The Butcher Shop

Book Buzz: Why Read Moby-Dick?

2012-01-23T16:48:00.000-06:00

Book Buzz: Tension City, Why Read Moby-Dick?: I love it--it's now a book. Why Read Moby-Dick?Nathaniel Philbrick is a great writer in his own right. I really enjoyed his book about the whaleship Essex--it completely captivated me, and I usually don't like non-fiction at all.The author of this article calls the book "a passionate and convincing text." There is no personal opinion on Moby Dick

DC already cancelling 6 books from new relaunch

2012-01-16T16:48:00.002-06:00

I knew it: http://mjb0123.blogspot.com/2011/07/dc-universe-relaunch-i-bet-it-fails.html Sorry, DC, but I knew it. You put too much product out on the market and killed good books.http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2012/01/13/dc-relaunch-six-comics-canceled-and-replaced-with-second-wave/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+geeksofdoom+%28GEEKS+OF+DOOM%29It is reported here that

Fat or Skinny? Make up your mind!

2011-11-07T14:47:00.002-06:00

Two ads from 1950s comic books. One saying to stop being so skinny. The other saying to get rid of some of that weight.What?? Which do girls go with? No wonder so many are screwed up with weight issues, one way or the other. Although, I do understand that being too scrawny is unattractive at times. However, the mixed messages here really collide.

Proof that the original Batman kills

2011-11-05T14:52:00.002-05:00

Batman started out killing, even if accidentally a couple of times. The pics here from Batman #1 show this quite clearly. In one panel, looking through the sights of a plane's machine gun, he even says, "Much as I hate to take human life, I'm afraid this time it's necessary."The monster he "accidentally" strangles with a noose from his Batplane and then says something about the monster probably

Kids with real-looking guns

2011-11-05T14:40:00.002-05:00

Before, they were just putting escaping gorillas back into cages. Now they are stopping crime!I wonder how many kids tried scaring people into thinking their toy gun was real? I know that's why they started making toy guns look fake, because of the shootings by cops who thought this gun was real.I wonder why the bad guy didn't just shoot the kid. What, was he really worried about the physical

Voltron comic situation part IV

2011-09-06T08:23:00.000-05:00

I know I am beating a dead horse here, an old dead one, but I was really mad when I found out that a comic series I was able to download for free from Wowio.com was no longer at that website--and that the print version's last issue was never even printed.Devil's Due Publishing must never have any planning. They put out one issue at a time, hope it sells, and then might print another issue. Years

Markosia's Midnight Kiss

2011-09-05T07:45:00.002-05:00

Markosia comicsMidnight Kiss limited series #1-5 Usually, we readers of independent comic books are wary of these limited series. I have read too many BAD Image series that just go nowhere and do nothing. I have read whole series where even I could not express the plot or actually name a single character. This is completely not the case with Midnight Kiss by Tony Lee and Ryan Stegman. It is a

A review of Atomic Robo volume 6 number 1

2011-09-03T09:53:00.003-05:00

Written: Brian ClevingerArt: Scott WegenerColors: Ronda PattisonLetters: Jeff PowellPublication Date: 2011-09-07Format: Comic, Full Color, 6.5 x 10, Soft Cover, 32 pagesPrice: $3.50Diamond Code: JUN111232UPC: 811316010658 Seriously, Atomic Robo lives up to the billing as "The World's Greatest Science Adventure Magazine!" We all know that is a reference to The Fantastic Four and the "world's

Internal Logic of a story

2011-09-03T09:28:00.002-05:00

From Forbidden Worlds #14, 1953. I love these old comics. Several brilliantly-paced short short stories in a whole mag. Most of the time, they are great little stories about fantastic fantasy, horror, and sci-fi episodes without getting dragged on for dozens of pages. They are like reading short Twilight Zone episodes in comic form. That is, except when there is an internal logic fault. I can go

The Best Toys 85% Off! One Week Only!

2011-08-27T13:22:00.002-05:00

1 Week Clearance Sale!Thank you for your business! To show our appreciation, we're marking down in-stock items up to 85% off! Buyaction figures, games, andcollectible statues and busts at our lowest prices ever! Star Wars, Star Trek, Spider-Man, and more are on sale. Hurry... our limited stock won't last long at these sale prices!

Android figures!

