Michael Hutchison: April 2006 Archives

NEWSARAMA.COM: IMAGE’s TRUTH, JUSTIN, AND THE AMERICAN WAY #1 FULL PREVIEW

With Image Comics’ new Truth, Justin, and the American Way #1 officially sold out at Diamond, and issue #2 in stores May 10th, Image wants as many readers to see the first issue of the five issue series as possible. So for those of you who may have missed it, here is the entire issue #1 for your reading enjoyment.

Scott Rogers, the world's biggest Killer Moth fan, happily declares: "I WIN!!!!!"

Well, it's official! I WIN!!

Batman #625 marks the end of a 7 year campaign that started right here on this message board.

My mission? To convince the editors and writers at DC to turn the Killer Moth back into a human villian after being turned into Charaxes (by Mark Waid) in the Underworld Unleashed event.

Well it must have worked. After pestering every Batman writer and editor for over five years at conventions (which I maintain led to 2003 - the Year of the Killer Moth - in which the Killer Moth appeared in all but ONE of DC's Bat titles) the Killer Moth is finally back in human form (albiet in his least attractive costume yet!) in this week's issue of Batman.

In celebration, I'll be kicking off an update at the internet's ONLY Killer Moth website (The Killer Moth Appreciation and Preservation Society (http://members.aol.com/killermoth/society.htm) later this month in which you can win some cool Killer Moth related prizes.

Keep tuned to the site for more info!

I guess I need to start my "bring back Sue Dibny" campaign.

I just found out that Chris and R.B. never got the e-mail (for various reasons) about the posting contest. Sorry guys!

I'm also sorry on behalf of the readership, who might have gotten much more content if I'd gotten the message to them!

Alan Kistler is the winner of the "Mike's Away Mice Will Play" Contest. When I was gone from the 9th through the 16th, I encouraged the other contributors to Monitor Duty to post as much (valid) content as they could, with the winner getting $20 in comics from my comics-for-sale site.

Here are the totals:
Alan Kistler: 9
Blue Spider (Chris Arndt): 7
R.B. Propst: 6
CPlotter: 2
Seth Gottlieb: 1

I hope my counts aren't off; as I was scrolling the monthly archive and counting, I got lost as those Doctor Who profiles went on for page after page after page. I don't think I miscounted. Still, the only person who came close is Chris ... and given that Chris has a couple of short posts that barely count while Alan's writing Encyclopedia entries, I think I'm safe in awarding it to Alan.

Thank you all very much for your hard work in keeping the site hopping while I was away.

(I may need to do another one of these contests just to generate more traffic!)

Know what I miss? Talking about comic books on Monitor Duty.

I don't go surfing for comic book news as much as I used to. Frankly, I hate spoilers, so I don't want to ruin what I'm about to read by checking the comic book news sites. I enjoyed buying comic books more back in the days when what showed up on the rack was a total jaw-dropping surprise. And since I'm not looking for comic book news, I'm not blogging about comic book news. That's why my contributions tend more towards linking to movie trailers, movie news and funny stuff. That's also why we're looking for Monitor Duty contributors who enjoy linking to comic news; you're welcome to join if that's what you like to do.

I haven't been doing lengthy discussion or reviews for a while, mainly because any real writing time needs to be devoted to my own project. Because of this, I have given short shrift to a few of my buddies' projects. One of my favorite comic books at the moment is "Team Zero" by Chuck Dixon and Doug Mahnke, and I think it would be a fave even if I didn't know both of those guys. An action-packed WWII war comic about a team of misfits dropped behind enemy lines for a special mission, it's equal parts Dirty Dozen and Suicide Squad. Many of Chuck's projects play out like movies, but in this case if a studio doesn't snap this up to make it into a movie they're all idiots. I know, we're burned out on comics that seem like they're aiming for adaptations, but Dixon isn't looking to make a comic book into a flick. Team Zero is basically a low budget war film that got turned into a comic instead; if they wanted to make it a movie, they could take his script and shoot it as is. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you all about this comic five months ago, but the issues are probably still out there to be had...and if you can't get it, Wildstorm will undoubtedly have a TPB because Team Zero will rock in collected form.

At least with Beau Smith's "Cobb: Off the Leash" I've given you guys some advance warning. However, I did neglect to tell you last week that Beau is giving away a freebie to promote the book. All you have to do is send Beau an e-mail with your address and you get cool stuff. The book is getting some good buzz, and I love the way the hero resembles a grown-up Jonny Quest. (If you haven't got this on your pull list, tell your retailer that the Diamond Order Number is MAR06 3280E.)

I had intended to review "Truth, Justin and the American Way" but I didn't get my book until last week (just in time for it to be sold out!). Short review: I love it. Get it if you can.

