffft. The FF does not take the worst mass murderer in history into their ranks, even if he is above good and evil.
My guess - 0% likely

Storm and Black Panther- Looked like a possible choice until I saw a question about whether they would come to the U.S. to deal with Civil War answered 'no' by Mr Brevoort himself. So now the only hope for them is if the FF move to Wakanda. Not likely.
My guess - 0% likely (now)

Which leaves us with...

She-Hulk and Hawkeye- Looking better and better mostly by ellimination of rivals. It would be great to see She-Hulk back in the FF.
Plus with the cover art for FF 540 showing Ben with his bags packed, there may be room for a powerhouse on the team.
My guess - 90% likely

Good to see She-Hulk back in the FF, and Hawkeye would make a great addition.

Violence in the mainstream DCU

2006-05-16T20:34:00.000+08:00

Ok – a little more detail – a while back Jamie from the CGS podcast complained about the increasing violence in mainstream superhero DC comics – particularly Green Lantern and Infinite Crisis – not so much condemning the acts themselves but moreso the gratuitous ways in which they were portrayed.
In a recent Green Lantern Mongul (I think) punched his sisters head off- the act displayed in all its glory. I read this at the time and just thought “What the hell?” – It just seemed so gratuitous and unnecessary to show it in a major splash panel ina ll its glory detail.
Jamie brought this up and also mentioned a recent issue of Infinite Crisis where Superboy Prime ripped peoples arms off, decapitated people and cut people in half. Again as I read this issue it just seemed unnecessary.

Jamies big concern was why. Why show this in such detail – why not show it in the background or off panel or something – why do we have to see Mongul punching peoples heads off? The others basically told him he was too old and they thought (essentially) it was cool to see someone punch someones head off.

Okay..

Jamie also stated how another concern is that this is happening in a Green lantern comic. Green Lantern people! He’s in the JLU for gods sake – now, I’m not saying sanitize it for kids to read but don’t make it unaccessible to them. It saddens my heart to think that a kid can no longer pick up a Green lantern comic…

Again the guys wrote him off saying that he wouldn’t find too many people that would share his feelings and comics aren’t for kids anyway.

Which is silly. Jamie asked what to do if his 8 year old nephew saw Green Lantern in the cartoon and wanted to read a comic of GL. Peter replied causally to give him the Showcase presents Green Lantern collection. Ooookay again. Yeah – give an 8 year old a 500 page book of old black and white Green Lantern comics from the 50’s. Now THAT’S a good idea.

So then the debate turned to how kids get exposed to that level of violence in video games and on tv so whats the problem. Its such a sad mindset.

I have such a problem with all of this. Now I don’t mind violenc ein my comics – I mean, Punisher I wouldn’t take any other way. However I don’t really want to see decapitations or heads being eaten in my spidey comics (oh whoops). You know what I mean? In the rght place its not a problem.

Just reading the Winter soldier trade and in the first issue someones executed via a gun to the head..th epanel is silhouetted from a distance. If this happened in a dcu comic (think Blue Beetle) we’d see it close up and actually see his brains being blown out.
This is the wrong way and DC’s been doing this WAY too much lately. I haven’t read the next issue of IC where Black Adam apparently punches someone though the back of the head with this fist emerging through the guys face.

Its all too much – seriously..what do you guys think. Excuse typos and such – its late, I'm tired, I have a 2 week old baby and an attention craving 2 year old. I’m very tired.

Smax and Pog #7 - Infinte Crisis

2006-05-16T13:21:00.000+08:00

Ok..I'll save this for a mini rant later on. This was inspired by listening to the Comic Geek Speak podcast where Jamie was complaining about the explicit gratuitous and totally unneccessary violence in mainstream super hero comics. And when i read Infinite Crisis #4 there's peoples heads being punched off, arms being ripped off and so on. It's crazy. And apparently it just gets worse too.

The theory is the kids won't be affected as they get exposed to this rubbish everywhere - but that's really not the point is it.

I'm all for violence but in the right place. More on this rant later.

Smax And Pog #6 - Dan Slott

2006-05-16T13:18:00.000+08:00

I MUST learn how to make these strips bigger. Still - click to read. I love Dan Slott. I really do. Pull the Thing now! (Its probably too late already.. :_()

Aydin's List for May 12th

2006-05-13T07:18:00.000+08:00

Avengers/Powerpack 1- Why did I get this, you might ask? Because Power Pack rocks, so leave me alone. It was a cute story, and a suprisingly good action sequence.

Teen Titans #35- Why do I hate the new new Teen Titans? Could it be the demon child and ex crazy villain? Or perhaps Robin's cloning attempts? Or maybe its the fact that every character I loved is gone. Fight was good, and the demon kid might be dead, so that's nice.

