BAD ISLAND (full-color graphic novel, 220 pages, Graphix/Scholastic, $24.99)
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Doug TenNapel (writer/artist).

There are so few givens these days. Especially in the world of comics.

One given, however, is the level of quality of the work of Doug TenNapel. The statuesque California transplant is the creator of the popular cartoon/video game character Earthworm Jim, as well as the writer/artist of nearly a dozen graphic novels varying greatly in style, tone and content.

TenNapel’s latest, full-length work is “Bad Island,” his second graphic novel for Scholastic Books’ Graphix imprint, and his third in full color. (TenNapel re-colored his first comic, the cat-centric “Gear,” when it was re-released by Image Comics in 2007.)

In “Bad Island,” a family of four is shipwrecked on a mysterious land that is fraught with dangers. Plants, animals, rocks … all of them appear to be sentient, and all of them seem to want these castaways dead. Fortunately, our heroes discover some sort of alien artifact that offers them an apparent means of survival. They also appear to have at least one unexpected ally on the island.

THE GOOD.

TenNapel’s thick ink work and exaggerated drawings are lively and cartoonish. His style clearly employs elements seen in classic animated works by Tex Avery, Chuck Jones and others.

But this is not a mere, style-over-substance book. Along with TenNapel, we are fully invested in these characters. There’s hapless, clueless dad, Lyle, his cynical spouse, Karen, their jockish teen son, Reese, and their delusional young daughter, Janie.

The story also has a constant feeling of dread and danger, though there are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, such as when Janie’s pet snake, Pickles, bites Lyle on the face. (He was planning to give the snake a kiss as a “peace offering.” Maybe you just have to see it to realize just how hilarious this sight gag really is.)

THE BAD.

TenNapel tries to integrate two very divergent story lines here. The transition from the almost Transformers-like opening sequence to the more Swiss Family Robinson-like central story is a little jarring.

And the conclusion is a little abrupt and rushed. Perhaps TenNapel is setting us up for a possible sequel? (It wouldn’t be unwelcome, though there are others of his works that beg for more immediate follow-ups, including both its predecessor, “Ghostopolis,” and “Tommysaurus Rex.”)

THE UGLY.

The initial print run on the $12.99 softcover edition was extremely limited, and it sold out immediately on its release … so like many TenNapel fans who must have his books upon their release, I was forced to buy the $24.99 “library binding” (hardcover) version.

(Much of the blame lies at the feet of comics distributor Diamond Comics, which failed to promote the book’s release, barely informed comics stores as to its existence, and led Graphix/Scholastic to believe that there wasn’t much demand for it.)

This is a minor quibble at best, though.

IN CONCLUSION:

Again, any new work by TenNapel is cause for celebration. Even supposedly “minor” works like “Black Cherry,” “Iron West” and “Power Up” have their share of enjoyable moments. Luckily, “Bad Island” is as good as the aforementioned, winningly spooky horror-fantasy “Ghostopolis” and his recently re-released “Creature Tech.”

By the way, newcomers and longtime fans alike should check out TenNapel’s Website, www.tennapel.com, to check out his musings and updates. He also has a site for a daily strip titled “Ratfist” (www.ratfist.com) and he will be releasing a collection of that silly Batman parody fairly soon as well.

Jerk-Bot is the robotic nom de plume or Utah-based writer/reviewer Jeff Michael Vice. He would like you to listen to him rant about movies and other geeky stuff on both the Geek Show Podcast (www.geekshowpodcast.com) and the Mediocre Show (www.mediocreshow.com), as well as watch him review movies on the Xfinity On-Demand program Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/bigmoviemouthoff).

I have seen only a couple of episodes of the Disney Channel’s Phineas and Ferb television series, but when I had the opportunity to watch the newly released movie and write a review on it, I seized it.  I admit, my primary interest in the movie and the show is Perry the Platypus.  I just love him.

The series follows the adventures of Phineas Flynn and his stepbrother Ferb Fletcher as they enjoy every day of their summer vacation to the fullest.  Their older sister Candace constantly tries to get them in trouble, and Perry, their pet platypus, is a secret agent who constantly battles the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz.

