An International Memorial Day

I don't know about you, but on this American holiday weekend I find myself drinking plenty of Mexican beers, watching movies about Persia (kinda meh, but the GirlFriend liked it), and generally doing non-traditional American stuff. Well, I guess I did have a BBQ and there's nothing more American than grilled meats.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I've been slacking because of the holiday weekend and I'm not apologizing for it.

Instead, I want to make sure you guys have seen the brand new full trailer for Scott Pilgrim vs The World. It made my weekend, and I hope it's a great topper for you guys as well.



And for the record, Scott Pilgrim is Canadian. America just can't catch a break this weekend.

Weekend Matinee: HARDROCK ZOMBIES

Once I saw the trailer for Hardrock Zombies, I knew it was going to be something special. It's that perfect combination of kitch and awesomeness that can only exist in an 80s movie. If you don't believe me, just check out this trailer:



Right? If only it had motorcycles and explosions it'd be the best movie ever.

The moral this week: Old fashioned rock and roll makes everything cooler.

Letting Go of LOST

I sat down to write this right after the finale, but I found that I couldn't. After a few days to process, I can definitely say that LOST had a very fitting and satisfying series finale. It was frustrating, interesting, provocative, infuriating, and touching, everything that LOST was.



For me, what I liked the most was the message in the finale: Just let it go. While it works as a message for the main characters (especially Jack), it's also a sly message to all the fans out there watching.

What was the Island? What was Dharma doing? Where did Jacob come from? Why was Walt special? Who were The Others? Every question you could have was answered with that simple message in the finale:

Let it go.



It's funny, coming from me, because I've been adamant that the only thing LOST had going for it was the plot. While some of the characters were interesting, they never really engaged me in a way to make me care (with the exception of Desmond). The problem was that everyone on that island was an asshole, and very few had redeeming features that made me want to root for them. But somehow during the finale that all changed.

As the finale progressed I cared less and less about the unanswered questions and more about these people finding their true happiness. It made me realize that in six seasons it was very rare to see the characters be happy and it was about time that there was a smile infection.



Story wise, I think everyone ended up where they should be. Katie finally looked beyond herself and reached out to save Claire. Claire will finally get to be the mother that she always wanted to be, but with a family that she sorely needed. Sawyer, well, Sawyer got out so he can star in a buddy cop show with Miles.



And In the end, Jack fulfilled his purpose, fixing the island by performing a hard reboot, and left Hurley and Ben in charge for years until they found a suitable replacement, like Jacob and his predecessors did. The island is still around being weird, but it's done with everyone we care about so it's time for us to leave too.

Like Christian Shepard said: It's time to let go.

Platypus Robot First Anniversary Contest!

Wow! That year certainly flew by.

That's right kids, it's been a year since I decided that the internet needed, nay demanded, my perspective on random geekiness and I started this blog. Since that fateful day at work (SHH! don't tell anyone!), I've found the perfect outlet for all my random geek knowledge. Finally a place where I can expound on the similarities between Planet of the Apes and the Terminator between reviews of crappy 90s comics while totally not alienating my friends (they don't quite share my affinity for comics, but they're still cool!)

Anyway, I decided it was about time to get the wheels churning on this blog, so let's kick it off with an old fashioned contest!



I want to see what you picture when you picture a Platypus Robot. Is it a robot with a duckbill? A platypus with bionic arms? Something in between? I want to know, and more, I want to see it.

So get those pencils, crayons, or cursors moving and design your best platypus robot and send it to me at platypusrobot@gmail.com by June 7th, 2010 (that's two weeks!) and I'll sort through them, post them here, and announce a winner or two.

What's in it for you? How about this:

One Grand Prize Winner gets:


A copy of Daredevil # 181-184, a blood sample prop from the 2008 Incredible Hulk Movie, AND a drawing by yours truly of your favorite comic hero (quality not assured on that last one!)

One Second Prize Winner gets


A copy of Daredevil #181, and a drawing of your second favorite comic hero (quality still not assured).

