tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60668881345093304322024-03-10T23:23:23.695-04:00The Comic Book Catacombs.... of the Jungle! Commentary from a life spent within the four color world of imagination. [w/generous appreciation of genre movies, tv shows and sexy ladies].Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.comBlogger1933125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-32038936710731738802021-02-03T11:04:00.003-05:002021-02-03T11:06:10.276-05:00Baldur's Gate 3 Baldur's Gate 3 is the third main game in the Baldur's Gate series, itself based upon the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing system. Developed by Larian Studios, BG3 has been available in early access for willing gamers since October of 2020. For those that enjoy roleplaying games, the good news is that the game is a lot of fun, although given it is early access content, the game is not finished and is a work in progress for eventual release. You can play the game on Steam, Gog and Stadia (my format). Heaven help you with the latter as there is no support or encouragement offered for those foolish enough to sample the game on Stadia with a Stadia controller. <div><br /></div><div>Some things simply will not work there and reporting any bugs, glitches or wonky stuff gets you an absolutely zero response, although there is at least been some indication that Larian Studios considers that format VERY LOW PRIORITY. Funny too, as that was not at all indicated in the fine print upon purchase? Adding insult to injury with each subsequent patch, your saves on Stadia are erased forcing you to start back over again. At this point only the first act of the game is playable and the most egregious sin has been that since their last patch, character creation was broken somewhat and NONE of my characters will level up at all. Try tackling the tougher bosses without the benefit of more powerful traits, spells and other attributes of whichever build your were working on as a level one character that has already run through 95% of the current content and you might get the picture?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5iYglDprCe8" width="320" youtube-src-id="5iYglDprCe8"></iframe></div><br /></div><div>Anyway, to anyone interested (or who is desperately awaiting the eventual release of the next Dragon Age game on consoles); by the way --- so am I, this warning is meant for you. Baldur's Gate 3 may divide some of the hardcore D & D gamers who believe that this new game skews closer to a Divinity: Original Sin sequel by the same developer over the previous Baldur's Gate games of the past, but even as it stands, it shows much promise. If only someone who didn't mind selling it to Stadia users would actually fix a few of the more annoying things that their patches have fouled up? </div>Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-70113574986942071182020-08-31T07:31:00.005-04:002020-08-31T07:33:01.011-04:00In Memorium: Chadwick Boseman<p> Like many of you on Saturday morning, I awakened shocked to learn that <b>Chadwick Boseman</b> had succumbed to cancer at the age of 43. King T'Challa, the mighty Black Panther of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, gone at such a young age really resonated with me.</p><p>I am a sixteen year cancer survivor myself and Mr. Boseman was originally from my own neck of the woods as a native of Anderson, South Carolina; literally the next town over from my own Greenville (<i>as the highway sings</i>). What a devastating loss for the film industry. Just take a look at the work of his all too short life. His films include <b>42</b> (as baseball great Jackie Robinson) alongside Harrison Ford, <b>Get on Up</b> (as music legend James Brown), <b>Gods of Egypt</b>, <b>Captain America: Civil War</b>, <b>Marshall</b> (as supreme court justice Thurgood Marshall), <b>Black Panther</b>, <b>Avengers: Infinity War</b>, <b>Avengers: Endgame</b>, <b>21 Bridges</b>, and <b>Da 5 Bloods</b>. Plus he also has one remaining film still to be released. That doesn't count his extensive television credits and keep in mind that his run of impressive blockbuster films came out during the four years that he was grappling with colon cancer. "Remarkable" doesn't even come close to summing up that impressive body of work up, under those circumstances. </p><p>The Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fans worldwide. <b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTW2ySetQXf45wl9TgQwjnumWUoGKdnXJqC7xpyVOPaS59kWQH_mfBQbTMVlPffYDG3rbDUFCDMYg0vLSh-W64LefJPWeil_z35v_aV6ts9y1uP46Zlt20A1rChwvFMbHc5xU5abVoHIZz/s1124/wakanda.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTW2ySetQXf45wl9TgQwjnumWUoGKdnXJqC7xpyVOPaS59kWQH_mfBQbTMVlPffYDG3rbDUFCDMYg0vLSh-W64LefJPWeil_z35v_aV6ts9y1uP46Zlt20A1rChwvFMbHc5xU5abVoHIZz/s640/wakanda.png" /></a></b></div><b><br />WAKANDA FOREVER!!</b><p></p>Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-65618352018191664602020-08-18T14:34:00.003-04:002020-08-18T14:41:22.770-04:00Kaänga in "Terror of the Bush" (Fiction House; February 1940)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Surprise!" It has been a while since a new jungle post appeared here in the Catacombs, so maybe I can start doing something about that finally?</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This story's title "<b>Terror of the Bush</b>" is taken from the front cover blurb of Fiction House <i>Jungle Comics #2</i> (February 1940) where we see the mighty jungle lord, Kaänga intervene when the lovely Ann is kidnapped by the mad scientist, Dr. Wratt, who controls a group of man-apes through hypnotism. Kaänga does the heroic thing and rescues her and then the dastardly Dr. Wratt is fortunately killed by his own man-apes during Kaänga and Ann's escape. The writer and artist duties on this tale is attributed to Ken Jackson, who apparently provided both roles.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjjXQPootPueMlVwxB3AIwlwxmoG1f8DBZlgoxj61_7GHquZAplxDAgf5nKsRHbHRM3IPNvYnoCpbXVK9e-ennI7dsWyUe_01WvBY6bhcUzWD5Ik0C4Ojkyb333ZHim8p5A1YPbSKcoDr/s1378/ka1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1378" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjjXQPootPueMlVwxB3AIwlwxmoG1f8DBZlgoxj61_7GHquZAplxDAgf5nKsRHbHRM3IPNvYnoCpbXVK9e-ennI7dsWyUe_01WvBY6bhcUzWD5Ik0C4Ojkyb333ZHim8p5A1YPbSKcoDr/s640/ka1.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPhnRLunVUD_FH1SkZjxUisvBGqT6duhM2UuGCFp-kWTcOoFD3aVQ6hBNH6LjwSYp0dJrLH4JwJ60jBavQK_91GKTvYsqLJWcd8VrhdQ-7It4Ozfihmc7cvMbWLqXV1_gn7c1zbOa3NbY/s1408/ka2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1408" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPhnRLunVUD_FH1SkZjxUisvBGqT6duhM2UuGCFp-kWTcOoFD3aVQ6hBNH6LjwSYp0dJrLH4JwJ60jBavQK_91GKTvYsqLJWcd8VrhdQ-7It4Ozfihmc7cvMbWLqXV1_gn7c1zbOa3NbY/s640/ka2.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvrZpo-sN6KDUIpOxpjkhsvPFM2920MlH_4keAC7a5ydLw1nRvrkXhGhdYe2hyxbhr5ZEAUcygIShT1iXaomtRXfeo4EhwW_HHf77iTbUs2W53T8GCK_JLeh7VBMfJGTMKlO1bd9dgh7X/s1395/ka3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1395" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvrZpo-sN6KDUIpOxpjkhsvPFM2920MlH_4keAC7a5ydLw1nRvrkXhGhdYe2hyxbhr5ZEAUcygIShT1iXaomtRXfeo4EhwW_HHf77iTbUs2W53T8GCK_JLeh7VBMfJGTMKlO1bd9dgh7X/s640/ka3.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1LScYoRCgvEvINfm-vdMz40RsED_x1I8L9fR5sXYuHxDgoJ3neEbaOlk0u3SqPHrUXp0BXys6Sc20UkNmUdjXRdzczkfL4G8N9GEBgevdEXshyphenhyphen3sIqMt_GaHNjUDngjToOIA4j77UkP_/s1403/ka4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1403" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1LScYoRCgvEvINfm-vdMz40RsED_x1I8L9fR5sXYuHxDgoJ3neEbaOlk0u3SqPHrUXp0BXys6Sc20UkNmUdjXRdzczkfL4G8N9GEBgevdEXshyphenhyphen3sIqMt_GaHNjUDngjToOIA4j77UkP_/s640/ka4.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicQzylozic0GhH31SVAsv1sKspQlez4IoOvBpobaHMtKyRWuKYMqCrXJ_GWwCZGofpOEBLB28ssRXcLs5LaNWsCeHTMqo0XnUqUega2Gv7mVuLvrlmqIMQvtqYwn9PawFy-0e9HoowL1Om/s1397/ka5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1397" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicQzylozic0GhH31SVAsv1sKspQlez4IoOvBpobaHMtKyRWuKYMqCrXJ_GWwCZGofpOEBLB28ssRXcLs5LaNWsCeHTMqo0XnUqUega2Gv7mVuLvrlmqIMQvtqYwn9PawFy-0e9HoowL1Om/s640/ka5.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtJ34uEWPa6TfX5lcQSjroSx12R4MR0_GS5UZEphTGymZ4H-U0oWuVjEXNzIy0eE7SAJcoB1UzWJsFUscvIBeohevk4ceIlhHZxALlswAPBegFpBYrDip8UMj4yDcBea8yO3wQhHzaa1U/s1381/ka6.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1381" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtJ34uEWPa6TfX5lcQSjroSx12R4MR0_GS5UZEphTGymZ4H-U0oWuVjEXNzIy0eE7SAJcoB1UzWJsFUscvIBeohevk4ceIlhHZxALlswAPBegFpBYrDip8UMj4yDcBea8yO3wQhHzaa1U/s640/ka6.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHgSu5AY1F24MFIOML2Y6wfYHhXKTh4q8kncnSRKSl4Atlz8DNR7ZaXcMnO2V7gxL-Q0mVMwrJGLs6JQA_xpdlROhgoTzSYKi_zqsAk62kBoMXC7-mYDjSobwwH7YA8zTgrUO3oeCxEFg/s1395/ka7.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1395" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHgSu5AY1F24MFIOML2Y6wfYHhXKTh4q8kncnSRKSl4Atlz8DNR7ZaXcMnO2V7gxL-Q0mVMwrJGLs6JQA_xpdlROhgoTzSYKi_zqsAk62kBoMXC7-mYDjSobwwH7YA8zTgrUO3oeCxEFg/s640/ka7.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUzVVtvmiTv5biKLCuDbG8m4uZUR2E9X6MCb2rCGm2tihql-v6kHmGR4gbZmS1M3sUfVEekjJJJApugvMAUjOO1TmG6wIoV6CkTrH_GLOZhmMd0Gld9_Np6w6DVzOHjXDmaKGgIxTTBSH/s1395/ka8.