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Showing posts from 2009

Video Blogging?

It's all the rage these days. I mean, everybody is doing it. Except for me. Because I'm not one of the cool kids. Yeah. Really, though this is something I've given serious thought to over the last few months. It looks and sounds like it would be a lot of fun and it would more than likely be quicker than a written blog. Of course since I don't have a camera yet, it isn't something I'd be able to do anytime soon. Plus, I think I have one of the most boring-sounding voices on the planet. I can already see the YouTube comments pointing out my awesome suckitude vocal cords. But I digresss. If I were to start video blogging, I probably wouldn't talk a lot about comics because I only read a handful of them now (my interest in them has waned considerably). Video games, on the other hand is something I'd love to talk about in videos and I've already got some ideas to keep it fresh and not seem like a lot of other video bloggers out there. There's other th

I am Mega Man, I'm Blue and Cyan...

I've known about this for some time but I've never posted about it on my blog. So guess what manga is finally being localized and brought to America? Come, guess! Thanks for the update, Proto Dude!

Sailor Moon Abridged: HILARIOUS!!!

Years ago (1995, if I recall correctly), I saw a single episode of Sailor Moon. I normally have a pretty good memory, but even I can't remember much about the episode that I did see. I remember the main character Serena/Usagi and Luna, the talking cat. That's pretty much it. Although now that I think about it, I do remember how little sense it made. Now it could be argued that anime in general can be really screwed up, but this was also the time when anime hadn't really hit it big in America so dubbing companies took far more liberties with this and mucked things up more than usual. Flash forward to 2009. Anime is huge just about everywhere and numerous "Abridged" series are pretty much all over the internet. I thought I could get along just fine with Dragon Ball Z Abridged and Yu Yu Hakusho Abridged, but after watching the very first episode of Sailor Moon Abridged, I see that I've really been missing out. Like many other Abridged series, SMA is a gag dub, po

Here He Comes to Save the Day!

For my money, the best version of Mighty Mouse was the 1980s Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures series. It lasted only two seasons, but it was a hoot, and one of the many reasons I got myself out of bed on Saturday mornings as a kid. The intro alone made the show worth watching and is easily one of my all-time favorite cartoon openings. On January 5, 2010, the complete series of Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures hits stores. This 3 disc set is remastered and even has some of the original theatrical Mighty Mouse shorts. Personally, I'm beyond stoked for this DVD release and just may pre-order my copy.

Sweet Dragon Ball Kai Custom Cover

No this isn't an official DVD cover, but it looks good enough to be an official one, doesn't it? Since Funimation doesn't yet have the rights to Dragon Ball Kai, there's no word on when we'll see a DVD release outside of Japan, but I'm positive it will happen eventually, which is one of the reasons I'm passing on the Dragon Box releases. My biggest gripe about DB Kai is that it doesn't use the newer animation style. As much as I enjoy Akira Toriyama's earlier art style for Z, if they were going to redo the series, they should have redone the animation as well. Is it asking too much for all of Kai to look like the intro? I suppose we'll see the newer style when we head towards the Cell and Majin Buu arcs. Anyway, this particular customer cover was done by zhekalu over at VGBoxArt.com. You can view more of his work at the site and find more customer covers from other artists.

Think VIZBIG!

Last week I picked up volumes 1 and 2 of DragonBall Z VIZBIG Editions. If you didn't know, the VIZBIG versions are 3-in-1 graphic novels of already released manga. There are some differences, however. Not only are they printed on bigger, better paper, some chapters are actually colored! Alas, not each colored chapter is colored. I never really appreciated the value of these things until I actually bought them. These things looked nice enough when I looked through them in the store in the past, but actually having it makes a world of difference. I guess owning is believing, or something like that. This will probably be my definitive DBZ manga experience. $17.99 for 3 books ain't a bad deal. I actually paid $6.20 for volume 2 thanks to a coupon and my Borders bucks. (It pays to be a loyal customer.) I know I'm repeating some of what I said in a previous blog entry, but if you're springing for DB and DBZ manga, get the VIZBIG editions if you can. You'll save some shelf

My Anime Slump Has Ended

For the longest time, I've been out of it when it comes to anime. Maybe it was because I don't watch much TV or don't have cable anymore, but for me not to be watching one of my favorite genres of entertainment, well, it felt like a piece of my soul was missing. Well, the void has been filled thanks to a few animes I've been watching over the past few weeks. Since Dragon Ball Kai isn't available in the states just yet (who knows when it will be, but it WILL come to the USA, mark my words), I've been watching the fan subs. They weren't kidding when they said the pace of Kai was much quicker than that of the original anime series. The Saiyan Saga is wrapped up in the first 18 episodes. There are still some filler parts, but they are pretty short so I'd say we're looking at series that is less than 130 episodes easily. It looks nice too, but if they were going to redo the series, they should have just went with the newer art/animation style that we'

Old School Anime Music = WIN!

