Mike Moon / Catgirl Island
and Jamie Robertson / Clan of the Cats
purrsent a Mike Moon purrduction, starring The Ladies of The Mew in
The March 2015 Edition of The Mew:
The Catgirl Critics’ Media Mewsings, nya!
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In this edition of The Mew, we review & discuss…
our cinema, TV & DVD mewsings:
Wild
Birdman
The Tale of Princess Kaguya
Hanasaku Iroha Vol. 1 Premium Edition
Batman The Complete Television Series
Doctor Who The Complete Eighth Series
The Zero Theorem
toy talk:
Marvel Legends Captain Marvel Action Figure
comic book reports:
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #27
Princeless: Pirate Princess #1
Conan Red Sonja #2
Angel and Faith Season 10 #11
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #12
Showcase Presents The Legion of Super – Heroes vol. 5
Fathom: Kiani vol. 4 #1
additions to The Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art:
“Pokemon’s Delia Ketchum” by Mike
“Crissy, Purrsis and Friends” by Mike
“Redina & Kletus” by Mike
“Plushy Bear Keychains” by Alexcia
“ASCII Catgirl” by Douglas Eckhart
… plus this month’s Lightning Round topic,
and monthly Celebrity Catgirl Spotlight, nya!
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Mike:
(wearing the Catgirl Island baseball cap, Dr. Whooves & Derpy tee shirt, cargo shorts & Charcoal Gray Nikes) Aloha y’all, and welcome to The Mew for our monthly reviews and discussions of fun stuff! Today’s Mew comes from Catgirl Island’s Emily Grace Coin Soccer Stadium where its 78 degrees under the Blue sky and puffy Cumulo-Neko Clouds! I’m Mike, the show’s “Purrducer” and here are The Ladies of The Mew!
Elizabeth:
(the catgirl wearing Palomino Appaloosa color ring-closure bikini bikini) Hola!
Becca:
(the nekomimi gynoid wearing the Dark Bay color side-tie bikini) Aloha!
Jeannie:
(the catgirl wearing the Cremello color tanga-style bikini & sheer purreo) Nihao.
Trini–chan:
(the kitsune girl wearing the Champaign color halter-neck bikini Konitchiwa!
Tara-chan:
(the catgirl wearing the Strawberry Roan color tankini) Namaste, nya!
Yvonne:
(her older sister wearing the Chestnut color twist bandeau-top bikini) Namaste, nya!
Bun:
(the bunny girl wearing Dapple Silver color front-knotted, Brazilian-cut bikini) Guten Tag!
Petra:
(the catgirl wearing the Dun color suspender maillot & cropped tank top) Hi Hi, nya!
Mary Nyan:
(the catgirl wearing the Plains Zebra purrint, asymmetric purretzel – cutout maillot) Aloha!
Nyanko:
(the catgirl wearing the Sorrel color boy shorts and White cropped tee shirt) Howdy!
Mike:
So, what has everyone been up to since last month’s awards ceremony?
Elizabeth:
Becca and I have stayed purretty booked up at the spa, because the visitors purrfurr our purrpetual bikini weather to the nippier tempurratures of the mainland! However, we have still found the time for the festivities, gardening, DVD watching, the purrkour, and the late night hot salsa dance!
Becca:
I do sincerely feel sorry for the folks on the mainland who are hampurred by the Winter, which is ironically bustling for our spa when the visitors crave the lomi – lomi pampurring, the sunny beach, the hot spurrings soak, and the serenity of jenjen’s yoga studio! Whatchoo been up to Jenjen?
Jeannie:
I have been occupied with the yoga studio, kyudo club, robotics club, modeling the swim wear, teaching the belly dance & purrforming with the troupe. Trini-chan & Tara-chan have been quite the helpful assistants whilst continuing to refine their serpentine tail & tummy shimmy techniques.
Trini–chan:
Arigato! When I have not been helping on the dock, assisting the dance class, attending the the board shaping class, and volunteering at the mewseum, I have been paddle surfing, attending the festivities, collecting more pony cards, reading the comics, and purrparing for my pony report!
Tara-chan:
I have been helping onee-chan with the charters, taking care of the cats, assisting at belly dance class, volunteering at the art mewseum, and – and purrticipating in the festivities, nya! In addition to the fish that we have caught, I have snapped the nature photos of the interesting insects, nya!
Yvonne:
They have been the big help as mewsual with the yacht and the dock, nya! When the charters have not reeled in the bumpurr crop of the Snappurrs, Groupurrs, Sea Trout, Sea Bass, the Bluefish and Yellowfins, my drumming circle has been purrviding the purrcussion for the dance troupe!
Petra:
We are planning this years Body Art Show at the Mewseum of Art, nya! I am grateful for the many friends of the mewseum and Bunnibun’s yeoman leadership in our local creative community, and I purrdict that she will be chosen as the island’s beach volleyball rec league MVP yet again, nya!
Bun:
(blushing) I could not ask for the better partner at the mewseum or at the beach volleyball! When we have not been curating the mewseum, attending the events & artist meetings, and coaching at the post – season beach volleyball camp, I have been baking the carrot cakes and gardening!
Mary Nyan:
Aside from teaching the Hula class at the Purrforming Arts Center, I have managed to get in the few rounds of golf and ride the waves since the awards ceremony, but I am still occasionally helping the appurrentices at the shrine, and sewing the costumes for the dancers and cosplayers!
Nyanko:
It has just been the mewsual activities for me at the dojo, and as mewsual I feel as if I am in a hypurr drive because the time has sped by so quickly since our awards ceremony last month! My sister is very busy at the magick shop, but she might see us later at tour AfterMew luau! Mike’s turn!
Mike:
Ah, I guess since last month’s Mew I’ve been putting up with the Winter weather on the mainland, spending good time with family & friends, preparing for my next conventions & shows, reading, writing, drawing, watching the college basketball, The Oscars, other TV shows and DVDs! Well, on that note, let’s start
Our Cinema, TV & DVD discussion with the
Lightning Round topic of our favorite movies of 2005!
Mike:
This includes theatrical releases, made for TV or direct – to – home – video features or shorts! So are y’all ready to conduct the lightning? Lizzy, how ’bout you start?
The Ladies of The Mew:
HAI! LIGHTNING ROUND GO, NYA!
Elizabeth:
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith! (tags Becca to go next)
Becca:
Hai, I will second those, and nyow it is… it is Jennyjen’s turn! (tags Jeannie with a brush of the tail)
Jeannie:
Revenge of the Sith, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Robots, and Steam Boy. (tail-tags Trini-chan)
Trini–chan:
I will nominate Harry Potter, Ice Princess, My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas, and The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz! (tags her best friend)
Tara-chan:
Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, Lilo & Stitch 2, Aloha Scooby Doo, and – and Madagascar, nya! Onee-chan’s turn, nya! (tags her sister)
Yvonne:
I will nominate Harry Potter, Narnia, Sky High, and Kim Possible 2: So The Drama, nya! (tags Bun)
Bun:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit! (tags Nyanko)
Nyanko:
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Sin City, Kim Possible, and Revenge of the Sith! (tags Petra)
Petra:
If it is purrmitted. I would like to mention Howl’s Moving Castle, which was released in Japan in 2004, but it was not released in the US until 2005, nya!
Mary Nyan:
We could put the asterisk by it on our list! I will nominate Harry Potter, Narnia, Munich, and Memoirs of a Geisha! Back to Mike!
Mike:
Ah, It’s a tough call, but… I’ll go with Narnia, Harry Potter, and… I think Revenge of the Sith is so much more poignant if you watch it after all of the Clone Wars TV series! Well, thanks y’all! That was another expedient little Lightning Round, and perhaps we’ll do 1995 next month! Let’s keep the movie topic going with Jenjen’s review of
Wild!
