I’ve got nine more reviews here, and figured I’d post them up as I’m not sure when I’ll finish off my pile of comics from this week (5/6/2009). I’m itching to continue feeding my Conan binge, so the weekly fare is going to have to take a backseat to some sword-swinging adventures. Also, I just got a review copy of the action novel Shatner Quake by Jeff Burk in which a series of characters played by Shatner enter our reality and try to kill the actual Shatner at ShatnerCon—could you patiently wade through other fiction with that on your bookshelf?! I think not! Continue Reading “Few Line Reviews—Part Two of Three!”→
It’s not the most striking image, but I think the reason this cover deserves to be among the entrants in CCC (my Choice Comic Covers!) is because I saw so little of it that it as a kid that it became somewhat a novelty. When I flipped through my comic collection, this classic cover would always remind me of the last time I pulled it out, read it and loved it. I was normally so engrossed with the interiors that I never thought much about the cover, till I’d be searching through my comics again weeks, months or years later and it’d call out to me. I picked it back up so many times during these shuffles through my childhood comics, giving it another go with each rediscovery, that I literally read the cover right off my copy of Uncanny #308. Continue Reading “Choice Comic Covers: ‘Uncanny X-Men’ #308”→
Working atWizardgives me access to way more comics than I should be reading each week. Though I guess it is my job, so I really should be reading tons of comics, shouldn’t I?! Either way, I cannot really say no to a huge stack of books each week—especially the kind you can read for free. When it comes to actually purchasing books, I am much more discerning, but when I can flip through a stack of books and read whatever I want, I’ll pretty much give anything and everything a shot.
Most weeks, I read somewhere between 15 to 30 new comics. With Wizard‘s online reviews on hiatus, and me not really able to write full reviews of each book anyway due to time considerations, I thought I’d start a little section here that’ll essentially be “Two line comic book reviews.” Basically, I’ll just weigh in quickly on each issue I read, as often as I can. These reviews are by no means super detailed and are very much quantity over in-depth quality, so here’s your first hors d’oeuvres platter of quickie comic reviews from EnemyOfPeanuts.com. (The following are in random order, because I can’t be bothered by the alphabet today.) Continue Reading “The quickest hits, aka “Two Line Comic Book Reviews!””→
The above is a quote that adorns the packaging of the brew from the Flying Dog Brewery—one of my favorites in the States—and a statement I hope is true in my case.
Like many people who value their own opinions enough to plaster them all over the internet, I fancy myself a bit of a connoisseur—be it comics, movies, literature or TV, I generally like to think I have a discerning taste and approach my passion for my hobbies that way. This approach includes my passion for beers. Continue Reading “Enemy of peanuts; lover of beer.”→
In most conversations on the subject, however, I’ve found myself to be a pretty accepting fan in comparison to most. This is probably due to the fact that the prequels don’t really bother me. In my mind, the more Star Wars the merrier. Still, I know the prequels aren’t good, and my general lack of distaste for them has led me to question my feelings as a “true” Star Wars fan over the years.
But, the question I’ve never really asked myself, nor gotten a solid answer out of myself as I danced around it, is “Why?” Why don’t the prequels bug me? Why has a huge Star Wars fan like myself just chosen to say, “Ya know what? Jake Lloyd is pretty damn funny!” (“Now this is pod racing!” Hilarious, right?!) Last week’s Hurley and Miles-filled episode of “Lost”—Season Five’s 13th, entitled “Some Like it Hoth”—really got me thinking about my Star Wars fandom, in particular Hurley’s final say on “Return of the Jedi”…
"Face it. Ewoks suck, dude."
Hearing such hatred voiced toward my beloved Ewoks by a gentle giant like Hurley made me realize that those furry little bastards are where my un-embitter-able attitude towards Star Wars stems from—I love the Ewoks. Sure, they might have been better as a badass army of wookies, but I just find their goofiness charming and enjoyable.
Yub yub? Yub YES!
