Daredevil: Born Again

Wow, it's been two months since I posted? Life has been lifing hard, so it has taken this series, to break me out of my slumber. Let me tell you, this took me back to those Netflix Marvel days in a good way. Daredevil was always the strongest show of that bunch and seeing the majority of the cast back has filled me with joy.

Before you go any further, yes, I loved the show. Now, let's get into the reasons as to why. I'm going to do this a little differently. I tend to ramble and I want to at least break out my points so you can take them in bite sized chunks, my tens of readers. 

Also, these are my OPINIONS. I want to be clear about that. But if you want to argue with me about any of this, my watch says I always have time. This should be easy to follow, so let's go.

The GOOD (or what I loved)

• The hand to hand fighting in this series has always been unrivaled. Even with all these shows that Marvel has done since going to Disney plus, this series beats all of them hands down. 
• The acting is always top tier. Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio are acting as if this is the last time they'll ever work. They're leaving it all out there. I know Kingpin's verbal ticks and mannerisms are always mocked, but if you watch the show, you know how unhinged and calculating he is.
• I can't explain it, but I've always loved the gritty look of the show. The production values are slick and even though I don't know anything about New York, it feels to me like this is authentic.
• Admittedly, the slow burn this show takes in ramping up, but man does it pay off. I also like that this season is the first arc of a larger story, so they didn't wrap things up quickly. I was afraid they would once we got to episode 8.
• There is something to the chemistry that Matt Murdock and Karen Page has that shows they are so good together. AS FRIENDS. Because Jesus, a man can be a friend to a woman without wanting to get in her pants.
• I liked the new supporting cast (for the most part) In this show. Specific shout out to "Cherry", the guy that knew Matt's double life and was a sounding board and moral compass for him.
• Geniune shocking moments. 
• Part of me wanted more of Muse, but I also am glad they wrapped him up pretty quick. He was a terrifying villain but doesn't have staying power.
• Bullseye is a menace. That fight in the first episode between him and Daredevil is what I'm talking about with my very first bulllet point. 
• They finally just call him Daredevil and not "The Vigilante". Cause seriously, New York is flush with Vigilantes. You need to be spceific!
• Even if it was short, I loved seeing a reference to White Tiger in this show and setting the stage for more. (I'm purposely being vague)

The BAD (what I didn't like)

• I love the Punisher in this show and I'm happy when he shows up as a foil to Daredevil. But damn, cartoony, excessive violence follows him and it is too much.
• Characters like Cole North, Krysten McDuffie are name checked for long time fans, but they serve no purpose here.
• Matt's relationship with Heather just felt off. I was never buying it or fully invested. She makes some questionable ass choices.
• For a show called Daredevil, we sure did have to wait a long time to see him in costume. There is a tipping point for how long you can draw out "anticipation" for a thing. This show crossed that line. 
• To follow up on the above point, I KNOW the point of the show is for him to get back after an extended time. They did a full year time jump, that's good enough. You don't have to make the audience suffer TOO.
• I've watched a lot of violent stuff over the years and to an extent, I'm desensitized. But this show (episode 9 in particular), when it wants to go hard, it goes way over the top. The fact that I mentioned the specific episode, you know what I mean. Gruesome, yes. But come on. I don't want to see that.

Captain America: Brave New World

I saw Captain America: Brave New World on Monday and now that I've sat with my thoughts a little bit, I can share what I thought. I'll save the suspense and say I thought it was a good movie, but not great. It was a very SAFE movie. That statement is what I want to explore with my review, which will be a little different than how I normally talk about movies. Apologies if this gets a little long, but it will give you a little insight into how I feel.

Disney/Marvel missed a real opportunity here. Having a Black Captain America is a huge deal and instead of leaning into that, Marvel made a movie that is essentially color-blind, ignoring that topic completely. The "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" series addressed this and I thought this movie would take the opportunity to take that conversation further. It doesn't. The fact that a Black Captain America has a Hispanic side kick is also a huge deal. Again, not discussed here. For little black and hispanic kids, this was a chance to see someone that looks like them on the screen and that should play into SOMETHING in the story. I've said this numerous times, but I wish as a kid, I would have had movies like this.

