tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34722828186668077272023-06-17T08:46:50.675-04:00Ages 25 and Up - Comics with Kung-Fu GripAges 25 and Up is the codename for a moderately humorous internet comic featuring action figures.1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.comBlogger624125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-80240991862724379272021-11-17T17:32:00.008-05:002021-11-17T17:32:48.023-05:00Movies by the Numbers: Ghostbusters Afterlife (2021)<p>How far would you go? Just how much are you willing to sacrifice for your life's work? Would you give up your savings, your career, your friends, your reputation, your family... your life? Director Jason Reitman honours his father's work with his latest film, <i>Ghostbusters Afterlife</i>, which also honours my favourite character in the franchise, Dr. Egon Spengler, played by the late Harold Ramis.</p><p>Dr. Spengler's daughter, now an adult and mother of two, didn't know her father. Her children know nothing of their grandfather. They don't know why he abandoned the family, moved to a creepy run-down farm in the middle of nowhere, and filled his property with junk. The grandkids don't know of the Manhattan Cross-Rip of '84, have never seen a miniaturized particle accelerator backpack, and don't recognize the old Cadillac rusting in the barn...</p><p>Through exploring their granddad's property, and thanks to teacher Paul Rudd's stories of New York in the '80s, Phoebe and Trevor piece together just who their Grandpa Egon was, what sort of life he lived -- and what he died fighting for. But with little more than their grandfather's old gadgets, an once-white Cadillac, and the couple of misfit kids from town they might call friends, can they possibly stand a chance where even Dr. Spengler, the Brains of the Ghostbusters, fell?</p><p>Of the main cast, the only actor I recognize is Paul Rudd, who is such a good casting choice that his inclusion alone gave me cautious optimism. (Were I casting a 'Busters movie, he'd be one of my four. 'Nuff said.) As Phoebe's enthusiastic teacher with a deep-seeded lifelong in-universe love of the Ghostbusters (and more than a little interest in her mom), Rudd delivers every line, displays every facial expression, with his distinctive down-to-earth style. Good use of Paul Rudd can elevate any project, I find, and <i>Afterlife</i> is even better thanks to his inclusion.</p><p>Not to say anything bad about the rest of the cast. I don't know any of the kids' actors and despite my reservations, they were largely all right. Phoebe is the clear standout, and I'm pleased with how she was written and played. The hair and glasses are great design elements, too. Little Phoebe is a Spengler, through and through. The other kids didn't really stand out, but at least they had enough strengths and good moments to help offset some of their annoyances.</p><p>I also have to commend them for just how versatile the cast is. There are so many good characters for people of all ages and 'Buster familiarity to associate with. Some will be the kids, just learning about Ghostbusting for the first time, finding an exciting world they will carry with them for life. Some will be Paul Rudd, the lifelong fan, now a grownup, who can't keep the smile off his face.</p><p>I get the impression that some scenes were cut short, as they don't always flow well from one to the next. Dialogue explains everything well enough and long-time fans can follow the logic, but I am very much looking forward to the deleted scenes and/or extended cut.</p><p>In an age where rights holders churn out transparent cashgrabs to "monetize dormant IPs," it's a breath of fresh air to find someone who genuinely cares, and Ivan's boy has done a hell of a job in the director's chair. There are plenty of throwbacks that do not feel out of place, or forced, or overly wink-and-nod. Some fun sight gags and plenty to analyze in the background will reward old fans and eagle-eyed viewers but in no way detract from the film. More importantly, the emotional core at the heart of <i>Afterlife</i> feels genuine.</p><p>This isn't some soulless payday. This is Jason Reitman saying "I love you, Dad." This is the people who made <i>Ghostbusters</i> happen saying "We miss you, Harold Ramis." This is a message to the fans: "Thank you for spending these decade with us." Any targeting of nostalgia is real; it's Jason Reitman's nostalgia, too. Any use of real-life brands comes across more as a bit of real-life authenticity and not a shallow advertising attempt. And think of how many real-life brands appeared in the original film: I can think of a chocolate bar, a snack food, and a soft drink offhand.</p><p>The emotional core is true. I'm convinced that some of the actors' tears were real. Yes, <i>Afterlife</i> has plenty of comedy, but more than its fair share of darkness as well. People around me were wiping their eyes in the theatre and I do not blame them. <i>Afterlife</i> will make you laugh, and for some of the viewers around me, it made them cry. The film pulls no punches and even opens with a particularly brutal scene (the technical elements of which are exquisite, I might add).</p><p>Visually, <i>Afterlife </i>is outstanding. There is always something to keep the eye hunting in the set design. Keep searching the backgrounds; maybe on your next viewing. Technical elements are strong; the Reitmans have a knack for composition and framing. Visual effects combine practical and digital and look so good that I didn't even think of them. I've spent so long along capture streams with the movies and cartoons and games that I've forgotten how dated the original '84 effects were (though groundbreaking at the time). That is perhaps the biggest praise I can give <i>Afterlife</i>'s visual effects: they look, sound, and feel so right that I didn't even think about them. They capture how I remember <i>Ghostbusters</i> feeling.</p><p>Your ears are in for a treat as well. Elmer Bernstein's classic theme returns, revisited, throughout the movie. Classic sounds are back and better than ever, from the whirring of PKE Meters, the familiar capture stream energy, and the bass of the timeless powerup sound. The equipment has been modified, not redesigned, and feel consistent with the universe and art style of the brand. Paragoggles are still paragoggles, but at some point, Egon built a camera into them. In no way do the additions to the proton pack make it less recognizable. The PKE meter's new function came as a surprise -- and there I was thinking it was just a fun play feature on the new toy!</p><p>And of course, the Ectomobile. She's back and seen better days, but still kicking. Still busting. New features seem almost out of the animated series (or at least the Kenner toy line), but I don't mean that in a bad way. The gunner seat and Remote Trapping Vehicle make for dynamic scenes of 'busting that we haven't seen in the movies until this point. Might be a little too <i>Real</i> or even <i>Extreme</i> for some 'Busting fans, but <i>Afterlife</i>'s exciting use of the Ecto-1 as a mobile paranormal elimination platform makes it so much more than just transportation for personnel and equipment, and does not feel out of place with the brand.</p><p>There's so, so much that it gets very right, and even its weaknesses are not enough to take away from its many strengths. He who dismisses <i>Ghostbusters Afterlife</i> as nostalgia-milking product placement will miss out on something special. You don't need to be a 'Busting enthusiast to enjoy the film, but if you are, get ready for a hell of a ride. Ivan's boy has done a great job. Worth the wait and worth seeing, and for <i>Ghostbusters</i> fans, at least once.</p><p>Rest well, Dr. Spengler. Your legacy is in good hands.</p>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-30660161541228121512021-06-25T22:35:00.003-04:002021-11-21T02:49:56.187-05:00Movies By The Numbers: Fast & Furious 9 - The Fast SagaWhen does a guilty pleasure stop being guilty? For the last two decades, the venerable <i>Fast & Furious</i> brand has entertained audiences the world over with its sense of humour, ensemble-cast action comedy, frequent emphasis on practical effects, and over-the-top ridiculousness. Stupid ideas are acknowledged as stupid in-universe, but fully committed to by both the characters and the filmmakers.<div><br /></div><div>Yet underneath all the silliness, there is genuine heart. Approachable, likeable characters, whose lives (and deaths) mean something. Characters who, in spite of everything and for better or for worse, have been a constant part of popular culture for the last twenty years.</div><div><br /></div><div>Every <i>Fast</i> movie is a good jumping-on point, with any backstory or lore important enough being mentioned in dialogue or shown in flashback. Knowing nothing going in, you will still have fun. <i>Fast & Furious 9</i> takes things even further by carefully using (and expanding on) two decades of <i>Fast</i> lore. There are some very, very deep cuts, great cameos, plenty of blink-and-you'll-miss-it treats for eagle-eyed fans, and for those heavy into the <i>F&F</i> lore, brace yourselves. If you have a soft spot for <i>F1</i> (and yes, even <i>F3</i>), you might have your heartstrings tugged a little.</div><div><br /></div><div>From the very first shot's colour palette, and vehicle and costume design, I immediately knew that it wasn't set in the present day, but a flashback to a traumatic moment only talked about in <i>F1</i> and never seen until now. Even the very last shot and mid-credits scene are purely for the long-time fans.</div><div><br /></div><div>But can it stand on its own, without any knowledge of or reverence for the brand? Absolutely. When CIA spook Kurt Russell's spy plane goes down deep in enemy territory carrying secret cargo, Vin Diesel's retired international vehicular-themed heist crew goes in after him. But Vin comes face-to-face with a ghost from his past: his estranged (and villainous) brother, John Cena. Vin's spent the last twenty years saying how important family is ("You never turn your back on family... even when they do"), yet here is a mysterious brother we've never heard about! Dark secrets are revealed, familiar faces (friendly and otherwise) make their return, and so do some long-absent characters.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some lament the series' steering away (pun intended) from its street-racing roots; those people are nuts. The brand has always been a product of its time, and as such, cannot recapture the mood of the turn-of-the-millennium car scene -- other than flashback scenes set in that era, of course! If you liked <i>Fast 1</i>, you might enjoy <i>F9</i>'s scenes set before the events of <i>F1</i>... and be surprised at how much world-building they've accidentally or at least unintentionally done in the last two decades. We get to see what is arguably the most important street race in the brand's history, and it's filled with nods to the past.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not to say that <i>F9</i> is grounded in the trying-too-hard-to-be-gritty tone of <i>F1</i> (or <i>F4</i>, for that matter). Expect plenty of throwbacks, recurring lines, running gags, series staples, and the logical extreme of the brand's over-the-top ridiculousness -- and I don't just mean Dame Helen Mirren drifting and J-turning a supercar to shake the London rozzers. It's so goddamn perfect that you just need to see it for yourself.</div><div><br /></div><div>Long-time <i>Fast</i> fans rejoice as fan-favourite character Han Lue (aka "Han Seoul-Oh") returns, portrayed once again by the always-cool Sung Kang. Such a beloved character that despite being killed on-screen in <i>F3</i>, he would appear in <i>F4</i> (and the surprisingly-introspective character piece short film set before it), <i>F5</i>, and <i>F6</i>, with the franchise's timeline retconned accordingly. Han is back, equipped with another black-and-orange car (albeit nowhere near as nice as the Veilside RX-7), an explanation as to how he lived, what he's been up to, and more importantly, no patience for villains. Jordana Brewster's character Mia, sister of Vin Diesel and John Cena, has more of a hands-on role this time, beating the crap out of dudes with Michelle Rodriguez. And even characters you might not have liked the first time around, well, it's good to see them again, and they are used surprisingly well.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Fast 9</i>'s subtitle of "The Fast Saga" might sound pompous as all hell, but that subtitle is completely deliberate. <i>F9</i> explores and deepens the lore of this wacky brand with genuine heart and plenty of surprises. Young actors in pre-<i>Fast 1</i> flashback scenes really did it for me. <i>F9</i> explores the past and brings the Family together into the present... and sets up for the future. I honestly shouted "OH SHIT" in the theatre during that mid-credits scene.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Fast & Furious 9</i> is more than capable of standing on its own, but its main strength isn't its amazing globe-trotting action or huge stunts. Its biggest strength is its heart. The love for its history. The love of its characters. The love for the fans. <i>F9</i> is a thank you to everyone who has enjoyed this ridiculous brand, from those just starting to those who've been here for twenty years. There's really something special to this movie, my friends.