Michael D Hamersky On Comics Reviews: The OUTER Limits! The Complete Second Volume!     - Photos: (topmost above) One of the eighteen comics books in the Outer Limits comic book series from Dell Comics. (Issue #15 cover dated September of 1967.) (above left top) The DVD cover to Season One - Volume Two of the TV Show.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3442:

I wanted to 'introduce' my wife, Tina, to this TV Show Series, as I wasn't able to watch all the episodes of this show when I was growing up, and she hadn't really seen any of them before, to her recollection.

I was only eleven years old when this show hit the airwaves. The episodes were shown at 7:30 - 8:30 in the 1963-4 Season, but as there was only one TV set in the house, I didn't get to watch them until the summer re-runs. As my folks would watch 'To Tell The Truth' & 'I've Got A Secret' on CBS! For what else was on during this season, please see this link!

The second season, it was a little easier for me to watch the series on ABC, as the competition was 'Jackie Gleason' on CBS, and Flipper / The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo.  However, the second season was cut short!

Plus I don't think that mom liked this TV series from the very beginning of the series intro each episode.  It ran like this:

"There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to... The Outer Limits."

So I can see why my mom didn't exactly go for this show for myself or my younger brother, who was nine at the time.  My little sister, Carolyn, would have been only two years old, so the scary-ness factor could have affected our being able to watch it too!

Here is the link to the Dell Comics published for this TV Series, that started in 1964.  The comic book cover at the top right was one that reminded me of this DVD set, as there were multiple stories in the comic book, just like there were in the DVD set.  The comic book series was published quarterly, which was never a good thing for me to try to buy to read. 

Buying comics at the 'spinner rack' at my local 7-11, quarterly meant missing most of the issues, if any came in at all.  The comic book series ran quarterly the whole period of time that Dell published them. BTW, the comic book series ran from January - March 1964 - October 1969!

The TV Series only ran for two seasons, September 16, 1963 – January 16, 1965, with 49 episodes shown.  Which kind of makes it only one & a half seasons in my mind... So the comic book series outlasted the TV show series!

So what episodes did this 2 DVD set have that we watched?

Disc 1-Side A

Don't Open Till Doomsday
A young couple's honeymoon is cut short by the horrifying contents of a mysterious box.

ZZZZZ
A queen bee with sinister intentions is transformed into a human to seek out the perfect mate.

The Invisibles
A government agent infiltrates a secret criminal organization that uses repulsive alien parasites to control its members.

The Bellero Shield
An ambitious scientist, with hopes of taking over his father's corporation, creates a laser that inadvertently brings a gentle alien to Earth.


Disc 1-Side B

The Children Of Spider County
A powerful alien from the planet Eros returns to Earth to rescue and claim his son who has been charged with murder.

Specimen: Unknown
The crew aboard a space station investigates the death of a young lieutenant and uncovers a strange and deadly new life form.

Second Chance
Believing that they're going on a mere carnival ride, a crew of discontented dreamers unknowingly boards a space ship bound to save the future of the human race.

Moonstone
Lunar colonists find themselves in grave danger when they attempt to aid five fugitive alien scientists.


Disc 2-Side A

The Mutant
After being exposed to a radioactive ionic shower, a scientist on a distant planet develops telepathic abilities and is driven to madness.

The Guests
Trapped in a mansion run by a mysterious alien being, a pair of young lovers discovers that eternal life comes at a heavy cost.

Fun And Games
The fate of the entire Earth is at stake when a man and woman are transported to a satellite, where they must fight the members of an alien race for the amusement of their captors.

The Special One
A man with an intellectually gifted son is alarmed by the boy's sudden change in behavior and is suspicious of the boy's tutor, the mysterious Mr. Zeno.


Disc 2-Side B

A Feasibility Study
The people of Earth surprise their alien captors when an entire neighborhood is transported to another planet as part of a plan to enslave the human race.

Production And Decay Of Strange Particles
A nuclear accident creates a rift in the time/space continuum, tearing a hole in the very fabric of the universe and allowing deadly creatures to emerge.

The Chameleon
A government agent faces a crisis of conscience when he infiltrates a band of aliens marooned aboard the wreckage of a flying saucer.

