Ok 2 things, Im surprised you didnt make a joke about "WildThing #1' being a April Fools prank by Marvel, on the cover we see it says 1 April.
Also, this is supposed to be set in 2020, right? At 15:43, right after the Dragnet scene, the monitor in the VR warehouse says 1996 8:30. Did Marvel forget what year it was supposed to be?
I agree the art and story of the comic is stupid, but I don't follow some of the criticism about the VR concepts. For example, addiction to VR: according to Wikipedia, the idea of video game (especially MMORPG) addiction is controversial, but video game that felt real, cathartic and helped you forget a crapsack world could justify the addiction thing. Spiderman 2099 also uses the VR addict theme with Miguel's brother.
The Venom avatar : I guess at least 5 commenters will have a Linkara avatar in the comments, so I don't see how someone using a comic book character is unrealistic or outside of the norm in the context of the story.
I think the criticism of the heroes massacre simulation is hilarious in the context of the Injustice game release. A video game where you can fight and defeat comic book heroes ? Yeah, why would you want to play that ? If it's for the lapse of time since their death, one of the most successful genre of FPS is the WW2 setting. Although I didn't understand if Venom and company were supposed to have been real people or fictional characters (see our hero mentioning how Carnage emerging from Venom was not like the comics)
Is it sad that I was slightly disappointed that this isn't about the daughter of Wolverine from the "Marvel Comics 2" universe (home of Spider-Girl, American Dream, A-Next, and others) of the same name?
I was surprised; I thought the Wild Thing comic you would be reviewing was the one from the Marvel Universe 2, where Wild Thing is the daughter of Wolverine.
To be fair, VR Troopers is barely worth remembering. When you eventually review that series, I'd like to know your opinion on the six minute pilot made with Jason David Frank, that actually looked like it had some promise before they pushed the Virtual Reality gimmick even though that had nothing to do with the original Japanese series.
My GOD! I don't know what was worse, how long it took for her to get into her costume or that first shot of her in it. Her feet made me scream.
Thanks to you, I am now going to watch Arcade.
I was very shocked that you never referenced the episode "Hooked Up" from Batman Beyond, where Max and other teens became addicted to Spell Binder's VR.
All in all, this review wasn't bad, and unlike many comics you have recently reviewed, this one was bad enough for the show, but the jokes were still just okay or meh, and the boringness of the comic did not seem to effect Linkara all that much. I am looking forward to 2099 month, and I hope you pull it off.
P.S. I agree with everything you said during the credits. Personally, I don't get why many people need to have that explained to them, it should be obvious. Well, hopefully this will snap a lot of sense into people.
When I think Wild Thing, I think of the song, I think of that children's book, I think of that 1980s movie starring an Urban Tarzan. But this, is not wild, if they called the comic Weird Thing they probably would have been able to pitch it better because that's what it is. Just weird.
Great review like always though. Also I had to look up that Sega activator to know what 90s Kid was talking about. Never thought that Sega made a power glove knock off.
About the ads thing: Does that mean that don't get any ad revenue from Scandinavia? Because the ads never show up in Denmark. There used to be this thing with blip tv where there would be ads BEFORE the show, but that never happens anymore. What's up with that?
god that videogame's concept is unrealistic. everyone knows hulk is an invincible boss till you reach the last levels and he mutates into a oddly more vulnerable form. and you don't have random encounters with x-men till level fifty. this guy is boviously level fifteen.
Sure the premise was silly, the use of established characters very cheap and the artwork very questionable but.. I still want to see how the comic continues.
Gah! That was awful. Atrocious artwork, tons of expodump, no character personalities to speak of. And what was up with the Second Person narration at the beginning?
The 2099 world did have a form of Virtual Reality, but it was handled much better. The 'net was used mostly in three comics in that line, Spider-Man 2099, Doom 2099 and Ghost Rider 2099. Spider-Man's brother, Gabe, was a recovering 'net addict who later helped Miguel log on, by programming an avatar that looked like a cross between his Spidey costume and a Tron character. Doom employed multiple 'net hackers, and at one point managed to fill the 'net with his consciousness in a ploy to conquer the world. (It didn't work, but he did succeed in allying with a mysterious AI.) "Zero" Cochrane, aka Ghost Rider, was murdered while logged onto the 'net, and his soul merged with his 'net avatar. In general the 'net was used as either a plot device, or to explore the question of whether AI's were really "alive".
As for the plot of VR addicts getting their brains fried from overexposure, "Batman Beyond" had a much better episode exploring this concept. In a nutshell the villain had two motivations: making money to conduct experiments in psychological warfare and experimenting on the children using the VR arcade. When the kids using the VR ran out of creds he'd kick them out and order them to commit petty larceny until they could afford his services. The kids who burned out weren't dead, only brain dead, and the villain ordered his flunkies to dispose of them (discretely, to avoid the GCPD or Batman learning of his scheme).
I was a big fan of Spider-Man 2099 and Doom 2099; together with X-Men 2099 and Ghost Rider 2099, they were the best of the line. Punisher 2099 and Fantastic Four 2099 were mediocre at best, Ravage 2099, Hulk 2099, X-Nation 2099 and any book published after the creative teams quit in protest of line editor Joey Cavalieri's firing due to Marvel's bankruptcy issues, were just awful.
One more comment: in the mid '90's, Virtual Reality games were a big thing. But so were Laser Tag and Photon in the '80's. Or Captain Power, toys which interacted with a TV show. (A very well written TV show, nonetheless, but the signal from the TV to the toys were all one way.) These technologies never really developed beyond the point where a few toys were made, while newer innovations, like HTML, the World Wide Web, Instant Messaging, Google, smart phones and tablets, were the real innovations. These developments actually changed the way we live our lives, while VR is a relic of science fiction, like flying cars.
00:02:56 - Machine Man wasn't a Marvel UK creation. He was created by Jack Kirby for the Marvel adaptation of '2001: A Space Odyssey" He was living in 2020 battling the Iron Man of that time since the 80's...
Also a bit surprised that you didn't mention how Death's Head is the lynchpin that ties the Transformers, Doctor Who and the main Marvel Universe into one omniverse
I used to own this issue, having got in either $5 bundle of random comics or the $.50 bin. (It was the late 90's so my memory is a bit hazy and filled with words like 'DUUUUDDE!' and 'BloodGuNNs') ;)
"Machine Man wasn't a Marvel UK creation. He was created by Jack Kirby for the Marvel adaptation of '2001: A Space Odyssey" He was living in 2020 battling the Iron Man of that time since the 80's..."
I know, but the websites I was searching (it's really damn hard to find info about this stuff) listed his book as one of the ones that existed in the 2020 universe.
wild thing, more like confusing as all fuck. though it makes me wonder how unique the Matrix was to begin with if they alerady had concepts like this giong on decade or so before; i don't even really like the matrix for many a reason, primarily when everything turned to evil robots who made no fucking sense in their design and function, and how the humans could not hack into them if their minds were being used as computer systems.
as shameless as puttign carnage and venom in there is, it kinda makes sense to me. if she is basically running around in someone's head, the person can manifest practically anything they want. they are being brought forth as a kind of antivrial system, attacking her avatar to get rid of her presence. likely thor could be as well if need be. if they tried to hack into my mind, they would have to deal with a legion of my imagined demons and creatures, Mr. T, Batman, Wrex and Liara T.Soni from mass effect series as well. though i would first use a collection of pornographic images as a wall first to weaken them.... iam soo odd.
so obviosuly she is now addicted to steroids or something considering her muscle mass...... actually i am somewhat surprised at how intelligent the thug guy was then. if you saw a guy you knew as a crack addict come up with a herculean physique, you would know there is something wrong. especially since one of the side effects is to turn into spawn from late in his comic series (you say crypt keepr with that guy, but old crypty still has decayed lips.
Sure, there are a lot of superheroes in this comic that have nothing to do with it. Venom and Carnage on the cover, Captain America impailed on his shield, etc... But at least there is no Wolverine in it.
I had a bunch of Death's Head II comics, and The MysTech Wars crossover mini-series. I got some of them from my cousin, and others I bought in various places. How U.S. comic stores had UK comics sitting in the racks like it was no big deal, I have no idea.
