Since I decided to read this book, I knew that it won't be any liEnjoyable enough, but it could be better
IN EVERY GENERATION THERE IS AN...ALICE?!
Since I decided to read this book, I knew that it won't be any literature wonder (pun intended) but I didn't regret my decision.
Indeed it wasn0t any reading masterpiece, but enjoyable enough.
It was a quick fun reading.
The story gave me just what I was expecting, a retelling of the classic Alice in Wonderland but with a vampire oriented angle.
I think that the author did a fair job merging the original storyline with the new vampire approach.
CURIOUSER AND BLOODIER
Something that I quite enjoyed is that here, the Cheshire Cat got a status way over the Caterpillar.
I don't hate the Caterpillar but I always liked better the Cheshire Cat.
And lately in various retellings like Zenescope's Wonderland and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, I felt that the Caterpillar was presented more powerful and/or wiser.
But here, in this retelling, the Cheshire Cat seems without a doubt with more experience than the Caterpillar.
However, I would expected a little more of character development on Alice, taking in account that she is definitely not the regular Alice that you may being acquainted. Oh, you get the whole picture of how was her life since she was younger (in the story she is 16 years old) and how her family has a long line of slayers.
In that, the author not only got elements from Alice in Wonderland as the core setting but also got elements from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer stating that Alice thinks that only women can be slayers.
Still, a little more to define a tridimentional character could be appreciated and not just being the basically expected result from merging "Wonderland's Alice" with "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer".
You will get some twists and surprises, especially on the climax of the plot. (Easy, no spoiler! Hehehe)
So, while it's not a spectacular book, if you are fan of "Wonderland" related stuff and/or vampire related stuff, well, this an acceptable option, after all, you only invest like 2 hours at most to read it.
I have watched the BrEverybody is invited to the Prom Dance!
THAT ENDING THAT YOU'RE EXPECTING...
It's very interesting to read Carrie finally.
I have watched the Brian de Palma's adaptation, so I wasn't unfamiliar with what would happen.
However, the way as Stephen King wrote this book was in such great way that the novel is still engaging not matter if you already know the main highlights.
There are some books that if you knew what will happen...kaput! All the fun was spoiled and you won't get interested on reading the book.
BUT in here, Stephen King gave you the highlights right away.
You haven't advanced even few pages and you already know that Carrie White has Telekinetic powers and something really bad happened in the Prom Night.
THE BOOK WHICH STARTED STEPHEN KING'S CAREER
I think that it's the best testimony to Stephen King's genius in this, his very first novel (the first to be published but in reality the fourth that he wrote). He wasn't able to know then that the book will became a success and a staple book in the horror genre, however thinking that that will happen, it is clever not waiting long in the narrative to give the main highlights.
Since if before, you still have to get spoiled of key events in stories,...
...nowadays with internet, social networks, online news, chatting forums, etc... it's really REALLY HARD to avoid getting spoiled when something that became so successful.
But with Stephen King's debut published novel?
No sweat, you can read almost 40 years later the novel, knowing ahead the story, and still you get engaged into the book due the great management of the author on the presentation of the story.
UNUSUAL BUT BRILLIANT NARRATIVE STYLE
Maybe, nowadays, it could be a pretty standard way to tell the story, but 40 years ago?
Visionary style!
The narrative plays with "current" events in the story with excerpts of supposed books and documents written in the "future" of the story. Even you have to take in account that the very novel is kinda an alternate history story due that it's set in "1979" but the publication was on 1974, and there are many references on the supposed investigative books there with dates even more in the future.
Other powerful element on Carrie is that its main topic is still as relevant now than in 1974, since that topic is BULLLYING.
The bullying is main trigger in the story and you can't deny that it's a topic that, sadly, is the same as important now (if not more) than in 1974.
Because of that, Carrie didn't age and it didn't lose its appealing to new readers. I think that main storyline and plot are well set and developed.
GETTING INTO THEIR SKINS
My only complains would be in the character developing area, and/or the justification of some actions.
I say this that while the "evil" characters like Chris Hargensen and Billy Nolan are satisfying developed and with really interesting reactions of both.
In the case of Miss Dejardin and Sue Snell, I think that they could use a better setting of their motivations to help Carrie White and not a sudden impulse of being good samaritans. More interaction between Carrie White and her mother could be appreciated.
