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Tag Archive: Green Lantern


What, me worry? DC Comics goes MAD in April

Filed under: Blasts from the Past, Comics & Books — Leave a comment
April 4, 2013

Green Arrow alternate MAD cover April 2013

Beginning this week you might have a double take at your local comic book stores as several incentive alternate covers grace DC Comics’ New 52 line issues numbered 19.  They feature the 58-year-old perpetual 12-year-old Alfred E. Neuman getting his own cosplay on as one of 13 superheroes.  This week check out Alfred as Green Arrow and Green Lantern.  As the online harbinger of all things Green Arrow that’s the one we picked up, but we think that Green Lantern cover pretty much exemplifies all things MAD the best.

Green Lantern alternate MAD cover April 2013

Other great covers include this nice run-in with Supergirl:

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Justice League flashes five years forward in “The Villain’s Journey”

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February 3, 2013

Justice League Volume 2 cover

With DC Comics having wrapped it first year with the New 52, it is now releasing the second hardcover volume of its flagship title, Justice League.  If you don’t read the monthly series, now is the time to catch up on the full first year with Volumes 1 and 2 now on the shelves.  Justice League, Vol. 1: Origin reprinted Issues 1-6, and now Justice League, Vol. 2: The Villain’s Journey reprints Issues 7-12, both volumes including variant covers and cover sketch art by the popular artist Jim Lee.

Justice League, Vol. 1: Origin, now available in both hardcover and trade paperback, began the entire New 52, a new DC Universe unveiled first 5 years ago, a reality which may or may not have been manipulated from the universe we’ve known all along by the red-hooded Pandora, who has managed to flit in and out of nearly every DC Comics series since the reboot in September 2011.  In Volume 1 we met the new original seven members of the League–first a comical run-in of Batman and Green Lantern Hal Jordan, who then have their own run-in with Superman (run-in meaning lots of bruises and destruction of property).  Then Barry Allen’s Flash entered the picture as probably the most interesting character in the new League.  He formed a relationship with buddy Hal Jordan which provided many of the most entertaining scenes of the series so far.  Then we met Wonder Woman, who in this incarnation of the DCU is far more Valkyrie than Amazon, and this plays nicely off of Aquaman’s entrance, whose Atlantis origins are here very much influenced by the world of Thor.  This is all tied together by a new League entrant, the young Vic Stone, transformed by happenstance into a cyborg, now known as the League member Cyborg.  And they all must come together to protect the world from being devastated by none other than classic villain Darkseid.  We reviewed the monthly series at borg.com least year here.

Justice League Volume 2

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Irredeemable: On rooting for the favorites

Filed under: Comics & Books, Pop Culture, Superheroes — 1 Comment
April 22, 2012

By Jason McClain (@JTorreyMcClain)

This is not an eye-catching lede or a crazy supposition, this is a fact: the only way that Batman could beat Superman would be if Superman didn’t try.  If you read the first six pages of the first issue of writer/creator Mark Waid and artist Peter Krause’s comic Irredeemable (or the first six pages of the trade paperback, which tends to be what I collect these days) you would see that basic scenario laid out in graphic detail as the Plutonian faces the Hornet.  (You can see a free digital preview of these six pages now at comixology.com).

Of course, I’m biased.  I’m one of the rare Superman fans as opposed to Bats.  I like Green Lantern over Green Arrow.  (The obvious parallels break down when I try to shift to Marvel heroes.  Captain America?  A favorite, but not quite in the power realm of GL and Supes).  I obviously have a thing for the ultimate Boy Scouts.  I like the characters that have to hold back, that can’t give it their all, because if they did, someone would die.  (Don’t bother trying to make me think Kryptonite and the color yellow make a difference in stopping Big Blue and Lantern.  They only exist because no one knows what to do with characters this powerful.  Lex Luthor?  As Douglas Adams would say, “Mostly Harmless,” with Lex’s only good plan being the one he devised in Kingdom Come.  That’s not a coincidence that Mark Waid wrote it and that it’s my favorite Superman story).

Supes and Lantern vs. Batman = overkill?

