tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627185945501813552024-03-17T07:43:18.861-04:0080 Page GiantThe Blog That Walks Like A Man!awa64http://www.blogger.com/profile/02418713241704510016noreply@blogger.comBlogger253125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-46812367984077035572015-07-31T03:11:00.001-04:002015-07-31T03:11:39.656-04:0080Pagecast #52: Pym Particle PartyAnt-Man is out in theaters. We saw Ant-man. So we're here to talk about Ant-Man.
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<iframe id='ei7689148' src='http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2015-07-31T00_04_00-07_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2015-07-31T00_04_00-07_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26facebook%3Dtrue%26height%3D85%26width%3D300%26minicast%3Dfalse%26objembed%3D0¬b=1' height='85' width='300'frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Yeah yeah, it's been a while. Yeah we forgot to do an episode about Age of Ultron. Whoops.
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<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
<b>Appendectomy Music: </b>Great Lakes Avengers, <a href="http://kirbykracklemusic.com/">Kirby Krackle</a><br />
<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/crossdar.htm">Darren Cross</a><br />
<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">Listen and review us on iTunes</a>.<br />David Henionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06630888538878254044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-27675925643786823842015-04-07T01:02:00.001-04:002015-04-07T01:02:06.312-04:0080Pagecast #51: We Dared the DevilWe give you some news, reviews of Fantastic Four #644, various classic Daredevil trades, Baldur's Gate #5, another Inhumanoids mini-comic, Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #39, Transformers #39, and Transformers Windblade #1. And tell you things you can use the 2003 movie Daredevil for as we watched the director's cut in preparation for the upcoming Netflix series.
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<iframe height='85' width='440' frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' src='http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2015-04-06T21_28_25-07_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2015-04-06T21_28_25-07_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0' allowfullscreen></iframe>
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This will be the last regularly scheduled episode of the 80Pagecast. We'll be back to review other comicbook movies as they come into theaters, look back at the occasional older comic movies, and possibly check out at the above mentioned Daredevil series. This interruption in regular podcasting is so that we can start a podcast about a 90s tv show close to all our hearts.
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<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
<b>Appendectomy Music: </b>Great Lakes Avengers, <a href="http://kirbykracklemusic.com/">Kirby Krackle</a><br />
<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/systemcrashdd.htm">System Crash</a><br />
<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">Listen and review us on iTunes</a>.<br />David Henionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06630888538878254044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-39722844066061163592015-03-16T23:59:00.000-04:002015-03-16T23:59:24.959-04:0080Pagecast #50: Star Spangled BootyThe gangs all here even though half of us are feeling under the weather. This fortnight we talk about even more Secret Wars solicites, Howard the Duck #1, a Golden Superbook of the Inhumanoids, some old UK kids joke comics, and whatever else pops into our rambling minds.
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<iframe height='85' width='440' frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' src='http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2015-03-16T20_53_40-07_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2015-03-16T20_53_40-07_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0' allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Music: </b>Great Lakes Avengers, <a href="http://kirbykracklemusic.com/">Kirby Krackle</a><br />
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<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix6/trump.htm">The Trump</a><br />
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<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a>
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">Listen and review us on iTunes</a>.<br />David Henionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06630888538878254044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-81199786221297248142015-03-03T03:00:00.000-05:002015-03-03T17:21:10.303-05:0080-Pagecast #49: The Adventures of Traitor McStalkypantsAfter talking about catching up on watching Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, there is lots of talk about Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #38. A little bit about Amazing Spider-Man #15. And just a smidge about Silk #1, Rocket Raccoon #8 and D4ve #1.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="85" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2015-03-02T21_55_28-08_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2015-03-02T21_55_28-08_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0" width="440"></iframe>
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<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Music: </b>Great Lakes Avengers - Kirby Krackle<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/macawb.htm">Black Jaimie MacAwber</a><br />
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<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">Listen and review us on iTunes</a>.Rob Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17603780742124190812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-59683033657294919202015-02-17T01:33:00.000-05:002015-02-17T01:36:14.506-05:0080-Pagecast #48: Lobster HatWe're full of news this time - <a href="http://www.newsarama.com/23457-full-list-of-dc-1s.html">new books at DC</a>, <a href="http://ca.ign.com/articles/2015/02/12/marvel-reveals-more-comics-spinning-out-of-secret-wars">Secret Wars at Marvel</a>, and some movie news about some kind of spider man. Also, we read some comics: Amazing Spider-Man #14, Transformers: Punishment, Hawkeye #19 and #21. Plus: yes, it's true, Zatanna spent several years wearing a <a href="http://www.comics.org/issue/35377/cover/4/">lobster for a hat</a>.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="85" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2015-02-16T22_31_51-08_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2015-02-16T22_31_51-08_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0" width="440"></iframe>
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<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Music: </b>Heartbeat - Herman's Hermits<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/devilhrt.htm">Devil's Heart</a><br />
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<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">Listen and review us on iTunes</a>.Rob Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17603780742124190812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-40789867257293697512015-02-03T04:05:00.000-05:002015-02-03T04:06:11.374-05:0080Pagecast 47: MODOK, Mo` ProblemsAnother catch of of talking about everything and some comics: Spider-Man and the X-men #2, Fantastic Four #15, Guardians of the Galaxy #23, Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #37, and more Dick Tracy.
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<iframe height='85' width='440' frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' src='http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2015-02-02T21_00_14-08_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2015-02-02T21_00_14-08_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0' allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Music: </b>NFL on NBC on Unicron Medley<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/sanctionsp.htm">Sanction</a><br />
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<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a>
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">Listen and review us on iTunes</a>.<br />David Henionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06630888538878254044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-21417493835615831682015-01-20T21:45:00.003-05:002015-01-20T21:45:49.395-05:0080-Pagecast 46: Tangentially YoursIt's a quick one this week, as we discuss Conan/Red Sonja #1, Ant-Man #1, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1, Ms. Marvel, and more Dick Tracy. Also: racism.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="85" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2015-01-20T16_40_29-08_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2015-01-20T16_40_29-08_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0" width="440"></iframe>
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<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Music: </b>Great Lakes Avengers, <a href="http://kirbykracklemusic.com/">Kirby Krackle</a><br />
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<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/supremacists_azania.htm">The Supremacists</a><br />
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<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">Listen and review us on iTunes</a>.Rob Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17603780742124190812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-2716935264302351472015-01-20T18:35:00.000-05:002015-01-20T18:42:01.175-05:00Things that cause mental conflict: The WizardThe Wizard is not strictly a comic, and I only own one random issue of it. It's what's called a "Story paper", and is published by famous British comics publisher DC Thomson. I've never really paid attention to the book because I haven't read it... but today I gave it a decent look and was kinda left in a state of cognitive dissonance.<br />
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The only comic is the front page of the magazine -- and it's drawn wonderfully. It's so lively, so interesting.<br />
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But...<br />
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It's also kinda horribly racist.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzx0_cmDKme7US9ZZ2LP-jRSdd-rFqnc2G3_1plIVUDchD0gIm9xNwNhjD4ytFedLI-iN5lO-PWqJAIbc6YUYMbNhyphenhyphenOJk5c2Fp2npcoEu6zwf0V2uxAO34U-fP3Y93H9qc0IowLMs0A/s1600/thewizard_1185_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzx0_cmDKme7US9ZZ2LP-jRSdd-rFqnc2G3_1plIVUDchD0gIm9xNwNhjD4ytFedLI-iN5lO-PWqJAIbc6YUYMbNhyphenhyphenOJk5c2Fp2npcoEu6zwf0V2uxAO34U-fP3Y93H9qc0IowLMs0A/s1600/thewizard_1185_cover.jpg" height="400" width="271" /></a></div>
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Yeaaaaaahhhh... </div>
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--Andrew S.</div>
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("There was once a game called Football" is a sci-fi text story, just for the record.)</div>
<br />Andrew Sorohanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01377620456453176431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-9190963102058216612015-01-12T19:31:00.003-05:002015-01-12T19:32:16.961-05:00Sometimes Art and Text Don't Match<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This set of panels is from Giant-Size Super-Stars #1. The basics of the plot are that the Thing and the Incredible Hulk have had their minds swapped. So Hulk-Thing is going around hitting people who normally would be on the Thing's side.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZ4yZWrbNWprScHp_v5uyCRKmOkMz4-J6tiSApNAceg5u28Zgq-xnXmIdCri8FiyUH_zlMB4Nn_b-Qi_juEPO8VXm-2VCyPiBKC75JNrgRS5a53wzgSDMzwmtL9qkXnAxz9JQgWf3kw/s1600/giant-sizesuperstars_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZ4yZWrbNWprScHp_v5uyCRKmOkMz4-J6tiSApNAceg5u28Zgq-xnXmIdCri8FiyUH_zlMB4Nn_b-Qi_juEPO8VXm-2VCyPiBKC75JNrgRS5a53wzgSDMzwmtL9qkXnAxz9JQgWf3kw/s1600/giant-sizesuperstars_001.jpg" height="206" width="400" /></a></div>
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I'm not sure what the reasoning was behind the special note from Roy Thomas (Who was the editor on this book) was. Was it to make the violence against a female seem less drastic? Was it to explain what was happening because of the lacking art? I can't tell.<br />
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All I know is Thundra don't need a editor's note to stick up for her, guys.<br />
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--Andrew S.Andrew Sorohanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01377620456453176431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-33147335588661599352015-01-05T23:51:00.000-05:002015-01-05T23:51:07.670-05:0080Pagecast 45: Looking Ahead As We Look BackNo real comicbook new this week because everyone was sipping the nog and making with the holly jolly. Some comics did come out so we talk about Axis #9, Fantastic Four #14, Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #36, Dick Tracy fighting Flattop Jr and X-Factor #18. We manage to avoid doing a special year in review topic by talking about what we are excited to read in the new year. Well and some talk about stuff we liked last year.
