McSoss Podcast Episode 133: Muljunior

This week we look back on the year that was 2015.

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Brand New Bestie

As of this writing I've seen The Force Awakens three times. Each time I liked it a little bit more, while being able to put aside some of the issues I have with it. One issue I've never had is with Finn.

The two largest arguments I've heard against him are that 1. if he grew up as a Stormtrooper, he's got an awfully animated personality and 2. his actions and dialog are a little too "Earth" for a galaxy far far away. Arguments can be made for both cases, but I'm not going to use this space to counter them. I've done enough arguing over Rey the last couple weeks.

Sure, when he goes off on Captain Phasma, I cringed a little... each viewing. But I absolutely loved "droid, please!" and his attitude issues never crossed my mind until someone pointed it out. Even since, its not something I dwell on. We got a really good Star Wars movie even if it does have a couple blemishes.

If people are pissed over that stuff, wait until next movie when the romance is between Finn and Poe. Lets be honest – they had the best chemistry in the movie.

-Gint

Gint's 12-23-15 Pull-List Review

Merry belated Christmas, everyone! These reviews were lovingly written on a 70 degree Christmas Eve last week. Yay, global warming!

Third Place:

He-Man: The Eternity War #13

So, I'm pretty sure Man-At-Arms blew Tri-Klops' head off. That's pretty epic because I'll be sad to see him go. I'm a big fan of those core Skeletor villains and want to see more of them, not less... no matter how gruesome the less is.

Adam finally escapes the mental torture that King Hsss has been putting him through. He calls upon an old memory of his father to anchor himself and takes control. The only problem with killing Hsss is that the whole Snake army goes with him. Now the Masters are severely outnumbered at the Skeletor-occupied Castle Grayskull.

We're getting down to the wire now. Dan Abnett, Pop Mhan and Co. have crafted the best He-Man story I've read in... well, maybe ever. While I don't want Eternity War to end, I'm sure Abnett has more He-Man greatness to come.

Second Place:

JLA #6

After the old bait-and-switch issue, Bryan Hitch is back with the story of Rao on Earth and the mystery of the Infinity Corporation. Hitch's art is quickly done and not tight and sharp, but this is a rare occasion I can let that go in favor of Hitch's brand of cinematic energy.

The story starts to tighten up with some of the Infinity Corporation coming into focus. Somehow they're using giant stones to manipulate the future to try and stop an apocalypse. This has resulted in some shenanigans with the Justice League, like sending Wonder Woman to a ruined Olympus and Green Lantern to a Krypton of 250,000 years ago.

Its big, epic storytelling that's scratching my super hero itch. Had you asked me when this book started if I thought Hitch had what it took to write a good JLA story, I'd have told you no. Six issue in and it's one of the most enjoyable (and few) books I've been getting lately.

First Place:

Darth Vader #14

Continuing the Vader Down storyline, Princess Leia hatches a plan to lure Vader onto a Rebel bombing site, the problem is, she's the bait. Considering we just saw her in The Force Awakens this past week, I'm sure she'll make it out okay.

Getting some Luke and Han facetime is nice considering, well, you better see The Force Awakens. I'm not sure how big a hand the Star Wars writing group has on dialog, but this Marvel team has really done well writing each character. Tip of the hat to Kieron Gillen and Brian Azzarello.

As great as Salvador Larroca's art has been he too continues the tradition of not quite being able to draw Leia if its not photo reference. This has been an issue since I started reading Dark Horse's last run. I guess Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford are just easier to pull off. His Darth Vader is impeccable though.

Panel of the Week:

Luke and Han together... RIP.

-Gint

McSoss Podcast Episode 132: Herr Snoke

This week we give our official, giant-sized review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

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Afternoon Delight

This strip was inspired by years of conversations with my buddies about the attractiveness of the cartoon heroines of our youth. For some reason all of our wives and girlfriends never seem to be amused when this topic comes up. I think it's perfectly natural for young boy to think that a cartoon mouse in a purple jumpsuit is "kind of hot”. -Soss

Our Lord and Savior

This past weekend Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened in theaters everywhere. We were introduced to new exciting characters like Rey, Finn and the villainous Kylo Ren. We also were treated to a host of familiar characters and locations. 