The Forms Of Things Unknown
After murdering an abusive man, two women find themselves in a frightening house where the dead are brought back to life via a time-tilting machine.

I've got to say that this DVD set was just a 'little bit uneven' to introduce the series to my wife, Tina.  She ended up reading her books during several of the episodes!  This series was not as much fun for her, as it was for me!

Whereas for me, not having seen all of these, (there is only 12 of the 49 total series episodes presented here), it was a back to the past time travel experience for me... However, I did notice that the hour long episodes were sometimes just a little... Too long! 

Whereas another TV series during this time, 'The Twilight Zone' was just a half hour, with similar stories, 'The Outer Limits' seemed to have a few episodes that were stretched out too long when making the episode's point!

Yes, it was fun seeing several future TV Stars, like Leondard Nimoy, Marion Ross, etc., play roles in these episodes, but the hour long format was just too long when viewing them as an adult.  As a kid, the shows were just fine in length, even with the commercials stretching them out in length to the full hour!

I mentioned that the TV show had several actors that went on to bigger TV series... Well, here's a few that were involved in the comic book series, as this is after all... A blog on comic books!

Issue #1 had art by Vic Prezio and Jack Sparling.  Number 2 had script by Paul S. Newman, and art by Jack Sparling. #3 - art by Jack Sparling. The same with #4 through #11.  Issue 12 had script by Joe Gill, with art by Jack Sparling. Issues #13 through 14 had Jack Sparling art, plus a story penciled by Chic Stone. #15 - 16 had Jack Sparling art also.  #17 was a reprint of issue #1.  Back in those days the publishers figured that 'kids' would grow into and then out of comics every 5 years, and almost 5 years had passed since issue #1! Plus this series was a quarterly, and hard to find on the newstands!  The series ended with #18, which was a reprint of #2! 

Unbelievably there isn't a 'wiki' on Jack Sparling in Wikipedia!  There is one on Chic Stone, whose works at Marvel & ACG I have mentioned before in this Blog.

The reason for the lack of full credits on this comic books series is that comics creators in the early to late 1960's still weren't getting their names on the comics.  Yeah, even though it was the 'Silver Age of Comics', it was still in the 'dark ages'. BTW, here is the link where you can see the covers of all 18 comic books!

So, after viewing this DVD and thinking about the comic book series that came about from this TV series... What did I think about the DVD set?

Well... It was fun, but like Tina mentioned while sitting on the couch with me... The visual effects person must have a limited budget, as the sounds effects were always loud and shrill! 

That and hearing & watching the intro became just a little 'old' by the last episodes on the 2nd DVD. 

It would appear to me that this DVD set, which is just one of four may be of limited 'nostalgic' value to someone like me.  Maybe in smaller doses, instead of watching them every night for several days, it would be better. 

Being a 'reviewer', I have to watch these DVD sets in quick order, which may have affected my viewing response.  I did enjoy reading more about the series, including this entry at Wikipedia. 

Unlike 'The Twilight Zone' Marathons that I used to watch every year on TV... This DVD set just didn't have the same affect on me.  Which is a shame, because I would have thought that it would!

My comic book grade for this DVD set is a VERY FINE (VF) 8.0 out of a possible 10.0 grading scale. 

If taken in smaller 'doses' over the space of several weeks, it would probably be better viewed.  And for those of you that grew up during the time of this show, and couldn't watch them all, this is the better way to view the TV Series, where YOU have control of the DVD set, (wink!).

Here's the link where YOU can buy this DVD set online, as I don't have it listed for sale in my online comic book shop: The Outer Limits (Original Series) - Season 1, Vol. 2 !

Again, thanks for reading my blog, where today I combined a TV series with a comic book series, when revisiting my childhood past, which anyone today can viewon their own!

~Michael D Hamersky

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,461 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! 

And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:  

http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com/ 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up differently, sorry about that!

The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!