Comics is a medium that was devoid of any substantive characters of color when I was growing up. If you want to say, "But Kevin, Marvel had Black Panther!". Yes, they did. But between 1979-1998, he did not have an ongoing series. That's out. We had Luke Cage and a smattering of others, but that was it. My point is, there were very few (Meteor Man, Steel) to watch.

Marvel could have pushed for this in their marketing, when their stars were on their press tour, etc. Poor Anthony Mackie had to tiptoe around any comments he made about being Captain America, lest the whole country got butt hurt. What is readily apparent is Disney was looking out for the bottom line. They are victim of the whole, "Go Woke, Go Broke" mentality. If they push this is ANY way to  talk about it's diverse cast, they will get backlash and they will cower to it and worry about losing money. Instead of standing ten toes down, they lifted their foot up to appease the masses. I'm not saying this could have been as big as the moment we (my people) had with Black Panther, but it still could have been another kind of moment. It shows the different times we're living in now versus just over 8 years ago. 

Those were my thoughts through this entire film. Their black director, Julius Onah was essentially handcuffed. You can't convince me this was the way he wanted to tell this story. This film had so many reshoots and this movie was supposed to come out LAST year. That lets you know the studio was heavily involved. How do I know last year? My son got Happy Meal toys for this movie last year and the movie itself was nowhere in sight.

So at my core, this movie was disappointing to me in this way. It comes out during Black History month, but nothing to celebrate that and that hurts.

Let me address the content of this movie. If you read this far, be warned. There are spoilers that I can't avoid to make some of my points.

Remember that Incredible Hulk movie from 2008 that Marvel conventiently forgets about? Well 17 years later, they decide to reference it. A lot. This movie is essentially Incredible Hulk 2 with an appearance by Captain America. In fact, I would argue the protagonist of the movie isn't really Sam Wilson, it's President Thunderbolt Ross. The antogonist is Samual Sterns. (The Leader to those comic book nerds). Remember him? Probably not. AGAIN, that movie was 17 years ago. They oddly choose to pull on that thread for the central conflict of this movie. Sterns is going after Ross and Sam Wilson and his sidekick Joquain are merely in the way for most of the movie. Sterns ONLY starts targeting Sam when he ruins his plans enough and that's really at the end of the movie where he goes directly at him. 

This movie also tries to tell a mystery, but the audience knows what is happening throughout the movie. It's like a my first mysteries spy story. We've done this with Captain America: Winter Soldier already. We're just waiting for the other shoe to drop so we can get on with it. To really get reductive, this feels very similar to Captain America: Winter Soldier and I'm sure that is very much by design. We even have a fun sized Black Widow stand in. 

The hand to hand action stuff is very well done, my only fight scene issues is with Red Hulk and that's because I don't like bombastic action scenes like that in what was a pretty more realistic set of fight scenes. 

My final, personal issue with the movie is the way they've portrayed Sam Wilson and some of this extends to Anthony Mackie and his portrayal. I think Marvel has gone too far to the side of snarky, wise cracking action hero. I've felt this way for a while, but that seems to be the template they use for all their characters and it is super annoying. I hate having to endure characters that seem like goofballs and then suspend my belief that they can just turn it on at will. Pick a side, Marvel. Captain America can have a sense of humor, but he is the standard and has to carry himself as such.

With as much as Sam Wilson would be carrying here, I don't think he'd be cracking wise so much. I like Anthony Mackie. He's a charasmatic and funny guy, but I feel like he has wacky sidekick energy, not leader of a team energy and that's where I think the movies have done him a disservice. No one is asking him to be Steve Rogers, but I would rather see a lot more serious side to him outside of fight time. 

Ultimately, this movie feels like it is treading water for other movies and we'll see how much of these threads they actually pick up for other movies, other than trying to bring back the Avengers. Don't misunderstand me on this review, I didn't hate this movie. It's servicable. I'm just dealing with more disappointment of an awesome opportunity. I know I left a lot of meat on the bone with a bunch of other stuff in this movie (oh, now we're acknowledging something from the Eternals?!), but that wasn't what my heart was feeling.

