Beast-Jerk

I suppose dressing up for Halloween on Eternia wouldn't work particularly well considering most of the denizens of the planet already look like monsters – including the good guys. But it still feels like the coming of Samhain would be something the planet could universally get behind.

I'm a fan of Halloween. Its one of the very few things I enjoy about the fall season. Being a child of the summer, besides Halloween and the start of the hockey season, this is the most dismal time of the year. It starts getting colder, it gets darker earlier, you can no longer wear shorts and flip flops, and all you have to look forward to are shorter days and colder weather. For the life of me, I don't know why I still live here.

But spooky ghosts and monsters and creepy crawlies have always been part of my nature. I think I get it from my mum. Growing up watching old horror movies like The House On Haunted Hill and hearing all the stories about strange goings on in the house we lived in accurately set my gears for being right at home with the macabre. After all, 95% of novels I own are Stephen King.

So I'll enjoy the next couple days of dressing up and seeing skeletons, ghosts and jack-o-lanterns before the dreaded Thanksgiving-killing monolith that is Christmas descends upon us once again. At the rate its been encroaching on other holidays, Halloween might not have very long itself.

And with that Christmas-hating thought – from Eternia and all of us here at McSoss, have a Happy Halloween!

-Gint

Soss' Suggestion 10-29-15 Howard the Duck #1

I’m not a big fan of Howard the Duck. When he appeared on screen in Guardians of the Galaxy I gave a resounding “meh.” I watched the 80’s movie a few times recently and I wasn’t all that thrilled. It’s the kind of film that you need to watch with your nostalgia goggles on really tight. That said there was no need for me to rush out and purchase this book when it debuted last year. The first few issues recently were released on Marvel Unlimited so I figured that I would give this much-hyped title a try.

While I’m not a fan of Howard, I am a fan of writer Chip Zdarsky. His work as co-plotter and artist on Sex Criminals is some of my favorite non-superhero stuff of the past few years. The world of Howard the Duck fits nicely in the “Marvel Indie” universe along with quirky titles like Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk. This first issue gives us some back story on Howard as well as sets up a world where he is a private detective. Familiar faces like Black Cat, She-Hulk and Spider-Man help connect everything to the greater Marvel U. I was surprised how genuinely funny I found this book despite all the hype reporting it as a laugh riot.

Joe Quinones does his best Mike Allred impression on art. My biggest beef with this book and others like it is their need to ape Allred’s work on X-Force or FF. It's just kind of lazy. 

In the end I was pleasantly surprised with Howard the Duck #1 especially since I previously had no interest in reading anything starring this character. I would recommend checking this out if you’re into the other offbeat offerings from Marvel. -Soss

Panel of the Week: Siri does this stuff to me all the time.

McSoss Podcast Episode 125: McSosstober: FEAR Factor with your host Freddy Krueger

This week the McSoss crew answers mailbag questions with the help of the McSoss Ouija Board.
McSoss.com
Itunes.com
Stitcher.com
McSoss Instagram
McSoss Facebook Fan Page

The Softer Side

Boy did I get some heat the last week over my "Halloween is overrated" comments. I guess I'm in the minority that doesn't think Halloween should be mentioned in the same breath as Citizen Kane and Gone With The Wind. My fault.

To be fair, I never saw Halloween as a kid, so it holds no real sentimental value. I saw Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street plenty of times. I'm not going to attempt to say those are cinema masterpieces, but they are the slashers I lean toward. By the time I saw Halloween I was much older and a lot of the movie's scariness just didn't hold up.

Now I have a much more discerning horror taste. Shit like The Ring and The Grudge completely freak me out. Those are murderous entities that there's no real answer for. To escape Michel Myers and Jason, you really just need to not get in their way.

But as I've mentioned before, Samara from The Ring and Kayako from The Grudge wouldn't make as compelling a buddy cop comedy as Myers and Jason would. Not sure which would be the straight man of the two though. We can work that out later.