Changing to other subjects...
I think that it's a general misconception that Carrie White went insane, crazy, etc...
Oh, no, no, my friends.
She wasn't crazy.
A crazy person don't think in a clear way and it's obvious that Carry once she unleashed her rage, she took steps to protect her work that a crazy person wouldn't do.
Of course, I am not saying that Carrie was a "sane" person.
Definitely she was a psychopathic person that it's waaaaay different than a "crazy person".
Even some events in her confrontation with her mother and later her encounter with Sue Snell, leave clear evidence that Carrie White was thinking in a certain level of "rational logic", maybe irrational for you but when you try to think what could mean to be Carrie White...
...you can realize why some "odd" events, have all the logic in the odd world of Carrie.
Changing the subject again. (Please, indulge me, I promise that's the last time)
The novel even leave a certain open frame for a potential sequel.
Forty years later, you could think that that would never happens, BUT seeing a recently published sequel for The Shining,...
I got this in its single comic book issues, but I chose this edtion to be able to make a better overall review.
This TPB Sadly a too brief mourning
I got this in its single comic book issues, but I chose this edtion to be able to make a better overall review.
This TPB edition contains “Ultimate Fallout: Spider-Man No More” #1-6.
Creative Team:
Writers: Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman & Nick Spencer
Illustrators: Mark Bagley, Bryan Hitch, Salvador Larroca, Gabriel Hardman, Lee Garbett, Steve Kuth, Eric Nguyen, Carlo Pagulayan, Sara Pichelli, Clayton Crain, Luke Ross, Billy Tan & Mitch Breitweiser
LITERALLY, ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN NO MORE
I can understand that Ultimate Spider-Man (aka Peter Parker) was dead and he won’t be technically in the story, BUT I expected something quite different than this, since when Superman died, the following event Funeral for a Friend was about the impact of the absence of him, so I thought that this event will be something like it.
The first issue was the best of the event, due it indeed focused about what it was supposed to be this story, to show how the characters were affected by the death of Ultimate Peter Parker. There is a powerful scene of a little girl who Spider-Man saved some years before.
Too bad that they use the rest of the issues to any other stuff, but Ultimate Spider-Man. While the title is “Ultimate Fallout”, also it’s part of the title “Spider-Man No More”, even you can appreciate the cover art and therefore, you should to expect to be about him and his related characters and his themes. But, sadly it wasn’t the case.
OTHER STUFF BUT ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
The second issue still covers some important moments of the Ultimate Peter Parker's funeral, however too soon, they started to cover other stuff not related and some clumsy stuff like the Heroes' Heaven of Asgard, that honestly I think that it wasn’t quite not necessary at all. On the third issue they totally lose the purpose of the event (at least taking in account the title of it) and they invested the pages on characters totally unrelated to Ultimate Spider-Man and his inner universe.
On the fourth issue, you can see a first appearance of the next Ultimate Spider-Man, that I think they should wait to show this a little more, I can understand the concept of “The King is dead, long live to the King”, but they should wait at least to the last issue in the event or even better in a totally apart event and keep paying a little of respect to the Ultimate Peter Parker. But taking in account that the event was a scam to show a bunch of stuff totally unrelated to Ultimate Spider-Man, I supposed that it was expecting too much.
On the fifth issue is even worse than before, since they keep showing totally unrelated characters of the title. If I am reading something titled “Spider-Man No More”, I expected to be reading about Ultimate Aunt May, Ultimate Mary Jane or even Ultimate J. Jonah Jameson, but nope, they show Ultimate Quicksilver, Ultimate Iron Man, the Ultimate X-Men. Geez!
Finally, the sixth issue, of course it wasn’t about Ultimate Spider-Man at all, it was about Ultimate Captain America and his Ultimates’ team and the outcome of his battle against Ultimate Nick Fury and his own team. Also appearing the Ultimate X-Men.
Again, it was a shame and quite a fraud to title this event “Spider-Man No More”, yes he wasn’t no more, literally, but it wasn’t supposed to be like this, it’s supposed to be the mourning time for a hero, for Ultimate Peter Parker, and not filling the event with a lot of stuff unrelated to the title of Ultimate Spider-Man.
I got this in its single comic book issues, but I chosen thi TPB edition to be able to make a better overall review.
CreatiHoly noir story, Batman!
