tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49784398087296634062024-03-18T14:05:32.547-04:00The Cool Kids TableBen Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.comBlogger979125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-40419640433815308402015-01-02T23:29:00.000-05:002015-01-02T23:29:24.905-05:002014 Flashback: My Favorite ComicsWelcome to 2015!<br />
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As a precursor to what I'm hoping will be a really productive year around Phegley HQ, I wanted to dig back into life at the CKT with some posts looking back at 2014 -- a year that rode the fine line between uneventful and massively stressful to the chagrin of my odds at making it to 100.<br />
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As in previous years, I assembled a "Top 10 Comics of the Year" list for Comic Book Resources to contribute to their massive cage match of a Top 100 (<a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=58113">see the full list here</a>). But unlike past years, I wasn't remotely responsible for compiling and editing that list. That meant I could no longer sharpen my list to push books I like into the eyeballs of CBR's wide audience and subsequently that most of my picks didn't make the final round up. Ever in need of a spotlight, I thought I'd share with y'all not only the ten books I submitted to CBR but also a bunch of other comics I enjoyed this year.<br />
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Like the last time I did this (<a href="http://thecoolkidztable.blogspot.com/2009/01/ten-best-comics-i-read-in-2008.html">in 2008?!?</a> Guh), I have to say that there were a ton of surely great comics I didn't read this year, and there are a bunch of comics I read and enjoyed where I could think of nothing to say about them. For example, there's a raft of stuff from Image, Dark Horse, IDW and others that I read on a regular basis, and I usually trade wait most Marvel books (a process I'm way behind on as it is). To top it off, I realized that a lot of what I liked the most this year was made by friends, and I'm not sure I can always divorce what I like about those people from what I like about their work as a real critic should. So if you ever had a thought of taking anything I write as "objective" or "definitive," please stop doing that.<br />
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On with the show...
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<b>Aquaman</b><br />
Written by Jeff Parker<br />
Drawn by Paul Pelletier<br />
Published by DC Comics<br />
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My comics comfort food of the year. I already have a predilection towards Aquaman, but Jeff Parker has also delivered a rare mainstream superhero book that isn't infected by what Grant Morrison recently called an "Ebola-like 'crisis' epidemic." This is a book about the King of the Sea and how it was awkward for him to go to his high school reunion. And then he fought Hercules. Because. Even in the current "Maelstrom" arc which is nominally about long hidden secrets rocking the world of its hero, Parker seems more interested in making this "like no other Aquaman comic you've read before" by using Gorilla Grodd as a one-off villain than he is doing it was some transparent status quo change. Pelletier's art is a huge draw too. I think he's the kind of guy some would call a throwback, but there's nothing about his style that pushes against our current time or towards a past one. He's got a very classic sensibility, which fits a comic like this that's stacked full of simple pleasures.
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<b>Cosplayers</b><br />
Written & Drawn by Dash Shaw<br />
Published by Fantagraphics<br />
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This was my #1 pick of the year on my CBR list, for which I wrote:<br />
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"With only two issues, Dash Shaw delivered the most honest take on modern comics culture published all year. 2014 was a year rife with debates over fake geek girls and cosplayers detracting from artist alley profits. All those overblown recriminations pointed out how many longtime comics fans fail to understand the younger generation breathing new life, new diversity and new methods of expression into our shared world. But while there are a million Tumblr blogs out there extolling the idealized world of cosplayers, Shaw's perceptive stories of young women looking for a connection amid masquerade glory and aging Osamu Tezuka scholars contemplating their irrelevance provided an honest and endearing look at the people who make up modern fandom. For a culture obsessed with fantasy, the cartoonist's work took care to present an effecting – and necessary – version of reality. If every troll on the internet read these comics, we'd all be in a much better place."<br />
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Does anyone know if he's doing a third issue? I'll admit, I kind of love how underwhelming the promotion on this title was, so maybe I don't want to know when I'll stumble upon a #3.
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<b>Dead Letters</b><br />
Written by Christopher Sebela<br />
Drawn by Chris Visions<br />
Published by BOOM! Studios<br />
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Bizarre crime comics have become a well-worn genre in the past decade, and you could easily describe Sebela and Vision's take in terms of the DNA it shares with past stories of lowlifes. It has the "one man against the world" feel of Raymond Chandler, the existential mysteriousness of Philip K. Dick and the gun action of Martin Scorsese. Sure, you could say that. But what keeps the comic a draw after those surface comparisons have worn off is what its creators do with their 'mob saga in purgatory' premise over multiple issues. <i>Dead Letters</i> has a style and a voice that's really its own and completely comics. And that's what matters most.<br />
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I'll add that I've finally figured out what I like and don't like about the BOOM! Studios publishing plan. For all their non-licensed, non-marquee talent books (which is a HUGE part of their line, really), the company gives its creators leeway to play with their story and then end it. This is great creatively as BOOM! has become a place for some fun, stylish genre comics over the past several years (I've been enjoying the stray BOOM! book in this mold as far back as <i>Talent</i>, easily). The frustrating thing is that their continual banking of these books with the hope of a Hollywood pickup wreaks havoc with their backlist. Do you ever here someone talking about "that BOOM! series I liked from a few years back"? So much of the coolest stuff there seems very ephemeral in the marketplace, which is a shame.<br />
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<b>DEMON</b><br />
Written & Drawn by Jason Shiga<br />
Self-Published<br />
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After making a name for himself as one of the more formally inventive cartoonists working today, I'm super pumped that Jason Shiga has selected to release his latest story in the somewhat maligned format of the alt comix pamphlet. <i>DEMON</i> wasn't just an intriguing story of life after death told in the rhythmic panels of Shiga's signature style. It was also the only comic I read this year where I smiled at the way the paper held its simple color pallet or spun the square-formatted floppy in my hands over and over to enjoy the object the artist had made for me. These are the little things that print comics should be proud of playing with.
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<b>Grayson</b><br />
Written by Tom King and Tim Seeley<br />
Drawn by Mikel Janin<br />
Published by DC Comics<br />
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<i>Grayson</i> is the superhero comic this year that I just kept getting pulled back to, which I'd have never guessed at the outset. So many of the books in this market that earn praise are the ones that work hard to break the mold aesthetically from the Big Two standard bearers. But this title accomplished a somewhat rarer feet of proving that there can still be some life within the confines of a house style (especially a house style as restrictive as DC's over the past 5, 10...fuck it, 30 years). <i>Grayson</i> should be accompanied by a wave of caveats-cum-dealbreakers. From concepts created by Grant Morrison that he isn't using! A high concept twist on a character you've read in a billion other comics! Photorealistic art with semi-frequent fill-ins! Instead, promising newcomer Tom King and Tim Seeley (who should get an MVP award for reinventing his creative image in the last three years) push hard on the single issue format and its assorted special tie-ins to build a comic whose rewards are varied and strange.
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<b>Lumberjanes</b><br />
Written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis<br />
Drawn by Brooke Allen<br />
Published by BOOM! Studios<br />
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To quote myself on CBR again:<br />
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"I'm not sure where <i>Lumberjanes</i> will land on CBR's Top Comics list, but if you try to argue with me that it's not the #1 entry on the most buzz-worthy book of 2014, you're crazy. The runaway hit about a team of summer camp scouts traversing the weirds of the wild is so much more than its admirable girl power mission statement. <i>Lumberjanes</i> is a funny, surprising and fantastic piece of comics whose power only increases with each issue. And with its world brimming full of madcap merit badges and monster mountain mythology, the series has the kind of unique language and feel that provides a great entry point to the medium for young readers of any background. Editor Shannon Watters and her team deserve all the praise possible for producing comics that don't just appeal to new fans but will likely become their all-time favorites."<br />
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And I'll reiterate that last idea here. I've been thinking <i>a lot</i> this year about modern kids comics and how they do or don't serve their target audience in a basic "asses in seats" manner. The growth in serial comics for young readers has been super heartening from <i>Tiny Titans</i> debut on through to <i>Adventure Time</i>, but this book is one of the few all-original titles in that flavor of comics expression that has gained a commercial foothold. So I really, REALLY hope a chunk of those copies sold are landing in the hands of young people.
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<b>Multiversity</b><br />
Written by Grant Morrison<br />
Drawn by Ivan Reis, Chris Sprouse, Ben Oliver, Frank Quitely, Cameron Stewart, et al.<br />
Published by DC Comics<br />
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With a years in the making production cycle and the promise of its writer being unbridled by DC Universe continuity standards, Grant Morrison and company's <i>Multiversity</i> had a lot riding on its debut. Luckily, the interconnected, universe-hopping un-event paid off after a long wait.<br />
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From it's monstrously weird opening chapter featuring a wildly diverse DCU to its increasingly idiosyncratic series of one-shots, <i>Multiversity</i> has consistently delivered inventive twists on superhero sub genres and a spiraling series of existential cliffhangers. None of these worked better than the finale of <i>Multiversity: Pax Americana</i>. Morrison and Frank Quitely's <i>Watchmen</i> homage-cum-modern day commentary was as formally inventive as any comic either creator has delivered in years. But the real action here was the human story underneath the eight-panel grids of conspiracy theory which ended with the latest in a series of emotional father-son stories spun by Morrison. His return to the idea that patriarchs pass down violence and awe to their offspring in equal measure has become one of his most potent themes, and combined with the formal experimentation of <i>Multiversity</i>, it makes for some stunning superhero comics.<br />
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On a shamelessly personal note, we're all just bonkers for the work our pal Rickey Purdin has done making this series a reality. For years, Rickey has been one of the most observant readers of Morrison's comics I know -- always connecting the big idea continuity blather of the writer's work and his jittery aesthetic heart in a way few people have gotten at. To see Rickey put those skills to use making each issue of this series so finely tuned in detail has been a joy, and I'm glad he's getting the credit amongst comic critics for elevating this past the smothered-by-deadlines feel of Morrison's other recent DC work.
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<b>Nemo: The Roses of Berlin</b><br />
Written by Alan Moore<br />
Drawn by Kevin O'Neill<br />
Published by Top Shelf & Knockabout<br />
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Shameful admission: I totally forgot this latest chapter in Moore and O'Neill's thankfully continuing public domain-twisting saga arrived in 2014 while making my CBR list. I'm not sure why <i>Nemo</i> didn't come to mind while thinking of comics I read this year, because even though it hasn't lingered on my mind the way some others on this list have, it's impact on me as a reader was immediate and praiseworthy.<br />
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For one, it's astonishing how this book slithered around our collective expectations for what a <i>League of Extraordinary Gentlemen</i> book will be. After the previous two volumes reveled in a densely plotted mash-up of footnote-necessary characters and seething criticisms of modern culture, I never thought the creators would zag back towards a narrative that so acutely connects to the big-paneled plotting of modern adventure comics -- and in such an unironic way to boot! This was a no bullshit "ripping adventure tale" of the kind I didn't think we'd see from Moore ever again.<br />
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And in that vein, this distance his use of Chaplin's Great Dictator creates from the "superheroes fight Nazis" tropes that have hung on to pulp is equally welcome. A few years back, I swore off all appropriation of Third Reich iconography in capes books because I've found it increasingly fucking gross how writers will say, "These Nazis are the most bad ass things you'll see all year!" But despite not naming the name, this story turns Nazism as an idea into a living grotesquery in a way that doesn't denigrate our real history but amplifies the truth of its horror. And O'Neill's art is what really makes that fine point come together. There are pages in here every bit as unnerving as the League's infamous "Hyde eats the Invisible Man" sequence without carrying the fanboy drooling "kewlness" that made part of the franchise's legacy problematic.<br />
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Most of all, we should all recognize the little ways in which Moore and O'Neill have worked to keep this material "difficult" for readers even as it plows forward with its swashbuckling facade. Apart from whole pages being written in German to keep us outside the plot in the same way as our leads, the climax of <i>Nemo</i> engages with the modern growth of women as action heroes in a way that's messy and vital. In its own way, this is as cutting edge a book as these two have ever made, and in Moore's case in particular, I hope he continues to make comics with this kind of verve regardless of his treatment by the industry at large or maybe even to spite it.
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<b>Over Easy</b><br />
Written & Drawn by Mimi Pond<br />
Published by Drawn & Quarterly<br />
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It seems like every year, comics reaches into its overlooked past and offers up a personal work from a creator who's been holding on to a story only they can tell. In 2014, the honor went to Mimi Pond, and boy did she deserve the spotlight. Joining the ranks of Allison Bechdel, Lynda Barry, David Mazzucchelli and other cartooning veterans ready to tackle an ambitious graphic novel, Pond turns a lifetime of storytelling into a project both personal and historically significant. <i>Over Easy</i> hums with strange characters too true to be fictional and tackles the cultural malaise of the 1970s with a keen eye. We're lucky to have her in our ranks and should be eagerly awaiting book two.<br />
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I'll also say that in a year when my art comics graphic novel buying was significantly down due to both cost and access, I was very happy to read this thanks to my job, and <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=54225">the interview I did with Pond</a> was one of my favorites of the year.<br />
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<b>Seconds</b><br />
Written & Drawn by Bryan Lee O'Malley<br />
Published by Ballantine Books<br />
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Here's the longer, goofier version of my CBR write-up of a book I was already destined to enjoy but was still surprised by:
"To be blunt, Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series is one of the few modern comics that can carry the phrase 'generation defining epic' without looking silly. So his follow up to almost a decade of cartooning work and its Hollywood drama capper was sure to be watched with extra scrutiny. Luckily, <i>Seconds</i> is a graphic novel that delivers in spades both by being a total spiritual follow up to Scott Pilgrim and a completely different beast. The story of dedicated but distracted Toronto restauranteur Katie digs to the heart of life after your 20s and to the challenge of building on your earlier successes in a meaningful way. And as he mapped out this new emotional territory, O'Malley easily traded on the humor and inventive plotting that made his last books such a big hit without making readers feel that the tank was dry (we forgive you the 'Bread makes you fat' joke, Mal). Best of all, <i>Seconds</i> leaves fans with pallet's cleansed and completely unaware of what direction the artist might take yet. Sometimes the future is brightest when you can't see where you're going next."
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Sovereign</b><br />
Written by Chris Roberson<br />
Drawn by Paul Maybury<br />
Published by Image Comics<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Sovereign</i> was the most complicated mainstream comic I read this year in the very best way. As new issues of the ultra-dense fantasy epic arrived across the summer, I found myself revisiting previous installments again and again – hungry for the rosetta stone that would bring the pieces of Roberson and Maybury's world together. With its mix of Arabian Nights imagery and Roman conquest action, the series was able to layer in ideas, identity and some stunning imagery for one of the most forward-thining fantasy comics to come along in forever.
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Spooky Sleepover</b><br />
Wrtiten by Dave Scheidt<br />
Drawn by Jess Smart Smiley<br />
Self-Published<br />
<br />
This Kickstarter-backed, Halloween-fueled kids comic is the kind of project I'm a total mark for. But aside from my personal connection to the subject matter and its creators (Dave is a "matching tattoo" worthy comics bro of mine), <i>Spooky Sleepover</i> delivered gruesome and gorgeous story turns with its anthology of pre-teen terror tales. Scheidt's stories marry poop jokes and real middle school fears with ease like a haunted toilet tale about bathroom anxiety or a ghost bike representing young friends gone too soon. Meanwhile, Smart cleverly mixes up hist style to suit each story, and the results evoke everyone from Quentin Blake to Kazimir Strzepek. Seek this book out, and read it with a flashlight.<b><br /></b>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Study Group Magazine #3D</b><br />
Written & Drawn by Various<br />
Published by Study Group Comics<br />
<br />
If you couldn't tell already by some of the other books on my list, I'm really enamored by folks who are pushing the "comics as an object" ideal out further past hand-made minis. And while I've been following various serials on Study Group's website for the past few years (hat tip to Ben Sears' <i>Double +</i> for 2014!), getting a pack of their print books via Kickstarter was a fucking blast.<br />
<br />
The centerpiece of that crowdfunding campaign, <i>Study Group Magazine #3D</i> was a winner on all sorts of levels. I got to watch my friend Sean T. Collins roll his personal interest as a critic into his creative life in a memorable manner. I got the kind of focused look at the late Ray Zone's work and the kinds of comics-making he empowered I'd been hoping for a good long while. I connected to a number of cartoonists whose work I'd known but never really followed (Connor Willumsen, FTW). And most of all, I got to carry around an honest-to-goodness comics magazine – one of my favorite formats – for days and just lazily absorb whatever pages I felt like whenever I rolled back the cover.<br />
<br />
I know that a lot of the artists publishing here are trying out creative muscles as a side gig before doing their own more involved work alone, but the cumulative effect of an anthology like this should be celebrated. Nice job, Zack Soto and company.<br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Superboy: Futures End</b><br />
Written by Frank Barbiere<br />
Drawn by Ben Caldwell<br />
Published by DC Comics<br />
<br />
As many superhero comics as I read in a year, I feel like the kind that rarely ever gets made anymore is the straight one-shot built on capital-F <i>FUN</i>. This comic had the Kindergarten F-word in spades.<br />
<br />
Part of this was that despite receiving many of these "throw our line five years in the future" gimmick books from DC to review, <i>Superboy</i> was the only one I read that used the promotional hook to do something that didn't read like desperate marketing copy. Driven by the fact that this was the last issue of the low-selling title, Frank Barbiere (#1 on my personal list of overlooked mainstream writers right now) wrote a blockbuster finale for a Superboy comic that never existed. His story had a weird internal logic you could only get by looking at the book from an angle, and his use of "Reign of the Supermen" costuming felt far less like stale back issue nostalgia than a celebration of the raw concepts that made that '90s event juggernaut enjoyable. Plus, Ben Caldwell drew this thing with the kind of energy that makes us feel twice as frustrated every time we ask, "Why doesn't Caldwell draw more comics?" This time next year, this'll be the hottest dollar bin book in America.
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<b>Teen Titans</b><br />
Written by Will Pfeifer<br />
Drawn by Kenneth Rockafort<br />
Published by DC Comics
<br />
<br />
Damn, how good is it to have Will Pfeifer back?<br />
<br />
That could honestly be my entire review of this comic, and I'd be fine with that. But just in case you read all the way down here and wanted more, I'll say that Will took a franchise that I couldn't be less interested in after the New 52 relaunch and imbued it with a sense of direction without changing the freaking cast. His scripts took the proverbial bowling pins of the teen team, threw them in the air and started juggling with one hook laden scene after another keeping up the perpetual motion sense of the endeavor. And despite my ambivalence to Rockafort's art up to this point, he's managed to keep his overuse of white space on the page to a minimum and let his pretty slick design sense match the younger tone of this book. I hope it goes for 50 issues.<br />
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Bonus fact that surprises no one: with an assist from Rickey, this book is edited by my buddy and former officemate Mike Cotton, who also put together the Superboy issue. He's had a good year.
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<br />
<b>Tomboy</b><br />
Written & Drawn by Liz Prince<br />
Published by Zest<br />
<br />
Since her slice-of-life debut <i>Will You Still Love Me If I Wet The Bed?</i> I've been waiting for Liz Prince to deliver a longer-form comic. After almost a decade, <i>Tomboy</i> delivers on the promise of her talent in more ways than one. With a finer line that still fits with her recognizable sketchbook style and a moments that are at turns funny and bittersweet, this memoir has the hallmarks of her indie roots. But what really makes the comic work is the way it approaches gender pressure (still one of the most misunderstood and overlooked social issues for young people) with a light hand. <i>Tomboy</i> never makes demands of its reader but instead tells a difficult story with empathy and heart – the surest way to connect its message with readers.KPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11816950381733436279noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-64052558220518341792013-10-31T21:02:00.001-04:002013-10-31T21:02:10.953-04:00The Adventures of Kiel and Jami<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTSHBLm9Plrxs7FGeB-YbaIp3enEWNdFuFvtAQ_Vocj5P9VjLWYGKr4iCJHiPDj7MWKVqGDg0yt-Go95D0Rp8nFy_eeJy7d5YmwRSQ2UFSauuqY2QCaoMQwu4J-KtVi6TIzLV_Sfs1Xo/s1600/wedding01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTSHBLm9Plrxs7FGeB-YbaIp3enEWNdFuFvtAQ_Vocj5P9VjLWYGKr4iCJHiPDj7MWKVqGDg0yt-Go95D0Rp8nFy_eeJy7d5YmwRSQ2UFSauuqY2QCaoMQwu4J-KtVi6TIzLV_Sfs1Xo/s320/wedding01.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<br />
Hey, gang! It's Halloween, but I doubt we'll be doing a big costume post this year since Jami and I are going as "exhausted bride and groom."<br />
<br />
That's right, we finally tied the knot last weekend, so I figured my last celebration of the insane week that's been would be to share a bad ass comic that the great <a href="http://joebloodyhunter.tumblr.com/">Joe Hunter</a> drew for our big day. It's even got some Halloween stuff in it! <a href="http://kielphegley.com/the-adventures-of-kiel-and-jami/">Check the whole thing out on my personal blog</a>, and we'll be back next year dressed up as some kind of teenage robots or something.KPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11816950381733436279noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-26106094786635496352013-08-31T17:46:00.003-04:002013-08-31T17:46:54.211-04:00The History of the X-Men in August<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh6232ZBYqx0v5fl-eqDCVBSWsjM5pw8aMhCjQgMkFOv60mzqCEFOSw3rvyh0jKOLhAhP-At0mywd1FwmCHliSSJN2haNOdQ8GX1RTIrCUHFqdou4k_k_zuBTBOfgYqBhEXmEG4PKpM1sE/s1600/499.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh6232ZBYqx0v5fl-eqDCVBSWsjM5pw8aMhCjQgMkFOv60mzqCEFOSw3rvyh0jKOLhAhP-At0mywd1FwmCHliSSJN2haNOdQ8GX1RTIrCUHFqdou4k_k_zuBTBOfgYqBhEXmEG4PKpM1sE/s320/499.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #499 (2008)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
finale of Ed Brubaker and Mike Choi’s “Divided We Fall” arc, wherein Cyclops
and Emma Frost overthrow Mastermind’s hippie regime in San Francisco while
Wolverine, Colossus and Nightcrawler beat up Omega Red in Russia. The big event
to come out of this story as it headed into issue #500 though had to be Cyclops’
decision to move the X-Men permanently (for the time being) to San Francisco. I
remember in meetings I sat in at the time Marvel higher ups noting this would
be a major switch to establish more of a presence in the California of the
Marvel Universe, with the Runaways, the Order and the Eternals already hanging
around there. Obviously there had been Marvel series set outside of New York
City prior to this from West Coast Avengers to Iron Man and Daredevil’s own
California stints to Thor in Oklahoma to the X-Men themselves operating out of
Australia, but this seemed bigger. The change would not only stick for quite
some time, it also perhaps indirectly inspired more Marvel heroes to branch
out, from Scarlet Spider in Houston to Venom in Philadelphia to the new Nova in
Arizona. I’ve always dug this concept and still eagerly await <i>somebody</i> setting up shop in Boston; I’ll
even take Quasar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #425-426 (2003)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">As
I’ve gone along in this little chronicle of history, I’ve noted how Chuck
Austen’s tenure writing the X-Men started off well enough—I think his initial
issues still stand up today—but quickly became divisive as he seemed to lose
his focus somewhat and veer heavily into soap opera at the expense of logic.
