TITLE: The Interestings
AUTHOR: Meg Wolitzer
PUBLISHER: Riverhead Hardcover
RELEASED: April 9, 2013

By Becky Luksa
Contributor

It seems as if you are jinxing yourself by titling your book, The Interestings. No matter who writes that book, it is doomed to be boring, no matter how hard they try.

Even if the title throws you off, it seems as though it could be a good story. The summary makes the book sound like a fascinating story filled with great characters and conflict. But this is not so. This is the conundrum one encounters when reading The Interestings. Its lack of an overarching conflict makes the novel feel slow and, well, uninteresting.

The novel examines the lives of four friends who met at a summer camp for artistic teens and follows them from age 16 until their mid-fifties. Two of the friends, Ash and Ethan, marry and become incredibly successful, actually making money off their art. Ethan becomes a famous animator, which allows Ash to follow her dream of becoming a theater director. The other two, Jules and Jonah, give up their art and chose different careers. Jules and her husband, Dennis, are drastically less successful than Ash and Ethan. Jonah is successful in his career, but not in his love life.

The main focus of the novel is the relationship between the two couples, showing the disparity between their lives. Jules is extremely envious of the life that her two friends have accomplished, feeling as if their friendship is somehow lessened by their class gap. Ash and Ethan love Jules and don’t seem to care about money, or lack thereof. They are happy to use their wealth to treat their friends to expensive dinners and vacations, while Jules and Dennis begrudgingly accept. Jonah’s story is more of a sub-plot to the novel, which chronicles his life as the son of a famous folk singer and gay man. He is not so much bothered by Ash and Ethan’s extreme wealth as he is by the feeling that something is lacking once he decides to not pursue music as a career.

The problem is that Jules’ envy of her friends does not drive the plot. This extreme jealousy never causes any conflict between the friends. Jules silently suffers, or complains to her husband. But does not take any action. She never tries to ruin Ash’s life, or even have an argument with Ash and Ethan about their wealth or lifestyle. It’s the whole showing versus telling rule that every writer is told in Writing 101. There are some nicely shown characterizations, but they are few. There is conflict, but it is almost all internal or quickly resolved. No one does anything. If they do take action, it is in an area that is not exactly relevant to the relationships in their lives. There is the possibility for great conflict in the emotions the characters have, but it is simply not utilized in the way it should be. The whole novel seems to show these people simply living their lives, going through the major milestones of life; going to college, getting married, having children and raising them.

One other issue with the story is that many of the social elements that the author brings up, feminism, the gay rights movement, and several other political and social movements, seem forced and at times irrelevant. The political references made throughout the story, mostly ripping on former presidents Nixon and Reagan, are out of place and so jarring that it brings the reader out of the story. There is a time and a place for political commentary. If some of these elements were weaved into the story, perhaps used for characterizations instead of just trying to make a point, they could actually be very useful to the writer. Fiction is a great place to make social commentary, but often times it is best when the reader does not even realize that commentary is being made. If it sticks out too much from the rest of the story, it actually becomes annoying. Some of the points Wolitzer makes are great and important, but they stick out like red wine on white carpet.

Despite the title, the characters in the book are not all that interesting. Both Ash and Jules fall flat in their characterizations. Ash is beautiful and caring, and that’s about it. The two other aspects of her personality that the reader is given are that she’s a feminist and has the ability to lie, as if that makes her so special and distinguishable from so many other people. Jules is ugly, less talented than Ash, and envious. There are moments where the author provides great characterizations, Ash’s reactions to her brother being accused of rape, or the way that Jules interacts with her sister. More of these moments would have created strong characters who come to life as you are reading them.

Their husbands are slightly more dynamic. Dennis can battle through the fog of his depression to care for his only daughter. Despite his generosity with money towards his friends, Ethan is terribly selfish when it comes to his personal life. Jonah is probably the most three dimensional character. He is a talented guitarist who gives up his music because of a traumatic experience he had as a child, goes to MIT and ends up designing innovations to help disabled people. He is terribly closed off, but can muster the emotion and strength to confront the man who did him wrong. He is the one who realizes creativity can be part of your life, but doesn’t have to be the whole thing. Sadly, his story is limited to only a few chapters and various other mentions throughout the book.

Within the pages of The Interestings is there is the potential for a really good story. There could be really great conflict between these two sets of friends. Parts of the story are thought provoking and exciting to read, and the way the characters react to the present situation does a great job of showing who they are as people. Unfortunately, there is not enough of this to make the story good.

RATING: 5/10

Front page image from salon.com. Image 1 from npr.org. Image 2 from timeout.com.
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TITLE: Iron Man 3
STARRING: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley
DIRECTOR: Shane Black
STUDIOS: Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures, DMG Entertainment
RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 130 min
RELEASED: May 3, 2013

Looking for more Marvel movies? Check out Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers.

By Seth Miller
Staff Writer, Part-Time Ninja

I believe that every geek or film lover worth his or her salt should know a few things…

1. Han shot first.
2. Converted 3D films are not as good as a those shot in 3D.
3, The final film of a trilogy is going to be very hit or miss.

The filmmakers and studio either build up expectations with the previous installments, they forget why people liked the series in the first place, or they load up so much in the final film that the whole thing becomes a big mess. This problem is especially true for comic book movies, with films such as X-Men: The Last Stand or Spider-Man 3. So how does Iron Man 3 compare to these example? I am happy to report that it does not disappoint…unless you really hate a certain part of it.

