Exciting Geeky Stuff Ahead In 2015

2015 is shaping up to be an exciting year for my inner-geek (Jae Fact: I'm 75% inner-geek). Thought I'd take a look at what is upcoming.

Movies

Jupiter Ascending

The Matrix was THE sci-fi event of my teens. The Wachowskis are returning to original movie sci-fi and regardless of whether it turns out to be any good I have to applaud any attempt at a non-sequel, non-novel adaption, non-superhero take on the genre. The trailer makes it look rather epic.

Jurassic World 

How long have we waited for this? FOREVER. I cannot begin to express how eager I am to see this. I was an absolutely Jurassic Park FREAK when I was 10 and I will attempt to out FREAK 10 year old Jae this time too. Plus... Chris Pratt is HOT.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens 

I own the Star Wars Encyclopaedia. I own vehicle guides, novels, comics and I even give the prequel trilogy a get out of jail free card. I'm that sort of Star Wars fan. I am sooooooo excited to get a new Star Wars movie. :)

So Many Marvel Movies 

10 years ago could you imagine Marvel releasing so many movies of such high quality in such a short space of time? Now we are just spoilt for choice! From the Marvel Cinematic Universe we have Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man upcoming with Age of Ultron looking absolutely fantastic.

Fox is also treating us to a reboot of Fantastic Four, something it very much needed (Jae Fact: Jae once disrupted filming on Rise of the Silver Surfer when he insisted on sticking to his normal walk to work filming or no filming. They weren't amused). I hope it won't be disappointing.

Terminator Genisys

Terminator canon is becoming very tricky, and the number of actors playing certain roles is starting to get a bit silly BUT Arnold Schwarzenegger is back and Terminator remains a foundational franchise in my rise to geekhood. I'm interested to see if some of the coolness of the first two movies can be salvaged and restored.

London Has Fallen

Olympus Has Fallen (along with White House Down) was my "I shouldn't really like it but I do" breakout movie of 2013. So its sequel set in London is something I'll be keen to keep a close eye on. 

Television 

Westworld 

I'm just intrigued as to how they are going to evolve this story into a TV series. Second Michael Crichton property to pique my interest in 2015, his legacy lives on at least!

More Marvel TV 

Marvel is taking over the world. In 2015 Agent Carter and Daredevil join Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D in representing the MCU on the small screen. Daredevil is the first of the Netflix series which will hopefully expand the MCU in interesting ways. 

Parks and Recreation 

Parks and Recreation is coming to an end. Sad times. It is an acquired taste but it is one that I actually did acquire. Wonderful show, great performances and Chris Pratt. Mmm... 

Comics 

Marvel

A new era in Star Wars awaits us as Lucasfilm's new sister company, Marvel, takes over Star Wars comics from Dark Horse. 

With the Expanded Universe now a thing of the past, we'll have to see where Disney's more canon-friendly approach takes us. But my pull-list is going to be heaving!

In other news... Spider-Man 2099 returns to the 2099 universe... yet another look back to young Jae's favourite things.

DC

Hmm... DC's New 52 (something that re-ignited a long dormant love of comics in me) has turned sour and seems to lack direction (with the honourary exception of some comics like Snyder's Batman). I will keep an eye on DC's April 2015 "Convergence" event to see if the outcome of that brings some spirit back to the DC Universe. 

Make Mine Marvel (Again)

DC got me back into comics. I was always a Marvel boy and had probably spent less than £50 on DC comics in 16 years of comic book buying up until 2011. And I'd drifted away from buying any comics in the few years before that. Then the New 52 happened. With the advent of Comixology and some great new continuity free jumping on points, I started buying DC comics at an unhealthy rate, which upsets me as it means I'd given the DC management exactly what they were after... a new reader who was free with his cash. I'm a sucker for every comic ploy there is (events, new #1s, reboots etc.)

Now I did also start to buy X-Men comics again but I kept my spending limited. After Marvel Now though (and with the soon to begin All-New Marvel Now, yes I'm a total sucker) Marvel is on its way back again.

DC's stuff grabbed me initially just because of the novelty factor. I'd never really read a Batman comic or a Superman comic. I mean, I had to give it a go. But gradually I've lost interest in a lot of titles I was enjoying. Whereas if an X-Men comic went through a bad stage, I'd stick with it because I simply love the characters and always want to give the writer another chance, I had no such loyalty to any of the DC lot. With the exception of Scott Snyder's Batman run (undoubtedly one of the best comics out there at the moment) many DC comics have suffered from poor writing and, recently, too many crossovers. The current Forever Evil stuff has completely passed me by, I'm just not that into it.

Meanwhile after Marvel Now, Marvel's stuff has just gone from strength to strength. I thought the X-Men were doing pretty excellently after the Schism storyline with both Wolverine and the X-Men and Uncanny X-Men Vol. 2 being great but after the start of All-New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men Vol. 3, they've just gotten even better! Sure I think the X-Men books could do with a cull (I'm pretty glad X-Men Legacy is coming to an end), but the quality of writing is just going getting better and better. And I've expanded outwards.... not just Uncanny X-Force (Vol. 1 was a tour-de-force that was very difficult to follow, but Vol. 2 is proving to be worthy of a place on anyone's pull list) and Cable and X-Force but also Young Avengers (up there with Batman in my opinion), Avengers Arena and Uncanny Avengers (I really dislike the Avengers, but all three of these titles are keeping me interested).

