Weekly Comic Reviews

Greetings all, and what a lovely (albeit hot) day here in the Garden State. This week I just have one review, but at least it's a positive one. This week also sees the release of the latest GODZILLA issue, look for my post on it coming later. But for now, Spidey and a deranged Curt Connors!

Amazing Spider-Man #690

Official Description

• There might be more than one Lizard now…• And Spider-Man might notice-- if only he wasn’t so busy trying to save everyone from a crazed Morbius, the Living Vampire! • Also in this issue: New developments for The Kingpin, Madame Web, Horizon Labs, and the Hobgoblin!

Review

A deranged Curt Connors with the mind of the Lizard? I love the concept, and it's being executed wonderfully, this issue is a prime example of that. It's interesting to see exactly what the Lizard is planning and his surprise on some of the human's emotions. Spidey isn't neglected as we get some really serious action as he beats down on Morbius. The writing is as strong as ever, this arc has been the best Spidey story in awhile. Of course one might smirk at the fact of Madame Web telling Spidey once again his futrure is dire. This issue is nicely paced, with action throughout while the plot moves along. The ending is something you had begun to suspect from reading the issue. Slightly shoehorned in? Yes. It'll be interesting to see if this plays out in a non-cheesy manner. The art is great. Curt Conners looks like a deranged maniac, the art succeeds in giving him that look. While the issue isn't exactly 'dark,' the moments with Billy were pretty unsettling, the writing really compliments those little scenes.

Overall it's another great entry in what could very well be the best Spidey story of the year. I look forward to the next issue.

9/10

The Greatest Pizza Ever

Ah, pizza. America's signature food. Oh wait...Italy invented it. Well, at least America has the cheeseburger. Anyways....pizza! I have never met anyone who dislikes the dough with Mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. You hear it almost every day, "Let's get a slice." But the real question is....what is the best pizza? Everyone you talk to will have a different opinion. Sure, there are people who might say Domino's, or Pizza Hut, or the salty Papa John's. Those are the food chains, but what about the usual pizzeria you see on the street? I've been to a lot of them in my lifetime, some good, some okay, and some bad. (You have to see this place in Manhattan that sells Jumbo slices, it's pretty awful.) Usually when driving it doesn't matter what the name is, if you're hungry and it says pizza, you go in. (However, if a place just simply says 'My Pizza,' I'd be a little suspicious.) By the way, that 'My Pizza' thing in the parentheses wasn't just an analogy, I actually once saw a pizzeria called 'My Pizza.' That is perhaps the lamest title for a pizzeria I have ever seen. 'Ray's Real Pizza, ' now that's a title. (Apparently all the other places are fake.) And this is not a joke, but in Manhattan there's this place called Mario's Pizza. Not really big, right? Well, it actually has Paper Mario as its logo! It's not open yet sadly, so I haven't had the chance to see if the food can match the amazing appearance. But really, there are two pizzerias in the world currently that is the best. If someone I know in person is reading this, chances are they might have been there. But there's a high chance you've never even heard of it. So you see, while you may consider your favorite pizzeria in town to be the best ever, it's not. Because if you're saying that, you obviously haven't been to Denino's.

Denino's was once just a restaurant in Staten Island. (Check out the history at the site.) Me and my family use to go there frequently when we lived in the Island. Unlike most pizzerias, this place was built like a restaurant. It was rather dim inside, (in a good way) waiters, and just had that high quality feel. However, appearances isn't everything. All this fancy stuff could just be a disguise to get us thinking the food is good. That is not the case. Every pizzeria has its own little taste, but ultimately they're all pretty similar. There's this place called Giuseppe's near me where I usually get my pizza. It's good, you know, the definition of the average pizza. And it depends on the day, sometimes it could be really good, or just alright. Denino's never has an 'alright day.' I've been there probably well over 100 times, it never fails to disappoint. Why? Well it's going to be hard to say without you having had one already.


Before I get into that, you know how I mentioned there were two locations? Well, it turns out there is actually one in New Jersey. The ironic part is that me and my family had moved there four years ago, it's like Denino's had followed us. Now we go to that one often, same great pizza. I'm not sure what they do, no other pizza I've had comes even close to matching Denino's brilliance. First off, you know what I hate? Soft pizza. I cannot soft pizza. Denino's always makes it crunchy. Then there's the cheese, oh, the wonderful cheese. You have never tasted cheese like this. It's high quality man, I can't describe it. It takes awhile to cook, but it's worth it. 

Denino's has by far the greatest pizza ever. Look, I've been  to many pizzerias, none of them come close. This is one of those rare food cases where once you leave, you feel like you could go for it again. Even when you heat it up at home it's still great, which is saying something. So if you have a place near you and think it has the greatest pizza ever, you haven't been to Denino's. I could go for some right now actually.

