What do you want from me??!

Okay guys! And girls!
Somebody still reading this?!

First of all... you can comment here! Don't be afraid!
Anyone??

Mmh..
I wanted to ask you guys n gals something, yes you reading me, I can see you!! (not really.)

What do you expect from this blog? What do you want to see here?
Moar reviews? Pictures? Drawings?
Games? Movies? Comics?

Write it down just below this!
Don't be afraid! C'me on!!

What do I wanted to write about?
I had some other movie reviews planned (less known ones, some horror or B movies maybe, the other Star Wars perhaps..)
I had some game reviews in mind (I'm kinda motivated for a Street Fighter or King of fighters marathon, or something about lesser known fighting games, perhaps continuing reviews about Resident Evil/Prince of Persia too, maybe Sega Saturn or Star Wars games too...)
And I had some other stuff in mind (talks about some obscure fun facts/trivia...2D games..)

Suggestions? Ideas? Wishlists?
Make you voice heard! (even if you're just 3 or 4 reading me!)

MOVIE NEWS! Wild Wild Hex

I knew... I knew they would screw it up...

I love Jonah Hex m'self. He's a great character featured in a current great comic book series.
Deep stories, tortured protagonists, sadistic old west...
It a helluva book, I'll tell ya!

Since we saw the live Jonah Hex disfigured face was a cheap knock off Harvey Dent in Batman Forever and not The Dark Knight... I knew it...
Then there was that mediatic bimbo Megan Slu..I mean Megan Fox...

Here's the final and new trailer:

He talks with spirits, he uses steampunk weapons... Now he's back with a vengeance. Back in Wild Wild West 2!

HOLY SH...
I wanted a great modern western! Instead we got a mix of Catwoman and Wild Wild West.
Now, understand me, I have nothing against and would like seeing some old west steampunk movie.
BUT that isn't Jonah Hex at all!!
It's like making a movie about something you like or know, say Pokémon, Family Matters, the Iraq war, the life of the pope (random different examples) and then, THROWING STEAMPUNK into the plot and ghosts, and spirits... And the final product doesn't have a thing related to the original idea!!

This looks cheap, bad, cliché, lackbuster...
I'm sure some kids will love it.

It has nothing to do with any Jonah Hex comic!
Even the old series with zombies and stuff didn't have Jonah Hex with powers, resurrecting the dead/talking to them and having a family...

On that note, I'll go back to my Jonah Hex comic, thank you.

new stuff

so our friends over at DEITY are coming out with a ton of new product for the 2010 season look for updates from the BAARON and myself as we get our bikes dialed in with some of their new gear.
check out this video of Eric from Deity giving you the scoop on all his components.



PFUNK

NEWS! Movie news!

Hey gang!

People still reading my blog?! (somebody?! Hello!... *echoes* Hello Hello Hello ..)
Anyway, for the 2 of you still reading this,
here's some random movie news!



ALIENS and PREDATORS...

So, in case you didn't knew before (or just to refresh your memory),
the franchises Aliens and Predator are still alive and kickin'!

After the highly commercial (in the sense it was made purely for money and not to make a, well, good movie) Alien Vs Predator movies, AVP and AVP: requiem, Fox (the studio) decided to step back a little. See the movies were profitable, made on a non existant budget around non existant plots and directing.

Sure, you may like any of the two AVP flicks, everybody can find some appeal in anything, but let's be honest they were really poorly executed! Myself, I kinda like the second one, but have to admit it is baaaad! I'll just give a thumbs up for the directors of AVP2, being special effects guys making their first movie and trying to stay the more practical they could. (even if it is badly done, with no plot and no light at all XD)

Anyway, back to the franchises.
Fox has kinda stopped doing lackbusters with those 2 legendary creatures and are finally letting competent people make the new real entries in these franchises. (willing to give them a budget this time)
I'm sure Fox will continue lackbusters on the comic book adaptations, but that's another story...

Predators

Predators is the new entry in the Predator series.
It is said to completly ignore the AVP movies (I'll only believe it when I'll see it with mah' own eyes!!!)
It is being directed by Nimród Antal and produced by Robert Rodriguez. The plot is based on one of his old screenplays he did during the 90s.
I have high expectations here, folks!
I see this one as the perfect anti-Avatar. You know. No? Let me see..
People are on an Alien planet against a different specie. Confrontation.
BUT unlike Avatar, the whole movie will use practical effects! The alien planet is a real location.
The aliens are costumes! And instead of an happy ending/peace with the alien civilization..well, we can imainge how things will turn out here!
(plus not stupid that 3D gimmick for amusement park)

Expected for a July 9, 2010!

Here's the previous trailer, in case you were out of the loop:

Awesome! Finally! It will erase any Paul Anderson stupid attempt from my mind!!

And the brand new sneak peak of the awesome Danny Trejo in Predators:

Now that's one helluva opponent for the Predator!

Alien Zero

Well, that won't probably be this one's final title.
Since Fox's using money to make these movies again. Ridley Scott as been almost confirmed to direct this one. (they can afford real directors now!)