Months after the events of The Avengers, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is struggling to find his place in a world filled with gods and aliens. He can’t sleep, spends most of his time tinkering in his lab, and it is starting to worry his girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and close friend James Rhodes (Don Cheadle). At the same time, the United States is dealing with a terrorist leader called the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) who has been staging a number of bombings, and hijacks the airwaves to broadcast his message of terror. When Tony decides to call him out, he becomes a target and has to deal with his issues if he wants to stop this madman and save the people he cares about.

I have been excited about this movie since Shane Black, whose credits include Lethal Weapon and Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, was named director. He has shown to be great at crafting entertaining films with thrilling action scenes and funny dialogue. He also has a great working relationship with Downey Jr., which is essential given the direction he takes Tony Stark in this film.

The first thing that I really enjoyed about this movie was the journey of Iron Man, and the fact it didn’t have tons of Easter eggs or tie-ins that didn’t serve any purpose other than take away from the story. The film follows Tony while he deals with his place in the world and why he matters. He has seen aliens and thunder gods; and while he saved the world it has left him emotionally shattered. He has to rediscover what made him great and adjust to this new world, which is only going to get bigger and stranger. I am glad that this is the route that Marvel and Black decided to take. They reference the events in The Avengers, and it affects the characters. But it doesn’t dominate the proceedings. The story also contains themes such as transhumanism and the corruption of science that could save lives, which elevates it. Iron Man 3 is its own self-contained story instead of a stepping-stone for the next Avengers film.

Downey Jr. does a great job portraying a Tony Stark who is hiding from the world in his armor and his work. We’ve seen him grapple with the fact his weapons have caused the death of hundreds of innocent people, and the idea of his technology killing him. But this time we see a Tony who is putting on a cool façade, but could lose it at any second. It’s a credit to Downey Jr. that he can still find a new way to play the character. The rest of the cast does a great job with some already great material.

The action scenes are in this movie that are exhilarating, and they make great use of Tony Stark’s plight. The first big scene with the helicopters proceeds to obliterate everything Tony has come to rely on, and almost every action scene afterward has Tony relying on his mechanical prowess and improvisation to stay alive and save the day.

The only real problem I had with the film is that several of story elements get rushed as the film reaches its end, and they lack the weight that they should have had. The biggest problem people could have with the film is purely subjective. Some are going to like the decision and some aren’t. Personally, I love it.

If you’ve been keeping up to date on your Marvel movies news, you know that Iron Man 3 kicks off Marvel’s “Phase 2″ films, which continue the Avengers’ storyline and lead to The Avengers 2. If Marvel can continue what they did with Iron Man 3 by exploring the characters in their stories with good writing and direction; then we are in store for a great set of movies.

RATING: 9/10

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TITLE: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 5: Krang War
AUTHORS: Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz
PENCILLER: Ben Bates
COLLECTS: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #17-20
FORMAT: Softcover
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
PRICE: $17.99
RELEASE DATE: May 8, 2013

Need to catch up on your TMNT? Check out the previous four volumes: Change is Constant, Enemies Old, Enemies New, Shadows of the Past and Sins of the Fathers.

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

The Ninja Turtles have always had their share of cosmic adventures, dating back to the original books Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird did. It’s as much a part of their mythology as anything else. That being said, I’ve always preferred my TMNT stories to be more on the Frank Miller side of things. I like my Turtles to be stealthy, rooftop hopping shadow dwellers, as opposed to laser dodging, spaceship flying, alien-fighting adventurers. But even if you come in with that mind set, Krang War is a pretty good Ninja Turtles story.

When the Turtles, April O’Neil and Casey Jones decide to investigate Stockgen further, they shockingly discover that April’s former co-worker Chet is actually the Fugitoid, a robot from Dimension X. Fugitoid contains the consciousness of Honeycutt, a scientist who once warned the high council of the planet Utrominon of their world’s imminent destruction due to their overuse of one of it’s natural resources. But the council refused to heed his warning, and the planet was doomed. Thus, the Utrom warlord Krang is determined to manipulate Earth’s atmosphere to make it a new Utrominon. In the meantime, Krang’s forces have invaded the planet Neutrino. When forces from Neutrino come to Earth and retrieve Chet/Fugitoid/Honeycutt to help them build a weapon, the Turtles are drawn into their war. But how does all this, and the ensuing battle, involve the Shredder’s daughter Karai?

I have very little complaining to do about how well Waltz and his various collaborators have brought elements from the original cartoon show into the modern era for this series. Krang War is no exception. Children of the ’80s will recognize the Neutrinos, Kala, Zak and Dask. King Zenter and Queen Gizzla are also there, though in name only. Eastman, Waltz and Bates do a fine job of re-interpreting them for a universe that’s a bit more mature (though not too mature of course). The high-registered, lingo spewing teenagers driving souped up flying cars, replaced with battle-hardened soldiers with familiar hairdos. Krang’s rock soldiers from Dimension X look good too.

Ben Bates’ art is a definite improvement over Andy Kuhn’s in the last volume. Kuhn’s art is fine in it’s own right, but Bates is a much better fit for the Ninja Turtles. He does a great job giving us the cartoony expressions and humor, in addition to the more serious drama and action. In a way it’s a meld of a lot of the great TMNT incarnations through the years. I can see Eastman and Laird, the 4Kids animated series, as well as traces of the current animated series. He brings the pencilling back up to the level it was when Dan Duncan was on the book. Sadly, this book contains his entire four-issue run.

