Off The Cuff - 08/23/04 - By Eric Barrett

- Have you ever seen Rave Master on Cartoon Network? I love the animation – part anime and part video game. It’s simple yet complex all at the same time. However, the one thing I can’t stand is the animation style of the character named Plu. In the show Plu is described as a carrot-nosed dog. The running joke in the show is that everyone thinks it’s something else (like a cat, or a bug). Well I can’t stand how they animate it using these little squiggly lines around the edges. What’s that mean? Is it cold? Is it having a seizure? Was its animator having a seizure? I don’t get it.

- While on the topic of anime. One thing I do hate about that style of art is the dangling booger. Do we really need to see animated snot?

- Teen Titans. Most people don’t like this show, but frankly I think it’s the best superhero show currently running (okay so it’s really only competing with Justice League Unlimited, but still). One of my favorite parts about the show is that Beast Boy is always using different forms. The animators aren’t stuck with three or four generic forms. And for that I think they deserve some credit.

- I just picked up Ruule Vol 2 this weekend. I wasn’t a huge fan of the story, but that’s more because it wasn’t my style of story than anything else. I will say one thing about the story, the main ‘hero’ in the story gets into trouble and ends up in a fight. Well during this fight he rips someone’s arm off and uses it to beat up his attackers. Now that’s hardcore!

-I tried to get into Daredevil. I really tried. But I just couldn’t get past the animation style. I felt like I was trying to watch a TV show with a lot of static. That’s not really my style of art. But, I keep hearing good things about it from reviewers I trust (our own Andrea Speed for instance), so I’m going to give it one last shot. I’m going to jump aboard on issue 66, which starts a new story line. Wish me luck.

- Mark your Bat-calendars everyone. On September 11th the WB will launch a new animated series following the adventures of the caped crusader.

- Dragon Ball Z will always hold a special place in my heart (right next to my love of oatmeal) because it was this cartoon that really introduced me to the world of anime. Sure I had seen other anime and skimmed some manga before, but nothing made me want to come back for seconds. As time passed, I slowly found myself looking forward to the next episode of DBZ.

-Well, that love affair is apparently over. The show jumped the shark after the “Cell Saga”. And now Dragon Ball GT is just slow torture. I only watch it because I feel like I’ve put enough time into the DB universe that I need to see it to its conclusion.

- Speaking of Dragon Ball GT, when did Goku become a complete moron? He’s always been naïve, but it wasn’t until GT that he became an idiot.

- I don’t know about you, but I’m wary of the upcoming (and ongoing) Green Lantern book with Hal Jordan. I’ve never been a huge Lantern Corp fan. Perhaps it’s because I look at the Lantern Corp as a giant version of the UN. And since I so dislike the UN, I think it carries over. I’ll give the 5-issue Green Lantern: Rebirth mini-series a shot and see how that goes. Maybe I can think of them as NATO instead.

- I have a confession to make. I love the $1.00 bin at my local comic book store. I hate to say this (I don’t want to give away good trade secrets!) but I find at least one good book per week in that bin. This week it was an issue of Dr. Strange wrapping up the Infinity Gauntlet storylines. The story itself wasn’t fantastic, but I’m a sucker for cosmic-level beings. Let me also just say, Adam Warlock juggling the solar system is cool.

- Speaking of Warlock and his juggling routine…He stops juggling and declares, “I shall let Natural Law hold sway again…so that centrifugal force may carry the planets” back to their original locations. (emphasis added)

-Pet peeve alert! There is no such thing as centrifugal force. Centrifugal force is the ‘force’ exerted on an object moving in a circular motion causing it to be ‘pulled’ outward. Think back to a time when you’ve been spinning very fast and felt yourself being pulled outward. Well, that feeling isn’t caused by centrifugal force. That “force” you feel is really a result of centripetal force fighting against the inertia of your body (because your body wants to travel in a straight line). Centripetal force is what causes you to continue traveling in your circular path. In the case of a satellite orbiting Earth, the centripetal force is gravity, and that is why the satellite doesn’t go flying off into the universe. You’d think an all-knowing and all-powerful being would know that.

Okay that ends today’s physics lesson. I feel better. Thanks.

-There’s a lot of Smallville news recently. I suppose it’s because they are gearing up for another season. I was a devoted follower of this show for the first 2 seasons. But with the start of season 3 (and in some ways the end of season2) they changed it from being a superhero story to being a teen drama involving a superhero. If I wanted to watch that, I’d be watching 90210.

- Well apparently The Phoenix will return (yet again) for a mini-series in February. Personally I think I’m looking forward to this series. Although I reserve the right to change my mind later! But what is interesting is this quote from Wizard World Chicago:

"The return of the Phoenix again -- and I believe this will be the final time," Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada said.

Okay, now everyone who believes this raise your hand. Yeah, that’s what I thought too.

- Identity Crisis: What can I say other than WOW! Great story, great art, great drama. It has it all so far. But it’s not just a comic book so much more. It has a philosophical, deep, and touching side. If more books were like this, the comic book medium would get a lot more respect. It’s just amazing. Meltzer, Morales, and Bair deserve a lot of credit for a fantastic book.

- More Identity Crisis? Sure. Looking at the first few pages of the fight with Slade, I think I might have to re-evaluate my opinion of him. I never believed he could do so much damage. Scary.

- Okay, one more: Does anyone else think that Superman’s profile in this book makes him look a little like Todd McFarlane?

Well that’s all for now. Hope you enjoyed the first edition of Off the Cuff. Look for it again in two weeks. In the meantime, check out my other column Beyond Fact and Fiction at ComiXtreme. Later.