This comic really has nothing to do with Tandy computers...nor does it have any whiz kids... and the "Fit to Win" thing has nothing to do with the plot... so what was the point again?
Monday, June 7, 2010
Tandy Computer Whiz Kids: Fit To Win
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111 comments:
I mentioned this on twitter, but why do I get the feeling lord...whatever the hell Linksano said that guy's name was...is just you dressed like Lord Zedd.
...and WOW does that comic use Commercialized Speech WAY too much there. Almost seemed like the wife from The Truman Show with how they were talking. Or an episode of "I Dream Of Jeannie" where Jeannie made fake parents for herself based off TV.
Interestingly enough, I did have one issue of this comic series. Not only did it have SuperMAN in it, but also SuperGIRL (Guessing it took place pre-Crisis).
Don't remember the plot of it though.
Oh, and as a suggestion for a comic to look up...well, they did make comics based of the first two animated Star Wars series, Droids and Ewoks. I remember my sister had a Droids/Ewoks crossover issue.
Awesome review!
I think all the Power Rangers is rubbing off on you.
...in a good way, of course.
I cannot wait to see where this storyline takes us.
WOW. This comic was just begging for the AT4W treatment.
Wait... Linkara saw Spoony transform into Dr. Insano, yet he STILL dosn't beleive it? Knowing him, he probably still thinks it's That Chick with the Goggles. (And knowing the Dr. Insano continuity, there's a good chance that he's actually right.)
Great episode, Lewis. That ending was just gold.
Ohhh am I angry.
First of all the first computer, as we think of them today, was Charles Babbage's Difference engine which, by the way, was built by an Englishman. The next leap forward in mechanical computing (Computer was originally the name of a profession that meant "One who computes" AKA advanced mathematics) was achieved by Alan Turing, who devised the first computer capable of code braking. This computer, once again English designed and built, was used to crack the Enigma Machine at the height of the second world war.
All this means basically was the the pro-American propaganda at the end of the comic was blatantly wrong. So wrong in fact that it went out of it's way to insult those of us with an iota of intelligence.
Oh, but it gets worse. Trust me, but I'm not going to tackle the US 's attempts to rewrite history. Instead I'll point my hatred at the comic. first of all it's an advert. A badly written advert that is about a subtle as a cricket bat to the face. Whoever commissioned that poor excuse for toilet paper must have thought "Kids like comics, that means comics are for kids so we don't have to put any effort into it.". You picked on the name changes, which proved there was no editor that could be bothered to read this crap, however you missed a point.
Trust me this point is worth noting.
Look at the double shot at 12:30. Now look again, sorry but is Alex in a god damn wheelchair?
No seriously he is. Why is he sitting in a chair that has wheels and then running a fucking marathon later in the book. Was his mindless enthusiasm for Keeping Fit enough to cure the sick and cause the lame to walk, he won and even come joint first. After being a cripple?
Seriously, to quote, WHAT THE HELL?
I'm gong to have a nice cup of tea and call it an early night. I can't take this sort of concentrated crap.
But before I do Lord Vice sounds interesting. Lets see what becomes of him...
Thomas
AKA Mountain King
PS Turing and his computer was referenced in my favourite seventh Doctor story: The Curse of Fenric. If you haven't seen that, dig out a DVD and marvel at it.
Just finished seeing it on Blip. I thought the buildup at the end was going to lead to Linksano revealing a really bad comic for the next review, but it'll be interesting to see how the new villain is going to work out.
And to the first Anonymous guy, I think Linkara was saying at the end to reinforce Spoony's "there is no continuity, only Insano" mantra.
To be fair, Babbage engines, which are mechanical adding machines (as opposed to either silicon or vacuum-tube based) DID predate "all-electronic" computers, though because the comic didn't mention that, the sentence is still stupid because it's nonsensical unless you already knew that.
USSMariner, from YouTube
Wow, I had no idea the cover to Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 was inspired by La Pieta. Thanks for the info.
Lord Vyce, you say? This calls for a campy villain song! "I'm Vyce, Vyce, baby!"
I remember this comic! Even though I was a Commodore 64 user (64K RAM is all you'll ever need!)
Though this comic does make me wonder... Where do you keep a cell phone the size of a small house?
But I want to see more of the mayor who raided the Joker's wardrobe.
The bit about the electronic computers is probably talking about machines like Babbage's Analytical Engine. It was designed in the late 1800s and it would have been a Turing Complete system that could store 1000 50-digit numbers.
