The Dark Silliness of Fear Itself: Deadpool

The Dark Silliness of Fear Itself: Deadpool

By Neil Tomblin

Remember rapper MC Hammer? He was the rapper who always said, “It’s hammer time!” This catchphrase resurfaced in Marvel Comics’ Deadpool story arc of “Fear Itself.” “Fear Itself” was a big event that included many different books that feature various Marvel superheroes. The basis of each story deals with magical Thor-like hammers that fall to the sky and endow different Marvel characters with powers. These stories are also an analysis of current events that have brought fear to America. One of the “Fear Itself” stories that stood out for me was “Fear Itself: Deadpool.” This story arc was funny and action-packed.

One thing I kind of never understood about the Deadpool comics is all of the comedy. The name Deadpool sounds so dark and hardcore that one would think to make the Deadpool’s stories dark. Deadpool’s suit even looks hardcore. Instead of getting the ruff stories that are featured in DC Comics’ Deathstrike comic book series, we get the slapstick humor in Deapool’s stories. How does Spiderman get the dark stories, but Deadpool gets the stories that makes Deadpool look like a parody of himself? However, as I began to read more into this Deadpool story, the comedy began to grow on me.

Continue reading The Dark Silliness of Fear Itself: Deadpool

Critiquing Comics #026: “Super Haters” and our thoughts about critiquing

Super HatersDoes “giving a critique” mean “stating an opinion”? Or, as some fans of a comic we discussed a few weeks ago imply, does it demand total objectivity? Is that even possible? And, by the way, what’s the difference between a critique and a review? Tim and Mulele discuss these questions before going on to critique Super Haters by Nick Marino and Justique Woolridge.

Critique vs. Review:

#324 The Dapper Men Have No Clothes

Return of the Dapper MenReturn of the Dapper Men, by Jim McCann and Janet Lee, is a great-looking book, all cloth binding and gold foil. It has an unusual feel for a comic, being a work of decoupage. And the story… um… iFanboy book of the month, you say? Eisner Award winner, you say? Um… Tim and Brandon just ain’t seeing it. Why is it so lauded?

Also, Tim is joined by Mulele and Paul to critique a small stack of mini-comics, sent in by our friend Dale Wilson:

#323 Frank Miller’s “Daredevil”: A Scholarly Analysis Begins

DaredevilMore than 30 years ago, Frank Miller set the comics world on fire by turning Marvel’s swashbuckling Daredevil title into a noir series with ninjas. More importantly, he took a serious look at some issues of crime and punishment, and his conclusions tended to veer left politically. Fast forward to his later career, and the views he expresses would be right at home on Fox News. What happened?

Tim’s brother Paul isn’t sure he can answer that question, but he finds that early Daredevil run to still be very worthy of notice today, so much so that he’s writing a book, for an academic publisher, about it. He fills Tim and Mulele in on his thoughts as he prepares to write…

#322 Harvey Pekar’s “Cleveland”

Harvey Pekar's ClevelandHarvey Pekar’s latest (posthumously published, but perhaps not his final work) is “Cleveland”, telling the story of Pekar’s hometown and his place in it. While perhaps lacking in some of Pekar’s strong points, it’s nonetheless a compelling read. Joseph Remnant’s art is by and large a great take on Pekar’s vision. Tim and Kumar discuss.

Comics Reporter interview with Joseph Remnant

#321 Exhibition and Inspiration: Katsuhiro Ootomo

A retrospective exhibit of the art of Katsuhiro Ootomo was recently held in Tokyo. Ootomo‘s work Akira is what inspired Mulele to come to Japan and learn to draw manga, so the exhibit was a chance to soak up inspiration and reflect on his current state of affairs. Patrik W, also an Ootomo fan from way back, attended and enjoyed. For Tim, not an Ootomo reader, it was a chance to see what he’s been missing. Discussion ensues.

#320 The Nine Lives of “Elbis”

Over the years, Mulele has mentioned his Elbis project several times on the show. Created for Illustration Friday, developed for (but rejected by) Kodansha, the spiritual kittycat’s story has found a home on paper thanks to DWAP Productions. This week, Mulele explains how the project started and developed, and where he’s headed from here.

Buy “Elbis”

Then, we catch up with DWAP‘s Dale Wilson, about how he picked up Elbis, as well as his new site BuyIndieComics.com, and the state of indie comics in the States.

Review: Alan Moore’s Neonomicon

Written by Alan Moore.

Illustrated by Jacen Burrows.

Avatar Press, 2010.

This book is several things.

It is a kinky H.P. Lovecraft worshiping Cthulhu Mythos pulp story, with endless name checks.  It is a raw, meaty slab of new Alan Moore story.  It is a meta-narrative that discusses the possibilities of linguistic based psychedelic experience.  It is some high concept, dark science fiction short story.  It was a piece of work made to pay off Alan Moore’s tax bill.

