Weekly Ketchup 03 - Making Time and Catching Up

I've been walking home since work resumed for the year.

I find the exercise to be very calming. It allows me to collect my thoughts, gather ideas, and draw some general realizations. Just a couple of results from this week's "spirit walk":

FRIENDS AND ASSERTIVENESS

Earlier this week, I got to thinking about people, mainly my friends and why I seem to enjoy the company of some more than others (I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way about the circles of people they hang with). Anyway, what I realize is that I generally enjoy the company of people who are more assertive. How many times have I tried to schedule get-togethers with friends only to run into a blockade of "I can't" responses because of so and so reasons. Most of the time, I didn't even call for the gathering. Someone else did but somehow I got appointed to initiate and organize the damn thing, which I wouldn't normally mind, except that defeated responses are so annoying and discouraging. And just like that, plans fall and friends are never seen again.

That doesn't necessarily mean that the friends I hang out with the most are always available. It just means that these people are assertive enough to offer solutions instead of problems and answers instead of questions. Speaking of questions, perhaps the most reviled one I keep hearing is "Who else is going?" Then there are those who wait until everyone else has confirmed before confirming themselves. There is something wrong when your participation is dependent on other people's attendance. Frankly, I find it insulting. For me, it's a simple matter that someone cared enough to invite me and unless I actually had something else planned, I should be able to go - regardless of whether our common friends would be there as well.

And that is precisely how I got myself jumping from one gathering to the next over the course of 24 hours. The thing is that I liking making myself available to friends, especially those I don't get to see very often - even for just a short appearance. It's a simple effort to maintain relationships that could go a long way.

Maybe "assertiveness" just means that: taking the time and making the effort.

The first episode of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's kinda sorta variety show is on YouTube.

MISSING OUT AND CATCHING UP

The other thing that got me thinking this week is that I seem to be perpetually playing catch up with the rest of the world, or at least my peers. It started when I shared that I had only recently learned of "A Dog of Flanders" and its anime adaptation, which everyone apparently had lingering memories and strong feelings about. Of course, that was just the latest in a string of references that I was oblivious about. And it's not just about pop culture, sometimes even snippets of general culture, eg language, that is common for everybody is alien to me. But let's stick to the pop cultural aspects for the sake of brevity.

I've long figured out the why's and the how's in this phenomena of my life - so I'm not gonna get into that. What got me scratching my head this week is: If I'm constantly playing catch up, how or when am I gonna get ahead or at least synced with everybody else? Then it hit me: Why should it matter that I catch up with what everybody else had known or enjoyed? I mean, the hours that I didn't spend watching or reading about the worlds and the stories that everybody else enjoyed, I spent discovering other worlds and even crafting my own. The characters and stories I imagined when I was a kid are still with me to this day.

I also realized that in some respects, I was ahead of everybody else. I was into A Song of Ice and Fire and The Avengers way before either had become prime commodities, and now I'm not as interested. I also look at the things I tried to catch up on and I just don't like them as well as their fandoms thought I would. Firefly and Battlestar Galactica both have really ardent fans among my closest friends and I tried watching them but I'm just not as fascinated. I tried Harry Potter and couldn't move past the fourth book. I'm reading Neil Gaiman now and I'm bored to tears (granted it's only been one book so far). For these very reasons, I am always suspect when people tell me "You're gonna love it."

Riley Rewind - It's a short time travel film. All five parts are on YouTube.

I remember this quote from Glee that went something like "the first step to growing up is to quit apologizing for the mistakes of your youth".

So maybe I should stop feeling sorry for missing out and stop catching up for the sake of catching up. Maybe I should just continue to enjoy the things I do even if nobody else does. Obviously, I'm not a populist kind of person anyway.

Although as a creator and not just a consumer, I do need to know what has come before and what has already been done, maybe even uncover what I've been missing. Though I feel like getting into something for academic purposes muddles the experience. I have yet to get into Doctor Who or Hayao Miyazaki's work but to do so because either everyone else are into them or to understand why that is is just the wrong way to go about it. I have to be genuinely interested and I may get there eventually, give it a year or ten. It's worked so far with my GOG.com games, most of which were titles I was interested in a long time ago but didn't have the means or access to at the time. I suppose it's still catching up - but at least I'm catching up with myself, not with everyone else.

