The TV battle – DC vs. Marvel

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I’m going to come out and say it, Disney is definitely paying or influencing film critics. They must be, as the Marvel films are good but they are not that good. I mean, when I talk about ‘the best movies ever,’ I’m thinking Schindler’s List, The Godfather and The Shawshank Redemption. With no disrespect to The Avengers or Age of Ultron, they are not in the same league. As an aside, it is interesting to note, that IMDB only has one superhero movie in it’s top 10 of top rated movies and it isn’t a Marvel movie. Can you guess which one without looking it up?

With that out of my system, I’m turning my attention to TV and specifically to the fact that DC are absolutely nailing it  (with Arrow and Flash) and getting very little praise. All the chat recently has been about Daredevil and Jessica Jones. I have issues (with both).

Jessica Jones. I haven’t seen all of season 1 yet, so I appreciate that I should watch all of it before commenting. However, first impressions are a bit ‘meh.’ It was fine. I didn’t really take to Jessica or the supporting cast. I think there is a difference between ‘dark’ and ‘depressing.’ And this borders on the latter.

Daredevil. I really enjoyed season 1. It had its faults and didn’t do anything new, but it played out the Daredevil origin well. Season 2 felt like it was trying to be non-comics, yet introduced a load of concepts that work really well… in comics. Punisher had great potential but didn’t really fulfil it. Matt’s declaration of love to Elektra was all a bit too convenient. I felt it was rushed and the fight scenes all started to look alike. Ok, the guy can beat 20 plus men in one sitting. We know!

Anyway, for me, Flash and Arrow are much more fun (of course). Whereas Arrow takes the slighter darker route, Flash provides the comic fun. Both deliver great stories and a plethora of interesting characters. And, who doesn’t like time travel and multiple Earths?

Geek Thoughts for the Week

I’m just going to say it. It’s a freakin great time to be a comic and movie fan right now!

The Star Wars Trailer.

Put simply, it broke the Internet last week. It had grown men crying, myself included. It offered everything that the original three stand for – lightsabers, Chewie, Han, Mark Hamill’s voice, Kylo Ren (Bad dude) and TIE fighters. And, from everything I’m reading, it actually sounds like it’s shaping up to be a good movie, not just a Star Wars movie. If it can stand the test of time as well as the original trilogy, then we are in for a treat. Watch here.

AI Discussions.

The prospect of artificial intelligence one day being a reality seems to be discussed more and more. With wearable tech and the Internet of Things fast becoming the norm, isn’t it the next natural stage for a computer or robot to start ‘behaving’ like a human? Alex Garland’s Ex Machina has popularised the discussion again.

Netflix’s Daredevil.

I’ve watched the first two episodes of season one and so far I’m very impressed. Charlie Cox is a good Matt Murdoch and seems to have a handle on the Daredevil character. There’s a rich history in the comics, much of which is quite dark and brooding. This series seems to nail that whilst still setting it in the bigger more colourful Marvel cinematic universe. In a market that is saturated with superheroes, it’s impressive that Marvel can still offer something new.

Age of Ultron is nearly upon us.

Staying on the Marvel theme, Age of Ultron is out next week and the excitement is really beginning to rise. Not only are the Star Wars and Dawn of Justice trailers attached, but there is also the introduction of Ultron and The Vision. I’ve always liked the Ultron character and tie that into the AI question (see above), I think this will be a really interesting interpretation of a well know Avengers storyline. Oh and it has the hulk buster suit! Here’s a reminder.

The Vision discussing AI

Batman v Superman Trailer.

This post wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the Dawn of Justice trailer. The version that’s leaked is not great quality but it’s still epic. I believe the HD versions will be online this week so if you haven’t already seen it, maybe you wait? Hmm, I couldn’t. Aside from the quality, it looks like a dark, gritty film that steals a lot from Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns. It is one of my all time favourite story arcs (that probably goes for most Batman fans) and the fight scene that the trailer alludes to is just a sensational piece of art and story telling. If they even get it a little bit right, it’s going to be supreme.

Current Reading

Here’s a snapshot of some of the stuff I’m currently reading. Finally managed to get round to Phantom Stranger and Talon and really enjoyed both of them. Will stick with them and see how we get on. The Batman Requiem (death of Damian) stuff has been really good for the most part. I do like the whole ‘Robin’ story lines so the whole Damian stuff is going down well (although he was a character I really enjoyed reading). There’s talk of Carrie Kelley being brought into the mainstream DCU. Not sure what I think about that yet. Could be cool.

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Haven’t had time to blog recently but there…

Haven’t had time to blog recently but there is so much to talk about in the world of geek. Big things: Marvel Ultron thingy looks cool; the return of the Joker (from what I’ve read so far) is excellent; Fatale was ace; the zero issue of I, Vampire was very good; Star Wars, WTF?; DC upsetting shops around the world; TV series Arrow (aside from some serious wooden acting) is actually pretty good and Daredevil: End of Days #1 rocked. Well there is loads more but that will have to do for now. Tags to follow.

Fantastic 4

Kinda got duped into buying the Fantastic 4 Annual on the basis that it was a tie in with Daredevil. It wasn’t, but I actually really enjoyed it. Don’t read much Fantastic 4 these days but it did remind me of my childhood reading about the Human Torch.

Marvel Night

Last night I started tying to catch up on the various Marvel titles I collect. The likes of Secret Avengers, Avengers, X-Men, Ultimates, Incredible Hulk and Daredevil. I’m thinking of cutting the Marvel list down slightly. The problem I have is that with the Avengers and related spin off comics, the creative teams change quite a bit, the actual Avengers lineup can get messy and I usually only like a handful of the characters. With this in mind maybe I should be inputting my energies elsewhere?

Secret Avengers has been pretty good especially when Mike Deodato was on art duties. I do love Warren Ellis’ writing but I haven’t particularly enjoyed the recent run and with that in mind, it might be a good time to call it a day. Similarly with the X-Men, the issues can be hit and miss. I got back into the X-men when the whole vampire stuff kicked off. That was all excellent and I do love Victor Gischler’s work. However I would never cite X-Men as a favourite and as such I might be dropping this title soon.

Incredible Hulk is a funny one. This is a new volume and the premise that the Hulk and Banner are no longer together is an interesting one. The first issue was good and there have been moments elsewhere that have been done well but ultimately I haven’t felt enthralled. For me the Hulk should be a towering ball of anger and aggression. You get none of that sense of ‘doom’ and ‘rage’ with this hulk and that disappoints. I’ll give it one more issue and then think call it a day if it doesn’t pick up.