I'm less enthusiastic about this one.
I wanna believe in Ridley Scott... But...
It will be a prequel, HR Giger is involved again in the design, the classic black bipedal alien won't be in it, the Space Jockey creature from the first Alien movie will be revealed...
Everything sounds... off..
No pictures for this one, since it is being rewritten once again.
*crosses fingers on this one*


Well, to finish this post, here's a trailer for Survival of the Dead, Goerge Romero new entry in his cult Zombie apocalypse saga:


I love the slow realistic zombies, not the retarded running on drugs ones.

It is the sixth feature in the "of the Dead" saga, which isn't your average film franchise that has following characters/years/plotline but overall theme here. The elements such as dates, places or even whole world changes but the zombies themselves are seen as a progression from the last movies.

This time, it seems it will deal with zombies after a world wide plague. What to do after the end of the world~
Fun stuff!

Until next time guys!
And don't be afraid, you can use the comments below for your inputs! I won't bite! COME ON!!

NEWS! SEGA/High Voltage's random fighting game!

Since pretty recently, SEGA has been codeveloping games with new studios across America and Europe.
The goal was to have more western games in their library without the new to open new studios (exemple: Platinum Games in japan, who made Bayonetta, Mad World,..).

Sega has made a partnership with HIGH VOLTAGE Soft. for a while.
Their track record included the, hum.., Leisure Suit Larry 8 Magna Cum Laude, which wasn't...that good. But it was okay~
(Much worse came out in the 9th game, but that's another story)

HIGH VOLTAGE released as their first SEGA game, The Conduit.
You may like it or hate it. But it still was a pretty unique decent FPS entry on the Wii. Their upcoming games include a Conduit 2 and The Grinder. I'm kinda expecting those, Conduit 2 sounds pretty cool so far, and the Grinder will be a horror/B movie/Grindhouse-style themed FPS.

Overall, I like the studio, since it did a partnership with Sega.
Hey, not every game has to be an AAA title/Blockbuster!
They're fun games and enjoyable experience.

Now here's the questionable marketing decision.
HV Soft. will release a random fighting game, still using their impressive Wii engine...
Usually I'm all for fighting games, it's not because you already have a favorite in that genre that you can't play some other ones (that's kiddie mentality, don't bash/hate spam other things just because you already have a favorite! give the others a break/chance!)
Tournament of Legends it's called.
And clearly, my problem with it is that it seems as uninspired as its title : (


Here's the brand new footage we have of it:


Tournament of Legends : Trailer
envoyé par SEGA

It looks great, has that Soul Calibur edge..but looks so uninspired...
I don't know those guys! That minotaur and that spartaaaaaaa guy, who are they?! Why should I like/help them?! Becoming a legend in what tournament???

I don't know... I may sound harsh with this one... but I'm not that interested nor motivated...
I will try to give it a chance since I like Conduit and am waiting for their 2 upcoming FPS on the Wii...

NEWS! Gunblade NY & LA Machineguns AGAIN!

I already talked about those in a previous news HERE

Now SEGA released some sweet trailer for this future release:


Epic 90s-style arcade action!!

Sure, it looks bad, ugly, old, retro, old school, but the fun is here!
You'll enjoy a lot more playing this than recent rail shooter games like Dead Space wii! I'll promise!
This is one of my most expected releases on the Wii (but it's not like I'm expecting a lot of games on the system..).

Now Sega, give me House of the Dead 1 and 4 (pretty recent game and quite a beauty!) and at least one Virtua Cop here!
The Wii's perfect for those!!

MR Star Wars Episode 1: The phantom menace

Recently I've really been back into Star Wars.
Why, will you ask me? I just watched all the Star Wars again after all this time, back to back, one per day.
Yep.
Starting with EPISODE 1 (the first one I watched, to see if the overall plot would work out watching the movies in their chronological order),

This is my first movie review on this blog, I'll try to say the things I've got to say, unlike what everybody else has already said on angry review everywhere and nerds rants on youtube. I mean, this is an open minded review with fresh eyes on this prequel Star Wars movie.

Movie: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Directed by George Lucas
Release date 1999
Genre SciFi
Country USA


First of all, small note: I'll always only review the movies themselves and not the DVD/VHS/Bluray/Whatever release, since small a) there's so many various different releases, specially if I review some B movies later on, and small b) I live in Europe and will probably get different features/releases.

Aaah, Star Wars Episode 1. What hasn't been said about thee in all the hundred different reviews that were made THIS year?
It seems there's a lot of mixed opinions on this movie.

How can I start?
Let me see...

Released around sixteen years after the previous Star Wars movie, there were a lot of very high expectations with this one.
Nerds, fanboys/girls, movie critics, films enthusiasts, scifi fans... Sure there was a lot of tension.
The story had to be good, true to SW, feature Jedi, Sith, the universe pre-empire, a young Darth Vader and look good/modern without losing the main original aspect of the original trilogy. Be a fun/light hearted science fiction adventure. (come on, we all know SW isn't Dark/Edgy, it's FUN.)

But the world had changed a lot by 1999.

This won't be the last of this quote... only the beginning!!

That's a quite decent introduction!
Now to the movie itself!

The phantom menace opens with a division between the galactic republic, which supervises the whole SW galaxy, and a trade federation which is creating a blocade against a little blue planet called Naboo.
That's for the "political" background of this science fiction fiction.
I'm not gonna resume the movie for you here, you may already know it and it's not my purpose here.

