Still Alive

It's been nearly 2 months since I've written anything here. For the two of you that read my insane geek ramblings, I just wanted to pop in and say that I am still alive and that, sadly, I have decided to make it official and drop the weekly comic reviews from the blog. I love writing my DC comic reviews but I just don't have the time. I'll have some free time this summer but then things will get much busier in the fall so there's just no way that I can keep it up.

Instead, I will focus on whatever other geekly interests that pop into my head. I may drop in with a comic-of-the-week review from time to time when I come across something awesome. As always, you can follow me on Twitter to keep up with my random thoughts.

Until next time, I leave you with the awesome trailer for Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

Comic Reviews - Brightest Day May Not Be So Bright

It's been a several weeks here at Hyde and Geek without comic reviews. I have no excuse except that my schooling was kicking my derriere in a royal way. But now I'm back and, while I don't plan on playing catch-up with the issues I missed, I do hope you enjoy the reviews from here on in. Oh! And beware... there are spoilers ahead, including at least one very big one in Blackest Night #7. You've been warned...

Superman #697

This is a great issue that mirrors Superman's first encounter with the Legion of Superheroes. The story picks up after the explosion at the Science Police headquarters with Mon-El and the Guardian discovering that Control is really a Durlan shape-shifter. The Durlan (calling himself Reep Daggle) claims to be leader of the LSH Espionage Squad. After a brief chase, Control/Daggle escapes. Cut to an interlude with Steel and Mon-El shown cleaning up Metropolis. Then Superboy shows up and asks Mon-El to visit Smallville for a chat. This issue would've scored a bit better if it didn't end with "to be continued in Adventure Comics #8". I don't read Adventure so I'll be missing the conclusion to this tale.

Score: 3.5 out of 5

Batman & Robin #9

After raising the Batman clone in a Lazarus pit, Batman, along with Knight and Squire, is trapped in a cave beneath tons of rubble where he is attempting to raise the recently deceased Batwoman using the same pit. Meanwhile, back at Wayne Manor, Robin and Alfred are facing down the insane Batman clone who is rapidly deteriorating both mentally and physically. Long story short, Batwoman is resurrected and the Bat-clone is defeated. It seems that this entire "resurrection of Batman" story is just a long aside to get Dick to realize that Bruce isn't dead which he does on the last page. Other than Frank Quitely's art in the first issues, I've been luke-warm on Batman & Robin and this issue did nothing to change that.

Score: 2.5 out of 5

The Flash: Rebirth #6

The finale of Flash: Rebirth did exactly what you'd expect it to in wrapping up the rebirth storyline and setting up April's Flash ongoing series. Iris is saved. Thrawne is cut off from the negative speed force and all is well. Barry's back and there's a few hints as to what's coming in the new series. It's a bit predictable but still not a bad issue since Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver's worst is better than most other team's best. I just felt that reading this issue was like getting that great steak at the restaurant you've been to a thousand times... good but not surprising.

Score: 4 out of 5

Blackest Night #7

John's may have been a tad predictable in Flash: Rebirth but he definitely surprised me on the final pages of this issue! I've been predicting from since the very first issue of Blackest Night that a White Lantern would eventually rise to take down Nekron and I was right... but was I ever so wrong as to who it would be! The issue is the continuation of the epic battle taking place over earth between the Black Lanterns and, well... every one else. Guardians are killed, Lanterns turn on one another and secrets are revealed! It turns out that, in addition to hiding the truth behind Sector 666 and locking away the Parallax entity inside the Green Lantern's central power battery, the Guardians have been concealing the fact that the creator of the universe was hidden on Earth! (Hence their aversion to ever having a Green Lantern from Earth.) As it turns out, this white entity, called simply "The Entity", was hidden away to protect the universe. Nekron manages to pull The Entity out of the Earth and begins attacking it. The Guardians reveal that The Entity is connected to all life in the universe and, should Nekron manage to kill it, all life will cease to exist. The Lanterns come to the conclusion that, like Parallax, The Entity needs a host. Hal Jordan rushes in to join with The Entity (as was my original prediction) when suddenly Sinestro rushes in and becomes the White Lantern! I was stunned at that final double-page spread and just stared at it for a while as I considered the ramifications of this unexpected turn of events. I can't wait for the conclusion so that I can see how this plays out and what will become of my favorite DC villain. Kudos to Johns for pulling a fast one on me. Kudos indeed!