When I listen to music, 9/10 times it's usually game music playing. I mean, I love all kinds of music, but game music (geek music as I like to call it) holds a special place in my heart. After the last few weeks, I'd have to put anime music right up there with it. Like game music, anime music of all types is awesome in my book, but I've developed a fondest for the old school stuff as of late. I've listened to old anime music I'm familiar with like Robotech and even stuff I've never heard of like Cuite Honey. There have been a few let downs here and there, but for the most part, I've been pretty satisfied with what I've heard. You know, if someone were to hear some of the stuff I listen to on ipod, they'd probably look at me like I was from another solar system.

Composer Shout Out: Yuji Ohno

For my money, one of the best composers in the music business would have to be Yuji Ohno. This guys is mostly known for his work on just about anything that has to do with Lupin III. After the last few weeks, it's hard for me not to think of Ohno's compositions when Lupin comes to mind. (I've been listening to his various albums to get my jazz fix.) Ohno's works are primarily jazz-inspired and even some of his earliest efforts on Lupin music in the '70s is still considered extraordinary. Not only has he covered music for the various Lupin series and movies, he's also done music for all three PS2 Lupin games. The man is also an accomplished musical genius even when he isn't working on music for Lupin. Tokyo City Lights is a jazz masterpiece. If you want to hear some of Ohno's work, just check out this YouTube pag e with various uploads.

Dragon Ball Z: Got Milk?

DBZ his a very popular anime, but you already know that. From VHS to DVDs and remastered DVD box sets, the series has seen multiple releases. The Funimation Remastered Box Sets should have been the last of the DVDs that a DBZ fan would have to buy. Each box set contains over 30 episodes, is remastered and in 16:9. (you'd be surprised how many people bemoaned the cropping among other things), the option for English or Japanese voices, the option to watch in either language and mix up the American and Japanese soundtracks in your viewing, and only run you $34.99. Not a bad deal. All nine seasons are DBZ are available in this format. So that should be all the DBZ you need, right? You should be done buying DBZ DVDs, right? And shortly after season nine dropped Funimation announces plans to release the Dragon Boxes. What are the Dragon Boxes? These were originally released by Toei in Japan of 2003 and where Japanese viewers chance to finally own the series on DVD, thought it was limited

Dragon Ball Manga Again

I didn't begin reading manga until 2003 and the first manga I ever picked up were the first two volumes of Dragon Ball & Dragon Ball Z. In Japan, the whole manga is known as just Dragon Ball. Despite already knowing a good deal of the story because I'd already seen the anime, the manga was no less enjoyable. On the contrary. I feel like I was able to get a much better appreciation for Akira Toriyama's art since it was in comic form. It took nearly 4 years, but in 2006, I'd finally had the DB and DBZ manga in it's combined 42 volume entirety. This week, I decided to start reading it all over from the beginning. I'm already on volume 3 of DB. The 16 volumes of DB that I own are the smaller versions with red covers with the old VIZ logo. These particular versions are completely unedited. When VIZ thought they could market the manga to an even younger crowd, they began censoring the DB and DBZ manga, much to many fans dismay. The VIZ Big editions of DB and DBZ,

Marvel Gets Mickey Mouse Ears

In case you're one of the five people who didn't know. I don't know what to think of this.

Calvin and Hobbes 10th Anniversart Book

Bet you didn't know I was a fan of this duo, huh? But really, who isn't a fan of Calvin and Hobbes? This is widely regarded as one of the greatest comic strips of all-time. Yesterday, I picked up the Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book for $5.99 at my Borders. This book is pretty cheap and easy to come by. Originally released in 1995, this book isn't merely a collection of comics. Sure, you'll get plenty of laughs from the many daily and Sunday strips that are included here, but you'll also get a good dose of background info on the characters and inspiration of said characters from the author, Bill Waterson. Even though I own, The Essential Calvin and Hobbes (another great collection), the info from Waterson makes the Tenth Anniversary Book worth owning for me. Also, considering the original price was $16.99, the price I paid was a steal.

LIFE: Spider-Man Edition

This was brought to my attention on one of the boards that I frequent. It's a fan-made Spider-Man version of the game of LIFE. If it were real, would you buy it?

SpiderFail

In ASM #601, Spidey says he should maybe start a blog and call it. SpiderFail.org. Well what was written in fiction has now been made a reality. Just go to the blog. Right now. Trust me, it's really funny.