Linksano's little laugh/speech made my spine tingle a little... *shudder* I can't imagine what will happen next. Also I take it that's the last we'll see of Linksano? If not, then whoo! I like that crazy, goggle-wearing goof. If yes then if you need me, I'll be crying in a corner somewhere...
These kids are bigger do-gooders than the original Power Rangers!
Wow, Tandy Computers....that's a lot of ink and paper that would've been better used in printing instructions. There's not even really plot; plot involves at least some sort of tension, which this comic completely lacks. Even if this was free, I wouldn't take it - it'd still be wasting my time.
As for the ending - huh, I thought Mechakara was talking about Dr. Linksano at the beginning of the TSSF#2 review. Wonder how he knew about Lord Vice? More importantly, where did Linkara go?
P.S. Lord Vice - ok, the guy sounds intimidating, but he may want to talk to Azaroth or Giygas about a new name more befitting his multiverse-threatening nature...
P.P.S. Starting betting pool on how this'll turn out. My current bet is on Linksano, Linkara, and Mechakara being forced to work together to save the multiverse.
A PSA comic, how quaint.
Actually, I seem to remember reading an anti-smoking PSA comic staring Spiderman that was not all that bad. The antagonist was an angry teenager with superpowers that was destroying stores that his aunt had bought cigarettes from after she had died of lung cancer.
The comic is long since gone, but from what I remember the heroes (Spiderman was joined by three other superheros that I can no longer remember) acted rationally dealing with the threat, the antagonist had a believable motive, and the PSA part was not all that intrusive.
This was hilarious! Great review. I'll look forward to more installments of this new segment in the future.
Funny thing about "Popeye" being in this PSA comic: I always thought "spinach" was a placeholder for "steroids."
OMG, cliffhanger!!
Anyway, I've got to agree with you on the characters. I've seen war propaganda that wasn't this forced (no joke). Also the commercialized speech: here's an example of one that works since you covered the fail:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PQiZwfEhS4&playnext_from=TL&videos=wdboFrcmJ2k
Or product placement that works (note AMV, couldn't find the actual footage on youtube of the product placement):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_BJk_wE4Q0&feature=related
Couple of questions:
1) What's that red comic that you showed for cover art that wins?
2) In PSA Hell, at what level is Captain Planet (assuming this hell is like Dante's)?
That ending literally gave me goosebumps! I cannot wait to see where you take this storyline, Linkara!
All that he sees, he conquers?
Oh me oh my oh me. Something tells me you've outdone yourself yet again, Lewis, and I'm looking forward to the continuation of this...see ya round, Linksano!
Let the wild mass guessing begin!
You know that comic could very easily be written as a nightmarish dystopia. Also why does Alex use a wheelchair yet is quite able to run a marathon? Also in the end Linksano was quite the badass.
When he was talking about mindless horrors of the multiverse, I almost thought Eldrazi...yeah.
It's crazy how this comic didn't even keep its own continuity...UNLESS THERE WERE ALIENS WHO CAME AND SWAPPED BODIES AND DIDN'T DO THEIR RESEARCH! There's a problem for the Whiz Kids to solve with their Radio Shack merchandise.
And now a word from a guy who knows way too much about what passes for continuity in Tandy Computer Whiz Kids:
I didn't know about the Wonder Woman story, just the first Superman (which introduced Alec and Shanna) and Supergirl (which I used to own but lost many moons ago). Those were DC, but at some point Archie took over for the rest of the comic, and also made a biographical "comic" about electronics.
In the first TRS-80 Computer Whiz Kids we met Det. Shaw and their reporter friend, Judy Baker. Together they ended up foiling a kidnapping attempt by domestic terrorists, which is how Shanna gets some serious street cred with the cops. Not to mention the later issues where the Kids help foil another drug operation and a child kidnapping/selling ring. I am dead serious about everything in this paragraph, although I may have Judy's last name wrong.
In the DC comics they all lived in Metropolis, but in the Archie the city was called Metro City, changing over to Coast City (which appears to be somewhere in Florida) in the second issue, where it became Tandy Computer Whiz Kids.
Don't be too surprised that they recycled a panel. They've recycled whole scenes to the point that I would think they'd stop sending these kids to science fairs at museums, because that's when crimes seem to happen. That scene where they run to the computers is recycled, just with the clothing changed. There's actually one issue where the kids meet Judy outside of the latest museum to be used in a crime and use the exact same dialog from the first issue, although it doesn't fit.
It's almost laughable when you read them one after another. Usually all that computer history stuff is told by some business leader giving the kids the tour of the fair, which seems to have the same exibits each time and uses the same speech. Many of the stories end with the same principal coming in to announce that Alec and Shanna are about to win an award for their latest crimefighting escapade and that the school is getting something awesome because of it. If you don't find it hilarious, you will have an imprint of your forehead in the wall.
