Monday, July 9, 2012

Sir Charles Barkley and the Referee Murders



Ah, nothing like another tale of that hard-boiled detective Charles Barkley.



65 comments:

John R. Music said...

MOBILE EMITTER!!!!

Amazing attention to detail :D

*SQUEEK*

Anonymous said...

Another great review Mr. Lovhaug I especially like the ending with you at the convention and the cameo by Dan Jurgens as he was writing Thor when I first got into comics.

Two questions about the convention first did you record any more footage. Secondly who was the woman in the blue shirt, was she just a fan or was she another guest at the convention.

A bit of trivia the audience member that yelled at Barkley was Director Spike Lee who is infamous for taunting the Knicks opponents. Also only citizens of the commonwealth can be knighted (and Canada forbids it) meaning that the only non uk member if channel awesome that can be knighted is Suede.

RevueFox said...

Nothing funnier than rambling while drunk about a comic book hero to that hero's creator.

Anonymous said...

@Anoymous Actually a lot of people can be knighted.

Sidney Poiter was knighted and he's not british. Sidney Poiter has citizenship in Bahamas however and their good friends with the queen.

Also some australians have been knighted.

Jigglysaint said...

@Dan That's what he said. If I recall correctly, the Bahamas is part of the commonwealth, as well as Australia.

Anyway, after seeing the ending a question is kind of raised that I don't know if it's been addressed by Lewis or not. I am pretty much sure the Magic Gun would not be permitted at ConBravo. I don't even know if it would be allowed over the Canadian boarder. Since the gun is a major prop and a major part of the story arc, I just felt it needed to be addressed if it wasn't considered already.

BooRat said...

I'd think i'd liked this comic more if at the end it turned out the villain was more of a Dick Tracy style villain with an oddly deformed head! I like those old weird noir stories like that!
The art isn't that good to here! Especially that T-Rex skeleton look like a series of scribbles that vaguely form a outline of a t-rex.
Wow, hookers and blow and no actual Snowflame appearance!?
I love that song I wear my Sunglasses at Night!

Wow that Con looked fun! That one comic the one guy was working on "Metroplex" I think it was called looked like my kind of thing!!!

Anonymous said...

@Jigglysaint - He was a little unclear about that, from the looks of I thought he was saying that only citizens of the UK can be knighted/damed, but that's not accurate.

But eh whatever. I'm not gonna lose any sleep over that, I was just correcting it cause I thought he had a made mistake.

Anonymous said...

Only drug dealers wear sunglasses indoors?

*Looks at 90s Kid suspiciously*

Unknown said...

You met Dan freaking Jurgens? What is he like? Is he a nice guy? OMG I AM HAVING A SPAZZ FIT! Sorry, I didn't meet him, but what is he like? Seriously.

Paul S. said...

The Good Sam Club is an organization that helps RV owners get travel discounts. Which makes that wisecrack make absolutely no sense.

Did you ever see that Lebron James comic DC did a few years ago? It was absolutely crazy and had him playing in a court made of ice covered in broken cars.

Nick Michalak said...

SWEEEEEEEET!!!!! Talk about an extra special guest appearance! Coolness abound getting Dan Jurgens to cameo. Plus, I always love the drunk rambling. Makes me miss drunk Tony Stark.

I especially loved the sly "hat and coat gifts" bit. Very nice.

@Anonymous "Sir" Suede would be even smoother than regular Suede.

Karfsma778 said...

Umm... Guys, I think it MAY have been sarcasm. Y'know the 'only English people can be knighted' thing...


Also, great episode. I'm sorta surprised that no one at any point walked up to you out of the blue and handed you something while saying, " It's dangerous to go alone, take this," but then again it's probably a good thing.

Eileen Gonzalez said...

Y'know, Mr. Drug Lord Man, there is such a thing as wheelchair basketball. No need to go all evil on us just because of a leg injury...

Also, what is wrong with that woman's hair? It looks like she stuck a fork in a toaster.

Lord You Know Who said...

Charles Barkley is a feminist? Must resist Spoony/Lupa/JesuOtaku joke! Must resist Spoony/Lupa/JesuOtaku joke!

Why does that kid fear that dinosaurs may be still alive? Are kids really that stupid?

Did that PSA have ANYTHING to do with the rest of the plot?

A giant muscular black man fighting crime, solving murders and offering good advice to women in need? Is Charles Barkley stealing Mister T's gig here?


-----

Great, now the convension bullshit is bleeding into the storyline. i'm having bad "Raiders of the Story Arc: Transformers" flashbacks...