Also, I got a copy of Wizard magazine with some intriguing info on X3, which I shall be posting once I have a minute.

Regards,
Aydin

The List for 15th March 2006

2006-05-12T14:20:00.000+08:00

In a few short weeks i'll actually be able to post relevant reviews. Woo.
Anyway..

7. Spiderwoman: Origin #4 - Yeah, yeah. Its ok. I dont like the art and the storys so-so. I wouldnt have bought more than the first issue or two if I was buying from the shelf. Lissa likes it though. 6/10

6. FN Spiderman #6 - What the HELL is going on here? This is PAD's spidey book! PAD! The first 4 issues were filled with The Other nonsense and since then hes had 2 issues to get the book swinging. What's goign wrong. Last issue was not good and this one is just average. Plus Wheres 'Ringo? I'm sure he was sposed to be pencilling this issue? Anyway - nto much screen time for Spidey and it sure as heck is missing the fun that PAD said he'd be bringing back to the book. Boo. 6/10

5. NIghtwing #118 - Hmmn. I feel suprised saying this but this wasn't that bad. Whats up with that? From what Ive read its pretty unanimous that this was a terrible OYL book but I didn't mind it. Don't think it quite drew me in enough to pick up any more issues but it didn't make me projectile vomit and when you read comics isn't that all you really want? 6.5/10

4. Ultimate X-men #68 - Ok, thats it. I gave it a try. Jess is always Hyping this series and with Kirkman onboard I jumped on too. BUt i'm just not feeling it. Nothing really happened in the Date Night story arc to grab my interest - i think i'll be delegating this to trade instead. 6.5/10

3. Ultimate Extinction#3 - Now we're getting into the good stuff - ive really enjoyed this so far. Sure, I still complain that a little more could happen but it's written so well and its so so purty I can't complain too much. Brandon Peterson's doing some nice work here - sometimes not sure of the zip-o-tone or whatever it is that he uses - I'd probably buy it just for the artwork. I really should have waited for the trade though. Oh well. 7.5/10

2. Annihilation Prologue - I like it but I'm not sure why. A whole pile of stuff was happenning that i can't remember - Kolins art normally leaves me a little dry but worked on this book - but the fact that it's a return to the Marvel cosmic books is enough to put a smile on my face. 7.5/10

1. Birds of Prey #92 - A Really good comic - I've always been interested in BOP in the past and tried a few random issues here and there but they were normally knee deep in a storyline and I'd have no idea what was going on. A really good jump on point and it just read really nicely. Pleased to give this two thumbs up. 8.5/10

Finally I found Nextwave #1 this week and i loooved it. And I appreciate the 2nd issue a whole lot more now - really good stuff!

So all in all not a fantastic week - only 3 comics there that I'm glad I bought. And interestingly only one DC. Oh well - maybe next week will be better.

NextWave: Agents of H.A.T.E.

2006-05-11T00:21:00.000+08:00

NextWave should be everything I H.A.T.E! A ragtag bunch of Marvel rejects, thrown together seemingly at random. Classic costumes abandoned in favour of ten-a-penny modern uniforms no kid could ever draw without reference. An artist in Immonen who began life at Marvel as a unique talent on titles like Thor, but whose style has blended into the mainstream over the years. One of those over-hyped 'visionary' Vertigo writers everyone bangs on about, but whose books tend to leave me cold. Not only that, but the one writer of that elite band that was responsible for 'Counter X'. And two more words to inspire loathing: Boom Boom. (Okay, it's one word twice...)

In short, when I saw the previews, I knew for sure that NextWave was not a title to float my boat. But no. NextWave hasn't got my boat floating. To quote the theme tune (more on that later) it has it motherf$%*ing exploding! Combined with his Ultimate work, Ellis' exhilarating writing on NextWave has convinced me that he has far more to offer me than his fellow 'too cool for school' writers like Moore and Morrison. Immonen's art, which has seemed out of place in conventional Marvel titles since he abandoned the heavy-inked realism style I enjoyed so much, is perfect for this book; almost as if Ellis has freed the potential superstar within. His innovative layouts and incredible ideas - just check out how the increasingly desperate Dirk Anger (Nick Fury squared) attempts suicide - gel superbly with Ellis' writing to succeed where many books have failed, and actually transcend the medium.

