Final Crisis - 1986 Style - Part 7

Here it is, the final part of Johnny Lowe's Crisis Cross-Over which actually uses Final Crisis in the title, thus excusing me for using it all these weeks:

I really thought about having this delayed by a week like any good comic cross-over these days but, to be honest, thought you'd all suffered enough.

Okay, not the strongest end to a story but hey, it was a nicely put together montage of then-current (this was 1986 remember) comic strip characters for a comic expo programme. Things have certainly moved on but I think this still has a certain degree of charm and, as I said at the start, I hope Johnny Lowe, wherever he may be, doesn't mind me using the strip here.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #27

My infrequent reviews of the comics I pick up each week - the Cocktail posts - have gone through a couple of formats: concentrating solely on one comic at first, then trying to summarise everything I had.

Both of those approaches took way too much time (I have a life outside reading and occasionally annotating comics) so here's the third version - simple snapshots of something that made me think or laugh or wince and a favourite moment to round it all up.

• Back To Brooklyn #4 - Garth Ennis really has got something against old ladies in wheelchairs;
• The Boys #28 - only in this title are decapitated heads used as lethal weapons;
• Secret Six #7 - wait a moment - when did Sonar II get his original costume back and lose all the metallic implants? Or am I confusing the guy second from left, page 15, panel 1 with someone else? And why am I worrying about this?
• Strange Adventures #1 - Jim Starlin still has his eye on Hawkman but be warned, Starlin: the continuity people are watching;
• Terror Titans #6 - So that's where she's been hiding all this time?
• Trinity #40 - The big three are back but John Stewart's looked better.

And the thing that made me smile this week:

"Fetch."

Splendid!

I Have Watched The Watchmen

My wife and I went to see Watchmen last night and, once it had finished, talked about it in the car on the way to grab some food, in the takeout place as we waited for our food, and then in in the car as we drove home.

Is it the same as the book? Not exactly, but it's as close as you're going to get. It looks fantastic - Jackie Earle Haley and Jeffrey Dean Morgan are spot on as Rorschach and the Comedian respectively - are pretty much spot on.

Not only does it capture the look of the book but the film isn't afraid to be as complex either - not quite as complex as the book, admittedly, but more so than the ususal Hollywood films of late. It jumps around in time and just expects the viewer to work out what's happening and I applaud it for that.

The violence is brutal in places with bones popping out and a surprising use of an angle grinder and while the fighting is mostly slo-mo kung fu style nonsense, you kind of get used to it after a while.

There actually aren't many spoilers coming up - if you've read the book, you know what's going to happen. If you haven't then the following isn't going to make much difference to you. However, they do include the end of the film so highlight at your own risk. Spoilers on: the ending is changed slightly insofar as the teleported fake psychic alien is gone, replaced by multiple simultaneous explosions in the hearts of several major cities. These explosions are still caused by Ozymandias but are made to look as though Dr. Manhattan had caused them. While the method might have altered, the end result - the world stepping back from the threat of nuclear war - is the same. While purists might disagree with this change, it makes sense in the film - the whole sub-plot of the Black Freighter writer, the artists, scientists and psychics going missing is dropped so there's a need for a slightly tidier explanation of why the explosions happened and this works. Spoilers off.

It's never going to be the book which is still a sublime work of genius, but it's a damn good film nonetheless and I will definitely be getting it on DVD - hell, I've already ordered Tales of The Black Freighter!

Friday Night Fights - A Bow In The Hand . . .

. . . is worth a knee in the chest.

At least that's what these guys must be thinking as Green Arrow ignores the colourful emissions from their pistols and lands knees first into them.

There you have it folks, One Panel of Pain from back when Connor Hawke was a viable character rather than a Winick-induced coma and metagene victim.

Enough of my bitching - go see Spacebooger, check out the other fights and leave a comment over there to vote for your favourite.

The reckless endangerment of Green Arrow's crotch first appeared in Green Arrow #129, cover dated February 1998, written by Chuck Dixon with art by Will Rosado and Sal Buscema.

No-One Watches, Apparently

I'm actually looking forward to the forthcoming Watchmen movie; I know it's not going to be as good as the book but from what I've seen so far it looks like it'll be okay. Not the most fantastic of endorsements I know, but if I go in with low expectations, I may not be too disappointed.

With that said, a friend pointed me to this picture which I have shamelessly stolen decided to share with everyone. Original at this blog.

Final Crisis - 1986 Style - Part 6

Here's the sixth and penultimate part of Johnny Lowe's Crisis Cross-Over featuring Bloom County characters.

Tune in next Tuesday for the final, universe shattering conclusion!

Alan Scott - Jealousy Really Is Green (Lantern)

In this week's Justice Society of America #24 there's an Origins & Omens back-up written by the in-coming writer Matthew Sturges whose writing on Shadowpact and Blue Beetle I've really enjoyed.  There was one panel, though, that caught my eye:

That first line of Alan Scott's: "I wanted to meet with just the core members to discuss what's going on, out in the open."

"Core members" Alan? So who have you got? Wildcat and Flash, those two are no-brainers; Dr. Mid-Nite and Mr. Terrific, the two smart guys on the team; Stargirl and Jakeem Thunder representing the youth/legacy side of things; and Ma Hunkel is there as well . . . for some reason.

So that's the "core members" of the JSA is it, Alan?

What about Power Girl?!  You know, the chairman of the JSA?! Where's she?

That's right, sparring with Magog (and was it just me or is Fernando Pasarin's art in this section just a bit . . . poor?) who seems to be persuading her to leave the JSA.

Power Girl gets her own ongoing series and Alan Scott drops her from the "core members" list.

Jealous much, Alan?