(But maybe we can go back in time and fix it.)

It’s one of the oldest tricks in the comic writing book: you’ve run out of fresh ideas, so you take all of the known elements and turn them on their head. Suddenly good guys are bad guys, up is down, black is the new orange, and formerly cool characters start acting like mopey dinks. Is it any wonder that viewership is down 25% from last year?

One of the things that previously set Heroes apart from other shows — and indeed the comic books that inspire it — is that it didn’t need to resort to these kinds of tricks. This show put superheroes in the “real” world, taking a different perspective on what it means to emerge with fantastic powers and how to apply them to the problems of today.

Unfortunately, instead of standing apart from its TV and comic book brethren to blaze a new trail filled with awesome, the Season 3 premiere quickly descended into a mishmash of unrelated superhero story derivatives that many long-time fans of the industry could spot a mile away.

If you’re sitting there wondering whether to tune in again tomorrow night, or expunge Heroes from your Tivo subscriptions forever, take heart: out of the aforementioned mishmash, a few plot threads emerged which have potential to redeem the premiere — and perhaps the entire premise of the season.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

Please also note that from now on the Gargoyles comic will not be published with individual issues but rather in trade form. The regular comic will have it’s volume 2 trade will all comics up to issue #12 and Bad Guys will have a trade will issues #1-6. Obviously this will affect my review videos in that I’ll just be doing a more general video at the time of each trade being released.

For more on this news check out the full announcement at Ask Greg.

Join the discussion in the forum for more information.

Gargoyles Bad Guys Issue #4

 Subscribe to iTunes POWETcast
 Choose your own reader

	Famicom Dojo – Video Netcast Promo Famicom Dojo – Wii Launch Day Special Famicom Dojo – Season 1 Promo (Hosts) Episode 01 – Famicom and Disk System Episode 02 – The Batter Backup Episode 03 – Nintendo Has Moxie Episode 04 – Cartridges and Pins Famicom Dojo – Sweet Netcast Promo

Still going strong, we have a new video on the Famicom Dojo Netcast! But here’s the skinny:

This weekend I’m going to be at Geek.Kon in Madison, WI selling sweet, sweet merch from the Land of the Rising Sun! Everything from Famicom to PC Engine to Dreamcast to Wonderswan can be found at our booth. Come by and check out the swag and watch cool Famicom Dojo and Powet.TV videos! You can even have a shot to be in our Geek.Kon Special! We’ll also have a “special announcement”, so stay tuned.

If you didn’t know about the netcast, it’s not too late! Subscribe and get caught up. Also be sure to leave feedback at our free iTunes storefront to let others know how great this show is! We also encourage you to become a fan on our Facebook page!

Based on the comic book of the same name, Bucky O’Hare was one of those shows that had a cult following without achieving much commercial success. Taking place in an alternate dimension where animals live as humans, it told the story of spaceship captain Bucky O’Hare, his crew, and their quest to defeat the Toad Empire, which has been brainwashed by the supercomputer KOMPLEX. It only lasted one season, but it was enjoyable for what it was. The obligatory marketing blitz followed, and Konami, riding the success of their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle games, snatched up the gaming rights. Along with a solid arcade beat-em-up (which featured the show’s voice actors and served as a conclusion to the events of the cartoon series), they released this equally solid NES platformer which seems to draw inspiration from Capcom’s Mega Man.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Its no secret that there are a lot of Transformers fans on this site. So I’m happy to be able to pass along news that the Transformers Animated Season 2 dvd set will be released on January 6th, 2009. TVShowsOnDVD report that extras will include a season 2 photo gallery and 3 animated shorts. The picture will be in full frame.

Following in the footsteps of Transformers Cybertron: The Ultimate Collection, Transformers Energon will be offered in an ultimate collection as well. The release date for that set will be December 16th, 2008. Packaging will be very similar and the set will include all 52 episodes. No word on extras at this time.

In the late 90s, Metal Slug was to the Neo Geo’s answer to the NES and SNES Contra games. It was a side-scrolling 2-d blastfest which bought back memories of classic shoot-em-ups of old, while at the same time injecting a twisted sense of humor. After picking a character, you (and a friend if playing co-op) must blast your way through enemy soldiers, terrorists, zombies, mummies, aliens, and whatever else stands in your way. There is a storyline involving a rebel army and martians, but that’s not important. You’ll find several weapons and vehicles to help you in your journey. There are also POWS that you rescue for additional points. The main series has spawned 6 games (along with Playstation and portable entries) with a 7th heading for the Nintendo DS this fall. Each game in the series has added zany new levels, characters (Metal Slug 6 even includes Clark and Ralf of Ikari Warriors and King of Fighters fame as selectable characters), weapons, and vehicles. As with several of their franchises as of late, SNK/Playmore has collected the majority of the series on a compilation pack. This disc includes Metal Slug 1 – 6 as well as Metal Slug X, a remake of Metal Slug 2 released on the original Playstation. Beside motion controls on the Wii and Ad-hoc wireless play on the PSP, there isn’t much in the way of extras. However, fans of the series will be happy to have the series wrapped up on one disc, where they can see how far the series has come along. Action game fans will enjoy the challenge and classic gaming feel that the series is known for.

Diamond Select Toys has announced the next box set of minimates will commemorate the upcoming Marvel Comics’ Punisher: War Zone. From DST’s site:

Marvel Minimates Enter War Zone!

Looks like Minimates are about to enter a War Zone of their very own! Based on this year’s Marvel sequel, the Punisher returns to the Marvel Minimates line with this Punisher: War Zone Minimates Box Set!

Due out on December 5, Punisher: War Zone reunites us with Frank Castle – this time played by Rome’s Ray Stevenson – as he embarks on a war of his own against his new nemesis, Jigsaw. Up against the Punisher is mob boss Jigsaw and a literal army of hired goons, thugs and mercenaries dedicated to wiping out the Punisher once and for all!

This set contains Frank Castle, Jigsaw, Assault Punisher and a Mob Thug as well as a wide array of damage-dealing high-powered weaponry perfect for those pesky Minimate mob wars. Each of the two-inch Minimates were sculpted and designed by Art Asylum and feature 14 points of articulation as well as accessories from the upcoming film.

Look for this set in the October issue of Previews at your local comic book store!

Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura spoke with IESB about what fans can expect from Transformers 2 and it sounds pretty good of course. When asked about characters, he wouldn’t say any specific names, but did says “3 times as many characters” and that a lot of fan favorites would be in there, including everything we wanted from the first one. Not confirmation of Devestator and the Constructicons, but he was too optimistic to think otherwise. He did downplay the inclusion of Cybertron, so don’t get your hopes up that the Autobots are going home this time.
He also said GIJOE is in the cutting room and they hope to have a trailer for the holidays. Less optimistic is a tipster from AICN saying specifically “action is very stylized, character development is terrible” but it had a car chase that knocked over the Eiffel Tower, so maybe it’ll turn out to be a fun popcorn flick. Just like Transformers before it, I’m setting the bar low for characters in GIJOE since I know they’ll never get to the lever the comic books or even the animated series did. But some cool effects shots are always welcome.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who will be playing Cobra Commander in the film, told MTV he will not wear the traditional blue hood or the silver mask, but something different altogether. And although he wouldn’t be doing the exact voice from the old cartoon, he’s been heartily inspired by it.
Back to Transformers, Walmart of all places is hosting weekly videos from the set, and the first 2 are up. The first has the Audi R8 and the motorcycles, the second is Shia and Megan Fox goofing around on set. Watch them here after entering the code “AllSpark62609”