ComicPanelsOfTheWeek: Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

(Click for bigger pic)

??? Four © ??? Comics (help on this one, anyone?)

AwesomeMoviesScenes - "We're gonna be Pardners!"

One of all-time favorite classics.
Honestly? I think I saw this over 10 times when I was a kid. Every summer was the occasion to rewatch this classic flick at some point or another.

I always liked Jerry Lewis.
But this scene from Pardners (1956) is easily one of finest and most engraved scenes I have totally memorized and burned onto my brain forever!




"You and me~ "

Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis might not have been the best of pals behind the camera (yes, yes, a well known fact, thank you), but their chemistry on screen was perfect!

Outcast Studios - LIVE DRAW NIGHT December 2011

http://outcaststudios.com/forums/

Hi guys!
Yesterday evening was my 4th participation in the Outcast forums all-new "Live Draw Nights" for this quarter!
(You can find all my previous blogs by either following my meme tag or checking out the following links for the LDN February 2011, LDN May 2011 & LDN September 2011)

This weekend was yet another rude sessions of sketching, sketching and even more sketching!
Like before, I tried to keep my Twitter account updated as I went along.

If you're just joining me and don't know in what this LDN art jam challenge consists, it was roughly 4 hours long of various challenge thrown at us.
It's kinda like being in a "virtual convention" with various online members of the Outcast forums, getting various different challenges every hour and having to quickly (either digitally or traditionally) draw a lot of random characters.
It's a real challenging practice.
It was fun to get all together and draw, draw, draw! Keep our senses sharp and our hand fast. A great way to work your skills if you will!

Like the previous times, we had a great time. Various characters and fun ideas during the night.
Just trying to keep up is a fun challenge in itself!~

Now, let's dig into yesterday's entries!
Hour ONE
HOUR ONE was a nice warm-up.
Simply, 10 minute/sketches coming for an hour!

We started with one of Outcasts' own creations, The Checkeredman!
Great way to get things started.

The Batwoman!
Since we only had 10 minutes for these, I decided to go the simplistic route

Le Marquis, from a French bande dessinée, from what I gather.
Never heard of the guy. Fun design though.

Dr. Manhattan.
Fun one to draw I gotta say.

Leonidas from 300, with obligatory meme, if you please!

...and that was the last one for this "HOUR".

[BREAK!! BREAK!! EVERYONE TAKE A BREAK!!]
This was the time to walk around a sec'. 10 minutes break for everyone at this point.

Hour TWO
Hour two consisted in two 30 min. sketches.
With a twist!
2 selected characters fighting random foes.

The first random subject was Blueberry & Lone Wolf (and Cub)  versus Violent Cowboys!
Was getting carried with this one..
I had this epic western scene pictured in my mind.

..and the 2nd drawing was Lobo & Judge Anderson (from Judge Dredd) against, I quote, "homicidal telekinetic Toddlers", I kid you not.

[BREAK!! BREAK!! EVERYONE TAKE A BREAK!!]

Hour THREE
HOUR THREE - It consisted in a longer 50 minutes drawing of Ghost in the Shell's main protagonist.

Motoko Kusanagi.
The idea was to either emulate this reference pic of a cosplayer or simply the character she was representing.

[BREAK!! BREAK!! EVERYONE TAKE A BREAK!!]

Hour FOUR
Fourth - and last final hour.
A drawing with a twist!
The subject was a steampunk'd version of one of the proposed characters. We had a whole hour for this one.

I decided to select the DK2 Batman & Robin, just for kicks

And that was all for this night!
Our next session will be in March, from what I gather.
All in all, it was a pretty fun challenge to keep up with :D


Why don't ya try joining in the fun for next time. (log in the outcast studios or even, try to keep up even if you don't follow these forum boards!)

Hope you enjoy these!
Until next time~

Ad - Chili's Stop-Motion Commercial

Here's another Chili's Commercial!
This one is from 1997 and features some stop-motion Old West chili!
Yes, you read that right!