The film follows that same basic storyline, but the stakes are much higher.  Phineas, Ferb, and Perry follow Dr. Doofenshmirtz into an alternate universe with the aid of his “Otherdimensionator.”  There, they encounter a much more diabolical Dr. Doofenshmirtz who has taken over the Tristate Area with an army of robots, and he’s even brought the alternate universe Perry over to the dark side.   Oh, and the alternate Perry is also bionic.

The non-bionic Perry is forced to reveal his secret identity when the lives of Phineas and Ferb are endangered, but this is a tremendous sacrifice to him.  Phineas is hurt that Perry has lied to them for all this time, but they don’t have time for a heart to heart talk because the diabolical Dr. Doofenshmirtz is trying to open a portal to the “real” world in order to conquer it, as well.

Meanwhile, the resistance is growing against the Doctor in this conquered parallel dimension, and it’s led by a tough Candace who puts the lives of her younger brothers ahead of everything else.  She is a tough, no-nonsense gal who is nothing like the Candace in the “real” world.

I really enjoyed this movie.  The songs are catchy (especially the opening number about Perry), and the dialogue is witty.  Some things may go over children’s heads, such as references to a Georgia O’Keefe and existentialists such as Kierkegaard, Sartre and Nietzsche, but this makes it a movie that any age will love.

I also don’t think it’s necessary to be acquainted with the television series to enjoy the movie, either.  There is even some back story, such as how the brothers acquired Perry from the pet store.  Fans of the series will definitely love it, and I heartily recommend it.

A special guest post from Ron Brouillette:

Living in Utah, I’m no stranger to film festivals. I’m used to second-rate resort towns receiving international attention as celebrities, mostly has-beens, pack the overpriced condos and hotel rooms. I’m used to local media personalities reporting live, acting like this will be their big break, and trying hard not to realize that they are laughed at by their peers. I’m used to too much media coverage and not enough of anything that’s, well, good.

Let’s face it, the big film festivals in Utah are terrible. Out of all the good films, maybe half of one percent of them are worth seeing. Ever.
      
Fortunately, I wasn’t thinking about that as I went out to Layton to bask in the twelfth Gangrene Film Festival (or The Gangrene Film Festival: Size 12). What I was thinking was something along the lines of, “Why the hell am I driving all the way out to Layton to see something I’ve only ever heard of four or five times before?”
      
Of course, I was thinking that mostly because I thought Layton was south of Draper, not north of Ogden, and I was really worried that bad things would befall me out in the middle of Utah-nowhere. I’ve seen Deliverance.
      
It turns out, though, that Layton isn’t as much of a hick-town as I was imagining. It’s not a city, by any means, but it’s better than Tooele or Grantsville, or anything in the western portion of this state. As I circled around for fifteen minutes as my GPS tried to tell me that my destination was on my left in three-tenths of a kilometer, this thought soothed me. Soon, I gave up on the GPS, parked my car where everyone else was – right by the police station – and wandered over to the amphitheater to buy my ticket and bask in film festival goodness, tired from a long day, but stoked to be there.
      
The event opened with a murmur as the crowd took their seats. Being the kind of guy that I am, I meandered around the back of the lawn, looking at watch, wondering why the event was taking it’s time getting going. And then I saw them. The mighty Wasasquatch. Big, hairy beasts with musical instruments. Slowly, they came out on stage, surrounding a group of boy scouts hadn’t noticed before, and then it began…
      
If you’ve never seen a group of bigfoot awesomely covering 80’s music, then you haven’t really lived, I’m afraid.
      
So many bands have their own gimmick: Korn has their tricked out mic-stand, The Eagles have a five-part harmony, Limp Bizkit has an amazing lack of talent, and The Rolling Stones have wrinkles. But what Wasasquatch has is something so much more bizarre that it makes them so much more awesome. These are a bunch of guys who can deck themselves out to look like sasquatch and still play musical instruments, sing, and blow the roof of any given place off.
      