That’s why the first trade paperback of Irredeemable is so refreshing.  What would happen if one of the ultimate heroes lost his ever-loving mind?  (We saw glimpses of it when Hal Jordan became Parallax and I probably need to go back to read that to see if it needs to be added to my list of great stories).  When all a hero has is his (or her) sense of right and wrong to guide them, when all they have are the rules of society and the rules they make for themselves (right, Doctor?¹) to keep from doing harm, it’s a tenuous link.  When a hero is the nearest thing to a living God, the only thing that can stop the hero is another God, a hell of a lot of luck, or themselves.

Batman? Who is Batman?

I think the same is true of the great sports heroes and why I love to root for them.  It’s amazing to watch a truly skilled athlete do what he does best.  To watch Alex Rodriguez or Albert Pujols hit in their prime is a kind of living masterpiece.  To watch Tiger Woods make a golf course seem obsolete is a thrill of human achievement.  Well, it’s true while they are young.  Unfortunately, like all humans, sports heroes have to grow old.  It eventually ends.  It always ends.

Those tears are tears of joy, aren't they Supes? Batman is dead... long live Superman!

But, again, I’m in the minority.  How do I know this for certain?  Well, I have the great guys at Radiolab to thank for that information.  We, as humans, root, root, root for the underdog 80% of the time and if they don’t win it’s a shame.  We generally like to see the 15 seeds beat 2 seeds.  We generally like to see upsets in the Super Bowl or college bowl games.  We generally like to see the Yankees or the Red Sox and all their piles of money lose.  We like to think that Batman, the ultimate in human intellect and training could beat the Kryptonian Superman like in The Dark Knight Returns that C.J. Bunce and Art Schmidt mentioned in their favorites worthy of adaptation.²

Most people like the underdog.

So, when athletes age, when they pass 30 and the leap out of bed in the morning gradually changes into swinging your legs over the side and pausing, taking that moment, before rising.  The moment becomes longer.  The hands move to the edge of the mattress to give that little extra push.  The body bends forward so that the momentum of straightening helps to propel the body into space.  The body that used to rush headlong into the day now stands before it in repose, knowing it will be there when the time comes to make the forward push into the stream of activity.  Part of that pause comes from experience, from the idea that savoring those moments of calm and serenity helps to make the frantic moments acceptable, but part is that little voice in the back of the head that knows that one day the body won’t respond because as much as the mind won’t want to admit to growing old, it notices.  It always notices.

Carried off the field = good. Helped off the field = bad.

We grow old.  We watch our athletic heroes grow old and have to leave the game.  We watch our intellectual and artistic heroes do the same, but the curve isn’t as dramatic and those heroes continue to amaze us and give us hope that we can stay amazing ourselves.  Our fictional heroes remain the same though.  They are immortal.  But, of the immortals, only a couple of them are Gods.  If they ever break that trust that we have in them, that’s when they become “Irredeemable.”

1.  I think this is one of the reasons that I can’t get behind Rory Williams and his relationship with Amy Pond.  I root for the Doctor.  I root for him to be happy.  The relationship with Amy Pond seemed like it could have been the one.  But, that’s because I’m finite.  There can never be a true human “one” for a Gallifreyan.  Still, boo Rory.

To quote Nathan Petrelli to brother Peter in "Heroes"--"The world needs nurses, too."

2.  I always think C.J. and I get along so well because our interests intersect so much, but are so different.  He’s a Green Arrow guy and I’m a Green Lantern dude.  We obviously differ on Alan Moore.  We still have to discuss The Shawshank Redemption vs. The Green Mile.

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CW Network to give Green Arrow series a shot with ex-Arrow writer Kreisberg

Filed under: Behind the Scenes, Comics & Books, Superheroes, TV — Leave a comment
January 16, 2012

What better way to celebrate borg.com’s 100,000th site visit than share some news about one of our favorite superheroes?  Hollywood writer Jason McClain alerted me to this news item, as it’s no secret I’m one of the biggest Green Arrow fans around.  The news?

The CW Network has ordered a TV series pilot featuring Green Arrow that will, happily, not be related to the Smallville series’ spin on the character.  The producer/writers tapped to create the pilot are Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, the two writers responsible for last year’s Green Lantern movie, and ex-writer for the Green Arrow/Black Canary comic book series, Andrew Kreisberg.