Godzilla's Ultimate Enemy

Who is Godzilla's greatest enemy? The usual response would be King Ghidorah. That was the first answer I got on Twitter when I asked the question. Ghidorah is definitely Godzilla's most popular adversary, and part of the 'big four' which includes Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan. He's appeared in six films, seven if you want to count Keizer Ghidorah. A number of people would also claim that Mechagodzilla is his greatest enemy. No, not the government MG II or the anime-like Kiryu, I'm talking about oldschool Mechagodzilla from the 70's. This guy in his first appearance had everything. A (so awesome) 'Fake Godzilla' disguise, beating up on G's sidekick, and nearly killing the big guy himself. Those two are the usual contenders thanks to their immense popularity.

But really, Godzilla's ultimate enemy is neither. It's Destoroyah.

Now this is just my opinion of course, but I really do think this demonic monster deserves the title. Even his origin helps the matter. Destoroyah was created from the Oxygen Destroyer, the same weapon that destroyed the original Godzilla. Unlike Ghidorah, Destoroyah shows personal malice. I have never seen a creature in Godzilla world so intent on killing a human. King Ghidorah was always a mentally insane monster that loved destroying worlds. But in the Heisei era, Godzilla and him were evenly matched. Until he forced Ghidorah to retreat. Godzilla did seem to to have more of an upper hand in the battle. Ghidorah would appear in GMK as a scrawny weakling, then in Final Wars as Keizer Ghidorah. (Whom I count as a different character.) But Destoroyah is the one opponent that Godzilla couldn't beat even though the latter was souped up. He tried and tried, but Destoroyah was dragging him around like a rag doll. Not only that, but he killed Godzilla Junior. The latter was pretty much begging for mercy as Destoroyah was flying while holding him by the neck. Once he had emerged, he just slapped aside Burning Godzilla like he was nothing. After Junior was killed, Godzilla had something personal against Destoroyah, something he never had with any of his foes in the past. It was a personal battle. But the demonic monster had the upper hand the whole time. Godzilla could barely even get close to him without being struck down by his oxygen ray. And when they did go head-to-head, it was Godzilla who was was trying to knock down his opponent desperately. SpaceGodzilla might consider Godzilla to be his greatest enemy, but Godzilla didn't see him other than a very strong opponent to take down. With Destoroyah, it was personal and a battle to win because he was weaker and dying. Destoroyah literally picked him by the tail and threw him like was absolutely nothing! And he mocks Godzilla the whole time. Godzilla must have known he was dying, and he was going to take Destoroyah with him. But ironically it wasn't Godzilla that destroyed him, it was the JSDF that finished him off. Godzilla's most powerful opponent and he wasn't even the one that finished him off. Fun fact that a lot of fans don't know about is that in a deleted scene, Destoroyah rose up and Godzilla battled him until the latter died. Would have been a better ending I think.

Destoroyah is Godzilla's greatest enemy. Even in Godzilla's raged up Burning form, he proved to be even stronger. (Imagine if he battled G in normal form.) Once Destoroyah disposed of Junior, that's when things got personal. Destoroyah may not have considered Godzilla to be anything other than a major nuisance, but the latter considered this guy to be his ultimate opponent. No matter what he did, he just couldn't beat him. Destoroyah was like a malicious killer, he will slowly give it to the opponent while mocking them. These are things Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla never had, and that is why Destoroyah is Godzilla's ultimate enemy.

Weekly Comic Reviews

Hello all, I'm a little late with these reviews, huh? I would have gotten them up earlier, but it was the third Thursday of the month, so I was at a youth group event called BEYOND. Well, chances are you're watching The Dark Knight Rises right now, so enjoy it! This week we have Namor attacking Wakanda, four-legged carnivores versus two soldiers, and Wonder Woman losing her cool with one of the League members.

Avengers vs. X-Men #8

Official description

• Last stand in Wakanda as an out-of-control Namor invades this sovereign nation in pursuit of the Avengers! • And a shocking truth stands revealed that may cause fractures in the X-Men’s alliance!

Review

Now this is what I'm talking about. This issue had it all, great action, good story, very good writing, and fantastic art to top it off. The heroes, (the Avengers) are technically on the losing defensive side, yet at the same time there's a slight hope for them without making it too cheesy. There's some really great splash pages here, such as the opening scene with Namor destroying Wakanda and the Avengers all about to gang up on him. This is how you do action scenes in world-scale event, every blow is felt. It's brutal, (especially what Namor does to Red Hulk) and one of the best fights in this event yet. It's easy to forget that Bendis, one of my least favorite writers currently, is the one that did this issue, the writing is top notch. From Captain America to Namor, the writing is the issue's strongest aspect, great drama here. Spider-Man's lines range from cringe-worthy to admittedly humorous, so that's mixed. Adam Kubert takes on art duties, and it's some fantastic work. For once Spider-Man is drawn as he should be, reminds me of him from the late 90's.

