Monday, August 26, 2013

Minions, Comics and Miles Away

Although my heart will always be with dead things, being a Mummy means interacting with the living on occasion.  Play dates are TORTURE! And PTA fundraiser events?!  I don't want to even think about 'em!! On the plus side, the minions make embracing the rest of our geek side that much more exciting!  A day has not gone by without a Superhero.  Our home has a very contemporary decor with accents of Batman, Star Wars and skulls.  We add a hint of apple juice to everything to remind us we procreated.  Each stain is a memory...

The best part is that the two miniature villains the man-meat and I created both LOVE comics!  In fact, for the upcoming local Comic-Con, I will be making my first cosplay costumes FOR THEM!
The Diva will be Hawkgirl, her choice.
Little man, scariest Scarecrow ever.
There will be pictures.  I am so EXCITED!!!

Until then, we spend much of our bonding time enjoying the efforts of other geeks way more creative than us.  Speaking of talented geeks...  

                                                                                                                                                                                               Remember this guy?  Perhaps you had a little crush on him when he played Ensign Travis Mayweather on Star Trek: Enterprise ?  Not saying I did... My husband reads this...                                                                                                     Turns out, not only did actor Anthony Montgomery showcase his hot stuff in a series beloved by nerds the world over, he happens to also be a real lover of science fiction.  That makes him hot NERDY stuff! If I had noticed...                                                                                                                                   Well Anthony, I'm sure he won't mind if I call him Anthony, had an idea and that idea eventually was made into the graphic novel, Miles Away.
The story follows a seemingly average teenager, Maxwell Miles, in the future as he misses his parents, awkwardly talks to girls and battles aliens.  Oh?  What was that last one?  Aliens! Max is also discovering more about his unusual super photographic reflexes, which he uses in an interstellar war, revealing more of his families own secrets.  Normal teenage stuff.  




As you know, I am dark and twisted and prefer the creepiest things in life.  So when I started this I had a hard time getting into it.  Something was off... I needed my little Batman Villain for this one.  

All this comic needed was the proper audience to become amazing!  Going forth, this review is partly written by Mad Max.  
What I liked: It's a great story, well written and intricate. It's clearly thought out and this one lays the framework for a wild ride. Every kid wants to be a super hero.  Anthony Montgomery just happened to make one modeled after himself and give him a super cool ability to mimic OTHER abilities.  I think it's clever.  The kid also gets to beat up old men,which I gave really cool voices to and that was pretty hilarious! They are bad guy, alien old men working for a REALLY bad guy named Madame Iniquity so they do deserve it. Also, I thought the Alien art was amazing!  There were so many new creatures and the images were a delight to look at.  What say you Mad Max?  I liked the pictures, the dog people and all of the kids special powers!  My baby has such a way with words.

What made me say 'meh': I didn't like when it [the story line] went to space and it didn't go back to Future Earth and continue the rest of the story.  I must agree with the little man.  Even though by the end, the story on Ro'Twyla and Future Earth came together, I would have liked to see them integrated into each other.  It's almost easy to forget about the characters in the first part of the story. On top of that, there is A LOT of story! Much is crammed into these pages. Also not a fan of the dog people planet named "Ro'Twyla"( hello, I'm Kitty!) and the Bureau of Ultimate Underground Technology (B.U.U.T.).  A bit juvenile for my tastes... right now at least.  HAHAHAHA!  I thought that was so funny!!  Butt, Butt, Butt!!  Target audience acquired.

Who should read this book: Fans of Young Justice, Ben 10, Teen Titans and those that enjoy uncorrupted, none dirty and twisted superhero stories.  It kinda reminds of Transformers with the space stuff and monsters. My lad is a bit young for this story, this is more for older kids, young adults and those that are young hearted.  He obviously still enjoys it and I enjoyed it significantly more sharing it with him.  The story is smart and written with a wonderful vocabulary, some I needed to explain to him. I see this as a positive. 

Who should wait this one out: Those looking for The Walking Dead or other dark, twisted or even inappropriate things.  I don't think Grandma will like it...

Recommended: If not for Mad Max, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. If you're in the targeted audience go for it but I'm not suggesting this one at my book club.  As I said before, this isn't my normal read and it needs to be your thing.  When can we read the next one? I really like it.

Overall: A teenager with a unique ability to mimic any skill or power he sees is recruited to save two worlds? Pretty Awesome.  The story has a lot of potential and is beautifully drawn.  It's every kids fantasy brought to life.  I played Ghostbusters and princess and secret spy when I was a kid but I can see Miles Away as the new pretend-time game.  I give the graphic novel 3 delicious brains on a platter and the little man... <<holds up 5 fingers and makes goofy face>>... He gives Miles Away 5 out of 5 and eagerly awaits the chance to read the follow up.  For the sake of compromise, the official Pretty & Putrid and Zombie World News sister site review is 4 not-fully-decomposed brains!

I loved the opportunity to read something new and even more so, to share it with my minion.  He's reaction here only partially conveys his excitement over Miles Away.  Not only was this a special thing he shared with his Mummy, it was one he identified with. Reading this comic made me ponder what other stories we've missed and also what an exciting experience it really is to share with kids.  What else should my mini-villains read?  Perhaps they'll pick up something new at Comic-con... Until then, I'd love to hear what comics the other Mummys and Deadys are reading to their spawn before the world ends.  Hope you are also teaching them to stay Pretty and Prepare!

For more about Miles Away visit the web site: http://www.themilesaway.com

Anthony Montgomery's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anthony-Montgomery/33244826628


Anthony Montgomery's Twitter: https://twitter.com/MrAMontgomery


Miles Away Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/THEMILESAWAY

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Ben Who-Fleck or Ben Bat-Fleck

Ok, no surprise I'm a Batman fan.  I've never been secretive about my love.  He is so dreamy...

One of the reasons I fantasize about being Catwoman is to seduce the Dark Knight.  So, I obviously have opinions about this "news."  You know what I'm talking about.

Ben Who-Fleck! As Mango would say, "You can't have the Batman!"

My first reaction was obviously heated anger but was it really directed at Ben?  Probably not.  The problem is change sucks like a monkey funker.  I've already loved other Batmans and I've already had others break my heart... ahem... Clooney.  Sure, the first thing to come to mind was Daredevil.  Is Zack Snyder about to get all Val Kilmer on the Man of Steel Sequel?

I doubt it.  Man of Steel was fantastic and it's sequel is just that... a sequel.  It's NOT a Batman movie.  Bruce Wayne will probably show up to flaunt his baller life style and clean up the city. Maybe Metropolis is in ruins because a few Kryptonians couldn't keep it in check and just maybe the people are tired of Superman and his smug attitude.  They want a real hero... that doesn't have to level an entire city to win a battle.    But I digress... Affleck could totally pull off Bruce Wayne.  In fact, he's perfect.  Maybe he won't even wear the cowl.


Whenever I hear Batman whispering in my ear, it's always Kevin Conroy and I believe Affleck could... yup... I mean could... do the Batman the Animated Series style Batman well.  I know I just brought animation into this but my point is our favorite characters always get reinvented.  I didn't flip out over Ledger because his smile was perfect to copy Nicholson and then the character was reinvented.  I was terrified to see Hathaway as Catwoman and was absolutely impressed with the interpretation.  Maybe Ben is not the Batman we want but he is the Batman we need.  Maybe he will even be a Batman that speaks coherently and without excess saliva flying all over the place. I don't know but I'll give him a chance.

In other news...
Bryan Cranston as Lex Luthor

YES!!!!

Glad we had a chance to talk about this.  More dead things to come... until next time, Stay pretty and prepare!