-Gint

Gint's 10-21-15 Pull-List Review

The two prevailing thoughts from the Pull-List this week are, 1. I wish DC would fix itself, and 2. I like Shattered Empire way more than I thought I would.

Fifth Place:

Superman Wonder Woman #22

I think I said I was going to drop this last month, but didn't. And I had full intention of dropping it again this month, but here it is on the Pull-List.

Its not Pete Tomasi or Doug Mahnke's faults. They're great creators. Its this universe that DC has created for itself that I'm not into. Superman wears a t-shirt and jean and doesn't trust Lois or Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman wears a black unitard under her costume because showing a little skin is a no-no. Even the Flash's classic red with gold highlights has been changed to include (for some poorly-designed reason) MORE and MORE highlights.

Since I started reading comics full-time in 2001, this is probably my least favorite time in DC continuity history. I feel like I need to fully back out of all this current nonsense.

Fourth Place:

Justice League #45

Man am I a cynical old comic reader. I was fairly invested in this issue right up until the last page that claimed: Follow the gods in these six new $3.99 each one-shots! I get it: comics is a business. They're not here so much to entertain us as they are to get our money. Entertaining us is a nice by-product. The promotion of Darkseid War one-shots made this whole issue make sense.

Jason Fabok is out this month in favor of another favorite artist of mine: Francis Manapul. I thought the difference between artists was intense for Manapul to jump in the middle of a run, but the one-shot business makes it all make sense. Manapul is just here for the setup, we'll get back to our regularly scheduled Justice League next month.

Its disappointing. This has been a REALLY good book. Excellent even. But while this issue does tie up a couple loose ends about what happens when Darkseid dies, its really just a promo issue for the one-shots.

Burned by DC once again. Those you love the most, hurt you the most.

Third Place:

Martian Manhunter #5

Well, while we're taking the mickey out of DC, lets stick with that theme for one more review, shall we?

Firstly, I like this book. My enjoyment has slightly waned since the first issue, but as far as DC books go these days, this is a good one. But (there's always a "but"), I thought I was signing up for a Martian Manhunter book, not a book about six new characters that represent different facets of J'onn J'onzz psyche.

And this is where this book is starting to lose me. I do love the concept. Rob Williams is doing things with Martian Manhunter that have never been done before. He's taking a leap, and ultimately, its working. But for three issues now, the actual J'onn J'onzz hasn't been present.

I would like this remedied soon or else I fear I'll lose complete interest.

Second Place:

Darth Vader #11

I think I mentioned this last week, but it holds true this week: Darth Vader is starting to drag. The going has been pretty slow and I would like to see some dividends paid. It feels like we've been following the "Vader stole the money but blames Aphra, but they're working together" story for fucking months. Let's get it wrapped up.

We had a nice little side bar last month (or week? This book seems to have it's own release schedule) with Aphra getting info from the Naboo mortician that buried Padmé. Seeing Vader send her to try to track down information on his dead wife and possible kids is a neat little thread to pull on. All the business with Thanoth being Vader's boss seems unnecessary. Just tell the good story, please.

Hey. Still a good book here. Really. Still a good book, but lets get the pace going. At least the upcoming Vader Down mini (where Vader gets stranded alone on a hostile planet) seems like it could be pretty sweet.

First Place:

Star Wars: Shattered Empire #4

Well would you look at that. A book I had no intention of reading in the first place has stolen my heart. Greg Rucka, you know how to write a book, pal. And artist Marco Checcetto is a great compliment to Rucka.

That was evident in the last issue when we got some classic-feeling repartee from Han and Threepio. It comes to life again clearly hearing Mark Hamill's voice come out of Checchetto's art with Rucka's words. They also add a sadness to Luke. You can feel all he's just been through (in Return of the Jedi) and it's still weighing on him. There's a charm and warmth he presents to Shattered Empire lead Shara Bey that hides the weight of his heart underneath.

