Monday, December 3, 2007

Heroes Report on "Powerless"

OK, I'm back, my personal laptop issues and too much work issues have both subsided just in time for me to give my two cents on the finale of Heroes' second volume.

And, sadly, as far as I'm concerned this finale was just as poor as the first volume's. And just like the end of season one, we got a few 'wow' moments mixed with disappointment.

Right now I'm just kind of confused. A lot happened, but it all happened so fast and it was so jumbled that I don't quite get why it all happened. And don't go blaming the writers strike, this was supposed to be the finale all along.

And at this point, the SPOILER warning has to go up.

So what happened? Well, Hiro, Parkman and Nathan tried to stop Adam Monroe from dropping the virus. And while we got a nice little skirmish with Peter matching minds with Parkman, all that really happened was Hiro teleporting Monroe out, leaving Peter to catch the virus and destroy it.

Hiro then dealt with Monroe off camera, burying him alive, leaving him available to the writers in the future. Why it had to happen off camera, I don't know.

Nathan then decided for some unknown reason that, after hiding his secrets for months, NOW of all times was when he needed to schedule a newsconference and tell the world about special people. He was, predictably, shot just before he could say the word "fly."

So, let me get this straight. The writers felt the need to essentially bring Nathan back from the dead, just to do be a prop piece in Peter's story, and then they kill him again. That makes a whole lot of sense guys. Almost as much sense as that whole press conference thing of Nathan's.

But wait, TWO people were supposed to die in this episode, right? Well person No. 2, shoveled in there real quickly in between the bigger storylines, was Nikki. And as pleasing as Ali Larter is to the eyes, I'm not too broken up about this death. Clearly, the writers never found anything great to do with her, other than make her keep screwing up. So, good riddance, and I look forward to the ongoing adventures of Micah and St. Joan.

Oh, and Maya died! YAY!

But then she was brought back from death 2 minutes later. BOO!

And in the process, Sylar re-acquired his powers. Anyone surprised? No? Me neither. But I really want to know what the damn point was in taking away his powers for this little bit of time. Again, it was like the writers made a change for the sake of change, and they were just itching to put things back the way they were. And because of it, we had to sit through the crappy Maya storyline for weeks. BOO!

Oh, and by the way, Sylar's first scenes of the season, with "Candice" in the jungle, still makes ZERO cents.

The only good part of this storyline in the finale was that Elle lived through her Sylar confrontation -- and that is one character that is just dying to be fleshed out.

Last but not least, my guy HRG. And, I'll ask it again, writers, WHAT THE HELL? What went on there? Bennet comes back to his bewildered family, only to say he has made some off-camera deal that requires him to stay away from the family. Why does he have to stay away? Why can't he be a company operative without leaving them? Where was the Haitian for all of this? There was no rhyme, reason or explanation afterward.

Oh, and am I the only one who thinks it was HRG that shot Nathan?

After a lackluster start to the year, Heroes really picked up steam. If only they didn't try to squish so much into one big finale too soon. This volume really could have been a few episodes longer.

With the long wait until Volume 3 (possibly REALLY long with the strike), I don't find myself that sad to see the show go. And that's sad.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Buy Pile Report

Well, it's been three hours since I finished reading World War Hulk #5, and I'm still not sure what to make of it. I mean, heading into this event, all I really wanted was a Hulk-Smashing good time, and I guess I got that out of most issues, including this final part. We got to see Sentry really cut loose, forcing Hulk into a more heroic role, talking Sentry down off his power-crazed ledge and effectively saving the planet. In fact, it seemed like a pretty good ending.

But, then Marvel went and added a "twist." After Hulk comes to his senses, and Sentry comes to his, and Hulk tells the group that he was simply trying to torture and prove a point, not kill, we learn that it was, in fact, a member of his Warbound that blew up that ship that killed Hulk's Queen.

Umm, Exqueeze me? Granted, I didn't read "Planet Hulk," I don't know if the seeds of this were sewn there, but where the hell did this come from?!? It strikes me that this "twist" was simply a feeble attempt by Marvel to put their heroes back into the right light. Suddenly, Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic aren't accidental world killers, they're just two guys that still take morality into their own hands. But not accidental world killers. It all just tasted very cheesy to me. But should I really be surprised by this coming from Marvel?

Another book that confused me to an extent was Salvation Run #1. Again, this was an issue that really whet my appetite. We watch as these Rogues reluctantly work together on a strange world against all-odds and not only survive but begin to strive. Then, more villains (including A-Listers like Joker and Clayface) arrive and we have the makings to a GREAT story focusing simply on the interaction between all these villains...

But then, at the end of the issue, we learn that there is, in fact, a group watching the villains, who purposely planned to make the planet look less dangerous when Checkmate was checking it out as a possible prison, just so the villains would be sent to their doom. Suddenly there is a conspiracy angle to this story, and frankly I could give a damn. I was becoming enamored with the idea of all these villains out on their own -- and not I'm not so sure.

Now, I am in a bit of a rush tonight, so I'm only going to talk about one last issue... and believe it or not, it's Countdown to Final Crisis #24. Yes, Countdown. For the second straight week, Countdown dropped my jaw. Not that the book was all that great -- but the developments in it are really getting me excited. This week's issue almost entirely focuses on this black-suited Superman (presumably Superboy Prime), as he runs rampant around Earth 15, killing every hero in site.

It was gruesome and beautiful, watching a truly moral-less Superman running amok for no sane reason other than the fact that he is, in essence, a fanboy gone wrong. As I said, there was nothing all that special in this issue -- but watching the potential for evil in this character really has me excited for "Final Crisis."

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

This week's comic expectations

So, there's plenty of comics this week you should know already I recommend. Booster Gold #4 is out, and that series is the best not enough people are reading, yet. Black Adam #4 is out too, and that's the best mini-series I've read in years. X-Factor #25 is the next part in Messiah CompleX, so pick that up too. All-Star Superman #9 is a must-read, and if you've bought the first four World War Hulk issues, WWH #5 is an obvious choice as well.

Then, there are some books that aren't as obvious.

If you've been waiting for the whole "Skrull Invasion" to begin heating up, wait no longer. As the cover indicates, New Avengers #36 promises to lay the groundwork for that big 2008 event. While you may be a little lost following the current storyline if you haven't read issue #35, you have to get caught up eventually if you're going to be following the Skrull story, right?

A couple of Marvel mini-series also debut this week, with Captain Marvel #1 and House of M Avengers #1. CM will tell the story of a Marvel hero from the past catapulted into the future... um, no, this isn't Captain America, it just sounds like it. CM is a character Marvel has been trying to revive for a while, so may this time is the charm. HofM Avengers is exactly that -- a return to the HofM world, where we find a rag-tag group of Avengers fighting as the human minority. Now, I am skeptical about this one, only because comic companies normally wait 5 or 10 years before returning to an alternate reality, so the rush to get back to the HofM world is a bit alarming.

From DC, Salvation Run #1 has really caught my interest. The good about this new mini is the idea of top-notch villains as the main characters, trapped in a prison for some grand-scheme reason. The bad? It's a Countdown tie-in, pure and simple. So far the only good Countdown tie-in has been "Death of the New Gods." Could this be the second?

Also, Wonder Woman #14 is the debut of new writer Gail Simone. Gail has done bang-up jobs on more gritty titles like "Birds of Prey," so here's hoping she can clean up the mess that is Wonder Woman. I mean, it's not like DC has tried that recently... what? They tried it 15 months ago? Well, good luck Gail!

Finally, and I am not exactly recommending this one, we have Batman and the Outsiders #1 this week, with one of the strangest comic-book situations you'll ever hear of. After Tony Bedard wrote five crappy making-the-team-roster issues leading up to Outsiders #50, which revamped the team, he then begs off of this new book a couple of weeks before it was originally supposed to be released. So, enter new writer Chuck Dixon. The good on this is that Dixon is a pro at handling Batman and stories with similar tones as Batman. The bad? Dixon is scrambling to make this book his own. He's changing around the roster in the third issue, removing J'onn J'onzz and Catwoman, and he's trying to change the tone of the book on the fly. This doesn't exactly sound like a winning combination in the short term. Maybe in the long term.

Wednesday's comic release list

Remember World War Hulk? Yeah? Well, just checking. It's been a while, and the Marvel Universe has moved on as if it doesn't exist, so I just wanted to make sure you all remembered it. Anyway, it ends on Wednesday. Oh, and a heck of a lot else is going on too, so scour this list and I'm sure you'll find something worth heading to the local shop for.

