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Entertainment Earth

TDF Staff

Editor/Head Writer:
TDF Pamela

Regular Contributors:
Amanda
The Bibliomaniac
Emily
Lady T
LamoreVincera
Stacy B
Strangeness Abounds
WereGeek

To read more about us, head over and meet the geeks!

Geeky New Year’s Resolutions – 2011

Hey, it’s that time of year again! Have you made your resolutions for 2011? I have, but I thought I should review the ones I made for 2010 and fess up to where I failed (and maybe gloat a little about where I succeeded.) So let’s  revisit 2010′s resolutions, shall we?

  • I’m going to watch all of the new Battlestar Galactica.
  • I’m giving up on the core X-Men titles.
  • I’m going to watch season 1 of Buffy: the Vampire Slayer.
  • I’m going to reread Lone Wolf & Cub.
  • I’m going to write more articles for TDF.

The new BSG. Yup, did that. Finished it by early February, if I recall. Yeah, I liked it, but not as much as maybe if I had been watching it from the get-go and had to wait months in between seasons like the people who watched it as it unfolded. I admit I was very interested in finding out all the backstory I could as I was going through, but the end result was that I spoiled the hell out of myself. I think that contributed to my lack of a sense of awe and being blown away like I would’ve if I had to wait a week between episodes and not been able to “read ahead” as I wound up doing. But don’t be fooled, while I liked all of the new BSG, I still love the cheesy/campy original and, as my signature says, Dirk Benedict will always be my Starbuck.

I did finally give up the two core X-titles, but it took until October to do it. The completist in me still hates the rest of me for doing it, but at some point, you have to cut the cord. I don’t think I’ve read either title for over a year and comics are mostly up around $4 now so to spend that much money on something I don’t even read is ridiculous. I could be spending that money on comics I’d actually read and enjoy.  Not to mention I already have over 20 longboxes of comics that take up a LOT of space.

I watched season one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You know what? I didn’t hate it, but I really couldn’t see spending any more time with it. I won’t be watching seasons 2-7. There are so many other shows I would enjoy more and are still on my “to watch” list that I can’t see wasting time on more Buffy. There, I said it. Wasting time. I’ll be expecting your hate mail any time. Please send to the usual address.

About my “easiest resolution to make” of rereading Lone Wolf & Cub…yeah. I didn’t get beyond book one this year. I got onto a Pratchett phase and wanted to start reading and rereading the Discworld books, so I sort of did that instead. I’m well known for being a ridiculously slow reader, and there just wasn’t room for both LW&C and Discworld.

And I did write more articles for TDF in 2010 than I did in 2009, though it’s not like I wrote much in 2009 anyway. But I also started a few new features like “Comedians You Should Know” (which will be starting up again in 2011), “Guilty Pleasures” and “Well I Never”.  Expect more of those features and some new ones in 2011!

~*~

Now that that’s out of the way, out with the old and in with the new! It is New Year’s Day after all!

  • I’m going to catch up on the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. For as much as I love Discworld, I realized I haven’t actually read that many of the books. Odd, really. So this year, I’m going to finish what I started in 2010 and get current on all the books. I’m currently about 10 pages away from the end of FaustEric, which is number 9 in order of publication. Sir Terry’s up to 38 with 2010′s “I Shall Wear Midnight”, so I’ve got a fair way to go yet. It’ll probably take me all year.
  • I’m going to catalog my comics. No mean feat, this. As I mentioned, I have more than 20 longboxes of comics. If you figure that each holds about 300-350 comics (I don’t use boards, I use full boxes to keep them neat) then that’s roughly 6000-7000 comics. I currently have about two boxes input into the Comic Collector software from Collectorz.com and it works well…I just wish it would work with a barcode scanner.
  • I’m going to rewatch Lost from start to finish. I gave myself the blu-ray box set for Christmas and, aside from finding and watching the hidden disc, haven’t done much with it. But I have big plans! I’d like to do a feature for TDF called “Lost: By the Numbers”, but I haven’t decided yet exactly what it will be. I am open to suggestions. Lay ‘em on me!
  • I’m going to give the US remake of Being Human a fair chance. I won’t lie, this might be kind of hard. I was initially skeptical when I heard they were remaking BH in the US. I consider the British original to be nearly perfect in every way and I love, love, love it. And every time I see new information or trailers or character sketches for the American version, I am demoralized by its very…Americanness. They even changed the names of the characters to be more American! I will give it at least 6 episodes (the length of the first British series) or until Syfy cancels it, whichever comes first, to grab and hold my interest. That sounds fair, doesn’t it?
  • I am going to drop cable this year. This might be the hardest resolution to keep. There are only a few shows a week that I watch regularly, but I love having the TV on with just any old thing from the History Channel, History International, the Science Channel, NatGeo…basically my weekends are filled with the background noise of mummies, lost books of the Bible, the Crusades, UFOs, aliens, Stonehenge or space shows. That’s the kind of random, found stuff I will miss. It’s getting easier to get my usual weekly series online or elsewhere without having to fork out big money to Comcast, so why keep spending all that dough? Sure, I’ll keep my Internet (I’m not crazy) but I think it’s time to stop paying for cable.

