Monday, March 28, 2011

The Backstreet Project #1

Photobucket

Backstreet's Back! ...Wait, is that a good thing?




104 comments:

Razorvine said...

I am not sure about the Backstreet Boys, but I have seen more than a few concerts where costume changes were something that was fairly common.

The villain's name is terrible, Sinissta, The Death Queen. Yeah that just rolls right off the tongue. Though I do love you making the Rita comparison I knew that you were going to go there. Also Batman hates rock and roll reference FTW.

Mountain King said...

Oh sweet bugging hell what is this?

This was horrendous. I'm serious, about half way through I wanted to punch the artist. If Stan Lee did write this abomination it was obviously on the bus between movie cameos. It was a hollow, empty and aimless pile of crap that spent more time boasting that this manufactured pop group was "The Greatest Boy-Band in the world." I head that in the KISS comic and didn't buy it then, why the hell should I think five barely distinguishable piles of short lived faecal matter have more of an impact?

My hatred of manufactured boy bands, and their impact on culture, aside this was a one dimensional script. Full of unknown and generic "Characters" with so little motivation they were lifeless. Villains so hokey they'd be laughed off Power Rangers and a general premise that ranks right along side "it's magic, you don't need to explain it"

Sorry, I just lose my temper when transparent attempts to steal money from gullible fangirls try to pass themselves off as worthy fiction. Make no mistake hiring a big name like Stan Lee is obviously trying to make a statement. Now don't get me wrong, I accept that people have to make money, and the idea of art for it's own sake just leads to bankruptcy. I also accept that no one forces the rabid fans into buying tie-in merchandise. Thing is I do get the feeling this sort of thing is preying on (or is that hoping for) people that don't know any better. From the sounds of things they might have failed this time, but they're not the first to try it.

This sort of marketing just has GOT to stop. I wouldn't mind if it was well done, but it's the general slipshod nature of the whole thing. From crude artwork, to the copy & paste plot, all the way to the obviously rushed conclusion.

Still, putting my anger with the source material to one side, good review with a lot of nice touches. Just for the love of whatever gods may exist please don't subject us to anything like this again. Any more anger and I could blister paint off the wall at forty paces!

Thomas

Writrzblok said...

"So, how can we make money and milk this fad for all we can?"

"I know! Let's put them in a medium where it's primary attraction (i.e. music) is not in anyway showcased!"

"Brilliant! After that, you can get to work on that crossover of Doctor Who/My Little Pony!"

Cubey said...

The ending was creepy...

You know what? If not for some really terrible bits of writing, this comic could have been kinda cool, in a "so stupid it's awesome" kind of a way. Shame, really.

And the basketball guy is clearly just killing time until he stars in Barkley Shut Up and Jam Gaiden.

FigFan said...

Hey! I remember getting action figures of the Backstreet Boys in these costumes with my Burger King kids meal when I was little, too!

WPB said...

Actually, the costumes weren't too bad. Definitely better than some of the stuff that's been featured on this show.

And so the story resumes again. 20 bucks says we'll see Linksano before the end of the year.

Hubi said...

That was a lot of fun to watch :)

The after credits part was really creepy... And interesting... Keep up the good work, Linkara!

Jarkes said...

Huh... plot's back up... and BOY was that creepy!
Speaking of which, that clip from the MMPR theme song you showed with Rita reminded me of something I was going to ask you. I think that you should cover the Power Rangers video games in History of Power Rangers. Any chance you could do something like that?
Also, who provides the Entity's laugh, and what was that piano music that played at the end?

Yogurt said...

The Backstreet Boys? G-d help us all.

It was bad enough when Stan Lee was trying to make us believe that a club singer, a stripper, and an overgrown manchild would make fantastic superheroes with compelling stories.

But a boy band? Sometimes I find it hard to believe that this is the same guy who co-created Spider Man, the X-men, and the Fantastic Four.

Carlos Hugo said...

what? no reference to SnowFlame and his explosive right next to the pool?

when I saw the cover of that comic I thought it was one of those wird superhero convinations comic:

Like Dr. Strange, Iron Man, Ronin, a Jonah Hex and a Shaq Rip off.

Nameless One said...

Great review of a terrible comic, but confused why Dr. Linksano didn't use his awesome ray gun against That Which Unmakes. I mean, maybe it wouldn't work, but it's worth a go...

