BW Programming Update: No Jake & Leon This Week

Between the foot doctor, being kept up late with congestion (I thought allergy season was over), and a family event this weekend I didn’t get to even start a Jake & Leon comic this week. I didn’t get to do anything for The Clutter Reports either. It’s all very annoying and more proof I really need a good life schedule to get projects in if I want any of it to become income. Between comics, decluttering, and writing my commentaries and reviews it would be nice to stop being a burden on people. No, crowdfunding isn’t an option when you don’t have time for the projects themselves, never mind exclusives.

While I try to sort that nonsense out this week sees the conclusion of the Many, MANY Intros Of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles until they put out a new show, and the continuing Chapter By Chapter review of Batman: Knightfall‘s novelization. I don’t have any planned interruptions this week, though I do need to get the car through emissions so if I can squeeze that in I’d like to before I forget. Have a great week, everyone, and I’ll try to get something out each day.

Saturday Night Showcase> Ultraman Max

I did an Ultraman last week but I’m a bit behind so I’m doing another one this week. Besides, Ultraman Max was the one I was going to show last week but decided to keep things in some chronological order. Ultraman Neos was the 17th entry and this is the 18th. Also, we’re back to TV. A dubbed version apparently showed up on TOKU here in the US but that’s not the version Shout Factory TV is giving us. However, me being me and wanting to let readers choose the experience I did find a posting of the English dub if that’s your preference.

Like the Australian co-production Ultraman: Towards The Future, this show takes on a bit of an environmental theme, though I don’t know which dimension this takes place in or which other Ultramen are from it. It’s hard to tell. All the Japan anti-monster forces wear similar outfits and have flying that may be a bit more cool than practical. This time it’s DASH, the Defense Action Squad Heroes, yet another group fighting for an acronym. This would be the first android member and the first time an American actor would have more than a guest appearance. Sean Nichols, who plays Sean White, has gone on to become a sort of ambassador for Tsuburaya Production’s campaign into Western territories, hosting shows for Ultraman Connection and the official YouTube channel meant to introduce Ultraman beyond Japan to a wider audience and the already big fandom outside of Japan. He is not our Ultraman though. See if you can guess who he is before Max bonds with him. Enjoy.

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> The Blue Beetle #23

“Why do they even bother naming it after me anymore?”

The Blue Beetle #23

Holyoke Publishing (July, 1943)

ONE STORY! There is only one Blue Beetle story in this issue!

This continues my theory that they were trying to push him out of his own comic. Maybe it was one of those weird publishing rules they were trying to skirt around, like how Whiz Comics started with issue #2 instead of issue #1 or something. I have nothing against anthology comics, but it’s not very fun for me to read when I’m only interested in one or two stories in a book with six of them. That’s why I stopped reviewing Wonder Comics and Mystery Men…but those were supposed to be anthologies. Blue Beetle should be a bunch of stories about Dan Garret with a few back-ups because it was the Golden Age.

I have all the respect for Golden Age heroes and stories, but the way they were published back then I am not a fan of. I shouldn’t feel silly for wanting the title character to be the actual star of his or her book. Seven more issues after this one until Fox gets it back and I’m curious if they’ll actually get that right (despite still doing multiple non-Blue Beetle stories during their original run) when they do. Ah well, read along with me.

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The Many MANY Intros Of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The First “Nick-ja” Turtles

Bet they have to go to the same shoe store as the Rescue Heroes.

Here we go, nearing the end of this article series based on current available TV shows…and this is the most confusing for me. Back when Nickelodeon took over the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise I was curious to see what they did with it. Granted, the 4Kids series kind of spoiled me. I even learned to accept Utrom Shredder because otherwise the show was so good and so faithful to the essence of the source material while doing its own thing, something none of the other shows can boast. Maybe the first movie. It’s something that is dying in modern adaptations, but that’s getting off-topic. When this show aired its first episode…I was not impressed and said so in a review. While I’ve softened on the intro and I’ve heard the story does get good (outside of the Donatello/April/Casey triangle) the first episode just didn’t really do it for me. Even back then I didn’t call it bad, just not something I personally was interested in, and so I went into these intros sight unseen.

This may have proven to be a problem. Trying to figure out these intros was something of a mess. A Turtlepedia entry on the intros mentions eight different sequences. I will not be showing all eight because thankfully this series isn’t about EVERY intro. The international alone would be difficult but what gets me trying to go over these is that there isn’t a lot of differences between them. You’ll have to check the article for the full list of differences between sequences but trying to do them all would feel like going over every object hiding behind the crumbling castle in Dave The Barbarian or each rhyme after “totally insaney” in the Animaniacs intro. It’s not enough. Let’s start with the first one.

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> Star Power #4

“It was just one flower.”

Star Power #4

indie comic (December, 2013)

“Star Power And The Ninth Wormhole” part 4

WRITER: Michael Terraccino

ARTIST: Garth Graham

[Read along here]

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BW’s Daily Video> The Spider & Bat Marriages Vs Change

Catch more from Comics By Perch on YouTube

It’s not that the fans want to not move things along. It’s that the writers want to tell the same story because it worked last time. They created a character whose only purpose in and out of the story is to reset Wolverine whenever he starts calming down and enjoying life. They don’t want to follow a calmer Logan, they want to write savage snikt bub Wolverine because they’re more interested in the character type than the character.

“Yesterday’s” Comic> Star Wars #1

How is this “Legends”, Marvel/ComiXology? It’s adapting the first ever movie! Is the first movie no longer ca…no, don’t give DisneyFilm ideas.

Star Wars #1

Marvel Comics (July, 1977; ComiXology edition)

ADAPTATION/EDITOR: Roy Thomas

ARTIST: Howard Chaykin

COLORIST: Marie Severin, which should be bunched with the other credits but it’s hidden and I almost missed it

LETTERER: Jim Novak

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