Disney Infinity 2.0

I can’t wait to be able to play Disney Infinity 2.0. The reason I haven’t as of yet is a lack of funds. And that is the inherent problem. I enjoyed playing through the story levels and toy box mode of the first iteration, and I enjoyed the idea of fighting to collect all the unique figures to play, but my wallet didn’t – nor did my wife.

I think that, for the most part, the wives and mothers, or the husbands, and fathers, as the case may be, have put a tighter grip on the purse-string this time around, I know my wife has. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since it gives me more time to think through my purchases. It’s a neat game to play, but it can be seen as a money pit and until I can find a compelling argument to convince myself and my wife that sinking a small fortune into one game is worth it, I won’t be able to play as the Marvel heroes and villains this version has added.

-          Whalicoco

Minecraft : Mutliverse

The ever-changing landscape of what is Minecraft is, in and of itself a model of the theory of the multiverse. The PC version has a seemingly unending supply of mods and skins to change the world in any number of ways from a minor change to tweak the inventory screen, to a vast overhaul enabling totally new crafting and gameplay.

It is fun looking for changes that allow the addition of your favorite things into your Minecraft world. Want Pokémon? They’re there. Looking for Super Mario? He’s there, too. Just want to simply change your avatar to look like Link from Zelda? You can do it . . . in fact I did.

The greatest thing, in my opinion, is that this has been pulled over – to a limited extent- to the console versions. I can get on my Xbox 360 and, for a nominal fee; I can combine my Minecraft world with Mass Effect, or Skyrim. The “Mashups” as they’re called, change the textures of the blocks to simulate the esthetics of the other games. Also, included are prebuilt images from them. This allows for an immersion into mashed up “alternate reality crafts” that you can let your imagination run wild in. Included with the mashups are sets of skins to make the experience more complete. Why build a Mass Effect world without the ability to run around as Shepard? These skins extend to simple sets that are released periodically, including: Marvel properties like The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and Spiderman; simple villagers, cooks, kings; and various random games from the Xbox Arcade and more.

The excitement of squishing together your favorite things with your favorite game is difficult to beat, especially when Dr. Who skins were released late in September, and if it can be beaten, hey – all the more fun for me.

                                                                                                - Whalicoco

Disney Marvel Years Into the Merger

Several years into the merger between Disney and Marvel Entertainment and i, for one, am very excited about what has been brought (and what is in talks to be brought) to the table. What at first seemed to be the imminent "babification" of some very iconic figures, has instead turned into a serious and most lucrative enterprise.

Disney infused much need revenue but let the creative types, comfortable in their vein, stay in that vein...only now with the resources to make bold strides into the multiplex market. Long range focus, respect for the source material (if not dogged adherence) and smart choices for budgeting, direction and acting talent have proved a powerful and (seemingly) very synergistic relationship.  If nothing else, the glaring missteps (though at times well intentioned) of the past (HULK, Daredevil, Ghost Rider) appear to be drifting into the sea of forgetfulness.

I dig it, what are Your thoughts on the Disney/Marvel marriage?

~Steven

Graphic novels vs. comics

I came late to the comic book world.  Oh sure, I read comics when I was a kid, but they were usually in the Sunday paper.  One strip at a time.  Peanuts, Marmaduke, Wizard of Id, that kind of thing.  I think the first real comic book I read was Teen Titans or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, back in 1986, when my roommate gave me one to read.  Being an independent kind of guy I gravitated towards the obscure and picked up Xenozoic Tales-Cadillacs and Dinosaurs.  I never really wanted to get into the mainstream world of DC or Marvel.  Now that all these superhero movies are coming out, I am really enjoying some of the classics.  Spider-man, Avengers, Green Lantern, etc.  Now I keep hearing about Graphic Novels, WHAT?  The first time I had heard of these it was simply a comic book with no words.  Just pictures and you used your own imagination to fill in the story behind all of the pictures.  Has something changed in this genre?  Did they start adding words or was my first experience with Graphic Novels a fluke.  What exactly is he difference between and Graphic Novel and a traditional comic book?  What do you prefer and why?  

-sincerely, 

Confused in Comic Land

Heroes

Greetings All,

Steven Ware here, just wanted to share a few thoughts that i have been considering.

i saw "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" when it came out and i am very pleased to see that it is still the #1 movie in America some three weeks after its release.  There is more to my pleasure at seeing the movie do so well than just fannboy excitement, though (not sure how much more, but there is a measurable percentage more).  I am excited to see a movie that deals with the complex issues of what s of what it means to be a hero in today's society (especially here in the U.S.A.)doing so well.  i really like the fact that a comic book movie is striving to say something more than "Might makes Right", in fact this movie may come as close to saying the opposite of that sentiment than any other comic book adaption ever has (including "Watchmen", imho).

Which brings me to the question i would like to pose to You All;  In today's world, how essential are heroes?  This world seems to meandering toward chaos more and more each day, is touting the actions and character of heroes (real or imagined) akin to some kind of Sisyphusian mental torture...in a nutshell, what is the appeal of looking to the best in mankind when the worst is running rampant?  

