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Posts Tagged ‘Books’

Daredevil opening

You’ve heard a great number of things from me that praise the DC television universe and the path they’re taking.  I even somewhat criticized Marvel’s approach by having their connected universe holding them back from making big picture stories that truly affected the universes they were in.  An example I used was that the DCTV universe can use Ras al Ghul, Solomon Grundy, and even Deathstroke, all of which are fairly big names in the DC fictional universe, without needing to hold back on waiting for a movie adaptation green light.  I thought this was a weakness for Marvel’s TV universe, which until Daredevil was only affecting Agents of Shield and maybe Peggy Carter.  A weakness that was defined for NOT having super powerful and well known villains or heroes compelling the story.  Enter Daredevil.

Daredevil is a perfect way to counter this argument as he is the common man’s hero, which makes the television layout, budget, and story to be a perfect and believable medium of introduction.  The televised layout is great here.  We’re given time to truly see how disgusting Hell’s Kitchen is, not just hear how bad it is through character dialogue.  There is a glorious amount of time given to the rest of the main cast, making each person earn a place in your memory.  The pacing is great and mixes a great balance of origin story and intriguing conflict.

Overall I was very satisfied with Daredevil.  As a primary DC reader, the Marvel Universe only goes as far as their cinematics, and it’s incredibly exciting not knowing what happens to what and who becomes who.  Daredevil was just so well put together and fired so well on so many cylinders of entertainment. Being this pleased with this show even made me consider whether or not I would actually enjoy DCTV if I didn’t exactly know every little aspect and detail in their TV shows and mistake getting the reference for actual entertainment.

Below is a light-spoiler analysis of Daredevil and why I think its particularly effective at making it a great season 1.

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animal man vs. the rot

So I’m catching up on Animal Man and I’ve really begun to like Bernard “Buddy” Baker as Animal Man.  I’ve been meaning to write an article about how amazingly different and utterly disturbing reading Animal Man has been, but I settled with this drawing for now.

Enjoy!

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harley 1280

My obsession with Harleen Quinzel continues as I use her as my object for trying a new style.  I took a painting + blur tool on this one versus my normal style.  I really liked the shading that can come from it and how it looks without the line art.  Expect more experimentations with this.

I kinda set it vaguely at Arkham Asylum, hence her orange jumpsuit.  I’m going to say Harley found her infamous collar (and ultimately the calling card to get her to be recognizable) amidst a riot where she wrestled away a police baton.  She also found her old name tag and set out to correct it to better reflect who she is now.  And of course, she’s always equipped with that absolutely adorable smile.

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alfred injustice

There are many instances of where video game universes are continued as comic books.  I’ve heard only good things from things like The Last of Us’s “American Dreams” and there are plenty of Halo, Assassin’s Creed, and Mass Effect ones that I know people enjoy.  Today I’m giving a special shout out to Injustice: Gods Among Us.  Here’s a comic book that’s based on a fighting video game that’s based on comic book characters who often fight each other.  How weird was that?

This article isn’t as much about the video game itself (which is free for Playstation Plus members this December), but rather a comic book that acts as the prequel to the events of one of the game’s timelines.  DC and comic books in general often operate in alternate realities and the basis of this comic book follows Superman’s descent into becoming the world’s dictator.  The DC universe prides Superman as being incorruptible.  But what happens when the Joker tricks him into murdering his own pregnant wife?

This is how the comic book starts out.  The initial story is lightly treaded on in the video game itself, but the game jumps ahead FIVE years after this event.  In the game all we learn is that Superman has established a dictatorship of the world under the guise of maintaining peace.  There is an underground war against Batman and his thin alliance of other insurgents.  But how did this happen?  How did the heroes line up on each side?  What happened to certain heroes and villains?  The comic book promises to cover all of these and more, making an entertaining and shockingly dark romp.

I’ve picked up only Year 1: Vol. 1 of Injustice.  I’m very excited to read Vol. 2 this January.  Here’s a review.

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hq wallpaper3

A piece I tried with a thinner pen.  I hadn’t drawn Harleen in a while so I figured it was time for a new piece.  More comic book-ey, less cartoony.  I like the results.  Slow pieces will continue to make their way to Banana Scoop.

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katherine kane bs

Even further from mainstream then the string of Robins, Batgirls, and other obscure Bat villains is the recherché Batwoman.  When people hear Batwoman’s name, they think that maybe she’s a Batman copycat who is a possible love interest for the Dark Knight.  What they don’t know is that Katherine Kane aka Batwoman might be comic books’ most popular LGBT superhero, who kicks ass and doesn’t take questions from anyone, including Batman.  After hearing how awesome Batwoman is on the internets, I took it upon myself to look into Batwoman and her comic series.  After reading her first New 52 volume, Hydrology, I became instantly hooked and may have a new contender for favorite superheroine, [sorry Diana].  I took time out of my not so busy day to draw a new wallpaper as tribute to one of my new favorite characters and write a small review on Batwoman New 52 Vol. 1: Hydrology.    I really hoped to catch her edgy, gorgeous, but ‘don’t f*ck with me’ attitude.

All images owned by DC Comics

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The Gang by Chubeto

The Gang by Chubeto

It’s no surprise that I’m a huge DC fanatic, and I enjoy soaking up just about any and all things DC related, whether they be their comics, video games, movies, and television shows.  I have dedicated today’s post to their much beloved animated series that they’ve been pumping out since 1992 (maybe even earlier, I’m note entirely sure).  They continue to produce quality television shows and animated movies to this day, although some for the wrong [but necessary] reasons.  My recent finishing of the television series Young Justice has prompted me to write this post and kind of cover all the great things about DC’s [or I guess Warner Bros.] animated divisions.  It’s very clear that a lot of these great shows and movies were created by comic book lovers who enjoy introducing legendary and fantastic characters in the DC universe as well as dropping hints, easter eggs, and callbacks to those who are engaged and already familiar with the DC Universe.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the recent and personally significant series and movies I’ve had the pleasure of viewing.

