Sometimes the movie gods give you something tailor-made for you. Sure, critics might say it’s garbage and maybe even a few trusted friends gave it shit, but sure enough once in a while you get a movie that just hits you the right way. For me, that was Ted 2. I was expecting a dropoff from the first one, as it really boggles the mind how you can continue to make a talking teddy bear funny, but sure enough Seth MacFarlane finds a way with this flick. Honestly, the flick is as funny as the first one was, which for me was pretty damn funny. Also, it helps that Tom Brady makes an appearance, so there’s that. I will say this now though, if there is a Ted 3, and if it delivers on this same level, I will gladly proclaim Ted as the go-to comedy trilogy in terms of consistency. This is a strong 7/10 for me.
Guys, Jim Law was right! Inside Out is a return to form for Pixar and gives you all the things classic Pixar films have (and the recent turds of Cars 2 and Brave lacked). The extreme optimism of Amy Poehler’s Joy played against Phyllis Smith’s Sadness is what drives the film and, honestly, makes it one of Pixar’s best. It’s difficult for me to see anything topping the Toy Story trilogy but Inside Out marks a return to grace for Pixar, if only for the brilliant cat scene over the end credits (funniest moment in the entire movie). 9/10, easy.
While Ted 2 was a pleasant surprise, I have to admit True Detective was an unwelcome one. I didn’t expect the season opener to be so convoluted and depressing but I guess that’s probably due to the fact that season 1 must have been lightning in a bottle. I’m two episodes in, and despite an intriguing ending to the second episode I’m not sure I’ll be sticking around for this one. It’s just way too bleak and unrealistic for me, and cheesy for all the wrong reasons. I know the boys harped on some of my feelings in the Binge Cast but I have to say that Vince Vaughn’s character especially is grating to me. I’m no Vince Vaughn fan but here he comes across as snooty and false-badass, two things I don’t want to try and see that mongoloid trying to ape. Truly a disappointment, here’s hoping I make it through episode 3.
Finally, we have Batman Arkham Knight. Despite the technical issues of my PC copy of the game, once I got the game to a playable state this has turned out to be a great Batman story full of unique storytelling techniques and a few interesting plot turns. While the mystery of the Arkham Knight becomes painfully obvious at one point the game still intrigues with an unmentioned and hidden storytelling device in the game. I was worried a Joker-less Batman game would diminish this entry but I’m happy to say the writers found a unique way to keep you vested in the story, and in terms of Batman tales this is one of the more compelling ones. I’m almost through the main story so I’ll have a more detailed review on the next Binge GamerCast, but for now trust me when I say that as a Batman fan this game is meeting my expectations.
That’s it for this week but keep an eye out for our daily content as well as a new Binge SportsCast, Binge GamerCast next week and our special Binge MusicCast featuring Elton John. Binge On!
It’s been awhile since I read it, but I forget to review it here at Binge and it was worthy of mentioning. It’s ultimately nothing most of us haven’t seen before, since it serves to retell the origins of DC’s best and brightest. However, I did like reading through and seeing it redone with new art and in the new style of the New 52 books. We all mostly know the origins of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc., but it’s kind of neat to go back every once awhile and reread them to get a feel for the origin again. I read so many comics, that the origins rarely go away for me, but I thought this was a neat little book that gives each character their time to shine for a few pages. This volume only contains 4 issues, each of which are split up to tell the origins of a couple of characters, so it’s a pretty breezy read. Anything that’s easy to pick up and look at will always get a good review for me, but I felt that as unnecessary as this book was, it was fun to read. I’d be interested to see if they continued the series and told the origins of other DC characters that people are less familiar with. I’ll admit that there were a few contained within this book that I did not know, but at least had some semblance of where the story was coming from. I’d recommend this book if you’re looking for a quick DC read, or want a book that is self-contained and has the majority of the popular origin stories within.
The other book I had this week was the first book in the Marvel NOW! series for Cyclops. Yes, Cyclops has his own book. At first, I was hesitant, because Cyclops normally is not a character that stands on his own. He stands on his own ground and principles, all of the time, but rarely do we see Cyclops from the beginning or on his own. In this first volume titled Starstruck, we get to see the origins of Cyclops and where he came from. The book focuses on his relationship with his father, and how his father utilized his abilities for his personal gains. It was sort of an odd book because on one hand, it seemed like they were really going out of their way to highlight his relationship with his father for some reason. Then on the other hand, his dad really didn’t seem like that great of a person, or interesting, and you just wanted to see Cyclops break out and go on his way to X-Men stuff. Of course, Cyclops in this book knows that his future holds many opportunities, heartbreaks, and rewarding experiences, but instead of chasing them he wants to be with his father. It was odd considering I read this after Father’s Day, so maybe that’s why it was a little strange to me story wise. But for the most part, it was a readable book. I’m not usually one to go crazy about any Marvel NOW! title other than Deadpool, but I’d give this a shot if you’re a fan of the character. Just don’t go in expecting a whole lot of the Cyclops you know, because instead you will read about a boy who is truly obsessed with his father and wants everything but to be the person he becomes.
