This is a post originally published on my blog, Epic Randomness, but since I feel it’s an important issue and needs to be seen by as many people as possible, I have been given permission to re-publish it here on BSR.

It’s no secret that I love digital comics. They cut down on space, fire hazards, and it’s a nice and easy way to look for a specific issue. That being said, the vast majority of comics available digitally are no older than 10-15 years. Maybe 20 at the most. When older comics are released digitally, they have usually been recolored, resulting in a much more vivid look, without the pitfalls of newsprint (bleeding edges, yellowed pages and the like). That is, until now.

DC Comics, in their partnership with comiXology, have recently released a slew of bronze-age comics digitally, mainly to coincide with their “RetroActive” line of one-shots. This initially had me thrilled! Not only can I get a bunch of comics that had never been reprinted before, I could get them for a measly 99 cents apiece. Joy and Rapture, DC was finally digging into their 70+ years of archives to share their catalog. Then I actually bought some of the books…

The book I’m using to highlight my point is Justice League of America #120, which has a cover date of July, 1973. It ties in really nicely to the recent “DC RetroActive 1970s Justice League of America #1”. They both feature adventures of Adam Strange dealing with the villainy of Kangar-Ro. When you open the digital version, this is what you get (page truncated for detail):

JLofA #120 via comiXology

I’m sorry, but I believe the correct term for the image quality is fugly. This is obviously a scan taken from an original newsprint issue, but someone was screwing around in Photoshop too much to make the yellowed newsprint look white. As a result, the image looks very washed out, and is kind of a chore to read. In short, I felt a bit cheated of my buck. As an aside, when Marvel releases a bronze age book, be it on Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited, or their comiXology powered app, the book always gets the re-color treatment.

So, being appalled by the (lack of) quality of the book, I decided to see if I could do any better. Surely if I could do a better job at presenting one of their books digitally, DC would wise up and not pull this on their consumers again, right? That’s what I’m hoping, at least.

I made two plans of attack when trying to make my case. First, I just got a scan of the page myself with no frills, just to show what the page would look like if you actually opened up a paper copy:

JLofA #120 via scanned copy

As you can see, while the scanned page isn’t as white as the one available for purchase digitally, there are more discernible details. For instance, the caption boxes are actually yellow, the blues in particular look better, and the background itself doesn’t turn almost completely black. If DC decided to release the comic like the above image, I’d still wonder why they didn’t re-color it, but it would at least be readable and I would be a satisfied customer.

So the question of course is why? Why didn’t DC take the time to re-color the book for digital release? I’m sure arguments could be made that it is cost-prohibitive, or too painstaking a process to do for a single digital issue they don’t plan on releasing anywhere else. If that’s the case, it speaks volumes about how DC feels about digital. Sure, they are about to release their entire line digitally the same day as print, but moves like this make me imply that they do not care about their digital presentation. Even if digital is just another revenue stream for them, wouldn’t it behoove them to make it appealing enough to have repeat customers?

While I am of course just speculating, I decided to put my money where my mouth is. Would it cost DC any sort of money besides labor to re-color their classic books? The short answer I came to is “no”. Using only free tools, I was able to re-color this page in less than 20 minutes, here is the result, and then I’ll explain my process.

JLofA re-colored by me.

Admittedly, my attempt is slightly crude. If you’ll notice, some letters are missing, and some lines aren’t there. There is also some artifacting in the background. This is due to me working from a scanned image. I would hope DC’s own archive has better tools than I do. As for what I did, I got to thinking about the original printing process. Mind you, I’m not a colorist, but I do know that in newsprint, the CMYK process is used. CMYK uses Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (black) to make all variety of colors. This is why comics are sometimes referred to as 4-color adventures. Anyway, with that in mind, using free tools, I converted the my scanned image into CMYK color (most computer images use RGB). After I did that, I was able to isolate the Key plate, which was akin to just have the black and white ink work.

From there, I used the colors from comiXology’s copy of Justice League of America #122, which ironically was recolored, due to it being reprinted before. Here’s the image I got my new RGB values from.

