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Shut Up, Internet! #3
This is the third in a series of posts on internet trends I think are just plain stupid. Please be advised that my opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Mike Bobbitt, Off the Mike, any other contributors, my mother, or my wife (maybe).
A couple of quickies:
First!
Every comments section, especially if you read Ain’t it Cool News, starts off with the “First!” nimrod, often with several. What are you hoping for? A pat on the back? I have never seen a “First!” post followed by a “Nice One!” post. I’m sure your mom’s very proud of you.
Twitter Hastags on TV
Why do all of my favorite shows now have hashtags watermarked in the corner of the screen? If I’m smart enough to use Twitter, I can probably figure out that if I want to talk about or search for Bones, the hashtag is #Bones.
Once again, the lowest common denominator determines what happens online. Idiots. I’ll be over here listening to comedy podcasts and blogging about why I hate you all.
More Misadventures: Holy Toledo and First Day in La La Land!
Last week I was Connxtions in Toledo. The time before this was awful because they hired a new manager who easily was the biggest pile of shit ever to run a club. Well, at least that I came across. He abused his power to bully people, ban them if they didn’t kiss his ass, and just be an unbearable tyrant. Just about the entire staff that had been there since I started comedy has left during his reign of terror. The good news is that he’s gone and has been replaced by Dave from the Lansing Connxtions. Dave, like everyone else at the Lansing club is super awesome and is there to be both professional, but also to have fun because it is, after all, a comedy club. The staff that’s there now had nothing but awesome things to say about him…well…the staff that was there when the last guy was there had nothing but nice things to say about him too, but they had that panic look in their eyes like someone in a kidnapping or terrorist video. “Everything is fine. I like it here. I do not miss you dirty imperialist pigs.” Dave is great, and the fact that he trained with Tina in Lansing makes me positive that he’s going to continue to do well.
There is a couple who have come out to see me every single Friday that I’ve performed in Toledo. They’re an older couple named George and Sharon and they’re absolutely wonderful. Sharon waits for me outside to greet me and let me know if there are any issues with George’s health. They sit front and center every time and are huge fans of the comedians they like. George is not shy to show when he’s not a fan of someone too! He’ll sit stone faced, arms crossed and glare at a comic. He and Jason Russell went at it one time during a show and it was one of the funniest things I ever saw. I love Jason Russell. He’s so laid back and positive. George was having none of it, so Jason directed everything at him in a very good natured way. George simply turned his chair around and faced the back of the room while Jason finished his set!
This past week I was with Felicia Gillespie. If I don’t know who I’m working with, I try to look at some of their clips. Most times, I look at one and say to myself, “I get it.” But with Felicia, I watched everything she had on Rooftop Comedy. She’s smart, clever and super funny! She’s got a very deadpan/aloof style that I find really fun to watch. Additionally, she was very nice off stage too. I feel like I’ve gotten to be a pretty good judge of character based on watching someone’s clips.
After the Toledo run, I slept two hours and headed to the airport to fly out to LA. I’m here now at my allegedly 4 star hotel that I won in a super low bid on Priceline. Turns out I’m not a 4 star hotel kind of guy. There’s mandatory valet parking for $20 a day, I can’t walk two feet with a $4 bottle of water without some bellhop asking if he can carry that too my room for me, and it takes forever to wait for the elevator because I’m on the 11th floor. I’m much more of a Holiday Inn Express or Baymont Inn kind of guy. I know for next time. Err on the side of familiarity!
If a movie took place in a comic book store, chances are it was filmed at Meltdown Comics.
Last night, even though I hadn’t slept for more than two hours and an occasional nod off on the plane when I immediately wake myself up from snoring, I forced myself to go to Meltdown Comics to do the Matt Mira’s Day Off Show. Matt Mira is one of the cohosts of the Nerdist Podcast, which I listen to regularly. They normally have a show on Wednesdays I believe, but Matt just started this Sunday show about a month ago. It was a blast! My only regret is that I didn’t get there earlier. At 5:00 they had a writer’s panel with people from Community, Parks and Rec and Wonderfalls. Wonderfalls?! Christine and I love Wonderfalls! We own it on DVD! I can’t believe I missed it. I missed it because I was hanging out in my hotel room…I have no excuse for missing it!
