2011 Gift Guides: Gifts for Comic Book Lovers.

 Does your loved one, love comics more than anything else? Here's the ultimate list of must have graphic novels. Whether the person has read or even currently owns a copy of these books or not, a new copy is always appreciated as the pages will be less worn. Every one of these can be read over and over to non-stop enjoyment. Stop in to any local comic book store to pick up copies of these books.

15. Y: The Last Man. This series can be had in either 10 softcover or five hardbound editions. It tells the story of the last man on planet Earth. Not only is he the last man, but barring his pet monkey, he is the last surviving mammal on the planet. Pick this series up to discover why.

14. Sandman. From another of the masters of the medium, this time it's Neil Gaiman. The series ran for 75 issues, but has since been reprinted in 4 ultimate hardcover editions. The story is of the personification of dreams. The main character is Dream, though he goes through many names throughout the series. Other aspects of fate are also featured in the series.

13. Justice League of America: Tower Of Babel. Several members of the Justice League have been attacked with bizarre, but dangerously effective, methods. From a blind Green Lantern who can't use his imagination to make constructs to now water-fearing Aquaman, the race is on to find out who's responsible and what's their endgame. Soon to be a new DC Animated straight-to-DVD film, it stands as one of the best written arcs of the Justice League.

12. Wolverine. Written by Chris Clairemont and penciled by Frank Miller, this four issue arc, that has been reprinted in graphic novel form several times took the character of Wolverine from a flat two dimensional raging character, to one with depth, feeling and back story.

11. Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. Dwight McCarthy thought she was out of his life forever. But he was wrong... women like Ava Lord never really leave you. And when she crosses his path again, he's going to wish he never met her... Second in the sensational Sin City series, this is said to be the main story to be adapted for the sequel to the 2005 Sin City adaptation. A noir story like no other, and one of the best Frank Miller works.

10. V For Vendetta. Alan Moore, who wrote this, is a true visionary. He's helped to define what graphic novels are, and what they can strive to be. V for Vendetta tells the story of V, as he revolts against the British Parliament in a myopic future.

9. Black Summer. Originally an eight issue arc, now you can get all of the individual issues in graphic novel form from one of the masters himself, Warren Ellis. The story is about masked heroes and villains dealing with political strife in the 1980's.

8. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Eight. Picking up about a year and a half after the events of the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the titular heroine faces new challenges, new roles and a new villain as she struggles to cope with all the changes she's been through. Old enemies rise again but can they defeat an army of Slayers and their network? The official continuation of the show and just as fantastic as the show that started it all, Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Eight is a great revival. Catch up with Buffy and the new Scoobies, starting with the first arc, The Long Way Home.

7. Civil War. After a horrible incident involving a staggering amount of fatalities, the superhero community becomes divided when a new bill is proposed, stating that all costumed crimefighters must register their identities with the government and work in tandem with them. Iron Man leads the side willing to work with the government, Captain America leads those wishing to remain unmasked. A landmark event in Marvel history, one with ramifications lasting years after its conclusion.

6. Scott Pilgrim. falling hard for aloof newcomer Ramona Flowers, Scott Pilgrim learns if he is to win her heart completely, he must defeat her seven evil ex-lovers in combat. A six part series, this is a hilarious and invigorating ride which the movie, while compressed, was extremely faithful to. Volume 1 is entitled Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life.

5. The Walking Dead. Winner of the 2010 Eisner Award for best continuing series, this follows a group of survivors as they try to make their way in the world following a zombie apocalypse.

4. Runaways. Six kids discover their parents are a criminal cabal known as The Pride and that each of them have powers or weapons at their disposal. Gathering what they can, the kids (Alex, Nico, Karolina, Chase, Gert and Molly, as well as their newly discovered genetically engineered dinosaur) leave their homes and try to find a place to stay as they fight their parents. Currently on hiatus, now would be the opportune time to start reading this excellent series, starting with Volume 1: Pride And Joy.

3. The Dark Knight Returns. Bruce Wayne has been retired for 10 years as Batman. However, crime has gotten even more out of hand and he can stand it no more. His body may have aged, but his mind is as sharp as ever as the Caped Crusader bursts back on the scene, leaving many to question if the Dark Knight's return is a gift from the gods, or the cataclysm Gotham has been heading towards. A pivotal read in the long and wonderful history of the masked man hunter of Gotham

2. Watchmen. Set in an alternate 1980's, where Richard Nixon is still president, and super heroes have been deemed illegal, this book starts with the death of the Comedian, and ends with a massive attack on New York City, but do the heroes come out of retirement in time to save the city? Pick up the book to find out. This is the only graphic novel to make Time Magazine's 100 all-time greatest novels list.

