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AWESOME-tober-fest 2012: Finishing up The Astounding Wolf-Man

Posted in comic books, Halloween, holiday, monsters, werewolf, werewolves, Wolf Man with tags AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2012, Cavalcade Comics, comic books, Halloween, holiday, werewolf, werewolves, Wolf Man on October 30, 2012 by Paxton

Since this final week of AWESOME-tober-fest is a short week, I’m straying from the movie maniac theme and doing updates to previous Halloween reviews. Yesterday I reviewed the final book in The Strain trilogy which I had previously reviewed the first two books last year. Today, I’m going to talk about the comic series The Astounding Wolf-Man.

Two years ago for AWESOME-tober-fest 2010, I reviewed the first 18 issues of the comic that were collected in Volumes 1-3 of the trade paperbacks. The final fourth volume collecting issues 19-25 had yet to be released. However, I acquired the final collection earlier this year and read the concluding story.

The last and concluding story arc was called Legacy. It’s a five-parter that takes place in issues #21-25. So much happens in this concluding story. Seriously, it’s packed with a lot of action. We see the main character reunited with his daughter, we see the end game of the Elder Wolf’s plans and we see the final confrontation between Wolf-Man and Zachariah (which is awesome, btw).

astoundingwolf-man21 astoundingwolf-man22 astoundingwolf-man23

In short, I loved this series. So many great characters written so well. Kirkman really does a great job with so many characters to juggle. It was actually this series that led me to Kirkman and had me checking out his other work like Invincible, The Walking Dead and Marvel Zombies. But that’s only half of the whole. Jason Howard’s amazingly dynamic art really sells it. I love the dynamics of Howard’s action and how he designs the look and feel of the universe. Plus, his 2 page action spreads are breathtaking. It really adds a lot of character to the story.

Speaking of characters, several of them are standouts. Gary Hampton/Astounding Wolf-Man is great. Zecariah the vampire is also a great villain. The Elder Wolf is BAD ASS. And in this final run of issues, we really see some good character work with Mecha-Maid. I really enjoyed her character and I want to see more of her. You can see her in the second comic cover above. Btw, that scene on the cover never happens. But it’s a great cover, nonetheless.

Anyway, like I said, I want to see more of these Astounding Wolf-Man characters. I think he and Mecha Maid may pop up from time to time in Kirkman’s Invincible, but I want to see more. This series was just too much fun not to continue. However, like I said, as of today, issue #25 was the final issue.

Also, check out the blog Countdown to Halloween for more Halloween-y, bloggy AWESOMEness.

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Nerd Lunch Episode 54: Give it a Chance 2: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Posted in books, monsters, podcast, TV shows, vampires with tags books, Nerd Lunch Podcast, podcast, podcasts, pop culture, TV shows, vampires on September 25, 2012 by Paxton

We have arrived at Episode 54 of the podcast. This week we return to a previous topic called Give It A Chance. We first did this topic back in Episode 24 in which we gave anime a chance and we had Shawn Robare as our guide. This week Jen Usellis (Episode 11) returns to the fourth chair to guide the three of us geeky guys through the world of Sookie Stackhouse. That’s right, the three of us read Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris, the first Southern Vampire Mystery and the genesis of the TV show True Blood.

Jen guides us through the gothic horror romance genre and teaches us all a thing or two about why this series is so popular. We mostly discuss the book, but there is a part at the end in which we discuss the first few episodes of the TV show starring Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse.

We learn this week that two of the three of us have watched the show and that two of the three of us hate the vampire called “Bubba” in the novel. We also learn that vampire Bill has a stupid name and is a “black hole of charisma”.

Lots to learn, lots to hear in this episode. Download it from iTunes or listen to it on Feedburner.

Or, listen to it within your browser here.

Still waiting for the f**king Teen Wolf cartoon on DVD

Posted in cartoons, monsters, TV shows, werewolf, werewolves with tags cartoon, cartoons, movies, pop culture, TV shows, werewolf, werewolves on December 9, 2011 by Paxton

Teen Wolf cartoon
So, I’ve talked many times on this blog about my love for the cartoon adventures of Teen Wolf and my desire for a North American release of the complete series (It was already released in Australia). Well, I was writing my On the Shelves column this week for Strange Kid’s Club and two very obscure cartoons popped up as having complete season sets being released. The two cartoon series are Captain Power (1987) and Skeleton Warriors (1994).

Don’t get me wrong, both of these series are pretty good. Skeleton Warriors is actually a pretty awesome concept, but the cartoon itself is, like I said, rather obscure. What’s next? Mummies Alive? King Arthur and the Knights of Justice? Oh yeah, BOTH of those cartoons already have DVD releases (here and here). What the hell is the hold up for the release of Teen Wolf cartoon episodes? They wouldn’t have to do much more than remaster the Australian set into NTSC format. I don’t really care about extras. Why hasn’t this been done? As I’ve seen the parade of odd 80s-90s cartoons get their releases on DVD I become more and more baffled. The Herculoids get a complete series release? The f**king Herculoids? Frankenstein Jr? Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor?! Seriously? The Teen Wolf cartoon was based on a popular movie. There’s a fairly decent TV show on MTV right this very f**king moment also based on said movie. How much more current or relevant can you get?!

