Scribblenauts Unmasked First Impressions

I played the first mission and then toyed around with it a little. I wanted to work with the unusual gameplay and test how big their character index was.

Things to be found in the game

This sold out in my area so I have to wait to find a copy. But from newsarama we have these insightful numbers.

I wonder if their counting costume variants for these numbers. I hope not.

No lie but one of the first things I planned on trying out was if it had a time sphere. I'll have to see if there's more than one Skeets too.

 

Scribblenauts Unmasked Toys?

This wave will be out in March and shows some of the characters that will be in the game. Like camo-Aquaman, First Appearance Batman, Blue Superman, Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes etc. Will Booster get his own figure? Who knows but these are cute.

This is how the battle of the Robins should have gone

It's certainty more fun although it stays pretty true to Damian's character from that story.

Ra's Al Ghul and the League of Assassins #1

I got this online and it's the 3D cover!  Woo!

SPOILERS AHEAD

Forever Evil #1

This was one of the comics I ordered online. They didn't have it at my LCS so this made the choice easier.

SPOILERS AHEAD

How much some are willing to pay for these covers?

Bleeding Cool has some crazy prices listed for these 3D covers on Ebay. Again, I can get most of these MUCH cheaper. But people will still pay these prices either way.

Michelle and Boosters' Sibling bond

I think too many readers ignored the details Dan Jurgens put into Booster Gold. I always appreciated the level of character work he's done especially in regards to the first series. For me what makes any story great is the focus on character and while he didn't use Michelle much I admired what was shown under his pen. Her relationship with her brother was interesting in a way twin relationships rarely are in comics. Usually they tend to be very cliché, some times polar opposites, some times far too similar, the same exact costume designs, separated at birth, you get the idea. While there were some nods (like their birth names and sometimes the style of their hair cuts) the acted like standard siblings.

 

Now you could say that the Goldstar costume is similar to the Booster Gold uniform but really there's enough changes for it can stand on it's own. In story it wasn't even made with Michelle in mind but rather a PR stunt they were planning. Michelle never had the drive to be a superhero just sort of went along for the ride. When she stole the costume it was more or less to see what was so appealing about it. She tested out and didn't try to fight crime. But one of the best scenes with her was when Michelle realizes she can't stay in their time since by helping Booster she made herself a criminal. Look at how they interact: 

 

It feels like how a family would talk, and gives the reader some good insight on their relationship. Before this Michelle tells him that he's forgiven and now they fall into causal quipping. She can shut down his ego (even if he's merely joking here) in a second. Jurgens shows them bicker later on in Booster Gold vol. 2 and likewise it has that same bond but uses it to make them both act petty in amusing ways. It's the little details that really stand out.

Mark Ups at comic book stores

I know that this occurs, usually it doesn't bother me because I'm not interested in any variants. Sometime before my first LCS closed down it charged 25 cents for the lantern corps rings that were supposed to come free with the comics. I didn't mind because it wasn't much and I really loved that store. I went to my current LCS to get one villains month book, the only one I'm interested in for the whole month (not counting Forever Evil) just because it sort of ties into a title I'm reading. None of the $2.99 ones were on the shelves and won't be in for a little while.

They did have the special covers. Since I'm not getting many comics spending another dollar wouldn't be too bad. Only they are charging $12 and up for the special covers. I noticed a few of the older covers are apparently selling for at least $25. This is especially ridiculous because I can literally get these covers online for the cover price. Actually at some online places I can get them 10-20% cheaper. Most variants online are usually marked up but not most of these (I heard Harley Quinn was but I can't say if it's true since I don't see it listed.) It's really annoying and makes me want to shop online instead of waiting for them to get the $2.99 shipment. Especially since I only try to make one trip that way a month since it is a bit out of the way.

Angel Character One Shots: Illyria

Alfred story?

I'd love to transform one of the Batman books into a bat family book but I'd love an Alfred story to focus on his relationships with the boys. I've been going through some books and seeing how much Bruce dismisses Alfred's feelings for his own. The last arc on Batman and Robin being the latest. He's done this when he fired Dick, with Jason when he died/came back, and a few times with Tim. Bruce doesn't think how much Alfred loves these guys like his own kids and how by pushing them away he's making Alfred suffer along with the boys. I'd just love to see Alfred's feeling explored more and see how he relates to each one.

