Although crime comics have been around since the 1940s, the noir comics genre as it presently stands has been strongly influenced by the works of Frank Miller in the 1990s, most notably in the Sin City books, The Dark Knight Returns, and Batman: Year One.
I would have to choose Daredevil: The Devil, Inside and Out, Vol. 1 written by Ed Brubaker. I had faded out from Daredevil after Miller Left and never picked it up. Until now. The bound collection stands alone as separate Daredevil tome.

Review by Mike Wilson

Since one of the topics of this blog is nostalgia and I’ve been reading comics since the late Seventies, when Heidi asked me to contribute I thought I could combine the two by writing about some classic (or not-so-classic) comics from back then.   The Seventies were an interesting time for comics; the restrictions of the Comics Code were starting to loosen and socially-conscious stories were becoming more prevalent.  But the Seventies are usually looked back on as a dark time for comics, full of heavy-handed writing, silly characters (the Hypno-Hustler, Razorback, Brother Power, Prez…do I need to go on?), and covers riddled with word balloons.  All these things are true, but looking back now, we can appreciate some of the stories FOR their silliness and unrealistic plots…kind of like how “Plan 9 From Outer Space” is now considered a “classic” movie.  Well, a lot of Seventies comics could be considered classics too, for sheer wackiness…maybe none moreso than the one I’m reviewing here, Marvel Super Special #1 starring KISS.

Yes, this is the infamous comic that had the bandmembers’ blood mixed in with the red ink before printing.  I was 5 years old when this came out and I still remember what a big stir it caused…Holy crap, there’s actual blood mixed in with the ink!  Of course, with the hype surrounding it at the time, people expected the comic to come off the shelf dripping blood all over the place; it’s a little disappointing to find out there was just a vial of blood from each bandmember and it was pretty diluted.  Oh well.  I never actually got a copy of this comic back then, so I’ve often wondered what the story was like sans the hype.  Well, I managed to find a copy (digital unfortunately, so no blood-stained hands) and read it.  Now I’ll share my thoughts on it.  There are SPOILERS AHEAD, so read at your own risk.

It starts with a few text pages talking about how the comic came about and giving a biography of Dr. Doom, who is the big bad villain of the story.  When the actual story starts, we see Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley walking down a street in Manhattan, talking about “the Man” and “toeing the line” and all those great clches about growing up.  Obviously, this story was aimed at young people, (KISS’s main audience) who always seem to  feel oppressed.  Not that the points they make about conformity and acceptance and such are wrong…but they aren’t exactly subtle.  It seems to be implied here that Paul and Gene are quite young, maybe still teenagers, but it’s explicitly stated that the setting is 1977, so the band would all be in their mid-twenties or older.  Again, probably done to appeal to the disaffected youth.

Anyway, Paul and Gene come across some freaky-looking dude (Dizzy the Hun) getting mugged by a gang of bad guys.  Dizzy (who talks like someone from the Middle Ages) throws them a box and tells them it’s their destiny.  Of course the bad guys start chasing Gene and Paul, who run to the arcade (that’s a PINBALL arcade for all you young people) where their friends Ace Frehley and Peter Criss are hanging out.  Ace’s characterization is especially interesting, since he talks like a college professor and calls everyone “Curly”.  I’m not sure how true-to-life that was back then, but I’ve read more recent interviews with Ace and he sure didn’t sound like that.  Maybe all the booze and stuff took its toll on his vocabulary.  Gene and Paul toss the box to Ace and Peter and hide in a photo booth.  But since Ace and Peter don’t know about the bad guys looking for the box, they stand there looking at it until they’re spotted.  They duck into the photo booth too, where they’re all cornered.  Ace opens the box and they find four talismans (three of which look suspiciously like KISS dolls.)  Just as the baddies are about to rush the photo booth, there is a flash of fire and they are confronted by…(you guessed it)…KISS!  Apparently the mystic talismans transformed the guys into a bad-ass band complete with face paint and leather.

The box also gave them superpowers, which they use to kick the crap out of the bad guys.  Peter has the agility of a cat, Paul can shoot an energy beam from his eye which controls people’s emotions, Gene breathes fire (of course) and Ace has a teleportation ability which is activated when he sticks out his thumb like a hitchhiker.  (For some reason, I find that last detail so cool…there are lots of people who can teleport, but only one who does it by “thumbing”!)  Anyway, they teleport away and are soon confronted by a bunch of hot gypsy women and their evil master…Dr. Doom!  He explains that the box is called the Box of  Khyscz (pronounced “kiss”…you see where this is going?)  They use their new powers to fight him and the gypsy girls (who turn out to be robots,much to Gene’s disappointment), but Doom escapes.  Ace uses his “magic thumb” to follow, but goes a liitle too far and they end up in some weird spaced-out dimension.

Back on Earth, it’s time for the superhero cameos: Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and the Defenders all make appearances.  (And Daredevil, who’s with the Defenders for some reason…I’m not sure why.)  Then there’s an interlude in the middle of the comic which includes an interview with the band, photos of their blood being taken and a really cool fake tourist ad for Latveria, Dr. Doom’s home country (The ad is for Air Latveria, who offer flights TO Latveria but none coming back…their slogan is: “We get you there…getting back is up to you!”)  After all that we get back to the story.  Gene and Paul are taken to “heaven” which turns out to be hell in disguise.  They fight Mephisto the demon and escape.  Meanwhile, Ace and Peter are in an interstellar disco where they meet a cat-lady and fight off some ruffians (no, seriously).  All of them wind up back on Earth, fight more of Doom’s robots, then are whisked off to an asteroid to confront Doom himself.  It isn’t much of a fight, and they win by appealing to Doom to remember his lost youth, which he’s tried to forget for so long.  It’s corny, but it works…he lets them go and they end up back in New York.  They’re now back to their normal selves and have to return the talismans to the box, but Dizzy (who started all this, remember?) says that the box of Khyscz will “make you kings of the nighttime world, but you must live the days…with the same courage to explore.”  So I guess this is the “secret origin” of the band, since they take the name of the box as their new identity (it’s pronounced “Kiss”, remember?).

So, is this comic worth reading?  Well, it’s not exactly great literature (and don’t get me wrong, I believe comics ARE literature), but then it probably wasn’t intended to be.  It was meant to be fun and despite all the weirdness (or maybe because of it) it is a fun read.  There are some good points at the beginning and again at the end about having the guts to go for your dreams and not falling into conformity just because it’s expected of you.  But don’t worry, it’s not a preachy comic; it just makes some interesting observations.  If you remember the Seventies, or if you’re just curious and want to check out a one-of-a-kind comic, get ahold of a copy and give it a look…just make sure you don’t take it all too seriously.

Wobble Gobble The ‘Wild Turkey’ is the world’s greatest stunt-bird/daredevil. See his show and you will believe that a turkey can fly (and just like his idol, he carries a cane filled with his favorite beverage:Wild Turkey).

Hope everyone had a GREAT Thanksgiving Day today…

1896: Se considera como el nacimiento del cómic con la aparición de la primera tira cómica, The Yellow Kid creada por Richard Fenton Outcalt que además introdujo los “globitos” como recurso para que sus personajes se expresaran.

1929: Surge el primer intento de comercialización del cómic con Funnies No. 1, sin nada de éxito.

1930: Las tiras cómicas ganan popularidad, con personajes como Anita la Huerfanita, Popeye, Dick Tracy, antecesor indirecto del Cómic Negro y creado por Chester Gould, Flash Gordon de Alex Raymond y el más exitoso de todos, Tarzán, creación de Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Vídeos de Dick Tracy

Vídeo de Flah Gordon

Tarzán en el cine

  1931: Aparece por primera vez Superman en el fanzine Science Fiction: The Vanguard of Future Civilization #3, creación del escritor Jerry Siegel y el dibujante Joe Shuster. La idea les pareció buena pero no tuvieron éxito cuando trataron de comercializarla ya que las editoriales pensaban que un personaje tan poderoso no podría tener éxito.

Superman en el cine:

SuperMan (clásica)

SuperMan Returns

1933: Famous Funnies es considerado el primer cómic. Fue una re-impresión de varias tiras cómicas, en formato de comic book.

1936: Se crea el primer superhéroe tal y como los conocemos, aunque irónicamente no tiene ningún poder sobrenatural. The Phantom dibujada por el artista Lee Falk, aparece como tira cómica en los diarios norteamericanos y cuenta la historia de un hombre que utiliza un disfraz púrpura y un antifaz para proteger su identidad y así poder combatir el crimen. Porta dos pistolas calibre .45 y monta un corcel blanco.

1937: Se lanza Detective Comics No 1, posteriormente la compañía toma las iniciales para crear DC Comics, una de las casas editoriales más importantes actualmente.

1938: El cómic comienza a tomar cada vez más importancia, pero es hasta que Joe Shuster y Jerry Siegel presentan en Action Comics #1 (junio de 1938) a Superman que nace la Época de Oro.

1939: El segundo superhéroe en cobrar importancia es Batman, creado por Bob Kane y presentado en mayo de 1939 en Detective Comics #27. Aparecen por primera vez juntos dos de los superhéroes más importantes de todos los tiempos, Batman y Superman, en la portada de New York Worlds Fair Comics #1, aunque nunca aparecieron en una misma historia hasta 1952. Se crea Timely Comics, que a la postre se convertiría en Marvel Comics, con el lanzamiento de La Antorcha Humana (no confundir con Johnny Storm) y Prince Namor: El Sub-Marinero.

Batman en el cine:

Batman Begins

Batman: El caballero Oscuro

La Antorcha Humana en la película “Los 4 Fantásticos”

1940: Para esta década el personaje más popular es Capitán Marvel (Shazam) cuya primera aparición se dio en Whiz Comics (Número 1 en portada y 2 en interiores), publicado por Fawcett Publications. Posteriormente DC obtiene los derechos y crea la revista Shazam! cuyo primer número corresponde a febrero de 1973.

1941: Se lanza el primer cómic con contenido bélico, haciendo aparición el superhéroe más patriótico de todos los tiempos, Capitán América, en Captain America #1 creación de Jack Kirby y Joe Simon. Otra inclusión importante es la de Wonder Woman de William Moulton Marston (creador del detector de mentiras).

1952: Aparece en Superman #76 la primera historia de Superman y Batman juntos escrita por Edmond Hamilton y dibujado por Curt Swan.

1954: El New York Worlds Fair Comics cambia su nombre a Worlds Finest Comics. En el #71 de dicha serie Superman y Batman aparecen en la portada y se incluye una historia de los superhéroes juntos. A partir de entonces la revista se dedica a publicar exclusivamente historias protagonizadas por Superman y Batman, y desde ese momento el dúo se conoce extraoficialmente como World´s Finest (Los Mejores del Mundo) y aparecen varios crossovers en sus respectivas publicaciones.

La década de los cincuentas fue difícil para el Noveno Arte, ya que la censura Mcarthista afectó a todos los géneros del cómic y, con la conjunción de diferentes circunstancias termina una de las mejores etapas del Arte Gráfico Secuencial. La Época de Oro termina, lamentablemente, con la publicación del libro Seduction of the Innocent del psiquiatra austriaco Frederick Wertham donde planteaba la teoría ultraconservadora anti-cómic de que éstos inducían a los jóvenes a cometer actos delictivos y atentaban contra la moral.

En consecuencia directa se crea el Comics Code Authority, un código para regir los contenidos de los comics donde queda estrictamente prohibido la aparición de temas sexuales, políticos o de violencia (de manera ilustrada o escrita) además también prohibía que personajes terroríficos aparecieran como protagonistas de comics. Por si no fuera poco, se crea The Comics Magazine Association of America, que regularizó los temas de varias revistas de terror, prohibiendo la aparición de sangre, tortura, vampiros, hombres lobo, lujuria, necrofagia, necrofilia, canibalismo, zombis y las palabras horror y terror.

1956: Durante los años subsecuentes a la creación del CCA, varias casas editoriales fracasan, desaparecen personajes importantes y las ventas bajan considerablemente. Es hasta que aparece Barry Allen, mejor conocido como Flash, que la industria da un nuevo respiro y nace oficialmente la Época de Plata del cómic. Otro acontecimiento importante es el lanzamiento de Fantastic Four el cual dio inicio a la denominada Era Marvel del Cómic. Marvel lanza personajes tan importantes como Spider-Man, X-Men y Daredevil entre otros.

