And it’s all been done since March / April of last year. I wish I knew the exact date, but I can’t seem to track it down. Again, though, I’m getting ahead of myself.

My first genuine encounter with “horn head” was, in retrospect, regrettable: February 14, 2003, Ben Affleck and all. I went with a friend’s girlfriend, who wanted to see it more than he did, which seemed to me like a great opportunity. In hindsight, I really wish it had been my date Colin Ferrell sent a sai sailing into, but I digress. Point is, at the time, my dad was the only really solid DD source I had, and he hadn’t picked up an issue in decades. Still, he knew enough to shoot the bull with after the family had seen it, and helped impress a few things into me: Kingpin was too big to ever be played in real life by anyone, Matt Murdock would never have been seen fighting anyone in broad daylight, in street clothes, on a playground, etc. But my pop watches movies to be entertained, and it had done the trick, so we arrived at a “fair” rating on the whole thing. The only other outcome was that I started looking around our local Books-a-Million for any DD trades – my standard response to all super-hero films at that point in my life. I tried reading both Frank Miller’s Man without Fear and Smith’s Guardian Devil; I knew both of those names, and so was interested, but as with many comics I tried to read back then, the art wasn’t glitz-gloss or manga-esq enough for me. So the film remained my only real look into Hell’s Kitchen, which was ok with me back then. So I’ll leave the movie alone. For now.

I would be remiss if I didn’t put at least some attention into the development of my comics interest during between the two dates I’ve given you so far. I mean, it’s only seven years or so. The short version is this: I liked manga throughout college (’03-’06) and still do, though to a lesser extent; the only American comics I tended to read then were those with Star Wars at the top, or the aforementioned movie-inspired forays into Marvel / DC. The three big catalysts to the huge “funny book” fan I am now all came after I moved to Annapolis for grad school in fall of ’07.

1. I read the first few trades of DMZ at the Borders near the theater I worked at, and so began to look more into the indie comics published by Vertigo.
2. One of my managers saw me reading there, and so shared his Punisher MAX trades with me, which started a chain reaction of comics reading at the theater.
3.  In May of ’08, Third Eye Comics opened less than a mile from the theater, and I met the owner Steve, whose ability to gauge what people will like is mind-blowing.

Even with all these influences, though, it was a long time before I owned anything within a mainstream “cape” continuity. Sure, I had the occasional self-contained trade, but I think even all of those were Batman. I like Batman, always have. No, it wasn’t until I had known Steve for a while that he got me to finally read an ongoing superhero series: Ed Brubaker’s Captain America. I loved it, immensely, and added Brubaker to my list of authors to keep an eye on. The only other Marvel stuff that really piqued my interest were in the alternate “Noir” universe. I picked up the Punisher, Wolverine, and Daredevil arcs under that brand, and enjoyed them all. If you want to talk Noir, though, our man J.S. Wolfwood is the resident expert. But the DD run gave me my first taste of Hell’s Kitchen in years. And I liked it.

The big payoff came in March / April of 2010, my girlfriend (Bama from Blue-Eyed Curiosity) and I were in Third Eye buying her some comics so she could see if she liked them, and she said “I liked the movie Daredevil. We should look for that.” I looked at the DD trades, and low-and-behold was a “Volume 1″ with Brubaker’s name on it. Sold.

Turns out that particular trade started with issue #82 and went to #87, and as such not really what we had been looking for; I still need to buy her Miller’s Man Without Fear so she can have a good origin story on her shelf. I decided to give it a shot, and was completely blown away. Sure, I had obviously missed a few things: Matt Murdock was in jail, Elektra wasn’t dead anymore, etc. But the writing was good enough to get me hooked, and it avoided many of the problems I have with cape stories. There was no multi-dimensional war being fought, or ten thousand different characters I needed to keep track of, or a plot that I needed to buy four different trades just to make sense of. It was a story about people, and one that made me care.

I had also picked up the fantastic Daredevil: Yellow by the dynamic duo of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale of The Long Halloween fame. Like their two other Marvel one-shots, Yellow focuses on love and loss due to Matt’s alter-ego. While not connected directly to the main run, it only served to heighten my interest in these characters.

So in July of 2010, I acquired the rest of Brubaker’s run (#88-120), an oversized trade that contained Smith’s #1-8 and David Mack’s #9-15, and the first of three massive trades that collect all of Brian Michael Bendis’s run, starting with #16-19/26-40. Yes, I know there are gaps in that, gaps that I had to address later. But at that point, I was set. On a trip to Cedar Point that year, I used airport and car time to read through the Smith / Mack trade and everything Brubaker had done. I skipped the Bendis stuff because I couldn’t afford the second two trades that completed his run, and I had already read beyond them. I enjoyed every panel of it, and figured I’d pick up what remained later that summer.

