December 13, 2023

Same.

Glad these weeks were lighter than usual. We got a DC holiday special. Beast World continues, including that Action Comics issue. Space Usagi looks fun. The X-titles are getting closer to the end of Krakoa. That Thor issue looks fun. This is the last issue of this run of Moon Knight. And Gwen gets another new run.

Another Barends cover that looks great. This Mantis legacy cover is fun. And always happy to have a samurai themed cover.

Love this Momoko foil cover! Such fun! And of course such a great negative space cover.

Aquaman (2): The Lost Kingdom (2023)

December 21 –

A fun end to this iteration of the DC Films universe. It was an adventure, and I enjoyed it! And it surprisingly didn’t feel as long as it was.

The plot was decent, the acting was fantastic. The visuals were well-done also. Though I saw it in IMAX 3D and somehow, there were only a handful of shots that actually looked 3D. The rest kind of felt literally flat. Perhaps it was my theater, but if not, DC really didn’t need to make this 3D. The first movie worked very well in 3D. This one didn’t have much of that visual depth that one associates with 3D. I definitely expected it to at least.

The cast was pretty small and centered on the main characters we already knew. Beyond the antagonist, and some henchmen, there weren’t many new characters to get to know. But it’s been so long since we’ve seen these characters (2018) that I didn’t mind that.

There was some interesting Atlantean lore that I wish there had been more time with, and perhaps more with the villain itself. But, it was a fun adventure and I’m glad to have seen it. Also, it was funnier than I expected! I certainly had a few laughs that I enjoyed.

Mid-credit scene: Yes, it’s just a continued part of one of the ending scenes in the movie. It’s a gag scene really, might as well stay to watch it.

End-credit scene: Nope. Which makes sense since this is the end of this era of DC films.

December 6, 2023

I’m excited for all these! I’m happy that Ivy’s run is still going. The Beast World event continues. We got a Batman holiday special. The new SW THR Adventures run taking place in this final stage of the High Republic started. So much is going on with the mutants still. And we got a new run of Thunderbolts (I assume this could have little trial ideas for the upcoming movie). And we got a new Sentry run.

Another holiday card variant with lovely Dan Mora art. I even think this may be a statue or something similar. I wanted this cover simply because Dreamer is on the cover. And of course I got this 0-0-0 cover to have the pair of them as action figure covers. And as always, another fantastic Nakayama cover for Poison Ivy.

Another Disney 100 cover and another Saturday Morning variant.

I haven’t gotten many of Momoko’s nightmare covers but I loved this one, plus this other Monica Rambeau cover, I assume these were chosen because of the movie, but even if not, I’m glad to have them.

November 29, 2023

Same.

So many this time! I feel like it’s been a while since the last Static issue. As before, I’m excited to get to all of these once I catch up. This is the last Steelworks issue. The Beast World event started this week. Howard the Duck got an anniversary issue. This is the penultimate issue of this Moon Knight run. This is the last issue of this Ms. Marvel run, though there is another miniseries starting next year. The first issue of X-Men Blue Origins debuted. and the Gang War event started. So many variants!

I’ve been waiting for this Static variant for a while. It’s just s good! I still love seeing the super family on covers even though most of them haven’t worn those costumes yet, or at least all together. And I loved this artist, Carla Cohen, recently so when I saw another cover by them, I had to go for it.

Of course here’s another Frison cover and another Artgerm cover. I never use the postcards, but I do love getting them if they’re an artist I like.

This is a lovely Dauterman cover. The Barends cover here celebrates Knight’s End. And love this Rahzzah Power Girl cover!

A great wraparound cover for Gang War.

And of course all the variant covers from this final Ms. Marvel issue. The first two are homage covers and the last is just a fun Noto cover.

November 2023 Late Issues 3

DWM from a couple months ago. These two special variants for JLvsGvsK 1. The treasury edition of Peach Momoko’s Demon Wars. A couple late issues. And a couple late variants.

