Torso, Justice League, and the Russian Avengers

Confession time.  I hadn’t thought about this in years, decades really, but it came up recently in a Twitter conversation with friend and fellow Biff Bam Popper Tim Murr.  He’d just seen the 1973 pre-slasher era horror classic Torso and I’d mentioned I’d seen it in its initial run, when I was ten.  I wasn’t a bad kid really I wasn’t, but let’s face it, I was that night.

On what might seem like a dare, but was more like a don’t be a body part Trump thinks he can grab without permission, three other boys in my class and I sneaked out after nine during the summer and watched Torso at the drive-in with no sound from the woods near the screen.  My siblings are probably shocked right now, and my parents both passed would have kicked my butt majorly if they’d known, but yeah, I did it.

Wonder Woman 2017

Wonder Woman ~ I hated the first two film entries in the DC Extended Universe, absolutely hated them. Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice were seriously bad enough to put me off DC superhero movies forever. That said, I gave number three, Suicide Squad a chance, and while it wasn't great, it wasn't bad. Maybe DC movies weren't cursed after all. I sincerely hoped not, because number four in their film plan was very special to me. Wonder Woman is one of my favorite characters in comics, and a misstep with this one would cut the cord for me and DC Comics movies. I shouldn't have worried. Wonder Woman was amazing and astonishing, better than any of us could have hoped.

Justice League Rebirth

I've looked at the comic that started the whole Rebirth thing for DC Comics, and several of the Rebirth restarts for various characters. Now I'm looking at the restart of one of my favorite comic book franchises, Justice League Rebirth.

The monumental task of relaunching DC's major superhero team goes to Bryan Hitch, handling both writing and illustrating duties. Hitch has worked on the team before and is probably best known, at least to me, as the artist who brought Marvel Comics Ultimates - a super-realistic version of their Avengers - to life. I admired the attempt, disliked the story and the characters, but dug the art. I still like Hitch, somewhat (he draws an ugly Wonder Woman, sorry, but it's how it hits me), but this is not his best work, or perhaps his style is not right for the Justice League. I think it might be the latter, at least on the visuals. His Flash also bothers me, never looking like the Flash, but more like just some guy in a Flash suit.

Bryan Hitch is aware of the new continuity, and the old continuity. He's better than some of DC's guiding editors in this instance. I loved how he wove in the new/old Superman and the two semi-new Green Lanterns into the story to aid the remaining five Leaguers - Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg - against an oncoming alien threat.

At first, the giant alien monster attacking the unnamed city seems almost Lovecraftian, then kinda downgrades to a cheap Starro knock-off. Either way, the Justice League's triumph is straight out of "Doctor Who," specifically that first Matt Smith episode, "The Eleventh Hour," when he tasks the Atraxi to run, and tells everyone that Earth is defended.

Despite some problems, I liked this issue, not as much as some other Rebirth books, but enough to give it a chance if I come across it again.

DC Comics Rebirth Continues

A couple weeks back, I looked at the introductory comic, DC Universe Rebirth, and since then more than a few first issues of this new continuity dynamic have come out. Here I'll look at some of them briefly.

Superman - One of the bits in the above-mentioned comic that I didn't care about was the death of the New 52 Superman. This comic picks up on those hanging threads as the pre-Flashpoint Superman visits the Fortress of Solitude and reminisces about Doomsday with the New 52 Lana Lang. It was more fun and much better than I expected. I want to read more, despite the huge amount of baggage here to move forward.

Batman - Much like Superman, I'm not thrilled with the new Batman costume. Sorry, I'm a traditionalist and resistant to most change. If it was an alternate Batman, I'd be cool, but not the 'real' Batman. Much of the issue is taken up by the Calendar Man and his antics, including a weird new supernatural twist of his aging and rejuvenating through the seasons. There is also the inclusion of Duke Thomas, who may or may not be a new Robin, or perhaps a Lark, or something new. Darker and more sociopathic than I like my Batman, I'll pass.

