Monday, October 26, 2009

Maximum Clonage



Maximum Clonage! Maximum Chaos! Maximum Stupidity! Maximum boredom!


EDIT: Comments closed due to the amount of spam being sent at it. ‎

77 comments:

Kreachure said...

Happy Anniversary!!! :)

Alex Stritar said...

Uh... um... clone... Jackel... Gwen...
Yep, my brain just broke. I hope this kind of thing will never happen agien (the storyline, not your vid).

Also, happy 1-year aniversery!

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary! I love the extended song!

-kayla

DBAinc said...

Happy anniversary, Lewis! Loved the Monty Python "Intermission" music. Great stuff

Anonymous said...

lets not forget Peter making a deal with a crazy killer like Venom to get off each others backs which was also made so Venom can start in him own limit series after limited series. and be the the anti-hero which is so 90s. So yeah Peter seem to have a knack for making deals with evil people snice then. Awesome review, despite its flaws, I rather take the clone saga and build on that than freaking One more day and Brand new day.

Francisco

Anonymous said...

Awesome! Happy aniversery! :D

Green Ninja said...

Happy Anniversary!
Great review, as always. It's hard to believe that the clone sage went on much longer after that.
Really dig the extended title song, especially the Quesada line. btw. I never get tired of hearing you complain about "one/brand new day", because I feel just like you on that subject.

- Konrad -

FotoVerite said...

Happy Anniversary.

I get why you made this a one shot. Though I wish it was a two parter just so I could watch it again and again without needing to dedicate 32 minutes of my life for each viewing.

Also, you need to do a one more day video. Just to get the bile out. Your not a single iota less bitter. Course neither am I. Still one of the most insane ludicrous things ever to be pulled in comic history.

Jawmuncher said...

OMG I have that issue of Maximum Clonage Alpha.
And yes it's a pretty sucky comic.

Anonymous said...

Do a little dance!
make a little clone!
get down tonight!

CJ47 said...

Wow, one year anniversary and joining the Nostalgia Critic tomorrow for the Superman IV review. Keep up the great work Lewis.

WE NEED TO SEE MORE OF THE FUTON! MORE FUTON! MORE FUTON! MORE FUTON!

Unknown said...

Happy Anniversary, Linkara! Here's to many more years of bashing unequivocally awful comics.

Though to be fair to One More Day, there the awful story designed with no purpose but status quo regression only lasted four issues, and then disappeared in favor of actually coherent storytelling. This shit dragged on for years and years of degenerating, wangsty clones.

Anonymous said...

Great episode as always, LOVED the extended song ;)

Slatefield

Logan said...

Happy Anniversary

Anonymous said...

Happy Annierversary!

I liked the cloning saga in the beginning also. But I was really happy, when it was done... Far too long... I can only agree.

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary! :D

AWD! said...

Spidey has a bubble butt
happy Anni!! =S

Anonymous said...

Happy anniversary!

Do you know the Spiderman and the Human Torch book that came out a fe years ago, when Johnny finds out about Peter's identity? The whole clone thing is skipped over with one of those "We don't talk about it to outsiders" line. You know like Highlander II ;)

I just pray that "One more day/Brand new day" will sink into an even deeper hole of obscurity.

I HATE that comic!!!

Mountain King said...

Believe it or not despite being a comic fan I still have NO clue as to what happened in One More Day.

Ahh well, as title sequences go that was almost brutally long. but still infinitely better than the clone saga.

I have to ask what the hell were they thinking. I've read fan fiction better (I've wrote better and that's saying something). One of the first rules of writing is have a beginning middle and end. Not necessarily in that order but you need an ending worked out, planned and executed. Dragging this on for that long is just abusively painful. No wonder Marvel was haemorrhaging readers like a hole in the Titanic.

I'm not going to sign off with "great review" because it's redundant, just going to say happy anniversary and wish you many more!

日本文化のマニアック said...

You did a lot of singing for this one: the one year anniversary, MUSICAL EDITION!