Then life happened, as it tends to. I changed jobs several times, managed a massive relocation that I had been planning for a while, and so on. Somewhere in the shuffle, that first Bendis trade got left on a shelf several hundred miles away. Christmas came and went, along with a visit home; still it sat there, waiting for the pieces to fall into place. I knew that some amazing stuff was going on in the current run of DD, being written by Andy Diggle, the mind behind Losers. Finally, in July of this year, I grabbed it off my shelf. We were planning on getting to a certain teenage-wizard-movie midnight show way too damn early, and I knew I’d need reading material to kill some time.

That trade took me at least three hours to get through. I honestly kind of lost track while I was reading. It was unique, even amongst the oft-unusual and genuinely fascinating things that preceded and succeeded it. The first arc in it, “Wake Up”, is possibly the best thing I have ever read in a mainstream cape series, and Daredevil is barely in it. I didn’t really think about the rest, after that. I had known for a while that it might be possible for me to actual get my hands on this entire run, and so I took the necessary steps to do so. Since July, I have acquired everything remaining, which required me to go so far as tracking down singles from 2001, because a certain arc was never collected in a trade. But I managed it, and here it is:

• Daredevil Volume 1 (Trade); Smith / Mack; #1-15
• Daredevil Ultimate Collection Book 1 (Trade); Bendis; #16-19/26-40
• Daredevil “Playing the Camera” (Singles); Gale; #20-25
• Daredevil Ultimate Collection Book 2 (Trade); Bendis; #41-50/56-65
• Daredevil / Echo “Vision Quest” (Trade); Mack; #51-55
• Daredevil Ultimate Collection Book 3 (Trade); Bendis; #66-81
• Daredevil “The Devil, Inside and Out Vol. 1″ (Trade); Brubaker; #82-87
• Daredevil “The Devil, Inside and Out Vol. 2″ (Trade); Brubaker; #88-93
• Daredevil “Hell to Pay Vol. 1″ (Trade); Brubaker; #94-99
• Daredevil “Hell to Pay Vol. 2″ (Trade); Brubaker; #100-105
• Daredevil “Cruel and Unusual” (Trade); Brubaker; #106-110
• Daredevil “Lady Bullseye” (Trade); Brubaker; #111-115
• Daredevil “Return of the King” (Trade); Brubaker; #116-119/#500
• Daredevil “The Devil’s Hand” (Trade); Diggle; #501-507
• Daredevil “Shadowland” (Trade); Diggle; #508-512
• Shadowland (Trade); Diggle; #1-5
• Daredevil: Reborn (Singles); Diggle; #1-4

I still have to read the last three on that list, but I may take my time with those; I’m in no rush to leave the Kitchen behind for good. Hence the words you see before you. Most of these are still fresh on my mind, and the ones that aren’t can be easily accessed. I’m going to ask you to come even deeper into these alleys, and higher onto these rooftops, and to trust me along the way. To hope that it’s not just the blind leading the blind, so to speak. I’ll do my best to show you the way, and do it as Matt would.

Without fear.

I’m back to do another post! Apparently claiming I would do more writing at the end of my last post counts as a written contract in my state, yada-yada; several calls to Goldberg law offices (800-600-6014!) later, it turns out I actually do have to fill more space with letters. Fortunately, I like doing this!

Movies

• Time Bandits - Directed by Terry Gilliam, this “children’s movie” challenges beliefs in ways that most adults probably could never handle. On the outside, it’s a quirky romp through time with a band of little people determined to rob history itself blind; within this are serious questions about morality, friendship, and the nature of good and evil.
• Equilibrium - Every few years, when I haven’t seen this for a while, I somehow convince myself that it’s overrated. Then I find a friend who hasn’t seen it, and while showing it to them think “Man, I was way off.” Christian Bale stars in this 1984/ Farenheit 451 blend of action movie and political piece. Think V for Vendetta, but with Batman instead of Agent Smith at the center.
• Date Night - Tina Fey and Steve Carrell. Together. Plus James Franco and Mila Kunis in a cameo. Plus Mark Wahlberg, minus shirt. I expected good, but by-the-numbers comedy from this; what I got was sharp, poignant satire mixed with a healthy dose of genuine chemistry, and one really awesome car chase.

