Top 15 Screw-Ups of Atop the Fourth Wall

See all the times where Linkara was a total idiot!

Liz and Linkara Play the Pokémon Card Game

First, we open up some packs!
EDIT: The first video has been corrected.



Duel One!


Duels two and three!

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

A holiday classic!

Announcement, Panels, and Commentaries!

A lot of stuff behind the cut! Click "Read More" to find out what's going on in the near future plus some goodies!



For those of you who have been following the upcoming episodes lists, you'll recall that I had an episode scheduled for Christmas Day. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, this episode is being pushed back until after the New Year.

Yeah, I'm really sorry - I wanted this to be an awesome Christmas gift, but realistically I doubt I'll be able to get the episode done within the week I have left, plus I'm contracting some more work for it to be done that won't be completed until after the New Year, as well.

In addition, MagFest is going to be tricky. I've got the live show stuff, which isn't too bad to put together myself, but the real problem comes from the fact that I will say that storyline stuff is going to happen in the Justice League: Cry for Justice review... and that storyline stuff is tricky to pull off when I've got Magfest to plan for and around. Currently I don't PLAN to revise the schedule, buuuut it might happen in order to reshuffle things to make my life easier. I really hate to do it since I've got my plans and all, but I wanted to make you guys aware of it in case that's what I end up doing.


Anyway, since I'm not going to be able to get that episode for you by Christmas, enjoy COMMENTARIES! And oh yes, the full That Guy with the Glasses panel from Daisho Con!

First up is a commentary on my very first episode - Spider-Man #56!



Next is a commentary for Silent Hill: Dead/Alive #5!



And finally, Daisho Con!

Marvel Team-Up #127

Let's watch the Watcher waste our time!

EDIT: With apologies to Fantastic Four and Uatu fans - his first appearance was in Fantastic Four #13, not #48 as I say in the video. Not sure how I screwed that up, so just sorry.

TRIPLE FEATURE!

Click "Read More" to see a few videos!

First, Liz and Linkara play Yu-Gi-Oh... AGAIN!


DUEL 1:


DUEL 2:


DUEL 3:



Now enjoy an episode of Brad Tries, wherein the crew of That Guy With the Glasses gather 'round and drink Pepsi Holiday Spice and some other stuff!




And finally, let's see Doug Walker do his impression of Linkara! And yeah, I'll post up the panel from youtube as soon as someone posts it.

New Kids on the Block #4

This comic has NONE of the right stuff.



NOTE: Mark Wahlberg WAS a member of New Kids on the Block, but only very briefly and apparently never recorded anything with them before he quit to focus on his own projects.

Liz and Linkara Play Sailor Moon: The Card Game

Once again watch as two adults stumble around trying to figure out how to play the Sailor Moon card game!

DUEL ONE:


DUEL TWO:


DUEL THREE:

Brute Force #2

Brute Force is back! More cybernetic animals duking it out for contrived reasons!

Bum Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Chester A. Bum and Lester B. Bum review the latest Harry Potter movie with the help of the fine people at Daisho Con 2010!

The X-Men #1

The strangest superheoes of all! ...And by strangest, I mean arrestable.

VLOG: Linkara and Iron Liz Play Yu-Gi-Oh!

First: We open some packs! ABSOLUTE POWERFORCE!



Duel 1!



Duel 2!



Duel 3!

Detective Comics #27

The caped crusader's first adventure! ...was very short and his cape didn't look right.

Podcast of the Gods!

Or, rather, podcast of Moonhawk Studios, which welcomes me back for a nice long talk about my projects and other fun stuff relating to the show. ENJOY!

The streaming version you can find: HERE!

Or you can Direct Download: HERE!

Don't we all love options? And hearing my heavenly voice?

VLOG: Here's what I wore today

So, behold what my fans on twitter pestered me into buying!

Pictures behind the cut of all the pieces!

New Revolution of the Mask Artist!

Well, it didn't take a long time for me to find a new artist! I'd like to introduce you all to Souzou, the new interiors artist for Revolution of the mask!

Check out her DeviantArt page HERE!

What's that? Interior artist? Well, that's because we also have a cover artist for the book, as well! Say hello to BJC, who might not have a DeviantArt account, but has previously done absolutely AWESOME fanart of Iron Liz and I that you can see

HEEEEREEEE!

And also this little ditty with us as Mr. Miracle and Big Barda!



Oh, and just in case you're thinking that this just means it'll take a really, really long time yet again for Issue 3 only for nothing to come of it, here's the inked first page of Issue #3.



EDIT: And oh yes, I'm hoping to actually release the books in a paper format for people to actually have a physical copy of. We'll see where it goes from there, but I wouldn't mind hearing from people about whether the individual issues should be color if we should wait for the trade for the color versions.

Amazing Fantasy #15

Does whatever a spider can! ...which is apparently to be mopey and depressed.

History of Power Rangers: Power Rangers Wild Force

NOTE: The beginning of this video is a response to the numerous amount of times people have requested to know when the next History of Power Rangers is. Feel free to skip the first 6 minutes or so. You have been warned.

PART 1:


The History of Power Rangers finally continues with the Rangers getting a worthless princess and a woman who punches new recruits.


PART 2:


Wild Force continues! Romance and environmental terrorism all around!


PART 3:


Wild Force concludes with everything in the red.

Odds and Ends and Other Stuff

This Odds and Ends is a HUUUUUUUGE amount of stuff, so I decided to hide it under the Read More tab.

So what are you waiting for? READ MORE, DANG IT!

EDITED TO ADD: Also just added another bit at the top - the lost video from Reno!


Lost Video from Reno!
Back in April when we were shooting Kickassia, some of the That Guy With the Glasses crew traveled to a comic book store and a game store! Now the game store wouldn't let us film there, but the comic book store did, and here's the video 8-Bit Mickey and the Game Heroes did of it!

Oh, and for trivia hounds, this is also the store where I got the California Raisins 3-D comics!