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"Great review of a terrible comic, but confused why Dr. Linksano didn't use his awesome ray gun against That Which Unmakes. I mean, maybe it wouldn't work, but it's worth a go... "

Because it zoomed in a bit close, you probably couldn't see, but he did bring the weapon around and aimed it at it, just didn't get a chance to fire it.

Jyger85 said...

Oh good grief, this comic was terrible. Stan Lee, what were you thinking??? And yeah, I wish they would fought the giant robot too. Unfortunately, given the pattern this comic was going, I'd guess that they would've likely used a giant robot of their own, and you know what we'd have then...

"Power Rangers: Backstreet Project!!!"

Anonymous said...

I have this. Seriously.

My sisters were both HUGE into the boy band craze of the early 2000s. The youngest one wanted this book and the Burger King tie-in toys, so it fell to me to track them down. When it came time to bag and board the comic, I went to my then-regular comic shop...where I was greeted with groans, a lot of swearing, and cries of "Stan Lee should be voted off the island!"

Years later, my youngest sister has pretty much left the boy bands in the past, but saw fit to leave me with this comic. Which is admittedly crap, but it is noteworthy for some truly good Ruben Martinez art just a couple years before he became one of the lead concept/marketing artists on the burgeoning He-Man revival, to say nothing of the all-star roster of inkers they enlisted. Pity they weren't put to use on a good story....

Self-loathingsheep said...

Costume changes are pretty common in band concerts. Even back then. They often changed after each song or after a certian number.

Poor Linksano. You know what they say, the funny guy (or in his case, funny as in loony) always goes first.

Anonymous said...

hey linkara...i think i have a action figure of "iron boy" some where in my room.

also the other day i was tlking to a friend of mine that has been reading comics since the mid 70s and he said that cry for justice was one of his favorite justice legue story lines. sadly i forgot to ask him why.

Justin said...

That had some potential, but yeah. x|

hehe was that a Bajoran Phaser you used?

MetaArmigata said...

The entity after the credits is creepy! Seriously, when I heard it after the battle between Linkara and Vyce, I had nightmares about what made those sounds. So much so I had to stop watching that part altogether.

Great review, and I hope you keep up the good work. ^^

The Mad Scientist said...

New villain??? OH SHI-

Linksano just gets the raw end of the deal every time. I almost feel sorry for the guy.

Yeah, this comic was awful. One of the worst I've seen you do, IMHO. Who thought that turning the Backstreet Boys into superheroes could possibly end well? Because whoever it was needs to be put in a straitjacket.

Bazookoidben said...

Pft, greatest band of all time...that title is held by The Seatbelts and we all know it....well in my opinion anyway.

Huh, well that certainly seemed less silly than I thought it would be. Hey aside from the boobs thing the artwork wasn't THAT bad, sure it was lazy but it did make me want to pull my eyes out like the great work of Liefeld.

But who/what is this Entity eh? I get the feeling you are going to keep us guessing. But since Linksano didn't recognize it, it means it's not a member of the current cast...hurm... and then there is all that staticy stuff. Silent Hill reference?

The plot thickens!

Jarkes said...

Okay, maybe you didn't see my questions, so I'll ask them again:

Any chance you could cover the Power Rangers video games on History of Power Rangers?

Who does the Entity's laugh?

What was the piano music at the end?

Kat said...

I have this horrible feeling that the Entity is slowly picking off the supporting characters--first Ninja-Style Dancer (seriously, is he still not back from his gig) and now Linksano, and by the time Linkara realizes it it will be too late and he'll have to enlist Vyce's help. And I'm sure that'll go over well.

Jeremy A. Patterson said...

The ArComics idea was similar to what Heroic Publishing did from 1999 to their comeback in 2004: Rerun old stories in a e-format!

J.A.P.

Kuiska said...

LOL Oh man that was an awesome review. And at long last I have an explanation for those Burger King toys. I got the AJ one and I always wondered why he was dressed like a cowboy...

I will say, despite the crappy comic, I do love Backstreet Boys. When I heard they went on tour again I considered getting tickets but I was worried it wouldn't live up to my memories of them.

Actually, I'm a little bummed you didn't use the "Which Backstreet Boy is Gay" song parody, that always cracks me up.

Frankie said...

Oooh! Plot again! Let me guess — the climax will come in the Ultimatum review amirite?

ShadowWing Tronix said...

I was expecting Liz to be standing behind Linksano. :)

I remember the hype for this more than anything that came out of it. Mostly because I never saw any of the it.

