Saturday morning robots is moving to the greener pastures of: http://saturdaymorningrobots.lithiumstate.nl/

Expect to see the same unflinching insight and enthusiasm only presented in a much prettier package.

Thank you to all those who have made SMR what it is today!

COMIC REVIEW: Watchmen

Well gee, what do you know... everyone was right... It is the best comic ever.

Here I am someone who really loves comics, yet I'm 23 years late to the party on what is without a doubt one of... the best, if not the best graphic novel ever made.

Back in the 80s when Watchmen came out I was a devout Marvel guy. DC stuff was for kids, full of tired old Superfriends. Yet in 1986 Alan Moore and Dave Gibbins produced something really Remarkable over there that puts everything I was reading at the time to Shame. I have to wonder though if my teenage self could have really appreciated it.

Watchmen takes place in an alternate history version of 1985 where Richard Nixon is still president, and Superheroes have been outlawed except for two who work for the government. I cannot give even a little more information because I feel this is a book that must be experienced with as few spoilers as possible. The setting certainly brought me back to the rampant fear and paranoia of the time.

Watchmen is a very dark book with so many layers in both the writing and the artwork that it is staggering. On one level it is about the history of comics, on another a very personal story about what life does to people. On another it may be one of the best treatise on the thought process of God. It never ceased to be entertaining and I burned through the last 6 issues in one evening despite the fact that it is a very dense read with 9 panels per page, and a lot of text.

Alan Moore originally planned to tell the story of The Watchmen with existing characters from Charlton comics which DC had recently acquired such as The Question, Blue Beetle, and The Atom But given the extreme nature of the story, Higher ups at DC put an end to this Idea so he had to create new characters, though It's pretty easy to see where the inspirations lie for those familiar with those characters.

I feel a bit hamstrung trying to talk about the book without being specific, so I will just say this. Believe the hype Watchmen is really that good.

I think from what I have seen that the upcoming Watchmen movie will be entertaining, and more faithful than most comic adaptations, but I feel Watchmen is probably the pinnacle of really using the medium of comics to tell a story in a unique way, and a movie no matter how cool, won't ever be able to touch that.

ESSENTIAL

ANIME FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Rideback

Wow! I haven't been this excited about the potential of a new anime in years. The first episode of Rideback blew me away.

Rideback is a new anime TV series produced by Madhouse. As one would expect from that studio the animation is fantastic, what really impressed me though was the content of the story. It all felt very fresh and original.

Rideback is a "Real robots" genre show that definitely delivers in abundance to mecha fetishists (like myself). The machines called Ridebacks are very original looking Transforming motorcycles with 3 distinct modes. All the ridebacks are rendered in very competent 3d, the look of which reminds me of the 3d work in Heat guy J.

The characters so far seem interesting and likable, and don't generally fall into the blatantly standard types designed to appeal to Otaku. The character designs are gorgeous having a feeling that somehow takes the best of older and newer styles.

This show has the feel of 80s/early 90s shows Like Patlabor, BGC, Megazone 23 and Venus wars in that it makes me feel exhilarated and wanting more rather than just disgusted with the studio going through the motions, as so many modern animes do.

I am really looking forward to the next episode!

COMIC REVIEW: Gantz volumes 1-2

It's been a long time since Dark horse announced their aquisition of the rights to Gantz, the ultra violent, ultra sexual, ultra dark manga by Hiroya Oku Works.

Gantz is by no means an intellectual Masterpiece, quite the opposite in fact. To be blunt Gantz is very dumb. The entire premise seems to have been stolen from the manual to Quake 3 arena: People who are at the moment of death are snatched away and forced to compete in some kind of mysterious life and death combat game. That being said Gantz is totally awesome.

The book is extremely dark and paints an ugly (and I feel accurate) Portrayal of human nature, however unlike something of the same vein like say Battle Royale, Gantz is very easy to read because it is so damned stupid. It is obvious that it is strictly for entertainment, no brains needed, enjoy. That isn't to say that Gantz is ever boring, it is well paced and the characters are believable. Much like The walking dead there are many "Oh my god I can't believe that just happened" moments.

The artwork in these 2 volumes is fantastic, utilizing some pretty inovative use of 3d as background references in comic art. Sexual excess and gore are both lavishly presented.

Dark Horse's release is very faithful in presentation to the original Japanese though I did notice some irregularities in the localization, specifically where referrences to Characters owned by Viz (Kenshiro and Goku) where omitted.