As a kid, my brother Dan and I were massive Star Wars fanatics and sought out places to buy all the old ’70s and ’80s toys to add to our collection of the new Star Wars merch that came out when the original trilogy went back to theaters with the special editions. Dan ended up collecting a ton of Ewok figures and so they became an integral part of each and every action figure battle in the Gibbons basement.
Used to frequently, and easily, defeat advanced techonologies when they enter the jungle.
Still, it goes back farther.
Growing up, the only copy of any Star Wars movie we owned was “Return of the Jedi.” I’d seen the whole trilogy by an early age, but “Return” was the only installment Dan and I had on hand to watch over and over and over again. It was this VHS shortcoming that led to my complete fascination with “Empire”—from all things Hoth to Han and Leia’s building romance—as I think I only saw it once before it went back to theaters. It was this same VHS shortcoming that led to my childhood home’s Ewok fetish.
I remember finally getting to see the Ewoks in all their glory on the big screen when the final special edition came out, only to receive the biggest let down of all three new releases. No, I wasn’t pissed about the awful song and dance put into the Jabba’s Palace scene (Though, I optimistic as I am as a SW fan, I can’t really argue that this was a good move). I was pissed about the removal of the ewok song! I don’t know how many times I lifted my voice into a “Yub yub! Dig’em Oh oh-oh Oh!” surrounded by a multitude of tiny plastic stormtroopers laid flat by my Han Solo led Ewok action figure offensive, only to find Lucas had decided that merry tune wasn’t worthy of his big galactic celebration. That was the true blasphemy for me. Forget an early look at Naboo, I wanted to see teddy bears using stormtrooper helmets as drums!
These guys know how to party!
I could make the argument that the Ewoks are a great “David and Goliath” metaphor for the Rebels fight against the Empire, and culminating their years of uneven warfare with an actual triumph using primitive means was a truly fitting end to Star Wars, but the truth is that Ewoks embody an element of the fantastic that I can’t help but love unconditionally. They are pure fantasy and it is that imagination and out-there-ness that really led me to fall in love with Star Wars. It was for that reason I ended up reading Tales of The Mos Eisley Cantina, Tales of Jabba’s Palace and countless other Star Wars novels—I wanted more crazy aliens and romantic space opera adventures. I wasn’t concerned with whether or not they led to believable tales. I wasn’t old enough to see or care about the flaws of having this terrifying Empire struck down by a forest full of booby traps. I just saw the fun in it.
Now, I can look at “Jedi” and see why people hate the Ewoks, but I can’t bring myself to do it. They make me laugh. When that one dies in the final battle and his brother in arms urges him onward only to realize he’s trying to spur on a little teddy corpse, I tear up. Perhaps it’s because being born in 1984 I never knew Star Wars without the goofiness of Ewoks. Whatever the reason, I think my full acceptance of Ewoks is why I can enjoy the prequels.
Again, I know the prequels are “bad” enough to make most people start thinking Ewoks are worthy of accolades, but Watto, Sebulba and young Anakin are characters that really do have, for lack of a better term, character. The argument that Lucas was dumbing things down for a new audience—or he had just gotten dumb—are both valid, but there is something visceral and true behind the appeal of podracing and the simple rivalry between an annoying little kid and a “particularly dangerous Dug.” It may not be good, or deep, or impressive storytelling but I can’t seem to hate it.
Maybe I should blame the Ewoks for my inability to fume over the prequels and maybe I should repent and confess an ever-burning hate for all additions made to Star Wars after 1980, but if every “Greedo Shot First” moment is still part of the deluge of Star Wars media that delivers pure awesomeness like Genndy Tartakovsky’s “Clone Wars,” then I’m just going to enjoy the infrequent successes and enjoy—as best I can—the other silliness. In the end, I’m not an “Empire” fan or a fan who signs off after Jabba’s Palace. I’m a Star Wars fan, through and through, for better or worse. And if that means I have to learn to love every monotone Jake Lloyd exclamation of “Whoppee,” so be it!
As a writer and editor (as well as an intern, reporter and freelancer), I’ve racked up a load of clips and links across the print and online mediums—once upon a time, that is. Here’s a semi-comprehensive catalog of my ol’ journo work.