I didn't think I'd like this book as much as I do. Its been a very pleasant surprise amid a lot of comics that have been doing nothing but letting me down lately. I'm looking at you, DC.

Panel of the Week:

The actual J'onn J'onzz or not, Eddie Barrows is at the top of his art game. I really dig the cut of this guys jib.

-Gint

McSoss Podcast Episode 124: McSosstober: It’s True, All of It

This week Matt and Paul breakdown classic Halloween stories and give their instant reaction to the latest Star Wars trailer.

McSoss.com
Itunes.com
Stitcher.com
McSoss Instagram
McSoss Facebook Fan Page

Modernization

At some point, if Friday the 13th is going to be remade again, they're going to have to do something about that goalie mask. I'm not saying they should, just that they may have to. How many times can Jason Voorhees find a 1970s-style goalie mask laying around if we're remaking the franchise in 2030? Most of the target demographic NOW doesn't know goalie's used to wear those things. I'm not an ardent Friday the 13th fan, but I'll definitely be sad to see it go if it ever gets to that point.

As far as Michael Myers goes, I took some heat for calling the original Halloween overrated. I stand by my statement. BUT, I will admit Michael Myers mask is one of the scariest masks in horror. Referencing it and drawing it for the next couple comics was somewhat unsettling.

-Gint

Soss' Suggestion 10-22-15 Marvel's Jessica Jones #1

Marvel's Jessica Jones #1 is a preview tie-in book to get fans familiar and excited for the Netflix series of the same name debuting November 20th. In my opinion this book fails on both accounts. 

We are induced to Jessica as she is searching a hospital for a gangster that was savagely beaten earlier that night. We quickly learn that Jones is a private eye and the man she is looking for is Turk, a drug dealer featured in the Daredevil Netflix series. The reader gets a splash page of DD kicking ass but shouldn’t this book be more about who Jones is? 

Admittedly I don’t know much about her or her powers so I was hoping that this preview comic would be a quick crash course. I know, I’m a terrible Marvel Zombie. I did however like the series of teaser trailers released a few weeks ago. I appreciated how co-creator David Mack's watercolor style was woven into the production of these shorts.

This was free on Comixology so I can’t really complain too much about it. For those of you out there that are interested in learning more about Jessica Jones save yourself the download and read her Wikipedia page. -Soss

Panel of the Week: Not quite Kysten Ritter but still cute. 

Strange New Flava

There is a new weapon in the ongoing sorcerer cereal wars and it's name is Coco Agamott-O’s. Who wouldn’t love deliciously racist marshmallow cereal to get the day started right? It’s part of a balance breakfast! -Soss

Gint's 10-14-15 Pull-List Review

Boy am I a sucker for these Marvel Star Wars books. When I first heard the announcement for the Chewbacca book, I flipped my shit crying "UNNECESSARY!" Well, I bought it. And you can be damn sure I buy that dumb C-3PO book when that's released too.

Third Place:

Star Wars: Shattered Empire #2 and #3

I missed last week's issue so I'm rolling them into one review here. Its essentially a two-issue arc, so it makes sense.

These books are offering something slightly unique. While the star (or at least the main character) of the book is Rebel pilot Shara Bey, our favorites from the Original Trilogy are guest stars. A bit of the best of both worlds. Would I prefer to see every second of Luke's life post-Return of the Jedi? Sure, but seeing how the rest of the rebellion sees and acts around/to Han, Leia et. al. is interesting in its own right. That's credit to writer and seasoned veteran Greg Rucka.

And allow me to take a moment to praise artists Marco Checchetto, Jesus Unzueta and Emilio Laiso. All three artists are responsible for making this a good looking book, but its Checchetto's work that stands above the rest. His handling of "camera" movement and the relationship of his forefront characters to their backgrounds has made an impression on me.

