Posted by
Michelle Callaghan
- Thursday, February 28, 2013
Next week I'll be in Boston for the AWP Conference and one of the last panels looks at video games, comics, and fan fiction as legitimate literature. I'll totally blog about that in March, but for the sake of dipping into the topic, I have a confession to make. Since this is Fanboys Anonymous and what better on a first post than a little geeky soul-bearing, here goes:
In 2003, I discovered fan fiction.
It was a cool summer night. Sucking on my braces and scratching a pimple, I was clicking through PlayStation's flash website for Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus for the six-trillionth time, dodging the searchlights with my cursor and wishing for just one-more-adventure ohgodplease! So I opened the Google machine and typed three words: Sly Cooper stories. Don't know why. Don't know what I expected to find. But my adolescent life as I knew it was over. The fic was “Mark of the Master” by Atolm2001, a still-not-finished (read as: dead) multichap adventure. (I've since looked up the author on deviantART and left a thank you note. No response. Creep status: dutifully earned.)
I loved it then, I love it now, but there has not been a minute since that I haven't been weirdly ashamed of the hobby. You might be thinking "so what?" or "that's cool" or if you're like every other fanfic enthusiast I've spoken to, you might completely get my shame because hear me out: modern fan fiction to this day has no solid footing in the writing world, and even among fandoms it can sometimes be considered excessive. Maybe even considered a little weird, even if only to the self-conscious writers themselves. I am even shy about it! And full disclosure: since 2003, I've written fic for Sly Cooper, Jak and Daxter, CSI, Bones, Wicked, Big Bang Theory, and Mass Effect, and for every fic I've written, I've read thirty more. This past July, I spent four entire days reading a 98 chapter Mass Effect story on my phone.
Me, reading aforementioned Mass Effect fic at a Coldplay concert, as all normal people do.
I've only been comfortable admitting my dalliance long-term relationship with good ol' FanFiction.net for, oh, maybe a year now, because I've finally gotten to the point where I'm embracing its influence on readin' and writin'. But while it's fun, creative, sometimes straight up good quality reads—is it legitimate literature?
It can be. Some of it is garbage, sure, but some of it is better than novels I've slogged through. You can't publish it (*) but good fic upholds all the criteria of quality writing. And at the end of the day, some of the things we call good writing, even some of the things we call [monocle] canonical English Literature [/monocle] are, in fact... FAN FICTION!
And so, after my deepest confession, I give you five of my favorite Glorified Fan Fictions:
5) The Entire Star Wars Extended Universe
Thanks, some geek on Tumblr!
Publishing fan fiction is usually a pipe dream, but the SWEU authors pull it off and continue to make bank. This is what rules about open world building and open creators. Say what you want about George Lucas' creative decisions, but he opened his world to the fans and created a beautiful monster.
4) Grendel by John Gardner
Not just high school readin'.
Speaking of beautiful monsters, if you haven't read Grendel, give it a shot. It's a really kooky but awesome take on the villain from the epic poem Beowulf.
3) Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Also a Tony Award-winning musical!
My all-time favorite novel, Wicked is another Grendel-like treatment of a villain. Wizard of Oz fan fiction for the win!
2) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
"Audiences know what to expect, and that is all they are prepared to believe in."
This absurd and goofy-deep play is Hamlet fan fiction at its finest.
1)Paradise Lost by John Milton
I'm not sure I even understand it.
Bible fanfiction. Not kidding. Also very canonically foundational to so much English literature and has even infiltrated some religions in interesting ways. I like it for the scene where angels and devils are throwing mountains at each other. Badass.
So there you have it. Fanfiction can be found on college syllabi. I’ll be looking forward to how the panel at AWP in Boston handles the "as literature" argument, and I’ll let you know what the geek folk say.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to write a sestina about Dovahkiin!
While Uncanny X-Force #1 wasn't an utterly amazing issue, I find myself quite excited at the prospects of what this story and what this team has to offer. This seemingly "grab-bag" team of mutants is extremely diverse, and it is both intriguing and satisfying to see how they interact with each other and work in a group dynamic.
There is a great deal of what I would call "dark humor" floating around the dialogue and banter that occurs in this book. The character interactions seem authentic, especially those that occur between either of the ladies (Psylocke and Storm) and Puck. These interactions contrast beautifully with the dark and gritty nature of the story itself. The story leaves us, once again, with a bunch of questions on our mind, though this issue does a much better job at connecting some of these dots for us. Still, there may be some parts of confusion for readers that aren't too familiar with a couple of the peripheral characters.
Perhaps my favorite part about Uncanny X-Force is the artwork, which I find to be extremely well executed and further enhances the mood and the story. The use of color is fantastic, offering a vivid and expressive noir-esque-type feel. It's everything I could ever ask for in a comic book drawing, and it makes Uncanny X-Force all the more fun to read.
Although I felt this issue wasn't as strong as its predecessor, I still think it's a book that will certainly draw readers in nevertheless. The creators of Uncanny X-Force are reeling us in bit by bit, and, once this series gets into full swing, I imagine that it's going to be a wild ride.
Posted by
Anthony Mango
- Wednesday, February 27, 2013
For the fourth meeting of the monthly Fanboys Anonymous roundtable discussion podcast, the members chat about the 85th Academy Awards 2013 Oscars. Hosted by Tony Mango, the panel includes Michael Burhan, Sean Mitchell, and Tuc To.