The Inevitable Best and Worst List of 2024 - Part II

Let's carry on with Part II of my year in review. Now we get on to favorite writers, mini-series, events and favorite series and whatevers.

Favorite Writer of 2024
Bryan Hill (Blade, Blade: Red Band, Ultimate Black Panther) - I can't put my finger on it, but I think it's because I didn't expect to enjoy these Blade series as much as I did and that is a tribute to the writing. Truthfully, what do we REALLY know about Blade outside of his movies. He's a blank canvas for anyone to write on and I'm glad he's getting a little more love this year. Yes, he was also involved in that Bloodhunt Event you'll hear me mention below, but Bryan Hill wasn't writing that. The most important piece of work this year though, is his Ultimate Black Panther run. I railed in the past about who I think I should write the character, but with this book he has changed my mind. With the Ultimate Universe, it allows him to be free and not be constrained by 40 years of continuity. It's made the character feel fresh and all the interactions around him. Finally, I have a Black Panther comic I don't hate read.

Honorable Mention: Daniel Warren Johnson (Transformers), Rainbow Rowell (She-Hulk)

Pleasant Surprise of 2024
All GI Joe Books in the Energon Universe - Image has put out mini series for Duke, Scarlett, Cobra Commander and Destro. I ate them all up. Historically, I have hated GI Joe. As a kid, I grew up in a military family, so I didn't want anything to do with anything involving the military. In the year of our lord, 2024 I've finally embraced GI Joe. These books have been legitimately good and I'm glad I didn't come to them with any pre-conceived notions.

Worst Event of 2024
Bloodhunt (Marvel) - This event encapsulates just about everything I hate about events in comic books. The premise here is that Blade has turned full vampire and has lead a bunch of vampires in a plot to take over the world and feed on everyone. The sudden heel turn by Blade is sudden, but I go along with it because initially it's interesting. I've also been reading comic books long enough to know that they are going to find a way to undo this so that there is no lasting impact. Spoilier alert: Blade was being controlled by a vampire spirit. So now that one interesting hook you have is gone. There's nothing I hate more that a person was evil because they were controlled by something instead of just being straight up evil.

Favorite Mini-series of 2024

Batman and Robin Year One (DC) - Mark Waid and Chris Samnee! There's nothing I like more than a good, modern day tale of Batman and Robin (Dick Grayson) and this book scratches that itch. It's not finished yet, but it's already a lot of fun. Mark Waid knows DC history inside and out and can seemingly write any character he desires. Chris Samnee is one of this industry's best and it's good to see him working back in one of the big two. Highly recommend this story that talks about the early days of their partnership.

Honorable Mentions: The Boy Wonder (DC), Wolverine: Revenge

Favorite New Series of 2024
The Spectacular Spider-Men (Marvel) - I leaned with this book over Ultimate Black Panther because I don't think we've really had a consistent team up book with Peter Parker and Miles Morales. It's an idea that is so simple, I'm surprised they didn't do it sooner. For all the railing I do about Miles Morales (again, I have a post coming in a few weeks about that), I love how he is here. Having him bounce of his mentor has been great and it really does a good job showing the contrast between them. This book and the Spider-Man games on PS4/PS5 are the BEST portrayals of Miles (outside of the Beyond the Spider-verse) movies and it says a lot that the one place they aren't getting him right is where he originated, the comic books. This series has been a lot of fun and their interplay as they take on villains is a delight. 

Honorable Mentions: Ultimate Black Panther (Marvel)

Favorite Graphic Novel of 2024
Man, I didn't even read any to justify this category this year. Better luck next year.

Honorable Mentions: N/A

Worst Series/Mini-Series of 2024
Green Lantern War Journal (DC) - I think this book broke me. I love John Stewart and I'm glad to have a book with him again. But the subpar art and boring pace of this writing tested me. Although I didn't like it after my three issue rule, I stuck with it in hopes it would get better. It didn't and I hung on for way too long. This book tried to have it's toes in keeping GL on Earth and having space adventures. I feel like to have an effective GL comic, you need to have one arc on Earth another in space. Technically, they police a certain sector of the galaxy, so it can be done. This book just didn't and John Stewart keeps getting saddled with bad books, so he can never sustain a regular series. DC will trot this character out when it's black history month and then do nothing with him the rest of the year.