Enjoy~



We may not have Chili's, down here, but doesn't mean a' can't enjoy this video nonethless :P
Plus I always had a soft spot for Westerns, and stop motion, so...
<3

BadassScene - Brisco County Jr

Brisco County Jr. was a pretty awesome, if short live, fun scifi/weird western show featuring Bruce Campbell.
It was pretty awesome and was full of badass moments like such:



Classic :D

CBR:Quickies Ambush Bug comics

Somehow, you've manage to go through Ambush Bug's first and second miniseries.
And for some reason, you didn't go insane and you're even asking for more of it?

Well, don't say I didn't warn you.
There you have it....

B-b-b-BUG-Time! Ambush Bug's amazing debut, in all it's non-canon beauty!

First of all...who is the Ambush Bug?

The Bug's true origins aren't certain... he's after all a funny humorous character, and thus, nothing's set in stone for the fanboys. Instead, the Bug likes to mock every aspect of "continuity" the nerds require to make sense out of comics. Any occasion he has to plays the reader, he takes.
But one origin seems to stick more so than the others...

It seems a long time ago, someone named Brum-El, from the planet Schwab, discovered his own planet was doomed...and so he made a spaceship to save what was the most important in his life...nooo! Not his ugly wife or annoying brat, but all of his favorite clothes.
Therefore, this man sent his clothes into outter space, hoping his lovely shirts and colorful set of pants would find a new home in another galaxy...only to find out his planet wasn't going to explode in the end.
Anyway, the clothes travelled across the stars, only to finally crash on our dear planet Earth, in the middle of the roof of the building where lived our hero, Irwin Schwab. Amongst the wardrobe, only a green pajama survived an encounter with a cosmic radioactive spider upon arrival in our solar system.
And after some adjustments, thus was born the Ambush Bug!

At least, that's what how he keeps saying it happened.

(by the by, another pieces of clothing survived, and it was an argyle sock which would later become the Bug's greatest nemesis, Argh!Yle!...but that is another story, for another time...)

And that is how the Ambush Bug should be remembered...as a very random guy who got powers for some reason and now spends is time either annoying Superman or deconstructing comics.

Originally created by Keith Giffen as a new (silly) foe for Superman, over the 80s, the Bug quickly outgrew his original intentions and was allowed to become his own character, even leaving some aspects of his early creation.
But this wasn't much a problem, since he was created around DC Comics' big "reboot", the so-called Crisis on Infinite Earths (which I already talked about plenty in my Batman: Year One review, why don't you check that out as well ;))
That is the reason why I decided to separate in the Quickies below both his comics released before the Crisis and after the Crisis. Just in case it might be useful to some of you guys and gals.

The classic Bug was a villain originally. Named after a type of insect, who decided to start wearing green jumpsuits and make evil deeds just because he had nothing better to do. He used to teleport thanks to robotic bugs he used, stored in his antennas. After annoying Superman for a while, he decided to become a force of good instead and started playing Super Hero (often using a cape/stealing Superman's).

Comic title: DC Comics Presents Superman #52
Written by Paul Kupperberg
Art by Keith Giffen & Sal Trapani

From Dec. 1982 
Format: Single issue from an on-going series

Not only is this book the first appearance of Ambush Bug, but it is also the first time the New Doom Patrol made themselves public and finally met Superman.
The story opens with a disturbance in Metropolis.. some uncontrollable energy is running loose on the streets of the city of tomorrow. Supes goes to investigate...
Meanwhile a person calling himself "Ambush Bug" announces himself to the world by simply killing a reporter live on TV!!
Supes clashes with this new Doom Patrol, which the Bug plays one against the other.
Supes finds how Ambush Bug was able to teleport himself around, using the circuitry in his costume and robo-bugs planted all over the city.
Ambush Bug gets arrested in the end.

Overall: Well... It certainly isn't the Bug we know today.
Here, he's only a thug using gimmicks (very hi-tech ones at that) to commit crimes and have fun.
In fact, he's closer to Deadpool, character-wise (which hadn't been created yet back then) than any other portrayal of the Bug we love.
Speaking of love, he even falls in love briefly with a Doom Patroller - which is quite acting far from his current self. (again, that seems a bit more Deadpool-ysh than Ambush Bug)
And -gasp- in the end he even gets unmasked. We're shown a man (Irwin?) who appears big, bald and muscled.
Oh and the fact he killed someone wouldn't stay "in-continuity" for long after that, what with all the DCU rewritten not long after that. But even his next appearances wouldn't mention it much as we're going to see.