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<iframe height='85' width='440' frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' src='http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2015-01-05T20_37_15-08_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2015-01-05T20_37_15-08_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0' allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Music: </b>Great Lakes Avengers, <a href="http://kirbykracklemusic.com/">Kirby Krackle</a><br />
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<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix6/trump.htm">The Trump</a><br />
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<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a>
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">Listen and review us on iTunes</a>.<br />David Henionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06630888538878254044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-85965984571053520422014-12-31T13:11:00.001-05:002014-12-31T13:25:25.352-05:00Going Through Boxes 1: Licensed ComicsLately I've been organising my comic collection. Here's a photo to show you some of my setup.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ylebOVYMr1kHUKflegvRZiS_ITtxAcBLpLIOVCvV236ysMKcir65WP6WDW5xvuUCs5rj0wNyNZa8fJj_NY_KEV53pauqg14a1BShzWlkBxBvCbOxnLoYStWKTn1lOXzwDKJeC-lT_w/s1600/lc1_003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ylebOVYMr1kHUKflegvRZiS_ITtxAcBLpLIOVCvV236ysMKcir65WP6WDW5xvuUCs5rj0wNyNZa8fJj_NY_KEV53pauqg14a1BShzWlkBxBvCbOxnLoYStWKTn1lOXzwDKJeC-lT_w/s1600/lc1_003.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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So, why don't we take a look through one of my short boxes full of comic books and see what's inside. Then we can discuss some of the random bullshit I own.</div>
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The box we'll go through is LC-1. My naming scheme is pretty simple. The M boxes are full of Marvel comics. The LC boxes are full of licensed comics.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo90MGWM8fuBOg3Y0MD6fscb6KJhEgneWtOOs2bRk3iRk3NiDxck9pac6pstifRv9SjUfmEh07llQ4vyXyr6xUWbmyvt1214EKHaQE7k9R9Qa0_8l_J0e18f2doCU1zPYzOsUZ8f5HSA/s1600/lc1_004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo90MGWM8fuBOg3Y0MD6fscb6KJhEgneWtOOs2bRk3iRk3NiDxck9pac6pstifRv9SjUfmEh07llQ4vyXyr6xUWbmyvt1214EKHaQE7k9R9Qa0_8l_J0e18f2doCU1zPYzOsUZ8f5HSA/s1600/lc1_004.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Each short box can hold about 100 issues when they're bagged and boarded. Or, knowing the way I pack those motherfuckers in there, the box could have nearly 120 issues. But we'll go through series-by-series, rather than looking at individual comics.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4hkllFirIW_dJZEf4hTfH-N3buK-7wdPPyeBgkEEveCOI31PBysdlW7cfkaYgFNC8Q_PZH5UVp_aDQID9wK5-Egto0UAaazUyLUVFUTlKINwz8x-r1s_jbqsMp0oJf9qDv7RCLFL9w/s1600/lc1_005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4hkllFirIW_dJZEf4hTfH-N3buK-7wdPPyeBgkEEveCOI31PBysdlW7cfkaYgFNC8Q_PZH5UVp_aDQID9wK5-Egto0UAaazUyLUVFUTlKINwz8x-r1s_jbqsMp0oJf9qDv7RCLFL9w/s1600/lc1_005.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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So what's inside?<br />
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Let's start at the top with...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1uJ3vS-rx7ZE7ylBvauRkipsGUrXGFSV0yoJKhHoMAuuY1kwos2Y_7FCY-53lpZ4vdUSLmqcrBTlfUJJJhf2tq4ctmfjxyBCx3sdREZL19q3pPkgT-87MOF57W6WNS0K4t9OCn1fhQ/s1600/lc1_007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1uJ3vS-rx7ZE7ylBvauRkipsGUrXGFSV0yoJKhHoMAuuY1kwos2Y_7FCY-53lpZ4vdUSLmqcrBTlfUJJJhf2tq4ctmfjxyBCx3sdREZL19q3pPkgT-87MOF57W6WNS0K4t9OCn1fhQ/s1600/lc1_007.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ADVENTURES OF BAYOU BILLY</td></tr>
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I've only got two issues of Adventures of Bayou Billy (there's only 5 issues in the series in total). Bayou Billy is one of only a handful of licensed computer game comics out there, and like most of them this one is from Archie comics. It's freakin' awful and I don't think I'll bother with getting the 3 issues I don't have.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AIR RAIDERS</td></tr>
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Air Raiders! Woo! I've got a complete collection of Air Raiders -- all 5 issues. It's... okay. The world is kinda interesting -- with air being rationed by the evil overlords who our heroes have to fight. But at some point you kinda get tired of them inserting the word 'air' into mudane, everyday things. Just because the air is being rationed doesn't mean you have to sell 'air burgers' guys.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ANIMAX</td></tr>
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Animax is one of the more obscure and weird licensed comics in my collection. I've got all 4 issues of the series. I totally recommend it. It's a really weird little piece of ephemera. It's basically a perfect 1980s toy and toy comic -- but it came too late, and didn't have the budget to make it big. So what you're left with is four relatively weird, almost surreal issues of a really obscure comic.<br />
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I loved them when I was a kid, still love them now.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BATTLE BEASTS</td></tr>
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Battle Beasts was another minor toyline from the 1980s. Its only American fiction was this comic series from Blackthorne comics. Finding these in the box was a kind of delight. I've had issue 4 of Battle Beasts since the early 1990s, when I was first starting to build my comic collection. But I'd completely forgotten that I'd gotten issues 1 and 2 since then. Man. I really need to get issue 3 of this series.<br />
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It's an okay comic -- but it really feels like it was only just hitting its stride when it got cancelled. Issue 4 is definitely the best of the three I have.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivwF1o5Mok7BwKVBaV8BOK29wdWCWbJHTCrNbSuBXW9mxcyO62CO4wyvVvn3jzja-l8lClcs3rxPFYnGupHSliC1LMfI4FkFnXZfJGsqKdz38Oh5YqBImk1FNpAHlW6J1SeakXPZu73w/s1600/lc1_0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivwF1o5Mok7BwKVBaV8BOK29wdWCWbJHTCrNbSuBXW9mxcyO62CO4wyvVvn3jzja-l8lClcs3rxPFYnGupHSliC1LMfI4FkFnXZfJGsqKdz38Oh5YqBImk1FNpAHlW6J1SeakXPZu73w/s1600/lc1_0011.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT COMIC BOOK</td></tr>
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Man, I still can't believe how good Bill & Ted's Excellent Comic Book is. It's really freakin' good. I only have 2 issues out of 15, but damn. I need more. MORE I TELS YA!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CONAN THE BARBARIAN</td></tr>
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I have about 40 issues of Conan the Barbarian. They're freakin' awesome. I totally recommend this book. There's three things to recommend it:<br />
1) It's the most masculine comic ever! It's badass!<br />
2) A lot of the issues were drawn by John Buscema -- but unlike his superhero work, it's a John Buscema who actually gave a shit. They're freakin' awesome.<br />
3) Conan hates sorcerers. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qQUy1zSIuMd-VKyt_Zqg-JfWv8DFFpnqQqpJEl2tZLbUIsZXiljG-bEARdzpgGubKiEh_OlMzPzlxYf87lGjhhxRP0RBhOhxzWjYIwtIr53RJ0eIS20yB3oNksbK-bqKrQvbiFP7dg/s1600/lc1_0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qQUy1zSIuMd-VKyt_Zqg-JfWv8DFFpnqQqpJEl2tZLbUIsZXiljG-bEARdzpgGubKiEh_OlMzPzlxYf87lGjhhxRP0RBhOhxzWjYIwtIr53RJ0eIS20yB3oNksbK-bqKrQvbiFP7dg/s1600/lc1_0013.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CONAN THE BARBARIAN MOVIE SPECIAL</td></tr>
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My comics are mostly second hand -- and mostly readers. (A reader is a comic book that's not in investment condition, but which is okay to read) As you can tell by my copy of the first issue of the Conan The Barbarian movie adaptation. This is part of a two issue series. I don't think I'll bother with issue 2.<br />
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You know, I never noticed until now that Conan and his friends are emerging from a giant vagina portal. That's neat. Maybe that's why the previous owner decided to draw hair all over Conan.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CONAN THE DESTROYER</td></tr>
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On the other hand, I DO have both issues of Conan the Destroyer... so go figure there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xmUK-si1KN8cWkvvdbHU7vsIxv82ictCoU7omgjKkmC0Bkx3MiebKhlRmBgRboY1P14_tbacyzfhi9YcezeimPOZzlhnSdiCN2sy0BwENdjTH730MAztIorCGO77ohfhkNYdakZG2g/s1600/lc1_0015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xmUK-si1KN8cWkvvdbHU7vsIxv82ictCoU7omgjKkmC0Bkx3MiebKhlRmBgRboY1P14_tbacyzfhi9YcezeimPOZzlhnSdiCN2sy0BwENdjTH730MAztIorCGO77ohfhkNYdakZG2g/s1600/lc1_0015.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">COPS</td></tr>
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COPS! Man. This comic series really wowed me as a kid. I only had like 3 issues, but I loved the hell out of them. The comic doesn't really stand up to scrutiny as an adult -- but I have a fondness for it. I have all 15 issues in the series. My favourite ones are the ones where a rogue COP goes around robbing banks using a robot elephant with a vacuum suction device in its trunk.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">COUNT DUCKULA</td></tr>
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Why don't I have more issues of Count Duckula? I had the whole lot when I was a kid. Oh yeah -- I think I gave all my other issues of Duckula to my sister one Christmas as part of a nostalgia gift for her. That's also why I don't have stuff like Care Bears in this box any more.<br />
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The Duckula comic is pretty okay. My favourite part is the Danger Mouse backups.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DINO RIDERS</td></tr>
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There's only 3 issues of Dino Riders. I have two. This is one of those comics that seemed to end far too soon. It's one of the first series that made me realise how unforgiving comic collecting could be. The story was getting really dark and weird and awesome by issue 3.<br />
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I have basically no comics left over from my childhood -- I basically read them until they fell apart. Part of collecting for me is an endless quest to get back those comics. Man. I really need to get a copy of issue 3.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">G.I. JOE</td></tr>
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Annnnd last of all we have G.I. Joe! I've got about 80 to 100 issues of the original 155 issue run. The first 50 issues are where most of my gaps are -- because I've got the Marvel TPBs of those issues. G.I. Joe is a really good comic -- up to a point. See, the book's biggest problem in the early issues was that the villains were all much more interesting and engaging characters than the heroes.<br />
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That would have been okay, except writer Larry Hama just went ahead and, one-by-one, made all the villains into heroes -- or killed them all off. By the time Zartan, and Storm Shadow and Destro are no longer really antagonists for the G.I. Joes and he's resorting to making Firefly into a badass ninja, you know the book has no more life left, despite it limping on for another 20 or 30 issues. I would recommend just reading the first 100 issues and leaving it at that.<br />
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Well that's it for this box! I'm sure I'll do another catalogue article in the future, Although these things could get insanely long. Hopefully every box has some nice 30 or 40 issue runs like this one did to keep the number of series to go through down.<br />
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--Andrew S.<br />
(If you want more detail about any of the individual series I've shown off here, feel free to ask me.)Andrew Sorohanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01377620456453176431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-87122084604961647922014-12-23T12:05:00.000-05:002014-12-23T12:05:47.962-05:00Christmas Miracle #3: Phantom Christmas Special<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrkeOsTktOYboFh3JDyybvDYom2Z6dX2RvpU7hvdkU1ikQpAO0enuI3DrM9xwop_KucmIcEVr03Fg0-2wPfYUP9bQy7XaIEv8z3lE1-qUAGA_n2lgVwfHZ7Dt2Hg3nUK90G2OpRmh5g/s1600/frew1713_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrkeOsTktOYboFh3JDyybvDYom2Z6dX2RvpU7hvdkU1ikQpAO0enuI3DrM9xwop_KucmIcEVr03Fg0-2wPfYUP9bQy7XaIEv8z3lE1-qUAGA_n2lgVwfHZ7Dt2Hg3nUK90G2OpRmh5g/s1600/frew1713_01.jpg" height="200" width="136" /></a></td></tr>
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Sometimes Christmas is just a time of year, and stuff comes out at that time. You sometimes get stories that are set at Christmas that really have nothing to do with Christmas. Sometimes you even get stuff that comes out at Christmas and so it gets seasonal branding even though it has nothing to do with the holiday.<br />
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So that brings us to Phantom #1713. (Yes, the issue number is not a typo. This comic is a weekly that's been going since the 1940s.)<br />
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Every year Frew Publications in Australia brings out a 100 page Christmas Special for the Phantom. Which has nothing to do with Christmas. It's usually just a couple of classic Lee Falk Phantom stories and a couple of new stories that have yet to be printed by Frew, all together in one large volume.<br />
