The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Trailer

Damn! Three villains in one movie, last time Sony did that it didn't turn out so good, but this time around it looks like they're actually part of the story, not three separate movie ideas shoved in to one. Did you see Doc Ock's tentacles and The Vulture's wings? Sony already has plans for the next two Spider-Man sequels, and it look's like Norman Osborn and Oscorp will be behind almost all upcoming villains or at less where they get their powers or tech from. Can't wait to see more about Peter's parents, you can see Richard Parker fighting someone and the plane crash in the trailer, and then there's the ever hanging question of when is Gwen Stacy gonna die?, this movie... or the next.

Thor: The Dark World Review

WARNING: SPOILERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! WARNING: SPOILERS!

Thor’s first movie gave you some good laughs, but in this sequel they really upped the comedy, it is downright hilarious most of the time between the awesome actions scenes and narrative drama. Director Alan Taylor beautifully combines royal family sociology, with grandiose sci-fi sights and highly riveting fantasy adventure, giving it a nice Star Wars meets Lord of The Rings feel. Chris Hemsworth returns as The Prince of Asgard and continues to bring that lovable yet fierce charisma of The God of Thunder he has perfectly established in his previous appearances.

I don’t have to tell you that Tom Hiddleston as Loki steals every scene he is in, cause you know going in that he’s going to, and this film continues his arc from enraged brother to would be conqueror to now prisoner then vengeful son to truly sneaky villain.Whereas the new central bad guy Malekith played by Christopher Eccleston I’m sorry to say was a very bland one-note antagonist, I don’t know if it was the make-up effects or the script or a combination of both, but he basically became a background character in the film up until the final fight, the writers really missed an opportunity to make Malekith an insane and threatening nemesis here. I am glad there was a secondary bad guy in the form of the henchman Kurse brought to life by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, it was nice seeing Thor trading blows with an equally strong opponent, I would love see him be made as a highly detailed Marvel Select figure. 

I've said it before, no other actor other then Anthony Hopkins could bring the proper gravitas to Odin, he just naturally gives off the right amount of that fatherly and kingly radiance you would expect from The All-Father. Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster is given a little bit more to do this time around, but only because they made her a plot device for over half the movie, while characters like The Warriors Three and Lady Sif each get a great moment to shine but still only appear on screen just as much as they did in the previous film if not less. Which leads me to the two things that really bugged me in the movie, which was Tadanobu Asano's Hogun was only seen at the very beginning of the movie and then never seen again, and that the actor for Fandral was changed from Josh Dallas to Zachary Levi, I understand Josh was busy with a TV series, but I think he was the perfect Fandral and is a real shame he couldn't return for the sequel.

Idris Elba’s Heimdall is given a particularly badass scene showing he can do far more than just stand around watching the universe that was fricking awesome to see on the big screen. Speaking of seeing and hearing epicness in a movie theater, seeing Benicio Del Toro as The Collector and hearing mention of the Infinity Stones in the mid-credit scene, a goddamn Elder of The Marvel Universe, and the movie version of The Infinity Gems blows the Tesseract reveal from Thor 1 out of the water. Marvel Studios is expanding their Cinematic Universe with every new film, starting with the Thanos tease at the end of The Avengers, now dropping in Infinity Stones, and the upcoming Guardians of The Galaxy movie I think they are starting to set up their Phase 3 plans with I’m starting to believe is gonna cumulate in a Infinity Gauntlet/Infinity War movie that’s going to replace The Avengers as every Marvel loving comic book geek's holy grail super hero movie.

X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer

Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! I am sorry an other movie coming out in 2014, but this movie is gonna be my movie of the year. This just might become my number one comic book movie of all time. My excitement and anticipation for this movie is astronomical, thank you Bryan Singer for coming back to the X-Men.

LVCE'13 Haul

I didn't count but I think I got around 100 comic books, knock off quite a few items off my want list. When it comes to conventions I always update and bring my want & needs list, but I have to say this year about half the haul is comics that weren't on my list, but cool issues or mini-series that caught eye, and the best part of conventions I love the most; I paid no more then a dollar for most of these books, sure a few at $2 or $3, but at the most $5 for a great trade paperback. Here are some of the real highlight items I am real happy I found this year.

Cable #63, 73, 74, 76

Oh yeah, four issues of Cable off my list, now I just need one more issue and I have the complete run of Cable's first monthly series.

Death's Head II (1992 Mini-Series) #1-4

I will own every issue Death's Head II has appeared in, I have half of his monthly series, just need the other half and some one-shots to achieve that.

