Jimmy's Juke Joint

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from me and my favorite Irish superheroes! Okay, at least they're green!

Yes. I'm American. And half Filipino/half Irish. So eat it, bitches.

In honor of my late Irish grandparents...

Erin Go Bragh!

Eating the Zoo

I had a great dinner at Bann again last night. You remember that place that I raved about awhile back. Korean BBQ. There were 8 of us and we basically ordered a zoo. I think it was the zoo platter of meat. We went to where the livestock was and just picked out what we wanted. Ostrich, duck, pork, filet mignon, short rib, lamb, shrimp, etc. We even got to kill and prep the animals! Just like in the wild. After the chefs cleaned and marinated the meat, it was brought to the table and we started grilling. Only problem was that there were 8 of us and only 2 mini grills. Our meats were touching each other! Just like at the YMCA. All good since we were sharing everything. And....damn! We ate it all! I'm coughed this morning and I think I quacked. Then, when I sneezed, I'm quite sure I mooed. I'm dreading squealing like a pig or doing a "baaaaa" like a lamb. That would just be embarrassing. I suppose it's the animal's final revenge. Fair enough. It was some good eats!

Off to work. I'll post to-BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Damn it.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8

What's this? You say there was only 7 seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on TV? You are correct! Well, the brilliant mind behind it, Joss Whedon, has brought it all back in comic book form. Season 8 is upon us.

SPOILERS AHEAD! BEWARE!!!

First off, Georges Jeanty's art is beautiful. Great work and the actors look realistic and recognizable. I loved the big splash page of giant Dawn and how they broke it up with Buffy on different levels talking to her.

As for the book itself! A few have said it is hard to get into if you weren't already a Buffy fan. Fair enough. You might not get a lot of the inside jokes. Others lament on how bad they thought seasons 6 & 7 were. I still contest, some of the best stories came out of those seasons. and the musical episode! Genius! The introduction of the potentials in 7 was compelling and a great twist. I was never a Kennedy hater like everyone else. I loved her! Hope to see her in this series.

As we learned in Angel, season 5, Buffy was off traveling the world and gathering slayers to fight evil. In and episode of Angel, Spike and Angel go to Italy and see a blond girl that appears to be Buffy dancing in a club. According to Andrew, she is dating The Immortal.

Caught up? Good! Whedon drops us right into some action and intrigue. Buffy is leading a squad of slayers, who call her "ma'am", to take out some vamps/demons. And to please his other fans, Whedon has Buffy wearing a Firefly/Serenity shirt. One of the other slayers is wearing the hat that little molly wears in Runaways. (The comic book Whedon is taking over from Brian K. Vaughan.) We learn that there are a few Buffy decoys around the globe. Including the one in Italy dating The Immortal. Things aren't what they seem and Buffy runs across a symbol of sorts. We go to Xander. Staunch and commanding with his new eye patch courtesy of Caleb from season 7. Leading a group of slayers, psychics, witches, etc. at command central. Great nerd moment with Xander referring to himself as Nick Fury. I like that the other slayers have accents. Truly meaning that they are from around the globe.

Then...a hovering figure in the air. All we see are black boots, pants and a long coat. Angel? Spike? Could be either. Though, if you don't know, those characters are tied up over at IDW and can not be used. I think Whedon did say they would be allowed at some point. Just perhaps, not as a lead character.

Suddenly, also hovering elsewhere, a helicopter full of military folk. Who seem to know about Buffy and her group. They are overlooking the gaping crater that was once the hell mouth of Sunnydale. People on the ground inspecting things. I liked this aspect a lot. Well, because....I mean...hello!...big hole where a city used to be! Of course there would be an investigation. Someone is attacked in the pits and you see a small reflective glimpse of a person. Short blond hair. Hmmm...is it Anya? Darla? Whom?

Then, back at headquarters. What seems to be a castle of sorts. Xander and Buffy are trying to decipher the symbol. Great banter as per usual. Then the scene I talked about earlier. GIANT Dawn. She's a big person now! Literally 50 ft. tall or something like that. Clever Whedon! He talked in interviews about how "Dawn is huge after losing her virginity!" Hinting at perhaps a pregnancy. Buffy and Dawn talk and you get hints of how it happened. Dawn dated a "thricewise". I assume that's some kind of witch/warlock/magical person. That's how dawn got big. Their bickering is typical Buffy/Dawn stuff. Dawn whining (though this time....for a reason) and Buffy unsure of how to deal with it. We learn that they are in Scotland and in an old castle. Some people were complaining about how they interacted. Whedon even addresses that, I think, when he has the thought panel of Buffy saying, "How do we turn into 12 yr olds all of a sudden? Every time we talk?" That's kind of how they always were. You cant just suddenly change the character dynamic because people think it's annoying. It has to be done slowly.

