Gint's 5-27-15 Pull-List Review

You are NOT going to believe what landed in First Place this week.

Fourth Place:

Convergence #8

This was a really convoluted way to say everything DC has ever done is now in continuity in one universe or another. Everything counts. Okay. Whatever. I'd almost prefer the old way where the reader decided what counted based on his/her own likes.

I'm sure Jeff King and Scott Lobdell went into this with the best intentions, but ultimately this wasn't an interesting event. You make it through six whole issues before you see any characters that actually matter. Had DC announced the focus would be on Earth 2 characters, I wouldn't have picked it up. Smart on them I guess.

So now DC will enter a whole new era. This I'm somewhat looking forward to. Each book will relaunch next month with new storylines and new status quos. Some will be dumb (Green Lantern and Batman) and some may be kind of cool (Superman and Prez). Lots to choose from, but please, choose wisely.

Third Place:

Nova #31

This bring a close to Gerry Duggan's Nova run. Whether or not he'll still be on the book post-Secret Wars I have no idea. But this is a good coda on everything he's built up: Sam finally beats the Chitauri and brings his dad home for an emotional reunion.

I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that Duggan and David Baldeon stay on this book. They set things up for the next act, so there's hope. What I'm really hopeful for is more stories in Carefree, AZ. Through the last so many issues, Sam has been all over the galaxy. Much like the beginning of Geoff Johns Green Lantern run, the most interesting parts of Sam's story were when he was Nova in his hometown. Funny that I love cosmic heroes, but want them to stay on Earth. I'm a complex individual.

Here's to more Nova issues from this creative team. If Marvel knows what they're doing, and sales say they do, they'll leave these guys alone for a while.

Second Place:

He-Man: The Eternity War #6

Hmm... how can I praise this book this week? If I were a regular reader of this space, I'd probably be tired of my gushing all over Dan Abnett and Pop Mhan's brilliant take on the He-Man mythology.

A question was posed to me recently about why He-Man ever needs to be Adam. Its not a secret identity kind of thing. At least not in this book. Abnett explains it with the old chestnut, "absolute power corrupts absolutely." It makes perfect sense just like everything else he's written.

Between this book, the new Art of He-Man coffee table book, and the #WorldNeedsANewHeManMovie hashtag rolling around the internet, I have never been more amped for Masters of the Universe. This is a great time to be a He-Man fan.

First Place:

Captain Canuck #1

So... this past Free Comic Book Day I picked up the free Captain Canuck issue. Looked interesting enough. Then I read it and loved it. Its not often I'll just get a book on a whim, but that free issue sold me.

Created by an all-Canadian creative team (Kalman Andrasofszky writes and draws) Captain Tom Evans is essentially Canada's Captain America. He even works for a smaller time version of S.H.I.E.L.D. called Equilibrium. Sounds like a knock-off book, right? But it isn't. Andrasofszky finds a way, to make this character and his world, if not unique, incredibly interesting. The team that works around Captain Canuck are given clear personalities in only a handful of panels. Included is Cap's brother who he has a tenuous relationship with.

As far as Andrasofszky's art goes, I really like it. Colours (see what I did there?) by Jim Charalampidis (these names!) really go hand in hand with the pencils/inks and make the book feel like the character hasn't disappeared since 1980.

Granted, this was one issue and I should reserve praise... but this was a really good issue.

Panel of the Week:

Pop Mhan's classic He-Man pose got me fucking juiced this issue.

-Gint

A Teaching Moment

While Soss and I were in lovely Altoona, PA for the Sci-Fi Valley Con, we got to discussing "The Nod." Soss assured me it is in fact, a real thing. While he refused to use this power to sell buttons or gain Facebook Likes, I appreciate his resolve in not abusing it.

The above link is from Blackish, my favorite new sitcom of the past 2014-2015 season. Anthony Anderson has never been my favorite actor, but here he finds a place to shine. And Laurence Fishburne is always gold. I'm sure the actors on the show, along with creator Kenya Barris approach the racial subject matter from a place of honesty and respect. So when a couple black friends chided me for loving it, I wondered if my love was misplaced.

The biggest complaint was that is just plays on sterotypes and there's nothing unique about it. "Same old black jokes." Coming from that source I thought, "should I like this show? Or am I just a big dummy that likes played out racial jokes?" Turns out its a little of both.

Blackish takes jabs at every race. No character is safe. And though I'm not the lowest common denominator of TV viewer, sometimes funny is just funny. What makes Blackish different is the way they take that played out subject matter and make it new with quick dialog and sharp comedic timing. Its funny, and its also really smart. For whatever the reasons, its just a funny show.