I liked the way Karai was worked into this story. Although, there was a weird scene between she and the Shredder in issue #19 where they’re sitting at a table eating while they’re in full combat gear. But on the whole, her presence in the story was a nice way to keep the Foot Clan involved in the proceedings without actually making the story about them. By the time we close the book, we also have something that could finally prompt a meeting between Shredder and Krang. I don’t necessarily see that happening until autumn at the soonest. But I’m guessing it’s in the near future.

IDW’s Ninja Turtles series has had a fairly hit-or-miss existence. They didn’t pay off Raphael’s early separation from his brothers in the first book, and things took a tumble in the third book with the team’s first confrontation with the Shredder. But things have gradually been on the uprise since then. In truth, this is the best the series has been so far. Perhaps it’s a matter of Eastman, Waltz and the creative team finally getting comfortable in their skin as far as this new continuity is concerned. Either way, my hopes aren’t high that things will stay this good. But after 20 issues, at least our creators have a little more experience on their side.

RATING: 7.5/10

Front page image from dadsbigplan.com. Image 2 from comicbookresources.com. Image 3 from tumblr.com.
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TITLE: The Following
STARRING: Kevin Bacon, James Purefoy, Natalie Zea, Valorie Curry, Shawn Ashmore
EPISODES: 15
NETWORK: Fox
FINALE DATE: April 29, 2013

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

I want to like The Following. I really do. That was probably the main element that kept me coming back to this show for 15 straight weeks. I wanted it to surprise me and really get good. But it never did.

The Following has a great many fans who will take issue with me on that. But for my money the show feels largely hollow. Despite the suspenseful storytelling and characters that aren’t exactly uninteresting, it lacks a certain…soul. By and large, it seems like a collection of stock characters, recurring serial killer movie themes and gory stunts tossed into a show to attract fans normally drawn to that kind of stuff. Granted, the entertainment industry exists to make money, and every TV show, movie or book is derivative of something. But The Following feels uninspired to me. As such, I found myself more and more apathetic about it as things progressed. Considering it’s supposed to be a suspense thriller, that’s probably not a good thing.

Years after being captured by F.B.I. agent Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon), former writer, college professor, and horrendous serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) has concocted the ultimate plan for revenge. From the confines of prison, Carroll uses his bizarre cult of followers to arrange for his young son to be kidnapped, and for Hardy to be drawn into the investigation. Carroll’s ex-wife Claire (Natalie Zea) must stand by helplessly knowing her son is in the hands of murderers, specifically a trio who are involved in a bizarre love triangle. Carroll’s followers proceed to make life a living hell for Hardy, the F.B.I., and anyone who might stand in their way.

Many of us can’t help but be fascinated by the minds and methods of serial killers. Head into the true crime section of any book store and you”re bound to find titles on John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Jeffry Dahmer and the like. Let’s certainly not discount our fixation on fictional killers like Hannibal Lecter, Patrick Bateman and Dexter Morgan. Serial killers pique our curiosity. We’re inevitably drawn to watch them from a safe distance, like children peering in on predators at a zoo. Also, serial killers are often uncannily skilled actors and manipulators who know how to say just the right things to get the reaction they’re looking for from a prospective victim. The Following hoped to capitalize on all these ideas to create a weekly psychological suspense thriller about a serial killer using his cult following to wreak havoc on the world, and the man who ruined his life. Make no mistake about it: That’s a damn good idea for a TV show.

But the most glaring problem with The Following is it’s littered with things that have been done before, and frankly, done better. As those elements started to add up, the show’s universe started to dilute, and my suspension of disbelief gradually faded away. Need examples? I’ll give you six…

1. The loner agent (or sometimes ex-agent) who drinks to numb his pain, and is drawn into a confrontation with a figure from his past. Though Kevin Bacon plays him well, there is very little about Ryan Hardy that is unique or original. This character is a staple of crime and noir stories from just about any medium.

2. The English serial killer manipulating things from his cell. James Purefoy’s prison scenes with Bacon, and various other actors were practically screaming ”The Silence of the Lambs!” The fact that Joe Carroll’s wife is named Claire, a name very similar to Clarice, didn’t help much. In the episode where Claire comes to see Joe in prison, I half expected him to say: “What became of your lamb, Claire?”

3. The kidnapped kid. This one is a staple of just about every genre. I’ll give you that Kyle Catlett, the kid who played Joey Matthews, is a pretty good actor. He gave off enough of the innocent kid vibe without making it annoying. Still, that line he had in episode about Ryan being “one of the good guys!” was downright cringeworthy. But that was a writing issue, not a performance one.

4. Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar Allan Poe’s Wikipedia page should refer to him as “a great American poet, and popular culture’s go-to source for Gothic quotes and references.” I understand that wrapping Carroll’s following in Poe allusions was advantageous because most people have heard of his work. But the idea was tired, not to mention a little too “on the nose.” Joe Carroll is a writer isn’t he? Why could the cult of Joe Carroll be wrapped up in the writings of Joe Carroll? That would make sense, wouldn’t it?

