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

What I’m Reading: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life

With a movie coming out in a few months and certain comic-reading pals of mine gushing over this series, I thought I should finally give a read to the first volume in Bryan Lee O’Malley‘s Scott Pilgrim series, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life.

Scott is an unemployed 23-year-old who spends his time in an (admittedly) terrible garage band and semi-dating a 17-year-old high school student he met on the bus. One day, he starts having bizarre dreams about a girl with wild hair on a pair of rollerblades, and when he finally meets the girl at a party, he’s head over heels for her right away. The only catch — she’s got seven evil ex-boyfriends that he’s going to have to battle to keep her in his life.

To be honest, this is a book where I’m left wondering just what the big deal is. To begin with, Scott is an inherently unlikable character. He’s a loser who can’t get a grip on his own life and treads dangerously close to statutory territory with his sort-of girlfriend, Knives. (The character names, incidentally, are pretty unlikely as well.) The way he’s willing to throw Knives away the minute he meets Ramona Flowers doesn’t really help the situation. Then, after spending most of the book coming across as sort of a pantywaist, the first evil ex attacks and he magically turns into a character from Street Fighter, complete with special moves, with virtually no explanation. O’Malley has violated the number one rule of speculative fiction — you’ve got to establish what the rules of your universe are early, and stick to them. The superpowers are as out of the blue as they would have been if David Schwimmer had suddenly started hurling around fireballs in the third season of Friends.

That said, I’m still planning to pick up volume two.

Why, you ask? Boy, is that a legitimate question. The book isn’t a total loss. There’s a quirkiness to it that I do enjoy, and while Scott is somewhat pathetic, these circumstances are the sort of thing that can make a character man up and develop into someone you want to read about. I’d like to see that happen. And I don’t even need him to complete that journey in volume two (there are six or seven of these, I think), I just need an indication that he has that potential. That said, if I read volume two and I’m left with the same feeling I have now, I doubt I’ll read volume three.

I’ve been reviewing my butt off lately. Here are some of my latest:

• Astro City: The Dark Age Book Four #3 — Part Three of “Vengeance is Mine”
• Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! #14 — The return of Black Adam
• Fables #93 — Part two of “The Little Murder”
• Hack/Slash #30 — Part one of “Superhero Sidekick Slaughter”
• The Incredibles #7 — The truth of Dash’s power loss revealed
• The Muppet Show #3 — Conclusion of “On the Road”
• Nemesis #1 — Mark Millar’s latest attempt to lobotomize superheroes
• Power Girl #10 — Power Girl’s blackmailer revealed
• Secret Six #19 — Part one of “Cats in the Cradle”
• Superman #698 — Part three of “Last Stand of New Krypton”
• Superman 80-Page Giant #1 — Seven short stories of the man of Steel
• Done-In-One Reviews for April 3, 2010 — In which I review Cloak and Dagger #1, Disney’s Hero Squad #3, Incorruptible #4, Jack of Fables #44, Justice League of America #43, Justice Society of America #37, Outsiders #28, PVP #45, RASL #7, She-Hulk Sensational #1, Teen Titans #81, The Web #7 and Wizards of Mickey #3

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 146: Disney Goes Boom!

Blake flies solo this week with an in-depth look at the Boom! Kids line of comics featuring the Disney, Pixar, and Muppet characters. Blake looks at each of the series that has been released to date, gives his thoughts on the best and the weakest, and offers a few suggestions for the future of the line. In the picks, check out the Showcase Presents Ambush Bug graphic novel, and the Assault on New Olympus Prologue one-shot! Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@comixtreme.com!

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 146: Disney Goes Boom!
Inside This Episode:

What I’m Reading: Green Lantern #44

With Blackest Night having kicked off last week, I was worried that we’d have to wait a month at a time for advancement of the main plot. Ah, more the fool me. I should have known that the main Green Lantern title would be a big part of the story. What I didn’t expect was that this issue would pick up on a specific story beat from Blackest Night #1 and run with it.

