Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance opened up this weekend with some not so stellar reviews from, well, everyone. According to the LA Times, the Ghost Rider sequel took in $25.7 million it’s opening weekend and was beat out by Safe House in its 2nd week and The Vow. The first Ghost Rider film also opened up on President’s Day weekend and made $52 million it’s first few days. What’s so different between these two films? Why did it only make half of what the original film made? Simply put, this film is so awful that it makes the original Ghost Rider look like an Oscar contender for best picture. Why was it so bad though?

I felt like doing this after seeing the movie too.

Before I complain about how awful this film was, I guess I should really talk about some of the cool things in this film. Yes, there actually were a few. Ghost Rider looks a bit cooler now. His skull is charred, as well as his jacket, so overall, the character looks a bit better than he did in the first film. The fight scenes were also pretty cool as well.

Duncan Macleod in the year 5430

Best part for me was seeing Christopher Lambert in this film. He plays a tattooed monk of a secret order that has way too much old wine hanging around. During one scene, Lambert’s character is holding a sword above a child’s head, about to cut it off, and I couldn’t help but whisper “there can be only one.” I guess it’s the little things that get me excited.

This movie also tries to take bits and pieces from Danny Way’s GHOST RIDER run from a few years back where Johnny realizes that the demon within him is actually an angel who went nuts. However, the total time they spent on this is about 2 minutes, which he has to use the angel side of the rider to heal a boy.

Directing Team From Hell

Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine were the directors of this flick. You may know them as the directors of The Gamer and The Crank films. Also, they both wrote the screenplay for the Jonah Hex film. Sadly, I didn’t know this going in, but realized about 5 minutes into the film that this looked way too much like Crank and that these guy love shaky, hand-held cameras. The last thing I want is a super shaky shot during an action scene. I have no clue what’s going on. Seriously, it’s like the camera was fed an 8-ball of cocaine before they started shooting.

There’s a few key scenes that are just plain awful, but the stand out one is when Johnny and Danny ride Johnny’s motorcycle together. It was a good 2 minutes of the directors trying to prove to me that what was on the screen was cool and not pointless in any way. I don’t care about popping wheelies and stoppies, get back to the movie please and put the camera on a tripod.

Nicolas Cage

I have a love/hate opinion of this guy. I love his serious work (Matchstick Men/Weather Man) and I even love his silly work (Con Air, Face Off), but when he gets behind a movie I actually care about, I worry. He tends to overdo it a bit, and by “bit” I mean a lot, and that’s the case in this new Ghost Rider flick. At times, I’ll admit, his acting was downright hilarious, like his work in the remake of The Wicker Man, especially during the scene where Blaze is trying to hold back the rider and yells “IT’S SCRATCHING AT THE DOOOOR!” In a way that only Nicolas Cage can scream it.

He’s over-the-top and ridiculous the vast majority of the time. I don’t know what happened between this film and the first Ghost Rider, but we’re seeing a completely different Johnny Blaze now. One that has lost his mind and completely forgotten how to interact with people without screaming.

3D? Really?

I don’t think the 3D aspect brought in anyone who wasn’t going to see this in the first place. 3D literally did nothing for this film. Sure, there were a few things flying at you from the screen, but that’s about it. No extra depth and no real purpose. The only people that got anything out of it was the movie theater when they charged me an extra dollar. Ghost Rider is among the 90% of 3D films that come out that are a prime example of what not to do with a 3D film.

No One Took Making This Film Seriously

It’s ridiculous how much no one seemed to care about making a good film… Need some proof?

Does it count as indecent exposure if you don’t have genitalia?

That’s Ghost Rider peeing fire. That’s right. The film spends a lot of time trying to convince the audience that everyone in this movie and that everything happening is cool. Ghost Rider is cool enough on his own. We don’t need the motorcycle wheelie ride, the peeing of fire, and well, everything else. This movie seems like a paycheck to everyone involved and nothing else. There’s so much potential in this series, and I feel like it was all thrown away for a few dumb jokes, a potentially good storyline that was ruined by everything else in the film, and tons of CGI.