Daredevil en el cine

Actualmente el Noveno Arte es uno de los movimientos más importantes, con gran número de personajes, corrientes, temas y autores renombrados. La industria del cómic ha evolucionado con el tiempo, convirtiéndose en uno de las formas de contar historias más populares, dedicando convenciones a nivel mundial, programas de radio, revistas especializadas, tiendas exclusivas y un largo etcétera.

A friend of mine (Mrcozdude) said to me yesterday, “I want to make a stoner band like Fu Manchu”.I have listened to nothing but them since.

My very first attempt at being in a band included us trying to do a cover of Evil Eye, it was terrible mostly due to the fact that I couldn’t play guitar very well, I still can’t. I can see why we wanted to cover it though it is such a good song but Spotify doesn’t actually have any other album except Daredevil and a live album (it is on the live album).

Daredevil is still an ace album though and Coyote Duster (named Coyote Disaster on spotify for some reason) was one of their fir st classic songs IMO.

The full album can be found on Spotify here

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Alex Maleev (art), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Madame Hydra attempts to recruit Jessica once again.

What’s Good: Madame Hydra/Viper is certainly great fun to read and works as an excellent foil to Jessica.  If Bendis hopes to use her as the arch-nemesis of the series, it certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea.  The chemistry is definitely there.  Viper’s voice is well-done by Bendis, a good mix of slimy, conniving villainy and rampant sociopathy.  It’s also clear that in the midst of her intelligence, a few screws are loose.  Several times I felt as though Viper’s dialogue wasn’t quite in-synch with her conversational context and surroundings.  It’s very subtle, but it definitely adds a nice tone to the character.

Overall, what this issue does is muddy the waters.  Jessica Drew hunting skrulls for SWORD is apparently, while fun, just too damned simple for a Spider-Woman comic.  Rather, the possibility of her working as a double agent returns and at the end of the issue in particular, her ethical limits will be tested.  Long-term, this issue looks to make things more interesting.

I also enjoyed the internal monologue quite a deal this month.  The repetitive self-pity and excessive quips of self-loathing that I’ve complained about in past are completely gone.  Instead, Jessica’s snarkiness has been raised, making her far more likable.

On art, Alex Maleev is still putting out an amazing looking comic.  His rendition of Madame Hydra looks almost as good as Jessica Drew, and that’s saying a lot.  It’s refreshing that for once, Jessica doesn’t stand head and shoulders above all the other characters.  Maleev’s drawings of the comic’s urban surroundings are also absolutely fantastic.  His scenery shots nicely break up what would otherwise have been a comic entirely of talking heads.

What’s Not So Good: Unfortunately, that doesn’t change the fact that barring one quick helicopter chase, this entire comic is essentially one long conversation.  That doesn’t make for the most thrilling reading, nor does it feel like particularly brisk storytelling.

Also, while I did say that I liked Jessica’s skrull-hunting occupation being made a little more complex, I am wondering if everything’s happening just a little too soon.  She’s only hunted down one skrull, and already she’s being approached by HYDRA?  She just became an Agent of SWORD, and it already feels as though Bendis was running out of ideas on the simpler skrull-hunting front, so decided to move onto the next thing.

It’s a shame too that older Spider-Woman continuity is already being brought in to play a major part.  I guess I thought this book was going to be a fresher start for the character than it is and I can’t help feeling a bit disappointed.

Finally, this isn’t Maleev’s strongest work either.  While the book is by no means bad looking, Maleev definitely goes overboard when it comes to re-using the same images over and over.  This is fine when it’s used for dramatic purpose or pause, but it’s clear that the only motivation here was cutting corners and saving time.  Changing the size or placement of a face does not mean that it’s a different image, and it’s thoroughly unacceptable on an ethical level.  I bought a comic to see illustrating, not copy/pasting.

Conclusion: I’ve really enjoyed Spider-Woman thus far, but this is issue is feels a little phoned in.

Grade: C+

-Alex Evans

Hey, before I babble on. The Sugbo Jam No.1 is still available and if you folks don’t have a copy yet, better get going and grab one and lets be done with it. Help us komikeros to thrive in our own little non-threatening comic book scene here in Cebu and make our country proud like this guy here.

Anyways! (copyright by Motmot) Out of sheer boredom and I’ve got nothing better to do after the day job so this week has been kinda productive, artwise, in a way. When I am lazying out in bed reading and listening to my trusty iPod and zoning out over the week I decided to sketch a bit. Feeling guilty over the fact that I haven’t drawn for some time since the Sugbo Jam project kicked off and a lot of stack pile of pre-cut vellum 2.5×3.5 vellum boards hanging around collecting dust within arms reach I instinctively doodle a bit and stretch them stubborn drawing muscles of mine for kicks which led to the sketches below heavily inspired by Kikomachine Komiks Vol. 5 which was the one I was reading recently, kudos to Sir Manix…..

….which led to some off beat cartoony sketches below:

…which led to some superhero characters rendered unlike my usual style which I kinda like and will be developing later on over the weekend hopefully if all goes well. Maybe it was influenced by my reading online alternative comic book artist works:

…overall an interesting week for sketching. By the way, 2.5×3.5 sketch cards are still a pain to draw on but I am happy to say that I am getting the hang of it somehow, backgrounds and coloring this babies up still is a thorn on my side though. Comments and suggestions are highly appreciated on this one. Till next. Nuff said.

The Love tHat GrabbEd me BAck

Yeah, I’ve always been the weirdest and sarcastic person ever been known by me and I suppose the people who once knew me.

I am “the hated”, the black sheep in white sheep’s clothing.

I have always believed my life of pain and hatred that at least nobody can and would dare to love me. I was just so unlovable, simply because I myself don’t know how to show it. I was really unloving. Yeah, I wasn’t loving, I was rather hating!

Well if you could evaluate me by your standards, I could say I would fail. Well, who will like a person who don’t like to talk to you. Keeps silent, as if he hears no one. Would you like a person who shows signs that he don’t like you. Frowns, sage-like nods, etc. Just make a clear description of a kind of person that you would hate and you can count me in!

I had always chose to hurt rather than heal. I don’t know why, but my vocabulary just picks those painful words. The sad thing about me that time was, I tell people all lies. But if the Truth is just not what they want, well, Truth just came out to them the harsh way.

I never really loved anybody before. I need to apologize to all the girls who thought I have loved before. Yeah, I need to be honest with you. I was definitely lying to your face that time. I am just a great lyer, am I not? (Again I apologize, I don’t think this would matter to you by now. But, I know this would hurt you at some extent.)

I was a liar, a thief, a deceiver, a troublemaker drawing everybody close to trouble, the Hater and the Hated who hates a million times back, as evil as one can be. Who would love me? Who would care for me? Who can understand? Who would dare to be close to me?

Even my cousins don’t go near me anymore. Even the children curse me. Even, my own parents left me to struggle. Who then can I trust? NOBODY!

If his love was true, he would have heard me when I spent my night crying and praying to him! If he really was love, He would been at my side, when there’s nobody that I could really trust.

“Who hears me when I pray? Or is somebody really there listening whenever I pray? Is he sleeping each time I pray? Is he always on break each time I pray? Why does when I call to him no one seems to answer? I must be fooling myself here, no one really is up there to listen! Why should I call to somebody that doesn’t exist?”, I said to myself.

DETOUR>

Well, I was invited by a leader of that ministry,well, I did not have any idea that it was a ministry then. All I know is that I have found a family that loves me even when I don’t love back.

Well in that closed pink room, the leader have me seated on one of the beds. And I was just thinking,”what might this thing be?”

His voice were so gentle, the kind of gentleness that I don’t think I really deserve. But he was gentle, so I imitated his gentleness.

There was just something inside that room, that had really  penetrated my whole being. And I was still unable to understand it and withstand it.

The leader started speaking and for the first time, I became attentive to something which is related to a God. It was like my spirit was excited of something that is about to happen.

As the leader asked me,” do you believe in the Bible?”
My initial answer was a big “No”. I was really at nowhere that time, and I forgot my sarcasm.

He told me how legitimate the Bible is. And for the first time, I believed on it with all my heart. Somebody I don’t know was helping me to believe. I can even hear an inaudible voice that speaks so gentle and kind, aside from the words that are uttered by the leader.

My heart was kinda crushed when I realized that I’m in the wrong way. All of these times I’ve been believing that I was unloved. That I wasn’t heard. That I was fooled by God. All of the years that I believed the he plays with me. All of those was wrong. I was the one who hindered him from coming into my life. My sins just hid his face before me that I can’t be heard, though he was trying to hear me.

I remembered how I hated God before. HOw I accused him of not loving me. How I accused him of being a hypocrite. How I accuse him of being untrue. Those words just came back to me, and crushed my heart the more.

How could I hate the one who died for me? Oh, how cruel am I to say those things to be heard by him. How could I do that to the one who came to my rescue and died to rescue me?

My heart was just crushed! It was like it fell on a stone, as though the pieces of it just shattered and scattered around. My heart groan in pain, of the truth that was just delivered from heaven.

Who am I now that the Lord of Heaven should come down to rescue me? Who am I now that I should deserve to be considered as his son? Who am I now that he should suffer for the things that I did, for the all the wrong things that I enjoyed doing? Or Am I even worthy to escape the punishment that is set for me?

“I don’t deserve this!”, I said to myself after he have me read the scriptures that points out his love.

I remembered all the things that I did, from the lies to those evil tactics and deeds that I schemed. I was just so worst! I CANNOT REPAY THIS GREAT KINDNESS THAT THE LORD HAS SHOWN ME. I CANNOT EXPLAIN WHY HE DID THAT, BUT HE DID!

After a long while, at last I believed that love exist. Yeah TRUE LOVE STILL EXISTS! AND IT IS WITH THE LORD!

This world cannot contain his kindness. And no one will ever worthy to be compared to Him! NO ONE EVER IS LIKE HIM!

My heart was just pounding back and forth. My tears flowed like rivers of water, I cannot ever express how I felt. And all I have in his presence was gratitude.

And after that, I was never the same again.

Spider-man’s Super Hero Squad Friends

• Daredevil - started with a yellow costume, the blind hero morphed into his now familiar red costume
  

 

• Electra - once nemesis of Daredevil evolved into their friend and fighting partner.

 

• Punisher – Another foe turned allies 

 

• Ghost Rider - The Spirit of Vengence !

 

It had been a pretty long while since I started expecting the sequel to Marvel Ultimate Alliance (2006) sequel and finally, I have got it and finished the game twice. It is a bit odd, because I had really expected much more from this game and at the end, it kinda feels like a dissapointment. Because of my console, the version I will talk about is the Wii version of the game.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, previously known also as Fusion, basically follows the same path of the original game in terms of gameplay. Up to four players can join during anytime of the game, choosing 4 characters among 26 playable Marvel heroes and villains and overcoming each obstacle on their way. One of the new aspects of the game is the fact that now, thanks to the fusion power the characters are able to combine their powers, realeasing a powerful blast of mixed abilities. This new feature, apart from the story, are the only new attractions of the game, so we can say there’s a bit lack of originality.

The characters have improved in a lot of aspects, specially the visual one, but surely fans of the previous game will be struck by the fact of not having really new superpowers. Indeed, almost all the attacks of the first game have come back, with the exception of few that were changed, into something a little bit better, or something even worse. Teamwork is still the same, and the enemy’s level of intelligence becomesa challenge in some moments of the game, but there’s nothing really splendorous. Expectations about the new characters like Jean Grey, Penance, Psylocke, etc. fade quickly, as you realize some are the obvious replacement of the ones in the first game that didn’t enter in this second round (like Psylocke, who is basically Elektra). Some others continue being as good as they were, and pretty few have become really stronger.

The game’s plot follows the Civil War story, on which the heroes have to choose between accepting the Act of Registration from the Government, or not. Depending on what you choose, some characters will be available or not, and missions will change, according to the story you’re playing. Nevertheless, the way the plot is told becomes sometimes quite boring, and you just skip the info in order to start playing the missions. The S.H.I.E.L.D. blue points, where you save your progress and change your team are now spread in not very useful locations, unlike the previous game, and you can’t change characters who have died in battle anymore. You have to bring them back to life using the Fusion, and in the Wii version, there are no costumes for the characters. 