Despite the previous sentence describing so many works of fiction I love, he
lost me around this two-parter, “The Sacred Vows.” It’s the wedding of Havok—who
secretly loves Annie, the human nurse who cared for him during his coma who’s
currently with Iceman who still has feelings for Polaris—and Polaris—who went
crazy after surviving the destruction of Genosha and confirming Magneto to be
her father. Havok decides mid-ceremony to reveal he reciprocates Annie’s
feelings, leading Polaris to create a whacked out half-Bridezilla/half-Magneto
costume with garters and attack everybody with silverware and such until
Juggernaut stops her. Annie had worn out her welcome, feeling more and more
like a character nobody but her creator wanted to push, and established
favorites like Iceman and Polaris getting more and more off center started to
make the book a bit hard to swallow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #358 (1998)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve
not sure if I’ve read this issue or not. It took place during my hiatus from
comics, and while I’ve made great efforts to fill in the gaps of my Uncanny
X-Men collection in particular since, I think this one slipped through the
cracks. It’s a spotlight on Bishop and Deathbird, who had been stranded in
outer space together and become sort of a couple, fighting aliens. Again, I
missed this romantic pairing and have only ever seen them when they briefly
interacted during “The Twelve” and then in an alternate timeline after a
fashion via their daughter in X-Men: The End, but it intrigues me, as it seems
like a case of throwing two darts at a wall full of random X-characters, but
there’s that uncompromising warrior aspect to both that actually makes some
sense as far as chemistry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #303 (1993)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
kind of hope Brett White doesn’t read the blog anymore—does anybody read this
blog anymore?—because he might lose it here, but I’ve never read this issue,
which I know ranks among his all-time favorites. It’s weird, because I have
everything from X-Cutioner’s Song to Uncanny X-Men #299, then I strangely
skipped out on #300—I remember reading it cover to cover in a Walden Books or
something and then not buying it—as well as the three subsequent issues before
coming back for good with #304 and Fatal Attractions. I know people revere this
particular story as among Scott Lobdell’s finest work with the death of Illyana
Rasputin and Jubilee having to cope with it before anybody else, but yeah,
never read it; forgive me, Brett.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #232 (1988)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Man,
I am blowing it this month, because I don’t believe I’ve read this story
either. Between Essentials, trades and single issues, I’ve got pretty much
everything up to Fall of the Mutants, then I fall off for a year or so, and
pick back up with Inferno; this falls right in that hole. Anyway, it’s a Brood
story, which always both delight and terrify me, and perhaps of more note it’s
got Marc Silvestri art, which seems perfect. Silvestri has a rep for drawing a
lot of robots and futuristic tech—he <i>did</i>
create Cyberforce—as well as attractive ladies, but he’s also got a really
intense knack for horror, as you can see in Witchblade and elsewhere, so
judging by that and this cover, I gather he does well with the Brood; I’ll make
a note to seek this one out, through the office Essentials copy if nothing
else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW1tj9Fq7Ygnw6M9EJuYVSFPgCSnpKmmZxS5j0zrGrrDlPiu9IrRWyVh5yPPMWf7Re50q_DJyXABZky4mT_7ZH8m61lVHcdlavE6y8F7o2rnuGpR5sL92u4X7fy8HCk-mS8afPonlwZWQg/s1600/172.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW1tj9Fq7Ygnw6M9EJuYVSFPgCSnpKmmZxS5j0zrGrrDlPiu9IrRWyVh5yPPMWf7Re50q_DJyXABZky4mT_7ZH8m61lVHcdlavE6y8F7o2rnuGpR5sL92u4X7fy8HCk-mS8afPonlwZWQg/s320/172.jpg" width="209" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #172 (1983)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Superb
issue in the midst of a superb run by Chris Claremont and Paul Smith. The story
picks up directly from Claremont and Frank Miller’s seminal Wolverine limited
series—in part the basis for this year’s “The Wolverine” film, though the movie
incorporates many elements from this story as well—as the X-Men come to Japan
for the wedding of Logan and Mariko. You get everything in short order, with
some genuinely heartwarming moments of congratulations to Wolverine from his “family,”
the continuing tension of Rogue being on the team, and then action aplenty with
Silver Samurai and Viper striking, plus Yukio from the aforementioned limited
series making her return; Smith draws it all beautifully, making warm smiles
from Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde come to life as readily as crazy ninja
fights. Viper manages to poison Colossus, Kitty and Nightcrawler while Samurai
threatens Mariko, leading to the equally awesome next installment in Uncanny
X-Men #173 where Wolverine has to put aside his mistrust of Rogue to protect
his fiancée while Storm’s adventure with Yukio ends up having intense
ramifications on her character; classic stuff that you need to check out if you
never have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNpM2dA2s9-fmdattEhmB-Y5gSQXXbljAxh1vNcXJZTZsBK9kYYVE7VSM9ohRA67RV7E1iuzgY6EUy0GuCbJpzgs5YaOKnmNl46CAUZWQDJr1Sn7v305PJGmmmk3HyVkB5-ubNp5rriCL/s1600/112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNpM2dA2s9-fmdattEhmB-Y5gSQXXbljAxh1vNcXJZTZsBK9kYYVE7VSM9ohRA67RV7E1iuzgY6EUy0GuCbJpzgs5YaOKnmNl46CAUZWQDJr1Sn7v305PJGmmmk3HyVkB5-ubNp5rriCL/s320/112.jpg" width="210" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #112 (1978)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
second battle between Magneto and the All-New, All-Different X-Men, with a lot
of weird elements framing the story, from Mesmero having previously brainwashed
our heroes into thinking they were circus performers to the introduction of one
of Marvel’s all-time weirdest characters, Nanny, the mothering robot who wants
to turn all adults into children so she can take care of them. Chris Claremont
uses the story to reinforce that despite all the X-Men have been through to
date—fighting the Sentinels, the original Phoenix saga, etc.—they’ve still yet
to really gel as a team as opposed to a grouping of disparate personalities,
and Magneto utilizes their lack of cohesion to knock them down one by one. John
Byrne also quickly emerges from right out of Dave Cockrum’s shadow to make the
book his own artistically.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-40221125789184232472013-08-24T19:09:00.003-04:002013-08-24T19:09:46.254-04:00Art Attack: October 2013's Coolest Covers-When I was a little kid, my family went to see "The Little Mermaid" in theaters, and I'll never ever forget my mother--an artist herself--leaning over to me during one of the underwater sequences and noting "An animator had to draw every one of those bubbles every time anything or anybody moved; that's incredible." Paul Pelletier's Aquaman cover reminds me of that story, but I also think his smooth style and use of shadows makes him a perfect match for this character. And who did those colors? Beautiful.<br />
<br />
-Avengers #21 by Leinil Yu is my desktop background at work right now. Seriously, how long has Leinil been a top-level guy and yet he's still taking it to another level every month, particularly with these Infinity covers.<br />
<br />
-Darwyn Cooke drawing Batwing is the LAST thing I expected to see, but hey, cool!<br />
<br />
-Are those teeth coming out of Bloodhound's knuckles? Gross. Also, I never read Bloodhound the first time around, any recommendations for or against?<br />
<br />
-If you haven't heard the awesome story behind the cover for Daredevil #32--which I got to hear twice at SDCC, both when Chris Samnee was on a panel with Mark Waid and again when he came on Marvel Live with us--here's the short version: editor Steve Wacker and Waid told Samnee to come up with a Halloween-themed cover planning to base the story around what he drew, Samnee drew DD with the Legion of Monsters, and now Waid has to come up with some sort of story guest-starring Werewolf by Night and the Living Mummy. I love that story, I love the Legion of Monsters, I love Chris Samnee and thus I really love this cover.<br />
<br />
-Declan Shalvey's Deadpool cover is an example of how you can use simple shapes to make an impact. Also an example of why it's nice to have Jordie Bellaire coloring you.<br />
<br />
-Great covers from Francesco Francavilla on Avengers Arena and Fantomex MAX this month, giving sci fi a pulp feel.<br />
<br />
-That Fearless Defenders cover by Mark Brooks has been making me smile for weeks and I've never even seen Step Up.<br />
<br />
-I said a couple months back that Indestructible Hulk cover artist Mukesh Singh is one to watch; I stand by that opinion.<br />
<br />
-A book of faces, just faces, drawn by Frank Quitely would be gorgeous. Not that I don't mind when he draws other stuff mind you, but wow, look at those faces on Jupiter's Legacy.<br />
<br />
-What's happening on that Prophet cover by Emma Rios? Intrigue smells comics.<br />
<br />
-It took me a bit to figure out what Jim Lee cover Paulo Siqueira was paying homage to on Superior Foes of Spider-Man #4...and I'm still not sure. Shocker is Cyclops from some X-Men image, right? Gah. Help me.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>100 BULLETS: BROTHER LONO #5 by Dave Johnson</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuEXx0DSyJ3m18DJh9Olmi7kyXAfvW5HjQngJ1PPihpAaQJDi7pC6KJptC_ttzPy66t1DZ13jSGbfK8TSEsoNmHcalUo9BRBbrdZct097E451r591WT2Wb7jixr7f4f5kBkruWVmUmc8Y/s1600/100+Bullets-Brother+Lono+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuEXx0DSyJ3m18DJh9Olmi7kyXAfvW5HjQngJ1PPihpAaQJDi7pC6KJptC_ttzPy66t1DZ13jSGbfK8TSEsoNmHcalUo9BRBbrdZct097E451r591WT2Wb7jixr7f4f5kBkruWVmUmc8Y/s320/100+Bullets-Brother+Lono+5.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>ANIMAL MAN #24 by Rafael Albuquerque</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCtgbnTwtFLmFrhP6yncjOy36u_tFG5dYSjPF89-9A8YSq_uHkH89uyI5Ecv5PiHosnl0Spf5OCgNPfQzCe5t-dkbmA7A5iumKGCYRtJimMMUnho0DwZG3VBRKZTZBuHCVCs4iy_ta5C6S/s1600/Animal+Man+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCtgbnTwtFLmFrhP6yncjOy36u_tFG5dYSjPF89-9A8YSq_uHkH89uyI5Ecv5PiHosnl0Spf5OCgNPfQzCe5t-dkbmA7A5iumKGCYRtJimMMUnho0DwZG3VBRKZTZBuHCVCs4iy_ta5C6S/s320/Animal+Man+24.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<b>AQUAMAN #24 by Paul Pelletier</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhExLJY76g9Th6WsyILMDSsmbSjE0y7_nX4_aDqn1oGArvqUkfJ9qTmPRNoo-bbZfcAQ1Q8wHDdwzTdYZlaLnEdgkVzygimGbuEHtsM_iUJOzXlJhh8jAn7WwXGTpNx2g9I1AjpsarLWE6c/s1600/Aquaman+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhExLJY76g9Th6WsyILMDSsmbSjE0y7_nX4_aDqn1oGArvqUkfJ9qTmPRNoo-bbZfcAQ1Q8wHDdwzTdYZlaLnEdgkVzygimGbuEHtsM_iUJOzXlJhh8jAn7WwXGTpNx2g9I1AjpsarLWE6c/s320/Aquaman+24.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<b>AVENGERS #21 by Leinil Yu</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVs4mbZkmpQaxrCnXXna5te9f6MJAIPBpZATnadnTCYz2CZ7kml46lQ-dUrghPLY6-kJWOgtvG97PcRFVtKniGqDYuQQsxPby8oz9-VSTjr7XeyfhgkhMM9LuXxSsCq1XGM9Ddul3Wd64/s1600/Avengers+21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVs4mbZkmpQaxrCnXXna5te9f6MJAIPBpZATnadnTCYz2CZ7kml46lQ-dUrghPLY6-kJWOgtvG97PcRFVtKniGqDYuQQsxPby8oz9-VSTjr7XeyfhgkhMM9LuXxSsCq1XGM9Ddul3Wd64/s320/Avengers+21.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>AVENGERS ARENA #16 by Francesco Francavilla</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-_BjkBW8mnf_9gsTMeJuF9cw8MOH9CszhgEdEEkZQDXAcTI1FZH8efp4T68RdQgp8QsrPtZRoJg-yGxDh7DTsB0fmcPRvP1u7UHkAgkr0Dube5VWtKLGmyMbPJTQZSrPbZwYC3mu-zp0/s1600/Avengers+Arena+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-_BjkBW8mnf_9gsTMeJuF9cw8MOH9CszhgEdEEkZQDXAcTI1FZH8efp4T68RdQgp8QsrPtZRoJg-yGxDh7DTsB0fmcPRvP1u7UHkAgkr0Dube5VWtKLGmyMbPJTQZSrPbZwYC3mu-zp0/s320/Avengers+Arena+16.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #24 by Alex Maleev</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1b6dK38JSp3TDmJKwS6lJZXVfNKF4B3xQUTYXFf4kKtKpW8bsymNEmKXCxk-3ibd1NP4v3-ZoVNy6wN49jteUbMPErJVUQNrvAPj5fupDAjFDaNLmchyB9KqikwIQ05sqigVFMbzrbK2Y/s1600/Batman-The+Dark+Knight+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1b6dK38JSp3TDmJKwS6lJZXVfNKF4B3xQUTYXFf4kKtKpW8bsymNEmKXCxk-3ibd1NP4v3-ZoVNy6wN49jteUbMPErJVUQNrvAPj5fupDAjFDaNLmchyB9KqikwIQ05sqigVFMbzrbK2Y/s320/Batman-The+Dark+Knight+24.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<b>BATWING #24 by Darwyn Cooke</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiXPYS-AqFfTt0O07bs69HXaz1DWDwUtEt_lN8ou0A2wRo94vKO1p8ha-MHzf-cU-jWkPUwaNXBKCM35GWqi6xry2Ji0JeSsz20OrbLFMyLw197aqZz2XFW08MdS1j7E9SeiZ0DW7hz0M1/s1600/Batwing+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiXPYS-AqFfTt0O07bs69HXaz1DWDwUtEt_lN8ou0A2wRo94vKO1p8ha-MHzf-cU-jWkPUwaNXBKCM35GWqi6xry2Ji0JeSsz20OrbLFMyLw197aqZz2XFW08MdS1j7E9SeiZ0DW7hz0M1/s320/Batwing+24.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<b>BATWOMAN #24 by J.H. Williams III</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5_b_U8oifQ_ahXRcZ7Gosb7We3a9JENwcoSNnf67d6u6IcqnD2axWhBpXawwM60xMdnSNhDT7XPds38x3tKt7XGcevsq1wfdsBtEUBkysIjKJcxKmKbv-fyUSrzaotIKc1hNIduFo6ZGq/s1600/Batwoman+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5_b_U8oifQ_ahXRcZ7Gosb7We3a9JENwcoSNnf67d6u6IcqnD2axWhBpXawwM60xMdnSNhDT7XPds38x3tKt7XGcevsq1wfdsBtEUBkysIjKJcxKmKbv-fyUSrzaotIKc1hNIduFo6ZGq/s320/Batwoman+24.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<b>BLOODHOUND: CROWBAR MEDICINE #1 by Cully Hamner</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoxUPDuir-TJPAdDg5JUU4QtflIqsLPkFxS-BWMv2uTEGEE4jZRMu-XxeIqhyK-CuH1zEl0HA7ZX2Qp1ZezAOgTGMA0Y86ERcX6H2ZXvxxm9hBWdzMeAANwBog3XYQshVJ5f8xRBSmUku/s1600/Bloodhound-Crowbar+Medicine+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoxUPDuir-TJPAdDg5JUU4QtflIqsLPkFxS-BWMv2uTEGEE4jZRMu-XxeIqhyK-CuH1zEl0HA7ZX2Qp1ZezAOgTGMA0Y86ERcX6H2ZXvxxm9hBWdzMeAANwBog3XYQshVJ5f8xRBSmUku/s320/Bloodhound-Crowbar+Medicine+1.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b>CABLE & X-FORCE #15 by Salvador Larroca</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLU9Gw5x5iC_vRLQxdycKPaZG7WMTKToaqAzeTl-gn4_AE64IGfJZzjnv1TooaDqZogEAh6iIOYDYxuj5myc34hxTO2ZHYO733hUNZamOCSxhktwpVftBREriks75hEvrTsikjoEad82eu/s1600/Cable+and+X-Force+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLU9Gw5x5iC_vRLQxdycKPaZG7WMTKToaqAzeTl-gn4_AE64IGfJZzjnv1TooaDqZogEAh6iIOYDYxuj5myc34hxTO2ZHYO733hUNZamOCSxhktwpVftBREriks75hEvrTsikjoEad82eu/s320/Cable+and+X-Force+15.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>DAMIAN: SON OF BATMAN #1 by Andy Kubert</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9K0z15_hixUTb5DQA15KNdZi5hPjxIdbWrLSqrUHQ91puUR96MJxgbGHYwOxTT4xWQlqp2XclMVnrEhLZg8hXrXQyLzrzfMIMqpQolQTs58yvyZkBwSZBCrqy1cw1wDAKinrIE6odjLD/s1600/Damian-Son+of+Batman+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9K0z15_hixUTb5DQA15KNdZi5hPjxIdbWrLSqrUHQ91puUR96MJxgbGHYwOxTT4xWQlqp2XclMVnrEhLZg8hXrXQyLzrzfMIMqpQolQTs58yvyZkBwSZBCrqy1cw1wDAKinrIE6odjLD/s320/Damian-Son+of+Batman+1.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>DAREDEVIL #32 by Chris Samnee</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85JP_s66ftPYX4TbMRQ1CX3unJnCgWj1t_erKr45x9EET4n7MdR6nbvmsF2S0ol1OyxUAbqDtSOTQiJoauV1EQgQqcLYxxKHlz6obwzkeE9tAAflrE1WL2zHIuIH-GZDZCGnXolQGQU7D/s1600/Daredevil+32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85JP_s66ftPYX4TbMRQ1CX3unJnCgWj1t_erKr45x9EET4n7MdR6nbvmsF2S0ol1OyxUAbqDtSOTQiJoauV1EQgQqcLYxxKHlz6obwzkeE9tAAflrE1WL2zHIuIH-GZDZCGnXolQGQU7D/s320/Daredevil+32.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>DEADPOOL #18 by Declan Shalvey</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEkj6cvDLMmVeLweey7ULZiqlBhi3R2wEe9donuQ1nWuI-mQdPnhS-yuIbyuXpWsq38g74dMXN50NAp9Sj2Ce9gkx4VcKzMQRjjyQThJJEE5IxcY60ilLqijWGHBenavz-5j5GiP86Vhn/s1600/Deadpool+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEkj6cvDLMmVeLweey7ULZiqlBhi3R2wEe9donuQ1nWuI-mQdPnhS-yuIbyuXpWsq38g74dMXN50NAp9Sj2Ce9gkx4VcKzMQRjjyQThJJEE5IxcY60ilLqijWGHBenavz-5j5GiP86Vhn/s320/Deadpool+18.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>FANTOMEX MAX #1 by Francesco Francavilla</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBeKicBQskO1048QOjy34Y0kSWO3rFFYjiVsPehyMGvHXuu3CuW65lrgXzp5NIDMLYr0SJ34vlO3tIMlLfoVFbDyp5JtL_ERQ-hxtY92aD8cbkqxxtQ0xRU84TDQPjlVwR0prq7-RzFOv/s1600/Fantomex+MAX+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBeKicBQskO1048QOjy34Y0kSWO3rFFYjiVsPehyMGvHXuu3CuW65lrgXzp5NIDMLYr0SJ34vlO3tIMlLfoVFbDyp5JtL_ERQ-hxtY92aD8cbkqxxtQ0xRU84TDQPjlVwR0prq7-RzFOv/s320/Fantomex+MAX+1.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>FEARLESS DEFENDERS #10 by Mark Brooks</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYMfIGONxU_BLSiPYAgQ6EOBBcJi0MjODwT1FeIul_qynP_24SkbnXu-L66CT93VyWFys1wNCUX4M9kkjJPOWfWq081RlwG_qWyhHVOoPiTCjgFkX2Pvifr8AmPc3c-68QXw9pXE_DB59/s1600/Fearless+Defenders+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYMfIGONxU_BLSiPYAgQ6EOBBcJi0MjODwT1FeIul_qynP_24SkbnXu-L66CT93VyWFys1wNCUX4M9kkjJPOWfWq081RlwG_qWyhHVOoPiTCjgFkX2Pvifr8AmPc3c-68QXw9pXE_DB59/s320/Fearless+Defenders+10.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>GREEN ARROW #24 by Andrea Sorrentino</b></div>
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<b>INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #14 by Mukesh Singh</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgAZkuzs1707OGlA3ayTbWN85oQB0pDoNybr1LJmafhNBM0BZ-_XFvYr1IZ2-tQnK6EeKy70DYE1S5_MVnHswjo5OHoOcN7DFiBZfvEyOmsW99daXxO_GE6H4OU3GpoZRE62NLZ5Jpxyr/s1600/Indestructible+Hulk+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgAZkuzs1707OGlA3ayTbWN85oQB0pDoNybr1LJmafhNBM0BZ-_XFvYr1IZ2-tQnK6EeKy70DYE1S5_MVnHswjo5OHoOcN7DFiBZfvEyOmsW99daXxO_GE6H4OU3GpoZRE62NLZ5Jpxyr/s320/Indestructible+Hulk+14.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>INFINITY #4 by Ryan Stegman</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIIp2E-r5CdEFZ2LymUx3_nMKxI0KLS0Raei41m-1ade7wjlMJYRbedJ4YcgPV5-wN3y40GFqcFId8TFzNM6axPZOnJNtlrCP7S-smPHFp6JkD-q5X7dwmCAjI-kLdeRtXRdleO4X7RKqQ/s1600/Infinity+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIIp2E-r5CdEFZ2LymUx3_nMKxI0KLS0Raei41m-1ade7wjlMJYRbedJ4YcgPV5-wN3y40GFqcFId8TFzNM6axPZOnJNtlrCP7S-smPHFp6JkD-q5X7dwmCAjI-kLdeRtXRdleO4X7RKqQ/s320/Infinity+4.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>JUPITER'S LEGACY #4 by Frank Quitely</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5yBfeLKipqqZJRT7HGFUX4eUovLn_l6gMgos-umqzFH851hFzcBfkrsZq2-OzzLHGM_Ge-UybMZyPvUzFNr0zxCxa-Vs3dIUuQKBPOmqtAkbzz7RVKY0W3Nogwm0VdZeMH786kr6XbZUF/s1600/Jupiter's+Legacy+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5yBfeLKipqqZJRT7HGFUX4eUovLn_l6gMgos-umqzFH851hFzcBfkrsZq2-OzzLHGM_Ge-UybMZyPvUzFNr0zxCxa-Vs3dIUuQKBPOmqtAkbzz7RVKY0W3Nogwm0VdZeMH786kr6XbZUF/s320/Jupiter's+Legacy+4.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<b>MARVEL NOW WHAT?! #1 by Skottie Young</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tSFt3aqH5Dc_jxBLceojvJ1NfRmf-wAmBz9CffRsTVAxXTUdu8FnVZDLuYgM4sgCJ2EYKrQ7QFdWqNyIvPs_VhiW_4chv_WHtH5MygAr-GXGlynRnU8QVurkE5nnaTZ1fV7jxOwLWjLK/s1600/Marvel+Now+What+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tSFt3aqH5Dc_jxBLceojvJ1NfRmf-wAmBz9CffRsTVAxXTUdu8FnVZDLuYgM4sgCJ2EYKrQ7QFdWqNyIvPs_VhiW_4chv_WHtH5MygAr-GXGlynRnU8QVurkE5nnaTZ1fV7jxOwLWjLK/s320/Marvel+Now+What+1.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b>NEW AVENGERS #11 by Mike Deodato</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZGbk6YAJybj-ws2Z1OP5C3punDWE1ix4O8Wu2xD5p_uddBI1L463ddhnrkm8wqoE4hUqga2094ln3Yws4iSA5epLZDW9Ol1Omxz9KL1Rkn5Euh9tXtZTyE1J1BBdIHH-F4x4ON-VMaT1/s1600/New+Avengers+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZGbk6YAJybj-ws2Z1OP5C3punDWE1ix4O8Wu2xD5p_uddBI1L463ddhnrkm8wqoE4hUqga2094ln3Yws4iSA5epLZDW9Ol1Omxz9KL1Rkn5Euh9tXtZTyE1J1BBdIHH-F4x4ON-VMaT1/s320/New+Avengers+11.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>PROPHET #42 by Emma Rios</b></div>
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<b>S.H.O.O.T. FIRST #1 by Nicolas Daniel Selma</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDLoJ34yAx3XjLztFPZMIxXnlsdPJKYNNOdppQA7UK97ri6-TRSgcn5E48__PoB4SxDf95U0mxItVS5jBqDKgNzl622VEbN8TBoRmUs0WDR9nwqu1Ijzl8z55isZqlvSZ5fXsLKn-5rM-/s1600/SHOOT+First+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDLoJ34yAx3XjLztFPZMIxXnlsdPJKYNNOdppQA7UK97ri6-TRSgcn5E48__PoB4SxDf95U0mxItVS5jBqDKgNzl622VEbN8TBoRmUs0WDR9nwqu1Ijzl8z55isZqlvSZ5fXsLKn-5rM-/s320/SHOOT+First+1.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
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<b>SUPERGIRL #24 by Mahmud Asrar</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoHupLJlnvUyULGy52_SvotP_u5OBNTMNoerELrl7UEWQfA7oPFHiUMg7pJhQZMahj7BHB3EhTeB2LY0u63j27JMeBXhS0BH6_VPev6VkuBnP0FnQnfHkT2vCLm5QDFWRMjxwpIYhyphenhyphenEc1/s1600/Supergirl+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoHupLJlnvUyULGy52_SvotP_u5OBNTMNoerELrl7UEWQfA7oPFHiUMg7pJhQZMahj7BHB3EhTeB2LY0u63j27JMeBXhS0BH6_VPev6VkuBnP0FnQnfHkT2vCLm5QDFWRMjxwpIYhyphenhyphenEc1/s320/Supergirl+24.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN #4 by Paulo Siqueira</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kfqpAv5Vlr6AZybe2Y35Gemfy1F2l-96KcCd7tG01IDSYJEMDfDZ_7Pv4IcE2O33yMQIemiQubXorxM094TP-fmKpB3C73o8M4gRR2vWQ7xOC14Cu6LD6wdEzoo4Qo_e9O4kJboC_nu7/s1600/Superior+Foes+of+Spider-Man+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kfqpAv5Vlr6AZybe2Y35Gemfy1F2l-96KcCd7tG01IDSYJEMDfDZ_7Pv4IcE2O33yMQIemiQubXorxM094TP-fmKpB3C73o8M4gRR2vWQ7xOC14Cu6LD6wdEzoo4Qo_e9O4kJboC_nu7/s320/Superior+Foes+of+Spider-Man+4.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #19 by Ryan Stegman</b></div>
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<b>ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #32 by Gabriel Hardman</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlVB6EsAe0eWgvPuHXWJFvlqgctrEAt7v3VylQc3TS5RGXd89ULpvf5jE7T5kpAdAYcsVvp-PVJTEzwIGvECStHxAZD8-Ulol3NX5LM3-TjtloMLKduY0Ut5aTd5A-qxqi8Dfm3I5s5sw/s1600/Ultimate+Comics+X-Men+32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlVB6EsAe0eWgvPuHXWJFvlqgctrEAt7v3VylQc3TS5RGXd89ULpvf5jE7T5kpAdAYcsVvp-PVJTEzwIGvECStHxAZD8-Ulol3NX5LM3-TjtloMLKduY0Ut5aTd5A-qxqi8Dfm3I5s5sw/s320/Ultimate+Comics+X-Men+32.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>VELVET #1 by Steve Epting</b></div>
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<b>X #6 by Eric Nguyen</b></div>
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<b>X-MEN LEGACY #18 by Mike Del Mundo</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6kfMBJguHeEWaKWvFac-8_ThkvcT-1EhuuRG9ONLYjlQgdO8pK6by0oGaGB42Vep1WgIvMwatzD3KkdiYw093rcPXtvQINdIne5BhvQsO9LEdJjxLvr5s3WspAvNPpCM_SLzSnsPctxRK/s1600/X-Men+Legacy+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6kfMBJguHeEWaKWvFac-8_ThkvcT-1EhuuRG9ONLYjlQgdO8pK6by0oGaGB42Vep1WgIvMwatzD3KkdiYw093rcPXtvQINdIne5BhvQsO9LEdJjxLvr5s3WspAvNPpCM_SLzSnsPctxRK/s320/X-Men+Legacy+18.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-15735652852364168872013-07-13T17:26:00.000-04:002013-07-13T17:26:27.771-04:00Art Attack: September 2013's Coolest Covers-Alex Ross has done it all in the comics biz at this point, but I'll always remember him first and foremost for Marvels, a series that had such an impact on me in terms of showing what the medium was capable of at a time when super hero books were pretty cut and dry. One of the things that really made the project pop in huge part because of Ross was the juxtaposition of the larger than life Marvel Universe against mundane ordinary folks, exactly what he's doing on this Astro City cover, a book written by his Marvels collaborator Kurt Busiek and taking a lot of what that book did to the next level.<br />
<br />
