Jake & Leon #452: Ultimate Distancing

Don’t worry. She has a food replicator and plenty of movies on her tablet.

So here we are finally back in action. And this post is a bit late again, just so you know things are back to normal. Yep, totally why the comic isn’t on the dot. Anyway we’ve finally checked in with the entire gang, so now I need to figure out what to do next. We finally have the beginnings of a schedule to open Connecticut back up but the social distancing is still in effect for the time being as per the phase by phase plan.

Meanwhile over at The Clutter Reports I show off the new main computer. I’m still using the same old art computer but now I should be able to make content without waiting as long for stuff to load. It will be obsolete by next Tuesday of course, and that’s only because the lockdown is slowing things up, but it seems to be going good thus far. Hopefully we’re done with interruptions.

This week (fingers crossed) We start the last five chapters of Spider-Man: Carnage In New York and do another Art Of Storytelling. I’m not sure what else is coming but I also need to create a new file for the Free Comic Inside minicomics. Hopefully I remember where to find everything. He-Man/She-Ra comics, Starriors now, and Sectaurs are easy and I had backups of the DC/Kenner Super Powers Collection, plus that article that helped me find a bunch more stuff. but we’ll see what I’m forgetting. However, I can start making content again and this is a good thing. Have a good week, folks!

Saturday Night Showcase: Machine Robo–Revenge Of Chronos

If you’re new around here you may not know that despite Transformers being my #1 favorite multiverse (IDW aside), I am also a huge fan of the GoBots (please get the spelling right because Gobots and Go-Bots reference different things thank you). If you weren’t aware I’ve done video reviews of the pack-in illustrated booklet Escape To Planet Earth and the original pilot miniseries of Challenge Of The GoBots. Feel free to check those out at your leisure. In those videos I mention that Tonka took their molds from Bandai’s Machine Robo toyline, though the backstory for that series doesn’t have the police chasing criminals concept of the booklet or the military versus terrorist angle of the cartoon. In fact I don’t think Bandai even really bothered coming up with anything resembling a lore until the success of the Transformers. Rather than bring over Challenge Of The GoBots in the same manner they opted to create their own story, the result being Machine Robo: Revenge Of Chronos.

In this 47 episode series, only a handful of which were given a subtitled release in the states, the action takes place on the world of Chronos, a world populated by robots but unlike Cybertron or Gobotron was left all organic on the top. Here numerous clans live in peace, some the Machine Robo we would later know as GoBots and later Rock Lords (though this series came out after GoBots but for the sake of simplicity the toys predate them both and that’s how I’m describing this), a sentient non-talking vehicle or two, and ones that resemble humans for some odd reason. Our heroes is one of the humanoids, Rom Stoll, who fights to keep the never explained energy Hyribead (though it could be explained in an episode I haven’t seen yet) out of the hands of the villainous Gyandlar group, aliens come to conquer Chronus and steal the energy to become immortal or something. Rom is joined by Blue Jet, one of the Jet Robo we all know as Fitor stateside, and Rod Drill, a Drill Robo aka Screw Head. Rounding out the party is Reina, Rom’s sister who doesn’t like other women making a play for him (no no, not like that…anime wouldn’t start embracing incest as a character trait until the 2000s…and I wish they’d stop) and her friend/ride Triple Jim. I don’t think there were and quad-changers in Machine Robo so like the humans he’s not a toy character.

Speaking of not toy characters…no, I’m going to let you be surprised on that one, and I’m not talking about the villains. I don’t know how long this poster on YouTube is going to be able to get away with posting these, so watch episode one as soon as you can, as our heroes meet their foes for the first time. Enjoy.

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> Scooby-Doo #12 (DC)

Wishful thinking. It isn’t even worth that in 2020.

Scooby-Doo #12

DC Comics (July, 1998)

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Mike Brisbois

EDITOR: Bronwyn Taggart

“The Comic Book Convention Caper”

WRITER: Michael Kraiger

PENCILER: Joe Staton

INKER: Andrew Pepoy

COLORIST: Noelle Giddings

LETTERER: John Costanza

“Gnome Alone?”

WRITER: Matt Wayne

ARTIST/LETTERER: Tim Harkins

COLORIST: Lee Loughridge

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The Science Of Water and Airbending

Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender know that the acting of bending, essentially controlling one of four elements–air, water, fire, and earth (except for the Avatar him or herself, who can learn all four), is based on actual martial arts. Each element is connected to a different real world martial arts technique. It’s one of the things that aids in the worldbuilding of the series and gives the show a unique style. Of course controlling an element using only your chi is spiritual stuff, right?

Well, MatPat over at The Game Theorists thinks science can actually prove that bending is rooted in science as much as it is martial art mysticism. Since I need a slow return to full BW operation and we could all use something a bit fun right now, let’s give him a chance to prove it. In the first video an episode of Film Theory discusses how waterbending is scientifically possible, while in an episode of Fact Or Nicktion he looks into how Appa the giant bison is able to fly via airbending.

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> Robotech II: The Sentinels book 3 #17

And this was BEFORE the booze!

Robotech II: The Sentinels book 3 #17

Academy Comics, Ltd (May, 1995)

“A Portion For Foxes”

WRITER/ARTIST: John Waltrip

LETTERING: Alphabet Soup

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> Star Trek: The Next Generation–The Modala Imperative #4

Riker’s not even there and he’s as confused as everyone else.

Star Trek: The Next Generation–The Modala Imperative #4

FINAL ISSUE

DC Comics (October, 1991)

“Game, Set, And Match!”

WRITER: Peter David

ARTIST: Pablo Marcos

COLORIST: Tom McCraw

LETTERER: Bob Pinaha

EDITOR: Robert Greenberger

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Chapter By Chapter> Spider-Man: Carnage In New York ch 14

Chapter By Chapter features me reading one chapter of the selected book at the 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 read-along book club.

So where were we? Carnage basically has the virus from The Last Of Us (I think that line would work better if I actually played the game or saw the cinematics but I think it’s about people turning violent without becoming zombies), Aunt May is about to lose the house, and Mary Jane is feeling useless during her unemployment. I can relate to at least one of these. We’re almost two-thirds into this book so let’s see what kind of wacky hi-jinks Petey gets into this time.

“I swear, I sent the money to the cable company.”

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