Denzel Washington in talks to play the Green Latern in Man of Steel 2

The Informant (News for Monday Dec. 31st 2013)

The Informant

News for Monday Dec. 31st

Denzel Washington is reportdly in talks to take on the role of the Green Lantern in "Man of Steel 2". Ryan Reynolds played Hal Jordan in a disappointing Green Latern film in 2011. But, if this rumor is to be true, it would not be the Hal Jordan character who Denzel would be cast as. Denzel would be playing the John Stewart Green Lantern. The rumor's origin comes from Ace Showbiz. There had been previous rumors that Denzel was being approached for the role of Lex Luthor. Now, it appears that role has gone to Joaquin Pheonix, who would be portraying a younger version of the Superman arch nemesis. With Superman (Henry Cavill), Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) already cast, will this addition, if true, be too much for one film? Let us know at Sector3 what you think as we keep you up to date on this rumor.

Did you get your invitation yet?

In typical end-of-year promotion, Marvel Comics is promoting an upcoming wedding by giving all of us, the prospective guests, a puzzle.  Granted, the pieces are taking a while to get here, but it looks like a big deal with the characters shown.

If we break this down, let's see what we have.First off, DEVIL DINOSAUR AND MOON BOY, WHAT??  Right off the bat, this seems to be a big character if they are starting off the puzzle with a long time character like this.  Next we see all of Alpha flight, so we know it is an international event.  The Asgardians are looking quite regal in their salute to who we assume is getting married.

Looking around, we see a lot of Avengers and X-Men throughout.  I personally feel bad for Stingray, Silver Surfer really had to photobomb right in front of his face, REALLY??  The other character I find interesting being in there is Forbush Man.  You know it is going to be important if he is there.

So what are your thoughts.  Give us a shout and let us know who you think it is.  And do you think this is a good idea as far as a promotion.  And where can we buy the puzzle after it is complete.

- Great Scott!

Review: Saga #17

Writer: Brian K Vaughan
Art: Fiona Staples
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $2.99
Mature Content

"The Opposite of War"

This issue takes place at the lighthouse home of author D. Oswald Heist. Heist has taken our treasonous lovers and their family into his home and hid them away, while their pursuers hunt them down. There are two groups hunting the family and both are about to arrive at the same time.

The first group consists of :
The Will - A bounty hunter hired to kill the lovers and bring their baby back alive.
Lying Cat - The Will's animal companion and living lie detector
Gwendolyn - Marko's ex-fiance' sent to assist in the hunt
Slave Girl - Who, as her name suggests, was a child sex-slave who was rescued by The Will during his travels.

The second:
Prince Robot IV - A Royal Family member who was sent by his father to capture the lovers as charged by his kingdoms alliance with Landfall.

You can feel the tension building as Gwendolyn and Lying Cat close in on the lighthouse. Their mission is now complicated by the fact that they require the help of Marko, whom they mean to hunt down, in order to save the bounty hunter The Will from a serious wound. It is Prince Robot IV who gets to his prey first. What follows his arrival can only be described as torture/college lecture. Prince Robot IV tortures Heist, who denies hiding Alana, Marko and their baby. All the while they, are in fact, hidden within the house. During the torture, the Prince becomes intrigued by the authors writings and its importance to his prey. This initiates a discussion between the Prince and Heist on what is "The Opposite of War," one of Heist's writings. While the torture continues the family discusses the moral ethics of what they should do while their protector is being tortured right above them.... aid him or remain hidden.

All of the sudden everything, and I mean everything hits the fan in just a couple of pages. Quickly and impulsively the room explodes with emotional action and death just as the tension couldn't have been any stronger. This issue highlights so many of the sub plots and relationships between characters but that never slows down the pace or confuse the narrative building towards the climax. The art by Fiona Staples is spot on. There is a lot of dialogue in this issue but the artist does well to convey the emotions of the characters in their expressions.

I can't recommend this title enough. It is a work of art.

