Site News: October, 2016 Announcements

First and foremost, a bit of a personal note, a while back, I amassed enough money from artwork commissions to purchase an actual art tablet. Which means goodbye, grey-and-gray pencil artwork. You can all expect a bit more color in NewtCave artwork from now on.

Secondly, more importantly, the NewtCave has reached 250,00 page views.

I'd like to thank each and every one of you, and I promise that I'm working on something to celebrate. Let's just say that it's been difficult to get my hands on a certain DVD... but no longer. and I owe it all to my local library.

Hey, you know what else libraries have, apart from DVDs? Books.

And this October, I'm devoting the entire month to a television show based on a certain best-selling book series from the 90s.

Let's just say... it'll give you... chills.

See you then!

Review: Avengers Assemble "The Age of Tony Stark"

Since last season, Avengers Assemble has greatly improved. But this episode marks the second one in a row where the writers have tempted fate. Last time, it was the fact that Atlantis episodes are rarely great. And this time... I mean, come on, it's a de-aging story. Does anybody actually like this sort of plot as a whole?

Scratch that. Does anybody without an age-regression fetish like this sort of plot?

It's just that I've seen many a TV show tackle this story element, and I've never seen a single one elevate it from more than just a gimmick. Power Rangers, Star Trek: TNG's "Rascals"....

Even Justice League Unlimited barely got that plot to work.

Recap: Avengers Assemble "The Age of Tony Stark"

Before we begin, I would like to apologize to my sister in advance. I will briefly be using the term "dinosaur" to refer to prehistoric flying reptiles. Mainly because the episode will, too. In fact, it will commit pretty much every sin that irks paleontologists.

And with that track record, I'm sure people will dig this episode up after the robot apocalypse and say "Is that what they thought killer robots would look like? And then they'll stop watching the episode in order to focus on finding food and shelter.

You know how it is with apocalypses.

Avengers Assemble Recap/Review goes up at 2 pm.

(Note: Post will go up at the usual time tomorrow. Sorry for the additional delay; my internet SUCKS.)

Sorry. For another delay. Been working on October's posts.

Review: Batman: The Movie

I'll admit one thing right now. Batman: The Movie is largely a matter of taste. If you like the goofy 60s campiness, you won't be disappointed. And if you don't like it, well, that's fine. Everybody's entitled to an opinion.

But how can you not love this?

But it's important to address why the distaste some have for this movie's tone leveled up and evolved into disdain.

Recap: Batman: The Movie Part 3: Wham-O!

In the last Bat-recap….

Riddles in the sky!

East meets West for some "diplomatic relations!"

Bruce Wayne held hostage?

But wait! The wildest is yet to come!

Don’t touch that dial!

Recap: Batman: The Movie Part 2: Zap!

In the last Bat-recap, we saw a mysterious disappearing yacht!

A shark biting off more than it can chew!

A feline felon with a new face, feigning the form of a femme fatale!

An alliance of evil?

And the final end of Batman and Robin?

 But wait! The worst is yet to come!

Presented in color.

Recap: Batman: The Movie Part 1: Pow!

Fifty years and two reboots later, it’s time to take a look at the movie that helped get the super hero genre off the ground.

“Wait a minute… Fifty? Two?”
“Holy fifty-two pickup, Batman!”

 …What?

“Thought you could get away with it, didn’t you?”

No, really, what?

“But your own compulsion gave you away… Calendar Man!”

…What.

“Obviously, you’re planning some sort of scheme based around this event which will, no doubt, disrupt the 52 universes, allowing you to rule all creation.”

Or… maybe it’s just a coincidence and I’m not a supervillain with a contrived scheme?

“Possibly. There’s always a first time.”

Right. So without further ado, let’s take a look at one of the main catalysts of DC’s tendency to make everything darker and grittier.

Truly, this movie’s lighthearted fun is a double-edged sword.

