What's HSDS?

High School Dance Syndrome. 

No, this isn't an official scientifically certified term, but I am making now. So what is it? Well you remember back in High School those really lame dances that you said you'd never go to (and hats off to you if you never did end up going, you didn't miss much) but then realized you were going cause all your friends wanted to go to, yeah those one, super lame DJ and disco ball included. I remember always seeing a lot of my friends stuck to the wall, all night, afraid to dance or interact with anyone, even one and other. Now granted, I have no shame, so I was doing my best of what I think would be considered dancing, just to have fun. We are here, might as well have fun with it. Now I know social experiences aren't for everyone, hell I find myself in a cold sweat in large crowds without any of my well known elements; the guy in the two sizes too small Superman shirts, comic book cosplayers and a guy in a bear suit. Sometimes it takes a while for me to break the ice, but I do what I can, whenever I feel like I probably don't belong in a place or situation, I leave. Simple as that.

I bring up HSDS, because I want to get to know more fans, more artist and creators, I want to get to know you! Yes, you. As much as I write, draw and do videos on the things I like, I want to get to know who you are and what are your likes and dislikes. Yeah I am screaming out into the darkness of space that is the internet, looking for signs of life, but we are in the social media age are we not? And things can only be social if we interact, got a comic I should read, let me know. Got an art page, let me know. Think I am doing it wrong, then by all means please let me know. Especially for us freak and geeks, we need to stick together and interact way more, this isn't high school anymore, you are among friends. So please by all means, talk to me, I won't bite. 

I am also starting a Vlog series right now on my YouTube page, but I will be posting them here as well, here's the first episode of Storm VLOG...

So these will be quick little updates with what I am doing in the day, unedited straight from my phone and sent to all of you. Going to need some subscribbers and comments to let me know how I am doing. And I want to see what you're doing, got a blog or channel, please tell me, I would love to see all the different content and communities out there for comic books and artist in general. So let's kick the HSDS bug out the window, hope it falls on a car and blows up to pieces. This our world and our universe, let's take control and make it what we want it to be. 

That's all the time I got today, going out to enjoy some Pride festivities! Be happy with who you are, gay, straight, trans, bi-sexual; whatever you choose for your life, live that life to the fullest and love with all your heart. <3

 art from yazzdonut 

The Superior Superman

Hype in comics is a funny thing, it usually involves taking the best writer, someone known for writing a book that brought characters to life and made you read as fast as you could to solve the plot. And then teaming him up with an artist who's style is known worldwide, who has inspired thousand of others and can keep your eyes glued to the pages for hours on end. You take these two elements and combine them with a hero or a team who have a legendary status in the world of comics, and you got yourself quite the anticipated book on hand. Fast forward to a few weeks from the highly anticipated summer blockbuster, Man of Steel, and DC comics releases the dynamic team of Scott Snyder and legendary comic artist, Jim Lee to take on the tasks of brining Superman Unchained to life! But with great hype comes great pressure to deliver, some books have risen to the occasion and others have crumbled on that weight. But how exactly did Unchained go, well I will break it down to you what I thought of the new man of steel adventures. 

As with a lot of these reviews be aware of potential spoilers. 