To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Reports On:   Semantink's Comic Savvy June 19th, 2011 Meet-up (Yes, On Fathers Day in San Diego, California!)        - - Top Photo: The June 2011 Semantink's Comic Savvy was held once again in the outside porch area of Milano Coffee Company in the Mission Valley Area of San Diego, California. Vinne & Michael are shown near the end of the meetup, Vinnie's 1st to attend.  Where else to spend Fathers Day, right?!! Thanks, Vinnie! - Lower Photo:  (L-R) Francis (Jay) Bautista - Winner of 'The Brain Eater's Bible: Sound Advice for the Newly Reanimated Zombie' hard cover book for the Surprise Drawing,  and Benjamin Glibert - moderator of the Meetup & Publisher of Semantink Publishing. -  Note:  The additional pics from last night will be posted in the special photo album: June 2011 Semantink's Comic Savvy Meet-Up at my Facebook Fan Page, Michael D Hamersky On Comics.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3441:

Last night, (June 19th), was the June 2011 meetup of Semantink's Comic Savvy at the Milano Coffee Company, in the Mission Valley area of San Diego, California.

And no, this isn't a brand new series of meetups going on in the San Diego Metro Area... Here's the link to the February 20th, 2011 Meet-Up, the April 2011 meetup , and the May 2011 meetup that I attended.  (I did miss the March 2011 meetup due to family members going to the hospital during that time.)

As stated in those prior blogs on this meetup... The 'official hours' of the meet-up are from 5PM to 7PM, on the 3rd Sunday of every month, but several persons, including my wife Tina, my youngest son Vinnie, and myself  were having so much fun attending that we were there till the tables and chairs were being returned to their usual places! 

I've included a couple of pics at the top right of this post, with names of those in attendance shown in the photos, (Sorry, not all are pictured here...)  Because of the limitations of this blog format, I've built a 'special photo album' titled 'June 2011 Semantink's Comic Savvy Meet-Up' at my Facebook Fan Page for you to see all that were in attendance, if YOU weren't there!  And  please.. Feel free to 'tag' yourself if you attended this meetup!

Ben Glibert, Director of Publishing at Semantink Publishing, was once again the 'moderator' of the meetup.

First came the introductions going round the tables, and what the person was currently reading, whether comic book, graphic novel, or TPB.  The group once again had some new attendees, (all are welcome!), and some of the items being read were: Ben - Fear Itself, Frank - Powers, Tiffany - Uncanny X-Men, Michael - Stan Lee's How To Draw Comics, Tina - Pride Predjudice & Zombies, Matt - Conan the Barbarian, James (the new) X-Force.

Ben figured that I would have my usual question of the month to ask, as I had a tote bag that was stuffed with goodies... So he called upon me to ask it right after the introductions were made...

Two months ago, (in Blog #3392),  I asked the question of the group, 'What upcoming comic book movie are YOU most interested in seeing?'.  The 3rd most popular that the group wanted to see was the THOR film, with 12% having that as 1st choice, out of THOR, GREEN LANTERN, CAPTAIN AMERICA, and X-MEN.  (PRIEST, based on the Korean comic book series, was not included in this topic at that time.)

For how those who attended the May 2011 Comic Savvy meetup thought of the THOR Film by comic book grading standards, please see this link.

Since then the X-Men First Class had come out earlier in the month of June, and on this past Friday, the Green Lantern film had been released.

So what did this group of 15 attendees think of these two films after seeing them? (Note: 4 more attendees came after the question was asked and their results are not tallied here.)

First was the X-Men First Class 'grades'.  I'm including both the numerical (out of a possible 10.0), and the Comic Book Grade that corresponds with it:

9.4  / NM    = 1

9.2 / NM-    = 1

9.0 / VF/NM = 4

8.5 / VF+     = 2

8.0 / VF      = 2

7.5 / VF-     = 1

2.0 / G(ood)  = 1

Not Seen      = 3  (Grand Total of 15 attending / grading)

Each person added a comment or two on this film, and also on the next film they graded.  Most were surprised how good X-Men First Class was!  Just like myself!

BTW, here's 'My Take' on this film, and here is Tina's Take from a Woman's POV on the same film.