Linkara, has 90'S kid ever messed with time travel? cause theirs a guy whose wearing strangely 90's clothing here. http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/time-traveling-hipster
On the comic/review: Wow, that just looked LAME. Not really a lot of material, but a good lead-in. Off Topic: Have you thought about covering Action Comics 835? (Debut of Livewire.) Beyond the mangled characterization and motivation and the nonsensical implied backstory (trust me, my *attempt* at a more coherent review got twisted in places into an attempt at analyzing the exact brand of illogic of our villain's implied backstory circa 2006 (Let's just say that Irish Black Canary's implied backstory (you look at the typical kind of person who's in a nine child household these days and tell me that it doesn't make some sense that she can kick all kinds of ass) makes more sense)), the end result is still just completely bizarre. In places, the art isn't quite finished, a Superman villain is portrayed as a relentless flirt (Which, beyond the lack of understanding of the original character that betrays, has NO dramatic weight if the hero is married when they're introduced) and more than a bit of a moron. ("They'll adore me in Pakistan, or else", "Big Santa Superman" and our villain of the piece referring to Superman as, and I just wish I was joking, Baby Blue (really!?), when she has turquoise colored hair?) I've thought of asking this for a little bit, and I get that this is, by a wide margin, probably the scariest request you've gotten (Gail Simone on writing duties, after all), but it's worth the rage.
I sorta of was reminded art of style of Aeon Flux done badly. Very badly. This UK wasn't actually to bad beyond this book. Death's Head II was decent and there was some other books too that were. This? Yeah I even found extra copy of recently it's hard to read. Artwork on series so bad it's hard read it. I'm nerd but never saw or heard of or maybe forget about Arcade. No mention of special 90's style cover to it? The title on the front and carnage/venom were don't know how to explain it. It was but it was bumpy. So was carnage/venom and so was main character but maybe you got a regular cover version. Next next 2099 month starts. I don't know be afraid still or be happy. I loved 2099 back in the day. One of my favorite writers Peter David wrote Spider-Man 2099. Will see next week. To be fair I thought this was the one from begging you be reviewing because Wolverine's daughter was good but wasn't sure if it would be indy or something with some title.
And just because you said you didn't want to post on youtube, out of curiosity, I'm sure you're aware of producers like Jack's Films and Fredie Wong who make money there, heck even a few of the guys at the Escapist use youtube, like Penny Arcade's Checkpoint. Does youtube pay less than Blip or something, or are you just not wanting the complications of two major accounts?
Also, hey fess up, what was the comic and or TV show using virtual reality as a gimmick that you actually enjoyed. (Matrix doesn't count.) My guilty pleasure was VR 5.
I sometimes watch BLIP videos on my XBOX360 with the BLIP app for it and that doesn't have adds on it. I don't know if you get any money for that. I do it sometimes when my computer is self scanning or backup.
Man, this artwork is weird: The perspective makes everyone look like a midget at times, that ink around her Nikki's lips make it very hard to tell how said lips actually look, and she generally looks way too masculine in a lot of these panels Oo
It's weird. The art design of Wild Thing reminds me quite a bit of that of "Aeon Flux"... Anyone remember that show? Whenever I saw an episode I couldn't help wondering why everyone looked so angular and anorexic.
As a gamer from the 80's/90's, I love all the comments from people not knowing what the Sega Activater was.
So, I guess you guys don't know about Sega's Menacer either. Which, by the way, was presented in the 1995 trial over Mortal Kombat and Night Trap. What was awesome was that Sega's response to that was to show off Nintendo's Zapper and Superscope.
Before there were ESRB Ratings, Sega had their own rating system before any other video game company. And Nintendo was the one to bring Sega to court because they were upset that Sega was making more money on Mortal Kombat uncensored. As the Nintendo version had green blood instead. The ESRB Ratings were a result from that epic showdown. And unfortunately, brought out some unsavory anti-video game nutballs in the limelight too. Those anti-video game nutballs never learn their lessons ever. Night Trap was really tanking because of previous video game reviews, but once it was declared taboo in the Media: Sales went through the roof.
Also glad that Linkara is in the same boat as I: The whole VR "will be a thing in the future" the 90's hyped over so much was and is complete bollocks. The VR it envisioned will never be part of the real future, in the same way a lot of the future tech envisioned by the 30's and 50's was nonsensical.
But I do kinda want to see Future Retro catch up to Steam Punk. Bring on the teardrop shaped spaceships!
Regarding the ad thing, I have a bad connection currently, so I download the videos and watch them afterwards. When you first started doing the ad breaks, I had no idea what they were for.
I may be in one of those areas you mentioned last week that doesn't get the ads.
"No mention of special 90's style cover to it? The title on the front and carnage/venom were don't know how to explain it. It was but it was bumpy. So was carnage/venom and so was main character but maybe you got a regular cover version."
"And just because you said you didn't want to post on youtube, out of curiosity, I'm sure you're aware of producers like Jack's Films and Fredie Wong who make money there, heck even a few of the guys at the Escapist use youtube, like Penny Arcade's Checkpoint. Does youtube pay less than Blip or something, or are you just not wanting the complications of two major accounts?"
They pay less and I really don't want to go through the headache of the appeals process if a bot flags my video because I used a 3-second clip of Dr. Cox calling someone an idiot.
Bit of a question regarding your content on youtube. While I watch your stuff on your site or blip to give you some support, what about some of your joke catchphrases? For a good example, considering the stuff I review (text reviews in case you need to know) is from Japan, I tend to run into some pretty hilarious "engrish" and your "Because poor literacy is kewl" joke makes a good thing to hyperlink to as a joke/reference, the thing is those are on youtube and obviously not frm you. Is this a problem for you and if so is there any way to make some official clips of your catchphrases/jokes to link to so that way it can help you out (actually why not insert some sort of advertising for yourself in those)?
So the comic is a crappy version of Ghost in the Shell? Weeeak. Also, dont get me started on that tokusatsu chop shop VR Troopers. I think there were three different pieces of Japanese TV series. At least Super Human Samurai Cyber Squad, Beatle Borgs, and Masked Rider didnt so something like that, let alone steal old props and costumes from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Oh, srry, great job Linkara. I llok forward to 2099 Month.
"Bit of a question regarding your content on youtube. While I watch your stuff on your site or blip to give you some support, what about some of your joke catchphrases? For a good example, considering the stuff I review (text reviews in case you need to know) is from Japan, I tend to run into some pretty hilarious "engrish" and your "Because poor literacy is kewl" joke makes a good thing to hyperlink to as a joke/reference, the thing is those are on youtube and obviously not frm you. Is this a problem for you and if so is there any way to make some official clips of your catchphrases/jokes to link to so that way it can help you out (actually why not insert some sort of advertising for yourself in those)?"
See, to me, little clips here and there are fine, since THOSE can generate just as much interest in the show than the full episode.
For some reason my adblock filter for your show only works when I reload the page, so I've been watching the episodes and then going back to watch the ads so you can get paid. I've been assuming that's how it works, but I've never done it, so I don't know. If I'm wrong, please tell me. I really appreciate your show.
This was a pretty awesome review! And I'm glad to see more 90s Kid, since I've been missing seeing the characters. :D
Also, 90s Kid being a technological savant has been my headcanon for a while. He's the weapons expert for the team and can upgrade the guns in the arsenal, and he most likely did the engineering for the ship before Linksano came along.
it IS hard for a monthly series to get 100 issues/chapter, not only comicbooks, but monthly mangas too. i guess the reason is because a weekly series has 4 issues a moth instead of 1...duh...on the other hand, most monthly mangas i have read have about 40 pages so...(on the other hand, as manga is black and white, i guess it is easier to make and publish in time)
Wow, people felt attacked by your ad-blocker speech last week? That's... low...
I'm from germany, I often have the case that blip crashes on the german advertises, that they're not skipable, that 2 ads run at the same time or I still see an add when I allready hear the video starting in the background. It's annoying. And yes, often enough the advertisment in the middle gets skipped. Not always, but often.
But I feel bad about it for the video producer, because I know that blip skipping the advertisment means less money. I gladly accept the ads with all their downsides, because they don't cost me anything, but keep the shows running and provide a paycheck to their producers.
Using AdBlocks to purposly skip them (unless there's no other way for whatever reason) really shows no respect at all for the video producers - complaining about it makes it even worse.
Marvel actually did some really interesting stuff with their UK imprint, unfortunately by the time we started getting some of the books in the U.S. it was all drek like Deathshead II and this book.
As for the other Wild Thing I do think the MC2 line deserves some roasting on your site.
I find hilarious that like so many other people my mind went to the MC2 Wild Thing, despite the fact I own and have read this book.
