DC Universe Online’s awesomeness and growing pains

The second I got off of work last Tuesday, I rushed down to get my preordered DC Universe Online PS3 Collector’s Edition. While I was waiting for the painfully slow downloads to install (took about 3.5 hours), I read the instruction manual, the prestige format comic book, the smaller comic book, and marvel at the Jim Lee designed statue that comes in a decorative box that will look great in my office.

The game is awesome.

Let me repeat that: The game is awesome. I’ve made three different characters and I’m enjoying the worlds and the quests and having a lot of fun. As an ex-Warcraft player (I quit a few months ago because I was in school and unable to play, not because I didn’t enjoy playing) I appreciate that the game is more like Grand Theft Auto than World of Warcraft. You can go wherever you want and you can avoid bad guys that are too tough for you because they’re spread out (in WoW, you had to stay out of certain areas because the upper-level baddies were too dense).

I also like participating in storylines featuring some of my favorite characters from the DC Universe. What’s better is the voice cast. Adam Baldwin as Superman, Gina Torres as Wonder Woman, Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hammil as The Joker, James Marsters as Lex Luthor, Dwight Schultz as The Flash, and Wil Wheaton as Robin. I’m a fan of so many of those guys and Batman and The Joker’s voice actors have worked as those characters for over a decade. Superman and Wonder Woman’s voice actors have already voiced those characters in animated movies. It’s nice to already have this history with the voices – it feels like I’m playing in the real animated DC Universe.

Although I’ve had a great time, there have been some growing pains common with MMO deployments. Things like all of the servers being down most of the day Saturday, lag time, dozens of people questing in similar zones so it takes forever to complete quests, etc. Still, I’m going back to school next Monday so I’ll only be able to visit this deeply immersive game every once in a while – but by summer I know it will be complete operational and probably have a lot of cool new stuff to do.

It’s PS3 so I can’t take a screenshot. Hopefully there will be something like the WoW Armory for this game so you can see your character on the internet and take a screenshot that way. The great minds at Sony are probably coming up with a way to do that right now.

In any case – if you loved the animated movies, Batman The Animated Series, the DC Universe in general, video games, or World of Warcraft, you’ll love this game. Just be patient while it goes through a few growing pains on its way to being completely awesome.

Green Hornet the movie vs the comic book *mild spoilers*

As someone who read Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet which was based on the script he wrote for Disney and saw the movie starring Seth Rogen, I have to say that neither one made me completely happy. I wish that Kevin Smith and Seth Rogen had combined scripts – that would have been better for the movie.

Don’t get me wrong, the film was a lot of fun once it got going but how Britt Reid becomes The Green Hornet is nonsensical garbage that’s boring, sad, and unfunny at the same time. On the other hand, Kevin Smith’s origin of how Britt Reid becomes Green Hornet is kick ass – from the father being the original Green Hornet who retires, to Kato’s daughter, Mulan. But once Kevin Smith’s story gets going, it’s boring.

This is how the movie could have been done: The Green Hornet and Kato trick all the crime families into meeting, capture them, and retire. Years later, Britt is all grown up and wasting his life. His father is murdered at a party which brings Kato out of retirement. Britt meets Kato’s daughter Mulan who trains with him to be The Green Hornet and Kato’s replacements. Then the rest of the movie version is great (with a few changes to accommodate the new origin).

Although neither was perfect, I preferred Seth Rogen’s version to Kevin Smith’s. If you’re on the fence about seeing the film, see it – just do yourself a favor and go in with no expectations. Once Seth Green becomes The Green Hornet, the movie is hilarious and action packed.

The Green Hornet and Kato

The Green Hornet and Mulan

Pick Up Stix – the first big disappointment of 2011

It’s become a tradition to go into Pick Up Stix on Wednesday, have a house special chicken wok combo with plain chow mein noodles and cream cheese wontons. And, because it was ‘Wonton Wednesday’ I’d order a few extra cream cheese wontons.

I went in last Wednesday and the cashier said wok combos were now only available from 11am to 3pm and ‘Wonton Wednesday’ was gone. While I expected that ‘Wonton Wednesday’ was a temporary promo, I’ve been getting the wok combo for years – often for dinner.

While going into Pick Up Stix on Wednesdays wasn’t a tradition long, it was nice to go in and wind down from a long day of work. Pick Up Stix is far away from work so going there at lunch is improbable.

So I say goodbye to eating at Pick Up Stix as the new year begins.

Alas, poor wok combo, I knew ye well

My favorite things about 2010

As I begin a new year I want to take a quick look back at some of the things I enjoyed last year.

