Howdy Folks!

It seems that this week the theme around Semantink blogs has been Robin Hood, and who am I to buck the trend? Now, I could talk about Robin Hood’s brief foray into the world of comics, but he really hasn’t been a big figure on the funny book scene (though it was cool to see him pop up in FABLES). I could talk about Robins and Hoods, but that would be a stretch. However, since Robin of Loxely is well known for his mad archery skills, I thought I would take a look at some of the comic book archers out there and see how they stack up against the prince of Thieves.

Hawkeye (Marvel Comics): Like Robin Hood, Hawkeye was once an outlaw. Unlike Mr. Hood, Hawkeye used to be a carney and changes costumes on an annual basis.

Better Archer?: Gotta go with Robin Hood Here, Hawkeye hasn’t been Hawkeye in a while (though that should be changing soon) so he is probably a little rusty with the bow and arrow.

Green Arrow (DC): Oliver Queen wears green, fights social injustice, and has a bad ass mustache, just like Robin Hood. Well, ok, it’s just like Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood, but you get the idea.

Better Archer?: I might have to go with GA on this one, he has got a few more years of experience under his belt then Robin Hood.

Roy Harper (Speedy, Arsenal, Red Arrow)(DC): Trained by the Green Arrow, Roy Harper has been slinging arrows since he was a wee lad. However, is not very Robin Hood-esque in any other aspects.

Better Archer?: Again, I have to go with Mr. Hood. Arsenal is a good shot, but he relies too much on trick arrows and other weapons.

Shaft (Image): Shaft leads a team of people just like Robin Hood. Unlike Robin Hood, Shaft works for the man. Boo to you Shaft!

Better Archer?: Robin Hood. All that armor probably doesn’t help Shaft’s accuracy.

Arwyn (Crossgen): Just like Robin, Arwyn uses her mad archer skills to try and bring an evil despot to justice. Arwyn, though is much prettier than Robin Hood.

Better Archer?: Toss up.

Turok (Valiant): Turok the dinosaur hunter doesn’t really care about social inequality, chasing down maids or hanging out with a posse of bandits. Why? Because he is constantly being chased by big mean dinosaurs that want to eat him.

Better Archer?: Turok, hands down. The dude hunts dinosaurs!

Shi: This is kind of a cheat. Yes, Shi does use a bow and arrow, and she is very good with them, but her signature weapon is the nagatina. Really though, any excuse to bring Shi into a post is a good one.

Better Archer?: Robin Hood, though in a nagatina contest, Shi would rock his world.

Rainbow archer (DC): The only bad guy to make the list, I wanted to share this one with you so you could see that having a bow and arrow doesn’t always mean that you are cool.

Better Archer?: It has to be Robin Hood. No one would be able to stand the shame of losing to the Rainbow Archer.

That’s it for today folks. THanks for stopping in, and come on back tomorrow for another heaping helping of Dr. Cellus. Oh, and while you are waiting for tomorrow to come, feel free to pre-order your copy of the MYTHOI Birth TPB now on sale in our store. It’s discounted right now for those who pre-order, so get it while you can!

Hello All,

Of late, there seems to be a theme around here of bashing remakes. Now, I don’t want to be left out here, so I have compiled a list (I do so love lists) of the five best and five worst film remakes that I have seen.

Not every remake is a terrible cash grab devoid of merit. In fact some can be quite good! Here are the five best remakes that I have witnessed:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4560181344427335511

1) The Departed: The Departed is based on a trilogy of Asian films titled Infernal Affairs (pts. 1,2, and 3). I’m not usually a fan of the American Remake of an Asian film (it felt like there was a decade of American horror films made this way), but this was superb. The cast was great, Scorsese was at his directing best, and there were no creepy dead girls crawling out of televisions.

2) The Thing: A remake of 1951’s The Thing From Another World, this movie made snow, and WIlford Brimley, scary. Kurt Russell was at his bad-ass-est here, and the creature effects were excellent for their time.

3) Scarface: The original Scarface was loosely based on Al Capone, and was fun in it’s time. However, when Oliver Stone (the writer) and Brian De Palma (the director) got a chance to update the story, gone were the Capone references, and bootlegging. What replaced them is the machine gun toting, lady-tiger loving man with little friends that we all love to hate. Who would have thought Al Pacino could play cuban?

4) Munich: Munich was a remake of a Movie called Sword Of Gideon, and both movies are based on the book Vengeance: The True Story Of An Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team. This movie is flat out awesome. I don’t care how good the original movie was, this one was directed by Spielberg. Spielberg!

5) The Fly: In the Original 1958 film of the same name, a scientist and a fly switch heads. The original also featured Vincent Price. Both these are cool, but the 1986 version had Jeff Goldblum as a crazy man-fly! He vomited on( and ate) people!

A special “almost on the list but for a technicality” award goes to Batman Begins for resurrecting the Dark Knight from the oppression of Bat-nipples.

Now, while remakes can sometimes be worthwhile (just look at the list above), most of the time they crap. Sometimes, they are exceptionally crappy. And sometimes they are so tremendously crappy that they make us want to burn down the movie theater just so that no one else has to watch them.  Here are the worst of the worst:

1) Psycho: The original film is a classic. Even today, Psycho (the original one) is pretty dang scary. In 1998, someone thought it would be a good idea to remake Psycho, and the results were terrible. Like a human/ fly hybrid vomiting on you to eat you terrible. I shudder at the thought of this movie. Shame on you Universal!

2) The Wicker Man: The original film is a cult classic starring Christopher lee. The remake has Nic Cage punching hoes in a bear suit. This might sound like an upgrade, but I assure you, it isn’t.

3) Shaft: This movie was devoid of anything that made the orignal awesome. On the plus side, it did have Sam Jackson.

4) The Day The Earth Stood Still: Any time that you take a movie that has been around for over half a century, and remake it with Keanu Reeves in  the starring role, you are going to fail. This is like a rule of the universe or something.

5) Godzilla: Um, yeah.

Alright folks, that’s it for today. Have a great weekend, and good luck if your are going out in search of presents, it’s gonna be crazy!