The movie tells us what and how was the Jedi Order, the "space samurai monks" that were only alluded in the original Trilogy with the ol' Obi-Wan and Luke at the end of the sixth movie.
We see an order trying to stay independent from the Republic, the menace of the long forgotten Sith Order, how the force was used "back then".

Basically the plot is about two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn a Jedi Master and his padawan apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi trying to help the queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, from the federation. They ran into the little Anakin Skywalker (spoiler! He's Darth Vad..what? You already knew it? okay okay...) on the desert planet Tatooine. Due to a powerful presence of the force in him, Anakin is refered as the one, who will restablish order and peace in the universe.He's brought alone for the ride. A Sith lord is discovered, the phantom menace is real and the movie ends with the liberation of Naboo. Everybody's happy! YaahoOo! BUT WAIT! No it's not over! Obi-Wan will have to train the young Anakin Skywalker himself! And who are the Sith exactly, what are they up to?? TA TAA TAAAAAN~ *dramatic music cue*

What the hell is this thing?? Kill it!! KILL IT!!

Honestly, I did once find the first prequel movie a bit bland and off.
But now, watching it again, far away from the internet rants and such kiddie comments...
I must admit, I liked it.
In fact, the movie's pretty well developed!
People did call the dialogues robotic, unnatural and the acting as well. But it is the standard for space opera.
And I've seen much worse.... Believe me.
Anyway I prefer my science fiction with dialogue like this, would you really want street talk in star wars? Come on!
The movie has this Flash Gordon vibe, this adventures in space feel.

On the directing side, it's very Lucas and Star Wars-ysh. You have the full blown main battle, the battle of Naboo here, and around it a simplistic structure which defines Jedi and their motivation (guardian of peace), introduces us to a young Anakin and him to Padmé, and an epic duel in the end.

About the duel, the music is, with John Williams, always epic! The whole score is perfect, if not better than all his previous ones. One of the final composition is a classic now, Duel of the Fates.

I do think the movie couldn't have been done in any other way, it basically wrote itself. Lucas surely did imagine the whole basic of the saga around the 80s, but the minor aspects of each movies were made later on for sure. I can't imagine Episode 1 differently. Plotwise.
Yes. There's much more CGi in this than in the 3 previous movies, but it is kinda a natural evolution for Lucas, sadly. To be exact, George Lucas has always been a pioneer on the medium, and like the other directors of his generation (Spielberg, James Cameron...) they're the ones that helped the evolution of special effects in movies and they're the ones who'll use the more computer graphics.
The younger directors like Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez, they grew up with the ol' stuff and try to use the more pratical effects they can.
Lucas, Spielberg, Cameron? 3D shots everywhere, CGi and blue screens for the background. It's natural, it's expected, they evolved.

The phantom menace, had it been released much earlier in the 90s, would have been maybe a bit better received and with less CGi.

I'm okay with this notion and it actually builds up some more impressive fight scenes, lightsaber uses and space confrontation.
But what about Jar Jar Binks now?
MMmmh.. he sure is a controversial guy....
I actually hated him back then and feared to rewatch Episode 1 for a long time, thanks to him.
Rewatchind the movie nowadays, after all this time... It was... decent.
I gotta admit, internet backlash and memes around the guy really build up a universal-hate around Jar Jar.
Watching the movie again with a new look on it, he wasn't that awful!
Sure, he's still annoying and even the other characters (even Gungans ones) hate him, but watching the movie, you're not asked to marry the guy! He's the movie buffon/clown, much like all Star Wars movies are based on an archetype medieval story. He's the buffon the heroes "are forced" to have around, helps in a battle and will have a minor role, but important, in the sequel.
He's kinda ugly, but he isn't that much in the movie anyway. (later expanded universe build up on his annoyance and made him funny that way.Like an auto-parody - see Star Wars comics/Clone Wars show)
Jar Jar was one of the first, if not the very first one, completely CGi character. He looked great back then, and the 3D hasn't aged that much by today standards. After that, people loved Gollum in the Lord of the rings, which I hated as well, I never understood the love for Gollum. He was as annoying as Jar Jar!
And nowadays, you got stuff like Avatar, which in my eyes is a movie full of Gungans/Jar Jar, but people love it like crazies... I can't understand that... It seems Jar Jar came either too late (and in CG instead of practical) or too early (before Gollum or Avatar).

Jar Jar, I still hate you, but not that much anymore.

Darth Maul. You don't appear that much, but we SALUTE YOU!

Star Wars Episode 1 is a solid experience, that needs to be watched again far away from internet.
People and critics did like the movie for a reason. Trolling on the internet almost ruined this one's reputation!

The Sith don't really appear that much in the movie but their mysterious presence and goals are the true PHANTOM MENACE here!

OVERALL, it's a solid experience and a very entertaining movie which is what I expect in the end.
It works great as the first installment in this scifi franchise, establishes the key players and basic concepts (the force, the republic, the sith).

The directing, music and visuals are great (and not far away from how the Star Wars original trilogy looked in the special releases on VHS, just a bit more modern).
There's more CGi, but it is well used and simple.

