Views From The Longbox

VIEWS FROM THE LONGBOX IS MOVING

2008-04-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

Or has moved to a certain extent. Recently I took out some space on the web and now Views has it's own URL and everything.

So from now on you can find Views From The Longbox at the following link:

VIEWS FROM THE LONGBOX

The site is a little light on content right now, so you can still find all of the old episodes here, but soon everything will be moved over there, so adjust your bookmarks as you want to.

Thanks for everything. I hope you'll like the new digs, especially when everything is up and running.

Here's the link to this week's episode, just in case you wanted it.

Episode 37: The Mike and Shag Show- Starman Rocks!

Episode 36: The Mike and Shag Show: The Rediscovered Country Episode

2008-04-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

Episode 36: The Mike and Shag Show: The Rediscovered Country Episode

Another episode, another guest host. Shag's back and this time he's not taking any prisoners. Actually he's not not taking prisoners either. Frankly he's just talking about comics with Michael again. This week and next Shag and Mike discuss some of their favorite books of the nineties with this installment dealing with Marvel. Shag takes a team of heroes that turn out to be a team of villains while Michael handles a certain Star Spangled Avenger. Plus, Shag has a little bit of an announcement. All this and a very mean tag after the ending theme.

WARNING: THIS SHOW HAS LANGUAGE THAT IS INAPPROPRIATE FOR...EVERYONE. LISTENER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

And I am back on track. Next week is another Brave and the Bold/Marvel Two-In-One style team up with Shag. The week after that...

Well, come back next week for an "exciting" announcement.

Episode 35: The @#$% Brian Michael Bendis Episode Part 2

2008-04-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

Episode 35: The @#$% Brian Michael Bendis Episode Part 2

More of Ryan and Michael talking about comics. They start this "grand adventure" by discussing the pros and cons of current comic book storytelling and things kind of fall apart from there. After a brief digression into the cinema of the nineties Ryan and Mike talk about the Blade films and what Ryan believes to be the fatal flaw of Batman Begins.

WARNING: THIS SHOW HAS LANGUAGE THAT IS INAPPROPRIATE FOR...EVERYONE. LISTENER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Sorry I didn't get this posted sooner. The show was up last week, but I was busy as hell with other things. Hope you enjoy it anyway.

Episode 34: The @#$% Brian Michael Bendis Episode Part 1

2008-04-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.mediagauntlet.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=38&Itemid=

WARNING: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS LANGUAGE THAT MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR...ANYONE. LISTENER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

After taking a week off to deal with some family stuff Michael is back with yet another team-up two parter. Joining him for the next two weeks is Ryan Speck, one of Michael's oldest friends and the guy who runs the site that hosts this show. After many a delay the two are finally getting together to talk about the subject that started their friendship in the first place; comics. Following a longish explanation about how the two met and a bunch of names that probably mean nothing to you Mike and Ryan get down to it by discussing Ryan's collecting past, why he really doesn't collect now, his time with the Wild Agents of Marvel, the X-Men and why he hates Brian Michael Bendis. This episode runs about an hour (as does the next installment) but flows along rather nicely once it gets started.

Other Sites of Interest

Fortress of Baileytude: My daily Superman blog

Media Gauntlet: Ryan's Site and the host of this show.

Once Upon a Geek: My semi-regular co-host Shag's blog.

Episode 33: The Batman Episode

2008-03-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

Episode 33: The Batman Episode

A couple of days late (as far as posting goes at any rate) but here is the latest, "exciting" and "thought provoking" episode of Views From The Longbox. This week Michael succumbs to the demands of his listeners (two of them at least) and does an episode centered around the Dark Knight himself; the Batman. Learn (again because he has probably mentioned it already) the deep, dark secret of Michael's collecting past, what he really thinks of the Adam West series, what Batman comics Michael read first and all about the on again/off again relationship he has had with collecting the Batman books. And that's pretty much it this week.

Remember that Michael is still running the whole "Ask Mike a Question About Comics" segment. Have something you've always wanted to know? Want to hear about it in excruciating detail? Then just drop Michael an e-mail at viewsfromthelongbox@gmail.com.

Also, I am pleased to announce that I have begun a new blog called the Fortress of Baileytude, a daily blog about Superman. This actually ties into some big announcements that I will be making here soon, but for right now check it out. I am posting everyday, which is something of a minor miracle for me.

2008-03-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

Episode 32: The Collecting Comic Books Episode

Things get back to normal this week as Michael does a pretty standard, yet "interesting" episode. After discussing an Alex Ross piece Michael announces the winner to his Justice League: New Frontier contest. Then Michael spends the majority of the episode discussing the actual collecting of comics because he found some book he read in the seventh grade while rearanging his bookshelf. Topics include a book called Collecting Comic Books, the Overstreet Price Guide, eBay and how much Wizard Magazine sucks. Warning, a slight occurrence of profanity pops up during the Wizard discussion, but then again that was bound to happen. Michael closes the show with the first installment of Ask Mike a Question About Comics, which is probably boring but you should have heard the original version.

Let's just say it's a good thing Mike has an editor is all we're saying.

Here are the photos mentioned in the episode.

and

Justice League: New Frontier DVD Review- 99% Spoiler Free!

2008-03-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

When it comes to film adaptations, live action or animated, there are two terms that are usually thrown into the marketing; based on and inspired by. These are two very distinct terms. If you see inspired by you can almost guarantee that what you are about to watch is going to be an adaptation in the loosest sense of the term. It may have the same basic story but other than that it might as well have been an original story. Based on, however, is different. If the words based on pop up, though, things are a little more certain. It might not be the most faithful adaptation but it will share enough that if you are a purist for the source material things are going to turn out just fine.

Superman: Doomsday, released back in September was inspired by the original death and return storyline that appeared in the comics. It was good and I enjoyed it but you can’t really call it faithful. What the original and the animated film had in common was that Superman was killed by Doomsday and then came back and that was pretty much it.

Justice League: New Frontier was different. This was a full on, four alarm “based on” movie and as much as I enjoyed Superman: Doomsday this really should have been DC’s initial animated offering.

I was and still am a huge fan of Darwyn Cooke’s DC: New Frontier. Despite being referred to as a graphic novel in the opening credits this series was originally published in seven parts over the course of 2004 and at the time I was kind of down on most of what I was reading comic book wise. DC: New Frontier was an exception. I absolutely loved this series from start to finish. It was a rare example of a book being introspective while still telling a larger overall story. On the surface it was the tale of how the Justice League of America formed. Underneath it was an examination of America during the late fifties and very early sixties and showed why these characters were heroes long before they banded together to be all chummy and hang out in a cave.

The animated film captured both of those feelings and did it well. As with any adaptations certain changes were made and on the whole I was pretty much with all of them because the emotional core of the story was still there. The writers, producers and director had a set amount of time to tell a story that originally spanned seven oversized issues. It’s not that they couldn’t have done a direct panel for panel adaptation and I have a feeling I would have enjoyed that but for a mass market release certain scenes were cut to get right into the heart of the plot. Because of this the film had a solid pace with all of the bases still being covered. Like the original series the story of the film was a mystery of what the Centre is and how these heroes managed to come together in a time when their predecessors had been driven into retirement, but underneath it all it was a story about standing up for what you believe in and realizing that mistakes were made and needed to be fixed. They even managed to include a lot of the imagery from the original comics and I especially liked how they worked the covers and even bits of story into the opening credits.

So while I would have liked to have seen certain sequences I didn’t have too much of a problem with what they cut out. The whole Dinosaur Island sequence would have been great to see animated but I think it might have slowed the pace of the film. The intro they went with worked out fine and served to show that while this might look a lot like the Bruce Timm animated efforts of the past it was a different ballgame. It was such a strong opening too. Another sequence that was taken out that I would have loved to see was the John Wilson sub-plot from the original series, but again while it was great for the comic the movie had a definite rhythm and showing those scenes as they happened would have slowed the movie down and I was more than satisfied with where they managed to fit that character into the film.

The changes they made to some of the sequences worked out as well. A scene between Superman and Wonder Woman, for example, was changed to have a similar conversation occur between Superman and Lois Lane. In the comic the scene worked because certain events (and an issue or two I believe) had played out to make the similar tone that the two conversations had work, but those events weren’t in the film, so if it had played out like it did in the comic it wouldn’t have made much sense and seemed repetitive. Plus, it strengthened Superman and Lois’ relationship and gave another scene towards the end of the film more emotional weight. They also changed something involving King Faraday and the Martian Manhunter during the third act of the movie and in this case I think the movie improved upon the original. There was only one scene, the one towards the end where Superman rallies the troops, that I thought was done better in the comics, but that had more to do with the way I had originally read that scene more than anything else.

The cast was perfect. There’s no other way to say it. All of the choices that Andrea Romano and the producers and director made were spot on. Kyle MacLachlan gave this Superman the conviction and experience the character needed. David Boreanaz had the right attitude for Hal Jordan. I think it goes without saying that Lucy Lawless was born to play Wonder Woman but I’ll do so anyway. Jeremy Sisto was extremely impressive as Batman, on par I would say with Kevin Conroy. Miguel Ferrrer was equally as excellent as the Martian Manhunter and I was very amused with the scenes between J’onn J’onnz and King Faraday since Faraday was voiced by the extremely talented Phil Morris, who plays the Martian Manhunter on Smallville. Neil Patrick Harris brought an exuberant quality to Barry Allen and the Flash that made the character extremely likable.

From beginning to end this film was everything I had wanted and more. It was exciting, had some fantastic action sequences and, more importantly, captured the heart of the original comic series that made me such a fan. If this was the last animated film that DC and Warner Brothers produced then they would definitely be going out on a high note. If you were a fan of the original comics then you owe it to yourself to pick this DVD up. Even if you haven’t read the original (and you should in my opinion) then I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the movie is.

The DVD comes in two flavors; regular and two-disc special edition. If you just want the movie and are not all that interested in special features then the standard edition will be enough for you. It has a very well done Justice League featurette and two commentaries. The two-disc special edition has all of that on the first disc in addition to a second disc that has even more featurettes and several episodes of Justice League Unlimited as well that tie thematically to New Frontier. For the five extra bucks I think the two-disc set is definitely the one you should get, but that's just me.

Episode 31: The Totally Random Episode

2008-03-06T20:42:00.001-08:00

Episode 31: The Totally Random Episode

As the episode title suggests this episode is extremely random. It begins with, of all things, some musical analysis from Bat Out of Hell III and things just go down hill from there. Topics discussed include why Batman shouldn't sing, why Superman can and has broken into song, how G.I. Joe broke new ground for comic books in the eighties and why, how Matt Tracker put civilians into extreme danger and what distraction caused the haphazard nature of this episode. I also introduced a new feature this week. It's called Ask Mike a Question About Comics. The name pretty much says it all. If you have some burning question regarding the world of comic books just e-mail me at viewsfromthelongbox@gmail.com and I will do my best to track down the answer and read it "on the air". It's fun, it's easy and it's free. I am not setting myself up as an expert but I do like comic trivia, so this seemed like it was worth a try.

Also, the JUSTICE LEAGUE: NEW FRONTIER giveaway contest is still going on and will continue to do so until March 8, 2008. All you have to do is listen to last week's episode, come back here and enter via viewsfromthelongbox@gmail.com. Go ahead, you know you want to.

