I will be writing my final review of the game soon, but in the meantime, why not try it out!

I would have made a Dalek…

As I buy old trade paperbacks from Scott Beatty, it has allowed me to catch up on some comic books I wasn’t buying even when I bought comic books. (I haven’t been to a comic shop since Blackest Night ended.)

So, I read this TPB that was all about Ruin, a new villain who had lots of insight into Superman’s personal life. It is heavily implied (too much, really) that it is Pete Ross, but the ID was not revealed in that book. Ruin is at one point captured, but he kills all of the policemen in the paddywagon with him (gorily so; there’s blood everywhere) and escapes.

The story is, sorry to say, not all that good. I don’t want to buy another book just to see who it is, so I look up “Ruin” on Wikipedia.

It’s Professor Emil Hamilton. Now, this is a guy who held a handgun on a young “strumpet” in order to compel Superman to do his bidding in only his second appearance, but he was stressed from Lex Luthor stealing his work and I always had the impression he wouldn’t really commit murder. He did his time in prison and had been a friend and asset to Superman ever since.

Then he started believing that Superman was a drain on the sun and would bring about the death of humanity in only 4.5 billion years instead of 5 billion. That’s why he suddenly turned into a mass murderer.

If he’d turned against Superman because he thought it would reunite him with Ray Palmer, I’d have said he had a better motivation.

To go from kindly absent-minded scientist to a man willing to rip apart police officers with his bare hands just doesn’t seem that believable. And I think they only did that because he was a traitor in the Justice League animated series, where his actions made total sense.

My votes for the other three:

And for the box set after that one:

Here’s one of my favorite moments:

Apparently, I’m not the only person who finds TVTropes more addicting than… well, I guess “crack” but I wouldn’t be able to say from experience. I can say it’s AS addicting as Cracked.

P.S.  While composing this article, I ended up surfing the site for three hours before remembering to hit “Publish”.

Oh yeah. I’m posting it. I can be a lemming if I try.

Kevin Smith takes one of the most awesome scenes in Frank Miller’s “Batman: Year One” and has Batman recap it.  For the effect, Batman wired up some explosives.  One of them went off too hot and it caused Batman to pee his pants.

Now…if Batman was having an out-of-his-weight-class battle with Killer Croc or Bane, and the rascal punched Batman so hard in the gut that he lost bladder control… I might quibble that that is a little TMI for a Batman comic, but it also conveys the dirty tactics of the opponent or how tooth-and-nail the fight is getting.   If Batman was on stakeout for hours, perched on top of a gargoyle, and in his thought balloons he said that he needed a bathroom break, I’d be surprised that DC permitted such a reference, even though it shows his human vulnerability.  (After all, Superman processes 100% of what he eats, which means he doesn’t need to use the bathroom.) But recounting years later how he had an accident in his costume during one of his great set pieces?  Appalling.  Adam West is rolling in his grave.

But, what do you expect from Kevin Smith?  Sadly, his name has enough cache to generate sales even though his comic book writing is fanzine-level at best.

Over on Chuck Dixon’s message board, contributor DesScorp made this point:

Honestly, how far are we from someone on JLA monitor duty rubbing one out to pass the time? Or being caught watching porn by his relief? We’ve already had Speedy and Hawkgirl with after-sex scenes. How long until everyone realizes that these are no longer mythic heroes as much as they’re instruments of writers and artists self-fantasies? It’s like the very horniest fanboys have been handed the reigns at the major companies, and they think a scat joke would be just awesome in print.

It seems like Garth Ennis is the chief editor at DC a little more every day.

Frankly, there isn’t far to go on that front.  A similar scene has already played out.

Not just that Red Arrow and Hawkgirl were having sex, but Red Tornado (at the time inhabiting the satellite’s computer) was watching them.  When he told this to Kathy Sutton, his common-law wife, she said, “All these monitors up here and you don’t get porn?”

In the JLA comic book, this happened!

There’s been something I have wanted to say all year, and I’ve been holding back:

Comic books were better under the Comics Code Authority.

Censorship can chafe, I know.  But I now honestly believe it made people better writers because they had to find a way around sleazy shocks and low humor.

