Geek Review: Fantastic Four (2015)

A four is not a vowel.

So, I finally saw the new Fantastic Four.

Look, no one logging in here today is looking for a Fantastic Four movie review.  You want Star Wars.  But I’m prepping for an unexpected but totally expected journey.  I couldn’t go today.  Instead, I went for this…whatever it was…on pay per view.

Thoughts and some SPOILERS after the cut.

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars 43

The end is near for Secret Wars (well, there is still a month to go), but not for my write ups.  Sigh.  So much to do.  Anyway, last week finally saw the release of Secret Wars #7 Part Two aka Secret Wars #8.  I believe that only leaves the following for this long, long event:

Ultimate End #5 – December 16th
Secret Wars #9 – January 13th, 2016

After the break I’ll take a look at that penultimate Secret Wars issue as well as play some catch-up with the following books: Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars #3, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #3, Red Skull #2, Silver Surfer #15 and X-Men ’92 (Infinite) #6

Be sure to check out our latest Secret Wars Power Rankings, which also features links to the other parts of my read through.

Spiders, Spiders Everywhere Part 7

Thanksgiving is the official start of the holiday season for you folks in the US isn’t it?  So it’s only fitting that we start this collection of Spider-Man cameos with a Marvel holiday special.  After the break, more from this issue and other cameos that don’t quite make the cut to be included in the  Spider-Man Complete Chronology.

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars XXIX

So, not unexpectedly I’m way behind in going through all of Secret Wars.  But give me a break, there are over 200 issues and counting to this event.  At least the Secret Wars main series being so extremely late and now extended an issue gives me until at least December, if not 2016, to finish up “on time”.

After the cut I’ll take a spoiler filled look at the latest issue of the main series: Secret Wars #6.  As well, I’ll finish off my review of the series Old Man Logan.  I previously looked at Parts 1 and 2 and in this post I’ll examine Old Man Logan #3, Old Man Logan #4 and Old Man Logan #5.  I’ll save spoilers until after the cut, but let’s just say, we have another disappointing ending to add to the pile.

Related links:
Secret Wars Power Rankings
Tom’s Road To Secret Wars: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7.
Other parts of this series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars XXIV (Future Imperfect Edition)

I mentioned when I covered Future Imperect #1 in part 8 of this series that I had not read the original source material.  It’s on a long list of “to reads” that I have, but I don’t believe you need to have read it to enjoy this series.  I think all you really need to know is that The Maestro is an evil future version of the Hulk who has pretty much killed all the other heroes.  (Edit: or not…see Tom’s comment…)  He’s not a very nice guy.

After the break I’ll look at the remaining issues of this series: Future Imperfect #2, Future Imperfect #3, Future Imperfect #4 and Future Imperfect #5.  Currently sitting in the number 14 slot in our Secret Wars Power Rankings, the series is a good read.

Related links:
Secret Wars Power Rankings
Tom’s Road To Secret Wars: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7.
Other parts of this series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

Four Fantastic Reasons YOU SHOULD SEE The Fantastic Four

If you happened to listen to our podcast the other day, you would have known that I was looking forward to seeing the new Fantastic Four movie. My heart was broken on air when I found out that the Rotten Tomatoes average review score was at a measly 18%, only to spiral downward Thursday morning to a whopping 8% – dear god! That’s only 2% better than Paul Blart 2. I was ready for this movie to be DOOMED.

But you know what? The critics are suffering from MCU syndrome. They have all been spoiled for too long. And sometimes they get it wrong, just see these previous examples.  Fantastic Four is a fun movie! That’s right – I like it! Don’t roll your eyes just yet, before you call bull-shit, see my four fantastics reasons for why YOU TOO should see the new Fantastic Four movie:

Fantastic Four Throwbacks: Then & Now (Infographic)

The newest movie, Fantastic Four hit theaters last night, so we thought it would be a perfect time to pull together all of the group’s looks in one infographic! This image shows 15 of the superheroes’ notable outfits, and is narrated by the Invisible Woman herself, Sue Storm. See how over 50 years of comic domination has changed over the years:

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars Part Eleven

Well I’m the only one in the office today (because Canada), so I need to produce all our content, hence the day has been mostly filled with videos and pictures since I’m not Tom Kelly and can’t write columns in my sleep like that chick in Tommyknockers.  That was a great book.  Hey Watson, that’s a book I read.  Jackass.

With that in mind, let’s fill this slot with a look at Wednesday’s Secret Wars #4.  Keep in mind that after the break there will be spoilers.  I’ll see if I can conference in Ryan and Tom for their thoughts as they drive to the Cape or the Hampton’s or Venice Beach or wherever it is the cool kids are these days.

Also, if you are like me and haven’t read all of Johnathon Hickman’s Avengers run leading up to Secret Wars, be sure to take Tom’s Road To Secret Wars course at gabbinggeekuniversity.com.  The reading materials are online here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six and Part Seven.

And that course is a prerequisite to the other parts of this series: Part One, Part Two, Part Three,Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten

Why The X-Men Suck At Their Jobs

Lots of pouches here. It was the 90s.

The X-Men were created for two primary reasons.  One was because Stan Lee needed another superhero team and was feeling kind of lazy, so he threw up his hands and said, “You know what?  They were just born that way!”  The other was as a at-times heavy-handed anti-racism allegory.  The year was 1963, and the Civil Rights Movement was heating things up across the country.  Younger readers of comic books could be taught a lesson on tolerance, and comics were a good medium for that, so here were the X-Men, mutants who were feared and hated by non-mutants for the crime of being born different.  But the X-Men were good and defended regular folks against the evil mutants of the world, in an attempt to prove that not all mutants were evil.

Even given the sliding scale of Marvel time, where everything outside Captain America and the Invaders’ exploits during World War II depicted in a Marvel Comic (barring the upcoming Secret Wars) has taken place over a roughly 12 year time period, the X-Men really suck at their task of promoting tolerance.