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!

Street Fighter II- The Legend of Chun-Li

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This post is all about Street Fighter II- The Legend of Chun-Li.

I remember playing the SNES Street Fighter II for hours and days with friends and I was best with Chun-Li (she was the only one I could find that could get out of the cheese moves like Guile's Sonic Boom) so, when I heard that 'they' crafted a movie based primarily around my favorite Street Fighter, I was pumped! However, when this movie came out in theaters, I missed it and was very saddened. Fortunately, thanks to Terminator, Wolverine, Star Trek, and a few other movies, I almost didn't even notice the wait for Chun-Li to hit Blu-Ray.

I eager scampered out and rented a copy (I wanted to buy it but the only available copies were on DVD) and sat down to watch it at my earliest convenience (last night). I was settled in and ready to go, I even updated my Memorex player.

I was very surprised to find that Kristen Kreuk (Smallville's Lana Lang) was playing the lead role and was also a bit shocked to find Chris Klein cast as Nash. I must also admit that I had quite the crush on Miss Kreuk when I used to watch Smallville regularly.

The movie kicked off and was already showing great promise by the title sequence, so I was very thrilled to grab up this movie but, as the time began to drag on, I was quickly realizing why this movie was not receiving the warm buzz that some cult classics gain. The story was quickly proving to be no better than early Steven Segal flicks, the villains were all wet, Kristen (alas, my aching heart) seemed almost crackhead thin and was not able to pull off a good Chun-Li. Nothing of any major worth came from this movie. The Chi was hokey and the special effects belonged on USA Up All Night. The fight scenes were generic, the soundtrack was audial diarhea, and Chris Klein does NOT play a bad ass. He seems more like a woman dressed as a man, playing a woman who is pretending to be a hard ass guy. Sorry Mr. Klein but your performance left something to be desired (like a male presence).

I sat through this 90 minute arcade devastation and, as it was beginning to roll its ending credits, I asked myself what I had just done! Through it all, one good thing came out of this movie...I didn't spend twenty bucks so it could waste space on my movie shelf between Spider-Man and Superman.

Hidden Treasures!

While out on my bicycle today with my wife and fellow comic book geek, we happened to pass by an antique store in town by the name of Shady Lawn Antiques. This antique store was a dairy and creamery for Walla Walla once upon a time, but has since been transformed into an incredible antique store with some unique treasures and amazing blasts from the past, any past. I am a junk hunter and love going through antique stores, but when I find an antique store with comic books, then I am in heaven! I don't care what the book is, somebody outside the four color field has acknowledged that these illustrated magazines are a valuable piece of our American history.

I found a small box of comic books and rummaged through each and every book (as I typically do). I passed beyond the stacks of Archie comics (not my thing) and hacked through the Conan books. Every book was gently used and slightly worn, which is common for shops that don't fully understand the world of comic books. Some books had slight tears or minor folds, some were discolored with rolled spines, and most had been slumped and bent enough to have soft spines.

I am a bad collector in the sense that I don't require my books be sharp and crisp, I can almost be considered a comic book shelter. I will take in the book no matter the condition. I just love comics, not their price tag.

With that said, there were seven books I felt that I had to have above the others and they were Whitman Comics' Flash Gordon #31 and 31 (the movie adaptation issues); The Bionic Woman #4 from 1978; the first series of New Mutants #9 which sees the New Mutants in Nova Roma; Iron Man #102, which chronicles the gold and crimson Avenger and his battle with The Dreadknight; All-Star Comics #63 where the Justice Society take on the Injustice Society with a great cover of Solomon Grundy thumping the JSA; and finally, Battle Of The Planets #3 from 1979! I didn't even know that BotP was that old, much less, printed by Gold Key Comics!


Find some treasures of your own!

Savage Dragon hits again!

Image via Wikipedia

Erik Larsen, over-worked and under-rated creator of Image Comics' long running Savage Dragon has again challenged the four color media he has spent decades working in!
Since the Dragon has seen print (including all the non-Image works Mr. Larsen has done), Erik Larsen has pushed the envelope every chance he has gotten, including having a fan's character play as a focal point for an issue (Jimbo the Lobster, Savage Dragon #10), committing to a challenge with Peter David on writing Aquaman (which he easily won, in my eyes), and most recently his sponsoring of (at the time) President-elect Barack Obama.