DC:
100 Bullets #86
All Star Superman #9
Batman And The Outsiders #1
Batman Strikes #39
Black Adam The Dark Age #4
Booster Gold #4
Captain Carrot And The Final Ark #2
Cartoon Network Action Pack #19
Countdown To Final Crisis #24
Dmz #25
Fables #67
Gen 13 #14
Green Arrow Black Canary #2
JLA Classified #46
Nightwing #138
Salvation Run #1
Simon Dark #2
Suicide Squad Raise The Flag #3
Superman Batman #42
Superman Confidential #9
Teen Titans East Special #1
Un-Men #4
Welcome To Tranquility #12
Wonder Girl #3
Wonder Woman #14
World Of Warcraft #1

Marvel:

Amazing Spider-Girl #14
Avengers Initiative #7
Captain Marvel #1
Civil War Chronicles #5
Ghost Rider #17
Ghost Rider Annual #1
House Of M Avengers #1
Iron Man Power Pack #1
Marvel Adventures Hulk #5
Marvel Comics Presents #3
Marvel Illustrated Man In The Iron Mask #5
New Avengers #36
Nova #8
Punisher #52
Punisher War Journal #13
Spider-Man Red Sonja #4
Thor #4
Ultimate Fantastic Four #48
Ultimates Saga
Wolverine #59
World War Hulk #5
X-Factor #25
X-Men Die by the Sword #3

Others:
After The Cape II #1 Seasons In Change
Amory Wars #4
Archaic #11
Archie & Friends #114
Betty & Veronica Double Digest #156
Black Diamond #5
BPRD Killing Ground #4
Brit #3
Circle #1
Drafted #3
Dragon Cross #1
Dragonlance Chronicles Vol 3 #5
Gargoyles #6
John Woos Seven Brothers Series 2 #3
Killing Girl #4
Living With The Dead #2
Meat Cake #16
Mice Templar #2
My Inner Bimbo #2
Nicolas Cages Voodoo Child #5
Seekers #3
Spawn Godslayer #5
Sword #2
Tempest #1
Totem #1
Toyfare Mrs Claus By Mcfarlane Toys #125
Zombie Proof #2

Marvel Comics' library Online

I was incommunicado for most of the day yesterday, hanging out in northeast Massachusetts, but I wanted to just get some thoughts out on Marvel's announcement reported by USA TODAY, about them uploading 2,500 backissues to an online library. The Library is accessible for a yearly fee of $60 or a monthly of $10.

Now, the cost is really not so bad. Hell, I spend $15-25 bucks a week on new releases, so if you're someone who wants to backtrack and read all the issues of Amazing Spider-man or Fantastic Four, it makes sense.

My problem with this system is the same problem I have always had with Online comics -- reading comics on a screen just isn't very enjoyable. It's not the same as having an issue in your hands, being able to flip back and forth and back again through the pages effortlessly, being able to lie down and read in any position in any piece of furniture in the house.

I don't think computers are sophisticated enough yet to take the place of a printed comic. They may never be.

For the sake of cheap backissues, this service is good. But I get the feeling that major news organizations have the idea that this is the future achieved today -- and that's just not the case.

Heroes Report on "Four Months Ago"

Well, I don't really know what new info we learned in this episode, but it was definitely interesting, at least.

Still, before we get to the report and analysis, I have just one question: Where the hell was our Sylar explanation? I guess we'll have to wait for it.

Of these flashback storylines, really the only one that filled in pertinent information was the story of D.L.'s death. And you have to be happy that the Heroes writers at least gave this character quite the swan song, even if he's not around for this season. To make him a firefighter is not only logical, but it finally did solidify his spot as a hero in his son's eyes.

However, you knew all along that Nikki's illness was going to be the death of him, unfortunately. Her split personality (some non-Jessica girl) skipped town and found a new man to shack up with, who promptly shot D.L. in the back when he wanted to take Nikki back. This all also explains what made Nikki so eager to dump off Micah and get help.

I really liked this story because it would have been very easy to just write-off D.L.'s death as his original gunshot wound. Instead, the character is given a proper final story.

Peter's story made a little less sense. Apparently, after he "blew up," he brought Nathan to a hospital, was kidnapped by Elle and Bob, and tricked into taking pills to eliminate his powers for his own good. With the help of fellow inmate Adam, Peter realized this was, in fact, a prison.

My problem with this is, if the Company had such effective pills, then why was keeping Sylar contained such a problem in season one? And more than that, why didn't Bob use those pills on Peter to stop him from blowing up in the first place?

Anyway, Peter and Adam broke out, Adam used his blood to change mangled-Nathan back into congressman-looking-Nathan, and the Haitian's plan to erase Peter's memories in order to give him a fresh chance at life and simultaneously stop him from rendezvousing with Adam is the reason Peter was locked up and memory-less.

Two notes on this storyline: 1) Adam's blood is magic healing juice! Is Claire's? 2) Elle's performance really made me miss Candace less...

Oh, and, apparently, Adam is planning to show the world what his healing powers can do. We'll see on that one. It would be interesting, if this does come to pass, if he were to share his blood as a cure for the Shanti Virus.

Finally, we have Maya and Alejandro. What a waste of time. Once again, we see her kill people unintentionally. Once again, we see the pair's strangely-close relationship. And apparently, Alejandro really does NOT know how to pick brides. I couldn't help but feel that this flashback was so incredibly unnecessary that it was only included to help the writers fill out the whole episode.

Honestly, when I first saw Alejandro flash onto the screen, I unintentionally groaned out loud. I'm sick of these two. The only time they've ever been interesting is a couple of episodes ago when Sylar started to turn Maya evil. Their past? NOT INTERESTING!

But, next episode we get more HRG and Mohinder showdown, so I'm still happy.

This week's video game releases

If you own a Wii, you'll be playing "Super Mario Galaxy" this week. If you don't, you'll be playing "Assassin's Creed." Either way, it's a darned good week to have nothing to do. Not that I do, damnit.

Oh, and give a little love to "Kane & Lynch" at some point, too. A promising title being released in a competitive week.

Tuesday:
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
Cars Mater-National (Wii)
Volleyball (Wii)
SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis (Wii)
BlackSite: Area 51 (Xbox 360, PC)
Blue's Journey (Wii)
Ultimate Mortal Kombat (DS)
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Imagination Invaders (DS)
Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader? (DS)
Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command (PSP)

Wednesday:
Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360, PS3)
Need for Speed ProStreet (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PS2, PC)
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Monster Jam (Xbox 360, DS, PS2, PC)
WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008 (Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, PS2, PSP, DS)
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Wii)
Petz: Dogz 2 (Wii, DS, PS2, PC)
Petz: Catz 2 (Wii, DS, PS2, PC)
Petz: Hamsterz Life 2 (DS, GBA)
Petz Horsez 2 (Wii, DS, PS2, PC)
Smarty Pants (Wii)
Beowulf (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Medal of Honor Heroes 2 (Wii, PS2)
Soldier of Fortune: Payback (Xbox 360, PC)
Cabela's Big Game Hunter (Wii)
Tomb Raider: Anniversary (Wii)
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (DS)
Orcs & Elves (DS)
Contra 4 (DS)
Jenga World Tour (DS)
Baby Pals (DS)
Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends (DS)
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus (PSP)
DragonBall Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (PS2)
Sonic Rivals 2 (PSP)
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (PSP)
King of Fighters XI (PS2)
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (PS2)
Fire Pro Wrestling Returns (PS2)
EverQuest Secrets of Faydwer (PC)
EverQuest II: Rise of Kunark (PC)
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PC)
Next Life (PC)
Imagine Fashion Designer (PC)
Reaxxion (PC)

Friday:

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Wii)
PopCap Hits volume 1 (Xbox 360, PS2)
Screwjumper! (Xbox 360)
Shrek-N-Roll (Xbox 360)
America's Army: True Soldiers (Xbox 360)
Word Jong (DS)
Super Fruit Fall (DS)
Garfield Gets Real (DS)
Ghost in the Sheet (PC)
Left Behind: Eternal Forces (PC)
SimCity Societies (PC)
Mission: WWI Combat (PC)

Saturday:
Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity (Wii)
Spy Games: Elevator Mission (Wii)
Smart Kid's Gameclub (DS)
Crysis (PC)
Hot Wheels: Beat That (PC)

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Buy Pile Report: Everything but X-Men

Maybe it's just that I'm in a bad mood after my DVR and VCR BOTH refused to tape the Grizzlies' game tonight. Maybe it's just that I read some disappointing stuff.

Of the non-X-Men books I read tonight... check that, of the non-Astonishing X-Men books I read tonight, only Marvel's First Family delivered.

Fantastic Four #551 was an intriguing first part of a three-issue arc. Basically, Dr. Doom has returned from 75 years in the future to tell Reed Richards that he's created a utopia -- and it needs to not happen for the good of mankind. He's come back with what appears to be Namor and T'Challa in order to convince Reed. Personally, I think Dwyane McDuffie just wanted to make sure to fit T'Challa into every issue of his run.

This is the first issue of any McDuffie has written that has boasted any sense of mystery, and I am actually interested to see if this 75-year future Doom is on the level. My guess is that his traveling partners are androids, but what do I know?

The rest of this week was a wash. In Superman #670 the third part of the "Third Kryptonia" storyline has come and gone with no grand sense or scale. I was hoping this storyline would be an epic Kryptonian tale -- but instead we got a generic and under-developed villain falling under the pressure of way too many last children of Krypton.

To be perfectly honest, the only other book that deserves any mentioning is actually Countdown #25. Don't get me wrong, this was by no means a good issue... but in this episode two fairly big things happen: 1) Mary Marvel is delivered to Darkseid, 2) Desaad becomes FIRESTORM.

Now, Countdown's major flaw has always been that not enough things happen, and when they do happen, they seem out of left field. I don't know how Mary Marvel is suddenly on Apocolypse. I don't know where Desaad got his hands on Professor Stein. But the fact that these two things happen did perk my interest.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Mario Galaxy is the best platformer EVER?!?

