Digested Digest #13 (8-18-98) ----Contents---- 1.)OMEGA's Ramblings 2.)Web Site Showcase 3.)Review: The Hakkenden -Anime 4.)Official AIC News -Anime 5.)LSH: Spoilers from San Diego 6.)Batman Beyond! 7.)Funny Horoscopes 8.)101 Things we've learned from The X-Files 9.)Wizard's Top Ten (12-17-96) 10.)DC Comics Trivia Questions (5-19-97) 11.)DC Comics Trivia Answers (5-19-97) ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.) OMEGA's RAMBLINGS Next Monday, I return back to school to start my Seinor year of High School. But, the good news is I will continue publishing Digested Digest for as long as I have readers to read it. Hay, why wouldn't I? I get tons of e-mail each day, and what better way to save the 'best of the best' than to publish it in DD for others to read and learn. So enjoy, it's because of you that I continue doing DD. (Plus I really like doing it). Now a shameless plug for my 99.9% complete web page empire…. Please, visit OMEGA's VANISHING POINT at http://welcome.to/vanishing.point/ Once there you will find over 2 dozen topics including comic books (Rip Hunter, Chronos, Time Breakers, Who's Who, Supergirl's Wally); Anime (Oh My Goddess!: The Mini-Adventures); Digested Digest, The Circel of Friends Mailing List Short Story, TONS of web site links, and tons more. http://welcome.to/vanishing.point/ ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2.) Web Site Showcase Yggdrasil Earth Support Service (Y.E.S.S.) http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/1640/yess.html ~The first thing you see is a Very well designed banner, with very pleasing colors, and a great page layout for the anime/manga Oh My Goddess! ~OMG! Anime General info, voice actor infor, and Trivia! ~OMG! Chronology Guide for the DH release, the TPB, and how the relate to the Japanese release. ~Info on the Creator and the latest info on OMG! ~The place to join the OMG! Web Ring and surf the ring members pages. Other Cool Places--------------------- +Blitz's Tenchi Hideout - Download the Tenchi-Muyo RPG and the SNES emulator at http://www.intercom.net/user/tfclough/tenchirpg.html +"The Official DiC Sailor Moon Page" - This page is a lie but it still is cool for a laugh. http://www- acc.scu.edu/~dhauck/dic/root.html +DC 1976 calendar pin-up site - Never seen the 1976 DC Comics Calander before? This is the place to go to see all the months pictures. http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/6680/DC1976.html Want your Web site showcased? All you gotta do is send me your URL and the title and I'll showcase it. Send to ablarnold@msn.com ------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.) Review: The Hakkenden -Anime THE HAKKENDEN 7 VHS Tapes (Subtitled $29.95, Dubbed $24.95) This weeks review is an oldie. But, because Pioneer is once again making the whole anime series available for the market, what better time for a review. The Hakkenden is a very complex series that spans 13 OAV episodes (on 7 VHS tapes) and if you watch them out of order you will be VERY lost. The basic story consists of 8 'Dog Warriors' who must band together to break the age-old curse that binds them all to their fate. The basic story comes right from the 19th Century novel of the same name which has never been translated due to its length (somewhere over 130+ chapters spanning 3 generations of characters.) The first season (episodes 1-6 / videos 1-3) focus on Shino as we are introduced to the legend and mystery of the series. We meet but a few of the warriors and in my opinion these episodes are some of the best interms of story continuity. The second season (ep 7- 13 / videos 4-7) started with a hitch, the creative team changed hands and a new director had different views on where the series should go. So the first 4 episodes are stand alone stories, with the 10th episode preluding the final battle. Also during the course of the series the 'Art Style' changes quite a bit, with some scenes in OAV quality and others in 'early 80s TV quality'. But the quality of the story is always at symbalistic greatness. The Fourth volume comes with Episode 7 and 'The Hakkenden Digest' which gives a 30 minute rundown of the first 6 episodes and the information that you need to know inorder to understand where the new season is coming from. The Digest does give a few spoilers that shouldn't of been mentioned at the time. The last 7 minutes of the Digest consist of the 7 minute long version of 'Blue Skies' (Season Two's Ending theme) set to clips from both seasons. There is no new animation in this special and consists of English Dialogue only. There is also a 'quickie' version of The Hakkenden anime called