This film is one of the worst of all the comic book films in the 21st century. There was potential for greatness in it, especially since the first film was a decent start to the series. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is a film that simply doesn’t care what you think of it because it’s the “cool” kid at the back of the party trying to play acoustic guitar over the stereo and everyone’s conversations. At first glance, you might be into it, but if you actually pay attention, you’ll realize everything about him is oh so wrong… and the only song he knows how to play is the opening verse to “Santeria” by Sublime… and he’s Nicolas Cage.

How do you fix what’s already unfixable? Well, reboots seem to be the way to go. It worked for Batman, and although this character isn’t as profitable, it could work for Ghost Rider. Just take the film and the character seriously. Is it that hard? There’s tons of great Ghost Rider stories to work with, especially the Danial Way run. Start there. Stop being goofy.

Did you guys see this film? What did you like or dislike about it?

Ever since Scott Snyder brought the idea of the Court of Owls to Gotham City, we’ve been seeing bits about their history. The Court has supposedly existed for over a Century yet Batman was certain there was no truth to that. He discovered their true nature the hard way.

With the upcoming Night of the Owls crossover in all the Bat-Family titles, it’s not just today’s heroes of Gotham that will be dealing with them. We’ll also be seeing the Court’s existence going back to the 1880s in the pages of ALL-STAR WESTERN.

Late last week, DC’s The Source revealed some of the plans in how Jonah Hex will be dealing with the Court in his time period. ALL-STAR WESTERN co-writer, Justin Gray, said the following:

‘Plans within plans.’ That’s one of my favorite lines from Frank Herbert’s eco-sci-fi epic, Dune. It is also one of the hardest things to convey in a monthly comic where readers are often second-guessing the outcome or direction of a series. There is always a larger plan at work and things are never quite what they seem. Both Batman and Jonah Hex have been discovering this fact in their own unique ways. Having chosen Gotham City as the unlikely setting for ALL-STAR WESTERN, Jimmy and I thought long and hard about the different ways we could make the book interesting to both new readers and the Jonah Hex faithful. To do that we began our initial arc with the secret society called The Crime Bible trying to establish its roots in 1880’s Gotham. At the same time over in BATMAN, readers were introduced to The Court of Owls.

By now you know both organizations existed long before the caped crusader launched his one-man campaign to save the soul of a city. So starting in May, The Court of Owls, the Talon, the secret history of Gotham, Crime Bible, Jonah Hex and Amadeus Arkham…some of the most unlikely and surprising elements start falling seamlessly in to place. It has been months and months in the making, but the plans within plans are coming to fruition and even the most cynical fan has to admit this New 52 thing is pretty damn exciting.

If seeing the Court back in the 1880s wasn’t enough, DC has also shown Greg Capullo‘s designs for a ‘mid-Victorian’ era Talon that will be a threat in the pages of BIRDS OF PREY during the crossover.

Capullo commented:

Now I’m thinking Jack the Ripper. Cloaks and lots of layers. A bird’s feathers are all layered. Perfect.

Guess we’ll be finding out a little about the Court from the 1840s as well. This appears to be DC’s first major crossover since the “New 52″ started and it’s shaping up to be one of the best we’ve seen in a while.

Each week we look at some of the coolest action figures and collectibles on sale now along with some from years past. This week we’re taking a slightly different angle. We’re going to look at some statues and busts! There are so many different comic busts and statues made so we thought now was the time to take a look at some. This selections are obviously older selections but there’s always a good chance you can locate them. Some of them I picked up at very reasonable prices on ebay. There’s bound to be plenty of collectible places you can find these and possibly even at your local comic shop.

Let’s start off with a life-size bust of Spider-Man.

This was put out by Dynamic Forces and was limited to 4000 pieces. The eyes are reflective and you can even make him wear a baseball cap. I’m often reminded of that one episode of The Brady Bunch where Alice made a bust of Mr. Brady. How many know what I’m talking about? Anyway, here’s a couple more shots.

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Next is a Moon Knight bust by Randy Bowen and limited to 5000 pieces.

If you’re not aware, Randy Bowen designs was one of the first sculptors in the comic market. At least his designs were what really caught my interest and got me buying these. Here’s a Mysterio bust that was limited to 4000 pieces.

As much as I’m enjoying Dan Slott‘s run on THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, I refuse to accept that Hobgoblin is dead and Phil Urich will remain in the costume. Here’s a Hobby bust from Diamond Select Toys. Apparently this one doesn’t have a revealed number of pieces. It’s not listed on the bottom.

