TMNT

So I went and saw it.

Now, my freind walked out hating it. but then, he hates cartoons, and has not been exposed to anything but the '80s cartoon, and the original movie--which was, though completely different in tone, and dated now, a great movie, don't get me wrong.

However, because of these factors, hw was unable to appreciate the movie.

if you have read the comics, or watched the new series, you will probably enjoy the movie. it is fun, and funny without breaking the seriousness of important scenes. it is violent, without being about violence. and most of all, it is about family.

it's a shell of a movie.

bob and george

this is one of the oldest webcomics around. it is widely considered to be the first popular sprite comic. and it's ending.

Maybe not soon, but it's in the final stages, and the author has decided to go out in the same manner as Star Trek:the Next Generation.

Well, as close as you can get in a megaman sprite comic.

Y'see, David Anez brought us the recolor and the megaman sprite comic. like einstein before him, he unleawshed an evil beyond his control, as you ma have seen.

However, he has brought us entertaining and thoughtful comics for years now, and you should really go read it ere it's over.

bring your ice cream. you'll need it.

He's dead Jim.

first, read this: It's freakin' awesome.

Done? Good. We're about to get serious.

Captain America was assasinated on Wednesday, March 7, at approximately 9 AM.

News stations across the country took notice. What they might not have realised is the dreadful certainty that many comic readers have: he'll be back. He's to iconic not to. In comics, death is rarely final, and many comic readers are getting sick of it.

So why do the publishers of these comics do it? Why kill off a popular character in the first place, let alone then bring him back? Shouldn't death mean something?

These are the questions I have been pondering since wednesday. I've been asking people what they thought, how they felt. Reactions were mixed.

So why kill off Captain America? Quite frankly, it's the perfect time. never has the marvel universe needed a symbol so badly. never would his loss hurt so much as right now. what better way to shake things up? It is also a good way to retire a character who has reached his utmost point of growth. Characters stagnate if they don't continue growing, and eventually, any character will reach limits to how far they can grow. the story goes on, but the characters no longer have a good place in it. they can either fade back to the backgreound, die, or continue to have the same stories made about him forever.

Unfortunately, in the marvel universe, unless you happen to be uncle ben, death don't mean squat. Jean grey's grave might as well have a revolving door on it. Not that DC is any better; the only man who hasn't come back from the dead since Crisis on infinite worlds is Barry Allen, who has the proviso of existing in the future so that even though dead, he can still interfere.

No, comic companies are not willing to get rid of popular characters. while it would be bewtter for the stories to have characters die and stay dead, it would ultimately hurt the bottom line. you don't kill Mickey mouse of forever, how could you do so with superman? Similarly, you can't push your top characters to the back; spiderman tried that a few years bqack, with the clone saga, and then with the retirement of spiderman. Neither of which seems to be in current continuity.

In the end, they kill off characters because it happens. nobody survives foreverm, and there are an infinite number of storiess begging to be told about the world after such and such; however, even if a company wanted to kill off a character for good, they couldn't. the fans would lynch them. Is this madness?

No, this is comics.

GHostrider movie

SO, I've heard many things about this movie, and eventually, I had to see it myself.

I thought it was good. there were places, of course, that left you baffled as to why they chose to do things a certain way. there were other places where it seemed perect.

Overall, the story was more flash than substance. this isn't bad, just symptomatic of recent marvel movies. They sanitise their movies for the general viewing public, and fans of the specific title are often left angry, while the rest of the vioewers go away feeling it was a good movie.

Nick cage was okay, if not entirely beleivable, but it was still probably one of the better performances he's had recently.

THe ghosrider doesn't look right until halfway through the movie when he gets the trademark spiky jacket. the small jacket makes the skull look to small.

overall, it was definitely better than spiderman 2, which was aweful. I would put iot on par with spiderman 1.

on archives...

earthsong is a great example of what I am about to complain about. Y'see, I like being able to periodically go back and read through the archives of a comic strip on the internet. it helps me to remember exactly what happened, what innuendos and foreshadowing I may have missed the first time through.

As well, It gives me something to do when I am bored. I am currently re-reading the archives of "the least I could do". It's amazing how art styles change, yet another thing you don't realise until you go back and re-read.

a web-comic is fundementally unlike a a print comic. the fact is, they update less than most print comics, they have less backstory, yet they tend to get far more absurdly complicated. Webcomics need archives, and when you cut them away, you hurt the piece.

Inking

I hate it.

It takes longer than actually drawing a comic, and I apparently suck at it.

When done right, it looks awesome, don't get me wrong. I't just that I caqn't do it right.

so, when I say I hate it, it's almost entirely because I am no good at it.

I've tried using brushes, pens and even fingers(not that I expected the last to work out all that well...) but the only thing I've done in ink that I actually liked was the rabbit you see in the upper right corner.

so, I guess what I'm saying is...anyone want to ink for me?

least I could do:bashing apple!

Rayne is possibly the biggest man's man ever. the site is guy humor, but damn if it isn't over-all funny.

Reading through the archives, you will find a lot of jokes about sex(as if the condoms on the 'i's arent enough indication) as well as obscure geek-humor references. at one point, as the men decend into the sorority, they speak the battle prayer from 13th warrior, at other times we see that rayne is obssessed with aragorn, son of arathorn.

In the strip I linked, we see hatred for apple products, comparing them to tinkerbell.

go, read. enjoy.