In my opinion all of those statements are true.  This is an example of why Alan Moore is a master craftsman.  The panel layouts, pacing and dialogue are top notch.  Burrows’ art is excellent.  The ideas that are at work here are intellectually rewarding and inventive.  The stories mirror the Weird Tales formula that they are based on, down to the morbid endings that push the indescribable horror by just showing their effects, their aftermath. Continue reading Review: Alan Moore’s Neonomicon

Arkham City: New Takes of the Batman Characters from the Comics and Movies

I recently bought the video game Batman: Arkham City and was amazed by the content. Batman: Arkham City involves Gotham City being taken over by the villains that Batman has sent to Arkham Asylum throughout the years.  The Batman villains have taken some of the residents of Gotham City hostage and some of the Gotham City Police officers hostage.

Batman: Arkham City begins with a segment where Bruce Wayne is making a speech.  While he is speaking, Vikki Vale is shown reporting on the speech.  In the middle of Bruce Wayne’s speech, he is kidnapped by Hugo Strange’s henchmen.  Bruce Wayne is then taken to a room and tied up in a chair.  Then Hugo Strange begins to talk smack to Bruce Wayne.  From there the game starts.  When the game starts, you have to use your XBOX controller to get Bruce Wayne to escape from captivity in the chair.  The screen will give you hints on what buttons to push in order get Bruce to rock back and forth in the chair.  Rocking back and forth will get Bruce to fall and break the chair, thus escaping from captivity.  Once you get him to break out of the chair, Hugo Strange’s henchmen will start running in the room to give Bruce Wayne the beatdown.  It will be your job to fight off the henchmen.  Once you defeat the henchmen, you will have to find the rocket that Alfred will send to Bruce.  This rocket will have the Batman suit in it for Bruce to change into.  From there, you will be able to put Batman into some serious action.

What makes Batman: Arkham City so great is the fact that players of the game can choose to go anywhere they want.  Players can choose the outcome of the game by going anywhere in Arkham City.  Wherever you go in Arkham City will depend on what happens.

Each villain has their own section in Arkham City that that villain owns.  Each villain’s territory is guarded by their henchmen.  When you are far away from a villain, you will encounter thugs that have bats.  The thugs with baseball bats are easier to defeat.  However, if you get close to a villain, you will encounter henchmen with guns.  The thugs with guns are a lot more difficult to defeat.  You will have to use more of a strategy to take down thugs with guns by using smoke pellets.  Once you get Batman to use the smoke pellets, you can get Batman to hide in the smoke and capture the thugs one by one.  Doing this takes a long time to do because Batman will have to use his harpoon to hang from the top of buildings and swoop down on the gun armed thugs.  You have to wait until the right time to get each thug.

The thing that really makes Batman: Arkham City stand out is the fresh new takes on the Batman characters.  Batman: Arkham City does a good job at mixing elements from the Batman comics and all of the Batman movies.

In Batman: Arkham City, The Joker is supposed to be dying from a fatal illness.  As Batman runs through Gotham City, you will overhear people talking about The Joker dying.  There are also parts in the game where you can see the Joker’s sickly looking face.  Just like in the cartoon Batman: The Animated Series, The Joker is voiced by Mark Hamil from Star Wars.  Also, Kevin Conroy, who voiced Batman in Batman: The Animated Series, also voices Batman in the Batman: Arkham City video game.

The interesting thing about The Riddler’s voice is that it sounds just like Jim Carrey in the movie Batman Forever.  However, The Riddler is voiced by Wally Wingert, who did work on the cartoons Family Guy and The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

The Penguin is a villain that had a very good makeover in this video game.  In this game, the Penguin has an English accent.  This works considering The Penguin’s proper look.  Another makeover for The Penguin a change in his monocle.  Instead of a monocle on The Penguin’s eye, he has a piece of a broken beer bottle lodged in his eye.  Other characters featured in Batman: Arkham City are Barbara Gordon, Harley Quinn, and Bane.

If you lose at a certain level, you will hear some very harsh words from the villain who owns the territory you where in when you lost.  This will definitely motivate you to play the game over again.

All of the different elements taken from everything related to Batman makes Batman: Arkham City a great buy.  The game will have you playing for hours with riddles that you will not want to stop trying to figure out.

#319 “The Maxx”

Even amidst the anything-goes craziness of the early Image years, Sam Kieth’s The Maxx was an outlier. While it included some superhero tropes, it wasn’t really a superhero book, nor was it like much of anything else on the market, then or now. While it definitely has its weaknesses, Kumar and Dana confirm this week that it was absolutely mind-blowing…and emotionally affecting.