Supergirl Being Super OGN

 

TITLE-Supergirl Being Super

SOURCE-DC Original Graphic Novel

I rarely read superhero comics from Marvel or DC anymore. Too many of them are so tied into other titles I feel like I need to read 10 comics to understand 1 that I want to read. But when I find Original Graphic Novels for cheap I will grab them.

About 2 months ago at the local library I found  this Supergirl OGN for sale. Was a former Library book. The books for sale is a name your price type thing. I just give them a buck for each book I grab.

Kara is a teenage girl. Enjoying her years in high school. She is part of the basketball team. Along with one of her best friends. And her other best friend is the studious but rebellious one.

See Kara was found in the field in  a spaceship. The couple that found her adopted her and been  raising her. And Kara has powers. She can fly, she is strong and nothing seems to hurt her.

Then weird stuff starts happening. Kara's coach gives her and her two best friends new watches. That are suppose to track their pulse and other things. But Kara and the rebellious friend are suspicious of these gifts.

Then an earthquake hits. Kara's basketball friend falls in the now open gap. Kara tries to save her using her powers but her powers fail. And we see that the coach runs a nearby secret lab. 

At this lab is another person like Kara. He is a Kryptonian that was sent to Earth to investigate it. He got captured and this lab has been running experiments on him to see if there is a way to use him and his powers as a fuel source.

This other alien talks Kara into going with him to raid the lab. We get a great fight. And by the end Kara realizes that while she might be Kryptonian by genetics she is an Earthling.

Well written and you can tell it is aimed at teens and young adults. It captures the feelings we all had as teens. That we didn't fit in. And nothing made sense. Mariko Tamaki is the writer and seems she is a New York Times best selling author.

The art is well done. My only complaint is the modern coloring done by computers hides some of the pencil and ink work. But I am slowly getting use to this new coloring but still not a big fan. Joelle Jones is the artist and is someone I will look for more of their work.

When I grabbed this the plan was read it whenever and then put it up for sale. Figuring at a buck I could ask 5 bucks and make a nice profit. Like a week after I bought Supergirl Being Super I pulled it out . Figuring I would read a few pages each night while eating dinner. Gotten into the habit of standing at the bar in the kitchen when I eat dinner. Usually got some music playing and I read a comic. I read while eating that night. Quickly cleaned the kitchen and did the dishes then went back to reading. Only reason I didn't finish this OGN that night was I had to be up early the next day.

I love how this works for any reader. You do not have to know about Supergirl or the DC universe for the story to make sense. But if you are knowledgable about either there is plenty of Easter Eggs through out the novel.

Supergirl Being Super gets a B.

Red Rock West

 

TITLE-Red Rock West

SOURCE-Cinepathe Blu ray

Yea the above cover is the DVD. Finally 30 years later I got to see this film how it was meant to be seen. Back in 96 I had a deal with a local video store. Could rent anything I wanted free. Just couldn't be new releases and I had to have it back the next day before the store opened. So myself and the woman I was with  at the time would go most evenings right as the store was closing and get 2 or 3 movies. After renting  everything the horror section had she moved to the dramas. One  evening she grabbed Red Rock West,I think cause of Nic Cage,and we both loved it. Made a copy of that VHS. And it was a film we would tell everyone to see.

Skip ahead to 2003. I have long ago lost that VHS copy. I'm in a Dollar General. Looking at their DVDs. See the above cover and grabbed it. Not realizing this DVD was 4:3. Still loved the movie. And just recently got in the new remastered Blu Ray.

In the early 90s a pile of films came out that were inspired by the film noir stuff of decades ago. Dubbed Neo Noir this sub genre peaked by the late 90s and by 2001 was pretty much dead.

Nic Cage is a military vet. With a bad knee. He makes it into the town of Red Rock Wyoming. Applied for a job in the oil fields. Goes to a nearby bar for a drink and gets mistaken for a hitman coming from Texas. 

And that starts a the plot going. More twists and turns than most films of this sub genre. And with an amazing cast,Red Rock West is a movie that once you see it you do not forget it.

