I have yet to see any of the original "Marvel Anime" direct-to-video miniseries or films that came out around two years ago, but because I was quite keen on seeing how my beloved Marvel characters would look given the anime treatment, I quickly bought Hiroshi Hamazaki's Iron Man: Rise of the Technovore when I saw the DVD on the shelves in a shopping mall. I didn't even know it was a brand new release.
The story of IMROTT basically begins with Tony Stark about to launch a new satellite (named "the Howard" after his late father) into space, a machine which will have access to electronics all over the planet, supposedly for the greater good, when the launch is attacked by a mysterious assailant with several high-tech minions and a highly-advanced personal suit of armor which exceeds even Tony's tech. The attack leaves Tony's friend, Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes, aka War Machine, fighting for his life, and Tony is out for vengeance, even if it means dodging S.H.I.E.L.D. and teaming up with the Punisher.
Yes, this "anime" version of the world's favorite armored Avenger is every bit as stupid as the plot synopsis sounds. It's complete and utter drivel.
The first truly grating aspect of it was the dialogue, with the villain of the piece spouting unbelievably pretentious pseudo-philosophical gibberish that sounds annoying enough in the countless original anime films from which it was lifted, but sounds downright insufferable here. The English dub is at least marginally better than the dialogue suggested by the subtitles (yes, the subtitles, presumably of the original Japanese dub, are radically different from the dialogue uttered by the characters in English, as stupid as that may sound), but it can't remedy some inherently idiotic conversations among the characters.
The characterization is equally poor; this is hands down the dumbest iteration of Tony Stark I have ever seen in any media. His reasoning for refusing to cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D. is flimsy, even more so his "team-up" with the mass-murdering Punisher, and worst of all, his "solution" to fighting an enemy who appears to be smarter and better-equipped than he is proves to be downright laughable: he tries to hit him. When that doesn't work, he tries to hit him again. Good God.
Speaking of characters, the visual design of the main villain was similarly grating. While I understand the directive was to give the characters, all of whom are actual comic-book characters, the "anime" look, Punisher (again, who has no real place in this travesty of a story) looks ridiculous, and the whole androgynous look for the bad guy Ezekiel Stane has been done to death in countless other anime. If they had made him into something approaching the bald hipster rebel he was when he appeared in the comics, even an "anime" take could have worked. His appearance, though, coupled with his his voice actor (more on that next) just made his character utterly forgettable, or more appropriate, yet another forgettable aspect of this bad joke of a film.
Finally, the English dub of this film features more of the generic, cookie-cutter voice acting I have come to despise about so many English-dubbed anime films or series. I almost enjoyed Norman Reedus' turn as the Punisher, but at the end of the day, the character really has no reason for being in this film in the first place.
The film's lone redeeming feature is the animation, and, of course, nobody does fighting robots better than the Japanese. War Machine done in anime, in particular, was one heck of a treat. If only for that, this film was not a complete waste of time.
But it sure as hell came close to being one.
1.5/5
Monday, April 29, 2013
Turning Point: A Review of Ultimate Spider-Man #s 21 and 22
(w) Brian Bendis
(a) Sara Pichelli (line art) Justin Ponsor (color art)
With these two issues, series creators Brian Bendis and Sara Pichelli complete what is arguably the single most important story arc of this series so far, and the repercussions will no doubt be felt by young Miles Morales, a.k.a. Spider-Man, for the rest of his life. Miles' confrontation with Venom, who seems bigger, more grotesque, and more brutal than he has ever been, comes to a head. Venom puts Miles' dad, Jefferson, whom he mistakenly believes to be Spider-Man, in the hospital. Miles is able to ward Venom off with one of his "venom blasts" but Venom then follows the stricken Jefferson to the hospital, forces Miles to follow. Throughout this, Miles has to fend off questions from ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent turned police officer Maria Hill, who has essentially figured out Miles' little secret. Miles finds the rampaging Venom at the hospital, engages him and...tragedy ensues.