IGN.com has just put up their review of soon-to-be-released "Super Mario Galaxy" for the Wii at THIS LINK, and after reading it, you're going to keel over in anticipation for this game.

I mean, this is the most glowing IGN review I can ever remember reading. They put this game right up there with arguably the best platformer of all time, 'Super Mario 64."

GameSpot also now has their review of the game up at THIS LINK, with many of the same thoughts and opinions, but never really talk of this game being better than "Mario 64," just similar. Personally, I don't think they should even be compared to each other.

From the sounds of it, "Galaxy" may be a game good enough to make even the most hardcore gamers pick up their Wiimotes for the first time in a long time.

Buy Pile Report: X-Men

The two books that I just had to put off work here in the office for were Astonishing X-Men #23 and Uncanny X-Men #492, for obvious reasons.

And Astonishing lived up to its name. While it's seemed at times that the X-Men running around on the Breakworld have been aimless and ineffective, suddenly the X-Men strategy of old came through in spades for this penultimate issue of Joss Whedon's story.

I won't go and ruin the surprise for you yet, since the comic has still only been on the shelves for a few minutes, but Wow Wow WOW. Whedon not only takes the X-Men and suddenly puts them into a position to win this impossible fight, but he does in in such a way that there is still mystery left to uncover in the final issue. And while I won't tell you yet whether Scott Summers survives or not, all I will say is that I am one happy Cyclops fan.

Uncanny X-Men, however, kind of sputtered. Don't get me wrong, I'll forgive the issue since it is only the second installment in a grand story, but nothing really happens here other than more chess pieces finding their starting point on the board. Cyclops asserts control in the issue (in a rather harsh way as far as Xavier is concerned), and calls in the help of Jamie Maddrox's team (something we knew would happen, but it did have to be shown in the pages, after all).

Other than a short skirmish between a few X-Men and the ex-Acolytes, this issue was also bereft of action. As I said, in the grand scheme of things I will excuse this issue... but reading this after reading Astonishing was a bit of a drag.

Consoles staying put? Why?

Reports are all over the Net today that both Nintendo and Microsoft say they think their current systems (Wii, DS and Xbox 360, respectively) are going to buck the normal 5-year console life-expectancy. On top of that, we already know that Sony has claimed their PS3 will have closer to a 10-year life.

Frankly, I'm a little surprised by this... I mean, it makes sense given Sony's recent history... When these newer systems came around, PS2 was still in it's prime. Hell, it was just entering it's prime, with "Bully" and "Final Fantasy XII" coming out around the time the PS3 was launched. The PS2 could have had a 7-year life before PS3 came around, which would have allowed Sony to take their time developing the technology and making sure all the third parties got it right.

But, that was not the case for the Xbox. And, the GameCube was floundering for a couple of years when the Wii came out.

And when you look at the 360, I, personally, think it's currently the best system out there, when you take into account the library of games and the current capabilities of game developers. But, in 3 or 4 years, the game developers will have cracked many of the PS3's secrets and the Xbox 360 games are going to start looking noticeably worse. Microsoft is really going to need to come up with a PS3 killer at that time.

And when you look at the Wii... I'm bored with it. It was a nice idea and all, and the casual gaming market still gets their 10 minutes a day of fun out of it, but until Nintendo proves their Wiimote can handle top-notch games (Mario Galaxy, that means you!) I am not ready to say I want this to be Nintendo's only console for the next 6 years.

As much as I love the idea of saving money on keepign my same old consoles, I really wonder what Microsoft and Nintendo are thinking here.

This week's comic expectations

So, you all do know that Astonishing X-Men #23 is THE must-buy book of the week, right? The penultimate chapter to Joss Whedon's story will (hopefully) reveal more of this mystery surrounding Colossus and will (hopefully) reveal that Scott Summers is still alive. Despite the horrible shipping times of this book, it's been near flawless.

But, there is more to this week that will Astonish you. For one (or two, depending how you look at it), we have two second parts to two long-awaited crossovers.

Uncanny X-Men #492 is the second part of "Messiah CompleX," and after last week's dynamite scene-setting one-shot by Ed Brubaker, I'm thrilled that he also gets to pen this second issue as well. Hopefully, we'll get to see which group has the mutant infant, and hopefully we'll get to see what the X-Men plan to do about it. And, I'm guessing Cyclops and Prof. X may have differing views on this...

Robin #168 is the second part (last week saw a prelude issue) of the "Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" storyline. You shouldn't have needed "Batman Begins" to tell you that Ra's is one of Batman's best villains, and I have high-hopes for this Batman event, as it really starts rolling this month.

This week, we also get the final issue of the three-part "Third Kryptonian" arc in Superman #670. While the first two parts have been solid if not a little slow, we should see plenty of Kryptonian vs. Kryptonian-Killers action in this installment, and we should actually see the Third Herself in combat.

Dwayne McDuffie's final Fantastic Four arc begins this month with Fantastic Four #551. While McDuffie's work has been VERY up and down, normally with fun stories but highly-questionable arcs, I am actually looking forward to his take on Dr. Doom in this arc. It's obvious that he cut-down his last intergalactic arc just to have enough issues to tell this story, so it better be worth it!

Lots to like this week, from some of comic books' most classic heroes. Enjoy it, people!

Monday, November 5, 2007

Wednesday's comic release list

Shhhhh! Be very silent and still! We're stalking the rare and wild "Astonishing X-Men," it's incrediblly fortunate to find one so close to civilization, and we don't want to scare it away! Oh, and there's some other titles out this week too. But none are as rare and victorious a catch as Joss Whedon's Mutants...

DC:
All New Atom #17
Countdown Search For Ray Palmer Red Rain #1
Countdown Special Jimmy Olsen 80 Page Giant
Countdown To Final Crisis #25
Exterminators #23
Freddy Vs Jason Vs Ash #1
Infinity Inc #3
Jonah Hex #25
Justice League Unlimited #39
Looney Tunes #156
Metal Men #4
Metamorpho Year One #3
Midnighter #13
Robin #168
Scalped #11
Supergirl #23
Superman #670
Tranquility Armageddon #1
Vinyl Underground #2
Y The Last Man #59

Marvel:
Annihilation Conquest #1
Annihilation Conquest Star Lord #4
Astonishing X-Men #23
Criminal #10
Fantastic Four #551
Howard The Duck #2
Immortal Iron Fist #10
Iron Man Enter Mandarin #3
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #33
Marvel Legacy 1960s To 1990s Handbook Tp
Marvel Two-In-One #5
Ms Marvel #21
Mystic Arcana Sister Grimm
New Avengers Illuminati #5
Omega Unknown #2
Shanna She-Devil Survival Of The Fittest #4
Silver Surfer In Thy Name #1
Super Villain Team Up Modoks 11 #5
The Order #4
Uncanny X-Men #492
World War Hulk Gamma Corps #4

Others:
Archie Digest #239
Atlantis Rising #1
Banzai Girls #3
Betty & Veronica #231
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #8
Division 18 Union Of Costumed Performers #1
Emily The Strange Vol 2 The Fake Issue #2
Fearless #1
Frank Frazettas Death Dealer B&W Sp Ed #1
Gargoyles #6
Ghosting #3
GI Joe Data Desk Handbook Coll A-M
Grimm Fairy Tales Return To Wonderland #4
Groo Hell On Earth #1
Hack Slash Series #3
Hellboy Darkness Calls #6
Herc Brown #1
Highlander #11
Iron & The Maiden #4
Living Corpse 1/2 #0
Lobster Johnson The Iron Prometheus #3
Lucha Libre #2
My Inner Bimbo #2
Mystic Funnies #2
New Battlestar Galactica Season Zero #3
Pvp #36
Se7en Wrath #7
Sonic X #26
Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic #22
Star Wars Legacy #17
Steve Niles Strange Cases #2
Strange Embrace #5
Tales From The Crypt #3
Terminator 2 Infinity #4
Vampirella Quarterly Fall 2007 #2

Heroes Report on "Out of Time"

Episodes like this one are what makes the early episodes that drag worthwhile.

Sure, episodes, say #2-5 of this sophomore Heroes season weren't so hot. But last episode and this episode "Out of Time" are what make the show great. All the pieces fit together, the dominoes start falling and we get a string of three or four great episodes one after the other after the other.

With so much going on, let's just go around the horn with recaps.

Peter and Caitlin find themselves in an apocalyptic future, where we see 93% of the world's population dead thanks to the Shanti Virus. While I've made no secret that I can't stand the prospect of a plague storyline, it's always cool to see apocalyptic futures, isn't it? Unfortunately, our favorite Irish lass is taken from Peter just as he accidentally transports himself back to the past, with some if not all of his memories back.

- Momma Petrelli really made this scene for me, as the looks on her face when she saw Peter were top-notch.
- Now the question is, does Peter's returned memory change his relationship with this "Adam," and does he have all his memories back? And, can his glimpse into the future actually change anything?

Stalker-West stepped up the stalkerness by dropping in unannounced to the Bennet/Butler family with breakfast in hand. This does, of course, lead to Claire's lies getting blown and then leads to West learning about his Horn-Rimmed-Nemesis being Mr. Bennet.

- I literally laughed out loud when Stalker-West spotted HRG and thought he had come looking for him. Priceless!
- The only way this storyline possibly works for anyone is if last season is completely forgotten. After what Claire and HRG went through together, she shouldn't be turning on him so damned easily, and frankly it cheapens Season One.

