New Comics: Legion of Super-heroes

When I was a kid, I had a couple Superboy and the Legion of Super-heroes comic books. I liked them. They had Superboy and a bunch of cool looking characters. It was in space and in the future and, to someone excited about Star Wars and Superman it was a cool convergence of both.

Of course, I knew nothing about the cast of characters and the continuing story and I was very, very confused about what was going on. Both comics started in the middle of something . . . had some cool action . . . and ended on a cliffhanger.

I still like the concept, though, but like X-Men comics I never got into any of the many series because of all the backstory and the huge cast of characters. Reading comics over time I got to know some of the main characters and concepts.

In the comic shop yesterday, there were four different Legion of Super-heroes comics . . . and I thought this might be a chance to give it a try. Two of them, after all, were from the new 52 . . .

DC COMICS PRESENTS SUPERBOY'S LEGION

I decided to read this one first, since it was a reprint of an older Legion story.

I was very confused when I started reading it, because NOTHING went along with what I already knew about the characters, until I realized that it was actually an Elseworlds book: a stand alone story that has nothing to do with any continuity and is set in its own universe.

In the "real" Legion stories, super powered teens from the future are inspired to become superheroes by Superman's exploits in the present. In THIS story, Superman never existed because the rocket ship that carried him to Earth as a baby somehow went off course and wasn't found until the far future. So Kal-El lives in the future, has taken to calling himself Superboy (inspired by the OTHER superheroes from the present, who died early because Superman wasn't around) and Superboy now wants to build a "legion". Of "super-heroes".

I'm sure if I was more familiar with the Legion characters, I'd have found it even more clever than it was because of all the appearances of all the many characters. But as it is, I still found it quite interesting. It's a fun story, with super heroics and sci-fi ideas.

Recommended. The DC Comics Presents . . . series is a great deal. Each of these books is a 100 page "graphic novel" reprinting various classic and/or obscure story arcs from the past.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1 and #2

So this new series is one of the "new 52", like I mentioned in this previous post, and is supposed to be a great jumping on point.

It wasn't.

That's not to say it wasn't good. It was. And they worked to make it accessible, by carefully introducing characters as soon as you see them the first time, in both issues. But, just like my old Legion comics, coming into the first issue, the reader is coming into the middle of a story.

I did appreciate the science fiction elements, and it is well written.

But unlike the "Superboy's Legion" book I read just before this, where the initial confusion was intentional, here it was unavoidable because it is still tied to directly to the old Legion of Super-heroes stories.

Recommended if you are familiar with the characters and storyline, but not if you are coming in with no knowledge like me.

LEGION LOST #1 and #2

Coming into this series, I found the same problem as the previous series . . . but this time, it worked.

The first issue opens right in the middle of a story. A handful of the huge cast of superheroes from the future of the Legion has found itself trapped in the present. It's picking up from the same storyline Legion of Super-heroes picked up from, and the careful character introductions aren't there and somehow . . . I was drawn in.

Maybe I was okay feeling lost because "lost" was in the title?

Supposedly, time travel is no longer possible in the "new 52" DC universe, and these characters are stuck. "Men out of time", so to speak. I liked it.

Recommended.

STAR TREK/LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES

It's geek fodder. "Who would win in a fight, Freddy or Jason?" "What if aliens fought predators?" "Wouldn't it be brilliant ifIron Man, Captain America, and  Thor met the Hulk, a red-haired woman, and a guy I'm pretty sure I recognize from something who shoots arrows?"

I can't imagine ANYONE has ever sat down thinking . . . "what if the futuristic Captain Kirk and crew teamed up with superhero teens from the further future?"

But here it is. It's a classic Trek trope -- the old "alternate universe timeline" story, in which Kirk and crew find themselves in a mirror universe. And so do a small group of the Legion heroes. The same mirror universe. The two teams haven't met yet, in this issue. I guess that's in the next issue.

But is it good? Surprisingly, it is.

Recommended? If you like this sort of thing.

~ Ben

PS -- The last one, of course, reminds me of this:

Yes, Star Trek/X-Men. This one, also as un-needed as the Trek/Legion, at least had a couple moments in which iconic characters meet and do iconic things. Like this:

Spock giving Wolverine a nerve pinch? I like it.

But I like this more:

Clever.

Mama, just killed a man . . . with this SONG!

And life had just begun . . .

Here he is! The one and only Shatner, doing the Bohemian Rhapsody:



Wow. It's impressing me and depressing me at the same time.

There's a part of me that loves seeing Shatner so much, especially with his run as Denny Crane on Boston Legal.

