Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Guardian Project, Army Division

Okay people. Let's have a look see at some more Guardians.



If you want more information on the Guardian project or my take on different Guardians as well as the project in general, look at my more recent post right here.

Anyway, let's have a little look see at the Army Division, the biggest group of Guardians. I suppose. Again, there's a lot more to come so not all of the pieces are there yet. And, in case you can't tell, I like the Guardian Project. I really do. It just so happens that the top three of my least favorite Guardians are in this group.





I'm starting on a low note. (We'll end on one too.) I do not like several things about the Predator. The first I can excuse, his overall design. The big buck teeth are so distracting. They really are something of an eyesore. But, I have to let that go because the actual logo for the Predators NHL team is essentially that, but it still irks me wrong.

Onward with ridicule. The comic shows him as something of a hick. It's not terrible, but just enough to make him sound like a bumpkin. As an ed-u-ma-cated Southerner, I immediately hate the stereotypcial dumb South idiots. I am not suggesting they aren't out there, nor am I saying they don't make a good living portraying these stereotypes...



Can someone please explain the appeal of the non-useable fishing hook on the cap? In case you've never seen one up close, it's a fishing hook(also called fishin' hook) that is bent at the end to be placed on a cap (lid), kinda like a paper clip.

Anyway, back to the Predator. The story was a little weak, particularly the villian Airwave. He appears to have no abilities, just redneck friends. And his big get away was a private jet. Not like a jet that is shaped like him or a giant symbol of evil, but a Cessna.



Again, not the strongest villian in the graphic novel. His aircraft should be feared by all.



Anyway, I found myself distracted by two things in the novel. One was a lettering error where a word is covered up by the balloon outline. The other was a weird drawing of the Guardian upside down punching a guy. I guess.

I know. I know, it's a minor detail. But it does add a little lumber to the hate fire against this particular Guardian. He could grow on me if he's seen battling harder against a greater enemy.





This is the only Guardian with a god status, though his initial appearance in the graphic novel doesn't show it off. He doesn't appear any more strong than the others. Don't get me wrong, I'll like this character. Really I do. But let's knock him down before building him back up.

First of all, he faces a horrible enemy. Think of a fat Warmachine with a 1970's beard and no helmet. That's a strike, but more against the story than the character. Second, his shield. I don't say this often, but OMG! I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I do understand the significance of the logo, but I do not excuse it being rotoscoped onto such a regal sheild. I think if it looked more like it was painted on with irovy, black marble and rubies, it would look better and fit the character more.

Now, on to the good stuff.

He rides around on a freaking flying horse. That rocks.



He also has a gemini gladius for a weapon. I dig that. He has a very regal look about him that seems to fit his character and team. Muchos kudos. I also like the gently woven-in story element that the character has a sense of justice given his city of origin is Canada's capital Ottawa. Nice touch.

And let's hear it for Stan Lee! Head Guardian himself who makes a cameo appearance, being abducted by mecha-harpies (think robotic flying monkey rats).





This character is a little difficult for me to describe my feelings about. He surprised me. I want to hate him more than I actually do.

I have to say I am not a fan of his enemy in the graphic novel. It's a pirate that uses all of the stereotypical pirate cliches and lingo. He also has two hook hands.

Seriously.



And his name is Captain Spike. What? He literally sails a pirate ship (The Red Marauder) into Tampa, has an eyepatch and a crew of pirates, and shoots cannons into a convention center holding a gem show. You know what he looks like the more that I think about it?



As a pirate myself, I am offended to be portrayed in such a negative light.

Anyway, so Lightning comes in and saves the day. He's cocky and I'm not a huge fan of cocky people, but I can almost let him get away with it. I don't know why.

I will say he is the only Guardian to get any action in the graphic novel. Some come close and save the girl, but only Lightning plants a lip/lip kiss. And that was with a spectator. The Lightning's story didn't even revolve around saving a girl, she just happen to be one of the lovely ladies to witness the event.

You know who he reminds me of with his cockyness and kiss any girl attitude?



