Hey everybody. Pedro. Want to talk about a minor gaming anniversary. We've already done the tenth anniversaries of Halo, GTA3, Devil May Cry, GameCube, Xbox, and... Tony Hawk 3, I guess, but, as I mostly talk about game magazines here, I want to mention that ten years ago today Electronic Gaming Monthly #150 hit the newsstands. It's the greatest single issue of a gaming magazine ever published.
If you've perused my blog at all (thank you, by the way, hope you liked it) then you'll know I have a deep affection for the game magazines, and it was picking up EGMs off the bookstore newsstands that got the hooks into me. They were witty and attractively-designed and had all of these oblique references to old games and industry happenings that just enthralled me. I loved the ephemera and history and industry of gaming (and still do, hence all the posts about game mags), and EGM was chock full of that crap.
So here's EGM #150. Y'see, magazines back in those days had some kind of awesome special feature in any issue divisible by 50, and this one was "The 100 Best Games Ever." I read it until the binding fell apart, then taped it up and read it some more. Here was all the gaming history embodied in every issue of EGM printed in one giant, passionate love letter to gaming. It informed my buying decisions at the GameStops and Crazies for years until they stopped dealing in anything more than half a decade old. Wonderful feature.
That Fall of 2001 was kind of the bookend of my gaming childhood. I had just been through that wonderful time from age 12-13 when you finally have access to enough money to buy your own gaming paraphernalia, and you still have summers off and absolutely nothing better to do with your time than play video games all day. Hoo, looking back, that was one sweet set-up. Hanging out with my brother and friends, tying up the phone line browsing the web while we tag-teamed to beat the likes of Shenmue in a single five-day rental period, just gorging on games and internet and movies and anime and television late, late into the night. Perhaps that's just the perfect age to play games. You have some experience and appreciation for the medium, but not so much that you're as clinical as I am today about things like game design philosohpy; it just hits you at the subconcious level it's meant to.
I had done dishes all summer to save up for a Dreamcast, working with the single-minded dedication for video games that only a kid can have. And, if you haven't been able to tell from all the people online who still can't shut up about the thing going on twelve years later, what an amazing little console. I'd gone from Genesis to Nintendo 64, but I felt with Dreamcast that gaming was really transcending the last of its limitations. Here was 3D Sonic, he's zipping around these beautiful 3D environments at something like Mach 2 without breaking a sweat. I'm still of the belief that most of today's games could be done, at least gameplay-wise, nearly as effectively on last generation's hardware. Perhaps that's one of the reasons we're having an extra-long development cycle?
And the games that were coming out around the turn of the century, man. Amazing, original stuff. I got into fighting games something fierce (even though I never got any good at them), bought an arcade stick. Arcade-perfect Marvel vs. Capcom was a huge draw for me, and I had MvC2 on almost constantly just to unlock points for new characters. My brother and I had one-on-one honor system Ryu vs. Dan fights. I made this tiny little map in Tony Hawk 2 filled with gaps that were references to things that nobody else in the universe would get, and we played it for hours cackling our heads off and knocking each other over when we were starting to get really high combos. Quake 3 was my introduction to online deathmatching, and I was playing late into the night and then a little in the morning before school. There was Shenmue, a game where you could just buy a soda and watch Ryo drink it and it did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Crazy Taxi, which had four songs but somehow they never got old. We had House of the Dead 2, Jet Grind Radio. I mean, just listen to its soundtrack. This was IT. This was the Ultrazord of gaming.
Hew. Fun stuff. Plus wonderful stuff, mostly from Rare, coming out around the tail end of the N64, and we had become glacially aware that a 56k connection was good enough to play Half-Life mods online; we had just NEVER TRIED because we thought it was broadband or nothing. Ha!
By the end of November of 2001, I was 14, and gaming was becoming a bit more utilitarian for me. That kind of crazy, experimental phase of 3D was ending. The Dreamcast had been discontinued in March of that year, the N64 too, even the Game Boy had been replaced. Microsoft was moving in, and everything was kind of gelling into profitable, established procedure. I was starting to get jaded and cynical, I had more responsibilities brewing... not that I moved out to the salt mines, but since then, I've never really gamed with the same single-minded enthusiasm that I did then. And that's okay.
But that's one of the reasons I still love this issue and this feature. Y'see, the editors chose their Top 100 based only on titles that came out before the PS2's big Fall rally, thus excluding most pre-Dreamcast titles from the list. By coincidence, that makes this feature "The 100 Best Games of my Golden Age of Childhood Gaming." And that rules.
So, as a little tribute, I'm reprinting the text of "The 100 Best Games Ever" from EGM #150 in its entirety. It's still a really good guide to having an objectively great gaming experience even in our modern age of super-games; only a handful of titles have seen sequels, remakes, or ports that make the originals obsolete. And, since everything is amazing these days, the vast majority of them are available for download through the likes of PSN and Virtual Console, with the exception of the GODDAMNED NON-TREASURE SATURN STUFF. Those'll still cost you an arm and a leg.
(Also of note: the Halo review that asks readers why they should give a damn about a first-person shooter. A first-person shooter on a console? RIDICULOUS!)
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100. DecAthlete
Saturn | Sega | 1996
Gamers often dismiss them as "button mashers," but track-and-field-style titles still hold a place in our hearts for their simplicity and multiplayer showdowns. DecAthlete represents the best of this breed. The wide variety of events here demand real skill and timing in addition to quick-fingered endurance.
99. WipeOut XL
PlayStation | Psygnosis | 1996
Throbbing techno beats, future-chic visuals and corkscrewing, suspended tracks are commonplace in its genre today, but no imitators top this crown jewel of the WipeOut series. The courses are extremely challenging to navigate. But factor in the well-balanced arsenal and you have one addicting racer.
98. Quake III Arena
Dreamcast | Sega | 2000
Maybe it doesn't have the involving single-player experience or deep multiplayer options of Perfect Dark (#65), but Quake III has its own ace in the hole: online play. The thrill of killing strangers all over the world, plus great weapons and level design, make up for the four-player limit.
97. Mario Golf
Game Boy Color | Nintendo | 1999
Take Mario Golf to the can and you're in danger of putting your ass to sleep permanently - it's that good. While most GBC titles only mimic the big boys, Mario Golf is even better than its N64 brother. Highly addictive gameplay and challenging RPG elements come together nicely in this ultra-fun-on-the-go golf sim.
96. Phantasy Star
Master System | Sega | 1988
This milestone RPG's 3D dungeon effects - which dropped jaws back in '88 - may look positively prehistoric today, but there's no denying that the planet-spanning quest has withstood the test of time. Just when you think you're at the end, it throws you a new twist. The cart cost $70, but you got your money's worth.
95. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
NES | Nintendo | 1988
Although quite a departure from the original Zelda, this sequel holds its own as an action-RPG, with great side-scrolling combat, awesome dungeons and a long, hard quest. Despite being the oddball of the series (but not nearly as odd as the awful CD-i Zeldas), Zelda II is a must-play for fans.
94. Baseball Stars
NES | SNK | 1989
Next-generation baseball games have been so lackluster that it makes us appreciate this old-but-addicting title which emphasizes the basics of the sport rather than the fluff. But it also has features that rival current games. The most notable: Creating and developing players into... well, baseball stars over time.
93. Super Smash Bros.
Nintendo 64 | Nintendo | 1999
Classic Nintendo characters kicking the crap out of each other? Hell yeah! We like that the Big N can let their hair down and allow their most treasured franchises to punch, kick, shoot and throw their asses out of the ring in the ultimate multiplayer melee. The GameCube sequel will be even better.
92. Ice Hockey
NES | Nintendo | 1988
Who needs real teams or players when you get to run the skinny guy into the boards with the fat guy? Topnotch simulation it ain't, but this is the most timeless hockey video game out there. Grab an NES, a friend and two controllers to see what we mean. Just remember, the fat guy hits hardest.
91. Final Fantasy VII
PlayStation | Sony CEA | 1997
Revolutionary for its previously unmatched CG cinematics that seamlessly blended with amazing prerendered backgrounds, FFVII marked a new generation of RPGs (and spikey-haired dudes) that not only put Square at the top of its game but also upped the bar on what gamers expect from an RPG these days.
90. Resident Evil
PlayStation | Capcom | 1996
They've improved on the graphics and certainly the dialogue in later editions of the series, but for pure story and genuinely creepy atmosphere, nothing can tough the original RE. Never played it? Just wait for the GameCube remake for an even creepier experience.
89. Dragon Warrior IV
NES | Enix | 1992
This 8-bit epic, with its multi-chapter setup and heavy emphasis on story and character development, was years ahead of its time. Finding out what all the fuss was about is tricky - DWIV is one of the rarest games around, and its two 16-bit follow-ups were never released here. But don't go blowing $100 on eBay just yet. Enix is readying a PlayStation remake of DWIV for early 2002. And this version will be more than a straight port. Enix has reworked the game from the ground up and given it a 3D facelift, using the game engine of the recently released DWVII. Designer and scenario writer Yuji Horii says Enic originally planned to redo part IV for the Super NES. But by the time they got around to it, the 16-bit era was already over. Can you say, "D'oh!"
88. Virtua Tennis
Dreamcast | Sega | 2000
If you think a forehand and a backhand stroke are types of spankings, then this is the tennis game for you. It plays more like Pong than anything else, but has enough smashes and lobs to keep fans of the sport happy. And if not, the zany yet ingenious minigames will win them over. Tennis Bowling, anyone?
87. Sega Rally 2
Dreamcase | Sega | 1999
The original Saturn Sega Rally is still awesome in our book, but this visually stunning sequel edges it out by retaining the arcade flash while tuning the powerslide-rich physics. The four-fold increase in cars and tracks doesn't hurt, either. And if you're up to the challenge, SR2's 10-year championship will keep you busy for days.