Football PSI, Cobain: Montage of Heck and The Superhero Bubble
Timing is everything, and as I write this article news is breaking of the punishment for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots regarding the football PSI scandal (I’m done using “-gate” terms for this shit, it’s annoying). You guys know me, I’m a die-hard Pats fan and I have no shame in admitting I have issues with how this entire debacle came together, was propagated by the media and continues to leave Patriots-haters salty. Look, human beings make mistakes. If there truly was evidence found implicating Brady and the team in some sort of wrongdoing, I’d walk away, angrily, but I’d get on with my life. Because of what was found in the Wells Report and the media’s reaction to and reporting of the findings, this is a sad day for the Patriots and the NFL. The message that was sent with this ruling was clear; wife-beaters, child abusers and possible murderers are a-ok, but if you may be “generally aware” of a ball being deflated, you have committed crimes against football and you must be tarred, feathered and shamed in public.
If you’re someone who Brady has repeatedly spanked over the years and you don’t like the guy, that’s fine. You have that right, and frankly if I didn’t have Brady as my QB I’d probably hate the guy too. The problem with this ruling is the precedent for rules and guidelines in the NFL does not exist, and furthermore isn’t clear. Why is this important? Because it now says that without any good reason if tomorrow Odell Beckham Jr. is found to have used deer antler spray on his inner thigh that contains an illegal substance the league has deemed unuseable the commissioner can have his first-born and enact Prima Noctra. It’s bullshit, and while you non-Pats fans may be happy that you won’t have to deal with Brady for potentially a quarter of next season, you should all be just as pissed as I am. The PSI rule being broken carries a $25,000 fine with it, which for some reason is being overlooked in this case. Whatever, I can’t go on about it any further, but I will say this here and now: next season is tainted. Whoever gets the Lombardi (and I include the Patriots in this) needs to have an asterisk next to their title, standing for the non-Brady handicap. Fuck Goodell. #FreeTomBrady.
So much piss and vinegar this week! It has a lot to do with the fact that moments before I read my special boy Brady is suspended that I saw Cobain: Montage of Heck, the documentary about Kurt Cobain’s life. While I found the documentary to be understandably one-sided and curiously absent of any interview with Dave Grohl it was still affecting and disturbing. Kurt was clearly a broken individual with a tough background, but at times the documentary seems to be using that as an excuse for how he treated others and, ultimately, what led to his suicide. Still though, I can’t help but find the documentary to paint a pretty vivid picture of the type of person he was, while maybe ignoring some of the more unsympathetic aspects of who he was. 8/10 all day.
Finally, I, like many of the people on this planet, got to see Avengers: Age of Ultron, and like many I felt a little underwhelmed by the film. I’ve grown up in the golden age of the superhero. I never read most of these comics but with the first two Spider-Man films, the first two X-Men films and Nolan’s Batman trilogy I have become a huge fan of these cinema landscapes. It was a given that I’d like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and at this point these films have a certain level of quality to them that sticks the landing every time. As a non-comic book reader, I can’t appreciate Vision embracing Scarlett Witch on screen the way some others can, but I do appreciate the fuck out of my boy Paul Bettany getting to beat some ass on-screen. What I’m getting at with all of this is that we are very spoiled right now. If you like superhero stories, you’re getting at least one good one a year for the foreseeable future. The bubble, however, is about ready to burst, and while I think I’m in for the long haul on most of these even I can see where in the wrong hands these stories can start to fall apart. Ultron felt like the lead-up to another Marvel film rather than a story on its own merits, which was disappointing. The first Avengers had finality to it. By the end of that film, all the characters went on a certain journey and concluded that adventure in a satisfying way, with some laughs, serious thrills and enough strands of future stories that setting up the next few films didn’t seem like a gimmick. Ultron was too full of gimmick for me. Why bring in Andy Serkis for two scenes? So he can have his arm ripped off and set up Black Panther. Tony Stark wasn’t held accountable for creating Ultron in this film? That’s just so he and the Cap have something to fight over in Civil War. There’s a lot of intentional story-threading here and it’s a little disappointing that there was so much intent put on that rather than just making this story work well. All that being said, I still enjoyed the movie as entertainment, it just didn’t have the resonance the first one had with me. Still though, I’ll go 8/10 just because Paul Bettany is my boy. How much longer will these films be good? That remains to be seen.