Over the last few years, possibly due to the influx of talent into comics from Hollywood, terms from the silver and small screens have found their way into the comics lexicon: Now we have 'seasons', 'director's cuts', and supposedly 'widescreen' storytelling from folks like Bryan Hitch. But on NextWave, Ellis and Immonen don't just bandy about empty words - they deliver. They use ingenious cover design that would grace posters and DVD boxes; they bombard you with taglines; they break up the action with 'ad break' panels that remind you you are 'watching' NextWave. The comic even has its own theme song, which you can't help but hear when you open the latest issue. Download it here: http://www.marvel.com/publishing/stories/showstory.htm?id=65

The book has reinvigorated neglected characters like Monica 'When I led the Avengers...' Rambeau, and former Machine Man Aaron Stack, who somewhere along the line has developed a disdain for 'fleshy ones'. Just watch Immonen go crazy when Aaron takes down Fin Fang Foom, a classic character who has been dusted down and used a lot this last year; but nowhere better than here. Let's just say if you ever found yourself daydreaming about what Fin Fang Foom keeps in his underwear, the answers you're looking for ain't gonna be found in the OHOTMU...In a time when Marvel are putting out a large number of superb titles, and when there are more supposed 'humour' books than ever I can remember, NextWave is one of the few that is actually as funny as it should be. It has rocketed to the top of the reading list both for myself and my (much more choosy) wife. But then, how could a title fail to capture British hearts when a character (the Absolutely Fabulous Elsa Bloodstone) issues the football hooligan threat of choice: 'You're going home in the back of an ambulance.' Read NextWave with a dicky ticker, and that warning could well apply to you.

Aydin's Comic List for The Week of May 3rd

2006-05-10T05:19:00.000+08:00

Hello, all! This is my inaugural post on the "Smax and Pog Super Happy Fun Time" blog, so here we go:

6.- Xmen/Runaways Free Comic Book Day Special-Hm. A poorly drawn Xmen-Runaways Crossover, a little story about Franklin Richards, and a written "The Story So Far" of Ultimate Spiderman's entire run up to last month's issue. Not very good. At all. It was worth every penny I spent on it. 3 out of 10

5.- The Thing #6- Dan Slott said "Pull my Thing", so I have. Twice. This particular issue continues last issues fight with The Trapster and the Sandman. Spidey makes a cameo and new costume jokes (and a reference to the TV show LOST) abound. Dialogue's great, art's not bad at all, and the last page makes up for anything that may be lacking. All in all a good read. 7 out of 10.

4.- Runaways #15- I recently bought the Runaways trades volumes 1-4. I love the story, the characters are fascinating, and the irony of having a gothic girl cut herself to activate her power gets me every time. This issue starts with a bang and ends with a resounding WOAH! Unfortunately, the story is now getting a little bit too crazy, so we'll have to see where it all ends up before I cast my final judgement on this book. 7.5 out of 10

3.- Ultimate Spiderman #94- Bendis is my favorite writer. Period. Its amazing how well he writes the dialogue in all his books, and the snappy one liners almost never miss. And, the man is a genius with cliffhangers. SPOILER- AUNT MAY IS DATING THE JACKAL! OH NOES! Anyway, a nice ending to an action-packed xmen starring arc. 8.5 out of 10

2.- New Xmen #25- While the art occasionally leaves something to be desired, this is probably my favorite book. The aftermath of House of M has left half the main cast depowered, which lead to an interesting rehaul of the book. Said aftermath has also left us with the pure unadulterated terror that is Reverend William Stryker. This man will go down in history as being on par with Norman Osborn for insanity. Death, sadness, fight scenes, X-23, and the return of one of my favorite Xmen villains give this comic a resounding 9.5 out of 10.

1.- Civil War #1- Gary pretty much said all that could be said about this one. I loved every minute. Go read Avengers Iluminati and then read Civil War 1. Great dialogue, Human Torch gets mobbed, one of the best Cap action sequences since the Rikers Island Breakout, and more heroes than you can shake a stick at. 9.5 out of 10.

Smax And Pog #5 - V For Vendetta

2006-05-09T15:50:00.000+08:00

The List for 8th March 2006

2006-05-09T15:12:00.000+08:00

6. New X-men #25 – One of the titles I’ll be dropping I’m afraid. Don’t get me wrong – I do like it – it’s a good comic but since I’m switching from Mail order to my local shop I have to cut back and sadly this is one of the titles hitting the chopping board. This is even more annoying now that Paco Medina is on the book..I’m a big fan of his so it’s more of a kick in the teeth. I was really looking forward to mark Brooks stuff but the colouring wasn’t as on as it was on his Spidey stuff that he did for the younger Marvel imprint. Good and all but it has to go. 6/10

5. Retro Rocket #1 – One of the titles I only bought because Mail Order Comics had it for 75% off! But Hey, I was interested. And it was fun. It was. Good stuff. But I’m really not into the anime style artwork (and I like anime but it was too derivative) and I REALLY like the design of Retro. But again, there’s about 20 comics I NEED to read over this. Sorry Retro. 6.5/10