86. ActRaiser
Super NES | Enix | 1991
Take side-scrolling, sword-swinging action and mix it with some light strategy and you've got ActRaiser, which creates an almost hypnotic atmosphere thanks to its lush graphics and beautiful soundtrack. Besides, how many games let you fly around as a naked cherub, bossing around mortals and blowing stuff up?
Behind The Music: If anyone pushed the Super NES's powerful sound chip to the max, it was Yuzo Koshiro, the maestro behind ActRaiser's orchestral score, as well as the music in Revenge of Shinobi (#73), Shenmue and Streets of Rage. "When I was in grade school, I was hooked on Space Invaders," says Koshiro, the son of a pianist. "And while in high school, I played games from Namco, Sega and Konami. They inspired me to compose music for video games." Koshiro remains an avid gamer who prefers 2D visuals to polygonal graphics - although he has a soft spot for first-person shooters. "I mostly play Team Fortress these days," he says. "Before that, though, I played through every game in the Street Fighter II series."
89. F-Zero X
Nintendo 64 | Nintendo | 1998
F-Zero X nixes the flat-as-a-sheet-of-paper courses of the Super NES original and adds stomach lurching hills, loops and - most importantly - loads of opponents to race against. Plus, you can turn your racer into a weapon by spinning it while in a crowd of other cars. It's fast. It's furious. It's a helluva lot of fun.
84. Samurai Shodown II
Neo-Geo | SNK | 1994
SamSho's spin on 3D fighting was simple: Give everyone weapons and randomly toss out bombs and health. But it did this with style, damnit, peaking with part 2. You get characters with personality to spare, atmospheric backgrounds and music, and fantastic gameplay (even if Ukyo is a cheap bastard).
83. Daytona USA
Dreamcast | Sega | 2001
"Try to go easy on the car!" If that line doesn't ring a bell, you don't know what you're missing. Daytona USA takes the best of the coin-op's finely tuned racing and pumps it up with several cool new tracks, cars and four-player online play. And it's the hard-driving competition here that makes Daytona a must-have.
82. Kirby's Avalanche/Mean Bean Machine
Super NES, Genesis | Nintendo/Sega | 1995/1993
Gamers love these two puzzle titles for their simplicity (just match up blobs of the same color). Sadists love them because they allow you to set up massive combos that can choke out an opponent in one fell swoop. The formula works well and is still fun today - watch for a Game Boy Advance Edition (Puyo Pop) in March.
81. Ape Escape
PlayStation | Sony CEA | 1999
More than just a great 3D platform game, Ape Escape uses the Dual Shock controller in clever ways that'll drive you bananas. Twiddle those little sticks to paddle a rowboat, drive an RC car, cruise around in a tank - the control scheme changes all the time. And its chimps out-monkey Monkey Ball in pure personality.
80. Skies of Arcadia
Dreamcast | Sega | 2000
Who would have expected a barely hyped RPG called Skies of Arcadia to come out and kick Grandia II's ass with its massive quest, high-flying air battles, beautiful ship designs, and awesome sense of exploration? Now that the game is heading to the PS2 and GameCube, you have no excuse to miss out on this one.
79. Mario Kart 64
Nintendo 64 | Nintendo | 1997
Despite better graphics, four-player splitscreen play and a reworked power-up system, the N64 version of Mario Kart just doesn't duplicate the ingenious level design of the original, but it's still great. It added more technique to the powerslide (do it right and you can get a mini turbo boost), not to mention rolling hills.
78. Star Fox
Super NES | Nintendo | 1993
Star Fox introduced 3D polygonal graphics in a time when 2D was king. Today, these visuals look like they're made from half-melted Lego blocks, but the game itself is still fun, with a grand, Star Wars-like feel and creative stages that remind you that not all space shooters have to be serious to be enjoyable.
77. Metal Gear Solid
Game Boy Color | Konami | 2000
As a side-story to the Metal Gear mythos, MGS on the GBC is a surprisingly faithful rendition of tactical espionage action - even hardier than old NES installments. What's more amazing is all the extras Konami's thrown into the package: tons (150 plus) or VR Missions and two-player link mode action!
76. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Genesis | Sega | 1992
Gamers weary of Mario's plodding pace flocked to Sonic's speedy ways in a flash. This sequel adds sidekick Tails, nicer graphics, a two-player mode and even a faux-3D halfpipe. And to think, it eventually became a Genesis pack-in. Still, the level design doesn't top the original's.
75. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
PlayStation | Working Designs | 1999
Classic, hand-drawn animation and wonderful voice acting combine with a great story to make Lunar one of the best RPGs without the words "Final" or "Fantasy" in the title. Guide young Alex as he fulfills his dream of becoming a Dragonmaster and learns how important his girlfriend is to Lunar's future.
74. Shining Force III
Saturn | Sega | 1998
Strategy-RPG fanatics were in tactical heaven when Sega released the first part of SFIII (which actually hit Japan in three parts). Fans subsequently cried bloody murder when Sega failed to bring parts 2 and 3 here, but that doesn't detract from its fast-paced plot, classic Shining Force gameplay and slick visuals.
73. The Revenge of Shinobi
Genesis | Sega | 1989
While the word "classic" rarely pops into your head when you think of early Genesis games, Revenge of Shinobi definitely falls into that category. This is top-notch side-scrolling ninja action, complete with magic attacks, showers of shurikens and even a little swordplay. Joe Musashi's second adventure remains the best one in the series.
72. Advance Wars
Game Boy Advance | Nintendo | 2001
Topping even the TurboGrafx-16's seminal Military Madness, Advance Wars takes classic turn-based strategy and soups it up with a killer four-player mode that can make two hours whiz by in a heartbeat. Even the single-player game to us weepy, though it was probably just from staring at the tiny GBA screen.
71. Phantasy Star II
Genesis | Sega | 1989
PSII is the crown jewel of this sci-fi-meets-sword-and-sorcery series (unless you count PSO). It has a huge quest, one of the best final bosses ever, and a main character who dies halfway through the game. What more could you want from an RPG? And the neatest part: That awesome final boss isn't really the final boos.
70. Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
NES | Tecmo | 1990
This ninjariffic side-scroller out-dices the other two games in the Ninja Gaiden series - and that's saying a lot. Gaiden II features blazing-fast sword-slashing action and some totally cool bosses, not to mention a great story told through nifty cutscenes, which were still a novelty back when this game hit.
69. Metroid
NES | Nintendo | 1987
Snatching the prestigious 69 slot from its occupant (Snatcher for Sega CD) on the top-100 list we ran four years ago, the 15-year-old Metroid still rocks our VW van. The spooky space score hooks up seamlessly with the dark alien setting to spawn an adventure game way ahead of its acid-washed time.
68. Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts
Super NES | Capcom | 1991
Go back and play Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts today and you'll probably agree that it's still one of the toughest run-and-jump platform games ever made. But Capcom has surgarcoated this bitter pill with sweet graphics and special effects. Some would argue the Genesis G'NG is better. To that we say: No, it's just easier.
67. Street Fighter Alpha 3
PlayStation/Dreamcast | Capcom | 1999
Topping SF Alpha 2 was tough, but the complexity and style added by SFA3's "isms" make it the preferred game of many casual fans and tournament players alike. Frequent players here at EGM and gamers around the world continue to discover new combos and tactics for this fighter. We're ready to take you on.
66. Donkey Kong
Game Boy | Nintendo | 1994
Here's the good news: This handheld hit faithfully reproduces all three levels of the 1981 coin-op. Here's the really good news: From level four on, Donkey Kong becomes a clever action-puzzle game that'll keep you hooked right up to the last level. It's the perfect ape escape from a long car trip or lame-o class.
65. Perfect Dark
Nintendo 64 | Rare | 2000
Rare's GoldenEye was good. This follow-up first-person shooter is better. It comes locked and loaded with more multiplayer options than any game in history, "simulant" bots, co-op play - everything but the Jimmy Bond license. If it weren't for its chopperiffic framerate, you can bet PD would've placed higher.
64. Mega Man II
NES | Capcom | 1989
Jumping from box art disaster to Capcom poster boy, Mega Man can think this top-seller for making him a household name. Never mind its endearing bosses and crafty power-ups; the genius musical score alone could get Mega Man II ranked. Even today, platform junkies swoon at the mere mention of this guy.
63. R-Type (R-Types Version)
PlayStation | ASCII | 1998
It's the side-scrolling shooter, whose awesome bosses (one so huge it spans several screens), methodical pace and unique power-up system changed the genre forever. Most of us have fond memories of the impressive TurboGrafx-16 version, but there's no denying the PS rerelease comes closer to the arcade.
62. Resident Evil 2
PlayStation | Capcom | 1998
This return to Raccoon City doesn't pack the scare tactics of the original, but what it lacks in frights it more than makes up for in raw action and its nifty two-character dynamic. You need to beat RE2 at least twice - once as rookie cop Leon, once as Cris' sis Claire Redfield - to squeeze out every last drop of horror.
61. Nights... Into Dreams
Saturn | Sega | 1996
Sonic grabs all the headlines, but many folks figure that Nights is the true zenith of Sonic Team's gameography. More of a flying time attack than a traditional platformer, the game's rave-y world packs so much solid gameplay that finding the best path to the highest score takes tons of practice. Awesome.
60. Super Mario RPG
Super NES | Nintendo | 1996
The result of a dream collaboration between Nintendo and Square, Super Mario RPG is one of the finest RPGs to grace the Super NES. Its clever story and hilarious in-jokes will have you giggling like a schoolgirl, while the involving gameplay and excellent battle system will keep you entertained to the very end.
59. Virtua Fighter 2
Saturn | Sega | 1995
VF2 packs such deep and complex fighting mechanics that, at the height of its popularity, kids were signing up for VF2 classes in Tokyo, getting the straight dope from certified VF masters. The Saturn version looks sharp, plays timelessly well, and features computer opponents that learn from your techniques.
