X3: The Last Stand

X3: The Last Stand
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kesley Grammer
Directed by Brett Ratner
Release date May 26th, 2006
Released through 20th Century Fox & Marvel
X3 Trailer

This review board is usually just for comics, but hey it’s mine and I can review friggin Betty Crocker recipes if I find them interesting enough! So I’m reviewing X3: The Last Stand. What can I say other than that it fuckin rocked!!! I have to say that this was the best of the series; it was a fan boy’s dream come true! It had everything that a true X-Men fan could want, and without spoiling much for those of you who have not seen it yet, you should rush out and see it after reading this review!

A lot of people that have seen the first two movies were apprehensive about the third because Bryan Singer wasn’t involved. I say to those naysayers to shut up and watch the film. Yes, it’s its own animal, but Brett Ratner has managed to do something different and yet remain true to the essence of X-Men. There’s the Danger Room sequence, something that X-fans have been longing to see in the film and Ratner delivers, along with a fast ball special courtesy of Colossus and Wolverine, “Hey Tin Man. Throw me!” and what does Colossus throw Wolverine at? A Sentinel! But the fun doesn’t end there, the whole movie is nicely paced and a lot of loose ends from previous installments are tied up, while more are unraveled. Even though the movie comes in at a little under 2 hours, it made me want more, especially the ending, for all of you not in the know, you’ve gotta stay till the end of the credits to get a juicy little piece of story…actually I guessed at it and I was right, I’m still waiting for Marvel to come knocking at the door so I can write these scripts rather than guess at them!
The film delivers in spades, from the true Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, to the fates of Jean Grey and all the rest, this film had it all. There were moments when the audience fell into a deathly hush as key characters met their fate at the hands of their nemesis. The one I do want to share with you is the fate of one X-Man that I have hated since the moment she/he was introduced so here it is (SPOILER ALERT!!!) Marrow, even though in the film Marrow was changed into a guy, it’s still Marrow, the cheesy ass bone chucking bitch that in the comics was supposed to be Wolverine as a female, that’s all been remedied now in the comics with the introduction of X-23, but in film she (now a he) eats it big time! Wolverine guts Marrow in an awesome fight scene that you have to watch to enjoy and appreciate, I cheered when Marrow died! Good riddance!

Apart from that, the movie nicely ties up the trilogy, while leaving the door open for more films and even spin-offs. I know Hugh Jackman has expressed interest in doing a Wolverine solo film and it is coming to fruition from what my insiders in Hollywood have said, (actually my latest copy of Wizard), which brings me to an interesting subject, Wolverine. Many of my colleagues, have expressed that Wolverine takes up too much time in the films, that it seems the movies should be renamed “Wolverine and his X-Men” but the truth of the matter is that Wolverine is the spirit of the team. I had this conversation with my good friend Daniel Campos a comic book artist and long standing X-Men fan and I agree wholeheartedly. I love Wolverine, though Gambit is my all time favorite X-Man, but Wolverine is the heart and soul of the team, he’s the one that holds everyone together, the loner who is forced to re-examine his life and become a team player for the betterment of both mutant and human kind. But the thing is Wolverine can go the extra mile, he can do what everyone else thinks about doing but stop short of doing, the line that most heroes won’t cross. This is something that your Batmen and Supermen lack, the courage of their convictions, to do what must be done, like Jack Black in Nacho Libre states, "We gotta take it to the next level!"

X3 was well worth the wait, and the way the film plays out, it leaves you wanting more of these characters. Bryan Singer may have moved on to Superman, which I’m sure is going to rake in the cash, but Superman is iconic and has been around longer than X-Men, so it has that going for it. I am a registered Marvel Zombie and X3 is truly for the fans, with so many cameos and little tidbits that sate the fan-boy in all of us (keep your eye out for the Stepford Cukoos!)

This is the fun and exciting movie of the summer and I am thoroughly and honestly pleased with what Brett Ratner has done, I was skeptical when I first heard about the shuffle of directors, but I hope Ratner returns for the next installment, because you know there’s gotta be another one (besides, we need Gambit in there, especially with the allusions of a sort of Generation X spin-off!)
So what are you waiting for? Stop reading this and get out there and watch X3: The Last Stand!