At $12.99. I think Gantz is a must buy for people who like extreme material in their manga, and beautiful artwork. Those who are squeamish about blood or think pretending they don't like looking at tits will impress the girls around them need not apply.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

The end of an era

Electronic Gaming Monthly, one of the oldest, and most respected video games magazines in North America is dead.

My feelings on this one are mixed. It really had to go. Review focused magazines such as EGM are dinosaurs in the age of instant access to information. I am not one of those people who says that print is dead, but the future of the enthusiast gaming press is editorially focused publications such as the UK's EDGE. Even so I've read EGM off and on since the early 90s. and have a lot of fond memories.

It is a shame that due to the suddenness of the magazine's closure they were unable to give such a historical publication a proper sendoff.

1up ours

It's been obvious to anyone paying attention that publishing company Ziff Davis has been in dire financial trouble for years. It's also been no secret that they have been trying to offload the 1up network for quite some time.

Even so Ziff's gutting and subsequent sale, of 1up hurts like hell. I really fail to see the point of UGO buying it if they aren't going to hire the large number of Fired Ziff employee's that made 1up stand out from the crowd of online gaming news sites as a source of trustworthy information and entertainment. Sure, there are still good people there like Sam Kennedy and Scott Sharkey, but it was the crazy mix of Talents that made 1up so great.

It was the people that have made me a religious listener to Podcasts such as 1up yours, 1up FM, Retronaunts, CGW/GFW/LAN party, and viewer of The 1Up show.

According to Joystiq the following people were laid off:

Adrian Frieg

Amy Mishra

Amy Moran

Andrea Garcia

Andrew Fitch

Andrew "Skip" Pfister

Anthony Gallegos

Cesar Quintero

Christina Rosa

CoyLou Steel

Derek Chinn

Doug Parsons

Eric Ellis

Giancarlo Varanini

Greg Ford

James "Milkman" Mielke

Jason Bertrand

Jason Wilson

Jervilyn Jaramillo

Justin Frechette (J Fresh)

Leslie Gelfand

Marci Yamaguchi

Matt Chandronait

May Tong

Meredith Stowe

Michael Donahoe

Monique Convertito

Ndubuisi Madu

Nick Suttner

Norris Boothe

Philip Kollar

Rey Serrano

Robert Bowen

Rosemary Pinkham

Ryan O'Donnell

Ryan Scott

Shane Bettenhausen

Simon Cox

Tammy Ross

Tipler Ubbelohde

In a gut wrenchingly sad blog entry, one of the few "survivors" Sam Kennedy says that we shouldn't be angry at UGO, or even Ziff. I suppose so. there is plenty of blame to go around, from both inside and outside. Believe it or not it could have been worse.

I hope that if the podcasts return and manage to capture the same qualities, that they adopt an inexpensive subscription model. I personally would have gladly paid a monthly fee to keep 1up Yours and the 1 up show around.

To all those who lost their jobs, I wish you the best of luck. To those who have been such a big part of my week these past 2 years, you will be missed.

COMIC REVIEW: Phantom

Phantom is a 5 volume korean comic (Manwha) published by Tokyopop. My experience with Korean animation and comics has lead me to assume certain stereotypes. They often look very nice (Most of the anime in Japan and western cartoons are animated there these days) But the stories are often a nonsensical mess. The most shining example of this is the movie Wonderful days (AKA: Sky Blue). The writing in that movie makes a typical episode of Captain Planet and the Planeteers seem totally logical in comparison.

So why go on about that? Because Phantom really surprised me, not only wasn't the story stupid, it was really enjoyable!

Phantom's main character, K, is a Giant robot piloting police officer in the post apocalyptic cyberpunk future. Tasked with fighting so called terrorists, however K soon gets in way over his head and finds out that theorderly world in which he lives is just an illusion, and Maybe his enemies aren't who he should be fighting.

The first half of volume one feels like the most generic thing ever. I really didn't like K, he is a total punk, but something happens in the middle of the volume that changes everything, and by the end I was totally hooked. The remaining 4 volumes never let up. It's probably the most enjoyable depiction of a real robots genre story that I have ever read in manga.

Phantom is like Patlabor, Gundam and some ludicrous Old skool Hong Kong action flick put together in one book. You wouldn't think that the pieces would fit together but they do and the end result is a lot of fun to read.

It has it's odd asides, and sometimes the dialog is less than brilliant, and the localization is... well it's Tokyopop... nuff said.

The art can be a bit rough when it comes to the characters, but the way the action is expressed and the way the mecha are drawn is excellent. If you are someone who likes Giant Robots (Chicks dig giant robots) Then you should enjoy phantom, just make sure you read all of the first volume before passing judgement.

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