Showing posts with label hellboy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hellboy. Show all posts

Sunday, May 9, 2010

things i liked this week

Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of our Fathers #2 (Marvel)
Reginald Hudlin/Denys Cowan/Klaus Janson/Pete Pantazis/Joe Sabino
Captain America makes the case for being a wartime ambassador, carefully bringing Wakanda to play on the world stage. and he and the Black Panther need to move quick, because the Red Skull has his secret weapons (starting with the stupidly-named Master Man). by the way, who's this Panther? T'Challa's grampa? man, kids today don't even know WWII. this one's for hardcore fans.


Amazing Spider-Man #630 (Marvel)
Zeb Wells/Chris Bachalo/Tim Townsend/Jaime Mendoza/Joe Caramagna (variant cover: Joe Quinones)
reads like a movie script, especially around the end when the inevitable happens. maybe this should be Spider-Man 4?


Secret Six #21 (DC)
Gail Simone/Jim Calafiore/Jason Wright/Travis Lanham (cover: Daniel Luvisi)
Catman tracks down his son's kidnappers in an efficient manner that would impress Batman, while his teammates are hot on his trail, trying to pull him off the brink of the abyss. but it seems too late, as he's been leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake. plus we get a backstory that says it may not be far off for Blake to be a killer anyway. can't wait for the conclusion.


War of the Supermen #1 (DC)
Sterling Gates/James Robinson/Jamal Igle/Jon Sibal/Blond/John J. Hill (cover: Eddy Barrows/J.P. Mayer/Rod Reis; variant cover: Aaron Lopresti/Matt Ryan/Brad Anderson)
this whole screw-it-let's-bring-back-the-Kryptonians thing kind of cheapens the myth of Krypton and Kal's parents sending him out as the only survivor of their doomed planet. the only thing i look forward to (and thus regarding this as the first step) is the eventual demise of everyone (including a painful death for General Zod), leaving Supes again as the only remaining Kryptonian (ok, including Kara and Karen).


Uncanny X-Men #523 (Marvel)
Matt Fraction/Terry Dodson/Rachel Dodson/Justin Ponsor/Joe Caramagna (cover: Adi Granov, variant cover: David Finch/Matt Banning/Peter Steigerwald)
the X-Men take a breather to bury one of their own (Ariel obviously didn't merit several pages), and still oblivious to the internal threat of Donald Pierce. seething emotions rise to the surface, the most obvious ones from Hank, blaming Cyclops for the debacle, and Logan, who can barely contain his anger at losing Kurt, not knowing whether Hope was worth the risk and loss. i don't know what the general consensus is for Second Coming, but personally it ranks high among the better X-crossovers of the past.


Incorruptible #5 (Boom Studios)
Mark Waid/Horacio Domingues/Andrew Dalhouse/Ed Dukeshire (covers: Rafael Albuquerque/Dennis Calero/Jeffrey Spokes)
Max Damage turns his town upside with a decoy Jailbait to find the real Jailbait. unfortunately, he may be too late. Mark Waid has been upping the ante in his Irredeemable universe, and this has the makings of what Invincible ultimately became for Image.


Irredeemable #13 (Boom Studios)
Mark Waid/Diego Barreto/Andrew Dalhouse/Ed Dukeshire (covers: Paul Azaceta/ChrisCross)
the secret of Bete Noir! yes, it doesn't stop at that damn candle wax. looks like she's the only one left to carry on the fight, and with Modeus on the loose, Tony the Plutonian may not be her biggest problem. at the moment.


Brightest Day #1 (DC)
Geoff Johns/Peter Tomasi/Ivan Reis/Patrick Gleason/Ardian Syaf/Scott Clark/Joe Prado/Vicente Cifuentes/Mark Irwin/Oclair Albert/David Beaty/Peter Steigerwald/Rob Clark (cover: David Finch/Scott Williams variant: Reis/Chuck Pires)
an event so huge, it took a million creators to produce it (and basically overloading Blogger's paltry tag limit). why is Aquaman still calling dead fish? is J'onn a murderer? will Ronnie and Jason ever become BFFs? why can't the Hawks ever find peace? is it really the brightest day or is that just the sun piercing my hangover? gaaaahhhhh!

Red Robin #12 (DC)
Christopher Yost/Marcus To/Ray McCarthy/Guy Major/Sal Cipriano
the whole point of the Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul is to position him to kill the rest of the Wayne family. just kidding, but not really. Tim Drake/Wayne checkmates him and ... well, it turns out that may not be totally the case. altogether now, Red Robin ..... yummmmm!


Batman & Robin #12 (DC)
Grant Morrison/Andy Clarke/Scott Hanna/Dustin Nguyen/Alex Sinclair/Patrick Brosseau (cover by Frank Quitely/Clarke)
who is Gotham's king?
Damian no longer Al Ghul.
Sexton is a joke.



The Boys #42 (Dynamite Entertainment)
Garth Ennis/Darick Robertson/Richard P. Clark/Simon Bowland/Tony Aviña
Butcher continues his surreptitious investigation of Wee Hughie, hoping that his worst fears won't come true. Metamorpho Malchemical laughing at Superduper continues to amuse (bad). the pacing's been a bit slow, but it all comes to a head next issue. heh, head.