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.</div>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-47125694945617638062021-04-08T21:54:00.001-04:002021-04-08T21:54:10.404-04:00Thank You for the Birthday Wishes!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NbRinqYBLYs" width="320" youtube-src-id="NbRinqYBLYs"></iframe></div><p></p><div>First, I want to thank all of you for the birthday wishes. It really means a lot to me. The last year has been one of tumultuous turmoil and torture, and even though I posted <i>The Good Life</i>, pretty much any song off <i>Pinkerton</i> has felt true to me in the last twelve months (particularly tracks 1, 4, 5, and 9, but not in that order). Don't worry, I won't write another cyberpunk short story about any of it this time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Make no mistake. As much as I'm tempted to make a Kyle Katarn reference no one would get, without you guys, I wouldn't <i>"be a content old man."</i> You guys mean everything to me; you're the reason I'm here at all.</div><div><br /></div><div>It really makes me glad to know that you guys are there. I feel bad that I don't do enough for you guys any more and barely post anything, even less anything worthwhile. Isolated and without drive or purpose, I struggle to get anything done these days. I mean, I have a ton of unboxings and reviews to put together for you, but I don't know if I ever will. These figures will probably stay sealed for good. Hell, Figma Batou's still in the shipping box.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not going to lie and say I've ever really been genuinely happy, as far as I know, but this last year has been even more soul-crushing than usual, and I'm sure many of you would agree. I haven't even been able to finish <i>A25U</i> #400, which is a project I've really come to hate. Sometimes I'll animate a second or two and not really want to touch it again for a week. It should be done by now, yeah, but it should also be BETTER. I've had to restart it entirely once and powered on through, despite feeling like I should reshoot the entire thing, both video and audio.</div><div><br /></div><div>Or scrap it entirely. How the hell I was able to make a 15-minute animated short in a single summer in college defies any kind of explanation these days. Ah, to be young again...</div><div><br /></div><div>I told you guys I would do it and I will keep my word. #400 was supposed to be a silly celebration and it's become some kind of torment that would just finish if I could bring myself to hunker down and knock it out. I don't know. It was probably the best I could've done at the time I wrote and shot it, but it still feels like a testament to my good-enough <i>laissez-faire</i> attitude that reeks of mediocrity. You guys deserve more, deserve better, but I still want to finish it. Or at least, have it finished. Have it behind me.</div><div><br /></div><div>And move on. Which is something I'd like to talk about if you'll let me bend your ear.</div><div><br /></div><div>#400, when it gets done (if you believe me, and I don't blame you if you don't), won't be the final <i>Ages 25 & Up</i> comic. That honour will go to #401.</div><div><br /></div><div>Don't act so surprised. You guys know that every time I try to do an animated issue for every one-hundred-issue milestone, the entire comic comes to a crashing multi-year halt. To a certain extent, it's been a relief not having to throw anything together each week, desperately trying to be at least somewhat entertaining, sidelining real life sometimes and sacrificing my entire weekends others.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have the finale issue planned already. Had that round chambered for years. Hell, I've had it prepared before there even was an <i>A25U</i>. I'd written the script for a short student film in college that got butchered once it was taken out of my hands (even the director, a good friend of mine, had his powers stripped from him). It'll finally see the light of day when I adapt it as the last issue of <i>Ages 25 & Up</i>, an issue in which a pair of average-joe--</div><div><br /></div><div>Sorry. Bad choice of words.</div><div><br /></div><div>A story in which a pair of average, working-class Cobra Troopers pull off the job that just might be their last... A story of endings, and new beginnings. Of doors closing, and others opening. Of the sun rising after a long, dark night. It's not as sappy as I'm making it sound, if you'll believe me. You'll see, if it ever comes out.</div><div><br /></div><div>No amount of spending money on stupid crap I don't need can soothe whatever emptiness I might feel. Only you guys' friendship can do that, and I want you all to know how much you mean to me, and have over all these years we've spent together.</div><div><br /></div><div>So thank you, all of you. I'm still here, I'm still trying, I'm still me. And most importantly, I'm still your friend.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had a Happy Birthday, in spite of everything, thanks to all of my friends. I'll keep doing what I'm doing, and I am planning a fun Joe project tentatively called "Pages & Panels" (working title) in which I'll share with you some selections from the Marvel Joe comics as I re-read them. Could be fun.</div><div><br /></div><div>But like everything I do, we'll find out together. Thanks, guys.</div><div><br /></div><div>Your pal,</div><p></p><div></div><p></p><div><i>Numbers, Helix, Six, and every other callsign, codename, or handle you might know me under</i></div>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-41361869695671122732021-03-18T19:35:00.001-04:002021-03-18T19:35:16.303-04:00Short Story: "No Country For Old Netrunners"Last month, I wrote a short story inspired by the works of Pondsmith, Gibson, PK Dick, Ridley Scott, and Masamune Shirow (with a little Suda 51 in there), among others. It was somewhat of an homage to my favourite literary theme, and I shot and edited a cool-ass photo to go with it:<div><br /><a href="https://i.imgur.com/avcfN8d.png"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://i.imgur.com/avcfN8d.png" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 600px;" /></a></div>The story would go great with Vangelis' Blade Runner Blues, to the point that I'll even post that song here in case you want to listen to it:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RScZrvTebeA" width="320" youtube-src-id="RScZrvTebeA"></iframe></div><div><br /></div>This one's dedicated to anyone who's ever punched deck and broken ice with his softs. Enjoy, my street samurai.<div><br /></div><div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">"You ever hear the one about the old netrunner?" The signal wasn't clean and there was interference on the line, but I couldn't mistake the sarcasm in my fixer's voice. She'd done things I didn't want to do, seen things you people wouldn't believe, and couldn't just give advice. She had to bust my balls, make me hunt for wisdom in her gonkbrained jokes and stale anecdotes.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">But she was trying to warn me, and I read her five by five. It was no secret that netrunners didn't exactly live long. Only outlier being Ishikawa, if the rumours were true. Yeah, the pachinko parlour guy. Word is, he has some kind of military hookup and takes his beard off before going to sleep. But your average, run-of-the-mill backalley breacher doesn't have those kinds of luxuries.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">'Runners didn't exactly live to see retirement. Those who were lucky enough to just walk away only did so because the heat was too much. No matter how shit-hot you thought you were, there was always someone with better counterintrusion softs just waiting to fry your brain, or a corpo hit squad ready to kick down your door. Not sure which was worse.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">"You ever hear the one about the old netrunner?" 'Runners didn't get old. They burned up on barriers, slipped on ice, and in some embarrassing cases, got impaled on lagspikes. But that's not all that awaited an interface cowboy, and my fixer wanted me to know it.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">With the Parasite spreading and roadblocks going up like realspace firewalls, you couldn't even grab a beer with a choom these days. She knew I'd spend more and more time punching deck, and that's just what she wanted to warn me about. Some said that the more you dive in, even with a barrier, the less of yourself remains when you jack out. We all knew the stories. Case and 3Jane. The Ballad of Buck Ravers. That delivery guy and the dolphin. But that wasn't going to be me.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">"You ever hear the one about the old netrunner?" I don't plan on hearing about, much less becoming, an old netrunner. I was more of a street samurai kind of guy. I let my beam katana do the talking. Still, I was no stranger to punching deck, but I wasn't trying to blaze a way down the rebel path. All I wanted to do was jack in and see my friends on the net. Sure, I'd never seen them face-to-face but that didn't mean we never had heart-to-hearts. As the weeks rolled into months, I found myself diving in more and more, and staying in longer and longer. Maybe one more combat drop with the armoured operator in Central. One more conversation with the jetsetting businesswoman who hated the corps and couldn't wait to move half-way around the world. One more plan with the West Coast girl who hustles as hard as I do. One more job. One more drink. One more dance. One more kiss, dear.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">It wasn't physical, but it was real. The stories. The laughter. The friendship. The compassion. The understanding. Maybe even the romance. When you punched deck, your friends were there for you, even when they weren't there with you. We understood each other. Didn't mean we weren't all jaded and alone, but we understood each other. Maybe that's why I started 'running so hard. Why my fixer had to warn me.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">They say that 'runners have many faces, a different one for each place on the net they need to go. Each with its own rules, lingo, and mindset. Over time, these identities conflict, tear away from each other, vie for supremacy. Double lives leading double lives, with not a word to their realspace friends, to protect the friends as much as themselves. Guy who punched in isn't quite the one who jacked out. I've seen it happen. People who dive for too long don't tend to be themselves when they're back in realspace. They're more distant. They're not quite there, like their ghosts aren't comfortable in their shells anymore. They only feel right when they're diving.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">More and more of this knowledge, I was getting firsthand. I could feel the 'running taking its toll on me. I felt the different facets of myself tugging in different directions. I could feel the effects on my wetware. One morning, a gyrostabilization glitch on wakeup had me fall right on my ass until my optics rebooted. My diet was mainly liquid. And forget about dreaming of electric sheep or unicorns. Any decent sleep was a distant read-only memory.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Did old netrunners have to worry about this sort of shit? Was the next dive the only thing on their minds, even when they were off on some low-paying realspace gig to get that badly-needed scratch? Did they want to reassure their friends with a "It's okay, I'm still me," even though it wasn't okay, and being them felt like a slow death sentence? </span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">More and more I felt at home 'running. Maybe I didn't feel like eating. Maybe I didn't feel like sleeping. Maybe I couldn't fall asleep. Maybe I wanted to share one more story with her before saying goodnight. Maybe I didn't want to punch out and be alone at five in the morning.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">"You ever hear the one about the old netrunner?" The signal wasn't clean and there was interference on the line, but I couldn't mistake the sarcasm in my fixer's voice. She was trying to warn me, and I read her five by five. No, I hadn't heard the one about the old netrunner. But maybe if I was lucky, I'd live long enough to find out.</span></i></div><div><br /></div></div>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-49148482631660383832021-02-02T13:51:00.003-05:002021-02-02T13:51:53.047-05:00Have a Happy Groundhog Day<p>Out of all of the holidays to make a comic about, <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2017/02/377-groundhog-day.html">I made one about Groundhog Day back in 201</a>7. Or, I guess, technically, about the movie, not the holiday.</p><p>Honestly, Bill Murray's predicament in the movie really didn't sound that bad. Getting out of the time loop and having to continue living life normally after being trapped in the same day for (possibly hundreds of) years, free to do whatever you want, without aging or degrading in any way... Giving up your self-described godhood to be a normal mortal man just doesn't seem worth it. (Maybe if it was someone more delicious than Andie Macdowell...)</p><p>Stay safe and sane out there, folks. More than me, anyway. And the classic movie still holds up.</p>
