Running With the Devil

Not much of a surprise, but the Devils are officially in now. Fuck off, Pittsburgh.

I found this on the Ween forum...

Dr John IX wrote:

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I thought Antipop was pretty good...

No Foetus Can Beat Us

So, I think I'm going to be interviewing Jim Thirlwell sometime. If anyone has any questions, send them in.

Check the Title

Marvel released some of their June solicitations, and I couldn't be happier than to see that Punisher has been renamed to Franken-Castle. Not just the arc; the book's title. This not only implies that Franken-Castle will stick around after the current arc, but maybe for a little while.

I know a lot of people don't like the change in their character, but I've said for a long time that The Punisher is a totally one-note character. His family's dead. He shoots people. That's about it for about forty years

I know he did spend brief time as a brother (which doesn't really change anything except appearance) and an angel. This time Rick Remender did the obvious thing by taking a crap character (Punisher) and turning him into an awesome character (Frankenstein).

Warner Bros. did something similar about eighty years back when the took a lame character (Frankenstein) and made him into a kick-ass character (Frankenstein). The character was later evolved in the early seventies when General Mills turned him pink and gave him a lisp. Maybe the next arc will be called Frankenberrycastle. We can only hope.

Also: if anyone is bored and wants to Photoshop a Frankenberrycastle, you should send it in.

Better Call Saul

Book of the Week

3-3-10

Even though it had a pretty decent finale, I have some mixed feelings about this Stark: Disassembled arc. First off, I think that five issues is a little long to to spend with a main character in a coma. It seems like Marvel just wanted this character in stasis until The Siege was over.

I really liked the surreal scenes in Tony's subconscious, which is a storytelling technique that I normally find kind of annoying. I credit this to Salvador Larocca's gorgeous artwork and designs. I guess also that usually in these situations are usually just characters walking around in heaven or something talking to dead people and not getting chased around in the desert by giant robots, which is infinitely cooler.

What I really feel mixed about are the scenes outside of Tony's mind. While there were really good touching scenes with the supporting cast dealing with the fact that Tony might die, there was also the subplot of an assassination attempt by Ghost, a third tier character that I'm not really sure what he does or even his relation to Tony. I guess you need some action in a superhero comic, but this just seemed silly and posed no threat. Not that I really think Dr. Doom or Mandarin or anyone would ever kill Iron Man, but as a reader I could suspend my disbelief a little easier.

The other thing I find awkward is the end. We've spent almost a year and a half with Tony trying to redeem himself for the Registration Act, the death of Captain America, and all around generally being an asshole. So when they implant Tony's downloaded memories, it turns out that they were downloaded prior to all this which seems to relieve him of all of these responsibilities. I know that you would want the care-free Iron Man around the time of Iron Man 2's release, but it just seems like an easy reboot. Like Spider-Man's deal with Mephisto; it could work out. I guess we'll have to wait to see where Fraction goes with this.

Turd In the Punch Bowl

The new season of South Park premiered last night, and I'm happy to say that it was fucking hilarious (even the parts that didn't have monkey sex). This is a great start after last fall's sub-par season. I'm hoping it keeps up this year. Really great episode all the way through. If you missed it, try to catch it tonight.

On a semi-related note: Ugly Americans is yet another show to premiere after South Park that I shut off before the first act ended.

Book of the Week

2-24-10

Once Again, Hickman and Eaglesham put out a great issue of Fantastic Four. It's got the fun and adventure of a 60's sci-fi movie when people would discover new worlds around every corner.

Last issue, they team went underground to a radioactive city of mutated Moloids where Galactus' skeleton is buried. This time, they travel to a research base in Antarctica only go to an underwater city of fish and snail and dolphin people.

Eaglesham's art really adds a lot to the storytelling. Much of the book is completely told in the art. There are no words during an underwater battle, and the sequence is told with no confusion at all. This task can even be difficult for veteran artists.

It looks like this book is going to send the team all over the universe in these one-issue adventures that will later be seen as a larger overarching story.

Book of the Week

2-17-10

I'm really happy that they're finally doing something cool with the Sentry in the Avengers books. For years, he's kind of been this Deus Ex Machina-type character:

"[Powerful villain] is attacking!"
"Get Bob!"
"He's crying in a corner somewhere!"

Flash to end of battle.

"Bob, pull yourself together. We need you."
"OK."

Sentry ends fight.

Since Norman Osborne's formed his Avengers in this title, he's been manipulating the mentally unbalanced Bob Reynolds (Sentry) to further his purpose. Now his chickens are coming home to roost as Reynolds learns that Osborne's intentions may not be as noble as he's made them out to be. Now, Osborne has to deal with a hostile (and still loony) Sentry.

Although I feel that The Siege has been a little drawn out (it seems like the story could have been told in an over-sized one-shot), the character-developing tie-in issues have been very good. I'm looking forward to seeing Osborne's team dismantled.

Digging the Grave

Huge episode last night. It's also probably the first time I've really been this excited for LOST in a few years. Not that I haven't enjoyed it. It just hasn't been as intense the past couple of seasons since its been winding down. Not like early in the series when every week I was like, "Oh, God! They need to push the button!" or "Holy fuck! The others put them in cages!"

It seems that with the Season's midway point next week, the first act is just about done. The pieces are just about placed. We just need Sawyer.

Also, last night was the first time that something really caught me off guard this year. First off, Jack is now a man of faith. But even more shocking is that Ben looks to be getting redemption.

Last night showed more hints that the "substitute" Locke in the alternate timeline may also be the Smokemonster. This leads to speculation that the alternate universe may not just be some time paradox, but possibly a result of a Faustian deal with the Locke/Smokemonster on the island.

Along with all of this, Lindelof and Cuse recently stated in an interview that after the show's finale, they are no longer going to be discussing LOST, and that the finale should speak for itself. This leads me to think that the finale may be thought provoking or at least not a simple happy ending.

Can't wait for next week.

Boosh

June 1st.

Steamroll the Chumps

Alright. It's marathon time at WFMU. For those of you who have not heard, WFMU is the coolest radio station in the world that I know about. It's completely free form. Seriously, if there's another station that plays both The Melvins and Tom Jones, I'd like know about it. If you've never listened, check it out:

http://www.wfmu.org/

It's completely listener sponsored, and the thought of it not being around always makes me sad. So pledge some money. Do it!