Jesse said...

Call me crazy (I like JLA: Act of God, so I probably am) but, I actually liked this comic. The fanservice probably helped;)

To me, this was so dorky it was a little endearing. I may go to a concert now and hopefully get powers. Having the power to fix and use any mechanical device would be an awesome power. Always be employed with a VERY well paying job at least:D

KamenRiderGumo said...

Wow; that was a horrible comic.

I was half-expecting a "five teenagers with attitude" joke at some point, but then again that -is- kind of the obvious joke to make - barring the fact that I'm unsure exactly how much "attitude" those five could manage to muster. Great review overall, nice continuity mentioning the chemistry set and a good lead-in to the next story arc.

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"hehe was that a Bajoran Phaser you used? "

Yep! Didn't even know they had made one until a month or so ago.

"But who/what is this Entity eh? I get the feeling you are going to keep us guessing. But since Linksano didn't recognize it, it means it's not a member of the current cast...hurm... and then there is all that staticy stuff. Silent Hill reference?"

I love watching the speculation. XD Someday I'm going to do a storyline where I just throw a bunch of random stuff together, look at the speculation, and then just go with one of the fan theories. XD

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"Okay, maybe you didn't see my questions, so I'll ask them again:"

I see all the questions since I have to approve every comment. I just may not get to it right away.

"Any chance you could cover the Power Rangers video games on History of Power Rangers?"

Probably not.

"Who does the Entity's laugh?"

That would be telling. =D

"What was the piano music at the end? "

Difficult to say. I have two copies of it, both under different Ren and Stimpy compilations. One lists it as "Evil" with no name. The other as "Satanic" by Richard Harvey.

FugueforFrog said...

Well I think I know what happened to Robo Liz.

Yeah, I sort of figured Nightcat was going to play into the punchline considering...Stan Lee is not the best person when it comes those musical super-heroes. Then again I've never even read that infamous "Human Torch meets the Beatles" thing in the 60s so who knows if that was always the case. Oh and nice usage of Marx Brotehrs...and Rita. The villainess was definately Rita with Scorpina's mutation powers.

Andrew Dittmann said...

Good review! just 3 things.
1.
So it wasn't just me that though that the main antagonist looks like Rita Repulsa.

2.
It's not narrative magic they have a time machine. Hold it know that i think about it I don't even think a time machine could help them do all of that in a matter of a hour, because they would have to worry about running in to them selves, or worry about when the future them planted the bomb that they don't know about yet. Will go off and destroy them. This is starting to sound like a episode of Doctor Who . Hopefully i and any one else keep those two things separated.

Backstreet Power Rangers will give me enough nightmares.

3.
Where do i get a Junior Chemistry play-set that will allow me to take over the world? No seriously WHERE I want to know.

Dj.D said...

This comic is supposed to appeal to girls? I just don't like when famous people are given comics just to become super heros in them. Especially when the costumes and characters don't seem creative and the story is filled with plotholes.

For the Backstreet Boys, would it have been better if we got a perspective of one of the members? To see what goes on behind the scenes in the groups life, the ups and downs of being in a boyband? Their experiences with the group in graphic novel form? Or is that just not appealing enough and wouldn't sell? Surely it would be better written and maybe even better drawn than this comic?

Lotus Prince said...

The laugh sounded like a mech version of Iron Liz.

I at first thought it was Mechakara again, despite his lack of...everything but a hand, because of the static vision. I guess not. :-D

Anonymous said...

@Kat: Ninja-Style Dancer was at the celebration party for Vyce's defeat in in the Warhammer RPG finale of Iron Liz's Pen & Paper Corner.

Anonymous said...

Ok, Crackpot Theory Time! In case I'm right for some reason, I just want to write this down so I have evidence that I called it when this storyline is over.

The entity is a Missingno. My evidence is:
"Beneath the seas, besides flame"
Cinnabar island was where Missingno was I believe, and you had to sail up and down the coast to find it.
"Off the coast where the lost beast came"
See first line
"To bring the world misery and shame"
Missingno tended to cause glitches to the cartage. Thus causing chaos to your game, and causing the user to regret getting it.
"A piece of the world is missing."
The Missing Pokemon

Poem #2:
"The path you should have never crossed"
See poem #1
"The beast exacts a heavy cost"
See poem #1
"The number of the beast is lost"
... Do I even have to say it?
"You will know it by its hissing"
Missingno had a very interesting noise when it came into battle.