So the story begins with a scene that takes place in Japan during the war, a bomb is seen drop from an American plane. The bomb is then revealed to be something else, or someone else. I loved the classic lines being used to describe what was in the air, a twist on the lines especially considering its a sign of doom, as opposed to hope. Tip of the hat to that. The story then zoom out to space, with Superman coming back to the planet, but not before crashing through a falling space craft to save the crew inside. This of course is the pullout page, which is an interesting take on the layout, a huge shot of Superman going through and on the back an up and close shot of him rip through all the steel. Call it a gimmick if you want, but I thought it was a really neat idea, not to mention seeing the pencils of this large shot is something to stare in awe and wonder. This is the power of Jim Lee, giving everyone a reminder of his pencil power. And to that degree, I am not complaining, this is what I love to see in comics. As soon as he makes sure everyone is fine, Superman goes to confront Lex Luthor, who is seen to be possibly attempting to escape with other inmates. Although you couldn't tell cause he is seen to be reading and not paying any attention to the chaos around him. Lex is accused to be behind bringing down the space station but denies any involvement, saying he only wants to do good for Metropolis and the world. I loved seeing how calm and cool Lex is, especially when talking with Superman, his life long enemy. After sending Lex back to the authorities, Clark Kent is working away on writing about the rescue, we get to see the classic characters of the Superman world; Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. The characters play well with Clark, especially the interaction between Lois and Clark, the classic back and forth. From his news report, he then realizes something missing from the days event, another space station that collapsed in orbit was placed down on Earth, but not by him. When looking for the answers, he is at the ocean floor when he is attacked by an American submarine. We find out, the military is trying to keep something a secret. What that secret is an alien life form, who is said to be capable of defeating the man of steel. But what and who is it?

So of course it goes without saying, the art was absolutely incredible. Jim Lee has the power to work on any book and make it absolutely eye popping, so it's a no brainer he is able to bring to life Superman with no trouble. That being said, I wished we had a few more large page spanning panels, but a story needs to be told, so we may have to wait for some of the later issues. As for the story, I liked the fact that this felt like a Superman story we know, but adding new elements as well. You have a collection of characters from the past like Lois and Lex, and you have a new and unknown threat as well just over the horizon. The characters we know, including Superman, stay very true to the stories we know and love, which is a good thing. No one seemed darker or edgier for the sake of being darker and edgier. As the first issue, Superman Unchained was really good in my opinion, I was never too big on Superman, so this book felt like a good spot to start following the stories and adventures. And honestly, if you wanted a good book to start collecting Superman comics, this would be the place to be. And the team behind this book is as talented as they are devoted to bringing you the best Superman book that they can, so I can't wait to see what exactly they have in store for the next issues. 

So there you have it fans of the big blue and red, if you haven't picked this book up yet, I highly suggest you to make it part of your collection. They released a series of alternative covers for this one as well, which I am sure many collectors have gotten there hands on, the covers each done by various different artist shows Superman through different iconic moments in 75 year history. If I had the money and the chance, I would totally get the Bruce Timm cover, love his work from all the DC animated series. But these are limited to a few numbers to each store, so if you can by all means pick one up.

That's all the time I got right now, thanks for reading and remember to subscribe to this blog to follow all kinds of comics news and reviews and inside look at the world of comic books. Also be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, by following @ChileanStorm. I am also on YouTube, doing Time Well Spent on the Maddsketch channel and also doing my own Storm VLOG videos. And be sure to like the Spent Pencils page on Facebook, one like goes a long way. I am ChileanStorm, and remember to embrace the storm and keep running forward. 

July Going to be Spent!

Episode three is here! Watch it and love it! 

But yeah, here it is, on this episode we look at Jim Carrey being weird about Kick-Ass 2, Jim Lee will paint on your wall for 25K, and on the Spotlight I suggest people to give Luke Cage Noir a read. And remember I have an in depth review here on this blog a few posts back, so go check that one out as well. On the Reviews, we take a look at the Young Avengers! Me and Tiff were really happy to do this series, it's a lot of fun and it's got great characters, so check it out if you haven't. But yeah, check out the episodes and subscribe and leave some comments below, don't be a stranger. We want to hear from you, what do you want to see from the show.

And also big news for the month of July, take a look at the picture below and you will see what I mean...

 

There you go, Silver Snail comics is hosting Spent Pencils in store every Wednesday and Saturday for the month of July! So come on down to Younge and Dundas location and meet three different members of the Spent Pencils crew.  We got an event page on Facebook, so you can keep track of all the different artist who will be drawing during these days. But make sure to come by all the days, say hi and get some cool original art work! Your time will be well spent! 

Thanks again for reading guys, stay tuned here for all comic book news, reviews and all that good stuff.

Oh My Vlog!