And they did blow the roof of the amphitheater off. Trust me, if you go there now, you won’t see a roof.

For an hour, I was enthralled seeing these hairy beasts blast out all of the hits of the eighties, and then some. When I heard the opening notes of “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables, I knew I was witnessing one of those rare magical moments, like seeing the very first sunset, or a really hot chick naked. It was just spell-binding. Throw in a great cover “Stairway to Heaven”, complete with ballet dancers; a subtle nod to OK Go with synchronized gliders; and a brass-band flash mob, and I was in a magical world where Neil Patrick Harris rides unicorns and Adam Sandler watches a midget on a tricycle.
      
And did I mention this was just the opener for the festival?
      
As Wasasquatch cleared the stage, we took some time to get to know the Weber State drum line, a moment that made me finally realize that a drum line can be used for something useful, and then we were off, viewing comedic short films the likes of which I’d never seen.
      
First on the block was “Recess”, a short film from Texas, directed by Bradley Montesi. This little film reveled to us how mean kids can really be by showing us the world that is recess through the eyes of a new student. Featuring a living trashcan and duck-duck-goose, this film had a certain subtlety to it that I was expecting. This being my first Gangrene experience, I was expecting all-out, obnoxious, horrible humor, similar to a Seth Rogan movie; instead, I was treated to something intelligent that seemed rather daring to make. A fun little piece, this one took home the best director award for the evening.
      
Moving ahead from “Recess”, and an interview with its director, I was surprised to find out the festival has international appeal, as a French film, from director Philippe Gregoire, called “Beep Beep” hit the screen. Probably the most original film I saw all night, and my second favorite, this entire short takes place in the cab of a truck while a man and his girlfriend try to sleep amidst the annoying alarm of her wristwatch. I just about died laughing to a dance/techno soundtrack – which, I can honestly say, I never thought would happen. Of course, after the film, there were the typical French jokes, but this one hit it out of the park.
      
My memory of the order after this gets kind of hazy, but I think our next flick was “BFFs At the What-A-Waffle”, from Florida director Jeffrey Fulgraff. Kind of a take-off on The Office, this whole short revolves around three “best friends” who work at a waffle house as they are interviewed about their friendship. As the three gets whittled down to one or two over the course of the interview, we get to see how friends truly feel about each other. This one I thought was surprisingly insightful, and somewhat twisted. Sadly, though, there weren’t enough waffles on screen to satisfy my hunger, but the crowd, which had grown substantially with the late arrivals by this point, just got into it.
      
After the waffle-fiasco, the Canadians invaded (less scary than it sounds) with a really dark, twisted view of the family gatherings called “The Table”, directed by Andrew Wall. This one just left me cringing and laughing together. The lead actor was so creepy as he sat in his shrink’s office, recounting the horrors of his youth sitting at the kid’s table while his disgusting family mocked. But he would get even, oh yes, he would…. There was just something about this one that was slightly off-putting, but I loved it for that. Probably, the only true dark-comedy (I’m thinking in the vein of The Ice Harvest when I think dark-comedy) at the festival, this was a blast, and reminded me why I wanted to kill my family. Er, I mean, why I love my family so. This was so twisted, disturbing, and humorously anti-climactic, it will always hold a special place in my heart.
      
And then we hit a hiccup in the festival when some locals managed to sneak their train wreck in. “MythOmania”, directed by D. James Henderson. This whole mood-killer takes place in a meeting for gullible people, much like an AA meeting without the good stories, as a new member shows up and completely takes advantage of them.  Of all the films I watched, this is the only one where I actually wanted to leave, but I had to keep telling myself it was a short film and the pain would end soon. Still, it’s all relative, and the fifteen or so minutes of it felt like an eternity. I still have the marks on my wrist from when I tried to escape. What makes this one so much more disappointing is that it was the only local film of the night, and it just killed the mood.
      
The thing that was awesome, though, is that the presenters were interrupted during their introduction as a man made a really sweet carving out of a log with his chainsaw in under five minutes. Things you won’t see at any other festival. That, and the breaking of yeti eggs by directors for a mystery prize. Let’s just say that the prizes were as mysterious as anything bought at the DI – probably because they were.
      