Oh, That Norman!

Like I need to go into the details on this. I mean, really.

Super Hero Secret IDs & Their Friends

I've always felt Clark Kent has had one of the poorest disguises of all time for a secret Identity. All he does is straight up his "S" curl so it isn't visible and put on some glasses. Well, also depending on the era, Clark is either goes out of his way to be a bumbling idiot so people don't suspect he's an alien from another world, or here's the non-clumsy modern version. Personally, I like both, but if Lois is indeed a star reporter then she'd have to see through that disguise. Let's be realistic here. No one is that clumsy unless they are trying to be. I actually read a post on a message board that Lois finding out that Clark was Superman takes away from the whole dynamic. Seriously? The dynamic of making Lois look like a complete idiot who is unable to see what is right in front of her? I didn't miss that one bit. In fact, one of the few problems I had with Superman The Animated Series is that Warner Brothers didn't allow the creators t

Naruto's Family

With everything going on in Naruto right now, I'm hoping Masashi Kishimoto will take some time to tell us more about Naruto's parents. Naruto is the offspring of the fourth Hokage, one of the most powerul ninjas to come out of Konoha. Naruto's mother (whom much of his personaliy stims from) was once a tomboy but matured into a beautiful lady. Kishimotot has, in a recent interview, expressed desire to tell a backstory on the fourth Hokage, so here's hoping how he met Naruto's mother will also be mentioned. It sucks that Naruto didn't get to grow up with his parents, but he's still done alright for himself. I think they'd both be proud of him.

What If...

Can you imagine Mary Jane about to meet Peter for the first time, deliver the famous words and then Gwen shows up at the door before she can knock? So many ways that scenario could play out. Mary Jane : Um, hi. Gwen (coldly) : Hi. MJ (looking back, feeling a bit akward) : .... Gwen : What are you doing here? MJ : I've got a date with Peter Paker. Gwen : Excuse me? MJ : Just what I said, I've got-- Gwen : I know what you said! You actually think you're going to move in on my man? MJ : OK. 1. Last time I heard, Peter was unattached. 2. Girl-who-gets-knocked-off-a-bridge-and-killed-and-loses-Peter-to-a-redhead says "what." Gwen : Now see here! Wait, what?

Peter Parker Voted One of 10 Best Dads

"Wait, what? Peter? He doesn’t have a kid! He’s not even married! God bless Marvel, right? Nah, I’m not talking about the core Marvel Peter, I’m talking about the one from Earth 982, MC2. The father of the Amazing, Spectacular Spider-Girl. A Peter Parker who lived through the Clone Saga, and had his daughter returned to him by his clone Kaine. A Peter who lost his leg during his final battle with the Green Goblin, and retired to be with his wife and raise his daughter. He became a forensic scientist, doing the right thing from a police lab instead of out fighting supervillains. He had power, but he had a great responsibility, to be a father to his daughter May. Whom he raised to know the values that drove him through his entire life, that created the heroic Spider-Man. And she went ahead and learned from her old man, carrying on his name and legacy as Spider-Girl. Sure, Peter’s initial reaction was that he didn’t want to see his daughter have the same life he did, he wanted more f

Spider-Girl Saves the Day!

Or at least she saved Amazing Spider-Man Family, anyway. The book was on the verge of cancellation but when Spider-Girl joined the anthology book, sales went up. The book will be relaunched and retitled as Web of Spider-Man and we can expect more adventures from Mayday. Looks like we're stuck with the kid. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Spider-Man: The Movie Game Music

I usually don't post things that pertain to games in this blog but since this has to do with games AND Spidey, I figure it's all good. The 2002 Spider-Man game, based off the Movie had music that was on par with the film it was based off of. Sure, it may not have been composed by Danny Elfman (he did the scores for the first two Spider-Man movies), but Michael McCuistion is no slouch in the music department. The man did work on music for some of the best cartoons of all time such as Batman Beyond, and Justice League Unlimited. Despite what the album cover to the left says, there is no official soundtrack for the Spider-Man: The Movie game. One was never released and this is purely fan constructed, although very-well done and made to look as professional as possible. I always did enjoy the music from this game and it still rocks after all these years. So whether you're a fan of McCuistion's work, or you just want to hear some excellent music, this comes highly recommende

6-23-09 Comics

OK, so no comics were actually released today, but I did go into a shop and pick up a couple of issues. It's been a while since I've given my opinion on the comics I've read and that's largely because I haven't bought anything new. Recession or not, I'm still going to enjoy one of my favorite hobbies. Fun fact: I'm a huge fan of Chris Claremont's run on the Uncanny X-Men. I've only read the first two volumes of Essential X-Men, which reprints his work on 40+ issues, but I was highly impressed. The creators of the X-Men animated series of the '90s practically used Claremont's stories as a Bible for episodes, but I'm really getting off topic here. Claremont's 16 year run on the X-Men ended with X-Men #3 in 1991 and he left (or was fired, I don't know the full details) the series. Unexpectidly, Marvel has given him a chance to do what he originally planned to do with the children of the atom all those years ago, had he not left the t

Send in the Clone!