Have you made any geeky resolutions for 2011? We’d love to hear them! And if you have any suggestions for what you’d like to see in the “Lost: By the Numbers” feature, please let us know!


simsmallWereGeek

WereGeek is reading 5-7 books at any given time, none of them very fast. These can range from alternative universe fiction to historical non-fiction and from theoretical physics to Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader. You can argue with her all you want, but Dirk Benedict will always be her Starbuck. Her ringtone is the theme from Airwolf and she believes that there's nothing that can't be improved by the judicious application of werewolves. Or bacon. Or werewolves with bacon. She can be contacted at werewolf17 @ gmail.com and followed on Twitter at the link below.

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Need a Wolverine wig for Halloween?

It’s not a terribly common need, I assume, but Marvel has got you covered just in case.

Check this baby out:

How dashing!

If you’ll excuse me, I need to pick myself up off the floor, stop laughing, and do some work. :D


TDF Pamela

The Discriminating Fangirl, who is more likely to answer to Pamela if you shout it at her, is the proud owner of an MA in English, focusing on children's/young adult literature and popular culture. Because of her ample free time thanks to being gainfully unemployed, she reads voraciously. She also loves geeky movies and tv shows, reads comic books as often as she can buy them, and when she's procrastinating, she enjoys playing video games. She can be contacted at t.d.fangirl @ gmail.com and followed on Twitter at the link below.

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StrangenessAbound’s 見 & 漫 Page: Reviewing Dance in the Vampire Bund (anime and manga)

May I be so presumptuous as to say that vampires are a very popular subject in Japanese anime and manga these days? I’m certain some readers will be happy to know that this sudden leap in popularity owes nothing to the ripple effect of the Twilight series. ;)

The first volume of Dance in the Vampire Bund

The very popular, ongoing manga and anime series Dance in the Vampire Bund (ダンス イン ザ ヴァンパイアバンド) by Nozomu Tamaki is about a queen vampire, Mina Tepês, who desires to create a place of safety and community for all vampires living in a present-day, though alternate, universe. She creates that safe haven in Japan, called The Bund, against almost ridiculously impossible obstacles. What is a bund? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines bund as, “an embanked thoroughfare along a river or the sea especially in the Far East.” This fits perfectly because The Bund is just outside Tokyo and sits on the river.

The “focalizing narrator” is a seventeen year-old werewolf/human named Akira: at the beginning of the anime/manga, we see that he is just beginning a new job as a bodyguard to Mina Tepês. We quickly learn that there is a deep relationship between Akira and Mina Tepês – close enough to border on the romantic. But because Akira is the narrator, Mina’s true nature is obscured by the seemingly cruel acts she commands to take place in the interest of wiping out opposition. Even after The Bund has been established, her hold on her kingdom is tenuous and is threatened by a various, steady line of enemies to be fought. Be aware: if you do not enjoy gore or horror, this is probably not the manga/anime for you. :)

The manga is excellent, the art is aesthetically pleasing, the plotline creates serious tension, the characters are fully fleshed-out and plausible and the relationship between Mina and Akira is heart-wrenching. The first time I read this series, I pulled an all-nighter in trying to finish it. Please allow me a fangirl squee when I say that Akira is HOT!