JLofA #122 used as a color guide

From there, it was a simple process of adding the colors where appropriate. Now don’t get me wrong, doing this to every page of every issue released would take a lot of time, but if I, a relative novice can be that effective using only the tools at my disposal, all I can say about DC at this point is that they are lazy. That being said, if anyone at DC is reading, pay me a modest sum and I will do this for you, gladly, Just to preserve your classic work for not only a new generation of readers, but for all time.

This Month’s Podcast Features:

Zombietron, Mexicus Prime, Kill-tacular-tron, Vagatron and Arse-bot

It’s that time of the month again! No, not that one. It’s time for your monthly dose of the Big Shiny Podcast!

This month we talk about some of our favorite things from this year’s Comic-Con including all the new Ghostbusters swag, the Amazing Spider-Man panel, leaked trailers and all that good stuff. We talk Netflix rate hikes, badger Mexicus Prime for being off his game and try to stop him from doing multiple really bad impressions to no avail. All of us gush over Captain America as we spoil pretty much the entire movie for Zombietron – who has yet to see it and is the biggest Cap fan out of all of us. We have Vagatron’s usual grab bag of comics to talk about, and this month he brought a very unusual but good lot of recommendations, including Screamland. Stick around for the end of the ‘cast as we bring you another edition of “Joking Off with Jimmy” as he and Arse-bot share the overly dramatic story of opening up comicbook holds and how his girlfriend’s aunt wanted to bang him on a camping trip!

So hit us up on iTunes (and leave a review while you’re there!) or snag the mp3, plug in your headphones and geek out with us as you sit at work pretending to be busy!

Listen:

iTunes

MP3

Alright movie buffs, the time has come for the Salt Lake City Film Festival! Running August 18-21 in our lovely downtown you will be treated to an array of award winning films from various festivals such as SXSW, Dallas International Fim Festival, SF International Asian American Festival and more! We here at BigShinyRobot will be on hand covering the different films showing throughout the weekend as well as interviewing actors/directors from the film to keep you friendly readers in the know while festivities unfold. The schedule and film summaries are available on their website. Day time screenings will run you a scant $5, and evening shows will be $10. Read the press release below for the full set of information and check back regularly for updates as the Film Festival gets closer.

The Salt Lake City Film Festival schedule has been finalized and we couldn’t be more excited!

The Festival will be taking place at various theaters around Salt Lake City over August 18 to the 21, and in addition to nearly 30 films, the SLCFF has put together an exciting weekend all around.

With films from all over the world (and more than a couple from right here in our own backyard) we’ve turned this year’s Festival into a three-day event that will be impossible to pass up.

Our opening night feature, SILVER TONGUES, will premiere at the Broadway Center on Thursday night August 18 at 7:30 pm. The film follows Gerry and Joan, two lovers driving from town to town, donning different personas to deceive and destroy people they meet along the way. Each manipulation begins to take its toll and the performances begin to spiral out of control, threatening their very relationship. The film wowed audiences at the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival and took home the Grand Jury Sparky award for Best Narrative feature. The film will be followed by a reception in the Broadway Lounge with music, light food, desserts, coffee and beer provided by our generous sponsors. All ticket holders for the opening night feature will have full access to the reception.

Some of the other films being screened include SURROGATE VALENTINE, directed by Utah and SLCFF alum Dave Boyle, EVERYDAY SUNSHINE, BAD FEVER, co-produced by David Fetzer of the New Works Theater Machine and shot locally, SUBWAY PREACHER, PARADE, BETTER THIS WORLD and many more.

Don’t think we’ve forgotten about the night owls, either. We’ve teamed up with BREWVIES CINEMA PUB again this year to provide late night programming on both Friday and Saturday night.

We’ll also be hosting various Q&A discussions after the films throughout the weekend, spotlighting some of the talented folks coming in to support their films. Simon Arthur (SILVER TONGUES), Dennis Ho (SUBWAY PREACHER), Lev Anderson (EVERYDAY SUNSHINE), the cast and crew from PARADE will all be in town to talk about their films as well as scores of others and a few that we’re keeping as a surprise.

We couldn’t be prouder of the lineup we’re presenting this year and we hope you’ll all join us for what is sure to be an exciting weekend. Tickets for matinee screenings are only $5 and evening screenings are $10, making it one of the most financially accessible independent festivals experiences around.