Recommendation: Buy It

Avengers #24.NOW "Rogue Planet #1"

Avengers 24.NOW "Rogue Planet"
Writers: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Esad Ribic, Salvador Larocca, Mike Deodato, Butch Guice, 
Dean White, Frank Martin, Paul Mounts and Laura Martin
Price: $4.99 

Prelude to this issue:
The Avengers have been through a two front war on Earth and throughout the cosmos during Hickman's recent epic crossover event "Infinity". The massive tale had it's seeds  planted in the first issue of Hickman's current run and the story arc has only recently come to a close. The Avengers swelled their team ranks in order to meet such a threat at the start of the series. The heroes suffered several defeats prior to being able to lead a desperate and fragile alliance of intergalactic races (that included former foes such as The Skrulls and Annihilus) to victory. The arc ends with The Avengers victorious against both an ancient race of conquerors and Thanos' forces that had invaded earth . 

Avengers 24.Now could be viewed as a stand alone story, but you can tell that this is the tip of another iceburg and Hickman plans another marathon arc. This one shot is full of hints that the worst has yet to come. This issue also ties heavily into plot points from New Avengers, which Hickman also writes.

In this issue, we have an "Iron Man" from the year 3030 that races back in time to the present to warn the Avengers of oncoming destruction. Apparently, the memo got lost about time travel issues in the current Marvel U. The issue has a few lighthearted moments with the team enjoying some much deserved rest and relaxation, There are friendly games and a barbecue with Thor. But it isn't fun and games for Captain America and Tony Stark who discuss which members of this team of Avengers they should keep and which ones should be let go. No big spoiler, but Wolverine and Spider-Man are both off the roster with other members still being up for debate. This is when the future Iron Man arrives, convinces the team of the oncoming threat of a planet that is hurtling on a collision course towards Earth, and the heroes develop a plan to stop it. But sadly, at no time do you actually feel from the characters that they are actually in real danger. The concern that does carry weight with the team is who launched the planet in the first place.

The story is well thought out, concise and delivers what you would expect. Unfortunately, what I have also come to expect is very little in character development from the team members. The recent plots and team size have both been so large during Hickman's run that I feel that we lose character growth, development and personal stories of the teams members that would enrich the team as a whole. Sure, if you like Hawkeye, you can go read his solo title. But in this Avenger title it feels like you're holding a deck of gaming cards with stats and powers and not characters with personality.

But don't let that critique turn you off from this over-sized, stand alone story. It's funny, exciting, intriguing and once again building towards a larger plot. But, I do hope that the stories become more personal for the team members and not just another, "The world is going to end! Call everyone we know with powers!" Hickman has been able to deliver the epic tale, deliver new characters and members with interesting origins and bring the cosmic universe to the rest of the Marvel U. But can he make these large epics more personal? Time will tell.


Rating: Borrow it

Question of the Week: Best and Worst Dressed of 2013

Question of the Week


Saturday December 28th 2013

Question:  Who Was the "Best and Worst Dressed of 2013"

Each year, television and other media discuss some sort of year in review. These usually begin right after the Christmas season and cover anything from fashion, box office and music. Sometimes, they come to us as a top 20 countdown based on some "experts" personal opinion. Other times it is the almighty dollar for the barometer of success. We here at Sector3 believe in the power of the people! Let your voice be heard, because there is no wrong answer........usually. 

Each week, Sector3 will pose a question of the week for members/readers. It will be posted to our Blog and then linked to Facebook. Your responses/opinions matter to us! 

So for our maiden voyage of discussion let's play with the idea of the most ridiculous and least important in global matters, which is, who was the best and worst dressed of 2013? The year saw many re-numberings and re-brandings. Along with that, come changes. The change often comes with a new creative team who wants to imprint their own vision for the mythos and brand. It seems that 2013 was the year for new costumes, new status quos and new #1 issues for familiar and classic titles.

So, which costume re-design for a character do you think was the best and which one was the worst for 2013? Let us know your thoughts!

Remember When.......Marvel's Secret Wars

In this first installment of Remember When, I am going back to 1984 and the birth of the Event Comic.  This was a comic book that worked to get the non readers into reading comic books, at least in my case.  This was a crazy idea to sell toys.  Mattel approached Marvel Comics then Editor, Jim Shooter, to create a comic to sell toys; that's it, that simple.  This was a 12 issue toy catalog.  But in my eyes, it was AWESOME!!  Here you have a story combining the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Avengers, Galactus, Doctor Doom, and a bunch of other villains into one big story.