Comic Books

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8

Season 8 took a strange turn when Buffy and Angel created a new world, abandoned it, squared off with the Master (again), and Angel killed Giles. With one more season 8 issue due out next year, it will be VERY interesting to see what the fallout on this will be going into season 9. Hey – at least Dawn didn’t die (according to the cover of #38 that looked like a real possibility).

New Mutants
The year kicked off with Cypher returning and the team not only got a big ole’ piece of the awesome Second Coming storyline, Dani got a solo issue that sees her temporarily restored to valkyrie during the Siege storyline, and there’s sexual tension between Sam and Dani. The New Mutants was one of my favorite titles when it first came out and throughout its run (at least until Fall of the Mutants and beyond). Dani losing her powers during House of M was disappointing because she’s one of my favorite characters and my favorite member of the team (and her power was awesome), but the book has done a great job showcasing what an asset she is. Even though the new story arc is titled “Fall of the New Mutants,” I hope that the title will go strong into 2011 and not get canceled (as most of my favorite titles do).

Action Comics #894
I was never a Sandman fan but I did pick up “Death: The High Cost of Living” when it came out and was surprised by how much I enjoyed the character. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her staring out at me from the cover of Action Comics. Lex Luthor and Death hanging out together – one of the strangest concepts to reward readers with a great story in some time.

Daken: Dark Wolverine #4
I only knew the character from the beginning of Dark Reign. I knew he was Wolverine’s son (btw, sick of kids dropping into characters lives when they’re already grown up or, in Damian’s case, old enough to be formidable). I think he’s gay (he kissed Bullseye once) and I did read a Dark Wolverine issue with the Fantastic Four and I think they were helping him with something. I don’t know if he’s good or bad. I do remember at the end of Siege, he escaped by using a US Army uniform he took off a soldier he killed – not real endearing. But I picked this book up this week because the FF were in it. I don’t know what happened before but he was supposed to be dead (killed by a demonic Wolverine or something).

It was like a great Fantastic Four story that Daken happened to be part of as we got to see light-hearted banter between Reed and Sue, Johnny grieving over the apparently dead Daken, and Ben being Ben. When Daken reappears, there’s a lot of great stuff with him, Ben, and Johnny. Once you see a new character (or a character you don’t know well) through the eyes of the Fantastic Four as you do in this issue, it can change your opinion of the character (as it has mine). This issue is a great starting point for people unfamiliar with Daken and sets up his next adventure which will take him to Madripoor to kill the man who murdered his mother: Bucky Barnes (when he was Winter Soldier).

Amazing Spider-Man
I didn’t read any of the issues at the beginning of the year. I gave “One Moment in Time” a chance but found it disappointing and came back at the beginning of “Big Time.” Big Time is the storyline I’ve been waiting for – a cool new job, action with the New Avengers, a girl friend who isn’t Mary Jane, Black Cat firmly in the supporting cast, and Peter makes a new suit to go up against a newer, more vicious Hobgoblin. Hopefully the changes in Big Time won’t be another temporary status quo change (note to Amazing Spider-Man editor – STOP FUDGING WITH THE STATUS QUO! IT MAKES US DUMP THE TITLE AND REVISIT IT EVERY SIX MONTHS TO SEE IF IT’S READABLE AGAIN…JERKWADS).

Scarlet
One of the many Brian Michael Bendis titles I’m reading, Scarlet is significant because it’s the only title I enjoyed this year that wasn’t based on a character or characters I already knew. I don’t know why I picked it up (I tried a lot of new titles this year because I dumped a lot of titles that weren’t very good any more) but I’m glad I did. I reviewed it back in October so I won’t dwell, but I love the way it’s written and am surprised by how invested I am in Scarlet’s life.

Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man
Call it “Ultimate Spider-Man,” call it “Spider-Monkey and the House of Vomit” and this title would still be the title I’ve looked forward to reading for over a decade and that didn’t change this year. Spidey almost died during Ultimatum and his new title doesn’t see his luck improving. But on top of him and Gwen living with his Aunt May, Johnny Storm and Bobby Drake move in. I love that Spidey lives with a member of the FF and the X-Men. Of course it’s even better because Kitty Pryde is a supporting cast member who takes on a new identity as The Shroud. Kitty has dated Bobby and Peter in the past and there’s no one better at mining emotionally complicated situations than Brian Michael Bendis. Next year, they’re doing a ‘death of’ storyline so that could end the run. If that happens, at least Bendis was there the whole time, creating it and tearing it down. But I hope that doesn’t happen. Hopefully Ultimate Spider-Man will still be the ultimate read 10 years from now.