DNews is a channel that present entertaining science news daily.

PS: I did mention that I want this blog to be a depository of my ramblings, discoveries, and recommendations, hence the filler YouTube videos, all of which I chanced upon this week and really liked!

Earth's Mightiest Cartoon Heroes

With the premiere of Season 2 of Earth's Mightiest Heroes last week, I thought it best to finally tackle the Avengers' animated incarnations over the years.

I suppose if I were to be really strict about it, my adventures with the Avengers didn't begin when I picked up my very first issue. It began during the last three weeks of my time in Canada as it was then that I caught the first three episodes of Avengers: United They Stand (along with Spider-man Unlimited, which debuted at the same time).

At the time, my knowledge of the Avengers was limited to what I gathered from the trading cards and the only members of the cast familiar to me then were the Wasp, the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Hawkeye, and the Falcon. Ant-man, Tigra, Wonder Man, and the classic Avengers villains Ultron and Kang were completely alien to me.

We've got ourselves some bulked up bad asses here.

For all that the show was panned by fans and critics alike and did not rate high enough for a second season to commence, I enjoyed those episodes that I managed to catch before flying back to Manila
Maybe it's because I had zero expectations and no attachment or inclination towards the source material whatsoever. Or maybe because I was young and stupid.

I actually like this roster if only because it's made up of some of my favorites.

When I became a fan of the Avengers, this is one of the things that hounded me for years! Where was I to get all the episodes to this?
Enter YouTube, Firefox Portable and the extension VideoDownloadHelper, and the Wimply FLV player - all in 2006! Somebody uploaded majority of the episodes and all I had to do was go to the nearest Internet cafe (didn't have my own broadband connection then), plug my flash disk in, and using all those tools, download the videos and watch them when I get home!

I can't remember why but the uploader was missing some episodes (I think it was the last four) and it wasn't until I stumbled upon a bootleg compilation DVD at a toy fair later that year that I finally got to watch all 13 episodes of the show! And I gotta say: Even with my significantly heightened involvement with the characters by this time, I still enjoyed it! I wouldn't go so far as say the show was even good but I would still love to see what they would've done with season 2!

Speaking of bootleg, around the time that all this was happening came the announcement that they're doing Ultimate Avengers. Once again, Manila was out of the distribution plans (initially) and it took a while before I finally got to see it. Luckily, a relative tipped me about a store in Ali Mall that sells bootleg DVDs of animated shows and movies. I remember going there immediately and was pleasantly surprised that they had a copy of the movie - devoid of special features of course.

Didn't realize they were popular enough to be bootlegged.

I can't remember if I had already read the Ultimates by the time I watched the movie but I was already familiar with the source material enough to know what to expect, and it still blew me away!
I remember getting chills upon watching the first few, introductory scenes alone. For the first time I was watching the classic Avengers lineup with Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Giant-man and the Wasp and, of course, Captain America and even the Black Widow! It's their Ultimate versions, to be sure, but it was still better than nothing!
Production value isn't all that bad either. The animation was superb, the script and the voice actors were spot on, and the music was awesome!

The movie eventually spawned a sequel that I also (initially) got a bootleg of. I wanted to be excited about it, especially since it added an Avenger I rarely saw in the comics let alone in the animated adaptations: the Black Panther; but I found the movie quite lacking. A lot of things just seemed forced - the character tensions, their personal struggles, the supposedly heroic sacrifice at the end. Even the music just didn't tug at my heartstrings as much as the first one did. I really don't know what it is. Maybe it's because it diverged from the source material too much. It was still fun though.

My dad got me a copy of the original DVDs  from the States sometime later and watched  both movies again - with special features this time!
I would've loved to see a couple more sequels, if only to experience more of their adventures outside of the Chitauri. Expand the cast to include their versions of Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch (fine, Quicksilver too), and the Vision PLUS Kang and Ultron and color me rabid! And since they've already done Wakanda, why not explore Atlantis? Ah, fanboy dreams!

