“Yesterday’s” Comic> Malibu Ashcan: Ultraforce (or Ultraforce #0A?)

Okay, there might be some confusion here between the Grand Comics Database and the…scan source, but it could just be me. This one appeared in Wizard magazine and serves as a preview for the Ultraforce’s upcoming existence and comic series, of the Ultra version of the Avengers or Justice League. The one at GCD seems to be just text introducing the characters. I’m only doing the Wizard one because it actually has a story, not just describing what’s coming with the occasional image. And so we review:

Oh, they got stuck with THAT Prime for their debut? That’s unfortunate.

Ultraforce #0A

Malibu Comics/Wizard Magazine (June, 1994)

“Ultramadness”

WRITER: Gerald Jones

PENCILER: George Perez

INKER: Al Vey

COLORING: Tim Duvar & Violent Hues

LETTERER: Patrick Owsley

EDITORS: Chris Ulm & Hank Kanalz

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BW’s Daily Video> Tubi’s Toon Typhoon

Catch more from The Roundtable on YouTube

It should be noted that there’s a bunch of shows already on Tubi, and some of this list have been there in the past or might be there now. Others are available on MeTV Toons and there is a WB Cartoon Rewind freestreaming channel on Amazon Prime that binges a handful of their library offerings. Still, that’s one impressive list and there are some I’m looking forward to be able to see again.

BW Programming Note: Blizzard Edition

I didn’t get to do a Jake & Leon comic this week, and my Sunday came with word of a blizzard coming to Connecticut. I decided to focus on getting as much content as I can in case we lose power. That way you get something during the week, though if there’s a day without comic reviews and feature articles, you know why. The Daily Videos got filled out just by chance, so there will be something to come here for during the week. More on that in a moment.

First, this week’s Clutter Report. I was going to go to a local mini comic con on Saturday but I was too tired and at that point I wasn’t sure what the snow was doing. We didn’t get proper warnings until late Saturday night. So while I did more “paperwork” with the goal of giving myself a written down work detail, I posted a video from a home design enthusiast going over decluttering and organizing from that perspective. Then I made an article out of it because it’s not a Daily Video type site.

Back here, depending on the weather, I need to get TWO chapters in to make a decent review for this week’s Chapter By Chapter review o f the novelization of Doctor Who: The Rescue. Will there be new scenes in this one? Meanwhile the second draft of the CBS Transformers cartoon includes possible episodes, so we’ll start going over that. Later on we’ll have a full episode to review, which should be different, but these are just plot summaries, which should still be interesting. They usually are for the shows we actually got, but what about the show we didn’t? Did they save a plot for the syndicated show we received?

Otherwise I’ll see what I’m able to get in. I hope to have all five comic reviews and main articles all week, but it depends on the snow, the power lines, and the clean-up crews. Have a great week, and if you’re joining me on planet Hoth, stay safe out there.

Saturday Night Showcase> Batman: The Long Halloween (DC High Volume)

In a previous Saturday Night Showcase we looked at the first story in DC’s “High Volume” podcast series, a set of audio dramas adapting major Batman comic stories over the years, with new audio to fill in gaps and I’m assuming set a complete narrative unique to High Volume. The first one was Batman: Year One. While I’m not a fan of most of Frank Miller’s take on Batman, even the stuff other fans actually like (aka NOT All-Star Batman & Robin), the podcasts are well acted, performed, and scored, while the video versions using the panels they’re adapting are a nice touch. Creating panels for the original parts would be nice, though.

The Long Halloween, by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, sets Harvey Dent’s transformation into Two-Face along with a serial killer…and that’s really all I know about the story. There is an animated adaptation as well, but you’d think a story tied to Halloween, at least in title, would include some paranormal element or Batman foe Calendar Man, and to my knowledge neither is the case. Instead, the killer is called Holiday, with a twist as to who the villain is. Still, as the second story in the High Volume series, each in multiple parts, I thought tonight was a good time to show off the first episode because it’s all I have time to break out this week, and it makes up for missing a local free comic convention because I’m still kind of a mess.

The story is still set early in Batman’s career, with Jim Gordon still not commissioner. Not having read the original miniseries I don’t know how accurate that was to the story. As I said, this also shows how Harvey became Two-Face, but that doesn’t happen this episode. Enjoy.

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BW’s Saturday Article Link> The Voice Of Mario Speaks

Does this mean he also eats stars, Tanookis, flowers, cats….

Charles Martinet has until recently been the voice of Mario–and everyone forgets also the voice of Luigi–for years, defining their voices until his recent retirement from voicing the Mario Brothers. In my opinion he should have voiced them in the animated movie, but they have to have the celebrity voices for the talk shows (another reason I won’t miss them when they finally complete their suicide). In this article from Gaming Bible Martinet discussing coming up with Mario’s voice (this article also forgets Luigi) and his time as the Donkey Kong player character turned spinoff character.

 

CBS Transformers> The Second Draft part 7: Reformatting The Format

Here’s something I wasn’t expecting to say: the pitch is about to break the fourth wall.

So far the second attempt at bringing Transformers to CBS Saturday Mornings, where we just finished looking at the cast, has used the format of someone in-universe looking into the current situation of the Decepticons taking over the planet, with the Autobots as a rebel group with a trio of human allies who aren’t the ones we saw them make in “More Than Meets The Eye”, with no explanation of what happened to Sparkplug and Spike. Instead we have a trucker, a teenager, the kid who keeps trying to earn the Darwin Award because he wants to see the cool fighting (some characters even I can’t defend, and I’ll back Scrappy-Doo, Godzooki, and Snarf), and a dog. It just feels like a step down.

However, now we’re getting into the format for the show and despite continuing to play to the bit there is no way to explain the show in universe. Considering the whole point of a pitch is explaining the show to the network, and in this case the licensee, it’s more important to have the right information than play up being in the story. We’re also somewhere closer to the original series idea. No glowy orbs possessing machines. No dead Decepticons (not en masse anyway), and everybody’s personalities and genders are in line with the tech specs, getting two new female Transformers long before the actual series would end up picking them up.

So what could we have looked forward to format-wise had CBS and Hasbro signed off on this?

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> Zip Comics #1

“Hey, you should have bought a ticket like everyone else!”

Zip Comics #1

MLJ Magazines (February, 1940)

Another new anthology. There’s only one character in this list I know: Steel Sterling, the cover character. He’s one of the heroes Archie tried to bring back in the 1990s and early 2000s. Everyone else is going to be completely new to me. Will they be any good is the question.

[Read along with me here]

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