And as a resident manga-reader, let me say thank you for putting Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles (a clone-heavy series if ever there was one) into a context. That series still sucks, but this was clearly worse. I actually gasped at the end when you said this wound up being only the halfway point of the whole Clone Saga rather than the finale. Why did anyone buy these? Was it just because of the illusion that they'd one day be worth something? How did Marvel survive this?

But my really big question is: which is worse, Clone Saga or Countdown?

MFlorian said...

The Punisher appearance looked to be more of a homage moment. He first appeared in Spider-Man; being goaded by the Jackal into trying to kill Spidey.

It was still pointless, though.

Ryan said...

Great review, as always. Happy Anniversary, keep up the good work. By the way, why no Dr. Insano? What with the mad scientist cloning in this, I figured he would feature prominently.

Anonymous said...

Are you still sure that Daredevil is the most emo superhero?

Also the clone saga seems like it would have worked better as 6-12 part miniseries and if they hadn't offed Ben Riely at the end of the clone saga we could have avoided One More Day entirely.

-Draco Dracul

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary!

Anyway, I've got to ask. You used a lot of great songs, and I can't help but wonder what they were. Could you give me the names of all of them? Seriously, I can't understand why you don't just list them in the posts or something...

Emily said...

Happy anniversary!

What is it about Spiderman that he attracts such strange and unnecessarily mangled storylines? It's slightly baffling.

BumblebeeZ3 said...

Awesome! Happy one year anniversary. I enjoyed the extended opening.
one nitpick
"Weird Al" Yankovic
there is no "H"

Mitch said...

Congratulations, Linkara on the anniversary. I've enjoyed every episode and look forward to more.

Avi said...

Happy Anniversary! Keep up the infotainment that you do so well. Your reviews are a highlight of my Monday nights. Here's hoping for another great year.

P.S. Sorry for the complaint, but you spelled Weird Al's name wrong. Oh well; I'm glad you used one of my favorite Weird Al songs for the video.

Emily said...

P.S. I've got the opening song stuck in my head now. It's kind of drowning everything else out.

...Better than the last song that was stuck in there, I suppose. XD

Corey W. Williams said...

Hey Lewis, sorry to be sorta nitpicky, but is there any chance of you being able to upload a slightly lower quality version of this video? The file size is unusually steep this week compared to most of your other videos (this is like 343 megs compared to the like...roughly 100-130 megs it usually is). I'm running on a Verizon aircard with a limited download allowance per month, so I sort of can't really watch the whole video without taking out a sizable chuck of that. If you can't do that I'd understand, I just sorta really want to watch it :(

underthepale said...

"Hindsight's a bitch, ain't it?"

Oh god. I knew this was coming, but your delivery on it was so perfect that I just HOWLED.

Lewis Lovhaug said...

I'll see what I can do, Corey. ^_^

Corey W. Williams said...

Awesome :)

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary, Linkara. Your "Year One," is officially over! Overall, you've done a great job!

I like the new theme song. Its just seems more epic and meatier than the old one. I also love the lyrics, expect for the constant "Linkara!" yell. It feels really repetitive.

That riff on the Jackal's dance was fun.

Loved the, "Nobody thinks I'm cool anymore," riff on The Punisher.

Dear Lord, what a mess of a story. I think you did a good job trying to slog through it, but I felt you could have been a little more into the story than continuing to say how this scene, "won't have impact," or just go through repetitive or boring scenes. I mean, you didn't pass any of the boring or repetitive scenes in, "Amazons Attack." Maybe it would have been better to do Maximum Cloneage in parts.

I thought, however, that there were some flaws. I understand why you said that Spider-man and the Scarlet Spider's constant narrating being annoying, but I didn't get why you said that Mary Jane's worries about being pregnant were legitimate, while Spider-man and Scarlet Spider worrying about being clones to not be legitimate. I agree that the constant narration get annoying, but their worries are just as legitimate as Mary Jane's.

I felt that the reveal of Spider-side's new costume was a bit slow and could have been faster.

I thought your "padding song" could have been a little more enthusiastic. Also, the last scenes with you acting crazy could have been a little more enthusiastic as well. Though, go too enthusiastic and it could get annoying. Much like how you say, "I HATE THIS COMIC!" "I HATE IT!," in the video.

I'm also getting tired of the constant references to Empire Strike Back. I know pop culture references are good, but use them too much and they can get boring. Also, I didn't get the, "Bad Comic Book Plot," joke when you played that clip from the Spider-man: The Animated Series in response to everybody listening to The Jackal. When you first used it in your first video, it made sense. The joke was in response to the convoluted reason for Marvel trying to get rid of the Gwen Stacy clone. Also, I didn't get the reference to Monty Python intermission.

Finally, I agree with you on One More Day, but if your going to voice your hate about it, please make it funny.

I think the reason the Punisher was in the story was because back in the 70s, he was hired by the Jackal to kill Spider-man. Maybe, in Maximum Cloneage, the Punisher was trying to get back at the Jackal for using him.

Wasn't expecting a Neon Genesis Evangelion reference. It might put your mind to rest that Shinji is a lot less whiny in the new Rebuild of Evangelion films.

Personally, I don't mind two-page spreads since they're so much you can do, design wise.

On a side note, I'd rather read One More Day more than the mess of the Clone Saga. I mean at least One More is fast, but the Clone Saga is a one long boring mess. Also, I hate that Marvel is going back to re-tell the Clone Saga as it should have been. Seriously, can we move on and bury this stupid story?

Can't wait for your Superman 4 review with the Critic.

bojak90 said...

*announcer voice*
Okay Linkara, it's been one year, at4w is a hit, you've made convention appearances, and you even have merchandise!

What are you gonna do now?

Emily said...

P.P.S. Sorry to comment-spam (a thousand apologies, really!) but did anybody else think that Kaine's restraint-chair looks like Davros' super-wheelchair-thing from Doctor Who?

The Physicist said...

Happy Anniversary!!

Marvel has suddenly decided it is cool to make mini-series about how 90s storylines would have gone if they hadn't messed up, and wouldn't you know it, they are putting out "Spider-Man: The Clone Saga". They make a big deal about how it is the original writers and such, as if that will be enough to salvage this.

Sergio G said...

By diehard's crotch those comics sucked!!!!

Seriously you have to review one more day.
Love the full theme song, soo catchy

oh and Happy 1 year anniversary!!

Queen Anthai said...

Congrats, darlin'! Here's to many more years of OH MY GOD WHEN WILL LIFE SEEM GOOD AGAIN comics. :)

ダン セミナラ said...

"Kill everybody and replace them with clones." "That was the exact plot of Tales of the Abyss.

Paul S. said...

Happy Anniversary and congrats on another great issue.

So what are your thoughts on Spider-Man: Chapter One? I remember when it came out some people actually thought it was worse than the Clone Saga but it's sort of fallen into obscurity compared to the Clone Saga and OMD.

The Great Mr. Chibi said...

Hey Linkara! Congratulations on your one year anniversary!

I almost did a spit take when you mentioned Tom Lyle. I'm a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design, studying Sequential Art-- Tom's one of my professors down here! I knew he was involved in the Clone Saga-- he says he was the one who designed Ben Reilly costume-- but this... I gotta see what he thinks!

Lewis Lovhaug said...

If that's the case, convey my appreciation! I love the Scarlet Spider's costume. ^_^

Lewis Lovhaug said...

Unless he meant Ben Reilly's Spider-Man costume, in which case... also convey my appreciation, because that costume also rocks! XD

"Also, I didn't get the, "Bad Comic Book Plot," joke when you played that clip from the Spider-man: The Animated Series in response to everybody listening to The Jackal."

As a plot point it's terrible - the Jackal has repeatedly shown himself as an untrustworthy jackass yet a few "Join me and it'll be oh so perfect" and they buy it instantly.

Rhomega said...

Happy Anniversary! Been following since your debut on TGWTG.

Love the "Nobody thinks I'm cool anymore..." line, your mental breakdown, and it's nice to see the extended theme.

