Covid-19 Days – 29

broderic on April 11, 2020

Saw this over at Kottke’s. It’s a comic on how using contact tracing would help solve the infection issue so that we can go about our normal lives if and when that day comes. Also, a way to do it with privacy concerns at the forefront. Let’s hope this works.

Contact Tracing

Bookstore Haul: Vol 14 The Graphic Novel

broderic on November 6, 2016

Before each and every “Bookstore Haul” post, I put some preliminary sentences trying to sum up something I thought of as I browsed the aisles. This is one such sentence.

In reality, I don’t know what I am going to say about the group of books I bought this past trip. Yes, they are comics. I’m hoping that the blue monday one is also a slice of life comic. The Bride’s Story is sort of. It’s really good. I’m hoping that blue monday is as well.

This is a sentence to end this segment. Bye bye!

blue monday volume 1 by Chynna Clugston Flores
Bride’s Story by Kaoru Mori

X-Men: Days of Future Past

broderic on June 7, 2014

In the X-Men movie universe, they never had the Dark Phoenix Saga. Therefore without Jean Grey, there is no Rachel Summers. Without her and her telekinetic powers in the X-Men movie universe, the filmmakers of X-Men: Days of Future Past substitute Kitty Pryde as the mutant to send Wolverine back in time.

Right there is all that’s wrong with the X-Men movie universe. No Dark Phoenix, Wolverine as the main protagonist of Days of Future Past, Kitty Pryde having some kind of weird telekinetic power, Weapon X program in the 70s, Bolivar Trask as the mark, young Mystique. Just plenty of things that are not like the comic I know.

The only hope I had for the movie was seeing Jean Grey alive again. And Cyclops! But I was secretly hoping for Madelyne Pryor and sometime later — Inferno!

3 of 5 stars.

Link of the Day [4.30.14]

broderic on April 30, 2014

I'm a Cyclops fan myself, and reading this piece in Grantland expands on why he's the quintessential x-man. Plus it's a funny read if you know his history. I especially like the author's take on the Jean Grey/Madelyne Pryor/Emma Frost thing. I, for one, think that the Cyclops wedding arc and the Inferno arc are some of the best issues of Uncanny X-Men. And don't forget about Joss Whedon's take on Cyclops in Astonishing X-Men, which made him almost likeable. Perhaps in another "Link of the Day," I'll link the author's choice of the wors x-man ever. He hit it right on the nose with that as well, mon Cherie.

http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/difficult-x-men-a-defense-of-cyclops/

“Okay, who did I hire as news director here?”

broderic on September 14, 2013

Wired commemorates 50 years of X-Men by offering up 10 essential X-Men story lines. The usual suspects are there, Giant Size X-Men #1, Days of Future Past, The Dark Phoenix Saga, as well as mid 90s comic desolation crossovers and latter day reboots. They’ve hit a good set of stories and arcs to give an overview of the who, what, and why of the X-Men. But like all lists that try to categorize something I have more than a passing knowledge of, it’s missing a few arcs that I would deem essential.

I’ve been an X-Men fan since I started reading comics. I am still picking up the latest issues even when I have no idea what is going on. Now, I’m not familiar with the mid and late 90s X-Men, but I want to add to that list.

I would add a few of the first issues: The X-Men #1-3. I own a copy of #3 with the Blob as the villain. Any list about the X-Men should include the origin stories!

I would add the run of classic Chris Claremont from the mid-80s. These were the stories I grew up on. I would start with the Shi’ar/Brood arc (#155) and run through the Wolverine/Mariko wedding in Japan (#174). That’s at least twenty issues of Claremont. It’s not leaning on John Byrne, but Claremont on his own.

I would add the Fall of the Mutants arc. The story line I came back to reading the X-Men after a couple years off.

I would add Inferno because that was the last meaningful arc I read.

I have yet to catch up to all the X-Men comics. There’s been a lot that happened to them. I should try to catch up on some kind of wiki.

The Avengers

broderic on May 14, 2012

Joss Whedon wrote one of my favorite X-Men arcs, the first twenty-four issues of Astonishing X-Men including its Giant Sized Annual. In it, he resurrects Colossus, makes Kitty Pryde into a Buffy clone, and furthers Emma Frost ambition to be the hottest mutant alive. It’s one helluva run on an X-Men book that rivals any of the Claremont/Byrne stories. Whedon forged a team from Cyclops, Emma Frost, Colossus, Wolverine, Kitty Pryde, and the Beast even though they battled each other throughout. Then he threw in an alien invasion that had to be stopped. All this and more happened too in Whedon’s The Avengers.

What was good about Astonishing X-Men is that he added tons of action to the team and gave them a purpose. He changed their dour whining into something heroic. He made them heroes that would give all they can to save the world. He did it too with the Avengers.

They wrap up the Avengers in a great way bringing everything and everyone together from their individual movies. You’ve got Iron Man and his brashness, Captain America and his patriotism, Hawkeye and Black Widow and Thor. Then you have the Hulk. HULK SMASH!

It was great seeing Thor versus the Hulk. The two most powerful superheroes in the Marvel universe. They were beating each other up! And just like in Astonishing X-Men, they had to forge themselves into a team to defeat an alien invasion. And they did. And they were still a fun thing to watch.

4 of 5 stars.