Take this along with the fact that:
-The entity could be scared off, and quickly run away... just like a wild pokemon
-Vyce said awhile back the universe he came from seemed to have a glitch (Missingno is a glitch from the games), as well as an aberration.
- Vyce said it was never meant to be, and yet it existed. Just like missingno. Feasting and consuming entire worlds, and bring the ends of days to that world? Replace worlds with cartridges.
-The entity tends to cause static whenever it appears, which if I recall, Missingno did the same thing
-Linksano couldn't identify what the entity was. Neither could any player. Missingno was made up of pokemon and various other pixels. Plus, it "deleted" Linksano. The Missingno Glitch causes data to be deleted I believe.

So in conclusion, all signs point to Missingno. Of course, seeing as this is a crackpot theory, odds are it's wrong. But hey, I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Anonymous said...

Wow, a Marx Brothers reference AND a Weird Al song that I can sing along to? It's like Christmas up in here. :D

Sadly, I actually was a pretty big fan of the Backstreet Boys back in the day, and remember reading this comic. Even back then though, I knew it was crap. Glad to see that fact hasn't changed over the years. It really felt like the whole development team phoned it in. :/

That creepy mechanical laugh at the end with Dr. Linksano was one of the more unsettling things I've seen (or heard) on this show. D8

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"@Kat: Ninja-Style Dancer was at the celebration party for Vyce's defeat in in the Warhammer RPG finale of Iron Liz's Pen & Paper Corner."

Yeeeaaah, confession time - I saw the continuity error with it but I went ahead with it anyway because I liked the joke. XD Ninja-Style Dancer is still missing.

Jarkes said...

"The entity is a Missingno. My evidence is:
"Beneath the seas, besides flame"
Cinnabar island was where Missingno was I believe, and you had to sail up and down the coast to find it.
"Off the coast where the lost beast came"
See first line
"To bring the world misery and shame"
Missingno tended to cause glitches to the cartage. Thus causing chaos to your game, and causing the user to regret getting it.
"A piece of the world is missing."
The Missing Pokemon

Poem #2:
"The path you should have never crossed"
See poem #1
"The beast exacts a heavy cost"
See poem #1
"The number of the beast is lost"
... Do I even have to say it?
"You will know it by its hissing"
Missingno had a very interesting noise when it came into battle.

Take this along with the fact that:
-The entity could be scared off, and quickly run away... just like a wild pokemon
-Vyce said awhile back the universe he came from seemed to have a glitch (Missingno is a glitch from the games), as well as an aberration.
- Vyce said it was never meant to be, and yet it existed. Just like missingno. Feasting and consuming entire worlds, and bring the ends of days to that world? Replace worlds with cartridges.
-The entity tends to cause static whenever it appears, which if I recall, Missingno did the same thing
-Linksano couldn't identify what the entity was. Neither could any player. Missingno was made up of pokemon and various other pixels. Plus, it "deleted" Linksano. The Missingno Glitch causes data to be deleted I believe.

So in conclusion, all signs point to Missingno. Of course, seeing as this is a crackpot theory, odds are it's wrong. But hey, I guess I'll just have to wait and see."

...Wild Mass Guessing FTW! XD

Anonymous said...

"Ninja-Style Dancer is still missing."

WELP.png

UnsealedCross said...

You know I was ten when this thing was announced and I knew it was going to suck... hard and I never read a single comic before this came out and I still haven't. It makes me wonder why they even thought this was a good idea. Oh well with the exception for the balloon boobs, the art work isn't terrible, but at the same time isn't great either just "nice looking crap" if you will. I just hope that nothing this stupid is made ever again... oh who am I kidding of course someone will make a comic about some famous singer or Hollywood star because they thought it would sell tons of copies thus making tons of money. Greed really sucks >:(

Anonymous said...

Can I recommend the batman/aliens crossover comic book ? I think It is bad concept.

Kari said...

"I love watching the speculation. XD Someday I'm going to do a storyline where I just throw a bunch of random stuff together, look at the speculation, and then just go with one of the fan theories. XD"

You'd make a very frustrating GM. I've pulled that one a time or two. I shouldn't probably admit as much. ;D

VGR said...

Hoorrayyy the plot is back... if I said that in any other medium that would usually be a bad thing when I think about it. So should it be assumed Ninja-Style Dancer was taken by the Entity?

dickgraysonisbrucewayneasbatman said...

