October 9, 2019

Setting The Record Straight On The Joker Shooting Timeline

Not the last time the Joker dies via electrocution in the multiverse.

Notice the lack of shooting over the weekend after all the fear that Todd Philips’ Joker? Thinking people knew that this movie wouldn’t cause the mentally ill and so-called “incels” to go on rampages. I did a commentary on this last week. Comic ignorance and superhero/supervillain ignorance by the general public isn’t limited to Martin Scorsese’s recent comments about superhero movies being “less cinema and more theme parks” or even Bill Maher’s slamming of superhero movies. It isn’t even just at the level of Philips’ own snobbery towards his “real movie” version of a character that existed before he was born. This brought warnings from the military for Pete’s sake! Who does that?

Of course it was the anti-gun advocates and the families of the Aurora shooting during The Dark Knight Rises that made an opening for this. While this movie was more like The King Of Comedy than it was an actual tale of the Clown Prince Of Crime, people who know nothing about the Joker got worried because the Aurora shooter claimed he was the Joker. Except he actually didn’t. After posting my commentary I stumbled upon this video from Midnight’s Edge that puts together the true history of the Aurora shooting and the exaggerated warnings towards Joker. It’s even more proof that all of this controversy was a bunch of hogwash meant to cash in on the movie to push an agenda. Note that Andre, the man behind this video, is not an American and doesn’t have a political agenda. Like BW Media Spotlight, the crew at Midnight’s Edge fights to keep politics out of storytelling analysis despite it’s continued creeping into our lives and entertainment.

Continue reading →

Posted by on October 9, 2019 in Movie Spotlight and tagged , , .

Leave a comment

October 9, 2019

“Yesterday’s” Comic> Star Trek #9 (DC first series)

Some pre-information going into this next batch of reviews. The stories in this arc take place right after Star Trek II: The Search For Spock. How much of these stories can possibly take place between that movie and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is probably up to debate. It had to be hard on the writer or writers around this period to produce a monthly comic that doesn’t run counter to the movies but still played in the version of Star Trek that DC had created. I’ll get more into that when it comes up, like the later appearance of characters Barr created for the comics–Konom, Nancy, and Bearclaw. I will bring up but not fault him for whatever continuity errors were beyond Barr’s control in this arc but what he should have gotten right I will call him out for, as well as any faults in the writing itself. This arc is eight issues long, or at least that’s what in the collection I’m reviewing from.

“Should one of us have brought popcorn?”

Star Trek #9

DC Comics (December, 1984)

“New Frontiers” part 1: “…Promises To Keep”

WRITER: Mike W. Barr

PENCILER: Tom Sutton

INKER: Ricardo Villagran

COLORIST: Michele Wolfman

LETTERER: John Costanza

MANAGING EDITOR: Tom Condon

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Robert Breenberger

EDITOR: Marv Wolfman Continue reading →

Posted by on October 9, 2019 in Movie Spotlight, Television Spotlight, Yesterday's Comics and tagged , , , , , , .

1 Comment

October 9, 2019

BW’s Morning Article Link: Canada Versus Fornite

It seems like half the ads on US TV is about some law firm trying to start a class action lawsuit against this or that company. Apparently it isn’t just limited to this side of Niagara Falls as a law firm in Canada wants to sue Fortnite for being “as addictive as cocaine” and that the company should have told everyone. Look, I’m not saying video games can’t be addictive to a very select few people under specific conditions in their lives, but as bad as cocaine? I don’t think so.

Posted by on October 9, 2019 in Video Game Spotlight and tagged , , , .

3 Comments

October 8, 2019

Why Don’t Official Anime Dubs Just Edit The Lips?

One more video and I’ll get to the one I really wanted to post. It’s going to happen, unless something happens to me or the site.

Look, I’m not posting these videos to insist that the dub is better or how anime should be watched outside of Japan. For that matter neither are the team at Cartoon Cypher, who are producing these videos. Speaking only for myself, the point I’m trying to make is that dubs are not somehow ruining the medium. Last week I posted a video that showed even the subtitles are altered for audience and for reading comprehension within the space of the character speaking. Japanese is a different language than English not only in words but in grammar and patterns that are better explained by a linguist. Even putting in swears are really inaccurate to how the sentence was said in Japan, so you’re not getting it right if you have characters dropping all the F-bombs if dialog is really the most important thing to you. They’re just trying to get the characters’ personalities across, although as noted in the previous videos in this set occasionally the English version led to a more interesting version of a different character.

If the dialog is really what matters to you as the “art” of the anime and if editing to the lip flaps has been the issue as far back as Gigantor or Speed Racer then maybe the solution is to just edit the lip flaps. Abridged series creators like Team Four Star do that all of the time. However, they’re only working on parody series. They didn’t do that themselves when working on an official dub. Plus that may help one piece of the art in theory but you end up ruining a whole other part, as this week’s installment demonstrates. Somehow they slipped a couple of nipple shots in there too, just as a warning.

Continue reading →

Posted by on October 8, 2019 in Animation Spotlight and tagged , .

2 Comments

October 8, 2019

“Yesterday’s” Comic> Iron Man Annual 2001

“These fangirls get more vicious every time!”

Iron Man 2001

Marvel Comics (2001)

COLORIST: Dave Pentz

LETTERER: Dave Sharpe

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Mark Sumerak

EDITOR: Tom Brevoort

“Hunted”

WRITER: Chris Claremont

PENCILER: Michael Ryan

INKER: Sean Parsons

“Black And White”

WRITER: Frank Tieri

ARTIST: Craig Wilson

Continue reading →

Posted by on October 8, 2019 in Marvel Spotlight, Yesterday's Comics and tagged , , , , , , , .

1 Comment

October 8, 2019

BW’s Morning Article: Rip Taylor Passes Away

Usually I join this with a “rest in peace” picture but that seems odd for Rip Taylor, who passed away over the weekend. The man was so full of life that imagining him lacking it just feels weird to me. Charles Elmer “Rip” Taylor Jr. could also do drama but he’ll always be remembered for his flamboyant style, quirky sense of humor, and of course his confetti.

Posted by on October 8, 2019 in Uncategorized and tagged , .

Leave a comment

October 7, 2019

Chapter By Chapter: The Merry Adv Of Robin Hood part third ch. 2

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:

Part Third

Recounting How Allan A Dale Was Brought to Robin Hood, Who Promised to Help Him in Trouble. Also How Robin Sought the Curtal Friar of Fountain Abbey With That Aim in View. Likewise, How Robin Hood Brought Two True Lovers Together Who Would Else Have Been Made Unhappy All Their Lives

In the previous chapter we saw how Wills Stutley and Scarlet came upon Allan, whom Robin agreed to help reunite him with his lady love before she’s forced to wed an older knight, Sir Cradle Of Robber…I mean Sir Steven. However, considering Robin’s lifestyle all the higher-up practitioners of faith are not going to help him out. Hope lies with a friar Will Scarlet knows. Can they convince him to perform the ceremony behind the father-in-law’s back?

ch II: Robin Hood Seeth The Curtal Friar

Okay, I had to look this one up because it’s been bugging me. “A friar who served as an attendant at the gate of a monastery court. As a curtal dog was not privileged to hunt or course, so a curtal friar virtually meant a worldly-minded one.” Funny enough, it quotes this book. It’s interesting how many terms of the day and supposedly famous tales of yore in this book is usually credited to this book alone. Not being British I wonder if this is the only famous work to bring these terms and tales to the US or if Pyle is just messing with those of us a few centuries later.

Continue reading →

Posted by on October 7, 2019 in Merry Adv of Robin Hood and tagged , , , , , .

2 Comments