In that first issue, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen were suddenly faced by the reanimated corpse of their friend J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter. They face off against him, while in space the War of Light continues to rage. Scar begins to explain the master plan of the darkness, and in the ruins of the planet Xanshi, John Stewart faces a hell beyond imagining.

Man, what a fantastic issue. Pretty much all the story beats that are specific to the Green Lantern title are followed up on here, with some great hints laid out for us in the process. We also get a bit more insight as to how the Black Lanterns view the universe, and along with that, a hint about what may really happen when the Black Lanterns are fully charged. It’s also wonderful to see Hal and Barry in action together. More than ever, I’m starting to believe that Barry is really going to be Hal’s main co-star in this series, which is something I really wouldn’t have guessed before Blackest Night #1.

Mahnke‘s art is a wonderful blending of science fiction and horror, a perfect fit for this story. But in a story of this nature, you’ve got to give credit to the colorist as well — Randy Mayor does some brilliant work here, especially on the scene where we see our heroes through the eyes of a Black Lantern.

Rating: 9/10

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, I’m going to get into some speculation along with minor spoilers. If you haven’t read this, step back.

Scar tells us this issue that “the Black Lanterns are collecting hearts full of the splintered light, and soon it will be his turn to rise.” As she says this, we get a running tally of how much power the Lantern has collected (up to 1.20 percent, which doesn’t sound like much until you remember that at the end of Blackest Night #1 they were only up to 0.02). When the charge reaches 100 percent “he” will rise.

So who is “he”?

I think I know.

Earlier this year, DC finally released a trade paperback edition of one of my all-time favorite Green Lantern stories, Tales of the Green Lantern Corps, a three-issue miniseries from the early 80s written by Mike W. Barr and Len Wein with art by Joe Staton. In this classic story, the mad Guardian named Krona broke through the barrier between the land of the living and the land of the dead. The main power battery on Oa was destroyed, and Hal and the Corps had 24 hours — the time of a single ring-charge — to fight their way past the armies of the dead.

Sounds familiar, right? And frankly, I don’t think it was a coincidence that this book was reprinted now. I think that the 100 percent charge of a Black Lantern will bring with it the rise of Nekron, Lord of the Unliving, the god of death that has lusted after our universe — a universe of life — ever since he first laid eyes upon it.

Just my speculation. We’ll see how right I am when that Black Lantern makes it up to 100 percent.

How about a few more reviews from me before I sign out? I’ve been a reviewin’ machine over on Comixtreme lately.

First up, I reviewed the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Also, here’s a bunch of comic reviews:

• Batman and Robin #2
• Batman: Streets of Gotham #2
• Fables #86
• Gotham City Sirens #2
  
• The Incredibles: Family Matters #4
• North 40 #1
• Power Girl #3
  
• Red Robin #2
• Superman/Batman #62
  
• Wednesday Comics #1
• Wednesday Comics #2
  
• Done-In-One Reviews for July 18, 2009 — In which I review Creepy #1, Doctor Who #1, The Last Resort #1, Olympus #3 & The Walking Dead #63

In Brightest Day…

What I’m Reading: Blackest Night #0

Since I’ve more or less decided to review all the chapters of Blackest Night here at Evertime Realms, I went back and pulled out the zero issue released in may for Free Comic Book Day. Produced by the same creative team — Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis — that will handle the regular miniseries, this issue takes place just after the Green Lantern #43 I reviewed the other day.

Hal Jordan is joined by his best friend, Barry Allen. Both the Green Lantern and the Flash are heroes who have come back from death, a feat that has been accomplished by a lot of people across the DC Universe. Today, though, they ponder those who haven’t come back from death’s door, and perhaps more importantly, why they did.

One of the central themes that Johns says will be explored in Blackest Night is the question of why so many superheroes seem to be able to cheat death again and again, and this issue sets up that theme nicely. It’s also a good focus on Hal and Barry as friends. Their own friendship is explored, as is their relationships to certain fallen heroes that we know will show their faces as Black Lanterns. (At this point at least five different Black Lanterns have been confirmed through solicitations and the like, but I won’t mention them here). Basically, the point of this book is to show the readers the chessboard. It reminds us where all the pieces are, who is in play and who isn’t, and gets us ready for the main event.