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This year's Christmas special is no different! So let's check it out!<br />
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There are four stories in this volume. Two -- the Jungle Olympic snad King Bongong are old Lee Falk stories, and I'm not that worried about talking about them. They're perfectly good, and reflect the eras they were created in.<br />
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But the other two stories are from 2014, and are both written by Tony DePaul. The first story is... well... it's one of the worst Phantom newspaper strip stories I've ever read. It's truly awful. It starts with a female reporter trying to find the Bandar Pygmies, only to be rebuked by every Bangalan tribe she tries to get a guide from.<br />
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And that's where the... unintentional misogyny begins. (I'll explain why I say 'unintentional' in a minute):<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Sf9VwbJGt3DZpWAigcT6P51q3zBIi9kHvgBa9yHe6BP9G1GwDBiCyxUyjf3UNYm2K1Wlz1j3Ve9Zw_NOZffHGhxGG3rtqQPt5hv1Dv3w-pvZrQFsjcLYBaiUcSHaRphVt1RH33IeZQ/s1600/frew1713_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Sf9VwbJGt3DZpWAigcT6P51q3zBIi9kHvgBa9yHe6BP9G1GwDBiCyxUyjf3UNYm2K1Wlz1j3Ve9Zw_NOZffHGhxGG3rtqQPt5hv1Dv3w-pvZrQFsjcLYBaiUcSHaRphVt1RH33IeZQ/s1600/frew1713_02.jpg" height="125" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No, Phantom. No. Bad comic strip!</td></tr>
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Yup. The chief bashes the photographer IN THE FACE. He actually KNOCKS HER UNCONSCIOUS. Jeeeezus. That one blindsided me, I didn't expect that level of violence against women popping up out of nowhere.</div>
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But... it doesn't end there. The reporter hires a sleazy guy to guide her to the Bandar and he decides to use her to steal the Phantom's treasure -- so he poisons her, so that the Bandar will be forced to take them in and keep them alive.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFQSlS9p2hhB2_gllSxjDc02sWgZDb5Rjp-UKRjpAolr7WnL79g4LNdqmw1PIJ3R_w8-_ptHF__Eal_meoWvzSFytFLjNjykvGsAy9n77EbtsfialL72_IvXRre2tbaWtCU4BHfgLuA/s1600/frew1713_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFQSlS9p2hhB2_gllSxjDc02sWgZDb5Rjp-UKRjpAolr7WnL79g4LNdqmw1PIJ3R_w8-_ptHF__Eal_meoWvzSFytFLjNjykvGsAy9n77EbtsfialL72_IvXRre2tbaWtCU4BHfgLuA/s1600/frew1713_03.jpg" height="132" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seconds ago he was pretending to be her husband. Probably because the idea is hot to<br />him -- seriously he only took the job in the first place because he thought she was hot.</td></tr>
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This leads to an elongated and creepy sequence where the Phantom allows the reporter to wander freely -- because she's a good person -- but makes sure that the sleazy guide is kept under watch. Not that it matters for either of them because he plans to have Guran erase both their memories with magic Bandar Witch Doctoring.<br />
<br />
This gives the sequences that follow a really creepy vibe, because the Phantom shows the reporter through the Skull Cave and she's wowed and awed by everything she sees. But you at the reader knows she's never getting out of here with any of the Phantom's secrets.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWECXDpn3zzY6vD2LLNypNcFgPYkRNlwG97VaGw3ZN2MYFDiYMGdrQc592v2fbqIu8_KFkb4xf6HOLAA2nXYudaY54Xfgod_htZocF0vH7_jWWVBkt4MHdf3grUwSTSV-d5SqglBd4Lw/s1600/frew1713_04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWECXDpn3zzY6vD2LLNypNcFgPYkRNlwG97VaGw3ZN2MYFDiYMGdrQc592v2fbqIu8_KFkb4xf6HOLAA2nXYudaY54Xfgod_htZocF0vH7_jWWVBkt4MHdf3grUwSTSV-d5SqglBd4Lw/s1600/frew1713_04.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hah-hah-hah. The evil guy doesn't get a tour he's never going to remember,<br />but the girl does! It's hilarious! Bleah.</td></tr>
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<br />
The purpose of this story is to do a tour of the Skull Cave for the reader. These sorts of stories are part of the Phantom mythos -- tour through the Skull Cave and see all the wonders and treasures inside. Then the Phantom will tell the stories of how he acquired (or how his family line acquired) all the wonderous treasures.<br />
<br />
There's a lot in the cave -- the Phantom's throne room, the Phantom's ancestral crypt, the diary room where all the Phantom's exploits have been written down for centuries, and of course the minor treasure room (full of gold and jewels taken from pirates) and the major treasure room (full of artifacts that really should be in a museum).<br />
<br />
The sleazy guy wanders into the major treasure room, and steals some stuff like Excalibur, or Cleopatra's ring, etc. not realising how valuable the stuff is. But it doesn't matter because of course he's caught.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgPvxGI6OxRC55bPm31BeeONjOjSf9Z2C3bikKjFnUV7yoPfhwrzFSFDR95GCbtsJQr-9YIjFhTZ3tguBfMPNZpRHJxdQI_Wp6cXlxVrKTfwPcIN8QK-z04ocY8dwiDFpA2zi5C9Ocw/s1600/frew1713_05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgPvxGI6OxRC55bPm31BeeONjOjSf9Z2C3bikKjFnUV7yoPfhwrzFSFDR95GCbtsJQr-9YIjFhTZ3tguBfMPNZpRHJxdQI_Wp6cXlxVrKTfwPcIN8QK-z04ocY8dwiDFpA2zi5C9Ocw/s1600/frew1713_05.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What an arsehole! Hopefully he'll get a much worse<br />fate than the innocent, nice woman!</td></tr>
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And then he and the female reporter have their memories erased.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ENXO2RZXNtw1zk7uG0Xj3kppP5wX-XgxXglZ2bgYKS5LJ0KBhcvVtzXHLA3q_JEadbZyH85nmxajbXcMVAMoHMnVcASdBvyUChzAL3nWxyacbyoW-cXIsjhOUgv9ZZQRN_skkqiC3A/s1600/frew1713_06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ENXO2RZXNtw1zk7uG0Xj3kppP5wX-XgxXglZ2bgYKS5LJ0KBhcvVtzXHLA3q_JEadbZyH85nmxajbXcMVAMoHMnVcASdBvyUChzAL3nWxyacbyoW-cXIsjhOUgv9ZZQRN_skkqiC3A/s1600/frew1713_06.jpg" height="103" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nope. Same fate. Phantom, you suck.</td></tr>
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And that's where things get REALLY fucked up. Because you see, the reporter had already fallen in love with the Phantom. Which a lot of women do -- he's all man -- and so the amnesia powder doesn't work right on her. She has hazy memories of what has happened!</div>
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This leads to basically one of the creepiest sequences in the history of the Phantom, where the Phantom takes the reporter back to the Wambesi and gets them to stage an elaborate ruse so that she thinks that everything she remembers about the Phantom is a fever dream she had after being brained by a savage tribal chief:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOX9VueUwGMHfdgNDNE7Zt9dmJ7eESaEVQZ6njcAYtFaKUpXtXHVH46DWTSBoqAfKjF4Xj5PLOrExIGdohnJaGPhF9DJCPsW5SU8QFazGGoKY-LXBpwYw4pnKR1sKYpJLfZGU7m2krkA/s1600/frew1713_07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOX9VueUwGMHfdgNDNE7Zt9dmJ7eESaEVQZ6njcAYtFaKUpXtXHVH46DWTSBoqAfKjF4Xj5PLOrExIGdohnJaGPhF9DJCPsW5SU8QFazGGoKY-LXBpwYw4pnKR1sKYpJLfZGU7m2krkA/s1600/frew1713_07.jpg" height="400" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I really want to go have a shower after reading this.</td></tr>
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I... man, this story is awful. But I don't think it's meant to portray the Phantom as such a creeper, or to demonstrate such icky disregard for our female protagonist. It's just a traditional Phantom story that is a bit goddamn clumsy in its execution. I suspect that's because Tony DePaul was trying to do a new twist on a relatively tired idea -- the tour of the Skull Cave.<br />
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Why do I think Tony DePaul DIDN'T mean for the story to be a misogynist mess? Because of the NEXT story in the Phantom Christmas special, which is also written by Tony DePaul. This is also a traditional style of Phantom story -- the Phantom telling his children a story about one of the ancestral Phantoms. But in this story the 5th Phantom is captured by pirates and has to be saved by his awesome, swashbuckling pirate wife!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiES99_nJGjGy-zqUgXeRABloDKAIoJ1e0z5gcsfbV49xARtKkX-JoBCZAQrp3kFpXE808W6gP1mxxQUZdP7I3Mu3A9eVq-hnINcW9DlYwsZWSTl_tfSwdxkLew7Ke4CkP8sOKvEi_lw/s1600/frew1713_08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiES99_nJGjGy-zqUgXeRABloDKAIoJ1e0z5gcsfbV49xARtKkX-JoBCZAQrp3kFpXE808W6gP1mxxQUZdP7I3Mu3A9eVq-hnINcW9DlYwsZWSTl_tfSwdxkLew7Ke4CkP8sOKvEi_lw/s1600/frew1713_08.jpg" height="293" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brass knuckles. Oh fuck yes.</td></tr>
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I cannot emphasise enough how awesome Juliet Adams Walker, the 5th Phantom's wife, is. She's not bound by the Phantom's vow never to kill -- but she does want to further the Phantom's myth. She punches out people to find out where the Phantom is, disguises herself as a slave girl (she frees the real slave girl with more punching) so she'll be taken on the Pirates' ship -- then procedes to punch and stab whoever she had to to free her husband, before blowing the ship up with all hands! Yikes!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvQiYrTtk-3ibC30RoU18Q3Iy4n5_qbl7VDQteNKnPjjhUZdrN_SUJ3V9rhxwBWTwyJdNRvyK5QnmVRDi4qpsjQcjEQ-MJEUqirmUEn_wGqfv61z6A_1JFY0aa7aPtrbIxYrN97mz_Q/s1600/frew1713_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvQiYrTtk-3ibC30RoU18Q3Iy4n5_qbl7VDQteNKnPjjhUZdrN_SUJ3V9rhxwBWTwyJdNRvyK5QnmVRDi4qpsjQcjEQ-MJEUqirmUEn_wGqfv61z6A_1JFY0aa7aPtrbIxYrN97mz_Q/s1600/frew1713_10.jpg" height="320" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another Phantom tradition -- our Phantom<br />pissing off his family by pausing in the<br />middle of stories.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTInilq8JtQBLu96tn6DTxWyT2wl47LO_bDTu30TVnU4vnEagtx8fddDZB68VLEUGdapur98G5-awgi53L_j70sk7qHl-vDh8qg-obYr2jyw3pVJLSbab10Bb3z8IiiuwzkR6VOPkTg/s1600/frew1713_09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTInilq8JtQBLu96tn6DTxWyT2wl47LO_bDTu30TVnU4vnEagtx8fddDZB68VLEUGdapur98G5-awgi53L_j70sk7qHl-vDh8qg-obYr2jyw3pVJLSbab10Bb3z8IiiuwzkR6VOPkTg/s1600/frew1713_09.jpg" height="320" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seriously, she is going to make sure<br />that jungle saying comes true.</td></tr>
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<br />
And the catalyst for this story? The Phantom's own wife Diana (who is also freakin' awesome) was getting ready to ride off into action to save her missing husband. He arrived home, in fact, perhaps hours before she would have taken off (she needed time to find out exactly where he was). After some emergency medical care (he'd been shot) that's when he told the story.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2acVed5onzdDEFiTMprwwT66nzCXOAECtnt8zf6vUoT5nCw3z0fNUYkUNUpPQgJbMDdkj1ePOWjoP9z0fnjf60GiZg2Oj7xJUcD1FP6zUPKLCrq6PY6qg-waqjzBOGanFr-hTqa_H-Q/s1600/frew1713_11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2acVed5onzdDEFiTMprwwT66nzCXOAECtnt8zf6vUoT5nCw3z0fNUYkUNUpPQgJbMDdkj1ePOWjoP9z0fnjf60GiZg2Oj7xJUcD1FP6zUPKLCrq6PY6qg-waqjzBOGanFr-hTqa_H-Q/s1600/frew1713_11.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Phantom's myth is maintained by his wife<br />stabbing a motherfucker in the chest. Hell yes.</td></tr>
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It's a really striking, almost whiplash-like shift in attitudes between the two stories. One story treats its female protagonist as gormless and unaware of the horrible fate our HERO has planned for her. The other story treats all the women involved as powerful and capable, and able to make their own decisions -- equal partners in their relationships with the male characters, not gormless . It even has a scene where the Phantom's kids debate who should be the Phantom when their father passes on the mantle -- and there's no suggestion that the story favours either one of them. Which is great.<br />
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The Phantom is a very old character -- he's from the 1930s. While the old stories are generally very progressive for their time (the awesome ex-pirate wife of the 5th Phantom is a Lee Falk creation!), they also show their age and could be considered very sexist or even racist by today's standards. In homaging these stories -- or using their framework -- you have to be careful not to homage their morality.<br />
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Yup.<br />
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Christmas.<br />
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It would be neat if one of these Christmas specials had an actual Christmas story in them. As far as I know (and I did do some research, but this COULD be wrong...) there's never been a Phantom Christmas story. Which is ridiculous.<br />
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--Andrew S.<br />
(Wait a second... looking back at that cover -- is one of the Phantom's hands a CLAW?)</div>
Andrew Sorohanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01377620456453176431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-79677824486033127872014-12-22T20:54:00.000-05:002014-12-22T20:58:01.390-05:0080Pagecast 44: A Very 80-Pagecast ChristmasThe reason for the season with us is comicbooks and comical bookish news. We discuss Drift: Empire of Stone #1, Avengers NOW! Handbook, Flash Gordon Holiday Special, Spider-man and the X-men #1, Guardians of the Galaxy #22, and some old Annuals. Our main topic this fortnight are comics about Christmas, Chanukah, and other yuletide spirits.
