www.ErikSchubach.com - The Stomping Puddle of the Erik-Verse

www.ErikSchubach.com The Stomping Puddle of the Erik-Verse

May 21, 2013

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Spider-Man Fan No MoreErik_Schubach Posted: 2012-12-28 21:58:59

Breaking tradition here and posting not on a movie or TV show, but on the travesty of Marvel Comics alienating the fans of the Amazing Spider-Man. Stan Lee (who has been one of my heroes my entire life) should be ashamed for allowing the company he spearheaded to kill off the most influential hero of many generations of comic book fans.

I was 5 years old in 1971 and picked up my first Amazing Spider-Man comic... it was an old dogeared issue #33 from a few years back. The story inspired me so much... he put such a herculean effort into moving the machinery that was pinning him down and stopping him from saving his aunt. He wouldn't let it stop him... his uncle had taught him that enduring lesson about power and responsibility. I became an instant and loyal reader. I spent most of my childhood collecting all of the back issues except for The Amazing Spider-Man #1 and Amazing Fantasy #15 (which I had to be satisfied with reprints).

Amazing Spiderman 33

For 41 years I have followed Peter Parker in his altruistic attempt to live up to Uncle Ben's and his own expectations. There have been unexpected bumps and hiccups along the way with some questionable story lines, but Peter Parker remained for me, the ideal of what a hero should be and a role model to fashion yourself after.

That is... until now. In all their wisdom, Marvel has decided to throw away all of it's loyal readers, in an act that almost smacks of betrayal.

Not only are they ending the Amazing Spider-Man title on its 50th anniversary and its 700th issue... but they killed off Peter Parker too. Leaving us with another man (Doctor Octopus) pretending to be Peter Parker and Spider-Man.

Amazing Spiderman 700

This is how they reward DECADES worth of loyalty... by giving us some imposter who is just pretending to be Spider-Man. I refuse to read the new Spider-Man title that will feature this sham. If it isn't Peter Parker, it IS NOT Spider-Man.

Congratulations Marvel, you have alienated a long time fan. There were very few titles left in the Marvel stable that I read (I always knew I'd be able to fall back on Spider-Man).

But Now, since Marvel has displayed no loyalty to its own readers, I feel I owe them no loyalty either. It is time for me to abandon ship and move over the DC, and Dark Horse titles.

I'm curious how they are going to make the next Spider-Man movie with people knowing Peter Parker is dead.

From this day on, I will be a Spider-Man fan no more.

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Doctor and the DalekErik_Schubach Posted: 2012-09-18 09:30:41 Updated: 2012-09-18 09:33:23

Ok... I'm a huge Doctor Who fan... have been since I first saw a Doctor Who show in the early 1970's. While nobody has come close being as good as Tom Baker in his floppy hat and trademark scarf, I was psyched when they resurrected the series in 2005.

I loved Christopher Eccleston's take on the Timelord we all love, and then David Tennant's portrayal took me a few episodes but then he grew on me and possibly surpassed Eccleston. Then came disappointment with Matt Smith. He doesn't have the presence of the last two actors and it seemed he was a secondary character for most of his episodes... It was like "The Amy and River Show... also starring the Doctor"

But the new season 7 was a nice surprise... I found myself enjoying Matt Smith's performance, it is like he is channeling the excitement from Tennant and the quirkiness of Eccleston. Even with Amy being even more assertive than ever before (I just wanted to say "Yes Ma'am" to her) Smith was not drown out.

[[spoiler alert!]]

The 7th season premier episode "Asylum of the Daleks" was wicked awesome (even though I'm trying to figure out how the Daleks keep coming back). The reason it was so good is the character Oswin Oswald. She was a human who crash landed on the asylum planet and has been holding off the Daleks on her own until the Doctor (Predator of the Daleks) arrives.

Oswin is cute and flirty, giving everyone nicknames and proving herself more intelligent than the Doctor with her ability to hack Dalek technology... a feat the Doctor says that even he cannot do to which she replies "Then come meet the girl who can"

It is then revealed that she has unknowingly been converted into a Dalek because of her intelligence, but was not even aware it had happened. So in her mind she is still a human in a barricaded control room. She helps the Doctor and his companions and apparently dies when she detonates the planet.