A bunch of these links are dead now, but I’m leaving the list intact for posterity’s sake.
CARTHAGE IS KING IN “CITIZEN X”
The new historical fiction webcomic by “Hannibal Goes to Rome” writer Brendan McGinley ruminates on what could have been if Carthage, instead of Rome, had been the ultimate victor in the Punic Wars.
SHAMUS AND BIG APPLE GO HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH NYCC
Early word from the rebranded Big Apple Comic-Con shows that Wizard Entertainment head, Gareb Shamus, plans on running his New York convention against New York Comic Con in 2010. (Article by Kiel Phegley. Photos by me.)
Baltimore Comic-Con: THE ACT-I-VATE EXPERIENCE
A cadre of members from the webcomics collective came together to promote their new print anthology, air a short film about their site and announce a new indy comics creator who is soon coming to ACT-I-VATE.
Baltimore Comic-Con: MARVEL: YOUR UNIVERSE PANEL
Brian Michael Bendis and Matt Fraction headlined the Marvel: Your Universe panel to answer questions about a wide range of topics, from Marvel’s movies, to Tony Stark’s diminishing intelligence, to the Infinity Gems, and more.
Baltimore Comic-Con: GEORGE PEREZ SPOTLIGHT PANEL
The man who drew “New Teen Titans” and “Crisis on Infinite Earths” chatted with fans about his storied comics career, discussing the long-awaited graphic novel “Teen Titans: Games,” which will hit stores within a year.
Associate Editor of Wizard magazine (February 2009-September 2009) Editing clips
Book of the Month: Uncanny X-Men
Moving to San Fran gave the X-Men a brief glimpse of celebrity, but now Simon Trask and Norman Osborn are ready to ‘reign’ on their parade
–Plus “Webcomics of the Month” and “Team Books: The ensemble cast comics to keep an eye on this fall”
Spartacus: The Lucy Lawless Interview
From ‘Xena: The Warrior Princess’ to ‘Battlestar Galactica,’ Lucy Lawless is no stranger to genre fare. The actress continues that trend in the Sam Raimi-produced ‘Spartacus: Blood and Sand’
The Wizard Mail Bag with Special Guest Host Peter Tomasi
This month, one of the men behind DC’s devastating “Blackest Night,” Green Lantern Corps and The Outsiders writer Peter Tomasi commandeers the letters column to answer fan questions about his interests, his books and more!
Heat Wave
The hottest books set to make a splash on your summer reading list
Killer Image
The return of the Mice Templar headlines the big summer plans for the publisher of Spawn, Savage Dragon, Walking Dead and more!
Writing samples
Book of the Month: Conan the Cimmerian
From thief to mercenary to leader of men, Dark Horse’s ‘Conan’ saga not only overflows with action, it presents an in-depth character study of this classic comic staple
Web Gems
From ‘Clone Saga’ fallout to titanic team-ups and guest appearances galore, ‘Wizard’ untangles 40 years of Wallcrawler continuity to spotlight five of the best
Spider-Man stories you’ve GOTTA read!
WizardUniverse.com News Editor (December 2007-February 2009)—Due to numerous Web site erasures and relaunches, all of the below links associated with WizardUniverse.com are now dead. Apologies. Interviews
The Wizard Q&A: Jason Aaron
The writer of Vertigo’s ‘Scalped,’ is taking over writing duties on two of Marvel’s toughest customers: Wolverine and Ghost Rider
‘EL DIABLO’ Q&A WITH JAI NITZ AND PHIL HESTER
The writer and artist behind DC’s newest Hispanic hero talk about recreating the character for their miniseries, the duality of a protagonist named after the devil and fighting undead conquistadors!
JASON AARON ‘WOLVERINE: MANIFEST DESTINY’ Q&A
Wolverine’s got a past everywhere he goes and writer Jason Aaron took some time to explain why heading to San Fran is a bad plan for the three-clawed man
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?
