Alien Terror Times Two: Prometheus and Aliens: Colonial Marines

It looks like next year is going to be a doozy for Alien fans:

* News of a Ridley Scott-directed Alien prequel, entitled Prometheus, has been in circulation since 2009. During the last few weeks, a plot summary of Prometheus appeared online and Scott himself made an appearance via teleconference at an SDCC panel devoted to Prometheus. Each of these instances gave Alien fans broad hints of what to expect from Scott's next contribution to the franchise. According to what has been released about the prequel so far, we'll learn much more about the origins of the derelict, biomechanical alien spacecraft that was first encountered on planet LV-426 by the Nostromo crew in Alien. Prometheus is slated for release in 2012.

* On the video game front, rumors of a first person shooter game called Aliens: Colonial Marines have also been in circulation for years. During the recent E3 conference that was held last month, Sega unveiled a few minutes of demo footage of Colonial Marines to provide an idea of what players will see in the next major Alien game. According to the press release and interviews with game developers, the game will be released in 2012 and will feature missions that take place in the adrift Sulaco spaceship, on LV-426, and in the derelict alien spacecraft itself.

What could these two upcoming releases mean for the future of the Alien franchise? Read on for a few ideas. WARNING: There are some minor spoilers ahead, most of which have to do with Prometheus. If you want to avoid knowing anything about the Alien prequel at this time, stop reading now.

The Alien franchise has been in a mostly dormant state for over a decade. If you consider the only true Alien canon to be the Alien movies, then the last Alien-only film was Alien Resurrection, which was released in 1997. There have been plenty of Alien comic books since then, as well as many Aliens vs. Predator comic books, movies and video games, but nothing that truly advanced the story that started in Alien has appeared in a long time. (Then again, depending on how you look at it, none of the Alien sequels continued the story of the titular Aliens themselves, just the story of Ellen Ripley.)

Many of the problems with the Alien franchise happened behind the scenes of Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection. While I appreciate respective contributions of David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet to the Alien franchise, accounts of what took place during the productions of both of their films strongly indicate that neither Fincher nor Jeunet were permitted much creative freedom when dealing with 20th Century Fox, the owner of the Alien license.

The Aliens comic books by Dark Horse provided some solid Alien stories for fans who wanted more deep space horror but most of the comics were little more than minor variations on the plot of Aliens, with Colonial Marines encountering a large hive of Aliens. Even the three-part miniseries story arc of the Alien invasion of Earth--the story that early ads for Alien 3 promised but never delivered--turned out to be anti-climactic and forgettable.

The Alien video games did not fare much better. Most of the games, such as Rebellion's Aliens vs. Predator titles and arcade shooters such as Alien 3: The Gun and Aliens: Extermination were largely first person shooters that either took place between Aliens and Alien 3 or after Alien 3. These games faithfully re-created sounds and settings from all four Alien movies, they didn't do much to push the franchise into new narrative territory. (That said, Rebellion did pull off a pretty impressive feat in their third Aliens vs. Predator game by effectively portraying a sympathetic Alien character known as "Specimen 6".)

The arrival of Prometheus promises to facehug new life into the Alien franchise. Even though this film is billed as a prequel, it looks like the story of Prometheus will expand the scope of the Alien saga considerably. According to the plot summary that has been released, the prequel is about the crew of a spaceship named Prometheus that are sent (presumably by Weyland-Yutani) to find the home world of the "ancient astronauts" who were responsible for humanity's existence on Earth. Given that this is a prequel, it's safe to assume that the home world that is found is also the home world of the Aliens and the dead Space Jockey that was seen in Alien. Whether the Space Jockey was one of the original ancient astronauts or one of their biomechanical creations remains to be confirmed.

