bishopcruz

Playable Altair makes me happy, and the city looks AMAZING.

Spider-man's essence is honestly him in college. That is when the bulk of stories that made Spidey spidery REALLY went down. He was in High school for less than 3 years real time in the 616-verse, college took him like 20 years after that. His essence if you want ot call it that was a guy trying to make it on his own while juggling, school, work, and family obligations, oh and his life as a super hero. No one is calling for Ultimate Spidey to be married to MJ, with a great job, and on the Ultimates... I was hoping for something past high school however.

At 13, there is a thematic disconnect. It's sidekick age in the greater comic book fiction and it is going to be a damn tough sell after the whole "Peter was too young" theme that was the basis of the last Spidey arc.

Yes the point of a mask is to conceal an identity, but that only goes so far. I mean if he were to call himself Spider-girl I think people would note something was wrong. If Damian Wayne were to put on the cape and cowl, he would not, at age 10 be Batman. I mean if you take a 13-year old, put him in a spider man mask and put him up against someone who is a few years its senior, one looks like Spider man, one looks like a little kid in a costume. Miles isn't even a BIG 13 year old, he's tiny. And thus, Spider-lad.

I dunno older comics were often surprisingly good at hinting at shit without making it over the top absurd. I mean I've been reading the Wolfman/Perez Teen Titans run and it has everything from implied rape to the devil fucking someone and it gets most of it across in a way that wasn't particularly over the top. Hell that run did shit that comics nowadays won't do and I don't recall parents going insane over it. It was considered a fine book for kids to read, but it worked for adults too. Then again, I think most comics are still fine for kids as is, and hell most stuff is still nowhere near as hardcore as a lot of shonen manga.

As for the top 10, I agree with most of it, and DC seems to be following these things pretty well so far. So we'll see how it goes.

As far as rolling everythign back? Nah, not everything. I figure the more unpopular changes will get thwomped quickly ala, Crisis on Infinite Earths' worst changes (Jonah Hex, IN THE FUTURE) but the bulk of it will be around for a while.

Seems to be ob the level. It was always Zcult.fm. Apparently the legal battle to shut it down turned out in their favor.

The old website. It just came up this week. Honestly I lost a lot of my DC++ links which makes me sad, but what'cha gonna do.

Yep. Though I guess now that you got it, the title goes to Jax.

And the missing the point award goes to...

Just so everyone knows, Zcult came back this week.

Johnny Storm? I thought it was supposed to be Liz Allen as Firestar? I do hope that Jean is still going by Karen Grant though, love the new design, and the character is no longer boring as hell.

you sound like J Jonah

 

they can, and have, fast forwarded is the point. Millar and Bendis both said in interviews when founding it that the universe can freely jump ahead for next volumes, or whenever the plot needs to. my point is: yeah, we know the kid's racial status from a presser, and what? he could be 13 till his origin is done, or stay that way for years if Bendis has stories in mind for that age.

I'm not discussing his race at all in these posts. Yes I think it was a gimmick, but it doesn't really bother me nearly as much as his age. As in, his race never made me think this character would suck, his age, yeah, kinda.

They have jumped forward once, for 6 months right after Ultimatum. I have heard talk in interviews about time skips going forward a few years etc., etc., but it never happened. Peter aged 1 to 1 1/2 years during the whole decade of his run. Ultimates 3 was supposed to be 2 years after 2, that didn't happen. There was supposed to be a 5 yer jump after Ultimatum, but it became 6 months. I just don't see their storytelling style changing much. IOW, they certainly CAN jump forward in time, but based on a decade of stories, I doubt they ever will.

Now you mentioned that they have done time skips in the past, maybe I missed one, which ones are you talking about?

again, you're looking at a universe that's basically a breeding ground for ideas. they're clearly letting BMB run with this as his own character at this point; considering you're read/enjoyed shleck like Ultimate X, why not let a few issues get out the gate & see what you think? nitpicking that he's a few years younger than the default only reinforces the idea that franchise characters have a mold that must be stuck to on every inevitable relaunch.