Buckaroo Banzai #1

Story: Mac Rauch
Pencils: Stephen Thompson
Inks: Keith Williams
Colors: Dennis Calero
Covers: Matt Haley, Michael Stribling
32pgs, COLOR, $3.50

I don’t know how many of you have ever seen the cult film, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, maybe by accident on late night t.v. but I’m talking late late night t.v. where the only thing awake is you and the weird old lady across the street with all the cats that likes to moon bathe in the buff…or is that just in my neighborhood? Anyways, Buckaroo Banzai has returned in the form of a new comic book from Moonstone Productions.
The comic picks up after the events of the film with Buck in a new adventure written by the original creator Mac Rauch and the original director W.D. Richter. Buckaroo Banzai is a neurosurgeon/rock star/experimental race car driver. He is an adventurer along with his crew of Hong Kong Cavaliers. Buck is a mixture of coolness and grittiness and if the comic is anything like the movie then you can expect lots of weirdness! From strange Red Lectroids from planet 10 that look like a cross between skinless aliens and Rastafarians, gunfights in the middle of the Mojave desert, brain surgery, and forces of evil from other dimensions hell-bent on taking over the world, these are just a few of the scenarios to be found in the world of Buckaroo Banzai.
The art is being supplied by Stephen Thompson whose pencils are very detailed and clean Buck. Thompson drew a few issues of Star Wars Republic for Dark Horse and his art captures the essence of Buckaroo Banzai and supporting cast. Peter Weller stared in the original and his likeness is lent to the comic, Thompson manages to catch all the nuances of Weller’s face and demeanor when drawing Buck. Moonstone is a publisher that I follow from time to time, mainly because they have aquired some cool properties, the main one being Kolchack: The Nightstalker, which I have been a fan of since I first saw when I was a lad. I know Moonstone has passion for their work, the stuff they’ve done with Kolchack, leads me to believe that Buckaroo Banzai will rock out!
There are many aspects that I saw in other creations that I first noticed in Buckaroo Banzai. The hero who carries a guitar and a samurai sword gives glimpses of another popular cult movie, Six String Samurai, so if you enjoy weirdness mixed into your coolness try out Buckaroo Banzai: The Comic

Fell #5 and Moon Knight #2

Well I’m back this week with two reviews for the price of one… hope all you guys and gals are having a good time reading all these upcoming titles that are really good, and to those of you who are still in the dark about these great reads, drop that piece of crap Spawn comic you’re reading and get over to your local comic book shops and jump aboard these titles (editor’s note: I realize that Spawn is being written by David Hine but it’s a waste of time, get over to where Hine really shines and pick up The 198 or Son of M to see the man write some good stuff!)


Fell #5

Written by WARREN ELLIS
Art & Cover by BEN TEMPLESMITH
Published by Image Comics
Suggested for Mature Readers

Nearly every comic Warren Ellis writes is truly awe-inspiring and this series is one of them. Fell tells the tale of Detective Richard Fell who has been transferred over the bridge from the big city to Snowtown, an untamed district whose police roster numbers three-and-a-half people because one detective has no legs. Snowtown is like Sin City’s crack head cousin except here there aren’t enough cops to be corrupt. Fell is alone in this little slice of hell and is starting off with nothing to lose and nothing to gain other than his own salvation. Through his almost uncanny ability to solve problems with only his powers of perception, Fell tries to bring justice to the unjustifiable situation that he finds himself in.
What I like about his series from Ellis is for one, each story is self-contained, you’re in and you’re out in 22 pages, no fuss, no muss. Ellis also throws in extras like a premium DVD that gives you insights on to how he works out the series and what goes into each tale. Each page is broken down into about 9 panel increments and Ellis wastes no space in the telling of the story. Add to that the spectacular and surreal artwork of Ben Templesmith who lends his talent to both covers and interiors and then on top of that the price of $1.99, and you’ve got yourself a truly spectacular piece of art.
The stories are fast paced but not rushed, Ellis is a master of pacing and the reader is immediately sucked into this world of Detective Fell and we can’t wait to turn the page to see what happens next. The way this book is written and layed out should be scripture to up and coming comic book writers who tell stories in six issues when Ellis can do it in 1 page and 9 panels.
Fell is worth its price and more, and it harkens back to the days when comics were still $1.00 and you got great art and great stories every month.
5 HITS