5. Joe Loves Ryan? During the finale, Joe uses a love at first sight metaphor to describe his relationship with Ryan. This motif has been used in the Batman mythos as least as far back as The Dark Knight Returns in 1986. The idea is that Batman and the Joker complete each other on some level, and as such Joker has a perverse “love” for Batman. It’s a cool concept, but it feels forced here.

6. The lighthouse. The big climax between Joe, Ryan and Claire takes place at a lighthouse. Claire actually comments on how predictable it is. Even the characters have seen this stuff before.

The big original twist in this show, or so I thought, was supposed to be the cult element. The question of who’s in it, where they are, how and when they’ll strike, etc. But as the season progressed we found out they all lived together in a big house, as if it were The Real World for murderers. While the cult story did bring us some exciting moments (the chase through the gymnasium being the best), the idea was never tapped to its full potential.

The Emma character irritated me, but t wasn’t necessarily Valorie Curry’s fault. It had more to do with some of her dialogue and her involvement in that weird love triangle with Jacob and Paul. That all seemed like cheap, sleazy fluff to me. Remember that scene where Emma and Paul are in the shower together (because they’re suddenly attracted to each other somehow), and then Jacob comes in and they all…um, hug? Brutal.

I did find Jacob’s story arc interesting though. The idea of a murderous cult member being scared to make his first kill made for good drama. For my money, Jacob’s story should have gone to Emma to get the audience more invested in her. Picture it. Joe convinces a naive young girl to join his cause, and in the process she falls in love with him. Then she winds up having to look after Joey, and the innocence of a young child makes her question what her beloved mentor has taught her. In the end, Joe tells Emma he loves her, and she finally makes her first kill…then the events at the lighthouse happen (I’m trying to stay spoiler free here, but I think you get the idea.). Emma has lost everything, and next season she comes back for revenge.

Curry could have pulled that off beautifully. But instead we got awkward scenes with this girl who is hopelessly devoted to Joe, yet somehow also romantically linked to Jacob, and also attracted to Paul. So much of it was unfocused and loaded with empty lust. Also, that scene where Emma meets Claire was painful.

Joe had too many lieutenants for my taste. For a few episodes we had Charlie, the guy who kidnapped Claire. Later we met Roderick, the cult’s inside man at the police department, who happened to have a game show host haircut. And all the while we also had Emma, Paul and Jacob. Despite her weird awkwardness, Emma was the only one I found myself caring about because the others either came and went too freely, weren’t developed enough, or were part of silly sub plots. Personally, I would have enjoyed seeing episodes with self contained sub stories, spotlighting individual cult members. We’d see somebody new each week. That way we could keep things nice and simple, have a fresh threat to deal with every episode, and get to know the commonalities that bind this weird group.

It’s also worth noting that this season Joe either escaped from prison or police custody three times, two of which happened right in front of Ryan. Let’s also not forget Claire was able to get away from the F.B.I. twice so she could pursue Joe on her own. Ryan was able to push the agents quite a bit a lot as well, considering he’s supposed to be retired. He held a press conference on the investigation without their knowledge, and even beats up on suspects. In the finale, he even convinces Mike (Shawn Ashmore’s character) to let him go after Joe, an escaped serial killer whose cronies are responsible for the death of dozens of innocent people, on his own with no back up at all. These folks are pretty inept, considering they’re supposed to be the Federal freakin’ Bureau of Investigation…

One thing I will say for The Following is, despite having writing that was at times downright sloppy, it was very well cast. Awhile back, one of the showrunners said in Entertainment Weekly that Kevin Bacon was cast as the lead so viewers could have a lead they felt a sense of comfort and safety with amidst all the chaos. Bacon provides that, and plays the run down cop role pretty well. Shawn Ashmore was a good choice for the Mike role, as he’s got plenty of nice guy appeal. James Purefoy and Valorie Curry could have been great in their roles, had they not been so uninspired. But all the performers seemed to do the best with what was given to them.

The Following set out to be television’s hottest thriller, and the truly sad thing is that it could have been. But at this point it looks like it’s destined to become a guilty pleasure. I look at it almost the same way I look at Glee. You watch it, and constantly find yourself rolling your eyes at the way the story is put together. But you respect the performers enough that you tune in for their sake. But you know what? I don’t see Kevin Bacon belting out pop covers any time soon. So The Following‘s may not even have that going for it.

RATING: 4.5/10

 Front page image from sheknows.com. Images 1, 2 and 4 from forcesofgeek.com. Image 3 from cartermatt.com. Image 5 from seriable.com. Image 6 from pearlsonastring.com.
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TITLE: Ghostbusters, Vol. 4: Who Ya Gonna Call?
AUTHOR: Erik Burnham
PENCILLER: Dan Schoening, Tristan Jones
COLLECTS: Ghostbusters #13-16
FORMAT: Softcover
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
PRICE: $17.99
RELEASED: March 20, 2013

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

This volume of IDW’s Ghostbusters series was the first to disappoint me. It’s still one of my favorite books on the stands. But this volume was supposed to pay off a sub plot that had been building since early in the series, and what we got was largely a let down. I’m not sure if Burnham, Schoening and the creative team were under pressure to transition into the New Ghostbusters book, or if certain other factors were at play. But either way, the results we get here are subpar.

