You’d think after celebrating 1 year of rocking faces, I’d be inspired to do better in the next year, right? Thing is, I feel this is a good time to quit and be happy with what I’ve accomplished (LOL What?!) in this blog. I managed to hone my blogging craft (another LOL) and I also met some new people. I’m particularly awesomed by the fact that this blog is raking in more site traffic than Baddieverse, which is supposed to be my “flagship” blog. Crazy. Also, regularly writing mostly full-length articles for 2 blogs takes up a lot of time and effort, and I have a few other things that I want to do that will require a lot of my time and effort. Something’s gotta give.

Speaking of Baddieverse, that’s where you can exclusively catch my face-rocking dickeries from now on. I figured both blogs are stupid and retarded, might as well direct my Face Rockery visitors to Baddieverse. So yeah, I’ll be posting stuff about comic books and comic book-related pop culture thingies there again. And I just heard your collective “We don’t caaaare” groan.

So, this is it. If you’re a new visitor, I’m sorry you missed the boat. You can still go to the Archives and the Series sections to check out 1 year’s worth of face-rocking blog posts. If you’re a regular visitor, thanks for reading and I’ll see you on the other side. And remember…

And that’s why Hercules stopped telling “Yo Momma” jokes.

Bahlactus concurs.

*** MILFtastic image from DC’s Wonder Girl #5.

I never thought I’d cheer for the X-Men while they’re taking down a group of normal human thugs. Sometimes, we need to be reminded that the X-Men are a group of well-trained soldiers with super frickin’ powers! Kudos to John Cassaday for the cheer-worthy X-attack!

*** Anti-terrorist image from Astonishing X-Men #2.

The first couple of episodes felt like The Batman all over again. I hated that show. It was too anime-ish for me, and I have no love for anime. Call me a hater, but that’s the way it is. But the animation style grew on me as the series progressed.

By the middle of the season, I realized that it’s not the usual comic book animated TV series starring Spider-Man. Actually, it’s not the usual comic book animated TV series, period. Most of the characters, whether they’re Spider-friend or Spider-foe, are recurring characters. That means you get to see several developments in each of the characters and in the complex relationships between several of the main cast.

This series is probably the most faithful reincarnation of Spider-lore in TV and in movies. It also has the most faithful Peter Parker iteration I’ve seen. I don’t understand why he has to have a mole under his left eye, but other than that, I’d say he’s the Peter Parkeriest Peter Parker ever.

His large supporting cast is a big reason why this series should be considered the best Spider-Man series in TV history. From Peter’s iconic relationship with Aunt May to his legendary girl issues involving Gwen Stacy, Liz Allen, Betty Brant, the Black Cat, and Mary Jane Watson, from his long and tragic history with Eddie Brock to his fun and strange relationship with J. Jonah Jameson, great character moments make this show more than a typical Saturday morning action/adventure fare.

But that doesn’t mean that the show lacks action and adventure. There’s plenty of that, actually. And most of the action scenes were mind-blowingly awesome. Spider-Man’s flirtatious battle with the Black Cat was a hoot to watch, and Spidey’s throwdown with the Sinister Six was EPIC. I was a little bit let down with the Venom episode, though.

Aside from the rich tapestry of Spider-friends and Spider-foes, the show also features several nods to the Spider-Man comics and movies. I love how they introduced Mary Jane into the show. It was just like how she was introduced in the comics. You know, a few mentions of her name for a couple of episodes before she was finally revealed in full, complete with the legendary line “Face it, Tiger, you just hit the jackpot.”

By the time the alien symbiote came into play, I already knew that I’ll be waiting for the show’s second season. I’m hoping it would be as spectacular, if not more, as the first 13 episodes.

Deaf Daredevil hears nothing, but he brings the noise!

*** Noisy image from Marvel’s What If? #34.

You’re not alone, Hank. I loved the black leather the X-Men sported during Grant Morrison’s run on New X-Men, but I highly anticipated their return to yellow spandex. With some Cassaday magic, my wish was granted:

You can just hear the wicked 10-minute guitar solo playing in the background.

*** 10-minute guitar solo-worthy image from Astonishing X-Men #1.

A few notes on the movie:

1. The CGI looks wonky in some scenes, but most of the time, the Hulk’s fuckin’ scary. First time I saw his face? I thought “Now that’s a fuckin’ monster.”
2. I would’ve enjoyed it more if Liv Tyler wasn’t involved. I have a huge crush on her, but I’m not happy with her being Betty Ross. What is it with Movie Betty always being a brunette?!
3. Tim Roth rocks my face. That is all.
4. Kudos to Ed Norton for an awesome portrayal of Bruce Banner. I wouldn’t say he’s perfect for the role, but he didn’t screw it up either.
5. Was it wrong for me to giggle when I saw the “birth” of the Leader?
6. It felt short for me. Not short short. Just… short. Maybe it’s the fast-paced chase nature of the film. I like it.
7. Geekgasms galore: purple pants, sad Incredible Hulk TV show closing credits music, green eyes, Leonard Samson, Bill Bixby, “Don’t make me hungry“, S.H.I.E.L.D., thunderclap, “HULK SMASH!!!”, and Tony fuckin’ Stark. Geeks won’t be disappointed.
8. I stayed after the closing credits, and guess what I saw. NOTHING!
9. I’m thinking Ed Norton’s cut of the movie is way more kickass. Saw several scenes in the trailers that aren’t in the theatrical release.
10. I love the whole “Days without Incident” gag.

This movie had two mammoth tasks:

1. get rid of the bad taste Ang Lee’s Hulk left in our collective movie-watching mouth
2. not look like a footnote to the Iron Man movie

As far as I’m concerned, it accomplished both. Now when’s the announcement of a sequel?

Don’t ask. It’s an Elseworlds story.

Now let’s visit FIGHTWORLD!

*** Face-busting image from DC’s Supergirl/Batgirl: Elseworld’s Finest.

Today, we’re celebrating 110 years of Philippine Independence. To commemorate this awesome anniversary, I think it’s just appropriate that I introduce to you Marvel’s first Filipino super-team, the Triumph Division, that debuted last week in Invincible Iron Man #2!

Red Feather! St. George! Mighty Mother! Anitun! Fighter One! The Wishing Man! The Great Mongoose! WTF, right?! No, I’m kidding. I’m happy to see Filipinos represented in the Marvel U. Really, I am. Anyway, get a load of how Salvador Larroca drew Filipinos!

That’s pretty accurate, if I say so myself. A little too chocolatey, but no biggie. All in all, I’m pretty stoked to see Filipinos in my comics. Not even the fact that there were monks in the creative team’s depiction of Manila bothered me. Monks. In Manila. Oy.

To the Triumph Division, welcome to the Marvel U’s Manila, Philippines! Make your fellow Filipinos proud, you guys! Oh hey, look. One of those out-of-place monks is trying to tell you guys something…

Well, it was good while it lasted. Happy Philippine Independence Day, guys!

In honor of the recently concluded Astonishing X-Men run by my favorite creative team of all time, Joss Whedon and John Cassaday, I bring you a blog series called Astonishing Moments in which I’ll feature some of the most astonishing (DUH) scenes and moments of the run. There are a lot, so let’s get started. First up, a panel that established the creative team’s love for X-Men history:

In that one panel, we saw how Kitty Pryde has grown up. It was also a harbinger of the fact that Whedon and Cassaday’s run is practically Kitty-centric. And yes, one fact was clearly emphasized: PROFESSOR XAVIER IS A JERK!

*** Nostalgic image from Astonishing X-Men #1.