E-MAIL RYALL | E-MAIL TIPTON | ARCHIVES

MAIL SHOOT

August 2, 2005

COMICS 101 is in Session

And now, an "Abuse of Power" Moment from the Professor

Just a quick interruption of your normal reader mail to note that anyone with even a little affection for superheroes or comic books should drop what they're doing and go see SKY HIGH. What a great little surprise this movie was, maybe the most outright fun I've had at the theatre all summer. Striking just the right balance of comedy and action, SKY HIGH makes fun of the subject matter without ever mocking or belittling it, with appealing fresh faces as the teenage superheroes in training and an all-star cast of genre legends in supporting roles, with Kurt Russell, Bruce Campbell, Lynda Carter, Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald all understanding exactly the right tone for the part and just nailing it.

In a summer without much in the way of unique voices or genuine surprises, SKY HIGH provides both in spades. And, it'll totally get that bitter FANTASTIC FOUR aftertaste out of your mouth. Go check it out.

And now, back to the letters:

Greg G. writes: My name is Greg, and I am a writer/comedian out of NYC. I wanted to drop you a line because as you are one of the two Scotts on Moviepoopshoot.com that I must have my weekly fix of (the other being Bowden), I wanted to say Merry Christmas and I absolutely love reading your column every week...In a lot of ways I find that you say what I as an avid comic book reader (and would-be writer) am thinking whenever I'm in the stores and going through the shelves. I was pretty much on the fence on JMS' "Sins Past" myself, but I wonder if this was a story that could've stood for a bit of refinement. I wasn't TOO wedded to any of the characters showcased in "Identity Crisis," so I wasn't as DEEPLY affected by what happened to Sue Dibny at the hands of Dr. Light, but when I actually read that scene, it hit me so hard that in my head I convinced myself that the League got back in time...

...but I wanted to get your opinion on something that I'm seriously thinking about examining in a freelance article. In looking at the kinds of things Marvel has been doing with their characters of late, such as the constant relaunches, retcons and overhyped story events that has come out of Marvel (Now with 25% more BENDIS!) these days, I'm starting to wonder if the creators are starting to feel bogged down by the 40+ years of history that the current Marvel Universe has accumulated, and are currently starting to write themselves into a corner?

it's really looking more and more to me like the people at Marvel feel somewhat stuck, are trying to figure out what to do with their characters and seem to feel stymied by the overall timeline that's been built up for these characters.

So they reinvent Iron Man's origin AGAIN. And they create scenarios that allow for Norman Osborn to have taken Gwen Stacy's virginity and impregnate her with rapidly aging twins. (Of course, Peter only knows Gwen's side of things...who knows what Norman REALLY did to her) And they destroy the Avengers and replace them with a really strange looking hodgepodge of folks that look like a rehash of the Marvel Knights team book from five years ago. And Jean Grey dies again, with X-fans (myself included) dreading the possibility of a powerful story told 20 years ago being reduced to a running gag.

And all this does is confuse some readers and alienate a whole lot more.

So what I'm wondering is, would it help both creator and reader alike, if the current history was supplanted (and as such, PROTECTED) with a new, largely UNWRITTEN one like DC did, where the heroes were ALREADY running around and origins weren't necessarily bothered with until they WANTED to tell those stories with a modern take (I may be wrong, but the post-Crisis Batman series didn't even bother with telling any adventures of Batman and Dick Grayson as Robin...they started around the period where Robin struck out on his own, right?)

So what I'm wondering now, is this: do you suppose Marvel needs to have their own CRISIS before they go and toy with Iron Man's origin for the twentieth time?

It wouldn't be as if there aren't ways in place. The Destiny War as outlined in AVENGERS FOREVER, the aftermath of the JLA/Avengers crossover with Krona and the Grandmaster...the recent machinations created by The Scarlet Witch in DISASSEMBLED in need of serious repair...Way back when Carlos Pacheco was on Fantastic Four, he had Reed Richards actually use the Ultimate Nullifier, which turned out to be a Cosmic Reboot tool...hell, at one point Captain Marvel and Entropy destroyed the whole universe and remade it over.