4. Son of M #4 – ANOTHER title I wouldn’t own unless I was going through MOC. I read the first issue and thought ‘meh’. But by that time I had already ordered up to #4. Since then though I have been pleasantly surprised – Martinez draws some lovely stuff, especially good with the women but I’m really not a huge David Hine fan and to be honest if The Inhumans (who I love!) didn’t feature heavily in this I’m sure I wouldn’t be enjoying it half as much. (Which is kinda a weird thing to say as the Inhumans are major characters and if they weren’t in it it’d be a completely different story). As it is, I’ll stick it out as I only have 2 issues left. I’ve enjoyed it but its something I wouldn’t have picked up past the first issue if I were buying from the shelves. 7/10

3. Sensational Spidey #24 – Oo, mixed feelings ahoy. One) I used to be a big fan of Angel Medina – I really enjoyed his run on Warlock and The Infinity Watch but was hot and cold on his Hulk. Wasn’t he on Spawn at some point? I don’t know. Anyway – I’m loving his Spidey – so much detail on the page, the layouts, the panels, the angles, and the viewpoints! I love it – and yes, I’m a fan of some of the big artists of the 90’s. I like the fact that Medina’s over the top detail and highly exaggerated Spidey reminds me of Todd McFarlane's work on the character.
Two) The actual stories not working for me. I love Aqu..Aca..you know, the guy from Marvel Knights 4…anyway – I really do like most his stuff on the FF title but its not working for me here and again the stretched out storyline style rears its ugly head.
I have a feeling this Spidey title may be going – I like it but do I REALLY need 3 monthly Spiderman books? Really? And although PADs book hasn’t been great so far I hold so much hope for it..and there’s no way I’m dropping Amazing. 7/10

2. Cable Deadpool #26 – I know a guy who will be happy with this. I really liked it. Deadpool is Awesome! It’s the second issue of the book I’ve tried and wasn’t keen on the first (#25), which makes sense I suppose since it was mostly on Cable. Anyway – thumbs up for this – makes me want to go and read the trade I have sitting in my “To Read” pile. 8/10

1. Thunderbolts #100 – A bold statement as I haven’t finished reading it yet. Shocker huh? (Actually from memory I think Jess hated this issue) Anyway unless something goes terribly wrong with the main story I can safely assume its an 8.5 or higher. I’m loving and liking Thunderbolts..its good old school comics but I feel a bit lost amongst the heavy history of the title sometimes.. Hey, the top 2 books by Nicieza..that’s pretty cool. Also have you seen the SIZE of this thing? It’s huge!! Anyone know where the reprints(assumably) originally appeared?

All in all it wasn’t a great week…only 3 comics I was glad I purchased. And I don’t think I’ll be buying any of these comics now I’ll be getting them from the store instead of MOC. Although I definitely will be picking some up in Trade but there’s none here that demand instant reading.

Civil War 1

2006-05-07T16:07:00.000+08:00

How could we not review it?

Civil War 1

There will be spoilers, as many as I can find, consider yourself warned.

So it begins. The first comic book event to have me excited since I was twelve and Alicia Masters was revealed to be a skrull. So how is it? A lot better than average but not quite perfect. After all is said and done, this issue is just to lay the groundwork and set up the story, and how exciting can you make that? The best thing I can say for it is that it leaves you wanting more, and what more could you expect from a comic that will probably introduce a whole new generation to marvel comics?

Before I get too far into the review, you all are probably going to want to know where I stand, so you can love or hate the rest of what I say based on whether my opinion coincides with yours. The truth of the matter is, I don't know. Is this a cop out? Maybe, but it has the virtue of being true. I was waiting until this comic to decide for myself. But I just can't yet. On the one hand, I don't trust these people to decide who the bad guys are. On the other hand, neither do I trust the American government or SHIELD to decide that. I don't think people should be able to take the law into their own hands, nor do I think people should be punished for helping others. There is one thing that I don't agree with. I don't like the idea of a government registering all people who posses powers at all. Don't be mistaken, that is what this is. From the New Avengers:Illuminati special.

"Anyone with powers- anyone in costume- any mutant- any of our kind is going to be required by law to reveal themselves to the United States government."

The bit that really puts me against this is the repeated use of "anyone". Why should "anyone" have to register with the government simply because they have a different ability. What if they never use it? What if their ability is effectively useless? Why should a person's civil liberties be removed simply because they have a particular genetic makeup? It is one small step away from putting people at the back of the bus due to skin colour.