Some topics we address:
2013 Oscars - 85th Academy Awards show itself
The results of the winners for the 85th Oscars
Do the Oscars shun fanboy culture?
Will Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, Thor: The Dark World and other movies coming out in 2013 have a presence in the next Oscars?
You can watch all the parts of the podcast below. Make sure to subscribe!
Bendis' take opening issue of volume three of Uncanny X-Men was, in most respects a strong one. Several elements of the plot immediately stood out: the broken mutant powers, the betrayal, and the start of a new "anti" X-Men team. Starring Cyclops, one of the most hated characters in current continuity, Uncanny X-Men walks a fine line between intrigue and distaste.
Unfortunately, Uncanny X-Men #2 falls into the latter category. I had noted in the previous review that Bendis' portrayal of Emma Frost is far from adequate. In the opening scene, Emma comes off as a whiny sixteen year old teenager, which, as many of us X-fans know, is the complete opposite of what the infamous White Queen actually is. The teen drama continues as Scott and Emma begin to discuss their "feelings." It's like a deleted scene taken out from Mean Girls 2, and nobody wants to see that.
From there, we are introduced to several of the other new recruits. What is an attempt to give each character more depth and characterization turns out to be an utterly annoying and confusing exchange. There is no sense of urgency or real concern in any of these characters. In fact, it's almost comical at points, which is not really the vibe I think Bendis was going for. The whole thing just feels very compressed and rushed.
Perhaps the the only stand-out moments in this issue were the look into the manifestation of Emma's new powers, though it was overshadowed by the fact that her dialogue was utter hogwash. The end of the issue provides a promising beginning for the next book, which leads me to believe that these new Uncanny X-Men should do a lot less talking and a lot more fighting. It would just be better for all parties involved, because what Bendis is currently doing with this particular set of characters is painful to read.
In the last issue of Uncanny Avengers, I found myself emotionally drained after finishing the book. Using a very distinct prose in narrating his story, Rick Remender tells a chilling tale of pure hate and blood lust. Combined with the stunning artwork, I found myself enthralled in a story that parallels the beginning of atrocities that happened in the real world not so long ago.
The horror continues in Uncanny Avengers #4, using that same detached narrative style that really drives home the gravity of the situation. The writing flows nicely, showing characters like Captain America, whom has always been a beacon of truth, struggling to fight the control of the Red Skull. Perhaps the most powerful part of this book is when the mind control of Red Skull finally wears off, and people, super and non-super alike, realized what they have done. An equally powerful scene is during the aftermath, when Thor shows Wolverine a newspaper with the headline, "Xavier Gone, Dream Still Alive - Mutants and Humans Work Together: Stop Red Skull from Murder Spree."
Equal commendation should go to the artwork in this issue. Characters and scenes are powerful, expressive, and evoke a certain emotion that I think readers will find satisfying. Special shout-outs go to the panels showing Havok and Scarlet Witch getting busy with their powers. There's just something quite satisfying about seeing a couple of mutants let 'er rip.
All in all, I think there may well be two kinds of opinions when it comes to this issue and this series. Some readers, like myself, will absolutely love the narrative style. It's a throwback to what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby started with way back when. I have enjoyed and still enjoy those old-school comics and have come to greatly appreciation that particular type of story-telling. On the other hand, some more "modern" readers may find fault in the narration style. The only real advice I can offer is to take a step back and use your imagination for once. You're missing out on a great adventure otherwise.
Posted by
Anthony Mango
- Monday, February 25, 2013
One of the things that seemed to polarize fans about The Amazing Spider-Man was the costume. Some felt that it looked a little too different from the classic style, others felt that it was a refreshing change of pace. In fact, it became such a debated topic that people had to resort to picking out certain aspects of it and weighing them with pros and cons. Did you like the different logo? What about the eye lenses? The web shooters? The silver foot soles?
Nevertheless, when they announced that they would be switching up the design for the sequel, people were watching out for what they would change for the better and for the worse.
Here's our first image of the new Spider-Man suit:
Fucking amazing, am I right? PERFECT. Even though this isn't the full suit in the shot, I highly doubt the bottom half is made up of orange MC Hammer parachute pants or something. In all honesty, I can't nitpick ANYTHING about it that I don't like. It's 100% exactly like what I was hoping the suit would be in every Spider-Man film.
What are your thoughts on the new suit? Were you hoping for something different or are you happy with the new/classic design? Let us know in the comments below!
Posted by
Anthony Mango
- Sunday, February 24, 2013
Every year, I like to do my best to predict the winners of the Academy Awards. Previously, I held those predictions on my other blog, Out on Limbs for 2010, 2011 and 2012. The following are the nominees, my predictions, and eventually the results as well as my review on the results.
NOTE: At first, I tend to make very generalized predictions. After I start watching the movies that are officially nominated, I then continually edit my predictions until the week before the awards ceremony. As such, keep checking back here for more updates on both the 85th Academy Awards nominations as well as my 2013 Oscars predictions.