Hiro and his Princess break free, allowing Hiro to blow up all those guns and save Japan. Charleton Heston shed a tear. In order to do this, he had to best "Kensei," who "died" in the explosion. Hiro, then, had to return home to fulfill Kensei's stories of sacrificing his love.

- From the start, this story could only go two ways: 1) He trains Kensei or 2) He becomes Kensei. As it turned out, he did both, with his Princess promising to spread Kensei's stories for Hiro's own good.
- I was pleased to see Hiro put his glasses back on upon returning to Ando. He just wasn't our lovable dork without them.

Possessed by Nightmare-Maury and coming after Bob, Nikki injects the virus into herself to stop the nightmare. However, it turns out Bob was a little too good at modifying that virus, because now Mohinder's antibodies don't work on her. When Bob tells Mohinder to go after Claire to get her genes, Mohinder spills the beans on his relationship with HRG.

- Wow, am I hoping this is all a planned charade orchestrated by HRG. If it isn't, Mohinder has got to be the biggest Wuss I have ever seen. At the first sign of adversity he rolls over? He's a stronger character than that! And he knows HRG's methods, he shouldn't be surprised by Ivan's death!
- I'd be shocked if Nikki dies of this plague, meaning I'll be shocked if the plague storyline remotely comes to pass. Ali Larter is not an actress I see NBC wanting to lose.

Parkman traps Nightmare-Maury in the same cage Maury was holding Molly in by using his mental powers that he didn't think he had. Molly wakes up, Maury doesn't.

- Suddenly, Parkman is a dangerous and potentially dynamite character, who can become a fantastic bad guy whenever the writers need him to become one. I love it!
- I could not be happier about Maury's defeat, if only because he was not a suitable major villain for this show...

BUT Adam "Kensei" Monroe is!!!

That's right, Kensei is, in fact, Adam Monroe, and he is the one behind most of the company's past decisions. He's also the one who is trying to team with Peter to take down the company and "punish humanity."

This show needed another potentially sinister baddie, and Maury and Bob just weren't cutting it. Adam Monroe does.

Sure, I may be hating everything about this virus garbage, but seeing who Adam Monroe is gave me renewed hope for a fantastic rest of season two, no matter how much longer it lasts.

A quick theory, though... could Monroe be Peter and Nathan's father? It would explain how Peter is so strong and how Nathan fathered invincible Claire...

Next week is apparently going to be one of Heroes' patented flashback episodes answering some questions, so I'd bank on another great episode in seven days.

I was becoming one of this show's biggest critics two weeks ago -- and now I am silenced.

Writers Guild is on strike -- are comics?

Comicbookresouces.com has a great little feature up at THIS LINK on the impace the WGA's strike will have on comics and their writers.

It's worth pointing out that comics writers are not a part of the WGA, so no comic production will slow down because of the strike. Quite the contrary, now TV and Movie writers who dabble in comic books will have more time to work on their books. If only Whedon was still writing Astonishing X-Men, we might get a decent release schedule!

Boy hires Hitman for PlayStation-Snatching Parents

I swear, this is like a story out of new spinoff "Law and Order: Special Gamers Unit"

Read THIS STORY.

A boy tried to hire a hitman after being kicked out of his house for misbehaving. According to the story, the first disciplinary action that enraged this 17-year-old was confiscating his PlayStation.

All I can say here is, this boy ain't too bright. It's not like this took his Xbox.

This week's video game releases

It's Mario. It's Sonic. It's Olympics. It's another GREAT week for us gamers!

Monday:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PC)
Agatha Christie: And then There Were None (Wii)
Bee Movie Game (Wii)
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii)
Build-A-Bear (DS)
Shrek: Ogres and Dronkeys (DS)
Aqua Teen hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am (PS2)
Bratz 4 Real (DS)
The Bee Game (GBA)
Tips, Tricks & Trips + Aircraft Collection (PC)
Zoo Vet: Endangered Animals (PC)
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance (PC)

Tuesday:
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)
F.E.A.R. Files (Xbox 360)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS)
Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War (PS3, Xbox 360)
Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of WWII (PS3)
Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2008 (Xbox 360, PS2)
Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour (Wii)
My Word Coach (Wii, DS)
Octomania (Wii)
Scene It? Lights, Camera Action (Xbox 360)
Ontamarama (DS)
LifeSigns: Surgical unit (DS)
Puzzle de Harvest Moon (DS)
My Spanish Coach (DS)
My French Coach (DS)
Panzer Tactics DS (DS)
Horse Life (DS)
Enchanted (DS)
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (DS)
The Simpsons Game (PSP)
SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals Tactical Strike (PSP)
Silent Hill: Origins (PSP)
World Series of Poker 2008: Battle for the Bracelets (PSP)
Power Rangers: Super Legends (PS2, GameCube, PC)
Gears of War (PC)
Viva Pinata (PC)
F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (PC)
The Sims 2: Teen Style Stuff (PC)
Hot Wheels: Beat That (PC)
Ghost in the Sheet (PC)
Empire Earth III (PC)

Wednesday:
Indy 500 (Ds)
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Beginning of Destiny (PS2)
Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: SBK-Superbike World Championship (PSP)

Thursday:
My Pet Dolphin (DS)
Left Brain Right Brain (DS)
Sam & Max Episode 201: Ice Station Santa (PC)

Friday, November 2, 2007

Saturday's Gaming in the Journal

BIG STUFF on Saturday in the Poughkeepsie Journal's Gaming page. (PAGE 5C!)

Remember when I told you we may have an interview at some point with Steve Chiavelli, an Our Lady of Lourdes graduate who helped create the Nintendo DS' "Drawn to Life"? Well, I wasn't just blowing smoke.

On Saturday, read a Q&A with the former Hopewell Junction resident and hear all about how the innovative game was made.

Oh, and we also have a review of the Simpsons Game, as well as a fantasy football column.

BIG BIG STUFF! So give a little love to Chiavelli and "Drawn to Life" and buy the Journal on Saturday!

Catching up

OK, so I've been MIA since writing that first Buy Pile Report on Wednesday. I've been finishing off "Kingdom Hearts II" in what little time I have away from work. Yes, I know I'm late to the party on this, it's a game I had always planned on playing, since I loved the first, but the timing just never worked.

You understand what it's like to plan on putting the controller down at a certain time, only to end up playing until sunrise, right? Yeah, I knew you would understand.

Either way, just a quick finish to that Buy Pile Report...

- If you picked up Countdown to Final Crisis #26, you don't need to worry about buying the first 25 issues of this story. It's like as if Cliffs Notes was employed by DC to recap their story in which nothing ever happens.

- Justice Society #10 dropped my jaw. I know I am getting a little fanboyish lately regarding this title, but when KC Supes swooped in to save that girl, I wanted to cheer, right here in the middle of the newsroom.

- Death of the New Gods #2 continued to succeed in every way... except for choosing Mister Miracle's new color scheme. He just looks a bit too, I don't know, Obsidianish. Still, great story here, the best far and away of the Countdown Tie-ins.

- Action #858 confused the hell out of me... I mean, it was a good start to the story and all, but since when is Clark Kent so socially inept? Didn't that whole angle get dropped somewhere around 1988? Isn't he married with now a foster son? Am I missing something?

The other topic I wanted to touch on was this whole "Manhunt 2" hack. Is anyone really surprised by this? I mean, the programmers put all that time and effort into making the game the right way at first, then they have to trash all their most gruesome stuff... OF COURSE they are going to leave some of it in there if you know how to get to it!

And yeah, they probably only intended to that good extra stuff to be used by people they know, and by themselves in the future, but should anyone really be surprised that the general public is now seeing it? The programmers did enough to slip this game past Mr. Conservative Goalie, but not because they wanted to.

And now the choice to buy it or not for your kid isn't up to the ESRB, its up to — GASP — parents! Oh, no, the law won't help you now, parents, are you going to take an interest in your kids lives now and stop them from playing this game? Probably not.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Buy Pile Report: Messiah CompleX

Everyone, let's have a round of applause for Ed Brubaker and Marc Silvestri.

(pauses for applause)

Sure, the first issue of an event is always the easiest, but Messiah CompleX #1 succeeded in every way.

And, it did it in such a way that makes me optimistic for the rest of the crossover. While previous dynamite first issues really try to hit you over the head with larger-than-life moments (see Captain America's Civil War fighter jet ride, for example), this first issue simply builds to momentum.

That's not to say there was no excitement here, either. Immediately we're dumped into a warzone, the result of a battle between the Marauders and the Purifiers just an hour ago. We watch the X-Men scramble to first diagnose the situation and then save the lives that can be spared, all the while a good tone for how the X-Men work as a team is established.

And really, the X-Men team working their way around this warzone has the closest feel to the X-men teams of the '90s that we've seen in a while, because there is that tone of teamwork. Cyclops is calling the shots, and all the other mutants are being utilized as a team, not simply working as lots of individuals by themselves but calling themselves a team. This re-established sense of teamwork is my greatest wish for the X-Men books of the future.

The only downside (which won't even be a downside when re-reading this as a complete event) is that this issue simply sets the table for the storyline with details we already knew thanks to all the promotion for this event. The X-Men are chasing after the first mutant birth since M-Day, which both the Marauders and Purifiers also want, and one of those two now have the kid.

