Wolverine (Claremont, Miller) reviewed

Canadian born X-Man Wolverine, heads to Japan (for the first time in the comics) in search of his lost love Mariko. He finds her quickly, only to discover that she has been married off by her recently returned, previously though to be dead father.


Frank Miller's art on this book is simply stunning, so obviously it was done in a pre "I'm crazy" era, the only thing that surpasses Miller's art on the story is Chris Claremont's story. The story is introspective and thought provoking. It manages to not be dragged down by the slow beats when they drone on about honor and commitment. Not that I'm saying discussing honor is bad, it just causes the story to miss a couple of beats occasionally. 



The first half is particularly strong, a dark, moody odyssey into this fantasy Japan of honour and ninjas, and a journey into Wolverine's psyche. Chris Claremont & Frank Miller easily suck you in with words and images and a convoluted plot promising twists and turns. But it weakens a little toward the end, particularly the final climax in which all the twists and turns are gone and we just have a lengthy action piece -- action largely devoid of suspense because Wolverine is such an unstoppable fighting machine. And the climactic duel with Shingen is problematic. No matter how much Chris Claremont tries to pretend that it's an equal match, it's impossible to believe the middle-aged, normal, Shingen has any chance against the almost invulnerable, unkillable, Wolverine.


And, to quibble about comic book continuity for just a moment, Mariko was supposed to be the cousin of Sunfire, a Japanese super-hero. So where was he while this corrupt patriarch was despoiling the family name?
Wolverine, the story, seems less like a comic than a movie, or novel. That's partly thanks to the off-beat story and solid characterization (and the lack of other super-hero trappings like Sunfire).


But it's also because, as one would expect from a story featuring the ruthless Wolverine, there's little comic book-style morality. Instead it features violent, kill-or-be-killed action -- though there's more moralizing than in, say, an Arnold Schwarzenegger film. There are, in fact, decidedly disturbing elements to the story, as Chris Claremont (through Wolverine) goes on various tirades about honour and duty, and the warrior's way, all as a justification for characters hacking their way through each other. There's just the whiff of martial fascism to the thing.

2011 Gift Guides: Gifts for Comic Book Lovers.

 Does your loved one, love comics more than anything else? Here's the ultimate list of must have graphic novels. Whether the person has read or even currently owns a copy of these books or not, a new copy is always appreciated as the pages will be less worn. Every one of these can be read over and over to non-stop enjoyment. Stop in to any local comic book store to pick up copies of these books.

15. Y: The Last Man. This series can be had in either 10 softcover or five hardbound editions. It tells the story of the last man on planet Earth. Not only is he the last man, but barring his pet monkey, he is the last surviving mammal on the planet. Pick this series up to discover why.

14. Sandman. From another of the masters of the medium, this time it's Neil Gaiman. The series ran for 75 issues, but has since been reprinted in 4 ultimate hardcover editions. The story is of the personification of dreams. The main character is Dream, though he goes through many names throughout the series. Other aspects of fate are also featured in the series.

13. Justice League of America: Tower Of Babel. Several members of the Justice League have been attacked with bizarre, but dangerously effective, methods. From a blind Green Lantern who can't use his imagination to make constructs to now water-fearing Aquaman, the race is on to find out who's responsible and what's their endgame. Soon to be a new DC Animated straight-to-DVD film, it stands as one of the best written arcs of the Justice League.

12. Wolverine. Written by Chris Clairemont and penciled by Frank Miller, this four issue arc, that has been reprinted in graphic novel form several times took the character of Wolverine from a flat two dimensional raging character, to one with depth, feeling and back story.

11. Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. Dwight McCarthy thought she was out of his life forever. But he was wrong... women like Ava Lord never really leave you. And when she crosses his path again, he's going to wish he never met her... Second in the sensational Sin City series, this is said to be the main story to be adapted for the sequel to the 2005 Sin City adaptation. A noir story like no other, and one of the best Frank Miller works.

10. V For Vendetta. Alan Moore, who wrote this, is a true visionary. He's helped to define what graphic novels are, and what they can strive to be. V for Vendetta tells the story of V, as he revolts against the British Parliament in a myopic future.

9. Black Summer. Originally an eight issue arc, now you can get all of the individual issues in graphic novel form from one of the masters himself, Warren Ellis. The story is about masked heroes and villains dealing with political strife in the 1980's.

8. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Eight. Picking up about a year and a half after the events of the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the titular heroine faces new challenges, new roles and a new villain as she struggles to cope with all the changes she's been through. Old enemies rise again but can they defeat an army of Slayers and their network? The official continuation of the show and just as fantastic as the show that started it all, Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Eight is a great revival. Catch up with Buffy and the new Scoobies, starting with the first arc, The Long Way Home.

7. Civil War. After a horrible incident involving a staggering amount of fatalities, the superhero community becomes divided when a new bill is proposed, stating that all costumed crimefighters must register their identities with the government and work in tandem with them. Iron Man leads the side willing to work with the government, Captain America leads those wishing to remain unmasked. A landmark event in Marvel history, one with ramifications lasting years after its conclusion.

6. Scott Pilgrim. falling hard for aloof newcomer Ramona Flowers, Scott Pilgrim learns if he is to win her heart completely, he must defeat her seven evil ex-lovers in combat. A six part series, this is a hilarious and invigorating ride which the movie, while compressed, was extremely faithful to. Volume 1 is entitled Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life.

5. The Walking Dead. Winner of the 2010 Eisner Award for best continuing series, this follows a group of survivors as they try to make their way in the world following a zombie apocalypse.

4. Runaways. Six kids discover their parents are a criminal cabal known as The Pride and that each of them have powers or weapons at their disposal. Gathering what they can, the kids (Alex, Nico, Karolina, Chase, Gert and Molly, as well as their newly discovered genetically engineered dinosaur) leave their homes and try to find a place to stay as they fight their parents. Currently on hiatus, now would be the opportune time to start reading this excellent series, starting with Volume 1: Pride And Joy.

3. The Dark Knight Returns. Bruce Wayne has been retired for 10 years as Batman. However, crime has gotten even more out of hand and he can stand it no more. His body may have aged, but his mind is as sharp as ever as the Caped Crusader bursts back on the scene, leaving many to question if the Dark Knight's return is a gift from the gods, or the cataclysm Gotham has been heading towards. A pivotal read in the long and wonderful history of the masked man hunter of Gotham

2. Watchmen. Set in an alternate 1980's, where Richard Nixon is still president, and super heroes have been deemed illegal, this book starts with the death of the Comedian, and ends with a massive attack on New York City, but do the heroes come out of retirement in time to save the city? Pick up the book to find out. This is the only graphic novel to make Time Magazine's 100 all-time greatest novels list.

1. DC Comics: The New 52. A hardcover book that won't be released until Dec. 13, not only is it new, but it's timely. This book will compile all 52 number one issues of the newly relaunched titles in the DC comics universe.

Bonus Buy: JLA/Avengers. One of the most anticipated crossovers in comic book history the flagship superhero team from each of the industries top publishers, end up working together to stop an evil so great it threatens both universes.

Captain America: Prisoner of War

My first Cap comic, and I was a bit disappointed. The story was decent enough, but the art on this was bad, and often distracting.

The story is about Bucky, who was recently arrested and then sent off  to a prison in Siberia for the supposed crimes he committed during the period that he was the Winter Soldier. The hitch there is that the Winter Soldier, while technically Bucky, was acting on orders while under mind control.

The prison scenes are similar to that of Capt. Kirk in one of those Star Trek films, though with pit fighting added in. Eventually Bucky decides to escape, even though he knows that it will cause an international incident, and he ends up blowing up the entire prison. Black Widow helps him to escape Antarctica and return to America.

The Emerald Knight Goes Blu (Ray)

