Monthly Archive for April, 2010

Culturology #65 - Unsatisfied Consumption

Here in my new, prematurely air-conditioned office, as I realized that it's two o'clock already, and that I was planning on leaving early today, and that I was also planning on actually writing an article this week, I also realized that if I'm not careful, I might end up writing about poetry, like, all the time on these things. Which maybe wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but still, no one wants to read about poetry on a blog about comics and movies.

Why would I only write about poetry? Well, because of the continually-cultivated cultural ambivalence that I was writing about last post, whereby I no longer pretend to care about stuff that I don't care about (this also includes not following the Pittsburgh baseball Pirates this summer (though, let's face it, that's pathetically easy, since their one of the worst teams in the majors yet again this year)). And I ran out of the kind of play-time  money good for going to a lot of movies in the theater a year ago (and it's also been a rather abysmal year for movies).

So maybe that's the question that I'm getting at, between Hollywood and the Pirates: maybe I'm not really taking any kind of cultural-critical action via this so-called ambivalence, but merely acting as an unsatisfied consumer. So then, do I either a) recognize that I'm just an unhappy customer and get back to complaining about crappy shit, or b) figure out a way to genuinely ignore the entire set of machinations of the culture industry?

How to genuinely ignore the culture industry? Maybe by writing about poetry all the time instead. Of course, there's also a whole list of complications on why poetry sucks too, and I don't really want to bother with those arguments either. Gah. It's like I'm becoming negative-beyond-negative here. Maybe I just need a good book recommendation?

(And also, to end (if only parenthetically) on a positive note:  Gentlemen Broncos just gets better and better in my mind the more that I think about it. So does Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.)

War Machine gets real in Hyper Combo Wallpaper!

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More War Machine? Seriously? Seriously. I know, I've been overdoing it. But the Iron Man 2 movie is out next week and I figured it would be timely to toss out one more. Anyway, I've got it out of my system now. So next week, get ready for two months of Street Fighter Alpha here on Hyper Combo Wallpaper!

Super Haters #43 - Back in Action, pt 3

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Super Haters #42
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Super Haters #44
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A Podcast with Ross and Nick #46 - We Called This #45

Continued from AudioShocker Podcast #128. Transvestites, RuPaul's Drag Race, intersex, Ross hates getting the mail, Tim Gunn analyzes superhero costumes, should both women and men have sexualized bodies in comic books?, Spider-Man should always have a package and the Black Widow should always have a cameltoe, madonna/whore complex in superhero comics, and Justique's new character.

AudioShocker Podcast #128 - Rossvel vs. Justicom 3

Ross doesn't think Marvel vs. Capcom 3 looks awesome, magic people don't shower, what's better -- 2D MvC or 3D MvC?, our character picks for MvC3, hideous Chun-Li fan art, SSFIV, and Neal has terrible opinions. To be continued tomorrow in A Podcast with Ross and Nick #46.

War Machine fights Hyper Combo Wallpaper!

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Ahhh yes! My favorite of the Sean Chen Weapon of S.H.I.E.L.D. Month wallpapers. Kudos to inker Sandu Florea and giant kudos to Jay David Ramos for his amazing colors. Oooh and big shout to Joe Caramagna for the great SFX! Next week, well, I guess you could say it's a fill-in Hyper Combo Wallpaper!

Super Haters #42 - Back in Action, pt 2

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Super Haters #41
NEXT >>
Super Haters #43
New to Super Haters? Start with #1 or Visit SuperHaters.com

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The AudioShocker Superhero Comic Book Trivia Challenge Cometh!!!

As I noted in our most recent AudioShocker podcast and my own blog, I'm going to be at both the Pittsburgh Comicon (Friday, April 23) and SPACE in Columbus (Saturday-Sunday April 24-25) this weekend.

I also mentioned something about a comic book trivia contest where you can win free AudioShocker Comics (**the crowd roars, applause continues for three whole minutes**). And today I'm going to debut the OFFICIAL rules and tell you more about this excellent test of superpowered trivia acumen!

[A quick aside: this was originally called the "AudioShocker Comic Book Trivia Contest" -- I've changed the name to a slightly more accurate description. Occasionally, a non-comics question rears its head, but, for the most part, the questions all relate back to superheroes in comics, though the occasional movie and TV show makes an appearance.]

RULES FOR "The AudioShocker (Mostly) Superhero Comic Book Trivia Challenge"

1. Answer the first question correctly to win a copy of Time Log! If you get the first question wrong, you still win a dollar off your purchase of Time Log.

