League Post - Whoa!

This week, the League of Extraordinary Bloggers poses this pop culture conundrum...

What media announcement had you throwing fist pumps and doing roundhouse kicks in the air? Did the final result live up to your dreams?

Well of course, being the nerdy geek I am, there are a handful of possible answers to this: the Star Wars Trilogy Special Editions in theaters, NEW Star Wars movies, a new Indiana Jones movie, a new TRON movie, the upcoming TRON animated series...

But there is one specific moment that really blew me away in my seat. It happened at Star Wars Celebration 5 in 2010. I think it was Saturday morning when Lucas himself was appearing at the con and being interviewed by Jon Stewart. The con organizers were smart. Knowing fans would line up hours in advance to behold The Bearded One, they broadcast the panel over closed circuit to various halls in the convention center. While you may not be able to see George "in person", you could still watch it live.

We walked into one of the broadcast halls a few minutes after the panel had started. A bit later, when the panel was getting close to wrapping up, Lucas unveiled one of the deleted scenes from Return of the Jedi that would be appearing on the Blu-Ray set.

Now, this may not seem such a huge deal compared to a new movie release. As I said in my first League post, I've seen the original Star Wars films over 100 times, each. So it was almost inconceivable in my mind to be watching new footage that the general public had never seen previously. A couple of deleted scenes from A New Hope (or as I call it, Star Wars) made it on to a CD-ROM in the 90s but this...this was a scene most of us had no idea even existed!

The first thing I did after getting those Blu-Rays was go through all the deleted scenes from the original movies. It was amazing to see all new things from movies I have known front to back for over 30 years.

Fellow League Bloggers

Christopher Tupa remembers the Star Wars Special Editions

Flashlights Are Something to Eat talks about the new good ol' boys
GI Joe 25th Anniversary figures strike a blow with Branded in the 80s

Mail Order Monday - Remington Typewriter (1953)

Remington Typewriter Ad (1953)

Boy howdy, look at that! She's a beaut ain't she? For just $9.99 down and a monthly payment as low as  $7.44 you can own this fine typewriter and carrying case! Or, if you prefer the Quiet-riter model, payments are $8.32.

You can earn money at home in your spare time! How? I'm not sure, you'd have to read the included book "How To Earn Money at Home in Your Spare Time on Your Portable Typewriter." But it sounds like you can get paid to address envelopes and type up menus! Doesn't that sound fun? And best of all, you get to be your own boss!

When I was around 6 or 7 I started messing around on my mom's typewriter. It was very similar to the one shown here but probably 20+ years newer. It had an interesting mechanism that kept the typewriter locked in the case so it didn't bounce around while you were carrying it. They may be "portable" but they sure aren't light!

Friday Funnies - Thundercats / Battle of the Planets

Comic crossovers are nothing new. I remember the 70s when DC and Marvel had crossovers. I mainly remember the oversized comics because they were freakin huge! And then there were oddball things like Superman vs Muhammad Ali. There's a pretty hefty list of inter-company crossover comics on Wikipedia.

Back in July 2003, WildStorm/Top Cow released a one-shot crossover kids may never have considered during each show's heyday. With Battle of the Planets airing in 1978 and Thundercats starting in 1985, chances were these two properties were never mashed up in backyard play adventures.

Check it out here

Unlike the cliche crossovers usually found in superhero comics, the two teams didn't fight each other when they first meet. What they do is kick a lot of Spectra ass! There was another one-shot release in May 2003 titled Battle of the Planets/Thundercats. Catch the difference there? The two titles were independent of each other and had no continuity between them despite the fact that the covers could be connected to make one larger image.

Battle of the Planets/Thundercats

Thundercats/Battle of the Planets

Battle of the Planets is one of my favorite childhood cartoons. Only within the past decade or so did I discover the original series, Gatchaman. It's amazing how much the series was edited/changed for the American audience. 7-Zark-7 does not exist in the original and it's a little more violent. If you're a fan of Battle of the Planets and have never seen Gatchaman, do yourself a favor and check it out.