Posted by
Sean Hamilton
- Sunday, December 21, 2014
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Nightcrawler #9 cover
by Nauck and Rosenberg |
Shadow-X
Nightcrawler is up against the heroic teachers from the Jean Grey School, who have been possessed by an old and deadly foe: the Shadow King. On top of this the Crimson Pirates are thrown in the mix for a bit of fun.
Issue #9 of Nightcrawler continues the story set up in the previous issue but is spliced with flashbacks to the Xavier School for the Gifted days of the X-Men. Approaching it in this manner, writer Chris Claremont uses familiar territory to flesh out more of the plot. I am not entirely convinced that this adds a lot for the audience, but it does feel fondly nostalgic.
As a series, Nightcrawler has a lot of action and appeals to a wide audience. It is a straightforward and uncomplicated story, involving a large number of recognizable X-Men characters. In addition to the diverse cast, Claremont's story continues to be dialogue heavy, giving letterer Travis Lanham plenty to do in this issue. Despite the unsubtle approach to narrative, the plot is quite linear, clear, and holds itself together well. Given this, artist Todd Nauck streamlines an aerobatic and swashbuckling adventure around the character rapport.
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| Nightcrawler trains with the X-Men |
I could be reading more into it than intended, but it's possible that Claremont is slightly lamenting the current state of affairs for X-Men comics or stories in general, which haven't panned out as he thought they might. The last panel dialogue on page 13, where a flashback takes place with Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde, reads, "true, this isn't the future we dreamed of, but power comes with responsibility. I suppose it all comes down to faith. What we do, what we sacrifice, I pray makes the future better." Claremont has been trying to link the past X-Men and the new throughout this series, both in some overtly open ways and some not as apparent.
Nauck continues a strong run of form for the series. His style is complementary to Claremont's approach to the story. As a result, pages of art flow in a consistent manner with an even balance. A nice standout in this issue, Nauck's work on the flashback settings has the right feel and pays homage to past interpretations of X-Men characters. To bring the art to life, Rachelle Rosenberg provides vivid colors that are sharp and crisp.
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| A possessed Psylocke tracks down Bess |
Rosenberg focuses on characters, with their colors the dominant feature on each page; the backgrounds, while beautiful, are thus relegated to a lesser role. By doing this, Rosenberg works well with Nauck and Claremont to make this a character-driven story, which is where Nightcrawler hits the mark as a series.
What do think of how the characters are driven in Nightcrawler?
What do you think the strengths of the series are?
Leave your thoughts below or post a message on our Facebook page, and come back next time to see our response.
Posted by
The Dace Man
- Saturday, December 20, 2014
Hey, hey, hey, Dacetacular nation! Check out Episode 78 of The Dace Man Show with hosts Dace, Gibby, Nicholas Andrew, and Tricia Bell.
::SPORTS NEWS::
- NHL Rankings
- NFL week 15 is in the books!
- Plus more
::WEIRD NEWS WITH GIBBY::
::FRANK'S CORNER::
- Top 10 Colbert Report Moments according to EW Online.
::CELEB NEWS::
- The Colbert Report Final Show on the horizon
- Spiderman to Marvel?
- Plus more…
::Who Said It::
VS
Plus Gibby Sings! All that and more, only on The Dace Man Show.
As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course, the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case a comfy seat in front of your computer—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
Download The Graduate by our friend Mike Neuse FREE by clicking the picture below!
Follow on Facebook: Mega Powers Radio | Fanboys Anonymous | The Dace Man Show | Nerd Court | Sports Talk Weekly | Addicted to Anime
Posted by
Unknown
- Friday, December 19, 2014
Subscription models have rapidly dominated the entertainment market with Netflix leading movie and television streaming and Spotify leading in music. The pay-per-month deal is an attractive offer for those who frequently binge-watch movies and whole TV series late at night where no one can see their baggy eyes and mounds of junk food (one more episode, I swear!). Now, in an attempt to lure movie lovers off their couches and back into the theater, AMC will pilot their own monthly subscription service: unlimited movies for a flat rate of $35.
AMC, the second-largest movie theater chain behind Regal Entertainment with close to 5,000 movie screens around the country, has partnered with MoviePass to test run a subscription service that allows members to see one film a day for a monthly fee of $35 for standard films and $45 for IMAX and 3D.
According to the Denver Post, AMC Theaters and MoviePass will test market the service, called MoviePass Premium, in metro Denver and Boston AMC theaters in hopes to revive the steady decline in theater attendance. With the box office reaching an all time low in summer ticket sales since 2001 (no movie topped $300 million), MoviePass Premium may drive extra traffic to theaters. It's an ambitious plan, but like both the music and news industries, film is fighting a tough battle with the Internet.
Since 2007, moviegoing has seen a downward trend among young adults, as reported in Nielsen's 2014 Moviegoing Report released last week. Audiences between the ages of 12 and 24 years old had a 15.5 percent decrease, seeing an average of 7.1 movies a year, one point less than the relatively stable 25 to 44 age group.
"Millennials are consuming things differently, and that includes going to the movies," Stacy Spikes, MoviePass's chief executive and co-founder told the New York Times.
