Rocket Robin Hood Stranded
My main source for the latest in DVD news, Dr. Sinister, informed me from his contacts at Warner Canada that the new Rocket Robin Hood DVD box sets were pushed back once again till early 2008.
Read more » Archive for the 'DVD' Category
It Ate Billy on Christmas
Halloween came and went and there is a hint of cold air abound, and you can hear the jingle sound ever getting closer. The big bearded guy is getting his elves ready for the big day. Unless the Russians are claiming the North Pole as their own this year, it will be business as usual for the merry old folk up there this year. But wait, there is something out of the ordinary this year. Dark Horse is releasing an unusual little tale this year about Christmas. Writer Roman Dirge and artist Steven Daily proudly toiled to bring you this yarn to put a different spin on the merry old holiday with a twist of horror. Just imagine this book as the “Little Shop of Horrors” meets the “Christmas Spirit”, better keep the eggnog in a safe place this year.
It would have been a Christmas like any other for little Lumie and her horrible, terrible, obnoxious, awful bully of a brother Billy. But then a funny little monster appeared and ate Billy right up! Lumie knows it’s not really a good thing to let a monster eat your brother, but she can’t help but notice that things are, in fact, much nicer now that he’s gone. Now that things are looking up a little in her world, Lumie has to decide what to do with her new little monster friend, and-most importantly-what she’s going to feed him …
Astro Boy the Movie in CGI
In robotic terms, the best way to describe Astro Boy would be Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein were a scientist creates life not of rotten flesh but from electronic circuits. Ever wonder where they got the idea for the movie AI: Artificial Intelligence, well in Astro Boy a scientist builds a robot in the image of his lost boy and the rest we can say is history. Here is a glimpse of Astro Boy the Movie in CGI glory. Story! Story! Let’s hope there is a well written script for the movie. We shall see if they do justice to the anime classic.
Schulz and Peanuts
David Michaelis’s biography, "Schulz and Peanuts," is a bag of mixed nuts. Sooner or later somebody is going to rattle the Schultz legacy. Seen by many as the perfect father and cartoonist who had a grasp on life. But by the end of the day, like you and me he was human. Every cartoonist has his quirks, and good old Charlie had them too. To say he was "melancholy" in nature and he had a gloom complex to him about life, is to say nobody ever read Charlie Brown the comic strip. Seems the Schulz family is a bit offended by this remark and some parts of the book. After reading some excerpts of the book, I don’t see what the commotion is all about. Maybe just a little publicity stunt of sorts to generate a few more sales. Better for all, involved. If there was a boring person to write about it would be Charlie Schulz, and I mean that in the nicest way. His life was as mundane as you can get, get up draw and sleep and repeat till you drop dead on your drawing table, and reap millions while you are it. We benefit as a reading audience, but to be offended by labeling him as melancholy is a bit out there and one family member calling him "the most amazing Christ-like father" is out there too. Read New York Times review.
Mr. Michaelis referred to numerous interviews throughout Charles Schulz’s life in which he talked about his own "melancholy" and anxieties. "I have this awful feeling of impending doom," he said on "60 Minutes" in 1999. "I wake up to a funeral-like atmosphere." Many portraits of Schulz pick up the same theme. Rheta Grimsley Johnson’s 1989 biography, "Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz," similarly describes him as depressed and plagued by panic attacks, despite a large family and mammoth financial and critical success. Nor does it seem that Mr. Michaelis made a secret of his perspective. He wrote an appreciation of Schulz in Time magazine in December 2000 after his death at 77 in which he clearly laid out the thesis he expands on in his 655-page book, sometimes word for word.
Beetle Bailey: Complete Collection
Seems Beetle Bailey has been in service for the longest time. Fifty-seven years and counting and still I don’t know what war he is fighting, or trying to avoid to fight. The strip has kept the same old gags rehashed over and over. Beetle Bailey had a short cartoon series in the early from 1962-1964 by Famous Studios and King Features Syndicate. BCI Entertainment this November is releasing the complete 30 well priced Beetle Bailey cartoons for the first time.
Gatchaman and Astro Boy Movies for 2009
Paul Dini has signed to do a screenplay for the new exciting CG animated movie called Gatchaman for 2009. Most people know Gatchaman as "Battle of the Planets". Imagi Animation Studios and Warner are working all together to bring Gatchaman to the big screen in North America. Astro Boy will also get a movie, seems 2009 will be the year anime. Read more >>
"The original series was one of the classics of early anime, and the film will be very true to the Japanese source material," said Dini. "As a studio, Imagi is constantly breaking the boundaries of animated adventure. Not only are their action sequences amazing, but their characters are driven, complex and play for life-or-death stakes. It’s a great environment for a writer with a rather dark take on animation."