Finally, I'd like to thank everyone who has given the show a try over the last two weeks. My numbers have been very good lately and it means a lot that people are checking the show out and giving it a chance. If you are a new listener drop me a quick e-mail and tell me what you like, don't like and all of that kind of stuff.

Views From The Longbox Episode 30: The Leap Episode

2008-02-28T06:26:00.001-08:00

Episode 30: The Leap Episode

Despite being of normal length this is indeed a special episode of Views From The Longbox. Friday is February 29th and in addition to being my birthday it is also Superman's birthday, so this week I chose to commemorate this by discussing (in brief, I promise) the Superman books that came out during the Leap Months from 1988 until this year. Action Comics #600, Panic in the Sky, the break-up of Lois and Clark, old home week in Smallville and the disaster that was Godfall are all brought up for either wistful nostalgia or open mockery. Also, I read some more listener mail and announce the contest.

Contest?

Well, if you checked in here over the weekend you will remember my announcment of a contest involving Justice League: New Frontier. You should be able to scroll down a tad to find all of the information on that. So once again listenting to Views might yield you free stuff.

So listen, enter and possibly win. It's pretty much that simple.

Slight Delay

2008-02-26T19:52:00.000-08:00

Due to circumstances beyond my control Views will be delayed by one day.

Contest is still on, though.

Official Views From The Longbox Justice League: New Frontier Giveaway Contest

2008-02-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

At last it can be told...

Not that it was an amazing secret or anything, but a few days back one of the nice people involved in Justice League: New Frontier invited me to be part of the hype and the best thing about it is that you get the chance to win a free copy of the DVD.

And thus, quite inadvertently, a second Views From The Longbox contest is born!

(Dramatic, eh?)

So here’s how the contest works. To the right you can see a little video. It’s a bit truncated for some reason but it is still watchable. All you need listen to the episode of Views From The Longbox released on February 27, 2008 and at the end of that episode I will ask two questions involving the preview. Go back, watch the preview and e-mail me the answers to those two questions along with your name and address to viewsfromthelongbox@gmail.com. I will go through the e-mails, throw the names of those who answered them correctly into a hat and pick the winner.

It’s really that easy. The questions won’t be hard because I want as many people as possible to get a chance to win the DVD.

Unfortunately if you have won a past contest with us you will be ineligible for this one. One entry per person please.

So listen, answer and maybe win.

Good luck, everyone!

In case you were interested, here’s the press release regarding Justice League: New Frontier.

The next installment of the dc universe original ANIMATED movies soars onto shelves when warner home video releases- justice league: the New frontier –ON february 26, 2008 !

The Title is the Second DC Universe Original PG-13 Animated Movie and the First Ever HI-Definition Animated DVD from Warner Premiere

Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new original movie Justice League: The New Frontier on February 26, 2008 on DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, distributed by Warner Home Video. Order due date is January 22, 2008 . The original movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-per-View as well as available for download on February 26, 2008 .

Based on the graphic novel by Darwyn Cooke and produced by Michael Goguen and animation legend, Bruce Timm, Justice League: The New Frontier is the epic tale of the founding of the Justice League . The animated film, written by Stan Berkowitz, features an incredible celebrity-laden voice cast including David Boreanaz, Brooke Shields, Lucy Lawless, Neil Patrick Harris, Miguel Ferrer, Kyra Sedgwick, Jeremy Sisto and Kyle MacLachlan and will be available on DVD for $19.98 SRP. There will also be a 2 disc Special Edition DVD available for $24.98 SRP which contains additional bonus features including a documentary about the pathology of the super villain and three bonus episodes from the Justice League animated series selected by Bruce Timm. All the content from the 2-disc Special Edition DVD will be available on HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

The New Frontier takes viewers on an action-packed adventure, exploring the origins of the Justice League. DC Comics legends Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are all featured in the film as well as Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and The Flash – as they band together to form the legendary super team. Strangers at first, these very different heroes must overcome fear and suspicion to forge an alliance against a monster so formidable, even the mighty Superman cannot stop it alone. If they fail, the entire planet will be “cleansed” of humanity.

Justice League: The New Frontier DVD will feature incredible extras including:

“Super Heroes United!: The Complete Justice League History”- The documentary is a comprehensive forty seven year Justice League chronology from the inception in the comics to vivid animated renditions. The story is told with a myriad of interviews tracing back the early days of DC Super Hero team ups during the Golden Age, to the Silver Age rendition where the established heroes emerged and beyond. Interviews include Paul Levitz (President of DC Comics), Dan Didio (SVP Executive Editor at DC Comics), Michael Uslan (Historian), Gregory Noveck (SVP Creative Affairs DC Comics), Mark Waid (DC Comics Historian and Writer), Mike Friedrich (Writer JLU), Denny O'Neil (Writer and Editor at DC Comics), Mike Carlin (DC Comics Executive Editor), Stan Lee (Marvel Comics Co-Creator) and Marv Wolfman (Writer of Fantastic Four).

“Sneak Peak: Batman: Gotham Knight ” - One part anime, one part Caped Crusader , the result is a glimpse at the world of Eastern anime sensibilities combined with a Western tradition of Batman . A detailed look at the world of Warner Bros Animation, and how they joined forces with the renowned Japanese animators to create the highly anticipated anime film of 2008.

The 2 disc Special Edition DVD will feature even more incredible extras including:

“The Legion of Doom : The Pathology of the Super Villain”- This documentary will examine the early mythological archetypes of nemesis characters from a historical perspective, and see how the tenants of this rich history were adapted and woven into the Justice League stories. The bonus feature includes many of the talent included in Super Heroes United! As well as Jim Kreuger (Writer of “Justice”).

“ Comic Book Commentary: Homage to the New Frontier” - This documentary is a nod to the fans of the New Frontier comic book. This featurette further expands the themes contained in the source material, and how these elements were truncated or evolved for the inclusion in the film. Featuring vivid imagery culled from the pages of the New Frontier comic, mixed with the commentary of Writer and Artist Darwyn Cooke, this featurette is a treat for both fans and scholars of the medium.

“ Justice League Unlimited Bonus Episodes” Bruce Timm selects three of his favorite episodes from the Justice League Unlimited animated series:

1. Dark Heart – Alien invaders attempt to thwart the Justice League . The fate of the world rests on the shoulders of Ray Palmer , AKA The Atom .
2. To Another Shore - Wonder Woman learns of a plot to steal the powers of the 3,000 year-old corpse of The Viking Prince. It is up to the Justice League to make things right.
3. Task Force X - Four incarcerated villains are released from prison by Cadmus to undertake an impossible mission: steal a powerful mystic artifact from the JLU Watchtower under the noses of the League.

"Having the opportunity to take the unique work of such a legendary comic talent as Darwyn Cooke and create a small screen faithful adaptation of that style is one of the cornerstones in what we hope to develop for core and new fans alike as part of the DC Universe initiative on the Warner Premiere slate", said Matt Bierman, Vice President Production, Warner Premiere.
“Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier is justifiably considered a modern classic, and we at DC comics are excited to share this thrilling adaptation with the book's legions of loyal fans. On Feb. 26, DC Universe Animated Movies will lead everyone across the New Frontier,” said Gregory Novek, Senior Vice President of Creative Affairs, Dc Comics.

“Following the huge success of Superman Doomsday, we are delighted to be releasing the second DC Universe PG-13 animated movie,” said Amit Desai, WHV Vice President, Family, Animation and Sports Marketing. “ Justice League: The New Frontier will certainly not disappoint fans who have been eagerly awaiting this next action-packed DC Universe installment .”

About DC Comics:

DC Comics, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world and home to such iconic characters as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Sandman. These DC Super Heroes and others have starred in comic books, movies, television series (both animated and live-action) and cyberspace, thrilling audiences of all ages for generations. DC Comics' Web site is located at www.dccomics.com .
JUSTICE LEAGUE and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

About Warner Premiere:

Warner Premiere is Warner Bros. Entertainment's new direct-to-consumer production company focused on the development, production and marketing of feature-length content, as well as short form digital content for the growing home entertainment market. Warner Premiere is committed to being at the creative forefront in the evolution of quality product in the direct-to-DVD business and the digital space, creating material that exemplifies the commitment to story, production and brand equity for which Warner Bros. is known.

About Warner Home Video:

With operations in 90 international territories Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.

About Warner Bros. Animation:

Warner Bros. Animation has been producing award-winning original animation since 1930, when it released its first cartoon, “Sinkin' in the Bathtub.” Since then, Warner Bros. Animation's characters have set the standard for innovative, quality animation. Producing for network and cable television, online, home entertainment and feature films both domestically and internationally, Warner Bros. Animation is highly respected for its creative and technical excellence, as well as maintaining the studio's rich cartoon heritage. Warner Bros. Animation also oversees the creative use of, and production of animated programming based on classic animated characters from the Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics libraries. Warner Bros. Animation is one of the most honored animation studios in history, garnering a grand total of six Academy Awards®, 35 Emmy® Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, an Environmental Media Award, a Parents' Choice Award, a Humanitas Award, two Prism Awards and 20 Annie Awards (honoring excellence in animation).

Episode 29: The Mike and Shag Show V: The Final Something or Other Episode

2008-02-22T21:27:00.000-08:00

Episode 29- The Mike and Shag Show V: The Final Something Or Other Episode

A little bit late this week because I was sick on Wednesday, but here's the episode for your supposed listening enjoyment. This week I apologize for something that happened last week that only I noticed before getting into the fifth installment of The Mike and Shag Show. This time Shag and I go through what we're looking forward to in the year 2008 as it relates to comic books. Subjects discussed are Final Crisis, Superman, Batman R.I.P, Secret Invasion, Iron Man, Dark Knight and much, much more. It's about an hour and twenty minutes, which is actually kind of good for us, but the file size is pretty decent so there's that.

Be sure to back here on Sunday for an announcement about a giveaway that I have gotten involved in. I don't want to say too much now but it rhymes with Justice League: New Frontier.

And as always you can e-mail me at viewsfromthelongbox@gmail.com with any comments, concerns or cheap shots.

So Where's The Show, Michael

2008-02-21T06:55:00.000-08:00

Well, it's almost done. My work schedule got a bit out of whack this week, so my usual routine is off. It's another Mike and Shag show so basically it has been a matter of editing, but I wasn't feeling too good last weekend, I wasn't feeling too hot on Tuesday and yesterday morning I woke up with a pounding sinus headache and a low grade fever.

So yeah, not the best time to sit in front of a computer and besides...my wife wouldn't let me.

Look for the episode tomorrow on the 22. I'll also have another contest announcment that is pretty big because I am not supplying the prize.

More later...

I Hate To Do This...

2008-02-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

...but I really don't feel like doing this twice.

Click here to see how I am becoming a cog in the machine.

Or at least read a press release that I and hundreds of others were made privy to.

It will be fun, I promise.

Hey, They Adapted Smallville Into a Comic Again

2008-02-14T20:34:00.001-08:00

Cross posted from other blogs I post stuff on.

Becuase I am firmly convinced that if and when Bruce Wayne shows up on Smallville that he and Lois are going to hook up.

That's just the way it seems to go.

Episode 28: The Anything and Everything Episode

2008-02-13T15:20:00.000-08:00

Episode 28: The Anything and Everything Episode

This week I am flying solo once again and an awful lot happens in the thirty-nine or so minutes of running time. I managed to figure out a few more things about MP3s and such, so you will notice a significant drop in the size of the file at least compared to how it used to be.