58. Sonic the Hedgehog
Genesis | Sega | 1991
This classic is known for its bitchin' graphics, imaginative levels and nauseating sense of speed. (Remember Sega's "Blast Processing" marketing campaign?) It's also the title that propelled Sega into the mainstream, and gave the Genesis a fighting chance against the Super NES. We still have dreams about that fancy Star Light Zone level.
57. Final Fantasy IX
PlayStation | Square EA | 2000
With its more lighthearted story and cuter characters - including super-lovable Black Mage Vivi - part IX feels like the throwback to the pre-PlayStation era of Final Fantasy most of us were waiting for. We like our Square RPGs chock-full of things like airships, black mages and moogles, and FFIX's got 'em.
56. Landstalker
Genesis | Sega | 1993
Landstalker is about as close to Zelda as Sega ever got. It features loads of hack-'n'-slash action along with some complex puzzles. In fact, they're a little too complex sometimes thanks to the isometric perspective that makes jumping a true nightmare in some scenes. Nevertheless, Landstalker's a classic.
55. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
Game Boy Color | Nintendo | 1998
Link's Awakening took the best elements of two classic Zeldas (the first one and A Link to the Past, both of which are in this top 100) and combined them to make one of the most incredible portable adventures of all time. DX brings the game into the 20th century by adding some color to the pale GB original.
54. Devil's Crush
TurboGrafx-16 | NEC | 1990
Satan-ized with marching demons and spinning pentagrams, Devil's Crush crunches pinball and shooter gameplay into a hell-spawned hybrid any God-fearing gamer will love. It ain't your typical silver-ball sim - your goal is to bean demonic baddies and open tons of bonus tables - but that's exactly why we like it.
53. Super Punch-Out!!
Super NES | Nintendo | 1994
Nintendo's follow-up to Punch-Out!! (#34), this brawler has nearly identical gameplay but adds a super-attack meter for added "punch." And old faces return with some new tricks alongside new boxers. Unless you're looking for realism, the only boxing game with more heavyweight fun than this sequel is the original.
52. Herzog Zwei
Genesis | Sega | 1990
This first-of-its-breed real-time-strat classic puts you behind the stick of a transformable robot that must take over bases by building drones and ordering them to attack. Don't toss out your battle plan if things go awry. Just grab a gun, fly in, and take matters into your own hands.
51. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
NES | Konami | 1990
Released in the NES' twilight days, Castlevania III dishes out some of the best visuals on the system, but it's the gameplay that put the game on this list. True to the original (without the RPG bits of part 2), this classic packs solid platform fun, with alternate routes and multiple characters - including SotN's Alucard.
50. Guardian Heroes
Saturn | Sega | 1996
Throw Final Fight, a big golden zombie, Street Fighter and all the insane 2D effects you can find into a blender and hit puree. Whip until creamy smooth and you'll get Guardian Heroes. And if the multiple characters and branching storylines aren't enough, the six-player Versus mode puts this game over the top.
49. Contra
NES | Konami | 1988
Kids who wanted to be astronauts suddenly wanted to be commandos in '88. Blame it on this side-scroller's never-ending intensity and wicked power-ups (our fave: the spreadgun). More teens knew the cheat code than knew the capital of Iowa, but it's the elite few who can conquer the aliens with three lives.
48. Paper Mario
Nintendo 64 | Nintendo | 2001
It may look like Mario Babies and lack the pedigree of Square-developed Super NES prequel Mario RPG (see #60), but Paper Mario offers more depth, side quests and charm before 10 a.m. than most RPGs dish out all day. And unlike most battle systems, the game's combo-crazy combat is actually fun.
47. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei
Saturn | Sega | 1996
If the first Panzer Dragoon intrigued the minds of gamers everywhere, Zwei captured them lock, stock and barrel. Featuring branching paths, the ability to affect the growth of your dragon, one of the most beautifully designed game worlds ever, and a box full of secrets, PDZ is a landmark shooter.
46. Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal
Game Boy Color | Nintendo | 2000
Look past the Poke-hype and you're left with a fun and engrossing adventure game that taps a direct line to your inner child. Capturing and battling those cute lil' bastards is just the beginning. The internal clock, wide array of gadgets and a hundred new monsters make this newest Poke-quest the best.
45. Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2
Dreamcast | Sega | 2001
PSO does for consoles what PCs have been doing for years: bring people together, online. The unwashed gaming masses gather in PSO's lobbies, creating a console watering hole devoid of linguistic barriers. Sure, dungeon exploration gets old after a while, but the quest for rare items keeps you going.
44. Super Mario Kart
Super NES | Nintendo | 1992
If you think we're krazy for listing this old-timer higher than Mario Kart 64 or Super Circuit, then we figure you never spent enough quality time with this originator of the kart-game species. The shortcut-crammed course design here is the best in the series, and we really miss the Feather-hop power-up in later games.
43. Final Fantasy Tactics
PlayStation | Square CEA | 1998
It has one of the most convoluted, poorly written/translated storylines in the history of video games - we still don't know what the plot is about. But FF Tactics took FFV's incredible job system and turned it into a full-fledged strategy game, with amazing depth of play that can steal hours and hours from your life.
42. Contra III: The Alien Wars
Super NES | Konami | 1992
Back when the Contra series was good, Contra III was the series' greatest installment. It overloads our senses with big bosses, incredible backgrounds and scaling and rotation effects, back when "scaling" and "rotation" were a big deal. And the two-player mode lets you share all the intensity with a bud.
41. Ms. Pac-Man
Multiplatform | Midway | 1981
Ms. Pac-Man is a timeless classic we EGM editors still find ourselves playing today. And did you know two MIT students/hackers in the early '80s reverse-engineered (Mr.) Pac-Man to create the girly version, which Midway bought and distributed? We always knew higher education had a point.
40. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Game Boy Color | Nintendo | 2001
More action-oriented than Oracle of Ages, Seasons is a phenomenal adventure made even better by its ability to link up with Ages. You take control of the four seasons (no, not them) to solve Zelda-style puzzles and save the land of Holodrum, not to mention the Oracle of Seasons herself.
39. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
Game Boy Color | Nintendo | 2001
With more puzzles than GBC sibling Oracle of Seasons, Ages is a thinking-dude's action-RPG. The game has you fiddling with the flow of time, jumping back and forth between the past and the present, which totally factors into most of the head-scratching puzzles. Can't figure out what to do in the present? Zip back to the past and look for the answer. And true to the series, the dungeon design and bosses here are cunningly designed.
38. R-Type Delta
PlayStation | Ascii | 1999
If any game can be forgiven for slowdown during play, it's R-Type Delta. Wave after wave of enemies and bullets pack the screen so tight that when things bog down, it's actually a relief. Three playable ships, a great power-up system and epic boss fights - a shooter that taxes your brains as well as your thumbs.
37. Resident Evil Code: Veronica X
PlayStation 2 | Capcom | 2001
Code: Veronica proved that a demented, cross-dressing villain, assorted twisted bosses and enemies, and disturbing locales on two separate continents make for a damn tasty survival-horror stew. Thanks to its assorted extras, this PS2 port beats out the equally-gorgeous Dreamcast version.
36. Chrono Cross
PlayStation | Square EA | 2000
Chrono Cross blew RPG fans and Chrono Trigger devotees away by nailing all the elements that make an RPG great. You get a memorable story, endearing cast, traditional turn-based gameplay with some innovative twists, and top-notch soundtrack and visuals. It's enough to give this sucker instant-classic status.
35. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Game Boy Advance | Konami | 2001
Just 'cause it's stuck on a handheld doesn't keep Circle of the Moon from being one of the best Castlevania games ever made. It combines classic zombie-spank action with a clever "card" system that lets you mix elements for different power-ups and weapons - it's everything you need for a great action-adventure.
34. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
NES | Nintendo | 1987
Body blow, body blow... knockout! Ah, the sweet sounds of victory. With only a few punches in its arsenal and limited defensive moves, Punch-Out!! still tops modern boxing games in heavyweight fun. It took real skill to topple final boss Tyson. We're just glad he didn't come at us with his ear-nibbling finishing move.
33. Saturn Bomberman
Saturn | Sega | 1997
We've seen several episodes in this popular and always-fun series, but none (not even Dreamcast's Bomberman Online) can out-blast this one, an old-fashioned 2D party game that supports up to to 10 players (yes, 10!). Once you've tried this, you'll never look at four-player (yawn) Bomberman the same way again.
32. NCAA Football 2002
PlayStation 2 | EA | 2001
We never realized how addicting it could be to try to make your favorite college team climb through the rankings to a bowl game until we picked up this fast-paced baller. Whatever it lacks in realism, it makes up for in fun - a fact well demonstrated by the number of work deadlines it caused EGM staffers to miss.
31. Madden NFL 2002
PlayStation 2 | EA | 2001
Football series have come and gone, but the latest in this bellweather franchise continues to impress. A decade of refined computer intelligence make this the most realistic game on the field. Its graphics are stunning enough to make you overlook Madden and Summerall's zombie-like commentary.
30. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
Dreamcast | Capcom | 2000
While most people consider Street Fighter II Turbo as their favorite Capcom fighter, SFIII: 3rd Strike is where many pros go to brawl. This amazingly animated, super-technical fighter rewards skilled players with the deepest 2D fighting action around. Forget about the 3D SF EX series. This is where it's at.
29. Super Mario Bros. 2 (All-Stars Edition)
NES/Super NES | Nintendo | '88 (original) / '93 (All-Stars Ed.)
Based on a non-Mario Japanese game, SMB2 is the freak of the series: You pick up enemies instead of bashing them, and this is the first and last time many of these enemies - including boss Wart - were seen. The version in GBA Super Mario Advance may be flashier, but we'd rather play SMB2 on the big screen.
28. Hot Shots Golf 2
PlayStation | Sony CEA | 2000
The perfect game to bust out on a laid-back Sunday afternoon (along with a six-pack), Hot Shots 2 takes all the fun parts of golf - the skills, the gear, the crusty dudes with the bad toupees - and leaves out the country clubs, real-life courses and golf celebs that most gamers don't give a gopher's ass about.
