Quickies & Links-9/23/05

First, the reviews:

City of Heroes #4

Ummmm....oookay. This is my last issue of the book, seeing as how I was getting it for free with my game subscription. Even if I renew the subscription, I'll probably opt out of the book, it just stinks. The art isn't that bad, sort of typical superhero stuff (ditto on the plot), but the dialogue is awful. Seriously awful. I've read bad fanfic that was better than this stuff. So, yeah, don't buy this. D-

Dead or Alive- A Cyberpunk Western #1

The cover, done beautifully by Alberto Ponicelli and Alex Horley, depicts a clow carrying a chainsaw and an ass load or guns. I repeat; A clown with a chainsaw and guns! If you need to know more than that, well, I can't help you. Okay, how about this: He's a meat inspector, and he's investigating some not-so-pure beef, with the intent to shut it's seller down. It's extremely bizaare, but it works. The art is beautiful, reminiscent of Giffen's work on Trencher, and the plot does read like something out of his brain. Old west and moderntechnology fused into one of the most enjoyably unique comics I've ever come across. A

Writer's Block 2003 #1

This is half mag half comic really. It's got interviews with the three writers involved (Mark Waid, Jo Duffy and Roger Stern), cunducted by the artist (David Miller) and three strips. The premise of the book is to take the same art panels and give them to three people (as well as a loose plot) and see what they can come up with. What you get is three similar but different tales involving two pregnant femme fatales. It's pretty good stuff, though Waid's strip is the best by far, the interviews are so-so, mainly just advertising their previous works and talking about their histpry in comics. I wouldn't mind tracking down some of the other issues of this, I really liked the idea behind it. B+

Mallrats: The Extended Edition

In their intro, Smith and producer Scott Mosier call this "the version that never should have existed", and boy were they right. It's basically the movie if it had stuck to the script, incorporating smith's original "accidentally shoot at the mayor" plot, instead of the "Julie Dwyer died" plot. Even before this, Mallrats wasn't Smith's best work, but it was enjoyabl and funny, this version is very stiff, the jokes feel forced, and it's too damn long. The DVD has the original version, as well as a new 10th Anniversary Q&A with the cast and crew (some of em anyway), so it's still worthwhile for fans, especially if you don't already have it on DVD, but the new cut of the movie is HORRIBLE and unfunny. D

Fat Albert

I don't remember much of the show, but from what I do remember the movie really captures the spirit. Like Garfield before it, it's a kids movie, but this one isn't dumbed down and should appeal to fans of the show and the young ones. They kids in the roles of the Gang are really great, especiall Mush Mouth. Learning to talk like that must have been incredibly hard (and now that I think about it, South Park's Kenny surely owes his creation to this character). There's a few genuine laughs, but mostly it's a "life lesson" type of film, which is pretty much all the cartoon was. I'd have liked to see them play those goofy instruments though, instead of using more modern stuff to do their singing. Still, not bad at all. B-

Links:

Be sure and check out Chris Allen's new Breakdowns over at CBG, as well as the rest of the week's columns and reviews (if you haven't already!).

Dave's Long Box is on hiatus for a week. It's okay though, Boob War Week is over, so it's not like we need him for anything anymore. Boob War Week was totally fucking Airwolf.

Having a twin of my own, I got a kick out of Dial B for Blog's Evil Twin covers today.

Progressive Ruin points the way to the Kid Chris blog. Sweet.

Fed Hembeck gives Wolvering a cuddle.

Tom the Dog runs down the new TV shows.

Growing Pains on DVD.

And, you might notice a new link on the sidebar, Stupid Fiction Blog. It's another fiction blog by me, but this one has no real direction. It's been a while since I wrote something that wasn't non-fiction, so I wanted to give it a go. With no real outlet, I just decided to blog it. It'll probably be just short stories. The first one, The Tie, is up now. Check it out if you like, and feel free to comment!

-L