Some bones even Scooby aren’t a fan of.
Scooby-Doo #42
DC Comics (January, 2001; posted to comiXology August, 2014)
COLORIST: Paul Becton
LETTERER: Ryan Cline
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Harvey Richards
EDITOR: Joan HIlty
“Dig Them Bones”
WRITER: John Rozum
PENCILER: Joe Staton
INKER: Dave Hunt
“Good Ghost Haunting”
WRITER: Brett Lewis
PENCILER: Anthony Williams
INKER: Dan Davis
Catch more Film Theory on the Film Theorists YouTube channel.
If he’s right, and he did guess The Joker, I’m even less interested in this not-Batman movie. And what I said at the beginning of that post can be altered to apply to this movie thusly:
I want to make one thing perfectly clear to anyone rushing to this movie’s defense or my interpretation of MatPat’s latest Film Theory episode about (Matt Reeves’ The Batman) movie. I am NOT talking about the quality of the movie. It could well be a good movie. This is about the quality of the ADAPTATION, although they have said that they are ignoring the comic. (That last part isn’t what they’ve said for this movie like Todd Philips did for Joker but it sure looks like it given the costumes and tone.) This leads me to the question that is at the heart of my problem with this movie: WHY did it have to be (Batman)? Is there any reason to make a (Batman) movie that ignores the source material other than the popularity of the name hopefully bringing in viewers? My answer is no, and this latest episode proves it.
We were all excited when we heard Reeves wanted to put more focus on the detective aspect often ignored in the movies outside of Mask Of The Phantasm, the old serials, and even the Adam West/Burt Ward version. The trailer shows this and the costume is all Reeves knows or cares about Batman and I’m not looking forward to yet another person who doesn’t understand the source material.
We can still be friends if you don’t love Megas XLR; I’m not that petty. However we definitely have wildly different tastes. The show is a love letter to anime, giant robot shows, science fiction, and fun. If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it. However, how many casual fans know where this got its start? Or even seen that start?
Created by Jody Schaeffer and George Krstic, the show began as one of a series of pilots from the Cartoon Cartoon Weekend Summerfest, a sort of contest to find the newest Cartoon Cartoon, the name of Cartoon Network’s original cartoons back when they actually used their access to classic Warner Brothers, Hanna-Barbera, and Ruby-Spears libraries. Then they moved that to Boomerang and now you’re lucky if they even release in on DVD because outside of Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry shorts Boomerang doesn’t even show the programming it was created for. Another time on that topic.
Tonight I thought I’d show off the original pilot short, but it wasn’t called Megas XLR. Instead it was given the name Lowbrow, and whomever was responsible for changing the name prior to going full series has my gratitude. Outside of Coop himself (and maybe his friend Jamie) there’s nothing really lowbrow about this show, not even the humor. And this is a series about giant robots smashing stuff while fighting monsters and other giant robots. Take a look.
Okay, it seems this comic was not placed in the proper spot in the timeline in my collection. It actually takes place during the period of the Robotech: Aftermath series, so you’re about to get a sneak preview of my thoughts on that series as well as this comic.
“I really haven’t cleaned this jacket in a while, have I?”
Hohsq’s Story: A Robotech Romance
Academy Comics, Ltd (November, 1994)
WRITER/ARTIST: Bruce Lewis
Wait, if they could tear his chest open before why didn’t physical attacks work until now?
Apparently Norse gods, high-tech armor beyond our current capabilities, a super-soldier serum created in the 1940s that’s still beyond our current capabilities, and whatever origin they have for Hulk this time is all perfectly acceptable but a dude using a bow and arrow to make an amazing shot is where some people draw the line in the first Avengers movie. I’ve seen girls just barely in their teens shoot a bow and arrow with their feet and hit the mark, and not on TV. Training can be an amazing thing. (Though in the girls’ case being contortionists helped.)
Author Caroline Furlong examines how the scene in The Avengers where Hawkeye makes what appears to be an impossible shot isn’t showing off but highlighting something important about Hawkeye and his training. I’ve shot a bow and arrow before in school and sometime last year and it’s not easy, but it is doable.
Many moons ago we looked at The Commandrons, a line of toys from Tomy sold through of all places McDonald’s. (I think they were called “Super Alternators” in Canada and sold through stores.) They came with mini-comics by DC Comics, who apparently learned their lesson after the Mysterians and dropped the good versus evil bit entirely. Instead the Commandrons are created on the planet Havon to operates as robotic rescue heroes and teamed with four kids (because of course they’re kids…it was the 1980s) to help people in trouble. They were the Rescue Bots before Transformers: Rescue Bots.
Initially all I could find was one single issue, #2 in the series, before learning all four were available through the Internet Archive. So now we get to go back to the first issue and see how it all began.
“That’s not what cutting the cord means. Now fix it before Transformers comes on!”
Commandrons #1
McDonald’s/DC Comics (1985)
Unfortunately there are no credits given. It’s kind of a shame the more fun comic company at the time didn’t have more writers and artists willing to do promotional comics and make them good. We’ve seen with MASK, Atari Force, and Masters Of The Universe that it was quite possible. So let’s get into the story. Read along with me.
“I’ve heard of a double exposure but this is overdoing it.”
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Worf Special
Malibu Comics Entertainment (December, 1995)
INTERIOR COLOR: Malibu
EDITOR: Phil Crain
LINE EDITOR: Mark Paniccia
“Bonds Of Honor”
WRITER: Dan Mishkin
PENCILER: Steve Erwin
INKERS: John Montgomery & Scott Reed
COLOR DESIGN: Mike Heliemann
LETTERER: Tracey Hampton-Munsey
“Unhappy Trails”
WRITER: Moose Baumann
PENCILER: Rob Davis
INKER: Audrey Bradford
COLOR DESIGN: David Hillman
LETTERER: Dave Lanphear
The Clutter Reports (my other site) Atop The Fourth Wall Crisis On Earth Prime Lean Into Artcast Bully Says “Comics Oughta Be Fun” Siskoid’s Blog of Geekery
Cartoon Hero’s Lair SF Debris Four Million Years Later