On tap this time out is a quick list of some one my favorite comic book couples followed by a near hostile takeover of the show by a devious plug in that I downloaded from Cyberdine Systems. Then we move into the main feature were I discuss with a very heavy heart why I have turned in my resignation as an Official DC Comics Fan and the steps Marvel has taken to get me to join up with them. After that I catch up on some listener mail, which was a ball to do, by the way, and if you want to join in the fun you can listen to this latest episode and write in your thoughts to viewsfromthelongbox@gmail.com.

Oh, and go visit Need Coffee. You'll be doing the world a service.

Episode 27: The Mike/Douglas Episode Part 3

2008-02-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

Episode 27: The Mike/Douglas Episode Part 3

The third and final part of the talk Michael had with webmaster and podcast host Brad Douglas. This one is a little over an hour, but as always since it is not Michael talking and talking and talking by himself it should be fine. This time out Michael and Brad finish up their Hulk discussion, talk about some of the other Marvel books Brad is reading, go over the DC books Brad has read over the year (all two of them), get into BRAND NEW DAY a little bit and even go through some very obscure comic related trivia. So sit back, relax and enjoy this final installment of the Mike/Douglas Show.

Episode 26: The Mike/Douglas Show Episdoe Part 2

2008-01-30T09:32:00.000-08:00

Episode 26: The Mike/Douglas Show Episode Part 2

In this second part of the Mike/Douglas show Michael continues his coversation with Brad Douglas, webmaster of the Spider-Man Crawlspace and host/ringleader of that site's podcast. This week Brad talks a little bit more about his day job before listing his favorite Spider-Man writers and artists. Michael also laments how easier it is to be a Spider_man fan than a Superman fan, at least on a merchandising level. All this and a little bit on the Incredible Hulk television series as well.

Links

The Blue, The Red and The Green- My Superman, Spider-Man, Hulk Blog

Comixtreme-A New Column Every Friday or Saturday

Episode 25: The Mike/Douglas Show Epsiode Part 1

2008-01-26T19:48:00.000-08:00

Episode 25: The Mike/Douglas Show Episode Part 1

Oh yeah, I do a podcast don't I?

After taking a week off because of some family issues I am back with the first in a three part conversation with Brad Douglas. Brad is the webmaster of the Spider-Man Crawlspace and host/ringleader of the Spider-Man Crawlspace Podcast and was kind enough to join me for a spell to talk about Spider-Man (big surprise there), the Incredible Hulk, Marvel Comics in general, Brad's collecting history and Brad's day job as a reporter for a local (at least for him) NBC affiliate. Brad's a great guy and we had so much fun that the conversation lasted a lot longer than I think either of us expected, hence the three parts.

So sit back, relax and enjoy. Also, check out the Spider-Man Crawlspace Podcast. It's Brad and a few of the moderators from the Spider-Man Crawlspace Message Board talking about all aspects of Spider-Man. It's an entertaining, thought provoking and usually funny monthly podcast.

VIEWS FROM THE LONGBOX THE COLUMN #18

2008-01-11T20:13:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess it's about time I started making posts pointing you towards the column version of this show

VIEWS FROM THE LONGBOX #18: THE RUNNER-UPS

This week I did kind of a wrap up to the five part series I did on my Top Five All Time Favorite Super-Heroes Ever. Basically I go through the five heroes that are good enough for the Top Ten, but not the Top Five.

Enjoy.

Episode 24: The Mike and Shag Show 4 Episode

2008-01-09T18:26:00.000-08:00

Episode 24: The Mike and Shag Show Four Episode

Mike and Shag join forces once again, this time to discuss comic book films. Hear them talk about the good, the bad and the truly awful. Films covered are Spider-Man, X2: X-Men United, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Daredevil, Superman: The Movie, Hulk and then Four Sentences of Doom where Mike and Shag go back and forth about a whole bunch of movies. All this and the podcast pick of the week too. The episode runs a bit long at about an hour and forty minutes, but it's still worth your time.

At least that's what Mike repeats endlessly as he cries himself to sleep.

Episode 23: The Frist Annual Views From The Longbox Christmas Super-Hero Spectacular

2007-12-24T15:29:00.000-08:00

Episode Twenty-Three: The First Annual Views From The Longbox Christmas Super-Hero Spectacular

Merry Christmas, everybody! I am going to forgo the usual stuff I do for the episodes and just cut right to the chase as it is the holidays and time is at a premium. Here, for you're listening pleasure, is my very special Christmas episode. It not only contains the usual commentary about comics, this time about the comic book related presents I received as a kid, but also some holiday music and three, count them THREE, Christmas themed stories from the days of Peter Pan and Power Records featuring Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

And, as promised, there are the pictures I mentioned in the episode provided courtesy of my good friend Ryan Speck of Media Gauntlet who had the good sense to keep his box whereas mine has been lost to history.

I hope everyone has a very a Merry Yule, a Happy Holiday and a very Merry Christmas.

The pictures are the side, the front and back and top in that order. Ryan colored the pictures as he found it creepy to have an orange box with black and white characters on it. The images themselves were pretty standard Marvel merchandising shots at the time. That Hulk, Captain America and Spider-Man were used over and over again. The Wolverine appears to be the Art Adams version from the cover of Classic X-Men #1.

No New Epsiode This Week

2007-12-18T16:29:00.000-08:00

I just don't have the time or energy this week.

The Christmas episode will be up on Christmas Eve, but until then I am going to take another week off.

I know, I know. I'm a slacker.

Thoughts on Spider-Man's Origin

2007-12-17T10:15:00.000-08:00

I've been reading a lot of Spider-Man books recently. I'll get into why at some other point but for whatever reasons the character has just grabbed me lately. Grabbed me as a reader in a way he never did before.

One of the stories I've read lately (or re-read as I have probably gone through it about a dozen times in my life) is the origin story from Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962). Many people have written about what a groundbreaking origin story this was for a super-hero and frankly I agree with them. Looking at that story in the context of the times it was published it is an amazing leap forward for what can be described somewhat pretentiously as the super-hero genre. It was the next step after the Fantastic Four. The FF got their powers through an accident and immediately set about helping people with them. The fact that they bickered and that Sue Storm was actually a viable member of the team is what set them apart but in their first issue they all put their hands in and declared their intention to help mankind.

Spider-Man was different. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko took two pages to establish what a bookwork and outcast Peter Parker is, which may not sound like a lot of space but in the early sixties in an anthology book in an eleven page story that was a lot of time to devote to character development. He received his powers from an accident involving radiation (standard for the day and pretty much the next decade or so) and the first thing he did was test his powers out at a wrestling match, which went well enough for him to grab the attention of a TV producer. From there Peter designed and sewed the costume, developed the web fluid and shooters and went on television. Through the dialog you get the sense that Peter is kind of a bitter and angry young man and with the comments made by his classmates at the beginning of the story it is little wonder he felt this way.

Then it happens.

The thief runs by him after robbing...something. Peter doesn't stop him. The same thief ends up robbing the Parker household and killing his Uncle Ben. With great power comes great responsibility.

The origin has been re-told over and over again so many times in variety of mediums. If you read enough Spider-Man comics you see it again and again and again. So much so that after a while it kind of loses its power as an origin. You forget Peter being mocked by his classmates and the resentment he feels and the love Ben and May Parker had for their nephew. It's almost like Batman and the death of the Waynes. You see that enough and the concept that a little boy watched his parents die violently in front him gets forgotten. After awhile both origins are a means to an end.

That was one of the thoughts that ran through my head as I re-read Amazing Fantasy #15. Here's the other:

The origin of Spider-Man wasn't a super-hero story.

It was a science fiction story.

If you've ever read any of the horror and science fiction books put out by EC Comics in the fifties then you know that they follow a certain pattern. Establishing character development followed by something weird or horrific happening followed by twist ending. This is not to diminish those stories. I love them with the best being the ones in my opinion being the horror books, but the science fiction tales were great as well, but they did have a formula like most comics of the time had some kind of story engine. After the formation of the Comics Code EC was forced to find a new direction, which didn't work out and with the exception of Mad, which eventually shifted to magazine format, all of it's titles were canceled.

This didn't stop other publishers from copying the formula albeit in a watered down, code approved version. In 1961 the company that would become the Marvel Comics as we know it today put out a comic called Amazing Adventures, which was an anthology book that told monster and science fiction stories including an adventure character who dealt with the weird and wacky named Doctor Droom, who would be brought back later in the seventies as Doctor Druid. With the seventh issue the titled was changed to Amazing Adult Fantasy, that was supposed to be a more mature title brought home by the little caption on the cover that read, "The Magazine That Respects Your Intelligence."

Number fifteen was the title's last issue with yet another name change, this time to the simpler Amazing Fantasy. It was here that Stan published a concept that from all accounts was a bone of contention between Lee and his publisher, Martin Goodman. Goodman hated this concept of a super-hero who was not only a nerd but a teenager with problems and hang-ups. I don't know how apocryphal that story is. It's hard to tell what really happened and what made for a better story later, but in any case the concept was apparently looked down upon so Lee stuck it in this little anthology book that was going to be canceled anyway and thus a legend was born.

The thing is that if you read the story...I mean really read the story it fits perfectly within the format of the science fiction story with the twist ending. Ordinary kid who is mocked and ridiculed. Loving family. Suddenly he is involved in an accident that gives him the powers of a spider. He takes advantage of those abilities and tries to make money but doesn't step up to help when that help was needed because he was looking out for no one but himself. Then his Uncle Ben, a man he loved and who loved him, is killed by a robber and after cornering the man Peter discovers to his horror that it was the very same man who he failed to stop when he had the chance. The only thing that really separates it is the super-hero style costume, which is mocked at the beginning of the story with the little blurb that read, "Like costumed heroes? Confidentially we in the comic mag business refer to them as 'long underwear characters'!" Without that caption at the beginning this story would have been right at home in a science fiction anthology title.

And honestly if the strip hadn't proved successful it would have been just another story with a snap ending. Instead with retelling after retelling and over forty years of comic book stories, movies, television series and the rest it has become an archetypal origin story.

In any case it's still a solid little story. Sure times and sensibilities have changed but it still holds up surprisingly well.

Weird aside; two months before Amazing Fantasy #15 was published a Stan Lee/Steve Ditko story titled Goodbye to Linda Brown could be found in Strange Tales #97 (June 1962). The story concerned a young, wheelchair bound girl who lived with her uncle and aunt in a beach front setting. I won't give away the details of the story (though it was kind of neat) but there was one strange bit of business thrown in. The uncle and aunt were named Ben and May Parker. And they looked just like Peter's Aunt May and Uncle Ben.

Dark Knight Trailer

2007-12-17T08:21:00.000-08:00

Well, that looks all about some awesome.

DARK KNIGHT TRAILER

So far it looks good. I have to agree with my friend Ryan that while the first one had a good origin story for Batman the actual plot (the whole water vapor thing) made little to no sense. Sure I got was Ra's was doing, just the means to that end were kind of...stupid.

I think with this one the plot and motivation is pretty clear. The clip of Gordon smashing the Bat signal was pretty cool.

Again, looks pretty cool. Hopefully it will turn out that way.