Streaming content instantly appeals more to young adults, initiating the decline as an unlimited amount of movies are readily made available for just $8 a month on Netflix or found for free elsewhere on the Internet. According to the Nielsen Report, 87 percent of young adults say they stream movies or TV shows, with more than 60 percent stating they've streamed at least two films in a single day. That same age group are reportedly more likely to see a movie in a theater as a group and rely on social media as a trusted source of movie information.
To combat that trend, AMC's average ticket prices increased 5.3 percent this year to $9.48, according to the New York Times, and reach as high as $15 in New York City, making this is a great deal for film enthusiasts that will take full advantage each month—even if you see at least three movies each month, it still saves you enough money for popcorn.
This isn't the first time AMC attempted to gauge consumer interest; last month they offered unlimited viewings of Interstellar to AMC Stubs members for $19.99. However, while theaters will be paid full price for every admission, they will need to rely on moviegoers to not actually increase their attendance. It's a simple economics trick that works similar to gym membership: "Some overuse, a lot underuse," Spikes told the New York Times.
The subscription service is expected to launch Jan. 5 and will be available on a limited basis, allowing subscribers to see any movie only once. Additional cities will be added based on the success rate of the service. "This is something we'd have to figure out and road-map together," Spikes told Denver Post. "We will follow whatever patterns we see."
Are you a frequent moviegoer? Would you subscribe for unlimited movies at AMC Theaters if the service was brought to your hometown? Let us know in the comments below.
Posted by
The Dace Man
- Thursday, December 18, 2014
Fanboys Anonymous hosted a special Group Meeting retrospective podcast dedicated to The Colbert Report in honor of the series finale.
Strap in and Better Know A Colbert Report, as Chris "The Dace Man" Dace and Mike Paden give you all the truthiness the nation can handle.
After nine years Stephen Colbert will be signing off on Comedy Central one last time but before he gives his final word, join us as we look back at the memories Stephen has left for us.
After serving a grateful Fanboy Nation, we the Fanboys, salute you for your service. Thank you for the memories and best of luck at CBS!
As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course, the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case a comfy seat in front of your computer—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
Download The Graduate by our friend Mike Neuse FREE by clicking the picture below!
Follow on Facebook: Mega Powers Radio | Fanboys Anonymous | The Dace Man Show | Nerd Court | Sports Talk Weekly | Addicted to Anime
Posted by
Unknown
- Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Sony Pictures has officially cancelled the release of the highly controversial The Interview—a movie that stars James Franco and Seth Rogen in a wacky adventure to assassinate the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un.
This comes after hackers made threats that they would perform a cyber-terrorism attack equivalent to those of 9/11 on any theater that shows the film. Whether North Korea itself is responsible for these claims has not yet been confirmed.
Was this the right decision to pull the movie and not release it? In my opinion, I'm surprised they didn't do this sooner. North Korea made threats months ago when reports of this movie came out. Any kind of threats like this shouldn't be taken too lightly.
Sony will definitely have to suffer some backlash from people for doing this. I honestly wasn't a fan of Zero Dark Thirty because it took place so recently after the Osama bin Laden killing and I'm surprised it didn't spark a bigger controversy in the Middle East. At the end of the day, Sony is making the right decision for themselves and possibly the safety of others. I personally wanted to see the movie, but I guess I'll have to wait for a bootleg or a leak of some kind to show up online.
What do you think of Sony's decision? Leave your opinion down in the comment section below
Posted by
The Dace Man
- Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Hey, hey, hey, Dacetacular nation! Dace Man here with the 24th edition of The Dace Man Plays!
Going forward, yours truly will play a game here and there usually for about 10–20 minutes because, frankly, anything longer and you all would lose interest. Hear my commentary as I take on some of the classics and some of the new-age stuff I don't quite understand!
In this installment, my nephew John teams up and loses track of time with fellow Dace Man Show co-host Gibby. This time we play PlayStation 3's Twisted Metal and the fourth level in the Sweet Tooth Campaign. See how delusional and deranged we get while playing for over an hour and with my nephew, who is clearly better than us, in part four.
As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course, the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case a PlayStation 3 controller—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
Follow on Facebook: Mega Powers Radio | Fanboys Anonymous | The Dace Man Show | Nerd Court | Sports Talk Weekly | Addicted to Anime
Posted by
The Dace Man
- Monday, December 15, 2014
Hey, hey, hey, Dacetacular nation! Check out Episode 76 of The Dace Man Show with hosts Dace, Gibby, Nicholas Andrew, and Tricia Bell, and special guest Miss Abigail Rich.
::SPORTS NEWS::
- NHL things
- NFL week 13 is in the books!
- Plus more
::WEIRD NEWS WITH GIBBY::
- Short but fun…like a gherkin.
::FRANK'S CORNER::
- Frank's gone again, and Fun bags is back in charge.
::CELEB NEWS::
- YouTube Crashes
- Flash/Arrow Crossover
- Plus more…
::Who Said It::
VS
Plus Gibby Sings and The Douchebag of The Week! All that and more, only on The Dace Man Show.
As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course, the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case a comfy seat in front of your computer—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
Download The Graduate by our friend Mike Neuse FREE by clicking the picture below!
Follow on Facebook: Mega Powers Radio | Fanboys Anonymous | The Dace Man Show | Nerd Court | Sports Talk Weekly | Addicted to Anime
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