Kreisberg took over the comic book series after Judd Winick moved off the GA/BC title.  He teamed with artist Mike Norton after Cliff Chiang left the series.  I have read Kreisberg’s take on Green Arrow and Black Canary, and I liked it.  Kreisberg wrote some good modern stories featuring the trio in both a lighthearted and action-packed way.  He clearly knows the roots of these characters and their strong relationships with each other, and hopefully he can convey that into the script for the pilot and get it onto the small screen.  He also once acknowledged that there is no other superhero team out there that is a married couple, that that IS Green Arrow’s story.  Right on!

Here are some unsolicited recommendations for Kreisberg, Berlanti and Guggenheim to make the series get off the ground right:

(1)  You might view your TV show as an ensemble show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  An ensemble genre work usually is better than a solo character-focused show (think about the failed series The Cape and why it didn’t work, for example) because although we all loved the title character of Buffy Summers, we loved supporting characters Willow and Xander even more.  And like the best Batman stories, letting the lead hero take the back seat once in a while is a good thing.  At the same time, I didn’t watch Smallville because Clark never donned the supersuit.  Show Green Arrow in action with the bow once in a while, but just not in every scene.

(2)  Take the best of the Green Arrow canon and it will easily translate to today.  The “Hard Traveling Heroes” storyline that put both Green Arrow and Green Lantern on the map and made us want to know more about these characters was a road trip across America.  Something like the Winchester boys moving across country with every new episode in Supernatural.  You might laugh, but On the Road with Charles Kuralt, the CBS segment where he took an off-the-beaten path tour of America, lasted decades for a reason.  Viewers liked to see where he would go next.  You’ll have an unlimited number of settings for your story, too, if you keep the team moving, assuming they let you work with all three characters.

The Kid, Etta, and Butch--archetype for Ollie, Dinah, and Hal

(3)  Everyone likes a good “buddy picture.”  I have mentioned before how the “Hard Traveling Heroes” storyline reflected the 1969 world view, and 1969 entertainment.  Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid came out in 1969 and was still in theaters when Denny O’Neil wrote the classic Green Arrow and Green Lantern crossover.  Did some of the hit movie rub off on O’Neil?  Who knows.  If you pay attention, you’ll see that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a buddy picture with three buddies, almost a “love triangle,” including some brotherly love between Butch and Ross’s character Etta Place.  That’s right, Katherine Ross’s role as the Kid’s girlfriend, and Butch’s pal, was as important to the film as each of the title characters.  Black Canary/Dinah Lance could have that same crucial role in a TV series about Ollie and Hal.

(4)  Even if Warner Brothers wants to keep Hal Jordan/Green Lantern out of the series, you must include Black Canary/Dinah Lance.  Don’t botch this by pulling ideas from the Dinah Lance of the short-lived Birds of Prey series.  It was good for what it was.  But you want dark-haired Dinah that sports the blonde wig used to go incognito, not the stilted friend of Oracle.  Green Arrow/Oliver Queen can go solo from time to time, but only when he can return to Dinah is he at his best.

(5)  Stay away from the DC 52 Green Arrow storyline and the obvious idea of having Oliver participate in some form of anti-big business Occupy Wall Street movement.  Sure, in real life, Ollie would be leading up the OWS marches, but I think most viewers don’t want a show about superheroes in current politics and as much as everyone hates greedy corporate America, more personal storylines will appeal to modern viewers.   The current series Leverage does this very well.  Think local.  Don’t have Ollie take on all of the world’s problems, have him take on each human problem bit by bit, maybe town by town.  It worked brilliantly for Adams and O’Neil.

Original Mike Norton art from a story under Kreisberg's turn as writer for Green Arrow/Black Canary

(6)  Oliver Queen is not Bruce Wayne.  He’s much more layered.  Queen is not a billionaire.  He lost all his money, and that allowed him to get interesting.  Don’t even waste time on his backstory as billionaire as it will only emphasize his role as a one-time obvious Batman knockoff.

