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The Cape Not Booted Yet
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Television,
The Cape, the new NBC series about a wrongly-accused cop who dresses up as a Batman-like hero to fight corruption in the mythical Palm City, has debuted.
Trained by circus people – that's right; he has all the powers of the Big Top – cop Vince Faraday (played by David Lyons) uses his cape like Cirque de Soleil uses ropes.
He's got a regular villain too, because the evil businessman who framed him also moonlights as the series' bad guy. Plus, Firefly's Summer Glau is also on hand.
NBC needs a big hit, or even a little hit, following their fall to fourth place in a 4-network race. So how did the debut actually do in the ratings?
Click to continue reading The Cape Not Booted Yet
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Weekend Reading: Stan Goldberg, Steranko And Villains & Vigilantes
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Reviews, DC Comics, Image Comics, Independent,
Let’s roll...and punch 2011 in the face!
Writers Without Borders: J. A. Konrath, an excellent writer and a smart guy especially on publishing subjects, has some thoughts about the current spiral of Borders bookstores.
Comix: The Forbidden Planet blog introduces me to a new “underground” style newspaper available in London. “The tabloid size is absolutely lovely for reading comics. It’s something our ancestors knew so well, but we’ve forgotten it over the years.” I really want The Comix Reader to succeed, so if you’re living over there, go get one.
Sci-Fi: My old friend Scott Bieser has a new webcomic that he's started called Quantum Vibe. I'm bookmarking it and you should too.
Archie: Blogger Steven Thompson at Booksteve’s Library reviews Archie: The Best of Stan Goldberg: “Unlike the usual Archie house style, his Betty and Veronica look different from each other, with Betty in particular showing a unique cuteness when drawn by Stan.”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Stan Goldberg, Steranko And Villains & Vigilantes
Weekend Reading: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, R2D2 And Ronnie Corbett
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews,
Hey, 2010 is over and 2011 is here! Happy new year and in lieu of alcohol, here are a few links.Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, R2D2 And Ronnie Corbett
Rock Band Reloaded Review
Posted by Drea Avellan Categories: Games, iPad Apps, New Apps, Reviews, Electronic Arts, $4.99,
Traveling the world has always been a lifetime goal of mine. However, with so many remote places to visit, bringing a console along to play videogames is out of the question. Thankfully, Electronic Arts (EA) has releases their second installment of Rock Band for both iPhone and iPad platforms called Rock Band Reloaded. Singing along to some of my favorite songs while climbing the top of a mountain anywhere in the world is now a very possible scenario!
Click to continue reading Rock Band Reloaded Review
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Weekend Reading: Joe Casey, Thor, Dr. Spektor and Drew Friedman
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, DC Comics, Dynamic Forces, IDW Publishing, Independent, Marvel Comics,
The War on Christmas is nearly done for another year, and there’s just enough time left for the War on New Year’s. Let's see what you should be reading this week:
Joe: This is simply a great, honest and open interview with Joe Casey, comic book writer/creator and co-creator of Ben 10. Perfect holiday reading from interviewer Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter.
Thor: So there’s some controversy from an all-white group that’s upset that Marvel has cast an actor of color to play a Norse God in Thor. Ricky Sprague at Project Child Murdering Robot has a thought or two.
Polly: Animator Michael Sporn is happy that Dean Mullaney’s new book has arrived (as am I). Polly and Her Pals: the Complete Sunday Comics 1925-1927 comes from Dean’s The Library of American Comics via IDW.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Joe Casey, Thor, Dr. Spektor and Drew Friedman
Aliph Jawbone Jambox review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Home Entertainment, Portable Audio / Video, Product Reviews, Wireless / WiFi,
Aliph has made top-quality mono Bluetooth headsets for years, but the company has generally stayed away from the murky world of Bluetooth stereo. That changes with the Jawbone Jambox speaker set ($199.99 direct), the company's first foray into stereo. It's a small, battery-powered speaker that can play music from a wired or Bluetooth connection from your cell phone and also function as a speakerphone. It packs a surprising amount of punch for such a tiny device, and while it doesn't sound perfect, it's surprisingly good.
Design
The Jambox looks like a cross between an Aliph Jawbone Icon ($69, 4 stars) headset and a brick. It's perfectly rectangular, with stark, straight lines. The top and bottom of the speaker are capped with hard rubber, and the metal grill between them wraps all the way around the body. The grill has a diamond pattern, evoking the look of Aliph's headsets. At 6 by 2.2 by 1.6 inches (HWD), the Jambox is a compact, if blocky, device. It's also surprisingly heavy, weighing 12 ounces.