X-Men: Second Coming
I’m not a regular X-Men reader. I tried reading the Messiah Complex trade paperback but it wasn’t very good (to be fair I was out of touch with the characters because I’m not a regular reader). The only reason I collected Second Coming was because I was collecting The New Mutants and wanted to understand what was going on. Second Coming was the best multipart crossover event I’ve read since The Mutant Massacre. It had a great story and there were great character moments and big losses. One of the things I usually hate about an X-crossover is that the entire world can be at stake and you never see any other heroes. In Second Coming it was great to see the X-Club working with the Fantastic Four and the Avengers to try and get through the energy dome. And Hope as Phoenix? Awesome. Of course I got a few post-Second Coming issues of Uncanny X-Men and they weren’t great but Second Coming is a rare moment of glory for an otherwise event-heavy title that has departed from the character driven stories that propelled it to the top of the charts decades ago.

Movies

Knight and Day
What can I say? This movie was fun in a way that Killers (a movie that looked similar in tone) wasn’t. Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz were fantastic in a well-written film that was funny, action-packed, and romantic. Oh yeah, Marc Blucas from Buffy the Vampire Slayer was in it too.

Losers

The film’s trailer was so good that I bought the trade paperbacks and read them before the movie came out. I reviewed this film back in May and stand by any glowing thing I said about it.

The Book of Eli
I was one of the three people who saw it. All joking aside, I didn’t see many of the twists coming. Denzel Washington was fantastic as always and his fight scenes were choreographed and shot beautifully (not all shaky camera and ‘who’s-hitting-who?’ quick cuts). Mila Kunis is terrific in this film. The story was great, the interaction between the characters was great, and I was pleasantly surprised (this movie was a friend’s pick – I thought it looked stupid). This flick deserves a watch if you haven’t seen it.

Edge of Darkness
I don’t care about all of Mel Gibson’s personal problems (the cast of The Hangover 2 protested his announced cameo because he’s a wife beater – didn’t you guys hang out with Mike Tyson, a CONVICTED rapist, in the first film?). There is one thing Mel Gibson does that no other action movie star in Hollywood does: he makes sure that his character has some juicy, emotional turmoil to motivate him. In this case, his character’s daughter is murdered in front of him and his quest to find who did it takes him through several emotionally charged moments where the character is back and forth between furious and devastated. Say what you want about the man but he can deliver a powerhouse performance every time.

Kick-Ass
I also reviewed this movie in May. In repeated watches, I still marvel at the scene where Big Daddy fights his way through a warehouse of mobsters and still hope that DC will make a Batman that can move like that. I read the first two issues of the comic book and hated it. I didn’t go to this movie by choice (again, it was my friend who wanted to go) and I’m glad I did. The first part of the movie is boring but sets up for the rollercoaster awesomeness that propels this movie to the top of the list for me (think of all the set up in The Watchmen before people put their costumes back on and got back into the fight).

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Fun. Fun. Fun. That’s my fast review. I didn’t read the comic but the movie was fantastic and so much fun to watch. Get it. Get it. Get it today on blu ray. It’s awesome. Did I mention it’s awesome?

The A-Team
Yes, I love mentioning films I already reviewed (back in June), but it’s still awesome. And the extended version has almost 20 minutes of new material. Some reviewer said something like, ‘the director ignored plausibility to deliver big time thrills’ and I agreed wholeheartedly. I hope I have many sequels to look forward to.

Action figures

Galactus (photo from offmybirdchest.blogspot.com)

The figure is proportional to the figures meaning you can recreate the cover to Fantastic Four #243 if you want. It’s enormous, has light up features, and is fully capable of stomping a mud hole in your 3 ¾” figures (it menaces Star Wars, Tron, A-Team, and Star Trek figures too).

A-Team (and Van)

My favorite show from the 80s gets the big screen treatment and some nice 3 ¾” figures to go with them. The figures are great for displaying with GI Joe, Star Wars, and Marvel Universe figures and the Van is icing on the cake. Not to mention the van recognizes which A-Team member is in the front seat and plays sound clips appropriate to that character. Unfortunately after one wave, the line was over and done. I wanted a Jessica Biel figure – maybe there’s hope if there’s a sequel.

Star Wars AT-AT

Description from starwars.com: Measuring more than 24 inches tall, nearly 28 inches long, and 12 inches wide, this colossal vehicle holds up to 20 Star Wars figures — 6 of which can fit in its head alone! — and includes so many play and electronic features true to its on-screen counterpart that it’s hard to believe! From the zip-line in its body and articulated legs for superb poseability, to its LED lights and authentic movie sounds and phrases, this is the must-have addition for Star Wars fans of all ages. Includes a 3.75 inch AT-AT driver action figure and a pop-out speeder bike.

That should say it all, but I’ve also got this to say – I’ve wanted an AT-AT since it first came out (back in 1980). I passed on other AT-ATs because I was kind of over it. But this is the biggest AT-AT they’ve ever put out and with all the super-cool things it does, I broke down and bought it.