(7)  Read up on your Mike Grell era of Green Arrow stories.  Grell was an ex-government intelligence guy who ended up writing spy novels and comic books.  He took the Neal Adams/Denny O’Neil Green Arrow and Black Canary and brought them into downtown Seattle and injected the backwoods survival skills and mixed it with street smarts.  He made Ollie the Urban Warrior.  This itself harkened back to the iconic Green Lantern Issue #76′s story whereby Green Arrow first takes on a greedy slumlord that Hal Jordan was unintentionally actually helping.

Personal sketch of Ollie and Dinah by Mike Grell

(8)  We know from past interviews that Andrew Kreisberg likes the role of Green Arrow and Black Canary as Oliver and Dinah–husband and wife.  Consider building on Mike Grell’s series, where they run the Sherwood Florist in Seattle by day.  And what the heck, work in Mia and Connor if you can.  And if you must update costumes, you gotta bring back Ollie’s goatee.  As Mikel Janin proved with his excellent recent update to similarly costumed Zatanna, Dinah’s fishnets can be optional.

(9)  The Flash TV series had a lot going for it.  One was the age of the actor in the lead roll, John Wesley Shipp, former soap actor.  He wasn’t 20-something.  He was 35 and looked like he could be a superhero in real life.  If you’re staying away from Smallville (a great move) then give us heroes who have had time to gain some wisdom, not some newbies who have no way of practically knowing all they would need to know in real life to get through their trials on the show (the TV series Bones is a big example of this glaring absurdity with its only-young cast that has knowledge you could only gain by being twice the age of the cast members).  Look for actors in their 30s or or even early 40s.

(10)  Suggested title?  If you take any of the ideas above, how about Hard Traveling, Hard Traveling Hero, or Hard Traveling Heroes?  Of course there are always other former storyline titles like Quiver.

I have no idea what limitations will be placed on Kreisberg & Co. as they work out the script for the TV series pilot.  Maybe they have no intention of including Hal and Dinah, but if they can, it could be something new and different and very fun.

If you want to see Andrew Kreisberg’s stories while writing for Ollie and Dinah, you can buy compilations, including: Green Arrow/Black Canary: Enemies List, Green Arrow/Black Canary: Big Game, and Green Arrow/Black Canary: Five Stages.

And Andrew, if you need help with story ideas, drop me a line.

C.J. Bunce

Editor

borg.com

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Twin Cities hosts 23rd semi-annual Fall comic show today

Filed under: Behind the Scenes, Comics & Books, Superheroes — 1 Comment
October 15, 2011

The Midwest Comic Book Association is hosting the 23rd Annual MCBA FallCon “Comic Book Party” at the Progress Center located on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on Saturday October 15, 2011 in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Twenty-three shows is a long time for any convention so if you’re in the area this may be a great way to spend up to six hours today pouring through more than a half a million comic books for sale and meet more than 100 comic book creators scheduled to attend.

Although the MCBA does not appear to be officially pronouncing any single event headliner today, a quick look at the long roster of guests will likely reflect someone you want to meet or someone you want to catch up with again.

Comic book artist Keith Pollard is scheduled to attend, best known for his work for Marvel Comics in the 1970s and 1980s on Thor, The Amazing Spider-man and Fantastic Four.  Other familiar attendees include Patrick Gleason, fresh from his work on the new Batman and Robin, midwest artist and writer Phil Hester (Green Arrow, Ant Man, Green Hornet, Bionic Man), Christopher Jones (Young Justice as well as artwork in Batman Strikes with writer Jai Nitz), and Tom Nguyen (straight from his recent work on the new Green Lantern series).

Along with other comic book creators, Christopher Jones says he will be talking to fans, doing commission sketches, and selling comics and art, according to a post on his website.  He’ll also be showing off his new event banner:

Artist Steve Kurth (who has some stunning original art pages posted on his website), best known for his New Mutants work, is also scheduled to attend. (Hopefully he and the rest of these creators bring some original art to drool over).  Check out this great Iron Man page from his website:

Tickets available at the door for $8.00 and $1.00 off with a canned food shelf donation. Kids 9 and under get in free.  Check out the MCBA website for more information.