A fair assessment, no?  But maybe the whole symbol represented in the "Starfish story" is the key to the necessity of hope - which is what heroes embody in our minds, in our souls.  The need to reach for what Abraham Lincoln called “the Better Angels of Our Nature”.  Heroism inspires heroism, hope breeds hope.  In a society inundated by anger, angst and apathy don’t Our hearts cry out for heroes?  As the world spins into shadow, aren’t we all desperately craving the light of compassion, civility and self-sacrifice?  

I submit to You that the current spate of Superhero movies is touching more than a childish desire to see Our costumed vigilantes finally robed in flesh, but the fulfillment of the yearning that We feel to see Someone overcome insurmountable odds for the sake of the greater good.  Walt Whitman said; “ I understand the large hearts of heroes, the courage of present times and all times,” .  

I salute You Captain America for doing so well at the box office, and even more so for letting us believe, if even for a little while, that there is better in Us and that We can aspire to that better in Ourselves.

~Steven 

SUPERHEROES

Who doesn't love them?  I think that even if you weren't into super heroes before,  you are now! The Marvel universe has grown in the movie industry the last few years and these movies have reintroduced these amazing characters to generations young and old! Those that have read the comic books have a deeper connection (like Jason), those that have seen the movies (like me) enjoy the new adventure and the way the others light up as they pop off the page. I love the fact that my whole family enjoys it all!

~Michelle Kuder

Comics and Movies

In the next soon-to-be-released edition of KudeeCast, Jason makes a comment about how comic book movies are often frustrating because of the many ways they deviate from the original comics. I couldn't agree more.

Since its release in 2005, I have hesitated to watch the Fantastic Four film, partially because of this reason. The film's main villain is, of course, Victor von Doom, AKA: Dr. Doom - one of the most feared and powerful villains in the Marvel Universe. But rather than staying true to Doom's origin as a poor child from Latveria who grows in both knowledge, technology and mystical power to become the villain we all know today, the film depicts Doom essentially as an American billionaire (if it wasn't for the fact they say he's from Latveria, his accent and demeanor certainly wouldn't give it away) who comes to power in the same cosmic accident that creates the Fantastic Four.

Twists in the plot such as this always seem to anger the true comic fans. Whether it's something great like distorting Dr. Doom's origin, making Mary Jane Watson Peter Parker's High School crush or killing off Venom after 15 minutes of screen time, or whether it's something minor like making Tony Stark's butler Jarvis a computer or giving Wolverine a leather jumpsuit instead of his classic yellow spandex (okay, maybe those aren't minor).

While in some cases, I have to admit, the changes are not a big deal, and in fact, are (I hesitate to say) necessary for translating the story from the printed page to the silver screen, most of the time I'm still left asking, "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" I mean, would it really be so bad to try and get the story right?

And I've barely even mentioned what is perhaps the biggest tragedy of them all - killing off the villain at the end of the film. This is fortunately one area where The Fantastic Four film didn't go wrong, but yet so many comic films do. One of the greatest joys of the comic book world is seeing the hero and the villain locked in a seemingly never ending battle. While at the end of the day we always want to see Peter Parker trump the Green Goblin, or Wolverine get the better of Sabertooth, or Batman send The Joker to Arkham Asylum for the umpteenth time - we DON'T want to see these bad guys put away forever. You have to admit, when Gobby comes back from the dead, you might be saying, "Oh no Peter, watch out," but there's at the very least a little piece inside that's excited because it means you get to see the conflict all over again.

In the movies, though, dead means dead, at least most of the time, so when we see the hero put the villain six feet under, we know they're not comming back, and we know that we're missing out on seeing another great battle between the two in a future film.

I write all this knowing it isn't going to change anything - and that as comic book movies that distort the comics continue to come out, I will still keep paying $8 a pop to see them on the big screen. But at the same time, I keep in the back of my mind the resolution that should Hatman & Indigo, or any other 3Twins story, ever make it big enough to get the green light for a film version, I will NOT let them turn Hatman's head into a Fedora, or change the animal parts of Indigo, and I will certainly not let them kill off Glomo, or The Evil Zap Man, or Super Cold Frozen Man, or any other villain that we didn't kill off in the comics!

Well, that's all, thanks for letting me rant.

-Steve

P.S. For more of Jason's take on this, be sure to watch the next installment of KudeeCast when it airs soon on 3Twins.net

What we mean by "Family Friendly"

When Andy, Jason and I first started writing stories for 3Twins.net, we made the decision that we were going to maintain a family friendly atmosphere on our website. But the question is, what exactly does that mean?

I'll start with a little background. During the Silver Age of Comic Books (1956 - circa 1970) comics were much more clean than they are today. This was largely due to the fact that the newly created Comics Code Authority (sort of like what the MPAA is to film) imposed somewhat strict regulations on the content of comics. With The Code in place, most comics strayed from graphic violence, sexual content, foul language and drug use.