On the basis of this plot, a few intriguing notions come to mind:

* I've read for years since the release of Aliens that many people--Alien franchise fans, cast and crew alike--would love to see an Alien sequel take place on the Alien home world. We're finally getting that kind of a story, but it's happening in a prequel, not a sequel. Does this mean that Prometheus is setting the stage for a series of stories that complement the Alien saga but take place on a much larger scale?

* One of the best things about the original Alien is how it captured the essence of the movie's single word title. Between the performances by the cast, the visual disigns by H.R. Giger, Ron Cobb and Chris Foss, and the direction of Scott, the movie conveyed the feeling of what it would be like to encounter an unknown and truly alien life form for the first time, in all of its messy, disorienting and chest-bursting glory. Few other monster movies capture that kind of a feeling and without it, I doubt that the original Alien story as written by Ronald Shusett and Dan O'Bannon would've had nearly the same impact. With Scott and Giger both involved in Prometheus, I wonder if they'll be able to take audiences back into the dark, terrifying and biological unknown.

* Even though the concept of "ancient astronauts" is closely associated with Erik von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods and has been used by many other science fiction narratives (including Paul W.S. Anderson's Alien vs. Predator movie), Prometheus looks to be plunging headlong into H.P. Lovecraft territory of "ancient gods from beyond the stars". It's only fitting--Alien obviously used Lovecraft's single novella, At the Mountains of Madness, as a point of inspiration and it looks like we'll be seeing more of the same in Prometheus (maybe a nod to Lovecraft's "The Whisperer in Darkness" short story?). With Guillermo del Toro's film adaptation of Mountains of Madness has been postponed indefinitely due to budgetary issues (read: the studios are too cheap to finance it), Prometheus may be the only big-budget Lovecraftian insanity we'll be seeing on the big screen for a long time.

How the plot of Prometheus will affect the release of Sega's Aliens: Colonial Marines game is unknown, but there have been some hints of some link between the two projects. Some have speculated that the long delay of the development and release of Colonial Marines was imposed so that it could be revised to have some connection to Prometheus. I suspect that the game's mission involving the derelict alien spacecraft will feature a connection to the prequel. The ultimate fate of the derelict alien spacecraft was one of the great unanswered questions in the Alien saga, and it could be that the soldiers who investigate the wreckage in Colonial Marines discover new, bone-chilling secrets that previous human visitors to LV-426 did not.

For as much as the game play imitates the action sequences of Aliens (as well as the game play of other Alien games that feature colonial marines), preview footage from Colonial Marines indicates that this will probably be the most visually impressive Alien game to date. Furthermore, Colonial Marines will be released on the upcoming Nintendo Wii U console, a console that promises to add even more levels of interactivity into video gaming than the previous Wii system, interactivity that will be made possible by motion controls, high quality graphics, and a touchscreen display. With so much potential, it would be foolish for 20th Century Fox ignore the opportunity to provide some tie-in between Prometheus and Colonial Marines, so it's just of matter of determining what the exact connection will be and what it will mean for other Alien games (if anything).

Indeed, Alien fans have much to look forward to in the coming year. If you cannot wait that long, though, there is also the upcoming Aliens: Infestation game for the Nintendo DS, which is slated for release this fall. (You can watch a preview video for the game here.) While Infestation promises to include similar settings and situations as Colonial Marines, the DS game will only be a 2D, side-scrolling shooter game; thus, I don't think the DS game will be as intense as Colonial Marines and I doubt that it will have any connections to Prometheus, but it'll be something to pass the time until 2012 arrives.

Trailer Thursday: Lost...explained?

This may not qualify as comic book material necessarily, but this video from the SDCC was too good to pass up. Hate the ending of the series? So do these guys...

Captain America: History of the Shield

Found this and wanted to share it. Pretty comprehensive history of Captain America.