One could say it was only a matter of time before Miles's decision to assume the Spider-Man mantle left by the late Peter Parker would yield disastrous consequences for him, but I was a little surprised at the turn of events in this particular issue so soon after the story arc in which Miles' Uncle Aaron basically tricked him into being his enforcer, fought Miles, and then died in a fiery explosion. Apparently, though Bendis was just getting warmed up back then; the events in issue #22 will have life-changing consequences for Miles down the road. It is quite impossible to say more without spoiling things.
As life-changing issues go, Bendis and Pichelli handle this one with the appropriate gravitas, and in the case of the action sequences, with flair. Although the whole four-issue arc is, with the exception of the first issue, basically one gigantic fight sequence, it's the fallout from this that will really define Miles as a character, and both Bendis and Pichelli really made sure the stakes were sky high.
For me Pichelli was the star of this particular show. Bendis, practically Marvel's go-to-guy for talking heads issues, smartly stood aside and let his visual storyteller flex some serious muscle. Issue #22 is deeply tragic both for its consequences for Miles and for the fact that it will be Pichelli's last on this series as she is moving over to another Bendis book, Guardians of the Galaxy. Well that's one very special woman out of Miles' life. I am keen to see what David Marquez, who will take over as the book's regular artist next issue, can bring, considering his work over on All New X-Men has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Interesting times lie ahead for Miles Morales, that's for sure.
4.5/5
(a) Sara Pichelli (line art) Justin Ponsor (color art)
With these two issues, series creators Brian Bendis and Sara Pichelli complete what is arguably the single most important story arc of this series so far, and the repercussions will no doubt be felt by young Miles Morales, a.k.a. Spider-Man, for the rest of his life. Miles' confrontation with Venom, who seems bigger, more grotesque, and more brutal than he has ever been, comes to a head. Venom puts Miles' dad, Jefferson, whom he mistakenly believes to be Spider-Man, in the hospital. Miles is able to ward Venom off with one of his "venom blasts" but Venom then follows the stricken Jefferson to the hospital, forces Miles to follow. Throughout this, Miles has to fend off questions from ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent turned police officer Maria Hill, who has essentially figured out Miles' little secret. Miles finds the rampaging Venom at the hospital, engages him and...tragedy ensues.
One could say it was only a matter of time before Miles's decision to assume the Spider-Man mantle left by the late Peter Parker would yield disastrous consequences for him, but I was a little surprised at the turn of events in this particular issue so soon after the story arc in which Miles' Uncle Aaron basically tricked him into being his enforcer, fought Miles, and then died in a fiery explosion. Apparently, though Bendis was just getting warmed up back then; the events in issue #22 will have life-changing consequences for Miles down the road. It is quite impossible to say more without spoiling things.
As life-changing issues go, Bendis and Pichelli handle this one with the appropriate gravitas, and in the case of the action sequences, with flair. Although the whole four-issue arc is, with the exception of the first issue, basically one gigantic fight sequence, it's the fallout from this that will really define Miles as a character, and both Bendis and Pichelli really made sure the stakes were sky high.
For me Pichelli was the star of this particular show. Bendis, practically Marvel's go-to-guy for talking heads issues, smartly stood aside and let his visual storyteller flex some serious muscle. Issue #22 is deeply tragic both for its consequences for Miles and for the fact that it will be Pichelli's last on this series as she is moving over to another Bendis book, Guardians of the Galaxy. Well that's one very special woman out of Miles' life. I am keen to see what David Marquez, who will take over as the book's regular artist next issue, can bring, considering his work over on All New X-Men has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Interesting times lie ahead for Miles Morales, that's for sure.
4.5/5
Saturday, April 13, 2013
What Separates Heroes from Villains: A Review of Superior Spider-Man #6
(w) Dan Slott
(a) Humerto Ramos (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) Edgar Delgado (colors)
How much I liked this issue should be evident from the fact that today, I have already read the issue after this, issue #7, and yet I will not adopt my usual practice of interviewing two or three issues at a time. This is the issue where Dan Slott makes the the best argument for the most outrageous storytelling stunt in Spider-Man's publishing history since the Clone Saga.