The Green Lantern film had opened on Friday.  For a group of 15 attendees, who are interested in comics / graphic novels, etc., it was a little surprising that 9 out of 15 had NOT yet seen it!  Here's the tabulations on the grading:

8.5 / VF+  = 1

6.5 / F+    = 1 (Note: Seen in 3-D, o/w would be a '4.0')

6.0 / F     = 1

5.0 / VG/F = 1

4.0 / VG    = 1

2.0 / G      = 1

Not Seen    = 9 

I've got to add that the top grade given was mine, and I was the oldest person there, (while Vinnie was the youngest, and he had not seen it).  You can see that the 'grades' reflected how poor of a reception this film had with those who had seen it!

Here is 'My Take' on the Green Lantern film, and Tina did not want to see it, as the trailers had shown too much CGI for her to want to attend.  This is the first comic book film in a long time she did not attend with me at the Big Screen!  After the 'grades' given at the meetup last night, she knew she had made a wise choice, at least in her opinion!  Vinnie didn't come with us until Sunday, so he did not see the film on Friday when I did.

Also, as customary, I brought a 'freebie' for those kind enough to answer my the question(s) for this Blog.  Two months it was a movie poster for the Priest in 3D Film that was being released on May 13th in the USA and Canada.

And for the month of May give-away I had run across a marketing intern, Jennell, who was kind enough to provide a 'Priest' t-shirt for both my Facebook Fan Page 'drawing' to be held after Opening Weekend for the film, and one t-shirt for this Comic Savvy meetup as a 'thank you' for answering my survey questions!  So that was the giveaway for the month of May!  See this link for the winner's reaction!

So for this month of June, I brought in a book that I mentioned last month at the meetup, that I was reading for a review blog.  Titled:  The Brain Eater's Bible: Sound Advice for the Newly Reanimated Zombie! By author J.D. McGhoul with Pat Kilbane.  Yeah, it not my 'normal fare' for reading, but I could see from the expressions and comments from those in attendance at the May meetup, that it would be received very well here!

So I had Vinnie pass out copies of the intro issue of the 'IZombie' comic book to all those in attendance first, while I passed out copies of the intro issue of 'Human Target', which the TV Show was based on.  Yeah, 'brains' & 'humans'... What a choice this month, LOL!

So... once the copies of the two different comics had been passed out, I asked those holding the comics to check to see if they were the 'winner'... (there was a sticky note with the word 'winner' on the splash page!).

It turned out that Francis (Jay) Bautista, (see 2nd top right photo), was the winner!  And he was pleased to say the least!  Plus it turned out, after I took his photo, so were many others who had the opportunity to see the book close up, thumbing through it.  Francis had started passing the book around the table. Several persons called it 'totally rad', and many are going to check it out for purchase!  Like you can by clicking this link! 

There were more topics brought up at this meetup, but once again, as the meetup is held outside in a porch area, and nine-teen ending up attending last night, there were some sub-discussions that I didn't quite hear, and have decided not list more topics here, as this blog is getting a long in length.

So... My thanks once again to Semantink Publishing sponsoring this monthly meet-up!  Here's the Facebook link to the event that just occurred, and here's the link to Semantink Publishing's Facebook Fan Page, which I encourage YOU to 'Like'!  Plus check out their several comic book series that are online.  When they publish hard copies of those in TPBs, I'll be sure to review blog them here!

Again, Semantink's Comic Savvy is normally the 3rd Sunday of every month, which has been held at the Milano Coffee Company in Mission Valley.  There is also another weekday meetup on a monthly basis that is sponsored by this same publisher, but I've not attended it, due to the traffic that hits on weeknights in the San Diego Metro Area.  (I live in North San Diego County.)

I'll mention the upcoming July Sunday evening meetup in an upcoming wall post at my own Facebook Fan Page, 'Michael D Hamersky On Comics', after the event page for July is created.  That one should be extra 'special', as it is being held the Sunday evening before the Comic-Con International / San Diego Comic Con kicks off on that week's Wednesday evening!  So there should be extra people in town that would enjoy a meetup of like minded individuals, and they are invited also!  This is a 'free' meetup to attend, and Milano Coffee Co has great coffee and eats! 

Till then...Have Some Fun!  Oh, and don't forget to check out the rest of the pics that weren't shown here at the blog, in the special photo album just for THIS June 2011 meet-up!     

~Michael D Hamersky

(And yes... for those keen-eyed individuals out there reading this blog post... That is the first 'official' photo of myself wearing the new 'Navy colored' polo shirts with the 'ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com' name on them!  I needed new shirts for the upcoming Comic-Con in San Diego, and the darker color is what I chose to buy.  So I'll be wearing the Navy colored shirts for the most part from now on at comic cons / sci-fi cons / etc., and using the indigo colored shirts for more 'everyday' wear, should you run into me!)  

BTW, You can 'follow' this Blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,461 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky 

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:   ComicBooksCircus.com 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up differently, sorry about that!

The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!!  (Note:  I don't list my email address here, due to 'spambots' gathering it and 'spamming' me. 

To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to have sent me a 'Friend Request'.

However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages in my network already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' for myself so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there. 

Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Posts: Sharing Father's Day Via Comic Books! Comic Book Covers Featuring TV Show Dads!    This year I wanted to of course blog about Fathers Day with a comics related theme. Back in 2007, I blogged about my youngest son taking me to see the Fantastic Four 2 Film: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and in subsequent years I've blogged about other topics that were also comics related.  Hey, it's a comic book blog after all isn't it?! LOL. Today I wanted to present comic book covers from the Dell Four Color Comics series that really stand out to me as being representative of Fathers Day. The top photo is Dell FC #1285 from Feb/Apr of 1962. Copyright 1961 by Gomaico Productions, Inc. Based on the 1957-63 "Leave It to Beaver" TV series. That is an early memory for me about fathers. The column to the right are more TV show fathers that made an impression on me.   - - Photos: (topmost above) One of the most understanding fathers on a TV show was of course Ben Cartwright.  Even though he had three wives, he had been widowed twice before... The comic book cover is from Dell FC #1221 from Sept / Nov 1961. Copyright 1961 by National Broadcasting Company. The above photo is from Dell FC #1341 from Apr / Jun 1962. Copyright 1962 by Mayberry Corporation. Based on "The Andy Griffith Show" TV series. Andy Griffith was a heckuva of a TV dad, but Ron Howard, who is famous now in own right as an actor, director, and producer, has nothing but good to say of him. And yes, I know, TV Dads are hard to live up to... God knows I haven't always.  But these are good role models for fathers, even though they may be fictional ones.  Some may even call them sci-fi ones, as they must be living on a different planet to be such great dads!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3440:

I would have to say that the above photos of comic book covers would 'say' what I am thinking about what Father's Day means to me...

I had to go back a ways for those comic book book covers, as today's comics don't really have any examples of Fathers that I'd like to present here.

The TV shows since the early to mid 1960s just haven't presented Fathers in 'good light', IMO. 

I know that I am divorced from my kids mother, so all is not 'rosy' in the 'real world'.  But I'd rather not present here the more 'grim n gritty' comics that present Fathers in a non-flattering way.  And as the main blogger for this Blog, that is my right to do so.

Talking about Fathers, the above photo is from last weekend, when my cousin came out to see his Uncle Francis, (my Dad), for the 1st time. Richard Francis, seen at the far right, had been 'lost' to us for decades, as his father, (my Dad's oldest brother), had died years ago, and his wife had gone back East and re-married.  Richard Francis' step-father had adopted him, and the rest of the family had lost contact with him after that.  It was only last year that my Dad's younger brother, Victor, had located him, and invited out to that year's family reunion.

Richard Francis decided to look up the rest of his biological father's family, including my dad, Francis, to see how the rest of the family were like, as he had not grown up with them around.  The above photo from left to right are: Francis Lewis, Michael D (me), Francis 'Frank', and Richard Francis.  I thought it was timely to present that pic in this blog today.  

And no, my sister, Carolyn Sue, was not able to make it down for the get gogether last weekend.  She is in Juneau, Alaska, which is just a little far aways to come down for everything!

Tomorrow, I'm taking my youngest son, Vinnie, with us to celebrate Fathers Day at my Dad's, where we'll have sandwiches, chips, and cake! Afterwards, Vinnie, Tina & I will be going to attend Semantink's Comic Savvy Meetup in the Mission Valley Area of San Diego, where like minded comics fans will meetup for coffee and conversation at the Milano Coffee House. A great way for us to end Father's Day, doncha think?!