The book also features a series of pages drawn by Green Lantern artist Doug Mahnke. Each spread features a different one of the eight corps and points out the key players in each one. For those who may not have been reading the last two years of the two Green Lantern titles (more the fool you), it’ll get you up to speed quickly.

So that’s it. The prologues have been read, the players are all in place, and the Blackest Night is about to be unleashed. More than any time in my life of reading comics, I just can’t wait for Wednesday.

RATING: 7/10

Since we all do have to wait for Wednesday, though, how about you take a look at some of the other reviews I’ve written lately over at Comixtreme?

• Astro City: The Dark Age Book Three #3
• Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink #2
• Gotham City Sirens #1
• Incredibles: Family Matters #2
• Incredibles: Family Matters #3
• Literals #3
• The Muppet Show #4
• Secret Six #11
• Superman #689
• Done-In-One Reviews for June 27, 2009-In which I review The Actress and the Bishop #1, Batman: The Brave and the Bold #6, Buck Rogers #1, Cars: The Rookie #3, Dynamo 5 #22, Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors #1, The Last Days of Animal Man #2, Perhapanauts #6, PVP #42, The Spirit #30, Star Wars: Legacy #37 and Zorro #14
• Done-In-One Reviews for July 4, 2009-In which I review Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #26, Chew #2, Finding Nemo: Reef Rescue #1, Greek Street #1, Irredeemable #4, Jonah Hex #45, The Mighty #6, Muppet Robin Hood #2, and Toy Story: Mysterious Stranger #2
• Done-In-One Reviews for July 11, 2009-In which I review Archie’s Double Digest #200, House of Mystery #15, The Stand: American Nightmares #4 and The Unwritten #4

Everything But Imaginary #301: How to Make the Mouseworks Work

Gemstone Publishing’s line of Disney comics has come to an end. Someone else will doubtlessly pick up the license, but when they do, can they escape the same mistakes Gemstone made? This week, I talk about how to make Disney Comics that work.

Everything But Imaginary #301: How to Make the Mouseworks Work
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Yes, I still write reviews

It’s been some time since I updated you guys with my recent reviews over at Comixtreme. I am still writing them, though! Not as many as I used to — we don’t do the Marvel advance reviews anymore, which reduces my workload considerably. Now I’m only reviewing the books I volunteer for. It’s still quite a bit, though. This week, for instance, I reviewed the first issue of The Muppet Show from Boom! Studios. This book is really good — the writing is sharp, funny, and perfectly mimics the TV show. Even the musical numbers are still intact. I love it.

Other recent reviews from yours truly have included…

• Batman: Battle For the Cowl-Commissioner Gordon #1
• Fables #82
• Hack/Slash #21
• The Incredibles: Family Matters #1
• Secret Six #7
• Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade #4
• Superman #686
• Superman/Batman #56
• Trinity #42
• Done-In-One Reviews: March 28, 2009 — Including reviews of Batman: the Brave and the Bold #3, Jack of Fables #32, The Phantom: The Ghost Who Walks #1; Star Wars: Legacy #34 & Super Human Resources #2

And of course, you can always shuffle through my past reviews at the terribly incomplete and constantly-being-updated Comic Reviews Archive Page right here at Evertime Realms.

A little bit of everything

I’ll be heading out in a few minutes for another one of Carl’s Lenten Seafood Feasts (plus poker night), so I’ll just throw a few random tidbits at you on my way out the door.

School Stuff

I had a bit of the Awesome yesterday morning. I was standing around on duty (which basically means I’ve got to get to work a half-hour early, stand in the midst of 1,200 teenagers, and hope nobody starts a fight), when a girl I taught two years ago came up to me out of the blue and told me that my class was her favorite that year and one of the best classes she’s ever had. There’s no reason for her to tell me this — I’m not her teacher anymore and, unless I get bumped to 12th grade next year (damn unlikely) I won’t be again. Plus, she was the kind of kid who was so quiet I was never really sure if she was engaged in the class or not. And to top it off, since she was in my class two years ago, that means she was part of my first class ever, and let me tell you, nobody ever know what the hell they’re doing their first year teaching. Take all the classes you want, it won’t prepare you. You’ve just got to survive that first year and learn from it.