I'm going to try to find some time to read, review and promote more comic books in the coming weeks, but I could use some help. Interested?

John Morgan Neal, writer of numerous Shooting Star comics, has made a movie.

I'm a subscriber to the Bunny Club so I got in early to see
Rocky!

I saw this story last week on Best of the Web and had to pass it on. Enjoy.

Luann sets videotapes for a week's recording. Her favorite shows are Lost, Smallville and 24! (Two other labels for specific shows are illegible.)

Our artist buddy Robert Bavington (whose work can be seen in "Metro Med #0" and Shooting Star Comics Anthology) is selling 360 comics to try to raise money for his rent. Check out his forum post and then peruse his list, if you please. Rob can be contacted via e-mail or IM (which can be found using the buttons in the post) or you can respond in the forum.

Rob lives in England, so you can ask him for details about shipping.

Good luck, Rob!

Turns out he's behind 9-11.

Kidding! No, actually, the Men at Work star is allegedly an unstable, violent sex and gambling addict who abused his wife and pressured her to abort their first kid, according to Denise Richards. Between this and his conspiracy mongering, Charlie's actually helping his TV show "Two and a Half Men" by making the "Charlie" character he plays look far more likeable by comparison.

'Star Trek' set for 2008 revival with a film about Kirk and Spock's early days and their first outer space mission.

Pirates vs. Ninjas vs. ATF Agents

One of my favorite web cartoons, the 30-second reenactments by bunnies by Angry Alien Productions, was featured on CNN's "In The Money" this Sunday.

I don't watch CNN, but it was playing at the gate where my wife and I were waiting for our plane, so I just happened to catch it. Good for AAP; I'm glad to see them getting more publicity.

I'm back from my week-long vacation to the Bahamas and Orlando. I will post some details later, with pictures, once I've finished downloading and sorting my 1692 e-mails.

Looks like the posting contest was fruitful. I dont know if anyone mentioned it, but I announced that I would give a prize to the Monitor Duty contributor who made the most posts during my absence. I'll count the posts between my last post and this one.

Angry Alien Productions has just debuted 30-second bunny reenactments of the films "Reservoir Dogs" and "Brokeback Mountain."

You may have noticed that I recently added a code to our site which will open a new window when you click a link (or open a new tab if you use Firefox). This way, we don't have to put target="_blank" in the coding of every link and yet users can check out the links without leaving Monitor Duty.

That's good. Here's the bad. (And the bad isn't "bad" bad.) When you fill out the comment form and hit the submit button, it will also open a new window instead of refreshing the page. That will be a bit confusing, I know. Only one person has been confused by this and submits comments multiple times, but I thought I might explain what's happening.

Speaking of comments, remember: Your comments must be approved by a member of the staff before they will appear, unless you have a Typekey ID. Since I'm going to be gone for a week, there may be a delay before comments show up. Don't panic.

I will be gone all of next week. I'm encouraging all of our other contributors to pull Monitor Duty, but I'm not paying them so who knows what will happen. I'll probably return from vacation to find that MD has become a hard core porn site.

Have a Happy Easter! Since I won't be here, I hid your easter egg in the extended entry.

Eltingville is the pilot episode for a Cartoon Network Adult Swim series (that never made it past the pilot) about four comic book/sci-fi/fantasy geeks. I don't know what's more shocking:
A) That Cartoon Network won't produce more of these despite it being way funnier than some of the drekky shows that are on Adult Swim now. (Admittedly, they are much cheaper shows than this one must have been.)
or
B) That I know a LOT of the answers to the "Trivia-Off" in this episode.

Comicon's "The Beat" has the story. DC is challenging the copyright ruling, but if the Siegel family wins the rights to Superboy, what will it mean for "Smallville" and Superman? Is a teen Clark Kent who lives in Smallville on a farm, dates Lana Lang and fights Lex Luthor before he grows up to be a mad scientist still "Superboy" if he never puts on a costume and calls himself that? For that matter, how can "Superboy" be a different character from "Superman"? Okay, ever since 1993 there has been a separate Superboy entity, but Jerry Siegel didn't invent him...

It's a big, big mess.

I meant to point these to you last week. Sorry!

NBC.com > The Office's April Fools PSAs

Rebeca Cusey reviews "My Name Is Earl", which is currently one of my favorite TV shows. In addition to the excellent cast and the high humor content, it's got something going for it that almost no other TV show does: values.

