Stealing Superman, a podcast

 I've got a cool idea for a streaming network film or limited series.

Over the holidays, a well know actor has a series of parties at his home. At some point, despite his security systems, someone is able to steal a number of valuable items that the actor has collected over a period of years. This theft isn't immediately detected and the items worth hundreds of thousands of dollars might already be sold or kept until the heat blows off.

To give this an odd twist, the objects stolen are key comic books from the Golden Age. Also, the theft might have been done by one of his friends or acquaintances or even his sizable staff, as the objects were in a part of the house difficult to access. Maybe we could get a cult fave like Nick Cage to play the actor.

Oh, wait. This actually did happen when Cage's copies of Action #1 and Detective Comics #27, among others, were taken back at the end of 1999.

Check out, Stealing Superman on Stitcher or other podcast services.

Tales of the Jedi & Andor and other SW material

 Watched the first two episodes of Tales of the Jedi, the animated Star Wars series, streaming on Disney+. 

Interesting that while the concurrent Andor is taking place in the years leading up to Rogue One and A New Hope, this series of shorts (15- 20 minutes long for the most part) gives us the back story of some characters who will be major players in the prequels.

In some ways, Andor can stand alone, I think you have to have more of a working knowledge of the Clone Wars era to get more out of Tales. A basic knowledge of SW is enough for Andor, as you have the Empire and the beginnings of the rebellion. Tales expects you to know who Ahsoka, Count Dooku and Qui-Qon Jinn, and others are, or will be, to make a connection.

We will get to see Ahsoka joining the Jedi Academy and what drove Count Dooku to leave the Jedi and change his alliances. Can't wait to see those episodes, probably over the next few days.

Both The Bad Bunch (animated) and The Mandalorian (live-action) will be returning for new seasons later this year, I believe. They have both had teasers, but I'm just unsure of when they will be scheduled. ThoughI'm sure it will be after the two current series are completed, to keep from an overload. 

While there had been plans for the SW games & books taking place in the Old Republic to eventually be made into series or films, I think that internal strife at Lucas/Disney have put those and other SW output on hold. I've never played the games or read the books, but it would be interesting to see this material, which takes place thousands of years prior what what we've seen in the films. These would be brand new characters to most of us. Another thing is that, as far as I know, the stories taking place in these are not considered canon. That would probably have to be corrected in some fashion before they appeared, I would guess. 

Disney Star Wars Hotel FAILURE Worse Than We Thought! | Cringe Galactic ...

I think a lot of us saw this coming, but it happened faster than I would have thought.

I figured they would get a few years out of this at least, but the reaction/reviews of guests and the fact that nobody is returning has just undercut everything. If they hadn't made the prices so outrageous they might have had a chance, but limiting the size to 100 rooms and for a two day stay was ridiculous. You can stay at the Disney resort for the week and hit all the attractions or even take a 7-night cruise on a Disney ship (with food, entertainment, included) for less than half of what this is asking.

Anyone out there actually take part in this?

Poor Conan or the fate of The Cimmerian

 According to an article in The Beat, Marvel has lost the rights to Conan (again!) and these are going back to Titan Comics in 2023. 

https://www.comicsbeat.com/titan-comics-conan-the-barbarian-creative-team-announced/ 

It's hard to keep track of all this. I do wonder what the issue was with Marvel. Knowing this helps explain the fate of Conan in the Savage Avengers title. Guessing this was reported to the creators on that book, so they had to do what they could and wrap things up. Frankly, Conan was the reason I was picking up that series, or rather both series. Perhaps it also explains why the book got a second #1 and new members of the team. Anyway, I'll check out the next issue (#7 I believe, as Conan was written out in #5) and probably drop it.

The title Savage Avengers pretty much only existed to have Conan interacting with current Marvel characters. Curious about the fate of the book at this point. 

Also, would this have any effect on The Cimmerian series over at Ablaze Comics. They couldn't use Conan as the title, because of Marvel, but were doing adaptations of Robert E. Howard's novels and short stories. 

I shouldn't be allowed near computers

 About a month ago I got a new modem for my computer and this caused the Google Chromecast, given me by The Girls when they updated, to start having issues I couldn't seem to fix. I broke down and purchased a new one with a trial of Google TV.