Both DVDs are available at local stores.

Instead of any of that, we got Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow.
Once again, the DVD wasn't made available locally but I managed to get a copy of the movie anyway a few weeks after its release. I remember falling asleep through it the first time I watched it more because I was really tired that day but do I remember enjoying it immensely when I finally got to watch the whole thing!

I wish they had just instead done a second Ultimate Avengers sequel and tied everything up into a nice trilogy OR adapted one of the classic storylines (Kree-Skrull War, Operation: Galactic Storm quickly come to mind) OR, if they really wanted to do an original story, featured these kids' parents - the real Avengers! Why even create a whole new set of characters when we already have the next generation of Avengers from the comics?

Replace the Widow with the Scarlet Witch and this lineup is perfect!

To be fair, though, it was still an enjoyable movie and the soundtrack was just as kicking as the first Ultimate Avengers movie. I guess it also expanded the Avengers mythos just a bit as evidenced when the Next Avengers made their way into the comics by way of the Heroic Age relaunch. Though, I feel their sudden appearance mostly fueled hype as they did practically nothing (I blame the writer)!

At the time of this movie's release in 2008, Marvel was also busy with the first two offerings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk, which was probably why they featured prominently in the story and on the cover of the DVD.

It's still not available locally.
I had to order my copy from Amazon.ca last year and had it shipped to my grandma who was flying back to Manila. 

In the midst of all this hype came the announcement I've been waiting for since I became a fan:
They were finally working on an Avengers cartoon series featuring the classic team and the classic stories!
I couldn't contain my excitement! I was at the office when the news first broke and I joked with my colleague how I'd be pushing 30 by the time the cartoon hits but I didn't care!

The teaser/test footage above was released (or was it leaked?) along with the news and I was planning to download it (with the tools I enumerated some paragraphs above) but I didn't get to it right away.
By the time I was going to, the footage had already been taken down! The footage would surface again a couple of years later just as the show was about to premiere and I was finally able to download a copy to store in my media player to watch at my leisure!

This clip from SDCC 2010 (also notable for having assembled the Avengers movie cast for the first time) was also the first time we heard the theme song by Bad City, which sounded like a bad idea at first, but I'm one with the all the fans when I say I love it now! Producer Joshua Fine recently responded to a fan's tweet about it saying if we want the full version of the song released, we need to let Marvel know!

The show itself is amazing!
It took a lot of cues from the classic stories and somehow managed to incorporate elements from the newer comics as well as the Marvel movies, and even introduced a few new bold concepts as well (e.g., the connection between Asgard and Nazi Germany preceded the movies)!
For example: The first two episodes combined the original Avengers from the Avengers Vol. 1 No. 1, Graviton from West Coast Avengers No. 1, and the super villain prison breakout from New Avengers Vol. 1 No. 1!
Hulk left the team in issue 3 of the original comics and did so again in episode 3 of EMH!
Meanwhile, Captain America joined the team in issue 4 of the comics and in episode 4 of the series!

Replace Hawkeye with the Widow and we have the cast of Ultimate Avengers 2!

If there's one gripe I have it's that Season 1 just seemed too short. When they said that there's gonna be a microseries preceding the series premiere, I thought the rest of the 26 episodes for the season were gonna be all new stories.
Alas! They compiled the microseries into five of those episodes, leaving me with just 21 new episodes!
Oh well. That's already more than what the previous series had, and we still have Season 2!

As far as the roster is concerned, I have no complaint. This is my ideal line-up, especially with the addition of  the Vision in Season 2. Still no Scarlet Witch though, but Miss Marvel makes for a logical alternative. After all, Wanda only brings magic to the team (something Thor already has) while Carol contributes something new: cosmic power!

One thing I would really love is a Justice League Unlimited approach to the cast!

I first got to watch the show on YouTube because someone managed to upload the episodes, sometimes even way ahead of the US airing! But I'm not gonna go the bootleg route - I'll just wait til the series wraps up later this year and hope they release a complete DVD set of all 2 seasons (unless they make a Season 3 though)!