More information on all the films, ticket information and schedule can be found at our website www.saltlakecityfilmfestival.com or www.slcff.com and I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding the festival, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.

And before the Festival gets underway, we’ve also got a few events to get you in the mood.
The Sloppy Summer Smorgasbord will be held at Kilby Court (741 S. 330 W.) on July 31 at 6 PM featuring Nolens Volens, Giraffula, Spirit Master and Bearclause and on August 13, we’ll be hosting an evening of music, prizes and fun at the Urban Lounge (241 S. 500 E.) with Palace of Buddies and Zangief. Both events will include a special preview of the films we’ve got lined up.

Thanks and we hope to see you all there!

Here is the first picture released of Henry Cavil as Superman in the upcoming “Man of Steel.” This comes off of the announcement earlier this week that Laurence Fishburne would be playing Perry White. Seeing this makes me very excited for the Zack Snyder helmed film that will be out in 2013. Following the picture is the full press release.

Source: JoBlo.com

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures have provided the first look at the new “Man of Steel,” revealing star Henry Cavill as Superman in the film from director Zack Snyder. The film also stars three-time Oscar® nominee Amy Adams (“The Fighter”) as Daily Planet journalist Lois Lane, and Oscar® nominee Laurence Fishburne (“What’s Love Got to Do with It”) as her editor-in-chief, Perry White. Starring as Clark Kent’s adoptive parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent, are Oscar® nominee Diane Lane (“Unfaithful”) and Academy Award® winner Kevin Costner (“Dances with Wolves”).

Squaring off against the superhero are two other surviving Kryptonians, the villainous General Zod, played by Oscar® nominee Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road”), and Faora, Zod’s evil partner, played by Antje Traue. Also from Superman’s native Krypton are Lara Lor-Van, Superman’s mother, played by Julia Ormond, and Superman’s father, Jor-El, portrayed by Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”).

Rounding out the cast are Harry Lennix as U.S. military man General Swanwick, as well as Christopher Meloni as Colonel Hardy.

“Man of Steel” is being produced by Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder. The screenplay was written by David S. Goyer, from a story by Goyer and Nolan, based upon Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

This news came out a while ago, but I was preoccupied with the convention circuit and my book release, so it fell through the cracks a little bit. There’s something new to add today, so I figured now was an appropriate time to bring it back.

In the lead up to Captain America, director Joe Johnston (who worked on the original trilogy of Star Wars films) was doing interviews. While talking to ScreenRant, Johnston was asked if his mentor, George Lucas, had seen Captain America.

His response?

“You know if he wants to see it, I would show it to him. I’m trying to get George to make a feature based on Boba Fett.”

It was a pretty off-handed remark, and when pressed for follow-up, he reiterated his desire to participate in making said Boba Fett film.

Boba Fett has inexplicably always been a fan favorite character and in my mind, I can see this movie having a lot of potential. When I heard of the idea of a Boba Fett movie, it had conjured a lot of images like an old Kurosawa movie like Yojimbo or Sanjuro. Or having Boba Fett take part in some other galactic conflict. Or even a movie about him just hunting down a Jedi. It has a lot of possibilities.

Well, armed with this knowledge, MovieWeb had the chance to talk to Jeremy Bulloch (the actor who portrayed Fett in Empire and Jedi) and asked him what he thought. He seemed a little skeptical, though he likened the possibilites to a Clint Eastwood western (which were moves based on the Samurai movies I referenced above.

But the most interesting part of the interview for me happened later. Bulloch let out a tidbit of what, in his opinion, is something in Boba Fett’s past.

From MovieWeb:

“I believe, to this day, that somewhere along the line, Boba Fett and Han Solo flew the Millinium Falcon together. Something went wrong, and they split up as a couple of friends. I always remember the line, “Boba Fett? Where?” Han wants to settle something. I think that’s what that scene means. I think there is a respect for both of them. They respect each other.”

Now that could be an interesting movie, though I’d much rather see that animated than trying to cast a new Han Solo.

