Day Three Hundred and Sixteen - Lego Marvel Superheroes: Maximum Overload, "You know what? It's not bad."

Despite the fact that The Lego Movie trailers have been looking more and more cute and entertaining, currently available Lego-brand series like Ninjago and Clutch Powers haven't exactly kindled the strongest feelings of confidence within me.

Still, I've been on a Marvel kick lately thanks to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Thor: The Dark World and seeing folks play the video game for Lego Marvel Superheros has kind of intrigued me, so I decided to give Maximum Overload a shot... and, you know what? It's actually pretty cute.

To be sure, it's definitely vanilla and dumbed down, relying on sight gags like Wolverine kebab claws and meta in-jokes like Spiderman's angst runs, but there are quite a few clever moments and never do I feel like the properties are being exploited too much. Sure, there's no way in hell that Lego Loki has the charisma of Tom Hiddleston, nor do Tony and Pepper strike the right chord in their dynamic that I'm familiar with both from the movies and the comics, but Spidey is pretty spot on concerning his quips and it all feels much closer to the current run of Ultimate Spiderman when it comes to the television universes.

I'm also kind of impressed that the female characters aren't sexualized like their comic and movie counterparts. Yeah, it's a little hard to do that sort of thing visually, considering the trapezoidal boxes that comprise all Lego figures (aside from Hulk and Abomination), even if they still have painted on cleavage, but there aren't any written gags that trivialize them as sex objects either and that's something of an accomplishment, I think... even in kid friendly entertainment.

I also like how short it is. Clocking in a twenty-two minutes, it moves quickly from scene to scene, giving Loki time to annoy quite a few parties in the Marvel universe before being easily thwarted by the arrival of his brother, Thor, who can fill in the blanks via first-hand exposition.

Finally, I think I should mention the little gags. Whether it's the red 'Exit' sign in Loki's ice palace or "Code Five, no Six," there are just the right amount of silly jokes and asides that make this tiny commercial for the game (and, let's face it, that's what it is) actually palatable on its own and really rather effective as advertising. I do have the urge to buy the game now that I've seen this short little episode, in the hope that the relatively catchy writing and humor carries over.

If you're looking for anything deep, keep scrolling as there are most assuredly better offerings available on the Instant Stream, even when it comes to comic properties, but for fans of the Marvelverse looking for light fare and parents looking to introduce their younger children to comic book movies, Maximum Overload is right up your alley.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Seventy-one - Comic Book Men: Season 1, Episode 1, "When Pawn Stars Meets Middle Aged Geeks"

If you've read my previous entries concerning Geek Godfather, Kevin Smith, you'll know that my feelings for him are complex... but, generally, favor in the positive directions of my heart.

I've been staying away from Comic Book Men because I was afraid it was just going to be another cheesy faux-reality show in the vein of Duck Dynasty or Pawn Stars where the drama is pre-packaged and its main draw is making fun of both its hosts and single-episode walk-ons (aka - customers/suckers).

Sadly, it looks like I was right to be cautious, as it is exactly what I thought it would be, with one very tiny difference... there actually are moments from the podcasts that include the infamous Kevin Smith. For the grand majority of the show, though, it really is a geek version of Pawn Stars and Smith is entirely absent as the actual comic shop in Jersey that is the setting of the show (Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash) is manned by an intentionally quirky crew of mostly geek everymen.

Aside from Smith, the only other familiar face is that of Walt Flanagan. Not that I have anything against the rest of the crew. In fact, I feel like I know them as I've lived and worked with people exactly like them... and I'm probably exactly like a certain personality (I'll let you guess who).

What I do have a problem with, though, are the parade of wannabe geek money-makers who bring their assorted tchotchkes and memorabilia in the vain hopes that they'll get their opening offer (never going to happen) or perhaps settle after a little dithering (still never going to happen... mostly). Whether its the vintage Thor poster, the Chuckie doll, or the Dawn of the Dead photos, it all feels like so much mercenary silliness.

I much rather would have preferred just a televised version of the podcast in its entirety. For a little bit, the show delivers on that as there are moments where it's all the guys around a broadcast booth with the man himself but, other than that, Smith isn't involved at all... and that's a disappointment. I realize that the podcasts get more than a little vulgar, but I think it would be much more entertaining just to hear their stories at the roundtable week after week instead of seeing Pawn Stars: Jersey Geeks.

As always, I'll give it one or two more episodes (perhaps not for the blog) to see if it improves, but I'm not holding any real hope that its format will change to something more palatable to me. For those who like this sort of thing, it's probably a winner, but I'm not one of them.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~