So hearing that just about made my day.

Comic Stuff

The first issues of Boom! Studios’ Incredibles and Muppet Show comics are hitting stores next week. I’m really glad they priced the comics at $2.99. Most Boom! comics are at the $3.99 price point, which is where I have drawn the line, and therefore, I don’t get any of them. With these — books I reallywant — they’ve given me a break. Expect me to review ’em both at Comixtreme.

Book Stuff

So I’m currently reading Neil Gaiman‘s Newberry Award-winning novel The Graveyard Book. As I’ve come to expect from him, it’s a wonderfully imaginative, inventive novel that has totally captured my attention in a way few other books are doing these days. Glad to know the Newberries still stand for quality.

TV Stuff

So who watched The Office last night? Holy crap, huh? Talk about an ending I didn’t see coming. I’m sure this sets up the final run of the season, but I’ve got no idea where the writers are going with this one. And speaking of writing…

Writing Stuff

Work continues on Summer Love. I managed to get over  700 words written today (which, sadly, is above average lately), and I’ve gotten over a couple of the stumbling blocks I think were slowing me down. It’ll still take me some time to finish, but getting that train moving again was the important part at this stage. Plus, the week after next is Standardized Testing Week, which requires me to read instructions for two minutes then sit down for an hour doing essentially nothing. I got a ton of writing done that week last year. In fact, that’s when I began Summer Love, so I’m hoping to get a big chunk of the conclusion done this time around. In the meantime, who read Chapter One of Lost in Silver? What’d you think of it?

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 99: 2008-The Year in Review

2008 ends in just days, folks, so let’s go out with a Showcase blowout! Joined by back-up geeks Mike and Kenny, the boys announce the winners of the Best of 2008 awards, as voted on by you! Then, it’s a long talk about everything that happened in comics in 2008! The Dark Knight, the rise of Marvel Studios, Diamond refuses to distribute Hack/Slash, Archie goes back to ninth grade, and a heck of a lot more. This double-sized episode is the longest Showcase ever (we promise we won’t make a habit of it)! And instead of our usual picks of the week, stay tuned as our four guys pick their favorite comic books of the entire year! Next week will be the 100th Episode Spectacular! If you’ll be in the New Orleans area on Friday, Jan. 2 at about 4:30 p.m., stop in at BSI Comics to join the guys as they record their centennial episode! You can also send your anniversary greetings, “Ask Chase Anything” questions, or anything else at Showcase@comixtreme.com!

Episode 99: 2008-The Year in Review
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PLUS: In Week in Geek #5, DC Comics has released a teaser image for the upcoming Batman: Battle For the Cowl event. This week, Blake dissects the image to try to figure out the clues and hints hidden within!

Week in Geek #5: Battle For the Cowl Teaser Analyzed

2 in 1 Showcase Episode 79: Showcase Tangent 4-San Diego So Far

Once again, the boys come at us with a special Showcase Tangent, in which any and all topics are up for grabs! The guys start by picking apart all of the news that’s come from this year’s San Diego Comicon so far! Mark Waid writing The Incredibles? Disney is making a Tron 2? Johns, Robinson and Gates on Superman: New Krypton? Will Blake ever see sunlight again after DC Universe Online is released? Plus, even more thoughts on The Dark Knight, Chase reviews The X-Files: I Want to Believe, and the guys make a BIG announcement about the next Showcase special project! Then, there’s plenty of time to answer your e-mails! Chase doesn’t have a pick this week, but Blake tells you about the coolness of Archie #587. That’s right. Archie. Want your own comments to be read on a future episode? E-mail us with your comments, “Ask Chase Anything” questions, or anything else at Showcase@comixtreme.com!

Episode 79: Showcase Tangent 4-San Diego So Far
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