All New Showcase Episode 292: San Diego Comic-Con 2013

This week, Blake decides it’s high time the Showcase got a new coat of paint, a slightly amended format, and a much snazzier archive page. Welcome to the first episode of the All New Showcase! In this episode, Blake explains the reasons for the change before sitting down with Kenny and Erin to talk about all the news from this year’s San Diego Comic-Con International. Witchblade Vs. the Darkness, the Simpsons meeting the Griffins and the Planet Express crew, Riverdale swaming with zombies, JMS taking on the Twilight Zone, new series for Harley Quinn, the return of Nightcrawler, Avengers 2 gets a title and Man of Steel 2 gets a guest-star! This and much, much more in the first All New Showcase! Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!

And what’s cool this week? For Kenny, it’s Pacific Rim, for Erin it’s the works of the late Richard Matheson, and for Blake it’s The Argonauts!

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

All New Showcase #292: San Diego 2013

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 272: The Ultimate Top Ten Time Travel Stories

In the newest Showcase Top Ten, Blake and Kenny go through the greatest time travel stories of all time. The guys present their lists, read comments from you, and announce the final winners! In the picks, Kenny goes with Green Lantern Corps #0 and Blake takes Archer and Armstrong #2 Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@CXPulp.com!

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

Episode 272: The Ultimate Top Ten Time Travel Stories

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 185: The Unsung Heroes

This week the boys line up another top ten (or seven… or eight…) episode, as they get together to discuss some of their favorite underrated characters from comics, television, movies, video games, and even a book or two without pictures. Which warriors do the guys say just don’t get the respect they deserve? And in the picks, Blake selects Superman/Batman #75 and Kenny digs on Booster Gold #35. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@comixtreme.com!

Music provided by the Podshow Podsafe Music Network.

Episode 185: The Unsung Heroes

Inside This Episode:

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 182: A Conversation About Animation

The Showcase Crew assembles again, as the boys sit down and talk about some of their favorite all-time animated features films. Blake and Kenny each present a top ten list, and Mike and Daniel join in with some of their favorites as well. In this week’s picks, Kenny goes with Booster Gold #34, Blake dug Justice League: Generation Lost #6, Mike gives us a blast from the past with the Flashpoint miniseries, and Daniel’s all about the new season of Futurama. Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@comixtreme.com!

Music provided by the Podshow Podsafe Music Network.

Episode 182: A Conversation About Animation

Reviews ‘n Stuff

Tomorrow, my girlfriend Erin comes in for one of our visits, and I can’t wait. We’re actually going to have a lot going on, beginning tomorrow with going to see The Floating Palace at the Bayou Playhouse (reportedly an excellent play that my sister, Heather, happens to be in). Next weekend, we’re travelling to Florida with my family for my cousin Lauren’s wedding. In-between… well, we’re gonna do stuff with my friends, stuff with just us… we’re gonna do stuff. In other words, I’ve got no idea what we’ll be doing all week. But it doesn’t matter, because we’ll be together.

Writing Life

Yesterday I finished a new short story for the eMuse Summer Madness contest. I’ve been telling you guys for some time now how awesome the work of J.C. Hutchins is, so I had to get involved when I heard about a writing contest centering on his upcoming novel Personal Effects: Dark Art. It’s just a quickie, really, something that popped into my head and I worked out really fast, but it was fun to take on a different story. I’ve also been hard at work on two things connected to Project Rebirth, and I’m getting more and more excited about it. Yeah. Still cryptic. Yeah, I know.

Reviews

I’ve also been firing away on the reviews over at Comixtreme.com. Here are some recent ones I’ve turned out:

• Astro City: The Dark Age Book Three #2 — Charles Williams seeks his lost brother
• Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink #1 — Can the Tattooed Man become a hero?
• Hack/Slash #22 — Mind Killer Part Two
• Jack of Fables #34 — The Great Fables Crossover Part Five
• The Literals #2 — The Great Fables Crossover Part Six
• The Muppet Show #3 — Gonzo’s story
• Secret Six #10 — Depths Part One
• Superman #688 — Mon-El’s power loss explained
• Superman/Batman #60 — Mash-Up Part One
• Trinity #52 — The year-long epic comes to a close!
• Done-in-One Reviews for May 30, 2009 — In which I review Batman: The Brave and the Bold #5; Ender’s Shadow: Battle School #5; Futurama Comics #43; The Last Days of Animal Man #1; Muppet Robin Hood #1; The Spirit #28; The Stand: American Nightmares #3 and Star Wars: Legacy #36
• Done-in-One Reviews for June 6, 2009 — In which I review Archie #596; Atomic Robo: Shadow From Beyond Time #2; Batman in Barcelona: Dragon’s Knight #1; Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Vampires #1; Chew #1; House of Mystery #14; Jonah Hex #44; The Mighty #5 and PS238 #39

