Archie Comics - You look away and they became progressive??

I realize I've talked about nothing but Marvel Comics since I started this blog. You must be thinking, "Why won't you talk about DC comics, you hater? It's Marvel this and Marvel that". Maybe you didn't say that, but I hear you anyway. That's why I'm going to talk about another company that's near and dear to my heart... Archie Comics!

I'll spare my personal history with Archie Comics. All I will say is that they are my guilty pleasure and one of the first series of comics I got into when I was a kid. They are one of my go to reads when I'm feeling down. So I have an attachment that will always be there. Also, the answer to the eternal question is always Betty. You know what the question is, so don't act like you don't.

Anyways, a company that has been around for seventy five years and has stories that have felt like they're seventy years too old have been one of the more daring, progressive companies out there. The cynic in all of us could think it's pandering moves, but I applaud them. I can't say that I've read all of these moves, but I will touch on them anyway because I did know they were happening.

Right now, there is a series called "Afterlife with Archie". This book is a take on the horror genre with all of the Archie characters, in a more realistic setting. By that I mean, it's drawn by the amazing Francesco Francavilla which does not fit the Archie house style at all. It has been a gut wrenching tale about the characters surviving in a world of a zombie apocalypse, ghosts and many other monsters. I mean, they've already killed a few of the characters we know and love. At the center you have Archie Andrews trying to lead his rag-tag group of friends to safety. Let all of this sink in and think about how fascinating this is. From Archie comics, right? This is easily one of my favorite books right now.

Let's not stop there. Even though it was in an alternate reality, they addressed the age old question of who would Archie choose, Betty or Veronica? The answer is both. In the "Life with Archie" series that was revived in 2010, this book followed his marriage to either women in two different stories each month. This is the first glimpse you get at what their lives would be like together. To take it further, the book ends with the death of Archie. You want more?

In 2010, Archie comics introduced Kevin Keller, their first openly gay character. It was a move that showed that this comic company that seemed to be stuck in the fifties was showing progress. It's a big deal because of how well it was received and the non-pandering manner in which it was presented. It received national acclaim. There was even an event where they showed him getting married. Kevin is his own character and has starred along with the other Archie favorites in other series, including having his own.

Finally, to continue the fresh changes this company has gone through, they have now hired top talent to write a new Archie series. Perhaps you've heard of Mark Waid and Fiona Staples? No, then let me tell you these are some big names that the company has lured. Even though their Kickstarter campaign to crowd fun a few new projects (a move they backed off of because it seemed like a huge misstep), we're still going to see books from Chip Zdarsky, Adam Hughes and Dan Parent as well. The fact that they are able to lure these creators to the company to freshen up the line is huge news.

I check in with these characters from time to time (I like to buy the digests occasionally), but with moves like these, I'm proud to stick around and read more. This was my sales pitch to get everyone to take a look. Do you trust me?

Fantastic Four Comic - End of an era

This is the End...for NOW.

With Fantastic Four #645, one of Marvel's longest running series comes to a tragic end. I won't get into all the business reasons because they are various and frustratingly stupid. They extend past the obligatory "The book doesn't sell good enough".

Instead, I'd rather reflect on why I find it sad. Like my other posts, this may be a little long, but I will attempt to rein myself in.

When I got into comic books in the early nineties, I was a huge X-men fan. That sustained me for years until I got to the point that my insatiable appetite for new comic books led me to the FF. I had watched their half-assed cartoon and knew the origin of the characters. I had even encountered them during the big events (Infinity War, Infinity Crusade) because they were always a crucial part.

However, I never read their solo title. There was a big sale at my local comic book store and I used this as the opportunity to branch out.

To say I got hooked was an understatement. The reason I like team books so much is because I like the interplay of the different characters and their personalities. When you're talking about super hero comics, there's also the dynamic of their power sets. Do they all compliment each other? Is the writer smart enough to explore these options? Is the book FUN?

For me, all of the answers to these questions were a resounding YES. The Fantastic Four was more than just a team of random characters. They were a family. The biggest knock on the book has always been that they were old fashioned. It's funny that a book about family could be considered passé. I did not mind at all. It can be argued that the birth of the Marvel Universe as we know it began with this book. Without it, one of my favorite characters, the Black Panther, would not exist. We would not have Dr. Doom (one of the best villains ever), Galactus, the Silver Surfer, the Inhumans, the Skrulls, The Watcher and so many other notable characters.

To take it further, one of my favorite Marvel characters is the Thing. If you thought the Hulk was a tortured character, try being the Thing. I won't go into his back story (do that here). He has his moments where he is super melancholy, a well I think has been mined way too many times. The love of his life is a blind sculptress. The one woman that can see him for who he is turns out to be someone that can't see at all. There's something very poetic about that. Call me a softie, but that relationship never felt forced. He always keeps going no matter what, even when he's outmatched. He's like Spider-Man in that way. He's like Captain America in that way. It's the combination of his physical strength and his character that makes him one of my favorites. He's just a blue collar guy.

