So, over on Tumblr, Marga asked me what I thought of X-Men: First Class. I was planning to give a quick and concise answer, something along the lines of “It wasn’t the best comic book movie, but it completely captured the spirit of the X-Men quite right and for that it’s great,” but I ended up writing a mini-review already. I thought it was best to post it here anyway.

I’m not much of an X-Men fan, but I know that they took a lot of liberties with the comic book canon (EXCEPT FOR BEAST, THOSE WEREN’T THE FIRST X-MEN! XAVIER LOST THE USE OF HIS LEGS IN THE ARMY, BEFORE HE FORMED THE X-MEN! THERE WAS NO SEXUAL TENSION BETWEEN MAGNETO AND XAVIER! MAGNETO’S REAL NAME IS NOT ERIK LENSHERR!), and I’m okay with that. Unlike Green Lantern, which tried to closely follow the comic book canon but completely missed what made the comics so great, X-Men: First Class understood what made all these characters tick, and told a compelling story to boot. (continue reading…)

Okay. Pretty much EVERYONE is angry at DC right now, and for good reason. But let’s take a blue ring and sooth that RAGE for now and see something GOOD for a change.

I’m talking about Green Lantern Emerald Knights, DC’s latest direct-to-video feature film. And it is oh so very good. So good that I went back to liking Geoff Johns for a while. Man, that is crazy! Warning: this review is spoilerrific!

You know why it’s so damn good? Because it’s not centralized on just one character, *COUGH* HAL JORDAN *COUGH* but about the diverse members of the Green Lantern Corps. Hal got to be the story teller to an animu-looking rookie Arisia though. *insert statutory rape joke here*

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Thanks to Krispy Kreme and Discovery Channel, Comicgasm editors Ade & RJ were invited to an exclusive screening of The Green Hornet. Yes, these two idiots get invited to events now. We’re more surprised at the fact that people still actually bother to read this blog. Anyway, here’s what the Comicgasm crew thought of the Michel Gondry and Seth Rogen superhero flick.

Part 1 of the review can be found here.

WARNING: This review contains SPOILERS.

RJ: Let’s talk about the Black Beauty. Coz damn, it took the spotlight sooo many times! Most badass ride in a comic book movie. Ever.

Ade: Dude, I may be going on a limb here, but Seth Rogen’s Black Beauty just beat that other iconic superhero car, the Batmobile. Yes, I’m talking about every incarnation ever of the Batmobile –  even the flying one Dick Grayson rides nowadays. It has guns, missiles, and even a vinyl player.

RJ: If there’s one thing the Batmobile lacks, it’s a lethal arsenal. And THAT is what the Black Beauty is built for! Or rather, their usage of the weapons. You don’t see Batman firing a rocket directly at a thug. These guys went all out, massive explosions and random things landing on criminals.

Ade: I was expecting them to break out some Pabst Blue Ribbon because a retro car playing vinyl records is so hipster, dude.

RJ: I loved how they went through with the vigilante act by pretending to be criminals. It’s like anti-Adam West. It suited their “fuck it, let’s kick some ass” attitude really well. And being true to the TV series at the same time.

Ade: There’s this one part of The Green Hornet which I really loved – remember the scene when Chudnofsky put a bounty on The Green Hornet’s head? And all the thugs just spread the word and the screen just split into different pieces as each thug went off into different directions? It’s an amazing way to interpret comic book panels, and was surreal enough to remind you that yes, you’re still watching a Michel Gondry film. (continue reading…)

To be honest, I wasn’t really enthused with this new Young Justice cartoon. I wasn’t really a Teen Titans fan, and this cartoon, even though it carried the name of the awesome series by Peter David, wasn’t the same team from that comic. First, Robin was Dick Grayson, and not Tim Drake. Okay, I understood that Dick was the most iconic Robin. Most non-nerds (who will probably make up a huge part of the audience) aren’t even aware that there have been a lot of Robins already. I think I can live with that. Kid Flash is Wally West, not Bart Allen, which is fine with me. However, the disturbing lack of Wonder Girl, and having Arrowette stand-in for the obligatory strong female character is not something I liked.

What got me excited about Young Justice, however, was the concept – it was a completely different approach from all versions of the young superhero sidekick team we’ve all seen before. Here, let me quote Wikipedia for you because I’ve tried to write the next sentence a billion times but I can’t just fucking get it right:

The show is set in Earth-16, a DC Multiverse world, and corresponds to the present time of our world — a time period Vietti has called “a new age of heroes.” The recently founded (three to four years in activity) Justice League is a powerful organization of superheroes who find themselves becoming “high-powered, high-wattage celebrities” tracked closely by the public. As it grows increasingly difficult for the Justice League to operate outside the spotlight, the supervillains take advantage of their opponents’ prominence while becoming better at organizing and working under the radar. Meanwhile, the teenaged sidekicks of several Justice League members feel they are ready to graduate on to the next level and become more independent. Consequently, Batman organizes the teens to fill the need for a covert operations team while keeping their protégés under their authority.

Okay. There. The concept of a covert ops team made entirely out of sidekicks appealed to me. In fact, this sounds pretty awesome. And the fact that it’s set in Earth-16 made the show more interesting for me to watch, because that means if it happens on the show, it affects the DC comic multiverse. (continue reading…)

Grant Morrison’s run on Batman and Robin has finished, and with it, he ends the Batman: Reborn and Batman R.I.P. era. He’ll be back next month in the pages of Batman Incorporated, but before he starts the new arc in his epic Batman tale, let’s take time to review the last issue of Batman and Robin before Paul “Awesomely British” Cornell takes over.

Comicgasm editors Ade & RJ sit down and talk about what they liked and didn’t like in this issue and Morrison’s run in general, and what they expect in the so-called “Season Two” of Morrison’s Batman epic.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Ade: Before anything else, I must say I loved it. I was excited for this issue since the cliffhanger ending of Batman and Robin #15, and boy, was the wait worth it.

RJ: A BANANA PEEL? Really, Morrison? REALLY? Wait, does that count as a spoiler?

Ade: I have no idea man, but right now, Chekov’s gun is now a banana peel. Oh, before I forget, when we saw that last page from #15:

Ade: Were you hoping that it was either Joker or Alfred in the Batsuit? Because I was. It totally won’t make any sense at all, but that’s what Morrison’s good at – taking those things and making it work. (continue reading…)