Star Wars Flashback: A Naboo Starfighter Lands at the Smithsonian

Many franchises such as Jaws and Transformers have made appearances in museums as exhibits, but I'm convinced that few have done it as much as Star Wars. I've seen two exhibits devoted to Star Wars at the Smithsonian in Washington DC: Star Wars: The Magic of Myth, which was on display from 1997 to 1998, and Star Wars: The Art of the Starfighter, which was on display in 2001. Both exhibits went on tour to other museums after their initial runs in DC.

I went with a friend to see the opening of the Art of the Starfighter exhibit, which featured a full-scale, 35 foot model of the Naboo starfighter that was used in the making of The Phantom Menace. The starfighter was flanked by two interactive kiosks. One kiosk featured a documentary video from Lucasfilm about the history of starfighter designs in the Star Wars franchise, while the other kiosk featured a preview version of the Star Wars: Starfighter video game that was later released for Playstation 2, Xbox and PC. I got an autograph from one of the starfighter special effect folks who was present at the opening (see above), although I don't remember his name and his signature doesn't provide many clues. (I think it was John Goodson, Model Shop Project Supervisor at ILM, but I'm not sure.)

Of course, plenty of Star Wars fans were at the exhibit's opening; click below to see some of the photos we took of the exhibit and the costumed fans. You can also go to TheForce.Net, Clevescene.com and The Stanford Daily for more information about the Art of the Starfighter exhibit.

A Review of Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger, the last superhero movie for this summer season, made its box office debut last weekend. It was worth the wait, because it is hands down the best superhero movie of the summer, and a great way to keep Marvel fans in a state of eager anticipation for next summer's Avengers movie.

Like Thor before it, Captain America incorporates the title character's rich history of comic book tales into the movie's plot and visual design. Perhaps the most inspired creative decision behind this movie was not only to depict the origin story of one of Marvel's oldest characters but to also serve as a tribute to the Golden Age of superhero comics, an era where every superhero from that time (including Superman, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman and Batman) was enlisted to fight the Nazi menace and sell war bonds as part of their comic book adventures. Read on for the complete review.

Captain America tells the story of how Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) went from being a determined and selfless young man whose poor health resulted in a series of rejections for his attempts to enlist in the army during World War II to becoming a scientifically created "super soldier" and later the stalwart symbol of America's fight in Europe. To stay true to Marvel's own fictitious history (and to avoid the marketing complications that would come from selling Nazi action figures), the movie largely avoids portraying the fight against Nazis in favor of the fight against Hydra, a "scientific research division" for the Nazis that has gone rogue under the leadership of Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), a.k.a. The Red Skull. Nevertheless, Captain America remains firmly rooted in the patriotic fervor of the World War II era, and it deftly mixes the origin story of a superhero with the story of an idealistic army recruit's experiences on the battlefield, resulting in a pulp epic that is both old-fashioned and unique.

Another thing that keeps Captain America from descending into the standard superhero origin clichés is its focus on character. Rogers is firmly established as solid character before he assumes the alter ego of Captain America, and he never fades into the background once the star-spangled superheroics begins. Furthermore, the script and Evans' performance add a dose of humility and thoughtful self-reflection to Rogers' enthusiasm and determination, thus providing nuance to a character who could easily become too perfect and simple to be interesting.

Rogers is surrounded by a cast of equally engaging characters, including Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Rogers' tough-as-nails ally and budding love interest, and Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), the creator of the super soldier serum and surrogate father figure for Rogers. The relationship between Rogers and Dr. Erskine bears a passing similarity between that of Peter Parker and Uncle Ben in Spider-Man's corner of the Marvel universe, and this relationship adds heart to who and what Captain America is ultimately supposed to be.