December - January Episodes
Well, we're only half way through November, but since I'm making a big update post anyway, I figured I might as well include the schedule for December and January. Yeah, I know, two unknowns and one of them I'm considering switching out, but hey, these things happen. XD

12/6 – New Kids on the Block #4
12/13 – Howard the Duck holiday Special (Subject to change - considering doing something different for this one)
12/20 – A surprise Christmas comic that I bet none of you ever believed would exist!
12/25 - Another surprise comic, though this one's not actually Christmas-related!
12/27 – Top 15 Screw-Ups of Atop the Fourth Wall
1/3 – Justice League: Cry for Justice #1-2
1/10 – Justice League: Cry for Justice #3-4
1/17 – Justice League: Cry for Justice #5-7
1/24 – Care Bears #13
1/31 – X-Force #1


DaishoCon
Just a reminder to everyone, I will be appearing at DAISHOCON! on November 19-21st at Ramada Stevens Point Hotel & Convention Center in Stevens Point, Wisconsin! Doug Walker, the ever-lovable Nostalgia Critic shall also be there and if that isn't enough reason for you to go, then just go because conventions are awesome!


Power Morphicon: Ron Wasserman Interview and Panel
Yeah, I know Power Morphicon is loooong over, but I was going to post this in September and I ran out of time before I needed to work on the complicated Silent Hill review stuff. As such, I just wanted to finally get this footage out.

For those unaware, Ron Wasserman is a composer responsible not only for the original "Go Go Power Rangers" theme, but most of the music of the first three seasons as well as several theme songs across the show AND other shows you'd be surprised to learn he worked on.

KROOOOOZE of Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged and ComicsOnline.com also managed to interview him, and as such I definitely didn't want that video to go to waste, so I hope you all enjoy! Oh, and if you're wondering why I haven't posted up clips of the riffing we did over a Power Rangers episode at the convention, it's sadly because it's really, REALLY difficult to hear and wouldn't really make for an interesting video. It's sadly the way these things happen sometimes, I'm sorry to say.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Interview:



History of Power Rangers Update
Speaking of Power Rangers, where's the next History of Power Rangers video? They're coming this week. I've gotten an early start on Atop the Fourth Wall this week and I think I'll have it done pretty quick, and even if I don't I guarantee History of Power Rangers this week, and the beginning will feature a thank you to those who have been patient, and an explanation for those who haven't.


Revolution of the Mask Update
Speaking of updates, I guess many of you are also wondering why it's taking so long for the next Revolution of the Mask since I got a new artist and everything.

Well, I've sadly got some bad news and that's that Heather Nunnelly is sadly no longer the artist for it. NOW DON'T START MAKING ANY ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT WHY! It's very simple: Heather and I talked and she felt that with her workload and her art school stuff that she couldn't invest the time necessary for the project and I understand and support her in that.

Sadly, that means I'm back to square one in this and am reopening the search for a new artist. I don't have a deadline in place since, with everything else, Revolution of the Mask is not as big a priority as any of the videos since, well, I make more money on the videos. However, I am considering going self-published for the rest of the run to actually be able to produce a trade that people can buy.

Sure, I've been supportive of the digital revolution from the start and if I did go that route I would still offer it in an online distribution, but I know lots of people would prefer to have something they can physically hold.

As for the artists, those who posted in the last one may reapply if they wish, though I am planning on looking back in the old artist search along with any new ones. As such, I am linkin to the artist search perameters as before, along with the sample drawings of the characters for their models to be based on.

So yeah, no time limit on this one or anything, just putting it out there so I can see who's out there as we work towards finally getting this project done!

CHECK OUT THE ORIGINAL POST HERE!

EDIT: Closing off for the moment since I may have found my artist. News updates to follow!




So that's all I've got for now! Thanks for the continued support in all things!

Action Comics #1

The man of steel! The man of tomorrow! The man who will wreck your stuff!

Silent Hill: Dead/Alive Alternate Endings

Happy Halloween! Linkara defeated the evil spirit! But how else could it have gone?

Silent Hill: Past Life #1

A brief review of the latest Silent Hill comic released by IDW Publishing.

Spider-Man: The Greatest Responsibility

Melodrama about genetics and virtual reality? This can only be the clone saga!

In case I've never said it before...

...my fans are friggin' AWESOME. I don't see cosplayers of myself very often, so it's cool when they do. It's especially cool when they have exrtas, like a Mechakara or, oh yes, the little extra mile that you'll see below.

All of these were taken from this DeviantArt, so go check out the full size pics if you so desire!






It's not a bad little Pollo prop and I've never seen someone try to do that before! Just a note for those who are inclined to give it a shot, though - it's a common misconception that the bottom of Pollo's box body just has the flaps just hang out (not helped by Pike's drawing doing the same thing). In reality, the flaps are actually in a triangular shape and fold back in to form a hoverskirt. But hey, this is still flippin' awesome.

Podcast from Across the World!

Heyo! Just did a podcast with "This One Podcast" and now you can listen to it!

...DO IT NOW!

And now, a message from Sean:

“Hey folks that follow Linkara! I’m Sean, The host/co-host of “This One Podcast” (previously known as the Oddcast) where we just BS for about half an hour to an hour about whatever comes to our mind! If you guys look at my old podcasts (http://coachpotatoproducti.blip.tv/) you’ll notice that’s a different voice, well that’s because Nic is the new co-host! Annyway I hope you guys have fun listening and hope you guys listen to future episodes!”

LISTEN TO IT HEEEEREEE!

Silent Hill: Dead/Alive #5

Will Christabella regain control of Silent Hill? Will Ken learn the secrets of his past? Will Linkara survive with his sanity intact? Oh, who the hell cares - what about the dog?!

NOTE: I believe I have finally fixed the problem with skipping around the video!




ANOTHER NOTE: Because this episode is 36 minutes long, I have decided to provide it in two smaller chunks for those with slower connections.

Part 1:


Part 2:

Silent Hill: Dead/Alive #3 and 4

Have you seen a crappy comic around here? It's about this big... black hair...

NOTE: As with last week's, I had to upload a new version of the episode and, as a result, your first attempt or so to play the episode may result in a false error where it says there isn't a playable file for it. Just try again when you can, or try to download the FLV file directly from the main blip link itself.

Podcast Interview: More than Meets the Eye

After the release of the review of Pat Lee's Transformers comics, the Seibertron podcast was kind enough to have me on their show and interview me! You can check them out along with the interview...

ON THIS LINK!

Silent Hill: Dead/Alive #1 and 2

There was a Silent Hill comic here. It's gone now. Nah, just kidding - there's nothing related to Silent Hill in this thing.

