Jealous Much?

My friend, Johnny Lloyd (pictured in the middle, as if that weren't obvious), recently returned from Chiller Con in New Jersey. Among many others, he met Amanda Pays and John Wesley Shipp, who played Tina McGee and Barry "The Flash" Allen (respectively, of course) in the sadly short-lived Flash television series.

Odyssey Commercial

Check out this commercial for the original Odyssey video game system:

Recently published in...

Comics Buyer's Guide #1654, where I review the following:
The Mighty #1
Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead #1
Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1
Amazing Spider-Man #583

Here's my Spidey review:

Amazing Spider-Man #583
Marvel Comics
Writers: Mark Waid, Zeb Wells
Artists: Barry Kitson, Todd Nauck
Grade: 3.5 stars (out of 4)

Every so often, the media decide to focus on a particular comic book. Whether it's the outing of a gay character (such as Alpha Flight's Northstar) or the death of a famous hero (such as Superman or Captain America), "event comics" often gain national exposure, boosting sales exponentially. A recent example of this phenomenon is Amazing Spider-Man #583, which features a Zeb Wells backup story called "Spidey Meets the President!"

On assignment to cover the presidential inauguration, photographer Peter Parker does a quick-change to Spider-Man, when a Barack Obama imposter crashes the inaugural proceedings. While neither Obama nor his doppelganger look like the real deal, the cover image on the variant edition bears a striking resemblance to the commander in chief, and the story does contain some chuckles.

The main tale, written by Mark Waid, is called "Platonic," referring to the current relationship between Peter Parker and Betty Brant. The multi-layered narrative touches on friendship, romance, and loyality, with the inevitable fisticuffs helping define Parker's selfless, yet misunderstood, personality.

Wesley Crusher on the Atari 2600

Wil Wheaton, formerly Wesley Crusher on Star Trek the Next Generation, wrote an article about the Atari 2600 for LAweekly.com. It begins thusly:

About 12 years ago, my wife and I pulled her original Atari 2600 out of storage and hooked it up to our television. We set it on the floor, next to my Sega Genesis, and showed it to our kids.

"What's that?" One of them asked.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Now planning to attend...

The Oklahoma Electronic Game Expo (April 11th), where I'll be signing copies of my book. It's a free event with lots of fun things planned, so if you live within driving distance (5 hours or less) of Oklahoma City (Oklahoma City Community College to be precise) and are into video games, I would recommend that you go.

For more info, check out their website: http://oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/

Recently mentioned in...

Back Issue Magazine #33, which contains a few letters of comment (LOCs to use fan vernacular) referring to my article on Thundarr the Barbarian, which appeared in Back Issue #31.

Michael Aushenker wrote: "As a fan from childhood of the Thundarr the Barbarian cartoon, I appreciated the well-written overview by Brett Weiss." Darrell McNeill called it a "fine article" in his brief missive while Jeff Taylor said "Thanks for the coverage of the Thundarr the Barbarian cartoon."

Recently published in...

Comics Buyer's Guide #1653, where I review The Wonderful Wizard of Oz #1.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz #1
Marvel Comics
$3.99, color, 32 pgs.

Writer: Eric Shanower
Artist: Skottie Young
Grade: 4 Stars (out of 4)

Issue #1 (of 8) of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz follows the first three chapters of L. Frank Baum’s classic novel by rote, oftentimes using lines from the book verbatim, sometimes replacing narration with dialogue, but always keeping on track. Naturally, certain details are left out (such as Dorothy buttering bread), but most of the plot points are covered, from the twister taking Dorothy’s farm house to Oz to the house landing on The Wicked Witch of the East to Dorothy letting The Scarecrow follow her down the Yellow Brick Road.

The issue’s faithful adherence to the novel may make some wonder why it is necessary in the first place, other than to showcase Skottie Young’s rag doll, storybook-style renderings, which are indeed lovely. No artist can fully evoke the utter grayness of the Kansas prairies or the colorful wonderment of Oz described by Baum’s pitch-perfect prose, but Young (along with colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu) gives it his best shot.

This entire series will cost $31.92, meaning the inevitable trade paperback will probably be a better value.