Now let's all just hope that this story lives up to its potential. And let's all hope that Bachalo's and Ramos' art doesn't kill the story after Silvestri did such a magnificent job with this opener.

Oh, but there was one little issue with Silvestri's art... and kids, close your ears... there is one panel in which Emma and Scott are alone on the Blackbird and Emma is kind of sticking her butt out toward Scott as she asks him "And what about us, Scott, No orders for me?" ... does that seem wrong to anyone other than me? Do I just have the imagination of an eighth-grader?

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

This week's comic expectations

Pay no attention to the thin list of Marvel Comics releases this week, we're getting some quality out of the "House of Ideas," even if the third installment of "One More Day" was pushed off.

Leading the way is, of course, Messiah CompleX #1, the one-shot that kicks off the first true X-Men crossover in a decade. Being a huge X-Men fan (who lived and died with each of those yesteryear crossovers growing up), I could not be more excited about this release. Sure, I'm nervous about it, since Marvel doesn't seem to have a clue lately on how to write the X-Men. And Sure, I'm not too happy that Chris Bachelo and Humberto Ramos are penciling about half of it. BUT, my man Cyclops is playing a central role in a story that promises to reset the direction of the whole X-Men line, so you better believe I'll be reading.

By the way, while I would also recommend New X-Men #43 after last issue was so strong, you should know that this is NOT a Messiah CompleX book, just an issue that was pushed back a week.

Now, if not for Messiah CompleX's debut, Justice Society #10 would be the ace of most any week of releases. Geoff Johns' JSA is the most consistently great book on the market, and the addition of one of my favorite heroes of all time, Kingdom Come Superman, the book is sure to be interesting at worst and phenomenal at best. Sure, this book has been pushed back for a while, most likely because we have a few Alex Ross painted pages inside, but it's better late than never.

Speaking of painted pages, I'm kind of interested to see Mythos: Fantastic Four. Marvel's line of painted origin re-tellings are typically pretty good, and I'm interested to see how the Fan Four's first meeting with Mole Man looks as real artwork.

Batman #670 kicks off the "Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul" storyline with a "prelude" issue. Generally, prelude issues end up as a giant recap of any recent contact between characters, in this case Batman and Ra's, so this is likely the perfect issue to pickup if you're a casual Batman fan simply looking to jump on for this one big Batman event.

Another big issue to begin a storyline this week is Action #858, the start of Geoff Johns' Legion of Superheroes arc. Personally, I was never too knowledgeable on that original Legion before the "Lightning Saga," but I've been dying for more info ever since. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the surprise hit arc of the year.

Wednesday's comic release list

Halloween isn't just a day to steal candy from younger kids and egg houses, this year it's also the home to a terriffic list of new comic books on the shelves. With titles like Messiah CompleX #1 and Justice Society #10 out, you'll have plenty to read while you, in the words of my 12-year-old cousin, "chunk up."

DC:
52 Aftermath The Four Horsemen #3
Action Comics #858
American Virgin #20
Batman #670
Cartoon Network Block Party #38
Countdown Lord Havok And The Extremists #1
Countdown To Adventure #3
Countdown To Final Crisis #26
Countdown To Mystery #2
Crime Bible The Five Lessons Of Blood #1
Crossing Midnight #12
Dc Infinite Halloween Special #1
Death Of The New Gods #2
Jack Of Fables #16
JSA Classified #31
Justice Society Of America #10
Midnighter Armageddon #1
Robin Annual #7
Supergirl And The Legion Of Super Heroes #35
Superman Confidential #8
Supernatural Origins #6
Teen Titans Go #48
Trials Of Shazam #9

Marvel:
Anita Blake Vh First Death #2
Annihilation Conquest Quasar #4
Daredevil Annual #1
Iron Man #23
Mythos Fantastic Four
New X-Men #43
Sub-Mariner #5
Ultimate Power #8
X-Men Messiah Complex One Shot

Others:
Apocalypse Nerd #6
Army Of Darkness From Ashes #3
Betty & Veronica Digest #179
Betty & Veronica Spectacular #80
Brit #3
Consumed #4
Dynamo 5 #8
Forgotten Realms Halflings #2
GI Joe Data Desk Handbook Coll A-M
GI Joe Storm Shadow #5
Haunted Mansion #7
Johnny Delgado Is Dead #2
Jugheads Double Digest #135
Kade Shivas Sun #0
Kiss 4k #4
Last Blood #3
New Battlestar Galactica Pegasus One Shot
Tales Of The Fear Agent 12 Steps In One
Sabrina Vol 2 #89
Sadhu The Silent Ones #3
Savage Dragon #133
Slow News Day
Special Forces #1
Sword Of Red Sonja Doom O/T Gods #2
Tales From The Crypt #3
True Story Swear To God Image Ed #9
Wasteland #13
Witchblade #111
Wizard Magazine #194

Monday, October 29, 2007

Heroes Report on "The Line"

Now that's the Heroes that I know and love.

Don't get me wrong, I don't need the show to revert back to past themes, like the whole "New York is in Danger" thing that we apparently got a glimpse of this episode. But what I do need is for the characters to act in character and the tone to resemble that of the first season.

And the tone of this episode was fantastic. HRG's interrogation scenes with Ivan didn't just say you should feel tension, you felt it. Mohinder's scenes didn't just tell you he was conflicted, you felt it. And Sylar didn't just tell you he is evil, you knew it (even if I do still think Sylar undergoing a change of heart would be interesting).

And most important to this re-established tone was a veil of mystery, something that was missing from the first five episodes of the year. Sure, there was the whole "Nightmare Man" mystery, but we knew that was coming. And there was the whole "what does Maya do?" mystery, but who gives a damn about her?

Plenty of new mysteries were all lumped on to us in this episode:
- A new mystery of New York's perilous future (again). And while I'm not sure that endangering New York is the right way to go once again, I am interested in going down this path again.
- A new mystery of who Adam Monroe is, and how does he know Peter?
- A new mystery revolving around Nikki and what role she will play with the company as Mohinder's partner/babysitter.
- A new mystery with Hiro saying he "fractured time" by kissing the Japanese girl -- how will that come into play, especially now that Kensei has turned to the darkside?
- A subtle little mystery when Ivan mentioned a "liquid man" to HRG. Who is this man? Oh, and was I the only one who wanted Ivan to ask HRG where the rent was? You know, from Spider-man?

These mysteries made this episode the best of the young second season. I haven't been this interested since last season. I really cannot think of any complaints this week, only positives:
- HRG and the Haitian have never seemed more imposing, even now that we know they have soft caramel centers.
- Claire was reckless with her cover again, but this time in a fun-loving and adventurous way, not simply poorly written... only shouldn't there have been blood on those steps?
- Mohinder stayed a pure-hearted character, despite my lack of faith in the writers to do so.
- Hiro was FINALLY the Hiro we know and love, a mixture of geek and lovable goofball.
- and finally, Maya was FINALLY INTERESTING, being tainted by Sylar.

Heck, even that goofy framing device with Ando reading Hiro's story didn't bother me as much this week.

I have no complaints, for the first time this year. Which is nice, since I have plenty of complaints for my fantasy football team, watching this Packers/Broncos game. You said Deshawn Wynn was going to carry the load, Mike McCarthy!

This week's video game releases

A little game by the name of Guitar Hero III has already come out today, so I'm willing to bet the rest of this week's releases won't matter since you'll be shredding for at least the next seven days... But, since there are those of us who don't love playing a glorified game of Simon, here's the rest of this week's games:

Monday:
Manhunt 2 (PSP, PS2)
Stanglehold (PS3)
Cars Mater-National (Xbox 360, PS3, DS, PS2, PC)
Honda SBK-07: Superbike World Championship (PS2)
Battalion Wars 2 (Wii)
El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera (DS)
Ratatouille Food Frenzy (DS)

Tuesday:
TimeShift (Xbox 360, PC)
Virtua Fighter 5 (Xbox 360)
The Simpsons Game (Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PS3, PS2)
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja (Xbox 360)
Viva Pinata: Party Animals (Xbox 360)
High School Musical: Sing It! (Wii)
Hooked! Real Motion Fishing (Wii)
Ben 10: Protector of Earth (Wii, DS, PS2)
Shrek: Ogres and Dronkeys (DS)
Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey (Wii)
Barbie as the Island Princess (Wii, DS, PS2, GBA)
Showtime Championship Boxing (Wii)
Napoleon Dynamite (DS, PSP)
Power Rangers: Super Legends (PS2)
Super Collapse 3 (DS)
O.M.G. 26 - Our Mini Games (DS)
Panzer Tactics DS (DS)
Bee Movie Game (DS)
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness (PSP)
The Office (PC)
NBA Live 08 (PC)
Tabula Rasa (PC)
World Series of Poker 2008: Battle for the Bracelets (PC)
The Command & Conquer Saga (PC)
The Witcher (PC)
Sega Rally Revo (PC)
Fashion Designer (PC)
Zoo Vet 2: Endangered Animals (PC)
Chessmaster: Grandmaster Edition (PC)

Wednesday:
Manhunt 2 (Wii)
Super Air Zonk (Wii)
Samurai Ghost (Wii)
Dementium: The Ward (DS)

Thursday:
Garfield Gets Real (DS)
Dr. Suess: How the Ginch Stole Christmas (DS)
Enchanted (GBA)
Hellgate: London (PC)
The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure (PC)

Friday:
The King of Fighters XI (PS2)
Ed, Edd & Eddy: Scam of the Century (DS)
Culpa Innata (PC)
SunAge (PC)
Barbie at the Island Princess (PC)
FlatOut: Head On (PC)

Friday, October 26, 2007

Saturday's Gaming in the Journal

It's Halloween... or at least it will be in five days. Either way, for the Poughkeepsie Journal's Gaming page, that means it's time for the now second-annual Halloween Costume Suggestions Column!