Oswin duality with the Doctor

The intriguing part is that she is the actress that will be the new companion when Amy leaves this season... soooo, does that mean the doctor is going to go back in time and befriend Oswin as his companion, or are the writers thinking something off the chart... a twist so cool that it would cause a ripple in the Doctor Who fan-base for generations.

Will we find out that Oswin survived the planet's destruction and the Doctor befriends her in her current Dalek state? So every scene where they interact we see it from her point of view... as a human girl in a control room talking to the Doctor through video screens... and his point of view... talking to a Dalek.

Such a twist would be mindblowing... The "Doctor and the Dalek"!!!

The only unanswered question of that episode besides how did the Daleks return again is, what happened to the nonobots that were changing Amy into a Dalek?

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Hey Look! A Spider! Isn't it Amazing?Erik_Schubach Posted: 2012-07-20 07:32:04

Let it be known that ever since I was a small boy, my hero has been Spiderman. I collected all of the comic titles with him in it. I watched the skits with him on the Electric Company... watched the cartoons, read the comic strips in the newspapers and suffered through the live action television series in the 70's with him shooting ropes out of his wrists and even the awful Spiderman and His Amazing Friends cartoon in the 80's.

I took the bad with the good... he was my hero, my inspiration. Then it finally happened, in 2002 a modern Spiderman movie with modern special effects!

I was stoked, only to be disappointed in it and the two sequels. How could Stan Lee allow them to take one of the most iconic things about Spider-man, his web shooters (which showed off Peter Parker's science wizardry) and replace them with lame "natural" webbing that shoots out of his wrist... I mean that's where spiders get their webbing from right? Their arms... NOT!

But I soldiered on... after all these new movies, tho flawed, were better than any Spiderman depictions to date.

Enter 2012... a decade after the lackluster debut of the Toby Maguire (gag) movies... a Spiderman reboot hit the silver screen! I hesitated and tried not to get excited... they had to prove to me it was not just another botched attempt to portray my hero on the big screen.

The Amazing Spiderman Movie

So I packed up the family and met my brother, sister in law, and some friends at the premier. But what unfolded on the screen in front of me, tho not perfect, was an awesome rendition of the Spiderman I grew up with in the comics! Stan Lee is back on my good side now!

The effects were awesome, and though Peter didn't come up with the webbing formula in this one, at least he built the web shooters. There were a couple rough spots due to time constraints, but this is the best portrayal of the web-head yet. My only regret is that he wasn't a little more flippant with the joking while fighting the bad guys. I can forgive the changing of the events that lead to Uncle Ben's death.

So weather you are a fan of superhero movies or not, this is definitely one for you to watch!

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Joss is Avenged!Erik_Schubach Posted: 2012-05-09 08:41:46 Updated: 2012-05-09 08:48:47

Ok for the record, in my opinion, Joss Whedon has one of the most creative minds in show business. Whether it is on the big screen or on TV, he writes dialog and character development that is second to none... and his creations have defined the term "cult following" with hordes of fanatical fans.

BUT there has been no shortage of studios who think they know better than him when it comes to what the public wants. This has cause a few major heartbreaks for the fans... can you say Firefly?!?!

On the big screen, Joss is sometimes called upon to save a sinking ship, and he comes up with something brilliant just to have the studio change it around to something unrecognizable and poor Joss has to bear the embarrassment of having his name associated with... can you say Alien Resurrection?

But now, with worldwide box office sales nearing 1/2 a billion dollars in less than a week for the Avengers, we can finally see Joss Whedon's star shine brightly with his brilliant take on this super powered team.

The Avengers Movie

The witty banter between the characters balances out the emotional gravity of the movie. The action scenes and spectacular visuals are offset by the humanity that keeps the entire storyline grounded.

If you are a fan of superheroes, or love action movies, this will be right up your alley. I think they got the formula just right in this one even if 1/2 the Avengers from the comic series are missing from this adaptation.

In my view, with this resounding success, Joss Whedon is truly avenged!

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