Thankfully, there were two films after the Utah travesty, and they both helped the evening end on a high note.
      
The Australians kicked it up a notch with “Abbie”, directed by Erin Good. This one was just good-hearted and whimsical, following Abbie on her first day at major corporation full of mindless workers, which she refuses to be. There’s a child-like quality to Abbie as she explores this new world with the curiosity of a child, finding fun in everything from the tape dispenser to the keyboard. Aside from a technical glitch that pulled me out of the movie, thank you, Ben, this was just a beautiful film that I don’t think could ever be pulled off by an American director. Also, it was the only multimedia film of the evening, featuring a really nice animation sequence at the end. Easily, this was the biggest surprise of the evening.
      
And then the last film, which has been hopping around the festival circuit for a bit of time now, and has, rightfully, won a crap-load of awards. “Sudden Death!”, from California director Adam Hall. I actually loved this one so much I went to the website for it and bought the DVD. It’s just that funny, and features John Laroquette. Basically, what’s worse than a musical? How about having your life become a musical… right before you die. The whole film deals with a new virus that kills you, but first makes you sing and dance like you were on Broadway. This one had me laughing my ass off!
      
Really, I went to Gangrene this year to support it. I wasn’t expecting much, especially in Layton, but in the end I had a blast. I saw a lot of funny movies, listened to some good music, and was able to just chill out in a park for a night, laughing and forgetting that all of this was happening in Utah. If you didn’t go to the festival this year, it was definitely your loss. The main festival cost just ten dollars to see, and you got three hours of mind-blowing entertainment for it. Sadly, I bought the ticket to stick around for the late festival, but I had to bail and miss it. But seeing what I did was fantastic! I just have to believe that next year will be as good, or even better…

There will be another post, chock full of pictures and video, that will cover the actual premiere event. In the meantime, I have the very first review from The Clone Wars – Season 4.

The premiere comprised of two episodes cut together, Water War and Gungan Attack. You’ve all seen the trailers and, as the names imply, we’re treated with two solid episodes of underwater action.

The Quarren and the Mon Calamari are in the middle of their own civil war, with the Republic siding with the Mon Cals and the Separatists siding with the Quarren. The Separatist “Ambassador” is a shark-like Carcadon and is really just a military stooge of Count Dooku’s, hoping to enslave as much of the planet as possible once it’s in Separatist hands.

Fortunately for the Mon Calamari and the Republic, Anakin, Padme, Ahsoka, and Kit Fisto are nearby and able to help.

Gungan Attack takes the battle further when the Republic has been routed and no longer has any remaining clones outfitted for underwater combat. They go to the one place they know where an aquatic race has a standing army ready to deploy: Naboo.

That’s about all you need to know as far as the story goes, what you really need to brace yourselves for is another monumental improvement in images, animation, and quality in the show. These two episodes, projected on a theatre screen, have a breathtaking amount of detail and depth and the colors are so vibrant and well designed it’s preposterous. 95% of these episodes occur underwater and you can feel it in every frame, from debris floating between the subject and the camera to the way the light seems so much more dense. You never, for a second, forget your environment, and everything in the episodes enhances that feeling. I was reminded more than a few times of Jaws, particularly the moments where Matt Hooper is in the shark cage and then trying to hide from the shark on the bottom of the ocean.

As a villain, the Carcadon general was almost terrifying in some instances. His shrieking growl was particularly shiver-inducing, my compliments to the sound crew. There’s an entire sequence that takes place in a swirling vortex of sand and water and it was…well, you’ll have to see it to believe it.

There were so many other impressive touches though, it’s hard to not list them all. One of my favorites was the way the holograms looked underwater. They had more physicality to them, but were also more distorted. It was a great touch.

These episodes might also be the biggest you’ve seen. There were hundreds of characters on screen in the midst of massive battles, explosions everywhere, blaster bolts careening this way and that, vehicles swooping in from that side to this… It was easily the most dense I’ve ever seen this show. The level of detail and carnage in these episodes makes Landing at Point Rain look like child’s play.

