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Posts by thehutch:
- Bender as The Iron Giant. Absolutely awesome.
- Scully from X-Files pin-up – Gave this one to the wife.
- Willy Wonka Quote – Not much of a design, but I’ll keep it.
- Two different HP Lovecraft shirts – There’s one of a guy reading Necronomicon while Cthulhu appears behind him. It looks cool. The better one parodies Where The Wild Things Are. Not a huge Lovecraft nut…I’ve never read any…but I’ll hang on to them.
- Sea Monster attacking a boat is from Mario Bros. – I’ll keep it, just for the comments I’ll get from big Mario Bros fans.
- Time to Cook – I love Breaking Bad but have never watched Adventure Time. Still, cool shirt.
- Super Saiyan Man – Superman rips open his own shirt to reveal…an orange shirt with a Japanese character. The heck? I had to look up this one. Turns out it’s a Dragon Ball Z reference. It’s probably cute…if you like Dragon Ball Z.
- Camera Robot – This is probably cool if you’re a camera aficionado.
- Boba Fett in Assassin’s Creed gear – Not my thing.
- Tools of the Trade – I don’t even get what this shirt is for. It must be a video game I don’t play.
Oh, yep, I just looked it up. Metal Gear Solid. And they sent me TWO of them! That surprised me. I didn’t think that TeeFury would stick you with two of the same shirt in a grab bag. That kind of stinks. I’m guessing they had a LOT of these left over and every grab bag buyer got one. Any Metal Gear Solid fans out there? This one is already for sale!
Calvin grows up
April 27th, 2013In the last year, someone shared a comic on Facebook. It showed a grown up Calvin giving his daughter the Hobbes doll to play with. It was one of the most heart-warming things I’d seen in a while, and I hope that Bill Waterson himself would enjoy it. (Turns out that several web artists have worked in that milieu.)
And now, here is an alternate possibility from the “Gritty Reboots” people.
Why can’t our car ads be this good?
April 25th, 2013Remember the Wacky Races?
Now…check this out!!!
Monitor Duty Podcast 9: Superman Movies
April 21st, 2013Just in time for Superman’s 75th Anniversary, here is our podcast about the Superman movies. It was recorded in early 2010..so forgive my foolish yearnings at the end to see a Green Lantern movie. This is probably the best-sounding and most ambitious podcast, although I actually didn’t bother to go through and remove ums and ahs like I usually do.. It has music and I learned some new Adobe tricks. Believe it or not, the original MP3 file of this 75 minute recording was 108 megs! I shrunk it down to 18, but it’s still huge. I hope this will tide you over for a little while.
This will be the last of our Lost Podcasts, and Erik and I will be recording some new material soon. What do YOU want us to discuss? Leave a note in the comments!
If you want to subscribe, the Feed links are in a box on the right-hand side.
Superman actually hits somebody!!!
April 17th, 2013Shatner continues the ear punching
April 2nd, 2013William Shatner, now 97 years old, continues his fight with the gorn.
At least he’s recreating a fight where he had his shirt on!
Podcast 8: Chatting About Movies Again (Lost Podcast #2)
March 17th, 2013This is the second of our “Lost Podcasts.” Erik Burnham and I both worked in video stores so as often happens, while gearing up to record a discussion about something else, we just get talking about movies…and it turns into a whole ‘nother podcast!
My TeeFury Haul
March 8th, 2013I just love TeeFury. This site offers a new shirt design for that day, and only that day…and then it’s gone forever…almost.
Almost is because very now and then, they offer a grab bag day to clear out their inventory of remaining shirts. The shirts are only $6, you choose your size, and you can order up to 12 of them…and it’s potluck. Until the package arrives, you don’t know what designs you’ll get.
I’ve managed to miss EVERY grab bag day! So when the February 2013 grab bag day arrived, I did the full 12. I was really hoping to get the Indiana Mouse one I missed, or any of the constant Dr. Who shirts they have. Here’s how it turned out.