But I kinda like the Lightning more. It's not the hair. I don't like that. I can sorta except it, but it's not great.

Now, the Lightning character may be the first to undergo an image change. You see, the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL team recently unveiled a new design by SME Branding on January 31, 2011.



For the hockey team, I don't like it at all. But, on a superhero, it would look pretty good. Significantly better than the one he currently has (which I understand is not really a choice by the designer). So, will the heros change looks or logos if the team changes looks and logos? What if a team moves or goes under? Will the character be retired? Reborn? Die?

And, if the Guardian Project decides to redesign the Lightning, will he look similar to this only blue?



Only time will tell.





This is a good looking Guardian. One of the things that makes this work for me is the logo. Again, this really isn't the choice of the artists since its the teams primary logo with some exceptions (word marks, like the Capital and Duck are changed). But the B really works here and could have possibly been designed for the character specifically even without a real world influence.

I don't have a lot of critizism against him. Except I do wonder why he mentions saving the bad guy was an accident then lets him go without killing him. Odd. Oh, and I have no idea why he's fighting a snake in that picture. Odd. Again.





Aren't we having fun?

Don't worry. We're over half way home on this post. Next we'll look at the King. I like him. He's simple and effective. I really like the artist's way of using a knight instead of straight up royalty. I can't imagine what autrocity that would be.



Scary.

Anyway, I have to give some props to the story elements again because Chuck Dixon and Tony Chargin show Hollywood celebrities as morons literally under attack and unable to realize it. Odds are the King might not be as busy if his enemy's victims were a little more in touch with reality and stopped problems themselves.

Now, one thing that strikes me as a little odd is a power the King has. He can create an earthquake at will by thrusting his sword in the ground. I get that each Guardian has some influence from their city, but it just seems weird to highlight something that is so devistating.

I know, I know. There are other natural disasters personified with characteristics of that weather (Hurricane, Avalanche, Lightning), but those just don't strike the same cord as the King's earthquake power.

This could be because hurricanes in Carolina aren't unpredicable and aren't quite as devistating. I mean, sure, Katrina was bad, but that was in Louisiana. The worst in Carolina, North or South, was Hurricane Donna. This is one of the most devastating hurricanes to have reached US shores. A full half century ago, it hit the Florida Keys, and then continued on to Fort Myers before landing in North Carolina. It went all the way up to New England before losing strength. More than 50 people were killed in the storm. Bad yes. But even that didn't take a direct bite out of Raleigh.

The worst avalanches on record go back over a century and don't include ones in Colorado, much less Denver. Two avalanches occurred in March 1910 in the Cascade and Selkirk Mountain ranges; On March 1 the Wellington avalanche killed 96 in Washington State. Three days later 62 railroad workers were killed in the Rogers Pass avalanche in British Columbia, Canada.

Now, I can even give a big BIG pass to the Avalanche and Hurricane for having traits like those of deadly disasters because it's their freakin' name! It would be more odd to have a Guardian called the Hurricane whose powers were the power to control plant growth and impregnation of chickens and not control the weather.

Lightning. Now that happens everywhere and is a stereotype for unlikelyhood. Actually, that brings up an interesting stat in that it actually happens more often than one would think. World-wide 10,000 and about 90 in the U.S. each year are killed by lightning. The risk of being killed by lightning is 1 in 28,500. Of the United States, Wyoming has the highest lightning death and casualty rate per capita. So I should probably be more uneasy by the Lightning than the King, but a) it happens everywhere and is not geographically exclusive and b) it's a part of his name.

But back to the King with the earthquake sword. It's not unusual to have deadly earthquakes in LA. Take the Northridge one just outside of Los Angeles, California, on January 17, 1994. Magnitude 6.8; 60 people killed. In addition to killing 60 people, this early morning quake injured more than 7,000 people and left 20,000 homeless. More than 40,000 buildings were damaged in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, and San Bernardino counties. Damages were estimated to be in the range of $20 billion.



That wasn't even all that long ago. So am I justified by the weird feeling I get from the King's earthquake move? Maybe. Maybe not. It's just a feeling. But let's not lose sight of the fact that I really do like the King. And Stan Lee's second cameo.





