Magen Cubed's Blog, page 20

Calling all readers: Help a writer spread the word about her debut novel

So, you’re at my blog. You’re probably here because you like my writing, or my comic book reviews, or maybe just my rakish good-looks and wonderful conversation skills. Whatever your reasons, you’re here. As you scroll through page after page of indulgent comic book nonsense, you see a desperate bid for attention masked with clever banter. You stop to click on it, curious of its contents. This is that desperate bid.

Okay, as most of you must know by now, my debut novel Fleshtrap is coming out this October. I’ve talked about it pretty extensively in the last few weeks (you can read about it here and here), but for those of you who are new to the neighborhood, here’s the gist of things: Psychological horror novel featuring depressed son having dreams about murdered pedophile father. Son goes back to childhood home on twentieth anniversary of father’s death and comes into contact with horrible manifestations of childhood trauma. People die. Hijinks ensue. Here’s the reader participation part of this exercise.

I’m looking for reviewers. If you’ve read this story before during its stint as an online serial, I need your help. If you’ve read this story because I sent it to you in the past, I need your help. Basically, if you’ve encountered this book at any point in time and space, and you’d like to do me a huge solid, let me know. I’m trying to round up people familiar with the work to write any kind of review they feel comfortable with producing to be linked around places like Reddit, StumbledUpon and other link sites and traffic generators. The point is, I want to use the book’s time as an online serial to do some good for it now as it gears for publication, and I need help to do that.

Of course, I don’t just want to ask everyone on the internet to write a review, or blindly submit review copies to people hoping to hear back. Review copies will sent out to the properly reviewing bodies when the time comes, etc., etc. Right now I’m hoping to find people out there who have read the book and would be willing to do a write-up or review in the meantime before the book comes out.

Have you read the book as a serial? Do you feel comfortable writing a short review? Would you be okay with publishing and cross-posting this review for public consumption? Do you think I’m cute? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please let me know. (Well, maybe not the cute part. And, no, I don’t send nudes, so quit asking.) This novel is kind of the biggest thing I’ve done thus far, and it needs all the help it can get to get off the ground. I don’t usually go pan-handling across the vast reaches of intertubes for assistance, but this really means a lot to me and every little bit counts in the end.

So if you want to help, great. If not, I don’t know, go back to ignoring my pathetic ploy for attention, I guess. You can always hit me up at magencubed@gmail.com, or any of these fine soul-consuming social media outlets: Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr.

Comic book review: New Avengers #8

As casualties pile up in the ongoing war between Wakanda and Atlantis, an Illuminati member is forced to make a hard choice. An Inhuman learns of the Illuminati’s plans. Prelude to INFINITY: Everything falls apart. From Jonathan Hickman and Mike Deodato.

As the cover suggests, this title is being folded into the upcoming Infinity event, which furthers the Illuminati’s plunge into chaos as they try to stop the end of everything. With the war between Wakanda and Atlantis, Namor’s attempts to reach out to Black Swan are hindered by growing divides within the splintered group. Iron Man returns to Earth with some unsettling news and he begins to believe that the entire universe, as seen in the sister title Avengers, is breaking down at a fundamental level. While he and Reed Richards scramble to come up with a solution, the incursions are coming faster and faster and they’re all running out of time. Then, of course, just as things couldn’t get any more calamitous, an invading alien force arrives on Earth to herald the beginning of the next major event.

Hickman and Deodato deliver another solid issue as they continue to broaden the scope of this fishbowl of a title, and move it into a mainstream continuity. While not quite as apocalyptic as it has been in the past, the tone is suitably ominous and the story well-paced. The political tensions going on between Atlantis and Wakanda keep things interesting, as Black Panther and Namor fail to strike a peace treaty between their nations and go to war. Black Bolt’s secrecy as he draws away from the team adds another dynamic to this already tumultuous group, and subtly underscores the moral consequences of the game the Illuminati is playing, despite their best intentions.

I would have liked to see more from Beast and Doctor Strange in this and the last issue. It’s a large cast with several developing story threads, but surely they have opinions on all of this chaos that could be better addressed than they have been so far. Beyond this one complaint, this issue proves to be another strong read from a consistently engaging title.