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<iframe height='85' width='440' frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' src='http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2014-12-22T17_25_06-08_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2014-12-22T17_25_06-08_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0' allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
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<b>Interstitial Music: </b>The Christmas Song by Mel Torme<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/son_of_santa.htm">Son of Santa</a><br />
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<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a>
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">Listen and review us on iTunes</a>.<br />David Henionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06630888538878254044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-14520564622145464422014-12-19T00:20:00.001-05:002014-12-19T00:20:44.259-05:00Unstable Molecules: Better than pants?Absorbing Man usually just wears an old pair of stripy prison pants. But there was a time when he was taking briefings from disco balls and wearing a proper super villain costume.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjESHYOeqaBA3NeKdvywnNuB4GDi7JtrYEooFFnuyD6QGcDDYqXGgod2mnWXi33qeKaaPdZkVjvmglYNN8C2t69YdQuy1Vkui5WnUq0chOdigNFVRqBJkaZI5EZRappecTunESkNxQSw/s1600/incredible209_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjESHYOeqaBA3NeKdvywnNuB4GDi7JtrYEooFFnuyD6QGcDDYqXGgod2mnWXi33qeKaaPdZkVjvmglYNN8C2t69YdQuy1Vkui5WnUq0chOdigNFVRqBJkaZI5EZRappecTunESkNxQSw/s1600/incredible209_01.jpg" height="640" width="510" /></a></div>
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It was a yellow costume.</div>
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--Andrew Sorohan</div>
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(This is from Incredible Hulk #209 by Len Wein and Sal Buscema.)</div>
<br />Andrew Sorohanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01377620456453176431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-40230867849693366522014-12-18T05:13:00.000-05:002014-12-18T19:58:08.471-05:00Christmas Miracle #2 -- New Kids on the Block #4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_ygpcMG3S95ee_MhJR8udpgI-TlecJBpTnFTAN2mJH5jpI_CjFoMeqblN9ZfuQ65IR-ZnDshrECaxIQ0UaXsK6dT6_Z3fZYhwkV6P-RHfLeIXwGzgLsFwPrCOk9a8U32raI8042EHg/s1600/newkids_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_ygpcMG3S95ee_MhJR8udpgI-TlecJBpTnFTAN2mJH5jpI_CjFoMeqblN9ZfuQ65IR-ZnDshrECaxIQ0UaXsK6dT6_Z3fZYhwkV6P-RHfLeIXwGzgLsFwPrCOk9a8U32raI8042EHg/s1600/newkids_001.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a></div>
One of the things I love about comics is that they're basically a snapshot of a moment in time. They had ads in them, letters pages, and of course stories, that are all immediately of their time. I don't think I've ever felt that as hard as I have with New Kids on the Block #4, our second piece of Christmas cheer for 2014.<div>
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So why are there New Kids on the Block comics? Because these guys were ridiculously popular. They were trendsetters who basically defined what the 1990s, or at least the early 1990s, was going to become. It's hard to understand now, because they're little more than a punchline to jokes about the era -- but people really BELIEVED in this stuff back in 1991. And I mean 'believed' as literally as possible.</div>
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But we'll get to that in due time.</div>
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Let's start with some history and then some stats. Harvey comics launched in 1941, when it was a fairly conventional 1940s comic company. It reached its height in the 1950s and 1960s with comics like Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wendy the Good Witch, Little Dot, Stumbo the Giant, and of course Richie Rich. These comics were all -- as we've covered before -- completely awful. In 1982 the company closed its doors and ceased publication.</div>
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But in 1986 it came back, modestly, and survived until 1994 when it ceased publishing all together. From then until 2012 Harvey was little more than an IP holding company, licensing its properties to the highest bidders. 2012 is when they were finally sold to Dreamworks, who owns all their IP now.</div>
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(There's more wrangling in the story, but that's a brief summary.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHroZDTPpoHvDCDGDIY1asWN2MfI6OHk6MxrDy3Or9hmIi9kFH0sgc_P6l0x8mTY4EnaShV6CpbuZy9cLxGWDvEHMxWghFsbvZYu2DHwRNT_GWVJyFFtpteodiLvDbAm1nIq-elaz2g/s1600/newkids_005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHroZDTPpoHvDCDGDIY1asWN2MfI6OHk6MxrDy3Or9hmIi9kFH0sgc_P6l0x8mTY4EnaShV6CpbuZy9cLxGWDvEHMxWghFsbvZYu2DHwRNT_GWVJyFFtpteodiLvDbAm1nIq-elaz2g/s1600/newkids_005.jpg" height="163" width="320" /></a></div>
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So New Kids on the Block appeared as a comic in a brief window of time just before Harvey Comics' demise as a publishing house in 1990 and 1991. It's appropriate because NKOTB themselves were such a brief phenomena. A phenomena that Harvey Comics milked like crazy.</div>
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Based on my count (which I did using <a href="http://www.comics.org/">http://www.comics.org/</a>) there were 46 NKOTB comics produced by Harvey across 12 different titles. Many of them were one-shots, but there were 5 solo ongoings each with runs of at least 7 issues. That's right, they had 5 simultaneous ongoing series! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB6Rmub8-dD7B9S6qxnE2OgmgMQ15p03qKyn4rSrVe2_1mJTyh0-k-wFQgJrqI1gUPk8esC03oGfkL6D1vlEeFKdZKsCIbRyNHKjKlLZKTJf4yTFA_fAubSfHGKx0tC_NPSbrX74xO1A/s1600/newkids_006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB6Rmub8-dD7B9S6qxnE2OgmgMQ15p03qKyn4rSrVe2_1mJTyh0-k-wFQgJrqI1gUPk8esC03oGfkL6D1vlEeFKdZKsCIbRyNHKjKlLZKTJf4yTFA_fAubSfHGKx0tC_NPSbrX74xO1A/s1600/newkids_006.jpg" height="277" width="320" /></a></div>
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That's not to mention the different crossover comics they did (with Wendy the Good Witch, Richie Rich and even Hi-C, yes... the fruit drink thing from the USA).</div>
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So smack dab in that window of viability we have New Kids on the Block #4, the Christmas issue.</div>
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This is a terrible comic. You might have guessed that, considering I haven't spent much time yet actually talking about it. Okay... so this comic is basically in the style of other celebrity-based humour comics. It's a pun-fest, with twee storylines about the perils of celebrity. The celebs themselves are barely drawn as characters, and are all interchangeable. Even the art isn't very impressive, though I'd hardly call it BAD.</div>
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To me this comic has far more interest as a glimpse into the 1990s than it does as a stand-alone entertainment. I'm far more interested in the advertisements and the letters pages than I am the general comic book content. So if you're interested in the comic book content I suggest <a href="http://atopthefourthwall.com/new-kids-on-the-block-4/">visiting Linkara's video on the subject</a>, it's pretty thorough.</div>
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So let's look at my favourite ad in the book. It's an amazing glimpse into a time where people listened to cassette tapes, where people rang into phone lines for wakeup calls and where people could only communicate with their favourite celebrities by ringing up expensive phone lines and leaving messages that the stars probably never listened to.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUHo5KT7C0OstxfqXYa4jhgKQhvd5TfNc43kenKMe7NL5eEA3H6bIuXXgRKrGxHAebBu6kwKXCA3J1_siIoI77dIXR4rjZvkXSXQebm8cYmSnc208kQcHY1BOMW9lXMG97k9pTqNhgw/s1600/newkids_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUHo5KT7C0OstxfqXYa4jhgKQhvd5TfNc43kenKMe7NL5eEA3H6bIuXXgRKrGxHAebBu6kwKXCA3J1_siIoI77dIXR4rjZvkXSXQebm8cYmSnc208kQcHY1BOMW9lXMG97k9pTqNhgw/s1600/newkids_002.jpg" height="400" width="267" /></a></div>
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Isn't that amazing? Everything about it is incredible. They have a cassette tape with 900 messages from New Kids On the Block. I can't even wrap my head around that. What would that even say? I've tried to locate the tape, but I can't. I mean, at what point, when you're recording 900 messages, do you just give up and start talking about your dick?</div>
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Would anyone even have bought this thing? Listened to it? Well... It seems that they have!</div>
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Check out the New Kids on the Block letters page. Some of these letters are incredible:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qGLJ0Kae4StJkGJD6XMpglVF_bD6cJzca1Sw29nxsHxAP7xZMwP-PWsJLvEJLCfnLE9wXhlHhhCcJryn03KPGLGi-fU13QYhushpUbOXQ1AeMcieRrhGQJXgGYXd_Je6EDKAY6ERuQ/s1600/newkids_003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qGLJ0Kae4StJkGJD6XMpglVF_bD6cJzca1Sw29nxsHxAP7xZMwP-PWsJLvEJLCfnLE9wXhlHhhCcJryn03KPGLGi-fU13QYhushpUbOXQ1AeMcieRrhGQJXgGYXd_Je6EDKAY6ERuQ/s1600/newkids_003.jpg" height="400" width="268" /></a></div>
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My favourite letter is the one by the girl who was let into the New Kids' bus and then decided to clean their dishes. This story is remarkable for several reasons -- not the least of which is that it reveals that each of their New Kids had not only their own bus, but their own limo. That's nuts. That's a ridiculous amount of money that was swirling around these people.</div>
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If you want the full experience, though, try this summary of a New Kids concert.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyfpxwaYzCvdw3G08ujdDvVMh_nizKihRJKyJAecIgQdCS_apQ2pKHhaLq8qjwRxUT5dKOPNstXas5ei5NJrpEAeYVFMBAc7bUDlAHBNi-k3NfVWYbxh2FNjqiTM5vVR8yIdEexd-S2Q/s1600/newkids_004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyfpxwaYzCvdw3G08ujdDvVMh_nizKihRJKyJAecIgQdCS_apQ2pKHhaLq8qjwRxUT5dKOPNstXas5ei5NJrpEAeYVFMBAc7bUDlAHBNi-k3NfVWYbxh2FNjqiTM5vVR8yIdEexd-S2Q/s1600/newkids_004.jpg" height="400" width="247" /></a></div>
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There's one quote from that wall of text in particular that I love: </div>
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The fans at this show were, no doubt, Southern California's finest, with flowers flying, customized balloons sailing, and banners waving! One special banner echoed my sentiments exactly: "NON-BELIEVERS JUST CHILL OUT!" I gotta tell ya, that night, it was hard to believe the any non-believers existed. This small piece of the planet was at one...and one for all!</blockquote>
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Non-believers just chill out. It's nuts. This is what it was like in the early 1990s. This was the hype, the intensity of feeling. For me, despite the fact that this comic is terrible, the glimpse into a moment in the past -- that reminder of what it was like -- is tremendously enjoyable.</div>
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It makes me wonder where some of the stories went... not the stories in the comic, but the fandom stories. Like -- who won this contest? Who hung up the pinup in the centre of the comic book? Who rang up those awful 900 lines? I don't know.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhal5Td3rd_3Fg7-PS_eROMGsJjTB3iJakIIJNT6pVEQNVOVAC87mav6Rba9fDDiWQrbCuQ0Q0OWdFYh3LQ4Y0RyW4cSgJq24HYG6NIVLIxwvxpA_EPArNiX8fEVHH1MEZNbLoHZAeXsg/s1600/newkids_007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhal5Td3rd_3Fg7-PS_eROMGsJjTB3iJakIIJNT6pVEQNVOVAC87mav6Rba9fDDiWQrbCuQ0Q0OWdFYh3LQ4Y0RyW4cSgJq24HYG6NIVLIxwvxpA_EPArNiX8fEVHH1MEZNbLoHZAeXsg/s1600/newkids_007.jpg" height="320" width="204" /></a></div>
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Speaking of the contest -- if you have a mind to trying to take a crack at your own New Kids comic, here's the entry page:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0KaCQTRgxSa0Q6NMJGv5KZG7mOhatK5-b3J34nkEpvvjP3x7lz-oN_Xnsj4rhNABB-dQwIz5EEs235CTZxDrGHHE8H3-wzWMsjbV5M1xWxpPO0cIUni76Q97jhrQBdnNQaySQYzkBA/s1600/newkids_008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0KaCQTRgxSa0Q6NMJGv5KZG7mOhatK5-b3J34nkEpvvjP3x7lz-oN_Xnsj4rhNABB-dQwIz5EEs235CTZxDrGHHE8H3-wzWMsjbV5M1xWxpPO0cIUni76Q97jhrQBdnNQaySQYzkBA/s1600/newkids_008.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a></div>
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I should end on a pun, since this is a Harvey comic. Let me see. This comic didn't have THE RIGHT STUFF, but it doesn't matter because I'll HANG TOUGH, and see if I can be LOVING IT FOREVER. </div>
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Or something.</div>
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--Andrew S.</div>
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Andrew Sorohanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01377620456453176431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-37424919871765175942014-12-18T01:04:00.001-05:002014-12-18T05:13:30.124-05:00A Christmas Miracle #1: Bizarre Adventures #34<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tUBU4C49vFfIhaR9_9BK1X2nmdG5ww43j9VFxTgp3AaJoQ2UVS2OV_kZwCbSyYUDdnKGAte4g2Ok6T3yLI0qK9Fmncdk68q4gR7_yVGV3cgs8EWQBH7jC0icKlOfkwVYZW_zMMQkJA/s1600/bizarre34_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tUBU4C49vFfIhaR9_9BK1X2nmdG5ww43j9VFxTgp3AaJoQ2UVS2OV_kZwCbSyYUDdnKGAte4g2Ok6T3yLI0qK9Fmncdk68q4gR7_yVGV3cgs8EWQBH7jC0icKlOfkwVYZW_zMMQkJA/s1600/bizarre34_001.jpg" height="320" width="204" /></a>You know what I love? Christmas. You know what else I love? Comics based on Christmas. So, to that end, how about we do a little series on Christmas themed comics?<br />
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My comic database program got deleted, so I'm afraid you're going to have to wait until next year for me to pull out specific Christmas comics that I want to cover because I love them.<br />
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This year you just get to see the Christmas books I've been saving. These were all bought... nearly two years ago, and have been waiting on my shelves to be read -- waiting for a special occasion. And what more special occasion could there be than Christmas?!<br />
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None. None more special.<br />
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So let's start this series with Bizarre Adventures #34!