The story goes that an all powerful entity wanted to pit the mightiest heroes and villains against each other to see who would be victorious.  He create a world; Battleworld; from pieces of hundreds of different planets.  The heroes and villains were transported from Earth in two separate vehicles to this Battleworld.  What this story also did, other than sell toys, was introduce new readers to a wealth of knowledge to the Marvel Universe and its characters.  The Avengers stayed together and made a formidable team, the X-Men felt that they were going to be judged as they were on Earth and separated themselves from the other heroes.  The villains had similar occurrences.  Doctor Doom thought he was above all the other villains and left on his own to figure how to take the power of this powerful being that brought them there, who we later find out is known as the Beyonder.  Also, Galactus being Galactus, must feed, so he begins assembling his world eating machinery to start to feed on the planet.

The Marvel Universe being what it is, shows us more of the faults that make their characters so intriguing.  The Fantastic Four are transported to the planet, missing the Invisible Woman, thus creating a longing for her from her husband, Reed Richards.  Iron Man was not Tony Stark at the time, but his best friend, Jim Rhodes, in the suit.  The Hulk realizes at this point in time, he is at a weakened state, but the loss of that gave him the intellect of Bruce Banner.  Ben Grimm finds out that he can change from the rocky exterior of the Thing to his normal human self, so he starts to have longings to stay behind since he can be human and not the monster he is seen as on Earth.  All of these things give a more human side to the characters.

Of course, we have battles here, and what is better than page upon page of numbers of heroes and villains fighting together.  After one such battle, Spider-Man's costume is badly damaged.  While wondering about the heroes base, he came upon a lab.  Here he found a machine that would create a new suit for him.  Little did he know that his new black costume would in turn become one of his greatest foes....Venom.

As I said, this was a comic series that truly captured my imagination and gave me a great cross section of the Marvel Universe.  It became a treasure hunt for me at comic conventions to find all twelve issues.  I also remember Marvel released a role-playing game through TSR (same guys who brought you D&D) and had a supplement for Secret Wars.  Everything about this comic was fun, something that is so badly missed from a lot of the comics released today.  Sure, I am still reading, but there is something about this series, that I still treasure to this day as one of my absolute favorite memories of comics.  Go out there, buy the trade, or if you are more adventurous, go to a con, and search out the issues.  The are great fun......that is until Secret Wars II.....but that is another story.  This is a story that I will definitely be revisisting, possibly going issue by issue and breaking down how good, and bad, it is.

- GREAT SCOTT!!!

The Informant (News for Monday Dec. 23rd 2013)

The Informant

News for Monday Dec. 23rd

"I am Groot!"

Vin Diesel has been officially confirmed to play the role of Groot in "Guardians of the Galaxy". The newest franchise will launch from Marvel Studios on August 1, 2014. For those of you who may not already know, Groot is an extraterrestrial plant monster that is from ancient and royal lineage of his race. Unfortunately, he is also the last of his species. The character, despite being a tree-like being has a tremendous grasp of quasi-dimensional super-positional engineering. Despite being able to only say the words, "I am Groot," can actually fully and functionally communicate using only that phrase. This makes the casting of Vin Diesel interesting. The character will be completely CGI and the voice acting will be limited to just that single phrase. Vin had campaigned hard for the role and teased his interactions with Marvel through social media and Youtube, telling fans that he was in talks with Marvel and, at times, specifically for this role. Now that it has been confirmed are you excited for Vin landing the roll? Before any haters out there decide to react negatively to the casting, remember that Vin has received critical acclaim for his voice acting of the title character in Iron Giant. 

"Marvel Wave 3 confirms their Ant-Man"

Another role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was confirmed in the last few days and this time it was for Marvel's "Ant-Man." Paul Rudd was rumored to be in the running for the role but initially denied knowing of any involvement. That is all in the past now and the project is ready to move forward for its July 31st, 2015 release. Speculation as to which, of the three possible characters who have donned the Ant-Man persona is still up for speculation. But we here at Sector3 are confident that it will be the Hank-Pym incarnation of Ant-Man, who was a founding member of the Avengers. Fans are eagerly wanting the inclusion of Janet Van Dyne aka The Wasp and fellow avenger for the movie. As to who will be the antagonist for the film? Let the speculations begin! The movie is being Direct by Edgar Wright, who has directed "Shaun of the Dead", "The World's End" and "Scott Pilgrim" to name a few.