    As if being a box office disappointment and a critical flop weren't bad enough -- it's strange labeling a $200 million worldwide take a flop or a disappointment, and yet it was both -- Green Lantern left film fans and comic fans cold. And, for once, a comicbook adaptation alienated moviegoers of all stripes for the same reasons, regardless of how familiar they were with DC Comics' space-faring saga. Where to begin? 
   Director Martin Campbell's interstellar superhero actioner is too slow, too uneventful, too melodramatic, too anticlimactic, and offers too little too late. More? Its casting is riddled with odd choices and poor picks, its superpower showcases and superpowered showdowns are dull and CG-driven, its attachment to Earth infuriating, its performances clunky and inconsistent, its tone too disjointed, its hero too shallow, its fourth tier human villains too cheesy, its planet-chomping alien menace too cartoonish, and its true Big Bad relegated to the bench until an end-credits sequence calls him in for a sequel that might not ever come to fruition. Long story short...
   Green Lantern has high aspirations but never quite gets off the ground. I expected a lot of CG, I mean how else could it have been done, but this is just bad.  Initially I enjoyed it when I saw it on the big screen, but a few months later and a review on DVD really soured my views on this one.
   Video Quality
   Warner's 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer doesn't exactly swoop in to save the day. Contrast is rather oppressive and black levels are heavy, unforgiving and, every now and then, abusive, stamping out shadow detail with abandon. It's as if someone cranked up the "in blackest night" dial but forgot to flip the "in brightest day" switch. (On a positive note, the more brutal blacks cover up some of the seams that haunt the film's CG elements, chief among them Hal's suit.) Even when the sun rises, the image lacks a bit of the brightness, crispness and clarity that should rise with it. When the sun sets, matters get infinitely worse. Crush is an issue, as is middling delineation and some muddled fine textures. Videophiles won't be easily satisfied and even those who are will probably be those who mistake the overzealous shadows that press in as thematic when they are, at least in part, indicative of something more troubling: the possibility of an over-tweaked encode. Granted, much of the deteriorating detail traces back to the source. I noticed the presence of noise reduction while watching the film in the theater and most, if not all, of the (reasonably) minor DNR that's visible here comes courtesy of Campbell and company, not Warner. Still, an eyesore is an eyesore. Closeups of Ryan Reynold's face (the refined shots at 41:09, 1:14:47 and 1:44:30 being a few of the exceptions) shouldn't look as flat, indistinct or muddy as they sometimes do.
   Which brings us to the next problem. While superpowered greens and yellows light up the screen with welcome vibrancy, Dion Beebe's palette -- or perhaps Warner's approximation of it -- looks as if it belongs in a film featuring the Dark Knight, not the Emerald Knight. While typically attractive, fleshtones don't always boast natural hues, many a primary sinks into the abyss, and shadows occasionally descend without mercy, eclipsing both the practical sets and CG environments. (Hal's confrontations with Parallax are particularly dreary and dubious. Look no further than the murky mess that is their battle at the 1:42:00 to 1:44:00 mark. Even explosions and spewing fire struggle to push back the prevailing darkness.) Thankfully, there are saving graces. Significant artifacting, banding, aliasing and ringing are nowhere to be found, detail isn't always consumed by darkness, and a variety of scenes, though still relatively dark, look quite good. Some soupy noise tries to disguise itself as filmic grain and fails, but it isn't a major distraction. All things considered, Green Lantern offers a passable, now-and-again impressive presentation, but it also stands as one of the more underwhelming superhero-adventure transfers to come along in some time. I already knew I didn't enjoy the film itself, but I thought the resulting Blu-ray release would, at the very least, blow me away. Instead, it just sort of limps along. Green Lantern was a bit brighter, a bit more colorful and, if memory serves me, a bit more detailed in theaters, but four months is a long time when it comes to memories, so take that with a grain of salt. Even so, I would recommend adjusting your expectations. The video presentation isn't as brave, brilliant or bold as you might assume. I honestly had a tough time deciding between a 3.0 and a 3.5. Fair warning: you may feel it holds steady at a 3.0 or, if you're particularly sensitive to specific issues, descends into 2.5 territory. 
   AUDIO QUALITY
   Ah, this is more like it. While Green Lantern's visuals are trapped in a maddening free fall, Warner's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track kicks on the afterburner and roars overhead. Dialogue is clean, well-grounded and intelligible throughout (minus a few lines dwarfed by mid-battle chaos) and sound effects, be they down-to-Earth or powered-by-will, remain crystal clear from start to finish. Explosions, minigun fire, Kilowog punches, jet engines, toppling buildings and burning stars take full advantage of the LFE channel, and dynamics lend power and presence to an already engrossing soundscape. The rear speakers are responsible for plenty of sonic flash and flair as well. Alien warriors rocket past, energy blasts streak across space, Parallax billows and fills the soundfield, and every intergalactic hotspot and Earthbound locale is nice and immersive. (Even though Lantern's distant planets seem to be slightly more enveloping than our own. I suppose Campbell has more to play with when he's off-world, brief as those opportunities may be.) If the film's transfer came to life with the same vividness and tenacity as Warner's mix, this would be an entirely different review.


parts of this review are taken from bluray.com.