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Post by codystarbuck on May 13, 2024 1:05:10 GMT -5
While I've always appreciated Ultraman, it always seemed to struggle finding it's own identity when compared to Sentai or Kamen Rider. My favorite iteration has always been Denkou Choujin Gridman/Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad (which recently got a second life as an anime series by Gainax). It's kind of a hodge-podge of Sentai mech combinations, 90's cyberpunk, and Ultraman thrown into a blender (the American adaptation even had Tim Curry voicing the bad guy) When it comes to Toku, I generally tend to prefer the "off-the-beaten-path" stuff like Dennou Keisatsu Cybercop, Blue Swat, Tomica Hero Rescue Fire, or even Kodai Shōjo Doguchan. I just love the craftsmanship that goes into this type of stuff. While I flip-flop loving the newer Sentai and Kamen Rider shows (sometimes they can be so godawful, but then you have to remind yourself that they're intended for children), you really can't beat the classics. For me its the 60s and 70s material....maybe its just having experienced those eras at a younger age, so it resonates more. Maybe its the fact they didn't have the technology and had to be creative....and more violent. Probably helps that they feel more like the old Godzilla and other Toho movies. It's kind of like how I prefer the Gerry Anderson puppet shows to his live action ones. Thunderbirds was way more animated than Space 1999 and Captain Scarlet more bonkers than UFO (and the Angels made more sense than the purple wigs on the moon crew females). The premise of Ultraman always got me, too. He gets his butt whooped by the monster-of-the-week, until the 1 minute warning goes off and suddenly he remembers he has an ultimate weapon that never fails. Dude; lead with that! With Kamen Rider, he's just tooling along on his motorcycle when the henchman of the week turns up with a bunch of grunts...chop-socky stuff ensues, transformation, serious buttkicking, henchman goes nuclear with monster stuff and KR retaliates with Rider Kick and sundry and then monster goo all over the ground. He trashes henchmen until they run out and fights the big bad, the world is saved and he rides off into the sunset, until a new enemy comes along and a new Kamen Rider. It's like the Lone Ranger gets a makeover every couple of years and the Cavendish Gang is made up of walking crab monsters and dudes who look either like South American revolutionaries in hip duds or Mexican wrestlers with less muscular physiques, who work for guys in fascist uniforms. Actually, that last part is hilarious in the early 70s ones, as Japan seems to forget it sided with the fascists. Hence the joke in Dynaman about a World War 2 movie with a new ending.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 12, 2024 20:27:57 GMT -5
I thought this might be of interest to those outside the UK. One late 80s Hulk title saw the Hulk sharing a comic with Indiana Jones, Doctor Who, and Action Force. Here’s an ad: It would be cooler if he was facing off against Doctor Who, Action Force and Indiana Jones, on the covers. I think Doctor Who would have won him over with a jelly baby. Action Force wouldn't be able to hit him with any of their weapons and Indiana Jones would probably just crap his pants.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 12, 2024 20:25:29 GMT -5
I didn't read the stuff; but, recall, at the time, that their books were better reviewed and had better consistent numbers than most of Marvel's line, which is why Quesda was eventually made the boss. It did seem like Vertigo-Lite; but, they didn't have the same level of writers involved.
Definitely better than Heroes Reborn; but, then again, what isn't?
The only thing I ended up reading was Smith's Daredevil and it was okay, just not really what I enjoyed in a Daredevil comic. Miller wasn't, either; but, I preferred the crime fiction stuff to what Smith was doing, though I was more inclined to read it than some of the other post-Miller takes on the character, until Mark Waid started writing it. Waid hit more on the stuff I used to enjoy.
Never read Priest's Black panther, but always heard good things. Dr Strange was never my cup of tea, outside of the Defenders and I was indifferent to the Inhumans.
Before Marvel Knights, the company was in an editorial mess, brought on by their corporate mess.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 12, 2024 20:14:46 GMT -5
ps The Night Flight redub of Dynaman was awesome!