Machine Man (1984 Mini-Series) #1-4

I'm a huge fan of Aaron Stack a.k.a. X-51 a.k.a. Machine Man, so when I came across a mini-series I never seen before I quickly added to my buy pile.

New Avengers #54-64 and Finale

With these 12 issues I now with the complete run of New Avengers Vol. 1.

Onslaught Unleashed #1-4

Loved the the whole Onslaught event back in 1996 so I had to pick these up when I saw them. Just need the Onslaught Reborn mini-series that precedes this.

Punisher/Batman & Batman/Punisher

I have been looking for the Punisher/Batman book for a while now, the only time my favorite artist John Romita Jr. has ever drawn Batman. This was my star find of this expo, and was the most expensive I paid for a comic at $5.

Uncanny X-Men #508-510

Knock three issues of my Uncanny X-Men need list, and right where I left off.

What If... #47

SCORE! Finally got part 2 of the only 2-part What If story that start in #46 with "What If Cable Destroyed The X-Men?".

Wolverine and The X-Men #4-19

Didn't jump in to Wolverine and the X-Men during Regenesis instead got caught up and stayed with Uncanny X-Men and X-Men, so now I'm playing catch up with Wolverine and The X-Men.

Wolverine: Weapon X #1-6

Already had five issues, so with these six now I only need five more and I have the complete run. Love that I got four variant covers, especially that awesome #1 variant cover by Adam Kubert.

 X-Men: Schism #1-5

All five issues, all with the original first printing covers. The only way I wanted this mini-series, didn't want to have a mix of 2nd printing and variant covers.

X-Men Vs. Avengers #1-4

Before Avengers Vs. X-Men there was X-Men Vs. Avengers in 1987. This was a real surprise find, and I am amazed at the condition these four issues are in for a 26 year old comic, I'm talking brand spanking new like they just came off the printing line. 

Batman #452-454 "Dark Knight, Dark City"

Great three issue story I've been looking for, with covers by Mike Mignola, and a connection to Grant Morrison's death and return of Batman epic.

Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search fo Swamp Thing #1-3

Swamp Thing and John Constantine return to the DCU proper after Brightest Day just before the New 52 reboot. Now I just need to get Brightest Day Vol.3 hardcover so I can read these.

Final Crisis: Revelation #1-5

Loved the Final Crisis event which actually got me in to buying current DC Comics with the death of Batman in the main Final Crsis mini-series. Definitely gonna try and get all the other Final Crisis mini-series and one-shots. Great story to have if your a Batwoman fan like I am.

 Signed Neal Adams Art Print

It was a great honor to meet artist and writer Neal Adams. He had a wide array of art prints to choose from to sign, I went with the pencil sketch of Batman being shot at from Adams' Batman: Odyssey maxi-series.

Signed Peter Nguyen X-Men and Batgirl Art Prints

Can almost not believe I meet Peter Nguyen an artist whose Tumblr I follow. I highly recommend checking out his Tumblr, he is a phenomenal artist. Got the X-Men print for myself and my girlfriend picked out the Batgirl for herself.

 Signed Comics

This convention I decided to hit Artist Alley and actually get artist and writers signatures, so I brought my He-Man and The Masters of The Universe #1 to get signed by Philip Tan and my Red Hood and The Outlaws #1 to get signed by the writer, artist, and colorist, did get it signed by artist Kenneth Rocafort and colorist Blond, but sadly I didn't get writer Scott Lobdell's signature, he already left for the day when I got to his table.

Bishoujo Harley Quinn Statue 

My girlfriend is a huge Harley Quinn fan, and this recently released collectible was on her wishlist of Harley wants, so we were both glad to find it for a great price at the expo.

Not Dead / Las Vegas Comic Expo 2013

I am not dead, I apologize for the lack of updates this month, but it's been a real busy month for me, been working extra days and extra hours to get extra money to save up to go the 2nd Annual Las Vegas Comic Expo which is tomorrow. I went last year for their first convention and thought it was great, just comics, artist and various exhibitors which reminded of the good ol' days of how San Diego Comic-Con use to be back when I started to go back in 1999, not the huge multimedia monster it has become. This year is looks like it has grown a bit bigger, more exhibitors, and even a hand full of famous guest celebrities like Neal Adams and Sylvester McCoy. I will be sure to post a review and pics of this year's adventure there, and show off my haul, hopefully I'll  have that up in a few days.

Robocop (2014) Trailer

Wow, I have to say I like it, I am amazed. They're kinda making him a cyborg superhero, like my favorite man overriding machine control Marvel cyborg Deathlok, he's almost like a Judge Robo-Bat-Dredd. Definitely gonna be seeing this in theaters February 7th next year.