I don't think not being thrilled about the concept of a pubescent Spider-lad is nitpicking. BMB is good, maybe he'll surprise me, but I really doubt it. Looks like they saw "Waiting for Superman" and thought they could do something really cool by having a middle schooler or some shit. (Seriously, look at the preview pages for #1, those scenes are straight out of that movie.)

Characters that by all rights shouldn't work have gone on to be my favorites in the past, and Bendis, when he is on, is amazing. Even so, 13 year old kid running of on his own to fight crime in a world as seriously dangerous as the UU, I'm just honestly not that interested.

Ultimate has never fast forwarded a few years, it's been a year and a half tops, Peter started at 15, died at 16. That took a decade. They always talked about jumping forward in time, but never did, and certain series suffered for it. That and I dunno I think 15 is my bare minimum for my suspension of disbelief on a mainline hero. Peter was pushing it as it was. At 13, I just don't see how he can even call himself Spider-man. He's a complete kid.

And to move away from OP/EDs and songs, Guts' theme.

Good choices though now that I look back over it, Nick's Berserk pick isn't from an Anime, it's only seen in the Dreamcast game.

Anyhow nowhere near enough Kara no Kyoukai so:

Oh god that's right there are still friend codes aren't there.

And dear god Revelations looks good. Seriously, how come Nintendo's first party games aren't even in the same ball park graphics wise? It's embarrassing.

Well for 1 month behind it looks like $1.99 is going to be the usual price from what I have read and what it looks like on comixology, their reseller for these books. I think that having them cheaper is smart too, don't get me wrong, but again, I think that until more than 5% of their business comes from digital sales, it's unlikely. Hell look at the clusterfuck that the agency model did to the ebook world. Still, day and date digital releases is at least a good first step. But again, DC needs to get off its ass about a Marvel like back issue bin service.

Uh, you do know that Marvel's digital service, while awesome, is also like 6 months behind right? No comic company is going to provide unlimited comics access online for brand new stuff at $9.99 a month. No way in hell. Could that model work? Maybe, I'm not sure how much Marvel pulls in on its site, or how much more they might if they had day and date digital releases, but Marvel does the same shit for their new stuff. I think the pricing models need to improve, and will over time, but yeah new stuff via subscription isn't happening.

As far as costs, yeah, the comics should be cheaper online, but it comes down to the fact that DC (or any publisher) can't afford to piss off their retailers, and trust me, if they went day and date with these things at $1.99 the retailers would pretty much tell them to fuck themselves. Plus considering how bad DC's sales have been, they need retailers buying as much of their physical stuff as possible, and they are also hoping that enough new digital buyers will show up as well. And the sad truth in the digital era is that lack of a physical object does not equal a lower cost especially for new releases. Where it shines is allowing access to older works at often ridiculously low prices, see steam.

At least they will be dropping prices on these after a month, so hopefully they will get smart and do a subscription service once they have enough back issues. This being DC, I'm not holding my breath.

Worst part of it, other than being a completely new character is that the kid is 13.

That's not Spider-man territory, that's Spider-lad territory.

And his mom is Puerto Rican, no way in hell she doesn't find out what he is doing, and when she does, no Spider sense in the world is going to help him dodge the chancleta flying at his head.

But God, 13? That is just dumb. Ultimate Peter was too young as it is.

So how is everyone else liking the show? We have a fairly sizable little watch party every week which is entertaining.

Ratings have been high, better than True Blood it's first season. Not as high as Boarwalk Empire though. After episode 6 this Sunday, HBO Go will show episode 7 immediately online. Curious to see how that will go.

Episode 5 seemed to be where the series really kicked into high gear, knowing what is coming I cannot wait to see it all play out. How are Haku and the other series newbs holding up?

