After Marvel's ULTMATUM

Cataclysmic stories like these will always have some casualties. I get that. Stories that involved larger-than-Life conflicts depend on action for plot. I get that too. How the characters respond to the situation at hand frames characterization, development & perhaps even some surge of uncharacteristic behavior. Fine, the character goes thru an adrenaline rush to meet the demands of the situation. But radical changes in the plot that are justified (or is it) by wanton acts of violence and aggression and even feral behavior just to move the story forward is something I don't get. 

Reading some of the earlier reviews, I learned that this compilation is suppossed to be in line with the discontinuation of the Marvel Ultimate Line. Ok so you want to go out with a Bang! Great. But somehow along the way, the Bang became a Dud! 

Somewhere along the way, they felt it was ok to kill off some excess characters because the roster was too many & they didn't know what to do with some of them, if not all. Some if these "excess" characters were clearly of no use. Like Spider Man, Wasp, Ant Man, Doctor Doom, Dazzler, Emma Frost, Cyclops, Wolverine, Magneto, Professor X, Thor, Valkyrie and my favorite, Dr. Strange! (just to name a few) 

And since one was already in the process of trimming, no need for them to go out in a blaze of glory, because they're just too many & to highlight the tragic fall of each chosen "excess" hero would be emotionally taxing on the reader. After all it is a comic book right? And not classic literature that invokes introspection, relatability, and moral insights. 

Perhaps seeing the Wasp die at the hands of The Blob turned cannibal & Professor X's head being snapped like a twig should have clued me in on the "unpredictability" element of the Ultimate Universe. (not to mention graphic depictions of arrow-in-the-eye-shot, incinerations & limb tearing) But seeing my favorite character Dr. Strange so easilly defeated by Dormammu, and so easilly and blodilly dispatched as if he was a novice and Not Sorcerer Supreme was the last straw for me. 

I should have heeded my instincts to check reviews first before giving into impulse and buying this on the spot. But at least I have another compilation to cheer me up after this. Let's hope the Justice 
League fares better. 

In short, if you don't mind seeing some favorites die & you just wanna go for the ride then be my guest. But don't say I didn't warn you. 

Exclusive: Dual Hobbit Film Titles Revealed?

Exclusive: Dual Hobbit Film Titles Revealed?

CAZ | Love Has Found Me | CD Baby

CAZ | Love Has Found Me | CD Baby

Anne Rice in conversation with Christopher Rice

Anne Rice in conversation with Christopher Rice

Anne Rice - Of Love and Evil

This second writing of Anne's, Songs of the Seraphim, series for me is much better than Angel Time. 

It is more simply written, which per Anne in one of her video blogs and interviews, is a harder thing to do and is a quality that she continually strives for in her writing. 


And if you think that because the element of simplicity is present in a work, quality and substance are sacrificed then think again, for only a master of the craft, like Anne, can give us all these and leave us wanting more.

And perhaps it is in this light, that we find this book a thinner one to read but one that is not bereft of plot, conflict and more questions for us the reader and for Toby who continues to struggle in his personal journey of redemption. 

The whole novel is tighter and takes us further on the path that Toby O Dare, assassin for hire, has begun in Angel Time. 


For this second outing, we find him on a mission for the Angel Malciah, in Renaissance Italy. Here Toby is assigned to a Jewish physician named Vitale who is tasked to find a cure for the ailing son of his sponsor, Signore Antonio. 

In this journey, Toby is forced to reconcile both people from his past, as hinted at the end of Angel Time while making room to accommodate new people and rectify what he has been led to believe at the start of the series. 

Written in true lavish Anne fashion and the proverbial cliffhanger, I can't wait what Toby O Dare undergoes in the next installment. :) 

Oh and did I mention that there was a "Dybbuk" (Jewish term for Ghost) in the tale? So what are you waiting for? 

Go get it and Enjoy. :)

7 Most Anticipated Scenes in HP7 - Lifestyle - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News

7 Most Anticipated Scenes in HP7 - Lifestyle - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News

Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps

Having been immersing myself in the last year, not to mention couple of months with the current Green Lantern series, Blackest Night and it’s almost never ending prequels and tie-ins, I figured that I’ve had it and would not be tempted, bullied, seduced to get another tie-in. 

Boy, was I wrong.

After much “research”, I knew I just had to reneg on that promise I made to myself and just had to get the Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps. 

I know I was burned into collecting the last one which was Rise of the Black Lanterns on harbound (ouch!), I apparently have not learned from this lesson. 

Now shouldn’t I be rewarded with an Orange Ring? Ah paging Larfreeze! 

This compilation collects Green Lantern Corps #39-47 and shows us the damage (not to mention carnage) that the Black Lanterns inflicted on OA, while the main Blackest Night Storyline takes place on Earth, with Hal Jordan and the rest of the Justice League, Justice Society, The Titans and the rest of the DC folks all keeping the bad guys (and Guardian) in check. J

The book starts with Guy Garnder and Kyle Rayner on their way back to OA, after having come from Earth to attend Tribute Day. (Yes, Flash isn’t the only one who has this). They are met by Lantern Soranik of Korugar and Lantern (Princess) Iolande of Betrassus. They are the first to encounter a horde of Black Lantern Rings making its way to OA, and realizing that willpower-powered barriers erected to stay their flight proved futile.

Sure enough the Black Lantern Rings find their way, infiltrating the Lantern Crypt, overwhelm caretaker Lantern Morro of the desert planet Sarc, and revive all deceased Green Lanterns and turn them into Black Lanterns. 

Some of these include casualties of the preceding Sinestro Corps War like Lantern Jack T Chance of Garnet; Lantern Katma Tui of Korugar; Tomar Re of Xandor;  

Lantern Jade (daughter of Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern) and Lantern Ke’hann who was then rumoured to be harboring feelings for Lantern Arisia inspite of his marriage. After his death, she became a Red Lantern, successfully channelling her rage and frustration.

Most Green Lanterns were not spared with meeting the deceased and corresponding Black Lantern that held the most emotional connection to them in their lifetime. 

Like Kyle was met by Jade; Guy Gardner by Lantern Bzzd of Apiaton and Lantern Ke’hann. Trainmaster Kilowog wasn’t spared as he was met by his mentor and now Black Lantern Ermey!

The onslaught of the Black Lanterns was so overwhelming that even the main power battery on OA was threatened. These conflicts were just some of things that happened and why I felt I had to have this as part of my Green Lantern collection in an effort to bring me up to speed in my Lantern education. 

Wouldn't want to give anything else away if in case you are contemplating whether or not to collect this volume. And would want to keep other aspects of the storyline a surprise. But if not for anything else, seeing Guy Gardner aptly channel his rage and become a Red Lantern should be a good reason for you to get this.

Why then did he become a Red Lantern?

Well I guess you would have to get your copy and sign up in the Corps to know all about it.