Well, not one to sit on his duff, the exemplary creator, writer, and artist has decided that he needs to push the envelope once more, this time by rewarding loyal readers with a 100 paged issue #150! The unique and exciting reward for this issue of Savage Dragon isn't just in the hefty page count, but also within the Image box on the top of the cover, the price tag! Where many marketers would be eager to gouge their loyal reader base for increased profit (see my June 1st post, Comics Price Jump Again), Mr. Larsen provides this holy 100 page tome for a meager $5.99. This may seem like a gluttonous price hike but a simple trip through the calculator circuits will show that this book is four times larger than a regular edition of the Dragon and the price tag is less than double the price. Sounds like a boon for readers!

According to Image comics, "SAVAGE DRAGON #150 will now not only feature an extra length thirty-page lead story and the previously announced all-new back up stories with Thor, Vanguard and Chris Giarrusso's G-Man, but also the long lost origin of the Golden Age Daredevil by Charles Biro and the out of print origin of SAVAGE DRAGON."

Being a Dragon fan for nearly two decades, I cannot wait until the big 150 hits stands! Thank you Mr. Larsen for years of stories!

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Free Comic Books

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Always looking for ways to increase reader activity, Marvel Comics has set up a new program online that offers free comic books every single week!

That's right, FREE comics, every Monday! Now, Marvel die-hards will recognize this as Marvel's Free Mondays, the program that offers free DIGITAL comic books to readers for download and this is not quite a new concept, Marvel has been running their Free Mondays since as far back as May of 2008.

The downfall of this "free" stack of digital comic books is that, you actually must be a member of Marvel's Digital Comics Unlimited subscription service, which costs $59.88 (or, $4.99 a month).

Is this really a way to bring quality comics to devoted fans or merely a push to stop printing fees and save the comic industry money. More importantly, will this medium stick and are we looking at the future of comic books? We will see what the collective collector says.

Gotham suffers another earthquake

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Gotham city is seeing another quake that shakes its foundations to the core! This rumbling is hitting the bat family possibly even harder than the one that rocked the city at the end of the nineties, however as this quake isn't destroying the city but targeting the family of bats directly!
Bruce Wayne is out of the picture (thanks to Darkseid) which leaves an empty batsuit as well as an empty manor.

The Wayne presence is being filled with a look-alike to portray to Gotham that their playboy is okey-dokey, thus, enhancing the illusion that Bruce Wayne is not the Batman. This illusion is actually a bit closer to truth, now that former sidekick, Dick Grayson has taken up the cowl of the bat, shedding his own Nightwing persona.

To add to the shakiness, the conveniently included Wayne childfrom Batman 655-658 plays not just a prominent role, but a pivotal one as he takes up the red and green of the Robin. This does not bode well as Tim Drake is pushed out of his own tights and into the Red Robin personality.

With all of this, there is still room for controversy as the mantle of Batgirl is going to be filled but the woman behind the mask is not entirely clear. The answer is scheduled to be revealed in the newly relaunched Batgirl comic with covers by Phil Noto.

These certainly aren't the only rumblings going on in the world of comic books, but they are certainly gaining the most buzz in my parts!

Comics Price Jumps Again

1. When I first started buying comics, the price per book was around 75 cents, which was soon to hit a dollar.
2. By the time I was 18, there was an experiment going within the Marvel comics camp in which each of the many popular titles titles had two options; the standard paper stock with a $1.50 price or the glossy paper with a $1.95 tag. Shortly after the success of that, all titles went to $1.95.
3. A few years later, Marvel creeped the prices on their popular titles to a safe $2.25 with some of the edgier titles seeing $2.75 a book.
4. A few years back, they all hit $2.99 each.

These hikes have typically risen in times of financial hardship, either for the company or for the country. Inflation affects more than just the price of tomatoes in the grocery store, for comic companies, it hits with paper, ink, wage hikes and many other costs. The increased price has been an attempt to offset these charges in the past.
Now, with nearly ten of the popular titles in the Marvel stable jumping like the Hulk from the already high $2.99 to an astonishing $3.99, it is easy to see that an over-all price jump is in the near future and understandably so, with the poor shape of America's economy.
The unfortunate aspect of this hike is, not just the whole dollar increase, but the many times Marvel's speaker and EVP of the executive office, John Turitzen talked about "maximizing profits" and referring to Marvel as a "cash machine". Classy, Mr. Turitzen. I come from a business background and understand the need to make a profit, but I also understand the need to satisfy the customer and keep integrity within a brand, even if I'm not an Executive Vice President for a multi-million dollar organization.