-Leinil Yu is on fire with his Infinity tie-in covers for Avengers. These are posters waiting to happen. His Hulk this month is intense, but this Captain Marvel is a whole other level. It's great seeing more and more artists take to Jame McKelvie's great costume design and making it work in different ways. There's a Travis Charest vibe here in the texture, but the energy crackle is a bit Kirby; the overall composition is totally Yu. Also not to be overlooked, Sunny Gho's colors, which have been dynamite working with Yu, particularly on these washed Infinity covers, as the red lights up the piece here.<br />
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-I did not initially recognize that Avengers A.I. cover as being by David Marquez, as the dude's a master but this is something new for him with the cutting elements dissecting Vision. I wonder how long that took?<br />
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-Whenever I have tried in vain to draw, from childhood to present, I've found nothing more difficult than the whole "foreshortening" deal. Drawing a straight line telescoping toward "the camera" is hard enough, but a complex shape like, say, a question mark? You have my respect, Guillem March. Nice textures and facial work too.<br />
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-Mike Allred can do equal parts boundary-pushing outside the box techie pinball games and throwback vintage portraits; this kid may have a future.<br />
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-If you've been reading this blog and these entries for any stretch of time, you may know I have certain guaranteed tics that make me love covers, stuff like good homages or somebody destroying the logo...so well played, Georges Jeanty and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9!<br />
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-I highlight Massimo Carnevale's Conan the Barbarian covers a lot because I really like not just his art, but his style of painting. It's similar to other pieces I've shown this month from Dustin Nguyen and Rafael Albuquerque where the shading is such that rather than sections being dark and others being light, it seems like the whole thing is divided into slivers, each with a distinct shade. Gorgeous stuff.<br />
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-Does that David Aja cover for Hawkeye feel like him going "Your move, Mark Brooks" to anybody but me?<br />
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-Alex Maleev's cover for Secret Avengers feels like a hat tip to lots of stuff I dig. You got some Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. in there, a bit of Bond Girl, a touch of the water color stuff his buddy Michael Oeming does--like on Mice Templar--and more. Distinctive Maleev too.<br />
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-I like seeing Paolo Rivera drawing most things, and aliens feels like something new, right? He's good.<br />
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-That Thor cover has me so pumped to see what Ron Garney does on interiors. He and Jason Aaron always seem to bring the best out of each other, this particular approach to this character seems tailored for him to really let loose.<br />
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-I'll miss you, David Yardin's X-Factor covers.<br />
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-X-Men #5 was my desktop wallpaper at work until this week.<br />
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-Also, Aaron Kuder.<br />
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<b>ACTION COMICS #23.1: CYBORG SUPERMAN by Aaron Kuder</b></div>
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<b>ASTRO CITY #4 by Alex Ross</b></div>
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<b>AVENGERS #19 by Leinil Francis Yu</b></div>
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<b>AVENGERS A.I. #3 by David Marquez</b></div>
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<b>AVENGERS A.I. #3 by Mike Allred</b></div>
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<b>BATMAN & ROBIN #23.2: THE COURT OF OWLS by Patrick Gleason</b></div>
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<b>BATMAN #23.2: THE RIDDLER by Guillem March</b></div>
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<b>BATMAN '66 #3 by Mike Allred</b></div>
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<b>BATMAN: LIL GOTHAM #6 by Dustin Nguyen</b></div>
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<b>BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #23.3: CLAYFACE by Guillem March</b></div>
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<b>BLOOD BROTHERS #3 by Juan Doe</b></div>
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<b>B.P.R.D.: HELL ON EARTH #111 by Rafael Albuquerque</b></div>
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<b>BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 9 #25 by Georges Jeanty</b></div>
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<b>CONAN THE BARBARIAN #20 by Massimo Carnevale</b></div>
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<b>FATALE #18 by Sean Phillips</b></div>
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<b>FLASH #23.2: REVERSE FLASH by Francis Manapul</b></div>
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<b>HAWKEYE #15 by David Aja</b></div>
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<b>INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #13 by Mukesh Singh</b></div>
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<b>INFINITY #2 by Skottie Young</b></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>INFINITY #3 by Simone Bianchi</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiZmnRLAUmnzU3mVt9jtY_52xocwEpaWOiPGN5uTBuVnd_FA4UFXJ9qtdotP8DWOpqxW3HJD-KwK_LLtYSz9SlysFEkmD60EVnCjXdk3NNDAcPspAftEzbWwogwSB9m_KIhY9X-MUgu87/s1600/Infinity+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiZmnRLAUmnzU3mVt9jtY_52xocwEpaWOiPGN5uTBuVnd_FA4UFXJ9qtdotP8DWOpqxW3HJD-KwK_LLtYSz9SlysFEkmD60EVnCjXdk3NNDAcPspAftEzbWwogwSB9m_KIhY9X-MUgu87/s320/Infinity+3.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>JUSTICE LEAGUE #23.2: LOBO by Aaron Kuder</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOiRXCxxSP8SPFG1XuskQ5e6hTLs5XwhRPVXknsNXbUX08CWMfI9jQ9deFjrXDcoW9izYGspPwZt9iYb4CrdArjftte6Emn1edy9RzTWti9OAgmAGonhICuAi-zAiKLUvGF31vXsiUBXTu/s1600/Justice+League+23.2-Lobo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOiRXCxxSP8SPFG1XuskQ5e6hTLs5XwhRPVXknsNXbUX08CWMfI9jQ9deFjrXDcoW9izYGspPwZt9iYb4CrdArjftte6Emn1edy9RzTWti9OAgmAGonhICuAi-zAiKLUvGF31vXsiUBXTu/s320/Justice+League+23.2-Lobo.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #23.2: ECLIPSO by Mikel Janin</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisv1cy0shlUXltKeekkbOzuLCxXCh77028QSK31lUsVw8SpX00xzavg9E4OZjgmLBd_YhmnwZtIVsqWs3XViHMibcKwSsR4Q7k0sNio6MDHrCgEFrloV6EUjEa-fvqY1Yz-yeJE-2BCmIF/s1600/Justice+League+Dark+23.2-Eclipso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisv1cy0shlUXltKeekkbOzuLCxXCh77028QSK31lUsVw8SpX00xzavg9E4OZjgmLBd_YhmnwZtIVsqWs3XViHMibcKwSsR4Q7k0sNio6MDHrCgEFrloV6EUjEa-fvqY1Yz-yeJE-2BCmIF/s320/Justice+League+Dark+23.2-Eclipso.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #7.3: SHADOW THIEF by Tony Daniel</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6tYrGm1ubKbi41KJ1e3GzDnYg1gPFS_KjSnLZa_Rv4EIJXiQBXyojywSxwAzY1B-V5rCBv5BpBkvWq-YF3QlXUhNVDbPSayCa1lHtd6kZZvc9XX9jCPUxYYkKY9D5BYhs3uZ8nMVghAK/s1600/Justice+League+of+America+7.3-Shadow+Thief.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6tYrGm1ubKbi41KJ1e3GzDnYg1gPFS_KjSnLZa_Rv4EIJXiQBXyojywSxwAzY1B-V5rCBv5BpBkvWq-YF3QlXUhNVDbPSayCa1lHtd6kZZvc9XX9jCPUxYYkKY9D5BYhs3uZ8nMVghAK/s320/Justice+League+of+America+7.3-Shadow+Thief.jpg" width="203" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>MICE TEMPLAR IV #7 by Michael Avon Oeming</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0BhVHMcbswVARwCOhUgbQjGN7SFAtdcT9oZftcTK9h_AdzETebiAHb5ND7-oEsAWjiLves6eFKxS5AGJHFwy83bNDhgPtbkFWx_mE-X9N7WPyLeQaKbF8w2ej1g6h17Q6djCzJcP3csJ-/s1600/Mice+Templar+IV-Legend+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0BhVHMcbswVARwCOhUgbQjGN7SFAtdcT9oZftcTK9h_AdzETebiAHb5ND7-oEsAWjiLves6eFKxS5AGJHFwy83bNDhgPtbkFWx_mE-X9N7WPyLeQaKbF8w2ej1g6h17Q6djCzJcP3csJ-/s320/Mice+Templar+IV-Legend+7.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>SECRET AVENGERS #9 by Alex Maleev</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinzzIVVd35zSPu-ID5PGuWA2D4xMS9_swFUD_JHEVzrijEeBf3DJeXsiI9mEoPjuZlpI1txYXfw0Y0WLyePfOJrBvAqad8vo0dK9AShImtSkNp91L7x994hKfn5nOZ8cf9jYpuH4aYmnV/s1600/Secret+Avengers+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinzzIVVd35zSPu-ID5PGuWA2D4xMS9_swFUD_JHEVzrijEeBf3DJeXsiI9mEoPjuZlpI1txYXfw0Y0WLyePfOJrBvAqad8vo0dK9AShImtSkNp91L7x994hKfn5nOZ8cf9jYpuH4aYmnV/s320/Secret+Avengers+9.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #18 by Ryan Stegman</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPJW5aEvxdF5aH6SdEuwrLc4szh1SRPePZ-vpfCJyfTcSBLo9uK-57p0vEXrf4zy_vkUt6j0XdeQgvb4NBiHoAQ31w0KUlAdRW6fQihVE54IYiGjVR8IUw737vziVjrBAgz_D5fMFYo6Ot/s1600/Superior+Spider-Man+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPJW5aEvxdF5aH6SdEuwrLc4szh1SRPePZ-vpfCJyfTcSBLo9uK-57p0vEXrf4zy_vkUt6j0XdeQgvb4NBiHoAQ31w0KUlAdRW6fQihVE54IYiGjVR8IUw737vziVjrBAgz_D5fMFYo6Ot/s320/Superior+Spider-Man+18.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP #3 by Paolo Rivera</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoKHY7KQY6pSWTEjoALcDDJSyCE49tXZuuPZLnrPACLMU6Mf2CLBw49HdTimhbhTsp56Af-SnoLiNACG2G_5-c9WptupppWvRuS7JcSP-TIF_bad4TdtulvypZiCo6YMP3oWIFCIsewptL/s1600/Superior+Spider-Man+Team-Up+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoKHY7KQY6pSWTEjoALcDDJSyCE49tXZuuPZLnrPACLMU6Mf2CLBw49HdTimhbhTsp56Af-SnoLiNACG2G_5-c9WptupppWvRuS7JcSP-TIF_bad4TdtulvypZiCo6YMP3oWIFCIsewptL/s320/Superior+Spider-Man+Team-Up+3.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>SUPERMAN #23.1: BIZARRO by Aaron Kuder</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ljHwjwnWVaKpjfptC8D7B8t2c8s5Bn5wGoIIsXJhukqdeVG9v-xxdecKqm3t7l-uBHlNFlNPrQYVxPLx0er1dg8rvAGDhbZu2A5Lu8Hc9ydpI0aJ-yQMjO72zvQxFuKjUEfv2XZlAb1Q/s1600/Superman+23.1-Bizarro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ljHwjwnWVaKpjfptC8D7B8t2c8s5Bn5wGoIIsXJhukqdeVG9v-xxdecKqm3t7l-uBHlNFlNPrQYVxPLx0er1dg8rvAGDhbZu2A5Lu8Hc9ydpI0aJ-yQMjO72zvQxFuKjUEfv2XZlAb1Q/s320/Superman+23.1-Bizarro.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>SUPERMAN #23.4: PARASITE by Aaron Kuder</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcr-ORq8RHHlCaUOdtuYDnM0Z3yjnxeOHy6f1KG6DZJLCEwpIStGhb3KQN1noF51kX-jkgMHRfKVkAM3Slz-Az0HvJ1oK5RI9D4vAvqQv2FF2aEW3eH9yZngPJewfWPcsPiad1EYYjJzI/s1600/Superman+23.4-Parasite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcr-ORq8RHHlCaUOdtuYDnM0Z3yjnxeOHy6f1KG6DZJLCEwpIStGhb3KQN1noF51kX-jkgMHRfKVkAM3Slz-Az0HvJ1oK5RI9D4vAvqQv2FF2aEW3eH9yZngPJewfWPcsPiad1EYYjJzI/s320/Superman+23.4-Parasite.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #13 by Ron Garney</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiE5OpWN9tKZDWyBKlko3IdjK1uMM24Ujh8teQdfUOrBQCeAC-kiZpXajFFsnlzoPZ9vYJRyFjzm5RSlXxJYs6RyV7I2zTHRgmv_mNk84f-FSLkib1xofhq9g906fPJJgYh5LQb_3-Tqeb/s1600/Thor-God+of+Thunder+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiE5OpWN9tKZDWyBKlko3IdjK1uMM24Ujh8teQdfUOrBQCeAC-kiZpXajFFsnlzoPZ9vYJRyFjzm5RSlXxJYs6RyV7I2zTHRgmv_mNk84f-FSLkib1xofhq9g906fPJJgYh5LQb_3-Tqeb/s320/Thor-God+of+Thunder+13.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>UNCANNY X-MEN #12 by Chris Bachalo</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL3n-AI0I6F9EuJUm7M4K9Youjc5WbAm0nNlCRJJLIvKmEU6qU_yuJSMZg9NMVSehRXCjGZQRL22ojwWIjuLWG_RHCacLd6nfNTYVjMuwMfhlpqFUyXLJyKACkYiWV8KWEmZwxaF-yYRup/s1600/Uncanny+X-Men+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL3n-AI0I6F9EuJUm7M4K9Youjc5WbAm0nNlCRJJLIvKmEU6qU_yuJSMZg9NMVSehRXCjGZQRL22ojwWIjuLWG_RHCacLd6nfNTYVjMuwMfhlpqFUyXLJyKACkYiWV8KWEmZwxaF-yYRup/s320/Uncanny+X-Men+12.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>X-FACTOR #262 by David Yardin</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsrrf24hQUsIZwM5Q_6yih6J-ZfYF5EYZL2AdL_BxUqd-lkRPMU1eavYOnyfPbhoMTEyG2hWg8Ms52AmgijnZGE2J-QtKKLk0DEiRvLCyGVRBsNnU9Z_0L3xCtDEHfda9RrrS6H6_1MTts/s1600/X-Factor+262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsrrf24hQUsIZwM5Q_6yih6J-ZfYF5EYZL2AdL_BxUqd-lkRPMU1eavYOnyfPbhoMTEyG2hWg8Ms52AmgijnZGE2J-QtKKLk0DEiRvLCyGVRBsNnU9Z_0L3xCtDEHfda9RrrS6H6_1MTts/s320/X-Factor+262.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>X-MEN #5 by Arthur Adams</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19KBJyqM00tuQc5NNIIxNjZjhyBNtcJWNxE-rmLofI9a2umBrDSCGc3be5VqO9oF36X-yYHrhvqOrbtQ19yBeMhjs4H_u4gr035ydx7ySNCP3opr4YjhxbHirEpoOrfk8bSYQcCTnqDz9/s1600/X-Men+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19KBJyqM00tuQc5NNIIxNjZjhyBNtcJWNxE-rmLofI9a2umBrDSCGc3be5VqO9oF36X-yYHrhvqOrbtQ19yBeMhjs4H_u4gr035ydx7ySNCP3opr4YjhxbHirEpoOrfk8bSYQcCTnqDz9/s320/X-Men+5.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>X-MEN LEGACY #16 by Mike Del Mundo</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBnbntN8roQcXI6QClJdQDjhkaWmpGbdQKOMd0V6tNwRO7scB6iq8_8OmXasZ1IT1g33d9WQN7fimUPpmM567bnXV2JZA6Gw757cwIm0zq6FS5j6Exb7geGhaPWLF2Se0hHZx8Hn4JXb8/s1600/X-Men+Legacy+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBnbntN8roQcXI6QClJdQDjhkaWmpGbdQKOMd0V6tNwRO7scB6iq8_8OmXasZ1IT1g33d9WQN7fimUPpmM567bnXV2JZA6Gw757cwIm0zq6FS5j6Exb7geGhaPWLF2Se0hHZx8Hn4JXb8/s320/X-Men+Legacy+16.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>YOUNG AVENGERS #10 by Jamie McKelvie</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPBQlHpEVhLp5by6n9drEYTxJDU_uykyn2ms4EpcfSiHaG0jD7yNy9bFVsayDdg05ooptVAjh22a3BgJogKVI9zQEofyW5LMhw1PY3ymGCSqwmfPx8Te88nGUC6ud0e4oior3FMvlDJFb/s1600/Young+Avengers+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPBQlHpEVhLp5by6n9drEYTxJDU_uykyn2ms4EpcfSiHaG0jD7yNy9bFVsayDdg05ooptVAjh22a3BgJogKVI9zQEofyW5LMhw1PY3ymGCSqwmfPx8Te88nGUC6ud0e4oior3FMvlDJFb/s320/Young+Avengers+10.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-53152339478958444132013-06-24T22:43:00.000-04:002013-06-24T22:43:06.910-04:00The History of the X-Men in June<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUuokLBHmhq0b-J3ll0dpevbBQ0Myc-a_wt2Q2YUZ89RXm7pOTeKvo1hMUU2thGY9tW16DgXQBB79NsOOaI1gyBxVkN5wv65Dc9ubV7Ge65zaSONPXiLpKzXqj1Tf3deTUrX0j9HGzEbk/s1600/497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUuokLBHmhq0b-J3ll0dpevbBQ0Myc-a_wt2Q2YUZ89RXm7pOTeKvo1hMUU2thGY9tW16DgXQBB79NsOOaI1gyBxVkN5wv65Dc9ubV7Ge65zaSONPXiLpKzXqj1Tf3deTUrX0j9HGzEbk/s320/497.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #497 (2008)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">At
the very first editorial meeting I got to sit in on at Marvel, all the various
editors did slideshow presentations on what were coming up in their particular
books with covers, art, and little notes on which characters they’d be using. I’ll
never forget X-Men editor Nick Lowe running down the Divided We Stand plans for
Uncanny X-Men character-by-character, getting to Angel and, with a big grin,
simply saying “he’s going to San Francisco where he’ll have a really good time.”
I guess you need to know Nick, but it was all in the tone he said “really good
time,” cracking himself up at the idea of Angel just chilling and getting a
tan. That’s kind of what this issue is, though, as SF has been transformed into
this weird retro hippie paradise where any X-Men who enter get groovy 60’s-style
redesigns by Mike Choi and Sonia Oback at the height of their artistic powers
and hang out. Some of the mystery behind that whole deal gets explained here,
but I just enjoyed the weirdness of it all, as it set the tone for the trippy, socially-aware
San Francisco era of the X-Men under Brubaker, Matt Fraction and Kieron Gillen.</span></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ6hg7-CmKHAyFim3o-t297eWQmlRQb0Wmh5QLtW8Nea6ei4hYm-90Cx4xxGGsYNyLJ4kOHEGJlI7ZkHraaiejkzxpy2SCMzpc3zEDf3QTNWmXXUTQ2kcs4-7_NsQFIRUzwAJ-0Ul8FQM2/s1600/421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ6hg7-CmKHAyFim3o-t297eWQmlRQb0Wmh5QLtW8Nea6ei4hYm-90Cx4xxGGsYNyLJ4kOHEGJlI7ZkHraaiejkzxpy2SCMzpc3zEDf3QTNWmXXUTQ2kcs4-7_NsQFIRUzwAJ-0Ul8FQM2/s320/421.jpg" width="204" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #421 (2003)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you want an example of why most folks remember Chuck Austen’s stint with the
X-Men as perhaps leaning too heavily on the soap opera aspects, this issue
gives a pretty good snapshot, with not much action but one
character/relationship after another practically begging for the musical sting
from Days of Our Lives. As always, a Melrose Place fan like me tended to dig
this sort of thing, but there were times even I felt like Austen’s stuff would
give Amanda Woodward pause. Over the course of this story alone, Havok comes
out of his coma, Havok reunites with Polaris, Polaris proposes to Havok, Havok
accepts said proposal, and Havok and Polaris elect to take a leave of absence
together, oddly enough with Nightcrawler in tow because he just stepped down as
team leader (I personally think a limited series and/or sitcom about
Nightcrawler tagging along on Havok and Polaris’ honeymoon would be money in
the bank). Elsewhere, Juggernaut pleads with his brother Professor X to help
him be a good guy and Nurse Annie confesses her love to the aforementioned
now-engaged Havok. At the end, Alpha Flight shows up in crazy battle armor to
bring Sammy the Squid Boy back to Canada. Love it or hate it, you had to admire
Austen’s willingness to let it all hang out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7cuXMi32_ycH1BBKhhrQRVNFLFdaUDHh7TNyRegPInjIeIrryuMf_EgWvvCK-u1jKa79-OP-sSlI6RqX_inUNrRHPSTuRYy1UoACKfJGXmPaXDCB3et9L2RXGaDczzz8JjXJnZ0bh4hzm/s1600/356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7cuXMi32_ycH1BBKhhrQRVNFLFdaUDHh7TNyRegPInjIeIrryuMf_EgWvvCK-u1jKa79-OP-sSlI6RqX_inUNrRHPSTuRYy1UoACKfJGXmPaXDCB3et9L2RXGaDczzz8JjXJnZ0bh4hzm/s320/356.jpg" width="208" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #356 (1998)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
there’s one period in X-Men history I regret missing out on, it’s when Joe
Kelly and Steve Seagle were co-writing the books. I was in high school, not
really buying comics, and I missed this era more or less in its entirety. Perhaps
it was a blessing in disguise, since the run got cut short due to creative
differences…nah, I still wish I’d been reading. Kelly and Seagle are both
masters of their craft, particularly when it comes to balance, be it between
characters and subplot or comedy and drama, showing one reason they’ve become
so successful in the animation field. I eventually went back to collect this
period, but was only able to do so via eBay and quarter bins, meaning I read it
scattershot and out of order, not the optimum experience. This is an issue I
particularly liked though. The primary plot deals with the original five X-Men
reuniting in Alaska—where Cyclops and Jean Grey have retired to—both to game
plan how to search for the missing Professor X and because Scott was worried
Jean might be becoming the Phoenix again. I may not have grown up with this
quintet as “my” X-Men, but I’m a sucker for the chemistry between them. I like
Warren confiding in Jean about his relationship issues with Psylocke; I like
Bobby being a bit aloof. I also really enjoy Chris Bachalo’s art in this issue
as his progressive style helps breathe life into classic characters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4O9Ueya8WDoHrzNEt3HHWhY9ItN4-s9weOoXqV-aCXogdq0Snn48f1eQV0aHOHBiP4uEMPxpQe1exXYfvnz1ZK9eyumpIb9by9LR4xP6UCPc0QWugfGTGj_TKZl77Qnr1SL25XtOFKS1i/s1600/301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4O9Ueya8WDoHrzNEt3HHWhY9ItN4-s9weOoXqV-aCXogdq0Snn48f1eQV0aHOHBiP4uEMPxpQe1exXYfvnz1ZK9eyumpIb9by9LR4xP6UCPc0QWugfGTGj_TKZl77Qnr1SL25XtOFKS1i/s320/301.jpg" width="209" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #301 (1993)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
have never read this comic. I was heavy into collecting X-Men in particular in
1993, but for some reason, I never got Uncanny X-Men #300 or the next few
issues up until Fatal Attractions. I do remember having no appreciation for
John Romita Jr.’s art at the time because it was so different from the smooth
Jim Lee/Andy Kubert style I was used to, and not really getting Forge or
Mystique. Oh well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3Z0filCDoZTAeuvYRCvAd36F9PvfHUmHEA3HFYb6bBkqnlh7YK4h1x1yezuc3cuLbWl0d-RkT8nQVzBDtlX6JIqypFUhPLA1gWTinEgQ7j5O1jUMTFbW8jSN70wEKgFdAbkpICEVOugP/s1600/230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3Z0filCDoZTAeuvYRCvAd36F9PvfHUmHEA3HFYb6bBkqnlh7YK4h1x1yezuc3cuLbWl0d-RkT8nQVzBDtlX6JIqypFUhPLA1gWTinEgQ7j5O1jUMTFbW8jSN70wEKgFdAbkpICEVOugP/s320/230.jpg" width="210" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #230 (1988)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
don’t remember this issue too well either, but I’m pretty certain I read it. Maybe
in an Essential? Not sure. It’s a month after the X-Men moved to Australia in
one of the first comics I ever read and it’s a Christmas issue (in the summer).
Searching their new home, the team finds a bunch of stolen goods swiped from
around the world by the Reavers or whoever. Fortunately, among Longshot’s
litany of powers is the ability to know where an object came from by touching
it, plus the X-Men just met a teleporter named Gateway, so they make like Santa
Claus and return all the goodies. It’s a sweet little story and also a nice
spotlight for Longshot, who could be a bit of a cipher, with some slick Marc
Silvestri art.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGak2-PDtRoqANUUlKa08qtKY1KSxegSVW_eB86XwLfQiyxCL8kseaiwx563J7RHABmg8OB9Otx9iTP1oCu2PrCnmEwHULqrQUfoZseWHZ_ugDWbVvMJrznmBaZcG2byMVgf9YR_wLq8tE/s1600/170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGak2-PDtRoqANUUlKa08qtKY1KSxegSVW_eB86XwLfQiyxCL8kseaiwx563J7RHABmg8OB9Otx9iTP1oCu2PrCnmEwHULqrQUfoZseWHZ_ugDWbVvMJrznmBaZcG2byMVgf9YR_wLq8tE/s320/170.jpg" width="210" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #170 (1983)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Classic
issue right here. Angel has been captured by the Morlocks and the X-Men have
been unable to rescue him. The Morlocks particularly in their early days made
for an interesting threat because they weren’t just an opposing team, they were
a society, and besides that, they had so many seeming non-combatants mixed in
with the dangerous ones and the good guys couldn’t really pick them apart
(Leech is a little kid, but he’s also got a potentially lethal power and didn’t
know any better than to follow Callisto or Masque). Besides that, they had such
a diverse array of powers, from the raw power of Sunder to the poison touch of Plague
and everything in between. Recognizing a traditional fight couldn’t be won, two
of the X-Men take matters into their own hands, as Kitty Pryde promises Caliban
she will live with him if he helps save Storm, then Storm turns around and
invokes the challenge of one-on-one combat against Callisto for leadership of
the Morlocks. Storm displays a combination of street smarts and ruthlessness in
her duel with Callisto, which would get an extremely PG but nonetheless
memorable adaptation on the 90’s X-Men cartoon. The great Paul Smith provides
the pencils to put the bow on a gem of an issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-qNqv_N14zBNWxSIsQ0IHM1DcD5-bOTLlMiSPDzbea5wDfFQjGih83oI28qijjXeDLrhdEw4g3fNgIN3xqW-uuay7ka1OvSNXGdZkp5rEcQcYSabAbu2EXdrAltnw9YKavTM50iv-f1E/s1600/111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-qNqv_N14zBNWxSIsQ0IHM1DcD5-bOTLlMiSPDzbea5wDfFQjGih83oI28qijjXeDLrhdEw4g3fNgIN3xqW-uuay7ka1OvSNXGdZkp5rEcQcYSabAbu2EXdrAltnw9YKavTM50iv-f1E/s320/111.jpg" width="210" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #111 (1978)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
believe I have this issue as part of either a Masterworks or Essential that I’m
too lazy to go check right now, but I recall the concept and the quintessential
Dave Cockrum art and designs even without remembering the full story in detail.
