All New, All Different Sunday: Coming Attractions!

Martinex1:  Sunday is the day for BitBA recommendations, so let us hear your opinions about upcoming cinematic features.   Trailers have been around for Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League for a while with the movies hitting in November.  More recently Star Wars: The Last Jedi and The New Mutants' clips have arrived.

**SPOILERS**

Thor, Hulk, Valkyrie and Loki seem to team up against Hela!  Can the third Thor be the best in the run; or is the Grandmaster and Planet Hulk bereft of fun?

Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, the Flash, and Aquaman partner for the first time on the silver screen.  Superfriends or more bleak DC trends?

Luke, Rey, Kylo Ren, and Finn play Jedi mind games!  Who's on the dark side; who is not?

And Illyana,  Rahne, Cannonball, and Sunspot seem to have landed in a horror movie.  Will a thematic twist bring a lift to Fox's version of mutant events?

Does any of this excite you?  Are you planning a trip to the theater to see the latest from the Marvel, DC, and Lucas' universes?  What do you like and what don't you?  It is usually our day off but how about we chew the fat?

Share your short peek critiques and any other observations or recommendations you have this fine Sunday!

Riding the Retro Metro: Destination Monday Sept. 13, 1982!

Redartz:  Greetings once again, friends! Time for another quick quest back to our collective youths; today focusing on the 13th. of September in that memorable year 1982. The world faces turmoil in Lebanon, and we all followed the uprising of "Solidarity" in Poland. But at home, we were still talking about "E.T. the Extraterrestrial", and eating Reese's Pieces. And many of us were tuning in the radio to hear Chicago's big comeback hit:

 Tops on the US  Billboard Pop Chart : Chicago, " Hard to Say I'm Sorry"

Rounding out the top five:

2.  Survivor- "Eye of the Tiger"
3.  Steve Miller Band- "Abracadabra"
4.  John Cougar Mellencamp- "Jack and Diane"
5. Air Supply- "Even the Nights are Better"

As always, I am religiously tuning in to Casey Kasem and "AT40", but this week most of my favorites are further down the chart. Most notable is a very cool song from a new wave group :A  Flock of Seagulls "I Ran", everybody at our college is dancing to it. And of course we follow the Billboard UK chart to see what new acts are upcoming, as the "New Wave" crashes over American shores. 
 There's also a hilarious new tune from Frank Zappa puncturing the current 'valley girl' phenomenon, appropriately called "Valley Girl". His daughter joins him on the record, and does a fabulous job! And as comeback songs are big right now (Chicago and Steve Miller in the top 5), I'm loving the new single from America : "You Can Do Magic".

A Flock of Seagulls, "I Ran"

Tops in the UK:  Survivor, "Eye of the Tiger"

Now that we've caught up on the latest music, let's check out tonight's entertainment offerings on the tube. There's some new options, as the Fall Season is just beginning...
 
U.S. Television Schedules:

ABC's Monday Night Football Crew

ABC:  That's Incredible!, ABC NFL Monday Night Football

Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly of Cagney & Lacey

CBS:  Square Pegs, Private Benjamin, M*A*S*H, Newhart, Cagney & Lacey

Square Pegs Opening

NBC:  Little House: A New Beginning, NBC Monday Night at the Movies

BBC1:  Angels, The Wonderful World of Disney, Panorama, The Monday Film: Lady Sings the Blues

BBC2:  Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery, One Hundred Great Paintings, The Forest of Dean, The Two Ronnies, Kevin Turvey- The Man Behind the Green Door, Hypnosis, Cartoon Two

Not much of a football fan at this point, so I generally miss Howard Cosell and Don Meredith on ABC. It seems like just about everyone else in the US watches MNF regularly, though.  Meanwhile,  on CBS,  Square Pegs is a new show I never want to miss. It casts a group of kids uncomfortably similar to me and my friends, and has a knockout theme song by the Waitresses. Newhart is also good viewing; Bob's perfectly deadpan delivery never disappoints.


Now here at college, tv viewing still takes a backseat to comics reading, so what say we see the goodies awaiting on the spinner racks (or on the shelf at our local comic shop):

I have to grab that "Smurfs" comic, it's one of the few Saturday morning shows I still get up for. The Teen Titans are still knocking it out of the park under the team of Marv Wolfman and George Perez. Also, that Marvel Graphic Novel introducing the "New Mutants" appears to be a solid pick. Plus another incredible John Byrne effort on "Fantastic Four" and a couple of Annuals make this a rewarding trip to the stands.
And now, before we turn from the 80's and toward the 20teens, take a moment to remember where you were, what you did, and what you enjoyed about the era. Take a turn at the wheel of the Retro Metro and tell us about your 1982...

The Quarter Bin: The Legacy $1 Challenge

Martinex1: Well it is that time of year when we look back to reminisce and we look forward with hope!  For this $1 Challenge let's look at comics and characters that wouldn't have existed without the trailblazers that came before.  Below are an assortment of legacy comics and legacy characters to choose from; pick four you would like to read and share your reasoning. 

I venture outside of the Bronze Age for cover samples this go around, but I recognize that our era was one cornerstone of ongoing comic creativity. 

So whether you like title stretches like Fantastic Force or future generations like A Next -  state your opinion here.  Could the Thing have gone solo without The Fantastic Four or Marvel Two-In-One?  Was the Blue Beetle better after the Golden Age or after Charlton?  Could there be a Little Archie without Archie? (Don't even get me started on Little Sad Sack!) Could there be a Captain Pureheart without Archie or Little Archie?   Is Wonder Man really named Hollywood in Galactic Guardians?  So many questions to ponder and so little time.

Dive into today's potpourri of spinoffs, namesakes, and title-taking!  Tell us what you think about these books and let us know if you felt any of the followers were better than the leaders!  And please don't be shy about declaring the good, the bad, and the ugly (because there is a lot of ugly out there folks!)