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Post by codystarbuck on May 12, 2024 20:09:55 GMT -5
Picked up two old school dvd sets the other day, Super Robot Red Baron and Iron King. It's always nice to see older Tokusatsu shows get love here in America since the fandom for this stuff has mostly been underground for years until Shout started releasing Sentai and Kamen Rider shows here in America about a decade ago Both Red Baron and Iron King are made by the same production company who helped create the original Ultraman. Iron King is more of a blatant knock-off with a bit more camp going on (the story focuses on a wandering special agent who's investigating this ninja clan who wants to overtake Japan. Luckily the agent is aided by this giant named Iron King who's super reliant on water), while Red Baron feels more like a live-action version of say Mazinger Z or Getter Robo. (Evil scientist burgles a robot exhibit and uses them to take over the world but he didn't count on one of the robot builders having a brother who works for the science police who gets gifted the most powerful of all the robots regardless of the fact that Red Baron doesn't look particularly powerful at first glance) I had the Red Baron set, bought at the local WalMart, and watched a couple of episodes, but never got back to it and lost it in a move (with a few other dvds). It was okay, but it wasn't as fun as Johnny Sokko, to my tastes. Never saw Iron King. I saw Johnny Sokko and Ultraman (the original series) on Channel 44, Chicago, at my grandparent's house, in the late70s/dawn of the 80s. Weekday afternoons were heavily Japanese, with Speed Racer and then Ultraman on M, W, F and Johnny Sokko Tu and Th. They also showed the Marvel Super Heroes cartoons then. That same channel also used to show Star Blazers (Space Battleship Yamato), on the weekend. Ultraman was okay, but the episodes always had a sameness to them, which got old quickly. Johnny Sokko had a bit more variety and was goofy fun. as an adult, I appreciate the goofiness even more and have watched the whole series. Like the organizational stuff (loved that the UNICORN regional branches wore culturally stereotyped clothing that matched the region, like Tyrolean hats, in Switzerland) and the Giant Robot and Monster fights were pretty good. Doug Rice, the comic book artist, turned me onto Kamen Rider, though I had already heard of the earlier hero Gekko Kamen, which was featured in a 1960s tv series and manga. I had asked him about his designs for Mark Skaw's new Manhunter costume and mask, in the 1980s series and he said from that and the Super Sentai shows (and the Metal Hero and similar tokusatsu shows). Luckily, there was a bootleg video at the same show and I picked up Kamen Rider Z-O, which was relatively recent (a movie special) and a compilation of Kamen Rider X episodes (I should have also grabbed one of the Kamen Rider V3 tapes he had). I enjoyed the heck out of Kamen Rider X. Z-O had nice effects and look good, but the story was kind of dull and it took a while for anything exciting to happen. The earlier stuff got down to business right away. From there, I saw an ad in The Comic Buyer's Guide classified section for someone selling that stuff and bought a tape of the last 4 episodes of Kamen Rider Blax RX, which featured the hero teamed up with all of the previous Riders, against the main villains. That was pretty damn awesome. I then bought a Kamen Rider Black tape from the same guy (Damon Foster, who contributed articles to Draculina magazine and did the fanzines Oriental Cinema and Heroes on Film, through Draculina), with the first 4 episodes. Loved that stuff. I have since gotten digital downloads of all of the Kamen Rider series up through Black RX, plus the specials and movies, through Kamen Rider J. Haven't watched it all, since I acquired them recently, but really want to watch the original through X, at least key episodes, and all of Black and Black RX. Also acquired some of the early Sentai/Super Sentai shows (GoRangers, JAKQ, Battle Fever J) and Jetman (since it homaged Gatchaman). The older stuff, I find, is more serious in presentation, but with more entertaining goofiness than the stuff from the 80s...though it depends on the show. Early 70s material, up through mid-70s tends to be more fun, to me. Black and Black RX have good central stories, especially with Shadow Moon, to make it interesting. I gave the Power Rangers a try, when they debuted, but it was so dumb, in the American segments that I couldn't stomach whole episodes just to see the Japanese fight choreography. Plus, by that point the cheesy stuff had gotten institutionalized, in Japan. Jetman would have made a better start (and they pitched it, earlier, but were rejected); but, there you go. Of course, I was in my 20s, when it debuted; so, I wasn't the target audience. I had high hopes for Masker Rider, when it was announced, until I saw what they did with it and decided it was better to watch the originals, even without subtitles or speaking the language. The stuff I have now has fan-made subtitles. I kind of find the Toei shows, especially those initiated by Shotaro Ishinomori, to be more entertaining than Tsuburaya's stuff. I have watched at least the debut episodes of the Ultra series, up through Ultraman 80 (on Youtube, on the Shout Factory channel) and had seen the Hanna-Barbera Ultraman cartoon and an episode or two of Ultraman: Towards the Future. The stuff was fine; but, the earlier stuff seemed a bit more entertaining, even as the effects were better, later. Maybe its the enthusiasm they had for what they were doing, compared to later.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 12, 2024 19:33:54 GMT -5
Ratings systems for subjective experiences are pointless. What is the difference between 4 and 5 stars or even 3 and 4? Dave has always arbitrarily applied it and the best justification he can give is "it's a gut feeling." That's exactly why it is pointless, except as a gimmick. I put more stock into "I like it because......," "I disliked it because......" or "I liked this part, but didn't care for this......." It can't be quantified, so why does assigning a number of stars have any meaning?