Crimson Blade: The Mix. It is a 20 minute music video digest of the series' most dramatic and gory moments set to 'Pulse Pounding' British Dance Club Music. I was hesitant to get this video, but I am glad I did, because it really is a great video. It contains 3 music tracks and encompasses the entire series in no general order and will shake the house. It has a $12.95 retail price, but I found it for way less than that. In conclusion, if you like Highlander, cultural history, gory sword fighting, or just a great story that makes you think, the The Hakkenden is for you. And unlike other movies of its' kind (Ninja Scroll) this series contains NO Nudity, just nonstop intrigue. Contains gory battles, and is recommended for people 16 years or older. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.) Official AIC News 8/16/98 The Bubblegum Crisis page is now officially open. Another version should open at http://www.kids.ne.jp/megalocity/ soon. This may be the last update for the English side of the AIC website since management is planning on cutting the site down to a smaller size and only maintaining Japanese pages. The CD Library and Video database will probably be cut as well. Any suggestions/complaints can be sent to aic@anime-int.com and they will be passed onto management. ~Source: http://www.anime-int.com/news/officl.html What does this mean? This means that a direct link between the fans and the creators will be severed due to a language barrier. Also one of the best places to go to sample music from Anime CDs will be severed, and the opening theme movies will be gone. Many people have responded to this news already and every letter does matter. If you have ever been to AIC's Web site, then you really owe it to yourself to e-mail them and ask them to keep the English version open. http://www.anime-int.com Other News---- Tenchi-Muyo In Love 2: Tenchi The Movie 3 is going to be the LAST Tenchi production for the foreseeable future. The movie is due out in Japan at the beginning of December, but that isn't final. Since Pioneer has stopped production on their Laserdisc line of products there is a very good possibility that many of the Anime movies of old will be re-released on DVD, but this is just speculation. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.) LSH: Spoilers from San Diego First some non-spoilers... ? Paul Levitz is... let's say “dissatisfied”... with the current trend in the Legion books towards lots of characters and subplots and dragged out storylines and such. “Inaccessible to new readers” would be another pertinent term. ? I loved Colleen Doran's comments about Infectious Lass, terming her as (paraphrased) “a superhero with cooties”. (Colleen in general was vibrant and exciting at the two panels I saw with her. Very cool lady.) ? I should have photos of my Star Boy outfit at my web site once Leman Yuen gets his prints developed. Now for some “light” spoilers from San Diego. (“Light” meaning that I kind of flipped through the previews at arm's length so as to not really see very much.) Read at your own risk... ? Vi's new romantic interest appears to be Chuck Taine ? Tony Harris will be doing painted covers for Chronos starting with the issue following 1 Million. Paul Guinan had a copy of the original cover for that at his booth, and it had Triad (among other DC characters). With luck, it will show up as a pinup at some point. ? L* #67 guest-stars Kono, apparently taking up doing some crystal cutting work. Sprouse's cover also features Ferro, Element Lad, and Star Boy (whose electrical vision appears to be going bonkers) ? Sprouse also had another photocopy of a cover/pinup/poster, this one including Thunder amongst the various members. I think the big lightning bolt works reasonably well with the stripe motif of the other costumes. ? Oh yeh, one more item: Molecule Master is back, in the Vi spotlight issue. ~Source: James Drew member of the Legion of Super-Heroes ML. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 6.) BATMAN BEYOND! BATMAN BEYOND by Rob Allstetter http://www.mania.com/tv/features/batmanbeyond.html?ban=73 Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett are at it again. The producers of the Batman and Superman animated series on Kids' WB! have a third show, Batman Beyond, that will air Saturdays at 9 a.m. beginning Nov. 15. The show's origins are somewhat dubious -- a mandate from the network to revamp Batman, with no doubt some influence for new toy lines -- but Batman Beyond will provide the network a potent triple dose from the three creators this fall. "We brought Batman back to Kids' WB! and they liked it was back and it was getting good ratings," Dini said, explaining why there is a new version of Batman coming to TV. "They were also looking at ways to get the Batman franchise going and fresh again, with the idea that we could do another season of (the regular) Batman every year or every other year." "One of the things that the president of the WB network told us is that Batman, even though it's highly rated on Saturday mornings, has demographics that skew really high, from about 16 (years) and up," Timm said. "They would like some to somehow lure in younger viewers, even though they know flat out that Batman's never going to be Winnie the Pooh." But what else could the producers do with Batman? "At first, when they pitched the idea of varying Batman -- they had all sorts of suggestions, a lot of which sort of paralleled the Elseworlds books -- we sort of took some of their suggestions and put together our own," Dini said. "After getting over the initial grousing about it, we came up with what became Batman Beyond, and we're all pretty happy with it." The series, originally called Batman Tomorrow, is set in the continuity of the Batman TV series, about 50 years in the future of Gotham City. Bruce Wayne is now an old man. He hasn't been Batman for years because he is no longer physically able to fight crime, and he broods in his ghostly mansion on the edge of town. Terry McGuiness is a 17-year-old high school senior who, after his father his killed, seeks to avenge his death and discovers that Bruce Wayne once was Batman. Forming an uneasy alliance with Wayne, Terry dons a high-tech costume and becomes the new Batman. The producers liken the Bruce-Terry dynamic, the series' emotional lynchpin, to the old samurai turning over his sword to the young warrior -- only with a lot of sparks. "They don't really get along," Timm said. "They kind of have a co- dependent relationship. The kid needs Bruce Wayne because Bruce Wayne's got all the crime-fighting gear and Bruce Wayne needs the kid because he realizes he can't be Batman any more and the kid actually can be Batman and help his crusade against crime. "I really love the old Bruce Wayne character; he's fascinating. He's like 80 years old and pissed off all the time. He's still got the moves. If the kid ever talks back to him, Bruce Wayne can have him down on the ground with a cane at his throat in about two seconds. But he can't keep it going to be Batman." Terry, who, in his civilian identity serves as Bruce's assistant, is not about to take any guff, either. "At one point, Terry says to Bruce, 'Call me Robin and I'll slug you,'" Dini said. Ultimately, though, they wind up respecting each other. "It's a partnership formed out of necessity," Dini said. "It does revitalize Bruce Wayne and it also brings some direction to Terry's life, but there will always be some tension between them." Terry is now the Dark Knight, but he's not as grim as Bruce Wayne once was. "But he's certainly not going to be Spider-man either," Timm said. "He won't be a happy-go-luck super-hero, but he will have a little bit of that feel to him. He's not going to be quite as closed- mouth, short-sentenced, beat-the-crap-out-of-the-villains type of guy. He's a pretty tough little guy. I don't want to say he's going to quip all the time, but he will have more of a sense of humor." The producers said that both Alfred and Commissioner Gordon are dead. Former Batgirl Barbara Gordon follows her father as Gotham City's commissioner, and the status of Dick Grayson (Nightwing) and Tim Drake (Robin) is being left open. "As far as Nightwing and Robin in Batman Beyond, we're kind of saving them for season two," Dini said. "We're still figuring out what happened to them. We really want to concentrate on the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Terry McGuiness. We got their relationship down, we got some real energy between the two of them, then we could go on to figure out where everybody else is." Dini said one of the real treats about Batman Beyond is the new designs created by Timm and crew, including the futuristic Gotham City. "It's more of a high-tech city," Timm said. "For want of a better comparison, it's a little Blade Runner-like, although not nearly as depressing. It's more futuristic than even Metropolis is at the moment. Again, bigger scale. If our buildings were 200 stories tall before, they're probably double that now." "The city also has a lot of multi-cultural touches," Dini added. "That's indicated by the number of signs which will be printed in difference languages. It reflects that Gotham has really opened up as far as people from all over the