Saturday, September 11, 2010

PLEASE MARVEL.


turn this into a poster? i promise i'll buy it.

X-Force: Sex and Violence series review will be posted real soon. I really really hope they'll turn this into a poster.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Up for order!

ORDER HERE!

or if you're like me who can't order directly online, wait for it to appear on diamond previews and order from your local comic shop or wherever this baby can be found. It's a fairly good price for a FS statue at $160.00, though expect to pay around $200.00 if you'll get it from a retailer. It'll be more than a foot in height so it is fairly big. Bowen says it'll ship out at January 2011 but i have a feeling it'll be delayed, which isn't necessarily a bad thing since I'll be able to save up more money.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Review: Wolverine Road To Hell One-Shot


I know it's a week late..but ehh.

Around a week before this one-shot was released, I tried to ask around if this one would have sort of a prologue to the 4 "Wolverine" books (Wolverine, X-23, Daken, Uncanny X-Force) or it would just contain previews of what will be inside those books. Most told me to stay away from the book since it'll just contain previews, i went with my gut feeling and ordered it anyway. I'm happy to say that these are actually separate prologues..There are a total of FIVE different stories so i'll review them separately..

FALLING
Writer: Jason Aaraon
Art: Renato Guedes
The art is going to be different from the one in the regular Wolverine book. But it fits in nicely with the dark tone of the story. I also give props to whoever drew Wolverine without the adamantium claws, this sends the message that his actual body isn't really the one that is falling. We get to find out here that Wolverine has NO IDEA how he started to fall. We also see some flashbacks of him doing the thing he does best. The dialogue is minimal though the monologue is plenty. There's also an appearance of two characters from his past: a major wolverine baddie and someone who might or might not be his relative. This prologue does the job done of making you want to read and get the Wolverine book. As a bonus, we also get some sketches of Wolverine and other characters in the end of this chapter.
Score: 4.5/5

BRACE FOR IMPACT:
Writer: Dan Way/Marjorie Liu
Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli/Onofrio Catacchio
There are two writers here since the prologue is a combination of Daken's and Laura's. The artwork for both parts are also different, which isn't really that noticeable until you get to the last page. I think that one was a nice touch. In the story, both Daken and Laura are going after the same person but for very different reasons. The plan for both of them goes down the drain. I'm not sure if this chapter sets up the first storyarc of the same book since the previews for both of them don't really seem to be related to this one. I think the main point of this chapter was to entice those who plan to get Daken to also check out Laura and vice versa. It certainly got me thinking if I should add Daken to my regular list. Daken sketches were also found after the story, Daken's new look really looks bad. Dan Way is contradicting himself here, he said around a year ago that Daken doesn't need a costume since he never really shows himself. Ehh..
Score: 4/5

THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Leonardo Manco
Hmm, I was so used to Kyle/Yost's action packed X-Force that I'm a bit surprised that not a lot happened here. Sure, there was a short action sequence on the end but it was mostly filled with them talking. Not really a bad thing since the dialogue is nice. It also got me curious about the Archangel/Psylocke dynamic. The prologue also shows how they plan to use Deadpool, though I don't think it'll work if we found out that Deadpool found out about Apocalypse unintentionally or that it wasn't supposed to happen but it might be the case. It's probably the least exciting among the three prologues but it's good enough, it'll get you curious but not as much as the other two.
SCORE: 3/5


As a bonus, we also get actual previews of Namor's book and the Generation of Hope book. They're pretty much the first few pages of the actual 1st issue. The GoH part isn't colored yet, it did get me curious about the book though but because of a limited budget, I won't be getting it anytime soon. the Namor part is already colored since it's coming out sooner, it's a tie-in with the Curse of the Mutants event. I'm not a fan of that current story so I'm going to pass on Namor too.

Overall, the three main stories are pretty good. This is a nice introduction and filler if you're still waiting for those books to arrive. Plus the added bonus of having two more previews wouldn't hurt since it's basically priced as an average comic. I suggest to go get this one if you're on the fence about whether or not you want to get one of the four books included so you'll have a good feel as to how it'll be.

Uncanny X-Force Trailer

first, i want to give credit to Psylocke - Like a Butterfly for posting this one.

okay, the video was nice. it wasn't something that gave me goosebumps all over my body but it did get me excited about the upcoming series. The Wolverine voice was good too, though I'm willing to bet the voice actor isn't used to speaking like that. He lost it on more than one ocassion but still, it was okay since speaking like that had to hurt his throat. good job.