Comic book review: Uncanny Avengers #10

Ragnarok Now continues! THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF DEATH are unleashed! From Rick Remender and Daniel Acuna.

With the Apocalypse Twins killing off all the former mutants Acolytes of Akkaba, the Uncanny Avengers find themselves pitted against ghosts of their pasts in their race to stop Uriel and Eimen. Setting aside their personal issues, the team splits up between Cairo, Guatemala and the Himalayas to find the Twins’ good work. To make matters worse, the Horsemen of Death rear their heads in the forms of the reanimated Banshee, Grim Reaper, Sentinel and Daken, all of whom have bones to pick with the living. Things get ugly as their divide-and-conquer strategy proves favorable, resulting in an interplanetary slugfest that leaves the team scattered all over the universe.

A far more cohesive issue than the last, both in pacing and tone, it’s good to see some harmony in the team. I understand the need for tension as Havok tries to establish himself as a leader, but the manufactured drama and romantic frustration has been getting tedious as of late. Without all the clutter, Remender does a good job of gathering up some of the threads he’s been throwing around, such as with Wolverine’s enduring angst over Daken, and using Grim Reaper’s death in order to make him a thorn in Wonder Man’s side. Another tick for the plus column is Remender acknowledging his own canon from the events of Captain America, and having Cap address his time in Dimension Z. While the true extent of his trauma is unknown, and likely won’t be seen outside of his solo title, I’m glad it’s actually being brought up as part of the continuity and not just a fun detour.

The issue still suffers from the usual soft spots in Remender’s dialogue and narration, which alternates between serviceable to truly atrocious. His grasp on individual character voices seems to be slipping a bit after a solid few issues, and in looking back the death of Grim Reaper just to turn around and make him a Horseman still feels rushed. These irritations, however, are made up for by Acuna’s stellar pencils. The artwork sells the story and picks up the slack where the writing falls short, and makes this a fun and visually appealing read. It’s not a perfect title, but many of the story elements are beginning to come together in interesting ways, and helping to broaden the scope of Remender’s overarching plot.

Comic book review: Captain America #9

With the only way back to Earth slowly closing forever, Captain America must make the hardest decision of his life. A new ally from the past arrives, and makes everything worse. Zola’s plot is hatched, humanity in the crosshairs. The final days Dimension Z are here, and if Steve Rogers escapes intact, he will never be the same again. From Rick Remender and John Romita, Jr.

This already weird chapter in Captain America’s life takes a new but predictable turn as the arc draws to a close. With the revolt against Zola well underway, his battle station is rapidly approaching Earth to implement Zola’s bid for conquest and the portal is soon closing. Sharon, appeared last issue when she followed Steve on the train to cross over into Dimension Z, reveals that Steve’s been here for minutes, not the decade he’s experienced. His memories of his time with Ian were manufactured by Zola, and the boy he thought of as his son was a plant to help break him down. Steve is unable to process this, but with options running out, he, Sharon and Jet meet up to stop Zola once and for all. They fight and Zola finally (seemingly) dies when he gives up his life to protect and make amends with Jet, leaving many unanswered questions behind.

The big reveal regarding Steve’s plight Dimension Z has been time coming, and isn’t much of a surprise. Readers knew Remender planned to neatly tie up Steve’s extradimensional adventures and fold it into the rest of current continuity. There’s no way Captain America could really be sitting around in another dimension with no one noticing, at least not with him running around in so many other events right now, and there are certainly worse ways to handle this reveal. (I personally feared Steve would wake up on the train from a nightmare and then get married to Sharon in a desperate, Wizard of Oz-esque attempt to find meaning in his life, but that’s just me.) I’m willing to suspend my disbelief about the time hijinks going on in this scenario, as long as Remender addresses Ian with some level of common sense and doesn’t just disregard Steve’s memories and love for his adopted son.