Television

• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - When the original run of FMA happened, the manga hadn’t been completed yet; thus, the admittedly bad, sometimes awful second half of the series was more or less filler. Thankfully, with the full run of story now completed by the creator, the animation studio saw fit to completely reboot the franchise. The first two volumes (26 episodes) have commercial releases, and the blu-rays look flawless. And if you don’t mind reading subtitles, the whole 64-episode run is on Hulu, though I don’t know for how long.
• Rubicon - New from AMC – Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and the upcoming Walking Dead – give us their spin on the “espionage drama.” Except it’s way better than anything else that has ever tried this. Based around a fictional private-sector intel-gathering, code-breaking, foreign-policy-altering think-tank, the only thing more interesting than the conspiracy within the conspiracies are the characters themselves.
• The Venture Bros. - Now into the “second part” of its fourth season on Adult Swim, this show is just too damn funny. I really don’t know how else to describe it. Part Johnny Quest spoof, part pop-culture riffing, and all genius, my best suggestion is to have your pop build a box to teach you how awesome it is. Just remember that it sometimes gets very hot, in the box, that pop built.

Comics

• Batman & Robin by Grant Morrison – I’m aware that Morrison’s current work isn’t something everyone is a fan of. But this series – with Dick Grayson as the caped crusader, trying to wrangle an out-of-control Damian Wayne as the boy wonder – has consistently delivered for my money. Removed from this time-travel craziness, it finds it focus in examining just what these personas represent to Gotham, to the people behind the masks, and even to costumed heroes the world over. 
• Chew by John Layman – In a world where certain food has become illegal, a young detective makes his way by using his ability to psychically connect with anything he eats. Whatever ideas might spring to your mind from that statement, they’ve probably been incorporated. With elements of (and jabs at) crime dramas, prohibition-era mob fiction, and noir flicks, this is a great read for someone looking for some new indy love.
• The Marvels Project by Ed Brubaker – The man who helped resurrect Daredevil and has turned Captain America into something amazing again asks us an interesting question: What if Marvel superheroes, from first to last, weren’t just happy accidents, but part of something very carefully orchestrated? Highly reminiscent of the groundbreaking Marvels from a decade ago, this is the universe we all know so well, but through fresh eyes and without the prejudices and pre-conceptions we also know so well.

That’s all for this time.

warning spoilers.This is not the best DC animated feature

(that honor goes to Justice League : New Frontier)

Nor is it my favorite

(Green Lantern : First Flight)

but it is still very good.

The voice work is stellar with Kevin Conroy as Batman, Tim Daly as Superman, and Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor.

You may recognize these names from Batman the Animated series,

Ya know the show that won all those Emmys.

The Blu Ray for this feature has crisp sound clean, animations, and some of the best dialogue in DC animation history.

Public Enemies has the single greatest one liner in DC animation history

(once you have seen it you’ll know it)

Now to what is always my favorite feature on these features…

COMING SOON!!

Justice League: Crisis on two Earths

this one might have the best cast yet,

featuring

Chris Noth as Lex Luthor

Mark Harmon as Superman

Gina Torres as Superwoman

James Woods as Batman’s evil alternate reality self Owlman

and for the win…

Billy Baldwin as Batman.

I have not read this particular Graphic Novel but the plot seems solid and the voice acting sounds perfectly good,  though I admit Billie Baldwin,   really.

You may have noticed that I have not mentioned the differences between the Graphic novel Superman Batman: Public Enemies, this is because with only a couple exceptions follows the graphic novel to the letter

I would rather not stick a number on this so I will rate the DC features in order of best to … not best

best

Justice League: New Frontier

Green Lantern: First Flight

Superman Batman: Public Enemies

Wonder Women

erhh Not Best

note the amount to which these are better or worse is marginal, ALL OF THEM ARE GOOD!!!

Well Until next time Yours in truth

Jerimiah Wolfwood

P.S.   Do not forget this season on Batman the Brave and the Bold

the star of such feats as Eat Lead the return of Matt Hazard, Doogie Houser M.D. How I met Your Mother, and Dr. Horrible’s sing along blog,

the one the only, Neil Patrick Harris, will guest star in a musical episode which promises to be great fun for the Caped Crusader.

For anyone who hasn’t heard, the Walt Disney Co. has recently signed a deal to buy Marvel Comics and all of its subsidiaries. This news has brought a wave of commentary, from whether or not the price (approx. $4 billion) is “fair” for the two companies, to the inevitable forum rants about how much one group might negatively affect the other. I’ve reserved commentary during these first few days, in an attempt to override any knee-jerk judgment, and so I could chat with friends who also had ideas on the subject. All that said and done, what follows are some general talking-points concerning the merger.