If you haven't seen Blackish, give it a try. As a fan of traditional multi-cam sitcoms, its loads better than some other shows that try to be funny but aren't. I'm looking at you VEEP.

-Gint

Ps, I really didn't mean for Pops Sharpley to look so much like Chef from South Park in that middle panel, but sometimes they really do look alike.

McSoss Podcast Episode 106: Appercion

This week we get back to our roots and do some old fashion comic book talk.

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Who Goggles

If you're familiar with this space, then you know I'm not a Dr. Who fan. I've determined a long time ago that its dumb and I can't seem to shake that prejudice. No matter how stunningly gorgeous I find Karen Gillan, I can't bring myself to watch it.

That however, doesn't stop my illogical fondness of the Tardis dress. I'm sure this has a lot to do with the fact that its worn primarily by chicks. Rarely do you see a man in the Tardis dress. What's most shocking is over two weekends of comicon's, every time I saw this dress, I was all in. Even if the wearer-in-question didn't meet my particular tastes, something about this dress elevated their stature in my horribly chauvinist lizard brain.

So thank you Hot Topic for making this particular article of clothing, which in turn makes Dr. Who just a little more tolerable.

-Gint

Gint's 5-20-15 Pull-List Review

After two very successful comicon weekends that didn't allow much time to read and review books, I am back once again to praise the praise-worthy and to take the mickey out of those that are less deserving.

Here's a brief recap of the last two weeks worth of books: Secret Wars #1 was awesome, Secret Wars #2 was confusing, Coffin Hill and Darth Vader are staples of consistency and Convergence sucks donkey balls.

So, back into the breach!

Third Place:

Convergence #7

Yukko. This book started out bad and continues to be bad. They're rolling more recognizable characters in at this point, but by now it just doesn't matter. My interest is zero. The only thing I'm curious about is how this sets up the post-Convergence universe. One bummer is seeing the pre-Flashpoint Superman. It just makes me feel like the current one is an imposter.

Issue #7 contained art from one of my favs, the highly underrated Aaron Lopresti. Each page is what you want from comic book artwork. He gets a hand from inker Mark Morales and colorist Peter Steigerwald, and each panel is crisp and clean, just like I like it.

Unless Convergence pulls some awesome shit out of its ass in the last issue, I'm not going to be able to give this book higher than a 3 out of 10. Its just been boring.

Second Place:

Wytches #6

If Wytches stopped right now, I would be okay with that. Scotty Snyder, Jock and Matt Hollingsworth tell a super creepy, super tight six-issue story of the Rooks moving to a small town only to have supernatural shit spiral out of control. It has a beginning and a very good ending. But this was just the first arc.

This books ends with Sailor being off on her own. Her dad sacrifices himself to save his daughter and you wonder where else the story can go that's as interesting as this first one. Snyder's creator-owned work is tons better than his Batman work, but can lightning strike twice? I mean, this story was really freaking good!

Sloppy (on purpose) artwork aside, I really did enjoy this ride. If there isn't a Wytches movie in the works soon, someone dropped the ball. I suppose I'll be back for the second arc. but man does the creative team have some tough shoes to fill.

First Place:

Star Wars #5

Five issues in and Jason Aaron seems to be finding his voice for these characters. The first couple issues offered a lot of re-purposed Original Trilogy dialog. The rest didn't sound natural for characters that I've known and loved my entire life. This issue Aaron seems to have found his groove.

Leia makes Han go with her on a scouting mission in exchange for new parts for the Falcon. The dialog that takes place between them feels new and fresh, but most importantly, it sounds like Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. That's been a huge problem with most Star Wars comics.

As far as Vader sending Boba Fett to hunt down Luke, and then both of them happening to be on Tattoine at the same time... well, that's a little convenient. I'm willing to let it slide. It makes sense that Luke would go back to Tattoine to Obi-Wan's hovel to find any lingering answers he had before Ben died. But I guess that trip alone isn't exciting enough. We need Boba Fett too.

This book has been the weak link for me since Marvel launched their new line of Star Wars books. But over the past couple issues, its really gained some ground.

Panel of the Week:

Since his run on Wonder Woman with Gail Simone, I've been a huge fan of Aaron Lopresti's work. Particularly, his Wonder Woman.

