Monthly Archive: May 2009

ComicMix Six: Original Star Trek Backstory

ComicMix Six: Original Star Trek Backstory

  • Uncategorized
  • May 9, 2009

The new Star Trek movie is in theaters, introducing the characters to new fans and surprising old fans. As anyone who’s read a single review, interview or promotional piece is aware of, this movie features some alterations to Trek‘s past thanks to a little time travel manipulation.

But what about the original past and backstory? What did the original series establish when it went on the air?

Here then are a list of six stories from the television series that filled us in on just who these folks were before they joined the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701.

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Friday Night Fights: Spock vs. Wolverine!

Friday Night Fights: Spock vs. Wolverine!

In the tradition of the old “astronaut vs. caveman: who wins in a fight?” ComicMix inaugurates a new feature: Friday Night Fights!

This week’s battle is pretty close to “astronaut vs. caveman”: the red-blooded Canadian against the green-blooded Vulcan! Mutant vs. Hybrid! Yes, it’s Spock vs. Wolverine!

So who wins? Explain your reasoning in the comments section.

The Point – May 8th, 2009

The Point – May 8th, 2009

Heading into it’s second weekend in theaters, WOLVERINE already has gathered 100 million bucks in its claws. Meanwhile, Dark Horse hits the iPhone, Marvel goes street and yes, we saw STAR TREK!

PRESS THE BUTTON to Get The Point!

And be sure to stay on The Point via iTunes - ComicMix, RSS, MyPodcast.Com or Podbean

Manga Friday: My Karate Is Unstoppable!

Manga Friday: My Karate Is Unstoppable!

There’s something about the comics form that just lends itself to stories about people in outlandish costumes trying to beat the snot out of each other, often in unfeasible ways using silly powers or items. From giant mecha to Asterix to Spider-Man, it’s just not comics unless you get something ridiculously large dropped on your head, have it shatter into pebbles, and then you shake it off and fight on. And the four books this week all are about fighting in one way or another, and, speaking of funny costumes…. 

Maid War Chronicle, Vol. 1
By RAN
Del Rey Manga, April 2009, $10.99

Prince Alex II of Arbansool is the usual feudal scion – pig-headed, self-centered, and barely smarter than a block of wood – but he’s the last hope of his kingdom after the forces of fiendish Nowarle (neighbor to the south) invade and overrun the capital. He barely escapes with a few retainers. Seven retainers, to be precise. Actually, seven maids.

(What is it with the Japanese and maids? At least these girls are dressed in the semi-sensible Japanese maid style, with long sleeves, aprons, and full skirts trimmed in lace, rather than the “sexy French maid” mostly-lingerie look I’m sure they would have had if this book was created by an American.)

So Alex is loud and demanding and only rarely in touch with reality (and then mostly by accident). He also would be fondling the girls all day long if he weren’t a good foot shorter than any of them, and if they’d take it – luckily, they mostly don’t. Since he’s also convinced of his own power and righteousness, his first order of business, upon escaping the capital, is to run to an ancient shrine that holds twelve secret old weapons. The weapons can only be wielded by knights, so Alex declares the maids a new – sexy – order of knights devoted to protecting only him, and the girls then pull a variety of unfeasible and silly-looking weaponry out of a table.

And then Alex and his girl knights – untrained, still in maid costumes, and generally unsure how their new super-duper magical weapons actually work – set off to find a garrison of still-loyal soldiers and then retake the kingdom. That’s going to take a lot longer than Alex expects, of course.

Maid War Chronicle is silly and generic and full of panty shots – you’d think it would be tough with skirts that long, but you didn’t count on the fiendish ingenuity of the being that calls itself RAN – but it never fails to be fast-paced and entertaining. And it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect a manga called Maid War Chronicle to be, so I certainly can’t fault it there.

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Kindle margins– profit, not page margins

Kindle margins– profit, not page margins

Remember how I was saying just Wednesday that the Kindle might finally be ready for comics? Well, not at this publisher price point. Cynopsis reports:

Judging from the revenue margins Amazon is seeking, the Kindle many not be the lifeline newspaper publishers were hoping for after all. Dallas Morning News Publisher and CEO James Moroney went on the record stating that Amazon was demanding 70% of subscription revenues during Wednesday’s U.S. Senate subcommittee meeting on the future of newspapers. (Paidcontent found this link to CSPAN’s coverage of the event.) What’s more, Amazon is demanding that newspapers sign over all electronic distribution rights to their content on devices other than the Kindle. (And the studios thought Apple was monopolistic.) News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch also chided Amazon’s approach during his earnings call, saying that News Corp. would strike no deals with Amazon: “We will not be ceding our content rights to the fine people who created the Kindle.”

If they’re trying to push Murdoch around with numbers like that, I can’t see them cutting DC or Marvel a break, let alone Archie or Avatar.

Webcomics You Should Be Reading: “Full Frontal Nerdity!”

Webcomics You Should Be Reading: “Full Frontal Nerdity!”