Oh Yea, Time for another Linkara Universe sto-Linksano...Seriously, Ever since he has been here, He is always getting in trouble, at least Insano was able to almost defeat Linkara....>.> Poor,Poor Linksano

Anonymous said...

Whether or not they were the most popular ground tends to depend on how you looked at sales:

NSync did better than Backstreet in the US, but Backstreet owned them all Globally. They were also the first group to have two albums go platinum one after each other within like a week of sales or some such.

The comic itself...about what I'd expect for this kind of thing.

And you know what? People can laugh at them all they way, but ten years later they can still command $100+ ticket prices at concerts (on the high end). Last summer they were at the Gibson, the only act that commanded a higher price? Paul McCartney.

They're laughing all the way to the bank.

Alex said...

From what was shown in the comic, everyone on that spaceship except Queen Sinissta seemed to by sympathetic to the people of Earth, and Sinisstra was the only one the Backstreet Boys didn't manage to kill.

Erick said...

I am gonna give this a chance Lewis. Yes the thorn in your side I fucking owe to you man.

Paul S. said...

You know... this wasn't *that* bad. If anything the Huberto Ramos-style art is a lot of fun even if the newly super-powered Backstreet Boys never actually use their powers for much good.

The whole thing looks like the pilot for a lost cartoon. The type that Ruby-Spears or DIC would make. Which lands it strictly as a guilty pleasure in my book.

Out of curiosity have you seen that Labron James comic DC Put out a few years ago?

Jesse said...

Well, for what it was, this one didn't look like it was so bad. But that's not saying much for a comic meant to help milk the last few dollars out of an already-dieing boy band.

As for the whole Stan Lee Media thing, I have a feeling that just came along five years before its time. It might have lasted at least a little longer had it come along in 2005 or so instead of in the 1998-Y2K era.

And, it'll be interesting to see where this whole Entity thing goes, too.

Sindragosa said...

I'm not going to lie, I loved the Backstreet Boys when I was a wee little tot dreaming of love through songs that only depicted breaking up and desperate men wanting you back.

Yeeeah, I'm pretty embarrassed about those fangirl days. Then again, I was in it for the pop songs. Say what you will, the music video for Everybody was kickass at the time.

banjo tooie said...

hi linkara i wanted to email you about a comic i was thinking of donating but when i click your email link i keep getting on getting an error that says "could not perform this operation because the default email client is not properly installed" any advice on how to fix it? or at least directions to a website that tells about fixing it?

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"hi linkara i wanted to email you about a comic i was thinking of donating but when i click your email link i keep getting on getting an error that says "could not perform this operation because the default email client is not properly installed" any advice on how to fix it? or at least directions to a website that tells about fixing it? "

Sounds like the problem is on your end, that you lack an e-mail client like Microsoft Outlook. If you do have such a program, then I sadly have no idea what to say. ^^;

joeymartin64 said...

"All five of them want to do her, and that is creepy and terrible; this comic sucks." Your delivery of that line was among the best deliveries of any line I've seen from any online entertainer. I had to re-watch that one line twice.

Also, Zophacia is what you would get if you combined the names of the evil god and the not-evil sort-of goddess from Lunar 2 (Zophar/Lucia). A coincidence, but a strange one. Knowing the Internet's tendency for stupid ships and portmanteau couple names... no, actually, I don't want to finish that thought.

Wrave said...

Tony Stark was originally drawn by Stan Lee, who also drew this comic and Kevin does bare a slight resemblence to him.

MoonTiger said...

Just a quick comment on the video
Most musicians usually change their clothes at least once during a concerts, as they sweat heavily, and during a break (when the singer entertains the audience after he himself changed) they change into something else. Also, it seemed that the second change was after the concert, which is again undestandable. Would you prefer to stay in the same clothes as you were in the concert? ;)

The Bald Guy said...

hells bells Dark Nella killed Linksano

Anonymous said...

That... That... That was certainly... something, uh, yeah. They really have to stop putting out comics like this, this one was just terrible.

The thing at the end with Linksano was rather creepy.

Fiery Little One

Anonymous said...

That comic was very cheesy late 90s-ish. lol

Also, yeah, singers change clothes often in concerts, probably because stage lights make the stage very very hot.

Anonymous said...

Um...Wrave?

"Tony Stark was originally drawn by Stan Lee, who also drew this comic and Kevin does bare a slight resemblence to him."