PREDICTION: The frontrunner seems to be Zero Dark Thirty, but I really hope it doesn't win. I didn't think it was special in the slightest bit and I wouldn't even recommend it to anyone, let alone think it deserves to be called one of the best films of all time. I can't see it being Argo, Django, or Silver Linings for what they were either. Amour is ruled out, as they'll just give that Best Foreign Language Film instead and that will be adequate. I wouldn't mind Les Miserables winning at all. I haven't seen the rest, but I'll comment as soon as I can on them.
PREDICTION: Daniel Day Lewis is who I'd expect to win. I liked Hugh Jackman a lot, so I wouldn't mind him winning, and I thought Cooper was ok but the nomination suffices without the award. As far as Washington goes, I hated Flight and I thought he's done massively better in other films and was nothing noteworthy in this.
RESULT: Daniel Day Lewis
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR NOMINEES: Alan Arkin (Argo), Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
PREDICTION: Christoph Waltz was my favorite part of Django Unchained, so I'd love to see him win. Some people think Alan Arkin will win, but I don't think so. Robert De Niro, as much as I like the guy, doesn't even deserve a nomination for this film. I haven't seen Lincoln or The Master, but I'm guessing Tommy Lee Jones wins this.
PREDICTION: Smart money is on either Chastain or Lawrence with the edge going to Chastain, but I hope she doesn't win as I would rather someone win for doing more than just pouting for 2 and a half hours. Even though Lawrence pulls off the role, I still don't think that qualifies for a Best Actress award either, but I'd rather her win than Chastain.
PREDICTION: Anne Hathaway, I'm hoping. I don't think Jacki Weaver was anything memorable in Silver Linings and I can honestly only remember her basically standing in the background.
RESULT: Anne Hathaway
BEST DIRECTOR NOMINEES: Michael Haneke (Amour), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook), Steven Spielberg (Lincoln), Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
PREDICTION: I'm not sure...but I could see this being a random award for Zeitlin if they don't just go the standard Spielberg route.
RESULT: Ang Lee
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY NOMINEES: Amour, Django Unchained, Flight, Moonrise Kingdom, Zero Dark Thirty
PREDICTION: Better not be Flight, which I hated. This will be either Django or Zero Dark Thirty and I hope it goes to Django as I was really disappointed in Zero Dark Thirty.
RESULT: Django Unchained
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY NOMINEES: Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook
PREDICTION: This is really up in the air and the one I feel the least comfortable in predicting. They could give it to Argo (but I hope not) and I'd rather see Silver Linings Playbook win, which I think has a good chance, but then again, they could also just use this as a sweep year and give it to Lincoln.
RESULT: Argo
BEST FILM EDITING NOMINEES: Argo, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty
PREDICTION: Zero Dark Thirty probably will win but I hope not. I can't see Silver Linings Playbook having any shot at this, nor Argo.
RESULT: Argo
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS NOMINEES: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Life of Pi, Marvel's The Avengers, Prometheus, Snow White and the Huntsman
PREDICTION: Either Life of Pie or The Hobbit.
RESULT: Life of Pi
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY NOMINEES: Anna Karenina, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Skyfall
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE NOMINEES: Anna Karenina, Argo, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Skyfall
PREDICTION: I need to listen to these before I make a prediction, but it won't be Skyfall. I don't remember Argo's score at all, so it must not have been that memorable.
PREDICTION: Please give it to Skyfall!!! Les Miserables is going to win enough awards, at least throw them this bone!
RESULT: Skyfall
BEST SOUND EDITING NOMINEES: Argo, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Skyfall, Zero Dark Thirty
PREDICTION: I'd love for Skyfall to win but until I watch Life of Pi, I'm expecting Zero Dark Thirty to win SOLELY because of the end raid sequence. Argo wouldn't make much sense to me.
RESULT: Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall (yes, there was a tie)
BEST ANIMATED FILM NOMINEES: Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Wreck-It Ralph
PREDICTION: Wreck-It Ralph. Good movie.
RESULT: Brave
BEST ANIMATED SHORT NOMINEES: Adam and Dog, Fresh Guacamole, Head over Heels, Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare, Paperman
PREDICTION: As much of a Simpsons fan as I am, I'm hoping Paperman wins this. I loved that in front of Wreck-It Ralph.
RESULT: Paperman
BEST DOCUMENTARY NOMINEES: 5 Broken Cameras, The Gatekeepers, How to Survive a Plague, The Invisible War, Searching for Sugar Man
PREDICTION: No idea. I typically don't guess the categories that I know absolutely nothing about.
RESULT: Searching for Sugar Man
BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT) NOMINEES: Inocente, Kings Point, Mondays at Racine, Open Heart, Redemption
PREDICTION: No idea. I typically don't guess the categories that I know absolutely nothing about.
RESULT: Inocente
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM NOMINEES: Amour, Kon-Tiki, No, A Royal Affair, War Witch
PREDICTION: Amour. C'mon. If it's nominated for Best Picture itself, it has to win this.
RESULT: Amour
BEST SHORT FILM NOMINEES: Asad, Buzkashi Boys, Curfew, Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw), Henry
PREDICTION: No idea. I typically don't guess the categories that I know absolutely nothing about.
RESULT: Curfew
THOUGHTS:
There were a lot of movies that I felt didn't deserve to be even nominated this year, let alone win. Argo, for instance, is not something I could see people grouping together with the greatest films of all time like The Godfather and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and so forth. I would have been fine with Les Mis winning, so that was disappointing. I'm very happy Christoph Waltz took the Oscar as well as Paperman. I'm not surprised about some winners that I'm not exactly thrilled about, but it is what it is. Check the podcast below to hear more in-depth thoughts on this year's Oscars!