Moon Knight #2

Writer: CHARLIE HUSTON
Cover & Pencils: DAVID FINCH
Inks: DANNY MIKI
Colored by: FRANK D'ARMATA
Lettered by: VC - JOSEPH CARAMAGNA
Published by Marvel Comics

When I first heard that Marvel was resurrecting Moon Knight one more time, I was apprehensive. I mean the character is an interesting concept but I had these images of Stephen Platt art and that just evokes the Image craze of the 90’s. I picked up issue 1 just to see what the deal was and the fact that Charlie Huston was writing it. I was thoroughly impressed; Huston nailed everything I had thought the character was meant to be from the original Moench and Sienkiewicz run in the early 80’s.
What I remembered form those comics was this dark foreboding theme in the stories, not every one had a happy ending. It was grim and gritty before the Dark Knight made it chic’.
Moon Knight was originally Marc Spector, an American rabbi's wayward son who had become a mercenary. As a mercenary he became a skilled combatant, and befriended the French pilot Jean-Paul DuChamp, who he came to call "Frenchie". While the pair were working for the African mercenary Raoul Bushman in Egypt, he stumbled upon an archaeological dig whose crew included Dr. Peter Alraune and his daughter Marlene. The dig had uncovered an ancient temple whose artifacts included a statue of the Egyptian god Khonshu. Bushman stated his intent to loot the dig; this provoked Dr. Alraune to attack Bushman, a decision that cost him his life. In response to Alraune's murder, Spector challenged Bushman to personal combat; he was beaten nearly to death and left to die in the sub-zero temperatures of the desert night. Spector was then found by nearby Egyptians who worshipped the ancient Egyptian gods and was carried to their temple. His heart stopped, but he did not die. Khonshu appeared to him in a vision, offering Spector his life if he would serve the god on Earth. Spector was returned to life in a haze. He concealed himself within the silver shroud that covered Khonshu's statue and again confronted Bushman. He fought and defeated Bushman and returned to America with Marlene Alraune, Frenchie, and the statue of Khonshu that had seemingly empowered him. With no further communication from Khonshu, he determined that he had hallucinated the encounter; nevertheless, he decided to become a crimefighter. He created a silver cloaked costume, based on the appearance of the shroud he had worn while battling Bushman, and became the Moon Knight.
And from there, the adventures continued, as Spector fought the bizzare side of the Marvel U, but there was always this psychological edge that the stories carried. Marc Spector had mutiple personalities and you never knew who you were gonna get. The hero or the madman. The new series plays up this aspect of Moon Knight and this is what gives the book its edge. Issue one starts off big with Moon Knight taking care of business in the form of some theives that he takes down while the voiceover speaks about his philosphy as far as why he does what he does. But that’s just the icing on the cake as the story progresses, we learn that not everything is what it seems and the issues ending has had me waiting on pin anmd needles for issue 2 which is finally comng out. If you like Batman, then Moon Knight is not for you. Moon Knight is its own animal and can no longer be compared as “the poor man’s Batman.”
Charlie Huston has started off what I hope to be a long run on Moon Knight and the added eye candy of Dave Finches artwork seals the deal in spades. If you’re lucky enough, you might still be able to find issue 1 out there on the shelves, and if not, well then jump into issue 2 when it comes out. From what I read about issue 2, Huston is not wasting anytime and is bringing in the heavy hitters and breathing new life into Moon Knight’s already classic past.
5 HITS

Free Comic Book Day...The Movie!

Well Free Comic Book Day has come and gone and below are the freebies I was able to snatch from my friendly neighborhood comic book store, supposedly it was only one per person, but I guess I spent enough cash on my pull list that he let me get away with double copies of all these titles…heh..thanx John!!!
But seriously, these are the offerings and my reviews are just my opinions, so take what you will from them or just say, Ray, you’re full of shite!...and now without further ado…


Archie’s 65th Anniversary Bash! from Archie Comic Publications.