I’ve been a fan of Kitty Pryde since I first started reading comics. This bust from Diamond Select Toys was limited to 3000 pieces and has her in her Shadowcat outfit along with Lockheed.

I always thought Destro was one of the cooler characters in G.I. Joe (along with Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, of course). I got this one off of ebay but the numbering on the bottom says it’s “#PROMO of PROMO.” Not quite sure what that means. Looking further, apparently there were to be 3000 of these made.

We all know Darth Vader is the real star of Star Wars (not that whiney Luke kid). I forget the story of where and why I got this bronze mini bust from Gentle Giant. I recall getting a really good deal on it. It might have been during the time I had a Star Wars credit card and something to do with rewards or it was only offered to those with the card. Either way, it’s limited to 4000 pieces and looks pretty cool.

Finally, one of my favorite pieces (and I believe it was my last purchase), Marvel Zombies Spider-Man and MJ. This is just so wrong but looks so dang cool. I actually debated on getting this one when it was released but thankfully I did (and got a decent number as well). It’s from Diamond Select Toys and was limited to 2500 pieces.

I tried keeping this out of view of my daughter for as long as I could but eventually she grew tall enough to see it in my display case. I told her it was a Halloween costume for them. She still doesn’t understand how Spidey was able to make his costume look like that. Here’s a picture she drew of them a few years ago that she gave me as a wedding anniversary present.

Here are some more shots:

It’s just so romantic.

That’s it for this week. I do have some more statues and busts. If you guys dug these, perhaps I’ll showcase them later. I’m also waiting on the arrival of another piece. Let us know what you thought of these and if you have any in your own collection. We’ll switch back to an action figure selection next week.

We all love comic art. If there’s one thing artist enjoy doing, it’s drawing. Many artist don’t simply draw for the books the working on. Often they do sketches and commissions and post them on their blogs and Tumblrs. They are all way to amazing to go unnoticed and it’s our mission to make sure all of you get a chance to check them out.

It’s no secret Mike Allred is one of my absolute favorite artists. He updated his blog this week with some sweet commissions and art for a Hero Initiative auction. Check out his X-Men scene (with Edie Sawyer on the billboard!!), Fantastic Four and the one and only Madman.

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A great piece of art can speak to you without requiring text. There are some artists that can capture quite a bit through a simple expression. Check out Mike Mayhew‘s sketch of Jean Grey posted over at ComicArtFans.com.

Phil Noto is another artist whose sketches speak volumes through the look in their eyes. He posted a few pieces on his Tumblr this week (yay!). Check out his Black Widow, Superman and Supergirl, It Girl and Madman, the Wild Pack (who later changed their name to Six Pack) and Hulk and Iron Man from The Avengers trailer.

Speaking of the Avengers, here’s a sketch of Thor Todd Nauck posted on his Tumblr.

Skottie Young posted a few sketches on his site. I love how he mixes it up and comes up with a great selection of random characters. Check out his Concrete, Gran’ma Ben (from BONE), and Splinter.

Tom Raney posted a couple commissions he did recently on his Twitter. It’s about the battles for him this week. Here’s his version of Thor vs. Silver Surfer and Thanos vs. Captain Mar-Vell.

Marcus To was asked to draw a chibi Damian. How could he resist? Thankfully for us, he shared it on his Tumblr.

You have to admit that’s pretty cute. Let’s continue the cuteness with the Justice League Agnes Garbowska posted on her Tumblr on Valentine’s Day.

Gene Gonzales shared this commission of Scarlet Witch and Enchantress. I think this piece speaks for itself.

Michael Walsh posted a couple sketches on his Tumblr this week. Check out his Jack Knight and a penciled and colored version of Lobster Johnson. It’s always interesting to see both versions.

Robert Atkins posted many many pieces this week on his blog. Here’s some commissions he did.

Robert posted a bunch of sketches of the Justice League of America. Here are some of them colored by Kyle Ritter. There’s more on his blog.

Last September he posted a bunch of X-Men characters and here they are colored by Simon Gough. There are more X-Men pics on his blog as well.

And finally, Daniel HDR came up with an amazing idea and posted it on his blog. The JUSTICE LEAGUE OF HANNA-BARBERA. If only we could actually see this. Can you name all the characters?