You'll either love the Jedi duo of Obi-Wan and Qui Gon or love the Sith and specially Darth Maul. He doesn't have that much lines, but the mysteries around him works great for its purpose (and, hey! watch the expanded universe for more, like Boba Fett or Lando!).

The Episode One is a great set up, give it another chance if you hated it!
Honestly, it's well thought, fun and spectacular!

I give it:

 2.5 / 3 Anakins!

 

When keepin it real goes wrong

Bishara Dorre The 2009-2010 National American Miss Gives Back With The March of Dimes !!!

The 09-10 National American Miss Bishara Dorre, used her National Title for a great cause when she volunteered with CROWNS FOR BABIES !!! Crowns for Babies, is an organization that raises money for March of Dimes which is a non-profit organization for premature babies. Alot of NAM alumni were involved including founder and former NAM winner Ashley Tucker-Swathwood, Bailey Jaclyne Perez 2009 Miss Indiana Pre-Teen , and Katelyn Marak 2009 Miss Indiana Jr. Teen !!!

moar ANIME Opening for US Cartoons!

I was really gonna put my movie review today, no kiddin'! But with work-related stuff, time quickly went on today...

Anyway. Since the post about the japanese re-made intros for those superheroes shows was such a hit last time (huh... for you 4or5 guys and gals reading this anyway -__- hey! Look at the page views! that's a lot of 'em already! *update I took out the page views since it made my pages laggy*)
I decided to make another post for some other openings, the only ones I could find. AND I DID search a lot for them!

It seems all the 90s Marvel Animated shows did get an original opening theme in Japan (not sure about the last one, Spider-man).
So, it means the Hulk, the Fantastic Four and probably Spider-man had different intros, but I couldn't find them...

At least I found Ironman.
But first, let's have a quick recap of Ironman original intro:

That's the first opening btw, the second one was pretty boring, check in on the youtube links of this one.

Okay. Decent, classic animation, music kinda average but ok (not as catchy as, say, Spider-man, X-men).


IRON-O-MAN~

They did redraw the couple of important scenes here and there, but it re-used some parts from the original episodes.
I'm kinda disappointed with this one.
Not as epic as the X-men ones. Music is... average as well here.
: (

Now here's a better one,
remember the ol' Batman cartoon based on the Adam West live show?

It's SEIZURE time!

Woah! I prefered the animated opening to THE LIVE SHOW!
I did catch some episodes on tv here, they used to re-run that and the Adam West's Batman a lot on late afternoons.
The headshots are... strange and use too much time on this video. But it was ok, if you consider the era it was done.
(sure, Hannah-Barbera cartoons were a lot better)

Now, the japanese remade opening intro and the ending as well:

BATOMAN~ I ruuuuuuv yooooouuuu~

WOAH! That's fantastic!
I gotta say, I love this one.
It's great, catchy...
One Bat-word: PERFECT!

Japanese animation looked so damn' cool back in the day (I really much prefer this, Cutey Honey, Mazinger over any modern computer-done Anime!).

I'm kinda sad to say that, but in my eyes, Anime were a lot better than Western cartoons back then... Nowadays, it's kinda the opposite in my eyes. I'd take any of the DC animated modern stuff, Cartoon Network animations and the few others over any TV Anime shows... (not talking about OAV, movies, etc.. just the over saturated TV production)

Basic frame design

Check out the sweet new Foes downhill bike:


















Now, wait just a second here. I'm not a scientist, but if we move the tubes around a little while maintaining exactly the same linkage structure, we can...
















Nah, the original looks fine.

NEWS! Some movie news of April 26

Hi guys! I almost posted my new review today... But I'll keep it for tomorrow instead...

Anyway here's some current movies quick news~
Lots of neat movies are coming along for this year 2010 and 2011 as well.
Plus the usual hollywood stuff like adaptations, remakes, sequels, spinoffs, prequels...
It's like, they're not even trying anymore! Where's the original ideas!? In the last years during the 80s and 90s we still had some commercial and lousy blockbuster action flicks while still being original! Demolition man, True lies, the Eraser... so many fun AND ORIGINAL movies! Now all we have is emo/dark/edgy/serious remakes...
Cold blooded movies! that's more like it -___-

Anyway, enough with the rant!

Some movie news from this month.
Here's some stuff I've been following:

A sequel to another classic R. Atkinson character? FINALLY!

I'm a big fan of mister Rowan Atkinson! His Blackadderand Mister Bean characters are a cult classic now.
I liked Johnny English, despite what some might say, it was pretty darn fun and entertaining!
It wasn't supposed to be Austin Powers if that's what you were expectin' and ended up not liking the final product!
The movie was great and surely deserved a sequel. It is almost starting to shot in ~2months from now from what I've read. Great news. The screenplay is written by Hamish McColl who also wrote Mr. Bean's Holiday (which I loved being a lot more European in its feel over the hollywood-like first movie Bean) and will be directed by Oliver Parker.

Now for a remake:

HEY Hollywood! STOP THE 3D!! It's just a gimmick, more suited for attraction parks than theatres! We're living the 80s all over again...