Runners-up gets:


Everyone else gets a digital high five from me for being totally awesome!

There you have it. Thanks everyone for making this blog a highlight of my year and here's looking forward to many more!

Now get crackin'!!

Weekend Matinee: LOST

For better or worse, LOST wraps up it's six year run this weekend. Can it live up to the hype? Maybe. Will it hold all the answers to our questions? Probably not. Will it be the TV event of the Decade (2000-2010)?

Most definitely.

It may not the best show in the world, but it's certainly one of the most intriguing. I have a feeling that whatever happens during the finale will really polarize the fans. Not as bad as The Sopranos did, but something along the lines of what BSG did. Some people will be satisfied, most won't, but everyone will be talking about it.

So in an effort to catch you up to the phenomenon so you can at least watch the finale without being too confused, here's a recap of the first five seasons:



And then just remember that this season the gimmick is flash-sidewayses, where we see the Lost gang in a world where the plane didn't crash on the island. On that world, everyone's almost got the perfect life, but Desmond is about to fuck it up.

The morale: Never trust a scotsman, they're always out to fuck your shit up.

Here's hoping it's good times, and I'll let you all know what I think later in the week.

BONUS CLIP:

Just in case you don't hae a full eight minutes to catch up with Lost, here's the whole thing in about a minute... with cats:

The alternate DC looks like a pretty cool place.

Last night on the season finale of Fringe, the viewers got a glimpse of an alternate reality. I don't really know more than that, because I don't watch the show, all I know is that they ran into some really awesome iconic DC comic covers from that world. Lucky for us non-fans, DC's The Source blog released all the images this morning, and they were pretty sweet.

My favorite:



Which got me thinking: Why aren't there more homages to this cover (The Superman one, not the Batman one, duh)? For all the iconic cover homages that DC does, I'm shocked that we haven't seen this one more. While it may induce memories of gritty, style-over-substance, 90s gimmick comics, you gotta admit that it's one striking cover.

To tell you the truth, I wouldn't mind to see more homages to the iconic images of the 90s. We've already seen a bit of it with the cover of Green Lantern # 50 so let's keep that trend going. Let me clear though, while I wouldn't mind seeing some homages to the artwork on those 90s books, the foil/gold-encrusted/die-cut/gatefold/whatever gimmick should stay in the past.

I'm looking at you, Marvel

Just so you know...

And don't you forget it!

Also, a bit of blog-ness, piggybacking on this post. This is my technocrati claim token: 4JVGVH7ZPDAU . Here's hoping they let me in.

Quick Avengers # 1 Thought

Not surprisingly the flagship book for this new Heroic Age, Avengers, is pretty good. Credit were credit's due, Bendis pulls off a fun and enjoyable first issue, but then he normally does.

There was just one thing that jumped out at me. Namely this:



So the Next Avengers are now canon? And the villains for the first arc? And kicked the asses of not just Kang, but Immortus?

Really?

I.. I don't know how to feel about that. I guess there's only one thing to do: Throw it on my Netlfix and hope for the best.

I'll keep you posted on how it is.

Wolverine Loves His Damn Eggs

Few people know about Wolverine's love of Canadian Eggs and even fewer take the time to write about it. Lucky for us, Faith Erin Hicks is around to help us out, opting to pitch a story around this oft forgotten Wolverine quirk for the Girl Comics anthology.

Marvel was quick to shut it down.

Undaunted, she finished the story and put it online for the world to see. Finally we can all see what Wolverine goes through to get his special Canadian Eggs.

It's so awesomely fantastic I just had to post about it. I hope you dig it as much as I do, and find yourself with a new found pity for Wolverine being forced to live with all those teenagers.

That poor poor man. No wonder he has rage issues...

How Robins Retire

Are we sure that there's only been five Robins? I'm just saying that Bats did go to a really dark place between Jason and Tim. Something to think about.