C.J. Bunce

Editor

borg.com

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Iowa comic con to feature Denny O’Neil Saturday

Filed under: Blasts from the Past, Comics & Books, Pop Culture, Superheroes — 1 Comment
September 16, 2011

Denny O’Neil, the genius who wrote the best team-up ever in the early 1970s will be the featured guest at the Comic Book I-Con Saturday, September 17, 2011, just outside of Des Moines in Altoona, Iowa at the Adventureland Inn.  The Iowa Comic Book Club has been hosting the convention for about ten years now, sometimes at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and more recently at the Adventureland venue.

O’Neil and artist Neal Adams both re-defined the modern superhero with their run on Green Lantern starting with Issue 76 back in 1971.  Along with Adams creating the modern look of Green Arrow with goatee and new costume, O’Neil brought us a new image of the modern hero, giving Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Green Lantern a new purpose: saving the world one problem at a time.  Their Hard-Traveling Heroes storyline and the team’s greater social consciousness beginning with that Issue 76 has been labeled time and time again as the beginning of the Silver Age of comic books.

O’Neil will be featured on a panel at I-Con at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Also headlining the event is long-time Iowa attendee and former Green Arrow artist Phil Hester, who has been drawing the Green Hornet series for Dynamite Comics and co-writing Bionic Man with Kevin Smith.

I-Con is a good local convention where visitors can get a lot of one on one time with comic book writers and artists.  Notable past guests include Mike Grell, the writer and artist on Green Arrow who re-defined Green Arrow for the 1980s generation.

The day’s events include:

10 a.m. Heroclix intro in the Game Room

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Spider-man available for photos, 501st Legion, Mandalorian Mercs, Dazzler

11 a.m. Panel from the Bullpen with Denny O’Neil

12 p.m. Cosplay Costume Cavalcade

12:30 p.m. Trivia Contest

1 p.m. Comic Book Writing 101.1 With Tony Bedard

1 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Heroclix Tourney in the Game Room

2 p.m. Wave/Bluewater Comics panel

3 p.m. – 4 p.m. Portfolio reviews by Phil Hester (limited to six people and six pages each)

The show is one day only.  Check out the I-Con website and Iowa Comic Book Club website for more information, including a full list of other guest artists and writers scheduled to attend the event.

C.J. Bunce

Editor

borg.com

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New Justice League premieres–”in the beginning…”

Filed under: Comics & Books, Superheroes — 1 Comment
September 2, 2011

Review by C.J. Bunce

It’s finally here after all the chatter over the summer.  The new DC 52.  The first issue out, Justice League, definitely is a jolt in the fabric of the DC universe, much in the same way as Crisis on Infinite Earths, Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis (we can all be glad they didn’t title this re-launch with another “crisis” metaphor).  It’s a jolt that will keep the readers that picked up 150 copies at my local store and everyone else across the globe to come back next week to try on the other new titles that will be trickling in this month.

Happily Jim Lee’s art is familiar and reliably well done.  It’s not like his work on Hush, but it has a lot going for it.  Alex Sinclair’s use of color is the next big item to stand out.  We don’t get enough of the story to be able to make a pronouncement yet on Geoff Johns’ story.  A lot is going on here.

Somehow I had not figured this would be an origin or first meeting story.  We start five years before the present-whatever the present is.  There are hints, like a reference to “transformers” that would seem to place the new origin of superheroes in our own recent time, as opposed to an origin in the middle of the last century with past continuity.  Without spoiling it with the details, we are first introduced to Batman who quickly encounters Green Lantern.  There is no indication whether this is Bruce Wayne or Hal Jordan, but it seems pretty likely.  We see a pre-superhero character that will likely become the Cyborg character on the cover of Issue #1, who looks like he may be the “kid” team member.  Despite the presence on the cover of Aquaman, Flash, and Wonder Woman, they do not make an appearance in Issue #1.  Superman makes only a brief appearance, our first panel look at the new Superman suit.  To most readers the new Superman suit will not come off as changed much.  No red bloomers on the outside of his outfit this time.  The new suit looks good because it does not incorporate a lot of obvious change.

A two-page Jim Lee mini-sketch book follows the main story.  It includes an awesome Aquaman suit that was rejected, a version that would fit right in with Aspen Comics/Michael Turner’s Fathom series.  And  Wonder Woman with a leg belt holding a knife like Lara Croft.  Also rejected.