  • Uncategorized
  • May 8, 2009

I admit it. No need to twist my arm behind my back and make me cry “Uncle! Uncle! Oh Uncle, why would you twist my arm like this? What have I ever done but love you!!!”…Ahem. I admit to you I am a nerd. A dweeb. A dorkus-milorkus. I have from time to time sat at a table with nothing more than a pile of books, dice, pencils, and Mountain Dew, all to play an evenings worth of Dungeons and Dragons. I have from time to time, fired up a video game system to bring death and destruction with linked Ions Cannons. I even admit that I know that Ion Cannons are primarily used to destroy shields in the X-Wing vs. Tie-Fighter series… so saying I would use them to bring death was a false statement.   Nerdy enough? Thought so. My collective of FOMAFers… I return once again to tickle your faces, as I bring you another webcomic to toss into your web feeder gizmo-gadgets. I bring you “Full Frontal Nerdity”! 

Born as a sister comic to the popular Nodwick series by Aaron Williams, Full Frontal Nerdity takes the “Gamers at a Table” concept to fruition. Updated every week, Aaron delivers a ton of yuck-yucks to those of us who have spent an evening or two under the thumb of a wicked DM. For those of you who don’t know what a DM is… you may want to wikipedia “Dungeons and Dragons”. Don’t worry, I’ll wait. Back? Good. You may have noticed that “Full Frontal Nerdity” doesn’t have an entry on said online encyclopedia… so, consider the history lesson here over. How about instead we open up the floor to the humor.

FFN places us (generally) at the table of three live (plus one webcam dude) gamers. The jokes generally stem from traditional things we nerdy-nerds tend to deal with. From the DM who invents problems and can’t out-think his players, to the players who simply swing their axe at any problem that comes to them. Aaron obviously knows his RPG jokes down pat. While certainly less accessible then some of my other picks, it didn’t take long to scour through the archives of FFN to determine I had to share it with you. There’s enough pop culture reference as well as ventures outside the gaming, that are too good to pass up. It also didn’t hurt that my fellow Unshaven Comic creator (and my roommate, and one of my best friends of 15+ years….) told me about it, and even helped pick the list of examples to share with you. What list you say?

You walk down the dimly lit corridor. You notice cobwebs flickering in the torch light, in every corner. The dungeon smells of sulfer, rotting meat, and Calvin Klein’s Obsession… And then from out of the darkness a horrible giant list of comics confronts you!!

Roll 2D20, and see if you make your will save before checking these out:

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Bones/Family Guy crossover?

Bones/Family Guy crossover?

How did I miss hearing about this coming? It happened last night’s episode of Bones after Brennan shocks Booth with a
request to father her child, and Booth got locked in a booth and, well…

Geez, where does this map in Tommy Westphall’s mind?

Spider-Man puts thief in jail for seven years… really!

Spider-Man puts thief in jail for seven years… really!

I’ve waited years to write a headline like that and have it be true.

Scott Meherg, 28, pleaded guilty to theft yesterday for obtaining
Amazing Spider-Man #2 from Graham
Crackers Comics in Naperville, IL in 2007 with a $980.99 forged bank check, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The comic book has never been recovered, and the judge ordered Meherg to pay $980.99 in restitution.

Meherg fled the area after police
identified him through a photo lineup and his fingerprints on the phony
check but was arrested last fall on a deceptive
practices charge. He faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

J. Jonah Jameson could not be reached for comment.

Robert Downey Jr. photos from Iron Man 2

Robert Downey Jr. photos from Iron Man 2

From Elisabeth Rappe at Cinematical: First Look at Downey Jr. as Iron Man in Sequel.

It’s so geeky to say so, my childish heart of hearts just leaps at a photo like this. Iron Man was definitely an amazing way to kick off last summer, and it helps erase the pain of this year’s superhero film to know that Iron Man 2 is in the wings.

Now
come on, Favreau! Give us a photo of Scarlett Johannson or Mickey
Rourke in costume! We have a long way to go, and we need something to
make the long, long months even more unbearable.

Film status report: Wolverine, Deadpool, Dead of Night

Film status report: Wolverine, Deadpool, Dead of Night

Let’s take a few minutes and clear the decks of superhero film news before we all get wrapped up in Star Trek coverage…

  • Yes, another Wolverine sequel is already in the works. According to Variety, the sequel will focus on the X-Men comic’s samurai storyline, the Japanese locale setup for which is teased after this film’s end credits. In the meantime, Hugh Jackman will be working with Anne Hathaway in the big screen adaptation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Carousel. Since Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals did very well for him when he was playing Curly in Oklahoma… a role that was later taken over by Patrick Wilson, who went on to play Nite Owl in Watchmen.
  • Yes, there’s a Deadpool spinoff in the works at Fox. Ryan Reynolds is attached to come back for what for now is
    simply being called “Deadpool.” Lauren Shuler Donner and Marvel
    Studios would act as producers. What, you’re surprised?
  • Yes, there are now photos from Dead of Night, which is based on the Italian comic Dylan Dog. It stars Brandon Routh and Sam Huntington (where have we seen those two before) and Taye Diggs. This may be the property that keeps Platinum Studios alive. FirstShowing.net has the photos.
  • And this just in, also from FirstShowing: Neil Gaiman and Henry Selick May Work Together Again?! Coolness. Any guesses as to what, since The Graveyard Book is already in the works elsewhere?
  • Finally, we hope to have some Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen news shortly, as soon as we’re allowed to talk about it.

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