Marvel Legends Heroic Age Captain America

When Steve Rogers was gunned down and left the Marvel Universe without a Captain America, who would take up the shield and mantle to carry on Rogers' legacy as the new Sentinel of Liberty? Only one man could, who had the same training, combat experience, and could properly use the shield in battle, none other then Cap's former sidekick and war partner Bucky Barnes. Thought originally dead during World War II at the same time when Steve Rogers fell in to the English Channel, but he too fell in the same waters only to be found by a Russian submarine barely alive and missing an arm and from there brainwashed and reconditioned as a cold-blooded assassin with a cybernetic arm used by the USSR under the codename Winter Soldier. After regaining his original memories of who he really was thanks to Rogers' use of a Cosmic Cube, now feeling remorse over the decades of assassinations he did under mind control, and wanting to do good for the world, he re-acquired Cap's shield and then learned that it was Steve's final wish to make sure the identity of Captain America was passed on to him by the then current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Tony Stark, Bucky become the new Star-Spangled Avenger.

Bucky Cap has an entirely brand new body mold that is sure to become the standard buck (ha-ha!) used for future characters that are physically fit but not overly buff, sporting 36 points of articulation which includes double jointed elbows and knees, a must have on any super articulated action figure if you ask me. Different from past Marvel Legends, instead of the ball shaped hip joints, now the hips are sculpted parts on the legs but now have a thigh cut for leg rotation articulation, not a fan the cut being through sculpted muscle, I think it should of been higher so not to be so noticeable. Love the additional wrist articulation, even if limited, but I wish they matched the color of the peg attaching the hands to the arms, the black stands out on the red gloves.

The metallic blue paint for his costume is pitch perfect, sitting nicely atop crisp bright red and white gloss stripes masterfully bringing to life Alex Ross's simple but patriotic costume design. Hasbro's shield design is different from Toybiz', where as Toybiz' was mostly smooth with thin grooved-in lines between the stripes compared to Hasbro's design that has the star and red stripes raised with the silver stripe and blue circle indented lower, odd but still looks visually awesome attached to New Cap's arm or pegged into his back. Barnes is also armed with a handgun shaped like a Desert Eagle and combat knife that is definitely a Ka-Bar which both can be held in his hands or snugly secured away on his very detailed glued-on belt.

The good Captain comes packed with the right leg of Arnim Zola the build-a-figure for Hasbro's Series of Return of Marvel Legends, fitting he's a villain Steve and Bucky have a history with. I do wish this figure had a variant with unmasked head like the Marvel Select release, cause I would of love to seen Hasbro's take on James' face, and the separate neck piece I know they could do. I love this figure, he has to be one of my favorite Marvel Legends to come from Hasbro since they took over from Toybiz, fun to pose, looks amazing from every angel, a top-notch must have indeed.

Ben Affleck Is Batman

Source: Superherohype.com

Wow, color me surprised, of all the actors in Hollywood around the age Warner Bros. was looking for to be the seasoned Dark Knight Detective in the upcoming Superman/Batman team-up sequel to Man of Steel they chose the Kevin Smith film cameo alumni and former Pearl Harbor star turned writer/director/producer. A name I never thought would be associated with the cape and cowl of DC's #1 costumed hero, I'm not saying Affleck is a bad actor, I like him, I mean I defend his portrayal of The Man Without Fear in Fox's 2003 Daredevil movie, and even wanted to see him do another outing as the Guardian Devil. So I'm not mad at this decision, I am just genuinely surprised, like when they cast Chris Evans as Captain America, but in the end he turned out as a great First Avenger, yes I would of liked to seen someone else, perhaps another relatively unknown like Henry Cavill be given the chance to wow us, but I'm willing to see how this plays out and not totally blast it as the most wrongest choice in all of Hollywood history, that dishonor still goes to every one who worked on Superman Returns, except Kevin Spacey, he ruled as Lex Luthor. Important thing though is he has to have on-screen chemistry with Henry Cavill, the right amount of rivalry, intimidation, veteran vigilante and friendship while still radiating goddamn Batman badassery, and the one thing I hope Affleck will hold to is commitment to the future franchise of future Batman films and the upcoming Justice League film and not bail after this one appearance, do your hear me Ben: Commitment!, if you're truly gonna take on this role seriously then you will become Batman and stay Batman for as many film as Warner Bros. says they need you for, prove the internet wrong Ben.