27. Sonic CD
Sega CD | Sega | 1993
Those new-fangled 3D Sonic games with all their polygons and extra characters still don't beat out Sonic CD as the best game in the series. SCD boasts good level design, a great soundtrack and a super-cool time-travel aspect that directly affects the game's ending. Sonic Team should mine this old gal for some ideas.
26. Chrono Trigger
Super NES | Square | 1995
Time-tripping quest? Check. Unique battle system? Check. Soaring musical score? Check. Sounds like an RPG trifecta to us. And Chrono Trigger - which combos the best aspects of Final Fantasy and Secret of Mana - does deliver nearly everything we want in an RPG (except FF-caliber character development).
25. The Legend of Zelda
NES | Nintendo | 1987
A classic in every sense of the word, the original Zelda is a masterpiece of game design, not to mention the very first game of its kind. Even today, Zelda's perfect mix of action and exploration - complete with two huge quests and loads of secrets - will keep armchair adventurers glued to their TV sets for weeks.
24. Super Castlevania IV
Super NES | Nintendo | 1991
Back before the Super NES was considered super-duper, this sucker put the new system through its paces with big sprites, rotating backgrounds and other nifty effects. Of course, the classic Drac gameplay that's made this series a hardcore fave was as solid as ever. And who can forget Simon's limp whip?
23. Gunstar Heroes
Genesis | Sega | 1993
No game shows off the Genesis' power like Treasure's rookie effort. It's frantic, with combinable power-ups, unique levels and more things to shoot at than you can, well, shoot at. It's a blast as a two-player game - you can actually use your partner as a weapon by throwing him at enemies. Talk about teamwork!
22. Super Mario Bros. (All-Stars Edition)
NES/Super NES | Nintendo | '85 (original)/'93 (All-Stars Ed.)
It's 16 years old and nearly all of its sequels are better games, but the fact that the original Mario is so high on our list should show you how great this series truly is. If you've never experienced it, track down Mario All-Stars for the Super NES of SMB Deluxe for the Game Boy Color. Then thank us by sending cash.
21. Dragon Force
Saturn | Working Designs | 1996
Dragon Force defined epic strategy gaming with Braveheart-caliber wars (with hundred-man armies!), battlefield-clearing magical attacks and nine different playable generals, each with his or her own storyline. Not even the almighty FF Tactics (#43) can top this one as our favorite strategy-RPG of all time.
20. Galaga
Multiplatform | Namco | 1981
Galaga raised the big question: Should you blow away the blue bugs for big points or let 'em capture your craft and then double your firepower? No matter your decision, this ultimate twitch shooter is a prime example of '80s game design at its purest. How many bonus Challenging Stages can you reach?
19. Panzer Dragoon Saga
Saturn | Sega | 1998
Whether or not you agree that PDS is the greatest Saturn game ever, anyone who's played it knows it's one of the most engaging and unique RPGs to hit any console. Sega brings the Panzer Dragoon series to a surprising, climactic end, which always left us wanting more. Now how about that Xbox version...
18. Pokemon Puzzle League
Nintendo 64 | Nintendo | 2000
Some poo-pooed the Big N's decision to add Pukemons [accent] to this souped-up version of Super NES Tetris Attack, but we appreciate the removal of the slowdown that plagued the 16-bit game. This amazingly addictive puzzle title won over casual and hardcore gamers alike with its simple yet deep combo-crazy gameplay.
17. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
PlayStation | Activision | 2000
Store shelves creak under the weight of wannabes (Tony Hawk-style snowboarding, Tony Hawk-style surfing, Tony Hawk-style lumberjack log tossing, etc.), but don't hold that against this master of the Mountain Dew-sponsored genre. Its easy-to-learn free-form gameplay drops you into a Zen zone the second you pick it up.
16. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super NES | Nintendo | 1995
Never mind the crappy N64 sequel; the original Yoshi's Island is where it's at, man. Beneath the trippy, pastel visuals lies one of the deepest, most enjoyable platform games we've ever played. It's a shame it came out so late in the system's life cycle, but if you missed it the first time, a GBA remake is on the way.
15. Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec
PlayStation 2 | Sony CEA | 2001
Gran Turismo has shifted gears from a mere racing game series to more of an interactive car museum. But that doesn't keep this latest installment from being loads of fun for gearheads and mainstream gamers alike. And in this third game we even get to drive F1 cars! Now if they'd just add the AMC Gremlin....
14. Metal Gear Solid
PlayStation | Konami | 1998
You're packing heat, but the slightest noise will give you away. So what's a Solid Snake to do? Why, cling to the shadows, ferret through ventilation ducts, toss chaff grenades, liberate keycards, beat the snot out of bad-ass bosses, avoid getting Metal Gear's footprint stamped on your face and save the world!
13. Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
Super NES | Cpcom | 1993
This is traditional old-school Street Fighter at its best. Sure, you'll find technically superior sequels on the market, but SF2 Turbo's simplistic charm makes it very playable, even by today's standards. No super meters, no 13-hit Super Arts, no parrying - just one-on-one competition. Ultimately, that's what counts.
12. Final Fantasy V (FF Anthology Edition)
PlayStation | Square EA | 1999
Although the FF series now dresses in fancy 3D graphics and beautifully rendered cutscenes, serious RPG fans still consider the older, simpler-looking games to be the best. FFV may be old-school and ugly, but it introduced the wonderfully addicting job system that is still innovative by today's standards.
11. Super Mario Bros. 3 (All-Stars Edition)
NES/Super NES | Nintendo | '90 (original)/ '93 (All-Stars Ed.)
The first time you saw Mario nab that leaf and sprout a raccoon tail, you know his series just got a lot more interesting. And the visually dated Mushroom Kingdom got a facelift thanks to the cart's MMC3 chip. Thank God Princess Toadstool can't stop getting kidnapped, 'cuz saving her is so much fun.
10. Super Mario World
Super NES | Nintendo | 1991
The biggest and best 2D Mario of them all , this sequel kicked off the Super NES era with a bang. It features more than 70 inventive stages and that legendary Mario gameplay, as well the debut of dino-mighty sidekick Yoshi. Be sure to nab it when it's rereleased as Super Mario Advance 2 for the GBA in February.
9. Final Fantasy III
Super NES | Square | 1994
The last 2D Final Fantasy is also the series' best. Our personal favorite moments: Celes' tear-inducing opera-house performance, Kefka poisoning Doma Castle's water, Gau's backstory and the amazing 20-minute ending. This is Final Fantasy at its most cinematic without relying on actual video cinemas.
8. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Nintendo 64 | Nintendo | 1998
Like Mario 64 before it, Ocarina is living proof that even the finest 2D games can be as captivating in 3D. Its remarkable gameplay is complemented by a massive overworld, exquisitely designed dungeons and some of the best boss battles ever. And the "Z-targeting" feature made it way easier to fight in 3D space.
7. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Nintendo 64 | Nintendo | 2000
Choosing between this and Ocarina of Time wasn't easy, but in the end it was Majora's masks that put the second N64 Zelda on top. The awesome abilities they give our hero Link, plus the completely reworked concept of time, and devious, puzzle-packed dungeons kept this cart in our N64s for weeks.
6. Soul Calibur
Dreamcast | Namco | 1999
To this day, no other 3D fighting game marries graphics and gameplay the way Soul Calibur does. By adding tech-rolls, 8-way run, air control and guard impact, SC rewrote how 3D fighting games are played. The mission mode, plus all the awesome extras, make it worth owning a Dreamcast for this game alone.
5. Super Mario 64
Nintendo 64 | Nintendo | 1996
It may be five years old, but Mario 64 is guru Shigeru Miyamoto's most recent "real" Mario titles (until Mario Sunshine hits GameCube next year) - and it's still the best 3D game around, despite many imitators. The levels pack clever puzzles and give you so much to do, you'll be stuck playing for quite some time.
4. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
PlayStation | Konami | 1997
The Belmont family takes a backseat in this decidedly un-Castlevania-like Castlevania game. You explore Dracula's castle Super Metroid-style as Alucard, the evil one's estranged son, armed with a sword instead of a whip. It still draws us in like few other games can. Please, Konami, release another one like this.
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Super NES | Nintendo | 1992
Link's finest hour? We think so. It's tough to pick a best Zelda when they're all so darn good, but on the whole, A Link to the Past offers the best overall package. Two overworlds, fantastic dungeons, incredible gameplay - this baby has it all. Heck, even the music is wonderful. This one's got "GBA port" written all over it.
2. Tetris
Multiplatform | 1988
Developed in Moscow and then dumped on every machine with a display screen, this puzzle-game grandpapa nabbed the numero-uno spot the last time we picked our 100 favorite games 50 issues ago. And if a few more EGM staffers had their way this time around, we'd be raising the Ruskie flag at the top of our list once again. The seven falling blocks here deliver a pure gaming experience that will last forever.
1. Super Metroid
Super NES | Nintendo | 1994
We knew the game that grabbed our top slot would have to be... well, more than just a video game. To edge out all the other masterpieces on our list, it would have to be something that left and indelible mark on our memories and transcended the medium to deliver a timeless, totally immersive experience. That something is, without a doubt, Super Metroid. It's such a satisfying game that only gets better with age - a trick that few others can pull off. Its expanding map inspired Castlvania: Symphony of the Night's elegant layout, but Super Metroid has its own brilliant flavor that no one could duplicate. Cleverly hidden false floors drop rookies into planet Zebes's baddest neighborhoods. Ominous yet beatable bosses are almost too pretty to pummel. Persistent aliens reward a well-earned kill with just what you're lacking, be it missiles, energy or a power bomb that'll break down a nearby door. A grappling hook and an ice beam that turns enemies into stepping stones give you access to formerly off-limits areas. Factor a haunting score into this flawless design equation, and you've got the greatest game ever. But it's numero uno in our book not just 'cause it reminds us of getting lost in Zebes, playing through dinner, and falling asleep at the controls eight years ago. It's that we'd gladly wake up face-down on the A button again today.