1. DC Comics: The New 52. A hardcover book that won't be released until Dec. 13, not only is it new, but it's timely. This book will compile all 52 number one issues of the newly relaunched titles in the DC comics universe.

Bonus Buy: JLA/Avengers. One of the most anticipated crossovers in comic book history the flagship superhero team from each of the industries top publishers, end up working together to stop an evil so great it threatens both universes.

2011 Gift Guides: Gifts for the Pop Culture junkie.

5. If you've never heard of Banksy, don't feel bad, unless you're a pop culture junkyyou probably haven't. Banksy is a street artist whom has managed to keep his true identity a secret despite placing his art on buildings and streetscapes across multiple continents. He was the subject of the documentary film “Exit through the Gift-shop,” though he was also the director. The film was nominated for an Academy Award, though no one is sure if it was a real film, or another piece of performance art from Banksy. The gift here, is a trip to Banksy's website visit the shop section and download a piece of art, he gives it away free. Then take it to a local print shop and have a shirt, or a poster made for the pop culture fan you need a gift for.

4. Trivial Pursuit, any edition of this classic game will suffice for the true pop culture junkie. If there is one thing that a pop culture junkie enjoys more than pop culture it's proving to everyone else that they are the most knowledgeable in the room about whatever the topic is.

3. A laptop cooling strip, because after all, how does one become a pop culture junkie? By watching, and reading about it for one, and many do both on their computers these days, so do your favorite pop culture junkie a favor and get them a laptop cooling unit to allow them many extra hours of enjoyment from their laptops.

2.A Netflix subscription, either strictly a streaming video account, or one that allows the person to receive DVD's in the mail as well, you can't go wrong with movies and TV for a pop culture fan. Netflix is currently the company with the largest library of said movies and shows so it's the perfect gift, and good at several price points.

1. A handmade gift from the etsy.com store RecycledArts. The store is run by the mother of two young girls, ages 14 and 9 that hand make all of their products. The stuff they make are all pop culture related and range from notebooks made with the covers of old books and DVD cases, to envelopes made from old calendar pages with various pop culture references. I've already added the Doctor Who notebook and the Spider-Man envelopes to my own gift list. The best part of this is you are giving back to charity as well, the girl's donate 25 percent of their profits to various charities.

Magnets and the Superhero Flavored Candy!

Two stores, two amazing discoveries in the past few days.

First at a dollar store in Allen Park, I discovered a bunch of Superhero candies.  Some were gummies (my personal favorite variety of candy) others were these crunchy tart candies that are shaped like heroes. There were also candy sticks, or what used to be called candy cigarettes and then there were the taffy pieces. Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine each adorned different flavors of taffy.  The best part of these taffies though, is that normally I would pay a quarter a piece for them, but these come in packages of 10 for $1. There was also some Spider-Man candy rope type things, I haven't tried them yet, but they look good.

Other candies discovered, were gummies and crunchies based on Super Mario Bros. characters, and also more candy sticks based on some Hanna Barbara characters.

At anther store, not all that far from the office that has recently opened, I found some other cool things, namely some Superhero themed magnets that will be used to decorate my space at work.  I'll have magnets all over my desk, and some lawn gnomes on top of my desk from here on out.  I'll save the gnome discussion for another day though, for now it's all about the Superhero magnets.

My mother was with me as we stopped at Five Below, that's where I bought a few cool things a couple of weeks ago, and also where I found the gnomes and magnets, and some other stuff.

The magnets are the coolest thing so far though, I got two cool bigger Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ones, as well as the 'normal' ones with Captain America (three variations), Spider-Man (2 variations), Thor (2 variations), The Punisher, The X-Men (2 variations), Iron Man, Superman, and another Ninja Turtles one. There is also one there about gnomes, which was funny to me that I was able to get that the same day I got the gnomes.

As the name suggests, everything in the store is $5 or less, and they have a lot of cool stuff, I will be back again.

My comic book Confession.