The Precious Gem:
Acceptable:
The reject pile:
I’m selling all of these. Don’t know yet if I’ll put these on eBay or what, but if you’re interested, make me an offer in the comments section!
Not a great haul. Honestly, only one gem, from a site that has gems that I pass by every day? (I can’t buy every great shirt!) Here’s hoping I can find the people who were salivating for that great shirt that got away (and wants it in 2XL). I may even move a few of the “acceptable” ones to the sell pile.
Podcast 7: Our 2009 Christmas Gifts (Lost Podcast #1)
February 14th, 2013In January 2010, Erik Burnham and I recorded a fun discussion of what we had gotten for Christmas. And then, for reasons technical and personal, editing took forever and then they fell by the wayside…but were not forgotten! Just in time for Valentine’s Day 2013… it’s “What did you get for Christmas 2009?” This is the first of several “Lost Podcasts” that we will be rolling out in rapid succession, to then be followed by new podcasts.
Discussed in this podcast:
Batman Watches, Femme Noir, PS238, X-Men, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Bone, The Art of Joe Jusko, Bloom County … oh, and kvetching about the 2009 Star Trek.
My Favorite Chuck Dixon Stories: Birds of Prey #7
June 13th, 2012Over on Chuck Dixon’s web site, he has a messageboard thread about his 100 best stories (in the opinion of his readers). These are my contributions to that thread.
Most comic book writers, if they want to bring up politics, just have the character that they like spout their politics.
Case in point: Angel O’Dare crossing Times Square and trashing Giuliani the whole way in a voice that doesn’t even sound like Angel’s in the Vertigo version of “Angel and the Ape.”
It’s not tied in with the story at all, or prompted by anything. It’s just Chaykin spouting off via the character who is his voice.
Perhaps Alfred the butler will take a moment to lament to Batman about how cruel fox-hunting is, even though the anti-aristocracy slant and the mere fact that Alfred is sharing his opinions in a rant instead of a one-liner both seem way out of character.
Or we get “Batman: Seduction of the Gun” or “Batman: Death of Innocence” or that story where Green Arrow watches a nun step on a land mine and then looks inside the land mine to see that his company manufactured it (because a human being’s first instinct is to look at the inside cover of an exploded land mine after someone has died). Stories that are all one-sided diatribes about a great evil in the world that is beyond the superhero’s capacity to resolve. Where statistics are delivered during quiet moments of extended dialogue between two characters.
You could almost be forgiven for thinking that Chuck Dixon just never does any “important stories” because you wouldn’t recognize them as such.
Here’s how Chuck Dixon handles “tonight on a very special Birds of Prey”.
Birds of Prey #7, “The Villain”.
Chuck takes on, of all things, Slobodon Milosevic, via a proxy. In this story, Black Canary must escort an Eastern European general to his trial while avoiding soldiers and other people who want him dead. As they dodge gunfire, Dinah makes it clear she doesn’t like the guy; she just thinks he deserves to be convicted by the world instead of murdered. However, as they run and dodge and sneak and fight, the general makes a couple of good points. She chastises him for having women working in sweatshops. He points out that if not for the factories, which are considered good jobs to have, the women would be working backbreaking labor in the fields, or worse. When they are finally cornered, the general saves Dinah’s life and takes a bullet meant for her. Dinah, having failed in her mission, owing her life to a man she resents and no longer as certain of herself, departs.
Chuck’s character, that is to say the character that he likes, Black Canary, takes on the general liberal view (indeed, the general public’s view) that any dictator is a monster, and it’s a position that most of the readers will easily agree with in the beginning. The political points made in the story are precisely what such a person would be saying in his defense, and they are debatable (but for many readers will be entirely new information). There is no letter column at the end that prompts anyone to get involved with the issue, call a phone number and make a difference. Nobody acts out of character to make the story work. Indeed, it is Dinah’s moral character which is put to the test.