Matt Mira’s Day Off is cohosted by Matt and Paul Cibis. The two of them open and close the show together and then alternate when bringing up the 25-30 comedians who are doing three minutes each. They have great chemistry together and really kept the show rolling. For the most part, everyone was really respectful and professional and stuck to their time. I can only think of one person who maybe went over a minute, but that seemed like an honest mistake. The show was a blast! A lot of the people went up and did material based on Father’s Day. One guy did a performance piece that I thought was pretty brilliant where he was imagining himself in 20 years and the kind of father he’d be at his son’s little league baseball game. I did “Jokes That Don’t Work in the Midwest” and did my traditional Mike Bobbitt thing where I got sidetracked and started yelling about something random. In this case there was a sweet old lady who seems like she just stopped in with a couple other people. I don’t think they were there for someone specific. I think they just wanted to watch a show. A lot of the comedians commented about how they felt uncomfortable performing in front of her. So my distraction thing happened when I bent down to explain a joke to her and then realized that in the 1960s she was the age of all the comedians, so she’s probably experienced way more than they had. I don’t know. I did well. All the comedians were super nice. I passed out a couple stickers so people can keep in touch. They pointed me in the right direction for where I should try to get on with Friday. Apparently if I play my cards right I can hit two stages on Friday.
Mike and Matt!
I’m kind of shying away from the clubs this week because my feeling is that a club here is possibly the same as a club anywhere else. I really want to hit these alternative rooms and underground shows. Last night inspired me more than I think I would’ve been had I gone to the Comedy Store instead.
I wanted to go see Conan O’Brien today, but it turns out that’s not a thing you can decide you want to do at the last minute! It’s completely sold out for the rest of the month. Oops! I have a bunch of friends here I’m going to see, but you’ll have to wait until next week to find out how that goes. Do you think the front desk will think I’m weird if I go to the grocery store and bring back food for the week? I spent $15 on a medium sized water bottle, sugar free Red Bull and a king sized Payday yesterday. I can’t afford this. Here’s what’s on the room service menu for breakfast. Continental Breakfast: Juice, bread or muffin, coffee for $12.50. Actually…the rest of it isn’t too bad…the beverages though are insane. It’s $3 for juice. And you know that’s just a tiny one serving size juice. I can get a pot of coffee for $11.95. I’m going to the store, buying liquids and will bring it back here and put it on ice. I wonder how much the ice costs. It used to be a liquid. Jesus!
Movies I Won’t Be Seeing This Summer
Summer 2011 is shaping up to be a pretty awesome time for movies, especially if you love all things nerdy. Who ever thought we’d see Thor, X-Men First Class, Green Lantern, Harry Potter and Captain America movies all in one summer? It’s a great time to be a geek. Sadly, though, into every summer falls a few garbage family movies. As I’ve stated before, I’m the father of two young boys, and am bombarded with advertisements for things people are trying to sell them. Lately, it’s been movie ads.
These are worst I’ve seen this year:
Mr Popper’s Penguins
What a piece of crap this looks like. I can hear the Hollywood brain trust coming up with this one:
“They’re penguins, What should we call them?”
“Well, what do they do?”
“One is kind of loud.”
“Loudy!”
“One bites Jim Carrey a lot.”
“Bitey!”
And so on… My 5-year old could have come up with more imaginative names. Yeahbsolutely.
The Zoo Keeper, or Night at the Museum at the Zoo:
“Hey, kids like the King of Queens guy, right? …and funny animals? …and T.G.I. Fridays?”
The girl won’t marry him because he’s a zookeeper? Really? Don’t you have to have a degree to do that?
I’m going to make a bold prediction about this one. He realizes the blonde girl is a bitch and ends up with Rosario Dawson. Credits.
I will not be taking my family to either of these CGI animal turds. Luckily, they haven’t shown interest in either, I guess I’m raising them right.
Phoo Action Pilot
When I’m in hotel rooms I tend to spend a lot of time on Youtube or Netflix. One of the first things I wrote about on this site was stumbling upon the pilot for the Jamie Hewlett created show “Phoo Action”. The BBC aired the pilot, but didn’t pick up the show. That’s unfortunate because what follows is a crazy mix of Tank Girl, Aquabats, Bruce Lee, Dance, and of course a sprinkling of the great Carl Weathers. Check it out!