Also since failed Marvel imprints are one of my favorite things in comics I would just like to chime in what actually tied the imprint together, post Overkill anyway. More or less it dealt with this super-secret evil cabal called Mys-Tech that had been pulling strings and such for centuries. Then superheroes show up and kinda ruin things for them, so they decide to make their own super powered minions. This backs fires. Most of the heroes of the line have some sort of connection with Mys-Tech either them creating them (Genetix and Killpower), employees (Warheads), or just stealing a pair of shoes that can cross dimensional barriers from them (Motormouth).
As for the whole 2020 timeline, now there is a mess. Best thing I can say is to read the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe entry on Death's Head (Minion), best source on the subject that I know. Also the International Superhero site has nice history of Marvel UK which is how I got interested in the line in the first place.
Something tells me this comic could have been very close to being part of "PSA Hell" due to it being published in the 90s when VR was going to be the rage and it clearly trying to say that VR is dangerous.
The Future really is confusing as heck when you have things like VR being consumed like drugs. Then agan I grew up in a period when people thought that was going to be the next big thing...until it sucked and MMORPG just did what VR was supposed to do in this comic.
Yeah, the art was hideous in the comic: why the heck are you having all the black everywhere and turning the Nikki character into some weird androgeynous poser? And why do we need virtual Marvel heroes dying; is someone really just that anti-Marvel? Heh, must be a fan of DC or Image.
I'm looking forward to 2099 month, especially the first one that's up. Spider-Man 2099 was my favourite Spider-Man to play in Shattered Dimensions, and I loved his voice actor. He was so upbeat and light-hearted.
OK, regarding your ads: I never see them (neither here nor at TGWTG, but then I never see any ads in any other show there either.) I have no idea why this happens; I'm not opposed to watching ads and helping you earn a living. I did add adblock but that was years ago when the ads in Tv Tropes got annoying, that was before coming here. I'm not even sure if that is the cause; I can still see add ads in some sites. Note I'm watching from Puerto Rico. Does that make any difference? Because sometimes I'm able to watch videos from the USA, and sometimes I'm not. It's not consistent.
Anyway, thanks for covering Wild Thing, I've always been interested in Marvel's UK comics (ironically, I hate most of the stuff British writers did for DC, but those are tales for another time.) Looking forth to Marvel 2099 month now, especially Doom 2099.
woo-hoo at least one other person in the comments knows what VR5 is! I loved that show.
As to ads, sometimes they don't show up for me and the computer I mostly view vids on there isn't ANY ad blocker even installed, been happening on other blip shows on different computers, I think something is up, just in case anyone else is having that problem too.
Also, I keep watching the Dragnet review, it's so damn funny.
" Ok 2 things, Im surprised you didnt make a joke about "WildThing #1' being a April Fools prank by Marvel, on the cover we see it says 1 April."
...said Jason R on 20130429 at 10:04
You're not much of a comic reader, are you. That's the issue number. Comics at this time only had the month, sometimes the year, and its only in the last decade or so they consistently have both, usually by the ISBN number (and often rather off with actual release, in accordance with magazine publishing standards). I've never seen a comic cover featuring its actual release date on it.
So her "Unique power" is that she is a very early decker. Makes sense, I mean Marvel is already full of street samurai, gangers and I suppose riggers and adepts.
I feel that you missed a joke. When you were talking about 90's Kid being a savant I just think it would be funny to see him say. "I fix the Atari Jaguar!" But that is just me.
Okay... uhhh. Shall we start with the corrections here? Sorry, Lewis... but no. The Marvel UK comics weren't set in 2020. They were set in the 1990s. They were just set in the UK.
The following comics were set in 2020 (As best I know): Iron Man 2020 (who didn't have his own book, as far as I know), Machine Man 2020 (a Marvel US limited series), and some issues of Death's Head vol 1(I think two or three right at the end, one of which has him fighting IRon Man 2020) and Death's Head II's Limited Series.
Otherwise they're all set contemporary to Marvel's regular series. Black Axe, Dark Angel (originally Hell's Angel), Death's Head II, Battle Tide and Motormouth/Killpower are all Marvel UK books I've read and they're all set contemporary to the Marvel US 1990s books.
As far as I know Motormouth and Killpower were the only ones to appear in a US series at the time -- specifically an issue of Incredible Hulk. (DEath's Head 1 also made some US Marvel appearances, but I don't think Death's Head II did.)
I don't know how to say this -- but your entire intro is incorrect.
"Okay... uhhh. Shall we start with the corrections here? Sorry, Lewis... but no. The Marvel UK comics weren't set in 2020. They were set in the 1990s. They were just set in the UK."
Wild Thing was set in 2020, too. And I KNOW there were other books. I'm having a hard time tracking down some of the sites I used as sources, mostly because I had a difficult time tracking down info on Marvel UK titles to begin with. Hell, Wild Thing was listed as appearing in a Marvel UK team book (which again, having trouble finding again) that I could have sworn was Warheads, but now that isn't looking the same either.
I admit I could have gotten this all wrong - I saw listings for books together that were all set in 2020, all made by Marvel UK. I had only found out about it while trying to do research on Wild Thing.
Nikki: I AM INTERFACE!! (how did you not make that joke? XD)
Also, if there was a cyberpunk Pokemon game I would play the HELL out of that!
I... don't have much to comment on this time XP the art made me sad inside. Also, I now can't get the image of 90s Kid reciting lines from Jurassic park out of my head.
It's New Media!! Quick, kill it before it reproduces! Virtual Reality! We don't know what it does, but it's probably addictive! (As was almost everything during the 90's.)
The artwork, specifically WildThang's mouth, is awful.
I love your commentary, I've learned more about comics from you than probably anyone since my cousin Don read his DC collection to me to teach me how to read myself.
2020 was a setting established by Marvel US -- the Iron Man 2020 appearance in the Spider-man annual you mentioned is where it began. Then in the late 1980s Death's Head was transported to the 2020 setting for a little while, mostly so he could fight Iron Man 2020. Death's Head II wasn't really in 2020 very long, but he didn't have a stable setting because he was a time traveller.
Anyway, Wild Thing I'll admit to knowing nothing about. But Warheads was definitely set in the standard Marvel UK setting of the 1990s.
Oh, and the reason for the weirdness of the cameos? All the Marvel UK 1990s stuff was being reprinted in a UK-format book called "Overkill Magazine", which Marvel UK wanted to pitch as being a sci-fi book, not a super-hero book. However their US-format books WERE being sold to comic shops in the USA.
So all the pages with super heroes in them had to be REMOVEABLE, without any edits to the story, for reprinting in Overkill. Most Marvel UK books read BETTER if you just SKIP the pages with any Marvel US characters on them.
What I can't wait for is to see how they try to rectify Marvel 2020 with the current timeline, if they bother at all. That should be hilariously stupid. But then, so is the whole idea behind 2020. I like 2099 because it's somewhat plausible, if a little sketchy. But 2020 is way too soon to be believable. The only way I could believe an apocalypse could be caused by corporations this quickly would be if Rossum Corporation was involved, though I find it unlikely that none of the heroes would've found out about the Dollhouse by then. Speaking of which, have you seen 'Dollhouse', Linkara? It's different from Joss Whedon's other shows, but it's still really good.
"What I can't wait for is to see how they try to rectify Marvel 2020 with the current timeline, if they bother at all."
Eh, they really don't need to. Usually any time a future is depicted it's in an alternate universe and IIRC any book set in 2020 during that time has its own universe, as well.
There is just one thing that I have to mention, though. As someone who has watched VR Troopers (a long time ago), the group didn't really go into "virtual reality" as we (and that comic) envision it. If anything, it was the Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad (no, I did not make a mistake with the spelling) who jumped into virtual games and computers.
I ane the 1st issue of a bunch of those marvel uk titles. I will now hang my head in shame, but at least I can look forward to the next 4 episodes...because I have each of the 1st issues of the 2099 titles. I will now hang my head lower.
"They pay less and I really don't want to go through the headache of the appeals process if a bot flags my video because I used a 3-second clip of Dr. Cox calling someone an idiot."
True that, I've put 4 review videos on youtube and 2 got content ID flags.
I own a couple of issues of Death's Head, because they cross over with Alpha Flight. I was confused about you saying they were set in 2020, until I read Andrew's comments.
You say most comics don't get to 100 issues these days? I find a series is lucky if it gets to 12!
Was that swordfish password a Marx reference?
When you were talking about the DVDs (VHSs), you didn't seem to notice that one of them had 'Love Diamonds' on it, and another had 'Sex Pearls'... and between, Prince's symbol at the time. 'Diamonds and Pearls' being one of his songs, I have to wonder if 'Love and Sex' was, too?