Second Place:

Chewbacca #1

Sigh... okay... I didn't want to buy this one, but felt compelled. The chief reason is Phil Noto's art. Normally a cover guy, we get a whole issue (arc?) of his work. I bought issue #1 of Shattered Empire just because of his cover. Needless to say, I'm a fan. Secondly, Gerry Duggan's run on Nova was exceptional, so with this duo, how could I say no?

Its your basic story so far: Chewie's stranded on a planet with a broken ship. While he's waiting to repair it he has to help break up a local gang's slave ring. Not changing the face of comic writing, but writing exactly the kind of story that makes sense without stepping on the movies' toes.

While this book needs a few plot twists down the road, it wasn't any less or more impressive than Shattered Empire, but Noto's art alone is worth the price of admission.

First Place:

JLA #4

Ah, Bryan Hitch you beautiful bastard. Thank you for creating a consistently good Justice League book. I'll admit, I had my doubts when Hitch was announced as the writer (I assume he has previous writing credits), but he's putting together a great Justice League story. The way he slowly builds this entire issue up to the crescendo at the end is pretty veteran of him.

I don't know what Wonder Woman and Aquaman fighting on the cover has to do with anything in this issue (since either of them appear), but I'll let that slide.

In issue one, the team gets split up. Flash and Wonder Woman essentially go missing. We haven't heard from either in a couple issues, so I'm hoping this lost time is accounted for later in his run.

And as far as Hitch's art goes, its not the most polished I've seen from him, but on this schedule, its still loads better than some guys that get all the time in the world. Hitch's panels' cinematic approach coupled with the books pacing really give this the feel of a big screen Justice League movie. There's a good chance I'll like this better than the real deal when we get it.

Splash of the Week:

I couldn't NOT make this the Panel of the Week. Noto's Chewbacca, colors and all is just too cool.

-Gint

The Nothing

I enjoy Steve Harvey. Always have, probably always will. But the older he gets, the more his perfectly styled jet black mustache perplexes me. There's never any highlight or shadow. Its like a wormhole peering into a separate dimension. Its even taken my attention away from his gigantic perfectly white chompers. Maybe its the sharp contrast of pitch black to blinding white that sends my brain reeling?

There's a quick glimpse into how my brain works when I'm flipping through channels and land of Family Feud.

As far as Atreyu and Falkor being the truth of the universe? Well, I just like the thought of the entire Neverending Story taking place as a microverse in Steve Harvey's mustache. Next time you watch it, imagine that's the locale Bastian is communicating with. Takes that movie from an eight to a ten!

-Gint

McSoss Podcast Episode 123: McSosstober: Murder House

This week we take a field trip to a crazy murder house and chat about the most overrated things about Halloween.

McSoss.com
Itunes.com
Stitcher.com
McSoss Instagram
McSoss Facebook Fan Page

Bondage & Bailey

I don't question the muse. When you're moderately creative and force your brain to write roughly two strips a week for as long as I have, your attitude toward ideas is devil may care.

Sometimes a comic just pops in there fully written and all you need to do is draw it. Other times you get the tiniest sliver of a joke and have to blacksmith the hell out of it until it's fit to publish. So when you wake up to the thought, "Ian's dad's into Circus Porn," you let it ride.

And that's exactly what happened with the above. I don't remember the details of the dream. Those have been lost to the sandman upon waking. But that one sliver of Ian's pops being into the three ring shuffle remained.

The muse works in mysterious ways.

-Gint

Ps StuffMyClownCar.com doesn't exist. Sorry to get anyone's hopes up.

Gint's 10-7-15 Pull-List Review

Its been a while since I've had six books on the Pull-List, but that has more to do with release schedules than it does the Big Two (DC and Marvel) offering up some quality products all of a sudden.

Sixth Place:

Darth Vader #10

Let it be known, each of the books on the Pull-List were good. So even Sixth Place here gets around a B grade.

