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Post by bobc on Nov 26, 2016 11:11:38 GMT -5
I am not up on Hercules' recent history--but why does he need a gun?
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Post by bobc on Nov 26, 2016 11:05:14 GMT -5
I haven't read this book--but have to say I love the evil version of Reed Richards. The Maker first appeared in Hickman's run, and he was pretty scary.
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Post by bobc on Oct 1, 2016 17:58:52 GMT -5
Hi HB--another nerd interest of mine is cryptozoology, the study of undiscovered animals. Most of it is bullsmit, but the case of monster snakes fascinates me. That being said, several museums/ naturalist societies have, for decades, offered large cash rewards for a specimen of a snake over 30 ft long. These rewards still remain uncollected. The longest snake ever officially recorded was a python that was something like 27 ft long. Anacondas are heavier, but pythons are somewhat longer. The only case I have seen as possibly viable for giant snakes being real came from Arthur C Clark's Mysterious World from the 70's. A German pilot photographed a snake in Africa that, when the military studied the photos, concluded it was at least 40 ft long. I have no idea if this photo shows the largest snaked ever photographed, but my idol Arthur C Clark seemed to think this one shot was genuine.
But yeah, Princess Python sucked.
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Post by bobc on Sept 12, 2016 17:28:39 GMT -5
I don't recall much of this run, but I do recall that the art was really good. Of course I'm a huge Tom Palmer, so that's no surprise. Is this the run where Black Widow fought the Red Skull single-handed? I really liked that issue as it gave Natasha a chance to shine for once. I guess I can see how some people might have liked seeing The Coal Tiger but he basically said he was going to defeat that creature he fought and was himself soundly beaten. I hated that. I am so glad that The Panther is so much more formidable these days. I chuckle to myself about the whole Coal Tiger thing--first off, the costume was one of the worst Kirby ever created, and that is saying something. Two, there are no tigers in Africa so that was dumb.I don't know why Marvel could never take five seconds to fact check wildlife facts. In Jungle Action the writer said part of Wakanda was an area called Piranha Cove(something like that) but piranhas don't exist in Africa either. Yes I'm an animal nerd, but good lord. And don't get me started on how ALL the Marvel artists, including my beloved John Buscema, drew fangs on constricting snakes every time. Snakes kill by constricting, or injecting their prey with venom, but never both. God I'm annoying.
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Post by bobc on Jul 19, 2016 17:08:28 GMT -5
Thanks for the update. I know you're just guessing, but why would Janet just stop being the Wasp? She always loved being an Avenger even when Hank didn't. Do you think Janet is going to retire or something?
Now that I think about it, the answer might be pretty mundane. The movie Antman and The Wasp is being made so maybe Marvel felt there was too much baggage from the Hank Pym years to be explained in a movie--so they are setting up a new Wasp who is connected to Scott Lang. While I agree that makes sense from a practicality standpoint, I am a big fan of Janet. Talk about a character that totally bloomed since her beginning when she was basically hostage bait.
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Post by bobc on Jul 17, 2016 13:57:34 GMT -5
Does anybody know what happened to the real Wasp? I can recall she was shrunk down to a sub atomic level at some point and everyone thought she was dead, but I could swear she came back. I'm lost. I know who this new Wasp is, however.
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Post by bobc on Jun 9, 2016 11:05:42 GMT -5
I agree, HB.
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Post by bobc on Jun 6, 2016 16:55:37 GMT -5
Hi HB--apparently you never saw my many threats over on Bronze Age Babies to revoke your Marvel Nerd Card if you didn't hurry up and see this movie. I meant business! Glad you loved it (the movie, not my vicious threats). I just went to see it again Sunday and have to say The Black Widow, to me, really shined in this movie! I guess I didn't notice it much before because I was so excited seeing Spiderman and Black Panther for the first time. Scarlett Johanson really does a fantastic job.
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Post by bobc on May 27, 2016 17:56:52 GMT -5
Isn't it weird how these Russo brothers seem to "get" the characters better than 95% of comic book writers? I think most of the excitement for us older fans is finally seeing our favorite meta humans on the big screen--there were plenty of plot holes that you could drive a truck through in Civil War, but for me it didn't matter! The scenes between Tony and Peter Parker were hilarious! Paul Rudd, to me, is a comedic genius and couldn't have been better and funnier than he was! Becoming Giant Man out of the clear blue knocked my socks off!!Rudd's likeability factor is off the charts (a new Ant Man film is in preparation and The Wasp will be in it!!!!)! Of course my favorite was Black Panther, but I'm biased, and I couldn't believe how the Russo brothers recovered some of the best elements of this incredibly under-rated and misused character, making him shine! Loved the fight scenes where Winter Soldier obviously knew he was outclassed--T'Challa was amazing and pretty scary! I also liked how, at the very end, BP showed his regal, wise side by acknowledging that he and Zemo and others were blinded by vengeance, and that it had to stop. While I loved the movie, my only gripes were that the Scarlet Witch's personality doesn't even exist at this point (compare her to Black Widow and it's not even close), and I think the Vision looks ridiculous. I may be the only one who thinks so, but it's just my opinion. I did like the plot twist where it seemed like Vision was protecting Wanda, whereas he was really keeping her captive. SW's increasing his density to make him fall through many stories of that building was epic!!
