Tagged: ComicMix Six

ComicMix Six: Television for the next generation of fandom

ComicMix Six: Television for the next generation of fandom

  • Uncategorized
  • February 17, 2009

We were all kids once and, let’s face it, for many of us there was a particular television show or short that caught our attention and grabbed our inner-geek by the shoulders to shout “Look at me!” Whether you had a particular fondness for Interplanet Janet (“She’s a galaxy girl!”), Underdog, or Super Grover, chances are that something you saw in early childhood helped shape you into the fan you are today.

My sister and I always loved Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends (new action figures are coming out this year!), and my niece is a huge Power Puff Girls fan. This got me wondering what shows will inspire today’s budding geeks. The great thing about these days is that DVD and the Internet make it possible to view not only the latest children’s shows, but everything you feel that old nostalgia for as well. However, today’s children aren’t always as excited about the Wonder Twins or Cowboy Curtis as Mom and Dad may have been. Here, then, are some more recent selections for the latest generation of fans:

1. Backyardigans
From Pirates to Samurai to Space-Travelers and everything in-between, this colorful and musical CGI-animated show (formerly aired on Nickelodeon, and now available on DVD) is all about five anthropomorphic neighbors whose imaginations take them on adventures to faraway times and places. While teaching children about the value of friendship and imagination and introducing several styles of music and dance, this show also stirs the core of future gamers. You see, the characters, Austin (a kangaroo), Pablo (a penguin), Tasha (a hippo), Tyrone (a moose), and Uniqua (a creature vaguely reminiscent of a child-sized pink ant), are like a game group. They meet, they create characters, they play out their roles and scenarios as their game characters, and then they have a snack. If you’ve ever gamed at a con, you know this drill.

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ComicMix Six: Lessons from the past two years

ComicMix Six: Lessons from the past two years

  • News
  • February 10, 2009

Two years ago today, on February 10, 2007, ComicMix went live to the world. In that short time, I’ve seen a lot, worked some very long hours, pulled many all-nighters, and would like to think I’ve come to some useful observations about the industry, which I now share with you.

1. The only think more disruptive to your regular work schedule and overall concentration than long-term hourly blogging would be posting the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 every 108 minutes to a website. But we keep at it.

2. There are more of you out there than you think. There are more of us out there than we thought. Finding them all has been the challenging part. There’s always somebody who hasn’t gotten the word. The number of times someone has come up to me at a convention and said "GrimJack is back? I had no idea!" is still astounding to me.

3. Research and development, in comics and in technical matters, is not predictable. If it was, it wouldn’t be research and development, would it? But we continue to try and improve the website every day, and we keep pushing at the boundraries of comics. Lots of it may be invisible to you until it suddenly appears– but that’s the way the best magic works.

4. There is an almost staggering amount of creative work going on out there, so much so that it’s in danger of overwhelming Sturgeon’s Law. And happily, it’s a mix of styles and content, appealing to every niche– and every (you’ll pardon the phrase) mix. You want a story of zombies vs. vampires, you got it. You want pretty young girls meddling with mad science? No problem. And so on.

5. You never do a massive undertaking like this alone. I started to write up a list of all the people who have helped us out over the last two years plus and easily topped two hundred people– to all of them, who’ve helped us out in good times and bad, thank you all.

6. The Internet is still a big scary place to a lot of companies– and that’s really a shame, because that’s where all of their readers are hanging out nowadays, and it’s a lot cheaper than pushing paper around at a loss. But that’s a subject for a much longer post.

Again, thanks to everyone who’s contributed to ComicMix— writing, drawing, commenting, reading, or just having fun. Here’s to the future. See you in 108 minutes or so.

ComicMix Six: Fictional Presidents in comics

ComicMix Six: Fictional Presidents in comics

  • Uncategorized
  • January 20, 2009

We’ve had a lot of US Presidents show up in the comics, Jossip and the Chicago Tribune both hit on the major ones– Nixon in Watchmen, Bill Clinton speaking at Superman’s funeral, Reagan in The Dark Knight Returns, JFK impersonating Clark Kent. But there are many more that stick in t here are a few truly fictional US Presidents from the comics:

1. President Ken WInd — not wind like a watch, but wind as in freedom. A dead ringer for Dan Quayle and a tool of the Beast, he was set up to become President so he could start a nucelar war. He was stopped by Elektra and a goddammed agent of SHIELD. (Elektra: Assassin)

2. President Howard Johnson Nissen. The former Secretary of Agriculture, he became president when President Rexall and the rest of his cabinet were killed in an explosion. (Give Me Liberty) Incidentally, Secretary of Agriculture Margaret Valentine also got the top spot when all the men above her in the line of succession died. (Y: The Last Man)

3. President Prez Rickard. The first teenaged president of the United States, and the only one on this list to have his own series, this creation of Joe Simon made things run on time. Later written by Ed Brubaker, Neil Gaiman, and Frank Miller– he does that a lot, doesn’t he?