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1395" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUzVVtvmiTv5biKLCuDbG8m4uZUR2E9X6MCb2rCGm2tihql-v6kHmGR4gbZmS1M3sUfVEekjJJJApugvMAUjOO1TmG6wIoV6CkTrH_GLOZhmMd0Gld9_Np6w6DVzOHjXDmaKGgIxTTBSH/s640/ka8.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzMCP9_-usufQVGlUtmrbDgUKNJ_LaQlTnikXtj9i_oX1XtmzZ5PE-RwC6GKmtulCdmdfl6sbTvhu_L1-gJn9zJn-ZNxYZ3NpOX3K7YOkKQlV-4UWuQt-S3Rr_w45HJa1wYP9jMTWHFZXW/s1403/ka9.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1403" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzMCP9_-usufQVGlUtmrbDgUKNJ_LaQlTnikXtj9i_oX1XtmzZ5PE-RwC6GKmtulCdmdfl6sbTvhu_L1-gJn9zJn-ZNxYZ3NpOX3K7YOkKQlV-4UWuQt-S3Rr_w45HJa1wYP9jMTWHFZXW/s640/ka9.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijw1X4L6lLsCzAHbGhV1I1olC1w5kC-MS6-nOT63w1DEkA9zfbYxbPgvgV0_dCbX9yiRjS3x4FOWeA11PDWTTovqcKOpj43AuCXaRptfILW9JIuDWpGBO5thkhqeIyB5lzyou1jjGknTRJ/s1436/ka10.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1436" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijw1X4L6lLsCzAHbGhV1I1olC1w5kC-MS6-nOT63w1DEkA9zfbYxbPgvgV0_dCbX9yiRjS3x4FOWeA11PDWTTovqcKOpj43AuCXaRptfILW9JIuDWpGBO5thkhqeIyB5lzyou1jjGknTRJ/s640/ka10.png" /></a></div> Will be back again soon, thanks for your patience!Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-77661387377927471242019-08-20T10:48:00.002-04:002019-08-20T10:56:05.879-04:00Flip-flopping Legionnaires?How and why so many of my peers remained "so" invested in reading comics books as we aged is a mystery that defies explanation? Don't get me wrong, I stuck by them a good long time, but after the 1980's their luster began to rapidly wear off .... at least for moi. There is the usual surface veneer argument among my crowd that comics are still fun or exiting, but frankly there must be some deeper rooted reason why the fanbase continues to age out .... or perhaps I'm wrong and that bubble has burst and things are evening back out among the general fanbase?<br />
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<i>Who the heck knows?</i><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSD8CnAhWQxN2NnOCLTTClfSZoK7VXmGSVgjlAMVgLBj9NTAMfQHHzpKJqpDIitD7yOtVFLPxghpF-BUhcLz02w3AbSuJlrrmz-N6z09_JTxowbiVYcZJfl6VHqvw9aM47ry4ew50_00W/s1600/lightning+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1176" data-original-width="912" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSD8CnAhWQxN2NnOCLTTClfSZoK7VXmGSVgjlAMVgLBj9NTAMfQHHzpKJqpDIitD7yOtVFLPxghpF-BUhcLz02w3AbSuJlrrmz-N6z09_JTxowbiVYcZJfl6VHqvw9aM47ry4ew50_00W/s320/lightning+1.png" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the Lightning Lad that will appear?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All that I can say from my perspective is that comics itself pretty much showed me the door and asked me to leave, further offering encouragement for me to not let the door hit me on the way out. I eventually obliged! It's sort of the same effect that scuttled my lifelong habit of voracious reading, as I used to read real books daily too. I just couldn't get my hands on enough books. I do still read some, on occasion but it is like pulling teeth, it takes an act of volition and even then does not occur terribly often.<br />
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Like most of us, I flock to the blockbuster Marvel flicks (and the occasional DC or other) and bask in the cinematic glory of old favorites lighting up the screen to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars for having thrilled us all over again. Nostalgia, sure! But by and large I've been quite happy with the translation of comics from page to screen. I expect that indulgence will continue for me too.<br />
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I've also become quite the video game proficianado over the last decade, logging hours upon hours of otherwise valuable weekly time lost in fantasy rpg worlds online. I suppose that in a way, I simply transformed one habit for another, but even as fun as gaming is, there is more to my eventual retirement from comics than chasing thrills elsewhere and in other forms of entertainment.<br />
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While as a child I loved the Gold Key books, or Andy Panda or Walt Disney's Comics & Stories, a small handful of superheroes also really grabbed me in my youth. Batman and Superman initially at DC, and then the whole wonder of that unfolding world of Marvels; particularly the early Fantastic Four and Spider-Man books. Those titles got and held my attention, but soon personal favorites emerged. At Marvel it was the Avengers which proved to be a great one stop shop for an eclectic handful of quirky characters all working together to defeat the villian of the month. Excellent stuff that proved highly addicting long past the titles one hundredth issue. At DC it was a spinoff from the Superman Family of titles that was my "go to" for a great many years, among other DC favorites the classic Legion of Super-Heroes hit me the same way that The Avengers did.<br />
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Here was an even larger group of diversely powered "teenage" superheroes but with the added thrill of being set in a science fiction setting of a thousand years in the future. I still remember the impact of the death of Triplicate Girl (and her subsequent reinvention as Duo Damsel once a third of her split person was destroyed). I fondly recall the all too brief majesty of Dave Cockrums' 1970s visual reinvention of the Legionnaires swiftly followed by Mike Grells' terrific continuation. In fact that Legion lingered for years right up to and beyond perhaps their greatest period under Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen (and others) for the Great Darkness Saga of the 1980s which went beyond epic in so many wonderful ways.<br />
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Fans of these beloved characters were then unfortunately treated to an endless cycle of reboots, reinventions and relaunches all the way through 2013; none of which proved successful despite some stellar talents working on these efforts? Now DC is reintroducing the Legion once again spinning from the mind of Brian Michael Bendis and clearly something went on behind the scenes as solicitations for this delayed series reveals that further changes have been made. Rather than prominently feature diverse prior members such as Kid Quantum, Invisible Kid (Jacques Foccart) or his little sister Computo, XS, Tyroc, Ferro Lad, etc. Bendis ignores those characters introduced by an earlier batch of white guys (and or gals) and gets to present himself as "woke" by spinning a founding member in similar fashion. Garth was also romantically involved with Saturn Girl, so black guy-white girl romance is still alive and well in the future. The fact that this is both common and acceptable alone makes this specific change all the more suspect. I mean what is new about this?<br />
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And it's not actually the changes made that bugs me either, it is the corporate discussion that must have gone on that proves to me that this reboot has less of a story to tell and now has more of a message to sell. Lightning Lad was initially shown to be about the same basic character as always, but now Garth Ranzz has been given the "Magic Negro" effect and will be portrayed as a black youth. Of course other team members have had their ethnicity swapped to better reflect an ideal future world representative of all races, something that definitely should have been expected by myself and or anyone these days really.<br />
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But again, the fact that some of this was underway and then seemingly fell short in the eyes of some management person or creative persons at DC which mandated even more alterations .... after the series was already being pitched visually to the ravenous fanbase long missing their Legion fix is what prompts me to not even show up. This book, this time is not meant for the lifelong Legion fan, and frankly I don't play these politically correct games. I've not minded that this has gone on for a great many years now. It was due, overdue for readers to accept this reality. I point people back to one of the better comics inspired video games of 2017, Injustice 2 featured several of the newer ethnic iterations of heroes and villains including Atom, Black Manta, Blue Beetle, Cyborg, Firestorm, Green Lantern (John Stewart), Black Lightning, Grid and Vixen. That game was fantastic and some of these were among my favorites to use. Those who object to seeing equal representation always voice their dislike, but honestly these types of changes have been a regular occurrence in comics over the decades. It is just that we are seeing something other than another white face each time. This often rankles certain sectors of fandom?<br />