Bosses have a balanced level, and the locations, although they are not as exotic as in the prequel, are now made with more detail, giving the game a pleasant visual effect. Missions have become shorter in lenght and not very dinamic in some moments. A good improvement from the first Wii version is that the Wii Remote Control is now more enjoyable without being an irritating feature. Attacks are not made by the control’s movement anymore, and isntead, it is required only in specific actions.

So, in general, MUA2 it’s the same game as the first one with some improvements but no really outstanding feature, a story that can be sometimes hateful, and cool characters that still, have something which doesn’t really fit at all. A good avergae game, but the first one is really missed by the player while he plays this one.

So, here’s a list of all the playable Wii characters, with a brief opinion of mine (based on my playing with them), and more images. Leave your comments as you wish!

1.- Captain America: He’s basically the same as in the first game, and his attacks are overpowered by most of all the other characters. A shield is not very useful, really… Grade: Useful in some moments.

2.- Iron Man: With some new improvements, Stark’s armor is not only a reliable backup, but also quite an offensive fighter. He’s not only powerful but also resistant. Grade: Essential for victory!

3.- Thor: The mighty Nordic God might not seem trustful in this game, but hides great power in his hammer. Strong and offensive, clearly a great choice. Grade: Good choice!

4.- Hulk: This new ally it’s powerful by nature. His only “but” is that he requires “rage” for some of his attacks, but it’s a good companion in rooms full of enemies… Grade: Good choice!

5.- Spiderman: The web-head neighbour it’s the master of agility, and along with his spider powers becomes a useful tool whether for running away, or fighting multiple enemies at a time… Grade: Essential for victory!

6.- Mr. Fantastic: Thanks to his elastic powers, he can reach enemies that are not close to him, but his physical power from the last game, went from 5 to 2 so think about it… Grade: Not the best, not the worst.

7.- Invisible Woman: Susan’s powers have increased from 5, to extra 5, becoming quite a good heroine to play with. Not only will she protect her mates using big shields, but also her “fusion” abilities end up with massive destruction! Grade: Essential for victory!

8.- Human Torch: Johnny’s fire power is strong, and used in a proper way, becomes destructive, besides, his combinations with the other heroes always result in total blast, surely, one hell of a flame! Grade: Good choice!

9.- The Thing: Ben’s physical power it’s the same, but unlike the first game, he’s a little bit faster. This allows him to act like a big bull enemies can’t run from!!! Grade: Good choice!

10.- Wolverine: The iconic X-Man, remains the same as in the prequel, but his lack of power is far more visible. It’s not a good idea to use metal claws against metal armors… Grade: Useful in some moments.

11.- Storm: Storm’s lightnings are a good weapon when a lot of enemies surround you, but… apart from that she has nothing really good to add, except (maybe…) her fusion compability… Grade: Useful in some moments.

12.- Cyclops: This new player seems to have a poor gameplay, but his optical powers ban that statement and make him a good mate rivals can’t deal with. Grade: Good choice!

13.- Jean Grey: She’s probably one of the best newcomers to the game. Not only can she revive with her powers, but also ask her Phoenix’s soul for help and play with telekinesis as if she were playing with dolls. Grade: Essential for victory!

14.- Iceman: Basically the same as always, Iceman icy powers are useful for freezing enemies once and for all, trapping them in what can become a massive punching bag. Fast, agile, and a good shooter… what else do you ask? Grade: Good choice!

15.- Gambit: Another newcomer who impresses with her explosive cards. His shooting ability is stunning, and more when his cards fly everywhere without even aiming at an enemy! Grade: Good choice!

16.- Psylocke: This lady’s pink powers are not very realiable and you’d prefer to take Jean instead of her. Her pink blade is probably a good weapon, along her butteflies, but she’s not the latest warrior… Grade: Useful in some moments.

17.- Deadpool: This mercenary is everything but rubbish. He shoots as fast as you blink your eyes, teleports, jumps, throws granades and starts the massive attacks as fast as he says: “Hello!” His resistance and health powers… make him the perfect back-up. Grade: Essential for victory.

18.- Daredevil: Not a very impressive character, Daredevil shows us agile movements and baton-based hits. Nothing really amazing. Grade: Not the best, not the worst.

19.- Songbird: Another newcomer who seems to offer a lot, but at the end is just another normal mutant. Her sonic powers are only impressive when the fusion is made. A bad point: she can’t attack while she flies… Grade: Not the best, not the worst.

20.- Blade: The old vampire hunter was weak and this new version of him… is still weak. Surrounded by all the other mutants, he barely even disappears among them. Some attacks have become stronger, and the gunshot is probbaly his best feature. Grade: Useful in some moments.

21.- Ms. Marvel: We still wonder why did she return. She’s not amazing and her attacks do a damage level of mediocrity. The only plus is that she’s strong, but in that case… better take Hulk or the Thing. Grade: Stay at the base.

22.- Penance: This mysterious guy doens’t seem to be strong or physically impressive, although visually, he is. Has energy attacks based in getting pain, but his really strong point is the “fusion” move, that ends up sometimes in total destruction. Grade: Not the best, not the worst.

23.- Luke Cage: This warrior is anything but spectacular. Maybe his fists against the ground are something but aparte from that… the chain, the punch… just don’t really work. Grade: Stay at the base.

24.- Venom: One of the two villains available, Venom it’s one of the best newcomers. His slow melee moves are compensed by really good attackas using his symbiotic abilites, which are able to drain enemy’s life in less that 1 minute! Grotesque, sometimes is the best… Grade: Essential for victory!

25.- Green Goblin: The explosive pumpkins he throws make up for his lack of physical damage. Basically that’s all he does… oh, did I mention he launches missiles? Grade: Not the best, not the worst.

26.- Nanyte Nick Fury: This android version of Nick Fury is strong, and has some good attacks… but he’s lack of visual compability with the rest of heroes, makes him a little odd. Apart from that… his sniper rifle deserves some views. Grade: Not the best, not thw worst.

We do feel sometimes the need of using Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider, Moonknight or Colossus right? Hahaha… among all the mentioned, who’s your favorite???

PD: Sorry for writing such a long entrance…

As The Commish revealed in the  new Week 16 Challenge Rogue, I indeed spilled coffee on my Daredevil. So what you’re viewing is actually take 2. Now typically I have gone into long diatribes about my sketches, hoping that people find it insightful, but this week I think I’m going to keep it brief. Mainly, I’d like to see if that encourages people to critique more if I don’t point out everything I see in my own work. I will say this however, is that in the weeks since we’ve progressed I’ve explored different drawing styles to see what best suits me. I think this week’s drawing and last week’s of Spider-man, are approaching to being something more natural for me. It’s very rough in feel and tone, which is more natural for me since I tend to search for the correct form and composition a lot. In fact, it’s what I appreciate about Alex Maleev’s work.

So give it your best shot, tell me something I don’t know about my Daredevil drawing .

Punisher Max #01‘in çizim tarzı aslında benim çok da sevmediğim bir tarz. Bakıyorsunuz; rahatsız edici bir tarafı yok ancak ilginizi de çekmiyor. “Sıradan bir çizgi roman sayfası” diye düşünüyorsunuz (hoş aslında haklısınız da). Bir yandan da bu tip bir çalışmayı daha önce onlarca kez gördüğünüz ve diğerlerinden çok da bir farkı olmadığı duygusuna da kapılıyorsunuz ki bu aslında ilk hissiyatınızın devamı ve evet: Bunda da haklısınız. 80′lerden hatta 70′lerden beri bu tipteki çizimleri onlarca kez gördünüz. Dolyaısıyla çizerinin kim olduğunun da çok bir önemi yok. Sonuç olarak Punishermax #01′i çizim açısından çok beğenmedim ancak hikayedeki ciddiyet ve ileriki sayılarda  bir kan davasına dönüşeceği belli olan Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) – Frank Castle kapışmasının doğuşunu izlemek heyean verici. Fisk buralarda bir yerlerde göreceğiniz birkaç kareden sonra kendine epey küfür edecektir eminim ki. Max sıradan Marvel evrenine nazaran daha çok yetişkinlere hitap eden ve normal Marvel evrenine göre hikayeler içerisinde ya hiç ya da çok az süper gücün/sihrin barındığı bir mekan. PunisherMax #01 de zaten ne karakter ne de konu olarak bunları barındırıyor. Eğer yeni bir seriye başlamak istiyor ama klişeleşmiş süper kahraman “dan-dunun” da biraz uzakolsun istiyorsanız PunisherMax bu manada (mafyalı, silahlı, kanlı) bir seçenek olabilir. Ayrıca Max’teki Frank Castle/Punisher, normal Marvel evrenindeki versiyonundan çok daha psikopat ve hastalıklı gözüküyor. Sözde kötü adam Kingpin. Ancak eğer olay good bad ugly ise, ugly wilson fiks, bad ise Frank Castle. En çok hoşuma giden kapak da bu ayrıca.

Punishermax #01′de Wilson Fisk’i hayatının hatasını yaparken görüyoruz. Yememiş.

Çizgi Romanlarda çizim ne kadar güzel olsa bile son kararı hep öykü veriyor. Dolayısıyla bu haftanın şampiyonu güzel öyküsü dolaysıyla Punisher Max.A ncak görsel açıdan şampiyon ise Punisher ne kadar ciddiyse bir o kadar ciddiyetsiz ve yavşak bir sayı olan Amazing Spider-Man#613. Bu hikayenin konuk kahramanı artık bazı okuyuculara “ıykk” dedirten Deadpool. Marvel Deadpool için her ay düzenli olarak “Deadpool” ve “Deadpool Team-Up” başlıklı 2 dergi çıkarıyor. Hemen hemen devamlı olarak başkharmanının Deadpool olduğu mini-seriler de cabası. Bun haricinde Deadpool’u birçok dergide konuk karakter olarak görüyoruz. Bloglardan gözlemlediğim kadarıyla ciddi çizgi roman okuyucularının birçoğunun düşücesi Deadpool’un zayıf ve sıkıcı bir karakter olduğu yönünde (bunda yaratıcısının Rob Liefield olmasının da büyük payı vardır. Rob Liefield çizgi roman dünyasında en çok nefret edilen yazar ve çizerlerinden biridir, bunda da birçok insanın haklı sebepleri olmasına rağmen yine de Liefield piyasa içerisinde bir şekilde en çok iş yapan isimler arasında yıllardır varolagelmiştir) Kişisel olarak ben Deadpool’u seviyorum. Rob Liefield hakkında çok da bilgi sahibi değilim dolayısıyla Deadpool ile tanışmam Liefield le tanışmamdan önce olduğu için böyle bir ön yargıdan yoksunum (Liefield’ı tanıyordum aslında ama sadece çizim olarak). Deadpool’un osuruk gibi olduğundan ve çok da ciddiye alınmaması gerektiğinden bahsetmiştim geçen haftalar. Ancak sorun şu ki : Deadpool’un kendine has, delice, zekadan ve mantıktan yoksun daha çok “Jackass” tadında bir espri anlayışı var. Bu herkesin sevebileceği bir tür değil. Bu tip esprilere bakarak T-800 ifadesiyle “çok mantıksız, salakça” diyebilecek birçok insan var. Dolayısıyla fazlaca Deadpool’a bulandırılmış bir Marvel evreni büyük bir okuyucu kesmi için zaman zaman gereğinden fazla sıkıcı bir hal alıyor olabilir.

Bu sayıda Spider-Man ve Deadpool karşı karşıya geliyor. Daha çok iki komik adam espri üstüne espi yapsın diye düşünülmüş bir sayı. Spider-Man özelliği mekanik bacaklarını istediği kadar uzatmak olan bir doktor ahtopot paradisiyle dövüşüyor ve gerçekten “oldschool” tarzda komik espriler yapıyor. Sonra daha modern tarzıyla sahneye Deadpool giriyor. Tahmin edersiniz ki zeka dolu esprilerini beyninin içi hakikaten de “zeka” ile dolu olduğu için yapan Peter Parker gibi bir karakter, bütün süper özelliklerinin yanında bir özelliği de kafasının içinde birden fazla “manyağın” yaşaması olan Deadpool ile karşılaşınca artık komik olmuyor. Çünkü ortada kapışacağı en ufak zeka kırıntısı yok. Peter Parker alması gereken bilgiyi alana (ya da Deadpool kendi isteğiyle ona verene) kadar Deadpool’un saçmalıklarını ve deliliklerini okuyorsunuz.    Dolayısıyla bu sayı aslında Spider-Man’in başından geçen “yavşak” bir deadpool hikayesi. Spider-Man’n başrolünü aldığı ilk yarıya herkes güler ancak Deadpool’u 2. Yarıya yukarıda saydığım nedenlerden ötürü bir grup okuyucu surat asarak “bitsin” diye okuyabilir.