4. President Gary Callahan, a.k.a. "The Smiler". A rictus grin in a suit, he hates everyone and only wants to be President in order to control and oppress people, and has no problems killing anyone whose death will help him gain or keep power, or even get a rise in the polls– up to and including his own wife and children. The sworn enemy of Spider Jerusalem. (Transmetropolitan)

5. President Melanie Henderson. Okay, that was the name of the actress playing the President in the Spidey Super Stories short, "Spidey vs. the Funny Bunny", where a mischievous woman dressing in a rabbit costume and damaging Easter baskets by sitting on them. Spidey eventually foils the villain’s plans to disrupt the annual White House Easter Egg roll. Some sources indicate that Melanie may have been the first African American actress to portray an American president on television.

6. President Lex Luthor. Yes, Luthor won the 2000 Presidential Election. Couldn’t have been worse than what really happened, right?

ComicMix Six: What you need to know about ‘Lone Justice: Crash!’

ComicMix Six: What you need to know about ‘Lone Justice: Crash!’

  • News
  • January 8, 2009

LONE JUSTICE: CRASH! is the new graphic novel from the Harvey Award nominated team of Robert Tinnell and Mark Wheatley.  It will begin right here on ComicMix on Monday, January 12th.  And in the interest of making all things EZ, we present the top 6 essential things you should know before you start reading:

1) LONE JUSTICE: CRASH! is a two-fisted, pulp adventure set in the year 1930, just after the big Wall Street crash in 1929.  It is a time when there is great uncertainty in life, work and politics.  But it was also a time when pulp magazines were introducing vital new characters to the public that we would eventually come to call Super Heroes.  So, step aside, Doc Savage, the Shadow, and the Spider – and make way for Lone Justice!

2) LONE JUSTICE: CRASH! is the sideways sequel to the Harvey Award nominated EZ STREET graphic novel, also perpetrated by the Tinnell and Wheatley team. Why sideways? In EZ STREET, the central characters Scott and Danny Fletcher are attempting to create a graphic novel.  And LONE JUSTICE: CRASH! is the graphic novel they create.

3) Yes, that means Tinnell and Wheatley are taking credit for the work of two fictional characters.  They have no shame.

4) Maybe you don’t need to know that the core ideas behind Lone Justice’s tribulations in CRASH! can be found in the pages of EZ STREET – particularly in the character of the homeless man young Scott and Danny befriended.  But if you are aware it just might make the reading experience a little richer.  No, really – there are parallels to life events in EZ STREET all through LONE JUSTICE: CRASH!

5) You should probably be aware of just how devastating the Depression was on the United States and its residents.  It was much worse than what is going on today, so far.  Tent cities – known as Hoovervilles (after President Herbert Hoover) really existed.  Hopefully, there will not be any Bushvilles before LONE JUSTICE: CRASH! finishes running on ComicMix.

6) There were often official efforts to keep transient homeless folks out of cities and towns and even entire states.  These were people who were just trying to survive.  But California, for example, would try to keep people from pouring into the state – and they were prone to use force.

You can start reading LONE JUSTICE: CRASH! right here on ComicMix on Monday, January 12th.

ComicMix Six: Coolest Darkseid Moments

ComicMix Six: Coolest Darkseid Moments

  • News
  • October 26, 2008

The first sentient race of the DC Universe eventually became nearly-immortal beings of celestial energy, beings now known as the Old Gods. Eventually, there came a time when the Old Gods died and their planet, the "Third World", was destroyed. After many ages, the remnants of this world formed into two new planets, collectively called the "Fourth World." There was the peaceful and beautiful New Genesis, watched over by Izaya the Highfather, and the dark, desolate world of Apokolips, where lived the dark prince Uxas.

Uxas started a life of evil early on. When his brother Drax attempted to master a cosmic energy known as the Omega Force, Uxas decided he wanted the power for himself. In one fell swoop, he disrupted Drax’s plans, becoming master of the Omega Force and leaving his brother for dead. With his new power, Uxas renamed himself Darkseid the Destroyer. Later, he killed his own mother Queen Heggra, partly in revenge for the fact that she had killed the woman he’d loved, and assumed leadership of Apokolips.

Bent on universal domination and motivated by his quest for the Anti-Life Equation, a mathematical formula that proves life is hopeless and can rob any life form of their free will, Darkseid has made many enemies, including the heroes Lightray and Mr. Miracle and his own son Orion, the "dog of war." Darkseid’s attentions later turned towards the planet Earth when he became convinced that human beings held different parts of the Anti-Life Equation hidden in their minds. This brought him into conflict with many super-heroes as well.