-Gint

Comicon Exclusive

This year's Wizard World Philadelphia had a lot of things going for it. One of those things was super fine ladies in costumes. Harley Quinns, Black Widows, Power Girls... I'm pretty sure I even saw a sexy Sherlock. If you're into that kind of thing you had to keep your head on a swivel. So far as I know, Dominic kept himself in check, but I wasn't with him the entire four days. My apologies, ladies.

One thing we've learned over the last three years of doing conventions is that each one has its own flavor. Be it in celebrities, popular prints, cosplayers or which buttons we give away. Last year in Pittsburgh we couldn't keep Wolverine buttons on the table; this year in Altoona, we sold one. Baltimore in 2012 featured Matt Smith cosplays as far as the eye could see - this year in Philly, a couple. There's the fun aspect of not knowing what you're going to get and there's the frustrating aspect if you're counting on sales.

We're not a sales oriented business when it comes to prints and artwork. Sure, we have some nice stuff available, but that won't make or break McSoss. It takes some pressure off of us because each year we talk to artists whose living relies on art sales. You either have variety out the ass (and the table space to display it) or be forced to guess what's going to be popular in vastly different markets. Who'd have thought this years Free Comic Book Day patrons would demand Christopher Eccleston?!

We've got four more conventions coming up this year:

- West Virginia Pop Con (August 23-24) a market we've never been to.

- Steel City Con (August 7-9) a familiar market, but a different kind of show.

- Baltimore Comic-Con (September 25-27) a market we plan on conquering this time

- Wizard World Pittsburgh (September 11-13) very familiar market under now ownership

No matter what the ambiance of each, McSoss provides its own fun to any situation.

-Gint

Soss' Suggestions 05-21-15

The Fade Out #1

The Fade Out is a crime noir book set in the Hollywood of the 1940s. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are masters of this genre, so I was fairly confident that this would be a quality read. 

Charlie Parish is a seedy screenwriter who awakens the morning after an epic bender to discover he is in the middle of a crime scene. He finds a young starlet sexually assaulted and strangled to death but has a very foggy recollection of the past nights events. Could he have done this? Does he know the person who did? Who would want to murder this girl? Things take a darker turn when Parish discovers that the murder is now being reported as a suicide – compete with doctored crime scene photos. Clearly this chick knew something or saw something that could do some damage to the group of Hollywood elite Parish runs with.

If you are a fan of crime noir you would be doing yourself a disservice by not taking a chance on this book. -Soss 

Panel of the Week: This is what Matt said to Paul and myself Sunday morning. Thankfully no one was found murdered in our hotel room.  

McSoss Podcast Episode 105: Integrininity

This week we recap our trip to Sci-Fi Valley Con in Altoona and react to the leaked photos from the Suicide Squad set. 

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The S & M Con

The McSoss team spent the last two weekends gallivanting around Pennsylvania for a couple of comic conventions: Wizard World Philadelphia in Philly and Sci-Fi Valley Con in Altoona. I'd say both were successes in that we managed to sell some stuff and more importantly, get the McSoss brand out to new readers and listeners.

We've done six conventions total in the last three years and one thing that each show has in common, are cosplayers. What changes between each one is the cosplay du jour. Pittsburgh last year was filled with Matt Smith doctors. Philly leaned heavy on comic book characters. Altoona this past weekend was a melting pot of pretty much whatever you felt like wearing that day. That included the gentleman in the above comic.

While his was the most outrageous male costume, there were plenty of other dudes lettin' it all hang out. Altoona is probably less than a quarter the size of Philly, but I don't remember seeing so much male skin in the City of Brotherly Love. Odd going from the big city to a humble hamlet like Altoona. If you brought your child to the show, I bet they had some questions on the ride home.

That said, we had an amazing time in Altoona. Got to meet writer John Campbell and his lovely wife Linda – two extremely cool folks with a great sense of humor.

We met artist Chris Campana, who is just as swell as his Twitter account indicates.

And we also got to knock back some (a lot) of beers with the Gearbox Union. This collection of generous souls are the unofficial ambassadors of the Sci-Fi Valley Con and really made the weekend feel like home. Huge thanks to these guys.

We had an amazing couple weekends and met a fuck ton of people, so thank you to everyone who is reading this space for the first time. We'll see you online and maybe in person again soon!

-Gint

Wartime Medicine

I’m not suggesting that Marvel Studios take the Civil War title literally. We did get some amputations in Age of Ultron but somehow I doubt this is a path Disney wants to go down. I have to say that the idea of T’Challa helping Harriet Tubman on the Underground Railroad is pretty sweet.