If I had to pick a part of the film that's my favorite, it would be towards the middle of the film, just after Rogers is injected with the super soldier serum. A complication sets in that results in Rogers being the only super soldier created by Dr. Erskine, and the military doesn't want to lose their latest weapon on the battlefield. Thus, Rogers assumes the role of Captain America as part of a USO show that tours U.S. to drum up public support for the war effort. Not only does this allow the movie to explain where the name "Captain America" came from and why he wears a red, white and blue costume (as opposed to green combat gear), but it also allows director Joe Johnston to tip his hat to the Golden Age of superhero comics and Captain America's place in it. For example, a Captain America comic book is sold to kids as part of the USO tour, and this comic book has the same cover as the actual first issue of the Captain America comic that was published in 1941. We also briefly see Rogers shooting a scene for a Captain America movie serial, a nifty nod to the actual Captain America movie serial that was made in 1944.

Overall, Captain America is a treat for comic book fans of all stripes (no pun intended). It works both as a stand-alone, rip-roaring action movie and as a prequel for the Avengers film, which will arrive next summer. With Captain America wrapping up Marvel's prequel series of films on such a high note (the other prequels being The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2 and Thor), I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us when the big screen Avengers assemble at last in 2012.

The Superhero Movies of 2011 - Winners and Losers

Well, the summer movie craze is now officially over, and with no other major superhero releases coming this year let's look back on what we had in 2011 for comic fans.

The Green Hornet

While more of a radio star than a comic book hero, comic fans everywhere went to see this one. Seth Rogan decided to turn his Green Hornet into a profanity-spewing, hard-partying slacker who survives only because Kato is such an awesome sidekic--um, partner.

The movie had some great moments, no doubt. Kato's fight scenes were amazing with him beating up the bad guys in slow motion. The car was cool. The story was okay. Britt Reid in this one was a very poor reflection of the character from the old comic books, radio shows, or even the TV show from the 60's. And the villain? A guy with such a poor self-image as to try to become his own "super villain" character...while he's supposed to be some super mob boss. If you were willing to forgive the shortcomings it was a cute movie that fit well into the January "death zone" for movies.

I doubt we ever see a sequel to this one though.

Thor

This movie was impressive! I went to this one excited to see a superhero film, but with not very high expectations simply because I've never been a Thor fan. I knew him from the Avengers and I occasionally picked up an issue or two if the guest star was interesting enough. I've honestly never understood the draw of the character.

But the movie blew me away. The storyline was interesting enough, and it managed to bring in enough iconic Thor moments (flying with the hammer swinging around him, throwing the hammer and having it come back) to really keep me watching.

Natalie Portman didn't really fit, but I'm looking forward to seeing Loki in the upcoming Avengers film! I actually felt sorry for him because I didn't know his origin until I saw it in the movie (as I said, never a big fan). Anthony Hopkins was a very convincing Odin, that's for sure. I'm really looking forward to seeing the character again next summer.

X-Men: First Class

This was a pretty interesting movie. It was a reboot that was attempting to be faithful to the original trilogy, which seems like a paradox. Still, you have to give them credit for trying.

The inclusion of Havok was a nice touch, even though it went against the comics of him being in the team before Cyclops. Still, given how they wrote the original trilogy it would have been impossible to have the comic book fabulous five there since all had been seen in the films in different ways already.

Instead, we have a movie that actually makes me feel sorry for Magneto. Though the first scene was almost exactly like the first X-Men film, they expanded upon it and gave us a satisfactory ending with Magneto's slow-motion revenge on his former Nazi captor. Even though January Jones brought the film to a standstill with that thing she does and tries to pass off as acting, there were too many incredible wow moments to let that kill the film. The greatest was the Wolverine cameo.

My biggest complaint about this film would have to be the fact that there was no after-credits scene! It has become a Marvel movie tradition in recent years to give us that reason to stick around and see what twist they might throw in for a future movie. How hard would it have been to give us another 90 seconds of some deleted scene?

Green Lantern

A financial disappointment, this film underwhelmed me as well in a lot of areas. The special effects were amazing, and when Hal Jordan finally started using the ring for constructs there in that last battle with Parallax I was cheering him on. Of course, that final scene of Sinestro putting on the yellow ring was a powerful way to end it all too.