In the interest of not spoiling this film of those that haven’t seen it I will not be writing a long and detailed post for this strip. However, check in with us to this weeks podcast to get our full 2 hour, spoiler-filled breakdown of the latest Star Wars film. -Soss

Gint's 12-16-15 Pull-List Review

No reviews last week because oddly, I didn't get any. The Star Wars Annual didn't warrant a buy, just like the Darth Vader Annual this week didn't make the cut. But what books did make the cut? Lets take a look...

Fourth Place:

Martian Manhunter #7

Artist Eddie Barrows is out for issue #7, but Ronan Cliquet does some nice work for a name I've never heard of before. Not sure about Barrows' status on returning, but I hope he does since he's been doing the work of his career.

The story though continues to be super strange. Each issue has been really up and down. Some I like, some are just too far out for what I want from a Martian Manhunter book. I'm also not feeling the native Martian design. Its too far removed from what the Martians of the DCU usually look like.

Just when I think Rob Williams has hooked me back into this book, he pulls me back out. This may be a good jumping off point for a book I'm only moderately invested in.

Third Place:

Justice League #46

What started out as an interesting story about Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor fighting with the Justice League caught in the middle has turned into a convoluted mess. Maybe "mess" is a bit harsh. But there are tons of moving parts that have me scratching my head saying, "huh?"

Half the League have become New Gods, a couple evil Amazons are involved somehow and its up to Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor to clean it all up. That's about as good of a summary as I can give. Never being a New Gods fan to begin with, things aren't boding well for a thumbs up when this ones over.

Jason Fabok takes a break on art this issue and DC gives the nod to Francis Manapul. I've sung Manapul's praises here plenty of times, but going from Fabok's style to Manapul's is shocking. Especially with the addition of Manapul's color palette which harkens back to Greg Capullo's Zero Year palette: pastel city. Love Manapul, but as a counter part to Fabok it doesn't help a story that already may be going off the rails.

Second Place:

Descender #8

Maybe with The Force Awakens just opening in theater's I have Star Wars on the mind, but this is the most Star Wars-y issue of this book. The back and forth dialog between Andy and Blugger is the kind of fun buddy-comedy relationship you want. When they have to escape a couple government ships, Jeff Lemire navigates the Star Wars-ish plot to a tee.

The story mentioned above is intercut with flashbacks to Andy being a child when his mother buys him Tim-21 to keep him company. Its sweet and sad and you see why Andy is so determined to find Tim – because it may be the only thing he has left of his mother.

As fun as this book has been, and as great as Dustin Nguyen's watercolors are, I almost want the art tightened up some more. It doesn't need an inker to define everything, but this is a world that's pretty well thought out. I'd love to see the art make it feel a little more tangible.

First Place:

Secret Wars #8

Is it me or have I been reviewing Secret Wars for the past three years? That's a cheap shot, I know. But I've been enjoying this story so much that I don't want to wait another few months for the final chapter. Lets wrap it up quickly.

Esad Ribic and Ive Svorcina have been crushing the art on this book, so I don't want to see a fill-in, but maybe better planning from the start for a timely release schedule. Some of the best parts in this issue have to do with how Jonathan Hickman writes Peter Quill. He only gets brief screen time (panel time?), but each line feels like a good mix of the pre and post-Chris Pratt Peter Quill.

Hickman and Ribic have done a nice job having characters really get their asses handed to them while maintaining enough magic power in the universe to set things right. If someone really don't want a character to die, they don't have to. Magic! They're back! But just seeing the Marvel U caught up in this all out brawl is a ton of fun.

Panel of the Week:

Esad Ribic channels his best Eric Roberts for this Star Lord panel.

-Gint

McSoss Wars

I was hemming and hawing about whether or not to write this post before or after watching The Force Awakens. I decided before since I won't want to write it at 3am, and won't want to wake up early to have it for you fine folks Friday morning. But don't worry. I'm sure there will be plenty of comic strips and blog posts detailing the movie and stuff like waiting in line and choking a motherfucker out to get a good seat.

No big joke here this week, just an homage to that old Star Wars poster where Luke was juiced up and Leia was sexy and sassy. It's not my favorite Star Wars poster, but it may be the most iconic along side the red and black one from Jedi. You all know the one.

