Pop Culture Chronicles

Most Wanted Trades & Hardcovers

While browsing through lists of upcoming comics, I discovered that there just isn't much coming out these days that appeals to me. I don't see many World War II era stories coming out, but that could change with the release of the Captain America movie in May. And what happened to DC's multiverse? Sure there are series like First Wave which take place in some of these alternate realities, but I was hoping for some good crossovers. I haven't seen the Justice Society of Earth Two since Justice Society of America Annual 1 and that was nearly three years ago! Plus it's getting really pricey to collect comics. I hear DC will be drawing the line at 2.99, but even at that a comic had better be consistently good before I drop that kind of money.

My pull list is currently down to a couple of titles: DCU: Legacies and Justice Society of America. The first is a limited series that will soon end and I may drop the second due to DC's recent trend of inserting their bleeding-heart liberal agendas into the stories. So I may be done with JSA very soon.

But I haven't given up comics completely and I was most recently impressed by DC's hardcover one shot Superman: Earth One by J. Michael Straczynski. It was a masterpiece, reminiscent of all the best elements from previous Superman origin stories, all integrated into this one streamlined reimagining. The art by Shane Davis is some of the best I've seen. The dialog, especially between Perry, Lois, Clark, and Jimmy during Clark's "interview" was priceless.

So I think I'll start going the trade route in the near future. Then I can read a complete story in one sitting. Here is my most wanted reading list as of today:

1) Crisis on Multiple Earths, Volume 5 - More reprints of the JLA / JSA crossovers.

2) Invaders Classic, Volume 1 - In all there are four volumes of these 70s reprints by Roy Thomas.

3) Bat Lash: Guns and Roses - Western adventure reprinting the 6 issue series.

4) Batman: Earth One - by Geoff Johns, if it ever comes out.

5) Superman: Secret Origins - by Geoff Johns. I may wait for softcover since hardcover is so expensive.

6) Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, vol. 1 - 3 vol.s with Eaglesham art in the first two.

7) Team ups of the Brave and the Bold by J. Michael Straczynski. Soon to be in paperback, August 2011.

8) Thor by Straczynski (3 volumes altogether)

9) Superman: Grounded, Volume 1 Straczynski hardcover due August 2011.

10) JSA vs. Kobra reprints 6 part mini-series.

11) Legion of Superheroes by Levitiz. Hardcover available in April 2011.

12) Dark Shadows, volume 1

13) Dark Shadows, volume 2

14) Spiderman: The Complete Clone Saga Epic, Book 1 (at least five volumes)

15) Simon and Kirby Superheroes

I think I'll head to the public library with this reading list. 

A New Way to Watch Old TV

Remember the old days when you actually had to wait until your favorite program came on before you could watch it? If you weren't in front of the TV at that time, you were just out of luck. Then came VCRs. We could now record shows while we were away, but there was still that matter of setting the timer and hoping you went through all the steps just right. (The DVR has greatly simplified the recording process).

But recording wasn't fool proof. If the start of your show was delayed by a news bulletin or sporting event in overtime, you might not get the ending recorded. When you did, there was still all those commercials to fast forward through.  

But it wasn't long before programs started coming to video, and later DVD, and still later Blue Ray. Now we can purchase what we really want to watch. But that could run into mountains of money, so the video rental store became popular. But if every copy of what we wanted was already rented, or did not even come to that store, again we were out of luck. Plus we had to waste time and gas driving.  

Then came the mail order video rental, but now Netflix has gone even a step farther offering streaming video as a part of their monthly membership package, the least expensive of which is only around $11.00 a month. This provides unlimited streaming video and unlimited DVD rentals (but only one DVD out at a time. If you want more you must pay more).

What I really like is the streaming video feature, but that doesn't mean you have to watch TV on your computer. You can buy a Roku player for less than $100 which puts the streaming video right on your TV. It is ridiculously easy to install. High speed internet is a must. You can use ethernet if you like, but Roku is also set up to handle a wireless router.

We've had our Roku for over a year now and we have greatly enjoyed it. It's like TV a la carte. Pick what you want to watch, click on it with the remote, and you're in business. You can pause it if you get interrupted. You can even design your own instant queue. The selection of what is available on streaming video does rotate. Shows are on for a while and then replaced just like on syndicated television.

While this is old news to many, I am especially excited about what this means for comic fans and western fans, of which I am both. The available programs include old TV series like westerns that also came to comics. These include Gunsmoke, Cheyenne, Have Gun Will Travel, and Wagon Train. Other shows that have since been made into comics include 24, the A-Team, Dark Shadows, Heroes, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and the Munsters. All of these are currently available to watch at any time. Shows whose characters began in comics include Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Incredible Hulk, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and a number of the DC "straight-to-DVD" animated features.

In terms of mail order, our Netflix queue has Superboy, the animated Batman, Superman, and Justice League series, the 1967 Spiderman cartoons, Wonder Woman, Young Indiana Jones, the Three Stooges, Star Trek, Laramie, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, and Gomer Pyle all on standby. Right now the new Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey, Jr. is waiting to be watched and returned. So in case some of you didn't know about this, for me it is a dream come true as I journey to retroville to watch many of the TV series that I have loved through the years.  

Now, all that being said, some of the newer TVs can show Netfilx streaming video without a Roku player, but I would still recommend you get the Roku. New channels are being added constantly, many of which are free. These include Whiskey Media whose offerings include Comic Vine News videos. Local weather and various radio news sites are available as well. With the Roku player you can have Hulu on your TV screen for a small monthly fee. One channel I like is Pub D' Hub (A free channel) which includes an almost endless list of public domain movies and TV series. You can watch the Drive-in variety "Teenagers from Outer Space," "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter," or "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians." (I'm not making these titles up! Lots of B variety sci-fi and westerns are available.

With this new way of watching TV, I think we'll be cancelling our cable soon. Who needs overpriced cable when you can buy a Roku player and then pay $11.00 a month for Netflix? Well, I know there is sports, but for ESPN, live broadcasts are often online at ESPN3.com. But thankfully, we're not big sports fans. If you are, you can still get locals with a digital antenna for around 100 bucks.