NOTE: If you're having trouble watching the episode because it said it was removed, just try using the direct link here: Direct Episode Link

The episode has not been removed at any point - it's just some confusion because I've been uploading a version or two in my attempts to fix the problem people have had with skipping through the video (so far I'm afraid I haven't had much luck).

ANOTHER NOTE: Okay, guys, seriously, any more posts about quantum physics and that stupid cat are going to be deleted. I did not need tons and tons of comments and e-mails telling the same information about Schrodinger's stupid cat. It was a JOKE. Point made. Read the comments ahead of time to ensure someone else hasn't gotten there first about this kind of thing.

Odds, Ends, and October 2010 Trailer

What's Linkara reviewing this October?

Hit "Read More" for the full schedule for the next two months!


EDIT: Since so many people have been asking, the song in the trailer is "Hell Frozen Rain" from the Silent Hill: Shattered Memories soundtrack.

Schedule for Upcoming Atop the Fourth Wall
10/4 – Silent Hill: Dead/Alive #1-2
10/11 – Silent Hill: Dead/Alive #3-4
10/18 – Silent Hill: Dead/Alive #5
10/25 – Spider-Man: The Greatest Responsibility

NOVEMBER: Secret Origins Month!
11/1 – Action Comics #1
11/8 – Amazing Fantasy #15
11/15 – Detective Comics #27
11/22 – The X-Men #1
11/29 – Brute Force #2

Thaaaaat's right! Two months of absolute fun coming your way! First of course is another Silent Hill comic and then the two-year anniversary of Atop the Fourth Wall with another look at the Clone Saga, and then in November we begin SECRET ORIGINS MONTH!

What's Secret Origins Month? Well, a while back a fan donated a reprint of Amazing Fantasy #15, the first comic ever to feature Spider-Man, and so I got it into my head to look back at the very first stories featuring some of the iconic characters of comic lore. Do these stories hold up after 40, 60, or even 70 years? Well, we'll find out as we look at the origins of Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, and the X-Men! Why is Brute Force there? Because I felt like it.

Conventions!
A bit late notice and for that I'm sorry, but if you live in Minnesota or are in the area, come up to Fallcon! Here are the details copied from the Midwest Comic Book Association's website!

Date of Event: Saturday – October 16 – 2010

Open to Public: 10AM to 4PM

Location of Event:
MN State Fairgrounds – Progress Center
1621 Randall Ave – St. Paul, MN 55108

Admission: Tickets at the Door. $7 per adult. Children 9 & Under Free. Get $1 off w/a canned foodshelf donation.


I'll be there at a table with a monitor playing episodes and (if I can get it ready in time) possibly premiere the final episode of the Silent Hill reviews early! I'll also be selling a bit of swag (comics I've reviewed, signed and at cover price) and any other crap I can throw together! Autographs for any other items will be free and yes, that does include body parts for those who want to wash off their autographs instead of keeping them!



I'll also be at DaishoCon in Stevens' Point, Wisconsin from November 19th through the 21st! More details can be found at their website, but at the moment it looks like I'll be at a panel and you can also meet some other web celebrity who wears glasses. I don't know, I think he's on youtube or something.



As for FallCon, still no word on whether or not I'll be going, but when I have confirmation one way or another I'll let you guys know!


History of Power Rangers
I do apologize that this one is taking so long. As I said in my more ranty post a while back, I watch the next season before I make the video for the season before it. As such, with moving into the new apartment, making new props, and filming some stuff you'll be seeing in the coming weeks and months, I haven't had much of a chance to sit down and do my standard "Watch half a season in a day" that I've done with other seasons.

Needless to say I haven't forgotten about History of Power Rangers and the reward for your patience will be three, yes THREE videos for Wild Force (yeah, there's a lot to talk about).

Transformers #4 and 5

More than meets the eye! More bad art, more stupidity...

Nolan Ryan

This level of PSA Hell brings us the celebrity cameo... and a lot of pointlessness.

Power Morphicon: Villains Panel

See the Power Rangers villains discuss their villainy!

So who is watching?

So, I suddenly got curious tonight after thinking about having done this show for 100 episodes - who exactly are my viewers? How old are you all? Do I have more men than women watching? Am I fun for the whole family? Am I more popular among comic readers than non-comic readers? How many people in the United States watch the show vs. Europe, Australia, Asia, etc.? Do you watch History of Power Rangers more than Atop the Fourth Wall or vice versa or both?

So, yeah, who are all of you people?

EDIT: Okay, closing comments on this one. XD I read through all 800 comments (yes, I did. @_@) and I frankly don't have the time to devote to reading through another 800 if it should come to that. XD

As such, thanks everybody who responded - I didn't expect quite so many people would be interested in this. XD

Atop the Fourth Wall 100th Episode

What Sonic comic has Linkara been forced to do for his 100th episode?

Power Morphicon: Time for Time Force Panel

Wherein Vernon Wells calls me a jackass! Three times!

Top 15 Comics I'll Never Review

15 comics that I refuse to review!

WARNING: Episode is 35 minutes long and flash file is 400 megs.

EDITED TO ADD:

Many people have tried to tell me that Mephisto isn't responsible for everyone forgetting Peter is Spider-man, that it's the Marvel Illuminati (Dr. Strange, Reed Richards, Tony Stark, etc.). Yes, I have read that recent issue... except the only reason that that chain of events occurs is because of Mephisto's intervention. They are living in an altered timeline where apparently not being married results in this. Mephisto had to have known that. None of that would have happened without Auny May being brought back to life. Therefore he is still responsible.

Subsequently, "One Moment in Time" is coming off more and more like Marvel teasing us and saying, "Yeah, we know this is how it SHOULD HAVE gone down, but instead he still made a deal with Satan, SUCKERS!"

Power Morphicon: Turbo/In Space Panel

A panel from Power Morphicon features cast from Turbo and In Space!

Under the Red Hood and Other Stuff

Alrighty, got a couple of things for people. First and foremost:

I moderate ALL comments on the blog (I do this to keep spam out as well as to ensure that I read every post, even on older ones), so if your post doesn't appear, it doesn't necessarily mean that Blogger ate it or something, it just means I haven't gotten to it yet. I recently had to reject about five posts of varying length from the exact same person because they thought that there were too many characters when they first tried. Unless blogger outright tells you that's the problem, ignore it - POSTS DO NOT APPEAR WHEN YOU FIRST HIT "SEND." Otherwise, I pretty much allow every post through, even if I disagree or find it offensive.