Who are your favorite characters? What do you think is coming?

This show is hardcore.

would people who do not get erections for lord of the walk rings and dragons and stuff enjoy this

 

serious question here

Surprised that no one has actually answered this question yet. Honestly Game of Thrones feel a lot more like a medieval political history than a straight up fantasy. There are fantastical elements to be certain, but the show is much more about the interplay between the characters, the personal drama, and the overall badassery.

A lot of people who don't like fantasy seem to have taken a shine to the adaptation. I found this in a write-up on the Boston Globe:

You may not be a fantasy lover. You may have found “The Lord of the Rings’’ as enthralling as the front of a box of Lucky Charms. But there is something even for you in this epic. Premiering Sunday night at 9' date=' “Game of Thrones,’’ is yet another HBO triumph over genre limits. Just as “Deadwood’’ turned the Western into Shakespearean theater, and “The Sopranos’’ and “The Wire’’ redefined crime drama, “Game of Thrones’’ exceeds its fantasy roots, even while hewing close to Martin’s work.[/quote']

 

It is, more than an adaptation, an HBO series, it isn't dumbed down, the production values are top notch, and it throws you in to the deep end of the pool and expects you to swim pretty quickly. It has some amazing acting thus far (Peter Dinklage FTW!) good direction, and the story has been moving at a decent clip. And it's just getting started. I'd recommend getting in now when there are only a couple of episodes to catch up on, it'll be worth it IMO.

Today, Telltale Games is announcing an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to develop video games for the comic book series Fables, and an exclusive worldwide agreement to develop and publish a series of videogames based on the AMC cable network’s zombie hit “The Walking Dead.”

So, best current Adventure game developer hits a couple of kickass series... neat.

Discuss.

On the bright side the first issue of the X-23 ongoing is out and it did not suck. Far from it in fact it was a damn good read, it had some great character moments from a bunch of X-men new and old and seems like a solid start to a new series. And with any luck the Wolvie in Hell shit will be ignored in this title.

If you like JRPGs and you haven't gotten Ys 7, shame on you! Ys: OiF is even better, and it has the best soundtrack in the series. And that is saying something.

Xanadu next looks awesome, been out for years in Japan, but I think it could do alright here. Also for those who want to check out some Falcom in the cheap for PSP there is Gurumin, it's 9.95 on PSN and is alot of fun!

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Well, Ys Seven came out today, Angel got his collector's edition, and mine is on its way from Amazon. Let me just say, I love Falcom, a LOT! The game is great so far, not sure if its better than Oath in Felghana yet, but it is definitely a hell of a lot of fun, really no one makes old school Action RPGs better than Falcom, the gameplay is sweet, the art is great, and the music is sublime. Also, props to Falcom for actually pulling off a party well in an Action RPG without slowing the pace down in the least. This looks to be the most ambitious Ys ever as far as gameplay is concerned, and it looks to be very successful.

If you have a PSP I'd say get this game as soon as you can, not only to support XSEED for taking one hell of a risk, but because I'm hearing that these games might be having limited print runs because the series hasn't been all that successful in the past.

The collector's edition is pretty badass by the way, the cloth map is HUGE, and the art book is really, really nice, with Art from Ys 7, Oath in Felghana, and Ys 1 and 2 Chronicles. I'm giddy right now, I never thought I'd see another Falcom game over here after YS 6 and Legend of Heroes failed to make a splash but we're getting 3 Ys games in 6 months or so, and all 3 Legend of Heroes 6 games. Awesome.

Man, shame so many people didn't like 2 much, gameplay was REALLY good, Story and Atmosphere weren't as strong overall as 1 but I really likes the plasmid + weapon stuff, the drill, and the last areas were awesome. Even the multiplayer was actually pretty fun, was not expecting that.

As for this: Looks awesome. HG Wells had a great imagination, and this looks like it came straight out of it, the depraved, racist, piece of shit.