I'm still buying a couple more DC titles than I am Marvel but as I become ever more unforgiving with culling my pull list, I fear DC may slip back to the also ran category.

Marvel doesn't just feel like home to me, given the characters there have been ones I've grown up with, but it also feels fresh and powerful. So until DC cancel all their titles and relaunch their range in some transparent attempt to get fools like me to buy more comics, Make Mine Marvel!

Orson Scott Card, Superman And The Well-Meaning Mob

Orson Scott Card. Where does one start? A talented writer. A dedicated Latter-day Saint. And not a very nice man. And not just because of his rather severe stance on LGBT issues. He often comes across as the sort of person one just wouldn't want as an acquaintance let alone as a friend. Of course that is a matter of personal taste I suppose, and there is no accounting for that!

He has been hired by DC Comics to write a new Superman series, Adventures of Superman. And it hasn't gone down well.

Some people are saying they will boycott the comic. That is quite fair, even forgetting about some "high-minded principle" I often find it hard to enjoy fiction when I don't really like the personal beliefs of the writer. Dean R Koontz is an example of that. I loved his stuff but once I discovered he was a little bit fundamentalist (if there is such a thing as a "little bit fundamentalist) I've read his stuff with a little less enjoyment. I still read his stuff, as it is usually very good, but it now lacks a certain something.

But others have gone further demanding that DC "fire" him. This I feel is going a bit too far. Firstly, if enough people boycott the series then that would send a far clearer message to DC than a petition. Secondly, it all stinks of the beginnings of a "blacklist".

It wasn't that many decades ago when LGBT were banned from certain jobs. Remember the blacklist of Communists (and anyone claimed to be a Communist by pretty much anyone else) in the entertainment industry in America? If we start banning people from working within the comic industry just because they aren't very nice then where would that end? Would we be any better than McCarthy? I don't think so. It is a very worrying development and it is time we rose above this sort of mob mentality. Absolutely do not buy his comics if you don't wish to. Tell your friends, family and anyone who will listen that he is a really unkind man who deserves no monetary support. But trying to get him "blacklisted" will make him a martyr. And he's arrogant enough as it is.

Will I buy the new book? Possibly. I'll wait for the reviews and, if they are good, I'll probably give it a go. I'm a sucker for a good Superman story!

A Marvel Boy's Look At DC's New 52

My name's Jae and I'm a Marvelholic. I've been one since the age of 11 when I discovered the X-Men and I've never looked back. I've flirted with harder stuff, Dark Horse and Image, and with lighter stuff like IDW and had full-blown affairs with 2000AD but Marvel comics have always formed the centre of my comic obsession. DC, of all the big comic publishers, has rarely featured at all. Sure I own the hardcover Killing Joke, the collected 52 and some other Batman stuff. But ultimately the complexity of the DC universe and it's unfamiliar characters has kept me at arms length.

All that appears to have changed with the New 52, DC's latest reboot. I decided to give DC a fair go... and I'm liking what I'm seeing. Here's some reviews of the stuff I've read: 

Justice League #1

Whilst Justice League is completely alien to me, Batman, Green Lantern and Superman are at least characters I know and thus I found myself enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would. Green Lantern is young and impulsive, Batman is intelligent and experienced and Superman... well he just seems pissed off (and hot!). The art is excellent and I'm definitely going to be picking up issue #2 next month. This just felt so accessible that I thought... let's try some more!

Action Comics #1

I really enjoyed this introduction to Superman, still learning of the true extent of his powers and a little too cocky. The ending definitely has me wanting more but... the art was middling. This is meant to be a young, immature Superman but sometimes he looked like he might be in his forties. I just didn't feel the art complimented the story at all. Alas... I'll still be getting #2. 

Stormwatch #1 

Intriguing. This is the first book populated by characters I don't know. This did make me feel slightly disconnected from it but I want to know more... who is the Midnighter? What is the giant eye in the Moon? I'll get #2 but I think this is my first book on temporary probation whilst I try to get a proper feel for it. 

Batwoman #1

I know her, she was in 52! And she was my favourite character from that collection too... The art. Well, what can you say? It was exquisite. Beautiful. Mmmm... And the story was just vague enough to make me feel like buying #2 to find out a little more. 

Demon Knights #1

I have no idea of the history of any of these characters, nor of the time period it's set in. But I know one thing... I bloody loved this. Dragons that look like dinosaurs. Characters will a bit of verve. A story that took shape pretty quickly. LOVED. 

Superboy #1

Excellent modern feeling art, complimented by a totally new beginning for a character even a Marvelboy has heard of. I was absolutely besotted by this one. Yet another one for the pull list. This is tiring... 

Legion Lost #1

The art got better as the story went along. That's the best I can say. And the story... was alright. There were too many panels with too much text and I felt it was all a bit of a mess. I might give it the benefit of the doubt (I'm a forgiving completist when it comes to comics) but probably won't be pursuing this one.

Overall... I've been very impressed. 6 out of 7 comics were excellent and definitely grabbed me. Marvel's comic output is becoming a bit of a mess right now, and I think with this new relaunch DC stand a good chance of grabbing a good deal of my attention for the foreseeable future. Very, very good stuff indeed.