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That being the case like I said, as much as the return of the Legion might have been something that appealed to me or bring me back to the fold, given what has occurred, there is no doubt in my mind that this version will prove just as short lived as those that have occurred since the infamous Five Year Leap that pretty much heralded the last glory days of the venerable Legion of Super-Heroes. Alas!Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-25197264869234749472019-07-11T10:03:00.002-04:002019-07-11T10:03:18.611-04:00Ranking the Star Trek Series ...... To each his own, I've tried to accept Star Trek: Discovery to the extent that "some" fans like the show, but to me it is a hot mess that needed to percolate far longer before launching. There has been a single aspect of this series that worked well for me and that was Anson Mount as Captain Pike and the TOS-inspired elements related to his portrayal. I knew that he would not be an ongoing part of the Discovery's voyage and apparently there was some abrasion with the actor himself on set, but still Pike made the show worthwhile. A condemnation of the mostly warped parts of a show that had a ton of money poured into it and then wasted it all in their genuinely out of left field style of lore mangling.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />The various showrunners did not have to follow everything by rote that had come before, but a lead character as a mutineer who caused a war, getting her ship destroyed and her commanding officer killed in the process and who was another previously undisclosed sibling of a major franchise character was too, too much to absorb. Adding insult to injury at the close of the inaugural season the Federation magically chose to forgive all of that?? Seriously WTF???</div>
<div>
<br />However in all fairness I must credit Discovery for still causing me fits of raucous laughter over that! In fact CBS All Access is hardly alone in opting to spin something as a prequel that avoids actually using Captain Pike and his storied tenure aboard Enterprise as the basis of a series, given the earlier Enterprise show on Fox (or was it UPN)?</div>
<div>
<br />Well for shits and giggles, here is my ranking of the various Trek shows based upon my own preferences and nothing else. In first place The Original Series for setting such a high bar for those that followed, in second Deep Space Nine and third Voyager, each for daring to boldly chart their own courses often breaking with the in-house perfection mandated by Gene Roddenberry for often too bland The Next Generation (which is why I rank it only fourth place. Followed in fifth place by the unfairly maligned Enterprise which was not as terrible as it has been made out and yet still shares some tendencies with my last place choice. The Filmation animated Star Trek Series ranks a notch higher than my bottom dweller, Discovery for at least featuring original series actors reprising their classic roles.</div>
<div>
<br />In fact site unseen, I would rank the upcoming Picard better than Discovery too! For all the resources thrown into CBS All Access Discovery it remains to me a mystery why it even occurred in the first place and I look forward to its eventual passing.</div>
Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-7148558734335536012019-06-17T14:08:00.002-04:002019-06-17T14:17:57.209-04:00Kraven's Last Hunt"<b>Kraven's Last Hunt</b>" (also known as "Fearful Symmetry") was a comic book storyline by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck published in 1987, featuring the final battle between Marvel Comics characters Kraven the Hunter and Spider-Man. Considered one of the greatest Spider-Man stories of all time, it was originally published across all three then current Spider-Man titles: <i>Web of Spider-Man #31-32, The Amazing Spider-Man #293-294</i>, and <i>The Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132</i>.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0DQiJjVycoeXg_XrNsBjqwghH9RRW-kw-t44hTBU4H-2fEhu7Z-iLSiEKlGLytg5moY8L_gtT6nKHd1fx5d3sjDRSC9v1HuUZxicw844VglkN-np8K8RaOB_DigzAPmBt8OqvWnhOft-/s1600/zeck+panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0DQiJjVycoeXg_XrNsBjqwghH9RRW-kw-t44hTBU4H-2fEhu7Z-iLSiEKlGLytg5moY8L_gtT6nKHd1fx5d3sjDRSC9v1HuUZxicw844VglkN-np8K8RaOB_DigzAPmBt8OqvWnhOft-/s400/zeck+panel.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[L-R] DeMatteis, Moderator, McLeod, Parker, Zeck</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The entire creative team reunited over the weekend to reminisce about their seminal work at this years Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC. Joining writer DeMatteis and artist Zeck for the chat fest were inker Bob McLeod and letterer Rick Parker. Given the 30+ years that have elapsed since the story was released it proved to be worth taking in the panel for their keen insights about what made this story work and how it's impact still resonates with fans today. The collected version has remained in print all these years too.<br />
<br />
Of the creative team itself all but DeMatteis claimed to have known instantly that they were working on something special, J. Marc stated that he wasn't thinking in those terms at the time and was only focused upon telling the best story that he could. However he also credited editor Jim Salicrup for the novel idea of separating the parts across the various series rather than shoehorn it all into a single title; at the time a novel approach that has come to be the norm these days.<br />
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Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-56698179617883406052019-03-12T14:17:00.001-04:002019-03-12T14:17:21.835-04:00Star Trek: The "Undeveloped" Country ( .... "sorry")!!It has been more than seventeen years since the final episode of <b>Star Trek: Voyager</b> aired way back in May 23, 2001. Little did faithful Trekkies know at that time that the series finale of that third spinoff show would in effect be the last genuine Star Trek aired to date.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoypk8DILuOZ4j-MnKgVs82_-RD1gQar47SMskk2mZHfEcQvaI_4_SD-8kQP7O_oCyKyv5bIXbmMJ2DEmHnVHsS8CoepLtIB9x1CsMz1xTMZWsRlxnd50-uVEF2QBlOQmFoVirgP4NIZY/s1600/voyager.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="800" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoypk8DILuOZ4j-MnKgVs82_-RD1gQar47SMskk2mZHfEcQvaI_4_SD-8kQP7O_oCyKyv5bIXbmMJ2DEmHnVHsS8CoepLtIB9x1CsMz1xTMZWsRlxnd50-uVEF2QBlOQmFoVirgP4NIZY/s400/voyager.png" width="400" /></a></div>
The J.J. Abrams produced and directed feature films that recast the original series roles for a new generation came to be known as the Kelvin Timeline, but more than anything else Chris Pine's version of Captain Kirk has led us down a primrose path where the Federation exists in a blockbuster film franchise that mostly blows things up, including the Enterprise in each outing to date. Thankfully the three films may be blessedly over and done with.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXd0J5wwUtXcujtA5tN8Mc5j5hjafCSzEtB7xFQ6DNRK0maFAXUiygumIdAzlD25pH_mKJG1GmmsZO9TfWuYwSKSTJc0LuItuDKpy9h7dvuovS3uqpBQNXvxtTP-Smh-mwMnU3i8YZqu2x/s1600/vcast.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="350" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXd0J5wwUtXcujtA5tN8Mc5j5hjafCSzEtB7xFQ6DNRK0maFAXUiygumIdAzlD25pH_mKJG1GmmsZO9TfWuYwSKSTJc0LuItuDKpy9h7dvuovS3uqpBQNXvxtTP-Smh-mwMnU3i8YZqu2x/s320/vcast.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Adding insult to injury each subsequent Trek-related show has somehow managed to avoid being much like Star Trek at all, despite pitching their series as prequels to the classic show? <b>Enterprise</b> starring Scott Bakula originally premiered in September 2001, shortly after Voyager's swansong and it looked nothing like any Trek featuring William Shatner and company. Last year saw the debut of the highly divisive <b>Discovery</b>, which saw more core Trek fans abandoning this latest series (trapped behind a pay wall via CBS All Access) and instead found something much more palatable to them with the Fox Network series <i>The Orville</i>.<br />
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Discovery's currently airing second season features well known lore characters Christopher Pike, Spock, Number One and I was left wondering why has every studio tasked with creating a prequel series set prior to the original voyage of James T. Kirk's Enterprise preferred to avoid just telling the fanbase the adventures of Spock's years serving alongside Pike in the first place?<br />
<br />
I think that the answer to that question lies hidden in the stars. (ps: By the way, my favorite Trek spinoff was <b>Deep Space Nine</b>.)<br />
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Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-90385673698369218562019-02-04T11:37:00.001-05:002019-02-04T11:46:53.321-05:00In Memorium: 2018 I've been meaning to drop by the Catacombs and mention a few industry greats<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AQB3-o_3Yr-dKhV1BcGWVqQ2WZeYXiGFuZz-c4tHjkKq-37gICy68IjECW5zlS_T50V14mtH2oGTbFpuV2OFMm5zuGXrjdj8ScrEXIiDsZZQgKr_odz9XezAxYyIGko9QJhzZXLS-R4j/s1600/2018mem.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="911" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AQB3-o_3Yr-dKhV1BcGWVqQ2WZeYXiGFuZz-c4tHjkKq-37gICy68IjECW5zlS_T50V14mtH2oGTbFpuV2OFMm5zuGXrjdj8ScrEXIiDsZZQgKr_odz9XezAxYyIGko9QJhzZXLS-R4j/s400/2018mem.png" width="400" /></a></div>