Weekend Matinee: KNIGHTRIDERS

What do you get when Ed Harris, George Romero, and Tom Savini get together to make a movie about Renaissance Faires and motorcycles? The coolest movie ever about the trials and tribulations about a king and his kingdom: KnightRiders. Just look at the movie poster and try not to be blown away:



Once I heard about this masterpiece, I knew it was destined to become a part of the Weekend Matinee tradition. Just check out this action:



The moral this week: EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH MOTORCYCES!

Now only if I could get the Southern California Renaissance Faire to listen to me...

My Problem With Bendis: SIEGE #4

I've made no bones about my misgivings about Bendis, but I've never really explained them. I figure this week, with Siege wrapping up, it would be a great time to really examine my issues with his work.

Let's get it right out in the open, shall we: Bendis has some fantastically awesome ideas. They're imaginative, insightful, and earth-shattering in a way that could truly change how you perceive your favorite characters. That is, if he could actually execute any of these ideas. Case in point is Siege # 4.

Spoilers ahoy.



The idea behind Siege is a sound one. Norman Osborne, drunk with power, decides to go after this foreign entity on his country's land (after some prodding from Loki, of course) using all the 'heroes' at his disposal. This, naturally, doesn't sit well with the real heroes, prompting them to jump into the fray to protect their Asgardian allies. Ultimately a larger threat is revealed (The Sentry) and the heroes have to pull themselves up to stop this devastating force.

With the defeat of Norman Osborne, The Sentry finally lost control and the Void officially took over; our heroes were at his mercy. It was a sincerely great cliffhanger, one that left me legitimately excited to see what was going to happen next. I should have known better.



Siege #4 starts with our heroes mid-beatdown, but we only see their struggle as Loki has the mic. Loki laments that things went too far, that he never wanted Asgard to come crashing down, he just wanted his fellow gods to learn a lesson. Poor Loki then has a hero turn, using what was left of his powers (and taking back the Norn Stones from The Hood) to power up the good guys against this ultimate evil. It should be totally awesome, but it just falls flat and it's all in the execution.

Bendis has a habit of doing this and it always drives me crazy (obviously). It's a great device to use once you've built up to it, but it requires the ability to control the pace of the story and that's something Bendis can't do.



Let's break it down.

The issue starts with the heroes mid battle, which would be great if the previous issue ended with a fight, but instead it ended with a reveal. To get to that point of the heroes in total dire straits, we needed to be 'in' the moment of that fight. To come in mid way works if our perspective is a hero on the ground getting his ass whooped, but then you lose that Loki moment. So then the answer is to end the previous issue with The Sentry standing triumphant over the heroes. He doesn't even need to be totally triumphant, just get a few good hits in so we can tell that he means business and the heroes are way out of their league, THEN you can start the fourth issue with Loki yammering on as the good guys go down.

Speaking of Loki, after super-charging the champions, The Sentry kills him. Rips him in half and Thor has a spark of sadness.



Of course this scene would have been way more effective if Loki was actually a part of the whole series. Sure he was the impetuous for the whole thing, and appeared briefly in issue one to remind us, but other than that he was suspiciously absent throughout the whole shebang. You want me to care about a character who's about to make a face turn and promptly get ripped in two? PUT HIM IN THE BOOK! Let me see his change. Let me see him take in the horror of what went down. I need to see the key story bits through his eyes to make me identify with what he's going through, otherwise it just seems tacked on and I have no emotional connection.

Horrible Bendis execution strikes again. He's in such a rush to get to those moments, he ignores the foundation that he needs to built to make them really work. Unless, of course, it's one of his pet characters then he's normally pretty good about it.



So you would think that The Sentry, being one of Bendis' pet characters, would have a great death, right? Right. With Loki in pieces, the troops are pissed so they pull out all the stops. Thor hits The Sentry with some lightning (but bigger this time!) and then Iron Man throws a helicarrier at the crater.



What?