So there are ways to do it - if I were writing it, Captain Marvel would be the one. Call it MARVEL UNIVERSE - DEUS EX MACHINA. Seeking the ultimate atonement for his actions, as well as the greatest act he could conceive of to live up to the name of his father, Genis Vell uses his Cosmic Awareness to offer his fellow heroes a gift: to take away some of the greatest tragedies of their lives, and allow them to start over, so to speak. Naturally, other beings (Kang the Conqueror could be a big one) will wish to stop him, and so begins the great conflict out of which will birth a brand new Marvel Universe!

Think about it: Spider-Man could potentially go back to Peter Parker, Mary Jane and baby May, Aunt May and Norman Osborn go back to the grave, they could borrow Tony Stark's origin from Heroes Reborn, or even cross-breed it with the Ultimate origin, and take it from there...Matt Murdock could work out of the District Attorney's office (talk about SERIOUS character conflict there)...Phoenix could have died only the ONE time...

And maybe in the new history, some things change, others don't, and just to make it interesting, only some characters who would logically be in a position for it to be the case, KNOW how it really was. Like The Watcher, the Fantastic Four, Captain Marvel himself, Dr. Strange and Thor, who regularly have access to other planes of reality already. Captain America would be a great inclusion to this list from a storytelling standpoint, if only because this would just be another instance for him where he is ripped out of one time and suddenly dropped into another.

If they did this, it could stand to benefit Marvel and comic book fans because the company gets to play with the characters without upsetting their original fan base, or doing any further potential damage to the original history that endeared itself to so many, PLUS it gets to pull in new readers.

Ultimately, I know this all may not be necessary. I just wonder if it is, based on what we're seeing now. If Marvel did this, and stuck to their guns on it, it could create all sorts of new possibilities. I'd love to get your opinion on it, though.

Tipton: You know, I think you only see stuff like the Gwen Stacy deal happen out of desperation, when a writer is out of ideas and looking to cause a big stir to get some exposure for his book. The really good writers can gracefully evade the parts of a character's history they don't like, retain the parts that still seem relevant, and weave compelling new stories from there without the need for a deus ex machina wiping of the slate.

There was nothing wrong with Iron Man or the Avengers' histories that required any sort of fresh start, instead it's more often strictly an ego-boost for the writer and nothing else. If in five or six years the Avengers and Iron Man aren't back to their popular status quo, I'll be shocked.

Thanks much for the kind words, and glad you're enjoying the column.

Jake F. writes: I just wanted to thank you for once again turning me on to a character I never would have given a second look. Thanks to your columns, I picked up Green Arrow: Quiver for my plane ride home when I was buying my gift-comics for the year, and was totally enthralled both in the airport and for the next day at home while I re-read it. This is the second or third time this has happened thanks to your column (previously with Ant-Man and Animal Man) and I'd be mad about all the money I end up spending if the stories weren't so damn good.

Tipton: That's great, man. Glad to hear you liked it.

WLH writes: Well done. Very well done indeed.

I've read your column semi-religiously since it's inception. (I say semi because, well, sometimes I just don't dig the subject matter, but that is no fault of yours) Admittedly before the poopshoot, I had no idea who you were. Even still, I had NO idea that you had created those magnificently rendered iconic characters from Saturday mornings past in their posable plastic forms. The style and level of detail perfectly captures the look and feel of those shows. It would have been very easy to have borked a project like that up, and released severely lackluster product. But you captured those toons marvelously. Previously, I respected you for your wealth of comic knowledge, but after reading your Holiday gift list and discovering your other talent, I felt you needed a pat on the back, however small it may be. Kudos to you Mr. Tipton.

Also, for the record, I am NOT a professed ass-kisser by nature. Only 2 professional "geek-service" providers have warreded this type of booty-smoochin. The city of Heroes Development team, and yourself. Count yourself amoung the lucky, for when I come to conquer this planet, you may be placed upon the protected ones.

Keep it up.

Tipton: Hey, man, thanks a lot. Those HB figures were quite a project. Now on to Voltron...

Eli writes: Hey Scott. I absolutely love your column. It's one of the things on the Internet that I look forward to reading each week. I've discovered so many great comics that I would have otherwise overlooked otherwise.