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<a href="https://i.imgur.com/GrFPAkQ"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://i.imgur.com/GrFPAkQ.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-42515188997370907292021-01-01T20:39:00.011-05:002021-03-21T22:10:23.888-04:00Numbers' New Year's Newsletter: 2021, And A Two-, And A One-Two-Three-Four<div style="text-align: left;">[Other years' letters: <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2011/01/numbers-new-year-newsletter.html" target="_blank">2011</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2012/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-turbo-2012.html" target="_blank">2012</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2013/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-target.html" target="_blank">2013</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2014/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-it-came.html" target="_blank">2014</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2015/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-to-ice.html" target="_blank">2015</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2016/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-we-mean.html" target="_blank">2016</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2017/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-itll-take.html" target="_blank">2017</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2018/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2018-go-go.html">2018</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2019/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2019-too.html" target="_blank">2019</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2020/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-mi-24-hind.html">2020</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2021/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2021-and.html">2021</a> ]<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It didn't matter. Not sure what else I can say.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once I wrote you about the havoc caused by <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2017/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-itll-take.html">Specimen Number 2016</a> and how we barely made it out alive. It is hard to believe that things could get even worse.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">During my many misadventures through time, space, the dimensional inbetween, and the Edge of Beyond, my team and I have encountered numerous hardships and endured unspeakable evils. To put it mildly, friends: I've seen some shit.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But I write this now from the rain-soaked neon-lit rooftop of a long-abandoned hotel, broken and afraid, while what remains of my teammates surround me, eyes to the sky, waiting for an evac bird that may or may not be coming.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Our efforts to survive have worked, barely. Our attempt to dimension-hop home again failed. And all of this feels familiar. We'd once again jumped to a familiar-feeling reality that is not quite home. Again. Déjà vu. I've been in this place before.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I have spent the past year trying to come to terms with this twisted circle of hell and devising a way out. Our plans to build a time machine out of a car failed when we could not find the right model. The best we could use would've been an old hatchback, but our portable reactor would've needed tofu as fuel, and the time circuitry would've been linked to tire temperature. Putting the car into controlled slides to generate the right temperature was not a discipline we could nail down consistently. As our nights of fire turned into mornings and we felt the beat of the rising sun, we were no closer to home. Attack that corner at the wrong angle, and we'd go back too far. We'd find ourselves drifting into the '90s... which would've been preferable to this hellish year.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I look around this rainy roof, the glowing city below, and I cannot help but think of the insanity I've witnessed this year. I've... <i>seen</i> things you people wouldn't believe.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Attack ships on fire off the Shoulder of Orion.</li><li>Common sense grew increasingly uncommon.</li><li>Millions of credits' worth of cargo ships vanish with the screams of 30,000 souls.</li><li>The concept of self-improvement murdered by self-entitlement.</li><li>I watched as tax-evading corporations squabbled with tax-evading corporations over profits.</li><li>I saw the biggest ship expo in the galaxy turn into an underwhelming overpriced shitshow.</li><li>Arguably the last remaining superpower on Earth continued its unstoppable decline to shitholedom, the sun having long set upon its empire.</li><li>I saw people claim to want respect when what they sought was attention.</li><li>I witnessed the entertainment industry's ongoing War on Redheads. A pox upon the entire industry, I say.</li><li>I watched the public continue to give chances to companies that repeatedly proved they didn't deserve it.</li><li>I lost loved ones, but gained a few along the way.</li><li>I heard the incomprehensible ravings of a nuclear-equipped manchild and its cabal of international supervillains.</li><li>I witnessed the continued activity of ethnoterrorist organizations and people's inexplicable reluctance to admit to themselves that is indeed what they are.</li><li>I heard people express ridiculous fears about tracking devices, publicly posting the aforementioned fears from the tracking devices they keep on them at all times.</li><li>A virological pandemic the likes of which we have not seen in our lifetimes reared its ugly head, yet people are too stupid to react accordingly.</li><li>I watched helplessly as rampant unchecked capitalism increased its kill count.</li><li>I saw questions, doubts, and desire for conversation dismissed as fear, hate, and other buzzwords.</li><li>I heard underequipped would-be neuromancers bitching that their weak-ass decks aren't augmented enough to handle the latest softs. No one else's fault but yours if your gonk-ass wetware can't support the chrome. Delta outta here with that shit, choom.</li><li>I saw people die who should've lived, and vice-versa.</li><li>I saw the bad guys get away with it, as usual.</li><li>I collect spores, moulds, and fungus.</li><li>I lost The Game.</li><li>I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;">All those moments will be lost in spacetime when my friends and I jump out of this torturous dimension and interminable year. Surely, things for you guys back home were peaceful, happy, and safe, with the world's power wielded by rational individuals who genuinely have our planet and its peoples' best interests in mind. I long to once again be with you all, to get close to you, to hug you, to share a meal and a drink, and to celebrate the New Year together, in a packed room of happy people with nothing but smiles on our faces!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Oh, how much I must've missed, being marooned here! I can't wait to catch up on what a great year 2020 must have been for all of you back home!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'll be right there!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>- Numbers</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>From the roof of the Bradbury Building</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Los Angeles, January 2021</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">[Other years' letters: <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2011/01/numbers-new-year-newsletter.html" target="_blank">2011</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2012/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-turbo-2012.html" target="_blank">2012</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2013/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-target.html" target="_blank">2013</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2014/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-it-came.html" target="_blank">2014</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2015/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-to-ice.html" target="_blank">2015</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2016/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-we-mean.html" target="_blank">2016</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2017/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-itll-take.html" target="_blank">2017</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2018/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2018-go-go.html">2018</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2019/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2019-too.html" target="_blank">2019</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2020/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-mi-24-hind.html">2020</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2021/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2021-and.html">2021</a> ]</div>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-41226497582027271682020-12-31T14:56:00.001-05:002020-12-31T14:56:16.423-05:00Did you have a Merry Christmas this year? Maybe I can help.<div>This year has been absolute crap. This is undeniable. I hope you managed to have a Merry Christmas, in spite of everything. If not, maybe this can help. Here is every Christmas issue of Ages 25 & Up I've ever made, spanning 2008 to 2016. They're not all funny, they're not all good, but they're all here, at any rate.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stay tuned for an annual Numbers' New Year's Newsletter, which I'll try to have ready for tomorrow. We'll see.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stay frosty.</div><br />
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<i>Bloodshot</i> is a movie starring Vin Diesel and is based on a '90s Valiant comic. It's so bad that it stars Vin Diesel and is based on a '90s Valiant comic.<br />
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I'll explain, but first, bear with me...<br />
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They catch your eye and your hand instinctively reaches out for them. You lift the cookie to your mouth, preparing, anticipating that first bite. In a heartbeat, you will savour the delicious chocolate chips.<br />
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But you won't. For the cookie in your hand isn't chocolate chip at all, but raisin.<br />
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What does this have to do with anything? Simply put: Valiant is the raisins of the comic-book world.<br />
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Growing up in the '90s, super-powered comic heroes lived on my TV screen thanks to spectacular, amazing, incredible cartoons such as <i>X-Men</i>, <i>Spider-Man</i>, <i>Batman</i> (especially the cyberpunk <i>Beyond</i>), and so on, but comic books themselves were a privilege. My brothers and I would buy bagged issues (no, not like <i>X-Cutioner's Song</i>), literal mixed bags of three issues each, with only one visible through the front of the bag. And even if there was an issue of <i>Iron Man</i> or <i>Hulk</i> in the front, well, you could bet the other two weren't.<br />
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It wasn't long before my brothers and I had a shoe box of crappy Valiant issues, needlessly-edgy '90s comics filled with 'tude, plenty of blood, and frequently poor-man's versions of familiar characters and/or teams. In grade school, I remember trying to come up with my own "His Superpower Is Guns" character in that '90s style, with a suitably violent and edgy name. I used a word I'd recently learned after having my finger stuck in a window: Bloodshot. Luckily, when I'd learned someone with the creativity of a schoolboy had already used that name on a character that looked even lamer than what I'd devised, I dropped the entire thing.<br />
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And that brings us to the year 2020. The capeshit oversaturation of entertainment media knows no bounds, and Sony's latest transparent cashgrab is, for whatever reason, an attempt to establish some kind of "Valiant Cinematic Universe." Hell, what's next? Malibu Comics? Topps? (I'd be okay with Amalgam.)<br />
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Their first (and should we all be so lucky, final) attempt is <i>Bloodshot</i>, which stars Vin Diesel as the titular character, an American soldier who is killed in action, only to be resurrected as an amnesiac super-soldier with nanomachines in his veins, allowing for superhuman strength and regeneration. (What's a Wolverine?) Brought back to life by a brilliant roboticist played by Guy Pearce and his RST Corporation, Vin finds himself welcomed by a group of wounded soldiers, all of whom are now enhanced cyborgs.<br />
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He finds camaraderie among the RST cyborgs, and eventually, bits and pieces of his memory. He remembers his wife... and the guy who killed her. Driven by revenge, he sets out to take down his wife's murderer. But his memories are artificial, RST has been using him to kill people, and what, if anything, in his new cybernetically-augmented memory-altered world is real?<br />
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Yep. It's that generic. As if someone ripped elements out of <i>RoboCop</i> with some Wolverine thrown in, but nowhere near as good as either.<br />
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The first scene sets the tone for much of the rest of the movie. As the opening logos fade in, tacticool military radio jargon is heard, and leads into a scene of modern-military American soldier Vin Diesel single-handedly breaching and clearing an entire building of insurgents, throwing flashbangs in slow-motion and sloppily performing a tac-reload, dropping the empty mag on the ground. Is this an adaptation of a '90s superhero comic or a <i>Call of Dudebros</i> game?<br />
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Naturally, the scene is filled with excessive amounts of shaky-cam and fast cutting, making it impossible to really tell just what the hell is going on or to focus on the action at all. Just about all of the action scenes fall victim to an overuse of shaky-cam and fast cutting. You could argue that such overused techniques create an atmosphere of frantic chaos in battle. I don't. All it creates is the impression that someone could not be bothered to do tracking shots or choreograph fight scenes. <i>John Wick</i> exists, and if you are going to lift elements from other works, consider stealing some technical elements from Keanu's beautifully filmed action flicks.<br />
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The only actors I recognize here are Vin Diesel as our titular hero, and Guy Pearce as the head of RST, himself having a cybernetic arm. I'm guessing that casting Guy Pearce in a movie about an amnesiac trying to avenge his wife's murder has to be intentional. (Don't worry -- <i>Bloodshot</i> isn't told out of order with desaturated scenes.) Everyone's performance is just as serviceable as it needs to be for the movie's characters and tone. I particularly enjoyed Vin's brash foil, the dude with bionic legs and an exosuit akin to something out of <i>The Surge</i>. And, of course, the badass athletic lady in consistently tight outfits. I got a Michelle Rodriguez vibe from her later in the movie -- and not just because Vin was in it. (The movie, I mean, not the lady.)<br />
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Say what you will about Vin Diesel, but the man really <i>gets</i> the concept of Stupid Action Movies. He's built a career out of <i>getting</i> Stupid Action Movies. Make no mistake, <i>Bloodshot</i> desperately wants to be nothing more than a stupid action movie filled with clichés. (Make a drinking game out of "Predict The Next Line of Dialogue" and YOU will wake up in the RST headquarters with a cybernetic liver.) Yet it can't find its tone. On one hand, it's extremely stupid, the writing is awful, and it's an excuse for Vin to do his Stupid Action Movie shit.<br />
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But on the other hand, the pressure from the studio is palpable. The seriousness of the subject matter. The generic "epic" music. How straight everyone seems to play it. It feels like a tug-of-war between two parties: those providing the big budget who want to sell this serious action story about a wronged soldier, and milk this for all it's worth (and then make more Valiant flicks); and those writing and starring in it who just want to make a self-aware action/comedy, leaning into and embracing the stupidity.<br />
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The tone is all over the place. You have a story about revenge, duty, and the meaning of freedom, yet it's told through cybernetically-augmented Vin Diesel punching dudes and blowing crap up. There's an audience-stand-in brown I.T. guy who's one of the few normal people caught up in this crazy world of cyborg warriors, yet he's the comic relief as well as butt of the joke. (I particularly enjoyed Guy Pearce's gag about him liking cricket more than tennis.)<br />
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We're supposed to want to cheer for Vin, hoping he can break free and take his life back, yet one of the meters on a screen showing his vitals reads REVENGE: 100%. Now I've played enough <i>Street Fighter IV</i> to be no stranger to Revenge Meters, but when a movie deliberately has a close-up of a screen so the audience can see the "REVENGE" value fill up (accompanied by actors' dialogue confirming the filling of the REVENGE meter), one thing is clear. It cannot be taken seriously. And that's just the thing: <i>Bloodshot</i> can't decide if it wants to take itself seriously or be over-the-top stupid, and doesn't fully commit enough to either to have any hope of working. It can't decide if it wants to be <i>Fast 4</i> or <i>Furious 7</i>. I'm glad it's not as self-indulgent with its attempts at humour as <i><a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2019/08/thinking-at-length-about-fast-furious.html">Hobbs & Shaw</a></i>, but the humour feels at odds with the self-serious grit, and neither shine through.<br />
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If, for whatever reason, you have convinced yourself that you have any kind of affinity for the source material, rest assured that the filmmakers don't. Other than the basic premise and some character names, there really isn't much here that seems to be lifted from the pages of the Valiant comic. (I tried to keep my eyes peeled for stuff like a H.A.R.D. Corps logo, schematics of the X-O Manowar armour, or the name of the Eternal Warrior on a computer screen. I caught nothing.) In fact, it really feels as though the '90s comic book 'tude has been replaced with contemporary techno-futurism and Hollywood generica, further cementing the overall impression that this movie's mere existence is a studio's attempt at just churning out a product to get a payday rather than a creator's labour of love. There are certain points in the flick where Vin's skin turns white, his eyes red-on-black, and the red glow inside his chest resembles the red circle on the comic-book character. That's about as much accuracy to the comic as you can expect.<br />
<br />
Would it have been better if the <i>Bloodshot</i> movie kept the hyper-violent super-bloody Edge & 'Tude of the '90s Valiant comic it ostensibly brings to the big screen? Well, if it did, at least then it'd feel like the source material whose name it bears, rather than a completely generic contemporary big-budget blockbuster-chasing Hollywood action flick with cyber-futuristic techno-gimmickry leaking from its pores. It takes itself too seriously to be a Vin-style Stupid Action Movie, and it's too stupid and generic to stand out as a smart (or even clever) action-themed revenge movie -- but in a post-<i>John Wick</i> world, that is a big request.<br />
<br />
Bland writing, overuse of shaky-cam and CGI, characters that aren't particularly exciting or endearing -- nothing here is special, and other than a setpiece battle in a blocked tunnel, nothing is really done that well. Sure, you could gather your friends at home whenever this comes out and apply the <i>Fast & Furious</i> Drinking Game rules to it for a gag (many vehicles explode, at least one car ends up on its roof, the word "family" appears at least once...), but you could do that for <i>any</i> of Vin's movies, and if you did that with <i>Fast Five</i> or <i>xXx</i>, you'd get to watch a better movie, too (however guilty the pleasure might be).<br />
<br />
For a movie that uses memories as a crucial story element, Vin Diesel's <i>Bloodshot</i> sure is completely forgettable.<br />
<br />
<br />1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-23619666080549191382020-03-05T13:26:00.002-05:002020-03-05T13:26:27.317-05:00Numbers Requesting BackupGreetings, A25U folks! Your old pal Numbers here, unfortunately in a bit of a bind. I've fallen upon some hard times and an unexpected expense reared its ugly head -- I'm out of work for the time being and my damn glasses broke.<br />
<br />
If you want to help, please consider checking out <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/numbers-needs-glasses">the GoFundMe page I set up</a>, or you can use <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/p/support-a25u.html">the comic blog's old PayPay donation page</a> if it's better for you. You can also keep in touch on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/agescomic/">the comic's facebook page</a>, if you'd like.<br />
<br />
Thanks for all the help, support, and friendship you guys have shown me over the years. I don't want to ask you for anything more than that, but regrettably, I have to this time.1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-74804625748979922020-02-02T13:10:00.003-05:002020-02-02T13:10:27.919-05:00Happy Groundhog Day!I hope you all are enjoying your most sacred of holidays! Here's a strip I'd made for the occasion back in 2017, but it is still relevant.<br />
<br /><a href="http://i.imgur.com/8wm4S3n"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://i.imgur.com/8wm4S3n.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-54362261079538167202020-01-08T16:57:00.003-05:002021-01-01T20:41:14.986-05:00Numbers' New Year's Newsletter: Mi-24 Hind-sight is 2020[Other years' letters: <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2011/01/numbers-new-year-newsletter.html" target="_blank">2011</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2012/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-turbo-2012.html" target="_blank">2012</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2013/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-target.html" target="_blank">2013</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2014/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-it-came.html" target="_blank">2014</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2015/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-to-ice.html" target="_blank">2015</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2016/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-we-mean.html" target="_blank">2016</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2017/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-itll-take.html" target="_blank">2017</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2018/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2018-go-go.html">2018</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2019/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2019-too.html" target="_blank">2019</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2020/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-mi-24-hind.html">2020</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2021/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2021-and.html">2021</a> ]<br />
<br />
My eyes darted throughout the sky, desperately seeking the source of the noise. And then I saw it. My fingers reached for my radio.<br />
<br />
"Admiral Killthunder, what's a Russian gunship doing here?"<br />
<br />
But the good Admiral had no answer. At least, none that I would like.<br />
<br />
I'll rewind a bit, for those of you just joining me. As explained in my previous years' Newsletters (linked above for your convenience), the misadventures of my friends and crew on our good-intentioned romp through time and space knows no end, no sanity.<br />
<br />
Upon parrying the lightning in our modified performance street racer to escape a planet with a drifting-based economy while defeating its biggest villain who'd weaponized the weather (all while faking our own deaths to cover our tracks), what was left of my team found itself in the farmlands of Bratislava.<br />
<br />
Bratislava, USA.<br />
<br />
Our ripping and tearing of the fabric of spacetime had sent us into the year 2020, where America's unstoppable decline had at long last giving the Soviets the chance to win the Cold War. Now Hinds like the one above us filled the air, part of the invading army's battle to save America from the Americans.<br />
<br />
My team and I had to move fast. We used the parts of the Ten-Lightsecond Car to fashion hastily-built exosuits, not even full mechs or powered armour and left what we couldn't use behind. We linked up with the local resistance. It was there that we met... I'll be honest, I've forgotten his name. He had a trench coat and a shotgun and taught us to make pipebombs. But his name reminded me of a kind of candy I desperately wanted to eat again. And I could've sworn I'd seen him before somewhere, possibly as a cowboy, a space marine, or maybe just a regular marine capable of driving a mini-sub.<br />
