Monday, November 8, 2010

ND&RD: Off-Script #1: The Specials After Halloween

Welcome to a new part of Random Fandom, chronicling the inside and out adventures of New B. Dylan and Robort H. Dylan. This strip you've seen is part of their leisure time, but their stories? Well, they're anything but boring!

New Dil and Robo-Dil aren't the only freaks living in here, tune in my blog for more characters as well as topics for discussion.

The first strip is showing off what FOX is doing to their Halloween shows nowadays. Once the contract with the World Series ends, DO NOT RENEW.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Reasons for my Absence

Greetings, all of my minions. I am so sorry about a lack of a review last week. I'll give you a reason why I didn't post.

The Sonic Universe #21 issue wasn't there when I went to ToysRUs {The ONLY place to get these comics!}, so I decided to go forward a week with my new time machine.

What is it, you ask? It's just a couch with a clock taped on it. What is the science in this? I don't know, some bum told me it has wires and gizmos in its leather cushions.

It worked, but I got stuck in 1955 as a result. Fortanately, I found one person who can send me, but he was too busy helping a kid with a life preserver on his body! Instead, I found somebody at this new place called LebTech {which would be old by now}. His name was Jonesy Saxon, he used to get a jet pilot and has even worked on the ways to distribute time travel in flight.

Explaining my situation, Jonesy agreed to help even I could hear him say he's going to commit me, but I highly doubt that.

So, I spent a few days, going to school, watching B-Movies, and since it was Halloween, people wanted to stone me for looking like a...fa...fabolous homo. They were against gays back in the 1950s.

Afterwards, Jonesy prepared the plane and sent me to an asylum. You see, he knew about me coming from the future and I don't why, but he says he works with Nega. Nega who? If it's Negaduck, then this guy knows a lot about the Multiverse.

I made some friends and even listened to Fats Waller if you can believe it. It does get a little tedious when I hear the same song over and over. They helped me break out with a pickaxe and a flashlight {very clever, boys} and stole Jonesy's time-traveling plane to get back to 2010.

Well, here I am! And the best part? I got Sonic Universe #21! It has been a week since I left. I even posted some Twitter updates with the code BTTF: Better Than Tardiness, Freaks. So, you know I've didn't mean to abandon all of my minions.

Then again, it is Halloween. So, I'll leave with something Halloweeny. Enjoy this Ub Iwerks short film that is a blant ripoff of one of his more better works!

View below if you want to watch it, have a nice halloween, and I'll be back with a review of the first chapter of Treasure Team Tango by next week!

A special Halloween treat for all my fans!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book #3

Last month on Random Fandom…

A legend dies. A comic book shop dies. The Internet dies. Negative reactions to directors die. This was the prologue of the war of the century. No man or woman ever slept in comfort knowing there is a huge amount of L.A.R.Ping and role-playing outside their homes. No kid ever wanted to hear about Superman or Spider-Man or even Spawn without growing into an extended argument.

This was known as the war of Geeks versus the Nerds. The nerds had their revenge…more than once, but now it’s the geeks’ turn. It was never a time, until now, where cards and costume accessories were scattered in the battlefield. May God have pity for these troubled souls.


The Fight of the Decadal-Century!
Anyways, welcome to Random Fandom, where I review out of my mind about the things I find. Last month, the death of Comic Book Guy from Simpsons lore was a big step for Bongo Comics. They then decided to make an aftermath on what Springfield would without him, which didn’t go so well. Marge now runs the Android’s Dungeon, removing anything that was violent and obscene {in short, good}, the Internet was shut down because all the snark CBG made for the directors were no more, and a war between the intelligent nerds and the tech-savvy geeks began.
So, let’s see if we get Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book over with! Why? Well, getting off-topic for a moment, thanks to Archie Comics, Sonic the Hedgehog comics has introduced Cream the Rabbit, one of my favorite recent next-gen Sonic characters, into Mobius. I found out that there’s going to be a 4-part series in Sonic Universe, which is an ongoing series that’s related to the Archieverse. I wanted to finish my previous mini-series, so I can move on to the next one.

And giving how I have random reviews wedged between issue numbers, I wanted to do something different for a while before I can move on to the next part. So, I’ve decided that next month will debut my review for BOTH of the penultimate and final issue of Comic Book Guy. I want my next mini-series to begin ASAP!

So, with that out of the way, let’s see what turmoil awaits in Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book #3!

STORY:

Hiding a newfound hobby
is hard. I'm still trying to
seal away my Sesame Street
obsession.
The story starts up with the Geek/Nerd war, already in progress. The police are helpless against these acne-covered young adults and only Homer Simpson can stop it. He does so by pushing a nerd. Threatening to do some more if they don’t stop, Homer ended the war with a peace treaty between the nerds and geeks. That takes care of one plot element...thr most exciting one in this issue. Damn it all.
Meanwhile, Bart is in a search for a new hobby since Marge made the comic store much more boring. He succeeds on finding a newfound hobby called knitting thanks to Abe Simpson.

After that bit of B-Story, Marge closes up the store and sleeps for a little while, dreaming she is the world of Little Lulu…and eventually from it, she finds out that Comic Book Guy may still be alive. Plagued by the dreams as well, Lisa wants to dig up CBG’s grave to see if his body is still intact, I’ll see if you can guess if it’s still here. Whatever your guess is, Lisa is still not convinced. She decides to investigate on CBG’s death herself, and joining her is Ralph Wiggum. He tells me to burn things…unnecessarily things.

Not funny, player!

Yeah, I don’t care.

ART:
Now, since I’m going to say the same thing as my last two Comic Book Guy reviews, let me at least add some things that are different this time.


He should team up with The Tick's
Brainchild.
First, the comic takes us to a slight detour into Marge’s dreamworld in a Little Lulu comic. The artstyle is familiar to those of you who read about the adorable little moppet before. The most hilarious thing to come out of this was Little Burnsie, using his unfair advantage to coach a bunch of pro baseball players to face off to a bunch of children.
Second, I need to credit the artist who was responsible to this {and more} because this is going into a rut; I’m going to have to credit somebody. His name is John Delaney. The guy was responsible for other Bongo Comics as well as some Bruce Timm DC stories that were in print.

Maybe I might see this guy again someday, but that depends if I go into an Adventures in the DC Universe issue.

WRITING:
Now, since I’m going to use this as good writing instead of humor, I might has well give you some background information to the writer and comment on how well or poor he did.


That's nothing. This is the same
reaction from a black rally.
The writer in this case is Ian Boothby, who is also responsible to some Bongo Comics stories. His work is also on some Powerpuff Girls issues and a story from the 2007 DCU Infinite Holiday Special entitled “Father Christmas”, featuring the Flash.
How he did on the story you ask? As usual, you can find many pop culture references from fandom’s past here as well as some laughs here and there. My favorite part however is Homer trying to break up the nerds and geeks from fighting by yelling “JAR JAR BINKS IS THE GREATEST STAR WARS CHARACTER EVER!” Put that to stop an argument and you’re bound to make people forget what they were talking about.

FINAL VERDICT:
I don’t have anything else to talk about in this comic. Probably because most of the segments are becoming old hat. It's a shame, I really wanted to see the Nerd/Geek War a little bit longer, but I believe the story arc is how Springfield is coping with the death of Comic Book Guy and how they are making it as it used to be when he was alive.

All and all, I really hope Comic Book Guy returns soon, and if not, well, give us some excuse on why he’s not here anymore!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must read the first issue of Tiny Titans/Little Archie. I’m not into Little Archie! I’m into the latter.