Honorable Mentions: X-Factor (Marvel)

Favorite Series of 2024
Transformers (Image) - Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would pick a Transformers book as a book of the year, but here we are. The reason I picked this book is because it changes things about the Transformers origins that my generation experienced in the early 80's. The action is kinetic, full of wrestling moves and laser blasts. The Decepticons are truly evil and Optimus Prime is always trying to do his best to do good, even more so at the detriment of his team. There is a lot of crazy stuff that is happening in this series. Megatron is missing (read GI Joe comics for that), Optimus Prime has Megatron's gun arm and other crazy stuff. This series is wild and has me on the edge of my seat with each issue. I cannot recommend this enough to my fellow 40-somethings. 

Honorable Mentions:  Fantastic Four (Marvel), Void Rivals (Image)

The Inevitable Best and Worst List of 2024 - Part I

 

Life got crazy this year, so I was consistently behind on my comic book reading. That's why this list is so late. I needed my recency bias to help me with some of these picks. There were a lot of good surprises this year though, which I will talk about in more detail. One thing I'll start adding to these reviews is how many 2024 books I bought and read this year. This total is not how many comics I read in total, because I have a backlog of older stuff I cycle through as well when I get caught up on the recent stuff. 

That official count is: 469.

Let's break that down. How do my numbers fall out in regard to publishers?

It's no surprise that I'm team Marvel, but I try to balance that with other publishers. DC is always my number two and then a toss up amongst the other indie publishers. What is surprising to me is that IDW has outpaced Image comics. But really, in looking at my numbers, that IDW number is inflated because those are 95% Ninja Turtle comics. My purchases from Image comics are primarily Transformers and G.I. Joe shit. I would LOVE to step out and get more indies, so I'm going to pay better attention this year.

Anways, Without further ado, here is part I of my review of 2024.

Dearly Departed (The Comics I dropped this year)
Before I get into the rest of my list, a moment of silence for the number of comics that I dropped this year after giving a good go at it:

• Incredible Hulk (Marvel)
• Daredevil (Marvel)
• Green Lantern: War Journal (DC)
• Batman and Robin (DC)
• Captain America (Marvel)

Favorite Comic Book Movie of 2024

Deadpool/Wolverine (Marvel) - This movie was woefully short of comic book movies and that was a good thing. This movie would have one anyway. It's the closest thing we've gotten to an X-Men movie in years. I went into detail about this movie already in my review, but it was a fun ride. As much as I like Deadpool movies, hopefully this is the end of solo films for him. They are fun, but Deadpool as a character is exhausting. He's Spider-Man with no filter. On anything.

Honorable Mentions: N/A

Worst Comic Book Movie of 2024
Well, I guess there is no one to take this spot because I didn't watch any other comic book that came out in 2024. I saw Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but that is technically a 2023 movie. If I had watched that Joker sequel or that damn Kraven movie, it would end up here. Instead, because I'm a maschoist, I will watch those and review them later.

Honorable Mention: N/A

Favorite Comic Book TV Show of 2024
X-Men 97' (Marvel) - On the other hand, there were a LOT of shows that came out this year and the one that came out back in March EASILY takes the cake. While in retrospect, that old X-Men cartoon was bad, this show was the exact opposite and was good. They were able to lose the illusion that this is a show for kids and have storytelling that was more mature and nuanced. I can't say enough good things about this show, but it is fantastic.

Honorable Mentions: Agatha All Along (Marvel), My Adventures with Superman Season 2 (DC)

Worst Comic Book TV show of 2024
What If (Marvel) - I haven't written a full post to rail on this show yet, but out of all the shows I watch, this is the one that feels like a chore. My problem is that the What If scenarios are boring concepts to begin with and the execution doesn't get any better. Yes, I really wanted to see what would have happened if Hela had the ten rings. The problem is the What If comics took a scenario and took it in the opposite direction of what happened. This show takes a scenario and goes in a direction that is completely unrelated to the premise. I could go on, but I'll save that rant for a longer post. 

Honorable Mention: Harley Quinn Season 3.