Wonder Woman - Greg Rucka returns to the Amazon Princess in this issue, and while his run was critically acclaimed, it was not by me, as you can see here. This Rebirth issue, while well done, enticing, and encouraging, is one of those 'everything-you-know-is-a-lie' stories that may or may not return Wonder Woman to what I consider greatness, or create yet another version of the character I won't be reading. It's a great start, let's hope it's the former and not the latter.

Titans - I miss the Teen Titans, and yeah, I'm in get-off-my-lawn-mode, but I was never a big fan of the New Teen Titans that everyone went gaga over in the 1980s. They were cool, yeah, but my Titans were the Nick Cardy teen hero generation of the early 1970s. What's weird is that these Rebirth Titans are twisted versions of the ones I dug. I looked forward to this book as Wally West was the best thing about DC Universe Rebirth and I wanted to see more - what I got instead was a distorted revisionist history of characters I thought I knew. It isn't the same, as a matter of fact, it's all-new. I don't know who any of these people are, and I'm not interested.

Green Arrow - One of the tragedies of the new 52 in my opinion was the rejuvenation and Tony Stark-ization of Green Arrow, as well as the removal of Black Canary as his romantic and 'business' partner. Their reunion is about all I liked about this new start, I disliked the art and the story as well.

Green Lanterns - I'm sure Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz are someone's favorite Green Lanterns but I'm just not that into them. This book is more about them than Hal Jordan, and if I'm going to read a Geoff Johns Green Lantern comic, I want Hal Jordan. Pass.

Aquaman - Speaking of Johns, another great bit from the original Rebirth comic was Aquaman proposing to Mera, thereby breaking the unspoken rule about no happy marriages in the DC Universe. The problem of course is that Johns is not writing the new Aquaman series, so who knows what happens next. Dan Abnett, who had been writing the regular series, feels right at home with this soft reboot. I look forward to more of this, and more of Black Manta.

Flash - As I said, Wally West was my favorite part of the book that started all this, so like Titans, this was another I was looking forward to. The first thing that struck me was the art. It's not bad per se, but it's definitely not suited to the character of The Flash. Carmine Di Giadomenico is a terrific artist, and I admire his attempts to pay homage to Carmine Infantino, but for me, it just doesn't work. We don't get much more in the way of story than we did in the initial Rebirth book. It reminded me very much of the retelling going on in Marvel's Civil War II. I'm still on the fence with this one.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ~ So many folks have requested a full review from me of Batman v Superman, but the truth is I am worn out by this movie. I hated it in the theater, and have hated talking about it since, which I have done multiple times.

What I'll do instead is direct you to where you can read and hear some of my opinions on the movie, and then present a comic to read, one that shows what Superman is supposed to be like. Here you go…

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S02 E05: "A Hen in the Wolf House"

What I have always said about "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," even during the dark days when no one was watching it, was that it was great espionage television, and it's been a long time since we've had such a thing. This week's episode was full of all the things the genre cool - enemy agents, independent agents, and double agents.

Palicki in the costume that debuts tonight.

And speaking of double agents, this episode features the debut of Bobbi Morse, as played by Adrianne Palicki, who was previously Wonder Woman in the unaired pilot by David E. Kelley. In the comics she's better known as Mockingbird. If you're looking for a blonde double agent with an attraction to archers, and you can't afford the Black Widow, and don't own Black Canary, Mockingbird is the next best thing.

Her codename is never mentioned, her hair is not blonde (although it's later referenced that it once was), and her outfit looks like she raided the leftover Cylon reject wardrobe of "Battlestar Galactica," but she is still kicking ass and taking names with her trademark battle staves. There's no mention of on again/off again husband Hawkeye, but she's mercenary Lance Hunter's ex-wife.

Bobbi saves Jemma Simmons from the clutches of Hydra when her cover is blown. Hopefully her time with the enemy will provide valuable information, and her presence help balance her old partner Fitz. I'm also glad to see Bobbi join the team, but hope her super-badassery will not dilute Agent May's only human badassery.