RATING:
* * *

MEANWHILE, IN A ZONE BEYOND OURS…

So, you’re planning to review Treasure Team Tango. Well, I’ve expected more excuses than that wretched goody-two-shoes rabbit! No matter, once I’m inside the Regular Zone, I’ll get what I wanted, and then I’ll use that to overthrow you.


After all, you get rich by selling emeralds. D-did that come out wrong? Because it sounded like it did. OK, how about this? After all, Sol is good for the skin. Even worse? Sir, I need you to come up with better zingers! Are you still on phonoscreen? Damn it all.

Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book will end its run soon, and when it does, the next story arc will give me all the answers I need. Right, sir? Oh yeah, he’s off the phonoscreen. He really needs to pay more attention to my demands.

THE ANSWER FOR IF THE BODY IS INTACT!




Saturday, October 9, 2010

T.U.F.F. Puppy vs. Planet Sheen

Welcome to Random Fandom, where I review out of my mind about the things I find, and welcome to the first addition of a new segment of the blog.

For many months, I wanted to see who can duke it out and see which one is better, even if both of them are horrible, only one can be less bad, which will be an example for today’s battle. Recently, Nickelodeon has going down the crapper with Nicktoons that older fans who used to watch the network find horrendous, shows like The Mighty B, Back at the Barnyard, and…Fanboy and Chum-Chum.

These days you find something with more quality, but thanks to Fanboy and Chum-Chum, no one can sleep with these two haunting your nightmares. Their colorful cartoonish antics that driven the world they live in from hell to back. Abandon all sanity for ye who enter...which is a good thing I’m not focusing on them.

Instead, I’m clashing Nicktoons’ recent additions: T.U.F.F. Puppy, from Butch “Fairly Odd” Hartman, and Planet Sheen, from three people who worked on the Jimmy Neutron cartoon. These two may be met with mixed reactions, but how they are liked is another topic. This week, I’m looking at both these shows in my categories I chose for the occasion. Which show is a little better? Well, get some orange goo to splat and some brain cells to kill! This is RANDOM FANDOM BAM!-DOM!
Now, I’m going to talk about the main character first and end on rewatchability, which is the chance you might watch it again in the near future. And since these shows came out quite recently, I’m only going to go into the first episodes because well, I can only check out these shows once for this topic. So, let’s not dillydally and talk about the star of the show…s.

MAIN CHARACTER:
Now these characters both have interesting scenarios around them, but as long as there’s no Tuxedo Knux or Graphic Novel Kid, I’m good on this. However, these characters deserve a little mention and a little in-depth analysis before making a verdict.

T.U.F.F. Puppy is a show about a secret organization located in a city populated by furries known as Petropolis, using their best agents to make sure evil doesn’t fill the streets of the city with crime. This organization is known as T.U.F.F. {Also known as the Turbo Undercover Fighting Force}, facing off the many villains from D.O.O.M. {A.K.A. the Diabolical Order of Mayhem}


Fighter of truth, justice, and bugs
on his buttocks!
Our main character is an excitable pup that has every gene known from Dogdom named Dudley Puppy, voiced by Jerry Trainor from iCarly fame. After witnessing Dudley’s success over the henchmen of Veminious, the leader of D.O.O.M., over a chew-toy no less, T.U.F.F. hired him into the agency of spying, kicking ass, and taking names. Dudley is your basic dimwitted, happy-go-lucky basic character, using his simple mind to either accidentally to stop his foes or making his partner more irate, which I’ll explain in the next category.

Planet Sheen is basically this scenario: Sheen finds Jimmy’s rocket, accidentally blasts it off with him in it, and crash-lands on the planet Zeenu, about four million and one away from Earth. His goal? Fix the rocket while facing the many dangers Zeenu has to offer so he can get home.

Most of you who are familiar with the Jimmy Neutron movie and/or TV series must be no stranger to Sheen Estevez, the Ultralord-obessing, dimwitted, hyperactive friend of Jimmy and is happened to be voiced by Jeff Garcia, who I swear to Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod works in the animation house where this show is produced. He is no different from what we are seeing. He’s still not the brightest guy, he’s still on a sugar high, and he still obsesses over Ultralord.

Which it’s a perfect time to give you an education on the many things television has to offer to please others. This is known as my Random Moment of Intellect. This is part of the show where I discuss the very thing that’s related to what I’m talking about. So, let’s talk about Spin-Offs.

According to the Information Super Highway Dictionary {3rd Edition}, a spin-off is a product, material, or service deriving from something that already exists. This is known as writers saying “Hey, fans love this character, right? Do they want to know what kind of wacky adventures it would have without the aid of the main character? Let’s greenlight a spin-off! Now, let me some monkeys so we make no effort into this!”

OK, maybe I’m being a bit too negative of this. Occasionally, most television shows get very successful spin-offs. For example, Doctor Who currently has two spin-offs on air right now. One being for adults and the other for children. These two are known as Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. There’s also another one that focuses on K-9, but I’m not counting it because it’s not in current Doctor Who continuity. There are subpar spin-offs that set these gems apart, some examples being The Cleveland Show, Joey, and all of the Brady Bunch spin-offs. It’s good that writers want to expand on characters that people are already familiar with, but once you get into your 7th episode, it’s bound to get tiresome.

The very reason why T.U.F.F. Puppy wins it. I know you Sheen-fans must be disappointed, but the main character is already from another television show, while Dudley is an original creation not seen by anywhere else in Hartman’s shows. So, a point goes to T.U.F.F. Puppy.

WINNER:
DUDLEY PUPPY {T.U.F.F. PUPPY}

Then, there’s the characters that inhabit the worlds the show take place. Who has the best supporting weirdoes? Let’s find out!

OTHER CHARACTERS:
Now, the characters are a hit-and-miss on both shows. First off, we got the sidekick. For Dudley, he’s got Kitty Katswell, the Kung-Fu-smart, no-tolerate cat! She is Dudley’s partner/mentor, even though she gets into enough trouble as Dudley does trying to stop D.O.O.M. She’s the kind of person who is committed to her job, just like Pop! You remember him, right? He’s a Gogo’s Crazy Bone that most of you didn’t check out…well, screw you! I picked my own partner in crime! You guys were too interested on more successful crap! Well, I review from my mind and nothing…!

Fandom, I don’t know this isn't a good time,
But to you, losing your views is a crime!

What?! But only one person knows about you!
You think picking me from a game of Russian Roulette was a good idea, prick?
You better make this disaster up or you’ll be sucking…

YES, I GET IT! I’ll be sucking hard! Just because you rhyme doesn’t mean you can be explicit.

Yeah, I’m going back in my bag.

You do that…committed to his job, my ass.

Sheen’s partner however is a monkey named Mr. Nesmith. He serves just like Kitty, a smart animal who is often annoyed by the stupidity of the main hero. But at least, he has a super intellect thanks to many decades stranded here while his brain cells grew in humongous size. He also serves as mechanic for fixing Sheen’s rocket, which is good because Sheen on the planet for so long will become mincemeat by Dorkus.

Speaking of whom, it’s time to talk about villains. For Planet Sheen, we got Dorkus and Pinter. Dorkus hates Sheen for three reasons.
NUMBER ONE: HIS ROCKET DESTROYED HIS HOUSE WHEN IT CRASH-LANDED.
NUMBER TWO: HE STOLE THE TASK OF BEING THE EMPEROR’S RIGHT-HAND MAN.
NUMBER THREE: HE DOESN’T THINK SHEEN IS QUALIFIED TO BE AN INTELLECT FOR THE PLANET.