When the Ghostbusters return to New York after their trek across America, they find they don’t have the giant customer waiting list they were expecting. As it turns out, a new group of paranormal eliminators, the Ghost Smashers, have moved in on the boys’ turf while they were away. This new team is led by the cocky Ron Alexander, a schemer who has created his own technology based on schematics stolen from the Ghostbusters. This “smashing” equipment apparently leads to the outright destruction of paranormal entities, as opposed to their capture and containment. Together with his team of supermodel-looking partners, Ron is successful in undercutting the majority of the Ghostbusters’ business. Little do our new “heroes” know that they’re doing more harm than good. In the end, it’ll be up to our boys in grey to step in and clean up the mess. Plus, Winston takes a big step forward in his personal life. But his duties as a Ghostbuster don’t exactly make things easy.

The name Ghost Smashers very much keeps with the tone Burnham and the creative team have set for this series thus far. Dan Aykroyd’s original draft for Ghostbusters was indeed called “Ghost Smashers.” Conceived as a vehicle for himself and Jon Belushi, Aykroyd’s story had our heroes traveling from dimension to dimension to fight ghosts, one of which was the Stay Puft Marshmallow man. Obviously, the story was eventually reworked into what we know and love today. What we see from Ron Alexander’s team isn’t reflective of what Aykroyd conceived all those years ago, but attaching the name to a competitive team is still a pretty cool idea. To an extent it makes you wonder what might have been.

The problem I have with the Ghost Smashers story arc is that it was too short to be an effective pay off for something that’s been built up since issue #3. We’d had over a year’s worth of build up for this, and then we didn’t even get a full four issue story arc out of it. Granted, Ron Alexander isn’t going away. He’s featured quite prominently in The New Ghostbusters, IDW’s current GB book (which Burnham, Schoening and Jones are also on). But there was so much more than could have been done with this alternate team idea. For instance, Burnham and Schoening play with the idea of Ray falling for one of the Ghost Smashers. A love interest for Ray is something that has seldom, if ever been done before. And having that love interest be on an opposing team of paranormal eliminators? That’s an amazing idea! But it gets cut short before it goes anywhere. There was so much potential for good, funny storytelling here, and it goes unfulfilled.

The climax to the Ghost Smashers story is resolved by way of a character we met at the end of the last book, which I wasn’t thrilled about. I think in a perfect world, this book would have collected issues #12-15, as oppised to #13-16. Structurally, it would have made more sense that way. The closure we get to that whole subplot is a bit rushed, but it’s still fulfilling.

Still, the story has its high points. Remember Egon’s big “Your mother!” outburst from Ghostbusters? Burnham and Shoening play off that moment, and give Egon a nice hot temper moment with Ron. It’s always fun to see a typically reserved character lose his mind a little bit. (Right Hulk?) The way the boys go about defeating the big evil is pretty cool, and shows off a some new GB tech. And of course, Burnham’s trademark wit and Schoening’s cartoony art go perfectly together. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: These are the best Ghostbusters comic books I’ve ever seen. They’re likely the best the industry has ever produced. This one is of a lower quality than the others, but it’s still better than all of the other stuff we’ve seen over the years.

Issue #16 is a Winston story. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty good. It’s the holiday season, and Winston is on his way to getting a law degree. To top it all off, he proposes to his girlfriend. But things take a nasty turn when a figure from Winston’s past comes back to haunt him, literally! To make matters worse, his career as a Ghostbuster seems to be putting a strain on his fiance. This issue does a nice job playing up Winston’s regular guy appeal. That’s really who Ernie Hudson’s character was in the movies. Ray and Egon were the brilliant geniuses, Peter was the wise ass, and Winston was the everyman. You could even call him a point of view character, there to ask the questions and say the things we as the audience would want to ask and say. As such, it’s easy to feel for him when we see what’s happening to his relationship. I think I’ve got a pretty good idea where this story is inevitably headed. Hopefully the creative team will be able to capitalize on it, so Winston’s character and IDW’s Ghostbusters line as a whole will benefit.

Officially, Ghostbusters ends here. But the book sets us up for The New Ghostbusters series, using Janosz Poha, Peter MacNicol’s character from Ghostbusters II. I can’t say the events of The New Ghostbusters warranted the start of an entirely new series. But hey, whatever brings readers in. We also see the rookie character from Ghostbusters: The Video Game in this book. For obvious reasons he isn’t given a name. Characters like these don’t have to be included, obviously. But it’s great fan service, and one of he reasons I love this series so much as a life long Ghosthead.

This first volume of Ghostbusters was great. But after reading this book, I think the shake up we see in The New Ghostbusters might very well have been a justified one in terms of keeping things fresh. After all, one can’t rely on nostalgia forever.

RATING: 7/10

All images from author’s collection.
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TITLE: Nightwing #19
AUTHOR: Kyle Higgins
PENCILLER: Brett Booth
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASED: April 17, 2013

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Pre-New 52 Nightwing was one of my absolute favorite characters. But these days? Not so much. Not only has the novelty of his red costume worn off, but this Dick Grayson feels like he’s been robbed of so much of his depth and intrigue. He feels like just another one of Batman’s stringers, as opposed to a man who decided to forge his own path. While he’s moved to a new city, this is hardly a fresh start for our hero.

After learning that Tony Zucco, the man who murdered his parents, is still alive and in Chicago, Dick Grayson relocates to the Windy City. But in the DC Universe, Chicago has a strict “no capes” policy. This means Nightwing is as much an outlaw as the criminals he’s pursuing. As our hero works to track down Zucco, a masked villain called the Prankster wreaks havoc, and is undoubtedly on a collision course with the former Boy Wonder.