Writer and producer of ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, ‘ Josh Freidman, talks with Wizard about his new show that premieres tonight
Reviews
[REVIEW] CAPTAIN AMERICA #34
One Wizard Staffer’s take on the issue that brings America the new red, white and blue Avenger
[REVIEW] ‘IRON MAN’
The Iron Avenger’s first flight onto the big screen asserts itself as the summer’s first ‘must see’ blockbuster.
[MOVIE REVIEW] ‘CLOVERFIELD’
Twist and shake with the mysterious monster movie that puts you directly into the action
[REVIEW] ‘SECRET INVASION’ #1
With the big event set to hit tomorrow, Wizard gives you a taste of what’s in store in the first issue of Bendis and Yu’s Skrull-tastic voyage!
Columns
[GOING SOLO] ‘INVINCIBLE IRON MAN’
Wizard’s weekly round-up of Marvel’s mightiest who don’t necessarily need a super-team to stand shoulder to shoulder with. This week: ‘Invincible’ kicks off with a villain movie-goers will recognize and a very mustachioed Tony Stark!
[GOING SOLO] ‘THOR: AGES OF THUNDER’
Wizard’s weekly round-up of Marvel’s mightiest who don’t necessarily need a super-team to stand shoulder to shoulder with. This week: It’s mythic Thor action as we travel back to the Asgard of olden times with the first issue of Matt Fraction’s epic Norse tales!
‘SECRET INVASION’ #1 ROUNDUP
With Marvel’s main event here, Wizard Universe brings you THE WRINKLY-CHIN ROUNDUP: a reader’s recap of the events from the Skrull-filled miniseries of ‘Secret Invasion’
‘SECRET INVASION’ #2 ROUNDUP
With Marvel’s main event here, Wizard Universe brings you THE WRINKLY-CHIN ROUNDUP: a reader’s recap of the events from the Skrull-filled miniseries of ‘Secret Invasion’
[SECRET INVASION] GOING SOLO: ‘MS. MARVEL,’ ‘SHE-HULK’ AND ‘THOR’
Wizard’s weekly round-up of Marvel’s mightiest who don’t necessarily need a super-team to stand shoulder to shoulder with. This week: Ms. Marvel fights Machine Man and Skrulls, She-Hulk’s down on herself and Thor batters Surtur with a hammer!
[GOING SOLO] ‘IRON MAN’
Wizard’s weekly roundup of Marvel’s mightiest who don’t necessarily need a super-team to stand shoulder to shoulder with. This week: Ol’ Shellhead goes head to head with the Mandarin
FIVE FOR FRIDAY: ALIEN HOMEWORLDS
Planet-spanning adventures in Hollywood, DC and Marvel comics have led us to name our five favorite alien homeworlds
Features
TOP 25 CARS FROM TV AND MOVIES!
With ‘Speed Racer’ coming out this week, Wizard Universe runs down their list of the coolest cars and awesomest autos from TV and movie history. Readers, start your engines!
Beat News
ROBIN SET TO GET HIS OWN TV SHOW!
CW to launch ‘The Graysons,’ focusing on a pre-sidekick Boy Wonder, to replace or run alongside ‘Smallville’
Reporting for the Columbia Missourian (August-November 2007)
Comic Geeks Unite, or The draw behind comic creating (same story, two headlines…odd)
At the September meeting of the Mid-Missouri Comics Collective, the group created a sketch-jam in which each person at the meeting contributes a panel or two to a comic strip. Below are the single panels from the comic strip.
‘JACK’ IN THE (2-DISC) BOX
Phil LaMarr, the voice of Samurai Jack, talks about the Season 4 DVD, his work on the new Transformers animated series and ‘Futurama’
BOOKSHELF
Trade paperback reviews for books on sale Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Reporter, Staff Writer and Senior Staff Writer at student newspaper The Maneater, aka “The often embarrassing olden days of Jim’s journalism career.” (2003-2005) Interviews
As a guy who reads a butt-ton of comics, it’s pretty hard not to come up with an idea or two for some of my own panel-by-panel storytelling—Enemy Of Peanuts: The Webcomic is one such idea. EoP came to me as the name for a strip I could do based on a few ideas that had been kicked around by some close friends and myself back in college (former roommate Matt Misch and good buddy Frank Johnson stand out as people I recall discussing the idea with, though there are assuredly many more). Essentially, the story would be based loosely on me but more so on my allergy (peanuts! legumes!), and the original idea was almost entirely me fighting Mr. Peanut…constantly. The idea has evolved quite a bit since then (including the creation of the Enemy of Peanuts, who—though fictional—is twittering away already), as it had a comic appeal I couldn’t quite pass up, and I’ve now started laying down some of the over-arching plot outlines, fight scenes and such. It should be a lot of fun, so stay tuned.