Çizim tarzı konusuna da bu noktada dönemk istiyorum: Bu sayının çizimleri klasik çizimlerin dışında alternatif,  karikatüre kaçan diyebileceğimiz bir stile sahip. Dolayısıyla deadpool’un yavşaklığıyla dolu bu sayıya bence gayet yakışmış. Demek istediğim öyküyle tarz birbiriiyle örtüşüyor, öpüşüyor, sevişiyor (günde 2 tane bilinçli okuyucuya sahip bir çizgi roman blogu için fazla cıvkı çıkmış şekilde edebi oldum sanırsam). PunisherMax#01′de bana göre olan eksiklik yani. Sonuç olarak aslında hikaye size sıkıcı gelse bile bu neşeli ama tarz sahibi çizimlerle bu sayı kendini size okutturuyor. Bu da çizgi romanın bir tür gücü işte abicim.

Dc Comics tarafında ise Batman/Doc Savage: First Wave bir süredir beklediğim bir yapımdı çünkü bu serinin yazarı olan Brian Azarello’nun önceki işlerinden biri benim daha önce çok beğendiğim Joker Graphic Novel’dı. Joker’i süper güçlerin fantastik olayların olmadığı bizimkine daha yakın bir evren içerisine oturtmuştu. Aynı şeyi Batman’e nasıl uygulayacağını görmek ilginç olacak gibiydi. Fakat  bu sayıyı okuyup bitirdiğim “beklentilerimi çok mu yüksek tuttum” diye düşündüm. Joker’i Azarello’nun ağzından okumak büyük keyif vermişti; Joker gerçek dünyaya yaklaştıkça psikopatlığı Batman’in aksine karikatirüze olmaktan kurtulup daha gerçekçi bir hal alıyordu. Joker GN güzel fakat sinir bozucu bir korku filmi izlemek gibiydi. Fakat Doc Savage/Batman: First Wave bu hissiyattan daha farklı çıktı. Doc Savage çok eski bir kahraman ama hakkında hemen  hiçbirşey bilmiyorum o yüzden atıp tutmam yanlış olur. Azarello’nun Bruce Wayne’i için ise genç, birşeyleri değiştirebileceğine inancı olan, yeni yeni Batman’cilik oıynayama başlamış milyoner playboy denilebilir. Sözde bu gerçekçi dünyada olmalarına karşın DC’ni normal evrenindeki Bruce Wayne’den çok daha az depresif gözüküyor. Hikaye hakkında ise çok çok da bahsedecek birşey yok çünkü ortada sonu başı belli bir olay yok henüz. Bu “one-shot”, daha sonra belli ki yazarlığını Azarello’nun yapacağı DC evrenin supernaturel olaylardan kısmen de olsa arındırılmış halinin bir preview’u gibi daha çok. İleride muhakkak birşeyler olacak ancak yine de başlangıç sayısı olarak daha uzun ve sonu başı belli olan, kısacası daha “vurucu” içeriğe sahip bir sayı yazılabilirdi diye düşünüyorum. Pes etmek yok. Önümüzdeki birkaç sayıda Batman’in bu kovboy versiyonunun kaderi belli olur. Benim inancım var.

Belki de Azarello’nun Batman’i hakkaten daha gerçekçidir he?

3 aydır büyük bir heyecanla takip ettiğim Daredevil’ın yeni sayısı Daredevil #502 ise beni biraz hayal kırıklığına uğrattı. Benim çizgi roman ve dizi piyasasındaki senaryolardan beklentilerim ya çoğunluğun fikirleri ile uyuşmuyor ya da firmaların bize sundukları ürünlerle (bu aslında kamunun büyük kısmıyla isteklerimizin aynı olduğu manasına da gelebilir. Ancak bu konuda birşey söyleyebilecek yeterli verim yok. Errör).. Karakterler için görmek istediklerim, popüler kültüre ait Daredevil gibi çizgi romanlar için fazla uçarı kalıyor sanırım.. Çünkü Daredevil’dan gerçekte çok şey bekliyordum. Gerçek bir “knightfall” ya da biraz kastırarak “knightchange” gibi birşey. Benim beklentilerimi coşturan olay; Daredevil #501′de Daredevil’ın kendi mentorunu, daha iyi bir amaç için öldürmesiydi. Fakat bunun bir kandırmaca olmasının ortaya çıkmasıyla bu heyecanım da ancak 2 sayı sürdü. Kör avukat Matt Murdock hala çok akıllı bir Marvel Knight. Oysa ilk Fallen Knight bu mu olacak diye düşünüyordum. Öykünün gidişatı her ne kadar kafamı bozsa da hikaye anlatımı hala güzel. Çizimler hala yazılı  hikayeden bağımsız karmaşık hafif rüyamsı karanlık bir atmosfer yaratıyor ki bence yazılı hikayeyi destekleyen ve ona güç veren en önemli öğre Daredevil için konuşuyorum. Yani Çizgi Romanlar bu yüzden güzeldir varan 2: Benim için yine hikayenin yan çizdiği ancak çizimleriyle kurtarmış bir sayıdır.

Matt Murdock’un kafa kıyak

Bu hafta ne öyle çok fazla birşey okudum ne de çok fazla birşeyden etkilendim gördüğünüz gibi. Yine en güzeli Punişırdı diyebilirim. Dark Horse Comics tarafından yayınlanan birçok review’da yüksek puanlar alan post apokaliptik macera Sweeth Thoot ve masal uyarlaması ve gerçekten çok güzel gözüken The Marvelous Land of Oz’dan da bahsetmek isterdim aslında ama bu tip çizgi romanların ya bir graphic novel gibi değerlendirebiliyorum ya da gerçekten progresif diyebileceğim bir olay olursa haklarında birşeyler söyleyebilirim ancak. Çünkü; evet güzel gözüküyorlar, güzel okunuyor ve izleniyorlar ama yine de arkası yarın çizgi romanlarından öte büyük bir hikayenin daha ilk paragraflarını temsil ettikleri için “bir macera” gibi değerlendirmek zorlaşıyor. Ama özellikle The Marvelous Land of Oz gerçekten tek kelimeyle çok güzel (iki kelime olmuş lan).

There has been more than enough chatter in our comments sections to know that we fans are not happy with the way most of our favorite Marvel characters are portrayed on screen. Marvel Studios has given us two of the best comic book movies we’ve seen, Iron Man & The Incredible Hulk.; movies that have given fans hope for their future projects. Here’s where the problem arises: the Marvel movie universe will NEVER be complete without the ability to intertwine Spider-Man, the X-Men, Daredevil and the Fantastic Four into the same continuity as the Avengers. It’s time they put their money to good use and buy back their character’s rights that are currently held by other studios.

Click Here to Sign the Petition!

VIA COMICBOOKMOVIE //

Punisher Max #01’in çizim tarzı aslında benim çok da sevmediğim bir tarz. Bakıyorsunuz; rahatsız edici bir tarafı yok ancak ilginizi de çekmiyor. “Sıradan bir çizgi roman sayfası” diye düşünüyorsunuz (hoş aslında haklısınız da). Bir yandan da bu tip bir çalışmayı daha önce onlarca kez gördüğünüz ve diğerlerinden çok da bir farkı olmadığı duygusuna da kapılıyorsunuz ki bu aslında ilk hissiyatınızın devamı ve evet: Bunda da haklısınız. 80’lerden hatta 70’lerden beri bu tipteki çizimleri onlarca kez gördünüz. Çizerinin kim olduğunun da çok bir önemi yok çünkü daha önce onlarca kez tekrarlanmış bir tarz. Dolayısıyla Punishermax #01’i çizim açısından çok beğenmedim ancak hikayedeki ciddiyet ve ileriki sayılarda  bir kan davasına dönüşeceği belli olan Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) – Frank Castle kapışmasının doğuşunu izlemek heyean verici. Fisk buralarda bir yerlerde göreceğiniz birkaç kareden sonra kendine epey küfür edecektir eminim ki. Max sıradan Marvel evrenine nazaran daha çok yetişkinlere hitap eden ve normal Marvel evrenine göre hikayeler içerisinde ya hiç ya da çok az süper gücün/sihrin barındığı bir mekan. PunisherMax #01 de zaten ne karakter ne de konu olarak bunları barındırıyor. Eğer yeni bir seriye başlamak istiyor ama klişeleşmiş süper kahraman “dan-dunun” da biraz uzakolsun istiyorsanız PunisherMax bu manada (mafyalı, silahlı, kanlı) bir seçenek olabilir. Ayrıca Max’teki Frank Castle/Punisher, normal Marvel evrenindeki versiyonundan çok daha psikopat ve hastalıklı gözüküyor. Sözde kötü adam Kingpin olmasına rağmen sayıyı bitirdikten sonra Frank gözüme daha kötü gözüktü. En çok hoşuma giden kapak da bu ayrıca.

Punishermax #01′de Wilson Fisk’i hayatının hatasını yaparken görüyoruz. Yememiş.

Çizgi Romanlar da çizim ne kadar güzel olsa bile son kararı hep öykünün kendisi verdiriyor. Dolayısıyla bu haftanın şampiyonu güzel öyküsü dolaysıyla Punisher Max.Ancak görsel açıdan şampiyon ise Punisher ne kadar ciddiyse bir o kadar ciddiyetsiz ve yavşak bir sayı olan Amazing Spider-Man#613’e gidiyor.
Bu hikayenin konuk kahramanı artık bazı okuyuculara “ıykk” dedirten Deadpool. Çeşitli çizgi roman bloglarında gördüğüm kadarıyla Marvel Deadpool için her ay düzenli olarak “Deadpool” ve “Deadpool Team-Up” başlıklı 2 dergi çıkarıyor. Hemen hemen devamlı olarak başkharmanının Deadpool olduğu mini-seriler de cabası. Bun haricinde Deadpool’u birçok dergide konuk karakter olarak görüyoruz. Bloglardan gözlemlediğim kadarıyla ciddi çizgi roman okuyucularının birçoğunun düşücesi Deadpool’un zayıf ve sıkıcı bir karakter olduğu yönünde (bunda yaratıcısının Rob Liefield olmasının da büyük payı vardır. Rob Liefield çizgi roman dünyasında en çok nefret edilen yazar ve çizerlerinden biridir, bunda da birçok insanın haklı sebepleri olmasına rağmen yine de Liefield piyasa içerisinde bir şekilde en çok iş yapan isimler arasında yıllardır varolagelmiştir)
Kişisel olarak ben Deadpool’u seviyorum. Rob Liefield hakkında çok da bilgi sahibi değilim dolayısıyla Deadpool ile tanışmam Liefield le tanışmamdan önce olduğu için böyle bir ön yargıdan yoksunum (Liefield’ı tanıyordum aslında ama sadece çizim olarak). Deadpool’un osuruk gibi olduğundan ve çok da ciddiye alınmaması gerektiğinden bahsetmiştim geçen haftar. Ancak sorun şu ki : Deadpool’un kendine has, delice, zekadan ve mantıktan yoksun daha çok Jackass” tadında bir espri anlayışı var. Bu herkesin sevebileceği bir tür değil. Bu tip esprilere bakarak T-800 ifadesiyle “çok mantıksız, salakça” diyebilecek birço insan var. Dolayısıyla fazlaca Deadpool’a bulandırılmış bir Marvel evreni büyük bir okuyucu kesmi için zaman zaman gereğinden fazla sıkıcı bir hal alıyor olabilir.