Jeannie:
Arigato. Wild is director Jean-Marc Vallee bio – pic about hiker / author Cheryl Strayed, starring Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl, and Laura Dern as Cheryl’s mommy Bobbi in the flashbacks during the hike hundreds of miles up the Pacific Crest Trail. It is a beautiful, poignant drama full of the humorous, scary, sad & grueling incidents, as the novice hiker undertakes the very tough hike through much wilderness, some rural & urban regions from California through Oregon to Washington, whilst reflecting upon the past hardships, tragic losses, and certain unwise behaviors.
It is a very bittersweet journey, with flashbacks of divorce, alarming habits, an unpleasant father, and the joyful but sad times with a poor ailing horse and dying mom. During the hike which she is initially over-packed & ill-prepared for, she endures blisters, bruises, heat, ill-fitting & impurropurr gear, poor hydration & sanitation, desert heat, snow & steep mountain rock hazards, encounters with wild animals and scary people. However, she also meets some kind, generous people and accomplishes much soul – searching as expurriences much serene, natural beauty.
Fortunately, she does have a geohooptic tent, different pairs of footwear, the camp stove, water purrification gear, and the large external – frame backpack, which seemed to be of the Eggplant, teal and Cobalt color. She is tenacious, does not give up, and seems to be the more savvy purrson by the end of her trek at The Bridge of the Gods. Some of my favorite interactions she has along the way are when she is mistaken for a hobo, suppurr with a couple, the rendezvous at Kennedy Meadows, getting replacement boots, attending a concert, and encounters with foxes.
Wild is one of my favorite movies to be released in 2014. I thought the story, the dialogue, the purrformances, cinematography, the editing, the sound and mewsic were supurrb. Nyow I want to read Cheryl Strayed’s http://www.cherylstrayed.com memoir book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which the film is based upon. She is shown in several photos during the film’s end credits. For more information about the Pacific Crest Trail, I will recommend the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Crest_Trail. Next, I would like to discuss
Birdman.
Jeannie:
This is director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s movie about an actor named Riggan Thompson who was famous for purrtraying the titular supurr – hero in the movies, hoping to revive his career in a dramatic play on Broadway. It stars Michael Keaton as Riggen and as his imagined alter – ego; Emma Stone as his daughter & assistant Sam, Amy Ryan as Sam’s mom, Andrea Riseborough as Riggan’s actress girlfriend Laura, Naomi Watts as actress / former girlfriend Lesley, Edward Norton as the Mike the co-star, Zack Galifianakis as the purrducer and Lindsay Duncan as a critic.
The tale occurs amidst the play’s rehearsals & purreview nights, with much drama going on backstage between the arguments, flirtations, finances, rivalries, accidents, injuries, smoking, drinking, Riggan’s doubts, despurration, detractors. and Birdman’s constant berating. However, there are also many amewsing moments, and the fantasized scenes of Riggan flying, using supurr telekinetic power to smash things, an imagined giant bird mech, explosions and other fare from his purrior movies. Furthermore, several incidents of bad luck ironically result in very fortunate outcomes.
For example, an injured actor is replaced by a much better actor; Riggan gets locked outside in his underwear but receives cheers & trending publicity; and a gunshot leads to a standing ovation. I was not sure what to expect from the movie, but the its purremise seemed fascinating, and I am fond of Michael Keaton’s many excellent purrformances whether they are dramatic, comedic, action heroic or Shakespearean in nature. I think Birdman is a tour – de – force for Keaton, with brilliant purrformances by the entire cast, and it is another of my favorite movies to be released 2014.
The plot, pace, dialogue, make-up, cinematography sets, locations, sound, mewsic, visual FX, and editing were supurrb. It was quite neat to see the warren – like backstage areas, and purrhaps my favorite technical aspect of the film was the seamless, stable camera work & editing, which felt as if the film was done in almost one continuous shot. Fortunately, there was nary a wobbly / shakey camera or crash / snap zoom to hinder the movie’s immersive, captivating narrative & ambiance.
The movie, its cast & crew have been nominated for many purrestigious film awards, including the 9 nominations at the 87th Academy Awards, of which the film received the Oscar trophies for Best Picture, Director, Cinematography & Original Screenplay. At the 30th Independent Spirit Awards, Birdman received the award for Best Film and Keaton received the award for Best Male Lead Actor. That will conclude my reviews, so nyow I will turn The Mew over to Becca who wishes to discuss
The Tale of Princess Kaguya.
Becca:
Arigato! Becca and I like to watch the movies and TV shows at home when we relax after the work, chores & sports! Lately we have been watching Japanese anime, such as The Tale of Princess Kaguya which is based upon The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, which is one of the Japan’s oldest folk tales! The PG rated, 138 minute movie adaptation was was co-written by Riko Sakaguchi & Isao Takahata, and directed by Takahata who is one of our favoritest anime directors, and this PG rated, 138 minute movie was his first movie in 14 years since My Neighbors The Yamadas!
It is the beautifully, bittersweet, sad & joyful tale of the tiny widdle celestial girl (voiced by Aki Asakura) from The Moon who was found in the bamboo by the cutter (voiced by Takeo Chii) and his wife (voiced by Nobukp Miyamoto). The girl grows up to become the young lady with good friends in the village but moves to the city where she becomes the purrincess in the opulent mansion! However, she is courted by the numerous suitors, but the royal life makes her unhappy and just wants to live the joyful life back home, but her days upon the earth are sadly numbered.
Takahata’s purrior credits also include Grave of the Flireflies, PomPoko, Only Yesterday, Anne of Green Gables, Heidi of the Alps, 3000 Miles in Search of Mother, Dog of Flanders, Hols: Prince of the Sun, and Panda Go Panda! The Tale of Princess Kaguya was purrduced by Yoshiaki Nishimura and planned by Toshio Suzuki, with character designs by Osamu Tanabe, the art direction by Oga Kazuo, the song by Kazumi Nikaido, and mewsic by Joe Hisaishi! The animation by Studio Ghibli is in the sketch – style which is very different from the mewsual Ghibli techniques!
Ghibli’s supurrb credits include Nausicaa, My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Whisper of the Heart, Ocean Waves, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, Tales from the EarthSea, The Cat Returns, Ponyo, The Secret World of Arrietty, and From Up on Poppy Hill! The Tale of Princess Kaguya was released in Japan in late 2013 to much acclaim; It had the limited theatrical release in the USA last year, and it was nominated for the Oscar for best animated feature film, although it lost the award to Big Hero 6 which we purraised in January’s Mew!
Last month the movie was released upon the home video by GKids, who also released the terrific 2 disk set of From Up On Poppy Hill! Those DVDs have many more special features compared to Disney’s DVD releases of The Secret World of Arrietty or The Wind Rises. The 2 disk, Region 1, NTSC standard DVD set for The Tale of Princess Kaguya purrsents the movie in the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen format with the language choices of Japanese, English & French Dolby Digital 5.1 and the optional English and French subtitles!
There are English subtitles for the Japanese version and the English dubbed version, and the English dub’s all – star cast includes Chloe Grace Moretz as Kaguya, James Caan as the bamboo cutter, Mary Steenburgen as his wife, and other stars such as Lucy Liu, Hynden Walch, Daniel Dae Kim, James Marsden, Dean Cain, Oliver Platt, Beau Bridges! Disk 1 has the movie, the 40 minute completion announcement conference with several of the Japanese cast & crew, 11 Japanese purreview trailers, TV spots and 2 US trailers for the movie.
Disk 2 has the captivating 85.5 minute documentary on the making of the movie, purrsented in the 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format and narrated by by Hiroshi Tsuchida in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 with the subtitles! It depicts the various stages of the production, from the actors’ initial script reading in mid 2011 until the movie’s delayed premier in late 2013! I was extremely pleased with the quality and special features of the DVD, so I will give both the movie and the DVD the very high purraise! Nyow here is Lizzy to to tell us about the
Hanasaku Iroha Vol. 1 Premium Edition boxed set!