The Clone Saga is one of the most heavily criticized stories in Spider-Man's 45+ year history. Originally conceived as a 6 month story arc, because of high sales, it was decided to drag it out for as long as possible, a move that would later come back and bite Marvel. This much reviled is not without it's fans, (which is something that cannot be said for One More Day). I admit that I've bashed the Clone Saga along with many others, but some really cool stuff did come out of it. Ben Reily may have looked just like Peter Parker, but he was still a very different person and he's always been one of my favorite characters. And Spider-Girl is living proof that you can get something good out of something bad. Two of the men originally involved in the Clone Saga. Tom DeFalco and Howard Mackie have been given a chance to writer the Clone Saga as originally intended. Mackie actually put out some quality stuff on the Spider titles before he burned out on the '99 reboot and Tom

Best. Photoshop Job. Ever.

The Superboy Prime retcon punch from the Infinite Crisis mini-series. You hadda be there. Or you at least had to hear about it. It's widely regarded as one of the most thoughtless, poorly concieved retcons in all of comics and it stands right beside a certain Spider-Man story that will not be named. Sometimes the things that comes out of an EIC's head frighten me. Still, my disdain for THAT Spider-Man story aside, this image is pretty hilarious.

Don't Be Fooled

The image at right is an ad Marvel is running for Amazing Spider-Man #600. Notice Spidey's mask is covering a marriage invite. And it seems to be covering some names. All we can see is "Parker" and "son." This is either a pitiful attempt to get the many fans that Marvel irked by undoing the Spider-Marriage back into ASM again, another reality slap to fans of said marriage, or both. Either way, I'm not surprised. For anyone actually thinking Peter and Mary Jane are getting married in ASM #600, I'm sorry to say, it ain't happening. The Spidey mask is covering the names May Parker and whatever Jameson's father's name is. Yeah, these two bags of bones are getting married. Well, they may be getting married. The way the stories have been so horribily telegraphed, Jameson's father is a dead man walking. He'll probably be offed so aunt May can beleive Spider-Man to be a "horrible" person (or even moreso since they've already bro

The Coming of a Spectacular DVD Release

Mark your calendars for July 28th, true believers! One of the most anticipated DVD sets will release at the end of said month. The first season of the Spectacular Spider-Man will finally be on the shelves and if you passed up the individual DVDs containing 3-4 episodes, make sure you don't skip out on this one. There's still no confirmation of a third season, but word from producer Greg Weisman is that the first two seasons were well received and whatever network is hosting the show would be a fool not to greenlight more seasons. This is the definitive Spider-Man cartoon and anyone that loves this show needs to show their support by picking up this two disc set.

Facepalm!

Star Trek TNG facepalm = WIN.

Youth

For real? Maybe I'm getting old, which I don't mind too much (I'll be 28 next month), but I do find this panel pretty funny because, well, even I think there's some truth to it. Thoughts?

Dragon Ball Multiverse

You're viewing the these images and thinking to yourself "I've never seen that stuff happen in the Dragon Ball manga!" Well you're right, you haven't. No it isn't a new work by DB creator Akira Toriyama, but it's the work of Gogeta Jr. and Salagir, two harcore DB fans. Dragon Ball Multiverse is a fan manga, taking place 20 years after the events of of Dragon Ball Z. DBM is an excellent fan made manga. I should know, I just spent the alst hour and a half reading the first 119 pages. The art is so close to Toriyama-san's that you'd almost think he drew this himself. The manga is filled with many of the over the top DB fighting elements you've come to expect from anything baring the DB name. As the title suggests, there are multiple universes in this manga, meaning there's more than one Goku, Vegeta, etc. It can be confusing at first but once you start reading, you'll get to sucked into to care about keeping track of who is from where

The Spider-Marriage is Back in the Strip

That's right, marriage fans! No longer a "swinging single," the Spider-Man newspaper strip seems to have pulled a Dallas, except this time, no one is really upset about it. Only a matter of time before it gets restored in the main Marvel comic line. Bet it.

Puny Parker is Amazing!