Why the hell would you call the Ghostbusters to fix your magic gun? The Ghostbusters catch ghosts (and other supernatural beings). You should have called them when the Entity was attacking you, not NOW.

And why are you drinking? I thought you didn't drink!

Please tell me all the convention bullshit won't go near the storyline again...

-----

"and the cameo by Dan Jurgens as he was writing Thor when I first got into comics."

That means Jurgens has knowledge of magic and the supernatural. So, why didn't Linkara ask for his help instead of rambling drunkenly?

"I am pretty much sure the Magic Gun would not be permitted at ConBravo. I don't even know if it would be allowed over the Canadian boarder. Since the gun is a major prop and a major part of the story arc, I just felt it needed to be addressed if it wasn't considered already."

The Magic Gun is a 19th century-style flintlock. Since it's impossible to find ammunition for it in any place other than a museum, it's impossible to use as a weapon in real life. Thus Lewis having no problems with it.

"Wow, hookers and blow and no actual Snowflame appearance!?"

Come to think of it, we haven't seen Snowflame since PSA Hell Month ended...

Sabre said...

When the guy asked for a light then killed the guy when he said no is the kind of thing chavs do.

Also, for whatever reason when I saw this on the coming soon list I thought it was Barkley from Star Trek.

starofjustice said...

Think maybe you mean hard-boiled detective?

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"You met Dan freaking Jurgens? What is he like? Is he a nice guy? OMG I AM HAVING A SPAZZ FIT! Sorry, I didn't meet him, but what is he like? Seriously."

I've met him a few times at SpringCon and FallCon. He's a nice, awesome guy. ^_^

lancelot said...

speaking of booster gold. would you reccomend the 80,s showcase series to someone just getting into comics.

BTW: it was awesome that you actually got to meet with Dan Jurgens.

FugueforFrog said...

Dan Jurgens cameo...that was a surprise.

This was a weird comic BTW; no real clue why the heck Barkley would even want to wear a Dick Tracy outfit but hey, it sort of just allowed for the whole detective bit to work. I sort of hope Barkley didn't give his magic coin to the abused woman though...I mean, next thing you know she'll be huge and stomping on the jerk, and that's not enabling. Oh and BTW: sort of hoped you'd used the Taxi theme for the credits this time since I love that song...but hey, "Sunglasses at Night" was the more obvious reference.

BTW: I actually finished an American comic book that wasn't Watchmen! Read the Korvac saga of the Avengers over my vacation...weirdly I thought he looked cooler with half his body grafted to a computer making rape faces. But hey, it had a lot of fun moments they don't seem to do in comics...well the ones on here at least.

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"Great, now the convension bullshit is bleeding into the storyline. i'm having bad "Raiders of the Story Arc: Transformers" flashbacks...

Why the hell would you call the Ghostbusters to fix your magic gun? The Ghostbusters catch ghosts (and other supernatural beings). You should have called them when the Entity was attacking you, not NOW.

That means Jurgens has knowledge of magic and the supernatural. So, why didn't Linkara ask for his help instead of rambling drunkenly?"

...Okay, I think you may be taking things a little too seriously. A convenient way for me to film some of the storyline stuff to show that I AM traveling is to shoot convention stuff. And because there isn't a lot of storyline that can be told from just going to places asking people if they can help, I decided to play some of this for humor as well as build in hints for where things are going.

It's just supposed to be brief jokes along with some amusing narration. I can't believe I actually have to explain the Ghostbusters joke to you, but Linkara is traveling around looking for people to help fix his magic gun. He stated that he found "experts in the paranormal," which is what the Ghostbusters are and as such he assumed that they would be able to help.

THAT'S THE JOKE.

"And why are you drinking? I thought you didn't drink!"

*I* don't drink. Linkara, who is a character and not really who I am in real life, DOES drink and we've seen him guzzle booze several times on the show.

"Please tell me all the convention bullshit won't go near the storyline again..."

I only get to travel to conventions so often. It's a great way for me to meet fans, and because I feel interaction is VERY important in this business, I think I've found a clever way to get people involved in it. I'm sorry you dislike that, but this will not be the last time conventions appear during this storyline, especially since I had Animinneapolis last week and at the end of the month I'm going to ConBravo and will be filming more material.

I don't plan on filming any full reviews at a convention like Doug has done. However, I applaud his ingenuity in those cases because I can't write on the fly like that and if I'm worried about how much free time I'll have or how exhausted I'll be, I probably wouldn't be able to film a full episode there, anyway.

