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omnomtonystark · 4 years

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Charmed 2x11

What a weird disjointed episode. All the plot threads started off promising but ended up either a bit odd in execution or making no damn sense at all. There were some good character moments, but the lack of dialogue tie-in between the two main plots made it feel as if I were watching two completely separate episodes. At no point did it seem as if Maggie knew what was happening back home and Macy seemed oddly carefree of the dangerous missions taking place while she was in Aspen. Were some lines accidentally cut out or something? Might be my least favorite episode of the season.

Say no to drugs, kids: Baiting the dealers in New Orleans was a great hook, but the way it played out in the club was underwhelming. Who cares if they resurrected the most accountant-looking guy I’ve ever seen? There hasn’t been enough narrative build-up in that plotline for the story to have any sort of suspense or tension. It didn’t help that all the club scenes were shot terribly, cheap-looking and like the camera guys hated the shaman so much they collectively decided to shoot him from the least imposing angles possible. Shouldn’t have cut in line at the craft table, Ed.

Sergeant Vera and her sidekick: The best part of the New Orleans plot was Jordan fully committing to the insanity he’s been thrown into. He’s proving to be a really admirable guy. And Maggie’s blossoming here in the second half of the season, kicking ass and taking names like a slightly shorter incarnation of Buffy. They’ve got a warm chemistry. I like the idea of them just being good friends but if they end up being romantic, Jordan’s an infinitely better choice than Parker.

Whump whump whump: In a continuing theme of this episode, what started off strong ended up lacking. There was never any doubt that Harry would be alright—either by being cured or dying and then resurrecting again—but that’s fine because stories like this are usually about the characters reacting to the situation. Mel was great but Abigael was confusing and Macy's good moments were marred by the Plot of Contrivance. This thread would be better served if it didn’t hang all tension on what either Abigael or Macy were going to do. Throw some lore in, some intrigue. Whitelighters can’t heal their own wounds? Why? Why does a malignant demon’s poison turn the victim feral? Was the attack more than it seemed? There was so much potential for this storyline.

Butch and Sundance return: Harry and Mel’s friendship in season one was the best and I’m so happy we got a little bit of that in this episode. I wish we’d gotten to see them on their rescue mission, but Mel’s concern and protectiveness over Harry was probably the strongest thread in this plot. More Harry and Mel, please!

Something wicked this way comes: The mistake the writers made with Abigael is making her too ambiguous. I appreciate that they made some effort to develop her character more--bonding with Mel over their mothers was a pretty good moment and her reactions to Harry throughout the episode actually made her seem like a real person--but I always have to stop and think, "Is this real? Is she just acting? Can I believe any word she says? Did she set this all up so she could come to Harry’s rescue?" The uncertainty makes it hard to invest in her character, either as a true villain or someone redeemable. We need to peel this onion, see what makes her tick, get a glimpse of the core to see if it’s rotten or not. She’s as confusing as every mixed metaphor I can throw at her and while that adds mystery, that also detracts from whatever point the writers are trying to make. Her witch side seems to be the key to her motivations so I hope we get more of that.

Days of Our Plot Contrived Lives: Julian and Macy in Aspen started off fine and then quickly devolved into a soap opera. They’ve literally been on two dates (sort of) and suddenly we’ve got Julian’s aunt trying to break it off between them like this is some telenovela/k-drama star-crossed romance? What am I watching? I feel like we skipped several chapters ahead in this story and the writers are ignoring how nothing about this plotline makes sense. Macy getting with Julian while she and Harry are figuring things out away from each other is absolutely fine. It makes sense. Manufacturing the Aunt of Contrivance to push them together doesn’t. This weird melodramatic left turn to insert weight into a relationship that’s literally only existed for one episode really detracted from the main plot. Either the writers are just terrible at their jobs or it’s another indication that Julian is, indeed, evil and manipulating the whole thing.

I think he’s evil: The backstory makes me even more suspicious of Julian. Never trust flashbacks from an Unreliable Narrator. Too many shows have revealed them as outright lies or largely misleading. And I was recently reminded of 2x04 where they encounter the facility with captured supernatural creatures. That was very lab-like, wasn’t it? Very technological. Scientific. Just like the lab where they were experimenting on black amber. Just like the magical devices we’ve been seeing. Just like what Julian’s company is about. I’m leaning more and more towards Julian being Jimmy’s master. Who else but a billionaire would collect supernatural queens?

