Unsung Heroes: Booster Gold

Dr. Humphry Wimbletington takes a look at Booster Gold.

AWFUL COMIC THURSDAY

So just like last week with Captain America, let's look at a bad Superman comic.
Good ol' Supes wasn't always such a great guy. In fact, in the olden days, he was...kind of a massive prick. Take for example, this comic, where he forces to people to fight each other because, somehow, this will end the war.

AWESOME COMIC TUESDAY

Yes.
That is Superman with Thor's hammer.
And Captain America's shield.
And yes, you are doomed.

New Teen Titans! Yay...maybe...

There's going to be a new Teen Titans series!

As you know if you've watched some of my older videos (if not, look them up), I was a big fan of the old Teen Titans cartoon. It had kind of a lighthearted, anime feel to it, sure, but it could also get really deep and dramatic, exploring the everyday problems of roommates, teenagers and well, just life in general, while also having points that were huge, and dramatic and epic. The team learned about each other and themselves, and bonded to save the world from terrible forces.

So, what's this new series going to be like?

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.

Okay, for those of you who don't know already, cartoon network has already tested the waters of this new series with a set of mini-episodes called “Titans Go”. Whereas the original run was kind of a mix of ultra-cartoony and high dramatic, this one focused solely on the comedy. It wasn't about super powered teens saving the world, it was about super powered teens living together, facing such dire threats as...who should do the laundry?

I know this series is going to have fans. I know there are going to be a load of people who really get in to the whole idea of a superhero comedy. For me though, I could not be less enthusiastic. We already had a series that looked at superhero roommates, and the time spent between battling for justice. It was called the Justice Friends.

Okay, kids today aren't going to remember that reference, and I guess that is who this is aimed after. Kids. Its not for the die-hard fans of the original run, its not for comic enthusiasts, its there to make kids laugh. Is that so wrong?

In this case, yes. It was not those kids who made the series so popular, it was not their collective voice that caught anyone's attention to bring back the series, it was ours. It was the ones who loved the first run, with all of its colorful, cheerful moments and especially all of its dark moments. The episode where Robin is going slowly insane from a drug on Slade's mask and is hallucinating being almost killed by the guy (they literally say that) was incredibly intense, and it stuck with us more than anything in this series will.

Bottom line, I fear that this is going to be “Diet Teen Titans” or “Teen Titans the sitcom.” We do not want to see laundry day in the Batcave, we don't want to see Superman doing his taxes, its not why superheroes exist. I guess I talk a lot about cartoons need to have a certain gravitas to mean something, and its the same here.

Pokemon Retrospective: Gold and Silver

Pokemon Gold and Silver were initially showcased at the 1999 Nintendo Space World Expo in Japan. It was originally supposed to take off in 1998, but the relatively small production team already had their hands full with Pokemon Stadium, plus dealing with the changes for the American release, so instead we got Pokemon Yellow version.

Now, before we go on, I know what you're wondering: what did he think of Yellow version? Well...it was okay? I suppose? I'll admit, I was excited to play an adventure more like Ash's at first, but as its gotten older, I have to admit, it's grown kind of stale.

But back to Gold and Silver. One of the first things that kids knew about it was that there was going to be a TON of new pokemon, around 100. They were still based on childhood experiences of the creators like Japanese mythology and manga, much like bug collecting in the first one.

There were a bunch of new elements added in as well. Firstly, the dark and steel types were added, dark mainly to balance out the somewhat overpowered psychic types (alakazam). There was breeding (which we'll get in to more in a minute) and a larger variety of pokeballs, including custom made ones depending on what apricots you've collected. One aspect left over from yellow was the idea of the relationship you had with your pokemon. If your pokemon got hurt or lost battles a lot, he'd like you less and less, but if you gave him items, took care of him and were successful, he or she would like you more and more.

AWFUL COMIC THURSDAY (whoops)

Most of you probably saw this coming, what with the content of Awesome Comic Tuesday. Oh Rob Liefeld. Are you even trying? If you've never seen the mans work, this should about sum it up for you.

AWESOME PANEL TUESDAY

For those of you who don't know (which is all of you since I just decided this) Tuesdays on this site are now going to be "Awesome Panel Tuesdays" in which I post a comic panel that I think shows how great the medium of comics can be.
And what better way to start off than with this, my favorite speech from Captain America! Of course, for every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction, so prepare yourself for Thursday, which will be dubbed Awful Comic Thursdays (there's gonna be a LOT of Liefeld.)