Stan Lee never drew anything, Iron Man or otherwise. This comic was drawn by Ruben Martinez. Iron man's first artists were Jack Kirby, Larry Lieber (Stan's brother), and Don Heck.

Clare C. Greenstreet said...

Ok, I love the Backstreet Boys. I'm not ashamed to say that. But a comic? What were they thinking?

Anonymous said...

"Brilliant! After that, you can get to work on that crossover of Doctor Who/My Little Pony!"

Already happened
sort-off http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_ponies#Doctor_Whoof

EinWolf said...

My god... You're under attack by robot chipmunks now!? I knew no good could come of Boy Bands... And this is the proof!

Sometimes, I get this feeling that Stan will take on projects just because that's the work he has for that day. Or he has someone else do it, and he just signs his name off on it.

Heroman is awesome though. Everyone should be watching Heroman. Because it's awesome. Heroman is, that is. It's awesome and I kind of like it. A lot. Go watch it.

Jyger85 said...

Huh. Y'know, I think I'm gonna have to agree with the current theory that the Entity is Missingno. Though to be honest, I always thought it'd turn out to be Joe Quesada. lol

Mavrickindigo said...

Aw man Linkara, you were having a good run with your show for the past few weeks. I thought you learned your lesson, but I guess I was wrong. Looks like it's time to stop watching you because yo won't stop making an internet review show about your stupid storyline.

Ever consider doing the storyline as a separate show? it would make the fans interested in seeing a comic review show happy and you get to play pretend that you're the hero of the universe in your other show

Bazookoidben said...

I blam Steven Moffat, Miss Christie and Lost for making me such a speculator. But actually basing a finale and what we are guessing would actually be pretty funny.

Perhaps we could get a choose your own adventure series?

"It's dangerous to go alone! Take this with you"
Take either -
A) Magic Gun
B) Battleizer
C) Comfy 4th Doctor scarf

I see this being only made of epic.

ReddiShadow said...

Okay, so the Rita Repulsa and 'five teenagers with attitude' similarities are obvious, but said five teenagers being powered by the Z- uh, I mean "nondescript alien crystal thingies"? How far do you have to go before it goes from homage to plain rip-off?

KingOfDoma said...

... wait... she couldn't land on autopilot? OUR aircraft can do that. Why can't the ALIEN SPACESHIP do the same?

And ooh! CONTINUITY! Kickass!

Sieg-sama said...

I'm pretty sure that the "World's Most popular group" would semi-officially be the Beatles. So maybe they meant "World's most popular Boy Band of the 90s"?

Bruno said...

first of all, beatles are the greatest band in the world. second, anyone else get a massive portal vibe from the after credits

Anonymous said...

I don't know how to start, I like the suits of the heroes and the artwork is 'positive'.

But I hate Sinissta, she looks like a joke and she doesn't embody a queen of 'death'(but she comes pretty close to Rita Repulsa-clone).

But the biggest point for me is that her 'empire' holds it so well, because she has no control of her followers! One of her followers even deserts and takes weapons with her that can be used against her!(number 1 mistake for totalitarian empire)

Like when Cobra Commander yells:'COBRA ATTACK!' and is army says:Eh..no, we haven't got payed yet, so we gonna leave you know and gonna eat something by the Mac' or something.

Also, when that rocket flies over the concert and the audience is astonished, since when are the Backstreets Boys outshining Michael Jackson?

And why Stan Lee?, because I think he sells good.

aufwiedersehen.

(^|^)

Anonymous said...

Linkara, Mayby you should review/read comics like Dylan Dog, Diabolik, Martin Mystery etc etc.
These Italian comics are really fun books to read.

I hope if you say so soon

Anonymous said...

""Who does the Entity's laugh?"

That would be telling. =D"

Maybe, maybe not. Both you and Liz play multiple characters in your plot, so I don't think it'd be too telling if we knew who was the voice actor behind it.

The plot is amazingly fun to watch, and I wonder if we'll get more "watch all these episodes to see the plot" posts from you. They're good for referencing.

Anonymous said...

...D: I just realized I have a toy of the flaming basketball guy.

...I have a toy...of the flaming basketball guy. How was this able to get a toy tie in? I don't even remember where I got it, but this review reminded me of exactly what it was.

...Yeah, no, that's all I gotta say. Oh, and another great review! Oh, Backstreet Boys. You guys aren't really a good superhero group. I agree with Batman about destroying you guys juuust to be safe.