That’s it for this week. Let us know what you thought of these picks. Be sure to check out the next installment.

Marvel has revealed plans to expand their universe with the release of their all-new Marvel Universe line. Like the Marvel Ultimates line of books, these new stories will be told outside of the regular Marvel Universe continuity. These new stories will target readers of all ages. The new line will launch with two new series, one focusing on the Marvel Avengers characters and the other on the Spider-Man universe titled MARVEL UNIVERSE: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #1 and MARVEL UNIVERSE: THE AVENGERS: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES #1.

According to Marvel’s editor-in-chief, the all-new Marvel Universe line will feature stories that adult readers can easily share with their kids as the books are meant to be fun for children of all ages.

The Marvel Universe line of comics not only clearly lets fans know they’re in for great stories, but also lets parents know where to find great stories to share with their kids” said Axel Alonso, Marvel Comics Editor in Chief. “The Marvel Universe line also includes the best all-ages stories we’ve told recently and we’re bringing them to millions of new fans through ambitious new initiatives. So when you see the name Marvel Universe, you’ll know it stands for the best all-ages super hero storytelling in the world—in print and digital media!

We got our first look at the covers of the first issues if both series. You can check out the full solicits and cover art below. What do you think of this new line of Marvel books?

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MARVEL UNIVERSE: THE AVENGERS: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES #1 (FEB120603)

Written by CHRIS YOST

Pencils by ADAM DEKRAKER

All Ages …$2.99

ON SALE THIS APRIL!

MARVEL UNIVERSE: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #1 (FEB120604)

Written by MEN OF ACTION, DAN SLOTT & TY TEMPLETON

Art by NUNO PLATI

All Ages …$2.99

ON SALE THIS APRIL!

When superheroes
make the leap from page to screen, they need memorable fanfare to mark
the occasion or the whole experience will just feel woefully incomplete. When you
call your favorite superhero movies to mind, odds are, it’ll be their theme
songs that run through your head before anything else. And that’s how it should
be. Even the most spectacular act of onscreen bravery won’t look too inspiring
unless there’s a suitably rousing soundtrack to accompany it. That’s a fact.

Join us for a countdown of the most memorable
superheroic themes to ever grace our ears. As always, we
make no pretense at any academic objectivity here. Do you disagree
with the choices? Cool. Go on and put your own picks in the talkback. That’s
part of the fun.

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5.
“The Man Without Fear (Daredevil theme)” by Drowning Pool

Metal’s a surefire way to get sticks-in-the-mud
upset, so this pick’s guaranteed to put some pants in a twist. See, comics and metal
share stripes of youthful rebelliousness – - they’re at their best when parents don’t approve of them – - and
they’ve hardly ever come together as tightly as they do in this track. Not only
does it have a riff so charged and driving that you can all-but-see DD clubbing ninjas to it, it also perfectly captures the circus sideshow quality you’d
figure would be integral to a
character called “Daredevil, the Man Without Fear.”

It also fits that the guest vocals are by Rob Zombie; a dude who’d fit right into DD’s rogue’s
gallery.

4.
Spider-Man theme [‘67 TV show] by Paul Francis Webster

Too often, we
fixate on the serious side of superheroics and forget the fun side. It’s also easy
to forget the times these characters were created in. This snappy jingle
reminds us of how fun the Wallcrawler can be by setting his exploits up with the jazzy, swingin’ sound of the 60’s. With horns blaring and exuberance to spare, it also puts across the duality’s that made Pete
Parker so popular, alternating verses of humorous, Stan Lee-style wordplay with
ones that get right at the quixotic nobility of the character.

3. Batman theme [‘89 movie] by Danny Elfman

One needn’t
be all that well-versed in the technical terminology of music to articulate how
a piece like this can convey such strong concepts and feelings. This suite
evokes brisk adventure, gothic romance, operatic iconography and heroic
determination – - all the diverse and even contradictory qualities that define
your quintessential Batman adventure. The tense minimalism of the Zimmer/Howard collaborations on Nolan’s films is great and all, but this dark Elfman magic gets
ahead on the playlist, any day.

Don’t worry,
we haven’t forgotten about all the catchy and often inappropriate R&B that’s graced Batman flicks. Keep coming along with us.