I had to have this design variant for Carol’s new look designed by Jen Bartel. And I’m always happy to have a foil Carnage variant.

These are pretty cool, they have the sounds of each character’s roar in the front cover. I took a bit for me to figure out where to press for the sounds to happen, but they sounded great. I’m not sure if they’re supposed to make the noise when they open or not, but I think having a “press here for sound” message would have been helpful. Oh and they’re connecting covers too!

Godzilla: Minus One (2023)

November 29, 2023 (Early Screening)

That was an intense movie! It certainly had that classic Godzilla feel. There was the balance between the story of the characters and the Godzilla scenes that I thought was done well.

I wasn’t sure if this would take place in present day at all, and I was happy that it didn’t. The story was kind of classic with little twists here and there to stand out from the other origins.

I liked the POV we saw the story from. The main character had a lot going on and it was portrayed very well. There were a couple surprises too, some I saw coming, some I didn’t.

It’s always interesting to see what a new take on Godzilla will be. There were some changes made that I liked and was surprised by. There was a lot of destruction of course, but especially with the strength of Godzilla’s heat blast. Certainly happy this was in IMAX.

The music was also very well done, it felt like a thriller and horror movie at the same time. There was intense emotion throughout, with the Godzilla plot of course, but also because of the time period.

Similarly to Shin Godzilla, there was a scientific approach taken to dealing with him, but this was different indeed. And of course, in that movie, the time frame was longer in the short term but shorter in the long term. This was the opposite, it took place over years but when things happened, they happened very fast. And of course this is also a different way of doing things than the Legendary movies have done as in those movies, Godzilla is a protagonist. In these Toho movies they tend to keep him as a threat, and it’s humanity against the terror of him.

I enjoyed this movie a lot. The end could hint at more to come, but I’d be fine if the story ended there. Either way works for me.

Mid-Credit scene: Nope

End-Credits scene: Nope. Though, there is that roar.

November 22, 2023

So many variants this week! That first row has so much going on. Can’ wait to get to them! Catwoman finally has a new arc that I argue is the first arc in the Dawn of DC since the last arc just carried on past when the DoDC started. I didn’t realize that the Beast World Evolution issues are reprints of past issues of titles that connect to this Beast World event that I don’t think was advertised at all before it started. Happy to se Mace in Hyperspace Stories. Darkest Hour continues for the Rangers. The next Dark Droids tie-in dropped. Peter and Bruce are just very busy in there issues. And Carol and Jennifer’s new runs continue. Carnage got a new run! This is the last issue of City of the Dead.

I actually wasn’t sure what this cover was, I guess I should have zoomed in, but eh it’s a fun cover.

Great variants again for this title.

Montes covers are just fantastic. Every time I see these.

A fun window shades variant for Jennifer, even better that she breaks the fourth wall. And of course the Jen Bartel main cover.

Love this Captain Marvel “The Marvels” variant. BT-1 action figure cover to match with his counterpart. Certainly going to slab them both. That John Stewart Rhazzah cover though. I don’t know who the character is beyond being a Tameranian, but Leirix did another brilliant job. Warren Louw is just an amazing artist, JUST LOOK AT THAT HARLEY COVER.

November 15, 2023

Yup.

Got the next issue of Welsey Dodds’ title. Outsiders finally has a new run. The Speed Force itself got a title (unless it’s just the name of that duo). I am intrigued by the Doctor Doomasaurus Rex. All the chaos for the mutants continues. We got a new Star Wars Visions title by Peach Momoko. Superior Spider-Man has it’s new title. Same reason for not talking about all the other issues.

Another Barends cover for Red Sonja. Cull’s covers are just so good.

Here are the Visions covers.

The first two are the A cover and the B cover both by Momoko. That skull on the third cover looks great!

I suppose I’ll get why the Speed Force got a title when I catch up on Flash. But I got these covers because I enjoy Avery.

The A cover is trippy and Leirix did a great job at the other cover.

Love these covers!

Two legacy covers for one issue! Brilliant!