Here's to another year of burning comics atop the fourth wall.

The Great Mr. Chibi said...

It was the Scarlet Spider costume specifically-- and yeah! I like it a lot, too.


Which, I guess, is why his writing is so poor-- his forte is his art! He got the writing gig because he was a penciller on one of the Spider books-- and managed to get some writing work as a favor for the good job he was doing. But like you said, he wasn't ready for anything close to wrangling the clusterf*ck MAXIMUM CLONAGE was-- editorial should never have given him the assignment!

...


Anyway, while I got a podium:

Hey Linkara- thanks for making such a fantastic show. To be honest, I didn't care much for AT4W when I first found it a year ago-- I don't know why, but something with the show just didn't click with me the same way TGWTG.com's other personalities were.

But... then they cancelled Blue Beetle. That was my comic-- the one that got me back into comics in the first place. Jaime was my eyes into the DC Universe-- my guide to a whole new world of stories and heroes!

And then, bam, right before he got featured on a nation-wide cartoon show that had the potential to make him a household name and revitalize his popularity and bolster his title's tragically-mediocre-but-not-that-bad sales... cancellation.

My heart was broken.

And so I searched the interenet for other people giving some love for BB-- and there was your tribute video. I'm not saying this whole situation had a profound impact on my psyche or anything-- at worst I was bummed out for a couple days-- but still, your video made me remember the good times, got me to finally buy the trades and read through the story again. I'm so glad I got to see it, and reconnect with the Beetle again.

...and, um, then I just kinda forgot about the show for a while.

But then, at the start of this school year, I discovered your Let's Play of Elite Force, and... well, for the next month, I'd throw on a Linkara video everytime I sat down to do some homework or had some freetime. I only just got through your archive a couple weeks ago!

And, well, dude, you're awesome. I love the intelligence you bring to your reviews-- its funny just to rage, but it's far more rewarding to watch you dissect a truly horrible comic with logic and common sense. As a Nightcrawler fan, I cheered when you leveled Chuck Austin. As a Superman fan, "At Earth's End" was a magnificent piece of apologetics and a cunning work of rhetoric. And, oddly enough, as a strong proponent of nuclear power... well, you know the one.

Anyway, since I got to these videos so late in the game, I just wanted to get all that praise off my chest. I used to never care-- now you're the first creator I check for. Thanks for a year's worth of content-- I can't wait for more!

Alec Pridgen said...

'Really obvious joke that nobody has made yet' time:

'Are you still glad to be out of Silent Hill if this was waiting for you?'

Har har har.

Seriously though, in terms of really stretching bad things out and ruining stories with whining, how about the one where Captain America is losing his powers? You know, the one with Jack Flagg (super boom-boxes for the win), Cap's forgettable lady sidekick and him getting a utility belt?

The best part though: a story involving Baron Zemo (now cured of his facial injuries), Hitler youth Party rip-offs and henchmen made of bread dough!

And yes, I own these comics. Being a 90's fan-boy was hard, as you well know.

Oh yeah, great video. :-)

Anonymous said...

Loved your review, as always, Linkara. Speaking of Evangelion, was I the only one who called the Jackal's "Multi-Spiderman Clone pit" the "Spidey-quarium"? Kinda expected to see Ben Riley (sp?) rip one of their masks off and reveal Rei Ayanami's face

The House of C.R.P said...

My brain is dribbling out of it's skull.

That solution to the bomb sounded alot like Quarter Life: Halfway to Destruction.

Happy Anniversary!

Anonymous said...

Happy first year anniversary, let there be many more!

Saisinkolimonadin said...

Happy Anniversary, Mr. Kara Sir. I'm gonna do a little dance in your honor.

Truce Weston said...

Congrats on one year of awesomeness! (because poor literacy is cool!) Here is to the future!

This was nuts! Just when I think I seen it all, you find something that shows us it can be even worse. First it was Superman At Earth's End, then X-Men's Holy War, Then Amazon's Attack, Then Countdown, Then Batman Fortunate Son, then those Silent Hills, and now THIS?!?!