<br />
Maybe I'd seen him before in another dimension, but if anyone understood our plight, it was this guy. It wasn't our battle, and all we wanted was to get home, but if lending our hands was our only option, my team and I would do whatever we could.<br />
<br />
According to our new friend's intel, this place was now called the U.S.S.A., and the leadership within the Red House had a Dimensional Map. The resistance wanted into the Red House to, I don't know, finally take their country back like they should've done years ago, and my team and I wanted in to find that Map.<br />
<br />
So, for the moment, we had a temporary and fragile alliance. And these exosuits weren't going to last. We scrapped them, and used their pieces to fashion some new weapons: energy machetes, hardlight axes, power tridents, and my personal favourite, the beam katana. In this fallen world, there were no more heroes, and my friends and I fully admitted we were in this for ourselves.<br />
<br />
But isn't everyone?<br />
<br />
I write this as we make preparations for our assault. We have already sent in scouts to case the joint, and I think we have a good idea on just how we will pull this job off. I can't promise anything, though, but with that Map and a lot of luck, we might find our way home in time for New Year's 2021 and finally be able to finish #400.<br />
<br />
But let's not say anything crazy.<br />
<br />
<i>- Numbers</i><br />
<i>Somewhere outside New Moscow, U.S.S.A.</i><br />
<i>January 2020</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />[Other years' letters: <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2011/01/numbers-new-year-newsletter.html" target="_blank">2011</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2012/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-turbo-2012.html" target="_blank">2012</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2013/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-target.html" target="_blank">2013</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2014/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-it-came.html" target="_blank">2014</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2015/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-to-ice.html" target="_blank">2015</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2016/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-we-mean.html" target="_blank">2016</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2017/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-itll-take.html" target="_blank">2017</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2018/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2018-go-go.html">2018</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2019/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2019-too.html" target="_blank">2019</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2020/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-mi-24-hind.html">2020</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2021/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2021-and.html">2021</a> ]<br />
<i></i><br />
<i><br /></i>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-49633326112715736352019-10-29T19:07:00.002-04:002019-10-29T19:07:44.259-04:00Halloween 2019, already?Time flies when you're busy as all hell. Case in point: it's already Halloween 2019, or at least mere days away from it. Well, crap.<br />
<br />
I mean, uh, let's celebrate! Need a last-minute costume idea? Well, here's my review of the Spirit Halloween product lineup of Ghostbusters gear. I should probably do a follow-up video to show how the stuff's holding up after a year of con-going.<br />
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And let's keep that Halloween theme going with literally every Halloween issue of A25U than I can think of/remember. The last one is my favourite.<br />
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Have a safe and happy Halloween, everyone.<br />
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1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-28831895102890706412019-08-04T18:19:00.004-04:002020-09-20T19:11:29.819-04:00Thinking at Length About "Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs & Shaw" (2019)Time again for another movie review! Well, more of a long-ass impression piece with thoughts and rambling, but you'll see what I mean. This time around, it's the ninth installment (or first spin-off, if you want to get specific) in the long-running adrenaline-fuelled over-the-top action-comedy <i>Fast & Furious</i> franchise. The Rock and Jason Statham return once again as familiar bald badasses in <i>Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs & Shaw</i>, which just like every previous movie, requires no knowledge of or affinity for the rest of the brand to enjoy. (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hardcorehelix/media_set?set=a.1880540195310923&type=3">If you WOULD like to know more about the franchise, consider checking out the extensive screen capture gallery with mini-review writeups on the Helix page here.</a>)<br />
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Say what you will about the venerable action movie brand, it has always been an exciting product of its time (much like the Bond films), and though they haven't all been good (much like the Bond films), they very much reflect the moods and fears of their eras. And so, angsty good-looking young adults street racing and hijacking shipments of CRTs and VCRs in 2001 has given way to cyber-futuristic paramilitary corporations using drones, cybernetics, and weaponized viruses to cleanse the human race in 2019.<br />
<br />
But rest assured: the <i>F&F </i>brand is still by all means the over-the-top guilty pleasure it has always been. And even though the things to feel guilty about might have changed over the years, the pleasure is still very much present. Fans of the franchise will also be glad to see staples of the brand are still in place, such as the concept of the Stunt Position (popularized by the <i>Just Cause </i>series even though its use appeared in the first <i>Fast</i> film in 2001), the judicious use of nitrous oxide, and, naturally, the liberal use of the term "family." More so than in the previous films (other than possibly <i>7</i> and <i>8</i>), family is a core concept at the heart of this spin-off.<br />
<br />
Directed by David Leitch, one of the pair of directors behind <i>John Wick</i>, <i>Hobbs & Shaw</i> tells a new story set in the every-evolving <i>Fast & Furious </i>world, reuniting two of the biggest-name actors in the brand's history. When a deadly weaponizable virus is stolen by a rogue MI6 agent, who do the CIA spooks send in to save the world from a genocidist's wet dream?<br />
<br />
None other than The Rock as Luke Hobbs (introduced in <i>Fast Five)</i>, formerly of the American DSS, and Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw (introduced in a mid-credits scene in <i>Furious 6</i>), British ex-military whose lineage hasn't exactly kept its hands clean over the years. Shaw's brother (played by Welsh gentleman Luke Evans in <i>6</i>, <i>7</i>, and <i>8</i>) does not return, but their overbearing disappointed mother does, once more played by the legendary Dame Helen Mirren, who is utterly perfect in the role.<br />
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Both Shaw's and Hobbs' families are expanded in this movie. The newest Shaw is Deckard's sister Hattie, an MI6 agent framed with killing her team and stealing a deadly virus. Vanessa Kirby of <i>The Crown</i> fame is outstanding as the sassy and extremely badass Agent Hattie Shaw, and from what a friend tells me, is a great choice to play Dame Helen Mirren's daughter. Personally, I was hoping to see the lovely Rosamund Pike as the character, but perhaps she might be a bit too classy for the scrappy, dirty-fighting Hattie character. (But reuniting her and The Rock might've made for a fun line or two referencing their time together in that hilariously-awful <i>DOOM3</i> movie.)<br />
<br />
One of the more fun elements of the <i>F&F</i> brand is the blurring of the lines between characters and actors. When discussing the films with friends, I often substitute the characters' names for the actors' names, and for good reason. "Roman Pierce" is pretty much Tyrese Gibson. The top-notch player-hating of "Tej Parker" sounds like it could be lyrics from a Ludacris album. And let's not forget the gut-wrenching heartfelt farewell that closed <i>Furious 7</i>, which changes subtly, almost imperceptibly, from the "Dominic Torretto" character talking about the "Brian O'Connor" character to Vin Diesel directly addressing his late friend Paul Walker.<br />
<br />
<i>Hobbs & Shaw</i> runs with the idea that you're not here for the rich characters or even that deep, deep <i>F&F</i> lore (which I could go on about at length, if I haven't already). You watch <i>Hobbs & Shaw</i> to see the familiar faces and antics of big-screen badasses The Rock and Statham, and that's what you get. Hobbs is so The Rock that not only does he deliver smack talk worthy of a wrestling promo video, but there are scenes of him straight-up working out, his famous eyebrow, and even filling up at a diner on his world-famous Cheat Day. Man, that is one big-ass stack of pancakes. And, of course, the final act of the movie has Hobbs (and by extension The Rock) going home to literally reunite with his family.<br />
<br />
Statham, similarly, plays The Jason Statham Character, who you'll recognize not just from <i>Furious 7 </i>and <i>The Fate of the Furious</i>, but the likes of <i>The Transporter</i>, <i>Crank</i>, <i>The Expendables</i>, and Guy Ritchie movies. I don't mean any of this in a bad way -- these are familiar, fun, likeable personalities, and even if you haven't seen them trade punches and insults in <i>F7</i>, you can jump right into <i>Hobbs & Shaw</i>. And make no mistake, the insults they trade this time around are so savage, so close to escalating to punches, that it takes a special-guest-star cameo as an Air Marshal to prevent Statham from getting Rock-Bottomed at 30,000 feet.<br />
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As is often the case in the <i>F&F</i> films, the story makes precious little sense or plausibility, but is perfectly serviceable as a reason (if not excuse) to have the heroes travel across the world fighting bad guys. And what a bad guy do they have to fight against. A dude so bad enough that in the opening scene, he even simply refers to himself as the "bad guy." Make no mistake, Idris Elba hams it up as the villainous Brixton, and it is pure ridiculous perfection.<br />
<br />
Elba's character humorously refers to himself as "Black Superman," but he's more like "Black <i>Crysis</i> Guy." Brixton is a genetically- and cybernetically-enhanced super-soldier outfitted with a bulletproof bodysuit and some kind of self-driving shape-shifting motorcycle that feels out of place, like it fell out of those soul-crushing <i>Generic Overdesigned Hollywood Robot</i> flicks that crapped all over a beloved line of toys, comic books, and cartoons. The high-tech futurism doesn't quite gel with the <i>F&F</i> brand in my opinion, and that includes the Hollywood hacking stuff from <i>7</i> and <i>8</i>.<br />
<br />
Brixton works for some kind of transhumanism-focused death cult whose leader is never seen but sounds like Dr. Samuel Hayden from <i>DOOM4</i>. They want the virus that Hattie Shaw's team died to protect, and that she, her brother, and Hobbs have to travel the world to keep out of enemy hands. But it seems that despite all of the bad guys' attack drones, futuristic vehicles, and electronically-activated guns, they only have one supersoldier. I don't know how much it costs to make a supersoldier like Idris Elba's character, but surely a pair of them would be much more effective than just one.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, and strangely enough, Augmented Idris Elba's abilities seem quite similar to what Regular-Ass The Rock can do normally. There are obviously standouts, like Brixton's ocular implants and HUD, but many of Hobbs' feats of strength seem comparable to what the superpowered villain can do.<br />
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Travelling the world, fighting bad guys, and dropping some hilarious dialogue along the way, <i>Hobbs & Shaw</i> really delivers, and cyberpunk themes aside, it doesn't feel like that much of a departure from the mainline <i>F&F </i>flicks, absence of the ensemble cast notwithstanding. The humour is there, the action is intense, the dialogue is right where it needs to be, and the story is suitably nonsensical to string the action scenes together. But it's not without its faults.<br />
<br />
There are a few celebrity cameos that go on way too long and are not consistently funny enough to be worthwhile. The first one, at the diner, was great -- the others, not so much. They attempted to work the Air Marshal into the story later, sure, but that doesn't make the character less annoying or the delivery any better. And I'm surprised with the casting: how'd that guy manage to find the time for an unfunny cameo with his busy schedule of cheating on his wife?<br />