Seeing how this experience affects Steve when the arc is over is going to be the real test of this story. It’s been an interesting detour, for sure, and has had some truly lovely moments of character development in exploring Steve’s childhood and his varying and complicated role as a father to Ian. To wrap it all up in a bow and move onto the next adventure will effectively nullify Steve’s experiences, something writers often do in their rush between events and film tie-ins. I would really like to see Steve grow and change for once, rather than just rebooting him so he fits into all his other team books without making a mess. This, however, remains to be seen. Overall, this is another good issue in a wild ride I’m going to be disappointed to see end. Romita’s artwork is strong and consistent, and, despite the usual soft spots in the narration and dialogue, Remender delivers a solid script.

Frequently asked questions: Fleshtrap, publishing, and more

Photo by Kriss Szkurlatowski

I get a lot of questions about my upcoming novel Fleshtrap these days, from fans of its time as an online serial to people just hearing of it now. Hopefully this will clear things up for everybody. And if it doesn’t, well. Just keep bothering me?

I’ve heard about this book over the years, but never got the chance to read the serial. What’s it about?

Fleshtrap is about a lot of things. It’s a book about damage, family secrets, and how trauma can leave scars so deep that they affect the world at large. It’s about Casey Way, a guy who’s been haunted by visions of his dead father for the last twenty years. His father, a pedophile, was murdered by his stepmother Alyona in revenge for abusing Casey’s stepsister Mariska for much of their lives. The guilt and trauma of these events have left Casey burdened with guilt, and over time Casey has dealt with almost debilitating insomnia, which causes violent hallucinations of people that he sees with holes cut into their chests. Sure, sometimes he sees these people’s faces on missing persons fliers, but he isn’t about to tell anybody about that part. There’s only so much crazy Casey can really deal with.

As the anniversary of his father’s murder approaches, Mariska takes him back to the scene of the crime: Their childhood home, to confront their past and finally get some closure, but it’s not that easy. Instead, something follows Casey back out into the world, something ugly and violent and familiar. It begins a vicious spiral of insanity as people around him begin disappearing and dying, but all that Casey knows is that somehow it’s tied to the death of his father, and only he can stop it. Or he’ll have to kill himself. Either way, he decides, he’s putting an end to his father’s reign of terror over their lives, whether in flesh or from beyond the grave.

It’s a horror book, a mystery book, a family drama and a love story. It’s about monsters, both the kind that defy explanation and the kind we make for ourselves. It’s about fathers and sons, the legacies we carry, and the shadows we labor under. If you’re looking for gore and shock-value, there’s some of that to go around, but Poppy Z. Brite or Clive Barker I am not. This is meant to be a more cerebral horror story, looking at the duality of human nature and the complexities of family for the root of our evils. Which is pretty much all I can say without giving away the entire plot.

(Spoilers: Giant spiders.)

(Okay, not really.)

Who is putting your book out?

My book will be available in October from Post-Mortem Press. I’ve done some work with these guys in the past, and this is one of the best indie outfits I’ve ever encountered in my travels. Look for it online in various and sundry formats starting October 1st.

I read your book before as a serial and I loved it. Is it going to be the same, or will this version be drastically different?

Me and my editor Paul Anderson have put our heads together to work this book into the best it can be, which has been a very good thing. Paul’s a great guy and he’s passionate about the work, and that’s made things 100% easier on me. A few slight changes have been made, that may or may not be too noticeable for returning readers, but I feel they’ve been to the benefit of the story. But trust me: Casey is still Casey. If you’ve read this book before, it’s exactly what you remember it being, just with a little facelift.

What makes your book different?

Different is such a loaded term, but I’ll play ball. Fleshtrap doesn’t have the most conventional of protagonists, and that was a conscious choice on my part. The plot follows the exploits of Casey, his boyfriend Joel, and Casey’s stepsister Mariska as they try solving this evolving mystery from different angles. They’re complicated people with complicated relationships, and each of them have a lot of baggage to work through over the course of the book. But ultimately this is a story about people who overcome horrifying obstacles in order to defeat monsters, real and imagined, internal and external. Yes, this story is creepy, and yes, this story is a bit gruesome at times, but I wanted this book to be as poignant and painful as it is disturbing. Ultimately I think that’s where its strength lies, and I hope people can appreciate that.

Do you consider this queer horror?

