Detritus of the Mind

I wanted to put the old Toonami "Watch This Space" screen here, but Google has both failed me and insulted me with a bunch of Adult Swim crap. To say I do not like Adult Swim is an understatement. Anyway... You may have noticed that I haven't done squat here. I had plans, but here's what happened to them: - There are better nostalgia comic reviewers out there, the books I had planned either have gaps I can't fill or low interest rates, and frankly, lately the whole field of nostalgia comic reviewers attract people from a campaign that think having a character come out as gay is "character assassination". So between respect for people doing it better over more interesting titles and not wanting to have my comments filled with Comics Dudes, those aren't getting done. - The Legion essay and some of the points therein was permanently dropped, thanks to DC Comics devoting itself to wasting all of its best ideas, doubling down on its worst ones, and ...

Hi, I'm Mela, and (sigh) I like Magical Girl Raising Project . This is one of those magical girl series you aren't supposed to like if you're a fan of the genre. It's dark, it has a lot of violence, and to those who haven't watched or (preferably) read it, it seems like torture porn. But if you actually do read/watch, you learn that's not the case; none of the violence is glorified, the world is an interesting one filled with interesting characters on all sides, and it has a running theme about how bureaucratic apathy allows for terrible things to happen & good people have to push back against it to change things.  It also has some fairly creative powers and designs. So yeah, now that the books are available legally, I'd recommend them to anyone.  I'm still anxious to see how the cliffhanger at the end of the second book plays out, and since it's part of a murder mystery (a genre that's traditionally left me cold), I think that says some...

I have a deep guilty fondness for Captain Planet . It's cheesy, super-simplified with how it handles major issues (especially the social ones), and it wears its intentions not so much on its sleeve as on its chest in day-glo neon. But there's something about it I always enjoyed. I don't know if it's the "international team" setup (which I've had a fondness for from reading years & years of X-books) or the sheer sincerity of it all in trying to teach complicated things at all. Or maybe I like a lot of the VAs they used to replace most of the celebrities once they got bored. But it's something I like, and its reputation as a cultural laughing stock even among those of us who agree with its messages kind of makes that embarrassing to admit. When I was trying to do MSTings (back when they were formatted like USENet conversations) back in college, I'd go through different fandoms that weren't being used as regular subjects by other writers, an...

I'm on Twitter a lot, so I have a couple of recent tweet storms to share that I archived on Storify. First, thoughts on my idea for a hidden object game that will never exist.  Mostly because that genre is becoming weirdly allergic to humor, showing that there is still little difference between those into AAA games & those into casuals.  Thanks, Blogger, for making these non-embeddable. Real cool. Next, this morning's epic tweet storm detailing my theory/evidence about a Jonny Quest multiverse.  This is what my brain is like, folks.   Again, wanted to embed a slideshow, but Blogger won't play along. Feel free to check out my Twitter if you want complaining about TV, comics, public transit, & who knows.  It's basically a bite-sized version of what I've done here, albeit usually with more swearing.

Ever encounter a series that you've enjoyed every entry of, even the ones that seem to be a bit too different from the previous entries, until one comes along that just takes all of that goodwill and curb stomps it? Cuz that is exactly what I'm going through with Danganronpa right now. (Take warning now - to articulate what bothers me, I'm going to be spoiling a LOT, from the new anime to the games. So leave if you're afraid of being spoiled. This goes for the DR3 anime, at least through the 5th episodes of each arc; if I missed anything from there out, I stopped watching & can catch up via reviews/the wiki entry.) I loved the games. Even though the trials' rhythm game elements were infuriatingly tough for me (not a genre I'm good at) and Absolute Despair Girls  was a third-person shooter, their stories & characters sucked me into this weird, twisted universe. Even the worst of them likability-wise were at least entertaining, and thanks to after-g...

So... still not in the new house yet. Between cleaning it out, getting relatives down to look through everything for something they might want, and getting paperwork coordinated, it's taken a LOT longer than I expected.  My goal is to finally be in there and getting settled as of the end of this month, but I said that back in March... Anyway, I'm hoping once I'm settled and on my own, I can turn out more substantial content for this blog.  I can finish the SW6 Omnicommentaries, I can move on to some other series including: A bit of the post-Zero Hour Legion, Jurgens' Teen Titans,  A late 90s attempt at "modernizing" Power Pack,  An Ultraverse entry called Freex that will be my first foray into Malibu's short-lived heyday, The legendarily bad Mutant X, and Should the fates align & some light be shed on some urban legends, X-Men 2099 at long last. Along with some other off-the-cuff stuff, I hope to at least get an entry or two a month done o...