So that cast. Already mentioned Nic Cage,and this is back when he gave  a shit.  You believe him as the broke drifter. Also got Dennis Hopper,as the hitman from Texas. Dressed a bit like he was in TCM2,Dennis is his normal nutty self and your eyes will stay on  him when he is on the screen. Any noir worth a crap has that sultry evil woman. For this film that is Lara Flynn Boyle. Fresh off Twin Peaks,Lara is great as the cheating wife that is trying to double cross everyone.

Made from a new scan of the IP this Blu ray looks amazing. You can see the film grain some and I love that. Gives each scene a nice texture. Sound is great. And the extras. A fun commentary. And many other extras.

Track this down and see it!

Red Rock West gets a A-.

Robotech Archive VOL 1 TPB

 

TITLE-Robotech Archives vol 1 The Macross Saga Volume 1 TPB

SOURCE-Titan Books

I am horrible about thinking "Oh I want to read this book or this comic" and now that I order all them online I go order it and the 2 days to 2 weeks later it arrives I toss it on the need to read pile and years later might read it.

The above TPB is an example. I had gotten a few issues of Comico's Robotech Macross Saga run,read them and wanted more. Looked and this Titan TPB that covered the Graphic Novel and first 11 or so issues of the run was cheap. Like 8 bucks with shipping cheap. Ordered it. It came in a week later. Got put on the Need to Read pile and sat and sat.

Then recently had a day where I had to drive people to two doctor appointments. Waiting rooms are always noisy. So I will put on a podcast and sit there read. Got almost this entire tpb read that day. So the  next few nights during dinner I would eat and read.

The story? It is pretty much the first 11 or so episodes of Robotech. Few minor changes to dialog. The art really in some issues looks like they traced the cels. Other times you can tell it was drawn by hand but looks so much like the cels it feels odd. The coloring for this era stands out. It looks so much better than the colors on a DC or Marvel book from this time. And what time frame am I talking about? 1985 IIRC. 

If you have never experiences the Macross saga part of Robotech this is a great way to do it. And it is faster than watching the show. I got 11 issues and the GN read in less time than it would take me to watch 4 episodes.

Now I am bias,I love Robotech and really love the Macross saga. Which  made this collection perfect for me.

Robotech Archive Macross Saga vol 1 gets a B+

The Game of Clones Bruceploitation Boxed Set Vol 1

 

TITLE-The Game of Clones Bruceploitation Collection vol 1

SOURCE-Severin

About a year ago this set came out. And I wanted it but wasn't gonna drop 120 bucks on it. Skip ahead to late May this year. Had a few extra bucks and ordered the documentary that comes in this set.  Took me 3 days to get it watched. Mostly cause the day it came in our power went out and was about almost 10 hours. But once I got it watched I knew I wanted this set.

Being born in the middle of the 70s I grew up with Kung Fu Theater every Saturday. After cartoons and Pro Wrestling on the UHF channel. Each week I saw a different Kung Fu movie. And I was a huge  fan. Got in trouble at the annual family reunion on Fathers Day weekend. All cause my  cousin pissed me off so I was chasing him around the  park karate chopping him in his back.

Now back when I was a kid I would be mad when I saw a Bruceploitation film  on Kung Fu Theater. And what is Bruceploitation? After Bruce Lee became a huge star other studios started making ripoffs of his films. Casting actors that looked a bit like Bruce. And once Bruce died the amount of these films multiplied.

This set is 7 discs. With 6 of them holding 2 films each. One disc is the documentary I mentioned,which means I now have two copies of it.

How are the films? Well Severin found the best prints they could. With them looking so much better than they ever did on Kung Fu Theater or the many  VHS or DVD copies I have seen over the years.

There is extras on  each disc. Sometimes you get a commentary,sometimes you get more than one on the film. 

Out of all the films the stand out is The Dragon  Lives Again. Where Bruce Lee goes to Hell and teams up with Popeye to fight Dracula. Go look the movie up on Youtube there is a few copies up. Total insanity but it works. 

Yea the films are cheap and  cheesy. Stil I had fun watching each of them. The extras help add some info and context to the movies. And the included book in  the boxed set is well made.

The Game of Clones Bruceploitation VOL 1 gets a B+.