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Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #13 – “Journey’s End”

The hit BBC series Doctor Who is now in its fourth season on the Sci-Fi Channel, and since we’re all big fans here at ComicMix, we’ve decided to kick off an episode-by-episode analysis of the reinvigorated science-fiction classic.

Every week, I’ll do my best to go through the most recent episode with a fine-tooth comb (or whatever the “sonic screwdriver” equivalent might be) and call out the highlights, low points, continuity checks and storyline hints I can find to keep in mind for future episodes. I’ll post the review each Monday, so you have ample time to check out the episode once it airs each Friday at 9 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel before I spoil anything.

Missed a week? Check out the “Doctor Who in Review” archive or check out any of the past editions of this column via the links at the end of this article.

Keep in mind, I’m going to assume readers have already watched the episode when I put fingers to keyboard and come up with the roundup of important plot points. In other words, SPOILER ALERT!

Let’s begin now, shall we?

Season Four, Episode #13: “Journey’s End”

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Triumph the Insult Comic Dog at San Diego Comic-Con 2008

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  • August 4, 2008

One of the most popular bootleg videos at comic book conventions before the YouTube era was of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog making fun of geeks waiting in line for Star Wars.

Our favorite foul mouthed puppet set his sites on nerds once again when The Late Show with Conan O’Brien sent him to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. And this time you don’t have to buy burned copies from a weird guy at a booth with Micronaut figures. I kid. I kid. (Oh, and consider this your official "Not Safe For Work" warning.)
 

 

 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: That’s PvP webcomic creator Scott Kurtz getting the Triumph treatment around three minutes into the video. Owch! -RM]

Brett Ratner Makes “Harbinger” Adaptation a Priority

  • News
  • August 4, 2008

In a Variety article discussing director Brett Ratner’s recent move to Paramount Pictures, the man who helmed X-Men: The Last Stand name-checked an adaptation of Valiant comics’ Harbinger series as one of his first priorities with the new studio. We previously reported on the series being optioned by Paramount back in March.

As producers, Ratner and Stern are teamed with producer Alexandra Milchan on "Harbinger," an adaptation of the Jim Shooter-created comic series published by Valiant Comics.

Ratner said after directing "X-Men: The Last Stand," he was eager to build a superhero franchise from the ground up. The studio will set a writer shortly.

Ratner described Harbinger and his planned Beverly Hills Cop 4 project as "mainstream tentpoles" for the studio.

“The Stand” Trailer Premieres on Marvel.com

Marvel.com recently posted a new video "trailer" for their upcoming five-issue series based on Stephen King’s The Stand. While I’m not sure how I feel about the whole movie-style "trailer" as a promotional tool for comics, the video does show some previously unseen art from the series. I was really impressed with the way the two previous King stories were handled by the Marvel crew (Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born and Dark Tower: The Long Road Home), so I have high hopes for this project.

The Stand: Captain Trips #1, written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa with art by Mike Perkins, goes on sale September 10.

You can also read an interview with Aguirre-Sacasa about the project on Marvel, as well as a video interview with Perkins. Both are fairly standard promotional material, but worth the time for anyone interested in the publisher’s latest collaboration with Stephen King.

Hammer of the Gods 2: Tea Time

  • News
  • August 4, 2008

In today’s brand-new episode of Hammer of the Gods: Back from the Dead, by Michael Oeming and Mark Wheatley, Modi and his crew seek Odin in the mountains of China.  They can feel the power of a god in the very air, but which god is it?  And can anyone understand the words that are coming out of their mouths?

 

Credits: Mike Oeming (Artist), Mike Oeming (Writer), Mark Wheatley (Colorist), Mark Wheatley (Letterer), Mark Wheatley (Writer), John Staton (Colorist)

 

 

Alison Bechdel on ‘State by State’

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  • August 4, 2008

Alison Bechdel, who’s probably best known for her memoir Fun Home, has an essay and art in the upcoming State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America.

She has a note about the project on her blog, and then there’s a new review of it in Publishers Weekly.

From the (pretty brief) review:

Alison Bechdel’s illustrated story about her life after moving to Vermont brilliantly combines personal history with historical fact, as does Charles Bock’s essay on growing up and working in his parent’s Las Vegas pawnshop.

Alex Robinson and Poker at Comic-Con

  • Uncategorized
  • August 4, 2008

Alex Robinson, creator of the new Too Cool and Box Office Poison, writes on his blog about Comic-Con, though it has pretty much nothing to do with comics or movies. (And haven’t we all had enough of that anyway?)

Instead, the subject is cards:

One proud note: on Saturday night, my wife and I played in this poker tournement at the show. There were about fifty-five players and I didn’t fare so hot, going out about number fifty or so (excuses: I was very tired after the show and prefer to play in cash-games anyway). The awesome news is that Kristen managed to hold on, and wound up finishing third. She got to take home a trophy and a wad of cash! Maybe it’s time to quit this comics racket and live off of my lovely bride’s gambling wages…

Just to boost Alex’s ego a little, he was kicking the crap out of me in a game of Scrabulous before it was shut down last week.