Hey there party people, just giving a quick little update here at the studio, finishing up on the latest episode of Time Well Spent. I am also taking this opportunity to let everyone know about my YouTube channel and my new Vlog that I will be doing now, still thinking up a name for it, probably something to do with storms or being Chilean, I don't know. The idea though will serve as a backstage pass of sorts, so you'll get to see what I do on my time off and stuff, you will laugh and you will most definitely cry, but you will get view everything that's going on with me. So please by all means, subscribe and leave comments below and you know, let me know how I am doing and stuff, going to need all the feedback I can get so please help a blogger out. 

And so for the first episode, watch it here...

Yup there it is, really hard not to bust out laughing, Tiff and Madd made it here not laugh my ass. But yeah, what did you think? And also a lot more videos coming up in the near future so be sure to check it out. And also, be sure to stay tuned for the new episode of Time Well Spent, Doodle Tuesdays and Madd Vlog, all on the Maddsketch channel, so give it a look if you haven't already. 

Anyways that's all the time I got for today, I will be back tomorrow and be sure to check out my Instagram, I am asking what character to draw on an Age of Ultron blank cover. So leave a comment and I may choose  your character to draw, I will let everyone know who will be drawn. Alright everyone, I am out, embrace the storm and chase the future! 

The Royal We3

First off a big thanks to my spent sister, Tiffany, for letting me give this book a read. And how I went all this time without ever reading this book is totally beyond me, I can't believe it took me this long to even hear about this book. And I guess today, I wanted to reflect and take a look at some of the themes and components that make We3 incredible. This isn't going to be a review, cause lets face it this needs to be read if you haven't already done so. This is going to be more just me trying to make most sense of what I just read. And of course, super mad spoilers, so make sure you've read the book before you continue on...

SPOILERS YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

Theme 1: Mortality

Death is a huge theme within the book, hell it might be the driving force for the whole story. At the very start we see a black ops raid going on against what we can only assume are a terrorist cell. Everyone in the house is annihilated by the animals, the We3, and in quite the bloody format, the head of the group gets blown to pieces by a rain of bullets. The thing is though, you don't know who killed them, cause it looks like it was done by robots or cyborgs of some sort, it's then revealed that there were pets inside; the dog, the cat and the rabbit. Also at the story is beginning we are introduced to one of the main researchers on the project, Roseanne Berry, who seems to be mourning the loss of her father and is in a very lonely state in her life. Again, death is used to frame the importance of life to one and other, what is left when one is taken. Once the call is given to exterminate the We3, them being prototypes and all, it's Roseanne who decides to release them and give them a chance to live and fight for their lives. She acknowledges that these creatures were once loved and had a life before they were taken and made into government weapons. She realizes that she had helped in stealing away their lives. In contrast, the government and the rest of the facility see things differently, that these three were weapons and now they need to be discarded at all costs, that in the wild these animals are a threat to human life. The interesting thing here is how these are viewed as two different entities, human life and an animals life. The swift and cold command to discard the We3, but the concern at the threat to any human is handled with a completely different feeling. Never is the animals life even considered, only by Roseanne who releases them. During their run and escape, the animals are looking and trying to find "home". They all once had a place they called home and a family who loved them, they just don't remember it. These creatures had names and were loved, had a life if you will, but now they are doing their best just to try and stay alive, unaware of the threat they can be, clueless as to why they're being hunted. Why does simply being human entitle us to be the ones who decide what counts as a living life? What about wild animals? Fish? Insects? Trees? How do we define what's alive on this planet?

Theme 2: Roles

I thought it was interesting the theme of "roles" that was in the story, an interesting concept especially when using animals as the main characters, the way each animal interacted with one and other as well. And as government weapons as well, the dog acted as the tank, the cat as the assassin and the rabbit as a stealth bomb expert. They were programmed for these roles, something I am sure many of us have felt in the past through different constructs of society. The animals act like one would imagine they would; the dog is extremely loyal and wants to help and keep everyone safe, the cat is a lot more selfish and self invested, and the rabbit is a more curious kind of creature. But just as they have these roles, the animals act on their own and break out and do things on their own accord. The dog  losses his cool and cuts loose, the cat helps out its friends and the rabbit displays courage like no other. The element here is free will, an action to displays they are not just weapons or simple animals, regardless of the settings that we are faced with in life, it's our choice to choose who we are and what we will do. The We3 want to be able to choose what they will be and what they will do with their lives.