I give this one a: 2 / 3 Score!

Comic title: DC Comics Presents Superman #59
Written by Keith Giffen & Paul Levitz
Art by Keith Giffen & Kurt Schaffenberger

From July 1983 
Format: Single issue from an on-going series

This story starts with Superman flying, as most Superman comics do. Supes is actually traveling through time to go help some future heroes with some Crisis...when the Bug decides to "hijack" him.
Both our heroes end up in the 30th Century.
Superman decides he can't keep Ambush Bug around and so has to leave him under the care of the local heroes. By some coincidence, the Legion aren't available at the time, so the Legion Of Substitute Heroes will have to.
A.B. gets lose and quickly starts wrecking havoc as usual...

Overall: Only his second appearance, and Giffen already gets behind the writing duties for his newly created "villain".
This time around the Bug is less of an actual threat and much more inoffensive. He's more of a loony mischief by now already.
The issue is very fun. Keith Giffen'd love for underrated characters truly shows in these page, he seems to be having a blast with these so-called substitute heroes.
The Bug makes a fool out of this "Legion", Superman, etc.. He even steals for the first time Superman cape (which would turn into a running joke over his next appearances).
A great fun issue, we start seeing a more familiar attitude within the A.B.

I give this one a: 3 / 3 Score!

Comic title: Supergirl #16
Written by Paul Kupperberg
Art by Carmine Infantino & Bob Oksner

From Feb. 1984
Format: Single issue from an on-going series

This one's actually a filler issue from the Supergirl title..but an appearance's an appearance for our Bug!
Ambush Bug arrives in Chicago, Illinois, well decided to change profession. You see, he's already tired of playing super villain, the gig's not that secure afterall. Now he's going to become a super hero, it seemed lik a good idea at the time.
Meanwhile, instruments are being stolen all over the East Coast. Supergirl is on the case, she goes to investigate this strange mystery, also wishing to help out her musician boyfriend.
When A.B. finds her, for some reason he mistakes her for Superman... The Bug thinks she's actually his "good pal" Superman, brainwashed and turned into a girl against his will for some reason - it doesn't get more random than.
The Bug will have to be the one to help out his ol' buddy, ol' pal if he wants Superman to be saved from his situation.
His help ends up causing problems all over the city. Both end up finding the missing instruments and the villains in their skirmish.
Supergal defeats the Bug easily, using the same technique Superman used the first time.



Overall: One of those very rare times the Bug hasn't been written under Ketih Giffen supervision. At least it's from the writer who brought him into the DC Universe in the first place, Paul Kupperberg.
The Bug is starting to become a real pain in the a** for all Kryptonians.
Fun, simple enough story and it's great to see him bug the rest of the DCU, to establish him outside Superman's supporting cast of characters.
The art is pretty lovely too.
Suddenly, near the end of the book, the Bug shows one of his rare facets, a serious moment..almost creepy. What are his real goals, what's his game anyway, is he acting loony on purpose?
...Thankfully this sideplot wouldn't ever be explored anymore, at least.
Seriously, I wouldn't have liked if he ended up being another of these super serious super villains. There's like a bazillion of them already!
The Bug gets captured, send to jail one more time. It was so easy to prevent this classic Ambush Bug from teleporting since he was using circuitry he had to use on his costume...


I give this one a: 2 / 3 Score! 

Comic title: Action Comics #560 
Superman story written by Paul Kupperberg
Superman story drawn by Alex Saviuk & Dave Hunt

Ambush Bug story written by Keith Giffen & Rob Fleming
Ambush Bug story drawn by Keith Giffen& Bob Oksner

From Oct. 1984 
Format: Single issue from an on-going series

This is it! Finally, the Bug gets his own story in a back-up story on the Action Comics title.
The first story here's actually a classic Superman story.
A guy escapes prison, wants to have revenge on the system. He starts destroying buildings, the police, the tribunal... Superman tries to stop this new super villain..but for some reason starts getting amnesic at the same time. He's it because of his powers? Being near the guy? Why?? In the end Superman finds the actual true reason to why, beats the bad guy. Happy ending!
In the second story, the Ambush Bug decides to become legit. He opens up an agency "A.Bug Enterprise - Super-heroism is our speciality!". Clark Kent comes by to check on the Bug, to see if he's actually preparing a new scheme. But the Bug easily sees trhough "Superman's silly disguise", make a fool out of Supes once again, get his cape out and plays around with poor middle-mannered reporter Clark Kent.
And also, A.B.'s secret origin is finally revealed!!
In this new origin, he reveals himself as Irwin Schwab actually. A middle-aged man, raised by solid-state television. He decides to become a villain for fun, makes a costume and builds a teleportation device (no less!).