Episode 13 of the I Got Gameplay podcast is
now online. On this episode, Michael, Braeden and special guests Tony
Mango (Smarkoutmoment), Mike Paden (Keeping Kayfab/New-btv) and Brandon
Liggan (Keeping Kayfab) discuss the entity that is pokemon!.
The group also discuss Sony's playstation 4 reveal and what the company has instore for us in 2013.
You can check out this episode and all previous episodes by using the following links:
Last week, I made it quite clear that I was not very satisfied with Frank Cho's Savage Wolverine #1. While the artwork was top-notch and the plot was intriguing, there was just a part of me that said "This is not Wolverine. This is not the Logan that I know." Still, being the Wolverine fan boy that I am deciding to stick with the series and see what this second issue of the series has to offer.
The book opens up by introducing a brand new character. Well, perhaps "introduce" isn't the best word to use. We're shown a character that remains largely unidentified for the majority of the book. There are hints at who the character is, but it actually took me some research to figure out that the character was someone named Amadeus Cho. Allegedly the one of the ten smartest people in the world, Cho, who not-so-coincidentally shares the same surname as the book's writer, finds himself mysteriously transported to the same island that Wolverine and Shanna are trapped on.
I will admit that the interaction between Cho and his A.I. program Calvin was quite well written. Furthermore, the sequence that follows his initial arrival on the island is also equally filled with light banter and clever writing. Then, of course, we get to Wolverine again. This is where the disappointment mounts. As with the previous issue, I have a problem with the way that Frank Cho is writing Wolverine, particularly how he is writing the internal monologue. For example, during a fight sequence, Wolverine thinks to himself, "I try to catch my breath. Instead, I cough blood. They close in, acting as one, giving no quarter. Nor do I." "Giving no quarter?" "Nor do I?" Are these things that we expect Wolverine to think? No. While Logan is certainly an expert at combat, the man has historically been known to put things rather bluntly. Did I miss something? Did Wolverine go to grammar school?
Ultimately, the way Logan's dialogue and monologue is written detracts from the rest of the writing, which, for the most part, was pretty good. Some of the humor (including a shout out to Hugh Jackman) seemed a little forced, but I can see this particular style of comedic script working for these characters.
Maybe I'm being a bit too critical... or maybe not. I'd like to think that it's the latter. Savage Wolverine #2 provides some satisfying action, an interesting plot, and beautiful artwork. Despite this, however, the foundation of this book is still not to the level that I would have hoped. Wolverine is having an identity crisis here, and I sincerely hope that this issue is somehow resolved as the series progresses.
Posted by
The Dace Man
- Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Evening Dace-itonians!! Chris "The Dace Man" Dace here with another article for you FanBoys! Every once in a while there is an event so awesome that even the legendary Barney Stinson is left speechless. This had the potential and title to be one. It pits Marvel's Superhero Squad versus The DC universe's power houses. Justice League of America squares up against The Avengers for the first nerdgasim of the 22nd century. Kurt Busiek hot off of a stint writing for The Avengers undertook this monumental task of taking two of the largest groups in the FanBoys nation and pitting them against each other. Was it a success? Lets take a look.
Considering the Marvel Universe takes place on an Earth that is exactly like ours, geographically, and the DC universe takes place on a slightly larger planet with cities that do not exist on our planet, Busiek had the task of making the two power groups cross paths. Enter The GrandMaster and Krona. Krona an exiled Oan is hell bent on finding the answer of who was present at the time of the Big Bang, which happen to be Marvel's behemoth....Galactus. In an effort to sway the attention of Krona, The Grandmaster concocted a plan to pit his Universe Ultimate heroes v.s. a team of Krona's choosing. The team of the Justice League was selected and seeing the confidence of the Grandmaster, Krona switches teams. The GrandMaster then informs the JLA they must collect 12 of the most powerful items from both universes (The six DC items are the Spear of Destiny; the Book of Eternity; the Orb of Ra; the Psycho Pirate's Medusa Mask; the Bell, Jar and Wheel of the Demons Three; and the Green Lantern Power Battery of Kyle Rayner. The six Marvel items are the Ultimate Nullifier; the Evil Eye of Avalon; the Wand of Watoomb; the Casket of Ancient Winters; the Cosmic Cube; and the Infinity Gems.) His ally Metron, to make things interesting, tells The Avengers they must stop the Justice League in order to save the universe. So begins the fight.
After much fighting and the awesome Team-up of Batman and Cap, the two teams eventually team up to take on Krona. This leads to one of the most Iconic pictures in comic history, Superman holding Mjölnirand Cap's Shield. An epic battle ensues in the fourth and final book. To me it was an awesome read cause I love the idea of the two power teams actually squaring up and teaming up. I feel as if though it could have been longer and wish Marvel and DC would have struck a deal to have The Avengers and JLA series to build up to this Mega Cross over. Definitely worth a read....don't know if its worth the asking price of Amazon.com though, (10$+per volume or around 60$ for the collection, for those interested).
