Make your own Simpson character!

Getting antzy for The Simpsons Movie? I know I am- so I checked out their website and found a neat custom Simpsons character creator. Here's me...

Elektra wasn't alone....

If you've read the latest New Avengers (#30) you know Elektra was revealed to be a Skrull. Shocking? You betcha. First time this has happened in the Marvel U? Don't think so. Check out Fantastic Four #357 from way back in '91...





There you have it. A Skrull agent had been masquerading as Alicia Masters- the blind sculptress and former girlfriend to The Thing, now wife to Johnny Storm.

The story- Alicia was chosen to be replaced with a female Skrull agent to exact revenge on the FF. The switch was made when the majority of Marvel heroes disappeared (Secret Wars) and upon their return, placed in the decoy. However, Ben had chosen to stay behind. The Skrull now focused on Johnny- eventually falling in love with him and much to Ben's dismay got married.

It was later revealed the Skrull's name was Lyja the Lazerfist and that she was pregnant with Johnny's baby. The baby was just an egg- hatching a squid-like alien that was quickly destroyed. Currently, Lyja is M.I.A. in the Marvel U- but I'm sure she's likely to show up any day now with the event of post civil-war/planet hulk/endangered species. Unless of course, Lyja was Elektra- that would work too I guess....

The Fantasticar: A lesson in frustration

I'm a huge Fantastic Four fan. So it only makes sense (as far as fanboy logic goes) to buy anything FF related... Even if I don't need it or simply don't have room for it. Such is the case with Toybiz's Fantasticar from the Fantastic Four movie- the local Toys'r'us had an abundance of these at a measly $12. With little regard to the size issue- I picked one up...

Getting it out of the box and assembled was quite the task.

Components free of cardboard, tape, twisty ties, and plastic brackets.

Now the fun part- connecting it all together...

"Excuse me- do you know the way to the Negative Zone?"

Ready for action...

Quite the fun accessory to my FF lineup. The Fantasticar is the only vehicle that works perfectly to the scale of the figures. A great comic representation as well. Very slim chance of every seeing the X-Men's Blackbird or Avenger's Quinjet like this.

Now the frustration- I have no where to put the darn thing. It's huge. It's bulky. It didn't come with a stand (duh). Looks like I'll have to do some rearranging on the top shelf, clear it off, or hang it from the ceiling. Hoo-boy. Moving around things on my shelf is like a bull in a china shop. It's clobberin' time.

Yet from seeing it on the comic pages to an actual 3-D version of it, with the figures inside, it really does pop. Not the typical "Mr. Fantastic's Shuttle Screamer" or anything stupid like that. Best $12 I've ever spent on a FF toy.

Super New Comic Wednesday

Every once in awhile, New Comic Wednesday goes overboard. Comics are always a given of course, but then there's that one, or two, or three items you weren't expecting. Well, maybe you were- June 27th is one of those days. Here's what coming out...

Not one, but TWO Heroclix sets, The Irredeemable Ant-man Trade, a new issue of Wizard, and last but not least the usual stack of comics (this week is rather small- Teen Titans, Countdown, and Uncanny X-Men #200). There could also be the third Invincible Hardcover Trade as well.

Now, as to whether or not the comic store will have them in–– that's a horse of a different color.

Heroclix Game Night 6/20

Played another rousing game of Heroclix this past Wednesday with pals Chris and Adam. Sadly, Dan was not able to participate- which means I'm filling in for his post on d-r-m. Dan has it down pack: stats, CLEAR pictures, and witty commentary. Anyhoo- here's the map from this weeks game:
Four quadrants divided up into mini-maps. You couldn't enter another section of the map until everyone in your area was defeated- a kind of last clix standing. Kudos to Chris for coming up with a unique board- made for really fun game- even though I lost. Adam cleaned house on that front- and we let him win 'cause we felt bad for forgetting his birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM!!

Adam's Killer Red Team

Chris's Batman & Friends(?) Team

My EVIL Team

Always make sure to stretch before battle.

Get ready for New Comic Wednesday!

Here's a visual list of books I'm thinking of getting this coming NCW-

This my third attempt at trying a NCW post- I'm bound to find something that fits eventually. Stay tuned for more goodies...

Scary new boardgames coming soon...

Looks like Twilight Creations Inc. is at it again with two new boardgames coming in the next two months: Reiner Knizia's Gravediggers and Haunting House 4: They don't build 'em like they used to. No question as to how they games will look (great) but playability is another thing...more to come kids.

You are a gravedigger in a small town. Business is very good, but your job doesn't pay much, is very dirty and above all, IS REALLY BORING! To add some excitement and an extra source of income to your life, you decide to start a contest with your fellow gravediggers. Everyone has one week to borrow as many valuables from their clients as they can. Any cemetery is fair game and whomever has the most stuff at the end wins. Everyone agrees it sounds like fun and let's face it, they can't take it with them! Gravediggers is an easy bidding game from the award-winning designer, Dr. Reiner Knizia. Players: 2 to 5 Playing Time: 30 minutes
Coming July 2007!



You and your hoodlum friends have decided to hit the Breitenstein house one last time. This time around the goal is the same...Well, there might be one slight difference... Unlocking the basement seems to have set something free...something evil!!!
Coming August 2007!

Lost Game Night

Awhile back I hosted the usual game night at my place- the game, Heroclix We usually do the standard game- KO the other team before they KO you. Simple enough. But I had the 'brilliant' idea to mix two games into one- the other being Zombies!!! Let's just say it didn't work. Too much to do and in heavy favor of zombies winning the game along with the distration of engrossing tv and conversation. The only good that came of it was the map we played on- a combo of an office building and haunted house. Very tricky to get through quickly. Here's pics of the night that went wrong....

