Who's who in the Comics Bulletin Universe - Update 2009
Who is... Michael A. Diaz?
Michael Diaz lives in Michigan, but don't hold that against him.
There he works as a Sys. Admin. while fostering dreams of one day becoming a "real" writer.
Most importantly, Michael is seriously addicted to comics, something that his wonderful wife tolerates with the patience of a saint.
He also writes this weekly column that people occasionally read.
"[O]ne of the most positive
and entertaining columns going."
- Gail Simone (Birds of Prey, Villains United)
WLG #245: Back In The USA!
Another big thanks to Paul Brian McCoy for pinch-hitting once again. He's definitely good, and I have to admit, I like the fact that he talks about stuff outside of comics as well. It seems to have been a welcome addition to the columns that he has written, so on occasion I think I'm going to have to steal some of Paul's ideas. In fact, maybe every few months I'll just SAY that I am not available so that I can have Paul step in, see what he does, and then steal the idea as my own for when I come back to the column.
Not a bad idea.
I am back in the United States after spending nearly a week in Canada. No, Canada isn't really all that far from the U.S., but I was in Toronto, which is about six hours away from where I live, so it was a lengthy road trip to say the least. I had fun in Toronto but feel like I have not even scratched the surface of what is there.
I did, however, make sure to have some poutine at a place called The Victory Cafe. I'm not sure how "traditional" it was there as I have no frame of reference being that this was the first time that I ever had the stuff, but a Toronto-based blog said that they were one of the best in the city, so I took them at their word. I liked it, but really, what wasn't there to like? French fries good; cheese curds good; gravy good.
YUM!
Sadly I didn't get to see too much more of the city. I was there for work and basically I had time to get my work stuff done, get some dinner, call my wife, and then go to bed so that I could start it all back up again the next day. This meant I didn't get to see ANY of the comic book shops that I wanted to see, nor any of the ones that some of my readers sent my way. I did want to let all of you know that I appreciated the suggestions and if I had just a few hours more I would have definitely gone to at least one of the shops, but it was just not meant to be.
I did bring along a pile of comics with me, something that got the attention of the immigration officials, but they were just coming along so that I could read them.
Like you care about my trip to Canada; instead, let's talk about What Looks Good...
GREEN LANTERN #37 $2.99 (Geoff Johns / Ivan Reis)The "Rage of the Red Lanterns" continues and the geek-level of this book is just blowing off of the charts. Seriously, I am loving everything that Johns is doing with both the characters AND the story; it seems to me that the Guardians are moving to a more and more extreme position which is painting themselves into a corner that they may not be able to get out of. I mean, denying "love" between members of the Corps? I don't know how they hope to enforce this. Also, by making the Alpha Lanterns supposedly "infallible" is completely inane; they make them perfect so therefore they must be and everyone just has to accept that the Alpha Lanterns are incorruptible?
It all sounds like a setup for the end of the Green Lanterns as we know them.
Brilliant, brilliant stuff here. So good I am starting to wonder why I'm not reading Johns Superman book. I mean, man, is this stuff a fanboy's dream.
'Nuff said!
STORMWATCH PHD #18 $2.99 (Ian Edginton / Leandro Fernández)I love this book and everything about it; I went off about the crossover with The Authority already and really, I can't think of anything else to say other than I really wish other people loved this book as much because then they would buy it and it wouldn't get canceled like every other WildStorm title I love.
That's all.
DARK AVENGERS #1 $3.99 (Brian Michael Bendis / Mike Deodato)Yes, I am curious. Scratch that, I'm more than curious, I'm a little geeked about this third Avengers book. Iron Patriot?
Yeah, OK, Marvel, you've got me, I'll bite, I'll see what it is all about despite the $3.99 price tag.
I feel like a battered spouse....
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
OK, I'm borrowing a bit from Paul here. No, I'm not going to gush (pun intended) about something like Tokyo Gore Police, that's his thing.
I am talking geeky movies, though. Personally, this week I can't wait to see Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, the third movie in the Underworld trilogy. True, the first film was very Matrix-esque to say the least, but for me it was just different enough to still be fresh. I liked the juxtaposition of the vampires and the werewolves (called "lycans" in the series) as well as the Romeo/Juliet relationship of the first movie's two leads. I don't know who first came up with the idea that vampires and werewolves would be enemies and not friends, but it seems to have popped up all over the place over the years, in games such as Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and in books like the Twilight series. I don't know when it first started, but my first exposure to it was in Underworld and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I think one of the things that drew me into that first movie were the allusions to the history between these two creatures of the night, about a centuries old war that was still being fought with guns that fired bullets full of either liquid silver (clever!) or UV radiation (ditto!). Monsters with sweet guns and awesome powers: really, what wasn't there to love?
The first movie ended in such a fashion that a sequel was obvious, but when that sequel finally came holy cow was it a big, shining turd. Everything that was cool about the first movie was dropped; any potential for something interesting was suffocated at birth. I mean, wow, that second movie was just so frigging bad.
It was so bad that I can't even tell you what made it so bad; I think I just have to move on past it.
I shall not speak of it again.
Luckily this first movie goes back to those allusions and tells the story of when the war first started, when Lycans stopped being slaves to their Vampiric masters and fought to be free. Of course, in epic fashion this had to spawn from a love story. In the first film we knew only that Lucian (a Lycan) fell in love with a Vampire, who also happened to be the daughter of Viktor, one of the Vampire elders and leaders. As Lycans were pretty much slaves to Vampires this did sit too well with Viktor, so of course things didn't end well for the two young lovers and the next thing you know Vampires and Werewolves are killing each other through the centuries.
All of this was MENTIONED in the first movie, but we never saw it. We also never really saw Viktor's daughter either (I don't think), so it was easy to put someone new into the franchise as Kate Beckinsale won't be showing up as Selene (at least, not in any newly filmed scenes); instead, we get Rhona Mitra, who's probably just as hot as Beckinsale in her own way, and certainly much tougher. Don't believe me? Check out Doomsday, a movie that I wouldn't call "good" but one that I enjoyed immensely for the B-grade fun that it was.
Look, the first movie was pretty sweet and had lots of potential; the second one blew it all and is now dead to me. From the looks of things it could be that third time is a charm as this one would APPEAR to be building on the promise of the first movie. I mean, come on, Vampires and Werewolves fighting with swords and armor and two of them shag like wildcats?
Sign me up.
What comics did you get geeked out about this week? Just stop by the WLG message boards (see link below) and share!
See you next week!
-Diaz
Were Diaz's picks on the mark?
Have your say on What Looks Good at the Looking Good message board.