I do not like the Wild.

He has a lot working against him. First of all, his enemy is The Threatener. What does The Threatener look like?



Oh man. I have high hopes as to the villian our next Guardian on this list will face! Who would dare challenge the Shark?



But back to the Wild. I am not a big fan of hairy, beastly characters to begin with. Yes, the Bruin is an exception. One reason the Bruin is an exception is because he looks like a bear with nothing extra. The Wild has a lot of flair, most of which would look misplaced on a human character.

The goggles. The titanium (or whatever) claws. The goggles. The automatic face lift thing is probably the worse. Why? Why is that there? Those ray generators on his hands are odd too. Did I mention the goggles? What is a creature of the wild doing with goggles? You know what he reminds me of?



His story is decent. As mentioned, it is a hard task introducing a character, a problem, abilities, and a resolution in five pages and making it literary brillance.





I will not go into details about my displeasure for this Guardian. Just everything about him is wrong. I mean, he is a person with a shark head. And his villian is a computer nerd. Really. His name in Gigabyte. His plan is to scuba underwater and hack into a cable that supplies San Francisco bank information to another sight. By the way, the NHL Sharks play in San Jose, not San Francisco, so a strike against the story there. Again, I was hoping for a villian more like this...



And I got this...



Plus, the Shark has webbed fingers. And, according to one of his bios, he is quite skilled with computer stuff. How does he type?

There are so many great examples of how smart sharks are suppose to look and act.



And, arguably, these sharks would have been better...



Or even this girl's tattoo.



Let me put things in perspective to further clarify my distaste for this Guardian. All of the other Guardians are very much a personification of the most terrifing elements of their namesake. I would be much more terrified of every single Guardian as compared to their namesake, except for one. Let's do a little test, shall we?

Which is more threatening? A or B?



Okay, that one was easy. A huge monster with an angry smirk compared to a leaf. What about this one?



While both are intense, I still don't want to take on a bear with fists running at me.

Last one. Which is more terrifying?



I really think you failed on this Guardian GME. If you want to win, more villians like this...



Horrifying. Beautiful. Crazy. Evil. Scary. Something like that. I suggest women because it's about the only way to incorporate them in a meaningful way as powerful characters. Even if there are female heros, they would likely be less powerful than the Guardians, so they must be villians. But if you are looking for a powerful, scary male villian, how about...



That rounds out the Army Division of the Guardians. Again, this group has a few that I just really don't like. All of the others I really like, though some have a minut number of flaws I'd correct.

And now I'm going to take a long shower and ponder why I kept thinking of Jersey Shore referrences.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Guardian Project



It has been far too long, but I wanted to start up again, particularly to talk about Stan Lee's Guardian Project. A collaboration with the National Hockey League.

What is the Guardian Project? To quote the website:

"Guardian Media Entertainment, LLC (GME) is an unprecedented partnership between SLG Entertainment, LLC(SLG) (led by Stan Lee of POW! Entertainment Inc) and the NHL (National Hockey League.) As a company GME will focus on cultivating the next generation of fans by introducing sports through dynamic storytelling featuring superheroes created by Stan Lee.

"SLG and NHL have entered into an unprecedented partnership to form GME, whereby both will have equity ownership and participation in the new entertainment company. For the purpose of the partnership, SLG will create and produce the Guardian Project and the NHL will use all of its promotional power to market and promote the franchise. GME will work closely with existing licensees and sponsors of the NHL to bring product to the marketplace at an accelerated pace.

"Stan Lee is the godfather of the superhero and is the creator of several multi-billion dollar franchises including SPIDERMAN, IRON MAN, THE X-MEN, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THE FANTASTIC FOUR and many, many others. Guardian Media Entertainment has devised a plan that will take advantage of new media opportunities in today's marketplace allowing for the Guardian Project to quickly become a well-branded superhero franchise.

