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[johnnyhasfeelings]

Mark my words, he’s still going to be in the next Youtube Rewind.

Disgusting.

[johnnyhasfeelings]

Batman #34 Lacks Longevity, But Hits the Mark Every Time

    Batman #34 is the second issue of the arc “The Rules of Engagement”, and feature Bruce and Selina confronting Talia al Ghul post their engagement. Batman #33 was an amazingly fun romp through the reaction of the bat-sons, included the cameo of Tiger, and was ultimately an amazing set up of character and conflict, all while continuing to highlight the chemistry between the two leads. And while Batman #34 will likely be lost to time, not having the same punch as the issue preceding it, it absolutely hits the nail on the head regarding art, character, and writing. Despite the fact that its only function seems to be a transition and build up to the main confrontation between Talia and Selina, and then Bruce and Damian (hopefully only one of those encounters will involve swords), it is more than serviceable for its purpose.

    Let’s start by talking about the actual format of the comic, referring to the use of cells to tie together multi-page scenes. Which is to say that each scene is marked by a style of cell organization that is drastically different than the scene preceding it. The first scene, which introduces Bruce and Selina fighting Talia’s ninjas, maintains the format of quick ‘cuts’ between Bruce and Selina. Over five pages. The first page has equally sized cells, creating a 9x9 layout. The second and third pages are two full-paged cells. The interesting thing here is that they aren’t splashes. They are distinct cells, separated by white borders. The fifth is a two-page splash. Doing this effectively builds up the suspense of the battle, and introduces the audience to the situation – the banter the whole way through maintaining the air of the relationship between Selina and Bruce.

    Now, I won’t go into every use of cells as unifying tools in this issue, but I will bring up another instance that impressed me. Bruce and Selina were fighting the ninjas over the course of three pages. Each page was interrupted by a page of advertisement. And while this interruption definitely disrupts the flow of story, because advertisements ALWAYS do that, the use of cell structure compensated for it. A format of diagonal cells throughout the entire page, going up and to the right, tied the scene together despite interruption. It was really impressive. Definitely a technique I want to steal when making my own comics. Typically, the diagonal might have been distracting, but it was actually unifying.

    Another thing that was really interesting was the color. While the background, and insignificant villain fodder, were all warm colors (even the sky) and tended to blend together, slight costuming decisions in each of the major characters really helped to bring them to the foreground. Bruce was in almost all black, except for a yellow bandana that stuck out in contrast to his typical costume. Selina wore a cool-gray cloak that really stood out. Talia and Damian were both sporting green, and Dick and Clark both wore blue. It was really interesting to see the use of color to actually distinguish characters from each other. Whether or not it was intentional, the characters wearing similar base colors were those who could be connected in one way or another. Bruce and Selina were connected romantically, a unification enhanced in their costumes. Damian and Talia are connected through blood, and, although they are wearing very different shades of green, they both prove to be stumbling blocks in Bruce and Selina’s relationship – both are willing to challenge it (although Damian has much less destructive intentions than his mother). Dick and Clark maintain similar views, as well, which is enhanced in the way that Dick holds Damian back the same way Clark does. Dick continues to be a master of playing the line between Super and Bat in this issue, a reflection of his mentor, his namesake, and everyone in between.

Okay, now onto the fun stuff. Damian.

Despite the fact that Bruce and Selina are ostensibly the main characters of the arc, it has focused a lot on Damian and his reaction to the engagement. Batman #33 spent and equal amount of time with Bruce and Selina and the family – actually dedicating more of the issue to the development of the family and their reactions than the journey of the couple. Now, I’ve already written about how Damian’s reaction is indicative of his inability to understand how and why Bruce would devote himself to a villain, despite shunning his mother. There is the implication of Damian’s realization that his family will never be whole – and Dick definitely picks up on that. This continues into Batman #34, as we see a little bit more of the boys having followed Bruce and Selina. The only disappointing thing here is that we miss out on a great opportunity to see an interaction between Dick and Tiger. Tiger’s appearance in #33 was random and fun, and it was kind of disappointing to see that he was just that – a one cell cameo.

