Thinking New Man of Steel trailer is awesome!!

Ok, so today a new Man of Steel trailer was released onto the world (or rather the World Wide Web) and I gotta admit, this one is definitely the best yet.

Here it is for your viewing pleasure http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=44958

So, this trailer starts with a lovely, sombre melody to set the story and some awesome battle shots detailing the end of Krypton and focusing on Jor-el and Lara saying goodbye to their son. From then on, it looks to essentially be an abridged version of the fiilm we'll all see in a few months, with the Man of Steel living his life as a child, then a wanderer and finally becoming Superman, during which the background score becomes more majestic and epic.
Now, some cool parts of this trailer that I liked.

• First up, there is the Father/Son moment at around the 1.00 mark, where Clark as to "just be (Jonathan's) son again" which was such a cool moment as it gives a hint of the influence Jonathan Kent will have on Clark during this film.
• Then at 1.23 is a shot of a woman (we'll assume to be Lois Lane) searching a frozen ruin (The Fortress of Solitude maybe) and a voiceover by her discussing the search for a mysterious saviour, intercut with Clark's early savings.
• This is followed by a shot at 1.35 which i have to ask; Is that the Fortress of Solitude?? Well, wherever it is Superman stepping through the door looked awesome.
• 2.09 is a shot that was lifted out of Superman Earth 1, which was the exact same thing. In fact, from what I know of this film's plot, that book is one of the big draws of inspiration.
• From 2.12 onwards is all action which looks fantastic. Scenes of Superman being shot at along a road in Smallville (I'm guessing) and subsequently flying off, a shot of Zod (or one of his minions) taking a missile strike like it was nothing and then the little joke about what the "S" stands for just to give the impression of a little humour.
• Finally, there's the big finale at 2.47 with a bad ass fight scene in the air. If anyone thought that this would be anything close to Superman Returns low budget action sequences then that scene will make you think different.

At the end of the day, this is end to end awesome trailer, maybe even beating Iron Man 3's recent ones hands down. I assume that as Christopher Nolan is involved, that'll be the last one because it will most likely get people drooling for more. Well, it's worked on me and I'm totally pumped to see it. Just a shame I gotta wait another few months.

reading Action Comics #19 - The entirety of Andy Diggle's run

So, finally, after the eighteen issue run from Grant Morrison which was decidedly hit-and-miss, I've (finally) gotten round to reading Action Comics #19, an issue which breathes new life into the title with the start of the run by new creative team Andy Diggle and Tony Daniels. It's just a shame that this run both begins and ends here.
The story begins with the Man of Steel covering a civil war under his civilian garb while, simultaneously stopping the supply of killer robot weapons being supplied to the bad guys by (unbeknownst to him) one of his biggest enemies. This turns out to be a mere distraction by said villain, whose big plan was to defeat Superman from the inside out.

This panel is just a new take on classic, but I like it.

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Now, the story may sound a little lame, and maybe even somewhat familiar, but that isn't what makes this such a great issue. What makes issue 19 work so well is how Andy Diggle writes Clark Kent/Superman. Diggle has written the character exactly how I imagine him to be, a lot less of the hot-headed, arrogant kid from Morrison's Action run and none of the brooding loner from the Superman series, more the calm, diplomat who lets his fists do the talking only when he has no choice. This IS Superman!!! This is no better displayed than during the scene of the big fight between Supes and the killer robots, where an internal monologue shows just how the character thinks. He's calm, he's rational, he doesn't want to fight but it doesn't mean he won't. This isn't the only characterization that makes this issue great. The writing of the villain (who I'm intentionally withholding so I don't spoil to any who haven't read it) is top notch and could quite possibly be one of the best depictions of the character that I've read. Cruel, calculating, methodical, this character is one you'll need to hate.
Now, the story isn't the only plus here, the art too is pretty good. I like Tony Daniel's stuff and here he once again brings his A game, with tonnes of big heroic panels that could only work in a Superman comic. The pencils are smooth and clean which, backed up by Batt's inks, make the book look fantastic. However, despite the fantastic art, there are flaws, most notable being a couple of panels during the fight scene, but these are minor quibbles against the brilliant depictions of the main characters.
After reading this, I'm bittersweet. A part of me is so glad that, after being less than impressed with much of the past issues of Action Comics, I've been given a book that looks, sounds, and feels like a Superman comic. However, at the same time, it's upsetting that the creative team, had already announced their departure prior to this issues release (Diggle after this issue, Daniels has another two left). Still, this was a fantastic book and I have no regrets getting it because, all is said and done I'm reading a story which is starring the Superman I've always wanted to see. I just hope he sticks around when the creative have gone.

Traversing Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (twice)

So, after reading the first issue of the new Guardians series by Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven, I've gotta admit that I'm in two minds, despite having read it twice.
Basically, Guardians of the Galaxy, much like the previous volumes, tells the story of a rag-tag group of heroes; Star-Lord, Rocket Raccon, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora and Groot, facing down the big bads that threaten to destroy the galaxy. This time round though, this small group are joined by Avenger mainstay Iron Man, who has gone out into space to do a bit of old fashioned prospecting (or so it's implied) and the big bad they have to face down; Star-Lord's estranged dad (apparently).
Now, I read the 0.1 issue and thought it was a beautiful book and that Bendis made the right decision focusing on the origin of Peter Quill (A.k.a Star-Lord). With this issue however, I'm kind of torn on simply because none of the characters are written how I imagine them to be. Both Drax and Gamora, historically somewhat selfish bad-asses, seem much more selfless and heroic while Quill makes the biggest change, with much of his personality and appearance radically altered from the previous volume, especially concerning his helmet (which had a more Darth Vader look) and his Element gun (which he supposedly lost years ago).
The art, on the other hand is lovely (which you kind of expect from McNiven), with the little touch on the first page of the space bar looking like the space bar from Star Wars having a real nice touch. In fact, a lot of the early pages look like they were ripped from the Star Wars movies in this way (yes, I'm having a Star Wars day) which does give the book a pleasant, almost reminiscent, feel. The only complaint is Star-Lord's costume, which just doesn't have the same iconic look as previous incarnations.
In the end, this book isn't a bad book, but it just feels so radically different from the previous series that despite the same character names, it doesn't feel like the same team. This, probably, has something to do with the Guardians of the Galaxy movie that is due to come out, and so Marvel wanted to make something a little more new reader friendly that relates. However, for me, this has had the opposite effect, leaving me struggling to get engrossed. I probably won't be back for issue 2 which, given how much I like issue 0.1, is a real disappointment.