Where this film faltered for me was Ryan Reynolds. I love the guy and love his movies, but I get the feeling he was just cast in this role for his name recognition...not because he was perfect for it.

Wally West? Yes sir, I can see that. Hal Jordan? Not so much. His Hal was really a whiner, and the whole "heroic" silent type doesn't work for him. As Deadpool, I think he'll have tons of success. And while I know there's a sequel in the works for Green Lantern, I can't help hoping we see a better-cast backup GL like Guy Gardner or Kyle Rayner in the next film.

Captain America

I couldn't believe it when they cast Chris Evans in the role of Cap. To me, he was a horrible choice. Then I saw the movie and was pleasantly surprised!

To me, this was the perfect movie to cap off the Summer with. It was the strongest Marvel film of this year's bunch. It managed to stay true to the origin of the hero for the most part, and even paved the way for a fairly interesting sequel with Winter Soldier showing up in the future (don't tell me that sniper shot scene with Bucky didn't make you instantly think of Winter Soldier). Likewise, the appearance of Nick Fury at the end was good to set up the Avengers film.

The after-credits sequence in this one was a disappointment though. The trailer for the Avengers film? That was what we got? We'll see that in a few months on television! That was just a cheap filler, but at least it was something.

Mattycollector Offers Subscriptions!

If you're a toy collector like me, you need to know that Mattycollector.com is allowing their annual subscriptions this weekend. If you don't grab them this weekend, you're out for another year.

One big bit of news: this year they are offering a DC subscription! The figures aren't announced yet, but they'll be subscription-only exclusives never found in stores! Much like the Masters of the Universe subscriptions, these figures promise to be quite popular, as long as they reach the subscription goal they must have to actually form the club.

So if you're interested in some cool exclusive toys, get in while you can!

Trailer Thursday: The Amazing Spider-Man

Don't know what to think, but I love the POV shots they give at the end as if you were really web-slinging.

A Look at Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon

I may be a devoted geek, but I'm also a cheap geek. Thus, when Nintendo announced that they'll be winding down their support of the Wii to work on their upcoming Wii U, I was kind of happy because that meant that the prices for Wii games will drop to my level of penny-pinching. Among the Wii games that I have purchased during the recent price drops has been Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon.

I didn't know what to expect from this game, but I heard enough positive things about it to encourage my purchase of it. Now that I've finished playing it, I can say that Fragile Dreams is one of the best games made for the Wii, as well as the most spellbinding game I have seen in a long time. Read on for my complete review of this unfairly overlooked Wii gem from 2010.

Fragile Dreams takes place in Japan over a decade after some unknown catastrophe had wiped out almost the entire human race. The main character is Seto, a 15 year old boy who was raised by an old man who he refers to as his grandfather in a small observatory. The game begins shortly after the old man passes away, and Seto decides to leave the observatory to search for other survivors in the ruins of Tokyo. Early in his travels, he briefly encounters a mysterious silver-haired girl; Seto's search for this girl becomes the game's central quest, with Seto encountering a peculiar array of characters, ghosts, monsters and artifacts along the way and learning more about what almost drove the human race into extinction. Ultimately, Fragile Dreams uses its story and game play to engage in a meditation on loneliness and companionship.

In many ways, Fragile Dreams is the equal and opposite of Konami's Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Both games revolve around a central narrative thread; they also have a similar control scheme that effectively utilizes the capabilities of the Wiimote, and they emphasize the importance of finding clues hidden in an expansive, highly-detailed game environment. In contrast, while Shatter Memories depicts a lost soul searching for forgotten memories among the land of the living, Fragile Dreams depicts a lonely survivor searching for companionship among a desolate landscape that is haunted by the poignant memories and vengeful shadows of the long dead. (Read my review of Shattered Memories here.)