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Bizarre Adventures #34 is the final issue of Marvel Preview Magazine. Marvel Preview Magazine was a black and white magazine format book, which was an anthology with different themes to each issue. You can tell they were getting desperate towards the end -- first with the title change and then with #34, which has a complete format change -- it's not a Magazine, it's a full-colour comic.<br />
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This stuff is all pretty obscure because it's creator owned. That means that it can't casually blend into the regular Marvel universe -- so most of these guys have only ever showed up in Bizarre Adventures (or Marvel Preview) itself.<br />
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The comic features six stories -- only four of which are of any real interest. So let's look at them. First up is <i>Son of Santa</i>, by Mark Gruenwald and Alan Kupperberg.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KA-vHvQRc9FNjbaZqXsIBbHQSJnPxvf4C84ZPYyJhXX8vB3yTnlAHoMoQK42cWrgLSfMp7Xhyphenhyphenk1J5q4ZuZRcE6eNtaGoHe-Ruk_T0yLjP9QIWvgHDn_hTESczRDVoxpSFXwbrQ75Xg/s1600/bizarre34_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KA-vHvQRc9FNjbaZqXsIBbHQSJnPxvf4C84ZPYyJhXX8vB3yTnlAHoMoQK42cWrgLSfMp7Xhyphenhyphenk1J5q4ZuZRcE6eNtaGoHe-Ruk_T0yLjP9QIWvgHDn_hTESczRDVoxpSFXwbrQ75Xg/s1600/bizarre34_002.jpg" height="320" width="198" /></a></div>
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This is a really unfortunate title to give the story -- because it gives away what's going on immediately, despite the fact that the story itself plays it like an unfolding mystery. Well... since the title already spoiled the twist, I might as well really spoil it. So basically this guy, Nick Norris, is accosted by an elf and taken to the north pole where he finds out he's Santa's heir -- and he has to fight the Anti-Claus.<br />
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The next story is a <i>Howard the Duck</i> tale by Steve Grant and Paul Smith. It's only of interest because it's Howard the Duck. Here's a sample:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIKHPiGjdB4Y9KGns0hw9idV17rNCbMiYXwsoNa8ZPMYwnKiLktts5w_DSlZfI2pmV5sgJeGJqgpHkqPrFiYo3Qt-lUwscgdMy5cOH1vzoPsh71yz_lDF3FWn6FA3RuH3j-zX9ve7lQ/s1600/bizarre34_003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIKHPiGjdB4Y9KGns0hw9idV17rNCbMiYXwsoNa8ZPMYwnKiLktts5w_DSlZfI2pmV5sgJeGJqgpHkqPrFiYo3Qt-lUwscgdMy5cOH1vzoPsh71yz_lDF3FWn6FA3RuH3j-zX9ve7lQ/s1600/bizarre34_003.jpg" height="128" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yes, seconds later he gets saved by an angel and goes through a standard <i>It's a Wonder Life</i> storyline. Just from that description you can probably already guess the joke they do that reverses the premise of the original story -- I certainly guessed it immediately while reading it.<br />
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Oh well. What else do we have?<br />
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<span id="goog_1949038181"></span><span id="goog_1949038182"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>The next thing I wanna talk about is <i>Dr. Deth with Kip and Muffy</i>, owned by Larry Hama and drawn in this issue by Bob Camp. This is actually Dr. Deth's second (and last) appearance, he also appeared in Bizarre Adventures #31. This story is only very thinly tied into Christmas, and I suspect that the references to Christmas were a last-minute addition. Here's the first page, it basically tells you everything you need to know about Dr. Deth.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNln_bQ-Y9g2U0Q6fDA3HdHRyHZbD6Gag6xEA9GvKyv11IXUj-WMdpKU7wNM6bNQtRTNqSnd8lfTPyBzqUj6GSgpNAl_KPwh9dQMNusjr4fGSRvzTnBYfxv65ICC3Uu1klxRrY8JkeuA/s1600/bizarre34_004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNln_bQ-Y9g2U0Q6fDA3HdHRyHZbD6Gag6xEA9GvKyv11IXUj-WMdpKU7wNM6bNQtRTNqSnd8lfTPyBzqUj6GSgpNAl_KPwh9dQMNusjr4fGSRvzTnBYfxv65ICC3Uu1klxRrY8JkeuA/s1600/bizarre34_004.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a></div>
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Now here's the interesting part: this comic got optioned for a movie. It doesn't seem that the movie is going to get made, mind you, but here -- check out this article:<br />
<a href="http://www.movieweb.com/dr-deth-with-kip-and-muffy-gets-writer-paul-soter">http://www.movieweb.com/dr-deth-with-kip-and-muffy-gets-writer-paul-soter</a><br />
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Here's the choicest quote from the article:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"As a long time fan of </span><strong style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dr. Deth with Kip and Muffy</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> since their first appearance," states Framelight's Co-President, </span><strong style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Robert Robinson</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, "I could not be happier than to have Larry's creation come to life via </span><a class="person" href="http://www.movieweb.com/person/paul-soter" rel="hc-PEuk4xxBbiXqxA" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #666666; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Paul Soter</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">'s pen. He'll bring the adventure, chaos and humor that this story has waited for."</span></blockquote>
"Since their first appearance"? You mean Bizarre Adventures #31... which was also their only other appearance at all? This is freakin' wonderful hype talk. It's sad to me that this movie seems to have gone the way of the dodo, since this article is from 2011.<br />
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We're going to go downhill a bit with the final story I want to cover -- <i>Slaybells</i> by Mike Carlin. This piece of work is basically an over-the-top revenge fantasy piece where a kid goes on a Santa-killing rampage, that ends with him finally facing off against the real St Nick and killing him once and for all. The art is enjoyably expressive and energetic, but it's pretty unremarkable otherwise.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZUFx8Ck8GF4GMqa_P9wmcTz3p6HxzlMHTRTm7mzdCCSrRzZs_EgvCqG3hCXGrmKQfW_lXdIcs2dg_Kv7D0pSED5Vaf0b_jR3hRHgLLiaj5UlMNljyL8ss3yWGelYsTE7vkuhEtwbIw/s1600/bizarre34_005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZUFx8Ck8GF4GMqa_P9wmcTz3p6HxzlMHTRTm7mzdCCSrRzZs_EgvCqG3hCXGrmKQfW_lXdIcs2dg_Kv7D0pSED5Vaf0b_jR3hRHgLLiaj5UlMNljyL8ss3yWGelYsTE7vkuhEtwbIw/s1600/bizarre34_005.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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And that's it. Like I said they're two more stories -- <i>Santa Bites the Big Apple</i> by Al Milgrom, and <i>Bucky Bizarre </i>by Steve Skeates and Steve Smallwood. But both of these stories aren't worth firing up my scanner for. <i>Bucky Bizarre </i>is a time-travel story about someone witnessing a crass version of The Little Matchgirl. <i>Santa Bites the Big Apple </i>is a cynical story about New Yorkers being mean to Santa.<br />
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Bizarre Adventures #34 is not the best Christmas special out there. I mean... it's a bit mean-spirited and anti-Christmas for my tastes. There's even an editorial in the back talking about how the three wise men from the nativity would really hate the crass commercialised modern Christmas. The best part of this book was definitely <i>Son of Santa</i>, which means that all the best stuff is front-loaded in the book, unfortunately.<br />
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Oh well... next time we'll have something even worse in store for you. But that's Christmas for you! I guess...<br />
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--Andrew S.<br />
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<br />Andrew Sorohanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01377620456453176431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-86586510272758508392014-12-16T13:38:00.002-05:002014-12-16T14:17:11.009-05:00Top 20 Best Comic Based Movies of All Time.I think it's time I did one of those countdown lists. I'm going to make it a top 20. This list is going to be what I think are the 20 best comic-based movies ever made. Because everyone who knows me already knows my number 1 I'm not going to divide this up into multiple articles. So let's get into it as soon as possible, I'll just lay a couple of ground rules first.<br />
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1) It needs to be a movie either based on a comic, whether that's a comic book, a Japanese manga, a French comic, a European comic magazine, a web comic, or a newspaper comic strip, I don't care.<br />
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2) This is my opinion, so it's not definitive, it's just what I like.<br />
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3) If I want to cheat and include a pulp hero like The Shadow, or a knock-off comic hero like Darkman, I totally can. But I won't, so this rule is pointless.<br />
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So let's get on with it boys and girls, after the jump!<br />
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<b>20</b><br />
<i>Mystery Men</i><br />
<u>Based on</u>: The Flaming Carrot, by Bob Burden.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/weL-NjlIQ0E" width="560"></iframe>
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Mystery Men is notable as being both a satire of super heroes in film... and an actually funny one at that. Many have attempted to satirise the super hero -- many have failed. (I'm looking at you Condorman.) But Mystery Men is one of the few that actually succeeds at being funny and well-judged in its observations about the super hero genre.<br />
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I wouldn't call Mystery Men laugh out loud funny. Its observations aren't exactly startling or original (if you've ever watched the Tick, or read an old issue of MAD Magazine you've probably seen most of these jokes before). Still, the whole narative is weaved around characters who are endearing -- people you want to see succeed, and as a result the film succeeds too.<br />
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If you're one of those people who thinks that fart jokes are unfunny simply because toilet humour is automatically low class, you might not enjoy some parts of the film. But fortunately for me, I'm not one of those people (though I may have been once upon a time), so my nitpicks of the film are few and far between. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.<br />
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<b>19</b><br />
<i>Batman (1989)</i><br />
<u>Based on </u>Batman, created by Bill Finger and that other guy.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HlsM2_8u_mk" width="560"></iframe>
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The Tim Burton Batman movie disappoints some purists because it strayed a bit from the source material. Batman uses guns, he kills people. Bruce Wayne isn't debonaire, he's weird. Seriously weird. The gritty comic world familiar from then-popular works like Year One and Dark Knight Returns is exchanged for a highly stylised gothic fantasy... and you know what? I couldn't give a crap about any of that.<br />
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This was my first big super hero movie. This was the first super hero movie I got to experience the whole process for -- the announcements, the hype, the tie-in comic book, the TV commercials, all of it. (I didn't buy any Batman toys.) I can remember having long phone conversations with my friend about it, as he spoiled every minute of it for me before I watched it. Then I got to watch it and it was AWESOME!<br />
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And it's still awesome. I still love this movie. It's stylish, it's wonderfully hammilly acted. The only real down point is that Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale is a real blank hole in the middle of the film. But who gives a crap? The Joker's great, Bruce Wayne's great, Alfred's great. If all of Batman was this great I might actually LIKE Batman.<br />
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<b>18</b><br />
<i>V for Vendetta</i><br />
<u>Based on</u> V for Vendetta, drawn by David Lloyd and written by (...)<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qxyUl9M_7vc" width="560"></iframe>
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The thing that makes V for Vendetta so damned good is that it invites you to openly question its politics. V for Vendetta offers a simple position -- sometimes you need to take violent action to reform a society and make it better. However, despite the kinda lame ending (with everyone unmasking to reveal that everyone was V), throughout the movie you are invited, as an audience member, to question the motives of the heroes and to decide for yourself how this horrible society should be reformed.<br />
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What makes it even more amazing? It's better than the goddamn book it's based on. V for Vendetta the book IS good -- but unlike the movie it takes a harder stance -- and doesn't ask its readers to question its politics. V for Vendetta the comic thinks that its message of Anarchy in the UK is right and correct and doesn't ask you as an audience member to think for yourself about it. That's probably why Alan Moore insisted his name be taken off the movie.<br />
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V for Vendetta also inspired this Kpop video clip, which is another reason to love it:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pIqkDBsSJOw" width="560"></iframe>
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<b>17</b><br />
<i>Spider-Man</i><br />
<u>Based on</u> The Amazing Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/O7zvehDxttM" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
Do you remember how exciting it was when comic books finally started to dominate mainstream blockbusters? I do. First there was Blade, which at the time rubbed me the wrong way (I like it a lot better now), then there was X-men which very shyly put everyone in black leather and downplayed the powers and just generally seemed a little bit ashamed about being based on a comic. And then there was Spider-Man.<br />
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Spider-Man was a revelation. It totally embraced its comic book roots. It looked like a comic -- Peter's powers were realised like a comic. This was high level melodrama lifted straight from the page. It was especially thrilling to see completely absurd elements of the Lee/Ditko origin (like Spider-Man's stint as a wrestler) right up there on the screen.<br />
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The movie has its weaknesses. Tobey Maguire could never pull off the Spider-Man half of the persona. The Green Goblin does kinda look like a Power Rangers villain. But it was such a benchmark film for comic book cinema that it must be on my list!!<br />
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<b>16</b><br />
<i>Barbarella</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> Barbarella, by Jean-Claude Forest<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/r6TgV2JAeJw" width="560"></iframe>
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This is a strange movie. It's about a sexy (as in played by Jane Fonda sexy) young space lady, who travels to a planet searching for Duran Duran (a scientist, not a band), and who has all kinds of weird and wonderful sexual adventures on the way. The movie might be described as 'softcore', in that you see boobies -- but there's really no actual on-screen sex.<br />
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Some might find it easy to dismiss Barbarella as a piece of sexist tripe. But I think that would be doing it a great disservice. This movie is about sexual liberation. This might not be immediately obvious to modern audiences because most of the sex in the movie is very standard heterosexual coupling. In fact any implications of "unusual" sex (like, say, lesbianism or bondage) comes from the villains, and is generally dismissed. The way the movie turns this very safe straight sex into the pushing of sexual boundaries is by changing the boundaries -- suggesting humans no longer even have sex physically any more. By having Barbarella break free from these sci-fi sexual norms she becomes a symbol of breaking free for people in our society -- or at least people in the 1960s.<br />
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The movie's pacing is relatively slow by modern standards, and it's surprisingly chaste for a sex romp, but the movie's sense of humour and general psychedelic weirdness more than make up for any shortcomings.<br />
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<b>15</b><br />
<i>Fist of the North Star</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> Hokuto no Ken, written by Buronson and drawn by Tetsuo Hara.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qAv3NpGa5zI" width="560"></iframe>
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There's only one anime movie on this list -- and it's Fist of the North Star. I was introduced to Fist of the North Star by a fellow KPop fan who watched it with me online. He recommended it because it was a movie he'd loved when he was younger (and still loved). Fist of the North Star was an awesome experience for me -- hanging out with a friend online and watching a film. Need to do that more often.<br />
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Why does the movie make the list, though? There's a million anime adaptations out there -- couldn't I have chosen Ghost in the Shell, or Akira or something better known for being a great piece of Anime cinema? Shoudn't there be MORE anime on a list of comic adaptations? Maybe. But you know what? Anime adaptations tend to be pretty lifeless. They sap the energy and originality out of their source material, to present a formulaic, passable entertainment that makes you wish you were just reading the comic.<br />
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What makes Fist of the North Star stand out is that it is everything the comic is and more. It's violent, and it's ridiculously, insanely manly. This material feels like it BELONGS in a ridiculous, over-the-top animated film. It's just pure visual entertainment, and anyone who doesn't enjoy it, needs to drink some more milk and get some hairs on their chest, son.<br />
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<b>14</b><br />
<i>300</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> 300 by Frank Miller<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UrIbxk7idYA" width="560"></iframe>
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If Fist of the North Star is one of the most ridiculously masculine films in history, then 300 is so masculine that it wraps all the way around into camp. Take one of the most macho moments in European history, and strip away all realism and ramp up the masculinity to 11 and you have 300. Sure, in real life the Greeks were able to hold off the Persians partly due to their superior weapons and armour. But in 300 they hold off the Persians because of their superior pectoral muscles!<br />
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It's not a secret that I absolutely adore musicals, and 300 is ridiculously close to being a musical in the grand old MGM tradition. Nearly everything is there, from the staged dancing of the fight scenes, to the call-and-response style dialogue, to the big theatrical performances from the leads. They even have a fantasy ballet sequence when Leonidis visits the oracle. The only thing missing is a score by John Green and a couple of songs by Arthur Freed.<br />
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300 is a movie that's so straight that it's gay, and so gay that it's straight. In a way, that makes it the most historically accurate movie about ancient Sparta ever made. It's hard not to love it for that.<br />
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<b>13</b><br />
<i>Fritz the Cat</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> Fritz the Cat, by Robert Crumb<br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/PADIloikkhg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This is a movie that I love for all the wrong reasons, because there's no right reasons to love this movie. Fritz the Cat is basically an R-rated (or X-rated, or whatever) animated romp through the mind of Ralph Bakshi using the lense of Robert Crumb's hit underground comic Fritz the Cat. It's a glorious window into an era, and it captures the 1970s better than anything I've ever seen anywhere else.<br />