Mesmero captures the still-new X-Men and convinces them they’re basically a
circus freak show, complete with Colossus as the strong man, Wolverine as the
jungle savage, and so on. A guest-starring Beast stumbles on the situation and
manages to pull Wolvie out of the spell, with the rest following suit. Another
fondly remembered one that has reverberated in homage as well as across media.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-81195992487226892082013-06-23T21:05:00.002-04:002013-06-23T21:06:10.723-04:00Pimping My Stuff: Place to Be Nation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://placetobenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/P2B_WM29_65-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="52" src="http://placetobenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/P2B_WM29_65-2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook, you may have noticed of late I've been tossing a lot of links to a new site called <a href="http://placetobenation.com/">Place to Be Nation</a>. I've been listening to <a href="http://placetobe.podbean.com/">the pro wrestling-focused podcast of the same name</a> for a few months now and quickly became a fan, not merely because it's a better way to spend my commute then staring at downtown Newark, but because it's a great show. Scott Criscuolo and Justin Rozzero have done a tremendous job creating a consistently entertaining piece of business and developing an impressive fan following along the way, building it into a community. They provide insightful and humorous insight into the past and present of wrestling and conduct some of the better interviews I've heard.</div>
</div>
<br />
Needless to say when Justin reached out to me and let me know they'd be expanding their efforts into web site form, I was eager to join up. It may seem a bit odd that somebody who spends every day running a fairly involved entertainment web site would want to also devote a portion of his free time to an endeavor like this, but as evidenced by this blog and other outlets I've used in the past, I love writing and collaboration, and when there are avenues beyond the one I'm lucky to have professionally, it's a treat for me to get to spout off about things I love.<br />
<br />
So while I have no plans to discontinue my ramblings here, you'll also notice a lot of my thoughts on wrestling and TV in particular migrating over to placetobenation.com. The first two pieces I was a part of have gone up already, one which kicks off a regular wrestling list feature called <a href="http://placetobenation.com/the-five-count-the-most-wasted-wwe-title-reigns/">The Five Count</a> with a round table discussion of the most wasted WWE title reigns of all-time, plus me chatting with Justin and his pal Jen about one of my favorite topics: <a href="http://placetobenation.com/we-miss-the-90s-boy-bands/">boy bands</a>.<br />
<br />
In conclusion, if you were concerned you weren't getting enough Ben Morse via Marvel.com and The Cool Kids Table, you've now got even more via Place to Be Nation, plus a boatload of other great columnists and writers to boot. Truly we live in a golden age.Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-57464644895562938192013-06-22T20:21:00.002-04:002013-06-22T20:21:14.879-04:00Multi Paragraph Movie Review: Now You See Me<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/Now_You_See_Me_Poster.jpg" style="font-style: normal;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500268268949810386" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/Now_You_See_Me_Poster.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 263px;" /></a><em>If you don't have plans to see this movie, you can check <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_You_See_Me_(film)">the spoilers here</a> and then come back.</em><br />
<em><br /></em>
Seeing the cool premise for Now You See Me--it's a heist movie but with magicians--and the hugely talented cast, it seemed to me like this was an easy slam dunk. It did pretty well in its first week at the box office and got mixed to good reviews, but then faded pretty fast and people seemed to stop talking about it. The first point can be explained away by summer movie season, but the fact that there wasn't more buzz made me feel like there had to be something else going on here, some fatal flaws preventing it from being a critical hit. Having seen it, it was a fun, fast moving flick with an army of great actors and some truly brilliant action sequences, but no question there was a much better movie that could have been made. Speaking first to that cast, there isn't a weak link the bunch, as you've got Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman all bringing the goods plus lesser-knowns like Melanie Laurent and Dave Franco delivering on the promise they've shown elsewhere. I had my doubts initially whether Eisenberg could pull off arrogant ladies man, but he found a way to not so much disguise or lose the socially awkward charm he generally displays as much as redirect it. Ruffalo gets saddled with arguably the weakest character, the bumbling FBI goober who seems to exist only to make the magicians look more clever, but he manages to make the routine entertaining, if a bit tired. Of course there's a joy to watching Caine and Freeman face off, and I do appreciate that director Louis Leterrier or somebody recognized the simple but brilliant idea of "Oh, Morgan Freeman is in our movie, we should have him do a voice over at some point."<br />
<br />
The primary problem for me with Now You See Me is that after the first 15 minutes of introducing Eisenberg, Harrelson, Fisher and Franco's wonderfully compelling quartet of magical thieves, we get a year-time jump and they disappear like the proverbial bunny for three quarters of the screen time while the Ruffalo-led FBI team gets the lion's share of the attention. Ruffalo is game, as mentioned, and Laurent as his believer partner is winning, but their chemistry is only so so, and even at their best they can't distract me that I'd rather be seeing more of Eisenberg and Fisher's dynamic--they're former magician and assistant with underlying sexual tension--or Harrelson being quirky or Franco finding ways to use magic tricks as weapons in awesome fight scenes. On its own, this Mark Ruffalo FBI movie would be whatever, but it becomes almost irritating when you teased me with something much more tantalizing and then moved it just off to the side for nearly two hours.<br />
<br />
I would imagine a lot of people also have trouble with the ending, which its hard to get too into without spoilers, but needless to say as you'd expect from a movie about sleight of hand, it's a big twist. I didn't see it coming, which is a good thing, but one the other hand, that's because it requires the audience to discard a lot of what they just watched quickly and without much explanation. If they went through Ocean's 11 styles and explained all the motivation and machinery, I think it could have won a lot of goodwill, but it feels like they start that and then cut it off with some hasty lines, maybe saving it for a potential sequel. There are a lot logic gaps I can surmise solutions to, but they should be right out the screen.<br />
<br />
I can't really complain, because I don't think I was bored during too many of Now You Can See Me's 115 minutes and found the majority of them to be entertaining, but I do mourn a bit for the superior film that died somewhere along the way; that one could have been a real classic.Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-7107080050953713642013-06-15T13:01:00.002-04:002013-06-15T13:01:53.044-04:00Art Attack: August 2013's Coolest Covers-I dig that take on Brother Blood by Francis Portela. It maintains the classic coloring and basic design of the classic George Perez but streamlines it a bit; plus while I have a soft spot for the original black-accented mask, amping up the skeleton crown instead is ominous and puts the character in line for a book like Animal Man. Portela definitely captured a creepy sense of glee here.<br />
<br />
-Can't get enough 8-Bit variant covers. It makes a special amount of sense on Avengers Arena. Darkhawk and Mettle were born to be old school video game characters. Can whoever did that Adobo game look into something with Darkhawk?<br />
<br />
-Love Chris Samnee's Silver Surfer! That's the type of smooth, sleek figure Samnee excels at, plus he does the crackling power effect in a neat kind of way. But what I dig more than simply the Surfer is how he contrasts getting dropped into the urban setting against a different figure like Daredevil. I believe Javier Rodriguez did the colors here (apologies if I'm mistaken) and he really sells it with the pale blue background, the stark red DD and the simple silver of the Surfer.<br />
<br />
-As inventive as Mike Del Mundo's X-Men Legacy covers have been, that Deadpool Kills Deadpool one makes me chuckle.<br />
<br />
-Did Dan Brereton just draw my dream Halloween costume for this year on Dream Thief #4?<br />
<br />
-Mark Brooks continues his duel with the aforementioned Mr. Del Mundo for cover artist of the year in my view. Extra points for presumably being able to use recycled material for a new Fearless Defenders piece (although knowing him he may have created all-new design sketches).<br />
<br />
-That Indestructible Hulk cover by Mukesh Singh sure does look like a lot of fun, doesn't it? Keep an eye on this guy.<br />
<br />
-Just when you think Skottie Young has peaked on his variant covers (not really), he brings a Thanos video game console--which I now want to be real!--into the mix for Infinity.<br />
<br />
-KISS Kids by Bruce Timm? Ok!<br />
<br />
-I can always use more Jerry Ordway in my life. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents is, of course, a perfect property for him, with colorful costumes and timeless designs. I had many great exchanges with the kind and talented Mr. Ordway when I was covering Infinite Crisis for Wizard back in the day and he sent me his full runs on Infinity Inc. and All-Star Squadron, so I'm indebted to the gent.<br />
<br />
-The cover to Ultimate Comics Ultimates #29 by Michael Komarck has been my desktop screensaver at work for awhile now. Neat way to depict Quicksilver's powers in action.<br />
<br />
-Declan Shalvey's Venom covers are a higher degree of art.<br />
<br />
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<b>100 BULLETS: BROTHER LONO #3 by Dave Johnson</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TB1sB9ezfELhqknfzjaSY4cHVYB0UmE2PhuiYxepKyPjW7uN0IaFaLIQ1gd0xGDmAdIaPBt3Tik02HT4LzKy2KOPCPMPJkgYOioEgZ5SLsMV73lAChh31YRcUJSipLa0hrEiK2MFkvc4/s1600/100+Bullets-Brother+Lono+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TB1sB9ezfELhqknfzjaSY4cHVYB0UmE2PhuiYxepKyPjW7uN0IaFaLIQ1gd0xGDmAdIaPBt3Tik02HT4LzKy2KOPCPMPJkgYOioEgZ5SLsMV73lAChh31YRcUJSipLa0hrEiK2MFkvc4/s320/100+Bullets-Brother+Lono+3.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>ANIMAL MAN #23 by Francis Portela</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-z5wlMKOym3NydjVsMweHYuNknOoZ3gF7Hceq-hDolm6-N3THGt8Mhqx4VrCdgCkBfuxhviO22ETEi1YAMObmXDTI1W3oGti4zNxLFN04ffJaeOywhvCGeDfIgqDt4yoo_HXQn7YH9mk/s1600/Animal+Man+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-z5wlMKOym3NydjVsMweHYuNknOoZ3gF7Hceq-hDolm6-N3THGt8Mhqx4VrCdgCkBfuxhviO22ETEi1YAMObmXDTI1W3oGti4zNxLFN04ffJaeOywhvCGeDfIgqDt4yoo_HXQn7YH9mk/s320/Animal+Man+23.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>ASTONISHING X-MEN #65 by Phil Noto</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtjvFDFsV1TOWkiJrNZtxwJlG-TykZNATIVG4fR5O6yVpcWl-nSjlPzUWPGrLxZzx256otNGRp2-NrAU35nm1Fw4ashyphenhyphenZ3MGHTtXtzoxH8HKNQhy5h8SdNDbYXvyxGhr1Zg1csc5J14wX/s1600/Astonishing+X-Men+65.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtjvFDFsV1TOWkiJrNZtxwJlG-TykZNATIVG4fR5O6yVpcWl-nSjlPzUWPGrLxZzx256otNGRp2-NrAU35nm1Fw4ashyphenhyphenZ3MGHTtXtzoxH8HKNQhy5h8SdNDbYXvyxGhr1Zg1csc5J14wX/s320/Astonishing+X-Men+65.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>AVENGERS ARENA #14 8-Bit Variant</b></div>
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<b>BATMAN BEYOND UNIVERSE #1 by Dustin Nguyen</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_kxlJvlF4n8cbebcmOntklAR7F-PGj685vIfJapi6DdRN6bz_Lc9m7M2k9NgG7fsRtTdBKWYLC-QGHbA2q4sEONHdfdJOn0P9GbSjEeKwO5uRcYV4ElBh8U60Qg8brlOLPSBUGOl5dxg/s1600/Batman+Beyond+Universe+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_kxlJvlF4n8cbebcmOntklAR7F-PGj685vIfJapi6DdRN6bz_Lc9m7M2k9NgG7fsRtTdBKWYLC-QGHbA2q4sEONHdfdJOn0P9GbSjEeKwO5uRcYV4ElBh8U60Qg8brlOLPSBUGOl5dxg/s320/Batman+Beyond+Universe+1.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<b>BATMAN INCORPORATED SPECIAL #1 by Chris Burnham</b></div>
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<b>BATWOMAN #23 by J.H. Williams III</b></div>
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<b>BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 9 #24 by Georges Jeanty</b></div>
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<b>BURN THE ORPHANAGE: BORN TO LOSE #1 by Sina Grace</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38PfTBnzy4Qln_wUccNSFXHgjUFU8FspRDWe3qOwzSAGoAKXtTiEn9SCEajbVUS7mh8TLHPwXdQ34FbHPopGcSGvcnz8Pg77nD9wDBTT8ACWu4cD57PAIzbRJyXnZrTOGij9XX8KLjSkW/s1600/Burn+the+Orphanage-Born+to+Lose+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38PfTBnzy4Qln_wUccNSFXHgjUFU8FspRDWe3qOwzSAGoAKXtTiEn9SCEajbVUS7mh8TLHPwXdQ34FbHPopGcSGvcnz8Pg77nD9wDBTT8ACWu4cD57PAIzbRJyXnZrTOGij9XX8KLjSkW/s320/Burn+the+Orphanage-Born+to+Lose+1.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<b>DAREDEVIL #30 by Chris Samnee</b></div>
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<b>DEADPOOL KILLS DEADPOOL #2 by Michael Del Mundo</b></div>
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<b>DREAM THIEF #4 by Dan Brereton</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFIDXHXCxcVauFNv1TlDOnMiTtFGOARP4jvE09VS-iVvlFkkYmPsf85tVqQJDsQD1Q-xXt9-TuQapKIO2iA8vrhpHnVi0g0QZ1QNXE6sPKB69-3tr3uTPCbVdDBQoDKvQ_A0vmTPW1GLx/s1600/Dream+Thief+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFIDXHXCxcVauFNv1TlDOnMiTtFGOARP4jvE09VS-iVvlFkkYmPsf85tVqQJDsQD1Q-xXt9-TuQapKIO2iA8vrhpHnVi0g0QZ1QNXE6sPKB69-3tr3uTPCbVdDBQoDKvQ_A0vmTPW1GLx/s320/Dream+Thief+4.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
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<b>EARTH 2 #15 by Juan Doe</b></div>
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<b>FATALE #17 by Sean Phillips</b></div>
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<b>FEARLESS DEFENDERS #8 by Mark Brooks</b></div>
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<b>HAWKEYE #14 by David Aja</b></div>
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<b>INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #12 by Mukesh Singh</b></div>
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<b>INFINITY #1 by Skottie Young</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9dwhyphenhyphen5nWPqL_7XHsr9OclfTWeYZLf5H54pK96tIuFxZTLRURr6hjJHOkt2BnePxGkc31pY7NFQNFLnoCVepRCN3Na3yUnnAMJtrhvteEaAwnNzpeom6UsVVAHJAIrqQ0KwVZxJ7Dvqpd/s1600/Infinity+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9dwhyphenhyphen5nWPqL_7XHsr9OclfTWeYZLf5H54pK96tIuFxZTLRURr6hjJHOkt2BnePxGkc31pY7NFQNFLnoCVepRCN3Na3yUnnAMJtrhvteEaAwnNzpeom6UsVVAHJAIrqQ0KwVZxJ7Dvqpd/s320/Infinity+1.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b>INVINCIBLE UNIVERSE #5 by Todd Nauck</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDwQniJdo8efXgZS_ZEG5AXs8CgonPPmR50uFO4RIOpMMn5UTXmlBTUyLXuMc9ZaJsizmELkwIyBqmkQi8lKmxZj_E_OTcKvjkFO5dVMJiDlx-poCpVbnHvOf-iPebKqfoZo3cXhFnncF/s1600/Invincible+Universe+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDwQniJdo8efXgZS_ZEG5AXs8CgonPPmR50uFO4RIOpMMn5UTXmlBTUyLXuMc9ZaJsizmELkwIyBqmkQi8lKmxZj_E_OTcKvjkFO5dVMJiDlx-poCpVbnHvOf-iPebKqfoZo3cXhFnncF/s320/Invincible+Universe+5.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>KISS KIDS #1 by Bruce Timm</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAjhIQJosMHKr6aoh5O7CAQU1Z4oOc-OPlxubvzPI48u41uvA4d0b7QaHizIhTdq7PobJcjPbtZn872jy5G-J95veUJq9WkXac4u0uVP1m0wMChvcOewwDX73w-fFtck1Giv6hoLUCVvGi/s1600/KISS+Kids+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAjhIQJosMHKr6aoh5O7CAQU1Z4oOc-OPlxubvzPI48u41uvA4d0b7QaHizIhTdq7PobJcjPbtZn872jy5G-J95veUJq9WkXac4u0uVP1m0wMChvcOewwDX73w-fFtck1Giv6hoLUCVvGi/s320/KISS+Kids+1.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>MICE TEMPLAR IV: LEGEND #6 by Skottie Young</b></div>
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<b>SCARLET SPIDER #20 by Ryan Stegman</b></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>SKULLKICKERS #24 by Edwin Huang & Jim Zub</b></div>
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<b>SWAMP THING #23 by Guillem March</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTtFYIEcaSe8N32bT0l4rn7Atmg18Cx286GNeX-TLZjvaWE2Cy5sL2k8gViK3qVT64HdNQGjFlXPVqijy8j5EPNwEeMnWWgVeCYyoZpbw8LR0zOAxoIB5v6yWmNsmfLjGxGBWUwh3IwWXJ/s1600/Swamp+Thing+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTtFYIEcaSe8N32bT0l4rn7Atmg18Cx286GNeX-TLZjvaWE2Cy5sL2k8gViK3qVT64HdNQGjFlXPVqijy8j5EPNwEeMnWWgVeCYyoZpbw8LR0zOAxoIB5v6yWmNsmfLjGxGBWUwh3IwWXJ/s320/Swamp+Thing+23.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<b>T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1 by Jerry Ordway</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzS1Kugbv_3HG2ei_UBNKJ_ji7e9fjlZQRHi8EP2mqThQodyylkYG9ZneInP7m9paQz4SIGBF2fJ5pr1z3FiJnYuCGMI1jBkmdsdXmXCF6Zc6PnPuCRfYB4u58wO_QynmmM0r95O5F5oy/s1600/Thunder+Agents+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzS1Kugbv_3HG2ei_UBNKJ_ji7e9fjlZQRHi8EP2mqThQodyylkYG9ZneInP7m9paQz4SIGBF2fJ5pr1z3FiJnYuCGMI1jBkmdsdXmXCF6Zc6PnPuCRfYB4u58wO_QynmmM0r95O5F5oy/s320/Thunder+Agents+1.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #29 by Michael Komarck</b></div>
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<b>UNCANNY X-FORCE #10 by Kris Anka</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKaa2oqs-cvZdPROIGlGJ0Z4NDen6cpY6o5NkyftYVF9jsMJwzPjM6QgGBedDCMFVHR414ZH-UkMePYvo1TEzynMEVzsmqDuf0PR23wCsRQN5leOk13PGKeVYLcdsIRF4iz48Up3r3YZC/s1600/Uncanny+X-Force+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKaa2oqs-cvZdPROIGlGJ0Z4NDen6cpY6o5NkyftYVF9jsMJwzPjM6QgGBedDCMFVHR414ZH-UkMePYvo1TEzynMEVzsmqDuf0PR23wCsRQN5leOk13PGKeVYLcdsIRF4iz48Up3r3YZC/s320/Uncanny+X-Force+10.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>VENOM #39 by Declan Shalvey</b></div>
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<b>WONDER WOMAN #23 by Cliff Chiang</b></div>
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<b>X-MEN #4 by Terry Dodson</b></div>
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Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-40707883244998834912013-05-29T22:56:00.001-04:002013-05-29T22:56:48.982-04:00Paragraph Movie Reviews: Epic<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/be/Epic_%282013_film%29_poster.jpg" style="font-style: normal;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500268268949810386" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/be/Epic_%282013_film%29_poster.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 263px;" /></a><em>If you don't have plans to see this movie, you can check <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_(film)">the spoilers here</a> and then come back.</em><br />
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From far away, Epic is pretty, but once you get up close, you notice the cracks; this can double both as an assessment of the animation and of the movie overall. The widescreen aspects of work done by Blue Sky Studios' animators is gorgeous, as they create a well thought-out, meticulously constructed, inventive world that shimmers and shines from the outside. The action scenes, particularly the chase sequences, are packed with frenetic energy and the animation really nails the details. It's when the characters are standing still or conversing, when the action slows, that you notice the little things like facial expressions and figure movement don't hold up as well. Similarly, the grand premise of a hidden nature world where there's an ongoing war between the denizens of life and the avatars of "the rot"--seriously, it's Rotworld!--is cool, but it feels at times like the folks writing the script figured that skeleton was enough to hang the plot on and didn't really need to flesh their mythology out. The second half of the film is a lot stronger than the first, which really drags, but by then it's coasting on the forward momentum provided by action in lieu of a strong story or character development. The voice acting is of varying levels, as Amanda Seyfried and Josh Hutcherson are fine if a little flat in the leads, Colin Farrell puts an effort in as the aging hero of the piece, Christoph Waltz gets about half way there as the villain, and the trio of Aziz Ansari, Chris O'Dowd and Steven Tyler get to stand out because they're the comic relief and this is a PG-animated movie (the less said about Beyonce's performance as the queen of the forest, the better). I wouldn't trash Epic, as it's a perfectly fun piece with some really strong craftsmanship times, but in an era when animated films have hit a much higher level, it feels incomplete.<br />
<em><br /></em>Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-50806443549969226332013-05-27T00:55:00.000-04:002013-05-27T00:55:31.942-04:00Art Attack Flashback: X-Men - The TemptingGot an e-mail from my mother earlier today with this pic attached...<br />
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It's a drawing I did when I was younger that she found when going through stuff at our house. I'd like to say based on the quality of art and spelling that I was like 7, but fortunately I included issue numbers of when my proposed crossover event was going to happen and can see that I was 14. Fantastic.<br />
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I have no idea what the story I was planning was here, but let's do a little detective work and draw conclusions...<br />
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-It's called "X-Men: The Tempting" (because I had to save the word "Temptation" for the tag line, obviously) so I'd assume the shadowy villain character I gave eyes and giant shoulders to was offering various members of the X-Teams stuff. This was a good year before Underworld Unleashed, so Mark Waid obviously stole that plot from me.<br />
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-You can tell this is something I created because Iceman is the most prominent member of the X-Men featured.<br />
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-Despite X-Force being my favorite X-title and my having listed it as a tie-in, I didn't draw anybody from the team among the full figures, most likely because I was still pissed Fabian Nicieza had left the book. I also didn't draw anybody from X-Factor, but that may have been because I stopped reading it when Peter David left and had no idea who was on the team.<br />
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-X-Man was definitely an ongoing series at this point, but for some reason I decided not to include it.<br />
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-That drawing of Rogue begs the question of whether I was worse at drawing women or leather jackets (and why I would choose to try and draw a woman in a leather jacket based on those shortcomings).<br />
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-As evidenced by both Banshee and Cyclops, my means of conveying motion is to only draw one and a half legs on figures to make it seems like they're running/flying (or getting around it altogether by making Nightcrawler's teleportation effect really big).<br />
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-I'm really proud of myself for including Colossus' short-lived shoulder ridges from when he was on Excalibur.<br />
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-The second head shot down is Psylocke; I know this because I distinctly remember that was my way of showing she had her hair in a ponytail.<br />
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-I was terrible at drawing Beast.<br />
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-I must have really liked Havok's old school costume.<br />
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-I know I really liked Cable's glowing eye.<br />
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-I do not know what "Touchdowns in March" means and could apparently not spell the word "special" despite being a freshman in high school. I blame the Massachusetts public school system.<br />
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So anyway, I'll be pitching this story to Nick Lowe on Tuesday; expect to see it on stands by 2014.Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-20417673306661854282013-05-19T16:03:00.000-04:002013-05-19T16:03:12.933-04:00Paragraph Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/50/StarTrekIntoDarkness_FinalUSPoster.jpg" style="font-style: normal;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500268268949810386" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/50/StarTrekIntoDarkness_FinalUSPoster.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 263px;" /></a><em>If you don't have plans to see this movie, you can check <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_Into_Darkness">the spoilers here</a> and then come back.</em><br />
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I found this to be a decent movie; not great, not awful, just decent. I didn't regret seeing it, probably won't see it again. It had its good parts and its bad parts, as I'll discuss. I feel like that's about as neutral a first impression as I can give, but that's how I felt. I was a bit let down if only because I don't think it came close to measuring up against the 2009 Star Trek reboot; of course with rare exceptions sequels demonstrate diminishing returns, but I had hoped the four-year gap between films meant they really found a way to nail it. The greatest attribute of this franchise to my mind remains the brilliant casting, as there are no duds to be found in the ensemble, with Chris Pine and Zach Quinto as the standouts, plus Zoe Saldana getting a nice chance to step up more here than in the previous installment. Benedict Cumberbatch brought a great sense of command and menace to the antagonist of the piece, channeling Alan Rickman but with more physicality. Alice Eve slotted in nicely as well, holding her own against the aforementioned talents plus Karl Urban, etc. I found Peter Weller a bit over the top in his role, but that feels more down to the plotting than his work (and tough to discuss without hitting spoiler territory). I also think the script was tremendously strong when it came to dialogue; my favorite parts of the movie were the funny moments or emotional exchanges, and that has as much to do with the writing as the acting. It's also a visually stunning piece of work, no question, and the action sequences are top notch, so kudos to J.J. Abrams on that. There were two major negatives dragging in particular the second half down in my opinion, first and foremost being the handling of the story's villain. I feel like Abrams and company got a little too bogged down in trying to create mysteries and twists regarding the bad guy, and in the process muddied the motivations; by three quarters in, I was a bit lost on why certain characters were doing what and whether or not I should be rooting for or against them. My other issue would be what felt like diminishing stakes as the plot rolled out. In the beginning of the movie, I felt like major players were in very real danger, which was exciting, but there were so many close calls early on that by the mid-point I didn't get the sense of any true peril; I know it's tough to really ask for that in an action movie, but for whatever reason, it felt more glaring than usual here, whether it was what felt like a too deliberate "and this is how we'll save whoever needs to be saved later" smoking gun or the "it doesn't matter if people are dying as long as they're not the ones whose names we now" syndrome I've been noticing more and more in this type of film lately. I'd recommend you try this one for yourself, as I think it's very much a case of mileage varying by taste.Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-66395015091368913722013-05-12T21:22:00.000-04:002013-05-12T21:22:10.805-04:00Art Attack: July 2013's Coolest Covers-It's crazy to me sometimes to remember how long Stuart Immonen has been doing comic book art at the high level he has, how many times he has evolved his style and how drastically. This is a guy who already had a unique take on super heroes back in the 90's when he drew Final Night, went way outside the box for Nextwave, had the chops to follow Mark Bagley on Ultimate Spider-Man and handled a book no less high profile than New Avengers. With All-New X-Men, he's morphed yet again, perhaps in more subtle ways, but he's a talent who definitely takes care to make teenagers look like teenagers. This cover is even another side, very fine art in the background and very striking at the fore.<br />
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-That's a clever Avengers Arena cover by Dave Johnson that can work multiple ways. The brackets make sense given the book's premise, but he does cool work making them shadows or roots or whatever you want to see them<br />
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-Man, I love the way Patrick Gleason visualized the whole environment for that Batman & Catwoman cover, not just the figures or the setting but how they interact. Love the angle of the characters and the use of the Bat Signal.<br />
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-I love the way Salvador Larroca draw super heroes; classic, colorful, powerful super heroes. That is all.<br />
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-That's some especially pretty Chris Samnee Daredevil art. All that black looks awesome and perfectly conveys a predicament that would crush Matt Murdock. This cover works from both a storytelling perspective and in creating an enticing snapshot.<br />
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-Double shot of Juan Doe radness this month. Fun Blood Brothers cover and then graphic brilliance on Earth 2, taking smart cues from propaganda posters and using the figures perfectly. Juan's art always grabs you.<br />
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-Mark Brooks, you did it again.<br />