I think The Black Widow really shined! They are obviously giving her more attention and it shows. She is finally seeming like a true core member of the team and not just the token female(That being said, I must clarify that I thought that first scene with her in the first Avengers movie, where she was tied to a chair and totally controlled her "interrogators" was the most memorable scene for me).
Hawkeye seems to be the least developed character. I think the guy who plays him was miscast. He just doesn't feel like Hawkeye to me, whereas all the other characters seem spot-on.
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Post by bobc on Mar 13, 2016 16:02:07 GMT -5
I did!! Do a search on "reactions to Capatain Americ's Civil War 2" and you'll see fans are going crazy! I love everything in the new trailer!
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Post by bobc on Jan 16, 2016 10:26:40 GMT -5
I'm liking it. Hope the action picks up.
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Post by bobc on Dec 12, 2015 17:33:44 GMT -5
I can't wait! Loved the scene where CA is running after the Panther and they are both outrunning the cars!!!
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Post by bobc on Sept 30, 2015 12:11:14 GMT -5
Who is Lionheart? Never heard of it
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Post by bobc on Aug 28, 2015 10:55:24 GMT -5
I remember that issue, Ultron69. Tony Stark was there too and they were all discussing Simon William's physical state and Beast was about to say something and T'Challa cut him off. Hank said something like "I was about to say that," but then he just took off.
In this instance I'd agree that Hank wasn't allowed to shine in the brains department, but I think that was right in line with the character development at the time where Hank felt intimidated by the other Avengers. I liked this angle and if you look back at those years, Hank was probably the most complex character in the Avengers, in terms of personality. Even though he was insecure, he retained his sense of humor, and embraced his furriness (thank GOD they did that instead of making him a maudlin bore). Hank and Wonder Man, I'm told by several friends who worked at Marvel at the time, were by far the most popular Avengers with hardcore Avengers fans.
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Ant-man
Aug 21, 2015 9:22:08 GMT -5
Post by bobc on Aug 21, 2015 9:22:08 GMT -5
I'll go see it this weekend--you guys talked me into it. I will reveal my bold and incisive viewpoints afterwards. That is all.
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Post by bobc on Aug 17, 2015 17:45:01 GMT -5
People keep referring to the FF as Marvel's "First Family," which is absolutely true, so why stray completely away from that? I am all for progressing characters over the years (I think I'm one of the few people on this forum who LOVED The Ultimates by Mark Millar)--but the following "Ultimates" by other writers was absolute garbage. It's all in the execution of the new idea. Mark Millar obviously knew and loved the Avengers as a group--but wanted to update the concept and make it more current. His take seemed to be inspired by the original, and he made it even better. I am all for that.
But this FF movie reeks of a bunch of studio suits, who care or know nothing about the FF, throwing out lame ideas to make the FF cooler. I do video games for a living, so I can see this kind of know-nothing attitude by corporate types coming from a mile away. Remember Kevin Smith's epic rant about how some industry suit telling him he saw "giant spiders" as a way to make a Superman movie great? So unbelievably clueless.
So no. I don't want an FF who don't even know each other. I don't want a black human torch (especially since there are so many great black characters languishing in obscurity). I want Johnny to be Sue's sister. I also want Ben and Reed to be older than the others.I hate this pandering to PC--it never works. Shows like Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Wire have been huge hits because they don't tow the PC line. Good for them.
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Post by bobc on Aug 13, 2015 14:53:18 GMT -5
Did you see the new FF movie, HB?
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Post by bobc on Aug 10, 2015 10:23:03 GMT -5
Well I think there have been some great Marvel movies! I liked both Avengers, all the X-Men movies, and Winter Soldier. I didn't see the first Captain America, and only saw the first Iron Man, which I thought was okay at the time but now I can hardly remember it.
RE: The Fantastic Four. I have always maintained that their stable of villains is unique and impressive-- making their books enjoyable. And in the FF heyday, there was a lot of humor and infighting. I don't think the movie people understand this. I have not seen the latest movie, but apparently they get their powers from entering the Negative Zone--but I haven't heard anyone even mention Annihilus (sp). What is the Negative Zone without him?
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Post by bobc on Aug 8, 2015 14:37:56 GMT -5
My favorite Hercules moments (I didn't read the mini-series) were, without question, his squabbles with Namor in the Avengers. Remember when Herc got annoyed with Namor's pouting, and called him "Prince No-More" and "Son of a sea cow?" That was funny.
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Post by bobc on Aug 8, 2015 14:30:36 GMT -5
Yeah the reviews are pretty disastrous. I'll pass.
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Post by bobc on Aug 3, 2015 13:53:31 GMT -5
I was going to say the same thing. Sounds like mass chaos to me. Why would any Thor be a detective? That is so completely random. And we have yet another Hulk? Weren't the 500 we already have running around enough? How will any new reader ever be drawn to these characters when nobody know who or what they are anymore?
