G.I. Joe - The Rise Of Cobra

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I have been a G.I. Joe fan since before I could read. My first Joe figure was the original Storm Shadow with non-swivel arms and an amazing weapon array! Before they got popular in the beginning of the 80s, I was trying to gobble them up!

Then I discovered the cartoons! Between the Joes and the Transformers, I spent an uninterrupted hour in front of the television every weekday for years!

This was an obsession that was unlike any other for me which only worsened with the discovery of the comic book! The story lines were excellent and the colors were vibrant! I can still recall Baroness shooting a drenched and exhausted Storm Shadow on the beach of Cobra Island from the back of a H.I.S.S. tank!

I could chronicle crucial steps of my evolution with the Joe mythos until YOU are blue in the face but we can fast forward to the release of either the greatest or worst adaptation into film comics has ever seen with this new film, G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra.

I want desperately to give this movie high ratings but honestly cannot blindly and emotionally pump it up. I knew it would be a tough thing to do, transitioning either the comic or the cartoon mythos to the silver screen and I was completely ready to forgive the "story rewrites" that Hollywood often commits to make the movie "more accessible"...especially with a movie based on action figures. (I am still frustrated with the Transformers franchise.)

I will start off with a couple reasons I don't feel the movie worked so well, but I must warn you...though I don't plan to offer specifics, I might SPOIL some of this film for you. Skip this paragraph if you want to remain totally surprised: There was too much incestuous feeling in the relationships; it seemed that every one was related to every one else in some way. Duke was a hard but charismatic character for 25 years and in this movie, he is reduced to tough guy #52. Some of the relationships were far too forced (beyond everyone having shared history together). G.I. Joe had great soap opera type relationships that worked, why dump all of that out the window for the choices they did make? Snake-Eyes had pretty pronounced lips on his rubber suit which made him look...odd. Without going on much further, the movie ran along strongly until the ending which seemed to get cut short! Like, ran out of funding short.

I don't want to leave a bitter taste in anyone's brain so I will mention some of the great things about this new franchise: the minor details were astounding! The vehicles had small (for lack of a better word) decals on them which were very reminiscent of the toys. Destro was a sneaky bastich (and the opening scene of the Destro family history was awesome)! The action was high and the 'flashback' stories were not burdening. Fight scenes were great, both man-to-man and vehicle-to-vehicle! Scarlett and Baroness were both smoking like a freshly emptied 50-cal! Finally, the plot was a little over the top (like the cartoons) but they seldom went into the realm of blatantly outlandish (see the early 90s Fantastic Four movie or the 1960s Batman movie).

I would easily rate this movie 4 out of 4 colors, however; with the downfalls and contrived nonsense, this action flick sinks like a ship at Pearl Harbor to 1.8! Better luck with the sequel Mr. Sommers.

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4 Color Junkie Store now open!

Not content with just providing news, reviews, and biased opinions on all things comic book; I have decided to set up a SAFE and SECURE website store to help you get what you want without having to look any further! Right now, I am just set up for graphic novels and not monthly books but you can also find movies, books, games and more great swag! Please, give us a chance, you will be pleased!

Watchmen, Director's Cut

Cover of Watchmen

Two days ago, Watchmen was released on Blu-Ray and DVD.

In case you live in a cave with an anti-comic book barrier, you would know that the Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987 which chronicled an event in a parallel Earth in which superheroes have been treated like celebrities and eventually outlawed. The cold war has risen to a scary high as nuclear holocaust is imminent and only half a dozen costumed vigilantes have any chance at saving the dying planet. The main characters of the story are Nite Owl, Rorschach, Silk Spectre, Doctor Manhattan, Ozymandias, and the (deceased) Comedian. Telling anything more about the epic tale of The Watchmen would take up far more room than one blog can even hope to manage, so I will move on to the Director's Cut of this newly released movie on Blu-Ray.

