allaboutduncan

Endless Reflections – The Sandman Gallery

// October 6th, 2008 // No Comments » // Comics

I can’t believe it was 20 years ago when I first started reading Sandman from DC Comics Vertigo imprint. It was my introduction to Neil Gaiman and I’ve been a fan ever since.

I’ve devoured everything Sandman related since then and I eagerly await receiving the final 2 volumes in the Absolute Sandman series this Christmas, so I can re-read the entire series.

One great thing about the series was the cast of rotating artists. Being only 14 when the series started, it introduced me to great artists like Jill Thomson, Marc Hempel, MIke Zuli, and more.

If you’re a fan of the series or great looking art, you should check out the Endless Refelctions: 20 Years of Sandman gallery. Many of the pieces are available for purchase—if you have the $$.

James Jean FABLES Cover Collection

// May 13th, 2008 // No Comments » // Comics

If you’re a fan of artist James Jean (if you’re not, you should be), you’ll be glad to know that DC Comics is releasing a hardback collection of his work on the Vertigo series Fables.

Jean has posted the beautiful wrap-around cover for the collection on his site and you can pre-order the book from Amazon right now for $26. Just check out his blog for examples of his stunning work. Well worth picking up in hardcover.

Nightman

// March 12th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // DVD Menus

I don’t claim that this is a good show, in fact, I know it’s not. What it is though, is good, cheesy, superhero fun.

Based on the Malibu Comics (later purchased by Marvel) series of the same name, Nightman is really saxophonist Johnny Domino. After being struck by lightning, he finds he is telepathically tuned to the frequency of evil (what!?). This gives him an edge in tracking down bad guys. With the help of high-tech suit that gives him the power of flight and a laser eye, Domino begins fighting crime as Nightman.

Produced by Glen A. Larson (look for his character Manimal in Season 2), who also createdAutoman and Knight Rider. If you’ve seen either of those shows, then you know what to expect.

Nationally syndicated Chicago WGN channel aired these a few years ago and I managed to get all but two episodes. After quite a bit of searching, I tracked down nice quality versions of the two missing episodes and was able to finish the set. Now I can watch the badness whenever I want thanks to my Nightman DVD set.

Wolverine and the X-Men Preview

// February 4th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Cartoons

I had heard about this cartoon and think I posted the teaser image before, but this is the first footage I’ve seen. Looks like another alternative take on the X-Men. While it’s cool there’s another X-Men cartoon in the works, this one doesn’t look different enough to stand out. Why make another? What’s it going to show that the other two incarnations didn’t. Yes, there’s no Professor X and Wolverine looks to be the focus, but other than that, it looks to visually similar to the X-Men Evolution cartoon.

I’ll still watch it.

The preview is gone, hope you saw it when it was there. Seems like the company got into a little trouble over using some unauthorized Foo Fighters music in the video. Oops.

Comic Miscellany

// February 4th, 2008 // No Comments » // Comics

Just a few interesting notes from the weekend.

A large batch of new photos were posted at the Iron Man movie site. Several great shots in there, including different versions of the armor. The one above is a favorite. Seems to explain the movie all by itself. Still can’t get over how cool this is looking. If you didn’t like the Super Bowl commercial for Iron Man, there is not hope for you.

Next up, Marvel has posted a list of the 10 Greatest X-Men. the whole list seems kind of redundant. One, since it’s from Marvel, what kind of perspective do they have. As I was reading it, There were one or two entries where I thought “oh, look at my, I’ve got a new series coming out.” Most of the list I do agree with and I’d expect any longtime fan to as well.

Finally, my favorite question/article I’ve read in a while… Can a Lightsaber Cut Through Superman? If the lightsaber were made with a piece of green kyptonite as its crystal – of course it could. How big of a geek am I when I read it and I think, “of course, that makes perfect sense.”

Friends Meets SuperFriends

// February 1st, 2008 // No Comments » // Cartoons

Probably the one of the best segments ever on the show Friends has been combined with one of my favorite cartoons ever.