Um, no? It’s horror with queer people in it, yeah. But there’s also women in it, but that doesn’t make this feminist horror. I don’t have an agenda — well, I mean other than to make as many people uncomfortable as I can, I guess. With any luck, I’ll succeed in that.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a trilogy? I thought you were writing a sequel before.

I was. And it was. Now it’s not, if that makes. Originally this was the first of three books with two direct sequels, tentatively titled White Bull and Nightmare Child. After months of work-shopping and rewriting, I came to realize Casey’s story is fine as a stand-alone. White Bull, however, is still in-progress, but with a new plot and protagonist. It follows a writer and criminal justice journalist named Alexander Calleigh. His attempts to write the biography of recently-convicted serial rapist and murderer Robert Earle Baker go awry and end in Baker’s accidental death, after Baker tries to brutally rape Alex during a prison interview and Alex kills him in self-defense. Traumatized by the event, Alex takes a step back from his work and the naive drive that put him in harm’s way, and spends the next year in therapy.

Having sat on the sidelines doing fluff human interest stories, Alex is trying to get up his courage to get back into the field and do some real work. At the behest of his editor and college compatriot Shana, Alex is assigned to write an article on a local social worker named Jessica Ray-Morton, now ending her historic forty-five-year career as a caseworker. When asked if Jessica had any regrets, she tells Alex about a case from eight years earlier where the system failed an eight-year-old girl named Gemma Malveaux. After being abused by her mentally unstable mother for years, the traumatized Gemma goes on to kill a janitor at her school, stabbing him in the neck with a pen. When asked why she did it, Gemma only said that he was marked and he had to die.

Intrigued by this peculiar story, Alex goes digging into Gemma’s case. He learns that Gemma is now sixteen and remanded to the state mental hospital, under the guardianship of her former childhood psychiatrist, Dr. Karl Dreschner. Now a teenager, Gemma has a seemingly incurable case of Cotard’s Syndrome. Convinced that she is dead and in Hell, the girl now wears a white bull’s hide and paints her face, refusing to be called by her given name. Alex wants to tell Gemma’s tragic story and begins an investigation into her life at the hospital, only to realize that the true nature of Gemma’s personal hell is far darker than he ever thought possible.

White Bull is an investigative mystery and a road-trip story, following Gemma down her strange rabbit hole. Fleshtrap motifs and characters do appear in Alex’s story, albeit in a limited capacity, as a thematic through-line from book to book. It’s in the same universe, but definitely goes a lot further into madness and metaphysics than the first book. And it will be in a suitable drafted state by the end of the year, if all goes according to plan.

You talk a lot about the emotional side of the story, what about the horror?

Casey licked his dry lips and reached out to trace the edges of the padlock, sealing the box shut as though it had never been broken. He regretted his decision not to call Joel. Joel would have had something good to say, something warm and soft and reassuring. He would have made this alright. Now there was no calling him, because Casey knew Joel had no answers that he couldn’t find for himself inside the box.

Retrieving a butter-knife from the silverware drawer, he pried at the lock, twisted the blade in the shoddy catch to lever it open. The lock gave out in a jerk and scrape, and holding a breath he pulled back the lid. The smell of rotting meat struck Casey first, like the stink of an animal carcass left in the sun. Inside the metal box was a lining of sweating flesh, thin and heavily veined by blue arteries. Fingernails and tiny canines like a baby’s milk-teeth flanked all sides of the box in staggered rows, circling the throat at its center. A wide gullet of corded musculature, flapping open and shut in a wet slap of flesh and smelling like dead animal and intestinal juices. Slap, gurgle, sigh.

Gagging, Casey slammed the box shut and scrambled back across the kitchen, tripping, falling. The room lurched and narrowed his field of vision into a motion-sick tunnel.  His pulse beat against in his temple until his sight cleared, grabbing the edge of the counter to drag himself upright. He disregarded the decorative pot of spatulas and spoons that he had sent across the floor, grabbing instead for a kitchen knife from Joel’s cutlery set and brandishing it at the box.  The box didn’t move. The sounds of its digesting gullet thinned into a tight sucking noise. Another sigh and the box sounded pleased with itself.

Is that suitably horrible for you? I hope so!