I absolutely loved working on this, and Ian was delighted to be Darth Vader. The comics allow us to draw a variety of weird shit, but getting to stretch our legs once in a while on a larger piece is a nice change of pace. So expect to see more movie poster and album cover homages in the future.

In 7 short hours I'll be locked in to The Force Awakens. Some last minute ticket drama plus having to now sit in general admission has taken some of the shine off tonight's upcoming experience. But OCD-inspired seating anxiety aside, I expect to be taken on a ride few movies have taken me on in my adulthood. Its a tall task, but its a task actually seeing Luke Skywalker might accomplish.

So on this glorious The Force Awakens release day, may the Force be with you... always. (Unless this movie sucks a fat one, then I take that back).

-Gint

 

Setting the (Low) Bar

Two more days and The Force Awakens will finally be here. Not the myriad of TV spots, pop-up ads or products shilling the most tangential connection to the Force, but the REAL thing. Seems like its taken forever and no time at all for it to get here.

As part of the big lead-up to The Force Awakens I recently watched the Prequels. Yeah, Phantom Menace is bad, and Attack of the Clones is even worse, but what I realized is that I like Revenge of the Sith a lot less than I've had people convince me since it's release. I've been softened on it by fans claiming it's the Prequel that got it right. And until this past week, I mostly agreed. Well, after this last watch, Revenge of the Sith sucks too.

From Artoo's Three Stooges routine with the Super Battle Droids, to Anakin's agonizing over joining Palpatine to killing kids 5 minutes later, to the complete waste of everything that was good about Padmé... its not a good movie. Sure, the dogfight in the beginning is pretty cool, and Anakin and Obi-Wan's battle to the (almost) death is about as epic as it can be, but those are just sparkly glitter trying to hide the mess of a story underneath.

Yes, Sith is forced to spend its entire run time trying to make up for poor planning from the very start, and trying to atone for the sins of Menace and Clones, but its not enough. It hardly delivers anything I wanted from what I expected the Prequels to be.

So on this note, I put the Prequels to bed. This week we move forward with The Force Awakens, and for good or bad, it will be the next era of Star Wars. So in moving forward, I don't believe I'll ever watch the Prequels again. They're not good movies and I don't need to waste my time on them.

I claim Original Trilogy for life, and a MOST sincere good luck to the stewards of the brand moving forward. They've got a lot to live up to and a lot to make up for.

Yeah, the Joker inside me wants to see mad chaos from a horrible Star Wars movie this week, but ultimately I just want to fully enjoy Star Wars again. There's still hope in me... the Prequels haven't driven it from me fully.

-Gint

Uh Oh Spoiler-o's

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be here in under a week and all over the nation there is panic. Fear of Spoiling Star Wars is a legit epidemic gripping the masses. People are ditching social media left and right in order not to accidentally come across spoilers. Spoilers could be lurking anywhere, on boxes of cereal or even in the make-up aisle.

I feel pretty fortunate that I've come this far without having the major plot points spoiled for me. It's amazing considering that our podcast is very Star Wars centric and I frequent a variety of Star Wars themed websites weekly. I’ll be on going a complete social media blackout for the few days before the midnight showing. As an extra precaution I might have to blindfold myself and wear earplugs while waiting in line. You know... just to be safe. -Soss

McSoss Podcast Episode 131: Pictures Of Matt's Ass

This week we discuss the latest Batman V Superman trailer and talk about our greatest fears concerning Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

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Alien Season

The Star Wars comic books and cartoons can be guilty of reusing a lot of the same aliens and styles of characters. Even when they create brand-new characters like the Inquisitors they tend to look and feel like things that we've seen in the past. 

While it would be nice for the creators to come up with some more original ideas I don't want them to think too outside of the box. Jaxxon, a character created for the 1980s Star Wars Marvel books, feels completely out of place. I'm not certain if he's related to Captain Bucky O'Hare but I'm pretty sure they grew up in the same neighborhood. -Soss

Gint's 12-2-15 Pull-List Review

Small week this week rounding out the Big Three: DC, Image and Marvel.

Third Place:

Prez #6

The most amusing part of this issue was President Beth Ross having to deal with a virus-rights group believing all life to be sacred... including viruses. Evidence of Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell really taking the mickey out of the insane culture we live in.