Anyway, I recently read Formerly Known as the Justice League and I was somewhat lost, having never read the old DeMatteis/Giffin run on JL/I/A/E. I bought JL: A New Beginning to get some back story, but I feel I need to read more of the series to completely "get it" (not that I don't think it's great stuff already, it is). Unfortunately, there's not really any comic shops around where I can pick up lots of back issues, and there's only like one convention a year. I was wondering if you are ever gonna cover their run in your column in any way. (well, aside from the short mentions in the JLU and Identity Crisis columns). If not, thats cool. I'm just real interested in this run of comics.

Oh yeah, DeMatteis/Giffin Defenders coming in June 2005! Should be an awesome mini. Hopefully it'll sell and these guys can get another great team book going.

Tipton: Hopefully by now you’ve read all the JLA and JLI columns. If not, they’re all in the Archives, so knock yourself out.

In the meantime, just buy up any Giffen/DeMatteis back issues if you see 'em. They're all good.

Zeo writes: Back in the 12/27 mail shoot, you linked to that awesome Spiderman Clone Saga guide. The guide mentions the death of Aunt may. I don't follow the Spider books much anymore, but i swear I've seen stories recently that featured a very alive Aunt May. What's up. I know you hate all this clone stuff, but I'd appreciate any answer you can give me.

Tipton: It turns out that that wasn't really Aunt May who passed away but an imposter, and the real Aunt May had been kidnapped and held in stasis by -- you guessed it, Norman Osborn.

Pretty lame, even by Clone Saga standards...

Ben S. writes: 1) I notice in your column (specially when talking about a specific character), you focus on long runs by single creators... outside of Cerebus by Dave Sim (hope I got the name right) Who has had the longest run on a single comic/character?

Tipton: Lee and Kirby have a 100-plus record on FANTASTIC FOUR, but there are lots of others. Curt Swan did over 20 years on SUPERMAN, Dick Dillin over 20 on JLA, Carl Barks over 20 on UNCLE SCROOGE, and a few others. It really depends how you score it. Mark Evanier can explain it better than I can: http://www.povonline.com/iaq/IAQ11.htm

2) If you had your chance to give Yellowjacket his own Top 10 book, who would you ask to work on the book, edit, write, pencil, ink, color, letters (see I didn't forget your love jones for Yellowjacket)?

Tipton: Well, if I couldn't write it, I'd send in the all-stars; Busiek and Perez...

3) In your opinion, who is the best Hero/Villain combination (like Batman/Joker) in comics history...and would you ever do a column on it?

Tipton: You can't go wrong with the classics: Superman/Luthor, Batman /Joker and Spidey/Goblin...

4) What's the once series you can't believe is still being put out on a monthly basis? (either by low quality or longevity?)

Tipton: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all…

5) Would you ever do a column on some of the best comics to come out of the "independent" market, for example Bone, Cerebus, 30 Days Of Night, and countless others...?

Tipton: BONE and CEREBUS will both get columns eventually...

6) Do you think that Brian Michael Bendis is completely overrated, and Geoff Johns, completely underrated?

Tipton: Johns is currently the man in my book, no question. As for Bendis, well, there are books he’s perfectly suited for on which he’s done first-rate work, and there are books that don’t make use of his strengths as a storyteller. I also think his writing has suffered simply from overcommitting to too many projects.

8) Maybe I missed it, but what is your take on the Ultimate Line at Marvel?

Tipton: Not my cup of tea.

and finally... 7) What is your view on the DC anouncement of their "All-Star" imprint... good news or bad news for DC?

Tipton: Morrison on Superman? Miller and Lee on Batman? How could it not be good news?

Kevin M. writes: I find myself wondering, as I read GL: Rebirth, just how you're receiving this miniseries. I'm quite enjoying it and it seems to address all sorts of the mistakes that DC made with their treatment of Jordan over the past few years but, seeing as how you're the expert on all things continuity I was wondering if you saw some horribly flaw with it so far.