Comedy Contests: Good or Bad?
I’ve been on the fence for a long time about comedy contests. One thing that’s never changed is the fact that I don’t like performing in contests at all. They stress me out and they pit me against my friends. I’ve always felt like comedy is supposed to be a fun thing, but contests always sucked the fun right out of it for me. My question is this. Is that the fault of the contest or my own?
Until just recently, like with most things, I blamed my contest anxiety on an outside source. In my brain I realized that contests are subjective and at the end of the day they really didn’t matter. And while I believe a lot of comedians already know that and they’re able to say that to their peers, it’s hard to get us to feel that. There’s a huge difference between knowing something and feeling something. I know there isn’t a monster behind me on the basement stairs, but I still feel the need to run up every time.
I’ve come to the realization that how I process stress and disappointment is all on me. Contests are not inherently evil. Currently a contest is running at Joey’s Comedy Club in Livonia. The payoff is pretty big. The winner gets to go to Los Angeles and hit some pretty impressive stages. The judging is done pretty fairly, although it’s impossible to completely judge something fairly when what’s being judged is entirely subjective.
Jeff Dunham had a television show because a lot of people find him genuinely funny. That doesn’t mean a television executive thought he was genuinely funny. That just means a television execute knew there was a market for thinly veiled racism hidden within a puppet show.
I think contests serve a greater good within the comedy community. One local teacher slams contests universally if the contestants are required to bring people. Why? I honestly don’t get that. For example, with this Joey’s contest I’m reasonably sure each person probably has to bring a handful of audience members. I think that’s entirely fair especially considering how great the prize is. Stage time is readily available pretty much every night of the week in the Detroit scene. There are no bringer shows other than contests. To hit the bigger stages in places like New York, you have to shill tickets on the street and hope enough people come to see you so you can actually get on. The only hoop you have to jump through to get on stage at any of the clubs here, including the prestigious Comedy Castle, is you have to make a phone call and ask. Maybe because we have it so easy most of the time, some people overlook that when they’re asking to bring people in order to compete for fabulous prizes.
Yes, clubs don’t run contests out of the graciousness of their heart, they run contests because it’s good business. What’s wrong with wanting to run a good business? Comedy is a business and contests are part of that business. Summers are slow and you’ll notice every year when the weather gets warm, Joey’s starts the season with a contest. They also follow that contest with a month or so of specialty shows as part of their mini festival where every local comic is welcome to pitch a show to the club.
Comedy contests pit friends against each other, but only if those friends let that happen. Remember that a contest is just a silly type a show and don’t worry about who wins…even if it’s you who wins. No contest is truly fair because there is not one definitive formula to determine what is funny and what isn’t. Don’t let a contest crush your ego or kill your drive. They simply don’t matter in the big picture.
If you don’t like contests, don’t enter them. That’s the nice thing about them. No one is going to hold a gun to your head and force you to enter. Oh, and if someone does, then don’t even worry about winning. Just remind yourself that you were performing under a great deal of stress what with that gun to your head and everything.
I think the greatest thing contests do is they teach us to be funny quick and work under pressure. They’re also useful in keeping our short game tight. I have to do an eight minute set next week. If I were the kind of guy who liked to do contests, I’d probably feel more confident right now.
I’ve won contests, I’ve lost contests. It doesn’t change who I am. At the end of the day, I know I’m funny for what I do and for my audience. Will I be funny to everyone? No. Nor would I want to be. To be accessible to everyone is to be bland and middle of the road. As more unique as my voice has gotten I feel like there’s less of a chance for me to win contests and that’s okay. I’m not running out to enter any either. When it’s all said and done, a contest doesn’t change who I am. I do.
Rock Star of Illustration: Matt Busch!
Matt Busch is cool. Yeah, lots of people are cool, what makes Matt so special? I believe that Matt, along with comedians like Patton Oswalt and filmmakers like Kevin Smith brought a certain amount of awesomeness to nerd culture. They brought nerdiness out of the basement and into the sunlight.
If you’ve been to any comic book convention, you’ve probably seen Matt Busch. There’s usually a horde of fans around him because he’s personable, charismatic and has time for everyone.