Elizabeth:
Hanasaku Iroha (voiced by Kanae Ito) is the very beautiful, charming, poignant, at times sad and at times wacky, slice – of – life tale of 16 year old Ohana Matsumae whose irresponsible mom (voiced by Takako Honda) runs away and sends her to live at Kissuiso, the lovely hot spurrings ryokan / inn owned by her stern grandmother (voiced by Tamie Kubota). This might seem to be the ideal chnage, but it happened right as her friend Koichi (voiced by Yuki Kaji) was about to admit his romantic feelings for her, and upon arrival she is greeted less than cordially and put to work!
The first epurrsode seems the bit sadder and seriouser, but things lighten up thereafter, and soon Ohana fits in at the inn and at her new school, as she makes friends and tries to be a purragmatic, inspurration upon the rest of the staff! They include Nako the very shy maid (voiced by Aki Toyosaki), Tomoe the big-sisterly type of senpai / head attendant (voiced by Mamiko Noto) and Minko the tempurrmental appurrentice chef (voiced by Chiaki Omigawa), who is trained by Tohru the assistant chef (voiced by Junji Majima); Renji the stoic head chef (voiced by Taro Yamaguchi…
Ohna’s uncle Enishi the assistant manager (voiced by Kenji Hamada) and Bean the custodian (voiced by Cho)! They do not get many lodgers, and some of them are rather odd, such as Taro the author (voiced by Junichi Suwabe) who has some purrvy notions for his tales, and the group of military war gamers in one of the zanier epurrsodes! Ohana’s high school classmate Yuina (voiced by Haruka Tomatsu) is the heiress to the bigger, fancier rival ryokan, and Enishi’s friend Takako (voiced by Ayumi Tsunematsu) is a management consultant with ideas to purrk up business…
… although I think the inn is such a beautiful place with the sense of family despite the quirks, with delightful wonders tucked here and there which are not in need of the many impurrovements! Takako first appurrs in epurrsode #6 which is one of my favorite epurrsodes, in which the girls try out the different clothes such as the cheongsams and elegant kimonos! As they ponder pictures of different costumes, we even see a pic of catgirl about halfway into the epurrsode! I like every aspect of this TV series thus far we have seen epurrsodes 1-13, and I am hoping to see more!
I like the plot, the pace and the characters, the voice acting and the dialogue, the sounds, songs and the very pleasant mewsic, the character designs, the animation, editing and the gorgeous scenery! It was written by Mari Okada, directed Masahiro Ando, with the art direction by Kazuki Higashigi and Kanami Sekiguchi character designs by Mel Kishida and the mewsic by Siro Hamaguchi! The anime was purrduced by P.A. Works whose many movies, games & TV anime credits include Eureka Seven, Blood +, True Tears, Tari Tari, Canaan, Glasslip, and Angel Beats!
Hanasaku Iroha was released upon the home video here in the USA by NISAmerica! The purremium edition of Hanasaky Iroha vol. 1 has epurrsodes 1-13 which total about 308 minutes upon the 2 Blu-Ray and 2 R1 NTSC DVD disks, which are in the slim – pack cases with lovely art, along with the gorgeous art book inside the sturdy, purretty box! The video is purrsented in the 16×9 format with Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 audio & English subtitles. The special features are the clean / textless opening & ending sequences, and 4 Japanese purreview trailers for Hanasaku Iroha.
There are trailers for Ground Control to Psychoelectrc Girl, Natsume’s Book of Friends, and Umineko When They Cry, which are also distributed by NISAmerica! Both cases contain 2 disks apiece; and the 10 11/16″ x 7 1/2″ hardcover book has the 36 full color pages full of character purrofiles & designs, scenic & key art, the staff intermews & credits! The box measures 10 7/8″ x 7 3/4″ x 1″ with the beautiful illustrations of the girls upon the front & back! It is a great boxed set for the great anime, and I am hoping to see more! Okay I am done, so nyow here is Myayr to discuss the
Batman The Complete Television Series DVD!
Mary Nyan:
Arigato! There have been many DVDs on our wish list over the years, including many movies and TV shows that we have been eagerly awaiting, but for many fans the 1966 Batman TV series has been the longly – awaited holy grail of home video, which was finally released the few months ago! Because it consists of 120 epurrsodes plus the bonuses, it has taken us the while to watch most of it by nyow! For those who came in late, the live-action TV series ran for 3 seasons from 1966 to 1968 plus the theatrical movie which starred Adam West & Burt Ward as Batman & Robin!
It is known for the charming humor, action – packed fight scenes, the iconic music, colorfully costumed heroes & villains, and the many guest stars! The cast included Alan Napier as Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred, Neil Hamilton as Gotham City’s police commissioner Gordon, Stafford Repp as police chief O’Hara, Madge Blake as Dick Grayson’s Aunt Harriet, Yvonne Craig as Batgirl who joined in the 3rd season, and the voice of producer Willaim Dozier as the narrator! The Bat Cave, Batmobile, Bat Boat, Bat Copter, Bat Cycle, other vehicles & gadgets were among the stars too!
Appurring as the villains were stars such as Julie Newmar, Ertha Kitt, Burgess Meredith, Cesar Romero, Frank Gorshin, Jill St. John, Victor Buono, Roddy McDowell, Vincent Price, Anne Baxter, Ida Lupino, David Wayne, Cliff Robertson, Milton Berle, Otto Preminger, George Sanders, Eli Wallach, Shelly Winters, Carolina Jones, John Astin, Malachi Throne, Michael Rennie, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Art Carney, Liberace, Glynis Johns, Rudy Vallee and Roger C. Carmel! Bruce Lee & Van Williams also appeared as Kato & The Green Hornet, and we still hope their TV series will be released too!
The Batman TV series is available in different editions: individual seasons, the complete set with the booklet, and the deluxe edition with addtional goodies such as the Batmobile toy! It is in the full – screen format with crisp clear full – color, re-mastered video! The epurrsodes’ spoken language choices are English & Portuguese, with optional subtitle choices of English SDH, French, Spanish & Portuguese. The 18 disk set has the bonus disk including about 3.75 hours of wonderful special features, including new material starring Adam West, comments by other stars & archival stuff!
Hanging With Batman (29:54) is Adam Wests’s poignant remembrance of his career with much archival footage; Holy Memorabilia Batman! (29:57) is a visit to some of the greatest collections, including actual Batmobile replicas; Bats of the Round Table (45:05) is the fond chat betwixt Adam West, Kevin Smith, Ralph Garman, Phil Morris, & Jim Lee over dinner at The Smokehouse restaurant; Batman Born! Building the World of Batman (29:38) has comments by over 20 expurrts; and there is a 2 minute tribute to the series’ post-purroduction supurrvisor James Blakely!
Na Na Na Batman (12:14) has the comments by about two dozen actors & filmmakers who are fans of the show; Inventing Batman (29:28 + 29:36) is the revisit to the TV series’s purremier episode, peppurred by Adam Wests’s annotations; and then the rare treats include the Batgirl pilot (07:53) featuring the villain Killer Moth; Burt Ward’s screen tests (6:15) for the role of Dick Grayson / Robin
and the screen tests of Lyle Waggoner & Peter Deyell (4: 22) for the roles of Batman and Robin! It is neat to see the Batgirl pilot and the screen tests which have different costumes and sets!
The full color 32 page booklet has a cordial greeting from Adam West and the episode guide! I will highly recommend this Bat treasure to the fans of Adam West, Burt Ward, Yvonne Craig, those many other great actors, and that fun 60’s era of Batman! I should mention that the theatrical movie which was made between the 1st & 2nd seasons of the TV series, and certain documentaries about the TV series such as Ken Burns’s Holy Batmania! are not included in this DVD set, but they are sold sepurrately and I will recommend those too!
