Whoever approved this road should be run over on it!
Speed Racer #3
NOW Comics (October, 1987)
“Caught In The Act!”
WRITER: Len Strazewski
PENCILER: Jill Thompson
INKER: Brian Thomas
COLORIST/LETTERER: Ken. Holewczynski
EDITOR: Brian Augustyn
Here’s the Reconstruction Zone: Batman article referenced in the v-log.
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I’m not trashing a show I’ve never seen to join some choir. If anything it’s because everything I see of the Netflix live-action Cowboy Bebop is underwhelming compared to the superior animated original and I’m convinced it only exists because of the anti-animation bias Hollywood has. “Something with a huge fan base is one of those cartoons? Well surely we can do it better in live-action because we use REAL actors!” That seems to be the thought because they can’t wrap their head over what makes animation work as a medium. I’ve noted that both animation and live-action have their strengths and weaknesses as storytelling tools. You use the format that best serves your universe.
I’m also someone who discusses intros quite often because to me the intro is an important part of a TV show and anything using TV shows as part of their visual style. It’s what draws people in checking in out of curiosity and even if you’re watching strictly through on-demand instead of broadcast it still serves a purpose. I’ve even gone over the intro to the anime before as one of my favorite intros. That’s why when I watch the live-action version the only thing that works is that they kept the theme song because they don’t completely hate life. Compare for yourself:
I’m not saying it looks terrible. Credit where it’s due the style is kind of neat and it does at times try to replicate the original while showing off “this ain’t no cartoon”, and that last part may be part of the problem. It feels like a replication you’d see someone doing on YouTube and doesn’t invoke the same feel that the original does while showing off live-action versions of at least someone’s favorite characters in the 10 episodes they replicated for the Netflix version. Why is it such a pale imitation otherwise? Well, I’m not the only intro lover on the internet thankfully, as Geoff Thew of Mother’s Basement has looked at many anime intros on his show and had the same negative reaction to the live-action intro that I did…only then he went out and fully examined why. Note that swearing and promoting his sponsor will happen more than once, and there are HEAVY spoilers for both versions since the live-action version is basically a retelling of the anime.
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I’m not sure about this remake of Oliva Newton John’s Xanadu. (It’s strange I have to point out which Xanadu I mean.)
Robotech #9
Antarctic Press (July, 1998)
Prototype 001: “Variants” part 2
WRITER/ARTIST: Ted Nomura
COLORIST: Ben Dunn
EDITOR: Doug Dlin
Invid Invasion: “Introduction” part 2
WRITER/ARTIST: Pat Kelley (we have credits this time, and I guess “Introduction” was the title of the back-up)
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This one is going to be a bit different for this article series. Usually when I pick a song I find a bunch of interesting information about the song’s history, how it did in charts, who has the more famous version, or some other cool bit of trivia I never knew before. Here’s everything I learned about the song “BIlly Bayou”.
Written in 1958 it was written by Roger Miller, with a cover by Jim Reeves, who once performed the song for the Boy Scouts and is the only cover I have any info for, as well as Charlie Pride, Doug Kershaw, and Burl Ives.
That’s it.
I know the Jim Reeves cover because my dad has a concert album on CD that is one of his regular CDs in the car. So when I travel with him…let’s just say I know this song rather well. The lyric video I found is from Reeves but isn’t a concert video.
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Always bet on the Sisko. It’s usually the safest bet.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #9
Marvel/Paramount Comics (September, 1997)
“Public Enemies, Private Lives” finale
WRITER: Mariano
PENCILER: Tom Grindberg
INKER: Bob Almond
COLORIST: Matt Webb
LETTERER: Chris Eliopoulos
EDITOR: Tom Tuohy