One last time: fuck Roger Goodell. I will be protesting this ruling in my own special way, so stay tuned for that, but as always, Binge On!
TV Round Up, GTA Online, Leto-Joker and Summer Music
I’ll admit it guys, last week I was very light on the content and that Kubrick documentary was a late-game Hail Mary pass. Hopefully some of you found it enjoyable, as I, being the fan of Kubrick that I am, absolutely did. However, you wanted more content, well you’re getting it this week…
Louie season 5 is picking up exactly where last season left off, providing us with the laughs and life-lessons that have pervaded throughout the show (even if we have no idea where those lessons are coming from). The first episode hooked me right away by diving back into Louie’s world as a dad/comic just trying to get by. I’ve always found it absolutely hilarious the way in which Louie weaves stories about his life into these absurdist tales about his place in the grand scheme of things. I’ve always felt like this show is heavily influenced by David Lynch, and the cult dinner party scene is straight out of Lost Highway. But, as this show always does, it has taken us through a complex range of emotions, from the absurdity of the surrogate mother’s depression to the hilarity of Louie not being able to hold in a shit while shopping with his daughters to the touching third episode with a really great Michael Rappoport (an actor I usually hate) giving the performance of his career in the span of twenty minutes. Honestly, hats off to that guy and the way in which he characterizes Louie’s old not-friend Lenny because we all know that type of hopeless asshole. If you aren’t watching Louie, simply put, you’re doing it wrong.
On this week’s BingeCast, it seemed like the guys were pretty lukewarm on the second season of Silicon Valley, and I totally get where they’re coming from. Yeah, the story is pretty simple and seems to hover around the same themes, and it’s relatively unclear what the ultimate endgame is for these characters, but after watching these first two episodes I’m just in. Admittedly, the absence of Peter Gregory is a shame seeing as he was by far the best character on the program. Despite all of that, I love this show. It’s not the funniest show I’ve seen, and it’s not doing anything shows like Entourage or The League have done better, but there’s a heart to the proceedings in this show that I don’t typically see in other programs. I know this is a show that at its core spent an entire season setting up one of the greatest dick jokes in history but I just get this show in a way I don’t with most others. While Office Space is the anthem of middle-American cubicle dwellers, Silicon Valley is a testament to what the country thinks Mark Zuckerburg must have been like, sans The Social Network. I’m loving Silicon Valley and look forward to seeing it through to at least the end of this season.
Guys, GTA Online is in full swing. Aren’t you playing? You should be. While I haven’t been into the GTA Online aspect of the game at all, with the inclusion of the heists it’s finally, in my mind, playable. Before the heists, grinding for money was a chore that took FOR-EVER. Now, you can complete a heist and net a minimum of $100000 on the reg. The disadvantage to this, to anyone who has played them, is the connectivity to the heists themselves. They tend to be a real hassle because of the trial and error involved in the more advanced ones. For instance, the second heist finale involves a prison break. One guy drives a prison bus, one guy is a fake inmate, one guy flies the getaway plane and dodges missiles from the military jets and one guy pilots a helicopter to attach the jets and try to save the getaway plane. If that all sounds complex, it is. It’s also the most frustrating aspect of the game. I played that mission nine times before completing it and with a multitude of different combinations of people. While the chaos of the heists makes the thrill of completing one that much better, it is difficult to get a competent team together to do so. This online aspect of GTA V is an evolving thing and I’m sure it will only improve going forward.
While Nick covered some of my thoughts on the Leto-Joker image, I wanted to chime in on it as well. While I know Nick “McPickle” Spears is a fan of the design, I’m not as enthusiastic. I like the physicality and color scheme as well as the fucked-up teeth, but if those tattoos are staying I’m not into that. At this point, I think someone involved with the production said this is not Joker’s final look, but that “Damaged” line on his forehead is incredibly douche-chilly. I know people doubted Ledger at first but as soon as the production photos started leaking I got excited. I remember seeing Ledger dolled up as Joker for the first time and getting the sense that we were going to see something really special, and we absolutely did. Here, this feels like it needs to be workshopped a little bit further. Joker is not a sympathetic, Latin-King-esque gangbanger, which is unfortunately the exact feeling this photo gives me. Fingers crossed they patch this up and have something more grand in store for us. I know this is a lot of judgement off of one photo but I have an aversion to inked nipples on men, but maybe that’s just me.