For those who don't know, Aikatsu!  is ending its original series in about a week.  And as much as I'm embarrassed to admit it, I'm a little sad. You need to understand - idol shows, especially the all-ages ones like Aikatsu! , have kind of filled the niche once reserved for magical girl shows.  And this particular show was so relentlessly positive and feel-good that I frequently watched it as a pick-me-up.  Hell, the whole reason I got into it was because I was going through a depressive period and needed something positive.  Plus, being an all-ages show, Aikatsu!  had no random gross fanservice to distract from the show (looking at you, random closeup of Eli's butt while she adjusts her bikini leg from Love Live ...).  It was a fun, fluffy show. But I agree with the consensus that, until the current story arc, this last season felt like oddly lifeless wheel-spinning.  It introduced too many new idols & new brands entirely too q...

Yes, we're talking the new TV show, so if you're worried about spoilers for what's basically a workplace sitcom & whose whole hype campaign is built around spoiling key elements, you might wanna avoid this post. As you may remember, I am pretty darn passionate about Muppets. But given my reaction to the revival movie (where it put me off to the point I couldn't bring myself to watch the sequel), I was worried about the new show. Would it be more flailing to prove they're still part of the pop cultural landscape without any sincerity or would it actually be, y'know, good ?  So I noted my reactions and concluded that it is... decent. First, the Pros: - There is no flailing around and begging for relevance; the show follows the Muppets as the crew of a TV show, not as sad relics. The lack of "OMG, you guys, remember this" posturing alleviated one of my biggest fears. - Second, they don't try to tie things into the movies, which I was convinced the...

So once again, real life has been kicking me repeatedly in the butt.  But I still want to keep this going.  I plan to finish the Bierbaum Legionnaires this year (friggin' finally! ), but after that, I have a list of possible subjects to address.  The only thing I wanted to review that I've put on the back-burner is X-Men 2099 , and that is entirely because the Great 2099 Creator Walk-Off still can't be verified/refuted/what-have-you.  If it's true, it's important to address; if not, I don't want to keep repeating it as fact.  When it's a comic rumor and Brian Cronin can't help you verify or deny it, you're in trouble. So here's a list of potential projects to review: - Several comic series are on the proverbial docket.  I have a couple that are either notoriously bad or have hidden potential buried in layers of badness - namely, Marvel's Mutant X  for the former and DC's Son of Vulcan  mini for the latter.  I wanted to do a review tha...

The last couple of seasons of Precure have been... rough.   Doki Doki  was a carnival of wasted ideas that were thrown out throughout the series (Cure Sword's world having a standing army of Precures to defend it, the existence of Cure Empress & her unnamed teammates spring most readily to mind), and it chose to focus on a main character in Mana who was dully infallible.  And while Happiness Charge started strong & has addressed many of the character problems with The Mana Show (along with giving fandom a gift on a silver platter as far as creating new fan Cures), one character & said character's impending story arc has more than soured me on watching the rest.  But then I encountered  this translated interview  and one quote in particular: ...Speaking of which, Pretty Cure is separated into three periods by which producer is doing the show.  First is the  Washio era,  starting from Futari wa to Yes! 5 GoGo. Second is the...

So I'm home sick, and I've been catching up on a great new podcast:  Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men .  Their last episode talked about "Deadly Genesis", and it reminded me of one of three things that, no matter what the actual books say, will always be considered 100% true in my nerd-heart.  I'm going in order from when the stories/characters affected were first introduced. Wolverine is a father who outlived his young daughter:   One of the things I always liked was that Wolverine always has a surrogate daughter figure, no matter what era.  This led me to believe that, somewhere in his then-unexplained past, he had a like-aged daughter who died young.  Maybe illness, maybe not, but either way, he outlived a daughter he loved & now he doted on surrogates to make up for that loss.  Now that so much of his past has been revealed I don't think it's likely that will ever apply, but it doesn't change the fact that I find Wolverine's fatherly be...