This issue starts on a much lighter note than the ending of issue #5, in which Spider-Man/Otto Octavius murdered the villain Massacre. Here, apparent lightweight bad guys Jester and Screwball pull a prank on New York City mayor J. Jonah Jameson and stream the prank live on the internet. The video gets thousands of hits, which actually plays into the pair's hands as Screwball's "phishing" software is busy gathering credit card numbers and other financial information from the subscribers. Jameson, however, is more concerned about getting his new best friend, Spider-Man, to teach the two a lesson. It's one Spider-Man is willing to teach, but not before Otto Octavius gets the lessons he needs to finally obtain Peter Parker's doctorate. Otto finds himself taking a liking to his diminutive prodigy of a teacher, Anna Maria Marconi, and is angered by students who make fun of how small she is.
When Spider-Ock eventually confronts the two online pranksters, they manage to prank him as well, but whereas Peter Parker would have taken it in stride and just dealt with the two of them accordingly, Otto's reaction is considerably more extreme.
It was always a given to me that it was only a matter of time before Ock starting acting like the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing, and when I reviewed the last two issues I expressed concern that, perhaps, writer Dan Slott was showing his hand a little too early.
What sang to me about this issue, though, was how Slott showed that Octavius has, in many ways, lived a life just like Peter Parker's. Both were bullied, both had traumatic experiences in their youth, and both were outsiders. It was how they dealt with this adversity that ended up defining what kind of men they would grow up to be, and even though in many instances in this series, Otto has proven more sensible than Peter used to be in similar conditions, there's more to being a hero than being efficient; in the end, what matters is how one reacts when the chips are down.
Of course, Otto's aberrant behavior brings him on the radar of many of Spider-Man's supporting cast in a very bad way; Mary Jane notices, Carlie Cooper's suspicions are reinforced, and the Avengers take note as well. There's quite a bit of trouble brewing for Spider-Ock on the horizon.
This issue sees the return of longtime Spider-Man artist Humberto Ramos on art duties, and while I have long had mixed feelings about his artwork, I think he was a perfect fit for the story that unfolded here, from the lighthearted first act to the decidedly darker twist it took in the end. For better or worse, this guy has really left his mark on this character and I will venture to say that his name may yet be mentioned in the same breath as some of the greats some day, though I really wish he could get a better handle on his anatomy. I realize his drawing is highly stylized, but even on a good day, he is quite often all over the place. Still, for this issue I will forgo the usual complaints; that's how happy I am with this one.
While I imagine Peter will be restored to his body in time for the next Spider-Man movie, I think it's safe to say that whenever he gets back in the driver's seat, he is quite likely to have a heck of a mess to clean up. I used to roll my eyes and say I'd be back when Peter was, but if Slott and his rotating crop of artists keep up this standard of quality I can almost say I'm ready to stick around for the whole ride, however long it may be.
Rating : 5/5
(a) Humerto Ramos (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) Edgar Delgado (colors)
How much I liked this issue should be evident from the fact that today, I have already read the issue after this, issue #7, and yet I will not adopt my usual practice of interviewing two or three issues at a time. This is the issue where Dan Slott makes the the best argument for the most outrageous storytelling stunt in Spider-Man's publishing history since the Clone Saga.
This issue starts on a much lighter note than the ending of issue #5, in which Spider-Man/Otto Octavius murdered the villain Massacre. Here, apparent lightweight bad guys Jester and Screwball pull a prank on New York City mayor J. Jonah Jameson and stream the prank live on the internet. The video gets thousands of hits, which actually plays into the pair's hands as Screwball's "phishing" software is busy gathering credit card numbers and other financial information from the subscribers. Jameson, however, is more concerned about getting his new best friend, Spider-Man, to teach the two a lesson. It's one Spider-Man is willing to teach, but not before Otto Octavius gets the lessons he needs to finally obtain Peter Parker's doctorate. Otto finds himself taking a liking to his diminutive prodigy of a teacher, Anna Maria Marconi, and is angered by students who make fun of how small she is.
When Spider-Ock eventually confronts the two online pranksters, they manage to prank him as well, but whereas Peter Parker would have taken it in stride and just dealt with the two of them accordingly, Otto's reaction is considerably more extreme.