world go." But don't expect the series to be hung up on techno-gobbledygook, with virtual-reality crimes. In fact, many elements of the series will revolve around Terry's high school. "I don't think any of us are thinking of this show as being a big, futuristic sci-fi half hour," Burnett said. "We're looking to keep it a recognizable future. The emphasis, really, is still on the personalities and characters and stories that arise from them." Look for mostly new villains on the show, including a version of the Royal Flush Gang. "We've always liked their motifs and that flying cards could fit in a futuristic Batman," Dini said. "Not everyone will be flying around like 'The Jetsons,' but we'll have a few extreme cases." For the most part, the producers are very deliberately avoiding past Batman villains. "There are going to be elements of certain things we've done in Batman," Dini said. "There's a street gang called The Jokers. They've sort of taken elements of the Joker's persona and turned it into this violent street gang. But the Joker himself won't appear. "We really wanted to develop new villains and give them new powers and abilities -- try to make them twisted and psychotic the same way the traditional rogue's gallery was." Also keep an eye on a new character, Derek Powers, chairman of Powers Industries, which has consolidated with Wayne Enterprises while Wayne has neglected his company. "He is not a very nice man," Dini said. "He's going to be a major obstacle." The producers are juggling Superman, Batman and Batman Beyond, putting Batman on the back burner for now, with next season's Batman shows already completed. "It's a choice of working on a staggered schedule or else bringing in two new crews to do these shows," Dini said. "And, at that point, we're afraid that quality would fly out the window, and we want to be as consistent as we can with these shows. "Fortunately, because we were involved in the creation of all three shows, we can shift gears fairly easily. Our thinking is never too far from what these shows are." So, despite the original mandate, the producers have been allowed to create an exciting new world for Batman, a world in their vision. "One of the very nice things about the Warner Bros. animation unit is they look at you to experiment and be creative," Dini said. "They're not blocking you into one particular thing." ~Source: The Article of the same name from AnotherUniverse's Web Site. Reprinted, in full, minus the bold letters, and the pointless links. http://www.mania.com/tv/features/batmanbeyond.html?ban=73 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 7.) Funny Horoscopes Aries (March 21 - April 19) -Good day to begin writing that book you've been planning—“Growing Radishes Indoors”. It's an idea whose time has come. Taurus (April 20 - May 20) -Beware of lightning, today! Either stay indoors, or leave your aluminum foil hat behind. (I know, I know. It's hard. But I've learned to live without mine, most of the time.) Gemini (May 21 - June 20) -Today the universe will stop expanding, and start contracting. You will be the only one who notices. Also, you will develop a strange desire to wear golf shoes. Cancer (June 21 - July 22) -You will discover that you can raise one eyebrow by itself, but not the other. This will aggravate you, and you'll spend the majority of the day in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to correct the situation. Leo (July 23 - August 22) -You will develop a severe craving for peanut butter cookies, today. You know—the fresh homemade kind, that you squish down on the cookie sheet with a fork, making a cross-hatched pattern? They are incredibly yummy when they're still warm, like that, huh? I don't know where your craving will come from. Possibly something you read. Virgo (August 23 - September 22) -Today you will have the eerie sensation that either you are going crazy or you are being watched by something indescribably evil. Luckily for you, you're in fine shape, mentally. Libra (September 22 - October 22) -Let a smile be your umbrella, today. Tomorrow: letting a grimace be a pair of hip-waders. Scorpio (October 23 - November 21) -You will be intensely jealous of a rival today. Finally, you will realise that it isn't doing you any good to be jealous, so you'll switch over to envy. Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21) -You will rest peacefully, and sink into a strange dream. In the dream, you will be playing an odd version of soccer with huge clear balloons, and people will be cheering you on from the sidelines, who are dressed in white formal attire. Don't go into the light, ok? The extra point isn't worth it. Capricorn (December 22 - January 20) -Good time to invest in stock. (The canned kind, not the dry kind.) Aquarius (January 21 - February 18) -Today you will make new friends, one of whom will eventually borrow a large sum of money from you, prior to skipping town. Try to avoid fatty foods. Pisces (February 19 - March 20) -Today you will find a note, folded into quarters, and torn from a steno pad. Surprisingly, it will refer to you. Even more surprisingly, it will refer to you as the object of adoration, someone whom the note's author wishes to engage in “snuggle bunnies” with. Sadly, it will be impossible to determine who wrote it, and nothing will ever come of it. ~Source: Hikari Miraino member of the new Sailor Moon ML. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 8.) 101 Things we've learned from The X-Files 101 Things we've learned from The X-Files (By XFBeck42, InvsiGhent, Sunny1151, Foxtrot318, HOLLYJO3, CalistaSM, BeccaS, SunKiSt792, Marielle15, NICAPbabe) 1) There is always something to do on Sunday nights. 2) Diet soda laced with digitalis isn't good for you. 3) Keep far, far, far away from a man who looks like he has marbles in his mouth. 4) People who smoke Morleys are not to be trusted. 5) It's Blundht with a silent H. 6) You should eat more than half a cream cheese bagle with lite cream cheese. 7) Stay away from people that deliver pizza 8) Don't trust anyone named the Stupendous Yappi 9) Crickets are not part of a healthy diet 10) Be suspicious of untied shoes 11) He didn't have a lightsaber 12) You don't want to take a vote 13) Weird things happen at 10:13 and 11:21 14) 9 is a bad number. [Ex. room 9 in BB, missing 9 min in Pilot and Max] 15) The one armed men just might've killed Dr.Kimbal's wife. [Fugitive reference] 16) You can find just about anything on the net. 17) You can get great informants by shining light on the masking tape X on your window. [you know you've done it. Don't deny the truth.] 18) Not everything dies. 19) It's okay to spend time in the basement. 20) Don't make bonehead Internet connections. 21) Deny Everything 22) Resist or Serve 23) Believe the Lie 24) Cell phones will work anywhere 25) The couch isn't a bad place to sleep 26) You don't have to have fish to have a fishtank 27) Anything can be related back to the X-Files 28) Pencils make good ceiling decorations 29) Even your partner will shoot you sometimes. 30) Don't hibernate under escalators 31) If you meet a bunch of guys with only one arm, get away as fast as you can. 32) Obsession is good. 33) “Cerulean blue is a gentle breeze....cerulean blue is a gentle breeze....” 34) Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. 35) You can never be too paranoid. 36) BITE ME!!! 37) Being a loser by choice is good! 38) Cute one armed villains are not to be trusted. 39) Be careful of a bunch of old guys in suits. 40) It's not because he's a big macho man. He's just afraid your little feet won't be able to reach the peddles 41)”Life...is like a box of chocolates; cheap, thoughtless, and perfunctoral” [big words, bonus] 42) don't worry. They're just exuming...your potato. 43) Don't try and put fish hooks all over your body 44) Never go near doggie doors at night 45) There are lots of references to real life in Moby Dick. 46) Lots of good romance happens in hospitals 47) Get a good leash for your Pomeranian or he'll be eaten by an alligator. 48) Don't overstep your position in the chain of command. 49) Things are NEVER what they seem. 50) If someone says they trust you, they really mean they love you (according to shippers). 51) When someone asks you if you've lost weight recently, that's not what they really mean . . . 52) Short red-haired FBI agents and light cream cheese do NOT mix. 53) Always check the date on your orange juice container before drinking it. 54) Bathrooms are NOT the place to be (in Chris Carter land, at least). 55) The truth is out there, but so are lies. 56) El Chupacabra es mas de solo un bebedor del sangre de las cabras (en el mundo de John Shiban). 57) Finding computer passwords is easier than most people think. 58) Portapotties are highly dangerous. Approach them at your own risk. 59) Never buy a woman a birthday drink 60) We are not who we are 61) Always carry two guns. 62) A NASA keychain is a nice present. ;D 63) CSM is the father of our country. 64) It's never just a “nice trip to the forest.” 65) Don't play with matches (or fire for that matter). 66) Even if she looks like your sister, acts like your sister, and sounds like your sister, she's not necessarily your sister. 67) A bunt cake mends all wounds. 