Just for the record, I have not seen Battle Royale nor read Hunger Games, and I have no opinion about either of them.

Though I will admit, when I saw the trailer for Hunger Games (which I had never heard of before), the very first thing that went through my mind was, “Oh, look, it’s Battle Royale.” I’m just saying I didn’t dwell on it.

In fact, I briefly considered doing this strip about Chronicle and Akira. But then it turns out the writer of Chronicle freely admits to being heavily inspired by Akira, so there wasn’t even a mini-controversy to mine there.

Speaking of Chronicle, I finally saw it, after over a month of saying I’d get around to it.  And I liked it! I even enjoyed way they used the “found footage” conceit, which I normally hate. I won’t go into any spoilers, except to say that the ending is one of those that screams, “Please greenlight a sequel, we totally have an idea for it!” My girlfriend, who also enjoyed the movie, nonetheless rolled her eyes and expressed her disinterest in a sequel. The appeal, she argued, was not the universe the movie created, but the specific story that it told. Delving deeper into it is kind of beside the point.

Which, you might remember (if I’m deluded enough to believe anyone actually reads my ramblings), were my exact feelings about the Watchmen sequel. Do I know how to pick ’em, or what?

Quotable quotes from the world of comics:

“But Justice League as a story? As an actual comic? As something that should show us why the New 52 was something we should care about and pay attention to? To quote Chris Onstad, this thing fails with a focus and intensity normally seen only in success.”
Chris Sims, Comics Alliance

I’ve really got nothing specifically against the new Spider-Man movie. I don’t think the cast is bad, I don’t dislike the new costume, and the Lizard…well, looks silly, but no sillier than the Green Goblin or Abomination. 

But as much as I have nothing against it, I’m also not really that pumped up about it. And I’m not seeing many other fanboys get pumped up about it either. Maybe that would be different in a year without Avengers or Dark Knight Rises, but then again, maybe not. It would still be the 4th Spider-Man movie, and when you start hitting that number, franchises usually become something you watch instead of something you’re really excited about. In 2002, I stared at my TV screen like a mental patient when each and every commercial came on, still not quite able to believe I was seeing a live-action Spider-Man swinging around. Now it’s like, “Oh, he’s still swinging, huh? No, no, that’s cool.”

Add to that, the reboot factor. There’s nothing wrong with reboots, they happen all the time and can easily be successful. Batman Begins and Casino Royale both revitalized their respective franchises, but they both marketed heavily on what made them different from their most recent incarnations. This was serious Batman, who could almost conceivably exist in the real world. This was rough-around-the-edges James Bond, without the endless quips and perfect hair and laser ejector-seat underpants. The Amazing Spider-Man trailers aren’t giving us that “this ain’t your father’s Spider-Man” vibe. Quite the contrary, they’re very much saying “this is exactly your father’s Spider-Man. And your older brother’s Spider-Man, and even your Spider-Man from a little while ago. And hey, here’s how he got his powers again.”

I dunno, it could be a great movie. I’m just not losing any sleep over it.

Quotable quotes from the world of comics:

“Avengers X-Sanction #4 was abysmal. Seriously. The attempt at having a point followed through on a fan-predicted plot point envisioned and foreshadowed before Bishop chased Cable through time, and that means this entire storyline served no purpose. Argh.”
Hannibal Tabu, The Buy Pile