This book is nothing like I thought it would be. That doesn't mean its not the most inventive and interesting book on the shelves. I dare anyone to show me a book that's concepts are so unique and outrageous with a purpose, not just to be outrageous.

The first arc ends this issue with Beth getting one up on the bad guys -- big business. If you didn't want to get invested in a monthly book, I'm sure the trade paperback will be available soon. Do yourselves a favor and read something completely different.

Second Place:

Nailbiter #18

Slowly, Joshua Williamson and Mike Henderson are revealing what each of the Buckaroo Butchers have done. We heard a bunch of names like the Good Samaritan, but through the series we've gotten glimpses of their M.O.'s via flashbacks. This issue it IS the Good Samaritan. Like most of the Butchers, it all ties back into our current story.

The issues with Agent Barker continue and I wish Williamson and Henderson would wrap them up. They're fucking nerve wracking for me because I really like the character and don't want her to completely lose her shit. But how interesting of a story are we going to get if he doesn't lose her shit?

Edward (The Nailbiter) Warren has been absent from some issues lately, but seems to be back in a bit of a cliffhanger at this issue's end. We've strayed away from the team-up of Agent Finch and Shannon Crane, but I'd like to see everything start dovetailing back to that pairing in Buckaroo.

First Place:

Star Wars #13

Part 3 of our Vader Down crossover takes us on a completely wacky adventure that almost brings my entire suspension of disbelief crashing down on this whole Marvel Star Wars business. That sounds pretty negative, so why is this issue finishing first this week? Well, because for all its silliness, it was a lot of fun.

Since Kieron Gillen introduced them in Darth Vader, Triple-Zero and BeeTee (Vader's evil homicidal versions of Threepio and Artoo), have really been walking a fine line of fictional realism. But there's been something about both characters that's likable enough that I haven't shut the door on them yet. And if Artoo can do silly shit like his Three Stooges routine in the beginning of Revenge of the Sith, then Triple-Zero and BeeTee can have a bit of a silly allowance.

Aside from that, Jason Aaron really seems to have a grip on how to write the Original Trilogy cast. Its a huge part of why these books have been so enjoyable.

Panel of the Week:

For as goofy as the concept of a homicidal C-3PO sounds, the design of a black-plated, red-eyed protocol droid is pretty cool. And Mike Deodato does a great job making him super creepy in this panel right here.

-Gint

McSoss Podcast Episode 130: Bat Max: Gotham Road

This week we discuss the Captain America: Civil War trailer, share our thoughts on the new Batman v Superman teaser and debate whether or not the Star Wars prequels would have been better with different actors. 

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Hitting All The Demographics

The hype for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is at a fever pitch. With only a few days left until the film is released almost every product imaginable is covered with lightsabers and droids.

Star Wars lipstick isn't something that I made up it's a real thing. I'm not  sure why ladies would want to make themselves up as Stormtroopers, but I guess there are a lot of kinks in the galaxy that I'm not fully aware of. -Soss

Soss' Suggestion 12-02-15 Captain Marvel #1

Captain Marvel #1

The main excuse for Marvel’s constant renumbering of it’s line of comics is that it gives a new reader a “jumping on point." In theory, these new adventures will catch up any new readers and make them feel like they didn’t miss anything. I’ve never been a believer of this lame excuse. If you want to read a book I feel you should just take the plunge be it issue #1 or #348. That said, I figured that I would try this theory out with a character that I know almost nothing about in Captain Marvel.

The story opens with Captain Marvel and her band of unimpressive space explorers arriving at a galactic market. After a few recycled Star Wars jokes the market breaks out into a brawl and moves to a chase scene all in the span of three pages. We cut to six weeks later where we are brought up to date with the chain of events leading into Captain Marvel ending up at said alien market.

I enjoyed the portions of the story that took place on Earth much more the any of the intergalactic high jinx. Writer Kelly Sue DeConnick does a fair job of writing both Carol Danvers and her love interest James Rhodes. The way she handles this relationship makes it feel very natural that these two would get together. 

I was surprised at how much I liked this book. I went in not being a huge fan of Kelly Sue DeConnick’s work but I see why Captain Marvel is the book many readers recommend. -Soss

Panel of the Week: I thought this origin story was pretty cute.