Kaze Koichi: "at least there is no Wolverine in it." Pretty sure I saw him down among the dead men, just like Captain America.
"How U.S. comic stores had UK comics sitting in the racks like it was no big deal,"
Actually, they made a bit of a deal about it at the time, and brought in the UK commics as a huge promotion.
So a VR fantasy where a loser gets to kill superheros.
I guess in the 2020 universe, Garth Ennis became a black market game developer.
I like the MC2 Wild Thing a bit, if only because Larry Hama of GI Joe fame wrote it (and it's worth noting his writing attracted a large female readership to Joe due to how his females were portrayed). This one has no redeeming value in contrast.
*Heavily laden with sarcasm* How dare you force me to sit through a minute of advertisements to watch your freely produced and available content. For shame! As an internet user I already pay my provider all I should have to for unlimited free everything I ever want. Truly you attempting to get advertising revenue is a sin above all others! That goes for Video game companies and television shows as well! I should get it all for free because I'm the most important thing on the planet!
"I like the MC2 Wild Thing a bit, if only because Larry Hama of GI Joe fame wrote it (and it's worth noting his writing attracted a large female readership to Joe due to how his females were portrayed). This one has no redeeming value in contrast. "
Larry Hama also had one of the longest and most successful runs on Wolverine, he's probably almost as influential in that character's story as Chris Claremont. MC2 had some great books, though plenty of stinkers too.
To be fair: "Becoming the only real thing in the made-up worlds." It has the potential to mean that she could get hurt. Think of the Matrix idea of getting hurt in the Matrix hurts them in real life. Same thing. Almost.
Most of what I wanted to say has already been said. One thing I wanted to say to any of the numberous commenters who said about VR being a passing fad, or a failure, or what have you, is that tech like the Oculus Rift and the Razer Hydra are coming close to practical application of the tech.
On a more generally point, why is stuff about VR and gaming generally often so bad? There are exceptions, such as The Matrix, or the Red Dwarf episodes Better Than Life, Back To Reality and Gunmen of the Apocalypse, but often it's disappointments like .hack, or just plain bad like this comic.
Given how cyberspace can work as a plot element, I don't see why it keeps falling apart when it's the focus. It's often completely ignorant of gaming/computers, extremely simple and patronizing, or both.
The main issue I can see is the lack of threat, but even then, there's the "die in game die in RL" option, or having a different kind of threat. We know Superman, Spiderman, or any mainstream super hero is not going to die (for realsies anyway) so it's not as if they don't know how to do this.
Even just pulling some ideas out of my backside, it could be framed as a typical sports team or dystopian bloodsport story, but with deathmatch instead of football. Or perhaps a player has his mind accidently transferred to the internet, and has to jump from game to game sliders style to get back to his/her body. Maybe even helping players out in exchange for new abilities.
Oh, how I've missed your reviews, Link! I haven't been on here in months... hell, since December!!!
I've actually been meaning to read some Marvel UK comics... got a couple in a blind-bag from a Dollar Store... no one has heard of it. It's called Black Ax!
The art style for this kinda look like a really bad Aeon Flux knockoff!
Huh, so the 90's kid is a Genius Ditz or something and Nice Use of him for the commercial segments. I think that the plot could've been better and what a waste of it for a Cyberpunk based comic.
Hmm. Lousy artwork, lousy characters, feeling that this comic is dated and Venom and Carnage used solely as shameless plugs for other better books. This is definitely bad, kind of like the Virtual Boy.
It seems like this comic was attempting to make games evil as I see no reason for there to be a black-market thing on the VR systems unless it does the following:
A. It's been well known to screw with your nervus system and people get kicks from that.
B. Many of the games are pirated versions.
C. They are VR games where you are given true freedom of will so you can perform the most lewd and taboo of things. Things that if they were in games, they'd never be published. Atleast not mainstream.
D. all of the above or one of the ones above with another use where the dealers are secretly extracting info from you like Pin numbers, secrets to use for blackmail and so on.
I could definantly see potential if it was handled differently and it focused on why it was an addiction, like the 3rd suggestion I gave where you can't get those games anywhere or if VR was outlawed as with so many death cases it was considered unsafe, but like in real life where has that stopped people from doing things that risk their lives?
My mind went to MC2 as well. Though if there's an MC2 Comic that deserves Atop the Fourth Wall, it's Last Planet Standing. Awful. Not as bad as Cry for Justice or Battle for Bludhaven, but Asgard is eaten by Galactus and the reaction is nonchalant. Though perhaps the Avengers Next Miniseries in which magic makes it uneaten might be worth consideration too.
Spider-girl was great and I liked Last Planet Standing and the first Next Avengers was pretty good, but there are some opportunities.
Hey Vegeta, what does the scouter say about her outfit level?
ReplyDeleteIts... 1006.
Really?
Yeah! Kick its ass!
Ok 2 things, Im surprised you didnt make a joke about "WildThing #1' being a April Fools prank by Marvel, on the cover we see it says 1 April.
ReplyDeleteAlso, this is supposed to be set in 2020, right? At 15:43, right after the Dragnet scene, the monitor in the VR warehouse says 1996 8:30. Did Marvel forget what year it was supposed to be?
ASS SHOT!
ReplyDeleteOn the cover, Venom and Carnage looked like they were going for Nikki's breasts! Make up your own sex joke here!
I think you should send Brad your copy of Arcade. Could make for an interesting Cinema Snob episode.
Suddenly, the movie Game Over made more sense than this comic!
I agree the art and story of the comic is stupid, but I don't follow some of the criticism about the VR concepts.
ReplyDeleteFor example, addiction to VR: according to Wikipedia, the idea of video game (especially MMORPG) addiction is controversial, but video game that felt real, cathartic and helped you forget a crapsack world could justify the addiction thing. Spiderman 2099 also uses the VR addict theme with Miguel's brother.
The Venom avatar : I guess at least 5 commenters will have a Linkara avatar in the comments, so I don't see how someone using a comic book character is unrealistic or outside of the norm in the context of the story.
I think the criticism of the heroes massacre simulation is hilarious in the context of the Injustice game release. A video game where you can fight and defeat comic book heroes ? Yeah, why would you want to play that ? If it's for the lapse of time since their death, one of the most successful genre of FPS is the WW2 setting.
Although I didn't understand if Venom and company were supposed to have been real people or fictional characters (see our hero mentioning how Carnage emerging from Venom was not like the comics)
Is it sad that I was slightly disappointed that this isn't about the daughter of Wolverine from the "Marvel Comics 2" universe (home of Spider-Girl, American Dream, A-Next, and others) of the same name?
ReplyDeleteStill, this is rather interesting.
When you mentioned Arcade, I thought you meant the villain Arcade.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised; I thought the Wild Thing comic you would be reviewing was the one from the Marvel Universe 2, where Wild Thing is the daughter of Wolverine.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, VR Troopers is barely worth remembering. When you eventually review that series, I'd like to know your opinion on the six minute pilot made with Jason David Frank, that actually looked like it had some promise before they pushed the Virtual Reality gimmick even though that had nothing to do with the original Japanese series.
My GOD! I don't know what was worse, how long it took for her to get into her costume or that first shot of her in it. Her feet made me scream.
Thanks to you, I am now going to watch Arcade.
I was very shocked that you never referenced the episode "Hooked Up" from Batman Beyond, where Max and other teens became addicted to Spell Binder's VR.
All in all, this review wasn't bad, and unlike many comics you have recently reviewed, this one was bad enough for the show, but the jokes were still just okay or meh, and the boringness of the comic did not seem to effect Linkara all that much. I am looking forward to 2099 month, and I hope you pull it off.
P.S.
I agree with everything you said during the credits. Personally, I don't get why many people need to have that explained to them, it should be obvious. Well, hopefully this will snap a lot of sense into people.
When I think Wild Thing, I think of the song, I think of that children's book, I think of that 1980s movie starring an Urban Tarzan. But this, is not wild, if they called the comic Weird Thing they probably would have been able to pitch it better because that's what it is. Just weird.
ReplyDeleteGreat review like always though. Also I had to look up that Sega activator to know what 90s Kid was talking about. Never thought that Sega made a power glove knock off.
About the ads thing: Does that mean that don't get any ad revenue from Scandinavia? Because the ads never show up in Denmark. There used to be this thing with blip tv where there would be ads BEFORE the show, but that never happens anymore. What's up with that?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Linkara. You are now the 9,001st person on the Internet to use that joke.
ReplyDeleteYou had me look up the Sega Activater. Why Linkara, Why?