I got this in its single comic book issues, but I chosen thi TPB edition to be able to make a better overall review.
Creative Team:
Writer: Howard Chaykin
Illustrator: Dan Brereton
AN ELSEWORLD NOIR
This was a miniseries that I enjoyed a lot!
A truly film noir in comics where both, writer and artist got excelled in huge way.
Howard Chaykin made a remarkable and elegant work with words and...
...Dan Brereton did a beautiful and sexy art.
The right combination to make this miniseries one of the most imaginative elseworlds story about Batman universe.
DANGEROUS AND SEXY WORLD
This graphic story makes a wonderful film-like noir tale in an elseworlds' 1961 crafting an excellent narrative using in a very imaginative way, the known characters from the Batman universe in different forms...
...but still great.
This is a dangerous but sexy world.
This wonderful miniseries didn't end as I expected...
...however, still is a thrilling ride that you won't like to miss.
One of the most imaginative, great written and masterfully illustrated.
Highly recommended for any fan of DC Elseworlds stories and/or Batman universe tales.
This TPB edition collects “Showcase ‘94” #8-9 and “Zero Hour: Crisis in Time” #4-0 (No, it’s not a mistake, this partIt’s time for another crisis!
This TPB edition collects “Showcase ‘94” #8-9 and “Zero Hour: Crisis in Time” #4-0 (No, it’s not a mistake, this particular title ran from #4 in countdown way until #0).
Creative Team:
Writer & Illustrator: Dan Jurgens
Additional Illustrators: Jerry Ordway & Frank Fosco
SPOILING COVER
In this era of social media where studios constantly bombard you with “news” about the incoming movies and TV episodes, where they clearly tell you who will appear and even key moments in the story, they ironically later are wondering why audience wasn’t impacted…
…hey, they didn’t give us a chance to be surprised!
And, unless you were so lucky to read this event when it was originally published in single comic books, well, with the dumb option of cover in the TPB, you won’t be able to be shocked at any level when you see the appearance of Hal Jordan in the climax of the story.
It’s not the ony time that DC made such spoiling cover, since in Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga, while the story is made to keep in secret the identity of the main villain, well, they opted to put Darkseid right in the cover. In that case, I had the luck of reading it on single comic books, so I was able to be surprised.
Here, I hadn’t the chance,…
…, first because I read it from the TPB with the spoiling cover, and also since while Monarch (a villain introduced in the previous DC Comics event Armageddon 2001 (published in 1991)), evolved into a new villain persona now named Extant, is the supposed main villain a good part of the story, but...
...due the spoiling cover, and since Hal Jordan went cuckoo in the Green Lantern event Emerald Twilight (published in 1994 (back then, when the word “Twilight” didn’t give you a bad taste of shinin’ vamps)), you must assume that (not so) good (anymore) ol’ Hal Jordan will appear sooner or later and in not good terms with the rest of DC characters.
RESET ALL CLOCKS!
In any case, Zero Hour, it a DC Comics crisis where the whole timeline is in peril, since dark forces are in progress to erase the current timeline to be replaced with one without some “mistakes” that the villain(s) consider unfair to be happened.
The Linear Men (you may know them as “Time Masters”, if you’re watching “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” TV Show) found out this and soon enough Rip Hunter and Waverider (where, here they are a muscled man and an energy human-shaped being, and not a skinny British guy and a ship) call for the help of DC Heroes to try to stop this crisis.
The event per se, isn’t that exciting to read (even less considering the spoiling cover),...
...BUT if you’re lucky to find some tie-in comic books of the event (and I don’t refer to the special issues with #0 on them, but the actual tie-in comic book issues published during the event), since many of them were quite awesome to read like Superboy #8, where Connor Kent version meets the original Superboy (teenager Kal-El); Batman #511, where a younger Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) appears before the time when The Joker left her paralyzed; Detective Comics #678, one of the best tie-ins featuring the situation that maybe Batman doesn’t know all the details of his parents’ murder; or Superman: The Man of Steel #37, where Superman faces zillions of Batman versions of the past....more
This TPB edition collects “Crisis on Infinite Earths” #1-12.
Creative Team:
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Illustrator: George PéreA universe reinvents itself!
This TPB edition collects “Crisis on Infinite Earths” #1-12.