Finally, it’s summer music time, and for me that means a whole lot of Van Halen. I notice that every year when it’s time to start rolling the windows down and let the world experience some serious tunes while cruising to/from work there are a handful of groups I always default to. Van Halen (not shitty Van Hagar) is one of them. Dance The Night Away is easily my favorite Van Halen tune and I love blaring this out at 6:30 in the morning when I roll into campus. It really gets the day started off on the right foot.
Springsteen also has a special place in my heart when the days get longer. There are few anthems that sound as powerful on a hot summer night as Badlands, or even the happy-go-lucky Waitin’ On A Sunny Day. The Boss brings it like few others do, and I love the guy for it. Of course, there’s one group that absolutely defines summer for me like no other, and that group is none other than…
…AC/DC. When I started playing guitar I got myself an Epiphone SG because I wanted to play just like Angus Young. AC/DC has been playing the same song for almost forty years but I can’t stop loving it. Their live “If You Want Blood…” album is in my top ten all-time favorites and always announces that the weather is starting to turn for me. I’ll never not love AC/DC, deal with it.
So there you are, Binge readers. I made up for last week with an overlong ode to all things I like. Is it narcissistic? Definitely, but that’s why I have this blog and you don’t. Deal with it. Check in for some GameCast, GoTCast and our daily blogs as well as Fuckin’ Bob’s week-by-week script for the upcoming DOG SPIDERS, and as always, Binge On!
At this point, I’ve waited long enough. I feel that what I need to say about Leto’s Joker and the photos that came out over the weekend, has not been said. I feel that it is my duty as a die-hard Batman fan, to drop some knowledge on all of y’all. So here goes. If you saw the pictures this weekend of Jared Leto as the Joker for the upcoming Suicide Squad film, you’re probably feeling a little down like the rest of the world. I’d like to offer you a chance to come over to the positive side, where the Joker is fine and Leto is doing a-okay with his new role. I will tell you now, that this is your last chance to get off the Leto Joker-hating bandwagon and get your shit straight. You will be severely butt-hurt come next year when Suicide Squad is still a mediocre movie, and Jared Leto’s Joker was the only thing the movie had going for it. I promise you. And if I’m wrong, then tattoo me damaged and give me my purple glove. But I’m not going to be wrong, and you’re going to be wishing studios did more with villains after you see this movie. Leto is going to nail the Joker, and I have so little confidence in anything these days, that I just know I can’t be wrong here. It amazes me to see simply how many people out there think they know Batman so well, that when they saw this they immediately had to go crazy. Some of the memes out there are pretty hysterical, I will not lie, and I totally get where people are coming from. First look at this and I would have been blown away, especially if I’d never read any Batman books in my life, because this is so off-the-wall. It does look like a sign of popular teenage culture blending into Batman, but it’s so much less than that. The confusion is real, but this Joker is not that far off anything that’s been done before. This is all a result of not being educated about your Bat-facts, and well that’s why I’m here.
First of all, who really thought that all of those tattoos were going to stay on Leto’s Joker? I mean sure, why not, because the Joker has been tattooed in the comics before. One thing I’m tired of reading is that “this is not the Joker” and then seeing a picture of Animated Series Joker as some sort of proof. The only proof these pictures provide is that you know nothing about Batman, and you’ve likely never seen a damn thing that was Batman until after Batman Begins. Animated Series Joker is definitive, yes. It is the standard to which we all hold our Jokers, because no one quite delivered the lines like Hamill. But Animated Series Joker, is not THE Joker. There are so many Jokers out there in the DC Universe. The best part about comic books is that the characters are always changing. There are new writers writing their personalities, new creators developing costumes and environments, and even artists drawing stuff differently. Yes, the artists do not draw the same shit for every book in the world that is Batman. The Joker is not Heath Ledger. The Joker is not Jack Nicholson. It’s not any of these things we love, because those were not what we loved when they were created. Before then it was Cesar Romero’s mustache or the Clown Prince’s silly antics in the gold and silver age comics. Think about people standing ground for Romero’s Joker when Nicholson was going to give it a run. See how ridiculous that sounds? That is you. You’re the guy still clamoring for Romero and that there is no room for a Joker without a mustache. Simply ludicrous.