As the animation and battle scenes take an evolutionary step forward, so too does the show itself and the stakes raised for all the characters involved. The days where the only casualties were clones or droids were over. Palpatine’s game has spun wildly out of control, manipulating ordinarily peaceful people into joining the conflict. Wrapped up in the web of lies are the Jedi. The Jedi aren’t just killing droids indiscriminately now, the price they pay for keeping the peace includes killing living, breathing beings who are guilty of nothing more than being manipulated by Dooku and Sidious. A lot of work went into making you realize that the Quarren weren’t the bad guys here, and every time a Jedi killed one, there was a cost to it.

People are dying. There are consequences to actions.

This is a huge step for this show, and I’m glad to have the show back.

The season premiere (which airs Friday, September 16 on Cartoon Network) ends on a cliffhanger that will be paid off the next week, but the last shot of Gungan Attack might be one of the strongest images in the entire series. I don’t want to tell you where it ends, but things are bleak. After a battle inside a swirling water vortex, two characters are left talking in their retreat. The only thing more inspiring than the moment is the lighting. As the characters swim away, the lights on them highlight the emotion and fade away, both into the darkness and the end of the episode. It was pretty incredible.

The storytelling on the show has taken another quantum leap forward and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us for the rest of the season.

GONK here with a review of this week’s Star Wars comic: Star Wars: Dark Times – Out of the Wilderness #2 (more…)

If you’ve been following this site for a while you know I’ve become quite the pinball player and it’s thanks to those guys making all the tables on Pinball FX2. On August 31st a new table was released, this one being the Ms. Splosion Man table. Now this table is based on a video game of the same name which came out in July for Xbox Live Arcade. I was unfamiliar with the game but I watched a couple of videos and it looks to be an incredibly chaotic side platformer and it’s received quite excellent reviews.

Back to pinball, this table like the game it’s based on feels like you’re in control of a very chaotic situation. There’s a lot of things going on and before you know it you’ve gained quite a number of points. My first play through I was able to get up to 94 Million points but unlike the table which came out most recently “Captain America” I was unable to complete the first mission but I still felt awesome. Captain America made you feel awesome in completing missions, where as this one makes you feel awesome by scoring a lot of points and barreling through chaos. My favorite part was actually the multiball section because it has this nifty trap where you can trap one of your multiballs and if you get it out of the trap you have an extra ball for your multiball mode. Basically it means if you lose one of your balls it’s okay because you can get it back in the same mode. I ended up losing about 6 balls while still doing the same multiball.

The music and the voices seem to be the same as from the original game. The voices can get a little annoying but I tend to play most of my games while listening to other things so I didn’t notice as much. The table is really good for making you feel cool since it is so high scoring. It will cost you 240 Microsoft Points on the Xbox Live Arcade. They’ve been on a role as of late putting out some very good tables and this one has a fluidity about it which makes it a good table.

Delays aside the LG 4G finally made it to AT&T Sunday. Life being as it is, even with having the device four days prior I still couldn’t find a way to organize my thoughts on the Thrill until now. I’ve had it in my possession for a week now and it has mostly integrated itself into my life. Transitioning from the HTC Inspire 4g I found my only real challenge was putting my phone back together the way I liked. 5 months carrying the Inspire gave me the slow time to adjust the menu every day just a little bit. Putting that together in a weekend was no easy task, and with 0 help from Go Launcher’s “Save to SD” feature, I accomplished little in the real world.

Upon initial boot up the phone is snappy, responsive, and feels good in your hand. The dual core processor and dual channel ram give it an extra speed boost which is greatly enjoyed while downloading content, but rarely noticed during normal phone operation. I’m assuming this is due to Android’s lack of dual core support in the OS itself, being as I’m not a tech wizard you’ll have to take that observation with a grain of salt. Aside from that and Androids usual battery abuse I have thoroughly enjoyed the phone over the past 7 days.