"Johnny Cash versus Bruce Wayne?!"

W.B. has selected Joauin Phoenix to play the role of a villain in the highly anticipated sequel to "The Man of Steel", which many have been calling Batman v. Superman. As to which villian he will play? No one knows for certain, but many are guessing it to be Lex Luthor. 

The movie however, seems to drifting away from what appeared to be a adaptation of the Frank Miller classic the "Dark Knight Returns." In that comic, an aging Batman came out of retirement to stop an extremely violent gang known as the Mutants, kills the Joker and is pursued by a government backed Superman. This resulted in an epic battle between the two heroes. But now, the movie seems be flooding with additional casting announcements as more and more DCU characters and roles are being filled. This is leaving many to believe that this not the "Dark Knight Returns" adaptation many had hoped and is moving more swiftly than anticipated towards a Justice League movie. Earlier this month it was confirmed that Gal Gadot will be playing the iconic Wonder Woman and now there is talk that Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones and Conan) is reported to be in talks of taking the role of either another villain or the Martian Manhunter but that is currently just rumors.

The movie, directed by Zack Snyder, is set to release on July 17th 2015.

Many people had a negative reaction to the casting of Ben Affleck as Batman, but what do you think about Joauin Pheonix's addition to the cast? Let us know.

"Oh the Inhumanity!"

Matt Fraction is leaving the writer's desk for Marvel's upcoming title comic, "Inhuman." The Story stems from the Fallout of the 2013 Marvel event, Infinity. Due to creative differences with Marvel Matt Fraction is now being replaced by writer Charles Soule. But if you're looking for some good boss versus employee drama you won't find it here. 

In an interview, Editor in Chief Axel Alonso had this to say, "This is just an instance where we – meaning Marvel and the writer, Matt Fraction – came to the realization that we weren’t on the same page, we probably never would be, and no one would benefit if we tried to force it to work. The series that Matt wanted to write would have been good, no doubt about it, but it was not the series we need to lay the foundation for this new universe within the Marvel Universe.

Likewise, exiting writer for "Inhuman" Matt Fraction added, "Yeah, as un-dramatic and uninteresting as it sounds, my version of 'Inhuman' wasn’t what they were into and, y’know, it’s their company. It’s a legit case of “creative differences” in spite of everyone’s best intentions. After what? 5 or 6 months where this has been my primary focus and we’re still not on the same page... I can’t say they didn’t try, they can’t say I didn’t try, and at some point, you gotta move on. It happens. This is the reality of being a creative professional. Now they have a writer and a book they’re comfortable with and "Inhuman" gets the launch it deserves. Nobody wins with me writing a book I don’t want to write."

So, are you disappointed that Matt Fraction will not be helming the future of the Inhumans in the Marvel Universe or do you think this was the right move? Do you think Charlse Sole is up to the challenge.

That about wraps it up for the news. Stay on alert for all the latest in Nerdcentric Pop-Culture here at Sector3!

Nova #11

Nova #11

Chapter XI: Pawn Takes Knight

Writer: Gerry Duggan

Penciler: Paco Medina

Inker: Juan Vlasco

Chapter XI: Pawn Takes Knight resumes from the results of last issue with Sam having been stricken 'blind' as he re-entered the earth's atmosphere after a rescue effort in space. The majority of the issue is mostly just a filler story, dealing more with Sam's civilian life than his Nova exploits.

That being said, we do get far more time with his supporting cast, fleshing out the relationships, and even possibly introducing a new cast member with Sam's 'encouraged' membership in the chess club. Amusingly enough, it's taken the change in writers from Jeph Loeb to Duggan to have Sam's writing and persona feel more like the Sam Alexander in the Loeb-influenced Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon.

Despite my love of Medina's space visuals, and Sam's in-costume appearance, I do believe there's something to be said for the style he draws their civilian faces. There's just something about the aesthetic that doesn't quite appeal, especially the doctor, who's nose looks as if he's been in one bar fight too many. At the same time, it is a signature style, and he does well at showcasing differences in ethnicity from character to character. The art and writing team also showcases a good grasp on how schoolchildren act and carry themselves, as is evidenced by the body language and expressions at times of the background kids as well as the main cast.