Thor: The Dark World Trailer #2

Excellent, excellent, more Jane, more Warriors Three and Sif, more Heimdall, and more Loki, yes, yes, and more yes. Definitely looks more epic then the previous movie, can't wait to see how Malekith is destroying the very fabric of reality, perhaps merging all the realms in to one or just returning everything back in to darkness. It was great seeing the Kronan at the end, immediately recognized him from his appearance and armor similar to the Kronan Korg who first fought Thor all the way back in Journey Into Mystery #83, and then later was a member of Hulk's Warbound during Planet  Hulk and World War Hulk storylines.

Cool Thing My Girlfriend Got Me

Checkout this cool little edible miniature hamburger kit my girlfriend got for us to make, she showed me a Youtube video over a week ago showing how to make these, and I thought it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen, then a week later two kits showed up in the mail. I have never seen or heard of anything like this before, each set come with six pouches of powdered ingredients, a tray that can be cut up in to three stations and a tool, a small little cup, a mixing spoon, and a cutting knife.You cut the fries bag, flags, and cup label off the foil package all the components come in, which then turns in to the dining mat to set the finished food on. 

When all the ingredients are mixed, quickly microwaved, and properly proportioned out you ended with with two mini double cheeseburgers, a mini bag of fries, extremely small bubbling soda, and even ketchup to put on the burgers and dip your fries in. What blew me away the most was not only did all the powdered ingredients smell like each actual food item, but when done they really tasted like cheeseburgers, french fries, ketchup, and soda, granted cold cheeseburgers, and fries, and the soda and ketchup were a little too sweet. These are great not just for kids but the kids in all of us, it was fun to make and tasted great, you can get these off Amazon marketplace as cheap as $3 bucks before shipping, I highly recommend getting these, they're great fun.

Real Grade Gundam Mk.II Update

A Real Grade model kit is definitely far more meticulous then a normal High Grade, almost like building a downsized Master Grade with constructing the inner skeletal framework first, then adding other internal components on to the frame before placing the outer armor on top on of all that. As pictured I've got his entire lower body and central torso completed, left to do is to armor up his arms and construct his head, backpack, and weapons. When 100% done I will do a full review showing all this Real Grade's cool features that set him apart from standard High Grade kits. 

Marvel Legends Ghost Rider II (Modern) Review

Danny Ketch was the Ghost Rider of the 90's, he is my Ghost Rider, Ghost Rider comics are my second largest collection under all the various X-Men titles. I never got the original Toy Biz Ketch Ghost Rider, so I'm finally glad to have the second Ghost Rider in figure form, even though he's not in his 90's leathers. You may notice this Ghost Rider has a blue flamed head instead more the commonly known orange flames, this is Ghost Rider re-powered and in service of the Archangel Zadkiel who revealed the powers of the Spirits of Vengeance actually come from Heaven not Hell.

The core of the figure is reused from Marvel Legends two-pack Ronin, but you can barely tell with the new flaming and spiked shoulder padded jacket slip over, hip armor, new lower forearms and hands, new lower legs and boots, and the awesomely sculpted and painted head with wicked translucent blue plastic flames that makes this figure a stand out must have. The jacket doesn't hinder his articulation to much, his arms can't be placed directly at his sides, it keeps them out at an angle, and for the ab-crunch he can lean forward but not backwards cause of the jacket coat tails. Major props to Hasbro for the paint applications on his shoulder pads, gauntlets, knee pads, and shin guards, they're molded in black but then brushed with silvery gray giving them a great aged battle worn look to the armor pieces, but it's the blue paint airbrushed on the skull that incredibly gives the illusion of it being covered in blue flames that seals the figure as action figure badassery.

Sadly GR doesn't come with any accessories, I had to borrow a chain from a movie Ghost Rider figure for the above pic, it would of been cool if he came with a real metal chain with a hook on the end, but he does come with both arms of the build-a-figure Terrax. It does suck he doesn't come with a bike to sit on like the GR figures from the glorious Toy Biz days, perhaps one day we'll get an all Ghost Rider Marvel Legends series with a build-a-motorcycle, now that would be fricking sweet Hasbro. Return of Marvel Legends Series 1 Ghost Rider has a variant with orange flames, which he has appeared as in this costume, but I think the blue fits this costume better and is more eye catching and helps distinguish Danny Ketch from his brother's flaming visage.

Movie Masters Man of Steel General Zod

This is the Zod I been waiting for, not the black jumpsuit version that doesn't have the evil goatee, this is the Kryptonian Armored leader of the remnants of Phantom Zone prisoners ready to do cruel and violent things in the name of rebuilding Krypton, and has the way better held sculpt that resembles actor Michel Shannon. Zod's armor is wonderfully sculpted, very meticulously recreating the costume from the film, molded in an almost glossy black with various different applications of silver paint, brushed on for scratches, over-spray on the legs for age ware, and speckled on the waist armor. I love the gray fading and tattered cape, it goes perfect withe armor and character.