The phone has a few things stock that I truly love, and a couple items that I find frustrating. Out of the box the LG overlay has many features similar to that of custom launchers. You can resize the LG widgets without resetting them by simply pressing for an extended period of time and dragging the arrows to adjust it’s size. I also fell instantly in love with the WP7 style lock screen notifications. The biggest thing I missed when I left WP7 behind was the quick-glance calendar and messages on the lock screen, LG has brought that to Android in this device. My love aside I discovered some updating issues with the lock screen notifications for those of us using a custom SMS app. The first thing I do with every Android phone is install Handcent SMS (my favorite SMS app). Normally i simply turn off notifications for the stock messaging app and let Handcent handle all of my business, with the LG this works flawlessly with one small quirk. LG’s notification system doesn’t take it’s cue from Handcent, it takes it directly from the stock messaging app, so even though they are being marked as read by Handcent and show up read inside the stock app, the lock screen still shows I have a grundle of text messages waiting until I open the messaging app itself. It’s a small gripe, but not knowing how many texts I have waiting gives me a small attack of OCD.
The only frustration I have found with the phone itself is the intermittent delay on unlocking. I would say that 85% of the time there is absolutely no delay, but the other 15% of the time there is a noticeable 1-2 second delay on lighting the screen when I press the unlock key. The hardware inside the LG Thrill should eliminate any delay in matters such as unlocking… so it’s definitely been a pain point for me this last week.

The big selling portion of the Thrill is a big 3D screen! My thoughts on stereoscopic 3D on this phone are very similar to my thoughts on the 3DS, it’s an amazingly cool feature for those that can handle it for an extended period of time without getting sick, and a novelty for folk like me who can only work with it for a few minutes at a time. The ability to turn standard images into 3D makes for a fun afternoon of goofing off, and the 3D space itself is a work of genius. Not forcing the consumer into 3D is a smart move on LG’s part, and I’m sure a direct result of market testing. The 3D games on the phone run flawlessly and add an element of fun to the device that other phones simply won’t provide. For the first tim in 2 years I had to ask my wife for my phone back after her 2 hour affair with “Let’s Golf 3D.” That aside, I feel it’s more of an after thought on the phone. An extra thing to set it aside from your other smart phones, but nothing to run straight to the store screaming for.

The phone itself is a killer addition to the ATT portfolio, and for those of us that aren’t in love with Samsung, (I love their hardware, but I find their interface and icon styles to be tacky). It’s a great choice, for a scant $99.99 with contract you can while away your hours in 3D seeing the world that you never knew existed. You can check this gadget out at any ATT store nationwide

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #666-668 (bi-weekly series, Marvel Comics, $3.99)

WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Dan Slott (writer); Stefano Caselli and Humberto Ramos (pencillers); Carlos Cuevas and Victor Olazaba (inkers).

This could still go horribly wrong. THIS, of course, is “Spider Island,” the much-ballyhooed, multi-issue story line for “The Amazing Spider-Man” in which New York City is overrun by people boasting powers and abilities similar to those of our web-slinging title character.

As it turns out, the old Spider-Man villain Professor Miles Warren, aka the Jackal, has bio-engineered bedbugs and other insect creatures that have “infected” much of the city’s population. Now millions of New Yorkers must decide what to do with the proportionate strength of a spider, the power to stick to walls and even organic webbing.

Predictably, some of them have turned to crime, and now Mayor J. Jonah Jameson and his police force are overwhelmed by hordes of ne’er-do-wells. Villains that … horrors of horrors! … have disguised themselves as various incarnations of Old Flattop’s longtime nemesis.

Luckily, the Avengers, the Future Foundation and other heroes have leapt to the city’s defense. Since they’re unable to tell which of these numerous Spider-Men is the real one, though, his teammates have cautioned him to stay out of the action. Never one to take no for an answer, Peter Parker swings into action as himself, without a costume. (Hey, HE could have gotten powers this way as well, you know! )

Meanwhile, the Jackal, the Tarantula and the Spider-King have yet to reveal what they’re really up to, aside from unleashing chaos upon the Big Apple. Then there’s Jackal’s mysterious benefactor, who must have her own motivations for funding and equipping the bad guys.