I'm scared of what the future might hold! Will Mickey Mantle save us? The Kool Aid Man? Charles Barkley? US 1? Anyone....?

Excellent review! I could not stop laughing, man! I am just surprised 90's Kid did not pop up somewhere in this. It would have seemed perfect, given the era, and kind of story in question here.

So until someone gets me those 61 scissors, MAKE MINE LINKARA!

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary! Love the part where you went nuts again. Oh,and the Evangelion ref! Great!

ThatAtheistChick said...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! ^___^

BS Digital Q said...

Congratulations on the 1 year anniversary Linkara! Its almost the same as my birthday, which is both weird and awesome!

Unknown said...

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Einjährigen :-)

Ivan Druzhkov said...

First of all, happy anniversary, man!

Second, are you planning on doing the Southland Tales prequel comics at some point? I need someone to complete my work!

Green Ninja said...

When I first read the title of this episode I thought you were just making fun of the clone saga. I can't believe they actually used that title!
And yes, I do realize it's an hommage zu "Maximum Carnage" but it still sounds terrible.

+1 on the brand new day review ^-^

Emmet said...

Well done, you're a better man than I Gunga Din....thank the gods you did it in one episode too.

ShadowWing Tronix said...

The saddest part about all this is that Marvel never really learned their lesson. If anything, it's worse now, only Universe wide. It's why 616 is dead to me at this time.

Congrats on your anniversary. (That just the videos and not the blog, right?) I finally got the opportunity to read Revolution of the Mask, and it's a good read. Looking forward to issue 3.

Anonymous said...

Aaaand now that the videos are on Widescreen/HD, I can't view them without getting retarded amounts of frame skipping. And blip.tv, unlike Youtube, doesn't have any options to reduce the size of the video playing.
Terrific.

AirforceOne said...

When I first listened to the theme song I was kind of saddened and perhaps felt it didn't go with your show. However it grew on me exponentially.

I remember the whole Clone bull and it was perhaps the death of Spiderman in my eyes because if you didn't buy every single comic you just didn't know what was going on.

I am one of the few people that love Gwen Stacy. I remember the comics back in the 70s and I have always felt that Gwen Stacy was the real first love of Peter Parker and how she died and brought back just brought tears in my eyes. The fact that he didn't kill Green Goblin there and then still baffles me yet he can make a deal with the devil without ever thinking about his daughter and the consequences it may hold with her in the equation.

I also hate the fact that they keep rehashing the bridge scene. Fans know it as the main turning point with Mary Jane such as the series where she was teleported into another detention. However most don't realize that's how Gwen died. It was Gwen's scene and I feel she should be remembered for it, not Mary.

I am one of the few that will not let the deal go for years to come.

rizzo said...

Wow...when I first started reading your text reviews, I never thought you'd have a years worth of videos under your belt within 2 years. Congratulations!

Great review as always!

Jonathan said...

I own Reprints of the original Spiderman comics and I have to admit, this video makes me to use them to start a nice bonfire. It's to the point I'm afraid of catching the stupid from these things. I need to purge the idiocy from my brain. Off to read watchmen, for the fourth time.

Unknown said...

just in case you miss it over at TGWTG here's a link to some fanart for your Anniversary! http://adre-es.deviantart.com/art/Anniversary-fanart-Linkara-141712808

Jeremy A. Patterson said...

I see a Shaquille O'Neal comic, Badrock #1, & SULTRY TEENAGE SUPER FOXES #2 in the new opening. Is this forshadowing for the second year of episodes?

The second issue of STSF did have some differences: Chuck Wotjkiewicz was replaced on the art chores by Mike Shaw, who had a less extensive career in comics (His other work included Codename: Ninja #1, Samurai Funnies #2, Assassins Inc. #1 & #2, Beach Party #1, & Ex-Mutants: The Shattered Earth Chronicles #4, #5, #6, #9, #11, & #12! EM:TSEC #4 & #5 also featured covers from Rob Liefeld!). Mike Shaw did try to distinguish the women.

J.A.P.

Unknown said...