And if there were a Boba Fett movie, I’d love to see Daniel Logan reprise the part from Attack of the Clones and the Clone Wars TV series. He’s got a good head on his shoulders and loves the character and the movies.

Bryan Young is author of Lost at the Con and Man Against the Future.

I’ve mentioned in earlier columns how Marvel tries to re-capture that “Spider-Man Magic” once a decade or so. The second attempt was Speedball, of course, but today’s subject is their first real attempt. They even say so on the cover! While his series lasted longer than Speedball’s, he was considered a B or C-list character until very recently. As an aside, both Speedball and today’s hero were stalwarts of the New Warriors in most of their incarnations. I actually prefer the original version of the character, hokey and derivative as he is. Before he was the grand space poo-bah with the uncomfortable looking shoulder spikes, he was “affectionately” known as bucket head. Who else could it be but Nova, The Human Rocket?!

Our tale begins on two fronts. The first, millions of miles from earth. An alien in a ship that looks like a winged corkscrew is pursuing the man who has crushed his arms and legs. The second, a high school basketball court. Richard Rider just flubbed a block and lost the game for the boys’ team. Yes, these are two wildly diverse scenes, but they are about to converge in a strange way. On Earth, Rich is being soundly ridiculed for letting the girls win. As such, he’s feeling pretty sorry for himself, and his pal Ginger says he just lacks confidence. Back in space, and approximately 70 million miles closer to Earth than when we last peeked in on the alien, he makes a fateful decision on how to deal with the fugitive who brought him to death’s door.

A dying alien sending a green light to pick a successor. That's NEVER been done before!

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the centurion has a buttload of alien knowledge that I do not, but even he himself admitted he picked a dude totally at random. What if the ray missed and hit like, a rabbit or something? Worse yet, Doctor Doom? I’m just saying, pinning your hopes on something akin to a cosmic lottery isn’t usually the actions of a sane man. Anyway, as you might have guessed, the green beam hits Rich, the saddest sack this side of the Mason-Dixon line. Instead of imbuing him with phenomenal cosmic powers, it  puts him into a phenomenal coma. While comatose, Rich learns of his destiny through exposition. My guess is the beam induces a coma so the centurion can have a captive audience, but you be the judge…

"In Brightest Day..."

While that vignette could be chalked up to a coma-induced fever dream, it is sufficient to rouse Rich from his unconsciousness. Of course, he shouts about the fugitive Zorr and shoots a destructive green beam of light from his eyes, but at least he’s awake, right? Apparently that’s how Rich’s parents operate, because it’s NEVER. MENTIONED. AGAIN. And so Rich is back in school, things are relatively back to normal, although our Mr. Rider is in full-on introspective mode, so much so that he isn’t paying attention in class. It’s here where the first inklings of the Nova power (besides random green eye-beams) surface in the young man.

"You might even be able to do fractions!"

Amazing mathmagic aside, Rich is about ready to just chalk his coma-induced vision to just some weird hallucination. After all, where are his rippling biceps and pecs? No seriously, he actually ponders this. Just as he goes back into his default mode of feeling sorry for himself, the power explodes from him like “The Force of a Thousand Cobalt Bombs!” The actually effect is green, though. Anyway, Rich is now the spitting image of the alien centurion, and the newly christened Nova takes off, well, like a rocket!

"Surely my book won't be cancelled in less than 2 years!"

As fledgling heroes are wont to do, Nova wants to test his new abilities to the fullest, so he decides to cut loose at the junkyard! After crashing through an inner-city junkyard band’s instruments and barely feeling it, he declares he can do anything he wants, including getting back at people he feels has wronged him. Before the ghost of the centurion can spin in his space-grave though, Nova chastises himself for thinking so selfishly. It’s actually a testament to the character of Rich Rider that he realizes the correlation between power and responsibility without having to see a family member die. It’s quite refreshing, actually. With his new mission in mind, Nova starts looking for wrongs to right. Luckily, the starburst on his helmet also apparently acts as an antenna. Picking up the local police band, Nova learns of a massive disturbance downtown. He rockets off, and in the distance, we see a bunch of his school chums decide to follow him. This really makes no sense, because in the above panel, Nova mentions he’s 40 miles from home, but whatever. The important thing here, is the burger franchise the kids frequent.