68) Don't get carried away with your informant. 69) Don't get carried away by your informant. 70) The answers are there, you just have to know where to look. 71) Different things happen in other zip codes. 72) Some people are just late bloomers. 73) There's always a reason to live. 74) Every fingerprint is individual. 75) Always use the crosswalk. 76) If you want to live to see your next birthday, don't call Mulder, ‘Spooky.' 77) If you want to live to see tomorrow, don't call Scully, ‘Mrs. Spooky.' 78) Salad forks can be dangerous things. 79) Don't shoot yourself in the foot. 80) Try not to shoot your partner in the foot (aim for the shoulder). 81) Enjoy the local salmon. 82) The laws of physics don't have to apply. 83) Get your $29.95's worth. “731” 84) We eat fish, and fish eat us. 85) When you've heard the truth, look for the answers. 86) Never underestimate the power of a pencil. 87) Sometimes the only sane response to an insane world is insanity. 88) Celebrate birthdays in dog years. 89) Take time to experience the air show. 90) Sometimes hypothermia is a good thing. 91) It's okay to be Canadian ::ouch!:: j/k 92) Dreams are answers to questions we haven't learned to ask. 93) Propane tanks look a lot like fat little white Nazi stormtroopers. 94) The inventor of the flush toilet was named Thomas Crapper. 95) Darkness is our enemy (Darkness Falls) 96) Toilet locks are our friend. 97) You can never be “2SHY” 98) You can reach any of our favorite agents at an area code of 555. 99) Beware of games of Russian Roulette. 100) Those spots are probably just mosquito bites, but then again...they might not be... And the 101st thing we've learned from the X-Files... 101) Trust No One! ------------------------------------------------------------------ 9.) Wizard's Top Ten (12-17-96) Alfred's Top Ten pet peeves about Batman... 10. Leaves "guano" all over the manor 9. Keeps wondering what it is with the kid sidekicks. Can you say "Michael Jackson?" 8. He keeps giving his *$&% secret identity out to the first woman he sees in every movie!! 7. Skid marks (and I don't mean from the Batmobile) 6. Bat laundry. Those tights don't always smell so fresh. 5. Despite therapy, Bats STILL pees the bed. 4. Paying the long distance bill for call to '1-555-GODDESS' 3. Sure, blowing up a toxic waste factory is fine, but who gets to wash the Batmobile afterwards? 2. That thing he does with the bataring looping around running criminals? Who do you think he practiced THAT move on? 1. Bruce may be the best detective in the world, but he still misses the toilet. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 10.) DC Comics Trivia Questions (5-19-97) DC Comics Online Trivia Questions (5-19-97) 1. Numerous blondes were members of DC's 60's adventure teams; name the Sea Devil who filled that role. 2. Original team survivor Robotman met Negative-Woman, Tempest and whom upon his return? 3. Will Magnus blamed what for Platinum's unrobotlike attraction to him? 4. Myra Mason was the secretary for what cosmos-spanning hero? 5. Even after years of dating, she never expected Barry Allen to show up on time! 6. Each zeta-beam trip to Rann and his beloved Alanna began where for Adam Strange? 7. Traveling from time to time was something Bonnie Baxter shared with which adventurer? 8. In a major step for women of her day, she became the CEO of her father's aircraft company. 9. Now too young for her, Ray Palmer was once married to this lady lawyer. 10. "Golden Age heroes" were parents of the Inferior Five; who is the offspring of Princess Power? 11. Sam Simeon and Angel O'Day were partners in what type of business? ~ Source of Questions and Answers are modified from the original from which appeared in: BobRo's Trivia Corner a part of DC Comics Online E-Mail Newsletter. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 11.) DC Comics Trivia Answers (5-19-97) DC Comics Online Trivia Answers (5-19-97) 1. Judy Walton 2. Celsius 3. A faulty responsometer 4. Space Ranger 5. Iris West 6. The southern hemisphere 7. Rip Hunter 8. Carol Ferris 9. Jean Loring 10. Dumb Bunny 11. A detective agency The theme, the whole theme and nothing but the theme? All the questions involve women who made their debuts in issues of SHOWCASE! ~ Source of Questions and Answers are modified from the original from which appeared in: BobRo's Trivia Corner a part of DC Comics Online E-Mail Newsletter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for reading. ~Back Issues can be found at http://members.rotfl.com/OMEGA/ ~To unsubscribe send an unsub e-mail to ablarnold@msn.com That's it. See you next issue. Ja Ne. Adam “OMEGA” Arnold Ablarnold@msn.com ; ICQ #7737442