Moments when a piece of entertainment completely rocked you.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 4:10 am

http://www.teamfourstar.com/

The latest Dragonball Z abridged (episode 24) made me laugh so hard no sound came out but a sort of wheezing.

I like this abridged series--it's made by people who love the original while admitting its goofy points.

Torko · Post by **Torko** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 5:34 pm

Finally got around to watching Gurren Lagann after the references in Homestuck were pointed out. Immediately dismissed it as anime, but I stuck with it anyway.
Jesus Christ, that robot just impaled a flying aircraft carrier with its giant battleship-dick. And then they stole to moon and drilled a hole in the universe to kill god. jesu schrist.

Avoraciopoctules · Post by **Avoraciopoctules** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 12:13 am

This was used to introduce me to a webcomic:
http://foxmage.com/this/KatiaDrinkUp.html

http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.ph ... (thread-1)

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 5:30 am

Watching "Le Chevalier D'eon." The portrayal of the king is awesome!

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 2:11 am

I just spent most of the last 10 hours completely sucked into a game called Lords of Midnight. It's from 1984 and was completely ahead of its time - it's an actual epic strategy/adventure game in 42k. The graphic file of the map for the world is bigger than the program. The graphics are surprisingly passable 8-bit, and it provides pseudo-panoramic views of the world and the armies marching across it. The only thing I don't like is the incredibly arcane control setup.

Torko · Post by **Torko** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 2:38 pm

Avoraciopoctules wrote:This was used to introduce me to a webcomic:
http://foxmage.com/this/KatiaDrinkUp.html

http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.ph ... (thread-1)

Prequel is about as far away from terrible as a webcomic about a slutty catgirl can be.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 12:16 pm

Batman Incorporated has been stone cold awesome, and I'm actually quite looking forward to where they go with it.

I genuinely don't know what to think about the DC Reboot. I basically blame JMS. If you let him write for both Superman and Wonder Woman you pretty much have no choice but to burn the whole continuity down with continuity fire or you'll end up like post-JMS Spiderman. Whether the new setup will be too "in your face" or not is to be seen. But for now, the Bat-continuity is just hitting very high notes pretty consistently.

-Username17

Count Arioch the 28th · Sat Jul 16, 2011 12:44 pm

http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20110716.gif

This SMBC reminds me of the outcome of a Gaming Den argument.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 4:00 am

Captain America didn't quite rock me, but it was honestly much, much better than it could have been.

It's a little bland and it moves along at a blistering pace, but it's not completely soaked in with "RAH RAH MURRIKA FUCK YEAH" like it could have been.

Still, simplistic plot, and a villain who was so villainous he could write a textbook on the subject. Gives his word, breaks it three minutes later, kills associates when they're not convenient now, etc.

Psychic Robot · Post by **Psychic Robot** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 6:09 am

It's a little bland and it moves along at a blistering pace, but it's not completely soaked in with "RAH RAH MURRIKA FUCK YEAH" like it should have been.

ftfy

Draco_Argentum · Post by **Draco_Argentum** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:35 am

Is anyone here who is from the US not embarrassed by Captain America? Do you guys swallow that kind of insane patriotic wankery with a straight face or cringe?

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:42 am

Draco_Argentum wrote:Is anyone here who is from the US not embarrassed by Captain America? Do you guys swallow that kind of insane patriotic wankery with a straight face or cringe?

Depends on the Captain America version. Sometimes the character is basically Team America: World Police, played straight. And that is super embarrassing. But with a more competent and more nuanced writer, he's a superhero with a strong principled commitment to civil liberties who is willing to stick up for minorities and even people he doesn't agree with whether it's popular or not.

The movie doesn't come out in Czechia until after I go back to the states, so I don't know where it falls on the scale. But there have been versions of the Captain America story that I am quite proud of as an American. There are, of course, also versions of the Captain America story that totally make me cringe.

-Username17

RiotGearEpsilon · Post by **RiotGearEpsilon** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 1:53 pm

I think Captain America works best when he is simultaneously Team America and Minority Rights Man, and thus embodies the tension in the American exceptionalism identity.

Neeeek · Post by **Neeeek** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 3:56 pm

Draco_Argentum wrote:Is anyone here who is from the US not embarrassed by Captain America? Do you guys swallow that kind of insane patriotic wankery with a straight face or cringe?

I dunno about the current portrayal, but Cap's generally been not even remotely about insane patriotic wankery (from the 60's to the 90's at least, the era of comics I'm most familiar with). The guy once got so pissed off at the country that he quit being Captain America entirely for a while.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 5:04 pm

Draco_Argentum wrote:Is anyone here who is from the US not embarrassed by Captain America? Do you guys swallow that kind of insane patriotic wankery with a straight face or cringe?

Hardly. It's complicated

I guess I have a weird love-hate thing for Captain America as much as I do Superman. Cheesy as hell concept, but on the other hand, if I see a kid aspiring to be Captain America OR Superman, I'll think there's a much worse things to aspire to be. And I totally acknowledge that Captain America sounds just freakin retarded when you say "An American Super-Soldier serum turns a scrawny wimp into a supersoldier, and he goes into battle wearing red, white, and blue tights and bashes people with a similarly patriotic shield."