Favorite shot: Mel throwing the portal between Abigael and her family, literally putting a barrier between them and her. I really liked how Harry walked away from Abigael to stand with the sisters and how Abigael didn’t take her eyes off him until the portal literally obscured her vision. The look on Abigael’s face as she was watching him go almost made me pity her but again, I can’t be sure if she’s just putting it on. And I have absolutely no idea how to read her expression once they leave. Poppy Drayton is too good at being ambiguous.

Favorite moment: A toss-up between Macy telling Harry she’ll kill him if he dies and Mel/Macy combining their powers to revive Jordan.

Funniest part of the episode: Harry shouting “Bollocks!” was hilarious. Rupert Evans’ delivery was perfect. And Julian’s aunt telling Macy to break it off with Julian literally had me rolling. It’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever seen in this show.

#i didn't think i had much to say about this episode #but apparently i do #a bit rambling but i'm too tired to edit this down #charmed 2018 #charmed spoilers #harry greenwood #mel vera #maggie vera #macy vaughn #hacy #jordan chase #abigael caine

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adriannaelle · 5 years

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Treehouse and Chill

The Simpsons reached another milestone this year with the recent airing of its thirtieth “Treehouse of Horror” special which, coincidentally, is the show’s 666th episode. While certainly not the best installment of this annual series, “Treehouse of Horror XXX” was pretty funny. Still, even the funniest jokes in this episode pale in comparison to some of the classic “Treehouse of Horror” specials. To this day, iconic segments such as “The Shinning”, “The Devil and Homer Simpson”, “Nightmare Cafeteria”, and “Citizen Kang” are still hard to top.

So, in honor of Halloween, thirty years of scary tales, and 90’s nostalgia, I want to briefly discuss my favorite five episodes of the Treehouse of Horror series. As always, ranking articles like these are subjective and are based on personal taste. Therefore, I don’t care if you nor yo’ mama thinks “Treehouse of Horror III” was trash. It’s still going on this list!

Alright, let us continue.

Honorable Mentions: “Treehouse of Horror II”, “Treehouse of Horror VIII”, and “Treehouse of Horror X”

Number Five: “Treehouse of Horror VII” (Season 8, Episode 1; 1996)

Although “The Thing and I” was a strong first segment, I enjoyed it least in “Treehouse of Horror VII”. Don’t get me wrong, I thought the story was pretty funny, I just like the second and third stories better. However, I do have a bone to pick with the ending of “The Thing and I”. Instead of confining Bart to the attic, why not keep both Hugo and Bart around after they discovered Bart was the evil twin? I mean, the family already lived with Bart for 10 years. They might as well kept the mistake going.

“The Genesis Tub” was amusing. It may be the creative in me, but I really enjoy the concept of creating your own world and overseeing it. Still, I felt the ending of “The Genesis Tub” was a bit abrupt. I feel like the writers could have done so much more with the concept of Lisa creating and ruling her own Universe. Maybe she could have assaulted Bart with more fighter pilots. Maybe she could have built a massive ray gun a la the ray gun seen in “Citizen Kang”. The ideas are limitless.

Speaking of “Citizen Kang”, this story is one of my favorites in the entire Treehouse of Horror series. It's a brilliant satirical take on elections in the United States and the country’s politicians. I especially like how the writers make fun of our ridiculous two-party system. Like really, are our only choices between a drooling, Gangreen Gang, cyclops squid, and his twin sister? Ross Perot should have brought up Kang’s and Kodos’ emails. That always works.

Number Four: “Treehouse of Horror III” (Season 4, Episode 5; 1992)

Akin to my feelings about “Treehouse of Horror VII”, I’m only a big fan of two of the three segments in “Treehouse of Horror III”. “King Homer” was just a’ight to me. Granted, the segment did have a great exchange between Mr. Smithers and Mr. Burns about the former’s distaste of seamen and women mixing. Yet overall, I didn’t get a kick out of this story as much as I did the other two.

“Clown Without Pity” is a parody of the lauded Twilight Zone episode “Living Doll”. This segment had its share of funny jokes, particularly the line from Patty about losing the remaining thread of her heterosexuality after seeing Homer horrifically run through the house butt naked. I also like how the key to turning off the Krusty doll’s murderous rage, is switching the lever from “evil” to “good”. Like, what happens if the lever accidentally switches back? What if it breaks and he gets stuck on “evil”? Take the doll back and get a refund! Like, what are y’all doing?!

Finally, there is “Dial ‘Z’ for Zombie”. No matter how self-aware I am about the absurdity of my kinemortophobia (fear of zombies), I still have it. That is why I hated this segment as a child. But as a grown woman, I find this story very funny. It’s a pretty simple zombie story, but the jokes strewn throughout are what make it a highlight of the series. The joke about Homer being immune to the zombies because he lacks brains is one that stands out in particular. Also, what are George Washington, Albert Einstein, and William Shakespeare even doing in Springfield?