What I do hope to see in the next big Marvel epic is a more toned down flick. I’m not saying take all the jokes out but could we go just five minutes without going for a laugh? Captain America: The Winter Solider had a nice balance so hopeful with the Russo brothers steering this ship we will get a more subdued, nuanced take on the MCU. -Soss 

Soss' Suggestions 05-14-15

Chrononauts #1-2

This book is kind of like Mark Millar's take on Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. What would you really do if you could travel through time? Doing research for my book report would be the last thing on my mind.

As it is with a lot of Millar's characters, these two dudes are kind of unlikable. They are more suited for a frat house then a laboratory. After reading two issues I'm still not completely convinced that either one of these guys knows what a Bunsen burner is.

One thing that I did surprisingly enjoy was that the time travel rules are kind of loose. It's a change up from all the strict rules from other time traveling joints. Most importantly these guys have FUN. They use time travel as a way to see iconic historical moments, become rulers of each era and most importantly, get girls. 

This book is a joyride with dynamic artwork and an interesting take on time travel. I highly recommend that you give Chrononauts a read. -Soss

Panel of the Week: A pretty awesome jet by Sean Murphy.

McSoss Podcast Episode 104: The Rob Liefeld Incident

This week we recap our adventurous weekend at Wizard World Philadelphia.

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The Clothes That Make The Man-Cat

I love He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Unabashedly. My brother, nine years my junior, thinks its gayer than two guys stuffing each other on a rainbow that plays the Barry Manilow catalog. The 80s cartoon is admittedly hard to watch thirty-two (holy fuck!) years later. But that's less for the gayness and more for the fact that its just doesn't hold up. Unlike Transformers, He-Man's transparency for being a show for kids to sell toys is blatant.

A lot of my remaining love stems from sentimentality, sure. But it also comes from the fact that the world of He-Man is hands down one of the most imaginative properties created in the last 50 years. The way the world seamlessly blends fantasy, sci-fi, magic and technology offers a little something for everyone. Few things can't find a home on Eternia. If you can get past the stigma of how corny the old show was and choose to look past that at the possibilities this brand offers, its really something spectacular.

Other properties from the 80s cartoon boom were quite successful – Transformers and G.I. Joe topping that particular pyramid. Other shows like Thundercats and Voltron get a hell of a push. But there's a reason He-Man has consistently had a comic or cartoon with some publisher and is constantly in the movie rumor mill.

With the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, and Game of Thrones being massively successful, now is the time to strike to make the next evolution in Masters of the Universe's continued success.

This is a great property that needs a great modern treatment. The foundation is there, it just needs a 2015 facelift.

-Gint

 

Maybe Its Maybelline

So there's been some disagreement on the subject, but Ultron was the fucking worst. To be clear: the character Ultron, not the movie Marvel's Avengers 2: Age of Ultron. The movie was fast-paced and entertaining with some genuine laughs mixed in with all the forced comedy. But James Spader's Ultron... yuk.

The Ultron I'm familiar with (and the one I was expecting) is a cold, emotionless robot. He doesn't need to understand the subtle nuance of comedy, and certainly wouldn't make a "throw up in my mouth" joke. Ultron in many respects acts like Darth Vader in A New Hope: an emotionless robot, stoically focused on the mission at hand. And everyone loves Darth Vader, right?

Besides the odd personality and questionable decision making (free McSoss t-shirt to anyone who can definitively tell me why he needed Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver's help) it was his design that pulled me out of the movie the most. I couldn't stop looking at those weird lips. The eyebrows were bad enough, but the lips looked like an old lady talking without her teeth in. They were horribly mesmerizing. I assume he was designed in order to emote. Multiple facial features to help convey his motivations and one-liners. But that too took away from the scary character I was expecting. Darth Vader's facial parts didn't move and there was no doubt about his line delivery.

Ultimately Age of Ultron was a disappointment. Maybe I was expecting something I shouldn't have been expecting? But Ultron himself is a key component of why its disappointing. Sure, he's got a pretty complex backstory, but his motivations are just as one-note as any other Marvel Cinematic Universe villains.

-Gint

McSoss Podcast Episode 103: The Naked Gun of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

This week we give our review of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

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The Laugh Factory

We saw Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron this weekend and well... at best it was okay. I hate to be bored by a superhero movie, especially in this Golden Age of superhero movies, but this one really didn't do a lot for me.

I expected a dark middle act before we get into the post-Ultron slate of Marvel movies. Maybe a heart-wrenching cliffhanger. At least something that would leave the characters changed moving forward. We didn't get any of that. Aside from the creation of the Vision, this movie has absolutely no consequence in the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some seeds of Cap and Tony's disagreement were planted... but the last scene of the movie is those two hugging it out as BFFs.

