After checking the internet for reviews of Toyman from Alex Ross's Justice, I eventually got the figure from GnB after an initial hesitation on the articulation. This has to be the most articulated figure from DC.
DC MiniMates Shaun and myself paid a visit in the afternoon to our favourite comic shop GnB hoping to score some MS Hulk, but shipment was only due in the later part of the afternoon or evening. Disappointed, we just looked around (Shaun apparently at something else), so as not to waste the trip, and I eventually picked up this piece. I thought the Green Lantern was quite cool. I would have picked up an Alex Ross ToyMan (from Justice), but not sure of the articulations, I decided not to.
Wall.E I managed to find the deluxe Eve and also Mo at TRU Forum, at the discounted price of S$14.90. There is still a few more Eve, so those need one head on down !
Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr and Jack Black doing a sketch for the awards show, promoting their upcoming movie Tropic Thunder. Hilarious, especially the part about Iron Man vs Dark Knight. Warning: extreme violence at the end of the sketch.
Even though the show was about 2.5 hours, it did not seem that long. The pace was good, with action from the very start and nicely placed throughout the movie. And you get excited to see what will happen next.
As most would have said, the late Heath Ledger did steal the whole show.
I was surprised to see quite a number of actors (at least those I recognized) in this movie. Chin Han, the Singaporean actor had quite a big role in this film, even though Edison Chen was in the news. He only had a few seconds in the film, and you can't even see his face clearly. His interaction is only with Morgan Freeman, while Chin Han interacted with the major actors.
I think most of the actors pulled off this movie very well.
The interaction between Batman and Joker really setup their whole relationship.
I like Gary Oldman's narration at the end of the movie.
Batman did not utilize his utility belt this time round though.
I am not sure how they will top this movie if they are ever going to make another sequel.
The only 2 complaints is not about the movie, but the cinema. The film was too dark, so I could not clearly see some of the night scenes. The audio was also not good, as I could not hear the dialogue very well. So for most part of the film, I was not sure where the whole plot was going.
Mattel DC Universe Classics When everyone thought that Mattel distributor would never again bring in DC SuperHeroes line with some many figures still burning the shelves at department stores (partly due to their greed by rising the price from S$19.90 to S$34.90, and now having to succumb to pressure to reduce back to S$19.90), they managed to sneak in limited cases of DC Universe Classics Series 1. Hopefully they will continue to bring in the rest of the series. It's a bit worrying seeing how many Red Tornadoes whisking about the shelve space, and not taking off though. Thanks to shaun again for picking these figures up for me.
NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Whoohoo ! Finally picked up these figures from the local distributor. Thanks Alex !
Marvel Legends Iron Men Picked these loose figures (House of M and Young Avengers, no accessories) from the local flea market for S$10 a piece, capitalizing on the current Ironman movie release.
Hasbro Spider-Man 3 Sandman Picked this up at the same flea market stall, seeing the price of this figure, and since it is still officially unreleased. This figure is similar to the movie BAF Sandman, but without the BAF part and different set of attack hands.
Hasbro Indiana Jones 4 Shia Labeouf making it big time with a major role in Indy4, after Transformers. Got this figure to go with the Transformer figures.
World's Smallest Transformers One down, and one more to go to complete the WST Dinobots.
Watchmen Finally managed to pick up this trade from the local library and read the story. I never wanted to buy the trade because I was never a fan of writer Alan Moore or artist Dave Gibbons, even though this series was groundbreaking and critically acclaim. After reading it, I was not too sure what was the hype about. This series was produced in 1986, so probably the issues addressed in the story could be radical then. Anyway, it is a nice read, and I just want to say that HEROES (the TV series) is a rip off from Watchmen. Now, it will be interesting to see how they will pull this off as a movie, as most of the comic were flashbacks.
Top 10 The first thing that attracted my attention to this comic was the doberman in a Hawaiian shirt and straw hat by Alex Ross, but not enough to buy the comic book. So when I came across the first volume in the library, I took a shot at it. Partly also because the comic was written by Alan Moore, and drawn by Gene Ha (a very detail artist), with layouts by Zander Cannon. (Zander Cannon is a great artist, who started with his own comic The Replacement God. Check it out. You will see a plug for this in the first issue of Top 10.) Overall, it was a good read, different from the mainstream superheroes comics.
Secret Wars I borrowed this book just because of the artist, Gabriele Dell Otto. This Italian does very good dynamic painted scenes and poses. If you like painted art, do pick this series or the trade. Note that the trade does not do justice to the art, as it is quite dark sometimes to see all the details.
Superman: Birthright Birthright is a retelling of the origins of Superman, but I was not interested in the story, only the artwork, by artist Leinil Francis Yu. His style is clean, much reminiscent of Travis Charest's earlier works.
Once again, my cover picks for the month of March 2008.
Marvel Comics
Iron Man #27 by Gerald Parel
New Avengers #39 by David Mack
DC
DC Special: Raven #1 by Damion Scott. I think this would look better in black and white.