Before continuing, the biggest source for some of these ideas came from this update.

General Company Affairs

It’s unlikely that John Lasseter will be walking through the Marvel offices firing people and telling them what color Spider-Man’s suit should be; that said, there is the possibility that Disney might extend their current HR practices. Disney currently has a hiring freeze in place as a means of helping to avoid too many layoffs; there has also been a higher level of job scrutiny and specialization, so the jobs that are available have a more dedicated focus. Aside from that, though, I don’t think Disney will be interfering too heavily with the business side of Marvel.

Creative Control  and Development

Again, Disney understands the importance of letting the people who are good at their job continue to generate good product. One thing I am really hoping for in this area, though, is that Disney might curtail the recent rash of “Marvel Events.” I’m just going to be honest: I don’t like the events. They break continuity of pre-established story arcs, interrupt vital character development, and at times completely negate the work of some really excellent teams.

Having watched the commentary tracks and development videos on numerous Pixar features, one thing that stands out is that those guys all work together, and that some of these projects have been in development for years. That is the kind of work I would really like to see emerge at Marvel. And before anyone gets too hotheaded, yes I know the creative teams at Marvel work with one another, and that they are generally aware of “events” well in advance so that they can work in necessary elements. I do not, however, agree with the practice of having other creative teams take more-or-less full control of certain key characters (see the hijacking of Captain America away from Ed Brubaker during the “Civil War).

The other “big” issue that has been bouncing around is that Disney will cancel production of the more adult-oriented side of Marvel, particularly the “MAX” branch. My response to this cannot be conveyed in polite conversation. I realize that some folks probably still consider Disney “for kids” and think the company will eliminate anything that can’t have a Hannah Montana song in the credits.  Any such individuals are, in my opinion, so far removed from actual events that their contribution is meaningless.

Marvel Animated Productions

The current run of DC animated features is beyond reproach on almost every level; they are well-animated, sharply written, and generally point an original spin on the characters. The Marvel features are, well, not so good. This being the case, I’m absolutely stoked about what I feel Disney could bring to the table.

Remember those God-awful direct-to-DVD sequels to classic Disney films? When Lasseter took the helm, he kept them around for two reasons: because they make money, and because they offer a phenomenal means of honing animators, writers, voice-actors, and other talent. What he did change, though, was the quality testing process; after all, training new skill-sets isn’t effective if you’re allowing the trainees to produce unimpressive material. The Marvel features could add yet another level to that system, and I’m going to be honest: If we can get Marvel animation with the production polish of Lion King II or Kronk’s New Groove, I’d be ecstatic.

Other Points of Interest

• The “Kid” Issue- There are several attempts by Marvel right now to re-introduce their franchises to a younger audience, the largest of these being some nightmarish amalgamation called the “Super Hero Squad Show.” The truth is, comics have suffered in recent years because younger audiences are less likely to become new readers. Even the generic plotlines are convoluted affairs, the trades are expensive (and are hard to follow chronologically), and the first time they can’t get the latest single issue at a Border’s while shopping with mom is the instant that catching up becomes nigh impossible. One thing Disney does really well is producing easily accessible content that doesn’t lose any of its thematic poignancy; don’t be surprised if a few new self-contained titles geared specifically at the 6-8 or 8-12 crowd emerge from this buyout.
• Collectables- From $3 keychains, to $15 t-shirts, to multi-thousand-dollar original pieces of memorabilia, Disney has a flair for giving collectors what they want.  And while comic book aficionados in general, and Marvel-produced items specifically, already have a well-developed niche, Disney could bring new things such as a company-sponsored system for locating rare items, or bring classic comics under their umbrella of authentication.
• Mass / International Marketing- Comic fans are a tiny subset of the population; it’s a harsh fact, but one that cannot be ignored if the industry is to have a future. Watchmen was an almost-perfect transcription of the original graphic novel, and fans of the comic were largely pleased with the outcome; from a comic guy’s standpoint, it was a great achievement. From a Warner Brothers stockholder’s vantage, though, it was not all it had promised. Being both a comics fan and a Disney buff, I can tell you that true Disney followers manage to be equally devoted; the fact that their beloved franchises are generally more publicly recognized does not hamper this devotion. If Disney can help Marvel generate content that becomes more readily recognized by John and Jane Doe, while not compromising what the true believers hold dear, it might be a turning point for American comics.