For as scary and morbid as the game sounds (and it does get very scary and morbid in quite a few places), Fragile Dreams presents itself as a dark yet whimsical fairy tale, a mash-up of sorts of Sleeping Beauty and A.I. The game's fairy tale-like narrative is complemented by its anime-influenced visual style; this visual style is also one of the game's strongest attributes. Playing Fragile Dreams is almost like playing inside of a big-budget anime movie that has been rendered into interactive, 3D environments. The game is absolutely amazing to look at, from its colorful sunrises to its moonlit landscapes to its underground structures that appear to stretch out for miles. In fact, Fragile Dreams is so amazing in its visual spectacle that my wife willingly watched me play the entire game, even though it’s only a single player title.

Mixing seamlessly into Fragile Dream's vibrant visual style is its engaging usage of Wii's motion controls. The game requires that you use the nunchuck to move Seto and the Wiimote to move Seto's flashlight and aim his weapons, but that's just the beginning. The game uses the speakers within the Wiimote to provide certain audio cues that indicate where particular characters are located. You also need the Wiimote to find helpful messages and mystery items that are hidden throughout each location you explore. Each item you examine has a story to tell, since they maintain the memories of their long dead owners and in turn add to the narrative richness of Fragile Dreams. Some of the stories recall how individuals dealt with the impending doom that nearly destroyed humanity, while others provide a few clues as to what went wrong to cause such destruction.

For as impressive as Fragile Dreams is, it does have its drawbacks. Some of its challenges not very intuitive, so I had to look up a walkthrough guide to understand what I had to do next to make it through certain boss battles. The game also has a troublesome inventory access scheme. Seto carries his inventory of supplies (weapons, artifacts, food and health kits) in his small backpack and in his large briefcase. He can access the supplies in his backpack at any time, but he can only access the briefcase at game save points, which are represented by small campfires. Even though there are enough campfires scattered throughout the game, it can be especially frustrating when your available weapons break or you run out of available health kits during a monster fight and you cannot get back to a campfire to access the supplies stored in Seto's briefcase.

Between its amazing visuals, elegant soundtrack and poignant story, Fragile Dreams is a unique and unforgettable video game experience. It's not for everybody (die-hard fans of high-intensity action games should look elsewhere), but I highly recommend it for those who like stylish, story-driven games that take place in mysterious worlds that are waiting to be explored. With the price of this game currently set at around $20, now is a perfect time to add it to your Wii collection.

Go, Go Godzilla! Introducing Bandai's S.H. Monsterarts Toy Line

Action figures have evolved significantly over the last few decades, from figures that featured limited details and articulation points to those that are almost flawless replicas of popular characters and feature articulation points in the double digits. One of the lines that has faced many challenges in updating its designs has been the action figure line of Godzilla and his various kaiju allies and enemies. While many of the recent Godzilla action figures are very detailed and movie-accurate in their appearances, they often feature a limited range of articulation.

Solving this problem is Bandai, which just announced the upcoming November launch of their S.H. Monsterarts toy line. According to the Infinite Hollywood site, this new line will be a spin-off of Bandai's S.H. Figurearts line and it will be devoted to the Godzilla franchise. The first release from the new line will be a six-inch figure of Godzilla himself that will have 29 points of articulation--a first for any Godzilla figure--and it will include bonus "heat effect" parts.

The second figure that is scheduled for release in December will be of MechaGodzilla, and it will feature die cast metal parts and bonus "Mega Buster" effect parts.

Unfortunately, these figures will be far from cheap: Godzilla will go for $75 and MechaGodzilla will go for $90. So you can either start saving your money now, or you can satiate your kaiju cravings in the meantime by picking up Revoltech's super-poseable (and slightly cheaper) kaiju figures that include Anguirus, Gamera, Gigan, Mothera and Rodan.

Mini-Review of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2

In spite of my hazy, crazy summer schedule, I did see the last Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2, on opening weekend. The theater was packed, which is a very impressive feat for a 9:45 a.m. IMAX 3D showing on a Saturday morning. Deathly Hallows Part 2 is one of the best summer films I've seen this year, and it looked absolutely stunning in IMAX 3D.

