October 1, 2022

Saturday Night Showcase: Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle

What happens if you make an Ultraman series without Ultraman (outside of a short cameo near the end of your 13 episode series)? You get a bunch of humans watching monsters fight each other and hoping to not die. Welcome to the world of Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle, which you know will be good because it’s still a Tsuburaya production.

Based on the video game Mega Monster Battle: ULTRA MONSTERS, this pay-per-view series follows the crew of the ZAP Spacy ship Pendragon. This version of Earth has been kaiju free for 50 years but when they pull a USS Enterprise by being the nearest ship capable of investigating the planet Boris (where you get your naming style from, Titan A.E.? How far is it from planet Bob?) they find monsters and a mysterious man who can summon other monsters. And with Red King, one of the most dangerous monsters in the Ultra Multiverse, coming after them they’re going to need all the help they can. Enjoy.

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Posted by on October 1, 2022 in Saturday Night Showcase, Television Spotlight and tagged , , , .

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September 30, 2022

James Rolfe’s Tribute To Mel Brooks

At least he brought his best friend.

Tonight I planned to do a Finally Watched. Then I realized that trying to explain something in the intro would be better served as it’s own article going into the Finally Watched. Then the day (I’ve been recovering from a cold) punched me in the face and I wasn’t up to doing neither. It’s now close to an hour over launch time and I’m not even sure I’ll have anything posted for tomorrow or even the weekend at this rate outside of a pre-written and scheduled Saturday Night Showcase. So I need something here.

Earlier this week I took James Rolfe’s video about Saturday Morning and offered a few corrections. So here’s one where I’m more in agreement. While Mel Brooks didn’t inform my style of “comedy” he did provide many laughs and I’m curious to see what else he has planned he’s also a comedic talent that many commentators have said couldn’t be done in the current sociopolitical culture. I do agree there’s some truth to that but it’s not like he hasn’t fought before for a joke. Brooks knows how to do a loving parody, even if he isn’t a fan of what’s being parodied himself. He’s not a sci-fi fan but Spaceballs is beloved by the sci-fi fandom who doesn’t have a head up their backside. In this video, Rolfe goes over the history of Brooks’ career and shows why the man could always make us laugh.

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Posted by on September 30, 2022 in Movie Spotlight, Television Spotlight and tagged .

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September 30, 2022

“Yesterday’s” Comic> Star Blazers: The Magazine Of Space Battleship Yamato #0

“Wait, are they leaving without us?”

Star Blazers: The Official Battleship Of Space Battleship Yamato #0

Argo Press (March, 1995)

“Scarlet Scarf”

WRITER/ARTIST: Tim Eldred

PRODUCTION DESIGN: Bruce Lewis

COLORIST: Albert Deschesne

MANUFACTURING: John Ott

VIDEO ARCHIVIST: Jerry Fellow

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Posted by on September 30, 2022 in Animation Spotlight, Television Spotlight, Yesterday's Comics and tagged , , , , .

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September 30, 2022

BW’s Daily Article Link> Marilyn Monroe Biopic Director Trashes His Own Subject

At least that’s how I read this report from Variety as Andrew Dominik, the director of Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde discusses his take on Monroe’s life and her movie Gentlemen Prefer Blonds. First he says Monroe’s movies were films “nobody watches”, claims that movie specifically is about “well-dressed whores” (I thought her character was a gold digger but I haven’t seen the film), and then seems to be saying she wanted to self-destruct. You don’t have to be a fan to make a good recounting but being hostile to a person is worse than being hostile to fictional source material, which is also a Hollywood norm. I don’t see her fans getting the movie they want.

Posted by on September 30, 2022 in Movie Spotlight and tagged .

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September 29, 2022

The Pendering Of Sonic The Hedgehog

Since I’m about to review the Archie run of Sonic comics, including re-reviewing comics I reviewed back when they first came out in the early days of BW Media Spotlight to see how they hold up, this seems like the right video to get into.

Ken Penders has not been a good match for Sonic and his cast. While he did admittedly create a great extended universe his actions in more recent years have scrapped the whole thing, and frankly you’ll be seeing a bunch of issues I had with the Archie comics at some point because Penders would go in a direction that actually caused me to drop the title for years. However, it’s the various legal battles he’s held against Archie and Sonic’s creators at Sega that have earned him the scorn of the Sonic fandom and it just keeps getting worse.

In the following video by Comic Drake, the host goes over the history of Ken Penders, his strange obsession with the characters he created for Sonic The Hedgehog and other Archie Sonic titles, and the legal battles that caused Archie to pull a major reboot of the Sonic universe they created. I of course have my own thoughts on the matter. Note there’s a bit more swearing than you’re used to in a BW post but it’s all in the video and Penders is kind of deserving of it.

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Posted by on September 29, 2022 in Comic Spotlight, Video Game Spotlight and tagged , , , .

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September 29, 2022

“Yesterday’s” Comic> Sonic The Hedgehog #18

Because we all know comic book weddings are always happy affairs…when compared to Game Of Thrones.

Sonic The Hedgehog #18

Archie Comics (January, 1995)

WRITERS: Mike Kanterovich & Ken Penders

COLORIST: Barry Grossman

EDITOR: Scott Fulop

“Wedding Bell Blues”

PENCILER: Dave Manak

INKER: Harvey M.

LETTERER: Bill Yoshida

Princess Sally’s Crusade part 2: “In The Still Of The Night”

PENCILER: Art Mawhinney

INKER/LETTERER: Jon D’agostino

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Posted by on September 29, 2022 in Animation Spotlight, Television Spotlight, Video Game Spotlight, Yesterday's Comics and tagged , , , , .

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September 29, 2022

BW’s Daily Video> Because Tails Is Awesome

WARNING: There’s some swearing and icky things in this one. Not ridiculously so, but more than you’d expect from a BW posting. Still, it’s an interesting video and like yesterday I kind of developed a theme today.

Catch more from Death Battle on YouTube

Posted by on September 29, 2022 in Comic Spotlight, Video Game Spotlight and tagged , .

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