SLPowerhouse said...

Well, I didn't see any one post this yet and any information is helpful. More than likely putting Stan Lee's name on the cover of the comic book was just because Stan Lee was the head of the Media group. Marvel used to, I don't know if it still does, put Stan Lee presents on Stan's creations even after he stopped writing for those items. Stan himself even admitted that after being done writing for marvel he really didn't write comics anymore. This statement would mean that the story was completely written by Nick.

At a convention that I was at recently Stan Lee did a Q&A where he stated that Marvel still sends him all of the new comics for him to give the OK before they publish them. Because of how much is on Stan's plate he admitted he doesn't actually read the comics' story he just looks to see if the art is of high enough quality to be published. He never did say at what point he stopped reading the story lines of the different comics he was involved with but this could be a case of one such event.

I realize that you don't necessarily have access to all clips that could be useful but at the point with the giant robot stealth mode I expected a doctor who clip from when the Cybermen snuck up on the doctor because their legs were on silence.


Also fantastic ending for this video to start the plot back up. Even back when Vyce was talking about the entity as the entity I started to think of it along the lines of The Silence for series 5 of modern doctor who.

Benjamin J said...

I'm actually hoping for a big reveal at some point down the line that Linksano has actually been running a "long con" sort of scheme from the beginning - feigning being a neurotic bumbler in order to get in close to Linkara's operations, manipulate previous events, and systematically destroy everyone from the inside out.

It's always the ones you least suspect.

Anonymous said...

The random Rita Repulsa pop-in possibly made me laugh harder than I have laughed at anything in weeks. I mean, all day I keep remembering this moment and giggling randomly while I'm walking around in public. Kudos.

Do you have an official thread for recommendations or anything?

Unknown said...

an that end was just dark and outright cruel dr. insano is a fun little villlain dont have him killed off thats just wrong. especially like that he finished making a weapon without even using it. ugh feels like i imagine countdown did.

as for the comic itself this actually decent enough stupid but not actually bad.

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"Do you have an official thread for recommendations or anything?"

Yep! It's on the ThatGuyWithTheGlasses forums - check under Inked Reality and then Linkara.

Unknown said...

Hey Linkara i think i figured out the entities first appearance. Around the end of silent hill Dead/Alive #5 i heard something that sounded awefully like the entity and then at the end of Doctor who Classics #7 i heard that same voice and the laugh so i can only assume the entities real first appearance was at the end of Silent Hill Dead/Alive #5

Sijo said...

Aha! Only one glitch this time! Watching ATFW is getting easier! (Seriously, WHAT is up with that? I don't have this problem elsewhere.)

Anyway: I can hardly believe this was written by Stan Lee. There were some good ideas in it, but they're hardly given the development they needed. It feels more like an episode of a (bad) 80's cartoon. Incredibly lazy writing. Maybe someone "ghosted" Lee?

As for the Backstreet Boys, as far as boy bands go I'd say they were pretty good. Not sensational, but at least not as bad as some others. (And I had never heard the Weird Al song at the end. Now I'll have to Youtube it. Man, he always cracks me up. :D )

We can donate comics to you? That's good to know, in case I decide to dispense with some of my old comics (I need the space, but just throwing them to the trash doesn't feel right. :p )

Oh, and it's nice to see Linksano back, if only for a few seconds. What can this new menace be? The entity Vyce so feared? Hmm...

Steve Riley said...

Wow. I just saw this review and realized I have an action figure based off the guy in red, and have had it for years! i just thought it was a some random superhero!

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"Hey Linkara i think i figured out the entities first appearance. Around the end of silent hill Dead/Alive #5 i heard something that sounded awefully like the entity and then at the end of Doctor who Classics #7 i heard that same voice and the laugh so i can only assume the entities real first appearance was at the end of Silent Hill Dead/Alive #5 "

Nope! That's its second appearance, but I applaud your attempt at locating it. ^_^

MintyDragon said...

I believe the first time The Entity was heard was actually around the end of the Star Trek review, when the winding phrase "huuuummaaaaaannsssssss" (or something along those lines) was heard by Linkara and questioned, but not followed up upon, after the Vorsoth was killed.

Aside from that, great work Linkara. Poor Linksano, just whenever he gets close to the greatness he so desires, he gets whisked away back onto the bus. Hopefully he's made of tougher stuff than that.

orbthesela said...