Dark Knight
If you can’t beat them join them, or in this case rip them. Knight Rider is coming back to NBC, with a twist. K.I.T.T. the talking car will now be a shape-shifting car. He will have other cars that are shape-shifters too who will be his nemesis. Sound familiar? Read more>>
The Adventures of Tintin
Like rippled waves that hit the shore, Tintin will slowly be making a big splash on the American culture. It can be said that Tintin is a true long lasting graphic novel for the ages. It seems to be a pass down of sorts to every kid when he becomes an adult, the next generation gobbles the series as if it were a new one. Hergé really created a masterpiece that transcends time and culture. This series has been translated in so many languages and is not abating anytime soon. It will take off once again when Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg tackled their three epic films of Hergé’s classic hero. What a better time then to catch up with the latest book offerings for those who do not know the mythos of Tintin. It’s a steal. Read more>>
Little, Brown is celebrating 100 years of Hergé with a new hardcover boxed set. Join traveling reporter Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy, along with well-known friends such as Captain Haddock, as they embark on extraordinary adventures spanning historical and political events, fantasy and science-fiction adventures and thrilling mysteries. These full-color graphic novels broke new ground when they were first released and became the inspiration for countless modern-day comic artists. This fantastic collection, containing the complete Tintin series, is lavishly designed and a great gift for Tintin lovers and first-time fans everywhere.
Teacher Gives Comic Book Pornography to 13 year old Girl
Graphic novels and manga are exploding like mushrooms all over North America. The major publishing companies are grabbing anything that comes down the pike after smaller companies who have made a little money on books like these. With that comes the clutter of garbage material that involves nudity and sexual and violent content in these books. What most publishers are avoiding to put on their books is some kind of rating system. Books are now finding there way to young kids, who are are not aware of the graphic material inside these books, the parents and teachers are oblivious to the stories inside. There has to be a better system to handle these books, there has to be some kind of responsibility at some level. These books are what they are and should be stated on the front. At least a big label on the front saying it’s kid friendly, or for a mature audience. Parents are not reading them neither are the schools and libraries.
In New Haven, Nate Fisher a teacher gave a comic book called Eightball featuring mild pornographic stories as reading material to a 13 year old girl student. Eightball is a comic book created from Daniel Clowes the author of the graphic novel "Ghost World," that was adapted into a feature film in 2001. The teacher resigned and the investigation cannot be continued after the parents of the 13 year girl read the comic book. The movie industry has a ratings system regulation as do the gaming industry. One or two comic book companies are putting a self-rating system, but I disagree there should be a universal system right away. What message are we sending our kids. The publishers know their market, why is manga within reaching distance of kids who can read material that is geared to adults. The majority of comics are written for adults and with that comes adult themes. I blame more the stores than the publishers, they have a responsibility to know what they are selling also. We all have to work together to make reading comics an enjoyable experience, just like books they belong to certain levels of reading, and clearly graphic novels for adults should not be in a classroom. Read more>>
The girl’s father, who asked that his family remain anonymous because it has already been the target of criticism, described the graphic novel that English teacher Nate Fisher gave the student as "borderline pornography."
Rocket Robin Hood Worst Cartoon
Rocket Robin Hood 
might have the distinction of being the worst cartoon in the minds of many kids from the 70’s who grew up watching this 49th parallel little phenomena. This show was a precursor to the Spider-man cartoon from the 60’s that gave us that jingle still humming in many little heads since the show began. Spider-man owes its existence to Rocket Robin Hood, if not for Rocket Robin Hood, there might not be the Spider-man franchise we know today. Far fetched? For those who know what I am talking about, they will know the show was produced by Grantray-Lawrence Animation and writer Ralph Bakshi who enjoyed later fame in other bigger animation productions. Sure Grantray-Lawrence Animation has the distinction of offering the top 2 worst cartoons, but to many kids of my generation this was our sugar and we wanted to get our fix each day. We ran home each day to see the latest adventures of Rocket Robin Hood, heck some of us were lucky enough to see all three Grantray-Lawrence Animation offering on the same day with the Mighty Hercules, Spider-man, and of course our galactic band of merry men. Well there is good news on two fronts, Warner Canada is releasing two box sets starting in October of Rocket Robin Hood and at the same time Teletoon Retro will be airing the episodes each day. We have come full-force, 2007 is the year of Rocket Robin Hood.
might have the distinction of being the worst cartoon in the minds of many kids from the 70’s who grew up watching this 49th parallel little phenomena. This show was a precursor to the Spider-man cartoon from the 60’s that gave us that jingle still humming in many little heads since the show began. Spider-man owes its existence to Rocket Robin Hood, if not for Rocket Robin Hood, there might not be the Spider-man franchise we know today. Far fetched? For those who know what I am talking about, they will know the show was produced by Grantray-Lawrence Animation and writer Ralph Bakshi who enjoyed later fame in other bigger animation productions. Sure Grantray-Lawrence Animation has the distinction of offering the top 2 worst cartoons, but to many kids of my generation this was our sugar and we wanted to get our fix each day. We ran home each day to see the latest adventures of Rocket Robin Hood, heck some of us were lucky enough to see all three Grantray-Lawrence Animation offering on the same day with the Mighty Hercules, Spider-man, and of course our galactic band of merry men. Well there is good news on two fronts, Warner Canada is releasing two box sets starting in October of Rocket Robin Hood and at the same time Teletoon Retro will be airing the episodes each day. We have come full-force, 2007 is the year of Rocket Robin Hood.