In Brightest Day!: A Recap of the First Month of the New Green Lantern Era.

  Every era must come to a end eventually, whether it be Peyton Manning with the Colts, the Nolan Dark Knight trilogy, the Beatles etc, whatever the case all great thingswill not last forever. With the release of Green Lantern # 20 this past May, it signified the end of legendary creator Geoff John's run of Green Lantern, a run that lasted for almost 9 full years. The run is quite remarkable because it made the character of Green Lantern viable in  Hal Jordan not only viable, but popular, with the series having a massive following. It also created the branches for a massive universe within DC's universe. The many successful story lines such as the Sinestro Corps War and Wrath of the First Lantern which spun out of it were remarkable, as well as the success contributing to the creation of a feature film. But now the run is over (along with Peter Tomasi's very long GL Corps run).

However this blog is not here to praise Johns' run or the past GL universe run, it is to look ahead, after all a end signifies the opportunity for a new beginning.  Green Lantern under the guidance of Johns and Tomasi, has grown into a wonderful fictional universe, which has had 4 books, and now 5 with the new Larfleeze hitting shelves. With all books undergoing new creative changes, this is a very interesting time, to see how the Green Lantern universe will carry on without its legendary creators. Personally I did not fully dive into the universe and my knowledge of the Johns run, (or the other books) is limited, thus I believe I can offer a interesting perspective on the shape of the new universe, as a relative new reader. I read each book and had this to offer in insight.

Super Hero Movies 2013: Iron Man 3 or Man of Steel; Which One is Better?

Warning: Spoilers for both the Man of Steel, and Iron Man 3 are in this post, you have been warned.

    This summer in movies has seemed to continue the new trend of releasing multiple high budget, money making machines, known as super hero movies. Last year we got the Avengers, Spiderman and Batman, and this year we have been given Iron Man 3 and the Man of Steel.  However looking at this year , though we have yet to see Wolverine or Thor yet, the two big players have been released. An although one way to look at it, is to appreciate that both are good and be glad they were released, it is almost too natural to compare them and ask the all too common question : Which one is better? Its a natural thing to do especially with both representing different companies (Marvel and DC comics respectively), and both likely to be the top box office earners of 2013. Lets face it, its what we love to do in today's society, compare things instantly for the sake of it.

      I was thinking about this myself immediately after watching Man of Steel, however decided that movie was way to fresh in my mind to objectively compare it. Now I have seen Man Of Steel a total of three times  and Iron Man 3 two times, I feel like I have enough insight into the movies. However I realized a direct comparison between the two movies is not so simple for a variety of reasons. For one the tones of the movie are extremely different, with Iron Man 3 being much more lighthearted, in contrast to the very serious Man of Steel. Additionally Iron Man 3 was a sequel to a franchise in a successfully established shared universe, while Man of Steel is a origin tale, a reboot, and a hopeful spring board into Warner Brothers version of a shared cinematic universe. This made it difficult for me to make a snap judgement.

From the Pages to the Big Screen. the Differences That Should be Embraced and not Lauded.

From the Pages to the Big Screen.the Differences That Should be Embraced and not Lauded.

A look at why source material should be tinkered with for the better.

By: J.David Staniusz

WARNING: This WILL DICUSS THE EVENTS OF “Man of Steel” so  ****SPOILERS****

You have been warned

 As most people know this weekend is the release of Zack Snyder’s film “Man of Steel”, featuring  the American icon known as Superman. This film is highly anticipated as a pivotal moment for the character, and any potential DC shared movie universe. The success or failure of this movie will set the tone for this potential shared universe, which makes it crucial for all the hard-core comics’ fans. Unlike Iron Man 3, which was a continuation of  a successfully established universe, Man of Steel's impact will be more defining. In addition beyond the universe implications, and more importantly in my opinion, is to re-establish Superman himself in the general pop culture lexicon. Superman at one point had a mania which was ever reaching, and continued with the success of the Richard Donner Superman film in 1978. However with critical failures in Hollywood such as Superman 3, 4 and most recently Superman Returns, it seems Superman has lost touch with most of North America. Batman is easily way more popular and it really is not close. Superman being down ,feels like when the Yankees miss the playoffs, regardless of whether you like them or not, you like seeing them  competitive for nostalgia or to create a bench mark.

The Man Of Steel

                                                                   

After watching Man of Steel I believe the movie has done all the important groundwork in making Superman popular again. I also believe it NECESSARILY strays from the continuity of the comics in order to achieve the most relatable character possible. I will not share a detailed review ( though I will say it was very good with amazing action sequences, and well worth the price of admission), however I want to address what I see as a potential problem with the fans, and it is the aforementioned changes in continuity.