What I like most about Kieron Gillen's story is how he's tying the Prequels to the OT (Original Trilogy). Since George Lucas had no clue what he'd do in the Prequels when he wrote the OT, there's no honest link in the OT tying the two timelines together. But seeing Naboo again, and hearing about the legacy of Queen Amidala, it goes a long way toward reconciling the two trilogies better than the trilogies did themselves.

The only problem is that its starting to feel like Brian Azzarello's New 52 Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman went on and on without much advancement in the story. It was taking forever to get anywhere. Darth Vader, while still entertaining, is starting to drag.

Fifth Place:

Star Wars #10

I can't stress enough how much Stuart Immonen's art has revitalized and legitimized this book. Its such gorgeous work.

My only request from Jason Aaron and Co. is to put the whole team together. Even in the OT we don't get to see them together all that much after A New Hope. They spit in Empire after Hoth and Luke spends most of Jedi alone on Dagobah or on the Death Star. The cast had such great chemistry, I'd love to see Aaron write something that keeps the core together for a while. Show me in this book why Han and Luke are so tight at the start of The Empire Strikes Back.

But just like Darth Vader above, this book is really enjoyable. So while I'd tweak a few things, so long as Jason Aaron and Stuart Immonen are the creative team, I'm buying.

Fourth Place:

Secret Wars #6

Now we're getting somewhere. After 5 issues of setup and getting the lay of the land and all the pieces on the board, the plot has kicked into gear. Battleworld is falling apart and our heroes from The Raft are making their move.

And the almighty deux ex machina is revealed! Suddenly we understand how Marvel will justify the Ultimate Universe's characters living in the 616. In a way, its disappointing. You almost think, "okay, I get it now, just get to the end." But that's selling this book short. Jonathan Hickman gets a bad wrap for making his stories too complicated and hard to follow, but this one has been great. And that's coming from a guy that doesn't read Marvel regularly. I think with even a passing knowledge, this book has been very user friendly.

I've always been a Reed Richards fan. Seeing the old, haggard 616 version working along side the young and evil 1610 version makes me appreciate the character even more. Hickman, and artist Esad Ribic bring a very honest weariness to this version of Reed.

Third Place:

Captain Canuck #4

My first experience with writer Kalman Andrasofszky and artist Leonard Kirk has been a pleasant one. Diving into a character I knew nothing about before Free Comic Book Day this past year has also been a pleasant one. While DC and Marvel have taken their super heroes and continually keep flipping the scripts on them, Andrasofszky and Kirk are delivering what DC and Marvel SHOULD be: a great superhero story.

Captain Canuck fights monsters and aliens and secret cabals of villains worldwide... but mainly in the Great White North. The team introduces unique concepts, designs and characters that make your basic superhero story a great superhero story. At this point, I'd take Tom Evans (Canuck) in my superhero fantasy draft before I'd take Bruce Wayne or Steve Rogers.

I know that sounds absurd... and if there really was a Superhero Fantasy Draft, I may have to give that one more thought, but my point is, this character and the world they're building are really really good.

Second Place:

Nailbiter #16

I was going to say Joshua Williamson has a way of making serial killer Edward Charles Warren (the Nailbiter) a sympathetic character. And he has, to a point. But we haven't actually seen Warren do any of his trademark killing. We've seen him do gross things, but they're usually all justified in the moment. He's such a likable character, I'd love to see Williamson write Warren falling off the wagon and killing an innocent person, and how Williamson would bring him back after that.

That brings me to this issue. Three kids (on Halloween night) dare to knock on Warren's door and run. Warren happens to be home and catches one of the kids... to bandage up his banged up knee. So we see Warren have a very charming conversation with this kid while he explains he doesn't kill children. Aww... what a noble guy.

Its a really interesting issue seeing how Williamson keeps Warren very much in character in this much different situation than we've seen him in before. He seems to have the chops to really push Warren's dark side successfully. I want to see it.

First Place:

Lando #5

Wow. Who'd have thought I'd be so emotionally invested in Lobot? Slow clap to you, Charles Soule and Alex Maleev.