As always check back regularly to see what Chris "The
Dace Man" Dace is
looking at, and no not just porn, as well as all other bloggers
here at Fanboys Anonymous. So for The Few, The Proud, and of course
The Dacetacular, grab a beer, or in this case the twelve power items of multiple universes, and check out what's going on here in the
Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
About a week ago today, the newest Eevee evolution and Pokemon from the 6th Generation was released to the public: Sylveon. We didn't know it's name translated in English until February 14th but we got the first look at some pictures of the Pokemon on the 11th. As of this article, Sylveon's type hasn't been revealed, but that is one of the things we'll speculate about in this article. So far, we've seen some videos of a few of the attacks it will know as well as multiple pictures of the little guy but that is all. Regardless of how much of this article will be speculation, that is half the fun of these kinds of things so let's jump right into that.
The first thing we are going to do is speculate a little bit on what type the Sylveon may be in the 6th generation Pokemon games X and Y. I think there are 3 realistic options here for what it might be with one sticking out a little more than the other two. They are all new types to the Eeevee family at least for the evolutions, and they all have solid reasoning behind them.
1) Ghost Type: See those eyes? Those soul less pools of teal blue? They're scary if this thing is a Ghost type. Sure, if it is just a standard normal or flying type Pokemon then it is no big deal. Its eyes are just pretty baby blue and this thing is cute. But imagine for a moment that it is the first Ghost-type Eevee Evolution. Imagine this thing with a terrifying maniacal look on it's face. Those eyes empty and pupilless. Those teeth, that face. This thing is a monster when looked at in the right light. Then again, the cutest things can sometimes be the most terrifying.
2) Flying Type: Another would be brand new type to the Eevee Evolutionary line. The ribbons that are coming out of Sylveon's bow could come out to be some type of wings allowing it to fly about It would be interesting to have your Eevee evolve into the Pokemon you could spend your Fly HM on as well so it would serve a purpose on any team trying to become the champion in Pokemon X and Y regardless of it's to be determined stats. One of the big factors causing me to lean towards Sylveon potentially being a Flying type is the fact that it's color scheme and overall appearance are very reminiscent of the Mistralton Gym Leader Skyla from Pokemon Black and White who happens to be the Flying Type Gym Leader. Coincidence? Probably, but it's a good enough reason to speculate on regardless. Plus alot of Pokemon particularly members of the Eevee family's types have been determined by their color patterns. Look at every Eevee evolution before this one. They were all typed based off their appearance or their appearance fit their type. Jolteon was Yellow and Lightning. Vaporeon was Water and Blue. Flareon was Red and Fire. Umbreon was Dark and Black. Espeon was Pink/Purple and Psychic. Leafeon was Green and Grass, and Glaceon was Blue and Ice. So if this Pokemon follows this pattern it will either be Flying or...
3) Normal Type: The most likely of the potential types to me is Sylveon. Look at that bow, look at the adorable appearance. This thing screams normal type. I know some of you are saying but Eevee is a normal type why would Eevee evolve into another normal type?! That ruins the beauty of elemental evolutions! and I kind of agree with you. But to the naysayers I say hey! Maybe that is what makes Sylveon unique? We haven't even heard how Eevee evolves into this new evolution yet so let's give it a chance first. I'm going to attach some photos I got off Pokebeach.com now that further suggest Sylveon is indeed a normal type Pokemon. In this images it is using swift attack, a fire type move, and what appears to be tri attack. Anyone that has been following Pokemon since the beginning knows that these are traits characteristic of a normal type Pokemon. Regardless of whatever type Sylveon ends up being though I will give the People at the Pokemon Company and Nintendo the benefit of the doubt until we see what they have in store. They rarely let the diehard Pokemon fans down.
Will there be a movie tie in to the next Pokemon movie Extremespeed Genesect and Mewtwo's Awakening? Maybe. We haven't gotten any word yet if there will be any 6th Generation Pokemon in that movie or if it will be the last of the 5th generation movies, but knowing Pokemon they will slip something in the middle of the end. Also being an Eevee evolution this Pokemon is going to get marketed hard, so I wouldn't doubt it. Will it see competitive play in the video games or card game? As far as the card game that is literally a crap shoot as some obscure odd Pokemon have seen competitive play in the past like Muk, Dodrio, Weezing, etc. So you can never count out any Pokemon having a playable card. The most recent Eeveelutions are all decent and the Eevee even has a built in search attack for it's evolutions so I could definetly see it seeing fringe play in a tier 2 deck at the very least in combination with the other Eeveelutions. As for the video game I don't see it making much of a splash at all. Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Espeon have stood the test of time as the only Pokemon so far in the Eevee family to be used competitively and normal Pokemon usually get the bad end of the stick as far as moves, being bad against popular types and in this things case more than likely having zero bulk like a Snorlax or Blissey. So no I don't see it being competitive on the VGC scene.
All in all we don't really know alot about Sylveon yet. In the next few months leading up to the big worldwide release of Pokemon X and Y we will learn all kinds of things about many of the new 6th generation Pokemon including Sylveon. Most of this article was speculation but hopefully we get some more news on the newest member of the Eevee family in the next few weeks. There is alot going on in the Pokemon world right now and it is honestly an exciting time for Pokemon fans. Another movie was announced recently Extremespeed Genesect and Mewtwo's Awakening. Our next English set for the TCG Plasma Freeze was announced yesterday. X and Y have a worldwide release date in October and we are learning more and more about the 6th generation every few days. So there will be plenty for me to write about and plenty for you to read. Thanks for reading :)
Episode 12 of the I Got Gameplay podcast is
now online. On this episode, Michael, Braeden, Sean and Nick discuss
reboots and remakes and take a look at games they would like to see
remade for next generation consoles.