Deathly Hallows Part 2 chronicles the final confrontation between Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), a confrontation that inevitably involves Hogwarts itself--the castle, the faculty and the students. This sequel picks up immediately after the previous movie, so viewers who haven't seen Deathly Hallows Part 1 yet should see that first before watching Part 2. (Then again, with all of the cameos of people and places that were seen in the previous films, anyone who decides to make the last Harry Potter film their first will be completely lost.)

Deathly Hallows Part 2 is epic in scope, both in terms of narrative structure and visual composition, more so than any of the previous Harry Potter films. Further aiding in the astonishing grandiosity of this adaptation is the direction of David Yates, whose previous experience in this franchise (Yates directed the last three Harry Potter films) clearly aided him in providing the right tone and pacing for this final chapter. In between the action set pieces are a few quiet, thoughtful, character-driven scenes--including a few noteworthy moments involving Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), Harry himself, and a goblin named Griphook (Warwick Davis)--which emphasize the quality of the film's cast and Yates' thorough understanding of the source material.

As with any other Harry Potter movie, quite a few subplots from the books are missing in the movie. For example, the tragic story behind Ariana, the late sister of Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), is nowhere to be found; she makes a cameo appearance as a portrait in a scene with Albus' brother Aberforth (Ciarán Hinds), but nothing more. While the omission of this and other back stories doesn't keep Deathly Hallows Part 2 from being a great movie, their absence stand as reminders of how the movies' set running times cause them to fall short of the narrative richness of Rowling's books--even when one book is split into two movies, as is the case of Deathly Hallows. Nevertheless, I don't know how the ending of the Harry Potter saga could have been portrayed any better on the silver screen than what Yates and company produced in Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Furthermore, if there's one film to see in 3D this summer, it's Deathly Hallows. The already impressive action scenes in both Gringotts and Hogwarts gain an extra level of almost immersive depth in the 3D format, which further enhances the multitude of thrills that this sequel provides.

Heroes and Comics I Miss: Part 2

A few weeks ago I gave you a few little comics that made my childhood in the 80's a lot of fun. This week I wanted to give you a few more titles that brought a smile to my face and were scooped up as soon as I saw them. These will never see an "Essential" collection, but should.

Shogun Warriors

Probably the biggest toy ever to have a comic book based on it, these guys were 3 feet tall and were an absolute treasure during my childhood. Their fists would fly off, they had little spaceships in their helmets, and were on roller skates! Well, rollers anyway.

The comic book was a lot of fun as well. It only lasted 20 issues, but it was a blast and saw guest appearances by the Fantastic Four. These guys even faced Godzilla at one point in his own comic!

Basically, it was pretty much like any Japanese manga you'd see today except this was Marvel comics drawn by Herb Trimpe so it was Americanized like crazy. These were giant robots controlled by normal guys and they would fight giant monsters, meteors, and even each other if something happened.

What makes this comic stand out above others like it is the fact that it was pretty much the first of its kind for me. Up until that point giant robots had been used by villains to attack folks like Superman and such. Here were some cool robots based on even cooler toys that were run by good guys with no super powers other than the ability to drive a giant robot!

While the toy line had several to choose from, the comic concentrated mostly on three or four. My personal favorite was Raydeen, both as a toy and as the comic. Unfortunately, this was part of a licensing deal (which Marvel really ran with in the early 80's) and therefore these guys are off the table permanently. Marvel can't touch them and the toy line is pretty much dead, though Mazinga (or Mazinger, in the Japanese version) still shows up from time to time in toy stores as a smaller version.

Crazy Magazine

Is it fair to heap a magazine into a comic book list? Yes, if we're talking about Crazy magazine. This was Marvel's answer to Mad Magazine, and as such it had some of the greatest guest shots imaginable. Marvel's earlier foray into funny books was Not Brand Ecch!, and they even packaged a reprint of that first issue in one of the Crazy issues, retitling it Crazy as well.