Number Three: “Treehouse of Horror IV” (Season 5, Episode 5; 1993)

Choosing between “Treehouse of Horror IV” and “Treehouse of Horror V” as my second favorite episode of the series was the hardest. Ultimately, I prefer V ever so slightly over IV, but IV is a heavyweight in its own right. “The Devil and Homer Simpson” shows just how far our dimwitted protagonist is willing to go to get his favorite, sugary snack. You got to be desperate as all hell to sell your soul for a donut! Other than Homer’s enjoyment of his ironic punishment, the best part of the segment is the trial itself. The Devil’s voir dire game is trash. How do you select the jury and still lose the case? Never hire this man for anything.

“Terror at 5 ½ Feet” is yet another hilarious spin on an old Twilight Zone classic. This parody of “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” stays true to the basic horror elements and story structure as the original tale, but, of course, adds its own Simpsons brand of humor to it. However, unlike the original, Bart is still tormented by the gremlin after he’s hauled off to the psych ward. Side note, Ned Flanders really took a lot of L’s in this episode.

I’ve never seen nor read the original Dracula, so I do not know how faithful “Bart Simpson’s Dracula” is to the original story. Well, I guess that doesn’t really matter here because this story is so funny and scary that it holds your attention from beginning to end. From the super happy fun slide that leads to the vampires in the basement to Homer staking Mr. Burns (Burnscula?) in the crotch, this story provides many laughs that make this story a classic. Also, the plot twist that Marge (Margecula?) is really the head vampire is funny as hell. Sorry if that was a spoiler but in fairness, this episode is 26 years old now.

Number Two: “Treehouse of Horror V” (Season 6, Episode 6; 1994)

“Treehouse of Horror V” is solid from beginning to end. “The Shinning” is firmly in my top five list of favorite Treehouse of Horror segments. This segment has several hilarious moments, from Homer taking three days to make the voyage to the cabin due to his forgetfulness to the blood not getting off at the right floor, to that scene where the complete lack of television and beer made Homer go . . . something . . . hmm. Well, anyway, I can definitely say that every time I watch “The Shinning”, I’m feelin’ fine.

“The Shinning” is not the only highlight of this episode. Homer’s time-traveling escapade in “Time and Punishment” introduced us to numerous interesting alternative timelines that ultimately drove Homer to a pure state of “IDGAF” at the end. Still sucks that he missed out on that donut rain. That timeline would have smacked!

This episode’s final segment, “Nightmare Cafeteria”, truly is the stuff of nightmares. I mean, it’s super funny now that I’m grown, but this segment used to legitimately scare me as a child. It also didn’t help that I was a fat kid. Like, imagine living your best life and then the next moment, you’re Ms. Wilson’s Fried Adri. Woo, chile.

Number One: “Treehouse of Horror” (Season 2, Episode 3; 1990)

It’s often said that nothing beats the original, and in the case of Treehouse of Horror episodes, this sentiment rings true. The very first Treehouse of Horror is the greatest episode of the series. One of the highlights of this episode is the dulcet baritone of James Earl Jones as the mover, Serak the Preparer, and the narrator of “The Raven”.

The first segment “Bad Dream House” is a comedic spin on the classic haunted house movie trope. The quintessential 80s style horror music that accompanies the story throughout greatly adds to the mood of the piece without overdoing it. The conclusion of “Bad Dream House” is what makes this story so funny. The house destroys itself rather than live with the Simpsons. I don’t know what it feels like to be curved by a house, but it must make you feel all kinds of insecure.

“Hungry Are the Damned” is our first introduction to Treehouse staples Kang and Kodos. It is also our introduction to the sorely missed Serak the Preparer, who definitely needs to return at least once in this series. This segment parodies the classic Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man” and gives us a humorous plot twist at the end. I suppose this episode also serves as a sort of origin story of Kang’s and Kodos’ beef with mankind because this is the only episode where they are genuinely nice. Dang, all Lisa had to do was sit down and eat her food. Literally.

Finally, there is “The Raven”, which is absolutely my favorite segment in any Treehouse of Horror Episode. What I like most about “The Raven” is how the crew manages to add comedy to the piece without losing any of the mystique of Edgar Allen Poe’s riveting poetry. It also made this poem a bit easier to understand, which I greatly appreciate. It’s a refined piece of television without the pompousness of the bourgeois. In short, I like it.