I'm asking this because it was your take on the ending of Identity Crisis that really changed my opinion of it, upon originally reading the 7th issue I thought the "Jean as Culprit" thing seemed pretty cheesy until you had mentioned that it was perfectly in character with her. I had little to no knowledge of Jean before IC so it seemed like it was a pansy way out of the story for Meltzer when actually, he really knew what he was doing.

I tend to think that Johns is doing some amazingly good stuff with this retcon and I thank the comic gods that he's around to pick up the pieces from some of these boondoggles (yeah, it's a great word) so I thought I'd ask to see if you felt there was anything missing thus far?

Tipton: I was completely happy with it. Excellent work all the way around.

Rich S. writes: I know your plate is super full, but I noticed recently that Marvel is releasing a new group of "What If?" mags. I think you've alluded to some of the originals in your columns, though I don't see one in the archives devoted strictly to the title.

Any chance you could do an overview of some of the best ones? My personal favorite came out during one of those "Assistant Editors have taken over Marvel" months. It was totally ridiculous ("What If Aunt May Had Become Iron Man? - The Incredible Golden Oldie!") but pretty funny.

Tipton: Actually, that was “What If Aunt May Became a Herald of Galactus?"

Golden Oldie. Priceless.

I'll probably do a WHAT IF this year...

Matthew I. writes: Ehm hello My name is Matthew Ishola i live in the Netherlands. I have always loved Comic books and Manga(even though there is a serious lack of them here in holland). Thanks to your column i really learned alot about the different work of Marvel comics and DC and made me Import some comics from the US.

Well what i wanted to ask is if you could once do an artikel on the diffrence between the Marvel Comics Captain Marvel and the DC Comics Captain Marvel(all of them) i also wanted to know who was this ms. Marvel who got her Power stolen by Rogue and what was her story before her power was stolen. I hope you will take this in consideration and do an artikel on this.

Tipton: You can read about the original Captain Marvel here:

http://moviepoopshoot.com/comics101/6.html

and the Marvel version here:

http://moviepoopshoot.com/comics101/59.html

As for Ms. Marvel, she was a NASA security officer who absorbed Kree radiation and gained the same powers as Captain Mar-Vell. She later joined the Avengers, lost her powers and memories to Rogue, then gained super-cosmic powers as the outer-space hero Binary, then was reduced back to her old powers and rejoined the Avengers under the name Warbird.

Jeff S. writes: Let me say that I have only recently been reading your articles, but I have spent the last few weekends enjoying them. Great job!! Anyway, I have been reading the JSA articles and what is the deal with Power Girl? Is she still Superman's cousin? I had no idea that was her origin. If you have a chance could you explain or point me in the right direction. Thanks.

Tipton: Back before the CRISIS, she was the Earth-2 version of Supergirl, so yeah, she was Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Karen Starr , Superman's cousin. When they eliminated Earth-2 in the CRISIS, they should have eliminated her as well, but everyone liked her too much, so they just made her an amnesiac with her origin a mystery. Later attempts to tie her in with ancient Atlantis didn't really stick, and nowadays there are references to Superman finding her and taking her in to some degree, but she's not Kryptonian. It looks as though Geoff Johns has some plans for her in JSA CLASSIFIED, out right now, so we'll have to wait and see.

Jacob R. writes: While reading your dissection of Doom Patrol history, I was wondering if you had ever gotten your hands on the generally great John Arcude/Tan Eng Huat version of the Doom Patrol from a few years back. I found that while not nearly as surreal and sublime, Robotman's character was throughly developed and throwing the group of newly-created Doom Patrollers into the incredibly weird sectors of the DC Universe proved to be entertaining.

Secondly, where is the line drawn between the Vertigo imprint and the DC Universe? It seems that some titles ride the line of DC characters not exactly fitting in the DC Universe - John Constantine being an example.

Tipton: I never much cared for the Arcudi DOOM PATROL.

There is no real line between Vertigo and DC. Some characters, like Swamp Thing, John Constantine and the Sandman appear in both, while others, like PREACHER, do not.

Gabriel N. writes: Obviously, the one surefire way to get people talking is to bring up John Byrne's Doom Patrol "revival." Despite what Byrne says, I think he is being undermined by some of DC's more powerful players.

1. At one of the DCU panels at San Diego, Dan Didio went on record as saying that Doom Patrol history had not been erased.