Alright, that just about covers everything. If anybody out there is still curious, hit me up on Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook or email. I almost always respond, unless I’m feeling like an asshole that day. In which case, just try harder.

Comic book review: FF #9

What happens? POOL PARTY. Who do they fight? POOL PARTY. What do we get? POOL PARTY. From Matt Fraction and Joe Quinones.

When the team is invited to a pool party held by industrialist Charles Cotta, what turns out to be a strange day out for the kids gets very strange indeed for the resident adults. With Bentley making a documentary about the Uhari children, in a team-building effort arranged by Jennifer, the rest of the kids work out their various differences and scuffles in the pool. Meanwhile, Scott, Darla, Jennifer, Medusa and Old John meet their new benefactor in Cotta, who turns out to be the alien from the Fantastic Four’s recent misadventures in Julius Caesar’s history. Cotta wishes to pay back his debt to the F4 and help Reed find a cure to the disease slowly killing the team, and gives the FF a space ship to do this.

Fraction pulls off another subtle emotional arc couched in the quirkiness and humor of the pool party backdrop, as the kids all come of age amidst the weirdness of their daily lives. As the team prepares to go after the F4, it’s nice to see the how the threads of these separate sister books can come together while still allowing FF to stand on its own feet, propelled by its own plots and character dynamics. In the art department, Quinones shines in Allred’s absence. He maintains the tone and energy we’ve come to expect without simply aping Allred’s style. Having Laura Allred’s colors to round out the artwork is a huge part of this visual continuity, and the team pulls it off very well.

Another winner with fun and heart, and great art to back it up.

Comic book review: Avengers #16

Prelude to INFINITY: Part Three. The battle between the Avengers and Mad Earth heats up. Whatever happened to Ex Nihilo and Abyss, and for that matter, Starbrand and Nightmask as well? From Jonathan Hickman and Nick Spencer with art by Stefano Casseli.

It’s a race against the clock in this countdown to the Infinity event, and things are looking worse every minute. All hell breaks loose in Perth as AIM’s secret weapon bears down on the Avengers, responding to the signal being transmitted out into space. Acting to preserve itself, the sentient machine attacks the team, unleashing an assault that the already battle-weary Avengers are unable to fend off. Back at The Hub, the stress of these calamities is too much for Bruce, who inadvertently Hulks-out on the station crew, attacking the Hulkbusting unit that arrives on scene. Whether there’s a specific reason for all this destruction or it’s just fuel for the fire, I’m not entirely sure.

Meanwhile on AIM Island, Superia and the Scientist Supreme make moves to retrieve their wayward creation from Perth. Alternately, appearances by Captain Universe, Nightmask and Starbrand are interspersed throughout. They keep the larger interdimensional plot in the margins, as the story marches forward into the Infinity event. The universe is in a bad way, it seems, and it’s only going to get worse as Nightmask teaches Starbrand to control his newfound powers in order to fill their preordained roles.

Hickman and Spencer offer another solid action-heavy story, managing to mitigate the confusion of concurrent plotlines through careful plotting. The issue is hectic but not cluttered, maintaining an engaging pace. Caselli’s pencils and Martin’s moody color palettes keep things moving in a swift but appropriately ominous tone. Overall a good read.

Comic book review: The Fearless Defenders #6

Still guest staring most of the heroines in the Marvel Universe. Someone dies… Stock up on tissues. From Cullen Bunn and Will Sliney.

Valkyrie’s true origins are revealed in this unexpectedly heartfelt conclusion to the Doom Maidens’ initial resurrection.  As Val assumes her identity as Rage, Caroline LeFay’s plans go awry and she and her stock sidekick Mr. Raven retreat to fight another day. Consumed by an all-encompassing rage, Val defeats all of her fellow former Doom Maidens before turning on the rest of the Defenders, crushing the other heroes until only Annabelle is left to stop her. With her bloodlust still unquenched, Val approaches a nearby village to continue her murderous rampage.