Last Week’s Best: Batman, Wil Wheaton, Earthquakes and Marijuana

  • News
  • August 4, 2008

batman-00-2535110There are a lot of features coming at ComicMix readers these days, so in the interest of making sure you don’t miss the articles everyone’s talking about, here’s a quick rundown of some of last week’s most popular articles posted on the site:

Who Will Be The Next Batman Villain? — This blog post by Van Jensen generated quite a bit of reader response last week, as the comment section filled with people pondering clues that might indicate the identity of the next Batman bad guy in the film franchise.

Interview: Wil Wheaton on Storytelling, Technology and the Internet — Last week’s finale to Chris Ullrich‘s three-part interview with writer/actor/publisher Wil Wheaton was the week’s most-read original feature, providing a testament to the comics cred of the Just a Geek author. The Wheaton interview narrowly edged out Jami Philbrick‘s interview with Geoff Johns about his work on this month’s Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds.

Our Own Private Gotham — According to last week’s traffic, the success of The Dark Knight in theaters is a popular topic here on ComicMix, as readers were all over John Ostrander‘s Batman-focused column. In the column, the veteran comics scribe theorizes that there’s a lot to glean about the popularity of the grim-and-gritty hero given today’s political and cultural climates. On a side note, readers also had a high opinion (pun intended) of the most recent column by veteran comics scribe Dennis O’Neil, in which he opined on marijuana legalization and the greater availability of information about this and other controversial topics for current and future generations.

The Day the Earth Moved — While John Ostrander and Dennis O’Neil’s columns received a heaping helping of readers, it was Michael Davis’ latest column that had the comment crowd chatting. As it so often does, the media mogul’s column received the most comments of any article here on ComicMix that week!

Hammer of the Gods: Back From the Dead #3, by Mike Oeming and Mark Wheatley, was the most popular issue of any ComicMix comic released on the site this week, narrowly edging out Erin Holroyd and Dick Giordano’s White Viper #8.

Review: ‘Batman: The Killing Joke’ Deluxe Edition — Batman mania continued to be a driving force in the week’s traffic, with Van Jensen’s review (originally posted back in March) of the hardcover edition of Batman: The Killing Joke popping up as the most-read review of the week. Everything old is new again, apparently!

New Gods Breakdown: An Illustrated Guide to Jack Kirby’s Creations

  • News
  • August 4, 2008

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Back in June, comic book historian Alan Kistler provided ComicMix readers with a Countdown Breakdown, an illustrated guide to the 52-part event that preceded the Final Crisis storyline currently unfolding in the DC Universe. This feature was so popular that we convinced him to flex his creative muscles once again, and provide an analysis of one of the key groups of characters receiving the spotlight in Final Crisis: the Jack Kirby-created New Gods. Where do they fit in and what should you know ng-kistler_new_god_breakdown-6890502about them in order to understand Final Crisis? Read on and find out! -RM]

Well, readers, some of you have no doubt been checking out DC’s crossover Final Crisis. Personally, I’ve been enjoying the heck out of it. But I can understand that some of it might not have as much impact if you’re relatively new to the DC Universe.

For instance, a major part of the crossover revolves around those Jack Kirby creations known as the "New Gods of the Fourth World."

So who are these New Gods? How are they related to the Greek gods who speak to Wonder Woman on a regular basis? What do they have to do with that powerful giant called Gog who’s been appearing in the pages of Justice Society of America? Why does Darkseid say he’s from the “Fourth World,” whereas Gog claims he’s from the “Third World?"

Well, look no further, faithful fans! ComixMix is here to oblige! So, because you folks requested it after seeing our illustrated Countdown Breakdown, here are the New Gods in a nutshell:

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Review: ‘Meathaus: SOS’

meathauscover1-1371309I was talking to cartoonist Jim Rugg recently about comics anthologies, and he said his thought as a reader is that each collection should have one great story, and then anything else good is just gravy.

In the case of the latest volume of Meathaus, SOS (Nerdcore, $30), Rugg’s Afrodisiac story is the gravy. His old-school, dot-matrix-styled, blaxploitation character has a predictably badass encounter with vampires.

The one great story in SOS, then, is the volume’s first entry, a longish bizarro riff on [[[Zelda]]] (I think) from Farel Dalrymple. It’s a story of two brothers who stumble into a mysterious cave and are attacked by an evil elf wearing a fedora and trench coat.

Dalrymple’s art is as energetic as ever, and the story is a strangely edited puzzler that’s worth multiple reads.

There’s plenty more gravy in the 272 pages. Most notably Dash Shaw’s melding of science fiction and nude modeling for art classes. I don’t think any more needs to be said.

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