Not that it's a super-clean show that you can watch with little kids, but it is about a man trying to be a better person. Selfishness is so ingrained in TV show characters that I didn't even notice it anymore, until something comes along to contrast it. Watching Earl is (I hate to indulge in a cliche, but I must) like a breath of fresh air after hours of TV shows where people only care about themselves. Don't get me wrong, I like stories with selfish, arrogant characters, too. But Earl is a welcome replacement for "Frasier", the previous TV show that gave me some hope for the human race. (Well, that and "King of the Hill.")

To: Hollywood
From: America
Re: Remakes

Dukes of Hazzard, Starsky and Hutch, Miami Vice and now CHiPs (2008) with Fez as Ponch?

It's not as if there isn't worthy material that could deserve serious re-envisioning in other media many decades later. I wouldn't say that. But why is it never anything GOOD, like Knight Rider?

Oh, wait, you're remaking Knight Rider. Good thing I thought to check IMDb before I hit the "post" button.

Okay, bad example. All right, although I can't imagine this without the genuine Mr. T, how about the A-Team? At least it's a concept that was never really right for TV, where you couldn't kill anyone, so maybe a movie version would be better so long as it was done straight.

Oh, wait, you're doing The A-Team.

All right, I can't think of any examples of really great TV shows that deserve to be re-made and aren't, but I'm sure there are some.

Thanks, K.I.T.T.

The 30-Second Bunnies Theatre Library recently posted Night of the Living Dead and in three days they will have bleeped and unbleeped versions of "Reservoir Dogs."

The Agony Booth has posted a new review: Mudd's Passion, from the Star Trek animated series.

DVD Late Show: B-Movies, Exploitation and Cult Television DVD Reviews by Christopher Mills has just launched, and I'll just let him describe it:

'Ice Age' Hauls in Mammoth $70.5M

I saw "Ice Age: The Meltdown" this weekend in a theater full of kids on Sunday afternoon. Apparently this was replicated across the country, as the movie will need a herd of mammoths to haul all the money they took in. $70 million is great, especially in an age where movie theaters think audiences are dwindling away despite movies worth seeing. Instead, what they think is "worth seeing" just doesn't match the American audience.

"No one had any idea it would do this kind of business," said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations, who expected the "Ice Age" sequel to debut in the $55 million range.

"The notion that people don't want to go to the movies is dispelled by something like this," he said. "It proves people will line up for the right movie if given the motivation."

Oh, if you'd like a clue as to the next big bucks hit? You should have heard the kids laughing and squealing during the "Over the Hedge" trailer; it was equal to the laughs heard during Ice Age. I bet that has a similar opening weekend take.

I have a generally spoiler-free review, but there are enough spoilers that if you just want my go/no go, I'd say "Definitely go!"

'The Simpsons' to Hit the Big Screen

I saw this trailer this weekend at the Ice Age 2 showing.

I decided that this year I didn't want to do some kind of cheesy post that sounds enticing, invite people to click on the extended entry only to taunt, "April Fools!" Where's the fun in that? An April Fool's prank has to be grand. Anyone can just offer a quick enticement, get the other person to ask, "Really!" and then sneer in their face.

So this year...

Millionaire Playboy ™ : How To: Build a Batphone

Has a cake dome, lights up, everything!

For most of my life, it was true that DC Comics had the best movies, whereas Marvel's attempts at doing other media resulted in embarrassing garbage that ended up straight to video or hidden in vaults. But for the last decade, while DC has turned out camp Batman & Robin, Steel and Catwoman (we won't even mention the Birds of Prey TV series. Oops, just did!), Marvel has rocked our world with X-Men and Spider-Man franchises that could go on forever as well as the passable Hulk, Daredevil and Fantastic Four (and only a few bombs like Elektra).

Marvel's still going strong, with plenty of sequels on the way and David S. Goyer's Captain America slated for 2009. The "Hulk vs. Wolverine" movie that was just announced also sounds like a good way to resuscitate the Hulk and see more of Hugh Jackman. Part of the reason for Marvel's recent success is their ability to entertain interest from many studios, whereas DC is part of the Warner Brothers conglomerate.

However, it sure sounds like DC is on a roll. Batman Begins was a success and the sequel is in the works. Superman Returns is going to be huge, and it looks like the Wonder Woman movie (it's been in the works for so long that the actresses once in the running for the lead are now too old for the part) may happen. From the list below of movies that are now in production, are scheduled for future release or just in the works, it looks like DC has finally hit on a multimedia strategy. We had inklings of this last year when DC began stamping their new logo on all of their movie/TV properties, followed by their hiring of Buffy/Angel/Firefly creator Joss Whedon to finally make the Wonder Woman picture a reality.

All right, that's enough of an intro. Click "Extended Entry" for more details on DC's movie (plus TV and straight-to-DVD) projects.