===
Video games!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Frank and Peter vs. The World
I've been thinking about The Punisher way too much lately. What makes him appealing, what motivates him, his place in a more fantastic superhero universe, the challenges and opportunities he presents to a writer.
This'll probably go on awhile. Sorry.
Anyhow, something interesting's occurred to me, and that's how similar The Punisher is to Spider-Man. And seeing as how he was introduced as a Spider-Man supporting character, I can't help but wonder if I've been missing a lot of intentional parallels.
What struck me is how direct the both of them are. One thing I love about Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man* is the character's directness. A line that sticks in my head comes from Ultimate Spider-Man #127. The context is that various billion-dollar corporations have been trying to espionage and murder their way into capturing Eddie Brock and using the symbiote to make more billions.
Ahh love that line. This private war all these brilliant, untouchable people are fighting, and he's just disgusted in the purest and most righteous sense.
Spidey gets a lot of lectures in Ultimate Spider-Man from villains such as the Kingpin, telling him that he really needs to grow up, that the world is an adult world full of lawyers and politics and gray, ambiguous complexities. He's treated as this alien presence throwing himself against it. May I quote Spidey's arch-nemesis Norman Osborn from Ellis' Thunderbolts #11? The context is Norman losing it a bit and monologuing to himself.
“Without understanding one damn thing about how the world works.” That is utterly terrific. Norman was a billionaire CEO who was involved in shady, illegal dealings before he went nuts and started chucking bombs and snapping necks. Then he used money, political favors, media manipulation, and a whole bunch of blackmail, murder, and other illegal activities to beat the rap and regain his position of wealth and prominent social status. Then, when he was uncovered again and thrown into prison, he used the exact same tactics to get himself appointed as the head of the defacto Department of Homeland Security. This is a guy who says, “Good and evil are imperfect societal constructs that can only be enforced so well. They're just a balance of personal risk and reward, and the more money and power you have, the less the risk and the greater the reward. And I am going to get so much money and power.” In Norman's world, buying, lying, cheating, stealing, and killing your way to the top are the preferred methods because they are the most effective, and anybody who says otherwise needs to read their Machiavelli and stop their bitching.
And then Spider-Man swings up and double-kicks him right in the face, and we all cheer because goddammit that guy is a wrongdoer and deserves to be kicked in the face! Spider-Man says “Whatever.” In the name of right, he goes out and faces death, danger, imprisonment, public hatred, personal problems, and constant demoralization, and simply stops those doing wrong. He slams himself against these worlds they've built up over and over without hesitation and against great adversity until the clockwork mechanisms underpinning their status are shaken lose. And that is right.
Good God I love Spider-Man.
The Punisher... Well, he's the king of direct. Well-connected gangster? Corrupt cop? Untouchable CEO? He just goes and cuts through all that red tape. He has that same very simple-minded righteous assault mentality towards wrongdoers. But Frank... he understands that adult world, that “natural order.” He's a Vietnam vet, he intimately gets adults with power screwing things up. He's part of it, or at least has one foot in it. He's more in the position of betrayer than interloper. Nobody calls Frank's rampages “immature” or “confused.” In fact, they don't call it much of anything, they just try to batten down the hatches as he storms through. They respect him, as a highly-competent “grown-up” operator.
I think it's a matter of expectations. They're at opposite ends of the spectrum. Spidey is outside of that grown-up “natural order.” He's the everyman, the type who supposedly wants to go to his job and do the least work possible and get a big fat cookie at the end of the day, as the Kingpin would say. He's stepping out of line in challenging these powerful, corrupting systems. And that's very unusual. He has strong, unusual beliefs that these power brokers are not used to seeing. Frank, on the other hand, has been run through those systems. He knows them, intimately. Like Spider-Man, he knows that they're bullshit, but he knows from experience. It's a sense of “Oh shit, he knows what's up!” When the villains talk to him (rare as that is), they don't try to lie to him, the Kingpin doesn't try to tell him that his being powerful is natural and right. Because it isn't. And they both know it.
Peter, the idealistic outsider, and Frank, the cynical insider, both of them lead to the same conclusion. That's interesting.
This'll probably go on awhile. Sorry.
Anyhow, something interesting's occurred to me, and that's how similar The Punisher is to Spider-Man. And seeing as how he was introduced as a Spider-Man supporting character, I can't help but wonder if I've been missing a lot of intentional parallels.
What struck me is how direct the both of them are. One thing I love about Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man* is the character's directness. A line that sticks in my head comes from Ultimate Spider-Man #127. The context is that various billion-dollar corporations have been trying to espionage and murder their way into capturing Eddie Brock and using the symbiote to make more billions.
“Money. That's all this is ever about. One person wants another person's money. Makes me want to scream. Money.”
Ahh love that line. This private war all these brilliant, untouchable people are fighting, and he's just disgusted in the purest and most righteous sense.
Spidey gets a lot of lectures in Ultimate Spider-Man from villains such as the Kingpin, telling him that he really needs to grow up, that the world is an adult world full of lawyers and politics and gray, ambiguous complexities. He's treated as this alien presence throwing himself against it. May I quote Spidey's arch-nemesis Norman Osborn from Ellis' Thunderbolts #11? The context is Norman losing it a bit and monologuing to himself.
“'Are you a self-proclaimed super hero?' 'Why, shucks, sir, I sure am a regular guy in bad underpants who fights crime without understanding one damn thing about how the world works, yes.'”
“Without understanding one damn thing about how the world works.” That is utterly terrific. Norman was a billionaire CEO who was involved in shady, illegal dealings before he went nuts and started chucking bombs and snapping necks. Then he used money, political favors, media manipulation, and a whole bunch of blackmail, murder, and other illegal activities to beat the rap and regain his position of wealth and prominent social status. Then, when he was uncovered again and thrown into prison, he used the exact same tactics to get himself appointed as the head of the defacto Department of Homeland Security. This is a guy who says, “Good and evil are imperfect societal constructs that can only be enforced so well. They're just a balance of personal risk and reward, and the more money and power you have, the less the risk and the greater the reward. And I am going to get so much money and power.” In Norman's world, buying, lying, cheating, stealing, and killing your way to the top are the preferred methods because they are the most effective, and anybody who says otherwise needs to read their Machiavelli and stop their bitching.
And then Spider-Man swings up and double-kicks him right in the face, and we all cheer because goddammit that guy is a wrongdoer and deserves to be kicked in the face! Spider-Man says “Whatever.” In the name of right, he goes out and faces death, danger, imprisonment, public hatred, personal problems, and constant demoralization, and simply stops those doing wrong. He slams himself against these worlds they've built up over and over without hesitation and against great adversity until the clockwork mechanisms underpinning their status are shaken lose. And that is right.
Good God I love Spider-Man.
The Punisher... Well, he's the king of direct. Well-connected gangster? Corrupt cop? Untouchable CEO? He just goes and cuts through all that red tape. He has that same very simple-minded righteous assault mentality towards wrongdoers. But Frank... he understands that adult world, that “natural order.” He's a Vietnam vet, he intimately gets adults with power screwing things up. He's part of it, or at least has one foot in it. He's more in the position of betrayer than interloper. Nobody calls Frank's rampages “immature” or “confused.” In fact, they don't call it much of anything, they just try to batten down the hatches as he storms through. They respect him, as a highly-competent “grown-up” operator.
I think it's a matter of expectations. They're at opposite ends of the spectrum. Spidey is outside of that grown-up “natural order.” He's the everyman, the type who supposedly wants to go to his job and do the least work possible and get a big fat cookie at the end of the day, as the Kingpin would say. He's stepping out of line in challenging these powerful, corrupting systems. And that's very unusual. He has strong, unusual beliefs that these power brokers are not used to seeing. Frank, on the other hand, has been run through those systems. He knows them, intimately. Like Spider-Man, he knows that they're bullshit, but he knows from experience. It's a sense of “Oh shit, he knows what's up!” When the villains talk to him (rare as that is), they don't try to lie to him, the Kingpin doesn't try to tell him that his being powerful is natural and right. Because it isn't. And they both know it.
Peter, the idealistic outsider, and Frank, the cynical insider, both of them lead to the same conclusion. That's interesting.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
The Sound of Silence
The Punisher #1
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Marco Checchetto
The Punisher is a very simple character. He kills bad people. That's it. He's not trying to affect social change, he's not trying to win or gain anything, he's not even really trying to save lives. He wants bad people to die and he kills them, over and over again. He's like a shark, a single-minded killing machine. And there's nothing wrong with that. The best Punisher plots are almost like heist movies: an ingenious plan to kill a whole mess of bad people in the most badass way imaginable.
As such, he should be a man of few words. He denies any human luxuries that might get in the way of his mission, so he doesn't have any real supporting cast to talk to. When it comes to his fellow superheroes, he doesn't care what they think and likely has no strong opinion about what they do. What does he have to talk with Spider-Man about? He's going to leave that party as soon as he can. Though he hates violent criminals fiercely, any talking with them should be strictly utilitarian, such as sending a message or interrogation. Outside of that, I don't see him as having much to say. Even one-liners, fun as they are, ring false. It feels a bit too much like an ego thing, and Frank couldn't care less about his rep save for how it affects his ability to kill more people. He's mostly lost touch with his humanity on that front.
Barring that, you get a lot of internal monologuing. Not that that doesn't have value, but most of it can be divided into one of four categories:
The story begins with a shootout at a wedding, conveyed with no sound whatsoever. It's a really horrifying scene, with dozens of people getting riddled with bullets in a monstrously violent way. Stop me if you've heard this one, though: a combat veteran returns home only to have his family gunned down in a random act of violence. Besides the fact that the bride is the vet in this version (two tours in Afghanistan), this wedding massacre is a very deliberate call-back to The Punisher's own origin.