Back to Damian.

First is his interaction with Clark. Damian is being Damian, talking about how he’ll kill Clark. And Clark, to his credit, isn’t patronizing – he recognizes how Damian is probably completely capable of killing him. He also brings up Jon, which shuts Damian up almost immediately. This behavior reflects this notion that Damian doesn’t want more people to leave– it highlights his anxiety that Bruce is finding solace in someone other than him – not only as Robin, but as his son. Damian spent so much of his life trying to prove himself to others – but especially to Bruce. He’s spent his entire live thinking he didn’t need compassion from others so long as he had power. But, starting with Dick, he’s felt love. And now that he’s felt it, he isn’t ready to let it go – ‘break ups’, so to say, or rather, emotional distance post – emotional closeness, I guess, is something that he isn’t equipped to handle. Which is pretty much the theme of Damian’s arc in this storyline. It’s nice that this kind of throw away comment about Jon is actually a sort of metonymy. This smaller piece of Damian’s life being representative of the greater issue of this arc.

Okay. Now, let’s talk about Dick.

Dick is the one who was instantly by Damian’s side in the last issue. Dick is the one that went with Damian to follow Bruce and Selina. Dick is the one who sits on the stairs to wait with Damian for Bruce and Talia to explain themselves.

And Dick hesitated.

Dick can often be seen as this golden boy – especially in his relationship with Damian. He’s the brother that took in this little ball of murderous rage and loved him until he learned to love back. But this comic reminds us of Dick’s humanity as he hesitates – weighing the option of staying with Damian or forcing Damian to come back home with him. Because Dick was never going to leave Damian on his own – we have to be completely realistic about that. Dick hesitates because he knows that the incoming confrontation can only end badly.

But the beauty of Dick’s character is that he’s going to stand by Damian’s side, until the very end. Because that’s how the Dynamic Duo works! Dick is really showing his own passion and understanding of partnership.

The relationships in this were spot on. It ended with a solid cliff hanger – Talia challenging Selina to a sword fight. All in all, an extremely solid issue that shows just how much effort was put into what should have just been a throw-away transition.

But those are just my feelings.

[johnnyhasfeelings]

Thor: Ragnarok was Perfectly Serviceable for what it was - a Thor Movie.

I’ll be the first to say that I’m not a huge fan of Thor movies, and I have a working theory as to why. But first, let’s talk a little bit about the new movie.

    Did it have some fun parts? Yes – the Dr. Strange cameo and Thor rambling about the time Loki turned into a snake were funny. Did it have some good action? The Thor vs. Hulk rematch was pretty good, and Thor fighting with lightning was, admittedly, cool. Not to mention the sheer power of Heimdall.

    That being said, the movie was trying really hard to capitalize on the success of Guardians of the Galaxy, and it showed. Almost immediately, it was pretty clear that Thor’s personality was exaggerated to the level of a Peter Quill or a less harsh Tony Stark. Although he eventually settled more into his character (except for that scene where he flipped out at the guy getting melted – I mean, come on! He’s Thor! He should be able to hold himself together), for the first good chunk of the movie, he seemed really out of character, and here’s why:

    Here’s why I think Thor is funny. Thor is funny because he is an alien. He’s funny because of the way he interacts with the other characters, who more or less all share the same set of experiences that come from being on earth. And I’m not saying that that doesn’t mean that he can’t get a good one-liner in here or there. I’m not saying that he’s incapable of bantering with the others. I’m not saying he’s incapable of having fun or goofing off when all is said and done. What I’m saying is that the cultural and physical disconnect between Thor and the others is what creates fun scenarios. Which is why putting him in his element can be boring.

    The fact of the matter is, not every character can be Peter Quill. Not every character has to be constantly goofing off, acting childish, making everything into a joke. Thor isn’t Peter Quill, or Tony Stark, or Peter Parker, or Rocket Raccoon. Thor is Thor. A semi-serious character who is capable of having fun, but ultimately isn’t this ridiculous character that he seems to have become in this movie.