Furthermore, these are not included, but fans might also like the 1979 TV movie Legends of the Super-Heroes in which West & Ward were reunited as the caped crusaders amidst other supurr heroes & villains, or the whimsical 2003 TV movie Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt! DC Comics also currently publishes the fun Batman 1966 comics which wonderfully capture the style, portraitures, charming fun spurrit of the TV series! Nyow for our next review of the TV shows on the DVDs, here is Mike to tell us about
Doctor Who The Complete Eighth Season (plot spoiler warning)
Mike:
Thanks Myayr! I’ve been a fan of the TV series Doctor Who since the late 1970’s, when I first saw Tom Baker as the 4th incarnation of The Doctor! I’ve liked all of the chaps who have portrayed the iconic hero, including Peter Capaldi as the current Doctor, who was initially glimpsed for maybe half a second in the 50th anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor” in 2013, and later formally introduced at the end of the 2013 Christmas special “The Time of The Doctor”. Capaldi’s first appearance in Doctor Who was in actually another role in the 2010 story of “The Fires of Pompeii”!
Of course, The Doctor’s time & space ship The TARDIS returns in her full glory, and Jenna Coleman wonderfully returns as his traveling companion Clara Oswald, who was introduced in the 2013 episode “Asylum of the Daleks”! The 2014 season introduces Samuel Anderson as her boyfriend / fellow teacher Danny Pink, and and Michelle Gomez as Missy, this season’s recurring villain, but I’ll say more about her later! The 2014 season consists of 12 episodes, starting with the Victorian adventure of “Deep Breath” which was previously released on DVD with some special features.
That season premier features the return of Neve McIntosh as the Silurian Lady Vastra, Catrine Stewart as her wife jenny, Dan Starkey as their Sontaran friend Strax! We wish they had their own spin-off series! After that the Doctor’s enemies the Daleks return in “Into the Dalek”, The Doctor & Clara meet Robin Hood & his gang in “Robot of Sherwood”, they have the spooky adventure of “Listen”, they are part of a team trying to break into the galaxy’s most secure bank in “Time Heist”, and after that is the musing tale of The Doctor as “The Caretaker” at Clara & Danny’s school!
The 2nd half of the season is underway with the poignant lunar moral dilemma of “Kill the Moon”, the terrific murder mystery with the “Mummy on the Orient Express”; Clara leading the investigation of two-dimensional invaders in “Flatline”, and her students tag along to go “In the Forest of the Night”! The Cybermen and the U.N.I.T. organization return in “Dark Water”, which is part one of the season’s finale, in which Jemma Redgrave returns as U.N.I.T.’s leader Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, and Ingrid Oliver is back as her assistant Osgood! They were introduced “The Day of the Doctor”!
Missy is revealed to be latest regeneration of The Doctor’s enemy The Master, and I thought the season’s final episode of “Death in Heaven” was very emotional, thrilling, sentimental and shocking!
The 12 episodes total approximately 586 minutes on the 5 disk Region 1, NTSC, standard DVD boxed set from the BBC, presented in the 16×9 anamorphic widescreen format in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround with optional English SDH subtitles, for a approximately 586 minutes of plus several hours of of special features, including behind – the – scenes featurettes for each episode!
There are several additional featurettes about the the new Doctor and the 8th season, but oddly this set does not include some of the special features that are on the stand – alone “Deep Breath” DVD, such as the hilarious prequel scene with Vastra, Jenny & Strax, or “The Real History of Science Fiction: Time”; nor does it include the 2014 Christmas Special “Last Christmas” which is sold separately. However, there are audio commentaries for “Into the Dalek”, “Robot of Sherwood”, “The Caretaker”, “Kill the Moon” and a wealth of various featurettes on disks 1 & 5!
One of my favorite special features is the 48.5 minute look at the first ever Doctor Who World Tour with Capaldi, Coleman, lead writer / executive producer / show runner Steven Moffat, and comments by a few other actors! The 12 day tour in 2014 visited fans in Cardiff, London, Seoul, Sydney, New York City, Mexico City, and Rio De Janeiro! Not only does this show them at the very enthused, crowded appearances, but there are interviews with fans, with images and clips of beautiful of fan animation, music, stage performances, illustrations, costumes, props!
There’s a brief tour of the new TRADIS control room set, the Doctor Who Live premier event coverage, a music video for the song from “Mummy on the Orient Express”; and “The Ultimate Doctor” and “The Ultimate Companion” featurettes which are hosted by 5th Doctor Peter Davison, who interviews several members of the show’s crew and other actors who have portrayed Doctors and companions! I’m very pleased with this set, and I definitely recommend it to other fans of The Doctor! Ah, now for our next science fiction DVD review, here’s Trini-chan to tell us about
The Zero Theorem!
Trini-chan:
Arigato! I am particularly fond of Terry Gilliam’s movies such as Jabberwocky, Time Bandits, Brazil, Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and his animations for Monty Python, so I was rather curious about his latest movie The Zero Theorem, which stars Christoph Waltz who I liked in Inglorious Bastards and in Django Unchained! Although this was one of the films of 2014 that I anticipated the most, it was not screened at any nearby theatres, so I had to wait for it to be released upon DVD!
Waltz purrtrays an angsty, introverted reclusive programmer named Qoen (purrnounced “Ko-in”) working for a corporation in London of the dystopian future full of intrusive electronic advertising. Preferring to work from the solitude the abandoned church that he owns, he is assigned to work on the mysterious Zero Theorem purroject, which pertains to the theory of the universe eventually collpasing into a black hole. Unreasonably incessant deadlines take their frustrating toll, and thus he is purrscribed the virtual psychiatric evaluations.
The psychoanalysis is conducted by Dr. Shrink Rom, who is portrayed by Tilda Swinton! Qoen befriends a woman named Bainsley who is portrayed by Melanye Thierry, and pursues an online romantic virtual reality relationship with her, and is befriended by Bob, the brilliant young engineer portrayed by Lucas Hedges, the pragmatic son of the corprurration’s Orwellian upper manager who is portrayed by Matt Damon! Bainsley affections seem genuine, and Bob hopes that Qoen will get out more, but I should not further spoil the plot!
I should mention that the brilliant cast also includes David Thewlis as Qoen’s deprrtmental supervisor Joby! The philosophical tale was written by Pat Rushin with the production design by David Warren, costume designs by Carlo Pogglioli, practical FX by Nick Allder, the cinematography by Nicola Pecorini, mussic by George Fenton and editing by Mick Audsley! I think every aspect of the movie is quite excellent from the story, design, direction, photography & performances, to the sets, lighting, FX, sound & editing at the very good pace!
Compared to his other films, The Zero theorem reminds me a bit of Brazil. The R rated (for language sexuality & nudity), 111 minute movie is purrsented in the 16×9 widescreen format in English 2.0 stereo & 5.1 Dolby Digital sound with optional closed – caption subtitles on the Region 1, NTSC standard single-disk DVD in the no – frills package. Prior to the main menu are front – loaded preview trailers for Supremacy, Let’s Kill Ward’s Wife, and The Lookalike; and there are the special features which total to approximately 74 minutes!
Those include the 2 minute trailer and 4 featurettes about the making of the film. They are “Behind the Scenes” (18:27), “The Costumes” (28:28), “The Sets” (18:15) and “The Visual Effects “(6:44) which depict the designs & processes, with comments by Gilliam, Waltz, Thewlis, Hedges, Rushin, Warren, Pogglioli and executive producer Patrick Newall! By the way, for a great discussion of the FX, I will also recommend Cinefex magazine #140! That concludes our cinema, TV & DVD reviews, and now here is Tara-chan to tell us about the
Marvel Legends Captain Marvel Action Figure!
Tara-chan:
Arigato, nya! In the Marvel comic books, the hero currently known as Captain Marvel is Carol Danvers, who has had the different costumes, hair styles,occupations and – and identities overt the years such as Ms. Marvel, Binary, Warbird, and – and Captain Marvel, nya! She is not to be confuzzled with the purrior Captain Marvels or the current Ms. Marvel, nya! She first appurred in Marvel Super – Heroes vol.1 #13 in 1968, she starred in her own Ms. Marvel series in 1973, and – and is in her current, very popular Captain Marvel series which started in 2012, nya!