I think this is very cleverly done. We know The Punisher's origin. This comic isn't trying to get into his head, it's all external to him. He's the shark in the tank. This sequence sets up the issue (and the arc, I'm assuming), illustrates the horror of Frank's own tragedy without deliberately dredging it up, and demonstrates that Frank is still hunting monstrous people just like the ones that hurt him in the first place.
Then we have the cops, detectives Oscar Clemons and Walter Bolt. It's revealed in flashback that Bolt froze and generally fucked up during a previous shoot-out and the Punisher picked up the ball. Now Bolt's forwarding police information to Frank, though he seems pretty broken up about it. The Punisher's always had a strange relationship with the police; it's been implied that they like him and don't actually try too hard on the whole to track him. After all, in the wonderfully cut-and-dry fictional way, all the people he kills really deserve what they get and he always plans his massacres so that innocent people are never harmed. His partner, Clemons, seems to be more on the straight-and-narrow.
Finally, the thugs. The main story ends with The Punisher gunning down a whole bar full of them in a really beautiful splash page, again in total silence. His face is never shown and he never talks; he's just an angel of death, punishing the wicked swiftly, brutally, efficiently. That's all criminals know him as. And, after picking up the last surviving gang member and putting a gun to his head... he let's him go and walks away. Why's that? We'll find out, but as for now, his reasons are inscrutable.
So, this is cool. The Punisher does what we expect him to, we just don't hear him talking about it. It's all been said before. We instead see the effect he has on the people around him. It's a really interesting start, and I'll keep buying it to see where it goes.
And seriously, him gunning down those thugs from behind the bar is really, really fucking cool.
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Marco Checchetto
The Punisher is a very simple character. He kills bad people. That's it. He's not trying to affect social change, he's not trying to win or gain anything, he's not even really trying to save lives. He wants bad people to die and he kills them, over and over again. He's like a shark, a single-minded killing machine. And there's nothing wrong with that. The best Punisher plots are almost like heist movies: an ingenious plan to kill a whole mess of bad people in the most badass way imaginable.
As such, he should be a man of few words. He denies any human luxuries that might get in the way of his mission, so he doesn't have any real supporting cast to talk to. When it comes to his fellow superheroes, he doesn't care what they think and likely has no strong opinion about what they do. What does he have to talk with Spider-Man about? He's going to leave that party as soon as he can. Though he hates violent criminals fiercely, any talking with them should be strictly utilitarian, such as sending a message or interrogation. Outside of that, I don't see him as having much to say. Even one-liners, fun as they are, ring false. It feels a bit too much like an ego thing, and Frank couldn't care less about his rep save for how it affects his ability to kill more people. He's mostly lost touch with his humanity on that front.
Barring that, you get a lot of internal monologuing. Not that that doesn't have value, but most of it can be divided into one of four categories:
- Explaining what he's doing
- War flashbacks
- Black comedy
- Righteous disgust
It can wear thin if not done well, it really can. I suppose it's because he's talking about the same thing over and over. He doesn't have anything going for him except fighting the mob, and that's all he thinks about, all the time. It makes sense, but we don't necessarily need to be subjected to it.
Anyhow, that's what's interesting about Greg Rucka and Marco Checchetto's The Punisher #1. The Punisher doesn't speak or think a word, he just does what he does. We see him through the eyes of the three important factions of Frank's life: victims, cops, and criminals.
The story begins with a shootout at a wedding, conveyed with no sound whatsoever. It's a really horrifying scene, with dozens of people getting riddled with bullets in a monstrously violent way. Stop me if you've heard this one, though: a combat veteran returns home only to have his family gunned down in a random act of violence. Besides the fact that the bride is the vet in this version (two tours in Afghanistan), this wedding massacre is a very deliberate call-back to The Punisher's own origin.
I think this is very cleverly done. We know The Punisher's origin. This comic isn't trying to get into his head, it's all external to him. He's the shark in the tank. This sequence sets up the issue (and the arc, I'm assuming), illustrates the horror of Frank's own tragedy without deliberately dredging it up, and demonstrates that Frank is still hunting monstrous people just like the ones that hurt him in the first place.
Then we have the cops, detectives Oscar Clemons and Walter Bolt. It's revealed in flashback that Bolt froze and generally fucked up during a previous shoot-out and the Punisher picked up the ball. Now Bolt's forwarding police information to Frank, though he seems pretty broken up about it. The Punisher's always had a strange relationship with the police; it's been implied that they like him and don't actually try too hard on the whole to track him. After all, in the wonderfully cut-and-dry fictional way, all the people he kills really deserve what they get and he always plans his massacres so that innocent people are never harmed. His partner, Clemons, seems to be more on the straight-and-narrow.
Finally, the thugs. The main story ends with The Punisher gunning down a whole bar full of them in a really beautiful splash page, again in total silence. His face is never shown and he never talks; he's just an angel of death, punishing the wicked swiftly, brutally, efficiently. That's all criminals know him as. And, after picking up the last surviving gang member and putting a gun to his head... he let's him go and walks away. Why's that? We'll find out, but as for now, his reasons are inscrutable.
So, this is cool. The Punisher does what we expect him to, we just don't hear him talking about it. It's all been said before. We instead see the effect he has on the people around him. It's a really interesting start, and I'll keep buying it to see where it goes.
And seriously, him gunning down those thugs from behind the bar is really, really fucking cool.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Meanderings on the Logistics of Movie Crossovers
Saw Captain America last night. It was good. If you thought Thor and Iron Man were worth your eleven dollars, you'll likely walk away from the theater satisfied. What struck me about the film, outside of Tommy Lee Jones' scenery chewing, was that, for the first time, I really got the sense that it took place in a shared universe.*
Now, I know what you're going to say. Marvel's been linking their Avengers films together since Samuel L. lectured Tony Stark after the credits of the original Iron Man. However, there's a subtle, yet important, difference.
...Okay, the difference is that the linkages in those movies didn't affect me to the same extent that those in Captain America did. Content-wise, it's harder to put my finger on. There's just something about how the Red Skull is (oh, spoilers by the way) searching for the power of the (Norse) gods, how Steve Rogers goes to Tony Stark's dad's "World of Tomorrow" where they see him demonstrate patented SHIELD flying car technology... It's all woven into the plot to a greater extent than tacking a scene roughly involving Thor's hammer on to the end of Iron Man 2. Perhaps it's simply that seeing some of these characters appear in one or two films is interesting, but crossing over into three is unique enough in movies that I take notice. Don't know. I don't doubt that its intentional; after all, they've had three years and four films to get into their groove with this logistically nightmarish experiment. Hell, Cap even ties into the overarching universe with its subtitle.
The point is, it was pretty cool. A movie universe of interlocking films in which no one protagonist is the star. It makes me wonder: could this model work for original film franchises?
Comic book movies have the advantage that their source material is already built around the shared universe. Even then, it's taken a long time to get from X-Men to Avengers. Come to think of it, I'm not surprised they started out in Iron Man with the dropping of tiny hints and hooks; if they weren't able to pull off their five films' worth of setup, then it'd all just be a drag on the now-standalone Iron Man. Any original movie that would want to emulate the shared universe of The Avengers would have to have some reasonable assurance that there'd be at least two or three guaranteed films.
Then there's another problem: if an original movie is any good (and it'd have to be), then fans are going to want to see what happens next to those original characters, not necessarily some new characters who live on the opposite coast or something. Even though each Avenger is getting his due, you still have Iron Man 2 and soon enough 3. Comic book movies have the built-in advantage that every hero is more-or-less a proven, respected, marketable lead. If we were to get, say, a Matrix side story without Neo or Morpheous, you end up with the danger of fans not liking the new characters. While moviegoers may love Tony Stark, they're not going to think of Captain America as Raiden. Thus, all the leads in your original shared universe films better be both different and compelling.
Finally, that new shared universe better be pretty damn big. In the Avengers film-verse, you have Iron Man fighting robots, Thor fighting goblins, and Captain America fighting nazis. It's the same universe, sure, but each character has a very distinct niche. Take a theoretical Matrix side story again; if it's just a different group of stylin' freedom fighters in the same green world running away from agents, you run the risk of Superman Returns syndrome.
Still, I can't help but want to see if it could be done in a different context, and I can't help but feel that after The Avengers makes a fleet of dump trucks' worth of money next summer, other studios might be willing to try. Though there are dangers to be sure, the idea of what is essentially different perspectives on a single theme has the potential to break the standard sequel mold in a lot of good ways.
*And I don't just mean the Indiana Jones reference, though that was awesome
Now, I know what you're going to say. Marvel's been linking their Avengers films together since Samuel L. lectured Tony Stark after the credits of the original Iron Man. However, there's a subtle, yet important, difference.
...Okay, the difference is that the linkages in those movies didn't affect me to the same extent that those in Captain America did. Content-wise, it's harder to put my finger on. There's just something about how the Red Skull is (oh, spoilers by the way) searching for the power of the (Norse) gods, how Steve Rogers goes to Tony Stark's dad's "World of Tomorrow" where they see him demonstrate patented SHIELD flying car technology... It's all woven into the plot to a greater extent than tacking a scene roughly involving Thor's hammer on to the end of Iron Man 2. Perhaps it's simply that seeing some of these characters appear in one or two films is interesting, but crossing over into three is unique enough in movies that I take notice. Don't know. I don't doubt that its intentional; after all, they've had three years and four films to get into their groove with this logistically nightmarish experiment. Hell, Cap even ties into the overarching universe with its subtitle.
The point is, it was pretty cool. A movie universe of interlocking films in which no one protagonist is the star. It makes me wonder: could this model work for original film franchises?