ReplyDeletegod that videogame's concept is unrealistic. everyone knows hulk is an invincible boss till you reach the last levels and he mutates into a oddly more vulnerable form. and you don't have random encounters with x-men till level fifty. this guy is boviously level fifteen.
ReplyDeleteSure the premise was silly, the use of established characters very cheap and the artwork very questionable but.. I still want to see how the comic continues.
ReplyDeleteGah! That was awful. Atrocious artwork, tons of expodump, no character personalities to speak of. And what was up with the Second Person narration at the beginning?
ReplyDeleteThe 2099 world did have a form of Virtual Reality, but it was handled much better. The 'net was used mostly in three comics in that line, Spider-Man 2099, Doom 2099 and Ghost Rider 2099. Spider-Man's brother, Gabe, was a recovering 'net addict who later helped Miguel log on, by programming an avatar that looked like a cross between his Spidey costume and a Tron character. Doom employed multiple 'net hackers, and at one point managed to fill the 'net with his consciousness in a ploy to conquer the world. (It didn't work, but he did succeed in allying with a mysterious AI.) "Zero" Cochrane, aka Ghost Rider, was murdered while logged onto the 'net, and his soul merged with his 'net avatar. In general the 'net was used as either a plot device, or to explore the question of whether AI's were really "alive".
As for the plot of VR addicts getting their brains fried from overexposure, "Batman Beyond" had a much better episode exploring this concept. In a nutshell the villain had two motivations: making money to conduct experiments in psychological warfare and experimenting on the children using the VR arcade. When the kids using the VR ran out of creds he'd kick them out and order them to commit petty larceny until they could afford his services. The kids who burned out weren't dead, only brain dead, and the villain ordered his flunkies to dispose of them (discretely, to avoid the GCPD or Batman learning of his scheme).
I was a big fan of Spider-Man 2099 and Doom 2099; together with X-Men 2099 and Ghost Rider 2099, they were the best of the line. Punisher 2099 and Fantastic Four 2099 were mediocre at best, Ravage 2099, Hulk 2099, X-Nation 2099 and any book published after the creative teams quit in protest of line editor Joey Cavalieri's firing due to Marvel's bankruptcy issues, were just awful.
One more comment: in the mid '90's, Virtual Reality games were a big thing. But so were Laser Tag and Photon in the '80's. Or Captain Power, toys which interacted with a TV show. (A very well written TV show, nonetheless, but the signal from the TV to the toys were all one way.) These technologies never really developed beyond the point where a few toys were made, while newer innovations, like HTML, the World Wide Web, Instant Messaging, Google, smart phones and tablets, were the real innovations. These developments actually changed the way we live our lives, while VR is a relic of science fiction, like flying cars.
ReplyDelete"One more comment: in the mid '90's, Virtual Reality games were a big thing. But so were Laser Tag and Photon in the '80's."
ReplyDeleteI know. I lived through it. =P
00:02:56 - Machine Man wasn't a Marvel UK creation. He was created by Jack Kirby for the Marvel adaptation of '2001: A Space Odyssey" He was living in 2020 battling the Iron Man of that time since the 80's...
ReplyDeleteAlso a bit surprised that you didn't mention how Death's Head is the lynchpin that ties the Transformers, Doctor Who and the main Marvel Universe into one omniverse
I used to own this issue, having got in either $5 bundle of random comics or the $.50 bin. (It was the late 90's so my memory is a bit hazy and filled with words like 'DUUUUDDE!' and 'BloodGuNNs') ;)
"Machine Man wasn't a Marvel UK creation. He was created by Jack Kirby for the Marvel adaptation of '2001: A Space Odyssey" He was living in 2020 battling the Iron Man of that time since the 80's..."
ReplyDeleteI know, but the websites I was searching (it's really damn hard to find info about this stuff) listed his book as one of the ones that existed in the 2020 universe.
wild thing, more like confusing as all fuck. though it makes me wonder how unique the Matrix was to begin with if they alerady had concepts like this giong on decade or so before; i don't even really like the matrix for many a reason, primarily when everything turned to evil robots who made no fucking sense in their design and function, and how the humans could not hack into them if their minds were being used as computer systems.
ReplyDeleteas shameless as puttign carnage and venom in there is, it kinda makes sense to me. if she is basically running around in someone's head, the person can manifest practically anything they want. they are being brought forth as a kind of antivrial system, attacking her avatar to get rid of her presence. likely thor could be as well if need be.
if they tried to hack into my mind, they would have to deal with a legion of my imagined demons and creatures, Mr. T, Batman, Wrex and Liara T.Soni from mass effect series as well. though i would first use a collection of pornographic images as a wall first to weaken them.... iam soo odd.
so obviosuly she is now addicted to steroids or something considering her muscle mass...... actually i am somewhat surprised at how intelligent the thug guy was then. if you saw a guy you knew as a crack addict come up with a herculean physique, you would know there is something wrong. especially since one of the side effects is to turn into spawn from late in his comic series (you say crypt keepr with that guy, but old crypty still has decayed lips.
The premise of this comic reminds me of that 1995 Fox show VR.5 (this comic came first though).
ReplyDeleteI need to find the clip of the side-kick/love-interest calling the pizza guy with the subconscious diving VR rig from that show.
Sure, there are a lot of superheroes in this comic that have nothing to do with it. Venom and Carnage on the cover, Captain America impailed on his shield, etc...
ReplyDeleteBut at least there is no Wolverine in it.
I had a bunch of Death's Head II comics, and The MysTech Wars crossover mini-series. I got some of them from my cousin, and others I bought in various places. How U.S. comic stores had UK comics sitting in the racks like it was no big deal, I have no idea.
ReplyDeleteLinkara, has 90'S kid ever messed with time travel? cause theirs a guy whose wearing strangely 90's clothing here. http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/time-traveling-hipster
ReplyDeleteOn the comic/review: Wow, that just looked LAME. Not really a lot of material, but a good lead-in.
ReplyDeleteOff Topic: Have you thought about covering Action Comics 835? (Debut of Livewire.) Beyond the mangled characterization and motivation and the nonsensical implied backstory (trust me, my *attempt* at a more coherent review got twisted in places into an attempt at analyzing the exact brand of illogic of our villain's implied backstory circa 2006 (Let's just say that Irish Black Canary's implied backstory (you look at the typical kind of person who's in a nine child household these days and tell me that it doesn't make some sense that she can kick all kinds of ass) makes more sense)), the end result is still just completely bizarre. In places, the art isn't quite finished, a Superman villain is portrayed as a relentless flirt (Which, beyond the lack of understanding of the original character that betrays, has NO dramatic weight if the hero is married when they're introduced) and more than a bit of a moron. ("They'll adore me in Pakistan, or else", "Big Santa Superman" and our villain of the piece referring to Superman as, and I just wish I was joking, Baby Blue (really!?), when she has turquoise colored hair?) I've thought of asking this for a little bit, and I get that this is, by a wide margin, probably the scariest request you've gotten (Gail Simone on writing duties, after all), but it's worth the rage.
I was so glad that I couldn't read in the early 90's because I would have just started hating comics right than and there.
ReplyDeleteNice review and you have helped find good comics so thank you for that
I sorta of was reminded art of style of Aeon Flux done badly. Very badly. This UK wasn't actually to bad beyond this book. Death's Head II was decent and there was some other books too that were. This? Yeah I even found extra copy of recently it's hard to read. Artwork on series so bad it's hard read it.
ReplyDeleteI'm nerd but never saw or heard of or maybe forget about Arcade.
No mention of special 90's style cover to it? The title on the front and carnage/venom were don't know how to explain it. It was but it was bumpy. So was carnage/venom and so was main character but maybe you got a regular cover version.
Next next 2099 month starts. I don't know be afraid still or be happy. I loved 2099 back in the day. One of my favorite writers Peter David wrote Spider-Man 2099. Will see next week.
To be fair I thought this was the one from begging you be reviewing because Wolverine's daughter was good but wasn't sure if it would be indy or something with some title.
And just because you said you didn't want to post on youtube, out of curiosity, I'm sure you're aware of producers like Jack's Films and Fredie Wong who make money there, heck even a few of the guys at the Escapist use youtube, like Penny Arcade's Checkpoint. Does youtube pay less than Blip or something, or are you just not wanting the complications of two major accounts?
ReplyDeleteAlso, hey fess up, what was the comic and or TV show using virtual reality as a gimmick that you actually enjoyed. (Matrix doesn't count.) My guilty pleasure was VR 5.