Creative Team:
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Illustrator: George Pérez
Special Anniversary Cover: Alex Ross
RICH HISTORY… JUST TOO RICH
It’s 1986 and DC Comics already had 50 years of history generating not only millions of stories, but also…
…an infinite number of “Earths”.
Crisis on Infinite Earths wasn’t technically the first time that DC Comics had been a process of reinvention. Batman had began as gritty to become campy to get gritty again. The Flash and Green Lantern not only changed costumes but the heroes inside were different people. Wonder Woman had lost and get her powers. Superman started leaping tall buildings to soar into space without trouble. Green Arrow lost his fortune but find his teeth. The Joker died in his very first tale, to get back in campy mood, and finally become a serial killer. Luthor and Brainiac got massive modifications too…
…but nothing was become “non-canonical” per se, 50 years of history where a crafty solution was found in the iconic tale of “A Flash of Two Worlds”, introducing the concept of parallel earths with Earth-2, and that was…
...the tip of the iceberg.
Since with Earth-2, soon enough was followed for Earth-3, Earth-X, Earth-S, Earth-Prime, etc, etc, etc…
So, every single tale published by DC Comics had happened, just some of them had happened in other Earths. Piece of cake. Well, infinite pieces of cake, actually!
However, in 1986, after 50 years, DC Comics thought that it was time to “clean the house” and “to make simpler”…
…now it would be just ONE Earth.
Well, good luck with that!
Since in the following years, that tendency would be more and more common by DC Comics, “cleaning” more and more often, but ironically at the same time, getting back a lot of the "cleaned" stuff.
EPIC STORY… JUST TOO EPIC
Certainly the project of Crisis on Infinite Earth it was the more ambitious storytelling comic book project ever done so far until 1986 where as they promoted…
Worlds lived. Worlds died. And the DC Universe was never the same.
Loved heroes fell. Cunning villains changed. And certainly DC Comics was never the same.
Since, even with several “reboots” after the first Crisis, some elements introduced in that first crossover event have remained. But it’s clear that some big changes were just “erased” in the following “reboots” so…
…how relevant still is the first Crisis?
Also, because the very event was just too epic, too many characters, too many things happening and if this Crisis was to get simpler the 50 years-history of DC Comics, well, it wasn’t that simple to read and to follow.
There is an evil force of anti-matter “eating” the multiverse, each Earth after Earth, and soon it will reach the core Earths: Earth-1 and Earth-2 and after that, everything would be done. So, The Monitor, a powerful being aware of this crisis, is calling a group of heroes to deal against this disaster.
The crossover event take you from a simple premise to a humongous story where you have a lot of Earths, each one with a multitude of characters, happening just too many epic things at once.
BIG CAST… JUST TOO BIG
I think that the biggest sin in the Crisis on Infinite Earths is not having a clear main cast.
Sure, The Monitor started with a compact number of “champions” to deal about the crisis, but if you keep reading, you’ll notice how that first selected team won’t be longer relevant and many of those heroes will no longer appear, just to be replaced for other self-appointed “champions” but even that will be in constant flux, making impossible to identify or even care for the characters in the story per se, sure, you may have personal feelings for some of the characters, but because you already care for those characters in their own titles before the Crisis, not exactly because what they’re doing in the story at hand.
One positve thing is that Batman isn’t a relevant character in the Crisis, since logic was still working in 1986 where a non-powered guy in a bat suit won’t be a challenge against a deity made of anti-matter able to eat entire universes.
I like Batman, don’t take me wrong.
But it was kinda shameful that since Batman later became the money-making machine for DC Comics, that in following crossover events, not matter if the menaces were involving super-powered beings with god-like status, Batman is always not only in the middle of things, but he’s the key factor in many of those events....more
One of the events that you thought won’t be possible!
I got this in its single comic book issues, but I chosen this TPB edition to make a better ovOne of the events that you thought won’t be possible!
I got this in its single comic book issues, but I chosen this TPB edition to make a better overall review.
This TPB edition collects “DC vs Marvel” #1-4.
Creative Team:
Writers: Ron Marz & Peter David
Illustrators: Dan Jurgens & Claudio Castellini
THE MOTHER OF ALL COMIC BOOK CROSSOVERS!
Yes, I am aware of how frivolous this comic book event is…
…but…
…hey! If you’re a comic book fan (like myself!) how can you don’t want to read this!