   Today, I'll admit to you all a secret that I've kept from the nerd community for a long time. I'm a wannabe, a know-nothing, a fake, fraud, and whatever other insult that you want to include.  What it boils down to is this.  I claim to be a well rounded geek (feel free to insert random fat jokes if you must.) yet I've barely read any comic books in my life before the last year.
   Growing up comic books were not accessible to me, there were no local comic shops in small town rural Temperance, Michigan. I know I claim Monroe, that is where I was born, and lived until about age 7, but after that it was all Temperance baby. But I digress, unlike past generations of nerds, I had many options of where to spread my geek to. I got to 'watch' my comics as there were more animated shows based on comic characters than ever before, many of the stories were ripped right out of the comics. Comics were expensive, and I grew up sans the silver spoon needed to properly feed my nerdy obsession.
   Video games were huge in my generation as well, sure there was the Atari before us, but most advancements in home gaming game happened during my generation as well, that meant another thing to split my time with.
   Then came the internet, and soon after wikipedia. I know that it's not a good source for a journalist or a research paper, but it's great for a nerd. Mostly it's edited by the more nerdly among us, and we self moderate our selves and and massively fact check each other. The great thing about wikipedia is that it allowed me to catch up on years of history in a few hours, and very cheaply.
   Unfortunately that meant I still didn't dive into comics as much as I wanted to, and it allowed me to sound knowledgeable among the community I so wanted to be a part of, simply because I knew the story lines, and if something were mentioned that I didn't know, I'd simply claim to not remember, or that I must have missed that issue.
   Pre-2010 I had probably read less than 20 comic books in my life, and maybe 5 or 6 trade paper backs. A lot of that has changed in recent years, as I've figured out I can get TPB's from the library, and that the library has deals where I can get books from just about anywhere. I'm loving it.  I currently have 33 trade's checked out, and I rip through them in about an hour each.
   I'm catching up mostly on Batman and the Flash right now, but I will soon move on to catching up on more stuff. Please leave me a comment and let me know your suggestions of what I should check out. And please don't chastize me to much, for being 'in the closet' for so long with my secret. I'm out now, and looking for help to fix the whole in my geek playbook.

Dougie Houser is Spider-Man?

   I love movie adaptations of comic books, the animated series’ that are based on comic books are also good, but more often than not they are aimed a bit more at kid's than the general nerd population. These days,  they usually evolve out of a way to cash in on the success of a movie adaptation, and they seem rushed.  That is fine, but as the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim and Spike TV’s The Strip has proven, there is a market for cartoons that appeal to an older demographic.
   I think Stan Lee has always known this, and that is why MTV’s version of Lee’s Spider-Man is probably one of the most adult animated comic book adaptations I’ve ever seen.

   “Spider-Man: The Animated Series” picked up where the movie left off (I know what you are thinking…cash-in.  But Lee was developing this series before the movie came out, it took the success of the movie to get the ball rolling on it.)  Peter Parker (voiced by Neil Patrick Harris) has gotten comfortable with being Spider-Man, but he now has to make adjustments in his real life.  He is attending Empire State University and freelancing as a photographer at the Daily Bugle.  He still pines over Mary Jane Watson (voiced by Lisa Loeb), and wonders if turning her away at the end of the movie was a good idea.  They both hang out with Harry Osborn (voiced by Ian Ziering), who still hates Spider-Man for killing his father.  Even though he is a hero, he is considered a fugitive to the law, and is constantly being chased by the police, led by Officer Barr (voiced by Ed Asner.)

   In the first episode, called “The Party,” a nerdy friend of Peter named Max Dillon (voiced by Ethan Embry) tries to become part of the cool crowd by pledging a fraternity.  They haze Max, but do not intend to let him in.  When the joke of hazing him ticks him off, he runs out in embarrassment and is electrocuted by a neon sign.  Instead of killing him, it turns him into Electro, a villain who can electrocute people with his hands.  He immediately decides to take his revenge out on the kids on campus.  His targets are mainly his tormentors, but there are a few innocent victims as well.  Spider-Man comes in and saves the day, which unfortunately includes killing his old friend to save the people.  The last shot is at Max’s grave, but a street lantern lights up, which means we probably haven’t seen the last of Electro.

