Count3rCu1ture, The New DC: Justice League #1

Exclusive to Tumblr! Starting today and twice a week for...probably a while, you can see how the New DC unfolds and how a jaded fan reacts with surprise (in some cases).

Oh, hey, while I have you here...

You may remember a while back I mentioned that Shinobi Ninja had their video for "Rock Hood" out for your perusal. In case you didn't catch it, let's go to the instant replay:



So why am I bringing this up again? Because this video now has a chance to be in regular rotation at MTVu. And you can help make it happen.

If it can be done, Shinobi Ninja has promised a surprise for their fans. I'll let them give the details (courtesy of the Facebook Event page they've set up for this):

If we win this contest, we're going to throw a FREE rooftop party/concert with all sorts of swag and food. Invites will go out to everyone who votes, blasts the link, and attends and posts on this FB event. If you aren't an NYC native, you'll get an exclusive invite to stream the show and party with us online.

Its been a long and winding road but today, we're here to tell you dreams really can come true!!! Right now at this moment, Shinobi Ninja is on the brink of something amazing. No label, no suits, no BS...All of it is because of the love and support that fans like you have given us over the past three years.

A few weeks ago, MTVU.com posted an interview with us on the "Hot Seat" section instead of adding our Rock Hood video into rotation. The response to the interview was so overwhelming that MTV's staff came to see us play later that week in NYC at Arlene's Grocery. The combination of our live performance and our incredibly dedicated fans earned us a shot at the BIGTIME!!!!

Every week, MTVU selects 5 new artists to compete for an add in MTVU's regular rotation.

Millions of people discover new music on MTVU every day.

THIS WEEK, ITS OUR TURN! Its the biggest thing to happen to us since we played our first show ever at the Knitting Factory in August 2008 (by the way we are about to play our SECOND show at the Knit this week...coincidence or destiny?!?!)

Help us write the last sentence in the first chapter of the story of Shinobi Ninja and vote for "Rock Hood" on MTVU.com!

Just a little hint, you can vote as many times as you'd like!

Share this link on your social networks and tell your friends to vote too!

Happy Voting!!!!

Terminator Dave + Shinobi Ninja

The reasons I'm putting this out there?

1) Hell yeah I want an invite to this show online!

2) After seeing their set and meeting them at Nerdapalooza, I can personally vouch for not only their talent and stage presence, but for the fact that this is a genuinely nice group of folks who love recording and performing. Their enthusiasm is infectious, and I can't help but dig that.

3) They said it themselves: Shinobi Ninja is on the brink of something amazing. No label, no suits, no BS...All of it is because of the love and support that fans like you have given us over the past three years. This is a classic tale of a do-it-yourself act that's gotten to where they are on nothing but hard work, fan appreciation, and an ethic that this site embraces. They deserve to see their dreams come true, and this could be the chance they have to make it happen.

So please, go check out the video and vote for them. I'm sure you want to be invited to the party too, right?

C3C1 5 - Superheroes

Welcome to as personal of a look at me as you’re going to get here.

“C3C1 5” is a series of lists detailing my personal favorite...whatever topic I happen to choose. I am trying to make these a weekly ongoing feature. Of course, my reputation for regularity isn’t the greatest in the world; heck, I’ve already skipped a week due to having to get a lot of other work done while adjusting to a new schedule, but now we commence with round 02.

The reasons and rules for this are available in the first installment. Suffice to say, they can be summed up very simply with this statement:

The views and opinions expressed herein are those solely of the author and may not necessarily reflect those of the rest of the human race.


Welcome to round 02 (Fight!) of C3C1 5. This week’s list of five is:

Five Fave Superheroes

It’s that simple, folks - the big guns. The guys we all know and love from the funny book pages. I was actually going to save this because I wasn’t sure I wanted two comic-centric lists back-to-back, but there is a particular reason this is going up now. You’ll get a hint later and find out exactly why tomorrow.