It’s dumb when you can’t show a dead body in a war comic; but drop the CCA and suddenly Gorilla Grodd is eating the severed limbs of superheroes while laying around on their piles of corpses, Black Adam shoves a gold mask through Psycho Pirate’s skull, Black Mask makes Catwoman’s sister swallow her husband’s gouged-out eyeball, entire families with little children are getting high-speed shredded in JSA, and Green Lantern Corps members get showered in a rain of hundreds of eyeballs from their dead relatives.  Restrictions on the portrayal of sex under the CCA may have made it difficult to even show Green Arrow and Black Canary having a physical relationship out of wedlock (as recently as 1986, they showed Black Canary sleeping on Ollie’s couch), but say good-bye to the CCA, and now under-aged superheroes are having sex in Pa Kent’s barn, Sue Dibny’s getting abused so graphically that it makes the attempted rape in Watchmen look quaint, and Superman comics (SUPERMAN COMICS!) now have a Kryptonian villain who has brutal sex with Earth women until they’re dead from the hours of punishment.  Red Tornado watching a couple have sex because he doesn’t have access to a porn channel is one of the tamer examples.

Maybe comics were never just for kids, but now they are not for kids.  If I saw a kid in a comic book store asking for a Superman comic, I’d have to alert his parents that they need to read it first to see if there are any women getting ripped apart in Preus’ bedroom.  I can’t tell you how sad that makes me feel.

Also, if you think Edward vs Jacob is bad as it is, Burger King’s getting into the act:

I never thought I’d say it, but I MISS this guy!:

Rats.

Since no official video game has ever been made, you can make do with an unofficial free game, “I’ve Found Her.”  There’s also a full mod of “Star Trek: Armada 2″ which converts it all to the Babylon 5 universe.

EVIL DEAD II!

Pixar immediately established itself as what the Disney brand used to be: a guarantee that the movie that followed would be visually impressive, thoroughly entertaining, well-told and family-friendly. They have yet to make a movie that wasn’t a superior film to most anything else made by Hollywood. Half of their films should have been Best Picture contenders if not winners.

“Toy Story 2″ was originally going to be a cheapo straight-to-video, second-rate cash-generator, as the Disney studio has been cranking out for the last two decades. (“Lady and the Tramp 2″? Really?) Pixar wasn’t all that interested in doing sequels…but as the plot came together, they fell in love with the idea, shifted gears and made a sequel that was as good as the original in story and better in terms of visuals.

“Toy Story” was about a child’s natural tendency to lose interest in old toys as new toys debuted, with a side-plot about the kinds of children who do not treasure toys. “Toy Story 2″ carried the theme a little further: that a child’s fascination with toys doesn’t last forever, and is it better to be treasured in a glass case or to be loved intensely for a limited time?

There is a logical flaw in “Toy Story 2″ which I only realized as I re-watched it this week-end. (Don’t worry, it doesn’t wreck the movie: it may be illogical, but the actions are driven by emotions.) The entire misadventure occurs because a damaged toy is being put on the yard sale and Woody tries to rescue it. Of course, rescue it from what? If it sells, won’t the penguin toy be off to a new home with someone who loves it the way it is? Isn’t that better than sitting on a shelf, un-repaired and gathering dust?

It turns out that this question is the entire theme of the third movie: What happens to the toys when the child becomes an adult? Should they be kept in the attic for a possible future generation of kids to play with, if the adult even remembers they’re there? Should they be handed down to someone? Given to a charity toy drive? Kept as an un-playable memento of childhood? Or perhaps, being in a glass case in Tokyo should have been given more consideration? How about winding up in a landfill, only to be dug up by Wall*E 700 years later?

(Spoilers ahead!)

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

By the end of this film, I had tears in my eyes. I can only imagine how powerful “Toy Story 3″ would be to someone who was Andy’s age when the original movie came out.

As for the 3-D, I would say skip it…except that the short film “Night and Day” playing before it is a stunning example of what can be done with today’s 3-D techniques. Aside from it, the 3-D does little to enhance the film.

Chronicles Of Narnia 3

He said, “Can I play with those?” and pointed to all of my MIB stuff (Mr. Miracle and Big Barda, three different Elongated Men, the Metal Men figures, Sam the Eagle, Ernie Pyle’s G.I. Joe figure, a Talking Presidents Donald Rumsfeld, etc.).

And I felt really sad to be a forty year old man with a bunch of toys I won’t let out of their boxes.

Also included, a Russian TV production of The Hobbit!
As an aside, judging from the first vid, I never pictured Bilbo being the same size as Gandalf…

The following movies consist only of the clips in “Pulp Fiction” and “The Big Lebowski” where the F-word was said.  Of note:

1. Two minutes of each movie is taken up by F***s.
2. The F-word is almost everywhere, so that you can follow the entire plot of both films.
3. I’m with the cowboy, BTW.

