2 Razors

The All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #14

/ / Comics

all-new-batman-brave-and-bold-14-coverWell, they can’t all be winners. The latest issue of The All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold isn’t horrible, but for a comic that’s been consistently entertaining for months a story centered around Ragman and the true meaning of Chanukah is a bit of a misstep.

After helping Blue Beetle take down Crazy Quilt, the Rainbow Raider and Doctor Spectro, Batman heads further into the rougher part of town and helps Ragman stop a plot by a big real estate conglomerate to scare and force the poor out of their homes and buy the property cheap.

Along the way we get a lesson in the true meaning of Chanukah and Ragman’s heart grows three sizes (wait, that last part may be from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas).

I know the title is geared towards younger readers, and this is a holiday issue, but it has done a pretty good job not talking down to them and spoon feeding them issues (religious or otherwise), which we get more than our fill of here. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $2.99]

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Stormwatch #4

/ / Comics

stormwatch-4-coverThe first story arc for the New 52 version of Stormwatch comes to an end as the Midnighter and Apollo are all that stand in the the way of the giant alien creature who has absorbed their other teammates.

Although there’s plenty of action here, the writing by Paul Cornell struggles at times. We get more of Jack Hawksmoor literally talking to cities, the complete uselessness of Adam One, the lack of appearances of any other DC character with a threat this huge and public, and some very unsubtle stirrings between Midnighter and Apollo.

One of these issues might be taken care of in next month’s issue as the Shadow Cabinet puts the team leader on trial for his failures, but the rest really need to be addressed if the comic is going to ever grow into anything more than a curiosity.

When introduced this Stormwatch appeared to be a group that would take on shadowy threats far more covertly than we’ve seen so far. That might work. Fighting giant aliens very, very publicly (while keeping it hidden from the rest of the DCU) is far more problematic. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $2.99]

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Fantastic Four #600

/ / Comics

fantastic-four-600-coverThe 50th anniversary issue of the Fantastic Four is a super-sized issue featuring Annihilus and his army attempting to breach the Negative Zone with the help of the Council of Reeds, Galactus preparing for the worst, the Avengers and the Future Foundation banding together to stop an all-out invasion of Earth by the Kree on the orders of the recently resurrected Supreme Intelligence, a telepathic lovers spat between Black Bolt and Medusa, and (surprising absolutely no one) the return of Johnny Storm.

For such a monumental event the comic is certainly packed with pages, but I was a little disappointed how much of the plot was only peripherally connected (or to be honest, all that interesting). Writer Jonathan Hickman is struggling to juggle so many characters and stories perhaps it’s not surprising than some fall flat.

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Fantastic Four #600 Read More »

The Smurfs

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Smurfs
  • IMDB: link

smurfs-blu-rayThe Smurfs were a staple of my Saturday morning cartoons growing up. For those unfamiliar, Smurfs are small blue magical creatures named after their most prominent characteristic (giving us characters like Handy Smurf, Jokey Smurf, Poet Smurf, Sneezy Smurf, and the like). They live in mushroom houses, feed on Smurfberries, and spend most of their time singing and hiding from an evil wizard who wants to destroy them.

Fleeing from the evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) a handful of Smurfs find themselves pulled through a magical portal into our world. Now Papa Smurf (Jonathan Winters), Smurfette (Katy Perry), Grouchy (George Lopez), Brainy (Fred Armisen), Gutsy (Alan Cumming), and Clumsy (Anton Yelchin) find themselves in New York. To find their way home they enlist the help of a stressed out marketer (Neil Patrick Harris) with an egomaniacal boss (Sofía Vergara) and a pregnant wife (Jayma Mays).

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Stormwatch #3

/ / Comics

stormwatch-3-coverAs Apollo heads into space to try and destroy the meteors hurtling towards Earth the rest of the team jumps to Colorado where the first meteor has landed and a giant space monster is now on the loose.

The third issue of the series isn’t awful, but it is disappointing in several ways. With the exception of the Eminence of Blades on the moon and Apollo in deep space the team looks rather pathetic against the first big threat we see them come across. I’m thinking that’s maybe not how you want to showcase a team just taking its first steps into the proper DCU.

I’v also less than happy with the literal translation of Jack Hawksmoor‘s ability to talk to cities. A better writer would understand that this refers to the character’s innate understanding of what is going on in cities with a connection that can’t actually be expressed. Writer Paul Cornell’s much more literally version is Jack actually talking to female avatars of cities in an awkward attempt to explain his powers. Ugh.

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