Annabelle takes up a sword and follows after Val, determined to get through to her before she hurts anyone else. Knowing she can’t defeat Val, Annabelle still stands up to her, trying to talk some sense into her and break through rage’s grip on her. Acting as Rage in one last act of violence, Val unwittingly kills Annabelle, but Annabelle’s courage and compassion is enough to break through the spell and banish the magic keeping the Doom Maidens alive. Val, finally returning to her senses, takes Annabelle’s body back to the other Defenders. She tries to use Annabelle’s noble sacrifice as a rallying call for her fellow warriors, to solidify their cause and unite them. Still upset, Misty punches Val out and the others leave her with Annabelle’s body, unable to move on to the next battle quite so easily. The issue closes on Caroline, secretly holed up in Manhattan, patiently assembling a new team of Doom Maidens from the Marvel rogue’s gallery of female villains.

While I’ve had some severe doubts with the direction this book has been going, this was a surprisingly good issue. Bunn manages to sell Valkyrie’s revamped origins as a Doom Maiden with some earnestness, and the final revelation doesn’t feel hokey or contrived. Annabelle’s death certainly complicates things for Val, and I’m interested in seeing how the rest of the team can learn to trust and respect her again with so much innocent blood on her hands. Annabelle herself, who I feared was just plugged in as queer-bait (at best) or cheap lesbian exploitation (at worst), actually emerged as a fairly endearing character with a far nobler function than I initially thought. Her death was suitably poignant and served its purpose without feeling overblown for drama’s sake, and I was actually sad to see her go.

If I had to nitpick, I would have to say I find Sliney’s concept of pained expressions a bit skewed. Half the time Annabelle, in moments of fear, pain, or surprise, was just smiling. Which, unless you’re implying that there’s some sinister and as-of-yet unknown reason why she would be smiling while getting smacked around, is absurdly out of place. Other than that, this was a solid and engaging issue with enough heart to balance out the action.

Pacific Rim: Robots, Aliens, and, most importantly, no Transformers

If you’re a fan of aliens and/or giant robots, you’ve probably already heard about Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim. Even if you’re not a fan of aliens and/or giant robots, you’ve probably still heard about this big budget Hollywood sci-fi/fantasy romp, as people have been talking it up for well over a year. Online movie and geek culture news blogs have been abuzz about this movie for quite some time now, and there has been a fair amount of debate about exactly what this movie means for both the film industry and the genre at large. And that’s okay, too. I’m not going to tell you what this movie is about, but I am going to tell you exactly what this movie is. (And, by association, what it is not.)

Pacific Rim is:


A movie with an appreciation of scale.

Are you tired of super-sized summer blockbusters, bursting with needless wholesale destruction and vomit-inducing chaos? Even if you are, don’t worry about it. Pacific Rim utilizes the monolithic scale of the Kaijus and the Jaegers to their fullest potential, and does it with style. The creature combat in this movie is impressive, not only in size but in execution, framing intense battle scenes with well-scripted choreography and attention to detail. As big as these fight scenes are, they feel grounded in their surroundings and keep the viewer’s attention with good pacing, making for an engrossing viewing experience.

A movie with some actual diversity.

Yes, there are a lot of white dudes running around, but this is one of the few times I’ve seen an international coalition force in an action movie that, um, actually looks international? Okay, the team piloting the heroic American Gipsy Danger is the focus of the film, but this isn’t another sci-fi movie where we save the Earth by defending America’s infallible borders and political concerns. America, China, Britain, Australia, Russia, and many other nations have thrown together to defeat the Kaiju, and the pilots and their Jaegers are all formidable in their own ways. I really wanted to see more of the Chinese and Russian Jaegers, because they were just that awesome.

A movie with a great cast.

Charlie Hunnam is an endearing and relatable hero as Raleigh. Rinko Kikuchi is engaging, layered and so enjoyable to watch as Mako. Idris Elba and his damn cowboy speeches make you believe in Stacker Pentecost. Not every character is a winner, but the strength of the cast sells this story and does it well.

A story about families.

With the exception of a handful of characters, everyone in this movie was pretty much related to each other. Raleigh’s original copilot was his brother Yancy; Herc and Chuck Hansen piloting the Australian Striker Eureka were father and son; the Chinese Crimson Typhoon was piloted by triplets; the pilots of the Russian Cherno Alpha were married, and even Mako and Stacker made a little family of their own after being brought by tragedy. In a movie about the end of the world, it’s nice to see how the strength of family (both the kind you’re born into and the kind you find) can help humanity rise above the threat of extinction.