And now you know more than you ever wanted to about Alec and Shanna. Yeah, I have weird information.
Also in my defense: the darn things were given away free at the Radio Shack in the mall. What kid doesn't like free comics with crimefighting kids?
*wonders how on Earth she's going to pass the time until next week*
Lord 'Vyce'... Because poor literacy is - ? *shot* :P I kid. Must be a pretty awesome villain to send Linksano running like that.
Cool story arc aside, the review itself was also great. I can't stand PSAs that just make important issues sound stupid. And I think the kids were constantly trying out for the position of spokesperson for RadioShack.
Actually, Alec/Alex/plant-supplanting-a-human-being as the elementary school self of the Ultimate Warrior convinced me.
When he got on that tangent about what "Fit To Win" meant, I had a flash-back to that definition of Destrucity on Warrior #1.
I thought that maybe as he grew up those goals to remodel the country into a better place started to get to his head and, confronted to the fact that he couldn't actually do anything, he drifted into insanity.
He then decided to create Warrior University HOAK HOGAN, to share with the world his enlightened vision of a greater insight into reality, to show them the true path of the WARRIOR and-!
And I digress ^_^"
Back to the comic, what kind of twisted, twisted person could think that PSA + obnoxious advertisement - any semblance of a plot or characterization = WIN?
Great review as usual and glad to know you'll be giving us all more insight into the worst of PSAs. May their anvilicious remains be crushed under seas of ice :)
New story-arc!
New villain!
Lampshade Hanging on plot-holes!
Yay!
Keep up the good work :) , it always makes my day
Clearly, Linksano can only be stopped by the awesome power that is held by the Tandy Color Computer 3 computer.
Who thinks Vyce whould be a Galactus-Linkara, complete with Purple helmet?
Um . . . did anyone else noticed those kids started a MARATHON in a sprinting stance? Also, I'd like to see the elementary schooler who can even finish a marathon, much less win (excuse me, TIE) one while talking on a headset.
Effin' jabronis, always making me break my foot off in their asses.
Wow, I think I actually had this comic at one point or another in my childhood.
Hoo-ray for blatant commercialism!
Wow. Lord uhhhh... Rice, or whatever, sounds pretty bad ass. But is this the last we of Dr. Linksano? ...of course not. BTW I'm the guy who always E-Mails you under the alia Insert Name Here. You know. ''I'll see ya (But you wont see me.)'' Thats me.
I loved your Popeye impression! And I can't wait to see Lord Vyce...It's a shame to see Linksano go, though.
Dude, you do insane really well. o.o Curse you, Linksano! No one insults the son of Insano! *shakes fist*
And more villains, hooray!
Lord Vyce: Because poor literacy is "kewl."
To be fair to the stupid comic, they were building and using mechanical calculators well into the seventies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comptometer
I want to know what comic was the one with the Seven hands up in the air that looked great i want to read that
Personal Highlights:
1. Wait, Strong Bad's old computer was made by the people who made RadioShack?
2. I love how they decided to re-draw everything else for that duplicated panel, including the wheelchair kid's right arm, and only copy/paste the rest of the wheelchair kid. What, were they late to lunch and couldn't take the time to finish it?
3. PROBABLY NARCOTICS!
4. Good grief, this kid's a square. He's wearing a sweater vest to a marathon.
5. And that's what counts! Never mind how much it costs, the maximum distance between two working walkie-talkies, or whether or not comics are packaged with it.
6. Amazing. Anti-substance abuse groups couldn't even afford their own PSA comic? They could only afford a B-spot in a RadioShack advertisement? Great, 20 years from now, the world will be full of homeless hedonistic alcholics in their 20s. Wait, we're already in the future? Never mind then.
7. Hmm. Is that Linkara telling me to think about dying small towns, or Linksano?
8. There are no winners in life. Everybody is special, everyone is equal. We are all one. Join us. Join the Communist Borg.
9. Casettes, they'll never go out of style.
10. What the...pilgrims? Oh come on! At the least, you could use the Scientific Revolution.
11. Lord Vice? Well, I would have gone with Cthulactus, but as Big Bad names go, it's better than Divatox.
Looking forward the the rest of the Lord Vice Saga
Eh, I'd say Batman 698 (the one with just a close up of the Riddler's face (wtih a bit of blood drooling down his mouth and with a very dusturbing grin)) more than caught my attention, so just having a face isn't always "Boring".