Next! About a month or two ago there was a direct-to-video DC animated movie called "Under the Red Hood" based on Judd Winick's Batman story of the same name. A few people have been asking me about this one and, well, actually my brother and I watched it and recorded a Vlog where we gave our thoughts on it as well as another direct-to-video DC animated movie or two. The reason why it's taken so long for this to come out is because originally it was planned to do it kind of like how Brad Jones does the Bruno Mattei Show, where there are clips of the movie and panels scrolling across to show what we're talking about. However, because of a whole bunch of stuff happening behind the scenes that you'll be seeing soon, I never had the time to put it fully together.

Still, we went to the trouble of recording it, so at the very least you guys deserve to see the finished product. Enjoy! Also, hopefully in the next few days I'll be releasing the panels I recorded at Power Morphicon (with the assistance of Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged's own KROOOOOZE!, who was also able to record the Bulk and Skull panel for me since I missed it due to my flight arriving at around the same time. Also, Power Morphicon thoughts and other odds and ends under the "Read More" button!






POWER MORPHICON WAS FRIGGIN' AWESOME!

You'll be seeing some of why it was in the convention videos, though I do apologize that I didn't get a chance to record any footage of me just interacting with peeps or walking around - because there was a lot of stress and worry during the convention itself, basically any time we weren't recording anything, Kroze and I sat at a table and relaxed, talked with some awesome fans, and generally just enjoyed ourselves.

I got a few more morphers that were missing from my collection, though sadly my search for a Turbo Morpher, Astro Morpher, Quantum Morpher, and Titanium Morpher continue on.

I met a lot of fantastic actors and crew from the show, including the sweetest sweetheart ever to walk the earth - Erin Cahill, AKA Jen from Time Force. She and Jason Faunt (Wes and Alex) had never been to a convention before and were having an absolute blast. They both signed the Chrono Morpher I had (Erin was especially gleeful about seeing it, since she had only seen one other one the day before and otherwise hadn't seen them since her days on the show and she even tried it on!).

While I sadly never got to meet Paul Schrier (Bulk), I did get to talk to Jason Narvy (Skull) after Kroze recorded an interview with him and he even played with my hat! While I don't think he's ever actually watched any of History of Power Rangers, he did say that he believes that he's seen this blog before while he was working on his own webspace, so that was quite a rush for me.

Speaking of, I was also honored to talk with Tony Oliver, one of the original writers of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers as well as a writer on the upcoming 2011 season (no, he didn't have any details on the new show to give). He HAS watched some of the History videos and said that I reminded him of a lot of stuff he had forgotten about those years. So, yeah, major squee moments for me.

There were fantastic cosplayers all around, including an original Megazord, a Finster, a green ninja ranger, and just SO much more. Sadly I don't really have any photos, having only my camcorder with me. However, you can check THIS THREAD to see some of the many actors who were there as well as links to other photo albums that contain cosplayers and the like who were at the Con.

Sadly, there were quite a few I never got a chance to meet. The aforementioned Paul Schrier of course, but also Jason David Frank (Tommy) sadly always had a line and a crowd of people surrounding him. I really wanted to meet Amy Rolle (Trakeena) or the other two Lost Galaxy alumni, but sadly they also always seemed to have a line, too. I did get to talk to Ron Wasserman as well as recording his panel, which illuminates some of the behind-the-scenes music stuff from the early years of the show and why his theme was never used for Mystic Force and other legal matters (some of this is stuff I've heard, some of it not).

The panels were a ton of fun and the guests always seemed to be having a good time, though there was the occasional dumb question by fans, but usually the guests were quick on their feet and knew how to handle things.

Oh, and that reminds me: YES, I HAVE SEEN THE DAVID YOST INTERVIEW. I have no opinion on it other than "Yay, we finally have some solid answers on why he left the show." He did not name names about who made the derogatory and demeaning comments towards him and as such I don't feel like speculating. While I will not be making some video response or mentioning it in the next History video, it will probably be added to the list for a video I'll do once I finish the Power Rangers RPM videos are complete: a list of corrections and addendums that fix errors that I made or misconceptions I had or just things that have since been corrected for me.

Subsequently, some other answers to questions that many have asked me:
-While I have no solid plans for what I'll do after History of Power Rangers is "complete," I'm currently thinking that I might do a similar retrospective on Power Rangers-esque shows, like Masked Rider, Beetleborgs, and Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills (why yes, that is a real series).
-History of Power Rangers will NOT end with RPM - it will extend for as long as the new series lasts, but it does mean videos will come out EVEN SLOWER, since obviously I can't do a video on a series that is not complete.
-I have no plans, nor do I think I will EVER have plans to do a History of Doctor Who. Such an undertaking is FAR beyond my capabilities at the moment. For starters, unlike Power Rangers, where I can look at it season-by-season and examine overall story arcs and characters, Doctor Who has almost 50 YEARS of material, including episodes that no longer exist, changing premises for how the TARDIS, the Doctor, or even how the universe works, and just an entirely different approach for how to look at it. While it's certainly a fascinating idea, at the moment I don't really think I could do it justice. Maybe somewhere down the road, but certainly not now and most probably not when History of Power Rangers "ends."

In other news, the march towards episode 100 of Atop the Fourth Wall begins! Begin speculating on what I'll be reviewing at your own leisure!

Oh, and Bandai was there with the Rangers who were at San Diego Comic Con.



Why yes, I AM a complete and utter dork.

Action Comics #593

Anyone who says "bow-chicka-wow-wow" to what's happening in this garbage will be punched in the face.

Action Comics #592

Superman hangs out with old people and Big Barda considers other career options... at least she will when this whole ordeal is done with.

History of Power Rangers: Power Rangers Time Force

The History of Power Rangers travels back to the future... and then back to the present... then back to the past... then back to the present... then to the future again...



In Part 2, the Rangers become their own grandparents and the space-time continuum is considered a suggestion rather than an outright rule.

Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force

The return of Ensign Munro! ...a pity they had to get his ineffectual half-brother to stand in for him in this comic.

