Quinn

May 17, 2013 6:29 pm I love the Mamet letter. I wish it wasn't written in the style of an eighth-grader, but once you get past the grammar issues and yelling case, he makes the same points every scriptwriting teacher everywhere makes, including Bendis himself. "1) WHO WANTS WHAT? 2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON’T GET IT? 3) WHY NOW?" In Mametcase: WOLVERINE AND SUE STORM. IF HER DON'T GET IT, EVERYONE DIE. (I feel like Drunk Hulk, now.) NOW BECAUSE EVERYONE DEAD NOW. In fact, using these as a guide, there is tension in every single scene in this book. There isn't a single scene where you can't tell who wants what, what the stakes are and what the occasion is. Open to any scene in the last eight issues and ask these questions. Solid answers, every time. "ANY TIME TWO CHARACTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT A THIRD, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT. ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER “AS YOU KNOW”, THAT IS, TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE AUDIENCE TO KNOW, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT." If anything, there isn't enough talking in AoU. Issue 1: Hawkguy rescues a guy, but no one says anything about anything. Issue 2: Black Widow and Moon Knight do stuff, and spend just a little time talking about who Nick Fury is. I could go on. They don't break Mamet's rules, at all. The *only* place Mamet's rules get broken is in this issue, when the characters are talking about Crappy Defenders' World, and then only twice: when Frost reminds Stark about Latveria and when Captain Marvel gives Steve Fury crap about being there. I'll grant you this: this issue would have been made *much* better by a tie-in that set the stage for Crappy Defenders' World. That would have been cool. Otherwise, if you think this series breaks Mamet's rules, you read a different series than I did.

May 17, 2013 6:17 pm I know there are bad reviews, and maybe it's not for everyone, but I'm so invested in this series that I read it in the car outside the store. Will all the major developments get reset at the end? Of course! If they didn't, we'd have no more Marvel comics. They'd be down to one series, a buddy-cop drama across space-time starring Sue Richards and Wolverine. Actually, that would be kind of awesome. Still, that's not going to happen, so (as with all comics) the question isn't "will it get fixed" but "HOW will it get fixed." The story of how is why we buy the second-act treadmill that it mainstream super-hero comics. If that's not your thing, you have the wrong hobby. I hear knitting is nice, and you can trust that your threads will get resolved.

May 17, 2013 6:09 pm That's probably your store. Let the owner know they need to steam-clean the carpets to get the smell out and try sniffing the book at home. It actually smells like newsprint and sweet-@$$ storytelling. Don't sniff too closely, though. You'll get papercuts on your nose. Ow.

May 17, 2013 6:04 pm Easy: he stopped being a professional killer and became a professional teacher. That'll grey ya right up, trust me.

May 17, 2013 5:59 pm That said, I wish Robinson all the best. I hope to see more of his creator-owned work, now that the leg-irons have been cut.

May 17, 2013 5:53 pm I'd lay money on Brian Azzarello being next out the door. He's a veteran, writing the last excellent book at DC, which exists largely on its own. As soon as editorial notices how good it is, he's out the door. They have a line to kill, and they're not going to let a single good writer stand in their way.

May 9, 2013 2:18 pm There's your problem: that's what network execs want to watch (or worse, think we want to watch), so smart, funny shows that have quality writing don't get picked up. Maybe they're right, people keep tuning in to Two and a Half Men...

May 9, 2013 2:15 pm Forgetting the upper ventilation, how could you super-hero in that? Unless Reed made the uniforms out of some special non-chafing material, that inner-thigh-line is going to hurt like hell after a little bit of running/ jumping/ climbing trees. Alternately, there are no "missing pieces" to her costume. The whole thing is there, it's just that parts are invisible all the time.

March 28, 2013 6:51 pm Montgomery's poetic turns of phrase seem to reflect the stark landscape of the comic he is reviewing, a style that is too affected not to be deliberate, but serves to make the review a kind of companion piece to the comic, moving it beyond simple commentary. There is a disjointedness to the review that also reflects the "East of West" narrative; like Hickman, Montgomery isn't holding the reader' hands. If you haven't read the comic, the review might be tough to follow, but in creating that difficulty Montgomery has laid down his reviewer's gauntlet: "I thought this was the best comic of the week," he seems to be saying. "If you want to follow this review, go out and buy it. You won't regret it." I've read a lot of reviews this week (big week!), and this is the one that's going to stay with me. I'll definitely be picking it up in trade, as well.

March 14, 2013 3:27 pm Braddock Academy (2010-2011) Writer: Paul Cornell Artist: Chynna Clugston-Major Letters: Chris Eliopoulos Marvel's short-lived experiment in blending manga, teen-drama and British humor, the series featured a new cast of teen characters, including Kid Briton, Anachronism and Bloodstone, with a supporting cast of characters from Marvel's British stable, including Captain Briton, Elisa Bloodstone and Spitfire. Had the series continued, it would have incorporated Alan Davis's Clan Destine character and those from the short-lived Marvel UK line, such as the Knights of Pendragon. Despite a rabid cult following, the series failed to find mainstream success, and was cancelled after just five issues. (This solicitation is entirely from the Previews in my head.)