Diary of a Network Geek

Comic books are cool.

No, seriously, they’re cool again. All those super popular movies, like the Avengers? Totally all comic books. But, also, Atomic Blonde. Yeah, that’s right, that spy thriller set in the last days of the Cold War was a graphic novel first. The thing is, comics have been around for a pretty long time. They got super popular in the Forties and then again in the Eighties and, well, now. And, yes, most of us are familiar with the most famous comic heroes, like Superman and Batman, or more recently, Captain America and Ironman and Spiderman and Wolverine, but there are way more to comic books than that. And, if you want to see some of the older comics, the comics that started all this fun, for free, you’re in luck!
Now, thanks to Comic Book Plus, you can browse through a massive archive of old comic books. There are spy and espionage comics, and sci-fi comics and, yes, even superhero comics. You name the category and it’s probably there. Though, keep in mind that these are mostly pre-1960 comics, so some of our more extreme tastes may not be catered to!

In any case, they’re free and fun and it’s Friday and you can’t convince me that if you’re reading my blog you don’t have time for a classic comic book.
Go check it out!

This post first appeared on Use Your Words, my other blog.

Actual conversation before going to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine for the second time last night…

J: “So, uh, what’s the axe by the door for?”
Me: “In case of zombie attack.”
J: “Shouldn’t that be a shotgun then?”
Me: “Don’t want to run out of ammunition.”
J: “Aren’t you worried about getting, you know, swarmed by overwhelming numbers?”
Me: “Naw, the plan is to funnel them to the door and take ’em one or two at a time.”
J: “Won’t you get tired?”
Me: “Eventually, I guess, but by then, it’ll be a whole different problem, right?”
J: “Hmmm…”
Me: “So, do you want to do dinner before or after the movie?”
J: “After, I think.”
Me: “Okay, let’s roll then, eh?”
J: “‘Kay.”

Everybody talks that way, right?

XMenOrigins-Wolverine

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

Right, so I saw Wolverine Friday night.

It was good, and I’m totally willing to see it again, which is good because I suspect that I will be, but, honestly, it wasn’t great. I mean, it was no Dark Knight or Iron Man, but it was still good.
Here’s the thing, to a fan, there’s nothing new here. Really, what they did was sort of take all the various alternate histories of Wolverine that we’ve seen in the comic books over the years and sort of munge them all into one. Well, except for leaving out all the time he spent in Japan. But, all the origin history, how he came to be alive, how he discovered his mutant powers, his association with the military and how he lost his memory are all in there. Like I said, though, no real mystery to any real fan of the comic books, though.

So, the movie starts with him as a sickly kid in a wealthy family, with a father who, it turns out, isn’t quite his father and a half-brother, who is the mutant Sabretooth. Then, we drift through a montage of history following the two brothers through various wars starting with about the American Civil War and ending up in Viet Nam, which is where the meat of the movie really starts.
Wolverine and his brother hook up with a bunch of U.S. government run mutant “special forces” who are little more than the assassin mercenaries of General William Stryker, who later is a baddie in the X-Men movies. This is just earlier in the timeline. Naturally, Wolverine gets fed up and bails out, retiring to the Canadian wilderness as a lumberjack with a girlfriend. After Sabretooth starts hunting down the old team, he kills the girlfriend to get Wolverine back in the game, so to speak. Also, this is what motivates him to volunteer to get the adamantium skeleton that he’s famous for having.
So, yeah, no point in telling the whole story. Either you’re a fan and know it already or I’d be spoiling the movie, so, might as well just let it go. Suffice it to say that the plot is a typical action movie filled with betrayal and comic book surprises.

The one real downside to the movie is the ending, which was pretty weak. It seemed like it was mainly a setup for a sequel or a spin-off or both. Personally, I’m betting on both based on the weekend’s box office returns for this one. These folks made some money. And, rightly so, since Wolverine is one of the most popular Marvel comic characters in a very popular franchise. I mean, really, this has been one of the most anticipated films of the past couple years. Right up there with Star Trek opening Friday.

So, all in all, a pretty good film. Not great, but good enough to pay full price. And, when a friend of mine wants to finally go see this after fulfilling some family obligations, I’ll be pleased to see it again and look for details I missed the first time.
Worth seeing, for sure, but not twice for most people. And watch for the next one or the spin-off!