Category Archives: Randomosity

I've made an extensive study of the scientific literature*, and I haven't been able to find any data on why the breasts of humans are far larger, and far more important as secondary sexual features, than in any other primate. I was prompted to study this vital issue when noticing that the average breast size of your typical super-heroine has increased dramatically since the genre began, as you can see in the following comparison:

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Once again DC kicks Marvel's animated ass with its latest Caped Crusader television show, "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" on Cartoon Network. I don't know why DC can't make a decent live action film while Marvel's are awesome, but the reverse is also true -- I have yet to see a Marvel animated show I liked, while DC just keeps cranking out hit after hit.

And this one's no exception.

Taking a break from the Bruce Timm-designed "DC Animated Universe" style, "B:BB" hearkens back more to a Jack Kirby, square-jawed dynamic. This is super-heroes by way of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", non-stop action with just enough character and plot to keep you interested. The creative team has put together a very tight product, starting with the nifty device of an opening scene featuring a mini-adventure with Batman and some other character different than the episode's main "Guest Star". This confused me at first since I am, when you get right down to it, just barely above the "low-functioning imbecile" level on most standardized intelligence tests. I kept checking my TiVo to make sure I hadn't screwed up the times, accidentally recording the last minute of the previous episode. But once I figured it out, I really dug it, kind of like getting a super-cool toy in your box of Lucky Charms.

I also like the opening theme music, it's got a toe-tapping, hard-driving beat that keeps me socking bad guys all night long.

I can't believe I just wrote that sentence.

Moving on, like in the classic comics series, each episode of "B:BB" features Batman teaming up with another super-hero to tackle a case. Typically companies do this to give a boost to their B-list (or C-list, or in some cases -- I'm looking at you, Kamandi -- D-list) characters, hoping to drive sales a bit. But it also works from a story-telling perspective, letting someone else take the focus for a while so the writers don't constantly have to think of what else they can put poor Bruce Wayne through. Because honestly, after a bazillion comics and half a bazillion movies and a quarter bazillion animated series, the ground's been pretty well churned, you know?

Batman in this world is pretty much a Superman analog in terms of his sheer bad-assery and fame. Everyone knows him and wants to work with him, but he's clearly the top dog. You don't get much of the peripheral stuff in his life -- no Alfred or Robin or billionaire parties -- so you're dealing with pure, distilled Caped Crusader and whatever tagalong also-ran he's hanging with that week.

The stories are punchy and engaging, only occasionally too-preachy, and consistently fun. The art takes a little getting used to, but eventually you warm to it and really hooks you. I hope it has the same longevity the Timm-led series did, because I've enjoyed every episode a lot so far .

If you're not watching it, you've only got two new episodes left, so be sure to tune in on Fridays nights on Cartoon Network. Otherwise you might only have a hundred chances a day as, I am sure, they will run it into the ground like an Impala strapped to a Jet-Assisted Takeoff rocket.

With thanks to everyone who made suggestions about my Christmas gift, I today received from MyComicShop.com my order of the complete "Who's Who in the DC Universe" run AND the trade paperback edition of "The Perhapanauts: First Blood" AND the first trade paperback of All-Star Superman. Which I just read and loved.

My wife rules!

Plus, hopefully you'll be seeing even more ridiculous super-heroes from the Eighties showing up on the "Bad Super Costumes" Wednesdays in the weeks ahead thanks to this bounty.

Every hero needs a good theme song, and thanks to this web page, you can hear the music and read the words as you go. Which for people like me, who can neither sing nor remember lyrics, is a Good Thing.

I had an idea the other day for a comic book while watching "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly." You never get any kind of backstory for the victims in any of these stories, whether it's sombrero-wearing banditos in spaghetti Westerns or red-shirted security guys in Star Trek. They're just cannon fodder. But they've got friends, loved ones, and stories of their own. Someone somewhere is probably going to cry just as hard for them as we will when our hero gets it.

So I thought it might be interesting to have a comics series where every issue features a different story of someone who gets killed on the last page. Sometimes it may be a gladiator losing in the pits of Rome, sometimes it might be a Hydra henchman getting blasted by Iron Fist, sometimes it might be one of Brainiac's cyborg assistants getting evacuated into space by Superman because hey, it's just robots.

Clearly the meds are working today, because the ideas just keep flying!

This just in: "Watchmen" creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons have just signed Rob Liefeld to write and illustrate the sequel to their all-time great graphic novel! I was able to obtain a sneak preview of the upcoming cover:

I feel the extra costuming elements really add something to the characters; I know I look forward to seeing what's in all those pouches, at least. And I got so tired of those Gibbons backgrounds, so full of detail and meaning. Give me good old-fashioned color gradients with lots of random lines hatching across it any day!

I also feel the change in writing duties bodes well, because who wants to spend all that time talking about history and relationships and blah blah blah? I say every page should be a splash page featuring The Watchmen jumping out of a helicopter in order to fight an opposing group of other super-powered characters, like maybe the zombie corpse of Moloch shooting laser beams from his undead eyes!!1!

This definitely is going to rock, I can't wait to read it.

(I wish I could credit the original creator of the image but I can't figure out who did it -- I found it through one of those random Google searches and it didn't have a source.)

I just found this neat article on "Instructables.com" giving step-by-step instructions on how to make paper miniatures for your gaming group. I'm impressed with the detail and nice photographs, it's a well done tutorial. You can also use it with the Marvel Kids hero creator or the Brazilian Her-O-Matic.

If you're looking for a fun holiday activity involving cyborgs and/or laser-toting elves, you can't go wrong with this one!