And yet there is a very easy fix for this. Just require registration from those who wish to operate as an active superhuman. If you want nothing to do with any superhuman activity you should be left alone. If you want to be a hero, register. I wonder why Millar has taken this particular route with the legislation. Perhaps it is to strengthen the case against registration, because without this it would probably tip the balance in favour of registration for me.

On to the positives that tip the balance away from the mandatory registration and keep me undecided. Training, accountability and infrastructure. Training is something everyone needs for any profession. Especially for a job that will involve dead people if you fail. On the job training is just not an option in this particular case. I personally can't see a reason not to have training. It could well have prevented the massacre of school children that was the catalyst for the civil war. Accountability is also a big plus. If public property is damaged by a police officer then there are checks and balances in place to protect the public and the officer. The same system could easily be put into place for super heroes. Infrastructure is another big selling point. If training could not have saved those kids, infrastructure may have. Shield would have sent out the most appropriate super humans to apprehend the super villains, probably not the New Warriors. Even if they did send the New Warriors, it probably would not be on their own.

Now for the issue itself. It is well written. Very well written. Mark Millar really is a master of his craft. He writes and sets up his scenes very well. His dialogue is natural and manages to move the story without resorting to exposition. The best thing that Millar does though is hit the right notes at the right time. First we get the setup. The New Warriors are not portrayed as profesional heroes. They are shown as TV stars first and heroes second. I know that they were originally taking part in the reality TV to finance their heroing, but that is certainly not how they were shown. It is a nice little comment on society. People want to be a TV star more than they want to do the right thing. If they overlap then that is great, but the clear implication is that Speedball, repeating his lines for the sound engineer, is mostly concerned with image. Welcome to the twentieth century. Image is everything, and we can all see how that ends.

Following on is Tony Stark's emotional arc. Tony sees the misery first hand. He sees what it is that these image obsessed super heroes, who don't have training, have caused. Who could honestly say, that when confronted with a mother who has lost a child to super hero incompetence, they would not be moved? Who can say that seeing a mother burying their child would not spark sympathy? I can't. Neither can Tony it turns out. But that is to be expected, because as she so rightfully points out, some of that blood is on his hands. It is little surprise that Tony takes up the pro-registration position with enough vigor that he would be willing to go to war with other heroes.

Next we follow the public. They aren't happy either, and Millar picks a very good target for their anger. The poster boy of acting before thinking and also one of the most experienced heroes running around. In spite of that though, you would have to go a long way to find a hero more loved than the Human Torch. To show exactly how far turned around public perception is you have to take it to a popular figure. It was a very nice set piece, that Johnny took the brunt of.

So now we have seen the setup, the pro-registration and the public. Who else next but the heroes. Their meeting in the Baxter Building is the first chink in the armour of this issue. It just isn't handled very well. It is a very rare thing indeed that a conversation involving over a dozen people has any result. This whole scene would have been better served as perhaps a montage of several conversations. It would have been more personal and more directed. We could still have seen everyone's point of view without the mess. One reason for the conversation to have occurred with everyone may have been some foreboding with "Daredevil". Rolling a coin through his fingers is not a usual Daredevil shtick. It may just be a point that without registration anyone could be under the mask, but it may be more than that, or it may be nothing.

So now the only side we haven't really seen is the anti-registration. The scene with Cap and Commander Hill will be one of the ones that will stick out the most once Civil War is finished. If she wasn't such a sanctimonious blow hard, perhaps things would have gone another way. As it is, she simply illustrated as clearly as possible all the reasons against registration in a few pages. Quite a talent. The bill hadn't even passed and she was already treating Cap like a legally bound asset. This didn't make him happy, nor I. But then I saw Cap go postal on Shield, and I was happy again. I haven't seen a Cap action sequence that much fun in years. I started reading this comic undecided, saw Tony Stark feel a mothers pain, decided registration was necessary, saw Commander Hill treat Cap as an object and went back to being undecided. That is good writing.

Now I have harped on about the writing, and rightly so, but the unsung hero of this issue is the colorist. McNiven's art is beautifully cinematic. Whenever possible his panels are widescreen from one side of the page to the other. But they would have so much less impact if it was not for the colouring. It really is a work of art in symbolism. The issue starts with a bright day. Clear, crisp and full of promise. Then it all goes pear shaped. The clean up of the school happens with a blood red sunset. It sets the mood in a way that no words ever could. The issue progresses with the sun setting. Both literally and on the Marvel universe as we once knew it. All the way up to Captain America's getaway. That is the end of it. What time is it in the very next scene? you guessed it, night time. It is too late, the day has ended and it is done. Then, for the last two pages, the day is new and the world is bright again. What will this brand new day bring to the Marvel universe? I can't wait to see.