who left us last year and sadly it is a large list when considering everyone all over the globe. Instead here are a notable few that passed away during 2018:<br />
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<b>Mort Walker</b>, writer/creator (<i>Hi and Lois, Beetle Bailey, Sam's Strip, Mrs. Fits' Flats, The Evermores, Gamin and Patches</i>) and artist (Beetle Bailey, Boner's Ark), died at age 94. <b>Gary Friedrich</b>, writer (<i>Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, The Monster of Frankenstein, co-creator of Ghost Rider and Son of Satan</i>), died at age 75. <b>Marie Severin</b>, comics artist and colorist (<i>EC Comics, Not Brand Echh, co-creator of the visual look of Spider-Woman</i>), died at age 89. <b>Norm Breyfogle</b>, comic book artist (<i>Batman, Prime</i>), complications from a stroke at age 58. <b>Carlos Ezquerra</b>, Spanish comics artist (<i>Judge Dredd</i>), died at age 70.<br />
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Each of these fine creators left us a wonderful legacy that will continue to inspire and entertain us for many years to come. The Catacombs extends its condolences to their families and fans.<br />
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Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-8733683462687156012018-11-12T14:20:00.001-05:002018-11-12T14:20:14.909-05:00Stan Lee Has Died!This news is spreading like wildfire across the globe as of a few minutes ago and you can rest assured that there will be many days of tributes ahead for "The Man" but needless to say no matter where you stand on this matter, the passing of STAN LEE [age 95] is literally the end of an era for the comics industry. May he rest in peace!<br />
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Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-17138212013821354712018-08-24T13:49:00.002-04:002018-08-24T13:49:43.655-04:00In Memorium: Russ Heath<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFk8BwUye2uUiNRDN4HvNIdOqg8Dqig2LEY1wVWnEWrzXkmHMf3MXQPBqTkNWg2qLMY80hG9l2ZvfTD2gTNyCSlu0NcdMtsQ8MWBlU8T6UUccRTSpiGOYa4ROTJDHaa7_ADoxj8imzjbQ/s1600/rock.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="594" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFk8BwUye2uUiNRDN4HvNIdOqg8Dqig2LEY1wVWnEWrzXkmHMf3MXQPBqTkNWg2qLMY80hG9l2ZvfTD2gTNyCSlu0NcdMtsQ8MWBlU8T6UUccRTSpiGOYa4ROTJDHaa7_ADoxj8imzjbQ/s400/rock.png" width="301" /></a></div>
Sadly another unparalleled industry veteran passed away yesterday as the great <b>Russ Heath</b> is gone at the age of 91. He was most recognized for his highly detailed war comics including <i>All-American Men of War; Frontline Combat; Our Army at War; Star-Spangled War Stories; G.I. Combat</i> and as the creator of <b>The Haunted Tank</b> and <b>The Sea Devils</b>. <br /><br />Mark Evanier once recounted a great tale about Russ who had flown into Chicago to the Playboy Mansion and was given a room there, where he spent many days aiding Harvey Kurtzman and artist Will Elder in getting one installment done of their <i>Little Annie Fanny</i> strip. When it was completed, Kurtzman and Elder left...but Heath just stayed. And stayed. And stayed some more. He had a free room as well as free meals whenever he wanted them from Hef's 24-hour kitchen. He also had access to whatever young ladies were lounging about...so he thought, 'Why leave?' He decided to live there until someone told him to get out...and for months, no one did. Everyone just kind of assumed he belonged there. It took quite a while before someone realized he didn't and threw him and his drawing table out.<br />
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The Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fans worldwide.</div>
Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-56585383551563111092018-07-12T14:07:00.001-04:002018-07-12T14:11:19.656-04:00In Memorium: Steve Ditko<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">After hearing over the
recent weekend that Hall of Fame legend Steve Ditko had passed away sometime in
and around June 29, 2018 due to numerous health complications, I realized that
over the past year or so a number of other comics industry luminaries had left
us and I either never got around to featuring them in the Catacombs (</span><i style="font-size: 11pt;">or
became too busy, and the opportunity passed</i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">).</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.65pt;">
So today in acknowledgement
of the huge impact that Mr. Ditko made upon the comics art form, I want to back
up and include a lengthy list of his contemporaries who have also left us since
last year.<span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vcbBWc8MyESYkItCD7Ydp-Qj93WwyacBft9bHwc6xkUoxliM4WbgarkQImYEnvgxMjWFM_E_DcXOoK7nbMi-C3RVIkGZop-9kxWh3-6xpMaqx6TCU6Glp9aSbun9RWfdd-TxxazCUF_a/s1600/steveD.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="564" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vcbBWc8MyESYkItCD7Ydp-Qj93WwyacBft9bHwc6xkUoxliM4WbgarkQImYEnvgxMjWFM_E_DcXOoK7nbMi-C3RVIkGZop-9kxWh3-6xpMaqx6TCU6Glp9aSbun9RWfdd-TxxazCUF_a/s320/steveD.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve Ditko</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.65pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">STEVE DITKO</span></b> created numerous characters for several publishers
including <b>The Creeper; Hawk and Dove; Mr. A;
The Question; Captain Atom; Shade the Changing Man</b> and T<b>he
"Silver Age" Blue Beetle</b> (Ted Kord). It was of course
his ground breaking work as co-creator of the <b>Amazing Spider-Man</b> and <b>Doctor
Strange</b> that cemented his status as one of the cornerstones of the
Marvel Universe, and like his contemporary, Jack "The King" Kirby,
the importance of Ditko's role in the early days of Marvel can be clearly seen
by how many of his actual creations have prominently been featured in those
blockbuster Marvel Studios films we all love. Think about it! In the
various <b>Spider-Man</b> and Hulk movies alone we have seen classic
Ditko creations such as <i>Betty Brant; Electro; Mac Gargan; J. Jonah
Jameson; The Leader; The Lizard; Aunt May; Mysterio; Doctor Octopus; Harry
& Norman Osborn; Gwen Stacy; Glenn Talbot; Flash Thompson; Uncle Ben; The
Vulture</i>; and <i>Mary Jane Watson</i>. In the single <b>Doctor
Strange</b> film (plus indications from that movies upcoming sequel that
have been floated) there were or likely will be versions of <i>The Ancient
One; Dormammu; Baron Mordo; Nightmare</i>; and <i>Wong</i>.<span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
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That is an impressive
amount of four-color content from a curmudgeon who famously spurned interviews
by and large, and who had mostly been self-publishing small press material over
the last couple of decades. Steve Ditko was an original, and again like Kirby
certainly deserved far more remuneration from the company that has made so much
money off of his famous properties. The Catacombs extends its sincerest
condolences to his friends and fans worldwide. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.65pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.65pt;">
<span style="color: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In addendum: 2017 was a
rough year that saw many industry veterans leave us including Dan Spiegle,
artist (Dell Comics, DC Comics, Marvel Comics) at age 96. Dave
Hunt, artist (DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Disney Comics, Hanna-Barbera)
from cancer at age 74. Underground comix artists Jay Lynch (Nard n'
Pat, Bijou Funnies), and Skip Williamson (Snappy Sammy Smoot), both at the
age of 72. Martin Greim, writer and artist (Thunderbunny) from heart
failure at age 74. <b>Rich Buckler</b>, artist (Deathlok the
Demolisher, All-Star Squadron) from cancer at the age of 68. <b>Sam
Glanzman</b>, artist (Hercules, The Lonely War of Willy
Schultz, U.S.S. Stevens) at the age of 92. <b>Martin Landau</b>,
American film and TV actor and cartoonist (The Gumps) died at age 89. Flo
Steinberg, American underground comics publisher (Big Apple Comix) and former
secretary to Stan Lee at age 78 from a brain aneurysm and metastatic lung
cancer. <b>Len Wein</b>, writer and co-creator
of Wolverine and Swamp Thing at age 69 and syndicated strip
artist Dick Locher (Dick Tracy).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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syndicated strip artist Mort Walker (Hi and Lois; Beetle Bailey) leave us along
with <b>Nick Meglin</b>, writer and editor-in-chief (Mad Magazine, Superfan)
from a heart attack at age 82.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Those few highlighted in
boldface were great creators that I am terribly glad to have had an opportunity
to meet and chat with over their incredible runs in comics or in the case of
Mr. Landau, his television and film work. The Catacombs extends a big round of
condolences to their families, friends and fans all over the world!</div>
</div>
Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-8195706808036494892018-07-11T11:15:00.000-04:002018-07-11T11:15:59.750-04:00I turned sadness into an Anthem!<br />