"The Magic Gun is a 19th century-style flintlock. Since it's impossible to find ammunition for it in any place other than a museum, it's impossible to use as a weapon in real life. Thus Lewis having no problems with it."

That doesn't really matter to the authorities. Any time I travel with it, it still has to go into checked luggage because it's a replica of one or could be mistaken for one. Authorities don't screw around about this stuff.

lead sharp said...

Seriesly...look at the creative team on this http://www.comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=191701

There's some brains gone into this...for some reason.

Dave said...

But did Dan Jurgens agree with you on Booster Gold and JLA: Act of God?

Will said...

As a Ghostbuster franchisee I would have had you hold the Magic Gun over an open Ghost Trap in Automatic mode to see if it would draw off any Psychokinetic Energy. But knowing you you wold look into the trap and get blasted with several hundred lumens of light to the face (it is like staring into a surefire g2x flashlight)

Jigglysaint said...

The reason I asked about the Magic Gun is because of ConBrav's gun policy. That is to say that unless you plan to make an orange safety tip part of the Gun's mythos, it might be better to keep it at home(or get a new one with an orange tip). Guns are illegal in Canada.

I think I'm worried about the Magic Gun being permanently confiscated more than anything else. Then again, I worry too much.

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"I think I'm worried about the Magic Gun being permanently confiscated more than anything else. Then again, I worry too much."

Nothing to worry about. ^_^ As I posted back in my cosplay guide a few months ago, I have a replica now of it that I use for travel, so even if it was confiscated, it's not the original gun and I can get another one if I need to. I don't think I'll be bringing it with me, but there you go. ^_^

Sijo said...

Well count me as having enjoyed the Convention bit in Linkara's quest. I've never gone to a live Con, they sure look fun. Plus, you know Dan Jurgens!? I used to like Booster Gold- before they reduced him to an idiot, that is.

Now, the "Sir" Charles Barkley comic, it was just dull. I guess Film Noir doesn't work on more modern settings. But at least it made more sense than the vs Godzilla comic.

Was the artist here Joe Staton? I haven't seen his work since the 80's Green Lantern comics (not my favorite art style, but nice to see it again anyway.)

Chessrook44 said...

All I want to see now is one of the people Linkara goes to for help, asking him if he tried "Turning it off or on" or "Making sure it was plugged in". Standard tech support questions, yanno?

Pyrodafox said...

I knew Dan Jurgens was going to show up when the convention footage started because he lives in Minnesota, if I'm not mistaken. Seems appropriate that he wrote Thor back in the nineties then. :P

Anonymous said...

"Also, why does he waste time getting a pretzel when he's supposed to be tailing this guy?"

Because getting a soft pretzel is never a waste of time. Never. Also, I want a "Don't question it. I'm Charles Barkley. Shut up." T-shirt. Also, also, got a giggle out of the Ultima reference. "The game," indeed. ^_^

Can't wait for more vlogs of your epic journey. Watch out for orcs bearing the White Hand.

Unknown said...

... I just saw Grand Moff Tarkin talking to Batman. Well, my mind's blown.

JLH said...

Yes, the art was by Joe Staton, who coincidentally drew the New Guardians, making the coke and hookers scene all the more Snowflameriffic.

Hey, did Sir Charles pay for that coffee with his magic coin?! I guess that waitress is in for a pretty BIG tip.

As the guy to blame for sending in this issue, I'm glad to see it made the cut, even if it wasn't anywhere near on the same level of the Barkley/Godzilla book.

Good thing you didn't, while drunk, insult the art on "The Battle for Bludhaven" while talking to Dan Jurgens...

Anonymous said...

Wait...we have a big comic convention in MN? Huh, you learn something new everyday.

Pikmin Master said...

5:09 Funny, I just saw that video a few days ago.

Dr. Ivo Robuttnik said...

A Linkara review with the audio replaced by TF2 voice clips.

MAKE ME PROUD, INTERNET.

JB said...

Too bad your rant didn't include Monarch, another character Jurgens created (twice !)

Jamibu A.K.A. Zen119 said...

Nice review there. I also think that it's pretty decent. Love the con bits at the end. I really think it's funny especially whe you were rambling about for 3 hours while Julie Sydor, cretor of the Snowflame webcomic, bashing her head with the Magic Gun. LOL!

Can't wait to see what's in store for us in the 200th episode. :D

Ming said...