The List for 1st March 2006

2006-05-06T14:21:00.000+08:00

Here it is. My first list for the comics released on the 1st March 2006.

10. Uncanny X-men #470 C-
9. Marvel team-Up #18 C+
8. JSA #83 C+
7. I Heart Marvel: MI B
6.Ms Marvel #1 B
5. Infinte Crisis #5 B
4. nextwave #2 B+
3. Detective #817 B+
2. Aquaman #40 A
1. Superman #650 A

Ta-daaaa. Wow. 4 out of 5 of the top 5 were DC titles. Geez - I guess OYL worked on this Marvel Zombie then. I really enjoyed Aquaman, Superman and Detective. All really good comics. Nextwave was fun and weird and yep, I enjoyed it more than I did IC.

SO there we are - the Inaugural list - I can't wait until June when I've caught up and everyone can contribute.

First week of March Part 3.

2006-05-06T14:20:00.000+08:00

Just finished off the first week of March – just going through these quickly.

Uncanny X-men #470 – Meh. I’ve been enjoying the last several issues of UXM but this issue was dull – total filler. I can’t express how much I HATE the writing for the trade, multipart storylines. Nothing substantial happened. Poop. Plus I can’t say I love Billy Tan.

Infinite Crisis #5 – I feel like I’m missing something here whenever I listen to the CGS crew rave about it. Totally does nothing for me whatsoever. Nothing. So a big Meh from me.

Marvel team-Up #18 – One of my favourite comics normally. This issue though was another victim of the multipart storyline. It really wasn’t necessary – it was practically all epilogue. A disappointment from Kirkman. LOVE LOVE LOVE Paco Medina though.

I Heart marvel: Masked Intentions – Got this for my guy Speedball and also Medina’s artwork (again! He’s everywhere!). Enjoyed the first story – the second featuring Justice and Firestar was less fun. As a fan of those characters can’t say I was too pleased with that story. I also normally like Mike Norton’s art but it looked a bit off here I thought. Maybe it was the inking? Anyway – a fun comic but one I probably wouldn’t buy if I weren’t going through Mail-order.

New Excalibur #5 – Well that’s it. It was ok. But if I don’t sit back afterwards and think, “Wow, I’m glad I bought that comic” then I shouldn’t’ be buying it. I don’t have any attachment to the characters and while I enjoyed the first 3 issues something’s gotta give somewhere..might buy it in trade if it continues (which frankly, I don’t see it doing). Really missed Michael Ryan on this issue.

Star Wars: Return of Tag and Bink – Hmmn. Well – I think I over anticipated this – it was fun but not really the laugh fest I was anticipating – I love the concept and really liked the art though but felt it was a missed opportunity. There were some really cool parts but they were few and far between..

Smax and Pog #4 - All-Star Batman And Robin The Boy Wonder

2006-05-06T14:06:00.000+08:00

Anyone know how to make these bigger so you guys dont have to click on them to read? Until then - click to read.

Smax And Pog #3 - Onslaught Returns

2006-05-06T14:00:00.000+08:00

Fantastic Four 537

2006-05-05T23:21:00.000+08:00

Hi, I'm Gary, sometimes I go by the name of Dingo.
I will be helping out Mike and Jess, or Smax and Pog, depending how you look at it, with occasional reviews of comics.

So here we go...

Abandon hope all ye who enter, for spoilers lie ahead...

Fantastic Four 537

Joe Michael Straczynski, from here on in referred to as JMS, is 80% of a good Fantastic Four writer. There are five tests of a Fantastic Four writer. He passes on Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny with flying colours. He 'gets' what makes them all tick and manages to present them all well. His failing point is Doom. He just hasn't seemed able to get Doom's voice right. This isn't particularly suprising. Not many writers get Doom right. Stan Lee did, John Byrne did and Walt Simonson did. To my money though, just about everyone else has been close but no cigar. They probably have a support group or something, "writers who can't write Doom". It may not be surprising, but it is certainly very disappointing. I had such high hopes for JMS too.

So where doesn't he get it? Simple. Doom admits he is wrong. That never happens. Not ever. Never. And certainly not so openly as he does in this issue.

It all starts with Doom in hell, where we last left him. Apparently Ragnarok, the nordic version of Armageddon, has breached the dimension of hell. This little trespass is all Doom needs to ensure his own escape. This is a very convenient way to get Doom out of hell and connect it with Thor, which was probably editorially mandated, but it was also lazy writing. It is not like there isn't ample precedent for Doom to have prepared a contingency plan for being trapped in hell. Any man that has his own vital signs monitored so that a small child can be reprogrammed with his mind in the event of his death, is going to have contingency plans up the Yingyang. I mean, think about it, he was entering into a bargain with some demons. You can practically rely on a demon to double cross you. They are proverbial for it. And you don't think Doom would have a half dozen contingency plans for when (not if, when) they turned on him? Please.