She has been the officer of the US Air Force, NASA and – and The Avengers team, nya! She is 5’11” tall, weighs 124 lbs., has the Blue eyes, the Blonde hair, the great piloting and – and combat purrowess in addition to her supurr powers, nya! Because she is the part human / part Kree alien type, she has the supurr strength, stamina, durability, flying speed, the purrecognition, the energy absorption and – and the powerful zap, nya! Nyow I have the latest action figure of her made by Hasbro, which is 6.25″ tall from her boot soles to the top of her breezy hair, nya!
At that size, the figure is about 1/12 scale, nya! I think she is beautifully designed, meticulously sculpted and – and purrcisely painted, with the very pleased, confident expurression, nya! She has the tight, sleek Dark Blue costume with the Red gloves, boots, sash, collar and – and shoulders, with the Yellow emblem, stripes and – and buttons, nya! She is very posable, with the articulation in her neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, sternum, hips, thighs, knees and – and ankles, nya! A display base or stand is not included, but she is well – balanced to stand unassisted, nya!
Also included in the package are the widdle translucent Purrple bolt of energy, the variant head wearing the Red mask with the mohawk hair style, and – and 3 of the pieces needed to build the figure of Thor’s dad Odin The Allfather, but to get them all you would also have to buy this series’s figures of the Scarlet Witch, Thor, Hawkeye, Iron Fist, Sentry and – and Machine Man, which are each sold sepurrately, nya! I am very happy with the figure, which I will display on my heroine shelf beside the figures of Storm and – and The Black Cat, nya! Nyow I will start
our comic book reports, with my review of
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #27, nya!
Tara-chan:
We love the pony cartoons, toys, and – and IDW’s comics which are beautiful and – and faithful to the TV show, nya! Issue #27 has the Everfree Forest tale part one, which was was written by Katie Cook, illustrated by Andy rice, colored by Heather Breckel, lettered by Neil Uyetke, and – and edited by Bobby Curnow, with the choice of 5 different covers: cover A by Andy Price, cover B by Tony Fleecs, the retailers’ incentive cover by Paulina Ganucheau, the one purrduced for Jetpack Comics and – and the one purrduced for the Hot Topic stores, nya!
Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and – and Spike are enjoying the picnic when Zecora and – and the pack of the timber wolves run out of the forest which is growing out of control, nya! Soon the vines encroach upon Ponyville, not unlike they did in the show’s 4th season purremier epurrsode, nya! Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Granny Smith, Big Macintosh and – and Derpy are fighting the flora, nya! The heroes search for the cause in the forest where they are confronted by panicked monsters!, nya!
They also meet the displeased deer who reside in the forest, such as Bramble, Blackthorn, and – and King Aspen, nya! Within their magnificent thicket palace they tell the ponies that the situation is because of the construction company which has been clear – cutting much land in order to build an amewsment park, nya! When the ponies are unable to purrsuade the owner to desist, they try to contact Celestia for a royal intervention, but at Canterlot castle she and – and Luna are also entangled as their pets Tiberius and – and Phoenix look on, nya!
It has the surprising start to see the mewsually calm Zecora in the panicked mood, and – and the surrpurising coda with Luna so witty compurred to Celestia, nya! There is plenty of action and – and the humor, the characters are so wonderfully posed and- and expressive amidst the scenic art that is exquisitely composed, drawn, colored and – and shaded! The colors are especially richly lush, the deers’ thicket home is quite magnificent, and – and I will give this tale the grade of an “A” as in Apple Buck, nya! Nyow here is onee-chan to tell us about
Princeless: The Pirate Princess #1, nya!
Yvonne:
Arigato, Tara-chan, nya! Princeless is a wonderful, purretty, whimsical fantasy series created and written by Jeremy Whitley and published by Action Lab! It stars the runaway girls of various races & species in the medieval era who rebel against the society’s stereotypes & sexism, nya! The girls are smart, brave, tough and peppy friends who tend to outwit and outfight the boys, nya! There have been a few Princeless mini-series, one-shot issues & trade papurrbacks which repurrint the tales, so they are not hard to collect, nya!
Adrienne is the dark skinned girl does not want to be a helpless princess to be rescued, her dragon Sparky does not wish to be the stereotypical monster to be slain, and Bedelia the Redheaded blacksmith does not intend to be the victim of the misogyny, nya! In the various issues we have met the other girls too, such as the tavern girl, the wolf girl, the elf girl, and in last year’s Hero Cats / Princeless: Halloween Comics Fest Issue we got the sneak peek of Raven Xingtao who is the feisty daughter of the Pirate King, nya!
She is the purrky Asian girl who is the highly skilled fighter, mariner and archer known as The Black Arrow! Her tale formally begins in Princeless: The Pirate Princess #, which is purriced $3.99 and has the cover art graced by Adreienne, Bedelia & Raven, and the uninterrupted 28 page tale of “Girls Who Fight Like Boys” which was was written by Jeremy Whitley, illustrated by Rosy Higgins & Ted Brandt, nya! It begins with the story time as the king reads the tales of Great – grandmother Ming Two-Tails to widdle Raven, nya!
She is so cute in the purrolgue and then years later we see her as the beautiful young woman who is bored in her tower until she is rescued by those other purrincesses atop Sparky, nya! However, this results in the fight with the sexist knights who are camped upon the doorstep, but it is the quick, comedic fight when the girls humiliate the guys, nya! Bedelia has heard of Raven’s repurrtation and after the fight the trio goes to the restaurant for the steak dinner, but soon they wind up in another brawl and the wild chase, nya!
They seem like new friends and Bedelia seems smitten, but Raven slyly covets Sparky, nya! This tale was so awesome, fun & beautiful, the characters & scenery are supurrbly drawn & colored with the animation cel – like shading & zestfully cinematic compurrsition, nya! The poses & expurressions are supurrb as the tale so gracefully flows from panel to panel full of the amewsing dialogue & great choreography, so I will give the tale an “A” as in Adrienne, nya! Nyow for another serving of pirate action, I would like to discuss
Conan Red Sonja #2, nya!
Yvonne:
Red Sonja is one of our favorite heroines, who is known as She-Devil of the Hyrkanian Steppes, with the almost peerless combat purrofiency, her grumbly cynical dispurrsition, her iconic attire such as the famous scale mail bikini, and her hair which is as Red as the blood of her many defeated enemies, nya! Until this tale, it had been quite the while since Sonja and Conan were together, nya. They met often when Marvel published both characters, but in the recent years Sonja has been published by Dynamite whilst Conan has been part of the Dark Horse stable, nya!
I was happy that the companies collaborated for this 4 – issue mini-series, nya! In issue #1, Sonja and Conan met for the first time when they were both hired to purrloin a purrince’s treasure, which was actually the vile, venomous Bloodroot plague seed which can infest and destroy a whole country, nya! They burned those seeds and slew their client who wanted them for his evil master, the wizard Thoth-Amon, nya! Nyow In issue #2, they meet again six years later, as Sonja and her friend Dark Annisia encounter Conan and Belit, the Queen of the Black Coast, nya!
Issue #2 is purriced $3.99 and has the 22 page tale of “The Age of Adventure” plus 4 pages of ads and bonus pic, nya! It written by Gail Simone & Jim Zub, illustrated by Dan Panosian who also did the cover art, lettered by Richard Starkings & Comicraft, and colored by Dave Stewart, nya! This tale is set after Sonja & Annisia’s 3 years of captivity in the gladiatorial arena, as the two pirate ships clash at sea, nya! Sonja duels Belit whilst Annisia duels Conan, with the taunting trash talk to pepurr the melee until Sonja and Conan realize that they have been reunited, nya!
Then it is time for feast and conversation at Belit’s table, but the merriment ends when they appurroach the island that was infested in issue #1, nya. Whilst exploring the island they are attacked by an infected beast and battle Thoth-Amon, who plans to sew the seeds upon the entire world, nya! This was another great issue with all of the purropurr sword & sorcery ingredients, and I liked the art, including the 2 – page spurread of the boarding and the full – page pic of Sonja & Conan slashing the villain, nya! OK I am done, and nyow here is Nya-sensei to tell us about
Angel and Faith Season 10 #11, nya!
