I’ve just purchased two awesome DVDs: Ultimate Avengers: The Movie and Ultimate Avengers 2. They’re both straight-to-DVD movies based on the Marvel comic The Ultimates by Mark Millar & Bryan Hitch. They where just made available here in the Philippines recently. I was almost about to give in to the urge of buying pirated copies since I thought they won’t be released here. Patience is my friend.

Although animated, these movies aren’t for kids. Unfortunately, I don’t see it for adults either. For kids, the movies are too violent. We all know kids become felons because of violent animated films adapted from violent comic books, right? For adults, it’s kiddie stuff. For me, I dig it. But it’s nowhere near Justice League Unlimited.

I just got a huge kick out of seeing Marvel characters being animated. Unfortunately, nothing special can be said about the story. Sure, the big ass fight scenes rock (it’s a joy to watch all the scenes featuring the Hulk and Thor), but I do hope if Marvel will continue animating their characters, they’ll improve on the character development area thingie.

Oh, and uhh… the Black Widow? Hot.

Anyway, since this is my first post here on LongBox after I turned it into a comics-centric blog (like you care), I’d like to inform you that I’ll be talking about the comics I purchase every week. Yes, I have no life. Now, on to this week’s haul:

52 #31: I’ve never heard of Captain Comet since I’m not really a big fan of DC comics. His death is blah to me. Not that his death is a really big deal since I’ve learned that he dies a lot and he always comes back. Pfft. Lady Styx though is scary. She enjoys exterminating life. Women. Speaking of, Wonder Girl still seems to be a psycho hot blonde. She thinks the new superhero Supernova is really her dead boyfriend. It’s complicated. The last page brings a promise of a forthcoming kickass fight between Lady Styx with her undead horde and Animal Man, Starfire, Lobo, and Adam Strange. Nice. Chris Batista, as usual, did a fine job with this issue’s pencils.

I give this 3 out of 5 dead Green Lanterns.

Doctor Strange: The Oath #3: I am so enjoying this mini-series by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin. The recap page is a nice touch. I love the references to Sherlock Holmes during conversations between Doctor Strange and Night Nurse. With so many comics right now that are so damn predictable, this comic gave me a nice surprise when the big bad was revealed. It also gave me a good chuckle when Doc Strange reacted to the revealed identity of his enemy: “Who the hell is that?” And I never thought that the Sorcerer Supreme could be so badass. He trapped Brigand in his own mind. When Night Nurse asked him about due process, the good doctor replied “Sorcerers have little patience for the laws of nature, and even less for the laws of man.” Badass.

I give this 5 out 5 fire-breathing monsters.

Justice Society of America #1: I’m glad I believed all the hype. I absolutely dig this relaunch of a title that features the first superhero team in the DC Universe. I don’t like Alex Ross, but his cover is okay. The cover I posted here is a variant. I’m too lazy to search for the cover that I have. Anyway, the first scene with Mr. America is nothing short of a kick in the nuts. I think I’m going to like this bunch of masks, especially that Starman dude. He’s, for a lack of a better term, insane. Any comic with brilliant lines like “The world needs better good guys” mixed in with what-the-hell lines like “Now who’s crying like a bitch?” deserves a spot on my ever-growing pull list.

I give this 4 out 5 geriatric superheroes.

Uncanny X-Men #481: The Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire saga continues as the X-Men go through trust issues, Marvel Girl makes out with the Shi’ar dude who tried to kill them all, and Professor X gets screwed (literally, it seems). Billy Tan‘s art looks amazing. His Marvel Girl and Polaris are hot! And speaking of hot, Marvel Girl’s new threads look great. Not a lot of action in this issue, but it looks like next issue, the Starjammers will be joining the interstellar party to whoop some ass. And oh yeah, Darwin is all badass and stuff. I’m starting to like him and his mutant power. He can adapt in any environment, hence his ability to safely travel through space by holding onto the roof of a spaceship. Hardcore.

I give this 3 out 5 Phal’kons.

I was pumped up to read the Marvel Holiday Special and Agents of Atlas #5, but unfortunately, my comic book shop of choice didn’t get a delivery for several new titles this week. Hence, I only got four titles to bring home and keep me warm. Good news for my wallet though, since I also had to buy a new power supply for my PC. Stupid computer.