Throughout the 1960's, however, an underground comic book market began to grow where The Code did not apply and comics were free to explore whatever sort of content they pleased. Additionally, in 1971, Stan Lee and Marvel Comics were approached by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare to do a comic that would combat illicit drug use. Lee accepted and did a three part Spider-Man series showing the harm of abusing drugs. The Code, however, did not approve, but Marvel published the comic anyway and gained widespread acceptance.

The unfortunate side-effect of this action, along with the rise in the underground comic book industry, was that The Code began to undergo a series of revisions that loosened up its rigid standards. Throughout the 70's and 80's, grittier comics began to emerge, such as Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, depicting harsher displays of violence, more sexual content, and drug use. Today The Code has mostly gone out of favor as many comics do not even apply for it and even Marvel has abandoned it in favor of its own ratings system. So while many if not most, comics maintain a family-friendly element - the door is now open for comics to take on any terrain they wish.

So what does this have to do with 3Twins? Well, as I said, with the decline of The Code came an increase in violence, sexual content, inappropriate language and drug use in comic books. This means that many comics are no longer suitable for children and that many adults who do not wish to look at this type of content will avoid them altogether. So when Andy, Jason and I began writing our own stories, we decided that we wanted to make content that anyone could view and enjoy without having to worry about these things.

We believe that a comic can be a multi-layered and deep story that adults will appreciate without having to delve into the use of violence, swearing, sex and drugs. However, we knew that some potential viewers might see our approach as too soft and they might assume that "Family Friendly" means that our target audience is children and parents. In reality, though, we want anyone who loves comics and cartoons to love our stories.

Thus we have always sought to maintain a delicate balance in our comics in order to keep them both appealing and appropriate for all ages. This is not always an easy task, but we believe that keeping this standard in mind helps us as writers to not simply go for the easiest joke or device to draw in viewers. Ultimately we believe this will help us to be better writers and offer you better stories.

~Steve

Upcoming Hatman stories

I've tossed it around in my head a bit and I think that the whole idea of this blog thing is to give you fans a sneak peek at whats coming up, so I'm going to list the titles of our upcoming Hatman issues, leading up to issue 50 with a very brief teaser of what to expect.




Issues 37B-39: Back to the Beginning parts 2B, 3 & 4 (Hatman and Indigo have traveled back in time to prevent the Terrible Trio from stopping Henry Hattington becoming Hatman, will they succeed and if they do, will they create more time travel troubles that need to be fixed in order for the present to be restored? One of the parody covers will be of: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure)




Issues 40-43: Superheroes (As the Damsel family gets ready for a graduation party for Blonde finishing college, Hatman recieves an invitation to a Superhero convention. A new characer will be revealed in this story! One of the parody covers will be of: Giant Size X-Men #1)





Issues 44 & 45: Many Happy Returns... (The Terrible Trio are at it again as they attempt to steal the leprechauns ruining Hatman's birthday party. The parody cover will be of: Super Smash Bros. Brawl)





Issues 46-48: The Revenge of The Big Giant Pumpkin Headed Man (Halloween at the Bill farm, need I say more? One of the parody covers will be of: The first Scooby Doo Movie)





Issue 49: A Hattington Christmas Story (Hatman recalls a christmas from his childhood, this issue is loosely based on the family classic "A Christmas Story". The parody cover will be of: A Christmas Story)





Issue 50: Attonement (In our milestone 50th issue, expect the unexpected. One of characters will never be the same again! We will feature 50 variant covers some by YOU!)





-Jason

Comic layouts

One of my many, many tasks at 3twins is doing the comic layouts. I am not the only one who does this, but part of being the "big cheese" is making sure things get done, and if everyone else is too busy to do something, then I take that "thing" on myself.

Now, I'm not complaining, I actually like doing this, although, it is quite creatively taxing. You see, we write Hatman & Indigo in a script format because we have actors who come in and read the lines. However, since it is a comic book it needs to be layed out as such after the actors have read their lines. I know this is different than say, Marvel Comics, does it. But they don't have actors record audio for the characters, do they?

Anyhow, I take the script and break it down into pages and panels with little descriptions of how I see the panels in my head. Sometimes the artists actually follow those, other times they use them as a guideline. I call this part the "Text Layout".

We have a nifty little program called "Comic Life" its only $30 for the delux version and I highly recommend it for anyone even remotely interested in creating their own comics (there is a version for Mac as well as Windows). It is an incredibly helpful tool for drafting what I call the "Panel Layout".

For the Panel Layout, I put the script with the completed Text Layout on one monitor and Comic Life on another monitor. (I also highly recommend multiple monitors for anyone who would like to work in any type of media, it makes life so much easier, but if you don't like that sort of thing, it's your call. :) ) I read through the "Text Layout" and either choose from the many template layouts that come with "Comic Life", or tweak my own to fit the script. Sometimes, I realize that something won't really work the way I had layed it out in the script, so I tweak it a little bit. After I get the Panel Layout finished, I send it onto the artist who does the really magical part, the art.

I have a lot of these to do, right now, so instead of working on them, I blogged about it. I guess, my stalling is pretty much done and I'd better get to it, huh?

-Jason