I’ve had it out for Brett Booth for a couple of years now. I’m completely and utterly sour on the direction he helped take Teen Titans in when the reboot happened. It’s going to take a long time for me to forgive him for the mess that is Red Robin’s costume. He does alright this issue despite having to draw Dick with the red costume. The opening sequence with him running from the police across the rooftops is fairly reminiscent of the way Justice League #1 opened. But I do have a question: In the shot you see on the right here, why are Nightwing’s legs wide open like that? This issue dedicates a two-page spread to our hero assuming a position that’s often seen in the adult film industry. He’s supposed to be jumping across a rooftop, right? That hardly seems aerodynamic…

The Prankster we see here is a revamp of a classic Superman villain. The last time we saw him, he was a game show host-looking Joker knocking off with a green suit and a goatee. This Prankster is much more menacing, with a black and yellow outfit, a long coat, and a mask not dissimilar to the white ones we’ve seen the Court of Owls wear. His pranks are cruel, but he apparently has a sense of social justice about him. He could prove to be an interesting friend or foe for Nightwing.

As a Chicago native, I’m not sure what I expected this issue to be from a “Hey, that’s where I live!” standpoint. The Willis Tower (remember, it’s not the Sears Tower anymore) is prominently on display, and some of the architecture looks vaguely familiar. But the art doesn’t scream Chicago. I wonder if this is how New Yorkers feel when they read Spider-Man or Daredevil…

Since the reboot, I’ve actually come close to dropping Nightwing from my pull list a couple of times. It’s not necessarily Kyle Higgins’ fault. With the New 52, he company forced ALL its characters to drop some of their baggage, but as such they also lost a lot of the depth and backstory that made them interesting. I wasn’t enamored with Dick coming back to the circus either. We’ve seen that story a bunch of times. I was hoping Nightwing #19 would start the character down a path that would freshen him up a bit. But despite its strong points, I’m not sure this issue gave us that.

Front page image/image 1 from comicbook.com. Image 2 from darkknightnews.com.
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TITLE: Oblivion
STARRING: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
DIRECTOR: Joseph Kosinski
STUDIOS: Universal, Radical Studios, Chernin Entertainment, Relativity Media, Ironhead Studios, Truenorth Productions
RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 125 min
RELEASED: April 19, 2013

By Seth Miller
Staff Writer, Part-Time Ninja

One of my earliest motivations to see the new film, Oblivion, was to discover why the future looked like the inside of an Apple store. After watching the movie I have to wonder if Microsoft kicked in a nice chunk of change to finance it, but that’s just my opinion. Either way, this was a film I wasn’t expecting much from. But I walked out of the theater pleasantly surprised.

Sixty years after a war with an alien race, Earth has been devastated due to the moon being blown up, and nuclear weapons have left the world an irradiated wasteland. Humanity is leaving a Earth for the moon of Titan in a massive spaceship. In the meantime, Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) and his partner Victoria (Andrea Riseborough), are responsible for maintaining a fleet of drones that hunt down the remnants of the alien army and protect the machines sucking up the ocean for starship fuel. The aliens send out a signal that summons an old NASA spacecraft filled with human survivors, including a woman that Jack continually dreams about (Olga Kurylenko). His quest to discover what his connection is to the mysterious woman and her past will reveal there is more to Jack’s life than what he has been told.

The first thing most moviegoers seem to think when they see this movie is that it’s very beautiful. Director Joseph Kosinski, whose most recent film TRON: Legacy, has a knack for settings, visual effects and cinematography. He certainly brings his talents to bear on this film. The settings all have their own unique beauty to them: The sleek and cold tower that Jack lives in, the idyllic cabin by the lake that he thinks of as home, and the bombed out ruins of Earth filled with stark reminders of what once was. They paint a very vivid portrait of this post-apocalyptic future. The action scenes are exciting and well choreographed, and they don’t feel incredibly extraneous or thrown in for the sake of having more action.

The story is a mixed bag for me. I like the way it progresses. It doesn’t get bogged down by too many scenes with needless exposition ,and Cruise has enough charisma to interest the audience in his journey to rediscover his humanity. At the same time, the rest of the characters are pretty one-dimensional compared to Jack. They’re just there to develop the character of Jack instead of being their own individuals for the audience to care about. However, I did enjoy Andrea Risebourough’s performance and what she was able to do with the material. But the rest of the cast is wasted in their roles. I’m 90 percent sure Morgan Freeman took his part role solely because it called on him to go crazy with a pair of machine guns.

Oblivion wasn’t a film I was really excited to see. But while it’s not going to be remembered as an exceptional science fiction film, it is a gorgeous and entertaining movie, and a great way to warm up for the summer movie season.

RATING: 8/10

Front page image from contactmusic.com. Images 1 and 2 from rottentomatoes.com.
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TITLE: Uncanny Avengers, Vol. 1: The Red Shadow
AUTHOR: Rick Remender
PENCILLER: John Cassaday, Olivier Coipel.
COLLECTS: Uncanny Avengers #1-5
FORMAT: Hardcover
PUBLISHER: Marvel
PRICE: $22.99
RELEASE DATE: April 24, 2013

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

John Cassaday. If you’re a comic book buff, that’s really all you need to know about Uncanny Avengers: The Red Shadow. Sure, it’s got a fairly interesting story about humans and mutant heroes coming together after the events of Avengers vs. X-Men. But from a fanboy perspective, or at least my fanboy perspective, this book is all about John Cassaday getting to draw Marvel’s big guns again.