Theme 3: Home

One of the goals for the We3, was to find "home". Although they had no idea what it meant, were was "home"? Cause they only home they remember was the one that turned them into weapons and decided to flush them out, that couldn't be home could it? A journey with no destination can get you anywhere. The We3 are thrust into a strange and dangerous world, a world of fear and hatred, so were exactly do they fit in? Each of them do have a home though, they just don't remember it, which is one of the most tragic elements of the story. Lost creatures with the answers in lost memories. By the end they do find a home of sorts, they are taken care of by a homeless man. The unity and shelter becomes the "home" that the We3 were looking for.

Man, didn't expect to take that long on this one, but I hope I got my ideas across here, that within the story these animals deal with many real issues that all of us deal with on a daily basis; confronting our own mortality, being labeled into classes and roles, and trying to find a place we can call home. The use of animals to portray these themes should remind us that as smart and advanced as we are, we can't forget and disregard any other form of life on this planet. We are all in this together. Well that's about sums it all up, let me know what you thought of the story and what did you get from the story, leave a comment below and get the discussion going, always looking to hear from different opinions. Also be sure to subscribe to the blog for more in depth look at your favourite comics and graphic novels. A lot of things are coming your way this week and as well as next month, so stay tuned! Thanks for reading guys and as always embrace the storm!

Time Well Spent (Episode 2): Spider-sister and Black Holes...

So episode two is here! 

Oh man I am so pumped to get this one out, cause I had a blast shooting this episode with Toby. I had a lot more energy in me this week as well, so some might be taken aback by the larger amount of random craziness going on screen, and honestly it was just me and Tobs having fun, so we hope you enjoyed this episode. And by all means, let us know what you thought, we need all the feed back we could use here, so by all means please let us know what you thought of this weeks or even last weeks episode. And be sure to check out last weeks episode cause we still got the giveaway going on until the end of the month, you can walk away with a signed variant copy of BubbleGun, so by all means do check it out. 

And I am going to leave a list of the links here to all the books we recommended on this weeks show, so do yourself a favor and give these book a read! 

Stay posted here for more news and updates.

Links: 

• Shane Heron's Blog Page 
• We3 Page 
• Uncanny Avengers Page 

The Real Steel

Going to do something for those who want the point and case of things, cause I do tend to ramble and go deep into these kind of things; Man of Steel, was a great summer blockbuster movie and a great action flick. If action is your cup of tea, go see it. If you're a comic book fan, go see it.  If you simply like strong beautiful men in blue tights, well, yeah go see it. In fact, as a stand alone movie, there's no reason not to see Man of Steel. Okay so with that out of the way, pull your pants up high and get your pen protectors, it's about to get geeky. 

It goes without saying, spoilers might be spilled, so if you have yet to see the film, you may want to hold off...

The Man of Steel was a great way to start the DC Comics movie universe, the team brought on to make the film seemed to be the kind of team that would have been poised to create something larger then one movie, something that could expand to other movies, TV and comics. Instead we get a Superman movie. That's it. No mention or acknowledgement of a bigger picture. Do they owe us that, I guess not, but who wouldn't want to make billions of dollars. And besides, I find it hard to convince movie goers to see an Aquaman movie or even another Green Lantern movie for that matter. I am taking a shot in the dark here, but I have to imagine some movie goers had a little more interest in seeing Thor and Captain America, knowing that it would have all connected to a bigger picture. I know the comic book fans don't need anyone twisting there arms to see any super hero movie, that goes without saying. But to the curious type, I am sure finding out how all the pieces connect is a fun viewing treat. Why DC Comics and Warner Bros. are still being stubborn on this is beyond me. And I totally realize this is coming from the dark corners of my geeky soul, but I can't help it, it needs to be said and it needs to be done. Do this make the movie better or worst, absolutely not, I am not going to let that make or break my opnion on the movie entirelly, but it sucks not to see this go further. But with that out of the way, more about the movie itself, which many described as being too much action.