At his heart, this is the coolest thing about Matt Busch, he owns his inner nerd. On the outside, he’s a cowboy hat wearing tattooed rock star, but on the inside, he’s still that five year old kid seeing Star Wars for the first time in 1977 anxiously waiting for the action figures to come out.
Shut Up, Internet! #2
This is the second in a series of posts on internet trends I think are just plain stupid. Please be advised that my opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Mike Bobbitt, Off the Mike, any other contributors, my mother, or my wife (maybe).
Grrrr...
Zombie Apocalypse
I know everyone loves zombies lately. They’re everywhere – movies, comics, books, video games. I get it. People like to be scared, and they make an easy villain – they can be faceless hordes, or they can be your mom, as the story calls for. The problem I have is the numbskulls out there who are seriously preparing for the possibility of zombie apocalypse.
I’ve heard it on podcasts, and all over the web, some idiots feel that a zombie apocalypse is not only possible, but inevitable. Do they go so far as to actually stockpile supplies and weapons? I don’t know, but they read things like the Zombie Survival Guide as if it were a self-help book.
They build things like this:
Click this pic for more on the zombie-proof house.
The fervor has even lead the CDC to actually release a document on their zombie apocalypse strategy, which I’m convinced they only cooked up to shut these ass-hats up. Find it here. (They do make light of it a bit).
To all you zombie fans: enjoy what you love. Watch the Walking Dead. I have my nerdy passions, too, but I don’t look to they sky expecting that one day the Avengers are going to fly in to town. Please don’t be one of these idiots. Go play Plants Versus Zombies, it’s pretty fun.
If you are one of those that think this is really going to happen, I’ll give you some advice I learned from the gang at Mystery Science Theater 3000, “Repeat to yourself it’s just a show, I should really just relax.” While you’re stockpiling rations, I’ll be on the internet looking for cosplay pics from the next comic con.
Shut Up, Internet! #1
This is the first in what I’m hoping (planning) will be a series of posts on internet trends I think are just plain stupid. Please be advised that my opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Mike Bobbitt, Off the Mike, any other contributors, my mother, or my wife (maybe).
Planking
Um... OK?
This is what we are doing on the internet for fun lately? Laying down on things? I’ve seen a few dumb memes and trends on the internet in my time, but this is up there with the lamest. Planking is people laying face down on things, trying to look like a plank, just like the name implies. I guess the object is to look like something that shouldn’t be able to hold you up is holding you up. I don’t know, I don’t get it. Maybe I’m just another out-of- touch old white guy.
Why?
Dude, you're not even trying.
The internet is a magical place, full of wonderful things, like limitless porn and cute kitten videos. That is where I will be spending my time, not looking at pictures of people laying down on crap.
I Interview my Mom!
For my birthday I thought it would be fun to interview the person who brought me into this world – my mom! Sometimes I feel ripped off because other comedians seem to use comedy to cope with parent issues. I don’t have any. My parents were perfect. My dad worked had to provide his family not only with everything we needed, but pretty much everything we wanted too. I found my interest in sci-fi and fantasy through my dad and as a kid I was seeing Star Wars opening weekend and going to hobby shops/comic book stores. It’s in directly through my dad, that my friendship with Gwar began.
My incredibly perfect parents.
My mom is a super mom. She’s the mom that all of my friends were jealous of. When she had me and my brother, she quit work to raise us full time. During the years that my brother and I were in the same Middle Schools and High Schools, she volunteered at the school clinic and was known to be the cool mom who let kids come in and lay down for an hour if they had a headache…or a test they didn’t study for.
Her way of raising me and my brother, who by the way is also pretty spectacular in himself even though he and I are just about polar opposites, was not only to love us unconditionally, but to also trust us until we gave her a reason not to. I’m glad to say that my brother and I both turned out fine. Neither of us do drugs, whore around or light homeless people on fire. Sure, we got into the mischief that young boys tend to get into and I’d be a fool to think my mom didn’t know, but we both always made sure that we never got into so much trouble that it would disappoint our parents or make them stop trusting us.
So, when I interviewed Nate Fridson, who also comes from a very solid family, I touched on wondering where we get our motivation to do comedy. I firmly do believe there is something a little unhealthy about wanting to make a group of strangers like us night after night. For me, I think it’s because I miss that feeling of being the most important person in the world that my mom gave me as a kid. I’m like a junky searching for that high that he on the first go around. I’m hoping having an audience love me enough will make me feel like that unconditional love I had from my mom as a kid.