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-I want that Francis Manapul Flash cover as a poster.<br />
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-Nice callback on this month's Indestructible Hulk cover by Paolo Rivera to his own Daredevil #1 work, using DD's billy clubs to blind Hulk and Banner this go around.<br />
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-Speaking of callbacks, Nova #6 is a nice shot from Ed McGuinness after a fashion to one of my all-time favorites, <a href="http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_large/0/4/66865-2867-99862-1-nova.jpg">the original Nova #25</a>.<br />
<br />
-Ryan Stegman doing some Bill Sienkiewicz jazz with the ninjas battling Scarlet Spider--very cool!<br />
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-Thor: God of Thunder. Esad Ribic. Guh.<br />
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<b>100 BULLETS: BROTHER LONO #2 by Dave Johnson</b></div>
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<b>ALL-NEW X-MEN #14 by Stuart Immonen</b></div>
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<b>AVENGERS ARENA #12 by Dave Johnson</b></div>
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<b>AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #17 by Joe Quinones</b></div>
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<b>BATMAN & CATWOMAN #22 by Patrick Gleason</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifnAax7uLWrxVsGyw0xX6eMD1y8VhzcQpOmMiQAikbaPdw7tPsOBXlhhFuidhcLAZE5U-VE0_jCgr0VW1scnk7UieZZvJRm4fu99nwcvtym8oCn4HYrdmSSjH6WktliZASa0g-hcGxokh2/s1600/Batman+&+Catwoman+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifnAax7uLWrxVsGyw0xX6eMD1y8VhzcQpOmMiQAikbaPdw7tPsOBXlhhFuidhcLAZE5U-VE0_jCgr0VW1scnk7UieZZvJRm4fu99nwcvtym8oCn4HYrdmSSjH6WktliZASa0g-hcGxokh2/s320/Batman+&+Catwoman+22.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b>BATMAN INCORPORATED #13 by Chris Burnham</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi56G6oAOUgjtm9TiytNJQGm8C385Umhb0H26Tw_o32xuWs8S0e-f73MRCYGeEgIYWl7CEplxA4mnvBEmgQ8rz4QeQiI870YC8dFLC6ZeSp0niHvZQGiYnN2zw9vxNKYQUelkp8LghZBFqb/s1600/Batman+Incorporated+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi56G6oAOUgjtm9TiytNJQGm8C385Umhb0H26Tw_o32xuWs8S0e-f73MRCYGeEgIYWl7CEplxA4mnvBEmgQ8rz4QeQiI870YC8dFLC6ZeSp0niHvZQGiYnN2zw9vxNKYQUelkp8LghZBFqb/s320/Batman+Incorporated+13.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>BATWOMAN #22 by J.H. Williams III</b></div>
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<b>BLOOD BROTHERS #1 by Juan Doe</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh18xOfJ021dtFWT8dnZY3VCID0PpMSMV9c76JJRigPsnfVVMc1hEHOJSQ5tYpOKRrCQbaOhWXKCSKXkbin9f1lqZrbzNcsD88AvrOGySW23BHBmOLju03uDgK6WDahE2SSK1li5VIr4oVg/s1600/Blood+Brothers+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh18xOfJ021dtFWT8dnZY3VCID0PpMSMV9c76JJRigPsnfVVMc1hEHOJSQ5tYpOKRrCQbaOhWXKCSKXkbin9f1lqZrbzNcsD88AvrOGySW23BHBmOLju03uDgK6WDahE2SSK1li5VIr4oVg/s320/Blood+Brothers+1.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>CABLE & X-FORCE #10 by Salvador Larroca</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKUUm-kYdULODlENsoKFy7E0Ug6TdaJxKZlSiySCYUahhyZu_7-DJCg13Lmakr03LewglpfuqNjVac-CypsM7xpPlOrE10go3dFAqNvvs7UH07cNw14XJLkp68cYEIOCDvZX1lMoQpQ9n/s1600/Cable+&+X-Force+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKUUm-kYdULODlENsoKFy7E0Ug6TdaJxKZlSiySCYUahhyZu_7-DJCg13Lmakr03LewglpfuqNjVac-CypsM7xpPlOrE10go3dFAqNvvs7UH07cNw14XJLkp68cYEIOCDvZX1lMoQpQ9n/s320/Cable+&+X-Force+10.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>CAPTAIN MARVEL #14 by Joe Quinones</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgXbMd3rYoK9UPPPyt6YfJEVh2eNQxesYDovSTsBZTnARvBo49jokW9I13Iq8l9O1yoBYN2nr0O721Vdph0JHurdby6-BLApwGkBJP2roMkAKY-vIl5LQkWRME98e9qX1CDqKwD7BtCvv/s1600/Captain+Marvel+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgXbMd3rYoK9UPPPyt6YfJEVh2eNQxesYDovSTsBZTnARvBo49jokW9I13Iq8l9O1yoBYN2nr0O721Vdph0JHurdby6-BLApwGkBJP2roMkAKY-vIl5LQkWRME98e9qX1CDqKwD7BtCvv/s320/Captain+Marvel+14.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b>DAREDEVIL #29 by Chris Samnee</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTd_Sz64CzUKS-9utpClXMPfrr6J81CqTcIHC4dByBT3q96UndB0OB12VjfuyaJBbr7Qo-qyZrfJVeI4jwz4tyGYRkeBIH0jnSoXkcsHveaNfcsoqVgkD-QdciHJu-IyQ012-PvviNDs8Y/s1600/Daredevil+29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTd_Sz64CzUKS-9utpClXMPfrr6J81CqTcIHC4dByBT3q96UndB0OB12VjfuyaJBbr7Qo-qyZrfJVeI4jwz4tyGYRkeBIH0jnSoXkcsHveaNfcsoqVgkD-QdciHJu-IyQ012-PvviNDs8Y/s320/Daredevil+29.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>DAREDEVIL: DARK NIGHTS #2 by Lee Weeks</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FWo8pIq-_-ra1yHJ1StykjRp6eQiF2stoR9JIIdZF4g0cr6k5eGZ4PSfJP3MEZibsUIRvjWo7KPemnym9m9M2c_cBvNLOzTyUDb83MMRsqrANK2qTz5Q6_6vG_39nyCDXCb0AZEMLZa-/s1600/Daredevil-Dark+Nights+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FWo8pIq-_-ra1yHJ1StykjRp6eQiF2stoR9JIIdZF4g0cr6k5eGZ4PSfJP3MEZibsUIRvjWo7KPemnym9m9M2c_cBvNLOzTyUDb83MMRsqrANK2qTz5Q6_6vG_39nyCDXCb0AZEMLZa-/s320/Daredevil-Dark+Nights+2.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
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<b>DEADPOOL #13 by Kris Anka</b></div>
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<b>DIAL H #14 by Brian Bolland</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSFmFAaTsOsRFd_8BB65bv9D3PRyrHBDSlUwT3U1nq4NI7NV3B4st3rZsvyDcfCHmjPLbx0stGhzqFeIclDTI83UgeofyMwqzFjnu2z9guRMQtPyNUjvDfcePpsM8KMGkCk_g3pONTEsD/s1600/Dial+H+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSFmFAaTsOsRFd_8BB65bv9D3PRyrHBDSlUwT3U1nq4NI7NV3B4st3rZsvyDcfCHmjPLbx0stGhzqFeIclDTI83UgeofyMwqzFjnu2z9guRMQtPyNUjvDfcePpsM8KMGkCk_g3pONTEsD/s320/Dial+H+14.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b>EARTH 2 #14 by Juan Doe</b></div>
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<b>FATALE #16 by Sean Phillips</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0vFiBB-pG9RfD3Zwz5HzS3QkB7wdEKyCpByepyfPUYLzS_w6xCCl5C01_uVL6Bx-jaY9DTAPtlaUvWbs5-qq32XkynbDyWysWSTky8uwHXoAU2320cR62NQI1R4aE4wAv4Ce4thtyWIZ/s1600/Fatale+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0vFiBB-pG9RfD3Zwz5HzS3QkB7wdEKyCpByepyfPUYLzS_w6xCCl5C01_uVL6Bx-jaY9DTAPtlaUvWbs5-qq32XkynbDyWysWSTky8uwHXoAU2320cR62NQI1R4aE4wAv4Ce4thtyWIZ/s320/Fatale+16.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b>FEARLESS DEFENDERS #6 by Mark Brooks</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-5N2rRdQLt01mrXKxYyVaFaKxxgx6CABqvXhMKNZnHHt1pSCtsximVVYYCTZ0tElYTrK3QsfzUFLUapfvBa59xDvq3QISTQnGsH9s5KWidVJNJRG4Irb8PX2Tfbc98Ovn1o8V3fPIGf6u/s1600/Fearless+Defenders+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-5N2rRdQLt01mrXKxYyVaFaKxxgx6CABqvXhMKNZnHHt1pSCtsximVVYYCTZ0tElYTrK3QsfzUFLUapfvBa59xDvq3QISTQnGsH9s5KWidVJNJRG4Irb8PX2Tfbc98Ovn1o8V3fPIGf6u/s320/Fearless+Defenders+6.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>FLASH #22 by Francis Manapul</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2hITjLUWtPN-5_qF_Jv7GcdOGPueOGXMzAUb0RrcTETKBBAbeVtS9kFI-5rLkRfzydN0VFGo9fPjGVrbVacZGP31uMn4SAfeJhTOHl64Z5-tLnd6vvb7ey2PLq9FzIWp6cFE3FB4rS7Qv/s1600/Flash+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2hITjLUWtPN-5_qF_Jv7GcdOGPueOGXMzAUb0RrcTETKBBAbeVtS9kFI-5rLkRfzydN0VFGo9fPjGVrbVacZGP31uMn4SAfeJhTOHl64Z5-tLnd6vvb7ey2PLq9FzIWp6cFE3FB4rS7Qv/s320/Flash+22.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>GREEN ARROW #22 by Andrea Sorrentino</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHh7fAqfdDT-lfHPwNzh76MpWAS3YqpwSYYFMZrAmLGADNLWs1RMpn3iqLmVfYfoxKeRHTCLcaD1yf4h6BS9exe3L1H1UnDK85jMJS6WAOFzR2HkaNkV7QBZi3LgXXhFKTPqm7iv5mNhO_/s1600/Green+Arrow+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHh7fAqfdDT-lfHPwNzh76MpWAS3YqpwSYYFMZrAmLGADNLWs1RMpn3iqLmVfYfoxKeRHTCLcaD1yf4h6BS9exe3L1H1UnDK85jMJS6WAOFzR2HkaNkV7QBZi3LgXXhFKTPqm7iv5mNhO_/s320/Green+Arrow+22.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<b>GREEN LANTERN CORPS #22 by Bernard Chang</b></div>
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<b>GREEN TEAM: TEEN TRILLIONAIRES #3 by Amanda Conner</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6OfMH6G0JFaMsQc6-UChbGEgutH0V41QzWJX6J-oQYeD5ppgm6bG9SPoBNC9XLZkdcjjZgNT9nedHeN3DXBDxjdjPMnoqriRyo_Vm25gm6ztRZ6TGOttIhtmZPiBjWikaMxkTMlA3BoO/s1600/Green+Team-Teen+Trillionaires+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6OfMH6G0JFaMsQc6-UChbGEgutH0V41QzWJX6J-oQYeD5ppgm6bG9SPoBNC9XLZkdcjjZgNT9nedHeN3DXBDxjdjPMnoqriRyo_Vm25gm6ztRZ6TGOttIhtmZPiBjWikaMxkTMlA3BoO/s320/Green+Team-Teen+Trillionaires+3.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>HOUSE OF GOLD AND BONES #4 by Frank Quitely</b></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #10 by Paolo Rivera</b></div>
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<b>IRON MAN #12 by Greg Land</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgykH4YsvfcQhsBVbJ3IV8eOcdlravn7YoF5G9JC5lH4xmBnuEkuQwlghhduu_jAeUx86wulwV4CwXQIa9Ry57EyzOHoFcT-_Egw0SVeB9fJPEIWL5-DG7I59uqO7OzZZJJqEiIywDh2UHS/s1600/Iron+Man+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgykH4YsvfcQhsBVbJ3IV8eOcdlravn7YoF5G9JC5lH4xmBnuEkuQwlghhduu_jAeUx86wulwV4CwXQIa9Ry57EyzOHoFcT-_Egw0SVeB9fJPEIWL5-DG7I59uqO7OzZZJJqEiIywDh2UHS/s320/Iron+Man+12.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b>KATANA #6 by Pasqual Ferry</b></div>
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<b>LAZARUS #2 by Michael Lark</b></div>
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<b>NOVA #6 by Ed McGuinness</b></div>
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<b>RED SHE-HULK #67 by Francesco Francavilla</b></div>
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<b>SCARLET SPIDER #19 by Ryan Stegman</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm3fnt5kwvgmn4sIi_4xGVTtxQdk9bi0VwRn7avd5IWcgfK_XIvjsXR-uW0VJovgU3Tpq0qZOK4ik0f6tAuaC4bkSbhshxSg-eK8VeZhjAg2GwMzz6WmPVXrYdWQlBJxfHKVAiA4L_6UMC/s1600/Scarlet+Spider+19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm3fnt5kwvgmn4sIi_4xGVTtxQdk9bi0VwRn7avd5IWcgfK_XIvjsXR-uW0VJovgU3Tpq0qZOK4ik0f6tAuaC4bkSbhshxSg-eK8VeZhjAg2GwMzz6WmPVXrYdWQlBJxfHKVAiA4L_6UMC/s320/Scarlet+Spider+19.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>SECRET AVENGERS #7 by Nic Klein</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLbdSgy-7E1MQqnabVJdQ9osS4xxPMqfPJq_TQsWGbcLA3mrJUtVgxKZEy9njFw5q7oyOz7TUTOv4Xc4uLtf2OjurdB2a5mQH5ZKrILaYvFC4lPSts6NUQL-_waaugQzsJjMThEvRQ2m3/s1600/Secret+Avengers+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLbdSgy-7E1MQqnabVJdQ9osS4xxPMqfPJq_TQsWGbcLA3mrJUtVgxKZEy9njFw5q7oyOz7TUTOv4Xc4uLtf2OjurdB2a5mQH5ZKrILaYvFC4lPSts6NUQL-_waaugQzsJjMThEvRQ2m3/s320/Secret+Avengers+7.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>SUPERGIRL #22 by Mahmud Asrar</b></div>
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<b>SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN #1 by Marcos Martin</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjq9xdjN4dfoDxM6pNL1u-jV8rtCIhtJEoJc0ERTtyuYVvoOXp4ypXTzSlM7hmU7wrLwJfKKp5X-sBPLoP5N1rmhAG_GSixH5jNbFEGKs569s7zZ3EfEuV3Fu83TjvkD8DrgIoNiU5qlB/s1600/Superior+Foes+of+Spider-Man+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjq9xdjN4dfoDxM6pNL1u-jV8rtCIhtJEoJc0ERTtyuYVvoOXp4ypXTzSlM7hmU7wrLwJfKKp5X-sBPLoP5N1rmhAG_GSixH5jNbFEGKs569s7zZ3EfEuV3Fu83TjvkD8DrgIoNiU5qlB/s320/Superior+Foes+of+Spider-Man+1.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #10 by Esad Ribic</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgje5SY0M-jsgPh5inZyDMetdiKSHlz2OQku0ILIxblZwidqPk2AocbTPT1D1DQaHjK6rAlIPHNRWOSdnz6c2Yu0CmqKS0Tuh5Bcs4WC9p1Ue8YumWPSbYUU2THRXDd9rv14a7WZhJ8SL/s1600/Thor-God+of+Thunder+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgje5SY0M-jsgPh5inZyDMetdiKSHlz2OQku0ILIxblZwidqPk2AocbTPT1D1DQaHjK6rAlIPHNRWOSdnz6c2Yu0CmqKS0Tuh5Bcs4WC9p1Ue8YumWPSbYUU2THRXDd9rv14a7WZhJ8SL/s320/Thor-God+of+Thunder+10.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>THUNDERBOLTS #12 by Julian Totino Tedesco</b></div>
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<b>X-FACTOR #259 by David Yardin</b></div>
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Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-69398677835919642712013-05-04T23:07:00.003-04:002013-05-04T23:07:41.001-04:00Paragraph Movie Reviews: Pain & Gain<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/49/Pain_%26_Gain_film_poster.jpg" style="font-style: normal;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500268268949810386" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/49/Pain_%26_Gain_film_poster.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 263px;" /></a><em>If you don't have plans to see this movie, you can check <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain_and_Gain">the spoilers here</a> and then come back.</em><br />
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Coming out Pain & Gain, myself and the other guys I saw it with more or less agreed on two things: we liked it and we'd have a lot of trouble describing it to anybody who hadn't seen it. The short version would be to say it's a movie about fitness trainer Daniel Lugo getting a crew together to hold hostage and extort a rich client and what happens when the plan goes right and then wrong, but to do so would be a disservice to everything going on in this film. At various times it's a screwball comedy, a heist movie, a very dark comedy, and a thriller, with all four of those and several more genres frequently crashing or bleeding into one another pretty seamlessly. I'd say it has a very similar chaotic energy to To Die For (the Nicole Kidman one) or even Fight Club. Mark Wahlberg plays Lugo in a way that immediately called up for me Christian Bale's turn as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho; they're very different characters, but both characters call upon an ultra intensity and rapid fire delivery to bring earnestness to the ridiculous. Wahlberg is par for the course brilliant from his crazy voice overs to some really funny physical comedy. Great as Wahlberg is, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson matches and perhaps surpasses him as Paul Doyle, a born again ex-con and former cocaine addict who gets drawn into Lugo's plan. Johnson basically plays an array of characters over the course of the story: the repentant man of peace, the strung out crackhead, the intense criminal and various combinations therein and he's fantastic as all of them with his commanding presence, unmatched charisma, and brilliant comic timing. This should be the movie that propels Johnson past being a kids movie headliner or part of an action ensemble into a full-on leading man. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely wrote the screenplay, based on a book by Pete Collins--oh, and this is all based on a true story, by the way--and their script is top notch; this movie is eminently quotable both from a "that was really funny" stance and a "that was really deep" one. Michael Bay directs, and even though there is at least one major explosion--and a lot of uncomfortably violent moments that pop up when you least expect them but do feel earned--he does a great job, using slo-mo cuts for great comedy, employing voice overs to really convey the story, and being smart with his effects. Beyond Wahlberg and Johnson, Tony Shalhoub is perfect as the sleazy jerk they kidnap and Anthony Mackie holds his own as best he can as the third member of the team (it's hard not to get a little lost in the shuffle considering his co-stars). The movie is somewhat bloated at 129 minutes; it could lose 40 of those and not suffer. There's also a distinct cut-off point where it feels like one act ends and another incongruous one churns up when Ed Harris' detective character--fine performance, but the character himself feels imported from another movie--enters and the pace slows down. There are certainly things Pain & Gain could have done better, but it already did enough right that I'm still thinking about it a day later and writing more than I usually would and still feeling like I barely scratched the surface.Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-39098132438921791252013-04-21T22:00:00.001-04:002013-04-21T22:00:49.353-04:00The History of the X-Men in April<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #495 (2008)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
first post-Messiah CompleX issue with the Xavier Institute once again
destroyed, Professor X presumed dead (though not for long) and the X-Men having
disbanded, though they’re all still in contact so it seems more like a quick hiatus
than anything else, backed up by the plots that unfold here. I was a few months
into my tenure at Marvel when this came out, and X-Men editor Nick Lowe was one
of the folks from editorial I quickly got along with (especially after he made
me host a company-wide “mustache pageant” in front of four dozen people like my
second day on the job), so both through talking with him and his office as well
as being privy to upcoming plans, I had a pretty good idea of where the X-Men
were headed, which altered my reading of issues like these a bit just as
starting at Wizard a little over three years earlier had. I really dug Cyclops
and Emma Frost’s Savage Land vacation, with Ed Brubaker taking the lead on
making Scott Summers a more likable relatable but simultaneously take charge
character with a mix of humor and focus; it was a baton passed to him by Grant
Morrison and Joss Whedon that he’d in turn hand off to Matt Fraction, Kieron Gillen
and today Brian Michael Bendis. In the other two subplots, Wolverine takes
Colossus and Nightcrawler on a Russian road trip that felt like a throwback a
bit to the Claremont days while Angel investigates a freaky time portal to the
60’s in San Francisco that would lead to big, cool changes. Mike Choi and Sonia
Oback did the art on this arc, and it’s gorgeous.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #439-440 (2003)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">By
this point, Chuck Austen’s tenure on Uncanny X-Men had gone full-on soap opera
tilt, with these two installments of the “She Lies with Angels” arc being a
pretty prime example. The story had Husk—Cannonball’s younger sister Paige—bringing
Angel home to Kentucky where one of her other siblings, Josh, has gained wings
and other similar-to-Warren powers and anti-mutant unrest has cropped up. It
ends up being a country version of Rome & Juliet with Josh and the daughter
of the mutant-hating sheriff being in love, some of the bigoted good ol’ boys
getting high tech weaponry they plan to use to kill all the Guthries, and the
X-Men getting caught in the middle. Parallel to this, Paige and the far older
Warren have feelings for each other and are trying to find the courage to admit
as much. As a dyed in the wool fan of Melrose Place and other such adult
melodrama, I didn’t mind this period of X-Men history, though I know others got
annoyed that there was a lot of angst and kissing without as much punching and
kicking (I’m actually surprised the aforementioned Nick Lowe, who loves angst
and kissing, wasn’t editing at this point). Regardless, you had beautiful
Salvador Larroca art—with Danny Miki and UDON knocking it out on inks and
colors respectively—and he’s a guy who can draw proclamations of love as well
as he does big battles.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #354 (1998)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I…don’t
think I have this issue. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever even read this
issue. It was during the Steve Seagle/Joe Kelly period, which Kiel raves about
but was one of my bigger blind spots. I’ve tracked down some stuff from this
era, but not all, and not this; too bad, looks like a fun one.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #299 (1993)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
remember this issue well, coming as it did a couple months post-X-Cutioner’s
Song, right before the big issue #300, and just prior to Fatal Attractions. These
quiet months between big events are some of my favorites from when I was a kid
as it allowed Scott Lobdell to slow down and focus on some of the emotional
connections he was making between characters while also ramping up the drama to
come. The story kicks off with Forge being called in on an excavation of a
crashed Asteroid M and making the discovery that Magneto’s body was not among
the wreckage. I basically had started reading X-Men comics regularly only a
couple of months earlier, so I had never actually encountered Magneto, what
with him being “dead” at the time, so my only knowledge came from trading cards
and the like; this seemed like a much bigger deal for me than it likely did to
the more seasoned fan trained to expect such resurrections. We also learn more
about the Upstarts and the Gamesmaster—more folks I only knew because I had
their trading cards—including the introduction of Sabretooth’s son, anti-mutant
rabble rouser Graydon Creed. My most vivid memories of this issue, though, are
of two characters that appear out of nowhere and then were never even mentioned
again for as long as I was collecting regularly through high school: a waitress
whom Bishop thinks “seems familiar” and a campaign aide working for Senator
Kelley who tips to Jean Grey that he’s a telepath. Only very recently via
Marvel Handbooks and the Internet did I learn that the waitress was revealed as
Fatale—who?—during around Onslaught when I stopped reading and the aide
returned years later during Joe Kelly’s Deadpool run as Noah Dubois. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #228 (1988)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bridging
the gap between the end of Fall of the Mutants and the X-Men’s rebirth into the
Australian Outback, this is a one issue flashback tale—probably an inventory
story—featuring Wolverine and Dazzler helping a bounty hunter character from
the Dazzler solo series clear his name. Not much of note aside from Rick
Leonardi on fill-in art, always a delight.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #168 (1983)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
memorable issue for multiple reasons, first and foremost that it opens with the
famous “Professor Xavier is a jerk!” splash page with Kitty Pryde whirling
around and pointing her finger at us, as perfectly rendered by Paul Smith. Following
the lengthy Brood epic, the X-Men have returned to Earth and met the New
Mutants, and since there’s now a team specifically for mutants her age,
Professor X wants to bump Kitty down off the adult roster. A pissed off Kitty
spend the first half of the issue pouting like any teenager, than discovers and
defeats—with Lockheed’s help—a nest of alien Sidrian Hunters, proving her worth
and earning a spot back on the X-Men. Wolverine heads off to Japan for his
first limited series while the rest of the cast check in with their loved ones;
just good, classic Claremont stuff. The last big moment, however, comes on the
final page, with the introduction of Madelyne Pryor, an Alaska-bound pilot who
looks exactly like the deceased Jean Grey. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">UNCANNY X-MEN #110 (1978)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Another
seeming inventory issue—or close to it—with another legendary guest artist:
Tony DeZuniga. Iron Fist villain Warhawk, a Claremont co-creation, storms the
mansion, trapping most of the X-Men in the Danger Room while he goes one-on-one
with Wolverine until the others bust free (Warhawk would return years later in
a Maverick back-up story drawn by Mark Texeira that I didn’t understand at all
when I was 10). There’s some relationship advancement with Wolvie and Jean Grey
as well as Banshee and Moira MacTaggert, but mostly a downtime story coming off
the original Phoenix Saga. There is one big moment here though: what I believe
is the first X-Men baseball game, which would become a tradition in the
franchise—and one I daresay we’ve gone too long without. Where’s that Nick Lowe
character?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-44291350575307961702013-04-17T23:37:00.002-04:002013-04-17T23:37:40.870-04:00My Justice League of America<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUa5a5pwwf1Eh-zVG-6LXY4rbjMkflory6t7iF_XSVuHWOMSSE3CYfFPWyQ_Xi4dhIrLl2QHr3Q7nbZn3RxDYdJZdPJFUhecX8nB6Fo11-oygR2T_cTJjll9eCL3KlXi1MRkaBj9FKnRkp/s1600/JLoA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUa5a5pwwf1Eh-zVG-6LXY4rbjMkflory6t7iF_XSVuHWOMSSE3CYfFPWyQ_Xi4dhIrLl2QHr3Q7nbZn3RxDYdJZdPJFUhecX8nB6Fo11-oygR2T_cTJjll9eCL3KlXi1MRkaBj9FKnRkp/s320/JLoA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
basic premise of the new Justice League of America series from Geoff Johns and
David Finch is that the U.S. government wanted their own super hero team that
they could control and that could also be used to potentially take out the
original group if they get out of hand. The aspect I most love is that Geoff,
being the type of nerd after my own heart who likes arranging his toys to match
one up against the other, constructed the JLA with members specifically meant
to counter their opposite numbers in specific one-on-one showdowns in the
inevitable conflict (Amanda Waller shows a chart with arrows and everything in
the first issue).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is building block comics as you loved them when you were a kid stuff that
tickles me whenever it showed up. There’s a reason every good super hero has an
opposite number enemy (Bizarro, Venom, Sinestro, Sabretooth, etc.) and every
super hero team has a villain group made up of one bad guy to counter each
member (Injustice League, Dark Avengers and so forth). It’s good old-fashioned
comic book-y fun, and as the guy who realized there was gold in taking the
color green and splitting it across the rainbow, Geoff as much as anybody
realizes that can be the jumping off point for a great story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
the past on this very blog, I’ve ridden the coattails of various
writers—usually Geoff, actually—and stories—usually Geoff’s again—and come up
with my own takes on who would fill what slots in the fantasy draft that is
comic book brainstorming. Since I enjoyed writing those—and if I recall
correctly they all got a lot of hits…and that’s why we really do this—here’s my
crack at a Justice League of America roster to call my own, with the caveats
that I didn’t re-use any of Geoff’s picks and am still getting to know the New
52 mythos (but I also have the benefit of not having to coordinate with other
writers or, y’know, actually write any stories, so there you go).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">FRANKENSTEIN<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">When
casting an anti-Superman, I always go straight for his weakness to magic, since
it’s the one thing he seems to have never developed a true defense for (there’s
always a way around Kryptonite) and practitioners of the mystic arts tend to be
powerful besides. Whereas I’d usually opt for Captain Marvel, the New 52
version is still an untested kid; on the flipside, Frankenstein is a
battle-hardened warrior with centuries of experience who may be mostly a
product of science, but I wager has enough magic fused in that patchwork
body—or at least that he can gain access to—to give Supes fits. He’s a
powerhouse who can serve as the team’s tank, but also a strategist and proven
leader. Oddly enough, he seems to have a level head in the heat of battle,
which would come in handy here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">MIDNIGHTER<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Since
his creation, Midnight has generally been played as a more ruthless Batman, and
that’s something you’d need badly to counteract the Justice League. What he may
lack in the Dark Knight’s cerebral capacity for game plans—and not by much—he
makes up for in sheer brutality as well as a degree of fighting ability that
can be considered superhuman (depending on who’s writing him). Additionally, as
a member even briefly of the New 52 Stormwatch—for the sake of this, let’s
ignore the Jim Starlin reboot of last week for now—he’s been privy to the
workings of another organization tasked with potentially taking down the League
that has access to centuries of data. Other members of this team can try to
match up with Batman in the game of human chess, but if he gets a crack at him
straight up, Midnighter can potentially take him off the board.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">POWER GIRL<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">To
the best of my knowledge, not many warriors on Wonder Woman’s level have popped
up yet in the New 52—I know Big Barda made a cameo in the last issue of Earth
2, but she hasn’t really shown her stuff yet—but in terms of sheer power, Karen
Starr can match and perhaps exceed her. Added advantages PG possesses are that
she’s still a relative unknown in the Justice League’s dimension who they
wouldn’t have time to adequately prepare for—and who could probably be fairly
easily talked into this role by the government—and that she boasts training
from a more experienced incarnation of Superman, making her a threat to
multiple targets here. If Power Girl comes in like a house of fire, she can
bowl over Wonder Woman quick then look to do more damage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">KYLE RAYNER<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m
sure if they had their druthers, Amanda Waller and Steve Trevor would much
rather go after a more experienced Green Lantern than neophyte Simon Baz to
counteract Hal Jordan, but they probably correctly assumed none of the more
tenured ring slingers would go against their brother. However, if any is going
to turn at this stage, it would likely be Kyle, not because he’s dumb or evil,
but because he’s trusting enough to be talked into thinking Hal—a guy he met as
a villain…presumably still—is making another bad call (John wouldn’t listen,
Guy is too much of a wild card). Again, it’s a long shot, and it probably
wouldn’t work, but if it did, you get not only a powerful Green Lantern, but
the only one who’s proven able to wield every emotion on the spectrum, making
him potentially far more powerful and versatile than Hal Jordan; then again,
worst case scenario, you get a pissed off uber-Lantern on your case…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">TURBINE<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
recent debut in the pages of The Flash, Turbine is a military man who spent 70
years in the Speed Force, mastering most aspects of the dimension and going
nuts along the way. He’s a tentative ally of Barry Allen at this point, but a