Bu sayıda Spider-Man ve Deadpool karşı karşıya geliyor. Daha çok iki komik adam espri üstüne espi yapsın diye düşünülmüş bir sayı. Spider-Man özelliği mekanik bacaklarını istediği kadar uzatmak olan bir doktor ahtopot paradisiyle dövüşüyor ve gerçekten “oldschool” komik espriler yapıyor. Sonra daha modern tarzıyla sahneye Deadpool giriyor. Tahmin edersiniz ki zeka dolu esprilerini beyninin içi hakikaten de “zeka” ile dolu olduğu için yapan Peter Parker gibi bir karakter, bütün süper özelliklerinin yanında bir özelliği de kafasının içinde birden fazla “manyağın” yaşaması olan Deadpool ile karşılaşınca artık komik olmuyor. Çünkü ortada kapışacağı en ufak zeka kırıntısı yok. Peter Parker alması gereken bilgiyi alana (ya da Deadpool kendi isteğiyle ona verene) kadar Deadpool’un saçmalıklarını ve deliliklerini okuyorsunuz.    Dolayısıyla bu sayı aslında Spider-Man’in başından geçen “yavşak” bir deadpool hikayesi. Spider-Man’n başrolünü aldığı ilk yarıya herkes güler ancak Deadpool’u 2. Yarıya yukarıda saydığım nedenlerden ötürü bir grup okuyucu surat asarak “bitsin” diye okuyabilir.

Çizim tarzı konusuna da bu noktada dönemk istiyorum: Bu sayının çizimleri klasik çizimlerin dışında alternatif,  karikatüre kaçan diyebileceğimiz bir stile sahip. Dolayısıyla deadpool’un yavşaklığıyla dolu bu sayıya bence gayet yakışmış. Demek istediğim öyküyle tarz birbiriiyle örtüşüyor, öpüşüyor, sevişiyor (günde 2 tane bilinçli okuyucuya sahip bir çizgi roman blogu için fazla cıvkı çıkmış şekilde edebi oldum sanırsam). PunisherMax#01’de bana göre olan eksiklik yani. Sonuç olarak aslında hikaye size sıkıcı gelse bile bu neşeli ama tarz sahibi çizimlerle bu sayı kendini size okutturuyor. Bu da çizgi romanın bir tür gücü işte abicim

Dc Comics tarafında ise Batman/Doc Savage: First Wave ise bir süredir beklediğim bir yapımdı çünkü bu serinin yazarı olan Brian Azarello’nun önceki işlerinden biri benim daha önce çok beğendiğim Joker Graphic Novel’dı. Joker’i süper güçlerin fantastik olayların olmadığı bizimkine daha yakın bir evren içerisine oturtmuştu. Aynı şeyi Batman’e nasıl uygulayacağını görmek ilginç olacak gibiydi (daha önce şu postta da gördüğünz gibi.) Fakat  bu sayıyı okuyup bitirdiğim “beklentilerimi çok mu yüksek tuttum” diye düşündüm.
Joker’i Azarello’nun ağzından okumak büyük keyif vermişti; Joker gerçek dünyaya yaklaştıkça psikopatlığı Batman’in aksine karikatirüze olmaktan kurtulup daha gerçekçi bir hal alıyordu. Joker GN güzel fakat sinir bozucu bir korku filmi izlemek gibiydi. Fakat Doc Savage/Batman: First Wave bu hissiyattan daha farklı çıktı.
Doc Savage çok eski bir kahraman ama hakkında hemen  hiçbirşey bilmiyorum o yüzden atıp tutmam yanlış olur. Azarello’nun Bruce Wayne’i için ise genç, birşeyleri değiştirebileceğine inancı olan, yeni yeni Batman’cilik oıynayama başlamış milyoner playboy denilebilir. Sözde bu gerçekçi dünyada olmalarına karşın DC’ni normal evrenindeki Bruce Wayne’den çok daha az depresif gözüküyor.
Hikaye hakkında ise çok çok da bahsedecek birşey yok çünkü ortada sonu başı belli bir olay yok henüz. Bu “one-shot”, daha sonra belli ki yazarlığını Azarello’nun yapacağı DC evrenin supernaturel olaylardan kısmen de olsa arındırılmış halinin bir preview’u gibi daha çok. İleride muhakkak birşeyler olacak ancak yine de başlangıç sayısı olarak daha uzun ve sonu başı belli olan, kısacası daha “vurucu” içeriğe sahip bir sayı yazılabilirdi diye düşünüyorum.
Pes etmek yok. Önümüzdeki birkaç sayıda Batman’in bu kovboy versiyonunun kaderi belli olur. Benim inancım var.

Belki de Azarello’nun Batman’i hakkaten daha gerçekçidir he?

3 aydır büyük bir heyecanla takip ettiğim Daredevil’ın yeni sayısı Daredevil #502 ise beni biraz hayal kırıklığına uğrattı. Benim çizgi roman ve dizi piyasasındaki senaryolardan beklentilerim ya çoğunluğun fikirleri ile uyuşmuyor ya da firmaların bize sundukları ürünlerle (bu aslında kamunun büyük kısmıyla isteklerimizin aynı olduğu manasına da gelebilir. Ancak bu konuda birşey söyleyebilecek yeterli verim yok. Errör).. Karakterler için görmek istediklerim, popüler kültüre ait Daredevil gibi çizgi romanlar için fazla uçarı kalıyor sanırım.. Çünkü Daredevil’dan gerçekte çok şey bekliyordum. Gerçek bir “knightfall” ya da biraz kastırarak “knightchange” gibi birşey. Benim beklentilerimi coşturan olay; Daredevil #501’de Daredevil’ın kendi mentorunu, daha iyi bir amaç için öldürmesiydi. Fakat bunun bir kandırmaca olmasının ortaya çıkmasıyla 2 sayı içerisinde bu değişim bozuldu. Kör avukat Matt Murdock hala çok akıllı bir Marvel Knight. Oysa ilk Fallen Knight bu mu olacak diye düşünüyordum. Öykünün gidişatı her ne kadar kafamı bozsa da hikaye anlatımı hala güzel. Çizimler hala yazılı  hikayeden bağımsız karmaşık hafif rüyamsı karanlık bir atmosfer yaratıyor ki bence yazılı hikayeyi destekleyen ve ona güç veren en önemli öğre. Daredevil için konuşuyorum. Yani Çizgi Romanlar bu yüzden güzeldir varan 2: Benim için yine hikayenin yan çizdiği ancak çizimleriyle kurtarmış bir sayıdır.

Bu hafta ne öyle çok fazla birşey okudum ne de çok fazla birşeyden etkilendim gördüğünüz gibi. Yine en güzeli Punişırdı diyebilirim. Dark Horse Comics tarafından yayınlanan birçok review’da yüksek puanlar alan post apokaliptik macera Sweeth Thoot ve bir masal uyarlaması olan ve gerçekten çok güzel gözüken The Marvelous Land of Oz’dan da bahsetmek isterdim aslında ama bu tip çizgi romanların ya bir graphic novel gibi değerlendirebiliyorum ya da gerçekten progresif diyebileceğim bir olay olursa haklarında birşeyler söyleyebilirim ancak. Çünkü; evet güzel gözüküyorlar, güzel okunuyor ve izleniyorlar ama yine de arkası yarın çizgi romanlarından öte büyük bir hikayenin daha ilk paragraflarını temsil ettikleri için “bir macera” gibi değerlendirmek zorlaşıyor. Ama özellikle The Marvelous Land of Oz gerçekten tek kelimeyle çok güzel.

by Andy Diggle (writer), Roberto De La Torre (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: An out of touch Matt Murdock becomes familiar with the current Dark Reign environment.  Meanwhile, the power shifts continue in Hell’s Kitchen.

What’s Good: It seems that most Marvel comics are more focused on Osborn and his Avengers running about and appearing at inopportune moments.  While this can be fun, it glosses over the larger, overall effect of Osborn’s rise to power.  This issue of Daredevil is thus somewhat refreshing as it takes a street level look at Dark Reign, a world where the police and the entire justice system are under Osborn’s sway.  Daredevil isn’t battling the Sentry, but rather Osborn’s diseased system itself.  In many ways, this approach only makes Osborn seem all the more powerful: we never see or hear him, but we see his effects on the world and the people he has in his pockets.

This ultimately makes Matt’s use of the Hand all the more interesting.  It’s the always-fun trope of beating bad guys by becoming a bad guy.  Matt’s using the ninja deathcult to combat police officers, and this really encapsulates what Dark Reign should be about, as the positions of good and evil are reversed.  Meanwhile, behind this all, the Kingpin still lurks, plots, and consolidates.

Roberto De La Torre meanwhile continues to put out some of the best work of his career.  It’s clear that he was born to draw Daredevil and is the perfect choice for the series.  Art-wise, it’s a real challenge to think of a book currently on the racks that’s any darker, grittier, or more shadowy than this.  De La Torre’s work is in this sense really quite daring, as its far darker and grimier than you might expect from such a mainstream book.  The design for Matt’s DD-inspired ninjas is also completely awesome.

What’s Not So Good: It’s hard not to be incredibly let down, even frustrated, when Diggle completely reverses the giant twist he dropped on us last month.  It was such a daring move and to see it completely taken back only leads to a bevy of “what ifs” and a feeling that the book has somehow been dumbed down, that it’s become less brave and risqué and more typical.  It also makes me feel like a lot of page-space has been wasted these past couple of months on what is essentially a very simple, even unimaginative, trick.

Indeed, instead of the relentless forward progression that last month’s twist furthered, we end up spending a couple of pages listening to the same old conversation we’ve heard several times already: destroy the hand, or try to use it for good?  It’s as though we’ve gone back to square one, replete with psychological water-treading.  The relentless rush of story progression that the last couple months have seen for DD slows this month to your bog-standard, steady trickle.

Conclusion: It’s by no means a bad book, but it’s hard not to be aggravated by Diggle going back on what made his first issue so great.

Grade: B -

-Alex Evans

Dear Mister Quesada,

I’d like to formally apologize for the snarky aside I made about “Brand New Day” in the panel, even though it’s not on YouTube yet, and according to the modern digital world, it doesn’t exist. I’m not a huge Spidey fan, and I understand the want to maintain character longevity. I just feel like there are different ways to go about it; after all, Daredevil’s been outed twice, disbarred once, and has had several of his girlfriends die on him, not to mention spending time in prison. Granted, there was that whole Clone Saga, but seriously – compared to Ol’ Hornhead, Spidey has it real easy, and not once has Matt Murdock’s life been in need of a retroactive continuity change.

But, through all of that, you see one shining attribute – persistence. Matt Murdock doesn’t give up. Matt Murdock is the Rocky Balboa of superheroes. Sure, he has a radar sense, but other than that, he’s a physically normal human being, trying to stand toe to toe with the Clubber Langs and Ivan Dragos and the Kingpins. He gets beat down, stomped on, pushed to the limits of his sanity – he knows what comes, and he still keeps going. At times, it’s heroic, like Rocky I or IV; other times, it’s tragic, like Rocky Balboa or Rocky II. Other, other times, it’s just plain cheese, like Rocky V. It doesn’t matter. He just keeps going.

I’m positive this is the way with Spidey as well, but to me, Spiderman’s always been emblematic of what young life is. You struggle to find your way in the world, you meet the girl, you get the job, and you make your hard choices. But, at some point, I feel like Spiderman should be changing diapers. That’s just how it goes. You marry the girl, Aunt May dies, and after a long night of tears, you move on. You try to make sense of your life, and that’s where the kid comes in. You find a new purpose to keep doing what you’re doing, until you reach a kind of Quixotic end, where you decide, “You know what? Maybe the best death for a hero is a normal death. A quiet one, with friends and family. Nothing spectacular. No saving babies from a burning building, no brilliant fight to the end. Just the people who matter most.”

That’s the way I feel Spiderman should be. While Matt Murdock is Marvel’s Rocky Balboa – the enduring warrior, persistence in the face of suffering, triumph in the face of adversity – Spiderman is the one who says, “Once you get through it all, and you’ve had your hard times – life is pretty awesome.” He’s George Bailey, right at the end of “It’s A Wonderful Life”. Scratch that – he IS George Bailey. He’s a smart-alecky, swing-from-buildings, fight-the-Goblin George Bailey. He has some rough patches, but either by himself or with a little help, he always gets to swing above the clouds and see the sun.

So, for Matt Murdock’s sake, let Spidey have the kid. Let Aunt May die. While some heroes are made to suffer, and to quote Glenn Danzig, are “born in the soul of misery”, Spiderman is not one of them. He’s the hero that deserves something resembling a happy ending, and I sincerely hope that he gets it.

