“Huh, a cloudless night in Gotham. We haven’t had that in years.”
Batman Black & White: An Innocent Guy
DC Comics (posted to comiXology June, 2010)
WRITER/ARTIST: Brian Bolland
The comic book is a topic of discussion quite often. As the media of choice for me to create in I probably do think about the state of comics more than I do the other media I cover here at the Spotlight. However, that’s usually about the goings on, the creators, and reviewing the stories itself. Today I just want to discuss the medium itself on a general level.
The first comic books (unless you want to get into early predecessors or other stuff you usually get from the people who want to show you how smart they are by tying comics back to cave drawings or some such) were reprints of comic strips from the newspaper. Over time original comics, ranging from superheroes to science fiction to crime stories to romance stories to horror and others, started appearing on newsracks around the country. They used to be a cheap form of entertainment, something to get you through lunch when you didn’t want to just read a book or magazine. I’ll skip the usual commentary that comes up from this discussion and simply ask: what can a comic book do that other media formats cannot?
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“Like, I thought the others were the ones who got tied up in a mystery.”
Scooby-Doo #15
DC Comics (October, 1998)
EDITORS: Brownyn Taggart, Dana Kurtin, Mike Brisbois, & Chuck Kim (scattered somewhere between the two stories)
COLORIST: Rick Taylor
“Broncos & Boogeymen”
WRITER: Michael Kraiger
PENCILER: Manny Galan
INKER: Mike DeCarlo
LETTERER: John Costanza
“South Pacific Scooby!”
WRITER: Chris Duffy
ARTIST/LETTERER: Tim Harkins
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This was my old try, to at least bring the color back.
With word that Henry Cavill may return as Superman in future DC movie projects (hopefully being written like Superman for a change) one artist decided to redesign the outfit for something closer to his traditional look. I’ll take it over what Snyder put him into.
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The 90s Iron Man cartoon was not very good. Actually it was garbage. Released along with Fantastic Four as part of the Marvel Action Hour, Iron Man season 1 was…well, this.
Lazy, boring, and not well thought out not only describes that intro but the show itself. At the time it was the only Iron Man cartoon available. One tape was released of the 60s cartoon that was part of The Marvel Superheroes but…
Yeah. Anyway, to the topic.
Fox Kids had aired cartoons based on Spider-Man and the X-Men (and later Avengers and Silver Surfer) so when it came time for a home video release of 90s Iron Man 20th Century Fox’s home video Fox Kids brand released them. For Iron Man only the two-part retelling of Tony Stark’s Origin, “The Origin Of Iron Man” (one of the few stories to even resemble being good, though some episodes tried more than others at least in concept) was released under this brand. And it came with a minicomic that featured none of the villains that were being used for the show so what was the point? By the way, I couldn’t find this comic even mentioned in the Marvel wiki so you know this one is obscure. Oddly I did find it on My Comic Shop but it was out of stock. That’s fine, because I own it anyway since I bought the video when it originally came out. Like I said, it was the only Iron Man media out there. This was way before Marvel Studios and Robert Downey, Jr made Tony Stark and Iron Man a household name.
“Keep punching, one of us is sure to actually connect.”
Iron Man: Disaster!
(which describes the show and this comic really)
Marvel Comics/Fox Kids Home Video (1997)
WRITER: Mariano Nicieza
PENCILER: John Statema
INKER: Rick Bryant
COLORIST: Tom Smith
LETTERER: Ken Lopez
EDITOR: Glenn Herdling
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I didn’t know the ZX Spectrum has a Robotech game.
Robotech: Cyber World–Secrets Of Haydon IV (A Worlds Of Robotech Book)
Academy Comics, Ltd (July, 1994)
WRITER/INKER: Jason Waltrip
PENCILER/TONER: John Waltrip
LETTERER: Michael DeLepine
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Catch more Cinemassacre shows on James Rolfe’s YouTube channel.
Oh I don’t know. Charlie Chan could get a reboot with an actual Chinese man playing Charlie Chan, a more traditional-minded Chinese detective helping out in America and abroad. It also had a cartoon, The Amazing Chan And The Chan Clan, which focused more on Chan’s kids solving the mysteries, ranging from teenager to elementary school-aged kids. Considering in the movies his “#1 son” was maybe in his twenties (I didn’t really watch the films because I don’t follow many mysteries) that’s rather odd. Also, Blondie movies plays every Saturday on the Movies! channel if you have that available.