Skye almost gets to meet her dad, and it seems as we've been told, he's an alien monster in human form, killing indiscriminately. Kyle MacLachlan plays this to the hilt with appropriate weirdness. The bad news is that he's aligned himself with Kraken and Hydra. Dear old Dad also says the Obelisk is called The Diviner in its native language.

Speaking of which, Skye also has made progress translating the alien language. She says it's a map. A map perhaps to the Kree homeworld Hala? Time will tell.

In the meantime, please don't forget to check out my friend and fellow Biff Bam Pop! columnist J.P. Fallavollita for his review of this episode along with a few of his theories on the alien language, and my regular reviews of the "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." series here. Thanks again, J.P.!

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Well now, this was a surprise. I don't recall being all that impressed with the first G.I. Joe movie. And my connection to Joe is more 1970s Adventure Team than the 1980s Yo Joe anti-terrorists. I felt that the first movie was meant only for folks into the 80s toys and didn't care if it left everyone else behind. I expected more of the same with G.I. Joe: Retaliation. I was pleasantly surprised.

In the aftermath of that first movie the big bads, Cobra, swore revenge. Not only did they get it, but as this film begins, they have already won. The President has been compromised, he is held prisoner as Cobra operative Zartan masquerades as PotUS. An air strike takes out all of the Joes except for a handful who must rebuild and take back a country that now finances and iodizes Cobra as heroes and hates the Joes as villains.

I'm not a fan of Channing Tatum. He's never impressed me much, but here, in the precious little time he's on screen, his chemistry with The Rock is enough so that you miss him and you really almost feel the pain when he dies. Yeah, it's that good. The Rock, as Roadblock, brings his comrades home to the hood to regroup. The Rock equally is good.

The leftovers go to the original G.I. Joe, Bruce Willis, for help. He's fun as the tough old crotchety know-it-all with the heart of gold and a wisecrack for every occasion. The cast is rounded out by David E. Kelley pilot Wonder Woman Adrianne Palicki (who has also just been cast as Mockingbird in "Agents of SHIELD," wow, somebody wants to be a superhero bad) and D.J. Cotrona who is basically Channing Tatum lite.

In between the interesting scenes with The Rock, Bruno and company, there are ninja interludes featuring characters with names like Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, and Jinx. I didn't have any emotional connection or even knowledge of them, so I just enjoyed them for the James Bond/Shaw Brothers wannabes they were. Fun but hollow.

All in all, while a bit dark in places, G.I. Joe: Retaliation was a fun action flick with more warmth and depth than I ever would have expected. If you're looking for a better than average actioner, this is it. You might be just as surprised as I was.

San Diego Comic-Con Catch-Up

Yeah, I realize it's all over, and no one's really talking about this year's San Diego Comic-Con any more, but I've been busy, and haven't been able to chime in. So consider this your official wrap-up.

We learned new details about the upcoming season of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." including what role Lucy Lawless will play, and who the next big bad will be. Details are here at Biff Bam Pop!. On the "Agent Carter" front, Avengers fans will be pleased as Edwin Jarvis will be in the show, in his youthful prime, hopefully kicking ass and cleaning up. Sorry, butler joke, couldn't help it.

Other Marvel news included the official announcement the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel and animated series, an entertaining Avengers: Age of Ultron panel seen here, and a movie poster and details on the Ant-Man movie. Apparently we will have some kind of Wasp-ish character, and surprisingly, Yellowjacket, who's not Hank Pym, is the villain of the piece.

On the other side of the street at DC Comics, we finally got our first look at Wonder Woman from Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, for a full view, Biff Bam Pop! has it here. There was lots of TV news about "Constantine" and "Gotham," but the real stuff was all about Green Arrow and the Flash. Con goers got to see the pilot for the CW's "The Flash" which I reviewed here, and Ras Al Ghul was announced as the big bad on this season of "Arrow." And that's not even mentioning date night with Felicity or former movie Superman Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer. It's gonna be good.



Other news at the Comic-Con included Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah being in the Godzilla sequel, a King Kong prequel called Skull Island, and the trailer for the new season of "The Walking Dead." It was a good con, shame I missed it.