We open the book at Charles Xavier’s funeral. As the X-Men and the rest of the mutant community mourn the loss of their greatest visionary, Captain America laments not doing more to help mutants. He and Thor approach Alex Summers, Cyclops’ brother and the hero known as Havoc, about leading a team comprised of both Avengers and X-Men as a public display of unity. Meanwhile, Red Skull mysteriously returns from the grave and does the unthinkable: He desecrates Xavier’s grave, and then grafts a portion of Xavier’s brain on to his own, effectively giving himself telepathic powers. He uses these new powers to incite human-on-mutant violence, bringing the two races further apart than ever. Caught in the line of fire are Rogue and the Scarlet Witch, two women who most certainly do not get along.

I once read a reviewer describe Cassaday’s portrayal of Marvel’s characters “instantly iconic.” That really hits it on the head as far as I’m concerned. Something about the way he draws these characters seems to cut to their very essence. Whether it’s that southern toughness of Rogue, the mythic grandeur of Thor, or the terrifying mercilessness of Red Skull, it’s all on display here. I was particularly a fan of his Scarlet Witch. Her shame in what she’s done to the mutant race is displayed in a brilliant, and to an extent subtle way. Her scenes with Rogue are particularly well done. It’s a bit odd to see him draw Captain America in his movie style garb, as opposed to his more traditional look. But that’s a nitpick.

This isn’t to speak ill of Oliver Coipel’s work of course. His scene between Cap and Scarlet in the training room is very well done, as is the moment with Rogue and Havok in the elevator. He does a great job of quieting the story down before he and Rick Remender really stick the ending. But simply put, Cassaday’s the star here.

From a story standpoint, this book has a nice “united we stand” feel to it. There’s an obvious real world metaphor happening here, especially when Alex makes his speech at the end about how “we are all human” and refers to “the m word” as being too divisive. Remender actually caught some flack for that one IT’s not the most moving stuff you’ll ever see in a superhero comic, but it’s effective. You certainly have to admire the intentions behind it.

My favorite scene in the book is in issue four, when Red Skull uses his telepathy to show Cap his vision of America’s golden age (basically the ’50s)/ We then see his vision of America today: “Violent monsters doused in antibiotics to offset their diet of sugary sweet drink and mounds of carcinogenic cow flesh! This is what you fight for!” In a book about unity and overcoming differences, you really can’t ask for a better antagonist than Red Skull.

In issue #5, the Wasp, Wonder Man and Sunfire are added to the roster, which feels a bit abrupt considering none of them were seen or mentioned in the book until that point. The pros and cons of having them on the team have yet to reveal themselves, though I’m sure it’ll be at least somewhat interesting.

I’m not entirely convinced Uncanny Avengers has a long life in front of it, considering how quickly a series can come and go in this day and age. But Remender, Cassaday and Coipel lay a nice foundation here, and give us some compelling comic book drama. Long time Marvel Universe fans will likely enjoy what they see here.

RATING: 7.5/10

Front page image from cdn.com. Image 2 from insidepulse.com. Image 3 from xmensupreme.blogspot.com.
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TITLE: Batman & Red Robin #19
AUTHOR: Peter Tomasi
PENCILLER: Patrick Gleason
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASED: April 10, 2013

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Lose a Robin? Eh, don’t worry. You can always pull one from an alternate universe.

Indeed, Batman & Red Robin #19 (different characters like Red Robin and Batgirl will apparently be revolving in and out of the series every month now that Damian is gone) introduces us to someone I’m not sure we’ve ever met before: A canonical version of Carrie Kelley. Most comic book readers know Carrie as Robin from Frank Miller’s iconic story The Dark Knight Returns. In this issue, Carrie is introduced as Damian’s former tutor, unsure of where he’s vanished to. Meanwhile, desperate to bring his son back from the grave, Batman frantically turns to Frankenstein, agent of S.H.A.D.E. But Alfred and Red Robin insert themselves into the situation to ensure he doesn’t do something he’ll regret.

Sticking Carrie Kelley in an issue is a nice way to tide us over until Damian either comes back, or more likely someone takes his spot. Carrie being around in the mainstream DCU obviously makes her a candidate to replace Damian. But I don’t see it happening, especially since we have Harper Row around. But just seeing her here makes this issue noteworthy. But my question is, what exactly what she tutoring Damian in? We never get a definitive answer. Carrie’s a film student, which might mean Damian was taking some sort of cultural studies or film school type lessons. But why? Damian never had much use for arts or recreation. He was pretty no nonsense. At the end we see her playing some kind of dance video game, which might imply he was taking dance lessons. But again, why? What does this version of Carrie have to teach Damian? I get the appeal of a renowned character like Carrie mentoring the current Robin in some way. But it just doesn’t seem to work with these two characters.