"Through the partnership, the NHL will provide unique added value in the promotion and distribution of the Guardian Project. The NHL has over 70 million fans worldwide and has one of the most successful destination sites of all the major sports leagues with over 10 million unique visitors per month. The NHL has relationships with media partners and platforms capable of disseminating marketing messages as well as ownership or indirect influence over a number of consumer retail points. The NHL will further assist the successful branding of the Guardian Project at through: in stadium marketing and promotional events, including the Guardian Project within existing national and local media plans, and supplying in-stadium distribution for merchandise and sponsored giveaways."



There is a lot of negative press out there about this project, but I am not a hater. I am excited about this. I am not the target demographic, nor are most of the haters.

The idea is to have superheros with NHL logos and characteristics of their respective teams and cities in order to help the sport evolve new fans in a new way. Will it work? Who knows. It's never been tried like this before. Sure kids will grab onto an idea and not let it go. But that is with something totally fictional. Take any children's cartoon. Spongebob for example.



Is there anything he is not on? This is not a product geared towards adults (though many adults like him for some reason). He is extremely popular on all sorts of products.



Cups. Hats. Shoes. Even a sexy Halloween costume.



What were we talking about? Oh yeah. Guardian Project.

Kids are the target and it is likely they will love it. The NHL had a press release about the sales during the All Star Game (where the Guardians debuted) saying "All-Star Youth/Infant/Toddler apparel sales were the best in seven years and up 98 percent over the 2008 Atlanta All-Star and up 150 percent over 2009 in Montreal. Sales were partially driven by the success of The Guardian Project™ merchandise with Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes super hero character apparel selling out."

Another popular item is the graphic novel. I've got my copy. In it are stories about the characters. Unfortunately, they are told in five pages. This is unfortunate because it has to establish a problem, introduce the character, have the Guardian show off some abilities, and save the day. It's a highly condensed version of what it needs to be, but that's the only way to do it.

It also develops the back story. A character called Mike Mason has some sort of superhuman ability. His dad, apparently a scientist, enabled his childhood imaginations to come to life in order to protect him from the main antogist, Deven Dark.

All of this was introduced officially during the NHL All Star Weekend in Carolina, January 2011. Each day prior to introduced a new Guardian. They are divided into 6 different divisions, including the Air Force and Army. The other 4 have not been named. I can guess that, based on those involved, there is a chemical group, a matter manipulator group, a strength group, and weapons group. But this is pure speculation as to the names. These are the Guardians in their divisions.

Air Force




Army




Unknown Division One



Unknown Division Two



Unknown Division Three



Unknown Division Four




Currently, the Guardian Project is introducing more on each character one by one with full animation and such. But they are going much too slow for my taste.

Okay, here is some of my initial criticism. First of all, I'm not a tremendously big Stan Lee fan. Don't get me wrong, I like X-Men, Spiderman and such, but I'm always a little put off by these types because their powers are, to me, over the top out of this world. I'm more of a Batman fan myself where the abilities are more grounded in reality. Not that they are realistic, but moreso than matter manipulation and teleportation.

That aside, the introduction was WAY to esoteric.



Did you get what was happening? Who was who, and how the Hurricane solved the problem? No? Good. I'm not alone.

Granted, I like seeing some animation of these characters, but it tried to put too much information into such a small amount of time with no payoff. Think Star Wars Episode V without a IV or VI. I love that movie, but the story doesn't make sense without seeing four or six.

Another huge problem I have with the project is the use of team logos in inappropriate places just for the sake of using them. I understand each guardian has the team logo on the chest with an NHL shield belt buckle. But some don't work. What's worse is the use of alternate logos just for the sake of using them (Senator!)

Still, I'm overall liking the project. It just seemed to do too much. This reveal was very hyped, but didn't pay off for me.

Let's get into the nitty gritty details of each Guardian. Today, we'll tackle the Air Force including the Devil, Flyer, Hurricane, Red Wing, and Thrasher. I'll show you the reveal video that was put out in January (most with identical audio) and a picture. Then, we'll discuss.





I am not a fan of how he is represented in animation or drawing form when he has the whirling wind around him. He needs to stand around more to be aesteically pleasing for me. But I did the hair and the suit. This was a good interpretation in my eyes. His comic is particularly weak.