Amazing Spider-Man: Skating on Thin Ice #1

Learn why you shouldn't use drugs from Spider-Man! It's because... uhh... well... look! Supervillain fight!

Power Morphicon 2010

Yep, since people have been asking, I am indeed going to Power Morphicon 2010!

Get tickets and information HERE!

As far as I know, there isn't a panel for me or anything like that - let's face it, I'm just a popular fan of the show and not a big-time actor and this is about the show itself, not my History of Power Rangers series. I will, however, be walking around, doing the riffing (no, I'm not telling you what we're riffing), and I'll be happy to sign autographs, do photos, and answer questions just as I'm generally milling around and taking up space.

I'll be there all three days (though I'll be leaving on Sunday afternoon), but yeah! Come on out and enjoy!

The Others #1 and Brute Force #1

A double feature of dumb! But which is bad in its awfulness and which is awesome in its badness?

Hardcore Station #1

While it may not be hardcore, it certainly is stationary. It doesn't move forward with its story or advance in any capacity

Interview with Johnny Yong Bosch

So recently anime reviewer JesuOtaku and I were able to interview Johnny Yong Bosch of both Power Rangers and various anime series fame and ask some questions! Have a listen and enjoy!

The California Raisins 3-D #2

I heard it on the grapevine that this comic blows.

Cable #2

Two times the grimacing! Two times the plot holes! Two times the utter stupidity!

History of Power Rangers: Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue

The History of Power Rangers returns to earth and learns to like its guns.



In Part 2, we demonstrate the unbelievable badassery of the red lightspeed ranger.

Podcast with GCF-Talk

I sadly haven't been able to figure out how to emped something that's just an MP3 on Blip to here, so instead I'll just link you to it. I recently did a podcast with GCF-Talk, so enjoy as they ask me questions and I give answers!

Listen to it here! Do it now!

Ewoks #9

Will Linkara return? Who are Lord Vyce's footsoldiers? And why in the name of all things sacred did they make a comic about Ewoks?

About the Wonder Woman Stuff

So people have been asking me lately about the new Wonder Woman costume and origin story that J. Michael Straczynski has put forth in his upcoming run on the title, making its first appearance in Wonder Woman #600. Fair enough - I'm the comic book guy on That Guy With the Glasses, so of course whenever there's something that's big news, people feel compelled to ask me my opinion on it.

On the other hand, people are asking me to give my opinion on something that hasn't really happened yet, like asking me what I think about Saban reacquring Power Rangers - I'm happy that it's coming back, but I can't really give my opinion on a series that hasn't been made and hasn't aired and I haven't watched.

But, hey, I've been giving my opinions about it on Twitter for the last few days and people are still asking (which is strange, because I always figured I had more followers on Twitter than I did my blog or the like), but yeah, let's get it out of the way so I can just link people to it instead of repeating my points over and over.




So this is Wonder Woman's new costume and you want to know how I feel about it. Yeah, I hate it. Frankly, every time I look at it I have to remind myself that I'm not looking at Anita Blake or an Elseworlds version of the character or something from Project Rooftop. Wait, I take that back, Project Rooftop's Wonder Woman costumes look better than this. They utilize her Greek origins or they emphasize her strength while staying within colors Wonder Woman actually wears. I'm sorry, but when I think of Wonder Woman, I think gold, I think red and blue, I do not think black and I don't think unnecessary leather jackets. Frankly, this outfit looks like one conceived for the nineties, which is funny considering she DID wear an outfit like this in the nineties... and it sucked.

But we'll get back to other Wondy costumes in a minute. So what prompted this costume change? Well, part of it was the revamped origin story that JMS is writing. Part of it was apparent backlash from women. Let's look at this a little from a recent interview he had with Newsarama.

"What that says is that new readers aren't sampling the book, and many of those who have been reading it, have dialed out or lost interest."

I didn't. I was really loving Gail Simone's run on the book. I still encourage people to go out and locate the trades of it or order it online from Amazon or Barnes and Noble. But hey, I'm not everyone, so it's possible her run just didn't click with most readers.

"This is one of the surest signs that the stories, as good as they are, have become too insular."

This is one of the eye-rolling things about movies, TV, and comics - blaming one particular aspect of it for its failure and with comics, something like being "too insular," as if the reason we can't get on board is because there's too much history to it.

As I have said numerous times on podcasts, on Atop the Fourth Wall, and other places - continuity is not a problem for readers. Badly-used continuity is the problem. Referencing olders stories or materials should be done in a way that builds on what has come before while maintaining who the characters are at their core. JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative is my absolute favorite comic book of all time, and it's filled to the brim with references to the past of the Teen Titans, but that just makes me want to read those stories and find out what they're talking about, and yet I don't need those references to understand the story.

"This isn't a reflection on the character, the writers or the fans, not by any stretch of the imagination. It's a perception issue, and as a friend of mine once pointed out, sometimes the only way to see clearly through a stained glass window is to punch a hole in it."

Wait, what? Ummm... if the stories are "too insular," then yes, it is the writer's fault for not making it more open to new readers. If it's a perception issue, than the problem IS with the fans as well as the marketing at the company since they're not doing what they need to do draw in new readers to taking a look.

"As I've noted elsewhere, Wonder Woman has, to an extent, become like a Ferrari you keep in the garage 24/7 because you're afraid of denting it. It's great to look at, beautiful in line and form, and as long as it's in the garage, it's safe ... but that's not what a Ferrari is for."

...Are you seriously comparing Wonder Woman to a sports car?

"The second reason for a big shakeup is that frankly, it's long overdue."

Be fearful any time a creator uses words involving "shaking up the status quo." The thing is, it's hard for me to point at any particular book that currently HAS a status quo. Event comics, team book lineup changes, crossovers, multi-part stories designed for ease of fitting into a trade paperback, and just ill-fated directions for books mean that there's very little status quo to be found in a lot of books. Teen Titans for the last few years, as an example, have had their team lineup changed repeatedly. Same goes for the Justice League. Creators leave or are unpopular with readers, editors get reshuffled, and plots are tossed aside or redone because one creator wants to use a character and internal politics at companies prevents them from utilizing them.

