Thursday, September 24, 2015

Shorts SHORT Review: Pug Davis

Pug Davis
by Rebecca Sugar
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Published by Albatross Exploding Funny Books

Welcome to the shorts SHORT Review, today we'll be talking about Pug Davis.
This was an original webcomic made by the ever talented Rebecca Sugar. A Space Opera and Galactic Adventure of two wondering souls, two men from Earth that found more peace in a rocket hurled through space then living on the Third Rock from the Sun. Though I'm getting ahead of myself, and behind, since I only read the webcomic when it was still active. Since the story is something you have to read for yourself, hold it and look at the beautifully designed work. One thing I haven't done was get the volume when I could, but if I could go back in time I know that I would have got a whole mess of comics from the past (RPG World… it was in my hands). Anyhow, let's get away from lamenting of the past and focus on the galaxy escapades of these men searching around the Universe for… reasons.

It's either my mind is a bit fuzzy or it was never truly said why they were flying around other than the assumption of finding Earth. Pug has every reason since the intergalactic travel would mean the Earth would be older and maybe more scientific, which would cure his canine appearance. Though the relationship of Blouse and Pug show that there are more reasons to travel the stars than stay in one spot. If you know Ms. Sugar's work, you'd know that she's a craftsmen of emotion, that she could get you to break down and cry or have you care about the living arrangement of a mayo sandwich eating being. This again is one of those times that I turned on a character that I didn't care about then wanted to know more. Blouse became more than a weak positive seeking character and as a reader we found out more on his past, his reasons to leave home and advance into the unknown. By the end of the series I learned about a strong man that I thought had no depth, and wanted with my heart another volume.

Now I just read the webcomic version, I know there was a published edition of the comic collected and a cover drawn by the amazing Eric Powell. (Here's a link to the cover and if you thumb through the photos you might see some of the pages from the book too.)

Honestly this webcomic, from start to finish felt like it was walking to running. It was really fun to see what was on the next page, I'm not saying that the writing and the art were weak, it was just the opposite. Every page was interesting and had a different way of seeing the characters in artistic forms and in different adventures. While wandering around the characters and the world, it feels that Ms. Sugar was creating everything from nothing, everything from organic space, and for the most part figured out what made a great story.

Professor Steeping, his niece Tea Steeping, and Gom his robotic protégé
pose for their space adventure, ever ready for action and excitement.

The plot is simple and complexed, let me explain, in the beginning of the series it was doodles, ideas, thoughts about ray guns and planets. Pug Davis is the idea of Flash Gordon or bits of John Carter and a little Lobo in theme and homage, it was a perfect modernization of the Space Adventure. Since it was less focused on the crusade and more on the adventurers, like the weird things were expected by both the reader and characters.

Now everything I'm talking about is from nostalgia (start that nostalgic engine on those evocative goggles), I hope to one day grab a volume in physical form, though that's the hardest part about this series. Trying to find something from the past, like Ian Jones-Quartey's comic RPG Wold, I've had a lot of comics that are rare to find today within my hands or feet away from me. So with his webcomic and her webcomic I've only been able to see them digitally and not in a form that settles in hand. Though I've held both volumes once in my life, but was in a position unable to purchase.

In short if this is your type of genre or the creator is someone that you've seen to find excitement over their work, you're totally going to enjoy this comic. I wish you luck on this hunt in the cosmos for this delightful treasure, though I'd suggest her other little macrocosm Steven Universe.

I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creator, check out the TPB Comic and Show.
If you want to stay up to date on my reviews, subscribe to this page.
Keep well and Stay well.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness

Right off the bat, I'm gonna say it, I'm a Scooby-Doo fan. I have liked for years, now heading toward decades, this character and his friends, my favorite hokey series of this character has been A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. Then there was a shift in power, Scooby wasn't the character he was anymore, this shift is where I became a Shaggy fan, now I'm going towards Velma, it's a weird evolution, but this is the current state of things for the characters. The people responsible for their development are forgetting the spirit of the characters and grouping the Mystery Gang together as one being, it happens with long series, though I'm glad they keep reinventing what makes each member special, not only toward solving mysteries, but to each other. With this recent film for the series, let's see what made Scooby-Doo in Space better than the other cartoons that Hanna-Barbera shot into space or is Warner Brothers following in the footsteps of their predecessors when it comes to making an old idea new?

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Shorts SHORT Review: Hulk VS Wolverine

Hulk VS: Wolverine
Directed by Frank Paur
Designs by Jeff Matsuda
Distributed by Loinsgate

Welcome to the shorts SHORT Review, today will be a treat for all, since we'll be talking about three important individuals in my favorite media type. Animated fighting between Wolverine, Deadpool, and the Hulk, this is gonna be a fun one!

Hulk Vs. was intended to be a series, though due to unknown reasons (unknown to me) the idea of a 30 minute presentations of the Hulk rampaging within the Marvel Universe was scraped. Though later they did make a TV series with She-Hulk, Red Hulk, and The Hulk… I know Rick is in the series too, but I really liked him as Captain Marvel with the gauntlets. Still just about every series that Marvel puts out with the Hulk in it, it automatically gets not only their money back, but the fans become the Hulk's own PR team. So why did this popular short film, soon to be short film series, get pulled?

