Popular Posts: August 2012

So what were the most popular posts on this blog for the month of August? They're linked below - for some reason that Pale Rider review is insanely popular.

• Pale Rider (link)
• Secret of Mana (link)
• Judging the New 52 #12: Batgirl (link)
• On Wonder Woman's Costume (link)
• The Pull List: 1 August 2012 (link)

As for posts actually published in August, the five most popular were:

• Judging the New 52 #12: Batgirl (link)
• The Pull List: 1 August 2012 (link)
• The Dungeon Masters (link)
• Random Comic: Mister Miracle #3 (link)
• The Pull List: 15 August 2012 (link)

The Pull List: 29 August 2012

Of course the "big news" issue of this week is Justice League #12, in which Superman and Wonder Woman hook up as a romantic item. This got reported throughout the American entertainment press, and from a quick flick-through at the comic shop appears to be the kick-off for DC's massive Trinity War storyline coming in 2013. That's about the extent of my knowledge on this matter, however, and actually a bit beyond my level of interest as well.

If there's one thing DC has demonstrated in recent years, it's that their fixation on their own past inevitably leads them to restoring Silver Age status quos. Hal Jordan is ultimately going to be Green Lantern. Barry Allen must be the Flash. Barbara Gordon will be Batgirl. By the same token, Superman will always be in love with Lois Lane. It's hard to see this new liaison as anything beyond what it superficially seems to be: a canny stunt designed to drum up interest a year into the New 52.

So what else came out this week? Under the cut: Aquaman, Debris, Detective Comics, The Flash, National Comics: Looker, Prophet and X-treme X-Men.

Free Enterprise #12: "Dear Doctor"

Dr Phlox narrates a letter to his counterpart in the inter-species medical exchange while investigating a mysterious virus that is decimating a pre-warp drive civilization. When his analysis determines that the species' extinction is a natural phenomenon, he finds himself at odds with Captain Archer over how to deal with its future.

"Dear Doctor" takes a strong lead (including its title) from the acclaimed series of "Dear Dad" episodes in the legendary American comedy M*A*S*H. In those episodes Captain Hawkeye Pierce would narrate the episode in the form of a letter drafted to his father. The narration allowed an insight into the character that would be impossible through traditional narrative means, and that insight is copied here in Enterprise. We get to learn exactly how Dr Phlox is finding his tenure onboard the Enterprise because the narration allows him to directly tell us of his experience.

And what an experience. There are so many interesting elements and layers to this episode that I'm not sure where to start.

Babble On #19: "Legacies"

A Minbari battle cruiser arrives at Babylon 5 as part of a lengthy tour displaying the dead body of one of their greatest war heroes - but when the body goes missing, the situation rapidly turns ugly. Meanwhile an orphan hiding in the station's lower levels begins to exhibit telepathic powers - putting Ivanova and Talia Winters into conflict over the girl's future.

Oh thank goodness, a decent episode. "Legacies" is a wonderful palette cleanser after the tedious cliches of "Eyes" and "Grail". It draws on several of the series' ongoing plot threads and teases out a little more clarity and information on each. It's all still a little too broadly drawn for my liking, but it's certainly a massive improvement.

Blog Space Nine #10: "The Alternate"

Odo receives a visit from Dr Mora, the Bajoran scientist who first examined him. Mora thinks he has located a planet in the Gamma Quadrant with similar lifeforms to Odo, so together they embark on an away mission to test Mora's theory. The mission ends in a medical emergency, leading to a mysterious and violent shapeshifter lurking in DS9's ventilation system.

Odo receives a key piece of backstory here with the introduction of Dr Mora. He's a nicely ambivalent character, so full of affection for Odo however it's a form of affection that leads us to think he considers Odo more of a pet or scientific experiment than a sentient being. Odo's opinion of Mora is similarly conflicted: he resents the doctor for treating him like an experiment, yet at the same time Mora is the closest thing Odo has to a parent. It's fertile ground for drama.

Judging the New 52 #14: The Savage Hawkman

I am a big fan of Hawkman, irrationally so, and so when DC announced one of their New 52 launch titles would be The Savage Hawkman I got pretty excited. The character had suffered over the previous 30 years from reboot after reboot, each of which seemed to complicate his origin and backstory more than you'd think was possible. Was he simply an archaeologist with a cool costume? A reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian? An alien from the planet Thanagar? The answer seemed to simultaneously be yes, no, maybe, sometimes and a mixture of all three. The line-wide reboot seemed a great opportunity to finally clean the character up, pick one origin and stick to it, and return to telling great stories of fighting crime with wings and a really big mace.

Unfortunately the published comic left a great deal to be desired. The origin still seemed unclear to me, Philip Tan's art didn't seem to be a great fit for the character and the storyline seemed confused and unsure, as if editorial mandates were changing every month as the sales continued to plummet. Tony Daniel was the writer, and as I mentioned last time when discussing Detective Comics I don't think writing is his strongest suit. At issue #9 a new creative team was dropped in, with Rob Liefeld plotting and co-writing with Mark Poulton and Joe Bennett providing the art. Unsurprisingly it took three issues for Liefeld to introduce a Deadpool clone, which I find hilarious since Deadpool is a noted Deathstroke clone and Liefeld has been writing and drawing Deathstroke as well. Joe Bennett's artwork has been great, however, and gone a long way to making the title about as enjoyable as its been since it debuted last September.

So how badly have the sales been on The Savage Hawkman? To what extent did Rob Liefeld's much-heralded appointment save the comic?

Babble On #18: "Eyes"

Garibaldi and Lennier rebuild a 20th century motorcycle. Commander Sinclair falls under internal investigation by an Earth Alliance Colonel, who's arrived on the station with a PsiCorp operative in tow, but who may have a personal vendetta of his own...

And he would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those pesky kids. "Eyes" is woefully simplistic and trite, with cardboard cut-out characterisation and tediously cliched conflict. It's the sort of episode I used to point to after the first time I watched this series; that hideous blend of po-faced gravitas and Scooby Doo-level plots. A series that can't help itself from shouting from the rooftops how important and groundbreaking it is, all the while serving up something that would be a below-average episode of Star Trek. Or worse. Now I'm finding during this rewatch some episodes of Babylon 5 really are very good. Just not this episode.

Trust me, buy the Jaws blu-ray

As part of their 100th anniversary celebrations Universal Pictures has released to blu-ray what is arguably one of the best films the studio ever produced: Steven Spielberg's Jaws. This isn't a review of the film itself; rather, it's just a quick note to strongly recommend you buy it.

Blu-ray hasn't felt particularly amazing when I've watched recent movies - let's say anything made post-1990. I'm sure the picture and sound quality of these later films is exceptional, but being completely honest I've never actually noticed it. Watch anything over 30 years old and the difference is remarkable. Fine details you never had the chance to notice before are suddenly apparent. The sound is vivid. As a filmgoing experience these older movies are giving me more than I've received watching some of them off 35mm in a cinema.

Jaws is truly something. It was already one of my favourite films, and technically speaking it's still one of Spielberg's best - hell, anyone's best. This new release however is so visually crisp and audibly clear that it's been like watching it for the time all over again.

The disc comes with a bunch of special features which I haven't sampled yet, including the documentary The Shark is Still Working, so I can't comment on those. For the film alone, however, this is a must-buy. If you own a blu-ray player, this is the sort of film you should be purchasing.