I grew up never being able to get my mitts on a single copy of this urban legend of a comic book series. In the year 2000, I was fortunate enough (on my honeymoon) to find every single issue at a comic book shop in Salt Lake City, for $3 a book. I was blown away!

Nine years after reading this mini-series, the powers that be in the land of glitter and gluttony have released this work of literary art in theaters and now for home consumption! I watched the movie in the theaters (sorry, Mr. Moore) and, though there was a singular glaring difference between these two medium of the same story, every other thing in this incredible story was spot on accurate! Spot on, not unlike the spot of blood on Comedian's happy badge! Speaking of Comedian, when you watch the very first scene of the movie, Comedian is wearing the exact same bathrobe that he is in the comic book! Okay, I know that one robe is fictional, but you don't realize that while watching!

Image via Wikipedia

The interpretive changes were minimal and even a large amount of the dialogue was so similar, you would think the re-writer just threw a trade paper back at the actors. Another thing I couldn't help but notice was that the director's cut of the movie added about half an hour of footage back into the movie (even reverting a scene or two back to the comic version of the story). I thought this movie couldn't get any better without restoring the original plot twist, UNTIL the director's cut was released! (By the way, the actors seemed to step straight out of the pages of the comic!)

Now that my heart has quit pounding through my chest and my jitters have calmed enough to write this, I would like to say to director Zack Snyder, "Thank you! A thousand times, thank you!" To the rest of you....BUY THIS MOVIE!!!

The Punisher in Oregon!

Not ready to go home from the Mayhem concert in Auburn, Washington, I found myself heading down into Oregon for a couple days of excitement at Newport beach and the surrounding area. Some of the great things about this area are, the ocean (naturally), Yaquina Bay light house, both the Ripley's Believe It Or Not and the wax Museums, the Aquatic Center and the underwater aquarium, boat tours, you name it. One thing that isn't easily associated with the wet, salty air of the coastline is a comic book shop! I may have missed a hidden little hole in the wall while hitting the shopping areas of town (both touristy and non) but I wouldn't be surprised if there was no such shop.

Down near Pier 1, however; I found this quaint little shop tucked into the back room of a micro-mall on the 'strip' that sells clay mugs that are crafted into faces that could easily be found in a 1970s cartoon intended for adults (think "Light Years") or maybe some hippie calendar of gnomes and mushrooms.Directly outside of this shop, there are two boxes of comics, bagged and boarded; just waiting to find new homes. On the front of the boxes, a paper sign gloriously announces, "Vintage comics- around 15 years old- $1.50 ea. or 4/$5.00"

Well, that sounded like an invitation to browse to me and so my fingers began their walking, stepping through each and every book. Within these home crafted boxes, I found a lot of Image books, including Savage Dragon; some Ultraverse books like Mantra and even DC's Metal Men mini-series from the early 90s and a four consecutive issue run of Marvel comic's the Punisher, issues 79 - 82. This may not have been a golden pick that puts my kids through college, but it is a pretty cool find for a town that doesn't really have a comic book store.

Cannibal Corpse?! I thought this was about comics?

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I didn't get to hit the local "bookstore" to snatch up my stack of 4 color escapist magazines this week because Rockstar Energy Drink's Mayhem Festival hit town (and by town, I mean, across the state) to devastate the Pacific Northwest and I had to go...no, really, I HAD to go, I am a big Behemoth fan and they were playing (I already missed them once last year). Well, I also was dying to see Trivium, Slayer, Job For A Cowboy, Whitechapel, and Cannibal Corpse....that's right, Cannibal Corpse!

Of course, by now, you are sitting here thinking, "What in the world does this have to do with comics, man?!" To which, I will say:

The shows were great and the energy was stratosphere. There were so many different people from various walks of life there to watch incredibly talented bands perform wonderfully twisted music, I wouldn't have asked for anything more!

