Reaction - GitS2nd Gig - 7th DTS Volume

A while back (a long while, actually) I posted a short picture post about what EVERY DVD publisher should be learning from... especially if they want to curb the piracy running rampant in North America they would like to have you believe (and believe it could be a lot worse - trust me, I know; I'm Chinese). ^_^

Anyway, here's the link to that older post about a Ghost in the Shell volume I bought back then.

Back then I didn't have any idea what Bandai and Manga Entertainment had in mind with those crazy tin cases with the circular window on the front. I did however like the goodies they came with - sometimes being music CDs, sometimes being little collectible knick-knacks. I did however appreciate the full-colour artwork printed on the back of the tins...

Well, the final volume is out and like the first season, it came in an oversized tin. I won't rehash what AnimeOnDVD.com had to say, but I'll say this much - I'm very impressed with their packing solution. This is arguably the coolest keep-case for a DVD set I've ever seen - it's particularly impressive after the rant I had given CPM for not even bothering to release Patlabor consistently after only 1 volume. Here're some pics:

As you can see, Manga Entertainment did not dismiss the individual cases - the final tin includes the 7th tin and had padded slots to fit all of the previous 6 volumes - very stylish. And it was a nice touch that the followed up with the circular window thing on the side. How cool is that.

As for the show itself - I dunno what the reviewer on AnimeOnDVD was on at the time, but I can say it was an amazing ending that featured a great send-up of the opening scenes from the classic 1994 film adaptation of Shirow Masamune's masterpiece. I'm glad I stuck around these past couple of years it took for the DVDs to all come out.

Washing media

Scott's comment reminded me of this one story my mother once told me.

See in Cantonese, the word for "erase" or "delete" is the same as "wash" and there was this old dude who my mother knew in her youth that attempted to "erase" an audio cassette... with soap and water.

...ah the shortcomings of adaptive linguistics. ^_^;

PSA: clean your machine

The other day I was at visited my folks and they asked about the anti-virus software I had previously installed (I reassured them that the pop-ups and all that activity were perfectly normal and that the software was just doing its job and probably caught something malicious).

Which further reminded me to come home and run a spyware check since I hadn't done so in a while. 220 days, to be exact, according to Lavasoft's Ad-Aware. I tend to believe I run a fairly clean machine. I don't visit new web-sites very often. I don't install a lot of demo software (and when I do it's from a reputable source like Gamespot). In general, I haven't had any attacks in years.


But oh I was in for a surprise - turns out that not only did Ad-Aware pick up something, but so did Spybot. Most were cookies, but there were a couple of cases classified as "critical." The point is, don't become a spy-ware snob like I did: run the scans every few months. It doesn't take long - maybe 15 minutes at most. That's like saying, let the scans run while you go take a shower and get changed or something. Really, it's not that big an effort to put in to keep the dangers of lost performance or bandwidth at bay.

Wildstorm #1 (and the last)

I don't know if I hate when they do this or not. But DC saw fit to publish one of those "guide" books to preview upcoming projects for the Wildstorm universe revision. And I picked it up thinking it was actually a part of the yet-undisclosed "big event" that's been talked about forever.

So what is it? It's a series of 1 or 2-page pin-ups with short blurbs about each of the new titles coming in the next few months. I have 2 problems with that.

First, the artwork isn't particularly representative of the regular artwork to expect from said titles. This is a problem dating back to the early 90's when Wildstorm was still on the independent Image Comics circuit and putting out the occassional pin-up book (which were chock-full of hit-or-miss art). I mean, I would've prefered seeing a pin-up by Jim Lee himself for the WildCATS write-up.

Second, as for the blurb - these bits of info I could've already picked up from various sources on the web. Face it, the days of running around between friends and the local comics shop for info are long-gone. We're in the information age and people get their hands on complete movie scripts long before the movie comes out - it's no different for the comics industry.

On the bright side, there are 2 short-stories that set up the latest Stormwatch title and a new title and overall were reasonably entertaining. Plus it has the gorgeous Art Adams cover I posted above (I wish it didn't have a speech balloon on the actual printed cover). This will likely get bagged, boarded, and never read again.

Gen13: Not the I.O. I recall

I seriously cannot remember thinking International Operations being as f*cked up as this.

No really, back when Wildstorm was still something only the most hardcore of us fans will remember as "Aegis" IO was introduced a government agency with questionable motives at best. But I don't recall them selling to the highest bidders who chat on-line like teenagers. Not sure where they're going with this (but I have high hopes for both Gail Simone who did wonders for Birds of Prey andTalent Caldwell who reminds me a little of Joe Maduira in his X-Men heyday). What they have accomplished so far is to make me absolutely hate IO - which is probably the point.

I mean, erasing their own operatives when their "terms" are "up?" Brutal. If you ask me - there's two types of violence in media - the kind that's visual and the kind that knots your stomach... this book was the second kind. And that, in its own way, is actually a good thing - the same way Gundam is chock-full of military-themed violence (well, the oldies, not the new crap that's on nowadays).

The big question - is it a remake? Sorta. We've been promised for months that it wasn't a complete reboot of continuity. I'm the sort of reader who's willing to roll with it. For now, I'm giving the new Wildstorm a tentative thumbs up.

As a side note, I did read Wetworks last week. It was great to see Whilce Portacio at work again - I've missed his erratic "sketchy" pencil-work... it's almost delicate. The new series, unlike Gen13 seems more sequel than remake so... I'm really curious where this will all go (especially since Whilce himself blogged earlier that some of the confusion stems to real-life developments such as botched shipping schedules). *crosses fingers*