Arrow S02 E05: "League of Assassins"

We open on a Queen's Gambit flashback, this one surprisingly from Sarah's point of view, and turns out to be a nightmare. Girl has more PTSD and origin flashbacks in ten minutes than Oliver had all last season. Good thing an assassin in Dark Archer garb attacked to break the tension. Turns out he's a member of the League of Assassins, yeah, Ras al Ghul's League of Assassins, and in a fit of fashion faux pas, they all dress like John Barrowman in costume.

After the attack, in the Arrowcave with Diggle and Felicity, we get the lowdown. After the boat went down, Sarah was rescued and trained by the League of Assassins. The guy who attacked was called The First (who trained Merlyn), and was sent to take out Sarah. And, da da dum, the outfit of The Hood was first worn by Shado. I wonder where that little tidbit will go.

On the soap opera side of things, Moira is still coming up to trial, with Laurel prosecuting. It's life with possibility of parole or the death penalty. Wow. It sounds like Starling City has the same corrupt and ridiculous legal system as Gotham City. Is Moira Queen worse than the Joker? Everyone is suitably whiny about this.

To protect her father, Sara reveals herself. She brings him to her watchtower and tells him she took the name Canary. There Sarah, her dad, and Oliver, just a little bit take down the assassins come to kill them. Good fight, but really it's Sarah's fight, and Quentin's. Oliver just kinda watches, then shoots an arrow or two, like, "Hey, I thought this was my show."

As if that's not enough, Sarah's flashback reveals she was rescued by Professor Anthony Ivo on his ship, the Amazo, and he's going to save the human race. Oh boy. Time for a comics lesson. For the uninitiated, Ivo is a mad scientist, capital M mad with an immortality obsession. That's not his claim to fame however. That would be Amazo, and it's not a boat.

Amazo is a giant eight-foot tall android that Ivo created, super strong, near invulnerable, and a sociopath. As if that wasn't good enough, he has these energy absorption powers, which allowed him to gain the powers of the Justice League, all of them, even Superman. Armed with a replica of Green Lantern's power ring and Wonder Woman's golden lasso, and all those powers, Amazo has terrorized the Justice League for decades. Yeah, that's the legacy of Professor Ivo.

This kind of makes me wonder… how many big bads will we have this season? We have Brother Blood, possibly Ras al Ghul, possibly Suicide Squad coming, maybe Metamorpho, hell, maybe Trigon. And who knows what things will be like once the Flash shows up. One wonders how big this could be, will the rumored "Amazon" show, and the just announced "Hourman" series tie in as well?

I didn't know what to think of the special mini-adventure "Blood Rush" with Felicity and Roy. In the space I took to explain it, it's over, so at this point, it seemed a waste of time. Perhaps it would be better as a webseries?

Next week: The return of Deadshot, Amanda Waller, and maybe… the Suicide Squad??

Beware the Batman

I approach this new Batman series with both trepidation and resentment. We're getting this series as not only a replacement for the old "Brave and the Bold" series, which gave us an intriguing and entertaining new direction for the character, but also a replacement for the much loved, and inexplicably ended "Green Lantern" and "Young Justice." I would have much rather had either of these series back, or a JLA spin-off from the later than anything else Cartoon Network is offering lately, especially the superdeformed mutilation called "Teen Titans Go!" or this newest version of Batman.

"Beware the Batman" is a bit of an oddity, with, in my opinion, very little to like. The animation is CGI style like the aforementioned Green Lantern series, and there seems to be very little reason to have it done in this method. There are no wild scifi elements that this style would benefit. Batman's head is odd and his whole costume has a wet, almost slimy, vinyl rubber look.

It is also quite violent. I was surprised at how violent, and I'm pretty desensitized to that sort of thing, especially when it comes to superheroes and cartoons. This is also a very different concept for Batman. He is, once again (groan), early in his career and therefore inexperienced. Why can't we have the confident and competent Batman? That's the one we like, not the bumbling amateur.