Hi Linkara,
ReplyDeleteI sometimes watch BLIP videos on my XBOX360 with the BLIP app for it and that doesn't have adds on it. I don't know if you get any money for that. I do it sometimes when my computer is self scanning or backup.
Keep up the great work!
Man, this artwork is weird: The perspective makes everyone look like a midget at times, that ink around her Nikki's lips make it very hard to tell how said lips actually look, and she generally looks way too masculine in a lot of these panels Oo
ReplyDeleteIt's weird. The art design of Wild Thing reminds me quite a bit of that of "Aeon Flux"... Anyone remember that show? Whenever I saw an episode I couldn't help wondering why everyone looked so angular and anorexic.
ReplyDeleteAs a gamer from the 80's/90's, I love all the comments from people not knowing what the Sega Activater was.
ReplyDeleteSo, I guess you guys don't know about Sega's Menacer either. Which, by the way, was presented in the 1995 trial over Mortal Kombat and Night Trap.
What was awesome was that Sega's response to that was to show off Nintendo's Zapper and Superscope.
Before there were ESRB Ratings, Sega had their own rating system before any other video game company. And Nintendo was the one to bring Sega to court because they were upset that Sega was making more money on Mortal Kombat uncensored. As the Nintendo version had green blood instead.
The ESRB Ratings were a result from that epic showdown.
And unfortunately, brought out some unsavory anti-video game nutballs in the limelight too.
Those anti-video game nutballs never learn their lessons ever. Night Trap was really tanking because of previous video game reviews, but once it was declared taboo in the Media: Sales went through the roof.
Also glad that Linkara is in the same boat as I: The whole VR "will be a thing in the future" the 90's hyped over so much was and is complete bollocks. The VR it envisioned will never be part of the real future, in the same way a lot of the future tech envisioned by the 30's and 50's was nonsensical.
But I do kinda want to see Future Retro catch up to Steam Punk. Bring on the teardrop shaped spaceships!
So I'm the only one who smiled when Likara mentioned Arcade?
ReplyDeleteSeriously one of the first things to pop up in my mind was: "You forgot about my extra life!"
...I'm also a big nerd aren't I? I knew what the Sega Activator was as well...
Regarding the ad thing, I have a bad connection currently, so I download the videos and watch them afterwards. When you first started doing the ad breaks, I had no idea what they were for.
ReplyDeleteI may be in one of those areas you mentioned last week that doesn't get the ads.
"No mention of special 90's style cover to it? The title on the front and carnage/venom were don't know how to explain it. It was but it was bumpy. So was carnage/venom and so was main character but maybe you got a regular cover version."
ReplyDeleteGah! I completely forgot to talk about that! XD
"And just because you said you didn't want to post on youtube, out of curiosity, I'm sure you're aware of producers like Jack's Films and Fredie Wong who make money there, heck even a few of the guys at the Escapist use youtube, like Penny Arcade's Checkpoint. Does youtube pay less than Blip or something, or are you just not wanting the complications of two major accounts?"
ReplyDeleteThey pay less and I really don't want to go through the headache of the appeals process if a bot flags my video because I used a 3-second clip of Dr. Cox calling someone an idiot.
Bit of a question regarding your content on youtube. While I watch your stuff on your site or blip to give you some support, what about some of your joke catchphrases? For a good example, considering the stuff I review (text reviews in case you need to know) is from Japan, I tend to run into some pretty hilarious "engrish" and your "Because poor literacy is kewl" joke makes a good thing to hyperlink to as a joke/reference, the thing is those are on youtube and obviously not frm you. Is this a problem for you and if so is there any way to make some official clips of your catchphrases/jokes to link to so that way it can help you out (actually why not insert some sort of advertising for yourself in those)?
ReplyDeleteSo the comic is a crappy version of Ghost in the Shell? Weeeak.
ReplyDeleteAlso, dont get me started on that tokusatsu chop shop VR Troopers. I think there were three different pieces of Japanese TV series. At least Super Human Samurai Cyber Squad, Beatle Borgs, and Masked Rider didnt so something like that, let alone steal old props and costumes from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Oh, srry, great job Linkara. I llok forward to 2099 Month.
"Bit of a question regarding your content on youtube. While I watch your stuff on your site or blip to give you some support, what about some of your joke catchphrases? For a good example, considering the stuff I review (text reviews in case you need to know) is from Japan, I tend to run into some pretty hilarious "engrish" and your "Because poor literacy is kewl" joke makes a good thing to hyperlink to as a joke/reference, the thing is those are on youtube and obviously not frm you. Is this a problem for you and if so is there any way to make some official clips of your catchphrases/jokes to link to so that way it can help you out (actually why not insert some sort of advertising for yourself in those)?"
ReplyDeleteSee, to me, little clips here and there are fine, since THOSE can generate just as much interest in the show than the full episode.
For some reason my adblock filter for your show only works when I reload the page, so I've been watching the episodes and then going back to watch the ads so you can get paid. I've been assuming that's how it works, but I've never done it, so I don't know. If I'm wrong, please tell me. I really appreciate your show.
ReplyDeleteThis was a pretty awesome review! And I'm glad to see more 90s Kid, since I've been missing seeing the characters. :D
ReplyDeleteAlso, 90s Kid being a technological savant has been my headcanon for a while. He's the weapons expert for the team and can upgrade the guns in the arsenal, and he most likely did the engineering for the ship before Linksano came along.
Am I the only one who thought of the Star Trek TNG episode "The Game" when I heard the premise of this comic?
ReplyDeleteYes! You mentioned Deaths head! The series that got me started with comics, yes?
ReplyDeleteit IS hard for a monthly series to get 100 issues/chapter, not only comicbooks, but monthly mangas too. i guess the reason is because a weekly series has 4 issues a moth instead of 1...duh...on the other hand, most monthly mangas i have read have about 40 pages so...(on the other hand, as manga is black and white, i guess it is easier to make and publish in time)
ReplyDeleteWow, people felt attacked by your ad-blocker speech last week?
ReplyDeleteThat's... low...
I'm from germany, I often have the case that blip crashes on the german advertises, that they're not skipable, that 2 ads run at the same time or I still see an add when I allready hear the video starting in the background. It's annoying.
And yes, often enough the advertisment in the middle gets skipped. Not always, but often.
But I feel bad about it for the video producer, because I know that blip skipping the advertisment means less money. I gladly accept the ads with all their downsides, because they don't cost me anything, but keep the shows running and provide a paycheck to their producers.
Using AdBlocks to purposly skip them (unless there's no other way for whatever reason) really shows no respect at all for the video producers - complaining about it makes it even worse.
Liked the Review, but was wondering if I could ask if your in the 5th year anniversary ?
ReplyDeleteWow, she has the same power as Dasien . . . she's a super contortionist x3
ReplyDeleteThis review & a cheesecake really made my birthday awesome :)
Wow, she has the same power as Dasien . . . I wonder if she can do the Bruce Lee face-kick too
ReplyDeleteOf course VR was big in the 90s, that's why it's Troopers far outshined the Power Rangers . . . damn, I wrote this one before u made that reference XD
So 90s kid is your OTHER tech specialist . . . HE'S THE LINKSANO OF THIS WORLD D:
This review and a cheesecake made this birthday near perfect
PS: Sorry if I posted another comment before this. I'm still trying to figure Blogger out XP
Marvel actually did some really interesting stuff with their UK imprint, unfortunately by the time we started getting some of the books in the U.S. it was all drek like Deathshead II and this book.
ReplyDeleteAs for the other Wild Thing I do think the MC2 line deserves some roasting on your site.
I find hilarious that like so many other people my mind went to the MC2 Wild Thing, despite the fact I own and have read this book.
ReplyDeleteAlso since failed Marvel imprints are one of my favorite things in comics I would just like to chime in what actually tied the imprint together, post Overkill anyway. More or less it dealt with this super-secret evil cabal called Mys-Tech that had been pulling strings and such for centuries. Then superheroes show up and kinda ruin things for them, so they decide to make their own super powered minions. This backs fires. Most of the heroes of the line have some sort of connection with Mys-Tech either them creating them (Genetix and Killpower), employees (Warheads), or just stealing a pair of shoes that can cross dimensional barriers from them (Motormouth).
As for the whole 2020 timeline, now there is a mess. Best thing I can say is to read the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe entry on Death's Head (Minion), best source on the subject that I know. Also the International Superhero site has nice history of Marvel UK which is how I got interested in the line in the first place.