2. “The Anvil of Crom (Conan the Barbarian theme)” by Basil Poledouris

Maybe Conan didn’t start his adventures in comics, and maybe he isn’t a superhero of the mask ‘n capes variety, but if you’ve had a team-up with Spidey at some point, you deserve to be in this echelon. Regardless of classifications, this piece, with its elephantine drums and crystalline melody, is the bar-none, no substitutes, ultimate pump-up song. There’s good reason this flick let the music tell most of the story. It throws down a percussive gauntlet and issues you a mighty challenge. Better than any theme in these times long after the days of high adventure, it fills you with a sense of legendary strength, indomitable will and all the other grand qualities we turn to these superheroic escapades for.

1.
Superman theme [‘79 movie] by John Williams

You’ve got to
be able to hum a theme – - that’s the measure of the best ones. Whether kids
these days are familiar with an old movie from the 70’s anymore or not, you can
be sure they’ll recognize this fanfare within just a couple notes. It’s as
iconic as John Williams’ other major
themes for Star Wars and Indiana Jones, but with an even more galvanizing
to action. Listen to this and you won’t just be getting visions of glass
fortresses, Red Suns and faster-than-light speed – - you’ll have an irresistible
urges get up and “fly” around wherever you are at the moment.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

For some reason, the producers of the
first set of Batman movies got the idea that funk jams and R&B ballads were
the songs most suitable to accompany brooding tales of vigilante justice. Whether
you were around at time or not, you can’t help but smile over such bizarrely
off-mood song selections from the likes of Seal, R. Kelly and, his royal badness
himself, Prince.

“Kiss from a Rose” [Batman Forever] by Seal

La la la.

“Gotham City” [Batman and Robin] by R. Kelly

“Partyman” [Batman] by Prince

“Wonder Woman” theme

“The Lonely Man” from the Incredible Hulk?

And let’s not forget the Hawkeye Theme courtesy of Chris Giarrusso.

Valentine’s Day makes us think of love, or at least it should; and there is definitely a whole lot of love in some of our favorite comics. Yet, love sometimes goes hand in hand with heartache and for fans of the Barry Allen/Iris West relationship, their classic comic book love affair that was dissolved with the start of the “New 52,” left many fans a little bit heartbroken. If you have been keeping up with Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato‘s FLASH series, then you may have noticed something of a love triangle forming.

FLASH #7 Cover by Francis Manapul

Captain Cold is back – and he’s more dangerous than ever! Seeking revenge on The Flash, he must convince the rest of the Rogues to reunite one last time. But what tore them apart before? And what did The Flash do to earn their deadly scorn? Find out here!

Everyone that reads the FLASH book knows that Barry is tied to his girlfriend, Patty Spivot, a fellow scientist working for the Central City Police Department. However, the latest issues do show that even the massive changes brought on by the ‘New 52′ could not keep Iris West from loving Barry Allen.

DC revealed the cover to a the series’ 7th issue which, in the words of DC Editor Brian Cunningham is like an “apt metaphor for our hero,” and we couldn’t agree more. Here we have an image of Barry Allen struggling to stay afloat as he’s sliding down what appears to be an icy canyon and behind him at the center is Captain Cold — his latest big problem, and at either side of Cold are Iris and Patty. Yeah, we would say this is definitely turning out to be one very interesting love triangle.

So what is a “speedster” to do? What do you think? Who do you want to see Barry Allen with: the smart scientist or the sassy reporter?

Source: DC Source

Doctor Who meets Stark Trek? Sound incredibly insane. This was first brought to my attention last Friday but I couldn’t believe it. An image was brought to my attention but let’s be honest, how many creative pieces of art have we seen that could be passed off as the real thing? And then IDW sent off this following cover image to my inbox.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION/DOCTOR WHO: ASSIMALTION2 is taking fans on an adventure where no man (or woman) has gone before.

Launching in May, fans will get to see the Borg and the Cybermen create an unholy alliance that could destroy all of humanity. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise will find themselves teaming up with the Doctor and his companions.

This will be an eight-issue series written by Scott and David Tipton along with long time Doctor Who writer, Tony Lee and will feature the art of J.K. Woodward. You can look for the 32-page, $3.99 first issue on sale in May.