I said this was a new concept, well, young and dumb isn't what I was talking about. Alfred is very different. More than a butler, he is an Australian ex-spy who looks like cross between Lex Luthor and Vin Diesel. It's an intriguing idea, but I don't like it.

Also in the way of change, I understand that the standard rogues gallery is being jettisoned for this new series. I think this is a very odd decision as Batman's bizarre enemies are as much a part of his popularity as everything else. In the opener, he fights the very strange Grant Morrison creations, Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad. I was not impressed.

Also featured in the episode were a non- Mr. Terrific Michael Holt and a decidedly pre-Metamorpho Simon Stagg. Was this just for the Easter egg name drop then? Let's face it, Mr. Terrific and Metamorpho are what makes these characters interesting, without them, why use them?

I'm giving this series a wait and see option. I haven't really decided yet. It could go either way after watching just one episode, but I really don't know.

I did however like the DC Nation short featuring the Tarantino-esque Aeon Flux style retro Wonder Woman short. Can't wait to see more. Instead of another Batman, why not a series based on this, of one of the other better shorts like Amethyst, Sword of the Atom, Plastic Man, or Thunder and Lightning? Or if you insist on Batman, how about Batman of Shanghai?

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast for the Week of 12-19-12

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast features co-hosts Ed (Hank Hall Smash) Evans, Allison (Dr. Mrs. The Monarch) Eckel, and Glenn (What Is Wrong with My Hair??) Walker, as they discuss the new comics out this week! You can see the show here, or check it out below.

Discussion featured in this week's Special Ninja Please Transition Hell episode includes: The Last Minute Midnight Madness Sale and Holiday Celebration, the Wheel of Fish, Hank Hall smash, Masks #2, pulp comics, Mars Attacks #6, Bionic Woman #6, Star Treks, MacGyver #3, Bad Transition Theater, Freelancers #2, Fables #124, The Bat Cave, Sword of Sorcery #3, Wonder Woman #15, Green Lantern #15, Blue Beetle #15, Avengery goodness, X-Men action, Hawkeye #6, Spider-Man Spoiler Warning, Indestructible Hulk #2, Captain Marvel #8, Allison's kids comics, secret gift for The Bride, and Ed's trades and toys.

Be sure to check out the rockin' All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, written by Allison and Glenn, featuring The Vidcast Drinking Game so you can play along at home, and watch ATF! on YouTube (don't forget to subscribe to the channel while you're there, and leave a comment or two on the Vidcast as well!).

And be back here every Wednesday (or Tuesdays at midnight) to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live every week at All Things Fun! - the South Jersey/Philadelphia area's best comics, toys and gaming store, located in West Berlin, NJ. Don't forget to visit us at Facebook!

The Arrow Pilot

The norm used to be for bringing a comic book to the small screen would be to change everything. Everyone fondly remembers "The Incredible Hulk" TV series with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. You know the one without Rick Jones, Betty Ross, Glenn Talbot, General Ross, Gamma Base, or any Gamma Bombs. When you think about it, the show was more "The Fugitive" than the Hulk.

This was standard operating procedure though. The Justice League became the Super Friends. Bat-Mite turned green. Remember Rex Smith as the Daredevil in black who wore a mask with no eyeholes? How about the Cathy Lee Crosby Wonder Woman?

Even the wildly successful "Smallville" changed many aspects of its source material. The joke used to be that "Smallville" had some names and concepts in common with old Superboy comics but everything else was different. In later seasons of the series one of the highlights was Green Arrow as played by Justin Hartley. The character proved so popular that the CW decided to give him his own similar "Smallville" themed series. The catch - it's not a spin-off, it's not Justin Hartley, and it's very different from both the source material and even "Smallville."

In "Arrow," despite Oliver Queen's outfit, car, and arrows being green, he's not Green Arrow, he's Arrow. The city he protects is Starling City, not Star City. And previews make him out to be more of a murderous vigilante than a superhero. Before viewing the pilot, friends had told me it was great, so I was willing to give it a shot, changes or not.

