Off the Cuff – Edition 15
By Eric Barrett
Comics, Cartoons, and all things related

*I was never a big fan of Robosapien. They just seemed bulky, awkward, and useless. And for that much scratch who needed it? But I did recognize that it would be a first generation technology. And that was kind of exciting.

Now we are beginning to see second generation Robosapiens. And this time they come in the form of a dog and a dinosaur. And they actually look kind of cool too. Now don’t get me wrong, I still think these are a waste of money, but you are starting to see that they might have some appeal with some new upgrades down the road.

The dinosaur, Roboraptor, will have three ‘modes’: Hunter, Cautious and Playful. And that kind of appeals to me. As a kid I was always trying to sneak up on pets, family members, etc… I would have loved to have a toy that I could have stalked, or it could have stalked me. Now Roboraptor isn’t going to be very effective in it’s hunting, but now it’s only a matter of time.

And for the first time I really see the appeal of these toys.

*Hellboy is up for an award for “Achievement in Makeup” for the upcoming Academy Awards. It’s one of seven movies being considered. Personally I think it would be a great choice. It was one of those movies that you really felt like you were looking at Hellboy and not some actor in a rubber suit. So many times comic book movies fail because the special effects just look cheesy.

Any time you break that illusion of reality you are taking some of the enjoyment out of the movie. This is especially true when it comes to something that is already difficult to believe. You might let the special effects slide in a drama or sports movie, because those are at least ‘real’. But when you are already suspending your belief about science and life, well, there isn’t as much flex room left.

*I was looking at some pictures of the new Batman movie, and I’ve realized one of the things that I’ve disliked about all of the Batman movies so far: they are all too stiff. To me Batman is at his best when he’s fluid and moving. But in the movies they put an actor into a stiff rubber suit and he kind of stalks, zombie-like, around the set doing his scenes. That’s not Batman. Batman has ninja-like fluidity of motion. The best characterizations of him include those that show him as being, in essence, a shadow. And shadow’s aren’t stiff.

Now I realize I’m looking at pictures, which by their very nature are stiff. So I’m holding out final judgment. But it’s not Batman if he’s not fluid.

*So now that War Games and Identity Crisis have been wrapped up, I have to confess. I feel pretty bad for Tim Drake. He’s lost his father, his girlfriend, and even a close friend all in the matter of what? Days? Weeks? Obviously that has to be tough, and the writers need to take that into consideration as they write new stories for him in the coming months. No one can go through that without some kind of emotional difficulty.

It’s really too bad too, because I like Tim. But not only that, he’s been one of the most well-adjusted superheroes out there. And I’m curious to see how they take the character from here.

*I think I realized why every month I’m hesitant to buy She-Hulk: I’m just not that attached to the character. No, I take that back, I don’t really like She-Hulk. It’s not that I hate her; it’s just that I’m not fond of her. I don’t think she’s really that interesting of a character.

But I’ve discovered (repeatedly) that She-Hulk’s just a fantastic book. Not because of the character mind you, but because of the brilliant writing and superb artwork. It’s funny, witty, clever, nice attention to detail, and the stories are interesting.

So I really have nothing to complain about from that stand point. But because I’m not a She-Hulk fan, I lose enthusiasm for the title each month. And secretly I wish that this creative team would switch to a character that I could get behind.

*Speaking of monthly comic books: I don’t know if anyone else has this problem, but I’m having serious difficulty in remembering what happened from month to month. What I need to do is dig out the previous book, but usually it’s buried, and that would resemble too closely something I like to call ‘work’.

So I muddle through and hope that I can remember where things left off. It usually takes a few pages but I typically remember what happened since I read the story last. Now this may rile some people up, but I like Marvel’s little synopsis at the beginning of each book. It’s usually enough to jog the old memory. I wish DC would do that as well.

Would it really be too much effort to write a “Since we last saw our heroes…” type statement?

*Okay, something is clearly wrong. I’ve gone three consecutive columns without mentioning anime – this paragraph doesn’t count. I swear it’s not on purpose, well the first time was, the next two times were purely accidental. I’ll have to see if I can rectify that problem for next week.

*Let me just say, it would be sweet to be a Watcher. Just to sit back and absorb all of that knowledge and information. All that learning. Where do I sign up?!

*Well that’s it for this week. Hopefully you’ll stick around and enjoy the great offerings of Still on the Shelf! Or check out my Comixtreme column.

The opinions stated in here solely reflect the opinions of the author. If you would like to comment on some of the items in this article, please feel free to post in the forum or send an e-mail. All characters, titles, and etc. are owned and ©; their respective publishers and creators- the author and StillontheShelf.com makes no claim towards them. This column is intended as an opinion piece only. Off the Cuff is ©; Eric Barrett. Please report any broken links!

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