The group also discuss the Chitahmen 2 Kickstarter debacle and if James Rolfe (the angry video game nerd) is truly to blame.
You can check out this episode and all previous episodes by using the following links:
Without a doubt, Scott Summers has become one of the most hated Marvel protagonists of all time. Having betrayed the X-Men in an attempt to save mutant-kind, the former leader of the X-Men has fallen a long way. The new volume of Uncanny X-Men walks a fine line between your distaste for Scott and your curiosity for what he'll do next. Who else could write such a tale other than Brian Michael Bendis?
Marvel interviews had revealed recently that there would be a traitor among this new group of X-Men, and, right off the bat, we find ourselves in a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, where an unknown mutant is giving intel to Maria Hill. Both the writing and the art keep the identity of this character ambiguous, and I found myself bouncing back and forth between possibilities given the clues that were occasionally dropped throughout the book. The informant informs Maria of what most readers are aware of already: Scott's powers are not the same. In fact, several of the X-Men associated with the Phoenix Five events have had their powers altered. Scott has a new, uncontrollable form of his optic blasts, Magik is seemingly more powerful than ever, Emma has lost her telepathy, and Magneto's powers are a fraction of its former glory.
For the most part, the writing of these characters is pretty spot on. At this point, I have come to accept the fact that Scott truly believes that what he is doing is the right thing. The only real issue is both the writing and visual portrayal of Emma Frost. Long been known as more or less a sex icon, Emma is being written in a much more reserved and conservative fashion. Her dialogue doesn't quite fit, and her new look is hardly a representation of the White Queen. This may partially be due to her being knocked down a few pegs after losing her telepathy, but I would have expected at least a remnant of her former domineering personality to shine through.
When all is said and done, Uncanny X-Men #1 is certainly an intriguing tale. A mutant civil war is undoubtedly in the midst, and it will be interesting to see how relationships will be strained, alliances will be made, and loyalties will be tested. You may not like Scott Summers right now, but I can guarantee you that this opening issue of Uncanny X-Men is a pleasure to read.
Episode 11 of the I Got Gameplay podcast is
now online. On this episode, Michael, Braeden, Sean,Nick and special
guest Tony Mango discuss gaming's acceptance by Hollywood and why
studios rush to get the next big thing. The group highlights the ups, the downs and the tragedies of game movies, don't miss out!.
You can check out this episode and all previous episodes by using the following links:
My, my Jonathan Hickman, what a story you are telling. Last week, New Avengers did nothing but please. With an engaging story and a haunting air about the book, this Marvel NOW series is perhaps the strongest among the throng of nascent series.
New Avengers #3 does not disappoint. The same tension present in the first two issues continues to be woven into the fabric of this story, as the characters that have gathered contemplate issues regarding character, morality, and, of course, the end of the world. This issues starts off with a powerful “passing of the torch” moment as Charles Xavier bestows upon Hank McCoy the secrets of the Mind Gem. As you might expect, Beast is Charles Xavier’s replacement in this gathering of the Iluminati, and, while reluctant at first, he fits in perfectly with the group.
Conflict of morals is a key focus in the New Avengers series, and the characters constantly are at odds with each other, debating that fine line between philosophy and practicality. The strife is especially apparent through Captain America, whom has always been a beacon of pure justice and morality. He feels uncomfortable (as he should) in this group, but he holds his ground, refusing to let imminent destruction cloud his moral compass. The dialogues and exchanges between the characters are spot on. Hickman truly has a way with words and drama.
Tragic, tense, and dark, New Avengers #3 joins the ranks of its predecessors as another gem (pun intended) in the Marvel NOW hall of fame.
All-New X-Men is, by far, my favorite Marvel NOW series to date. Brian Michael Bendis has done something great, and, while the idea is not entirely novel, the plot that he weaves is surprisingly satisfying, especially for long-time X-fans like myself.
All-New X-Men #7 picks up where the last issue left off, as Bendis expands on Scott’s exploration of the new world that he’s in. Barring the appearance of a certain invitation to a certain wedding that Scott stumbles upon, the character development that Scott undergoes in this issue is, quite frankly, a little dull. It pales in comparison to, say, what Jean Grey is going through. Bendis has been doing a wonderful job of showing Jean’s struggles and development after being pulled from the past. I find that I am left wanting when we have the same experiences with Scott. He seems annoyingly brooding and flat, and there are rarely any truly poignant moments that express how Scott is handling it all.
Besides that, I also find Mystique’s role in this issue a little hard to swallow. She presents herself to Scott as a friend, subtly hinting at the idea that the Jean Grey School is headed in the wrong direction. While not clear at first whether or not an ulterior motive is present, that issue is quickly resolved at the end of the book. Through this exchange between the two, Scott seems a little too unsuspicious; you would think that Charles Xavier would have trained his X-Men better than that. That being said, perhaps there is a role of inexperience playing into this, which I guys I would have an easier time buying.