Megan Fox, meanwhile, is claiming she chose not to be in the third one. Anyone who believes that she wouldn’t continue in her only profitable movies is gullible indeed.

“I think the audience is pretty intelligent. I think they know when you’ve made … . And I think if you don’t acknowledge it, then why do they trust you the next time you’re promoting a movie. … We [Harrison Ford and LaBeouf] had major discussions. He wasn’t happy with it either. Look, the movie could have been updated. There was a reason it wasn’t universally accepted.”… Asked whether this was difficult to say, given his deep relationship with Spielberg, LaBeouf continued with the directness.  “I’ll probably get a call. But he needs to hear this. I love him. I love Steven. I have a relationship with Steven that supersedes our business work. And believe me, I talk to him often enough to know that I’m not out of line. And I would never disrespect the man. I think he’s a genius, and he’s given me my whole life. He’s done so much great work that there’s no need for him to feel vulnerable about one film. But when you drop the ball you drop the ball.”

As with George Clooney and “Batman and Robin”, Shia goes overboard in taking on a lot of blame that really belongs with the director/producers/writers.  It’s not his fault that he was told to swing from vines like Tarzan.

Christian Toto says: Time to stop the Shia hate.

Television Show	Length	File Format
1966 Aquaman Animated Theme	29 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1966 The Atom Animated Theme	30 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1966 Batman Live Action Theme	58 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1968 Batman & Robin Animated Theme	59 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1996 The Adventures of Batman & Robin	58 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1997 The Batman/Superman Adventures	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1999 Batman Beyond New!	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1993 Cadillacs & Dinosaurs Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1966 Captain America Animated Theme	18 secs.	WAV	Real Audio		Real Movie
1979 Captain America Live Action Theme	47 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1967 Fantastic Four Animated Theme	56 secs.				Real Movie
1978 Fantastic Four Animated Theme	58 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1978 Fantastic Four Animated Closing Theme	30 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1997 Fantastic Four Animated Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1966 The Flash Animated Theme	30 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1990 The Flash Pilot Closing Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1990 The Flash Opening Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1966 Green Lantern Animated Theme	30 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1966 Incredible Hulk Animated Theme	24 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3	Real Movie
1977-82 Incredible Hulk Live Action Theme	70 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1982 Incredible Hulk Animated Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1996 Incredible Hulk Animated Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1966 Iron Man Aninated Theme	19 secs.	WAV	Real Audio		Real Movie
1994 Iron Man Animated Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1996 Iron Man Animated Theme	45 secs.			MP3	Real Movie
1993 Lois & Clark Commercial Stinger	6 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1993 Lois & Clark Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
The Mask Animated Theme	58 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1997 Men In Black Animated Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1966 Namor The Sub-Mariner Theme	18 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3	Real Movie
1997 Nightman Live Action Theme	64 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1979 Plastic Man Theme	59 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1997 Richie Rich Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1996 Savage Dragon Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1941 Shazam “The Adventures of Captain Marvel”	79 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1974 Shazam Live Action Theme	59 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1981 Shazam Animated Theme	85 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1997 Spawn Animated Theme	50 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1967 Spider-Man Animated Theme	63 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3	Real Movie
1981 Spider-Man Live Action Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1981 Spider-Man Theme (Solo)	61 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1981 Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends Theme	57 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1996 Spider-Man Animated Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1979 Spider-Woman Animated Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1979 Spider-Woman Animated Closing Theme	29 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1966 Superboy Cartoon Theme Resampled	30 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
Superboy Live-Action Theme – Season 1	40 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
Superboy Live-Action Theme – Season 2	40 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
Superboy Live-Action Theme – Seasons 3 & 4	45 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1973 Superfriends Theme	61 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
197? Superfriends Theme – 8bit/8khz/Mono	45 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1983 Superfriends Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1941 Fleisher Superman Animated Theme	86 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1942 Fleisher Superman Animated Theme	77 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1943 Fleisher Superman Animated Theme	75 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1941 Fleisher Superman Animated Theme – Spanish	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1951 The Adventures of Superman Theme	35 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1968 Superman Cartoon Theme	53 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1987 Superman Animated Theme	30 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1987 Superman Animated Theme – Version 2	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1996 Superman: The Animated Series	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1990 Swamp Thing Cartoon Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1990 Swamp Thing Cartoon Theme – Version 2	59 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1996 Swamp Thing TV Series Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1966 Teen Titans Animated Theme	30 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cartoon Theme	59 secs.	WAV	Real Audio
1966 Thor Animated Theme	24 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3	Real Movie
1994 Tick Animated Theme	30 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1996 WildC.A.T.S. Theme	60 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1975-79 Wonder Woman Theme	88 secs.		Real Audio
1983 X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men Theme	33 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1995 X-Men Animated Theme	59 secs.	WAV	Real Audio	MP3
1997 X-Men Animated Theme	30 secs.	WAV	Real Audio