Here's to all of you having a great Fathers Day with your father should he still be with you.  And if not, take a little time to think about him on this special day / weekend.

And a "Happy Father's Day to MY Dad"!

Best,

~Michael D Hamersky

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,461 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! 

And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:  

http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com/ 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up differently, sorry about that!

The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!

To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Reviews: The 2011 Green Lantern Film! From A Comic Book Fan's POV!      - Photos: (topmost above) Michael D Hamersky at the Theater's Lobby with the Green Lantern exhibit. (above left top) One of the film posters for the 2011 Green Lantern film.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3439:

Just got back in from an early afternoon matinee showing of the 2011 film... 'Green Lantern'!

So, I'm quickly blogging 'my take' on this film, as there won't be a follow-up blog from my wife, Tina, as she elected not to go to see this film...

With the opening scene I could see why Tina didn't want to go... Too much CGI at the beginning, and I was beginning to wonder myself about the direction that this film was going.

However, once the film's storyline was on Earth, the film picked up for me. 

First I must point out, yes I did read some of the early Green Lanterns with Hal Jordan as GL.  I liked the Gil Kane artwork.  However, as stated before in this blog, Marvel Comics came into being, and I was one of the early 'Marvel maniacs'. 

With my allowance as small as it was, I couldn't afford DCs, Marvels, ACGs, Gold Keys, etc., so I decided early on to 'collect' Marvels, thus not keeping up with Green Lantern from DC Comics. So No, I didn't keep up with Hal Jordan or all of the later Green Lanterns on Earth.

Yet, I found this film well paced, cutting back and forth cleanly between Earth scenes and planet Oa scenes.  Good editing!

Hal Jordan was portrayed pretty well in this film, and Carol Ferris was just a little differently written, probably due to having it occur in the 2010s and not the 1950's - 60's.

I enjoyed some of the updates, such as when Hal tried to get the ring to work with the Lantern, citing: "To Infinity and Beyond!", and something about the "Power of Greyskull". 

The fact that Hal Jordan wasn't cut out to be a 'Green Lantern' because he wasn't fearless, per Sinestro's spoken thoughts, was because of his humanity.

It was the humanity in this film, or rather the interactions of humans with other humans that made this film play better on the Big Screen for me.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER - WARNING WARNING WARNIG! If you don't want to know more about the actual film scenes, then skip the following paragraphs until you reach the end of the SPOILER WARNINGS!

Yes, the CGI was done pretty well, but it was the opening scene of Parallax being found that would have turned my wife, Tina, right off from the beginning.  Indeed, as stated above, that is when I started wondering what I come into...

Yet the interactions between the human characters was done pretty well, IMO. The 'Space Opera' scenes were also okay, except for the part where Parallax was a cloud like space creature.  I was already disappointed in another universe on screen, Marvel's Universe, where Galactus was a 'space cloud'.  Yet I don't know the DC Universe's storyline of Parallax.  Possibly he was a 'cloud like creature'? 

Which brings to mind, that more than just comic book fans are expected to attend this comic book film.  Especially with a budget of $200 million dollar per some estimate.

So why isn't this film written / filmed / edited for a more general film going audience? Because you know, comic book fans from the Silver / Bronze / and Modern Ages of Comics are likely to not agree on the storyline / quality of this film! 

OKAY.... END OF SPOILER WARNING...

END OF SPOILERS WARNING!

I found that Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan / Green Lantern did a fine job, even though the film was updated from its 1950's origins.  He carried the film for me.

Blake Lively as Carol Ferris portrayed a good 'boss role' / 'girlfriend at one time' role.  I liked the interaction between her and Hal / GL.

Peter Sarsgaard as Dr. Hector Hammond was just a little too 'cartoony' for a general film going audience, but I found the actor played the role well as it was probably written.

Mark Strong as Thaal Sinestro: this was a good role for Mark!

Angela Bassett as Dr. Amanda Waller:  Good performance in a small role, although I understand that the comic book character was not the same size in physical appearance...

Tim Robbins as U.S. senator Robert Hammond:  Yeah, a typical role that Tim Robbins plays... but he does them so well!

