This is Bizarre

Ben at 8 weeks:

Sebastian at 8 weeks:

Evidently I only make one kind of human.

Guitar for sale!

Hate to do it but I'm selling this guitar. It's a 1999 Rickenbacker 360 modified and customized by Rickenbacker genius Mark Arnquist. The finish on the rosewood fingerboard has been sanded down so it feels like a Gibson 360 with single coils. Plays like a dream. A good dream. Not a zombie vampire dream.

So why not keep it? It's been a slow work year and the mortgage keeps coming. With a second child on the way, this would do more good paying a bill than sitting in the corner in its case unplayed.

So why not play it? Because I have too many guitars. And my band plays music that works better for a Fenders and Gibsons which I currently play the hell out of. I also own a 12 string Rickenbacker with vintage toaster pickups. That's the sound I really love. You can't have that one. 

Want it? Go to Stonegrove Guitars and make them an offer!

New Caffeinated Comics

Doctor Who is back! we get giddy and discuss all thing British Then Dave gets angry and it all goes wrong somehow. Plus Bill Monroe is back in a non emergency role. He discusses the conflict of being a life long Star Trek fan and a new Doctor Who fan. It all happens in little more than an hour!



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New "Caffeinated Comics"

Our iTunes issues are solved and now we're also available on stitcher! This week comedian Mike Lawrence comes in to talk about the worst of the best comics in history!

EMERGENCY PODCAST! AGAIN!

Yes, Robin is dead. Jon, Steve and Dave Redfield react to the news and think about death in comics in general. Then Bill Monroe checks in to tell us about his meeting two Star Trek Legends at Emerald City Comicon and four great nerd bands at Krackle Fest!

iTunes is running late this week but you can still:

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New Caffeinated Comics!

The animated version of "The Dark Knight Returns" is so good we have to wonder why Frank Miller isn't. Steven Brown and Dave Gonzales are back to talk about the rise and fall of comic geniuses. Plus, Mike Drucker checks in on Skype to offer his opinion.


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KnightFall DC Animated film idea

Now that "The Dark Knight Returns" has finally been animated in to two films, the next logical choice for Batman is Knightfall. This 90's mega series was DC's Bat answer to the Death of Superman. And like that story it was extremely popular and ran too long.

A single animated film like "Superman/Doomsday" would truncate the story too much losing key elements of the saga. Jamal Igle thinks it should be done as 3 films and is currently running a Facebook thread on that hypothesis. here's how it can be done in 2:

Knightfall 1:
Cold open. Batman fights Biis in the snowcapped mountains and is aided by Azreal. They defeat him but Azreal demonstrates his power and mental instability. He collapses in Batman's arms.

Bane breaks open Arkham Asylum (with Dark Knight Rises Bane is an "A" lister known to the general public and doesn't need a long Vengeance of Bane setup). Batman gets the call in the Batcave and tells Azreal to stay behind. He and Robin got out into the madness of Gotham.

The second act is pure fights. Mad Hatter. Killer Croc, two-Face and finally Joker and Scarecrow.  Batman arrives alone to the Batcave and is beaten by Bane. (in a deviation Jean Paul could be in the cave and unable to help. This gives him the motivation for revenge). Bane tosses Bruce's body into the center of town.

The city gets worse. Robin, knowing that the city needs a Batman, convinces Azreal to put on the suit. He's only supposed to show his face but his conditioning leads him right to Bane. This fight is more brutal and ends in Azreal's victory. The hero won but it leaves with an unsettling tone.

Knightfall 2:
It's three months later. Azreal is now an armored batman, working alone. Robin is blocked from the Batcave.

Bruce is slowly healing, relearning martial arts. No magical healing properties, just a slow recovery like in Dark Knight Rises.

Azreal fights Joker. He kills one of Joker's henchmen. (rather than the 'd' lister Abattoir)

Bruce meets Azreal on the rooftops and asks for the return of the mantle (no reason to have two confrontations in the Batcave). Azreal, still with blood on his hands, refuses and batman chases him acrossthe city. We have teh bridge sequence, Azreal losing more and more of his mind to St. Dumas.

We end in the Batcave. Bruce beats Azreal by his wits and his connection to the darkness. There is only one Batman.

This version loses Bane's henchmen, Shondra Kinsloving and even Nightwing but keeps the overall story intact. A good guide for this cleaner version is Denny O'Neil's prose novelization of Knightfall.

Make sense?

The Adventures of Cryman

Introducing Ben's first superhero; Cryman.

His origin: "He gets made fun of by bad guys and he cries and the water washes them away so no one wants to make fun of him anymore."

Original powers, a tragic origin and a positive message about bullying. Not bad for a 5 year old. Now let's work on the costume design.

Caffeinated Comics 2

This should prove we're serious.

The second podcast of "Caffeinated Comics" is up now! This episode, steven Brown, and Jon Clarke welcome Dave Gonzales to the studio to talk batman. We'll discuss where he's going now that Nolan has finished his films and Grant Morrison is wrapping up his six year comic run. Then we'll get very sidetracked talking Tim Burton. Plus, a visit from the host of "The Bat Signal" podcast, Jeff Sussman! All in one hour and all for free.


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The Hobbit Review

I saw "An Unexpected Journey" at the midnight preview. Only fell asleep twice.

Here's the full review. 

Caffeinated Comics 1

Here is the first podcast I've done in three years. In that time I got better equipment, moved four states and started hanging out at my local comic store. The store that sponsors this show. If you're a regular reader of this blog (which in the last couple of years has become impossible) you'll find the exact same opinions, jokes and self doubt that's been a signature of this blog, now in audio form.

Listen above or subscribe on itunes. 

The Dark Knight Rises Review

It's up at Chimera.

I can't decide if I'm still blown away or need to see it again right now.

Amazing Spider-Man review

Over at Chimera Comics.

It's good but I still found the reboot unnecessary.

Avengers Review

Of course I wrote one. And I gave it to Chimera's Comics.

They have it here.

It was crazy good.

Fantastic Four: Season One Review

I love Chimera's Comics. So much that when they asked me to write a review of the new Fantastic Four hardcover, I sent it right to them without linking it here. That mistake is now corrected.

Here it is.

Christmas is a Time For Trailers

Dark Knight Rises. here it is. Have no idea what it's about.. Except football. And awesome.



The Hobbit don't care it's coming out six months a later. It's putting out a trailer today and making you love it.



There you go. Two trailers at Christmas that make you hate the fact that it's Christmas. And not next summer. Or next Christmas.

2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Good lineup this year, including:

Guns n' Roses
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Beastie Boys
Donovan
Faces

Somehow I care less than years past. Maybe it's Eddie Trunks' tirades against the place. Maybe it's the fact that my second trip there was so underwhelming. Or maybe it's the fact that the bands I grew up with are now being entered proves that I am so very old.

Full article.

Doctor Who Christmas Prequel

All I want for Christmas is to watch this uninterrupted.



Direct link.

The Muppets

The Muppets is seeing the person you loved with all your heart doing the exact thing that made you fall in love with them in the first place.

Jason Segal managed to tap into the core insight of his generation. One that said, "I love the Muppets and I wish they would do something good." As the film rolls out that generation smiles in the realization that their dreams have come true precisely the way they dreamed.

It doesn't matter that the Muppets weren't actually forgotten. Their viral videos have hits in the millions and NBC aired a new Christmas special in 2009. Because the message of this film isn't, "the Muppets haven't done anything in a long time". It's "the Muppets haven't been BIG in a long time". And this movie corrects that injustice.

It also doesn't matter that the plot basically recycles the one in 2002's A Very Muppet Christmas. Or that Walter, the new Muppet is slightly bland. This movie is about the small moments, the characters and the tone. And the tone is spot on. It's hilarious, touching, poignant, manic, everything that made "The Muppet Show" one of the greatest series ever.

It's not the same as "The Muppet Show". It never will be now that the main creators, not just Henson but Frank Oz, Richard Hunt and to a lesser extent Jerry Nelson, have all moved on. But it can still be every good. Take a look at Cartoon Network's new "Looney Tunes" series. They'll never capture the magic of that era again, but they can do something modern, sharp and true to the characters. In short, something worth watching.

The movie's already done very well, coming in only behind the new Twilight. This puts the franchise back in Disney's focus, one distracted by PIXAR and Marvel. But I don't know what they'll do with it. This movie is all about bringing the Muppets back but doesn't give us any clue what to do with them next. At the very least Disney should finally release the long delayed season 4 and 5 dvds and the original Muppet films on Blu-Ray.

Whatever they do, I want more 80's Robot.

Beavis and Butthead

I spent approximately 38% of my college years staying up all night drinking warm 40s of Budweiser and watching Beavis and Butthead with Howie Weingarten. And I didn't realize how much I missed it.

Mike Judge brought the show back last night after a 14 haitus. In that time he created King of The Hill and made three great cult films. Now he brings everything he learned from his other projects.

I watched some of the old episodes in preparation. They're still as funny as they were in the 90's but crude, choppy and with jokes that only work on one level. Judge has made this run even better. The two short episodes last night were painful, hilarious and true. The animation is clean and slick, the satire working more subtly but still filled with the two biggest idiots in the world slowly killing themselves (which explains why MTV picked up Jackass right after B&B ended).

And thankfully, the commentary segments are back, long discarded from Netflix and dvds. The best jokes are once again saved for videos no one has ever seen and, because that's the network MTV is now, reality shows get a central focus. They couldn't be more deserving.

When I first saw this show, I had no job, lived in my parents basement, and had one friend near my house. Now I have my own house, my own family, no job and all my friends on Facebook. I am no less into this show. And yes, after all these years I like Butthead but I love Beavis.

One complaint for the record; putting it on against It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (and a great one at that)? Way to fight over the same demographic, MTV.