Star Wars vintage figures, and send-away Boba Fett

I don’t collect Star Wars figures except R2-D2 figures (I have a display case with at least 50 different versions of the figure) but along with the AT-AT, Hasbro released a ton of Empire Strikes Back figures in vintage packaging. I had to get a gang of them (gang = 6) and then I had to send in the coupon for the Rocket-Firing Boba Fett figure (the mold sucks in comparison to the one released in the vintage line but the Trio had one on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Spike threatened to break the toy of the Trio didn’t help them)).

Megan Fox’s Jonah Hex figure

It’s a Megan Fox action figure. It’s a good likeness from a movie based on a comic book and it’s a gorgeous figure – it looks like something McFarlane Toys would have put out. I saw the figure at Toys R Us and thought that if I didn’t pick it up, I would never see it again. I picked up the figure and haven’t seen it on the shelves since.

Marvel Universe figures
This year I got hold of all the figures in the series (except for some of the two packs that had repaints of previously released figures). Kitty Pryde came complete with Lockheed (the coolest accessory ever) and though I would have preferred her in the blue costume from the 80s, she’s one of my favorite characters. Ghost Rider and Mystique are just awesome. The Sentry/Spider-Man two pack contained my favorite version of the red and blue Spider-Man figure because the lines where dark and distinct and the eyes were big. I don’t usually find any of the variant figures but this year I picked up Iron Patriot without his helmet. My only complaint about the line this year is that new figures were a complete pain to find (NOTE TO HASBRO: WHEN YOU RELEASE A NEW SERIES, DON’T PACK THE BOX WITH NEW FIGURES AND OLD FIGURES THAT NO ONE WANTS – I’M SICK OF 800 IRON MAN AND SUB-MARINER FIGURES CLOGGING THE SHELVES WHEN ALL I WANT IS A HAVOK FIGURE AND I’M SICK OF RESELLING ALL THOSE USELESS FIGURES BECAUSE I HAD TO BUY THE CASE THROUGH ENTERTAINMENT EARTH).

GI Joe Resolute figures
While I thought the cartoon movie, GI Joe: Resolute, was lame (especially the Duke-Scarlett-Snake Eyes love triangle resolution), I thought the figures were great. This year I haven’t been big on ‘stylized’ or ‘kid-like’ figures (Superhero Squad, Galactic Heroes, whatever the Batman version is called, etc.) but making these figures look like they were straight out of the cartoon

GI Joe Pursuit of Cobra figures

Great new sculpts and weapons for some of the team. Snake Eyes (all except the Tornado Kick version) rocks. Beachhead, Firefly, Snow Job, Jungle Viper, and the HISS tank are all bad ass. I can’t wait to get my hands on Low Light next year.

Iron Man 2 figures

The movie versions of all the Iron Man armors rocked. And how cool was War Machine?

As for the comic version of the figures, the Guardsman were great as army builders (you need a bunch to guard the Vault). The Iron Man from the late 80s/early 90s was the armor being worn when I was reading the title regularly.

From the concept series, I only really liked the Vibranium Armor Iron Man (aka The Captain America armor, a Kmart exclusive) and the Deep Dive armor.

TV

Chuck

After three seasons of sexual tension and near misses – Chuck and Sarah are together. I’ve watched every episode so far this year and no matter what happens, Chuck and Sarah are rock solid. Hopefully this will be the way things stay for the rest of the series. I really enjoy the series and the characters and how

Nikita

At first look, this series isn’t anything I haven’t seen before – agent escapes a secret agency (Division) and tries to bring it down from the outside. The thing that separates Nikita from the other shows is Alex, a young girl who is looking for revenge and is Nikita’s eyes and ears within Division. Alex emerges as the star of this reimagining and in the mid-season finale is finally forced to kill someone. Unfortunately it’s Thom, a fellow trainee who she cares deeply for. That makes one more person to avenge so it will be interesting to see how Alex gets her revenge throughout the rest of the series.

No Ordinary Family

What if your family got superpowers? This series features two fantastic character actors (Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz) who aren’t strangers to sci-fi or to making characters believable and sympathetic. Their gifts aren’t wasted here as they and their two children are dealing with newfound powers. They do everything you would do with powers: use them to make life easier, test their limits, and decide on the moral implications of what they can do. A lot of great family stuff here with interesting uses of the powers. It’s a fun show and a great superhero show. I can’t wait for new episodes.