Soule and Maleev take a book that's supposed to be about Lando, but really make it about what Lando's life as a smuggler and swindler has wrought up to this point. This is the last issue of their series and it leaves you on a bum-mer. Super sad, but so good. What starts as a fun heist book turns very emotional by the series' last couple pages.

I hadn't been a huge fan of Maleev's style up until this point, but he's won me over. I had read a couple Batman and Daredevil stories of his and I wasn't a fan of his dark, sketchy style. His work on Lando is a little bit cleaner, and his likenesses of Billy D. Williams and John Hollis are spot on.

Lando is the best work Marvel has yet done with the new Star Wars license.

Panel of the Week:

The scan of Mike Henderson and colorist Adam Guzowski's Buckaroo, OR street doesn't do it justice, but its a really beautiful panel.

-Gint

 

Cosplay Police

Comic conventions allow for carte blanche when it comes to cosplay. I imagine at some point in the past, when people dressed up, it was of comic book characters. You know, since the comic conventions were for... comics. But these days the namesake of said conventions has all but disappeared.

I wasn't into comics back in the 80s and 90s, but I'm told by those older, if not wiser than I, that comic conventions used to be 90% comics. A place where you could buy and sell comic books and also use the venue to find new comics by indie and local talent. Today's comic conventions have morphed beyond that into a pop culture catch all. The general theme seems to be: whatever culty thing you're into.

Supernatural? Check. Doctor Who? Check. Anime and video games? Double and triple check. Hell, you'll see a good helping of Breaking Bad cosplay/merchandise at each show and that's not even a "nerdy" genre. I wouldn't openly advocate for strict cosplay rules like "you can only be a comic book character," (I think that's how the Nazi's got the ball rolling), but it's nice to see your standard Superman, Spider-Man or one of the classics. "Yeah guy, your (insert wacko anime title here) costume looks good, but what the fuck is it?!"

I suppose this speaks to my age and interests, but I don't recognize at least half of the cosplay I see at cons. And if I do recognize some non-comic fare, its because I've seen enough of it that I know what it is now (Team Fortress).

These days comic conventions aren't just for comic fans. You'll see just as much Attack On Titan and Halo merch at a show as you will Batman or the X-Men. Well, maybe not as much as Batman. Everyone loves Batman.

What it comes down to is, I'm all for inclusion and reveling in general pop culture nerdiness, but its nice to see someone take the time to honor a classic comic book character like Kraven the Hunter than some goofy-ass thing from Spirited Away.

Cranky old man? Check.

-Gint

McSoss Podcast Episode 122: Princess Layer

This week we debate the top 6 most important characters in the Star Wars Universe. 

McSoss.com

Itunes.com
Stitcher.com
McSoss Instagram
McSoss Facebook Fan Page

Cy-bore

Cyborg is on the Justice League because he's black. Period. DC and Geoff Johns may try to spin it and say things like, "the team needs a technologically advanced member," but ultimately, we know why: The Justice League is Mayor Cracker of Crackertown and DC needs to promote a more diverse product. And that's cool with me, but why not use some black characters already in the DC stable that are more interesting than Victor Stone (Cyborg)?

John Stewart is the #1 candidate. He's a Green Lantern, has the power set to stand with Superman and Wonder Woman and is a badass. But Geoff Johns (who writes Justice League) prefers Hal Jordan (white guy) and I can't argue with that.

How about Mr. Terrific? He's a genius who is just as if not more technologically savvy than Cyborg. He also knows how to fight.

Black Lightning's an option. He controls the power of electricity, and with the New 52 reboot, its not a stretch to give him a technology background OR the ability to control electronics.

I also like the option of using Vixen, or a new black version of Kendra Saunders (Hawkgirl). You get two times the diversity because they're black AND girls.