Written and illustrated by Victor Cafaggi, The Amazing Adventures of Puny Parker is a web comic that taxes elements from Peanuts and mixes them up with Spider-Man. The art is cute, the writing is funny and there are all kinds of nods to various Spidey mediums. Some jokes will will go over your head if you're not a Spidey fan, but for everyone else, this is a very pleasant read. You can check out the strip at Victor Cafaggi's blog.

R.I.P Mickey Mouse

In case you haven't heard , Wayne Allwine, the voice actor of Mickey Mouse passed away at the age of 62. He had been voice the world's most famous mouse since 1977. The original voice actor for Mickey was Walt Disney himself. Allwine's imitation of Disney's voice was spot on. Most of the the Mickey Mouse cartoons I've seen were voiced by Allwine. 'Tis a sad day in cartoon history. R.I.P, Wayne Allwine.

Are Comics Returning to the Silver Age?

I read a very interesting post at one of my regular hang outs and it got me thinking. I've copied it here because the original poster sums it up far better than I could. "Ok, these days we've been seeing a lot of comebacks lately. Infinite Crisis. Hal Jordan as Green Lantern. The Phantom Zone villains, Braniac and a whole boat of Kryptonians in Superman. All of that bullshit Grant Morrison found at the bottom of the barrel to make Batman R.I.P and Final Crisis to begin with. Marvel putting Spidey back to what he was in the 70's, Tony in the old Iron Man armor, Secret Invasion, The Marvel Space Titles and etc, etc. Now we have Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash, coming back. Geoff Johns plans to do with Allen what he did to Jordan and remind us how cool he is. But unlike Jordan, who I hated until Johnss re-introduced him, the only thing re reminded was how cool the OTHER Flashes are than Allen. Yes, even the Golden Age Flash is cooler than Allen. Everyone knows how aweso

Quickly, Robin! To Wayne Manor!

The Batcave? Pff. Old hat. It's all about Wayne Manor , home to the delightful Batman and Sons web-comic. This may very well be the only place on the net where you can see Batman as a father to Dick Grayson (the original Robin), Jason Todd (the second Robin), Time Drake (the third and current Robin), and Terry McGinnis (Batman Beyond). Let me repeat that. Batman. As a father. Parenting all three Robins and the future Batman. Go. NOW!

IGN's 100 Best Animated Shows

1. The Simpsons (1989) 2. Batman: The Animated Series (1992) 3. Looney Tunes (1930) 4. South Park (1997) 5. Beavis and Butt-head (1993) 6. The Tick (1994) 7. Family Guy (1999) 8. Futurama (1999) 8. The Flintstones (1960) 10. Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) 11. The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (1959) 12. The Ren and Stimpy Show (1991) 13. X-Men (1992) 14. Cowboy Bebop (1998) 15. Spongebob Squarepants (1999) 16. The Maxx (1995) 17. Animaniacs (1993) 18. DuckTales (1987) 19. G.I. Joe (1985) 20. Justice League Unlimited (2001) 21. Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) 22. The Real Ghostbusters (1986) 23. Transformers (1984) 24. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969) 25. Robot Chicken (2005) 26. The Critic (1994) 27. King of the Hill (1997) 28. Home Movies (1999) 29. Speed Racer (1967) 30. The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008) 31. Muppet Babies (1984) 32. Liquid Television (1991) 33. Schoolhouse Rock (1972) 34. Robotech (1985) 35. Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005) 36. Superman: The Animated Series (1996) 37. Spa

The Adventures of Spiderchibi

More here .

Farewell, Hinata?

Each week we get spoilers for the latest manga chapters of Naruto. One of the spoilers for this week was that Hinata was killed by Pain. Of course many thought this was fake, myself included. Surly the author wouldn't kill of my favorite female character in Naruto. Well, the truth hurts and it seems that's exactly what he did. Naruto has had a crush on Sakura since his days in the ninja academy. She was the only girl he had eyes for and she couldn't see him for dust and at the start of the series, she treated him like crap. Why anyone would still be interested in a girl like that is beyond me. Hinata has had a crush on Naruto for the longest time and I'd always wondered if and when she'd admit her feelings to his face. Well she finally did. And she didn't just tell Naruto that she likes him. Hinata told Naruto that she loves him . Naruto is clearly stunned by her words. After this revalation, she is killed off panel right in front of Naruto. I wanted to scream o

Turtle Power!

If you were a child of the '80s, you were probably into the kickin' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They had a sweet cartoon, comics, action figures, and sweet video games. These days, I'm still a TMNT fan. I've said all that so I could pimp this fine piece of artwork I found at Deviant Art. Hands down one of the best art pieces I've seen for TMNT. Ever.