Overall it's by far one of the best issues yet in this event. With a very interesting plot development at the end, it'll be hard to wait the two weeks to see what happens next.

9/10

G.I. Combat #3

Official Description

• It’s modern warfare versus prehistoric horror in “The War That Time Forgot”! • The Unknown Soldier and his newfound super powers head to Pakistan in search of chemical weapons…and retribution!

Review

Take away dinosaurs, what does G.I. Combat have? Really, if there's no dinosaurs, all it has is the second story, Unknown Soldier. This series I've been buying really for The War that Time Forgot, which has been pretty fun. The writing could be better, and it slightly improves in this issue. It's by no means great, just generic stuff, but nothing too generic seen in the previous issue. This one definitely had a pretty big excitement and heart-adrenaline factor. As the four legged carnivores emerged, you could feel and almost hear their panic as if this were a film. The action featuring the dinos was pretty intense and satisfying, only thing is that it's too short. This should be the main thing, not half and half with the other story. I was extremely disappointed at how fast this part of The War that Time Forgot ended. Unknown Soldier continues to be an interesting ride. It would probably work better as its own separate series though. The art is glossy for The War that Time Forgot, the dinos look great. The art in Unknown Soldier is more gritty, as it should be.

Overall The War that Time Forgot is like a SyFy original movie, only with an actual budget and script. It's fun, noting great, but fun. Unknown Soldier continues to be an interesting story.

7/10

Justice League #11

Official Description

• “The Villain’s Journey” part three! • Batman , Cyborg and Aquaman battle Element Woman! • Continuing the origin of SHAZAM!

Review

Eleven issues in, and here we are with some of the League members fighting each other. You would think with the five year gap stuff like this wouldn't happen. The two best things about this issue is Graves and Jim Lee's amazing art. Graves has been established pretty well in this arc, a much better villain that what Darkseid was. The scene with him and Steve's sister was pretty intense and greatly written. The writing in this issue is pretty good for the most part. However, it has some of the same problems. Civilians sound really dumb, and I mean really, really dumb. And there's something off about Wonder Woman, her lines sound rather cardboard and forced. And then Steve's sister saying she's going to "haunt Wonder Woman for the rest of her life?" I mean really? I found that pretty funny, not haunting. It just sounded so strange. If you're going to buy a comic solely for the art, this would be the one to get. I almost chuckled a bit at the awesome splash page with Wonder Woman, cause you saw it coming. The Shazam backup story (this is how a backup story should be, long enough but short so it doesn't get in the way of the main story ) heats up with Black Adam taking center stage, intense stuff there. Billy is still annoying, and his adoptive brother has a very creepy smile.

Overall it's a pretty good issue with a great villain, minor writing annoyances aside. The Shazam backup continues to be solid way to introduce Captain Marv-I mean Shazzam to The New 52.

8/10

SH Monsterarts Fire Rodan Review

Originally I was going to get the old Bandai Fire Rodan, but when I heard that this thing would just be $43, I couldn't resist. So I ended up pre-ordering this a few months ago. The pics looked really, really great. The detail looked sharp, bright, and amazing. Now, surprising as it sounds, this is my first figure from the SH Monsterarts line. I was considering getting the Godzilla, but I ended up buying the Heisei Movie Monsters one. (The Movie Monsters was $15, I couldn't justify spending $60 on the Monsterarts one.) I would have bought SpaceGodzilla, but I had a Bandai Creation one already, so I didn't want to spend around $70 on it when it could go toward a whole new monster. (Didn't bother buying Mechagodzilla II cause I also had a Bandai Creation one.) I had a Showa Rodan and a Final Wars Rodan. What was missing? Fire. Today it arrived straight from Tokyo. (Wow, shipping from Ami Ami is awesome, only took a few days.) After opening up the very pretty box, I discovered a cute, highly detailed, but slightly disappointing figure.

First off, this thing is small. Maybe you were expecting that, but I was expecting it to be a little bigger. It looks tiny next to a 6 inch Bandai vinyl. Sadly I don't have any of the SH Monsterarts to compare it to, but I've seen pictures. The Godzilla one isn't much bigger than a 6 inch Godzilla vinyl. Scaled next to the Bandai Movie Monsters Godzilla Heisei, Fire Rodan should be a little bigger. The head looks so inferior when compared to the head on the Godzilla. Size aside, the figure has a high quality feel. The detail is of course great, better than the Bandai ones from what I've seen of those. Though honestly I gotta say the pictures online look better than what it is in person.