proven unstable commodity who’s used to following orders from Uncle Sam. His
reckless nature means he may not have quite the finesses over his abilities
that the Flash possesses, but he also has more raw power and knows tricks that
no other speedsters have tapped into yet. Besides his ability to rankle and
take out a major Justice League player, it’s just never a bad idea to have
somebody with super speed on your side from every tactical angle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_qWFD8L1ZSsnub7fCPHBe4GCVqOEnP0Yg_UkiFLZ6-024CEjSf_mm-DuhRlTsdbHhniYiyy9wATg8J2EY_bzn0UhLZl6jpxTAHLDswAdINJhm7Ozp6ykcn2VkmsxJZP0EzNMgmiu_s_G/s1600/Animal+Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_qWFD8L1ZSsnub7fCPHBe4GCVqOEnP0Yg_UkiFLZ6-024CEjSf_mm-DuhRlTsdbHhniYiyy9wATg8J2EY_bzn0UhLZl6jpxTAHLDswAdINJhm7Ozp6ykcn2VkmsxJZP0EzNMgmiu_s_G/s320/Animal+Man.jpg" width="215" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">ANIMAL MAN<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">You’re
going to be hard up to find many people who can hold their own against Aquaman
if he can get them to his native environment, but Buddy Baker may be one of
them. With his ability to mimic any animal’s abilities, Animal Man can at least
keep pace with the king of Atlantis under the sea until an opportunity arises
to hit him with a power set snagged from other creature. Back on land or in the
air, Buddy remains a tricky opponent for any member of the Justice League; he’s
among the more versatile fighters in all of the New 52. As far as his attitude,
following the events of Rotworld and the death of his son, Buddy’s more
hardened than ever, but also in a terrible emotional place where he’d potentially
welcome the direction of belong to a team; if he’s stable enough, he’s got the
people skills to be a decent leader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTCJG8R8NelNEf2qZmsHcVc5pYSkOshp4JQic-yjvwEMVx-SS7nzlw2ChAtL_ZukOCz4YNsECVnqA_fvC_V5JDPKBVqTML6_ijA_SJyR3WSbMx8iJREn5TKP8KzS2dnrZozCkJEWU98z2/s1600/Engineer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTCJG8R8NelNEf2qZmsHcVc5pYSkOshp4JQic-yjvwEMVx-SS7nzlw2ChAtL_ZukOCz4YNsECVnqA_fvC_V5JDPKBVqTML6_ijA_SJyR3WSbMx8iJREn5TKP8KzS2dnrZozCkJEWU98z2/s320/Engineer.jpg" width="210" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">THE ENGINEER<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Take
everything I said about Batman and Midnighter, and then transfer it over to
Cyborg and the Engineer. However, besides that edge in ruthlessness and access
to Stormwatch, she’s also got a nod in experience and may have dealt with an
even greater variety of threats and adversaries than most of the Justice
Leaguers (hard to say with much of the history of the New 52 DCU still unaccounted
for). She’s more likely to override Vic Stone’s toolbox than vice versa,
depriving the League of their go-to support staff. Also, again depending on
stability, like Animal Man or Frankenstein she does have the potential to lead
with a great mind for organization and strategy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">You
might not buy this book, but would these guys stand a chance against the
Justice League?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-70225734537326960932013-04-14T21:31:00.002-04:002013-04-14T21:31:17.383-04:00Paragraph Movie Reviews: Young Adult<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/Young_adult_ver2.jpg" style="font-style: normal;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500268268949810386" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/Young_adult_ver2.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 263px;" /></a><em>If you don't have plans to see this movie, you can check <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Adult_(film)">the spoilers here</a> and then come back.</em><br />
<em><br /></em>
From the director and writer of Juno with none of the charm of Juno. Admittedly, this is a very different movie from Juno, but given how it was sold on its creative pedigree, you go in expecting some of that film's quirky appeal and rat-a-tat dialogue and come up fairly empty. Rather than a high school student trying to navigate teen pregnancy, here we've got a 37-year-old Young Adult Fiction writer with clear maturity and stability issues coming back to her hometown hoping to reunite with her ex, a happily married new father. It's ostensibly a comedy, but it's not that funny, and as a drama it falls apart because none of the characters seem to have any real arc (they come close but always stop short). I guess the "appeal" is supposed to be how outrageously horrible Charlize Theron's lead is (that's how I recall the trailers and commercials being skewed), but the shock value approach dies out quickly. To Theron's credit, she's actually pretty good, fully committing to the bit, and tries to drag this thing to at least limited success on sheer force of will, but she's working without any support. The dynamic between her and Patton Oswalt as a nerd she ignored in high school is probably the most interesting subplot going, but he doesn't seem to buy in and thus doesn't come off believable. The dialogue isn't terrible, but it's flat, and the plot spins its wheels. Patrick Wilson and the rest of the cast are ciphers. Reitman seems game on one hand as the piece is beautifully shot with well-chosen cuts and close-ups, but I wish he'd spent as much time coaxing his cast. It's too short a movie to be torturous or anything, but I was definitely hoping for more.Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-19028043447681391882013-04-12T00:23:00.002-04:002013-04-12T00:23:15.992-04:00Art Attack: June 2013's Coolest Covers-Working in comics, one of the downsides is I don't get surprised a lot, but I had no idea 100 Bullets was coming back and I was thrilled to be taken off guard by the news. Dave Johnson's cover takes you right back.<br />
<br />
-That's a really different kind of cover for Astonishing X-Men by Phil Noto. Iceman is hardly the type of character who typically gets placed in a fantasy setting, but the unique juxtaposition here coupled with beautiful colors and the cool array of past and present love interests works really nicely (and makes you realize what a weird romantic history Bobby Drake has had). Noto is the consummate pro.<br />
<br />
-Paolo Rivera really first got on the map beyond being the painter of Mythos when he drew that Punisher team-up issue of Amazing Spider-Man, so it's cool to see him back on both characters (after a fashion) with this month's Avenging Spider-Man cover, as he's got a great grasp for them. I'd love to see some regular Paolo Punisher.<br />
<br />
-Jae Lee is a master of taking the familiar and making it striking, as he does on Batman/Superman #1. Two iconic figures, not a lot of busy scenery, just beautiful fine art.<br />
<br />
-Great use of blacks on Georges Jeanty's cover for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I wonder how long he tinkered before settling on that approach?<br />
<br />
-If that Daredevil cover by Chris Samnee doesn't fill you with a tingly excitement, this blog may not be for you (wait! Come back!).<br />
<br />
-These Skullkickers homage covers have yet to miss for me.<br />
<br />
-Nobody in comics is doing covers any more inventive than Mark Brooks on Fearless Defenders right now. I'd love to know where he gets his ideas from. Hey wait, I run a web site that could probably look into just that...<br />
<br />
-Juan Doe on G.I. Joe! It just feels right.<br />
<br />
-Was talking with Impact Wrestling's Samoa Joe about Paolo Rivera's Indestructible Hulk cover the other day when he visited the Marvel offices and it caught his eye. We both dug beyond the humor aspect that the style is very old school in a lot of ways, but has a slick modern polish. Paolo is really on fire.<br />
<br />
-I didn't put that Mind the Gap cover on just to try and avoid Jim McCann whining in the comments section again, I really like the idea and Rodin Esquejo executes it perfectly (it could have come off really sloppy in the wrong hands).<br />
<br />
-Enlarge that Superior Spider-Man cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli and then scroll up and down your screen for a bit. It's trippy.<br />
<br />
-Thor: God of Thunder #9 is currently the desktop wallpaper of my work computer.<br />
<br />
-With Ultimate Comics X-Men, B.P.R.D. and the aforementioned 100 Bullets, Dave Johnson makes my list three times this month. He's still the master.<br />
<br />
-Declan Shalvey may be the most underrated artist in mainstream comics. He has a knack for dropping the fantastic (like an alien symbiote) into a world that looks more mundane and realistic than a lot of others depict with very compelling results.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>100 BULLETS: BROTHER LONO #1 by Dave Johnson</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_p8h83EpYx757_8CTgdf0HoF7hUlT36vaFIQ_At098o2E9f619HVytLdjYRQp5_4u-p-yWsOdkXsgMP4weMTPoJp91Qkzl1YRjRDxUNUV5q7fHZIACVQziTdy7jbndL2pp2GHSFfJ2uq-/s1600/100+Bullets-Brother+Lono+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_p8h83EpYx757_8CTgdf0HoF7hUlT36vaFIQ_At098o2E9f619HVytLdjYRQp5_4u-p-yWsOdkXsgMP4weMTPoJp91Qkzl1YRjRDxUNUV5q7fHZIACVQziTdy7jbndL2pp2GHSFfJ2uq-/s320/100+Bullets-Brother+Lono+1.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>ABE SAPIEN #3 by Sebastian Fiumara</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13iVydWxvlFwIlSOPovTObPzDTWAWyGbDFpju38JMx4dcrqMAVodrTkijhdoRMlJj6f1aq_4aWk4ndDLlt69YjC-Eeja9wYGAhNeV-CT1rHYwe2A6NUWTq7ApIB-yyqhB8PqjEUd_-ky6/s1600/Abe+Sapien+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13iVydWxvlFwIlSOPovTObPzDTWAWyGbDFpju38JMx4dcrqMAVodrTkijhdoRMlJj6f1aq_4aWk4ndDLlt69YjC-Eeja9wYGAhNeV-CT1rHYwe2A6NUWTq7ApIB-yyqhB8PqjEUd_-ky6/s320/Abe+Sapien+3.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b>ASTONISHING X-MEN #63 by Phil Noto</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_kfHmepMwDxMlx48kebS5Amap4dob-R2C0tQAEo05039-JgXMGbU6KmZI4qLZvu4knoB43-hZtXjdgqlGZ4bU0DXBSZa_H3VWPG7yr72d3higAItLmBAM049HKBklHkvMtDvuXMLc2y7g/s1600/Astonishing+X-Men+63.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_kfHmepMwDxMlx48kebS5Amap4dob-R2C0tQAEo05039-JgXMGbU6KmZI4qLZvu4knoB43-hZtXjdgqlGZ4bU0DXBSZa_H3VWPG7yr72d3higAItLmBAM049HKBklHkvMtDvuXMLc2y7g/s320/Astonishing+X-Men+63.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>AVENGERS ARENA #11 by Mike Del Mundo</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7sa-3_AJUkQDg0MV3evSYkYo0cuSl3jjng-Hj7x9H30zNR55lEo1Dg_sRaArBM7Gd9pRmww-HQ10iQYz9HYIGUDwBtSyuATH7EBNc7kDiBplXIgoUwFV0ejeuXi60rii15Ye160CcfPB5/s1600/Avengers+Arena+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7sa-3_AJUkQDg0MV3evSYkYo0cuSl3jjng-Hj7x9H30zNR55lEo1Dg_sRaArBM7Gd9pRmww-HQ10iQYz9HYIGUDwBtSyuATH7EBNc7kDiBplXIgoUwFV0ejeuXi60rii15Ye160CcfPB5/s320/Avengers+Arena+11.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #22 by Paolo Rivera</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_3sHRND_A55kzB3zzvda4U4kwTDl7XphGlqCXY8Q20htjN28O43YWGcgZbtLxhkKIi0zaFcrZ1foO666IYn1J52vwiigm_RPN5b1swLStL6brJRhj8isibo1azgndZW7HCJu67OeFubx/s1600/Avenging+Spider-Man+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_3sHRND_A55kzB3zzvda4U4kwTDl7XphGlqCXY8Q20htjN28O43YWGcgZbtLxhkKIi0zaFcrZ1foO666IYn1J52vwiigm_RPN5b1swLStL6brJRhj8isibo1azgndZW7HCJu67OeFubx/s320/Avenging+Spider-Man+22.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b>BATMAN: LIL GOTHAM #3 by Dustin Nguyen</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAuTJB0Ii4DiCXElnP3Fge2_Xsj8RZyCRHi9_6vbfTcTOZabCLDzbI7leu2sPyXjBR0GoXspVCiXp41AdrNanrBDsOSeqis7KVtf0_GFEohwdMYLoUEU9hc1VZJyTOzq-oO1RFGYfN_w4/s1600/Batman-Lil+Gotham+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAuTJB0Ii4DiCXElnP3Fge2_Xsj8RZyCRHi9_6vbfTcTOZabCLDzbI7leu2sPyXjBR0GoXspVCiXp41AdrNanrBDsOSeqis7KVtf0_GFEohwdMYLoUEU9hc1VZJyTOzq-oO1RFGYfN_w4/s320/Batman-Lil+Gotham+3.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>BATMAN/SUPERMAN #1 by Jae Lee</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvpCTlvN8cDDJUpW0ZaFlcwfCztfNRBKXx24cFshyukDjORUqT4hAx2r39t6RF8Wb2a0FHyeXEkFrQkpnY6qX8BNCFJyuvySS_6kF-b2k-uk1E-zo_eslFyLaQr0Xch8YbgCSyKzlwx6-/s1600/Batman-Superman+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvpCTlvN8cDDJUpW0ZaFlcwfCztfNRBKXx24cFshyukDjORUqT4hAx2r39t6RF8Wb2a0FHyeXEkFrQkpnY6qX8BNCFJyuvySS_6kF-b2k-uk1E-zo_eslFyLaQr0Xch8YbgCSyKzlwx6-/s320/Batman-Superman+1.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>BATWING #21 by Ken Lashley</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>B.P.R.D.: HELL ON EARTH #108 by Dave Johnson</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJhQbcxgVe3ROtDyl_i2_Qz3ixGGXmEsqYbgiAIkens9jCw3Cr8wR8V0AGV4p9Mec1DK6RfEe9iRn4AjYqjFfqSx4uKhuKdMKETWvY35qsx-1h_d_gfvjzjSeRdwT-RIWmqjTi9rvB6OdP/s1600/BPRD-Hell+on+Earth+108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJhQbcxgVe3ROtDyl_i2_Qz3ixGGXmEsqYbgiAIkens9jCw3Cr8wR8V0AGV4p9Mec1DK6RfEe9iRn4AjYqjFfqSx4uKhuKdMKETWvY35qsx-1h_d_gfvjzjSeRdwT-RIWmqjTi9rvB6OdP/s320/BPRD-Hell+on+Earth+108.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 9 # 22 by George Jeanty</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>CABLE AND X-FORCE #9 by John Tyler Christopher</b></div>
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<b>DAREDEVIL #27 by Chris Samnee</b></div>
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<b>DARK SKULLKICKERS DARK #1 by Edwin Huang</b></div>
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<b>DIAL H #13 by Brian Bolland</b></div>
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<b>FEARLESS DEFENDERS #5 by Mark Brooks</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxvi1faeGs61D39nEPyKinYBCUbg2DpD11BQr4VVLqFIDtwYnNLWJqw9aZ10sTgjqsqMFhL5sFi0YVqWgzBKjOeKzLcYrnYukw155BzLWAje6tr-FesbSD9xQ1NXOT3FYi8DDa6lpicXfi/s1600/Fearless+Defenders+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxvi1faeGs61D39nEPyKinYBCUbg2DpD11BQr4VVLqFIDtwYnNLWJqw9aZ10sTgjqsqMFhL5sFi0YVqWgzBKjOeKzLcYrnYukw155BzLWAje6tr-FesbSD9xQ1NXOT3FYi8DDa6lpicXfi/s320/Fearless+Defenders+5.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>FF #9 by Mike Allred</b></div>
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<b>G.I. JOE #5 by Juan Doe</b></div>
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<b>GREEN ARROW #21 by Andrea Sorrentino</b></div>
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<b>INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #9 by Paolo Rivera</b></div>
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<b><span id="goog_571919039"></span><span id="goog_571919040"></span><br /></b></div>
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<b>IT GIRL AND THE ATOMICS #11 by Mike Allred</b><br />
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<b>JUPITER'S LEGACY #2 by Frank Quitely</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHVu0QrCJvSzz9fVlgfoQi9RtqhUxpvDxQYgEJfufZuVy45PPKtyhOnNJzZrw801hJBgPd6uv0GbmkJ3p1V3fe-5Np7f3lH4O4aiPKkUgBydmIoRc2IDwuTZLoO4opHHeeI2stJMRk4bl/s1600/Jupiter's+Legacy+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHVu0QrCJvSzz9fVlgfoQi9RtqhUxpvDxQYgEJfufZuVy45PPKtyhOnNJzZrw801hJBgPd6uv0GbmkJ3p1V3fe-5Np7f3lH4O4aiPKkUgBydmIoRc2IDwuTZLoO4opHHeeI2stJMRk4bl/s320/Jupiter's+Legacy+2.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b>JUSTICE LEAGUE #21 by Gary Frank</b><br />
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<b>LAZARUS #1 by Michael Lark</b><br />
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<b>MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #15 by Ty Templeton</b><br />
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<b>MIND MGMT #12 by Matt Kindt</b><br />
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<b>MIND THE GAP #12 by Rodin Esquejo</b><br />
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<b>NOVA #5 by Ed McGuinness</b><br />
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<b>SAVAGE WOLVERINE #6 by Mike Perkins</b><br />
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<b>SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #11 by Giuseppe Camuncoli</b><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>SUPERMAN #21 by Tyler Kirkham</b><br />
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<b>SWAMP THING #21 by Jock</b><br />
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<b>THE TRUE LIVES OF THE FABULOUS KILLJOYS #1 by Gerard Way</b><br />
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<b>THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #9 by Esad Ribic</b><br />
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<b>ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #25 by Michael Komarck</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMuP1G3Mvhbt7igcwRHh1FR1OrvBicXoHcv_2djBYHkz2LMzBn9XGZmeWJD7F_ZS_EPiO0mD16RampuoVeKrzSzdqVZOhs9TZUXq0E4gB2GLhKLv3S-a0uS7fXrfEANCt5-i3LTH1hcF8n/s1600/Ultimate+Comics+Ultimates+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMuP1G3Mvhbt7igcwRHh1FR1OrvBicXoHcv_2djBYHkz2LMzBn9XGZmeWJD7F_ZS_EPiO0mD16RampuoVeKrzSzdqVZOhs9TZUXq0E4gB2GLhKLv3S-a0uS7fXrfEANCt5-i3LTH1hcF8n/s320/Ultimate+Comics+Ultimates+25.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
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<b>ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #27 by Dave Johnson</b><br />
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<b>VENOM #36 by Declan Shalvey</b><br />
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<b>WINTER SOLDIER #19 by Declan Shalvey</b><br />
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<b>WOLVERINE #4 by Pascal Campion</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkdf8l2VT6HgiHF2GcU-LZuBKmRMuEHBUruSLmGCAsrKUsMZ9IhAsD_LC-mKPJbbig9hNWwTBJG8c_OtzZDfHuVOBkaNqyHoMpF1aHEOvaVMF6Qua5PKmgR1WF7yrOwsH3Cl5oev_mlS3W/s1600/Wolverine+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkdf8l2VT6HgiHF2GcU-LZuBKmRMuEHBUruSLmGCAsrKUsMZ9IhAsD_LC-mKPJbbig9hNWwTBJG8c_OtzZDfHuVOBkaNqyHoMpF1aHEOvaVMF6Qua5PKmgR1WF7yrOwsH3Cl5oev_mlS3W/s320/Wolverine+4.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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<b>YOUNG AVENGERS #6 by Jamie McKelvie</b><br />
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Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-52748623983279525482013-04-06T00:09:00.000-04:002013-04-06T00:09:15.823-04:00My Favorite WrestleMania Matches: XXV-XXVIII<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSsrXEkoZD8rGzG4nQEEZHafdDKSQw94EIJzVE3S5c492m_RHL2tOGRUftRcdzl-4ksbnTRxAmbR77_SWX0T9H6X7pK1XHKDgg0hvkdJXyVs5kZz1JX9pxVY4aLiMq6m4IDktvmDJbXzK/s1600/XXV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSsrXEkoZD8rGzG4nQEEZHafdDKSQw94EIJzVE3S5c492m_RHL2tOGRUftRcdzl-4ksbnTRxAmbR77_SWX0T9H6X7pK1XHKDgg0hvkdJXyVs5kZz1JX9pxVY4aLiMq6m4IDktvmDJbXzK/s320/XXV.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA XXV<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Pretty
much the exact same deal as the year prior as I watched the “25<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of WrestleMania” (which I believe is numerically inaccurate) as the
next year’s was gearing up. 2009 wasn’t quite the year 2008 was in WWE, but
there were still quite a few things I wanted to see on this show.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">CM
Punk won a second straight Money in the Bank match, Santino Marella in drag won
a Divas battle royal, and Rey Mysterio dressed as the Joker beat JBL for the
Intercontinental title in 21 seconds. Matt Hardy beat his brother Jeff in an
Extreme Rules match that wasn’t bad, but people never seem to like watching the
Hardys feud (my dream booking here was a four-way match between these two, Edge
and newly-returned-to-WWE Christian for one of the main titles, which would
have felt like a cool showcase of homegrown stars for a milestone Mania). The
double main event was a bit of a mess as John Cena defeated World champion Edge
and Big Show in a triple threat that lacked steam while Triple H retained the
WWE title against Randy Orton in what felt like a tame blow off to a hot feud. In
another match that at first felt like a missed opportunity had Chris Jericho in
a handicap elimination gauntlet with Hall of Famers Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka
and Ricky Steamboat—it was supposed to be Jericho against actor Mickey Rourke,
but it fell apart—but Steamboat showing up with his work boots after over 15
years away from the ring salvaged the moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Still,
it felt like another anniversary WrestleMania that didn’t meet the mark—until
Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker took the stage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
had been over a decade since the Undertaker nearly inadvertently ended Shawn
Michaels’ career in the last of a trilogy of fantastic matches, and aside from
a few classic interactions in Royal Rumble matches, they had been separated
ever since. Here, HBK got back to his roots as the impish underdog, looking to
cement his legacy by knocking off the unstoppable monster and pulling out every
mind game in the book to do it. Both men used all their finishers and busted
out moves they hadn’t used in years, but nothing seemed to get the job done
until Undertaker hit a brutal looking jumping tombstone piledriver to finish
it. It was two guys synonymous with WWE providing a story that truly marked a
landmark chapter in WrestleMania lore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA XXVI<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
did not have to wait a year for this one as my pal Craig Tello from WWE gifted
me the DVD during San Diego Comic Con a mere four months after the show. It was
a good thing too as I was really psyched for this one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Some
people say WrestleMania XXVI collapses under the weight of its own hype—it was
really well hyped—but I think it’s a really good card with nothing clocking in
as a clunker and even the lesser stuff having a certain charm. There’s a
quickie opener Tag title match that showcases the champs, ShoMiz, then a triple
threat between the members of Legacy that turned out to be a nice chance for
Randy Orton to get back on top and Cody Rhodes as well as Ted DiBiase Jr. to
strut their stuff. Jack Swagger came out of nowhere to win a massive 10-man
Money in the Bank and Triple H overcame Sheamus in a hard-hitter. Rey Mysterio
and CM Punk had a snug six-minute back-and-forth that set the table for even
better things to come. Bret Hart made his return to WWE a dozen years after
being screwed, getting vengeance on Mr. McMahon by hammering with chair shots
for over 10 minutes, but that was a moment more than a match. Chris Jericho and
Edge had a technical clinic for the World title and John Cena regained the WWE
title from the awesome heel Batista with a 10-Diva tag match sandwiched in
between.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Finally,
fittingly in the main event spot, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker faced off
in a rematch from one year prior, this time with HBK’s career on the line. At
the time the show took place, Megan and I were in Aruba on our honeymoon; we
were supposed to get back Saturday morning and I was considering ordering
WrestleMania, but a series of delays to our flight led to us spending until early
Monday morning in the airport, and as a result I was frantically checking my
laptop whenever I can, hoping that my favorite wrestler had not been forced
into retirement. Alas, after a build even more awesome than the previous
year—Shawn begs Taker to give him a rematch, Taker refuses, Shawn barely fails
to win the Royal Rumble and thus costs Taker his World title at Elimination
Chamber to goad him into it—HBK delivered one last classic before hanging up
his boots. Providing a perfect parallel to two years prior, as Ric Flair stood
defiant in the face of a superkick, Michaels delivered a final crotch chop
before receiving a tombstone and getting counted down, a poetic end to a
storybook career.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA XXVII<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
year later, back to the waiting game, as I saw this show via OnDemand shortly
after I moved into my current place in Edison, New Jersey; I believe this was
also the first WrestleMania where the Marvel-WWE relationship was really in
full force thanks to the efforts of Craig as well as Joe Villa, so I got to
interview The Miz during the lead-up and post it on Marvel.com.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
big news for this show was The Rock coming back from movie stardom to serve as
host, antagonizing his longtime critic John Cena and costing him the WWE title
against Miz in the main event. Elsewhere on the card, Edge retained the World
title against Alberto Del Rio in what would prove to be his final match before
a forced retirement due to a neck injury, Randy Orton beat CM Punk a
confrontation between two guys on their way back to the top, and Michael Cole
bested Jerry Lawler by DQ in a weird situation where the bad guy won despite
having the deck stacked against him with Steve Austin as guest referee. Undertaker
followed up on his classics with Michaels by beating Triple H in a half
hour-long No Holds Barred match, and all of people Snooki from Jersey Shore
proved a capable celebrity guest competitor, teaming with John Morrison and
Trish Stratus for a win over Dolph Ziggler Michelle McCool and Layla.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
personal favorite from this show came from Rey Mysterio—done up Captain America
style—and Cody Rhodes, one veteran and one star on the rise on a mission to
make their mark. This was the rare modern day mid card feud that had an awesome
prolonged build, as Rey injured Cody by driving his knee into his face months
earlier, leading to “The Dashing One” covering his coveted good looks with a
mask and creating a deranged Phantom of the Opera type character who was
essentially the dark mirror of his rival. Cody was on the roll of his career
here character-wise, and Rey helped give him the showcase match at a marquee
venue he needed to vault him to the next level, even putting the kid over
clean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA XXVIII<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho for the WWE
title<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
that brings us to just about the present, as one year ago WrestleMania came to
Miami, though I would once again see it a little down the line, thanks again to
the kindness of my friends at WWE and their generous distribution of DVDs to my
person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Again,
The Rock grabbed the headlines, taking on John Cena in a big time money main
event that felt every bit as grand as a huge WrestleMania match should. The
same can be said for Undertaker once again fending off Triple H, this time
inside Hell in a Cell with Shawn Michaels as guest referee in what was billed
as the “end of an era” and concluded with all three men embracing for an iconic
scene. Also, Daniel Bryan lost the World title to Sheamus in 18 seconds, Big
Show won his first ever Intercontinental title over Cody Rhodes, and John
Laurinaitis became general manager of Raw and Smackdown via his team winning a
12-man tag.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">One
of the most highly anticipated bouts and the one I most enjoyed was CM Punk
putting his WWE title on the line against a returning Chris Jericho. Two of the
most intense, dedicated and athletic guys around ignited a feud based on
classic stuff: the championship and wanting to be the best in the world. They
worked a hybrid of brawling, high flying and submission style to present more
or less everything you could look for in a wrestling match. Punk pulled out a
hard fought victory with his Anaconda Vise, and provided a tough act for the
remaining competitors to follow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-30952902236334297832013-04-04T22:50:00.001-04:002013-04-04T22:50:53.495-04:00My Favorite WrestleMania Matches: X8-XXIV<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYk2VE-Yx0Okf78XN3RR2i6Tyd5vYaXiCpNXSZzmFKKAErBfy3s5bbwTzWqycnn-eUnM6Z7j27DZIOgzG86B3o6iZJWN2ukPj9YPh7hBKjtYJAR421Gheuhy5blrWdKAsmdKdFRChSE3o/s1600/X8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYk2VE-Yx0Okf78XN3RR2i6Tyd5vYaXiCpNXSZzmFKKAErBfy3s5bbwTzWqycnn-eUnM6Z7j27DZIOgzG86B3o6iZJWN2ukPj9YPh7hBKjtYJAR421Gheuhy5blrWdKAsmdKdFRChSE3o/s320/X8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA X8<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Undertaker vs. Ric Flair<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
friend Jay moved off campus during my sophomore year of college, so I would
drive over to his place every Monday to watch Raw, which mostly consisted of
the Invasion angle involved former WCW and ECW wrestlers banding together as
the Alliance to take over the WWF. However, WrestleMania fell over spring
break, and while I headed home, the dudes I watched wrestling with in high
school were scattered to the winds on trips and having different weeks off, so
I seem to recall watching this one solo in my basement, a far cry from two or
three years earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
an uneven show, with some great matches and memorable moments, but a general
sense of letdown, I think. I believe most people agree the Invasion angle
should have been extended and paced to end here—it began in July of 2001, so
that would have been roughly eight months—but they ran through it faster than
the bulk of fans were hoping and blew it off at Survivor Series instead,
leaving the company somewhat directionless and coasting on stuff like Ric Flair
battling Vince McMahon for control, a-year-too-late nWo invasion, and Chris
Jericho unifying the WWF and World titles. We all knew coming out of
WrestleMania they were splitting the roster into two brands—Raw and
Smackdown—so it all felt a bit anticlimactic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That
said, while the main event of Jericho defending his Undisputed title against
Triple H fell a little flat and Steve Austin taking on Scott Hall felt like an
afterthought, this was the show where Hulk Hogan made his WWF return after
nearly a decade away and faced off against The Rock in a match that hearkened
back to the larger-than-life WrestleMania moment of the early days (the crowd
response and how both men played it may never be duplicated). There were also
several good matches that tend to slip under the radar like Kurt Angle vs.