Wait. Hold the phone. Did you write that Captain America is now MAN WOLF? How many Captain Americas are there at this point? 10? 15? There is the usual one, the Falcon as CA, a black female CA from the future...my head hurts.
Could you see anyone trying to adapt a new blockbuster superhero movie out of this mess?
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Post by bobc on Aug 3, 2015 8:18:49 GMT -5
Black Panther is getting a series too but I have learned not to have high hopes in that area.
Hercules was/is bisexual? When did that take place? What is the deal with him lately? I haven't paid much attention but the few times I've seen him recently he seems to be closer to the Thing than Thor, strength-wise. Is that true? What happened?
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Post by bobc on Aug 3, 2015 8:10:24 GMT -5
That's weird--I don't remember that Hulk ad at all!
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Post by bobc on Jul 21, 2015 15:36:44 GMT -5
I've given this stuff a chance and although I like Secret Wars, everything else seems like a garbled mess so far. Spiderwasp--I wish I could tell you about how much the characters stay (or not stay)true to their former selves, but there are so many characters in so many books, and so many versions of each of them, that it's impossible to answer. For instance, Medusa is in an Inhumans book, in the Avengers, Secret Wars, and A-force. Would the real Medusa please stand up? To be fair her personality is pretty much the same in most of what I've read so far, but she is much more aloof and queen-like than what most old schoolers probably remember. That being said, how does the Inhumans storyline fit in with A-Force? I have no clue.
Even stranger is the Squadron Sinister book. The cover has both the good version of the team (Squadron Supreme) and the bad version (Sinister).
Is there some sort of conspiracy going on at Marvel to make everything as chaotic and confusing as humanly possible, or is it that nobody cares anymore? I can only guess that Marvel is telling the new writers to write whatever the hell they want, and don't worry your pretty little heads over continuity, even if it's in the context of a brand new universe.
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Post by bobc on Jul 9, 2015 15:29:59 GMT -5
I can't remember ever "discovering" Spider-man-- it's almost like he was always there, like he's in my DNA or something.
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Post by bobc on Jul 3, 2015 11:22:03 GMT -5
I honestly tried to get into DC characters for years but they just bore me to tears. That's probably not a fair assessment since I don't know that much about any of them, but I'm just being honest. I'm probably just emotionally invested in the Marvel characters, that's all.
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Post by bobc on Jul 2, 2015 14:34:51 GMT -5
All I can say, HB, is that I have been buying comics since 1976 or so and have never seen a comic that is more advertisements than storyline. I was generous when I decided not to count the seven page foldout that was all ads. You pick up this comic and it seems really thick--like it's actually worth $4 and then you realize most of that thickness is ads. Hickman's story is fine, in fact I find it very enjoyable, but when nearly every other page is an ad or filler, it's irritating. It's distracting.
I guess it boils down to this--I want more Secret Wars and less ads about Secret War tie-ins.
My nerd rant is over. Thanks for listening!
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Post by bobc on Jul 2, 2015 8:25:21 GMT -5
I am astonished. I just picked up Secret Wars #4, and below is a listing of what you get for $4.00:
Inside cover: Full page ad for toy
Page 1: Blank page with title "Second offense"
Pages 2 and 3: Double blank (when I use term "blank" I mean there is no storyline or story related art moving the book forward) page spread of creator credits (anyone remember when this used to be a single bar across the bottom of the page?)
Page 4: Blank page listing characters who appear in this book
Pages 5-8: Our first pages of storyline! I feel so empowered
Page 9: Full page ad for an art school
Page 10: storyline
Page 11: Full page ad for Iron Man
Page 12: Storyline
Page 13: Full page ad for Marvel Future Fight
Pages 14-16: Storyline
Page 17: Full page ad for Ant-Man movie
Page 18: Storyline
Page 19: Full page ad for Secret Wars #6
Next we have a seven page fold out of all ads for other comics. I won't count these as real pages.
Page 19: Storyline
Page 20: Full page ad for Marvel cartoons
Page 21-24: Storyline.
Page 25: Full page ad for Agents of Shield
Page 26: You guessed it: Full page ad for House of M
Page 27: Storyline
Page 28: Full page ad for Spider Island
Page 29-31: Storyline
Page 32: Full page ad for Old Man Logan
Page 33: Storyline (END)
Pages 34-36: Full page adsfor various comics
Inside back cover and back cover: Full page ads
Anyone see a pattern here? There are more ads and filler than story. This is just abusive. Marvel should be ashamed but they probably aren't.
What do you all think?
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Post by bobc on Jun 15, 2015 11:11:20 GMT -5
Those are great questions, MB, but unfortunately I have no answers.
I'm sort of liking Doom as kinder and gentler for some reason.
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Post by bobc on Jun 7, 2015 11:02:25 GMT -5
I'm with you, MB. This issue was more coherent. I am wondering how Reed Richards and Susan Richards are going to interact, seeing that she is now apparently Doom's wife.
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