Honestly, no matter which of the thirty Treehouse of Horror episodes you like best, all are great for watching on Halloween for squeamish, easy-to-scare people like me. So for those of us who aren’t bravely equipped to watch the more realistic, gory, and scary productions, I highly recommend binge-watching these episodes for some softer scary vibes and lots of laughs.

#the simpsons #treehouse of horror #halloween #kang and kodos #kang #kodos #rigel 7 #homer simpson #bart simpson #lisa simpson #marge simpson #ned flanders #opinion

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Shameless Season 11 Episode 3 Review: Frances Francis Franny Frank

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This Shameless review contains spoilers.

Shameless Season 11 Episode 3

“Gender’s a social construct.”

Shameless is a series that’s always been very interested in how its Chicago neighborhood influences its characters. Coming as a remake from a UK series, Shameless’s new environment becomes one of its most important changes. This series constantly labels characters and tells them what they can and cannot do, while this perception internalizes and festers. This final season has taken an even greater interest in these themes and “Frances Francis Franny Frank” specifically filters them through gender norms.

This is hardly the first time gender has been examined on Shameless, but this episode repeatedly challenges ideas that would have been accepted back during the series’ earliest seasons. Ian and Mickey kickstart this discussion, but it’s something that becomes unavoidable, whether it’s through the pretense of a beauty pageant, Carl’s new female training officer, or even Frank’s quick aside that Franny is “like Rain Man…but a girl.” Shameless’s final season looks forward to the future of not just the Gallaghers, but all of the South Side, and episodes like “Frances Francis Franny Frank” highlight just how much they’ve grown.

Each episode of this season has shown some new kind of relationship problem crop up in Ian and Mickey’s post-marriage life. This may be Shameless’s plan for the two of them this season, which is an energy that works for the show, but “Frances Francis Franny Frank” involves what’s by far Ian and Mickey’s simplest problem to date. This episode’s quest to answer who is the “man” in their relationship is extremely low stakes and territory that would have been inherent to the two of them pretty quickly into their romance. It’s used as comedic relief here more than it’s meant to prompt any big changes between the two of them, but it does pry into the episode’s larger theme of gender roles.

Both Ian and Mickey turn to different circles that weigh in their perspectives on what makes a “man” and a “woman,” to therefore figure out which of them can be slotted in these roles. There’s no major revelation here, but it gets characters talking about broader topics that feel representative of the entire South Side’s points of view. These opinions hang over some characters more than others and Ian reaches his breaking point at his job. His frustration is honestly understandable after what he’s put through, but Ian’s fresh vulnerability allows the dynamics between him and Mickey to once again transform. Mickey lucks into some new work helping out Kevin and V with their money laundering and their humble drug operation continues to grow.

It makes sense for Mickey to align with Kevin and V’s new revenue of business, much like it did for Frank. However, other than this new partnership, this material is rather dreadful. Any tension that existed between Frank, Kevin, and V from last week is completely erased as Kevin gets lost in the glory of expendable income. Kevin flaunts all of this in such an irresponsible manner where he’s practically asking to get robbed. The past few seasons have shown Kevin in a greater need of validation, but he should absolutely know better and not require the approval of these random strangers. He 100% deserves to get robbed in the manner that he does and it’s seriously depressing that he’d jeopardize his family’s income like this. Hopefully Mickey will also be used to make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again.

Ian and Mickey aren’t alone with their work-based stress and transitions. Carl gets a new training officer after his previous one remains in intensive care and at death’s door. There’s immediately a connection as Carl’s new gung ho partner doesn’t belittle him and uses a very empowering attitude to inspire good work. Her “Billie” nickname that she gives him because of how Carl resembles Billie Eilish is also maybe the funniest thing that Shameless has done in years. This relationship is so compelling because the values of Carl’s partner aren’t necessarily broken, but she’s hardened to the point where she has no patience for unnecessary bullshit from either the public or her profession. She makes it clear that she views herself as a cop and a dispenser of justice more than she brings her race or gender into the equation.

Carl’s glee over his progress at work is really satisfying. He hasn’t looked this happy in a while and it’s so freaking adorable that he shares a picture of his first arrest with his family. It’s a welcome change of pace to see Carl’s fulfillment come from his work rather than his romantic fling for the season. It definitely reflects a maturity in Carl that would have seemed impossible years ago. However, it also looks like Carl may already be conflating work and romance as he potentially builds an infatuation towards his new partner.