Hell if Dark Knight, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk and Punisher War Zone are all good 2008 might turn out to be a very good year for comic adaptations.
You know, unlike 2007, which pretty much sucked for them.

Geeks Are Voting

2007-12-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

I live about 30 miles or so south of Atlanta, GA and the biggest newspaper in the are is the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. One of their features is called The Vent, which is a forum for readers to call in and express their opinions regarding current events. Today I happened to be reading AJC and caught this in The Vent:

I'm voting for Opitmus Prime; that way we won't get another Decepticon for president.

I for one support this idea. We need a strong, decisive leader in the White House. A leader that knows that there is a difference between being a hero and being a memory.

With that I support Optimus Prime as the next President of the United States.

Episode 22- The Epiphany Episode

2007-12-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

Episode Twenty-Two: The Epiphany Episode

Views From The Longbox is a comic book podcast hosted by Michael Bailey. Every week Michael will cover some aspect of the wide, wide world of comic books. Each episode will usually run twenty to thirty minutes so Michael won’t be wasting too much of your time with his sometimes incoherent ramblings about the comic books and related items that he has squirreled away in his house. This week's episode includes:

- Michael shortens the opening clip a bit.
- Yet Another Out of Context Theater.
- Michael talks about the motivation behind his recent purchases and what that led him to discover.
- More reader mail and the winner of the first Views Contest

Views From The Longbox Logo is by Blake Wilkie

Another week of getting this up late, but hey, what can you do?

Well, I guess I can get it up on time, but that is beside the point.

I was rather happy with this week's episode and think it turned out well. I hope you enjoy it as well. As always you can write me at viewsfromthelongbox@gmail.com because I like getting e-mail.

Is It Actually Good Or Am I Imagining Things?

2007-12-11T18:51:00.000-08:00

So I literally just finished reading the first three parts to the current Spider-Man arc One More Day.

S
P
O
I
L
E
R

W
A
R
N
I
N
G

I know what some of you are thinking, "But, Mike," you think, "Isn' that just a terrible idea that will lead to an equally terrible idea?" And there is a huge chance that you would be right, but I must admit that, like Shag, now that DC is disappointing I have been "seeing other people" and I've also been on this Spider-Man kick lately, so there's that too.

So taking away all of the feelings I have about the possibility of Marvel taking away Peter and Mary Jane's marriage and taking away all of the hype and controversy and bitching that surounds the arc how is the story?

Kind of compelling really.

I picked up the Spider-Man titles during The Other mostly due to Peter David writing Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. I actually got into the character as I liked what J.M.S. was doing in the lead up to Civil War (back when I was really excited about it). After having the drop Amazing and Friendly Neighborhood for a bit I picked it up again last summer and got caught up. Whatever problems I had with Civil War (and they are legion) I thought Spider-Man's end and his crossovers were pretty awesome.

Back in Black, which came after all of that, was not only one of the best synergies between comic book and comic film hype but was also a pretty neat little story showing Peter Parker going as low as he can possibly get. It also had a pretty bad ass fight between Peter and the Kingpin, which was almost worth the whole thing to see.

(Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man had some great stories as well, including another fight, this one between J. Jonah Jameson and Peter, which was also awesome.)

Which brings us to One More Day.

Now I think the idea of getting rid of Peter and M.J.'s marriage is one of the worst ideas since New Coke, but again in ignoring all of that and reading the story I'm rather enjoying it. At it's heart this is a story about what two people are willing to sacrifice for the ones they love. On the surface it sounded like a terrible idea; Mephisto offers to cure Aunt May in exchange for Mary Jane and Peter's marriage. The twist is that Mephisto doesn't only make the offer to Peter but to MJ as well. So it's not just Spider-Man giving up one thing he cares about for another, it's both of them and I kind of dig that. It gives the story an emotional core that I wouldn't have figured.

In the end it could all end badly. In fact I'm about seventy-five percent sure it will. At the same time I'm kind of enjoying it and am interested to see exactly how they get from One More Day to Brand New Day.

And besides, it's better than Countdown.

Episode 21: The Fifty-Cent Box Episode

2007-12-06T15:56:00.000-08:00

Episode Twenty-One: The Fifty Cent Box Episode

Views From The Longbox is a comic book podcast hosted by Michael Bailey. Every week Michael will cover some aspect of the wide, wide world of comic books. Each episode will usually run twenty to thirty minutes so Michael won’t be wasting too much of your time with his sometimes incoherent ramblings about the comic books and related items that he has squirreled away in his house. This week's episode includes:

- Michael's back after two weeks with the theme song he always wanted.
- Charlie Brown, Thanksgiving and Law and Order: Criminal Intent.
- More Out of Context Theater.
- The fifty cent box and how it is quite possibly the greatest thing ever.

Views From The Longbox Logo is by Blake Wilkie

Back after two weeks with the theme song I have wanted to use since the beginning. Hope you enjoy it.

The First Official Contest is over, but you can still write in with your thoughts and feelings at viewsfromthelongbox@gmail.com

Episode 20: Mike and Shag "Forever"

2007-11-14T11:21:00.000-08:00

Episode Twenty: The Mike and Shag Forever Epiosde

This week on Views From The Longbox...

...all right stop, collaborate and listen, Shag's back with a brand new edition.
...another edition of Out of Context Theater.
...Mike and Shag talk about some of the better comic book series from the mid to late eighties.
...all that and the "all-important" Podcast Pick of the Week.

As usual this episode is not entirely work safe. It's not that Mike and Shag are potty mouths, but they are adults and sometimes the f-bombs and such will fly, so put some earphones on if you're at work. Surprisingly the audio quality this time out was pretty good, so hopefully it will make for a better listening experience, at least in terms of how it sounds if not content.

Relevant Links

Hey, Views Is Now A Weekly Column At Comixtreme!- Check this site every Friday for the newest installment of the Views column and check it out every day for other neat things to read about and enjoy.
The Official Views Blog- Still under construction, but this is the home base of Views and will eventually have content in addition to the show.
The Unique Geek.- This is a group I belong to and even take part in their bi-weekly podcast. They also have a listserv where all are welcome and you can get there by clicking HERE. .
The Official Views MySpace Page- Because all of the kids are doing it these days. Like the blog it is still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.
The RSS Feed For The Show- If you are into that type of thing.
Media Gauntlet- The site nice enough to host this show.
Also you can find the show at Podcast Alley. Go there and leave some feedback on the show. It will make me more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

Views From The Longbox Logo is by Blake Wilkie

Episode 19: The Spider-Man 3 Still Sucks Episode

2007-11-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

Episode Nineteen: The Spider-Man 3 Still Sucks Episode

- Hey, another edition of Out of Context Theater.

- A lengthy diatribe on why SPIDER-MAN 3 still sucks.

- More "reader" mail.

- A quick reminder about the contest going on here at Views and then it's over.

Relevant Links

Hey, Views Is Now A Weekly Column At Comixtreme!- Check this site every Friday for the newest installment of the Views column and check it out every day for other neat things to read about and enjoy.
The Unique Geek.- This is a group I belong to and even take part in their bi-weekly podcast. They also have a listserv where all are welcome and you can get there by clicking HERE. .
The Official Views MySpace Page- Because all of the kids are doing it these days. Like the blog it is still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.
The RSS Feed For The Show- If you are into that type of thing.
Media Gauntlet- The site nice enough to host this show.

Also you can find the show at Podcast Alley. Go there and leave some feedback on the show. It will make me more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

Views From The Longbox Logo is by Blake Wilkie

It's Official

2007-11-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

Spider-Man 3 still sucks.

Bought it on Friday. Watched it last night. My opinion remains unchanged.

There are parts I really like. The action scenes on the whole are very well done. I think they (as in the movie people) are finally at that point where they can do super-hero action effectively. I liked Thomas Hayden Church. I liked Topher Grace. I even half assed liked Gwen Stacey.

Taken as a whole the movie is ass.

Oh well, that's what they made scene skipping for. Besides I watch movies primarily in the Fortress and I can zone out on the scenes I don't like.

Sigh.

Here's hoping the fourth one is better.

Episode 18: The Halloween 2007 Episode

2007-11-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

So, Mike? Was there an episode of Views From The Longbox this week?

Why yes there was. Only my day job being fucking insane this week got between me and doing the normal episode thing. So here's the link...

Episode 18: The Halloween 2007 Episode

...and next week things will hopefully get back to normal.

Hopefully.

Site Updates

2007-10-28T14:21:00.001-07:00

I used today to update some stuff here at Views Central. Nothing major, but I was getting behind on some things.

First, there is now a post with details regarding the contest I am currently running. If you look to the right you will see the section for it. The contest runs until the end of November, so go check that out if you haven't already.

Second, I updated the "Back Issues" section up to episode seventeen. I really fell behind on that one. My bad.

Third, all of the links have been changed to reflect the new system Media Gauntlet is using to track the number of hits I get from direct downloads. So if you haven't been able to get an episode you should be able to do so now.

I'm thinking of making some changes to the way the blog looks as well. Don't know if I like this color scheme anymore.

That's it for now. More later. And I mean that this time.

The First Official Views From The Longbox Contest

2007-10-28T14:01:00.001-07:00

I thought it would be a good idea to have a post detailing the specifics of the contest I am currently running here at Views.

The First Official Views From The Longbox Listener Contest

Yes, I am holding a contest with actual prizes and everything. It's a pretty simple contest too and is split up into two parts.

Part 1: Write to Me

I am trying to get some feedback about the show and thought that bribing you would be the best way to accomplish that. All you need to do is drop me an e-mail at viewsfromthelongbox@gmail.com and tell me what you think of the show. What you like. What you don't like. What you would like to hear and what you never want to hear again. I plan on reading these e-mails "on the air", so if you don't want me to do that please indicate that in your e-mail. You can write as often as you like but that won't increase your chances of winning. I just want to know what y'all think.

Part 2: Pick the New Theme Song

I am trying to decide between two songs for my theme and I wanted your help. One is a cover of the Slade song Run, Run Away and the other is called Goin' Up, both by the group Great Big Sea. I will be alternating between both songs starting with episode sixteen (episode eighteen will have a Halloween themed song, just to tell ya) and going until the end of November, at which time I'll look at the mail and pick the one you liked best. If you don't like either song suggest one.

The Swag

The prize pack includes a grab bag of about 20 to 25 comics. They're good ones too. I'm not trying to foist my New Universe run on you or anything. In addition to the books the winner will get to choose between two action figures still in their blister pack. I'm even popping for shipping, so you won't have to worry about that.

And there you have it. Free stuff for writing in. What could be better?

So write in to viewsfromthelongbox@gmail.com and enter today! I look forward to hearing from you.

Sometimes Getting Called On Something is a Good Thing

2007-10-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I thought about when I started writing a column version of Views From The Longbox was that at some point I was going to make a mistake. I am a stickler for getting my facts straight and make every effort to edit myself to avoid them, but I know that there would be a time when for whatever reason (low blood sugar, Manhunter implant going on the blink, I just screwed up) I was going to get something wrong.

And that time has come.