Batman #675 by Tony Daniel. Angry as usual, but I think he has too many teeth for a human.
Detective Comics #842 by Dustin Nguyen. The snow background and building is done pretty well, though I think the Batman's cowl should have a bit more snow.
Action Comics #863 by Gary Frank. Superman and Legion of Super Heroes. Looks like Christopher Reeves ?
Birds Of Prey #116 by Stephane Roux. I like this cover because to me, it has 3 different drawing styles for each of the characters depicted. Stephane Roux is a french artist.
GREEN ARROW: ROAD TO JERICHO TP, cover by Scott McDaniel & Andy Owens. Another nice Green Arrow cover, this time by Scott McDaniel. I do not follow SM's art, but do take note sometimes. I like the angle drawn.
That's about all that caught my attention, though there are some other good covers out there.
Incidentally, October also sees the solicitation of DC Minimates Wave 7, available on Mar 2008. 2 heavy weights that stands out from this wave are Gorilla Grodd and Clayface.
I am back again this month to look at some of the comic covers solicited by DC for the month of Sep 2007. First up, from last month's recommend BATMAN/LOBO: DEADLY SERIOUS miniseries, comes the cover for #2. The colours are nice on Batman, but the proportions seem to be really off. It looks like Sam Keith did not put in effort in this series. I am having second thoughts about this series. It's now on the wait and see list.
Next is the cover to GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE #5-6, also introduced last month. Another colourful and great piece by Jock.
A new cover for this month is from METAL MEN #2. I must have missed the cover for the first issue. Surprisingly, this series is written and drawn by Duncan Rouleau. He is a great artist. I noticed his artwork when he was doing some work for Marvel's DR DOOM and VENOM series. His work is in the likes of Skottie Young and Humberto Ramos. But I did not know that he is a writer as well. And incidentally, he is also one of the creators of the animated show BEN 10.
Another missed title this month - THE PROGRAMME. It's not mainstream superhero stuff, which is why I had overlooked it. But the cover to issue 2 is very striking, with the nice usage of black and white, and a dash of red to bring out the image. The art and cover is drawn by CP Smith. His name rings a bell, but I just cannot place it. Maybe I might have mistaken him for Matthew Smith. Anyway, this guy's art is incredible. He also did the art on a standalone issue of WOLVERINE #61. Do check it out.
The last 2 covers, from ROBIN #166 and GREEN LATERN CORPS #16, have one thing in common - they are drawn by the artist Patrick Gleason. Nothing special about the covers, but the style of this artist reminds me of Jason Pearson. I hope he goes on to do more interior artwork.
Some cool cover art from DC Comics' August 2007 solicitations. I never really like Tim Sale's art because he makes Batman and Hulk look like monkeys. But the way he drew the cape from BATMAN ANNUAL #26: HEAD OF THE DEMON looks kind of cool.
The next cover has 3 things that I like - Lobo, Batman and Sam Kieth. And it's great to see the main man back in action, and better still, against another of my favourite comic characters. This will be on the shopping list.
BATMAN/LOBO: DEADLY SERIOUS #1 Written by Sam Kieth Art and cover by Kieth Get ready for an action-packed 2-part tale teaming up the Dark Knight with the interstellar madman, as only Sam Kieth can deliver! Batman, transported to an alien vessel by a mysterious figure, is asked to help cure a plague that has infected its inhabitants. Lobo, who has also been shanghaied, finds himself in the same boat. Now, Batman and Lobo, two incredibly unlikely companions, must somehow find a way to work together — and find out the real reason for their abductions — before they kill each other! Update 27 May 2007: Newsarama has put up a preview here. I just hope this artwork is only for these pages, and not throughout the entire 2 issues. It does not look like Sam Kieth had put a lot of effort into them.
The third cover by the master himself Alex Ross, from JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #8 just speaks for itself.
Next to the gorgeous Power Girl cover, is work from the hot new artist Jock, on GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE #3-4. Jock first came into the limelight with his work on DC's Losers. Now his work can be seen widely, mainly covers and one shot deals. Jock's style is along the likes of Jae Lee, Ashley Wood, Ben Templesmith, etc. The simple, edgy black and white lines/tones, together with a fine tone of colour is simply amazing. Another shopping list item.
And lastly, SUPERMAN/BATMAN #39, by Dustin Nguyen & Derek Fridolfs, has a similar style to Jock. I like the overall composition of the colours and the characters, and the straight lines, especially on Batman (reminds me of Mike Mignola). Though Superman's hand seems to be out of place, if he is supposedly choking Bats.
Oh, yes. One more thing to get in Jan 2008, that is part of Aug's orders. Nuff said.
Marvel SuperHero Squad - cute little super-deformed characters from the Marvel universe. The Fantastic Four is the latest series, while the Avengers is from an older series. S$10 each from local Toys R Us.
Thanks to my nephew for picking these up at the local department store. He's a great kid, and being a good uncle does payoff (I think I have to get him the Ben10 action figures). The Batman Shadowtek Man-bat (a repaint) and DC Superheroes Black SuperGirl.