Like Ian says: the comedy game was on point. I watched some of the original Avengers last night and there was a lot of quipping. But Age of Ultron was a non-stop joke-fest. If you put this movie in the comedy section of Netflix, it would feel right at home.

Overall, it was a fine movie. It was entertaining. And it certainly didn't feel like 2.5 hours. Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver was great as were some really cool (but underused) effects regarding Scarlet Witch. And Mark Ruffalo can do absolutely no wrong. All of his scenes were brilliant. But the finished product could have been better.

We're at a point now where you can't just put all the big stars on screen and that's enough. This ain't our first rodeo. We expect something more. The Russo brothers gave it to us with Captain America: The Winter Solder. I expect since they're taking over Infinity War parts 1 and 2, we'll get that shift of tone that could be less Whedon-ey, and HOPEFULLY less funny.

Don't be afraid to get your hands and characters dirty, Marvel. Your audience is ready.

-Gint

Gint's 4-29-15 Pull-List Review

Quick hits this week because I'm exhausted after a long weekend complete with a fun Free Comic Book Day.

Sixth Place:

Batman #40

That'll do it, folks – the last issue of a bad Batman book that will appear on the Pull-List. What started out strong wound up spinning round and round and right down the toilet. Art grade: A+. From start to finish Greg Capullo has been a monster cranking out great issues month after month. But at some point Scott Snyder stopped telling interesting Batman stories and made the stories too big for their own good. At the end of this issue, Bruce Wayne dies. Hasn't he died enough over the last few years? It sets up the coming issues for Snyder to really go nuts and write his own book, because he quit writing a "Batman" book a long time ago. So... c'ya, Batman. We had some good times, but you suck now.

Sixth Place:

Convergence #4

Convergence is still on the Pull-List just because I want to be up-to-speed with what DC is up to. Actual entertainment value: minimal. We're not rooting for the bad guys yet, but we're not 100% in the corner of the good guys. This one got slightly more interesting, but only because I read Futures End. If you didn't read Futures End, the supposed-to-be-shocking cliffhanger won't mean beans. Eight more to go, folks! Halfway there!

Fourth Place:

Nova #30

About two issues ago, this book started getting boring. I feel like Nova's been fighting the Chitauri and looking for his father for fucking ever. This issue they actually find each other... and then immediately get separated. A very enjoyable book. That's not in question. But this storyline is tired. Time to put it to bed, Gerry Duggan. This book has been pretty amazing, time to shift gears to keep it that way.

Third Place:

Princess Leia #3

My McSoss co-horts find this book boring with lackluster artwork. I find this book pretty awesome with great artwork. I'll give the conceit that some of the color-holds on the linework can be tedious, but that's small potatoes. Terry and Rachel Dodson draw a super pretty Princess Leia. I'm a big fan. Mark Waid is a Hall of Famer. He's keeping the tone of this book right where it needs to be: moderately light and action adventure-ey. Star Wars in comic form may not be able to completely blow my doors off, but its capable of being mighty entertaining.

Second Place:

Justice League #40

The Darkseid War begins! And... its a slow burn. This issue is setup on top of setup with a side of setup. We learn who Metron is. We learn who and why Apokolips and New Genesis are who they are. We also learn who the Anti-Monitor is and he gets more pathos and depth of character than ever before. You actually want him to win a little. The scale of pure cosmic-ness is off the scale, but Geoff Johns takes all these huge, crazy Jack Kirby concepts and really focuses on the emotional beats. The actual Justice League only appear in flashbacks/visions, but the table is set for a heck of a ride. Johns traditionally starts strong and finishes weak, and like that tradition, this is a good start.

First Place:

He-Man: The Eternity War #5

Shit is going DOWN. Last issue Skeletor saves Adora from being murdered by Hordak. This time, its because Skeletor needs Adora's help to become human again. Its a plea you'd never expect Skeletor to make, but a great turn of the story. Dan Abnett has a strange knack for writing Skeletor so you hear the old cartoon voice of Alan Oppenheimer, but in a manner that takes the silliness out of it. The complexity with which Abnett and artist Pop Mhan are fleshing out this license is really second-to-none in the modern era. What a cool fucking book.

Panel of the Week:

While DC is doing all the multiverse business in Convergence, Abnett uses the multiverse to solidify the Masters of the Universe-DC link (Constantine even makes an appearance this issue) to flesh out the concept in the Masters universe.

-Gint