These files, at least the ones that still function, are over 11 years old. I wonder how long until these little electromagnetic artifacts degrade.

No computer file lasts forever.

Yeah, I’ve had a tough time keeping this blog going ever since I got the dogs. However, I’ve found more time for writing and audio editing lately.

About the podcasts: I feel like I’ve let Erik down. Erik Burnham and I have a huge inventory of podcasts ready to go, but the editing has been lagging. I still have one about reviewing what we got for Christmas…and it’s now MAY. I interviewed Erik about his announcement that he’s writing some A-Team comic books…and now they’re published!

One of the big problems is that my audio editor, Adobe Soundbooth, does not have a slicing tool. This is such a fundamental element of audio editing that its absence is astounding. I have a sound bite from a movie that I’d like to insert into our conversation, right? I should be able to just slice our conversation apart and drag the second half over, then insert the sound clip on another track, right? Nope. Can’t do it. What’s even more aggravating is that the software Soundbooth is based on, Cool Edit 2000, HAD A SLICING TOOL! The only reason I can see that they don’t do this is that Adobe thinks that the ONLY thing people will be editing is the soundtrack to a movie file.

In other news, I’m creating a Zazzle store. Look for some cool merch this next week.

Erik and I will be appearing at SpringCon in the Twin Cities next weekend. Hope to see you there! I’ll be wearing my new Zazzle shirts.

Finally…a new announcement today from Mr. Plinkett:

Discussed in this podcast:

Stanley and his Monster, The Inferior Five, Angel and the Ape… they don’t really gibe with the rest of the DCU. The I5′s parents are carbon copies of the JSA, so somehow that superteam has to fit into DCU history. And I don’t really want Stanley forced to consume blood as part of his grandfather’s Satanic cult, or the Monster having a dark side that he doesn’t show Stanley. (Oddly enough, Phil Foglio was able to make his “Stanley” book totally gibe with “Sandman” without compromising the funny!)

The World War II books are OK, I guess. There’s just something odd about their happening in a world where, Spear of Destiny excuse be darned, the JSA should be able to tilt WWII’s balance of power.

What do you think? What are the concepts that should really be outside of the DCU’s one universe?

Once you create your character, you’re ready for combat. What better way to introduce you to the mechanics of the game than to land you smack dab in the middle of an alien invasion! Fortunately, you have the best superteam, the Champions, assisting you.
During this tutorial, you are introduced to the game mechanics such as attacking, draining power for energy, and blocking for defense. On the way you are given various mini missions, such as rescuing civilians, assisting emergency teams, gathering info on the invaders, and of course blasting aliens back to their home planet.
After you successfully finish the training mission and are rewarded for your efforts, you then have a choice of participating in two more instances (or crises) in the southwest desert, or northern Canada. In both, you will be introduced to arms, science, or mystic crafting, where you collect the necessary components to craft items for offence, defense, general utility, weapon/power enhancement, or various instant powers (summoning robots, healing, shields etc.)
After the crisis is resolved (for now) you can finally play the game proper. You can start by purchasing new powers gained by leveling through training, and crafting new items. You can also continue searching for missions through contacts in the desert or Canadian zones. If you feel you leveled enough, you can return to Millennium City, and start missions there.
The game zones themselves are worth mentioning. The second introductory zones, as mentioned are a desert, and arctic zone. The desert zone contains a ghost town (complete with ghosts) a radioactive wasteland, supervillain prison, and a wild west theme park, all with unique adventure possibilities. The Canadian zone includes patriot/terrorists, supernatural threats, and clone armies. All designed to be a formidable threat to your character.

In the next installment, I will cover Millennium City, some of the later zones, major villain groups, supergroups and teaming, powersets, and missions unique to this MMO.
In the meantime, here is a MashOn comic of my character Psyche. Enjoy!