Over the course of the next four days we will be seeing some more news from Marvel about some new things they have cooking up. Monday’s live-blog event kicked off with a bang when Marvel revealed a new cross-over mini event titled ‘Exiled’ that will bring JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY and NEW MUTANTS together. The event will take up five issues and will launch with a one-shot book titled EXILED.

‘Exiled’ event teaser by Stephanie Hans

The story will then bounce between the two titles and will be written by both Kieron Gillen and Andy Lanning. According to Gillen, the two books are connected because there is a shared history “between the New Mutants and Asgard.” Marvel released a very cool spread illustrated by Stephanie Han (which can be seen above) to commemorate the ‘Exiled’ event. The book’s interiors will be illustrated by artist Carmine Di Giandomenico.

Both writers agreed that the books share a common denominator: Asgard. According to Lanning, the New Mutants definitely have a history in Asgard which both writers felt needed to be expounded upon. However, rather than taking the story to Asgard, Lanning decided it might be best to bring it to Earth.

This developed quite quickly and quite easily given the long history of the New Mutants in Asgard. We wanted to bring that to Earth rather than take them back to Asgard. It’s a little twist on how past stories have played out. There are some really cool reveals and surprises along the way that will hopefully play against type and expectation.

According to writer Andy Lanning, the five-issue event will act as a sort of “palette cleanser” for the Marvel Universe. If you love your Marvel books but are not very interested in reading the major “game-changing event” or you need a break from all the action promised by AVENGERS VS. X-MEN, then this mini-crossover might be right up your alley.

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We are the palette cleanser for the big, universe-changing stuff and happy to be it. We’re just telling some nice, fun, comic book stories…Trying to stop flesh eating zombies from destroying San Francisco is a riot!

Sounds like fun? The event will launch the month of May and will be a five-part weekly story that will start with the EXILED one-shot before moving to JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, to NEW MUTANTS back to JOURNEY and ending in NEW MUTANTS. Be sure to check out the event this May!

Source: MARVEL

Man, these past two months have been excruciating, haven’t they? Well, we can now thank our lucky stars, because The Walking Dead has finally returned after a brief mid-season hiatus.

Since this show has deviated so heavily from its comic book source material, it’s in our best interest to not harp too much on what the show does differently from the comics, for better or worse. Instead, we’re going to break down some of the most poignant moments in this week’s episode and discuss why they’re important (or could be important later down the road).

Lastly, if there’s something I don’t cover in this write-up that you feel is an oversight, share it in the comments below. Let’s turn these weekly roundups into a little constructive community back and forth. Sound good? Okay, let’s dive right in…

Oh, and this should be obvious… spoilers, ahoy!

== TEASER ==

Staring down the barrel of remorse

The midseason premiere picks up right where episode 7 left off, with Rick staring down the barrel of the revolver he used to put a bullet in zombie Sophia’s head. Much of the first half of this episode plays up the extreme tension on the farm between the main group of survivors and Hershel‘s family. What’s maybe most important is the scene between Rick and Shane where the two once again share words, furthering establishing the dividing line between team “Optimism,” led by Rick, and team “Lost Hope,” led by Shane.

Moving on…

This was an interesting scene because it works on multiple levels. For starters, the mystery of Sophia’s fate has been solved, for better or worse, and now it’s time for the characters to move on. Likewise, viewers who have been complaining that The Walking Dead has been moving about as fast as a zombie should find comfort in the fact that the show is essentially breaking the fourth wall to tell them that they are moving on to bigger and (hopefully) better things.

Funeral for friends

Andrea shows a little bit of a cold heart for the members of Hershel’s family who’ve been turned into zombies. She mentions to Shane and T-Dog that they should only break a sweat to bury the ones they love, meanwhile burning the rest. Man, that’s cold as ice.

Meanwhile, Rick talks to his wife Lori to acknowledge that no matter what they do to make things right, stuff continue to get worse, whether it’s Carl getting shot or Sophia getting turned into a zombie. Is Rick’s sense of optimism fading?

Shane and Dale, BFFs

It’s an understatement at this point to say Shane and Dale don’t care much for each other. Shane calls out Dale for being pretty much useless as of late (he’s not wrong, honestly), while Dale continues to point the finger at Shane for being pretty much a bad influence on everyone (he’s not wrong either).