It was always a given to me that it was only a matter of time before Ock starting acting like the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing, and when I reviewed the last two issues I expressed concern that, perhaps, writer Dan Slott was showing his hand a little too early.
What sang to me about this issue, though, was how Slott showed that Octavius has, in many ways, lived a life just like Peter Parker's. Both were bullied, both had traumatic experiences in their youth, and both were outsiders. It was how they dealt with this adversity that ended up defining what kind of men they would grow up to be, and even though in many instances in this series, Otto has proven more sensible than Peter used to be in similar conditions, there's more to being a hero than being efficient; in the end, what matters is how one reacts when the chips are down.
Of course, Otto's aberrant behavior brings him on the radar of many of Spider-Man's supporting cast in a very bad way; Mary Jane notices, Carlie Cooper's suspicions are reinforced, and the Avengers take note as well. There's quite a bit of trouble brewing for Spider-Ock on the horizon.
This issue sees the return of longtime Spider-Man artist Humberto Ramos on art duties, and while I have long had mixed feelings about his artwork, I think he was a perfect fit for the story that unfolded here, from the lighthearted first act to the decidedly darker twist it took in the end. For better or worse, this guy has really left his mark on this character and I will venture to say that his name may yet be mentioned in the same breath as some of the greats some day, though I really wish he could get a better handle on his anatomy. I realize his drawing is highly stylized, but even on a good day, he is quite often all over the place. Still, for this issue I will forgo the usual complaints; that's how happy I am with this one.
While I imagine Peter will be restored to his body in time for the next Spider-Man movie, I think it's safe to say that whenever he gets back in the driver's seat, he is quite likely to have a heck of a mess to clean up. I used to roll my eyes and say I'd be back when Peter was, but if Slott and his rotating crop of artists keep up this standard of quality I can almost say I'm ready to stick around for the whole ride, however long it may be.
Rating : 5/5
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Guardians of the Galaxy #1
(w) Brian Michael Bendis
(a) Steve McNiven (pencils) John Dell (inks) Justin Ponsor (colors)
After being somewhat underwhelmed by the oversized ".1" issue of this relaunched series, I was a little more encouraged by the contents of this issue, both in terms of the script and the art.
The story kicks off with a strong focus on Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star Lord, the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy and the heir to the throne of the Spartax Empire. Of course, the only problem is that he has no interest in actually ascending to the throne, or talking to his father, J'son, the current king. Of course, this doesn't stop J'son from approaching him and telling him that Earth has been declared off limits to everyone in known space. This revelation, of course, enrages Peter as he is certain that by making this declaration, J'son has virtually painted a target on the Earth. Peter is therefore determined to protect the Earth, even if it means going against his father's wishes. Fortunately, he has more than ample help in the form of his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy: Gamora, Groot, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and new recruit Iron Man (yes, Iron Man).
March was a bit of a banner month for Brian Michael Bendis, whose current monthly workload now includes this title, Ultimate Spider-Man, two X-Men books and the Age of Ultron miniseries that also launched last month. He is an incredibly prolific writer, and it is no wonder that books set in the Marvel Universe are continuing to thrive even in the wake of the departure of writers like Mark Millar and Ed Brubaker from writing regular Marvel U books.
The book wastes little to no time getting Quill into the thick of things with a tense confrontation with his dad followed by two fight scenes before the issue is done, as well as a pretty intense cliffhanger. People who love to moan about Bendis' propensity for doing talking heads books have absolutely nothing to worry about.
I'm also happy to note that artist Steve McNiven, whose work was a little hit-or-miss for me last month, is in top form here, from the confrontation Star Lord has with his father to the balls-to-the-wall action scenes later in the issue. Still, after having seen McNiven's bare pencils on a comics-related website, I am constrained to conclude that John Dell's inks, with due respect, do not quite do McNiven's hyper-detailed pencils justice. I would have been happier to see the likes of Mark Morales or Dexter Vines backing McNiven up here.
I think the reason for Iron Man joining up with the Guardians has been covered elsewhere, though of course I can't help but roll my eyes at such a blatantly commercial gambit which serves no other actual purpose than to boost the book's sales profile. Clearly, Iron Man is now the new Wolverine (a character who has been included in a ridiculous number of Marvel books, no matter how illogical his participation).