Temuera Morrison as Abin Sur:  I could really believe this role... of an alien crash landing on Earth.  Good job! 

Michael Clarke Duncan as the voice of Kilowog: I really like Michael's voice, as well as acting.  Too bad his character was a CGI character. I've enjoyed seeing and hearing him since 'The Green Mile' back in 1999.  And yeah, I also enjoyed seeing him as The Kingpin in 2003's Daredevil film from Marvel Comics! Even though 'The Kingpin' I grew up with during Romita Sr.'s years was a white guy.

So, as you can see from the above, I believe that the majority of the characters were well cast!

The storyline was pretty smooth in between cutting from Earth to space and back again.

My only disappointments were the very opening scene of the film, and the cartoony climax scene... Which it seems that comic book films can't get rid of, i.e. my same thought on the recent Thor film...!

Is this worth going to see on the Big Screen?

Well... I said at the beginning that I was a Hal Jordan / Green Lantern early reader. Yes, it's been 'updated' to reflect the 2000s... but other than the two scenes mentioned above... It was worth it to me to see at the Big Screen...

But NO, I didn't opt for the 3-D version!

I'm not for certain if a mainstream film going audience is going to find this a film that they are going to 'rave' about... The targeting of the film via trailers turned off my wife, and my youngest son, who will be with on Fathers Day, but opted to not see this film either this weekend.

The marketing of the film made it seem like a 'space opera' or 'cartoony sci-fifilm', which it wasn't.  I believe that this film is going to find it hard gaining traction with the non-comics film going public...!

My comic book grade for this comic book movie is a VERY FINE PLUS (VF+) 8.5 out of a possible 10.0 grading scale.  I had forgiven the film for the terrible beginning of the film, and was ready to give this a Very Fine / Near Mint grade (VF/NM) 9.0, but again here was a comic book movie at the end going with almost all CGI... Sheesh!  Which downgraded it to the VF+.   Thevery ending was good, when back on Earth, and yes, you gotta stay for the end of the BEGINNING of the credits.  A sequel, perhaps?

That's it for me on this one!  And again, NO review on this one from Tina, who will NOT be presenting her review on this film from a woman's POV!

~Michael D Hamersky

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If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:  

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To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents...  Vinnie's Take On: Stuff that DREAMS are made of The Mini-Comix     - Above: The Front Cover to 'Stuff that DREAMS are made of' mini-comix, by Jim Siergey!

(Vinnie) This blog post I'm writing is about a mini comic called "Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of," written and illustrated by Jim Siergey.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

(Michael) Thanks, Vinnie!  

Back in Blog #3421 I blogged about the first of the two mini-comics that Jim Siergey sent in for possible review, as seen here, 'Nart Again'.

I thought that I should 'introduce' Vinnie to a mini-comic that he could blog on, as most of the publications he has blogged on so far have been more for 'mainstream' readers.

Since I enjoyed the earlier mini-comic and this one also, I felt that Jim's sense of humor was fun and not risque for Vinnie's age group, (pre-teen).

I give this minix-comix a VERY FINE / VERY FINE PLUS (VF/VF+) 8.25 out of a 10.0 possible comic book grading scale. The artwork & gags were fun & clean, even though it was titled a 'mini-comix' instead of a 'mini-comic'. 

Again, as stated before, 'anthology' comics like this one are harder to 'review blog', as the multiple stories may or may not 'hit on all 8 cylinders' for the reader / reviewer. It's a matter of 'taste', and anthologies with one page 'stories / art' are a little hader to review / grade.  Thus the difference in 'grading' this publication between Vinnie and myself. 

Also, as Vinnie showed above... The place to order this mini-comix is at the eCrater Store for Weird Muse.

~ Michael

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BTW, You can 'follow' this Blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,457 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky 

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:   ComicBooksCircus.com.

If it isn't available in my online 'Local Comic Book Shop, (LCBS), then you may be able find it in my Amazon affiiate link, as seen here:  Comics & Graphic Novels at Amazon!

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up differently, sorry about that!

The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!!  (Note:  I don't list my email address here, due to 'spambots' gathering it and 'spamming' me. 

To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to have sent me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages in my network already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' for myself so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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