The story ends with a lead-in to Issue #2, a battle between Batman and Superman.  No time is wasted in this first issue, starting with a team up straight out of the Brave and the Bold.  As much as I like a pairing of Green Lantern with Green Arrow, a pairing with Batman and Green Lantern at the foundation of the new Justice League would be my second choice.  The funny bit in this issue is a reference to who has what superhero powers–Green Lantern’s reaction to Batman’s response is funny.

There is no discussion of a League yet–we are clearly early in the story.  And something that I have not seen discussed anywhere–the drop of “of America” from the decades-old team.  No doubt our global economy/marketplace/communications was the impetus behind losing the rest of the team label.   I do find myself asking whether Metropolis, Coast City and Gotham fall in the same state or not.

Earth’s first villain in the DCU is a strange alien, “changeling” type of menace.  But with one whisper we learn who will be the first major villain for the League to encounter: Darkseid.

So the first issue of the new DCU looks good, appears to be a good start, includes some uncertainty, and reveals some changes.  All in all a lot going on in only 24 pages!

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Review: Bionic Man comic book released this week

Filed under: Blasts from the Past, Comics & Books, Fantasy, Pop Culture, Sci Fi, Superheroes, TV — 1 Comment
August 26, 2011

Review by C.J. Bunce

The highly anticipated adaptation of the Six Million Dollar Man TV series in comic book from Dynamite Comics was released this Wednesday and was not surprisingly sold out in its first print run.  Titled The Bionic Man, the adaptation was written by Kevin Smith (Green Arrow, Jay and Silent Bob) with Phil Hester (Green Arrow, Green Hornet, Ant Man), based upon a screenplay Smith had written for a never-produced 1990s motion picture version of The Six Million Dollar Man.  Over all, I’d say issue one is a good launch.

Starting with the numerous covers, which you cannot tell a book by, they all look great, and the ten variant covers based on four original works are all pictured inside the back page.  Alex Ross provided the main cover, with Paul Renaud, Stephen Segovia and series artist Jonathan Lau providing the rarer incentive covers.  I posted the covers in a prior article.

The interior art, with pencils by Jonathan Lau and coloring by Ivan Nunes, also looks great.  This is an appealing looking book.  Steve Austin looks pretty close to Scott Bakula as he looks today, as opposed to original series actor Lee Majors, making me think he’d be fun to watch as this updated character.  Oscar Goldman, on the other hand, looks younger than Richard Anderson from the TV series, but has similar facial features to the actor and a more rumpled look about him.  Recall Goldman’s incredible arsenal of suits and the inexplicable checkered suit on the action figure.  Yet check out how similar they look…

   

Clearly this is not about adapting the original but updating it a bit.  The story starts out with an apparent cyborg character gone astray, something like Rambo with a sword, yet some slasher flick stylings…

If there is anything I didn’t care for with the art in issue one, it was this over the top scene, which reminded me of the disturbing opener of Ghost Ship (not a recommended flick).  All other visuals are interesting, with good continuity, and the scene of Austin’s test pilot trip of the experimental Daedalus Mach 8-capable aircraft is definitely nostalgic.

As to the story, there are minor changes to update the character, an already existing relationship with future Bionic Woman Jamie Summers, for example, but otherwise the book’s main story is tracking with the TV series pilot.  Which begs the question, why does Kevin Smith’s name need to be so big on the cover?  And if this is based on a screenplay by Smith, how much of the resulting story reflects Smith and how much reflects co-writer Phil Hester?  At least for this first issue, I think the answer might reflect Smith a bit, based on his modern aka umm, too personal (?) look at Austin discussing a negative bathroom experience with girlfriend Jamie, and an almost pop culture adherence to the original story.  Something about Smith bringing Stanley and his Monster into the first ten issues of his Green Arrow story reminded me of the second storyline of this book. Regarding the killer cyborg subplot–little is divulged, yet is he reminiscent of the Six Million Dollar Man android Maskatron?    Austin is billed as the bravest man alive, yet unlike the TV version, this guy has a nervous stomach before his flight.  Necessary?  I don’t know, but worth pointing out and maybe Smith’s/Hester’s intention of showing thaeir Austin is footed in “modern reality.”