So, there are many reasons are why Dorkus wants to destroy Sheen. His partner Pinter, who is a flying eyeball and sounds like Ringo Starr, is just here to compliant Dorkus and his many failures.

T.U.F.F. Puppy? Well, the first episode just featured Verminious Snaptrap. He’s not only the leader of D.O.O.M., but your typical take-over-the-world-and-finish-with-that baddie. Oh, and according to the website, he’s allergic to cheese…interesting. But, the second episode does have an interesting villain {at least if you compare him to Verminious}, he is called the Chameleon. He, of course, can shapeshift into anything to blend into his surroundings, but he is more interested on succeeding on destroying Kitty more than anything else at the moment. That is a true villain!

So, I’ll just give you the rest of the major characters on both shows because like I said, we need a verdict eventually.

T.U.F.F. Puppy has a flea who is the head of T.U.F.F. known as The Chief, who I swear to Nod has the best character design in the whole show! We also got the usual high-tech genius known as Keswick. We don’t know what animal he is, our guesses is a mole, mongoose, or Rufus. OK, Rufus is off because Keswick isn’t pink. Oh, he also talks like Professor Frink with the stuttering and the braininess and the JERRY LEWIS.


VICTOR H. GARBER! It looks like her
neck broke!
Planet Sheen does have some characters as well that are just as interesting. The Emperor who is delighted to have Sheen crash on his planet and share his wisdom about his planet. Granted, he doesn’t know about Earth until Sheen appeared, but it’s better to have an idiot talk about it than nobody at all. Aseefa is a blue Glimmorian, and I’m not going to assume she’s a Na’vi because the show was in production before Avatar was released. That’s like saying Glee was inspired by High School Musical, it’s just people overreacting. Oh, and she’s voiced by Punky Brewster. If that doesn’t give you fans Punky Power, then you were never in the 1980s. In short, Aseefa is basically Sheen’s love interest because the one he first sees on Zeenu…immediately scares me.
But give the show some credit, the show does at least have some reverence from the cartoon it was based on. It has a sluggy version of Carl Wheezer named Doppy. Same voice, same appearance if you ignore the slug part, and same gleeful ignorance. He serves as Sheen’s other friend on the planet.

So, who has the best character roster? Well, I got to say Planet Sheen. Give me some credit, the characters on T.U.F.F. Puppy look cool too, but all of them are animals. Planet Sheen’s roster at least ranged from humanoid to sluggish, light to dark, black to white. So, Planet Sheen, points for at least making more original characters, except for Doppy.

WINNER:
PLANET SHEEN

But, what’s a cartoon without humor? Well, there’s some Anime, but they try to hide it sometimes. Regardless, let us see which show made us chuckle the most!

HUMOR:
If you judge the humor on both shows, it’s pretty standard Saturday-Cartoon fare. They don’t waste any time slapping comedy in your face like a cherry pie.

T.U.F.F. Puppy is just like some of the episodes of Fairly Oddparents, two episodes in one half-hour, and willing to repeat the running joke for the episode over and over again. Some work out, some get old very quickly.


"I'm going to wake up, the sun will be shining, and
I'll be back on the farm..."
Planet Sheen, on the other hand, is just one big half-hour of plot and humor. You will get annoyed by Sheen by the halfway mark, but all I can say is that Sheen’s impetration of the history of Earth was chuckle-worthy; even it does last a few seconds. Also, I like to point out that Otis makes a cameo. Otis from Back at the Barnyard? Yes, he does make an appearance, along with Pig. Just a literal hello-and-goodbye moment…and there’s no dialogue from them either! Come on, Otis’s lines was the only reason I watched Back at the Barnyard!
But since I need to make up my mind, I’ll go with T.U.F.F. Puppy. Why? Because they don’t throw the word “MONKEY” at every minute! I’m serious, as soon as Sheen means Nesmith; it’s the word monkey from here on there. In fact, the writers thought it was so funny; it was included in a scene transition. This is the majority of what they’re going to cut to whenever a new scene begins! Monkey dance, how I loathe you and just annoys me to end.

Just like your irate reactions.

Shut up. Point goes to T.U.F.F. Puppy!

WINNER:
T.U.F.F. PUPPY
{For not using the word “Monkey” often}

How does the pretty pictures fare up with the kid-friendly humor, decent characters, and sub-par plots? Probably average, but let’s see which show had the animation that was above the rating.

ANIMATION:
Now, the animation is a no-brainer. Although, the 2D animation and the 1940s-eque backgrounds feel decent on T.U.F.F. Puppy, Planet Sheen wins this challenge for more effort.


At least, the backgrounds in T.U.F.F Puppy don't look...
simplistic.
The show may be CGI, but O Entertainment does a good job making sure it looks realistic. Fanboy and Chum-Chum may have a cartoonish-type of CGI, but Planet Sheen has realistic backgrounds, shadowing on most of the characters, and making everything on Zeenu look believable.

I grade Planet Sheen as DreamWorks movie status, since the humor is chuckleworthy and the animation is beautiful. So, I’ll give the point to Planet Sheen. Why? Well, sometimes when you put into effort with something that is more hard work than 2D and makes it look like a movie, you’re doing something right when you’re making a show. So, congrats on Planet Sheen for doing something right!

WINNER:
PLANET SHEEN

Now comes the final verdict. Which show will you check out again if you got nothing to do? Let’s find out which one has the most rewatchability!

REWATCHABILITY:
This is going to be a toughie because both shows have mixed reactions. Let’s break them individually to see if we get a verdict.

T.U.F.F. Puppy is typical Hartman fare, although it’s not the next Danny Phantom, it tried it’s best to make sure it’s more entertaining as an action genre would want it. The characters while funny can be entertaining, the villains if more can be hit-and-miss, and the animation although 2D {Don’t take this the wrong way. I love 2D animation} can be cartoonish.

Planet Sheen, on the other hand, is just like Back at the Barnyard. Don’t get me wrong. At least, the Jimmy Neutron TV series wasn’t too bad, but these two don’t par up the series. Although the CGI looks nice and characters look different, Sheen will get annoying quickly, the humor won’t be for intelligent adults, and once you put Carl Wheezer as a slug and just change his name, well, I don’t know what to say.

The winner has got to be T.U.F.F. Puppy. You watch the show to expect the new villains and locations, but when you watch Planet Sheen, you’re never going to see Sheen get home because I can predict they’re not going to come up with a series finale that focuses on that.

Sheen, we love you, but a spin-off wasn’t the best idea for you.
AND STOP DOING THAT MONKEY DANCE!
WINNER: T.U.F.F. PUPPY

So that’s my first Random Fandom BAM!-Dom! Will I do another one? Well, maybe, but only if all of you can give Gogo’s Crazy Bones some love!

You’re doing it again, player.

Hey, screw you! Until next time, I’m still reviewing things from what I find, praying they don’t go unnoticed.

Nice closing.

You like dancing, small fry? Well, how you do feel about that after what I’m going to do with your legs!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Sonic Super Special #8

Welcome to Random Fandom, where I review out of my mind about the things I find.


Sometimes, pretty covers
make a comic sell. I'm not
talking about this however.

Now, I’m willing to do anything when I see it…as long as I got proof. After viewing Linkara’s 100th Episode of Atop the 4th Wall {In which, he reviewed Sonic Live!}, I decided to try to find a Sonic comic book that is equally ludicrous and confusing. A few months prior, one of my friends donated me some Sonic comics. There was the In Your Face! Special, a few issues, and a Super Special I’m going to be reviewing today.