All the best,

Brian A. Lynch
a.k.a Brian St. Claire

By Bryan Q. Miller (writer), Tim Levins & Lee Garbett (pencillers), Dan Davis, Aaron Sowd & Trevor Scott (inkers), Harvey Richards (assistant editor), Michael Siglain (editor)

The Story: As always, Miller makes his themes (in this case, the title “Field Test”) do double duty. Stephanie Brown is field testing her new high-tech Batgirl costume. Barbara Gordon is helping monitor the suit while giving advice, but when she has to deal with something, Batgirl herself is field tested against someone well out of her league.

What’s Good: If there’s one issue that can vouch for Miller’s writing, it’s Batgirl #4. The plotting and thematic ideas are always tight, but my hat remains off on his character work. His characters are just fun to follow. The back and forth between Barbara and Stephanie is solid, as Miller packs his dialogue with personality. Stephanie’s running self-deprecation could get tiresome in another character, but when put together with her natural exuberance and fun, it works, with lines like “And this Batgirl doesn’t sing – not in front of people anyway” and “I’m almost fifty percent sure nothing could go wrong.” I’m also waiting to see where this romantic tension between Batgirl and the young detective is going to go.

Art team has changed a bit. Tim Levins has replaced Scott and Hope in the driver seat with Lee Garbett. The art is clear, the expressions tell the story and the poses are more natural. The layouts also seem to be evolving positively. The final battle page between Batgirl and the villain is a funny and well-told stack of panels.

What’s Not So Good: The superhero skeleton of the story is nothing original. Batgirl’s encounter with this super-villainess is pretty forgettable, but I’m wondering if the search for something truly field-expanding is what Batgirl readers are looking for when they buy this book. Would something truly original to the field (think the teen angst of Lee/Ditko Spiderman, the gritty noir of Miller’s Daredevil or the soap opera of Claremont’s X-Men) fit within a book whose focus is the fun of watching a flighty, occasionally quixotic teenager turn herself into a real superhero? But if ground-breaking work is not in Batgirl’s future, will the series survive? Sales estimates for issue #3 from Diamond are around 37,000, which is pretty respectable for a new book, so Michael Siglain has some flex before making any serious decisions, but Miller has got some work ahead of him to convince readers that Stephanie Brown matters, without losing the fun of what makes her great.

Conclusion: Batgirl is an entertaining book and very accessible to the new reader. This is what mainstream comics do well. But I hope that Batgirl does not get lost behind a lot of other books that are also delivering mainstream stories.

Grade: C+

-DS Arsenault

Qui a Latveria, come pure di la a dISPENSER, ci piace interessarci non solo di quelli che sono dei fighi senza se e senza ma, come Galactus o che ne so, Nick Fury. Non siamo così limitati e prevedibili! Cosa credi? Infatti, in barba a quello che credevi tu, ci piace anche porgere la nostra attenzione verso quei personaggi considerati da qualcuno marginali, che però a noi ragazzi ci hanno trasmesso tante gioie, dolori, emoziòni… Che alla fine le emoziòni sono importanti. Mica solo il pim! pum! pam! Per cui per questa volta abbiamo chiesto al nostro lector d’eccezione, Costantino della Gherardesca, di dare vita con la sua profonda voce al fragile animo di…

KAREN PAGE

Cliccare per ascoltare in streaming…

Avete presente il luogo comune dell’uomo che si porta a letto la sua segretaria? Ecco, la storia d’amore tra Matt Murdock e Karen Page inizia proprio così. Lui è un avvocato non vedente. Lei invece una ragazza bella, bionda e fresca di laurea. I due, inevitabilmente, si innamorano. Le cose vanno talmente bene che Murdock decide addirittura di fare uno strappo alle regola numero uno del mondo dei fumetti e rivela alla bellissima ragazza la sua seconda identità. Di notte, si mette una tutina rossa aderente e – grazie ai suoi sensi superpotenziati – si impegna nella lotta contro il crimine. È infatti Devil: L’uomo Senza Paura. La loro storia d’amore andrà avanti anni, fino a quando Karen non lascierà New York alla volta di Holywood per tantare di diventare una stella del Cinema. Ce la farà, ma nei film di Scorsese o Spielberg, ma in squallide vhs pornografiche. Già che c’è, la ragazza decide di darsi anche all’eroina. Devastata da anni di abusi, Karen Page durante una violenta crisi d’astinenza “vende”, in cambio di una dose, la vera identità di Devil a uno spacciatore. Il suo gesto ha delle terribili conseguenze: Matt Murdock viene radiato dall’albo degli avvocati, perde la casa e vede morire molti dei suoi amici. Presa dal rimorso, Karen torna a New York per tentare di salvare Matt, che ovviamente la perdona. I due tornano insieme: lei si disinitossica, organizza campagne per i diritti delle donne e comincia a fare la speaker per un programma radiofonico. La sua carriera decolla e, ancora una volta, lascia Matt per insguire il successo. Ma anche se adesso è una brillante donna in tailleur, gli anni di vizi si pagano: Karen scoper di avere l’AIDS. Poco importa però: poco dopo, per evitare che il suo amore di una vita venga colpito da un micidiale colpo sferrato del cattivone Bullseye, morirà facendogli scudo.

Ah, pare che dopo questa performance Costantino sia stato chiamato a leggere degli audio libri di un certo spessore.
BONUS! Per non farci mancare nulla – soprattutto le foto delle donne nude – in omaggio per Voi una foto simpatica di Ellen Pompeo, ovvero colei che avrebbe dovuto portare su grande schermo Karen Page nel terribile Daredevil. Il film fortunatamente ha poi subito dei tagli e – PUF – Ellen Pompeo nel film non si vede. Un bene? Un male? Chissenefrega?

I still can’t figure out a snazzier title than New Comics Wednesday for these posts – if you can come up with a better one, let me know! At any rate, below the cut is everything we’re getting in tomorrow!

Don’t forget that this week we’re offering a special deal on our comics: Purchase the most recent issue of any comic or graphic novel and get back issues of the series for 25% off.

Of special note: Daredevil 502 continues a -huge- emerging storyline from 501 – I read 501 (and I’ve never been a Daredevil fan) and now I’m hooked on this new storyline where Daredevil’s now in charge of The Hand!

Also, we’ve got a ton of Batman incoming – three titles in the family! And for Blackest Night fans, there’s a new Blackest Night-branded Green Lantern Corps that should be a little more than mildly interesting after the reveal of Nekron in BN#4!

ACTION COMICS #883
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #611
BATMAN #693
BATMAN AND ROBIN #6
BATMAN THE UNSEEN #3 (OF 5)
CABLE #20
CASPER & THE SPECTRALS #1 (C: 1-0-0)
CAT PARADISE GN VOL 02 (MR) (C: 0-1-2)
DAREDEVIL #502
DARK X-MEN #1 (OF 5)
DEADPOOL #17
DEKA KYOSHI VOL 01
DIAMOND DATELINE NOV 11 2009 (NET)
FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH DANCE #6 (OF 6)
FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH INK #6 (OF 6)
GHOSTBUSTERS DISPLACED AGGRESSION #3 (C: 1-0-0)
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #42 (BLACKEST NIGHT)
JACK FROST TP VOL 02 (C: 0-1-2)
KOBOLD QUARTERLY MAGAZINE #11 (C: 0-1-2)
PUNISHERMAX #1 (MR)
REALM OF KINGS IMPERIAL GUARD #1 (OF 5)
SECRET SIX #15
SKY DOLL DOLL FACTORY #1 (OF 2) (MR)
STAR WARS CLONE WARS #10 HERO CONFEDERACY PT 1 (C: 1-0-0)
STAR WARS PURGE SECONDS TO DIE ONE SHOT (OSW) (C: 1-0-0)
STRANGE #1 (OF 4)
SWORD #1 (MARVEL)
TANK GIRL SKIDMARKS #1 (OF 4) (C: 0-1-2)
TITANS #19
X-FORCE #21
BLACKEST NIGHT #1 (OF 3RD PTG
BLACKEST NIGHT #3 (OF
BLACKEST NIGHT BATMAN #2 (OF 3) 2ND PTG
BLACKEST NIGHT TITANS #1 (OF 3)
GHOSTBUSTERS DISPLACED AGGRESSION #1 (C: 1-0-0)
GHOSTBUSTERS DISPLACED AGGRESSION #2 (C: 1-0-0)
JIM BUTCHERS DRESDEN FILES HC VOL 02 STORM FRONT PT 1 PX ED
SUPERMAN SECRET ORIGIN #1 (OF 6)

Ok, so we’ve all seen batman as a grownup: incredibly awesome and guaranteed box office GOLD. Batman as a kid would be boring: boohoo dead parents and all that. But what about batman as a TEEN?!
BOOMPOW!
Enter Gotham High,
Wait, what is that?
Is that success I smell a-brewin’?
Before I lay it all out, I’ll ease your mind by saying we already have a sequel in the works: Gotham University! (and a threequel: Gotham post-grad!)
Now, strap into your pampers because this movie is going to shit money. Literally.
Batman and Joker: two seniors in high school. They both have built their reputations or the past three years, and now they’re the top dawgs of Gotham High. This means one thing of course: RIVALRY!
They’re totally rivals!
We see them pass each other in the hall and Batman’s like “something smells poor. Joker must be nearby!” Then he and his snob friends chuckle and Batman’s monocle falls out of his face from laughing so hard and he almost spills his martini. Also Catwoman is his girlfriend and she’s the head cheerleader.
Then Joker punches him and the teacher, who is the Green Lantern, breaks them up and is like “superheroes aren’t supposed to fight! Get back to class you knuckleheads before I send you to principal Spiderman!” and they’re both like shrugging their shoulders and looking cool and like “whatever.” They both know mean old principal Spiderman is mad at them for always being rivals and tearing the school spirit in half instead of acting like the brothers they are. Also Catwoman is the joker’s girlfriend and she’s head of the spirit squad.
All of a sudden, this rivalry is about to explode!!! why?
Because Samantha Campbell is a new transfer student who just moved from New York out here to California to attend Gotham High School. And she is totally mind-blowingly hot! You’d better believe it!
So they’re in chemistry class throwing insult-notes at each other and then, in walks Samantha Campbell, and BAM! jaws=on floor. heads=turned.
Batman’s all like “you can sit here Samantha!” and joker’s like “i got you flowers Samantha!” and Batman’s like “you can wear my varsity jacket Samantha!” And the teacher, who is the Punisher is like “everyone settle down! There are two things I know about: Chemistry and punishing!”
so they all sit down, and Batman and Joker make angry eyes at each other so it’s clear to the audience that it’s ON!
So we see Joker at home and hes family’s all mean and his dad’s a gambler-drunk and he’s like “no one understands me!” and he runs into the yard and gets into his purple camaro and peels rubber outta there! Then we see Batman at home and his mom’s like “why don’t you buy her things? That’s how your father and I met.” and his dad’s like “she’s not good enough for you son. We need a family that’s fat with mutual funds and banking! I raised you better than this!” And Batman cries a single tear because he’s rich and rich people don’t know how to cry properly. Then he leaves on his harley, and puts on his leather jacket, which has a skull on the back (skulls are scarier than bats).
Then Batman pulls up to the red light and who should be there but the joker in his purple camaro. And they both look at each other all sad, and we can just tell that they used to be best friends because of family stuff. Then before they can be best friends again, or say a word, Samantha pulls up to the light in her daddy’s ferrari, which is candy red, like Samantha’s blonde hair, which is dyed black now to match the car. Batman sees her black hair and he winks at joker like she dyed it black to match his batman suit. Joker revs his engine and batman revs his motorbike and the light turns green and they’re off! We blast Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal” as loud as the theatre speakers can go, BLASTO!
They race all through town, and Samantha is following to see which one will win her heart, and they both have gadgets in their vehicles like james bond, but the joker’s are all krappy like with duct tape and milk jugs, but they’re still powerful (he’s poor, but scrappy!).
This race signifies that snobs will always be versus slobs in life and teenagers should get used to it and find out who they really are inside, so it’s kind of a feel-good life lesson movie too.
Then they both crash into fireballs in the side of a building that ironically is owned by the evil Daredevil corporation.
And Iron Man comes out of the building in a tuxedo and he’s like “you’ll pay for this damage, you knuckleheads!”
They both look at Samantha, who is eating a popsicle, and they realize they can’t run away like cowards. It’s time to team up and fight together! So Batman uses his gadgets and Joker uses his laughing and they both are winning the fight against Iron Man, but then he turns into the HULK and says “it’s clobberin’ time!!!” they both get their noses bloodied, but after a sweet 45-minute cgi battle, they emerge victorious. They look at Samantha, but she is eating a banana with her throat and isn’t impressed with either of them yet.
So they look at each other and they’re like “i guess now it’s time to fight each other for her love.”
they are both bloody and broken-nosed and batman’s cape is all beat up and then professor Punisher shows up and he’s like Samantha, you’re causing all of this?!”
Samantha says “Mr. Punisher, I really need straight A’s if you catch my drift.” (the audience is like “Oh ho-HO! It’s an erection thing!)
and the Punisher and Samantha walk away arm in arm and Batman and Joker learn a valuable lesson about women and vow never to fight each other again. But then another hot girl comes into the screen (EVEN HOTTER than Samantha!!!), and she’s like “I’m Nadia, the new exchange student from Norway.” Then Batman and the Joker look at each other and make angry eyes and the credits roll as we kick in with ACDC’s “Back in Black”.

