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!





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... :]

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...

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.

The Adventures of Ook and Gluk

The title sounds like a cheesy blaxploitation sci-fi film.

Welcome to Random Fandom, where I review out of my mind about the things I find, and let me begin this review with “I love Captain Underpants!” The books by Dav Pilkey were popular with children because not only you have silly superhero scenarios and off-the-wall potty humor {before the days that potty humor was annoying}, these books literally make novels look like picture books, giving each page a picture as well as a passage of text, whether long or short.

His book series spun-off in 2002 when The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, a graphic novel based on the comics inside each book, came out. It got controversy for being too filthy…poo filthy, not smut filthy, but it was an enjoyable read by any Captain Underpants fan.

Now, the first book after Dav’s hiatus, which came after he published the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty, was not a sequel to Super Diaper Baby, rather than a new graphic novel focusing on two cavemen who travel to the future and learn kung-fu. The idea seems a bit far-fetched, but is such a plot this stupid still be good? Let’s find out. This is The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future.

STORY: This comic book, created by George Beard and Harold Hutchins; the two main characters of the series, is about two caveboys named Ook and Gluk. They live in the town of Caveland, Ohio back in 5,001 B.C., always getting in trouble messing with Big Chief Goppernopper.

That changed for Big Chief one day when his great {repeat 20-to-22 times} grandson comes through the time portal from the future where they rely on cutting down trees for his company because the future is without plant life! He gives his grandson Ook and Gluk for slaves for his non-environmental strategy!

After their escape, they meet up with Master Wong, a martial arts instructor who lives in the future. He trains the boys how to use the art of Kung-Fu to stop the Goppernoppers’ reign of dystopia and bring Caveland back to peace.

The story is a bit one-dimensional, but what do you expect from a masterpiece by George and Harold? They’re not William Shakespeare and F. Scott Fitzgerald, their stories don’t have deep meaning, just good guy and bad guy battles and poo jokes for brief giggles from the absent-minded…and child-minded. In short, these two aren’t perfect, even if they are fictional.

ART:
The art is as expected for two fourth-grade boys, it’s very childlike. It’s crude, but manages to still be enjoyable. The speech balloons also have various misspellings, but that will be easy to ignore.

Just flip...

...and enjoy the cheese!

Also in this book, is the Flip-O-Rama! I believe this is some of the fans’ favorite part on the Captain Underpants books. These take place during the fight scenes or for added humor. You grab the page’s corner and begin flipping it as fast as you can until you can see it animate. It’s simple and you can do it at home too.

However, I got a review to do, but if you’re all really good, I’ll show you how to make your very own Flip-O-Rama animation.

In conclusion, the art isn’t too bad and either is the speech balloons for that matter. You just remember that kids took over Pilkey’s job…kids that apparently live inside him. Gross.

HUMOR:
And speaking of gross, almost all of the jokes in these books are pee, poop, or potty related. I mean, in the last graphic novel the boys did, the main antagonist in a piece of crap! Now, I see why this book got a lot of trouble.

Slamming the segway is always
a step up in my book.

This book, however, is different. It rarely uses the potty humor only to the billboards and their pet dinosaur Lily throwing up. This is a first for Captain Underpants. A book that’s based on anything else besides things that happen in your body.

And surprisingly, this book wasn’t one of George and Harold’s punishments. It’s their take that scientists don’t always get facts right and since they still have the Purple Potty time machine, they discovered things never before seen by intellect. Yes, because in the 23rd Century, a power-hungry moguel will get trees in the past since all plantlife is extinct.

At the end of the book, there is a language Pilkey made up to annoy parents everywhere. It’s called Cavemonics and it guarantees you will be speaking like a caveman in 8 easy steps! {Steps 5-to-8 are available online on Pilkey.com} It’s a cute idea for kids to how to talk like Neanderthals, but it’s just a little side step if you liked the book so much, you would want to live in it.

In conclusion, it’s humor kids can enjoy, but it’s a huge step up to Pilkey to downplay the potty humor. Maybe he did grow up with his fans.

FINAL VERDICT:
Ook and Gluk isn’t what I was expecting for Dav Pilkey’s return, but I can take it. This is just the beginning for the renaissance of Captain Underpants! The graphic novel was enjoyable to read, the script and humor was good at times, and the Flip-O-Rama remains cheesy and extra crispy in milk.