Wow, you actually gotten Dan Jurgens to appear, that is like Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah all wrapped into one!

Great review. Loved the ending at the convention.

You going to be including more convention footage in the next few episodes?

Wednesday said...

North from the State Fair grounds is easy: leave by the exit next to the Creative Commons building onto Snelling Avenue and turn left.

I didn't have to look at a map for that and am forced to conclude I've been to the State Fair too many times in my life.

Ozaline said...

Okay, on Canadian gun law... as long as you transport the magic gun replica in sealed luggage across the Canadian border it should be fine. Replicas of antique fire-arms are not illegal in Canada, replicas of modern firearms are another matter.

If they look like real, modern guns then they you can only own them if you run a business like a prop company, and even then there are severe restrictions on transportation and storage. This doesn't apply to replica guns made before this law came into affect, however... but in the case of an American coming to Canada the antique flintlock replica should be fine as long as Lewis transports it properly, which he stated he as experience doing.

Here is the info on the Canadian gun law: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5044-eng.html#P003

Replica firearms (prohibited devices)
Replica firearms:

-are designed or intended to exactly resemble a firearm with near precision;
-include most airsoft guns; and
-are not reproductions of antique firearms.

That last bullet is the key one, antique firearms are exempt from the replica law.

Anyway I really enjoyed both the review and the storyline elements in this video. There was a lot of good humor and I'm sure many of those cosplayers are tickled pink to be in your vid.

I love it when you tackle decent comics that lend themselves to humor.

An A++ vid.

The Exiled One said...

"I sort of hope Barkley didn't give his magic coin to the abused woman though...I mean, next thing you know she'll be huge and stomping on the jerk, and that's not enabling."

That's my fantasy. No, seriously, if you used a machine to enter my mind ala "The Cell", you would see that woman growing huge and stepping on that jerk. And then she strips down to her giant underwear and starts dancing erotically.

...please don't judge me.

GG Crono said...

You ever play Barkley: Shut Up And Jam Gaiden, Linkara?

If you haven't, it's a freeware RPG and I highly, HIGHLY recommend it.

Jatzu said...

Am I the only one getting "sorry, this episode is temporarily unavailable" on all the blip tv videos?

FordXanakov said...

33Great video! All the jokes in this really worked for me, and had me laughing out loud at my computer desk. I think I'm just a huge sucker for the Charles Barkley videos though. He was my favorite basketball player as a kid when he was on my hometown 76ers.

When the comic started talking about point shaving and crooked refs, I kept expecting a Tim Donaghy joke, but it never came. I don't blame you Lewis because you don't come across as an avid NBA fan, but put his name into Google or Wikipedia sometime.

Anonymous said...

how does the phrase "colder than hell" work?

AmuroNT1 said...

Of course you can eat suspiciously, Linkara. Just look at the popcorn guy from "Free Willy".

Anonymous said...

There was one point in the review where I had to remind myself that you weren't a Wrestling fan. When Barkley told the woman to call her momma, I half expected the Funkasaurus' music to hit.

FugueforFrog said...

"That's my fantasy. No, seriously, if you used a machine to enter my mind ala "The Cell", you would see that woman growing huge and stepping on that jerk. And then she strips down to her giant underwear and starts dancing erotically.

...please don't judge me."

There are better women who would be great huge. Using it to take revenge on an abuser could be the start of going down a bad path...I rather giantesses use their powers for good and not evil.

Anonymous said...

Great episode to have a quest update on. I'm going to watch it again later after a nap. Sorry to have to admit this but after Barkley was stalking that third ref I dozed off. I did wake up fairly quickly but well this is the first time I passed out watching any of your reviews.

Looking forward to the next one.

BooRat said...

"Anonymous said...
how does the phrase "colder than hell" work?

July 10, 2012 11:30 AM
"


Long before the whole fire and brimstone ideal of Hell a lot of people believed Hell was a cold waste land the deeper into it you got. Something along the lines of the deeper into Hell you got the further you were away from God's warmth! Read Dante's Inferno for more information.

CJ said...

I think this might be my favorite episode of AT4W. The comic premise is kinda ridiculous but played well enough to make it fun.
The sequence at the end is done really well and comes across as adorable. It's getting me excited to see more.

Jarkes said...

So, out of curiosity, did you get invited to Comic Con?

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"So, out of curiosity, did you get invited to Comic Con?"

Nope, but I don't care either way. ^^

Shada67 said...

Great job reviewing this Lew-Two! Very weird comic.