Piranha was a classic horror B movie. And like all cult classics, it's getting a remake! But stay with me, this one will be better, right? It's in 3D!
...
Well, look at the bright side, the original was a bit crappy, let's be honest. This one will probably be true to its roots.
Plus Christopher Lloyd will be in it!
And that guy from SLIDERS too (kiddin', I love Jerry O'Connell, he's such a funny guy, why doesn't he get any good stuff anymore....)

Here's the brand new trailer:

It looks as good as it will get! Rent it later?

Couldn't they at least TRY making a better burnt face? Does it cost that much to paint it better??

Jonah Hex.
Now that's a movie I'm not sure what to expect here...
It is one of my favorite current comic book series! Nonetheless!
Great character, great writers, great artists, everything's great!
Jonah kinda had 4 very different life as a comic. It started as a serious old west comic, with natives and stuff..
Then, when the readers started to lose interest, a second series with Weird West, zombies, dead spirits was made. It is the most well known aspect of Jonah Hex now. (not the better, but campy fun)
Then during the more EXTREME age of comics a new series was created, with Hex transported to the future just before his "death". Called just Hex, this series was kinda like Mad Max or Blade Runner meet...well, Jonah Hex. It was random and a bit worse than the Old West one.
And now, currently there's a fantastic new comic run by writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti. Short stories, unrelated one to another following various moments of bounty hunter Jonah Hex. Highly recommanded!

Now the catch with the movie, it will probably be related with the second Old West one (rumours of an armies of dead soldiers resurrected, etc..) The trailer will be finally shown alongside the Nightmare on Elm Street remake (adaptations, remakes- I told you!)

Here's the only sneak peak we have of it for the moment:

Megan Fox again?! Why is she everywhere now, where are the good looking BUT intelligent girls nowadays?!

Can't say it looks bad or sounds great either... Wait and see.
At least the gattling-horses made me smile : )

Other stuff?
Other than that, not much.
Kevin Smith has another movie coming up, called Hit Somebody.
The story of a hockey player with a talent for fighting (played by Seann William Scott).
It's Kevin Smith, so it will probably be fun with great dialogues. But I still haven't watched "Cop Out" (man, the original title, A Couple of Dicks, was so much funnier...). It won't be released here, like all other Kevin Smith movies, I'll have to wait for the US DVD release!

Ironman 2 looks great, but I'm not geeking over it like a schoolgirl.
I'm not even sure I will see it in theatres (movies are pretty over priced here, around ~17 USD, I prefer to wait for DVD at that price!)
It's fun to see the Marvel Cinematic Universe coming along nicely.

Is there something else we should mention here?
Try using the comments if you got anything else to say (not just you Frob! Anyone! Pretty please?... Oh well. Do as you want! -__-)

The most useful talents on the planet

I don't know if I've posted this already, but if that's going to be a problem for you, you suck anyway.

This video comes straight to us from Team Merkinator. This shit is deadly serious:



Side note: the camera is always stable, indicating the use of a tripod, self filming, and a high likelihood of the type painful, lonely isolation that leads to developing such skills as mid-folding chair walk yo-yo flipping.

I'm impressed.

My experience as a comic book reader...

This week, I'll have up both a movie review and a comic review.
Before hand, I wanted to talk a bit about my experience as a comic book reader : P

 

 I've read comics for as long as I've been able to read, I think.

Living in Europe, I started up with tons of Bande dessinées, that's franco-belgium comics mostly but it also covers nowadays comics drawn in other countries such as Germany, Spain, Portugal, Poland, etc..

Since I could hand a pencil, I've been drawing tons of stuff around my school books, on my school desk, on my own arms, clothes and now at work on used copy papers. It started off probably inspired by those B.D., probably trying to emulate such classics as Lucky Luke, Astérix, Spirou, the Smurfs (Les Schtroumpfs here).

I can easily say, Bande dessinées were and are still a big part of my life.
I only had the classics as a child (those quoted up there) but now, I've been reading more Bande dessinées again and finding great readings in more adult or independent authors as well.

Around the early 90s, I finally started reading and finding out about the American artists and writers with comic book translations. The Marvel comics were the more easy ones to find. They were printed in smaller "digest" formats, mixing up many issues kinda like a trade paperback, but with soft issue-like paper and cover. Looking back at those, I kinda hate them...
They didn't hold back all those years, were easily damageable and the early translations were... pretty uneven. Characters could change names every now and then or were strangely named. Wolverine in french end-80s/early-90s? LeGlouton (The glutton?). Wolverine mid-90s? Serval!

It wasn't a great experience, but was still a decent introduction to comics.

Then, mid-90s, I didn't read anymore comics I think. I still was exposed to the genre thanks to the animated super hero shows.

It was my...sigh... anime/manga period.
Yep.
(since I'm not gonna directly talk about the animes I watched, let's just say "a lot" and leave it at that)
I started buying/reading a lot of Manga, you know, japanese comics.