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Everything that we know so far about the open secret of
Dragon Age 4, which Bioware is apparently still figuring out although it is reportedly
“story and character focused” and contains some possibly controversial “live
elements” which nobody who played the earlier entries in the series understands
or no one affiliated with either Bioware or EA Games will clarify what that
term means; but the sequel to the beloved gaming franchise is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">just around the corner</i> (that is if you ignore
the fact that Dragon Age: Inquisition was released in 2014, and the best case
scenario for when Number 4 hits the shelves is likely to be 2021). That will be
the longest dry spell in Dragon Age history: Dragon Age: Origins released in
2009 and Dragon Age 2 released in 2011. Yay for really big gaps in gaming
franchises, whose last entry earned over 200 Game of the Year awards and subsequently
ended on the most obvious cliffhanger for the next chapter? Seemingly increased
tension among the remaining developers who stayed with Bioware after a mass
exodus of so many others responsible for the creative heart of the previous
entries (including the original men who founded the company) has prompted an
existential crisis over what to do next with Dragon Age now that it has fallen
into their laps??? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hmmm ….. weird …… but
you just can’t make this type of shit up!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLwXNCUxsdnz5Y43k19kviXGgAjjRugM5NH4WKGSnJrTW44xEn4UWVA5jWE4ikO_A1CI8UGAzri7dYMGj6_cLshuSlj55A_p82PGhwxF7yKWIkKTZE3qxocp4W8x56RVYBAEq4WLLqUT5/s1600/anthem.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="632" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLwXNCUxsdnz5Y43k19kviXGgAjjRugM5NH4WKGSnJrTW44xEn4UWVA5jWE4ikO_A1CI8UGAzri7dYMGj6_cLshuSlj55A_p82PGhwxF7yKWIkKTZE3qxocp4W8x56RVYBAEq4WLLqUT5/s320/anthem.png" width="320" /></a>We are supposed to comfort ourselves with the knowledge that
Casey Hudson has happily returned to the Bioware fold in the wake of their less
than stellar release for Mass Effect Andromeda last year. Casey poured a lot
into the earlier Mass Effect games, those were great by the way, and he even
says that Mass Effect is his baby. Unfortunately, Hudson himself was one of the
company reps who often extolled the many choices that gamers could potentially
make in that popular franchise only to limit the final chapters selection to
three bold color options for the confused hero, Commander Shepard? Maybe Hudson
should have changed his baby’s diaper before sending the toddler out into the
universe for its last hurrah? Let’s be nice and forget the fact that Bioware
ran out of time while making ME3 and thus failed to provide proper closure over
the fates of beloved franchise characters (or depending upon your perspective),
showed a loyal crew acting in a manner that was significantly different than
gamers expected based upon those decisions made over the course of three games
and a dozen or so related dlcs?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Don’t agree?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Did you also forget about the huge customer backlash which leveraged
the Extended Cut dlc by which Bioware managed a degree of damage control over
such a hearty falling out with its customers too? No. I didn’t think that you
had ignored that one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Truly time will tell, but Bioware (owned by EA Games) has
literally put all of its eggs in a single basket and currently suffers knuckle-popping
damage given how tightly their fingers must be crossed over their upcoming new
IP known as Anthem (due in February 2019). That game may or may not prove to be
good and stand on its own; if it just didn’t look so similar to an already
released game. That is probably Destiny to you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-13186063499197261682018-06-15T09:09:00.001-04:002018-06-15T09:09:22.734-04:00Inkwell Awards .... Live ..... today in Charlotte, NC!!!The annual Heroes Convention kicks off today in Charlotte, North Carolina with the usual slate of topnotch industry favorites, Indie standouts, cosplayers and more dealers than you will know what to do with. Grey panther that I am, it may come as no surprise that the guests who most draw my own interest include veterans such as newly announced <b>Chris Claremont, plus Steve Epting; Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez; Keith Giffen; Klaus Janson; Al Milgrom; Rudy Nebres; Kevin Nowlan; Jerry Ordway; Tom Palmer; Mike Royer; Evan “Doc”
Shaner; Jim Steranko; Larry Stroman</b> and <b>Roy Thomas.</b><br />
<br />
Once you've dumped a ton of cash on a stack of back issues this afternoon be sure and head over to the <b>Inkwell Awards</b> ceremony at <b>5:00 pm</b> in the Charlotte Convention Center. Bob Almond always brings the fun, top talents, and I have to say that his organization has been a great fit for the Heroes Convention over the years. <i>2018 denotes the tenth year of the Inkwell Awards too!</i><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEH0ikJvKyGzoqOv9UQIAK599piJa_WLlki4JU5QmiBEMLvOAh0OXl9sWHrc-yLlJNdQs8gagwD6TaOHQLxRGZDqqZAnBlb15ushY847Ej3Ypnvg1tbqq4katuwgfeZvRcLO2Z9_3hNGf/s1600/kathy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEH0ikJvKyGzoqOv9UQIAK599piJa_WLlki4JU5QmiBEMLvOAh0OXl9sWHrc-yLlJNdQs8gagwD6TaOHQLxRGZDqqZAnBlb15ushY847Ej3Ypnvg1tbqq4katuwgfeZvRcLO2Z9_3hNGf/s320/kathy.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kathy Denise Taylor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxNoMMDBUrQll86lXBanmxUFd_6HrmQJ4WWysGk9Fi1v_-tZ11Ltzi9o6Qa8weqMC7iHzBWyO3_IRruYVSayJ65lazNJOwMxhN72V5Ar0sO2kMoZAUW3POlg8aTgUBKduv08x1aDr1MBK/s1600/holly.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxNoMMDBUrQll86lXBanmxUFd_6HrmQJ4WWysGk9Fi1v_-tZ11Ltzi9o6Qa8weqMC7iHzBWyO3_IRruYVSayJ65lazNJOwMxhN72V5Ar0sO2kMoZAUW3POlg8aTgUBKduv08x1aDr1MBK/s1600/holly.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hailey Skaza-Gagne</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Inkwells have five categories: Favorite Inker,
Most-Adaptable Inker, the “Props” award for under-recognized professionals, the
S.P.A.M.I. for Small Press And Mainstream-Independent work, and the
“All-in-One” for the artist who inks his/her own pencil art. Voters-–fans and
professionals alike–all cast their ballots at the group’s website in April to
show their support and choose their favorites.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Announced with the publicly-chosen award-winners will be the
internally-voted two recipients of the yearly Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award
and one winner of the annual Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award. To
celebrate their decade anniversary, the Inkwells have created the “Above &
Beyond” Award for members, volunteers and others who have served beyond the
call of duty to promote the artform of comic book inking and it’s ink artists.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mike Royer will be their Guest of Honor this year with longtime Inkwell contributor Dan Panosian returning as presenter with industry veteran Pat Broderick presenting the life achievement awards. If those names don't sway you, maybe the fact that they are deploying a pair of Ms. Inkwell spokesmodels will earn your attention?</div>
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Like the convention hosting the awards, both Heroes and the Inkwells celebrate the comic book art form and without those great finishing artists adding depth, breadth and emotion to classic pencilling skills of many comic book legends those funny books would just not be the same. I'm not going to make it to the show until Saturday, but I always want to wish Bob Almond and the Inkwell Awards another big year in Charlotte. See you there!</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-87144476224216028242017-09-15T10:05:00.000-04:002017-09-15T10:06:22.812-04:00In Memorium: Len Wein and Basil Gogos<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsg7gLREJ1VKaY_tsrsb3_hQjYUxZdPWuhScw0xOW-qnuuvsOXGb7EG4APUFcVTPm4lZ3nbr-7VpjuK1FI4y4e5puHgamyX9ZCafEAiLGmJxurCxnsVqTcxxqDWf-P-D5LrlXq9IATh3G/s1600/gogos.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="1000" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsg7gLREJ1VKaY_tsrsb3_hQjYUxZdPWuhScw0xOW-qnuuvsOXGb7EG4APUFcVTPm4lZ3nbr-7VpjuK1FI4y4e5puHgamyX9ZCafEAiLGmJxurCxnsVqTcxxqDWf-P-D5LrlXq9IATh3G/s400/gogos.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art of Basil Gogos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTvDgac-nvT-f5jEpUGah6ozp7cJ2CbU_aIqYgScn87xD3FBDFvDIbchNsWLXkigeR0r8HWtTW3GDS0d1tFQwGfEc6F3PIPsOFKVqO4OC0PdpA2d9zGGYVVmj0welHmzqF5sGUzPIgZS6/s1600/wein.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="767" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTvDgac-nvT-f5jEpUGah6ozp7cJ2CbU_aIqYgScn87xD3FBDFvDIbchNsWLXkigeR0r8HWtTW3GDS0d1tFQwGfEc6F3PIPsOFKVqO4OC0PdpA2d9zGGYVVmj0welHmzqF5sGUzPIgZS6/s320/wein.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Len Wein</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Well it has been a while .... but unfortunately it has been a tough week for genre fans with back to back