In the end, you have a single-issue story that doesn’t try to get you aping a viewpoint at the end, but prompts you to think about aspects of an issue that you may never have considered, all while entertaining and providing some intense drama. Most of all, it may prompt you to read it again…always the sign of a great comic book.
This recap, by the way, is from memory. I sold all of my early BoP issues because they were going for big bucks. But I miss this one. (It’s also the debut of the electronic canary cry.)
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
May 14th, 2012Yes, this blog sucks. The stupid default theme has nothing to do with comic books. I haven’t really posted much in…wow…the last year. Our podcast links seem to need repair. So…I have been studying WordPress themes, and I am hoping to implement a new one this next week.
Few look good in a Superman uniform
February 3rd, 2012Let’s face it… few really have the right figure to pull off a Superman uniform properly. Certainly, most comic fans don’t. I’ve never dressed up as a superhero for a convention because I don’t know anyone who can make me a Bouncing Boy costume.
Sigh. Now enjoy 25 Not So Super Supermen.
It’s Uncanny, This Valley: The Ups And Downs Of Cinematic CGI InHumanity | Pajiba: Reviews, News, Quotes & Cultural Commentary
September 30th, 2011I love this quote: “Caesar will always look computer generated in the same way Roger Rabbit will always be a cartoon, but his face expresses more genuine human emotion than James Franco ever will.”
via It’s Uncanny, This Valley: The Ups And Downs Of Cinematic CGI InHumanity
Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary
September 14th, 2011Maybe my math is off, but a show that debuted at the tail end of 1963 should be two years away from an anniversary. Still, I always loved Doctor Who when I was growing up, and I don’t mind it getting some hype.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm7aE4xUjwQ&feature=player_embedded
I suppose it’s “hipster” of me to be a little resentful of how popular the show is now, considering I loved it back in the day when it was filmed in rock quarries and the budget for an episode was about as much as a phaser blast special effect cost on Star Trek. If there’s one thing that bugs me, it’s how the show almost never refers to the old series, which is why I appreciate that there are a few appearances in that new marathon promo above. Granted, the series is a hit precisely because you’re not obligated to know any old continuity, but the way it almost pretends that nothing came before Doctor #9 (whatsisname…the one that looks like a soccer hooligan) gets a little irritating.
I don’t buy many of the classic DVDs simply because of the cost. I realize that the episodes are as long as a movie sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I want to pay $20 to watch “Kinda”. Still, I think it’s awesome that they are spiffing up a few of the older episodes with special editions. Check out the promo for the new “Day of the Daleks” Special Edition.
Honestly, I watched this episode once a long time ago and it was a dull bore, culminating in a face-off with UNIT and three rickety Daleks. Now it has been enhanced with new footage shot in the same location. (Oh, but the original is also included. TAKE THAT, GEORGE LUCAS!)
Oh, and in case you’re wondering: Yes, I do buy the occasional Doctor Who DVD. I own “The Five Doctors” and the Tom Baker story, “The Ark In Space.” (Elizabeth Sladen, who passed away from cancer this year after a career resurgence making new Doctor Who appearances and “The Sarah Jane Adventures“, has a commentary on “Ark”.) There are a few that have been on my wish list as I wait for the price to come down a bit: Sylvester McCoy’s “Remembrance of the Daleks” (inarguably one of his best episodes), the classic “Earthshock,” and the 2084 cold war story “Warriors of the Deep” (those of you against CGI’d special editions should take a look at the Myrka in this one and imagine how much better the story could have been with a little help from ILM).
We all know why Green Lantern failed
August 31st, 2011
I think it’s pretty clear to everyone that Green Lantern tried to do too much and pack in too much exposition. But just in case you haven’t heard it enough: Why Iron Man Succeeded Where Green Lantern Failed.
Oh goody. Another British crime movie!