Come consuetudine, anche questa settimana proponiamo le risposte  alle domande dei lettori, sui manga, le uscite, le ristampe, i difetti di traduzioni ecc.

Si sa qualcosa della nuova ristampa di merupuri- il principe dei sogni-? Ho acquistato il primo volume della seconda ristampa uscita il 30 luglio 2009.
Nessuno sa dirmi quando usciranno gli altri 3 volumi per terminare la serie?
Grazie! Eleonora Zara

Ciao Eleonora, il 30 luglio è uscita una seconda ristampa del volume n.1 de IL PRINCIPE DEI SOGNI, perché effettivamente era andato esaurito anche nella prima ristampa. I volumi 3 e 4 sono però ancora disponibili in prima ristampa, e il mio consiglio è di recuperarli. Sicuramente per l’anno prossimo avrai notizie della ristampa del volume 2 attualmente esaurito, sempre che tu nel frattempo non te lo sia già aggiudicato a qualche mercatino o fiera.

Ehilà! Sono molto felice che abbiate aperto questa rubrica che, da quanto ho capito, trova anche senso nel discutere riguardo al mondo dei manga! Però prima avrei una domandina… Che fine ha fatto la ristampa del numero 7 di Berserk? Se non sbaglio doveva uscire insieme al 6, ma non mi è sembrato di vederla! Ci terrei molto perchè è l’unico numero di 33 che mi manca… Inoltre se non sbaglio fra “poco” dovremmo pure avere il n. 34, visto che è uscito da poco nella paese nipponico.
Passando alla questione sostanziale, cosa ne pensate del fenomeno scanlation? Dove però le scans sono limitate ai soli manga e ai soli volumi non pubblicati in Italia. Ritengo che il lavoro dei gruppi di scan sia una vera e propria pubblicità nei confronti dei manga: senza di esse non sarei arrivato dove sono ora (precisamente 602 manga posseduti). È ovvio però  secondo me che se leggi per l’appunto le scan di un certo manga poi compri il volume corrispettivo: è per me una giusta via di mezzo. Penso infatti che tutto ciò che riguarda raw, scan e spoiler sia un beneficio verso il grande mondo del fumetto giapponese, ma soprattutto verso il nostro! Voi, dal punto di vista di redattori, traduttori ecc. che opinione avete riguardo a ciò? È sempre bene vedere vari punti di vista della faccenda!
Grazie in anticipo per la risposta!!!
Jacopo

Ciao Jacopo, credo sia stata fatta un po’ di confusione… Visto che parli di numeri 33 e 34, sicuramente ti riferisci a BERSERK COLLECTION, mentre le ristampe dei numeri 6 e 7 annunciate facevano riferimento alla SERIE NERA, e sono effettivamente state realizzate a settembre 2009 come previsto. Le ultime ristampe della prima serie risalgono al 2006: all’epoca tutti i numeri esauriti erano disponibili per chi avesse dovuto colmare i propri buchi da collezione, per i neofiti invece l’anno dopo partì la riedizione SERIE NERA, così non si pose più il problema delle ristampe arretrate. A distanza di ormai tre anni, sinceramente non credo proprio che si andranno a ristampare i volumi Collection della prima serie, ti conviene recuperare l’albo in altro modo o accontentarti di colmare il buco con il volume SERIE NERA. Per il numero 34, se tutto va bene ti leggerai il volume sdraiato al mare sotto l’ombrellone
Sul discorso scanlation, non metto in dubbio che dietro questo fenomeno lavorino ragazzi appassionati, sicuramente in buona fede e preparati, ma comprenderai da te, caro Jacopo, che come casa editrice non possiamo assolutamente appoggiare o giustificare questo tipo di attività, sia esso coperto da copyright o no (che poi in realtà è SEMPRE coperto da copyright, gli appassionati non sono i licenziatari di un dato manga, non hanno pagato per acquistare il diritto a svolgere quel lavoro, e non hanno chiesto il permesso di farlo alla casa editrice giapponese).
Anzi, noi come redazione non possiamo che inoltrare, quando ce ne accorgiamo o ci pervengono da voi lettori, eventuali segnalazioni di illeciti al nostro ufficio Licensing o alla casa editrice d’origine di riferimento. Inoltre, nell’esempio che tu porti, dai per scontato che tutti i lettori italiani siano anche collezionisti, ma così non è. Esiste una grande fetta di lettori che vogliono semplicemente fruire e godere del prodotto, sia esso anime o cartaceo, senza per questo doverlo “possedere” nel senso stretto del termine. Se si fa in modo che questo grande bacino d’utenza sia dispensato dall’obbligo di acquistare il prodotto nei canali ufficiali e legalizzati, sul lungo periodo si arreca un grande danno all’editore e, di riflesso, attraverso una inevitabile contrazione del mercato, alla diffusione stessa dei manga in Italia.

Ciao Marco.
In questa e-mail non voglio chiederti di ristampe o cose così, ma di parlare seriamente di un pensiero e un problema di molti lettori panini.Riguarda le vostre edizioni.
Molti le criticano su vari aspetti, che, voglio elencarti: carta trasparente (che si vede la pagine opposta), carta dove l’inchiostro sporca le dita, i prezzi “eccessivi” e, soprattutto, le edizioni Gold, che vengono definite una “ladrata” visto gli errori, le vignette e i balloons tagliati, il prezzo, ecc… Dal mio punto di vista, non te lo nego, alcuni di questi punti come l’inchiostro che sporca l’ho notato, altri un po’ meno. Ma ciò che voglio chiederti è semplicemente se si può fare qualcosa, di
specifico per raccogliere e sentire i problemi dei lettori, organizzando poi un modo per risolvere il problema stesso. Io capisco che (cosa banale ma spesso non valutata) non si può alzarsi
la mattina e cambiare tutto, ma ci vogliono finanziamenti e tempo. Però, perchè non cambiare sistemi, risolvere i problemi, migliorare le edizioni?
Uno dei vantaggi di PlanetManga, rispetto alle altre case editrici, sono i titoli.
Titoli belli, di successo, che piacciono e che vendono; ma se ad essi si abbinano edizioni poco curate o perlomeno il cui risultato non è dei migliori, credo che non giovi nemmeno a voi, oltre che a noi lettori. Apro un’altra parentesi, questa volta una domanda, una curiosità.
Non si può dar via ad un progetto di nuove ristampe, per i titoli più venduti e famosi, ma che sia una ristampa coi fiocchi, con una carta abbastanza spessa, bianca, che non sporca, una cura nel lettering e nell’impaginazione, con un prezzo economico? Scusa il papiro, ma ci tenevo a dirlo ^^
Ciao e grazie dell’attenzione.

Daniel

Caro Daniel, grazie per la tua mail e per il tuo pensiero. Indubbiamente la volontà di migliorarsi sempre è implicita nell’essere umano, e noi non facciamo certo eccezione. Proprio per questo motivo abbiamo voluto offrire a voi lettori questo spazio on line, per sentire cosa avete da dire, di bene e di male, sui nostri titoli e sulle nostre edizioni. Un primo passo non può che essere questo, quello di prendere atto di cosa vi piace e cosa non vi piace.
La tua e-mail ci permette sicuramente di farci un’idea delle cose sulle quali ci sarà da migliorare nei prossimi mesi, e di questo ti ringraziamo. Credo comunque che ultimamente da parte nostra si stia dimostrando per lo meno una certa buona volontà: prediamo come esempio recente la carta di PLUTO, che è stata appunto cambiata dopo aver preso atto delle lamentele di voi lettori.

Gentile Panini,
innanzi tutto mi aggiungo alle tante persone che vi ringraziano per per questa ottima iniziativa di rispondere a noi compratori. Detto questo passerei subito al dunque, al motivo per il quale vi scrivo:

1) seguo innumerevoli serie di manga e conosco innumerevoli fumetterie, ma nonostante la mia più che ventennale esperienza nel mondo dei manga non sono riuscito a reperire il numero 13 di HIKARU NO GO (e vivo a Roma, quindi neanche a dire un paesino!). Tempo fa già un altro lettore (un certo Antimi Dario) vi chiese se avevate intenzione di ristampare la serie del duo Hotta/Obata quindi mi aggiungo a lui e spero ad altra gente chiedendovi una ristampa di questo manga.

2) parlando di ristampe… mi chiedo… come mai…da un certo momento in poi… avete iniziato a renderle più costose della prima edizione?

3) Sapevo già da tempo che avreste iniziato a pubblicare una serie di Ken Akamatsu (LOVE HINA) e mi chiedevo se avevate almeno l’intenzione di dare un’occhiata all’altra sua opera, o se gliel’avete già data, se pensate di pubblicarla, se non la vedremo mai, insomma potrei sapere qualunque idea (concreta) abbiate su Maho Sensei Negima?

Con questo è tutto, grazie della disponibilità e grazie in anticipo per le risposte.

Simone Volpi

Ciao Simone,

1) Effettivamente i numeri 13 e 14 sono gli unici a risultare esauriti per questo titolo. Al momento in programma non c’è nulla, passo la palla a chi di dovere per vedere se c’è margine per una ristampa in futuro.

2) Gli aumenti non riguardano soltanto i fumetti purtroppo. Può sembrare una facile battuta, ma non lo è affatto: aumenta il pane, la benzina, il gas, l’elettricità, e se persino i generi di prima necessità subiscono degli aumenti, come potrebbero sottrarsi generi di lusso come il Fumetto?

3) Come avrai sentito in occasione del Lucca Comics&Games 2009, la serie è stata acquistata da un altro Editore.

Gentile Redazione,
vorrei chiedere se ci sono novità riguardo il quarto volume di DOGS PALLOTTOLE E SANGUE di Miwa Shirow.
Grazie, siete mitici come sempre.

Ciao caro, il volume numero 4 di DOGS dovrebbe vedere la luce, se tutto va bene, nel primo semestre del 2010.

Cara redazione.
Vorrei avere qualche informazione sulle vostre uscite o possibili uscite.
Per quando la ristampa di MONSTER di Naoki Urasawa?
C’è un’opera ancora inedita in Italia che si chiama History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi (Shijo saikyo no deshi Ken’ichi), è un manga molto divertente e interessante incentrato sulle arti marziali… Avete intenzione di comprarne i diritti? O qualche altro editore ha già provveduto?
Con questo è tutto!