It was ok. But then, they really started to invade my place. A new trade every 2 months? Too much series to follow around? Most didn't end around 20/30 books or were still being published?...
I was reading them in french, and it seems the French Manga publishing was really going crazy with all the translations and series...
Finally, the genre started tire me, most shonens being so similar or rushed artwork. Plus mangas were being a big hit in Europe and I don't like the idea of following a trend... I ditched mangas and only went back for the rare original work (Bobobo? cool~)

That's when around the 2000s I went checking on the American comics again, now with imported comics, keeping them in their original publishing.
Thanks to a local comic store who imported a lot of them, and internet (ebay, amazon...), I could have my hands on the original full sized books, be it releases in issues or trades.

I went back to Marvel comics first. I quickly catched on the last years, the evolution of comics, original 60-70s stories to the modern era. The Hulk was still a favorite of mine, Spider-man had some crazy stuff going on (I did follow the clone saga in french...), the Captain America back from "hibernation", etc...
I still liked the Marvel universe. It had changed but I can accept changes!

Then I started reading lots of other stuff.

DC Comics had some great concept going on their side. I was always fascinated by their universe. Naturally I checked some classics (Bats, Supes, Green Lantern..), then went on the more obscure heroes little by little. (Hawkman, JSA, etc..).
I must admit, I really embraced the whole publisher. Those characters had a huge life (most of them going back to the old school golden age of heroes) but I wasn't scared of it.

Skipping a bit of all I originally was gonna write in this post, I've since then read many comics, from Dark Horse impressive characters who most of them have been adapted or are adaptations (The Mask, Predator, Aliens...), to Image comics and it's dark and edgy comics still living in the nineties (Rob Liefeld anyone?!), and many other more indie publishers (Devil's Due, ABC, etc..)

I'm not saying I'm the greatest comic book nerd ever or that I' got all the history and answers in mind.
I was just exposing you to my experience as a comic book reader (and wannabe cartoonist/illustrator dreams).

I think my reviews will be fair and decent enough to
a) helps you find or become interested in some comics
b) warn you from writing nightmares and catastrophic failure
and at least keep you guys and gals reading the good stuff.

I'll gladly check some stuff you want me to or find you good books for some characters/franchises.
Comments below this post,

until then, EXCELSIOR!

TLC Top 15 Favorite TV Shows (old dA stuff)

This is the last stuff from deviantArt I had to upload here as well.
From now on, only exclusive stuff on this blog!~


My second TOP LIST, this one is about my favorite TV Shows!
First of all, lemme remind you, this is my list of my favorite stuff, we all have our different tastes!

I'll gladly discuss about your own favorite shows, just write them down in those comments!


Honorable mentions to great
shows that didn't made the cut:
(In no special order)
My Name Is Earl, very fun show with great characters
Fringe, current show, kinda like a mix up "X-files" meet "Lost" mystery
Scrubs, fantastic 8 season run with a forced 9 season now
The office (both the original and US version) great concept, never gets old
Boston Common, 2 season only of a fun sitcom with awesome characters in it
Highlanders, tv spinoff of the classic movies, pretty cool
The Pretender, very entertaining spy/thriller show, early alias/24 kinda vibe with 2 great tv movies but unsolved storyline
Martial Law, inspired by the movie "Rush hour", great tv serie with jackie chan long time friend Sammo Hung
Relic Hunter, indiana jones-ysh serie with a lara croft kinda heroine, with some pre-national treasure aspects to it
Firefly, great short lived scifi show with an old west original aspect. Followed by a movie and comics but not followed by many people when it aired :(
And finally MASTERS OF scifi/horror, fantastic modern tales which reminded me of good ol' tv serials. Made like short movies, had classic directors and writers attached and are a must for scifi or horror fans!

Here's the list now:

X-Men, the ANIMated series...

Hello bloggers, readers... well, you 3 or 4 dudes/gals reading this very line : P

Some trivia/fun/funny fact for today!

You remember that 90s X-men animated series?

I love this catchy opening theme. A cult classic forever!

I've always prefered DC animation in general. Even if I grew up with Marvel comics mostly... The DC ones seemed better done, both in animation and story-wise, all under Bruce Timm's creative mind. But the early 90s Spider-man and X-men series really captivated me... The score was brilliant, the voice actors (in french when I was a kid and the original english one that I rewatched later on) were perfect. Spider-man re-used a lot of footage, quick shots, big animated movements (see Venom specially...).
So I kinda prefered X-men... Hey! There were Jubilee and Rogue :'3


X-men was very well done. Look at that opening theme! The actual show wasn't that bad compared to it nor very far away from it's quality, unlike some other cartoons. (Transformers?... G.I.Joe?...)

But it seems it wasn't that great enough for Japan.


SHOCK!!! Holy f... sh... WHAT DA...?!

Woow!
Did you know a japanese studio created an introduction specially for their audience??
It's.. woow! I like how close they stayed to the original design (they couldn't redraw the episodes ya know!)
The music...is different... But quite epic!! SHOCK!!!

Charles Xavier is such a pimp : P


APOCALYPSE kicks ass in this 2nd opening!

The music is a bit less dynamic here, but the picture is a lot more impressive here!
APOCALYPSE is huuuuuuuuge~


I love all the Anime sound effects, characters fighting in the air and all the cliché moments in those 2 opening videos! It kinda works with the X-men somehow...

I would so watch a whole japanese X-men show.

VGR Elevator Action2 Returns

Talk about a classic arcade game.
This time a Sega Saturn game that is actually 2 classic arcade games in one!