Comic book movies have the advantage that their source material is already built around the shared universe. Even then, it's taken a long time to get from X-Men to Avengers. Come to think of it, I'm not surprised they started out in Iron Man with the dropping of tiny hints and hooks; if they weren't able to pull off their five films' worth of setup, then it'd all just be a drag on the now-standalone Iron Man. Any original movie that would want to emulate the shared universe of The Avengers would have to have some reasonable assurance that there'd be at least two or three guaranteed films.
Then there's another problem: if an original movie is any good (and it'd have to be), then fans are going to want to see what happens next to those original characters, not necessarily some new characters who live on the opposite coast or something. Even though each Avenger is getting his due, you still have Iron Man 2 and soon enough 3. Comic book movies have the built-in advantage that every hero is more-or-less a proven, respected, marketable lead. If we were to get, say, a Matrix side story without Neo or Morpheous, you end up with the danger of fans not liking the new characters. While moviegoers may love Tony Stark, they're not going to think of Captain America as Raiden. Thus, all the leads in your original shared universe films better be both different and compelling.
Finally, that new shared universe better be pretty damn big. In the Avengers film-verse, you have Iron Man fighting robots, Thor fighting goblins, and Captain America fighting nazis. It's the same universe, sure, but each character has a very distinct niche. Take a theoretical Matrix side story again; if it's just a different group of stylin' freedom fighters in the same green world running away from agents, you run the risk of Superman Returns syndrome.
Still, I can't help but want to see if it could be done in a different context, and I can't help but feel that after The Avengers makes a fleet of dump trucks' worth of money next summer, other studios might be willing to try. Though there are dangers to be sure, the idea of what is essentially different perspectives on a single theme has the potential to break the standard sequel mold in a lot of good ways.
*And I don't just mean the Indiana Jones reference, though that was awesome
Monday, July 11, 2011
Curiosity Culture
"How bad do these things have to be to properly fail, anyway?"
That's the question Tom Shone asks in his book, Blockbuster. The subject matter is... well, blockbusters, and it covers them from 1975's Jaws to 2003's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It's a laid-back, articulate look at the content of the movies themselves, behind-the-scenes anecdotes about their creators, development, and business strategies, and the changing trends of the industry over the course of three decades. When you get to the end you realize that it's something of a series of chronologically-ordered tangents from a guy who just loves to talk about wonderful movies, but it all flows so smoothly that you don't care. It's definitely worth a read.
The central theme is that summer movie season has changed, and not for the better. We've all had that sensation, right? Mr. Shone grew up with Raiders and Star Wars ("Was there any better time to be young and thrill-hungry and going to the movies?" he asks), and even I, with my meager Independence Day and Men in Black, can sense that today's summer glut has definitely become a case of quantity over quality. Again... lemme just quote the man:
"[Now, there has] risen an entirely new half-breed of film, neither a hit nor a flop, neither popular or unpopular but just there, hanging in the sky like an untethered blimp or derelict space station: semipopular culture, or kind-of popular culture - a culture of semisatiation, geared to the satisfaction of the mildly curious with the not-quite-boring: Curiosity Culture."
That sums up my feelings about as well as can be done. Compared to the movies of the past, today's movies are isolated events. They're out, you're made very aware of that fact, and you might even go see them... but then you never really think about them again. They're like a show that gets canceled in four episodes. What's up with that? With the enormous budgets Hollywood has to throw around and the advances in technology and the art of filmmaking, is there any good reason we shouldn't be getting movies that trounce Raiders and Terminator 2?
If we don't, Mr. Shone argues that, as with every other aspect of life, the reasons are economic. Back in the 70s, 80s, and going into the 90s, movie marketing was not what it is today. People saw a movie due to positive word-of-mouth, so you were under enormous pressure to make a movie impressive enough to make people talk about it to their friends. Consider that. I talked about Green Lantern with my friends on the way out of the theater, but I can't think of a reason to ever talk about it again (And no, right now doesn't count. Do not see Green Lantern.). Summer movies played all summer, as word-of-mouth circulated.
What happened, Mr. Shone says, is that movie studios found a way to “eliminate a certain stratum of failure” from the system, essentially immunizing their pictures from failing to make a profit. With the various steams of revenue available to them (theater, overseas, DVD, Blu-Ray, video-on-demand, television) and a big enough marketing budget, they can ensure that, with an end product sufficiently expensive and flashy, they can drag in enough people over the course of the opening weekend to make their money back. Again, I quote:
“By 1998, what was in place was a system where it is perfectly possible for a studio to buy our curiosity for the space of a single weekend, which was all the time the studio needed to make back its money. It didn't matter whether we liked what we saw or not, only that we sat there, liking it or disliking it, in sufficient numbers... That's all our bum on a seat now meant: the satisfaction of a vague curiosity, and vague curiosity - unlike like or dislike, let alone love - could be bought...”
This also rings true. I have no idea, in retrospect, why I saw Green Lantern. I didn't even go in anticipating a good movie, let alone something on par with, say, Back to the Future. It was... just a movie. That you could go and see. So I did.
Weird.
But anyhow, if a bad movie is going to be as profitable as a good one, then there's less of an incentive to produce a good movie. Surely, all else being equal, studios prefer good movies, but if there's going to be huge profits either way... well, let's not knock ourselves out, eh? The end result is a load of flashy, mediocre movies meandering around the screen every weekend in turn, and me wishing the theater would show Back to the Future.
So let's make a pledge, right here! If Captain America doesn't get legitimately good reviews, then we won't watch it! We'll send a message! We have a nightmarishly staggering buffet of entertainment choices available to us, and we won't settle for anything less than the very best! No more will we see anything with a familiar name on it! From this point forward, I declare this the summer of the legitimately good movie!
Or we can at least buy a ticket to a well-reviewed movie and go into Captain America's theater. Same end effect.
...I'm going to go watch Back to the Future.
That's the question Tom Shone asks in his book, Blockbuster. The subject matter is... well, blockbusters, and it covers them from 1975's Jaws to 2003's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It's a laid-back, articulate look at the content of the movies themselves, behind-the-scenes anecdotes about their creators, development, and business strategies, and the changing trends of the industry over the course of three decades. When you get to the end you realize that it's something of a series of chronologically-ordered tangents from a guy who just loves to talk about wonderful movies, but it all flows so smoothly that you don't care. It's definitely worth a read.
The central theme is that summer movie season has changed, and not for the better. We've all had that sensation, right? Mr. Shone grew up with Raiders and Star Wars ("Was there any better time to be young and thrill-hungry and going to the movies?" he asks), and even I, with my meager Independence Day and Men in Black, can sense that today's summer glut has definitely become a case of quantity over quality. Again... lemme just quote the man:
"[Now, there has] risen an entirely new half-breed of film, neither a hit nor a flop, neither popular or unpopular but just there, hanging in the sky like an untethered blimp or derelict space station: semipopular culture, or kind-of popular culture - a culture of semisatiation, geared to the satisfaction of the mildly curious with the not-quite-boring: Curiosity Culture."
That sums up my feelings about as well as can be done. Compared to the movies of the past, today's movies are isolated events. They're out, you're made very aware of that fact, and you might even go see them... but then you never really think about them again. They're like a show that gets canceled in four episodes. What's up with that? With the enormous budgets Hollywood has to throw around and the advances in technology and the art of filmmaking, is there any good reason we shouldn't be getting movies that trounce Raiders and Terminator 2?
If we don't, Mr. Shone argues that, as with every other aspect of life, the reasons are economic. Back in the 70s, 80s, and going into the 90s, movie marketing was not what it is today. People saw a movie due to positive word-of-mouth, so you were under enormous pressure to make a movie impressive enough to make people talk about it to their friends. Consider that. I talked about Green Lantern with my friends on the way out of the theater, but I can't think of a reason to ever talk about it again (And no, right now doesn't count. Do not see Green Lantern.). Summer movies played all summer, as word-of-mouth circulated.
What happened, Mr. Shone says, is that movie studios found a way to “eliminate a certain stratum of failure” from the system, essentially immunizing their pictures from failing to make a profit. With the various steams of revenue available to them (theater, overseas, DVD, Blu-Ray, video-on-demand, television) and a big enough marketing budget, they can ensure that, with an end product sufficiently expensive and flashy, they can drag in enough people over the course of the opening weekend to make their money back. Again, I quote:
“By 1998, what was in place was a system where it is perfectly possible for a studio to buy our curiosity for the space of a single weekend, which was all the time the studio needed to make back its money. It didn't matter whether we liked what we saw or not, only that we sat there, liking it or disliking it, in sufficient numbers... That's all our bum on a seat now meant: the satisfaction of a vague curiosity, and vague curiosity - unlike like or dislike, let alone love - could be bought...”
This also rings true. I have no idea, in retrospect, why I saw Green Lantern. I didn't even go in anticipating a good movie, let alone something on par with, say, Back to the Future. It was... just a movie. That you could go and see. So I did.
Weird.
But anyhow, if a bad movie is going to be as profitable as a good one, then there's less of an incentive to produce a good movie. Surely, all else being equal, studios prefer good movies, but if there's going to be huge profits either way... well, let's not knock ourselves out, eh? The end result is a load of flashy, mediocre movies meandering around the screen every weekend in turn, and me wishing the theater would show Back to the Future.
So let's make a pledge, right here! If Captain America doesn't get legitimately good reviews, then we won't watch it! We'll send a message! We have a nightmarishly staggering buffet of entertainment choices available to us, and we won't settle for anything less than the very best! No more will we see anything with a familiar name on it! From this point forward, I declare this the summer of the legitimately good movie!
Or we can at least buy a ticket to a well-reviewed movie and go into Captain America's theater. Same end effect.
...I'm going to go watch Back to the Future.
Friday, July 8, 2011
"There's something very familiar about all this"
"We knew we were stuck with where the first one left off: something has to be done about their kids because that's what Doc Brown says. That was just a joke!"
-Bob Gale, co-writer and co-producer of the Back to the Future trilogy. And probably some other stuff. But who cares?