So Doom get his nice bit of unnecessary serendipity, and then decides to go home for a bath before going and finding Mjolnir. It doesn't seem right to me, but I grant it is not necessarily out of character. For some reason Doom keeps referring to it as Thor's hammer, which is annoying since when written well, Doom will never use a small word when a big one will do. He is a bit like Reed in that respect. Once Doom reaches Mjolnir, he can't pick it up. Now if you have seen the cover to Fantastic Four 537, you would know it shows Doom clearly weilding Mjolnir with the FF taking a nap on the floor around him. I don't know who to blame for this: the artist, the writer or the editors, but it is very annoying. My favorite type of comic cover is a cover that depicts a scene from the comic, next comes S.A.L.T. covers (standing around looking tough), then strange covers with artistic merit but no connection to the comic, then damaged comics with no cover, then comes misleading covers. Why do it? It serves no purpose other than to provide conversational fodder for internet fans.

So Doom can't lift Mjolnir, in spite of the cover, so what does he do? Says he was wrong and goes home. That is not the Doom I grew up with. Oh well. Better luck next writer.

A handful of comics from the First week of March Part 2

2006-05-04T13:33:00.000+08:00

Gah. Hard to read comics with a 2 day old baby around ;) So I'm going to be a bit between. I did manage to read a few in the last 5 days though.

JSA #82 - OYL. Meh. Totally average in my min d- i really love the Perez cover but the story is just so old. Details each character running into a ghost and the at the end they all find out that the same things happenned to each of them and the big main ghost encounters them. Meh. Totally average. And ive just got done reading JSA V2 which i loved so i do like the group.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40 OYL- Really liked it. Needed to read it a few times to absorb it properly but i really really enjoyed it. I have seen better art from Guice but the mood was fantastic. Now, I actually like Aquman normally as well but I don't have as much a commitment or history with the character as others have so I'm happy to see where they're going with this.

X-Factor #4 - Hmmn. hmmnnn.... Ok. I'm a huge Peter David fan - and I've enjoyed the series so far. Really. But something didnt click with me on this one - I'm missing Sook already (even though he did half the art on this issue) btw. I'm assuming it's because I really couldn't remember most of what happened previous and this was really a conlcusion to the first three issues and this, combined with the fact that I read it when i returned from the hospital after no sleep and post childbirth trauma in my brain, leads me to assume that its my fault that it didnt click and not the book.
Wow. That was an awkward sentence.

Still got a few books left from this week - I'll try and have them read soon..

Comics for May 3rd. Votes and stuff

2006-05-04T13:20:00.000+08:00

1. I won't be particpating in voting for my fave books of this week cos i won't have them for another 6 weeks. Poop.
2. I won't really be asking anyone else to either as i haven't officially unveiled the site anywhere yet.
3. So I don't know why I'm typing this..ah well.

The comics I will be getting from this week include;
Action comics #838
Detective #819
Infinite crisis #7
Civil War #1 (yeah, baby!)
Annihilation: Silver Surfer #2
FN S-man #8
Marvel Team-Up #20

And I think I'll be definitely reading Civil War first! In fact I think I may even buy it from my local store rather than wait 6-8 weeks.

What's on your buying list? What will you be reading first?

A handful of comics from the First week of March

2006-04-30T12:51:00.000+08:00

Some quick points about the comics released in the first week of March (don’t worry – I’ll be getting my comics on date by June). Note that I’m talking about comics that are 2 months old by now so spoilers will apply;

Nextwave #2 – Nooo! Fing Fang Foom! That’s a bit harsh – he threw up his heart? Now I missed the first issue of this but granted I was quite able to pick up what was going on. Certainly unique and has a different slant that’s for sure. I’m always trying to decide whether to stick with buying issues or just get a title in trade from now on – (I prefer reading comics over trades BUT if I buy a trade its about 2-3$ an issue rather than 5$) – and this is on the maybe pile.

Superman #650 – This was great! Granted there was no Superman appearance and also considering that I haven’t read a Superman title since they had the numbered triangles on the front cover I’m surprised I liked it so much. The art by Woods was fantastic. I still intend to go back and get some of his Catwoman issues where I first discovered him. I’m particularly fascinated how he doesn’t seem to rule lines – instead drawing everything by freehand. Have a look at the cityscapes, particularly that page shot of the street (or whatever it was called) – everything’s drawn freely – it’s a great look.
And the comic took more than 10 minutes to read which always makes my heart happy. Intriguing too – I’m a big fan of Busieks so I’m definitely sticking around for this 8 part storyline.