I’ve always been lucky. I come from a supportive family. Even to this day, I schedule myself in Holly, near where my brother Brian lives with his family, so my brother can come out and see me for his birthday. My wife Christine is super supportive and works hard in order for me to pursue my dreams. As I sit here on the morning of my birthday transcribing this interview, I realize that I’ve always had it pretty lucky and that’s the best birthday present there is.
My mom and I sat down over a game of Scrabble and I interviewed her not only to have a chance to talk about me a little bit, but also to distract her so that I could win a few games because usually she destroys me! Read the rest of this entry
5 Hour Energy Drink
In case you missed it, here’s the commercial I recently did for 5 Hour Energy Drink.
While standing in the hardware store in costume waiting for the lights and camera to be set for the next shot, a customer asked me where something was. I had no idea what the thing was that he was asking for and I told him so. He looked at me like I was the worst employee ever. I explained that I was in the commercial. He continued to look at my with disbelief. It wasn’t until he walked away that I realized he must have thought that the store was showcasing their worst employee in a television commercial. I wanted to run after him and tell him that I wasn’t really an employee and that I’m really a comedian, but instead I pulled out my notebook and started writing a bit about it.
The crew for this thing was pretty fantastic and detail focused. The colors in each shot were important. No labels of real life things are showing. The angle I held the “hero” bottle and opened it at the :24 second mark had to be perfect. It was a pretty fascinating experience.
And for the record, I’ve used 5 Hour Energy Drink and it’s good….particularly the Pomegranate.
Oh yeah…and to nerd out even further, I love it that my first shot is a subtle version of the famous Chief Brody Jaws shot!
Kung Fu Panda 2 Review
This weekend I took my kids (3 and 5 year old boys) to see Kung Fu Panda 2, which, as the TV ads think is very important to remind me, stars Jack Black as the lead character Po.
In this sequel, Po and the Furious Five must defend China against the evil peacock Lord Shen, his secret weapon, and his army of wolves. Po is a kung fu master straight from the beginning of the movie, and while he bumbles through parts of his adventure, his character has changed grown up a little since the first movie. Of course, though, Po must learn a valuable lesson about himself and kung fu in order to save the day. It’s not the most original plot, following the first one’s formula pretty closely, but it’s a fun movie to take the kids to.
Evil, thou art a peacock.
The movie delivers on beautiful animation, cool action sequences, including a fun chase scene through the city, and the usual over-the-top kung fu fights, including plenty of Furious Five action. Of course, it’s a comedy, and there are some good laughs in there, too (thankfully, a few less easy fat jokes than the last one). The flashback sequences deliver some handsome stylized 2D animation, which I liked as a device to show kids the difference between present day andPo’s memories.
Several jokes are recycled from the first movie, though not as many as you might expect from a kids’ animated movie trying to stick to a formula. It seems pretty obvious, too, that they’re setting the franchise up for another sequel at the end of this one. It’s also worth sitting through the credits, there is no Skeletor-type post credits moment, but the entire sequence is shown against a pretty cool changing art backdrop.
Jack Black is in this movie!
Overall I enjoyed it, and my boys loved it. I had a hard time keeping my enthusiastic 3 year old in his seat during the fight scenes. If you or your kids liked the original, I recommend seeing the Kung Fu Panda 2.
Book Review: Tina Fey’s “Bossypants”
Tina Fey writes like a person I’d love to sit down and talk with. She’s silly. She’s self aware. She’s lyrical. She’s amazing.
Bossypants chronicles Fey’s life in show business from her humble beginnings as the night box office manager at a youth theatre to being the creator and star of “30 Rock”. It’s not only a great look at show business and following your dream, but it’s a great look at show business and following your dreams through the eyes of a woman.
I guess how a few weeks ago when I pondered the notion of white privilege, I overlooked until my friend Germaine pointed it out, that there’s also a great deal of male privilege in the world. While I don’t necessarily think of Tina Fey as the funny lady who created a great television show, she and most of entertainment apparently does. I don’t agree with all of the ideas she presents in the book, but then again as a dude, I probably have little evidence to support my disagreement.