In Wonder Woman's recent history in the past four or five years:
-Paradise Island was transported away during the events of Infinite Crisis.
-Wonder Woman got a secret identity and became a DEO agent.
-The Greek Gods were captured in Countdown for reasons that are still confusing and stupid.
-Paradise Island returned and lead to Amazons Attack, and I think we all know how I feel about that one.
-At the end of Amazons attack, Diana was forbidden from returning to Themyscira and all the Amazons' memories were erased.
-The Amazons' memories were returned and they returned to the island at the behest of a freed Zeus, who planned to strip them of their immortality as a reward for their faithful service. Zeus also set up a tribe of men as a counterpoint to the Amazons to try to finish the task they started in changing the world.
-Zeus expelled Diana from the island when she refused to follow this path and Diana renounced the Greek pantheon, pledging her fealty to the Hawaiian Gods (it's complicated - read the trades)
-The DEO's operations center where Diana worked was destroyed and she abandoned her secret identity.
-The whole thing turned out to be a plot by Ares and Zeus apologized for his stubborn ways and declared that Diana was right, allowing her to be loyal to her Gods again.

Where in all of that is a status quo that has lasted enough years for there to be something that needs to be "shaken up?" The problem with a lot of writers is that they DON'T read the books that came before, so they have a preconceived notion of who a character is and what the stories have been like.

Now, I'm sure you're all wondering what the hell this has to do with her stupid new outfit. Well, it's at this point where we get to the big evidence that JMS has never read Wonder Woman before.

"Her look, her dynamic and the sorts of stories being told have ossified over the years. Other characters have had their image buffed and altered over the years, but absent the regrettable mod look of the 60s, Wonder Woman looks pretty much the same now as she did in 1941."



What you're looking at are seven of Wonder Woman's outfits over the years. Now, I do apologize for having to reduce the size of the picture in order to make it fit the blog size, but it should be clear enough to see that not only has Wonder Woman's image HAS altered over the years, for better or worse. The earliest one depicted here is the one second on the left, and even that's not what she looked like when she started. The breastplate has gone through numerous changes, as well as the star pattern and the size of the hotpants.

Now some of you are probably thinking, "Well let's face it, Linkara - Wonder Woman's not an American, yet she's wearing the American flag on her ass. Changing it up a bit is good." Fair enough, but then again that's ignoring the various origins that have come up over the years. She's worn it as the colors of the nation she was going to, it's been pointed out that white stars on a blue background isn't exactly an american invention, and honestly when I look at Wonder Woman, I notice the gold areas more than the rest, much like how on Superman your eye is drawn to the "S" on his chest instead of the rest of him. The symbology is important.

But hey, it's not a bad point... but I just don't like the costume they went with. As I said, black is not a color I think of when it comes to Wonder Woman. The costume on the far right is the one she wore in the nineties, and it's drawn a lot more flattering here than it ever was in the actual comics. It's just ugly - some characters can carry a jacket (Animal Man, Firestar, Rogue) and others can't. Wonder Woman is one of them - she comes from a Greek society of warrior women - they didn't wear jackets.

'But wait,' many of you have asked me, 'Aren't you a feminist? Aren't you happier now that she isn't wearing a sexist bathing suit and is actually wearing pants and showing less skin?' Well, let's address that last part first - she's not really all THAT much more covered up. She's still got exposed cleavage and frankly most comic book artists draw pants on women as skintight to the point that it might as well be spray-painted on anyway. And even then, as I said, the Project Rooftop examples had plenty of costumes with pants, but they weren't black. And in case you're wondering if I'm just misinterpreting the colors and it's really dark blue, check out the article or buy Wonder Woman #600 for yourself - they're black.

Now let's address my feminism. This is once again a misinterpretation of what feminism is - the thing is, showing skin is not the problem. I mock it in a lot of books because it seems like a lot of women's costumes are designed to show as much skin as possible for titillation reasons. Instead of designing costumes that are logical for a character based on who they are, their origins, or their thought process, they're designed so that they can ride up a woman's ass and heterosexual men can drool at it. Part of feminism is that you don't have preconceived notions about a person simply because of how they dress, how society might look at a girl or a woman in a mini-skirt and think to themselves, "they must be a slut," when in reality they could just really like mini-skirts.

Costumes themselves are not necessarily sexist one way or another and the same goes for Wonder Woman (though I continually groan in frustration whenever an artist decides that Wonder Woman's lower half rides up her ass like a thong). How the characters are written and how their body language is portrayed is what makes things sexist one way or another. Frank Miller writes Vicki Vale to be obsessed with superhero penises and put in the script that he wants Jim Lee to sexualize her for titillation, making her into nothing more than an object to be gazed at, describing in detail that she should be in skimpy attire and that her ass should be front and center for the reader. THAT is a sexist portrayal.

Artists drawing women so they're bending over more, positioning group shots so that women are showing off the curvatures of their bodies instead of standing or sitting naturally is a sexist portrayal (unless it is within the character's nature to be doing so). Drawing women's nipples poking through their outfits, while possibly a hint of realism due to the nature of their costumes, is a sexist thing to do - this is a medium where apes can become knights, Amazon Princesses can become ambassadors in between fighting mythological creatures, and aliens can shoot laser beams from their eyes. There's a degree of logic that's necessary for story structure or when science NEEDS to be consistent for a plot point. Asking why Wonder Woman's breasts don't bounce out of her bustier is an unnecessary question to ask (unless it's for humorous purposes) because we're already working in a world where she can deflect bullets with her bracelets and possesses super strength and a lasso that compels the truth.

So, yeah, my problem with the costume is from a purely aesthetic sense and the reasons for replacing it are pretty weak, in my opinion.


"Finally, there's the problem of her being overwhelmed by her mythology and her supporting characters. When writers don't know what to do with a character, they build up the supporting cast and universe to kind of hide that fact. After a while, you can no longer see the character for the underbrush. When that happens, you need to bring out the weed-whacker to clear some of that away so you can focus on the main character."

That is one of the dumbest things I have ever read. Wonder Woman's entire character and origin are built around Greek mythology. The Gods are an intrical part of her birth and upraising. WHO SHE IS as a character and a person are determined entirely by her life experiences and her connections to the Greek Gods. If you strip that all away, you are not writing Wonder Woman, you're writing an entirely new character with a different origin. And that's fine, but you don't need to tear down what came before in order to tell about this new character.