   In the second episode, called “Sword of Shikata,” an eccentric animal collector hires a hunter to capture Spider-Man for his collection.  The wealthy businessman Richard Damien (voiced by John C. McGinley) pays $2.5 million to Shikata (voiced by Gina Gershon), a martial artist/swordswoman who is so fast that she can deflect bullets.  Damien wants Spider-Man alive, but after she fights the web-slinger the first time, she decides she wants to kill him.  She turns down Damien’s money, and Damien sends his thugs (the lead thug Raymond is voiced by Clancy Brown) to kill Shikata.  With a little help from Spider-Man, Shikata defeats the thugs and is more than ever determined to fight Spider-Man to the death.  Just so Damien doesn’t get in the way again, she kills Raymond and decapitates Damien.  Mary Jane, who had been cast in an independent movie that Damien was producing, comes into his office to talk about her role.  She sees his severed head on the floor and calls the police.  At that time, she discovers that Shikata’s sword is the source of her power.  When MJ sees Spider-Man and Shikata later fighting on the street, she tells Spider-Man the sword secret.  He destroys the sword, which makes Shikata turn old and die.  Spider-Man and MJ kiss right before he once again has to avoid the police, prompting possible sparks between the two in the future.

   The show is not your kiddie Spider-Man series (see my last blog posting).  People actually are killed (it’s not graphic though), there is blood, and there is adult language.  It’s very action-packed, and the voice work is good.

   The action is cool and exciting, but I did have one problem with the animation.  It was computer animated, and even though Pixar seems to have mastered it, the animation by Mainframe Entertainment, the company that animated this show, looked a little stiff to me.  I would have rather had it be hand-drawn than animated the way it was.  I actually started getting a little used to it by the second episode, but that may have been because the second episode was better than the first one all around. Those are the only two episodes I've re-watched in the last 5 years or so, so I'll have to save comments on the series as a whole for a later date. The series however was never given enough of a chance to find it's audience, it's a shame as it was growing on me.

"When Spider-Man lands on a rooftop, make sure he doesn't land on any pigeons"

   The nostalgia bug has hit me recently, that combined with Netflix recently putting on a ton of old shows, has lead me to the path of rewatching Spider-Man the Animated Series.  the show originally ran from Nov. 1994 until Jan. 1998, a total of 65 episodes over the five seasons.

   The great thing about this show, was that it didn't find the need to over explain things like a lot of shows and even movies do today, but it didn't dumb down anything for kids either.  Season one throws us straight into the thick of things, Peter Parker is already Spidey, and he's out fighting supercriminals, no backstory needed.

   The show has a lot of science and techno babble, 99 percent of which is made up completely.  But ti doesn't try to over explain the science behind this stuff, it just works its way into the conversations on the show and the viewer is expected to understand it.

   The animation holds up to today's standards, even better than a lot of current shows.  Marvel and DC both had several shows out in this time frame, and animation wise, this was one of the best looking shows of the era. Voice wise, Christopher Barnes, while not a well known actor, was an amazing Spider-Man.

   Season one lasted 13 episodes, and introduced us to many classic Spidey villains such as the Lizard, Shocker, Venom, Mysterio, the Hobgoblin and many more.

   Batman the animated series was still on the air when this show debuted, as was Superman the animated series.  The powers that be at the next sent out a memo stating "When Spider-Man lands on a rooftop, make sure he doesn't land on any pigeons," hence the title. What that meant however was that they wanted a show with much less violence than Batman. Batman didn't take any punches when it came to beating on the baddies, Spider-Man wasn't allowed to do anything that would insinuate violence.  He only even attempted to throw a single punch in the entire series, which did not land.

   That memo however in no way changes the enjoyability of the show. the show remains one of my favorite animated shows of all time.

   Stay tuned for reviews of seasons 2-5, and my overall impressions of the show in the near future.


Episode #1 - Night of the Lizard
Original Airdate - November 19th, 1994
Peter's science teacher, Dr. Curt Connors, transforms himself into the Lizard while attempting an experiment to regenerate his missing limb. Consumed by the animal instincts of the Lizard, Dr. Connors terrorizes the city and becomes a hunted man. When Spider-Man discovers that his teacher is in fact the monster he has been trying to capture, he must find a cure before Dr. Connors' transformation becomes irreversible.

