Post #908! Plus as a bonus, a rant about the "death" of Barry Allen!

This is my 908th post here on this blog! What's so significant about the 908th post you ask? Absolutely nothing! I was just too lazy to give this post a proper title, so that's that. Now that we explained how the title of this post came to be, we should probably find something comic related to talk about... Weird, I sounded like Venom in that last line... That would be the Eddie Brock Venom, not the annoying Mac Gargan Venom! I miss Eddie.

Hmm, where was I? Oh, that's right, looking for something comic related to post. Well, I think the "Batman: Arkham Asylum" video game is as good a place to start as any. Have I mentioned that I love that game? Yes, I have. Have I mentioned that Arkham Asylum is the best comic book based video game EVER? Yep, I believe I mentioned that little fact last night. Well, what's left to say about that game then? PLENTY! I'm going to guess that some of you guys are probably sick and tired of reading about how much I love that game, but I can't help it! See, I'm more of a video game person than a movie person. I can't tell you what the last movie I watched was(really, I can't!), but I can tell you exactly what game I was playing two weeks ago(Civilization: Revolution). You know how people gush about "The Dark Knight" or "Iron Man" movies? "Batman: Arkham Asylum" is my "Dark Knight". It's that good. And just so everybody knows, I'm ranked 8,758th overall in the first challenge mission. Is that as bad as it sounds? Yes, yes it is.

Now, let's get into comic books! I finished reading Crisis on Infinite Earths last week, and it was as confusing as I'd been warned it would be. First of all, 12 parts is WAY too long for a mini-series! 6 issues is perfect for a mini-series. 8 issues is pushing it, but I can deal with that. However, a 12 issue mini-series is crazy. 12 issues for a crossover is fine but not for a monthly mini-series. I will say that the parts of the story that I could understand were actually pretty enjoyable. The first 3 issues and the last were my favorites. I definitely could have done without most of the junk in the middle. I mean did we really need a Lex Luthor & Brainiac vs. Psimon mini-story in the middle of things? George Perez's artwork was marvelous(as usual). I will say that I liked the original depiction of the Anti-Monitor a lot more than his later appearance. The purple cape he wore with the original armor was money!

Before I stop talking about Crisis, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the "death" of Barry Allen(Flash). The way Barry's death was handled here was awful! I was expecting Barry to go out with a bang, instead he barely went out with a fizzle. Barry sacrifices his life to destroy the Anti-Monitor's cannon(or something equally nefarious). So, Barry dies and the Anti-Monitor is really pissed about his cannon being destroyed. However, the destruction of that cannon really didn't accomplish anything! The Anti-Monitor simply re-powers himself by destroying a bunch of worlds and continues his reign of terror. On top of Barry's sacrifice being nearly meaningless, his death was hardly touched on. Barry dies in issue #7(I think)and nobody even realizes he was dead until issue #12! Sure, Wally West would occasionally wonder what had happened to his mentor, but all of Barry's so-called teammates and friends seemingly could care less. When the heroes learn of Barry's death only Wally shows some emotion, and even he wasn't as upset as I figured he would be. Superman's reaction to Barry's death kind of sums it all up best. Wally is cradling Barry's tattered Flash costume and Superman quizzically asks, "That's Barry's uniform, isn't it?", and that's all. We don't get a, "Oh no, Barry's dead!" or even a, "Poor Barry Allen. He'll be missed.". No, we get Superman stupidly asking a question he already knows the answer to! Pathetic! Poor Barry, no wonder he came back to life in such a bad mood...

With Crisis finally finished, I've moved on to DC's "Invasion" storyline from the 1980's. This mini is a more reasonable 3 issues, with each comic 80 pages long. I've always been a sucker for comic book aliens, so I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll enjoy this storyline. After that, I might read the "Kingdom" mini-series, even though I've been wanting to read "Justice" and "DC: The New Frontier" for a long time now. Then again, I might just start reading Robin, Green Arrow or Green Lantern, all of which I have very long runs to get through... Well, I know I'll be reading something, I just don't know what!

As for new comics, next up is Daredevil #500, which I'm really looking forward to reading. After that, things start to get a bit iffy. I've had Ultimate Avengers #001 and X-Men: Legacy #227 laying around unread for a while now, but I just haven't really wanted to give either book a read. I've also got some "War of Kings" x-over stuff to read through(Ascension and Warriors). Since the main "War" mini-series ended a few weeks ago, I should probably polish off those secondary books. Hmm, I think I've rambled long enough for one night. Trust me, post #909 is going to be a lot better than post #908! I promise!