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Amish Otaku, Comics

World’s Finest: Superman and Batman WB Stores Exclusives

By Ahmad Chaudhary

For a little background information on why these DC top dogs are referred to as World’s Finest, they were the stars of the DC Comics series of the same name that ran from 1941 to 1986.

Nonetheless, these were not packaged together – or packaged at all, for that matter. All they had was a cardboard tag with a plastic tie around one of the appendages. Shortly before the global demise of the Warner Bros. Studio stores’ chain, I picked these up at the King of Prussia Mall back in 2001. They also had a Barbara Gordon Batgirl, a Robin and the Joker, all of which I was an idiot for not picking up, especially at only $9.99 each.

Of course at the time I wasn’t aware of any events that would cause the chain to implode almost overnight, those events being the merger of media titans Timer Warner (which owns Warner Bros, DC Comics and related properties) and Turner Broadcasting. Continue reading “World’s Finest: Superman and Batman WB Stores Exclusives”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Icon

Kick-Ass #1

I’m not the kind of guy who normally buys single issues of comic books, but sometimes an exception must be made. Such was the case when I discovered the new collaboration between Mark Millar (Super Man: Red Son, Wanted) and John Romita Jr. (Spider-Man, Wolverine) from the Marvel imprint Icon.

Kick-Ass is about an absolutely normal teenage boy who decides to be a superhero. Dave Lizewski is just another teenager trying to survive high school. His obsession with comics naturally leads him to pursue a career in superheroism. When his friends mock him, he aptly points out that maybe one out of a million will ever be a rock star but it never stopped anyone from buying an electric guitar. Continue reading “Kick-Ass #1”

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Amish Otaku, Music

Stoopid Ugly Stik: The Rise and Fall of Nintendocore

Stoopid Ugly Stik is a former band out of Dallas, Texas. The band, composed of SX on vocals and keys, Tony on bass and 7734 on guitar, split up due to lack of interest. One CD – Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, A, B, Start – was released over the Internet at no cost, but it is difficult to find now.

Their MySpace page describes their type of music as “Nintendocore.” When you hear the growls and screams from SX, you’ll begin to understand why. For a three-man band, they put out a surprising amount of sound and energy.

If you couldn’t figure out what the songs were about you’d be tempted to put Stoopid Ugly Stik in a techno-rock/thrash-core/heavy-metal genre, but when you realize that most of the songs are only about video games it becomes clear where the Nintendocore label comes from. Continue reading “Stoopid Ugly Stik: The Rise and Fall of Nintendocore”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Features

Caught My Eye: Dracula vs. King Arthur

Guest Post

If there is one comic that most influenced me over any others, then Dracula vs. King Arthur is it. I fully attribute my comic-buying decisions of the last two years to on this title. Before I met Christian at a small comic show in Dallas, I was curious about other comics published from outside the “Big 2” but I was afraid to dish out the money. I picked up issues 1 and 2 of Dracula vs. King Arthur and something changed in me. I saw for the first time that other types of stories were out there, and they were good!

Dracula vs. King Arthur was written by two brothers, Adam and Christian Beranek. They started the small press publishing company Silent Devil to help up-and-coming creators have an avenue to tell interesting and different stories. Dracula vs. King Arthur falls squarely in this category. At first glance, it sounds like it would be super-cheesy, but story is done very well. That’s what surprised me the most when I read it. I figured I was in for some over the top mash-up story, but it turned out to be an intriguing concept. It’s a bit of a mixture between the horror and history genres, but it doesn’t come across as hokey or absurd. Continue reading “Caught My Eye: Dracula vs. King Arthur”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Features, Viper

Caught My Eye: A Dummy’s Guide to Danger: Lost at Sea

Guest Post

I was recently given the opportunity to do an advance review of A Dummy’s guide to Danger: Lost at Sea, which is a comic book that I was already jazzed to read. I don’t normally like to review books that are offered to me, but I had a good feeling about this one since I just reviewed the mini series that this one spins out of. My initial feelings regarding this comic were well founded and I am glad I jumped at the chance to read it so I could report back to my faithful readers the good news. This one is for you Mom.

A Dummy’s guide to Danger: Lost at Sea is the sequel to a mini series that was titled A Dummy’s guide to Danger. First off, don’t let the fact that it is a sequel stop you from checking this title out. Very little from the first series is referenced and everything you need to know is explained in the opening scenes of this book. I was interested in seeing how Jason M. Burns was going to kick this series off for new readers and I am happy to say he did it well. For all purposes, you could read this series and never know that there was a previous mini series. That is something that all writers should strive for since you never want to leave your readers out in the cold. Continue reading “Caught My Eye: A Dummy’s Guide to Danger: Lost at Sea”

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Amish Otaku, Movies

The Making of Superman: The Struggle to Make a Blockbuster

Guest Post

In celebration of the May 30 re-release of the Superman Ultimate Collector’s Edition DVD box set, I reread the Making of Superman, a first-person account of the construction of the original 1978 blockbuster. I picked up the beaten paperback for around 20 cents at a used book sale, and since then I’ve been surprised to find its value ranging anywhere from $10 to $40 between sellers on Amazon and Ebay.