These comic books known as Sonic Super Specials were released quarterly that fall into the continuity of the Archie Sonic comics. For those of you who focus on the games, the Sonic Comic is an adaptation-turned-continuation of Sonic SatAM, where Robotnik succeeds on ruling the world and it’s up a small group of Freedom Fighters to make things right again. I know people loved the show so much that the comic continues to be published to this day. Even a spin-off comic takes familiar Sonic characters from games and beyond and put them into new 4-story arcs, but we’ll get to that eventually.

Right now, I’m on the topic of Sonic Super Specials. It was about anything from Muppet Babies-inspiration to Image-crossingover to important plot elements in the Sonicverse, and then there is the possibility of other worlds. Like DC and Marvel, Sonic is no stranger to the worlds different from his. In fact, one story focuses on the exposition of many universes Sonic visited, or Zones {Much like the games}, and his first meeting of the Monitor of Watching Mobius and Beyond: Zonic.

Granted, it’s one of the stories featured in this 48-page special dish, but this is known as the weirdest tales of Sonic I have ever read. So, let’s spin dash to Sonic Super Special #8 and see if we still some rings by the end of the review.

STORY:
The first story is a prelude to another story called “Zone Wars”. Sonic is battling a female version of Robotnik, stumbles upon Sally Acorn as Sailor Moon and Amy Rose as a hot schoolgirl, and Girl-botnik gets defeated by…Knuckles wearing a tuxedo, which Sally is in love with…excuse me for a second.

5 minutes later…


If you think Girl Robotnik was werid,
wait until you enlarge this!
 Alright, I checked my temperature, ran a hot bath, and checked my pee twice, but I’m still OK…why? It turns out everything Sonic has witnessed was from another zone. The female Robotnik has escaped from the Luna Zone and Zonic sent these three Anime rip-offs to help Sonic out. Zonic explains the whole alternate dimension theory as well as the fact he’s a Zone Cop who keeps everything from being…weird. Oh yeah, because when you got a fast blue hedgehog and a power-hungry fat man, that’s normal, but put an Echidna in a tuxedo into the mainframe, then you really need to get some air.

He also explains the reason he didn’t try to stop Sonic when visited Zones before {I do have Sonic #52 as well where Sonic goes to the Discovery Zone, which is simlaiar to noir} The reason he let them open so that Sonic can save them because he is the hero of time and space. It’s a weird way to put it, but he is the only defense Mobius has got.

The second story is as normal as you can get for a Sonic comic. “Running on Empty” has Sonic telling Amy that one of Snively’s plans, who is Robotnik’s nephew, almost killed him. After being lured to a trap set by Snively resulting to a laser blast, Sonic’s speed causes him to stop speeding and carry debris in his trail. Not only that, but whenever Sonic uses it, he ages, which increases his metabolism. The Freedom Fighters head to Robotropolis to reverse the ray’s settings and after a battle with Robotnik, Sally manages to trick Snively on blasting the ray on Sonic and the blue blur is back to being young and speedy.

Then, there’s a story featuring one of Archie Comics’ exclusive characters: Monkey Khan, called “Den of Thieves”. It’s basically him teaming up with some other Archie-exclusives known as Liu Fang and Lui Chi Mei to get the treasure back stolen by these Furby Gremlins. I’m serious, just look at these guys and tell me you find some similarities! Actually, they’re known as Yagyu Clan, infamous for plundering villages in the Dragon Kingdom. And no, it doesn’t count as a Zone because it’s located on Mobius. The three heroes get attacked by a Robot Dragon, but Khan manages to smash the tracking device attached to the dragon, which causes it to turn on the Yagyu Clan.

Finally, there’s a story called “Ghost Busted”. It’s just a story adapted from an episode from Sonic SATAM. So to save you the trouble, I’m giving you the link to watch the episode yourself: http://alturl.com/9zoby. If that link doesn’t work anymore, just find in the internet or get the DVD of the series. I’m not going to review something that was based off of something this comic has expanded on.

In short, it’s a mixed bag. You got Sonic in other universes, Freedom Fighters thwarting Robotnik, Monkey Khan kicking ass, and Antoine being French. It’s a good issue, but the thought of seeing Sally Moon again will remain a mystery…now, go make me some fan art! Your furry-induced fetishes command you!

ART:
Now, I’m going to break down the stories down with writer and penciler only because after all you’re going to need a verdict eventually. Also, I need some background information for these guys will edcaute you and me.

Zone Wars: Prelude: Dan Scott written the story and James Fry did the artwork. Dan does a great job with capturing the oddities and sliders this story has to offer. He’s did some Star Wars comics for Dark Horse as well. James Fry’s artwork shines on the characters and backgrounds pretty well. James was also responsible for comics from DC, Marvel, mainly on Marvel Comics Presents and Star Trek, so check them out if you find them.


That's not exaggerated
artwork, Snively has been
working out for months.
 Running on Empty: With Roger Brown scripting the story, we got Nelson Riberio doing the pretty pictures for us while he gives Roger some help with the plot. Roger did a good job writing the story as if it was an unreleased episode of the cartoon. His work was also with the Disney Afternoon comic and Razor, but it’s unfortunately short on stories. Nelson did a decent job on the art, but it annoyed me that he made Snively look like he’s been to the gym lately. His work was at Archie Comics as an editor and does some work on them occasionally.

Den of Thieves: Frank Strom did both story and artwork. Frank Strom did a good job making a short adventure story, but I didn’t care about it because I didn’t care about Monkey Khan in particular. His work however ranges from Looney Tunes to Scooby-Doo to Powerpuff Girls! He even did an issue for Captain Marvel, that was nice of them.

Ghost Busted: Now, the art is one thing I need to talk about in this story. While Pat Alee wrote the story for the cartoon, Jay Oliveras did the story and art for the comic adaptation! It was his first story in Sonic Comics and his artwork is known to be panned by critics. However, he inked the Sonic Quest miniseries and it was basically just an adaptation for Sonic 2, 3, and Sonic and Knuckles. I haven’t read them, so unless I decide to, try to give the miniseries a try if you find it.

HUMOR:
The humor is expected for these books from Archie. It’s kid-friendly and can get a little annoying after a while. It's decent, but the main problem is that I'm starting to question including the topic in my comic reviews.


No. Bad artwork has Sonic, you two-tailed
twit.
 Granted, Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book had humor that even older kids can appreciate, but not all comics have to be funny. For example, The Killing Joke isn’t supposed to be hilarious anyway, especially when you see a guy wearing makeup and a flamboyant tuxedo.

In conclusion, I want to replace that slot just in case I find more serious comics in the near future. So, that is why Humor is turning into Script. I’ll be focusing on how well the story is written and as well as give you some background of the writer who did it. Maybe some of his or her work might make it on the show, maybe.

We all need a little laugh in the world, but for the grittier times, it deserves the respect it needs.

FINAL VERDICT:
Back to the subject at hand, Sonic Super Special #8 is a good read. I might want to recommend it to the Sonic SatAM and hardcore Sonic fans only. The humor is tacked on and the art and script range from good to poorly received. So, the stories aren’t that harmful for little kids, but if you’re a new reader, try and read some of the past issues to get an idea what the Freedom Fighters are up to. That is why I’m sticking a 3-star rating for its mixed results and maybe a ½ sign for the possibility to revisit the Luna Zone in the future. I don’t know, maybe Tuxedo Knux sounds hilarious to me.

RATING:
* * * 1/2

Like I said, I got many Sonic comics and even purchased two of them to see how the characters and world around them changed. Since I got time, I’ll give a brief review for the recent issue I got.
Oh, think of all the adventures we're going to have... :]

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue N64

PowWelcome to Random Fandom, where I review out of my mind about the things I find.