Until recently in Final Crisis, he was never successful in conquering Earth, true. But that didn’t mean he never got the better of a hero ever before.

Here then are six moments where Darkseid got to laugh at the failure of his enemies and his own dark power.

 

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Comic Mix Six – The Six Worst Comic Book Video Games

Comic Mix Six – The Six Worst Comic Book Video Games

  • Uncategorized
  • October 18, 2008

Comic books, admittedly, don’t have a great history when itcomes to video game adaptations.  Hell,most games based on licensed properties have a certain stigma about them.  It probably stems from the fact that theyfeel like a cheap cash-in…a way to make a quick buck on a popular fad such asmovies, TV shows, and yes, comics.  Now,that’s not to say ALL comic book games are bad, no; but the genre does have itsshare of stinkers.  Out of all thepossible crap-fests out there, these are the top six games that should never beallowed near your console of choice…EVER.

Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men– 1989: NES

Back in the heyday of the Nintendo Entertainment System,they were making games for EVERYTHING. At the time, publisher LJN held the rights to the Marvel license, andsadly, churned out turd after turd.  Oneof their biggest steaming piles was this mess, based on Marvel’s MightyMutants.  What made this game sobad?  Well, sadly, the technology of theday seems to be the biggest culprit.  Thegame took a top-down view of the action, and since there was only so much youcould show in 8-bit, character details were pretty much non-existent.  That, combined with the muddy, dirty colorsof the backgrounds and you were lucky you could see anything at all, let alonewhich character you had selected. Nothing was recognizable, despite the fact that it had a decent sized rosterselected from the books.  Thankfully, it’sone of the few bad marks on an otherwise mostly successful game franchise.

Fantastic Four – 1997:Playstation

Ugh.  When you talkabout ugly games, two system generations ago, we had some DOGS.  3D graphics were all the rage, and polygoncounts were climbing higher and higher. Sadly, they still couldn’t figure out that muddy background thing, andso stuff tended to blend together – badly. At least this time you could see what was happening…but it wasn’tpretty.  Take a tried and true gameplaystyle, affectionately known as the “beat ‘em up”, and add comic’s firstfamily.  What could go wrong?  Well, how about poor control, terrible plotand just plain shoddy gameplay?  First,the game is about the Fantastic FOUR…so you have Mr. Fantastic, InvisibleWoman, Human Torch, The Thing and…She-Hulk? Wouldn’t that be FIVE?  Then, you have repetitive, lazy combat (anormal pitfall for the “beat ‘em up”) of miscellaneous enemies that are largein number and small in variety.  Add to thatthe poor hit detection, lousy control response and just a general sense of “whybother?” and you have this mighty gem.  Fantastic,indeed.

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ComicMix Six: Embarrassing Deaths

ComicMix Six: Embarrassing Deaths

  • News
  • September 15, 2008

The world of comic book super-heroes and costumed villains is a dangerous one. And sometimes, you don’t make it out alive.

We all remember the tragic loss of Bucky Barnes when he was blown up while trying to disarm a bomb (although he turned up alive again as a cyborg a few years ago). We can still recall the tragic loss of Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow (who was literally resurrected not too long ago). We’ve reminisced about the sacrifice of Barry Allen, who became one with the universe even as he saved it (and who returned from the dead a couple of months ago). And it was literally front page news when Captain America was assassinated (and he’s actually still dead).

But not all deaths in comics are noble moments you want to remember. Some are just down right … silly. So here are six of the most embarrassing deaths. NOTE: this is focused on super-villains and super-heroes, not just any characters in comics in general. Otherwise we would just be talking about Preacher all day.

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ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending September 14, 2008

ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending September 14, 2008

  • News
  • September 14, 2008

Our best wishes go out to all our readers in Texas and other states affected by Hurricake Ike, and we encourage folks who can afford it to help relief efforts (like this one) to help our fellow Americans.  Meanwhile, we at ComicMix continue to provide our own brand of relief in the form of cultural commentary in columns and features like these from this past week:

For more comic relief, check out Tina Fey’s appearance opening Saturday Night Live‘s new season last night:

 

 

Love those Tina Fey glasses!

ComicMix Six: Super-Heroes on Television

ComicMix Six: Super-Heroes on Television

  • News
  • September 12, 2008

There have been some sad attempts at live-action super-hero shows over the years. On the other hand, Smallville has done pretty well for itself, going strong for eight seasons now. Heroes on NBC has made many TV fans question what may have been a dismissive attitude towards super-hero stories. And shows such as Buffy, Angel and The Dead Zone have shown that many folks out there enjoy stories about people who have unique abilities and fight evil.

So we at ComicMix pondered “what other super-heroes could work if brought to life on the small screen?” Personally, I think there are tons that could be great. But because none of us have that kind of time, we stuck by our habit of keeping the list down to six.

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