Off the Cuff - #18 – A return to comic books (sort of)
Off the Cuff – Edition 18
By Eric Barrett
Comics, Cartoons, and all things related
*A few weeks ago I bought the (then) latest issue of Robin. I had been looking forward to reading about all the changes in young Tim’s life. But when I got home I started reading other titles first (Batgirl, Superman/Batman, Space Ghost…). Robin simply remained on top of my ‘to read’ list. And remained. And remained.
You see I kept picking up the book and reading whatever was beneath it. But each time I would place Robin back on the stack and think, “okay, you’re next.” But it never was. And still isn’t.
I think the problem is that I’ve begun to dread reading that title. I really love the storytelling. But the Art… The art is just so awful. I hate to use that term, but it’s true, at least in my view. I’ve said it before in this space, and others, that I don’t like the art in Robin. And now it’s come to the point where I literally dread reading the story.
Maybe I’ll read it tomorrow …
*Krypto sure is getting a lot of play right now. Not only is he starring in this week’s episode of Smallville, but he’s also got his own upcoming show on Cartoon Network. This is how the Cartoon Network is describing the show:
| Quote: |
| “Krypto the Superdog chronicles the comedic canine adventures of Metropolis’ day-saving super dog from the planet Krypton. Krypto jettisons to Earth after orbiting countless years in space as a test-pilot puppy aboard a malfunctioning rocket ship built by Superman’s father. Landing astray on unfamiliar terrain, the fully-grown Krypto swiftly seeks out companionship on Earth and flips over Kevin Whitney, a young boy who also longs for friendship. Endowed with an amazing array of super hero powers, ranging from heat vision to super strength to flying, Krypto, partners with best pal Kevin to fight evil forces that threaten the safety and well being of the people and animals of Metropolis.” |
Well see, I’m not so sure how I feel about this concept. But Cartoon Network has done a pretty good job of handling original series (with the exception of the poorly written He-Man). So I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt…for now.
*I hadn’t seen Rave Master in a few weeks, and when I finally tuned in I was shocked. Haru Glory was fighting a horde of monsters, and as he would kill them a big spray of black liquid would come squirting out. At first I thought the monster blood was simply black, but then I noticed that Haru was bleeding black blood as well.
I think this falls into the ‘if you’re not going to do it for real, don’t do it category,’ much like swearing in cartoons. It’s pretty clear that Rave Master didn’t want to get censored for violence, so they changed the color of blood. But why should that not count as violence?
There is more ‘blood’ in these recent episodes than any other TV show I’ve ever seen. Why isn’t that being complained about? Now don’t get me wrong, I like Rave Master, but it is geared toward a younger audience, especially with a 6:30 airtime. This is the type of violence that should not be shown to children.
If the animators took time to change the color of blood from red to black, then they probably could have taken the time to edit out the blood all together. By doing so I don’t think they would have taken anything away from the story, so that couldn’t really have been the reason for leaving the bloody scenes.
*I picked up a stack of The Demon comic book a few weeks ago. They were $0.50 a pop, so how could I refuse? Anyway, the one thing that struck me was seeing all the old movie ads. For example, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Adventure, Start Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country, Robin Hood, and Double Impact (a Van Damn movie)
*The other thing I noticed is that there were significantly fewer advertisements. The books originally cost $1.50 and I find it hard to believe that inflation took costs up almost 100% AND forced the publishers to sell more ad space. Now I’m a big fan of capitalism, so I don’t really have a problem with this. I just don’t want to hear about how ‘unprofitable’ it is, blah blah blah.
*FUNimation (the company that brought the US shows such as: DragonBall Z, DragonBall GT, YuYu Hakusho, and The Full Metal Alchemist) was recently bought by another corporation. I don’t know how this will affect the anime that they bring into the US, but hopefully it won’t disrupt it too much. I’m always concerned when a successful smaller company is bought buy a larger company. Very rarely is this a good thing for fans of the smaller company. This is especially true of those companies that focus on very specialized areas. How many video game developers have fallen apart once they were bought by a large company like EA or Sierra?
*Boy complaining about advertising in comic books, pricing of comic books, and mergers, I sound like some kind of anti-capitalist!
*Okay, how about one more thought…mmmmmm, I got nothing. So instead, allow me to do a bit of a cross promotion and suggest you check out my other column, Beyond Fact & Fiction. This week’s is about the superhero dating scene. I know you’re curious.
Until next week!
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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