An oddity is the similarity of the character building for Steve Austin as compared to the treatment of the motion picture Hal Jordan in this summer’s Green Lantern movie.  No doubt this is just a coincidence, but the almost slacker test pilot running late to his important test flight is now firmly, if it wasn’t before, cliche.  Since neither original work had it, you get the impression that the slacker generation is creeping into the iconography and mythology of American pop culture a bit.  Maybe this is just an attempt at a hot shot pilot a la Tom Cruise in Top Gun.  No doubt Chuck Yeager and his Right Stuff brethren had a bit of this cockiness to be able to do what they did.

Looking forward to the character development and addition of the cybernetic enhancements that define the Bionic Man in issue #2, out next month.

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The Closer returns strong in its final season opener (thank yew, Brenda Lee!)

Filed under: TV — 8 Comments
July 12, 2011

Review by Elizabeth C. Bunce

For the past 6 seasons TNT’s The Closer has consistently been one of the strongest dramas in Prime Time.  With its inexplicable mix of graphic violence, quirky and lovable characters, and domestic chaos, the show delivers its own original brand of police procedural whodunnit.  Led by Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson, the entertaining ensemble cast keeps viewers tuning in weekly every summer.  Now The Closer’s last season has begun, with typical solid writing and performances. 

“Unknown Trouble” follows a mass murder in a rap music label-owned LA mansion.  Real-life rapper Reason’s music provides the undeniably catchy baseline for the whole episode–both literally and metaphorically.  But the real reason we tune in is for the drama of Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson’s personal and professional life.  And “Unknown Trouble” delivers here as well.  Within the first 20 minutes, the Major Crimes squad is plunged into organizational chaos and a wrongful death lawsuit, both of which had me fairly bubbling over with rampant speculation over what’s to come in the next 20 episodes (10 into fall, 5 winter and 6 next summer)–and beyond.

Because although Season 7 may be The Closer’s and Sedgwick’s last, it was released today that much of the cast has signed on for a Major Crimes spinoff to begin where The Closer finale leaves off.  This is happy news indeed, as I have begun to tire of Brenda’s constant angst, but knew I’d miss Flynn, Provenza, Sanchez, Tau, Gabriel and Buzz.  What could be better?  But 20 episodes is a lot of room to send off the current crew.  And lots of questions to answer–Where will Chief Pope (JK Simmons, Spider-man, Law and Order) end up?  Will Captain Raydor (Mary McDonnell, Battlestar Galactica) lead the squad?  Can Fritz (Jon Tenney, Green Lantern) and Joel continue living with Brenda?  Looks like plenty of The Closer entertainment to keep us watching through next year.

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Green Lantern shines new light on DC universe movies

Filed under: Comics & Books, Movies, Sci Fi, Superheroes — Leave a comment
July 5, 2011

Reviewed by C.J. Bunce

Any fan of DC Comics and hero Green Lantern can’t dismiss Green Lantern as just another superhero movie.  It sticks to established canon more than any other comic book-based movie yet made, either from DC or Marvel.  But in doing so I am not sure how the general audiences will react to both the ends the film goes to to explain the backstory, and the fact that the movie is entirely Hal Jordan’s origin story and nothing else.

With any effort to transform a long-standing character or franchise to the silver screen, the result can arrive at any place on the pendulum swing.  At one extreme the movie can adhere to established character canon and please loyal followers of the character.  At the opposite end of the spectrum we’ve seen countless movies that drop all canon and appeal to whatever Hollywood thinks is going to cause the masses to buy a second ticket.  As an example, I saw the 2009 Star Trek film as a 40/60 split on the canon vs mass appeal scale–the creators broke a bit with established canon yet followed it in some ways to create a parallel universe, but really focused more on special effects and action and less on story to appeal to the general audience.  With Green Lantern, the creators came up with a surprising film that is closer to a 80/20 canon-to-appeal ratio split.  As a DC Comics and Green Lantern fan, you have to love that approach.   But I think that may leave some mainstream moviegoers wondering what all the Green Lantern Corps thing was about.  That said, these are probably the same moviegoers that love Ryan Reynolds playing the superhero.  So the result is there is something for everyone here.