It’s DC vs Marvel!
Superman vs Hulk!
Batman vs Captain America!
Wonder Woman vs Storm!
Wolverine vs Lobo!
Spider-Man vs Superboy!
Come on!
You can’t have this super-hero battles any day, since they are two different comic book publishers that while they have their fair amount of crossover projects, nothing that massive like this one since it’s their both universes combined!
Two powerful cosmic beings become aware of each other, they are in two separate universe (DC and Marvel, duh!) and they force their own representative heroes to battle, there are 11 major battles (where readers were able to vote!) and the losing universe would be no more…
…obviously that wouldn’t happen (duh!) but still is a cool event (all cliché, but I don’t care!) and even this lead to the Amalgam event where the characters of both universes got merged into new characters!
I got this in their single issues, but I will use the option of the TPB to be to make a better overall review of tA parallel universe borns again!
I got this in their single issues, but I will use the option of the TPB to be to make a better overall review of the whole storyline.
The concept of "Earth-2" is nothing new in this "New 52" era of DC Comics, since the publishing house already used this parallel universe on the Silver Age of Comics, where in an iconic issue of The Flash, titled Flash of Two Worlds (1961), where they, in an ingenious way, explained why "The Flash" character on the Golden Age was Jay Garrick while on the Silver Age was Barry Allen with different origins and costumes. In that comic book, it's explained that there is another dimension where a similar Earth exists where instead a "Justice League", there is a "Justice Society" with some almost similar version of the heroes but others are quite different. Of course, this was developed during several years but all this started with the publication of this brilliant issue. Behind-the-scenes, the reality was that DC Comics needed some "reboot" (where did I heard that before?) of its titles on the good old '60s to be able to get again readers. While characters like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman remain very similar only in "older" appearances, others like The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and The Atom got through a massive "transformation" giving birth to the "Silver Age", but many fans wondered how the Golden Age stories could fit in the history of DC Comics, so a solution was found in the conceptio of a parallel universe where all those Golden Age stories occurred. Those sneaky witty devils!!! ;)
However, DC Comics get too much used to the idea of creating parallel Earths: Earth-3, where good heroes are evil and evil villains are good; Earth-S, where the Shazam family happily lived; etc... So, DC Comics decided that they have just too much Earths and they did the event Crisis on Infinite Earths and "Pow!", "Bam!", "Kapow!", no more parallel universes and there is one single Earth...again.
But you can guess that DC writers just like too much playing with parallel universes, so there was a prestige format story titled "Earth-2" where they did use the evil counterparts usually on Earth-3, but since it was supposed that there weren't any more parallel universes, so they just used the next "available" number, so it was "2".
And finally, my fearless readers we are arriving to the publication of this TPB, titled "Earth-2" where in the "New 52" era of DC Comics, the concept of a world where different versions of our heroes is once again used.
Happily, I can say that Earth-2 is one of the more solid titles of the "New 52" line and it has a strong beginning since the first storyline, that it's a better starting point that I can say, in my opinion, about the title of Justice League.
In this brave new world, there is a team called "The Wonders of the World" formed by Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, with the assistance of the "junior members": Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) and Robin (Helena Wayne). In a kinda similar crisis like on the title of Justice League, they have to face an invasion from forces of Apokolips. However, different Earths, and different outcomings. Something wrong happened. Something very wrong happened!
Now, Earth-2 will meet the birth of brave new heroes...
-Jason Garrick becomes The Flash, with speed powers granted by the dying god, Mercury.
-Alan Scott becomes Green Lantern, with the combined powers of the Earth's energies granted by The Green, naming him as his new chosen champion.
-Kendra Muñoz-Saunders is Hawkgirl, a special agent hired by the World Army.
-Captain Al Pratt is The Atom, another special agent on the services of the World Army.
Now, these four characters have to face the threat of The Grey, an oposing force to The Green, that invoked its own champion... Solomon Grundy!!!
The questions now are not only if they will be enough to engage the ramping rage of Solomon Grundy but if they will be able to make a team of themselves?
In the middle of all this, there is the mysterious Terry Sloan, self-proclaimed as the "Smartest Man on Earth", which is remain to see his true role in this story.
Definitely, one of the best titles on the "New 52" line and highly recommended to fans of the genre of super-heroes....more
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