It's not that I don't love and miss Justin Hartley, but this is a different take on the character, and Stephen Amell slips seamlessly into this new Oliver Queen rule. Despite my misgivings, I was pulled into the "Arrow" pilot immediately, and not just by the Deathstroke mask on the beach. "Arrow" is a solid TV show with or without its comic book superhero origins. And it's an adult show, this is not going to be the teen soap opera that "Smallville" was the first few years.

A more complicated backstory and motivation is overlaid to Green Arrow's comics origin, and it works for 2012 television. I like it. Oh sure, there's great wink-wink stuff like his drug-using sister being nicknamed Speedy, the complicated relationship with Dinah Laurel Lance (Black Canary in the comics), and of course there is the prerequisite best friend who becomes arch-villain, Tommy Merlyn AKA Merlyn the Magician - but I would dig "Arrow" even without all that.

A warning for the kids, and the folks with kids, this is a pretty violent show. So don't be fooled just because it's based on a comic book, this is not for the younguns. That said, I'm looking forward to more "Arrow," and I hope you all are as well. I was refreshingly surprised.

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast for the Week of 9-19-2012

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live every week at All Things Fun! - the South Jersey/Philadelphia area's best comics and gaming store, located in West Berlin, NJ.

Co-hosts Ed (Silky Smooth) Evans, Allison (Amethyst) Eckel, and Glenn (Shazam) Walker discuss the new comics out this week in wicked high definition video, and also available on the YouTube. See it here!

Discussion featured in this week's special creepy old man episode includes: Ed's silky smooth radio voice, Green Lantern Corps: New Guardians #0, Sword of Sorcery #0 featuring Amethyst, sooo much Allison love for Amethyst, Beowulf, Wonder Woman #0, Justice League #0 featuring the little bastich, The Super Cool Secret Word Contest, the rest of the DC zeroes, rushing through Marvels, New Mutants #49, Ultimates United We Stand, The Walking Dead #102, Ed's indies, Ghost #0, Star Treks and red shirts, Allison's kids comics, and Ed's trades.



Be sure to check out the wild new All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, by Allison and Glenn, now featuring The Vidcast Drinking Game so you can play along at home, and ATF! on YouTube (don't forget to subscribe to the channel while you're there, and leave a comment or two on the Vidcast as well!).

And be back here every Wednesday (or Tuesdays at midnight) to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

Don't forget to get your secret word in to feedback@allthingsfun.net by Friday!

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast for the Week of 8-29-2012

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live every week at All Things Fun! - the South Jersey/Philadelphia area's best comics and gaming store, located in West Berlin, NJ.

Co-hosts Ed (No Questions) Evans and Glenn (Birthday Boy) Walker discuss the new comics out this week in wicked high definition video, and also available on the YouTube. See it here! Allison (Toes in the Sand) Eckel returns next week.

Discussion featured in this week's Special Shaky Cam Episode includes: The controversial Justice League #12, Green Lantern Annual #1, Aquaman #12, Flash Annual #1, monkey action, AvX VS #5 (of 6), Captain Marvel #3, Avenging Spider-Man #11, Gambit #2, Infernal Man-Thing #3 (of 3), Powers #11, Winter Soldier #9, Uncanny X-Force #30, X-Treme X-Men #2, Godzilla #4, and Ed's indies and trades.



Be sure to check out the crazy new mutant friendly All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, by Allison and Glenn, and ATF! on YouTube (don't forget to subscribe to the channel while you're there!).

And be back here every Wednesday (or Tuesdays at midnight) to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

Special thanks to Dina for holding the camera phone throughout all of today's looong vidcast!

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast for 8-15-2012

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live every week at All Things Fun! - the area's best comics and gaming store, located in West Berlin, NJ.

Co-hosts Ed (The Answer Man) Evans, Allison (Alvin) Eckel and Glenn (The Question Man) Walker discuss the new comics out this week in wicked high definition video, and also available on the YouTube. See it here!