There's another part of me that wishes it wasn't so much self-parody.

And let's face facts, as awesome as Shatner can be . . . he just doesn't hold a candle to THIS Bohemian Rhapsody:


Still and all, his new album, Seeking Major Tom, an album of space themed classic rock songs, just might be finding its way into my iTunes library . . .

~ Ben

Nano Film Review #24: Star Trek

Can't believe I took this long to post a review of Star Trek, considering I've seen the thing twice already . . . in IMAX. And the second time around it was better.

The bottom line: this is a fun, fun movie. Fun in a way that Star Trek has not been in a long, long time.

The soundtrack is simply amazing. Michael Giacchino is fast becoming one of my favorite film composers. I've always liked his Lost and Fringe music, and I enjoy his Speed Racer soundtrack. But his Star Trek score is awesome. Check it out here:



It's sweeping and bold and epic and personal. Like the movie itself.

The writers and director did a better job than they had any right doing with their two-pronged goal: create a Star Trek story that will satisfy old Star Trek fans and create a story that will satisfy people who never watched Star Trek before in their life.

Judging by the box office, they succeeded.

My new rating system is simple: Yeah or Meh. Star Trek = YEAH!!!

~ Ben

Fun Star Trek Stuff from the (Tholian) Web

Bear with me, you may enjoy some of this post even if you're not a fan of Star Trek.

Yeah, I know I haven't been posting on my blog much lately. Part of that comes from work related craziness, but most of it comes from personal and creative issues that have occurred. I'll just leave it at that for now.

Most of that is behind me, now. I've got a few reviews I need to post, and some ruminations on writing (under the "Way of the Writer" subtitle) . . . but for today, I've got something important to talk about:

Star Trek.

I'm going to see it tomorrow at 7:00 in IMAX. Seeing Dark Knight in IMAX was an amazing experience. So amazing, in fact, that I have not rewatched the movie since. Yeah, it was a great movie. Amazing. Near genius. But . . . I'm afraid to watch it on my little living room TV, with the possiblity that I'd sully the IMAX experience.

With Star Trek, I'll be seeing it again regardless. In three weeks, I'm getting together with some friends from high school for a special reunion: seeing the new Star Trek movie. I'm not sure if I'm the only one from the group jumping the gun to see it early . . . but, it's only in IMAX for two weeks.

Anyway, to get ready for Star Trek here's some fun Trek related videos. Enjoy!

(BTW, I've decided I'm a Trekster, not a Trekkie or a Trekker. Why? I just think that Trekster sounds, at the same time, both COOLER and GEEKIER than Trekkie or Trekker.Why else? I just rewatched the movie Trekkies, where they debate the two terms and frankly, I think it's all a bit silly.)

First, some context -- an awesome preview of the new Trek movie:



So, next, a video from The Onion that sharply parodies the actual reactions some Trekkies and Trekkers have about this new Star Trek movie:


Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

Sadly, I've read and heard some people saying things just like that. I'm just hoping for a fun filled, optimistic sci-fi action movie.

Next, we have a re-enactment of a classic scene from the best (second best, depending on my mood) Star Trek movie, the Wrath of Kahn, as performed by a Kindle and an iPod Shuffle:



Talking Gadget Theater has more scenes from other movies. I find it pretty fun and funny.

Finally, we have the Burger King "When Kingons Attack" website, which I found funny and disturbing (everything with the Burger King guy is just plain disturbing). It's college humor, and took me back to the days of purple nurples, atomic wedgies, and such . . .

The Kingon Defense Academy.

So anyway, last night I curled up for a nice episode of Fringe (created by J.J. Abrams), tonight I'll curl up fur a nice episode of Lost (created by J.J. Abrams), and tomorrow I'll not be curling up (unless I have a row to myself) for the Star Trek movie (directed by J.J. Abrams). When did this Abrams guy become the gatekeeper for stuff I like?

~ Ben

America's Dumbest Criminals: Klingon Edition

What a maroon, as Bugs would say.

I mean, using force and threatening harm to someone just to satisfy your selfish needs is bad enough.

But if this guy is, indeed, a fan of Star Trek, he's the type of fan who watches for the skin tight costumes and big 'splosions . . . he's obviously not watching for the moral discourse.

More from TrekMovie.com, including a photo of the crime.

~ Ben

STAR TREK Superbowl ad . . .

So now we have a situation in our American culture where advertisements are sponsored by more advertisements! Talk about the snake eating its tail . . .

Bah, who cares! It's Star Trek!