2. Geoff Johns does not believe Beast Boy / Gar Logan is affected by Byrne's machinations.

3. The old Doom Patrols and especially their villains get a lot of page space in the new DC encyclopedia. If these characters had been completely wiped from continuity, wouldn't DC be working to ensre they got as little page space as possible?

4. Vertigo's insistence on reprinting Morrison's run.

I'm a little confused as to why Byrne continues to find work as his output of the last ten years has been uninspired at best and dreck at worst. I'm curious to see how Doom Patrol is rehabilitated in three or for years once the current series is cancelled and enough time has passed to make us forget about it.

Tipton: I think in a couple of years the old DP will reappear as if nothing has happened. Just my guess.

TV RECOMMENDATIONS

Jennifer H. writes:
RESCUE ME -- 10 PM, FX
This show still shocks me each time I watch it. Not because of the raw language, but because of the fact that it's become such a damn good show.

You are mocking me...Rescue Me doesn't air in the Mtn. time zone until 11:00, and maybe I am a wuss, but I can't stay up that late to see it and it is killing me!!!! Please tell me that it is coming out on DVD sometime soon.

Ryall: So soon that it's already available, in fact: Season One was released on DVD in June.

Joe C. writes: I know your column is old now, but I was looking through the archives and saw it. I really want to be mad and disagree with you because I loved Family Guy. It was one of those shows that I had seen every episode several times and everyone I knew had also so we could quote it back and forth. I don't see how you can be so down on the old show, because it had moments that were absolutely brilliant (The Civil War gag, the oompah loompah song for Joe), but I have to admit the new show is exactly like you describe it. The pop culture references aren't even jokes anymore, it is just Stewie or Brian or Peter in some old Tv show or movie. I still watch every episode, since you can't betray your old favorite show, but man it is disappointing. There are a couple funny moments to every episode, but more and more it seems like it is a show past its prime, which is ridiculous since this is its first season back. On the plus side, Arrested Development is coming back and no way American Dad will stick around. On the downside, there is a Family Guy movie coming out in the fall for you to bitch about.

Ryall: I'd say everyone won--ARRESTED is still on, and FAMILY GUY fans got their crappy show back. As for me bitching about some direct-to-video FG movie, nah. I can just ignore it, like I do most direct-to-vid movies.

Greg M. writes: I found myself writing out a blog entry today over at www.comedysoapbox.com that, while mainly a rant about the "War on Terror" I think I may have come across something that maybe explains why "Family Guy" got the callback, meanwhile a much worthier show like "Futurama" didn't.

Perhaps it was because "Family Guy" pretends at being satire where "Futurama" nailed a target and nailed it HARD. Kinda like Denis Leary as compared to Bill Hicks. Take Denis' comedy, take away all the yelling and manic body language, and you're left with NOTHING. Hicks, on the other hand, had no need to yell when he didn't have to, because behind everything was a POINT. "Family Guy" came back with nothing but noise, so it's a safer option than "Futurama," which had a POINT to every episode. See what I mean?

In any case, I thought I'd share the blog with you, and show you what I'm talking about...

"So, How 'Bout That War on Terror, Huh?"
By Greg M.

The victories just keep rolling in, don't they? The latest being four terrified and humiliated tourists, and a dead Brazilian. Well done, folks. Well done...

It's amazing to me how we keep finding ourselves in this kind of mess, especially when a Republican Administration is behind the wheel. You'd think more people would start getting suspicious whenever a Republican gets into office. Hasn't anyone noticed the pattern? A Republican gets into office, crams the White House full of their balding, snake-eyed cronies from the business sector, and in NO time your cousin, who only signed up for the Marines because he was promised a free college education is being sold a line about "our liberties" as he's being sent to go shoot at brown people.

I swear, The Republican White House is like the spoiled, self-centered bitch out on a date with her hapless Soldier boyfriend, who picks a fight with the craziest motherfucker in the bar - who she conveniently forgets to tell the boyfriend she used to DATE - and then when that wild-eyed maniac turns around ready to slap somebody, she runs behind her boyfriend the Soldier: "Fuck him up, honey! He called me mean things, and said nasty stuff about my father, too!"

