Harley Quinn (Batman: The Animated Series, DC Collectibles, 2015)

 

Paul Dini & Bruce Timm’s masterpiece Batman: The Animated Series is pretty much the definitive Batman experience.  When it came on the scene, it’s stylized visuals and compelling storytelling blew most other cartoons–hell… most other TV series, period–out of the water.  However, the original toy line that came along with the series was a victim of the time. The figures were small, stiff, and lacking articulation.

When I discovered this line was coming, I was extremely excited.  6″ scale figures in the Timm style, with seemingly decent amounts of articulation.  Joker and Harley were announced, along with the line’s first wave of figures.  I was at my LCBS that day pre-ordering them.  That was at least a year ago… I’m reasonably sure this is the longest I’ve had to wait for a figure I’ve ordered to arrive.

But today, she’s out.  I went to the LCBS almost as soon as it opened, partly because I wanted my figure, partly because I was afraid after 12 months or more they may have lost my pre-order before they were ever able to actually order the figure. They had.  So, I grabbed one of the shelf anyway, and headed home.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) – A FDWG Movie Review

Hallowe’en this year marked a minor milestone in my house.  After Charlotte got her sackfull of candy, we returned home and watched The Nightmare Before Christmas.  We watched the whole thing, and as far as I can remember this is the first time she’s sat with me and watched an entire full length feature film, animated or otherwise.

This is a Fat Dad With Glasses review, which means I’ll be mostly covering it from the father-of-a-five-year-old-girl angle.  If you want my grown-up independent type view point… Here you go:

Despite being a fresh take, it still features a pretty derivative theme.  However, the movie is very entertaining.  It’s a masterwork of visual and musical achievement.

If you would like that opinion expanded upon… Seriously?  You can go pretty much anywhere else on the internet.  Or bait me with a comment below. It’s shockingly easy to get me to talk about something “I’m not gonna talk about” with comments.

31 Days of Tales From the Crypt – The Man Who Was Death (S01 E01)

Hello, kiddies.

So, it looks like I’m starting off the first full week of the 31 Days of Tales From the Crypt blog-a-thon at Channel: Superhero, your source for the scrutiny of Small Screen comic-book-based properties.  In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last 25 years or so, Tales From the Crypt is an anthology horror series that ran on HBO from 1989 to 1996.  It also spun off two feature length films and an animated series called, Tales From the Cryptkeeper.

Today’s story–the Tales From the Crypt series premiere episode “The Man Who Was Death”–is taken directly from the pages of The Crypt of Terror #17. Thanks to some penny saving publishers and Post Office permit loopholes, The Crypt of Terror #17 is considered to be the very first issue of the Tales From the Crypt comic book.  That’s why it’s fitting that today on day 5, in true Tales From the Crypt fashion, we’ll begin at the beginning… somewhere in the middle.

#17 is the new #1.

Review Grab Bag (10-4-15)

It’s the 11th Edition of the Review Grab Bag, everyone!  Yay!  For something I’ve been doing for a little over 4 years, that’s really not a lot of Grab Bags.  Sure, once or twice there was basically a whole year or more in there where I didn’t post anything… but we don’t like to talk about that.

*Shifts eyes shiftily*

Anyway…  Today, in the Review Grab Bag we’ll find 2 movies, a Graphic Novel and a puzzle that’s from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Walt Disney Productions’ “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” – A FDWG Book Review

 

Recently, maybe about the beginning of the summer (of 2015, for you future readers. Get off your damn hoverboards and get back to work.) Charlotte started showing an interest in reading some of the untouched books in her collections. Hand-me-downs from me or my brother, or other books from that era I picked up years ago, before she could read. One of these books was “Mickey’s Christmas Carol”. She loved it.

The Muppets (2015 Series Premiere)

So, the Muppets are back on TV.  When I heard the news, I was… well.  What’s the next step down on the hype-o-meter from “Cautiously Optimistic”?  “Reluctantly Pessimistic”?  I mean, I wanted to be excited, I really did.  I love the Muppets.  I do.  But given their recent history, I haven’t been able to muster up the love like I once did.

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

“WANTED: Someone to go back in time with me.  This is not a joke.  You’ll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED.”

Aubrey Plaza plays Aubrey Plaza Darius, a young, blunt, disinterested intern who’s still looking for something to give her life meaning. Up and Coming “That Guy!™” Jake Johnson plays her narcissistic writer boss, Jeff. Along with another socially awkward intern, this unlikely trio travel out to a small Washington town in search of the man who placed the above ad.

Eventually they find Kenneth, played by another up and coming “That Guy!™” Mark Duplass.  When Kenneth gets spooked by Jeff, it’s up to Aubrey Darius to reel him in if they ever want to find out just how crazy Kenneth is… or isn’t.

Super Mario Bros. (NES)

Yesterday may have been Video Game Day–as confirmed by nothing less of a source than daysoftheyear.com--but today… today is the 30th Anniversary of one of the industry’s most ground breaking accomplishments.  Super Mario Bros. turns 30 goddamn years old today.

There is seriously nothing that I can add to the conversation about this game.

I could marvel at its design–so innovative that its high water mark has only ever really been topped by other games in the same franchise.  I could talk about it cementing Mario as a pop culture icon.  I could share personal anecdotes about trying to reach The Negative World, or playing the game while looking at the TV in a mirror, or wrestling the controller away from a superior Player 1 shouting “Hurry up and die, so I can play!”.  Something Something Iconic Soundtrack, etc., etc.

But everything… everything–good and bad–has been said better by someone else.  Go read and/or watch their stuff.  It’s good, really.

Instead, I’m going to be a lame dad, and share the names my daughter, Charlotte, gave the Goombas (and Koopa Troopa) found on World 1-1.  That’s right, I’m turning a review of an unparalleled gaming classic into a shitty Facebook post.

Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man (Atari 2600)

Today, Sept 12, was apparently Video Game Day.  I don’t know who decided it, or how official it is, but I saw it when Ken Jeong retweeted Community‘s twitter account… so it must be legit.

So, in the spirit of this very real, totally not randomly assigned “holiday”, I decided it was high time to do something I’ve wanted to do for about 30 years.  I decided I would finally play Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man for the Atari 2600.

Charles Soule, Ray Fawkes & Various Artists’ “Wolverines”

So, in late 2014, Wolverine died.  If you were following comics, you probably noticed.  If you weren’t following comics, you probably didn’t.  It was a surprisingly good mini-series, in my opinion. I didn’t read any of the pre-amble, but I enjoyed the series enough to sign-up for some of the aftermath.

The post-Logan series that interested me the most going in was the weekly-released Wolverines from writers Charles Soule and Ray Fawkes.  I’m not very familiar with Fawkes, but I discovered Soule on his 2013/14 She-Hulk run, then followed up on him with Letter 44, Strongman, Death of Wolverine and Inhuman.  I enjoyed them all at least as much–or more–than I had anticipated, so I was cautiously optimistic about this title.