Americans want America to be a good country, a great country, etc. The problem is all those disagreements on what's "good" or what's "great" or how you end up at that desired endpoint, and whose good or great we're talking about, given there's Christian extremists who are claiming they can literally treat atheists however they want and there's the lovely folks who want all drugs decriminalized, and people who want no laws at all.

And, on top of that, we have fuckheads like Psychic Robot who, really, just want to move to Rapture and tell Andrew Ryan how awesome this is, with the ultra-capitalism with no taxes or laws because the Great Chain removes all need for them.

So, yeah. Fucking crazy Americans. Don't mind us, we're just being ourselves over here.

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 6:33 pm

A lot of Captain america in the '90s and the aughts talk about his disillusionment with the government. It's surprisingly different. The newer comics aren't gungho about who he is. There aren't declarations of truth, justice, and the american way. He seems just like an ordinary supe with his faults and his actions. Only difference is that they have him put on the flag.

There was a series of comics where he decided that he didn't just represent one country but he was responsible for general liberty.

Captain America is very much a hit or miss comic. Unlike other comics, there isn't really a string of comics that entertain. it really does change from issue to issue.

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:53 pm

Dammit, there used to be a Captain America comic that daily scans had penned in direct response to that fucking disgrace from Ultimates that completely spat on the whole 'cheese eating surrender monkeys' crap.

Yes indeed. Anyway, the contrast between the various Captain Americas can be best summed up like this:

Ah, little lad, you're staring at my fingers. Would you like me to tell you the little story of right-hand/left-hand? The story of good and evil? H-A-T-E! It was with this left hand that old brother Cain struck the blow that laid his brother low. L-O-V-E! You see these fingers, dear hearts? These fingers has veins that run straight to the soul of man. The right hand, friends, the hand of love. Now watch, and I'll show you the story of life. Those fingers, dear hearts, is always a-warring and a-tugging, one agin t'other. Now watch 'em! Old brother left hand, left hand he's a fighting, and it looks like love's a goner. But wait a minute! Hot dog, love's a winning! Yessirree! It's love that's won, and old left hand hate is down for the count!

Josh_Kablack · Post by **Josh_Kablack** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:13 pm

Draco_Argentum wrote:Is anyone here who is from the US not embarrassed by Captain America? Do you guys swallow that kind of insane patriotic wankery with a straight face or cringe?

Best Captain America comic issue:

Cap saves a congressionsal candidate from a Hydra attack; candidate uses that to strongly imply that Cap has endorsed him, even though Cap did no such thing and rather disagrees with the candidate's platform. Cap considers actually endorsing the guy's opponent, but realizes that will make him look like just another flip-flopping celebro-pundit and ruin his symbolism, Resolution: In his civilian ID, Steve Rogers volunteers to canvass for the opposing candidate, thereby maintaining the idealistic symbolism of Captain America and also exercising his right to participate in our democracy and encouraging the readers to do likewise

Worst Captain America comic issue:

Anytime Batroc ze Leaper is meant to be taken as a serious threat instead of comic relief. He's French, knows savate and jumps - who green lighted that as a villainous concept ?

Noteworthy Revision that falls in between:

The Ultimates Cap, who really was thawed out of the ice from ww2 about 5 minutes ago. He had wartime ideas of patriotism and his values were pulled from 1940s America - so his ideas about gender roles and family livestyles contrasted heavily with the more contemporary values of the other characters. This was an interesting take that briefly emphasized the American conflict over our own history and the tension between improving our society and maintaining our traditions that is a large part of our political discourse. Of course when the authorship got handed off, this character went from "wartime patriotism" to "outright hyper-jingoistic and we're not doing it for parody" and from "1940s ideas about gender roles and family" to "outright misogynistic, because that's what granddad was like." needless to say, those shifts in characterization were downright embarassing.

Meikle641 · Post by **Meikle641** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:07 pm

and

This is all I know of Captain America. I'm hoping to see it when I next have money.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:35 am

Just finished Ghost Story.

Haven't had that much fun with a book for a while.

Ending totally makes up for the kick-in-the-gut Changes gives you.

Neeeek · Post by **Neeeek** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 8:28 am

Josh_Kablack wrote:
Worst Captain America comic issue:

Anytime Batroc ze Leaper is meant to be taken as a serious threat instead of comic relief. He's French, knows savate and jumps - who green lighted that as a villainous concept ?

Oh...there was certainly at least 1 good Batroc issue. Heroes Return #4, IIRC.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:18 am

I watched The Haunted World of El Superbeasto with my friend the other night out of morbid curiosity, and while it's horrible over all, the music was actually pretty funny. While I hate the character, Velvet Von Black's theme was probably about the highlight. (link is song only, so sfw if you have headphones, I guess.)

Oh, also Otto, Dr. Satan's intelligent british gorilla.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Tue Aug 02, 2011 6:30 am

Commercial ship captain makes career out of retrieving ships being stolen by legal douchebaggery and outright piracy in other countries. Badass of the Week.

Avoraciopoctules · Post by **Avoraciopoctules** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 4:46 am

http://not.vlambeer.com/luftrauser/
Been a while since I played a simple arcade style game that felt this sublime.

K · Post by K » Sun Aug 07, 2011 11:49 am

So I watched the first few episodes of the new Thundercats reboot. It's pretty decent for a heavy revision in the continuity.

Also, Cheetara is hotter and Snarf is a non-sentient, non-talking animal. I approve.