Nyanko:
Arigato! We are fans of these canonical Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and the Angel & Faith comics which are published by Dark Horse and executively purroduced by Buffy’s creator Joss Whedon! They have the supurrb mix of humor, drama, action & mythology, with the faithful, canonical plots & characterizations that feel like the TV shows! In Season 10, Angel has been purrtrolling the Magic Town district of London and has been recently fighting Amy the witch, whilst Faith has been working for Kennedy’s security agency and on the recent mission into the South American jungle!
Nyow she is back in London, working for Miss Reese Zane, who was one of Kennedy’s clients! Issue #11 includes the 22 page tale of “United part One”, plus 4 pages of ads and 2 pages of the editor’s & readers’ comments! The tale was scripted by Victor Gischler, illustrated by Will Conrad, colored by Michelle Madsen, lettered by Richard Starkings & Jimmy Betancourt, edited by Scott Allie & Sierra Hahn, assistantly edited by Freddye Lins, with the issue’s graphic design by Justin Couch, the mane cover art by Scott Fischer and variant cover art by Mike Norton & Mark Englehart!
There have been numerous reunions for Angle & Faith of late including Amy & Riley, and nyow Winifred “Fred” Burkle has returned too! Yattahh! She staggers into Magic Town where Angel rescues her and takes her to Nadira’s place, where Buffy’s demon friend Eldra Koh has just arrived too! Faith is quite the jet lagged when she stumbles back to her home to be greeted by Giles’s cool magickal aunts Sophronia and Lovina! Later she turns the fire hose on a mucky demon at Reeses’ clinic, and then meets Angel’s friend police inspector Brandt at Rory’s demon pub!
Finally as Faith makes the rounds, she has the longly – awaited reunion with Nadira, who she has not seen since the end of Season 9, when Nadira was still the angry slayer, before she was transformed into the more serenely powerful mystic who helped Angel to defeat Amy! Meanwhile, Fred tells the what she has been up to and that Illyria the demon she merged with in the TV series still has the purresence, as Koh hinted in Buffy Season 10 #2! There are a couple of panels of illyria too, which these seem to be a flashback to before her appurrances in Buffy Season 9.
I have throughly enjoyed every issue of Angel & Faith seasons 9 & 10 thus far, and this issue was purrticularly pleasing due to the reunions and the exquisitely beautiful art! The characters, the creatures and the scenery are so beautifully rendered with the supurrb details, garments, poses expurressions, portraiture, and the excellent use of the color and lighting for the the materials, the atmospheric ambiance and the luminous magickal FX, so I will give this issue an “A” as in Angel! Meanwhile, Buffy and her other friends are busy in San Francisco, so I would like to discuss
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 10 #12!
Nyanko:
Purreviously the heroes have come into the possession of the ultimate magickal book, in which the universe’s rules of magick can be re-written, so they are trying to wisely rewrite the rules whilst trying to purrotect the book from the many entities who want to purrloin it! Recently a meat demon attacked, and Andrew got supurr strength from a magickal potion! Lately the topic of the romance has also been in the air, and issue #12 pics up right where issue #11 left off, with Buffy & Spike smooching in the cemetery under the full moon after the night of demon slaying, mew la la, nya!
Issue #12 is purriced $3.50 and has the nicely uninterrupted 22 page tale of “Love Dares You Part Two”, plus the comments page, an ad page and the 4 page purrview of the forthcoming Harrow County comic book! was illustrated by Megan Levens, scripted by Christos Gage, purrduced by Joss Whedon, colored by Dan Jackson, lettered by Richard Starkings & Jimmy Betancourt, edited by Sierra Hahn & Scott Allie, and assistantly edited by Freddye Lins, with the design by Justin Couch, the mane cover art by Steve Morris, and variant cover art by Rebekah Isaacs & Dan Jackson!
Rebekah has been a great regular artist on Angel & Faith Season 9 and Buffy season 10, but Megan has been the great artist on this current tale! Buffy seems willing to date Spike but he ruins it with the wrong words! Whilst discussing the sitch with Xander, the newly buff Andrew arrives to tell the gang about the meat demon he fought, and introduces his new coven friends Julie and Clive to Buffy, Spike, Xander, Andrew, Dawn, Willow and Giles. Julie andClive are the big help as the group tracks the demon to a meat – packing business, where a disgustingly gory battle ensues!
Romance blooms betwixt Clive and Andrew just as his supurr potion wears off, but the evening’s romance is not over yet as Buffy and Spike pick up where they left off, mew la la! There is the bit more, including an amewsing moment betwixt Dawn and Xander, but I should not further spoil the plot! I am enjoying this tale thus far, which has the good mix of humor, drama, action, and the character developments at the good pace with the great dialogue and fonts! I like the art a lot too, with the great poses, expurressions, fashions, magickal FX, creature designs, and scenic details!
In addition to the wonderful recurring characters from the TV shows, I have also liked the new characters that have been introduced in the comics! Julie and Clive seem nice, and I also hope that we will see more of Kennedy, Harmony, Clerm, Anya’s ghost, Dhoffryn, Willow’s friend Aluwyn, Giles’s friend Olivia, Spike’s alien insectoid crew, Buffy’s friends Anaheed, Billy, Devon, Katie, Sky and Detective Dowling. I would not mind seeing more of Vicky the vampire, but I hope that Warren will not return! That is all for my comic book reports, so nyow her eis Bunnibuns to tell us about
Showcase Presents The Legion of Super – Heroes vol. 5!
Bun:
Hai! The Legion of Super-Heroes is a team of teen heroes from different worlds in the 30th century, who protect the citizens of the United Planets from monsters, villains & disasters! They are friends of Superboy, Supergirl, Krypto, Streaky & Comet who would travel to the future to meet the team at their headquarters in the gleaming, sprawling city of Metropolis! The Legion appeared in various DC titles over the decades, such as Action Comics, Adventure Comics and Superboy, but got so popular that the title of Superboy’s comic book was later changed to The Legion of Super- Heroes!
This 10 1/8″ x 6 5/8″ x 1 3/8 trade paperback has the 520 Black & White pages that reprint the Legion tales that appeared from 1973 to 1976 in Superboy #193, 195, 197 – 220 and in Karate Kid #1! This was a significant, transitional period, with tales written by Cary Bates, Jim Shooter and Paul Levitz; art mostly by Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell, plus tales drawn by Joe Staton and Ric Estrada, some tales inked by Bob Wiacek and Bill Draut, and some beautiful cover art by Nick Cardy! We have been fortunate to meet misters Cockrum, Grell, Staton and Cardy at the Heroes Conventions!
During that period in the comics, the many Legionnaires included Superboy, Supergirl, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Light Lass, Shadow Lass, Mon-El, Shrinking Violet, Duo Damsel, Bouncing Boy, Colossal Boy, Princess Projectra, Karate Kid, Insect Queen, Braniac 5, Dream Girl, Ultra Boy, Night Girl, Timber Wolf, Invisible Kid, Chamelon Boy, Star Boy, Sun Boy, Element Lad and Chemical King, plus the debuts of Tyroc and Erg-1 who changed his alias to Wildfire! Their friends included the reserve members, the substitutes, the super pets, scientists and police officers!
Also amidst the 43 tales collected in the book are the debut of Infectious Lass, the death of Invisible Kid, the wedding of Duo Damsel & Bouncing Boy, the origin of Karate Kid, the clone of Ferro Lad, and battles with Tyr, Starfinger, the Fatal Five, the Legion of Super – Villains and the Khunds! That was about the time when Mike Grell created The Warlord, Dave Cockrum co-created the new X-Men, and when Joe Staton co-created E-Man! Paul Levitz later became an editor, purresident and publisher of DC, and Jim Shooter later became an editor and then the editor in chief at Marvel!