I would like to bring up something that some have actually brought up elsewhere, and that is Frank Miller and Jim Lee’s All-Star Batman & Robin: The Boy Wonder series. In this series, for those who only read Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns and claim to be experts, there is a tattooed Joker. This Joker is quite possibly the most frightening and psychotic Joker I have ever read on paper. This guy is straight nuts. Above, I have included one of the few scenes I could find from the book that is somewhat appropriate. There are darker moments, but this was one of the better ones because it shows the difference between this Joker and Jokers previous to him. This Joker is demented. It’s not about being an anarchist, or blowing shit up. It’s not about being a bad guy, or just being Batman’s villain. This Joker seriously wants to hurt people. This Joker finds ecstasy and pure enjoyment out of hurting people. Regular people, who did nothing to deserve what they find in Joker’s grasp. This Joker is a destroyer of the human condition. This Joker, is so vile that he is inhuman. When I saw the picture of tattooed Joker Leto, my heart leapt with excitement. Because I, seemingly unlike several others, knew exactly what they were trying to say with that picture. They were trying to point to this kind of Joker. A methodical, sadistic, but controlled Joker. A Joker that at his heart, is true evil. They’re going darker and deeper, and what other way to show that than with visual cues that represent this particular “darkness”. Goth culture, tattoos, and maybe the general Avenged Sevenfold look communicate that to some, but that picture is surely not our final result. Any fool that thought the Joker would have thousands of HA’s tattooed on his biceps and a Cheshire portrait of his own mouth on his forearm is exactly that, a fool. The joke’s on you. This Joker is going to be downright insane, and hopefully incomparable in its own right with Ledger or Nicholson’s Joker. Zip it up and wait for the movie. As someone who doesn’t really need to see another Joker on screen ever, I am excited with where this one is heading regardless. Where is that exactly? New, unexplored, and really grimy territory. I promise you. I’m ready for Leto’s Joker and you should be too. HA! HA! HA!
A big surprise came across the desk this week when I was able to get a chance to read the first volume of Harley Quinn out right now from DC’s New 52. For one, I didn’t even know this book existed, so thanks to the co-worker that brought it to my attention. We all know and love Harley Quinn mostly because of her relationship with the Joker, or at least that’s where it all started. Now she’s become one of the more popular characters, to not only have a starring role in Suicide Squad, but now has her very own title. At first glance, the book kind of worries me. I really like the fact that they have a roller derby Harley on the cover, but it certainly does not scream out from the shelves on that alone. Amanda Conner is probably best known for her work on Before Watchmen and her husband Jimmy Palmiotti is a journeyman of sorts when it comes to comics, who’s been at the helm of All Star Western for over half its run. But once I cracked the cover, I was pleasantly surprised with the book. Harley Quinn not only manages to maintain her sense of humor, but the story was actually simple and decent enough to suit the clown queen of crime.
The first issue in the book is the zero issue, in which Harley breaks the fourth wall sort of like Deadpool is known to do. She addresses the crowd and collaborators on the book, and from then is drawn in several different artists’ styles. It was a really neat premise and her character makes sense in having that ability to speak to the audience or in reality. It worked really well, and the artwork is downright awesome. Harley Quinn is a character that seemingly could only be imagined so many ways, but there wasn’t one of them that disappointed, with quite a few that were actually unexpected. The rest of the book then is the next seven issues of the series chronicling Harley’s next chapter in life. Now finding herself distanced from her relationship with Joker, she is on a rampage to find herself again. She begins work again as a doctor part-time and then using the other part of her time for a roller derby team. It’s all setting for a really unique and I think good title with a female lead for New 52 and DC. Harley Quinn is almost always great no matter where she appears, but I think Conner and Palmiotti found the magic for this book and I can’t wait to read me some more.
In sticking with the ease of reading for manga titles, I decided to pick up a series that’s been sitting on the shelves at work for awhile that I’ve been meaning to check out. It’s called Lone Wolf and Cub, and I have to say it’s pretty amazing. Supposedly meticulously researched and detailed to represent a historically accurate depiction of Edo period Japan. Kazuo Koike presents an epic tale of a rogue assassin and samurai without a master who now cares for his young son. With his wife dead and false reputation lead him to a life of solidarity, where the opposition wants nothing more than to be the one standing over his dead body. I was able to read the first 4 volumes of the series, and there are several more. I plan on picking up the rest and finishing this series out. Those who dare face him know the legend of the assassin Lone Wolf and Cub, which is the name of the man solely because of his baby in tow. The artwork by Goseki Kojima is outstanding and the writing by Koike is great and minimal. The book in total tells and paints an awesome story of a lone assassin who is absolutely indestructible. He is feared by all of his enemies and rightfully so, as he shreds through bad guys with the ease of me reading the book. The power of pictures tell this story, and it is remarkable. Pick this shit up if you haven’t already, I highly recommend it.