Kane, Rob Van Dam vs. William Regal for the IC title, Diamond Dallas Page
defending the European title against Christian, and the Women’s title three-way
with Jazz, Trish Stratus and Lita.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Once
again, though, my pick goes to the Undertaker, who took on Flair in a bloody
brawl that showed both guys still more than had it. The build was great, as
Flair was trying to be an executive but Undertaker goaded him into a match by
attacking his friends and family; classic, but for a reason. Thought beyond
past his prime in WCW a year earlier, Flair dusted off his work boots here as
he had against McMahon two months earlier at the Royal Rumble and looked better
than he had since 1994, masking what he had lost with age by utilizing his
second-to-none abilities as a storyteller. Taker, despite being a monster, sold
Flair’s offense perfectly, making the “Nature Boy” look like a legitimate
threat, but still keeping himself strong enough to serve as the big bully. It
was a great dynamic and two legends clashing for the first and only time on a
huge stage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA XIX<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
2003, WrestleMania fell not during spring break, so me and my best bud Jordan
took the five minute drive over to Jay’s place to enjoy the show (another of
our friends, Erin, decided to tag along last second, but she mostly did
homework and occasionally asked us who somebody was). The combination of Jay,
who I watched weekly with, and Jordan, who was not quite as into WWE but super
enthusiastic about it nonetheless (and who had gone to the Royal Rumble with me
live two months before)—plus a girl who knew nothing about what we were
watching but freaked out when somebody did a high flying move or got busted
open—made for one of my all-time favorite groupings to watch WrestleMania with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fittingly,
this was a tremendous show, one I would have up until recently called the most
underrated of all-time, but as the sage gents on the <a href="http://placetobe.podbean.com/">Place2BePodcast</a> have
pointed out more than once, at this point so many people have recognized that
fact that it’s more universally appreciated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Matt
Hardy in his great heel Cruiserweight champion role kicked things off against
Rey Mysterio, who had dope ring gear based on my beloved Daredevil movie. Trish
Stratus and Jazz put on their second straight awesome Women’s title triple
threat, this time with Victoria stepping in for Lita. Triple H beat Booker T to
retain the World title in a match that drove us crazy hoping Booker would win. Hulk
Hogan and Vince McMahon pulled out all the gimmicks for a street
fight—including Roddy friggin’ Piper, returning after seven years away. Steve
Austin had his final match, capping off a classic WrestleMania trilogy with the
Rock where he finally ended up on the losing end. And in the main event, Kurt
Angle, neck being held together by crazy glue, coughed up the WWE title to
Brock Lesnar, who nearly killed himself on a botched shooting star press during
a 20-minute wrestling clinic we were freaking out for all the way through.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
me though, the highlight of the night was my all-time favorite wrestler, Shawn
Michaels, who seemingly ended his career five years prior at the show I saw
live in Boston, making his return to the big stage to go up against a guy who
had in part supplanted him in my eyes, Chris Jericho. It was the longest match
on the card, with HBK clearly determined to show he was truly back, and Y2J
equally motivated to prove he could hand with his idol. Every near fall had me
jumping out of my seat (on the floor) as I truly didn’t know who was going to
win, but rooting hard for Michaels, my Jericho fandom out the window. Not only
did all of Shawn’s classic moves look crisp as ever, Jericho’s approximations
of them (his own superkick, his own kip-up) were great touches. In the end, after
throwing out everything he had, HBK pulled it off and I cheered…then cheered
again when a frustrated Jericho kicked him low after faking a good
sportsmanship hug. I’ve watched this one time and time again and it still holds
up big time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA XX<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris
Benoit for the World title<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
was supposed to go on a cruise with my friends Jordan, Liz and Maggie during
the spring break of our senior year, but I got sick and had to stay home.
Silver lining: got to watch WrestleMania XX live with my dad—well, he came and
went, but still, first wrestling PPV I watched with my dad in nearly 15 years,
so, pretty cool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WrestleMania
XX is the successor to WrestleMania X in so many ways. Once again, it emanates
from Madison Square Garden so it goes without saying that the crowd is
fantastic. Also, like X was highlighted by a couple of classics, this show had
an excellent Eddie Guerrero WWE title defense against Kurt Angle plus an
underrated Chris Jericho vs. Christian contest…and then a lot of filler. XX
does have the advantage of its less than great matches being better for other
reasons: Undertaker vs. Kane had Taker’s return to the Deadman character, Brock
Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg getting booed nearly out of the building because both
guys were leaving WWE. The Evolution team of Ric Flair, Randy Orton and Batista
had a fun handicap match against The Rock and Mick Foley, plus Victoria and
Molly Holly put on a solid Women’s title encounter, then there were a lot of
“get everybody on the card” deals like the Cruiserweight Open and two separate
Tag Team title four-ways. Ultimately, against like WrestleMania X, I feel like
this show suffers from having to live up to being an anniversary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ll
be honest; I struggled with my favorite match here. I was tempted to go with
Jericho-Christian as a sentimental pick or Guerrero-Angle as a great match, but
truth be told, I was rabid for the main event: a triple threat with Triple H
defending the World title against Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit. I hesitated
because I’m not a person who can separate Benoit the performer from what he did
and I could never watch this match again, but there’s no denying how good it
was. I’m the biggest Michaels fan you’ll find, and I was actively rooting
against him, wanting Benoit to pick up the win here, and I’ve heard many HBK
and HHH devotees alike echo similar sentiments, it’s just that well-built as a
story. That image that closed the show of Guerrero and Benoit—two guys who
could not match the classic “WrestleMania image” less, but who fans
loved—embracing and holding the top two titles in wrestling was incredible, and
it’s sad that WWE can never trot it out again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA 21<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Money in the Bank<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">At
this point in 2005, I had graduated college and was living in the tiny burg of
Highland Falls, New York, five minutes away from West Point and nothing else. I
had a tiny apartment where everything broke constantly and ordered WrestleMania
to watch solo on my futon with my feet up on my makeshift coffee table and
pasta boiling on my tiny stove; it was the portrait of a man chasing the dream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even
though it was a decent show, I had trouble paying attention, as there was
nobody else to share the experience with and too many distractions on my
computer and elsewhere to divert my focus. I do distinctly remember the
“WrestleMania Goes Hollywood” theme of the show, which yielded a cool set and a
lot of neat vignettes with wrestlers spoofing different movies (Eddie Guerrero
and Booker T in Pulp Fiction, Kurt Angle and Christy Hemme in When Harry Met
Sally, and the Basic Instinct and Tax Driver mash-ups being the best; the John
Cena/JBL A Few Good Men one was pretty weak).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rey
Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero kicked off the show with a decent match that
crumbled a bit under the weight of their WCW encounters from years earlier. The
Undertaker beat Randy Orton in the first actual “beat the streak” deal. Kurt
Angle and Shawn Michaels had an unsurprising classic. The double main event
with John Cena and Batista beating JBL and Triple H for the WWE and World
titles were underwhelming as it felt like both were going for Ultimate Warrior
at WrestleMania VI moments and neither could quite live up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WrestleMania
21—besides pissing me off with lack of Roman numerals—marked the advent of the
Money in the Bank Ladder match, a six-way chase for a briefcase containing a
contract the winner could cash in for a title shot for up to a year. In his
second book, Chris Jericho details how he and a member of the WWE creative
whose name I’m failing to recall came up with the idea of a multi-man ladder
match in hopes it would become a WrestleMania fixture (which it did until it
got its own pay-per-view in 2010). The inaugural installment was the perfect
mix of ladder match veterans—Edge, Christian, Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit—a
show-stealing rookie—Shelton Benjamin—and a big dude to catch the little
guys—Kane. Edge became the first-ever Mr. Money in the Bank and history was
made.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA 22<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
have never seen WrestleMania 22; it’s the only one. If I recall correctly, I
was headed back from visiting Megan at Connecticut College to my friend Jamie’s
house in New Jersey, got caught in traffic, and missed the show. In the seven
intervening years, I’ve never watched it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Anybody
got a copy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA 23<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Batista vs. The Undertaker for the World
title<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">2007
was my first full year living with Megan, and thus the end of my “I’m bored so
I’ll order a wrestling pay-per-view tonight” days. Now shows really had to sell
me, and this one did not, though I was in the minority as I believe it still
stands as the most watched WrestleMania of all-time. I personally watched it
for the first time just a couple weeks ago on WWE Classics OnDemand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Most
of the aforementioned interest came from the “Battle of the Billionaires” where
Vince McMahon and Donald Trump put their hair on the line, pitting proxies
Umaga and Bobby Lashley against one another with Steve Austin as the special
referee; it’s not a bad match, but more memorable for Vince’s entertaining
histrionics. There’s also a decent Money in the Bank match, a nice moment with
the ECW Originals getting a WrestleMania win, and John Cena defending the WWE
title against Shawn Michaels in a match where I was rooting for HBK to get the
championship six years after knowing it didn’t happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That
Cena-Michaels match got to go on last, and reportedly Undertaker and World
champion Batista were not pleased they got bumped to the middle of the card.
Accordingly, the two heavyweights went out and beat the star out of one
another, determined to steal the show. It’s the polished up version of
Undertaker-Diesel from a decade earlier, with a Taker who has gotten way more
versatile and an opponent equipped to hang with him. They work an athletic
power style with plenty of believable false finishes and an earned ending.
These guys clicked nicely and would go on to have many more excellent
encounters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA XXIV<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
was the first time I indulged in WWE OnDemand’s putting the previous year’s
WrestleMania up in the week leading to the upcoming one, watching this in 2009,
12 months after it went down. It would be the first one I watched in the
comfort of my Saddle Brook, New Jersey apartment, and over the course of
several days with the ability to pause, rewind, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
had been greatly anticipating this show as it kicked off what would be an
awesome middle of 2008 that saw CM Punk’s rise to prominence—he wins Money in
the Bank here—Edge reaching new levels as a heel—he loses the World title to
Undertaker on this show—and even the ECW brand started to become a cool mix of
veterans with up-and-comers—Kane takes the ECW title off Chavo Guerrero in
eight seconds. There’s also an overlooked little power gem with Batista beating
Umaga, Randy Orton upsetting Triple H and John Cena to hold on to the WWE
title, and boxer Floyd Mayweather in a little sideshow with The Big Show.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
all the best stuff from 2008 kicks off from one incredible, emotional,
brilliant tale of a match as Ric Flair put his career on the line against Shawn
Michaels. For 25 minutes, HBK faced his childhood hero, giving it his all so
the Nature Boy had the opportunity to go out on his terms with one last
classic. Flair may have been a step or two off pace, but the emotion he poured
in more than made up for any physical lag. Everybody who’s seen it will never
forget the final moments: Flair staggers to his feet, daring his opponent to
finish it, Shawn mouths “I’m sorry, I love you,” then a superkick seals the
deal. The next night, Ric Flair got a hero’s sendoff on Raw. Over the coming
months, Michaels would enter into a great feud with Flair protégé Batista. From
there, it branched into a quintessential war between Michaels and Chris
Jericho. A banner year and it all began here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-3540550477741190282013-04-03T23:57:00.000-04:002013-04-03T23:57:09.096-04:00My Favorite WrestleMania Matches: XII-X-Seven<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvCfdpKm970UFe0AaPsg91O0ZeBr-Ocwmk7bg5q_ZW5Wk_SYiuixl3IULnxfp4aI7SPxof3MBG5GwHrDA2h1a1hbjNl0dU_1lF6y6XuYsnttqUP4JvWnOYzXS9gykoQsnqDKN4rcbNg5Y/s1600/XII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvCfdpKm970UFe0AaPsg91O0ZeBr-Ocwmk7bg5q_ZW5Wk_SYiuixl3IULnxfp4aI7SPxof3MBG5GwHrDA2h1a1hbjNl0dU_1lF6y6XuYsnttqUP4JvWnOYzXS9gykoQsnqDKN4rcbNg5Y/s320/XII.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA XII<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Undertaker vs. Diesel<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
came back to watching the WWF in full force over the summer of 1996 as a lot of
my buddies had already gotten a second wind, including the aforementioned Dave
Hill, who had purchased this show and lent me the tape (pretty sure I gave this
one back). Given what I’ve already written, you probably wouldn’t be shocked (I
mean, if you’ve been actually reading thus far) that Shawn Michaels becoming
WWF champion was more than enough of a hook to keep me around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is an interesting case, as at first glance it feels like it should be on the
same level as WrestleMania XI in terms of wow factor, but the combination of
some solid work by the guys in the first couple matches, a bit of smoke and
mirrors with the Hollywood Backlot Brawl and the return of the Ultimate Warrior
giving everything a bigger feel, and then a suitably epic main event buoy it
nicely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That
said, even though the main event saw my guy HBK defeat Bret Hart to win his
first WWF title, it’s an hour-long Iron Man match that’s technically sound but
exhausting to watch with no falls over the course of 60 minutes and a formula
that hadn’t quite come together yet. However, 20 minutes or so prior, the
Undertaker and Diesel would put on a great clash of the power merchants that
turned out better than I’m guessing most expected. In early 1996, ‘Taker was
still in zombie mode and had yet to up his in-ring work to match his character,
while Diesel was coasting after losing the WWF title. But, for whatever reason,
these two brought out the best in one another, delivering one of my favorite
hard-hitting big man matches of all-time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Incidentally,
Diesel’s pre-match locker room interview with Mr. Perfect is also a classic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA 13<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ahmed Johnson & The Legion of Doom
vs. The Nation of Domination in a Chicago Street Fight<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">By
1997, my high school buddies and I were bigger wrestling fans than we had ever
been as kids, going to live events for the first time (we’d up to the Paul
Tsongas Center in Lowell for shows including the infamous Thursday Raw Thursday
where Shawn Michaels lost his smile and Rocky Maivia won his first
Intercontinental title) and gathering regularly to watch Raw and pay-per-views
together. We actually made a whole weekend plan for WrestleMania where we were
going to have a battle royal in my basement on Saturday—we conned enough of our
non-wrestling fan friends into coming over and letting us throw them around—and
then watch the show at Dave’s house the next day. During that battle royal
though (which was us moving the coffee table to the middle of the room and
trying to throw each other over it), I eliminated Dave, he got mad and pushed
me backwards into a wall, where my elbow went through the plaster, and while I
wasn’t hurt, I freaked out and was mad enough at him that I boycotted the next
night, claiming I had homework. He apologized to me by giving me the tape at
school on Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Though
it was fun having a gang to watch with and the WWF was starting to heat up into
the early stages of the Attitude Era, WrestleMania 13 (they drove me nuts not
using the Roman numeral) was a bit of a downer, with lame thrown together
undercard matches and a plodding main event between Undertaker and Sid. There
were no celebrities or elaborate set pieces, so the whole thing felt really
mundane.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">However,
two matches saved the show, the first being the one most people associate with
it, that being the brutal, violent Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin I Quit encounter
where Stone Cold passes out in the Sharpshooter and the Hitman gets the win,
but becomes hated in the process while his vanquished opponent wins over the
crowd. For my money, though, I’ll still take the chaotic brawl pitting Ahmed
Johnson with the Legion of Doom against his hated rival Faarooq and his
flunkies Crush and Savio Vega. There is no scientific grappling to be seen
whatsoever, but I love all 10 minutes of stiff shots and guys just beating the
hell out of each other, plus I loved seeing the LOD back on a big stage as they
had left the WWF abruptly when I was 12. The fact that this followed Hart-Austin
and the crowd stayed pumped says it all, I think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh,
and Hawk bringing an actual kitchen sink with him to the ring was a nice touch
that has since been replicated to less effect.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA XIV<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The New Age Outlaws vs. Cactus Jack
& Chainsaw Charlie in a Dumpster match for the WWF Tag Team titles<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
marked a very historic WrestleMania for me personally as it took place in
Boston and thus I was able to be there live and in person—though it didn’t look
like that was going to happen in the months leading up. My friends and I tried
to purchase tickets, but we were dumb high school sophomores who didn’t really
understand the urgency involved in such a process, and the show was sold out by
the time we made a move. Fortunately, at the very last minute, a friend of my
buddy Matt Corley’s father coughed up three tickets so Matt, Dave and I could
make our way over to the Fleetcenter and catch the action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">No
doubt I’m biased toward this edition of WrestleMania since I was there, but we
lucked into a classic show. In addition to the main event where Steve Austin
beat Shawn Michaels for the WWF title and kicked off the hottest era for
wrestling in over a decade, the entire evening was packed with great moments
and not a single weak match. Taka Michinoku and Aguila delivered a hidden gem,
Sable became the most popular woman to that point in WWF history, The Rock got
his ass kicked by Ken Shamrock but somehow kept his Intercontinental title, and
Kane finally lost to the Undertaker—but not before giving Pete Rose his first
tombstone piledriver. Even the bloated tag team battle royal at the beginning
was a hot start and it was awesome to hear the pop for the return of the Legion
of Doom live.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
also got an extra treat as the Jackyl—who had been off TV for awhile—showed up
in the corridor leading to our row and watched a bunch of matches with some
jacked up blond dude. Jackyl was a pretty hilarious jerk, telling a little kid
who wanted an autograph to get lost, and hey, that blond dude turned out to be
Edge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
personal highlight was, interestingly enough, a match we didn’t even get to see
all of live, as they ended up brawling backstage and we had to watch a
significant portion on the video screen. I’m referring to the Tag Team title
contest, where the only way to win was to toss both your opponents into a
dumpster. Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie—who ditched the pantyhose and
basically appeared as plain old Terry Funk—are maybe the two best brawlers in
wrestling history, and the New Age Outlaws hung in with them, taking a
hellacious beat down with various weapons and dishing out plenty of abuse
themselves. After 10 minutes of mayhem, getting to see the joy on Cactus’ face
as he got to share his mentor’s first WWF title with him shone brightly from
all the way in the back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA XV<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Shane McMahon vs. X-Pac for the European
title<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">With
more of my friends watching wrestling than ever by 1999, my basement became the
destination for anywhere between five and 15 high school juniors to be every
Monday night (much to the delight of my two-years-younger sister’s friends and
her annoyance, as “they were just my brother’s idiot friends”). For
WrestleMania, we moved the table out of the room and the couches over to the
side so we could put down a mat and do moves to one another while we watched
the show (Matt Corley suffered many a Rock Bottom and became the victim of a
vicious Eric Master ankle lock that fateful night).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">At
this point, the quality of the product was almost a non-factor, as getting
together with my buddies to cheer the guys we liked and boo the ones we hated
was what made wrestling fun. That was a good thing, because this was the height
of the Attitude Era and Vince Russo’s tenure as booker, where characters and
storylines were stronger than ever, but in-ring action as well as logistical
consistency often took a backseat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
a pretty muddy and messed up show that made little sense, typified nowhere
better than the New Age Outlaws pursuing singles titles for months, then Road
Dogg winning the Intercontinental title—the one Billy Gunn wanted—and Billy
Gunn winning the Hardcore title—the one Road Dogg wanted—and taking one
another’s places in convoluted matches involving three or four people. It was
pretty much darts being thrown with a Gatling gun, but we loved every minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Aside
from the great brawl main event where Steve Austin finally got the WWF title
back from the nefarious Rock, the angle that really captured my crew’s
attention was D-Generation X’s two-match battle with the Corporation. Midway
through the show, Chyna helped Triple H out against Kane—though she cost him
the match by disqualification—and DX was seemingly reunited as heroes. 15
minutes later, both HHH and Chyna turned on X-Pac, helping Shane McMahon retain
his ill-achieved European title and turning out to be Corporation bad guys all
along. But besides the cool twist ending, the match was surprisingly—at the
time solid—with this being before anybody knew Shane McMahon could go as a
wrestler and also X-Pac’s first chance to step up at WrestleMania after half a
decade on and off in the WWF; both guys had something to prove and they
succeeded big time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
should also mention that a little over two years earlier at a house show we
went to where all the big stars were on a European tour, Bart Gunn gave us all
high fives, becoming one of our collective favorite wrestlers, so we were
devastated when Butterbean destroyed him in their Brawl for All match.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfEmkBdbcGFnEpzP50hG31NdWnx3x-qSkEMHJLdUaG3KbMOHswsLnVH3HrctkUh0A0dWGFHkOiUSgxmbX0fvLJVeEqsZL1OJVUaGzDCDNQLl11eanBf4CtztmO4FX2-T7UcNeSb5NrjpGF/s1600/2000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfEmkBdbcGFnEpzP50hG31NdWnx3x-qSkEMHJLdUaG3KbMOHswsLnVH3HrctkUh0A0dWGFHkOiUSgxmbX0fvLJVeEqsZL1OJVUaGzDCDNQLl11eanBf4CtztmO4FX2-T7UcNeSb5NrjpGF/s320/2000.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA 2000<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardy Boyz vs.
Edge & Christian in a Ladder match for the WWF Tag Team titles<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
was my senior year of high school in 2000 and a bunch of my friends and I
packed into Mike Cherny’s living room—admittedly much ritzier than my
basement—to watch what we figured would be our final wrestling show together.
We had bought a toy ring and Titan Tron that keyed off certain figures to play
their entrance music, then each had our own figures we’d walk through it when
they came on the TV (I was Christian, my buddy Alex Verdaguer was Christian).
We also had purchased a foam WWF title belt which we christened the Newton
South Hardcore title that could be won at any time anywhere by pinning the
current titleholder for a three count with official referee Matt Corley
present; the title was contest on front lawns, at restaurants and in the halls
of our high school, which annoyed our head of campus safety/my high school
wrestling coach to no end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
girl I was dating and her best friend (who was dating one my friends I was
watching the show with) also ordered this WrestleMania just so they could call
and ask us questions about what was going on/bother us during matches we cared
about (it didn’t work out). I think Cherny and one or two other people may have
opted for the “WrestleMania All Day Long” package where the pay-per-view
broadcast began hours early and Ivory and whoever was her co-host showed
highlights of past shows until the real thing started.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
was a lot to like about this show, particularly if you were watching in a group
of friends. Whereas the year prior WWF had a decent amount of talented guys on
the roster, by 2000 their roster was stacked with breakout stars and WCW
defectors. The Hardcore battle royal was crazy fun, though I think most of us
were bummed when Tazz didn’t win. The six-person with Chyna and Too Cool
against Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn was a great example of
how WWF could seemingly make anybody a star at that point (no knock on any of
the people in that match, they were all great, but to think a year earlier that
Brian Christopher and Scott Taylor would be the hot commodities they became was
ludicrous). The crazy 2/3 falls match for two titles with Kurt Angle, Chris
Jericho and Chris Benoit was all over the place in terms following the
stipulations, but of course the wrestling was great. Truth be told, the main
event four way frustrated my gang a little bit, as we were still very
conditioned to expect the biggest show of the year to end with arch villain
Triple H getting his, so the swerve with him winning knocked us off course, but
it was bold.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Unquestionably
my favorite match of the night was the Dudley Boyz, Hardy Boyz and Edge and
Christian going nuts in a three way Ladder match. I’m in the minority, but I
actually prefer this to their later TLCs at SummerSlam that year and the next
WrestleMania, simply because it was the first one, and even if they improved on
the formula later on, that novelty went a long way. Besides the wow factor of
spots like Bubba powerbomb anything that moved through a table and Jeff doing a
Swanton off a giant ladder, strangely enough the intricate choreography and
amount of planning that had to go into this impressed me a lot. It was six guys
willing to do anything to steal the show, and I really appreciated their
efforts. I was also a mark not only for Edge and Christian, but for guys who
hadn’t held the titles winning them the first time, so the ending left me more
than satisfied (and Alex and I got to play our music).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUkJUQgZ_n4jOJIFxY_CbX8N3LgXWy9gQHF1l8Edmv-jQhMN4Ow-FxPnVxMRi7a6nFl01VEpbH1_CU0ZTemqqyplUaYat3NUv0zX6bCMpmzXrCxwCK4PdZ4Pa5IG9zkhIgtfwS8g_cX8z/s1600/X-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUkJUQgZ_n4jOJIFxY_CbX8N3LgXWy9gQHF1l8Edmv-jQhMN4Ow-FxPnVxMRi7a6nFl01VEpbH1_CU0ZTemqqyplUaYat3NUv0zX6bCMpmzXrCxwCK4PdZ4Pa5IG9zkhIgtfwS8g_cX8z/s320/X-7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA X-SEVEN<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Undertaker vs. Triple H<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
first year of college, I was fortunate to meet most of the people who continue
to be among my very best friends in the world, and even more lucky that even if
they didn’t share quite my level of passion, they had at least some interest in
the stuff I was into, principally pro wrestling and comic books. We were
unfortunate in that our college’s cable package carried the USA Network and
TNT, but the WWF jumped Raw to TNN (not part of the package) like two months
into our freshman year and then WCW ceased to exist a little while later, so
our wrestling viewing options were Smackdown or bust. Thus I got most of my
info online about what was going on with the product and with no off-campus
buddies at this point, missed out on this WrestleMania altogether.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
what a WrestleMania to skip, as it’s the general consensus best of all-time,
ending the Attitude Era with a bang as the WWF transitioned into being the only
game in town; I got it on VHS as soon as it was available and that summer as a
camp counselor forced my campers to watch it on their movie night because I
hadn’t seen it yet (they thanked me for it by stealing my copy by the end of
the month).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There’s
not a dud on this entire show, and it also provides a great showcase of the
full breadth of what one of the strongest rosters ever could do across the board.