I think Dave just does it to draw attention to people he likes and he arbitrarily assigns a number, based on the impact he thinks it will have with his audience, and that criteria has vastly changed in an era where the experience of the performers, on average, isn't nearly at the same level as in previous eras, just due to opportunities to work in front of an audience. You can pretty much consider it a sliding scale and it has slid deeply, over the years.
Dave's entitled to his opinion; but, it is just Dave's opinion. Whether that opinion carries any weight with you is for you to determine. I used to pay attention more to Roger Eberts reviews more than Gene Siskel's, as I felt Siskel was overly snobbish about film, in general. I paid attention to what Ebert said about comedies, as he was usually pretty square with my tastes. When it came to sci-fi, I ignored them completely (and Leonard Maltin) as they had a demonstrated bias against sci-fi, especially if it required you to exercise your brain a little bit. Maltin sucked up to Disney and Warner, for cartoons) and had genre biases, too. Most film critics watched movies with different criteria than the average audience anyway. My main concerns are does it sound entertaining, is it worth the ticket price, does it feature someone whose work I love, is it an interesting concept? I don't care if they use Dutch Angles, or is the camera is stationery, or if they follow Chekov's principles, or if they followed Sid Field's screenplay template, or what the character's underlying theme is. If I am noticing all of that then the story isn't likely to be very engaging. I'm in it for story and characters, first, and visual excitement second. I am not studying it for a graduate thesis.
Same applies to Dave. When I subscribed to the Observer, I liked his historical pieces, I liked how examined issues within the industry, occasionally liked his business analysis (not often, though); but, match ratings were mostly meaningless and the Hall of Fame stuff didn't interest me. I didn't enjoy the constant run-on sentences and paragraphs that diverged more often than a child with ADHD in a toy store. I felt Dave badly needed an editor (some think the same about me, here, I am sure), but his deadline didn't allow for that (plus he was self-published).
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Post by codystarbuck on May 12, 2024 10:12:40 GMT -5
I'm just talkin' about Shaft......
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Post by codystarbuck on May 11, 2024 21:55:26 GMT -5
Interesting how in the past they imagined some aspects of AI that later proved to be incorrect. For example: a) computers (and AI) on factual data will always be correct and precise. And on this thread we have shown how this is not true... b) computers faced with philosophical dilemmas will go crazy and explode. Instead we have seen that ChatGPT can be asked all possible metaphysical questions and it can respond calmly without showing any signs of nervous breakdowns. The episode, though, is not about computers thinking for us; but, rather, learning solely built around rote memorization of facts rather than looking at the underlying meaning. In the episode, they introduce Speed Learning, via transmission through their televisions of information from The General, the computer. Everyone can spout the facts and can answer the same set of questions related to the information; but, they cannot speak to the relevancy of the information to other things or what that information means, at its core.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 11, 2024 21:33:13 GMT -5
Interesting how in the past they imagined some aspects of AI that later proved to be incorrect. For example: a) computers (and AI) on factual data will always be correct and precise. And on this thread we have shown how this is not true... b) computers faced with philosophical dilemmas will go crazy and explode. Instead we have seen that ChatGPT can be asked all possible metaphysical questions and it can respond calmly without showing any signs of nervous breakdowns. Couldn't find the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow, though.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 11, 2024 17:52:04 GMT -5
Maxx's comments seem spot on though hey, as far as age, if a guy is bringing in money, why should the company care how old he is? Thing is, by the time a performer is that age, his job is to help develop and elevate the next generation. Flair did that throughout his career. Hogan, not so much (and pretty much not at all, in WCW...and no I don't count Goldberg, because he helped cut the legs off of that). That's how Heyman used Terry Funk, that was Harley Race's job in his last title run and numerous other examples I could name. You can draw money in the short term with a Flair or Hogan on top; but, in the long term, you will draw more money if they help make a new generation of stars who carry on the role, into the future. I think Maxx's comments were directed more to the idea that Hogan came in, young talent got cut loose, then Hogan worked with the same old guys, who weren't big draws anymore, rather than help create new stars who would mean something beyond the next PPV.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 10, 2024 22:15:23 GMT -5