This is an awesome way to do The Flyer. I like his solar wings (though I'm at a loss as to why this is a trait of this character). The Flyers have always been known as a scrappy group, especially since their glory days after they were an expansion team. I'm not a big fan of the bird pet, but I guess he's okay. The tattoos over the eyes are a nice touch.

Now, as previously mentioned, the stories for everyone are a little weak, but understandiably so. One thing that makes them weak is the lack of a strong villian. They are all easily defeated. Some are a little odd, but I think the Flyer baddies take the cake. This comic shows the Guardian fighting a group of Ben Franklin look alikes. What's weird, this story actually works better than some others!





A lot of other people out there must be total idiots. They are bashing the Devil because he looks like a horse with wings. Umm, well he does look like a badass horse with wings because this Guardian is modeled after the Jersey Devil.

This Jersey Devil.


That's who the team was named after, not Satan Prince of Darkness.

This Satan, not the other Satan.



I'm really confused whenever I read another person's critique of this Guardian and they rip on him for the animal form. What? This is one of my favorite Guardians. The comic with this character is amazing! Major shoutouts to the artists who made this, specifically Mike Lilly, Mark McKenna, and Pete Pantazis and anyone else who deserves credit for this outstanding work of literary art.





The jury is still out for this Guardian in my book. I'm not overly impressed. Or just impressed. Let's go ahead and tip the scale to disappointed. The connecting wheels sounds good, but somehow it doesn't work here. I even think it's a good idea, but somehow I don't like it here. This could be because I've seen an even cooler way for a man to get around with wheels attached to his feet in real life. It's in Cirque du Soleil's Corteo. It's the begining of this clip (the rest is the "Cyr Wheel" act. Very cool. Nothing to do with the Guardian Project, but cool looking nonetheless.



The helmet is also distracting on Red Wing. I don't like that much either. And the comic is horrible. Truly appauling. This was hasitly slapped together as best I can tell. Ugh. Much to be desired. Much more could have and should have been done for this character.





Another favorite Guardian. I am obviously bias, but this is a good looking Guardian. The artwork was well done in the comic, but his story was good too. The layout worked, it all worked. Except that I think this Guardian is Transformer-ish and can change into an actual jet. That I don't like. I also don't like the drawings with the clear face shield. The mirror shield is awesome. The see-through is SO not.

I'd also like the author to take another pass at his dialogue. Since he's a plane, he uses a lot of "Bogies" and "At My 3 O'clock" and "Change In Flight Plan". A lot of the others have just as stereotypical chatter for their character too. I hope they all get a catchphrase enima. I will give props to the writing for the mysterious enemy. Unlike most of the other stories, this one is entriquing and not over-the-top comical.

But overall, I will give credit again to these artists Chuck Dixon, Tony Chargin, Trevor Von Eeden, Thom Zahler and Pete Pantazis. A job well done.

Actually, Dixon and Chargin did a lot (if not all) of the stories for these characters. That's a tough deal, having to create 30 simple yet compelling stories. I'll give credit when due, but I will not ignore what I consider sloppy work. Though, again, I applaud them for doing a fine job overall with this difficult task of creating all of these different character stories given only a handful of pages to do so.

I do wonder what major foes will surface as the project progresses. It is safe to say they will not be named after teams in other sports as many hope for or at least theorize. Why would the NHL support other sports?

I am hopeful they can incorporate some of the now defunct teams. Ghosts of the past. Psychics or dream creatures. The Whaler, Nordique, Jet, Rockie, things like that. Perhaps they could even be just old guys that act as guides to the Guardians.

There is some disappointment there are no women. I can see why no team would want their Guardian a woman, but hopefully some strong women characters can be added as foes or expanded Guardians. The spirit of the Heritage Classic or Winter Classic maybe. A sexy snow angel.



And I want the Stanley Cup represented! A fountain of youth or like the blue potion in Zelda! Drink from the Cup or lift it over your head, and your strength and powers are restored!



Oh well.

TTFN