Movie Talk - Justice League

Well, it’s time. The movie that everyone has been wondering about has finally hit theaters. Like other movies, the reaction has been polarizing. I gotta say, I was even shocked. I mean, when I saw Denzel Washington cosplaying as Norbit, my hopes for Roman J. Israel Esq. were dashed, man! I… Hold up. Wasn’t there another recent movie that polarized the populace? Oh yeah… Justice League!

For those who have probably living under a rock, Justice League was released in theaters a couple of weeks ago. Since its release, it’s been… weird. With all of the rumors and behind-the-scenes news, I don’t even knew what we were expecting to get. I saw the movie the weekend it was released. I even made through the whole thing and I prepared for that. I can really use that “my body is ready” meme. I did consider seeing it a second time but I’ll hold off for now. Besides, I haven’t even seen Thor: Fraggle Rock yet! Maybe I could rope someone in to see it again with, but I bet she’ll want to see something else.

Justice League is pretty much about the formation of the team. After Superman’s death, Batman assembles an assortment of heroes to battle a world-ending threat. If you’ve seen my reviews for Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman, you may know the drill. I thought this was a good movie for the most part. All the members of the League rocked in my opinion. The action was nice, most of the effects were good, a lot of the humor worked, and the story was serviceable. It does have its glaring problems, but at the end, I can say I liked this one. So, if you want a more detailed look, scroll on down.

"It's a Video Game!" - Injustice 2

Who knew an alternate universe where Superman crosses the line and becomes a dictator would be an actual thing these days? Yeah, it’s shown up in comics before, but you rarely saw it in other media. In 2013, Netherrealm Studios decided to take the leap in ticking off Superman fans around the world with Injustice: Gods Among Us. It takes place in an alternate universe where the Joker killed Lois, their unborn child, and all of Metropolis by tricking Superman. Superman then killed Joker and decided to take a tougher approach against evil. He and other heroes formed the Regime and basically took over the world. It took that world’s heroes (led by Batman) and the regular universe’s heroes (including a good Superman) to stop the Superman’s Regime.

Since the game and the digital series were successes, a sequel was likely to come. While I’m not into fighting games like I used to be, this was one I knew I’d throw out some money for. Injustice 2 was released during May of 2017. It takes place a few years after the events of the last game. The world is still trying to get back to normal after Superman’s regime fell. Unfortunately, the peace is interrupted when Brainiac and Gorilla Grodd’s group, the Society, threaten the world. Batman and the heroes must do what they can to save the day. That may also include releasing Superman from his red sun prison and teaming up with former friends-turned-enemies.

Movie Talk - Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman

Before I get to Justice League, I wanted to make this important pit stop. Here are the other DCEU movies: Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman. I got to see both of these in theaters when they were released. I thought I’d hold off getting to them until now. Since I wanted to see these again, I was able to find them both for pretty decent prices. That definitely came in handy with Suicide Squad since… well, that would be spoiling, wouldn’t it?

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Justice League International #13 and Suicide Squad #13

So, what would you think a fight between the Justice League and the Suicide Squad would look like? If you thought it’d involve Harley Quinn trying to ram Wonder Woman with a motorcycle, you’d be correct. While that recent crossover was actually pretty good, that’s not the subject of today. The League and the Squad did square down before but it was less world-ending. In the late 1980’s, both teams were revamped after the crossover event, Legends. John Ostrander went gritty with the Suicide Squad while the team of Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire brought the laughs with Justice League International.

The two teams eventually had a little crossover with their books. They are Justice League International #13 and Suicide Squad #13. I first ran across this in the JLI Omnibus years ago before I eventually found the single issues. JLI was written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis. Instead of Maguire on the art, Giffen also did the pencils while Al Gordon did the inks. As for Suicide Squad, John Ostrander was the writer. Luke McDonnell handled the pencils while Bob Lewis handled the inks.

Random Thoughts On... DC's Identity Crisis

Next up for the month is a bit of a controversial one. If you’ve ever heard of this story, you’ll know why. It’s going to get a little serious since this story deals with something a little too dark for some. Just letting you know.

In 2004, DC Comics released Identity Crisis, a seven-issue event. Like most Crisis events, it changed a lot about the landscape of DC for years to come. Unlike events such as Zero Hour and Crisis on Infinite Earths, it didn’t go all-cosmic with it. It’s pretty much a murder mystery set in the DC Universe. It’s also a miniseries that scooped up a lot of controversy as it was released throughout 2004. It was written by Brad Meltzer, a novelist who started to enter into comics. He had previously wrote on Green Arrow and apparently did so good there someone wanted him to helm an event. Ralph “Rags” Morales, a guy who’s worked on many DC books, handled the pencils while Michael Blair handled the inks.

I first ran into this event right at the end. I made my first hike to the Outer Limits on Memorial Blvd. during November, I think. By the way, there’s no way I’d do it now since they’ve moved since then. I also remember I was going to a party later that night. Anyway, I picked up a few issues like New Avengers #1 and Identity Crisis #7. I ended up reading it sometime later. Then… I ended up throwing it away. If you think it was because of that ending, I don’t think it was that. I don’t know if it got ruined or ripped. With how this event was regarded, I bet I wasn’t the only one who threw it away.

 While his interior work was fine, the late Michael Turner turned in great covers.

A couple of years later, I perused through the trade at the Waldenbooks in Cool Springs. Since then, I’ve read some of the tie-ins as well as what spun out of it. A few weeks ago, I saw it at McKay’s and finally decided to check this story out. It's a story that folk either like or hate. I’ve seen folk like Linkara tear this story a new one. On the other end the spectrum, I’ve heard the father/daughter team on the Relatively Geeky Network give it a fair but positive review. So, now that I’ve read it in full, where do I stand? By the way, “there be spoilers here, arrrr!!!”

Yeah, I’m hyping myself up for the darkness that’s about to come.

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - JLA #10-15: Rock of Ages

Ah, that three/four day break from work/Nashville worked wonders. Yes, I wasn’t laying on my butt the whole time (my folks live on a farm), but you usually do that when you get a crown put on your tooth. Anyway, it’s time to get back into the swing of things. Some little indie movie called Justice League is coming out soon and I thought I’d look at a few things that feature the team. It’s not completely a themed month, but it’ll be a little DC-centered.

First up for the month is a return to Grant Morrison’s run on JLA. It’s even somewhat topical since it involves a Fourth World element. It’s “Rock of Ages” and it took place through JLA #11-15. At this point, the team had a bit of a change-up. Wonder Woman’s dead (don’t ask me, man), Superman’s in his electric phase, and we got a couple of new recruits in the form of Connor Hawke (Oliver Queen’s son) and Aztek. Morrison’s writes, Howard Porter draws (mostly) and John Dell inks. Porter does get a little help on the last issue from artists Greg Land and Gary Frank.

JLA #10-15: “Rock of Ages”

Writer: Grant Morrison

Pencils: Howard Porter, Greg Land (#15), and Gary Frank (#15)

Inks: John Dell

Colors: Pat Garrahy 
Separations: Heroic Age

Letters: Ken Lopez

Editors: Peter Tomasi, L.A. Williams, and Dan Raspler