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Fritz is, of course, problematic. It involves rape, it's racially insensitive, it's sexually explicit, sexist, and sometimes the animation is a little bit dodgy. And yet... and yet the movie is so damned charming. I love Ralph Bakshi's style, the way his animation carves its own identity really appeals to me, even when it's not perfect.<br />
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Fritz was his first movie, and it's also his best movie. If you only ever seen one x-rated softcore porn involving athropomorphic animals this year, I recommend this one.<br />
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<b>12</b><br />
<i>The Dark Knight Rises</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> The Dark Knight Returns, by Frank Miller, and Knightfall by a tonne of different creators, and in general Bob Kane and Bill Finger's Batman character.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/g8evyE9TuYk" width="560"></iframe>
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My experience with Dark Knight Rises was awesome. I went to see the movie with a few friends who were big Batman fans. I'm not one. I don't HATE Batman, but I don't really appreciate Batman. I found the previous two movies in the series -- Batman Begins and The Dark Knight very overblown and boring. They aren't BAD movies, but they're too long, and I didn't find Christian Bale engaging, and I didn't care about the people or the city...<br />
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Then along comes Dark Knight Rises. Oh my god, how did such a boring trilogy end so goddamn well? You've got Bane, you've got Catwoman... and FINALLY Christian Bale's Batman made sense to me. He worked so much better as the grizzled old veteran for me than he ever worked as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJB9vPQ8ydA">American Ninja</a> from the first two films. Everything was right about this movie. (Well, okay... I have some nitpicks. I didn't like Talia Al Ghul's reveal as the main villain. That was lame.)<br />
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The Dark Knight Rises is the frickin' best Batman ever.<br />
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<b>11</b><br />
<i>Avengers</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> The Avengers by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (and featuring Black Widow created by Lee, Don Rico and Don Heck and Hawkeye created by Lee and Heck.)<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/eOrNdBpGMv8" width="560"></iframe>
Avengers is a landmark of the Superhero genre. And it is a movie genre nowadays. It's the first team-up movie. It got there before Justice League, before Batman/Superman. It's the first time we've had a super hero team that was made up of characters who were expected to be able to support their own stand-alone franchises. Sure we've had Fantastic Four before, we've had X-men... but this is the first time that we didn't have to wait for the action to start, because we already KNEW these characters!<br />
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So it's a bit unfortunate that half of the movie is setting up the team -- and the other half is kinda pedestrian action that I'd already seen done better in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. This is why Avengers isn't higher on the list -- it's more remarkable in conception than it is in execution.<br />
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But forget about the nitpicks. It's a damn good movie -- a hell of a lot of fun, with tonnes of great funny, exciting and character-filled sequences. It's worth every second you spend watching it. The movie is not flawless, but it's damned entertaining.<br />
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<b>10</b><br />
<i>The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> Tintin, by Herge.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Jnl6WlEjQWQ" width="560"></iframe>
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I adore Tintin. I think Tintin is a comic art masterpiece. For this reason I was rather trepidacious about the Tintin movie. I tend to have a bit of a raw relationship with things that I love being adapted. My reaction to the Narnia movies, for example, was less than fair. Sometimes when you're really attached to the source material you just can't accept the little changes they make -- the way things are reordered and rearranged for films can be frustrating and annoying and ruin the experience for you. On the other hand sometimes you just get swept up in the experience, go along for the ride, and have a hell of a time along the way.<br />
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The Tintin movie was like that. This thing moves at a breakneck pace. You barely have a moment to stop and take a breath, because either you're in the middle of a huge action sequence or you're laughing your arse off at some piece of slapstick.<br />
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And that's what I've always loved about Tintin -- that it can take you on wild journeys, with strange characters and exotic locations, but also can delight you with its humour and wit and heart. This movie is a great adaptation because it understands the spirit of the source material so damned well and it puts it all up there for you to see, right on the screen.<br />
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<b>9</b><br />
<i>The Addams Family</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> The Addams Family, by Charles Addams.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nbif0-fgCnU" width="420"></iframe><br />
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People might suggest that this is a cheat -- after all this movie only got made because of the TV series, not because of the old comic strips that the TV series was based on. People who suggest that can go to hell. This movie starts with an homage to one of the great moments from the comic strip -- a moment so delightfully dark and sadistic that the TV show never would have gone that far. Here's the strip:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpatXFv4cHJRXSoIWgHQoV7Eyb6wuhVHXs40ZflSgC6HYcMwTHJ6-1bZMymT0uJssk-D0hBhPmqX9i8BcS_oW2-BumrhJSSIeKoCQgeoAWTNJ91IRH_ZqasIGDy5fgHBkjkc4y4484A/s1600/Charles-Addams-House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpatXFv4cHJRXSoIWgHQoV7Eyb6wuhVHXs40ZflSgC6HYcMwTHJ6-1bZMymT0uJssk-D0hBhPmqX9i8BcS_oW2-BumrhJSSIeKoCQgeoAWTNJ91IRH_ZqasIGDy5fgHBkjkc4y4484A/s1600/Charles-Addams-House.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
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The key to this movie's success is the realisation of the Addams themselves and their world. Each of the family members is wonderfully portrayed on screen. Gomez is a triumph for Raul Julia, Christina Ricci was basically born to play Wednesday Addams, Christopher Lloyd is a wonderfully energetic Uncle Fester and Anjelica Huston just about steals the show as Morticia. These characters are realised in a world that is both macabre and absurd, which makes for some wonderful humour.<br />
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I'm not going to call Addams Family a perfect movie. The plot for example, is inevitible and obvious. Somehow, though, that doesn't seem to matter. This is a movie about the world of the Addams Family and it's a weird, wonderful, (dare I add kooky?) world. As a viewer I want to be in that world for as long as possible and having to put up with a crappy plotline to get to spend time with the Addams is well worth it.<br />
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<b>8</b><br />
<i>Josie and the Pussycats</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> Josie created by Dan DeCarlo<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/LU5bOAyDbHc" width="560"></iframe>
Archie have not made much of a showing when it comes to film. There's no movies of their super heroes, and their regular characters only have an awful TV movie. So thank god for Josie and the Pussycats. Josie and the Pussycats is a sharp, in fact downright savage at times, parody of the music industry (and especially the industry as it stood in 2001).<br />
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It features an awesome cast (Rosario Dawson, Alan Cumming, Parker Posey and of course Rachel Leigh Cook as Josie), and characters who are instantly likeable and fun. Plus it's one of the few really GOOD comic book movies to feature a mainly female cast.<br />
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The plot's framework is ultimately a bit sappy and predictible (there's a moment where the three girls promise to be friends forever, and if you've ever seen a movie you know what THAT means for the plot), but there's still enough neat twists and turns that it doesn't feel stale. Besides, who cares about the plot in a movie that opens with a parody boy band singing their big hit, "Backdoor Lover"? Here's the video clip:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fXSO6I5YHyY" width="560"></iframe>
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<b>7</b><br />
<i>X2: X-men United</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> The X-men by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and featuring characters created by guys like Len Wein, Chris Claremont, John Romita and Dave Cockrum<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/voxI4h7Jzmo" width="560"></iframe>
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I'll be honest. From here on out this list is going to become a bit Marvel biased. It's understandable -- Marvel has been the source for the largest variety of comic movies from one company's characters. X-men 2 represents basically the best of the Marvel movies -- before Marvel Productions established an entirely new paradigm for what you could do with a comic book movie.<br />
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So X-men 2 is basically the story of Wolverine and his origin, but it's also the story of Magneto and Xavier's relationship. It's also about the extremes people are willing to go to for their ideals -- and that if you start with corrupted ideals, your actions will always be corrupt too, no matter how much good you're trying to do in the world.<br />
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It's not flawless. You still have some of the shyness about the source material that comic book movies often had before Iron Man. Despite that, this is one of my all-time favourite comic movies... and I don't even like the X-men.<br />
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<b>6</b><br />
<i>Iron Man</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> Iron Man by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber Jack Kirby and Don Heck<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/8hYlB38asDY" width="560"></iframe>
It would be tempting to lay Iron Man's success at the feet of Robert Downey Jnr. He is so charismatic and enjoyable as Tony Stark that it doesn't matter how long it takes to get to Iron Man (it takes a little while) because you're so enjoying watching Tony Stark be an arsehole -- but a likeable one -- to everyone.<br />
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Origin movies are often a pain in the arse, but Iron Man isn't. That alone should give it a place on the list -- but Iron Man is even more important than that. This is where the Marvel Cinematic universe was born. There was kind of a false start with Incredible Hulk, but Iron Man got everything right. It established the tone of wonder, fun, and drama that would be the blueprint for awesome movie after awesome movie out of Marvel studios.<br />
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The other thing about Iron Man is that it look great. You can really tell they stepped up their game after Transformers came along in 2007 and set a new benchmark for robo-mechanical CGI in films. Iron Man is one of the best, and it's going to be loved as one of the best for a very long time.<br />
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<br />
<b>5</b><br />
<i>Captain America: The Winter Soldier</i><br />
<u>Based on</u> Captain America by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7SlILk2WMTI" width="560"></iframe>
This is probably one of the movies that demonstrates the futility of a list like this. If a movie this recent can get to number 5, then am I really considering the whole history of comic movies in a fair light? More importantly, if a movie this recent can get to number 5, doesn't that mean that my list could have to change next year... or the year after... or maybe even in a few weeks when I see Big Hero Six? Maybe... but any of these lists is going to be skewed by when you make it.<br />
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Captain America is part of Marvel's second wave of films, after Avengers. It's not a period piece like the first Captain America. Instead it's a bold statement of a film. There's no attempt here to recapture what worked in the first film -- there's no punching Hitler, no Red Skull and even the returning concepts and villains are turned on their heads. This is not a traditional Hollywood sequel. It's a comic book sequel.<br />
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And that's why it's so goddamn awesome. I'm not a huge fan of spy thrillers, but this one was great. Look at that cast, Robert Redford, coming back to a genre he helped to build, Chris Evans as Cap, Scarlet Johansen as Black Widow, Anthony Mackie as the Falcon. Man, this is so damned good. I never wanted it to end. If you haven't seen it yet, you desperately need to go watch this movie.<br />
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<br />
<b>4</b><br />
<i>American Splendor</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> American Splendor, by Harvey Pekar<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fhDwT3JdtTQ" width="420"></iframe>
This movie isn't a strick adaptation of a comic. It's... actually a biopic of the author, and some of his friends.Welll... actually it's more of an adaptation of the process of creating the comic, rather than a strick biography of the people involved. Well... It's a really good movie.<br />
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It's based on an old indie comic, called American Splendor -- and the movie involves both real world versions and acted in-movie versions of the people invoved with the comic. Particularly it's the story of Harvey Pekar, the guy who wrote (and did basic thumbnail layouts for) the comic.<br />
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I'm not really sure how to talk about this movie in the same terms I've talked about the other films on this list -- so let's put it this way -- if you love comics, this is worth seeing. If you love stories about strange, broken people, this is worth seeing. If you love Paul Giamatti this film is worth seeing. It's quirky, funny... it's a world created around people who need each other because they barely have what it takes to survive in the real world. I love this sort of thing -- and this is definitely one of the greats of its genre.<br />
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<br />
<b>3</b><br />
Guardians of the Galaxy<br />
<u>Based On</u> Guardians of the Galaxy, volume 2 by Andy Lanning. Featuring characters created by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Bill Mantlo and plenty of others.<br />
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You already love this movie, I don't need to tell you to love it. So instead of talking about why this movie is on the list, I wanna talk about my own experience with the character of Rocket Raccoon.<br />
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I've always loved the Incredible Hulk. Especially I love the run written by Bill Mantlo and drawn by Sal Buscema. I had one particularly special issue of Incredible Hulk -- issue #271. This issue guest-starred Rocket Raccoon and I loved it.I read this issue again and again until the comic literally fell apart. Rocket became very special to me. I didn't read his own limited series until a couple of years ago -- and I still haven't read any of his modern appearances. This one comic alone made me love Rocket. But... he was really really obscure. No one outside of a very select few comic fans had<br />
ever heard of him.<br />
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And now... I see Rocket's face every time I go down the toy aisle of a K-mart or Big W. I see little kids, and teens and adults who all know and love him at comic conventions. It brings a tear to my eye to know that this character who was so beloved to me growing up is now a household name. Bless you Guardians of the Galaxy. You're the frickin' best.<br />
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<b>2</b><br />
<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird<br />
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Is it wrong to put a movie this high on the list entirely out of nostalgia? Maybe... I dunno. Of all the movies on this list, this is the one I've watched the most. I spoke earlier about how Batman was my first experience with movie hype -- well TMNT was that for me, but on steroids. I remember watching awful current affairs programs (specifically Hinch) just because they had stories about the TMNT movie's excessive violence -- because I could get to see the clips from the movie they played!<br />
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TMNT stands up surprisingly well -- in a way which none of the other TMNT movies do. The lighting is a big part of it, it's grimy, and filled with deep shadows that give the Turtles far more reality than they'd have even in the movie's direct sequel which was much more bright and plastic looking.<br />
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The fights are fun, the characters are fun, there's a great cheesy 1990s soundtrack, and it features one of my favourite stupid movie exchanges of all time. Here, check it out for yourself:<br />
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<b>1</b><br />
<i>Dredd 3d</i><br />
<u>Based On</u> Judge Dredd created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra (and Pat Mills). Judge Anderson created by John Wagner and Brian Bolland<br />
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Sometimes it feels like I'm the only person in the world who was looking forwards to this movie before it came out. Dredd hit at the perfect time for me. I had only a few months earlier started a subscription to 2000AD, and I was reading all the Dredd material I could get my hands on. I read an interview with Karl Urban that showed he knew way more about Dredd than I did -- referencing stories I'd never heard of, and would have to read eventually.<br />
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But best of all, he refused to do the role if unless he kept the helmet on for the whole movie.<br />
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So I went into this film with confidence and came out thrilled. It was perfect. The movie is tightly scripted, straightforwards and a freakin' visual treat. If there's a better adaptation of a comic out there I ain't ever seen it. Dredd is not just my favourite comic adaptation -- it's one of my all-time favourite movies.<br />
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Will we get a sequel? I don't know... I honestly don't care. Dredd is something extra special for me, and I love it. If we never get another Dredd movie starring Karl Urban that'll be sad... but this movie will still be there. I hope if you haven't seen it yet that you take the time to check it out, because it's amazing.<br />
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--Andrew S.<br />
(If I missed anything, feel free to tell me. Maybe I'll do an honourable mentions list later.)Andrew Sorohanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01377620456453176431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-18668067660944614622014-12-09T23:02:00.002-05:002014-12-09T23:03:26.566-05:0080-Pagecast 43: The Obscure ClausJem is back in book form and yet more super hero movie & tv casting news gets discussed. Superior Foes of Spider-man #17, New Warriors #12, Transformers vs GI Joe #4, Fantastic Four #13, Fantastic Four #11, Transformers: Primacy #4, Transformers #35 (previously RiD), Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #35, <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Great_Car_Rally">The Great Car Rally</a>, <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Battle_for_Cybertron">Battle For Cybertron</a>, and more old coloring books. Plus our usual and some unusual digressions into other things and stuff.
