Tales from a Dinosaur Planet
If there is a better theory about the extinction of the dinosaurs than ‘they blasted off in a rocketship to explore the stars’, then I don’t want to hear it. Some may say that the massive crater in the southwest was the result of an asteroid hitting Earth. But the band MJ Hibbert & The Validators believe it’s ground zero for launching the greatest rocketship in the history of the universe!
But now the dinosaurs are back! And you’ll have to listen to this rock opera to hear the whole story!
Mostly I just like the sound and the concept, but I guess these guys are coming out with a whole album to explain the secret history of the dinosaurs and why they talk like pirates. I’m far too cheap to actually buy the album, but it’s a wonderfully novel idea for music so I thought I’d share. Perhaps it’s your cup of tea. You can follow the link above to download or order the album.
I say go for it. There is worse music out there.
New Brave Trailer Does Not Reassure Me
I wasn’t impressed with the first official trailer for the next Pixar film, Brave. It seemed a little too heavy on slapstick humor for a Pixar movie. Not to mention the age-old story of a boisterous girl in medieval times bucking trend of having to get married. It’s such a played out story. There’s a new trailer out, but it does not fill me with confidence.
Though there is no doubting that the animation looks beyond brilliant!
Here’s a description of the movie:
Since ancient times, stories of epic battles and mystical legends have been passed through the generations across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. In “Brave,” a new tale joins the lore when the courageous Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts.
Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Witch (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late.
The Slingers Reunion 12 Years in the Making!
One of my favorite comic books of all time was Slingers from 1998-1999, about a team of four college students trying and failing to be superheroes. It was a cute little series, but it didn’t have the traction to make it past 12 issues. That sucker got cancelled!
Maybe if they were called Wolverine & the Slingers...
But since comic book characters never truly disappear, the four heroes have lived on in the Marvel Universe, popping up from time to time in various roles and stories. Usually in the background, rarely in any important capacity. As a fan, it’s basically just been a game of hide and seek over the past decade trying to spot all the appearances. Usually they only appear individually, never as a team.
That is until Avengers Academy #26 this week, when two of the Slingers finally came face-to-face for the first time since their series was cancelled all those years ago! Writer Christos Gage clearly did his research on the characters to add a personal touch to the encounter, so for a Slingers fan like myself, it was a giddy little thrill – emphasis on ‘little’. This is a tiny, minuscule moment. They barely appear on the same page together.
But in a pair of talking heads, Gage has them confront one another, seeing as how they’re on two different sides of the current Avengers Academy conflict. Ricochet is with the Academy, Prodigy is with the other guys.
This is the moment, more than a decade in the making!
For a Slingers fan like myself, that’s quite the fun little tidbit.
But does that make any sense to anybody else? There’s a lot of continuity squeezed into that little confrontation. Follow me after the jump for a fun history lesson on one of my favorite comic books of all time!
More Legend of Korra Goodness!
I promised to bring as much Legend of Korra preview stuff as I could find to this blog, because I and everybody else are really waiting for the new Last Airbender series to begin! Well you’re in luck, as a new trailer was released just yesterday! It’s kind of a made-for-TV commercial, with some pretty silly narration. But mostly this trailer is filled with actual dialogue and scenes from the show. So that’s pretty neat.
Plus the animal mash-ups continue with Korra’s polar bear dog!
Review: Teen Titans #6
Here we have a weird little story that misses the chance to have some meaningful downtime and instead introduces and dispatches a weird new super-villain. What could have been a good character-building opportunity as the Titans lick their wounds instead becomes crammed with silliness and nonsense, and only a small trace of what I would have liked. A guest appearance by Static Shock is utterly wasted, and Skittles returns mostly for the hell of it.
Teen Titans #6
Teen Titans #6 is a big missed opportunity, but it’s not a bad comic.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright.
This issue would have been the perfect opportunity for writer Scott Lobdell to slow down and flesh out his characters. He’s doing an OK job in that regard so far, but I would still prefer a lot more work on who these teenagers are and why they’re willing to hang out with each other. They just got their butts kicked in their first superhero fight, but all of them seem to shrug it off like no big deal. None of them seem to be emotionally effected by Superboy’s ass-kicking attack. They just roll right on to the next plot point involving Kid Flash’s out of control powers.
Instead of an issue focusing entirely on the Titans, we get a several new supporting or guest characters. None of them are very interesting.
