Veronica Mars

Veronica Mars. The greatest show on television you probably never watched. Its a teenage drama about a girl who is also a part time detective ala Nancy Drew. It only lasted 3 seasons but was praised by well known pop icons like kevin smith, josh whedon and others.

Veronica solves different mysteries ranging from practical jokes, murders, theft, and even rape. She also goes through her own personal trials and tribulations along the way such as dealing with cheating boyfriends, being drugged then raped, and being thrown in jail.

The show is well written and injects a mix of humor, sarcasm, and social commentary. The chemistry between the actors and the overall who done it feel really draws the viewers into the series. Although the series is available here via reruns, you may want to try your local pirater as the episodes are best viewed one after another as the race to solve the mysteries intensifies. Admittedly i always changed the channel when a teen drama like gilmore girls or the OC was on, but thank the heavens that I started watching VM, it turned out to be one of my all time faves.

Buffy Season 8 is not for me

I just recently purchased the DVDs of Seasons 1 to 7 of buffy the vampire slayer. Half way through the collection i learned that a season 8 of the show was going to come out in comic book form. I haven't finished the DVDs yet but i already have the first five issues of the comics which i intend to read when i finish season 7. The Comic is written by Joss Whedon, the writer, director, and producer of the TV show. As i browsed through the comics that i purchased, i was quite disappointed to know that the art inside is way inferior from the really nice painted covers of the comic. I really expected to get killer art with a metal soundtrack from this book, but ended up with weak unrealistic art which never drew me in to the story.

I come from the school of thought that art and writing go hand in hand to make a book special. I know how Great art can get ruined by poor writing (Jim Lee's run on Superman) and vice versa, and how when a great art and great story telling come hand in hand, a true masterpiece is created ("Batman Hush" at least it was a masterpiece in my eyes). That being said, the buffy comic seems to still be selling well due to fans of the TV series and whedons other works as well. I have personally stopped purchasing the book after issue five as a new writer, albeit with a good writing pedigree, is set to takeover from Joss.

Dont think im a hater or a very superficial person by judging the book due to its art style, its just that money doesnt grow on trees and with the high prices of comics i expect to get good art and storytelling. Dont get me started on the Battlestar Galactica Comic or this post will never end. See ya!

Back in Black

After going through a series of shake ups in the past few years which includes spiderman's death and resurrection, Spidey has finally hit rock bottom. The Back in black arc is a direct result of what happened to Spiderman during the recently concluded Marvel Civil War event. Spiderman at the urging of Tony Stark, revealed his true identity in front of the worlds media to support the pro superhero registration act the government was instituting. The act called for all super powered beings to be registered with the government so that they can be monitored,and ultimately be held accountable for any actions that they perform.

After going against the anti government side a few times, spidey realized that he had done the wrong thing and went on the run along with MJ and Aunt May. Kingpin had him tracked down and hired an assassin to kill Spiderman. As the assassin fired his shot, Spiderman was able to evade it and the bullet ultimately hit aunt may. This led to a series of events where Peter Parker's image changed from a friendly neighborhood wall crawler, to a revenge seeking creature of the night. He later went on to break into the prison where kingpin was jailed, and gave the latter an ass whooping in front of the other inmates. He threatened that if any of his love one dies, he would be back for the kingpin.

The return to the black costume also coincided with the film, Spiderman 3 but the comics didn't really focus on the venom / sandman interactions as much as the movie did. For all of you who grew up with spiderman and probably lost interest in the late 90's (clone saga anyone?), back in black is a good first step to seeing the demise of the dark, gloomy spiderman as immediately after this arc, ONE MORE DAY is set to shatter the current image of the wall crawler and bring him back to his lighter, happy go lucky days. WEBS AWAY!!!

In 2086 two peaceful aliens journied to Earth, seeking our help. In return, they gave us the plans for our first hyperdrive, allowing mankind to open the doors to the stars....
We have assembled a team of unique individuals to protect Earth and our allies, courageous pioneers committed to the highest ideals of justice and dedicated to preserving law and order across the new frontier.

These are the adventures of the Galaxy Rangers!!!

The Galaxy Rangers were one of the cartoons that i really enjoyed as a kid. The show is basically about earth gaining the technology to travel to distant planets and star systems and having to deal with a threat of the crown empire whos aim is to expand their empire to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. The animation in the series was far above those commonly seen in the american cartoons of the day. The overall stories and plot gave a real sense of excitement as you tagged along with the galaxy rangers in their mission to defend earth and its allies from the crown empire. The cliches were all there such as the hot girl ranger, the token black ranger who looks like Billy Dee Williams, and the Blonde Male ranger who was all gung ho and headed into battle without abandon similar to the human torch of the fantastic four, and the older level headed ranger who acted as the leader of the team. Cliches or not,this show began my interest in science fiction shows and movies and opened up a whole new world for me as a kid.

I am currently trying to get a german copy of the complete series as a full US dvd set is not yet available. If you want to relieve the nostalgia of 1980's Saturday mornings, try to get a hold of the dvd,or better yet, try to watch it for free on the net. NO guits! No Glory!

FIRST BORN

For all you unfamiliar with TOPCOWs long running comic heroine, Sara Pezzini, former and future bearer of the WITCHBLADE, is leading the companys ressurgence with this months FIRST BORN Mini series. Topcow brings together most of their characters for this massive event featuring the Darkness, Angelus, and Magdalena among others.