I'm more interest in the last comic he mentioned with the seven fist up in the air. Can any one tell me what its called
Lord Vice?!? QUICK, somebody crank up the Lord Zedd music into something even MORE AWSOME!!!
What is with these kids? I think some of these scenes might have made more sense if they were High School age: like the marathon, thinking about the future and that girl talking about people and substance abuse (YOU BETTER NOT HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT THEM!!!), but even then it's a bit of a stretch.
Anyways, great review Linkara and I think that I speak for all of us in that we are eagerly anticipating what happens next.
Put simply, this episode sums up everything that kicks @$$ about AT4W, my dear Mr. Lovhaug: a horrible comic gleefully eviscerated, a tidbit of info on how to make a better comic in the form of your talk about covers, and the beginning of an epic new storyline involving Lord Vice, who I'm now psyched to see in action. x3
On an aside, not all PSAs are necessarily bad. The gun control PSA in the Gargoyles series was actually well handled, referenced later on, contributed to a character's development, and wasn't "GUNS ARE BAD" so much as "GUNS ARE DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE HANDLED WITH RESPECT". Then again, stuff like this and others make you appreciate the Gargoyles PSA a bit more.
All in all, awesome review!
Linkara, you really are a master of monologues. Seriously, between your recitation of that piece from Dante's Inferno, the rallying speech from "Kickassia", and Linksano's speech about Lord Vice, you really put on a clinic!
Keep it up!
This comic really needed a giant "AND NOW YOU KNOW!" at the end of the issue.
I just figured it out: The Tandy Computer Whiz Kids live in that same universe the current run of Hidden Valley ads take place! In such universe, all kids are forced to wear brain chips that suppress any free will until they reach legal age, all adults under the dillusion that this will maintain a peaceful society.
Guh.. Buh... //O_O\\'... That ending... Dude!!! Wow. Man... *Sorry, I'm just so impressed that I am nearly speechless* //^_^\\'...
Heh. It's funny. The Insanos can be quite bumbling and silly, but it is important to remember that they can still pose a threat... and that... at least, when it comes to danger, they have to know how to save their hide.
Man, that was some evil, maniacal laugh you pulled there, Linkara. Maybe you were a supervillain in a previous life... //O_o\\'... *Or perhaps you're like Dr. Horrible and have done a lot of practicing... In which case... Any tips you can give us on the basics of evil, maniacal laughter?* :)
As for the comic itself... Geez. //O_o\\'... Obvious advertisement is obvious. Huh... Whatever happened to the drug thing? //@.@\\'... Did anybody ever get arrested or anything? Did they just... forget about it? Maybe I forgot the ending (I was too impressed by your ending).
Also... //>.>\\'... I actually enjoyed school to a certain extent... Granted, I spent most of my school time daydreaming and asking questions of my teachers that went far over my peers' heads... But I never said anything quite like that Alec dude, did. *Hmm... Smart Alec?* Because... There were a couple of things I hated about school. One, I got made fun of all the time. Two, my school didn't believe in skipping grades, so I could never escape the perpetual hell made possible by those idiots.
*Not to worry, though. I'll show them. I'll show them all! Because I'm actually studying science! SCIENCE! Bwhahahahaha...* Too bad I plan on using it for good and not evil... //^_^\\
Did any one else see that the kid alec was in a wheel chair when we first see him and then he can walk and then his in a wheel chair again... is walking bad for him.
Am I the only person who finds it a little ironic that the guy who consistantly pulls the "Because Poor Literacy is Kewl" card named his character Vyce? Just sayin'.
Aw well, epic episode Lewis. I'm extremly curious to see where this Lord Vyce thing ends up. Who knew a comic book review show could have a story arc, let alone an awesome one?!
I actually have a Tandy 1000. It's under my bed.
I managed to get the original Civilization to run on it. It took 30 minutes to start a new game.
Oh, but it's upgraded! It has a 20 MEG harddrive! EXCITING!
I see what you idd there llinkara..maybe Lord Vyce is a distant Lord Zedd's cousin <.<
By the way, has anyone stopped to think that next episode may be ironliz's debut? hell! maybe ironliz is Lord Vyce!!! O_O
DAN DAN DAAAAN
Seriously, i saw the panel with Alec/Alex in what was clearly a wheelchair and shortly after that you say he will run in a Marathon!
WTF?
That you missed it can be excused, but that the editors, if there ever were any, missed it, is pretty dumb.
Linksano has the same monitor as me! Didn't the critic also have the same type?
I predict that the true form of Lord Vice is...