Yeah, I'll have a Hulk Burger, a side order of Mandarin Rings, and an Ultimate Nullifier, please.

As it turns out, when Nova approaches the disturbance, it ends up being Zorr! Talking about your unbelievable strokes of luck! Zorr mistakes Nova for Centurion Prime, which is unsurprising, seeing as they look exactly the same. Zorr wastes no time in trying to re-kill his adversary. And Nova walks in the footsteps of many Marvel heroes, by doing the whole witty banter routine. Although, comparing a missed blaster shot to Catfish Hunter is probably only funny to Ken Burns. As the battle rages, Nova introspects about why heroes always try to make with the funny…

Nova & Company, this Fall on the CW: It's bound to be better than Homeboys in Outer Space!

The fight goes on for a few pages, with Nova holding his own pretty well for being an absolute novice. He even manages to save a bystander or two. As fate would have it, Rich’s schoolmates arrive on the scene just then, apparently deftly making it through non-existent police cordons. Your tax dollars at work, citizens of Marvel New York! Nova rightly tells them to get the *%)# out of the way, but thus distracted, Zorr takes the opportunity to literally fling Nova into the side of a building! While in flight, Nova shrugs it off, thinking that his new super-tough skin will absorb the impact. He’s half right. It seems he is unhurt, but he does manage to topple the building over just where his friends happen to (still) be. Nova, who is still deep down the same Rich Rider, blames himself for not crashing into the building in such a way to not damage it. I admire him wanting to take responsibility, but seriously, if you blame yourself for every little thing like a crumbling building, you aren’t going to get far in the hero biz. Nova is quick enough to save his pals though.

He kinda just did scab labor for the construction union, too.

The crisis averted, Nova rockets headlong into Zorr, meaning to end this fracas. Just as Zorr is about to finish his monologue, he disappears in a flash of light! Zorr seemed to be just as surprised as Nova, too. So with the battle over with no clear victor, Nova decides to return home, so he can contemplate his new place in life. We cut back to Centurion Prime’s shift, still orbiting the planet, and inside, Prime’s body is gone, and the empty uniform of Zorr is sprawled on the floor. What happened is a story for another time (mostly because I don’t own the next issue), so we go back to Rich…

"But first-- homework!"

And so begins the career of Nova, the Human Rocket! He had a respectable run of 25 issues, but was pretty dormant until the 90’s when he was recruited into the New Warriors. This led to a stubbly 90’s series, and he was revived yet again at the turn of the millennium. It wasn’t until Marvel’s massive Annihilation series that Nova became the embodiment of the Nova Corps (another, GL “inspiration”), a Secret Avenger, and a hero touted as a “Guardian of Our Galaxy”. Not bad for a sad sack kid from the burbs, I guess Centurion Prime knew what he was doing after all!

This story originally appeared in Nova #1 September, 1976. It was reprinted in Essential Nova Volume 1 and Nova: The Origin of Richard Rider

A few weeks back I talked about a kickstarter.com page that had a great idea for a camera holster. Well I got mine in the mail yesterday and I’m so happy I backed the product. 

The Capture is a solid piece of equipment and I dropped it less than 5 minutes after opening and quickly learned it was pretty solid. It has a solid metal construction and a lifetime guarantee so I’m not worried about punishing it. I spent some time trying it on different bags that I have and in different positions to see how it would feel and in most applications it worked pretty well. I think it might get a tad uncomfortable on long hikes but that could be fixed by sliding some foam behind it.

The build quality is great, everything works really well and they have even included a tripod mount so that you don’t need to remove the mount from your camera. The piece that mounts to your camera also includes 4 points for a camera strap, with a small scoop on one side to allow for the webbing from the strap. I couldn’t get it to work every time, however if you read the comments on this article you will see that the creator has put time into testing this to try and make it work. Those of you with larger cameras (I have a Canon T2i) probably will not have an issue with this.

