Fanholes Episode # 29: Anakin, I'M YOOOU!
The All-Star Wars episode of Fanholes! The Fanholes discuss the original and prequel trilogies, Comics, Novels and various Clone Wars cartoon series!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Fanholes Episode # 29: Anakin, I'M YOOOU!
Fanholes Episode # 29: Anakin, I'M YOOOU!
The All-Star Wars episode of Fanholes! The Fanholes discuss the original and prequel trilogies, Comics, Novels and various Clone Wars cartoon series!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Fanholes Episode # 28: Fill The Spaceship With The Slim Jims
The gang welcomes back Professor Smooth in this all-wrestling episode. The Fanholes name their favorite wrestlers of all time, their "dream matches", and talk international wrestling as well. Finally, they discuss the craziest/most memorable wrestling tie-ins and side projects.
Fanholes Episode # 28: Fill The Spaceship With The Slim Jims
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Fanholes Side Story #15 The Other Wonder Woman
Issue 90 is the beginning of a new storyline that introduced the character of Artemis. Previously, Wonder Woman’s home of Themyscira had been destroyed by Circe...or so she thought. In reality, Circe placed Themyscira in another dimension and let a rogue group of Amazons invade. Later, Circe betrayed the rogues and beset the island with wave after wave of demons. The two groups of Amazons pulled together and eventually overcame the demons and made peace.
As Wonder Woman returns her mother tells her that she has lost her way. That she should not get involved with the petty lives of mortals. That she should be doing great things, not wasting her time as she has been. Later, Wonder Woman meets Artemis and the two shoot arrows to see who is the better. At the end of issue 90 it is announced that there will be a new contest to determine who will be the new Wonder Woman.
The contest begins in issue 91. Queen Hippolyta has forbidden the rogue Amazons from entering the contest but after Diana gives a speech they are allowed to compete. Diana and her friends advance to the next stage. They work together with Artemis and defeat their opponents. They advance to the final round where they must win a race across the entire island.
After overcoming a whirlpool, harpies and medusa the race comes down, of course, to Diana and Artemis. Diana is about to catch up when she falls...Artemis wins. Next issue Diana gets in a argument with her mother and leaves the island. Artemis becomes Wonder Woman, now wearing the costume, and begins her super hero career by stopping some bad guys in Boston. Soon Diana also joins the battle in her new costume. Artemis goes on tv saying she will be a different, better Wonder Woman and the issue ends with Diana setting up a detective agency.
Next time we see Artemis she is at a shelter for battered woman. She tells a woman that she’d be better off dead than letting a man hit her, that she shouldn't be a coward. Just then the Chauvinist breaks in and attacks Artemis. After a lengthy battle she manages to defeat him, but a bystander who believes the hate the Chauvinist was spouting pulls a gun and takes aim at Artemis. He pulls the trigger, but the battered woman from earlier takes the bullet for her. Her dying words are that she didn’t want Wonder Woman to think her a coward.
Once Artemis becomes Wonder Woman she fights a steady flow of...well, some very 90s looking bad guys. You know what I mean. All extreme and hoped up on roids. Lots of guns, chains and shoulder pads. As it turns out all the people Artemis has been fighting were actors hired to make her look good. Diana finds out but is attacked by Artemis. After a brief battle, Diana decides she’s fighting the wrong person and heads to Paradise Island.
Finally, Diana learns the truth from her mother. Hippolyta had a vision where Wonder Woman was killed in a great battle. So, she staged a new contest in order to keep her daughter from dying. Artemis fights the demon but it is a loosing battle. Diana comes in and fights an insane Cheetah as Artemis fights for her life. Eventually Artemis lays defeated and asks Diana to take the Gauntlet of Atlas from her, which will increase her strength ten times. Diana takes it and manages to defeat the demon, but Artemis dies in her arms. She tells her to take back the costume, that she is the true Wonder Woman.
The introduction of Artemis and her assumption of the Wonder Woman mantle was another in a long line of shakeups DC introduced in the 90s. We had the Death of Superman, Bane breaking Batman’s back and the introduction of Azrael. Finally came Hal Jordon’s insanity and evolution into a villain.
What drew me to Wonder Woman was Mike Deodato Jr's artwork. At the time I was reading Avengers month to month and, while some of the stories from that era may not hold up, the artwork is still great. I discovered Wonder Woman through him and read most of his run. After he left, so did I. I’ll admit, I’ve never been especially interested in Wonder Woman. I grew up with reruns of Super Friends and the live action show. I enjoyed both but for some reason, never sought out her comics.
I seem to have this habit of falling for ‘lesser’ versions of characters. I really enjoyed Bucky Barnes time as Captain America. I thought Skaar Son of Hulk was a good comic. I liked Dick Grayson’s time as Batman. And yes, I stuck with Spider-Man through the Clone Saga. I even thought Ben Riley was a good Spider-Man.
I would have liked it if Artemis fought some classic Wonder Woman villains instead of these extreme 90s guys. Her time as Wonder Woman seemed rather short. Even though she held the Wonder Woman mantle, the book still focused on Diana. This is one storyline I feel could have been extended a bit. We could have had Diana run around playing detective while Artemis struggles with being a hero. If you want to check out some good Wonder Woman comics I recommend checking out these issues. It's much better than the recent JMS stuff.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Fanholes Sidecast #2 Derek Unplugged On DC's New 52
A short Sidecast where Derek discuss his quick thoughts on the first two weeks of DC's New 52 with fellow Fanholes Mike Priest and Justin Barber.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Fanholes Episode # 27: Longest Podcast Evar!
Fanholes Episode # 27: Longest Podcast Evar!
This week the Fanholes talk forever! Feel free to create your own intermission!
The gang talks their favorite What If? stories from Marvel Comics for the first
hour or so, then it's on to Disney Afternoons and the cartoons they liked the best,
next up discussion on the currently airing Marvel animated series Super Hero
Squad Show and finally in a For The Fute-Cha segment they discuss the trailer
for the upcoming Muppet movie!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Fanholes Side Story #14 'Scott Summers is a Jerk!'
'Escape From The Negative Zone' is a three part crossover event that ran in the 2011 annuals of Uncanny X-Men, Steve Rogers: Super Solider and Namor The First Mutant. Our story begins like this...
We have Hope complaining that Scott never lets her do anything, while in the background the X-Club work on a limbo bridge. Namor bursts in demanding a piece of equipment be returned. Then, the whole thing goes crazy and Cyclops, Hope, Namor and Dr. Nemesis get whisked away to the Negative Zone .
The four break off into separate teams, looking for food and water. Namor ends up fighting giant monsters while Dr. Nemesis watches and makes smart remarks. Not a wise thing to do given the fits of rage Namor is prone to. Cyclops and Hope bicker about...well everything. Hope tells him that she’s not a baby, that she lived with Cable, who taught her everything and she can handle herself. She shows just how well she can handle things by immediately getting them captured by Blastaar's forces.
Back on earth, Emma Frost and Pixie go to New York looking for the Avengers. They see a broadcast by Blastarr, showing the captured Cyclops. Blastarr demands Reed Richards come through the portal or they risk war with the Kree Empire. A little backstory...Blastarr has been an on again off again ally of the Kree since 'War of Kings'.
Anyway, Emma and Pixie meet up with Steve Rogers who goes in Reed’s place. Reed’s just never around when you need him. Scott and Hope manage to escape confinement and eventually meet up with Steve, but not before Scott is forced to admit to Hope...
They are about to fight their way through Blastarr’s forces when an enraged Namor breaks in and in a fit of rage seriously wounds Hope. He then easily defeats Blastarr. As a Namor fan boy I have to smile. Its always fun when one of your favorite character beats a really powerful cosmic guy. (unless of course its Black Panther beating Silver Surfer)
Blastarr recovers and goes all out with Namor. Meanwhile, Dr. Nemesis finds an alien facility and makes them create a new bridge to Earth. Steve takes the injured Hope and makes a run for the center of 42, the old prison created in the Civil War crossover. There is another bridge there, but Namor and Blastarr destroy it in the battle. Cyclops tries to reason with Namor...and fails. Finally, he is forced to unleash everything he has.
It only stuns Namor. Steve and Hope share some time together, where in his usual boy scout way, manages to lecture and inspire Hope in the same breath. Basically, he tells her not to be so hard on Cyclops and that, in combat people die, but you have to keep fighting so their sacrifice means something.