Tea Steeping (niece), Professor Steeping, and Gom enjoying Canada, the Logan way.

My initial response to the idea of the Hulk fighting every bruiser in the Marvel Animated Universe was nothing, but delight. Pure energy and jubilation was my face, especially after I found out that each DVD would be filled with two episodes. Back to back, 30-minutes of Hulk fighting action! Then before the DVD even came out the other film rumors were canceled, though my mind was in a different place, since I came across the cast… DEADPOOL.

Okay, let's calm down, yes Deadpool is in the film, though let's not get too bias with this review, we need to have focus. So now you know, I like Deadpool, I'm one of the classic fans, way back when Wade didn't like to show his face. This was when his mask was what he considered his face. He was a beautiful monster, though during his ongoing series they softened him up, but that's not totally true. The character through all of his series grew to respect himself, skin and all, so by the time Daniel Way got to throw him into the mainstream and video game world, he was a well adjusted anti-hero, unlike his black comedic villainy roots.

Anyhow, we get to see a visual origin story of Wolverine, this is the best I've seen, since I'm not a fan of origin stories. They take up a lot of time if not told in an interesting way. This clip show of memories and implicated future events, is done well, the staff of this film should be over joyed and awarded for their skill in making something so tight into a Hulk story as the origin of Wolverine, and had it fit into the plot. Since the Weapon X program has been hunting the Hulk this origin progresses the villains as a group not each character. This way of getting the core emotion from the viewer is succeeded since we all know, either based on design or alliance, that the five members of the Weapon X program are bad and that Hulk has the heart of a good person, though this feels more like a "Wolverine Versus" story than a "Hulk Versus" film.

We get to see the pain that Banner has felt, that the death of the people of the town, are his responsibility and his fear of hurting those around him. It's for a moment, though it's character development that was literal seconds and showed how both forms of the same man felt. Subtle points are placed through the film, from the acting to words being dropped here and there. It was a playground for people that focus on the films, almost to the threshold of neurosis, though only to the point of finding every hidden gem within the minutes the film played.

Gom in his Omega Red Cosplay

One thing that bugs me is it felt like "Skipping Leg Day" the musical, no one has mass on their shanks and everyone has a screaming solo. Oh, and Lady Deathstrike's "enjoyment" is a bit much, though it's interesting that they made a character that gets aroused by giving others pain. And there really wasn't any payoff for that, no explanation that killing him was a personal pleasure or why she needed to be the one hand deep murdering our Canadian friend.

Animation is the main part of all of this, it's beautiful and well made. There are moments that I feel the CGI wasn't great, though the character cast/voice casting, character/background design, and pacing/storytelling outweigh the bad.

The end with the two title characters in a still frame, on the path toward each other's fist still evenly matched duking it out, is so B-Movie that it's the perfect ending. Especially for this over the top one shot short. Though this is what makes a weak ending in my opinion, since the resolution of Wolverine taking Hulk (or Banner) back to the states isn't resolved, though the Weapon X program has been destroyed and won't make anymore weapons (for this film). It's a nice grey area of no one truly wins, though there is a side that gains from the result.

All in all the casting was perfect, the designs were lovely, and the animation was a pure joy. If you love well made animated films, perfectly executed black comedy and physical humor, with characters that you've been wanting to see duke it out in a film that's "Not Rated" then you have the correct DVD in your hands. Though if you were looking for plot, well resolutions aren't totally here, but that's not to say all the strings are needed. This movie achieved it's goal of making something that's enjoyable and rewatchable, for all the good reasons and everyone of the bad.

I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creators, check out the Double-Feature and the Comics.
If you want to stay up to date on my reviews, subscribe to this page.
Keep well and Stay well.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

R.I.P.D.

Rest In Peace Department

My first thought about this movie was interest, I'm interested with death and the afterlife, ever since Beetlejuice and the Halloween Tree. Though as any person that's seen Men In Black (M.I.B.) will tell you R.I.P.D. shares many similarities of the 90's film. The obvious points would be the car, the hidden police motif, and the new guy with the seasoned older partner. This doesn't bother me since all of these things are expected from action films of this type of genre. It's a Buddy Cop movie with a SciFi filling, though (in both media) they glazed over the fact that this whole story is based in Christian lore. As a framing device for the story it's great since it's not heavy on preaching, which is incredibly appreciated, though it's interesting that we know there's a God in this film, but never see an Angel. Since a lot of the subject matter revolves around virtuous characters like those aspiring to be an Angel and malevolent characters that are Demons from Hell, though that's only in the comic, in the film they're corrupted souls that have escaped or made a deal to stay away from Hell at all costs. It brings up the question, is Constantine a better film than this? Since he's a questionable cop-like character in Christian lore who also fights/bargains with the Devil directly. Roll that over a little, though let's dig a bit deeper into this film and comic series.