Marvel Zombies Fan Film

// January 31st, 2008 // No Comments » // Comics

Warning: The above film contains Zombie Violence. Someone’s gone and made a Marvel Zombies fan-film–and it’s pretty good.

Zombies are all the rage and Marvel has been riding that wave with their insanely popular series Marvel Zombies. The first series went through several printings. It was followed by a Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness series and Marvel Zombies 2 is currently running. They even released a collected edition of all of the covers from the series.

The fan film was bound to happen and at least it’s really well done. I would actually like to see more. There are rumors circulating that Marvel is going to do a Direct-to-DVD Marvel Zombies animated film. I’d definitely check that out.

As much as I hate to say it. The original series (and the sequel) have both been fun. The Army of Darkness crossover was a little forced, but the two series by Robert Kirkman have been fun, skewed looks into a twisted version of the Marvel Universe. Kirkman has managed to keep the series fresh, which doesn’t seem surprising, since he’s the mastermind behind the amazingly good Zombie series “The Walking Dead” from Image comics.

One of the few series that I’ve collected in trades (they’re up to 7 volumes now). It’s a fresh and fleshed out (no pun intended) look at the zombie genre that not only explores an reality the George Romero dreamed up, but what would happen to the few humans that survived and what they would be willing to do to stay safe. Definitely worth picking up all 7 volumes.

1. The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye
2. The Walking Dead Vol. 2: Miles Behind Us
3. The Walking Dead Vol. 3: Safety Behind Bars
4. The Walking Dead Vol. 4: The Heart’s Desire
5. The Walking Dead Vol. 5: The Best Defense
6. The Walking Dead, Vol. 6: This Sorrowful Life
7. The Walking Dead, Vol. 7: The Calm Before

DC Heroes – Filmation 1967

// January 23rd, 2008 // No Comments » // DVD Menus

In 1966, Filmation successfully launched The New Adventures of Superman cartoon. It’s success led to a number of spin-off shorts and series. Between 1967 and 1969, Filmation produced a series of 18 shorts featuring The Atom, The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, the Justice League, and the Teen Titans.

Growing up, I remember seeing these on the Bozo show and years later when they began running on Cartoon Network’s Boomerang in between shows I began recording them. A few episodes were recorded off of S-VHS tapes from a friend and cleaned up and enhanced. All in all, it’s a great looking set. Here’s hoping that Warner will release this series on DVD with extras similar to the New Adventures of Superman and the Adventures of Aquaman sets.

SuperFriends 1973 Series

// January 23rd, 2008 // No Comments » // DVD Menus

Another set a long time in the making, the SuperFriends 1973 cartoon is easily my least favorite of the SuperFriends series. Since Warner has done a great job of releasing the other series in the SuperFriends line of shows, I had to complete the original set. Something tells me we may not see this set for a while.

Featuring Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog, this was the first series to refer to the Justice League as the SuperFriends. Each 44-minute episode featured the main cast of Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog battling a villain or menace created specifically for the show. No comic villains were used.

Two episodes (of the 16 total) did feature guest appearances from other heroes. Green Arrow played a prominent role in one episode and Plastic Man made a minor appearance in another.

Krypto the Superdog

// January 23rd, 2008 // 2 Comments » // DVD Menus

When Cartoon Network announced the Krypto cartoon a few years ago, I was excited to see a new cartoon for kids done in a more classic style. So many shows now feature wacky characters doing wacky things. The idea of an innocent adventure cartoon for kids was appealing. The series premiered and I wasn’t disappointed.

As with many of the shows I record, I wanted to make this set to share with Carter. I also wanted to experiment with the menu as well. I had figured out how to create custom thumbnails, but that wouldn’t work on a set with so many episodes and such long episode titles. I decided to use one large thumbnail in the shape of the Superman S. Placed behind Krypto, it plays the intro to the show and provides the background music for the menu.

I recently completed this set. It took quite a while to catch all of the Season 2 episodes, as they premiered with little fanfare. However, the set is now done a looks great.