The end half of the issue is back into space, and setting the stage for an all-new Nova nemesis, and deepening the mystery of what has happened to all other non-Annihilation Wave destroyed Novas. With New Warriors around the corner, things are heating up for the title with a nice standalone issue in this age of massive inter-connected story arcs and event comics. Compared to other series, Nova's a great jumping on book for newer readers, as you're given a pretty thorough crash course in Cosmic Marvel without it being overwhelming to new readers.

Rating: Worthwhile, especially if it's in a TPB as it's dependant on previous events in the series.

Amazing X-Men #2

Amazing X-Men #2

Amazing X-Men #2

Writer: Jason Aaron

Penciler: Ed McGuinness

Inker: Dexter Vines

Price:  $3.99

Amazing X-Men #2 picks up as Part Two to the "The Hunt For Nightcrawler" storyline.  The fan favorite character died and was given the peace in heaven that he was so deserving.  His father, Azazel, with his band of demon pirates and little demons called Bamfs, went on a search for him.  Nightcrawler is still remianing scarce and his fathers demons are unable to find him.  The X-Men, while still on earth, stumbled upon a portal that the Bamfs were building at the school to transport to and from different realms.  This portal sucked the X-Men (Wolverine, Storm, Iceman, Northstar, and Firestar) in and seperated them.  Their adventure led Wolverine and Northstar into heaven and Storm, Iceman, and Firestar to hell.

Both teams were attacked by groups of Azazel's demon pirates.  The group in hell were at a vast disadvantage.  There is no wind in hell so Storm's powers cannot work, and is there any worse place for a man made of ice to be stuck.  Meanwhile in heaven, Wolvie and Northstar get assistance from a person that is not expected (Quite a surprise).

The artwork was top notch, but some of the inks were a little heavy in places.  The writing also was very well done, and I am interested to see where the story goes.  Unfortunately, in this age of writing for the trade paperback, where all stories end up being 5 or 6 issues, it looses the anticipation of how things are going to resolve.  All in all, fans of Nightcrawler will definitely want to see what happens to their favorite character.  

Rating:  Borrow It

Superior Spider-Man #24

Superior Spider-Man #24
"Darkest Hours: Part 3 of 4"
Writers: Dan Slott, Christos Gage
Penciler: Humbero Ramos
Inker: Olazaba
Price: $3.99



Part 3 of "Darkest Hours" picks up from last issue, during which Superior Spider-Man removed the Venom symbiote from Flash Thompson and bonded with it himself. As you can imagine, Otto quickly embraces the symbiote and its power, believing himself more worthy and capable of it's mastery. Otto is eager to test the symbiote to its full and lethal potential, even after being warned by Flash. But interestingly, the symbiote recognizes something is different with it's former host and seems confused and almost upset by the unknown change. The symbiote is not the only one noticing the change in personality. It now seems that everyone is Spider-Man's life is starting to realize that the man they thought they knew is become more and more unhinged. Otto is clearly loosing his grip in maintaining Peter's relationships with friends and family. Things begin to boil to a head with several of those closest to Peter as Otto begins to more closely resemble his former self, resulting in confrontations with both May and Mary Jane.

This issue is packed with sub-plots, including Carlie Cooper's experience as she is held captive by the Green Goblin who prepares his goblin army to move against Spidey, Captain Watanabe's investigation into Spider-Man, Ana Maria and her distress over her relationship with the Parker/Jamesons, the Hobgoblin, Cardiac.....*whew* There is a lot going on in this issue! But the story doesn't suffer from that. Instead, the story flows at a fluid pace. Non of the sub-plots feel disconnected or unnecessary.  

The artwork is filled with excitement and seems to glide from panel to panel wonderfully. The extreme emotions portrayed in Ramos' artwork convey nicely and never seem over the top. Everything about the look of this book is fantastic, including the design of Superior Venom. In my opinion, Ramos art has been near flawless for a while now and is at the top of Marvel titles.

If you have enjoyed the current status quo in Superior, the current Venom title or are looking forward to the upcoming "Goblin Nation" arc, then this is for you. The arc wraps up in a double-sized next issue which will also include the Avengers. 

Rating: BUY IT