Something tells me this comic could have been very close to being part of "PSA Hell" due to it being published in the 90s when VR was going to be the rage and it clearly trying to say that VR is dangerous.
ReplyDeleteThe Future really is confusing as heck when you have things like VR being consumed like drugs. Then agan I grew up in a period when people thought that was going to be the next big thing...until it sucked and MMORPG just did what VR was supposed to do in this comic.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the art was hideous in the comic: why the heck are you having all the black everywhere and turning the Nikki character into some weird androgeynous poser? And why do we need virtual Marvel heroes dying; is someone really just that anti-Marvel? Heh, must be a fan of DC or Image.
I'm looking forward to 2099 month, especially the first one that's up. Spider-Man 2099 was my favourite Spider-Man to play in Shattered Dimensions, and I loved his voice actor. He was so upbeat and light-hearted.
ReplyDeleteIn the first two Red Dwarf novels, "Better Than Life" was also an addictive video game.
ReplyDelete(The first two novels are the only ones worth reading.)
Wild Thing. Warning us of The Oculus Rift years before it's kickstarter would begin...MY GOD!
ReplyDeleteOK, regarding your ads: I never see them (neither here nor at TGWTG, but then I never see any ads in any other show there either.) I have no idea why this happens; I'm not opposed to watching ads and helping you earn a living. I did add adblock but that was years ago when the ads in Tv Tropes got annoying, that was before coming here. I'm not even sure if that is the cause; I can still see add ads in some sites. Note I'm watching from Puerto Rico. Does that make any difference? Because sometimes I'm able to watch videos from the USA, and sometimes I'm not. It's not consistent.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for covering Wild Thing, I've always been interested in Marvel's UK comics (ironically, I hate most of the stuff British writers did for DC, but those are tales for another time.) Looking forth to Marvel 2099 month now, especially Doom 2099.
This was a weird comic. Fun review though.
ReplyDeletewoo-hoo at least one other person in the comments knows what VR5 is! I loved that show.
As to ads, sometimes they don't show up for me and the computer I mostly view vids on there isn't ANY ad blocker even installed, been happening on other blip shows on different computers, I think something is up, just in case anyone else is having that problem too.
Also, I keep watching the Dragnet review, it's so damn funny.
" Ok 2 things, Im surprised you didnt make a joke about "WildThing #1' being a April Fools prank by Marvel, on the cover we see it says 1 April."
ReplyDelete...said Jason R on 20130429 at 10:04
You're not much of a comic reader, are you. That's the issue number. Comics at this time only had the month, sometimes the year, and its only in the last decade or so they consistently have both, usually by the ISBN number (and often rather off with actual release, in accordance with magazine publishing standards). I've never seen a comic cover featuring its actual release date on it.
So her "Unique power" is that she is a very early decker.
ReplyDeleteMakes sense, I mean Marvel is already full of street samurai, gangers and I suppose riggers and adepts.
I feel that you missed a joke. When you were talking about 90's Kid being a savant I just think it would be funny to see him say. "I fix the Atari Jaguar!" But that is just me.
ReplyDeleteGreat episode and I can't wait for 2099.
Okay... uhhh. Shall we start with the corrections here? Sorry, Lewis... but no. The Marvel UK comics weren't set in 2020. They were set in the 1990s. They were just set in the UK.
ReplyDeleteThe following comics were set in 2020 (As best I know): Iron Man 2020 (who didn't have his own book, as far as I know), Machine Man 2020 (a Marvel US limited series), and some issues of Death's Head vol 1(I think two or three right at the end, one of which has him fighting IRon Man 2020) and Death's Head II's Limited Series.
Otherwise they're all set contemporary to Marvel's regular series. Black Axe, Dark Angel (originally Hell's Angel), Death's Head II, Battle Tide and Motormouth/Killpower are all Marvel UK books I've read and they're all set contemporary to the Marvel US 1990s books.
As far as I know Motormouth and Killpower were the only ones to appear in a US series at the time -- specifically an issue of Incredible Hulk. (DEath's Head 1 also made some US Marvel appearances, but I don't think Death's Head II did.)
I don't know how to say this -- but your entire intro is incorrect.
--Andrew S.
(Sorry.)
Errrr. I should probably add that I was only talking about Marvel UK in general -- having not read Wild Thing I don't know about her setting. Whoops.
ReplyDelete--Andrew S.
Didn't even know you could white-list individual sites on Ad-block. Glad you mentioned it as I'm happy to contribute.
ReplyDelete"Okay... uhhh. Shall we start with the corrections here? Sorry, Lewis... but no. The Marvel UK comics weren't set in 2020. They were set in the 1990s. They were just set in the UK."
ReplyDeleteWild Thing was set in 2020, too. And I KNOW there were other books. I'm having a hard time tracking down some of the sites I used as sources, mostly because I had a difficult time tracking down info on Marvel UK titles to begin with. Hell, Wild Thing was listed as appearing in a Marvel UK team book (which again, having trouble finding again) that I could have sworn was Warheads, but now that isn't looking the same either.
I admit I could have gotten this all wrong - I saw listings for books together that were all set in 2020, all made by Marvel UK. I had only found out about it while trying to do research on Wild Thing.
Nikki: I AM INTERFACE!! (how did you not make that joke? XD)
ReplyDeleteAlso, if there was a cyberpunk Pokemon game I would play the HELL out of that!
I... don't have much to comment on this time XP the art made me sad inside. Also, I now can't get the image of 90s Kid reciting lines from Jurassic park out of my head.
"It's a UNIX system! I know this! "
It's New Media!! Quick, kill it before it reproduces! Virtual Reality! We don't know what it does, but it's probably addictive! (As was almost everything during the 90's.)
ReplyDeleteThe artwork, specifically WildThang's mouth, is awful.
I love your commentary, I've learned more about comics from you than probably anyone since my cousin Don read his DC collection to me to teach me how to read myself.
Was I just shamed? I think the final comment on the show shamed me.
ReplyDeletesob .... oh well Linkara you win this round. You are white listed.
I'm disappointed. This Wild Thing did not make everything Groovy.
ReplyDeleteNo adBlock for me. No ads either. What's up with that? Is it because I'm on Linux?
this made me for some reason think of Aeon Flux
ReplyDelete2020 was a setting established by Marvel US -- the Iron Man 2020 appearance in the Spider-man annual you mentioned is where it began. Then in the late 1980s Death's Head was transported to the 2020 setting for a little while, mostly so he could fight Iron Man 2020. Death's Head II wasn't really in 2020 very long, but he didn't have a stable setting because he was a time traveller.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Wild Thing I'll admit to knowing nothing about. But Warheads was definitely set in the standard Marvel UK setting of the 1990s.
Oh, and the reason for the weirdness of the cameos? All the Marvel UK 1990s stuff was being reprinted in a UK-format book called "Overkill Magazine", which Marvel UK wanted to pitch as being a sci-fi book, not a super-hero book. However their US-format books WERE being sold to comic shops in the USA.
So all the pages with super heroes in them had to be REMOVEABLE, without any edits to the story, for reprinting in Overkill. Most Marvel UK books read BETTER if you just SKIP the pages with any Marvel US characters on them.
--Andrew S.
What I can't wait for is to see how they try to rectify Marvel 2020 with the current timeline, if they bother at all. That should be hilariously stupid. But then, so is the whole idea behind 2020. I like 2099 because it's somewhat plausible, if a little sketchy. But 2020 is way too soon to be believable. The only way I could believe an apocalypse could be caused by corporations this quickly would be if Rossum Corporation was involved, though I find it unlikely that none of the heroes would've found out about the Dollhouse by then. Speaking of which, have you seen 'Dollhouse', Linkara? It's different from Joss Whedon's other shows, but it's still really good.
ReplyDelete"What I can't wait for is to see how they try to rectify Marvel 2020 with the current timeline, if they bother at all."
ReplyDeleteEh, they really don't need to. Usually any time a future is depicted it's in an alternate universe and IIRC any book set in 2020 during that time has its own universe, as well.
I looked at this and wondered if "Wild Thing" was really a precursor to Aeon Flux. The design looks similar.
ReplyDeleteOkay, this comic was weird.
ReplyDeleteThere is just one thing that I have to mention, though. As someone who has watched VR Troopers (a long time ago), the group didn't really go into "virtual reality" as we (and that comic) envision it. If anything, it was the Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad (no, I did not make a mistake with the spelling) who jumped into virtual games and computers.
Keep up the good work!
I ane the 1st issue of a bunch of those marvel uk titles. I will now hang my head in shame, but at least I can look forward to the next 4 episodes...because I have each of the 1st issues of the 2099 titles. I will now hang my head lower.