Carl works hard to build a version of the South Side that his future children would be proud to live in, but Lip and Tami grow consumed over much more personal doubts about the future. Lip and Tami appear to be in a healthy place for the time being, but they learn that Brad and Cami’s baby has developed considerable heart problems. It’s a difficult situation that’s not really fair to Lip or Tami. Tami is clearly lost in panic and Lip would obviously do what he can to help, but $65,000 might as well be one million dollars to him. The Gallaghers have never had that much disposable income in their lives.

It’s all very manipulative melodrama, but it may lead to something productive for Lip. He may begin to get steady contracting work after people notice the renovations that he’s done to his house. Lip’s life has taken some seriously surprising turns over the course of the series. This would be a development that doesn’t only make sense, but also be a smart way to turn the former burden of Lip and Tami’s home into something that allows their lives to become enriched in a totally different way. It works even better that it’d be growth that happens purely because of the level of dedication that Lip puts into his work.

Throughout everyone’s respective crises, this whirlwind of chaos scatters the Gallaghers in different directions. A prolonged passing of the buck results in a neglected Franny ending up in Frank’s care, which turns into one of the first real bonding experiences between these different generations of Gallagher. Frank needs to help Franny get to school, which is a super benign storyline, but it might as well be getting Franny to the moon for how high Frank is when he inadvertently volunteers himself for this task. The decision to make Frank perpetually high this season while he tests product for Kevin and V is a nice touch to all of this and Macy clearly has fun working this into his performance.

The distance that’s been previously kept between Frank and Franny makes their dynamic together feel fresh and exciting. It should really be sickening to see Frank use Franny as an asset on his drug runs as he naturalizes her to this level of grifting. Strangely, Frank’s misconduct blossoms into a place of sweetness where he can strip away all of his charlatan tactics and just genuinely enjoy the company of his granddaughter. Franny’s decision to wear her dress to please Debbie because of something that Frank tells her is an extremely tender conclusion and shows that he’s left a good impression on her, despite everything. I’m genuinely mystified over how Frank may currently be this season’s best character.

Frank’s technical success with Franny only makes Debbie feel worse about the failures that she’s recently faced. She screws up in a colossal way in this episode where a litany of irresponsible reasons result in one of her clients getting robbed. It’s actually appreciated and perhaps necessary that Debbie gets called out in the way that she does. She’s offered no sympathy and is forced to confront the consequences of her actions. Hopefully Lip’s harsh words will be able to prompt some change in her life.

Debbie is also caught up in a dangling storyline about the Little Miss South Side pageant that doesn’t really amount to much. It’s there to facilitate the episode’s final emotional beat where Franny helps her mother feel better. It’s a strange way to go about all of this, especially when considering the previous episode’s Debbie and Franny material, but it never steals too much focus away from the episode’s many other plots.

Despite the smaller scenarios that consume “Frances Francis Franny Frank,” things spiral out of control in a way where characters are left in various places of stability and instability as the episode comes to a close. Everyone is in fine form here, especially Frank and Carl, but at times this installment feels more like a collection of smaller pieces than it does a cohesive story, even if there is a unifying theme to tie it all together. There are many half-plots going on that I assume will receive payoffs in what’s to come, but Liam’s cafeteria revolution from before seems to be over, so it’s hard to say.

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Shameless episodes always feel incredibly crowded and it typically doesn’t work in the show’s favor. It shouldn’t be afraid to leave characters out of the spotlight or find more ways to bring characters together rather than jump between a mess of disparate threads. The season is getting better in this department, but there’s still a ton of excess when it comes to characters and stories. Shameless needs to focus and figure out where it wants its characters to end up more than it needs to worry about who is the man or woman.

The post Shameless Season 11 Episode 3 Review: Frances Francis Franny Frank appeared first on Den of Geek.

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totesmccoats · 7 years

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Dark Days: The Casting #1

This issue continues The Forge’s storytelling maneuver of throwing DCU canon at the wall to see what sticks, but also helpfully starts putting a few pieces together to the story of Metal.

Carter Hall writes in his journal about his multiple lives’ quest to discover the secret of Nth Metal – the power-source of his wings and weapons, and has traced it back to the beginnings of the universe, a bat-shaped Destroyer, and the “birds” that fought him back. Batman too, quests to discover the secret of the metals, which Wonder Woman tells him was used to make divine weapons, is found in all of the DCU’s most powerful relics, and courses through the blood of Earth’s heroes, including Batman himself. Meanwhile, Hal and Duke try to interrogate Joker about what he knows about the Metal and Batman’s been hiding from them.

