3.5 Razors

Stormwatch #1

/ / Comics

stormwatch-1-coverStormwatch is an attempt to bring the Wildstorm super-team (that was the precusor to The Authority) into the DCU. The first issue is a mixed success, but still enough of one that I’m willing to give it a couple of issues to see where it goes.

On the plus side, the inclusion of Martian Manhunter works much better than I anticipated, and I also like that the team created to be a secret black ops squad working jobs the Justice League is too visible to handle. In a universe with the JLA, and several other super-hero teams, this gives a reason for Stormwatch to exist. And J’onn J’onzz (being a shapeshifter, and one who can read minds) would seem to be exactly the type of individual the team would recruit.

The main story involves the team of the Martian Manhunter, Jack Hawksmoor, and the Projectionist attemting to recruit Apollo. Writer Paul Cornell gets into a little trouble by trying to introduce a large number of characters at once (Jenny Quantum‘s tale and the adventure on the moon could both have waited another month or so), but I am glad to know the Engineer is still around.

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Morning Glories #12

/ / Comics

morning-glories-12-coverAfter giving us a series of issues centered around each of the new students at Morning Glories Academy the latest issue spotlights the return of Miss Hodge, the school’s guidance counselor.

The issue opens with Hodge’s return to the school which starts in the middle of nowhere at an apparent military facility as the character takes an elevator miles below the earth, transfers a huge empty warehouse (in a hazmat suit), and goes through a vault to to arrive at the school. I’m guessing the school doesn’t get many visitors.

The rest of the issue involves Hodge meeting with Miss Daramount, the school nurse, and several of the students one-on-one. In typical Morning Glories fashion, the meetings are far from regular talks. Hodge gives Zoe a gun, struggles to talk with Jun and Ike, and offers Casey her heart’s desire (after getting a right hook on the chin).

The addition of Hodge gives the comic yet another wild card. The start of a new arc, issue #12 is a good jump in point for those looking to jump into the series. Worth a look.

[Image, $2.99]

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Doctor Who – The Girl Who Waited

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Doctor Who – The Girl Who Waited
  • tv.com: link

doctor-who-the-girl-who-waited

Arriving on a planet in a state of quarantine Amy (Karen Gillan) becomes separated from Rory (Arthur Darvill) and The Doctor (Matt Smith). On attempting to rescue her they come across a future version of Amy who has been trapped in the quarantine zone for more than thirty years. The Amy they know is trapped in a divergent timeline, and this is her future.

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Warrior

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Warrior
  • IMDb: link

warrior-posterIn 1976 a struggling young actor and writer starred in a film he had penned. The tale of an unlikely underdog from the streets going the distance with the champ made critics and audiences take notice and transformed Sylvester Stallone into a star. The next year Rocky would take home three Oscars including Best Picture. And Hollywood has been trying to remake it ever since.

Much like last year’s critically acclaimed The Fighter (a film others liked more than I did), Warrior begins as a broken family drama concerning two brothers and ends as a typical Hollywood underdog tale complete with training montages and a final showdown in the middle of the ring. Warrior is certainly a little more polished than The Fighter, and presented in a more mainstream Hollywood fashion, but the results are (not surprisingly) very similar.

The film follows the lives of two estranged brothers, both in need of an influx of cash, who separately begin fighting in local MMA matches and are chosen to take part in the sport’s biggest payday ever where 16 fighters will fight to earn a purse of $5,000,000.

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Zorro Rides Again #2

/ / Comics

zorro-rides-again-2-coverMatt Wagner’s take on the classic tale of Zorro continues. Issue three follows three separate storylines. The first is Don Diego’s father still trying to come to terms with knowing his son is Zorro (and assuming shame is the reason why Don Diego has kept this secret from him).

The second is the attempt by the alcade to seize the lands of Don Carlos for his own. The reasons for the alcade’s interest in a very average plot of land are revealed.

And the third is a widow who has become obsessed with Zorro after he saves her but is unable to do the same for her family. How this story will intertwine with the other two will have to be seen.

Wagner weaves these stories together well, and even if this second issue is a little light on action he’s laid the groundwork here for the main threads of his second Zorro series. Worth a look.

[Dynamite, $3.99]

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