But more questions are at stake…Will Captain Underpants return? Will Super Diaper Baby ever get a sequel? And why, oh why, are you advertising an Ook and Gluk sequel?! We might be finding out about these questions because the fight for Truth, Justice, and all that is Pre-Shrunk and Cottony will continue to live from now to the future!

RATING:
* * * 1/2

Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book #1

Welcome to Random Fandom, where I review out of my mind about the things I find. Today, we go out of the way for the premiere issue of Bongo Comics’ newest mini-series: Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book.

A cover based on the most recognizable first issue
for a team that everyone soon loved:
Simpsons Comics.

Bongo has been doing a little satire to comics and superheroing from yesteryear for many years now, from Radioactive Man to Simpsons Super Spectacular. The writers and artists show their love of comic book heroes by placing Bartman, Stretch Dude and Clobber Girl, or even Pieman in some of the strangest scenarios that only comics can think up.

And this one is no different. Debuting on July 2010 is the 5-part mini-series based on Springfield’s favorite fanboy, Comic Book Guy. Littered with pop culture references as well as a story that will leave you shocked {unless you read the solicitations} to discover what will happen to Springfield without their Comic Book Guy…and I just spoiled the ending.

But hey, it’s only issue 1 of a 5-part series, so there might be twists and turns as we would expect from other comics. So, is the first issue truly a collector’s item or is it the Worst Issue Ever? Let’s take a look at the comic.

STORY:

For those of you who don’t know who Comic Book Guy is, what is wrong with you? But since you asked, this was the Simpsons’ satire of geekdom. He’s in charge of a comic book shop in Springfield called Android’s Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop where almost everything you might find is here, such as Bleeding Gums Murphy’s hit album or even a mint copy of Amazing Spider-Man #1 {that is until some bald-headed buffoon ate the pages once he purchased it}. He is very harsh for those who take fandom to casualness and often bans some of its customers due to minor infractions.

If you were imagining what Shelbyville’s
Comic Book Guy is like, this might be it.

With that expoistion out of the way, the story starts off with CBG’s latest video have gotten some negative comments due to it being similar of another video done by the Graphic Novel Kid, who is a bizzare copy of the real deal. He decides to make himself known by entering Lardlad’s contest for a new spokesperson. However, the Graphic Novel Kid enters as well and eventually, beats him for the title, but the car he also won blew up once this pathetic imitator started the engine. Never put grease traps on top of your SUVs.

Worried that it would have been him at the seat to Death's steeple, CBG swears to live life to the fullest and begins so by buying everything at a movie prop auction, but karma has other plans for him as CBG throws Captain America’s shield, starting off a chain reaction that leaves him inside the rocket-fueled Superman’s rocket. Once the rocket started off, it crashed on the ceiling, blew up, and perished our once living cynical fanboy.

ART:

This is it! Extra-Large Shocker!

The art is as usual from other Simpsons comics. It looks a lot alike the TV series, capturing all the characters on the style that we always know of them. As well as the main story, there are 4 variant covers {including the one on the top} that parody other comic book titles, such as Fantastic Four, Death of Superman, and Crisis on Infinite Earths. I like the Crisis one better because it looks a lot more unique than the others. The Bongo Comics logo is on a blue banner with the proclamation that it’s a mini-series and Homer as well as some of Springfield Elementary bullies carrying CBG’s body while the other citizens of Springfield watch. I know it’s a satire, but at least it’s nice to nearly all the characters from the show on the cover, even if it’s in the background.

HUMOR:

“Yes, as I see it.”

As I mentioned before, the humor is full of pop culture jokes such as Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Terminator, and so on. I’ll give CBG some credit, some of his antics did make me laugh from the Magic 8 Ball Yoda to watching the 36-hour Manimal marathon after saying that he’ll live out everyday in his life. His viral video at the beginning was good too, parodying all the greatest deaths in a minute. Above all, it’s Simpsons if geeks wrote the script.

FINAL VERDICT:

Comic Book Guy the Comic Book did a good job, giving us a reason why we love the character in the first place {even if he won’t be appearing in the rest of the series in person.} It’s Simpsons Comics if Comic Book Guy got a lead story. I really didn’t like that some of the Simpsons characters could have a little more focus. The only characters we get to see other than CGB is Graphic Novel Kid, Bart, and Lisa. Above all, good artwork, good start to a story, and I’m looking forward how they’re going to bring him back in time of Season 22…oh, and Stan Lee is going to be in the next issue. If he wrote his part by himself, I wouldn’t be too surprised.

RATING:

* * * *

Tunc Vicis! {Latin for "Next Time!"}