“This was the only poncho they had in my size.”
Transformers Animated: The Arrival #4
IDW Publishing (November, 2008)
WRITER: Marty Isenberg
COLORIST: Liam Shalloo
SELECTED COVER ART: Josh Burcham
LETTERER: Robbie Robbins
EDITOR: Denton J. Tipton
“The Insincerest Form Of Flattery”
PENCILER: Dario Brizuela
INKER: Leandro Corral
“A Few Loose Strands”
ARTIST: Boo
It’s undeniable (except to people who would deny it) that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is not very good. It’s watchable but too laughable to take seriously. If you know the behind the scenes some things were out of William Shatner’s control when he directed it while others are probably better than intended because Shatner is a rather odd duck. Until now I haven’t really seen an actual defense, and I know I wouldn’t write one. I have my problems with it too (though it does factor in with my assertion that Kirk is in league with the devil, literal or figurative I’m not sure, nor am I sure how much I’m joking on the matter). And yet here’s an article for Fansided’s “Redshirts Always Die” group defending the movie. I guess every movie really is someone’s favorite.
Created by Ted Wolf, Thundercats was a 1985-1989 cartoon about space refugees from the doomed planet Thundera. (The emphasis should be on the “der”, Thundera.) It was a very popular show with kids of the time who are still nostalgic for it as an adult. There was an attempt in 2011 to bring it back. The lore was all wrong but the show itself was quite good and did at least try to adhere to the spirit of the original. And now we have Thundercats Roar coming out, turning a popular action show into a cheap joke as the only offering outside of watching the old shows which won’t be airing at the time.
I wanted to track down the story bible for this show because I thought it would be interesting, just like I did with Batman: The Animated Series and just recently completed a look at the Star Trek: The Next Generation season one writer’s guide. I was not successful but I may try again someday. I find these interesting. However, what I did find is an early show pitch for the original Thundercats. You can read along with me on this one thanks to a contributor to the fansite ThunderCatsFans.org. The contributor thought she was buying a story bible but instead ended up with a 1984 pitch from Telepictures (before it was bought by Lorimar) for the show. The pitch was written by Leonard Starr, one of the regular writers for the show. The pitch is five pages long, and seems like an early draft for “Exodus”, the first episode of the show. While there are some minor changes (it might have been based on an early draft for the pilot if that) what makes it interesting is that the names were changed between the draft and the final show.
“I hope I don’t have to relive this moment in a mental delusion.” “That’s oddly specific.” “Welcome to my life.”
Star Trek: Early Voyages #3
Marvel Comics (April, 1997)
“Our Dearest Blood”
WRITERS: Ian Edginton & Dan Abnett
PENCILER: Patrick Zircher
INKER: Greg Adams
COLORIST: Marie Javins
LETTERER: Janice Chiang
EDITOR: Bobbie Chase
There has been some question about how Netflix reports it’s numbers. FX chief John Landgraf is one of those people and voiced his concerns at a recent critics conference. I’ve heard other people question Netflix’s numbers who don’t share his bias by the way and in the article he doesn’t try to slam his rival (FX is owned by Fox which is soon to be owned by Disney and both own part of Hulu, plus people still call Netflix a TV channel when it really isn’t, it’s a streaming service.)
“SparkShorts” are a series of shorts produced by Pixar in which the animators have complete control (within the Disney limits I would assume except mild swearing shows up more than once in the video I’m highlighting tonight, so maybe don’t show this off to the younglings). Purl follows the story of a sentient ball of yarn going to work at a company whose business is never explained but it isn’t the point anyway. The point is how Purl Ball fits in at this company…eventually.
Cain’s bridge club gets a bit rowdy.
Juggernaut: The Eight Day (or according to the publishing info Juggernaut #1)
Marvel Comics (November, 1999)
“The Eighth Day” finale: “Eight Is Enough”
WRITER: Joe Casey
PENCILER: Terry Shoemaker
INKER: Scott Hanna
COLORIST: Mark Bernardo
LETTERER: Mike Heisler
EDITOR: Bobbie Chase
The Clutter Reports (my other site) Atop The Fourth Wall Crisis On Earth Prime Lean Into Artcast Bully Says “Comics Oughta Be Fun” Siskoid’s Blog of Geekery
Cartoon Hero’s Lair SF Debris Four Million Years Later