This is Snyder going for broke, giving the DCU its biggest event since Flashpoint with Morrison-esque levels of continuity play connecting everything in the DC canon together. I’m expecting this to get incredibly silly, and make absolutely no sense to anyone not already 100% invested. Because it’s Snyder, I am so game for this. There’s still a radical shift in quality when the art goes from Kubrick to Romita Jr, the latter of whose style just does not fit the story as well as it does something like the first arc of All-Star Batman.

Wonder Woman #26

Considering her previous work, I wasn’t expecting Fontana’s first issue on the series to completely gel with where Rucka left us, but the shift in tone is still something I’m getting used to, even within this one issue.

I like the opening scene, with Wonder Woman breaking up a fight in a refugee camp, although I’m honestly not sure what’s supposed to be happening. She punches out a guy harassing a woman and her kid, but then the whole camp is on fire and explodes for some reason? I’m not sure; but that leads directly to a flashback where Wonder Woman overhears her mother worry that she shouldn’t still be playing with dolls if she’s to become an Amazon – a plot-thread which doesn’t really go anywhere nor even plant seeds for the story to come. After that, Diana debriefs from what’s revealed to be her 43rd mission this year with the US military, and the General offers to be someone she can talk to with any problems regarding what she sees on the missions; there’s a check-up with a Doctor with a mysterious cough; and Diana goes to Etta Candy’s brother’s wedding where she helps a young girl find a missing shoe.

Now, I’m the first person to advocate for more superheroes helping out children in comics, but there’s a tonal inconsistency between that and the beginning of the book which implies Di might be going through some PTSD. And that tonal inconstancy also appears within individual scenes, like when right after the General offers to be someone she can talk to, he bumps his head on a low-hanging light fixture, and then the two are interrupted by a Mark Zuckerberg-looking fellow who invites them to a building-wide softball game. Also, the final page feels like a Batman ’66 type cliffhanger, which I kind of love, but which also feels out of step with the rest of the issue.

The Flash #26

Eobard shows Barry and Iris a vision of their future where their children, Don and Dawn, grow up to be supervillains because Barry wasn’t around to be a father to them. Deciding that Iris has had enough of his lying to her, and that there is only one way to prevent this bad future from playing out, Barry goes with Eobard to a place where he’d never hurt anyone ever again – the negative Speed Force.

Although it probably happens too quickly, I like how Eobard breaks Barry by mind-judo-ing him into thinking that being the Flash is somehow irresponsible and hurts people. It’s not the most original storyline, god knows it’s happened to Peter Parker too many times, but in this situation, it works. Like Pete, Barry has seen how much his being the Flash hurts those closest to him, so when Eobard offers a way to prevent further harm, he takes it.

Also, it gives the series a great excuse to focus on Iris, who has to come to terms with her best friend being a superhero while fighting off the Reverse-Flash on her own. Hopefully this story will also borrow the ending from Spider-Man 2 and have the girlfriend knock some sense into their “my power = my choice” mindset when it comes to relationships.

Spider-Men II #1

The cover asks the question “Who is the other Miles?” but, of course we don’t find out this issue – though we do see his face. Instead, we get a cold in medias res open of the two Spider-Men failing to catch a plane with, presumably the other Miles on it, before jumping a week into the past where Peter and Miles meet up at the warehouse where the first Spider-Men story kicked off to investigate another mysterious pink portal flinging stuff through Manhattan.

I stopped picking up Bendis books, including Spider-Man (Miles’ book) because I was getting tired of his style after Civil War II; but reading this issue reminds me of what I like about his writing. All of Bendis’ dialogue is snappy and witty, with everyone knowing exactly how to respond to the last thing said with their own little witticism. So, basically, he’s perfect for Spider-Man (men).

Bendis does tend to be verbose, but the boxes and bubbles are broken up nicely through the spreads, never getting too much in the way except in one moment in particularly where the wordiness is a punchline. And despite each character being recognizably Bendis, they are still recognizably distinct. Peter’s inner monologue and dialogue reads as someone trying – perhaps too hard – to be funny. He repeats words and phrases, doubles back on things he’s thinking/saying to provide his own commentary, and goes out of his way to be self-deprecating while taking others down with his esteem. We don’t get any of Mile’s inner monologue, but his dialogue represents him as more self-conscious, more laconic. He speaks mainly to respond to others, and lets Ganke – oh man did I miss Ganke – do much of the talking for him.

Pichelli’s art also does a lot to define each of the Spider-Men. Peter, like his dialogue, is more comedic. His poses are more exaggerated, with him spreading his limbs away from his body with wide kicks and flips, and leaning and looking down over other characters. Conversely, Miles moves more conservatively, keeping his libs tucked while swinging, and crouching where Peter would stand and lean.