Enough of the jibba-jabba. Let’s do this:




05: Green Lantern

Admittedly, I’m a little late to the game here. And Geoff Johns has a lot to do with GL’s placement this high on the list with the way he’s completely redefined the mythology. All that out there, Green Lantern - and make no mistake, this is certainly Hal Jordan we’re discussing here - has always fascinated me because of the idea of redemption. From losing his dad early on and living up to the ideal he thought his father would have had, to losing his schtuff when Coast City was destroyed, setting him on a path of evil and a return to righteousness, Jordan’s story has always been one I’ve enjoyed following and, at times, certainly relating to. And let’s face it, that ring can do some amazing stuff.






04: The Hulk

(A momentary aside: you can tell I’m pretty much a DC guy when there’s one Marvel character that cracks the C3C1 5. Not that I hate Marvel at all; I grew up with the X-Men. I dig the Avengers trinity as much as the next fan. But, when it comes to individual characters, you can tell which publisher has always had my attention more than the other.)

Anyone who’s seen my temper up close and personal knows exactly why The Hulk is on this list. I can rage with the best of them, and most times it’s for the same reason - I’ve always let myself be walked on when it comes to relationships with other people. When I see just how bad I’ve gotten the shaft for how long...yeah. I don’t grow to 5x my size or turn green (or gray or red), but this is pretty much the result. Nowadays I’m a lot better at not letting my temper get that far. However, if I went through what the Hulk did in Planet Hulk, I totally would have done what he did in World War Hulk (one of my fave Hulk stories). And I wouldn’t think twice about it.






03: The Flash

The Flash is what got me started on comics in the first place. It was The Trial of Barry Allen, and the end of his first series. Watching a man go through losing his first wife and then almost having his new fiancee murdered by the same person was captivating. That did it.

There’s a lot more to be said for The Flash and Barry Allen (the version represented here, although Wally West is a very close second). And it will be said tomorrow. Some news came about The Flash in the New DC that has to be discussed in detail. Yes, The Flash is the reason this list was posted now instead of later. Stay tuned.






02: Batman

Bat man is a straight-up icon of a man honing himself to be the pinnacle of human achievement using only his mind and his will. It’s the reason he tops probably a couple million “favorite superhero” lists - he has no superpowers; he’s just a man that built himself to be the best, an ideal most o0f us strive for.

What made me love Batman was Batman #400. It was here that Batman’s nightmare came to life, putting him against odds he couldn’t possibly overcome. And yet, he did. It’s a story that sums up his will and ability to overcome anything, all done in a beautiful, self-contained story.






01: Superman

If you don’t think the comic book fanbase has its share of hipsters, think again. It’s all the rage to hate Superman nowadays. “He’s too powerful”...”he’s such a boy scout”...”man his recent stories have really sucked.”

Okay, I can’t argue with that last one. But everything else is excuses in the form of gross oversimplifications. Superman was the first superhero. He captured imaginations in 1938 for the same reason he does now - who doesn’t want the ability to do damn-near anything? Many fans that bag on him now cover that jealousy with another excuse: “He can do anything he wants, yet he chooses to be a good guy?”

Yes, he does. And for all that ability and power, Superman is still mortal. He’s just as human as any of us. The best stories illustrate this perfectly, and even comic creators tend to screw that up. Hell, J Michael Straczynski inexplicably wrote one of the best and worst superman stories ever!

He’s a tough character to nail because not any people can fully grasp how someone so all-powerful can also be so vulnerable. But when he’s done right, Superman shows us that he is our actual self, while Batman is our ideal self. Batman has made himself perfect, while Superman was made perfect, but continues to show us how human we all are.

Count3rCu1ture Mobile - 08.31.11

**SPOILER WARNING for "The Man of Steel"**

This picture just happens to leak today. The same day that the "New DC Universe" officially launches with Justice League #1.