So how about that? Fans of the Marvel cinematic universe were treated with amazing news yesterday. Spider-Man will be in the upcoming Marvel Civil War film! I just wanted to start off by saying something I don’t really see too many people touching on. I think regardless of the potential and probable benefits Sony gains from this move, there is a lot to be taken out of this huge move. The willingness to finally let go and let Marvel have one of their ultimate characters is awesome. In today’s day and age, it’s rare that any one person or group of people are capable of allowing anyone else the right to their due credit. Sony could have easily been the big brother that never let’s you play as Mario on the Nintendo, touting the red-capped master of block-knocking over the rest of the cast of characters now at your disposal, which never held quite the water. With this move of unity between studios to give fans something they’ve been clamoring for, I think pending success, you could see other studios reach out to one another in order to get movies made. Think about the potential slew of disputes you had with pairing horror characters together after the success of Freddy vs. Jason. It’s possible we could see more of that, and maybe other action heroes coming together on the big screen. It’ll be my bullshit baggage to carry if I’m wrong, but I think we could be seeing a new trend in Hollywood, and I’m excited about it.
But back to the webslinger himself, I got a chance to check out the first book in the All-New Ultimates series. It was nearly something I put back immediately once I took a look at the word on the street, but I had to give my boy Miles Morales a chance. The rest of the Ultimates included in this series were of no importance to me, and it remains that way after reading the book. This book was pretty much exactly as advertised by the readers. The story was pretty paper thin, despite being a 6-issue book with a good amount of dialogue. Basically there were some street thugs that had some issues with one of the Ultimates in the first issue, and somehow this situation repeated itself about 3 times before finally reaching an Ultimately disappointing conclusion. Probably the worst part of this book was the artwork, and I always have so much trouble bashing artwork over writing. So many people write, and so many people are awful at it. Artists are all over the place too, and so there are people that can draw, and people that can DRAW. Just thumbing through this book reveals pages upon pages of unfinished backgrounds, strange coloring, lazy panels, and no outstanding splashes of artwork. Granted, there were a couple neatly colored bright color panels when dealing with some of the zombie creatures they were fighting, but other than that the art was some of the least entertaining I’ve seen in awhile. Overall, this is not a book you should seek out, and it did not do anything for Miles Morales either.
Previously reviewed here at Binge was the fourth volume of the Batgirl comic. It was the first volume that really got me into reading the title again, and I got to the fifth volume this past week and wow. For those who were sore about Batwoman ending up the way it did like I was, need to look no further. Gail Simone has crafted one of the more excellent titles for the soon ending New 52, and worked it from the beginning to apparently finish strong. Batgirl maintained the serious tone and the darker elements to yet again bring another brilliant volume of Bat-verse comic reading. A new villain called Silver who hunts the vampires that haunt Gotham, but no one is sure exactly who these vampires are. Batgirl also has a new sort of buddy in Strix who is of the Court of Owls that was introduced to Gotham by Scott Snyder who seemingly gets mentioned in every review I ever write. Anyways, if you haven’t gotten a chance to pick this one up, I think you should. The artwork has grown and matured as the book has progressed, and the writing and set up by Simone has begun to pay off. This is one of the more excellent stories running right now in Gotham, and dare I say the second best to the undefeated champion in Batman.
A large and long awaited book for me has been Batman: Eternal. A project created in the midst of the 75th anniversary of Batman, it pledged to be an ultimate Bat story. Headed by everyone’s favorite writer, Scott Snyder, he took off with several other Bat contributors to present an epic story. What we receive, is not really at all epic. I was quite disappointed with my read through of Batman: Eternal. I was on vacation, so it may be that I was not in the mood to read, but I really never found myself captivated by anything in any of the 500-some pages in the book. It’s a hefty volume, and apparently the first one at that. What the book lacked for me was a clear, overarching storyline that developed characters and presented a great story of the Batman. The art was so-so, as several artists contributed throughout so there is no clear vision. I suppose the idea is to present Batman in all of his many forms, much like the film Batman: Gotham Knight tried to do, but it just didn’t work for me. Reviews aren’t too bad on this volume right now, so I could say it’s recommended Bat reading, but I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would be. Scott Snyder is obviously top billing, and you have several others who are worthy of the opportunity, but I can’t say that the large team working on the book probably helped them. Despite the lack of amazing in this book, I do still believe that Batman is eternal, and will live on forever. The eternal nocturnal, the Batman.