I was going to upload some brand new reviews, not old deviantArt stuff anymore, but since it was the last one I think...

After this one, coming up next (this weekend or early next week), a movie review (clue: SW) and a comic review (clue: Frank Miller).

Edit29/12/2010: Edited this old review with my current template, instead of the huge jpg picture I previously had...

VGR: Elevator Action² -Returns-
From Taito
Played on Sega Saturn
Elevator Action 1 also available on Arcade, Nes, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Sega SG-1000, etc..  
Elevator Action 2 also available on Arcade, Xbox and PS2.

Type Arcade action sidescroller.
Year 1997

"Elevator Action Square" on the Sega Saturn is a compilation of two very unique Taito arcade games: Elevator Action released in 1983 in the arcades and its 1994 sequel Elevator Action Returns.
Let's start with the first one!...

On this disc, the original arcade Elevator Action game is actually a sort of secret, unlockable.
But in the pre-modern 128-bits or next gen systems, games had almost always passwords.

This way it's quickly accessible from the main menu for a quick play! (the code is even shown in the insert!)

You play as a secret agent, Agent 17.


The objective is to steal secret documents hidden behind red doors in a building.
Now, the gimmick here is the use of elevators for, well, the action!

Action! Bullets! And catchy tune!

The game is pretty addictive and very difficult. It's your typcial good arcade game from the 80s, simple visuals and gameplay and well crafted idea. You can shoot to kill your enemies or kick them while jumping. They can be squashed with the elevators but be careful, you can too!

The main idea is to avoid bullets from enemies, locate quickly all red doors across the floors and then rush to the bottom were a car is waiting to exit the level.

You only have three lives and then it's game  over!
No continues in this port (without the use of a code), but I personally really like this idea of difficulty, the challenge is pretty fun!
Most gamers born in the Playstation & memory card days aren't used to that but I love it!

Now some trivia about the Nintendo port:

I also have it.

The game was ported to various Nintendo systems under the same name but was in fact upgraded quite a bit.

I have it on the original Game Boy but it's basically the same as the Nes port minus color.
The game was made easier (anyone can easily rush through it in a sitting, though as the original you'll need to get used to it the first time you play it).
The game lost his "Pacman" kind of level progression with expanding difficulty to a more classic "Mario Bros" standard level-based progression. (like level 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 2-1, etc..).
The levels layout aren't randomised anymore so you can learn your best paths to better succeed for example. On the plus side there are now many different sort of enemies while you progress and you can even change weapons!

That's for the Nintendo ports.
The game kinda lost his original arcade appeal but it's still a solid experience!

Now, on to Elevator Action 2:

Elevator Action Returns is a more modern approach around the same use of elevators.

It kept all of the upgrades of the Nes and Game Boy ports: there are special doors to change weapons around, all levels have unique layouts...but where the game truly shine is in its presentation.

Beautiful 2D at its best!

The game kinda looks and feels like a good mix between the first Elevator Action & a Metal Slug for exemple.
Yep! You read that right.

All the animations, character models, weapons, damages, effects look very SNK-ysh.
Taito did a really good job on upgrading Elevator Action to a new generation in terms of quality and graphics.

This time you can select between 3 different looking characters (which alters the gameplay and aren't mere skins).
They have to defeat terrorists who want to destroy the world/conquer it with nuclear weapons....
Sure, it's an "over the top" cliché story that gets the job done. The goal is, like the original, to find doors - the hidden bombs - and go to the end of the level. This time you need to check them in the correct order and are under a time limit for each door.

It's very stressful in the later levels and also pretty damn' fun.
The game is sadly a lot easier than the first one (kinda like the Game Boy port of the original game in terms of difficulty).
But easier doesn't mean you'll finish it in your first playthroughs!

You have some continues and it can be played on co-op by 2 players! Very cool way to spend an afternoon, believe you me!

Overall, this Sega Saturn compilation is a must have for any game collector, Saturn owner and arcade fan.
For all you non-Saturners find arcades to play one of those 2 games or wait for a eventual Virtual console/Xbox live port (not released as I write these words)!

Also available are the fun Nes/Game Boy ports, who are pretty decent but were edited. (music, "levels", weapons/upgrades)
The Nes version is available on Wiiware (eyznote-they should have released the arcade original instead!!). There are also Game Boy Color and Advance ports based on the Nes version -which are ok if not a bit better than the actual Nes/Game Boy versions!

But for me, only the arcade version of the first game is the true and better classic. In the same fashion as Pacman, Galaga and Dig Dug arcade versions are the best...
The second game is also available on the Taito Legends 2 compilation (Xbox/PS2).
Both these games make quite a fantastic, excellent, addictive, fun and difficult arcade series, available on a great Sega Saturn disc!

The gameplay is unique and the music's catchy. No bonus around on this disc other than the games themselves sadly, but with the quality of these perfect arcade ports, it's ok. Specially when you think it's basically almost impossible to ever beat them completly :P

I give it:

 3 / 3 Invaders!

VGR PoP2 The Shadow and the Flame

I know some people may like it, but this is, like always, my own personal opinion on this game
I'm a huuuuuuge fan of the original...It's the kind of game I play at least once per year, and it never gets old.
But the second one.. it's...another thing....