August 24th, 2011It’s funny. As soon as I saw two criminals mule-kicking the door of a house in broad daylight, I knew it was a movie from England. But if they’re speaking English, why aren’t they talking? Usually, when a trailer is wordless, it’s because it’s foreign and they’re angling to lure in the unsuspecting without telling them there are subtitles.
Then I realized why they weren’t including dialogue in the trailer for Kill List:
B-Movie Posters for Classic Films
August 24th, 2011Cracked.com had a photo contest urging people to make pulpy, b-movie posters for classic A-List movies.
You have to see the Fargo one.
7 Examples of Misguided Superhero Casting – Holytaco
August 20th, 20117 Examples of Misguided Superhero Casting – Holytaco.
I don’t care what anyone says. Winchester from M.A.S.H. was certainly the right voice for J’onn J’onzz, and while he may be out of shape, he was going to be a shadowy advisor to the League. It’s not a terrible idea.
‘The Lone Ranger’ With Johnny Depp would cost too much?
August 13th, 2011SHOCKER! Disney Halts ‘The Lone Ranger’ With Johnny Depp And Gore Verbinski – Deadline.com.
Disney allegedly halted production of “The Lone Ranger” because of the $200 million price tag.
*sputter* $200 million??? Two hundred million DOLLARS to make a western where two guys ride on horses firing guns at other guys on horses?
Guys, you don’t have to use actual silver for the bullets.
I’m truly baffled. Westerns used to be the bread and butter of Hollywood because you got the most bang for your buck. A standard western town lot, some horsies, some guns, a lot of money for the stunt men… and bang, you’ve got a movie. There’s no reason on God’s green Earth that a western should be costing Lord of the Rings prices.
“The Lone Ranger”, if you focus on STORY, should be the kind of cheap film that a studio uses to balance out the gaudy tentpoles. Something tells me I don’t want to see a Lone Ranger that costs $200 million-plus.
I certainly don’t want to see a 3D Three Musketeers movie that needed to add CGI war blimps.
Haven’t had enough of seeing Stan Lee? Here you go!
August 3rd, 2011The Complete Guide to Stan “The Man” Lee’s Marvel Movie Cameos.
I must ask…
July 13th, 2011I just watched Tim Burton’s “Alice In Wonderland” because I was clearing out the DVR. (We had gotten a free movie channels weekend, which offered me a great opportunity to fill the DVR with movies I would never pay to see like Alice in Wonderland, Predators, Transformers 2, The Sorceror’s Apprentice, etc.) I found “Alice” to be incredibly overwrought and dull in that “Isn’t it astounding what you can do with a squizillion dollars of computer graphics?” way that many big blockbusters are.
Johnny Depp’s overacting is painful just as it was in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, with the added bonus of being pedo-creepy in that he gives the Mad Hatter a crush on a girl he previously met as a child (and Depp is twice her age as well). But I finally realized my big hang-up with Tim Burton movies:
What the hell is it about pasty white skin that Tim Burton thinks is so goddam enchanting?
Look, Beetlejuice was dead, and The Joker IS pasty white, and Edward Scissorhands is pale from never seeing the sun. I get that. But then, Catwoman and The Penguin were pasty white, too. I guess I attributed it to the wintry color scheme of the movie. And of course, the animated films about gruesome monsters and dead people would have pasty white skin. That makes sense. Pee-Wee Herman isn’t exactly George Hamilton, either, but that’s a pre-existing character.
But then you throw in films where the white skin clearly isn’t related to the character’s being dead or British, such as Sleepy Hollow, or Depp’s bizarre take on Willy Wonka as a Michael Jacksony freak, and it begins to look pathological. Then there’s the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen, the White Queen and endless other Alice in Wonderland characters… You begin to suspect that Hollywood just keeps giving Tim Burton cash to make these garish films because without his career he’d just be hanging around mortuaries while vigorously abusing himself.
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