For some reason, this started isssues with my computer. I'm one of those folks knows just enough about computers and software to be dangerous. I caused my toolbar to disappear and the screen to have a black bar across the top. I would sometimes have to minimize my screen to be able to scroll down enough to perform some task.

When I finally got the toolbar back in place everything I had put there had disppeared. I decided that I had to finally admit defeat and was going to call Geek Squad. This was where I was when I left for my cruise.

I had signed out and turned off my computer, as I always do when I go away for more than a day or two. When I came back there were some updates that needed to be installed. When the computer had rebooted I found that all my previous issues had been corrected. I have a full screen and the items on the old toolbar reappeared.

I have no clue and I'm not going to question it. Guessing that I had done something and the update went back to older settings. From now on I'm just going to call Best Buy and let their folks handle it. 

Changing my buying habits

 Going to have to update the Pull Lists in both the shops I use. I seem to have had dupes turn up on a couple of titles and been reminded by Nuclear Comics that I have titles on my list that have stopped being published a while ago. In both shops there are titles where I'm the only one picking up a particular title. The shop will sometimes pick up a second copy to put in their Back Issue bins.

Also, finally admitted that I'm buying a number of titles out of habit and not really for the enjoyment. There are some books where I have 4-5 back issues I haven't read, as I keep picking up new #1s and reading them before any of the older books.

With that in mind it might just be time to drop the monthly titles and just wait for the TPB collections, since I'm not reading them right off the bat (no pun). There are a couple of comics podcasts I listen to that review the books and I should start making a list.

Btw, it's interesting to see how an independent shop choses titles and publishers, over one that's owned by a larger company and just hires local management. I find it fascinating that the independent shop will have relatively unknown writers & artists come in for signings and take a chance on them, while the franchise shop can get the better known creators in and fill their shelves with mostly the Big Publishers.

That's it for now. 

Popcorn for One: Black Adam, a movie review

 Boy, if DC/WB thinks that Black Adam will save or turn around the DCEU, the execs over there are taking long liquid lunches. What a disappointment and poor use of characters. Way too long, with only some scenes focusing on Dwayne Johnson worth the ticket price. Was Pierce Brosnan on the set more than a few days? I don't think he was even in the same room as the other actors in some scenes. No real spoilers.

Thousands of years ago a group of wizards gave powers to a mortal so that he could fight a demon being brought to Earth by an evil tyrant. A group of rebels are trying to find a mystic crown before an army of international terrorists can lay claim to it, reviving the demon. By accident, the rebels release the imprisoned Teth Adam, whose powers come to the attention of Amanda Waller. Waller calls in the Justice Society, a group that predates the Justice League, to capture Adam so he can be imprisoned. Things go as you expect with all the heroes fighting before they join forces in the end. Yawn! 

Atom Smasher and Cyclone are pretty much second-string characters from a CW show, and not one of the better ones. They have turned Carter Hall into a real a**hole and I have no sympathy for the character. Also, why would Dr. Fate ever work for Waller? What could she possible have on him considering his power level? Another cookie cutter villain way too easily defeated and we all saw it coming. Surprised he didn't dance like the Enchantress in the first Suicide Squad film, about as scary.

The worst thing they could have done was to have the trailer for the second Shazam film run before this feature. No way could the kid in the red & gold costume last more than a minute, and that is if he hid for the first thirty seconds, against Teth Adam. The power levels are way too unequal.

Add to all this some CGI scenes that looked like they came from a '90s video game and we're looking at something, barely better than Marvel's

The Eternals. Ditch the rest of the JSA, focus on Black Adam meeting with members of the Justice League and you might be able to make this into a franchise. Not saved by the post credit scene, with a major character whom, as with Dr. Fate, I can't see helping Waller.

I really wanted to like this film and it turned into one of those 'glancing at your watch' deals. I think the folks on IMDB.com giving it a rating above 6 out of 10 (all I could give it), must have seen a different cut. 

Mike Mendez on TETSUO THE IRON MAN

Chambers Brothers - Time Has Come Today (Live extended version)

Review: California Schemin' : 2020 Bouchercon Anthology

 I attended the '99 Bouchercon, a mystery writer/reader convention, held in Philadelphia. It was fantastic and I hope to go again next year to the San Diego event. This anthology is comprised of stories from past winners, Special Guests and others chosen from stories submitted by lesser known writers.