Here's the thing, I want to defend the choice to make this movie a lot more action based. Does anyone actually remember Superman Returns? This movie practically killed Brandon Routh movie career. This movie was supposed to be the definitive Superman movie, you had Bryan Singer drop the X-Men franchise for it, so it must be the must see super hero movie of the ages. It wasn't. Actually it was no where close. And see here's the thing, the biggest thing about this movie to me, was that it wasn't exactly awful or bad in any sense, the acting was fine (maybe Kevin Spacey was having too much fun as Lex, but whatever) and the effects were fine as well, classic score, no big deal. This movie's sin was boredom. It was really boring, think long highway drive with the family kind of boring with no entertainment but your Aunt's hilarious vacation stories...that you're hearing for the third time kind of boring. I didn't get it, how could a super hero movie be boring? Even the really bad ones are at least laughable, and if anything they got car crash syndrome; no fun when it's happening to you, but hell of a show to watch. Superman Returns is a lesson to future comic book related in films in what not to do as far as storytelling goes. This is Superman we are talking about, at what point in the film do you get the sense that this guy is a God among men? So it was nice to feel that kind of power with Man of Steel. You see what he can do, and basically know that any normal human being isn't going to be able to withstand a punch from this guy. And I thought it was great to see that balance with Clark holding back many times, knowing his power is to great to unleash when he's faced with a small time problem. And when is able to be "unchained", you know this guy means buisness. This is the Superman that we all imagine in our heads, the guy who can blow away a galaxy (this actually happened) or pull the planet on his back (sh*t you not, this also happened). And really after five films, it's about time you get to see this on the big screen. So too much action maybe some form of Superman venting over the years of holding back in Hollywood. You want a character study, wait until the fall for Oscar movie season, the summer is all about the action, and action you will get.

And it's not like you don't get to see Clark Kent grow as a man and as a hero for the planet. The interesting piece was seeing Clark doing the right thing and being a good person without using his powers, being the better man at times. It's something to consider cause this is something that makes Superman stand out above and beyond, the fact that we can all be a Superman in these regards, to help out and stand up for what is right and to a bigger man in situations. I loved seeing the influence his foster parents had on him, the contrast of his raising with that of General Zod, a character who was bred to destroy. Going back to Jor-El's theory on the flaw of having babies bred into different categories, and using free will as proof of the potential in each one of us. As a villain, I felt that General Zod was decent. Not the best, but nice to see someone who can go toe to toe with Superman on screen. His purpose and plan is laid out a lot during the film, reminding us, that this guy had a mission and he's going to see it to the end, he fights for his people and his lost home. The fact is he never had any other choice but to be the ruthless general that we see, he just wants to save his people, not matter what. Again, not the best villain to date, but I want to see what they will do in the next film, will we see a new Lex Luthor and team him up with Brainiac, Bizzaro or Doomsday? This geek here would love to see Bizzaro...but that's a pipe dream at best. Prove me wrong Hollywood.

Anyways, compared to the many comic book films that are out, Man of Steel does stand on it's own. It's a great action movie and really it does Superman justice, I mean let's call a spade a spade, this isn't the Green Lantern movie. Everything from the Superman universe is held properly together, with a few elements such as Luthor and Jimmy Olsen missing, but overall it's an awesome time at the movies. Yes I would have liked to seen a big movie universe start from here, but the fact that I didn't doesn't make this movie any less awesome. For what was done, a big thumbs up on my part. But what about you? What did you think, cause honestly for all my opnions on this film I could be wrong and I could have missed somethings, so let me know for sure, love a good movie talk. Looking forward to hearing what y'all think.

I will be back tomorrow, so stay tuned and subscribed to this blog and enjoy the ride.