Watch the trailer HERE

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Review: DST Marvel Universe X-23 Mini-bust

Here's my third statue review already, four if you count the X-23 CMF. If you want to read the others, here are the links to the Bowen Logan MB, Kotobukiya SDCC exclusive X-Force Wolverine, and the CMF X-23.

Packaging and CoA:The packaging of the bust is similar to the other Marvel Universe busts produced by DST. It shows the promo pictures of the bust up front, on the sides and at the back, with the necessary character blurb written so it can introduce the character. On top are the words "Marvel Universe" while at the bottom is the number of the bust, mine is 1188/2500. The packaging seems pretty plain to me, it doesn't have the simple flair that's similar with the Kotobukiya pieces but it also doesn't have that real distinct look that Bowen has. The packaging is good enough but doesn't really grab attention.
Inside the box is a huge styrofoam layer so that it can protect the bust properly in case it isn't handled well. The X-23 bust itself is neatly placed in the middle, mine came with a plastic wrapper so that the styro wouldn't stick to it, and maybe protection from dust too. The condition of the box isn't really as important to me as long as it's still presentable but you should expect some storage wear especially since this is a pretty old bust, almost 5 years have passed since it was first produced. The one thing I like the most about the DST statues and busts are the CoA that comes with it, it just seems to add to the authenticity of the product you are buying. From what I know, Sideshow is the only current Marvel Statue producer who also gives CoAs, but I might be wrong.
Base:
The base could have been better the only thing that makes it an X-23 base is the number "23" written on it, simple improvements could have been done such as making the marks look like her claw marks, it's pretty simple really, they could've just used a mix of a pair of claw marks and a single claw slash instead of those four marks up front and three at the back.
Once again, it looks real simple, nothing eye catching about it. This is probably one of the worst bases I've seen. Very unimaginative in my opinion. Could have been a lot better, maybe even use a thick "X" as a base with 23 written in the upper right side, kind of like how her logo looks.


Figure:
As for the figure itself, this is where I'm truly impressed by the bust. It makes up for the dullness of the base. It really captures how X-23 looks like when she first appeared together with the X-Men, just look at the cover of Uncanny X-Men 451:I know DST has made some hits and misses during their run with marvel busts and stats but i do believe that this piece is one of the better ones since it captures the early X-Men appearances of X-23. She is actually sculpted to look like an actual teenager, and the pose she has might be feminine but it doesn't give away too much. Sort of like X-23's personality. X-23 is the type of character that keeps her emotion underneath, that often times she would appear almost like a machine. Though that doesn't mean that she has no emotions. It's nice that the pose they chose for this bust isn't a seductive kind of pose, since she is a teenager and that would be out of character. In terms of sculpt, this bust is great. The hair and the bones on the costume are really detailed, plus an additional perk for me is that the claws are actually sturdy. The paint is also solid, i know that busts are SUPPOSED to be painted well but I still have to commend them on that.
But i have to admit that I am not all praises for this piece. One of my biggest complaints is that the costume she wears here is already obscure, it's not like it's a first appearance look. It's sort of just a forgotten look, DST could've waited a couple of months more before doing this..It would have been a lot better if she was wearing something else. I also think that her breasts are a bit big here, since the bust is actually portraying a character that's around 14 years old. I'm not sure how SKINTIGHT the costume is but the belly button is actually sculpted in.
In terms of scale, this is actually a pretty big bust, it's bigger than my Bowens and my other DST Wolverines. It would be a good thing if you were to display it alone or together with other X-23 stuff but if you decide to display it with other X-Men characters, she'd look like she's the same height as She-Hulk.
Compare the two busts, they're pretty much the same distance away from the camera. I know Wolverine's supposed to be shorter than her (5'6"-5'3") but I don't think it's supposed to be by this much. I guess for those planning to display her with other statues, be wary of the sizing.

Overall, I think that this is pretty much a good buy if you're a fan of X-23 and you're into this thing. It's pretty much sold lower than it's original price on ebay so if you like it, go ahead and check it out. But if you want to have just one X-23 piece, i suggest you go ahead and wait for the upcoming Bowen statue.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Full body final. AWESOME.

I'll definitely get this. This would be the main attraction of my collection. I can't wait to have this one. I'll make a review of this one once I get it, which I probably will. It's going to be a regular release so I'm going to make sure I get to see the next few Diamond Select Previews to anticipate to release.

Monday, August 16, 2010

OH MY GOD.


Remember when i posted this?
I was anticipating this thing for almost a year now, and finally..a picture of the finished product was finally released..

OH MY GOD.

I LOVE THIS.

I'm willing to starve my ass of just so I can buy this, hopefully it'll be a regular release instead of an exclusive..but HOPEFULLY, someone would give it as a gift. VERY unlikely.