Overall: The Superman main feature is pretty classic, even by Superman comics standards. Nothing much really.
The Ambush Bug back-up is great!
Giffen plays with the comic format, be it in sequences, panels, shots..
There's lots of big close-ups, no gutters between panels so even though it's kinda "suffocating", Ambush Bug seems to be jumping all over the place - classic Giffen!
It still is the "Pre-Crisis" Bug, but we're getting near our current Bug already. He even breaks the 4th wall for the first time (mentioning Keith Giffen behind the weird camera angles).
Ambush Bug becomes crazier and a whole less threatening for the better good.

I give this one a: 2.5 / 3 Score!

Comic title: Action Comics #563 
Ambush Bug story by Keith Giffen, Rob Fleming & Bob Oksner
Superman story by E. Nelson Bridwell, Alex Saviuk, Dennis Jensen
Jimmy Olsen story by Craig Boldman, Howard Bender & Pablo Marcos

From Jan. 1985 
Format: Single issue from an on-going series

It's a "3 Fun-filled stories!" issue as the title let us know!
Ambush Bug's actually the lead feature this time.
The Bug is trying to fix some of his Bug devices that allows him to teleport usually...when it blows up in his face. His suit turns black (which allows him to mock Secret Wars' Spider-man black symbiotic suit on various occasions). Irwin finds out he can now naturally teleport finally! He goes around the city, disguised as a crazy horse since he can't show up his destroyed burnt costume. Oh, and he tells a new origin story to Superman. Now his costume comes from the planet Schwab. It was going to explode, a man decided to send away his clothes to save them, instead of his annoying brat or his despicable wife... The rocketship gets bitten by a cosmic radioactive spider.. Lands on Earth, crashes on a roof... Irwing gets the costume and becomes the Ambush Bug since he had nothing better to do at the time!
The second story sees Mr. Mxyzptlk wanting to enter the media business. He starts annoying people at the Galaxy Building (the Daily Planet's building during the 80s). He puts a curse so no one can say/write things backwards. Superman is able to trick him thanks to a "Bizarro" twist in the end.
And the last tale is called "Jimmy Olsen... Blob!"
It's sort of a retelling of an earlier Silver Age story. Jimmy wants to use his elastic super powers to help someone..but ends up all messed up like a huge monstrous blob. It's a pretty silly story, kind of idiot, but fun nonetheless.

Overall: Keith Giffen's trying to change his character over the years, for the better.
Now he's clearly a comical character.
He's using Ambush Bug to mock (gently) Superman, for fun. Now he's starting using A.B. to have fun with concepts in comics. Like the onomatopoeias which are usually "silent passive" characters in comics. But here, the Bug actually sees and plays with them.
WHOOOOSH "Hey you letterer! is whoooosh" the only sound effect you know??"
Irwin even gets a brand new face under his mask.
The other 2 Superman tales are maybe less funny than intended, probably because the Bug raises our expectations right from the start of the issue. Mxyzptlk ends up looking less loony and threatening than usual thanks to the randomness of Ambush Bug who comes off a lot more off the wall in the previous pages.
Good concept in Mxyzptlk story, but kinda same ol', same ol' to past Mxyzptlk stories. (boy, do I love copy/pasting his name a lot more than actually saying it)
The Jimmy Olsen feature is maybe better. Silly, like I said, but entertaining enough.
Good book overall.

I give this one a: 2.5 / 3 Score! 