So they step outside, and she makes her way to the wallet that psycho sum'bitch left on the bar counter.

I honestly think this is why "Futurama" got cancelled. Even if Matt Groening made them GOBS of cash with "The Simpsons," a network like FOX, being run by a right-wing freak like Rupert Murdoch is not going to stand for one of the clearest, most succinct depictions of the machinations of war engineers since Jay Ward, creator of "Rocky & Bullwinkle," had the brilliant idea of making the series' villains Boris Badenov & Natasha Fatale's homeland, the country of Pottsylvania, a strange amalgam of America's worst fears; a combination of Nazi Germany and Communist Russia that - and here's the punch line, y'ready? - DOESN'T FUCKING EXIST.

[The rest of the essay edited for length]

Ryall: Thanks for sending this, man. Although I don't think it was quite as nefarious as that... the DVD sales were huge on FG, bigger than expectations. Meanwhile, FUTURAMA projections were already high because of the SIMPSONS sets selling well, so when those performed as expected, it didn't shock anyone. But FG, they had little expectations for it, so when it sold well, and it turned out to be cheap to produce new shows, they went for it. But that's all boring--I like your explanation better!

GAME ON!

Adam T. writes: Just thought I?d drop you a line and let you know that I agree 100% with your assessment of the GTA Hot Coffee thing. As a matter of fact, I think I touched on just about everything you did, albeit in a slightly different way. My views are expressed here http://spaces.msn.com/members/adamtupper/. It?s just a shame that something like this gets so much press when there are far more pressing issues for governments to be worrying about. I am glad to see that journalists involved in the videogame industry like yourself are speaking so freely about the situation. I had almost forgotten about the content of Leisure Suit Larry which is obviously much worse than this stupid mod, and when you compare the two, the whole argument really crumbles. Personally, I think certain groups were just waiting for something like this to happen so they could form an all-out attack on the GTA series. Unfortunately it seems major news outlets don?t want to give the whole story. Oh well, videogames survived MK and Night Watch (that Sega CD game with Dana Plato and the rape scene back in the 90?s), they?ll survive Hot Coffee. Keep up the good work.

Ian Bonds replies: Thanks for your e-mail, man. Not to sound like a broken record, but i agree with you whole heartedly. This entire deal is just bizarre and uneccessary. There will always be games that push the envelope as far as content goes, from Night Trap (i remeber the game well, and own two different versions of it), Mortal Kombat, Snatcher (my all time favorite game), to God of War, the GTA series and Leisure Suit Larry...hell, even the Playboy game. The only reason GTA is getting under these heated attacks is that it's the one with the most face-time on our TVs, not just folks playing it, but ads for it as well. Part of me thinks that Rockstar brings it upon themselves, which if it's true, is genious marketing, because lord knows this certainly won't hurt thier sales.

Jared G. writes: While I usually find your reviews too lenient for my taste (if a game has sub-par gameplay but pretty graphics I think it's a sub-par game, e.g. God of War was poop), I did find your critique of the "Hot Coffee" political situation spot on; with the exception of one thing. Your solution of having parents actually be involved with their children (a crazy notion indeed) would not work with someone like Clinton. After all, her parenting book was titled "It Takes a Village". Therefore, according to her, it's just as much her duty to raise a child as the child's parents. Aside from censoring the product, there is no way to appease someone with that mentality. Great commentary though.

Ian Bonds: Very good point Jared. I hadn't realized this. However, it's sort of a ase of the pot calling the kettle black. With all the hype they're giving the hot coffe hidden material, they don't realize that they've already given quite a few games the Mature rating for having material FAR WORSE than what's hidden in GTA readily accesable (Liesure Suit Larry, the aformentioned God of War, and Playboy the mansion spring immediately to mind). As far as my reviews being too "lenient", i do try to remind my readers that it is simply just "one gamer's opinion". Still, i didn't find GoW's gameplay to be sub-par. It was quite functional, didn't get overly repetitious, and the story, music and graphics, COMBINED with the gameplay made the overall experience of the game fun for me, hense my high rating. Something tells me, you won't like Killer7...