Undercovers

Another great JJ Abrams series, Undercovers features a married team of spies, the Blooms, who retired from the CIA years ago only to find themselves back in action when one of their friends needs rescuing. The Blooms are happily married so there’s no weird sexual tension where two partners are getting to know each other – they’re already a solid team. They’re great together on screen and the shows are always fun. They have a tech guy named Bill. Now despite the fact it’s a JJ Abrams show, no repeat of the Marshall character from Alias (the super-nervous guy who did the tech and stayed at the headquarters), Bill hacks, gets the information, and can kill an enemy combatant as though he’s done it before – but he’s got a bromance going with Steven Bloom where he admires everything the guy does. Like I said, the show is a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the last episode aired right before the new year because the show’s been canceled. It’s the second show I’ve dug this year that got the axe. The next one is Mercy.

Mercy

Veronica is a nurse who has just gotten back from Iraq and is getting back into the swing of things. The problem is that while she was in Iraq, she cheated on her husband with a doctor who followed her home and now works with her at the hospital. To make matters worse, she’s a borderline alcoholic with post traumatic stress disorder. Oh, and Michelle Tractenberg is in it and she’s fantastic in everything. This engrossing series focuses on the lives of Veronica and her two friends, Chloe and Sonia. Some of the most interesting television I’ve watched this year with the most compelling stories but, unfortunately, the series ends on a cliffhanger and wasn’t renewed for the 2010-2011 season. I don’t recommend getting into it because there isn’t an ending but I was glued to this show for its run and plan to add it to my collection when it’s released in blu ray (right now you can only get it on DVD).

Jennifer Love Hewitt on Law & Order SVU

Description from tvsquad.com: Hewitt guest stars as rape victim Vicki Sayers, who has been attacked and violated by the same man over a 15-year period, and fear of her assailant has turned her into a virtual recluse. Now, she must come face-to-face with her attacker, and overcome her greatest fear.

I saw the episode advertised and didn’t have anything else to watch. I like Jennifer Love Hewitt even if I don’t think much of her acting (keep in mind I’ve only seen a few of her movies and never watched Party of Five) but she blew me away in this episode. She reduced me to tears, made me feel her horror, and made me cheer at the end. In short – if you’re a fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt and haven’t seen this episode, or if you’re a fan of really amazing performances in general – watch it.

Nicholas Brendon on Private Practice

I happened to be flipping channels when I happened on this. I said, “Oh, cool. Xander.” It was the episode where his character, Lee, rapes Charlotte. I’ve never seen the show but Nicholas’ performance was terrifying. He’s a great actor and I hope he winds up on the cast of a television show soon.

Joss Whedon directs Glee

Joss Whedon and Neil Patrick Harris were the draw for this episode of a series I’d never seen. It was a lot of fun to see Neil singing and the episode was really good. The standout performance was Artie daydreaming that he’s singing a song while being able to dance (the character is confined to a wheelchair) with his girlfriend. I’ve seen a few random episodes since and I can see why people like it.

Conventions

Creation Salutes Firefly/Serenity, Buffy/Angel, and Dollhouse

I already talked about my experience back in November but I plan to do this convention every year – next year I’m going Gold.

Wizard World Anaheim

I already talked about my experience back in April but I plan to do this convention every year – but next year I’m only going for one day (it’s pretty tiny).

Video Games

Halo: Reach

Halo continues to be my favorite game franchise. I love driving the Warthog around, sticking a plasma grenade to a baddie, and cutting through bad guys with their own laser sword.

Tron: Evolution

The game looks great, plays great, and the PlayStation Move makes it twice as fun. Running, jumping, defying gravity, derezzing programs – this game is awesome.



Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reboot

When the Buffy reboot was announced without Joss Whedon involved, I was still excited. I’m a huge Buffy fan and a huge fan of all Joss Whedon shows. But Joss turned down the opportunity to participate in the movie.

To Joss, it probably seemed like a bad move to create a different version of something he already created twice before (the original movie and the TV series). I imagine that he’s really enjoying creating Buffy Season 8 and Angel Season 6 stories that are cannon and that allow him to continue stories he’s already invested in with characters he loves and hand-picked writers and artists he respects. The thought of having a ton of angry fans screaming at him for reinventing something they consider ‘holy’ probably gave him a migraine. I don’t blame him for passing on the project.

When they revealed the rebooted Buffy’s writer, Whit Anderson (no writing credits and two minor acting credits: Yes Man and Saw: Rebirth), I was still excited. Nothing can damper the excitement I feel about the reboot.

As a comic book fan, I’ve suffered through dozens of ‘reboots’ of storylines, characters coming back to life, characters acting completely different from year to year, even new, alternate universes. As a television/movie fan, I’ve seen:

• Movies I loved turned into crappy television shows (like My Big Fat Greek Wedding)

• Television shows I loved turned into crappy movies (like Dukes of Hazzard)

• Movies I hated turned into fantastic television shows (like Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

• Television shows I hated turned into fantastic films (like Charlie’s Angels)

• Movies I loved turned into fantastic television shows (like Stargate Atlantis)

• Television shows I loved turned into fantastic films (like Serenity)

As a fan, I’ve seen a lot of second or third tries on properties. So what’s the worst that could happen? If the Buffy reboot sucks, you don’t have to pick it up on Blu Ray and they probably won’t make a sequel and you won’t have to worry about another Buffy project for another decade. On the other hand, if it rocks, you’ll have 2 or 3 different versions of Buffy to be a fan of. While all of fandom seems to want to slam it, I’m anxious for more Buffy.