I’m sad to say that All-New X-Men #7 was a fairly mediocre read. While we see the beginnings of a plot that will no doubt begin unfolding as we move on, the character development and storytelling in this issue seemed a little static.
Hey Hey Hey!! Fanboys it's yours truly Chris "The Dace Man" Dace coming to you from my soapbox within the Dacesphere. Today I'm looking to talk about three things that I'm looking forward to and am concerned about the upcoming Iron Man 3.
The first key aspect of Iron Man 3 we need to analyze is the introduction of The Mandarin. Arguably Iron Man's greatest enemies and ranked #81 on IGN's greatest villains of all times. Portrayed by Oscar winner Ben Kingsley, better known for his role as Gandhi. The tricky part to The Mandarin is his 10 rings of power and his elite Martial Arts expertise. Granted he doesn't necessarily have to engage Iron Man in hand to hand combat but he may engage Tony Stark. Unfortunately I can't see Sir Kingsley being the most limber and quick when it comes to hand to hand combat....can't really see Downy Jr. either but it works for him. I've been dying to see The Mandarin introduced into the Iron man franchise but lets hope for the sake of us comic book fans it's done right....Aint nobody got time for that X-Men Origins: Wolverine Deadpool crap....had to get a Deadpool reference in.
The next of my concerns/excitement is the bits and pieces we have seen of the Iron Patriot. Now with Sony currently owning the rights to Spider-man, and all his amazingness which includes one of Marvel's greatest enemies Norman Osborn, the continuity looks bleak for this character. Now for those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Osborn you may remember him from the original three Spider Man movies portrayed by Willem Dafoe. Well Mr. Stark and Mr. Osborn have a rather heated rivalry in the comic book world. Considering both men are two juggernauts in the advanced weapon and defense technologies departments they have ran into each other on multiple occasions. The Iron Patriot is spawned from Norman Osborn's Avengers after Osborn assumes control of S.H.I.E.L.D and converts it to H.A.M.M.E.R. Osborn would relentlessly hunt the form S.H.I.E.L.D. Commander, Tony Stark, for the knowledge he had concerning the identities of Marvels greatest Superheroes...i.e. Peter Parker equals Spider-Man. Now that's a lot of back story and cross overs to throw into a 2 hour film so it will be interesting to see what they do with the red white and blue Iron Man.
Lastly, and probably my largest concern, is the Avengers Movie just occurred last summer. Now you're probably saying "Duh, Chris we know this." but do you really. Sure the Iron Man preview we saw has the quote "Since New York nothing has been the same." but will it no longer be the same? Joss Whedon and Marvel have broke the walls down on the Marvel Universe. To me after how huge The Avengers was in 2012 there is no excuse for not acknowledging the Marvel Universe in some grand fashion. What would that mean for Marvel fans such as you and I? I say introduction of other Avengers. We know Captain America will introduce Falcon why can't Iron Man plant some seeds and introduce to us some characters. For starters one of Stark's rivals in Applied Sciences is none other then Mister Henry Pym and with him of course his lovely wife Jan, Wasp, two original Avengers... Better then the damn Falcon. I think it's also time we start laying some ground work for an Ultron villain in Avengers 3....yeah I'm thinking very far down the line but I think we need to in order to do this right! Hell since we have Rhodey and now an Iron Patriot that seems to be military driven why not a cameo from the smokin' hot Carol Danvers a.k.a Ms. Marvel. Maybe Tony has some kind of interaction with the U.N. which would lead some interaction with another scientist and world leader...enter T'ChallaThe Black Panther. Hell, Banner road off into the sunset with Stark so we better at least see a brief Bruce appearance. As you can see the opportunities are endless and at least one of the aforementioned should be put into play.
As you can see there are endless possibilities for the next installment in the Marvel Universe...Lets hope they do it right....As always check back regularly to see what Chris "The
Dace Man" Dace is
looking at, and no not just porn, as well as all other bloggers
here at Fanboys Anonymous. So for The Few, The Proud, and of course
The Dacetacular, grab a beer, or your briefcase armor, and check out what's going on here in the
Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
Hello my Dacetacular Fanboy Nation. It is I, Chris "The Dace Man" Dace returning to you with some more comic reviews. Yes it's been a while but Ive been a busy man but not to busy to read comics. I'm coming to you today with the Deadpool Corps collection, including Prelude to Deadpool Corps #1-5 and and Deadpool Corps #1-12. The series was written by Victor Gischler of x-men fame and Comic book industry legend Rob Leifeld. So immediate thought...Deadpool it's gotta be great right? Well multiply that by five and you have gold my friends. The original Deadpool is sent on a mission by The Contemplater to save the multi-verse from the awareness. The only way to fight organized conformity is obviously mass chaos...enter Deadpool.