Score: 5 out of 5

Freddy Gets Scary in the Latest Nightmare on Elm St. Trailer

After the first trailer was released, I had my doubts about the direction Michael Bay's production company was taking the new Nightmare on Elm Street.

The trailer had it's strengths but I wasn't too sure about Freddy's makeup and his voice when he spoke was just wrong.

Now New Line has released the second trailer and the majority of those uncertainties have been alleviated. Freddy actually seems scary for the first time since Wes Craven's original film.

What are your thoughts on the new Nightmare remake?

A Nightmare on Elm Street Trailer 2 in HD

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video

Source: MySpace Video

Kick-Ass International Trailer

MSN Video treated us today to the international trailer for Kick-Ass and it's a big bucket o' NSFW goodness.

I am dying to see this movie!

Comic Reviews - Blackest Night Sucks... Literally!

Green Lantern Corps #44
When I read Green Lantern Corps #43, I suggested that it'd be a good idea to leave the Red Lantern ring on Guy Gardner's finger and let him obliterate the Black Lanterns. At least one of the Green Lanterns has that same idea this issue but I'm willing to be he regrets that decision on the final panel! But I get ahead of myself. The issue picks up with Mogo's arrival on the scene as the various colored Lanterns battle to keep the Black Lanterns from devouring the green power battery. On the surface of the planet, Guy Gardner continues to cut a bloody red path through everything he sees. Upon seeing this, the recently resurrected Kyle Rayner attempts to try and get the ring off of Guy only to be stopped by Lantern Vath who tells Kyle to let Guy go and just stay out of the way. Kyle doesn't listen as he's afraid of the damage the red ring is doing to Guy's mind. Kyle's attempt to reveal that he's not dead to Guy goes sour when Guy believes Kyle's resurrection to be a trick of the Black Lanterns. It's about this time that Mogo reveals why he's actually moved. He says there is a secret directive for him to purge the planet. He does his "purge" by increasing his gravity to suck all the Black Lanterns into his core where they'll totally burned up over and over for all eternity. After the Black Lanterns are gone, a few of the Green Lanterns prep a plan to remove the red ring from Guy's finger only to come face to face with a very red and very pissed off Guy! Showdown time! Blackest Night had a lull right around the midpoint where it seemed like every issue was just more reveals of who was rising but it's definitely turned around and is blasting full steam ahead into awesome now!
Score: 4.5 out of 5

Blackest Night: The Flash #2
The main power battery may be safe but Keystone City is still under the shadow of Blackest Night in this issue. It begins with the Rogues seeking out Black Lanterns to try and find Captain Cold's risen sister, Golden Glider, who he hopes can be saved. The Rogues have a run in with some risen Rogues including the Mirror Master, Top, Captain Boomerang and eventually Golden Glider. Cut back to Barry who is granted a blue ring for always having hope and instilling that in others. Blue Lantern Flash battles the risen speedsters including Black Lantern Thawne and is doing pretty well. The battle picks up as Wally and Solivar arrive. Back at the Rogue's battle, while Captain Cold faces up to the fact that Golden Glider is dead and isn't coming back, the rest of the Rogues are having their collective rear handed to them. After Cold comes to his senses and takes down Glider, he discovers that the Top and Boomerang are using Weather Wizard as a punching bag. Before Cold can put the freeze on them, the new Captain Boomerang shows up to save his dad. Can he? We'll see in the next, and final, issue!
Score: 4 out of 5

