Comic Book Review: Star Wars Annual #1 - Marvel Comics (2015)

Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Angel Unzueta

Rebel spy Eneb Ray is on Coruscant  undercover as Tharius Demo, an Imperial officer.  He is met with a mission from Princess Leia but there is a surprise that nobody had planned on and my be the opportunity the rebels have been needing.

The first Star Wars Annual was a nice book to read.  It really has little to nothing to do with the current story lines being followed in the current Star Wars comic books other than taking place during the same timeline which is between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Eneb Ray is not a character I'm familiar with and this was a decent introduction.  With that said, I don't think I need many more stories of him.  As said in the Young Justice cartoon, I was "whelmed" by this story.  If you want to read a one and done Star Wars story and don't mind paying $4.99 for it, pick it up.

What are your thoughts on the Star Wars comic books?  What other comic books would you like to see reviewed by the Maskerpiece Theatre bloggers?  Please leave your comments below.

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Comic Book Review: Darth Vader Annual #1 - Marvel Comics (2015)

Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Leinil Yu

Darth Vader travels to Shu-torun to ensure frther cooperation with the Empire.  It seems there may be more on the mind of the king of Shu-torun than Vader may know.

Kieron Gillen writes a good Darth Vader story in the first Annual.  It showcases what makes Darth Vader one of the greatest bad guys of all time.  Leinil Yu's art is excellent and very pleasing to look at throughout the book.

The $4.99 price tag is a bit much for a story unto itself.  It's one story and I don't know that it will impact the Darth Vader regular series.  I more than likely would have passed on this book had I really thought about it.

What are your thoughts on the Darth Vader comic books?  Are there any other comic books you think the writers at Maskerpiece Theatre should be reviewing?  Please leave your comments below.

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Comic Book Review: Dazzler #1 - Marvel Comics (1981)

Written by Tom DeFalco
Art by John Romita Jr.

Alison Blaire is looking to further her music career and avoid thugs at night.  Fortunately for Alison, she is also known as the mutant called Dazzler.  Dazzler posesses the ability to use sound and turn it into colorful and sometimes blinding lights.  The power comes in handy keep bad guys busy while you hope for Spider-Man or the X-Men to show up.

I was inside of a used book/music store perusing the comic books when I came across this book from 1981.  I think it peaked my curiosity as, one year at Phoenix ComiCon, I went over to Mark Bagley who was at his table drawing.  I was looking to get a couple of comic books autographed and he asked if I wouldn't mind waiting until he was done laying out his art work. It's Mark Bagley for crying out loud, of course I don't mind watching this artist at work.  It was at this point he told me it was his first time drawing Dazzler.  I thought it was pretty awesome to watch him sketching out a character he had not drawn previously.

The store put a price tag of $2.00 on Dazzler #1 so I thought, "why not?"  I'm sure in 1981 people thought the same thing with an original cover price of $.50.  I'm no inflation expert but I'm sure that's not equivalent to the $4.99 comics I'm seeing nowadays.  I enjoyed going through the yellowing pages of Dazzler, reading the descriptive boxes that make for commentary on what is happening in each panel.  I also enjoyed the advertisements.  "Fun Factory" had all the mail order gags and novelty items.  "Mile High Comics" had a list of comic books with prices that you could order by mail.  Yep, mail.  This was before the internet kiddos.

So anyway, back to Dazzler.  This book was filled with guest stars which is probably a good thing.  She would have made more sense as someone in a group.  I guess Dazzler could still work as a comic book.  I feel like you would have to really explore the personal side of Alison Blaire.  While it was explored, there were points of action that just included rudimentary thugs.  For some reason, thugs decide to bust up a school dance forcing Dazzler to use her blinding power.

Apparently this light show is something however.  The Enchantress comes down from Asgard to get a singing gig at a club, but Alison's voice and lights won over the club owner  enough to get over.  The Enchantress wasn't too happy about that and she's going to make them pay, presumably in the next issue.

It's unlikely that I'll get to issue two of Dazzler but it was fun to read through this book.  I hope you all enjoyed this review of a 30+ year old comic book.

Are you a fan of Dazzler?  What other comic books would you like to see reviewed?  Please leave your comments below.

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Act 139: Secret Identities

Masked Blogster and the host who shall not be named talk Supergirl, Flash, Arrow and the actors who best played the parts of superheroes and their aliases.  They also chat about the new blogs on MaskerpieceTheatre.blogspot.com.

Click here to listen or right click and choose "Save As..." to download.

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Movie Review: The Hateful Eight (2015)

The eight film from Quentin Tarantino brings yet another all-star cast filled with incredible performances.  Along with great dialogue, the violence was definitely not lacking.  I was originally going to see this movie as part of the 70mm Road Show.  There were about 100 movie theaters across the United States that were showing The Hateful Eight on actual film as opposed to the digital projectors.  I was excited to enjoy the viewing experience but the cost was double what I ended up paying a week later to watch it digitally.  The film is still beautiful, and I had a great time.

The Hateful Eight takes place in the state of Wyoming where a blizzard is sweeping through. Throughout the movie, you find yourself trying to figure out who the bad guy, or perhaps bad guys, are.  This proves difficult as all of the characters are more sinners than they are saints.

Kurt Russell is the bounty hunter John Ruth and he aims to collect when he delivers Daisy Domergue who is played amazingly by Jennifer Jason Leigh.  With their stagecoach driver O.B.(James Parks) hey cross paths with Samuel Jackson who played the part of Major Marquis Warren and later run into Walton Goggins' character, Chris Mannix.  These four characters have reputations that proceed them, so everyone has an idea of who they're dealing with and it's explained why everyone is on edge.

The majority of the film takes place in a cabin where nothing seems to go as planned.  This is where we meet the characters played by Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Demian Bichir and Bruce Dern.  The rest of the film is spent figuring out who is who and if anyone is truly on the up and up.

Also starring Channing Tatum, Zoe Bell, Dana Gourrier, Gene Jones, Keith Jefferson, Craig Stark, Lee Horsley and Belinda Owino.

The Hateful Eight is in theaters now and I highly recommend seeing it if you enjoy a film with gratuitous violence, remarkable banter between characters and the all around movie-going experience.  Tarantino has an eye and ear for what makes movies such an enjoyable pastime.

What are your thoughts on The Hateful Eight?  What other reviews or content would you like to see from Maskerpiece Theatre?  Please leave your comments below.

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