Comic title: Action Comics #565 
Superman story written by Mort Todd
Superman story drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger
Ambush Bug story written by Keith Giffen & Rob Fleming
Ambush Bug story drawn by Keith Giffen& Bob Oksner

From Mar. 1985 
Format: Single issue from an on-going series

In the "Wizard City Warrior", bad guys find the hidden city of Kandor Wizard City, another piece from Krypton Supes had hidden somewhere on Earth. They're able to activate some gimmicks which sets up on destroying the planet. "The warrior" challenges Superman for the sake of the world. In the end, Supes is able to get the upper hand thanks to his pals Jimmy Olsen and Lana Lang.
The rest of the book is given to Ambush Bug.
I can't call this a "back-up feature" since it actually takes more than half of the issue. The Bug allows Keith Giffen to explore comics and have fun with fake ads, posters, mock-up covers and other parodies in "$ellout".
It's actually more random concepts one after the other to sells us, and the DC editors, on the idea of a whole mini-series Mr. Bug would like to have.
The ravin' lunatic tries to get guest stars to appear in his debut miniseries, with no luck...

Overall: The Bug was being featured in Superman books pretty regularly, heh?
Supes story is pretty corny, even by mid-80s comics standards. (a catapult!!!)
But the artwork was kinda amazing. It even reminded me of classic Golden Age comic book art in some way.
Ambush Bug's pretty in line with his current beloved self.
He mocks Superman Silver Age tales (which would get retconned out a short while after that thanks to the Crisis). He mocks Supergirl and her love for an horse, Batman, Wonder Woman,...
There's plenty o' parodies and disguised tributes in such little pages. (including a lovely Kirby homage/parody)
Very good A' Bug..pages. (I can't call this a "story"...)

I give this one a: 2.5 / 3 Score! 

Comic title: DC Comics Presents Superman #81 
Written by Keith Giffen & Rob Fleming
Art by Keith Giffen & Bob Oksner

From May 1985 
Format: Single issue from an on-going series

The Ambush Bug is back in Superman's team-up on-going.
"Ambush Bug ruins a Superman comic". That's how this issue could have been named!
Ambush Bug is first seen fooling around as usual, now on a golf course.
After discovering a mysterious gem, he decides to offer it to Superman so he'll forgive him for all his previous guest-appearances.
But in truth, the crystal turns out to be actually Red Kryptonite!!
(which tends to have random effects on Superman physiology)
It makes Ambush and Superman swap bodies for some reason!
And all this at the same time the evil Kobra wants to plot his revenge on the Man of Steel!!
Ambush Bug ends up threating Kobra's safety seriously (not that he intended to..) and destroys most of the East Coast of Metropolis by accident.
Meanwhile, Superman is stuck in Ambush Bug's body. He discovers himself an urge to watch awful TV serials, a huge craving for large Pizzas and all the while he's trapped in his own Fortress of Solitude against his will..only to finally be able to use Bug's random teleportation powers..randomly.

Overall: The First "canon" appearance of Ambush Bug!...in a story Superman purists won't even call canon ever.
The all-new Bug has a more comical physique, we would never get to see him reveal his face anymore.
He's still sort of a villain in a way - he clearly annoys Superman and his a menace to all who surround him. (which would result in Ambush Bug's friendship with the New God Darkseid in future comics)
But a good guy at heart now.
This Bug wouldn't even kill a guy on National TV just to grab attention, no-how!
Scrap that, he actually never killed anyone since:
a) it isn't in continuity anymore
b) it was JUST INK! Nobody died actually, think about it! :'3
Anyway, fantastic parodic fun issue. Playing with the villain Kobra in a role he's never seen before.
This issue was also used to promote A.B. own mini-series launched around that same time.
A must read!

I give this one a: 3 / 3 Score!

Comic title: Secret Origins #48 
Ambush Bug segment by Keith Giffen, Rob Fleming & Bob Lewis

Stanley and his Monster segment by Phil Foglio & Keith Wilson
Rex the Wonder Dog segment by Gerard Jones, Paris Cullins & Gary Martin
Trigger Twins segment by Gerard William Messner Loebs & Trevor Von Eeden

From April 1990
Format: Single issue from an on-going series

Another Secret Origins book!
This one's overall subject seems to be obscure and underrated characters populating the DCU.
Will Ambush Bug finally get a definitive origin story??
...
Naah! Instead we get is usual screwing around.
The Bug gets various non-serious origins and since he's refusing and trying to escape them all ends up getting a stereotypical take (cowabunga!), for that time at least.
After that, we get some other origins retold for the Post-Crisis DCU.
Stanley, a kid, befriends a monster who was just expelled from hell from being too nice. Silver Age-ysh.
"The Birth of Rex, the Wonder Dog". A secret super soldier program from the US Army tests its super-serum on a dog...the scientist in charge of the program is killed by a nazi... Now, Rex, the Wonder Dog, will forever be a one of a kind of dog...
Finally, the Tale of the Trigger Twins closes the book. A story taking place in the old west, about two brothers who'll end up using this pseudonym and become reputed bounty hunters.


