riffraffrave

June 14, 2013 7:43 pm @Paul Montgomery: Thanks man :) I appreciate it and I'm really sorry that you had a different experience with the movie than I did. I know I was bitterly disappointed with Green Lantern but I respect the opinion of anyone who did enjoy it.

June 14, 2013 4:40 pm I love Paul's articles and his work on the site, but I respectfully disagree with him on this one. I'm just home from seeing the movie and I'm still buzzing about it. I loved the movie. I and the friend I saw it with (who isn't a comic book fan) were blown away by it and were surprised by how much we dug it. I knew going in there would be big, big action and I got it in spades, complete with all the characterisations I've been wanting to see in a Superman movie since I was a kid. From the other less-positive reviews I've read (including that of another friend of mine who's a film critic for an online media site) I know not everyone will dig it as much as I and the friend I saw it with did, but I can only say that this film blew me away and I'm eagerly awaiting whatever Snyder and Goyer bring next. Second viewing with some other friends tomorrow and I can't wait. 5/5

November 8, 2012 4:14 pm This is sad news, I actually only read the first issue of Hellblazer a few weeks ago and have been eager to read more (been waiting for a sale of the back-catalogue on Comixology, which seems to be coming sooner than I expected given this news). It's frustrating that a long-running title that I've heard such great word-of-mouth praise for is getting canned just so DC can spotlight the watered-down Constantine of the DCU. I'd almost consider giving the new title a fair shot given how incorporation into the DCU worked out for Swamp Thing, but without the darker subject matter that was part of Hellblazer's appeal I doubt the DCU-friendly title can live up to the original. Josh: My condolences. This is a truly lame move on DC's part.

October 15, 2012 6:07 pm I read the following on another site but haven't found any official evidence to substantiate the claim, so take with a grain of salt: Apparently the rights to the Milestone characters (i.e. Icon, Rocket & Static Shock who was set to make an appearance later in season 2 of YJ) reverted from DC to Milestone Media this week, which means WB/DC have to remove all references to those characters from the remaining eps of YJ. As for GL, other fans have theorized that it got pulled simply because you can't have a "power hour" with one half hour show. A flimsy reason, may be nonsense, but stranger things have happened. Whether any of the above is true, I'm glad I was able to get the eps on iTunes but am frustrated that YJ just cannot get a break. By the time it comes back on the air it'll likely have lost a fair bit of momentum with casual audiences (seriously, 2 episodes in after a 4 month break and it gets pulled for another 3 months? I really, really hope this doesn't hurt the prospect for season 3).

June 22, 2012 8:23 am Great review, I agree with all yout points. I'd left the series after #3 but came back for this one because of the better art and the story potential. I'm apprehensive of the other writers picking up from Hickman (I understand that this is Hickman's last issue of the series?), but this issue shows a lot of promise and better characterisation than we've seen in this event to date. The Infinite issue was great too, would love more of them after this event ends.

June 1, 2012 2:03 pm A great discussion, gentlemen, I really enjoyed reading your respective thoughts on the retcon as well as a response from Scott Snyder, himself so thanks for sharing. I was fairly critical of the Freeze/Nora retcon myself, having recently played Arkham City where Paul Dini has fleshed out his take on their original history a bit more: lonely boy meets girl who genuinely cares about him, they get married, girl gets sick, boy will do anything to bring her back. Jeff's comparison of new-Freeze to Clayface III (I'd totally forgotten about that Alan Moore-penned mannequin story) is far more appropriate than my own comparison of him to Mad Hatter, but the point stands that the tragedy of Freeze's motivations and the reader's sympathy for him (albeit limited, he is a murderer, after all) have been diminished because now he's not a husband wiling to kill anyone who stands between him and bringing his love back; he's an unstable stalker. That being said, Snyder and the rest of the Batman staff have earned enough goodwill and trust that I'm keen to see what they do next with the character. I also really liked the snow-globe-y effect of Freeze's helmet.

June 1, 2012 8:09 am Thank you for taking the time to read it!

June 1, 2012 8:09 am Thanks for taking the time to read my review and for commenting. I don't know whether the "freezing animals as a child" aspect was in the comics pre-New 52 but Paul Dini wrote it into the character in Batman: Arkham City. You're right that animal abuse is a bit of a cliche in fictional psychopathic characters but I was happy to accept it in AC because of how Dini wrote the character's history as a whole in the game (can't recommend checking out AC enough to any Batman fans who haven't picked it up if only to see Dini play with these characters again). I liked seeing it getting a reference in the Annual, but the stuff with Freeze's mother felt out of place. Is the message that he's always been a psycho and has killed family members? Or was it just a build up to the red apple/red goggles payoff?

May 31, 2012 5:34 am Thank you very much for taking the time to read my review and for the honest feedback. It's my first review on the site and it's fairly long compared to others' so I really appreciate you responding. Change, especially in superhero comic, is inevitable; it just depends how skillful a writer is in implementing change and showing why it works for the characters (see Jeff Reid's article on the site about Jason Todd for an example of change becoming squandered). I can see what you mean about the "Freeze has always been crazy" update making the Freeze/Batman conflict a bit more black & white and how Freeze now fits right in with the rest of the insane/mentally disturbed inmates of Arkham, but some of the best villains in literature/entertainment are regarded as such because they make us sympathize with them, that make the audience believe for a minute that they *should* win (like you said yourself). I always felt that gut-wrench when Freeze faced Batman, like "Damnit, Freeze, just turn yourself in and ASK BATMAN or BRUCE WAYNE FOR HELP!" I don't believe that having a very black & white world of "hero is always right, villain is always wrong" makes for great stories in the long run. That extra layer that the tragic origin gave Freeze made him comparable to Frankenstein's monster, now I believe he's lost something in becoming just another crazy Gotham criminal. I have faith in Snyder &, Tynion IV to use this new interpretation of Freeze well in future stories, given how Snyder has commented on iFanboy how Freeze is one of his favourite villains. 2 things I forgot to compliment in my review: - Nora Fries is back to being cryogenically frozen, a welcome retcon considering that the last I'd read of her she had finally been revived by Freeze in a Lazarus Pit, gone crazy and had become a villainess calling herself...uh..."Lazara". - Freeze's' mother referring to "the old country": I liked this reference even as a throwaway line as makes sense by addressing Fries' surname and heritage.