BEAR!!!!
Correction, Paul... An alternate universe bear... :D
Anyway... About the poor literacy is kewl thing...
There could be a reason Lord Vyce is being spelled with a y instead of an i...
Maybe the 90s kid of Lord Vyce's original universe named him... Or... maybe Lord Vyce is an alternate universe version of 90s kid...
Or maybe in Lord Vyce's original universe everything with that needs an i instead of y has a y.... and c is replaced with k.... and There is no such thing as ex only x...
And a bunch of other stuff...
Mecha-Kara, Insano, Linksano and now Lord Vice. . . you get the coolest nemisesses. . nemisie, plural of nemises for you show.
That was an excellnt catch Linkara. DUKE NUKEMMMMM
Fantastic episode! Sure makes me glad I bought that Sony Vaio XYZABC with Color Monitor!* Super neato!
*I'm using an 8 year old, POS Dell laptop.
Very, very, very, excited to see Lord Vyce. I mean if Linksano's afraid of him, then I think its a legitimate cause for concern.
PS. found this article on Super Hero costumes...i thought it was worth a look: http://www.cracked.com/article_18591_the-5-most-impractical-aspects-superhero-costumes.html
.......okay I keep getting distracted. Shanna has BOOBS. SHE'S AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENT. AND SHE HAS BOOBS. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. Also she's taller and has more defined facial features than the other kids who should be about her age. And Alec's hands and head looked like they got photoshopped onto Fabio at the end there.....and the chick next to him (who is supposed to be about the same age, I assume) ALSO has a tremendous rack. WTF?!?!!
Another note, Alec isn't the kid in the wheelchair - that's his clone, obviously. THey're wearing different colored sweaters :D I think
Hmm, interesting way of ending the review. I wonder who this "Lord Vice/Vise/Vyce/Super Happy Fun Engrish man" is supposed to be, and why he's so feared.
Incidentally, since so many people on here are giving his name as being spelled "Vyce", I decided to look up the definition for it:
"A kind of clamp with gimlet points for holding a barrel head while the staves are being closed around it."
So, he's lord of the barrel-making clamps? Or am I missing something, here?
I don't think I need to say anything about the comic, since everyone's pretty much said it all. I will say, though, that I fear for your sanity with the next review; Anita Blake, nowadays, is far more than any one mere mortal can comprehend in badness.
My God, Linkara's been teleported to the BLACK'OLE! :O
I miss duke nukem, figures the developers HAD to kill the source mod of duke nukem 3D
So, if the current threat is so scared that it runs away, does that mean that Lord Vice is the Machine Empire? Maybe Lord Vice is Iron Liz! Anyway, you could probably take him Linkara, you have more powers than Tommy from Power Rangers!
I kept thinking about Strong Bad throughout this entire review since he had a Tandy 400 computer. That computer also exploded.
As for the review, the "Prostitution" joke in all its smiles and joy made me laugh hysterically.
Wow, just...WOW at this comic. I've written more cohesive stories at 1 AM on a friend's iPod.
Also, I squeed when I saw the Beatles reference in the credits, because it's the first thing I thought of...does that make me sad? XD
Great review!
Yay for the Red Dwarf and Incredibles reference!
^_^
The teacher's name actually is Jackson Wilson, didn't ye know?
And we know it is an alternate dimension because kids are not only interested in school, but, they don't make fun of the male-to-female transformed teacher, anbd everyone is special and beautiful in their own way..
Aaand, they need to make a commercial about whatever they are carrying around every few hours, or the Elder Gods will consume their souls. Nice place indeed.
Okay, terrible PSA/product placement comic is terrible. Just… wow. It's like the worst elements of Captain Planet and all of those kids shows that really want you to buy the toys rolled into one. Except no real plot. I really found myself drawn into your discussion of what makes a good or bad cover. Once again, I really enjoyed your analysis parts that explain your views on certain issues and showing why one thing is terrible while another is brilliant.
But Lord Vice/Weiss however it's spelled? "All that he sees, he conquers." That's good and creepy. Looking forward to next week!
PS: On your recommendation, I purchased All-Star Superman some time ago. I forgot to thank you for that: I really enjoyed the series. It certainly means that I can never take the argument that Superman is too powerful to tell good stories about seriously. It's just a matter of having the right writer. So, again, thank you.
bravo link. Best review you've had in a while, complete with funny bits for every bit of dialog, which you have to admit 90's comics are hard to make fun of due to their blandness. I mean this thing was packed with schizophrenia. The cover was just the start. Computers! and I can't wait for lord ze, I mean vice.