There are a lot of great chapters for navigated not just show business, but life. The chapter titled I Don’t Care If You Like It was particularly valuable to me. She used Seasame Street logic to explain how to get ahead in career by going “over, under or through obstacles”. Bossypants has a whole slew of life lessons in between the jokes. Like the show she’s created, the comedy comes at you in pretty quick succession. Fey’s a strong writer of sketch, television and now you can add books to that list.
Whether it be talking about the preparation that goes into shooting magazine covers, breast feeding, or her concerns with portraying Sarah Palin, Fey writes with unabashed candidness that’s so completely endearing.* The book is thoughtful, but never afraid to embrace potty humor like in the way she describes babies. “They’re more than just adorable little creatures on whom you can blame your farts.”
One of my favorite written comedy devices is the use of footnotes. Douglas Adams was a master at them when he wrote the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Here, Tina Fey uses them just as effectively and hilariously.** I strongly recommend reading this book to everyone. It doesn’t matter if your a fan of Fey’s work or not, it’s just a really well written book about getting ahead in business, juggling responsibilities and rising above adversity.
* Of course I’m just assuming that because I’m taking Fey at her word. Maybe she’s like a WWE Superstar’s book where later we find out that she wasn’t a well adjusted famous person at all, but a pain pill popping adrenaline junky with a great ghost writer. Fey and Poehler would make a great tag team. Ooh, they could have a match against Wiig and Rudolph!
** I’m not nearly as good at it, but then again this is a first (only) draft and I’m not sweating it.
Hey Kids… Podcasts! Part 3
Mike and Kobe have recommended their favorite podcasts in previous posts, but I’d like to bring your attention to a few shows myself. These are fairly popular shows that feature more non-professional performers. Please note, all these podcasts are explicit and probably not for listening to while the kids are around.
The Geekshow Podcast: Recorded in Salt Lake City, the Geekshow features a large and sometimes changing cast of panelists who discuss the latest in comics, movies, TV and other pop culture topics. The panel will be the first to remind you not to take your fandom too seriously, they certainly don’t. The show features local Salt Lake City morning radio personality Kerry Jackson, and a couple professional movie (Jimmy and Jeff) and television (Scott) critics. The real reasons to listen, though, are the two regular guys on the show, Lee and Shannon. Check out an episode or two and you’ll see what I mean. This show is definitely NSFW and hilarious.
Tell ‘Em, Steve-Dave!: Yes, these guys have been in a few movies, but they are far from professional actors. The cast of this podcast include Walt Flanagan and Bryan Johnson, who have been featured in most Kevin Smith movies, and their co-host, Brian Quinn. These guys are funny. Having been friends for many years, these guys know how to push each others’ buttons, and do, to great comic effect. It’s a fun show, definitely worth listening to for the banter, bickering and wide range of topics they discuss.
The Panels on Pages POP! Cast: The POP! Cast was born from the Panels on Pages website, a geek review site, and the online community it has spawned. Join Lee, Jason and Jason, and sometimes Jose or any of their other cohorts as they discuss comics, movies, toys and general geek nonsense. These guys are another group that doesn’t take themselves or their fandom too seriously. Listen in as they discuss any number of topics, including semi-regular games of “FMK” (Fuck, Marry, Kill). Additionally, they have a whole weekly schedule of related podcasts they drop into their iTunes feed, on more specific topics like movies or pro wrestling.
The Mediocre Show: Broadcasting from Philadelphia,PA, the Mediocre show has been around since before podcasting was cool. Hosted by Eric Tomorrow, the show has had a few different co-hosts, but has hit its stride with its current cast, including Eric’s wife, Hope, and Tha Mike, formerly of the Awful Show. There is a reason these guys have gathered such a rabidly loyal fan base. They include their listeners in the show, and interact with them regularly, never acting like they think they are better than them. The show is also a fun listen, often discussing current events, pop culture, making fun of Myspace “musicians” and expounding on their deep love of barbecue. Usually clocking in at 2+ hours an episode, prepare to kill some time laughing with the Mediocre Show.
Captain America Movie Toy Line Review
Fuck Yeah!
It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I’m a Captain America nut. He’s been my favorite super hero since before I could read the comics I picked up every week from my Grandpa’s book store. Imagine my elation when I heard they were finally going to make a proper big budget movie starring my hero, directed geek demigod by Joss Whedon. Of course, big super hero summer movie means dedicated toy line.