Finally, I’ve received the first volume of the second year in the Injustice: Gods Among Us comic. It was just as amazing as the first two. We find ourselves in the aftermath of Batman’s fight with Superman, and his back being broken much like is previously known with Bane. As Alfred takes care of Bruce in the Tower of Fate, Oracle and others are searching for ways to fight back against the tyrannical Superman. To avoid recovering what I’ve already applauded about this comic, I’ll point out a couple of things that I noticed from this volume. The main thing being, that as violent and hard-hitting as this book is, the violence doesn’t ever cross the line into mindless. Every action-packed frame and blood-splattering sequence has immense purpose and relevance to the story, and it really makes for some of the most meaningful action in comic books to date. Tom Taylor has truly developed an excellent story within the DC Universe, and it’s amazing to me that this comic isn’t getting more press. I also never thought about it in the previous volumes, but there has never truly been a moment where heroes fought against heroes, without being mind-controlled or tricked into doing so. This comic’s story is so powerful because Superman is choosing to be a tyrant, and he truly believes that he is doing the right thing. You may find yourself reading this book and wondering why Superman is talking to those who oppose them, and even giving some of them second chances. It’s actually because Superman is thinking clearly, or he thinks he is. He is not being mind-controlled to against Batman or others, but he rather believes that they are preventing the greater good of the people. It’s a really interesting concept that when I started to think back on it, I don’t think there’s ever truly been hero drama this escalated before, without some sort of outside interference. Also, yet again this book delivers one of the most insane moments I’ve ever read in DC, and then some. The book’s final moments take a look at Gotham, and the uprising that is bound to come against Superman’s superhuman soldiers who have now been sent to replace GCPD to clean things up. The people of Gotham are not happy, and Jim Gordon finds himself a new team of heroes to fight alongside himself and the GCPD. The insane moment is that Sinestro gets a Green Lantern in a fingerlock, and you are not going to want to miss what happens next. Go pick up some Injustice: Gods Among Us, because this comic is sizzling into 2015 and promises more intense stories.
I’ve had the pleasure of writing here at Binge Media for most of the year, and I’m honored to have people read my reviews of comic books. For years working at a library, I’ve been devouring comic after comic in search of the best in an attempt to further my knowledge of this stuff when the inevitable blockbusters come out. I would like to take a moment at the top here to thank all of you who read COMIC BINGE every week or sometime this year, and I promise an even better year in 2015. I’m really excited to have the opportunity to continue to write, and I plan to try and step my review game up for y’all. So, with that said, this week’s review was going to be for an underrated Marvel title, but I like the idea of presenting my favorite moments of 2014. I’m going to wrangle the review into this 2014 remembrance, but I felt that it would be fun to remember the things that happened this year. Without any further ado, I present to you my top 5 favorite moments in comics this year in 2014.
5. Spider-Man is no longer an old, creepy scientist with a bowl cut trapped in a young man’s body – After a year or more of having Doctor Octopus as Spider-Man, we finally saw the return of Peter Parker to the spider mantle. It was a welcome return for Mr. Parker, as Superior Spider-Man saw a serious decline in humor and general hijinx without everyone’s favorite Peter. We watched all year long as Otto creeped on Mary Jane, and had the Avengers fooled too. Eventually, Ock found his own Spider-soul and got around to doing something new and different. Superior Spider-Man was a great read at the beginning of the year, but towards the end here we saw the decline of what was once a great title. Much like the character, the plot had worn on us, and it was no longer special, or superior. The Amazing Spider-Man saw the emergence of a new Parker, and thus a new Spider-Man. 2015 has a lot of potential to be a big Spider-year for our friendly neighborhood webcrawler, and I’m interested to see where he slings himself in the comics, because we know he’s probably never going to crawl into a Marvel Studios project. Seeing Doc Ock go down in flames as Spider-Man, after such a great run, and seeing Peter rise again as the hero but now later in life and with a new setting is great to see. We all know Marvel NOW! needs a strong title to stay in competition with the excellence that is the New 52, and The Amazing Spider-Man seems poised to be that title.