Episode #2 - The Sting Of The Scorpion
Original Airdate - March 11th, 1995
J. Jonah Jameson hires a detective, Mac Gargan, to be transformed into a super hero to fight Spider-Man and names him the Scorpion. But Scorpion turns on his creators after he mutates and attempts to blow up a power plant. Now Spider-Man must clean up the mess that Jameson has created and stop Scorpion before he destroys the city.

Episode #3 - The Spider Slayer
Original Airdate – February 4th, 1995
In order to pay off his debt to the crime boss known as the Kingpin, Norman Osborn hires Spencer Smythe to design a powerful robot called the Spider-Slayer to capture and destroy Spider-Man. Spider-Man manages to defeat the machine along with Spencer Smythe in a massive exposion...or did he?

Episode #4 - Return of the Spider Slayers
Original Airdate - Feburary 11th, 1995
Alistair Smythe, Spencer Smythe's son, builds three more Spider-Slayers to destroy Spider-Man and the people he holds responsible for his father's death.

Episode #5 - The Menace of Mysterio
Original Airdate - Feburary 25th, 1995
As part of a personal vendetta a new villain in town, Mysterio, frames Spider-Man in order to tarnish his reputation and attempts to gain the status as the real hero of New York. Now, Spider-Man must foil Mysterio's plan and expose him for the villain he is!

Episode #6 - Doctor Octopus: Armed and Dangerous
Original Airdate - February 18th, 1995
Spider-Man battles the villain known as Doctor Octopus, who has kidnapped Felicia Hardy and J. Jonah Jameson for ransom. Spider-Man discovers that Doctor Octopus has a personal vendetta against Felicia's mother, Anastasia. Now, Spider-Man must find a way to put an end to the grudge and save two innocent lives.

Episode #7 - The Alien Costume, Part 1
Original Airdate - April 29th, 1995
Spider-Man comes across an alien symbiote that attaches itself to him and forms a new black costume. Meanwhile, Eddie Brock accuses Spider-Man of stealing a valuable rock which was really stolen by the Rhino. Now Spider-Man faces a $1,000,000 bounty for his capture.

Episode #8 - The Alien Costume, Part 2
Original Airdate - May 6th, 1995
When Spider-Man discovers that his black costume is a living organism, he decides to use it to get back the Prometheum X. Meanwhile, Eddie Brock's lies eventually leads to his firing when Jameson realizes that he's been duped. Spider-Man eventually removes the symbiote after fighting the Shocker, only for it to find a new host, Eddie Brock. 

Episode #9 - The Alien Costume, Part 3
Original Airdate - May 13th, 1995
Eddie Brock, now bonded with the symbiote costume and calling himself Venom, sets out to destroy Spider-Man. Now faced with a stronger foe that possesses the same abilities as him, Spider-Man must find a way to outwit and outmatch this menacing new villain and send the alien symbiote back to outer space.

Episode #10 - Kraven the Hunter
Original Airdate – April 1st, 1995
Spider-Man finds himself caught between Mariah Crawford, a doctor from Africa, and Kraven, a man who has stalked her all the way to America. An accomplished hunter, Kraven gained animal-like abilities when he ingested a cure to save his life, but the side effects are causing his behavior to be erratic and violent. Spider-Man works with Mariah Crawford to find a cure and save an innocent man and the people around him.

Episode #11 - The Hobgoblin, Part 1
Original Airdate - May 20th, 1995
Norman Osborn hires the the Hobgoblin to take out Wilson Fisk, but when he fails Osborn fires him. To get revenge on Osborn, Hobgoblin changes sides and kidnaps Norman's son, Harry, for the Kingpin. 

Episode #12 - The Hobgoblin, Part 2
Original Airdate - May 27th, 1995
Spider-Man goes after the Hobgoblin after he attacks Aunt May and kidnaps Harry Osborn. He forms an alliance with Norman Osborn and unknowingly becomes allied with the Kingpin as well. After rescuing Harry, Spider-Man finds himself in an all-out no-holds-barred fight to the finish with the Hobgoblin.

Episode #13 - Day of the Chameleon
Original Airdate - June 11th, 1995
A new villain, The Chameleon, is impersonating other people through an image-inducing belt and plans to assassinate two major diplomats on the brink of signing an important peace proposal. But the Chameleon makes a misstep when he unwisely takes the appearance of Peter Parker while Spider-Man is around. Spider-Man battles his doppelganger to ensure that the peace treaty goes according to plan.