Saturday Night Showcase> Men In Black: The Series

I used this for a Christmas Showcase and a My Favorite Intros, but let’s go back to the beginning. Well…the beginning of the series.

Men In Black was a 1990s comic published by Aircel Comics. I would love to read it because I hear the movie took a lot of liberties, to the point that the movie would be propaganda in the comic universe. (MIB are actually not the good guys, or so I’ve heard.) It was made in to a comedy movie franchise in the late 1990s, and the first movie was popular enough to create an animated spinoff, Men In Black: The Series, airing on Kids WB.

Unlike the movies, K doesn’t leave the organization, he and J are still partners, and L is now in the lab and more experienced than J, so the show took its own liberties from the source it was working on, despite using the movie version of J and K, as well as using Will Smith’s movie song as an instrumental for the closing credits. I wonder if that’s why the second film brought K back instead of continuing J and L from the end of the first movie. As much as I enjoyed seeing Smith and Tommy Lee Jones play off each other, I would have rather seen Smith and Linda Fiorentino would have done versus simply doing Smith and Jones (I wonder if that was intentional at some point late in casting?) simply reversing their roles from the first movie.

Still, the series is really good, so let me start you with episode 1, as J’s inexperience leads to him being marked for death by an entire planet. Enjoy.

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> The Blue Beetle #46 (sort of)

At this point I’m fully expecting this to be a time travel story.

The Blue Beetle #46

Fox Feature Syndicate (July, 1947)

Except it’s isn’t, or at least not what I had to use. For whatever reason (these are very old comics) Comic Book Plus uses the right cover but gets the stories from reprinted adventures in 1963’s Human Fly #10, published by Super Comics. It even includes the reprint’s cover after the one we’re expecting. They’re the same story, and only three adventures.

Two of them will feature The Blue Beetle while the third is a character called The Puppeteer. What was and wasn’t in the actual comic? I couldn’t tell you. Still, this is what we have to go with, so that’s what we’re reviewing today.

[Read along with me here.]

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Reassessing The Spotlight’s Future

I AM NOT ANNOUNCING A RETIREMENT! DO NOT PANIC! Granted, I can’t stop you from being disappointed.

I had to start with that because it seems the recent retirement of a number of YouTube celebs have people on edge. While some of the big names in various communities have decided to move on to other projects or spend more time with their family, it inspired others to also rethink how they’re producing content. For example, it actually caused Gaijin Goombah, who looks at Japanese culture and media, to actually create MORE content by starting a Warhammer discussion channel. I’m not a Warhammer guy so I won’t be watching, but he decided to pursue something he really loves, but will continue his usual content.

Then you have big showings of comic success in the indie sphere. Most of it is coming from creators unhappy with the current content deciding to make their own. I can see more than ever that it’s possible to become a relatively successful comic creator with your own ideas. That won’t stop DC and Marvel from hiring people who couldn’t care less to play to other people who couldn’t care less but there you go.

Then…there’s me. I started BW Media Spotlight in 2008 with the goal of making myself a better storyteller, though in the beginning I was just doing it for fun and getting over my second trip to the hospital thanks to Crohn’s induced inflammation. It seems every time I’m ready to make a move forward in my goals I get sick. Last time was 2016, when I was in the hospital thanks to diverticulitis induced inflammation. And surgery. And a blood clot. And a hernia. And a kidney stone. And MRSA. You want proof there is a God? I’m not dead…though for some of you that might prove the opposite. That’s enough out of you. All of that is gone, except maybe the MRSA (I think if I’m hospitalized again all the nurses will still be dressed in plastic throwaway outfits), with just my usual sinus issues and some earwax build-up to be worried about as of this writing. While I’ve made some comics, I’m not where I’ve wanted to be, and I’m starting to realize that for all the good the site has done for me–the people I’ve met, the things I’ve gotten to talk about, keeping my sanity in check–it’s also hindered me. Not so much the site itself as they way I approached it.

So while some things are not changing–the feature article, the daily video, Saturday Night Showcase, Jake & Leon–there do need to be a few changes around here. With the daily comic reviews running out of content, now seems like a good time to alter how that works. It’s not a complete alteration, just some minor modifications that will help with my current biggest problem: time!

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> Star Power #26

“You can’t afford a lamp?”

Star Power #26

(March, 2019)

“The Life Smugglers” part 1

WRITER: Michael Terracciano

ARTIST: Garth Graham

[Read along with me here]

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BW’s Daily Video> Puss In Boots And Evil Color Theory

Catch more from The Style Theorists on YouTube

Style Theory has kind of surprised me. Originally created by MatPat to improve his style through research (similar to how I create The Clutter Reports to get myself to declutter and take on a few other non-art/story projects), it’s actually been more interesting that I would have expected it to be, at least to someone like me who has never cared about style. (You’ve seen me in videos and pictures. Don’t act like your surprised.) Since this was such a personal project for the exiting host I’m wondering if the new host, Amy, will keep me interested. Of the replacement hosts she’s already been more active in the show during the transition beyond the shorts, so it should be the smoothest change for those who don’t watch the shorts. Food Theory is the one I’m expecting to stop watching most, as I did watch that one for Mat and Stephanie more than most of the food discussions. I’m just not a foodie.

5 Of My Favorite Black Characters From My Childhood

The first black superheroes on TV were also married. Take that, modern comics!

Not counting Super Stretch and Micro Woman, whom I’ve discussed before. In fact, I went over black superheroes I thought deserved another chance. Just check that list for six good ones, but since that came out I’ve been wanting to list more, like I’ve done with the superheroines I grew up with. However, every time a new black character comes out, whether a race swap of a white character or just a “modern audiences” stereotype of black people it’s treated like this big event. The truth is they want the praise of being first, so they’re purposefully ignorant of their history.

For Black History Month I thought I’d look at five character of the not-white persuasion that I enjoyed long before 2020. They totally existed and despite being a dirty honky cracker boy I really liked these characters. I can relate to anyone despite skin color or even species if the story is written well. Barring that I might enjoy them for other reasons. They could be really cool, or as a supporter of…supporters, the hero needs them for back-up or advice.

Enough padding the intro. Here’s five black characters I’d like to see get more attention.

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> Tomorrow Jones #1

Technically this is the last comic I have yet to review from my ComiXology library besides the leftover Scooby-Doo comics I didn’t finish reviewing because every story was just me complaining they made a bad mystery comic. However, Tomorrow Jones #1 isn’t formatted with the ComiXology guided view feature and the regular Kindle browser wouldn’t zoom in to read it. So I had to go…elsewhere to finish the ComiXology review set.

“Now you’re going to help me clean all this up.” “But we didn’t do…” “I SAID you are helping me clean this up!”

Tomorrow Jones #1

(2012)

STORY/LETTERER: Brian Daniel

ARTIST: Johan Manandin

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