Caio Planet Manga!
Volevo chiedervi se sarà mai possibile vedere in Italia History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi di Matsuena Syun, uno Shonen a mio parere molto interessante con più di 30 volumi pubblicati in Giappone, e Bakuman della premiata ditta Tsugumi Ohba/Takeshi Obata.
Grazie di tutto,

Enrico

Caro Marco,
ho seguito in streaming la vostra conferenza in attesa di buone nuove e l’annuncio di Astroboy mi ha davvero entusiasmato visto che sto leggendo avidamente Pluto e Tezuka abbiamo imparato tutti a conoscerlo, ma che senso ha proporre soltanto un “best of” delle storie del carissimo Atom? Sicuramente è un passo avanti rispetto al passato visto che abbiamo auto pochissime possibilità di leggere questa perla, ma perché privare ai lettori la possibilità di leggere le altre storie? Per quanto i volumi possano essere corposi, le storie presentate saranno una minima parte di quelle prodotte da Tezuka. Complimenti per l’iniziativa ma immagino che molti, come me, saranno in dubbio se comprare questa collezione o se aspettare che qualcuno si decida a pubblicare l’intera serie.
Per il resto volevo esprimere la mia felicità nell’apprendere la pubblicazione dell’artbook di Urasawa e della ristampa dei volumi esauriti di Taniguchi.
Riguardo gli esauriti di 20th Century Boys ci era stato chiesto di aspettare Lucca per ulteriori informazioni ma – magari mi sono perso qualcosa – non mi pare di aver sentito alcuna notizia a riguardo: dobbiamo sempre aspettare il 2010 per la ristampa dei volumi mancanti?
Dimitri

Sulle ristampe manga per il 2010 nei prossimi giorni dovremmo essere in grado di dirvi qualcosa di più concreto, al momento non sono ancora in grado di rispondervi.
Su ASTROBOY, devo dirti carissimo Dimitri che non è stata una nostra idea, ma che si tratta invece di una nuova edizione extralusso esclusivamente pensata ad hoc dall’editore giapponese e dagli eredi di Tezuka per tutti gli appassionati di Tetsuwan Atom: potete dunque essere più che sereni sulla dedizione, l’attenzione e la qualità che riscontrerete all’interno di questo prodotto.
Per l’inedito di cui mi chiedete di Matsuena, al momento non è in programma, mentre per BAKUMAN vedrete il primo numero della serie entro pochissimi mesi!

Rispettabile redazione volevo chiedervi se pubblicherete mai le storie autoconclusive, in Italia inedite, dell’amatissimo Takehiko Inoue: Chameleon jail e Hang time e se ristamperete i oneshot Piercing e Babyface (quest’ultimo pubblicato nella rivista Impact 2000).
Grazie e complimenti.

Mi spiace ma al momento non risultano in programma…

Buongiorno a tutti, sono un grande appassionato di WORST. In merito vorrei sapere qualcosa riguardo il futuro della serie (che sicuramente non naviga in buone acque). C’è la speranza di vederla continuare o bisogna rassegnarsi?
Visto che fino ad agosto aveva mantenuto una quadrimestralità abbastanza precisa, sono rimasto scioccato nel non vederla comparire nel mese di dicembre… mi devo preoccupare?
Grazie per l’attenzione e buon lavoro.
Paolo Chiesa.

Ciao Paolo, per problemi tecnici l’uscita del numero 19 è slittata di alcuni mesi. Speriamo di riuscire a proporlo nel primo trimestre del nuovo anno.

Salve, sono Shin (nome fittizio che ha quasi sostituito l’originale NdR) e leggo il meraviglioso BLEACH praticamente da quand’è uscito! Nel rileggere il n° 30 mi accorgo solo ora di una notizia: per vedere i risultati del Bleach Contest (al quale ho anche partecipato NdR) dovrei andare a vedere sul forum della paninicomics… Che però scopro essere chiuso! Come faccio a leggere i risultati del contest? Il contenuto di tale forum è sparito?
Grazie mille

Bel dilemma, ricordo perfettamente che era stata pubblicata sul forum una classifica con i vincitori del contest, ma non credo proprio che sia recuperabile… Prova a mandare una mail a Elena Zanzi, l’editor di BLEACH, hai visto mai che tante volte abbia salvato il file?
Eccoti l’indirizzo: elena@panini.it

———————————————————

domande e risposte del 9 novembre 2009
Da Massimiliano Brighel, Su 09/11/09 19.33

Vi segnalo che sabato 28 novembre, a partire dalle 16, Giuseppe Camuncoli, disegnatore di Annihilation e Spider-Man’s Tangled Web, Luca Scatasta e il sottoscritto presentano la miniserie X-Infernus presso la fumetteria Fantasy Comics in via Marzabotto 16D a S. Giovanni in Persiceto (BO). Per maggiori informazioni, tel. 051/824703.

Ahem, sono un po’ indietro con la posta, ma se mi avete scritto a fine ottobre (senza farmi domande scandalose, si intende… ^^”), la prossima volta, arrivo anche a voi…

Ciao Max, volevo chiederti se per caso avete intezione di ristampare i numeri 1, 2, 3 e 4 di Vagabond. inoltre ho notato che tornerà Full Metal Panic Sigma: mi chiedevo se poteva regalarci anche il numero 12 in uscita a novembre in Giappone! Ciao.
Nikita

Purtroppo le ristampe dei primi Vagabond (così come quelle di Berserk o Evangelion) non sono possibili per tutta una serie di motivi, caro Nikita, ma è al vaglio una ristampa degli esauriti di Vagabond Deluxe. Riguardo il n. 12 di FMPS, se ne parlerà almeno a metà del 2010: tra il contratto, la messa in scaletta e i tempi tecnici dell’edizione italiana, sono infatti ALMENO necessari sei mesi prima dell’uscita in edicola.

Ciao Max, volevo se possibile il tuo aiuto in quanto mi è capitato tra le mani il n. 4 di Rat-Man Collection dove nell’ultima di copertina non c’è ne il codice a barre nè il “ragnetto” (presente  in alcuni primi numeri)… Praticamente il rettangolo che deve contenere uno di questi due marchi è con lo
sfondo bianco … Sai dirmi se è un falso  o un errore di stampa o una rarità? Grazie e un salutone…
Claudio, Mantova

Direi che è una ristampa per fumetterie, quindi a tiratura limitata, caro Claudio. Comunque, in terza di copertina, dovrebbe essere scritto con chiarezza. Vai in zona colophon, ossia dove trovi i dati tecnici…

Salve Max! Sono una grandissima appassionata di fumetti Marvel e manga, e ringrazio tutta la redazione Panini Comics per le bellissime serie che ci presentate ogni mese… Però, ahimè , ho proprio da ridire su di esse… Voglio dire: shonen , shojo, seinen, sport, commedie, mecha, fantasy… Pubblicate davvero di tutto e mi sorge una domanda: “Caro Max, e gli Yuri e Shojo ai li abbiamo forse dimenticati???”. Da grandissima fan di questi 2 generi non posso rimanere indifferente! Abbiamo forse dimenticato le serie come Chirality?! Pubblicate una vasta scelta di shojo, ma non esistono solo gli amori etero! Forse gli amori omosessuli non risultano poi tanto interessanti? Forse sono solo riservati a un numero ristretto di fan? Qui in Italia il fenomeno yuri è amato da ogni tipo di pubblico sia maschile che femminile compresi anche gli etero, e lo dimostrano i tantissimi forum incentrati proprio su questo tema… Non voglio assolutamente criticare il vostro lavoro, ma da fan (sia vostra che di questo genere), sentivo di dover esprimere questa mia opinione… Quindi ci tengo a sottolinearlo: l’amore è sempre amore, alla fine quello che conta è che ci facciano sognare!!! Grazie per la pazienza! Un bacio da
EvilRevy

Assolutamente d’accordo con te, cara EvilRevy: l’amore è amore! Purtroppo, però, non abbiamo in programma nuovi manga di questi generi, che pur essendo popolarissimi in patria, in Italia non si sono mai affermati per una miriade di motivi (tra cui il classico moralismo). Sorry!

Ciao, Max… Innanzitutto volevo farvi i complimenti per Lucca Comics: bellissimo!!! Poi volevo farti una domanda: a lucca, insperatamente, ho trovato Onslaught Alpha… Volevo chiederti se le altre parti della saga sono rintacciabili da qualche parte oppure se ormai è qualcosa di inaccessibile (nella mia fumetteria di fiducia non li trovo)… grazie mille in anticipo, ciaoo!!
STEFANO

Direi che ben poco della nostra produzione per edicola è inaccessibile, caro Stefano. Ti basta solo di cercare un po’ nelle fiere o in altre fumetterie (sì, clicca pure su queste parole e trovi gli elenchi). Onslaught si dipanò in nove/fasi + cinque tie-in:
Fase 1: Onslaught Alpha (Marvel Crossover 20)
Fase 2: X-Men/Vendicatori: Onslaught (Marvel Mega
Fase 3: Devil & Hulk 41
Fase 4: Gli incredibili X-Men 86
Fase 5: Capitan America & Thor 34
Fase 6: Fantastici Quattro 115
Fase 7: X-Men Deluxe 29
Fase 8: Wolverine 92
Fase 9: Onslaught Omega (Marvel Crossover 21)

I cinque tie-in sono L’Uomo Ragno 220, Iron Man & I Vendicatori (prima serie) 18, Venom 33, L’Uomo Ragno 223, Wiz 23. Buona caccia!

I complimenti per le nostre iniziative lucchesi e il nostro stand li prendiamo volentieri: tutto il resto è dipeso dall’organizzazione di Lucca Comics!

Salve mr Brighel, è un piacere vedere la sua dedizione per l’angolo della posta, sono rimasto veramente molto sopreso dal suo zelo, continui così! Ecco alcune domande:
1) Ghost Rider 100% Marvel, quanti volumi sono in totale? La serie è ancora in pubblicazione oppure è già terminata?
2)Vorrei tanto leggere le storie di Spawn, una serie che ho scoperto da relativamente poco (un anno a questa parte) e putroppo i numeri sono quasi tutti esauriti e si trovano a prezzi da collezionisti. La domanda è: non è in corso qualche ristampa come avete fatto per l’universo Ultimate? Dato che di Spawn non penso sia mai stata fatta qualche serie collection o simili, penso che una buona ristampa possa anche aumentare il numero di nuovi lettori.
3) Nell’universo Ultimate (non vorrei spoiler di alcun genere… precisiamo!!) ormai siamo alla fine. Si parla di questa nuova era post ultimatum, ma la domanda è: l’universo Ultimate e il Classico dopo Ultimatum saranno irrimediabilmente imparagonabili o sbaglio? Dunque siamo di fronte ad un universo completamente diverso che si distaccherà totalmente, oppure ci sarà qualche escamotage per riprendere in un modo o in un altro il filo delle storie Marvel classiche?
Grazie di tutto e scusi se la mail è troppo lunga
Giuseppe

Grazie dei complimenti, caro Giuseppe! Per risponderti:
1) La serie che stai seguendo su 100% Marvel, Ghost Rider volume 6, si compone di 35 numeri e due annual. Se tutto andrà bene, leggerai gli episodi finali sempre su 100% Marvel. Successivamente, il personaggio è apparso su due miniserie: Ghost Rider – Danny Ketch (cinque numeri) e Ghost Riders: Heaven’s On Fire (sei numeri). Per il momento, il numero dei volumi italiani è ancora top secret!
2) Purtroppo, non sono previste per il momento altre ristampe di Spawn, ma parecchio materiale inedito vedrà la luce nel 2010. Tra questo, la miniserie WildC.A.T.S./Spawn di Alan Moore.
3) Chi può dirlo? Comunque, i due universi adesso sono anche più differenti che all’inizio, questo è sicuro.

Ciao Max, due domande per te:
1) quando uscirà il secondo volume della Collection del Devil di Bendis e Maleev?
2) quando esce il prossimo Masterworks? A chi sarà dedicato?
NICOLA PARADISI

Sfortunatamente, caro Nicola, nessuna delle due collane che ti interessano ha in programma nuove uscite, nei prossimi mesi. Ma non è detto che non arrivino segnali di ripresa nel corso del 2010… Come si suol dire… resta sintonizzato!

Uno de los diseños más memorables del cómic de los últimos años, Lady Bullseye es una asesina creada por Ed Brubaker y Matt Fraction, y diseñada por Marko Djurdjevic (quien también ha pintado las tapas arriba incluidas).

Sobre todo porque su diseño (del que se ven pasos previos aquí arriba) es simple pero llamativo, muy icónico, y pese a ser derivativo de Bullseye, tiene su personalidad propia.

Ayuda que dibujantes talentosos como Michael Lark (arriba) hayan colaborado en su introducción en Daredevil #111, título en el que se ha convertido en un personaje recurrente desde entonces.

Y por supuesto, es un personaje que se presta a estilos más sensuales, como el de Terry Dodson, lo que no molesta.