I might be one of these people who thought Power Rangers were awesome back in its heyday, but all I can remember from the show is the PSAs, the first episode of the franchise sold into retail, the toys I used to have {The Zeo Megazord is the closest thing I can remember}, and a VHS copy of the first two episodes of the first Power Rangers spin-off that has anything to do with Mighty Morphin’ and beyond: Lightspeed Rescue.

I’m also one of these people who just watched it for the fights and Megazords. Sure, images of the morphing, Alpha 5, Rita, and even Zordon linger in my mind, but what I remember most about the show is violence; sweet, wonderful, bad-influencing violence.
Power's on its way? I don't think so.
Today’s subject is a weak attempt to recreate the fights as seen on the show. It’s a video game adaptation to Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue. Sometime during the year 2000, THQ released a video game based on the characters. The PlayStation and Nintendo 64 versions just focused on what made Power Rangers great to begin with: fighting, Megazords, and sweet colorful costumes, the Game Boy Color one was the same thing, but in 2D, and the PC version however is the equivalent of jingling your keys to a baby’s face. It’s just a click-anything-you-can-see activity center focused in the underwater base known as the Lightspeed Aquabase.

It would be fun to a kid about 3 to 7, but for an older kid, unless he’s got nothing to do, it’s boring! But that doesn’t mean the one I’m reviewing isn’t going to be better. I am reviewing the N64 version of the Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue video game. Now recently, I’ve been trying to get back to the Power Rangers in honor of the new series that’s coming to Nickelodeon next year {as well as the first series made by Saban for a while} by watching the episodes of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. And to be fair, this spin-off does have some similarities from the original. So, let’s not waste any time to see if this game is from Diabolico.

STORY:
The story is divided into 3 episodes. Each of them focusing on a new monster Diabolico unleashes. The main storyline is that the Rangers must get all the Titanium Power Coins before Diabolico can get to them first. The villains Jinxer made {although he’s not into the game, I would tell you who is responsible for them instead of telling you that Diabolico just picked up from Limbo} are Whirlin, known as Typhonus in this game, and Magmavore, who is known as Lavaca, as well as two new demons: Lectron, a monster made out of Ooze, and Trembler, a monster made out boulders. In turn, they turn into a hybrid monster by the end of the game known as the Lectronic Trembler.

The main plot point is that the Power Rangers need to find 3 Titanium Coins scattered around Titan City {or Marnier City, for those who actually respect the show} to enhance the Lightspeed Megazord, which is like glitter from my perspective.
What would Linkara say?!
The cutscenes in-between levels aren’t animated, but in a comic book form that is no doubt created by an elementary school student with Microsoft Paint. And if you’re probably wondering if Vypra is in this game, well, she is not. Either is Jinxer, Loxi, or even Queen Bansheera! My conclusion is that developer didn’t know the back-story of the series so well and just watched some episodes from the show.

The story is little subpar, but it requires more research in order to make it a true Power Rangers experience!

GAMEPLAY:
The levels are in 4 different settings. Each varying from their suckitude to their appeal. The first is what you see almost every level: the walking levels. You play as a Power Ranger {They don’t give you what color, they just slap a color on them before you start playing it} and run around rescuing people, shooting lasers at the Batlings {Some are neutral, some shoot back, and some look like bees}, and getting stuff until the number of things you’re supposed to get reaches to zero. The characters are blocky; the design of the levels can get annoying quickly, and if you enjoy repetitive music and soundclips, well, you would enjoy these in the game.

Next up is the driving levels. You just spend your free time rescuing cars or avoiding ships that shoot lasers too. These levels also have time limits and it can very hard steering the car, either bumping into other cars {including the ones you’re supposed to rescue} or avoiding the lasers. You have a laser gun for defense against the ships and to put out the flaming cars, but it wouldn’t help since you got a time limit and the fact the road is like an ice rink! Oh, and you’ll be seeing those a lot too…whoop-dee-turbo-doo.

It's the only thing I can find for the
flying levels. It's bad that game can't
include the more fun things.
Then, there’s the most fun part of the game {why I’m not saying the Megazord levels, I’ll get to in a moment}, the flying levels! You just fly around the city, getting boxes or Rangers and avoiding ships. Although the controls to get the boxes once you find them are tenacious, this is the only vehicle level that’s in 3D! The driving ones are just in a 2D surrounding, but you can move around the city with the greatest of ease with the ability to go UP! UP UNTIL THE GAME LIMITS YOUR FLIGHT! Or when the time reaches to zero, whatever works.

Finally, there are the Megazord levels. They may be part of the multiplayer as well {In fact, the only part.}, but that doesn’t excuse the battles end quickly. It’s the same setup: you battle a monster until their health goes down, but all you have to do is shoot him multiple times and it’ll do down. And you can’t dodge while you’re doing that; the opponent’s health will slowly go back up as well as yours if it attacks you as well. I know this game is for kids, but look at the other demographics; older people watch Power Rangers and play Nintendo 64 as well! You need to respect all of your fans in order to get a better gaming experience as if you were a Power Ranger yourself! When you do a game based on the next Power Rangers series, I expect progress and effort! Simple-minded time-wasters like these do not make a good game! OK, Tetris and Pong are bad examples for this, but at least they came out when gaming was still in its youth!

But if you do make a game like that, put in the digital Market and lower the price a bit! This is the 21st Century, people! You need to start living with the times! Either way, most of these levels are boring, annoying, and NEEDS MORE EFFORT!

Oh, I almost forgot. When you press Z on selecting a walking or flying level, you get a secret bonus level! It’s not any different as the things are swapped to different locations and there might be different things as well.

OTHER STUFF {REPLAY, GRAHPICS, AND MORE}:
Everything else in the game isn’t anything to expect either. They’re blocky, low-res, and irradiating to play through. I know I’m lashing out on an N64 game, but let me do a little bit of comparing…with one of Nintendo 64’s greatest games!

Super Mario 64 has huge levels for the player to explore. Lightspeed Rescue has invisible walls at the most inappropriate places!

Super Mario 64 has tons of enemies to fight. Lightspeed Rescue just has Batlings with different colors!

Super Mario 64 has replay value! Lightspeed Rescue just has a Multiplayer mode afterwards.

Super Mario 64 is beautiful to look at. Lightspeed Rescue’s graphics make Adventure on the Atari look like a masterpiece…A BETTER MASTERPIECE!

Super Mario 64 has annoying sound clips. Lightspeed Rescue has the same thing, but repetitive!

Super Mario 64 brushes and flosses regularly. Lightspeed Rescue had to be reminded to brush his teeth…but NEVER DOES!

In conclusion, which son would you sacrifice to the devil?

FINAL VERDICT:
If Saban was playing this, I'm guessing
their reaction for this was beyond low
expectations.
We need Lightspeed Rescue to rescue us from this game! This game isn’t anything an older fan would appreciate. The story’s stiff, the graphics are no good, and it’s just too short. I know I’m bashing on a kids’ game, but don’t forget, during the time, fans of the original series were 7 years older. They are more experienced, more observant, and more opinion-based.

Now, my hope is that the new series will be as respected as the spin-offs, but if you pull any crap like giant pizzas, cars, or Ninja Turtles, consider yourself a powerful enemy! And if you release a game similar to the garbage I suffered, IT’S MORPHING TIME!

