What Happened To Dexter’s Laboratory And The Powerpuff Girls? [VIDEO]

Dexter’s Laboratory started out as a fun show. A tale of a supergenius boy dealing with his constantly annoying older sister and a scientific rival made for great action and more importantly great comedy. And then something happened. The show took a nosedive in quality just in a season change. What happened? Why did this show fail so spectacularly when it used to be really awesome? Steve Reviews takes a look at why this show went from one of the best to one of the worst so fast. And as you can tell from the article title Dexter wasn’t the only one to suffer from losing the same showrunner.

The Powerpuff Girls was about three “perfect little girls”, kindergarten crimefighters who fought evils that would give Superman problems. This show was also action-packed comedy, and this too suffered even before that terrible reboot in 2016. Luckily we can talk about that, too.

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> Star Trek #75 (DC series 2)

Come on, artist, give me something to work with. This would make a nice poster though.

Star Trek #75

DC Comics (September, 1995)

“Star-Crossed” finale: “A Bright Particular Star”

WRITER: Howard Weinstein

PENCILER: Rachel Ketchum

INKER: Mark Heike

COLORIST: Ray Murtaugh

LETTERER: Bob Pinaha

EDITOR: Margaret Clark

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BW’s Morning Article Link: New Dark Crystal Comics

It’s not that I’m a huge Dark Crystal fan so much as it’s one of the few fantasy productions I enjoy. I’ve enjoyed the few comics I’ve gotten set in the world and now there are more coming based on that Netflix prequel I can’t watch because I don’t have Netflix.

DC Comics’ New Branding Situation

The DC Universe has not fared well whenever Dan DiDio gets his way with it. He wants everything darker, less fun, and less heroic. The opposite of what makes the DC Universe so enjoyable to most fans. When Batman isn’t dark enough for you what you get is the parody made real. You know, that part about how dark and broody Batman is supposed to be. Then there’s the constant shake-ups to the point where there isn’t a status quo. Rebirth fixed all those flaws so naturally he undid all of it as soon as he was back in full charge. However, we aren’t talking about DC’s universe but the comics that contain their stories.

Last year DC broke out Zoom and Ink, two titles that were supposed to reach younger audiences. While they’ve gotten into libraries and bookstores they really haven’t seen much impact in comics. Back in the 1990s DC created Vertigo, a creator-run darker imprint that was separate from the DC Universe outside of Swamp Thing, but he and Constantine are now DCU regulars. It had the horror stuff. All three of these are going away as DC restructures their branding. While Vertigo’s disappearance may not be the best move, what they’re doing with Zoom and Ink is actually something I would do if I ran DC Comics so take that for what it’s worth. I think it’s a good idea. Of course they’re still screwing part of it up because that’s what DiDio does best, but it may be their first smart move since tossing out Rebirth and putting Brian Michael Bendis on Superman, thus ruining everything they were getting right. So I expect it to be ruined right fast.

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> Iron Man vol. 3 #35

“Reed, you really need to tend this garden better.”

Iron Man volume 3 #35

DC Comics (December, 2000)

“Power” part 3: “The Land”

WRITERS: Joe Quesada (now also credited as Editor In Chief) & Frank Tieri

PENCILER: Alitha Martinez

INKER: Bob Hunter

COLORIST: Steve Oliff

LETTERING: Comicraft

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Brian Smith

EDITOR: Bobbie Chase

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BW’s Morning Article Link: The Franchise Fatigue Folly

So the new Men In Black movie and X-Men: The Last Stand take 2 both failed at the box office. People who hate these franchises will blame it on franchise or genre fatigue. People who ARE fans of these franchises and genres will blame it on people who don’t care about the franchise making a crap movie or a good movie that’s a crap adaptation. Variety contributor Owen Gleiberman makes the case for the latter, pointing out that this alleged fatigue doesn’t explain the movies that actually do well.

Chapter By Chapter: Transformers Armada–The Battle Begins chapter 1

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.

Last week we got the exposition dump from the narrator explaining how the Mini-Cons escaped Cybertron and went to Earth, mostly following the anime’s version rather than the comics. Now it’s time to meet the focus characters of the story, the Earth kids who will serve to draw us into this Transformers continuity.

Human characters in Transformers, especially kids, are often a source of complaint for some fans. “Kids want to be the heroes, not the ones with the heroes.” No, that’s you. I never wanted to be a Transformer, as cool as the Autobots were, but being a human who gets to ride with (and in) Bumblebee? Sounds great to me. Humans also know more about Earth than the Transformers do, which is why continuities where they don’t try to work with humans to help them defend their own planet never sits well with me. Optimus Prime usually takes too long to work with humans. The original cartoon, Transformers Prime (where they secretly work with the military), and the two Rescue Bots shows are some of the rare exceptions when it comes to directly work with humans instead of a small handful unless a series goes on long enough. So let’s see how the Mini-Cons started working with Rad, Carlos, and Alexis in this continuity.

Chapter 1: The Cosmo Kids

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