Today's vocabulary word, class, is "corporate synergy". Say it with me now...

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

"Man of Steel" Taking Lead From DC Reboot

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for the in-production Superman: Man of Steel.


Another reason DC may be holding out information is the current lawsuit between DC’s parent company, Warner Bros, and the heirs of Superman’s creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. If the lawsuit is not settled by 2013, some core elements of Superman’s origin and character become property of the estates of Siegel and Shuster. Is DC planning a pre-emptive srtrike in completely changing the world’s most recognizeable superhero?

- Me, Examining the DC Relaunch Part 03: The Heavyweights, Examiner.com


It was a damn set-up.

Looking back on that statement, it certainly helps make the DC Reboot make a little more sense now. Sure, that's an awful lot of change, but it goes a long way toward reigning in a little more control of the biggest character in the industry (no matter how many wanna hate, let's face facts here).

Let's get right to it. Take a look at the cover for the new Superman #1 (drawn by the legendary George Perez), coming out in September, for just a moment:



Got it? Good. Prepare to use that as a reference point, okay?

Now, some enterprising individual(s?) happened to snap some set shots of Superman: Man of Steel, due out Summer, 2013. The shots are meant to be a revelation of the character Faora, played by Antje Traue. Before you ask the question, no, I don't have a clue who she is. The actress or the character. And really, it's not important here.

And I have to say, I normally tend to ignore spoiler shots like this. They very rarely tell anything about the final product because, in the world of CGI, there's so much missing. And a photo can't say a thing about whether or not the plot's any good. However, this one I came across - and these set pics happened to tell me a lot. Not about how the movie looks or how great of a story we're in for, but more of how DC and Warner Bros plan to get around this lawsuit issue and still create a new buzz for the biggest character in comics all at the same time.

Take a good look at the set photo. Pay particular attention to the man in red and blue:



Whoa wait, what? One more time, in slow-motion:



Yeah, I think that's exactly what DC has in mind. "Freshening up characters," "relating to real-world situations," and "injecting new life" all sounds good and fine, but exerting more control over your properties - and how they're portrayed in other media - is just as important.


++++++++++++++


A coupla music videos for ya. Well, one full one and one teaser.

The full one comes from my pals Shinobi Ninja. It is the title track from their record, Rock Hood, which packs one hell of a catchy melody. But don't take my word for it...



The teaser is from the forthcoming The Browncoats Mixtape from Adam WarRock and KHill of the ThoughtCriminals. Not what I'm used to hearing from these guys at all - and it sounds so cool...



Oh, and speaking of WarRock? Feel free to head to the link above to check out (among all the other good stuff this guy unloads) the free singles he's been releasing this month, the latest being "Commedia Dell’Arte". He's unloading free stuff as part of a donation drive to help handle expenses for his upcoming tour with Random (aka Mega Ran), MC Lars and MC Chris. Go help a brotha out. And score some excellent free tunes to boot!

C3C1 Mobile: Henry Cavill as Superman

Henry Cavill as Superman. No way of telling which costume design they went with quite yet, but he fills out the suit well based solely on this. Looking forward to more.

Count3rCu1ture News Desk: 06.25.11

Another edition of the news desk features two brand new songs, DC Comics continuing to wuss out, and a wrestling promo you have to see to believe. Let’s get in to this.


Music Fuels The Savage Beast

First off, two new tracks from Apathy off of his new album, out August 23. The album that holds the honor of having my single favorite title of 2011 (at the very least)...Honkey Kong.



Track one is the first official single, “Check to Check”. Slightly more laid back than I’m used to from Ap on first listen. But a few more have revealed a focus and drive that Ap conveys best in a great track about trying to make it in today’s entertainment business.




Second up is new music from Anthrax. Oh yeah, you heard. The band’s first new album in seven years - and their first with Joey Belladonna in 21 years (!) - is upon us, as Worship Music is out September 13.

