January 9, 2024

“Yesterday’s” Comic> Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Meet Archie

I think Raphael is putting the moves on Betty. Can’t say I blame him.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Meets Archie (or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures according to the indicia and credits page)

Archie Comics Publications (Spring, 1991)

COVER ART: Dan DeCarlo, Ryan Brown, & Barry Grossman

COLORIST: Barry Grossman

EDITOR: Scott Fulop

“Green Legs And Gams”

PLOT: Ryan Brown & Dean Clarrain

WRITER: Dean Clarrain

PENCILERS: Ken Mitchroney (Turtles) and Stan Goldberg (Archie)

INKERS: Ryan Brown (Turtles) & Rudy Lapick (Archies, and I would love to know how that process worked)

LETTERER: Mary Kelleher

“Red Sails In The Sunset”

WRITER: Dean Larrain

ARTIST/LETTERER: Donald Simpson

“Storm Drain Savers”

WRITER: Stephen Murphy

PENCILER: Jim Lawson

INKERS: Peter Laird, Dan Berger, Michael Dooney, Steve Lavigne, & Eric Talbot (why so many?)

“Origin Of The Species”

PLOT: Ryan Brown

WRITER: Doug Brammer

PENCILER: Dave Garcia

INKER: S.R. Bissette

LETTERER: Mary Kelleher

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Posted by on January 9, 2024 in Animation Spotlight, Television Spotlight, Yesterday's Comics and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

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January 9, 2024

BW’s Daily Video> Introducing…Neo Doctor Who

Catch more from Harbo Wholmes on YouTube

I prefer his title over “Disney Doctor Who”, even if it is rather accurate. More on that in tonight’s feature article.

Posted by on January 9, 2024 in Television Spotlight and tagged , .

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January 8, 2024

Chapter By Chapter> Star Trek: The Vulcan Academy Murders chapter 1

Chapter By Chapter (usually) features me reading one chapter of the selected book at a time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as a read-along book club.

So here we go. Last week I revealed the 23rd book in the Chapter By Chapter review series, and this week the review begins. Check out the reveal post for why I picked this up and the history of the author.

Vulcan is one of the few repeat visit planets in the Star Trek franchise and has appeared in almost every series. Voyager and Prodigy take place in another quadrant so that would be difficult, and I don’t know about the other shows. It has shown up in The Original Series, The Animated Series, and Star Trek: The Next Generation, and I think Star Trek: Discovery. Even the movies have been there thanks to Star Trek III and the first reboot movie…that decided to blow it up just to let you know this wasn’t daddy’s Star Trek. I think that’s the point I stopped caring about the “Kelvin Timeline”. I still have yet to get a proper “Kirk’s first mission” story that I like, and that includes the Enterprise: The First Adventure novel.

I don’t think we’re getting there this chapter because first we need to set up the medical emergency that gets them to Vulcan, as mentioned in the back cover blurb. So let’s go see how Kirk and company got beat up this time and which redshirt bought it. Or almost buys it, because otherwise we wouldn’t have a story.

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Posted by on January 8, 2024 in Star Trek: Vulcan Academy Murders, Television Spotlight and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

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January 8, 2024

“Yesterday’s” Comic> The Strangers #2

Wait, they can’t find the Hand. Marvel won’t buy them for years yet.

The Strangers #2

Malibu Comics/Ultraverse (July, 1993)

“Hey! Hugh! Get Off’A McCloud!”

WRITER: Steve Englehart

PENCILER: Rich Hobers

INKERS: Tim Burgard & Larry Welch

COLORIST: Keith Conroy

LETTERER: Tim Eldred

EDITOR: Chris Ulm

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Posted by on January 8, 2024 in Yesterday's Comics and tagged , , .

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January 8, 2024

BW’s Daily Video> The Drinker On Lady Star Wars Directors

Catch more from The Critical Drinker on YouTube

I posted this mostly for that early part, where he clarifies that one of the statements being used against the new Rey movie director is being taken out of context, the part about making men uncomfortable. Like he says, we need to be fair in our critiques and there’s no need to misquote them because that’s what Hollywood does with their critics. Don’t play their game, folks. It makes you as bad as they are. Plus I’m sure there are plenty of in-context stupidity they’ll be saying eventually. It’s Hollywood, baby.

Posted by on January 8, 2024 in Movie Spotlight and tagged , , , .

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January 7, 2024

BW Programming Note> Half Awake

You’ll no doubt notice there’s no Jake & Leon. I had trouble sleeping this week thanks to a hurt shoulder and for some reason today I woke up early, couldn’t fall back to sleep, and the short version is while I have a comic clearly in mind I didn’t get to start it.

Over at The Clutter Reports this week I put together my plan for decluttering this year. How much of it I’ll accomplish we’ll have to wait and see.

This week at the Spotlight we’re nearing the end of the Many, MANY Intros Of Spider-Man. Depending on what I can fit in this might even be the last installment. If not, next week. We also start reviewing Star Trek: The Vulcan Academy Murders for Chapter By Chapter and finish season one of the Transformers: Beast Machines writer’s bible. Have a great week, everybody! Hopefully I’ll get a decent night’s sleep in to do all this.

Posted by on January 7, 2024 in Uncategorized.

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January 6, 2024

Saturday Night Showcase> Transformers: Beast Wars II

Four videos tonight, but the same two episodes in different formats.

Beast Wars II: Super Robot Lifeform Transformers is a Japan-produced sequel to the Beast Wars: Transformers cartoon, produced while waiting for season two (known as Beast Wars Metals over there and comprising the last two seasons of Beast Wars). Using toys that didn’t make it into the previous show as new characters as well as some Generation Two and unreleased figures from the time, Beast Wars II only had two original molds until later in the series, that for Lioconvoy and Galvatron. Everyone else were previous molds not seen in the US show.

The plot finds the Cybertrons (the joint name for Autobots and Maximals in Japan) learning of a Destron (Decepticons and Predacons’ shared name) operation on the planet Gaia. It’s up to Lioconvoy and his team to stop Galvatron and his team from uncovering the Angolmois energy and using it for evil, while two mechanoids named Artemis and Moon bicker and usually serve no use in the plot in the episodes I’ve managed to check out. I think they were supposed to be watching over Gaia and the mysterious energy within the planet.

So why are there two episodes for four videos? The first two are fan-translated subtitles while the others are two different fanDUBS, neither of whom got past episode two but I thought seeing the difference between the two groups would be interesting. The fansubs are unique among fansubs I’ve seen in the past as they actually translate the credits of the people and companies who worked on it. Some official subs don’t even bother doing that. The dubs we’ll get into. This way no matter how you prefer your anime, you have options. Enjoy!

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Posted by on January 6, 2024 in Animation Spotlight, Saturday Night Showcase, Television Spotlight and tagged , , , , .

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