The anime is a different story. I don’t hate the anime as some fans of the manga have said they have. But the creator of the anime did not follow the plotline or details of the manga as closely as I would have liked. The first episode took far too long to begin Mina’s story, but I enjoyed the small and appropriately placed comedic moments throughout the 12-episode show, which BTW, you can watch on YouTube for free.

I’d imagine that you’ve seen the front cover for the series by now and you’re saying to yourself, “Is that a kid?” Yes, Mina Tepês, the ruler of the modern-day vampires, appears to be a nine year-old girl (key word there ;) ). Because Mina appears to be small child, this anime/manga is often classified as Lolicon – a word derived from Lolita. Lolicon, as you can well imagine, is extremely controversial outside the anime/manga community, but is well-established and respected inside the anime/manga community. By no means do all members of the community enjoy or even like the Lolicon genre being present (I’m one of those that doesn’t particularly enjoy Lolicon, but I won’t push my personal preferences onto others), but there seems to be an atmosphere of respect for it, even in still-Puritanical America.

Suffice it to say that Dance in the Vampire Bund does not put the child (there’s your other hint) Mina Tepês in a sexual situation. She is seen, however, in very tight clothing, a bedsheet wrapped around her neck and is occasionally seen wearing a thong for underwear. But remember: Japanese culture does not always nudity with sexuality. Here, Mina’s infrequent near-nakedness symbolizes her freedom from her troubles of managing the vampire population. Her nudity is her freedom because later in the manga, Mina’s nudity is used against her (again, in a non-sexual situation), thus curtailing her freedom temporarily.

What gets outsiders to the anime/manga community bent out of shape is that whenever Mina is in a revealing state, much more often than not, Akira is in her presence. Akira blushes strenuously at first when he sees her like this, but Mina consistently brushes off his embarrassment and says often that her nakedness is a natural state of being and turns it around by saying that Akira is also naked when he transforms into a werewolf, despite the fact that he is strategically covered with fur. ;) The thing that the outside community needs to remember is that these are drawings – not real people. Additionally, the Lolicon genre reflects a desire – both in Japanese and American culture – to rebel against the norm. Mina is both a symbol of that rebellion inside the anime/manga and is a target of that same rebellion to those who consume Dance in the Vampire Bund.

Dance in the Vampire Bund is a highly-recommended read for anime/manga watchers/readers. The manga and anime have been licensed, so hit your local bookstore and see what you think about a solid, fun and cliff-hanging vampire story. The vampires here don’t sparkle and actually bite and attack humans. :D

If for any reason Dance in the Vampire Bund hits you wrong, please don’t hesitate to comment or e-mail me. I’m aware that I’m stepping out on a limb with this particular anime/manga, but I think it’s time to confront the Lolicon genre head-on, because it’s only going to grow in popularity – someone’s got to deal with it.

This Saturday, I will be at AnimeFest in Dallas, Texas! Stay tuned for a special update on how the convention went. :D


Strangeness Abounds

StrangenessAbounds may be more of a truthful moniker than the author will admit to -- when she is not obsessively finding "just the right word," exploring the taste of various chai lattes or arguing over what is canon in "The Legend of Zelda," she is planning her next sushi outing. Erin "StrangenessAbounds" Leanne is a writer of both fiction and non-fiction as well as being an editor and English teacher. She graduated in 2009 with her BA in English and is working towards her MS in English. She can be contacted through e-mail.

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Are Superhero Movies Oversaturating Hollywood?

WereGeek IMed me this evening and sent me these two links:

“‘Mined to death’? ‘X-Men’ director says Hollywood is killing the superhero movie”, in which Matthew Vaughn talks about how audiences might get sick of the X-Men franchise if Hollywood keeps banging away at it,

and “Are Superheroes Still Super?”, in which writer Jeff Jensen talks about how the superhero genre is oversaturated.

I’ll address the Vaughn interview first. I effing LOVE that he says if he had directed X-Men: The Last Stand, he “could have made something a hundred times better than the film that was eventually made.” If you’ve been reading TDF for a while, you’ll understand why I jumped up and punched the air when I read this. I’m still sore at Vaughn for bailing on X3, but I can definitely see how the studio turned that movie into a clusterfuck, and why he didn’t want to deal with it.