RATING:
*1/2

OK, for those of you who are wondering, yes! The Titanium Ranger and Megazord appear in the game, but they’re not too different than the others. Besides, to get the Ranger, you must save the game after completing it, restart, start a new game, and you play as him! Nice effort, but not if he’s useless as the rest of the game!

But...since all of you are going to be angry that Power Rangers has spwaned this, let me give you a relief. Go on www.powerrangers.com/episodes! You'll find a new episode from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers every since day. It's important that you must watch some of your favorites because they're only here for 24 hours. So, go on this site now and prepare to step back into the Morphing Grid!
The power lives on...for better or worse.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Good News/Requests for Future Reviews

Hey, minions! This is your leader speaking from the Interwebs.

I have been impressed by the small incline of views this month than supposed from last month. The most viewed is the Webs of Possibility with about 20 views! I even got my first comment from Condom {for those you who want to see his blog, check out http://dvdmoviemaniac.blogspot.com/} from the Look Around You DVD review I did last month. I advise you all to check them out and comment on what you thought of them. Your opinions will greatly please me as I continue chugging out reviews every Saturday!

Oh, and while you are commenting, feel free to give me a request for what I should review in the future. I can review from the following:
DVDs {Blu-Rays too, but that's only if I get the movie on that format.}
Video Games {Wii, DS, X360, N64, GC are examples, but I can review other games from the footage and reviews I find online.}
Movies {Give some underrated titles or some that are worthy for a review.}
Comics {Give me a title, any title, and I'll see if I can do that in the near future.}
Collectibles, or Other {This is from the first review. I need more interesting collectibles to give honest opinions on.}
Books {It's depends on how long or underrated a certain book is. I can't review Great Gatsby or Death of a Salesman, these books already have a reputation.}

Thanks for reading on the good news, and keep on coming to the site and giving me your opinions or requests. Remember, I post a new review on who-knows-what every Saturday. So, your request might be the next thing I find to be reviewed out of my mind

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book #2

Last time {or more like, last month on} Random Fandom…

The Simpsons’ own Comic Book Guy. Geek, nerd, obese. These are the words that describe him.

Last issue, his adventures took him in such strange places. He entered a Lardlad contest, but lost to his doppelganger. He bid on everything at a movie prop auction, which made him go inside Superman’s rocket, fueled by rocket fuel, and flew up in the ceiling and exploded…

…and perished him.

I mean, what the Hello Dolly with Barbara Streisand?! You don’t make a mini-series focused on a character if you’re going to focus on killing him on the first issue! That is just ridiculous! This is now just a 4-part Simpsons Comics story, and you can do better by finding a copy of Simpsons Comics and just be satisfied on reading a single issue!


I guess guarantees make comics sell.
 By the by, welcome to Random Fandom, where I review out of my mind about the things I find, and the beginning of the main-character-unfocusity epic known as Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book, Issue Number Two!

Now, I might be overeacting here, but not all {and by all, I mean ANY} comic book companies just go out of the way to kill off a main character in a comic book series directly from the first issue!

I mean, you got X-Men’s Jean Grey, DC’s Superman, and nearly every zombie in Marvel Zombies! But, they at least get some time to know the reader before their demise. And although Comic Book Guy had 20 years to be recognized from television, movies, action figures, books, et certa, before his “demise”, you don’t result in having a mini-series with the character that you and others loved so much and killed him in the not final, not penultimate, but the FIRST FRICKIN’ ISSUE!

But, you’ll never know. Maybe the characters’ reactions after the death of Fandom’s most recognizable losers will save it somehow and he will come back. They’re not going to absent him out of the new season without any explanation, can they? Let’s take a look!

STORY:
And there goes an exciting plot...
After the funeral for our formerly intact geek, hooked up with viral video praise and Stan Lee to make it more appealing for the sci-fi demographic, CBG’s last will and testament is displayed inside the confines of Android’s Dungeon. The only thing he left behind was his store, which to him is like his life’s work and offspring. He gives the lucky catcher of the Radioactive Man figure to become the owner of the comic shop, but Marge’s hair caught it and she’s now in charge. She’s determined to make this dusty place better than ever…or better for her.

She redone the store, removing everything violent and inappropriate {in short, everyTHING}, and make pink, girly, and full of Little Lulu and Little Dot comics. This does not go well with the other fanboys, especially Bart, who is now destined to find a new hobby now his mom made the Android’s Playground an unbearable place for people who want to escape home. The only person that doesn’t change is Nelson Muntz and that’s only because he views Marge as a mother figure since she scolded him for language.

But, that’s not even the beginning of Springfield’s problems. The internet forums were a more pleasant place because Comic Book Guy used any usernames he can think of to bash directors for making the movies intolerable. Now that’s he dead, the forums are full of positive reviews and possibility to directors to make self-righteous movies about themselves.

President Not-Wolfcastle isn’t pleased about the whole Internet-is-much-more-kinder business, so he shuts down the Internet for good. And getting off-topic for a moment, I have an alternate if the internet suddenly turned off forever. I would like to introduce to you the Random Fandom Pony Xpress! It’ll deliver any review by the 2nd week of the month and you’ll only have to pay a dollar for each review.

Our ponies are fit and ready for any review to be hand-delivered personally. We use scientific technology to enhance the horses’ abilities to run and leap through tall buildings with a single bound: Super-powered chocolate. Just like the anthropomorphic ray I made, it will give horses the ability to become abnormal, but so far, most of them are sleeping. I hope these ponies get up soon; flies are starting to get anxious for flesh!

So, remember, we review from our minds to make sure you get the review we find! Hold on. I got a fax from the pony cabin. “Dear, Mr. Fandom, Please stop feeding us chocolate and forcing us to deliver your reviews. The only time the internet will go down is when Hell breaks loose. Until then, we no longer need your services. –The Ponies” Let me get my telegraph to respond to these ponies. The chocolate must have given them a number on their brains, if you know what I mean. “Dear, the Ponies STOP, You will quit if I begin to do a hula-dancing contest with a chimpanzee STOP. In short, you are not leaving your post until we get your first job STOP. Begrudgingly, Mr. Fandom.”… “STOP” OK, let me put the letter into the tube connecting to the ponies’ chain and we’ll wait.

Meanwhile, back at Springfield, everyone in Fandom is distraught that the internet is officially dead {Pony Express, BTW.} Lisa suggests they just talk directly to each other, but all that did was start a nerd vs. geek war.

And so, the comic ends with the nerds and geeks, wearing cosplay costumes, getting ready for the fight of their wasted lives.

ART:
I got to admit, I did NOT expect
this.
The art style is just like the Simpsons Comics just like in the last issue. There are no inside variant covers since this is a second issue, AKA “Not a Big Deal” I’ll grade it just like I did for the first issue, but the art still isn’t horrible.

HUMOR:
This cameo is pointless, nuff said.
The humor is as usual as the last issue. This time, adding cosplay and children’s comics in the mix. The reactions of the Internet being shut down were expected, but funny regardless. I also appreciate the return of both President Not-Wolfcastle and Russ Cargill from The Simpsons Movie, but I wasn’t expecting somebody would be fine after a rock landed on his head. Only in Bongo Comics, where continuity means nothing to them {except for the important stuff}

Stan Lee was the only part I didn’t find OK. I don’t care he wrote his own part in, but I was expecting him to do a lot more stuff to give the middle finger to DC. For example, in the episode “I Am Furious Yellow”, Stan makes a guest appearance as himself, doing many funny things, such as fitting the Thing in the Batmobile and trying to become the Hulk, but no avail. The least you can do is having him piss all over Bob Kane’s grave or something because besides the eulogy, he was just one-dimensional as the ways different artists draw his creations.

