Alan Rapp

Justice League of America #1

/ / Comics

justice-league-of-america-new-52-1-coverNearly everything about his comic comes from a ridiculous premise and bad (and do I mean BAD) ideas. After having cancelled Justice League International, and still desperate for a second Justice League team working inside the DCU, the New 52 launches their brand spanking new Justice League of America.

The premise is simple (and basically ripped off nearly completely from Justice League Unlimited with all the best parts taken out). Amanda Waller (who’s lost a lot of weight since the reboot) and Steve Trevor decide to put together a team they can control, market, and use as a last result if the real Justice League goes bad.

Under that premise you’d expect some heavy-hitters. After all, if these guys are the last line of defense against Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and the rest, you’d expect some top-shelf talent. You’d be wrong. Instead Waller and Trevor put together a laughable list of C-list and D-list heroes who’d struggle taking on Keith Giffen’s Justice League Antarctica, let alone the current New 52 version.

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Castle – Hunt

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Castle – Target
  • tv.com: link

“You’ve been playing cop for years, you ready to play spy?”

Castle - Hunt

“Hunt” picks up where last week’s cliffhanger left off with Agent Harris (Dylan Walsh) and the FBI analyzing the Skype call Alexis (Molly C. Quinn) made from Paris to narrow their search for the two kidnapped girls. The kidnappers finally make contact demanding €15 million from Sara’s parents (Bernard White, Katherine Kamhi) for the safe return of Sara (Karen David) and Alexis. When something goes wrong with the money drop in Paris and only Sara is returned, and with no reason for the kidnappers to keep his daughter alive, Castle (Nathan Fillion) goes all Taken and heads to Paris to find his daughter.

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The Shadow: Year One #1

/ / Comics

The Shadow: Year One #1The Shadow has been around, in one form or another, since 1930. A vigilante with the power to cloud men’s minds, a skill he picked up during his time in the Far East. Over the years different writers have added pieces to the character’s past, but with Dynamite Entertainment’s new series writer Matt Wagner and artist Wilfredo Torres delve into the origins of the character that have been largely shrouded in mystery for more than 80 years.

After a few panels of the mysterious Cambodian warrior Ying Ko, the series starts off in earnest with Lamont Cranston’s return to New York after several years abroad. The comic also introduces Margo Lane (and here Wagner takes a page out of Frank Miller‘s handbook making The Shadow’s faithful companion a high-priced whore for a New York gangster).

We also get The Shadow’s first appearance, and several mentions of how much Cranston has changed. The most interesting of these is Margo, who knew the man before his travels, mentioning that Lamont seems taller which could mean either he is more imposing or the man calling himself Lamont Cranston isn’t the same man she met two years before.

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House of Lies – Family Values

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: House of Lies – Family Values
  • tv.com: link

“The people you work with are assholes.”

House of Lies - Family Values

After his boss tries to kill his deal with U.S. National Bank behind Marty’s (Don Cheadle) back, things between Marty and Galweather Stearn’s new CEO (Bess Armstrong) come to a head at a company team-building retreat when he decides to cut out early to keep his promise to see Roscoe’s (Donis Leonard Jr.) inappropriate school dance performance. Back at the retreat, Doug (Josh Lawson) begins see the Pod in an entirely new light after they meet Sarah (Jenny Slate), especially after Clyde (Ben Schwartz) comes onto her at the pool and Clyde and Jeannie (Kristen Bell) bully Doug into looking like a fool in a competition with another team during one of the team-building exercises.

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Nova #1

/ / Comics

Nova #1Writer Jeph Loeb and artist Ed McGuinness give us a solid (although at times somewhat confusing) first issue as Marvel NOW! sets out to relaunch Nova with a new hero under the helmet. Part of the problem with Nova #1 is that it has to introduce not one Nova, but two. Had the Loeb been able to fit Sam Alexander‘s story into the already existing Nova history (rather than show us that his drunken father was once a member of the Nova Corps so forgettable he had never appeared in any issue in the Marvel Universe until now).

On the plus side Sam is likable enough (although does Marvel really need more angsty teenage heroes with parental issues?), and the comic does include an appearance by Rocket Raccoon and Gamora (that will nearly always earn you some points in my book).

The structure of the comic, though confusing given none of these characters are familiar, actually works well as Sam’s dad relates his experiences in space to Sam’s younger sister in a series of bedtime stories Sam has gotten too old to believe in anymore.

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