As far as the art goes, I’m well aware that I am not an artist (I’d say “amateur cartoonist” at best), but years of doodling comics and characters in notepad margins shouldn’t go to waste! So, here, I am going to be tackling art duties on the strip…for now. In a perfect world, some amazing unknown artistic talent (Holy Shit! It could be you!) will stumble across my “strips” (read: storyboards) and offer his skills to make this hobby into a real cinematic adventure. Or, with luck, practice will make perfect and I’ll get kinda good. Who knows?!
That said, I’d love to get some feedback on the photoshop aid I’m using for the time being. The promo images above are all the same save a photoshop effect making them look, hopefully, better. I’d be insanely appreciative of anyone who’ll leave some comments about which effects you like better and which image-style has or would have you most excited to read the EoP’s adventures every week (or whatever the posting schedule ends up being for the strip).
That’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by and checking the early stages of Enemy Of Peanuts: The Webcomic out, and please, leave a little feedback
If you haven’t seen “Kung Fu Panda” yet, you really need to go buy it and see it as soon as possible. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Buying a movie I’ve never seen? That seems risky!” Normally, I’m of the same mindset, but after seeing this flick, I can safely say that only those completely lacking a sense of humor or with hearts of stone won’t like this; or, in other words, it’s a great film for everyone!
I missed this computer-animated adventure when it hit theaters and got my first look when I was reviewing this DVD. Why I didn’t see “Panda” before is a confusing matter to look back on, considering the cover features three things I absolutely love in movies or otherwise: Kung Fu, Jack Black and Pandas! However, seeing the movie alongside the shorter DVD-companion film “Secrets of the Furious Five” made waiting for the small screen more than worthwhile. My initial enjoyment of “Secrets” came from the multitude of adorable and hilarious kung fu bunnies, but the different styles of traditional animation used (similar to “Panda’s” opening sequence, for those who have seen it) was really a treat. Plus, more time with Jack Black as Po the panda is great, too!
As far as the rest of the special features on both discs (“Panda” and “Secrets”), the people at Dreamworks really put a ton of effort towards making this DVD set an all-out experience. Between the “Making of” featurettes, “how to draw” tutorials, DVD games, historical information of kung fu and the chinese zodiac, not to mention a feature about how noodles are made hosted by Food Network’s Alton Brown, these DVDs give you everything except a whole other movie…oh wait, they did that, didn’t they?! Given, many of the activities are geared towards children, but much like this “kids” movie can be enjoyed by people of all ages, so can these features.
If a final verdict is even needed after that rave review, the bottom line is that the whole DVD experience from film to featurette is a ton of fun. So get your Panda on and go pick it up!
Hey Folks! I’ve been absent from the blogosphere for a week’s vacation (Hey, it’s summer! I gotta get some fun in the sun in some time!), which led to much relaxing and quite a bit of catching up on comics. I managed to pound through all the books from the last two weeks of July that had been piling up on my desk, so I figured I’d drop my top recommendations from the past half month now that I’m caught up (ok, ok…I’m actually still a week behind after missing last week, but give me a break and just read the recs!)…
Ambush Bug: Year None #1 (of 6)
It’s Keith Giffen—have I mentioned I’m a big Keith Giffen fan? No? Well, I’m a big Keith Giffen fan!—and it’s some good, irreverent fun, with some snazzy, old school interiors to boot!