FINAL VERDICT:
Yes, Comic Book Guy only made some appearances this issue, but I didn’t feel up to the challenge to kill off a headlining character in the first issue. Regardless, the story still fares up nicely, the humor works unless you aren’t a geek or nerd, and the artstyle still captures the show perfectly. All I can say, I hope the aftermath of the Death of Fandom’s Greatest Nerds do well next issue and beyond.

Until next time, I…hold on, I got another letter from the ponies. “Mr. Fandom, we are now revolting. Your blog will never be as famous as those other Internet reviewers. Come out and surrender yourself.” Oh, I’ll surrender myself. Surrender from sloth and taking action!

Five minutes later…

Folks, the ponies are invading my home as we speak. So, until I get that out of the way, look forward to the third issue of Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book next moth. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m having glue for dinner. It’s the only thing good from horses and…just show the rating.

RATING:
* * *

Better luck next time, Homie...

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Webs of Possibility: The Spider-Men That Never Reached Fame

Welcome to Random Fandom, where I review out of my mind about the things I find.

Spider-Man is one of these people who needs no introduction. He’s a superhero, he swing on webs, beat up some bad guys, and learns the responsibilities of what his powers will bring, either good or bad. One bad responsibility is trading your marriage to the Devil to save your loving aunt, but that’s another spiral into the Marvel Universe.

No, we’re going to another Marvel Universe. Marvel is one of these companies who are willing to experiment beloved characters into new environments and situations. For example, the Noir Spider-Man. Taking place in the Noirsh 1930s, this Spider-Man relies on organic webbing and stealth in order to defeat his foes, oh, and he carries a gun and wears a trenchcoat, because says BADASS like a gun and a trenchcoat.

Another example is Spider-Man 2099, a successful alternate Spider-Man back in the early 1990s that takes place in the future. It was released during Spider-Man’s 30th birthday and takes place in a world where technology rules the world and product placement is the king. His alter-ego, Miguel O’Hara, got these powers not by a radioactive spider, but with addictive drugs and gene alternation…boy, we’ve come a long way from Spider-Man becoming a wrestler.

Why I am referring to these Spider-Men in particular? Well, most of you might have immediately found out that these characters will be in the new game, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Basically, Spider-Man destroys a Tablet of Order and Chaos by accident during one of Mysterio’s robberies, which causes problems in Marvel Multiverse. Along with Noir, 2099, and Ultimate Spider-Man, a Spider-Man that takes place in an alternate present where he’s still a teenager, Spidey Prime must get all the pieces back before the villains from this universe and others who got them use it to destroy Spider-Man once and for all.

And today, I’m taking a look at the Spider-Men that didn’t get to be famous or well-liked as their counterparts. Originally, I was going to look for Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man, a one-shot where Spider-Man is in 2099 and Spider-Man 2099 is in Continuity, but this thing is so damn hard to find! So, I’m resorting to find three Spider-Men people might have not of heard from and give my opinions of how superior or inferior they are to the real deal.

This is Webs of Possibility: The Spider-Men That Never Reached Fame.

Spider-Man: Unlimited

Alias: Peter Parker {Earth-751263}
Issue Example: Spider-Man Unlimited #½

The first one that didn’t reach the ritzy lifestyle that the other Spider-Men are known for, {well, one if you count other medians,} is Spider-Man Unlimited, a short-lived animated television series.

He is Peter Parker, but his adventures and costume is far more different than the one we know of him. After being blamed for the supposed death of J. Johan Jameson’s son, John, who was inside a space capsule to Counter Earth, by being defeated by Venom and Carnage {together at last!}, Spider-Man is being hassled by the public as a bad image and decides to let things right by going to Counter-Earth to save John from what horrors what Venom, Carnage, and Counter-Earth will bring.

As long as you don't dance,
we won't have any problems.
Sporting a new costume made the leader of the Fantastic Four, Reed Richards, which emits nanotechnology, Spider-Man discovers that Counter-Earth has Beastials, who look like the Animorphs gone butch, as the dominant species. Spidey Unlimi-tay finds John as a part of a gang of non-furry Freedom Fighters and decides that under John’s request that they’ll go back to Earth only after all of the Beastrils are defeated for good.

And that’s not the least of Spider-Man’s worries; Venom and Carnage have survived the flight in the space and also has to face off the leader of the Beastrils, The High Evolutionary, which their battles usually end in a draw.

It was a very different Spider-Man series, bringing Spider-Man into the world full of animal warriors who turn out to be antagonists. And it’s a very good reason why Spider-Man Unlimited is labeled as an alternate universe, the show only lasted 13 episodes! It doesn’t end on a high note too; it ends on a cliffhanger which symbiotes rule the planet.

The reason why it was cancelled was for low ratings, possibly because of the success of Pokémon. Yes, hundreds of little monsters capable of battle defeat a concept idea of Spider-Man if it was a B-Movie.

But, at least, the series had its share of propaganda to show how damn awesome it is. The only major thing I could find is a comic book series, that lasted for a short run too…but while the series had 13 episodes, the comic had 6 issues, including a Wizard ½ issue, and the last three are original storylines only!

Venom and Carnage are the only
alien things Spidey has witnessed...until NOW!
The topic on Spider-Man Unlimited #½ is just a retelling of the story’s pilot episode, including the fact that Flash Thompson was hanging around as Spidey for a little while after the controversy brewed. The issue ends on Spider-Man going into the space shuttle to retrieve John. It’s only a prologue to the first issue of a 2-parter, and it ended with some decent concept art from Andy Kuhn, who did the art for other Marvel books as well, such as Marvel Adventures and Marvel Team-Up.

It’s a good addition to the story, but it’s a lot to pay for a backissue. It was about $10 when I got it and it was during a 50% sale. Still, it’s highway robbery. It even includes a certificate of authenticity, or as Linkara from Atop the 4th Wall fame would call it, proof that you have a copy of this garbage.

But unlike Doom’s IV, this was actually a spin-off to a well-known, well-loved character. It’s awesome, but treated. It’s extreme, but only when Spider-Man reaches to Counter-Earth. It’s makes no sense, but in the world of comics, what do you expect?

And we hope that this story will reach a conlcusion.
It does give me a good explanation of why Peter-A is going to Counter-Earth and I’m excited to see what the Beastials will be like, but is it worth your hard-earned money? Well, here’s the thing, why don’t you see the first episode of Spider-Man Unlimited on YouTube? It will give you an opportunity to see if the series is a well-watch, then you can get issues #4-6 and watch the other episodes to see the further adventures of Spider-Man Unlimited!

I would give it a one star, but since this is a prologue and a short-lived series on TV and comic, I would up it up a bit, but for goodness sakes, continue the franchise!

Spider-Man Unlimited, it deserves another look-through in order to revive the character to continue the story to make sure Counter-Earth isn’t ruled by Venom and Carnage’s babies! I’ll give you a second to stomach that.
RATING:
* *
Spider-Man: The Spider-Man

Alias: Unknown {Presumably monster}
Issue Example: Marvels Comics Group Spider-Man #1

This character isn’t part of a spin-off TV series and it isn’t part of a satire. This character is turned out to be one of the lost works of Marvel.

There’s no human under there, it has no other emotions besides devouring its enemies, and it doesn’t like publicit, which turns our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man into the sinister alleyway verison. That thing is known as The Spider-Man.

The Spider-Man doesn’t take any sympathy from those who surround it and spawned from a crashed space capsule many years back…what most people think how it came here.