Overall: Ambush Bug is his typical-self. Random, playing with comic book concepts and such. Making fun of it (and DC's editorial needs for these re-organized clear background stories in their modern day publications).
Keith Giffen at his best!
Stanley and his monster is a bit silly..but nice. Love the cartoony art here!
Rex is a fantastic parody of Marvel's Captain America. Very fun riff on that classic Golden Age comic origin story.
And finally, the western story taking place in the ol' days of the DCU. Pretty good actually.
I even hope Palmiotti & Grey will use the twins in their current Jonah Hex title, would love to see more of these two.
A very good bunch of Secret Origins!

I give this one a: 3 / 3 Score!


And thus, that is all of Ambush Bug non-self titled comic book issues.
'Hope you'll find some you might like or even helped you on these.

The Ambush Bug will be back in nothing special!~

Winners don't use drugs.

 

That's all for this time's Quickies!

[FRENCH] Lucky Luke Ballads and stuff

Drawing by Eyz (me!)

I've always been a big Lucky Luke fan since...ever!
Lately, there's a song from a Lucky Luke cartoon I've been listening to a lot.
But first, lemme just show you how much of a Lucky Luke fan I am.
Here's my "collection", almost alll Lucky Luke comics.

That's approximatively ~60 volumes.
I'm only missing a half-dozen titles. (though I should try getting them one of these days now that I think about it..)

I've always liked the characters, the little typcial "old west" universe Morris (the cartoonist) crafted over the years which new authors are still keeping alive up to this day.

I'm also a big fan of "western" flicks, spaghettis westerns, etc..
Though I tend to prefer Clint Eastwood-type of characters and the movies they star in over the more classical John Wayne.
(the reason why I also prefer the video game Red Dead Revolver over Red Dead Redemption probably)

Anyway, here's the music I wanted to share on my blog!
It's the main theme (and opening tune) of the 1978 animated full-feature movie La Ballade des Dalton (The Ballad of the Daltons) which was back then one of the biggest project spawned from Francobelgium comics, and had been since then translated into dozens of other languages.

This is the original version, in french s'il vous plait~
Anyways it still is pretty watchable and catchy nonetheless:



I just love that banjo playing!
And Averell Dalton (the biggest one) is saying near the end, when he finds himself trapped outside the penitentiary:
"Hey! That's not fair! Lemme go inside! I've been arrested as well!"

I think the animation still holds up, pretty amazingly well.
Moreso than some modern cartoons which already look pretty bland and badly animated (mostly 80s cartoon, be it for TV or theater)

Since you're probably still here on this post, let me take this occasion to also post some more animated Lucky Luke.
First off, the original opening theme song from Lucky Luke's first cartoon TV series from '84:



Simply, folk-ysh-like.
The animation isn't as good as it was in the movie above, but it still counts amongst some of the best produced by french cartoon studios from that time.

And now Lucky Luke's modern cartoon opening theme from 2001:



Yeah, Lucky Luke had a pretty successful return, at least in french speaking countries with a new cartoon from the animation studio Xilam.
The lyrics are pretty funny here as well with a sort of frenglish. Which really suits this Francobelgium cartoon taking place in the US.^^

And finally here's a trailer for Lucky Luke's latest animated project, which was a big budget modern 2D animated movie called Tous à l'ouest. (which, I'm not sure, looks like it wasn't translated in English - at least for now):



The animation, the art style are top notch. But the reception has been mixed overall...Me? I haven't seen it so far...

And that is all for this animated Lucky Luke blog post!~

Movie NEWS! Cowboys, aliens and mutants

New trailers!

The Rat sez: Hell Yeah!

Cowboys, aliens and mutants...
All different, all comic book adaptations.
So there's a new Cowboys & Aliens trailer out.



