Catch more effect and stunt reaction videos on Corridor Crew’s YouTube channel.
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.
Remember, the book is in public domain. Download or read the ebook online legally and for free at Project Gutenberg, Google Books or the Internet Archive among other sites, or check out the audiobook from LibriVox. You can also use a print copy. In either case my copy may not match up with yours chapter-wise. Follow along with the very-long subtitle. For this chapter:
The FINAL Part
Recounting how Robin Hood met Guy Of Gisbourne In Sherwood Forest and of the famous fight between them. Also how Little John fell into the Sheriff’s hands through saving the life of three men. Likewise how Good King Richard of the Lion’s Heart came to Nottinghamshire and visited Robin Hood In Sherwood Forest.
Well, we’ve finally come to the end of the book. It’s been an interesting journey seeing how much of the original lore Hollywood got wrong in crafting the iconic Robin Hood legend most people know, and frankly the original may be more interesting. True, Robin isn’t the clean cut boy we thought he was but neither is he up against the evil stand-in ruler because he lost his wealth. Instead he’s a guy who still went up against corrupt officials but his own moral center was up for debate. There’s more nuance to him, and although I do tend to gravitate to the cleaner heroes these adventures were at times more fun to analyze. Plus you think that in a period where writers loved making “flawed” heroes they’d go back to this older interpretation. Then again, I don’t understand the cynical sad sacks that writers are becoming so who knows?
Last week we saw Robin in his only second ever kill, against a man so evil he had no choice in a fight that is begging for an on-screen appearance if the director is willing to let the fight happen instead of shakycam close-ups. Enough about Hollywood, let’s see how the actual book ends.
II: King Richard Cometh To Sherwood Forest (plus the two page epilogue)
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I’m not sure if this is cheaper than Uber or more expensive?
Justice League Adventures #15
DC Comics (March, 2003)
“Enslaved!”
WRITER: Todd Seavey
PENCILER: Aluir Amancio
INKER: Rob Leigh
COLORIST: John Kalisz
SEPARATIONS: Heroic Age
LETTERER: Kurt Hathaway
EDITOR: Stephen Wacker
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Leave it to the Doctor to find a new way to talk to yourself.
The US attempt to return Doctor Who to the airwaves after an anti-science fiction programmer took over at the BBC (not that Fox’s history with science fiction is the best, save for The Orville, which is now moving to Hulu exclusive) didn’t work out for various reasons. I actually really liked it–yes, even the “half-human” idea–but Fox’s commitment apparently wasn’t that good. However, in a recent interview with the Radio Times, Sylvester McCoy went over what he thought might have happened in his successor Paul McGann’s run as the Doctor and why he was willing to do it even though it meant his Doctor meeting his fate in the most pedestrian way he’s ever died.
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No Jake & Leon this week as I’ve been trying to get Captain Yuletide done. Based on the remaining page count and depending on what happens that should be dropping this week at some point. The strip will hopefully return on Sunday.
Meanwhile BW articles return this week as we end The Merry Adventures Of Robin Hood just before the year ends, meaning a fresh book to start 2020. It’s already been chosen and I don’t remember if I ever read it. The Clutter Reports returns next Sunday with my overall review of the Robin Hood collection in my possession. The comic reviews also resume, but this week’s Star Trek comic review will lead into a problem I have with the current arc. Whether it will be a full article or just part of the comic review I haven’t decided yet. Other postings will depend on how long it takes me to finish Captain Yuletide. Hopefully next year I can get the timing right but it depends on outside influences, which slowed this year down as much as my not remembering that this style takes longer to produce a page than Jake & Leon‘s style. I do hope you enjoy the final result in any sense.
I also hope your Christmas (or whatever you did) went well as we prepare to start a new decade. Will the 2020s hold better things than the 2010s? Time will tell. God bless.
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Hope your holiday went well. However, while Captain Yuletide is being completed I don’t want to give up the reason you guys come here. And with Christmas over, we can continue where we left off.
In the latest installment into the many MANY intros of Transformers cartoons I looked at Triple Combination: Transformers Go!, the line that replaced the “Beast Hunters” season of Transformers Prime. (Check more of that history in the reviews of Transformers Prime Japan and Transformers Go.) The short version is that Go was not released on TV but on DVDs packed with TV Magazine and TV Kun, distributed as “Samurai” and “Shinobi” volumes. Each series followed one of two teams of “Swordbots” and their respective kid companion. Predacons, a group of dragon-like Transformers in the Aligned continuity, had come seeking the Legend Disks, which contain unknown power, but through events unexplained the Samurai and Shinobi Swordbot teams as well as Dragotron and his “Four Oni” Predacons ended up in stasis lock until present day. Now they get to time travel as both the Samurai-in-training kid Isami Tatewaki and the young ninja Tobio Fūma learn what it means to be a noble hero of justice. It’s got Combiners and it has dragon Transformers. You’ve won on the concept! The toyline featured the Beast Hunters figures as well as original molds which are the focus of these DVDs.
On YouTube you can find fansubs (because it’s unlikely this will ever get an official Western release as it’s a Japan-exclusive toyline…then again we thought that about the G1 Japanese Transformers cartoons and we got everything except the home video exclusives), however if you find them in a playlist they group the Samurai and Shinobi volumes together. I wanted to collect them into a proper sequence of episodes so I made my own playlist based on the release dates listed at the TF Wiki. I did the best I could to make a complete narrative because the formatting is a bit off. As mentioned in the intro review, Samurai had six episodes compared to Shinobi’s four, possibly a bias by someone at Tatsunoko. Additionally some episodes have the same events happen with minor changes as two of each Oni challenge a different Swordbot team. Then Optimus Exprime (meant to be the Aligned Optimus) and Dragotron show up simultaneously in both battles and things get confusing. Plus the end sees everything the same except showing off a different new combination despite being the same battle, ramping up the confusion. Still, it’s a good story when you mentally work around these hiccups so enjoy.
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If only all our decorating was as easy.
No Clutter Report this week due to the holidays and no BW postings are coming until Saturday, where I’ll finish The Merry Adventures Of Robin Hood because we’re on the final chapter so we might as well finish it. Unfortunately Captain Yuletide is going to be late and it’s only half my fault. My half comes from not remembering the art I do there takes more work than in this strip, and the half that isn’t mine comes from a few surprised this month, not all of them welcome, that took priority. I’m going to work through the week and hopefully finish before New Year’s. So I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas or whatever holiday you prefer or that you just have a nice day on December 25th anyway if you celebrate nothing. Celebrate being alive and just remember the message of Christmas–peace on Earth, good will toward you fellow human beings. The internet tells me that’s not possible but history shows we’re capable. See you all on Saturday.
