I can’t tell if that’s supposed to be Shadow Thief or Ebon but the Hawks need to hurry either way.
Scooby-Doo Team-Up #17
DC Comics (September, 2016; as posted to comiXology in the vol 3 trade)
“Fly By Night”
WRITER: Sholly Fisch
ARTIST: Dario Brizuela
COLORIST: Franco Riesco
LETTERER: Saida Temofonte
EDITOR: Kristy Quinn
Before we start I’ve to comment on the headline for this one that Entertainment Weekly went with:
Yes, Kevin Smith is from New Jersey. Yes, EW seems more interested in who’s making the show than the show itself. I’ve STILL seen more clever headline writing from fan blogs writing for fun. You have to be Fansided to have worse headlines. “Will The Show That Airs The Same Time Every Night Be On Tonight And When Will You See It Streaming?” Clickbait headlines these are not.
And yet this is the site boasting an exclusive first look at Masters Of The Universe: Revelation, the adult-targeted MOTU series scheduled for Netflix. I’ve discussed my concerns in the past. The short version includes not being for kids, which I guess is solved by the computer-generated other He-Man cartoon they’re working on, the heavier focus on Teela in the original announcement, and that they’re going for a grimdark remake of the Filmation series when the plot summary talking about “dangling plot threads” is a better description of the 2003 series than the Filmation series. Frankly, the images and new information doesn’t do a lot to change those perspectives.
And that’s when the slashfic began.
Robotech Masters #17
Comico The Comic Company (July, 1987)
“Mind Games”
WRITER: Mike Baron
PENCILER: Neil Vokes
INKER: Tom Poston
COLORIST: Tom Vincent
LETTERER: Bob Pinaha
EDITOR: Maggie Brenner
Catch more Alfo Media on his YouTube channel. I also posted his previous video in a prior Daily Video.
I always thought “99 Red Balloons” (the English version Nina put out that seems to be forgotten by the internet) was about general anti-war but given it was the 1980s I’m not surprised if it was about nuclear war specifically. I posted in the comments that the video can help give a false impression. “Hey Ya” and “Everybody Hurts” are so in line with the tone of the song it doesn’t change anything, though we’ve seen videos that practically ignore the song in the past. I also brought up “The Safety Dance”, which has someone wearing a “no nukes” shirt in the video in contrast to the period fashion of the video. It’s actually about the songwriter being kicked out of a club one night.
With everything that’s happened to me this year it should be no surprise that I’m out of so many loops it’s a surprise my pants stay up. Or would be if I didn’t wear jogging pants or shorts at home. (It gets warm in BW Attic HQ.) So while I’ve hear they were doing another Kickstarter with the goal of creating a new season of Mystery Science Theater 3000, the show that inspired riffers and even some reviewers, I haven’t had the chance to really talk about it.
The history of this show is known to probably every diehard fan, known as MSTies, but here’s the short version for the casual and the curious. Comedian Joel Hodgeson created one of those shows where a host on a cheap set would show and make fun of some movie on a late Saturday night. Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark, got her big break there and hosts like Svengoolie continue the format. Joel created something different. With the backstory of a scientist and his two robots being forced to watch terrible movies while trapped on a space station, the show would change to a working stiff forced by a mad scientist and his assistant in doing so. Over time the working stiff and “Mads” would change but the formula would soon leave local television to Comedy Central and later Sci-Fi Channel. Eventually the show would make a grand return on Netflix, though I’ve seen all except one or two of season one on IFC. It has fans around the world, its own Pluto TV channel, and some of the cast spun-off into a similar project called Rifftrax, just without the skits that made MST3K popular.
Netflix only made two seasons and outside of a few live shows and streaming specials the series has gone dormant again. Joel is apparently not ready to see his creation disappear, and started a new Kickstarter where he’s finally planning to get around the issue of network cancelation.
Admittedly being dead would make the job a bit tougher.
Star Trek Unlimited #4
Marvel/Paramount Comics (May, 1997)
WRITERS: Dan Abnett & Ian Edginton
LETTERER: Phil Felix
EDITOR: Tim Tuohy
The Original Series: “None But The Brave”
PENCILER: Mark Buckingham
INKER: Kev Sutherland
COLORIST: Kevin Somers
The Next Generation: “Inheritance”
PENCILER: Ron Randall
INKER: Al Williamson
COLORIST: Kevin Tinsley
Atop The Fourth Wall Crisis On Earth Prime Lean Into Artcast Siskoid’s Blog of Geekery
Bully Says “Comics Oughta Be Fun” Four Color Media Monitor Rowdy C. The Clutter Reports (my other site) Cartoon Hero’s Lair Four Million Years Later SF Debris
BW’s Daily Articles Link: The Nature Of Fictional Evil
I feel like the nature of the villain is misunderstood by many of today’s storytellers. The villain serves as an obstacle for the hero or a reason for the hero to go do something heroic. Today’s storytellers want to prove how “three dimensional” their villains are by trying to make them sympathetic so we feel sorry for them as they slowly murder a bus of schoolchildren. Or they like the villain because he or she can get away with certain actions that fuel a revenge fantasy of the viewer/reader. I mean, Loki has fans because the actor is attractive and makes the character charming…by the way, two things the Marvel comic version typically is not.
A villain who is evil for evil’s sake seems to only work when the writer is taking shots at their critics or a politician they don’t like and insist you hate as well. Apparently that kind of one-dimensional villain is allowed. Can you add nuance to a villain while keeping them evil? I guess not the redemptive kind, which author Caroline Furlong goes into with Zuko and Zhao from Avatar: The Last Airbender as a good example. Meanwhile, fellow author James Harrington goes to Javier from Les Miserables to explain how a character can be the villain without hesitation but still be conflicted. There are plenty of ways to write a villain while keeping them evil.
I don’t want to root for the villain or feel sorry for them unless they’re doing an arc of redemption. Evil for evil’s sake as their method of obtaining wealth and power make for a good villain as well. It’s why Skeletor or the Joker don’t need to be sympathized with. Some people do want to watch the world burn and even be the one to light the match. Those villains are important, too.
Tell others about the Spotlight:
Like this:
Posted by ShadowWing Tronix on May 14, 2021 in Uncategorized and tagged commentary, heroes and villains.
1 Comment