Friday, November 18, 2022

Prince Namor of Atlantis Splashes into The Amazing Spider-Man (1980) on Superhero Spotlight!


Welcome to Superhero Spotlight wherein we take a look at a different superhero each episode. This week, we take a look at a little known storyline involving Prince Namor of Atlantis!  We take a look at a story that spans several issues of The Amazing Spider-Man beginning with #211. Prince Namor was recently adapted to the silver screen in Wakanda Forever (2022). 

Namor (/ˈneɪmɔːr/), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc. Initially created for the unreleased comic Motion Picture Funnies Weekly, the character first appeared publicly in Marvel Comics #1 (cover-dated Oct. 1939), which was the first comic book from Timely Comics, the 1930s–1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics. During that period, known to historians and fans as the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Sub-Mariner was one of Timely's top three characters, along with Captain America and the original Human Torch. Moreover, Namor has also been described as the first comic book antihero.


The mutant son of a human sea captain and a princess of the mythical undersea kingdom of Atlantis, Namor possesses the superstrength and aquatic abilities of the Homo mermanus race, as well as the mutant ability of flight, along with other superhuman powers. Through the years, he has been portrayed as an antihero, alternately as a good-natured but short-fused superhero or a hostile invader seeking vengeance for perceived wrongs that misguided surface-dwellers committed against his kingdom. The first known comic book antihero, the Sub-Mariner has remained a historically important and relatively popular Marvel character. He has served directly with the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Invaders, the Defenders, the X-Men and the Illuminati as well as serving as a foil to them on occasion.



Tenoch Huerta portrays Namor in his live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).


Wednesday, November 2, 2022

How Many Fighting Styles Does Captain America Know in Captain America Comics #1 by Jack Kirby (1941)




Welcome to the first episode of a special feature on Comic-Jutsu, entitled "Comic Book Dojo", where we breakdown the fighting styles and skills of your favorite superheroes and mine! Up first, Captain America! We're taking a look at Captain America Comics #1 at an attempt to pinpoint the original fighting style of the star-spangled avenger as presented by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon.

Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (cover dated March 1941) from Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics. Captain America was designed as a patriotic supersoldier who often fought the Axis powers of World War II and was Timely Comics' most popular character during the wartime period. The popularity of superheroes waned following the war, and the Captain America comic book was discontinued in 1950, with a short-lived revival in 1953. Since Marvel Comics revived the character in 1964, Captain America has remained in publication. A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and written narrative, usually, dialogue contained in word balloons emblematic of the comics art form. Although comics have some origins in 18th century in Eastern Asia, comic books were first popularized[disputed – discuss] in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 1930s. The first modern comic book, Famous Funnies, was released in the US in 1933 and was a reprinting of earlier newspaper humor comic strips, which had established many of the story-telling devices used in comics. The term comic book derives from American comic books once being a compilation of comic strips of a humorous tone; however, this practice was replaced by featuring stories of all genres, usually not humorous in tone.

Saturday, October 29, 2022

What is Comic-Jutsu?




Welcome to Comic-Jutsu, where we examine the martial behind the arts of Sequential Illustration! Each week, we'll bring you dissection videos breaking down your favorite heroes and their fight scenes.

A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and written narrative, usually, dialogue contained in word balloons emblematic of the comics art form. Although comics have some origins in 18th century in Eastern Asia, comic books were first popularized[disputed – discuss] in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 1930s. The first modern comic book, Famous Funnies, was released in the US in 1933 and was a reprinting of earlier newspaper humor comic strips, which had established many of the story-telling devices used in comics. The term comic book derives from American comic books once being a compilation of comic strips of a humorous tone; however, this practice was replaced by featuring stories of all genres, usually not humorous in tone.

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Pathfinder Second Edition to First Edition Conversion Document

 



If you're a Pathfinder Grognard like me, you have bookshelves full of reference materials and bestiaries that are older than the average 5e player and you still haven't had a chance to use them yet. Before I move on to a new system such as Pathfinder Second Edition, I'd like to get some more use out of the books that already populate my bookshelves. 

Paizo has created a lot of great adventuring content over the years, and easily the best adventures since the glory days of Gary Gygax and company. Paizo seems to be hitting its stride with their Second Edition adventures at the time of this typing and I'd like to play or run a few of them. What is there to do when the two systems are almost wholly incompatible?  

You do what any Dungeon Master worth their salt would do, you convert the damn thing! To serve that end, I've developed the Pathfinder Second to First Edition Conversion Document to help with the task. Use this document along with Pathfinder Unchained and the corresponding Bestiaries to convert Paizo's new Pathfinder Adventures and modules to your favorite role playing game system, Pathfinder Role Playing Game (1e)! 

Download the Pathfinder Second Edition to First Conversion Document here!


Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Will Eisner The Spirit of an Artistic Pioneer short documentary

Will Eisner The Spirit of an Artistic Pioneer is a short documentary about the legendary cartoonist. Eisner shares a look at his work and philosophy behind creating sequential illustration. Reposted here for archival purposes.



William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series The Spirit (1940–1952) was noted for its experiments in content and form. In 1978, he popularized the term "graphic novel" with the publication of his book A Contract with God. He was an early contributor to formal comics studies with his book Comics and Sequential Art (1985). The Eisner Award was named in his honor and is given to recognize achievements each year in the comics medium; he was one of the three inaugural inductees to the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame. Follow me: Comic-Jutsu: https://comicjutsu.blogspot.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jtmcroberts Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jtmcroberts/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jtmcroberts/ MVP Mutant Radio: https://mvpmutantradio.blogspot.com/

Mark Borchardt talks Creativity, Inspiration & Religion at Slamdance Festival 1999

Mark Borchardt sits down with Perry Farrell to talk about life, love, filmmmaking, and God. This interview was recorded at Slam Dance Film Fest 1999. This has been reposted here for archival purposes.



Mark Borchardt (born August 20, 1966) is an American independent filmmaker. He is best known as the subject of the 1999 film American Movie, which documented three years he spent writing, shooting and editing his horror short, Coven (1997). Filmmakers Chris Smith and Sarah Price began filming Borchardt while he was attempting to put together funding for his unfinished feature Northwestern. After the project collapsed, Borchardt decided instead to finish Coven, which he had started years earlier. After Coven was completed, Smith and Price compiled their footage into American Movie, which was picked up by Sony Classics and won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Since then Borchardt has been active appearing on television and in movies. Borchardt has made five appearances on Late Show with David Letterman, including serving as Letterman's 2000 election correspondent. He made several TV appearances on The Show with No Name, a show in Austin, TX, between 2000 and 2003. In 2004, he played himself in a cameo appearance on the television cartoon series Family Guy, along with friend and American Movie co-star Mike Schank. He and Mike also have their own series on Zero TV, Mark and Mike and in, 2006, Mark and Mike hosted a national television special called Night of the Living Dead: LIVE from Wisconsin on Halloween night. Borchardt has appeared in several movies, including The One (2001), The Tunnel (2001), Abby Singer, & The Godfather of Green Bay (2005). Borchardt also starred in Modus Operandi (2009), played a gravedigger in the partially animated comedy Hamlet A.D.D. (2014), had a leading role in the horror feature The Hagstone Demon (2011), and played Mr. Englan in the directorial debut of fellow Milwaukee filmmaker Jozef K. Richards, The Amateur Monster Movie (2011). In addition, Borchardt also made a cameo in the music video for the Leslie and the Ly's song "Zombie Killer" featuring Elvira, Mistress of the Dark on guest vocals. He has contributed to Kevin Lindenmuth's 2001 book, The Independent Film Experience (ISBN 0786410752 ) and had his short stories published in magazines. Borchardt is one of a trio of hosts on "Cinema Fireside," a weekly film discussion show on WXRW 104.1 in Milwaukee. In 2004, he announced he would direct Scare Me and sent out casting calls. In 2008, he announced a 2009 release date, which was originally slated for a 2005 release. As of Summer 2010 the movie was still in production and as of 2021, it still has not been released. In April 2012, Borchardt stated that about 65% of the film had been shot, and that he was happy with the first forty pages of the script. However, he maintained parts of the script needed to be revised and while he had rough-cut some of the footage, there was no completion date in place for the project. According to a March 2013 update for the Scare Me IMDb page, the release date has been set for April 1, 2014. In 2018 he directed a documentary called The Dundee Project, which focused on attendees of a UFO festival in Wisconsin. The film premiered at Slamdance Film Festival (Park City), then played at Fantastic Fest (Austin), Nighthawk Cinema (Brooklyn), and the Chicago Critics Film Festival. Follow me: Comic-Jutsu:
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Rob Zombie shoots on Remakes 2009

Here's a rare interview from Rob Zombie during his time directing Halloween II. He shares his thoughts on filming remakes and horror films. This IGN interview is reposted here for archival purposes.



Robert Bartleh Cummings, (born January 12, 1965), known professionally as Rob Zombie, is an American singer, songwriter, filmmaker, and voice actor. He is a founding member of the heavy metal band White Zombie, releasing four studio albums with the band. He is the older brother of Spider One, the lead vocalist of the industrial metal band Powerman 5000. Zombie's first solo effort was a 1996 song titled "Hands of Death (Burn Baby Burn)", written and performed with Alice Cooper. It went on to receive a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards. In 1997, he began working on his debut solo studio album, Hellbilly Deluxe, which was released in August 1998. A month later, Zombie officially disbanded White Zombie. Hellbilly Deluxe went on to sell over three million copies worldwide and spawned three singles. Zombie directed the horror film House of 1000 Corpses in 2000, though the controversial project was not released until 2003. His second studio album, The Sinister Urge (2001), became his second platinum album in the U.S. Zombie directed The Devil's Rejects (2005), a direct sequel to his prior film House of 1000 Corpses. The project received a more positive reception than its predecessor. His third studio album, Educated Horses (2006), was a departure from his earlier recordings. The album became his third to enter the top ten of the Billboard 200, but saw a decrease in sales compared to his previous releases. Deciding to focus on his directing career, Zombie directed the horror film Halloween (2007), a remake of the 1978 horror classic of the same name. The film became Zombie's highest-grossing film to date, though was generally received negatively by critics. He later directed Halloween II (2009), which failed to match the success of its predecessor. He released the animated film The Haunted World of El Superbeasto that same year. Zombie returned to music with the release of his fourth studio album, Hellbilly Deluxe 2 (2010). The album peaked at number eight in the U.S., where it sold over 200,000 copies. In 2012, Zombie released a second remix album and directed the horror film The Lords of Salem, which was released in 2013; that year he also released his fifth studio album Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor. Later he directed the horror film 31. Zombie released his next solo album, The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser, in 2016, followed nearly five years later by his seventh studio album, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy (2021). Since the beginning of his music career, Zombie's music and lyrics have featured notable horror and sci-fi themes. His live shows have been praised for their elaborate shock rock theatricality. Since beginning his solo career, Zombie has sold an estimated fifteen million albums worldwide. Halloween is a 2007 American slasher film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is a remake of the 1978 horror film of the same name and the ninth installment in the Halloween franchise. The film stars Tyler Mane as the adult Michael Myers, Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Sam Loomis, Scout Taylor-Compton as Laurie Strode, and Daeg Faerch as the young Michael Myers. Rob Zombie's "reimagining" follows the premise of John Carpenter's original, with Michael Myers stalking Laurie Strode and her friends on Halloween night. Working from Carpenter's advice to "make [the film] his own", Zombie chose to develop the film as both an origin story and a remake, allowing for more original content than simply re-filming the same scenes. Despite mixed reviews, the film, which cost $15 million to make, went on to gross $80.3 million worldwide in unadjusted U.S. dollars. Zombie followed the film with a sequel, Halloween II, in 2009. Follow me: Comic-Jutsu:
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The Matrix Owes Everything to this 1994 Grant Morrison Comic! Walkthru of Issue #1 of The Invisibles (vol.1)

Grant Morrison's The Invisibles was so far ahead of its time, that we're only now catching up to it. What if every conspiracy theory...