Again, you ask, "Seriously, what about comics?" I then say:

Among the T-shirt and CD covered vendors, sitting on a table, I found the most amazing thing...
A Cannibal Corpse comic book! (Well, graphic novel, if oyu wanna get all technical and whiney about it). That's right a glossy paged comic chocked full of short stories! WOW! The cool thing is, each short story seemed to be based off of a different song from their latest release, Evisceration Plague! How freakin' cool is that?! The book was bagged with the album and the bundle cost me no more than 20 coin so I had to get it, even though that means I now have two copies of their album.

The day went on and I had an amazing time, jumping in the pit to some of the heaviest bands in America (and successfully protecting my comic book treasure). Moshing and headbanging, yelling and singing. The day couldn't get any better....or could it?

Taking a break from the constant slamming, I made my way back to the vendor booths (I am a sucker for spending) and was only half surprised to see band members signing their autographs for appreciative fans. After peering into the crowd of fans for a moment, I caught glimpse of the artists at the signing booth...Cannibal Corpse! A wave of giddiness washed over me and I instantly dug deep and fast for my newly acquired bagged book and just about pulled the plastic from it at light speed, then I charged the line and waited....and waited...In real time, it was two or three minutes tops, but in eager anticipation time, it was an eternity on slow motion! I got to the front of the line and proudly displayed the book and watched as each of the members of this long running and well respected band put their diabolical John Hancock on MY comic book! I continued down the line with a handshake and a 'thank you' until I gathered each musician and then got lost again in the crowd of metalheads, goth girls, and freaks...jealously guarding my latest prize possession.

I walked out of that concert (barely) with some incredible memories, richly colored bruising and great merchandise but the one possession I prize over all others is my Cannibal Corpse comic book, fully autographed by one of the nicest death metal bands ever (sorry guys if this ruins your reputation for being evil)!

I have been trying to locate a link for you to buy this book but have been unable to do so. For now, check out this merch from Cannibal Corpse:

Brutish Fun!

Hey there, friends!

I was doing some random online browsing for internet excitement of an odd flavor and I ended up running across the craziest little game! (Okay, it probably isn't extremely crazy but it does seem like a lot of fun)!


The game is called My Brute and when you show up at the site, you get the chance to make your own little brute. By simply typing in your fighter's name, the site generates a cute little fighter for you. If you don't like the way he or she looks, click on the little button to the left of it, near th
e feet and the site will randomly generate a new character until you find something more appealing. You can even change the color scheme of your Brute with the button on the right.

Get your guy or gal started and throw it into the arena for some fighting fun! The site will ask you to set up a password but doesn't ask for anything else!

There is no real complicated game play, just a couple clicks gets you into a fight with another brute and the website A.I. does the rest! It may not be super involved but is an entertaining 3 minutes of the day, regardless!

Character spotlight on: She-Hulk

Welcome to the debut of my character spotlight segment. I plan on shining some light on great characters that may not be getting proper treatment. This is me, doing my part to help raise awareness and trying to stop the horrible and unaddressed issue of character neglet!

Image via Wikipedia

This entry is to spotlight one of the strongest women in comics, the Sensational She-Hulk. This 29 year old, emerald skinned, comic book good girl is an incredible asset to a character stable. As Jennifer Walters, she is a skilled attorney that is just as passionate about fighting legal battles as her 6' 7", superheroine counterpart is eager to bust heads! Always thinking of more than just mercenary tactics and brawling, She-Hulk has even been able to put her villain bashing abilities to professional use as she has been recently seen traveling across the country as a bounty hunter for bail skippers.

She-Hulk is one of the last characters that Stan Lee created for Marvel and has starred in no less than four on-going series including the Savage She-Hulk (her first comic which lasted to nearly 30 issues) and the Sensational She-Hulk which saw John Byrne take the emerald Avenger through 60 issues of comedy, parody in which her jade jaws were often talking directly to the reader.

She may not be a requirement in the Marvel stable like Spidey, Mutants, or even the Hulk, but her depth and richness of character is one that could go toe to toe with her cousin and win, every time!