Buffy contemplates more. Even on missing sex. Some have said this takes away from her "girl power" mantra. I disagree. If anything, it adds to it. It shows how human she is and misses physical touch. She is physically (both living in Scotland and being boyfriendless) out of touch and far removed. Which makes her mentally and emotionally unavailable as well. She misses home. Friends. People she lost.

Willow is mentioned in the exchange with Dawn. How Dawn can only relate to Willow about her issue with her ex-boyfriend. Buffy comments on how Willow was suddenly a boy expert. (Willow, of course, is a lesbian.) Some saw this as homophobic. No way! It's typical Buffy humor in dark times. It's jealousy over her own sister not being able to tell her what is wrong. It's Buffy trying to make herself laugh during a sad moment. Typical Buffy.

We end with the government types in some government type facility. We learn that there is someone who wants to help take Buffy down. In a magical way. What the? Has Willow gone rogue again? Is it Ethan?

Nope. It's Amy! Yes, Amy who was a rat for a season or 2 and finally came back and helped corrupt Willow. She's always been a bit unstable. And she's locked up in a crazy room and being all magical!

That's all we get for part 1! Off to a great start! I'm over people dissecting stuff to the point of ridiculousness. Whedon is a great storyteller and I have faith this will be awesome. (Speaking of Faith...would love to see her come around!) If issue one is any indication, It will be! If you don't have it, go get it!

CNI 80

Comic News Insider: Episode 80 is available for free download! Click on the link or get it through iTunes!

Sponsored by Dynamic Forces!

Yeah, I know. I'm late with the posting. I saw 300 again last night. On IMAX. AWESOME!!! And then I went drinking.

A lot. Ouch. Don't yell...it...hurts.

We review Dynamo 5 #1, Captain America #25, The Mighty Avengers #1 and the film, 300! SPARTANS!!!! (Guess if I liked it or not.) News includes all of the Captain America media frenzy, The Boys, Wonder Woman film, Venture Brothers, Tintin, Shazam, Gene Simmons comics, XXX Pirates of the Caribbean comic and more!

We have our last interview from NYCC with some of the people behind the straight to DVD hit, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.

Listener feedback, the Top 3 and contact info:

comicnewsinsider@yahoo.com

212 501 6246

www.comicnewsinsider.com

www.myspace.com/comicnewsinsider

Thanks for listening!

Sacre Bleu!

I've lamented upon this subject in the past, so I shan't beat a dead horse over the subject. Or in this case, beat a dead beret. Or croissant. Or bottle of champagne. You get the idea.

I'm not hating on France itself. I've several French friends. Mon amis. However, there are those stereotypical arrogant and rude French people. As was the case last night.

I bartend at a French restaurant named after a French city. (Marseille.) We have one person who speaks French, whom was not present. A couple came in and sat at the bar. I greeted them and they immediately start jabbering on in French. I maybe picked up one word. I apologized and said I didn't speak French and tried to explain that I would try to find someone. Before I could even finish, they got pissed off. The man yells in English, "THIS IS MARSEILLE!"

Yeah.

I tried to explain again that I would try to find someone. I turn to help others and the couple huffed off. Other customers witnessed this and commented on how they acted like assholes.

I mean, I don't walk into a fucking McDonald's and ask for Shamus O'Hara to come help me! And by their logic (that everyone in a French restaurant should speak French), if I were to go to an Italian restaurant in Paris, they would all speak Italian. As they say in France..."IDIOT!"

I'm sympathetic that they didn't speak much English. Be humble and ask for help. Learn basic words. Don't come in all arrogant and expect to be helped in your way. Not surprised they ran off like they did. What with the history of surrender. OH! ZING! MON DIEU! Our recently deceased Captain America had something to say about that in The Ultimates #12 awhile back.

An enemy thinks he's beating Cap and asks for him to surrender. In the pic over there, Cap replies: "You think this letter on my head stands for France?!"

Oh, Cap! You cut to the quick! If only he had been at my bar last night. He would have put those arrogant fucks in their place.