THE GOOD.

The Marvel Comics flagship title boasts some of the best art of any of the company’s books. Stefano Caselli, who drew the “prelude” issue
(No. 666) has a more refined, realistic style, as compared to the almost manga-esque, exaggerated and cartoonish work of Humberto Ramos.

You can’t lose with either one, though Ramos is doing art for six of the eight issues. Both artists’ scenes are dynamic, exciting and well-drafted. Of course, it helps that Slott has been writing this story line as if it were a blockbuster, summer action movie, which plays to both their strengths.

And while this material has its dark elements, it’s done in a pretty fun manner. This is one “event book” that never takes itself too seriously.

THE BAD.

Two words: Clone Saga. It’s already been shown that this story line is referencing that most-dreaded, nearly-title-killing run on the book. (It turns out the Tarantula is a transformed version of one of the clone characters, and Jackal was prominently featured in those earlier stories as well.)

Also, I have the distinct feeling that the person behind the Jackal might turn out to have connections to the Clone Saga. Either that, or she could have tied to a forgotten story line from the Paul Jenkins run on “Peter Parker, Spider-Man” (one that wound up giving Peter Parker organic webbing for a time, for anyone that remembers it).

THE UGLY.

Sigh. Marvel can’t have sort of “event” book or story line without having a series of crossover books to accompany it. In this case, that means there are a handful of interconnected miniseries as well as tie-in issues of the monthly “Venom” title. In fact, if you haven’t read issue No. 6 of that series, you might have missed the revelation about which Marvel hero was transformed into the Spider-King. (It’s a real shocker.)

That being said, the first issues of the “Cloak and Dagger” and “Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu” tie-in miniseries were very enjoyable.

IN CONCLUSION:

As mentioned, this could still go wrong if it’s too closely tied to the Clone Saga. However, Slott’s entire solo run on “Amazing Spider-Man,” his so-called, new “Big Time” directive for the book, has been really good. So it’s hard to believe that he won’t do something special, memorable and good with the material.

This is as good a place to start if you haven’t already done so. Together with the Ultimate Comics version of Spider-Man, there’s rarely been as good a time for be a fan of the character and concepts.

Jerk-Bot is the robotic nom de plume or Utah-based writer/reviewer Jeff Michael Vice. He would like you to listen to him rant about movies and other geeky stuff on both the Geek Show Podcast (www.geekshowpodcast.com) and the Mediocre Show (www.mediocreshow.com), as well as watch him review movies on the Xfinity On-Demand program Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/bigmoviemouthoff).

Jerry Harvey is the original mastermind behind creating the custom molded in ear monitor.  In 1995 as he was touring with Van Halen when he developed the first custom in ear monitor and started Ultimate Ears. In 2007, after 12 years building and expanding Ultimate Ears, he sold it to Logitech International. Later, in 2007, he decided to start a new company JH Audio that began manufacturing aviation headsets for pilots. In 2009 JH Audio expanded by creating their pro music line.

The JH Audio 16 Pro is a handmade marvel. Fitting 8 drivers, a three-way crossover and a cable connector plus all the needed wiring in each custom shell would seem impossible. JH Audio pulls this off!  Mind you, all of which sit completely flush in your ears.

I was left with a big grin on my face after reading through the witty owners manual. My first impressions after finding the monitors inside the included personalized OtterBox was awe of the quality and workmanship of the monitors. The shells are spot on with a perfect fit in my ears.  Of the monitors that I have reviewed, the JH16 build quality has been the best, with the Sleek Audio CT7 being a somewhat close second. The JH16 shell has a triple bore setup, three independent channels that run from the drivers all the way out to the exterior of the shell. On the opposite side of the first bore sit two high drivers. The second bore sits two mids.  The third bore sits a bass lovers dream of 4 deep lows. *A side note when I reviewed the Ultimate Ears 18 Pro earlier this year which claimed it had three sound channels but only two of which were routed all the way to the exterior of the monitor.