Dr. Nemesis shows up with the device and leads a monster back with him. Blastarr fights the monster, Hope uses her powers to take on Namor and they all manage to make it back home.
There are some nice moments in this crossover. The humor is the best part, as each installment is full of genuinely funny moments and snaky dialogue from Hope and Dr. Nemesis. We see Hope’s character evolve from kind of bratty, to a more mature adult. When Hope and Cyclops escape, he is without his visor and must rely on Hope to help him along. Also, while crawling though the duct vents of 42, Hope says that a good looking man just arrived...who turns out to be Steve Rogers. All in all, it’s a fun crossover, which is saying something because sometimes these annual crossovers are bland at best.
We have Hope complaining that Scott never lets her do anything, while in the background the X-Club work on a limbo bridge. Namor bursts in demanding a piece of equipment be returned. Then, the whole thing goes crazy and Cyclops, Hope, Namor and Dr. Nemesis get whisked away to the Negative Zone .
The four break off into separate teams, looking for food and water. Namor ends up fighting giant monsters while Dr. Nemesis watches and makes smart remarks. Not a wise thing to do given the fits of rage Namor is prone to. Cyclops and Hope bicker about...well everything. Hope tells him that she’s not a baby, that she lived with Cable, who taught her everything and she can handle herself. She shows just how well she can handle things by immediately getting them captured by Blastaar's forces.
Back on earth, Emma Frost and Pixie go to New York looking for the Avengers. They see a broadcast by Blastarr, showing the captured Cyclops. Blastarr demands Reed Richards come through the portal or they risk war with the Kree Empire. A little backstory...Blastarr has been an on again off again ally of the Kree since 'War of Kings'.
Anyway, Emma and Pixie meet up with Steve Rogers who goes in Reed’s place. Reed’s just never around when you need him. Scott and Hope manage to escape confinement and eventually meet up with Steve, but not before Scott is forced to admit to Hope...
They are about to fight their way through Blastarr’s forces when an enraged Namor breaks in and in a fit of rage seriously wounds Hope. He then easily defeats Blastarr. As a Namor fan boy I have to smile. Its always fun when one of your favorite character beats a really powerful cosmic guy. (unless of course its Black Panther beating Silver Surfer)
Blastarr recovers and goes all out with Namor. Meanwhile, Dr. Nemesis finds an alien facility and makes them create a new bridge to Earth. Steve takes the injured Hope and makes a run for the center of 42, the old prison created in the Civil War crossover. There is another bridge there, but Namor and Blastarr destroy it in the battle. Cyclops tries to reason with Namor...and fails. Finally, he is forced to unleash everything he has.
It only stuns Namor. Steve and Hope share some time together, where in his usual boy scout way, manages to lecture and inspire Hope in the same breath. Basically, he tells her not to be so hard on Cyclops and that, in combat people die, but you have to keep fighting so their sacrifice means something.
Dr. Nemesis shows up with the device and leads a monster back with him. Blastarr fights the monster, Hope uses her powers to take on Namor and they all manage to make it back home.
There are some nice moments in this crossover. The humor is the best part, as each installment is full of genuinely funny moments and snaky dialogue from Hope and Dr. Nemesis. We see Hope’s character evolve from kind of bratty, to a more mature adult. When Hope and Cyclops escape, he is without his visor and must rely on Hope to help him along. Also, while crawling though the duct vents of 42, Hope says that a good looking man just arrived...who turns out to be Steve Rogers. All in all, it’s a fun crossover, which is saying something because sometimes these annual crossovers are bland at best.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Fanholes Sidecast #1 Tonight Must Go Nothing Wrong
Fanholes regulars Tony (Chainclaw) and Justin (Grimlock) give commentary on an episode of Ghost Hunters that features the Collinwood mansion. As fans of the series Dark Shadows, they bring their own insights and wit to the episode.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Fanholes Episode # 26: Who Let The Cats Out?
Fanholes Episode # 26: Who Let The Cats Out?
This week is an all-Thundercats episode for the Fanholes.
The discussion includes the original cartoon all the way to the
brand new show on Cartoon Network. The Fanholes also take the
time out to reminisce about the LJN toyline and Wildstorm comic books
dealing with the feline adventurers.
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