An entertaining kaleidoscope of pop culture influences.

You like anime? You like video games? You like comic books? You like movies? Well, good – because the influences and allusions are practically oozing off the screen with this one. From Godzilla to Evangelion, this movie is a big love letter to genre, and I mean that in the best way possible. If you took a bag, put all my favorite things in it and then shook it, Pacific Rim is what you would come out with. It’s kind of like a remix: The stronger aspects of many different stories, all put together in an entertaining way.

Pacific Rim is not:


A kissing movie.

This movie proves you can have male and female protagonists in an action movie and they can just be bros. And, you know what? It’s still awesome. Because being cool bros who kill giant monsters is awesome. Whatever happens between Raleigh and Mako after the credits roll doesn’t make any difference to me, because their chemistry and friendship on-screen is satisfying enough.

A perfect movie.

Some early reactions I’ve read so far frame this movie as cinematic perfection, but that’s kind of a stretch for me. Yes, the characters fall in line as predictable archetypes. Yes, the movie probably should’ve been longer to develop the characters and background a little more. Yes, some parts are a little silly. And, yes, the fact that we have giant inter-dimensional monsters coming out of a rift at the bottom of the ocean and Cthulu didn’t make an appearance felt like a missed opportunity. But for what it is, it’s a fun romp with great acting and visuals, and manages to show a little heart in the process. At the end of the day, I’m fine with that.

Our salvation from “lesser” movies.

This movie isn’t Transformers, or Battleship, or Iron Man, or even G.I. Joe. It’s just not, so let’s not waste time putting it on pedestals or holding it in contempt. It’s a fun sci-fi/fantasy adventure story, which manages to do some interesting things in a genre plagued by overplayed franchise properties. And if certain movie reviewers and bloggers (cough cough) can’t look beyond the surface similarities between Pacific Rim and its contemporaries to review it on its own merits, then maybe they need to do more than just look at movie trailers and make such sweeping statements. Pacific Rim is exactly what it says it is – a big movie about robots fighting aliens – and that’s all I can ask from Guillermo Del Toro.

But, hey. That’s just me.

Comic book review: Avengers #15

Prelude to INFINITY: Part Two. Aliens races fleeing an intergalactic terror crash to Earth, just as the Avengers are occupied with the now-active Origin Sites! Captain Universe and Manifold take a trip across the universe. From Jonathan Hickman and Nick Spencer with art by Stefano Caselli.

With the Infinity event approaching, things are looking dire in Perth. The Avengers continue their battle through the hordes of giant insects that have taken over the origin site, but the insects multiply faster than they can fight. With the signal beaming into space and time running out on the ground, Bruce Banner and SHIELD work around the clock to find a solution. While Thor is able to finally battle back the insect threat, numerous alien vessels appear in Earth’s orbit. Arriving with no warning, and seemingly unwilling to explain their intentions, they are intercepted by SWORD before one Skrull ship is able to sneak past their defenses. The Skrull appear to be on the run, but from what, remains unclear.

Meanwhile, as Captain Universe and Manifold take a trip into the far reaches of space, the facility at AIM Island falls. The creature they had been studying broke free last issue and is now roaming the island, wreaking havoc and seemingly sending a signal of its own. When things can’t seem to get much worse, SHIELD picks up another incoming object: A giant alien sentinel is on its way to Perth, and the Avengers appear outmatched and outgunned.

The second prelude to Infinity indeed is a very busy issue, with breakneck pacing and almost non-stop action. As new threats appear from all possible sides, however, Hickman and Spencer do succeed in mitigating the confusion to offer a solid story. Not every line is a winner, but they make good use of the team’s large and diversified roster for some energetic combat sequences. Just how all of this is going to coalesce is unclear, but the threads are coming together enough to keep things intriguing. The gravitas is well-managed by Caselli’s absorbing pencil work, which follow each thread of the story with both dynamism and attention to detail, and is complemented by Martin and Delgado’s moody color palettes.

Overall a well-paced and interesting new chapter in what looks to be an enormous event, with action and intrigue in spades.