Adam's SNIPER team

Chris's ____MAN team

Dan's SINISTER SIX team

My CIRCUS FREAKS team

So, in conclusion: Don't mix your boardgames and say no to zombies- they just want to eat your brains anyway.

Rise of the Silver Surfer Review- NO SPOILERS!

The bar was set at Mole Man height as my friends and I entered the theater to watch FF 2. One hour and twenty-nine minutes later we were all pleasantly surprised. Shocked even. This movie didn't suck. It wasn't dissapointing as the first film and although it did have it share of groans and WHAT?! moments- it was good. Comic book good.

My advice to non-fanboys among us- don't watch the first flim- have someone explain the concept of the Fantastic Four to you- read a few isssues (Kirby & Lee's "Coming of Galactus"), or look it up on Wikipedia even. Then, go see the second movie. You'll enjoy it all that much more. And if you liked what you saw- go back and watch the first one- you'll understand why this one works all the much better. It's a darker flim (Reed has a back bone- telling Johnny and Ben to 'shutup', Surfer destroys without mercy, and Johnny learns to grows up a little). Sadly, Sue is still feh....

I loved it. Consider the DVD bought.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Wii Review

Having played the first FF game- back on the good ol' PS2- my expectations were low, until the Wii was released with its unique control scheme and a different game developer at the helm. Now you'd be able to do four players simultaneous this time around, which would make sense- with it being the FANTASTIC FOUR.

The game plays like X-Men Legends lite (as my friend Chris stated). The graphics are nice but nothing to gawk at. Controlling the heroes is easy with the directional pad on the nunchuk and executing attacks with the 'A' button on the remote, in combination with other buttons being held, or tapped in unison. Cosmic (special) attacks are a bit more random causing you to flail the controllers around like you're a 4 year old having a temper tantrum.* Sometimes they work- and then they don't. It can be quite a workout just to see the Thing do a ground smash. Levels are long and monotonous- health is sparse and the catch phrases get to be a bit much. Fun to play with a group to pass the time (which we did before going to see the flick) but don't waste your money.

*Side note- I'm actually getting pretty sick of the Wii. After the rush of WiiSports and WiiPlay, what else is there? The games I've owned I've traded in, in hope the next one would offer tighter controller and response time. Sadly, its never the case. Why is it the only game to offer great control is Rayman: Raving Rabbids? A simple mini-game? C'mon!

The Wii has become the PT Cruiser of game consoles...it started out as a great idea and now the baby boomer generation think its the best thing since sliced bread (now common on cruise ships and retirement homes)- therefore killing any logic and reason from game developers to follow through with the Wiimote/Nunchuk- "They've never played video games before- Like they'll know the difference!" Arrrrghhhh.....

I own more Virtual Console games than Wii games. I own Mario Party 8 and even that disappoints me on occasion. The Wii will only be good at short mini-games and possibly first person shooters (if they don't muck that up too). The Wii is not meant for racing, fighting, or any other game that requires you to use button combos of any nature- Basically, every game you've played up until now. Growing up on 'regular' consoles, I guess I've been spoiled- but this is getting ridiculous. I'm glad I still have my PS2....

Herbie Lives!

At least on the new Fantastic Four Extended Edition DVD.


Herbie can be spotted in one of the deleted scenes in the extended cut of the film (which was released to DVD this past Tuesday). Does the new cut make up for the film's overall blandness? No, according to IGN:

Overall, the Fantastic Four (Extended Edition) is superior to the original DVD in every way possible except for the quality of the actual film; but the set is absolutely worth buying for fans of the original cut, comic books in general, or even casual followers who are interested in a more in-depth look at the art form. In fact, two of the documentaries on this set are officially joining IGN's shortlist for some of the best bonus materials of 2007; so even if Fantastic Four isn't altogether fantastic in a longer edition, the film and its sequel indeed serve a productive purpose in that they inspired a DVD whose extras generate far more interest than they do themselves.

Interesting IGN. Personally, I don't watch extras on a movie over and over again like I would the film. Once is enough- and since FF wasn't the greatest of all films (it pains me to say so) I won't buy this edition either.

Will FF2 live up to the hype? Probably not. I learned the hard way with Spidey 3- my expectations are set low for the sequel- I'm just glad they're making movies about my favorite comic characters- they're bound to get it right eventually. It could be worse- say...Roger Corman?

FF @ BK and other goodness

Went to Burger King with friend Chris the other day and saw the new Fantasic Four 2 kids meal toys.


Gotta say- I'm impressed. They remind me more of the short lived Fantastic Four cartoon than the upcoming sequel. They're like teen versions of the Marvel Superhero Squad line, seen here...

I've yet to see these in stores- I'm sure they'll show up in the next couple of days. This next one had me even more surprised. A mini-giant Galactus. How you could not let him eat the planet with that happy smirk?


And like most summer movies go, there's always a video game tie-in. Available on all platforms, FF2 promises four player co-op (about darn time) and the ability to switch between characters on the fly. The previous FF movie game was terrible. However, this game is being produced by a different company and may actually get it right. I don't have it reserved to buy, but I'd like to give it a try...who knows it may just be clobberin' time after all.

100th post

Wow.

I didn't think I'd make it this far- that my thoughts would be so interesting to continually blog week after week (with the occasional week of nothing). How much more can I talk about comics, video games and odd happenings? It doesn't really matter. Kneelbeforeblog started as something to do in my free time for kicks and now, I actually feel bad if I have nothing to post. I can't neglect it for long. Blogs need love too. Its become part of my weekly routine along with paying bills and doing the laundry. It's fun to vent even if no one's listening and ramble on about things only a small group of people enjoy.

So no over the top 100 list extravaganza or anything fancy like that. Just thanks. Glad you're still here- I know I am.

Jeff out.