“Will someone turn the lights on?”
Sonic Universe #7
Archie Comics (October 2009)
“30 Years Later” part 3: “What’s Old Is New Again”
WRITER: Ian Flynn
PENCILER: Tracey Yardley
INKER: Jim Amash
COLORIST: Jason Jensen
LETTERER: Teresa Davidson
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Paul Kaminski
EDITOR: Mike Pellerito
Well, that cop’s dead. Good going, Rod.
Police Comics #3
Comic Magazines, Inc (October, 1941)
I was just going to read a few issues and move on, like I did with Blue Beetle and Mystery Men. However, since quite a few of these characters ended up going over to DC but never got a solo comic from what became Quality Comics, I figure I’ll just go through the whole thing. It’s not like continuity mattered in the Golden Age, but after this I’m going to try to get the whole Quality/Comic Magazines order in, like I’m doing with Malibu’s Ultraverse (finally). So this will be the last Police Comics until the timeline catches up. Unlike Blue Beetle this isn’t just about Plastic Man, but all of the DC acquisitions. It’s just that Plastic Man was the only one to really matter enough in DC that he ended up with his own cartoon and many starring appearances while the rest of the line-up got a guest appearance on an episode of Batman: The Brave & The Bold and that’s pretty much it.
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How would YOU represent the clay origin?
Still one of my favorite comics. Sorry, Leon.
Last time everyone was back together until they weren’t. The Doctor is off, Barbara and Vicki have disappeared, and Ian’s on his own.
I’m not sure what I can say about Ian or Barbara that I haven’t already for the original First Doctor story I’ve already reviewed, The Time Travelers or in the early production notes review for the beginning of the series. Originally, Ian represented the science part of the science and history goal of the show. As the big young guy he was also the muscle of the group. It’s a shame he was heavily altered for the first theatrical movie and removed entirely for the second one, though that did give us Bernard Cribbins. He later returned as beloved character Wilfred Mott, grandad of Donna Noble, in the TV version. Still, turning Ian and his replacement into comic relief doesn’t feel right.
With that, let’s check in with our heroes as they go into investigation mode.
Just because you aren’t using steroids doesn’t make it any less cheating, Kevin.
Prime #12
Malibu Comics/Ultraverse (May, 1994)
“Kutt To The Quick”
WRITERS: Gerald Jones & Len Strazewski
ARTIST: Norm Breyfogle
COLORING: Keith Conroy & Foodhammer!
LETTERER: Tim Eldred
EDITOR: Hank Kanalz
This comic was a flipbook with Ultraverse Premiere #3, which I already reviewed thanks to the old list of Ultraverse comics I was using.
The Clutter Reports (my other site) Atop The Fourth Wall Crisis On Earth Prime Lean Into Artcast Bully Says “Comics Oughta Be Fun” Siskoid’s Blog of Geekery
Cartoon Hero’s Lair SF Debris Four Million Years Later
BW Media Spotlight 
Modern Entertainment Vs Escapism
Above (if still active) is the trailer for free DLC edutainment for “Good Trouble”, a game using Minecraft to teach kids about various civil rights movements. It sound innocent enough since Minecraft is a game for kids despite all the channels of adults playing the game. Unfortunately we live in a time when any kind of message that carries a whiff of social pandering and far-left prophelitising is receiving serious pushback, which is not what we discuss around here. It is one of the issues I hear people have with this DLC, which is free but not mandatory. I also saw a 6 minute speedrun playthrough and it looked so boring I didn’t even finish the video. I’ll leave examining that to the culture warriors. I already had one nap today and I don’t need a second or nothing’s getting done today.
The other complaint I saw in X-Twitter responses collected in one article and in video titles while looking for this trailer and the map walkthrough (which was more like a runthrough) was that Minecraft is supposed to be escapism. Edutainment, which is a topic on its own to go over why most of it fails whether you’re teaching actual math, science, history, politics, religion, or anything else (even Christian media makes the same mistakes), isn’t a bad thing on its own. I’m not against educational games or even the idea of a DLC where you take part in the various civil rights marches (whether you want to or not as your player character–and I don’t know if the player created the crazy activist LGBT+stereotype design or not–is forced to move down the bridge as much as he/she/whatever is forced away from a school to give your report and can only go to a library to read up on civil rights movements around the world). However, players and watchers are fighting for escapist entertainment to be just that: an escape. So something like this just activates a sort of “fight or flight” response: push back or go do something else.
This is most of the problem with how current media is treated. The activists who want their message pounded into every waking hour of your life, and the elitists who think they’re being more “serious” directors and performers (this predates the current social culture, by the way) won’t hear of it. You can escape. You must be as radicalized as they are. Again, right wing media does this as well, but right now the big money and pop culture outlets are in the hands of one-sided politics. I’m including everyone in this because it’s all the same problem: we just want a break from your “real world” and enjoy ourselves, which apparently isn’t allowed anymore in entertainment…despite what the name actually means!
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Posted by ShadowWing Tronix on February 3, 2026 in Movie Spotlight, Television Spotlight, Video Game Spotlight and tagged commentary, escapism, stream of consciousness.
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