 The General has the same 20 points of articulation that Superman has, but I would like to point out the weird placement of his knee joint, they decided to slice through the sculpted knee armor instead of sculpting it so the top of the knee armor moves with the lower leg, quite an odd design choice. Zod comes with two accessories, a small figure stand with his family symbol, and his breathing helmet that's very reminiscent of the Engineers from Prometheus, but I personally think it's also a homage to the Russian General Zod that was in the comics in the early 2000's. Well, I've got the two Man of Steel Movie Masters action figures I wanted, I'm not interested in Faora or Armored Jor-El, and I think the only other Movie Master they could make that I would buy would be Amy Adams' Lois Lane.

Man of Steel Review

WARNING SPOILERS!!! SPOILER WARNING!!! WARNING SPOILERS!!!

 
Like the original 1978 Superman movie made you believe a man can fly, Man of Steel will make you will believe a serious Superman movie can be made. My congratulations to the awesome creative team of director Zack Snyder, producer Christopher Nolan, and writer Davis S. Goyer, well done gentlemen, well done. It couldn't of been easy to come up with a re-telling and modernization of the origins of the world's most known superhero, so I wasn't surprised to see bits taken from comics such as John Byrne's Man of Steel, Mark Waid's Birthright, Geoff Johns' Secret Origin, and even Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman.

Henry Cavill does an incredible job as the wandering unsure soul Clark Kent, but really shines once he puts on the Superman costume, he gives a perfect heroic yet authoritative portrayal with the right hint of friendly charisma. Michael Shannon gave us an almost understandable General Zod that was both methodical madman and righteous leader, but I was kinda sad he never mentioned anything about kneeling. Damn! Russell Crowe as Jor-El was fricking amazing, a pleasurable gem that I dare almost say can be the best on-screen version of Superman's father, definitely on par with Marlon Brando, he steals every scene he's in.

I didn't hate Amy Adams' Lois Lane, it just seemed like she didn't have much to do in the film almost like her parts were penciled in to the finished script, so we'll have to wait 'til the next movie to see how she measures up as the investigative reporter. Not just Lois, but also Laurence Fishburne's Perry White and the rest of the Daily Planet crew could be removed and not effect the story whatsoever, almost like they were put in by obligation just cause the Daily Planet is part of Superman's world, instead of actual being a working part of the narrative. Hans Zimmer's musical score is not bad, it fits the movie, but there's nothing rememberable, nothing that stood out as a definitive theme for Superman himself, then again nothing could ever hold a flame next to the infamous John Williams original Superman theme.

Loved all the Lex Corp logos everywhere, showing Lex Luthor is in this world without having a physical appearance in the film, but I was blown away by the Wayne Enterprises logo on a satellite hinting at a larger universe which other DC superheroes can appear. Now there is a huge controversy over Superman killing General Zod by breaking his neck, now yes this did surprise me, but it did not ruin the movie for me and I did not find it blasphemous to have Superman do such an act, the way the scene played out Superman did it to save lives, and I can see moving in to sequels it going to help define his development of a no killing policy; to never take a life ever again. Man of Steel to me is the movie of the year, it's making so much money right now the next film has already been greenlit and looking to be in theaters by next year, so I'm looking forward to see if we gonna be getting a Dark Knight level story of Superman taking on Lex Luthor, can't wait.

Marvel Legends Extremis Iron Man Review

The Extremis Armor debuted back in 2006, and was Tony's mainstay armor up until the Extremis virus that helped him control it was purged from his system during the Secret Invasion. Both Marvel Legends collectors and Iron Man fans have been waiting for a while now to add this suit to their Hall of Armor displays, and with the 2012 Return of Marvel Legends Series 1 Hasbro gives us a very good rendition of the Model 30  Metallo-Mimetic Mk. III. I love the metallic red paint used, it's like Hot Rod Red meets Candy Apple Red, the gold is also perfect like Testor model kit paint level gold, except on his biceps where the gold was painted over the metallic red making it appear almost copper.

The Extremis figure is loaded with articulation, high scores for articulated wrist to perform Repulsor blast, and the combination of the omni-directional ab joint and neck joint that allows him to arch back and look straight up for great flying poses, but loses points for the nearly useless hip joints, don't know why they didn't go with the tried and true swivel & hinge hips. Tony doesn't come with any accessories other then right leg of bulid-a-figure Terrax, I would of loved an alternate unmasked head cause I think it's due time for modern Tony Stark head. Extremis IM has a variant in Stealth colors, I don't know about anybody else but I personally would like to have this armor in the Silver Centurion colors like the alternate scheme in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3.