Rayboy's Review: Booster Gold #44 (DC Comics)

Booster Gold #44 welcomes original writer/artist Dan Jurgens and finishing artist Norm Rapmund back to the series after a years absence with the first part of a tale called “Turbulence” that ties into DC’s summer event, Flashpoint. Supposedly, Booster Gold is the only actual ongoing DC Universe title that will be part of this major event, which will be told through a variety of standalone mini-series and specials.

After discovering that Rip Hunter’s lab appears to have been abandoned for decades, and with both Rip and Michelle Carter missing, Booster and Skeets arrive in Coast City seeking the aid of Green Lantern. They are immediately attacked by military forces who believe that Booster is at the head of an impending Atlantean assault force. Somehow the entire multi-verse has been eradicated and the timeline that Booster finds himself in has been reset by an unknown party for unknown reasons and he isn’t recognized by the authorities. If that wasn’t enough of a worry for Booster and Skeet’s, they soon come under attack by the one foe that Michael Jon Carter would never in a million years wish to battle … particularly solo. Doomsday!

Jurgens recent limited series, Time Masters, had paired Booster and Rip Hunter with guest stars Superman and Green Lantern as part of the crossover “The Search for Batman”, but that aspect was quickly sidelined for an inter-dimensional romp with old Bronze Age characters Starfire and Claw, before all-too neatly tacking on a brief  Batman moment to close out the six issue series. Batman primarily went and came in other corners of the DCU, and ultimately the whole thing felt like a real waste of time.

Thankfully, Jurgens & Rapmund are back at home in the very place they need to be to produce some fun comics. I enjoyed their previous Booster Gold work and this chapter of Flashpoint bodes well for their welcome return to this title. Recommended!

Read more »

Jann of the Jungle in "The Drum Beats At Midnight!" (Atlas;1957)

Jann of the Jungle stars in a neat five page tale called "The Drum Beats At Midnight!" from Jann of the Jungle #17 (June 1957); originally published by Atlas/Marvel. Don Rico is the writer and Al Williamson & Ralph Mayo teamed up on the art. Jann will appear in a second story from this silver age issue later this week.

The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belong to the original publisher and/or creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.

Enjoy!

Read more »

At the Movies: Thor

If you are a fan of Marvel Comics God of Thunder, then you aren't going to be disappointed in director Kenneth Branagh's "Thor" feature film. However that being said, if you're the nitpicking type, you will probably have a field day over some portions of the movie.

Let me address my own minor quibbles with this opening chapter of Thor's adventures, in fact that sums it up in a nutshell. While the film plays out as a complete story, the overall impression that I was left with at the end, was that the whole thing felt like a grand opening act or terrific first "chapter" that really whetted my appetite for the rest of the story. Not a deal breaker really, but still slightly disheartening to me as a viewer. It made me feel - somewhat - like, "That's all?"

The cast was topnotch and Chris Hemsworth was wonderful as Thor, Anthony Hopkins embodied Odin the All-Father even better than I had hoped, and that despite his screen time seeming more akin to a glorified cameo. There are several cast members that I wasn't particularly familiar with including Jaime Alexander as Sif, Josh Dallas as Fandral and Tom Hiddleston as Loki. These three standout to varying degrees in their roles, with Hiddleston's Loki truly a tour de force performance. Genre veteran Colm Feore is almost unrecognizable as Laufey, King of the Frost Giants, but he was one of my favorite characters in this film. Great work on his part. One character isn't an actor at all, and despite his limited use in the film, the Destroyer was awesome!

Comic book purists will either be pleased with the nod to Thor's original comic book secret identity "Donald Blake" or be left a bit cold, but this didn't bother me as much as the major change to Jane Foster's original career. Of course we live in the "modern" era and therefore must show a woman in a strong role, so Natalie Portman's otherwise fine performance as scientist Jane, trumped the originals comic book role as a simple nurse. Try getting actual nurses to understand why their traditional caregiver role in our society isn't respected enough by the film makers to retain this aspect, and you might find yourself on the receiving end of a dirty needle sometime. Oh well, that alteration certainly paled against the most egregious change made from comics to film. No surprise that politically correct mindsets won out in the casting department. Two significant characters were unnecessarily tweaked to widen their appeal to - who the hell knows - but Hogun and Heimdall are Norse Gods after all, and having a samurai and a soul brother on hand didn't seem especially Scandinavian to me.

Idris Elba was actually not too bad as the mighty Heimdall, guardian of Bifrost (aka the Rainbow Bridge) and he almost won me over despite the fact that a black actor has no business in this pantheon of gods. Same goes for Tadanobu Asano as Hogun, not an Aesir like most of the Asgardians, but certainly not a Japanese warrior either. I call bullshit on these two casting choices, but don't blame them for being present in the movie; the modern thing to do after all - for inclusiveness.

The special effects are quite terrific, the writing was really good and the film does leave me wanting more epic Thor tales on film. Hopefully, Marvel Studios can keep it up with all of the planned Avengers segments, since they basically blew it with X-Men and Fantastic Four. Recommended!

Read more »

Editorial Diatribe From the Catacombs: The Governator Falls!

Not only has Arnold Schwarzenegger put the next phase of his film career on hold amidst revelations that he fathered a “love child” with his former housekeeper, [Didn’t they used to be called bastards?] the makers of a planned cartoon series have officially pulled the plug on the "The Governator" project.

Schwarzenegger, at sixty-three, was set to star in the animated series co-created by former Marvel Comics boss Stan Lee (the most recent of Lee's late career/shitty ideas) about a superhero who lives a double life as a devoted family man. Well, at least they intended to make the cartoon true-to-life.

After Schwarzenegger so publicly hosed his wife of 25 years, and their four children, perhaps the former Austrian bodybuilder should step away from the spotlight. He is a multi-multi-millionaire and can easily console himself with other available floozies with bad taste. Maybe he and Mel Gibson should compare notes over at Charlie Sheen’s house on how to tail gun an established career by acting like an ass.

Don't do as I do; do as "I" say!

Read more »

Marisa Miller Jack Magazine Hot Photoshoots August 2010

Marisa Miller Photoshoots for Jack Magazine from August 2010 Marisa Miller Celebrity Photoshoots  Marisa Miller High Quality Photographs Marisa Miller Jack Magazine Hot Photoshoots August 2010

Marisa Miller Jack Magazine Cover Page Hot Photoshoots August 2010

Marisa Miller Jack Magazine Hot Photoshoots August 2010

Images used in the site are property of their respective owners.

Read more »

Piper Perabo Photoshoots in Long White Dress

Piper Perabo Photoshoots in Long White Dress Piper Perabo Celebrity Photoshoots Piper Perabo High Quality Photographs

Piper Perabo Photoshoots in Long White Dress

Images used in the site are property of their respective owners.

Read more »

Patsy Kensit Photoshoots in Leopard Print Top HQ Pictures

Patsy Kensit Photoshoots in Leopard Print Top Patsy Kensit Celebrity Photoshoots  Patsy Kensit High Quality Photographs

Patsy Kensit Photoshoots in Leopard Print Top HQ Pictures

Patsy Kensit Photoshoots in Leopard Print Top HQ Pictures

Images used in the site are property of their respective owners.

Read more »