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The mid- and post-credits scenes were good for a chuckle, I guess, but felt like more excuses to keep a cameo character around for a bit longer even after overstaying his welcome. The scenes don't push the brand forward, set anything up, or answer any questions in the way the mid- and post-credits scenes from <i>1</i>, <i>5</i>, and <i>6</i> did.<br />
<br />
Director David Leitch also seems to have regrettably stepped away from one of the decisions that made <i>John Wick</i> as strong as it was: rather than let the audience <i>see</i> the action of the well-choreographed stunts and fight sequences, <i>Hobbs & Shaw</i> is mired in the typical overused big-budget Hollywood shaky-cam effects that Leitch steered clear of in Keanu's quest for revenge. Why the same couldn't be done here is beyond me.<br />
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More standard Hollywood techniques include the movie's handling of computer equipment. Hackers hacking hackers is nothing new to the brand, but the death cult mercs have electronic safety measures on their firearms that require the weapons' operators to wear some kind of security gloves that authorize the weapons to fire. No glove, no love. However, the security tech can be hacked, preventing any firearms from being used. When the hacking program finishes and the mercs can use their weapons again, would they really just surrender to the Samoan warriors, and not, say, take as many down as possible before falling in glorious combat in the name of The Cause?<br />
<br />
Also, the entire final act set in Samoa feels self-indulgent in a way the brand, for all of its flaws, doesn't tend to feel. The Rock and his brothers plan to use Mad-Max-style weapons and tactics against a cyberpunk death cult armed with what must be the lightest, weakest Black Hawk helicopter ever to go into production? I don't know, man. I mentioned the brand often blurring the lines between character and actor, and to be fair, The Rock/Hobbs lead his daughter's sport team in a traditional war dance in <i>F8</i>, but still.<br />
<br />
And speaking of <i>The Fate of the Furious</i>, in that movie, Hobbs and Shaw had to grudgingly work together, and in the process, learned to respect each other. During the scene in the secret government vehicle facility known as Toy Shop, Hobbs reads Shaw's file, learning how Deckard's acts of selfless heroism saved the lives of his military team and earned him a medal. So how'd Shaw end up a criminal? The same way Hobbs himself ended up being accused of treason -- the two military men were used up and spat out by their countries. They're more alike than they want to admit, and Hobbs reacts in anger when Shaw is seemingly killed during the New York battle. Hobbs and Shaw have put their differences behind them in the previous movie, so this movie pretending their rivalry has somehow escalated even further than it was when they first met doesn't really make sense. Sure, this movie wouldn't be as much fun without their savage smack-talk, but it feels like something's missing here.<br />
<br />
All things considered, they have crafted a thoroughly-enjoyable buddy-action movie with spectacular stunts, some great writing, the right amount of over-the-top hilarity, and the ever-important theme of family. Both characters of Hobbs and Shaw technically started as villains, and I'm still unhappy about Shaw canonically murdering my favourite <i>F&F</i> character, and even if the movie didn't have the strong writing, pacing, and technical elements that it does, the appeal of The Rock and Statham would still be enough to carry <i>Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs & Shaw</i>. As it stands, it's an exhilarating laugh-out-loud action comedy that seriously delivers on the brand's strengths. It's a shame they couldn't get the entire crew back to make this a proper numbered installment (we'll see what <i>Furious 9</i> brings), but don't let your enjoyment of or disdain for the <i>Fast</i> brand prevent you from catching this balls-through-the-wall action experience.<br />
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I think that's pretty much all I can think to say about it right now. But, if you have any questions, feel free to ask them, and I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.<br />
<br />
Ride or Die, Family.1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-30574619640024045712019-06-16T22:29:00.000-04:002019-06-16T22:29:24.415-04:00Still Alive, and a Movie Review: Sam Jackson's "Shaft" (2019)Friends!<br />
<br />
First, I just want to say that I am still alive, in spite of everything. Real-life, unfortunately, must come first, and as such, finding the time to dedicate to the animation project is nowhere near as easy as it once was. How I ever used to be able to finish a 15-minute short film in one summer is beyond me.<br />
<br />
Rest assured that at some point, the #400 animated movie will be completed, and I do have other comic content I want to share with you guys, including some Flashbacks, and following that, some choice individual issues from the backlog. We've been at this a long time, together, after all.<br />
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Speaking of movies, here's something you might enjoy:<br />
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Now you guys know I'm a big fan of Samuel L. BMF Jackson. You can see that for yourself if <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDbkoTZptvI" target="">Ages 25 & Up #200 "Dead Figure Storage"</a> is still watchable in your region. So when I heard that they were making another Sam Jackson <i>Shaft</i> movie, I was ready.<br />
<br />
At least, I thought I was. Then I saw the trailer linked above. <i>Then</i> I was ready.<br />
<br />
Okay, some history for the uninitiated. In the '70s, actor Richard Roundtree starred in a series of blaxploitation crime movies based on a book about (to quote Issac Hayes' theme song) "the black private dick who's a sex machine to all the chicks," cleaning up the streets. "Hotter than Bond, Cooler than Bullitt," Roundtree defined the black action hero. Years later, Huey Freeman from the <i>Boondocks</i> comic strip would describe himself as "blacker than Richard Roundtree in <i>Shaft in Africa</i>," which is a bold claim.<br />
<br />
But who could possibly be enough of a badass motherfucker to play Shaft today? Easy. Sam Jackson. I mean, he played Shaft 20 years ago in that reboot/relaunch movie (which you don't need to have seen to enjoy this new one).<br />
<br />
And how would you even go about making a <i>Shaft</i> movie today? The answer is simple: <b>Properly</b>. In the early 2000s, <i>Newsday</i> had this to say about <i>Chappelle's Show</i>,<i> </i>which it hailed as "the best show on TV": "In a world full of over-censorship, it's good to see someone still has the guts to cross the barriers," and I'd say the same is true about 2019's <i>Shaft</i>, which directly makes fun of the contemporary age of self-absorbed over-entitled kids, deals with issues such as racism, masculinity, and the drug trade, and still manages to tell a story about a broken family trying to patch things together again.<br />
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2019's <i>Shaft</i> tells the story Sam Jackson's John Shaft, returning from 2000's <i>Shaft</i>, as a private investigator keeping Harlem safe. An attempt on his life in '89 terrifies his lover, who leaves him in order to keep their son, John Jr., safe. JJ grows up without knowing his dad and eventually joins the FBI. But when his best friend dies under mysterious circumstances, JJ will need help to solve the case.<br />
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He needs one bad motherfucker named John Shaft. Because even though it's his name, too, JJ is a wimpy, weak, timid millennial without street smarts or life experience, and if he's going to find out what really happened to his best friend -- or even just survive Harlem -- he'll need to be taken under his father's wing, whether either of them like it or not. Just don't tell his mom.<br />
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Along the way, they'll cross paths with street-level hustlers, pillars of the community whose businesses are fronts, hired guns, and a crime ring story straight out of the '70s (fictionalized in Ridley Scott's <i>American Gangster</i>). They'll need help on this one. And who better to turn to than Sam Jackson's Shaft's father, Richard Roundtree, the original Shaft himself. (A throwaway line connects the 2000 and 2019 movies, and corrects the 2000 one's error.) Together, three generations of John Shafts will solve the mystery and smack the shit out of those punk-ass criminal motherfuckers.<br />
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What does 2019's <i>Shaft</i> do right? Basically, just about everything. It opens perfectly, with the right colour palette, the right font (as seen in original <i>Shaft</i> and on Sam Jackson's wallet in <i>Pulp Fiction</i>), and the right music. The groovy, soulful funk soundtrack is absolutely perfect (though I would have liked if they'd used more of Isaac Hayes' classic theme song), and the late title card even says "Copyright 1972" in Roman numerals.<br />
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The writing, dialogue, and delivery are spot on. The whole theatre was laughing to the hysterical one-liners and outstanding player hating. Like what you see in the trailer above? That trailer isn't the best parts of the entire movie -- the best part is the entire movie is consistently that good.<br />
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The casting couldn't have been better. JJ is as much of loser as he needs to be. Within Sam Jackson's streetwise exterior beats the heart of a man who loves his family, and it does shine through. The female cast's sass is palpable. Not recognizing anyone but Sam Jackson and Richard Roundtree helps the cast feel real, I'll admit.<br />
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I really liked the fact that my credo of "Oldschool is the best school" is basically the tagline for this movie. JJ's modern, high-tech, millennial ways are not enough to solve the case, and it takes someone as old-fashioned and oldschool (if not out-of-touch) as Sam Jackson's Shaft (himself a late-'90s take on Roundtree's '70s character) to save the day. Almost like some kind of blaxploitation <i>Demolition Man</i>, only in a good way.<br />
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It's not without faults, though. There are some messy jump cuts that remind me of those found in comedy TV shows like <i>Reno 911! </i>and <i>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i>, possibly due to the same reason of being edited together from multiple takes, each slightly different due to hilarious ad-libs and reactions that couldn't be used on-screen. That one's fairly minor. The rope-swing stunt seen in the first trailer doesn't really make any sense, but it's a throwback to the '71 <i>Shaft</i> movie, so it doesn't bother me that much, as I see what they did there.<br />
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Standard Hollywood conventions apply, such as fantastical magic computer technology (hacking into anything, as you do) and the common presence of bulletproof everyday objects. Some of the gun elements felt out of place. The slow-motion shootout felt like it fell out of another movie altogether, and would Richard Roundtree's Old Man Shaft really have a contemporary KSG with a vertical foregrip in his arsenal? Seems a bit too modern, too tacticool for the OG Shaft, even if Sam Jackson is the one to use it.<br />
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2019's <i>Shaft</i> does so much right, especially in today's age of over-entitlement, where exposure to anything that doesn't line up with your worldview causes you to go crying to the internet. Sam Jackson's Shaft doesn't get offended -- he gets <i>offenders</i>, and stops the criminals even if it means putting his foot up their bitch asses. Sometimes it takes oldschool thinking to get the job done, or to give the dumbass present a much-needed smack upside the head. "The seeds of the future lie buried in the past," after all.<br />
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Sure, <i>Shaft</i> (2019) is technically an identically-titled sequel to a two-decade-old reboot of a series from the '70s, presumably greenlit in order to "monetize a dormant IP," but it feels like there's some real heart, here. In an age where Hollywood constantly and consistently shits out oversaturated CGI-filled sequels and entertainment media panders to people who will never consume said media, it is very refreshing to find a big-name blockbuster as over-the-top, as politically incorrect, and as laugh-out-loud funny as this motherfucker is.<br />
<br />