Now, most that know or have read me know I was totally against the idea of John Bush being ditched in favor of bringing back Belladonna. However, I have to say after seeing that lineup live last year, I will totally admit I was in the wrong here. They sound as good as they ever have on stage with Belladonna back in the fold.

So how does that translate in to new studio music? Holy crap, man. Almost like they never left.

Seriously, go get “Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t”, like, right now. Trust me on this one. You won’t be sorry.




Superman Fears Politics

Remember when Superman renounced his American citizenship? And then had to take that back because of the reaction? DC apparently learned a lesson about how much the mainstream does not want to have to think when reading comics, because they did it again this week in much quieter fashion.

CBR broke the story that DC had announced in its weekly email to comic shop retailers that Superman #712 (which came out this past Wednesday) would have a completely different story that was inserted at the last minute. The original story, which was to be part of the “Grounded” story (which features Superman walking across America reconnecting with the people...think about that one for a second), saw Superman arrive in Los Angeles and featured a Muslim superhero called Sharif.

DC’s official reason? “DC Comics determined that the previously solicited story did not work within the "Grounded" storyline.“

Why is this a line of bull? The originally solicited issue promised a story where "Sharif discovers that in today’s current cultural climate, some people don’t want his help – they just want him gone."

What officially makes DC’s reason a line of bull? Writer Chris Roberson himself told CBR, "As much as I look forward to seeing an unpublished Kurt Busiek Superman story, it's a shame that DC didn't determine that the story we prepared for Superman 712 didn't work in the Grounded storyline in time for us to do a different story. As it happened, the Sharif story was included in the outline for the remaining issues of Grounded that I submitted in November. The outline was approved, and in February the issue synopsis that I provided was used to draft the solicitation text, to work up character designs for Sharif (the grown up version of Sinbad from the early 90s), and for cover art to be pencilled, inked, and colored. The script for the issue was accepted in April, and was drawn, inked, and lettered. Unfortunately, when the issue was ready to be sent to the printer in the third week of May I was informed that the decision had been made not to print it."

I’ve written about this sort of thing before. Nearly six years. Only then, it had to do with the WWE character Mohammed Hassan. When WWE turned a sympathetic American character with Arab origins in to the typical, one-dimensional “USA-hock-*ptui!*” heel, I thought it was a shame that a character like that couldn’t be used because of how people would overreact in such a knee-jerk fashion. It’s a shame that, five years after that, there’s been no growth in the area of public conscious and intelligence whatsoever.

To their credit, DC realized this before they had a chance to come under from Fox News and the rest of those zombies for the second time in a few months. It’s just a crying shame they’ve been forced to do so.


What could have been:
The unused cover for Superman #712


”What y’all boys know about the Murphy Rec Center?”

In promoting this Sunday’s “Best In The World” show from Ring of Honor - as well as their future under the Sinclair Broadcast Group banner - the Briscoe Brothers aired a promo on YouTube. Some people love it, others hate it.

Put me in the former category. I’m pretty sure now I can officially declare the Briscoes (not Jack and Jerry, mind you) my favorite tag team ever. Part of it is because they go non-stop, from bell-to-bell, at a pace that has to be seen to be believed. The other reason is because the Redneck gimmick isn’t really a gimmick. What you see with jay and Mark is what you get. They’ll speak out about how they feel, and that stalwart passion has turned in to one of the best promos so far this year.

Bear in mind, though, this is NSFW due to bad language:



Whether it’s part of the storyline or not, I totally believe that they feel as if they’ve been overlooked and they’re looking to prove that they’re the team to take Ring of Honor in to the new frontier. And that’s what good wrestling should make me do - believe.

And speaking of the “Best In The World”, I’d lastly like to welcome back Ari Berenstein and the Column of Honor. I don’t know if this is a return to regular duty or not, but Ari previews “Best in The World” better than anyone else could even think about attempting. In short, it’s what he does and I’m glad to see it back for this.