You've missed a song off your list - I've Got a Brand New Combine Harvester by The Wurzels

Anonymous said...

Happy 1st Anniversary.

I know you are more focused on DC comics and Spiderman when it comes to titles from the big two puplishers Marvel and DC (i don't count the commercial comics Marvel made in attempt to get money quickly), but i hope you might be willing to also rip a few more of the X-men titles, especialy the 90's ones (like Uncanny 325), a new one.

spiderman1989 said...

Y'know I bet you might find this shocking but despite your review and the fan back lash against this event I actually like Clone Sage I don't know why but something about the concept and the story of it intrigued me. Especially Jackal, Ben Reily, and Kane. Yes I know Jackal was a moron in that series but I felt with the right writer I think he could have come out as an awesome villain. But unfortunately he was written like a dime store Mr.Sinister. Such a waste of potential. So yeah for me I think this Spiderman event rocked more than that Spiderman The Other. And yes i agree this series still better than One More day.

Armaina said...

For this particular topic I felt it would be appropriate to place this comment here. I've recently been watching your reviews, at first it was just a few things I knew of but with more of your Comic history entered into the videos I got curious and watched the backlog. Honestly, I've found all the comic history I've learned very interesting. So please, never skimp on the comic history, it's not boring, it's fascinating.

So thanks for all the info and spreading your comic knowledge that don't exactly have the time read through backlogs of comics >_>

Phil Freeman said...

Very random question, who is the girl with purple hair in the intro?

NGT said...

You know, maybe it's just the ear-worm-y-ness of it all, but I'd rather like just a standalone version of the opening and full opening posted up somewhere.

Anonymous said...

Hey Link, didya hear? During this year, Marvel might undo One More Day? Go to Toplessrobot to get more info.

Also, here's a list of stories from the clone saga I would love to see on your show

Time Bomb
Virtual Morality
Cyberwar
Blood Brothers
Revalations

Hope I see these in the future

Canohji said...

The only good thing about this comic is that Miles Warren is finally dead

Disco Reference FTW

Brian Shanahan said...

I think you mentioned, Linkara, about a virus killing off it's victims in 3 minutes not being able to spread, and wondering why this is so near the start(hard to cncetrate when you're sewing. Well I can answer you there, it's because the virus is killing off it's victims too quickly, thus giving it no time to spread outside the immediate vicinity, as the virus needs a carrier to live. As a mad evil scientist type WMD this is really sucky, as the Jackal would have to release the virus individually in every major urban area in the world (and half the world's population would still be alive). Of course he would be apprehended and a cure found long before then.

P.S. A belated happy anniversary ;)

Anonymous said...

I started reading spider man in the clone saga. I think I was twelve or something, I didn't understand everything but that was great.
I didn't care who was the real one. There was ben and peter, and I loved them both. I loved the way the worked together.

When I think about it now, yeah, the whole storyline was crazy but hey, that's how comics books work.
I'd rather have a twisted plot like deadpool/cage, clone saga or infinite crisis than a plain story like Ultimate (or japanese comics).

...I think I love not getting everything the first time and have to re-read a book, haha.

Anonymous said...

A little more history to add

The 3 Act story idea was what Tom DeFalco wanted to be published. But it went down the toilet by both marketing and being forced from his editorial standpoint. The storyline was also created to write Peter and MJ out of the books to establish Ben Reilly as Web-Head because it seemed that it was too late to go ahead with the 3Act plan. By my guess, the saga, under DeFalco, was gonna end with Spectacular Spider-Man #228 in September of 1995.

Before you review Revalations, look at the following storylines for the show:

Virtual Morality and Cyberwar: crappy stories, bad art, excellent 90's Kid jokes and VR Troopers references ho!

Sensational Spider-Man #0 and Media Blizzard: good stories, excellent history to tell the viewers, and a good intro to Dan Jurgens before you reviw Battle for Bludhaven

Blood Brothers: another failed attempt to end the Clone Saga but due to the crap of this story, recap it in 2 videos to cover all the major acts of fail.

LinkaraFTW
haljordan59