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Post by codystarbuck on May 10, 2024 20:41:16 GMT -5
I'm feeling melancholy tonight, so please bear with me... We don't die as long as people remember us, I heard. If that's the case, I'd like to reiterate my affection for Dr. Yvonne Dold-Samplonius and Dr. Albrecht Dold, the lovely couple who welcomed my wife and I (when we were WAY younger than today!) as tenants in their lovely house in the early 90s. They were mathematicians who warrant their own their Wikipedia page, and a lovelier pair you will never meet. Albrecht was soft-spoken, frail-looking and insanely kind and intelligent. Yvonne was equally smart, but seemingly made of iron; just picture Judy Dench as M. Although Germans (well, Yvonne was Dutch) tend to be more Vulcan than Tamaranean when it comes to interpersonal relationships, we always knew that they cared for us. At one point they invited us two dumb Canuck kids to see Der Fliegende Holländer at the Mannheim opera (and thank God for my father initiating me to Wagner's works), where we told them my wife was expecting our first child. They were thrilled, in their reserved way, and we felt as proud as can be. Years later, we were deeply chagrined when we learned that Albrecht had suffered from Alzheimer's disease before passing away, and that Yvonne had followed him soon after. I expected her to bury old Father Time, honestly; her passong was pretty hard to accept. My elder son, when backpacking across Europe, went to look at the house and met a neighbour. She didn't know who he was talking about. But my wife and I remember, Yvonne and Albrecht, and your memory is a blessing. You still live in our hearts, and you are still loved. And now more people know and can help keep that memory alive and spread it.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 10, 2024 20:35:37 GMT -5
I watched Bash at the Beach 1994 recently. This really kicks off the Hulk Hogan era, brother! First Match is the TV Title Match with Lord Stephen Regal (champ) w/Sir William vs. Johnny B. Badd. Badd is a replacement for the injured Sting. I don’t know what the real injury is, but the kayfabe explanation is that Sensual Sherri raked him in the eyes and caused cornea damage. Regal wins by reversing a sunset flip attempt by Badd. The end was slightly botched, I think, but overall I thought this a very good match. Next match is Vader (w/Harley Race) vs. the Guardian Angel.The feud between these two continues. Angel showed some impressive power moves and Vader (!) showed some impressive agility moves (like a spinning heel kick and of course his moonsault) and overall this was a good match. However, at the end, the ref takes a weak looking bump, then Vader takes a telescoping night stick and attempt to hit Angel with it. Angel dodges it then gets the nightstick from Vader. Angel stands there holding the stick, but doesn’t use it. Then the ref recovers, sees Angel holding the stick, and disqualifies him, even though he didn’t use it! So Vader wins via DQ. This was a good match with an awful ending. I guess maybe they were trying to protect Guardian Angel for a future matchup between these two but this was still dumb. Next match is a tag team match with the Stud Stable (Bunkhouse Buck and Terry Funk) w/ Col. Parker and Meng vs.Arn Anderson and Dustin Rhodes. Dustin has been feuding with Colonel Parker, and Funk still holds a grudge against the Rhodes family, so here you go. Dustin chose Arn Anderson as his tag team partner for this match. Let’s see how that goes. Rhodes takes on both Studs for pretty much all of this match, then he finally tags in Arn Anderson, who promptly DDT’s Dustin then puts the prone Terry Funk on top of Rhodes for the pin. Good heel turn here by Anderson. The match itself was just okay, I though. Not bad, certainly, and did have some nice Dustin vs. two guys at once spots, but perhaps a bit too much of that. Next match is for the US title: Champ Stunning Steve Austin vs. Ricky the Dragon Steamboat.This was a great match. Austin wins in about 20 minutes by rolling through a Steamboat crossbody and using the ropes for leverage for the pin. Good pace and good storytelling here. There was a cool sequence here where the two of them kept reversing Tombstone attempts. Unfortunately, Steamboat’s career will come to an end soon due to an injury. Also worth noting that Col. Parker is no longer Austin’s manager. Next is the Tag Team Title Match: Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff & Paul Roma) vs. Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan (c) (w/ Dave Sullivan). Okay, this match was awful, IMHO. Boring and much too long at over 20 minutes. Plus, the ending was really stupid. Orndorff pinned Jack (after Jack had hit a double arm DDT – his finisher – but the ref was too distracted to see the pin) with the aid of Roma holding Jack’s feet from the outside. However, it is impossible to believe that the ref didn’t see that. Nearly half of Jack’s body was outside the ring! Plus, Roma was holding Jack’s feet down even before the ref came over to count the pin. How could the ref have not seen this? Answer, he couldn’t have missed it. I guess Jack got himself in trouble by spitting on the tag team belt during an ECW promo so losing the title was a foregone conclusion, anyway. Way to get the crowd revved up for the main event, WCW. Next is the main event, the WCW Title Match: Hulk Hogan (w/ Mr. T & Jimmy Hart) vs. Ric Flair (c) (w/ Sensuous Sherri). I’m not sure why Hulk Hogan needs Mr. T “for security reasons” Does he think Sensual Sherri is going to beat him up on the outside? Well, more on that later. Anyway, Shaquille O’Neil is there and will present the belt to the winner, and of course Michael Buffer does the ring announcement for this main event. The crowd is seriously behind Hogan here. That would not be the case in other WCW cities, so they were smart to host this in Orlando, near Hulk’s stomping grounds. They kept saying that Hogan hadn’t wrestled in 2-3 years. That’s not true. He wrestled just a year ago against Yokozuna at King of the Ring. A couple of (not seated together) Hulk Hogan look alikes in the first row. I pity the fools. Hogan actually does some real wrestling moves early on! Also, Hulk with his usual heroic biting and hair pulling. Sherri is about to clobber Hogan with a chair outside the ring, and Jimmy Hart has to make the save? Where is Mr. T? Isn’t that exactly what he’s here for? Later on, Sherri attack Jimmy Hart. Again, what is Mr. T doing? Finaly, towards the end of the match, after Hogan knocks Sherri out of the ring, Mr. T earns his paycheck by picking her up and carrying her away. In the end, of course Hogan wins with the boot to the face off the Irish whip, followed by the leg drop, followed by the cover. Yawn. And we have a new champion! And Shaquille O’Neil is happy! And Bobby Heenan is miserable! Heenan’s reaction to all this is great. Okay, overall, I thought this was a good match. As far as Hogan matches go, I have no complaints. I do think, however, they’d have been better off if Flair retained the belt here due to some chicanery to set up a rematch, but I guess WCW (or Hogan himself) couldn’t wait to put the belt on Hogan. A bit shortsighted. All in all, a very good PPV. One bad match, but all the other matches were at least good, with one great match (Austin-Steamboat) and the main event was good, if not great. Mr T ain't takin' no bumps, sucka!
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Post by codystarbuck on May 9, 2024 22:30:59 GMT -5
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Post by codystarbuck on May 9, 2024 22:24:57 GMT -5
So I saw this at my lcs on FCBD but was on the fence, but when I got home, I regretted not picking it up. When I went today to pick up my pulls, it was still there, so I grabbed it. It's copyrighted 1978 to DC Comics, has a Pepsi logo and Pepsi trademark notices on it. The cover is from one of the Treasury editions, but I a trying to figure out where it came from. My best guess is a fast food chain or restaurant rather than retail because of the Pepsi logo and info, but does anyone have any idea which chain it might have been or if not a restaurant, where it might have come from? Comic Strip origin of Captain Marvel side... Treasury cover side... Pepsi logo and trademark 1978 DC Comics Inc. Pepsi Trademark info Thanks, -M Google-Fu is strong, tonight. It appears that in 1978, Pepsi licensed several DC characters for promotional giveaways, for placemats, as well as drinking glasses. I've found some eBay and Etsy listings for the Shazam one, and another for a Superman one, that says the series included Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Shazam and Aquaman. The Superman one features the Kryptonite No More cover, with a Curt Swan-drawn origin story. That Shazam one looks like Kurt Schaffenberger , to me. There was also a Pepsi-produced Shazam glass, which was part of a similar series. I have seen one in an antique store. I have seen reference to one as a Burger King giveaway, which sounds about right. Here's the info on the Superman placemat.There also seems to be a Flash one, as I found an image from Worthpoint. Pepsi also had a series of glasses for the Superman movie, of that year. I think they did the Looney tunes promotion, at either Hardees or Burger King, around the similar time frame, in the 70s, as I had a Speedy Gonzales glass that I got, as a premium, when we ate there, once. Or, at least, it was the same glass company supplying them to the franchises and Pepsi.
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