Joss won’t do it and Sarah Michelle Gellar has said on several occasions that she’s not interested in participating in any future Buffy projects. The truth is: Buffy is still popular. Buffy merchandise is still coming out, selling out, and being collected by the fans. Why wouldn’t the studio that owns the property want to take another stab at Buffy the Vampire Slayer, bring new fans in, create more merchandise, and generate interest in past Buffy projects?

Let’s face it, Buffy has been off the air for years and while new fans are still finding it, they’re trickling in. Now imagine you make a killer new Buffy film and while fans are waiting for the blu ray release or waiting for the next film to come out, they’re sating their interest by renting and giving the television series a try.

Joss Whedon sitting this project out is a good idea. That way fans can compare the projects against each other without resenting Joss for ‘selling out’ or ‘ruining it’ if the new film stinks. As far as an untested writer tackling the project, she’s a Buffy fan and a film company believes in it enough to pay to make it. We might not think much of her resume, but none of us have seen her screenplay. Will the new Buffy be similar in tone? Will the new Buffy be similar in spirit? Will the new Buffy have fantastic supporting characters? What will the new Buffy’s origin be? No one knows any of these questions. I love the television show and the comics (the season 8 comics, not the ones that came out during the show’s run) and if the new movie is fantastic, none of the fans will turn their back on the original.

I think that most fans feel like making a new Buffy movie means the chance of ever doing anything with the original property is gone. It is, but it was over when Sarah Michelle-Gellar said she wouldn’t do any Buffy projects, it was over when Ripper failed to get off the ground, it failed when Eliza Dushku turned down a Faith spin-off, it failed when the proposed television movies never got off the ground, and it was over when Joss said he didn’t want to participate in the reboot.

I like Uncanny X-Men but I also like Ultimate X-Men – just because there is a new way to enjoy something you’re already a fan of doesn’t mean you have to hate one to enjoy the other. This reboot is going to happen with or without the support of fans so why not wait and see what happens? Maybe, like the Star Trek reboot, our love of the new movie will reinforce our love of the original. If I’ve learned anything being a geek, it’s that there is plenty of room in fandom for more than one fantastic interpretation of the same property.

In a perfect world, this is what the new Buffy movie would look like.

“How one photo cost $160 and was it worth it?” or “Speedball at Creation Entertainment’s Salute to Firefly, Buffy/Angel & Dollhouse”

Eliza Dushku during her Q&A

This is the fourth year of Creation’s Salute to Firefly and they opened it up to all of Joss Whedon’s creations this year and from now on. Which is okay with me – I’m a fan of everything this convention salutes. It’s my third year attending (I missed it last year). It’s also the first year I didn’t submit a tribute video (you can see my Firefly and Serenity Tributes (both winning videos) on youtube if you search for ‘speedball32’). I wanted to include clips from Dollhouse Season 2 which didn’t come out for sale until after the video’s deadline. Still, there’s next year.

So who was there? Eliza Dushku (Buffy/Angel, Dollhouse), Nicholas Brendon (Buffy), Miracle Laurie (Dollhouse), Camden Toy and Doug Jones (two of the Gentlemen from Buffy episode Hush), Ron Glass (Firefly/Serenity), Sean Maher (Firefly/Serenity), Morena Baccarin (Firefly/Serenity), Jane Espenson (Firefly, Buffy), Drew Greenberg (Buffy, Firefly), and Andrew Chambless (Dollhouse).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is still my favorite TV series and Eliza Dushku’s “Faith” is still one of my favorite characters (the episode of Angel “Five by Five” is my favorite Faith appearance). Nicholas Brendon’s “Xander” was in every episode but one. The show had four core characters and Xander was one of them. Miracle Laurie was a nice last minute surprise, her character “Mellie’s” story was a great ride with a tragic ending. Ron Glass, Sean Maher, and Morena Baccarin were a third of Serenity’s crew in the Firefly series and Serenity film. There was even an appearance by Eliza Dushku’s boyfriend, Rick Fox (who only a week before had been eliminated from Dancing With The Stars) who sat in the audience and was close by during her photo sessions.