Discussion featured in this week's Special Gruesome Headwear Episode includes: The Walking Dead #101 and 100, Pathfinder #1, Voltron #7, The Victories #1 by Michael Avon Oeming, Ed's indies, Zenescope catfight, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman #12, Captain Atom #12, Birds of Prey #12, mysterious crashes, Legion of Super-Heroes #12, Blue Beetle #12, Supergirl #12, A vs. X Round Ten, Avengers comics of the week, Deadpool fun and furious, X-titles of week, Marvel action figures, Captain Marvel #2, Amazing Spider-Man #691, Daredevil #17, Ed's trades, manga, Doctor Who toys, and Justice League HeroClix.



Be sure to check out the fah-bulous new All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, by Allison and Glenn, and ATF! on YouTube (don't forget to subscribe to the channel while you're there!).

And be back here every Wednesday (or Tuesdays at midnight) to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast for the Week of 4-18-2012

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live every week at All Things Fun! - the area's best comics and gaming store, located in West Berlin, NJ. Co-hosts Ed (Blue Lantern) Evans, Allison (Lost Girl) Eckel, and Glenn (Reprecussions) Walker discuss the new comics out this week in two fun video segments, in wicked high definition, and available on the YouTube. See it here!

Discussion featured in this brand new extended episode includes: Still reading, Free Comic Book Day, Batman: Night of Owls, spoilers, why Justice League #8 bothers Glenn, "Lost" story structure, chicks with guns in Wonder Woman #8, Captain Atom, Black Canary, and Blue Beetle, Supergirl #8, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and Legion, Green Lantern Corps #8. Avengers vs. X-Men #2 and associated titles, old school Defenderin', Amazing Spider-Man #684, Thunderbolts, Hulk, and Iron Man, the non-AvsX X-titles, Fables #116, Garth Ennis' The Shadow #1, The Walking Dead #96, Ed's indies, Glenn faces repercussions, Allison's kids comics, trades and manga.



Be sure to check out the dynamic new All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, by Allison and Glenn, and ATF! on YouTube.

Special thanks go to Dina Evans who keeps us all in line, and on the straight and narrow, and runs the show from behind the scenes. And be back here every Wednesday (or Tuesdays at midnight) to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

Darna The Return

Darna Ang Pagbabalik ~ I'm a big fan of Mars Ravelo's comics work and his sometimes brilliant pantheon of Filipino superheroes. I love me some Captain Barbell, Lastikman and Darna. But much like film versions of American superheroes, their Filipino cousins have hit and miss success. Sometimes they're great and sometimes they're not. Case in point - Darna Ang Pagbabalik, or as translated to English, "Darna The Return."

For those not in the know, Darna is basically the Wonder Woman of the Phillipines, but not enough to create litigation. She was bestowed power from the gods, given a magic stone to transform into her super-identity, and has other powers like heat vision, telekinesis, and telepathy, that keep her out of court even though she also frequently plays 'bullets and bracelets' like a certain Amazon Princess. She's been around since 1950 in comics, movies and television.

Darna Ang Pagbabalik is pretty traditional superhero fare, if a bit campy. Darna fights crime, loses her magic stone, and romances her leading man, while her snake-haired archenemy Valentina tries to take over the nation via evangelist television. The beautiful and athletic Anjanette Abayari is more than suitable in the title role and Pilita Corrales is very creepy doing "V" imitations with mice as the heavy. The special effects are pretty cheap for the mid-1990s but about on par with the CBS Marvel telemovies of the late 1970s.

If you don't mind subtitles and some hokey special effects and dialogue, this isn't a bad flick for superhero fanboys and girls. However I would recommend the 2000 versions of Captain Barbell and Lastikman if you're looking for a proper introduction to these wonderful Mars Ravelo characters.

What Happened to Harry's Law?

I am not a fan of either David E. Kelley or TV law shows. The first part is a matter of liking good writing and not liking where the author puts his opinions inappropriately into the mouths of his characters. Kelley also gets very preachy and overly topical in forums where it's supposed to be entertainment, not op-ed. The second part is first because it usually bores me, and also, The Bride, being an attorney herself, has a very low tolerance for such crap in her off-work life.