With all that I liked I will start with what didn’t appeal to me:  Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan.  If this were a story about Green Lantern Kyle Rayner I would have bought it totally.  But here’s the Hal Jordan I know:  He’s the stereotypical square-jawed, authoritarian hero, that is never impetuous, never a rebel, and always responsible.  That’s the Hal I know from the Justice League growing up.  Basically, his classic relationship with Green Arrow mimicked Superman’s with Batman.  In fact, in the JLA you could often substitute a conversation between Superman and Batman with that of Green Lantern and Green Arrow.  Brash and rogue-ish?  That’s Batman or Green Arrow, not Hal.  Hal’s a bit aloof.  Not a guy you’d cast Ryan Reynolds to play.  In my book, that guy is Kyle Rayner, a later Green Lantern.  But I realize Hal has changed over the years.  But I thought this Lantern too much Reynolds, not enough traditional Hal.  They almost had me thinking this would be another story like with Maverick (the movie), where Mel Gibson’s Maverick at the end of the movie was revealed to be the original James Garner’s Maverick’s son.  No such luck.  But if you look at the photos of Hal’s dad in this movie, played by The Closer‘s Jon Tenney, Tenney would have been a perfect Hal.  Here’s Tenney and the comic book Hal:

   

And here is Reynolds and comic book Lantern Kyle Rayner–a closer match:

   

What I liked above all else is the supporting character casting and acting.  What prompted me the most to see the movie in the theater vs. waiting for the video rental was the previews involving Mark Strong (from Sherlock Holmes) as the red-faced, pointy eared Lantern, Sinestro.  Strong is a solid villain in all his roles, although he’s not a villain here.  He truly made the comic book Sinestro come to life:

    

The costumes, all CGI, looked great although Reynolds almost seemed too tight fitting at times–how does that happen?

The Green Lantern Corps–those 3,600 protectors of the universe, couldn’t have been better, the first time in any movie I can recall a diverse alien league with only one human–showing a better scope of what such an expansive, inhabited galaxy could look like.  Geoffrey Rush’s (unbilled) voicing of Hal teacher Lantern Tomar-Re was a great touch as was Temuera Morrison (Star Wars prequel’s Jango Fett), who brought gravity to the role of Lantern Abin Sur.  And I didn’t mind Hal’s love interest/boss Blake Lively as Carol Ferris (although some of their scenes together were a bit unnecessarily long) as the story was right out of the comic book, but there was no explanation or need for her affected European accent (which seemed to come and go).  Tim Robbins was as good as ever as a corrupt senator.

And along with Sinestro and the Corps, the creators nailed the Guardians of the Universe, and not just with their appearance.  I always hated these guys, all their authoritative, know-everything-without-any-explanation really annoyed me in the comics and they succeeded here with that same annoying heir of superiority.  Again, they were lifted straight from the comic pages:

   

How often in comic book movies does a character really seem to pop out of the comic book drawings?  I can think of Johnny Storm’s Human Torch in the first Fantastic Four as one and Hellboy in the Hellboy films.

I also appreciated the doses of humor throughout the story.  And ignoring my desire for someone else to play the role, Reynolds was entertaining and believable, from his reaction to a key discovery early in the film to his growth into the Lantern role toward the end.  He couldn’t have delivered the Lantern oath better: “In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight…”

As to story, the stakes were raised here compared to other films–the shear scope of the danger was bigger and so was the increased death toll for a comic-related film.  As to plot, the world building was  nicely done especially with the detailed story that needed told in a short period of time.  The story actually closely mirrored the plot of The Last Starfighter.  It worked here, although I found myself predicting what would happen at each step.  Since The Last Starfighter was a great film it didn’t take anything away from this effort telling a complete story.   I’ll give Green Lantern a solid 4 stars on a 5-star scale.

So what’s next?  A Justice League story would be nice to see, especially with Marvel working on their Avengers movie.  DC has spent too much screentime with Superman and Batman.  It’s time to open up the DC universe.

PS.  As seems to be a staple of recent comic book movies, stick around after the initial credits for a hint at a sequel.

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