“Browncoats: Redemption” was shown on the big screen at the convention and got a nice reaction from those who watched it. The movie literally kicked off the convention as it was the first thing people were able to see. It was followed by a Q&A by a few of the cast and crew who told amazing stories about the production of the film and how much love went into it (it was obvious to me in the review I wrote of the film back in September that a lot of love went into it). It was easily one of the best moments of the convention and a lot more fun to see with an audience.

The guests were great on their Q&A’s. They were all really entertaining. Creation boasts non-rushed autograph sessions and each autograph session moved nicely and I had time to have a little small talk with each guest which is always fun. Photo sessions are non-rushed also. The events (Q&A’s, photo and autograph sessions) are always well scheduled so you can do everything you want to do.

I attend Comic Con in San Diego every year and, in comparison, I look more forward to going to the Creation convention. At Comic Con, everything you want to do is a fight – huge lines, ultra-small windows of opportunity to get a line ticket or even get in line, nothing is guaranteed (just because you’re in an autograph line doesn’t mean it can’t be disbanded for some reason and just because you have an autograph ticket doesn’t mean the line hasn’t been capped already and you can’t get in anymore). But a lot of the cool stuff at Comic Con is free if you don’t mind the amount of work involved. Creation conventions are ‘pay-to-play’ conventions where everything costs money but everything is guaranteed. You buy a ticket for an autograph or a photo, the celebrity will not leave until everyone’s items are signed or their pictures are taken.

This year I went Preferred instead of Gold (I’ve only done Gold once). The difference is the cool dessert parties and things that the gold members get to do where the celebrities go from table to table for a meet and greet with the fans. Next year, I’m going Gold because I had a great time (as usual) and after a year off I forgot about all the fun I had with my Gold ticket that second year. And I’m going to buy a VIP badge so I can get backstage and have even more contact with the celebrities I’m there to see.

So what’s the story with the photo? It’s a cautionary tale about a guy (me) who bought a bunch of autograph tickets and one $70 ticket for an Eliza Dushku & Nicholas Brendon photo op. I got the ticket because I counted them at the counter and put them in the plastic badge holder around my neck. I went outside for a few minutes and took the tickets back out and looked at them, excited about getting my autographs and photo ops. But my photo op ticket was gone. I checked my pockets, the folder I was carrying, and the badge holder a bunch of times but the ticket was gone. I checked back a few times with the ticket and registration desks but no one had turned the ticket in. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to get my picture taken with two of the stars from my favorite TV show so I plunked down another $70 for another ticket.

While I was in line for the photo op, they announced that Miracle Laurie from Dollhouse would be a surprise third member for the photo op. I was thrilled because there was one star from Buffy, one from Dollhouse, and one from both shows. When it was my turn they greeted me warmly, we all shook hands, and Nicholas and I had a little banter going back and forth. The photo was taken, they told me to take care, and I left with a big goofy grin. It was a great time.

The next day I went to collect the photo (it was the last photo op of the day so the photos weren’t printed before the convention closed that day) and I paid an extra $10 to have them give me a jpeg of the photo on a CD. If you’re counting, so far I paid $140 for two tickets and $10 for a grand total of $150. A few days after the convention, I loaded the CD and discovered it was the wrong photo. So I had to shell out another $10 to order the jpeg online.

It was an expensive but valuable lesson. DON’T LOSE YOUR TICKETS. Oh yeah, and make sure your picture is on the CD before you walk away. Otherwise you can end up paying twice. I hope whoever found that ticket had as good a time as I did. It was completely worth every penny.

Nicholas, Miracle, Speedball, and Eliza - woohoo!!

Quick Reviews

Here are a bunch of quick reviews on some titles I’ve picked up over the last few months. None of the following issues are books I normally pick up (though I’ll be collecting Scarlet, X-23, and Asset from here on).


Scarlet #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev

Brian Michael Bendis is one of my favorite writers and while I don’t like every title he’s done, this book is especially well done. I hadn’t heard anything about the title and by the time I spotted the second printing, the first two issues had already sold out.

Scarlet breaks the fourth wall by talking directly to the reader, telling her story. Most first issues struggle to keep my interest while they introduce a character (or a few) and try to give me the origin, an adventure, and a mission for the main character (or characters). This issue gave me a person who I got to know quickly, an origin, and a mission.

I sum Scarlet up this way – she is the female Punisher. Losing someone close to you and looking for revenge isn’t a new idea but Bendis’ breaking of the fourth wall and his ability to tell character-driven stories sets this title apart. I can’t wait to read the second issue (if I can find it).

Batgirl #14 by Bryan Q. Miller, Lee Garbett, and Trevor Scott

Batgirl and Supergirl team up to take on 24 Draculas set free from a 3-D film by a science experiment gone wrong. I like the fact that Stephanie and Kara (Batgirl and Supergirl) know each other away from their super-hero alter-egos and hang out.