P.S. for some reason, your little "think!" spaz reminded me a lot of this for some reason.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkqWj0eC6yA
P.S.S just a suggestion I've just started watching Star Trek TNG season 2 and the premiere "the child" I think for that was...one of the most awkward plot threads that went absolutely nowhere I've ever seen. Given how much you like star trek, ever consider doing some riffs for it? I actually love the show but there's a lot of room for shits and giggles.
Keep it up eh?
You know at around 23 min 20 sec, that page kinda forgot about Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace, the REAL conceivers of the computer.
You seriously didn't know Popeye has a serious drug problem? Heck his name is "Pop Eye", hes seriously over loaded on meth, cocaine, and steroids. That spinach is just a red herring to cover up his serious drug problem. hehe in any case that computer thing'll never catch on. oh wait.
Ugh. I was cringing over here when you read aloud the product placement.
Why wait to start weeping for our universe?
Lord Vice? Okay, that's-- wait, he spells "vice" with a y? ACK! 90'S KID HAS AN EVIL COUNTERPART! EVERYBODY RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!
I think this may be my favorite episode of AT4W. The jokes were funny, the pacing snappy and the meta intrigued. Please tell me that's not the last we see of Linksano though. He's just too awesome and science-y to just be a set-up for a larger villain.
As for the comic itself, it's FAIL on so many levels. It fails as an advertisment. It fails as a PSA. It fails at computer history and it most certainly fails at being an entertaining comic. When writing, whether it's a 12-page essay or comic book, it's best to pick a thesis and stick to it, not bounce around from topic to topic like a hyperactive grasshopper on meth riding a pogo stick.
These kids actually look like they're teenagers in my opinion. Maybe that explains why they seem to be "plants," they're working for Tandy Computers & the FBI! I saw that Skynet joke coming and I was glad you did it.
The FLV format is working great! Now I just let it pre-load for a little bit and it plays without any lag or jumpy video. :) Thanks Linkara!
PSA Hell, awesome idea haha.
Great stuff as always, just wanted to point out (though it may already have been mentioned, I'm too lazy to read all the previous comments) that it might actually be relevant to specify that a computer is electronic. There were mechanical computers in use before the advent of electronics, and in an historical context the difference could be worth pointing out.
looking forward to new instalments of this series
Umm, do you know the new villain, is his first name Miami?
why does Shanna look like she's about 16 half the panels she's in how old is she supposed to be about 11
Linkara-
The way you said "Oregon" slays me. It slays me Sir!
- An Oregonian
wasnt 't alec in wheel chair when we first see him when they answering thei teacher all at once but then we see him moving around without it untill they cut and paste
Every time you 'go evil' it gives me the cold shivers, Linkara. You're just so good at it that it's a little worrying.
Cannot WAIT to see where the latest bit of plot goes.
If you really want to feel Linkara's pain, you can read the entire comic at and more: http://www.atarimagazines.com/whizkids/
Its actually the first hit you get when googling this crap. Compared to this, the cool-aid man comic was a literary masterpiece.
The first all electronic computers were not built in America the first all electronic computer was the Colossus built in Britain by English engineer Tommy Flowers among others to decode German messages during world war 2, also I cant help but notice that the comics computer history section seems to make no mention of Charles Babbage or his Difference Engine
Wait a minute...
Alec speaks in pointlessly complex monologues, uses tons of ellipses, and has a ridiculous muscular structure?
Great Caesar's ghost (always wanted to say that), he is the Ultimate Warrior!!!
Wait a minute...
Alec speaks in pointlessly complex monologues, uses tons of ellipses, and has a ridiculous muscular structure?
Great Caesar's ghost (always wanted to say that), he is the Ultimate Warrior!!!
Oh, gloss over Alan Turing, the Polish Engima codebreakers of WW2 and Charles Babbage will you, Anericocentric PSA you! Bah! Bah! I says!
Great review Lewis, funny and unveiling a new villain in an entertaining way as well. ^^
I don't know why, I just really like the Incredibles reference in there. Mostly cause I love that movie and it's nice to see some variety in those kind of cut aways. Especially when they fit so well like that one.
It's a bit annoying for me too, I heard about this guy whose school gave an award for best student to the kid whose grades were the worst and told the best three in the class they were doing too good on their tests and making the other kids feel stupid so they'd have to go sit in the corner and not take another test for the rest of the school year.
I mean, it's one thing to never have clear winners in these kind of comics, its another for when in real life people punish winners for having too much talent. What does that say to people? That you don't have to improve at all as victory will be handed to you if people take enough pity on you? That being good at something is wrong and we shouldn't compete to the best of our abilities so the kids who didn't study or practice hard enough can have a chance they don't really deserve?
Sorry, it's just that moment reminded me a bit of it.
Great episode Linkara. I think you missed an opportunity for a reference though. My guess is you either forgot about it or never saw it, but in Return of the Killer Tomatoes (Stop laughing!) a gag is that they use generic products but run out of money. George Clooney (before becoming famous) suggest product placement. For most of the rest of the movie they do BLATANT product plugs like a commercial in the middle of the movie.
here is one of the scenes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogId4kCae1A
Why do I get the feeling that the continuation of this saga will include the official debut of the lovely Iron Liz? Perhaps our man Linkara has been sucked into Earth-982 and in addition to having to battle this Lord Vyce, will also have to overcome some other strange changes. (If you don't know what Earth-982 is, watch Spoony's Party Mania review again.) Just a guess, though.
wow, THIS.WILL.BE.AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!
Good gravy, man, how many villains do you have coming after you? For a rather mild-mannered reviewer of bad comic books, you seem to have managed to tick off some rather nasty folks...
On to the episode at hand, though. I'm not to concerned that you have to, sometimes, switched out the planned comic for another one because it just doesn't pan out. You always are thinking of the finished product, which is a good thing. Nice to see you still can find something worth using from the scraped review, though.
This one wasn't exactly PSA Hell. More like PSA Heck, as it looks like the whole "Substance Abuse" thing was tacked on as an afterthought. Probably because someone thought that, by adding it, they could get in good with educators and/or parents. Still, in the end, this was a comic so lame, Tiny Tim could beat it in a foot race. The use of Duke Nukem 3-D was a nice touch. And we have a cliff-hanger ending to this episode as well. You know how to keep reeling us back in, don't you?
Lord Vice...I wonder if he has any connection to Gozer the Gozerian...or maybe the Sphere Builders!
This was hilarious!
A skeleton from my employer's past!
Very stranger stuff, but great segments!
So until the comic about a group of kids who use the Atari 600Xl computer, is released, MAKE MINE LINKARA!
Welcome to Duke Nuke'm Computer Summer Camp! First lesson: BLOW UP CIRCUIT CITY!
Guess you didn't need a week off after all. Well done, sir, well done, and may we all burn in PSA Hell many more times to come.
Hey, hey wait. The kid was in a wheelchair the first couple panels. Then he all stands up to give his speech. THEN HE RUNS A MARATHON. What the funk and wagnell.
You know, the first computer I can remember using was a Tandy, with the green/black screen. Yes, I predate color computer screens. Radio Shack has really gone downhill, though. You can't even reliably get cable or adapters there anymore.
Hey, it's the superduper purple suit. Where's The Maxx?
Bad Linkara. Analog computers! You have upset the feelings of every IBM tabulator, bombe (I saw you up there getting it wrong, Mountain King, the bombe were analog, and they were also invented by the Polish!), and Mark 1A fire control computer in the world. Analog computers were fairly common by the outbreak of the Second World War. Most applications were military, though, because an analog machine lacks flexiblity of purpose.
So you see, Skynet? He's got a long history. Be nice to him.
I don't think the blonde kid is a plant. He's really a supervillian in the making.
Seriously, think of it... he got together with a bunch of other -- presumably easily led and stupid, since they're wasting their summer like this -- kids (henchmen) to talk about keeping up the countries SCIENCE and business for a "better world" and is getting an early start on the monologuing aspect.
"Yes, my minons! It is clear that the current leaders of the world are nothing but small-minded, corrupt puppets! We must FREE this world! Free it to the loving embrace of rationality and SCIENCE! Clearly, I am the only one possible of guiding our way to a still more glorious dawn! I MUST BECOME SUPREME LEADER! WE MUST TAKE OVER THE WORLD! (of course)"
Also, that's not the Mayor. Clearly, it's the Joker in disguise.
Oh, and not all computers are electronic. In fact, an abacus is a computer (albiet not a Turing-complete one). The first programmable computers were mechanical (Babbage's difference engines and the like) and special-purpose mechanical computers were used in the second world war to compute firing arcs and torpedo distances on battleships and submarines. The next big advance was developed by Alan Turning to help in code-breaking of Axis transmissions; he would later go one to describe a more general computing device that could emulate any other general computing device. These devices are known as "Turing-complete" and are the theoretical foundations of all modern computers (and the reason why you can emulate a SNES on a PC).
THE MORE YOU KNOW.