History repeats itself:  EMH  marketed along with new series Ultimate Spider-man.
Just like when UTS was marketed with Spider-man Unlimited. 

Too bad they don't have toys or games connected to the show.
Apparently that's not the way things are done now.
At least the toy line tied with UTS had a cool Quinjet! 

Bring On the A Game!

One of the things I'm really looking forward to with the release of the movie is the tie-in game.
The likelihood of one seems bleak at the moment considering:

a) THQ Studios, who was already working on a tie-in game, shut down their operations. Check out the leaked video of what their game would've been:

b) Marvel and Sega, who published the widely panned tie-in games to the entire Marvel Cinemetic Universe, recently parted ways - but not without giving this rabid fan boy something to latch my hope on to, thanks to Marvel Games Production VP TQ Jefferson:

"Marvel: Avengers Alliance on Facebook is just the tip of the iceberg. This is the first in a much larger effort to support the Avengers franchise across not just one but multiple video game touch points. Look for more announcements in the weeks to come."

Then came yesterday's announcement that the Avengers are coming to Marvel Pinball!

Not exactly what I had in mind, but the characters are there and there's a standalone release for the PlayStation Vita as opposed to just downloadable add-on for the X-box and Playstation versions of the game. 

That's probably the only thing I dread about any game that will come out: The platform.
I'm no hardcore gamer. My only gaming gadget is my GameBoy Micro. Tough luck they're gonna release a game for that.
Hopefully whatever games they plan to have will also be for a portable console like the Vita (but my personal preference is the DS) or for Windows (if only because the hardware is here already).

Yes, I want a  console game - not an online/social game like Avengers Alliance, which by the way, has less to do with the Avengers and more to do with the Marvel Universe in general.

Another possibility that I don't mind is a game for Android or iOS! I've been holding off getting an Android tablet or even a marked down iPad 2 because I want to get the right device if they do release a game or an app.

So what type of game would I want to play?

If I had it my way, I'd like the game to be a side scrolling platform game like the classic Captain America and the Avengers (so far the only Avengers console game). I'd rather not have a first person shooter like THQ's game above.

ComicBookResources hit on the right idea to port to iOS and other consoles because I once tried to play the game on my laptop with an emulator and a USB game pad but it just wasn't working (the game pad wasn't as responsive and using the keyboard was hell). I'm also trying to figure out how to set up an emulator for my Micro and play the game.
I also wouldn't mind adding a complete package of the original cartridge to my collection, but I'm not sure I want to part with a significant amount of money (cheapest I found was US$74) for a game that I will never get to play because the console is obsolete.

I also don't mind a fighting game. After all, the Avengers have had one arcade fighting game already. Plus I did enjoy Street Fighter back in the day, so a fighting game doesn't sound so bad.

But what I would really love is an RPG in the tradition of Final Fantasy and Golden Sun! We can have a cast of four to six Avengers (the movie roster) in a single company and go around from Atlantis to Wakanda to Latveria and even Asgard! It would be nice to tie in to the plot of the movie, but I think there's an opportunity here to explore the rest of the Marvel geography. I also hope that they won't be restricted to the movie timeline.


Outside of the video games, I'd really like there to be an Avengers board game. Sadly, it looks like the one from Jakks Pacific won't happen anytime soon.

Thankfully, there's still Heroclix and Hero Attax.

UPDATE: In an interview, artist Ryan Meneirding, who's worked on all the Marvel Studios films, said that there is no official video game tie-in to the movie. At least not one that he's a part of. Check out the interview below. Discussion about the Avengers game starts at 2:45.

My Avengers Assembly

It's officially 50 days until the movie hits Philippine cinemas, which means I'm halfway through this blasted countdown! As much I'd like to go on a long exposition of anything related to the Avengers, I've had a really long day and I have an even longer day tomorrow! So I'll make this quick.

Here are two recent additions to my ever-expanding Avengers collection that I just nabbed a few hours ago from Greenhills:

The Falcon and the Black Widow loose Superhero Squad figures.