In my most recent column (up now at Comixtreme, and I really should get around to posting here when those go up) I wrote about the various Who's Who series that DC has published over the years. In addition to the various Updates I discussed the loose leaf edition that they began publishing in 1990 and wrote that in addition to Roger Stern and Mark Waid writing a number of entries that writers and editors like Gerard Jones and Paul Dooley also contributed.
Two problems the first being that in looking at the sentence I realize it might seem like Gerard Jones was an editor at DC, which he wasn't. He wrote a good number of books there at the time including The Shadow Strikes, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Mosaic, Justice League Europe/International, El Diablo and a prequel Ford Fairlane mini-series. That bugged me because I should have known better. I mean I could argue that it's just a column about comic books and not an expose on chemical dumping at Love Canal, but I want to come off as someone proficient at writing, so I hold myself to a higher standard.

My second mistake was that it was Kevin Dooley that was an editor at DC at the time and not Paul Dooley. Paul Dooley is an actor who has had a pretty extraordinary career, though when I see him I always think of him as the Dad from Sixteen Candles. Again, I could argue the fact that with as many names that I have crammed in my head it is easy to get some mixed up, but frankly I am cutting myself no slack on this one as well mainly because I stared at Kevin Dooley's name several times when I was looking through my Who's Who in preparation for the article.

Amazingly it was not a fellow fan who called me on this. It was Roger Stern, writer of everything.

In some ways getting called on something like this by a pro is somewhat flattering. I can't really explain why, but it is.

Oh well. Live and learn. I fixed the column. I'll do better next time.

Episode 17: The Return of the Mike and Shag Show Episode

2007-10-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

Episode 17: The Return of the Mike and Shag Show Episode

- Michael makes a quick announcement regarding the contest here at Views From The Longbox.

- Once again Michael teams up with Shag Matthews to discuss comic book crossovers.

- Listen as the two talk about Legends, Our Worlds at War, X-Cutioner's Song, Acts of Vengeance and others.

- It's an hour and a half of conversation and fun, and you just might learn something before it's all done. Hey, hey, hey!

Quick warning: The audio quality is actually much better than the last time, but the language is still pretty much PG-13, so it might not be exactly work safe. Just thought you'd like to know.

Relevant Links

Hey, Views Is Also A Weekly Column At Comixtreme!- Check this site every Friday for the newest installment of the Views column and check it out every day for other neat things to read about and enjoy.
The Unique Geek.- This is a group I belong to and even take part in their bi-weekly podcast. They also have a listserv where all are welcome and you can get there by clicking HERE. .
The Official Views MySpace Page- Because all of the kids are doing it these days. Like the blog it is still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.
The RSS Feed For The Show- If you are into that type of thing.
Media Gauntlet- The site nice enough to host this show.

Also you can find the show at Podcast Alley. Go there and leave some feedback on the show. It will make me more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

Episode 16: The Trade Paperback Episode

2007-10-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

Episode 16: The Trade Paperback Episode

- One of two potential new theme songs makes its Views From The Longbox debut!
- The first installment of Out of Context Theater.
- Michael discusses his love affair with the trade paperback
- Another Podcast Pick of the Week and more about that nifty contest that's running.

Relevant Links

Hey, Views Is Now A Weekly Column At Comixtreme!- Check this site every Friday for the newest installment of the Views column and check it out every day for other neat things to read about and enjoy.

The Unique Geek.- This is a group I belong to and even take part in their bi-weekly podcast. They also have a listserv where all are welcome and you can get there by clicking HERE. .

The Official Views MySpace Page- Because all of the kids are doing it these days. Like the blog it is still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.

The RSS Feed For The Show- If you are into that type of thing.

Media Gauntlet- The site nice enough to host this show.

Also you can find the show at Podcast Alley. Go there and leave some feedback on the show. It will make me more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

Views From The Longbox Logo is by Blake Wilkie

Episode 15- The '90s Animated Theme Songs Part 2 Episode

2007-10-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

Episode 15- The '90s Animated Theme Songs Part 2 Episode

Views From The Longbox is a comic book podcast hosted by Michael Bailey. Every week Michael will cover some aspect of the wide, wide world of comic books. Each episode will usually run twenty to thirty minutes so Michael won’t be wasting too much of your time with his sometimes incoherent ramblings about the comic books and related items that he has squirreled away in his house. This week's episode includes:

- Michael talks about how he spent last Sunday.
- Hey, an announcement! A real one this time.
- Michael continues his trip in the way back machine.
- Listen and thrill to the themes of Spider-Man, WildCATS, Savage Dragon and others.

Relevant Links

Hey, Views Is Now A Weekly Column At Comixtreme!- Check this site every Friday for the newest installment of the Views column and continue to come back to that site every day for other neat things to read about and enjoy.
The Unique Geek.- This is a group I belong to and even take part in their bi-weekly podcast. They also have a listserv where all are welcome and you can get there by clicking HERE. .
The RSS Feed For The Show- If you are into that type of thing.
Media Gauntlet- The site nice enough to host this show.

Also you can find the show at Podcast Alley. Go there and leave some feedback on the show. It will make me more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

Episode 14- The '90s Animated Theme Songs Part 1 Episode

2007-10-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

Episode 14- The '90s Animated Theme Songs Part 1 Episodes

Views From The Longbox is a comic book podcast hosted by Michael Bailey. Every week Michael will cover some aspect of the wide, wide world of comic books. Each episode will usually run twenty to thirty minutes so Michael won’t be wasting too much of your time with his sometimes incoherent ramblings about the comic books and related items that he has squirreled away in his house. This week's episode includes:

- Michael complains about his theme song.
- The amazing musical similarities between Lois and Clark and a Dynasty spin-off.
- Part one of a look at the sometimes decent, oft times terrible theme songs from the nineties.
- Music and commentary; Michael goes back to the well because it’s easy.

Relevant Links

Hey, Views Is Now A Weekly Column At Comixtreme!- Check this site every Friday for the newest installment of the Views column and check it out every day for other neat things to read about and enjoy.
The Official Views Blog- Still under construction, but this is the home base of Views and will eventually have content in addition to the show.
The Unique Geek.- This is a group I belong to and even take part in their bi-weekly podcast. They also have a listserv where all are welcome and you can get there by clicking HERE. .
The Official Views MySpace Page- Because all of the kids are doing it these days. Like the blog it is still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.
The RSS Feed For The Show- If you are into that type of thing.
Media Gauntlet- The site nice enough to host this show.

Also you can find the show at Podcast Alley. Go there and leave some feedback on the show. It will make me more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

Views From The Longbox Logo is by Blake Wilkie

Episode 13- The Things Aren't Looking Too Good Episodes Part Two Episode or The Shag and Mike Show Episode

2007-09-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

Episode Thirteen: The Things Aren't Looking Too Good Episodes Part Two Episode or The Shag and Mike Show Episode

Views From The Longbox is a comic book podcast hosted by Michael Bailey. Every week

Michael will cover some aspect of the wide, wide world of comic books. Each episode will usually run twenty to thirty minutes so Michael won’t be wasting too much of your time with his sometimes incoherent ramblings about the comic books and related items that he has squirreled away in his house. This week's episode includes:

- Michael teams up with the Irredeemable Shag Matthews for an hour of adventure and babbling.
- Hear about Shag’s eleven hours of boredom on the highways of Florida.
- Listen as Michael does a terrible impersonation of Dan DiDio.
- With hundreds of digressions, Michael and Shag talk about what DC and Marvel are doing right and doing wrong.

A few quick notes about this episode; the audio quality is kind of dodgy in spots because of how the conversation was recorded, so sorry about that right away. This episode is also an hour long, but there are two of us, so that's like thirty minutes a person. Also, and this is kind of important, the language gets a little blue in this episode, so maybe listening at work without the benefit of headphones would be a bad idea.

Relevant Links

Hey, Views Is Now A Weekly Column At Comixtreme!- Check this site every Friday for the newest installment of the Views column and check it out every day for other neat things to read about and enjoy.
The Official Views Blog- Still under construction, but this is the home base of Views and will eventually have content in addition to the show.
The Unique Geek.- This is a group I belong to and even take part in their bi-weekly podcast. They also have a listserv where all are welcome and you can get there by clicking HERE. .
The Official Views MySpace Page- Because all of the kids are doing it these days. Like the blog it is still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.
The RSS Feed For The Show- If you are into that type of thing.
Media Gauntlet- The site nice enough to host this show.

Also you can find the show at Podcast Alley. Go there and leave some feedback on the show. It will make me more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

Views From The Longbox Logo is by Blake Wilkie

Episode 12- The Death of Superman Episode

2007-09-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

Episode 12- The Death of Superman Episode

Views From The Longbox is a comic book podcast hosted by Michael Bailey. Every week Michael will cover some aspect of the four colored world of comic books. Each episode will run twenty to thirty minutes so Michael won’t be wasting too much of your time with his sometimes incoherent ramblings about the comic books and related items that he has squirreled away in his house. This week's episode includes:

- Michael explains why he hasn’t done a Superman episode yet.
- Learn of the intimidation Michael has suffered at the hands of Warner Bros.
- Find out why Michael was annoyed at the recent Death and Return of Superman Omnibus.
- Thoughts and reminiscing about Superman #75.

Two episodes ago I posted a scan that featured an article I was quoted in from a local paper back in Pennsylvania. In looking for that article I uncovered another that I had cut out at the tender age of 16 from the weekend that Superman #75. Here it is.

Looking at this article I am struck that the area I grew up in had to be dragged kicking and screaming from the ‘80s. I mean look at those pictures. This was 1992 and everyone was still dressing like it was 1987. Yikes.

Relevant Links

Hey, Views Is Now A Weekly Column At Comixtreme!- Check this site every Friday for the newest installment of the Views column and check it out every day for other neat things to read about and enjoy.
The Official Views Blog- Still under construction, but this is the home base of Views and will eventually have content in addition to the show.
The Unique Geek.- This is a group I belong to and even take part in their bi-weekly podcast. They also have a listserv where all are welcome and you can get there by clicking HERE. .
The Official Views MySpace Page- Because all of the kids are doing it these days. Like the blog it is still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.
The RSS Feed For The Show- If you are into that type of thing.
Media Gauntlet- The site nice enough to host this show.

Also you can find the show at Podcast Alley. Go there and leave some feedback on the show. It will make me more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

Views From The Longbox Logo is by Blake Wilkie

Episode 11- The DragonCon Episode

2007-09-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

Episode 11- The DragonCon Episode

DragonCon was a lot of fun this year. Should be a lot more fun next year. In addition to the the Relevant Links below you can check out DragonCon's official site HERE.

Relevant Links

Hey, Views Is Now A Weekly Column At Comixtreme!- Check this site every Friday for the newest installment of the Views column and check it out every day for other neat things to read about and enjoy.
The Official Views Blog- Still under construction, but this is the home base of Views and will eventually have content in addition to the show.
The Unique Geek.- This is a group I belong to and even take part in their bi-weekly podcast. They also have a listserv where all are welcome and you can get there by clicking HERE. .
The Official Views MySpace Page- Because all of the kids are doing it these days. Like the blog it is still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.
The RSS Feed For The Show- If you are into that type of thing.
Media Gauntlet- The site nice enough to host this show.

Also you can find the show at Podcast Alley. Go there and leave some feedback on the show. It will make me more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

It All Makes Sense Now

2007-09-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

In my last post I discussed the confusion I felt over getting so many hits for the latest column I did at Comixtreme.

I think I have it figured out.

I use graphics in my column because I think it looks better. Since the subject of last week's column was the Punisher I naturally used Punisher images. Because of where I placed the graphics the first one appeared on the front page of Comixtreme.

What I'm saying is that, in a weird way, I think I got more readers because I put the Punisher "on the cover."

It's like 1991 all over again.

Wah happend?

2007-09-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

So as I mentioned on the show a few weeks ago I now have a weekly column over at Comixtreme. I've done four in a row now and things are going great. People are responding and I am getting what I consider a decent amount of hits.

Last night, before the wife and I had to deal with Boo having another seizure I had 70 hits.

Today, I just checked and I have 303.

What the hell happened in that 12 hours?

I'm not complaining. I'm just confused. I'm not used to people reading what I produce for the Internet and I get jack in the way of feedback, good or bad.

But wow, 299. That's pretty damn good for me.

Episode 10- The Talking Shop, Comic Shops Episode

2007-09-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

Episode 10- The Talking Shop, Comic Shops Episode

Outside of that I don't have much in the way of links this week. Most of the shops I went to have gone the way of all flesh, but below are the official sites for Beachead Comics (see above picture) and to the shop I mainly go to now, Titan Games and Comics.

Beachead Comics- There's some material to read and weekly auctions.

Titan Games and Comics- My current home. Much to see here. Check it out.

Episode 9- The Things Aren’t Looking Too Good Episodes Part One

2007-08-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

Episode 9- The Things Aren’t Looking Too Good Episodes Part One

Next week, more on this subject. Until then, I sit in my office and watch the old Flash series. It makes me feel better.

Episode 8: The Filmation’s 1960’s DC Themes Episode

2007-08-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

Episode 8: The Filmation’s 1960’s DC Themes Episode

Show Notes

Not a whole heck of a lot this week. There just don't seem to be too many sites dedicated to Filmation's DC work. But, for your entertainment, here are a few.

The Superman Homepage's Entry For The New Adventures of Superman

Wikipedia's New Adventures of Superman Entry

Wikipedia's Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure Entry

Wikpedia's Batman/Superman Hour Entry

Wikipedia's Filmation Entry

And that's it for this week. See you in seven, or eight, or whenever I post the next episode, but hopefully in seven.

Episode 7- The "The First" Episode Part Two

2007-08-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

Episode 7- The "The First" Episode Part Two

You may notice I am using the same graphic this week. Well despite getting the episode recorded on time but a little later that I prefer things just didn’t line up this week. My real job has been rather busy, so it delayed things this week. Next week will be much better I swear

Also, because I ran so short on time I didn't get a chance to dig up anymore Hulk links. Hopefully after this whole Tax Free Weekend thing we have here in Gerogia is over I will be back to normal, but with things at work as crazy as they are this week I just couldn't devote as much time to the show as I would like.

Which is why you haven't really seen any posts lately either.

Next week I have a pretty exciting announcement, though, so there is something to look forward to.

Or not, but come back anyway.

Episode 6- The "The First" Episode Part One

2007-07-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

Episode 6- The "The First" Episode Part One

(Left Click to Listen, Right Click to Download, Jump to the Left Step to the Right to Time Warp)

Show Notes

There are some really nice Incredible Hulk pages on the Internet. It's actually kind of amazing to see. As much as I like the show these guys are light years ahead of me as far as being a fan of the series.

The Incredible Hulk Television Series Page- Not the first site I ever stumbled upon but most definitely one of the best. This has video, audio, an image gallery and a bunch of other neat bits of business. Mark obviously put a lot of time into this one.

Bryan's Incredible Hulk Page- Another fantastic site. There are some "Coming Soon" signs here and there, but like Mark Rathwell's site this one has it all. Probably my favorite Hulk series sites on the 'net.

Also for your enjoyment is the Wikipedia Article For The Series. Pretty informative for Wiki.

And that's it for me this week. Check back next week for the "exciting conclusion" to my first ever two part episode.

Episode 5- The Rob Liefeld Episode

2007-07-17T17:11:00.000-07:00

Episode 5- The Rob Liefeld Episode

Show Notes

Well, another week of me getting up early for work and being all kinds of tired when I get home. So as I don't feel like typing too much today. Here are some links, though.

Extreme Genesis

The Youngblood MySpace Page

Rob Liefeld's Official Site

I Complain Yet I Buy

2007-07-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

I used to complain about the quality and price of the variant covers that DC has been producing. My main problem was that the price of the variant did not justify it's existence. I understood the motivation to do the covers; do a variant that comes one to every nine books a retailer orders and not only does that retailer have a book that they can sell at an inflated price but you might get a nice bump in sales.

Still I can't justify buying an extra copy of, say, Justice League of America, for a little over twice the cover price. For me it doesn't scan.

Mostly.

I have to admit that there are certain covers that I have purchased. I buy all of the Superman variants. It's a no-brainer. I collect all of the Superman books and buying the variants just goes along with that. It's part of the contract I signed years ago when I became a "Superman Super Fan" (I have to get around to posting that contract. I signed it when I was sixteen so I'm pretty sure that I could get out of it, but why would I want to?) so those go into the collection.

I also buy the Justice Society of America variants. It helps that recently Chuck up at my comic home Titans has instituted a policy that if you buy the regular cover you get the variant for cover price (Way to go, Chuck) but even before that I was picking them up. I like them. They're neat and I really want to support Justice Society because it is one of the five things that is keeping me in the current comic book collecting game.

This week Justice Society of America #7 came out. The regular cover got a lot of flack in the solicits because Citizen Steel had a huge package or something. Honestly, the things fans get into a tizzy over. Who cares? More than that, is the best thing you can come up with when looking at a cover is, "Hey, look at that dude's crotch."? Come on. We're better than that. And just like Power Girl's anatomically incorrect and outrageously large rack on the cover of Justice League of America #10 "Little Steel" got the Photoshop treatment so it is not so...noticeable anymore.

In all of the hub bub over that cover I wanted to share the variant for the latest issue of Justice Society. Dale Eaglesham and Roy Jose produced an amusing but still striking cover for this issue.

The Sloppy Joe bit doesn't get old, but it's the fact that Starman is using Superman's cape for a napkin while Superman looks on with patience and holds a Legion Flight Ring that sells the image. It's a really nice cover and I thought it deserved some attention.

More later, promise.

Theater of the Mind or Something Like That

2007-07-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

Today I picked up volumes one and two of the audio adaptation of Infinite Crisis. If you haven't heard of this a production company called Graphic Audio (which has the tag line of "A Movie in Your Mind") has done a full cast audio drama with music and effects which tells the story of Infinite Crisis. Considering they attribute the story to Greg Cox (I wonder how Geoff Johns feels about that) that they are actually adapting the novelization that had adapted the comic book series.

So really this is a third generation adaptation.

I'm only about four tracks into the first disc and so far it's not all that bad. I am working under the assumption that they are simply reading Greg Cox's novelization with effects and voice actors for the characters. I've listened to quite a few comic book audio dramatizations (mostly done by Dirk Maggs in the '90s for the BBC) and they range from pretty darn good to beat my head against the wall bad. I can't say for sure how I am going to feel at the end but so far it is pretty good.

Here's the thing though; there are six discs in each volume. Six hours worth of material in volume one and seven hours of material in volume two.

That's thirteen hours total.

Thirteen hours of Infinite Crisis.

Wow.

Anyway, after all is said and done I will post a review. I will say this; they (and again I assuming this is a dramatic reading of Greg Cox's novelization) did a good job of explaining Day of Vengeance, Villains United, Rann/Thanagar War and the OMAC Project in the first few tracks. Exposition like that must be a nightmare to deal with and it was handled well here.

More of this later.

The Hulk is Staring At Me

2007-07-11T16:09:00.000-07:00

The Hulk is staring at me right now.

Well, not starting at me. It's more like he is staring beyond me. Three Hulks are doing this currently, actually. There is the gray First Appearance Hulk, a Savage Hulk figure and the rather bad ass Planet Hulk. If you haven't seen the Bad Ass Planet Hulk figure it looks a lot like this.

Neat, huh? I didn't really dig it at first, but the more I would walk by it at Wal-Mart the more I thought, "Jeez, I'd like to get that."

Currently the Bad Ass Planet Hulk is resting on top of the hutch of my desk where the other two Hulks (you know, the ones I am apparently paranoid about) as well as the JUSTICE Superman and Bizarro figures, the Golden-Age Superman and Batman statues, two goofy signs (one that reads, "Desk Sweet Desk", and another that reads, "Proof read carefully to check for any words out."), a Superman Returns Halloween candy pail (a gift from my lovely wife) and the Wicked Witch of the West little figure from the McDonald's Happy Meals a few months back.

Bad Ass Planet Hulk is standing next to the Wicked Witch. It looks like this.

I put these two toys together for a reason. This is how I see my wife and myself. Now I don't think my wife is a witch. I know she's a witch. She's been a practicing solitary Wiccan for well over a decade now and one of her favorite books and musicals is Wicked, so I see the Wicked Witch of the West I smile and think of my wife.

Now I am not as big as the Hulk. I am definitely a chunky monkey (I'm working on it) but I am not seven feet tall and do not weigh a ton or so. But when it comes to my wife I kind of turn into the Hulk. I am very protective of her. She has a genetic condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which means that her bones are soft and break very easy. It's what Samuel L. Jackson had in Unbreakable. So when we're out in public I get rather...intense sometimes when we're in a crowd. I've never started a fight and I hope to never have to, but between her breaking easy and the fact that she is a Wiccan in the Bible Belt I am on constant alert.

So my wife is the Wicked Witch of the West (from Wicked, not the Wizard of Oz). And I'm the Hulk. It's cute, at least to me.

Episode 4- The Transformers Episode

2007-07-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

Episode 4- The Transformers Episode

Show Notes

Wow, lots of links this week to keep you far more entertained than this blog could. Here, for your amusement and edification, are a crap load of Transformers links.

Target 2006

The Transformers Archive

TransFans.Net

Transformers Comics Guide

Transformers At The Moon

Transformers On Wikipedia- The entry that launches a thousand other entries, but well worth your time.

Also this week I recommended the video podcast Geek Week. I cannot express how awesome this show is. Seriously. I'm watching it (or I guess listening to it) right now. Go check it out at the site.

See you all next week. Or tomorrow since I actually seem to be posting on a somewhat regular basis now.

"Back Issues" of Views

2007-07-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

This page is designed to allow you to download past episodes of Views From The Longbox since the nature of Blogger (and any site really) is to have the newest posts on the front page. If you are coming in late this is a convenient place to get caught up in case by some miracle you liked what you heard and desired more.

The links will take you to the original episode posts. I did this in case you wanted to leave a comment or something. You know, if you were into that kind of thing.

And here we go...

EPISODE ZERO- "The Zero Episode Episode"

The Zero Episode Episode where Michael gives you a rather mediocre theme song, a brief discussion about zero issues, a rundown of what you can expect from the show and something from Michael's hard drive gets loose.

EPISODE ONE- "The Merry Marvel Marching Society Episode"

The Merry Marvel Marching Society Episode, where Michael plays seven theme songs from Marvel's Silver Age. Also, Michael starts up his podcast/blog/site of the week feature, so that is sure to excite you.

EPISODE TWO- "The Two That Started It All Episode"

Michael spends a good part of the episode discussing the two books that are pretty much responsible for him getting into comics and, indirectly, this podcast. Also more Quick and Dirty Reviews and another Podcast Pick of the Week. All for free because God knows you wouldn't pay for it.