Doing the stand is not too bad of a process, but getting that beam in is pretty painful. It's cool to look at, but I don't know, I wish they could have made it easier to do. You're going to want the stand, cause it's nearly impossible to stand him up without it. Plus being so little he may get lost in a large collection without it. The paint job may just be the greatest aspect of the figure, it's matches his movie counterpart 100%. The Monsterarts line is famous for it's articulation, you can pose the figures whichever way you like, Fire Rodan is no exception. Every which way you could pose the figure. Stuff like that doesn't really matter to me, I just stand up the figures on the shelf, but I know articulation is important to a lot of collectors.

So was I disappointed with the purchase? Well, it's not worth over $43 let me tell you. It'll grow on me as the months go by, they always do, even if you might be disappointed when you first view it. It's a fun little figure, the detail is great, and it's Fire Rodan. It's too small however, and attaching the beam and putting it on display isn't really worth the work and space in my opinion. $43 is a bit much, I think it should be $33. But in the end, it's a great figure, just too small.

GODZILLA Is Moving Forward!

A few weeks ago it was 'announced' thanks to Latino Review that there would would be a surprise Godzilla appearance at Legendary Studios' panel July 14th. After the update that wasn't an update a few months back, we were all ready for this. Now here comes the ironic part, that day (now yesterday) I would be out for the majority of it. My followers on Twitter whom some don't even know what Gojira is would hear about it first. It was exactly 7:13 p.m. when my dad had text me the news that there was a trailer. I was like "Oh my gosh!" I was one excited person coming home that day. When I got there, my e-mail was engulfed with Twitter tweets from some of my followers wondering where I was when all this madness was taking place. Yesterday they showed a teaser for the film, which hasn't been leaked yet, Though strangely, my dad had told me he saw the trailer at his job. I still haven't figured out if that was a video which was leaked, cause later we couldn't find the video. But we did get a teaser description, and a screencap. I won't talk about the first impressions until I actually see the teaser. However, while the video wasn't released, the first official poster was! Isn't it awesome? It's simple, but effective. Now for that screencap.

Look closely, doesn't it remind you of the 2000 design? Just seeing that gets my eyes wide with excitement. GODZILLA is moving forward, which is the best news in a long time. 

Weekly Comic Reviews

Hey everyone, welcome to another round of my Weekly Comic Reviews. This week we have the Guardians of the Galaxy teaming up with the Avengers and Spidey battling a Venom illusion! Let's start. 

Avengers Assemble #5

Official Description

• The secret behind Avengers Assemble is revealed but what does it mean for the future of the Marvel Universe? • PLUS: The return of the characters you demanded!

Review

Obvious movie marketing aside, Avengers Assemble has been a pretty fun ride. It feels good to take a break from the current massive crossover for a simple Avengers story. Of course, add Thanos, and we have the makings of a great read. The Guardians of the Galaxy take center stage. Adding them in right now is an interesting move. For new fans reading the comic thanks to the film, they're introduced to them so they can get ready for the 2014 film. Interesting strategy on Marvel's part. Anyways, aside from the opening flashback, this issue is dialogue-centric. It's the Guardians explaining things to the Avengers. After I read it I had to look back on the front to see if Bendis had really wrote it, this issue has the strongest writing so far. I really haven't read much stories with the Guardians, this issue makes me want to go check out some of their stories. I'm still annoyed that the Avengers are acting like this is their first time seeing Thanos. And was it really necessary to start a romance between Hawkeye and Spider-Woman in the main title if it's not going to go anywhere? The art is one of my favorite aspects, my favorite Avengers art currently. They gotta get Bagley on the main title.

Overall it's a surprisingly good issue with some great dialogue.

8/10

Spider-Men #3

Official Description

• The ULTIMATE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN EVENT OF THE YEAR! • Can both Peter Parker and Miles Morales defeat CLASSIFIED? • Guest starring Nick Fury and the Ultimates!

Review

The second issue of this crossover was a fun one. We get to see what are Spidey's and Ultimate Spidey's fears materialize thanks to Mysterio. (Whom I still think was a stale choice for this event.) Though the Carnage illusion didn't get to do anything. Still, always fun to see Spidey and Venom come to blows. The writing is pretty strong, the best parts is Spidey's monologue in the latter part of the issue. The scene with him asking a store clerk on how that world's Peter dies was great. The ending I didn't like. It felt complety forced and shoehorned in just for the 'wow' factor. The art is great for the most part. But I really cannot stand how small Spidey's eyes on the mask are drawn, they look really silly. Cover is fantastic, a contender for cover of the week.

Overall it's a pretty fun continuation of this crossover. Ultimate Spidey is still annoying and I really didn't like the ending. But Spidey does battle a Venom illusion, and that's all that really matters, right?

7.5/10