The value only added to my intrigue. Even though I had picked up the Superman Ultimate Collector’s Edition DVD set during the initial release last winter, I was sure that the Making of book would be an invaluable supplement to the movie box set, my Superman movie posters and my vinyl version of John William’s epic Superman soundtrack; I also thought it was going to be a tabloid expose on – from what I understood – only a semi-arduous shoot. Suffice to say that Petrou pulls very limited punches, if any, and relays the now only glanced-upon hardships of the production with such authenticity that it leaves you constantly wondering, even after you’ve finished reading it, how Superman was ever completed, let alone become a box office–ruling behemoth. Continue reading “The Making of Superman: The Struggle to Make a Blockbuster”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Features, Interviews, Viper

Interview: Joe Eisma on Dummy’s Guide to Danger vol 2

I recently spoke with Joe Eisma, the artist on the upcoming comic A Dummy’s Guide to Danger: Lost at Sea. In this interview, we discuss everything from how he got into comics to details regarding the new miniseries from Viper Comics.

Clint Page: You have a pretty interesting career up to this point. So far, you’ve worked in TV, video games and now comics. What’s it like to be the envy of just about every male from the age of 12 to 35?

Joe Eisma: I also worked in the newspaper industry for awhile! You could say I have career ADD. I wouldn’t necessarily think I’m the envy of most people – I have my own share of stresses and commitments that go along with my work, just like in any job. Doing work in the creative industries that I’ve worked in has been difficult, with a lot of passionate personalities, deadlines and busy schedules, but overall it’s been the most rewarding. And I’m at the point now where I can work from home in my pajamas if I want. Continue reading “Interview: Joe Eisma on Dummy’s Guide to Danger vol 2”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Marvel

Wolverine

By Ahmad Chaudhary

I remember my first X-Men figure. It was made by a then new to the scene Toy Biz who is now known as Marvel Toys but no longer produces Marvel Comics figures (Hasbro has the license now). Strange. Anyway, it was a Wolverine model whose method of acquisition has been forgotten. Emphasizing, for the time at least, the “action” part of action-figure, I was not a fan of the brown and tan colors of his costume because it wasn’t in line with the lemon-yellow, black and royal-blue tiger-stripe garb he wore on the Fox Animated “X-Men” show. The sculpting made the little bruiser look a little too much of a ruffian for my tastes, he didn’t have an “X” on his belt buckle and his retractable claws looked clumsy, reasons that in retrospect show how little I knew about him. Also, for some reason he had a samurai sword that he couldn’t even hold and a mask that didn’t fit his face. I was further confused when I saw their 24-inch vinyl model – which also shared the mysterious costume colors, sword and ill-fitting mask. Continue reading “Wolverine”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Features, Viper

Caught My Eye: A Dummy’s Guide to Danger Volume 1

Guest Post

For the most part, every single idea that you can think of has already been thought of by someone else. Sadly, that’s just the way it is. So what else is left? Well, you can take a traditional idea and think of a hook that hasn’t been thought of yet and run with it. A Dummy’s Guide to Danger does just that, and does it well.

A Dummy’s Guide to Danger is a miniseries written by Jason M. Burns, drawn by Ron Chan, and published by small-press publisher Viper Comics. I recently picked up this series in its newly collected digest form at Wizard World Texas at the insistence of a good friend of mine, Joe Eisma (who happens to be drawing this title’s sequel.) The trade dress of the digest caught my eye and since Joe has a similar taste in comics as me, I decided to give it a try.

At the core of A Dummy’s Guide to Danger, you have a murder/mystery comic with a pinch of gore and a dash of comedy. Basically the makings of a fun guy movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is intended to entertain versus enlighten. The basic plot of this series follows a private investigator named Alan Sirois and his partner Mr. Bloomberg as they attempt to track down a gruesome killer by the name of the Flesh Collector. The catch is that Alan’s partner is not actually alive and is, in fact, a ventriloquist’s dummy. Now you see what I was referring to when I mentioned the hook! Continue reading “Caught My Eye: A Dummy’s Guide to Danger Volume 1”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Image

Torso

By Ahmad Chaudhary

This book reminds me of the first black and white movie I ever saw. It was Casablanca and I was a 14-year-old punk. Not mall-punk, though I did hang out at the mall; not actual punk like I was into crappy “”core music – and by that I mean grind core, hard core, mom core, noise core, apple core, core-of-the-earth core, etc. I was not old-school punk like I was into the Buzzcocks or Black Flag, and certainly not punk like when people say “that is so punk rock,” which doesn’t actually mean anything since everything is inevitably “punk rock” and I suppose is the same thing as mall punk. I was a punk like I was a stupid adolescent. For example, I didn’t listen to anything my parents told me, I swore constantly, I smoked Marlboro Reds and cared little for school.

In my differently skewed state of mind at the time, based on technological merit alone, there was no possible way a black and white movie could be better than a full color movie. It just could not be. Watching the Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny dud Space Jam in one of my classes and the ultra-classic Casablanca back to back under the direction of the teacher changed my perspective. In fact, my sentiment was echoed by most of my classmates, pretty shocking considering Casablanca was a couple of years yet to be considered “cool” even by nerds and was generally considered nerdy due to its love-story nature and ancient status. Continue reading “Torso”

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