Just a main idea on what you'll expect.
But before I tell you about the mysterious beast, let me tell about the world it’s based on. This is known as the Marvel Universe within the Marvel Universe, or comics made in the Marvel Universe, where a comic company does its best to portray the heroes that surround them by creating new characters based around public media. This was known as Marvels Comics Group.

In July 2000, Marvel released some of these one-shots, including variations of Daredevil, who is literally a devil, the Fantastic Four, who have a 4x4 vehicle, and Captain America, which the one-shot was written by Steve Rogers, the former REAL Captain America. They were bizarre, but yet they try their best to make sure these comics are made as if a team of super-mutants wearing spandex existed.

Now, the whole story of this one-shot is a newspaper company known as the Clarion trying to get more information about the Spider-Man, which its publisher, T.T. Thomas, is desperate to learn about the creature as it was the only thing that emerged from the space capsule during a failed mission his son, Jay, was on. The staff finds more pictures of the monster eating a crook before they did interrupted by the Doc Ock from the Marvels Universe, Professor Squid. He has a bone to pick with T.T. covering his escapades and not even a SWAT team can prevent him from murdering this Jameson clone.

Thye even have a verison of the Marvel
Bullpen, including a comic strip.
The Spider-Man crashed through the skylights and battles Squidward into the printing the room, which turning the machine crushes the Squid’s tentacles. The Spidey then flees to get some photos of itself from a stranger that took them during the melee. The final panel had it wearing the J necklace Jay got from his late mother before going on that failed mission.

It deserves some speculation for this as well as emerging out of the space capsule. Did Jay become the Spider-Man? Did the Spider-Man eat Jay once it entered the shuttle? Did a radioactive spider alien bite Jay during his trip in space? Either way, Jay is screwed.

We never find out more about the creature as well as the others in the Marvels Universe because Marvel never did a sequel series for the one-shots! I don’t know why Marvel decided to move on as if nothing happened, but it’s worth to see the other Marvel Heroes and Villains into a citizen of Earth-616’s eyes. It’s not the Amalgam Universe where everybody from DC and Marvel are like Resse’s Peanut Butter Cups; these are newly-constructed characters as if the characters actually did exist.

My conclusion? The story was a breeze, the characters are well-liked, and we love to know more about the mystery of the Spider-Man. They also do a news bulletin along with a Marvel comic strip based on the characters. It’s much better than Clone Saga books or even One More Day, but I’m only comparing it to regular Spider-Man books.

I’m giving it an Epictude of Fandom guarantee and a four-star rating only because I want The Spider-Man and the Marvels Universe to return. It could be a crossover with the real and fiction worlds, it could be a new line of characters and villains that people like nowadays, or it could be a sequel to the previous one-shots. All I know is that the world needs The Spider-Man and I am the first one to say to Marvel to “MAKE MINE MARVELS!”

RATING:
* * * *

Spider-Man: Magna

Alias: Yu Komori
Issue Example: Spider-Man the Magna #3

1970 was the year most Spider-Man fans didn’t realize because it the Japanese Era of Spider-Man. Marvel Comics decide to give the rights to Spider-Man in the country of Japan to Ryoichi Ikegami, who would later be known as the creative force of Mai, the Physic Girl, and then came a Spider-Man for a new country to love.

Out was New York, out was Uncle Ben, and out was Peter Parker. Instead, Yu Komori, who suffers the same characteristics Peter had, gets the spider-bite in the world known as Tokyo, Japan…Earth.
Electro vs. Spider-Man! Who will win?
Well, this is Spidey's first battle.

Yu finally figured out these powers will make a superhero and makeshifts a costume as well as web shooters for him to defeat foes. His no-name Aunt then tells him that his penpal, Rumi, is coming to Japan to meet Yu face-to-face.

On that date, the Japanesque Electro, who looks like a teenager rather than an adult, robbing a bank, using his electric powers to knock out guards and blasting open the safe. The people think he’s a cyborg {Why? Maybe superpowered villains are officially robotic.} and Yu doesn’t become Spidey right away as Electro escapes in a getaway car.

He then meets Rumi, who’s brother has been missing for six months, and decides to help her without any acknowledgement of the robbery made by the lightning bolt in tights earlier.

Yu then finds out that Rumi needs money, or yen wherever she’s from, to pay for the hospital bills for her mother. She is suffering from heart problems and in a world where Rumi hasn’t established from, they suffer from loss of money as well…Earth.

Hearing that the Tokyo version of the Daily Bugle is going to give the lucky person $10,000 for the capture of Electro, Yu finally decides to make a difference and heads out as Spider-Man for the first time to fight him.

That’s the back-story from the first 2 issues, or the Electro Arc, and today I’m reviewing the third and final issue of that arc. So, let’s not waste any time and go right ahead to find out what happened to Japanese Spidey!

You know, right person, the lyric "Does whatever a spider can"
meant that he has the powers of a spider, not a super-spider!
Spider-Man fails to beat Electro and doesn’t think he has a rematch in mind. Our hero, ladies and gentlemen.

Meanwhile, a man who looks like Master Roshi if he was a sharp-dressed man was escorting Electro to the banks all along. He finally feels that being recognized for his research for high voltage engineering to get money and using the Man Currently Known as Electro to do his work was a terrible idea, as he thinks the robberies got people killed. He decides to give Electro a choice to become normal again, but Electro is greedy to let that stop him.

Electro then decides to rob a department store, where Yu is giving Rumi the bad news that he can’t go through with paying off for her mother. Before Tokyo 90210 can break out, Electro begins his crime of snatching yen and Yu decides to become Spider-Man again to stop him. He lures Electro outside where less people will get hurt, but that turns out to be a bad idea when Electro accidentally zaps the High Voltage Man.

His death will never give Electro the chance to be normal again and does the most reasonable thing he can think of. Blaming Spider-Man for his actions. Once on the rooftop though, Spider-Man punches Electro {Yes, he’s gone from web-shooting to physical violence now.} into a block of cement.

Japanese Spidey removes the mask to find out it’s…Rumi’s brother! Oh my god, this is more shocking than I found out that Darth Vader was Luke’s father…after seeing Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith all in one night!

That's what Peter thought too, Yu. Now, he uses his powers for
good and later, gets six arms. You might want to think about that.
Anyway, Rumi’s brother crippled a child by a runaway car and forced to pay a settlement of $50,000. He found his luck on the High Voltage Man, who is apparently the father of the child he hit, and decided to become a human guinea pig for his experiments. As he expires, Spider-Man learns the power of responsibility.

He may be a success, but Rumi now feels a hatred for Spider-Man for killing for her brother as well as calling him an unfortunate person. So, Yu must learn to use his powers in way that will make him and others happy.

It’s a different take to the whole Spider-Man learning “With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility”, but the story seems fast-paced, the characters’ translated speech is usually padding, and the art, while it is good to look at, can be annoying at times.

But, who am I to diss another country for being different? I’m giving this magna a 3 out of 5, because Magna needs to be respected and loved. Although, it doesn’t make any sense, but we must learn to check out other medians of entertainment every country offers. Spider-Man: The Magna; love it or hate it, it’s one country’s art is another country’s garbage.

RATING:
* * *

And that concludes my Spider-Men That Never Reached Fame. Some were weird and some were too awesome by words, but either way, we need to see these Spider-Men back again sometime. So, if you’re reading this, Marvel, bring these Spider-Men back for a short time! You can ditch some of your Deadpool books to do more Alternate Spidey, because what I can tell, one group of Deadpool Corps is enough!

Do me a favor and enlarge this. Find the J
and I'll give you a cookie.