losses of a pair of genre icons. Artist <b>Basil Gogos</b> was best known for his
incredible portraits of movie monsters which had appeared on the covers
of <b>Famous Monsters of Filmland</b> magazine during the 1960s and 1970s. His death was announced on September 14,
although I’m not sure if that was his actually death or not. And several days prior to his passing well known writer
and editor <b>Len Wein</b> who was best known for having co-created <i>DC Comics' Swamp
Thing</i> and <i>Marvel Comics' Wolverin</i>e, for helping revive the
Marvel superhero team the <b>X-Men</b> (<i>including co-creation
of Nightcrawler, Storm and Colossus</i>) and additionally, he was
the editor on writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons'
influential DC miniseries <b>Watchmen</b>. Wein passed away on September 10,
2017. The Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to the families, friends
and fans of each of these fine men. I am very glad to have had an opportunity
to meet each of them previously.<br />
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Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-6707838158362166832017-03-29T12:39:00.000-04:002017-03-29T12:39:07.414-04:00Star Trek OnlineI had never played <strong>Star Trek Online</strong> on a computer before it became available for Xbox One or PS4 consoles back in September of 2016; however now I can't seem to stop playing it. There is simply a lot to do and with seven years of content, updates, etc. to catch up on ..... well, there is a lot to do! And that does not even include the ongoing addition of new story content and content alterations being regularly introduced by Cryptic Studios the game maker (<em>"sheesh"</em>).<br />
<br /><br />
I think that my favorite aspect of this game was the <strong>Agents of Yesterday</strong> expansion which allowed you to create a new character set within the original series timeline of Captain Kirk and Mister Spock (<em>although you won't permanently remain there</em>). Also when starting an original era character, you are limited to males and females of the four founding Federation races (<em>Human/Vulcan/Andorian/Tellarite</em>). That is fine by me!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYB5sxQhjECfzSPHcd0cbn9TTxB598kYdsH8dr4iSCGG9xFOtFmzeLGNwYYpMvDwsY1aEE6WduRlUuFp05Y7M56mjS7DUm8eTgWZetyXNfOw2Xqnjk95zY17avdHyxemPszsOR5JFPfyX/s1600/agentsofyesterday.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYB5sxQhjECfzSPHcd0cbn9TTxB598kYdsH8dr4iSCGG9xFOtFmzeLGNwYYpMvDwsY1aEE6WduRlUuFp05Y7M56mjS7DUm8eTgWZetyXNfOw2Xqnjk95zY17avdHyxemPszsOR5JFPfyX/s1600/agentsofyesterday.png" /></a>Be prepared for ample choices available to that entice you to spend real world currency to acquire ships, boosts, and all manner of elective costume options. Within the game there are other currencies that allow you to "buy" stuff too! Many fan favorite actors reprise their roles from various Star Trek television and film properties although a tiny portion of those are repurposed from their originals sources. Tim Russ in particular really shines as <strong>Tuvok</strong> (<em>from Star Trek: Voyager</em>). If you want to enjoy the thrill of playing the galaxy of Star Trek, give this </div>
game a try!Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-76344794738488008542017-03-20T09:18:00.000-04:002017-03-20T09:21:05.308-04:00In Memorium: Bernie Wrightson<div style="border-image: none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmbbWpvZwEA74kgKC_tJUdLnPV1RX9sFqiw1n5aEpsIs90agyvbgK8zDqYE3Wazs7sJUHziKs8AW6wIdH2ITm-zbSlTQlSmz9Q-bAFO5Jm0xBZz_7__jais5HSTVPWUWDId8oEORkj0Ye/s1600/bernie.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmbbWpvZwEA74kgKC_tJUdLnPV1RX9sFqiw1n5aEpsIs90agyvbgK8zDqYE3Wazs7sJUHziKs8AW6wIdH2ITm-zbSlTQlSmz9Q-bAFO5Jm0xBZz_7__jais5HSTVPWUWDId8oEORkj0Ye/s1600/bernie.png" /></a>One of the true leading lights of the old guard passed away on Saturday at the age of 68 after fighting a protracted battle against brain cancer. <strong>Bernie Wrightson</strong> was a legendary member of The Studio formed in 1975 alongside Jeffrey Catherine Jones, Michael Kaluta and Barry Windsor-Smith and all four of them produced singular work that helped change the illustrative form forever. Bernie was notable for his contributions to horror comics, although he worked with a variety of subject matter for numerous publishers. A lengthy list of his credits would take some time, but the highlights include <em>House of Mystery; House of Secrets; Swamp Thing; Batman; Epic Illustrated; Master of the Macabre</em> and of course his groundbreaking <strong>Frankenstein</strong> portfolio. Bernie's influence resonated into other media as well with his work on the "Captain Sternn" segment of the animated film <strong>Heavy Metal</strong> and collaborations with author Stephen King, beginning with <strong>Creepshow</strong> and <em>Silver Bullet</em>; plus select design work on <em>Serenity</em> in 2005.</div>
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Bernie Wrightson was always a pleasant creator to interact with and he made copious appearances at many convention over the years. I am very glad to have gotten a chance to speak with him on numerous occasions. Wrightson simply </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlrarK_LAzjSbpEDLHlQ3y7ryattogcSGHmxleSSSiUc_zyfaaM5FqpkISKx8OdA79yAN7V07c15HZGaxRCqJQ-xmSL5j0QBaJDJ21jyrGUfhpCTa3eXCroR-eC6baMTHGS2-xEqIv3ZH/s1600/swamp.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlrarK_LAzjSbpEDLHlQ3y7ryattogcSGHmxleSSSiUc_zyfaaM5FqpkISKx8OdA79yAN7V07c15HZGaxRCqJQ-xmSL5j0QBaJDJ21jyrGUfhpCTa3eXCroR-eC6baMTHGS2-xEqIv3ZH/s400/swamp.png" width="285" /></a></div>
can not be replaced. The Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fans.<br />
<br />Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-58234057753654114692017-03-10T09:06:00.001-05:002017-03-10T09:06:38.680-05:00Venting for the heck of it!<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Thor is not a woman! Captain America’s best friend and
long-time partner might change his costume to reflect his regard for Steve, but
Sam is his own man (<em>and would not cede his iconic identity over to do so</em>)!
Everyone in the Marvel Universe is NOT a member of the Avengers or the X-Men or
the Fantastic Four (<em>blending them all together only masks this conceit</em>)!
Captain Marvel died and Carol Danvers IS the new Captain Marvel (<em>and although
that was a long time in coming, Kelly Sue DeConnick did not create either
version</em>)! There are not a half dozen Spider-Men; or Women! Sidekicks and love
interests aren’t potential replacements for their super-powered pals and lovers
(<em>doing this undermines the core concept and shows that the writer has run out
of ideas of their own</em>)! The Falcon, The Black Panther, Shang Chi, Blade, Storm,
Bishop (<em> …… well seriously, the list of available non-caucasian heroes and characters
goes on and on</em>), so changing all of the blond & blue-eyed characters into
an ethnic version seems pointless (<em>unless you have a point on the top of your
head</em>)? Those massive cinematic versions rolling out successfully time and again
based upon the recognized iconic versions scoff at the ridiculous print
versions that try so hard to be something different? Hey editors and creators,
hundreds of millions of movie ticket patrons might want to read the adventures
of their heroes, maybe you should stop dicking around with your stupid bullshit
and check your egos??</span></div>
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Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-42797731521227556802016-12-30T12:21:00.002-05:002016-12-30T12:24:55.338-05:00The Best Comics of 2016!!!Hope that you all had a Merry Christmas and are due for a Happy New Year as well! 2016 was one hell of a year seeing celebrities and other notable figures dropping like flies, with Star Wars <strong>Carrie Fisher</strong> and her Hollywood icon mother, <strong>Debbie Reynolds</strong> passing within a day of each being the saddest icing on the cake. We also ushered a deplorable moron into the Oval Office this year, a well-heeled billionaire who managed to convince hundreds of millions of simpletons into believing that he would magically fix their sorry little lives (<em>even as he almost immediately began to do exactly the opposite</em>); and all of this nonsense was perpetrated under a campaign of heinous fear-mongering along with his pair-bonding with out and out racist neo-nazis; sheesh! What the religious right saw that made them also kiss his lying ass is something for saner historians to ruminate upon should we survive the administration of this asshole. On to other matters ......<br />
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<br />
There were not as many posts here this year as I may have preferred, but before we blow out the candles anyway, here are my personal selections for the very best pure comics experiences to be had in 2016. <em>*You will note that in a couple of instances a single issue or two is all certain nominees fielded, but less is often more and virtually any of these issues are far superior to much of what stained the comic shop shelves from the major publishers otherwise</em>.