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<iframe height='85' width='440' frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' src='http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2014-12-09T19_30_59-08_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2014-12-09T19_30_59-08_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0' allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Music: </b>Torgo's theme<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/torgomekka.htm">Torgo</a><br />
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<b>Outro Music: </b>Torgo's reprise<br />
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">Listen and review us on iTunes</a>.<br />David Henionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06630888538878254044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-85298038355462944772014-11-26T18:06:00.000-05:002014-11-26T18:06:36.828-05:0080-Pagecast 42: Say Good Night To The Bad GuysHoward the Duck is back! The end times are upon us. Alas, the end times are upon some of our favourite series, too, Also: discussion of Captain America and the Mighty Avengers #1, Spider-Woman #1, Deadpool #37, Loki: Agent of Axis #8, Guardians of the Galaxy #21, and Rocket Raccoon #5<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="85" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2014-11-26T14_17_58-08_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2014-11-26T14_17_58-08_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0" width="440"></iframe>
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<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Music: </b>Great Lakes Avengers, <a href="http://kirbykracklemusic.com/">Kirby Krackle</a><br />
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<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/darkrider.htm">Dark Rider</a><br />
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<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a>
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">We are also on iTunes</a>.Rob Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17603780742124190812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-82151159567647163572014-11-10T02:11:00.000-05:002014-11-10T03:11:03.293-05:0080Pagecast 41: The Desolation of JugheadDC announced years worth of planned movies. Marvel set up a slate of more movies. So many comicbook movies are on the horizon. It's kind of overwhelming. Also we take a spin in the Axis of Spider-verse to talk about issues of the Spider-verse event up to Amazing Spider-man #9, Issues of the Axis event up to #4, Transformers: More That Meets The Eye #34, Transformers: Robots In Disguise #34, and Legends of Baldur's Gate #1. We're butt kicking for goodness. And so is Betty Brant in a <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KaF3dxQpI3Q/UmmiVBXynbI/AAAAAAAASgM/3fbPHcwGjeo/s1600/betty1.jpg">horrible Spider-girl outfit</a>.
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<iframe height='85' width='440' frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' src='http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2014-11-09T22_33_51-08_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2014-11-09T22_33_51-08_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0' allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Music: </b>Great Lakes Avengers, <a href="http://kirbykracklemusic.com/">Kirby Krackle</a><br />
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<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/fizzhydr.htm">The Minions of Menace</a><br />
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<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a>
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">We are also on iTunes</a>.<br />David Henionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06630888538878254044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-67507178625266437872014-10-21T01:37:00.001-04:002014-10-21T01:37:52.278-04:0080-Pagecast 40: Monster MashSpooktober shambles on! The FANG is all here, as we discuss the SLEWS from NYCC and DC's upcoming BOO-VIES, then STALK about our favourite comics monsters. TISSUES discussed include Edge of Spider-Verse #5, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #1, Ragnarok #2, Loki: Agent of Asgard #7, Death Vigil #4, and <strike>SIXIS</strike> AXIS #2. Plus: a dramatic reading of Gargoyles: Action-Packed Pop-Up Adventure!<br />
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<iframe height='85' width='440' frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' src='http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2014-10-20T20_54_43-07_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2014-10-20T20_54_43-07_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0' allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
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<b>Topic Song: </b>Deep Red, Goblin<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Music: </b>Magic and Ecstasy, Ennio Morricone<br />
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<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/strawman.htm">Straw Man</a><br />
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<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">We are also on iTunes</a>.Rob Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17603780742124190812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-15072056775737880092014-10-18T18:35:00.000-04:002014-10-18T18:35:10.838-04:00Go Home Spider-Man, You're DrunkDrinking isn't totally anathema to super heroes - Wolverine and the Thing have been known to enjoy a cold beer or two, Thor probably drinks mead with every meal, and the Wasp and the She-Hulk are noted Girl Drink Drunks. (Some, of course, need to stay away from alcohol, like recovering alcoholics Iron Man and Captain Marvel.) But what about Spider-Man, the best superhero of all? On one hand, Marvel may not want their marquee character to be portrayed as a drinker; but on the other hand as an ostensibly hip young person, it would be a little weird for Peter Parker to be a complete teetotaller. Thus, the compromise: he doesn't drink if he can help it, because he's <i>really bad at it</i>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Mattingly, I told you to TRIM those sideburns!"</td></tr>
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The first mention of this, I believe, was in 1988's Web of Spider-Man #38, by Fabian Nicieza and Alex Saviuk. Peter's moving out of his crummy old Chelsea apartment and he's throwing a party to celebrate (a party that ends up being attended by both Alice Cooper guitarist Dick Wagner and beer-shilling dog Spuds MacKenzie). His landlady's husband decides to surreptitiously spike the punch, and Pete downs a couple glasses before heading out to fight the Hobgoblin. It doesn't go well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do not break the seal, man. That suit doesn't have a fly.</td></tr>
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Luckily, it turned out that the Hobgoblin couldn't even beat a drunk Spider-Man, which would prove to be a harbinger of where his career was going. The whole thing concludes with everyone having learned a valuable lesson.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now I know - and knowing is half the battle! SPIIIIIII-DERRRR-MAAAAAAN!</td></tr>
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And he never touched booze again, right? Well, no. Amazing Spider-Man #51 (2003), by J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr., is one of the few occasions we see Peter willingly drinking; having Mary Jane return to him after a long absence is a pretty special occasion, I suppose. We don't know how much he drank, exactly, but the odds are it wasn't much, given that he's still conscious enough to make a total ass of himself.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4MzRT2jGXqzF0tWEJN9QYyno1LJAgws9Ey7R2op-QvrogpVLcljqznaRasYtBJ_tC0pBzDcSH1GSUP8KqLXfmcZHl52I6gYG3e3LKiyd1xcCSxr6LuF8L4Ep4df8k3jdgAVVeXSRgug/s1600/ballpeen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4MzRT2jGXqzF0tWEJN9QYyno1LJAgws9Ey7R2op-QvrogpVLcljqznaRasYtBJ_tC0pBzDcSH1GSUP8KqLXfmcZHl52I6gYG3e3LKiyd1xcCSxr6LuF8L4Ep4df8k3jdgAVVeXSRgug/s320/ballpeen.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heh heh. Ballpeen.</td></tr>
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Such is Peter's unfamiliarity with booze that, during his aunt's wedding to J. Jonah Jameson Sr., his roommate/nemesis Michele Gonzales was able to ply him with apple-ginger ale, convince him it was champagne, and watch him get psychosomatically hammered. And, uh, then had sex with him. But she was for-reals drunk, so it's okay, I guess?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A similar thing happened to me at a wedding once, but the alcohol was real, and also somebody stole my tie.<br />
(Amazing Spider-Man #612, written by Mark Waid, art by Paul Azaceta)</td></tr>
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(Do they <i>make</i> apple-ginger ale? That sounds friggin' <i>delicious</i>.)<br />
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It's not just that Peter's experience with alcohol has been limited, and he hasn't built up a tolerance - it's gotta be genetic, given that both Ben Reilly...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbXIr7GsOlVykeCB-BzEZs0jdlwINr6J-7s-I3Zl4iUklFsIAZ1ylJ3UTjwdKzadpn7JzCX0NTcYxd18UfWt6zIpaAFnq0oJX0duF6YaYEGpadWcEBAR59JbEZN6I6YiYyiBj8xvLHg/s1600/drunkclone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbXIr7GsOlVykeCB-BzEZs0jdlwINr6J-7s-I3Zl4iUklFsIAZ1ylJ3UTjwdKzadpn7JzCX0NTcYxd18UfWt6zIpaAFnq0oJX0duF6YaYEGpadWcEBAR59JbEZN6I6YiYyiBj8xvLHg/s320/drunkclone.jpg" height="188" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Spectacular Spider-Man #223, written by J.M. DeMatteis, art by John Romita Jr. & Al Milgrom)</td></tr>
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...and Kaine...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuYsvx8kfWZBlOqArbXLqMpWo83DAzv_c9oKuMywcfGOh44OCjfY7ctBckY1geMnSf32ilP8gaNcwHGjLXhbq0pWXKLgs-0kQQSYn-WqGTGbaqJSy9hRO1q_QZIQTgc8OBs2dpeJOmTw/s1600/cervezas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuYsvx8kfWZBlOqArbXLqMpWo83DAzv_c9oKuMywcfGOh44OCjfY7ctBckY1geMnSf32ilP8gaNcwHGjLXhbq0pWXKLgs-0kQQSYn-WqGTGbaqJSy9hRO1q_QZIQTgc8OBs2dpeJOmTw/s320/cervezas.jpg" height="320" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Scarlet Spider #12, written by Chris Yost, art by Reilly Brown)</td></tr>
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...both of whom are clones of Peter, are total lightweights. Not depicted: that time Spidercide got into the Jackal's liquor cabinet and drank peppermint schnapps until he puked.<br />
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It's honestly for the best, given how Peter's other friends have succumbed to substance abuse, be it pills...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-074Y_GQRLIHd40zp_PHIidG0V1rZBqVvdZfR7EUb2hh5JrpNKnBTX5wHLITj5DhjoZdB9-pAOu11tK-4mFytHml2p2f04NV9K5G45MUofVe66LzvZHXB0VAgsLJ6T5nUk_l6ZMgvw/s1600/pills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-074Y_GQRLIHd40zp_PHIidG0V1rZBqVvdZfR7EUb2hh5JrpNKnBTX5wHLITj5DhjoZdB9-pAOu11tK-4mFytHml2p2f04NV9K5G45MUofVe66LzvZHXB0VAgsLJ6T5nUk_l6ZMgvw/s320/pills.jpg" height="140" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Amazing Spider-Man #97, written by Stan Lee, art by Gil Kane & Frank Giacoia) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
...booze...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGYoVvhHjxeJ5IPyMWdBJYMFHiRXtp5lXShFyp25Yz6sBoTE5kidb6FqDEvzTSPxYpyETW4DRF2VclNZuMZNKMmSiAOFkEbKXfNoOZCsb0vAqm7BPUIxP4LAEsOvgNlQLGu0Pd34-Yg/s1600/drunkflash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGYoVvhHjxeJ5IPyMWdBJYMFHiRXtp5lXShFyp25Yz6sBoTE5kidb6FqDEvzTSPxYpyETW4DRF2VclNZuMZNKMmSiAOFkEbKXfNoOZCsb0vAqm7BPUIxP4LAEsOvgNlQLGu0Pd34-Yg/s320/drunkflash.jpg" height="318" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Spectacular Spider-Man #249, written by J.M. DeMatteis & Mark Bernardo, art by Luke Ross and Dan Green)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