EPISODE THREE- "The Special Fourth of July Episode"

Michael celebrates the 4th of July by talking about his favorite patriotic hero; Captain America. Not only does Michael foist a "special" theme on you but also pulls out some fun audio clips and explains why he likes Cap, why Captain America would kill if necessary and why the character's origin only works when set during World War II. All of this in celebration of the country's birthday or something like that.

EPISODE FOUR- "The Transformers Episode"

If Michael we're more of a dork than he already is this is where he would write that this episode is more than meets the eye. But since it isn't he won't. As the title suggests this is the Transformers episode, or at least the first of them. Listen as Michael discusses his early Transformers experiences, plays some music from the 1986 soundtrack and does a little compare and contrast on a song from TRANSFORMERS THE MOVIE and ROCKY IV. All this plus some quick and dirty reviews and the video podcast pick of the week.

EPISODE FIVE- "The Rob Liefeld Episode"

Yeah, Michael talks about Rob Liefeld and Youngblood in this episode. But you should listen anyway because it is rather entertaining, at least to Michael. In addition to a brief little thing on Rob there is a review of sorts for TRANSFORMERS and the blog pick of the week. All this for your entertainment, or something like that.

EPISODE SIX- "The 'The First' Episode Part One

It runs kind of long this week, but Michael thinks you should listen to it anyway. This time out Michael gives you Part One of a two part look at his favorite episode, or rather episodes, of the INCREDIBLE HULK. Thrill as Michael tells you more tales of his misspent youth and of all the neat sound samples he made. All in the name of good, clean, comic book fun.

EPISODE SEVEN- "The 'The First' Episode Part Two"

Michael learns a valuable lesson from last week and manages to produce an episode that isn't as long as, say, the director's cut of JFK. This week finishes up the two part look at "The First: with Michael taking a good look at the second part. More clips and commentary. And it's under forty minutes, so you won't feel like shoving sharp objects in your ear to make the pain stop. Michael also apologizes for getting the episode up a day or two late this week, but real life intruded. Blame Tax Free Weekend in the great state of Georgia.

EPISODE EIGHT- "The Filmation's 1960's DC Themes Episode"

Michael goes back in time again this week and takes a look at the theme song from the various animated series that Filmation (you know, the HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE people) did between 1966 and 1969. While they are not as catchy as the Marvel themes of the same time period they do have some historical significance. This was the first time that characters outside of Superman were animated. Ok, that sounds like Michael is trying to justify himself and maybe he is a little bit, but listen anyway. And sorry about some of the dodgy audio towards the middle.

EPISODE NINE- "The Things Aren't Looking Too Good Episodes Part One"

The Leonard Cohen music at the beginning of this episode should be a clear indication that things are going to be a little grim this week. In this episode Michael begins a three part look at why (despite still loving the form) Michael is having some problems with comic books as they are currently being published. Not as footloose and fancy free as the usual episode, but still well worth your time, attention and hard drive space. All this and an exciting announcement as well!

EPISODE TEN: "The Talking Shop, Comic Shops Episode"

After a two week break Michael is back with an episode about one of his favorite places to go; the comic shop. Learn about Michael's first comic shop, the ones he has gone to since then and the current place his hold box calls home. Also you can hear about the God awful shop he visited in Nags Head, North Carolina and learn about what he likes to see in a shop. All this in the madcap Views From The Longbox manner... whatever the heck that means.

EPISODE ELEVEN: "The DragonCon 2007 Episode"

It's been a week since DragonCon and Michael plays the ghost of DragonCon past. Get all excited as Michael talks about his first DragonCon and some highlights of the years since. Also Michael pimps a bunch of other websites and talks about this year's con. Michael would have talked about this year's con a little more but he did that a few nights ago on the D-Con episode of the Unique Geek. Plus, he rambled on for thirty minutes as it is. You don't want more. Trust Michael on this one.

EPISODE TWELVE: "The Death of Superman Episode"

This week Michael finally gets around to an episode about Superman and the 15th anniversary of the character's death seems like a good time to do it. Listen to Michael tell you about his dealings with Warner Brothers, his contract as a Superman fan and his thoughts on the year that brought us the death of Superman. Also, Michael goes on at length about how he got his copy of Superman #75. If all else fails, listen to the John Ottman music at the beginning because it's, you know, good.

EPISODE THIRTEEN: "The Things Aren't Looking Too Good Episodes Part Two or The Mike and Shag Show Episode"

In the ultimate super-hero tradition Michael teams up with a fellow comic fan this week. Listen as Michael and "The Irrideemable" Shag Matthews talk about the current state of the Big Two. Sometime crude, sometimes insightful but always entertaining this special hour long episode is for all of those who feel that maybe DC isn't really nailing it out of the park lately. Because of how the majority of this episode was recorded the sound quality is a bit dodgy at times. Also, and this is important, the language gets a little blue this week, so consider this episode not even close to work safe.

EPISODE FOURTEEN: "The '90s Animated Theme Songs Part 1 Episode"

More theme song fun as Michael once again stumbles into a two-part episode, this time about the themes to comic book inspired animated series from the '90s. In part one Michael goes over the themes to Swamp Thing and several Marvel titles. Also, before that madcap fun began listen as Michael compares the theme song for The Colbys to the theme for Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

EPISODE FIFTEEN: "The '90s Animated Theme Songs Part 2 Episode"

A slightly congested Michael continues his journey into the animated past. Before that hear Michael talk about how he spent his Sunday, the new idea he has for a weight loss program and an important announcement concerning a contest and you getting free stuff. All this and themes songs too. What a bargain.

EPISODE SIXTEEN: "The Trade Paperback Episode"

Michael kicks things off with one of his two possible theme songs this week before introducing a new feature; Out of Context Theater. Then it's about twenty minutes of Michael talking about his thoughts on trade paperbacks and their place in the current marketplace. Plus, the return of the Podcast Pick of the Week and more on that contest where you get free stuff.

EPISODE SEVENTEEN: "The Return of the Mike and Shag Show Episode"

Not exactly work safe. Once again Michael teams up with the Irrideemable Shag Matthews, this time to talk about the best and worst in major comic book crossovers. Listen as Miichael and Shag talk about such crossovers as Acts of Vengeance, Invasion, Inferno, Our Worlds at War, Joker's Last Laugh, Legends and others. Sure it's an hour and a half, but it's actually entertaining much to the surprise of everyone. The audio quality this time out is a little better and as previously stated this one has language that might not be considered work safe.

A Very Heartfelt Thank You

2007-07-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

A very heartfelt thank you to Heidi Meeley of Comics Fairplay. She recently had a survey on her blog (which I read because despite not always agreeing with her take on things she is a solid writer and knows what the heck she's talking about) asking five questions about blogging and such. I submitted my answers and when she unveiled the results she put up a link to this blog in the post.

Thanks, Heidi. That was mighty cool of you. I do appreciate it.

So check out Comics Fairplay. There's a link to the right that will take you there.

Playing Catch Up

2007-07-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

So over the weekend in addition to doing a few things for the show that I normally do on Mondays (I thought I was going to have to work later than I usually do today, turns out I didn't, which was a nice surprise) I spent a good deal of the weekend catching up on some things around the house that have gone by the way side over the past few weeks. It's been pretty hectic at work lately, but that seems to have let up for the moment.

In addition to the cleaning and laundry I read all of the books that had been piling up over the last month or so. Interesting batch, but sadly there were more misses than hits. I don't know what it was about last Wednesday that caused many of the books that I purchased to either be boring or just plain bad. Sure Action Comics was enjoyable, as was Transformers Spotlight: Galvatron, All-Star Superman, but the other two Transformers books I bought were...well, they were crap. I enjoyed catching up on the CheckOut arc that ran between Outsiders and Checkmate, though I am not sure I like the direction Outsiders is about to take.

Oh well, time will tell on that one.

I also caught up on the books my wife actually reads, namely Fables and Jack of Fables. My wife is not a comic fan, but she puts up with my addiction so we get along. However she is a fan of fairy tales, so Fables was an easy sell. She also reads the Anita Blake comic that Marvel puts out, but that is mainly due to her obsession with the writings of Laurell K. Hamilton. I stopped reading the Anita Blake book at issue four because it wasn't really all that appealing to me (a personal thing, nothing against the quality of the product) but Fables and Jack of Fables I have stuck with because I really dig them. So it was nice to get caught up and finally finish the Jack Frost story.

A good weekend overall. Saw Transformers as well, which I'll review on the July 17th episode. Overall I thought it was a kick ass movie, but I'll save the rest for the "official" review.

July 5, 2007: Perplexed

2007-07-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

That's a good word to describe how I feel right now. Perplexed.

Actually more tired than I have been in ages is a good way to describe how I feel right now, but that has to do with real world, pulling long hours at the job stuff. That's sort of why I didn't make a post yesterday. I was going to. I really was, but they called me in and since I am management I kind of had to go.

Damn it sucks to have a work ethic.

Anyway, I made my usual Thursday pilgrimage to the Big T (that would be Titan Games and Comics located in lovely unincorporated College Park, GA) and between talking to the manager Chuck I chose the books from my hold box that I would purchase this fine week.

(Confesstion time; my box is out of control. I lost a job last year and long story short I have a lot of stuff sitting up at Titans. I am going to buy it all. I always do. It's just taking me longer than I wanted to.)

It was an interesting week. Action Comics #851 came out giving us the fourth chapter in the Last Son arc and I swear to God if it wasn't so damn good I'd be more pissed about the delays. There was also the bi-monthly visit from the Grant Morrison written All-Star Superman, the latest issue of Countdown, the often regretable Supergirl, the World War Hulk fueled Irredeemable Ant-Man, the latest issue of Outsiders, last month's issue of Outsiders (I am catching up on the CheckOut arc) and the most recent issue of Amazing Spider-Man. I also picked up Transformers Spotlight: Galvatron, Transformers Megatron: Origin #1 and the first issue of New Avengers/Transformers. I bought the last three on a lark because I am doing a Transformers themed episode this week in preparation for me seeing the movie on Saturday.

The reason I am perplexed is once I got home and started sorting the books into a reading pile I had a hard time figuring out the order I wanted to read them in. The Superman books went to the top of the pile with the exception of the often regretable Supergirl. It is rare that a Superman book not get placed in the top spot. I figured I should read the Transformers books next since I am recording tomorrow after I get home from work. After that it was indecisive time. With the execption of the Girl from Krypton I wanted to read them all equally, which made for some furrowed brows and knashing of teeth.

Since I am tired I started over thinking this. Does this mean that all of the books are so good that I can't decide which one to read first? Does it mean that they are bad and I am trying to figure out the order that would best represent pulling a heavily taped bandage off my ever increasingly hairy arms? Or am I just being foolish?

It's probably all three. I'll let you know tomorrow.

Episode 3- The Extra Special Fourth of July Episode

2007-07-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

Episode 3- The Extra Special Fourth of July Episode

Show Notes

I am really freaking tired this week as my real job has had me working long hours and I haven't been sleeping well because of it, so here are some links. I would insert some zany commentary but I can barely muster enough will to type much less try and be funny.

Captain America: The Wikipedia Page

Marvel's Captain America Page

Captain America.US

Star Spangled Site

And remember I am on iTunes, so if have an iPod not only do I ask you to subscribe to the show but also please write a review. I'm curious as to what y'all think. Plus, MySpace...RSS Feed...yeah.