Hellboy In Mexico (Dark Horse)
Mike Mignola/Richard Corben/Dave Stewart/Clem Robins
an idea that makes so much sense as much as it doesn't: Hellboy teaming up with luchadores to fight supernatural evil. Jack Black may have pushed it toward public consciousness, and Moon Knight and Deadpool may have ramped it up with their team-ups with the Zapata Brothers, but somehow putting Hellboy and festive-costumed Mexican wrestlers together is a lot more intriguing and entertaining. Hellboy 3 subplot?

Sunday, March 14, 2010

things i liked this week

in no particular order:

Secret Six #19 (DC)
Gail Simone/Jim Calafiore/Jason Wright/Travis Lanham (cover: Daniel Luvisi)
this series, just like its characters, is downright dangerous and unpredictable. a slam-bang smash every month.


Batman & Robin #10 (DC)
Grant Morrison/Andy Clarke/Scott Hanna/Alex Sinclair/Pat Brosseau
suddenly this title got interesting again. yes, it ties in with the whole return of the one and only Bruce Wayne. Morrison gets the characterization right on the money. and am i the only one who finds Oberon Sexton cool?

Wolverine Weapon X #11 (Marvel)
Jason Aaron/Ron Garney/Jason Keith/Cory Petit
Deathlok! Captain America! Wolverine! and of course, beers! what's not to like?

Punisher Max #5 (Marvel)
Jason Aaron/Steve Dillon/Matt Hollingsworth/Cory Petit (cover: Dave Johnson)
i don't know which is more cringe-inducing: Wilson Fisk's ability to not care about anything, or Frank's final punch-up with The Mooninite Mennonite.


Hellboy: Bride of Hell (Dark Horse)
Mike Mignola/Richard Corben/Dave Stewart/Clem Robins
yeah i know, this is a bit late, but hey, better late than never. Mike Mignola's stories are never boring.


Criminal: The Sinners #5 (Icon//Marvel)
Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips/Val Staples
The Sinners comes to a fitting end - doesn't that remind you a bit of the Boondock Saints? and with all the beating Tracy Lawless got in this issue, i felt as if i got pulped myself.


The Waking #1 (Zenescope)
Raven Gregory/Vic Drujiniu/Mark Roberts/Crank! (cover: David Finch)
its like if the cast of Friends got smarter and became detectives. with snappy dialogue. oh, and dead people wake up. where have we seen that before?


Prelude to Deadpool Corps #2 (Marvel)
Victor Gischler/Whilce Portacio/Jamie Mendoza/Thomas Mason/Clayton Cowles (cover: Dave Johnson)
somebody should explore this alternate dimension more: a topsy-turvy Xavier School featuring the X-teens that spirals into chaos everyday because of Wade Wilson. loads of fun!


Amazing Spider-Man #624 (Marvel)
Mark Waid/Tom Peyer/Paul Azaceta/Javier Rodriguez/Andres Mossa/Joe Caramagna (cover: Michael Lark and Jodi Wynne)
and here we go. with all the complaining Marvel got about Peter's direction in life, well here it is, Spidey fans: the bottom of the barrel. oopps, wait. what's that? it gets even worse?


The Sword #22 (Image)
Luna Brothers
hurtling towards its action-packed finale. not for the squeamish.

Wolverine: Savage (one shot, Marvel)
Ryan Dunlavey/Richard Elson/Veronica Gandini/Dave Sharpe (cover: J. Scott Campbell)
Wolverine preparing sushi! no joke!!


Daytripper #4 (Vertigo/DC)
Fabio Moon/Gabriel Ba/Dave Stewart/Sean Konot
another bittersweet tale from the acclaimed tandem of Moon/Ba. perfect for the rainy weekend.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

you are gold!



Guillermo Del Toro never ceases to amaze me. combined with the equally-fertile imagination of Mike Mignola, they have really brought the latter's signature character to vivid life. Del Toro's previous outing, Pan's Labyrinth, would not seem out of place in the Hellboy universe.

smart, fast and furious, Hellboy II: The Golden Army is tailor-made for the geek set with its fluid action scenes and fantasy themes, but aims a bit higher with forays into maturity, responsibility and respect for nature. the cast is solid, and audiences of all ages (from what i gather watching with me) howled at all the funny scenes. indeed, two of the best parts come within minutes of each other: the ectoplasmic entity Johann Krauss takes control of a locker room, putting a Three Stooges-type beating into Hellboy; and then we have the alcohol-soused Hellboy and Abe Sapien channeling their inner Manilow.

ooops ... did i say spoiler alert? sorryyyyyyy. worth your dollars saved from two trips to McDonalds.

Friday, July 11, 2008

hellboy loves pancakes















in honor of such pancake passion, some Orlando natives are hosting a gallery of sorts.


go watch Hellboy II today, or i'll sic the Golden Army after you!

-----
Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom
Mike Mignola/Dave Stewart/Pat Brosseau

Thursday, April 3, 2008

gold from hell

with the new trailer just out, Hellboy is fast becoming a critical/fan favorite superhero movie franchise, up there with Spiderman, X-Men and Batman (the turn of the century one anyway).

despite a modest gross of USD99M after a budget of 66M for the first movie, the film was still a success, paving the way for a sequel. having Guillermo Del Toro as director definitely helps, as the dude seems he was born to do Hellboy.

though it would be too early at this time, i nominate another Mike Mignola creation (and Hellboy character) Lobster Johnson, to get the next screen treatment, even if its just an animated one.