The cable that is included has a very elegant look, well all except for the ugly 3.5 mm jack connector. Oddly the jack connector from UE 18 Pro would be a perfect visual fit for this cable. I have yet to find a cable that I love 100%.  This one being my favorite, I would still make one small adjustment. I would like the memory wire that connects to the monitor to be slightly longer. I enjoy a hugging feel but unfortunately, the memory portion ends just before I can bend it around the backside of my ear.  After two months of use the first three inches of the cable on each side began to oxidize and turn green. This is common for silver cables such as this one. A lot of companies including JH Audio offer black cables in lieu of the silver if the oxidation bothers you.

I burned in and tested the JH16 Pro using a HiFiMAN HM-602 from Head-Direct.com. The burn in consisted of 48 hours with a random play list including long and short breaks at variable volumes. After the burn in I quickly fell in love with the JH16. I have listened to over 400 hours of music through these and still am amazed every time I power them up. The soundstage is absolutely astonishing and the instrument placement can all but be seen. The sound quality and range separation is spectacular. The highs are somewhat bright with very crisp warm mids and smooth deep lows. I must say, these hit spot on with the bass! Listening to heavy orchestra instruments, the 4 powerful bass drivers bring in enough bass that you feel as if you were the maestro. They have a great overall balance to conquer any genre that you’re in the mood for. Overall, these have spot on tone, clarity and a sound signature that is unparalleled to the competition. The JH16 offers a -26db ambient noise isolation to take a audiophile away to a personal Rob Thomas concert. On the flip side, for Rob this removes unwanted stage noise while performing his concert.  With the JH16 you hear what the artist hears. JH Audio is the monitor of choice for performers such as Linkin Park, T-Pain, Hinder, Josh Groban, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and many more.

I must say I have found my custom monitor of choice.  When there is audio involved I lately find myself reaching for the JH16 Pro. They will set you back $1,149, but in my opinion they are worth every penny! If you are interested in picking them up go to JH Audio.com.

Keep in mind; to get the best performance from a custom ear monitor you will need a quality source that will play a lossless media. HiFiMAN players from Head–Direct.com are a fantastic match up!

The Spyder III Arctic is the world’s most powerful laser you can legally own. It is in the process with Guinness Book of Word Records to get the record. The host (outer casing) is a cool Lightsaber like handle that has a few neat features. It has a smart switch for safety that requires you to click in a code to get it to operate. This switch also toggles through the power modes. There are three safety features on the FDA compliant cap. There is a tail cap that must be pressed, a safety interlock pin that must be inserted and a contact guard that must be screwed in. If any of these safety features are not in place, the laser will not work.

The laser comes with a users manual, caring case and a beginner’s cap that will pull 80% of the power from the laser as you familiarize yourself with the laser. A set of safety glasses in a zip up case are also included and should be worn at all times while using the laser. This laser is not a toy and can cause serious eye injury or blindness. This laser is so powerful that just looking at the projected dot can cause eye injury.

The laser uses a rechargeable lithium ion battery that lasts 120 minuets on a single charge. With a 100% duty cycle, it can remain running 24/7 without damaging the laser diode. The power rating is 1000mW which is 1,000 times stronger than that green laser pointer that you picked up down at the store. The Astronomical Society Of Australia says only 20mW is needed to point out stars and anything else is over kill. MEWAHAHAHHA!

Testing the full potential of this monster I set up a few tests to see what I could accomplish. It will pop balloons on contact (even light colored ones), cut electrical tape pretty quickly, burn through paper in about 3 seconds, melt plastic, burn wood. I was interested in seeing if I could cut through Gorilla Tape, which is pretty thick and extremely tough.  It seems that the gorilla is no match for the Arctic III. It slowly cut all the way across the tape. Also if you have an ant problem the Arctic III will kill them on contact.

The dot can be seen in broad daylight very well. At night the entire beam can be seen for miles. In fact the laser can be seen from over ninety miles away!

The Arctic III will set you back $299 and can be found at www.wickedlasers.com. You will also find some other neat products such as the world’s most powerful flashlight. This flashlight can cook eggs and start fires!