A proper blaxploitation action comedy in 2019? I can most definitely dig it.1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-84255690770177414582019-01-01T22:57:00.002-05:002021-01-01T20:42:37.492-05:00Numbers' New Year's Newsletter: A 2019 Too Far[Other years' letters: <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2011/01/numbers-new-year-newsletter.html" target="_blank">2011</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2012/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-turbo-2012.html" target="_blank">2012</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2013/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-target.html" target="_blank">2013</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2014/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-it-came.html" target="_blank">2014</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2015/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-to-ice.html" target="_blank">2015</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2016/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-we-mean.html" target="_blank">2016</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2017/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-itll-take.html" target="_blank">2017</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2018/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2018-go-go.html">2018</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2019/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2019-too.html" target="_blank">2019</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2020/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-mi-24-hind.html">2020</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2021/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2021-and.html">2021</a> ]<br />
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It is said that "Enough is never enough," that "The more you have, the more you want," and that "The more pure and innocent something is, the more satisfying it is to corrupt it." Allow me to be the first to tell you, dear friends, that all of these statements are, in fact, the truth.<br />
<br />
As you are no doubt aware from my previous years' Newsletters (linked above for your convenience), the past near-decade (zounds; has it truly been that long?) has been a tumultuous one. My meteoric rise to riches by building an empire out of selling matches to schoolchildren met an asteroidal fall. It crashed and burned.<br />
<br />
But not before I had accumulated enough resources to develop power armour and mechs and defended my homeworld on countless occasions. My good deeds were not unpunished, as my team of mech warriors and I were lost, on several occasions, through both time and space (plus there was what dimensional episode; details in previous Newsletters).<br />
<br />
Such was our predicament following the destruction of the prisoner towing vessel/spacefaring fitness club <i>Brostromo</i>. My surviving teammates and I found ourselves marooned once more on a planet with some kind of driving-based economy. It was not a city of handouts, but a city of drifts. Alas, we had no time to seduce the local drifting waifus -- we had Headquarters to establish.<br />
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We set up shop in an old derelict firehouse, sourced an old Cadillac, and soon, we were setting records and winning pinks all over town. It wasn't long before our Ten-Second Cars appeared on magazine covers, then DVD covers. Sponsors, and funds, rolled in. But enough is never enough.<br />
<br />
We had the tools and we had the talent. But if we were going to get enough bank to make it home again, we'd need some plans. We decided, in secret, to conduct daring, high-stakes, vehicular-themed heists of varying degrees of spectacular, each time selecting our mark from a list of the biggest villains on the planet.<br />
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Another saying I keep in mind is "Disregard wenches; acquire currency," and soon enough, Wealth Acquisition lead to Wealth Redistribution, funding the revolutionaries so they might take back their planet. For a world without a level head needs a disciplined trigger finger.<br />
<br />
A breakthrough came when one of my most trusted advisors and dearest friends, a former Admiral who'd earned the codename "Killthunder," unearthed intel that might let him live up to his name. The biggest criminal on the planet happened to have bought the weather. The madman's wealth was matched only by his lunacy, and he planned to annihilate some flavour of perceived threat by unleashing an electric storm upon the city.<br />
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Rather than heist enough money to build a quantum-space-capable starship, we could harness the power of the storm to simply power a quantum drive mounted to a ground vehicle, allowing us to temporarily rip and tear spacetime itself just long enough for us to drift into a slipgate. We could "ride the lightning," if you will, to get us back home. And, as a bonus, if we timed it right, we could parry the lightning, sending the excess electrical energy back into the villain's system, overloading it catastrophically in an explosion he could not survive.<br />
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We could save this planet, and return to our own. If it worked.<br />
<br />
It was time to build a Ten-Lightsecond Car. Having sourced the necessary quantum drive off an internet auction site, we got to work building our car, while tracking the storm. We needed time to finish the build. One missing piece, one overlooked detail, and it'd be game over, man.<br />
<br />
As our head mechanic slammed the hood shut, we saw the stormclouds gathering in the distance. Time was running out. We loaded the vehicle with as much as we could take, moulded PE4 to the already-overtaxed load-bearing members of our firehouse headquarters, and jumped into the ride. It would appear to the locals that our headquarters was destroyed in the weaponized electrical storm, which would leave the neighbourhood looking like a demilitarized zone, and we would be considered among the casualties. When in doubt, fake your death -- a perfect escape plan from any predicament or responsibility.<br />
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Our driver put his foot down and headed for what intel suggested would be prime targets: the university district, the library, the medical research institutes... We were not wrong. The clouds gathered over the university and thunder cracked the sky. Only we had banked on the library being the first target, since it was closest to the villain's primary hideout, the golf course.<br />
<br />
Furiously, our driver shifted through a dozen gears but we still were not going fast enough. He hit the NOS button, but nothing happened. A loose connection somewhere? With only moments to spare, I sprung into the Stunt Position, grabbed onto the beefy bullbars, resting my feet on the sweet chin spoiler, and saw what was the matter: the setup was still in "nitrous purge" mode for those sweet style points.<br />
<br />
Quickly solving the matter, I grapple hooked my way back into the car as the driver used some ornate staircase as a ramp. We rocketed through the air, flames shooting out the back of our car, as the lightning struck us. Our car's systems grabbed what power it needed for the quantum leap and shot the rest right back towards the villain. We'll never know if our parrying the lightning connected or whiffed because we jumped right into the slipgate.<br />
<br />
And now we're here. Only we don't know where "here" is. We crash-landed in some kind of barn. Or comms are down. Navigation is down. We don't know where we are, but we have an idea WHEN we are.<br />
<br />
2019.<br />
<br />
If our calculations were correct (and barring any quantum space turbulence), we should be home. So where the hell are we? No one knows for sure, but I intend to find out.<br />
<br />
I have just been informed that we have to leave the car behind. We will salvage what we can, using its precious scrap metal to build exosuits, and head out on foot.<br />
<br />
This will not be my final transmission.<br />
<br />
<i>- Numbers, Mercenary Philanthropist<br />Ten-Lightsecond Car Barn Crash Site<br />January 2019</i><br />
<i><br /></i>[Other years' letters: <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2011/01/numbers-new-year-newsletter.html" target="_blank">2011</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2012/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-turbo-2012.html" target="_blank">2012</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2013/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-target.html" target="_blank">2013</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2014/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-it-came.html" target="_blank">2014</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2015/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-to-ice.html" target="_blank">2015</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2016/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-we-mean.html" target="_blank">2016</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2017/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-itll-take.html" target="_blank">2017</a> / <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2018/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2018-go-go.html">2018</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2019/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2019-too.html" target="_blank">2019</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2020/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-mi-24-hind.html">2020</a> / <a href="https://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2021/01/numbers-new-years-newsletter-2021-and.html">2021</a> ]1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-972630963235227752018-12-15T19:45:00.000-05:002018-12-15T19:45:16.901-05:00Flashback: Wrapping up our ReBoot storyReady to wrap up the ReBoot? Last time, we checked out <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2018/11/flashback-i-come-from-net-first-half-of.html" target="_blank">the first half of the story</a>, so now, it's time to finish it!<br />
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<a href="https://imgur.com/04PgJ4m"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/04PgJ4m.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/sF7M7fd"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/sF7M7fd.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/QBhaCVO"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/QBhaCVO.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/56P30cD"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/56P30cD.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/TSekSql"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/TSekSql.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/NecG1YI"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/NecG1YI.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/DJNKDvN"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/DJNKDvN.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/w6mQAlG"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/w6mQAlG.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/tmLXJGx"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/tmLXJGx.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-54799328981222234852018-11-30T23:03:00.003-05:002018-11-30T23:03:56.729-05:00Flashback: I Come From The Net! The First Half of the A25U ReBoot Story!Time again for an A25U Flashback issue! Back in the early '90s, the studio what made the CGI-animated music video for Dire Straits' "Money For Nothing" made the world's first fully-computer-animated TV series, a Canada-USA children's cartoon coproduction called <i>ReBoot</i>, which would go on to become a cult classic.<br />
<br />
Like many a young Canadian of that decade, <i>ReBoot</i> was always dear to the hole where my heart used to be. So, <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2014/01/comic-file-230-mall-bats.html" target="_blank">in 2014</a>, I made a tribute story that ran from <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2014/01/comic-file-230-mall-bats.html" target="_blank">January</a> to May and, much like <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2010/07/comic-file-101-ol-behind-bars-blues.html" target="_blank">2010's Lego Bionicle tribute story</a> (we'll get to that one in another Flashback), it was lighthearted and stupid. But in a good way.<br />
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So here's the first part of the <i>Reboot</i> story, and if you don't have idea what any of it means, don't worry. Just play along and have fun, eh?<br />