So what made it so good? This was a parody book that was for comic geeks as well. At one point they introduced "Teen Hulk", a character who changed when he was afraid. Nothing ever went right for him though, and he definitely wasn't like the real Hulk because he was funny. A character named "Obnoxio the Clown" was introduced later in the run, and he actually made it into the real Marvel universe to fight the X-Men! Marvel artists like John Byrne drew entire funny comic stories in it! Sometimes they would even take a Marvel story from the past and reprint it with new dialogue to make it funny. This was stuff that catered to comic fans!

Popular TV shows and movies were made fun of all the time, but these were jokes I actually got as a child. Mad sometimes got a little too deep with some of their parodies for me (or too wordy), but Crazy always kept it pure and simple.

This little book ran from 1973 to 1983, and I still vividly remember when I received notice in the mail that the title was being canceled. It was not a fun moment in my childhood.

Of course, popular culture today could not support a book like this anymore (seen Mad lately? Sheesh!). It would inevitably get too political or dirty and would therefore lose the charm this book had.

Still, this was a window into the 70's and early 80's that was consistently funny. I miss it and still try to add back issues to my collection whenever I can find one in really good condition.

Team America

Another one of those "toys tie-in" comic books, Team America was about three bikers (later five) who basically rode around in cool red-white-and-blue-themed costumes and fought criminals between stunt shows.

Along the way, they were assisted--many times without their knowledge--by the mysterious "Marauder", a black-clad biker who never spoke but could ride his crazy chopper like no one else. Due to the success of Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe, there can be little doubt who this character was designed after.

This group managed to get into the real Marvel Universe, just like the Micronauts and ROM had before it. Iron Man made an appearance, and what biker comic book could go without an appearance by Ghost Rider, fighting Marauder of course.

Who was Marauder? Well, that was the mystery. This guy showed the talents of all five members of the team, constantly giving you the impression it could be any of them. They did a great job of keeping him "off screen" when the heroes were around, and only letting him show up when no one was around so you never knew.

This series only lasted 12 short issues, with the identity of Marauder finally being explained to be a woman who was channeling the collective psychic influence of the team, thus allowing her to appear to have the abilities of all of them. It was a rip-off ending for me, but they made it all better as the final panels of the series unfolded. The team was flying away (all of them, including the woman) to go their separate ways, and then we saw this:

I was better after that. Marauder wasn't just a woman in padding! Maybe there was hope for a sequel! While the team appeared a few times in other books, they basically disappeared toward the end of the 80's and have never been seen since.

The guys were eventually exposed as mutants (hey, it was the 80's and all the cool kids were mutants) in a few other comic appearances (in New Mutants, Captain America, and the Thing) but that was never explored much because they disappeared soon after. The Ideal Toy license eventually expired so Marvel won't be reprinting this title anytime soon, just like the others on this list. Still, it was a fun read while it lasted.

I loved the toys this comic was based on. I had the Marauder toy, and managed to pick up Honcho (the guy in white) and R.U. Reddy (the guy in red) figures at garage sales. While the comic was action-packed, the figures were basically built to stay on their respective bikes and that was all. The legs were bent and wouldn't move, and the arms could only go up or down with no bend at elbows or wrists. Still, I was a happy child with the stunt bike going all over the driveway and ramps I made.

To me, Marauder was one very cool hero. He was the strong silent type, and I hate that he never managed to team up with Snake Eyes for at least one issue. Not a lot of conversation going on, but the narration would be crazy. The figures were two different sizes so playing with the 4 inch poseable Snake Eyes and the 10 inch "can't move much o'nothing" Marauder wasn't much of an option. Those adventures will forever remain a mystery.

What about you? Do you have any favorite canceled comics you miss?