How bad is it that I really, really want a copy of that comic because I still love the Backstreet Boys? I'm 27, I should have really gotten over my tween girl crush on Howie by now. It's probably because I'm a BSB fan, but I didn't think the comic was that bad.

Hibryd said...

Okay, so they all want to bang the girl, but aren't any of them concerned that she's, you know, an alien? I mean, for all they know, her species eats the male after mating.

Kruxis said...

By the way, I love your Stan Lee narrating voice.

Turkish Proverb said...

Man, at this rate Linksano's going to be a definite contender for Wooby destroyer of worlds.

Jarkes said...

Question: How long do you expect this story arc to be (as in, how many months, not how many videos)?

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"Question: How long do you expect this story arc to be (as in, how many months, not how many videos)?"

About seven more months or so. It'll be shorter than the Mechakara and Lord Vyce arcs.

Anonymous said...

"About seven more months or so. It'll be shorter than the Mechakara and Lord Vyce arcs."

Wait, do you mean seven months from this point, or seven months from whenever the arc officially starts?

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"Wait, do you mean seven months from this point, or seven months from whenever the arc officially starts?"

That's a very good question. =D

Anonymous said...

""Wait, do you mean seven months from this point, or seven months from whenever the arc officially starts?"

That's a very good question. =D"

=D I'm not going to get an answer, huh?

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"=D I'm not going to get an answer, huh?"

Pretty much!

Jarkes said...

"About seven more months or so. It'll be shorter than the Mechakara and Lord Vyce arcs."

Yeah, apparently one of the (few) complaints about the Vyce arc was there were apparently pacing issues. Given that I've only watched the 7 episodes that led to the finale, as well as the finale itself, I'm not sure if that's true.
Also, for once the "word verification" thing is an actual word.

Anonymous said...

-"All five of them want to do her, and that is creepy and terrible; this comic sucks-

Several young males voicing that they find a female attractive? My goodness. How incredibly...NORMAL!

Also, considering some of the other outfits from comics you have reviewed-she's on the conservative side.

Wednesday said...

You used a Marx Brothers clip! My day is made.

And, yeah, between an actual Backstreet Boys song and a Weird Al parody, there really isn't any contest which to use.

kriss1989 said...

If I was going to use a Weird Al song, I would go with 'which Backstreet Boy is Gay'. Because I'm full of sarcasm, spite, and sadism. Well, verbal and emotional sadism, not physical. Pacifist. But just because you can't shout "I am a MAN!" and punch them in the stomach, that doesn't mean you can't shout "You are not qualified to be a 'man' and need a triple sized SUV just to feel as adaquit as men that drive regular SUVs as compensation!" and smack them in the ego. Alternativly "Hung like a horsefly, and not to scale."

RBYDark said...

Seriously, singers should never be superheroes. I am utterly convinced of this now. Not only does it never work, but then they distract Batman for a few months.

Good review, though I'm now worried for Linksano. ...nothing can ever go right for that guy, can it? Beaten by Insano, beaten by Linkara (UNKNOWINGLY), lost his home universe, probably deleted... I dunno, maybe it's just me.

Anonymous said...

Yay to the Marx Brothers! But I'm still a little disappointed you used 'Swordfish' here, and not the Contract scene in Detective Comics #27 (which was a little closer to the right time).

Funny you should've used Weird Al... A couple of weeks ago, I saw him change costumes after every song. 'cept during the suite in the middle.
Oh, and he did about half a dozen changes during one song alone.

The Basketballer, the Cowboy, the Magician, the Iron Man, the something else...
I swear I left a Village People joke lying around here somewhere...

Anonymous said...

You know, if there is a band that really should have a comic, it's Lordi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkw4jhDE1eQ

Anonymous said...

Dear Linkara,

Why do supervillains announce their weaknesses at the worst possible moment? If pineapples reduce them to an infantile state, wouldn't they want to keep it a secret? Surely some other part of the narrative could exposit their allergies.

Sincerely,

A Friend

Katherine said...

Ah, the Backstreet Boys. I remember them. I also vaguely remember their brief stint as cartoon superheroes, mostly because there were once toys of them that came with Burger King meals. I didn't know that they'd had a comic, though.

But yeah, even at the time, I thought that it was silly.

Ming said...

That last scene was creepy and shocking. A goofy villain taken out by this even worse unseen Entity.

Regarding this comic:
I think this is worse than Nightcat. At least that story had Ninja-Style Dancers. It should have been better in every single way.