I know that these ideas are a little disjointed, and don’t even begin to cover the full spectrum of possible outcomes. But to be honest, outside of official company statements, everything flying around out there right now is hearsay and speculation. I just hope this will spark some conversation, and any comments that can expand what has been said here will be greatly appreciated, not the least of all by me.

PS – As far as I am aware, there are no plans for the feature film Hulkie the Pooh, nor are Iron Mouse and the animated musical The Little Submariner currently in development.

I have heard the complaint that this game “steals” from better games,

this in blatantly untrue.  as with many great games it simply borrows from great games of the past, but even then it is simply  succeeding at emulating  the elements of Batman’s cache of talents.

the first of these is the stealth aspect of the Caped Crusader’s arsenal.

whether your are hiding under the floor from air vents or from the dark shadows of the gargoyles on the walls the feeling of stalking your prey is always exhilarating.

the second are the gadgets that are the worlds greatest detectives paraphernalia.

from Batarangs, to the Bat rope, to the cryptographic sequencer all of Batman’s gear feel real and usable.

last but certainly  not least is the combat  of the Dark Knight

the combat of this game is the definition of easy to learn hard to master.

note all button configurations are set to the xbox 360 as this was the console I used

with X as attack, B as cape stun, Y as counter, and the LEFT TRIGGER as the gadget you will always have a way to destroy your enemies.  even up to twenty enemies at once is no problem for the the Bat-Man.

Though I will not be talking about the story all that much for I would rather not give away any spoilers but suffice it to say the story is the height of Batman lore.

The Joker is at the height of his game with a plan only the Clown Prince of Crime himself could come up with. even still I think that the parts of the game with the Scarecrow are better, and the boss fight against Killer Croc is the best.

and as for the voice work it is absolute perfection from Kevin Conroy’s Batman to the greatest Joker of all time himself

no not Heath Ledger wait for it

Mark Hamill

surprised you shouldn’t be even Christopher Nolen’s film The Dark Knight references Hamill’s Joker.

as if the wonderful story mode was not enough the boys at Rock-steady games gave us a challenge mode with more than ten different maps and at least two different variations.

the first type of challenge room is your standard beat-em up chamber and the second is a more difficult version where the point is to defeat your enemies as quickly as possible

note this next challenge room is available only in the game-stop version

Dem Bones

the point of this exercise is to fight as long as possible without getting hit and as an added incentive you are fighting skeletons ( it all makes sense once you have played the game)

If you only get one thing out of this review understand this

THIS IS THE BEST GAME OF THE YEAR

as always sincerely yours Jeremiah Wolfwood

P.S.    My next game review will be for ROCK BAND BEATLES which releases on September 9th so tune in next week same Bat time same Bat channel

P.P.S.  If you are not aware of or have not watched BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD please understand that the camp factor in this show is on purpose and perfect in every way I am extremely  happy about the fact that on the upcoming season NPH (AKA Neal Patrick Harris) will costar as a musical villain going toe to toe with Batman and his compatriots so tune in.

Assuming that the deal is approved by Marvel shareholders, Disney will now own popular characters such as Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, and the Fantastic Four, amongst many, many others.

It is not immediately clear how this move would affect the various film franchises Marvel has in the works (such as the Iron Man films and the upcoming Thor and Captain America movies) or the licenses to Marvel-based movies owned by other studios (such as Spider-Man and the X-Men).

It is also unclear how this would affect the theme park license Universal owns on the Marvel characters.

This issue was written by Jane Espenson, who somehow — between her gigs on Dollhouse and Caprica – managed to squeeze in some time to return to her old Slayerverse stomping grounds.  Espenson, of course, is an excellent writer, and she doesn’t disappoint in this issue, which is crisp and epic and all the good things we tend to hope for from the Buffy comics.

In other words, after several slightly disappointing issues, #26 is a return to form for the series.

The issue opens with Willow transporting Buffy the the secret slayer stronghold by having them both in animal guise: Willow as a seagull carrying Buffy as a fish.  It’s a humorous image, but it also gets at what promises to be a key point of this story arc: Willow’s dangerous relapse into the overuse of magic.  The image of Willow clutching Buffy in her talons is funny, yes … but it’s also ominous.

One of the happier story developments is the reunion of the whole team, including Faith and Giles rejoining the main slayer group (for the first time in season eight, if my memory serves me).  This leads to Buffy confiding in Giles her fears over Willow’s impending fall back to the dark side, and that’s a good, welcome scene; the Buffy/Giles relationship is one of the most important in the series, and it’s never quite the same without it being present.