What I’m Watching: 2009 Edition

As I sit here in the New Orleans Airport, waiting to head off to Nashville for a conference on “redesigning ninth grade,” I thought I’d take advantage of the time to post the movie list for the year thus far. Like the reading list I posted yesterday, I’m adding this to the links on the right-hand side of the page for the sake of anyone who’s actually interested in that sort of thing. Now when you feel like asking, “Hey Blake! Have you seen Wanted yet?” you can just click on the sidebar. Ain’t that cool?

Also, like for the books, I’ll include a link for those movies I’ve reviewed.

1. DuckTales the Movie: Legend of the Lost Lamp; 1990-B
2. Futurama: Bender’s Game; 2008-B
3. 24: Redemption; 2008-B+
4. Death to the Tinman; 2007-B+
5. Rated R: Republican in Hollywood; 2004-C+
6. Batman Vs. Dracula; 2005-C
7. Hamlet; 1960-D (Movie); B+ (MST3K Riff)
8. Confessions of a Superhero; 2007-B
9. Storytelling; 2001-C+
10. You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown; 1975-B+
11. You’re the Greatest, Charlie Brown; 1979-B-
12. The Black Cauldron; 1985-B+
13. Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown; 1975-A
14. A Charlie Brown Valentine; 2002-B
15. You’re In Love, Charlie Brown; 1967-B+
16. It’s Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown; 1977-C-
17. Howard the Duck; 1986-D+
18. Quarantine; 2008-B
19. Coraline; 2009-A
20. Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder; 2009-B
21. Friday the 13th; 2009-C+
22. The Karate Kid; 1984-B+
23. Wonder Woman; 2009-A-
24. Watchmen; 2009-B-
25. Wanted; 2008-D
26. This is Spinal Tap; 1984-B+
27. Judge Dredd; 1995-D
28. The Gamers: Dorkness Rising; 2008-B+
29. Primer; 2004-B+
30. Sheena; 1984-C
31. Persepolis; 2007-B
32. Surf’s Up; 2007-B-
33. It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown; 1974, B-
34. It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown; 1976, B+
35. Vampirella; 1996-D
36. Tales of the Black Freighter; 2009-A
37. Under the Hood; 2009-B
38. The Norman Rockwell Code; 2006-B
39. Monsters Vs. Aliens; 2009-A
40. Once Upon a Girl; 1976-C
41. Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird; 1985-A
42. Snoopy’s Reunion; 1991-B-
43. It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown; 1984-B-
44. William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet; 1997, C
45. X-Men Origins: Wolverine; 2009, C+
46. Star Trek; 2009, A
47. The Phantom; 1996, C
48. Vantage Point; 2008, B+
49. National Lampoon’s European Vacaction; 1985, B
50. Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest; 2007, B-
51. The Odyssey; 1997 (miniseries), B
52. O Brother, Where Art Thou?; 2000, A
53. The Terminator; 1984, B
54. Terminator 2: Judgment Day; 1991, A+
55. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines; 2003, C+
56. Terminator: Salvation; 2009, A-
57. Nightmare Circus; 1974, F
58. Day of the Dead; 1985, B+
59. The Call of Cthulhu; 2005, B
60. The Running Man; 1987, C
61. Grindhouse Presents Death Proof; 2007, C-
62. Partly Cloudy; 2009, B+
63. Up; 2009, A
64. Across the Universe; 2007, C
65. Tropic Thunder; 2008, B
66. Good Luck Chuck; 2007, C+
67. The Hangover; 2009, B+
68. TransFormers; 2007, B
69. TransFormers: Revenge of the Fallen; 2009, B-
70. My Cousin Vinnie; 1992, A
71. 1776; 1972, A+
72. The Rocketeer; 1993, A-
73. Independence Day; 1996, B+
74. Short Cuts; 1993, D
75. Comic Book Villains; 2002, B
76. Riding the Bullet; 2004, B
77. Fanboys; 2008, B+
78. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; 2005, B+
79. Chalk; 2006, A-
80. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; 2009, B+
81. Push; 2009, C+
82. Donald in Mathmagic Land; 1959, A
83. He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown; 1968, B+
84. It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown; 1969, B
85. Charlie Brown’s All Stars; 1966, A
86. Green Lantern: First Flight; 2009, A
87. The Dark Half; 1993, B-
88. Cashback; 2006, B+
89. Flight of the Navigator; 1986, B-
90. Justice League: A New Frontier; 2008, A
91. Ghostbusters II; 1989, B
92. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra; 2009, F
93. District 9; 2004, A
94. Ghostbusters; 1984, A
95. Inglorious Basterds; 2009, A-
96. Halloween II; 2009, C-
97. Severance; 2006, B
98. Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters; 1988, C+
99. Countdown to Wednesday; 2004, B
100. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen; 1988, B+
101. Murder Party; 2007, B
102. Hulk Vs.; 2009, B-
103. Graveyard Shift; 1990, C+
104. Saw V; 2008, C
105. 9; 2009, B+
106. Zombie Strippers; 2008, F
107. Return of the Living Dead 3; 1993, C
108. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies; 2009, B
109. Zombieland; 2009, B+
110. Toy Story; 1995, A
111. Toy Story 2; 1999, A+
112. Frankenstein; 1931, A
113. Bride of Frankenstein; 1935, B+
114. Son of Frankenstein; 1939, A
115. Ghost of Frankenstein; 1942, C+
116. House of Frankenstein; 1944, C
117. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein; 1948, A+
118. Trick ‘r Treat; 2007, A-
119. Hobgoblins; 1988, F (movie), A (MST3K Riff)
120. The Men Who Stare at Goats; 2009, B+
121. The Time Machine; 2002, B-
122. Animal Farm; 1999, B
123. Planet 51; 2009, B
124. Play it Again, Charlie Brown; 1971, B+*
125. You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown: 1972, B*
126. There’s No Time For Love, Charlie Brown; 1973, B-*
127. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving; 1973, A*
128. It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown; 1974, B*
129. Garfield’s Thanksgiving; 1989, A-
130. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians; 1964, F (movie), B (MSK3K Riff)
131. A Christmas Carol; 2009, B+
132. A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa; 2008, B+*
133. A Chipmunk Christmas; 1981, B*
134. A Flintstones Christmas Carol; 1994, B+
135. A Muppets Christmas Carol; 1992, A-
136. Mickey’s Christmas Carol; 1983, A*
137. The Small One; 1978, A*
138. Pluto’s Christmas Tree; 1953, A*
139. Santa’s Workshop; 1932, A*
140. Prep and Landing; 2009, A-*
141. Frosty’s Winter Wonderland; 1976, B+*
142. Cranberry Christmas; 2009, B-*
143. Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July; 1979, B-
144. A Charlie Brown Christmas; 1965, A+*
145. It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown; 1992, B*
146. Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales; 2002, B-*
147. I Want a Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown; 2003, B+*
148. Happy New Year, Charlie Brown; 1985, A-*
149. The Princess and the Frog; 2009, A
150. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; 1964, A*
151. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation; 1989, A+
152. Hogfather; 2006, B+
153. Home Alone; 1990, B
154. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas; 1974, B+*
155. Elf; 2003, B
156. A Christmas Story; 1983, A+
157. Avatar; 2009, D+
158. Night of the Creeps; 1986, C
159. Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys; 2005, B
160. Sherlock Holmes; 2009, B

Last Updated on December 31, 2009

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 98: Christmas Hooplah!

It’s only a few days until Christmas, folks. Before you hang up your stockings and put out cookies for Santa, have a seat with Blake and Chase as they talk about the holiday-themed comics that came out this year, as well as some of their favorite Christmas movies and TV specials. Chase regales us with the heartwarming story of how the Showcase crew saw Love, Actually together, the guys debate the merits of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, and everybody huddles around the virtual fire to talk about what we want for Christmas. In the picks this week, Blake cheers the greatest Junior Woodchucks Story Ever Told in Uncle Scrooge #383, and Chase cheers the return of the X-Men to the rest of the Marvel Universe in Uncanny X-Men #505 Don’t forget to send us your votes for our Best of 2008 episode! You can find the categories and nominees in Episode 95. E-mail us with your votes, as well as comments, “Ask Chase Anything” questions, or anything else at Showcase@comixtreme.com!