Last time I was sick, I started cycling through my favorite YouTube channels. One of them, Tats Top Videos, had a Halloween video listing their 22 Top Gaming Creepypastas, and thus was I introduced to this corner of the internet. Creepypastas are amazingly creative, and the best of them do what the best horror movies & novels do, which is worm into your brain and refuse to leave.  Thus, let me share some of my favorites by general category.  (Be warned – I will be posting some SPOILERS.) Overall Favorite: Candle Cove .  Brilliantly executed, this story by Kris Straub takes the form of a forum thread wherein a group of people reminisce about a half-remembered low budged local show, and where said thread comes to an abrupt end thanks to a bizarre, eerie revelation.  The conversational nature of the story being told and the slow reveal of this incredibly odd show (that I’d still watch) is very effective, while the open nature of the ending leaves one with questio...

So I've discovered Tumblr...  Like most social venues online, it's equal parts awesome & awful.  One thing I've noticed, though, is that there is a definite age division, and being in my 30s, I'm practically a senior citizen on the site.  It's weird to see stuff from late high school & college being described as "part of our childhood", but it's also an interesting perspective.  One thing I have noticed, however, is a resentment towards non-90s nostalgia, and that bothers me. I first saw this during a discussion about the novel Ready Player One , a really enjoyable sci-fi story that is built around crazy levels of 80s nostalgia.  Some people who read it appreciated it for what it is and posited what a 90s-centric version of the novel would include.  This quickly deteriorated into people hating  on the book for not being about 90s nostalgia and wondering why anyone would be nostalgic for any other era.  I understand why that generation re...

Hello. My name is Mela, and I write. I'm not a writer , per se - I've given up on that pipe dream of ever being published. But I write an essay or review or a (in all honesty) fanfic there, and it's a hobby I enjoy. One thing I most definitely am not , however, is an artist. That is simething that makes me sad. Art legitimately amazes  me, and since so much of the media I enjoy is visually oriented, I wish it was something I could create. Painted, digital, pixel, line work... I love it all. And even if I think it's bad, I still respect the time & effort that went into making it. It is because of this that I am really bothered by this trend in comics press & fandom to ignore and downplay the artists. As much as I love & respect & enjoy many comic writers, it bothers me when they're exclusively mentioned in reviews. For example, let's take Saga; there's a legitimately great series with amazing talent behind it. But mark my words, if you read th...

Okay, Part 1 was Gripe-a-palooza.  Part 2 is the stuff I liked, and I’ll try really hard to make it more than just fannish gushing.  Also, as part of my Shift to Positive, I’ll be offering a Mea Culpa for some initial knee-jerk reactions in the past, since my revisits have changed my impressions. As I said before, SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS for stuff that’s mentioned. BEST TV SHOW: Steven Universe:  “If every pork chop was perfect, we wouldn’t have hot dogs!”  Promoted largely because it’s from the first female original-show creator in Cartoon Network’s history (which surprised me, since they usually want to avoid acknowledging females in any way), it is a damn fine show.  Steven himself is a refreshingly sweet & dorky change of pace from the usual sassy & wiseass kid hero (which you do get a break from on Gumball & Adventure Time), the Gems all have great personalities & work well as his surrogate family, his supporting cast is growin...

REVIEW: New Mutants Forever: The Fall of Nova Roma” Chris Claremont (writer); Al Rio (penciller); Bob McLeod (inker); Guru EFX (colorist); Tom Orzechowski (letterer); collected in trade 2011, originally published between 2010 & 2011 (months not given in the trade indicia). Issue 1, “Shadows in the Night”:  The New Mutants are staying the night at the Hellfire Club’s NYC headquarters after the big dance/race with the Hellions in #54 (see below).  While Doug helps Amara determine whether Selene’s claim that they’re related, the others go to Central Park (right outside the club).  While in the park, they are attacked by armed men, and they discover that Amara’s father is one of their targets.  The armed men rush the club, resulting in Rahne & Emma being hurt, and only stop fighting when they are killed en masse.  In the fight, Doug & Amara are kidnapped.  Amara’s father reveals he was trying to warn the Club (Selene in particular) about so...