I was hoping to find enough loose figures to complete this lineup:

SDCC 2010 Exclusive Avengers  Lithograph by Alex Ross

The thing about me is that I rarely collect loose toys. I prefer them packaged with Avengers branding.

Avengers Face-Off Superhero Squad

Hasbro Marvel Universe Original Avengers

SDCC 2011 Exclusive Avengers Mini Muggs 

Toy Biz Marvel Collectors Edition Original Avengers

Original Avengers MiniMates

Of course, that's not all I have!

My collection circa 2007.
Click here for detailed descriptions.

Updated collection 2012.

Evidently I have a penchant for smaller items mainly because I'm collecting a team here and I need to conserve space!

Anyway, some of the newer items added to my collection not covered in the previous blog:

Superhero Squad Quinjet

Emperor Doom Graphic Novel and Next Avengers DVD

More books and hardcover collections!

More than 10 years worth of adventures - now in two boxes! 

There's a very special story about this poster. Click here.

Siege / New Year 2010 swag

Huge-ass Marko Djurdjevik Avengers Heroic Age poster!

As you can see, I got everything I wanted and more!
Of course, my collection is expected to grow even more what with all the merchandise tied to the movie and all. Actually, I just placed an order for the following items not related to the movie:

Avengers 7-piece play set figurines

Marvel Universe (more like New Avengers + Hulk!) 7-piece play set figurines

And now I'm also hunting for these items:

Avengers Mini-kit featuring a Captain America figure, an official Avengers logo pin and a 48-page guide book!

Avengers Resin Figures Set of 8

Yep, it's definitely gonna get expensive and expansive here when the movie hits.
Speaking of which, user frenxy77 of the Pinoy Toy Kolektors forums shared this little tidbit:

Looks like we have the schedule of the toys’ local release!

I really hope to add some nice apparel and games to this collection.
Maybe the next time I update my collections blog there will be!

Here, Marvel. Take My Money.

If you really wanna hurt me, this is where you'll do the most damage.

I'm already resigned to the fact that the next few months are gonna be particularly hard on my wallet. And it's not just because that gosh-darned movie would unleash hordes of merchandise that I would be powerless to resist, but it's also because I'm gonna have to rearrange, restructure, or worse - remodel my entire room just to fit them!

Anyway, here's a run down of the movie-related merchandise coming up in the next few months (or weeks) that I'm really looking forward to. Hopefully, my shops here in Manila would carry them so I won't have a hard time making acquisitions.

TOYS
I don't get individual figures and "assemble the team". I prefer getting the entire group in one set! But I just might make an exception with Hasbro's Marvel Universe.

For a complete list and picture gallery, visit the ToyArk forums.

If they don't have a set, that's okay. There's still the Quinjet, which comes with an Iron Man figure. I  can just get this and collect everyone else individually.

I don't really play Heroclix, but they're coming up with a starter set.
More details from ComicBookMovie.com

Diamond Select Minimates Wave 44
Though not the movie versions, they're to be released in time for the movie.

Diamond Select Minimates Wave 45
This is gonna be tough as there are Toys R Us exclusives, and our local TRU shops don't even carry this.

Lego! ComicBookMovie has a complete listing of the sets.
Unfortunately, this means I'm gonna have two copies of some figures if I want to complete the whole set.

MiniMuggs spotted by members of the ToyArk forums.
Not as nicely packaged as last year's SDCC exclusive pack.

Funny thing about these things, especially for the Lego and Heroclix sets, are that the descriptions seem to reveal a bit more about the movie.

Flushies by Funko. They're cute, but I'm not too keen on getting them.

Pop! Marvel Vinyl Figure Bobble Heads. Also by Funko.

Wacky Wobbler Bobble Heads. Also by Funko.

TRADING CARDS

More info from ComicBookMovie.com
Not entirely sold on this, but who knows?

BOOKS

The Art of the Avengers HC and Slipcase. Details from ComicBookMovie.com

Of course, there are other merchandise that I have no intention of getting like the perfume set and the costumes.