DAREDEVIL vs. PUNISHER

Tom A. writes:
"But a team-up, and combining both those movies, might’ve made for one tolerable flick instead of one so-so movie (DD) and one awful one (PUNISHER)."

Ok, Punnisher really stretched the plausibility meter (how many times did he get shot BEFORE getting blown into the water and taken to an island with no medical facilities? And that's just the opening!), but I am curious if you have seen the Directors Cut of Daredevil. I haven't seen it yet (too busy watching Oz seasions 1-5!) but I'm curious on your take. I liked some parts of the original, although I didn't think Michael Clarke Duncan did a very good job as Kingpin, but I thought Afleck held the thing together pretty well.

Ryall: I don't hate it the way most people seem to. For some reason, people seem really angry about that movie. Maybe it's the love for Frank Miller's run, which inspired the less-than-stellar movie, I don't know. I actually thought it was okay--Farrell was fun enough, Affleck was fine, and Duncan made a decent Kingpin. Garner as Elektra never felt right, and the movie is chalk full of flaws, but overall, it wasn't as bad as everyone said.

Plan 9 from Cyberspace

Zeb H. writes: I would like to point your attention to my website. I posted a Quicktime-movie I made as tribute to B-Movies based on the song "Science Fiction Double Feature" of "Rocky Horror"-fame.

The page contains detailed information about all the movies and actors mentioned in the song. I hope you like it!

http://www.in-sect.com/sfdfps.html

Ryall: I liked it better than I did ROCKY HORROR itself...

Call Me

Yessica R. writes: Are there lines from chasing amy available as ring tone? like the amy speech.

Ryall: Funny you should ask--they're actually beta testing some ring tones from that movie right now. Up first are a ring that just repeats "white-hating coon" over and over, and then one of Jason Lee saying "they're STROKE books!" They tried "bitch, what you don't know about me could just about fit in the Grand Canyon" but it seemed too long for a ring tone.

We Need E-Mail Age Limits

"Avril095" writes: Hello.I always used to go on your website.And it used to be fun.But then you just totally deleted Jay and silent bob.The website is supposed to be about them.It was more funnier then too.But now you have all this retarted stuff on it and nobody go's there anymore because of what you did to it.Now this is my advice,If you want more fans on your website then you better get the Jay and Silent Bob back!Now I think I said enough.So Please get the old website back!Thank you.

Ryall: No.

Avril writes back: Well that is too bad 4 u.It is going to change!

Ryall: It's not. You're going to have to change.

Avril again: No I am not going to change,the website is!Just please change it.Everyone in my family liked it better with Jay and Silent bob in it.So why are you making a retarted one?Seriously that was the website in the movie.What if someone wants to see the same website and they go on it and find out that the website is for dorks?Can you please change it?

Ryall: I'd like to see the type of family that sits around saying "You know, Ma, I really liked the Movie Poop Shoot Web site when it had the huge, photorealistic ass on the home page and just talked shit about movies in a parody of other fan-run movie sites." "I know what you mean, little Avril095, I think the new site with so many worthwhile articles and news stories is just a travety. We need the giant ass back! Now pass the peas."

Shill of the Week

Press Release

The New York City Horror Film Festival Presents: Trailer Trash!

In our continuous mission to support independent Horror, Thriller and Sci-Fiction filmmakers, America's largest and most recognized genre film festival The New York City Horror Film Festival is pleased to announce a new opportunity for filmmakers. Send us your Trailers and you may get the opportunity for it to be screened before a feature film at the 2005 NYC Horror Film Fest or at our opening night kick off bash for over three hundred horror freaks! Here's the best part: No Submission Fee! That's right, just be sure your promo trailer under three minutes and send it to us. (see submission page for details)

Guidelines:

Feature films will not be invited on the merits of any trailer submitted. Features must be submitted separately.

Submitting your "trailer" to be considered to screen is competitive. Due to time constraints, not all trailers submitted will be chosen.

Once selected, a trailer at the festival is noncompetitive.

www.NYCHorrorfest.com

Good Luck Filmmakers!

Photos of the Week

E-MAIL RYALL | E-MAIL TIPTON | ARCHIVES