Unfortunately those Legion tales are not reprinted in color, and that is the shame because the coloring of those issues was quite fabulous, especially with the beautiful costumes, the lavish mecha, the scenery, the exotic aliens & creatures, the dazzling galactic imagery and the super power FX, especially during the Cockrum era! However, at the price of $19.99, this thick book seems to be the good bargain for the many beautiful, thrilling, uninterrupted tales of great heroes by those great artists & authors! Now to top off our comic book reports, I would like to say the few words about
Fathom: Kiani vol. 4 #1!
Bun:
We like The Fathom series created by the late artist / author Michael Turner and published by Aspen Comics which he founded! It stars the smart, powerful, stylish super heroine / marine biologist Dr. Aspen Matthews who has the aquatic powers, as does her friend Killian of the undersea civilization known as The Blue, and his daughters Kiani & Anika! As a baby, Anika was kidnapped from her mommy Anya in Fathom: The Elite Saga story arc, and in Fathom vol. 5 the evil Queen Vana raised, brainwashed & renamed Anika as Kania to be her aggressive warrior princess daughter!
After Anika was sent by Vana to attack the Blue’s city of Muria, she harmed her real mother Anya, had the duel with Aspen, and was banished by Killian after he slew Vana. Meanwhile in Kiani vol. 3, Kiani searched for Anika, but got delayed in a battle with the evil Dr. Luzhin at the Volna Research Center in Russia! Eventually the sisters were finally reunited in Somalia, and Kiani vol. 4 is the 4 issue mini – series that seems to pick up shortly thereafter! Issue #1 is priced $3.99, it has the 20 page tale plus the 8 pages of the ads, and has the 5 different gorgeous covers to choose from!
“Never Again” was written by Aspen’s vice purrseident / editor in chief Vince Hernandez, pencilled by Giuseppe Cafaro, colored by Wes Hartman, lettered by Josh Reed, and edited by Aspen’s co – owner / purresident Frank Mastromauro! Cover A is by Cafaro & Aspen’s co-owner Peter Steigerwald, Cover B is by Alex Konat & Steigerwald, Cover C is by Agnes Garbowska whose art we have enjoyed on the pony comics, Cover D is an Aspen Store limited edition cover by Turner & Steigerwald, and Cover E is an exclusive cover for the Arizona Comic Con illustrated by Nei Ruffino!
It was the tough choice but I have Cover A which depicts the sisters in their lovely exotic Blue – style bikini couture of the crustacean motif! They have the lovely coiffures too, between Kiani’s streaks and Anika’s braids! The sisters are catching up and behaving rather peacefully, even helping the poor folks in Somalia by providing fresh, clean water! Thusly the ladies are greatly praised there, but unfortunately the sentiment is not shared by certain admirals of the US military, who consider the ladies to be the threat, but that is to be expected given the sisters’ past invasions & warfare!
Of course, the governments have also tried to exploit Aspen and Kiani’s powers, but still have not learned to not provoke those ladies, and make the big new mistake by preemptively attacking with the drones, missiles & ships! That causes destruction to many innocent civilians in the village including children, and just futilely makes the unscathed sisters riled up and retaliatory! They might be angry but they are beautifully rendered, and I am curious to see what fury they will serve in the 2nd issue! That will conclude our comics & books reviews, and now here is Petra to tell us about
the new additions to The Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art!
Petra:
Arigato, nya! For those who are here for the first time, art galleries 1-7 display illustrations and photos by Mike, whilst guest art galleries 1-3 display images by other folks with their purrrrmissions, nya! Mike’s collaborations with other artists are displayed throughout the various galleries too, nya! On the web site, in any of those galleries, the most recent images will be repurrsented by the lowermost row of small, cropped “thumbnail” – sized portions of the images, and you have to click on one in order to see the uncropped, full – size version of the pic, nya!
Last month to Guest Gallery 3 http://catgirlisland.net/art/gallery/guest3.html we were purroud to purrsent the alluring “Santa Katgirl” illustration by Elisa Chong http://www.sofianime.com who was our guest for the June 2011 Mew; the illustrations of “Amadahy” the wolf girl and “Mike” as a Catboy by Rebecca Brogden http://www.rbrogdenart.com who was our guest in the September 2009 Mew; the photo of the “Tabitha” catgirl plushy doll and sketches of Tabitha by Misty Hopkins http://bunnychai.blogspot.com who was a guest of the March 2008 Mew, nya!
Last month we also included Splatoon fan art by Lumshock http://lumshock.deviantart.com; and to Gallery 7 http://catgirlisland.net/art/gallery/gallery7.html we added Mike’s pic of our friend Mae Nam and sketch of Rebecca’s character Evelyn, nya! This month in Gallery 7 we are pleased to unveil Mike’s pic of “Crissy, Purrsis & Friends” strolling, flying & swimming to the awards ceremony, nya! The lady in the tux, top hat & fishnets is our friend Crissy Teverini http://www.crimsonskycreations.com, who was among our our guests of the March 2008 Mew, nya!
Purrhaps y’all have seen her illustrations, cosplay photos and collaborations with Mike, nya? She is escorting our friend Purrsis, the purristess catgirl in the service of the Goddess Bast, wearing the diaphanous White sleeveless, sideless gown with Gold jewelry, mew la la, nya! Purrsis is has the keen skills, senses and hunting purrowess, but mewsually does not dress so formally when she is on the purrowl for evil undead vermin to slay, nya! Mike used Photoshop CS2 and the mouse to render the scene of friends meowrily mingling upon the Red carpet, nya!
Nextly in Gallery 7 is Mike’s illustration of Rebecca Brogden’s original characters “Redina & Kletos”, nya! Rebecca http://www.rbrogdenart.com is a great artist, writer, cosplayer and baker who was our guest for the September 2009 Mew, nya! Purrhaps y’all have seen her other works in our mewseum, or read her tale of “The Love of a Catgirl” http://catgirlisland.net/tales.html, nya? Redina Blut or just Red for short is a vampire girl who stars in Rebecca’s fun original tale of “The Magical Vampire” which has such neat supurrnatural mythology and characters, nya!
Here she serenely meditates in her secret bunker home in the Appalachians, with Kletos, who is a purrotective widdle spirit called an Omni nya! Kletos craves sugar cubes, whereas Red purrfurs blood, especially after a night of slaying evil demons, although she also likes the taste of coffee and liquor, nya! Red uses the scythe and magickal powers as her purrfurred weapons, and has lovely bat – like wings which which are purresently folded up and unseen, nya! Mike used the pencil, papurr, Photoshop CS2 and the mouse to create this illustration, nya!
Nextly in Gallery 7 is Mike’s latest fan art of Pokemon’s “Delia Ketchum” who is strolling our sunny, purristine beach, wearing the purrt Pikachu – purrint bikini accessorized by the purretty Purrple purreo, hat and bag, nya! Her husband Tony is elsewhere visiting the dojo, but later they will return to The Kitt Inn for their romantic suppurr, nya! Mike drew this image with a Derwent pencil, inked it with the Sakura Micron pens, colored it with the Copic markers, and then spurruced up the scene with Photoshop CS2 and the mouse, nya!
Speaking of Delia, she and her husband Tony starred in the Pokemon / Catgirl Island cross – cover fan – fiction tale of “The Anniversary”, which y’all can read at our Tales of Catgirl Island page http://catgirlisland.net/tales.html, nya! It was written by our friend Alexcia Reynolds http://www.sailorchristmas.com, who was a guest of our August 2010 Mew, nya! Alexcia is an artist, author and craftspurrson known for her plushies, illustrations, sites and stories, nya! Purrhaps y’all have seen other works by her in our mewseum, nya?