ReplyDelete"They pay less and I really don't want to go through the headache of the appeals process if a bot flags my video because I used a 3-second clip of Dr. Cox calling someone an idiot."
ReplyDeleteTrue that, I've put 4 review videos on youtube and 2 got content ID flags.
I own a couple of issues of Death's Head, because they cross over with Alpha Flight. I was confused about you saying they were set in 2020, until I read Andrew's comments.
ReplyDeleteYou say most comics don't get to 100 issues these days? I find a series is lucky if it gets to 12!
Was that swordfish password a Marx reference?
When you were talking about the DVDs (VHSs), you didn't seem to notice that one of them had 'Love Diamonds' on it, and another had 'Sex Pearls'... and between, Prince's symbol at the time. 'Diamonds and Pearls' being one of his songs, I have to wonder if 'Love and Sex' was, too?
Kaze Koichi: "at least there is no Wolverine in it."
Pretty sure I saw him down among the dead men, just like Captain America.
"How U.S. comic stores had UK comics sitting in the racks like it was no big deal,"
Actually, they made a bit of a deal about it at the time, and brought in the UK commics as a huge promotion.
~ Mik
So a VR fantasy where a loser gets to kill superheros.
ReplyDeleteI guess in the 2020 universe, Garth Ennis became a black market game developer.
I like the MC2 Wild Thing a bit, if only because Larry Hama of GI Joe fame wrote it (and it's worth noting his writing attracted a large female readership to Joe due to how his females were portrayed). This one has no redeeming value in contrast.
Are Eschergirls paying you to plug their blog?
ReplyDeleteI mean, you should be getting money for how many times you namedrop them.
"Are Eschergirls paying you to plug their blog?
ReplyDeleteI mean, you should be getting money for how many times you namedrop them."
No, but I like them. And actually, I think I've mentioned it all of about 2 or 3 times total.
*Heavily laden with sarcasm*
ReplyDeleteHow dare you force me to sit through a minute of advertisements to watch your freely produced and available content. For shame! As an internet user I already pay my provider all I should have to for unlimited free everything I ever want. Truly you attempting to get advertising revenue is a sin above all others! That goes for Video game companies and television shows as well! I should get it all for free because I'm the most important thing on the planet!
"I like the MC2 Wild Thing a bit, if only because Larry Hama of GI Joe fame wrote it (and it's worth noting his writing attracted a large female readership to Joe due to how his females were portrayed). This one has no redeeming value in contrast. "
ReplyDeleteLarry Hama also had one of the longest and most successful runs on Wolverine, he's probably almost as influential in that character's story as Chris Claremont. MC2 had some great books, though plenty of stinkers too.
Social worker uses VR to save people. Isn't that "The Cell"?
ReplyDeleteTo be fair: "Becoming the only real thing in the made-up worlds." It has the potential to mean that she could get hurt. Think of the Matrix idea of getting hurt in the Matrix hurts them in real life. Same thing. Almost.
ReplyDeleteI think I have a solution to the YouTube problem: http://youtu.be/3R-J6N5dggU
ReplyDeleteMost of what I wanted to say has already been said. One thing I wanted to say to any of the numberous commenters who said about VR being a passing fad, or a failure, or what have you, is that tech like the Oculus Rift and the Razer Hydra are coming close to practical application of the tech.
ReplyDeleteOn a more generally point, why is stuff about VR and gaming generally often so bad? There are exceptions, such as The Matrix, or the Red Dwarf episodes Better Than Life, Back To Reality and Gunmen of the Apocalypse, but often it's disappointments like .hack, or just plain bad like this comic.
Given how cyberspace can work as a plot element, I don't see why it keeps falling apart when it's the focus. It's often completely ignorant of gaming/computers, extremely simple and patronizing, or both.
The main issue I can see is the lack of threat, but even then, there's the "die in game die in RL" option, or having a different kind of threat. We know Superman, Spiderman, or any mainstream super hero is not going to die (for realsies anyway) so it's not as if they don't know how to do this.
Even just pulling some ideas out of my backside, it could be framed as a typical sports team or dystopian bloodsport story, but with deathmatch instead of football. Or perhaps a player has his mind accidently transferred to the internet, and has to jump from game to game sliders style to get back to his/her body. Maybe even helping players out in exchange for new abilities.
T̶͚̬̼̘̱͖̀̅̂̆̔͑͑̀̕h̢͔͊̃͌ͣ͆̋͘ẹ̢̙̲̮͙̯͇̓͐ͥͪ̌̃̃̚͜ ̙̯̬͗a̸̸̠͉̳̬̱̲ͩ͑s̷͈̖̽̽ͯ̒c̛̹ͣ́ͦ̑ͮ̓͝e̸̲͎͈̒͌ͫ̃ͯ̆͝ͅn̫̪͓ͮͧ̈́̀͋̆͠s̛̝̘͎͎͖̹͎̱̦͑̈̎ͭ̀i͎̖͍̹͈̼̗̥̍͑̓̏̍̂́o̶̲̼̜̹̬̞͂ͩ͑̔ͅň̮̭̰̰̝̌ͨ͂͌͝ ͖̪͇̦̥̙͇̬̰ͮ̅̉̔̈o̝͓͊ͮ̀ͧ̎͢f̂͒ͦ҉͎̖̬͕̟ ̨̲͙͎̼̈́ͥͦ̃t̵̵̻̟̻̙͉̆̎̓́͋ͩ̔ͭ͟ḣ̘͖̣̳̲̑ͪͮ͒́́ḛ̵̞̈̉͋̿͘ ̧̫̟̝̟̪͇̓̆̓͌̑͘͡o̵̸̹̰͖͔̪̯̅͋̍̈́̓ͨ͞rͥ́҉͇̥̙̝̯̹d̵̦͚͆̅̏͑̄̋̑͡ḭ̺̫͉̦ͦͨ͘n̴̟̼̟̙̍ͬ͊̊̓̒͑͟͞a̵͚̣̬̭̎̀̃͑̽̚͜ͅr͙̠̺̯̰̼͓ͥ̔y̲̤̰͍͉̿ͦͣͩͪ͑̋ͤ ̫̖͇̔̏̊̀ͣ̇̇̓ͩ̕m̸̜͍̟̑͑͠ä̛͕̠̲͎̜́ͥ̓̓͌ͦ̂n̰̳̳͔͋̈́
ReplyDelete̪͙͈̬͈̦͕̹͛ͨ͡
Oh, how I've missed your reviews, Link! I haven't been on here in months... hell, since December!!!
ReplyDeleteI've actually been meaning to read some Marvel UK comics... got a couple in a blind-bag from a Dollar Store... no one has heard of it. It's called Black Ax!
The art style for this kinda look like a really bad Aeon Flux knockoff!
Huh, so the 90's kid is a Genius Ditz or something and Nice Use of him for the commercial segments. I think that the plot could've been better and what a waste of it for a Cyberpunk based comic.
ReplyDeleteHmm. Lousy artwork, lousy characters, feeling that this comic is dated and Venom and Carnage used solely as shameless plugs for other better books. This is definitely bad, kind of like the Virtual Boy.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, by the way.
It seems like this comic was attempting to make games evil as I see no reason for there to be a black-market thing on the VR systems unless it does the following:
ReplyDeleteA. It's been well known to screw with your nervus system and people get kicks from that.
B. Many of the games are pirated versions.
C. They are VR games where you are given true freedom of will so you can perform the most lewd and taboo of things. Things that if they were in games, they'd never be published. Atleast not mainstream.
D. all of the above or one of the ones above with another use where the dealers are secretly extracting info from you like Pin numbers, secrets to use for blackmail and so on.
I could definantly see potential if it was handled differently and it focused on why it was an addiction, like the 3rd suggestion I gave where you can't get those games anywhere or if VR was outlawed as with so many death cases it was considered unsafe, but like in real life where has that stopped people from doing things that risk their lives?
My mind went to MC2 as well. Though if there's an MC2 Comic that deserves Atop the Fourth Wall, it's Last Planet Standing. Awful. Not as bad as Cry for Justice or Battle for Bludhaven, but Asgard is eaten by Galactus and the reaction is nonchalant. Though perhaps the Avengers Next Miniseries in which magic makes it uneaten might be worth consideration too.
ReplyDeleteSpider-girl was great and I liked Last Planet Standing and the first Next Avengers was pretty good, but there are some opportunities.
ashley parker angel wild thing
ReplyDelete