Joker’s Asylum: Scarecrow
Wicked cool interiors from Juan Doe alongside a classic slumber party horror scenario make for a classic and spooky look into the Bat-rogue’s world. With this issue added to Jason Aaron’s Penguin story and J.T. Krul’s Poison Ivy tale, this series is doing justice to the one of the main things that make the Dark Knight one of comics’ top sellers: his villains!
The Exterminators #30
This book has been one of my favorite reads for a while and it’s conclusion two weeks ago was amazingly bittersweet: I’m bitter because I want more, but man, what an ending! If you haven’t checked out the story about city pest control bad asses and their battle against a killer swarm of bugs bent on bringing back an evil Egyptian insect god, now you can go scrounge up all 30 issues and indulge! Get on it!
Blue Beetle #29
Jaime Reyes is hands down my favorite character in the DCU, so I was super pleased to see his book pick up again with a larger storyline after Will Pfeiffer’s one-shots (they were fun, but one-shots…not much gravitas). Now, if you read the cover, you might have expected not only the return of the radical Rafael Albuquerque on art, but also writer John Rogers (the man responsible for The Reach story in BB, known for its massive amounts of pure awesomeness), and if you didn’t read the internal credits you would never have guessed the series has a new full-time scribe in Matthew Sturges. Take the one-shots out of the picture and it easily could have been mistaken for a continuation of Roger’s run—and that’s a distinctly good thing!
The book’s definitely got a new voice on the insectoid-monnikered hero with Sturges, but one so inline with everything that Rogers did that I’m really excited to see where Sturges takes things. He’s already got the most important part—the characters—down, so I’m psyched for the rest of his stories.
The bottom line: if you haven’t read Blue Beetle before, there’s no better time to start enjoying the adventures of El Paso’s superhéroe numero uno (but seriously, go back and read everything from issue #1 onward if you have the time and funds—you won’t be sorry)!
Teen Titans #61
It’s a Blue Beetle and Kid Devil-centric issue (more importantly Blue Beetle, read above), need I say more?!
Ok, Sean McKeever’s got a good handle on this team. It may not be the coolest incarnation or the most-seminal run ever, but it’s darn fun and it’s got my boy in blue rockin’ alongside Robin here and there, so you know I’m in!
Black Panther #39
One of my favorite writers, Jason Aaron, takes the reigns on the king of Wakanda’s book for a three issue tie-in to Secret Invasion.
And. It’s. AWESOME!
It’s war epic meets superhero story mashed together with a classic sci-fi alien invasion, and it features plenty of Skrull decapitation, so yeah…awesome!
(I chatted with Jason recently—mostly about Wolverine: Manifest Destiny but a smidge about BP‘s SI tie-in—so check that out here if you feel so inclined!)
Skaar: Son of Hulk #2
If you saw my review of Skaar #1 then you not only know that I am a huge fan of Greg Pak’s Hulk work, but also loved issue #1 of the third part in his big, green epic! Issue #2 just keeps things rolling on what is set to be one of my favorite weekly reads for a long time coming!
I also really enjoyed Fantastic Four: True Story and Immortal Iron Fist #17, but you can read more about my thoughts on those books here (FF) and here (Iron Fist)!
Well, that’s it for this round of “Best of the Bunch!” Hope those recommendations help out a few of you readers in need of some comicky goodness!
Hello again, fair readers! It’s time for a little less looking at words and a little more watching of videos! Straight from Wizard TV comes the newest of—what I like to call—The Alex and Jordan Adventures (actually, I think they called them that to me once and I just went with it…anyway…)! Watch till the end for a cameo appearance by one large, hairy, blogging simian-like someone you may recognize! Or, you could just watch it because it’s pretty fudgin’ funny!
Now that you’ve seen the hilarious might of Wizard TV, I’m sure you’re all aching for more. Well, fret not, Alex and Jordan have been cooking up some seriously comedic videos for a while that you may or may not have seen.
Basically, you may have been checking out Wizard TV for our great interviews, but there’s some serious funny going on over there as well. And speaking of funny on Wizard TV, if you haven’t seen any of the animated Twisted ToyFare Theatres…well…get your butt over there and check’em out or you’re fired!!
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