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<a href="https://imgur.com/Sc1s56Q"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/Sc1s56Q.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/6XoAOYN"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/6XoAOYN.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/mk1YB9n"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/mk1YB9n.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/4RHyjeL"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/4RHyjeL.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/7FKCcXI"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/7FKCcXI.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/YyH1JVh"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/YyH1JVh.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/sZtr0VF"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/sZtr0VF.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/vo1N5PX"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/vo1N5PX.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/AGdNE62"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/AGdNE62.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/84T3IeS"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/84T3IeS.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-700190544029934942018-10-31T18:37:00.000-04:002018-10-31T18:37:22.252-04:00Halloween? More like "Hellawin," right? ...right?...right?<br />
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Numbers here. And it might surprise you to know that I'm not dead, or undead! Just dead tired, and dead inside. But let's try to keep things seasonally spooky here at Ages 25 & Up. Here's the plan: we'll finish <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2018/08/flashback-tech-support-batch-1.html" target="_blank">the "Tech Support" story</a>, we'll watch a topical video, and then we'll finish with an old holiday favourite of mine. Sound good?<br />
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Let's start with the second half of the <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2018/08/flashback-tech-support-batch-1.html" target="_blank">"Tech Support"</a> story about... military clones and kidnapping? Maybe that's a bit too spooky. Dig in!<br />
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<a href="https://imgur.com/xGCJSly"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/xGCJSly.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/qwfj24S"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/qwfj24S.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/UehU7Ny"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/UehU7Ny.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/8uB6LVT"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/8uB6LVT.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/Fmtb4VZ"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/Fmtb4VZ.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/LNAdgZu"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/LNAdgZu.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
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<br />
Howsabout a seasonal video? Are you awoken by Halloween costume ideas in the middle of the night? Do you experience feelings of dread at your friends' or work's Halloween party? Have you or a family member ever wanted to dress up as an exterminator or spooks, spectres, or ghosts? Then don't wait another minute! Check out this short video I made on the subject and you'll be all set for next Halloween.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z4TPmNbB3Pw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z4TPmNbB3Pw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Want more Halloween content? Here's <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2013/10/comic-file-221-rip-and-tear.html" target="_blank">my all-time favourite Halloween A25U issue</a> I've made. Your opinions might vary. I'd rate it a 12.0 on a 10-point scale of badness.<br />
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<a href="https://imgur.com/ODOe8s7"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/ODOe8s7.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
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That's it for this year. Have yourselves a Happy Halloween, and we'll get to see #400 before the next one. That's for sure.1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-35740533277805526602018-08-14T14:54:00.000-04:002018-08-14T14:54:51.345-04:00Flashback: Tech Support (Batch #1)Time once again for a Flashback and an apology for not being around. Real life sucks, my dudes. I'm still alive, though, for anyone interested.<br />
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This time, let's revisit the first half of the "Tech Support" story, which ran from January to March 2011. It also introduces the Helix character. Her Facebook account is real and I still use it.<br />
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<a href="https://imgur.com/p50DB1w"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/p50DB1w.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/1Sk6IX2"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/1Sk6IX2.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/gYRPkgE"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/gYRPkgE.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/bMcGep3"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/bMcGep3.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/XcjfQFN"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/XcjfQFN.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-86698349095955410522018-07-21T14:22:00.000-04:002018-07-21T14:22:19.691-04:00Flashback: "Radio Ga Ga"I realize I haven't been updating as frequently as I should and that #400 is still not complete. I'm working on both of that, in spite of everything. Real life sucks.<br />
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But is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? We'll find out on November 2nd. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cN10tfVW0UY/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cN10tfVW0UY?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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But we have a comic story arc for the occasion. Here is the "Radio Ga Ga" story which ran from <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2010/04/comic-file-85-radio-ga-ga-chapter-1.html">April</a> to <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2010/05/comic-file-90-radio-ga-ga-chapter-6.html">May, 2010</a>. Not only was it a celebration of my favourite classic rock group Queen (as well as featuring other classic rock content), it also served as probably <a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2010/05/by-numbers-and-grow-beard-reminder.html">the first contest I did with the comic</a>. It happened as pretty much an afterthought, but Grow the Beard was fun nonetheless.<br />
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Here's the story, and thanks for staying tuned.<br />
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<a href="https://imgur.com/eJaqxPm"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/eJaqxPm.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/ciGyqEL"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/ciGyqEL.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/0i4s2Ag"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/0i4s2Ag.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/NrrACDQ"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/NrrACDQ.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/xG7WUQb"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/xG7WUQb.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/3UVEyxn"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/3UVEyxn.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-52143795347148871592018-06-17T15:14:00.000-04:002018-06-17T15:14:37.244-04:00Flashback: Street Fighter X G.I. Joe, Part 4Back after an unintentional gap. Sorry about that, folks.<br />
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<a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2018/05/flashback-street-fighter-x-gi-joe-part-3.html">Last time</a>, Deadpool accidentally found and saved the long-missing Captain America. With the Joes looking to take him down for justice and Guile and the Street Fighters looking to bring him back into the fold, which side will be victorious?<br />
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Or will Captain America do his own thing? And what will sadistic Shadaloo dicator M. Bison have to say about this?<br />
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<a href="https://imgur.com/rQsk6bY"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/rQsk6bY.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/xSuMlw1"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/xSuMlw1.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/4IkGHQR"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/4IkGHQR.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/KTsGo4P"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/KTsGo4P.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/Zggf1xH"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/Zggf1xH.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/K6hvTph"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/K6hvTph.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/MSygeaQ"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/MSygeaQ.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/txnCCR2"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/txnCCR2.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/gcfy140"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/gcfy140.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-5826701828693678202018-05-30T17:24:00.000-04:002018-05-30T17:24:42.483-04:00Flashback: Street Fighter X G.I. Joe, Part 3<a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.com/2018/05/flashback-street-fighter-x-gi-joe-part-2.html">Last time</a>, sadistic dictator M. Bison kicked things into turbo in his new Street Fighter Tournament! Colonel William Guile, one of the greatest martial artists in the world, had a run-in with a mysterious cyborg ninja... who seems familiar somehow. Also, the Joes attempt to infiltrate the Tournament to find the missing Captain America.<br />
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Deadpool took a hit to his personal teleporter, and it's time to find out where he ended up.<br />
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<a href="https://imgur.com/8PBmHrf"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/8PBmHrf.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/HjtR9h0"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/HjtR9h0.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/CHO5dik"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/CHO5dik.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/HBZj7ka"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/HBZj7ka.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/v6cYS10"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/v6cYS10.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/FDDHEbc"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/FDDHEbc.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/NjCMD7c"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/NjCMD7c.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/7v6GeoJ"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/7v6GeoJ.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/CXdHpxj"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/CXdHpxj.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472282818666807727.post-6998984828366585512018-05-24T15:19:00.000-04:002018-05-24T15:20:43.113-04:00Flashback: Street Fighter X G.I. Joe, Part 2<a href="http://ages25andup.blogspot.ca/2018/05/flashback-street-fighter-x-gi-joe-part-1.html">Last time</a>, dictator M. Bison and his Cobra allies started a new Street Fighter tournament in order to make a ton of money. Thing is, the Joes and their superhero friends want in, but not to fight... They're there to investigate. Word on the street is the missing-in-action Captain America might be somehow involved!<br />
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Also, this batch includes the 350th issue, which was something of a milestone, so I've included it in this post.<br />
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<a href="https://imgur.com/b1SWtgR"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/b1SWtgR.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/qtuSG9A"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/qtuSG9A.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/0WJ88M0"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/0WJ88M0.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/sLeCO14"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/sLeCO14.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/xV3C8x3"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/xV3C8x3.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/IjvTYid"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/IjvTYid.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/U6CY4p4"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/U6CY4p4.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/mRi4Vep"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/mRi4Vep.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/vuVRF0G"><img alt="Click to see full size" border="0" src="https://imgur.com/vuVRF0G.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>1337W422102http://www.blogger.com/profile/13830191965221803378noreply@blogger.com0