So in the end it's not the heroes appealing to the good side of The Sentry, or some kind of 'Love will save you' bullshit that defeats this ultimate enemy, it's just hitting him harder. Sigh.



The dust clears to reveal a very naked Bob Reynolds begging the assembled to kill him. They refuse, citing the same ol' 'Heroes don't kill Mantra' that people make fun of comics for, only to realize that Bob needs them to kill him because he can't control the power inside of him.

He attacks! Oh NO! What last ditch trick can our heroes pull out to stop the unstoppa....



Or they can just hit it. Again. Double Sigh.

This death almost has the opposite problem than the first, which shows that Bendis is just full of surprises. Here's a character that he's really worked with, one that we've seen change and become this horrible creature, but one that had a good guy underneath. So instead of highlighting the hero that The Sentry was in this death, by having Bob struggle against it and give the heroes the chance to strike, Bendis highlights the weakness, having Bob helpless to stop anything that's happening to him or his friends. By doing it this way, Bendis again weakens the impact of a potentially iconic moment for The Sentry.



We'll end this on a good note. What Bendis does nail really well is the epilogue. It seems that he's finally found that balance between giving us a satisfactory wrap up, but still leaves things open for future stories.

It only took him three big crossovers to get it right....

Here's hoping that in the upcoming Heroic Age, Bendis does what he does best (big ideas and great character moments) and leaves the massive crossovers to someone who can better handle them.

Your Monthly Dose of Throg May 2010

You thought I forgot about this didn't you? Well the jokes on you, it wasn't that I forgot about it (or that my computer crashed) it was that this issue was nearly impossible to find. It seems that my favorite character of 2009 is amassing quite a following; maybe it'll result in a solo mini-series? Only time will tell.

Anyway, the newest issue of LJATPA:U seemed determined to make up for the lack of Throg last issue by making this one all Throg all the time. This month's moment comes from Throg's return 'home'...



...his awesomeness making the mighty Hiemdall quiver in his boots...



Until he meets with the non-amphibian God of Thunder, who gives him a tour of the factory in which his hammer was made...



Before bestowing the best compliment ever to my favorite green hero...




That's a FUCK YEAH moment if I ever saw one. Keep on rocking it Throg, and maybe someday we'll see a Thor team up book with you, Original Recipe, Thunderstrike, and Beta Ray Bill.

See you next month... or whenever I can find the next issue.

Everything's coming up LockJaw

I've been an unabashed fan of LockJaw and the Pet Avengers since the beginning, and while I sing the praises of Throg whenever I can, the title character still has a special place in my heart. So you can imagine my delight when I was checking my toy blogs and saw this beautiful masterpiece:



Why he's with a non-asian Psylocke I'll never know. Regardless, it's the totally awesome crown jewel of the seventh wave of TRU minimates hitting sometime in the future.

I guess it's time to start a letter writing campaign for a Throg minimate.

Who's with me?

X-arama!

I'm not gonna lie. I came back from vacation with a head cold that makes forming a coherent sentence one of the hardest things to do. So while I really want to write up a semi-review of Siege #4 (quick review: It does the job, but I wish it was better), I don't think it's going to be in the cards for today.

Instead, I have this sweet piece of art snagged from the clutches to 4chan combining two of my favorite things in the world: Futurama and the X-Men.



There are some dubious choices up there, but it's fun none the less.

Now I'm going to climb back into my healing cocoon (read: the couch) and attempt to be back tomorrow with more hard hitting blogging... or something.

I need some drugs.

Weekend Matinee: STOP OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT

I gotta say I love buddy movies, moreso if they involve odd couples. Turner and Hooch, Butch and Sundance, Dead Heat, I love 'em all which is why I have a special place in my heart for Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot.

Who would have guessed that Sly Stallone would ever take on Estell Getty, hot from her run on The Golden Girls, on as his sassy new partner in his latest action adventure flick. From the ridiculous setup to the horrible running gags, SOMMWS is one for the history books.