So am I sad this book is going away? Absolutely. It's steadfastly been one of my favorite books. I love a lot of their old stuff from the 70's and 80's, even if it is surprisingly misogynistic when it comes to the portrayal of the Invisible Woman. She was just the "Invisible Girl" for the longest time. Thankfully she grew the most out of all the characters. When it had it's down years like when it is written by Mark Millar or Matt Fraction, it's hurt me to read. Don't get me started on the Heroes Reborn saga of the late 90's. On the plus side, you get fantastic runs from John Byrne, Mark Waid and Jonathan Hickman. I even liked some of the long Tom Defalco era. Anyone that tries to make this group, "cool" clearly doesn't get what these characters are all about.

This is the comic book industry, so this book will be back at some point. It will never be gone for good. I can't wait until it does. Hopefully the industry will appreciate it when it does.

Avengers: Age of Ultron Review - Addendum

Since writing my thoughts on Age of Ultron, there were a few more thoughts that have been rattling around in my brain that I forgot to mention in my long (sorry!) post. I'll keep this short and sweet. Below are just more of my musings on the film:

• They mentioned Wakanda and had Ulysses Klaw! These are direct references to the Black Panther, one of my favorite characters in all of comics. I squealed with girlish glee.
• Maybe it was where I was sitting, but the movie seemed dark. Yeah, maybe I was sitting too close.
• I loved all the cameos. Seeing War Machine have some good moments was awesome. They've done a good job of integrating this cinematic universe. You never know who will show up! (Stan Lee!!)
• Some of the shots got too cutesy. I liked the seamless scene (like it was done in one long take) of action in the first Avengers movie. That does not mean I wanted to see it two or three more times in this movie. Feels less special.
• Now that I know there was a lot edited out, according to Whedon, I can't wait to see what the REAL movie would have been like.
• Whedon, seriously, you don't have to give us a character death in every movie you do.
• All these sneak peaks of Thanos in the past couple of movies are great for comic fans, but have no impact on the moving going public. So either explain him or don't bother.
• Seriously, what was up with Thor's personal journey? You can just tell stuff was cut out around that.
• Most importantly, this movie did not have the magic of the first one. There is no way it could, but I never envisioned such a stark drop off. See what I did there?

Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

I've had a couple of days to cool down from watching Avengers: Age of Ultron. With that time for clarity, I can now reveal how I really feel. (Because I discussed it with my best friend first).

I still think Age of Ultron is a very fun movie. I really liked it, but there are a few things I didn't care for. I know I've become cynical, but we have an embarrassment of riches with comic book based films. I don't have to force myself to like everything now.

We'll start with what I really liked. This movie is one big spectacle. That's not a bad thing, it's just like the first Avengers film, ramped up to a 12. There is a LOT more action in this movie. In fact, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say the movie is at least half action scenes. This movie really showcased Captain America's skill set. The last movie he was slighted, but not this time. I loved all the team up moves that were used. It was like a real life version of the "Marvel Ultimate Alliance" game from a few years ago.

Something I've always liked about a Whedon film is the dialogue. This movie is chock full of zingers and good character moments. If I had my choice, I would have loved to see more scenes of everyone sitting around having a good time than all the action scenes. For instance, an extended cut of the dinner party scene at the beginning of the movie. It's always fun to see all of the various characters from all the other movies interacting with each other. To me, this is where the movie shined.

Ultron was creepily played by James Spader. I think he's the perfect villain for the Avengers because once again, you can have multiple bad guys for everyone to have their moment beating up. With all the Ultron clones, this makes sure everyone has something to do. Overall, I do think he was an effective villain.

The actors were all top notch. I don't feel like any one person carried the movie, but there was definitely a lack of Thor. He kind of disappears for half the movie to go on a quest we don't see a lot about.

I won't go into detail about the special effects. I would expect nothing less from ILM.

Now there were a few specific things I did not like in this movie. One of the things that really bugged me was the last act of the movie, that essentially starts with Black Widow being kidnapped. We have had about three movies with the Black Widow up to this point and she has proven to be a strong, independent character. To have her get kidnapped and become a damsel in distress flies against everything they built her up to be. She literally stays trapped until her man comes to save her. It's as if the resourceful spy we all know and loved just completely disappeared. As you can tell, this really bugged me.

I was not a fan of the Hulk/Iron Man fight in the movie. Mostly because we JUST saw all these guys fight against each other in the last movie. It's a scene that didn't need to happen and seemed to bloat this movie. That scene was built around the display of their impressive special effects.

On this last point, I know many will disagree, but this movie felt like it was missing heart. In the first film, I guess it seems more apparent than ever that Agent Coulson provided that. We did not have a Coulson analogue in this film, unless you count Hawkeye, who finally became a real character. Back to my point. It was spectacle after spectacle. Normally that would thrill me, but I guess in the past few years, that kind of thing serves to impress me less. Give me a good hand to hand fight sequence (re: Winter Soldier) and you'll have me eating out of your hands.

This movie also showed that all the addition of new characters has caused this movie to become too bloated. I liked the addition of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, they just felt unnecessary because we already have six people we need to care about, plus all the ancillary people (Maria Hill, Nick Fury).

It may seem like I had really strong feelings against this movie, but I still really enjoyed it. I know it won't last, but I liked the new team of Avengers they form at the end. If only we could get a movie with them before moving onto the Infinity War stuff. I could go on and on, but I'll stop here. You've suffered enough!