Memory Loss Storylines: Why some aren't as compelling as others

This has come up a couple times in the books I read. While one's passable since it wasn't a complete memory loss the other is a mess. The only thing that makes that trope worth a damn is if the character's emotions are explored properly. Their confusion, their self beliefs and what they think of themselves/the characters around them. If done right this is a great character piece and can be very moving. If it's done solely to get the characters to the plot points it's not nearly as engaging. This has been used to good effect in the Cassandra Cain Batgirl series.

I may have to get Scribblenauts Unmasked

It looks like fun and actually has a lot of characters, some I didn't expect to see like Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown in their Batgirl costumes. I saw Red Hood, Nightwing, Damian, the Waynes (normal versions and Flashpoint), Blue Beetle (Ted), Booster Gold (new costume), Helena Wayne Robin, and Guy Gardner (in a different demo.) I hope the DS version at least has as many characters.

December Solicits

Find out which comic got this reaction from me.

Well you can likely guess.

Didio speaks out about Batwoman not getting married

Brought up here along with the new writer for Batwoman.

“Heroes shouldn’t have happy personal lives. They are committed to being that person and committed to defending others at the sacrifice of their own personal interests.”

Well if their all going to have terrible personal lives why should we read them? Not only is it repetitive it makes them character we can't relate with and boring as hell. Why should we get invested in any relationship they have with love interests if none of them are going to last? If their all are going to be killed off or break up due to the clichés of being a superhero? Hell even Joss Whedon threw his angst-on-legs a bone by letting Angel have a kid. Yeah that had problems but overall it was a positive effect on the character.

“That’s very important and something we reinforced,” he continued. ‘People in the Bat family their personal lives basically suck. Dick Grayson, rest in peace—oops shouldn’t have said that,—Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake, Barbara Gordon and Kathy Kane. It’s wonderful that they try to establish personal lives, but it’s equally important that they set them aside. That is our mandate, that is our edict and that is our stand.”

So Aquaman and Mera are breaking up next? How boring can you get? Having Kate get married would have made her stand out from the bat family. It shows that unlike Bruce she doesn't bury her feelings and can deal with them in an emotionally mature way. Before she met Maggie she made it clear she was looking for a serious relationship. Huh, I don't see Jason Todd on that list. Does that mean he can break the curse? This is the dumbest mandate/edict/stand I've seen in a long time. More so that they officially told their fans not to care about any of your heroes love interest or personal lives because they don't matter. Heroes aren't allowed to be happy: EVER. It reminds me of that meme I saw with Batman teaching his kids: No dating only Justice.

Oh yeah, their also rewriting the issues already written and putting Batwoman in the Year Zero tie in. I knew they were going to tie her in but not this soon.

New 52 Blue(s) and Gold?

Some sort of SPOILERS from Forever Evil. Sort of because nothing was really confirmed yet.

Short Review: All Star Western #23

I didn't plan on getting anymore issues from this series until Booster reappeared but I forgot that I pre-ordered this one.

SPOILERS AHEAD

DC says no to Batwoman Marriage & Creative team leaves

Let me get this right, DC promoted the hell out of Batwoman being a gay superhero but failed to do the same thing with her engagement. Now they refuse to let her get married? What the hell? Did DC miss all the attention Northstar's marriage got? We all know Bruce Wayne isn't getting married in normal canon so this would have further separated her from him in a positive way.

Not to mention more last minute changes which I had assumed the book didn't have because it managed to keep away from the Bat crossovers. The editors should be more focused on all the continuity errors (which the bat books have a lot of) before they veto storyline ideas at the last moment. I'm also going to be very annoyed if this isn't fixed. Because DC backpedaled pretty fast due to fan outrage over Gail Simone being kicked off Batgirl. With the declining quality of my formerly favorite book this was turning into the best series I was reading.

Marcus To Gives Fans what they want

Outside of Tiny Titans I think this is the only time they've all been shown together in a professionally done piece of work. Granted this one sadly won't be published. Some of these characters have never met in any canon comic. I would get this is if was a series. To see the art process and source go here.

Now I kinda want a bat family book written by Johns

Yeah he can write Bruce being an ass but he showed in Booster Gold that he can write his nicer side too. He's also written Jason pretty good in his brief cameo in Justice League #19. I forgot he wrote some of these guys before but that interaction in the preview? That makes me want to get Forever Evil.

Talk of preview SPOILERS under the cut

No Ice, Ice Baby?

The cancellation of the Signature Collection, notable Ice, is highly annoying. We almost had all the important members for JLI! I hope something happens so we get Mattel to make Ice. It's the only figure I really wanted in their upcoming line.

Why Kate Kane is Awesome