On one hand, I think Vaughn has a point, particularly about the quality of superhero films. The X-Men franchise did get crapped on with X3, and audiences, particularly fans of the comics, aren’t going to put up with much more if it’s not good stuff.

On the other hand, I can’t say I agree that the market is being oversaturated with superhero movies, and that audiences are going to get sick of them soon. This brings me to the second article, too. As WereGeek rightly pointed out, do you ever see articles about how the movie market is oversaturated with dramas? Or romantic comedies, and if Hollywood keeps making them, audiences are going to get sick of it? Nope.

I think it all comes down to quality, not genre. If Hollywood pumps out crappy superhero movies, of course people aren’t going to see them. If Hollywood keeps making smart, well-made superhero movies like Nolan’s Batman series and the Iron Man series, audiences are going to keep buying tickets.

As a side note, I’m having trouble taking Jensen seriously in his observations on superhero movies. I mean, the guy held up Jonah Hex as an example of a superhero movie that did poorly at the box office. Mr. Jensen, I have to point out that comic books do not always equal superheroes. A little research could have told you that.

All genres wax and wane, and while Jensen has a point that parody tends to signal the end of a genre’s heyday, it does not always indicate that the genre is done. Hell, Hollywood’s been pumping out parodies of pretty much every genre. Does that mean that action movies, teen comedies, and the like are dead? Nope.

I’m sincerely hoping the X-Men: First Class movie is well-made and well-written, and I hope the same for the rest of Marvel’s upcoming superhero offerings. I just think it’s all down to quality and not content when it comes to a genre dying off.


TDF Pamela

The Discriminating Fangirl, who is more likely to answer to Pamela if you shout it at her, is the proud owner of an MA in English, focusing on children's/young adult literature and popular culture. Because of her ample free time thanks to being gainfully unemployed, she reads voraciously. She also loves geeky movies and tv shows, reads comic books as often as she can buy them, and when she's procrastinating, she enjoys playing video games. She can be contacted at t.d.fangirl @ gmail.com and followed on Twitter at the link below.

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X-Men: First Class... coming to the big screen?

If you’re an X-Men fan, you’ve probably already heard the rumors that an X-Men: First Class movie is in the works. The XM:FC comics are great; they feature the original X-Men team and their often funny adventures when things were just starting to roll at Xavier’s place. The XM:FC movie, on the other hand, would still be set within the universe created by Bryan Singer.

The current rumor is that Matthew Vaughn, director of Kick-Ass, has been offered the director’s seat and has apparently turned it down.

I’ll admit that I haven’t been watching news about this movie very closely. I’m still pissed about X-Men: The Last Stand, and I don’t have a lot of faith in Fox to not completely screw up this movie.

So why this post? Because I’d like to take a moment and plead with the powers that be to reboot the X-Men series. I know, I know, I’m as sick as you are of reboots, especially of series that came out ten years ago. Does Spiderman need to be rebooted? Nah. But hear me out.

See, one of the things I absolutely adore about the XM:FC comic book is the camaraderie between the original five X-Men. Scott’s the solid one, Warren’s the flighty one (pun intended), Hank is the smart one, Bobby is the smartass, and Jean is… Jean (i.e. awesome). They work together very well, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch these five young people become close friends and a coherent team.

I want to see that on the big screen.

If Fox goes ahead and makes a First Class movie with the movieverse’s original team, we’d have Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Beast… As much as I like Storm in the comics (Halle Berry was terrible in the movies; sorry to her fans), there’s just not the same dynamic in that group as there would be in… well, any group with Iceman included.

So as much as I’m hesitant at the idea of rebooting every series that ever made money, I’d really like to see Marvel Studios start fresh with the X-Men.


TDF Pamela

The Discriminating Fangirl, who is more likely to answer to Pamela if you shout it at her, is the proud owner of an MA in English, focusing on children's/young adult literature and popular culture. Because of her ample free time thanks to being gainfully unemployed, she reads voraciously. She also loves geeky movies and tv shows, reads comic books as often as she can buy them, and when she's procrastinating, she enjoys playing video games. She can be contacted at t.d.fangirl @ gmail.com and followed on Twitter at the link below.

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