When The Bride showed interest in "Harry's Law," which also starred Stephen King favorite Kathy Bates at her acerbic best, I went easily along for the ride, despite it being a David E. Kelley law drama. Disenfranchised and disillusioned lawyer Harriet "Harry" Korn finds new life as a neighborhood attorney based out of a shoe store in a bad section of Cincinnati. She was surrounded by a cast of well-meaning folks who equally believe in helping their neighborhood. It was a different kind of law show, more about community than court, and it was also critically acclaimed, and one of the few new series to survive what has lately been a rather nasty television season of canceled programs.

When it returned this season, things were different. The kind of lawyers she fought against in the first season, she seemed to turn into. The kind of cases she would never have taken in the first season, she takes in every episode. And the very law firm she opposed in most episodes in the first season, she merges with! What the hell happened?

Basically all of the charm, wit and humanity that brought both The Bride and myself in to this series is gone. "Harry's Law" is just another law show now. Is David E. Kelly just recycling old "The Practice" scripts now? Is he getting even with NBC for not picking up his "Wonder Woman"? What the hell?

New Season Fail?

I hate to say it, but other than the "Wonder Woman" pilot from David E. Kelley that NBC did not buy, I haven't really seen anything from this newest TV season that has impressed me, nothing.

I love Zooey Dechandel, so I checked out her sitcom, "New Girl," on Fox. First I was curious what someone like her who has been so successful in movies would want with television. I mean, this had to either be a great show, or a lot of money, right? Well, it turns out it might just be money. She's fun and hilarious, but her three male co-stars were unwatchable. The problem - there's three of them and just one of her. Awful.

Also on Fox, I tried the much anticipated "X-Factor" from Simon Cowell, and again, I was unimpressed. For someone who wanted to make a show that wasn't like "American Idol," it sure seemed a lot like "American Idol," and not in a good way. Here's hoping that Simon, along with Paula Abdul, return to "AI" next season. It will be better for everyone.

As long as we're beating dead horses, the show I most was interested in this new season was "Terra Nova," which at first glance kinda looked like an American version of "Primeval." If only it was. I'd take another rip-off of a mediocre British scifi series over this dreck any day. Where were the freaking dinosaurs? Damn tease.

Look, don't show dinosaurs in your thirty-second previews of the show for the last four months and not put any damn dinosaurs in the pilot for over an hour. To quote Millhouse in one of my favorite "Simpsons" episodes - When are they gonna get to the fireworks factory?"

There were other series that were disappointments. "Unforgettable," "A Gifted Man" and "Person of Interest" all had intriguing concepts, and quickly displayed with second episodes that they were all three simply formula shows. I don't think we will ever see any progress on the main plot that got us hooked on the show, but will just be case of the week series. Damn shame too.

I was even disappointed by "Homeland." It reeked of predictability for me. Again, a fine concept that just didn't do it for me on the screen. Wow. When the pay cable shows aren't good, you know it's a bad season.

"Pan Am" was a pilot that has to be seen to be believed, so if you didn't catch it, check OnDemand and see it. Not just for the now anorexic Christina Ricci, you need to see this decidedly confused show. First it's kinda "Mad Men," then it wants to be a comedy, then it's an Airport movie and finally at the end it's a spy thriller. See it while it lasts, it could be the quirky fun hit of the bunch, so bad, it's good.

The only show I thought had promise, was canceled before I actually got to see it, which shows you just how on the mark I am with these things. Like "Pan Am," it's a period piece, same time frame, but this one's deadly serious. "The Playboy Club" is/was about a mob murder in, you guessed it, a Playboy club. It had much promise, but, unfortunately, dead on arrival.

It looks like we'll have new replacement shows coming up quickly as I think many of these are headed to the same fate as "The Playboy Club." Hmmm... maybe NBC should take another look at "Wonder Woman"...