First of all I would like to say, while this wasn't your best review or the worst comic I really enjoyed what you did with it. The voices, the jokes, the faces. Really good stuff.
I'm sad to see Linksano go. He was such great character. Then again: acient evil force conquering the Multiverse? Yay! ^_^
And I'm glad that you're also confused by Spoony being Insanso. I thought I was the only one.
Howdy,
So, ever since moving back onto my old brick of a computer, I've been struggling to watch not just your videos, but a lot of the TGWTG shows. I've been forced to either find uploads on youtube, or simply listen to the audio, and force the video along to catch up.
It was about a full minute and a half into this latest episode of AT4W that I realized something odd. "For the love of Heidegger" I said, "I seem to be able to watch this episode normally!" Indeed, the episode had synced audio and video, and it was all running smoothly rather than choppily, as I've been forced to contend with for weeks.
Thanks, Linkara. It's good to be able to just watch and enjoy again.
Wait... How can Spoony be Insano?
Insano is shown to want to kill Spoony and be a seperate person entirely, Before You cloned Spoony?
Unless, Linksano's commit about Insano means
Insano = the Orignal Spoony
Spoony 1 = The Orignal Clone!
Your Spoony Clone = The Clone of the Clone!
Linkara... you've become the Jackal!!
There is bad. There is obnoxious. There is painfully lame.
This comic was all three. Those were the kind of kids I used to pummel for their lunch money back in high school.
Amazing how things change, huh?
I just noticed "Beyond!" is on Linkara's shelf in the intro.
Can anyone tell me if that's any good?
All i could think of when I saw your "Lord Vice(Vyce?)" character was
"It's Weiss"
look, you may not know it link,
but there is a M.T.V ad on your website as with T.G.W.T.G and i hope they don't rear their ugly sellout heads.
"look, you may not know it link,
but there is a M.T.V ad on your website as with T.G.W.T.G and i hope they don't rear their ugly sellout heads. "
If they're not Nazis or child molesters or the like, we'll take their ad money.
At ComicHovel.com you can find a huge selection of Online Comics that you can read entirely for free! If you have a comic, we have many tools that can help get readers to your comic!
"All that he sees, he conquers..." Wait, didn't Mechakara say warn you of that back in Sultry Teenage Super Foxes #2? And according to Spoony's review of Final Fantasy X Part 2, something's going on with Mechakara...Oh boy, this is going to be Epic.
Oh dear god the male lead has the same name as me.
This is a much much MUCH bigger plot than just combining PSA and commercial/product placement... This is one of the most nefarious schemes in all of comic book makery.
Step 1: Tell kids early on to stay away from drugs and alcohol.
Step 2: Advertise "kick ass" electronics and computers.
RESULT: GET KIDS ADDICTED TO COMPUTERS!
It all makes sense now! I'm glad we finally cracked the case! Kids! Step away from those nifty keen color computers! Get completely sloshed and smoke as much pot as you can! Don't fall for their insidious plot!
... Seriously though. Terrible comic.
Gonna have to back up "Link."
Your pronunciation of Oregon is wonky in the extreme.
Ore (as in metallic ore)
eh (as in meh)
Gun (bang-pow!)
Put it together so the eh is fast.
Love the use of _Dies Irae_... but then, I like Mozart, so what do I know?
The day of wrath is coming, indeed!
"as opposed to the computers made of stone?"
Funny you should say that... When you mentioned the history of computers and computers and astronomy (that career of evil!), the first that sprang to my mind was Stonehenge, which is often thought of as a computer.
- Mik
And thus begins the Linkara Lost arc, part one of the Lord Vyce saga.
Loved the intro to PSA Hell -- the Latin chanting fits the feelings of dread as one looks into comics like Future Five and Tandy Computer Whiz Kids Fit to Win. I can't tell which is worse, the Kool-Aid Man or Tandy Computer Whiz Kids.
Dr. Linksano's monologue on Lord Vyce -- one of the most chilling moments in Atop the Fourth Wall, outside of the Silent Hill comics of course.
I was going "uhhhh......" during that kid's dialouge since it sounded so robotic
One thing you missed (and it's easy in such a target rich environment) is that a marathon is 26 miles. Who in their right mind has an elementary school kid run 26 miles? The Marathon is named after a town in Greece and the first person to do it collapsed dead on the spot. Great sport for kids.
You don't just tell anyone, "You're running a marathon, get in the mini-bus." You train for it. A lot.
I mean I'm out of shape and I know this. If this is supposed to be about fitness, be realistic. Have the kid run a 5K or a 10K at most. But a marathon? Gosh.
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