You can read the 2006 costume suggestions column at THIS LINK.

Among the suggested Gaming-specific costumes this year are Master Chief, Hevad Khan and King Koopa. Hopefully you all get a kick out of it.

Also on the page is a story about poker players banding together to try and repeal the Internet Gambling Ban, as well as the weekly fantasy football column.

Oh, and don't forget to check the page for information on a poker tournament at the Spotty Dog book store in Hudson, taking place on Saturday.

So, go out and make sure to buy the Poughkeepsie Journal on Saturday and read the Gaming page in the Sports section!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Assassin's Creed goes GOLD

In the words of Mike Myers, "I Love Goooooooooold!"

The game I've been drooling over since E3 is becoming a reality. Pay no attention to those stories about Ubisoft having late problems with the game, "Assassin's Creed" has officially Gone Gold.

On Nov. 13th, we can all rejoice in the sweet sweet gaming goodness.

Buy Pile Report

The hardest part about writing a major comic book war has always been the ending. It's an impossible task to tie everything together and deliver a finish worthy of the event's opening chapters -- case in point, Marvel's "Civil War." And this week, I think we saw Geoff Johns start to struggle with the ending of his could-be-masterpiece, the Sinestro Corps War.

Johns penned the long-awaited Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents Superman-Prime this week, a decent book that didn't quite live up to expectations but does succeed as a half-brawl, half-biography over-sized issue. While the biography is needless to most everyone that read Infinite Crisis, the brawl is just plain fun with good moments, brief moments like Cassie mentioning Connor and the Super-family all attacking Prime at once.

We also see another solid instalment to the war plotted by Johns and written by Dave Gibbons in Green Lantern Corps #17 which, for the most part, was all predictable stuff. Lanterns fighting Sinestros on Earth, Sodam Yat becoming Ion, few surprises. Not bad by any means, just not anything shocking.

Here's the problem though... these two books, which came out on the same day, don't quite fit together. And what's worse is, you can start to see seams in the story forming caused by too many major players being too many places at once. Throughout Superman-Prime, we watch all of the DCU battle Prime to a standstill. Throughout GL Corps, we watch a group of Lanterns fly head-first toward Sinestro and Anti-Monitor, before Yat is turned to Ion. At the end of both books, for no real reason whatsoever, all of a sudden Prime and Ion are attacking each other. Where did that come from? Now, I'll give this story the benefit of the doubt for now and eagerly await the next installments, but this week did worry me that Johns' masterpiece may be turning a bit sour.

The pleasant surprise award for the week goes to X-Men #204, the immediate precursor to "Messiah CompleX." Now, I'm a huge X-Men-world fan, but I admit that despite a decent start to Carey's run, I stopped reading this title after "SuperNovas" simply because Bachalo's and Ramos' art bothered me that much. Mike Choi's pencils in this issue, though, were like an open invitation to me as I thumbed through this book, deciding whether or not to buy.

And boy was I glad that I picked up the issue. I don't know when Carey got to know these characters so well -- but he hit the nail on the head with plenty of the characters he doesn't normally handle, namely my man Scott Summers. This one issue was THE BEST CYCLOPS I have read in a long time, better even than Joss Whedon's Cyclops. Where Whedon has made Cyclops cool again by turning him into something that he isn't, Carey simply brought out the best in Cyclops that was always there, his strong and decisive leadership. And that alone really set the tone for me as we head into "Messiah CompleX."

Oh, and "Endangered Species" finished in this issue, and, as expected, nothing happened. Hope you didn't go and buy each issue just to have all 17 parts, you would probably be pretty pissed right now.

Finally, I'm not quite sure of what to make of Superman #669. We meet the "Third Kryptonian" in this issue -- and we REALLY meet her. I mean, this broad immediately tells Supes her entire life story, right down to when she lost her first tooth and the first time a boy punched her on the monkey bars which meant he actually liked her. While this all was pretty informative and a fresh look on Kryptonian history before the big boom, I found myself wondering when the backstory was going to end and the resolution was going to begin. Finally, at the end of the issue, someone attacks Superman and Ms. Third, so we'll get some action in #670. Until then, this issue is only for those of you who are into Kryptonian History Lessons.

Oh, and Countdown #27 was horrible. 'Nuff said.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

No Millar-written Superman

Check out THIS POST at MillarWorld for the sad sad news that the next Superman movie will NOT be written by Mark Millar.

Basically, DC doesn't want Warner Bros. to hire him, since Millar is a Marvel-exclusive guy and each time Millar is given praise for the would-be movie, his other Marvel projects would inevitably be mentioned.

Now, I'm pretty bummed about this. And I've never been that big of a Millar fan, heck, I downright hated issues 4-7 of "Civil War." But, he's a quality writer with a real passion for Superman, and that gave me confidence that the movie would have been done right. Oh well.

Ratchet scores for PS3

Gentlemen, Sony is back in the race.

Visit THIS LINK to read IGN.com's sterling review of this week's PS3 release "Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction."

As I've said before, this is the one PS3 game that looked like it was going to really make me want a personal PS3, and Insomniac delivered on what sounds like a classic game.

Finally, a PS3 game that delivered on its promise. Sony fanboys, enjoy your day in the sun.

This week's comic expectations

Listen, I'm tired, I just finished writing a Halloween column for this week's Gaming page, and I'm due in the office in just a few hours, so do you really need me to tell you what's good this week?

OK, I guess I should. But remember to take a good hard look at the whole list of this week's releases (two posts down, right under the "One More Day" post) since I'm going to be brief.

Two issues dealing with the Sinestro Corps War comes out with Green Lantern Corps #17 and Tales of the Sinestro Corps Superman Prime (a.k.a. Anti-Monitor), and you should be buying both and reading this whole event, it's that simple. Blue Beetle #20 also ties-in, but it looks unnecessary.

In Superman #669 we're going to get to meet the long-awaited "Third Kryptonian."

Gotham Underground #1 kicks off a good looking nine-part mini looking at who is taking control of the Gotham crime scene, and who are the heroes other than Batman looking to stop them.

X-Men #204 will be a precursor to next week's "Messiah CompleX" kickoff, and more importantly, the final chapter to "Endangered Species"

And Daredevil #101 is the second-part to yet another strong looking arc from Ed Brubaker.

As I said, brief. I'm tired, give me a break, you'll thank me when you read the column in Saturday's Poughkeepsie Journal Gaming page.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

One More Day Delayed

Oh God, Marvel is at it again.

The "House of Ideas" (I used to not put that Moniker in quotes, but nowadays it needs it) announced today that the third and fourth installments of the Spider-Man "One More Day" storyline are delayed. BIG TIME.

Where part three, Sensational Spider-Man #41, was to be shipped on Nov. 8, It's now the Nov. 28th.

Where part four, Amazing Spider-Man #545, was to be shipped Dec. 6th, It's now Dec. 27th!

Wow, apparently the true meaning of "One More Day" is actually that you'll keep on waiting One More Day for the darned issues to come out, much like their last few major story arcs.

And really, I've read the first two issues, this junk has not been worth waiting for.

Wednesday's Comic Release List

Wednesday will be a rarity. Normally, when there's a huge release week impending (like, say, Oct. 31st!), the week before it kinda drags. But not this time. Two more installments of the Sinestro Corps War highlight a surprizingly not-horrible pre-storm week.

DC:
Action Comics #857
Authority Prime #1
Blue Beetle #20
Countdown #27
Countdown Special The Flash 80-Page Giant
Countdown To Mystery #2
Flash #233
Gen 13 #13
Gotham Underground #1
Green Arrow Year One #6
Green Lantern Corps. #17
Hellblazer #237
Jla Classified #45
Legion Of Super Heroes In The 31st Century #7
Loveless #20
Robin #167
Scooby Doo #125
Superman #669
Superman Batman #41
Tales Of The Sinestro Corps Superman Prime #1
Teen Titans #52
Uncle Sam And The Freedom Fighters #2
Wetworks #14

Marvel:
Annihilation Conquest Wraith #4
Black Panther #31
Cable Deadpool #46
Daredevil #101
Foolkiller #1
Magician Apprentice #10
Marvel Adventures Iron Man #6
Marvel Illustrated Man In The Iron Mask #4
Marvel Spotlight Marvel Zombies
Moon Knight #13
She-Hulk 2 #22
Thunderbolts #117
Ultimate Spider-Man #115
What If Planet Hulk
X-Men #204
X-Men Die By The Sword #2
X-Men First Class Vol 2 #5

Others:
Bart Simpson Comics #38
Beowulf #4
Betty #169
Casanova #10
Crawl Space Xxxombies #1
Criminal Macabre My Demon Baby #2
Cromartie High School Vol 12 #12
Fear Agent Last Goodbye #4
Glister #2
Hack Slash Series Crank #5
India Authentic Vishnu #6
Into The Dust #2
Invincible #46
Jellyfist Jughead And Friends Digest #24
Lone Ranger #9
Pals N Gals Double Digest #116
Pvp #35
Savage Tales #4S
Star Wars Dark Times #6
Sonic The Hedgehog #181
Transformers Megatron Origin #4
Velocity Pilot Season #1
Walking Dead #43
Witchblade Shades Of Gray #3

Heroes Report on "Fight or Flight"

What a coincidence... This week's episode of "Heroes" was the first of the second season that didn't include a segment with Maya and Alejandro... It was also the first episode in a while that was really solid all the way through... funny how that works, huh?