Check it out:



This week's moral: Appreciate your Mother because you never know when she's going to bail you out of a tough spot.

Also, call your mom already. It's Mother's Day and she's worried about you.

Iron Man 2 Review

The original Iron Man is a hard act to follow. With it's effortless humor, high flying action, and fantastic performances, there was very little room for improvement. So how does Iron Man 2 stack up?



It was good.

It wasn't great. It wasn't mind-blowingly awesome. It was completely solid, leaving me nothing huge to complain about, but nothing so amazing and new that I was left slack-jawed in it's wake. The problem is the first one was so good, it was a tough act to follow.

It's like this: movies like Spider-Man or X-Men, were serviceable movies with lots of promise and a hint of awesomeness for the sequels to build off of. Those second movies, in turn, were amazing, springboarding their franchises to new heights and showing the world at large how it's done (especially in the case of Spider-Man 2). The downside to this is it raised the bar so high, the third movies in the franchises were terrible. They would try so hard to build off the success of it's predecessor while adding a bigger element, but would ultimately collapse under the weight of the hype. Iron Man 2 falls between say Spider-Man 2 and 3 in quality: It has some great moments, but it gets weighed down by all the moving pieces of the plot.

Leaving the theater last night, I kept trying to process my feelings on what I had just watched. The performances are pure gold, the story lines make sense, and there was plenty of geeky Easter Eggs to make my heart go all a flutter, but I wasn't left with that urge to see it again right away like after the first one.

As for the movie itself, it's more a story of Tony Stark than it is about Iron Man. If the first movie was about Tony becoming the title hero, this new one is about Tony dealing with his new post-Iron Man life. But not in the bigger-than-life superhero kind of way, instead it's more about the government's response to this private peace-keeping machine. Tony's insistence that he's the only one who can successfully pull off this prosthetic technology is put to the test as his enemies scramble to make their own versions of his crowning achievement. Ghosts from the past combine with an industry rival to create the perfect challenge for our hero, forcing him innovate to remain number one.

That's not to say there isn't awesome superheroics throughout the movie, far from it. Per capita this more Iron Man action in the sequel than the original, but it never seems to overtake the human aspects of the story. It's a tribute to Jon Favreau that he's able to build a movie bigger in scope than the original, but not lose the characters; it's a feat that few sequels accomplish.

In the end, Iron Man 2 is a solid sequel with plenty of action and great characters, but falls short of being exceptional because of comparisons to the original. Don't get me wrong, it's 100% worth seeing in the theater, but don't go excepting something far superior its predecessor.

And we're back

What a week. Let me tell you, life without a computer and/or a reliable internetting device is hell for a guy like me. I was like a junkie, cut off from the source and going through withdrawals. It was a dark time....

But now a new light has shone me the way. That's right, rebuilt with a brand new hard drive and an updated OS, my Macbook is back and better than ever. What this means for you, is that given a few days to restore all the old programs and such, I'll be back in business posting the good stuff on a semi regular basis.

Good times indeed friends. Good times.

May the Fourth Be With You!

Having no computer isn't going to stop me from posting on Star Wars Day. Although, it will keep the entry short.

So hey, here are some awesome minimalist Star Wars posters I'm thinking about getting for my office.

This one from Graphic Nothing's Gary Clarke speaks to the dominating presence of the Empire:


Meanwhile, Hexagonall opted to showcase the scary white visage of the the Empire with this minimalist representation of a Storm Trooper:


Finally, there's the guys over at Shoot the Glass with this deceptively awesome representation of the final run on the Death Star.


They're all so awesome, I don't know which one to get. Maybe I should just get all three and make a theme. That should totally fly with The GirlFriend, right?

Right?

EDITED TO ADD:
Feel like you haven't truly celebrated Star Wars Day without watching the movies in question, but realize that you don't have the time to do so? Fret not friend, the internet is here to save you. Here's the OT for you in a quick two minutes done entirely with legos.



Quota filled.