Alan Rapp

Star Wars #7

/ / Comics

Star Wars #7Star Wars #7 is a throwback issue that follows the events Luke Skywalker finds in the journal Obi-Wan Kenobi left for him on Tatooine. Taking place a few years into Obi-Wan’s exile, the latest issue of Marvel’s Star Wars comic deals primarily with Ben’s struggle with no longer being a Jedi, hiding in the desert, and his failure to train young Luke in the ways of the Force.

Although some complain that Luke is the biggest whiner in the Star Wars universe, there’s more than enough self-pity in this issue for Obi-Wan to give the farm boy a run for his money. Despite struggling with inaction, Obi-Wan does find a way to be of service when during the biggest draught in the planet’s history a young Luke attempts to stand-up to Jabba‘s shakedown of the local moisture farmers which almost gets him killed.

…

Star Wars #7Read More »

Star Wars #7 Read More »

Still Craptastic

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Fantastic Four (2015)
  • IMDb: link

Fantastic FourThe first pre-screening I ever attended as a critic was 2005’s Fantastic Four. It was, in retrospect, a brutal rite of passage. One would hope that after a decade full of comic book films (the good, the bad, and everything in-between) 20th Century Fox would have learned their lesson and seen fit not to unleash such a travesty onto an unsuspecting movie-going audience yet again. One would be wrong.

Fantastic? After three movies somebody really needs to sue Fox for false advertising. The series made substantial improvements with 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer but still could only squeeze mediocrity out of one the best stories Marvel Comics has ever published.

Choosing to wipe the slate clean by adapting the Ultimate Marvel versions of the characters (an alternate timeline of the Marvel Universe I had little interest in going into this screening and even less on exiting), screenwriters Simon Kinberg, Jeremy Slater, and Josh Trank weave a tale of boy geniuses, alternate dimensions, and maniacal villains who are evil solely because the plot is dependent on them to be.

…

Still CraptasticRead More »

Still Craptastic Read More »

Astro City #25

/ / Comics

Astro City #25Astro City #25 offers a snapshot of the life of a second-generation super-hero in Hummingbird who is both gifted and cursed with unique gifts which begin to express themselves during adolescence including wings that give her the power of flight.

Drawn by guest-artist Jesús Merino, the latest issue of Astro City is very much a throwback to the kinds of comic tales that DC and Marvel, for whatever reason, seem to have gotten out of the habit of telling in favor of large-scale event tie-ins. In a single issue you could argue we get a better feel of Hummingbird than any recently-rebooted version of a major character from either of the big two comic publishers.

And she’s heroic! Presented with hard choices our hero rises to the challenge to save not just one world but two. There’s no cynicism or unnecessary grim filter that Busiek and Merino are forced to tell their tale through. This results in a fresh take on a rather basic premise that, like nearly all issues of the series, delivers just the kind of story you’ve been looking to read. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $3.99]

Astro City #25 Read More »