And how exactly is Wonder Woman overwhelmed by her supporting characters? I've been reading Wonder Woman for the last few years and have read trades of stories that happened well before that and I have never seen her be "overwhelmed by her supporting characters." While it's true that many writers will do away with the previous supporting cast and put in their own, Wonder Woman has always been the central focus of the book and she's always a major player in the events that unfold.

Not to mention that "bringing out the weed-whacker" as described by JMS is NOT how a good writer handles things. If the writer feels that not enough emphasis has been placed on the main character, then you WRITE ABOUT THE MAIN CHARACTER. As the person actually writing the book, you are capable of writing what YOU want to write. You think the supporting characters have too much focus? THEN DON'T WRITE ABOUT THEM.


"It's all part of Straczynski's attempt to give Wonder Woman a more realistic, grounded approach that contrasts with her still mythical background. He compares the effect to what Neil Gaiman did in Sandman. While this fresh, new Wonder Woman exists in a tough, urban world, she also interacts with a few surviving Amazons and their mythical world that still exists in the shadows."

...I was under the impression JMS had read Sandman, but apparently he hasn't in a while. While there is an element of urban reality present in the book, the fantastic and mythical elements of Sandman are the primary focus of the book, as it should be with Wonder Woman. Why? Because she's WONDER Woman. She comes from an island that regularly interacts with Gods and monsters. She has gone into space and fought off aliens. She has ventured into the depths of hell and she can lift heavy things. The book she be all about the wondrous, the fantastic, the things that we don't see in everyday life. If he wanted gritty, realistic, and grounded we'd be reading crime dramas or the more grounded Batman stories. Forcing the mythological elements into the shadows just makes her into a generic crimefighter who has some ties to mythical elements.


"Nrama: It sounds like she's turned into a woman who is much more realistic, at least in our world. A little less untouchable and god-like, and a little more familiar. Is that accurate? And was that a goal?

Straczynski: Yes. Again, the goal is to make her more interesting to and accessible for a readership that genuinely wants to like this character, but have found the picture-frame surrounding her less than interesting."

Making her more like average schlubs makes her LESS interesting, not more. In Gail Simone's last two issues on the book, Wonder Woman fought off an invading force of brutal space Amazons that slaughter a population, take natural resources, and then recruit women into their brutal environment to be new soldiers in their force. She did so while always appealing to their better nature and her allies were a group of albino gorilla knights, government agents, and an Olympian riding on a two-trunked elephant. This is the kind of thing I want to see in my comics - not grounded stories about a woman "more realistic" and "accessible," but larger-than-life situations where you're not sure how they're going to get out of it, but that still emphasize the heart of her character and continue to offer a hand of compassion.

I would go on, but I think I've made my point by now. I will read the first few issues of this new run. I freely admit that in the interview, JMS has said that she's trying to put the old timeline together again and it's likely from that that in six issues, everything will be back to the way it was and people will forget about it.

However, reading this interview does not give me confidence that JMS understands who Wonder Woman is. The Wonder Woman I know of comes from the three other main stories in Wonder Woman #600, someone who can rally a force of superheroes together, a woman who can understand the nature of any living creature's soul, their needs and anxieties, and a competent superheroine that can work with others while performing otherwise impossible feats. Not so much the Geoff Johns story, though, since he keeps trying to push this idiotic idea that she isn't human.

And just to avoid a couple of posts that people are sure to make:
-Yes, JMS wrote One More Day, the infamous Spider-Man story where Spidey makes the deal with satan to end his marriage. And YES, he WAS in favor of the story. His objections to the book were in that he had written up a plan for how the continuity worked post-devil deal, but Marvel rejected it and said they were just going to play it fast and loose since "It's magic, we don't have to explain it."
-JMS IS capable of fantastically good writing, like in Babylon 5 or Thor, and yes even during his run on Spider-Man (Aunt May discovered the truth about Peter, Peter became a science teacher, etc. were excellent story ideas and executed brilliantly, IMHO). It's part of why I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. However, sometimes some writers just aren't suited to writing certain characters.

The Young, The Odds, and The Ends

Upcoming Episodes

Yeah, I know I'm a bit late on this one, but after last period where I kept switching around what ones I was going to do, I went back at my planned schedule and wanted to make sure I would be reviewing stuff that'd be as entertaining as possible. However, the list is ready now, so enjoy and start speculating!

7/5 – Ewoks #9
7/12 –Cable #2
7/19 – The California Raisins 3-D #2
7/26 – Hardcore Station #1
8/2 – The Others #1
8/9 –PSA Hell: The Amazing Spider-Man: Skating on Thin Ice #1
8/16 –Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force
8/23 – Action Comics #592
8/30 – Action Comics #593
9/6 – Top 15 Comics I’ll Never Review
9/13 – 100th Episode
9/20 – PSA Hell: Nolan Ryan #1
9/27 – Transformers #4-5


100th Episode
Yeah, the That Guy With The Glasses Wikia was NOT an accurate count of episodes, since it included special videos that aren't official episodes, incuding the Warrior reviews, the Theme Song Contest stuff, Vlogs, the April Fools episode, etc., etc. Chain Gang War #1 was the 89th episode and I DO have plans for the 100th episode, I'm just not telling you what they are. ^_~

Feel free to speculate about what it is I'll be doing as well as anything else on the list! Though of course I still might swap some out if I end up changing my mind, but I'm feeling pretty confident about this list.


Convention Stuff
I can confirm that I will indeed be attending Daisho Con in Wisconsin this November! Check 'em out HERE!

As for other conventions, I have no other news, but I am working on a couple of things, including Youmacon and an August convention.

I am more than likely NOT going to be at San Diego Comic Con. The thing to remember about these conventions is that because of my schedule and for business reasons, I can really only go to conventions if I'm invited as a Guest. It's not an ego thing, it's just it's a big hassle to go out to a convention unless it's worth my time. XD

So if you want me to go to a convention, appeal to them asking to invite me!


Iron Liz's Foundry
If you want to see more of Iron Liz's stuff, check out the Pen and Paper RPG reviews that Liz has done over at Her Website!

Chain Gang War #1

Can Iron Liz withstand the Chain Gang War?!

Freak Force #1

It's 90s Kid's turn to fend off a comic! ...or, rather, help it along, it seems...