Are you motivated to see this Jon Favreau movie?
The original indie comic was a fun & fresh original take on such a B-movie subject.
Hope the movie turns out great. (heck, with Harrison Ford in it, how couln't it be fun to watch?)


Second trailer, it's a brand new good trailer of the (hopefully not) bad new X-Men installment, X-Men First Class.

Alright... as bad as I can smell this movie's going to be...this trailer was pretty decent. Clearly, at 20th Century Fox, they got some pretty trailer maker guys...
How could this turn out 100% bad, I mean, there's some Bacon in it! XD

And that is all for this time~

Movie NEWS! Cowboys & Aliens trailer!

The trailer to the much anticipated new movie from Jon Favreau (Made, Iron Man Elf) has just been released!

....WHAT????

In case you're just jumping on this one, lemme explain it a bit to you.

Cowboys & Aliens on July 29, 2011. It is directed by Favreau, produced by Steven Spielberg and will feature and all A-list actors cast. (Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, etc..)

It is yet another adaptation of a comic book.
An indie comic this time from Platinum Studios.

The original comic was created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley, with art by Luciano Lima.

The story in a nutshell:
"An extraterrestrial species lands in Arizona in the mid-19th century. The aliens plan to squash the Wild West and enslave humanity, but the cowboys and native Apache have other plans..."

Nothing to complicated. It's just a fun story and quite entertaining.
It pays homage to both Old West stories and alien B-movies from the 70s.

Anyway, here's the trailer, enjoy!

VGR Red Dead Revolver

With the release of a new Old West game, something that doesn't happen that much like say WW2 or modern spy themed games, I decided to put on a review of a little cult favorite of mine.

This is a review about the original Red Dead Revolver, not the new sequel on Xbob360 or PS3.
I didn't buy the new one nor plan to try it right away...
It seems like a pretty decend new Old West game, but kinda far from what the original game was, its original "spirit". More like surfing on a little cult game...
The should rather call it under a new name. (since it isn't the same kind of game). I would have been more motivated in Red Dead Redemption if they would have used a new name! (were they afraid of competitors games' reputation? like Call of Juarez and Gun? maybe.. so they turned their game into a fake Red Dead 2)

Anyway, we kinda got sidetracked... Back on the 2004 game now.

Game: Red Dead Revolver
By Rockstar/Rockstar San Diego
Played on Xbox
Also available on PS2
 
Type 3rd Person Shooter/Arcade
From 2004

I've always loved the Western/old west genre. Yep.
Yes, it kind sound strange but I do love Scifi, B movies, horror movies, slashers, monster movies, kaiju flicks, adventure/action ones, 80s/90s blockbusters, Chanbara movies AND Westerns! Strange mix? I would rather say wide range of tastes : P

Anyways...
I like Old West, it's a pretty fun and entertaining genre which offers a lot of original stories and type of characters!
But it's also a genre that hasn't been very much used in gamings! We play games taking place in either our "current" world or the future most of the time.
And with the past, we prefer war-filled themes of World War, or Age of Empires, or anywhere along those lines..

But lately, since the 2000s, there's been a handful of Old West games.
The Gun or Call of Juarez series have been using a John Wayne-type of Western.

His name's Red. And he ain't here to kid' around...

For the Gamecube and the PS2, Capcom started working in the early 2000s on a Old West game.
Yes. Capcom. Check it out!
But it was around Capcom's financial problems. When they canceled a bunch of other future would-be hits. Like Dead Phoenix, a Capcom 5 game, but we'll discuss more on that on a future Blog post...
The game was gonna be a japanese take on Spagetti Western, something pretty fun since the other Old West games are more based on the John Wayne-western. Plus it was a japanese game so it would be pretty unique for the genre, a bit more arcade for sure!
Then Capcom canceled it.
Very sad news that day...
The game was very advanced in its development. But you gotta understand...
They had financial problems, the game wasn't a big blockbuster game and it surely wouldn't be a huge success in japan.

However, like the name of the other canceled game previously mentioned, it raised again like a Dead Phoenix!
Rockstar games bought the project in development, all the work done so far & everything else around it (the engine, the IP, etc..).
Yes. Rockstar finished the game!
The content was mostly over anyway.
Red Dead Revolver came out finally on Xbox and PS2!