Now, that's not to say that I particularly like where the storylines are going in this episode... but at least they're starting to get somewhere.

For instance, I was really looking forward to seeing how Peter's character developed in Ireland and with whats-his-name owner of the bar. Unfortunately, Veronica Mars went and melted whats-his-name, effectively ending Peter's stay in Ireland. As I said, not exactly what I was hoping for, but at least Peter's story now has a direction, apparently traveling around with Ms. Irish Accent.

We also are really getting somewhere with Parkman and Nathan's pursuit of the Nightmare Man. Unfortunately, that big bald schmuck Parkman's father is definitely the Nightmare Man (the most unimposing villain this side of The Mole Man). The good news is, he has an incredible power for illusion, and we got one of the best scenes of the young season watching Parkman and Nathan unwittingly beat each other up.

By the way, I think darkness is needed for Daddy Parkman to use his powers. He needed Matt to go into the dark to set the illusion. When Nathan entered the dark, he entered the illusion. Momma Petrelli's insanity began when the lights turned off. Molly Walker, well, that's obvious. Oh, and Daddy Nakamura may have only thought he was fighting with someone when he went over the roof, due to an illusion set at night time.

This also opens up a giant can of worms -- just how powerful can Parkman become? And in the short term, does he possess the ability to wake up Molly, like he woke up from the dream himself?

And speaking of cans of worms -- where exactly is Mohinder's character arc leading? He's relying on the company, he's doing their bidding by bringing in a young girl, and on the other hand he's trying to break Nikki free. Right now he's being written as a real conflicted character, and it will be interesting to see where it leads.

We also got a fleeting glimpse of the Dynamic Duo of HRG and the Haitian in Europe, which was only a highlight because the Haitian looked freezing and miserable, it's hilarious. Go back and watch for yourself if you missed it.

The only true waste of this episode was the Hiro storyline. I'm really getting tired of this framing to the story using Ando, just to keep Ando in the picture. The first time they used it, it was a cute little interlude. But all this junk with the ancient-scroll restoration expert is just a waste of time that could be spent on other storylines -- or, better yet, more of Hiro in Japan instead of simply overviews.

Well anyway, a solid episode all around. And the capper to this solid episode was another incredible looking preview to next week's show. Which, by the way, is a disturbing recent pattern with this show... it seems like the teases to next week's show are a heck of a lot more exciting than the actual show, leading to inevitable disappointment. Oh well, HRG shoots someone next week, so I'll be happy.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

This week's video game releases

Folks, this is one of the biggest weeks in the history of the PlayStation 3. With their exclusive "Ratchet and Clank" game hitting shelves, Sony badly needs this game to not only reach expectations but be good enough to sell some consoles all by itself. And, speaking as a fan of the series, I really think this can be the closest thing Sony has to a console-moving game.

Monday:
EA Playground (Wii)
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (PS3)
The Sims 2: Castaway (PS2, PSP, DS)
Escape from paradise City (PC)
Deal or No Deal: Secret Vault Games (PC)

Tuesday:
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots (Wii, DS, PS2, GBA)
Dancing with the Stars (Wii, PS2)
Luxor: Pharaoh's Challenge (PS2, PSP)
The Sims 2: Castaway (Wii)
Ed, Edd & Eddy: Scam of the Century (DS)
Backyard Football 2008 (DS, PC)
Puppy Luv (Wii)
SpongeBob's Atlantis Squarepantis (DS, PS2)
Zoo Hospital (DS)
Imagine Animal Doctor (DC)
Ratatouille (PS3)
Conan (Xbox 360, PS3)
Clive Barker's Jericho (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
Balloon Pop (Wii)
Naruto: Path of the Ninja (Wii, DS)
Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (Xbox 360)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations (DS)
Tomb Raider: Anniversary (Xbox 360)
Chessmaster: The Art of Learning (DS)
High School Musical: Sing It! (PS2)
The Eye of Judgement (PS3)
Namco Museum Remix (Wii)
Mega Man ZX Advent (DS)
The King of Fighters XI (PS2)
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PSP)
Imagine Babyz (DS)
Napoleon Dynamite (DS, PSP)
EA Playground (DS)
Spanish for Everyone (DS)
Rhythm 'n Notes (DS)
Super Collapse 3 (DS)
MotoGP '07 (PS2)
Warriors of the Lost Empire (PSP)
World Series of Poker 2008: Battle for the Bracelets (PC)
Assault Heroes (PC)
Panzer Killer (PC)
Imagine Fashion Designer (DS, PC)
Cake Mania 2 (PC)
Flight Simulator X: Acceleration (PC)
Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties (PC)
Dawn of Magic (PC)
Battlestar Galactica (PC)
Culpa Innata (PC)

Wednesday:
Battlestar Galactica (Xbox 360)
Solitaire Overload (DS)

Thursday:
M&M's Kart Racing (Wii)
Campus (PC)

Friday:
Hannah Montana: Music Jam (DS)
Power Rangers: Super Legends (DS)
Interactive Storybook Series 2 (DS)
Interactive Storybook Series 3 (DS)
Painkiller: Overdose (PC)

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Console "Analysts" need to shut it

OK, I am officially sick of these "Analysts say" this or "Analysts say" that stories.

First the analysts predict a big PS3 win. Then Wii is all the rage. Then PS3 will rebound and beat Wii. Then Xbox is good. Then Xbox is bad. Then I take too much cold medication just to pass out and not have to listen to these damn "Analysts" anymore!

There's another of these stories up at Gamasutra at THIS LINK today.

Apparently Analysts are saying that, despite Xbox 360's strong September, Wii will still likely beat them in the coming months.

I believe I speak for everyone when I say "ANALYSTS, SHUT IT!" Honestly, They are wrong way too much of the time to be able to call themselves "Analysts." All this September proved was that which ever console has the better games will win the console war. AND THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE!

It's not Wii's price point that made it so popular, it's it's library (albeit a thin library) of easily accessible games. It's not PS3's price point hurting it, it's the total lack of games. And it's not Xbox 360 selling consoles, it's Xbox's exclusive games selling them. Stop analyzing and just use logic, for once!

Saturday's Gaming in the Journal

Get ready for another pretty Gaming page in Saturday's Poughkeepsie Journal (page 5C!).

This week, we have a review of "Project Gotham Racing 4," writen by the Poughkeepsie Journal's own Keith Schultz. We also have a review of the massive game release 'The Orange Box," writen by the Associated Press.

Oh, and we also have our weekly fantasy football column, as well as news on Sony's PS3 price cut.

It's a packed pretty page, folks, so pick up Saturday's Journal.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Sony slashes PS3 price - at your cost

Yes folks, it finally happened. Sony has not only introduced the long-awaited $399 40-gigabyte PS3 (with no backward compatibility), but it also said the 80-gig version would now cost $499!

Now, on the one hand, this is pretty good news for Gamers on the whole. Had the 80-gig PS3 remained at $599, the console would have continued to fall farther and farther back in the console wars, creating a situation where third-party manufacturers shy away from making PS3 games.

On the other hand, though, Sony swore up and down that the 80-gig model would stay at $599, creating a rush to snatch up $499 60-gig models before they were made obsolete. In essence, Sony TRICKED Plenty of PS3 fans into purchasing a model when they could have gotten 20-gigs more for the same price. If I was one of those who hurried up to find a 60-gig model a couple of months ago, I'd be pissed right now.

Good job looking out for your bottom line, Sony, even when you are cutting your price. You all make the BEST decisions. Really, you do.

Buy Pile Report: Everything but New Gods

You know that song "Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places"? No? Well, you know that Eddie Murphy sketch where he's Buckwheat and he sings "Wooking por Nub in all de wong pwaces"?

Well, either way, this week's comics were a whole big ball of unexpected. The first of which was our earlier Buy Pile Report, on the pleasant surprise Death of the New Gods #1 was.

The next surprise came in Justice League of America #14... well, I wasn't totally shocked, since I haven't been too high on Dwyane McDuffie's JLA, but still, this issue missed the mark big time, again. While on the one hand, McDuffie's Injustice League has succeeded at capturing all of the Justice League except Supes and Black Lightning, this whole story just has no sense of a grand scheme. All these super villains assembled to do... what, exactly? Piss of Superman? There is no sense of danger or tension in this book -- no feeling that the JLA has to actually stop this Injustice League.

All we get in this issue is Lex Luthor harrassing Superman, while the JLA is trapped and the Injustice League stands around twiddling their thumbs. All this evil assembled and the best they can do is trap heroes and confine them, not even kill them. And the only Hero they choose to torture -- Geo Force -- is the only hero readers have been begging to leave this book!