In Guest Gallery 3 we are purroud to purrsent cute “Plushy Bear Keychains” made by Alexcia, nya! These widdle bruins of different colors & fabrics are the Dark Blue pillow case, Blue denim, Red corduroy, velvety Teal, floral poly, and Blue / White plaid bear, nya! To see more of her creations, visit her gallery at Deviantart http://professoroak.deviantart.com, her original Cybernetic Showdown tale http://michi.byethost16.com, her Pokemon Amber http://pkmn.is-great.org fan site and Sailor Tiger’s Grotto http://mau.sailorchristmas.com fan – senshi site, nya!
Nextly in Guest Gallery 3 is the cute “ASCII Catgirl” typed in the Courier New font for Valentines Day by our friend Doug Eckhart, nya! ASCII stands for the American Standard Code for Information Interchange which is the term for the typed characters, whereas other countries & languages might use different characters or standards, nya! Creating images from type is fun technique, and the ASCII art has to be done in a monospace font, in which the characters and spaces all have the same width, nya! So, what do y’all think of the latest additions, nya?
Nyanko:
I think the Crissy & Purrsis pic captures the festive ambience, and I like the fashionable details of the Crissy & Purrsis pic such as the fishnets, the almost sheer gown, the floral lei, the faeries’ bikinis & sarongs, and the mermaid’s Jellycups tops!
Mary Nyan:
It was such the fashionable event, wasn’t it? Tash, Michi, Sadiyah and Brian of Alexcia’s Cybernetic Showdown were quite stylish as they helped with the purresentation, and Rebecca looked quite stunning in her long, tight Black leather outfit!
Jeannie:
Redina’s domicile seems seems purractical, spacious and secure, with the minimalist yet spartanly efficient style, although I purrsume that with her magickal powers, purrhaps she could redecorate or conjure appurropurriate furniture as needed.
Elizabeth:
She is certainly able to summon her huge deadly scythe as needed! She has the the lovely Brown hair and the very sexy bare – tummied, Black & Red outfit! I think Kletos looks so cute and I hope they are well – stocked with the sugar cubes!
Becca:
It was so nice when Delia and Tony Ketchum visited our island for their romantic anniversary, except for that one mishap they had at the Kitt Inn, heehee! She has the lovely Red auburn hair, and I like her purrt Pikachu purrint string bikini!
Yvonne:
I think her Pokeball belly button ring and matching ear rings are the cute touch, nya! I think she and her friend Kristy spent more time on the beach whilst Tony and Charizard purrtook of the athletic purrsuits at the dojo, field and gym, nya!
Tara-chan:
Speaking of the rings, Alexcia’s Plushy Bear Keychains are adorably cute, nya! Kawaii, nya! I want… I want to collect more of those, so that I can decorate a tree with them, so that on the first day of Christmas I will have the Bear Tree, nya!
Trini–chan:
Then we will have to sample some tasty Partridge poultry, hee hee! I think that Alexcia has the good crafty touch when it comes to the plushies such as those bears, the Ohana and Suna-chan kitty dolls, and the Nya-sense doll she made!
Bun:
I think Doug’s “ASCII Catgirl” is the clever use of the typography to create the cute graphic art, and hopefully it will entertain our visitors and inspire the other artists too!
Mike:
Yep, we’re very fortunate to have lots of wonderful art by many friends! Ah, Petra, thank you for presenting the art!
Petra:
Doistashimaste, nya! That will conclude the art gallery portion of The Mew, and nyow it is time for
The Celebrity Catgirl Spotlight, nya!
Mike:
In this portion of The Mew, we commemorate famous catgirls, nekomimis & were-kitties who appear in various media, such as novels, comics, games, toys, movies, TV shows and so forth! Our broadly – inclusive criteria ranges from ladies who actually have feline DNA, to those who just dress the part, and those with a certain “cat-titude” or style to be considered as “honorary catgirls”!
Mary Nyan:
The hot rock band KISS has been purrtrayed as supurr heroes on TV and in the comics, and in issues #5 & 6 of IDW’s KISS Girls we met their female avatar versions, including Beth the catgirl!
She wears the Black leather jacket, heels, the crop top and tight leopurrd purrint pants, until she is transformed by the cosmic Elder’s neko talisman into the supurr heroine with 9 lives! Then she wears the deeply plunging Black leather costume with the belt, thigh boots and the neko war paint as they fight evil gynoid Christine #16 and The Phantom’s other mechanical monsters!
Bun:
The Batman TV series episode “Hot off the Griddle” not only starred Julie Newmar as Catwoman, but there were several other catgirls, including Edy Williams as a hostess of the Pink Sandbox club on Gotham City’s West Side! The hostesses & dancers wore the cute costumes comprised of the maillot, ears, tail & cuffs, whilst many customers danced the cat – like Catuzzi!
Petra:
The cute cat ears, coiffure, smiles and mannerisms abound in the whimsical Acchi Kocchi manga & anime, which is known as Place to Place in the English version, nya! That includes the high school student friends of Tsumiki with the long Purrple hair, Mayoi with the Orange hair in buns, Saki with the long Blonde hair, and Ami with glasses and short Pink hair, nya!
Becca:
Chocola and Vanilla are the endearing, sweet catgirls who work at the pastry shop in the Nekopara visual novel by Sekai Project! Later they are joined by more purretty catgirls such as Coconut, Caramel, Cinnamon and Maple for delicious, romantic comedy!
Elizabeth:
There is a cat – eared headband girl in the Rolling Girls anime series! She is a member of the Hiroshi Town Propellers gang in the future after Japan has sepurrated into feudal purrefectures which are repurrsented by the best dueling heroines and their gangs!
Tara-chan:
I will shine the spotlight upon Myao of the Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure tactical role – playing game, nya! She is the catgirl witch in the Pink gown accompanied by her clowder of cats, who might be cute but they still have the claws, nya! Onee-chan’s turn, nya!
Yvonne
Lucky Chloe of Namco’s Tekken 7 video game is the fighter in the purrky tutu, thigh highs, neko ears, tail and paw gloves, nya! Speaking of the fighting females of the feline fashions, there are a few purrofessional wrestling Divas whom we wish to mention, nya!
Nyanko:
Hai, Stacy Carter alias Miss Kitty and The Kat, was also Chyna’s valet for a while; and one of my all – time favorite wrestlers is Gail Kim who was known as La Felina, The Queen of the Cats earlier in her career! I think know who Trini-chan’s favorite wrestler is!
Trini–chan:
Hai, that is WWE superstar Alicia Fox although she is of the more vulpine than feline in her kemonomimi style when she wears the furry, fox-eared cowl! She also stars on the Total Divas show, and I have her action figure too! By the way, at this year’s Royal Rumble, there were at least two cat – eared girls amongst Adam Roses’s festive Rosebuds entourage! Jennyjen’s turn!
Jeannie:
Hai. Finally, to top off this month’s Celebrity Catgirl Spotlight, I wish to shine it upon Mariah Wong of the Beyblade manga and anime TV series. She is the feisty Golden-eyed, Pink-haired cat-like girl of the of the White Tigers Beyblading team.
The Cat Lady Sings…
Elizabeth:
I guess that will also do it for this edition of The Mew!
Becca:
I just noticed that Tara-chan did not get distracted by any flora or fauna this time!
Yvonne:
That may be, but I can tell that she is eagerly pondering the AfterMew luau, nya!
Tara-chan:
Itadakimasu, ya!
Petra:
We wish to thank Alexcia and Doug for their additions to our art mewseum, nya!
Bun:
We also wish to thank the other talented, industrious & inspurrational folks whose works we have discussed…
Nyanko:
… and of course our friend Jamie for his web mastery here at The Mew and Catgirl Island!
Mary Nyan:
We also thank the rest of our friends, families and our kind audience for all of their support!
Trini–chan:
Y’all may post brief, polite, sincere, non-snarky responses to our discussion…
Jeannie:
… purrvided that such comments are spam-free, G-rated and purrtain to our topics.
Mary Nyan:
We will be back next month to put the “purr” in the Apurril edition of The Mew, nya!
Mike:
Be there… aloha!
The Ladies of The Mew:
BAIBAI, NYA!