2. Answer the second question correctly to win a copy of Time Log AND any one of the following ashcans: Super Haters v1, Super Haters v2, or Zombie Palin. If you get the second question wrong, you still win a dollar off your purchase of any AudioShocker comics ashcan.

3. Answer the third question correctly and win a copy of all four AudioShocker comics! If you answer the third question wrong, you still win two dollars off your purchase of Time Log.

IMPORTANT: After answering the first question correctly, if you go for the second question and answer it incorrectly, you DO NOT win the prize from the first question. The same applies to the second and third questions.

ALSO: All questions must be answered in person and solely by the individual taking the challenge. If anyone answers the question for the individual or gives a hint during the questioning, the questioning must start again from number #1 and all winnings are reset. Furthermore, all three questions must be answered at the same time, in a row, without any research being performed before delivering an answer. Due to the nature of the prizes, this contest is not for children. Limit one trivia challenge attempt per person per convention.

QUESTION CATEGORIES

EASY: Aquaman, Dynamo 5

MEDIUM: Black Panther, Captain America, Professor X, Storm, Superman, TMNT, War Machine

HARD: Catwoman, Wolverine

WILD CARD: Y the Last Man

That's it! A bit strict for a casual contest, but I'm just covering my bases. So come check me out at the Pitt Con and SPACE to test your super-knowledge and win some free comics!!!

A Podcast with Ross and Nick #45 - The Stormcast!!!

Meteorology? NO! Ororo Munroe? YES! We discuss Chris Claremont, Uncanny X-Men, Storm's physical and racial interpretations, the Claremont character guessing game, why does Storm talk so weird?, is she a missed opportunity?, Storm vs. Stevie Hunter, Storm's self-reflective internal monologue, Ross loves Marrow, where is Marrow now?, and what would Ross and Nick do with Storm nowadays? NEXT WEEK: We don't know.

Who Do You Want to See in Marvel vs. Capcom 3?

Announced MvC3 characters (LAST UPDATED 01.27.2011):

MARVEL

  • Iron Man
  • Hulk
  • Wolverine
  • Deadpool
  • Captain America
  • Thor
  • Dormammu
  • X-23
  • Magneto
  • MODOK
  • Spider-Man
  • Super-Skrull
  • Doctor Doom
  • She-Hulk
  • Storm
  • Phoenix
    -------------
    DLC
  • Shuma-Gorath
    -------------
    Secret Characters
  • Taskmaster
  • Sentinel
CAPCOM

  • Morrigan
  • Ryu
  • Chris Redfield
  • Dante
  • Felicia
  • Amaterasu
  • Viewtiful Joe
  • T. Bonne
  • Arthur
  • Nathan Spencer
  • Albert Wesker
  • Trish
  • Chun-Li
  • Zero
  • C. Viper
  • Mike Haggar
    -------------
    DLC
  • Jill Valentine
    -------------
    Secret Characters
  • Akuma
  • Hsien-Ko

Links:
- Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Wallpaper
- Japanese MvC3 site with character themes
- American MvC3 site with move lists
- A photograph of a pair of pants

Old Post (PUBLISHED 04.20.2010):

About a week and a half ago, we first mentioned the possibility of a Marvel vs. Capcom 3 announcement here on the AudioShocker. Well, now it's official and that's exciting news because we're HUGE Marvel vs. Capcom fans here at this site (as evidenced by our weekly feature, Hyper Combo Wallpaper, which is basically a Marvel vs. Capcom tribute).

In light of this official MvC3 announcement, I'd like to pose this question to comic book and fighting game fans alike -- who do you want to see in Marvel vs. Capcom 3?

Me personally, I have a few favorites in mind that I think would make for excellent additions to the lineup. On the Marvel side, I'd like to see Black Panther, Havok, and She-Hulk join in on the ruckus. As for Capcom, I'm mostly a Street Fighter fan, so my nominations include E. Honda, Oro, and Crimson Viper.

Realistically, the choices on the Marvel side will probably be dictated by their movie slate. That would put Spider-Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, War Machine, Beast, Storm, Cyclops, and Magneto in there. I'm sure I missed a few, but those seem like the big Marvel choices.

Also, since MvC always seems to pull a "hot" character in from the comics (War Machine in MvC and Cable + Marrow in MvC2), that would probably make Deadpool an ideal addition to keep with this tradition. And, speaking of tradition, I hope that Capcom puts Captain Commando in MvC3 too!