Two New Youtube Channel Discoveries of the Day : HISTORY OF THE BATMAN and SALAZAR KNIGHT

As I have previously mentioned I do not watch YouTube on my computer. However it was the ease of access of viewing YouTube on your TV, courtesy of streaming devices/platforms like Roku that in 2018 finally made the YouTube platform a major destination for me.

So now here in 2021 the channel I watch the most of… is not Netflix, is not Amazon Prime, is not Disney, is not Hulu or Kanopy; the channel I watch the most of… by a LARGE margin is Youtube (free version).

And on that YouTube platform, I am subscribed to something like 60 varied and distinct sub-channels (aka content creator channels), many of which I have shared and will continue to share on this blog.

The great thing about YouTube is there is SOOOOOOO much content that you are always making new discoveries. New channels put up not by networks, or conglomerates, but typically just passionate people who want to share their passions and hobbies and interests with you.

I love discovering a new passionate channel, whether new or new to me. Here are two of this weekend discoveries and they both have to do with Batman.

And not just Batman, but the strength of these channels is their focus on the classic,  individual stories/ comic book issues as opposed to the collected edition.

Many channels will tell you what is recent, or current, or hot, or collectible. Many channels will speculate on the cgc (graded) book to get in a 9.8 because of movie news this or that, but very few channels will actually just tell you about individual comic book stories that are worth reading or getting just because they are enjoyable reads.

Both of these channels do just that and cover primarily the older Bronze, Silver and Golden age of Batman Comics, which I particularly am a fan of, and am always looking to be informed more on.

These two channels succeed in being my discoveries of the weekend, and are both now subscribed to by me, and I urge you to give them a look, and if as entertained by them as I was, likewise subscribe to their channels and give a like to their videos.

 

 

 

 

Both of these channels I found entertaining and I have highlighted above what i consider their best videos so far.

 

if you enjoy this post, please support this blog by liking and subscribing and grabbing our item of the day at the links below. You get great items and you earn this blog a few pennies to keep the proverbial lights on.

 

 

 

Favorite Modern DETECTIVE Comics Covers! Vol 3!

Here are the best DETECTIVE COMICS covers from the 3rd and current run. What makes a great cover, contrary to those pushing these portrait and variant covers aesthetic, is great typography, meshed with great visual storytelling. Here then, are the best covers to date from that brief run!

GREAT Comic Book covers from the 3RD Volume of DETECTIVE COMICS!

I absolutely love that post issue 1000 logo! And the return to word balloons on covers!

If you like or are missing any of the above issues and would likre to purchase them, feel free to use the handy great link below! You’ll get great books, and earn a couple of pennies for this blog. Also don’t forget to like and share this post if you would like to see more like it! Thanks!

https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?tid=37272914&AffID=200301P01

 

Favorite Modern DETECTIVE COMICS Covers! Vol 2!

Generally speaking, the 2nd volume of DETECTIVE COMICS which ran 50+ issues was not great. It began questionably and ended questionably. However in between there was some very good work done with cover design and typography. Here then are the best covers from that brief run!

GREAT Comic Book covers from the 2nd Volume of DETECTIVE COMICS!

 

If you like or are missing any of the above issues and would likre to purchase them, feel free to use the handy great link below! You’ll get great books, and earn a couple of pennies for this blog. Also don’t forget to like and share this post if you would like to see more like it! Thanks!

https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=22331625&AffID=200301P01

Branagh WALLANDER BBC TV series vs WALLANDER Canal!!

My first introduction to Henning Mankell’s detective Kurt Wallander is with the Kenneth Branagh helmed WALLANDER BBC series. I found those shows visually striking and emotionally intense. Only recently have I likewise become introduced to the earlier Swedish series starring Krister Henriksson (earliest episodes dating from 2006, with the latest episodes being in 2013).

There is a degree of fatalism and nihilism in the more slick and stylish BBC reworking of WALLANDER that is absent from the earlier Swedish television series. And I feel that that absence is to the earlier show’s benefit.

While the Swedish series is no less a captive and mirror of the forlorn land it depicts, there is in the original series and in the captivating and world wearied yet bemused performance by Krister Henriksson a welcome sense of hope, of optimism even in the face of those who have forsworn hope. As such, despite or because of its understated nature, there is something more endearing in the Swedish WALLANDER, something easier worn.

Whereas the BBC version of Wallander is a different animal all-together. First its scale is far grandeur than the Swedish version, essentially each season comprised of three feature length movies, with approximately two years between seasons; 2008, 2010, and 2012 respectively.

Add to that Branagh’s wonderful portrayal of a man ever more broken is superlative. However that degree of depression can be taxing to view. To the BBC WALLANDER’s credit it is a distinct and different take from the Swedish version they were going for and achieved, so it can be viewed as its own thing rather than simply a remake.

All that to say you can watch the original series and the BBC series and see two distinct and divergent shows, each deserving of your time. But if pressed regarding the version of Wallander that I enjoy the most, I would have to choose the Krister Henriksson series.

While the BBC version has amazing direction and cinematography, powerhouse acting by its lead Kenneth Branagh, and a wonderful score and introduction (reminiscent of the equally compelling LUTHOR), thematically I prefer the less angst ridden and less dire Swedish version. Its low-key delivery making for less hyperbolic viewing.

Grade: WALLANDER BBC series gets a grade of B/B+, and the CANAL Swedish version edges it out with a solid grade of B+.

Wallander Season 1 & 2 [Blu-ray] (This item requires a 1080i compatible player)

Wallander Series 3 [Blu-ray]

Wallander (Faceless Killers / The Man Who Smiled / The Fifth Woman) [Blu-ray]

Wallander Series 3 [Blu-ray]

Wallander: The Original Episodes, Set 1

Next up I’ll sample the Rolf Lassgard WALLANDER episodes and bring you my take on those.

Classic SPICY DETECTIVE Covers!!

As any casual visitor to this blog knows I’m a huge pulp fiction fan, so I’m always on the lookout for vintage or new age pulp covers that grab me. Under the heading risque Vintage Pulp Fiction covers comes the following selection of classic, caustic, and even calamitous covers from the defunct but rightly named SPICY DETECTIVE STORIES.

Take a gander and enjoy!

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And if you’d actually like to read one of these stories (A Norvell Page!!) go here.

WEBSERIES of the Day: DOMINION

I watched the 1st episode and some of the Webisodes of a series called DOMINION, billed as a film Noir series, and enjoyed it.

I’m not typically a web-series type of guy, but I gave this one a shot and liked it. I’m waiting to hear back from the creators in regards to episode #2, but in the meantime view the existing episodes here.

Book and DVD of the day: CASSAVETES ON CASSAVETES and JOHNNY STACCATO

Ray Carney has written quite a few books on iconoclast, maverick actor/filmmaker John Cassavetes, and the one I’m currently reading is CASSAVETES ON CASSAVETES.

Cassavetes on Cassavetes

I am also currently watching the 1959/1960 private eye show JOHNNY STACCATO starring the inexplicable John Cassavetes. It was researching the show that led me to a mention of Carney’s CASSAVTES ON CASSAVETES.

Through the book I wanted to get a better handle on the show, why it didn’t last, and what Cassavetes thought of it.

The book covers all these bases and more. It’s an elucidating look at a gifted, driven man for whom confusion and consternation and rabble-rousing, was part of what he did. In search of truths maybe, perhaps simpler… perhaps in search of feelings.

Johnny Staccato starring John Cassavetes – 3 DVD Box Set!

A good book that I recommend, particularly in context of the short lived JOHNNY STACCATO, which is, failings aside and Cassavetes dislike aside, at times great, and never less than interesting.