Anyone can be knighted by the Queen of England actually. Only UK subjects can actually use the title "Sir" (or "Dame"). Ronald Reagan, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Bill Gates, and Rudi Guiliani have all been granted "honorary knighthoods."

Wouldn't there have been more tension in this story if the police had been watching/following Charles (or had pulled him in for questioning), so that he needed to clear his name or something?

Strange that Barkley didn't object at all to the guy in the crowd basically calling him a murderer...or maybe just acting like was any other stupid comment from a member of the crowd was the right thing to do .

The whole thing with the woman in the alley was just (I hate to use the word again, but it fits...) weird. There's abusive relationships, with your boyfriend beating you up when you "deserve it," then there's GETTING BEAT UP BY YOUR BOYFRIEND AND HIS PALS IN AN ALLEY! This scene brings up so many questions. Did he catch up to her in the alley? Drag her out to the alley to beat her? Happen to be walking with her in an alley when she pissed him off? It's just so odd. I think this is the first time I've seen this trope played out without the people involved being strangers to each other.

OK, the Taxi reference nearly made me spit out my Pepsi. XD Did Barkley take a taxi to the taxi center?

This was a great video, and a wonderful start to your quest. Good luck Linkara.

Anonymous said...

For some reason, when you drunkenly asked him who he was, I was really hoping he'd respond with "I'm Willow.".

Ben Pounds said...

But you have filmed a review at a convention. You filmed that Yu-Gi-Oh one, which was awesome by the way.

Jarkes said...

So, anyway, are you disappointed that "Power Rangers Megaforce," the twentieth anniversary season of Power Rangers, is a Goseiger adaptation and not a Gokaiger adaptation? I mean, it was inevitable (Saban's contract with Toei states that they can't skip any Sentai seasons), but it really doesn't make sense... Not to mention I've heard that Goseiger was, well, kind of dull, and with Jonathan Tzachor's current policy of "must be as close to the Sentai as possible," that doesn't bode well for Megaforce...

Anonymous said...

Between viewings I did a little research on Conches It turns out the Conch shell was named for the area and since it can be pronounced both Kon sh for Conch or Konk I wouldn't be surprised if it can go either way for the French territory as well.

There is however one word you did get wrong and that was Garrote I know its one of the ones that falls into your usual accent vowels but in the future its long o in the word.

Why does Real life have to waste so much time? Be back to catch your future videos.

Le Messor said...

Did anyone else notice that he never did any real detective work? He just happened to see a guy leaving a game, followed him, and all the back story fell into his lap.

Also, the switchblade made the same 'snikt' sound as Wolverine's claws.

It's not cool for women to be beaten up! But men, on the other hand...

The implication I get from 'Sir' Charles is kind of the reverse of yours - not that only English (or Commonwealth, which, yes, does include Australia) people get knighted - but that all English people are knights.

BooRat is right - Dante does talk about Hell as freezing. "Crack a book, you people!" as Linkara once said, in reference to Inferno.

Also, Tarkin and Batman talking? I second the 'my mind is blown'!

Brian said...

Dan Jurgens???, lol , Lewis your the man to pull that cameo off.....top yourself and do Kurwet Busieck or Grant Morrison next time

Great reivew but love the cameo Lewis

The Mad Scientist said...

Okay, please tell me there was someone else that, while the end credits were playing, could only think of one thing.....

"You know what this is? It's my new f*ckin' haircut!"

Old meme is old.

Matt said...

Catching up on AT4W after hiatus; one minor nitpick. Does the Emergency Reviewing Hologram know that it is, in fact, a hologram? If it does, when talking about the Backstreet Project comic, it should have said "that Linkara reviewed," instead of "that I reviewed."

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"Catching up on AT4W after hiatus; one minor nitpick. Does the Emergency Reviewing Hologram know that it is, in fact, a hologram? If it does, when talking about the Backstreet Project comic, it should have said "that Linkara reviewed," instead of "that I reviewed.""

It does, but I have the hologram say "I reviewed" for the people who don't watch the storylines.

Segatron said...

Oh come on! The gravy story? Again!?

Really what is up with that? Why is that always your thing?

You've met Ensign Munro for goodness sake!

Doug Puthoff said...

The iron is that Joe Staton now draws DICK TRACY. Decent, but I loved the convention footage, especially when you were in Drunk Tony Stark mode.

Adam Graham said...

Actually, it's somewhat debatable whether Lancelot was real. Certainly he wasn't like the book, but many think Arthur etal really existed.