Holy Christ do I love Back to the Future. I'm reading Tom Shone's Blockbuster, and a post about it in its entirety is likely coming soon because one bit of it is making me turn my computer back on and type when I really should be sleeping.
Okay, so, Back to the Future Part II. Co-creators Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis didn't really want to do one, but they were presented with the choice of sequels being made with or without them, and they chose "with." As Zemeckis says, "When you make a movie that's successful, it becomes a piece of real estate. It becomes a franchise and the reality comes at you very quickly, which is 'We're making a sequel and you guys can either help us or not but a sequel is going to be made.'" So what do they do?
That fun but slightly off-kilter bit in which Marty goes back to the events of Back to the Future? That is a commentary on sequels. As Gale says, "The trick to writing a sequel is that people want to see the first movie but they don't want to see the first movie. They want the same except different. That's what we gave 'em."
WOW! That is so cool. Why don't I notice these things? Back to the Future is somehow even greater than I thought it was. Now watch the hoverboarding scene.
-Bob Gale, co-writer and co-producer of the Back to the Future trilogy. And probably some other stuff. But who cares?
Holy Christ do I love Back to the Future. I'm reading Tom Shone's Blockbuster, and a post about it in its entirety is likely coming soon because one bit of it is making me turn my computer back on and type when I really should be sleeping.
Okay, so, Back to the Future Part II. Co-creators Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis didn't really want to do one, but they were presented with the choice of sequels being made with or without them, and they chose "with." As Zemeckis says, "When you make a movie that's successful, it becomes a piece of real estate. It becomes a franchise and the reality comes at you very quickly, which is 'We're making a sequel and you guys can either help us or not but a sequel is going to be made.'" So what do they do?
That fun but slightly off-kilter bit in which Marty goes back to the events of Back to the Future? That is a commentary on sequels. As Gale says, "The trick to writing a sequel is that people want to see the first movie but they don't want to see the first movie. They want the same except different. That's what we gave 'em."
WOW! That is so cool. Why don't I notice these things? Back to the Future is somehow even greater than I thought it was. Now watch the hoverboarding scene.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
That DC Reboot Is Still Newsworthy, Right?
Wow, once I got over the initial ballsiness of DC's linewide reboot, I'm back to being fairly apathetic about mainstream superhero comics. Nonetheless, here are the five most interesting September issues:
Action Comics #1
Written by Grant Morrison
Illustrated by Rags Morales
Morrison writing Superman. Movin' on.
Stormwatch #1
Written by Paul Cornell
Illustrated by Miguel Sepulveda
There's my brah!
*Bump*
The Martian Manhunter's my second favorite character in comics, and I was confident he was going to show up somewhere in the new DC lineup, but not in Stormwatch, the Justice League of Totally Killing People. However, that does actually seem like a good fit for him. He's a hundred-thousand-year-old Superman/Clayface/Invisible Phantom/Professor X, which slots him in well with the power level of a team that includes the likes of The Doctor, aka the guy who can do anything. He's also always been a hair beyond the black and white morality structure that tends to define the rest of the JLA, and the solicitation text mentioning “changing [the] minds” of new recruits implies that he's more hardcore than usual about it.
I've never read any Stormwatch beyond a single trade of The Authority, but they're intriguing characters I'm interested in getting acquainted with. However, I do know enough about them to know that the costume redesign on the Midnighter there is... far from amazing. Trading trenchcoat for spikes, huh? Fire your tailor. I'm also not super keen on Martian Manhunter's no longer popping a killer collar. Apollo I could take or leave; he looks kinda good with short hair.
Also, written by Paul Cornell! He's pretty good. So, Martian Manhunter, a character I love, working with a totally different team, which has gotten good buzz in the past, written by Paul Cornell. We got a winner.
Aquaman #1
Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Ivan Reis
I love Aquaman. He's had so many interesting, short runs... Come to think of it, maybe he'd be better off as an “occasional miniseries” kinda guy. Here's the thing: Johns' take on Aquaman, from what I've read of the Brightest Day miniseries, has been a pleasurable silver age-kinda romp with a zombie twist, but certainly nothing that'll get my three bucks month after month. The solicitation calls it “a thrilling new take,” so ideally it will be distinct and different. Johns really hits roughly 1 in 3 times, Ivan Reis is a good penciller, so they've got one issue to wow me. WOW ME.
Teen Titans #1
Written by Scott Lobdell
Illustrated by Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund
Superboy #1
Written by Scott Lobdell
Illustrated by R.B. Silva and Rob Lean
This is what being a relapsed Young Justice fan is like. Willing to ignore all the objective warning signs my brain is screaming at me for the chance to get some of that old magic back.
I mean, look at those Titans costumes:
These are outfits that are really going to appeal to those poor kids that were recently awoken from their cryogenic freezing in 1992.
(Got nothing against the robot Tron suit from the Superboy cover, however.)
Two things appeal to me about this. The first is that they are really, really breaking away from norm here. For me, Teen Titans is meh at best, boring strip-mining of boring stories from the past then another teenager gets a bullet in the brain at worst. Here you're not seeing any of the legacy Titans characters; it's just the “new generation” and a couple new (yay!) though uninteresting (boo!) guys, and they're really messing with the preexisting guys. Tim Drake looks to be jumping onto the superhero scene with no ties to Batman and using a bulletproof cape and jet pack, Wonder Girl's a “powerhouse thief.” This is definitely a new thing, and, though I really love the characters as they were, I'm willing to give it a shot.
Secondly, you have Scott Lobdell writing. He's done quality work on the teen team book Generation X in the past, and here, judging by interviews, he's been given a huuuuuge degree of latitude to redesign and write these characters as he sees fit. Hopefully that'll lead to some really good, creative stuff. Furthermore, him writing both titles makes for easy crossover appeal. Put me down for a few issues, but don't prove my conscience right, then I'll never get him to shut up...
Action Comics #1
Written by Grant Morrison
Illustrated by Rags Morales
Morrison writing Superman. Movin' on.
Stormwatch #1
Written by Paul Cornell
Illustrated by Miguel Sepulveda
There's my brah!
*Bump*
The Martian Manhunter's my second favorite character in comics, and I was confident he was going to show up somewhere in the new DC lineup, but not in Stormwatch, the Justice League of Totally Killing People. However, that does actually seem like a good fit for him. He's a hundred-thousand-year-old Superman/Clayface/Invisible Phantom/Professor X, which slots him in well with the power level of a team that includes the likes of The Doctor, aka the guy who can do anything. He's also always been a hair beyond the black and white morality structure that tends to define the rest of the JLA, and the solicitation text mentioning “changing [the] minds” of new recruits implies that he's more hardcore than usual about it.
I've never read any Stormwatch beyond a single trade of The Authority, but they're intriguing characters I'm interested in getting acquainted with. However, I do know enough about them to know that the costume redesign on the Midnighter there is... far from amazing. Trading trenchcoat for spikes, huh? Fire your tailor. I'm also not super keen on Martian Manhunter's no longer popping a killer collar. Apollo I could take or leave; he looks kinda good with short hair.
Also, written by Paul Cornell! He's pretty good. So, Martian Manhunter, a character I love, working with a totally different team, which has gotten good buzz in the past, written by Paul Cornell. We got a winner.
Aquaman #1
Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Ivan Reis
I love Aquaman. He's had so many interesting, short runs... Come to think of it, maybe he'd be better off as an “occasional miniseries” kinda guy. Here's the thing: Johns' take on Aquaman, from what I've read of the Brightest Day miniseries, has been a pleasurable silver age-kinda romp with a zombie twist, but certainly nothing that'll get my three bucks month after month. The solicitation calls it “a thrilling new take,” so ideally it will be distinct and different. Johns really hits roughly 1 in 3 times, Ivan Reis is a good penciller, so they've got one issue to wow me. WOW ME.
Teen Titans #1
Written by Scott Lobdell
Illustrated by Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund
Superboy #1
Written by Scott Lobdell
Illustrated by R.B. Silva and Rob Lean
This is what being a relapsed Young Justice fan is like. Willing to ignore all the objective warning signs my brain is screaming at me for the chance to get some of that old magic back.
I mean, look at those Titans costumes:
- Superboy's sunk from jeans and a black Superman t-shirt to just the black t-shirt.
- The new character in the bottom left, “Bugg,” looks like a combination of Witchblade, Marrow, and Livewire.
- Robin's stolen something out of the Falcon's closet, painted it red, and added way too many utility belts. I mean, just look at him: utility belt, utility harness, and two more utility belts around his shoulders. There's preparedness, Robin, but that would make Batman take a step back and go “whoa whoa, let's not go nuts.”
- Wonder Girl's rocking that barbed wire lasso, because she's not so nice this time around, and you know what else isn't very nice? Barbed wire. Even the worst outlaws lassoed things with rope, y'know.
These are outfits that are really going to appeal to those poor kids that were recently awoken from their cryogenic freezing in 1992.
(Got nothing against the robot Tron suit from the Superboy cover, however.)
Two things appeal to me about this. The first is that they are really, really breaking away from norm here. For me, Teen Titans is meh at best, boring strip-mining of boring stories from the past then another teenager gets a bullet in the brain at worst. Here you're not seeing any of the legacy Titans characters; it's just the “new generation” and a couple new (yay!) though uninteresting (boo!) guys, and they're really messing with the preexisting guys. Tim Drake looks to be jumping onto the superhero scene with no ties to Batman and using a bulletproof cape and jet pack, Wonder Girl's a “powerhouse thief.” This is definitely a new thing, and, though I really love the characters as they were, I'm willing to give it a shot.
Secondly, you have Scott Lobdell writing. He's done quality work on the teen team book Generation X in the past, and here, judging by interviews, he's been given a huuuuuge degree of latitude to redesign and write these characters as he sees fit. Hopefully that'll lead to some really good, creative stuff. Furthermore, him writing both titles makes for easy crossover appeal. Put me down for a few issues, but don't prove my conscience right, then I'll never get him to shut up...
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