A lot has gone on in the last month and I thought I'd bring all of the faithful readers up to speed. Excelsior!
Star Wars, Nothing But Star Wars
Upon publication of this column, the world will be 78 days away from experiencing "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones." That is really close. www.theforce.net has a bajillion links to images of the upcoming action figures, which look sweet. I myself intend to purchase at least three of the figures featuring Padme chained to a pole with her midriff exposed.
Cursed Be Your Name, Alien Invaders!
As you may remember, last month I obtained some Atari 7800 controllers on eBay. It took about six days for the controllers to break. One controller has two barely functioning buttons. The other one has a half-dead button and now the left directional movement on the joystick is sticky. Still, I managed to play my best-ever game of "Galaga": Stage 30 - 216,250 points. That may have been the best week of my life.
It's Clobberin' Time!
As you'll recall, I also obtained the never-released "Fantastic Four" movie. My roommate and I gave it a look, and all I can say is "wow." The tape has picture quality only Russian bootlegs could deliver and the entire movie is one bad thing after another. The "film" manages to capture Johnny Storm perfectly and the music is good, but that is it. The Thing looks like a Power Ranger villain, Dr. Doom's throne room looks to be a direct replica of Merciless Ming's palace and there are more plot-holes than a Jerry Bruckheimer film. I was absolutely right: I could not have lived without owning this movie.
Win One, Lose One
Remember how I gushed about the upcoming "Spider-Man" movie? Well, the Dogmatic Karma of Movies has prevailed: Michael Clarke Duncan has been cast as the Kingpin for the "Daredevil" movie. In the comics, The Kingpin is an overweight white guy. Michael Clarke Duncan is a well-built African-American. Michael Clarke Duncan is a fantastic actor, but the Kingpin just can't be black.
The Kingpin is supposed to represent "The Man." He is like Kurtz in "Heart of Darkness," the papier-mach+à-+ Mephistopheles. To me, this says the director has no clue about the deeper symbolism behind the Daredevil comic, and instead only cares about ninjas, red spandex, and Elektra.
Leonard Nimoy Should Eat More Salsa
I concur. http://www.lnsemsf.com
Lastly...
If you follow just one comic book this year, make it Marvel Comics' "Cable." David Tischman writes the book, which deals with current events in third-world countries where there aren't any obvious "good guys." The authentic artwork is done by Serbian expatriate Igor Kordey. We're living in a time where it isn't safe to do anything but paint your boxers red, white and blue. Tischman and Kordey are real heroes for questioning the morality of American involvement in overseas affairs. A new story-arc started last month, and your local comic store should still have some in stock.
Write to Ben at bbmcshane@bsu.edu
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