I realize this review is a little late, considering I was caught up with other things and had a lot of comics to read when I got this, but considering that this is a pretty high-profile book I still thought it worth churning out. Besides, I also wanted to point out how appalling the proofreading in these books is getting; at the second to the last page, Bendis has Gamora saying "you're" instead of the more appropriate "your." I can almost hear Ross Geller of Friends yelling "Y-o-u-apostrophe-r-e means 'you are;' y-o-u-r means 'your!'" at Bendis. That, and the fact that Kitty Pryde actually says "more better" over in the pages one of Bendis' many other books, All New X-Men, has me convinced that perhaps Bendis is working a tad too hard these days. That must be a heck of a mortgage.
In any case, grammatical sins notwithstanding, this book, being one of the only two books I will review out of the nearly dozen comic books I picked up in the last two weeks, is definitely worth following, if this inaugural issue is any indication.
4/5
(a) Steve McNiven (pencils) John Dell (inks) Justin Ponsor (colors)
After being somewhat underwhelmed by the oversized ".1" issue of this relaunched series, I was a little more encouraged by the contents of this issue, both in terms of the script and the art.
The story kicks off with a strong focus on Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star Lord, the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy and the heir to the throne of the Spartax Empire. Of course, the only problem is that he has no interest in actually ascending to the throne, or talking to his father, J'son, the current king. Of course, this doesn't stop J'son from approaching him and telling him that Earth has been declared off limits to everyone in known space. This revelation, of course, enrages Peter as he is certain that by making this declaration, J'son has virtually painted a target on the Earth. Peter is therefore determined to protect the Earth, even if it means going against his father's wishes. Fortunately, he has more than ample help in the form of his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy: Gamora, Groot, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and new recruit Iron Man (yes, Iron Man).
March was a bit of a banner month for Brian Michael Bendis, whose current monthly workload now includes this title, Ultimate Spider-Man, two X-Men books and the Age of Ultron miniseries that also launched last month. He is an incredibly prolific writer, and it is no wonder that books set in the Marvel Universe are continuing to thrive even in the wake of the departure of writers like Mark Millar and Ed Brubaker from writing regular Marvel U books.
The book wastes little to no time getting Quill into the thick of things with a tense confrontation with his dad followed by two fight scenes before the issue is done, as well as a pretty intense cliffhanger. People who love to moan about Bendis' propensity for doing talking heads books have absolutely nothing to worry about.
I'm also happy to note that artist Steve McNiven, whose work was a little hit-or-miss for me last month, is in top form here, from the confrontation Star Lord has with his father to the balls-to-the-wall action scenes later in the issue. Still, after having seen McNiven's bare pencils on a comics-related website, I am constrained to conclude that John Dell's inks, with due respect, do not quite do McNiven's hyper-detailed pencils justice. I would have been happier to see the likes of Mark Morales or Dexter Vines backing McNiven up here.
I think the reason for Iron Man joining up with the Guardians has been covered elsewhere, though of course I can't help but roll my eyes at such a blatantly commercial gambit which serves no other actual purpose than to boost the book's sales profile. Clearly, Iron Man is now the new Wolverine (a character who has been included in a ridiculous number of Marvel books, no matter how illogical his participation).
I realize this review is a little late, considering I was caught up with other things and had a lot of comics to read when I got this, but considering that this is a pretty high-profile book I still thought it worth churning out. Besides, I also wanted to point out how appalling the proofreading in these books is getting; at the second to the last page, Bendis has Gamora saying "you're" instead of the more appropriate "your." I can almost hear Ross Geller of Friends yelling "Y-o-u-apostrophe-r-e means 'you are;' y-o-u-r means 'your!'" at Bendis. That, and the fact that Kitty Pryde actually says "more better" over in the pages one of Bendis' many other books, All New X-Men, has me convinced that perhaps Bendis is working a tad too hard these days. That must be a heck of a mortgage.
In any case, grammatical sins notwithstanding, this book, being one of the only two books I will review out of the nearly dozen comic books I picked up in the last two weeks, is definitely worth following, if this inaugural issue is any indication.
4/5
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