    Maybe I’m overreacting. Let’s focus on some of the best parts of this movie.

    Dr. Strange. It’s not just my inner Sherlock fan (that I haven’t let out in about three years) that makes me think that Dr. Strange was the best part of this movie. First of all, his inclusion is a reminder of what I was talking about earlier – Thor is best when interacting with characters that he doesn’t understand. Dr. Strange is really confusing, always in his own world, and never stops to make sure that everyone is still on the same page. And the difference in character was really fun – it sort of foreshadowed the relationship that Strange will likely have with a lot of the other characters in Infinity Wars. It also showed that Strange is going to be a more serious character – which I really look forward to. I’m sort of counting on Strange and T’challa, and maybe a little bit of Wanda and Vision, to work on being the foils of these characters who were designed to always be ‘funny.’ Also, Strange’s total control of the situation – his ability to just completely wipe out Loki as a threat – is a good signal that the oncoming threat is much bigger than Loki ever was, it demonstrates the development of these characters really subtlety, and I appreciate that.

    There were also some really beautifully shot scenes to this film. The one that stands out the most to me is when Loki and the Valkyrie were approaching the Grandmaster – the reflection was really fun, and the color was bolder than any Marvel movie I had ever seen. With the exception of Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel never seemed to focus on enhancing colors, but they did in this movie, and it really made a difference to me.

    However, there were some things that were just too dumb or too pointless for me to handle. The existence of the Executioner seemed pointless, some scenes had really terrible animation and green screen effects. It tries really hard, and, while a lot of critics seemed to be convinced by it, I glanced at a couple reviews, it doesn’t resonate with me as much more than just another attempt to tag onto the success of Guardians of the Galaxy. (This coming from a Marvel fan who didn’t like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. At least Ragnarok had actual purpose in placing Thor and the Hulk where they needed to be for Infinity Wars.)

    From the Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth, and Jeff Goldblum cameos, to the strange and sometimes forced humor of “the Devil’s Anus”, this movie seems like it was just trying to be a meme. So, at least it attempted to be entertaining. It does have that over the other Thor movies.  

    Jeff Goldblum… was just Jeff Goldblum. And while Paul Rudd’s extremely different energy was a sort of breath of fresh air in the Marvel Universe, Goldblum was so disconnected it was actually distracting from the movie.

    All in all, not my favorite Marvel Movie (for those of you wondering, it’s Spiderman: Homecoming.) But am I about to critique Marvel for trying to break away from their formula? Absolutely not! There were a lot of scenes in this movie that wwere shot and framed as if they were cells in comic books. And it was actually impressive – not like the scene where everyone is running at each other in Civil War. I think what Thor: Ragnarok is trying to do is break the mold a little more, and I applaud that. I think it was good that it made me a little uncomfortable – that it wasn’t like any Thor movie I had ever seen. So, even if it wasn’t for me – because Thor movies really aren’t for me, what with their gratuitous shirtless scenes, their inexplicable need to have Loki in everything, and their all around awkwardness – it wasn’t the worst movie I had ever seen. Would I watch it again? No, probably not. I’d watch a few of the scenes again, but the entire movie isn’t exactly my cup of tea. Or jug beer. I certainly don’t think it’s one of the best Marvel movies ever made.

    I think Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 sort of lifted the veil of Marvel obsession that I had, and now I’m a little more critical of Marvel movies than I ever have been. When it comes to silly superheroes that don’t take themselves seriously, and ultra-realistic superheroes movies that take themselves too seriously, I don’t want either. I want something in between – something capable of making fun of what Superheroes are, but also recognizing their importance. Something that doesn’t make stories too gritty, or look for a darker version of canon, but also doesn’t throw away heroes that have really influenced people’s lives. What I’m saying is that it’s a really fine line, and Marvel and DC are on opposite sides of that line. And they’re both moving in the same direction – towards the silliness. But Marvel is already so planted in silliness that its becoming distracting. And I don’t want the tone of the past couple movies to be the tone of Infinity Wars.

    But those are just my feelings.