At this point, I have to assume there’s a rights issue. Maybe the fact that MTV is airing the TV show is also causing the rights to the cartoon to be up in the air or on hold. But that’s not my problem. I want the show. I’m tired of watching shi**y, grainy episodes on YouTube like I used to watch porn movies on old pay cable stations. I want these bitches on DVD and I want them NOW.

I mean, The Mighty Hercules was released on DVD. THE MIGHTY GODDAM HERCULES.

Hollywood, your ancestors are WEEPING!

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AWESOME-tober-fest 2011: Dracula Dead and Loving It (1995)

Posted in Halloween, holiday, monsters, movies, pop culture, vampires with tags AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2011, Dracula, Halloween, holiday, monsters, movies, reviews, vampires on October 28, 2011 by Paxton

This is it. The final day of AWESOME-tober-fest. This week I looked at lots of Dracula movies. I usually end these things with “Freaky Friday” in which I’ll review a particularly silly or spoof movie about the subject at hand. I did this with Billy the Kid last year. I also did it with last years’ werewolves AWESOME-tober-fest. So it goes this year. Today I’m going to look at a Mel Brooks spoof of Dracula from 1995.

That movie was Dracula Dead and Loving It. I originally saw this movie in the theater. I am a HUGE fan of Brooks’ Young Frankenstein which spoofs the first three Universal Frankenstein movies. So I was excited to see what Brooks had in store for Dracula. This movie not only spoofs the 1931 Universal Dracula, it also pokes fun at the 1992 Coppola Dracula and the 1958 Hammer Dracula.

So overall, this movie isn’t that funny. It’s more along the lines of a modern spoof movie like Date Movie or Disaster Movie. It’s nowhere near as satisfying as a Young Frankenstein. And it’s tough that Brooks had to live up to Young Frankenstein which is a nearly perfect spoof comedy, but that’s how I watched it. I enjoyed parts of it, though. Leslie Nielsen is okay as Count Dracula. The standout performance in the movie, however, is Peter MacNicol as Renfield. He really gets his crazy on and models his insanity on the original 1931 Renfield, Dwight Frye. He is a joy to watch. It looks like he had so much fun.

Steven Weber as Jonathan Harker isn’t bad either. Unfortunately, however, I’m not a huge fan of Weber’s Wings costar, Amy Yasbeck. I just don’t think she’s funny nor a good actress. She similarly tanked another Brooks movie, Robin Hood Men in Tights, which I thought was funny despite Yasbeck’s performance. And she was terrible in The Mask. How does she keep getting work?

This movie is all about the sight gags, so I’m not going to sit here and describe that to you. There are some genuinely funny moments onscreen, unfortunately, they come too infrequently. I really think the problem here is the script. Dracula is ripe for some parody, yet the material seemed thin and less a parody of Dracula and had more situational comedy. Maybe the movie would have been better with better actors. I don’t know. I just wish it would have worked more as a whole because I really like the idea of this movie. Like I said, these horror movies are ripe for a good parody (not looking at you Scary Movie 2-4).

Also, check out the blog Countdown to Halloween for more Halloween-y, bloggy AWESOMEness.

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AWESOME-tober-fest 2011: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Posted in Dracula, Frankenstein, Halloween, holiday, monsters, movies, pop culture, vampires with tags AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2011, Dracula, Frankenstein, Halloween, holiday, monsters, movies, reviews, vampires on October 27, 2011 by Paxton

Continuing the final week of AWESOME-tober-fest. This week I’ve been reviewing all Dracula movies. Monday was Nosferatu from 1922. Tuesday was Universal’s Dracula from 1931. Yesterday I reviewed Horror of Dracula by Hammer Films. Today I’m looking at a movie that threw out these past movie versions of Dracula and went back to the source. The director wanted to do a new, more faithful adaptation of Stoker’s novel. That director was Francis Ford Coppola.

So, in 1992 we got Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Coppola was actually given the script for this adaptation by Wynona Ryder. She wanted a project for them to do together to help patch things up with the director after she pulled out of The Godfather Part III at the last minute. So Coppola agreed to do this and production began.

Coppola really wanted to create an ethereal almost dreamlike quality to this movie. Originally, he didn’t want to build any sets. He wanted elaborate costumes but very sparse, minimalistic backgrounds. Luckily the studio said no and forced him to do “traditional” sets. I’ve attempted to watch this movie several times since the 90s. But I hadn’t tried for a few years, so I thought this might be the year to give it a try, especially since I just read the original novel and watched a bunch of other Dracula movies.

So, what did I think this time? I didn’t like it. At all. They put Stoker’s name over the title, but that was mainly to differentiate it from Universal’s movie, not because there is that much more devotion to the novel. Coppola has created an overly indulgent arthouse flick about Dracula. It’s surreal and strange and boring. He ties the origins of Dracula to “The Impaler” Vlad III who renounces God after his beloved wife kills herself after mistakenly believing her husband was killed in battle. Then Dracula stabs a stone cross, which starts to bleed, then he drinks the blood from the cross. WHAT?!

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