...or I'm gonna say paint thinner.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDW_L2SOBJPORdnB6dt47N8jrDt8gujfAPeDsDXkC4yGTJ0BrN9jFXhLEaD9cwxmR7lnJkmyp0iwY8My4QYCF0GM6jz28s34dwEBm_Xz2SkWM5sS0ljHdgDOH_fMiaVcpk7VAb8iDHBA/s1600/crazykeyhole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDW_L2SOBJPORdnB6dt47N8jrDt8gujfAPeDsDXkC4yGTJ0BrN9jFXhLEaD9cwxmR7lnJkmyp0iwY8My4QYCF0GM6jz28s34dwEBm_Xz2SkWM5sS0ljHdgDOH_fMiaVcpk7VAb8iDHBA/s320/crazykeyhole.jpg" height="155" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Amazing Spider-Man #55, written by Stan Lee, art by John Romita Sr. & Mickey Demeo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />Rob Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17603780742124190812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-18340360998855974282014-10-17T12:52:00.000-04:002014-10-17T12:52:37.035-04:00Unstable Molecules: Cataclysm<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsu3JoJkZ-kAKe_NR9-xc9U1GLAV8pknELOtsqFxnSVUSvnkZjCE7ZnuyQlLsWIqQqN276gxBaj1VklDf5q3YKk1hbvSh1tzQjjlkYBiJ9BUuUetC3OSy4A7DQAxshyIplESe7xKnmg/s1600/catramos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsu3JoJkZ-kAKe_NR9-xc9U1GLAV8pknELOtsqFxnSVUSvnkZjCE7ZnuyQlLsWIqQqN276gxBaj1VklDf5q3YKk1hbvSh1tzQjjlkYBiJ9BUuUetC3OSy4A7DQAxshyIplESe7xKnmg/s1600/catramos.jpg" height="320" width="269" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hey, my eyes are...well, I guess they are down there, too."<br />(Amazing Spider-Man #3, written by Dan Slott, art by Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The Black Cat just got a new costume in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man. As with most Humberto Ramos designs, it's good - and it doesn't really deviate that much from her previous costumes, most of which have been slight variations on the one she wore in her first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #194. For the most part, her costume only varies in cleavage, which ranges from reasonable...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfESoELbED7-IRMEEvwTJ25Z_ZEi7H4VInnhkaawNNb53hIsJGD2M7uMvXHjdapelVajuP6OwyZG59yz5Kk8TB96hsmCjJhCm1IRvnE7b6zdhZu0Pmohpp4CZHagGLBPjHRfJFLTADcg/s1600/justalittle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfESoELbED7-IRMEEvwTJ25Z_ZEi7H4VInnhkaawNNb53hIsJGD2M7uMvXHjdapelVajuP6OwyZG59yz5Kk8TB96hsmCjJhCm1IRvnE7b6zdhZu0Pmohpp4CZHagGLBPjHRfJFLTADcg/s1600/justalittle.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Amazing Spider-Man #205, written by David Michelinie, art by Keith Pollard and Jim Mooney)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
...to "maybe you should zip that up"...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcaHuW46YN07qQaG557UGW2fdHPwOfchdKPgVgbKhZnlydhACSyh01S4gmZHGt8m6-xk-NKjPb2-SCDO8AAGINkBuUQNo406cJvDtht73zl9Uy4Z4m-GaMJE-k2axnBtTSizxr5DsrAQ/s1600/maybezipup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcaHuW46YN07qQaG557UGW2fdHPwOfchdKPgVgbKhZnlydhACSyh01S4gmZHGt8m6-xk-NKjPb2-SCDO8AAGINkBuUQNo406cJvDtht73zl9Uy4Z4m-GaMJE-k2axnBtTSizxr5DsrAQ/s320/maybezipup.jpg" height="320" width="86" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Amazing Spider-Man #316, written by David Michelinie, art by Todd McFarlane)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
...to "I guess that's just glued to your mons pubis, then".<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIH6p0LFdVJwOJpud4xk4XmCS43R8QfB63rVOEhB2w4_DOBjrc2CwIWQixNV4EliWdStp3MuTvrmM92GxnT2wazRJXYQxBANekezKg1FlnwtVoExqUuzoKK5xliu6tsO7j7nzts6cncQ/s1600/implausiblecleavage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIH6p0LFdVJwOJpud4xk4XmCS43R8QfB63rVOEhB2w4_DOBjrc2CwIWQixNV4EliWdStp3MuTvrmM92GxnT2wazRJXYQxBANekezKg1FlnwtVoExqUuzoKK5xliu6tsO7j7nzts6cncQ/s320/implausiblecleavage.jpg" height="320" width="143" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Amazing Spider-Man #371, written by David Micheline, art by Mark Bagley and Randy Emberlin)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But there was a time when the Black Cat did get an entirely new costume - a costume so bad it ties in with <i>Secret Wars II</i>.<br />
<br />
So let's sum up where the Black Cat was at circa 1986. She'd hooked up with Spider-Man, but there were a couple complications: a) his secret ID, Peter Parker, was just some schmo, and not the dashing rogue she was hoping for, and b) she didn't actually have any powers, which made fighting Spider-Man's rogues gallery of half-animal freaks rather hazardous to her health. She couldn't really do anything about the first one, but as for the second, hey, this is the Marvel universe. People are handing out super powers like free samples at Costco. Felicia found herself a benefactor, and ended up with catlike agility and reflexes, as well as some nebulous "bad luck" powers. Unfortunately, her benefactor turned out to be the Kingpin, and as he'd intended, those bad luck powers ended up making Spider-Man into a regular Joe Btfsplk...more so that usual, even. So before he found himself getting squooshed by a falling piano, Pete went to Dr. Strange to get rid of his bad juju - but because Dr. Strange is <i>the worst</i>, this also had the effect of taking away all of Felicia's powers, just as she was fighting a bunch of the Foreigner's goons. She escaped with her life (and a gold notebook*), but ended up with a broken nose.<br />
<br />
(*During Secret Wars II, the god-like Beyonder turned an office building and all its contents into solid gold. Spider-Man had to shut up and take it when the US government hired the Kingpin to dispose of the building so it wouldn't destroy the global economy, but he did steal a gold notebook in a fit of pique. He ended up selling it to a fence to pay Aunt May's friend Nathan Lubensky's medical bills, and that fence sold it to the Foreigner - Recappin' Rob!)<br />
<br />
So in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #117, she swapped out her regular cat's-eye mask...thing for a Lone Ranger mask to cover up her busted schnoz, but for some reason that meant she had to make a completely new costume to go with it. So she combined an aerobics leotard, a gold-studded leather jacket (with gold studs made from the melted-down notebook), and a ponytail into...this thing, courtesy of Rich Buckler, Dwayne Turner, Bob McLeod, Del Barras, Keith Williams, and Joe Rubinstein:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgam-AEd9hFudRSCsVG07WWp-mkpoBVDvTQrbhjSw7qEYmYHIASY2MMn-O7SCX1gNoat_3-fRbA4M1Hq0CPvJAzsNKizcaivAoBiidFQq5EzgeGo_9UXzxQ9T8xyfSbUGYQcgd7Bj4qbg/s1600/catjacket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgam-AEd9hFudRSCsVG07WWp-mkpoBVDvTQrbhjSw7qEYmYHIASY2MMn-O7SCX1gNoat_3-fRbA4M1Hq0CPvJAzsNKizcaivAoBiidFQq5EzgeGo_9UXzxQ9T8xyfSbUGYQcgd7Bj4qbg/s1600/catjacket.jpg" height="246" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"No, please, keep it."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I know a lot of comics at the time were going for a more gritty, realistic vibe - especially Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, then under rookie writer Peter David - and because it was the '80s, gritty and realistic = leather jacket. It must not have been terribly popular, because in PPTSSM #128, it was traded in for this Alan Kupperberg number, which was a little closer to her original. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xw2dGcW6pR2q7BjhyKa0p8t20vTFy5I8K03eY2y2LxrjT6emkPlkoHxDlFEnhiObkkwLpelkJS36NtvhCBxqWGd5onDyj3RISTPYxo0LRAPpEcz-YaSa9JTZ2A2Khnci-e8S1tGPyg/s1600/secondtry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xw2dGcW6pR2q7BjhyKa0p8t20vTFy5I8K03eY2y2LxrjT6emkPlkoHxDlFEnhiObkkwLpelkJS36NtvhCBxqWGd5onDyj3RISTPYxo0LRAPpEcz-YaSa9JTZ2A2Khnci-e8S1tGPyg/s1600/secondtry.jpg" height="320" width="145" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Thanks for everything, Julie Newmar."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This one I kinda like, actually. I think it's the mask. But despite getting a shout-out on the cover, this look only lasted two issues (and a guest appearance in Cloak and Dagger) before she went back to her original. Maybe, with the gold belt and the cat ears, it was a little too close to the '60s Batman TV show Catwoman costume - and the Black Cat is already juuust this side of being a Catwoman ripoff, so it had to go. Sometimes, you just get it right the first time.<br />
<br />Rob Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17603780742124190812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-81229279228097119902014-10-07T12:03:00.001-04:002014-10-07T12:05:22.637-04:0080-Pagecast 39: House of ShadowsThe Fall festival of Spooktober begins as we look at the week's news. Such as is Gotham worth watching, can Spider-man smell brimstone, or what happened to <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcR15OLf0j3amCUVjpi7DkzG_Kh7JbvZCCWND06ub37zuqN0mF8v9fxfFncDJDt1TreUvu9WffFGSy1-T3U_0lnxjrQ9vATNzCQ3s6BUIbzFOkUmyYlyN991rMiiNt6B5K5UYjORm7Q/s1600/X-Men-V1-50-01.jpg">Polaris's old costumes</a>? Comics we talk about this week are things from 2000 AD like Indigo Prime & Grey Area & <a href="http://milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=fullsize&issue=91673066280%201">Judge Dredd stuff</a>, Gotham Academy #1, <a href="http://dustinweaver.tumblr.com/tagged/spiderman">Edge of Spider-verse #3</a> & #4, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrrh84y760v-hEDjVQX_4N-TRZk0zeoxk">Space Adventure Cobra</a> (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSjsKrNZMSs">it's cartoon spin off that almost was</a>, <a href="http://counter-x.net/gobots/reviews/super1/psycho.html">Cobra's Psycho car</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9aWPTCc2r0">Cobra's music video</a>), Fantastic Four #10, and a little bit of Transformers: Robots in Disguise #33. The topic of the week is <a href="https://twitter.com/saladinahmed/status/518241530772209664">substitute super heroes</a>. <a href="http://adudesguide.com/2010/03/29/dude-review-the-incredible-hercules-the-mighty-thorcules/">Nurp</a>.<br />
<br />
<iframe height='85' width='440' frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' src='http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2014-10-07T03_07_02-07_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2014-10-07T03_07_02-07_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0' allowfullscreen></iframe>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
<br />
<b>Topic Song: </b>Substitute, The Who<br />
<br />
<b>Appendectomy Music: </b>Friday the 13th Part V theme<br />
<br />
<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/housshad.htm">House of Shadows</a><br />
<br />
<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a>
<br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">We are also on iTunes</a>.<br />David Henionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06630888538878254044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62718594550181355.post-1215216640324518812014-09-23T00:38:00.000-04:002014-09-23T00:39:58.470-04:0080-Pagecast 38: Shocking SituationsShock follows shock as we cover this fortnight's comicbooky news. Then talk about comics as usual such as Amazing Spider-man:Family Business, Edge of Spider-verse #2, Deadpool #34, Deadpool Bi-Annual: BRUTE FORCE, and Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #33. Shockingly our topic is about shocks we got from shocking story events in shocking comics. Shockingly.<br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/80-pagecast/id909957719">We can has iTunes</a>.
<br />
<iframe height='85' width='440' frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' src='http://strangefour.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2014-09-22T20_33_05-07_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstrangefour.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2014-09-22T20_33_05-07_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0' allowfullscreen></iframe>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<b>Intro Music: </b>Amazing Spider-Man (1977) TV opening theme<br />
<br />
<b>Insert Song: </b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo1AO8WHUlM">Face It Tiger, </a>The MaryJanes (Married with Sea Monsters) <br />
<br />
<b>Appendectomy Music: </b><a href="http://www.redlobster.com/">Rock Lobster, </a>The B-52s<br />
<br />
<b>Appendectomy Subject: </b><a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/shockermutantforce.htm">Shocker</a><br />
<br />
<b>Outro Music:</b> <a href="http://www.criterion.com/films/27523-house">HOUSE</a> theme song, remixed by <a href="http://www.lucasciarlante.com/">Lucas Ciarlante</a>David Henionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06630888538878254044noreply@blogger.com0