4. No one who likes Hawkeye or Young Avengers knows what they’re talking about when it comes to comics or the Marvel NOW! titles – It’s a bold statement. One I’m not usually keen on making, but I feel this year has really shown what the common audience is looking for. Maybe it is just Goodreads users being mostly female, or maybe it’s just the waves of popular opinion who hop on any superhero’s junk that’s relevant. Hawkeye was the big hit with the ladies after Marvel’s The Avengers, and we all know why. But why does Renner’s sweet sweetness cause folks to read the Hawkeye book by Matt Fraction and get all fangirly over it. I don’t get it. Not a single volume of the Hawkeye comic has made me think “oh, brilliant!” or “I can’t wait until there’s another book of this”. It is like a weird hipster comic, you just read it and think “this is about a super hero? Nooooo…..”. It is like a soap opera version of a comic book, and even Days of Our Lives holds up as better plot material. There is an entire issue dedicated to “Pizza Dog” who walks around looking for pizza for 20 some pages. No dialogue. No action. Just a dog, and pictures of his thoughts in bubbles. Is that groundbreaking? Fucking Garfield talks! And I don’t really need to get started on Young Avengers. It is the very definition of gimmick, as is Avengers Arena, and both were also very highly rated titles dating back to 2013 and into 2014. People eat this garbage up, but here I am enjoying titles like Captain America, which is the Marvel NOW! book I read this week. It was the fourth volume, and not only was it good, it was the fourth good volume in a row. And this comic gets poor reviews. People don’t like it. They don’t know what they’re talking about!
3. Saga is still as weird as it was the first time around – For those who haven’t been keeping up with Saga, well I feel sorry for you. Brian K. Vaughan’s masterpiece comic dating back to 2012 is the annual all-star that has continuously racked up awards and nominations for excellent writing and artwork. From sex scenes with people that have TVs for heads, to giant hairy ballsack monsters, Saga has it all. Most of you will read this and gain no knowledge of the comic itself, if you haven’t read it, but it’s almost all too hard to explain. The base story and theme is so simple, yet the writing takes it to far better places in the beyonds of imagination. Two people from different places fall in love, and when they have a child together, they will do absolutely anything to keep it alive. The story is narrated by the child, whom we’ve only barely begun to know. The main characters’ relationship is in jeopardy, but we always know that they fight their way out of whatever odd situation they find themselves in. All the while, Vaughan continues to churn out strange bounty hunter beings and space drama on par with some of the best around. Saga will be the comic to stand the test of time for this decade. We’ll all look back in 2020 and regard Saga as one of the most fucked up, but downright entertaining rides in the comic book world. And it’s not even over yet.
2. They adapted a video game into something and it didn’t actually suck really bad – For those who have played the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, you are no stranger to the excellent DC Universe story presented within. A game based on the looks and acts of Mortal Kombat, became one of the highest selling games on consoles but in 2013 we saw a comic book of the same name begin. While again the story was great in the first volume, along with the game’s, it was the second volume of this comic compiled this year that presented one of the finest moments in DC history. As much as I don’t want to spoil anything, I just have to. It doesn’t really matter, because you’re not even going to understand how or why it happens, but it’s ridiculously awesome. Alfred Pennyworth knocks Superman out. There. Plain and simple. Without all of the background, you won’t quite know why it makes my list on some of the greatest moments of all-time. But, you will know that the image of Alfred Pennyworth knocking Superman out is excellent within itself, and the Injustice comic gives it the quality writing and meaning it needed to knock that moment out of the park. If you have yet to pick up the Injustice comic because typically video game adaptations into anything are pretty terrible, this may be the first exception to the rule. Read this series before you die.
1. The Riddler is no joker, and he can do a hell of a lot more than just annoy Batman – Zero Year has taken up the last two volumes of our beloved Scott Snyder Batman title. Post-Death of the Family, Scott Snyder went on to recreate one of the mildest but more well-known villains into an absolute tyrant and one of the biggest threats Gotham has ever seen. What starts at the end of the first volume of Zero Year, pays of the in second volume Dark City. Cast into darkness by The Riddler, Batman faces one of his biggest challenges yet. The Riddler has taken over the city, and only once per day does he give someone the chance to save themselves. They must stump The Riddler with a riddle, but if they don’t, it’s not going to end well for the challenger. Batman must find a way to take down The Riddler, but without really knowing where he even is, as he appears by jumbotron to the people every night. It sounds like a ridiculous plot, but Scott Snyder’s writing obviously takes a mediocre story into uncharted territories for the New 52 relaunched Batman title. I continue to be amazed at the work that Snyder has done with Batman in creating stories that reflect what we want to see in Batman, as evidenced by the filmmaking of Christopher Nolan. Go get your hands on the fifth volume of Batman, because who knows what is coming in 2015 for the Dark Knight.