Axelrod

The answer to the title question is: Not reasonable.

I feel old.

Seems legit

Was coming here to post that I hoped they learned something from the debacle that was part two, but I actually like this way of thinking more.... I have no idea what happened with WW2. Seems like they had everything going for them and then completely punted the ball. Just goes to show that all the money and all the talent is still no guarantee that they won't completely f- something up. Somehow.

This one I do not own. It belongs to my little brother. He was nowhere near the comic book guy that I was when growing up, but he liked this series about Turtles which I turned my nose up at because obviously that was a joke comic. I mean, right? Anyway, 40 years later he's still got some of them, and I got him to send me some pictures of #1. It's a 3rd print, and seems in decent shape except for the obvious scuffing on the back. Sadly, he kept it in the bag for the front cover pics What do you think?

But, Suicide Squad. Case. Closed.

And the answer to the question "how bad does that foxing hurt the grade" is....

I didn't actually think any of my books were serious 9.8 candidates. But, in my secret heart, I did dream that this one might have had a chance. And it was close! Still happy (but would have been sweeter with that signature, of course....)

This one I did have reasonable hopes for, if it got cleaned up a little. Also very happy with this grade!

Really pleased about this one. Maybe they really were giving pity bumps for the cancelled signing....

This one I probably wouldn't have submitted without the enticement of a possible Perez signature. And since the Black Widow movie was something of a disappointment - especially as far as how it handled this character - pretty sure the book already peaked over a year ago. Pretty decent grade though, all things considered!

Well, after more than a year, I finally bit the bullet and submitted my first batch of books to CGC. The thing that finally tipped me over the edge - the final George Perez signing. He was always my favorite artist of my favorite series. And then it was cancelled, sadly. And I had the choice to have everything sent back, or just go ahead and do it anyway. And I decided, what the heck. Some of the books I sent in were ones that almost certainly would not have been worth doing (from a purely financial standpoint) without getting that Perez sig., but, I still am glad to have had the experience. And they certainly do look nice. This one I kind of feel might have gotten a "we're very sorry the signing was cancelled" bump. Pleasantly surprised at the grade it got.

Man, why couldn't I have had a cool uncle?

The answer to the title question is: This hobby no likey restoration.

I have seen a lot of movies in my time. I mean, a lot. But I can truly say this movie hit me with some absolutely insane stuff I have never seen before. Also quite liked it, but, man. They went places.... Also! It has the kid who played Short Round in Temple of Doom and Data in the Goonies! All grown up. It's apparently like his first movie in 20 years, and he was great.

This movie was interesting to me. It was not terrible. In fact, it mostly managed to avoid the kind of huge gaping plot holes that plague most comic book movies (and lets face it, most movies period). And the acting and effects were above-average-to-good. Jared Leto can be very hit or miss for me, but he was fine in this. But. It was soooooo...flat? There was an origin story here, and the frame of a very standard superhero movie built up around it, and then everything that might have made it interesting or clever, or just different in some way was left out, and we were left with this kind of empty shell of a movie that went from plot point A to B to C to get to the pre-determined end, with zero surprises or deviation along the way. Like a fill-in-the-blank superhero movie. Maybe it wouldn't have seemed that way to someone who hasn't seen as many movies as I have, but for me, it was like, comical, how predictable it was.

I don't know if it's a known thing or not, but I assumed that they give out the 9.9s and the even rarer 10s on some kind of statistical % basis of books submitted. Basically, if a book looks perfect it will get a 9.8, unless it's time to give out a 9.9. Then they'll take the "best" looking book that would have been a 9.8 and make that the 9.9 Ditto for 10s. Keep them coming, but at a regular and very, very low % I am a cynic.

Once more into the breach!

I think it's kind of amusing that the very article you have linked here seems to be speaking directly about you:

I don't think the corporates are actually going to be disappointed that their re-boot with brand new Batman didn't hit the same level as the Spider-Man franchise-cross-over-event. Sony/Marvel earned that one on the backs of 2 decades of Spider-Man movies.

Well, you know, the last three Marvel movies not involving Spider-Man were Black Widow, Shang-Chi and Eternals. I'm not calling any of those movies failures, but The Batman is kicking all their butts.

This looks like an updated version of Conan.

The first movie I can remember that hit 100 million (domestic) but was still considered a disappointment was Warren Beatty's Tracy. That was when "big budget" movies still generally cost a lot less, of course. Then, the first movie I remember hitting 200 million (domestic), and still being considered a failure was Superman Returns (but that apparently was saddled with a decade of pre-production/development costs unrelated to the final film). I really never thought that I would see the day a movie would hit 300 million (domestic), however, and yet still have people strenuously arguing what a huge disappointment it was. Even considering the increase in ticket prices and the increasing importance of global box office vs. strictly domestic. This movie is a huge hit. I have no idea how profitable it will be in the long run, but to argue it isn't a huge hit just seems silly.

Oh man, I'd have to re-watch it for a full critique, it's been years. I do remember that I thought how Kevin Costner's Pa Kent died - meant to come across as this great noble sacrifice - was incredibly stupid. And the reason the Kryptonians even came to Earth (something about Clark secretly carrying their "genetic history" or something like that) was also needlessly and stupidly convoluted. And how Superman was "forced" to kill Zod at the end felt particularly artificial. But I admit I am a nit-picker when it comes to plots.

Uhhhhhhhhhh. I like the music. But a lot of that movie was a complete mess. Looked good though.