Like any anthology you'll have stand out tales that demonstrate why a particular writer is always hitting the Best Seller lists and carrying away the awards. Others are from writers you've never heard of who will click and become someone who you'll be on the lookout for in stores. This is no different, with a few offerings that were early chapter drafts or short tales featuring characters from a series. Almost all take place in California, but several historical pieces take place in Europe or feature locations far from the Pacific Coast.

To be honest, not a single one wasn't worth the time I spent reading them. Some I with continued as the characters or situations were so good. A couple in here border on the supernatural or have a bit of a science fiction element, but even those are not too far outside the realm of the detective/mystery genre.

Nothing - The Fugs

Cry Punch: A trade paperback review

 At almost 450 pages Cry Punch is a solid piece of entertainment. Full disclosure I was part of the Kickstarter campaign for this book, after the recommendation of a friend, author/poet Robert Deshaies II (Adam & Eternity).

Like all anthologies, not everything is going to be one's cup of tea and you'll find yourself liking one particular story much more than another. Also, keep in mind that much of the art and writing in this book is not what one would call 'mainstream'. For the most part you're not going to find what you see in your average Marvel or DC monthly periodical. These fourteen stories are influenced more by Japanese and Asian manga/anime than American super-hero comics.

These are stories from creators working on more personal projects, much of which are based on the martial arts and giant mech books so popular in in Japan. If you're only familiar with American comics the flow of these stories can be confusing at times, with a lot of silent panels or an entire page of characters remaining still while caption or dialogue continues the story.

Finally, to be honest, some of the art is of the standard we used to call 'fannish', hardly the slick work Americans have become used to in most comics from the Big Two (or Four, depending). The writers and artists in many, if not all cases, are working to improve their craft.

While the cover price of $36 might be off putting, you are supporting independent creators and a small publisher trying to bring graphic novel readers something a bit different.

My comic picks for 6/24/22

What am I watching: Grizzly II: Revenge (2019/2020) a movie review

 I was listening to the Critically Acclaimed podcast with film reviewers, Witney Seibold and William Bibbiani when the film, Grizzly II: Revenge came up. While I was a fan of the film, Grizzly (1976; a Jaws ripoff starring Christopher George) I never heard there had been a sequel. Well, it turned out it wasn't actually a sequel, but just an attempt to attach this film to one that was slightly successful.

Different sources give different dates for when this film was made. Some as early as '83, with others giving a later '86 date. Filmed in Hungary, the film was able to use a music festival headlined by the  group Nazareth as a backdrop. Unable to get that group on film, but with footage of lesser known European bands, the filmmakers had an actor lip-sync several numbers after the headliners had already finished. Apparently the crowd was unaware that the band was fake or even that they were being filmed. 

With hours of footage completed, the filming was shut down and equipment confiscated by the Hungarian government for non-payment of bills and fees.  Grizzly II was never officially released, but bootlegs appeared over the years with other soundtracks. Several years ago, the finished footage, along with extra material from the construction of the concert stages, the concert and rehearsals, was used in order to get the film to feature length. Even with all that, additional nature film was added and even used more than once.

Pretty doubtful that George Clooney, Laura Dern and Charlie Sheen have this on the resumes, but all three plus John Rhys-Davies and Louise Fletcher now have this on the resumes. Davies and Fletcher would have been the 'big names' back when the film was originally shot, but these were probably among the first films roles for the three young actors. Naturally, even though they only have maybe less than ten minutes of screen time (in the very opening scenes) they are listed as the film's stars.

If you thought that Bruce the Shark was better with having less screen time, the scenes with the "bear" are even sadder. An animatronic bear was built and used, along with a puppet and footage of an actual bear (not half as big as it was supposed to be in the film).  Scenes from the bear's perspective are used peeking through the limbs of trees or low angle shots as it runs through the woods. You had to feel bad for the poor camera guy trying to get 'bear cam' that was usable. The ending scenes at the festival with the bear attacking everyone, while fireworks explode, is something to behold. 

Finally, the filmmakers were able to get permission to use some of the music of Bernard Herrmann to use in the soundtrack, along with the music of the various bands. Prior to the attacks and the scenes where the bear is chasing someone the musical score gets as close to the Jaws theme as I think it was legal to get. 

Sometimes you just get to see a film that is so bad that it is fascinating. It's currently on Prime. I give it a 2.5 out of 5, just for seeing those young actors and both Davies & Fletcher really chewing up the scenery.

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