Ms Marvel #1 - Interesting. I really don’t know much of my Carol Danvers history and I can’t say I liked the art a whole lot (it’s nice – don’t get me wrong) but I like the general concept, he motivation behind the character. The interactions with Jessica Drew didn’t work for me what with all the ‘hahahah’’s thrown in there and such.. (Plus Jessica smoking! How did that squeeze past Joey Q!)
But overall – it was a good sold comic and definitely has me interested in he character. I think I have the next few ordered, and we’ll have to see from there.

Detective #817 – Now I skimmed this back in March so it lost a little of the impact for me this time around (mental note- stop skimming damn comics) and I was able to see some of the weaknesses a bit clearer having gotten over the utter coolness of the REAL Batman being back. I loved all that stuff – it was great – but the whole comic was just an establishing shot practically and didn’t really work as a complete comic. Now, I KNOW people write for trades these days but I still believe an individual issue should have more substance to them than this. But I am conflicted cos there was so much cool stuff in there. Sigh.

I ended up with about 16 comics this week and I don’t intend to give a detailed rundown like this on all of them but I wll put up a few comments again later in the week.

So Whats this about voting then?

2006-04-30T11:42:00.000+08:00

Part of the purpose of this comic blog is so i get to play with more stats :)
What i intend to do every week is to get everybody to leave a comment listing the comics they bought that week in the order of worst to best. From these lists I can make an 'official' :) Top comics of the week each and every week. No sure if i should bother with a monthly listing but hey, we'll work it out as we go along yes?

Pinching this from the Comic Geek Speak forum but hey, we'll also list a 'Top of the Pile' each week - this is your most aniticpated comic - the one that you almost caused a freeway pile up on the way home cos you couldn't wait to read it. I WAS toying with the idea of listing Best and Worst of the Week but the ordered list should sort that out for us.

So thats the plan; unfortunately I wont be able to participate until the first week of June but I may not get this site properly up and running before then anyway.

This is all still subject to change and we'll tinker with it as it goes. Hopefully we can get a wide community voting as well (not just all Marvel guys) and get a decent look at what people are liking.

Smax And Pog #2 - Frank Miller

2006-04-29T17:36:00.000+08:00

Smax And Pog #2
To begin with before the Blog is launched, I'm going to be uploading sthe strips done already. Im a bit concerned about the format of Blogger as I'm no sure if i want to force people to click on the strip to actually read it. People don't like clicking if they can get away with it.
As for the strip itself, i find I'm a big Frank Miller detractor (yes, i'm the one) but i haven't actually read anything he's done. To be fair, I have no interest in reading material like Sin City as it's not my genre but still.)

And I LIKED the issues with DD's armour..McDaniel rules (or ruled) - that was the artist right?

Smax And Pog Super Happy Fun Time!

2006-04-27T13:38:00.000+08:00

A.k.a. The Smax and Pog Show.
Welcome! Yes..i know, yet ANOTHER comic review blog? Hey, I read them all so i figure i should input my own thoughts. BUt the twist with this blog is that it'll be the home of The Smax and Pog Super Happy Fun Time - a comic strip which will be (in sentiment at least) to the comic industry as Penny Arcade is to the Game industry. Without the money.
Probably.

Some of you may have come across from Year One. A comic strip I started just over a year ago featuring characters from Marvel comics shrunk down and all stuck in the same school in first grade. Don't worry Jess (my esteemed co(not so much with the 'co' though at the moment.)-writer ) and I arent leaving that any time soon - but we've decided we havent got enough to do so when I came to Jess with this idea he jumped at the chance.

While I'll be solely responsible for Smax and Pog, Jess will definitely be posting to the Blog (Yep, its 2 More Guys Buying Comics) and I'm sure I'll talk him into writing some of the SAP strips - I might even be able to convince him to draw a few...

I'll probably be posting a strip 3 times a week - we'll have to see how things are going (as i write this my wife is a week overdue with our second child and i really have more things to worry about than starting up a new project) - but the strips certainly won't be coming for another few weeks until things are a bit more stable.

So what else do we have here besides the strip? Well we intend to be a review site predominantly. I actually rate all my comics so I can generate my own top 5 rankings etc, and I thought it'd be kinda cool to see if we can get a community ranking each week and month. I love the statistics and analysis side of comics as well and I know we have a dedicated group of posters over at Year One so i hope we can get something generated over here in that regard.

But more on that later - this is really just a placeholder so I can tinker with the site etc..

See you all soon for the official launch.
(i was toying with Jess and I posting as either Smax or Pog - not yet sure if i want to do that but if we do Jess can be Smax....)

Mike (Pog)