I want to make a new rule in comic books -- no more assembling super villains into one team unless they are going to pose a MAJOR Intergalactic threat. Cough cough - Sinestro Corps - cough cough.

Brave and the Bold #7 was surprisingly poor also. I had high expectations for this issue, after Mark Waid's first six-issue arc was so impressive, but this issue was a complete waste of time. The majority of the issue simply goes back and forth from Wonder Woman telling Power Girl to use patience to Power Girl telling Wonder Woman she just wants to punch things. And while this characterization would have suited Kara 15 years ago, she's grown into a level-headed leader (The Justice Society's Chairwoman, for God's sake) since then. With this issue entirely dependant on the give-and-take between the two women, Kara's poor characterization made this issue pointless.

But enough disappointment. The pleasant surprise of the week was Ultimate Fantastic Four #47. While I've still come to the conclusion that this series has become irrelevant, everything about this issue worked for me. Reed under alien control, neglecting Sue. Thing and Johnny standing up for Sue, trying to pound sense into Reed. Sue, being the strong character that she is, heading off on a mission without neglectful Reed, and finding a whole lot of danger in Russia from an organization led by the Ultimate version of the Red Ghost. It all worked for me -- and best of all was the art. I've hated most of the UFF artists for the last two years or so, but Mark Brooks' pencils were spot-on for how this book should be drawn.

While I'm still unsure of whether or not Mike Carey has turned a corner and is ready to make this series worth Reading again, this issue seems like a promising start to a good Fantastic Four story, and who can turn that down?

Another surprise -- this one I'm kind of indifferent to -- was X-Men: Emperor Vulcan #2. While this second issue provided an intriguing new wrinkle to the rich X-Men/Shi'ar history books (Now the M'kraan Crystal is, in fact, stolen by the Shi'ar and their 1,000-years ago owners want it back), it's clear that this series won't be what I want it to be. With Alex Summers and company out in space looking to take down Gabriel Summers, the Shi'ar Emperor, I was really looking forward to some good brother-brother conflict and some good Starjammers-Shi'ar conflict. However, it's looking like this is going to be a "let's re-write the history of an alien race" story" instead.

While I am not complaining by this change, these first two issues have been solid, it's still not exactly what I signed on for. Hopefully after Gabriel and Alex's little truce, we'll get to see the knock-down-drag-out brawl we paid to see.

And we've saved the best book of the week for last, which was no surprise to us -- Captain America #31. While this issue wasn't big on plot development (Brubaker hasn't exactly been rushing through), what we got was a step by step account of exactly what Dr. Faustus had to do to brainwash Bucky -- and it wasn't easy! What I liked about it was, so often in comics it's just "Oh, the bad guy brainwashed him," or "Oh, you must be under mind control," but rarely do you see exactly what the villain does to the hero's mind to put him in such a mental state.

The last shocker of the day was, of course, the big reveal at the end of the issue -- a reveal so big that I wouldn't dare spoil it for those of you who haven't read this book yet. Go out and buy it, darn it! And for God's sake Brubaker, hurry up with issue #32, it's been 4 hours since I read issue #31 and I've waited too long already!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Buy Pile Report: Death of the New Gods

Yes, I never got around to typing up a list of this week's Comic Cook expectations. So sue me.

I'm making up for it by coming on here early and imploring you all to go out and pick up a copy of Death of the New Gods #1.

If you've ever had interest in the New Gods, Mister Miracle, or simply think that Darkseid is the man, you're going to love (or love to hate) this first issue.

In the span of one slightly-oversized issue, this first part of the story not only brings you up to speed on the New Gods' origins, New Genesis' religion, Darkseid's ambitions, but all the while it also (for the first time since "Countdown" began) sheds light onto the real mystery of the New Gods' death and the Source.

I, for one, am thinking that this eight-part story will not only be the best of the "Countdown" tie-in stories, but also possibly better and more relevant than "Countdown" itself!

The only downside to this great story written and drawn by Jim Starlin is that, well, look at the title. A WHOLE LOT of Great Characters are going to DIE. And a HUGE Death occurs in this issue, which redefines one of my favorite characters of all time, Scott Free. And yes, you Dan Didio haters are going to be pissed again.

But while you're pissed at the death, you will LOVE this actually Relevant story.

Wednesday's comic release list

Some interesting choices out on the shelves this week, like the first issue of the "Death of the New Gods" series, to go along with monthly favorites like Captain America.

DC:
Aquaman Sword Of Atlantis #57
Army @ Love #8
Batman Strikes #38
Birds Of Prey #111
Brave And The Bold #7
Cartoon Network Action Pack #18
Catwoman #72
Checkmate #19
Countdown #28
Death Of The New Gods #1
Dmz #24
Ex Machina #31
Fables #66
Highwaymen #5
Justice League Of America #14
Metamorpho Year One #2
Programme #4
Shadowpact #18
Superman Confidential #7

Marvel:
Avengers Classic #5
Captain America #31
Captain America Chosen #3
Daily Bugle November
Marvel Adventures Avengers #17
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #29
Marvel Adventures Two-In-One #4
Marvel Comics Presents #2
Marvel Illustrated Treasure Island #5
Marvel Zombies 2 #1
Mighty Avengers #5
New Excalibur #24
Penance Relentless #2
Powers #26
Spider-Man Family #5
Terror Inc #3
Ultimate Fantastic Four #47
Ultimate X-Men #87
Wolverine Origins #18
X-Men Emperor Vulcan #2

Others:
Archie Double Digest #183
Beowulf #3
Boys #11
Conan #45
Devi #14
Elephantmen #11
GI Joe Americas Elite #28
Grimm Fairy Tales Return To Wonderland #3
Into The Dust #2
Invincible #46
John Woos Seven Brothers Series 2 #2
Jungle Girl #2
Killing Girl #3
Lazarus #1
New Battlestar Galactica Season Zero #2
Nicolas Cages Voodoo Child #4
Pvp #35
Ramayan 3392 Ad Reloaded #2
Red Sonja #26
Rex Mundi #8
Ride Halloween Special One Shot
Simpsons Comics #135
Snakewoman Vol 2 Tale Of The Snake Charmer #4
Suburban Glamour #1
Sword #1
Trailer Park Of Terror Color Sp #7
Umbrella Academy Apocalypse Suite #2
Veronica #184
Witchblade Takeru Manga #9
Wizard Anime Insider #50
Wonderland #5

Monday, October 15, 2007

Heroes Report: "The Kindness of Strangers"

Let's all thank Matt Parkman for providing tonight's excitement, for without him we would have fallen asleep.

Don't get me wrong, tonight's episode wasn't the worst thing we've seen out of this show, but it certainly was predominantly a plot-mover.

My problem, I think, is that there are too many groups of people who, right now, I really have no interest in seeing.

For instance, Maya and Alejandro. Finally this week these two became relevant -- and only because Sylar showed up and joined their little gang. He was lying in the road, said he had been walking for three days (and I guess that's the writers' idea of explaining where he was last week?). They're all on their way to NY to see Mohinder.

And really, Sylar has caught my interest only because he seems more conflicted now than ever. On the one hand, I really believe that we will see Sylar fighting on the side of good this season, especially with how he was talking in this episode. On the other hand, he killed his second person in as many weeks. So we'll see where that goes.

Meanwhile, I still can't stand Stalker-West. And now that she's falling for him, I can't stand Claire lately. After all that she's gone through, she has to be one of the dumbest girls in the world to keep on lying and endangering her family by hanging out with this creep. Tonight, he took her flying again, she told him more about herself, and the two kids kissed a whole bunch -- all while she lied through her teeth to HRG. It's just such a dumb move that I want to throw things at the screen to try and get her to wise up.

The saving Grace of the Bennett family's story, though, is that the Haitian showed up at the end, and the Dynamic Duo are about to go on another Most Excellent Adventure.

I've never been the biggest fan of Micah, either... but in this episode we did get to meet his cousin, and you do have to be intrigued by her ability. It seems she can learn how to do anything instantly by seeing it on TV. And while it resulted in a cheesy wrestling scene in this episode, in which she used a Ray Mysterio move to stop a thief, it should make for interesting moments in the future.

And you can blame Phil Strum for my knowing that was a Ray Mysterio move. I'm annoyed with myself.

Oh, but I wasn't a fan of being hit over the head with the whole Hurricane Katrina angle with this cousin. It felt forced, unoriginal, insincere, and frankly I don't want this show to start lecturing me. But that's just me.

Finally, Parkman. In an episode with no Peter, no Hiro and little HRG, Parkman provided a little punch to the week.

Jaw dropping moment No. 1: Molly's bad man is Parkman's Daddy.
Jaw dropping moment No. 2: Parkman coerced Molly into finding him, and she now seems to be mentally trapped by his Daddy.

Wow wow wow. These two moments saved this episode from being possibly the weakest in the show's two seasons.

The only downside is -- THAT guy is the man who can see into Molly's dreams? Seriously? That guy looks like a used car salesman!!! Put him together with Bob and you have two of the lamest looking bad guys in the history of superheroes. Lex Luthor looks like the Incredible Hulk next to these two.

Anyway, the preview for next week looks especially strong. I just hope we get to see more of Molly's story and I'll be happy.