With the increase in video games and other digital media, I didn't think the 4 color world could take a much harder hit...I guess I was wrong.

Terminator Salvation

Though, the movie came before the comic books, the Terminator franchise is as close to the heart of this comic fanboy as bread is close to bologna. Whether the books were by NOW comics or Dark Horse, the terminator series translated to 4 color as naturally as peanut butter attaches to jelly. Before I get sidetracked and run into the kitchen, I must get back on topic.
My age had not yet reached the double digits by the time I was first exposed to the world of the time traveling robot killers, programmed to eliminate a poofy-haired blond, through my exciting connection to movies via HBO which, in 1984 was a modern marvel of entertainment technology!
From the first tribal sounding drumbeats that heralded the arrival of Skynet's murderous cyborgs 15 years ago, to the post apocalyptic glimpse of AI domination 9 days ago, the Terminator series has always proven to be able to get the blood pumping in the veins not unlike the hydrolic oil that keeps the joints of the shiny metallic killers moving!
Christian Bale provides an excellent John Connor, even if he does occasionally over-act the role as Mr. Bale is known for (see, Dark Knight) and relative newcomer to the United States screen, Sam Worthington brings an interesting, if not slightly predictable element to the mythos of the Terminator history...future...timeline with his character, Marcus Wright.
Highlights of the movie are the different types of Terminator machines ranging from the T-1 and T-600 to the Hunter-Killers and watching the fight scenes between man and metal never seem to disappoint! What is truly surprising about the movie is the fact that it was directed by McG, the same guy that did the Charlie's Angels movie.
I enjoyed watching this series come (nearly) full circle and happily give it a T-5!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

This prequel to the mediocre X-Men trilogy takes Marvel Comics' most popular mutant and provides a full-length feature all to his hairy self! Some would argue that this was not true to the source material and others claim the story is more important than original history of the character but one thing stands clear, the time and film they used to portray some of this hairy mutant's history was rich in action and mutant cameos, from the humorously portrayed Fred Dukes (a.k.a. Blob) to Ryan Reynolds' perfectly accurate Wade Wilson.

Without providing much of a spoiler, I will say that, though the history and proximity of the storyline does not fall in line closely to the source material (where was Department H- the Canadian program? What was the deal with the runt's heightened senses only working when it helped further the plot?) the plot line and the flow of the movie was incredibly adrenaline filled which forces you at blade point to use no more than the front edge of the seat.

Among the many other aspects of beautifully crafted eye candy that this film offers to the uninitiated and fanboy alike, the opening title sequence is actually one of the highlights of the film as it follows the world's favorite furball through nearly every major war in United States history, and does so in a tasteful manner.

Hugh Jackman, though a full foot taller than Marvel's mutant, nails Wolverine yet again and this time, is afforded a full lead role to provide a solid feel of the character. He may not have the blond mane, but Liev Shreiber portrayed a wonderfully maniacal Sabretooth and the not-so-surprising appearance of Gambit was a fun addition to the already mutant rich story, even if actor, Taylor Kitsch couldn't retain the Creole accent Gambit is famous for.

Being a long time X-Men fan, I was put off by some of the modifications made for the 'benefit' of the average movie-goer, but was happily willing to forgive these things due to the high volume of hidden fanboy fun and the excellently crafted visual effects. I give this great comic adaptation three sharpened claws up!

WHY?!?!?!

I sit and examine my thought balloon when setting this blog up and it says, "Hey man! Why bother with setting up a blog about comic books? There must be a million and three comic blogs out there, some are even by artists and writers, what makes your so friggin' cool?"
These are great questions my thought balloon has asked and I think about people like Peter David, who not only is a professional writer with his own blog, but a very VERY accomplished writer with his own blog. I think about others like him. My brain pan begins to then sift through the retailers, fanboys, and just internet junkies...all with either good connections or no girlfriends which affords them all the time in the world to get the low down and dirty, the excitement, the filthy secrets of the comic books world and I return to my question...WHY?
Well, right or wrong, good or bad, my answer to those three burning letters is simply, I love comic books. With every fiber of my being. I have been with comics for decades and they have never let me down (with the exception of the Clone Saga) and, whether I hit breaking news or just reviews feel-good books of yesterday, this gives me a chance to talk about my love (not my wife, the other love), comics!
I hope you enjoy...oh yeah, I know that the comic world has evolved into the digital age and 4 color may not really apply, I chose the name in tribute to the vibrancy that kept us floating until computers could catch up with our super-heroes.