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Velvet</b> - Ed
Brubaker, Steve Epting and Elizabeth Breitweiser</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Black Panther</b> – Ta-Nehisi
Coates, Brian Stelfreeze, Chris Sprouse and Laura Martin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ExUElDYnsfNdV2j2aE8PmAG2M2WEOexCfNmlsoBHOo9viD2c6VR2s1gp1krUQMZ_8rd0lvL22Vn51yPlaGStAb5O-ZRAcZxS4eDeYXvl52qvbPZb4-4TJ7-eCIaPIIPy-fEWQHiuN8gb/s1600/best2016.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ExUElDYnsfNdV2j2aE8PmAG2M2WEOexCfNmlsoBHOo9viD2c6VR2s1gp1krUQMZ_8rd0lvL22Vn51yPlaGStAb5O-ZRAcZxS4eDeYXvl52qvbPZb4-4TJ7-eCIaPIIPy-fEWQHiuN8gb/s400/best2016.png" width="391" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Love and Rockets</b> –
The Hernandez Brothers</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Black Hammer</b> –
Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston and Dave Stewart</span><br />
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Seven to Eternity</b>
– Rick Remender and Jerome Opena</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Black Science</b> –
Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera and Moreno Dinisio</span><br />
<br />Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-61675791641410549122016-12-07T11:32:00.000-05:002016-12-07T11:32:45.866-05:00In Memorium: Van WilliamsI just haven't made the time to swing by the Catacombs recently and this is certainly not the kind of post that I would prefer prompted me to return, but what are you gonna do.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV2RT0lQoHiP_8Y8oURxIVFMuXiIfBz9BZhoW0-vZo2PZg3YpusdcLkdzhIi8BK05groUjQ7-YfNxcZctMADJsLrCd3Kx6xhdIckHsskpeyCKShUTEBd5-gbsHW9qWDUtp5RuvScanQdHg/s1600/williams.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV2RT0lQoHiP_8Y8oURxIVFMuXiIfBz9BZhoW0-vZo2PZg3YpusdcLkdzhIi8BK05groUjQ7-YfNxcZctMADJsLrCd3Kx6xhdIckHsskpeyCKShUTEBd5-gbsHW9qWDUtp5RuvScanQdHg/s400/williams.png" width="296" /></a><i><b>The Green Hornet </b></i>and Kato have finally been reunited in the afterlife. Actor <b>Van Williams</b> familiar to old school fans from his days on <i>Bourbon Street Beat</i> and its television spinoff <i>Surfside 6</i> passed away on November 28, 2016 at the age of eighty-two from renal failure. Williams is probably best known as the masked hero from the short run 1960s series where he starred opposite the late Bruce Lee.<br />
<br />
Despite his hunkish good looks, Williams had only a modest impact in Hollywood with a couple of big screen roles and a minor string of appearances in many classic shows before hitting wider if brief fame as the Hornet. He later served as a reserve sheriffs deputy and he owned a communications company. He was described by friends as a great friend and mentor. The Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to his family, friends and <br />
fans.Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-72102041363812524402016-08-05T12:11:00.000-04:002016-08-05T12:11:14.630-04:00In Memorium: Gaspar Saladino<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAqL4_klop5HdctAPCF-ko5GfAxbPsxfuBJM-K3XR6OhDO_FDvTBgN_zJRr53bmD36zREH7AH7qt0_OpEI__dERsutyjuH8lMnx6_adN-T1ch8-kAfpEfnr1aJnXAUzWUgQntM-UgmHY0/s1600/lettering.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAqL4_klop5HdctAPCF-ko5GfAxbPsxfuBJM-K3XR6OhDO_FDvTBgN_zJRr53bmD36zREH7AH7qt0_OpEI__dERsutyjuH8lMnx6_adN-T1ch8-kAfpEfnr1aJnXAUzWUgQntM-UgmHY0/s400/lettering.png" width="307" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPS7YiknpYoFbylzKXj_UAtVt_PVEdwawfN5eGUo6erowAvgiaO4ZxMqy5bEzL8WFhuiUFgpvTV5dyxx9H3rRHPr9SI1KC0FPmhpfNf8iN2EpyvJxvd6smykMy38-HpwiiexAQWBwo9Car/s1600/gaspar.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPS7YiknpYoFbylzKXj_UAtVt_PVEdwawfN5eGUo6erowAvgiaO4ZxMqy5bEzL8WFhuiUFgpvTV5dyxx9H3rRHPr9SI1KC0FPmhpfNf8iN2EpyvJxvd6smykMy38-HpwiiexAQWBwo9Car/s1600/gaspar.png" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Legendary letterer <strong>Gaspar Saladino</strong> passed away yesterday
following a long illness (<em>his age is believed to be somewhere in the 88 or 90
range</em>). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although he worked for a variety
of publishers during his lengthy career, for well over five decades he was a
staple of DC Comics responsible for so many of their iconic font designs.
Gaspar designed hundreds of logos for the company and as time permitted, also
worked on interiors particularly on <em>Swamp Thing</em> with Len Wein and Bernie
Wrightson. The Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to his family,
friends and fans.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-15520289092359223432016-07-28T11:09:00.000-04:002016-07-28T11:09:07.440-04:00In Memorium: Jack Davis<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKTiXyvwYiOjp-_4ah4bEp75KnvlOgixqKX_hNtMbvRKBYKbp2C1WJWxFq0Isp1m9_28OK8J4XJ47dRBveAMvTUJtyRMEUG48h_DEEqpLh5ezJatJUMjJpmYg6UhyphenhyphennpqQOzWvKAyiB8Vqe/s1600/jack.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKTiXyvwYiOjp-_4ah4bEp75KnvlOgixqKX_hNtMbvRKBYKbp2C1WJWxFq0Isp1m9_28OK8J4XJ47dRBveAMvTUJtyRMEUG48h_DEEqpLh5ezJatJUMjJpmYg6UhyphenhyphennpqQOzWvKAyiB8Vqe/s200/jack.png" width="132" /></a>Legendary illustrator <strong>Jack Davis</strong> passed away yesterday in Georgia at the age of 91. His staggering volume of work for advertising, magazines, films, posters and album covers throughout his long life made him a popular cartoonist. Davis began his career at EC Comics doing horror and sci-fi stuff, but quickly became known for MAD magazine and the caricature art style that led to his wider fame. I met him at a National Cartoonist Society meeting in Asheville, NC a few years ago alonside his former MAD peers Duck Edwing and Nick Meglin. That was a terrific and truly once in a lifetime opportunity. <em>He will be missed!</em> The Catacombs extends its sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fans.<br />
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Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-24242388395840849712016-07-15T12:46:00.000-04:002016-07-15T12:46:06.880-04:00"Gal" Friday! Elsa Bloodstone
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvZ8mAZrkAUgCZLbmRRf1XF_AGmHJrKtzFrUcWyalbTxa_ZzNR90HYQU3ZzMX0ZVgFd5k3Mq9nblZiUoM6s93Jmrh9SL-BviveYRWsKSVp92X_btbdwjoDkPeYmQ6I6Gldp54ek5cROrp/s1600/elsa.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvZ8mAZrkAUgCZLbmRRf1XF_AGmHJrKtzFrUcWyalbTxa_ZzNR90HYQU3ZzMX0ZVgFd5k3Mq9nblZiUoM6s93Jmrh9SL-BviveYRWsKSVp92X_btbdwjoDkPeYmQ6I6Gldp54ek5cROrp/s320/elsa.png" width="156" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Elsa Bloodstone</strong> first appeared in Marvel's 2001 <strong>Bloodstone</strong> mini-series written
by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. She is the daughter of the
previously established Marvel Universe character Ulysses
Bloodstone (<em>first appearance in Marvel Presents #1; Oct.1975</em>). She currently lives
in Bloodstone Manor with her mother and her ally the Frankenstein Monster. She
has also befriended Charles Barnabus, a pureblood vampire lawyer and the executor
of the Bloodstone estate. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Elsa has been utilized in various Marvel publishing efforts
such as Nextwave, the Initiative, The Fearless Defenders and Marvel Now; but she
has seemingly returned to her monster-hunting adventures vowing solemnly to
never have children on her own, since she feels the responsibility of being a
Bloodstone too heavy to be forced upon another living being. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Elsa has exhibited superhuman strength, speed, durability
and endurance and a regenerative ability. She appears to possess all of the
abilities that her father previously had. In addition she has demonstrated
immunity to vampire bites (<em>her blood will actually kill a vampire if consumed
and the original Bloodgem fragment itself is anathema to vampires</em>).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the Bloodstone mini-series, Elsa claimed that
she had inherited at least some of this power genetically, but it has been
shown that her powers of strength and invulnerability were bestowed upon her by
the Bloodgem fragment she wears on a choker. She has also been portrayed as an
expert marksman. Among a number of artifacts gathered by her father she
has used a lamp which contains a genie whom Ulysses had enslaved years
ago. This device serves as an early warning system, lighting up during times of
supernatural crisis, and transporting her to said event. </span></div>
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Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-17568815274711460852016-07-12T10:45:00.000-04:002016-07-12T10:45:44.235-04:00This here is a run-out-the-clock situation.<span lang="">Dinosaurs are long gone and collectively we understand that their exit was prompted by the (K–T) extinction, a mass extinction of some three-quarters of plant and animal species on Earth—including all non-avian dinosaurs—that occurred over a geologically short period of time approximately 66 million years ago. <br />
<br />