The Story revolves around the mysterious pregnancy of Sara and the power struggle between the forces of the Darkness and the Angelus. Long term readers will be enjoy the wide reaching effects of the story as it is rumored to affect the relaunch of TOMB RAIDER, DARKNESS, and a slew of one shots that topcow will be releasing soon after the crossover.

The main complaint of fans of topcow has been its erratic shipping schedule with a lot of books not shipping on time due to numerous delays in art or writing. The regular witchblade series had to be rushed as its story ties directly into first born.

Initial indications look positive as FIRST BORN #1 delivers in both art and story and ties in all the characters in the topcow universe fluidly. Check this sleeper hit in a local comic shop near you

METAL GEAR SOLID 3

I bought this game late last year, and after playing it for about 15 minutes, i lost interest and placed it aside. The reason I lost interest was the fact that the narrative portions of the game are a bit too long, and at the time, I didn't want to wade through numerous tutorials to learn all the new moves and basically how to play the game. I thought to myself, this is a game that I would play when i have more time on my hands. Now don't get me wrong. I have been a fan of the series since Metal Gear Solid 1 on the PS1. However each of these games are so packed with story and game play that it can be intimidating to start up a new version for the first time. Fast forward almost a year later, and my DVD conks out...whats a guy to do but rummage through some unplayed games and looking for something to take up a couple of hours of his time. I found the old dusty box of Metal Gear 3 calling out to me. After playing throughout he initial loooong narrative scenes (sometimes even longer than the actual game play), I found myself actually being immersed in the whole game world trying to hunt for food, sneaking around using my camouflage to be undetected by patrolling foot soldiers, and looking for the best way to get in a heavily guarded fortress to save some scientist, get some data/item and save the world.

Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater is a prequel to the long running Metal Gear franchise giving gamers a look back at Naked Snake, a US operative who is tasked with stopping some ex CIA and Russian soldiers from completing a weapon of mass destruction and unleashing havoc on the world. Being a prequel, Naked Snake would later go on to become the BIG BOSS, who is the villain in the first two Metal Gear video games that was released in the NES console in the late 80s and early 90s. His turn from hero to villain stems from events that unfold in this game (Ala Darth Vader). Gamers get an inside to his psyche and understand that in snakes world, allies and villains are not always so clearly defined. It is also later revealed in subsequent games (chronology wise) the Naked Snakes DNA was used to create 3 more soldiers, one of which is SOLID SNAKE who is the main protagonist of the Metal Gear series.


This game has more bells and whistles than the past metal gear games by giving the player more realism overall. If you fall from a high height you can break some bones, gunshots will leave bullets that need to be surgically removed, burns need to be treated, and you must constantly hunt for food in order to keep your stamina up. The Gamer also chooses between going in guns a' blazing or sneaking in through ventilation shafts and tunnels in order to complete a particular task. I however have never been a fan of sneaking around and crawling through dark tunnels so i chose to go in like Rambo, firing a heavy machine gun, rocket launchers, and unleashing hell on the enemy. The enemy soldiers also react well by taking cover, trying to encircle you, and calling in reinforcements at the first sign of trouble. During one mission i hid inside a cardboard box as an enemy patrol went by (yes a cardboard box!). upon seeing the box, one of the soldiers said, what is this doing here, and started examining the box,and later on he lifted it and blew my cover.

Metal Gear is a game that s very addicting, has tons of replay value, and is loads of fun. It inspired copy cat games like Syphon filter and Splinter Cell which although are good, can never surpass or equal the quality and overall feal of the Metal Gear Franchise.

Andromeda Ascendant

Im midway throught the first season of Andromeda the TV series starring Kevin Sorbo and Lexa doig. I have heard a lot of negative things about the show ranging from how bad the acting is, to how the script is straight out of a B movie. After watching it though, i really enjoyed the cheese factor and the overall feel of the show.

It's definitely a nice change of pace from the overly gloomy/heavy feel of battlestar galactica and other modern shows. Dont get me wrong, im a big BSG fan, however when i watch Andromeda, I feel as if im immersed in an old school comic book, where im a child again, racing through the stars trying to save the universe.

The show is about a captain and his starship being frozen in time in a stellar anomoly for 300 years. when they awaken, they find that the world they knew is no more as wars and violence has divided the once united commonwealth of star systems. Their goal is to once again rebuild the commonwealth, one planet at a time and in effect end the dark age (the long night) that currently plagues the universe.

If your looking for a show thats not too heavy, a bit campy, but a lot of fun to watch, then give it a try, you might just like it.

My Freakin DVD

My Dvd player conked out today. Thats what you get when you Marathon through a whole season of Andromeda, Startrek, and buffy. Aside from that I usually get the cheapest players on the market as they are usually best for the bootlegs that are sold in ASIA. I know I know, bootlegs = Bad! However we cant get any boxed sets here for the above mentioned series. If we order from amazon, the shipping and tax amounts more than the actual purchase price. So whats a SCIFI Fan gonna do right?

Transformers

Hey there. I just finished season 3 of the original transformers cartoon show. The art was very inconsistent throughout. Specially the 3 episode rebirth which really felt rushed just to tie up the storyline, introduce new toys, and end the series. Rebirth was considered the 4th season by the way. A remake should be made as their are a lot of good stories yet to be told. I don't particularly like the comics being released as it seems like an attempt to just cash in on the franchise. The art is not great and story lines aren't that great. Just another excuse to get $2.99 from some collector who has to catch them all.

I am Me!

Hi, Today officially is the first day of my new online journey. I am not the most tech savvy person in the world however i love to write. Hopefully this would be a good venue for this old school comic collector, car lover, and video game junkie to express his thoughts in this ever changing world.