I'm going to go get some sleep now.

Thought For The Day- July 2, 2007: About The Sinestro Corps

2007-07-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

Sinestro Corps was AWESOME.

Read it.

Seriously.

It was good.

That is all.

Question For The Day- June 29, 2007

2007-06-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

Can someone do a podcast about comic books and still quit buying the majority of the books he has in his hold box?

I'm very tired as a comic fan right now. The sheer number of big events from the past three years has left me feeling worn out, like I haven't had a chance to catch my breath and collect my thoughts.

Maybe this is just me. I am going to talk about it on an upcoming episode so I don't want to go into it too much here, but the question still whirls around my head.

If I gave up buying a bunch of comics and stuck to a few series I still really enjoy and trades would I still have the "right" to talk about what's going on in comics in the here and now?

Much to ponder.

And no, I'm not giving up the podcast. I can always find crap to talk about as far as comic books go.

Something From The Vaults

2007-06-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning out a part of the house we're about the remodel and came across this. I had forgotten I even had this.

I found this about eight or nine years ago at a place called the Book Nook, which used to be in Riverdale. It turned into a pretty crappy second hand movie/book/comic store but when it opened up it had a lot of neat little artifacts.

At some point I will sneak this thing to work and scan the whole thing. It has "real" articles and photos, including a column by none other than Clark Kent himself.

Invasion! is one of DC's best crossovers ever by the way.

Of course after Millennium just about anything would look good.

Thought For The Day- June 27, 2007: "Justice League Unlimited"

2007-06-27T15:30:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of watching the last episode of Justice League Unlimited right now. This seemed like a good time to get a little something out regarding this series.

I say (or rather write) without hyperbole that Justice League Unlimited is the single greatest animated representation of the characters of DC Comics ever.

Ever.

Actually the whole of the Bruce Timm (and others, but he seemed to be the one constant along the way) animated universe, what some people rightly call Earth-Timm, is the best animated take on DC. Starting with Batman: The Animated Series and continuing through the permutations of that series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond and Justice League something special was given to comic fans and non-comic fans alike. Dan Slott discussed this in an interview with Word Balloon and he said (paraphrasing of course) that the animated vision of Bruce Timm (and others) took the characters and stripped them down to their essences to the point where anyone can get into them without having to worry about bags of continuity. I take issue with some of that theory, mainly because I like the continuity, but I can appreciate where he is coming from. These are not so much "pure" visions of the heroes and villains but they come pretty damn close and because of that someone (both adult and kid alike) can easily get into the universe without having to do a few hours worth of tooling around on the Internet to catch up.

(And maybe the characters are shown in such a way as to entice people into, oh I don't know, actually check out a comic book. Unlikely but not impossible nor improbable.)

What Justice League Unlimited accomplished didn't happen overnight. It was an evolutionary process. Batman had some guest stars from the extended DCU (or I guess since it is a multiverse again the DCMV, which looks like a Roman numberal now that I type it out) but they were mostly characters that would fit in with Batman. Jonah Hex. The Creeper. The Demon. Zatana and Zatara. It wasn't until Superman, who the producers felt worked better with other super-heroes, that we got to see the animated versions of Dr. Fate, the Flash, Aquaman and even the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern. All of this led into Justice League, which focused mainly on the core members through most of the first season. Sure you had Aquaman returning (which was awesome), members of the Green Lantern Corps and a boatload of great villains, but the stories revolved around the Justice Leaguers, which makes sense.

During the second season things opened up a bit. There was that brilliant episode where the writers and producers put together a DC Comics version of Marvel's Defenders (Aquaman = Namor, Dr. Fate =Dr. Strange, Solomon Grundy = the Hulk) but it wasn't until the end of Justice League and the coming of Justice League Unlimited that things really opened up.

It is interesting to note that I wasn't 100% behind JLU when it first came on. I complained about the change in format (mostly to my wife because I tend to stay away from forums if I can help it but they are my vice so it does happen) but as the episodes started coming out and I saw how many DC characters they were going to focus on and showcase I totally backed the show.

I missed a lot of the episodes from that first thirteen. I'm terrible about remembering to set the VCR and I don't own a TiVo, so I am at the mercy of my own irresponsible self. In watching the DVD, however, I was rather pleased some of the elements they brought into the series. The whole "Super Friends" inspired episode where Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman (the original line-up for the Super Friends I might add) go up against the Ultimen (the new versions of Apache Chief, Zan and Jayna, Black Vulcan and Samuraui, though I was disappointed that they didn't throw El Dorado in there as well) was a highlight, as was seeing Batman sing, the Booster Gold episode, Wonder Woman discover the powers of her lasso and the whole time travel two-parter which had Batman meet his older self and Terry McGuinness. All of it was enjoyable. I like some episodes more than others (though anything to do with the Atom was fantastic) but taken as a whole I thought it was fantastic.

It was the Cadmus arc that really sold me, though. I loved the adaptation of "For the Man who Have Everything" and how they played with certain characters but it was the Cadmus arc and the last three or four episodes of that season that cemented the show's status as the greatest animated version of the DC Universe ever. The scope of the story was epic as far as they things go and the action was fantastic. Before that the most violent battle I had seen from this series was the Superman/Captain Marvel fight (which was freaking awesome) but those episodes took that fight out back and shot it execution style. My God it was great. It was one of those rare times as an adult where I sit down and just watch slack jawed as hero fought villains. The "easter eggs" were fun as well especially the episode titled "Panic in the Sky" which was the title of a classic episode of the George Reeves Adventures of Superman and a classic (at least to me) Superman arc from 1992. That and the fact that Brainiac started looking somewhat like the Super Powers/mid-eighties version of the character made the fan boy in me very, very happy.

But it was that final fight that did it for me. Not only did they bring back (in a roundabout way) the Justice Lords but also we got a Reverse Flash in a weird way and they introduced the concept of the Speed Force into the series. More than any of that, though, it was the fact that the Cadmus arc brought continuity to Earth-Timm in a big way. Not only did they tie many of the shadowy goverment groups from both the Superman and Batman animated series but the whole Luthor/Brainiac team came from an episode of Superman: The Animated Series (which, I might add, Boomerang aired about an hour or so after the final episode of season one of JLU was broadcast, which I dug the heck out of). It was such a neat way to tie everything together and from the mood and atmosphere of the ending of that episode I assumed that this was it for Earth-Timm. Even with that epilogue (which I went all fanboy over when it first aired) it seemed like this was the end.

But then the second season of JLU came along.

God I was happy about that. Erratic scheduling aside this season was just awesome. It seemed to me that the producers and writers were just having a ball coming up with those thirteen episodes. It was kind of like the last season of Quantum Leap; this was probably going to be it so let's do whatever the hell we want to. From the echoes of the Wonder Woman television series to everything that was done with the new Society (or Legion of Doom if you will) this was a season of good stories that all seemed to be like a love letter for the fans.

Because of the previously mentioned horrible track record for keeping up with episodic television I missed what have become two of my favorite episodes of the season and series. The Flash-centric episode was just a lot of fun and the second Hawman episode, written by Geoff Johns, brought a whole new dimension to the relationship between Hawkgirl and Johns Stewart (and even had a mention of Teth-Adam, which meant that there was a possibility of Black Adam existing on Earth-Timm). Thanks to the DVD I've seen the entire series, which is why DVD sets are awesome.

The two-part series finale not only had some of the greatest fight scenes from the series but one of the single best Superman moments of the entire Earth-Timm continuity. There is something about the way the writers and producers played with the animosity between Superman and Darkseid that just clicked with me. Superman isn't a blood thirsty character. It's not in his character. So when Superman has had enough of you and doesn't want to hold back than it means you are the most vile being in the universe. The line about Superman living in a world of cardboard was just awesome and as a Superman fan I felt it worked. Some may disagree with me, but I stand by my position.

In the end, with Lex Luthor putting on his "power suit" and the villains getting a five minute head start, I'm left with the same kind of sad feeling that I had when I first saw the episode. It's sad in a weird way, but at the same time it is nice to see that the show went out on a high note. I would still like to see more from Earth-Timm, but the fact that the characters got a curtain call kind of wraps things up nicely. I loved how the characters came out in their respective groups. All of the JSA characters came out together. The Detroit Justice League ran down the steps together. The Giffen League characters were grouped together and then the "original" seven.

Even though it's over I know, in a fannish sort of way, that Wonder Woman was right.

The adventure continues.

Man, now I just want to watch them all again. Thank you, DVD!

Episode 2- The Two That Started It All Episode

2007-06-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

Episode Two: The Two That Started It All Episode

Show Notes

Given the fact that this episode focuses on comics by Superman and Batman that it would be a rather keen idea to post some of my favorite Superman and Batman sites. Enjoy.

The Superman Homepage- The first site that ever took me in as a reviewer.

Batman: Yesterday, Today and Beyond- A top notch Batman site. If the Superman Homepage is the most comprehensive site about the Man of Steel this one does the same thing for the Dark Knight.

The Superman Database- Another great site that I owe a few bits of business to.

BatSquad.Net- In addition to tons of stuff about the comics this has a link to Raise the Finger, an initiative to get more cred to Bill Finger, the man who wrote the first Batman stories.

Superman Cinema- If it's about the Christopher Reeve films it's here.

Batman Movie Online- And since I am in a yin and yang mood here's a solid site about the Batman flicks.

And that's it for me for this week. Next week is the "big" Fourth of July episode, so come on back and check it out.

Episode 1- The Merry Marvel Marching Society Episode

2007-06-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

Episode One: The Merry Marvel Marching Society Episode

Show Notes

Again, not a truly link heavy week. This show is mainly an assemblage of a theme songs strung together by some supposedly humorous ramblings. The only ones I really have are these:

The Wikipedia Entry on the Marvel Super Heroes Animated Series

Captain America on Toonerific

Incredible Hulk on Toonerific

Invincible Iron Man on Toonerific

Mighty Thor on Toonerific

Namor, the Sub-Mariner on Toonerific

And if you want to find some of these themes you can go HERE and HERE. The second one is where I got the opening and closing themes and it's a pretty good blog too. Also, if you look to the right you will see a link for 2 in 1 Showcase. Go there to check out this excellent podcast. I'm a big fan of what Blake and Chase do on a weekly basis.

So that's about it this week. Remember that you can take advantage of the RSS feed and subscribe to the show through iTunes by using the links to the right. Also I do have a MySpace and now a ComicSpace page for the show, so check those out as well. And, as always, visit Media Gauntlet for fun and somewhat thought provoking commentary and don't hold the fact that they host this show against them.

See you all next week.

Episode 0: The Zero Episode Episode

2007-06-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

Episode 0: The Zero Episode Episode

Yeah, that it's a strech, but work with me here. It's my first week.

-Wild C.A.T.s Animated Series Entry at Wikipedia

-Extreme Genesis- A site dedicated to the works of Rob Liefeld

-Dragon Fan- A Savage Dragon site

If you have any comments or questions feel free to e-mail me at the address to the right. I also have a MySpace page set up for the show and you'll find that link to the right. It's still in it's formative stages, but if you are one for MySpace (and who isn't these days) it's another way to keep up with the show. In the same section you can find links to subscribe to the show through iTunes or to the RSS feed. So much to do, so little time.

That's all for this week. Thanks for listening. Keep checking back every few days for new content.