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And this is Mark Waid we're talking about! He's a living comics legend doing something completely selfless and awesome for the betterment of creators and readers alike.

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I'M EMBEDDING A REVOLUTION INTO MY BLOG!

IGN March Comics Madness: It's All Over!

Thanks to fellow IGN Comics Review Crew member Poet Mase for creating and running the extremely fun IGN March Comics Madness tournament-bracket-filling-out-thingy. I was 100% sure Jesse was going to win since he's a certifiable comics genius, so imagine my surprise when I took first place and earned ego-inflating title of 2013 IGN Comics Cagematch People's Champion!

And here's my bracket, which I filled out with a mix of my favorite titles, what sells best, and what the IGN community seems to dig. It was the IGN community who did the voting, so this just proves they have good taste!

IGN Reviews 3/6/13

Check out my reviews on IGN!

IGN Holiday Gift Guide 2012

I generated half the content for the Comics and Collectibles section of the IGN Holiday Gift Guide, so check it out so you know the best stuff to get the nerd in your life. Don't miss my favorite entry, the one for Saga.

Quote Me, Quote Me, Say That You'll Quote Me

At the shop today I saw that I was quoted on four new graphic novels (the ones attributed to IGN below). I had only ever been quoted once before on FF vol 2, so it seemed almost silly to me that there were now this many, three of them released on the same day.

Green Lantern: New Guardians vol 1

It's a strange feeling being a critic and having your review used to promote a book. There's a sense of pride that you get from it at first, but then that quickly fades when you realize that you got one sentence published and the guy who wrote the book has a whole comic's worth.

Venom vol 4

But there are no major awards for comic book journalism, so this is as good as it gets. Right now, I just need to be careful not to wind up like the pull-quote guy on MadTV who says fabulous things about terrible movies just because he loves being quoted.

Mind the Gap vol 1

I, Vampire vol 1

Check out my Reviews on IGN!

Mystic #2

X-Men #17

Wolverine #15

Thunderbolts #163

Stormwatch #1 

Touched For the Very First Time: Crawl To Me

In a Joshua Yehl-first, something I said in a review was used to promote a book!!!

My Thunderbolts #160 Review was Featured on IGN!

Thunderbolts #160

With so many characters stuffed into this issue, Shavley does a praiseworthy job of creating unique settings for them to plot and fight in; a particularly funny scene shows the B Team sitting around eating emergency rations while Mr. Hyde lays passed out naked on a crate. Later, even though Parker's scripting takes a confusing turn when Songbird somehow uses her power to make the Juggernaut run up a spiraling pink treadmill, Shavley saves the scene by making it a visual wonder. Read the rest at IGN!

Reviews: Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1

Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1

A young superhero has been taken hostage by mutant-hating religious fanatics called the Purifiers and X-Force must slice, dice, and “stabby stabby” their way to save him. Williams handles the team with such a great balance of violent action, deft characterization, and black humor that one would be hard-pressed to notice it’s not main series regular Rick Remender writing the book. Read the rest at Broken Frontier!

A Truly Touching Response to Oracle Getting Her Legs Back

Jill Pantozzi has written a truly heartfelt article about her response to Oracle getting out of her wheelchair to become Batgirl once more.

While her reaction is genuine and I would encourage everyone to read the article for the arguments it brings up, I want to point out that no details have been released about whether Barbara Gordon will still be in a wheelchair or not once the DC September Re-Launch hits. There's a possibility she could still be disabled and find an advanced Batgirl suit that puts her on her feet much like the new revamped Venom series by Rick Remender. Or Jill's fears could be realized and they completely erase her history back to where she never got shot by the Joker. Only time will tell, but this is still worth a read:

Oracle IS Stronger Than Batgirl Will Ever Be

Who’s your symbol for strength in the DC universe? I’m sure a lot of you are thinking Superman or Batman right now. They’ve certainly got the physical strength and fortitude to make them the perfect candidates. While Batman is my all-time favorite character in comics, he’s not the first person I look to when I need to be reminded to keep fighting in this world. For that I look to Oracle. Read the rest at Newsarama.com!

Fear Itself and Blackest Night, A Saving Grace

A non-mainstream hero has his mythology expanded upon as an ancient enemy unleashes variants of the hero's signature weapon. No, this is not DC's hugely successful blockbuster Blackest Night, it is Marvel's upcoming event called Fear Itself.

One of these things is just like the other.

DC (more specfically Geoff Johns) took Green Lantern and created a total of eight new Lantern Corps and wove a Lord of the Rings-esque mythology around the character, who beforehand was largely unknown to the general public. Now with his increased popularity and visibility, Green Lantern has a movie out this summer, as well as a few new books being added to his line (Emerald Warriors and Red Lantern Corps).

Marvel is clearly aiming to mimic that forumla for success. Usually big cross-over events involve all of the most popular characters gathering for an epic-scale battle, but after Johns wrote an event starring a B-list character who earned A-list dollars, that formula looks to be getting a change.

As can be understood from the initial press releases teasing Fear Itself, the God of Fear has been unleashed and his awakening has uncovered eight magical hammers on Earth, all of which must be weilded by someone who is deemed "worthy." And in the center of all this craziness is Thor. The story has taken obvious cues from Blackest Night. It's clear they replaced Nekron with the God of Fear, the rings with hammers, and Green Lantern with Thor. To even go one further, all of the Black Lanterns made every character confront their most tortured memories of those they lost. Marvel is taking a direct, more obvious route by making each character confront what they personally fear the most.

The God of Fear and Nekon. Notice any similarities?

Marvel and DC imitating each other is nothing new, but what is more notable is the character-centric formula. For years fans have complained about "event fatigue" with one big battle coming after another and all claiming to have the same high stakes that will change the universe, but usually in their execution manage to fall flat (Secret Invasion, Final Crisis). Changing the scope of the story to focus and expand upon one single character instead of having a large mass of costumed heroes all clamoring for a moment in the spotlight allows for a more nuanced and heartfelt story. Just think of the wildly popular TV show Lost. Each episode focused on a single character, all the while expanding on the mysteries of the island. "Emotions" and "feelings" are strange words to describe a huge comic book event involving super heroes and villains fighting each other, but it is that unique aspect - causing readers to "feel" instead of become over-stimulated by action sequences - that might be the saving grace of event books.

If Marvel can do what Lost and Blackest Night did, and that is introduce some fresh mythology for Thor and keep the story grounded on his character, then fans might be in for a treat when Fear Itself hits shelves. If anything, a change in the format of events is most definitely welcome.

And I will be damned if everyone who picks up a hammer doesn't wind up in a Thor-inspired costume just like a selection of fan-favorites all got a Lantern outfit.

Storm would look good in Thor's helmet, right?

Followup Note: The subject of this article is not about how Marvel is copying DC, rather how event comics are changing for the better by using a refreshing, character-centric forumla as seen in Blackest Night by Geoff Johns.