The Captain America toy line from Hasbro follows the model Hasbro set up when they made Iron Man 2 toys last year, two separate lines of 3-3/4” action figures, one based on the movie, and one based on the comic book version of Cap. The movie line has yet to hit stores, but last week the comic series started popping up on shelves at retailers everywhere. So far only the first four basic and three deluxe figures are out, along with a few vehicles and role play items.
These figures are nice. Like the Hasbro Marvel Universe and Iron Man lines, they boast excellent articulation and beautiful likenesses of the characters. The toys combine collect-ability and playability very well, with multiple cool accessories.
So far I have picked up the Winter Soldier and Battlefield Captain America figures, and am very please with both. The Winter Soldier comes with three guns, and has holsters for both of his hand guns. He also comes with a winged rocket pack, adding a cool play option for kids. Battlefield Captain America comes with two guns, his old-style triangular shield, and a removable helmet. The shield can easily fit on his arm, or on his back for carrying. Both are lovely figures, with very nice sculpting and detail, making them very true to their comic book likenesses. Some of the other figures have gimmicky shields, which collectors and purists won’t be happy with, but add a playability factor for kids.
Battlefield Captain America
Winter Soldier
The deluxe figures come with accessories for added play value, but aren’t patently goofy like so many other lines can be. There is a Parachute Cap, one with a winged jet pack, and a Fortress Assault Cap. The Fortress Assault version is the goofy one of the bunch, with Cap in red armor and carrying a missile launcher.
Deluxe Wave 1
Future waves include characters that have been overlooked by Hasbro in the Marvel Universe collection, including Crossbones, U.S. Agent, the Red Skull and Hydra soldiers. One can only assume they were holding them back, knowing they would be making this line for the Captain America movie.
Crossbones
U.S. Agent
A few minor complaints, though – the paint apps can be a bit spotty, so you need to look the figures over before buying to make sure you get a good one. Also, The gimmicky shields are a bit silly on some of the figures, I would prefer U.S. Agent and Heroic Age Cap with their standard shields to display in my collection.
Heroic Age Cap
Ultimate Cap
The role play items or kids are pretty cool, too. They include a shield that shoots little disks, a standard Frisbee-like shield, a mask, and a full costume.
Overall, I love this toy line. Yes, it has its goofy kid stuff in it, but mostly it is very collector friendly. I will be buying many of the figures, and am especially looking forward to Crossbones, who I was never able to get the Marvel Legends version of. My kids will also probably talk me into picking up many of the role play items for them. This is definitely the best movie tie-in line this summer, easily besting the Thor and Green Lantern lines. Hopefully, the line sells well, and we will see more comic characters pop up, like Batroc the Leaper (I can dream, can’t I?).
Michigan’s Funniest Comedian – Mike Green
Mike Green is the funniest friend I have. And I feel so fortunate that I am able to call him my friend. Mike Green on stage is simply amazing. Mike Green off stage is just as amazing, but in an incredibly dark sort of way. Taking a road trip with Mike Green is like watching a marathon of the British Office. He shares these incredibly dark and personal stories that wind up ending in a laugh. That laugh serves as such a relief too! Sometimes he’ll tag the story with a side note that brings you right back down again. He’s engaging. He’s kind. He’s thoughtful. Between Mike Green and Bill Bushart, I consider myself lucky to have had these two guys who have been around a lot longer than I have to help guide me along the way both professionally and personally. I hope you like this interview I did with the great Mike Green.
One of my inspirations for wanting to create my website is yours. I remember when I was starting off in comedy, I went to your site and there were things to do there, like the quiz on how to be a comic.
I like my website. It’s become more of a hobby. Even if it’s just to make it look decent, I like to work on it at least once a week.
How do you manage your time?
I’m horrible at it. That’s my shortcoming in stand up, my ability to manage my career, have a family and do all that. This taught me to be organized and I just muddle through.
You’re easily my funniest friend, but do you think it’s that inability to be organized and manage things is the reason you’re not also my most famous friend?
I know exactly what you’re saying. I love Steve Iott and John Bowman. I think Heywood Banks is brilliant. When you see these guys and how hilarious they are, you have to wonder how come everyone doesn’t know how good they are? Why aren’t they super famous?
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Off the Mike 