There’s a hot opener with Chris Jericho defending the IC title against William
Regal; a wild hardcore match with Kane, Raven and Big Show; a technical
masterpiece with Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit; and a pure nostalgic fun gimmick
battle royal with all the old-timers getting their entrances and then rolling
around the ring for three minutes while Bobby Heenan and Gene Okerlund call the
action (due respect to Mean Gene, I wager even he’d agree the only thing
missing was the late Gorilla Monsoon as Bobby’s broadcast partner). Eddie
Guerrero pulled a really solid performance out of Test for the European title,
Tazz teamed with the APA for a nice little brawl against Right to Censor, and
even probably the worst match of the night—Chyna beating Ivory for the Women’s
title—was over in under three minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
big matches delivered big time as well, and picking a favorite is not easy. Vince
McMahon and his son Shane—two guys who are not full-time wrestlers but among
the best performers is WWF history—had the kind of showcase you didn’t mind
being overbooked a dozen ways because it told a great story (I almost went with
this one). The Dudleys, Hardys and Edge and Christian try to top their Ladder
match by adding tables and chairs plus Spike Dudley, Lita and Rhyno. And of
course you’ve got the main event, an intense half hour tour de force from The
Rock and Steve Austin for the WWF title that sees everything including a
questionable ending that supersedes the action itself for a lot of people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">However,
I have to go with the second to last match of the night, where Triple H
attempts to end the Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak (before that really meant
anything). If anybody was on a hot streak in 2001, it was Triple H, who after
years of busting his ass to get to the top of the WWF was proving why he
belonged there by tossing out amazing work with whoever was across the ring
from him. Undertaker was one year into his American Bad Ass gimmick and looking
totally rejuvenated. Their contest here additionally serves along with the main
event as the perfect topper to the Attitude Era type of match, with an epic
brawl bookended by traditional wrestling, a style that came about due to
Austin’s neck injury and would gradually phase out as guys like Angle, Jericho,
Guerrero and Benoit came to prominence. It’s also the first truly great
WrestleMania performance by the Undertaker, as I dug his Diesel match at XII,
but it doesn’t hold a candle to this or what was to come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-46262808092627780402013-04-03T00:29:00.002-04:002013-04-03T00:29:49.824-04:00My Favorite WrestleMania Matches: VI-XI<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwYyfaD0QqF5b44UAGgDrm1lOaccKIHjLJRtskxMCGup8CtzLjntbkoHgjnB_4jAAi18ZVkv44b_4-iaP-7bKc3CJVDODGPxvSj8ocmt-TxoTyoUmPRrj7wEPJogY70LcYb478UpAAJTf/s1600/VI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwYyfaD0QqF5b44UAGgDrm1lOaccKIHjLJRtskxMCGup8CtzLjntbkoHgjnB_4jAAi18ZVkv44b_4-iaP-7bKc3CJVDODGPxvSj8ocmt-TxoTyoUmPRrj7wEPJogY70LcYb478UpAAJTf/s320/VI.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA VI<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior for
the WWF title<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
was most likely an early video purchase as it was from right before I started
watching and I generally back track my hobbies pretty quickly and obsessively. The
VHS case for this show is pretty rad and looks almost comic book-esque with the
colorful pose down between Hogan and Warrior with a ton of lightning in
between.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Aside
from the main event and even the undercard, there’s a lot of memorable touches
to this show, from the crazy opening where Vince McMahon narrates the
constellations turning into Hogan and Warrior, to the return of the mini carts
that carried people to the ring from three years earlier, to Steve Allen
playing the piano in the shower with the Bolsheviks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Believe
it or not, at eight years old I wasn’t much of a Hogan fan or a Warrior fan (I
was probably the only kid who considered Kerry Von Erich his favorite wrestler
despite never having heard of World Class), but they delivered here in spades.
First off, their dueling whacked out pre-match promos about natural disasters
sweeping the Earth and saving planes about to crash are the stuff of legend
(get the Ultimate Warrior DVD just for those promos if nothing else) and I can
watch them whenever. When they got in the ring though, it was a transformative
bit of magic where two guys known for their character over their wrestling
prowess boosted each other to a great, intense match with the different formula
of two good guys opposing one another, something I’d never seen. They captured
lightning in a bottle that night and I should really try to hunt this one down,
as I haven’t watched it in ages.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbR0NZMNFQLdEZyuvxfYCUYm5lksEpSks7LSFdGPO8RDZpBHz-vfqWaoMUcuZuLJBWlMtn1fSwve6zSsEY59hO-tdo_L_xjT-pv7Jt5zoF1ougerrMViZe6BJjuhyphenhyphenvmx5IA_falsITuN8f/s1600/VII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbR0NZMNFQLdEZyuvxfYCUYm5lksEpSks7LSFdGPO8RDZpBHz-vfqWaoMUcuZuLJBWlMtn1fSwve6zSsEY59hO-tdo_L_xjT-pv7Jt5zoF1ougerrMViZe6BJjuhyphenhyphenvmx5IA_falsITuN8f/s320/VII.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA VII<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Not
honestly sure how I first watched this one. I remember renting it years later
when I was old enough to think the idea of the blindfold match was dumb and
realize those guys were not really Demolition, but I also think I saw it as a
kid. Did a friend of mine order it? Possible, as my buddy Dave Hill would get
these from time to time (I’m pretty certain there was a wrestling pay-per-view
blackout between the years of 1990 and 1997 in the Morse household).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
are a few classic moments tucked among the quickie matches here, including
Virgil’s great upset win by countout over longtime tormentor Ted DiBiase and
the start of the Undertaker’s streak. I also recall as a nine-year-old being
pretty freaked out by if not outright scared of Iraqi sympathizer Sgt.
Slaughter, probably in large part because I didn’t think a G.I. Joe would
betray America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
match that makes this show though, and really one of my all-time favorites, is
Savage vs. Warrior, career vs. career. It was a slow burn feud where Savage
chased Warrior for months, cost him the WWF title, and they hated each other
enough to put it all on the line despite not having ever fought (on television
at least). It’s another classic Savage performance, with the pathos cranked up
to the point where every big move feels epic, and Warrior keeping pace (as best
he can). By the time Savage kicks out of the big splash and Warrior gets up
after like 18 flying elbow drops, I was losing my mind wondering what was going
to happen. It’s the time of match where the story is so larger-than-life that
Warrior walking halfway down the aisle, looking “to his gods” and then coming
back to win with a big shoulder block makes perfect sense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">However,
it gets really good after the action’s over, when the evil Sensational Sherri
turns on her meal ticket and Elizabeth returns to save the man who spurned her
two years earlier and the first couple of the WWF reunites, Savage hoisting her
up on his shoulder just as he did back at WrestleMania IV after winning the
title. Savage then refusing to let Elizabeth hold the ropes for him and opening
them for her instead is just the icing on the cake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
have something in my eye…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA VIII<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Roddy Piper vs. Bret Hart for the
Intercontinental title<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
should have been at the height of my childhood wrestling fandom, but I believe
it also coincided with the months-long ban my parents put on me watching
because I got suspended at school for getting in a fight (I was bad news when I
was 10). I circumvented not being allowed to watch Superstars on Saturday
morning by sneaking a little mini TV that got three channels into my closet,
but obviously that wouldn’t work for pay-per-views, so I’m pretty sure I didn’t
see this one live and later rented the tape instead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
me, WrestleMania VIII is the changing of the guard/bridge between eras show, as
not only does Hogan go away for awhile afterward, but up and coming staples of
the 90’s like Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker put away 80’s stars on their
way out like Tito Santana and Jake Roberts. Randy Savage has a great match with
Ric Flair to blow off the even better “she was mine before she was yours” angle
involving Elizabeth, plus Ultimate Warrior came back after being gone since the
previous year’s SummerSlam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">However,
the highlight of the show for me is the final part of that torch passing
trilogy, as Bret Hart gets firmly established in the big time mix by scoring a
rare win over Roddy Piper to take back the IC title. You get about 10 minutes
of solid chain wrestling and brawling, then the pathos play as the referee gets
knocked out, Piper contemplates reverting to his onetime villainous ways by
using the ring bell as a weapon, then Hart seizing on his hesitation to reverse
a sleeper for the win. Piper is one of the best overall characters of all-time,
but it’s cool he got to really show off the wrestling skills he did have here,
and then Bret got to not only look like the top flight athlete, but also savvy
as he outsmarts one of the WWF’s all-time craftiest guys.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA IX<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Steiner Brothers vs. The
Headshrinkers<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
can’t remember what was going on with me and wrestling in 1993, but for
whatever reason, I wasn’t as tuned in as years prior. That seems odd, as I was
11 and really had nothing better to do, because I was just shy of embracing new
stars like Shawn Michaels and maybe still missing the late 80’s/early 90’s mid
card that cleared out over the course of 1992. Regardless, I don’t think I
watched this show until later on tape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WrestleMania
IX gets a pretty bad rap, mostly I think because people didn’t care for the
Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna main event and what happened after the match. Stuff like
Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzales didn’t help matters and a lot of the card was
just forgettable (though Michaels vs. Tatanka and Crush vs. Doink are both
pretty ok). That aside, the done-up setting of Caesar’s Palace and everybody
wearing togas certainly gave it a memorable look if nothing else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
bright spot on the show for me—and I believe for others—was relative WWF
newcomers the Steiner Brothers taking on the Headshrinkers in a super physical
15-minute tag team match. I was pretty much an exclusive WWF fan as a kid, but
I switched over to WCW Saturday Night enough times to at least know who the
Steiners and Sting were (Arn Anderson also left an indelible mark on me because
he didn’t look like the wrestlers I was used to but was awesome in the ring). I
would to this day call the Steiners my all-time favorite tag team, and this
match is a good example why, as they snap off crisp suplexes on the mammoth
Headshrinkers—who, to their credit, could take and dish out plenty of
damage—keep the energy jacked up, then Scott polishes things off with the first
Frankensteiner I probably ever saw.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA X<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
friend Dave Hill ordered this show and taped it; I may or may not have
re-watched it with him shortly thereafter (I think I did), but I definitely
swiped it again when we were in high school and it currently resides in the
basement of my house. I was definitely onboard with the product again at this
point, with the rise of Shawn Michaels and awesome Hart brothers feud drawing
me back in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That
said, I think this is probably the most overrated WrestleMania of all-time, and
while most people love it, I can take it or leave it. The argument in favor is
that two of the best matches ever (almost) bookend the show, but that’s 40
minutes of awesome action, then the remaining two-plus hours are pretty bland
(actually, the Randy Savage-Crush match isn’t bad either). It’s still an ok show,
and has the benefit of the always great Madison Square Garden crowd, but so
many people go on about it being among the best that I reflexively dislike it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
man, those two good matches are really, really good. And as much as I love the
Michaels-Razor Ramon Ladder match for the Intercontinental title, I love the
Bret vs. Owen opener that much more. First off, it was just an incredibly
intense and well done storyline, with Owen coming out of nowhere to be this
great heel foil to his heroic brother (seriously, what was he doing a year
before this?). But no matter how good the promos were, they don’t hold a candle
to the in-ring product, as these guys put on a clinic in technical wrestling
with the kind of chemistry I suppose only brothers who had been wrestling one
another since they were kids could have. The ending is just perfect, and this
is another match I can watch over and over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA XI<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWF
title<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">1995
was the nadir of my pro wrestling fandom as I checked out somewhere shortly
after Diesel won the WWF title and wouldn’t be back full-time for a couple
years. I was aware of what was going on peripherally mostly because of the
mainstream coverage they got bringing in celebrities like Pamela Anderson and
Lawrence Taylor, but by the time Mabel became King of the Ring, I was totally
out of the loop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
would be some time before I watched this show, tracking it down years later
once I went into completist mode. Not many people speak too highly of this one,
from the bland undercard to the crappy venue (Hartford, Connecticut, quite
possibly my least favorite city in America). A smorgasbord of mid-90’s
celebrities arguably outshone the WWF roster here, with Salt-n-Pepa belting out
“Whatta Man,” Jonathan Taylor Thomas beating Bob Backlund at chess, and, of
course, LT putting on a match way better than anybody expected against Bam Bam
Bigelow in the main event.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">However,
as impressed as I was by the work of Bam Bam and Taylor, on a forgettable show,
I give my nod to the WWF title match, as my favorite wrestler, Shawn Michaels,
got his first real shot (discounting Survivor Series 1992) and busted his ass
even in a losing performance. Diesel knew well enough to let his buddy lead the
dance and looked cool as heck with Pamela Anderson on one arm and Jenny
McCarthy on the other, eyebrow cocked and smirk firing on all cylinders.</span></div>
Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-3533731251542006392013-04-01T23:44:00.002-04:002013-04-01T23:44:45.428-04:00My Favorite WrestleMania Matches: I-V<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilH6JhPHuHvf__zHaZjmo0IPrEoJWRU_cHk7ss-RZUrILlMUFqGeOsDZHETX_1nVKgiueX17G-91EcXDexPOhSdJNA82tmTqIJqqknZVNNSCGSWPjD7rHsqnYoT6wlm7xTGhzzq_bH3pVD/s1600/I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilH6JhPHuHvf__zHaZjmo0IPrEoJWRU_cHk7ss-RZUrILlMUFqGeOsDZHETX_1nVKgiueX17G-91EcXDexPOhSdJNA82tmTqIJqqknZVNNSCGSWPjD7rHsqnYoT6wlm7xTGhzzq_bH3pVD/s320/I.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA I<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hulk Hogan & Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper
& Paul Orndorff<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
was three years old when the first WrestleMania took place, so certainly too
young to even be aware of it, let alone watch it; I didn’t get into wrestling
until my dad introduced me in 1990 (I’m actually curious now to ask my dad if
he watched the first WrestleMania). While I saw clips and selected matches from
the card over the years on highlight reels and compilations, I don’t believe I
watched the entire show start to finish until just a couple years ago via WWE
OnDemand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
was a show not so much about athleticism, but spectacle. The longest match went
13 minutes, and only one other hit double digits, so none were that stand out,
but they didn’t need to be; it was a chance for the WWF to trot out their stars
for display in front of a big audience alongside mainstream celebrities like
Mr. T, Cyndi Lauper and Muhammad Ali.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That
said, while it’s tempting to be a know-it-all and say Ricky Steamboat’s
sub-five-minute bout with Matt Borne was some sort of hidden classic, this show
was all about the main event. The wrestling was fine, but it was the skill
Hogan and Piper had for playing the hero and the villain respectively, plus all
the bells and whistles beyond their partners—Ali as guest ref, Jimmy Snuka and
Bob Orton as the corner men, and so on—that made it memorable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA 2<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy in a
Steel Cage match for the WWF title<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m
fairly certain WrestleMania II (or 2, if you prefer, but I never stray from the
Roman numerals) is the one I got my mom to rent for me when I was recovering
from one of the many times I had to get teeth pulled when I was in elementary
school. I seem to recall there was a really dinky video store in Newton Center
that was a quarter of the size of the larger Wellesley Video down the street
(Blockbuster was a couple years away), but they had this awesomely quirky
selection of 80’s WWF Coliseum Video collections, including this one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That
said, I don’t remember a lot of the big matches from this show, including the
first two main events with Mr. T against Piper in a boxing match and the
British Bulldogs winning the Tag titles. I do remember Randy Savage against
George “The Animal” Steele for the Intercontinental title, I do remember Andre
the Giant winning a battle royal, and I do remember this match, the final one
of the show.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
recently watched WWE’s Greatest Steel Cage matches compilation and gained a new
appreciation for what Hogan can do in these particular matches against big guys
like Andre there and Bundy here. He’s very good at using the psychology of the
cage as a weapon to make himself more vulnerable than in his typical early
matches, and bounced around spryly for Bundy here. The eventual super hero
comeback and victory is textbook how it should be done stuff, and I think it’s
a nice snapshot about what worked during this era. Bonus points for the crazy
beating Bobby Heenan takes from Hogan per usual after the match (a match where
Heenan just wrestled a cage would have been great).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA III<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat for the
Intercontinental title<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
inherited a tape of this show from I want to say either my friend Eli or his
brother Nate at some point when I was in college. I’d seen the Hogan-Andre main
event many times, but almost none of the undercard and the IC title match only
in clipped format I believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Savage-Steamboat
is widely considered not just the match of WrestleMania III (it was the perfect
pairing with the moment of the night—which of course is Hogan slamming Andre—in
a surreally huge venue to make this one of if not the most memorable Manias),
or even just one of the best Mania matches of all-time, but one of the best
ever, so it’s not shocking or controversial in any fashion to say I loved what.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
impresses me most though is that it’s 15 minutes long—longest match of the
night—and I challenge you to find a single second that drags. Even when they’re
in a rest hold—and there aren’t many—Savage’s intensity and Steamboat’s emotion
make those exciting. I’m a guy with a short attention span, and this was one of
the first matches I saw that started conditioning me to enjoy wrestling clinics
that go longer than 10 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA IV<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ted DiBiase vs. Randy Savage for the
vacant WWF title<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Another
one I’m pretty sure I got from the Freedman boys. It was a two-tape VHS set
that I retained until ditching my VCR once and for all when I moved last year;
I believe Ryan Penagos now has possession of this one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
a pretty boring affair, as the bulk of the show is devoted to the tournament
for the vacant WWF title, and as a result of having to accommodate 11 matches
there plus five more to boot, most everything is a forgettable five minute
dash. I imagine watching it in 1989 and not knowing who would walk out with the
championship the whole thing was pretty exciting—that’s how it was when I
watched Survivor Series 1998 live—but the hindsight of knowing the end result
kills that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That
said, despite temptation to tap the fun opening battle royal or Demolition’s
coming out party winning the Tag titles, I’ve still got to go with the final
match of the tournament. Savage was on fire all night, making the most out of
whatever time he got and the crowd loved him. DiBiase is the perfect foil and
they deliver a solid match made better by the presence of Hogan and Andre at
ringside plus an awesome post-match celebration where Savage hoists Elizabeth
on his shoulder carrying the belt; classic image and it’s cool to see somebody
else with the title during that era.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">WRESTLEMANIA V<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan for the WWF
title<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
watched this show at some point when I was a kid, most likely rented from
Blockbuster’s ever-shifting collection of wrestling videos (which always had
WCW Halloween Havoc 1995). Bought it on eBay or Amazon sometime around or after
college graduation when I was going through a 1989 WWF kick (I had the Royal
Rumble and SummerSlam as well). I think that year captured my attention around
that time mostly because it was the period right before I started watching so I
basically got to see the prologue to everything I dug growing up, but maybe
also a little due to it being around the time everybody started getting amazing
entrance themes (the intros to the Rude’s Brood vs. Roddy’s Rowdies match at
Survivor Series is just musical bliss).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Mega-Powers exploding in the main event of WrestleMania was the best storyline
conclusion to date at the time—it’s still up there—with a solid match to back
it up. The year build of Savage growing to resent Hogan with Elizabeth as the
fulcrum was a thing of beauty, with perhaps the only flaw being that even as a
kid you could kind of see that Hulk came off as the jerk. No matter, because
Savage was a great villain and Hogan could still get it done as a hero, so
their dynamic was great at Mania for their best match ever (that I’ve seen). I
also like that it’s a break from Hogan’s formula to that point of dealing with
lumbering monsters, instead having to content with a quicker, more devious,
more athletic guy and come up with a new game plan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-67268373191889389382013-03-10T13:01:00.000-04:002013-03-10T13:01:23.654-04:00Remembering the Wizard Years<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZYyxI6Wxpu_krkw5HWLy3Ytc41t_gKrrxdq7PMZQaiiJFM906FP1ycva2jUMNRDJd-KvpD9HmyakpIOWKcyCH1IuOYB57rIx9qFXLhLai50YIgiVyU70QYn1xBNvPiaUab-JTmrpzQVcn/s1600/wizbanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZYyxI6Wxpu_krkw5HWLy3Ytc41t_gKrrxdq7PMZQaiiJFM906FP1ycva2jUMNRDJd-KvpD9HmyakpIOWKcyCH1IuOYB57rIx9qFXLhLai50YIgiVyU70QYn1xBNvPiaUab-JTmrpzQVcn/s320/wizbanner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To commemorate the 4th anniversary of the PanelsOnPages web site--which sprang from the ashes of the Wizard message board--<a href="https://twitter.com/believeinknize">Jason Knize</a> put together <a href="http://panelsonpages.com/?p=61163">a piece chatting with some Wizard alumni</a>, including myself, talking about our time there and where we are now.<br />
<br />
Really enjoyed participating in this with my long and rambling answers and even more dug reading the answers from my colleagues and friends. We <a href="http://panelsonpages.com/?p=61163">talk about our favorite work and moments</a>, plus it's a nice chance at least for me to say thanks to some of the people who got me where I am.<br />
<br />
If you want some more insight into Wizard and the folks there, whether you're an old fan or somebody who's always been curious, <a href="http://panelsonpages.com/?p=61163">highly recommend this one</a>.Ben Morsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419191228823565831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4978439808729663406.post-52971721233865678182013-03-07T02:17:00.000-05:002013-03-07T02:17:12.039-05:00Emerald City Comic Con 2013: What I Got<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Real talk: <a href="http://emeraldcitycomiccon.com/">Emerald City Comic Con</a> was an amazingly fun show. I feel like every time I go to a show I really love, I end up saying "This was the best show I've been to in ages," but this really was the best show I've been to in ages. I already went on a Twitter rampage <a href="https://twitter.com/KielPhegley/status/308658849420804096">talking about</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KielPhegley/status/308659037405327360">all the amazing people</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KielPhegley/status/308659147149287425">I got</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KielPhegley/status/308659673219887104">to catch</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KielPhegley/status/308660041114845184">up</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KielPhegley/status/308670641412898816">with</a>, but I'd also be remiss if I didn't run down all the amazing comics I picked up.</div>
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Unlike so many media-focused cons that exist these days on the scene, there were no annoying people hocking mashmallow guns or Ugly Dollz or wrestler's autographs on the floor at ECCC. There were just rows and rows and rows of comic publishers, retailers and artists plying their wares. Since I'm contractually obligated by <a href="https://twitter.com/jonahweiland">Uncle Money Bags</a> to spend most of my time in panel rooms typing quotes, I didn't get to spend nearly as much time on the floor buying from people (artist's in particular) as I would have liked, but I did get some primo stuff from retailers that I'm excited to show off.</div>
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<b> The Steranko History of Comics, Vol. 1</b></div>
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With absolutely no embellishment, I can say that I've been looking to buy this book for a decade. Probably more than that. Jim Steranko's self-published history of the medium never got past two issues on its proposed six-issue run, but the volumes he did complete loom large amongst comic history nerds like myself.</div>
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I spotted this gem sticking up in a gathering of mid-70s Marvel treasury magazines, and immediately asked the vendor how much he wanted for it. It was a steal at $10, but I almost didn't get away with the book because when I handed duder the money, he stopped for a moment, looked at the cover with mournful eyes and went, "Can I just flip through it one more time?"</div>
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The guy proceeded to pour over page-after-page for about ten minutes, pointing out to me which Golden Age splash pages and Jack Kirby pencil recreations he scanned to make t-shirts with when he was younger. I can't laugh at him for this reaction. I'll likely be doing the same with some young turk in 2053.</div>
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<b> Palooka-Ville #s 10, 11 & 12</b></div>
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For years when I was a teenager, Seth's iconic series was one of my perpetual holy grail purchases at any con I attended, and I'd often only find a scattershot issue here or there. I think it took me two years to assemble the entire Kalo saga (he'd probably balk at my calling it that) in one place.</div>
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Today, I own all the material in these tree issue as reprinted in the <i>Clyde Fans Vol. 1</i> collection, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to snap these bad boys up for a quarter a piece!</div>
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<b>Helheim #1, Fatherhood #1 & The Sands #1</b></div>
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Considering my job, I should probably come home from cons with a lot more new releases from publishers and creators alike, but as it stands, most of my purchasing of new books happens at Challengers. Still, I was very excited to pick up a copy of Cullen Bunn and Joelle Jones' new Oni series <i>Helheim</i> as I feel both creators have done their strongest work at the publisher. And <i>Fatherhood</i> was an ECCC print debut from writer <a href="https://twitter.com/ryanklindsay">Ryan K. Lindsay</a> who I've gotten to know online as an infrequent CBR contributor (fun fact: I had no idea he was Australian until I heard him speak!). Thinking picking up books like these will be my #1 goal come WonderCon.</div>
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Meanwhile, I'm ashamed to admit that I'm just getting to know Tom Hart's work after picking up the amazing <a href="http://retrofit.storenvy.com/products/320631-daddy-lightning-by-tom-hart">Daddy Lightning</a> last year from Box Brown, so I was very happy to find some of Tom's early work at a steal. </div>
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<b>Darkstars #s 4, 7 & 8</b></div>
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All Travis Charest art is worth owning, even early "Jim Lee clone" era Charest work. In fact, I'ma go ahead and call early Charest the greatest Jim Lee clone that ever lived. Thank God he outgrew that, but I still have a soft spot for this series in my heart after seeing its covers in DC house ads when I was young, being blown away by them and then never being able to find the book in my LCS.</div>
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<b>Critters #s 2, 4, 6, 7 & 37 and A*K*Q*J #1</b></div>
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I've always been curious about the early funny animal comics put together by Fantagraphics' Kim Thompson (who we just learned <a href="http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=A-Statement-from-Kim-Thompson.html&Itemid=113">has lung cancer</a>. All thoughts and prayers for a strong recover, Kim. We need you), so it was great to find so many issues of <i>Critters</i> and related books in a quarter bin. Not only does the series feature some of Stan Sakai's earliest Usagi Yojimbo material, it also has some dynamite cartooning from the likes of Sam Kieth and people heretofore unknown to me like Mike Kazaleh. But maybe the artist I'm most excited to get to know better is Danish cartoonist Freddy Milton, whose Thompson-translated strips channel Carl Barks without being part of Disney's universe/corporate control. Why in God's name don't more people do stuff like that?</div>
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<b>The Flash #347</b></div>
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For the past five years or so, I've been absentmindedly picking up issues of "The Trial" – the epic/lamented/seminal Flash story that brought Barry Allen's original run towards its final days. I can't honestly tell what most people think about the quality of this story overall, but I'm looking forward to chewing on my own opinions of it now that I've got this final chapter in hand. I do know for sure that I LOVE me some later Carmine Infantino work. The thin geometric lines he uses on everything including people's hair just does it for me, man.</div>
KPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11816950381733436279noreply@blogger.com0