The units are backordered right now, which isn’t surprising as this product became one of the highest funded projects ever on kickstarer.com and they are already planning a few accessories. Right now you can order them for $79.99 at http://peakdesignltd.com/home.htm

I’ll be the first to admit that I generally think people who wear Bluetooth headsets in public look like tools. It’s not a fashion statement and it looks quite rude. I mean, really, you’re so in demand you have to have your phone plugged into your ear at all times? I swore I’d never wear one if my life depended on it.

And then they made Star Wars ones.

I know, I know. But when the people at Earloomz offered me a chance to check one out I figured, “What the hell, right?”

Earloomz makes them in 10 different varieties. I chose “The Dark Duel” to try out.

Syncing the device was easy. It was as simple as turning it on the device and flipping a switch marked “Bluetooth” on my iPhone. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as sound and microphone quality and so when I finally slipped it into my ear I was a little surprised. For one, it was comfortable (and it came with different sized ear-pieces in case it wasn’t) and it didn’t really feel like I was wearing anything. Aside from the fact that I could barely hear the outside world from my dominant ear, I couldn’t really tell it was there. It’s no wonder people wear them all the time.

The sound quality was as good as my phone and testing it out, the mic didn’t sound noticeably different than if I were using my phone normally.

I tried playing with a few things and was a bit dismayed that I couldn’t find a way to listen to my iPod on the Bluetooth, but I don’t know if that’s a problem with the device, my phone, or if it’s just not something any Bluetooth is designed to do.

I was very impressed with the range on the thing. I was able to plug my phone in in my bedroom and I could wear the device and clearly pick up calls from anywhere inside my house and my front yard. From my living room, I could take calls in my back yard, which is where I could see myself actually using this headset on a regular basis.

It was also a lot easier to deal with in the car than my headphones. The problem with my headphones is the cord getting tangled everywhere and that’s obviously not an issue here. And I’ll be honest, I’d leave this in my car to replace my headphones completely if it played music since the radio in my car doesn’t work.

As far as the battery life, I was using it moderately for a day and a half before felt like charging it, but I’m not sure I needed to yet.

Overall, this really converted me. I still think people who wear these constantly look kind of stupid, but I can see situations where I will actually be using this and it will be useful to me. And since it’s emblazoned with the climactic lightsaber battle from The Empire Strikes Back, I won’t like a complete idiot doing it.

For car trips and conference calls where I’m doing lots of pacing this will come quite in handy. For any Star Wars fan looking to get into a Bluetooth headset, these are affordable and of high quality. For any current Bluetooth user and Star Wars fan, do yourself a favor and convert to these Earloomz, because let’s be honest: you’ll look a whole lot cooler this way.

You can pick them up on the Earloomz website.

Go to any comic/gaming/sci-fi convention and you’ll see a multitude of people dressed up as characters from their favorite nerd related media. This year’s Comic-Con in San Diego was no exception. Here are the pictures I took this year of those dedicated individuals who are the true stars of the con!

Photos are leaking all over the Internet of Bane and Batman fighting worse than the leaks on the Titanic. It’s a little surprising for a franchise that has been very good over its last two installments about being shrouded in secrecy. But to be honest, I’m not all that impressed. Seeing Batman in action in broad daylight has always seemed a little disingenuous and I’m going to be honest: Bane looks ridiculous. I’m going to give Nolan the benefit of the doubt on it for the same reasons I gave Matthew Vaughn the benefit of the doubt on his excellent X-men picture. That, and I don’t want to be that reactionary that screamed about Heath Ledger playing the Joker. He turned out fine even though the choice seemed counter-intuitive.

But I have a theory about why these photos are coming out and why no one seems to be getting Cease and Desist letters:

It’s on purpose. They staged this stuff in broad daylight and didn’t chase away photographers because they don’t care. What if this is just the opening sequence to the movie and this has nothing to do with the climax or secrets of the film? What if it is all entirely a story about Ra’s and Talia and this is just the guys in Hockey Pants from the beginning of The Dark Knight?

Maybe I’m giving them too much credit, but what if this over-abundance of information and photos about Bane is just a ruse to distract us from the real story?

I think it’s a very distinct possibility.

The Dark Knight Rises is slated to hit theatres July 20, 2012. We’ll see how it all goes down then.

UPDATE: Steve pointed this out below. WTF indeed: