Buying the Drama

Ahh, nothing like shampoo to get rid of that icky feeling you get after having what’s left of your hair trimmed and groomed with possibly germ-y scissors and a comb that previously touched god-knows-who in the barber shop.

Just some random thoughts: I wanna go somewhere cool for a few days. I need money. I hope I get paid soon for articles I contributed to magazines. I wanna lose weight. I wanna eat pizza... any flavor with thick cheese. We need cooler weather. Blecch.

I think it’s Free Comic Book Day this Saturday, but I’m not sure. Have to ask the shops if they’re giving away stuff. It’s the coolest time to read superhero books, with Infinite Crisis just finished and Civil War just starting. It’s also a great time to be collecting toys; they don’t have the Marvel Legends-Onslaught set yet at the malls but one specialty shop was selling one with variants already. The figures have Versus cards too (so that’s good news for you, Ruel DJ, heheh). It won’t be long ‘til they hit the regular venues, I suppose. And crap, I just remembered, the Wal-Mart series is out in the US already. Sigh. I want that.

Back to regular programming. Some fun reads. Spoiler Warning On!

Marvel Zombies- The arc started in Ultimate Fantastic Four and spun off into its own mini-series. I felt exhausted after reading this, because I didn’t know what to expect and it was so uniquely over the top. An alternate Marvel Universe is overrun by former superheroes who’ve become hungry, flesh-eating zombies. It’s funny in parts, and just plain disturbing in others. But if you’re familiar with, and entertained by Robert Kirkman and his Image title Walking Dead, you’ll probably like this. A sequel is reportedly in the works.

Infinite Crisis # 7- I waited for this and Civil War to arrive this afternoon. Started reading this in the jeep while en route to another mall, and finished it there. Will enumerate comments:

1. The double-page spread (pages 2 and 3) would’ve looked better if, instead of going for a blurred monochromatic scheme in the background, they showed some more colored figures. The details kind of got lost, and it would’ve been great to identify the smaller characters. And Giganta versus Elastigirl would’ve looked much better.

2. Noooo!!! SB-Prime killed Major Disaster! Dammit!

3. Zauriel gets burned! But, I'm sure his physical body'll heal or be replaced. He’s one of my favorite Morrison-era characters.

4. The cavalry finally arrived to save Metropolis from the Society, a battle which was just a tad short for me.

5. Good to see the Green Lantern Corps in action, and in full force.

6. Flash, and “Flash Phobia”. Now that’s interesting. Torture in the Speed Force?

7. The possibility of another sequel in a few decades is presented, which is good, and kinda sad.

8. It’s an action-packed issue. It's nothing we haven’t seen done before in other senses-shattering super-epics, but the final issue is still good.

Civil War # 1- This feels thinner than its 33 story pages because it’s been previewed in a zillion places in the past two months. Millar is good here. You just know he’s button-pushing in certain parts, but it works and it's easy not to mind, this time. The New Warriors get disassembled, accidentally causing a terrible body count that prompts the US government to keep the masked heroes in line. A proposed Superhero registration act divides the Marvel superhero population, and the forming of sides has begun. Damn, Captain America kicks ass; he's shown as the upholder of liberty, a warrior who’s not afraid of giving SHIELD a beatdown. You get a sense of majesty with him here, and he'll no doubt shine again throughout the series. If only he were this commanding in the New Avengers series…

New Avengers Annual # 1- Now this is more like it! Bendis finally writes an action-packed Avengers story that actually shows them as a kickass super-team. It’s self-contained too, and has art by Olivier Coipel, so it’s different. Loved the attack of the Iron Men! Oh, and Luke and Jessica’s wedding is welcomely compressed and to-the-point. My only gripe with the art was with the wedding pages; the place where the ceremony took place looks devoid of detail and a little rushed. But the rest of it is well-drawn, though.

Astonishing X-Men # 14- Good buildup issue. The Hellfire Club is dividing and conquering the Astonishing team, it seems. Emma majorly messes with Scott’s head, and Cassandra makes her presence known. The future destroyer of Ord’s world has been singled out too, but we’ve yet to see which X-Man it is. My guess? Kitty Pryde. Joss Whedon has often made the unlikeliest characters dangerous and complex in his TV shows. There’s nothing to implicate anyone at this point, but I want it to be Kitty! Argh--I miss Buffy!

I Miss Buffy!

Where are those spinoff shows or TV-movie specials? I don’t feel like watching David Boreanaz in Bones. I want him and Ms. Gellar in a film that, like Serenity, continues their mythology and revives the property. It can work! Put in the surviving characters of both shows in small but crucial spots. Whedon’s proven time and again that he can do wonders with large casts, like with the Firefly team in the movie. And there are a lot of story possibilities that can make the crossover-movie work.

My favorite Buffy seasons, they’re a tie between the second (Angelus big bad), fourth (Adam and the Initiative), and seventh (the Potentials army was exciting). I like the other seasons almost equally. With Angel, I like season five the best, then season two, four, one and three. I hope the TV shows aren’t the last we’ve seen of the shared magical universe that Whedon, his co-writers, cast and crew members were able to bring vividly to life. They were really unique, and are now sorely missed.