Episode 98: Christmas Hooplah!
Inside This Episode:

PLUS: In Week in Geek #4, Chase gives his review of The Day the Earth Stood Still and lots more!

Week in Geek #4: The Day the Earth Stood Still

Everything But Imaginary #289: I Want MY CTV

You may have heard that Fables is in the works as a TV show. Is this a good thing? A bad thing? And what are some other comics that may work on the small screen?

Everything But Imaginary #289: I Want My CTV
Inside This Column:

Christmas Eve on Sesame Street

A day with no Christmas content? No way, buddy! I’ve got just enough time before I dart off to rehearsal for Don’t Drink the Water to tell you about this awesome special from 1978. Oscar the Grouch makes Big Bird question how Santa can fit down little chimneys, Bert and Ernie struggle with Christmas gifts for one another, and Cookie Monster has disastrous luck with his letter to Santa Claus. This special also features a heartwarming performance by the late Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper. Steve Swanson, host of The Muppetcast, devoted an entire episode to this classic lost special last week, and the best thing about the show? I found out the whole episode is available on YouTube in seven parts. So if you haven’t seen this show in two decades — or ever — here’s your chance. It’s really amazing.

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 97: The Spirit of Will Eisner

On Christmas day, movie theaters will burst open with Frank Miller‘s big-screen adaptation of The Spirit. This week, Blake and Chase talk about the character’s history in comics, his current status in DC comics, and how the legendary Will Eisner turned a guy in a blue three-piece suit into one of the most innovative superheroes ever created. In the picks this week, Blake recommends Archer and Armstrong: First Impressions, and Chase is still loving the new Flash Gordon series. Don’t forget to send us your votes for our Best of 2008 episode! You can find the categories and nominees in Episode 95! E-mail us with your votes, as well as comments, “Ask Chase Anything” questions, or anything else at Showcase@comixtreme.com!

Episode 97: The Spirit of Will Eisner
Inside This Episode:

PLUS: In Week in Geek #3, Blake picks up the microphone to discuss the recently-announced Fables TV show. How does he feel about his favorite comic book being made into a weekly TV series? And then, he gives a quick review of the new DVD release of a childhood favorite, Jim Henson’s The Christmas Toy.

Week In Geek #3: Fables TV and The Christmas Toy

New Reviews:

Just so you guys don’t have to go through this day with no new Christmas content from me, why not check out my review of this year’s edition of Walt Disney’s Christmas Parade? Gemstone Comics has upheld the classic tradition of Disney Christmas comics, and this year’s book is a fine one.

And while we’re at it, here are a few more comics I’ve reviewed lately:

• Ambush Bug Year None #5 — Meet the New Boss
• Final Crisis #5 — Into Oblivion
• Hack/Slash #18 — Closer Part One
• Secret Six #4 — Unhinged Part Four
• Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade #1 — Brand-new all-ages comic
• Superman #682 — New Krypton Part Six
• Superman/Batman #54 — Super/Bat Part Two
• Trinity #28 — Those We Have Lost
• Uncle Scrooge #383 — Guardians of the Lost Library! Highly recommended!
• Done-In-One Reviews for Dec. 6, 2008 — In which I review Doctor Who: The Forgotten #4, Ender’s Shadow: Battle School #1, Futurama Comics #40, I Hate Gallant Girl #2; Jingle Belle: Santa Claus vs. Frankenstein #1, Noble Causes #38, Simpsons Winter Wingding #3, The Spirit #23, The Spirit Special #1, Star Wars: Legacy #30, Wolverine: First Class #9
• Done-In-One Reviews for Dec. 13, 2008 — In which I review House of Mystery #8, Jack of Fables #28, Jonah Hex #38, PS 238 #36, Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #3, Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #698, Wolverine and Power Pack #2

Everything But Imaginary #288: Christmas Tales From the Longbox I

It’s Christmas once again, and how better to celebrate than by sitting down and reading a thick stack of Christmas comics? Here are a few of the books I’ve read this year — so far!

Everything But Imaginary #288: Christmas Tales From the Longbox I
Inside This Column:

AlphaInventions.com

Recently, I noticed a big uptick in traffic to this website coming in through a site called AlphaInventions.com. I’m not entirely sure how the site works, but it appears to produce a scrolling, up-to-date slideshow of lots of different blogs. It’s a neat way to find a lot of various blogs in a short period of time. I don’t know how exactly they found me, but I’m glad they did.