This is a fun one-issue team-up story. It’s nice see Stephanie interacting with characters outside the Bat-family. Hopefully the writers will mix her in with other characters outside Gotham in the future.

Wolverine: Weapon X #16 by Jason Aaron, Davide Gianfelice, and Dave McCaig

This issue deals with the aftermath of Nightcrawler’s death during the events of ‘Second Coming.’ Kurt requests Logan do one last thing for him in his will. While Logan is busy fulfilling Kurt’s request, the readers are treated to conversations the two have had before and throughout their friendship.

I bought the issue because I’m a big fan of the Logan/Kurt friendship. I go back to the Chris Claremont & John Byrne days so I have a great affection for that configuration of X-Men. But I admit that I haven’t been a big X-Men fan in years. I did get and read ‘Second Coming’ because I’m a huge New Mutants fan. When Nightcrawler died, I thought what all X-Men fans thought, “I wonder how long he’ll stay dead?”

Despite all that, it was a great story and a terrific way to end the series.

Batman #703 by Fabian Nicieza and Cliff Richards

I picked this one up because it’s the first issue after Grant Morrison’s run so I wanted to see if a new writer could bring this title back to life for me. During the course of this issue, Damian learns something unexpected about his father while Dick sees the similarities between his time as Robin and Damian’s.

If I knew that Bruce wasn’t coming back in the next month or two I might have been more involved or moved by the story (I think bringing Bruce back so soon takes away from the impact of his ‘death’). It was an okay read but I won’t be back until Bruce is back and things are back to normal.

Iron Man: Kiss and Kill – Iron Widow by Joe Ahearne and Brian Ching / Glitch by Karl Kesel and Eric Nguyen

Judging by the cover, this was a story featuring Iron Man, Wolverine, and Black Widow teaming up. Instead, it was two stories – one with Black Widow and one with Wolverine. Both were boring. It’s been months since this first came out so I’m sorry I couldn’t warn you sooner.

Amazing Spider-Man #640-641 by Joe Quesada, Paolo Rivera, Danny Miki, and Richard Isanove

These two issues occur during the ‘One More Day’ story arc when Aunt May is in the hospital but the world is looking to find and arrest Peter.

I bought these two because I thought I’d heard that the Peter/Mary Jane split that happened in ‘One More Day’ would be undone and I wanted to read about that. What I got instead was a retcon of the original ending where Peter and Mary Jane originally made a deal with Mephisto. In this, Peter goes to Dr. Strange and Dr. Strange is able to convince Reed Richards and Tony Stark to try and erase everyone’s memories like they did with The Sentry.

In this version, Peter and MJ are the only two who now remember that he’s Spider-Man. So for those of you who were actually enjoying the last year’s worth of stuff will be unhappy to know that none of that stuff ever happened now. Also, the way to take the sting out of a crappy storyline (Clone War?) is to ignore it ever happened and put out good stories not retcon old ones. Still, this does solve the ‘how will they get back together’ thing.

Ultimate Spider-Man is still the only Spidey title worth reading (it’s one of my favorite titles).

Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man #1 by Paul Tobin, Matteo Lolli, and Christian Dalla Vecchia

I’m not sure if this title is a continuation of the old title or a true #1 because the story starts with our hero aggressively going after a crime boss and Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker have already dated and broken up. Every so often I picked up issues of the old title because they were quick, one-issue stories that were fun. This title isn’t fun. Gwen is narrating about wanting to interview Spider-Man for an unnecessary amount of pages (plural). I didn’t get a good introduction to Sophia, Peter’s girlfriend, so no opinion there. I won’t be picking up issue 2.

Pilot Season: Asset by Filip Sablik, David Marquez, and William Farmer

Asset is the story of “Madeline” (probably not her real name) who is an assassin who manipulates other people into killing her target. In this issue she convinces a guy she’s dating that she’s being abused by her ex-boyfriend so he kills the ex. “Madeline” uses dating sites to find the perfect asset to manipulate.

The story is good and the idea of using dating sites to find people to use as assassins is unique. I’m definitely voting for this title as I’d like to see where it’s going.

X-23 #1 by Marjorie Liu and Will Conrad

X-23 is an interesting character when she’s starred in her own mini-series’. This is the first issue of what may be another interesting series starring X-23. There’s a lot of great stuff with her and Storm discussing Nightcrawler, Emma and Cyclops discussing the impact of putting X-23 on the X-Force squad, and the New X-Men’s reaction to seeing her again. But by the end of the issue, X-23 has relocated from Utopia to a mutant halfway house. What’s her job? We’ll probably find out in issue #2 but the series is off to a great start.

But is this a great jumping-on point for readers? After the main story, Logan narrates X-23’s story from her first appearance to that first issue so that readers are all caught up.