Batman’s abduction of the Frankenstein character to learn how to resurrect Damian is definitely a dramatic move, so much so that it borders on being out-of-character. Death and tragedy are such a huge element in Batman’s mythology, and we’re so used to seeing him grit, brood and bear it. But it’s rare that we see him actually try and cheat death, especially in such an emotional and violent way. He actually captures Frankenstein and takes him apart piece by piece, and in the process screams “I NEED my son back! And you’re going to help me — whether you like it or not.” If this weren’t a situation where Batman was grieving, and perhaps grieving as heavily as he ever has, this would have been too far. But here, I think it’s fine. All you have to do is imagine the pain a parent goes through when they lose a child, and I think it becomes understandable, though not necessarily justifiable.

Red Robin is in this issue, and is ultimately the one who forces Batman back from the brink. Gleason’s rendering of Tim Drake’s face in the panel at left is the only major artistic misstep of this issue, from where I sit. I have yet to warm up to New 52 Tim Drake at all, as most of the depth that made the character interesting in the old continuity seems to have evaporated. He plays his role fine, but frankly I almost wish it had just been Alfred who stopped Bruce.

Moving forward, it looks like we’ve got the Red Hood guest starring next month, followed by Batgirl, then Catwoman. I’m particularly anxious to see what Tomasi and Gleason do with Jason Todd. I’ve yet to be satisfied with the way the Bat books have addressed the fact that two Robins have now died. We’re two for four now, people. Those aren’t exactly the numbers you want when you’re talking about dead partners who are children. But I think as far as this issue is concerned, the bottom line is: Great emotion, flawed execution.

For more Batman & Robin, check out Batman Reborn, Batman vs. Robin, Batman Must Die, Dark Knight vs. White Knight and Born to Kill.

Front page image/image 1 from themarysue.com. Image 2 from whatculture.com.
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By Seth Miller
Staff Writer, Part Time Ninja

- Last week: The Ricktatorship ended and the next phase of Glenn and Maggie’s relationship began (although it could end pretty fast if Maggie asks Glenn where he got the ring). Merle died, Daryl cried, then we all cried.

-It is The Walking Dead season finale, and I am going to miss it (Won’t miss Talking Dead as much). We open with the Governor beating the ever loving shit out of Milton and dragging him off to see Andrea in the torture chamber.  The Governor stabs Milton so he’ll turn into a zombie and eat Andrea. With a pair of pliers she gets out of the dentist chair she was handcuffed to, right as the undead Milton charges her. The Governor stages his assault on the prison, and after he has launched grenades all over the place, he notices that it is seemingly abandoned. As soon the Woodbury army enters the sealed area of the prison, flash bangs go off and Glenn & Maggie drive them out of the prison. Rick, Daryl, and Michonne go to take the fight to the Governor, and discover he killed most of his people when they refused to go back and fight at the prison. When they arrive at Woodbury, they find Andrea; who was bitten by zombified Milton. Andrea kills herself in front of a grief-stricken Michonne. With the Governor revealed for the monster he is, the surviving Woodbury residents come with Rick to live in the prison as the Governor plots his vengeance.

- Despite the fact we didn’t see the Governor get his comeuppance; this was a strong finale filled with heartbreaking losses, great character moments that will define them for next season and more, and we got some pretty cool action scenes.

- Andrea, you may have made some pretty bad decisions this season, but you will be missed.  Her valiant attempt to stop a war and save as many lives as she could ultimately failed and cost her everything. Not to tarnish the dead; but when the guy who is going to turn into zombie and eat you tells you to hurry up, you should hurry up. Despite that, Andrea was a good character who grew over her three seasons, and endured so much that she deserved a nobler end than what she got.

- Carl has officially become one black-hearted S.O.B. At first I thought he was going to be a little brat when it looked like the group was leaving, but I felt a little sorry for him because he is a good shot. Then a teenage soldier comes out of nowhere and surrenders; which is when Carl shoots him. His answer to Rick about why he did it is equally dark, but there is a twisted logic to it. He was forced to kill his mom killed because of a prisoner Rick didn’t kill, and is at war with a psychopath because Rick didn’t kill him when they met face to face. This is what happens to kids who are raised in the zombie apocalypse; their sense of right and wrong gets twisted. Rick dealing with both a psychologically scarred kid who needs help or another Governor in the making are huge parts of why I’m excited about Season 4.

- Rick can’t keep shutting potential allies out and killing anybody that isn’t part of his group, which explains his logic in letting the Woodbury residents live in the prison. We have all seen what effect that isolation method has on people like Carl and the Governor. He has to set an example for Carl so he doesn’t end up like the Governor. Why they abandoned a functioning town for a decimated prison I haven’t the foggiest idea, though.

- Did anybody else pick up on that moment between Rick and Michonne? Are the writers hinting at a future relationship or just messing with the fans?  Either way, expect of wave videos on YouTube who really want these two together. And if they haven’t come up with a mashed-up name for them, I’d like to throw out Mick.

- Didn’t see as much from Tyreese as I would have liked this season. But with the Woodbury residents moving into the prison and the potential conflict from these two groups in a confined space, Tyreese is going to step up for them and be an integral part of their co-existence. Which is going to be really important since the Governor is still alive…wait a minute…

- THE GOVERNOR IS STILL ALIVE?!  I get that David Morrissey is a good actor, and he is great in his role as the Governor, but how much more can we get out of the character? He is full on chaotic evil! This season has been building toward this conflict, and now that he is alive any time he comes back on the show will have diminished results. Maybe the writers will surprise me, but I’m not optimistic…

-Zombie Kill of the Week: Michonne slicing the heads of two zombies at once!

Images from amctv.com.
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