Recap: Batman: The Movie: Intro

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1966 Batman TV show. Perhaps this fact would not be as obscure if Star Trek hadn't also hit TV screens the same year. That seems to be getting more people's attention.

The Ghostbusters 2 prediction, Star Trek, Batman… it’s a good year for milestones.

But doubtless, part of the lack of widespread fanfare for Batman's 50th anniversary is because of the stigma unfortunately attached to the show. It's goofy, it's campy, it's funny. And that's why a lot of people decry it as having "ruined Batman."

But honestly... it kind of saved Batman.

So today, on this special day, I'm going to begin my look at this much-beloved and oft-maligned version of the character.

Happy 88^th Birthday, Adam West!

Sketchbook: Aborted Artwork: Shada Inmates Original Draft

A while back, I recapped and reviewed the only unfinished episode of Doctor Who, "Shada."
Disheartened with the BBC's method of filling in the missing portions (by having Tom Baker blandly narrate), I took it upon myself to illustrate that any visuals would have been better than what we got.

Any at all.

I whipped up a pencil sketch in about five total hours to show the potential of storyboarding the big climactic fight, which I think turned out rather well.

But this wasn't my first draft.

Review: Avengers Assemble "Beneath the Surface"

As I finished writing about this episode, I realized that Marvel probably won't be utilizing Namor anytime soon since they don't own his film rights. And though I don't know the specifics, I would not be surprised if they didn't have his TV rights, either.

So I'm officially done with wondering why they aren't using Namor in these Atlantis episodes. I'm just going to assume that he's still walking around as an amnesiac homeless man.

Recap: Avengers Assemble "Beneath the Surface"

I’m wondering what they came up with first, the plot of this episode or the title.

It’s one of those titles that has such an appropriate double meaning that if they didn’t reverse-engineer a story to fit it, then whoever came up with it must have gotten that indescribable feeling that writers get when they come up with an amazing title or chapter name.

You sort of get chills as you go “It works on so many levels!” And then you start typing it out, hoping that the handful of readers on your blog have enough of an understanding of particle physics to understand why “Coulomb Excitation” works as a metaphor representing the climax of The Incredible Hulk.

Or is that just me?

Avengers Assemble Review Wednesday

It came to my attention that due to some of the subject matter on my discussion of this episode, the timing was rather... Unfortunate. So in the interests of keeping the discussion on track, avoiding unintentionally sparking off-topic arguments, the interests of good taste, et cetera, it is being postponed to Wednesday.

I apologize for the delay.

No Post Today

It's my birthday this week, so no post until Monday.

Review: Ultimate Spider-Man "Rise of the Goblin"

To be honest, if this episode had featured Spider-Man taking the Green Goblin home and hiding him from both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Aunt May, I'd have to applaud the sheer audacity. And honestly, I'm surprised that the idea isn't brought up in an imaginary cutaway as a callback to "Home Sick Hulk."

You never can tell with this show.

Recap: Ultimate Spider-Man "Rise of the Goblin"

Alright, it's the final episode of Season 1.

When we left off, Norman Osborn became a Green Goblin (to the surprise of nobody in the audience), and Spider-Man ended up quitting S.H.I.E.L.D.

"I'm gonna make my own team! With blackjack! And hookers! You know what? Forget the team."

Naturally, this will set up the gigantic climax at the end where Spider-Man and his S.H.I.E.L.D. team reunite to defeat the Green Goblin through teamwork and friendship, right? I mean, it's not like they would ignore this perfect opportunity to show how integral these young heroes are to both Peter Parker's life and the show itself, right?

...Oh boy.

Site News: September, 2016 Announcements

Just a quick update here.

No post on Monday, since it's Labor Day, but the finale of Ultimate Spider-Man Season 1 will be up Wednesday.

Business as usual this month, though with a special anniversary celebration. You'll see.

Anyway, see you Wednesday for "Rise of the Goblin"!