The “Oh you still come out and I buy you” of 2024
Gargoyles (Dynamite) - I honestly can't tell you why I still buy this book. I'm not really enjoying it that much. I loved the TV show and this is a continuation of that. The problem is, I never saw season 3, so I started at a deficit with this series. It makes no attempt to catch you up, so I'm just living in this world trying to follow along. Unfortunately, the art is just not good. It's cartoony, but feels off. And the writing is fine, but again, they don't explain anything in the past, they expect that you're already a super fan and up on everything. That is comic book malpractice. At least have a summary page or something. I seriously need to drop this book.

The "Oh, why don't I drop you because it would be so easy" of 2024

Miles Morales: Spider-Man (Marvel) - It's not that I forget this book comes out, it's more of a "Why do I still buy this book." To understand why I do this is to understand the economics of comics. Some of us have cried out for more diversity in comics. When the comic companies do that, no one buys them and then they have to go back to their old tricks. That is why you see race swapping of known characters. It's having your cake (using a popular established character as a crutch) and then doing something slightly different. I buy this book to help it's numbers so they can keep doing this.

Where I sit with this book is this: we have a black writer that has a more authentic voice for Miles. Black Writers tend to pull in other little used black characters and team them up. Now I get to see Misty Knight heavily involved as a mentor or Sam Wilson will show up or Black Panther, etc. So that is fun. The problem is this Spider-Man doesn't have a rogue's gallery on his own and any new ones that are created just don't feel interesting. The art is also all over the map and something about it is just not clicking with me. This is another thing I will expand on in a later post. 

Favorite New Artist of 2024
Belén Ortega (Wonder Woman) - She has been doing these back up stories in Wonder Woman throughout the year and I instantly fell in love with her art. It's a little anime-ish, but that would be too reductive in what she does. The facial expressions are on point, the art feels dynamic when there is action and her characters just look cool. I seriously hope DC gives her a push as a main artist on a series somewhere. 

Honorable Mentions: Vincenzo Carratu (Psylocke)

Worst Artist of 2024
Francesco Mortarino (Fantastic Four) - Within comics, you'll get fill-in artists when the main artist needs a break. That's where the disparity in art really comes through. I say all that to say that fortunately, I only had to deal with this person's art in one issue (Fantastic Four #16). His chracters had weird noses, Val looked the same age as Franklin and his rendition of the Thing is probably the worst I have ever seen. His head looked tiny in comparison to his body and he had a tin man looking jaw. He was not ready for prime time.

Honorable Mentions: Danny Earls - Incredible Hulk #11

Favorite Artist of 2024
Dan Mora (Justice League Unlimited, Absolute Power, Superman) - I should have had this man up here sooner. He's one of those rare artists that if I see his name attached to a book, no matter what it is, I'm getting it. He's got a cartoony art style that is full of character and energy. He's got the workman like output of a Mark Bagley. I honestly don't know how this man keeps up the consistency of his work and puts out so much in a year like he has. Modern day artists simply don't do this. Health issues pop up and I am legitimately worried that Dan is striking while the iron is hot before he inevitably falls to father time. 

Honorable Mentions: 

Favorite New Writer (to me) of 2024
Dan Watters (Destro) - It was  hard to find any writers I haven't already read comics by so I THINK this is my first time experiencing Dan. I thoroughly enjoyed his Destro mini series and this new thing they are doing with G.I. Joe. The fact he was able to turn me is a testament. This book was fun and I felt like it was well written. I'll be keeping an eye on him.

Honorable Mentions: N/A

Worst Writer of 2024
J. Michael Strazynski (Captain America) - Maybe I hold a grudge, but I've never forgiven this guy for a Spider-Man story about 15 years ago that had the return of Gwen Stacy in about the weirdest way imaginable. Since then, I have thought of him as a hack and his job on Captain American didn't change my mind. I had to drop it because I couldn't take it anymore and my time is valuable. I could give more details, but I don't want to. I don't like the guy's writing. Full stop.

Honorable Mentions: N/A. (I can't remember anyone else that should be on this list)

The Oversaturation of 2024

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Same as the year before, we continue this year too. Again, I love the Turtles, but Jesus H. Christ. They are everywhere. (** Editors Note, I didn't change this section from last year because it was STILL true. ** )