PS: This is for the console ports! I still haven't tried the DOS/MAC versions! This is for the SNES and unreleased MD versions!

Edit2010/09/02: Updated template to current one instead of the huge JPG picture I had before.  

VGR: Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame
From Brøderbund
Played on SNES & Megadrive
Also available on Dos, Mac, unlockable in Sands of Time (Xbox)

Type Action/Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1994


The prince thought he had just defeated Jaffar and would be able to take his place next to the princess...
But things are never easy in Persia!

This is the direct follow up to the original classic "Prince of Persia".
Jordan Mechner, its creator, wasn't directly implicated on this one (he was just involved overseeing it). instead it was developed by Broderbund who ported the first game over all available systems at the time.

The game was only released on Pc, Mac and SNES. A Megadrive version was actually completed but not released because "it didn't met Sega's quality expectations" at the time (oh-oh).

I actually played through both versions, writing down and keeping passwords each couple of levels to go through both versions at the same time...

Sometimes, Sega fans and Nintendo fans fight over their own versions of the same games...
Which one's best? N-fans prefer their own kind of music and visuals, and their controlers. S-fans prefer the actual arcade feel on their system, their 16-bit different type of sound or the good ol' Sega pads...

Well this time i guess both will agree for once.
Both version suck.
That's right! Maybe you want to disagree, but let me explain!
Afterall, Sega did cancel their completed port's release for a reason!

But first, here's the plot: eleven days after the last game's ending the prince was enjoing his time in the palace. when one day, he found the evil Jaffar impersonating him next to the princess and the sultan of Persia. what
did he do right then?
Jump to the next window to escape the guards....and the game starts!!
What???

So the game starts kinda crazy, good thing right?
Huh... maybe not...

While the first game is the basis for all great adventure platformers emphasising puzzles and somewhat exploration, this one's much more orientated duel and combat.

In the first game, the engine was great. There was a learning curve of course, but when you died, it was mostly because the player sucked.
This time you'll die, because the game's cheap. And there are lots of flaws on the game's part.

The graphics are better this time, much more console-oriented maybe, but I find it kinda lacking something...
The last game had a 8-bit impression (it was an 80s dos game afterall), this time they tried to play with reliefs and camera angles.
But it looks a bit strange from time to time....
There are some nice attempts in the skies and backgrounds... but the more present caves and corridors are dull and boring....
Also more than 60% of it seems to be a rehash of the original's Prince of Persia.

And the music... Ow, my ears....
The first game has some classic tunes in the console ports. but this one, may you play it on a SNES or MD, you won't prefer one soundtrack over the other!!
It's horrible, awfull, repetitive... you will turn off the sound if you want to finish this one!!

And now some specific points over both versions.
(ps. I have not played yet the Mac and Dos versions, maybe they are somehow better).

In the snes port, everything seems accelerated. My guess, the game seemed a bit slow for a 16-bit game. So they simply added some speed in the engine. It makes some traps and specially the numerous countless fights really really annoying! I don't play Prince of Persia for dull repetitive combats and running through the scenery at the speed of sound, but for the platformer aspect and the precision of its engine!!
Also there's a good bunch of glitches in traps, floors and elements.

The megadrive version, even if not released, was perfectly finished. I mean, as much as it could have!
It couldn't have been better if it had been sold back then!

The game's pretty much the same, some backgrounds have different details but the experience's exactly the same. I find the controls a bit better in this one, but it may just be because I'm more familiar with this system. there was no glitches with traps here, and the game runs at the same speed as the original 1st PoP here.
Still, the overall places and puzzles are the same, keeping the cheap deaths, lackbuster level design and all the combats. I really hate fighting many foes at once. The engine wasn't made for that!!!
No options in this port - the music can't be turned off here (simply mute your tv or emulation program!!).
The jumps aren't like in the Snes version, but more like in the first game, making some large sections in this sequel very annoying....

However the game seemed to me a bit better than the released Snes port... very odd impression...

Overall: You will die a lot in this game, not because of your gameplay but because of the game poor design....

In theory it seemed like a great concept.
Loved the first game? This one's just the same with more new levels, a somewhat more interesting plot (the prince runs off, go on a strange island, finds the source of his shadow-y clone from the first game, goes back to persia, fights again jaffar...).
And more fights!
But really the first game was a classic, not because of its plot or fights.... The game should have stayed true to its roots, as a platformer, and offered more interesting level design like in the first game! Not just bland levels, throwing around tons of enemies...and the music, oh god.. the music... my ears need some old school 8-bit
goodness to erase that noise...

It's kinda surprising to see Nintendo's Seal of Quality on this one, specially since Sega didn't approve there port!

I would say "try it" if the music and levels were better... it's still nice to know about the original prince of persia trilogy of games... (before Ubisoft's take)
But this one... went really annoying across the middle and it's pretty long! (there's still a time limit but you'll have to try it more than once to beat it!)

Conclusion, nowhere close to the first one. They tired to re-do the first game while adding more combat without changing the formula...

I give it:

 1.5 / 3 Bruces !
3/3 a must play 2/3 give it a try 1/3 bad game and 0/3 run from it!