Remember, kids. If you're traveling. Learn a little something about the culture, the language, the people, etc. Maybe you'll be much better received and have a nicer, less difficult time. If not, then I'll send Captain America to kick your ass.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

I'm not going to go off on an anti-smoking tirade. If you smoke. Fine. It's just not my thing and never had been. Sure, I enjoy a good cigar on occasion, but that's it. Perhaps a good rock of crack or meth for those special days. But, cigarettes? Nah. You can have them.

Living in NYC, the smoking ban in public places went into affect years ago. And as a bartender, I love it. No cleaning up nasty ashtrays or coming home smelling of smoke. Everyone smokes outside. All good. And with many other cities doing it, my clean air is saved more and more.

So, when I'm around an intense level of smoking, it really gets to me quicker. I often hang out at places to the wee hours of the morning. Some would call these "after hours" places. No, I wont tell you which ones. But, these places let you smoke in them. Last night was so busy in one and EVERYONE was smoking. Within moments, my eyes got irritated and my lungs all nasty. Everywhere I went, and it's a big place, people were smoking. I suppose it's the whole "forbidden fruit" thing.

My main beef is those social smokers. You know who you are. "I only smoke when I drink." Dumbest thing I've ever heard. Either smoke or don't. Most of these types of smokers don't like it that much and do it when drinking because everyone else is doing it. It's not a desire for themselves. It's the desire to be part of the crowd. Yes, peer pressure still exists as adults. Just in a different manner. It's like when you were a kid. That corny saying that anti-smokers would say. "You're just smoking to try to look cool." And I'll admit, there is an air of coolness to smoking. So, basically, these social smokers are just trying to look cool. Fit in. Talk to someone or find a way in to talk to someone by bumming a cig. Stupid.

I'm hanging out with this girl last night and suddenly she gets one from a friend. She seemed awkward with it, but certainly had done it before. Yep. She's one of them. I asked if she was a social smoker and she said exactly what I mentioned earlier. "I only smoke when I drink." Annoying! Stupid! I punched her in the vagina.

I get home smelling of smoke. I want to burn my clothes, but then consider the irony of those going up in smoke.

Smoke or don't smoke people. There is no spoon. 

Dove Ad

As you know, I saw 300 the other night. The new annoying practice that movie theaters have of showing commercials ahead of time was in full effect. And they showed this one from Dove. Go ahead. Click on it and then come back.

Yeah. The whole audience groaned and shrieked in fright. Like it was a preview for Hostel 2 or something. *shudder*

I know. It's "empowering" to show older women like that. Not the young and fit girls that are in every other ad. But, there's a reason they couldn't show it on TV! It's frightening.

Some things you just can't "un-see".

SPARTANS!!!!!

300 opens nationwide today. I saw it last night.

GO SEE IT!

It's a visual feast of blood and glory. Really a great new way to tell a story. Director Zack Snyder does a great job staying true to the Frank Miller graphic novel. Of course, that in turn is based on a true story. Liberties are taken a bit more in the movie to make it more fantastic, but you are really put into this world. I can't recommend it enough. I'm going to see it again on the IMAX on Tuesday. Care to join me?

Did I mention...

GO SEE IT!!!

If you don't like it and think it's revolutionary film making, then you're an idiot. Why? Because I said so! Never forget. My blog, my rules...bitches!

Now quit reading this and GO SEE IT!!!

The Story of The Meanies

More Comic Book Creator fun! This time, featuring my favorite couple from across the pond, The Meanies! (Or The McAuliffe's, if you prefer.) As always, thanks to Rich (Bluemeanie himself) for converting it into the proper file for me.

Enjoy!

CNI 79

Comic News Insider: Episode 79 is available for free download. Click on the link or get it through iTunes! As always, sponsored by Dynamic Forces.

Reviews of Blood Nation #1, D'Airain #1, Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus #1.

2 interviews from NYCC for you. John Layman discusses his upcoming Army of Darkness vs. Marvel Zombies and Kat Rocha & Josh Finney pimp out their indy hit, Utopiates!

Big news including Battlestar Galactica, Neal Adams/Frank Miller on Batman, new Spidey toon, Terminators announced, Superman/Doomsday animated, 300 and much more!

Lots of listener feedback including a couple of songs about me & Joe! As always, end with the Top 3 and contact info:

comicnewsinsider@yahoo.com

www.comicnewsinsider.com

www.myspace.com/comicnewsinsider

212 501 6246

Thanks for listening!