Read this, Hear this . . .

by Captain Briton – May 19, 2001

In this issue:

New X-Men #114
Weezer, "The Green Album"

New X-Men 114


	New X-Men #114

Those wacky guys at Marvel Comics. They have a big hit summer movie come out based on one of their comic book lines, and they drop the ball completely and make no effort to tie in any potential curious moviegoers into picking up the comic. That's what happened with Blade. You'd think they'd have learned from the experience, but no, they do the same mistake all over again with X-Men just one year later. Oh, sure, there were plenty of X-Men comics out at the time, but barely any of them bore more than a passing resemblance to the motion picture that shared its name.

Anyway, the point of all this is that here we are, almost a year later, and now Marvel releases a product that is reminiscent of last year's X-Men movie. That's something to cheer about, since the movie had a better story and grasp of the characters than the comics have had for a few years now. New X-Men 114, just out last Wed, features the start of critically acclaimed comic writer Grant Morrison, with Frank Quitley on pencils. It's a good start. Grant tosses out much of the super heroics and mindless brawling that has characterized X-Men for years now and lays down the groundwork for what should be an intense series, filled with the interesting ideas and twists Grant made his name out of. And of course, some brutal action.

This first issue is a long introduction, but a chilling and effective one. Grant re-introduces the premise of the series. Thirty Thousand years ago, Homo Sapiens emerged and slaughtered their evolutionary forebears, Homo Sapien Neanderthalensis, into extinction. A mysterious woman informs us that within four generations from the present the next step in the evolutionary ladder, mutants, will do the same, unless the human race fights back. She has plans to do just that.

The X-Men are introduced, and anyone familiar with the movie will recognize most of the characters. Storm and Rogue are not in the book, replaced by two other characters, but the rest of the heroes from the movie are here. The X-men have also ditched their costumes and wear much less obvious uniforms now, contributing to the somewhat more realistic direction Grant wants to take.

Grant knows the comic medium well, and he does a good job of pacing the issue. Frank Quitley's pencils help, and there is a definite cinematic quality to the whole issue. Interesting "camera" angles throughout, and Quitley draws these people as if they were people, and not like the super steroid warriors they are usually depicted as. He has a good attention to detail, and the backgrounds are equally as thrilling as anything happening in the foreground is. The scenes which slowly reveal the plan to eradicate the mutants are tense and full of menace, and the next few issues promise to depict no less than a global scale conflict of man versus mutant.

The issue is a great jumping on point, especially for anyone curious about the comics from the movie. Don't miss the ride.

Weezer-"The Green Album"


	The Green Album

Before I begin my review of Weezer's new CD, can I just say how thoroughly sick I am of albums that are named for the color of their album covers or CD liner notes? I truly hope this will be the last instance of a band engaging in this totally unoriginal and hackneyed naming technique. I mean, it was cool and innovative when The Beatles did it on their White Album, but anyone who's done it since then has been ripping them off and just illustrating how uncreative they are. The final instance of someone doing this should have been Spinal Tap's parody of the practice, when their new album premiered with a totally black sleeve, no name or song titles at all. Just black. How stupid that Metallica eventually came out with their own black album a few years later. These color albums are usually nicknames, and the real album is officially self titled. I usually ignore the color designation and call it by their official name, but a problem arises with Weezer's new color album, since their debut was already self-titled. With great regret, I will be forced to call their new CD The Green Album. Oh, what the hell, like it matters anyway.

Well, with an opening like that, you'd think I hate the album. Nah, I think it's good. I mean, except for the title (or lack of one), and that it's only 28 minutes long, and that the group has seemingly lost much of what made their first two albums so great (namely, odd and unique vocal and instrumental arrangements; sincere, ironic, yet hilarious lyrics; and a unique geek-rock sensibility), this is a really great CD. Honest.

Okay, all kidding aside, this CD is good but definitely lacking when compared to its two predecessors. It has all the faults I just mentioned, but it's still a great piece of loud hooky pop rock. The CD is definitely closer to their 1994 debut than 1996's brutally honest Pinkerton, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. And yeah, while there are only 10 songs spread over 28 minutes, all the songs on the record are great. There's no filler at all. It's a loaded little CD of energy, full of a bunch of anthemic sing alongs, slowing down occasionally for some slower guitar pop numbers (the best of which is the plaintive ode that ends the CD, "O Girlfriend"). River Cuomo's voice has never been better and the drums and guitars are as loud and infectious as they ever were.

Weezer was unjustly ignored with their second CD., and hopefully they won't be again this time around.

-	Captain Briton is protector of Earth 515. Take his advice and try this stuff. Please?

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