Amazing Spider-Man #30

We open on Spider-Man organizing a retreat from a Mjolnir wielding Hyrdra-Cap, then go to Peter in Shanghai, trying to rally his employees and prepare them for an attack by Doctor Octopus, who is raiding Parker Industry labs. Pete meets with the employees who remain loyal, warning them that if it comes to it, they’re going to have to destroy their life’s work to keep it out of Hydra’s grasps. And then Otto attacks.

It’s really impressive how Slott manages to weave his ongoing stories with event books without skipping a beat. Even without all the Secret Empire stuff, this arc is just another chapter in the Spider-Man/Doc Ock rivalry he’s set up since his Ends of the Earth storyline in 2012. Otto sees allying with Hydra as a means to the end of claiming all of Peter’s work as the fruits of his labor, and destroying Peter’s legacy as he takes it back.

And what’s scary is that, despite becoming a better CEO and doing his best to prepare for Ock, Peter is still a few steps behind. He still, unknowingly let Otto into his company, giving him the chance to sabotage everything right under his nose. In a way, Parker Industry is just as much Otto’s as it is Pete’s, and Otto’s taking advantage of that while Peter is failing to really comprehend it.

Black Panther and The Crew #4

In Mississippi in 1964, Ezra and Frank take the Crew to take care of some KKK members who can’t be touched by the law. In the present, Luke Cage escapes the firebombing of his apartment building by Hydra, then joins up with Misty Knight to investigate why he was targeted, and what that might have to do with Ezra’s assassination.

The cold open in Mississippi is one of the strongest scenes in comic books regarding racial violence printed in the Big 2’s comics yet. Not only does it clearly and concisely explain how white people can (and still) get away with murdering black people, but also demonstrates exactly why groups like the Crew, or the real life Black Panthers, were and are necessary in those times and places. It’s its own complete story and statement of purpose in four pages. And it’s echoed through the rest of the comic, as Misty and Luke eventually talk to the CEO of the company behind the Americops, who still gets away with targeting black people with impunity because that’s what benefits the powerful.

It’s weird how the same company that’s publishing Nick Spencer’s half-assed sanitized metaphor for fascism can also publish such clear-eyed commentary on race in America. And that also applies to David F. Walker’s too-short run on Nighthawk, which you should totally pick up.

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #22

Doreen and Nancy win a programming contest and an all-expenses paid vacation to the Savage Land! Expect jokes involving: computer programming pun titles for classic literature, how insane Wikipedia articles in the Marvel universe must be, colonial era nomenclature, Jurassic Park, paleontology, Latveria, and more.

Reading this issue, it’s hard not to feel like North has wanted to write a Jurassic Park episode for Squirrel Girl for a while now, and he taps into the seemingly universal human love of dinosaurs. Henderson continues to deliver on art, with some of the best and funniest faces in comics, my favorite of which this issue is Doreen’s reaction to realizing Nancy has a crush on one of the other contest winners.

Kill or Be Killed #10

The cops, including detective Lily Sharpe find the Russian hitman’s burned-up corpse in the back of the van after learning about Dylan dropping off Rex at the hospital, and begin to postulate why their murderer tried to spare one victim while brutalizing the other. Meanwhile, Dylan, devastated by Rex’s death, move back home with his mom where he gets high, plays video games, and swears off killing, resigned to let the demon kill him. But then the demon reminds him that the Russians are after him, and might target the people he cares about, which complicates things a tad.

For a bit it seemed like Dylan was getting used to his new life, but this issue shows him in a downward spiral stemming from Rex’s death, as it’s the first one that’s actually personal for him. It’s his Uncle Ben moment, and that’s not the only part of this issue reminiscent of Spider-Man. When Dylan goes back to the city, it’s mainly to break up with Daisy and shut out Kira, who just happens to tell him about her feelings for him, just as he’s decided he’s too dangerous and messed up to afford to return her feelings.

This issue doesn’t really feel like the ending to an arc, but somewhere closer to the beginning of one. Continuing the comparison, this is Dylan’s “Spider-Man no more!” moment, which means that the stage is pretty much set for his comeback, whatever that may look like. It certainly won’t be as heroic as Spidey’s; but I wouldn’t rule out the inclusion of a criminal kingpin.

Comic Reviews for 7/12/17 Dark Days: The Casting #1 This issue continues The Forge's storytelling maneuver of throwing DCU canon at the wall to see what sticks, but also helpfully starts putting a few pieces together to the story of Metal.