There is a cool battle sequence involving, amongst other things, tanks, and it culminates in the slayers having to abandon their hideout and go on the run … which they do via sumbarine.

The comic ends with the submarine being magically transported to a Buddhist temple, where we meet — wait for it! — Oz.

Yep, that’s right, Especnson has the good sense to bring Oz back into the story.  Of course, I wouldn’t know it was Oz if the letters column didn’t clue me in; that’s one problem with comics, they sometimes think that artwork which only sorta looks like the original character will be immediately recognizeable.  Me, I wouldn’t put too much stock in that assumption.

To quote a great super -hero movie “I’m not happy Bob, do you know why I’m not happy”.

In my Director’s cut copy of Watchman Incidentally the only Blu Ray version I found a 10$ off coupon for Watchmen the Ultimate collectors edition the 5 count em 5 disk edition with “a whole new movie”  (it’s watchmen with Tales of the black freighter, and under the hood woven into the movie).  now understand me I will probably buy this version as well and keep my current version for when i do not feel like watching Watchmen of Arabia, but i really would have liked to been given the knowledge.

On a funny note a very similar thing happened with the DVD release of V for Vendetta.  yet another Alan Moore comic turned movie

Some good stuff in this issue, much of it involving the resolution of Roland being discovered as Gabrielle’s killer.  I like the fact that Peter David and Robin Furth didn’t decide to have Roland deny the deed; it would have sucked and been totally out of character for the gunslinger to lie about the incident just to cover his own ass.  Similarly, later on in the issue, when Roland is resigned to the idea of being hanged for his crime, his fatalism seems very much like what Stephen King’s young Roland would be like.  It’s this kind of thing that has helped make these comics such a pleasure for Dark Tower fans.

There are other good elements at work here, too: as with the last issue, some of the supporting characters — Cuthbert, Aileen, Steven, Cort, Vannay, etc. — are becoming more and more interesting.  Most of these characters, I would guess, will be dead by the time the last issue of the series has ended, and their characterizations in this particular arc will likely make those deaths much more affecting than they would otherwise have been.  As I think I mentioned last time, I really wish Vannay had been a bigger presence in previous issues; here, I especially enjoy the way in which he seems determined to use Cort’s impending death as a learning experience for his students.  That’s gunslinger mettle of a different sort than we’re used to seeing, and it makes the entire idea of the gunslinger a bit more interesting and expansive.

Richard Isanove’s art is excellent in this issue.  He is especially good with the slow mutants; he makes them both terrifying and pathetic, which is probably no easy task.

There is also a fine appendix called “The Art and Discipline of Creative Continuity” by Robin Furth in which she writes for a bit about inventing new story for the Dark Tower universe, and keeping it in line with Stephen King’s style.  Clearly, Stephen is still the king … but he’s obviously got a highly capable general in Furth.

Moving on, we come to an issue of The Stand that probably ranked quite high on fans’ list of most-anticipated issues: the one in which Larry Underwood passes through the Lincoln Tunnel.

It’s a disappointment, from my point of view.

Let me clarify.  It’s fairly well written (by Roberto Aguirre-Scasa) and fairly well-drawn (by Mike Perkins).  They do a better job by far of visualizing this sequence than Mick Garris did in the ABC miniseries.

The problem is that the sequence, as written by Stephen King, is so vivid, and so internalized within Larry’s psyche, that only a Herculean effort of adaptation could do it justice.  It’s one of King’s best sequences, and King is one of the best writers of his generation; therefore, the sequence is one of the best, most famous sequences to be written during a span of about thirty years.  That’s a hard act to follow; in order to properly do so, in whatever medium you’re adapting the story into, you’ve got to produce one of the best sequences of your own generation.  Aguirre-Sacasa and Perkins do not.  It’s just that simple.

So in that sense, the issue is a disappointment.  In most other respects, though, it’s pretty solid, and the fact that almost the entire thing focuses on Larry makes this a more satisfying experience as a stand-alone comic than any other issue of this book in quite a while.  I’m enjoying the series, but I’ve almost come to the conclusion that I’m going to stop reading it on a month-by-month basis.  The story simply doesn’t flow well in increments like that.  Any way you want to look at it, The Stand is a novel, and reading a chapter a month is just not natural.

I think I’ll give it one more issue before I come to a decision on that.

Here is the top of the list for retirement:

Micheal Bay

Eddie Murphy

Stan Lee

George Lucas