Carol accepts Sophia’s death

This is a beat we’ve seen before in The Walking Dead, but it doesn’t make this particular scene any less poignant. Carol has accepted her daughter Sofia’s death, claiming she died a long time ago, far before she became a monster.

Hershel is a sharp-dressed man for funerals

Here’s a quick note: why is Hershel the only one dressing in a suit for the dead’s funeral? Yes, most of the camp doesn’t have a spare pair of underwear, let alone a dress suit, but still… Hershel can’t lend out a suit or two to pay proper respects? What a one-upper!

Andrea and T-Dog take out the (dead) trash

Andrea and T-Dog show off their skills as zombie trash collectors, drawing attention to how desensitized our group has become. They now have no problem hauling off corpses and carrying around severed limbs without gloves or protection. Gross.

Carl turning stone cold killer?

Lori confronts Rick about Hershel running off to his favorite watering hole, mentioning that Carl said he would have shot Sophia himself if it came down to it. We might finally be seeing the first traces of Carl’s story in The Walking Dead television series mirroring his path in the comics. That’s very exciting news.

Dale plays the blame game

In a conversation with Lori, Dale lays it all out on the table and outs Shane as the one who killed Otis to save himself last season. He admits he doesn’t have the proof, but he justifies his claim by stating that he’s known men him Shane before, and “sooner than later he’s going to kill someone else,”

First rule about gun use…

… don’t point the barrel at your own face, Glenn. Come on!

Daryl continues to reject his posse

Lori tries to convince Daryl to head into town to pick up Rick and Hershel. However, Daryl continues to slip mentally, feeling out of place amongst this group of survivors, turning down Lori and giving her an ear full in the process.

Plus, he’s got a sweet-ass stick to sharpen. So, honestly, his priorities are in line.

Hershel tosses back the sauce

Hershel has finally accepted his ignorance towards storing the zombies in his barn. It’s a mistake that has led him back to grandpa’s old cough medicine. Hershel has also officially joined team “Lost Hope,” explaining to Rick that “there is no hope for any of us.”

But Rick is quick to make a solid counter-argument, further showcasing his drive to stay optimistic. As Rick explains it, death has always been around. Whether it’s cancer, heart attack or a walker, death has always been a threat. The zombie apocalypse is no different than it was before, it’s just a new challenge that they have to overcome together.

The road – 1, women drivers – 0

That’s a joke, of course. I’m not that insensitive. But in all seriousness, Lori’s impatience once again gets her in trouble here. Never the one to stand idly by, Lori decides to drive into town to find Rick, but before she gets there she’s makes the bonehead decision to not keep her eyes on the road — instead choosing to look down a map — leading her to hit a roaming walker and then fly off the road, flipping her car in the process.

Philly natives, Dave and Tony, walk into the bar…

At the end of this week’s episode we meet two new characters, Dave and Tony, both Philadelphia natives (clearly Tony has eaten his fair share of cheesesteaks) that have been making their way across the country to find a safe place to live. They run into Rick, Glenn and Hershel at the bar, leading to a tension-filled conversation about the duo coming to the farm to stay. Dave and Tony also confirm that Fort Benning — where Rick and his group were originally headed before arriving at Hershel’s farm — is overrun with the dead, effectively killing that pipe dream of a military-protected safe haven.

What’s also interesting about this scene is that it’s a role reversal. Dave makes the same case for himself and Tony that Rick originally did with Hershel, only now Rick’s on the other side of the coin, telling Dave and Tony they can’t come to the farm because they don’t know them.

Then Rick goes all old west on Dave and Tony, killing them both in cold blood to protect the farm. Where’s that sense of righteousness you’ve been parading around, Rick? Well, it’s lying dead on the floor in a pool of blood, it seems. Things should be interesting from this point on, no?

And that wraps up this week’s episode. Outside Lori doing her best Dukes of Hazzard impression and Rick playing executioner, “Nebraska” was a relatively slow midseason premiere. It didn’t feel much like a fresh start, but instead the aftermath to plot developments from three months ago. However, the show still continues to build up its characters (introducing a few new ones in the process as well), which is better than nothing. Hopefully more action is right around the corner in the coming weeks.

See you guys next week!