Anita Blake: The Laughing Corpse #1 and 2 (PLUS EXTRA!)

With Linkara missing, it's up to Harvey Finevoice to review this crappy adaptation of a novel!

BONUS: Linking Up With Linkara Bloopers!



NOTE: Musical accompaniment by Skitch.



WARNING: There appears to be some kind of audio glitch at 2:55. We are aware of the problem.

Warrior #2-3 Bloopers

Bloopers from the review!

History of Power Rangers: Power Rangers Lost Galaxy

The History of Power Rangers heads to the Lost Galaxy, where the Rangers join the mobile infantry to stop the bugs.


Part 2 of Lost Galaxy! People lived, people died, but at least we'll always have magic tears.

Tandy Computer Whiz Kids: Fit To Win

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?

Which Episodes Should I Re-convert?

So now that I have a new FLV method that people seem to like using, are there any particular episodes that people would like me to reupload because they weren't able to watch them before? I'd honestly love to do all of them, but it's like the youtube thing - a lot of time and effort and, well, in this case in particular bandwidth. So, what are the most popular choices that people would like to see? I can think of a few myself, buuuut...

EDIT: For the record, this is pretty much for the widescreen episodes. There shouldn't be any problems for anything before the Maximum Clonage review.

Q&A Vlog 1: Origins

The first part of the Q&A! See the origins behind some of Linkara's likes, dislikes, and how the show got started! See him go off on wildly irrelevant tangents!

Oddsing and Endsing

Tandy Computer Whiz Kids
In case you didn't see my twitter, Q-Unit #1 proved to be so irritatingly BORING that I couldn't find anything good to make fun of and would've made for a poor episode. Instead, I shall be reviewing an issue of the Tandy Computer Whiz Kids, which is hilariously awful.


Testing a new Flash format
Alrighty, quite a few people in the past have told me that they're having difficulty seeing my videos on Blip. As such, I've offered some solutions in the past:

-Update your flash software
-Try using a different browser (IE Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.)
-Download the FLV file directly from Blip. It's not too hard to track down a specific video's link.

However, I understand that the problem may be on my end. The thing is, back when I was saving in 640x480, Blip was able to convert my videos for me and did a pretty good job of it... but for some reason it errors out when attempting to convert my widescreen videos. As such, I have to save the videos on my own, usually doing so in Adobe Premiere Elements... a process that can take up to three hours, much to my annoyance if it turns out I have to correct an error or something.

As such, with the assistance of some peeps on Twitter as well as my fellow TGWTG producers, I've found a converter that seems to work pretty well and cuts the time it takes to make an FLV down pretty well. However, what works on my machine might not work on other people's machines, as such I have uploaded a new version of the Dark Knight Strikes Again Part 3 and I would like people to test it for the following:
-If you've had no problems with the videos, whether this new version works just as well.
-If the quality seems to be up to part with the other version (pixelation and the like should be pretty easy to spot)
-If you've had problems in the past viewing my videos, whether or not this corrects it.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide!




History of Power Rangers

STOP. ASKING. ME. WHEN. THE. NEXT. EPISODE. WILL. BE. OUT.

Believe it or not, watching 40 episodes of a TV series, especially when I've already got my own life, a weekly show, and various other projects to work on is NOT an easy task. Let me just break it down for you:

-Watch Power Rangers season.
-Summarize as I go along, often having to pause the video to give my thoughts and note any motifs or character bits that come to mind.
-Finish off my thoughts and the analysis.
-Edit that analysis, checking my sources for any additional information I can find.
-WAIT TO FINISH THE NEXT SEASON. Yeah, believe it or not, I'm NOT releasing a season until I've finished watching the season after it. This makes sure that I'm still always one step ahead of the reviews and you don't have to wait even LONGER for the videos.
-Record the review.
-Edit the review, inserting clips.
-Publish video, upload to Blip, place on this blog.
-EVENTUALLY it will end up on That Guy With the Glasses. The site is growing every day and there aren't as many video slots as there once were and as such the schedule is very tight and I may not be able to fit it in close to the same time I post it here.

Just to give you an idea of the time measurement - the average Power Rangers season has about 40 episodes in it. Now that I'm out of the part that I have nostalgic memory for, I now have to watch much more closely to these seasons and, as a result, most likely wtch every episode, resulting in about 13 hours to watch the entire season... except, as I said, I don't watch these in a single day because of all the other things that happen in my life. In addition, the time it takes to summarize and analyze, then record, then edit.

So the answer as to when the next History of Power Rangers episode is going to be? WHEN IT'S GOOD AND READY, SO STOP ASKING. I honestly am not trying to be angry, since I love my fans and I love that the fans care about this project, but seriously? I said it RIGHT in the introduction video that there isn't a set schedule for it and I meant that. I'm going to start getting harsher about this, much as I dislike doing so, but this series is supposed to be fun, both for me and for the fans, but if people make it into a chore for me, I'm going to enjoy it less and less and it'll be even LESS likely that you'll be seeing new episodes. As such, allow me to make this clear:

-If you e-mail me and ask when the next episode will be out, I will start by responding with this post and in the following weeks I'll stop responding whatsoever, even if you have good questions or wish to donate something or the like. I am THAT tired of getting this question.
-If you ask why it's not on TGWTG, I will ignore you.
-If you tweet to me about it, I will ignore you.
-If you comment on the blog asking where the next one is, your comment will be REJECTED, including this post, even if you're joking. I am seriously that tired of this.

Again, I honestly don't want to come off as a jerk, but it's honestly getting on my nerves a bit.

Revolution of the Mask

We are now going to be releasing an Issue 0 before we move onto Issue 3. This involves me writing a fresh script, which I will hopefully be completing by the end of the week, as such it will be a bit before you see the next issue, but like before, please be patient and there WILL be more issues. Thanks again!

Linking Up With Linkara

The video the people demanded!

For the record, I told Liz about the idea ahead of time and she was totally on board with it. Speaking of which, still want to know who Iron Liz is? Then check out her blog:

Iron Liz's Foundry!

Oh, and I've never been to Tibet.

The Dark Knight Strikes Again Part 3

The comic that dares to ask "how much lower can Frank Miller go with his Batman depiction?" The answer: much.

Warrior #2 and 3

Dr. Linksano unleashes his plan! Can Linkara handle the Destrucity?!