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falling dick final

It’s been pretty stressful over here at Georgia Tech.  Chemical Engineering degrees don’t just get themselves.  I’m sorry I’ve broken my promise of videos, comic strips, articles, and pictures every week.  It’s unfortunately too much to handle.  However, I’ll remember to update this blog every once in a while when I make something worth sharing.

Picked up the first two volumes of New 52 Nightwing.  Thought it was pretty neat and drew this quick picture.  Enjoy.

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The_Joker_-_New_52

So about last year, I really started getting into comic books and graphic novels.  Back then, I primarily stuck with graphic novels, stories that had distinct endings and were no longer in continuation.  The primary reason I did this was because I wasn’t sure that I wanted to get into the monthly issue release that would warrant me spending money and money over time and again.  So as the year progressed, I had successfully finished some of the greatest graphic novels out there: Watchmen, Wanted, The Dark Knight Returns, Black Hole, along with volumes and compendiums of the most popular story arcs such as The Long Halloween, The Walking Dead Compendium I + II, and Kick-Ass.  Now that I’m nearing the point where there aren’t many graphic novels left that I haven’t heard of.

So I’ve begun getting into series that are now ongoing, finding that they’re even more exhilarating because it’s like I’m joining a number of fan-bases that are eagerly awaiting the release of the next issue.  It’s a similar feeling as waiting for The Winds of Winter, or the next Superman vs. Batman movie.  With anticipation, there is some form of unification of a fanbase that spawns theories, speculations, and the like.

So today we’re going to talk about some of the comic books that I’m reading and some that I plan on beginning to read. Minor spoils ahead!

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dark knight returns 1

Did you ever want to know what would happen to Batman when he would inevitably become aged?  In Frank Miller’s non-canonical but still incredibly relevant, “The Dark Knight Returns”,  follows Batman in his golden years, 10 years after retirement.  As Gotham is still in the dark shadows, a new generation of criminals who do not know fear try to take over Gotham.  Only so long can the Dark Knight sit idly as he watches the city he gave half of his life to burns.  But he isn’t the only one watching Gotham…When he inevitably comes back, an old foe’s spark is reignited to return as well.

Spoilers beware

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The changes keep coming here at Banana Scoop.  I’m trying to stay on top of things more than ever now a days.  It seems like we’re gathering much of the strength we haven’t had in a while, and I’m hoping that’s a good thing.  By no means is that a reason to stop.  I’m using the momentum we’re gaining as a fuel.  I’m finding all my old contacts of blog circles and updating my information to get the Scoop out there as much as possible.  Besides these updates,  there are a couple of announcements I’d like to mention.  Read below for some of the highlights and the pertaining details.

The Opening of the Live Discussion Page

The Live Discussion Page, located at the top, is a place where casual conversation about ANYTHING can happen.  I’ll gladly partake in the conversation and I hope you will partake in any other threads we have going on.  Movies, TV, love lives, anything you wanna get off our chest to the internet world is in your grasp.  Wordpress only allows 10 indentations per post, so if discussions get wildy, just create a new thread for us to go off of.  I’ve already started if off by asking what you guys are watching on television this summer.  Go here now and get involved!

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My Take

Zen from Zen Scribbles posted an article about things she missed from her childhood. Among this list is seemingly the staples of most if not all 90’s children, so me being from the same era, I can identify. Pokemon, Gameboy, Fox Kids, Goosebumps were all my favorites when I was a kid myself. It was a nice and refreshing read to look back at a completely different era. Congratulations on Zen Scribbles for your Weekend Reblog!

For more on getting a Weekend Reblog, all you need to do is comment once anywhere in the week between two Weekend Reblogs to enter the chance to win.

Zen Scribbles

Every once in a while, I’ll see something on the internet or come across something while sorting through all my stuff that’ll make me miss the things that used to make up my childhood. Many of these things are either gone, changed drastically from when I was a kid, or else considered not appropriate for my age. I can’t help but reminiscence though. Here some things from my childhood!

1. Doll Houses

I loved playing with doll houses as a little girl. I was an only child for the better part of my childhood, and often I’d find myself playing alone. I used to love playing houses! I had two houses and a bunch of toys that could fit in them and use the furniture, and often I’d spend hours playing pretend games with them and trying to get them to go about their lives. Thinking about it now, it’s…

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This is a long time coming.  I’ve recently been getting more and more into books.  This truly started around my birthday in February when I bought all 5 existing Song of Ice and Fire novels and crushed 4/5 of them in about 4 months.  Now-a-days, I’ve been trying to finish the 5th book and I can’t stop but already get excited to start writing about it.  Then I realized that I don’t actually have a books section to put it in and putting it under ‘television’ where Game of Thrones technically exists wouldn’t seem right.  So instead, I’m creating a new category for the occasion.  Below, I’ve posted some other novels, comic books, and graphic novels that I’m also heavily interested in once I wrap up Game of Thrones.  I’ll be more than happy to take all of your recommendations!

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As I finish up the Great Gatsby in preparations for Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation starring the awesome Leonardo DeCaprio, there are a couple of other books I want to start and finish for potential movies or general interest.  I’m not a humungous reader because I honestly don’t have the time, but if the story is good enough, I’ll easily forsake school work to finish it up, like for what I did for the Millennium Trilogy.  Anyways, here’s the 5 books I have so far queued for 2012.

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