I've come to the conclusion that a portion of fandom, my own demographic, has been naturally going the same route within the comic book industry since the early 1990's. I have had comics around throughout my entire life from before I could even read in fact. Now in my mid-50's I increasingly feel either antipathy or indifference towards the wares of DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Each of these "big two" publishing powerhouses has made every effort imaginable to maintain what we all know to be a shrinking readership, but you would never know it looking at what is sitting upon the shelves in most comics specialty shops. It is a mind-numbing experience pondering what to purchase out of the hundreds of issues comprising the last several months worth of every single series, plus the often dozen or so related titles within each "family" grouping and then to also have to determine how a half dozen active "versions" of each major character are indistinguishable in their own right? I can recall when the monthly letters page chatter used to jockey around the Earth 1 or 2 JLA/JSA crossovers; and that was only a handful of characters. Back in the mid 1980s DC decided that enough was enough, and we got Crisis on Infinite Earths. Twelve isues, a linewide crossover and then a major reboot that settled things once and for all. At least until the sales figures came in, and well you get the picture. Crisis has continued annually ever since. Oh sure, they call each seasons marketing "event" by a different name, but its really all the same conceit.<br />
<br />
Diversity too seems to have unfortunately become little more than the kitschy glamor vibe of the moment, with one established character identity after another perpetually getting remade as an ethnic variation or a gender swap, or to a same-sex gay option supposedly because of audience demand? I don't think so. Each company already had plenty of non-caucasian characters and some homosexual heroes or supporting characters, and some were featured regularly. Moving those to the forefront and increasing their prominence in the wider fictional universe has occurred, but the replacments just keep right on coming unabated. Another ebb tide is the routinely manifested white, blonde female superhero who soon finds her love interest in this politically correct climate to be the nearest black male superhero. Time and again we've seen this and while this reflects reality, it has been done to death largely by caucasian creators who must believe that they alone are introducing this idea for the very first time? We seem to have entirely skipped past any healthy presentations of black male/black female relationships, much less actually doing the hard part and creating a brand spanking new intellectual property to stand upon its own merits. We've gone straight to the default polarizing choice over and again, and face it Tiger; that is exactly what sells headlines once the "haters" begin spouting off at the next introduction or romance along these lines. It would be foolish to believe that the publishers don't expect and/or prefer the vitriolic backlash of these gimmicks. Alas, even my head canon fanboy choice can no longer stand the bombardment. Cacaphony rules the day. I'm baling out while I can retain some degree of appreciation for nostalgia if nothing else.<br />
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I have tried my best to get on board, to accept and tolerate, but the endlessness of these things has worn me completely out. I do however want to end on a high note praising current books that I am VERY much still enjoying and which all take me to my inner happy place as a reader: <b>Velvet</b> (Image Comics) by Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting, Elizabeth Breitweiser; <b>Black Panther </b>(Marvel Comics) by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brian Stelfreeze, Laura Martin; <b>Future Quest </b>(DC Comics) by Jeff Parker and Evan "Doc" Shaner and others. Creators whose work also thrills me include Fernando Pasarin, Jason Fabok, Jim Cheung, the Hernandez Brothers, Dan Clowes, Peter Bagge and I'm looking forward to Adam Hughes on Betty & Veronica and the Josie and the Pussycats relaunch later this years. Other than my own shit ton of back issues, this is gonna be about it for me.</span>Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-20520819539940497962016-07-09T11:04:00.000-04:002016-07-09T11:04:53.262-04:00Hot Mess: The Falcon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi026pGyVEn7Bny_czp9tJwJpPGJ4GOyEzfXOhBLl5gM6r-TQM7590QDQ-MVDKzrFf8V-8ee28AjXpogM0_BgyqqR7x_xmdu1imx7wb5TayA1H00zswCcWfIuKqoxffNKfStInUYxUjOV_t/s1600/wilson.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi026pGyVEn7Bny_czp9tJwJpPGJ4GOyEzfXOhBLl5gM6r-TQM7590QDQ-MVDKzrFf8V-8ee28AjXpogM0_BgyqqR7x_xmdu1imx7wb5TayA1H00zswCcWfIuKqoxffNKfStInUYxUjOV_t/s400/wilson.png" width="333" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When it comes to the publishing endeavors of the current comic
book industry, frequent reboots, relaunches and other spin the wheel antics are
sadly now a very common thing, but they are actually little more than hot
messes that can be appealing for a variety of reasons; most notably because
they're generally unexpected, capricious, and/or agonizingly provocative in
tone and content. Additionally, numerous contingent factors render these increasingly
less rare and constantly repetitive cycles virtually inconsequential.<br />
<br />
No one set of guidelines exists to determine what distinguishes each seasons
"hot mess" from the previous effort that has now come to be
considered the train wreck that it was. Fandom is mired in a case of “here we
go again” as the same caustic social media frenzy kicks off another round of
shout down the other side of the aisle. Regardless of the circumstances, you
know it when you see it; because they are conspicuous and thus always heavily
marketed slices of the moment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Falcon was one of my favorite bronze age heroes, although depending upon how you gauge when each comic book age began and ended, he probably counts as having squeeked in at the end of the silver age. Sam Wilson was an interesting character in his own right who quickly bonded with fans and moved to cover prominence headlining the series Captain America and The Falcon for many years. The two characters were partners and friends and remained that way until Steve Rogers succumbed to aberrant effects of his super-soldier formula aging out in short order. Sam was given the chance to succeed his pal in the patriotic role and name of CAPTAIN AMERICA. The thing is, this actually belittled the Falcon and weirdly, it is a half-assed attempt to seem diverse by pandering to a limited fan audience who just got familiar with The Falcon due to his inclusion in the blockbuster Captain America and Avengers film franchises. It makes fuck all sense, but it does give a couple of white creators a chance to seem with it. To which I say, "Sweet Christmas!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sam Wilson is The Falcon. He is not Captain America no matter how many issues that storyline ultimately runs. Strangely, having his costume altered as a tribute to his friend was a nice gesture, but robbing the character of his own unique identity that had beend established for decades stained the whole enterprise.</span><br />
Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066888134509330432.post-22592660728721300142016-07-05T13:41:00.000-04:002016-07-05T13:41:47.926-04:00"They've wrestled with reality for 11 years and seem to have finally won out over it.” <span lang=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I've grown into a stodgier older fan, I've tried to tamp down on visceral ranting about things that just aren't all that important in the grand scheme of things. Still, with respect to those who will ultimately be honored as nominees for the<strong> 2016 Harvey Awards</strong>; I simply can not fathom the thought process of their executive committee members. This award is named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry's most innovative talents, so I get that "innovation" is likely paramount in the selection process, but as the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art; I frequently find myself at a loss over some top talents who never seem to make the cut. This is largely where I'm gonna leave off in specifying who - <em>in my self importance</em> - deserves to be on the list and/or those whose inclusion is beyond weird -<em> again in my own estimation.</em> <br />
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The Harvey Awards may be voted on exclusively by comic book creators who write, draw, ink, color, letter, design, edit, or are otherwise professionally involved in the creative aspect of comics, online or in print; but for years I've regularly not cared much for the majority of those singled out by the nominees. It is said that the Harvey Awards are the only industry awards both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. Thus voting is open to anyone professionally involved in a creative capacity within the industry. <br />
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This year's Baltimore Comic-Con will be held September 2-4, 2016, with the awards banquet being held on Saturday night. This will be the eleventh year that the Baltimore Con has hosted the Harvey Awards in Maryland. </span>Chuck Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04529750105224374839noreply@blogger.com1