The game was well received by critics (even if they nitpicked some little details), it has since became a cult favorite!
But like many other games of that time, it didn't sold that much and was a bit ignored for more mainstream series.
(it was a time when many great underrated games went totally ignored for new Marios or Sonics... like Psychonauts, Billy Hatcher, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Beyond Good & Evil...)

The Magnificent Five

So... We just talked about the story around the game.
Now, the story of the game itself!

You play as Red Harlow. A bounty hunter on the hunt of evil Governor Griffin, responsible for his parents death alongside a General Diego and a Colonel Dare.
The game is pretty unique in its gameplay, it tries not be be repetitive with many original levels such as the attack of a train, a bridge to blow up and mines to explore.

Plus you'll get to play with many unique character, the game changing characters each chapter for the story.
You'll play Red when he's a kid, later as a bounty hunter on various bounties and later trying to find Griff and Diego, but also the characters that will be joining him in his quest of vengeance and justice.
Such as Annie Stoakes, a kickass "cowgirl" (not that kind!), Jack Swift, a badass English gunman, Shadow Wolf, Red's native half brother and a US Army soldier just known as Buffalo Soldier.
Each character play a bit differently from Red. Be it different weapons or gimmick.

Yes gimmick, main character Red has a special ability.
Called Dead Eye, it's used for duels, a slow mode/bullet time allowing the player to aim at different places on the enemies or multiple targets.
Very fun and quite effective, it charges slowly, so you don't over uses it, each time being quite unique and not too much gimmick-y as well.

The man who shoots faster than his shadow... with his Dead Eye.

So, how exactly was Red Dead any different from any other and future Old West game?
Well, champ', easy answer.
The game was originally a japanese Old West game! It wasn't designed as a big immersive 100+ hours world, nor as a first person shooter game. It was a pure arcade game!
Rockstar mainly finished texturing/level designing/coding/story telling and testing the product!
It kept his "core" experience.
There's score/money (to buy better weapons during levels) for kills and speed.
The game's based around original fun levels. Something you'd want to replay.

The setting is that of spaghetti westerns.
The characters are pastiches of the spaghetti western genre. Red's the typical "Man with no name"/Clint Eastwood character. There's the strong native brother, the southern and northern soldiers, the southern belle dangerous with a gun, the rotten governor and many others!
The music is also perfect!
I'm glad Rockstar bought so many old songs from spaghetti western composers, such as Ennio Morricone.
The theme song, from Lo Chiamavano King by Luis Bacalov is forever one of my favorite Western tunes now!

You'll travel a lot of visually different places, from ghost towns to cemeteries and many more!

But the game isn't without his problems.
The game is a bit grey/grainy. Which people criticised back then.
The dust & scratches effects are present and look great, but it could be a bit more detailled and colorful.
The models aren't that great, animation and details-wise, which for 2004 should and could be a bit better!
I'm okay with playing old 3D and less "next gen" games. But for 2004, it could be a bit better!
However, have in mind it was a early 2000s Capcom Arcade game at heart.

There's a multiplayer, but I never really bothered with that much... Only tried it once or twice..
There's the classic deathmatches, team/free for all fighting modes you'd expect from Quake 3 or Unreal...

Overall, it's a very fun experience!
I'd say, if you're a bit interested in a different Old West game, Capcom arcade games or just something for your PS2/Xbox. Try it!

The story is original, the character unique and the gameplay actually pretty good!
Riding a horse, a bull, attacking a train, duelling under the sun in the street... The game is never dull!

My only complaint is that you need to create a new game to replay through old levels...
There's a bounty mode (aka Mission mode) were you're allowed to replay any level you want. But not all of them (mostly Red's) and with very specific goals in game (under 3 minutes, protect someone, don't do something...)

I really like this one, a cult favorite of mine. But it has its flaws and isn't the "best perfect game evaahh"!
The music, settings and general mood is what I like the most in this one.

You can play it with the Xbox 360 (like me!) but since the last Retro-compatibility patch (as of today) it has been a bit buggy in textures... Nothing that awful, mind you.
But there's a little glitch during a boss fight (google it!) that can freeze the game! Nothing impossible however, don't worry.

Anyway, it's a great arcade spaghetti western game, and how many of those is there anway??

I give it:

 2 / 3 Quacks!