Putting Cyborg on the Justice League also leaves the Teen Titans rudderless. That book has been complete shit since the New 52 relaunch. I don't think its a stretch to say its partially because the natural backbone and leader of that team for decades (Cyborg) has never been a Teen Titan in this rebooted universe.

Cyborg absolutely has a place in the DCU. And maybe David F. Walker and Ivan Reis can really get to the heart of this character in his solo series and make him A-list. Regardless, I'd rather read a Cyborg title than half of the head-scratchers coming out like The Omega Men or Marvel's Karnak – more characters that should never be on the Justice League (or Avengers).

-Gint

Gint's 9-30-15 Pull-List Review

A couple DC books on the Pull-List. One gets it all right and the other gets it all wrong.

Second Place:

Superman #44

This will be my last issue of Superman. That's no indictment of Gene Yang or John Romita, Jr., I think they're doing as good a job they can with what's been laid out before them. But they don't have a lot of great stuff to work with.

Superman has been depowered. Each issue, he loses some more of his power and eludes in this issue that soon it may be gone for good. That's not the Superman I want to read. When you pick up a Superman book you expect to get Superman – super strength, flight, heat vision... the whole nine yards. DC has gone to great lengths to make him unrecognizable in every way. Not just with the buzz cut and t-shirt and jeans, but with taking his powers from him.

The old "no powers" trick is fun for a quick arc here or an arc there, but it shouldn't be the status quo. It screams "we don't know how to make this character popular." Maybe you can't. Maybe Superman is like the Fantastic Four in that for as huge a place in comic book history as they have, maybe its time to concede that this just isn't going to be a top selling character.

In that case, just write fucking Superman stories. That's SUPERman, not DEPOWEREDman.

First Place:

Justice League #44

Night and day this week going from a book that was disappointing to a book that's 100% satisfying. Geoff Johns just gets the DC characters. Even the characters that have small moments in this issue shine in a way that's true to themselves. Why Johns isn't put in charge of the entire DC stable, I don't know.

Fabok continues to annihilate the art. Annihilate in a good way. He's fucking killing it. One beef: I think using the inverse color to denote Apokolips-fueled Superman is sort of lame. There's a more interesting way to denote his change in personality that just inversing the blacks and whites. But that is such small potatoes for the best looking book on the shelves.

This book has been so good it incenses me that books like Superman happen. Johns and Fabok are killing it. Its possible to write really good comics. Why then are the majority of DC's books lately so disappointing? They don't have to be.

Spread of the Week:

Jason Fabok doing the Lord's work.

-Gint

Impulses

Tis the season... for horror movies. October and Halloween are right around the corner, and with it comes the desire to scare the shit out of ourselves. Be it old classics (Halloween, Friday the 13th Part II) or the new standards (The Ring, The Conjuring), its time to watch some horror movies. For me, that means trying to get caught up on some of the last couple years' horror fare like Oculus.

I appreciate a good slasher movie, but its really the supernatural horror that weirds me out. With good, old fashioned common sense, you can usually escape a Jason Voorhees-type. Not so easy against a supernatural being who's capable of bending the rules of their own universe. That's why Oculus looks fucked up. But my saving grace will be the exceptionally beautiful Karen Gillan. I'm sure during the moments I should be hiding under a blanket, I'll be lost in those big beautiful brown eyes. Ahhh.

Okay, enough of that. Oculus had middling reviews, but so did The Grudge and that shit gave me nightmares... amongst other things. Mama was dumb (sad because the short is fucking brilliant), and Sinister and Insidious had potential but also fell short (don't have kids and you're safe).

So here's to a season of being scared and horny! Happy Fall!

-Gint

McSoss Podcast Episode 121: J'onn J'onzz and the Fantastic Four

This week Paul and Ian discuss Marvel’s all-new and all-different comic book lineup and review Image Comics’ The Wicked and The Divine.

McSoss.com
Itunes.com
Stitcher.com
McSoss Instagram
McSoss Facebook Fan Page