Alan Rapp

Comic Rack

It’s a new week so it must be time to talk about comics! Welcome to the RazorFine Comic Rack boys and girls. Pull up a bean bag and take a seat at feet of the master as we offer you this quick list of all kinds of comic book goodness set to hit comic shops and bookstores this week from all your favorite publishers including DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, BOOM!, Dynamite, Image Comics, and others.

This week includes Astonishing X-Men, Avengers, Deadpool, Detective Comics, Gotham City Sirens, Green Arrow, Godland, Invincible Iron Man, Kato, Lady Death, Power Girl, Savage Dragon, Scalped, Spike, Teen Titans, Thor, Usagi Yojimbo,X-Men, the first issues of Iron Man 2.0, King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel, Transformers 3 Movie Prequel – Foundation, True Blood: Tainted, and the final issues of Fantastic Four, Green Hornet: Blood Ties, Iron Man/Thor, Kull: The Hate Witch #4 (of 4), Star Trek: Infestation, Warriors Three, and X-Men: To Serve And Protect.

Enjoy issue #116

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I Am Number Four

  • Title: I Am Number Four
  • IMDB: link

i-am-number-four-posterBased on the young adult novel of the same name by Pittacus Lore I Am Number Four is somewhat bland coming of age tale of a high school aged alien (i.e. college aged actor) on the run from another group of aliens that want him dead. Incredibly silly, and more than a little dumb, the film tries to cover up most of its flaws with a sense of humor and some well executed special effects.

We meet the alien savior John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) and his protector Henri (Timothy Olyphant) on the beaches of Florida before they hastily relocate to the scenic town of Paradise, Ohio, in an attempt to stay ahead of the other aliens.

These evil visitors to our world, known as the Mogadorians, are systematically hunting down nine children from John’s home planet in order of the numbers someone (the film never mentions who) has given them. Once these children are dead the Mogadorians plan to turn their attentions to the helpless earthlings.

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Unknown

  • Title: Unknown
  • IMDB: link

unknown-posterLiam Neeson stars as Dr. Martin Harris, a scientist from the United States who arrives in Germany with his wife (January Jones) for a medical conference, only to find his very life stolen from him in the space of four days.

After a car accident leaves him in a coma, Martin awakes days later to find his life has been Taken away from him and an another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Frantic, Martin tries to piece together his fractured memory with the help of a cab driver (Diane Kruger) and a former East German spy (Bruno Ganz).

The film was based on the novel by Didier Van Cauwelaert, but could have just as easily been pieced together from a variety of recent Hollywood thrillers. There’s nothing new added to the equation, and the execution is far from thrilling.

That’s not to say Unknown is a bad film. It hits the right marks, the action sequences are passable, and the movie does include one fairly well done car chase through the streets of Berlin.

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Take Me or Leave Me

  • Title: Glee – Comeback
  • tv.com: link

There may have been way too much Justin Bieber for my tastes in this week’s episode of Glee, but the message of getting back to basics was a good one for both Sue (Jane Lynch) and Rachel (Lea Michele). We also got more of the Finn (Cory Monteith)/Quinn (Dianna Agron)/Sam (Chord Overstreet) triangle – with a little Santana (Naya Rivera) thrown in for good measure – and more of the odd pairing of Puck (Mark Salling) and Lauren (Ashley Fink). And, I kind of liked Britney’s (Heather Morris) arm-warmers. This week also marked another diva-off between Rachel and Mercedes (Amber Riley) with a very entertaing performance of “Take Me or Leave Me” from Rent which you can watch in this clip.

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Red Robin #20

red-robin-20-coverEnter the Catman. The first issue of a two-part crossover with Teen Titans begins here as Red Robin battles with Catman who has been hired by the Calculator to keep the hero out of the ubernet. His solution is simple, and deadly – he puts Tam Fox in danger.

I’ve got to say any comic can be helped by a little Catman, and the fight between the two is pretty good. I’m also glad to see how seriously Drake takes a threat like Thomas Blake. You’ve come a long way, baby (thank you Gail Simone!).

That said, the best part of this issue is the second-half where Red Robin reconnects with the Teen Titans (and Damian). The Empire Strike Back reunion scene is pretty good, as is the chemistry between Drake and his former teammates is enjoyable as well as telling on how much Drake has grown into his own character. Now if they can just survive the daunting task of taking out Calculator’s base of operation protected by an army of robots made in his own image. (I wonder if he calls them Doombots?) Definitely worth a look.

[DC $2.99]

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