Click to continue reading Aliph Jawbone Jambox review
Wynonna Earp: The Yeti Wars OGN
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews, IDW Publishing,
Wynonna Earp is back and up to her ear muffs in Yetis, Bigfoot, mad science, vampires and Russians. IDW has just released Wynonna Earp: The Yeti Wars in glorious full-color hardcover.
Written by creator (and friend of the blog) Beau Smith and illustrated by Enrique Villagran, this original graphic novel marks a return to comics of one of the best characters to emerge from the independent comics scene in the 1990s.
Wynonna - a descendant of the famed gunfighter Wyatt Earp, though probably better with a gun - is a U.S. Covert Marshal. She specializes solving paranormal crimes - and fightin' and shootin' paranormal criminals. Think female Tommy Lee Jones working for the X-Files.
Beau wastes no time getting right to the story. Wynonna is tracking mad scientist Dr. Robidoux who’s busy splicing human and animal DNA Dr. Moreau-style and winds up in the middle of a paranormal range war between The Consortium of Immortals (”the top of the Freak Food Chain”) and The Vampire Nation.
Beau has called WE:TYW “a light-hearted stake through the heart of depressing, boring comics,” and it is, but it’s much more than that. It’s fun, it’s thrilling in an edge-of-the-seat way and there are twists and turns by a writer fully in command of his story.
Click to continue reading Wynonna Earp: The Yeti Wars OGN
Weekend Reading: Cowboys & Aliens, Jacques Tardi And Adrienne Roy
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Television, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, Independent, Marvel Comics,
It’s the week before Christmas for many people, and we begin, unfortunately, on a sad note. Veteran industry colorist Adrienne Roy passed away this week. ComicMix has the details of her long-running career as a colorist for hundreds of DC’s Bronze Age comics. I did not know that she was once voted "Most Beautifully Tattooed Female." She was well-known and highly-regarded, so there are certain to be other remembrances - like this one by Mark Evanier - around the internets.
Cowboys: Robert Orci talks about the upcoming Cowboys & Aliens movie, and Harrison Ford: “I’m assuming Spielberg called in some kind of a favor, because we were shocked to hear that he was interested.”
Crime: Novelist and funnybook writer Gary Phillips chooses his favorite crime and mystery graphic novels of 2010 for The Rap Sheet. Yes, Darwyn Cooke’s Parker: The Outfit is in there, but so’s a bunch of other cool stuff I need to check out now.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Cowboys & Aliens, Jacques Tardi And Adrienne Roy
Monster Beats Pro by Dr. Dre review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Wearables, Movies, Product Reviews,
The Beats Pro by Dr. Dre. at $399.95 (direct) is a serious pair of headphones designed for the modern DJ. The ear cups flip backwards to free one ear, the cable is detachable, and jacks on both ear cups act not only as inputs, but as outputs to send audio to a friend's headphones. The Beats Pro sounds excellent—there's plenty of bass, but the high frequencies are accurately reproduced, as well. The potential deal breaker for standard users and DJs alike: they're heavy and not comfortable when worn for long periods.
Design
Weighing in at nearly a pound (15.2 ounces), the Beats Pro comes in black or white models that each feature healthy doses of brushed metal on the ear cups and headband. The lowercase Beats logo is emblazoned in red on each ear, and the interior of the headband and ear cups is a cushioned black material. There's a 3.5mm jack at the bottom of each ear cup—it doubles as both an input (from your sound source) or an output to send audio to another pair of headphones. The connection for other headphones, however, is loose and could easily detach if you move around (this is because the jacks both have a twist-to-secure feature that only seems to work with the included cable). The cable itself is the signature Beats red, thick, and coiled at the bottom. Not only is a ¼-inch adapter included, but it comes fastened to the coil so you never have to go looking for it; just snap it on to the 3.5mm tip whenever you need it. Also included with the headphones: a protective pouch and a cleaning cloth with "advanced Aegis Microbe Shield technology" so microbes will never come between you and your music.
Click to continue reading Monster Beats Pro by Dr. Dre review
Dell Inspiron Duo review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video, Product Reviews,
A 10-inch slate tablet seemed imminent when news broke that Dell had an iPad rival on the way, but that turned out not to be the case. The 5-inch Dell Streak was their first attempt, but ended up being more smartphone than tablet. Its second attempt—the Dell Inspiron Duo ($549.99 direct)—isn't even close. Although it is a novel take on a netbook convertible tablet, it's anything but an iPad rival. It features a cleverly designed flip hinge that exposes (and conceals) a physical keyboard, and is one of the few netbook tablets that run on an Intel Atom processor and a full blown Windows 7 operating system. Although it sports one of the most innovative designs we've seen in a while, the Inspiron Duo is no threat as a touch device to any tablet and completely misses as a netbook.
Click to continue reading Dell Inspiron Duo review