I rarely read Archie, but it’s FCBD so what the hell…and this truly was a bash, it reminded me of one of those T.V. sitcoms, where one of the main characters is leaving the show, so they have this big montage of the very best of their run with guest stars galore…and The Veronicas were in it! You may ask how I know about the Veronicas, well I watch a lot of The-N, I’m horrendously addicted to Degrassi the Next Generation, but I digress, so Archie is gonna leave Riverdale and everyone and their mother comes out of the woodwork to say goodbye, and in the end…hr doesn’t leave, like we didn’t see that coming seeing how it IS Archie’s 65th Anniversary! He’s been a teenager trapped in Riverdale for the past 65 years and he hasn’t aged a day and is still in high school? I think Archie is really a vampire lord and is making all these people that live in his town slaves to his vampire lust, using the Veronicas to lure other unsuspecting teens into his evil clutches to feast on their young virgin blood!!! There are virgins in Riverdale right? I know Jughead isn’t getting any…C+


X-Men: Runaways from Marvel Comics.

I love Brian K. Vaughn and I read Y The Last Man religiously, even though I’m behind about 5 issues, but I’m gonna get to them, but this…this FCBD offering…I don’t dig Scottie Young’s art, it’s not what I consider comic book art, more like tagger art…and the script was horrid, what happened Brian? Not only were the characters misrepresented but, these super teen “runaways” were sooo annoying! I wanted Wolverine to gut a few of these shmucks just to give the story some edge, I know I know, it was meant to be for the kiddies, but you don’t have to dumb down the characters to tell a good story to kids, you should listen to my retelling of Dawn of the Dead that I tell my 1 year old before he goes to bed…the only saving grace for this FCBD freebie was 1) it was free, and 2) the Franklin Richards back up story by Chris Eliopolos…C-


Future Shock from Image

Image is usually good at their FCBD giveaways, last year’s Flight issue was so freakin awesome, I loved it but this year I guess they were going for something a little different. I understand that Larsen is notorious for trying new ideas which is good, but this FCBD offering was a bit lackluster, I won’t bother with the crap which of course is Spawn, but I was surprised at how lousy the other stories were, I understand that they were 4 page previews but come on, I can tell you an exciting story in 4 pages, trust me. The Shadowhawk story lacked its usual Valentino edge, and I know for a fact that these guys have preached about the whole 4 page intro…if you can’t hook the readers interest in 4 pages then your comic is not gonna make it…this is total comic book cookbook technique…and they didn’t deliver…the only one that delivered was my pal Robert Kirkman, I have only read about 3 issues worth of Invincible, and his Invincible preview piqued my interest so much that I want to jump on this book, but at the moment, or until I give up a series, I’m gonna have to read them off the net. The 4 pages to preview Invincible is well worth the whole book, and of course to laugh at the crap that McFarlane is putting out…Jesus H. Christ Todd!!! Enough is enough…pack it up and start drawing Spiderman again! Invincible 4 page preview A, Spawn preview F-, Rest of the book D+


Justice League Unlimited from DC.

DC has been rocking and rolling for the past few years, and even though I am a hardcore Marvel Zombie, I have to give props to the Distinguished Competition. This FCBD offering was totally cool, it was a good read and it was entertaining and it was simple. It wasn’t convoluted with all this bullshit about continuity or shock value or artsy complex renderings…it was what a comic book should be, FUN! If you watch the JLU on Cartoon Network then you know what I’m talking about, I mean they had Bwanna Beast in an episode and made him totally cool! The art was uncomplicated and the story flowed, I really had a good time reading the issue and the art was very appealing to the eye, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm would be proud. Plus Despero is in it along with Zatanna! If you’re a fan of the JLU animated series I hope you got this book, this is the type of stuff that made me want to do comics back when I was a young Padawan! A+


Rubberband Press Comics Free Comic Book Day Fun from Rubberband Press Comics Publishing.

Um…Nice cover? Um…I mean…cover stock. No Rating


Bongo Comics Free-For-All! from Bongo Comics.

It’s the Simpsons man! Unless you’ve been living under a rock you know about the Simpsons and it’s a well known fact that about half the country know more Simpsons trivia than the name of the 43rd president of the United States…actually his name is Satan or Hitler or something along those lines, but I digress…this issue was all FCBD should be, and it had Comic Book Guy in it, and he scores with a super model! Louis Lane scores! The jewel of the issue though was Nuclear Power Man and Iron Foot, where we see Lenny and Carl as the Heroes for Rent, a total rip on Power Man and Iron Fist…Sweet Christmas! This FCBD offering rocked out! A+

So that’ll do it for now, I’ll be back next week for my next review or preview of what’s coming out and about to hit the shops! Here’s to FCBD 2006! Whee!!!