I love the theme they seem to be presenting of how Kirk is "destined for greater things". It's something that happens to be true for everyone in the entire world, not just hotshot space cadets . . . and something that people tend not to realize.

"You can settle for an ordinary life. I dare you to do better."

That's one of the things, in different words, I tried to impart to my high school students, and also my Sunday School students. It's what Christianity, in many ways, is all about. How many people live up to their God given potential? How many people just live their life, going through the motions, with no greater destiny in mind?

Yeah, there's probably some things about this movie I won't like. But this idea, seeming to be a theme for the movie, excites me.

~ Ben

STAR TREK trailer

The new Star Trek trailer is now up. This is the trailer that actually shows what is going to be in the movie.

I have to say, I'm liking what I see.

Watch it here.

As a Star Trek fan since I was in grade school and watching the old school Star Trek downstairs on my parent's old black and white television that made everything in the top quarter of the screen enlongated (which created some very large foreheads) . . . I've realized that Star Trek was a big part of my adolescence. While Star Wars engaged my imagination, it was Star Trek that caused my imagination to reach out an explore. When I wrote and drew my own comics in elementary school and junior high, I had a handful of superheroes that I made up and I did Star Trek stories.

When I started writing fiction, the only "fan-fiction" I wrote in junior high and high school was Star Trek. (It wasn't fan fiction back then, it was just Star Trek stories.) I didn't do that with Star Wars or Superman. I mean, I loved Star Wars and Superman . . . but for some reason, it was Star Trek that actually seemed to encourage artistic creation for me.

I find that interesting.

Anyway, I hope this movie lives up to the promise. There's a great cast, some strong writers, and the guy who gave us Lost. Already, Trek fans around the world are nitpicking the heck outta this thing . . . some claiming that this new movie has ruined their childhood, others claiming this new movie is the science fiction equivalent of the Messiah.

As someone who has always preferred "Trekkie" over "Tre

kker" . . . I'm waiting and looking forward to seeing the movie. They've been saying things about how this will be a "positive" movie, and how it will be a different kind of movie in a landscape where The Dark Knight is breaking records.

We'll see . . .

~ Ben

The new version of the U.S.S. Enterprise, from Entertainment Weekly

Star Trek teaser online now!

Wow.

I saw this when I saw Cloverfield. One of the reasons I went to the midnight show of Cloverfield was to get a peek at this teaser. Of course, I was pumped to see the teaser, but the movie itself was pretty awesome.

Meanwhile, the teaser is now online. You can find it here:

http://www.paramount.com/startrek/

Wow.

Just, wow.

I'll admit, I'm a huge Trek fan and my Trek is original Trek. Yeah, I watched the first five seasons of Next Generation religiously. School scheduling got in the way of the final two seasons and most of Deep Space Nine. When Voyager came along, it was hard to catch since we didn't have UPN and it was a similar story with Enterprise. I liked most of the Trek shows, though, and followed them enough to know who was who and what was what (although I still don't understand the mythos behind the Enterprise stuff). And I've watched and own all the movies. (I don't own all the TV DVDs. Wouldn't mind it, but can't afford it.)

But Kirk, Spock, and Bones -- they define Trek for me.

This new movie is supposed to get into their backstory. It's supposed to tell their first adventure or something, but also uses a time travel element (and you know how I feel about time travel). Ultimately, it could either be really good or really bad. I can't imagine it will be in the middle anywhere.

This teaser, though? Pretty cool.

~ Ben

Speaking of Time Travel -- new Star Trek movie news

POSSIBLE SPOILERS.

I've just read a news story that implies the new Star Trek movie will involve going back to some elements from many Trek fan's favorite episode, "City on the Edge of Forever".

Seems the Guardian donut guy is going to be the element used to travel through time, so old Spock can meet young Spock.

http://trekmovie.com/2007/11/12/more-rumored-star-trek-plot-details/

And Harlan Ellison, the guy who originally WROTE "City" is none too happy.

Not that he ever IS too happy.

I never did read the book that had his original script for "City". I've heard it's a completely different story than the one we ended up with.

I do like time travel. A lot. There's some really good Trek time travel. "City on the Edge of Forver". "Yesterday's Enterprise". Star Trek IV. Star Trek VII (Generations). Star Trek VIII (First Contact). But the whole time travel element of Enterprise lost me. I only watched about half the episodes, and that was a major plot element.

So I hope this goes well.

Oh, and on a side note, Journeyman, on NBC has become very interesting. The time travel is confusing (it's meant to be, it's part of the mystery), but consistent. And the consequences of bringing things back and forth in time has been cool to watch.

Back to Galileo.

~ Ben