Superman/Batman #68
While Blackest Night rips through the rest of the DC Universe, Batman/Superman goes off on a tangent with an "aftermath" issue from 2001's Our Worlds at War storyline and it's actually pretty cool! With some amazing art from Ardian Syaf, writer Joe Casey takes us on a fun romp this issue and I like that it's a slightly lighter turn from the rest of the death-laden DCU. We get to see Batman facing down a villain called Death-Man who's gimmick is that he falls into a death-like coma whenever he's captured. Superman meets the financial backer of S.T.A.R. Labs, who may be a shape-shifting alien from the Kryptonian ship revealed last issue. To top it off Clark is attacked at the Planet by a nuclear-powered villain called NRG-X. That's an anagram for something but no one cares because he's just there to smash things and lead our team on a search for whoever hired him to kill Clark. The issue ends with NRG-X coming face to face with a slightly angry Superman who I'm sure will pummel him next issue before heading onto S.T.A.R. Labs to take down the Kryptonian(?) shapeshifter who contracted the hit. This is a good, if rather predictable, story but it's a light fun side-trip that I really enjoyed.
Score: 3.5 out of 5

Comic Reviews - Batman Goes to the Birds

Action Comics #885
After trading a sample of her blood to Jax-Ur in exchange for him curing Nighting's rapid aging, Flamebird must help him excape S.T.A.R. Labs. They make it as far as the roof before running into The Guardian, Mon-El and the Science Police. Rather than continue fighting humans and making an even worse case for Kryptonians, our heroes surrender. While the arrest is being made, we discover another of Zod's sleepers on the Science Police force. Things get worse as Nightwing and Flamebird are celled in via some red-son radiated rooms. and Zod's sleeper places what appears to be a kryptonite-laced bomb in the labs. Nightwing uses his one phone call to call for Lois and a race is one between Lois and her father to get to the Kryptonians first. Lois arrives first but Gen. Lane arrives with full forces and it's a stand-off... until Guardian switches sides and attempts to help his new prisoners escape. In the midst of the escape, Zod's krypto-bomb explodes and we're left wondering who will still be alive next issue. The main story is followed up with the continuation of the adventures of Captain Atom which begins with him facing the Justice League. The League kicks him around a bit before Mon-El and Hal Jordan stop them and realize that Atom's telling the truth and he's back on the side of good. He explains to them that he's been trapped in the magical realm that General Lane has been planning on using against the Kryptonians and that he needs to go back there to stop him. With no Zatanna around, the JLA has no idea how to return the good Captain to magic-land. Of course, that doesn't mean the Shadowpact hasn't got an idea or two!
Score: 3.5 out of 5

Batman #695
Batman continues to track down Kitrina Falcone via a little interrogation of a few of Gotham's criminally-inclined citizens. Kitrinia, in turn, has her own run in with Catwoman. Batman makes a pit-stop at the newly rebuilt Arkham Asylum to discuss the mental profile of Black Mask with Dr. Arkham. Meanwhile, Huntress is on the tail of Mario Falcone who is heading out of town. The chase comes to a screeching halt when the new Reaper arrives and attempts to kill Falcone. Huntress and Batman save Falcone but the Reaper escapes in a cloud of poisonous gas. Back at the Bat-Cave, Damien says he's solved the mystery of the hypnotic gas masks that he's been working on and wonders if Dick has figured them out as well. Batman catches up with Catwoman to retrieve Kitrinia only to find that she's escaped a set-up that supposedly was inescapable according to Bruce. The meeting of the Bat and the Cat is cut short with a call from Oracle with a tip on where Kitrina may be hiding out and Batman is off in persuit. Cut to a brief interlude with Edward Nigma in a phone booth telling someone that he's slowly getting his memory back and that he's dumping his conversation partner as a client. It appears that the client was the Penguin and that the Riddler is on his way back to becoming a threat to Gotham. Back on the trail of Kitrina, Batman arrives at a run down amusement park and instantly makes the mistake of following a mysterious character into a fun house where he's attacked by a murder of crows with poisoned beaks. Through clouded vision, Batman comes face to face with the Penguin and Mad Hatter as they present him with his very own version of a mind-controlling gas mask. These tales with Dick behind the cowl make me kind of sad that we all know the "Return of Bruce Wayne" is coming soon. I think Dick's been doing a good job as Bats and is bringing a fresh take on the character that honestly was growing stale being the uber-genius that no one could take down. My hope is that, when Bruce returns, he takes on a role similar to that in Batman Beyond and allows Dick to keep the cowl.
Score: 4.5 out of 5