Deadpool recruits the hot female version of himself from a parallel universe and helps her in a conflict with General America, Captain America's parallel self. After picking up the smoking hot Lady Deadpool, Deadpool stops by and picks up Kid Deadpool. I personally enjoyed the Kid Deadpool universe and wish they would do more of this, Quesada you need to get on this with a Kidpool Spin off....ay yo Tito!! He then picks up Dogpool and the surprisingly rational Headpool...go figure Wade without a body has a bigger brain! Once the team is together they use their unorthodox ways to piss off multiple immortals, save the multiverse and manage to start a revolution on a foreign planet. I thoroughly enjoyed taking the ride across 17 issues of pure entertainment. I'd spoil it for you but I'm a firm believer of go get the comic yourself and enjoy it. Don't let me read it to you word for word. Like I said earlier it's typical Deadpool but multiplied by five. The only negative thing against the series is it's only 17 issues and ended so abruptly it left me wanting more. The "Well you did this so that's enough of this collaboration." was disappointing to me...I was hoping I'd have to go get more... but nevertheless still a good read. As always check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is
looking at, and no not just porn, as well as all other bloggers
here at Fanboys Anonymous. So for The Few, The Proud, and of course
The Dacetacular, grab a beer, or in this case a team of multiverse versions of yourself, and check out what's going on here in the
Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
Episode 10 of the I Got Gameplay podcast is
now online. On this episode, Michael, Braeden, Sean and Nick take a look
at Sega's rise to prominence in the gaming industry and the companies
downfall from the number 2 gaming giant came to be.
You can check out this episode and all previous episodes by using the following links:
They've tiptoed around it but it's official, Young Justice has been cancelled. Why, you might ask? Well, the best that everyone has been able to surmise is that the ratings weren't good enough to justify the lack of toy sales.
Kids...they ruin everything, don't they?
Now before we get into the complaints, let me clarify one thing: I understand that television networks are a business that in the grand scheme of things exist to make money, so I can't fault them for not being proponents of the products that don't generate a ton of revenue.
That being said, WHY it failed is almost entirely their fault and the way to fix it is within their means of operation. A stubborn inability to admit one's own failures is going to prevent this show from continuing to please its fans.
The reason why Young Justice didn't sell a lot of toys is because of the ratings which are a result of the Cartoon Network's own marketing problems. Everything that is popular enough expands its popularity to capitalize on it. That's why Super Bowl ads cost so much and why a popular (for some reason) show like Jersey Shore was able to make celebrities out of jackasses like Snooki who in turn promoted products that received bumps in their sale by having their likeness attached. If the ratings were higher on Young Justice, kids would want to buy the toys.
If ratings = money, then let's examine what results in ratings. First off, there's the subject matter, which is perfectly fine as superheroes never go out of fashion AND they want to replace Young Justice with other superhero programming, so we know that's not the problem. The second is the quality of the show. This one sometimes doesn't play the biggest role, as there are popular shows that everyone agrees are awful and there are good quality shows that never become TV giants. However, it seems like most people would agree that Young Justice was good. The rest of the ratings depend on the marketing side of things. It's the responsibility of the network to make sure a program has the right time slot, the right commercials to advertise for their show, and so on and so forth.
What time slot, you say? Well the biggest fault of Cartoon Network and the biggest reason why the ratings aren't higher for this show is that they could not for the life of them commit to a schedule. Here's an inclination of how they decided to run things for the lineup:
November 26, 2010 - the first 2 episodes air
*hiatus
January 7, 2011 - the first two episodes re-run and we continue running the rest of season 1
March 11, 2011 - episode 9 airs
*hiatus
September 16, 2011 - episode 10 airs [this right here killed the show as it was too much time off after not airing enough episodes]
November 18, 2011 - episode 18 airs...season 1 is still not done after an entire year from the first airing
*hiatus
March 3, 2012 - episode 19 airs [again, too long of a gap...they should have had all 26 episodes of season 1 done by the winter hiatus]
June 9, 2012 - episode 7 of season 2 airs. [That's right, they broke up the first season that much but went immediately into season 2, ignoring the obvious normal time to take a hiatus after a season ends / also, take note that this season starts with a 5 year time jump which alienates the audience and makes them feel confused and lost / also take note that this gap in time was supposed to be explained by a video game that as of this post's writing has still not been released]
*hiatus #4
September 29, 2012 - episode 8 of season 2 airs
October 6, 2012 - episode 9 of season 2 airs
*hiatus #5
January 5, 2013 - episode 10 of season 2 airs
Then we had to hear them continually not tell everyone that they were going to cancel the show, but dance around the issue until finally just admitting it.
No show can survive that schedule seeing as how nobody can plan to watch the show when things are this sporadic. If fans that actively look online aren't able to find out when to watch the show, how can you expect other people that are outsiders to check it out?
It wasn't the serious tone, as that worked for Bruce Timm's multiple series. It wasn't the younger cast, as that worked for Teen Titans. It wasn't the quality of the writing, as you don't hear people complaining about Young Justice the same way they are about Ultimate Spider-Man. It's a problem of Cartoon Network pretty much sabotaging it with their horrible planning and hacking the show up so much.
What's annoying is that they'll probably learn from this and do the polar opposite with Beware the Batman and the new Teen Titan's Go show and then tout them as successful as if they're better shows, rather than just being treated fairly. This isn't about being given special treatment but instead, NOT being given standard treatment. A handicap on anything results in more struggle.
Young Justice isn't without flaws from the writers and producers themselves, and I could point out problems that I had with the two seasons such as how often we were "told" something rather than "shown" it (mostly due to the time skip just telling us to be ok with losing 5 years worth of character growth in favor of a generic invasion story about the Reach), but as evidenced above, that's not the primary reason this show isn't going to have a season 3.
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