2011-08-27T13:20:00.002-05:00

Google Android Phone Mascot Mini-Figures Series 2 4-Pack: Droid does vinyl!The adorable mascot of Google's Android operating system!Collect all different versions featuring designs from hot urban vinyl artists!This Android Mini-Figures Series 2 4-Pack is a random pick of 4 individually packaged, blind-boxed mini-figures. Each 3-inch tall vinyl figure features artwork from a variety of artists

Summer movies

2011-08-27T12:49:00.002-05:00

I don't know why, but I kept track of all the movies I watched this summer. I think I wanted to keep track of movies I watched through Roku, and the list got a little out of hand. I think I also wanted to list out my proclivity for shit. The Magic Sword (Basil Rathbone)A Study in Scarlet (with Reginald Owen)Prisoners of the Lost Universe (1983, with Richard Hatch)Planet Outlaws (Buck Rogers

Buster Crabbe

2011-08-08T17:03:00.000-05:00

This summer, with my Roku and my Netflix, I watched a lot of old Flash Gordon. Apparently, a lot of Hollywood did because they are iconic. As you watch, I swear, you can see these old serials and movies in current movies. Most definitely with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, and they admit it too. Buster Crabbe was perfect. He even did a Buck Rogers serial.With Netflix, I just started watching

Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica commentaries

2011-08-07T18:55:00.001-05:00

Sea Monkeys are nothing! Get a miniature dog!

2011-08-07T16:53:00.000-05:00

From an old comic book ad:This is a premium for handing out twenty "Get-acquainted" coupons. Apparently, although the ad is not clear, they have to get 20 new customers under your name and you get the dog.Was this legal?I love how scared the dog looks, especially with the words, "PLEASE, give me a home!"How did they ship it? More importantly, did Mom or Dad have to sign anything? I knew

Kids! Carry a rifle and stop gorillas!

2011-08-06T16:49:00.002-05:00

From an old comic book ad:Just in case of emergency, kids should be carrying their own rifles. You never know when a gorilla is going to escape and you are going to have to save the day!I know it is just an air rifle, but you have to strain to see that. Plus, the cartoon really makes you think it is real--the gorilla did! Note the girl carrying a bow and arrow. Note also that the two kids simply

The Call of Cthulhu movie

2011-08-05T15:02:00.000-05:00

Available for full download at Internet Archive!

Superhero could have been MORE super

2011-08-04T14:50:00.002-05:00

A page from Showcase #35 starring the diminutive Atom, written by the excellent Gardner Fox (who DC basically based their entire existence on).Anyway, I just noticed this. The Atom can travel by phone. He can go so small he can literally ride the current to the other end. Fine--I can take that premise. It is science fiction, after all.But the imaginative leap I am thinking about is the idea that

When old words don't mean they same as they used to

2011-07-30T15:21:00.000-05:00

Here's an old Captain Marvel comic. In case you don't know, Captain Marvel is a boy named Billy Batson that turns into the Superman-like Captain Marvel by saying, "Shazam!" In the second panel, the gangster says, "Hsst! Billy's sound asleep! I'll grab him! I noticed that whenever he's molested Capt. Marvel usually shows up!"In the 1940s, the word "molested" did not have the main connotation of

Superman Glossary of Kryptonian Names

2011-07-29T15:19:00.000-05:00

From DC's 80-Page Giant #11.

Rocket Boomerang

2011-07-28T15:14:00.000-05:00

From DC's 80-Page Giant #9 starring the Flash. Goofy Captain Boomerang wants to rob banks but that stupid Flash won't let him. So he builds a boomerang-shaped rocket to send Flash off into space. He then goes to try robbing another bank.If I had enough money to build a boomerang-shaped rocket, and one capable of blasting into space, and one capable of carrying a 180-pound superhero (without any

Best Comic Book Covers Ever

2011-07-26T15:12:00.000-05:00

Strange Worlds #5

Alchemy Bankrobbing

2011-07-25T15:07:00.000-05:00

Two pages from DC's 80-page Giant #9 starring the Flash.Dr. Alchemy has the Philosopher's Stone and can transmute lead into gold.Why the hell is he robbing banks??First, you see him change pipes to gold. Then he goes to rob a bank. Then, in order to throw Flash off his trail, he turns some trash cans to gold on the other side of town so that he can rob a bank.Does it take a rocket scientist to

Best Comic Book Covers Ever

2011-07-24T15:05:00.000-05:00

Weird Mysteries #5

I Love My ROKU--and TV will never be the same

2011-07-22T17:11:00.002-05:00

For my birthday in January, my wife bought me that ROKU player. Plug and play into my TV like a DVD player that connects to my wireless and Voila! I get Netflix and other "channels" straight to my TV. Netflix Watch Now is available at the touch of a button. I can access a movie faster this way than if I had the actual DVD.I just realized that the last time I watched regular television before this