#batman #black panther #dark days #dc comics #kill or be killed #luke cage #metal #miles morales #peter parker #spider-man #spider-men #squirrel girl #the casting #the crew #the flash #wonder woman

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bainhardt · 7 years

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shitting on Eromanga sensei just made me think about the stuff I watched in 2016; for no good reason, and at 7:30am, in fucking May of 2017, why not rundown a quick scramble of my favorite anime I watched last year.... for memory’s sake:

Ajin - I really, really don’t do shonen, and I don’t often do action either, but Ajin is just way too fucking cool. If you make any kind of story intriguing through worldbuilding like Ajin’s got, I’m in. Such an awesome story because of the thoroughly fleshed out supernatural stuff, and it’s always a plus, for me, when the protagonist is someone who’s curious about the world of the story alongside the reader/viewer.

Also, Ajin is CG animation, which had every right to be terrible, but was honestly incredibly done. I don’t even mean in the “well, it’s not the worst, so I can at least watch it...” way - it genuinely looks fucking great. Lots of impressive detailing, like in subtle facial expressions, that you’d think would just be passed over in something CG.

Danganronpa 3 - I didn’t think it could be done after the underwhelming anime about DR1, but both DR3 shows told original stories loaded with Danganronpa vibe and style that made me feel the same excitement and despair as reading the fuckin SA threads way back when. Watching the new episodes every week with my friends will remain one of my all-time favorite “Live Experiences” you can’t really replicate if you get into media long after it’s new, if that makes sense.

Love Live Sunshine! - This show was so fun to watch I think I ran at least 10 of the episodes straight, and what’s funny is I can’t really remember what hooked me in. The characters are really spirited and endearing, and although all the conflicts (if you want to call them that) were relatively mundane, I still really wanted the Aquors girls to make it...! I don’t even remember any of the music, which is supposed to be the draw of idols content.... my bad...

Saiki Kusuo no Psi-nan - I’m pretty sure Saiki was the funniest anime I’ve watched in years. I don’t watch that much comedy, because if it doesn’t make you laugh pretty quickly, then it doesn’t seem worth your time, which can make it tough to judge as a genre. But Saiki was consistently funny in a way that’s rare between me and rapid paced gag-a-minute shows. Even though it’s downright stupid at times, the stories in this show were genuinely amusing to me, and all the more for the fucking protagonist, whom I love. Saiki’s absolute disdain and disinterest in everything could have been so repelling, but he tied the show together for me - a true straight-man in a world of fools.

Nobunaga no Shinobi - Amazingly, this show’s runtime is 4 minutes flat. I’ve watched over 30 episodes now and I can barely remember any of them, but somehow, that’s what I love about this one. It’s as effortless to watch as breathing, a nice 4 minute break every week. Its semi-historically-accurate telling of Nobunaga’s rise to power is a fun premise even though I don’t have a native’s familiarity with Japanese history, and it’s cute and appealing even if it didn’t elicit any laughs.

Sangatsu no Lion - This show became like fucking meditation for me. I would eagerly await Saturdays, making some time in the evening to disconnect, relax, and put it on. I love the weird slice-of-life/shogi focus of the show.... I don’t really know how to summarize it. It’s not “about Shogi” like a sports anime would be, but it’s “about Shogi players.” The art was gorgeous, just fucking incredible - I had like 5 separate posts on here that were basically “Look at this fucking show!!” Very pleasant, calming experience for me, even though Rei’s emotional state sometimes changed the mood of everything.

Luckily for me, Love Live, Saiki, and Sangatsu are all slated to continue, and Nobunaga already has been. These shows are my favorites from 2016, and I only hope that I can find some suitable shows to watch in their place this year in 2017. It has been.... rather dry, so far....

#Jeffu reads Ajin #Jeffu watches Dangan Ronpa yo #Jeffu watches Saiki Kusuo no Psinan yo #Jeffu watches Nobunaga no Shinobi yo #Jeffu watches Sangatsu no Lion yo #Jeffu watches Love Live! Sunshine!! yo

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totesmccoats · 7 years

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Dark Days: The Casting #1

This issue continues The Forge’s storytelling maneuver of throwing DCU canon at the wall to see what sticks, but also helpfully starts putting a few pieces together to the story of Metal.

Wonder Woman #26

The Flash #26

Spider-Men II #1

Amazing Spider-Man #30

Black Panther and The Crew #4

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #22

Kill or Be Killed #10

#batman #black panther #dark days #dc comics #kill or be killed #luke cage #metal #miles morales #peter parker #spider-man #spider-men #squirrel girl #the casting #the crew #the flash #wonder woman

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